The Washington herald., 1912-04-18

When Col Nathan Bryan was seeking
the Democratic nomination for United
States Senator from Florida last winter,
he drffted down one day to the little
town Of wakulla to make a speech.
wakulla is the name OF q Juvenile book
that is TO be found alongside Of the
Elsie and the Alger books in the public
libraries, or used to be. but Bryan found
that there was nothing Juvenile about
the efforts necessary TO convert the Wa
l0ullaites to the Bryan cause They
couldn't see Bryan with a SPY glass.
For one thing. they thought he was too
young and that II was about time Flor
ida was being represented by a man
with bushy whiskers.
Bryan strolled about the streets before
the meeting, rather disconsolatelY. and
paused to talk to the driver OF an OK
cart. The driver had one Of those old
fashioned blacksnake whips, a rod or
two long.
Lets see IL can crack that thingT'
asked Bryan. wishing to divert his mind
for a moment.
The driver grinned in anticipation of
Bryan's amateurish efforts, and handed
over the whip.
Bryan dexterously swung the thing
around his head three or four times and
cracked It with q report that sounded
Ike the opening Of a Honduran reYolu-
ton.
Within an hour everybody in walSulla
was hollering for Bryan.
That afternoon he made a speech.
After II was over a ,middle-aged man
came up and shook hands.
'T seen you crack that whip" he said,
"and s'posed you'd spoil Il all when you
spoke, but I'm still for you"
II there's any chance at all OF getting
claim against the government, they'll
think OF II. The other day Representa-
tive Langham, OF Pennsylvania. got a
letter from a man in his district, who
set forth his troubles at some length.
He was drafted into the army in 81. he
said, but didn't come up to the physical
requirements. and returned to the farm.
But while he was away the time for
sowing fall crops passed. and he came
out SIS shy on the years crops That
was fifty years ago. and he has never
caught up with the SIS loss. Now he
wants Langham to drop in at the Treas
ury Department some day when he's
passing. and get him his SIS. and mail
It to him, that he may take 1t and buy
things offered in the marts.
In these times when nearly every
prominent man one meets is dreaming
Of the day when he may become a gen.
tleman farmer. with nothing to do but
rear onions for the bench shows, Sena-
tor McCumber. OF North Dakota, stands
as a striking exception. He 3 a gseat
friend OF the farmer. but has no ambi-
ton to live on q farm himself. He was
readed on farm at a time and under
conditions when farm life meant the
dreariest kind Of drudgery, and he in
variably thinks OF even the fanciest
farms now as excellent places to avoid
living on. He could read Country Life
| In America and kindred publications by
the hour without getting the. fever.
/ Brig. Gen. Clarence Edwards. chief OF
the Bureau Of Insular Affairs, the man
who has charge OF all our island posses
sions. got his start in his martial pur-
suits by. fighting chickens when he was
youngster. Once he was attending q
llovely little cockhght at the outskirts
of his native Cleveland when the sheriff
and three or four brave deputies closed
lin on them. The crowd was released
ifor the night after they. had beer