The Arizona copper camp., 1916-06-23
ARIzoNA's STUFFED SHIRT

In recent issue of the Saturday Evening there
appears story by Gamer Mackenzie entitled 1.-The
Stuffed Shirt 1t is the story of blundering stupid
dolt, failure business man. who partly because
of the astuteness of his lawyer and result
of his colossal incomp blind luck be-
came the head of a thriving factory. With wealth.
which came through effort of his, came public
recognition People who had formerly laughed at
the mutton headed lout took him seriously. His
grave bewildered expression they now mistook for
deep thought, his slowness of speech for carefully
weighed words, his placid bovine expression the
heavy responsibilities of his high position.
The few who really knew him-the lawyer and the
salesman, whose brains and efforts had made the
business experienced growing disgust which became
more and more intense they how seriously the
stuffed shirt" began to take himself accepting
the altogether deluded public opinion of himself as
the true the stuffed shirt began to strut to pose
the leading citizen of the town supreme busi-
ness success of the community. He was elected to
the directorate of the local bank, where of
ideas. and generally having nothing to say won for
him the reputation of being the most conser-
vative citizen At the factory of which he was the
wooden figurehead. he had little nothing to do.
But the public saw in his always cleared desk the
signs of energetic successful business man, one
who had the days work out of the way before the
had had fairly began And he accepted estimate
The story is told from the point of view of Ches-
worthy, the lawyer:
He had come to witness what to him was a grand
farce, a worship of nothngness staging Of bunk,
the triumphant presentation Of triumphant career
and of blundering luck"
When Chesworthy looked at his client, Ephraim
Sprague the stuffed Shirt this is what he saw:
His big hairy hands rested flat upon his knees;
his shaggy head, fringed every little with grey,
was held rgidly erect; his countenance grave
stern as if to remind the world of what struggle
upward had him. AS for his eyes, they were ex-
pressionless motioHless, patient He iovfed
exactly as the public expected him look-conscous
of power, of importance of place. conscious all
pregnant universe and the responsibility of merely
being alive.
ITO a fractional degree Chesworthy believed he
he there nothing save sawdust: that
the funeral attire dignity that ponderous
seriousness deep deliberation, nor yet the
badge of ability; that that slow pompous mien
cloaked an individuality devoid of subtety of
keenness of agility of thought action as steam
roller Oh, it was amazing. Wellesvle's estimate of
Sprague and Sprague's estimate of himself and the
manner in which these equally fatuous estimates
working back and forth, had evolved from a lucky
incompetent that perfect specimen of honored lead
The career Of Ephraim Sprague goes way back:
lives were young, careers in the making and
Sprague was thirty years of age. He was then a
big bumptious curley headed fellow who was not ex-
acty a town joke but a popular diversion. No
one took him or anything he did seriously"
After Sprague's business became a success his
banker voiced this estimate of him:
He really is a cautions conservative man.