The Washington herald., 1912-02-18
SENATOR OBADIAH GARDNER is A
PICTURESQUE FIGURE IN CAPITAL
Is Hanna Type of Man, and Is Proving
Vigorous Successor to Senator
Frye of Maine.

I
\ smarter than his daddy. Settlers came in
and built the town OF Port Huron on the
old Gardner farm. My father died when
/ was a small boy. Two of my uncles
and two Of my aunts lived In Maine.
went to them when I was twelve years
Of age, mainly to get well Of the ague
and to attend school
! zone Saturday morning. at o'clock,
carpetbag In hand. walked down the
gang-plank and stood on the little wharf
at Rockland. had travelled from Bos-
ton by boat. An uncle met me. To-day
and Tomorrow he curtly said. you may
visit your relatives. on Monday you will
look for a place to work / was only
twelve years old, as have said. but
thought he might have deferred talking
business until after breakfast My reIa-
tions with that particular uncle were
none too intimate ever afterward. An
aunt took me in, and I went to school
during the winter. In the summer follow
| ing. I found employment at the lime
Bilns, mailing on the hoops and heading
up the barrels. Such, indeed, was my
work for several years / would 90 to
school until was broke and then I would
return TO the Iimekilns.
Thinking about the futrue, concluded
! that I ought to be a business man. Hav-
1 ing saved Sl25, l went to PoHghkeepsie,
n. Y, for a course In bookkeeping On
| being graduated, returned to Rockland.
landing on the same old dock with only
5 cents in my pocket. But was an ac-
countant and not an ague-racked. fright
ened and homesick little chap fresh from
the woods of Michigan. was taken
! into the Office Of a lime company at a
I salary Of $40 a month, and my board.
Gets Into Lime and Lumber.
"By and by, putting away my dimes
7 I'M
acres of forest land at the edge Of town.
Moreover, married the girl whom l had
picked out. Her father had forest land
adjoining my own. a sawmill and a
limel1iln. accepted his suggestion and
became his partner. We manufactured
lime for many years. Pencils for calcium
lights was one OF our specialties. A
trust got hold OF the kilns and quarries,
however. and when our independent busi-
ness dwindled until IL was no longer prof.
table, we sold out / also operated the
sawmiIl and own II yet. LAUNDERING and
agriculture are my only interests"
why did you turn to farming?" I
asked.
That I might have fodder and pastur-
age for my cows. Unlike all the other
farmers have ever known, / bought live
stock before I bought land. While I
was a boy / went to the town OF Water
vile and lived next door to a man who
owned a Jersey COW. Now, ] was not
interested in cows as a species. They
came and went and never noticed them.
Not so with the Waterville COW. Her
color and her form attracted my atten-
ton, and her cream and butter, colored
like gold. seized upon my imagination.
was suddenly possessed with the idea
that ] ought to own her. II was a
strange infatuation, not understandable
then or now by myself, and. OF course,
utterly beyond the comprehension Of any
one else. I had no need for that COW or
any other COW. And no place in which
TO keep her. Furthermore, she had to
be milked twice a day. The mystery will
never be cleared up, and SO 1 pass on
to the facts.
"'Tve decided to buy your cow said
TO the owner one morning.
"'oh. indeed he replied. with an in
dulgent smile.
Yes I declared, not liking his in
Election and being annoyed when he con-
tinued to weed his potatoes.
But she is not for SALE, he answered
without looking up.
She will be- I almost shouted. when
you hear that will give you 800
That's a liberal offer, Obe,' he said,
but I wouldn't part with her if you
offered me $500
ne VI NO"s
THE sale fell through only because |
of a-lack OF capital on the part of
the wouId-be buyer. But I thought of
that COW, dreamed Of her, if must con-
fess 1t, when I returned to Rockland. |
Boys have peculiar impulses. The memory |
Of the waterville COW persuaded me to |
think that somewhere and some time !
might find her duplicate. without any |
advice or information, I started for Bos-
ton-everybody went to Boston-in the |
belief that I would get track OF another |
COW, Jersey bred, that would satisfy my |
longings. Reaching Boston, / took a |
train, wholly at a guess, and rode few |
miles into the country
AT Framingham, the station-master |
told me there was a COW dealer mile /
and a half back in the country. went |
to see him, walking down the middle of I
the road, boldly and confidently. Hap