Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-05
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their turns TO present their business TO tHe
Commissioner tacitly resolved themselves
into a short-story club. relating incidents
which had occurred within their personal
experiences. The conversation drifted
around to the subject of amusing incidents
connected with church services, and the
colored brethren received a share Of atten-
ton from the narrators of anecdotes.
Down near Oxon HILL" said an employee
OF the STRENGTHENING department, 1.-The col
ored brethren of the Methodist denomina-
ton were holding a series of revival meet
ings. A young fellow who was called an
exhauster.' or, more properly, an exhorter,
occupied the pulpit of the church one even
ing and was telling the congregation ABOUT
miracles. He related number of biblical
stories. and finally began to explain the
miracle of the lOaveS and fishes. he EVIL
IDENTIFY had not looked up that subject TOT
| some time, and he twisted the story around
| in this shape. He said:
Brethren. take the miracle of the
loaves and fishes. There were 5000 loaves
and 1900 fishes. and only twelve people
| there to eat EN-. and the miracle Is dat dey
didn't all bust
An employe of the sewer department then
related an incident which occurred on a
ferry boat between Washington and Alex
andria. He said:
There was a large number of colored
people on board the boat, bound for Alex
andria to attend the dedication of new
church in the Virginia city. Standing neal
the railing of the boat, few feet away
from me. was a well-dressed colOred man
wearing kid gloves and a chrySanthemun
on the lapel of his coat. Another brother
spied the well-dresSed man and came up to
him with outstretched hand saying:
Haven't 1 seen you down at Mt. --
Church,
mo. 1 guess not said the other. sing
in the choir at Bethel
That's where 1 saw YOU replied the
first questioner. Say. was you at that
service in Bethel when the Rev. Mr.. x.
preached?'
yes, indeed replied the well-dressed
| man.
heard his equal. Why. that man just
picked up the English language and throw
ed it down again. and then just analysed
her. ="
It's strange that there are so many
+, young men who are anxious to become
policemen" remarked a member of Maj
Sylvesters force to Star reporter. Ever
the cutting down of the salary to a figure
below living expenses did not drive them
off. Many men have an idea that policing
is easy and that they get many things
for which they do not have to pay. 1t
takes but a short time to get these no.
tions out of their heads and cause them
to wish they had never heard Of such g
thing as the police force.
when 1 went on the force I thought
life was going to be easy, but soon
learned TO the contrary, and had 1t not
been that had expended so much money
on uniforms and other wearing apparel
, made necessary by being out in all kinds
of weather my life as one of the finest
would have been short.
Il remember being sent out In the
county one night short time after my
appointment and was told to look out
for chicken thieves. About 2 o'clock in
the morning / saw two men coming
through the woods. and one of them car
ried a sack on his shoulder Was I to
make a record SO soon? l asked myself.
1t seemed that such was to be the case,
and 1 made a start, with my partner in
the lead. The sack was dropped and the
men disappeared in the woods. We dis
charged our weapons in the bushes, but
the early morning providers escaped.
Then I felt certain that we were to
have some chickens or turkeys. which
would come to us in the nature of graft,
of findings being keepings' The legal
and moral aspects of the case never
dawned upon me until we opened the
sack and found that it had been dropped
by resurrectionists. and its CHASTITY con-
tents made me feel that 1 wanted to re-
sign then and there. My partner was
older In the business and only laughed at
me. He directed that watch the corpse
while he rode to the city and got a
wagon. l remained at my post. but had
fourteen chills while he was gone. Final
ly the wagon came and great was the re-
lief"