individuals and concerns who, for one reason and another--personal
friendship, good-nature, gratitude for past favors, and so on--would
take a percentage of the seven-percent. bonds through him. He totaled up
his possibilities, and discovered that in all likelihood, with a little
preliminary missionary work, he could dispose of one million dollars if
personal influence, through local political figures, could bring this
much of the loan his way.

One man in particular had grown strong in his estimation as having some
subtle political connection not visible on the surface, and this
was Edward Malia Butler. Butler was a contractor, undertaking the
construction of sewers, water-mains, foundations for buildings,
street-paving, and the like. In the early days, long before Cowperwood
had known him, he had been a garbage-contractor on his own account. The
city at that time had no extended street-cleaning service, particularly
in its outlying sections and some of the older, poorer regions. Edward
Butler, then a poor young Irishman, had begun by collecting and hauling
away the garbage free of charge, and feeding it to his pigs and cattle.
Later he discovered that some people were willing to pay a small charge
for this service. Then a local political character, a councilman friend
of his--they were both Catholics--saw a new point in the whole thing.
Butler could be made official garbage-collector. The council could
vote an annual appropriation for this service. Butler could employ more
wagons than he did now--dozens of them, scores. Not only that, but no
other garbage-collector would be allowed. There were others, but the
official contract awarded him would also, officially, be the end of
the life of any and every disturbing rival. A certain amount of the
profitable proceeds would have to be set aside to assuage the feelings
of those who were not contractors. Funds would have to be loaned at
election time to certain individuals and organizations--but no matter.