The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-02-15
AkpespERA1E REVENGE.
The silver Statesman Was Too much ~
the Burglar.

the Burglar
It was an inclement night, but the
gloomy-looking man who stood in the
doorway of the little town haH and
looked out at the pelting rain did not
blame it entirely on the weather.
The gloomy-loolxing man was Web
ster Shukks, leading citizen and prom
inent debater of Bainbridge township.
He had come to Spiketown, pursuant
to announcement, to deliver an address
on "The. Crime of '73,s and only three
persons had turned out, one of them
being the janitor of the building.
The other two had heard the orator
once or twice already.
1t was decided to postpone the meet
ing. The lights were put out and Mr..
Shukks, buttoning his overcoat about
him, turned up his collar, and pulling
his hat brim down all around, went
forth into the storm.
Oppressed by the burden of an I'M
spoken speech, he wandered 'aimlessly
about the little town for hours, regard
less of the rain that soaked his gar
ments and the mud that spattered and
stopped as he wendell his devious and
uncertain way through streets whose
broad sidewalks and well-built cross
ings were yet in the future. Bitter
thoughts of the apathy of the people
he had come to enlighten surged
through his mind, and at times he felt
an almost irresistible impulse to let
them slide ON to their ruin without
making any further effort to save them.
Finding himself at last opposite the
village hotel, where he had engaged
lodgings for the night, he went in.
Climbing the stairs softly, in order not
to disturb the slumbers of the other
guests, he proceeded to his room.
Through the partly opened door he
saw n man slipping quietly about with
D dim lantern in his hand.
Webster Shukks grasped his heavy
cane firmly, slipped noiselessly inside,
shut the door behind him and spoke in
q low tone:
stop right where you are! If you
make single movement I'll brain
youl"
Taken by surprise, the intruder
threw up his hands -
NOW, you scoundrel," said the
statesman of cambridge township,
with the same, low, tense utterance,
II don't know who you are or where
you come from, but know what you're
prowling about my room for. You are
here to steal something!"
"I-I"-began the baf1led burglar.
'There is nothing you need say" in
terrupted Webster Shulks, with
CLEAN of vengeance in his eye. "Open
your head again and I'll drive you down
the floor! Listen to me. We
have met this evening, my fellow-citi-
zens, to consider as calmly as we can
the great crime committed against the
people of this country in the year 1873
ut the bidding of an organization COM
posed of n few London and New York
banlSers-a crime so dastardly, so fiend-
ish, so monstrous in it's conception and
heartless in its execution that human
lty may well stand appalled, at the mere
contemplation of it! Let us go back to
the beginning! In 1892, my fellow-citi-
zens, congress passed a mint and coin
age law by which gold and silver, when
coined, were declared to be the primary
money of the republic. The unit of |
value was the silver dollar of 371%
grains of pure, or 416 grains of stand |
ard, silver. The legal ratio was de-
,lared in this act to be, until otherwise
provided for, fifteen to one. It was
enacted that; any person could take |
either of the two metals to the mint |
md have them coined into money, free |
IT all charge. In its sovereign ca
,acity, fellow-citizens, the founders of |
his great country laid down the broad
principle of the free coinage of sill
yer." - s.s.. s.tssssff
There was hoarse, gurgling sound,
md the hopeless villain, who had been
landing in a corner of the room with
lis hands above his head, sank in
reap to the floor.
Nature had come to his relief. He