The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-04-21
As MAN TO Man.

"
the other day about how he had to
walk on foot in the dust of the road.
Sunday afternoon H. S. Montgomery
came along in a big Cadillac car and
took him up to St Marys for a little
jaunt. 1t was a mighty fine trip. May
the gasoline in Mr.. Montgomery car,
like the widows can of oil, never
run dry He has restored the newspa-
Per mans lost faith in mankind.
A trip up the Kaw valley in the
early springtime 10 q joy forever. If
there is a finer looking farm country
in the world the newspaper man has
never seen it. There was a haze on
the far horizon and the alfalfa was
growing at the rate of an inch an
hour.
The finest view the Newspaper man
has ever had of the VALLEY was from
a high hill just north of the town of
st. Marys. A moving picture of that
scene shown in France would cause
a lot of French farmers to immigrate
from the valley of the Rhone. And
they do say that the Rhone is the
most beautiful valley in the world
from the farmers point of view.
But it wasn't scenery or crops or
personal pleasure that prompted this
story in this particular column. It
was something else already.
While driving by a farm house at
q moderate rate of speed a chicken
road. No. the newspaper man does
not know why that chicken took that
notion Empires have waited while
their wise men spent sleepless hours
swer up to this time. Anyway, the
chicken did not get across the road.
1t dived under the wheels of the car
and was killed. Mr.. Montgomery tried
hard to miss that chicken but the fowl
was too quick for him.
~ 81 1@Vr
a silent witness to an event that has
never happened before in the annals
Of motordom. Montgomery stopped
his car. went back and got the chick
en- and, carrying that defunct bird
by the legs he went to the farmers
door and raped with his knuckles
on the panels. The farmer wasn't at
home but his wife answered the door.
There stood Montgomery with the
chicken. He held it up and explained
while exercising due care and diligence
| as to the chickens life and all regard
for that chickens rights in the prem
| Uses. Now he wanted to pay for the
chicken, he said. and he asked the wo-
man to assess the fowl at it's market
value.
Well. by 1fngs, that was the most
astonished woman in the five central
counties of Kansas. I thought she
was going to faint. She moved with
| SOuuOI less ARS IOl n minute. ana thcH
as soon as she got her breath she
spoke In trembling accents to say:
! I'VE have lived here twenty years:
| automobiles have been sailing by
I here the last fifteen of 'em. and they
| have killed on an average of chick
| en- a day, but no man ever stopped be-
| fore to offer to pay for one Excuse
! me, sir. till I get a drink of water; ]
] am getting faint"
i And the woman went to the kitchen
| table and drank a cup of water.
| Then she told my friend, the auto
/ list, that there would be no charge al
| all on that hen. She said the offer &c
/ pay was more than recompense fol
| her That maybe the chicken ought
/ not to have been in the road at that
| by the mere fact that the driver OF
! one of those speeding black dragons
i had stopped over the death of q
I chicken and actually came to her door
/ with the corpse and offered to make
1 good, that she started to apologize fol
| way.
4 But Mr. Montgomery placed a piece
Il OF silver on the table and without fur
h Their argument, offer or debate. went
II away.
looked back through the dool
n from the yard and that woman wal
H reaching into the water bucket with
I a big dipper to get another drink. Sht
j doubtless felt faintness coming OF
II again.
drive Montgomery gave me Chau-
II tauQua lecture ON the rights and re
II stricti0nS Of the road as applied II
n automobiles. And while don't taxi
much stock in ChautauQua lectures
| as q rule. paid close attention Il
II ttced what he preached
L Well, we started for home pretty