Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1907-12-12
THE BUILDERSs
BY George Walter Emerson.
CHAPTER XIX
rnE INDIaNATIoN MEErINo.

llC ONCl a NNNh anu AAAs1 ~ANNiANN'ANNf'tA-
was noticeably subdued y One ev-
ening he discovered that great
many citizens were assembling in
the town hall, and finding the
crowd composed Of representatives
of nearly every family in Water
vile, he joined the throng.
The gathering proved to be an
Indignation meeting, called to order
by j. Arthur Boast. Instead OF
hurrahing for the Waterville Town
Company, its members were vigor-
ously denounced by the indignant
citizens. and one of the speakers,
after addressing the chair, said,
among other things;
"Where is our sash, blind and
door factory Where is our foun-
dry9 where is our wooden mills ?
Where is our canning factory
where is our great smelling plant,
and where are the other manufac-
turing enterprises that have been
promised us by the Watervllle.
Town Company Echo answers,
where?
We are told that when we see a
thing in the Waterville Times it is
so. but where are these institutions
of progress which have been prom
ised usq Outside Of Waterville
the newspapers claim the members
of the Waterville Town Company
to be lot of restless town boomers.
[ believe what | see in these papers.
The weeds are already growing in
the streets of Waterville-our town
is dead not one stranger in a week
aliehts from the train at Water
vile. We have been deceived, and
it is now time for an indignant
community to assert its rights, and
take the regins of government, 80
to speak. in its own hands, and give
the Waterville Town Company to
understand that no more bonds OF
any kind will be voted, or subsi-
dies given in the future"
A number of other speakers eX-
pressed themselves in bitter terms
against the Waterville Town Com
pany. The chairman, J. Arthur
Boast, finally addressed the meeting
in his thin, piping voice, and advis-
ed moderation
He said it was true that prices,
unfortunately, had been inflated
during his absence, and reaction
had set in. He reminded his hear
ers, that he was still in the real es-
tate business, and by listing their
property with him he would try to
put it on his Especial bargain list"
and thought that he could possibly
in time reestablish confidence and
create new era of activity in theN
real estate business.
A selfish desire for future kind
nesses from others usually prompts
us to appear considerably generous
and Boast was very careful not to
openly charge the depression at
Waterville to any one in particu-
lar, but his insinuations left no
doubt that he meant the Waterville
Town Company He was a man
who believed he was born to be
leader. and power among men,
but HE was circumscribed, not
dwarfed, but diminutive to such-an
extent that it was an impossibility
for him to be loyal to more than
one man at time, and he believed
that loyalty to one required dis
loyalty to all others.
1t was the idea of the citizens at
the meeting that retrenchment was
in order. One speaker advised
closing the public school. The sug-
gestion seemed tomeet with favor.
Old Dick Ballard pushed his way
through the crowd, and addressing
the chairman, begged the people
to listen to reason He talked rap
idly and protected his sore lip with
his hand as covering
"You know" he said, eff we
blindly wish for thing regardless
of the cost, it is prima facie evil
dence that the wish is not rational
one. I'm school director in this
ERE township. The office sought
me | didn't seek the office. Re
trenchment in any other line, ex-
ceptin the closin' down of the pub
lie school, is, perhaps, all right, but
don't take a step backward. II
we don't have school we won't
have any educated people, and a
tovn without education is worst