Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-12-24

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Usage, Okla, was now just as much
like New York as Usage could manage
to make it They built twenty-story
Office buildings In a city that had hum
dreds OF miles of prairie to spread In.
Tracy Wyatt built the first skyscraper
the Wyatt building. 1t was pointed
out and advertised all over the fiat
prairie state. Then Pat Leary, dane
ing an Irish Jig of Jealousy. built the
Leary building, twenty-three stories
high. But the sweet fruits OF triumph
soon turned to ashes In his mouth.
The Wyatt buildings foundations were
not built to stand the added strain OF
five full stories So he had built a
five-story tower, slim and tapering, a
haunting finger pointing to the sky.
Again Tracy Wyatt owned the tallest
building In Oklahoma.
On the roof Of the Levy Mercantile
company's building Sol had had built
4 penthouse after his own plans. 1t
Wd6 tuc ODly OnC VI IL hluu Ill dti
Oklahoma. That small part of Usage
which did not make an annual pill
grimage to New York was slightly be-
wildered by Sol Levy's roof life. They
fed one another with scraps OF gossip
got from servants, clerks. stenograph-
ers who claimed to have seen the
place at one time or another. It was.
these said. filled with the rarest OF
carpets, rugs. books, hangings- Super
radio. super photograph, super player
plano. Music hungry. There he lived,
alone. In luxury, OF the town. yet no
part OF It
Money was now the only standard.
II Pat Leary had slxty-two million
dollars on Tuesday he was Oklahoma's
leading citizen. II Tracy Wyatt had
seventy-eight million dollars on
Wednesday then Tracy Wyatt was Ok
lahoma's leading citizen
Sabra probably was the only woman
OF her own generation and social posi-
ton In Usage who still wore on the
third finger Of her left hand the plain
broad gold band of long-past day.
Synchronous with the permanent wave
and the reducing diet the oil-rich
Usage matrons Of Sabra's age cast
sentiment aside for fashion. quietly
placed the clumsy band In bureau
drawer and appeared with slim plati-
mum circlet bearing, perhaps, the en-
graved anachronism. M. OK. L.
1884" Certainly 1t was much more at
ease among Its square-cut emerald and
oblong-diamond neighbors. These
ladies explained lit at all) that the
gold band had grown too tight for
the finger or too loose Sabra looked
down at the broad old-fashioned we'd
ding ring on her own gemless finger.
She had not once taken II of In over
forty years. 1t was as much part
Of her as the finger itself
All the Oklahoma millionaire
houses had libraries. Yards and yards
Of fine leather libraries. with gold
tooling. Ike Hawkes. library had five
sets OF Dickens alone, handsomely
bound In red. green. blue. brown. and
black. and Ike all unaware OF any OF
them.
Moving picture palaces, with white
gloved ushers, had all the big Broad
way super-6lms. Gas filling stations
on every corner Hot dog, chill cor
carne and hamburger stands on the
most remote country roads The Ar.
verne Grand Opera company at ths
Mckee theater for whole week every
year. and the best Of everything
Traviata. Boheme. Carmen. Louise
The Barber OF Seville The display
of jewels during that week made The
diamond horseshoe at the Metropoli
tan look like the Black Hole OF Cal
cutta.
The sunbonnets had trlumphed.
Still, oil was oil, and Indians were
Indians. There was no way In which
either OF these native forces coult
quite be nodded to cit the New Yorl
pattern.
The Osages still whirled up ant
down the Oklahoma roads. and those
roads, for hundreds Of miles. were still
unpaved red prairie dust. They
crashed into bitches and draws ant
culverts as OF old, walked back K
town and. entering the automobile
salesroom In which they had bough
the original car. pointed with on,
dusky finger at a new and glitterinl
model.
Mother" they said. succinctly. AM
drove out with It.
It was common news that Charlie,
Vest had smashed eight cars In year
but then Charley had mysteriou
source through which he procured fir
water.
Sabra Cravat had introduced bill
for the further protection OF tn
Osages, and rather took away tn
breath OF the house assembled by ad
vocating abolition OF the Indian reser
walton system Her speech. radica
though 1t was. and sensational, wa
greeted with favor by some OF tn
more liberal Of the congressman. The.
even conceded that this idea OF hers
to the effect that the Indian woul'