The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-01
TELLS A JOKE ON SHAW.
Col. Lewis Recalls an Iowa Dialogue
With an Irish Shoemaker.

washington Post.)
EX-CongresSman James Hamilton
Lewis of the state of Washington. and
recently of Chicago, tells joke since
ne came to town upon Secretary of the
treasury Shaw. Colonel Lewis is a
great admirer of the secretary, who ran
twice for governor of the state of Iowa.
During the campaign of the state
after the second election of Shaw. 1
was one of the Democratic speakers
who were returning from Iowa, and
just preceding US the governor had got
ten TO his home town in Dennison,"
says Colonel Lewis. Through the COM
plications that frequently arise in a
mans home county. particularly where
he is banker, the governor lost his
own county. 1t went Democratic.
There was a little Irish shoemaker
in the town who had always done the
governors work. His name was Mike
Finnigan. The governor stopped at the
shop and the following conversation
transpired:
Good morning, Pat said the gov
ernor.
Good morning, gov'nor,' said Pat;
I guess 1 must congratulate yez upon
yez getting elected
''Whereupon the governor said: We'll.
am glad to be elected; but am sorry
to have lost my home county
pat said not word. but hammered
away upon the sole of the shoe with
more Yigor. The governor, noting the
silence, remarked;
3" You see, Mike, it's a hard thing to
have your home go against you,
though. for purely personal reasons
Mike was still silent, and the gov
ernor, becoming interested. added:
What would you say, Mike. when
man loses the county in which he
| lives?'
"A new Democratic CLEAN gathered
In the face of Mike, and he burst out
Plat wud Oh say, guv'nor? All Oh
could say Is that it's a dom bad thing
you didn't live in every county in the
sthate.''
A good joke is told upon Colonel
Lewis himself As was we'll known here
( in Washington, while Lewis was in
4 public life he displayed an unusual
amount Of information upon many sub
! Jects. AS eX-Speaker Reed was known
/ to say, there was nothing scientific
| political or literary that Lewis did not
know enough about to be absolutely
right or always wrong" In science, in
medicine. in his own profession of the
\ law, literature and politics. to say moth
! ing of the sciences Of natural philoso-
ply, classics. astronomy, ETC., Lewis
was constantly appealed to by members
/ of the house.
/ One day in the cloakroom. where a
/ little lunch was served, Lewis and the
late deceased member, DR.. Stokes of
/ South Carolina, happened to be present.
The doctor was 3. member from an in
] terror district in the state, and had
been elected because of the universal
esteem in which his patients held him
/ for his high eminence as a physician.
/ There were present Colonel Elliott of
South Carolina, who vouches for the
truth of the joke; Mcclellan of New
York, Foss of Chicago and De Vrees of
/ California. DR.. Stokes and the others
were taking matted milk; Lewis was
invited to participate. The colonel
| commenced to dilate upon the digestive
| qualities of matted milk. He learnedly
started out upon all the elements of
! acids, lime and proportion of salts in
the compound and the effect chemically
it had upon the gastric juices.
DR.. Stokes was a calm, quiet gentle
man. To all of Lewis essay and homiIy
he spoke not a word except to inject,
"of course indeed 81 dare say
The others stood about with manifest
/ interest in the western congressman S
| talk and learned dissertation upon the
physicians own science Ali at once
Lewis spied medal dangling upon the
watch chain worn by the doctor. He
/ touched it with his fingers and re-
marked, Doctor, Inat a very De2uti-
full medal. Might I ask you was that
given you for department" Laughing
/ ly)?
/ 1t was the doctors time. Every one
was interested when he quietly said:
| mo, colonel / won this medal in a
post graduate course in a New York
medical college, out of a class of 166,
/ for the best essay upon the digestive
qualities of matted milk
( And, To- there it was written upon the
medal. There was nothing else for
Lewis to do but what ne did do, which
was to turn around and say;
Gentlemen, the drinks are on me-
What will you have2''