Imperial Valley press., 1945-01-09
NUBBINS
BY
BURRIS JENKINS

Ed. v. Williams, department store
owner in Springfield. Missouri, was
the finest raconteur, or teller of
stories. tina. this writer ever lis
tened TO this side of Chauncey De-
pew. Ed Williams was chock full
of life and magnetism with face
which he rightly termed his map
and a changing writhing map at
that. One of his best yarns in
apropos just now since we hear
rumors that race and class hatreds
are soon to be started again on this
continent as in the know nothing
DAYS and the Ku klux days.
But history does repeat.
Following the other world war
everybody turned in and hated
everybody else and called that pa
triotism. One man i'm a middle west
ern city put up sign over his
store, Il am an American 1000,
1 hate the Jews and the Catholics"
His competitor across the street
looked at it a minute, then came
dragging out a bigger sign, I'm a
200eo American. l hate everybody"
williams disliked the Klan very
much but had to withstand a lot
of pressure about going into it. Nest
of his good friends were members,
among them his banker across the
street. One day Ed saw the banker
coming at the front door of his
store with a stranger holding onto
his elbow that he knew must be
the xxx organizer lately come to
town. Ed met them, brought them
into his office, closed the doors,
seated them across his table. Then
he sat down himself and said:
Il know why you come and i don't
think you want me i'm your Klan.
/ don't think I'd make a good men,
ber. My oldest boy, my only boy,
died of tuberculosis out i'm Colorado,
when l was too poor to SO and be
with him. The night he died he
asked a young Catholic priest in
the neighboring cot to give him the
emblems of his last communion"
I'm sorry Mr.. Williams, you must
know that / can't do that, I'm 4
Catholic and the laws of our church
forbid. But you are Presbyterian,
know, and I'll tell you what I'll
do. I'll get up and go down town,
find one of your ministers, bring
him out here and between the two
Of us we'll give you the last junction."
mo. gentlemen" said Ed, 81 don't
hate the Catholics, and l don't think
I'd make good member of your
order"
Once more, l was born and
brought up down i'm Georgia. My
first memories of g0ing to sleep
were on the broad breast of a good
cid Negro nurse. My first play
mates were little black pickaninnies
with their hair tied up in white
cotton string. I've been used to the
Negroes all my life. l am fond of
them. 1 have nothing against them
and you don't want me in your
order"
He resumed, "At the close of the
last century l nearly went on the
rocks i'm a business way. So did
lots of US. They were tough times"
"One morning there came through
that door, yonder, my strongest
competitor, a little Jew, down the
street whom you all know. Wen
call him Nathan. He sat down
where you are sitting and he said
to me, Ed, / know you are having
a tough time, SO am I, so are all
of us, but 1 think yours is little
tougher than mine. Now, I've got
some money ahead and / think /
can go through this storm; and
1 want to lend you hand. Here's
a little check, if you'll take it, with
out interest and with no promise to
pay. Pay when you get ready" And
he laid $1,000 down on that table.
thanked him but / took up the
check and tore it to pieces and
said to him, Nathan, / thank you
from the bottom of my heart but
1 believe / can get by and ] won't
take it,
"He left here and went to Cincin-
natl. but we kept check of each
other by correspondence through the
years.
Years afterward, 1 had TO go to
Battle Creek, for little operation,
not much of one but an operation
is all operation, and the first Sun
day morning, somebody tapped at
my door. said, Come in and
there stood little Nathan at the
door, and he sort of hummed and
hawed and i'm an embarrassed way
said. Well, Ed, l was a little tired,
needed some rest and when ] heard
you were coming up here l just de-
cided to come up and have a little
vacation with you
mo, gentlemen, ] don't hate the
Jews, l don't hate Nathan, and ]
wouldn't make a good member of
the Ku KIux Klan.
my banker friend came to me
afterwards and thanked me for
helping him TO keep out of the Ku