BUSINESS
VERSUS
POLITICS
How " 'Coups" 'Are Effected and
the- People Wonder Why,
By ERNEST McGAFFEY
" Live Ones" Ketp
Tab on AvAlUble
Route
between City Halt
nd Inner Circles of
Commercial Llfe
J.
IN knocking about
III politics, Hponk-
ing, electioneering,
canvassing, and oc
casionally casting
f. bout for Hiiltablo
candidates, togoth-
or with tho mom active of thu
ward politicians, I often mot. with
tho "htiHlnoHH" men of tho ward.
Men in all noils of llii'ja, hardware
and "soft ware," real cHlato men, gro
cers, butchers, bakers, plumbers, and
all iii, Democrat, Republican, Inde
pendent, Labor, Socialist, Socialist'
Labor, and oven, whon wagglBhly In
ollned, tho portrait of the Prohibition
candldato.
tlcular Htar of verbiage had boon an
nounced to speak. Nationality cut
always a figure, HomctlmeB more,
somotlincs Icbs, in their predilections,
but porsonal Internst was tho key
Now, your "business man" who waB stono of tho arch of tholr political
on good terms with his employes, was gatoway. Occnnlonally n proposal lo
a political powor to some extent. He
did not control, by virtue of tho Aus
tralian ballot, tho rotes of tho men
who worked In his establishment; but
If ho was a shrewd man, and treated
his men right, ho could swing a good
many votes tho way ho wanted them.
What so easy as to havo a quiet "talk
with tho men," showing them that tho
prosperity of tho business, tho sue-
do something which might Intorfero
with their Ideas of right or wrong,
or entail considerable pecuniary sac-
flco upon thorn, would result In "mans
meetings," which wore largely attend
ed, and at which much pyrotechnlcal
oratory was Indulged In. At these
mnBS meetings they generally had the
aldermen in the ward attend; and
when tho alderman got up to speak,
cess of tho plant (tho workmen's ho know what was expected of him,
and usually "went with tho current."
If ho didn't, he would "go up tho
Bpout" tho next time ho ran.
Tho business men In the different
wards had a great deal more powor
than thoy divined, but as "business"
bread and butter, d'yo see) depend
ed on tho election of this or that Bet
of men? Was It done? Well, Well!
Certainly when a "boss" wub dis
liked ho could not have swung a soli
tary vote with a hawser, but whon
Uier pursuits; coal dealers, printers, j,j election, from alderman to prosl
jewelers, restaurant men, uuiors u
was wonderful what, a variety there
was in tho way of business enter
prises. Now, no man can carry on any busi
ness whatsoever In a ward without
tho iffn liked and respected him, they was their first thought, they left pol-
eoulu be and were influenced by that
inrtglc argument, nationally cele
brated, locally vital, the "full dlnnor-pall."
fills argument could be used In any
dent. These big business men sel
dom personally hold any Interviews
with tho "small fry" politicians of tho
ward. They had their representatives
to deal with tho question, and when
fully identified with any particular
Hading that politics Is going to cut party, they wore counted on to con-
some kind of a figure In his chosen tribute to the. campaign fund. Tho
lino. It mny be directly, or it may be popular idda of money spent in polit-
indirectly, but it is sum to affect him leal Warfare Is that It goes Tor whisky
In some way. A good many business and to brlbo' voters. Comparatively
men simply shrug their shoulders and little goes Tor whisky to what It was
charge politics to "profit and loss." In the old days, and as for bribery,
Tho condition or a street or district what's the use of "bribing" a man to
was a matter of politics; tho paving vote, whon ho can take the money and
and sidewalk surroundings, whether vote as ho pleases, and no one be the
good or bad, meant politics; tho health wiser as to how ho voted?
of tho ward depended on It; tho llfef.t- The bulk of tho money in cnmnaimi
lug of tho streets at night and the expenses goes for thoroughly cnnvnss-
sprlnkllng of them In summer and tho UK tho wards and getting all the vot-
removal of tho snow in winter was t,K strength out; for sending out cir
"polltlcs;" tho schools, parks, alloys, culars and other campaign literature;
boulevards why, tho very air one for hiring halls, and hnck him for ora
broathed and the water ho drank was tors; for brass bands and torch-light
a mattor of politics. nrocessions: for carrlaire hlrn tn tnnkn
And yet tho majority of the bus!- a thorough canvass of tho ward by tho
noss men dabbled only In politics as candidates; for'tho precinct captains
it might happen to affect their partlcu- on election day: for printing bills, and
it .11.
divers omer expenses. tug money
that "goes ovei tho bar" Is what tho
candldato himself puts up as a rule.
