Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-19

wrong. It was next door to intemperanoe
and it must be stopped. As the minister
of the Palmersville Episcopal Mount Mori-
ah church he felt it his duty to bear wit
ness against excess in chickens, end he
should do it no matter how much it might
cost him.
So highly was this sermon thought of by
the white residents of Palmersville that
several leading citizens called on the Rev.
Mr.. Marcellus to thank him-although they
could not perceive that the sermon had
practically strengthened their right of
property in chickens. It was then that
Mr.. Marcellus proposed plan of COM
promise between the natural longings of
the colored appetite for chickens and the
desire of the white people to keep their
chicken houses intact. He proposed that
each chicken owner should make a month
ly contribution of per cent. of his chick
ems to the pastor of the Palmersville Bap-
fist Episcopal Mount Moriah church.
These chickens were to be used by Mr..
Marcellus in allaying the thirst of his con-
gregation for illicit chickens, and he un-
dertook to promise that so long as this vol
untary contribution should be made, chick
On stealing should be absolutely stopped.
AhAo Ay Oh 10 d IL,
gin'leman," remarked Mr. Marcellus. ssNo
man amt obliged for to give it, but if he
don't, them chickens of his'n will be pretty
shuah to disappear like the dews upon
Herod.''
The leading citizens thought over the
matter and were greatly pleased with Mr..
Marcellus' plan of compromise. They
discussed the matter with other leading
citizens, who, without exception, said that
1t was better to compromise than to lose
all one chickens. At the same time, and
with curious Inconsistency, all the leading
citizens denounced Mr.. Marcellus as cum
ming and unprincipled blackmailer. They
said that if he had influence enough with
his people to put stop to chicken-steal-
ing he ought to do so; that he had no right
to collect per cent. of everybody's chick
ems under the threat that if the chickens
were not delivered to him their owners
would lose their entire chicken property
that no one could tell to what extent
Marcellus would appropriate to his OWL
use the chickens collected by him, and that
to call such a collection a voluntary con-
tribution was piece of unmitigated hypoc.
risy.
Nevertheless the chicken compromise
war adopted almost unanimously. There
wese but two leading citizens who refused
to make voluntary contribution to Mr.
Marcellus, preferring to buy new locks fol-
their chicken-houses. A few nights later
every solitary chicken belonging to the
two leading citizens disappeared, and
though Mr.. Marcellus said that he was very
sorry for it, the fact that an unusual guam
tity of chicken feathers simultaneously ap-
peared in his back yard was commented
upon openly and coarsely. The losers of
the chickens did not, however, submit
quietly to their loss. They caused the ar
rest of the Rev. Pompey Marcellus on the
charge of levying blackmail, and though
the reverend gentleman stoutly maintained
that he had done nothing except to collect
voluntary contributions, he was found
guilty and sent to the penitentiary.
Thus the first really earnest effort to
regulate chicken stealing in the south has
proved failure. 1t is to be hoped that
another and better plan will be devised,
and that when Mr.. Marcellus returns to his
field of labor he will vindicate the purity
of his intentions by fearlessly advocating
chicken reform.-Ne,U York Times,