The Washington times., 1901-10-27

| of the hall. knowing the length of the
| purse of the Hon. John B. Breeze. did not
| hesitate to send in the order from his sa.
loon in front cf the conventions gather
| ing place.
1t is now the duty of the chair ter
| name a committee OF FIVE to notify the
honorable candidate that we have chosen
him as our st2ndard-bearer" announced
the chairman, when he could make him
self heard above the din of glasses being
pounded on the chair backs as signals to
the walters Then he continued, without
waiting to see If his remarks met with
approval. II name John Collins. Tom
Blake. Martin Burke. Carl Schnitzel, and
Pete Conroy as the committee"
Three cheers for the committee. 4"
shouted some one in the cloud of tobacco
smoke that was choking the room. The
cheers were given, the committee started
out. and TIE convention adjourned.
The Hon. John b. Breeze stopped in the
hallway of his home to look into the mir
ror on the hatrack in order to see If his
white tie was perfectly straight He ad-
justed it slightly. put on his overcoat, and
after flecking a little dust off his silk hat
he called out to Mrs. Breeze. who was
sitting in the drawing room:
"Good-by, my dear. I'm off to the din
ner." Then, as if by an after thought, he
added: BY the way. the regulars of this
district sent to my office today and said
the sentiment of the district was that
should run for alderman. Now, 1 don't
want to be bothered about such an office.
The fact is, / have bigger fish to fry
Walking rapidly to the corner, the Hon.
John B. Breeze hailed cab, jumped in
and was driven to the banquet hall, where
the Friends of the Republic were holding
their annual dinner. He was down to re-
spond to the toast, Our Civic Duty" and
he was thinking hard of what he would
say when he was called upon to speak
All too soon the toastmaster called on
the Hon. John B. Breeze.
Ladies and fellow-members OF the
Friends of the Republic" he began. Then
he went on and told how the nation was
founded on the works of devotion to pub
lie duty on the part of the fathers of the
country; nothing was nobler than their
unselfish toll night and day TO establish
on a firm footing the struggling young
group of States The past and present
were contrasted, much to the discredit Of
the present. Then he launched forth in
his peroration.
Gentlemen, the office should seek the
man. If our fellow-citizens should offer
to any of us a position of public trust, the
true patriot, the man who has the well
fare of his country at heart, should not
cast 1t aside as # it were a bauble but he
should accept it and administer that office
with honesty and a single eye to the well
fare OF those who trusted him. That,
gentlemen, is the motto Of the true son of
our nation; that. gentlemen. is the foun-
dalton of our society, the Friends of the
Republic
The Hon. John b. Breeze sat down deaf
ened by the applause which greeted his
concluding words. A walter slipped
telegram into his hand. He read 1t, be-
came little fiustered, and then smiled.
ScribbIing reply on a piece of paper he
asked the waiter to send 1t. Then he sat
back and listened to the other speakers.
On its way out OF the convention hall
the notification committee stopped at the
bar and had a round of drinks. All went
down on the slate to the account of the
Hon. John B. Breeze. Then the five
boarded car for the street In which the
candidate Ived. Midnight was approach
ing when they arrived Although the
Breeze house was dark, the five walked up
the sters and rang the bell They rang it
twice, thrice. Finally aivoicc asked who
was there. One of the five replied that
they were a committee of Mr.. Breeee's
fellow-citizens who had come to tender
TO him one of the best offices in their
gift
Mrs. Breeze understood. She came
down and let the five In. Redoleut of to-
bacco and beer. the five entered and sat
down in the parlor Excusing herself for
a moment Mrs. Breeze went upstairs.
She called up telegraph boy and gave
him a telegram addressed to the Hon.
John B. Breeze at the dinner of the
Friends of the Republic. Then she came
back to the parlcr. When she got through
talking the five marched out in single
file. On reaching the street they looked
at each other for a moment. The awk-
ward pause was broken by the suggeS-
ton: Let's have a drink
When the Hon. John b. Breeze opened
the telegram at dinner, this Is what he
read
Stay away until o'clock Iii fix the
committee. JENNIE
This was his reply:
''AlI right; catch on. JOHN"
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