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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3159620" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-two, “The Unity Party“, Thursday June 8th , 1882, 5:00 P.M. When Kate left the Lucky Lady and fetched the stallion she'd intended to drive. Instead she rode the spirited horse the short mile out to their ranch where she searched out Flint and Sonoma to get them up to speed with what had happened in town.  It only took a few minutes to explain what had happened in town, and a couple more to let them both look over the paper. Kate pitched in with the chores for the next hour and got back into town in time for a quick bath and to change into respectable clothes before heading over to meet Flint for the Association meeting.The two arrive and walk into the Cattleman's building. Not everyone is there yet, but the room is already buzzing. For a new organization it has had an eventful existence and this meeting looks to be no different.  Kate looks around the room and tries to asses the mood, and check to see if either of the King men are there yet. Somehow the idea of seeing either of them looking disgruntled makes the corners of her mouth twitch.The others begin to arrive. Kate notes that Calvin Oldfield, Anse King and Ashley King arrive together and stay in the back corner of the room. Kate also notices that Ashley is favoring his left arm and hand rather than his usual right and the young man grimaces slightly when Forest Morand approaches him and shakes his right hand.  The Perez Family arrives and Ricardo Perez heads up to the podium to begin the meeting.Kate tries to surreptitiously glance at Ashley King's hand, wondering what might have happened. She almost decides to go ask by way of greeting him, but Ricardo Perez arrives before she can quite make up her mind to do it. She and Flint take seats in the middle of the room and wait to see what Mr. Perez will have to say.Ricardo Perez pounds the gavel and says, "We have two agenda items tonight. The first item is the death of ranch owner Nick Thayer and his ranch hand Jasper Ordway. They were not part of this association but this could still impact us if it is the work of cattle rustlers. A proposal was made at the last meeting to have part-Apache help with communications on whichever ranch wishes them to help. Mr. Morand, do you have anything further on that?" Forest says, "Yes, I've spoken to six men who work for me, all of them part-Apache. All of them are willing to work with other ranches and they know three other full-bloods that they trust who do not follow Geronimo. That's nine men willing to help out if we want them."  Anse King says, "Hades no, and any of you are fools who do this." Calvin Oldfield nods that he agrees with his friend."We're willing to participate," Kate said firmly. "And considering our proximity to town the quicker word can get to us the quicker we can get the law out if it's needed. We're also close to Apache lands, so I'll understand of the men who don't follow Geronimo don't want to be quite so close to the mountains."The discussion continues on that subject and it is left that each rancher is free to ride out to the Morand's Rocking-H ranch this upcoming weekend to interview the men and see if one or two might be compatible to temporarily join another ranch to help with communications.  Perez then moves on to the other subject, the Law and Order Party. He takes out at reads the page from the newspaper with the party's candidates and platform. Ricardo then turns to Emery Shaw and says, "And you agreed to this platform!" Shaw angrily says, "No, not at all. Manny Escobar and I weren't even shown a copy in advance of it coming out in the paper! Shows that they don't really care about our opinions." Anse King blurts out, "That's bull! They incorporated your recommendations! Even threw Watkins off the ballot because of this Cattleman's Association opinions." Shaw yells back, "Well then, they can just put Watkins name back because I quit! I want nothing to do with that group and neither does Manny Escobar!"Kate again asked for permission to speak and said, "The question then becomes, if our candidates no longer want to participate in the Law and Order Party, how do we proceed? There were a lot of people worked up after that ad came out today. That stand has polarized the competition and moved more moderate people toward Fisk and Adair. I don't think we can moderate the Law and Order party enough to win those people back."Anse King stands up and says, "What in Hades are you talking about Kale! The people in this community need law and order! Weren't you listening a few minutes ago? Ranchers and lawmen are getting killed out there! Closing down the gambling and prostitution and limiting the amount of drinking is the most sensible idea to hit this town in ages, you do that and the criminals will find somewhere else to go!"Kate kept her voice calm and reasonable but showed no sign of backing down against Anse King. "I absolutely agree that law and order are needed. But I don't agree that getting rid of gambling and prostitution and limiting drinking will accomplish that.  Ranchers and lawmen are being killed outside the town. It has to do with rustling and trying to hide those activities. How will ending gambling and prostitution convince these people to stop stealing cattle? There are plenty of places in the area they can go to for those vices and still steal from Promise City's ranches.  