The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1900-11-16
THE SONG OF sHIAwAssEE.

BAD Snag Wnen lie sailed into Shia-
wassee-The Poem Published Sstur-
day and the Answer TO the Same Pub
Iished this week
The Chicago Times-Herald's poet
sailed into somewhat rough waters last
Saturday when in verse he credited
Shiawassee county-which gave 1903
plurality for McKinley-with being the
only county in Michigan which gave
Bryan a plurality. The song as it APP
peared in the Times Herald is given
herewith. The explanatory note pre-.
ceding it was the only explanation
which the Times-Herald gave outside
of the poem itself. Following this
poem are few of the answers which
the publication of the poem called out
and published by the Times-Her.
aid in connection with "Shiawassee' &
Answer" another poetic, production
wherein the Times-Herald versifier at
tempts to square himself with Shi
awassee by placing the credit of the
Bryan plurality where it belongs, with
st. Joseph county. After his latest eff
fusion Shiawassee is more than willing
to let the matter drop and call matters
even with Mr.. Kiser, Kiser, who now il
wiser, wiser, than he was before. Fol
lowing are in order, the first "song,
the protesting letters published by the
Times Herald with its explanatory
paragraph, and the resulting poem.
Mckinley carried every comfy in Michigan
save one, Shiawassee, which gave Bryan plu
rality Of SO.
Should you ask me why this singing.
Why these cadences and rhythm,
Why these lifting repetitinns,
With their winnings and their turnings
Round the name of Shiawassee,
! I should ans wer, should tell you
That where Michigan is darkest
Where the stubborn stumps are thickest,
Where the whiskers gro the longest,
Where the scented soap is scgrcest,
Where the boot owl boots the loudest,
Where the winding Shiawassee
Nurmurs sadly past Owosso.
They have stood four-square for Bryan,
Stood for Bryan and for silver,
Knowing not, and little caring
What the world at large was doing
They have written on the tablets;
| "shiawassee goes for Bryan"
from the woods of shiawassee,
From the little old log shehties.
From behind the sheds and haystacks,
Strobe the voters with their trousers
In their boot.tops and their whiskers
Tucked within heir yellow jumpers,
With their whiskers that the seasons
Have despoiled of gloss and color
Tucked away, inside their jumpers,
Came the sons of shiawassee,
Came the men of Bancroft, Byron,
And Judd's Corners and Corunna,
Came the men Of Garland, Kerby,
And of Morrice and West Haven,
And of Burton and of Vernon,
And of Shaftsburg and of Pittsburg,
With their whiskers in their jumpers
And the moss Of many seasons
Clinging to their spinal columns.
There was Ovid, to the westward,
Looking sorrowfully at them,
And Chesaning, to the northward,
Full of wonder, sadly murmured:
And Cohoctah and Okemos.
To the southwark, spoke in whispers,
spoke in doubling whispers Of 1t!
"Shiawassee! Shiawassee?'
Murmured beautiful Cohoctah,
"Do you wake, or are you sleeping3
Have you got somn am bulismr
Wake! Oh wake, oh Shiawassee!
Come from out the gloom, the darkness,
Come from mid night into daylight,
Come from last year into this year,
Come from last week into this week,
Come from sadness into gladnessP'
And Okemos answered. saying:
"Hush! oh leave her with her sorrow,
Leave her with her sorrow signing,
Leave her with the worlds foreHnger
Pointing full at Shiawassee,
Shiawassee and Owosso,
Asking, as it will, 'Owosso
Matter with old Shiawasseer
But the sons of Shiawassee
Needed not nor stopped to listen,
Needed not nor thought nor reasoned,
Neither pondered nor considered
All they did was chew tobacco
Aud throw votes away in clusters
And expectorate in space and
Throw their ballots on the West Wind
And the North Wind and the East Wind,
And they threw some on the South Wind.
II Il blew from that direction,
Giving all the world to know that
Shiawassee stood for Bryan
Stood out lonely, in the dampness,
With her idol in her satchel,
With her garments all bedraggled
And her moccasins run over
And her stockings hanging loosely
Like a concertina's wiudworks
Round the groundwork of her ankles,
Round the angles of her ankles
And the West Wind hurried onward,
Hurried on to meet the East Wind,
Toying with the faded whiskers
That her sons pulled from their jumpers,
Toying lightly with their whiskers,
And In whispers, saying, signing:
| "shi-oh-shi-oh ShiawasseeV
THE CASE OF SHIAWASSEE.
Editor Times Herald: Just read your wonder
| full song of Shiawassee County, Michig an, o.
| editorial page of today's issue. am surprises
| that one OF the best and greatest papers of tn
| west pays such q tribute to inaccuracy, as Shia
wsssee county, instead OF giving Bryan
| plurality of 80, rs you state In your today
| issue, gave Mckinley plurality Of over ,60t
| Yet as Bliss for governor carried the county b
| votes ahead OF his ticket. For the honor @
Shiawassee county, whom you ran down wit
vour horrible sing song. you should TAX
| notice OF this statement. ! hope you wi
praise Shiawassee county In another poem
to times more in favor than in the one OF Il