The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-14

| with the halr upon his mead
A roseate shock of morning,
A radiant rose Of red;
And Leahy in his retinue,
With flowing locks of jettish hue,
! He thinks therell be sensations
To palpitate the nations
On Pennsylvania avenue:
When Murdoch goes to Congress
CThough Victor does wear socks)
He'll spread the fame of Kansas
With his auroraI locks.
| This is true tale of the Vindication of
| Victor, surnamed Murdoch, the Redhead-
ed of the nativity of Kansas. south OF the
| cantankerous Kaw; eak a veracious mar
rative of the redemption of Dynamite
| Dave, a good Indian of the Wichita
| tribe
Victor Murdoch is congressman-elect,
since the other day, from the great Sew
| enth District of Kansas, succeeding CheS-
ter 1. Long elevated to the United States
| Senate; also succeeding, after few gaps
and many gasps, politically, the Populist
Jerry Simpson, by the same Victor yclept
'Sockless Simpson in the days of yore.
David ID. Leahy has been made private
/ secretary to Congressman Murdoch. The
middle D in the secretary's name was a
yelled mystery when Leahy went TO Kan
sas from somewhere else about twenty
years ago, and perhaps that is why his
friends called him Dynamite Dave"
But no matter. He is no dynamitard.
In the spring of 1887 the boom was on
in Wichita. Only those who dwelt there
and survived those strenuous nights and
strident days can appreciate what that
means. Col. NJ NJ. Murdoch. Marsh"
Murdoch. dean of Kansas journalism, had
started the boom. His Eagle shrilled it
into being with continuous cries of praise
for The Peerless Princess of the Plains.
Winning Wichita" ct cetera- The city
was packed with realty spectators, all
stores were turned into real estate offices,
and town lots in cornfields six miles out
side the city limits sold at St. Louis
downtown figures.
One afternoon in May of that year there
appeared on the streets of Wichita fig
ure that created more interest than real
estate figures 1t was a man, a stalwart,
erect. strideful man, the sort of man
that crosses Rubicons without waiting
walked down Douglas avenue with
train of boys in his wake
Hi. See the Injun!' they yelled.
The stalwart strobe on, and climbed the
steps of newspaper office on Main
street. He strobe into the sanctum. where
the city editor of the Wichita Daily
Journal. then a cub so fresh that he had
TO be sailed thrice a week 70 keep from
spelling. ruled the ranch. That cub city
editor was the oversigned.
The stalwart strobe up to me and gave
me fierce glance that froze my marrow
Instinctively 1 wondered what / had pub
lished that reflected upon him. and how
many bullets he would fire into my frame
from that formidable brace of repeaters
in his belt.
How would you like TO have story
for your paperg' inquired the stalwart,
in a voice as gentle as a womans
HOW THE LONG
HAIR KEPT HIS WORD
crawled out from under my desk and
humbly admitted that stories were in my
line. The stalwart sat down and thrust
his legs under a table In ten minutes h.
had reeled OF a startling news story in
chirography that was like copper-plate,
the handsomest handwriting / ever saw
before or since. While he wrote had
been wondering if the handwriting Of
man with long black hair, who looked so
much ike an Indian that three-score
bows had followed up the street. could
be read by anybody.
My name Is Dave Leahy,' said the
ra1
on the Oklahoma border. I'm a news
paper man
Just then the foremost of the army OF
boys STROBE into the room He was
bright-looking chap. with particularly
bright looking head, for he wore auburn
locks He was easily the leader Of the
mob.
Say. mister" ne yelled. why didn't
you go down 20 the Eagle Office frst?'
Don't worry. SON." said the staiwart.
patronizingly. I'm be down there later.
And he was Later he went down Their
as night editor and allround writer AM
confidential adviser, and the boy OF Is
who had followed him up the street was
his managing editor-victor Murdoch,
now congressman
unforgotten episode. Dave Deahy has
cut his long locks and otherwise calm
ed down He was entitled TO long hair
and ferceness OF aspect when he came
I'D from Caldwell, for had he not been
running 8 paper there in advocacy OF the
opening Of Oklshoma-was he not a
boomer of the boomers?
II is truly a vindica ton OF the poetic
verities that Dave Leahy has been made
private secretary 10 Congressman Mur-
dock. ANY other appointment would have
been cataclysnic 10 the eternal fitness %
things Victor Murdoch knows this well.
for he is a discerner. seer, There is
oerhaps no man n Kansas more deeply
versed in poetry. art literature and the
lore OF life in general than young Mur-
dock.
Now as TO the Vindiostion OF Victor.
the Redemption OF Dave having been
looked after
Victor Murdoch was born in Wichita
From his birth he had red hair That
made him aggressive. He spoke several
languages other than Kaw az years OF
age. and al l. he was a para gTapher on
his fathers paper, writing stuff which
Senator ingalls, declared was the gr1zhi-
est done BY any KanSan- 4 little later
President Mckinley- With whom AGr-