The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1901-04-13

PLATFORM NJ.
By PAUL P. HARRIS.
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TARLY in life Clancy caught the
political fever. His case was one
Of the most malignant and uncom-
promising kind. He had COPIED sue
Cessfully with the smallpox and the
tremens, but politics at times threat
ened to be his undOing; nevertheless
the time came when it was apparent
to all that he surely had a 'pulI.'
He had that certain ~indefnable some
thing about him which promised
splendid openings to his adhercnts,
humiliation to his foes. When it
came to a matter of realization, they
were both likely to receive the same
humiliation. Such men as old
Donahue, who kept the BILLY Goat"
thirst parlor down by the tannery,
were wont to doff their hats when
Clancy emerged from his alley.
There being no reputable party to
stand against any and every form
OF taxation, he became theoretically
q single taxer, though his most
ardent enemies had never accused
him of paying a tax of any descrip-
S@SA" lis bAACO4y was budJy uuUtE
such dispensation, it would be i'm
possible to tax both beer and whis-
Ky at the same time.
In practice Clancy was indepen-
dent, and stood prepared to accom-
modate principle to occasion. He
first sprang into prominence when he
was elected president of the Five
Days RNOtice club, an exaItment
which became his by. virtue of the
fact that he had received more five
days notices to pay rent or quit
than anyone at that time discov-
cred. WithaI, he was a modest man
and bore his honOrs as only they who
are born to greatness can. He feared
no foe save Mrs. Clancy. Of course,
all these things were very much in
his favor and counted for many
votes on election days.
The Five Days Notice club was a
numerous body, and it was unQues-
tionably a potent factor in local poll
tics. AS tenants easily Out-voted
landlords in the Twenty-third ward,
to a politician there was but one
side to the question; and, in fact, to
anyone who had a mOdicum of self
respect it was plain that anything
that a landlord got was so much
gain; he was entitled to nothing.
That is, it was plain to all, barring
those who viewed the matter from
an ex parte standpoint; the bias of
Belf-interest might alter conclusions,
but there were no landlords in the
order. The conception was most
ideal, though there were those who
thought it Of almost too spiritual a
character to have place in mundane
affairs. The constitution refuted
and laid bare to ridicule many fall
lacies which existed in the alleged
civilization of the day. 1t made it
clear that virtue and vice often mas
queraded in each others clothing:
that the virtue Of the day was not
always to be Landed nor the vice con-
demned. 1t stood for concerted ac-
ton against the ~effrontery of impor-
tunate landlords, and it made the
statutory form of the five days no
tice the badge of the order.
The roster enrolled the names of
many we'll known to fame and honor.
There was Mcnamara, who never
paid till his landlord d~istraiped:
O'Flaherty, whose lofty standard of
principle never permitted him to
keep anything in the house worthy
of distraining; and O'Hoolihan, who
kept his own private jury, paid by
the year and vi at hand ready to
he impaneled when O'Hoolihan's
friend, the constable, notified him
that the rent question had to be
thrashed over again; but all this was
as sounding brass when CIancy's
record was talked of.
He ran for alderman. O'HooIihan.
who coveted a paving contract, in
sisted; Mcnamara, who was after
the coin, wouldn't hear nay; and
O'Flaherty, who was endeavoring to
keep out of Jail, said: "Come off wild
yez" to Clancy's protest. The altru-
ism of the mans nature finally as
serted itself and, thanking Heaven
that subscribing and paying was not
one and the same, he put his name
down for $500 toward the fund.
while O'HOolihan opened a cold bot |
tie; Mcnamara executed a a geul;
O'FlaheTty yelled like an Indian, and
all pledged themselves to inaugumte !
q general drunk which would take on 7
the nature of a saturation through
out the ward. Nothing which might
6R any way have been conducive to