The Lawton Constitution. (Lawton, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 27, 1906 Page: 4 of 8
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Lawton Constitution
DEMOCRATIC IN PRINCIPLE
THE CONSTITUTION COMPANY.
J. Rtiy Willi 'JtUB. Kttr.
A. W. Ander. -hi, Himlroess Mgr.
Jan. II. Timn\ci:i«, Cily Ed.
Co■«. intloo Black.
South of Caurl Moot
Corner A*c«i* U and Fl III Sir.*i
Telrphoar No. 70
TBHMHl
$1.1 HI
VBelli/ I ha yew
i-Hlly. the week K
Dally, the year... ll.nC
Dally delivered In city by carrier every
veiling except Sunday.
The weekly will lie sent to responsible
Blibacrlbero until ordered dUcolitluued and
all arreagoa are paid
ANNOUNCEMENT.
Congressman Fifth District
SCOTT FERRIS.
Lawton.
For State Treasurer.
JAS. A. MENEFEE,
Caddo County.
appearance ma'in the 4th cen'u.ry at
which time oil Ciwist Ian zi*<l civ 'j ns
seem to have simultaneously irnv.ii'ut-
«d ar.um mariner ol f utivl'y a tfria
k i ison, the ttinne and customs of the
go >d old S im a. differing aoc rdlng u>|
I he characteristics of the pmple. Tm-
dlti'vi tells us that Santa CltMis firs; |
gaiied grea'er prominence in i*he|
i' ll ln.r! ud and laer in "M.n-rla Eng-
land" wh-.re i lie Christinas gayntb«j
I a.sud f'«' twelve diys an*l the laud
al> untied in K 'xl clu"r, OUulic cam-to
and gifts for everyone.
Even then w is recognized the gltd
Hixiilt of the day and of which Saiuta
us was mad a pe-x inlf i a. And
down 'II theae cunt wins the ti ume
Christmas spirit lists predominated
ovur all land), and kept uliv the tiu-
di"on of the SpLriitly Sain", for the
sake of the little folks w>* svor d<
him rev-.iiunoe.
8
tt
tt
BuunBuuBttuttn
Champ Clark's
Letter *
8
8
ft
i+
Labor's Influence In National Leg"
islaiion- Defeat of the Pilotage Bill.
The Jew In Politics—Mark Lwiin
at a Lobbyist
ti ti ti tt it it it 8 tt
+*
**
Tlie gentlemen who Ivave orgamlz-
ed a company tor the publication *>f a
new republican newspapir in Liw, ui,
it
D
ISpeclnl Washington Letter.)
URING the campaign President
Samuel Gompers of the Amer-
ican Federation of I.aber In-
vaded the congressional dis-
trict of Hon. Charles K. Littlefield of
Maine and did his utmost to defeat
that distinguished statesman.1 In 1904
Llttleileld received over fi.irid majority.
This year his majority was a little
above 1,000, a considerable failing olT
surely, hut shortly after that election
Brother Littlefield declared that lie
was helped rather than hart by the as
Hnnit of President Gompers. Mr. Chair-
man .lames S Sliermnn also declared
THE INITIATIVE AND REFER EN
-DUM LAW.
The ot>n.s'iitu/tmninl oivv a ion Is
going far toward the tiatablUhmoivt of
a pure deni in'.icy in OkLthonri.
The initiative maid r if-tvuduiiu I w
as repontd by the logishv commit-
tee of the ooniJ'i u.'ional c ti v. ti'ii vtn
Is modeled aft/ir the Oreg in law wis-i-
such splendid rMiiiits hn.ve been in. ii e-
ved. The main featunx-s if the l".w
are:
First. An efgli.! (S) per cent peti-
tion for the. Initiative, and five (5)
per cent petition for the referendum.
The vato power of the governor
does not extend to measure voVd <"ti
by the penpli?..
It is muriiatary upon the legisli-
ture to piss a law putting the initi-
ative and referendum into effect. If
they fall, it is mid- the governor's du-
ty.
It appii.es to nil acts of county com-
misslo.ne.rs, cry councils ;iit.d ujw
(l.V.rlct officers.
\uy par of my la.w cm be r fer-
r-.i, to .the p ■ >| i". ThU .nppliei3 to
appiaipniaii'on hills.
