Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1884-03-13
Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa.
THE BOY HAS GOT A JOB KEEPING HIS
PA OUT OF POLITICS.

as he came in rubbing his hands and
trying to be pleasant. "A boy that
will loaf around here and eat things,
and kick when / ask him to help me
sort over potatoes, can't stay in my
store. Git !" and the groceryman
picked up link of sausage and look,
ed mad.
20, 60 hate yourself" said the boy
as he drew a knife and cut slice of
the groceryman's weapon, and began
eating it, as unconcerned as possible.
"When you want work done, say so
and / will hel lp you, but when you say
let's go and have some fun sprouting
potatoes or carrying in coal, that is
too thin. When you say that, you are
gay deceiver, aud you are guilty Of
false pretenses. But quit lying and
call it by its right name, work. and
you catch Hennery, but not with fun
ny chaff. But | have got all the work
/ want on my hands now. | have
been appointed pas guardian, by ma,
and | am straining every nerve to
keep pa out of politics"
Good gracious" said the grocery
man in alarm, IL am sorry for your
pa. if he has got his head set on going
into politics. | was in politics one
year myself, and it has taken me five
years to get out and pay my debts,
and now every ward politician owes
me for groceries. You see they came
TO me and wanted me to run for super
visor. They said was just the man
they wanted, a man with a large head,
one who was business man, and who
would not kick at the expenditure of
a few dollars when he could make
barrel of money. They said If | was
on the board of supervisors | could be
placed on a committee that handled
the funds, and | could make the pur.
chases of groceries and provisions for
all the county institutions, the poor
house, house of correction, insane
asylum. hospitals, and everything, and
l could buy them at my own store at
my own price, and in two years | could
be rich as any man in town. Well, |
never had proposition strike me so
favorably, and | went in head over
appetite For n month went around
our ward night and day, spending
money, and the politicians came to the
store and traded when | was out, and
had it charged, and when the caucus
was held | only got one vote for super.
visor, and | voted that myself. Well,
the politicians tried to explain to me,
but | bought n revolver, and they kept
away. Do you know, the next day
after the caucus | didn't have twenty
dollars worth of groceries 10 the store,
and the clerk was dying of lonesome.
ness Whatever your pa does. dout
let him 90 into politics, for he will
bring upi in an inebriate asylum, sure"
"Well, pa has got it bad, but he Is
100 numerous. He has bsen yearning
for two years for political campaign
TO open. / don't suppose there is a
citizen who enjoys politics as much as
pa. He stays out nights till the last
place is closed, and is the first man on
deck in the morning. He has drank
with more candidates, more different
times. than anybody, and when he is
so foil that he can't drink he takes n
cigar, and brings it home His guests
have been smoking up old election
cigars ever since the Hancock cam.
paign, and some of them are awful.
But this time they are going to run pa
for alderman. aud be has opened the
campaign with a cork-screw. Pa
thinks that the position of alderman is
greater than governor, because alder
men wear a badge, and have influence.
But pa is overriding the thing He
wants to please everybody, and he has
promised to put ninety-seven men on
the police force, has promised forty
four men the position Of bridgetender,
and there is only one bridge in his
ward. He promises the saloon keep
ers to reduce the price of licenses, and
allow them to keep open all night, and
he has promised the prohibition tenn
perance people to raise saloon licenses
10 thousand dollars and close every
SAIDou vi bONu. Inc tCsulb u Ruiuk
to be If pa is not elected he will kill
himself, and if he is elected the people
will kill him, so somebody has got to
save pa"
You can't do il as long as the
fever is on" said the groceryman.
You have got to watch him, and
when he meets with defeat or reverses
in politics, then fire some sense into
him. But as long as he Is red hot in
campaign, nothing will stop him.
l have seen a politician who vas full
Of enthusiasm aud beer. fall into the
river and drown, and the police pulled
him out and then rolled him on a bar
rel, and pretty soon he came to and
the frat thing he said was 'Rah for
Tilden. Set 'em up again. You
would have thought that man would
quit politics, and try aud lead differ.
ent life, but the next day he was going