"So, you have the funding, but if people find out it comes from you..." Jonah smirked and shook his head. "Yet another reason of nay-sayers to fight the project, sadly. Regardless of how you came by the funds, they will insist that the money is tainted."
Unless there was a way to hide the source, but he wasn't sure how that could be accomplished, he didn't think folks would buy into 'anonymous donor', especially for such a large sum.
“We are not fund raising. I didn’t ask for one red cent from the people of Kalispell, Jonah.” She responded quietly. “I have a list of backers, willing to state where the funds came from for construction. We are simply asking for land and nothing more. There is nothing to hide from the people.”
She giggled, rather un-Leah-like. “You under estimate me, Jonah. If it were fund raising, asking people for money, asking the Council for money, I can surely see your point. That being said, we have the backers to buy what land we need. The territory wants this hospital, and the want the orphanage. So what I fear is the attitude of the Town Council about the land, if they want to bully us, to take credit, which I really could care less about. That's fine, so long as we get the land in the end."
“Your trip to the Capitol then was well worth the time.” Josiah pointed out, then added, “I too have underestimated you. But I’m in good company, besides Jonah, seems you may have outfoxed this whole town.”
"We'll see about that." She answered.
Jonah chuckled and nodded. "Well, then, we'll just have to secure the land, one way or another, and get this done." He really had no doubt that she could accomplish that, however the means.
"So, do you have a timeline for all this?" It seemed they'd been discussing this for some time, and she certainly had been planning long before she had started talking to him about it. And now that Spring was here, time for building was on them, if they were to take advantage of the weather.
She looked to each of them in turn. “Gentlemen, I know who I am, I know what the town thinks of the name Steelgrave. I have no problem with that, either their mistrust or dislike of me due to my parentage.” She began, “All we await is the Town Council meeting and what it is that they want to do in this matter. And yes, I am not being forthright with them about the funding I have available, or that I have men waiting to come here to build it. I will also put every man, or boy of age to help to work on this project.”
Josiah Boone smiled. “Think of the money that the project will inject into this town. To every business along main street during the construction phase. There will be a surge everywhere, thank the Lord Harry we’re not having to pay taxes as the states do.” He leaned forward, “Somehow we must not raise prices to the point no one can afford to live here, or eat at the Lickskillet, let alone this place.”
"Good heavens! We can't let the Lickskillet go out of business!" Jonah laughed. "Mrs. Blakesley makes the best bread...and her pies..!" He laughed again.
"And yes, the town will benefit from construction, but there will also be an economic benefit from the hospital itself...jobs, to start, and supplies will be ordered and have to be delivered...food made, accommodations for families..." If they laid things out in the right way, it would be difficult for anyone to argue against the project, if not all-out political suicide.
"Do you trust that reporter?" he asked Leah, "McPhee or whatever? He'd be a great asset if he were to write positive articles about the endeavor.
"Good heavens! We can't let the Lickskillet go out of business!" Jonah laughed. "Mrs. Blakesley makes the best bread...and her pies..!" He laughed again.
It seemed to have taken a light-hearted turn, but then Leah had been thinking it cannot be all drama and desperation. "Certainly not! I simple love her baked goods, and what’s more, I believe I need to spend more time in her establishment. It is one of the bedrock businesses in town."
"And yes, the town will benefit from construction, but there will also be an economic benefit from the hospital itself...jobs, to start, and supplies will be ordered and have to be delivered...food made, accommodations for families..." If they laid things out in the right way, it would be difficult for anyone to argue against the project, if not all-out political suicide.
To this Leah smiled knowingly, but political suicide was not what any of the Coundil members had in mind. Making life difficult for them, now that may well be their plan of action going forward. Just so they can wrestle the credit taking from the three. They were so foolish.
“You can bet your last nickle they intend to make it anything but easy for us.” Josiah stated flatly. “But the eventual good that will come from our endeavors, and yes, we may well be facing an uphill battle, yet one must realize, they can only make it so difficult for so long before they suffer the consequences.”
"Do you trust that reporter?" he asked Leah, "McPhee or whatever? He'd be a great asset if he were to write positive articles about the endeavor.
“McVay? I do. He is on our side. He realizes his importance in our struggle.” Leah assured them.
"Well, then, we can use that to our advantage...if he will work with us, we certainly have the means to put out the argument to the community. " Then the truth would be out there, and it would make objections all the more, well, objectionable. "And I'm certain he will know how to go about that, if he has any sort of experience."
After all, wasn't that what reporters did? Showed the pros and cons of an issue, put out the facts, and in their case the facts should undoubtedly support their position.
He chuckled and shook his head. "Of course, there are those who will claim you are swaying his opinion if you go to him. There's a reason I will never go into politics."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Of course, there are those who will claim you are swaying his opinion if you go to him. There's a reason I will never go into politics."
It did give her pause, to go to McVay with a request for an interview might have an adverse reaction. Most did not use the newspaper for such things as gaining an edge. But McVay’s feelings about most everything was clear in his writings.
“I hesitate to use the newspaper like that, but I can talk with him. He may also may well have his own opinion on what we are attempting, on the city fathers, as it were, and me in general. Phinias is on our side, of that I am sure, and when we need him I believe he will come through for us.” She smiled, “Without our nudging him.”
“A true shame about the Ladies Society meeting That could have been a real boon to the project.” Josiah added, “Whoever spiked that punch ought to be hung! I mean, really, here was the first truly serious presentation to that group and someone saw fit to turn it into a free for all.”
“Yes, it was most unfortunate. Yet I believe that our message got through to a good number of the women.” Leah agreed.
"Well, hopefully the ladies got the gist of the conversation before things...deteriorated." He wasn't sure exactly how much of the meeting had been conducted, but he hoped it had been enough, and that the ladies' husbands would take the news well. After all, it wasn't, for the most part, the ladies who would be making the final decisions so much as their husbands. Of course, the men would do what was necessary to please their wives, so essentially it was the ladies calling the shots in a distorted way.
Jonah chuckled. "At least the gents won't complain too much about the disturbance, lest they sound too much like the Temperance Society!" How could they harp on the ills of drink, when what had happened was inadvertent, and most of them enjoyed an evening at the local saloon?
“Deteriorated, what a lovely way of putting it.” Leah chided. “Seriously, yes, I hope they did get the gist of what was trying to be said. But whatever the result, we will push forward.”
“I would say that any talk of a Temperance Society just might be a failure of monumental proportions. I saw McVay present and jotting notes like a mad man. The next edition may well give any such talk of temperance in this town a rude reminder of the ladies behavior.” Josiah commented, fishing out his watch.
“And yes, we will push forward, speaking of which I’ve a patent coming in shortly, so I’ll be on my way.” He slid back his chair as he spoke, and got to his feet. Smiled, tipped his hat and stepped toward the door.
Leah looked at Jonah with a smile. It had been a trying afternoon to say the least, but she had made the presentation, such as it was. "Shall we? I believe we've done all we can here." The she laughed.
"Doctor." Jonah nodded to Boone, then stood and moved around to hold Leah's chair for her. "One more thing down, I suppose," he commented, chuckling as he shook his head. "They say that difficult circumstances make for good character, but I think you are an excellent character and could use a break from all the trouble and complications. However, that is out of my control."
He wished that he could just make this happen for her, especially since he didn't really understand the politics of it, but it would be nice for some more of the pieces to fall into place without all the fuss.
"Would you'd like to take a stroll before retiring? Perhaps look over the property in question?"