The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-07-03
The Closing OF the Half Way House.

The breeze rustles wistfully in the Gothic
whiskers of the Hon. DINK BorTs as he sits
on his veranda this morning and gazes at
the Dahlonega Hills. and the odor OF the
mint patch in the back garden is as suave
as ever; but there Is sadness In the states
mans lineaments. sadness which neither
that tranquil landscape nor that perfect
julep which SAM has just brought can re-
move. When q statesman discovers that
he has been heaping favors upon marble
hearted fiend. sharper than n serpent's
tooth, neither nature nor alcohol has the
power to charm. Tho facts in the case are
reported by our esteemed contemporary,
the Griffin Ne,cs.
According to this estimable Georgia au-
thority. 1t Is the habit Of Cracker statesmen
to get mail at q number Of Post Offices, q
custom which tends to expand the personal
and political influence Of the statesman, and
enables him to bestow more Of his conf
dental men in place. Thus we are assured
that the Hon. LEoNIDAs FRANKLIN LIVING
sToN. the destroyer. Us DINK Boris was the
creator, OF HoKE SMITH. gets his mail pro-
miscuously from Conyers. Covington. Nc
Donough. Cora. Mary Ann. or any other
wants full mail he sends to all the Offices
within a days journey by horse" Gen.
GoRDoN's political and personal Office Is
Atlanta. though he also claims La Grange
on the ground that some Of his kinsfolk once
lived there" A great Cracker Is thus
diffused far beyond the place that is his
legal residence and his greatness Is shared
by many towns. Local jealousies are
avoided or appeased. and whole Congress
district or the whole State is pervaded by
the presence OF an illustrious citizen.
This custom was well known to the Hon.
HoKE SMITH when the Hon. DINK Bolts
got him q situation in Washington. filed
him with sound advice as to how he should
conduct himself. and checked him to the
care Of the Hon. GROVER CLEVELAND. Most
Of the melancholy story of the development
OF acute megalocephalic mania in Mr..
BoTIs's protege Is but too well known. Ever
since Mr.. SMITH bought the nigh horse on
team IS OF the Georgetown Horse Railroad.
he has been changed man. There were
plenty OF eccentric equestrian statues in
the district before Mr.. SMITH took to
refining his charger at the White House
door, nor Is a seat In the Cabinet to be re-
u
emeritus. Mr.. SMITH began to forget or
neglect the admonitions OF his wise and
kind old tutor In Lumpkin. He neglected
his astute prompter. and tried to play on
his own hook and out Of his own head The
result was that Mr.. LIVINGSTON pulled him
of the political high horse. rolled him about
In the ooze. and left him in a bedrabbled
and exhausted condition. Since then his
equestrian experiences have been most I'M
happy. 1t seems to DO the custom to use
him as a moral lesson for the benefit OF the
other boys in the Cabinet. and to have him
"horsed" and birched. metaphorically
speaking. every week. This Is done to en-
courage the others. as the French say. OF
military executions.
All this tine the Hon. DINK Boris has
been watching the Hon. HoKE SMITH sadly.
All this time the country has been wondering
why Mr.. BoTTs has not disciplined or with
drawn his pupil. or himself assumed the
responsibility OF power. All these things
the country knows and regrets; but this
latest instance Of Mr.. HoKE SMITHS in
gratitude it does not know.
We give the story In the words OF the
Griffin Ne,ps. reserving the privilege Of
which that steadiast friend OF truth aud
BoTTs has unwittingly fallen:
This peculiar Georgia custom has been called to tho
attention OF the Administration. and II has seemed
strange thing to President not acquainted with the
easy Southern ways With the desire for y great re-
form in small things strong within him. he has yet
cared to interfere with such active supporters A.
GORDON and LIVINGSTON. but his mind REQUIRED once
to DIsK Boris the friend without pull and he deter.
mined to make an example OF him. investigation
proved as expected. that the Hon. DMK had three
Post 0nices In Lumpkin county; namely. his
homo at wahoo, the county seat Dahlonsga. and
place called Half Way. II . letter failed to appear
time at wahoo. M Boris started out the way to
DAbenega to get IT. In the middle OF the Journey was
the house Of friend. Mr. DAHK Q. NOOK whose ostsa-
sibie occupation was geld mining but whose breath
strongly redoont OF the Juice OF the corn fresh
the st that his real business required adver-
Using. Here the Lumpkin county statesman invaria.
bly, stopped and refreshed himself and here tho Star
route agent generally found him and over to
him all the mail for wahoo. and then tho two re-
frsshsd themselves, nor did Mr. hoos disdain to Join
them. The place WAS called Half Way. and was
nukil MIA lint fha