A U'jW thai has been enacted by .the
UEe of the 1 u'v.t :ve -end r.-f ir.^'ulum,
can n.«v r be ani:-'-i:l-d «.«• cVtng'd by
any eubaequ^nt l^giilti'tr e wj hou r'-
ferning tiie l.iw back t.o the pe >]de.
A law rejected at the polos by the p -
pi* cannot lie again pini'-ioaad for wit.
in three years.
With tile euic'nu
j are men aliove
, ! ilgetxe attd the
' wholly to UKili-j
I tullon doe.s ait
ivt
.hi* of mi el-1 that Pr
>hjrt"t Is o ctalnly n
money. Tii Cons
bfdleve hat th«
i gentlemrnn envy the prosperliy of the
i newspaper fraternity of Liwtcn. It
Is a polit ral move and miKino ha.
fight in tile ranks of 'h" republic'.'t
pirty iit the city is to be to a finish.
The N_*ws-R<ipublloan h is etiat it -1
with Jake ll unon and must -s and or
fail with him Mr. Ha nun attd It." ed-
itor of the News-it publican are n >w
enronte home from W i ;iiiug on where
tlw-y lvi.ve l n to aacur* the Lawton
post office for tlie latter. The crnm-
mitsslon of Pos'nvisujr Will" ■, who s
idsrti lfi«l with the oew publici ion,
expirts thia in ^uth. If the Newi-Ite
public in editor ca.n cucci-i.d him he
will be able to carry the fight. He
Vill doubtless i tury it oil f -r a cu:i-
siderable time anyway. Newspiprsi
the hinds of a lot of f> >1 oleums very
seldom tun mat to much. The Con-
st'.■uti .ti lias always insisted that the
democratic politicians in th
coutt'y should le' the i..ewsi>'.i
conduct tlv n wspap r basin-
while it has been a lcrng fis'i
lieves tiiat d-niocratic polit
been convinced that ,s plan
and much 'tw cheap- st. De
will ex fci-se wisd mi by
togetlur. l.o us s.'.nd
eree the deadly comba*
1)04
ci y i' tid
•ut Gomjiers' opposition
he ped I.lttletiel l, but nevertheless It
\\ s noted by close observers that Mr.
Chairman Sherman and the rest of the
Kepubl cans carcfulljr avoided inviting
President Campers to come into their
districts and tight them, which was
precisely what they would have done
had they really believed that Goni|iers
helped I.ittlefleM In- figlitlug him.
Now, if Couipers had no Influence on
the voters a very strange thing has
come to pass, and that is that he has
much intlueiuv on representatives In
congress If lie lias no influence on
voters, why should lie have influence in
congress? Will Brother I.ittlefield or
Brother Sherman answer that? I am
sure that I ca:> nre-.e by Brother Little-
Held that President Compers has influ-
ence in the house, for when Brother
Littletield forced his pilotage bill to a
vote the other day on the stand up vote
he had a s ibstantial majority for his
bill, but on roll "all. wh< re every man's
name goes down in history, there was
ac overwhelming majority against the
bill. Why that remarkable and sudden
change in the minds of representa-
■Presideut C«B
be apparent to even a casual observer.
The wholesale discharge of the colored
tiroop* was water for his wheel, and lie
may be ilejiended on to make all out of
It there is in it. The Penrose reso'.ti
tlon will be forgotten, but the Forak' 1
resolution may cut as big a figure ir
history as the Willmol proviso.
In the meantime some of the polit.
cnl prognosticating are trying t i ma'. '
It appear that Governor ii'e I Ch i'.'i
Evans Hughes of New Yori. is a I re
dential probability. Th y eviiie.itly i
not judge the future by lie1 pa i N •
York has had ninny lie;.: . ■ :t <
eruors. all sorts of men. i ay "
them Theodore lto-isnve't , «
nominated fir pt'e .i ■ at, mid ti I;
to sa.v that he wool I itev r b iv.> |m><
uomiuat'd lot for the a ..on it >i i
McKinley. It is a n t i" : t th
111 New Vor\ nil ■ ei 1.
lieeu rent with ; "i s i tic
beginning of tii -. pal ' i1
llcan national net -ut . i- In e v
two exceptions I. Ite.i s,c;ve:l i
New York tj i . . te t!i■■ . . . ! .
likely t i do ; i again, ti I. < era
Hughes p unlet ■ I .< th
not be mil 11. iy elate 1 by the 111.
noniluiitlou lor pn -iiieat.
