Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-01-25

/ was sitting at baseball game one
day last summer and saw number Of
boys up on the electric-light towers,
some of them hundred feet above the
ground. They were watching the game.
How little their respective parents
knew about their whereabouts at that
moment If the doting mother knew
that her boy was hundred feet up on
IAN iron tower with practically nothing
but thin iron rod between him and the
ground, all for the pleasure OF the dam
ger of the thing, and Of seeing base
ball game, she would have been fright
ened into fits. The poem "Where Is
My Wandering Boy Tonight" is very
path etc, and the chances are that the
wandering boy Is in mischief some
where. But the trouble we get into in
our older days is as nothing compared to
what we 60 through when our fond
parents think they have us practically
under their eye. Little did the parents
of our village know of the whereabouts
of their boys when our secret conclave
was inaugurated. They werethemselves
to blame for this secret conclave, and
this is how it happened. ... - g.
There came across our village wild
wave of temperance, which engulfed
the whole community. About this time
was started the Independent Order of
Good Templars, who were sworn never
to touch liquor in any shape, not even
cider. This body was Familiarity known
by the letters IL. o. Of G. T." and was
called In derision by its enemies 1.-THE
Good Tipplers." The grand lodge had
in its employ certain lecturers whom it
sent out to establish subordinate lodges,
and one day one of these lecturers came
to our village, and his lecture, which
was free, was announced to take place
in the school-house on . certain even
ing.
i remember him weld. He wasa sort
..of provincial John B. Cough. In fact it
seems to me, looking back on both Mr..
Cough and him, as heard Cough many
years afterwards, that he was much the
more eloquent Of the two and told much
better stories, and showed us all the
awfulness of intemperance more elo--
,quently than ever the famous lecturer
did. 1t is true that in our village there
wasn't any great need of temperance
revival. There was only one tavern in
the place, and the tavern-keeper was
good fellow, who was friends with every
body, and there was very little drinking
done in the village. This tavern was
al fnV fRorr hut
q center of drunkenness it was not at
all the kind Of perdition that tenn
perance lecturers liked to picture
"a tavern. 1t was more of q social
club, in the bar-room Of which the
villagers, who all knew one another,
met in the evenings and discussed the
-weighty affairs of the Nation, with prob
sably as much ability as the same affairs
are discussed in the Legislative halls Of
1She country. Nevertheless, this tenn
perance revival was o tremendous affhir
and it swept every body into the tenn
perance lodge, excepting, Of course, the
tavern-keeper. A lodge was started
called 1.-THE Noah's Ark lodge, ]. o. of
G. T." and all our fathers and mothers.
Joined the organization. We boys were
greatly in favor Of the movement be-
cause 1t was something fresh and excit-
ing and the making Of regalia and that
sort Of thing was big event. The re-
gala was made Of silk and velvet Of the
most vivid colors, blue and crimson pre-
dominating, and these ornamental
articles ofcostume were constructed at
sort Of quilting bees that were held. at
different houses in the village. It was
n great picnic for us boys, because the
feeding at this time was exceedingly
good, Rndw got the remnants without
any Of the drawbacks, among which
may be mentioned the seeing Of the
girls home in the evening, which we ati
that time considered Que Of the greatest
misfoftuhes that could fall on young
man, although my remembrance Of the
thing is that quite number of young
men otthe village did not seem TO en-
terrain the same opinion. However,
our idea Of the temperance question
pnderwenta great revolution when we
4earned that boys under fourteen
years oi'ags were not allowed to Join
.fci4l