Saint Mary's beacon., 1899-10-19
Saint Harg's Beacon.
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4~@osS sANe $50 t4tkSS2S1s ASsAog
times q very little would bring from
him TRADE against the Almighty,
against humanity, and even against
inanimate objects. His brother
comps. delighted in getting Jim
started /; sometimes. however, they
grew tired Of bis snarling and cap
tiousness. They felt perfectly free
TO tell him SO. IL there 10 any
place where . man says what is in
bis heart and says it emphatically,
it Is in 3 printing Office.
And il there is any subject which
the average comp. cannot and does
not discuss. from philosophy and
religion, politics and social econo-
my, with excursions into the fields
or geographical exploration and
science, dawn to the latest records
in athletics and Of the race track,
the deponent knoweth not. Dis
cussion waxed warm in the Plain
Dealer Office when Jim became
stirred to the depths.
He was tall, sandy haired, Ian
tern-jawed fellow, with the marks
of the typos scourge, consumption,
in his colorless face. Typedust in
the lungs does not create much
outward sign but the insidious
poison is quite as deadly. Jim was
not man whom one would sup
pose q woman would love. Yet il
all tales were true q woman had
loved him-or thought she had
and because Of it Jim was what he
was. A woman had loved him !;
that was the tragedy in Jim's life.
The talk of the composing room
turned one day upon life-life in
the abstract. Somebody, with the
philosophy born of several years.
knocking about the world, said life
was q dreams bad dream occa-
sionally.
ooh, lisa mighty good thing to be
alive,' said the optimistic lad, with
the down still soft upon his lip.
It's q damned Nuisance ? growl-
ed Jim from his corner. distri5ut-
ing type at a rate which sent the
bits of metal Gathering into the
empty boxes in continuous stream.
There's some good things in the
world said the optimistic one.
But the average man nsver gets
'em', interiected Jim; 'and if he
does, it only make him discomfort
ed
That's what he ought to be-
discontented,' declared the Auar-
chist. 'Discontent is what wakes
men mp to their rights
Things are so well ordered in
life.' The first speaker hastened
to break in upon the Anarchist.
Any topic of conversation, from
the age of Queen Victoria to the
use Of the papyrus by the ancients,
was liable to merge into Q discuss.
ion of the principles of anarchism.
'It's just like stick of type-like
this bunch I've got in my hand
The optimist was at the distribut-
ing galley and was just lifting q
handful Of the wetted type. 'Ev'ry
line regular and even /; one come
right after the other
And then the comparison was
completely ruined by the dropping
ont of single letter near the mid
die OF the wet handful. The mass
Of type crumbled and little heap
of 'pi' lay on the galley. The op-
timist swore; the anarchist laughed.
That's it, said Jim, glancing
up. That's life exactly. Drop
ont letter--it's pi that's left.
That's al it is-pi.'
The optimist was silenced for the
nonce.
Later the foreman took him
aside and said
Don't you know better than to
stir mp old Jim today?'
What's the reason p
Its the anniversary of his mar
riage to that woman
Say, what was the matter with
her-or with him?' asked the lad.
81 never Snew.'
IF you'd been here as long as
have, you'd know growled the an
archist. And look at me-iust
where was ten years ago. l tell
you there's no chance for a man to
rise under the present conditions
oh. stop itl' growled the fore
man.
.Rnt ahont Jim q woman . asked