finally stump speaker! Sometimes on
his uppers, sometimes rich, he has in
his seventy-one years conferred hap-
piness on millions of readers and in his
own way Is the foremost man of his
time—indeed, of all time. Though lie
is seventy-one. nobody seems to think
of him as old, but if he be considered
old he certainly possesses In extraor-
dinary degree
That which should accompany old ace,
As honor, love, obedience.
friends.
trooM Ci
The Jew Ir
Tho appoint: ; i
a cabinet position l
till.uiin
the handful of .Ir\\
hij;h politk'nl p k<i'u>
but no hint has \h>v.
iaiportaiuv of the i
the Jpus ^ei:ev:;!!> ;i
terest Ch in . 'ruuT.y
surely a lie;! 1 tliv
tive
It—i
to t:
tna
rs was
far s
rail, st
1 us
T.'
It is not ih^ira i
of our people sit
politics It is t
Is the tirst Jew t
In the federal go
er lew in. a h •
wa> Ju.iah •.
most bra . a
if it won!a t>. .ti
the u -t
p o: i tics.
O i tir : tr ttis ;
ts I'.'ile I forth :
i of words a o '
v. lto have lie!
s i t litis c > :titt'.\
, o ea ot the real
ct, which i< that
e taking more in
iu public affairs,
;tl of the times, tol
that any large body
d feel u i interest in
■ tait (Hear Straits
ill a cabiaet |t tsition
■ aaieat. but a great
duet port-
Id t.
That
to say
v as
nubile
fill
arm
A
II' -w
to i he ca-Bti ut on,
lah'ima will hnve nn
Belves tc blune if 'n :
jus'iue In ti'il the. fulut
passed an Oklahoma.
The li goslative conimi
of this law l.n- j lia it," is
ih ■ pen;lie (if Oil- j sh .Ui 1"
n one but t'le.m- it is ;ii :
BattV" call d
:v',tr cting at
■ me popul-t
ti in this wirt
do BOt s cu
laws <ho. i it
of
drawing ci -s-
ill its
asid and ref
speaki
aig a
for w a-a th«
' ma inn
-r an
tting oil 'hcit
■ it. TI
| proacl
Presiii
lions .
le w
lent
"Edttow* de-
■ i of tin
lj the 1.:
it evervwhere
servat
ire a
; Tak a."' "
f,r and fold a
behalf
I not to
1 It's a
1« t
hoik
; and a
ordinary wr • ng papi
j up ctcreifully, otvttlnsi't'S t
j sufficicir.t to pay all arrear
lia.3-«o\v j in advaince tand mail it to the ed tor
under considaration the Oreg ei inv, What adds immensely lie j le sur
for the election of United Stages sen- : of t.lt • gome is to send along ' " • a-ani
ateirs by the direct vote of tile pa-jile, j of a m w subscriber or two, acconipin
and such a kuw will le' r ported in Che j led by cash. K< *p your eve on h
War Xu'lire.
' e the
eif; sin-.
Keep your eve on tnoed-
and if a smile adorns his face the
ti- rk works like- u charim. ri gamp
may be p .id all the year ,airouad, but
It is especially enjoyable just
Just try it.—
eiow.
Rufe L«Fors says that he is tv'' go-
ing to take up htiis residence im Law-
ton, notwithstanding that h ■ has pur-
chased property. He is residing on
and improving His farm nine miles
west of the city and the farm
suits him exactly.
life
A BUMPER CROP YEAR.
The farm value of the principal
crops of the Union! Sates in 1906,
(not including eotiton) is 172 mil lion
doila/rs gpeat/r thin the total value
of the crip of 1905. and list year's
figures far exceed those of any pre-
vious year. This Is the showfes of
the final report of the statistical bu-
reau of the Department of Agricul-
ture, recently mode public. The farm
value of grain,, potai'-oes, liny and flax-
seed raised this yei.tr ami urn's up to
'h" ftne.rnii.us to';il of 2,926 million
lo'lars.
'he total q ill in'it.y of grain crop
4,854 million bu hels, enough, f
It were all humi d to market, to fill
three times as many freight cars as
all the rallr'.ads of the country posess,
at d to ill ke a train that w ould ex-
tend nine tlnnis across the country
from tlve A' biulic to the Pac fiie.
