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TREACHEROUS TEXTS
The Indirect Influence
("The travelling men of New York are asking for legislation which will enable them to vote—that is to say, to enable them to register although absent from their residence.")
Travelling men, what is the matter?
Why this unrest and alarm?
Can't you cajole, coax or flatter?
Can't you depend on your charm?
How can you say, even in play,
You need a ballot to get your own way!
Charm is what statesmen kotow to,
Charm is their rise and their fall,
Votes they would never allow to
Alter their conduct at all.
Charm is your dower; cling to that power.
Votes is a pleasure that fades in an hour.
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