Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-07-24

rected him to n quiet, homelike little
place, where he secured a room and
plain but sufficient board under the
roof of widow whose sole support
had been killed in collision on the
Seattle three years before. Yet the ho-
tel man was at heart not sorry to see
him go. He liked him well, but GER
tain of the owners did not. He begged
Langdon to come round and make him.
self Mt home whenever he felt like IT.,
but secretly hoped he might be too
busy. There had been a few days Inn
mediately following the strike when
the mayor, certain of the common coun-
Gil, the district attorney and other
prominent citizens and business men
had expressed themselves as delighted
to meet Mr.. Langdon and as grateful
beyond words for his gallant conduct
at critical time. But since Barclays
banquet they met him with certain
constraint when they met him Mt all,
for his duties kept him at the yards
from early morn till after dark. There
seemed to be just one set of men whose
eyes lighted up Mt sight of him, who
were eager to press his acquaintance
and many Of whom never passed him
without some semblance of military
salute. These were the members of the
Brentwood rifles, officially known as
Company @ of the Fourth Nebraska.
One evening, hardly week after Mel
vile had gone, three of them came to
see him. Cap" they said, was going
to quit. He had been so quizzed and
criticised for letting the strikers get
away with their guns that he couldn't
stand the pressure. The lieutenants
were green, and wouldn't Mr.. Langdon
come round to the armory two even
ings week and drill them? Now,
Langdon had been planning course
of reading in the library of the Young
Mems Christian association, but the
rifles We're importunate. Something
might come Of 1t, and he consented.
Eighteen men appeared the first night
-Tuesday-and SS the secondly
One of the lieutenants was the son of
the leading banker of Brentwood, the
other a young lawyer. Both greeted
him civilly and sat and watched his
work with absorbing interest. The
third night Cap came round and
looked on. Forty-four men were in
ranks-twice as many as he could ever
scrape together for drill-and, though
he shook hands with Langdon during
rest, and said he found his business re-
quired all his time and attention and
therefore he had concluded to resign,
his manner lacked cordiality. Two
weeks later committee waited on
Langdon to know If he would accept
the command Of the company If elect
ed, and after an exchange of letters be-
tween himself and Charming Langdon
said that, if unanimously chosen and
the lieutenants waived promotion, he
would serve. Then 1t got into the pa
pers. The members of the company,
as rule, were young clerks, book
keepers and statesmen, highly intelli-
gent and full of enthusiasm, but their
hapless experience had made them the
stock OF the street boys, the
railway shop men and the vagabond
class of the community us well as Of
certain envious fellow citizens. sTin
soldiers" they We're called, when all
that was needed to make them force
to be dreaded by lawbreakers was a
captain who knew his business, could
command their respect and teach them
steadiness, drill and discipline. Lieu
tenant PerrigO was presiding at the
meeting when n sergeant arose and in
a caustic speech pointed out their
needs and defects and, saying there
was just one man in the community
capable OF doing them Justice, propos-
ed that the captaincy be rendered to
Mr.. Eric Langdon, whereat the whole
meeting, barring its presiding officer,
sprang to its feet and cheered. There
was not dissenting voice, and 40
members were present.
Yet within a week tile Brentwood
Banner began publishing insidious lit
tie paragraphs. at is understood that
the rifles contemplate q change in the
captaincy. What has Brentwood done
that several capable officers should be
overlooked and the command rendered
to kicked out captain from the ar
myY was the first specimen. The Elk
aminer asked If the rifles expected to
add to their popularity by putting ut
their head man who would have
slaughtered score of fellow citizens
but for the prompt aud merciful inter
vention Of local officials. The Exam
liner was supporting the sheriff for re-
election, and this official well knew the
to be utterly unjust and I'M
true, but he couldn't quarrel with his
bread and butter, and it was best to
admit tacitly, now that the danger was
over that he had actually interposed
In behalf of the strikers. AT all events,
he did nothing to cause its correction,
The Brentwood Sun PopulistL said IL
was needed to add to the con-
tempt in which the rifles were held 1t
was the rumor that they had rendered
the command to an ex-officer of the ar
my whose drunken folly was SO near
to costing scores of precious lives not
fortnight since. And Langdon, who
stood ready to devote valuable time
and energy to the public service, with
little hope of any reward whatever,
read these insidious attacks with in
finite pain and sense of wrong and In
Justice, against which he stood power
less. Other influences, too, were evil
IDENTIFY at work. The election, which
was to have taken place the first Mon
day In January, was postponed fort
night. Boniface, Eric's friend Of the
Brentwood, took him aside and advised
him to withdraw his name. The COM
mittee, on the contrary, had begged
him to stand pat" Meantime Lang
don continued drilling and instructing
the company, and two nights week
the armory was crowded with citizens
whose interest had been aroused and
who came to look on. Veteran soldiers,
G. A. R. men, went away saying that
fellow knew his trade up to the ham
die. Prominent business men looked
On silently and did a good deal Of
thinking as they strolled homeward.
Newspaper reporters, previously in
structed, wrote scathing or satirical
about martinez manner