But the material point is not whether or not I agree with you. It's whether or not a slate carrying that agenda can get elected, and I don't believe they can. The population leans too heavily toward people who make their living from mining and saloons. You can't make changes if you can't get in office."King yells back, "Oh sit down and shut up Kale! What do you know, you won't even let your daughter go to a decent school." Ricardo Perez slams the gavel down and yells. "ORDER! I won't have any more outbursts like that from you Mr. King." He looks up and says, "Damned right you won't. Who ever invited elves in here to begin with? I quit!" He then marches out the door followed by his son Ashley. Calvin Oldfield stays but has an confused look on his face.Kate remains standing for a moment, a surprised look on her face. She quickly smoothes her expression and says, "My apologies. Angering Mr. King was not my intention. I can only speak my mind as my conscience directs me. Of course not everyone will agree with me, but that's what discussion is. Again, I apologize," she finishes and takes her seat.  Emery Shaw stands and says, "You have nothing to apologize for Mrs. Kale, Mr. King was out of line. Please continue Ricardo." Perez says, "Well, yes. As I was starting to say, the Law and Order Party appears to no longer value our opinion or feel the need to cooperate. Some of you may have heard that the Liberty Party has split up, with Adair breaking off from Fisk to form his own party.  I for one feel that none of those three parties offers what our Association needs from a town government. While it has not been proven there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to suggest that Fisk has Cowboy Gang affiliations. Adair is not a man to be trusted. And I concur with Mrs. Kale that the Law and Order party is unelectable." Shaw raises his hand to be recognized. He stands and says, "I was meeting for dinner with Manny Escobar and Vera Blake, who is running as an independent candidate. She feels the same way and the two of us have decided to form our own party as an alternative. I am planning to run for mayor with Manny and Vera for council positions. We plan to ask Deputy Martin to join our ticket for the Marshall position."Not wishing to seem overbearing, Kate keeps her silence at the this moment. But she does lean over to Flint to ask, "Who do you think would be a good candidate?"The other ranchers indicate support of Shaw and his proposed running mates, which is not surprising as they had already supported all except for Vera Blake, whose Drover's Livery has always had a good relationship with the ranches.  Shaw says, "We were talking about other possible candidates for the remaining three council positions. Merchant's Association President Burton Lumley is still running as an independent but I think he would make a good addition. Other names that were tossed around are miner Patrick Seawell, furniture maker Cole Rixton, lumberman and deputy Neal Cassidy and Priestess Minerva Florencia. But we wanted to see what this Association thought first." Oldfield says, "I think you're insane. The Law and Order Party is the way to go. With Fisk and Adair splitting that makes them a shoo-in. You're nuts to try to further sub-divide the electorate!" She replies, "What we'd like to do is just the opposite, unite the electorate." Kate continues on to point out the advantages of having candidate from many different professions, and finally adds, "And of course we need a representative name for this party.Oldfield marches towards the door and says, "Try the Hopeless Party, because that's what you are." He leaves, slamming the door behind him. Shaw says, "Well, before I shoot off my mouth any further let's make sure that the remaining members of this Association are in support." Ricardo calls for a vote on the proposed political party.  When the vote is called Kate raises her hand in the affirmative to support the new party rather than the Law and Order party.The vote is unanimous. Discussion then follows on the proposed candidates mentioned by Shaw. Forrest Morand speaks very highly in favor of his business partner Patrick Seawell. There are mixed feelings about Lumley although the overall consensus is positive. Perez speaks highly in favor of Priestess Florencia. Flint speaks up in favor of Rixton, who he got to know well back when he lived at the El Parador.Kate says, "I think we'll want to keep Mr. Lumley from running on Mr. Adair's ticket and the best way to do that is to have him on ours. Mr. Seawell adds someone the miners can get behind. To me it comes down to being between Mr. Rixton and Priestess Florencia. But we must also consider that any one of them might not be interested."  Other suggestions are asked for. Proposed names to make for a diverse party include Wells Fargo manager Kris Wagner, Father Thomas Valdez, Dry Goods owner Kevin Kelly and the reporter Angela Young.Kate nods as more suggestions are made of people she hadn't considered, but would likely make good candidates. While it is wonderful to hear all these ideas it makes it that much more difficult to make final choices. "I only know them a little bit," Kate says. "Those of you who know them better, do you think any of them would be interested in running for town council? I get the feeling Mrs. Young would, but that's just instinct.Shaw says, "I'm not sure that Mrs. Young would really help the ticket due to her age, our opponents would use that against us. I also wouldn't want both Florencia and Valdez on the ticket, it would appear too top heavy on clergy. I would suggest we ask Florencia first and then Valdez if she says no."    