The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-07

The editors of the country weeklies
might have liked some legislation to
compel every citizen in the counties
where each paper is located to subscribe
for each paper printed in the county
This would have suited the editors bet
ter than the bill introduced providing
for an endowed newspaper, which did
not become a law
Many Kansas editors have had much
to say on the dangers of borrowing pa
pers. Bent Murdoch, of the Ell Dorado
Republican, once said as follows:
Did you ever hear of the man who
was too economical to take his home
paper, but sent his little boy to borrow
the copy taken by neighbor? In his
haste the boy ran over two-dollar
stand of bees and in ten seconds looked
like warty summer squash. His cries
reached the father, who ran to his res
cue, and falling to notice barb wire
fence, ran into that, breaking the fence
down, cutting handful of fish bait out
Of his anatomy, running his four-dOllar
pants. The old COW took advantage of
the gap of the fence. got out, ate forty
cents worth of alfalfa and died of bloat.
Hearing the racket the wife ran out, up
set a four gallon churn of cream into a
basket of kittens and drowned the mess.
In her hurry she dropped and broke
seven dollar set of false teeth The boy
left alone, crawled through the food or
cream and into the parlor, running
brand new carpet During the excite
ment the eldest daughter ran away
with book agent, the dog broke up
eleven setting hens and the calf got out
and chewed the sleeves from four shirts
which hung on the line-Moral.
Chester I. Long. who has just been
sworn in as United States senator from
Kansas, must always be on the watch
for an interruption when he speaks in
the senate. Senator Long was once a
member of the Saturday Night club of
Topeka. The rules and regulations of
that club are included in the statement
that when a member speaks he shall be
interrupted. The members carry the
rule into every day life and it is not
confined to the meetings of the club,
John Macdonald the Seotchman, knows
this. Macdonald was invited to deliver
an address in a church in western Kan
sas some years ago. he was met at the
depot by a committee. escorted to his
hotel, shown every attention and at the
proper thine introduced with a flourish
to the audience Mr.. Macdonald did his
best to deliver the most eloquent speech
of his life. He was well into the sub
iect and his rhetoric was flowing like
olive oil from a large neck bottle when
suddenly some one in the audience in
terrupted him Macdonald was sur
priSed and Disconnected and found that
the man who interrupted him was an
ex-Saturday nighter. He forgot him
self, perhaps, and thought that he was
attending banquet of the club. Mac
Donald was so frustrated by the inter-
ruption that he forgot his theme, his
words and his presence of mind and his
lecture was nearly ruined
A Topeka man, who holds position in
the National Guard, and who is greatly
interested in everything pertaining to
mimic warfare. was at Fort Riley last
summer and took part IN the maneuvers
of the guard with the regulars.
1t happened that at one stage Of the
proceedings this Topeka warrior was
given the flag, the colors, as the army
men call them. to look out for. The
Topeka warrior chung to them closer
than a court-plaster. He watched them
through the maneuVers, and he was de-
termined to carry out the order he re-
ceived Ito protect the colcrs with mis-
life" When the maneuvers were ended
the Topeka warrior still had the flag
He did not know what to do with the
cOlors He was sorely puzzled. The
Topeka warrior hunted up a man with
shoulder strans and got him behind
tent and said:
What shall I do with this hag?"
asked the T. ".
why. I don't know" said the man
with shoulder straps Il am just out Of
West Point. Ask some Of those other
fellows"
The Topel1a warrior. still ''hugging the
colors to his breast that's the military
expression for the act1 hunted up ar
other man with shoulder straps. TIE
other man claimed that he didn't know
what the warrior should do with the
colors and the result was that to be
sure that they would be safe the Topeka
warrior finally hid them in a nearby
haystack
John R. Mulvane built the first tele-
phone line between Topeka and Kan
sas City He put up one iron wire and
the venture cost him 100000
Mr.. Mulyane wanted to have two
wires on the poles He was talking
with Prof. Lockwood. the expert of
Boston. and Prof Lockwood told him
he could put up another wire, or more
and that he would still have only one
telephone line between Topeka and
Kansas City. The experts may ex-
plain it technically but the laymen ma
best understand the difficulty when it
is said that with two wires the n1ese
sages would jump from one wire to
the other and the result would be only
one line.
This was clearly shown some years
ago when a iron wire line was built
to connect Indianapolis and LOgans-
norf The son of the man who built it