But customs had rapidly
changed in Remsen City, and with the exception of a few old
fogies only the poorer classes went to market. The masters of
houses were becoming gentlemen, and the housewives were elevating
into ladies--and it goes without saying that no gentleman and no
lady would descend to a menial task even in private, much less in
public.
Market Square had even become too common for any but the inferior
meetings of the two leading political parties. Only the
Workingmen's League held to the old tradition that a political
meeting of the first rank could be properly held nowhere but in
the natural assembling place of the people--their market. So,
their first great rally of the campaign was billed for Market
Square. And at eight o'clock, headed by a large and vigorous
drum corps, the Victor Dorn cohorts at their full strength
marched into the centre of the Square, where one of the stands
had been transformed with flags, bunting and torches into a
speaker's platform. A crowd of many thousands accompanied and
followed the procession. Workingmen's League meetings were
popular, even among those who believed their interests lay
elsewhere. At League meetings one heard the plain truth,
sometimes extremely startling plain truth. The League had no
favors to ask of anybody, had nothing to conceal, was strongly
opposed to any and all political concealments. Thus, its
speakers enjoyed a freedom not usual in political speaking--and
Dorn and his fellow-leaders were careful that no router, no
exaggerator or well intentioned wild man of any kind should open
his mouth under a league banner.
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