Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-07-20
THAT GARfIELD POLE.


THAT GARFIELD POLE
Chopped and Sawed and Mutii.,ed.
It Goes Up After Lying for Sixty Hours IN
the Gutter.
The magnificent Garfield pole in front
of Ziegler's hotel East King street, which
the New Era ventured to predict would be
up in half an hour, was finally got into
position last evening between 6 and Z
o'clock, after lying in gutter for sixty
hours.
As was stated in yesterdays INTELLI-
GENCER, after the most frantic and long
continued efforts on Part Of the managers
to put the pole up on Saturday, the job was
at last abandoned at 3 o'clock on Sunday
morning, at which hour the awkwardly
spllced stick broke in two. And there it
lay all day Sunday, the laughing stock of
the Democratic boys, the shame of the
RAIDS and an eye-sore to the community at
large. 1t was regarded by the hundreds of
people who went to see it, with much the
same interest that would be bestowed on a
dead sea-serpent, or other defunct mon
ster, and few curiOsity-hu plucked
from its bushy top withered leaf or two
to preserve as mementoes of the great fiz-
zle.
On Monday morning an inquest was held
on its remains by the political doctors. It
was pronounced to be as dead as the bull
rushes round little Moses. Its shoulder
joint was fatally fractured, it's trunk was
cut in two and its bushy head was twisted
out of all proportion. It was resolved,
however, to dissect it, and set up its skel-
eton as an anatomical curiosity. So they
went to work and chopped about eleven
feet right out of the middle of it. The
defective shoulder,joint was entirely re-
moved, and the opposing Bull Ring and
Hog Ring ends Of the log were tapered
down So as to make them fit. Ed Edgerley
was directed to make a new set Of heavy
clips or bands to hold the two fractions
of the pole together, and it was resolved
to cut off one Of the crooked, top-heavy
limbs that formed the crown Of the pole.
1t was late in the afternoon before all
these arrangements were completed and
the two pieces were securely spliced.
Meantime Alderman John Smith, who had
refused on Saturday to loan his derrick
and tackle to the drunken committee who
had been sent for it, was approached by a
sober committee, and to them he loaned
the apparatus. The derrick was put up a
short distance east of the pole, and when
all was in readiness the "boys"-many
of whom were colored-went to work with
a will, and before o'clock in the evening
had lifted the pole into place. The ropes
broke only once, and the only other acci-
dent that happened was the killing of a
dog by the falling of one of the long props
used to support the pole. This prop, which
was probably forty feet long, fell within a
few inches of little boys head, and came
very near crushing him to death.
The boys cheered when the pole went up,
but their cheers were of a half-hearted
sickly kind, and when they took look at
the stick. they were by no means pleased
with it. The butt is too heavy for the
splice the splice is crooked, and the top
of it, instead of standing erect, leans away
off towards the north. As a whole, the
boys find it impossible to enthuse over the
job. and if they had to do it again they
wouldn't do it at all.
One Of the amusing features of the long
drawn-out-pole raising was "Grizzly -
Bair's prophecy. He said, Gentlemen,
just as easy as that pole goes up, so easily
will Garfield beat Hancock" Grizzly has
found out that the RAIDS have bigger job
on hand than he imagined.
The thinnest OF their excuses for their
failure to erect the pole on Saturday, and
the meanest of mean insinuations, are
those contained in the New Era and En-.
aminer, that the ropes were cut by Demo
Gratis. The Era says that two OF three
gentlemen "saw razor glisten just be-
fore the rope snapped" Doesn't the Era
know that the Democrats don't carry
razors Concealed deadly weapons Of this
character are only carried by black Repub-
licans.
Kennedy killian, who climbed the pole,
after it's erection, to take off the ropes and
nail on the boards bearing the names of the
candidates, distinguished himself by his
daring, if we do not say recklessness. With
the aid of a pair oftelegraph spurs he went
up the pole like cat, and when at a great
height, while mailing on the board his
spurs slipped from their hold in the wood
and he was left dangling there, clinging to
the pole with one arm only. 1t was feared by
those who were looking on that he would
fall, but with great presence of mind he
"rightcd himself, finished his work, and
drank a bottle of beer that WAS sent up to
him on rope.
Gap ltoms.
On Thursday night last some daring
robbers entered the cellar of Mr.. H. Fox
and carried off a kcg of mackerel, leaving
only two small fishes lying on the lum-
Der close by the house. They escaped
without anyone hearing them. Thence
they proceeded to Mr.. Fl. NJ. Sweigart's s
restaurant and forced their way in and
helped themselves to candies, tobacco and
cigars, taking with them for some distance