St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-03
GOSSIP GOING ROUND.

How A new idea of the
opportunities poor
Politicians man has in this coun-
try was conveyed by
Get Rich. Kansan in New York
to some beginners in
the political battle who stood watching
Senator Preston B. Plumb, of Kansas,
and ex-Gov. S. L. Hauser, of Montana,
talking over the effect on Wall street of
a certain measure pending before con-
gress. Those two men," said he, ''are
both said to be honest, even by their po
litieal adversaries. Both began life
poor; both have made mill
richest man in the new state
of which he was territorial governor.
Plumb can talk 275 words a minute, and
is worth million easily. But the point
want to make is that politics is a
money-making business in this country.
and that, without wronging anybody of
a dollar. man who has Plumb'S Oppor-
tunitieS as a senator in congress of
knowing what is going to be done In re-
gard to great industrial measures like
the silver bill or the tariff schedules has
only to back his Judgment of what their
effect will be with little ready money,
which most congressman can bOr-
row without great difficulty, to
realize in speculation handsome
return. Now look at those two men.
They have the appearance of farmers
rather than statesmen of the Eastern
type. Plumb's mouth shuts as sharply
as that of the ideal country lawyer-and
once that is just what be was. His
broad shoulders and black chin beard,
facetiouSly described as 'billy-goat'
beard, give him, in the eye of the
calicaturist at least, still more rustic
aspect. But Plumb'S money has been
made in shreWd speculation, not by law,
and certainly not by saving his salary.
When he learns of good thing as
statesman he takes flyer Oh it as a
man, and in Wall street he is known as
shrewd operator to one or two. Poll
ties is lucrative business, tell yOu."
Weed on the Smith NJ. Weed, Sam
uel j. Tilden's famous
Force Bill. lieutenant, has the rep
utation of being one
of the keenest observers in the state,
political and otherwise. and he is never
known to miss an opportunity of study
ing men and things, no matter where he
may find himself. AS result of this
habit of close observation Mr.. Weed
learns great deal more of his fellow
men than most people, and, like true
statesman. he generally keeps his in
formation to himself. He is willing to
talk about the force bill, however, and
to show that the howl that the Repub
licanS are making about Democratic
bulldoZing, shotguns, etc, in the South,
is mere preteXt for working the polls
with bayonets. He told me OF an eX-
perience that came under his obSerya-
ton about two years ago.
ress Monroe" said Mr.. Weed. land
that generally kept sharp lookout
for chance to study new character.
One day / was out driving, the reins
being in charge of colored gentleman
who was evidently quite shining light
in local politics. Before we had driven
three hundred yards he had said
enough about the political destinieS of
the country to convince me that he was
the most ardent kind of Republican.
In order to draw him out, l pretended
that l, too, had leanings that way,
and we got along famously. Pretty
soon l saw hobbling along the road
toward our vehicle one of the worst
used-up specimens of black humanity it
had been my misfortune to observe.
His head was bandaged until you
couldn't see much OF anything except
big, coal-black nose, two rolling eye
balls. bit of black ear. and some kinky
wool, in which there were still traces OF
clothed blood. One arm was in sling.
and the other seemed badly out of
shape, while both legs wabbled so pain
fully that it was evident that they, too,
had shared the damage. AS for his
clothes, they looked as though be had
been beating around the tail end of an
unusually wicked cyclone. AS the
chap reached our wagon he skunk by
without once looking up, and, as l fol-
lowed him with my eyes, | noticed that
my driver was chuckling to him
self, as though he was having
no end of fun. He hadn't given
a single look or mark of recOg-
milton to the wretched darky, but he
chuckled as we passed him, and
chuckled until his coIored brother was
out of sight. After while | asked him
what had happened to the demoralized-
looking pedestrian. This set him to
cbuckling some more, but finally he got
sufficient control of himself to say:
"sThat niger tried to vote the Demo
cratic ticket tn other day, boss
"' Well, don't you let man vote the
Democratic ticket?' asked.
mot nigger,' replied my Jehu.
When ne does we lay him out SOS he
doan try it again.
$50, you see," concluded Mr.. Ward,
''if there is browbeating and bulldozing,
as our Republican friends allege, at the
Southern polls, l guess the honors are
about even. The Republicans do as
much of it, if not more, than the Demo-
Gratis"