6 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



with the wishes of the committee, but every time an as- 

 signment was proposed for Major Lacey, he promptly 

 answered, "Yes, I am ready to go." This readiness of 

 the Major to perform whatever political duty was as- 

 signed him by the committee was favorably commented 

 upon by men in charge of the campaign, and the Major 

 made the following characteristic explanation of his read- 

 iness for political duty: "When I was practicing law, I 

 never allowed anything to interfere with my practice, and 

 now that I am in politics, I never allow anything to in- 

 terfere with my politics." 



Such was the system Major Lacey had in politics and 

 in law. He had developed those traits of readiness and 

 resourcefulness that stood him in good stead in politics. 



The history of these controversies with General Weav- 

 er is full of stories of his ability to take care of himself 

 under any and all circumstances with a man who was then 

 perhaps without a peer in Iowa in the rough and tussle 

 of those days. 



During one of the early debates, before General Weav- 

 er had felt Major Lacey out, he got him up before the 

 audience and referred to his opponent as the "dapper 

 little corporation attorney." When Major Lacey 's turn 

 came to reply, he referred to the ' ' dapper little corpora- 

 tion attorney," and, drawing from his pocket the postal 

 card received by attorneys when cases have been deter- 

 mined in the Supreme Court, Major Lacey read to the 

 audience the statement, ' ' That the case of Way vs. Chi- 

 cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company had been 

 affirmed," calling the attention of the audience to the 

 fact that he had been attorney for the plaintiff in a five 

 year battle through the courts in a case that had attract- 

 ed the attention of the entire district. The crowd joined 

 in the laugh at General Weaver's expense, and no more 



