The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1895-02-18
SARGE PLUNKETT.
THE OLD HAN HAS BEEN ACTING AS
COUNTRY EDITOR
His Sinful Ways Rsmombered-The OPPOSE
tlon Paper was "Fixed,' and lie was
Glad When His Time was Up.

For The Constitution.
/ was very ambitious to be an editor-l
had rather not be an editor at this writing.
1t was with a proud step that L walked
into the office of our countyS greatest
democratic paper and seated myself III
the editorial chair. The editor wanted to
take trip down to the seashore for
few days, and he thought, and Brown
thought, and 1 myself thought and as all
our folks thought, Plunkett was the very
man to act as editor during the regular
EDITORS absence. l acted.
The first thing l did was to pull off my
coat and in the absence OF a coat rack
hung it on a nail. L dident have on any
cuffs so 1 dident pull off any, but, anyhow,
l fingered the wristbands of my osnaDerS
shirt for about the length of time that l
have always noticed that it took Editor
Howell to hang up his cuffs, and then /
made a break for the lonely printer ana
mapped out the work of the day. The
printer turned pale at the enormous
amount of work L planned, but he saw by
the fire in my eye that there was no use
in talking and being a poor married man,
with ten in family he meekly went 10
work.
1 seated myself with pencil in hand and
was the very picture of Editor Reed in
one of his most dignified spells. In the
coils of this dignity l thunk, and thunk,
seven heads for a leading editorial. 1.-THE
Tariff SILVER" Factories" Governor
Northern" 1.-THE War in China'-forty-
seven about like these, but never got
word farther than the caption, until the
printer came up for some copy. L sent
him for q bucket of water, as L was not
just ready yet. He was soon back with
the water and 1 sent him to the postoflice.
He soon returned and no copy yet. Then
/ told him he could cut up the load of
wood and get everything ready for the
fray. He patiently went to the woodpile
and the sound of his sounded to me like
a funeral knell. 1t felt so far off yonder
like that l leaned over like unto Stanton
and decided to try it in poetry. L wrote
1.-THE people they are bowling
For silver, silver silver!'
Here I stopped and scratched my head.
l studied and studied-I wanted something
to rhyme with silver. L thunk and / thunk.
l rolled my big eyes up to the ceiling, just
as | had seen Stanton do many and many
time, but L couldn't catch the right
word. l tried liver" "shiver," 'giver'
oh, well, l tried a thousand ways
but the door printer came in with load
for the fire and informed me that he had
cut all the wood, so ! never caught the
rhyme ] sent him down TO the house to
work in the garden an hour or two, just for
time, and when he was gone l got up and
shook myself, took a fresh chew of tobacco,
and then decided that it was Joe Harris l
was like. With this thought flung myself
INTO the chair with alooseness that was
surprising for an old man. If my head
had been red l don't think you could have
told me from Joe, but when 1 took the
pencil and failed to grind out the copy like
him, and had never a line upon the poor
printers return.
] saw that the printer was desperate
there was fire in his eye; so, instead of
sending him out anywhere l got a regular
BrGfiey move on myself. My legs failed to
so Off as fast as Bruffs would have done,
but / made up for this I'm the length Of
my strides. 1 fairly sailed over to the
courthouse, then to the depot, then 10 the
hotel, then to the schools, down to the
mill, 10 the minister's and the Doctors,
and then back 10 the Office with my tongue
hanging out, J. was so tired. For fear of
catching cold 1 buttoned up my coat. his
was suggestive. / was now the very i'm
age of Editor Oil and l would rattle off
the copy. 1t failed to rattle, and as night
was drawing near I wended my way home,
a much disappointed man with my first day
as an editor.
The next morning went to the
office with n very meal1 and lowly tread.
You know how it is in a small town
everybody found out 1 was acting editor
the opposition paper found it out. They
were laying in wait for me on this second
day-just itching to nail me. The whole
opposition ring was around the benches on
the south side of the courthouse holding a
caucus as / passed on to the office. They
hardly give me time to pull off my coat
before a observation-disclosures collector OPEN
ed the door and stood before me. He was
a man OF few words-he was a man OF
muscle and of action. In less time than it
has taken me to tell it he had out his bills
Not a word from him. he threw bill after
bill out on the table with an air that as
good as said: Pay or I'll crush every bone
in your bodyr His bills were all small.
to make the next crop on to pay them.
Then l was exhausted and sighed as the
big fellow passed out. The news spread like
Wildfre that Plunkett was paying his debts.
There hasn't been such sensation in De-
catur since the war Creditors came. They
came in twos and threes and tours while
the opposition ring watched from the court
house and laughed lit to kill. All this day
/ stood n siege from the collectors, and all
day long the opposition crowd laughed. |
went to my peaceful home at night the
most cTGstfallen editor that ever trod on
Georgia soil, but l arose in the morning
feeling that the opposition had done their
worst and that 1 would now have fair sail
ing.
on the third day the Opposition were
write &N - E1u rxes &c E=a y