The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-05-02

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does things. That is what Owosso
thinks now and has been thinking since
Saturday when it was announced that
Owosso was included in the list of cities
to be favored this year with an appro-
priation for new public building. The
news seemed almost too good to be true,
and in fact there are still few honest
doubling Thomases about the city who
are trembling in their fear lest there
still be slip somewhere which will
mean the loss of the building for the
city. But there is little chance for such
bad fortune. The bill carries all the
public building appropriations for the
year, and, once III the bill as OwossO was,
there was and is little chance for her be-
ing dropped out.
The matter had been kept a profound
secret by Congressman Fordney who i'll
formed no one in the city of his expecta-
tions except such as the necessary guar
antee of a building site compelled him
to inform. The uncertainty of the mat
ter was so great in fact that several
weeks ago the congressman wrote frank
ly to the editor of this paper that the
securing of a favorable report for Owos-
so at this session seemed absolutely i'm
possible. He had done his best to get
the promise of Chairman Mercer of the
building committee that he would make
a favorable report but the latter had alb
solutely and unqualifiedly refused to
make such promise. In the face of
this point blank refusal, however, Con-
gresham Fordney in his usual tenacious
and determined way, in the same letter
in which he wrote of the seeming pos
sibility of the matter, also wrote that he
had not given up and that he did not in
tend to give up but would keep at the
matter until the last moment or until
he was assured Of success. Had he
known that the chances We're one-half
as good as they really turned out to be
in the end he would of course never
have made such an assertion. AS ii
was, however, he went at the matter
harder than ever and the doughty chair
man at length began to show signs of
yielding to his opportunities.
Several days before the congressman
left for his home he again interviewed
Mr.. Mercer and the latter told him that
he had surrendered to him and that he
could come home happy in the thought
that the Owosso appropriation would be
included in the bill. As a further re-
minder to him that he need not worry
over the fate of the bill while he was at
home he was also told that the plan
was to report the bill to the house after
adopting rule to consider it for three
hours without the privilege of offering
amendments and then to pass it. AS
every state in the union which had asked
for building of any kind was repre-
sented in some measure at least in the
bill there was little doubt of the favors
able action of the house under the con-
ditions. On Saturday morning Mr.
Fordney received a telegram from Mr.
Mercer stating that the bill would be
introduced as he had intimated and the
congressman at once telephoned the
pleasant news to Postmaster Dewey.
After having sent word to this city of
the good fortune which had befallen it
Mr.. Fordney concluded to come here in
person and see the effect, and as a result
he was here in time to tell many Owos-
so citizens i'll person of the good luck
which he had been able to secure for the
city. During the few hours which he
spent here Saturday he received con
tinuous ovation, democrats and republi-
cans alike vying with each other in their
expressions of appreciation for the
splendid work which he had done for
the city and at the same time assuring
him that there would he no question
where Shiawassee would stand when
the congressional convention was called.
More than one democrat also added TO
the warmth of the congratulations and
expressions of appreciation the pleasant
a a'surance that if it were really true that
the building was to be built here they
would not only give him their vote next
fall for congress but that every demo
crat in the county, as one prominent
democrat expressed it, should do the
same. Everywhere the news was re-