Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-01
An American Story.
By 4 NEW HAND.


| IlOn. SuCn IUlDES HdU Deeu uOnS
| and with powerful effect.
The Blarnaby party disdained to notice
the covert attack. Their organs had enough
| to do to sustain their fire of editorial hot
shot at their opponents. When The Pa
| triot made contemptuous allusion to "the
4 interests, miscalled principles" Of Blarna-
| by's party, the Blarnaby organ retorted
| with bitter abuse of ''the Hogg, that An
| glomaniac crank, that silk-stockinged min
| compoop. the whipper-snap per tool of a
| gang of long-haired persons, flat-bosomed
| shriekers, tea-guzzling whangdooders and
| thick-headed interferers with the rights
and privileges of practical politicians.
| Editor Mahogany himself had been
| clapped into the pillory as a renegade Be-
! cause he had once earned wage by writing
to order in one of the defunct papers of
their party, he was now held up to the
scorn of all staunch partisans. The poor
man felt the sting keenly, but disdained to
| answer, as he might, that hardly single
one of his censors but had handled the dol
lars Of all the factions in turn. He sternly
stuck to parliamentary rules of debate in
all his editorials, and drew tight line
around his younger assistants.
One smart trick, however, he felt wick
eddy merry in playing on his short-sighted
accusers. At the time GJ was years ago.
when he worked in the harness Of the other
team, there was an association formed, OF
which he, as also some of his now rivals in
editorship, was member.
A certain fund had been raised by them
with the object of promoting the election of
a well-known politician to a high position.
Mahogany was chosen as secretary, and it
was not long before an UNDERSTANDINGS
arose between himself and the treasurer
over the apportionment of the money. Mr..
Mahogany ultimately decided that he would
bring the matter before the whole associa-
ton, because he felt there had been a gross
misuse if not dishonest use, Of the fund,
and as their candidate had lost the election,
he Mahogany, declined to accept any of
the responsibility unless this matter was
cleared up.
Every sort of pressure was put upon him
to 'let up on the job" but all was useless.
Gradually he discovered that almost every
member of the finance committee had, in
some way or other, sanctioned disburse-
ment of the fund by which they, individu-
ally, benefited more than the man they
were supposed to be helping.
Whether Mr.. Mahogany was intimidated,
or from some other cause his determination
melted down, we shall never know now, but
certain it is that he did withdraw from his
hostile position SO far as action went. All
we know is that he resigned his secretary
ship, left the association, and from that day
to the present he happened to have been in
the service of the other political party.
Now came the tempting chance to Smite
the enemy with his own weapon. One of
the most virulent of his assailants was a
big, bloated. be-diamonded boss, who had
been member of the aforesaid committee.
Editor Mahogany had been working night
as well as day of late, and the strain of it
all may well have dulled the edge of his
prudence. His Celtic blood tingled with
the fierce craving for vengeance upon these
doubly-mean revilers, men who had filled
their pockets out of political chickering's,
a. l. r,.% f,I&.
ever been since his eyes were opened, had
remained honestly poor.
He may have been unwise when he PEN
ned the scathing exposure of the secret do
ings of those committeeman years back. 1t
was certainly risking tremendous odds to
publish figures and facts, letters and names.
which threw fierce light upon a matter
the public had almost forgotten. 1t
scorched not a few active workers now in
similar organizations with similar methods
and for similar objects. 1t flung the camp
of the enemy into confusion at the
critical hour when they least could
stand it. 1t made leaders distrust their
hirelings and wire-pullers doubt the sound
ness of their connections. The widest ac-
cusations and challenges were now being
hurled promiscuously among the Blarnaby-
ties, each suspecting the other of treachery,
for Editor Mahogany had cleverly kept in
the background his personal knowledge of
the matter exposed, and it was not every
one who knew that he was his own au-
thority.
This was one, but the principal, of the
various antagonisms the Patriot had pro-
voked. Among the rest was the angry re-
sentiment of the Samoan refugees, the Pol
ish peddlers and the Syrian immigrants,
who had joined forces at the instigation of
polyglot agitator This person, gifted
with the talent of telling lies in five Ian
guages, had made fair living for several
months by working up labor strikes and po-
litical societies among these ignorant peo-
pie He had failed in selling his services
and the vast number Of apocryphal votes
he held in his power to thesCitizens' al
lance. They had shown him and his
miraculous naturalized citizen-Slayes to the
door without ceremony, treatment which
inspired him with the desire to make terms
with the Blarnaby party. Soon he was
to be heard haranguing his seedy
followers in the space in front of the Cooper
institute in an unreportable jargon of Babel
tongues. He babe them heap up all their
righteous indignation and fire it at the
dastardly rag, the Patriot, which had had
the villainy to hint that it would be time
enough for them to demand exceptional
privileges from the government when they
had lived in the country as long as its ma
tives, and had learned its law, and language
more completely.
They resolved, and resolved, again and
again, that they would use every effort con-
sistent with their inextinguishable Polish
and Syrian and Samoan patriotism to sup
port their friend Blarnaby with the whole
remnant of their new-gotten American
patriotism. They howled and jeered and
Kissed whenever the Patriot was men
toned; and one night one Of these clubs
dubbed together as many worn-out mat
tresses a. could be spared by their lodging
house landladies, with which they made
one of those sanitary bonfires for which
New York streets are famous, and on this
they burnt sack stuffed with straw in the
rude likeness of pig, to betokeD their re-
spect for the editor Of the Patriot.
While this warm work was going on, and
everybody was growing more and more ex-
cited over the contest. the whole country
was suddenly electrified with horror at
shocking discovery.
Editor Mahogany was murdered!
His corpse was found SPRAYING on his
desk as if asleep, with fearful hole in the
back of his head, where it had been smashed
in with the coal-hammer that lay on the
floor. He had been the last to leave-so
his associates had supposed-on the previ-
Gus night, or rather in the small hours of
the morning. The pages on which he had
been writing his editorial were lying, I'M
disturbed, but horribly splashed with blood.
Strange it was that the last words the poor
man had penned were these, which ended
his article: ''Dulce ct decorum est pro