Now the business men contributed
their checks to boo the men win
notes
lar lino of work A paving contract
or or a sldowalk builder was sum
to bo active; a grocer or n butcher,
passive. Every saloon koepor waB an
activo partisan of both sides, as could
bo roadlly Inferred from tho pictures
of all candidates hung conspicuously to them In a pinch; thoy solected tholr and maddened by the sound of human
Nothing Is So Obnoxious as the Aver
age Pedestrian.
iticB to the politicians; and thereby
who thoy thought would bo friendly nunS theIr scalps. But once aroused,
In his wlndown, together vsjth a rep
resentation of the Hag of our country
bringing up tho rear.
Somo buslnoss men who havo largo
IntorostB. manufacturers doing a
wholosalo business, for iiiBtnnco, usu
ally had somo one In tholr company or
corporation, who kopt unassuming,
but close, "tab" on political doings.
Thoso concorns Bometlmes wanted to
"Grab off" Bomo out-of-the-way Httlo
chunk of ground for a stub switch-
ond, to run In cars to their factories;
party candidates when thoy could, oratory, and thoy would sometimes de
and 1 am of tho opinion that tho most ve,P into a 80,1,1 voting force that
of tho "big men" wanted absolutely would swoop tho politicians off their
trustworthy and rollablo candidates
who would not be too ferociously stub
born about granting any llttlo "harm-
loss" privilege Thoy were bitterly
opposed to "graft," of whatover party
feot. But as a rule they were apa
thetic about everything but the fetish
of "business."
Thoso who wero business men and
politicians combined, who had a pay-
1 j
thoy happened to belong to, but they 1K business and a paying combination
had their Individual Ideas of what with ofllcial life, wore not an unusual
that baleful term meant. sight; and these wore surely tho
For luBlanco, suppose somo highly subtlest In the game. If tholr candl
ropubtablo merchant wanted to ole- date lost ont. and tney were gently
vato tho sldowalk above his nlao of separated from tho "trough," they
business to facilitate tho handling of simply smueu and went on doing busl
freight. Suppose such an elevation ness at tUo 0,(1 stand." if their can
practically "hogged" that part of the dldate won, and thoy were retained In
sidewalk, to tho exclusion of tho pass- office, they won out at "the store,"
lug pedestrians who demurred at nnd also at tho "city hall," thus both
climbing up tho elevated sldowalk, "eating their cake and having it,"
there to stumble over skids and and outdoing in completeness the
through piles cf boxes and barrels, southern process of catching tho
Was that any part of tho public's busl- 'possum "a-comin' or a-gwino."
noss? Pish, and also Flo! Nothing isiinest m-gaffey.
so oluinxloiiH r.s tin, nvnrn.m o,ia. opyrig.u, "y oowpn is. uowies.)
trlan. Ho Is nhvayB gettintr tanuled
up in electric cars, or cabs, or skids,
or whoels, and having his plebeian
The Figures Settled It.
Two men got Into an argument dur-
anatomy defaced or broken by getting ,nB luncht,n, In the Astor hoso ro
In thn wnv of "nrmn-nuu tuiida at New York the other day.
Then thoro was another
business man. This was
type of
tho typo
that had no particular ax to "grind.'
Thoy wero "party men," who gen
erally held tholr conferences with the
"down town" lendors, and who played
"politics" In a gentool way. They
nover contributed unless they knew
One was from the oast, one from tho
west. Each had many things to say
of tho infinite inferiority of tho rest
of the country. Finally tho man from
tho east challenged: "Come out hero
an' got licked, you big stiff;" he
begged.
"You can't lick me," said tho other,
whnrn tho ninnnv wna imtnir in nnA UeCiUCUiy,
... . . . " ' "Pnr'n v T Vn Hnlr trw I
the man from the east.
shouted
"Lookee
here."
Ho wont to a weighing machine
near at hand and solemnly climbed
up on It. Ho peored at the dial for a
Every Saloon Keeper Was an Active - - - - mph. "Two hunner' and forty-elght
thoy did not uso politics as a means
to an onu. aomotimos they wero
choson as nldermanlc, or other candi
dates, and whon elocted made good
ofllcials.
Thoy worn often selected for posl-
Partisan of Both 8ides.
or maybo thoy wanted to scaro away
somo costly smoko-consumlng device;
or choke off a paving schomo; or save
thoy represented what might bo
tormod tho passive respectability of
tho party. Tho "actLvo" respectabil
ity of tho parties was divided among
tho professional men, "big" mer-
money In somo othor way. Thoy vory chants, small tradesmen and ward pol.
shrewdly, therefore, kopt in closo ltlcians, in proportions which varied
communication with tho ward lead- according to localities. Sometimes
era of both parties, nnd while thoy one of theso men would turn "ro-
wore of course patriotic, thoy did not former" and often ho made a vory per
allow patriotism to warp tholr com- slstont nnd activo man behind tho gun
morclal Judgment. of roform. Reform, bad as It some-
Thoy contributed to tho logltlmato times Is, must bo credited with having
exponsos of tho ward and municipal accomplished much, both In local and
pounds. Cer'nly- I c'n lick you."
