The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-15
. CHANCE FOR CLARENCE.
OPENING FOR A YOUNG NAN WITH
the POLITICAL GERM.
The Meeting Of the society for silent Thought
offered Just the Opportunity Needed to
Begin a Career OF Oratory-The silent
Thinkers Evidently Enjoyed lt-A Mystery,

Thinkers Evidently Enjoyed It-A Mystery.
Clarence Is all right in some ways, but he's
got the political germ. That's what's the
matter with Clarence. The last time no Wa
n the hospital they must have inoculated him
with the Demosthenes virus. Now he thinks
he's the original font OF eloquence and he's
shaping up for tho coming campaign. Hes
got the ~orations Of Patrick Henry bound In
morocco and the eloQuence of William J. Bryan
bound In calf and the poems OF Edward Atkin-
son bound in yellow dog. He sits In the corner
and studies them when he ought to be making
an honest living and when the shades Of night
are falling fast he gets up in his hall bed room
and plays he's the original human meeaphone.
What he yearns TO do is to 20 on the stump for
Bryan this fall. He's putting in his time now
adays hunting the stump.
THE Toptloor Debating Club gave him the
chance of his life the other day. He'd been
spouting around there till most Of lis were
threatened with this fancy new ear disease and
We appointed a committee to devise ways and
means of showing a spike in Clarence's cogs.
Why didn't We eNpel him? Oh, we didn't want
to do that. Clarence Is all risht IL he didn't
have that hot air habit SO bad. Bill Pratt calls
him the balloonatic. 1t was Bill that put up
the game. Bill goes down to Fourteenth stree:
every now and then and pulls a salary out for
looking pleasant. Right next TO the Office
where he'd work II his father wasn't head Of
the firm. so that he gets the same salary with.
out the trouble. there's a sort Of one act as
sembly room. All kinds Of societies that have
got the price TO pay in advance go down tbers
and reform things. Last week there was a
scrap for the room between the Society for the
Suppression Of Insect Life in Our Midst and the
United Greek Pedlers' Five Dollars-a-week
Police Benefit Organization. That's just to
show you what kind Of belfry bats fit around
that locality. When the Insects and the Greeks
got through with each other the assembly room
was suffering with abrasions and severe inter-
nal injuries. The agent for the joint turned
the Society of Silent Thought. Bill Pratt took
q look in at their first meeting and came OUT
with a smile on his face like a long dri k on a
hot day. He saw that outfit was Just made to
"You might think that Bill would have put
the rest Of us on at the start. That isn't Bill.
gIi has + G an sni ts sssfaa bag sT TSIi Msd to to death
and he did the Silent Thought act as i he was a
member OF the gang. All we had to know was
address before the Society Of Silent Thought
and that three or four Of us we're to 60 along to
see that he got a fair, shake from the referees
and nobody rubbed oil of mustard on his legs,
hNi ' NUN hbi' III
that didn't change the odds on Clarence. We
all knew that he had his winters supply OF
oratory stored away from wind and rain: Know
| for ten weeksi
"a IN give 'em the Influence Of Monetary
Flnctuations on the Rights OF the Common
Maybe he didn't have the hot debate with
the club looking glass that evening. The rest
S San S5 s oS S, a SSSS x srs gave pnt i hi %as an q S SiIs nIsSt
upon tho sea, pilot. Clarence Is one Of those
windmill orators, When he get, fairly buzz
ing the air d.. is fuller Of arms and legs than a
10 that rehearsal. and when We dragged him
of for fear Of laryngitis the mercury, was peel
IN, ns;, Of aIes The y. back SS..S & him the IN ,G 70 4 fIos sia coat I 1nS
escorted him to the Silent Thought meeting.
.,n ,.SG Tso6 S,is5 r.. ! I,, %y u 6G re ,, ss,a s 81, ,5 pratt =:
absorb Ideas. Don't be discouraged Il. they
don't give So,, you ~, tho 1,sh glad hand They'll ap-
-Then he led Clarence in and turned him
loose on the Silent Thinkers. There, wasn't
ANY ANY m sils"ss d' Gisrs s5SsR Spe sasT' up p0' wiz e. /. new ssE
Of his megaphone whoops and then he began
to do calisthenics,, Say, you never saw any
ones was. they. were just tickled pink, What
seemed TO suit them be.t Of all was Clarence's
ground and lofty cali.thenic &c lures. He'd
p wsFs anu aSic Ta tnas Began T"t 70 get ~" aw aRse and i re,
spond, For q man that's always been rea-
sonably sure Of getting home before "A. NJ.
on the outside began to wonder what Bill had
nun us. up against. II looked like a signal
CORPS doing fancy practice without their Of
Clarence saws Bob Rink. from the door
way, They're trying tn flag you. Break away
before. the train come'.'
miles. You couldn't have got. him away from
that audience with a bag full Of thousand dollar
bills. e poured the Monetary Fluctuations
auctuated With him. iii BOB Rink iini'tbs began ~t Il
complain Of sea sickness. All Of the Silent
Thinkers were on the broad grin. but they
Ing to Your principles the Society Of silent
Thought Is n pretty strong lar Of cement. They
ought to establish a branch in the temperance
% or L miHS. b "a %'f besp nave an h Ssen s aad q Ga nSSs;
had begun t. break into the rights Of the people
line when Bill Pratt said to the rest Of us:
s%ooiety's had enough. DO an exit when
give the signal
Then he broke loose in a yen that made clar-
a lot Of these big torredoes, and down the
stairs We all went. yelling Fire.. Murder
and 'Police!., Clarence passed us in the stretch.
Us all as very much, on the twis, that none Of
the society came along. II didn't seem liks
1t was any coca ion for, silent thought, Any
Clarence had a powerful bunch to 90 back
! and have n relapse. We holiow-souared him
ard took him back to the Topioor Debating
Club 10 talk IL over.
Theories were thick md plenty about the
| Silent Thinkers and the general opinion was
that Bill and they had put II all up. Some
way, though, the finish didn't IT In with that
idea. All the time We were discussing II and
| Clarence was getting fretty ard humid around
the collar Bill did the wise owl and never said
n word Finally Bob Kinks said that unless
| Bill opened up and gave us a full diagram
he was going back home TO have the place
Associated Maniacs.
That's all right said Bill comfortably.
: Don't worry about their not being sane. When
it comes e, sanity they've got Clarence in a
-'Diidn't yop get EN- in the Eden Mussee''
, one Of the fellows asked.
Now, here, it's y is way Bill said 'Clar-
: ence has been having the seven-year itch Ia
blow himself 10 some oratory and promised
I'd get him the chance. When ! found out
about this Society for Silent Thought l knew
he couldn't do EN- any harm and it would
be good practice for him.
What do You mean about, not doing them
any harm| said Clarence. doing a Roman
candle sputter,
why, they're a club OF deaf mutes.' said
Bill
"Afterward none Of us could remember
Just what Clarence said, bur II was oratorv
all right. Patrick Henry would have thought
he was a deaf mute himself If he'd gone up
against that spiel. When Clarence went away
with that proud and naughty look Of his va
asked Bill what the Silent Thinkers Thoughts
they were In for anyway.
"'Oh, that's all right said Bill. I told
''em that my friend would give EN- a comic
Clarence says he's going to resign from
our club"