The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-04

HoMAs TAGGART. chairman Of
the Democratic national commit
tee, used 20 be a great practical
joker. and ni1.y are the stories told in
indiana of tle tricks that he played
on his friends.
he has uI-sSai ski as a sleight-of-
hand performer Formerly he was con-
stanly UEtES TINS S.4- an playing DraC-
ucai JsRes OIL his friends. de doesn't
dc SO much OF il nov, DUt there are
1uany men in VariCcs PARIS Of the cOun-
Try who VIII testify o. his cievernesS
IN this lac.
Taggart particular cro0y used 20 be
State Nreas--er King, who lived N IN
GIanapOlls. a joke ghaI they put up
on a friend OF Kings IS said 20 nave
taken them three months To hatch W.
King mad a friend, Arthur Johnston
who owned a watch OF very ingenious
construction. which WAS Yafue8 al $500
ana OF which he was very proud.
King aud Taggart decided to play a
trick With the watch the next time
Johnston came 20 town. Then went to
a jeweler and So a watch that in cut
ward appearance resembied JOhn1On's.
There was nothing 10 this watch except
the case, and the inside was filled with
lot or unrelated springs and wheels.
soon after Johnston arrived at Tag
garSs hotel, King started TO talk ABOUT
watches. Then Johnston made a re-
mark about his own watch.
Yes. said King TO Taggart, "5Onn-
stOn has the finest watCa you ever saw;
yen would be Interested 20 LOOK at to
vt this Johnston pulled ous his watch
and handed II 10 IagGart 10 examine.
Iaggdrt looked at it carefully, held Il
up TO his ear and finally SAID:
Yes, II Is beauty. - IS certainly
s. the finest watch ! ever saw
Then he held II up COR Iu-tae~ exam
nation aud al OF L sudden dropped il
on the marble floor
Johnston AMI T2ggart both jumped
for II with &C. IL alarm, bat II was
too late. Tee watch was smashed into
. hundred p.eces. The floor for an area
81 three c. four feet was covered with
springs and wheeis ard other parts OF
the watch. The Wa Taggar; sympa
thlzed with Johnston was amusing TO
Iaose WAC were ~ or the Joke.
" eli, that's too bad, isn't it2" said
TaggGTt. Z suppose that watch must
have cost Yea 50 or SlOO?"
Johnston went up in the air.
y hundred dollars he gasped
Why, man, that watch cost me $500 d"
That's too bad, too bad Taggart
get it fixed AZ the jewelers. across the
street"
Such talk as this Increased john
ston's fury.
Fix that watch IN an indianapolis
Jewelry store," cried he Wing. that
watch was made for me in Switzerland.
There isn't matchmaker in the Unit
ed States that could make that watch
Taggart continued to suggest fixing
the watch, and Johnston was growing
wilder every minute IN trying to i'm
press on Taggart the value OF the watch
and the damage that had been done.
But Taggart kept on in an innocent,
bland way, telling what a good jeweier
the man across the street really was
He get plate and began 20 pick I'D
the pieces. while Johnston storIned
around. Finally az OF the pieces were
gathered I'D and Taggart started for
the door. as II 70 SO across the street.
Then he stopped as If struck with a
new thought. and began TO put the
wheels and springs back into the case
himself
There" said Taggart, as he com
pleted the job and surveyed il with
apparent pride; that wasn't as bad
an accident as it seemed at first. was
it?r
At this he handed back TO Johnston