Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-20
Daily Short Story
The Stumbling Block
Ry CHARLES McGUIRK

ITO WILL HANNABY. the de-
Il preston was purely an AGA
demic question until a day IN
October 1882, II was a suolect
for argument al which Will shonC
Mike a candle in a barrel
He read all The papers free Tor
nothing because the Zlncke hard,
ware store AZ which he worked
carried the San Francisco papers
as a side line.
And these papers gave HIM
plenty Of material to use IN ms
speeches al the Glen soda foun-
tain.
Hoover was handling everything
wrong. VIII declared, and, himself,
he was going 10 vote Tor this here
Roosevelt.
SURE he'd been a lifelong Repub-
lican but the Republicans had
been In Office for il years now and
for the last three Of them bust
ness had disappeared, banks were
busting all over the country and
soldiers were marching on 10
Washington demanding TO be fed.
This here Roosevelt couldn't do
any worse. even If he was Demo
crat.
People believed VIII. mostly be-
cause they were in a state of mind
10 believe anything.
Ordinarily, they would have
taken a look at him and then re-
membered his record and they
would remember that the best
thing Will did was 10 talk.
AVOIDS EVERYTHING
He avoided everything else, work
included. No. Work especially.
He was a large gangling man of
so with abnormally developed hips
from sitting so much and a small
pot protruding from his abdomen.
Sitting and keeping this pot full,
you might say. were Wills only
interests i'm life. He had sandy
hair and the same kind of COM
plexion. small. rear-sighted eyes
and a loose mouth thH was open
most of the time, either to take
in food or give out useless infor-
nation.
Hannaby was lazy. Indeed,
people who knew him. declared he
was the LATEST man in California.
Will swung so many people 20
Roosevelt for the forthcoming
elections that he had about de-
cided TO 60 into politics for a liv-
ing when Zeke Zincke, owner Of
the hardware store. stopped him
as he was going home that Octo-
Der night.
WILL" he said, IL got TO let
you 20. There amt enough
business 60 keep me busy, not
alone q clerk. If &c don't get
better I'm another two weeks,
I'll have to let the store go, too.
I'm sorry, WILL"
Sorry! Will closed his mouth,
forced open by the shock, and
glared at the wispy. worried Zeke,
who was 10 years older than he
but looked at least 50.
That was the way IL always was
under capitalism. The owners or
bosses kept the working man until
they had wrung out every drop OF
his hearts blood and then they
cast him into the discard.
II been working for you for
% years, Mr.. Zincke," he re-
minded, II been here ever since
three months after you opened
this here store. IL don't seem
just"
at amt just" Zekc told him |
dryly. "either TO me or you. /
been working here three
months longer than you have.
"And right now got just ex-
actly $40 less than when
started, after I've paid you of.
There amt no business and
when there amt no business
/. there amt no store.
iii say again I'm sorry. But
Ira just rs sorry for me as I
am for you"
Will didn't deign to answer him.
He walked out of the store, feel
ing like the first Christian who
was fed TO the lions.
He was the victim OF ingrati-l
tude and the capitalistic system.
twenty-five years of service had
been wasted on the man who had
Just thrown him out.
But as he trudged homeward TO