The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1903-08-20
Busy With "castles in the Air.


emit his labors are largely meditatiye,
and he can be seen almost any time in
the day brooding and pouty on the
comfortable porch of his pleasant resi-
dence on Church avenue. This is
where the reporter found him yester-
day when he called to see how the il
native of the Watauga was
getting along.
81 am not doing much actual work
on my lecture now, says he, "but am
brooding." He refused to talk politics
further than to say that Senator Bate
was making one of the best races of his
life for reelection to the senate. His
brother, Hugh Taylor, has recently
come to act as private secretary. Mr.
Taylor was twenty-one years an office
holder in Washington, and this fact
got the brothers talking about office
seeking before the civil service throt-
tied the ambition of the constituent,
says the Knoxville Journal.
The merry ex-governor soon had his
hearers convulsed with laughter at the
funny experiences and observations he
had seen and observed while in Wash
ington looking for a Job.
"When Cleveland was elected the
first time" says Gov. Taylor, "Wash
ington became the greatest politica
Mecca in the history OF the nation
The town was literally full of them, anC
they wanted all sorts of jobs. They
had an idea that the rascals would al
be turned out and every democrat who
wanted it would get job. There were
more hopes wrecked in that city il
those days of democratic ascendencl
than are strewn along the Baltic sea.
1.-The trouble with most applicants
was that they did not know what to ap
ply for, and in many cases set thei
ambitions ridicuously high. ! shall
never forget poor Dial Massengill, o
Sullivan county. He was one of m,
best friends, and was assassinated few
years ago by mailman. He was on
of the best men in Sullivan county
He had been raised a strict Presbyteri
an and adhered to the faith mos
strongly. He had been studying tn
blue book, and had picked him out
place and had came on to Washington
with the rest Of them to get it. | wa
there and he said that he wanted me t
introduce him to Cleveland, the presi
dent. There was nothing | would no
do for Dial, but [ told him that if b
wanted position Of any size he ha
better first get the Endorsement OF tn
senators from Tennessee. He agree
with me, and | was delegated to carr
him into the presence of Senator Har
ris, who was then in his profane prime
l mean that he would swear like
trooper if things did not go to suit hi1
and they were not especially satisfac
tory to him that morning, but of cours
Dial and / did not know it till later
The hour for an audience with tn
senator arrived, and we were ushere
into his presence. Dial was one of th
largest men physically you ever saw
and would easily weigh 300 pounds
He was small-boned, but corpulent al
most to sutfocation. AS | said Senate
Harris was not overly pleased to see u
that morning, but he put up the bes
reception he could. While he twiste
his fierce mustache / told him that De-
was the chairman of theSullivan count
executive committee and that he wa
Of one of the best and most inhuentif
families in East Tennessee. Dal ha
not told me what particular Job
wanted so | left that part OF the appl
cation to him.
When Senator Harris asked him whf
he wanted | thought | would explode
He said he wanted to be the treasure
of the United States, and he meant ey
cry word of it, too. Senator Harri
did not laugh but l saw merry twir
kle in his eye that nearly killed nae
There were other scotchers there frol
Sullivan county to help Dal, and the
all got tickled to death. Senator Hal
: ris ripped out an oath, and said thu
the Tennesseans were after eyerythin
in sight and now here was one thu
wanted to handle all the money of til
nation. The Swearing of Senator Ha,
ris almost paralyzed Dial, and he forge
all about his job. He told the Senate
goodbye in hurry, and left the ROOF
with his friends at his heels. As 500
as he reached place where he though
he could express himself without fail
ing he stopped and gathered us arcun
him. His big sides were simply hea,
ing with emotion, Boys, he says wit
tears in his eyes, boys, he cusse
Amt it awful?' Dial never went bacI
and here is the only place remembt
of, where swearing ever did any good.
"We are going to Nashville to TAX
dinner Friday with Mr.. Gerst,a gentle
man who has made Nashville famou,