Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-09-07
OOK here. II you splash any
more Of that water on my
feet I'm going to denote you.

IL feet I'm going to denote you,
do you understand"
Mayor Graham Of the town of River
bank lifted both feet and shook them
vigorously. He was mad-mad all the
way through and his voice showed it.
law, We wouldn't do 1t; ye're foolin',"
said Mrs, Mulligan. "You talkin' to me
that way whin l knew We whin We was
bye! TIL impotence Of vel"
She laughed and plunged her scrub
brush into the pail of hot water again.
Evidently she was not at all worried.
That's all right" said the young
mayor. you may be old enough to be
my mother. but I'm sore. Here are
these swell danes coming to see me at
three o'clock and you have to wash all
the shine off my shoes! I'll look nice,
won't L."
There's nawthin' to prevint we from
liftin' up yer feet whin l want t. scrub
under yer desk, Sammy" said Mrs.
Mulligan. "Ye've got that stubborn and
biggety since We got to be mayor that
there's no satisfyin' We. What's to pre-
vint We from wearin' rubbers whin I'm
scrubbin' II we don't like a wee bit of
water splashed on yep
Now, stop it," cried the mayor. II
won't be talked to that way. You
scrubwomen think you run this city
hall. l don't care how long you've been
scrubbin for the city, I won't have my
shoes soused with water"
For two cints I'd take We out in the
corydore an spank YET" said Mrs. Multi
gan good-naturedly. ITO think of a
wee runt of mayor talkin to Tim
Mulligan's widow like that! Shame
on ye!" -'.'s.--
AS a matter Of fact Mayor Graham
was ready to be irritated by anything
that might happen. He had plenty Of
troubles. He had been in office just
two weeks and he had begun to wish
he had never heard of an office. He
was young and optimistic and he had
thought to reform everything in town.
Before he had been in Office two days
he had discovered that tradition and
precedent jumped on to- mayors
shoulders the minute he took the oath,
and cling there like the old man Of the
sea. 1t annoyed Mayor Graham.
One of his first reforms was to be the
result of going over the city budget
with fine-toothed comb. The very
first evidence of scandalous waste the
mayor ran across was bill for brown
soap used In the city hall. According
to the bill for soap there was enough
brown soap used in the city hall every
month to scrub every paved street in
tha ~
called the commissioner of supplies to
his office and spoke of soap angrily.
I'm the city hall here" said the COM
missioner of supplies, there are twenty
old women and widows entered on the
city pay roll as scrubwomen, assigned
to duty In the city hail. Now. IL those
women are to scrub. they must have
soap. and II you figure twenty-five days
to the month, and twenty scrubwomen,
and two cakes Of brown soap per scrub
woman per day, you have a thousand
cakes of brown soap. One hundred
cakes to box makes ten boxes. That's
what the bill calls for. 1t is all per-
fectly correct and proper. The second
assistant deputy commissioner Of sup
plies checks every box Of soap received.
and the third assistant deputy commits
sioner Of supplies checks every cake
delivered. Now here is the table of re-
ceipts and deliveries since 1897, when
the Office Of commissioner of supplies
was established. II you will"
''Oh! Get out!" exclaimed the mayor
with irritation to an old woman who
was trying to crawl under his desk
with wet rag in one hand and
cake of brown soap In the other
Great Scott! There haze been ten
women scrubbing under this desk this
morning. 1 can't walk across the Of
fee without falling over half a dozen
Of them"
well. of course" said the commits
sioner Of supplies. they are rather
apt to crowd in here IL you'n let them.
The other men in the building have
got rather tired Of them. The other
men throw inkstands al them. Now.
II you Just throw an inkstand at them
now and then you can chase them
into the corridor. Don't worry
aobut them-let them scrub the corr
rider. They're used to scrubbing the
corridor.%
$50 that's itw exclaimed the mayor
ct wondered Univ tan or fwelye wom-