The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-07-28
ADIOS, TOMMY" HART.

Today marks an epoch in the rou-
tine of the editorial staff of The States
man. With the call of time" this
evening, it is "klatawa si-ah" for one
who has been a good "tillicum' to ana
"hvak tyee" with the men who do unto
The Statesman readers.
And this is the potlatch by the stan
for one who forsakes the narrow, rug
ged path of newspaper honor and jour-
nalistic luxury for the crimsoned, To-
boganned. devious way to political
prefecment.
For be it known to all men, women
and children of this great municipal
ity, that today we lose our Tommy.
Today we of the staff are called upon
to stand aside and tearfully witness
the downward leap, the cosmos
lurch." the "23 tumble" the "skidoo
twist of him who was once to us a
dear friend and comrade-Thomas De-
scribus Secundus Hart.
Nevermore will we be the altogether
of the tribe "chil- chir'-nevermOre do
US of the pencil Siwashes take unto our
bullying foreheads the fierce blessings
of Tomassio Damnamus Savesta Hart.
Not longer will we listen to the weepy
tones of our "Tommy's" piccolo, or
point proudly to the "bombastes furi-
oso" which once we gladly hailed to
Walla Walla strangers as a piece with
us and the band. 1t is pianissimo do
loro with us now. Neither the tweet-
tweet of the pic nor the toOp -toop
of the flute will again arouse us to
high appreciation of the band. We're
separated-divorced.
When our Tommy first said to us
that he adored the emoluments and
perquisites of the city clerks office, we
thought little of it. We had heard
Tommy" dream of living in Utah, or
Turkey-of upholding Teddy's anti-race
suicide theory; we had heard him
speak enviously of Jacob Betz and Q.
P. c. Taylor-always to forget it.
1t was not until Tommy" came unto
us with the declaration that he was
in the hands of his friends that we took
him seriously. Then, alas! 1t was too
late.
Maugre our realization of the fatal
ity of the disease we pleaded with
Tommy" to reconsider-tO think of
many things he should wot Of We
spoke to him of the splendid, faithful
service he had given the paper, of the
excellent reputation he had made, of
the reat esteem in which he is now
held
We pointed out to Tommy" the
fearsome risks taken in leaving an
honored profession for the precarious,
dehiscent life of a politician We gave,
between tear-ladened sobs, an adum-
bration of the burdened heritage he
would leave to those dear little chill
dren. We advised him Of the things
the mother of those sweet innocents
would be compelled to read to them
years hence. With lowered lids and
shamed countenance, we of the staff
even limited to Tommy" of the stories
We would, in duty bound, be forced to
write in the next campaign.
But to no avail! The hands of
his friends" and the "perquisites" were
too much for Tommy" He went to it
and everybody handed it out to him
on a silver platter. And the end is
begun.
To us of the staff the loss is ire
parable. Too, we are desolated with
the thought that so good a fellow,
with so big a heart in that fat little
body, is headed toward so bad an end.
From city editor to city clerk; from
city clerk to an investigating commit
tee, or the legislature; from innocent,
sparkling Bohemia to the banality OF
the life polite! 'Tis truly an awful
tate for one so lovably endowed.
Vale, Tommy! We of the staff
drop a tear to thee!