Rensselaer Union, Volume 10, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 March 1878 — Brother Gardner on Office-Seeking. [ARTICLE]

Brother Gardner on Office-Seeking.

“Iz dar a lone man in dis hall who wants an offis?” asked Brother Gardner, as the members suddenly ceased to blow their noses and shuttle their feet. •‘Yes—l iz dat lone man!” called a score of voices. “Same rush o’ blood to de hed dat de white man hez!” was the sorrowful remark of the President, as he gave a pull at his shirt-collar. “ Dat’s another faze o’ human natur, an’ I reckon its one of de worst in de woodpile. De more time I put in on dis pastur’ o’ human life de more I see dat de average man had radder live on soup an’ crackers an’ draw de pay of a small office dan to shove de jack-plane, an’ live lik a prince. De young man am brung up to feel dat work is degradin’ an’ dat holdin’ offis is de top story, an’ de day is cumin’ when you’ll hev to hunt dis town wid a fine-tooth comb to Sit sight of a man who works by de ay an’ isn’t ’shamed of de sack! Ah! you niggers am like all the rest! De minit you git outer bed in de mawnin’ you is finkin’ dat if you only had an offis to hole you’d be de biggest pill’ in de box, an’ when you go to bed at night it-is to dream dat you is Lawd Mayor of Toledo, wid seventeen white bosses ter draw yer aroun’. Look at dis wool. See how de kinks am bleachin’ out to de color o’ snow! Look at dis tremblin’ neck—dis aiged mouf —dese totterin’ ears. Den ax me if I haven’t put in fifty-eight y’ars o’ time on dis terreshul globe! Hez I eber heldoffis? Hez I eber shook hands wid all de loafers, drunk whisky wid all de bummers, lied to all de Recent men, an' been dispised by de hull community? I reckon not. Do de boys hoot me as I pass along? Not a hoot! Do de men sneer at me as I enter a corner grocery? Not a sneer! Do de burglars an’ thieves avoid moon de avenue? Not an avoid! Gem’len, let de offis bisness alone. De furder you keep away from it de more face you’ll hev to ride on de platform of a street kyar in de daytime. De workin’ man pegs right along y’ar after y’ar, growin’better ez he grows older. De offis-holder kicks up a heap o’ dust for a few months an’ den is roasted in de oven of ingratitude an’ fed to de curs of unthankfulness.”— Detroit Free Press. Living fifty-four years in one village, and during that time repairing 18?000 watches, for each of whiqh he received pay, is the history of a jeweler of Sandy Hili, N. C.