The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-09-04
AN EDITORIAL KNOCKER.
A Nebraska Magazine Which Hits Right
and Left.

ulspaCch from Blair to the Chicago
Chronicle. They grow here as thick
as sage brush on the Western plains.
They spring up in every town and
hamlet and flourish like green bay
trees beside running brooks. There
is something in the very air and soil
that seems conductive to eccentricity
and erraticism. Long hair, wild-eyed
notions, Populism, poetry and whis-
kers abound in the bug eaters State.
1t is the home of the crank, the ma
tive heath of the freak, the habitat
of the spouter.
There is no locality especially fav-
ored. The western part of the State,
the eastern part of the State, the
southern and northern parts of the
State have produced. North Platte
has her William F. Cody, known from
zone to zone and pole to pole as
Buffalo Bill" Newman's Grove had
her j. Narver Gortner, the poet of
nine volumes, author of the immortal
lines:
We had turkey for dinner today
The finest the State could produce
And as on the table it lay,
Twas better | thought, than goose.
Beatrice has her Walt Mason, of
whom James Whitcomb Riley said:
He might have been the best known
humorist in the West, but he
lost his grip" Omaha has her George
Francis Train, prince of all cranks
and emperor of all freaks Bellevue
has her Pat Grove, the most famous
kidnapper the world has ever known.
And now from Washington county
and the town of Blair comes the latest
aspirant for notice and the most re-
cent candidate for the title genius
Will A. Campbell, printer, editor,
human being and genius, saw the
light of day first in some obscure little
Nebraska town. He grew up like
other children of Nebraska towns,
obtained some schooling and began
to scramble for living when he was
yet at a tender age.
There was always something the
matter with him. He knew it and
others knew it, but he never knew
what it was until he started little
magazine called The KnOcker, and
and then it developed that he was a
genius.
In the initial number of his literary
venture the young scribe relieved
himself of 26 articles of faith, which
have been eagerly pursued by large
number of readers Some of these
articles follow:
/ knock on the self-righteous. They
are usually people who by worldly
success have crowded into view. The
best we can do is to be virtuous as
possible.
| knock on the social rule that per-
mits woman to cover indiscretions
of other days with a sealskin cloak.
A woman has right to "live it down.
but rich woman should have no
shorter probation than q, poor one.
l knock on the man who tells chill
dren there is no Santa Claus. The
tragedy of life begins when faith de-
parts, and the man who will hasten
the departure is related to the devil.
| knock on the knocker who knocks
on his wife. A man who respects not
the mother of his own children re-
spects not himself His plant that
she has not kept up with him fools
woman. In Greek ''for better or for
worse" means take your medicine"
l knock on the social pest, whose
social rating is hat full of prunes,
and who passes by old friends He is
a snob. Trace him back to his father
sand you'll find rabbit.
| knock on the woman who nags
her husband. More men have gone
to hell by this route and picked up
correspondents along the way than
by any other.
l knock on the American girl. The
girl who has been raised in a cultured
home; who possesses both talent and
and accomplishment; who has grown
into womanly woman and is too
worthy for any young man, but who
casts her life by her own choice with
a smooth guy, whose brains are worth
two cents a pound for soap grease-a
descendent of a long line of half-wits;
dizzy young dude too lazy to work
and 100 cowardly to steal, too ever
lastingly "ornery' to raise a respect
able crop of wild oats; young lolipop
ribbon clerk on 50 per day and mon
opoly on the gall of the gIobe-that is
the kind of Apollos American girls
admire, and it would give buzzard a
bilious attack.
| knock on the mother-in-law who
goes loaded with advice. She is not
SO many as some make out, but, like
the bad egg in the dozen, it is tough
on the man who gets her
| knock on the pessimist. He is an