The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1919-03-15
OBSERVATIONS OF
THREE FLORIDIANS
Continued from page one)

50
and then asked: How can you do
that?'
Don't you know who 1 amp I
asked.
Ono he said; who are you?'
"T am a game warden was my
stern reply.
"He gave me a straight, steady look
and then said:
"'The sheriff and judge will not do
anything if you report me to them
"'Why won't they?' l snapped.
Because he. said, slowly, they
know who l am
This was like taking the pelt out of
an eel, but l stiffened up for the fin,
ish. He pointed his finger at me and
demanded:
"'Dcn't you know who I amp
No I answered! who are you?'
81 handed him the best cigar that
Cuban ever made when he answered.:
"'I'm the biggest liar in the state
of Florida"
This caused another uproar. No
work at all was now being done on the
stranded car. The tourists seemed to
be waiting for the Chicago man to
say more. He said it.
although he does not live in big
city," quoth Mr.. Farley, "the greatest
inventive genius of this or any other
age, Thomas A. Edison, has been
heard of all over the world. live in
a big city but l have to go around
yelling that am alive before anybody
will believe that | ever lived. Chicago
was big city before l got there and
it will be bigger city after l am
gone, and when l do go nobody will
get excited and shout: Which way
did he went?'
Fort Myers is known throughout
the country, as the winter home of
Thomas A Edison, and when it was
announced in Washington that he was
on his way to his winter home, the
eyes of the country were turned to
Fort Myers, which is in Florida
"They think so much of Thomas A.
Edison in Fort Myers that his birth
day-Feb. 11-was celebrated in the
schools. They celebrated my birthday
! in Chicago once and the next morning
| woke up with the worst specimen of
a headache that has yet come within
the limits of my experience. Another
celebration like that and the bell will
ring for me. But let us get back to
that who, what and where business.
although they may never have
been north of Jacksonville, or perhaps
Atlanta, some of the colored folks
down around here have good idea of
the. vastness and the importance of
! Chicago. Several times when. I walked
"lo"g the street of some obscure
Southern town l heard the colored
folks say:
"'Dat man am from Chicago
"a colored citizen of Tampa and
coIorad man from Fort Myers met the
othcr day on the boat landing at Tam
pa, and I overheard the conversation
between them.
Mr.. Eddyson came back to Fort
Myers last week said the gentleman
from Fort Myers.
"'F5dvson' exclaimed The TAMPA
oolo"ed gentleman. 'Ah dunno no Ed
dyson. Did he lib at Fort Myers afore
he was borned, or did he move deere
after he was borned?'
He comes to Fort Myers for the
winter, He got a store at Orange,
n. j. explained the negro from Fort
Myers.
"The explanation disguised the
Tampa negro who pointed to me and
said:
Nobody cares nothin' bout no.
body from Orange, N. J. We got a
man at Tampa dat comes from Chi
cago.'
81 see," said the Chicagoan, as he
leaped from the car, chat you fellows
will never get this machine fixed by
listening to me. Pm going to go rub
Der necking' around Tarpon Springs.
Have not seen the place since 1902.
When we had the crack ball club at
Tampa in 1902 our first baseman,
Ralph Converse, lived at Tarpon
Springs and l presume that he lives
there now. He was a husky young
fellow of "a when l saw him last; that
will make him Al now. In 1902 he
was connected with a weekly newspa-
per at Tarpon Springs. Before | look
him up l want to say this: if he don't
recognize me am going to give him
a bawling out before l tell him my
name. Watch me when | come back.
You can tell what happened when you
see me coming. If l come back with
a smile on my face and a cigar in
my mouth it means that Ralph knew
me at once, even though he had not