her words, what does 'E
Pluribus Unum' mean?"
"Why," replied the chairman with scorn in his manner; "everybody
oughter know it means, 'Hurrah for the red, white and blue.'"
"Thank you," returned Isham, puffing at his pipe.
Vose Adams, the second committeeman, felt it his duty to explain his
position.
"The trouble with that outlandish name is in the fust place that it
has three words and consequently it's too much to manage. Whoever
heard of a town with three handles to its name? Then it's foreign.
When I was in college (several disrespectful sniffs which caused the
speaker to stop and glare around in quest of the offenders); I say
when I was in college and studying Greek and Chinese and Russian, I
larned that that name was made up of all three of them languages. I
b'leve in America for the Americans, and if we can't find a name
that's in the American language, why let's wait till we can."
This sentiment was delivered with such dramatic force that several of
the miners nodded their heads in approval. It was an appeal to the
patriotic side of their nature--which was quick to respond.
"Mr. Chairman," said Budge Isham, addressing the landlord, who, by
general consent, was the presiding officer at these disputations, and
who like the others failed to see the quiet amusement the educated man
was extracting, "if it is agreeable to Mr. Adams, to whose eloquent
speech we have listened with much edification, I would like him to
give us his reasons for calling our handsome town 'Murderers'
Hollow.'"
The gentleman appealed to rose to his feet. Turning toward the man who
had called upon him, he gave him a look which ought to have made him
sink to the floor with mortification, preliminary to saying with
polished irony:
"If the gentleman had paid attention as he oughter, he would have
obsarved that I said 'Murderer's Holler,' not 'Murderers' _Hollow_.' I
would advise him not to forget that he ain't the only man in this
place that has received a college eddycation. Now as to the name: it
proclaims our stern virtue and love for law."
The orator paused, but the wondering expression of the bronzed
faces turned toward him showed that he would have to descend to
particulars.
"When violators of the law hear that name, what does it say to them?
It says that if any murderer shows his face in this place, he will
receive such rough handling that he will have to holler 'enough,' and
will be glad to get out--I don't see wha
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