The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-13
TIE EVENING STOR r


They. are tearing down the old school
house. said OFFICER O'Flaherty, as ne
lodged a falling brick. This Is calied
one of the toughest corner IN Cnlcsso
and some of the philanthropy ag1tatoTs
held Il meeting ana resolved 1t was Gnlt
to raise innocent children on. SO the
school lot was sold for business. Inc
building ought to have been condemn
ed long ago, but can't see nothing the
matter with this location, especially as
I'm here to take care of the kids Ihefe
amt been a child run over on TINS cor
ner in ali the fifteen years I've peen on
the beat. If I've grabbed one from u IN
der wheels I've saved fifty. some by the
hair some by the heels and some Dy
the seats Of their little knickerbockers.
It's best to get a boy by the middle, De
cause then both ends Of him come up
at once, while, if you catch him by one
end the other may be missing II the
car is coming fast.
kids don't say much when you save
| EN- Some never even tell their 4oikss
but they keep , warm spot Tor you ~
their hearts and every once in a Whlle
they'll bring you an apple or orangS'
not alIuding to the time you jerked EN-
from death, but pressing the gifts on
you so you dassent refuse for rear OF
hurting the little feelings Of en-
Officer O'FIaherty gazed across the
street at q billboaEd which displayed
the portrait of young woman II al
the bravery oS satin and diamonds
''See that black-eyed beauty over
yonder on tha billboards2" he asked.
THAT picture set me thinking of KID
rescued once. The eyes and me halr
mind me OF little Trina. Otherwise
there amt much resemblance.
About twelve years ago 1rma came
to school here. She was small for her
age like most Italian children, ana she
was pretty as hollyhock IN her DIT OF
red petticoat, with a scrap of green
! Il II,
safety pin. Sometimes she wore a
bandanna over her curIs, but mostly
| they was flying every which way, IKE
they was the day 1 grabbed her py
them out from under the pig truck
wagon. She cried considerable; /
reckon it hurt her to hang by the mar
I in my big hands, for she was a plump
/ little thing and must have been some
strain on the hair. But Il was long
Land strong and I knew it was safe to
hold. / never take no chances saving
grown woman by the hair-it might
come off.
After that Irma always kept 2
piece of her dill pickle for me Thar
/ was the big end of her lunch so L
realized how she loved me. Every day
she would tease the corner fruit man
/ for a banana. He never gave her one.
but she seemed to feel it was her duty
/ to try to make him. If I happened to
be around would help myself to one
land pass it on to her. Ny, dtdn that
get the banana man hoti But he
knew better than to give back ia X
when Irma had gobbled her banana
she would sit down comfortable on the
/ curbstone at my feet and sing me a
song. She had the peculiarest voice
/ not the kind you'd expect from q wee,
red mouth like hers, but a strong, deep
down voice like q mans. You could
/ hear her q block away and sometimes
the folks crowded SO about her that l
had to use my billy. One day when she
was hard a it a man made such a dis
| turbance pushing to the front that I
| lunged at him.
Don't you know who I amp he
hollered.
- Whoever you are. keep back I says.
This kid is singing under my protection.
She amt no public nuisance; she's a
genuine moo king bird and can sing ev-
| cry tune that has passed this corner in
( the last two. years. I get no time to go
I to shows myself, so this kfd hangs
| round a shOwhOuse and catches the
tunes and comes over here and sings
| 'em to me
Then the man said he was the main
guy of a theater and had heard of her
4 and he said if Irma could sing like peo-
! pie said she could he'd put her on his
circuit and give her a salary.
AT that 1 stands her up and spea ks
! to her serious. Now, kid, sing all you
can. If you got any more noise in you
I've got dime for you when you set
through.
L knew it was no use talking to her
of circuits and salaries. but you be; she
knew what q dime meant. She Looked
/ at the silver to make sure there WIS no
| hole in it and then she threw back hey
! head and opened her mouth wide ana
let out a hullabaloo that was like a
big brass band. and good. solid time and
tune to every word of it.
TO- Es-Nr
himself, but nobody could hear word
he said so he waits till Irma gets
through and then he says to the crowd:
/ Watch the announcement at my thea
ter. This little girl viii be featured as
the phenomenal baby contralto of the
age
THAT was u years ago and the
| beauty over on the billboard is Irma
the way she looks now. She has just
her manager tells me that none of
these foreign singers didn't knock any
/ chips off her shoulders.
when she saw me sitting down in
front yesterday while she was on the
stage she sent round for me TO come
to the stage door, and when she came
out she turned down a line of beaux
/ to take me to dine at a swell cafe.
after she had told me all about her
tour she asked after the old school
| house and when I told her they were
tearing it down she cried, almost, and
said it made her feel bad. because that
corner was where her career came to
her.
ITS funny about fame" the officer
/ ended. Some folks gallop all over
! everywhere after it and never get any,
but little Ir1na just sits down on the
school house corner to pay for
banana with a song and along comes
her career Chicago. News
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