The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1899-11-15
THE SPHINX.

~'War is a terrible thing!" We
Eear this often, but it is more ter
rible, it seems to me to the fellows
who get licked than the ones who do
the licking. No one would suppose
from the expression we have been
wearing around here on this con-
tinent that any one felt very ''ter-
rlble" about that little fuss with the
siSpaniards last year, or the set-to we
have been having with the Filipinos,
over in Luzoh. But somebody is
feeling bad and there is not an
American, even though he might be-
long to the poor old, sympathetic,
Democratic party that is shedding
very many tears. But over in Spain
every infant that has been born
within year has inherited the trou-
BILE of the nation and has been squall-
ing as though its clothes were full of
pins; and the grown people, too,
have been shedding such huge tears
u -Df GRIEF as would make the croci-
diles flowing brine look like little
beads of pearls. 1t is safe to say
that enough tears have been wasted
in old Spain over this terrible thing
that we call war to irrigate all the
wrid lands that still belong to little
Don Alphonso's kingdom. And if
water would wash off the black
there would not be a Filipino but
that would be so spotlessly white
that he might be suspected of hav-
ing passed through Chinese laun-
dry, or being a fend to the arsenic
habit.
And fighting, too, is bad on the
eyes, but it is worst on the fellow
that gets licked. Fighting is
mighty bad thing, but you do not
usually find the man that comes out
sOn top doing much weeping. Of
course Jeffries got a pretty bad shak-
ing up, but we will bet one of the
best cocoanuts ever kept in a nintey-
nine cent store, that Sharkey did all
the crying over that game. OF
course fighting is bad thing, but it
is worst on the fellow that gets
licked.
This law. business is pretty
risky thing to 60 into, and we not
infrequently hear people say that it is
best to settle matters out OF court
But when they are settled this way
there is usually q compromise and
each of the grieved ones must give
in so much that neither one feels en-
tirely satisfied with the result. But
in court it's different. One of the
litigants usually gets trimmed up,
and he naturally concludes that law
is bad thing; he swears at the jury,
and calls the judge a stupid OLD ass,
and feels very badly indeed. The
other fellow, too, thinks that law
isn't the best thing after all, because
he has had a good deal of anxiety
and sleepless nights, but he ism
kicking so much; he isn't doing any
weeping, he's mighty glad over the
result.
And there is the game of poll
tics 'Politics are bad"-there is no
question spout that But The par
Elephants get out before Ihe'people.
line up their followers, and oh, the
contest is glorious to watch. The
caucuses come off as advertised, the
leaders are all there, they talk to
the people, and the latter vote. One
side gets licked yes that's the
proper term. They feel like calling
the voters damned phuels' OR
something like that, wonder how
they could have so little sense as to
vote the way they did; they are
''riled' and feel sore. While they
feel as though they were suffering
with chill and quietly walk home
wards, the other fellows are whoop-
ing 'er up and venting their salts
faction through the tality
of their lungs, which appear to
have a special power Of resource.
Politicsuare bad thing--of course
they are, but the fellows who VIII