Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-09-27
nl.y reesIved lhe word q tho haples.

It happens that Washington sent
COrnwallis' flag to the continental
congress when it sat at Annapolis, and
then good Annapolis kept the banner
with that captured at Trenton from
the Hessians and that borne aloft by
Count Rochambeau on his flagship
at Yorktown. It Is very strange, when
Maryland was a quasi rebel state, held
In subsection and quietude with no
little difficulty by Gov. Hicks in
1901 II is very strange that these
tanners were not taken 70 Washington
during the interstate war. Ben But
Ter was in command in Maryland
for brief period, and since
honest Ben knows everything
and stole everything even thk,fo
clothes of the Democracy, IL Is strange
that Annapolis was suffered TO retain
archives and relics 70 valuable as these
paintings and these old flags. And
then the flags belong of right TO the
| United States and not to Maryland.
The paintings, the most valuable his
torical works in America are the prop
erty of the state aud carefully guarded
day and night. The janitor of the
capitol tells the history of each picture,
using precisely the same words and
employing the same earnest, patriotic
huuhtI eNeiy uOult every uhy, Wueu
addressing each visitor OF the old hall
In which the old congress sat.
Perhaps the good janitor loves
and admires Lord Baltimore
even more than he does George Wash
ington or Charles Carroll of Carroll
ton. He dwClls at great length-does
this janitOr-upon the history and vir-
tues and coat of arms of Lord Balti-
more, who was bold land grabber, in
these parts, of the Jim Blaine sort,
some two hundred years ago. The
lord, too, had fancy for pretty
women, as well as for tobacco and
wheat fields, and confessiug the fact in
the Latin legend on his escutcheon,
the jenitor dotes on the in
scription and expounds 1t most unc.
tiously when a goOd-looking dame
wauders i'm to listen to the tlme-worn
story. The janitor is q gay and bald
headed widower.
THE CIRCUS.
A circus, Cincinnati affair, came
Into Annapolis and the little town of
three or four thousand people was filed
with country people and with negroes.
The streets were blackened by them
and they were sober and well-dressed
and conducted themselves most quietly
and decently. There was nowhere
visible drunken negro or white man,
but many were plainly, even rudely,
clad. / was amazed that perfect order
reigned over such mixed throng.
Elsewhere / had seen nothing like IL.
1t was Saturday, the Negroes festal
day, rs Sunday is his day of godliness.
THE SECRET.
] went upon the streets and mixed
with thrOngs OF mixed whites and
blacks. had not thought or heard Of
II before but when / asked country
pumpkin if the people of Marylandis
capital were always thus staid and
quiet and reserved and silent, on oGcl-
stons like this, he answered:
'See here stranger hain't you found
out yit what's the matter? Why, sir,
we've had local option here nigh onter
about two year, or II mout be more or
less nd nobody has smiled since.
Threain't nary a doggery in this coun-
ty aid / believe the people. except
theI dam lawyers aud courthouse
aud cSlaboose fellows is glad of It, !
We've got all the money now tb6t the
lawyers and the courts and perlice and i
call..yyboose and iail useter have and the !
lawyers and the criminal court Is fee |
tolefly busted. The old sos.kers still |
keeps Ticker and glts drunk, but there |
amt any new crop. the boys about |
town are growin' up sober. They
amt trapped by pritty picters and
marble counters and gilded bar.rOoms
and big shiny looking-glasses. / keeps
little Of the critter a'home and me
and the old woman takes nip some
times, but the stuff Is going
out of use and in few years
nobody will know in Annapolis
| that there ever was Jail or poor
house or calaboose or whisky shop
A GRAY HAIRED NEGRO,
| having fine face and very well
dressed was going by; my interlocuter
addressed him az "Mr. Tom TOole.n
"Stop,n he went on to say, land tell
this stranger about the local-option
law
"Thats easy enough said the col
ored man. Local option Is making a
big speech here to-day. There are ten
thousand people In town and the only
drunken men are United States sailors
Just discharged this morning for six
months. The government furnished
the whisky. AS a colOred man i love
my race and / am prouder Of these
negroes to-day than ever before. They
are not throwing away their money
now. Iney uon'b gamble OF drink.
They are industrious and TAX
ing care of what they make.
They don't get into the calaboos-, and
see how cleanly and well clad they are.
Local option has done more for these
+ poor colored people than emancipa-
tion. In fact, whisky by all odds,
though we didn't know 1t, is the worst
master we ever had. The lawyers
, and cunning WI isky-dealers told us
, that the white people in depriving us
. of whisky were robbing us OF our free
. dom; but we find we were never free
: TIL whisky was utterly abolished,
Some of the lawyers talk about repeal
1 ing the local.option law. II can't be
, done. More than half the white peo-
. Pile approve the law, and every respect
T able colored man in Maryland thanks
/ God for 1t. II is the salvation of our
| Ia, 81 l.aH 10