The Washington herald., 1912-04-25
STATESMEN, REAL AND NEAR.
BY FRED C. KELLY

II he hadn't started bear hunting that
morning back in the fail Of 1850. Marcus
A. Smith, the much mustached new Sem
ator from Arizona. probably wouldn't
be a Senator at all.
One never can tell, Of course. but for
the purposes Of this interesting little
narrative that we are about to prepare.
let us assume that except for that bear
hunting project. Arizona might not now
be a state. How could Il be q State
without Marcus A. Smith in Congress
as Delegate OF and on for these many
years. fighting for Statehood, 30 that
Arizona could have a couple Of United
States Senators. one OF which should be
Marcus A. Smith?
But fortunately for all concerned,
Smith. who had gone TO San Francisco
from his native Kentucky, greatly de-
sired to set forth into the wilderness
and harass the comic-faeed bears with
his repeating rife, and his acduaintances
told him the logical place for d man to
be. IL he wanted to kill a bear, was
Arizona. That's how Senator Smith, II
Arizona, chanced to hit Arizona How
ever, he shot no bears on that trip. for
the reason that he was taken serious
Is III the night he reached Tombstone,
and couldn't think Of the name OF the
town without a shudder, it had come so
near being significant. The surgeon in
sisted on Inspecting his Insides and TAX
ing away such odds and ends OF ana
tomical equipment as were not actually
needed, and Smith being entirely with
out friends had to stand for II.
When the future Senator had rallied
and was able to interpret the English
language when 1t was offered to him,
and think consecutively, he said to the
surgeon:
doc. what do owe you for whatever
it is that you've done to my insidesG''
''weu.n replied the doc. you're a
young man and you say you're here
without friends, 50 wen slide you
through for $500"
Then Smith beckoned to the woman
who conducted the little hotel where they
had him and inquired how much he owed
her.
'Just $50" she replied.
That ran his hotel indebtedness to
$50 He reached for his pocketbook. into
which he had tucked away every penny
he had in the world when he left Frisco,
and discovered that by a strange coinci-
dence he possessed just exactly $50.
whereupon Smith turned over the $50
and dressed himself before his clothes
should be taken from MIN. When he had
dragged himself into the street he had
q good laugh. for he discovered worn
l0-cent piece in his vest pocket that the
doctor and landlady didn't know he had.
Having no money to get back TO
Frisco. Smith decided TO stay in Tomb
stone and practice law. He got ac-
auainted with a pleasant chap from Bos-
ton named Stebbins and another man
named Charles Leach. from whom he
could borrow money, and by that means
he contrived to live until he could get a
toehold IN his profession. He would bor-
row 800 from stebbins and promise to
pay him back on the first Of the month.
When the debt was due he went to
Leach and borrowed enough to pay on
stebbens and square his board bin The
next time he would get money from
stebbins to pay Leach. and so on He
never failed to pay promptly on the first
day OF the month. and In that way es-
fablished great line OF credit. He could
borrow almost any amount from either
stebbiEs or Leach. After his law prac-
tice gave him enough 10 run by his own
steaEn. he stlll kept on borrowing from