Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1884-03-11
Peck's Bad Boy And His Pa.


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i "Gct out of here now, pretty lively
sail the groccrjman to the bad boz,
as he came in rubbing his hands and
trying to be pleasant. "a boy tha;
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 groccryman
picked up a link Of sausage and
looked mad.
80, 60 hate YOURSELF" said the boy
as he drew knife and cut slice off
the groceryman's weapon, and be-
gan eating it, as uncOncerncd as pos
sible. "When you want work done,
say so and will help you, but when
You say lets 90 and have some fun
sprouting potatoes or carrying in
coal, that is too thin. When you say
that, you are gay deceiver, and YOU
are guilty of false pretenses. But
quit lying and call it by its right
name, work, and you catch Hcnnery.
but not with funny chafl. 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 polt-
ics."
Good gracious" said the grocery
man in alarm, 81 am sorry for your
pa, If he has got his head set on 20.
ing into politics. | was in politics
one year myself and it has taken ME
hve 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 supervisor. They said | was
Just the man they wanted, man with
large head, one who was business
man, and would not kick at the en-
penditure ofa few dollars when he
could make a barrel of money. They
said If was on the board of supervi-
sors could be placed on a committee
that handled the funds, and could
make the purchases of groceries and
provisions for all the county institu-
tions, the poor-house, house of cor
rcction, insane ASYLUM, hospitals, and
everything, and | could buy them at
my own store at my own price, and
in two wears could be rich as any
man in town. Well, never had a
proposition strike me so favorablv,
and | went in head over appetite.
For a month i went around our ward
night and day, spending money, and
the politicians came to the store and
traded when | was out, and had il
charged, and when the caucus was
held | only got one vote for supervi-
sor and | voted that myself. Well, |
the politicians tried to explain to me,
but | bought revolver, and they
kept away. Do you know, the next |
day after the caucus Ididn't have
twenty dollars worth Of groceries in
the store, and the clerk was diving of
loncsomcness2 Whatever your pa
does, don't let him 90 into politics,
for he will bring up in an inebriate
asylum, sure.
"Well, pa has got il bad, but he is
too numerous. He has been yearn-
ing for two years for a political cam
paign to open. | don't suppose there
is citizen who enjoys politics as
much as pa. lie stays out at 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 full that he can't
drink he takes cigar and brings it
home. His guests have been smok-
ing up old election cigars ever since
the Hancock campaign, and some of
them are awful. But this time they
are going to run pa for alderman, !
and he has opened the campaign with
a cOrk-screw. Pa thinks that the po-
sition of aldermen is greater than
governor, because alderman wear a
badge, and have influence. But pa
is overriding the thing. lie wants to
please everybody, and he has prom
iScd to put ninety-seven men on the
police force, has promised forty-four
men the position of bridge tender
and there is only one bridge in his
ward, lie promises the saloon keep
crs to reduce the price oflicenses, and
allow them to keep open all night,
and he has promised the prohibition
temperance people to raise saloon Ii
censes to thousand dollars and close
every saloon in town. The result is
going to be if pa is not elected he
will kill himself aud if he IL elected
the people will kill him, so somebody
has got to save pa
"You can't do it as long as the fe-
yer is on" said the groccryman.
"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
a campaign, nothing will stop him.
| have seen politician who was full
of enthusiasm and beer, fall into the
river and drown, and the police pull
ed him out and then rolled him on a
barrel, and pretty soon he came to
and the first thing he said was Rah