The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1919-03-15

are, but where you come from that
counts in this land of oranges, sun
shine and flowers"
Time-Yesterday.
Place-Highway from Tampa
Speaker-Thomas Thornton Farley
formerly of Tampa, but for many
years resident of Chicago and an
annual winter visitor to Florida.
The Chicagoan said this as he sat at
ease in stranded automobile while
his companions tried to fix the thing
so that it would <'go".
Il have been accused of many
things" he continued, "but have nev-
er yet been seriously accused of know
ing how to fix busted automobile"
His companions, who were tinker
ing with the car and perspiring under
the hot sun, stopped and looked at
him.
81 do not know" he drawled, "if
the glances that you fellows are Civ
ing me indicate envy or contempt, but
as l want to see that Venice of Am
erica I won't talk any more until you
get the car fixed"
while we are fixing the car" said
one fthe tourists, "tell us about that
who, what and where business. '%
"a man and his clerks over in Tam
pa" resumed the Chicagoan, chad
trouble with the safe. He tried to
open it and his clerks tried to open it,
but without success, and when he ap-
pealed to me l gave the safe a. kick
and the handle a twist and the door
few open. 1t was only an accident
but it made the old mans hair stand
up and when I was walking out l
/. heard him. say4to his clerks; 4,--....-
"'That fellow from Chicago is right
smart pert
81 opened that safe as if by magic,
and, no doubt. 7 can make this car GO
with a few twists"
"You are onw hastily exclaimed Mr..
Glenn, one of the tourists, as he tossed
a monkey wrench to the Chicagoan.
Mr.. Farley did not know any more
about fixing a car than he knew about
opening a safe, and he got rid of the
monkey wrench with the briskness
that one removes q hot coal from ones
person.
"My big reason for going down to
Lee county last week." continued the
Chicagoan, "was because Thomas A..
Edison was at Fort Myers and l
wanted to take good look at him"
Eyes, and if he knew you as well as
we know you," butted in Mr. Thorn
ton, another tourist, che would have
wanted to take a good look at YOU"
"Well," came back the Chicagoan,
II took a good look at you thirty years
ago. l was in your house the day that
you were born. Your grandmother re-
ported your arrival and took me to
YOUR mothers room to see the first
born. l heard you before l saw you.
You were squealing like whistle on
a peanut rooster.
II took a good look at you and then
went in search of your father. /
found him up the river fishing. He
was sitting on the bank, half asleep,
with a fishing rod in his hand, and
when I told him about you, he did not
say a word, but he dropped the fishing
rod, jumped up and raced for home.
That man took some awful chances.
He lodged wagons; jumped over
fences; knocked people down, and
scattered herd of cows in all direc-
tons. A dog chased after him and a
negro jumped behind a tree and look
cd at him inquirirgly. ] made no al
tempt to follow, and the negro said
to me:
"'Thar am sumtin de matter wild
dat man. Thar suttinly am
"a wonderful record would have
been revealed if a speedometer had
been attached to your fathers pants.
When l saw him in action l said to
myself: If the son grows up to be
like the father the state Of Florida
will some day boast of having the
worlds champion sprinter.' l was
talking to your father, recently, about
that great event of thirty years ago.
He admitted the facts and said: 4 was
excited because nothing of the kind
ever happened before"
This recital caused such an uproar
that all work on the damaged car was
abandoned for the time bong
81 was in your house one day." re-
sumed the chicagoan, Cooking for
svr,n2thy. My father had asked me
What are you going to be when you