Any of them would be willin to do the same work for them figgers, if the people would git together and, instid of votin for officeseekers, vote for men who would make a law to only pay sich figgers for public work. Is it any wonder they want to hold Jobe and his likes in line? All Ive got to say is: If Jobe and his likes would rather have sore hands and stiff backs, if they would rather rub salve and pick briars than to quit votin the “strait ticket,” let them have them. Let them pick and rub. This strait ticket bizness is increasin the demand for St. Jacob’s oil and Green Mountain salve and sich alarminly. But as they are great on the “home market” scheme, I suppose they are satisfied, and I ort to be. CHAPTER XXIII. PLAN TO RELIEVE THE RICH OF AN EXPENSE. ON the fust page of last Tuesday’s _Plain Dealer_ there is a article that has caused me to have a great deal of thought. It is about Captain Fred W. Lawrence of Company B, of the Standin Army of Ohio, a writin to the coal operators, and railroad officers, and monopolists, and bankers, and rich speculators of Cleveland, askin them to give somethin toward supportin said army. He says he wants to git “good men in the militia—men who can be depended on to do their duty in case of _labor trouble_.” Now, Fred dont want any common scrubs in his company. He needs money to hire the kind of men he wants—“men who will do their duty in case of labor trouble.” Now what is the “duty” of sich men? What does Fred want them to do to the “laborin people”? Haint it the “duty” of good men belongin to a army, like Fred, to shoot? Judge Hutchins and Judge Blandin and some of the other polerticians say Fred hadent ort to a writ that letter, or, if he wanted to write it, he hadent ort to a writ it in that way, because _now_ it is out what the militia is for. The militia is to shoot laborin men with. They are afraid some of the laborin people will begin to ask themselves what they are votin the strait ticket for. [Illustration: “SOME GOOD MEN IN CASE OF LABOR TROUBLE.”] Fred says he jist copied that letter from the ones his predecessors in office have been sendin out to these rich people for years. Now what is botherin me is how to save them coal operators, and railroad owners, and monopolists, and rich stockholders in monopolies, from havin to pay toward sich things as “keepin up the militia.” They are leadin citizens and own the coal fields, and railroads, and banks, and trusts, and sich. They are rich, and everything should be done to make it easy for them to git along in the world without trouble. If there were no laborin men there wouldent be any need of “keepin up the militia.” So if the militia is to be used only to quiet the people who labor, the best thing I know of is to get rid of the laborin people. They seem to be a kind of unwelcome creatures in this world anyhow.