Tho westerner walkod over to the
scales and focused one ovo on the
.11 i i si it i 1 1
uuuuiu. uuess inui a n , no com
mented. "GIssa drink, bartendor."
Who can say, after that, there Is
need for an Internationa Peace so
cloty.
n I
campaigns, generally had Bomo sort
of representation in the ofllcial rosters
of tho ward clubs, and displayed a
commondablo activity in public af
fairs from the simple ronson that or by a personal call. You uovor saw
they could not afford to bo "dead a "bunch" In your life so Immune
onos." Business men who wore activo from campaign oratory. Many of thorn
democrats, or activo Republicans, ns took tholr politics from tholr papers,
national politics.
aooui mo oniy way tho avorago
business man could bo roached with
political argument, was olthor by mall,
tho case might bo, boldly hung tho pic
tures of their party candidates on tho
outer battlements moaning tho plate-
glass windows of their establishments.
Dut of course If n man was an "all-
round" politician, llko the proprietor
and votod straight tho tickot which
their odltor had solected for thorn.
Thoy might bo Induced to read cam-
Work as a Necessity,
Work is as necessary to matorial
advancement as am air and water to
Ufo. A man can gain nothing by
standing Idly by, excopt tho nnmo of
a drono In tho human hive, who ox
Ists by tho sweat of othors. You must
be up and doing If you would advance
You must not wait for opportunity, but
create the opportunity for yourself.
The Honest Friend.
Wo am all travolers In what John
Hunynn calls tho wilderness of this
world, and tho best that wo find in
our travels Is an honest friend. Ho Is
l . 1. .... if 1 1 i t. I -
luiBii uuuiiiiim n invy tuuuiiuu mo a fOrUinatO vovaeor wlin fliwlu
houBO on Saturday so as to bo on hand Wo travel, Indeed, to nnd them. Thoy
fni- Qnrwlnv lint Minv "M.ut numxl" I t ..., i ... '
w. iuu niu vim anu rnwnru nr nro nnu
of u "thirst boudoir," he hutttr Uom 1 tho meetings, unless somo bright par-1 urt Louis Stovenson.
Work thought out ahead Is half
done.
Keep cheery and half of your
troubles will disappear.
The runty pig Is. poor stock to raise
and should never bo bred from.
Have you ever been able to discover
tho economy of tho half-starved calf?
Tho kind of crops a man grows Is
a pretty good index to the man's
character.
A mash of two quarts of middlings
will put tho pigs In condition for mar
ket next fall.
In picking your breeder for next
year's stock remember that the roostor
is more than half the flock.
Open up a burlap bag at the seam
and throw over the cow when milking.
It will prove a big protection from the
flies and will help keep her quiet.
Alcohol, tobacco, Iced-drlnks, stimu
lating food and strong tea and coffee
Increase the effects of the hot
weather.
The shiftless farmer is half glad of
the break In the machine that takes
him to town where he can loaf and
gossip for half a day.
The farmer who loves the soft side
of his bed In tho morning more than
ho does a soft bed for his crops, is the
farmer who never discovers that farm
ing pays.
Clean, out tho horse stalls every day.
Shako out tho bedding, removing tho
stained litter and putting tho rest on
a rack to dry and air. Then sweep
out the stall so it will get dry.
She Was a Hard Milker. Summer
Boarder "How much milk does that
cow you are milking give?" Perspir
ing and Overworked Milker "She
don't give none. What yer get yer-got
to work hard fer."
Better to try, and in the trying make
mistakes than not to try at all. The
firmer that Is not ready to- experi
ment with now methods and new
crops oven though his first attempts
are a partial failure, Is the farmer who
never Improves.
Wire fences increase tho danger to
stock from lightning, but this danger
can be almost entirely overcome by
running a wire which Is In contact
with all the wires of the fence Into the
ground. Such wires should be placed
at about every tenth to fifteenth post.
Pigs In the clover is no joke, neith
er is It a puzzle. The puzzle is that
any farmer should try to raise pigs
without giving them pasturage, and the
joke, if joke there be, is on tho fellow
whose hogs are not ready for market
when thoy should be. It pays to keen
tho pigs growing, and good pasturage
with gram feed Is the thing that will
do tho turn.
