The Washington bee., 1911-05-06
Public Men And ThinDs
(By the Sage of the Potomac.)

Alter consulting the clairvOyant, l
find that John Nalle is the victim of
circumstances, for this particular
week. John was born in the early
period of his existence He began
| life by teaching school, and that was
about year before Caesar crossed
the RubicOn. He acquired the prefix
OF Professor" through custom
Everything else he acquired by apprO-
prlatIon. If | were called upon TO
write sketch of John Nalle for
Who's Who in Gossipville," and was
limited to a paragraph, the foregoing
would constitute the few desultory
lines. But that would hardly be suf-
ticient to blanket this tall sycamore
of the Potomac in the fame brigade.
| To be exact TO penny, John Nalle
. began teaching when he had reached
the age OF sixteen years, and he had
reached that age when old Noah
was calling off the animals two
by two. By that time he had passed
through the graded schools (and | use
the word passed" adviSedly), and had
a dim conception of the perspective
lines of a high school building. A
call was made for teachers, and John.
being patriotic in every fiber of his
six-foot-two, bareheaded, barefooted,
Icoatless and trouserless, dashed down
the line and answered Here's a con
script, hire me" And he was hired
without measurement or examination.
Otherwise, he would now be doing
something else. While John has risen
from an ordinary teacher to be super
visor by title, really, hOnOrs have not
come to him without a Skirmish.
About a year or so ago John was in
hot water up to his neck line, and it
looked, for few days, as though he
might be dropped in the rathskeller
He got busy, though, pulled all the
strings he could grab, caught at
every straw that blew, even bowed
in humble supplicatiOn before the fe-
male member of the board, whom he
had been used to giving the stony
stare. She got busy, too, forgot the
past, sort of cOggitated to herself get
behind me, Satan'-JOhn was Satan
and the result was John won out by
an eyelash. If he had not, Alonzo
| Stafford was standing right there
waiting to take the crown and make a
Marathon run with it. A history of
the schools of Washington with John
Nalle left out would be like Hamlet
with the melancholy Dane put in the
, also ran" class, or a sketch of pos
sibilities without some mention of the
"ball-bearing" lady. He's a clever
man-this long-legged, freckle-faced
near-red-head son of his father As
pupils in the public schools sigh for
John Nalle. He's popular favorite
with them. He's a popular favorite
with everyone. Always has a pleas
ant word and a twO-by-twice smile
that's contagious Long after the day
| when Old Gabe has blown his trumpet
/ 70 announce TIE time for benevolent
assimilation, John Nalle will be teach
ing or supervising right here IN Wash
!ingtOn. He's still young man, for
when CORVALLIS surrendered, and an
inventory was taken of the detected
red coats, there was a Lieut. John
Nalle on the roster of the kings Ian
GERS, and as no question has ever been
raised as to the disguise of Lieut. John
Nalle, the belief is general that our
own six-fOOt-twO supervisor is one
and the same person. He simply
! dropped the title of Lieutenant and
appropriated the title of Professor in
stead. There's many a worse fellow
than John Nalle, and a mighty few
fellows who come as fine as the hard
working supervisor Although he has
been in the schools since the time
of the Aztecs, he still looks like a
| IfleeCe-lIned youth of not more than
fOrty-five variegated Summers and in
termittent Winters. Long live long
! John Naile.
! When Eve tempted Adam with a
little ripe, juicy, red hgurative apple
the garden of Eden who were making
goO-goo eyes at the lady gowned in a
/ few dried fig leaves. One of these
| fellows was Jerome Johnson. Now
Jerome, while frequently placed in
! the category of has beens," along
with the strong pipe Dick TOmpkins,
/ he, Jerome, IS about the liveliest has
been" that ever blew the cuff off
stein of Pabst Jerome is a queer
makeup, but a royal good fellow.
There amt much OstentatiOn about
him, and less of something else. He
can make a good talk, when there's
no one to compete with him. One
of his hobbies is to resuscitate the
dying Mems Club of St Luke's
Church Jerome has been trying to
put a little elixer into that organiza-
ton. If he could tranfuse some of
| the elixer he takes himself into the
other members he would have a cork
] ing club, and one to be proud Of But
somehow or another he can't revive
the thing. Jerome is the busiest man
on the town plat He's a character,
and one whom everybody likes. A
strict observant of Lent, when sound
asleep, he gloriously moves down the
avenue the cynosure of all eyes. What
would Washington do without Je-
rome Johnson? You might as consist
emily ask What would Bob Allen do
without his colored patronage?
It is rumored that Ralph Tyler has
been away from Washington for more
than two weeks doing a gum-shoe
stunt out in the wild and woody
West. It IS said the black cabinet
suspended its sessions until he re-
turns. l asked one of them the other