Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-09-22
A New Guess for You.

Congressman kinkhead of New
Jersey is running for sheriff If he
gets the nomination he will resign his
seat in Congress. They offered him
the postmastership at Jersey City,
one of the choicest bits of federal pat
ronage in that state. but he shook his
head. He was not to be sidetracked.
He had started out to run for sheriff
and he was going to run for sheriff.
and that's all there was to it. His
Democratic eolleag CUES looked at him
H. amazemept. They couldn't figure
out his game. What puzzled them all
the more was that he had always en-
joyed a reputation of being pretty
longheaded. And he had a good show
to stay in Congress.
So they began to speculate on what
he was up to. They have solved the
problem. They have decided that the
Jersey statesman is cannier than any
OF them. They have handed it to him
III MS LoieslEut. 1AiS 10 the way
they have figured it out. There is not
much money in being a congressman,
especially when he has to stay on the
job in Washington all the year round.
But there is money In being sheriff,
provided there are hard times ahead.
When things go badly for the people,
they go well for the sheriff, for then
there are lawsuits, executions for the
sale of property, receiverships, and all
those other steps incident to the dis
position of property through coults of
law, steps so generally known and so
widely despised. So those congress-
men have concluded that Mr. Kinkead
sees continued hard times ahead and
sights big fat, juicy fees, emoluments
and perquisites which sheriffs enjoy
when other folks are up against It.
But Congressman Kinkead is not
the only man who wants to be sheriff,
although his candidacy is notable be-
cause he is willing to give up seat
,iil the Congress and go back to the
sheriffs Office. Those who have
looked into the subject say there is
the largest crop of candidates for
sheriff the country has ever known
at least, the biggest crop since the
Democratic hard times of 20 years
ago. In many counties, there are
from eight to IL candidates, where,
ordinarily, there have been only two
to four.
A philosophically inclined congress
man from the Northwest said, the
other day, Wait till the primary
tickets are generally made up, and
I'll tell you whether the country is
prosperous or not
How can you tell that2" he was
asked.
well, If there are NOT many candi-
dates for sheriff. you can put it down
the country is prosperous, but if as
Iirants for sheriff are numerous, then
the inner judgment of the country is
that we are going to have continued
hard times"
If the intuitions of the swarm of
candidates for sheriff are sound, then
there will be more chance that the
disposition OF property will be taken
from the owner and given to the
sheriff and receivers, and that the
hammer heretofore welded by the ar
tisan viii be swung to the aocompani-
ment of the raucous voice of the auc-
tioneer. Congressman with literary
inclinations say the crowding candi-
dates for sheriff seeming hard times
remind them of Lcngfellow's woros:
Never stoops the soaring vulture
Ger his quarry in the desert
Ger the bison, sick and wounded,
But another vulture watching,
From his high aerial outlook,
Sees the downward plunge and follows,
FIRST, speck, and then vulture,
Till the air is filled with pinions''