Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-07-27

IN a thick voice. .vn ,eaea yea s
lesson IN how to treat gentlemen
The last -gentlemen--wa Just
clearing bis mouth when Dominick $
teapot. flung with AL the force 81
the ex-prize- fighters big muscles and
bis big body, landed in the midst az
his broad white shirt-hosom. And
with the teapot Dominick hurled his
favorite epithet from his garbage
barrel Of language. With yell
Jameson crashed over backward; his
flying legs. caught by the table. tilted
it; his convulsiye kicks sent Il over,
and half the diners. including Dom.
mick, were fioored under 1t.
All this in a snap Of the finger. And
with the disappearance OF the phys
ical semblance OF a company Of civ
ilized men engaged In dining in civ.
ilized fashion, the last thin veneer
over hate and fury was scraped away
Curses and growing roars made a
repulsive mess Of sound over that
repulsive mess of unmasked, half
drunken. wholly Infatuated brutss
There is shrewd, SLY wisdom snugls
tucked away under the fable of the
cat changed into queen and how
she sprang from her throne at sight
of a mouse to pursue 1t on all fours
The best of us are, after all. animals
changed into men by the spell Of rea
son; and in some circumstances, IL
doesn't take much of blow to dis
solve that spell.
For those men in those circum-
stances, that blow proved sufficient.
Partridge extricated himself. ran
round the table and kicked Jameson
in the head-partly in punishment.
perhaps. and because he needed just
that vent for his rage. but chiefly TO
get credit with me- for he glanced
toward me as he did 1t. Men, sprawl
ing and squirming side by side on
the floor, dashed out with feet and
fists striking each other and adding
to the wild DISAGREEMENT. The can.
dies set FIRE to the tablecloth. and be-
fore the blaze was extinguished
burned several in the hair and mus
taches.
Dominick. roaring with laughter,
came to Roebuck and me standing
at the door, both dazed at this magic
shift of a "gentlemans dinner into
bear.pit "Granby's ghost is raisin'
hell" said ne.
But / had no impulse to laugh or
gloat. Good night said | to Roe
buck, and fastened away.
II was the end Of the attempt to
mine the foundations of my power.
But | did not neglect its plain warn
| ing. AS soon as the legislature as
sembled, / publicly and strongly adj
vocated the appointment OF a joint
committee impartially to investigate
all the cities of the state, those ruled
| by my own party no less than those
of the opposition. The committee was
appointed and did It's work so thor.
oughly that there was a popular
clamor for the taking away OF the
| charters OF the cities and for ruling
| them from the state capital. II is
hardly necessary to say that my leg
islature and governor yielded to this
| clamor. And so the semiindepend
ent petty princes, the urban bosses
lost their Independence and passed
under my control; and the "collec
tons which had gone directly to
them reached them by way Of Wood
ruff as grants from my machine, in
stead of revenues of their own right
Before CHS securing OF my home
power was complete, had my coun
ter-attack upon the Burbank Goodrich
combine we'll under way. Immediate
ly on my return TO Fredonia from the
disastrous dinner ! sent for the at
torney general OF the state, Fergu
son He was an ideal combination
Of man and politician. He held to
the standards Of private morality as
nearly as 1t is possible for a man IN
active public lie to hold TO them
far more nearly than most men dare
or, after they have become Injured
care, to hold. He always maintained
with me a firm but tactful independ
.ence; he saw the necessity for th'
sor5id side OF politics, but he wal
careful personally to keep clear o.
smutching or besmutching work. HI
had as keen an instinct for popular
/ fty as a bee has for blossoms; ht
knew how to do or 10 direct unpopu
lar things on dark nights with darf
lantern, how to dc or to direct popu
lar things in full uniform on white
horse. Ihave never ordered any man toa
task that was not morally congenial; and
] was careful to respect Ferguson's
notion of self-respect ! sent for him
now. and outlined my plan--to bring
suits, both civil and criminal in the
federal courts in the name Of the
state, against Roebuck and his asso-
ciates of the Power trust.
When he had heard, he said: Eyes,
Mr. Sayler, we can break up the Pow.
er trust, can cause the indictment and
conviction of Mr.. Roebuck. can