The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-06-28


my lawyer take it up with the board
Of aldermen-slaughter people on
their tracks right and left-you'd think
these railroad companies owned the
earth. But that sign, now. Did you
notice you could read every letter in
the label on that ham?' You wouldn't
think it was a hundred yards back
| label by actual measure is six feet four
inches across-and yet it looks as
swaziland everything all in the right
proportion, it's wonderful. It's what
I call art" he concluded, in slightly
dogmatic tone.
"Of course it's art" Percival agreed;
| "er-all-hand painted, I suppose?"
"Sure! that painting alone, letters
and all, cost $3.50. I've just had it put
up. I've been after that place for
years, but it was held on a long lease
by Max, the Square Tailor-you know.
You probably remember the sign he
had there-'Peerless Pants Worn by
Chicago's Best Dressers,' with man
in his shirt sleeves looking at a new
pair. Well, finally, got a chance to
buy those two back lots, and that give
me the site, and there she is, all fin
ished and up. That's partly what I
come on this time to see about. How'd
you like the wording of that sign?"
"Fine-simple and effective" replied
Percival
That's it-simple and effective. 1t
goes right to the point and it don't
slop over beyond any, after it gets
there. We studied good deal over
that sign. The other man, the tailor,
had too many words for the board
| to be, first, 'Higbee's Hams, That's
ALL But, 1 don't know-for so big a
space that seemed to me kind Of
| well-kind of 1ippant and undignifed.
Then 1 got it down to Eat Higbee's
Hams That seemed short enough
but after studying it, l says, What's
the use of saying 'eat?' No one would
think, says, that a ham is to paper
the walls with or to stuff sofa cushions
with-so off comes eat as being su-
perfuous, and leaving it simple and
dignifed Hams"
"By the way" said Percival, when
they were sitting together again, later
in the day, where is Henry, now?"
Higbee chuckled
| "That's the other thing took me back
this time-the new sign and getting
Hank started. Henry is now working
ten hours day out to the packing
house. After year of that he'll be
taken into the Office and his hours will
be cut down to eight Eight hours a
day will seem like sinful idleness to
Henry by that time"
Percival whistled in amazement
| II thought you'd be surprised. But
the short of it is, Henry found himself
facing work or starvation. He didn't
| want to starve little bit, and he final
ly concluded he'd rather work for his
| dad than anyone else.
"You see Henry was doing the
Rake's Progress act there in New
York-being gilded youth and such
like. Now being a gilded youth and
a well-known man about town is
something that wants to be done in
moderation. and Henry didn't seem to
know the meaning of the word. 1 put
up something like $180,000 for Hanks
gliding last year. Not that I grudged
him the money, but it wasn't doing
him any good. He was making a mon
key of himself with it, Henry was. A
good bit of that hundred and eighty
went into comic opera company that
was one of the worst l ever did see.
| Henry had no judgment. He was too
easy. Well, along this summer he was
on the point of making a break that
would-well, I says to him, says I:
Hank, I'm no penny-squeezer; l like
good stretchy legs myself 1 says; I
| like to see them elastic so they'll give
plenty when they're pulled; but
says, If you take that STEP I says,
If you declare yourself, then the rub
Der in your legs I says, will just nat
urally snap; you'll find you've over
played the tension, says, and there
won't be any more stretch left in them
The secret is, Hank was being
chased by whole family of wolves
that's the gist of it-fortune hunters
with tushes like the ravening lion
in Afric's gloomy Jungle They were
not only cold, stone broke, mind you,
but hyenas into the bargain-the ia
| Their and the mother and the girl, too.
| They'd got their minds made up to
marry the girl to good wad of money
and they'll do it, too, sooner or later,
because she's corker for looks, all
| right-and they'd all made a dead set
for Hank; so, quick as 1 saw how it
was, I says, Here I says, is where
1 save my son and heir from a passed.
of butchers,' 1 says, before they have
him scalded and dressed and hung up
| outside the shop for the holiday trade ,
I says, with the red paper rosettes
stuck in Henry's chest 1 says"
Are the New York girls so design
ing?" asked Percival
'1s Higbee's ham good to eat?" re-