The corn crop is 2,K7 million bush-
els greai'jer than that of loust yeiir,
which was the g! >a.'.., 5t ever raised up
to that time. The yield of whuai is
slightly below the largest cr'tji ever
raised and 4 million bus! be Is below
preliminary entimai'.es. The oa'.s crop
as finally roji-ocod, turns out to lie
100 bushels gp titer than the prelim -
nary estinui'e, and 11 nii.llliciu bushels
greater thin crop of 1905, which
was the high record up to tho i;ii".
Tho pubrf/s crop is tho le rg al ever
raised with one exO'P'.ian.
Tiie overig*1 wo'mht U wheat pr
bushel is shown by rep c'« received
by the bnrotu to be 56.5 p- .ti ads for
spring wlK'U, 59.2 poutids lar will."..'
wheat and 32.0 p vjnds for w. s.
CHRISTMAS.
Kver sine" tiie eviiy day when S«in-
ta Clau.9 b"gau to npp-ir at the pea-
son of ChristnwB, with gifts which I
symbolized the offerings brought by |
U.e tliree wise men to tho new-born I J. M. Hellimy has gone to Wichita
Christ child, manukind has oonl.iauerl I Falls, Texas, to look after majtera
to give eocimession of its goad will to-J connected with the Lawton, Wichita,
w rd nten by wmding far and wid-'. I Falls and Nor hwestern railway emu
tokeine of remombrainoes on this hap-1 pany.
py day. j
The earliost rooard of SiiutaClaus' I J. A. Fain la In Guthrie today.
Mr. Haskell, lihe floor leader of the
organization in the constii-ution ti con-
vention will disappoint hits ettranUis if
h.e does not off f for some office un-
der the new state.
MARKET.
December 27i'h.
Cotton 8.00 to 8.25.
Hay, i>er ton ----- 6.00
Wlif.it, new, per bushel No. 2 .65
Oats, niiixed per bushel
Corn
Hogs, per cwt
Cattle, butcher stuff
Fat steers and heifers
Sheep, per cwt
Cabbage, per lb
Onions, per bu
Potatoes, per bu
Turkeys per pound
Eggs, pftr doz
Chickens, ovar three lb
Turnips per bu
Sweet potatoes, per bu
Hrooiu corn per ton ..
Chickens, under three
Butter, per lb
31
35.
5.50 to 5.75.
2.00 to 2.50
. 3.00 to 3.75
4.50 to 5.00
.. 01 1-2
.. .50 to .75
.40 to .55
0
22 1-
05
.. 15 to .20
.20 to .40
. .$35 to $ti5
.1(9
Reflecting upon
it seems that M-
man et al. will b
their verdicts a-
Presideut i-i-tnuel
nl n
anions us
and lawyer be
...e.'ate cabinet
lawyer and au-
i.tiin* America,
slid a standard
ies assert that
dun.-s to the
v. lieu he an-
of his state,
vu resignation
oi that series
.. Jilresses. He
West Indies is-
-iand. At the
be 1 egun life
■se to high dis-
1b
Jan
Mch
May
June
N. Y. COTTON.
Open High Low Close
.. .. 9.14 9.17 9.12 9.13.
. .. 9.44 9.45 9.43 9.44.
.. . . 9.66 9.68 9.63 9.04.
.. .. 9.80 9.81 9.74 9.75.1
Presidential P. -s
They are Jockeying for [ -
"they" In that sentence s t
aspirants for the Repuoli'-i
tial nomination. As soon as
erable 1 >r Edward Everett 11
lain of the senate, had sanl
in his Invocation on I>ec. tw
men were on their feet clamoring for
recognition. Senator Boies Penrose of
Pennsylvania and Senator Joseph Ben-
son Foraker of Ohio. Whether acci
dentally or on purpose is not kuown,
but Mr. Vice President Fairbanks rec-
ognized Penrose first, and he plumped
iu a resolution of inquiry to the presi-
dent asking the wherefore of the
wholesale discharge of colored troops.
Then Foraker plumped in his resolu-
tion of inquiry to Mr. Secretary of
War William II. Taft il tmandlng of
that functionary the why of the same
transaction. What purpose Penrose
was animated by perhaps nobody will
ever know, for the most heated imag-
ination never pictured him as a presi-
dential candidate, but it requires no
particular acuteness of intellect to
guess a. hat Foraker was up to. 11c Is
a presidential candidate iu dead ear-
nest, one with whom the rest of the
Republican presidential candidates
must reckon betwixt now and the dog
days of 1!KIK. Anybody that eliminates
Iu his own mind Senator Foraker from
the presidential equation will grope in
the dark constantly. By his resolution
he sought to kill two birds with one
stone—lirst. to secure for himself the
support of negroes; second, to kill off
his Ohio rival. Secretary Taft. If he
succeeds in accomplishing those two
purposes, he will have enhanced his
own chances very much. If this Im-
broglio about the colored troops re-
moves Taft as a presidential possi-
bility. Foraker has a cinch on the
Buckeye delegation without more trou-
ble, which would enable him to devote
himself to rounding up delegations
elsewhere. If the negroes are solidly
for him, they can give him the dele-
gates from cl-ven states and aid lilin
materially In securing other delegate*.
