The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-08-24
COUNTRY CRAFTSMANSHIP.
How Blank County People Live ana
Let Live Furnishing O Forger.


Statesmen in Washington and in Lon.
don, not to speak of a dozen other CAPT.
tails, may pride and plume themselves on
their diplomacy and fnesse, but it takes
q country politician to develop real states
manship. Down in Blank. the capital Of
Blank county, they've developed states.
manship until it's almost genius. Here
are some instances of this genius OF
craftsmanship. After you've read them
you can decide which it is.
There are only so voters in the county
town. All of them live off the taxes. Yet
the taxes amount to only about $500 a
year. The way they do it shows how
far ahead the good, honest countryman
Is of the evil, wicked city man. By the
way, remember here that the country
man who comes to buy green goods al
ways intends to swindle his near friends
at home. Recalling that will help you to
understand how the people live.
The local taxes amount to about $500
q year, collected mostly from New York
ers who own hunting tracts in the coun-
ty. But from the state comes perhaps
$500, to be devoted to various uses.
Now, Reuben Glendower, a good Ameri-
can, whose fathers have been Americans
for two centuries, gets a contract to re-
pair the roads of the county for 81 200.
He hires Simon Peters, the justice of the
peace, and George W. Frisbie and T.
Jefferson Woodbury., the supervisors,
both of whom are also old Americans, to
do the work. They do about three days
work. The contractor, who may be the
postmaster, puts in a bill for 1,200-so
many days work at so much a day. The
bill is audited by the supervisors and the
justice of the peace. Each of them gets,
say, $500 for his three days work. The
contractor gets the rest.
The road? There's only one In the
county, across one end, and the soil is
sandy, so that the bed dries quickly after
rain. Besides, no one uses the road ex-
cept natives, and it's better for them as
1t is.
That's not bad for country statesman
ship, but this is better: Dave-never
mind his last name-Dave forged a
friends name, and the worst of it was
the forgery got out. No, that wasn't the
worst of it. Dave got the money-of
course a fellow doesn't forge for the fun
Of it-and then he goes and gets drunk on
It, OF course he couldn't deny it.
The friends of both parties met and
talked the matter over.
Dave hadn't ought ha' done It," was
the general opinion. "Leastways he
shouldn't ha' been caught. But, then,
Dave, he allus was a poor, no account
feller-not 'sponsible really"
The aggrieved friend met Dawes rep
resentative half way. He didn't want to
make trouble, specially ag'in Dave
he'd always liked Dave; liked him now, T.
tn matter O. that. he hadn't no grudge
ag'in him. But he couldn't afford to lose
the money"
"But If We put Dave in tn jail ye won't
get no money"
"No? That so?"
"Yeah; hev to sue him n q civil
court"
'Then Dave'n get two doses for bein
sick once?"
yep; jail fust, an after jail tn cred
itor."
"Huh!"
When they heard that, Dawes repre-
sentatives We're satisfied. Then they
sprung their diplomatic suggestion. There
was some discussion, but the upshot was
that Davis ran for sheriff the next cleo
ton, was elected and turned over to his
friend all the emoluments of his Office, ex-
cept the few dollars that were required to
keep him in funds as a sheriff.
If you suggest to one Of the citizens
that there is something strange in plac-
ing a forger at the head of the executive
department of the county, he'll say:
"Shoo! What's the odds? Jail amt no
place for Dave; sides, Bill needed the
money, an Dave'd never have paid him
IL he'd had to so to Jail.
"Say, an Dawes a fu'st class sheriff
toor'-New York Sun.