Forest Morand adds that Mrs. Young’s position as a newspaper reporter would probably be a conflict for her as well and she might not want to give up that job to take a council seat. Kate asks, "Does Mr. Kelley bring something to the table that Mr. Rixton doesn't? I'm in his establishment frequently, so I know he's an honest and fair man and would be a good representative of the merchants in town, but so would Mr. Rixton."   Perez says, "Each has an advantage. Rixton is a member of the Committee for Racial Equality, Kelley is not. Kelley is married and is wife is well known and like among town. Both are well respected and either would make a fine candidate."Kate shares a quick glance with Emery Shaw. "Perhaps we should narrow it down into categories and then vote to rank the possibilities in order of preference. There isn't a poor choice in the bunch."  The Cattlemen's Association goes with Kate's suggestion. The first category is Marshall, with Chester Martin being the first choice and Neil Cassidy as the back-up choice.  The next category for the first of three council positions is clergy with Priestess Florencia being the first choice and Thomas Valdez as the back-up choice. Forest Morand strongly agrees that a mining representative would be important and feels that Patrick Seawell will accept. Flint says that if Seawell says no to temporarily put in his name on the registration papers and he will informally check with the other mines and come back to the Association with the name of a good substitution. The final position is the one with the most debate. Eventually they settle upon Burton Lumley as the first choice, primarily because of the even handed way he has managed the Merchant's Association. They agree that the back-up for that position should be a Merchant's Association member, but are torn between Rixton and Kelley as the two top choices. There is consensus that if none of those three are interested to ask Kris Wagner."As long as we get the slate registered by tomorrow evening we have to time to work out the Merchant's Association representative if Mr. Lumley chooses not to join us.  We still have the difficulty of what to call this party."  A short discussion follows on the name, with the names Unity Party and Harmony Party being the two suggestions with the most support.Kate says, "Personally I favor Unity. Harmony is a passive word, Unity is active." Some of the other members look at her oddly and she adds with a shrug, "Sometimes I'm a bit overeducated. Mr. Shaw, will the candidates already on the slate be approaching the potential candidates?"  Shaw says, "Ideally I would like for myself, Mr. Escobar and Mrs. Blake to approach them together with the offer, however I am willing to delegate that to others if they already have a better ongoing relationship with one of the candidates and think they would be more successful in obtaining an affirmative response.""I think you have the right idea there. We may plan to support it, but the party should be independent of the association."  Shaw says, "But we also need a party headquarters for the next two weeks and I was thinking this building would work nicely since it isn't used most of the time. We could have Attorney Berg draw up a formal rental agreement to have the Unity Party rent from the Cattleman's Association if we want to make that distinction." The meeting runs later than the other meetings have, as they have to determine a new dues structure for the group given the loss of the King and Oldfield ranches.  Another conversation that grows from that is a discussion on whether they would like to maybe expand the Cattleman's Association to also include ancillary ranch-related businesses, including the various farms in the region, Dick Lockmyer's Bar-H Stables, Drover's Livery, Mason's Feed and Grain and Weller's Blacksmithing. Discussion continues for a few more minutes when Mr. Perez declares the meeting closed.  Following the meeting Emery Shaw, Forest Morand, Temple Morand, Rocardo Perez, Flint Greymountain and Katherine Kale head over to the Lucky Lady Dance Hall and Saloon.Kate suggests they might want to go through a few more meetings until the association was a bit more established before adding new businesses, but that it makes sense to include them as they all impact each other. As the smaller group sat down in the Lucky Lady Kate sat down with a bit of a sheepish smile on her face. "I really am sorry it got out of control with Mr. King. I was trying to be reasonable, but I think politics is just not one of my talents."   Her companions agree. Her head was swimming from too much of trying to wrap it around the intricacies of politics. "Does anyone know what happened to Ashley King's right hand?" she asked. "I noticed he favored the other today as it seemed to be in some pain."   The others don't know but say that minor injuries are rather common among ranchers.   Shaw asks Kate, "Katherine, how would you suggest that Miss. Florencia be approached about our offer? You appear to know her the best of our group.""I'd approach her straight on, she is a very forthright person and would appreciate that. Tell her right out that we are trying to put forth a slate of candidates that represents the many interests in town, and we think that she would be a strong voice for the many who are concerned about the town becoming a real community and being friendly to and safe for families.  