Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-03

! only thought in life is power and lust
and blood" | ask YOU. is it?'
/ Go on. Jim, said one OF the group
| is it,?
The booming voice reared on:
Not while there is a drop of honest
American blood upon the face of this
transcendent hemisphere. Not while TIE
youth OF the nation remember. from their
histories and from their sres. the noble
deeds of Washington. Scott Taylor.
/ Grant. Lee and Dewey.
! Gentlemen tthe voice sunk solemnly,.
/ Il tell YOU we are lighting for great
/ principle. We are hghting-
! but we amt fghtin' now. Jim pro
tested a thin little man with side
whiskers ano neck like turkey
gobbler We are medftatin'."
I'VE are WHAT" doomed the voice
from the invisible bench.
"Meditatin." replied the little man pa
tiently
| 'iou see.' he continued "Whertha is
gou' to get the good offices of them
/ three countries-Brazl and Chill and |
don't remember the other one-and that s
goin TO fix things
| Good Offices" snapped a shortish man,
who was stroking a wart ON his nose.
81 suppose that's something like the
Presidents patronage.
Something" admitted the little man
II wish. said the shortish man. bit
terry, that President Wilson had got
them good offices of them three coun-
since March the fourth. and | can't even
get job elevator man and
AS the sfort!Sh mans wart was settin G
red. a sure sign that he was about to
declaim on the ingratitude OF republics.
they choked him off and turned TO the
still invisible owner of the booming
voice.
What was you sayin' JIM" inquired
several.
! As if no interruption had occurred the
booming voice continued
The time is past for meditation, as
! Henry here just said
Mediation interrupted an insursent
/ but four of the group looked at him at
once and he relapsed into silence.
| Il know my words a blame sight better
than some of them that thinks they
know said the voice with crushing dig
nifty. From the stricken silence the voice
resumed the thread of discourse:
From the fair Atlantic to the rock
bound and stormy Pacific. from the YER
dant cotton fields of the south and from
the rugged hills of the north"
The insursent broke in.
Say. jim" he inquired ARE you going
to enlist?''
The constant interruptions were evi-
IDENTIFY getting on Jim's nerves and he
The crowd backed away respectfully
as he made his way toward the door.
Then for the first time the Observer
saw him
He was a huge man. a regular ele-
plant of a man, whose face was like the
harvest moon. He was bald and he had
a mouth that looked like channel cats.
| Free of the crowd. he turned ponderously
and faced the insurgent with dignity.
| III be more use at home he re-
sponded. Il will have to go out and get
the boys together That is my duty to
my country"
He paused. Evidently he was deter
mined to be candid.
Besides" he added. Il got weak
heart
| Then the clerk of the store, awakening
! from his trance. beheld the Observer for
the first time and gave him his cigar
! The crowd slowly dispersed. still arSu-
ing The little man with the turkey
gobbler neck and the side whiskers was
pointing out the manifest economy and
efficiency of meditation.
Slowly the Observer made his way up
the street. And as he walked there came
TO him the thought that at least five
men in that group were perfectly COM
petent to handle the Mexican situation
| if they could only differentiate between
meditation" and mediation" and learn
| how to pronounce V. Huerta's name.
YEARLY the Observer headed for a
nearby hotel. 1t was a hotel affected
| principally by drummers.
| Could Huerta be hanged?
| Was war advisable?
| Could international mediation be ac-
| complished?
These thoughts rambled and rumbled
| through what the Observer calls, in mo-
! ments of exaltation, his brain.
| OF a sudden the thoughts were side
| tracked: sidetracked as quickly was
| the canal tolls question when the battle
| ships started south.
| The Observer had received the jolt of
| his life.
| Now he had always known that travel
/ ing statesmen were possessed OF a wide
!acquaintanceship. Heknew that they were
valued according to the strength and
| length of their friendships. But never
I had he supposed that even the most
| meritorious travelling salesman would be
on speaking terms with d president "a
/, provisional president and slightly batter
i