Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-27
AT THE CITY HALL.
Taxpayers and the Mu-
nicipnI Officials.

After E. Mont Reilly had told his story
Monday about the old darky who tried TO
nominate c. C. Drake for congress, the
latter, who is visiting Kansas City from
Fort Worth, Tex, Mr.. Reily's old home,
said:
There was an old negro preacher down
in my district who always made il point
TO pray for the souls of Lincoln, Grant and
Washington, and for that of any man who
happened to be in the public eye at the
time He was chosen to open with prayer
the proceedings of the straight Repub-
licans of the Sixth district in the campaign
of 1855, which, by the way, was a par
ticularly bitter struggle. 1t was fought
out from almost the beginning on per-
sonal grounds. and several feuds and
shooting affairs resulted.
'Hogg was the favorite candidate among
the straights and Clark had been nomi-
mated Il week before by the lilly white
Republicans. The animosity between the
followers of these two men was most in
tense. 1t is probable the old darlSy sought
to mollify this partisanship when he
%, Lawd, bless the soul oh Washing
ton, an the soul oh Grant an the soul oh
Lincoln. An, o, Lawd, heap Thy bene-
diction 'pon Mistah Hawg, an be merci
ful to Mistah Clock in de error oh his
" 'HoP on! shouted colored delegate to
whom the mention of the name Clark in
prayer was sacrilege, HoI on! Mistah
Chairman, 1 move dat part OBJ de prayah
referrin to Mistah Clock be stricken from
de records'
feet.
=" .Mistah Chairman" said he, 4 rise to
a pint oh odahr
State your point said the chairman.
"'Waal. sahs it done occur to dis niggah
dat it's too late now to scratch out dot
prayah. It's done registered now in de
de blame'n be on dat air brack hypocrite's
haid.'
And he pointed a quivering finger at
the awe-struck preacher"
For four years people living near what
is known as McClanahan's pond. which
covers about an acre of ground between
Wabash and Prospect on Lexington ave-
nue. have complained of the unsanitary
conditions induced by the stagnant water
and the garbage which was dumped into it.
All this time the pond has been the Mecca
of the kitten drowner and the refuge of
the man who could not afford to pay Ii
cense on his dog. The city has repeatedly
attempted to abate the nuisance by trying
in about fifteen years ago, but which, for
some reason until yesterday unknown, had
become useless.
Yesterday James W. Burton. Charles
Blockberger and Claude Turner, of the
street department, broke holes through the
ice of the pond and poked about in its
miry bed until they found the mouth of
the pipe. 1t was of 22-inch tiIing, and, in
the aperture, disputing the passage of
water, We're bed comfort two pieces of
a house rug and pair of oVeralls. They
had been tied together closely with binding
twine and fitted the sewer so tightly that
the combined strength of two men was
required to remove them 1t was, of course,
the work of boys, who had sacrificed the
health of the neighborhood to make
skating pond.
The little lake is now drained of its
water, but a thin gauze of ice, unsupport-
ed and treacherously inviting, remains.
Through this vitreous medium can be seen
the unlovely remains of dogs and cats
with stones tied about their necks The
collection is diversified by the body of one
calf.
sneciaI r1nentinn of tI,n cit,r no,,,oi1 1,os.