The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-03-17

1 r E. LA1hCh Iva ~ &G#FE+ts@&=
Religion, law or politics. prize fightin or base
bali
Jes' fetch up Jap a little. and he'll post Jon on
'em all.
Hes the comicalist Teller ever tilted beck u
cheer
And tuck . cha of tobacker kinder like he
didn't keer.
Thar's whar the feller's strength lays-socom-
mcnlike and plain.
Thar hain't no dude about old Jap. you bet
you, nary grain.
They 1ected him to council. and IT never turned
And didn't make no difference what ennybody
sed. a sd
He didn't dress emmy finer or rig ont in fancy
close.
But his voice In council meetin's . tsrrorto his
foes.
He's for the pore man ev'ry time. and In the
last campaign
He stumped old Morgan county through the
sunshine M the rain.
And held the banner up'ards from a-trnilin In
the dust,
And cut lOose on mohopolies. ana cusasd and
cuss'd and cuss'd.
He'd tell some funny story ev'ry nov and then,
I'LL, blame Il. Il wuz better'n . jack-o.lantern
show.
And I'd 90 furder sit today 70 hear old Jap
norate
Than emmy high toned orator that ever
stumped the state.
why, that ERE bland Jap Miller. with his
keen, sarkastic fun. u
Hez got more friend than emu candidate that
ever run
Don't matter what his views are, when he
states the same to you.
They allus coincide with yourn, same as two
and two.
You can't take issue with him. or at least
thar amt no sense
In startin in TO down him, 30 you better NOT
The best ways les TO lissen, like yer humble
servant duz,
And jes' concede Jap lfiiler's the best man
ever wux.
As may be supposed, Japis q very pop
ular citizenin MartinsvilIe, and the folks
there were greatly pleased when the
poem was first published. Jap was inn.
mensely tickled with 1t himself. He had
several thousand copies Of it printed on
cards for distribution among his friends.
The reverse of some Of these bore his
business card, advertising the general
notion store he keeps. On the backs of
others was the following characteristic
autobiography:
In the backwoods Of Shelby county, Ind, in
the spring OF 1857, surrounded by water, mud
and decaying vegetation. / was born, having Is
brothers and sisters. My parents did not need
me. So when brothers or sisters got mad
| they thumped me. During this early period OF
my existence I had all the diseases childhood Ii
heir to. My hea was two sizes too large for
my weak body. Early In life ! developed q
wonderful appetite for anything and every
thing In the grub line. ] am q natural product
| Of the backwoods. Polished and refined by the
varied society of Martinsviile, Ii there liz any
thing good In my character, give the credit to
my neighbors for their religious influences. II
ron should find some Of the bad. charge IL to
my associates, for / believe that / am q crea-
ture of circumstances / am not q society man.
hut d lover of good company.
II ron are in trouble. come to me. / know
what 1t Is. This world Is full OF sorrow and
sadness, and II Is also full OF sunshine and
gladness. Don't be timid, but come and see
me. ] cannot come 70 you. ! believe In mag
netism. but not In spiritualisrn. My advice liz
to watch. for there Is a devil for every house,
bold. Don't let him In. II you are not doing
something 70 make the world better, you are
working for the evil one sure. Plant flowers,
speak kind words and feed the poor, and when
yUn cannot live any longer some one win shed
tears. Don't commit suicide, but wait. AmOb
may get you. Ifiyou want to see me, come to
MaFtinsville. II ! ann dead. come to heaven.
Your friend. JAP MTLLER.
Jap has written an account of his hrst
meeting with the poet in q paper read al
an Epworth league entertainment. He
says when he first saw Riley he knew
he was either Q poet Of a condolences
man. They got acquainted quickly.
though their questions and answers were
all In the shortest possible meter. They
sat ia an alley back Of Miller's store, and
Riley made Jap promise 10 read Dickens.
Before leaving, the poet promised to come
back at ia o'clock that night and tell Jap
D Dickens Christmas story.
That night at TO- says JAP, II went
back to the alley, and he was there. No
one said anything for some time. Finally
the Christmas story was begun, and ii
was finished ut half past i. We went
home. He did not say good night. I did
not say good night. In fact, we said
nothing at alive simply faded d OF
the alley.