Imperial Valley press., 1942-10-07
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

Z
State.
1t was ga per cent to 95 per cent
efficient every place except in the
Princes capital where, alas, the
council of state was filled with mer
who didn't understand, the towr
criers and pamphleteers didn't seem
to know what went on in the
country which caused them to give
out many sententious views which
did infinite harm, and the third
fourth and fifth assistant ministers
never knew the whole story, though
they told what little they did know
to the town criers and pamphleteers
who eeked out precarious livings
by picking up Sundry gossips IN
the coffee houses and passing them
on to the curious citizenry.
Now the Great Prince was
wont to travel among his sub
jects. Most of the time he went
in coach of state with great fan
fare of trumpets and large reti-
nues of court followers, and much
interviewing of lord mayors and
governors and high sheriffS.
But it came to pass that the AL
most perfect State became involved
in war with certain evil men who
lived over the seas. This Kept the
Great Prince cry busy, for many
of his subjects came to the capital
to see for themselves what gave.
NonethelesS, in due time the
Great Prince very busy. for many
the itching foot, and he longed TO
roam once more up and down the
land. But all his new advisers and
his marShals and his commodores
kept him so busy that he couldn [
get away.
So he bethought him of & plan.
HE RIDDLES A RIDDLE
First. he would PROFOUND a riddle
"a great riddle-a riddle Whlch
would SO occupy the minds and at
tention of all his council and ms
third and fourth and fifth assistant
ministers and even the town crlers
and scrivening pamphleteers, that
the Great Prince would be aple to
sneak away.
The riddle which the Great
Prince propounded was this;
"How can the cost of sword
be kept down while the wage oil
the blacksmith goes up because
the bag of barleymeal which the
blacksmith eats rises in price pc
cause the country squire must Oh
fer hire of a shilling more TO
find peasants to thresh the barley
because all the peasantry want TO i.
be smiths or are off to the wars?
What is it?''
Now this was truly a great rld-
die. The Great Prince gave MS
capital two weeks to guess the
answer and took runout powder:
The Prince decided before he le1t
that he would travel 1ncognlto. he
would tell the pamphleteers and
town criers that he was going, put
he would charge them specl1lcally
to remember that when ne goU
there, it would not be he, so no
mention was to be made of 1t.
Moreover, he told all the pamphieC-
GERS and town criers that they
should tell no one that he had le1t'
until he got back.
So for two weeks the Great
Prince travelled up and down MS
country. watching the smithies forge
their plowshares into swords
watching his shipwrights, watching
his wheelwrights fashion charlotS
of war, watching his alchemlsIS
make gunpowders and Wondrous
light and strong metals out OF the
very clay. seeing his armies, IN
specting his fleets, looking in awe
as his state hunters trained their
falcons to dart down out OF the
skies like birds Of war. 1t was
truly an Almost Perfect state
90 per cent and 95 per cent perfect
anyway.
A GREAT SILENCE FALLS
And all this time, not a pamph-
leteer printed a word and not
town crier spoke a word about the
Great Prince inspecting his sub
iects. for was not the Great Prince
travelling Incognito and were not
the pamphleteers and town crlerS
loyal and faithful subjects!
And all this time the council
and the third and fourth and
fifth assistant ministers OF state
wrestled with their riddle, 1or
they were determined to solve IL
ere the Great Prince returned.
So it came to pass that IN TWO
weeks time, the Great Prince came
back to his capital, and then and
only then did the pamphleteers and
the town criers spread the WORD
that the Great Prince had been
away. though he had been seen IN
many a great city and many a
small village and hamlet and Army
camp. -.
And what do you suppose the
council and the third and tourth
and fifth assistant ministers and
the pamphleteers and town cflerS
got for being such good and ooe-
dent subjects while the Great
Prince had been away?
They got a bawling out Tor peihg