The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-02-16

Dorothy's Campaign
tcopIrishl. 1911. By associated Literary Pre.r,1
By JOHN PHILIP ORTIZ

his mind TO confess. It seems that
he was connected with some senate
rial graft a year or two ago, and he
felt IL his dying duty to expose It He
made q written confession, and Mr..
Rayburn has It in his pocket ] think
your name is mentioned, but Of course,
as your record has been whittier than
snow"
at hast has, but hang Tim II he
gave me away! That is, II he lied
about me! want you to get that
document for mel"
Il will try, butt don't know, ]
told Nh. Raybusn how you felt toward
him, and naturally he was hurt"
Three or four days passed. with the
senator trying hard to appear indit-
ferent, but really anxious, and then he
felt compelled to ask:
We'll, Dorothy, what about that
wonderful death-bed confession?"
II am sorry to tell you, daddy, that
there Is still worse news. Mr.. Ray"
burn happened to be on the spot the
other day when q man named Shane
was run down by a street car. Mr..
Rayburn Is tender-hearted and gen
erous, and he consoled the injured
man and sent his wife $50. He couldn't
be saved, however. but before he died
he made a confession. He was q mem
Der Of the legislature when the good
roads scandal came out. Perhaps you
knew him?"
The Internal rascal! Did he men.
ton my manner"
II think he did, daddy. / think he
confessed that he and you diyvied up
on something"
IT'S a lie, of course. but / want that
document al well as the other.
Thereu be some fools that will be-
lieve what a dying man says of an
honest politician. Perhaps that Mr.
Rayburn--"
Il don't think he would come TO
see you, daddy. You know you threat.
ened him"
Then he can stay away. | can get
half a dozen good men to swear that
Shane was a liar"
The senator walked around with his
chest thrown out and a self-satisfied
air, but he was worried. He was be-
ing written up In his party organs as
the snow-white candidate. He wanted
to seem defiant, even to his daughter,
and 1t wasn't many days before he
asked In what he thought was a tocu'
lar tone:
well, ~sutfragette. any further
alarms?"
why. yes, daddy. That is, you may
not think 1t worth minding. owing to
your snow-white record, but Mr.. Ray
burn considers 1t q great find"
Dang Mr.. Rayburn!"
so l say, but you see he has got
another ~death-bed confession. He
drove out the other day to see Farmer
BrambIe. It seems that the farmer
owned land where the a~queduct is to
run, and by the aid of q certain poll
tician and state senator he was en-
abled to get $4,000 for land worth
about $4,000. OF course, there was a
divVy in It."
They can't prove it," shouted the
senator.
Perhaps not, but you see the far.
mel had been kicked by q mule and
lay dying. He couldn't die In peace
until he had confessed that the sen.
ator got two-thirds Of the graft Mr.,
Rayburn has the document"
And 1t says I'm the senator. does
it,"
II think II does, daddy think 30.
Is there such an expression as dead,
torights?"
Il believe so"
We'll, / think that Mr.. Rayburn
thinks that that document gets you
dead-to-rights. Don't they sometimes
say that a man is caught with the
goods on?"
Yves"
And there Is something about a
mans goose being cookedH"
uni"
And with the three death-bed con
fessions IL Mr.. Rayburn's pocket, and
with the s~uffragettes investigating, and
with the Examiner" hot on the trail.
l think, daddy, desr-T think that you
will be showed under ten feet deep at
the coming e~lection!"
But he wasn't What does a poor.
innocent girl know about the tricks
of snow-white politicians? The SEN
ator fixed that thing in a day. When
Mr.. Ray5urn came calling again he
seemed to feel perfectly at home, but
he did sigh as he observed:
"You are worth 1t ten times over,
but really l almost hated to do It"
And Dorothy's answer was:
But II you were q suffragette you
would understand that graft must be
met with graft. Daddy gratis the pub
lie and we graft him!"
For Law and Order.
Stricken Puglllst--Hi, police, stop
~. aag. --4-r a. a.