Palo Alto High School - Madrono Yearbook (Palo Alto, CA)

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he wanted to. but didn't want to take a chance with the others. Rut if we have Rucklin it is also necessary to have Hardeman—if it is possible to get them on the same side at once. James Walker is also included in the list, although doubtfully. It is very bard to say whether it will be possible to persuade him to take off his smock and don bis silk bat. and show himself as the true power behind the American Party. And last are the leaders of the Women’s Party— “The leaders of this party are Catharine Rrusstar and Mary May Gorringe. They lead it like a cat does a kitten—by the neck. I f they can he convinced you will have the Women's Party behind, you twice. Miss Killam continued: “The last one on this part of the list is Herbert Dwight. It is scarcely possible to call him a politician hut he has a great following. He made his start some years ago speaking at student-body meetings at P. A. I . II. S.. and has never been able to lose the habit. Because of the unusual climatic conditions it is important that some- one look after the physical welfare of the workers. I)r. Dwight Wil- bur is by far the best fitted for this position. We will he very fortunate if we are able to secure him as lie is verv busv and takes an almost lanati- • cal pride in his work. It is also evident that men, placed in unnatural con- ditions with no form of amusement, will tend to degenerate. Because ot this I have added the great theatrical magnate, Alexander Briggs. Mr. Briggs was a very successful actor until he had a lapse of memory and spoke the murder scene of ’Macbeth’ in ’Midsummer Nights Dream.’ Me would never consent to act again and so took up the business side of it. There are only two more on my list. One of them is Stephen Arata, the dry goods king. He visited the office a short time ago and made a very business-like hid to supply the tents for the workers, should the project go through, 'flic other was a person by the name of Daley. “This man Daley came hustling into the office the other day. Wears a sombrero, two six-shooters, and a six-inch star. He says In is sheriff of Belt Hole, Nevada, and a power to he reckoned with. When he heard of you he decided that perhaps you could help him out as you were considering doing the reclamation work near Belt Hole, and would hold power in that region. He is due to call in a quarter of an hour. “Hmmmmm—well, take these notes and then show him in. I will make him governor if he gets all these men together and ready to talk business. The first is to look up General Ashley. I Pc’s the guy that put down the mess on the Island of Yap—T think he is in charge of the troops 125 J

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added John Simmons. He is the bald gentleman who sometimes writes love lyrics. ‘'Secondly I have placed the engineers. Xo doubt you have heard of the engineering firm of Carr.duff Scofield. After breaking all track records they couldn't leave it so they took to laying the railroad from Colon to Ticrra del Fuago. For seeing to the complicated machinery I have chosen Hal Brokaw. In spite of his ever present dress suit and monocle he is by far the most competent leader in his work. Another engineer that is to he considered is Ben Howard. His selection is very doubtful, however, as his third wife has him tied up in a divorce case. For overseeing the computations that will he necessary in such work 1 suggest Kathryn Burrow!-. “Now in order to get public sentiment and on your request 1 have looked ii]) ad the leading newspaper men and journalists. X’orris James, at the head of the International Press Syndicate, is able to give us an un- limited amount of publicity. Blit besides him it will be necessary to have well known journalists who already have a wide following of readers. Eric Jordan—” “Eh—isn't he the one who writes these poems like ‘Lassoing Hearts with Spagett and ‘I Love N on. Dear Bonchcad?’ Now how in the world is he going to help this along? ' Exactly because he does write these things. Get him busy writing poems on the reclamation and be will reach a great many people who would never have thought of the desert reclamation. “t ’h-huh, well let him stay there then. “Besides Jordan there is the writer for the women's magazines, Car- olyn Peirce. It is said that Miss Peirce has more influence over the women of America than any other person. “Must he the one that gives mv wife all these fool ideas. ’ Hender- son glowered and parted his beard in the middle. “Go on. “I have also taken the liberty to add another writer—John Buck- waiter. Perhaps you remember him as the lawyer who lost twelve cases in a row and then began to study mental telepathy. Since then lie has become the leading exponent for that science and has become wideiv known. IIis writing in favor of the project would have wide influence. “Though we can more or less count on the politicians falling into line under the pressure of public opinion, wc must reckon with them. Louis Bucklin heads these. He is the person who caused the uproar by declining to run for the Senate when he heard that his opponent wasn't going to be Thomas Hardeman. Said he could beat Hardeman any day [24]

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stationed in the reclamation district. W hen it is convenient call up the Kleine Detective Agency and see if Clarence Swabey has found any clue to the lost collar button—and don't have him prove that he took it him- self as he did in several other cases of his. It is a clever trick but it gets monotonous. That will be all: show Daley in when he arrives. Miss Killam left to do some more thinking for the promoter. A few minutes later there breezed in a picture of the wild and woolly West such as Henderson had never seen equalled even in the moving pictures. He was short and round : a disintegrating sombrero drooped over his face: a pair of cowhide boots pinched his toes: two outrageously large horse-pistols dangled from his hips. Henderson began to get nervous. The apparition, shooting out a hand confidently, informed Henderson that he was .Sheriff Daley of Belt Hole. Nevada. “Well, Sheriff Daley, what can 1 do for you? In some respects Henderson didn’t differ much from the ordinary office boy. Daley seated himself on the desk and made himself comfortable for an all night session. “Now, Hendy, you savvy it’s this way. licit Hole is just about as nice prosperin’ a community as ever had the misfortune to horn in on that crawlin' piece of real estate that these guys who write pomes go loco about. Anyway thev’s a fair population of hombres there and they all know what thev’s hollerin' fer. Now me, as sheriff of this thrivin’ metropolis, had kept the shootings down to one a year fer twenty- year—an’ it always come about that the Scalpes—that’s the name of the party agin me—got their man picked off. So I kept me job and in a few more years they wouldn’t have been any Scalper party left. But I didn’t have no hand in that—I let them have a murder a year and hereby testify that it was a good institution—gave the multitude somethin’ to talk about. Well now along comes this hombre Boyson—straight from Xu York with a lot of fancy knots about the way to keep order. And he ups and runs fer sheriff. Now any other year I could have lice hawed in his face but this year somethin’ went wrong. About ten of my backers died and that left it so Boyson could win the election on his own vote—and I grants him the right. So there you have the whole family histry and the skeletin thrown in. Now—I hear as that you were horning our way and I thought 1 might set your pinto in the right direction—of course if you see that I get the safekeeping of Belt Hole.” Well. Mr. Daley—don’t know that there is anything that you can do—except—well, get all these men on this list together where I can get at them. I’ve tried every method I know.’’ [26J