The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-07-03
HENRY j. BIOSSAT, Business Manager

Il don't know nothin' about all them
things All knows is that our teacher ex-
planned to us last year, when | hadn't left
school yet, that twas the Declaration that
II ide this country such mighty good place
to live in. He said ii it hadn't been fol-
that we'd been all bOssed by the Britishers
to this day, an nobody would have got
along as well as they do now, an all our
rich folks that's maxim such piles of money
ON town lots, an villa plots an water pow
er, an such like, would have been Just a.
Twin from hand to mouth, an diggin' ia
ters for Twin, like my old daddy did fore
he come from Ireland"
'H-m,' muttered Swingleton II won
der if he didn't mean some thing person.
al?n
Il don't know what that is, SIR" said the
boy; but from the way he p'inted with
that long first finger of his l kinder guessed
he meant you-for one, any way"
Swingleton abruptly picked up his pencil
and resumed his figuring; Dennis thus re-
lieved from the responsibility of converse
ton, slowly sprawled on bench which
was part Of the Office furniture, rubbed his
orange-tinted head to stimulate his mem
DRY, and resmned
"Hurrah, for the mornin' of mornins come;
Unfurl ev'ry banner
What internal nonsense!" exclaimed
Swingleton. "As if there was any such
thing as banner in the United States out
side OF a Sunday school room"
Beg your pardon, sir" said the boy,
after springing to his feet in surprise. 'sbut
there's lots Of EN-. You'll see 'em if you
come to the green Oh tho Fourth. am
going to carry one myself in the percession;
it SEE on 1t Gods Own Country Dad made
that up all by hisself and painted it on the
banner that mother made out of part OF a
sheet An me sister Norah's got one
marked We've all got a chance Dad
made that up, too. An little Nils Prison,
] him that got the one-le gged shoemaker
Dane for father, has got one marked
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty ,
l don't know what that means, but you just
ort to see the onelegged shoemaker's eyes
shine when he looks t it you'd think he
was achin' to knock somebody down an
pound him with hammer
What Internal Anarchist got that up, I
wonder?" growled Swingleton.
The shoemaker made the banner hsself,
sir" the boy replied. but what's on it was
writ by George Washin'ton, the father of
his country
"Bosh!" exclaimed Swingleton Wash
ington was large owner of real estate''
VI beg your pardon, sir, but can show it
to you; it's in the Farewell Address in
the back of our histry book"
Hang your history book and the banners,
too" growled Swingleton, addressing him
self seriously to business. You 90 over to
1ruegate's right away, and tell him that if
he don't pay his interest and that overdue
installment on the principal this very
morning I'll fOreclose ON him. And when
You come back you sit outside the door if
you've got to rattle over that gibberish
about the morning of mornings and
'unfurl every banner"
Yes, SIR said the boy, timidly, and hur-
ried away on his errand. Swingleton ap-
piled himself vigorously to his ciphering,
but somehow the figures did not come right,
and he abruptly tore his paper to bits and
began to pace the office floor, muttering to
himself
'Confound these foreigners! One would
suppose the country was made expressly
for them by the way they take hold of it.
The idea OF little rascal like Dennis telling
me what George Washington wrote-and
worse yet he was right about it, really do
believe. Gods own country'-'we've all
got a chance'-that's more of their non
sense. Come to think of it, though, it's all
true. l wonder if somebody won't have
banner with ono mans as good as another
on 1t? It's true as gospel If it wasn't I'd
be poor farmer to this day instead of the
head of big real estate improvement
company
For several minutes Swingleton held his
peace, but continued to pace the floor
Then he burst into speech again
'All those common folks are going to
have a regular jubilee on the Fourth, sup
pose 1t isn't bad enough that business
mans peace of mind is to be disturbed all
day long by tire-crackers and pistols, and
all sorts of Internal popping noises, but
they're to have singing, and cheering and
ike enough brass band, at sunrise on the
green-right in front of my house 1 was
going to spend the Fourth in finding out
how much money Pm ahead by this
Cliff Edge speculation; it's the only free
day Tll have until Thanksgiving comes
But ii I'm to be woke up at sunrise l won't
have any sort of head for figures. Confound
patriotism, any way; we had enough OF it
in the time OF the war to last any man life
time. 1t cost me enough goodness knows:
was drafted, had to hire a substitute, and
pay bigger taxes besides. To be sure. got
in on harness making contract that set me
up in business, but
Swingleton went abruptly back to his
desk and tried to resume his figuring, but
his pencil seemed wholly depraved; and he
finally threw it on the floor and continued
as follows:
what was that the Bible said about the
heather coming to the light while the chill
dren OF the kingdom were cast into outer
darkness? 1t begins to look as if something
of the sort would come to pass in this coun-
try. Here's all the foreigners and other
nobodies in this village going to celebrate
the Fourth, just as if the country was theirs,
as in one sense it is, while l, the richest and
most influential man in the town. am left
out in the cold Come to think of it. |
remember something about being asked
by letter to participate Or contrib
ute, or something, and pitching it
into the waste basket I suppose thew
thought was hog-confound them!-b but
what was T. The country's as much to me
as to any body else, but how am going to
make fuss about it without letting bust
ness suffer? man can't afford to neglect
his business for every confounded senti-
ment that comes along-he'd never make
any money if he did When do any of our
great money kings say any thing about
patriotism, | should like to know, OF make
Fourth of July speech? It's only editors,
pohticians and poor men who do that sort
of thing
more protest and self-examina,ion fol
lowed; when Dennis returned, in the course
OF half an hour, the autocrat of Cliff Edge
had both elbows on his desk and his broad
chin, usually quite equal to the task of
caring for itself, was supported by two