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The Commoner.
VOLUME i, NUMBER 10.
10
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Tho Ironworkor.
(Respectfully dedicatod to tho Men at
the Forge.)
Brawny and grimy he works away,
Hammer and unvll and drill,
'And tho fiery sparks in tho shadows
gray
Mark time to tho hammer's ceaseless
play
As it works its master's will.
Cling, clang, cling!
Hear tho anvil ring
In musical rhyme with the hammer's
swing.
And stroke by stroko the yielding steel
lncrtlr tfcj ninplci'V mill in finl
--'v'3"D "" uiuci o trill lu iLVi,
And bending, glowing beneath his
bunds
Soon comes to do his stern commands.
Long years ago old Tubal Cain
Hammered nnd beat and drilled,
And tho music rang o'er hili and plain
Till thoy echoed back with a glad re
frain And ail tho world was filled.
Clang, tling, clnng!
Thus his hammer rang
In fiorv rhvinn with Mm onnno i, on-,
And fused and forged 'midst smoko
and heat
Until beneath his hammers beat
Tho sturdy iron, black and still,
Blushed rosy red to do his will.
When Solomon said that wondrous day
His temple stood with finished grace
Lot him stand forth in front, I pray'
Who thinks his work has paved the
way
To make this wondrous place."
Cling, rlang, cling!
And the blacksmith's spring
Brought him beside the proud old
king.
T.min?(,lG ,th0 AooIs the wooers used,"
The blacksmith said. The old kinc
mused. fa
"Who made your tools?" The smith's
faco shono
As ho quick replied: "I made my
BrawnsytiiruI 8rlmy th smitu iiis
Hammer n?wi nn .,. i L
kj i , , ""vi una nunc.
$ ?ftbll,1lds mnchines to do his will
the th?m wcrId. doth feel
Ulng, clang, cling!
Hear tho auvil ring
""swing!'1171110 Wlth th0 hammer's
Alld So ' aUU laUie aDd huge 'ma'
?onaow d.handa are seen
logiowal move and do each (ask
The master mind of the man may a!k.
FanTinga;nd mercliant nd railway
Millionaire, paupor tramp,
POnswing thG CCaSeleSs eat an
Of hammers that make the anvils rine
nnJtV? tllQ iron Its staP
Beat, beat, beat!
In tho foro-fire's heat
TrLrd W,0rld rlnes wlfcu the
music sweet.
Tnf1n0rfged,and welded ino the whole
I" tho sturdy will of the worker's soul
to wortrhito?S W0JW IS ?mS
steel workers in'jron and
., S1,ht Into"PtIon.
tornho ' Said thQ o. p. oro-
tectlng arms aW 2 urow 0ur ro-
brothoSrinmthoso0uth0Hjhabused Mac
ta- ThQ cruel treat
ment he receives at the hands of the
haughty southrons is a disgrace to our
civilization, and we of the north
should lose no opportunity to show
our detestation of tho gruel and in
human practice of lynching a man
simply because he is black, and not
give him a fair trial before"
"Biff! Bang! Bang! Crash boom
bang!" "Great Scott, what's that!" ex
claimed the interrupted orator.
"0, that's only some of the boys
storming the jail to get a nigger,"
said a humanitarian in the audience.
"Go right ahean with your . speeSh.
They won't interrupt us long, 'cause
the jail door is mighty frail."
Chilly.
"Geo, but that's a cold crowd," mut
tered the front end of the knockabout
vaudeville team.
"Worst I ever saw," replied the rear
end of the same team. "They don't
catch on at all. Them jokes we sprung
don't feaze 'em."
"Worst lot of Rubes I ever seen,
they are. What Rube convention do
you ciiinic 13 in town now?"
"Don't know, but there's the man
ager. Ask him."
"That crowd?" said the manager.
"Why those fellows are members of
the Press Humorists' association."
And then the knockabout team
grew wise. They were springing the
jokes on the men who manufactured
them amidst fearful mental travail.
Tho G. O. P. M. C.f
lie beat his breast and loudly said
"I crave investigation."
He said, too, "I'm quite free from
crime
And hold in detestation."
But when a move was made to search
He made duo preparation,
And with a screech he made a speech
Full of tergiversation.
Ho Pawed the air and tore his hair
With many a wild gyration.
And when at last they proved the
cnarco
-Was based on actuality,
Crawfe48?hi b? V0 1VissUIn t0 save
brawled through a technicality.
Growing Cold.
Darling," he murmured, "you are
as sweet as sugar." ' u are
"Boo-hoo," she sobbed. "Your Iovp
is growing cold.'- 10e
iJ'iat makes you thinl that, dear"
Hundred times ewoeler than sugL."
Whoa Rlloy Blushod.
When James Whitcomh Tn
in Lincoln a fewZln!iIy was
greeted with an entlml nor80' h,e was
and the poet was s SiS tli a!Idihce,
efforts. Of course Z a t0 lis best
following the entertainoCC;e(led' but
with anmbarrass ngiD aventur
tie note requesting w d, a dainty M-
Old SweetE 5fhMlnl2ead "Tt
name signed to thl lue' and the
ono of Lincoln's oQ W,as that
matrons. "ncoms charming young
matron, fairlv Won ent thQ young
thanking him Riley and began
J-w'mu'ch lfeffi vT ,"5 ,dea
tt fading SJ
i
quested you to read."
"I am happy if I nave given you
pleasure," replied Mr. Riley, with his
best bow.
"0 they are so beautiful. I ha .re
read 'them so often that they are in
delibly stamped upon my memory.
