American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-12-21

it or we can't carry it on. There's you
city lots goin TO double in value. if thi
r bill goes through. What per cent vii
," you pay on the advance? That's til,
r question. Put your hands in your peck
n cts and pull 'em out full. and put bacl
Is ten times as much. it's a sure invest
IS ment: warranted to yield "A hundred pei
IL cent; the safest and biggest thing ago
u ing
e Capitalists and landowners a ID mer
Y chants hearkened and believed and sub
g Scribcd. The slyest old hunks in Fast
II buI g put 4 taltering foreiinger into his
II long pockct-book. touched greenbach
e which had been laid away there as neatly
as a corpse in its coffin. and resurrected il
X for the Use of Mr.. Pullwool. BY tens by
a twenties. by tiities. and by hundreds the
Y dollars of the ambitious citize of the
: little metropolis We're charmed into the
], portc-monnaie of this rattiesnake OF Il lob
e byiSt.
Il never saw greener set,' chuckled
PullwOOl. BY Jimmy, | believe they'd
shell out for a bill to make their town Il sea-
: port-if it was hundred miles from a drop
r of wateI.''
1.-The corporation must pony up" he
insisted with the mayor. ''This bill is
Just shaking III the wind for lack of money
Fastburg must come down with the dust.
You ought to sec to it. What are you
chief magistrates for? Amt it to tend to
the welfare of the city? Look here. now;
you call the common council together ::
secret session. You understand. You call
'em together and let me talk to EN-
The mayor hummed and hawed one
way. and then he hawed and hummed
the other ay. and the result was that he
granted the request. There was "A secret
session in the council-room with his
honor at the head of the long. green table.
with row of more or less respectable
iunctionaries on either sid. OF it. and
with Mr.. Pullwool and the Devil at the
bottom.
Mr.. Pullwool spoke at length. and
to Fastburg ears eloquently. rastburg
must be the sole capital; it had every
claim, histori al, geographical. and
commercial. to that distinction; it
ought, could, would, and should be the
sole capital; that was about the substance
of his eXordium.
''But, gentlemen, it will cost" he went
on. There is an inscriptions and furi
Gus opposition to the measure. The other
side-those fellows from Slowburg and
vicinity-are putting their hands into
their breeches-pockets. You must put
your hanGs into yours. The thing will
be worth millions to Fastburg. But it
will cost thousands. Are You ready to
What's the fgure?" asked one of
the councilmen. ''What do you esti-
mate ~
Gentlemen. | shall astonish some OF
you," answered Mr.. Pullwooi, cunningly.
Il estimate.'' he continued, that the
CITY treasury will have to nut up a Good
round sum. say a hundred thousand dol
lars, be it more or less
A murmur of surprise of cbaurin. and
of something like indignation ran along
the line OF official mustaches. Nom
sense. The dickens, Can't be DONE
- We can't Il pix of it, broke out several
councilmen, m a distinctly unparliament-
arv manner.
:. Gentlemen. one moment pleaded
PulIwool. passing his greasy smile around |
the company. az though il were some
kind of refreshment. ..Tcok at the whole |
iob. it's a bio iob- We ,nust have law
vers we must have newspapers in all |
parts Of the State: we must have writers |
to work up the historical claims of the |
city; we must have fellows to buttunholc
honorable members we must have fees
for honorable members themselves. How
can you do it for less ~
Then he showed a schedule; so much
to this wire-puller and that and the other !;
so much apiece to so any able editors so
much for eminent legal counsel; finally. !
Il trifie for himself. And one hundred |
thousand dollars or thereabOuts was what
the schedule footed up, turn it whichever
way you would.
OF course, this common council of Fast
burg did not dare to vote such sum for
such purpose. Mr.. Pullwool had not
expected that it would; all that he had
hoped for was the halt OF it but that
half he got.
-. Did they do it - breathlessly inquired
Tom Dicker of him, when he returned to
the hotel.
..They done it, calmly, vet triumph
antly. responded Mr.. Pullwool.
Thunder!'' exclaimed the amazed
Dicker. ''You are the mos extraorlina-
ry man! You must have the very Devil |
in you,''
Instead of being startled by this alarm
ing superstition, Mr.. Pullwool looked
gratified. People thus possessed general
ly do look gratiiied when the possession
is alluded to.
But the inspired lobbyist did not pass
his time i'm wearing an aspect OF satistac-
ton. When there was money TO oct and
to spend he could run his fat off almost
as fast as if he were pouring it into cam
dlc-molds. The ring-the famous CAPT.
tal ring of Fastburp-must be seen TO. its
fingers must he creased and it's enerpv
0uickened. BEFORE he rolled his annie
dumping of a figure into bed thai nidht.
he had interviewed Smith and Brown the
editors, Jones and Robinson the lawyers,
Smooth and Slow the literary characters,
various lobbyists and various lawgivers.
Work, gentlemen, and capitalize Fast
burg and get your dividends was his in
spring message to one and all. He prom
iseu smith and Brown ten dollars TOR
every editorial, and five dollars for every
numDugglnS telegram, and two dollars
Tor every telling item. Jones and Robin
son were to have five hu dred dollars
apiece tor concurrent legal statement of