Amador ledger., 1902-01-31
THE MOUSE HATH LABOREO.

Our Wrought-up cotemporarY has
just discovered that the individual
that steps out of his way to stir up
hornets nest is apt to get stung.
Usually that sort of knowledge
dawns upon the understanding at
very tender age. But he is out of
the ordinary run, ard hence this very
necessary chunk of wisdom has over
taken him late in life. He is now
turning round and kicking himself
for not finding out where he was at
sooner. That in itself is healthy
sign. If he would only stick to that
occupation for awhile, to the exclu-
sion of all other business, he might
get along fairly well. But he sadly
errs when he thinks he can accom-
plish great things in the stinging
line himself. He has been trying it
on small scale at intervals from
the time he condescended to grace
Amador county with his all-import-
ant presence, but the objects of
his venom were content to pay little
heed to the squirting of his toy
guns. They did far more execution
to the man behind than the man in
front. Finally, when patience ceased
to be virtue, he got broadside
that broke him all up, inasmuch as
it opened his eyes to the fact-pat-
ent to everybody but himself-that
he was about the most vulnerable
practice target hereabouts himself.
What was particularly hard on him
was that he got no sympathy even
in the house of his friends. The uni
versal verdict was that he got just
what he had been unwittingly hank
ering after for 10, these many moons.
In the anguish of his wounded spirit
he tries to sting back. 1t may be a
waste of valuable breath on our part
to inform him that he is not a sue
cess lin that line. His comeback
lacks the one essential ingredient
truth. That may be very small
defect to him and his little coterie of
prompters, who wisely keep in the
shadows, but the people of Amador
county are not so depraved. Here
is the Dispach's style OF reading his
tory back wards:
sit is not the policy of the Ledger to
resort to offensive personalities, " etc.
If that is SO, why was Richard Webb
some years ago?
Such a scene never occurred. He
was attacked in the express Office,
but not hurt in the least. What for?
For doing that which the editor of
the Dispatch has never been guilty
of, and is never likely to be guilty of
exposing the looting of an estate
in probate. For moving in similar
path he has been imprisoned and har-
rassed in various ways, but has not
the slightest reason to feel ashamed
of the part he took in any of these
episodes, and that is more than can
be said of some of the Dispatch mans
political friends. But here is the
gem of gems from our cotempor-
ary biographical scrap-book:
He (our discredited brother editor)
has never attempted to enter the min
istry and been rejected.
That simply paralyzes US. 1t is the
first in timation we have ever had that
we have made failure of anything
we ever undertook in earnest. The
insinuation carries us back over 40
years into the past, when this small
souled insinuator was an infant-and
we were several years from adult
age, and separated by ten thousand
miles of ocean. We are not of the
boasting kind, and have never re-
ferred to the struggles of boyhood
days; but if it is any satisfaction to
his mind we will inform him that we
left school when twelve years old.
was apprenticed at fourteen, was a
preacher at sixteen. Without anv
aid whatever except that afforded by
a mutual improvement class and
the Sabbath school, we were accepted
for the regular ministry as soon as
our apprentice days were over, and
before we were twenty years of age.
We were then honored with a special
tutor, and soon conceived the idea
that we knew as much as he did. and
promptly resigned. On Ia subsequent
occasion We declined to accept that
profession as means of livelihood.
The rest of the Dispatch insinua tions
are just as baseless. BAH what is
the use of lifting into notice one
who seeks for notoriety by the de-
liberate circulation of lies.