The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-06-19
l)aniel Tank and the
Unfinished Fight

BY p. G. MacfarIane

fCentinned from ,>steyaa,)
They don't make real estate any
higher? didn't like grand-standin
when was small boy in school, and
! don't like it now. especially when the
only person It's goin' to do any good to
Is the publisher Of a newspaper and the
thing It's goin' to do harm to is the
city | was born in and live in, and,
please God, hope to die In. Mr.. Dunno
is maxim direct charges. | want to
say that II any moneys been taken by
members of the city government for
dolE' what they was goin' to do, any
way, 1t was taken from rich men and
not from poor ones. from corporations
th.t's fed fat on the CITY, and If any
man got the best of 'em | don't envy
him Ills little bit. Another thing. If Mr..
luGne can prove to my satisfaction
tha. Mike Halloran tried to graft on
him for saloon license. I'll help send
Mike Halloran to Jail and keep him
there. In the first place want to say
that it strikes me Mr.. Dunno was In
mighty low business. putin up jobs
On innocent men and hidin' behind
t.nors like the hero in dime novel
Besides, who are these two imported
sloa,Es that tell US Mike Halloran fell
~ their game so easy? Guess some of
on fellows know Mike Halloran. don't
yon?" (This was feeler.) Cries Of
yes" came back Never knew him
20 be anything but square, did We?
l're known Mike Halloran give his last
collar to buy milk for sick baby. I've
known him to work all day gettin' out
the vote. and set up all night watchin
EN- count in his precinct and then
you tell me that'd get in trouble about
q little matter Of saloon license. Sup
1859 now, that he'd investigated the
case and it was O. X. to grant the II
csnse. but the fellow had easy money
and was willin' to give up some of it
FOR the privilege. Wouldn't you take
it," (Cries Of Sure! ~ You
wouldn't call that bride. would you?
(Cries of Eyes " and No" mingled)
That comes long ways from provin'
the city government rotten. don't it?"
Cheers and jeers were mingled.
And now" continued Tank, there's
one more thing want to throw at you.
II they begin putin poor men in Jail
for takin' easy money off from rich
ones. m goin' to join this crusade my
self, and see that the rich ones go
along. For every poor bribe-taker that
goes to Jail I'll see that one rich bribe-
giver is hand-cuffed beside him. They'll
go into the pen like the animals into
Noah's ark two by two. and there'll
be fnanciers enough in the state peni-
Tertiary to start stock exchange.
CHEERS. "
That's Why you can't do no good
this way, and l told Mr.. Dunno that
Yesterday In little talk we was havin'.
You can't send money to Jail. Money
is what corrupts councilmen and COM
missioners. This thing begins at the
wrong end
Fully half the audience was in whole
or partial sympathy with Tank. and
much more than half were in sympathy
with some one sentiment or another
that he had uttered.
The close of his words was greeted
with cheering not one whit less hearty
than had been given to Dunno, and 1t
vas certainly longer continued. Dunno
did not know that the moment Tank
commenced to speak and to feel his
audience the Boss's lieutenants had
begun dexterously to station them
selves In the crowd, to lead the an
swers, to suggest the cheers and start
the applause and that while the Boss
was making his appeal the process of
organizing a temporary Tank machine
in the crowd had gone steadily on.
Now" said Tank. forcefully, turn
ing to Dunno, who stood listening with
chagrin to the cheers that followed the
close Of Tanks speech. You been
goin' after me. Now I'm goin' after
you. Watch me! I'll get your sparkin'
plug. and get it quick"
AS Tank turned away from the crowd
| he faced Deputy Sheriff who thrust
! into his hand a paper.
We'll! What's this?" exclaimed the
| Boss, disdainfully, snatching the docu
ment and scanning it swiftly. His face
4 blanched a trifie as he read, and Their
blazed up with wrath. 1t was a war
rant for his arrest upon charge Of
accepting bride from the trolley com
pany AS Tank gazed unseeingly a
the document for moment after hi
had read 1t, the wrath upon his face
cooled to a sneer.
So the Grand Jury indicted me
hey? For accepting bride, hey
Well. now, what do you think Of that?
be croaked in harsh sarcasm. Hi
words had been loud enough for tn
last man in the crowd to hear. Thel
he folded the warrant. deliberately
and tore it across half-a-dszen time
with an accelerated motion of the fir
gers, for each tear. till the warrant wa
fine paper and with swift rising ange
hurled it full in the face of the arrest
ing officer, Big Campbell, ma
whom he had always hated, but VIII
held his place because he gripped in hi
canny fist goodly handful Of votes i
| one of the water front wards. CAM
) beil's face like many Of his race. a
, vays family forid turned red as fir
, at the insult, and was heated hottie
by the memory OF whipping Tan
once administered to him.
You bald-faced buffer" he shrieket
III have the irons on you for that"
Quick as fash Tank saw suprem
: opportunity to grandstand. He thrus
out his great, burly wrists.
. g Put 'em on. he roared. Put 'e1
) on, dare you!"
. His eyes were almost closed in tn
hot tide OF his passion. From blazin
red his leathery face had turned
bloodless white and he shook 1t befor
the eyes of Big" Campbell and o
t fered his wrists for the irons. Pr
I EN- on! dare you! dare you!
beloved
!, I'll call you!r shrieked back Big
| Campbell. and swiftly drew the mai