The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1911-01-12
CONGRESSMAN
SELLS RIDE
GAVE THE GIRLS JOY RIDE
Thrilling Experience of the Con-
gressman-elect Wien in Mes
senger Service 7 Years Ago

elect in congress from the First
Tennessee district, was at Que
time an employee in the govern
ment printing Office in Washing
ton. He secured the job through
the late Congressman Walter P,
Brownlow. While in Washing
ton he studied law and after
graduating refunded to Johnson
City and later on became a vigor-
GUS opposer of Mr.. Brownlow.
Recently the Washington Star
published an interesting story re-
garding Mr.. Sells experience
while in the government printing
Office. The Star says:
There are those among the
old-time employees of the govern
ment printing office who will al
ways insist that Samuel r. Sells,
the recent elected representative
from the First congressional dis
trict of Tennessee. got his first
rise in life through the medium
of freight elevator in the old
printing Office building.
ut all happened just seve,
years ago, according to the old
timers, when the Hon. Samuel r.
Sells, NJ. e., was \just Sammy, a
messenger in charge of one of tn,
,ffice delivery wagons, who wrot,
very catchy poetry when not ham
pered by his official duties, AM
studied law at one of the loca
schools, when not engaged in lit.
erary effort.
" Arriving at the Office one Bit
ter cold morning-blue Monday.
so the story runs-Sammy fount
4 bevy of fair damsels huddled a
the foot of the elevator shat
waiting for some one to Civ
them lift.
''Oh, Sammy they halle,
him, delightedly, do you know
anything about running an eleva
tor? ?
Sammy knew just about a,
much about running an elevate
as he did at that time about run
uing for congress. Nevertheless
he felt it incumbent Upon his ga.
lantry to do something to hell
this shivering squad of femiuini
ty. So he fib5ed cheerfully, avow
ing that what he didn't know
bout running an elevator wasn'i
in the books.
Thus it was with full confidence
in his knowledge of the fads an.
iancies of an elevator that the groul
Of frills and furbelows swarmed int,
the car, Sammy followed and, clos
ing his eyes, grasped the controlle
and pulled it over. In another sec
ond the machine was rollicking sky
ward at frightful pace. The sec
ond floor, where the good-looking
.ypist with the golden hair usually
got off, flew BY him in a twinkling.
The. third, fourth and fifth also
by with no abatement in
he speed of the car.
" At the eighth floor matters be-
anne serious. The young ladies
we're crowding all the fervent prayers
hey Could think of into as few
words as possible and the Hon.
-Sells-to-be was studying
he mechanism OF the recalcitrant i.
ar with an avidity never displayed
\ his persual of Blackstone.
1t was but matter of seconds
ow. The last floor flashed by.
The young ladies closed their eyes,
tuck their fingers in their ears and
1aited for the crash.
And then the future representa-
i've did the right thing at the right
me. The elevator paused a few
iches from the roof and Sammy and
is passengers wiped the cold sweat
fear from their brows and waited
Or help.
1t took an electrician and bis
elper a half day to extract the
rowd from their predicament, and
took another hour or two and
uantities Of smelling salts to 6t the