The Washington herald., 1914-01-23
Statesmen, Real and Near.
BY FRED c. KELLY.

| BY FRED @. KELLY.
| One dark. stormy night . while ago. 9
short dark man with Napolsonic cas-,
of countenance might have been seer
walking the streets of the nations Cap.
ital. paying no attention whatever to the
steady downpour Of rain.
On almost any rainy night that same
short. dark man ID likely to be seen walk
ing up one street and down another. as II
he enjoyed It.
The man is Joseph. w. Folk, Solicitor
OF the State Department. who will be
remembered as the person who kept St
Louis back In the census reports for q
time by sending o large slice Of the pop
ulation to the penitentiary, and who later
did time as governor Of Missouri. Folk
loves to put on an old felt hat and walk
In the rain. To walk In the rain In even
broad daylight delights him. and to walk
In the rain at night Is privilege that
thrills him beyond measure.
On this dark, rainy night we were
speaking of, Folk, with brisk stride, was
walking the streets.
After he had been walking for half an
hour he became gradually conscious of
the fact that he was being followed. He
then began to cross streets at funny
-%o~cs iCNCfbiuk CouI6e eSeIy uttlc
while. and trying In every way to lose
the man who seemed to be pursuing him.
There were plenty Of times back In St.
Louis when Folk found himself shadswed.
but to have somebody on his trail Snow.
when he Is leading q quiet. prosaic life.
mostly at a desk in the State Depart
ment. stirred his curiosity. He turned
about and walked In such a way that he
would meet his pursuer under an electric
light.
And, 10. the man was a once notorious
ST Louis gambler, known as Hard Luck
Chariie, who had given Folk O great
deal of anxiety both when he was district
attorney and governor.
FOLK didn't know what the game might
De. but he had nothing to fear. The man
did nothing worse than put out his hand.
He had reformed, 1t seemed. taken the
civil service examinations, and was con-
nected with the Department of Justice.
He wanted Folk to help him get a bet
ter Job. So the ex-gambler and the ex-
governor. now fellow-employes Of the
government, stood there in the rain under
the electric light talking things over.
Folk investigated the case In due sea-
son, and did boost the man to a better
place.
It Is great relief to Folk, by the way,
that his meetings with former evil-doers
from st. Louis are comparatively few.
After the boodling aldermen began to
complete their terms In the penitentiary
Folk couldn't go to a dinner. a theater, or
a barber shop. without running into
somebody whom he had cast into prison,
and who hated him accordingly Not
infrequently he would be reading his pa
per on the street car and find himself
seated next to man who would meyer
have had suit of stripes. to his maine
except for Folk. That sort of thing never
bothered Folk as much as It would the
average person, but even at that, he
hnds II rather refreshing change to
walk down the streets OF Washington
with a fair chance Of no. meeting a man
he placed in the penitentiary.
Folk thinks the finest way to round out
m evening, after taking a walk in the
rain. . to go home. put on ones Slip
Pers. ard read the Youths Companion
From earliest boyhood Folk read the
outa Companion, and he used to hustle
Tor subscriptions among the neighbors
IN The hope that he might win a jig-saw
as promised in the premium number. A
great many persons out in ST Louis used
10 think that Folk must have been
brought up on Deadwood Dick stun. or
something that gave him too great a
taate Tor excitement. Little did they sus-
4 rat he went home after a thrilling
rrsna-up OF grafters and forgot all save
The LOT OF a continued story in the
rHlb'A Companion. And he still reads
''fn-N'th just as much zest as when he
V--5 tort pants.
A fc~ years ago. after he had become
famous, Folk went to Boston to make a
y an" while the reception commit
tee d him in tow. he saw himself being
1rr by the Office of the Youths Com
pSLi1n-
-Psrdon me for causing a delay" he
SPOKE up, "but I'll simply have to 60 in
thrrc-
He vent in, hunted up the editor and
told nm what a lot OF influence the pa
Per rad exerted on his life. The editor
wa A. old man. and was greatly touched |
~ FO.k's brief remarks. He actually !
broke down and wept. Folk tried to |
cneer him up by saying that perhaps |
cvsT5 thing would turn out all right in !
TIE nd. or that IL 1t didn't. maybe 1t |
9 d all be for the best. The old chap |
It'd hravely to control himself but he |
was Il wiping his eyes when Folk went |
back , his carriage.
Next to the Youths Companion, Folk |
reads more about Napoleon than any
thing else, and has about the most COM |
plete library of works pertaining to Ma
poleon in the entire country. But he
denies that he is a Napoleon fan be-
cause he has a face like Napoleon's, or
that he acquired his face in consequence
Of reading about Napoleon
Senator Root will never come out of the
Senate Chamber in response to a visitors
card unless the card has first been taken
over to the Senate office building and
o. KID by the Senator'S secretary. Then
he will come out-sometimes.
lC,srsht. 1914. by Fred e. Kelly. All rights
uscrVed)