Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-15
WAYS OF MERCER CAMPAIGN
Peculiar Diversion from Custom Proves
Disappointing and DisoOuraging,
SUNDAY PARTY IN THE SYRIAN COLONY
Attendance Fails 90 Come Up to Cur
Iey's Expectation and AFFAIR
Therefore Closes EnrIy-Mer-
Ger PrOdiEaI with Beer.

n bdIuplt VI lhb MtlItl NdhApeibh Nv
DDS came to light yesterday. although care
full effort was made to keep 1t under cover.
1t was a Sunday political entertainment pre-
pared by VIII Gurley, and was designed to
get voters in the Syrian colony in line for
the nonresident candidate for congress. Al
though the entertainment was given at the
home Of Elias Nina, the husband OF the
woman, Bader Nina, who's was charged with
being implicated in the murder of Naieeb
Sadly and who was defended in court by
Mr.. Gurley, the real host was d. II. Mercer.
Keg beer. Syrian candy, sweet cookies and
cigars Of the alleged value of Is cents were
the refreshments. The Syrians had been led
to believe that Herman Kountze, who fur
nished Mrs. Mina's bond, was to be present,
but in this they we're disappointed. Instead
A. c. HaTte, chairman Of the finance COM
mittee of the Board OF County Commits
Bioners, was presented.
BY the same suave argument that induced
Elias to give up 81, 500 for legal services last
winter, Mr.. Gurley convinced him a few days
ago that to have the heaven-born congress-
man cross his Threshold would be to place
himself in the favor OF the gods for all time
and the unlettered Nina proceeded to rug
tie hard. for a full attendance Of the Syrian
voters OF the Second and First wards. But
the result was dismslly and distressingly
disappointing. There were just eight bona
fde syrians present and only two others Of
voting age, one Of whom was Mina's next
door neighbor.
Mercer and Gurley left the car at Thir-
teenth and william streets, two blocks from
the house, for reasons best Known to them
selves, and walked the rest of the way. A
crowd Of Syrians stood not far from the
house and smiled as they recognized the
pair, but failed to follow en-. Nina was Wis
IDLY annoyed, for there was only one ex-
PLANTATION of his c~ountrymen's conduct. and
that reason was one that he couldn't very
well give without hurting the feelings of the
nonresident from Washington. Besides, the
$3.50 keg Of amber brew was hard to keep
from souring and the candied elephants and
camels were already beginning to melt. 1t
being Sunday, and some of his neighbors
being Of pious inclination, both the beer and
the county commissioner had been SNUG
gled up the back stairs.
Mr.. Gurley towed the hesitating Mr..
Mercer up to the Nina front door at ex-
actly 443, which was just forty-eight
minutes behind schedule time. The anxious
host and hostess, with four babies and a
sister-in-law, had been lowering uneasily
at the front door Of their home, 1852 South
Thirteenth street, a few feet from the
scene OF the murder, Tor fully thirty min
utes.
Mr.. Gurley removed his hat and bowed.
Mr.. Mercer, feeling called upon to do a
little better, bowed also and said: Allah,
whooplalla," the same being the best he
could do in the way of Syrian salutation.
Nina looked puzzled and responded in
English. Then Mr.. Mercer spied the
babies and of course the rest was smooth
sailing.
The party was to have continued into the
evening, but when the politicians sized
up the little crowd in Mina's apartments
and the little crowd sized up the politi-
clans the situation became embarrassing
and the visitors soon began to leave. BY
6 O'Clock the function had passed into his
tory, recorded as another of Mr.. Gurley's
master strokes as a ~campaigner.
Have some beer on Mercer"
That cheerful slogan has been working
overtime during the past week, and 1t will
not be permitted to rest until after sun
down next Friday night, when the last of
the ballots are in at the primary election.
Devoid Of argument, without the ability to
discuss congressional affairs, with the ma
1ority of thinking republicans disguised
with his long bunco game, and with the
desperation Of a drowning man, the non
resident candidate has turned to beer as a
campaign measure. A keg of beer here
and a keg of beer there, in some places
where 1t is called for and other places
where it is not, is expected to make the
recipients think that Mercer is "a good
fellow" to vote for, and therefore the am
Der fluid is being sent out freely every day
by the managers OF the Mercer campaign.
Saturday a keg Of beer was sent to the
workingmen at the Willow Springs distil-
lery with the compliments Of Dave Mer-
cer." Some OF the men drank the beer,
but none reflected that he tasted anything
IN Il like a favorable argument for a can
didate for congress. Most any place that
David sends a keg Of beer will provide the
men to drink It, for at every turn Of the
road there are men who are glad enough
to drink up a little corporation money. AL
though the message that accompanies the
key reads, with the compliments of Dave
Mercer" it's a dull man who doesn't read
between the line, with the compliments of
the Union Pacific Railroad company"
II happened In at a Mercer beer-fest
the other evening" related a Second ward
democrat the other day. "Of course, the
fact that I'm pretty we'll known among my
neighbors as a democrat didn't lose me
any credentials at that party. II was free
beer. and everybody was called in to have
a drink on Dave Mercer. Among the re-
publicans there I noticed quite a number
who are even out working against Mercer.
It doesn't look to me As if the republicans
in the Second ward are as ready to swallow
Mercer as they are his beer"
The resourceful methods Of Mr.. Mercer