The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-11
CIT REFORMED POLITICS.
REMINDS THE ST. PAUL NAV OF RE
ED sTEAMB0ATING.

Cant, Soc uiIiouzhby's Prayer Meeting ABOARD
tho Grounded MiSsissippi Boat MARY nno
ITS Birthstone AdJournment-somc OF the
sang, or the CauVnss-Coicr's ObiiVisconoe'
well, III be hornswogcled." 1t was the 81.
Paul man. lie wandered into tho Firth Avenue
Hotel and sank down in the amen pew win n
,Ivb that came from his heels. The st. Paul
man ordinarily doesn't use bad iahsuaso' ouI
ANYBODY with oven half an eye could SEQ hat he
was disturbed now. and particlples' IL NO c"rou
to use them, were cxcusable.
"well. IN bp hornswoggled," no repeated.
"Inscct. old man. he said, turning to Insect
o'Connor, statesman, who had for the moment
utopped thinking, Insect, old man. politics 10
nheol, isntitF
porhaps It was tho want OF originality about
this remark that led tho Insect to rctort. "Aw,
fergit It, ole man; ferglt it. Yes amt tn only
bird on tn branch ez thinks 1t. Fergit II, ole
man; fergit It,"
"Say, Insect" said tho st. Paul man. II
came on hero from st. Paul just to look over
this situation. We've got prosperity to burn
out in ST. Paul and around Minnesota. Pros
perity to burn. Insect. and when we've got that,
there isn't any fun in politics. No use In my
staying out there, and l just came on TO look
over this situation. You know. Insect, what
this Seth Low reminds me of I'll tell you. He
reminds me OF old Capt. Joe Willoughby. Old
Cant. Joe Willoughby was a man In his line o
good deal like Low is in his line In some
ways. lilo was ono Of these headstrong crit
tiers. His head was as big CT q barrel. and
there wasn't anything, according to his way
of thinking, that was quito as big as he was.
The old Captain ran a boat on the Mississippi.
and though there were n thousand men that
could run a boat as we'll as he could, or better,
there wasn't one, according to his idea, that
N ----~ -
the wickodest man on the river, too. Why. I've
known him to talk an hour steady and never
use a word that didn't have cuss in it; not-a-
word. Oh, it was notorious what a wicked man
he was; just as it's notorious what a politician
this man Low Is that you've got running here,
We'll. one day Capt. 200 was coming down
the river with his boat t. when all Of a sudden .id
aground hard and fast Just like Low. YOU see.
He run this college of his aground; at least
hard and fast. WASN'T any great thing for a
boat to run aground in those days. any more
s tina Sc d days. ; = ss and c f"ins j 10 Fs6 Boat a ' Seins aground Q
wouldn' have attracted any particular atten.
zion II it hadn't, been that. after she'd
ed with circulars headed Reformed The
circulars went on and said that Capt.
and that he was going to have a prayer meet,
ing aboard his boat, the Mary Jane. anchored
OF Lacrosse In tho Mississippi River. Well;
va NlAS nv va ~ nv
the Guttenburs race track. Everybody talked
about it. Capt: Joe's name was in everybody's
mouth. Everybody urged everybody else to go
10 Capt. Joe y meeting, just a. everybody urged
everybody else to sign those Low petitions Re-
form was the watchword. and Capt. Joo was
the king pin.
THE prayer meeting was to be held at 9
O'Clock in the afternoon. The crowd headed for
the river. The Mary Jane was there. close in to
shore, and gangplanks were out. The Captain
and mis- crew we're in their Sunday clothes. strut
ting around the deck. and when the eros d came
the mate called out:
BACK there in the stern! The meetin's in
the stern Move back! all back Step back,
gentlemen Plenty o, room back there! Prayer
meetin' in the stern o. the boat. gents
We'll. the people came and they came and
they came and they jammed back in the stern of
the boa; as tight as sardines in a box. and the
stern Of the boat IL kept sinking deeper and
deeper as the crowd grew bigger. And the bow.
which was hard aground. kept getting higher
watching. Just about two-thirds OF tho crowd
that had come was aboard when the weight
estern swung the bow loose and the old Mary
Jane was afioat.
well, sir. Capt. Joe Willoughby he Jumped
four feet in the air and he bawled out:
Hey! you ------! Hey.
-,