The age-herald., 1898-03-22
THE JOHNSTON KISS"
 IN ALABAMA POLITICS

| I don't know whether or not kissing Is | healthfuI. have been told that Birming | ham is a remarkable city when 1t comes | to a clean bill of health. This is the best
 argument I have heard against the Att Ianta womans claim that the kissing habit Is detrimental to good health. Ala | bama Is considered an extremely healthful state. This is another argument. There must be kissing and lots of 1t in Birming- ham and Alabama For just as America | has been regaled with Cissy Fitzgerald's
 naughty wink and the Olga Nethersole kiss, l so has Alabama given birth to that sweet | est essence of osculation, the triumph of | behind the curtain art-the Johnston | kiss" The Fitzgerald wink was a creat- ure of the stage. It cost one dollar and | may be this with half of another to sit l close under the footlights, breathing the | hypnotic influence of this nervous contrac- l tion of the eyelid for twenty minutes. So | 1t was with the Nethersole tutti fruitt A creature of the stage. A momentary glance at others put 1t on and then twas a sigh for the act that didn't transpire un- | til you witnessed another performance of Carmen. The Johnston kss," par takes not of the cold stage breath, 1t is a creature of freedom. It fits from city to the hills, where the brooklet's trickle to the streams below, 1t gathers freshness from the pure air breathed by goats and
 mocldngbirds, and inhales sweetness from the wild honeysuckle. In harvest time it carries the aroma of new mown hay, dur ing wintry winds 1t smacks of the cherry freside, the evening story and the season of nut cracking.
 Tn the land where lords live in castles and have the peasantry to do nothing, save tend their vast estates, 1t Is not ln- frequent for the young "dukeing" and the "lordling" to spurt about on spirited steed, pauslng here and there to coat some ruby peasant lips with the royal sweetness. Twas an honor then, as the coating of gubernatoriar sweetness is to the maiden of Alabama. Birmingham has witnessed the birth of the steel age and 1t can also claim honor as the home of the originator of the Johnston kiss" labeled with Ala bama's own trade mark, Here we rest" It is strictly an Alabama product, patent applied for and all rights reserved Gov. Johnston has made 1t famous and to him all pretty lips turn with trepidation and
 fear, mingled with sensations of anticipat-
 ed pleasure. "Red-headed Joe," as he is
 often endearingly called, was overwhelm-
 ingly chosen to preside over the states des-
 tinies and he will experience the pleasure
 again, and yet he has not assended to
 the last round of the ladder, which Ala
 bamas political carpenter has framed for
 him. The Johnston kiss" may have
 smoothed the track to greatness. It is
 said that this brand of tutti fruitti is more
 irresistible than a box of bon bons, and sweeter by far than the syrup that flows from the young maple tree. It may be that in future years, mothers will tell their children that the Johnston kiss" was a feature of their debut. It may be con-
 sidered one of the eligibles to join the "hupper succles'' and yet who can blame ed4headed Joe?
 Do not his lips quicker for meal of
 osculatory flavor, and be it said that as far
 as is generally known, he never but once struck a snag.
 This was several years ago during his race for the gubernatorial nomination He attended a marriage, after which a swell reception was given. There were
 pretty girls by the score. Powdered faces
 peeped from every corner, and diamonds
 sparkled from every breast. Plain Mr.
 Johnston then, but Gov. Johnston now, walked through decorated halls drinking
 in the beauty of the scene. It so came about that his lips grew thirsty for viands
 other than those inanimate. When this came about it did not take long for things to reach a head and several lips were
 coated with what now may be termed
 gubernatorial sweetness. There was one
 lady, unmarried, who had passed the TO-
 mantle age. It is not believed that the governors lips were overly thirsty for those which had probably meandered through life a score and ten without pro- tector The solution seems to be that when the ball was started he was too big hearted
 to slight any one. That is how 1t happen
 ed. Trouble ensued. A shaking of head
 not as youthful as some others, and it may
 be mentioned in passing that this same
 staid lady without a protector has never
 been made personally acquainted with the
 virtues of the Johnston kiss" There
 were apologies. It was only a ripple on the ocean to mar the Johnston kiss for
 moment, which has since rolled into fame
 and caught the attention of the press.
 SIDNEY YOUNG.
 unw TIJEV Gn.