"You flatter me, my dear madam,
said the poet.
"The tender sentiment in the lines
are so beautiful," gushed the matron.
"They certainly were written from,
the bottom of your heart. How proud
one should feel in the knowledge that
they had inspired such beautiful sen
timents. I know' Mrs. Riley must be
one of the happiest of women, and I
would be so delighted to meet her.
May I not hope to' have the exquisite
pleasure some time?"
"I hope so, madam, ' said Riley,
blushing like a schoolgirl. "And iC
ever you do meet her I wish you would
let me know how she looks. I have
never seen her, and I often wonder
whether she is blonde or brunette,
short or tall, slim or"
But the gushing young matron had
disappeared.
This little incident recalls another
that has been told before. At a social
function a young woman approached
Mr. Riley and after gushing for a few
minutes, said:
"0, Mr. Riley, how fortunate you
are. I understand that you get a dol
lar a word for everything you write."
"Yes, that's true," said Riley. But
sometimes I sit for a whoie day and
can't think of a blamed word." ,.
Brain Leaks.
As long as we cling to sin we cannot
eret close to Hod.
A big man can sometimes creep
through a very small hole.
If our plans all went right we would
soon be too lazy to work at all.
March is the month wnen town
men do most of their gardening.
Parents who allow their children to
grow wild must expect to reap bitter
fruit.
Some philanthropy is very much
like giving collars to men who have
no shirts.
The greatest "roundevs" are very
apt to talk loudest about being
square" men.
The man who says the world is
growing worse should do something to
clear his eyesight.
,i ne,d? not share our Wessings
with God, how can we expect Him to
snare our sorrows?
God's hand reaches down only just
JfnnSnUsh f0r lls to reach il by
standing on our tip-toes.
When a man begins to sacrifice his
S?!a intf ests r his business inter
ests he should be watched. 7
wihie Pan who tries to "taper off" a
bad habit would make better process
by trying to wash charcoal white
ofTnfhfcrit " covel's a multitude
exerdsed fnrV Charlty which is
PrfVrSo at Specific purllose.
HfH gi:0n ls something more than
sitting in a nnRhinno . ' . ,uian
Measure of being anoyeyd $
a23Smtao?hSSnS t0 amm
Ply by earofni.,, .S?..WS men slm-
man's ways. ""'""ing some big
w2S asltin
r her hiffl
Are We Honest
I believe you are, and I am willing
to let you jud-ome. I honestly b
lieve I have a hook worth a dollar n
you, and I believe you will think so
after you see tno book. Tao book k
one I published myself, and it is made
up of the poems and sketches thaf
have appeared ia the "Whether Com'
mon or Not" department of The Coin
moner, and in other publications 1
wrote them all myself. Tho book is
cloth bound, sold side and back
stamps, foreword by Mr W. J. Bryau
and has 277 pages. The price is One
Dollar.
A FAIR PROPOSITION.
If you say so T'U send you the book
on suspicion. If you think it is worth
a dollar, send me the money, if you
do not think so send the bock bacic
in good conditionnatural wear and
tear expected nnd we'll call it square
I make this offer for two reasonsone
is I think the hook is worth the dol
lar, and secondly, I think you will
think so and send me the money.
AN OPEN CONFEbSlON.
Perhaps you would like to know
-why I am so anxious to sell my book.
I'll tell you I need the money. Now
drop me a card and say you'd like to
receive my hook on suspicion, ru
take it for granted you are willing to
pay tor it if vou like it. and think it
worth the monny, and I'll send it to
you by the next mail.
WILL M. MAUPIN
2022 South 17lh St. LinT.!n, Neb.
to show it to him. When a man
burns his hand his wife knows it long
before Jie can show her the blister.
There are some philanthropists who
imagine' that feeding the- minds of
their fellows will make amends for
starving their bodies.
We know a man with five children
and nine horses; and although he does
not know the hirthday of a single
child, he can tell the exact date of
birth of each of his nine horses.
"I'm always glad when ' we have
company, because then my wife al
ways has something good to eat?" Did
you ever hear a man spring that?
When we get to making laws for tins
country the punishment for springing
that chestnut will he twenty-seven
years at hard labor.
CR.EATED WEALTH
Something from nothing a garden
from a desert. Such is the histoiy of
irrigated sections. Take land that sells
for 50 cents an acre, put water on it,
and it sells for what? There aie
quarters of land in irrigated sections
of Colorado that cannot be purchased
for $20,000 and which earn a remunei
ative interest .on that valuation.
And yet you can purchase irrigated
lands where the soil is perfect beyond
belief, where the water supply is plen
tiful and inexhaustible, where climatic
conditions are healthful and exhilar
ating, where fuel is abundant slid
cheap, for from $15 an acre up.
THE REASONS:
The North Platte Valley, extending
from Bridgeport, Neb., to Guernse,,
Wyo., and the Big Horn Basin, Wyom
ing, haye been hut recently made
available for settlement by the exten
sion of the .Burlington railroad into
those sections." The irrigating compa
nies must have settlers along their
ditches and they offer substantial In
ducements in the shape of lo'w-pnced
water rights and lands.
HOW LONG WILL TlllS CONDITION
CONTINUE?
None may say surely, but it won't bo
for long, and the sooner you invest
the cheaper will you he ahle to do so,
fpr the advance is Just as sure as has
heen the advance in the price of sim
ilar lands in other sections.
For further information wiito to J
Franois, General Passenger Agent,
Burlington Route, Omaha.
4$
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