The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1870-09-15
POLITICAL EG9NoII.
BY MARX Tw4S


government. The wiseat men Of all ages
have brought to bear upon this subject
the
Here | was interrupted and informed
that stranger wished to see me down at
the door, [ went and confronted him, and
asked TO know his business, struggling all
the tine TO keep j tight rein on my sceth-
ing political economy IDEAS, and not let
them break away from me or get tangled
in their harness. And privately ] wished
the stranger was in the bottom OF the canal
with a cargo Of wheat On top OF him.
was all in fever, but he was cool He
said he was sorry to disturb ne, out as he
was passing he noticed that | needed some
lightning rods. I said, YES. yes-go on
what about it2' He said there vas
nothing about it, in Notwithstanding
except he would like to put them Cp fer
ne. | am new to housekeeping lave
been used to hotels and boarding houses
all my life. Like anybody e lse Of similar
experience, try to appear Ito strangersl
TO be al old housekeeper; consequently
said in an of hand way that had been IL
tending to have six or eight lightning rods
put ur, but---Ihe stranger looked IN
QuiriHgIy at me. but was serene. thought
that if ! CHANGED to make any mistake he
HOhltA ILAlClA tjC ny SOAiIsS utsiJOO.
He said he would rather have my custom
than any man. In town. L said all right,
and started Of to wrestlc with my great
subject again, when he called me back and
said it would be necessary to kn0T exactly
how many points | wanted put up, what
part of the house | wanted them on, and
what quality of rod [ preferred. 1t was
close quarters for a man not used to the
exigencics of housekeeping, bat L went
! through creditably, and he probably never
| suspected that | was a novice. | told him
| to put up eight ''poiuts' and use the best
quality of rods. He said he could furnish the
''plain" article, at 20 cents a foot; cop
| pered," 25 cents -, zinc plated, spiral~
twist, at 80 cents that would stop streak
| OF lightning any time, no matter where 1t
was bound, and ''render It's GRAND harm
less and its further progress apocryphal. "
| said apocryphal was no SLOUGH OF a word,
emanating from the source it did, but phil
| ology aside | liked the spiral twist and
would take that brand Then he said he
could mako two hundred and fifty fee:
answer, but to do it right, and make the
best job III town Of it, and attract the ad-
miration Of the just and the unjust alike,
and compel ali parties to sag that they
never saw more symmetrical and hypoth-
otical display Of lightning rods since they
were born, he supposed he really couidn't
| get along without four hundred, though he
was not viudictive and trusted we was will
ing to try. l said 60 ahead and use four
| hundred and make any kind Of q job he
| pleased out of it, bat let me get back to
my work. So got rid Of him at last and
my train Of political economy thoughts
coupled together again, | am ready to go
on once more richest treasures Of their
genius, their experience of life, and their
learning. The great lights Of commercial
jurisprudence, international conlraternity,
and biological deviation, Of all ages, al!
civilizations, from Lorastcr down to Horace
Greeley, have
Hero | was interrupted again and re-
quired 10 20 down and confer further with
that lightning-rod man. | hurried of,
boiling and surging pFodlgious thoughts
wombed in words of such majesty that each
one of them was in itself a struggling pro-
cession of syllables that might be fifteen
minutes passing given point, and once
moro | confronted him-he SO calm and
sweet, | SO hot and frenzied. He was
standing IN the Colossus of Rhodes, with
one foot on my infant tubcrose and the
other among pansies, his hands on his hips,
his hat-brim tilted forward, one eye shut
and the other gazing critically and admir-
lngly in the direction OF my principal chin
ney. He said now there was a state Of
things to make a man glad to be alive
am AIDED dug II nl6fyAu tltfonsly picturesque
than eight lightning rods on one chimney
L said | had no present recollection OF any
thing that transcribed it. lie said that In
his opinion nothing on this earth but
| Niagara Fails was superior to it in the way
Of natural scenery. All that was needed
now, he firmly believed, to make my house
a perfect balm to the aye, was TO kind of
touch up the other chimney a little and
thus add TO the generous com II aeH
soothing uniformity Of achievement which
would allay the excitement naturally conso-
quent upon the first coupd' ctat." | asked
him if be had learned to talk out Of a book.
and it L could borrow it anywhere. He
smiled pleasantly and said that his manner
OF speaking was not taught in books, aud
that nothing but familiarity with lis htning
could enable q man to handle his c0nver>
sational style with impunity He then
figured mp al estimate, and said about
eight more rods scattered about my roof
would about fix me right, end he guessed
FIVE hundred feet Of stuff would do it and
added that the frs. eight had got little
the start OF nun, so 10 speak, aud used UP
q mere trife Of material more than he had
calculated on-a hundred feet or along
there. | said | was in dreadful hurry,
and wished we could get this business
permanently mapped out SO that | could 90
on with my work. lie said Il could
have put up those rods, and marched off,
about my business-some men 1could have
doneit. But no, said to myself, this man
is a stranger to me and viii die before
| I'll wrong him; there amt lightning rods
enough on that house, and for one III
never stir out of my tracks till I've done
as would be done by, and told him so.
Stranger, my duty is accomplished if the
recalcltrant and dephologistic messenger Of
heaven strikes your" There now,
! there" | said, put on the other eight
add FIVE hundred feet OF spiral tWist-do
anything and everything you want to do;
but calm your sqferings and try to keep
your feelings where you can reach them
with the dictionary. Meanwhile, if We un~
derstand each other now, l will 60 to work
again" think l have been sitting here
a full hour, this time, trying to get back