The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1908-05-15

in, together with other raiment, club
dues, tickets to various dances and
entertainments, and in fact, from
morning until night. day in and day
out, to "sift'' your salary steadily into
the hopper
The grand balls were Of course
the most important functions given
by the party. They were attended by
everybody, including the mayor and
he led the grand march. 1t was a
lively time, and diamonds were as
plentiful as blackberries. Full-dreSs
suits were largely in evidence, and
the dancing kept up until morning.
At such ball the extreme opposites
of political life met, once a year, and
the occasion was one to be remem-
beyed Judges, with an eye to possible
or probable denomination, were not at
all too proud to attend, and occasion
ally some of the city's elite attended,
just for the novelty of the thing. A
woman might be led out by an ex-
governor of the state for one set, and
the next set
take turn down the middle
With the man that shot Sandy McGee.'
It was truly cosmopolitan gather
ing, unique and picturesque, and rare
ly was there any disturbance that
amounted to anything.
Another and more common phase OF
political social life was at the saloons.
Here the ward politicians gathered,
not only to talk politics, but to roll
ten-pins, play pool and, at the card
tables, play for the drinks" The
amount of social intercourse thus had
in a large city is enormous. After the
ordinary ward politician had eaten his
supper he would be ready to engage
in his political cruising, and he could
usually find bunch of men at the
bowling alleys, or in the card-room of
his neighboring saloon. l went
through a great many political fights
and skirmishes, big and little, and ex
cept just at election times | saw very
little drunkenness. But there was no
doubt that the workingmen and me-
chanics gathered at the saloons to
see each other And there was no
doubt that they spent money there;
maybe more than they should have
done But that was where they went
to find companionship; to meet their
society" / have often gone to the
swell political clubs and there met the
professional men, lawyers, doctors
and professors, business men of large
interests in various channels, and
they sat at the tables and drank their
wine where the ward fellows drank
beer, and they played BRIDGE or
poker where the ward men played
"cinch," and when you come to the
question of which is moral and which
is not, leave it cheerfully to every
man for himself to Judge.
Every year, and always in the good
old summertime, the swell picnic was
held, generally away out in the coun-
try in some grove And here political
society disported itself in its gayest
and gladdest rags" and gave itself
up to unalloyed festivities Of all sorts
and kinds. There was the fat mans
race, the sack race, chasing the
creased pig ESQ politically suggestive),
the tug-of-war between the firemen
and policemen's teams, the dances, the
speeches, the bowling alleys, the mig.
ger baby and baseball" stand the um.
brella and cane game, the lemonade
stands, the wandering Ministries, AMI
the shell game" You could spend
your money a little at a time at the
diversified amusements, or you could
have one swift thrill and lose it all at
the shells"
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