The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1910-06-01

from his wages they handed him
the balance, pitiful little pile OF
small silver, and told him to get out.
49, 1t was against the law, of course, but
he didn't know that.
He was set adrift almost without
money, in a land of strangers.
hostile land, too for the gendarmes
in front of the office eyed him with
disfavor. He was desperately lone
1elt the grip of circumstance keen upon him. AS
ndered about the strange streets he discovered.
In the lining of his coat, envelope, until then
ced Its contents four Observation-Disclosures bills
is note:
Irvington, Oct. H.
only trouble for YOU We IRE not thieves only
sss ~SHc g. suss %s w. @
broke. Quit boozng and be ca; a man '''
Yours P 5E4E SHERMAN
The friendly faces of Uncle Sans greenbacks
gave him courage. He made plans and acted on
them then and there. Meeting that English mate
IN the street, he gave him most artistic beat
ing, paid fine and took the next boat for Lon
don town Incidentally he forgot all about his de-
sire to travel six seven thousand miles and kill
the sailortown kings. What spasm of virtue caused
them to give him back his money he never knew.
They were not noted for doing such things
That the kings continually escaped punish
ment was small wonder. The injured
had chance to tell their stories until they
ashore in some foreign land Consuls in foreign
their unsupported word The ships papers
always straight at any rate on the face of them.
The most that could be done to report the
case and there 1t ended. The Sherman boys on
the other side of the earth never heard even an
echo of it. The witnesses against them scat
tered over the seven and prosecution could
not touch them.
The United States district attorney and his staff
did their best to keep the Shermans within the let
ter, at least, of the shipping laws, but they had
hard shedding. In one the kings were indicted
Charlie Marsden, the star witness for the prosecu
tion locked up in Jail for safekeepng. Charlie
Marsden disappeared. The jailer told story of
masked men, guns and general confusion, but could
identify one as having taken part in the Jail
delivery With the witness gone, prosecution halt
ed. Long afterward Charlie Marsden came back
and told moving tale. He had been bound
gagged and carried aboard ship just she
sailed. When released at sea, he was told that
he had been regularly shipped and was led a sorry
life aboard. In foreign ports he appealed in vain
to consuls, who showed him his name-forged, Of
course-on the ships articles and laughed at him.
When he finally worked his way back to Irvington
his story awakened interest and prosecutions
were begun. The Sherman boys had wepaid
lawyers who dragged out the with adjourn.
ments and legal tangles Irvington was too busy
to be long excited over the wrongs of few sail
Ors. Prosecution faltered and paltered along it's
usual dismal way. and what at last brought the
sailortown kings up with round turn the
united public opinion of Irvingon directed against
them.
Irvingon suddenly walked up to find itself blot
on the map Unexplained dead men are no good
advertisement for any town; neither are mysteri-
disappearance of strangers within it's gates to
be desired, Il their friends make fuss about them
Captains who refused to be held up for extrava
CANT blood money, and to play villain at small
profit, avoided the port. Business was falling off,
Upper Irvington hit where it lived and the
Sherman boys were notified to quit.
The kings of sailortown have abdicated Steam
vessels make voyages so short that advance
notes. no longer prizes. Seamen's unions
have given measure of protection even to deep
water sailors, who seem to have fewer rights and
more hardships than most men, The bullying cap
tain the buckle mate and the boarding master have
all been singed by the feeble and tardy fire of
United States maritime law. The railroads had
their share in the revolution. But what really
caused the Sherman boys to become private cit
zens was the wrath of upper 1rvington. When it
was hit in it's pocket and it's selfesteem-that up
set the kingdom of the sailortown tyrants.