The Washington herald., 1913-12-16
Statesmen, Real and Near.
BY FRED c. KELLY.

shortly after he was fred from the
University Of Virginia Cor fighting duel.
James Hamilton Lewis found himself
with a great hankering to go out West
and make his fortune.
He particularly wished to go to Den
Yer. because man from HIS town had
gone to Denver and came back wearing
the most ponderous watch charm ever
seen In those parts, besides showing
various other indications Of having made
good
Lewis was then holding down clerk
ship in Savannah, Ga, and studying
law. He got hold OF a book that gave
the list Of the legal firms in Denver,
picked out one that sounded euphonious.
and >wrote them a letter in a flowing
hand. In this letter Lewis agreed to be
bright young lawyer In their office II
they would only give him the chance. and
he confided to them his plans for going
West and accommodating q great deal or
ready money.
letter from a member Of the Denver law
firm, a man named Shafroth. Although
he did not give him any job, Shafroth
offered almost two pages and half OF
good advice. He said there was nothing
to the hypothesis that a young man
could do better in the West than in the
East. He had gone West himself. he
said, and appreciated Lewis enthusiasm,
but his advice was not to do II.
Lewis failed to take the advice, how
ever. and a little later was practicing
law. raising whiskers and engaging in
politics out at Seattle. Wash. He often
thought Of the kind letter he got from
the man Shafroth in Denver, and WON
dered II he would ever have an oppor-
tunity to meet him face to face and
thank him.
|. After a few years Lewis came to Con-
gress from the State OF Washington,
and he made the acquaintance OF Con-
gresham Shafroth. from Colorado. II
was the same Shafroth.
Again they separated and Lewis novel
to Chicago. They did not meet again un-
til they met in the United States Senate.
There they may be seen seated side by
side talking over the time the future
Senator from Illinois wrote to the future
Senator from Colorado and asked him for
a job.
Earl venable, secretary to Senator
Borah. OF Idaho. used TO run a little
weekly newspaper out in that State.
One afternoon as the weeks issue was
about to go to press a man rushed In
with a column and a half obituary notice.
Besides the obituary he also had about a
column OF obituary poetry.
venable told him II was too late. he
feared, to get it into the paper, where
upon the man nearly wept. He said the
obituary was that OF a man whose sor-
rowing widow greatly wished to have the
stun printed. Any editor who wouldn't
grant a request for grief-stricken
h..- h..a -fa1
indeed.
venabIe was touched by the widows
plea and said he would do his best to
print the long obituary notice, but II
would be absolutely impossible to md
space for the poetry even IL there were
typesetters to set II up in time.
The friend OF the family went out to
carry this word to the inconsolable widow.
In a few minutes he came back, pant
ing.
Say, you'll simply have TO get that
poetry in. somehow" he told Yenable.
That woman'lI never get over 1t II you
don't. You see it's the same poetry she
had printed when her first husband died. !
and IL IL isn't used now she's afraid II |
might look like playing favorites."
Representative Billy Kent Of California. |
received 4 letter from a swede in his |
district a time ago, who had a great |
TO put up to the government. I
He wished, briefly, TO borrow a number |
Of medel-ach-mars. raise more OF them, |
sell them OF and divide the profits with |
the government. II was perfectly rea-
scnable. The man would assume all the |
work and bother OF the undertaking, |
the government simply furnishing the
The only thing that
was not quite clear to Kent was what a
might be. He got out an
a pocket dictionary, a
dream book, a thesarus, a work on ami
NAL husbandry and an almanac, but
could find nothing that gave him much
light.
Finally he wrote back to the Swede
and asked him to get some friend to
prepare a letter keeping away from all
expressions and tell in Ian
guage intended for the lay mind Just
what II was he wanted.
The Swede did so and the mystery was
cleared. He had simply taken up with
The modern simplifed spelling cult and
had spelled words just as he pro-
1ounced them. By "medel-ach-mars'' he
meant nothing more or less than middle
aged mares.
Copyright, IsIJ, By FredsC Kelly. All rights re-
serTed.)