The independent., 1907-03-28


That marched forth in the twilight dim;
They all turned out to welcome him
When Burton quit the Jail
1t was no single-horse affair
When Burton quit the Jail;
Old friends and neighbors waited there,
When Burton quit the JAIL
Though slowed for good upon the shelf,
Accused of doing wrong for pelf
They knew he'd vindicate himself
When Burton quit the jail
1t was a soul-inspiring scene
When Burton quit the Jail;
The waiting throng at Abilene,
When Burton quit the JAIL
Marched to the station, boys and men,
To meet the heros train, and then
They all marched proudly back again,
When Burton quit the jail
They said he'd give us Something
straight"
When Burton quit the Jail,
A revelation worth the wait,
When Burton quit the JAIL
The furnace of his wrath he fed
With hatred, yet. though flaming red,
There wasn't much to what he said
When Burton quit the jail
j. H. McElhany, the pioneer of Omaha,
who recently hanged himself because he
was weary of the struggle for subsis-
tence left a pathetic note saying that
perhaps some Of his old trends and ac-
quaintances might say if they had known
of his dire straits they would have ex-
tended helping hand, and he appends
the query, But would they?' The
court is in doubt. Commenting on the
ease, Editor John Tanner of the South
Omaha Democrat says:
Don't wait until a man is on the
verge of suicide before you give him
lift. If you know man to be worthy
and he is your friend, open your heart
and let the sunshine or charity pene-
trate for moment You will feel bet
ter and you may save human life.
Deeds of this character are what make
life worth living There is only small
per cent of humanity that is able to
manage affairs so that the hour of dis
| tress never comes, and those who are
| able ought to and in many instances do
lift the burden for the suckers who drift
and manage poorly. Hell is overrun with
| tight wads l do not mean by this that
Tom Dick and Harry on demand. Not
| much But the man who never cuts
| his belt for a friend will find a chilly
reception in heaven if he ever gets there
at all.
| when we see a fellow mortal on the way
Toiling underneath load to stall dray
If we help him with a will
| Push his burden up the hill,
He may do as much for us some other day.
| III instead of that We eoldly pass him by,
| Never hear him when he calls and never
| try,
Conscience-pricks will make us sore
On this side the golden shore
And We'll catch he'll over yonder when we
| die.
Colonel Russell would like to rise
superior to the smoke nuisance which
| menaces his health and makes him
ashamed of himself when he Is out among
folks, but he fears that after struggling
| to overcome the appetite for a period of
six or eight yelrs, he will still be in
the thick of a light that can only end
when the chief c0Tnbatant has taken his
way to the silent city. Concerning our
experience In abandoning the tobacco ha-
bit. Russell wants to know:
The question remains whether the doc
j tor is really cured so that the plant
is as distasteful to him as it Is to tho
| neophite. or whether he has just put up
an heroic eight years negative to what
would still be sensual pleasure, but
which his Intellect tells him he is An ass
\ for indulging.
There are cures and cures. A burglar
may not feloniously enter a house for
eight years and he may still be a burglar
| at heart On the other hand, he may
stirct and loathe the thought of burgiing
his brothers. bungalow. How about that?
We are not prepared to say that the
/ narcotizing effect OF tobacco would not
prove IA sweetiy deceptive II did eight
years ago. hut certainly the desire to
Indulge has entirely disappeared. Be
sides that there Is more pleasure In liv-
ing out from under the bondage OF an
| unnatural appetite. Time was when we
invariably left the theater between acts
for no other purpose than To take a
chew OF tobacco, or TO smoke part OF n
cigar after which II would DO necessary
! 10 run the risk Of eieetment by expec-
toratirg time or two ON Frank Ze-
| rungs carpet II u worth the dfsconn-
fort sxpcrsoacsd the nrst sAghsssa Iss~ths
iu&l 10 10 fpoA