And of course a little flattery never hurt. The festival proved she cares about this community and can organize and work on a large scale. Point that out. And of course you Emery also know about her opposition to the Cowboy Gang with various others," Kate finished with a smile.Manny Escobar adds, "For all practical purposes Miss Florencia has been part of the town council from the moment she arrived in town. She has managed to unite diverse people and gain compromises that many would not have thought possible. This Incorporation would never have taken place if not for her."  Kate says, "That's true. She cares passionately about the town and took that role on when she arrived. The idea of making that official should appeal to her. And she hates the Vigilance Committee and Adair as I'm sure you all know. She should have a great deal of interest in keeping them both out of office." Shaw laughs and says, "And I already know how she feels about Hamilton Fisk and his Cowboy Gang friends. Yes, I have a hunch that if our Party is a fourth viable alternative she will want to support us."   Kate says, "Even if she feels a political position would be in conflict with her duties as Priestess, talk to her about ways she can support the party. Just her endorsement would give it a boost. And she has some visitors at the moment; higher ranking members of the church. Their support would be a great boon. Miss Florencia is unusual, there are those who are still uncertain about her. Endorsement from higher up in the church would steady those people."Forest Morand says, "Yes, her main boss is here in town. That will confirm it one way or another. I'm honestly not sure of the Church's position with politics. I know that Arch-Bishops are barred from holding political office, although they work in conjunction with top officials, but I don't think those restrictions filer down to local clergy."   Kate says, "Luckily for us, we won't have to wait for her to get word back on whether she can or cannot accept. I hope she can. She understands what so offended Mr. King. That you can't legislate morality. If you want less drinking, gambling, and prostitution, you can't just pass a law. If you want less prostitution then make sure women can get good educations and have a chance at other employment."Manny Escobar says, "Which is what you are achieving thorough your school Mrs. Kale. Priestess Florencia is one of a handful of women who have helped to make the equal rights for women a reality in this town. She and Mrs. Barker have shown that a woman can hold a position of authority traditionally held by men in human society. Examples such as those set by you, Mrs. Gilson and Miss Kaufman also stand out in this town. Even Mrs. King has done a lot for the role of women, although she would probably be against if anybody pointed that out to her."Kate chuckled. "Indeed she would, but you're right. She's shown women can be strong, opinionated, and change the world they live in. Part of what makes that possible is the newness of this town. There are things that need doing and nothing to stop a woman from stepping in and doing them. I could never have done all this is Boston, the status quo is too entrenched."Shaw says, "I know what you mean, that's true of all established cities. My wife's family was from Chicago. Every time we visited there I couldn't wait to get away and get back to the wide open spaces of my ranch."  Forest Morand says, "I agree, I've never lived in a city but the part of Ohio where my father had first established his farm became far too crowded for my liking, which is why my brother and I kept traveling south and west. Most people think of the southwest as nothing but desert, but this lush fertile section is a paradise one would expect to only find in Olympus.""I wouldn't have thought I could come to love a place so soon, but I do love it here. Despite everything that's happened. My mother has tried several times to get me to return to Boston but I couldn't live there again.  There are things I miss of course, theatre, concerts, parties, but I wouldn't trade my freedom for them. And I won't sit by quietly while some people try to build a cage for me here."Temple Morand says, "Well, if it's theater you want there will be a Shakespearean play held here the end of next week." His father Forest adds, "And Mr. Barker performs concerts every Saturday night at either the Comique or here at the Lady." Manny Escobar interjects, "And as for parties, I dare say that nothing in Boston ever compared with one of Pedro and Dorita's."Kate says, "Oh no, Pedro and Dorita throw the best parties. No stiff formality there, just good friends, food, and music.  The play is next week already. I have to see about making sure all the locations are ready, I should do that in the next few days. I was too busy to get involved in the production the way I would have liked, but I can do that little bit. I hope enough people attend and enjoy the play that one might be produced every two or three months. We certainly have enough talented people."She asks, "Have you gentlemen been here when I've played? Beside accompaniment? Perhaps when Miss Townsend takes a break I could play a bit for you. I haven't forgotten all of my old civilized life."  Temple and Forest indicate they've heard her play. Manny says that he's heard her play before over at the El Parador back when they had a piano. Ricardo Perez says that he hasn't had the pleasure yet and gestures to the unoccupied piano.Kate nodded and spent the next half-hour relieved of the task of keeping up conversation; which was admittedly not terribly onerous with her present company. Instead she lost herself in playing the lovely waltzes which were some of her favorite pieces until Harry came back to play again for Clarisse and she returned to the ranchers.</blockquote>

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