Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-06-07


KUkNEL?"
folks do It, Things are looking up a
bit for me, however. These yere Pike
county scandalizers seem to have got
tired of throwing me down and jump
ing on my body, and mebbe I'll get a
chance to draw a long breath. Dawg
gone folks who amt willing for other
( folks to get aiongw
4Scandalizing amt right" said the
colonel as he removed his hat to mop
his forehead.
'sOf cose it amt; of co'se not Can't
make a man better by scandalizing
him-can't possibly do it. Can't put
ing him down every week or two. He's
got to be encouraged If yo' want him
to do his best. Have 1 been encour-
aged in this town, kurnel? Has Pike
county ever extended her hand to help
me climb up?''
Reckon not, Abe"
mo, sub; no, sub, 'cept by one solita-
~ human being, whose name is Kurnel
Harper. Yo' run to con and nevis,
an 20 work twenty-five men on yo'r
plantation the year round, but that
don't prevent yo' from seeing and real
izing all sorts Of situations. Firstly, I
went into the late wah as private
soldier. came out the same thing.
Drat their pesky hides, but they were
making captains and majahs and kur-
nels while / was pouring out my blood
for love Of country-that is, was
willing to pour, which is the same
thing, l take it,"
"'Bout the same, Abe" paternally
replied the colonel. Except that the
bullets don't hit yo'"
when the wah ended run for Of
flee, same as all the rest. They owed
me an Office for having laid down my
life for my country, but what was my
reward? Kurnel Harper, I reckon yo'
can remember that was knocked out
-h'isted twenty feet high-snowed I'M
der till yo' couldn't see the top of my
hat. That's the way Pike county en-
couraged me to grab hold with both
hands and climb to the top!''
Eyes, I remember about that" unused
the colonel as he watched a dog roll
Ing over and over in the dusty street.
Then ] turned to law continued
Abe as he hitched his chair over to
get a brace for his feet on post of
the veranoa. sKurnel Harper, no.
body on the face of this big earth
will ever know how I pinched and
saved and starved and worked to get
that law business down to fine point.
Did anybody encourage me? Not a
critter. Not pesky varmint had a
kind word for me. If I'd known yo'
during them struggling times yo'd have
been the man to open yo'r wallet and
hand me out $50 or so and tell me to !
pay it back in my own good time
Yes. that would have been yo', kur-
nell"
yes mebbe," doubtfully replied the
colonel
WAL, got to be a lawyer. Then
what? l wanted practice. / finally
got case and went into court with it,
but the peslSy jury was lying in am
bush to throw me down. Yes, sub
had the purtiest. incest, cleanest case
20 ever heard tell of, and that jury
was bound by law and evidence to
bring in verdict for me, but got
the cold flop instead. They brought
my client in guilty of stealing hawg
when he was thirty miles away at the
time at the bedside of his dying moth
er. Do yo' call that encouraging
young man. kurnel? Was that giving
Iae show to climb up?'
Cant skassly call it that Abe, but
II l remember right they found fresh
pork in yo'r clients house."
They found meat there, of co'se, but
was it the meat Of that yere hawg or
some other? They never stopped to
kurnel-never stopped to con-
'ider-but throwed the verdict agin
ne in order to crush me out. Same
Yay in the second case. and the third