So it Is readily seen that Senator Fora-
ker Is playing for big stakes and that
his move is bold even to temerity.
It will be remembered by those who
read these letters that I stated some
time ag'itliat. In my Judgment, as early
lis the summer of 1005 Senator I'ora
krr made up Ills mlnil (hat his only
chnnce of bagging the presidential
nomination was to draw to himself all
of the anti-Roosevelt Republicans
That he lias pnrsued that policy ever
since without shadow of turnlug must
""er l |i„,..i Yulee,of Florida served ten
... house as David Levi and
.- : tiie senate as David
• only public man iu
tnge his name after
r considerable eminence,
r; body knows that the
Senator Mitchell of Ore-
- a Hippie, to which he ndd-
i v. hen he left Pennsylvania
: t . •■ wes.. Yulee was the second
.-r.cn' | Jew t < ■.; in the senate.
.-lutes-| Other Jews who have reached the
senate are B. F. Jonas of I/niisiana,
Joseph Simon of Oregon and Isldor
Rayner of Maryland. By common con-
sent Rayner 1* counted as one of the
crack orators of the senate. He served
several terms iu the house, but his
most famous spectacular performance
was his defense of Admiral Schley,
which most likely gave him his sena-
torial toga.
In the house there are always in
these latter days some Jews. General
Meyer of Louisiana is serving his four-
teenth year and has been re elected.
He is now what Colonel Charles Fre-
mont .Cochran of St. Joseph, Mo., was
in the habit of calling "an old auil ex-
perienced member." There are others
Littauer of New York. Kahn of Cali-
fornia, Goldfogle of New York and
Knopf of Chicago; certainly those,
perhaps others that I wot not of.
A Distinguished Visitor.
Mark Twain, the most celebrated
Missourian that ever lived as well as
the most famous American author, was
in Washington recently for several
days on business with congress. lie
said himself that he was a lobbyist,
anil I say that he was a lobbyist in
the best sense of that word. Ills mis-
sion was to explain t > i- nators and
representatives his l<'"!is as to the
copyright on I'oalts. tv' lr'i he had a
perfect right to •! • and what every-
body was glad to 1 • ■ Itiin do. Wheth-
er he made much li adwi.v as to the
sort of eoj'vrl ti.t l a,1 I it lc want'
renin ins to ii" .■ 'n't i tut be reeelv
ed a royal " '•• I ' • !te hands of
all who met Mm I r. de n.aii.v peo-
ple I. p. ! ;• tt' f ■ a a chance to
sh.'iite ire hand will' i wrote "The
Jim • I •• " tor 'ilng It," "lu-
te, ts i.'d," ot.'.. re among the
w II- f 11 ■ f i lrrent. history.
I( • i;i. •• of the bed lalkers betwixt
I1 c li i. 'c ai*. I ii i lie word talker
In prefcro'i e to com 'rsa i Iona list or
riieoitletir lieeu use It Is English and
(Imager than either of the Frenchified
words, lie charmed nil who were so
fortunate as to meet him. What n
varied career (his stalwart Missourian
has had typesetter, pilot, secretary to
u secretary of a territory, miner, news-
paper reporter, editor, humorist, lac-
tam, snthor, traveler, philosopher and
Idiotic Jabber.
Certain Tittsburgers in their anger
at Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M.
Shaw by reason of the fact that he did
not choose the site of a public building
just where they desired it seem to have
thrown discretion to the winds. One
Of the papers refers to him sneeringly
us n "prairie lawyer" ana "country
banker." He was unquestionably both
of those things, but siuee when did
the term" "prairie lawyer" and "coun
try banker" become terms of reproach?
Is a lawyer any abler because he hap-
pens to live in the mountains or among
the hills? Is a banker any more capa-
ble because he happens to live in a
city rather than in the country?
