Waterbury Democrat., 1901-08-31
AS YOU LIKE IT
Some Stray Leaves from a Reporters
 Note Book.

Note Book.
 The other day. says an exchange in the British house of commons, 1t was announced in the coolest and most mat ter-of-fact manner, as if it were only an ordinary mater of detail, that there are at present in the prison pens ln South Africa 14, ,624 old men, 21 III wo- men, and 43,O75 children, and that the mortality during June amongst those unfortunates, owing to the hendlsh manner in which they are treated, was 63 old men, 13S women and 576 chil- dren. Imagine this. ye happy Ameri- can mothersl Put yourselves in the places of these devoted Boer women! Look at your venerable parents and your innocent little ones dying through cruelty before your eyes, and yourselves cuffed and insulted by the brutal soldieryl
 During the past week witnessed on Bank street one of the most cruel scenes imaginable. A young brute was driving a horse that had a dis eased spot on his back, about six inches square, evidently made by the friction of a poorly fitting saddle. The saddle had been removed, not, I pre- suEe, from any humane reason, but primarily because the horse would utterly collapse were it allowed to re- main. To make matters worse the animal was overloaded. and to get some speed in him the heartless driv- CT piled him unmercifully with a stout stick across this sore and sen sitive spot An onlooker was so in- censed at the mans cruelty that he 1nterfered and threatened arrest, fact which saved the horse until he was out of my sight. at least.
 Alderman Blakeslee, the man who is said to be leading In the race for the mayoralty nomination on the republi- can ticket, had peculiar experience yesterday. The alderman drives gray horse which has the reputation of be- ing as gentle as a lamb and is said to be worth between S250 and $500. Shortly after noon yesterday Mir Blakeslee and another prominent mem Der of the republican camp were seat ed in the carriage at the city hall when a Democrat reporter came along and stopped to inquire of the aldermen and his companion if they had heard of an accident on West Main street near the iron bridge. They hadn't heard word about 1t, but being a very accommo- dating gentleman. dyed in the wool re- publican though he be. the alderman told the reporter to jump in and he would give him ride down there. The invitation was accepted. but when the candidate for the mayoraIty tnomfna- tion told his horse to "gid ap" he was answered by a snort of indignation from the animal. which bespoke in no uncertain way the horses contempt for democratic freight. MT Blakeslee touched the animal with the whip. but this made things worse and the next thing he knew hoofs were flying in the air. The alderman could not un- derstand what 1t meant The horse had never acted so before and he saw no reason for such conduct at that time Finally he remembered that on a previous occasion the horse had re- fused to move when a democrat got into the carriage and not caring to evict the reporter after asking him to ride, he talked plain to the horse and after considerable exertion succeeded fin forcing the animal to propeI the trio to the scene of the accident at West Side Hill.