Evening star., 1919-09-26
All About Texas Mud.


Newtown consists of one street
which in wet weather is fathomless.
the aboriginal Texas mud being
guiltless of any suggestion of paving.
and in dry weather is a rutted re-
lief map of what it is in wet weather.
There are only one or two holes in
the street. which the automobiles
avoid, however. The street is red
dish and adhesive. either wet or dry.
On either side of the street are
many little one-story pine shacks.
standing elbow to elbow. There is
Mothers Place, where one can get
good meal" and the Yale House,
where a shower bath costs as cents,
and the Fashion Store. which imports
all its ladies' wear direct. There are
likewise many places where soft
drinks OF various sorts are sold. and
one or two general stores in which
the cases of bottled soft drinks are
piled ceiling high.
Today an alert officer found 400
bottles of whisky hidden under the
sweet potatoes in a car billed to New
town. Some rascal must have hidden
them there.
Il wouldn't even visit the place il
driver. They're tough enough as it
Ia
"High-Jackers' Are Rough.
High jacking. it seems. flourishes
nightly in Newtown. High lacking
Is robbery with or without trim
against the high jackers NTH one
night when rebber undertook to
held up big Swede. The big Swede
had not lived in the United States
long enough to understand that one
should submit to outrage rather than
break the law in resisting it. So, as
the better element of Newtown as
serts, when that high tacker told
in"
One bullet pierced the rs neck.
and the better elemel iereupon
emerged from it's abris and tied a
rope around the wounded neck and
Swede interfered with this casual ine
reference with his game, however.
and others came to his aid, SO that
In the end the robber was saved alive
until he told about the industry of
which he had been an exponent. Sew
eral arrests were made and, thanks
to the discovery that the revolver
carried by the shot man belonged to
der arrest.
They'd oughta hung him. at that
grumbled my driver, "but i guess no
harm was done. He died anyway.
Newtown's Attractions.
There are a couple of dance halls
In Newtown. Likewise faro, roulette,
chuck-a-luck and other forms of the
good old Army game are played open
ly. Water costs a dollar a barrel for
cooking and drinking. So far as re-
Jealed BY a cursory inspection 1t is
not used in other ways. Mule wagons.
horse wagons, trucks, jitneys and
regular cars jolt and shiver up and
down the one street continuously. At
the end Of the street is low lying
place which in winter becomes a bog.
Some enterprising gentleman has laid
a corduroy road across the bog. and in
winter time collects a quarter for
each person or equipage that crosses
'Tn say it's worth it," said the
driver
All around are many oil wells and
miliionaires. For the moment New
town is thrusting Burkburnett out of
the center of the stage, partly due to
the fact that "Burk" has been pretty
thoroughly exploited. and partly be-
cause there has been cessation of
activity at "Burk" until the pipe lines
can be laid.
High Cost Of Wages.
The sky is overcast by a cloud of
smoke from one of the burning wells
That does not frighten any one, for
burning wells are incidents of any
oil mans day. Scores Of men are
standing. sitting and just resting in
IN inclined position against the un.
painted pine walk; o. the Nrwtown
shanties- They could get work at
from IS to $25 day-derrick hands
are paid $25 and mule ekinners as
much as 50 per day-but they are on
vacation.
"A man don't have to work more
than two or three days q week to
get by" they say.
Kids with jitneys make from $50
to $50 day in the passenger trade.
Board sufficiently substantial to re-
sist the appetite Of a workingman
costs about 81 day. Beds can be had
As low as so cents. II the guest ia
willing to sleep in Army blankets on
Army cots under Army canvas and
take the chances on the past and
present occupants of the blankets.
Good BEDS" however, meaning beds
that have linen on them, run az
high as 81 a night The persons using
81 beds are required to submit them
selves to a shower bath before court
ing the embraces of old Morph.
But ] don't know much about them
beds" said my driver. II amt never
been In Newtown at night and I'm
never going to be-"