Does breathing the smokeof Pittsburg
give a man mental acumen? Surely
that would be a most violent and pre-
posterous assumption. These wrathy
pittsburgers should remember that one
Abraham Lincoln, who cut somewhat
of a swath from IStil to lSllo, was only
a "prairie lawyer" prior to that time
and that many of our most celebrated
statesmen were "prairie lawyers." As
I to "country bankers," they have ilem
onstra ted the fact that they are up to
snulT financially as well as their city
brethren. The chances are that Seere
tary Shaw thwarted certain large and
Juicy speculations in real estate by se
lecting a site which. In his opinion,
would be most convenient to the most
people. He may or may not have snap-
ped his fingers In the face of the presi-
dent of the board of trade, as is allen
ed. If so, no doubt he had good cause,
for the papers had been abusing him
savagely for several days, and "prairie
lawyers" and "country bankers" have
the same right to resent abuse as have
other men. That Secretary Shaw had
any other purpose than to serve the
public will not be believed for one mo-
ment by anybody that knows him. He
may have been wrong in selecting the
site. I do not know enough about the
geography or topography of Pittsburg
to pass on that question. But if he was
wrong it was because he was misled
by the evidence. Secretary Shaw's pol
itics is bad, but nobody knowing the
man has ever questioned his integrity
or his ability
Morgan and Pettus.
Folks may poke as much fun as they
please at Senator John T. Morgan of
Alabama about his extravagance iu
length of speeches, but one thing cock-
i sure—they can't accuse that venera-
ble statesman of extravagance in cam-
paign funds. His last nomination for
the senate cost him precisely $00.
Think of that, especially in connection
with the further fact that iu Alabama
a nomination at the hands of the Dem-
ocrats is equivalent to an election!
General Morgan thinks he has a good
joke on his senate mate, General Pet
tus, because Pettus spent $2 more to
secure a senatorial nomination than lie
did. If everybody did as Generals
Morgan and Pettus do, there would be
absolutely no use for corrupt practices
acts or publicity bills or anything of
the sort.
A Bird In the Hand.
Speaking of Morgan and Pettus
brings Captain Richmond Pearson
Hobson to mind. After two redhot
fights he succeeded in defeating for re-
nomination that veteran representative
In congress, Colonel John II. Bank-
head. Thereupon at the primary elec-
tion last summer the Democrats of
Alabama nominated Colonel Bankhead
as alternate senator for Generals Mor
gan and Pettus, which means that if
either of them should resign, die or he
expelled from the senate Bankhead
would succeed him. Should that oc-
cur Captaiu Hobson will have much
food for reflection upon the fact that
he could have secured a nomination as
alternate senator with much less ex-
penditure of time, money, eloquence
and energy than was necessary to de-
feat Colonel Bankhead for a seat In
the house. One of my most brilliant
constituents, Colonel Nat C. Dryden,
was wont to say that "a bird In the
hand Is the noblest work of God."
Perhaps Captain Hobson reasoned that
way.'
Sane people everywhere, especially
the sane people of the south, most cor-
dially indorse the very sane remarks of
Hon. John Sharp Williams of Missis-
sippi, Democratic house leader, in his
recent very able speeches In Mississip-
pi on the race question. In this day of
almost universal hysteria it is refresh-
ing to peruse the utterances of a man
whose mental equilibrium is perfect.
Williams knows as much about the
race question as any living man. Ills
environment has compelled him to pon-
der it seriously. He is Interested vi-
tally in the matter from every stand-
point—moral, social, political and finan-
cial. If the people of tile nonh' really
want to know what level headed south-
erners think on the race question, they
would do well to invite Mr. Williams
to make a speaking tour of tiie north
and then give his speeches on that
subject the widest possible circula-
tion. He Is honest, capable, clear head-
ed, courageous, patriotic and, above
all other qualifications, knows what he
Is talking about.
A Gallego s Shelter
[Orlsinal.]
A party of American army officers
ordered to Cuba when the United
States intervened in Cuban affairs
were sitting in an open air cafe when
the funeral of a peasant went by. A
Cuban told the otlicers that the coffin
was hired and would doubtless be used
over and over again, the corpse being
buried without covering, whereupon
a Portuguese remarked that a similar
rastom prevailed in his native country.
