On this occasion Jem Chip was supported by another member of the club, William T.Forbes, the manager of a large factory where they made glucose by treating rags with sulphuric acid.

A man of good standing was this William T.Forbes, the father of two charming girls--Miss Dorothy, called Doll, and Miss Martha, called Mat, who gave the tone to the best society in Philadelphia.
It followed, then, on the proposition of Jem Chip, supported by William T.Forbes and others, that it was decided to elect the president "on the center point." This mode of election can be applied in all cases when it is desired to elect the most worthy; and a number of Americans of high intelligence are already thinking of employing it in the nomination of the President of the Republic of the United States.
On two boards of perfect whiteness a black line is traced.

The length of each of these lines is mathematically the same, for they have been determined with as much accuracy as the base of the first triangle in a trigonometrical survey.

That done, the two boards were erected on the same day in the center of the conference room, and the two candidates, each armed with a fine needle, marched towards the board that had fallen to his lot.

The man who planted his needle nearest the center of the line would be proclaimed President of the Weldon Institute.
The operation must be done at once--no guide marks or trial shots allowed; nothing but sureness of eye.