The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-06-20
REPORTER,S STORIES.
Written ia Idle Moments and Res
cued From the Waste Basket

appearance. On the northwest corner
Of Quincy and Crane streets this odd
structure stands. 1t has six rooms in
fit, but to look at it one would suppose
there were scarcely more than three.
With steep roof and a wide porch
the store box house looks very much as
other houses do. 1t wasn't built By
carpenters.
Fifteen years ago DR.. i. ". r. Smith
and his two sons, Clement and L. An
ton were struggling along with new
~ established business The profits Of
the urn were very small The doctor
owned a corner lot at the foot Of Quin-
cy street which he had purchased when
topeka property wasn't very valuable
He knew that ne could not build much
Of house, but he hit upon a novel
idea. He and his two sons went TO
/ the different stores and bought from
them old boxes. The boxes We're knock
ed apart and pIaned in shape to be used
in the construction of what was to be
the home of the Smith family.
The framework was of heavy timbers
and the whole enclosure was made of
these box boards and odd boards. 1t
took two years to build it, People were
surprised when they saw such pretty
house, both inside and outside, which
had been constructed of boxes. For
seven years the Smith family lived in
their queer house. They We're an in
dustrlous family, and they soon be-
came prosperous Their manufacture
ing firm enlarged, and they left the old
home and went to more luxurious quar-
tiers on Western avenue.
To a State Journal reporter DR.. t..
Anton Smith said: we built that
house during spare moments. Our bust
ness was then very small If a man
! had come along and offered me IS for
! all my tools ia the shop I would have
sold them TO him. We were poor then
and built that house ourselves. lit is
a strong building. III bet there is not
q more solidly built house in town. We
lived in it seven years have lived in
I Topeka nineteen years"
a. Nelson. who is the engineer of the
/ big steam roller Jumbo that is used TO
roll walks at the state house, is a. bro
Their of General Nelson, who was 81 OF
TO death in the Gault house at Louis
/ vile, Ky, during the war by Jen
I @. Davis.
Davis was also a general the story
! goes, and had gone to Louisville to
I draw arms for his men. He did not
/ know the exact number and Nelson was
I very mad about it. and said things that
/ made Davis feel insulted- Davis drew
4 his revolver and told Nelson to defend
/ himself, that he was going to kill him.
/ He was as good as his word.
The Topeka Nelson lives much to
/ himself and sleeps alone in little hut
/ down on the river bank
/ Sergeant Tim Donovan has had to set
/ up the cigars to the officers around the
! police station on account of a little joke
! they found on him. Tim always likes
4 to look neat, so that when he has Oc-
/ tractive. AS is his usual custom he
I went down into the basement of the
police station to put q polish on MS
4 shoes He brushed and brushed until
I he thought that he had a most magnifi-
cent shine; then he carefully washed
/ his hands and went above to the loaf
1 ing room.
When he appeared before the distin-
I guished assemblage of officers he no.
4 ticed that they laughed ait him. ne
/ looked down at his shoes and found to
/ his dismay that he had used box OF
stove polish by mistake
Tim doesn't like to be leased, 50 he
/ went UP town and had sure enough
4 bootbIacl1 remove the stove polish and
put in its place a fine, glossy shine
/ When he went back to the station he
remembered the occupants in the usual
way.
There was a magic in the words
From Kansas" at the St. Louis ma
ti0nal convention They proved an
open sesame" at doors .'B," C. and
"a" Of the big auditorium. and no
4 Kansan who went to those doors was
given the marble heart, the stony glare,
/ the cold shoulder. In ne went. and he
/ did not stand up either. He had a seat,
and if any presumptuOus usher or as
sistant sergeant-at-a arms. clothed with
I a little brief authority" or whatever
4 it is that Shakespeare calls 1T. any fell
/ low from some inferior state came
( along and told the Kansan that the
/ seat was taken, or that he wanted it
man would say rather innocentIy, why
Pm from kansas and that generally
settled it,
At door "B' A. c. Jordan the big
/ sergeant-at-arms of the last house of
/ representatives. State Senator Harry
I Gordon of Wichita and G. f. Elliott of
/ wellington were assistant sergeants-
alarms, and with regular frequency
and at stated intervals, would relieve"
/ the dOOrkeeper. or "send him up to
/ view the convention proceedings just
Z . nj M n fol
I lows to slip i'm. At the door
4 Phil Kelley. he of DOniphan. and Tom
Hayes, the steward Of the Osawatomie
asylum. were the dOorkeepers and no
( Kansas found any trouble in getting
in. "A wink, the words From Kansas"
and in he went
At door ''Hf Frank Brown of Car
nett and "Kunte" Ury We're in charge.
I They were as good as the other fell
lows, and the way Kansans hOcked to
! that door was not at all slow. 'Knute"
had an experience which was illustra-
{ tive of the average Kansan. A man
who had been in, he wasn't from kan
straightway went to ergeant-at-arrns
I Tim Byrnes with a great big kick
/ Byrnes sent his chief assistant, Wis
WALL around to the door to see why it
no man was supposed to have adnis-
sion without q ticket, and that there
We're as many tickets issued as there
were seats ana no more SO WisWaU
asked "Knute' why it was the kicker
had no seat. Try saw the game was
up and told him plainly that he had let
in kansars without tickets.
Don't YOU know that is against the
rules said WisWau
wei If you suppose for a minute"
replied "knute.' that I'm going TO let
/ any Kansas fellows so away from here
| just because they are shy a ticket
you're away of. I have let them in
all along. and I'm going to in the flu
ture. If you want this badge Of mine,
and want to fire me, fire away and be
BANKED
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