He went on to explain that in Lisbon
the coffin Is substantially made, cover-
ed with red leather and studded with
a profusion of brass nails. The lid has
hinges so that it may be opened aad
shut like a trunk. When a funeral pro-
cession reaches the grave at the I'ra-
reres cemetery the undertaker's nieu
lift the coffin lid, take out tiie corpse
and lower It. The empty coffin remains
where It hi till a Gallego, a native of
GalHcia, In Spain, comes and takes it '
away. With this preface the Portu-
guese told the following story:
One rainy afternoon the guard at the
gate of the Prazercs cemetery, who had
paid more attention to keeping from
getting wet than attending to his du-
ties, glanced up the road and saw a
suspicious box lying on the ground on
one side of the road close under a
wall. The rain had driven every one
Inside, and there was not a person In
sight. Doubtless smugglers had lieen
carrying the box and, having been sur-
prised or frightened, had dropped it
and run away.
Now, the guard was a dapper little
fellow who was dying to enact some
piece of bravery, so he drew his sword
and walked slowly up the road toward
the box. Every now and again he
would pause and look about him, as if
expecting to see some person or per-
sons emerge from hiding places to re-
sume their burden. But nothing stirred
except the branches of the trees with
the wind, anil nothing was heard ex-
cept the patter of the rain. The day
was dark, and since it was late in the
afternoon a gloom was beginning to
settle over everything. There lay the
box, oblong in shape, five or six feet
In length, two, possibly, in breadth and
height. From his smuggling theory lie
began to have fears from the box it-
self. It might lie an infernal machine,
but ho rather dreaded something su-
pernatural than mechanical.
lie advanced another dozen yards,
bent forward anil peered through the
deepening gloom at the object which
so profoundly Interested liini. He saw
that the box was oblong, covered with
red leather and studded with brass
nails. It was a coffin. But tills did not
conflict with ills theory. More than
one smuggler had carried dutiable
goods into the cemetery in a coffin and
hidden them there till he could get
them away. The officer advanced a
few steps, when he again halted, ter-
ror stricken. The lid of the coffin was
opened from within, and a corpse look-
ed out.
Here was something no sword thrust
could injure. The guard turned anil
took to his heels, never stopping till he
had reached the cemetery. There lie
called to his comrades to go with hlin
to see a corpse that for some reason,
having beeu abandoned Instead of tak-
en in and decently buried, had opened
its coffin.
The men, not realizing that powder
and ball are not Ineffective In such
cases, seized their carbines and march-
ed out of the gates, their doughty com-
mander leading the way. But he had
no sooner come to a view up the road
than he saw the corpse advancing with
his coffin on his shoulder. Turning,
his face blanched, his eyes starting
from their sockets In terror, he ran
straight through the ranks. Panic Is
easily communicated, and the men,
seeing their commander's flight and a
tall spectral looking creature coming
toward them bearing his coffin, broke
and ran as fast us their legs would
carry them.
Rushing Into the cemetery, they soon
collected the men employed there and
told them that n deserted corpse was
coming to bury Itself. All gathered at
a convenient distance from the gate to
watch the specter's entrance and see
how he would dig his own grave and
by what supernatural means he would
get the earth over him. But when the
corpse reached the gate he set his cof-
fin on the ground on one end under a,
covering and looked up at those watch-
ing. There was something more hu-
man in his appearance than had ap- l
peared to the officer under the Influ-
ence of his Imagination, and he was
emboldened to advance a few steps
and call out; ^
"Who are you?"
"A Gallego. What's the matter with
you people?" ,
"Did you come out of that coffin?" j
"Yes."
"What were you doing inside of It?"
"I was carrying it to the shop after
a funeral, and the rain came on. I'm
a victim of lung trouble, and, fearing
to get wet, I set the coffin down, open-
ed the lid niul got in. Hearing gome
one approach stealthily, I thought a
trick was to be played on me—that I
would be locked In. So I just lifted the
lid to see. I didn't understand what
you fellows were runniug away from
me for and came to find out."
The officer looked sheepishly at his
men, and the men looked sheepishly at
the officer. Then they followed him
back to the gate, and the officer took
the Gallego to an Inn, leaving the cof-
fin under the care of his men, and or-
dered something hot to ward off the
chili.
"I was comfortable," said the poor
Galleg , "till you made me think I
would be locked up. Had you let me
ilone I would have been dry enough."
RUTH TWISS
ii
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Williams, J. Roy. The Lawton Constitution. (Lawton, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 27, 1906, newspaper, December 27, 1906; Lawton, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc118049/m1/4/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.