Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-06-29

annual trade excursion. These ex-
cursiOns are arranged for the pur-
pose of getting into closer touch with
the merchants and dealers of terri
tory held as tributary to Milwaukee,
and of course the membership of the |
party always includes many OF the
prominent business men of the Wis
consin metropolis. Naturally, |
however, there is tendency to
make the trip combination OF
business and pleasure, and as every
local Milwaukeean knows and ap-
preciates what it is that made and
makes Milwaukee famous, it is GUS
tomary to take carload of the stuff
along, to cheer the weary spirits of
the travellers and bring joy and
gladness to the friends they chance
to meet during their peregrinations.
Buffet car is the polite term applied
TO this repository of refreshment
on wheels, and when the Milwaukee
merchants and manufacturers take
their annual outing they evidently
regard it as one of the most import
ant parts of the equipment. In fact
without buffet car it is doubtful If
many of the Milwaukee business
men could be induced to embark on
these annual excursions, or if they
did there would be assertions from
the party at every stopping point
and tendency to get back to the
cooling breezes and other attrac-1
tions of the city o'erlooking Mil
waukee bay.
This year the itinerary Of the Mil
waukee business mems excursion
was laid through Iowa, where it
was hoped to advertise the name
and wares of the Cream city and
thereby build up considerable
trade for Milwaukee firms and bust
ness houses. They either over
looked the fact, however, that Iowa
] is prohibition state, or else con
cluded that an excursion from
waukee with buffet car = AL
would be doubIy welcor -etaehe'
ton. At the thriving ae attfac
cjpality of Mason c. ;, iowa mum
Milwaukee excu, >4Gy, however, tn
q genuine SD, .tSi0nists ran agains
MAYOR VIII ~Ag in the shape of
enfOrci- u apparently believes =
writ, Ag the laws as they ar
cen, and with conscientious dis
.egard for favoritism. In fac
Mayor Mozambique Of Mason City
evidently having heard some ad
vance reports of the contents o
that buffet car, sent word ahead tt
the prospective visitors that while
they stopped in his city there would
be no deviation from the usual rule
i, OF tabooing everything but sOf
drinks. In other words he politely
\ but firmly conveyed the informa
I ton that the buffet car of the Nil
S waukeeans would have to remain
S closed while the party tarried in
Mason City, and above all he in.
: sisted that nc attempt should be
: made to lead astray any of the good
citizens of Mason City who had
7 become accustomed to abide by
! prohibition rules.
The dilemma of the joyial Mil
waukeeans is easily imagined. Tele-
grams OF remonstrance were hastily
, dispatched to the autocrat of Mason
! City, but the latter remained obdu-
. rate to all appeals and insisted that
, all people looked alike to him when
it came to the performance of his
} official duties. AS a result the Mil
waukee eXcurs1onists decided to
take the only alternative that SEEM
ed open to them with safety, and
during the stop at Mason City the
buffet car was declared out of COM
mission, or at least no outsiders
were allowed TO inspect It's interior
and contents. Probably the excur-
sionists themselves found ways and
means to keep the mystic goods
carried In the car from spelling or
going stale, but no attempt was
made to violate the admon1tion of
Mayor McConlogue, who probably
took good care to see his warning
was Obeyed to the letter.
From the standpoint of Milwau-
kee resident this is probably funny
enough, and the story of the in
cident will doubtless be repeated
many times by the excursionists on
their return home as one of the
most amusing episodes of their trip.
At the same time one is forced TO
admire to some extent the precise
and conscientious Iowa mayor with |
an Irish name, who would not make4
an exception to the application of
the law, not even to please a friend.
Perhaps, moreover, the lesson of
the incident will not be entirely lost