'Absolutely. I don't have the date, yet, but I believe that Prince Henry will be in our fair city in about three weeks.'
Armbruster leaned forward intently. 'Mayor, the fact is, I would like to meet Prince Henry.'
'I'm sure that can be arranged.'
'I don't mean merely a handshake. I would like to have a relaxed talk with him. Will he be very busy?'
The mayor thought about it. 'Well, Prince Henry's visit is still in the planning stage. We hope to have him place a wreath on the Abraham Lincoln Monument. Then we plan to escort him on a quick visit through the city. About this talk you want with Prince Henry – is it important?'
'To me it is, yes, very important,' Armbruster said urgently. 'I want to request that the prince assist me in becoming
ambassador to Germany.' Armbruster checked himself briefly. 'Let me confide in you, Mayor Harrison. I have at this stage in my life almost everything a man could wish. A prosperous business. A beautiful mansion for a home. A devoted family and good friends. I have as much wealth as I could ever want. I have everything that Armour, Swift, Marshall Field, and my peers have, except one thing – social status. My peers have it. I don't. For the benefit of my wife, my children, myself, I would like to have social status too. Becoming ambassador to Germany would give me exactly that.'
Mayor Harrison was confused. 'But aren't ambassadors appointed by – well, wouldn't that come from our secretary of state or President Roosevelt?'
'Of course, Mayor. But they could be influenced. If I had an opportunity to ingratiate myself with Prince Henry, he could pass my name on to the kaiser, and the kaiser in turn could suggest to President Roosevelt that he would like me appointed ambassador. I'm sure that would do it. I may not have diplomatic background, but I am German and speak German perfectly. I'd be a logical choice.'
'I'm sure you would be,' said Harrison. 'The problem is arranging time for you to speak privately with Prince Henry. He's going to have a tight schedule.'
'What are you planning for his evening here?'
'Why, a formal banquet, of course. I haven't worked it out yet, but -'
'That's it!' Armbruster exclaimed. 'Let me host the banquet with you. By happy coincidence, I'm preparing a big banquet of my own. My son Alan is engaged to a lovely Southern belle from Kentucky – Cathleen Lester, the niece of two socialites in Chicago. They will be married at my home about the time of Prince Henry's arrival. I should like to have Prince Henry attend the wedding and the banquet and ball to follow. At such a sentimental event he should be most responsive. I can draw him aside and bring up the ambassadorship. How does that strike you, Mayor?'
Mayor Harrison stood up, smiling broadly. 'I like it very much. It takes a great burden off my shoulders. I'm sure it can all be arranged, subject only to Prince Henry's approval. How's that?'
'Capital! Splendid!'
Shortly after lunch, Mayor Harrison summoned his immediate staff to a crucial meeting in his office.
Harrison lay back in the tall chair behind his desk, faced by a semi-circle of aides. The only woman in the room was the attractive young secretary, Karen Grant, whom he had hired several months before the election.
'It's about my major campaign promise,' Harrison began. 'I made many secondary promises to the public, and they will eventually be fulfilled. But my primary promise to the electorate, as you all know, was to introduce sweeping moral reforms in this city. All houses of ill repute in the Levee must be eliminated. Of these houses I focused on one in particular. I refer to the Everleigh Club. I am determined that the Everleigh Club must be my first target. The Everleigh Club is the one brothel known throughout the United States and Europe. I want to go after it immediately, shut it down, and prove to the voters that I meant what I said in my campaign. There is one problem.'
Harrison halted, opened his humidor, and extracted a cigar. He clipped one end, put the cigar in his mouth, and waited as one of his aides jumped forward to light it.
'Thank you, Evans,' the mayor said. He addressed the entire group once more. 'I have been informed that the Everleigh Club had been a full-fledged brothel, yet now the Everleigh sisters claim it is no longer a brothel. This information was conveyed to me early this morning. Miss Grant was in this office with me when the two aldermen from the First Ward so informed me.' Harrison turned to his secretary. 'Miss Grant, you have your notes at hand?'
'I do, Mayor.'
Karen Grant placed her note pad on the edge of the desk, picked a folder off the floor, and pulled out a sheet of paper.
'Read aloud what transpired,' Harrison instructed her.
Karen bent her head over the paper. 'Mayor Harrison met with Alderman John Coughlin and Alderman Michael Kenna, who stated that while they were supporters of the mayor, they were also long-time friends of Minna and Aida Ever-leigh. "We must tell you, Mayor," Alderman Coughlin said, "that the Everleigh Club has mended its ways. It has given up prostitution. This was a direct result of your reform campaign. The Club has converted itself into a fancy restaurant -nothing else." The mayor said, "I happen to know there are thirty women in the Club. What are they doing there?" Alderman Coughlin replied, "They are not prostitutes. They may have been at one time, but they are not prostitutes today. They are simply performers, dancers, singers, actresses, putting on a nightly floor show for restaurant diners." Alderman Coughlin stated that the Everleighs reap their profits from their expensive restaurant, with its floor show and two orchestras. "Since it is a legitimate restaurant, there would be no cause to shut it down," Coughlin said. "Alderman Kenna and I advise you to abandon the effort." The mayor thanked his aldermen and dismissed them.'
Harrison puffed on his cigar, then turned his attention to his aides.
'Gentlemen,' Harrison resumed, 'I have thought about this information and I believe it to be false. I do not believe the Everleigh Club is merely a restaurant. I believe it continues to be a house of prostitution – the biggest, the richest, the most important one in our city – and I have every intention of proving that I am right and of shutting the brothel down. The one problem I am faced with is obtaining proof. How do I prove the Everleigh Club remains a house of ill repute? I must have real proof before I can lock its doors for ever and show the voting public that Mayor Carter H. Harrison keeps his campaign promises. That is why I have assembled all of you here – to solicit your suggestions about how I can obtain the necessary proof.'
Mayor Harrison's eyes moved around the room.
'Any suggestions, gentlemen?'
Jim Evans held up his hand. 'Why not question the girls? Even offer them a little something? Surely one of them might talk.'
Harrison shook his head. 'Useless. None of them will speak against the Everleighs. They're paid five or ten times what other prostitutes get. They won't risk losing their income.'
'What about the servants?' asked Jim Evans.
Again, the mayor shook his head. 'They're well paid also.'
'Why don't we question some of the regular customers?' someone wondered aloud.
'Negative,' Harrison replied. 'A sure strike-out. Customers enjoy the Everleigh Club. They want it to remain open. Even if one wanted to talk, he couldn't afford to be a witness in front of the police. He'd be worried about his wife or sweetheart or family finding out he frequented a brothel. No chance. Forget it.'