The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-02-09
EIkS To Honor
Golden Jubilee

know 1t need NOT have happened"
The Old Lady clasped her hands
and rocked back and forth, her face
working with emotion: but in mo-
ment or two she spoke again 81 read
in the paper last night-'$5O 900 900
Destroyed by Enemy Incediaries';
German spy captured red-handed';;
Incendiary Fire-Twelve Lives Lost;
Sailing supposed to have been sent
from an Atlantic Port by German or
Austrian spies' 'Interned German
out on Parole'-and so it goes"
20 mother l wouldn't worry about
those things, if | were you" said
Mary But the Old Lady's lips wore
their firmest lines.
mot worry! Mary, l been think
ing all night and all morning about
my Cousins little boy, Billy. Not
that I've ever been able to forget
about that time, it being one O the
worst ever went through; because
besides Abbie's being my own cousin
and living next door, it was one Of
| the things that need not have hap
pened. Billy was the only child she
and William ever had-and they were
good kind folks, loving children and
dogs and never willing to let anything
be hurt or unhappy if they could help
it. Billy was about four years old
yeller curls he had and he was that
sweet. A friend of Williams had
given him a dog, valuable animal,
and William and Abbie, and John and
too, for that matter, thought lot
of that dog Some O. the neighbors
warned William-'Hes mean, sly
beast and unsafe. they said. But
the family just thought folks were
talking. William didn't want to Of
fend the man that gave him to him,
anyway, by having the dog put out of
the way Beside, he was used to Alb
bic and Billy, and while he was new
err what you would call member of
the family, the way some dogs are,
we all thought he's never in the world
turn on any of his own folks. Well,
hot weather come, and the dog stayed
under the porch, and William and
John said he'd bear watching; even
then they didn't think he'd do any
harm If they kept an eye on him
But one day-our houses weren't but
across the yard from each other-one
day was sitting by an open window
at my sewing machine, and I heard
Billy scream out, and then ] saw Alb
bic run out of the house. | dropped
my sewing and | ran, too. Time
got there-Abbie was screaming
Billy was down on the ground, and
the dog 49,. William come running
up, with the two hired men. OF
course they killed the dog. But
Mary, have you ever seen a case OF
hydrophobia?
ooh mother, don't! Don't!'
The Old Lady's. voice was vibrant
with the intensity Of her feeling.
Eve got one of little Billy's curls.
It's still soft and babyish and yeller.
Abbie gave it to me-afterwards.
They cut his curls off to put ice on
his head. He died of it--of what that
mad dog did to him. And as l said,
Abbie never had another child
ooh, ! been thinking of Abbie and
William, But | been thinking of all
the other mothers and fathers, hun
dreds and thousands of 'em, right in
this country alive today, who are suf-
fering the same way, or going to suf-
fer, by them mad dogs that are loose
in the land Call it a land o. free
dom! Is it free, when there's that
kind O. danger lurking anywhere and
everywhere! Incendiary fire, twelve
lives lost! Relief ship sunk so
on! | daresay those dogs were
watched! German plot discovered
more dogs that might have gone
mad! And so it goes! The dog'll
bear watching! Oh, Mary, wish
could take the hands of all the faith
ers and mothers in this whole country
and tell 'em about little Billy and
show them his little yeller curl, and
ask 'em to rise up and say that dog
WON'T bear watching Oh, wish
coud make em see the cruel, wick.
ed danger Of not shutting him up
where he can't do any harm,