The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1903-04-16
THE RousTARouT.

Roustabout has found out that
promise made, even to ones self, is
but an egg shell when he gets tangled
up in an editorial excursion. When
Roustabout started to Texas with the
Iowa pen pushers he solemnly declar-
ed that he would write up" the trip
from day to day, but after the first
trial the days came and went SO fast,
and every minute was so full, that the
promise took unto itself wings and
fitted away. Then, too the immens-
| ity Of the state of Texas, its wonder
ful resources, its varied industries, its
flourishing cities, its boundless pros
poets and its historic Importance, fur
nish texts for the essayist and the
historian, while they fairly pail the
ordinary seeker after news AS re-
porter Roustabout has sometimes tried
to interview man, who by years Of
training and study has acquired such
knowledge Of some profession or
business, that every time he would
open his mouth he would shoot so far
beyond the Roustabout's understand
ing and vocabulary, that the pain of
Ignorance was surpassed only by the
feeling of hopelessness in writing an
intelligent article. That is exactly
the predicament that Roustabout
found himself in when he sent up his
card to Texas, and was ushered into
the Empire state, with all the pomp
and pleasure that first class railroad
like the nj. *. & IT, can furnish its pa
irons and it's friends. From Sherman
to San Antonio, and Wichita Falls to
Galveston, the unfolding beauty and
wealth of the country was revelation
to all. In the six days spent in Texas,
over two thousand miles were covered
and twenty towns and cities visited,
yet from the so people in the Iowa
party Roustabout did not hearso one
word of disappointment On the other
hand the exclamations of wonder at
the development of the country were
great enough in number to make
second edition of Caesars Commen-
taries. But unlike the victorious Ro-
man we could not say;"veni vidi yici."
Instead we must admit, we came, we
saw, we capitulated The giant of the
south has won the queen Of the prair
les.
In his feeling of helplessness to do
justice to the subject, Roustabout
found himself surrounded by forty
nine companions of misery out Of the
fifty in the party. The other one, of
course, was himself. This led to many
suggestions of relief, and finally the
time honored proposition of a set of
resolutions was accepted as the only
hope Of salvation They will be pub
lished in full in these columns, and
while they may be found dry in detail,
the Roustabout can assure all they
could not possibly appear as uninter-
esting to a reader, as they seem in
adequate to those who enjoyed the
trip in expressing their appreciation
of the hospitality of the people and
the pleasure Of the journey through
the great state Of Texas
In the Iowa crowd were thirty-three
heads of papers and Of these seven
teen were republicans and sixteen
democrats. The proportion struck the
Texans as wonderful, for they had ex-
pected few if any democrats from
Iowa. But party lines were obliterat-
ed in the cars and more congenial
crowd never went to a state conven-
tion together. The boys threw away
their politics for the occasion, and
were as free to tell those of an oppo-
site faith as they were their friends,
of how they "got it onto" the other fell
lows in the strenuous days of a cam
paign. The ladies Of the party, sew
.enteen in number, were like large
family Of sisters, and what one
thought Of the others executed with
spontaneous enjoyment. Despite the
hurry and the hustle and the irregular
hours Of eating and sleeping, not sim
gle person on the trip had minutes
Illness. In short, in every way the
trip was glorious success. and right
here and now the Roustabout desires
it understood that he wants to be
counted in again, when the Iowa boys
and girls go on another junket with
Jphsip Roustabout.