The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-10
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
An Ingenious Scheme to Upset the
Dreams of the Poets.
(From the Chicago Record.

(From the Chicago Record)
Three of us were sitting on the veran-
da in front of Hoyts hotel at Rushville,
in northwestern Nebraska, one sum
mer evening, talking about social condi-
tons and all sorts of things. A tramp
Indian of the coffee cooler variety,
who had just passed, furnished matter
for much reasoning, and from the
wrongs of Lo and the remedy therefor
we passed to altrurian subjects gener-
ally, finally fetching up with that sec
ton of 'Locksley Hail. which mentions
the federation of the world and the
| brotherhood of man. Then the st.
Joseph drug man became earnest.
1t won't do" he said. mo, sir Peo-
pie are too suspicious of one another.
me man who came around trying to
upllft and help would have to get seven
prominent citizens to vouch for him
before he would be allowed to pass out
a single benefaction, and then thew
would want to turn it inside out and
examine the lining and bite it to see
if it was solid metal"
The readymade clothing man from
Chicago was hardly ready to go that
far and said so, whereupon the ST.
OF the hotel bill for all three that he
could prove it in ten minutes the Chi
cago man to pay all reasonable costs of
said proving.
The Chicago man still believed that
people were not all warped away from
trust in their fellows, so he took the
bet. Then the st. Joseph salesman
mounted box which was standing on
the sidewalk near by and began offer
10
Two minutes the street was ciogged
with curious people. Having obtained
an audience he started in on his talk.
Ladies and gentlemen" he began.
1t is my earnest desire to lend every
person within the sound of my voice
$3.50. He paused for a moment, and
as nobody advanced to take advantage
OF his offer, hef went on:
ON the whole, after thinking it over
have decided to raise it to SO and to
offer a first-class leather pocketbook
to keep it in"
The bystanders looked at one another
In wonderment and began to shift un-
easily on their feet, but not one came
forward to get his money and his pock-
etbook.
The man on the box looked grieved
and begged the people to come UP and
relieve him of his embarrassment of
wealth.
nave sick wife at home" he said.
who will languish and decline if she
fears that you thus obstinately refuse
TO accommodate me by taking this
money. To induce you further, l shall
add gold watch and a bicycle to nv
offer l ask for nothing in exchange.
You are simply assisting a poor. over
burdened man who cannot get rid of
his vast store. Be kind to me- Come
and take this money and property"
Ihere were murmurings in the crowd
ana man whose name, as it later
turned out, was Simpkins, and who had
lost S207 the last time he went to Oma-
ma with cattle, remarked that these
confidence men ought to be took in
charge" and that if he was the "sher-
ruff, it would be done mighty quick
little, red headed fellow away out on
the edge of the crowd said that this
was the most shameless three-card
monte same he ever saw. A one armed
man With whiskers growing up out of
his chest, remarked that if he only had
two arms, the town wouldn't be long
under the domination of robbers and
thugs from outside. The st. Joe man
stlll continued to talk, raising his offer
| TO deeds to farm lands and city lots
and when he got as far as saying he
would give a railroad ticket to Chicago
| to all hands, there was a united rush
The sheriff seized him from behind, and
the city marshal took him by a half
Nelson from the front The mayor
grabbed one leg and the public prose-
cutor the other, and if it had not been
for the hard work of Hoyt, the keeper
of the hotel, the man who went run
ming for rope would not have had the
chase in vain. Hoyt explained that
this was poor, demented creature who
had lost all his money in the Holt
County Bank that Barrett Scott
wrecked, and had brooded on it and
ought t be pitied. The rest Of us
joined in and argued strongly in behalf
Of the st. Joseph man, and at last, on
promise that he would be sent out of
town by the next train, he was released
to us. The whole population came
down to the depot and waited restive-
ly for the train. We got the st. Jo-
seph man to the depot by circuitous
route and the other two of us went as
far UP the road as Chadron with him
to protect him.
II told you how that brotherhood-of
man feeling would work." he said, tri-
umphantly, the next morning, when we
gave him his receipted hotel bill.