Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-11-18
The Thrifty Ward Heeler
The All ll-Knowing g Witness
The Garrulous Veteran.

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the dozen or more different ships that
bore these candidates for the blessings
of American citizenship and Yankee
politics, when each touched our sod.
Well, when the affidavits were all
sworn to by this single afiant, and
the certificates showing the respective
holders to be entitled to exercise the
God-given (D rights of free men had
all been signed, sealed and delivered .
as the deeds say, was informed
by the husky chaperon referred to
that I wns not to expect the legal fee
of dollar and, a. half each. because,
as he said, thato(while all We're nor
mally Democrats and would vote the
Democratic ticket ordinarily, yet at
the then impending election they had
engaged to be true blue Republicans.
So that 4 ought to yield up the twenty
or twenty-five dollars to which I was
lawfully entitled, for the good Of the
cause. and especially as was my
self on the ticket that yeaD A little
cross examining brought out the fact
that the chaperon was In the employ
OF fellow candidate with me on the
ticket, at whose instance he had been
down to the coal miners and gath.
cred them in," and that he had In his
pocket at the time carefully pre-.
pared ballot for each of them to cast
on election day. Let ME see 'em,
Pete said l.. He pulled from his
pocket sealed package which he
said contained the tickets in question.
I opened 1t, and what do you think1
Each ballot was straight Democratic
from top to bottom except the name
Of the Democratic candidate who was
running against my feilow- -Republican
which was duly scratched and that OF
the aforesaid fellow" inserted. Thi.
was before the days of the Austral
ian system of voting. Not ticket
was scratched in my favor. and eact
Of these men whom I had Just created
voters was thus armed and equipped
by my fellow Republican candidate tc
vote against me and for my Demo
cratic adversary. In short had got
ten out Of warm bed on cold night
walked mile and a half, with the Ger
tainty Of walking back again, worked
near two hours, given mp over twent.
dollars to which ! was entitled, and a,
a net result had been preparing som,
Ia or 16 clubs to break my own heat
with. To say was angry would b,
putting 1t quite too mild. was mad
all through and not for the same rea
son that Paul the Apostle was charg
cd with by Festus, either. What DIX
do! Well, edited, revised and cen
sored all Of those tickets. And ,whei
the revision was done. you may be Ger
tain that as to me at least, the editor
was quite innocuous. After the re
turns came in carefully analysed tn
vote of the townships from whicl
these men hailed, and satisfied mysel
that they had not disobeyed my part
; ing injunction not to allow their tick
cts to be 'tampered WITH" upon pai
Of disfranchisement.
1 used sometimes to lose friend
} from sheer want Of time to keep then
. I recollect one such case In particular
! The party Of the other part was a
Q estimable but garrulous old gentleman
Q a veteran of the Civil war, and as b
= has long been "camped ON the otbs
9 side" can tell the story without gi,
I Ing offense to any one. In those DAY