The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-11-15
Tattlings Of a Retired Politician.
PUPPETS AND PULLS.
~ FORREST cR1ssEY Author Of The Country Boy .

way. Naturally. he had the pulchrl-
tude of a singed cat. What came
out of his face, when he talked to a
crowd, however. was so much beyond
the promise OF the face 1t came from.
that the people took to him Ike wo.
men to religion 1t seemed as II they
had tired OF the handsome, black
eagle Imposing type OF political duty
and were ready to find relief In plairl.
red headed pug-nosed. freckled and
sawed-off sort of leader that came
under the head OF Billy Driggs
ANYHOW. he was given credit Tor
carrying his part OF the State-and
his other line of credit began to pick
up considerably, too, as the war horses
gathered at the county seat ana TAXED
over the Office that Billy would prob
ably be appointed to-
We'll. he finally went on to WASH
Ington with all the pulls that he could
scare up. working over time In his
behalf. He had made up his mind
to strike high and ask for the posi-
ton of the United States marshal Tor
his end of the stake. The marshall-
ship paid 5000 year--and that was
moro money than he had handled IN
six years. Every little while. before
Billy went up to Jerusalem to me
Great Feast OF the Chosen, he would
stop and say to himself, TOO good
to be truel Too good to happen 10
mel
Now. while Billy had always been
n twelye-houri laborer in the vineyard,
he was so absorbed In the conversation
of sinners that he didn't know what
the fat paceston the circuit pald-and
no had to ask what was the best pay
Ing appointment ever held ny amman
from that district before he knew
what to apply for, Top-notch or
nothing" was his battle cry when ne
went out for the endorsement OF the
party leaders, ~
amply for, 'Top-notch or nothing
wns his battle cry when he went out
for the endorsement of the party lead
ers.
He had seen so many lean years OF
faithful service when the enemy held
the corner on all the ofticlal cribs
that. now In the day OF his partys
fatness and of his own righteous re-
ward. the habit of good. honest hust-
ling stuck to him and he lined up an
array OF pulls and endorsements that
made him swell with happiness every
time he went over the llst' SONS
sniiss have to die before they can get
that sort of thing" he would say. as
Iva tapped the bundle OF endorse
In washington he kept on hustllng
tust as If he'd only started out WITH
Ais petition, The public men seemed
To- take to his style of beauty, ana
even the president was uncommonly
erac ious to Billy when Congressman
skipp introduced him, the wise ones
told Billy that he was a.! r'ght anu
that nothing short of an Q, IS on an
application ever went with that pecu-
liar brand Of smile,
But. somehow, the appointment
didn't come out quite as quickly as
Billy had hoped-and this delay only
made him hustle the harder, Hls only
antidote for hope deferred was more
lustling. And he did y ~ qu'et,
s,unobtrusiye way that didn't sur up
one day, however, when Billy was
about to cinch himself UP again tor
another "pull'' campaign, he got Wor lsl
that something was going TO happen'
( at the capitol that afternoon %hieh
might be of particular interest 70 MN,
He was there In the gallery listening
to every word that fell from the ups
of the oracle Of the chair, Flnally no