His words
were received with awe. Wall Street was the holy of holies, not to be
profaned by the slightest hint of impiety. Well, we've changed all that!
Not I, alone. Our cartoons have done more than the editorials. Every
other paper in town has had to follow our lead. Even The Ledger."
"I like The Ledger," declared Io.
"Why?"
"I don't know. It has a sort of dignity; the dignity of self-respect."
"Hasn't The Patriot?" demanded the jealous Banneker.
"Not a bit," she answered frankly, "except for your editorials. They
have the dignity of good workmanship, and honesty, and courage, even
when you're wrong."
"Are we so often wrong, Io?" he said wistfully.
"Dear boy, you can't expect a girl, brought up as I have been, to
believe that society is upside down, and would be better if it were
tipped over the other way and run by a lot of hod-carriers and
ditch-diggers and cooks. Can you, now?"
"Of course not. Nor is that what I advocate. I'm for the under dog. For
fair play. So are you, aren't you? I saw your name on the Committee List
of the Consumers' League, dealing with conditions in the department
stores."
"That's different," she said. "Those girls haven't a chance in some of
the shops. They're brutalized. The stores don't even pretend to obey the
laws.
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