Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-10
THE ToPIcAL TALKER.
A New Stars and Stripes for the Recruiting
station--Mr. Wanamaker's Experience-
The Big sensation Little Dog Made

In would be a patriotic deed to present the
United States recruiting station on Penn ave
nue. with decent national flag. The old piece
of faded muslin which masquerades as the
Stars and Stripes outside the melancholy build.
| ing in question is enough in itself to discour.
age recruits. 1t seems to be a part of the
policy of Congress toward the regular army to
stint it of all the pomp and circumstance in
color which is really essential to the cultiya-
| tion of the military spirit in time Of peace.
| Probably lack of appropriations for such pur-
poses is at the bottom of the exhibition of
| such miserable old rag outside the recruit
| ing station
Perhaps the Jr. o. u. A. M might see its way
| to coming to the rescue of the Federal Govern
ment in this instance. Considering the gener-
| ally unattractive appearance of recruiting sta
tions and the soldiers one sees about them, it
| is more of wonder to me that anyone enlists
than that so many enlisted men desert at the
| earliest opportunity.
BE HAS NOT BEEN LUCKY.
Good Mr.. Wanamaker says
There's no such thing as luck;
IT'S industry, he thinks. that pays
| When linked with care and pluck.
Postmaster John has learned all this
Ere yet year has flown.
The moral is: ''Stick to your biz!
Let politics alonel''
SO
WEEK or two ago some friends of mine
lost their little Skye terrier; he was stolen by
one who will never bring him back, no matter
what reward may be offered-by one who will
I steal you and me some day-Deathl When
bright brown Dandie Dinmont Skye
terrier has lived with you upward of ten years;
when be has begged prettily for scraps of
food at every meal through all that period;
| home every night. and has been a companion
in your walks abroad summer and winter, when
| you have found his affection unfailing and his
fidelity unshakeable it is a mighty hard thing
| to see the poor little fellow die. am free to
| confess that very few deaths have moved me as
| poor old 'Skye's' in the summer of lS79-he
had been playmate and chum to me for IA
years, and almost as he closed his eyes for the
last time. racked with pain as he was, his eyes
had loving look for me and he feebly tried to
Wag his tail.
But there, I've wandered away from my
story.
SOME days after the death of their faithful
old "Rough," a good-sized basket came to the
house of my friend Blank. A note was deliv-
cred with the basket. From this it was
learned that the basket contained dog which
certain amiable lady hoped would serve in
some sort to fill the vacant place in the house
hold. Mr.. Blank read the note and handed it
TO his daughters-young women who love dog
better than dude any day-and being privately
rather alarmed at the notion of new dogs hap
pened to go upstairs while the question of
who shall cut the string and let the dog out?n
was still under discussion.
The basket, it was true, was not large enough
to house huge mastif or hound, but it was
not so small that healthily developed bulldog
could make himself quite comfortable therein.
But fears of this sort were dismissed after the
weight of the basket had been tried. This
operation was going on in the hall when 1
happened to call. 1t was one of the funniest of
sights-two charming young women we're gently
balancing the basket in the air. Then they set
it down, and one with pearl-handled PEN
knife sawed away at the string which kept the
lid down. The crucial moment came when the
lid was gradually raised and enough daylight
let into the basket to show tiny fox terrier
pup peering upward through the straw. The
puppy must have been awfully scared at the
enthusiasm his revelation called forth. but
when last saw him he was tapping milk with
the calm assiduity Of an unterrified tom cat.
%yE
CONGRESS MUST BE PROTECTED
Wnen gay cashiers to Canada
Fled with the peoples money,
Did Congress lose wink of sleep?
You bet it didn't sonny.
There was no hurry, SO they said,
For extra Iegislation;
In time some treaty might be made
To fortify the nation.
But Silcott fees all Congress howls
For some new way to reach him. |
HIT hard statesman's privy purse