Keep your eye on the new machine
for loosening bolts. Small parts am
apt to work loose during tho first sea
son's uso. Certain boxes or bearings
may fit too tightly, thus causing them
,to heat, while others may 4td tight
ening. Them is nothlmr that will
.shorten the life of farm machinery
(moro than the carelessness of not
keeping all nuts, screws and lues tlirht
A wrench should always bo found In
connection with machines which are
lln operation, and It should bo U3ed
when necessary.
Rye makes a good early pasturo In
tho spring and a lato pasturo in tho
fall. It Is very hardy and will grow
on very poor land, and make n fnh
quality of hay when cut and cured at
tho right time. Whon plowed under,
it will ndd humus to tho soil, and ns n
winter crop It Is the best that wo can
n .
hiuw in mo norm, uno matter wo
should koop in mind, and that is not
to allow it to got too large boforc
plowing under. This makes trouble
tor whon plowed under It is apt to
shut off the water connections from
below, and tho growing crop will suffer
from the effects of dry weather.
Let the beginner bo content with a,
small flock.
It is a poor plan to try and keep
eggs too long In hot weather.
There Is still room at the top for
the intelligent, progressive farmer.
Managed right the hog will do more
for the farmer than most any other
animal.
Tho first two years of a cow's life al
most inevitably determlno her futuro
usefulness.
Even flow of milk can be secured
from most cows by proper manage
ment and feed.
Commercial apple growing Is pay
ing Increasing dividends to those en
gaged In the business.
Plenty of shade for the hens theso
lays. And they must havo a cool
house to roost In at night.
The game of checkers in the corner
store may sharpen your wits, but it
will not drive out the weeds from tho
corn field.
Poor plan to house the young chicks
and the old fowls together. The old
birds are moro than apt to pick on
the little fellows.
If the cats are fed extra well during
the period when tho young chicks are
running free you will find thoy will
not be so prone to an occasional
chicken dinner.
When you put the incubator away
wero you careful to see that the water
tank was empty? Tho ground makes
a good place to set the late broody
hen. Protect from sun and rain.
The horse that is hard to catch In
the pasture can bo coaxed to your side
if when you go to get bim you take him
a little sugar. A few times trying and
ho will learn to come trotting up to
you for the expected treat.
It does seem sometimes that the fre
quent housing of the different ma
chines used during tho season is a
waste of time, but you will not think
so when you find that the well-cared-for
machine will outlast two of your
careless neighbor.
Don't let your brain go to sleep
while you are doing tho farm work.
Keep eyes and ears open for new
sights and sounds that will place you
In closer touch with your crops and
stock and enable you to more intelli
gently provide the conditions which
will mean success for you.
Is the milking machine safe to use?
A New Jersey dairyman who used one
of tho patent milking devices states,
that under his own personal operation,
the machines actually increased tho
milk flow, but that when the duty was
laid on an overworked superintendent,
seme of tho cows were injured. It
would seem, therefore, that the opera
tion of a milking machine calls for
carefulness and intelligence.
The little girl who said that the
best way to keep milk from souring
was to leave it in tho. cow paid a de
served compliment to the cow without
knowing it and unconsciously con
demned her elders for uncleanly
methods. The milk stays sweet in the
bag because kept away from contam
inating germs. The cleaner the meth
ods in the dairy while the milk is be
ing drawn and while it is being
handled tho longer will it keep sweet
and wholesome.
One farmer who has been troubled
with rats and successfully got rid of
them did it in the following way: He
put out corn meal for several nights,
and when.the suspicions of the shrewd
old rats are allayed, put out the samo
kind of bait In the samo place with
any good rat poison well mixed. After
one dose, those remaining will not
touch poisoned bait of any kind for
some time, and probably nover tho
same kind. In a week or so put out
somo other kind of bait, llko cheese
or meat, and repeat tho operation.
Traps will catcli a few, but tho best
plan is to mako buildings and gran
aries as nearly vermin-proof as possi
ble. The practical value of denntured al
cohol to tho farmer Is still a matter
of live Interest. Dr. H. W. Wiley,
chief of the bureau of chemistry, de
partment of agriculture, replying to
a request for information about tho
federal appropriation, said:
"The appropriation of $10,000 for
demonstration purposes, is expected
to bo utilized In tho oroctlon of a
small distilling plant, In which wo can
demonstrate tho feasibility and profit
of making alcohol from tho wnsto
materials of the farm, and from somo
products which may bo specially
grown for this purpose. Wo shall In
vito each of tho oxporlmont stations
to send us a man to rocolve what
benefit ho. can from our experiments,
and instructions from thoso operating
the plant hero."
