THE MAN FOR THE HOUR



    "The control of the situation fell back on two men, Fun-
ston and Schmitz. Both happen to be natural leaders of men.
But Schmitz was the surprise. Funston was known of old.
The well-to-do people of 'Frisco thought their city was in a
pretty bad way when it had to have Schmitz for its chief
magistrate. His career had been not that of a reformer, but
of a trades-union order of politician, who, it was said, played
for votes first and for the interests of the public afterward.
But in this crisis he showed that he had a backbone of steel
and the mind of the born organizer. The qualities of the
pamphleteer, the learned judge, the eloquent statesman, or
the eminent merchant were not called into play. A man who
could 'boss' men was needed."
   To look at Schmitz, tall and well set up, with black beard
and black pompadour hair, he seems still the leader of an or-
chestra as he once was. His origin and his previous char-
acter make his work the more wonderful. He kept his head,
he reduced the chaotic situation to its simple essentials.
   Before the committee of public safety which he called
had met, he had made the soldier his right hand. Every
saloon bad been closed; the penalty of looting was death; the
people were the flock, and he, the fiddler, the magnetic agi-
tator, the good fellow in the crowd, had become a stern shep-
herd indeed. If you built a fire for cooking in your house
you might expect a shot through the window. Coercion, not
coaxing, was the rule. A chimney broken by the shock might
set what remained of the city in flames. What did not occur
to the quick mind of the man of the people in the way of pro-
vision, occurred to Funston. The army had dealt with sani-
tation in camps before; with the distribution of supplies.
This time it was not hampered by red tape. There was no
hesitation in taking any measure whatsoever that could save
the city or bring food quicker to hungry mouths.
   The strength of the Mayor's character, and his ability to
                           1362



1906