The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-16
Stories Of an Inland State.


The name of Walter Moran was in the
directory all right-two or three times He
had searched for them all. Gradually he
began to master the complications Of the
big city. 1t dawned on. him slowly that
street was not, an avenue or bouie-
ward. He discovered that Crow avenue
might be seven miles to the north and Crow
street seven miles to the south and Crow
boulevard seven miles to the west. he
discovered this by hunting for one Walter
Moran on Crow avenue when the direc-
tory plainly said Crow street. But his
Waller Moran was not TO be found He
found Walter Morans, but one was old,
another was foreigner and the third was
a millionaire His nephew he could not
find. The police knew nothing Of him.
There was something comforting in this.
1t signified at least that he had not become
disreputabie.
From riding up and down in elevators
and lodging cable cars and swinging on
the bridges Of the city he soon became one
of the crowd and wandered about aimlessly
ON the big thoroughfares hoping to catch a
glimpse of the face he was sure he would
know, although he had never seen II.
But the days sped away and yet no Wal
ter Moran with the red hair and face like
4tS SiStCt wen . dPPCoACN AhA ZIG NoAASNe>-AN-s
moving panaroma of faces.
Tired out with this expectant survey OF
faces, Geranium Jim would sit on the curb
at times and study the economic features
of the metropolis. The great dry goods
stores he regarded as an evil. He noticed
that these great establishments worked
blight on little shops of their kind for cir
Gle Of two miles. When he had Travelled
two miles from these great establishments
the little shops began to spring up. Gefa-
ranium defended the little shops in his
mind and condemned the large establish
ments. II was his bekef that they were
wrong. He did not like the foreign caste
Of countenance IN the policemen of the city
and he condemned these too. II was a
menace to America, he thought, TO have
too much of that. And he saw poverty
lots of it-and charged it all up to some i'm
aginary. vicious economic principle.
Geranium Jim in the first place was west
ern and to be western is to be intensely
American. He believed there was only
one government on earth in fact, and that
government was the United States Of
America. The right of suffrage in the Sc
lection of officials and public policies he
regarded as much the moral, natural right
of mankind the world over as sleep is. A
people who could exist without feeling the
necessity of enforcing this right, he felt,
were woefully benighted and irredeemably
depraved. He had read much about Queen
Victoria. The language of her people was
the language he spoke. The English peo-
pie must certainly have some intelligence.
Then why were they not as the people Of
the United States? Why did they not Sc
lect their rulers by votes like human be-
ings? Jim could not understand this and
debated it at length. He at last decided
in his own mind that the people of Eng
land were middling intelligent. But the
best he could do to unravel the mystery
was to hug the shadowy belief that at best
Queen Victoria was kind of myth. Surely
an intelligent people would not submit to a
hereditary ruler. 1t must be perfectly
apparent to them that all men were created
this conclusion. Only savages could gain
say it.
And in this connection. Geranium Jim
nearly "died a-laffiing" when he caught the
first glimpse of the coachman and footman
In the rich folks liveries.
Around one of the big dry goods estab-
lishments of Chicago they stand in long
lines on sunny afternoons. Here Geranium
Jim first found them. Their white, skim
tight breeches, top-boots and rosetted hats
filled him full He lay up against build
ing and howled with laughter. He had
never seen anything quite SO funny in his
life. Then he became serious These men
were idiots, he said. They had sold their
independence. They had badged their sta
ton in life. They were demeaned and de-
graded. He went up to one and asked
seriously:
"why don't you throw 'em OFF,"
WHAT" asked the man.
CHOSE toys
"Oh, go off, said the man.
you ought to be ashamed said Gera-
MUM Jim. You, free born American citi-
zen. You ought to be ashamed"
AS he surveyed the coachman and foot
man with a sheer he fixed his eye on one
and started like man who has been shot.
His face turned pale. His eyes lied If there
wasn't his nephew, his nephew sitting in a
buggy holding the lines and rugged out
like the rest of them. He looked at the
boy carefully. His hair and face and
age" he said. "and a-sitting like that, in
those awful clothes. there with the rest of
those degraded monkeys"
But perhaps ii was not him-perhaps
there was mistake. He had never seen
the boy. On. how he hoped it was not his
nephew. How he longed that his long
search was not to have this result.
But he sought the verdict with bleed
ing heart-the boy was condemned. He
turned 10 the driver he had first accosted
and asked:
Who is the coachman the fifth back OF
you?'
The coachman turned and said: That's
IL k,...- ,s-;x-
Geranium Jim's eyes beamed. He had
condemned the boy unjustly-wonderful
likeness probably-but he could not excuse
himself on those grounds. He had thought
his sisters boy capable of those clothes
and that degradation. He ought to be
ashamed of himself. But he was glad OF
heart, unspeakable glad.
Say. Mister" cried the first driver CALI
ing him back. THAT amt Joe Rodney,
neither. rs mistaken. It's Walter Moran,
L gun
The westerner turned away. He took on:
his red handkerchief and wiped the sweat
from his brow. The tears came TO his
eyes-;t had been such long time since he
had cried he did not notice them.
1t was cruel blow TO hirn-this discovery
more cruel than those who have not held
the words free and equal in undying love
to their hearts can realize. Here was his
nephew Benedict Arnold and worse. lie
could not reason otherwise.
He, remembered that somewhere il had
been said that "all labor is honorable" He
had forgiven the boy almost and started
TO so TO him. TO take him into his arms and
tell him 10 throw away the rich mans rags
and come out TO the ranch and its sky ami
its freedom
But the uniform held him back. II wa:
ur-Arnerican; !. was the brand or the gar
ley slaves back; IL was the crop IN tbs
negro's nose and the bore in the Esyp-
tian's ear And he. had put II on himself
He had. in free country. where protss
and refusal we're free. accepted servitud,