And every man, and woman, too, was forged at Birmingham,
And mounted all in batteries, each on a separate cam;
And when one showed, in love or war or politics or fever,
A sign of maladjustment, why you just pulled on his lever,
And upside down and inside out and front side back he stood;
And the Inspector saw which one was evil, which was good.
Chorus:
On the other side!
On the other side!
Oh, you must somehow see the other side!
If you'd repair or clean
This delicate old machine,
You must have a way to see the other side!
--_The Inventor's Song in, "Bedlam."_
Messrs. Sheehan and Zalinsky, before being ushered into the Turkish
room where Mr. Brassfield sat awaiting them, were told by Mr. Alvord
that, should Mr. Brassfield's position on the labor question be found
satisfactory to them, he would like to have their good offices in the
matter of getting a fair attendance at the caucuses the next evening.
As this is always an expensive thing for the patriot who engages to do
it, he, Mr. Alvord, would beg to place at their disposal funds in an
amount named by him, for use in the transportation of distant and
enfeebled voters and for such refreshment as might be thought necessary.
"Weh-ull," said Sheehan, "Fr th' carkuses only it may do. What say,
Zalinsky?"
Mr. Zalinsky, his eyes gleaming with gratification, thought the sum
named might possibly suffice.
"Good!" said Alvord. "And now come up and see the next mayor."
"What's de use?" asked Zalinsky. "Don't we know him all right? Ain't
it all fixed? I want to git busy wit me end of deliverin' de goods."
"Mr. Brassfield's views on labor----" began Alvord, but Sheehan
interrupted him.
"Your word goes wid us!" said he. "Ye've convinced us Brassfield's the
laborin' man's frind. What say, Zalinsky?"
"So!" said Zalinsky. "Ve better git to work over in de fourt' ward."
"They didn't come up," said Alvord, returning to the Turkish room.
"The figures on that card seemed to convince 'em. Now for the saloons
and their end of the vote."
"What do _they_ want?" asked Brassfield.
"Why," said Alvord, "it's the policy of the office more'n anything else
they want assurances on. I've sent for Fatty Pierson and his fellow
members of the retail liquor dealers' association, and they'll be here
by the time we dispose of this steak. I must be counted in on the
dinner--I forgot mine."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account