The Falls City tribune., 1909-10-01
Something Mo.

something WORE OF Edfly Legislators
The representative referred to in
my last, who distinguished himself by
his unusual display Of learning in
the preceding session Of tie legisla-
ture. came home after the adjourn
ment towards the close of the winter
OF 1856 am 1851, and was received
with some bread smiles by his admir-
ing constituents. Ills home was at
Winnehago. down on the Missouri,
above the present site of Rulo and a
few miles south of ST. stephens, a
town of recent origin, and which was
rapidly d%epopnlating the hamlet, com.
resed almost entirely of mixed bloods
and Canadian gumbo Frenehmen.
that had the honor of being the head
quarters of the pseudo statesman
from the extreme south Platte region.
Most of his time for the next few
months was occupied in telling how
it came about that he got his Latin
mixed, and paying for the drinks as
sessed as n penalty for bis laugh
able mistake. There however, was
no mistake about tit was n piece
of sheer laundering ignorance and
was properly punished as such.
Notwithstanding It's ridiculous
character and the fact that it had
made its perpetrator a laughing
stock of the country, he had the sand
slang for CRITIC offer himself as
n candidate for reelection to the
same office at the fall election of
that year.
In launching his campaign he made
the speech of his life. an effort which
should not be allowed to drift out of
the memories of men, though | am
able to give only a very little of it
the part that would strike the ordi-
nary mind In his audience with most
force. The fact is the value of any
discourse we may hear consists in
our ability to recall something the
speaker said. two or three weeks
afterwards. Otherwise, our minds
are left in the condition they would
have been If nothing had been heard.
as indeed nothing had been, as no
impression was made. Public SER
wants always delight in telling the
people how much they have lone for
them, and how much they propose to
do IL continued in service. 1t Is the
universal stock in trade of the great
er as we'll as the lesser politician,
and the vaporing of both, have a
striking family resemblance. But
'uis 10 " " Nut punt. He lllCl-
dent was two years old before | heard
of 1t. but it was so characteristic of
h free and Easy way of such pub
lie characters on the frontier in those
days, that | have never forgotten It.
The meeting was held in a shack
owned by a man of the name of Cook,
in which he had some kind of store and
n barrel of whiskey among other
vendable articles. | might as we'll
tell the name of the candidate though
there are not many in the county who
Will remember him. He was n. J..
Sharpe, a son of the Mr.. Joseph
sharpe, who represented Richardson
county In he upper house of the
first legislature that met in the ter
rltory IN the winter of 1855 and who
was II of the town company that To-
Gated and laid out old Archer. He
was Familiarity known as "Jonse," and
was usually addressed by that euph-
MO corruption of Johnson by
his cronies and intimates, and indeed,
with that class, Jonse Sharpe was not
only popular, but a hale fellow well
met wherever he was known.
knee Mr.. Sharpe for several years
and until he left Nebraska, which
think was sometime during the Civil
war. Some years after the Pacific
railroad was built, | heard of him
as postmaster at Ogden, Utah, to
which post he was appointed by Pres
ident Hayes. Since then, | have
neard nothing of him. He may be
living yet. as he was quite a young
man when he played law maker in
the early days in Nebraska.
But must get back to the meet
Ing in ~DOn mbArA IN,,, ~.
the speech of his life. | think he
must have borrowed his ideas of
el~ectioneering from Davy Crockett of
pleasant memory, for the first thing
he did was TO order a gallon of
Cooks best-the best and the worst
all came out of the same barrel--to
wet the whistles of the boys before
ne commenced, The libation having
Deen disposed of in the usual
way, the crowd of interested voters
seated themselves on the ground and
on such empty boxes as CHANGED TO
De found lying about, the orator
squared himself at them and spoke
TO about the following effect:
Boys, I'm a candidate for Omaha
agln, II | want you all to vote for
me. Last winter | lone the best
cud for We, but failed on the univer-
sity bill, for the reason Archer was
ahed of me, but | shorty will get in
next time here a voice interrupted
Say, Jones, how about that votin
for a bill in Latino Now Bin
Morgan, just hold your clatter. That
jokes gone far enough. 1t was Just
a fix up between me and the speaker
TO heV some fun. Nothing more.
And | want To say that the bill for a
ferry charter at this place will pass
shore, and We will be ahead of all the
rest. | was in my seat at every roll
call except maybe two or three, and
| don't know wher | was at them
times, but l think l was off some.
where takin a quiet game of draw"
tsome of the present population of
Falls City may know what kind of
game he meant), with some of them