The Coconino sun., 1922-08-04

Ordinarily, the passing of one of l our brothers is worth" no more than a half column or so. Months ago a two-fisted gentleman, B. c. Ashcraft, editor of the Monroe (N. O. Enquir- CT, died. The usual sympathetic fio4 tices were paid him. A few days ago his successors on the Enquirer unex- pectedly found an editorial written by MT. Ashcraft on his last day at the office, when he knew he never was going to report for duty again and that death lowered just around the corner.
 "Many time during the years gone by have l answered the call of the man at the type-setting machine or at the case for copy. This is my last answer to that unstaying call--copy. "The eyes of him who hangs the copy on the hook will not, after it is set, read the proof, for they will be death dimmed. The hand that wrote it will not mark the errors on proof sheet, for before it is set that hand will be cold, numb and cunningless in the grave.
 '9The thought of laying aside my pen-and that forever-is a stagger- ing one, but there is no use to wince nor cry aloud, not bit of it. About the best thing to do is to be recon ciled--and if I am not reconciled what's the difference
 "'Was your uncle reconciled when he met death?' loag5faced preacher asked a boy whose uncle had died. "The boy replied: 'Reconciled? Hell, he had to be-
 "Now this contemplation of un- buckling the harness, of quitting the work l love, is calculated to bring on some sob stuff and it may be that some of you like to read that kind of stuff-but l do not like to write it. "For many years 1 have written copy for the Enquirer. have told of the success of our people. l have gladly told of their joys and it has been a delight to me to chronicle the fact for them the banner of success floated full mast and that for them the bugle of victory was soupding sharp and clear. Sorrowfully have told of the griefs of our people. With heavy heart and an unwilling hand 1 have told of death entering the homes of our people, of pain, sickness, suffering and loss coming to the peo- pie whose servant l have been in the way of furnishing them with the To- cal news. But no more will talk of the events, good or bad, cheering or sorrow-laden, in our community.
 q pass my pen to another hand. 1 wish l knew who will take my place here in the Enquirer office. l might tell him few things that would be of interest, if not of benefit to him.
 "My work as l have intimated, has been pleasant. There have been of course, times of gloom. The paw of old hard times has now and then pressed painfully hard on over-bur- dened shoulders, but there has not been a time when that hard old paw pressed down hard enough to crush to earth. The night has not been so dark that there was not now and then, between the clouds, the glimmer of the star of hope.
 My relations with the public have been pleasant. The public is not as good as the candidate for office tells it that it is, neither is it 50 absolute ly bad as the defeated candidate thinks it is and taking it year by year the public is pretty fair in it's dealings with the individual, at least l have found it so.
 q have long since come to the con clusion, however, that the editor who pets the public is a fool and the edi- tor who fears the public has broad streak of cowardly, yellow cur in his makeup.
 q have mingled with our people in public gatherings of about all kinds from preaching services to street brawls-but the thought comes that at the next gathering of the people where l will be one of the number, will be the silent party at the gath ering, and at that gathering, no mat ter what is said or done 1 will make no objection, but l do hope that on that occasion no self-appointed saint, CT world and knows so little about this world that he wearies part of it's inhabitants almost to death when he speaks, will make an ass of himself by Illuminating over me and airing my many failings-a thing he did not have the nerve to do publicly while I was in the land of the living. Neither do I want any 'sugar-mouth- ed individual who never had any words for me while l was toiling along the best I could, to come and say pretty nothings over my rotting remains. And yov folks who have ta- ken delight in throwing rocks at me when ! was not looking, for Gods sake keep your flowers off my grave l-I do not need them.
 "I would like to leave message to my business associates--the boys in the shop-but cannot write about that for there comes lump in my throat and doggone it, my eyes fill with tears when try to tell of the loyalty, the fidelity, the patience of those who have labored with me year after year and some of whom have grown up in the shop. I love them with love unutterable, and if the blessings of dying man are worth a whoop they will be endowed with richest blessings if old reason shall