The Washington herald., 1920-09-06
4 RULER OF MEN

beaneFy run on the American
plan by a German proprietor with
Chinese cooking served a Ia Kan
sas City lunch counter.
1T seems that o'Conner really
did have some sort of system
planned out beforehand. He wrote
plenty Of letters; and every day
or two some native gent would
stroll round to headquarters and
be shut UP in the back room for
half an heuP with 0'Cennor and
the interpreter. i neticed that
when they went in they were al
ways smoking eight-ineh ctgars
and at peace with the world but
when they came out they wouid
be fielding up q ten or twenty
dollar bill and eursiRs the gev-
eminent horribly.
"One evening after we had been
in Guaya-tn this town of Smell
ville-by- y-the-Sea-abeut a month,
and me and 0'Connor were sitting
outside the door helping aleRg
old tempus fugit with russ aad
ice and lines. ! says to himI
IF you'll excuse a patriot that
don't know what he's patrsaizing,
for the question-what is your
scheme for subjugating this eoun-
trye Do you intend to plunge 1t
into bloedshed. or do you mean
to buy its votes peaeefully ana
honoFsbly at the pellsr
Bowers says he. 'ye're a fine
little man, and l intend to make
great use of ye after the cenfiet,
But ye do not understand state
craft, Already by now we have a
network of strategy clutching
with invisible fingers at the
throat of the tyrant Calderas. We
have agents at work in every
town in the republic. The Liberal
party is bound to win. On our
secret lists we have the names of
enough sympathizers to crush the
administration forces at single
blow
"A straw vote. SAYS I. only
shows which way the hot air
blows
who has accomplished this"
goes en- OConnor. 4 have.
have directed everything. The
time was ripe when we came. so
my agents inform me, The pee
pie are groaniRg under burdens
of taxes and levies. Who will be
their natural leader when they
rise? Could 1t be anyone but me-
self: Twas only yesterday that
Zsldas. our representative in the
province of DpTasnas, tells me
that the people, in secret. already
call me "EI Library Door" which
is the spanish manner of saying
The Liberator."
WAS Zsldas that maroon col
ored old Aztec with a paper COL
lar on and unbleached domestic
shoes I asked.
He was says O'CoHnsr.
81 saw him tucking a yellow
hack into his vest pocket as he
came out says !. 1t may be-,
says !. tthat they call you a libra
ry door. but they treat you more
like the side door OF a bank. But
let US hope for the worst
1t has cost money, OF course,
says 0Conner; hut wen have
the country in our hands inside
of a month
In the evenings We walked
about in the plaza and listened
to the band playing and mingled
with the pepqlace at its distress
ing and obnoxious pleasures.
There were thirteen vehicles be-
longing to the upper classes,
mostly rockawsys and oldstyle
baruches, such as the mayor rides
in at the unveiling of the new
pOorhouse at MilledgevilIe, Ala
bama. Round and round the des-
sicated fountain in the middle of
the plaza they drove, and lifted
their high silk hats to their
friends. The common people walk
ed around in barefeoted bunches.
putting stogies that a Pittsburgh
millionaire wouldn't have chewed
for a dry smoke on Ladies' Day
at his club. And the grandest
figure in the whole turnout was
Barney O'Connor. Six foot two
he stood in his Fifth avenue
clothes. with his eagle eye and
his black mVstache that tickled
his ears, He was a born dictator
and Czar and hero and harrier of
the human race. 1t looked to me
that all eyes were turned upon
O'ConROr. and that every woman
there loved him apd every man
feared him. Once or twice I
looked at him and thought OF
funnier things that had happened
than his winning out in his game
and I began to feel like a Hidsi-
go de OfiCiO de CRATIC de South
America myself. And then I
would come down again to solid
bottom and let my imagination
gloat. as usual. upon the twenty
one American dollars due me on
Saturday night.
-
me as thus we walked, of the
mass of the people. Observe their
oppressed and melancholy air.
for revolt? Do ye not perceive
that they are disaffected?'
81 do not says I. Nor disIn-
fected either. I'm beginning to
understand these people. when
they look unhappy they're enjoy
ing themselves. when they feel
unhappy they GO to sleep. They're
not the kind of people to take an
interest in revelutiars.'
They'll hock to our standard
says O'Connor. Three thousand
men in this town alone will spring
to arms when the signal is given.
] am assured of that. But every
NNlhe - III ottfNt. mere Is no
chance for us to fail
'On Hooligsn alley. as prefer
to call the street cur headuuar-
ters was on. there was a row of
nat 'debe houses with red tile
roofs, some straw shaeks full ,ot
Indians and dogs, and one two
story wooden house with balcen-
les a little farther down. That
rr-