The Dolores star. [volume], January 13, 1922, Image 4

About The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current

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SISTERS
By KATHLEEN NORRIS
MARTIN LLOYD.
Bynopsis.—Dector Strickland, re
tired, ils llving with his famlly at
Mill Valley, just out of San Fran
cisco. Anne, the doctor's nlece, lis
twenty-four. Alix, the doctor's
daughter, s twenty-one. Cherry
the other daughter, 1s elghteen.
Thelr closest friend is Peter Joyce,
an odd, lovable sort of recluse. He
1s secretly in love with beautiful
Cherry. Martin Liloyd, a visiting
mining engineer, pays court to
Cherry and wins her promlse to
marry him.
(CHAPTER |—Continued.)
“Peter Is a dear fellow,” the doctor
mused. “But Cherry—why, she's bare
ly eighteen! He—l don’t suppose he
really ever kissed her—" The old man
hesitated, began again: *“Just fancy”
he assured her. “Just an old father’s
fear that she Is growing up too fast!"
“Because we all, and you especlally,
spoll her,” Anne reminded him, smil
ing. “Peter,” she added thoughtfully,
“has kissed us all, now and then!"
She stooped for a dutiful good-night
kiss, and was gone.
Downstalrs, the doctor sat on, think
ing, and his face was grave. He was
thinking of little Cherry's good-night
kiss, half an hour ago. She had rested
agalnst his arm, and he had held her
there, but what had been the thoughts
behind the blue eyes so near his own?
He realized with a great rush of fear
that some man had kissed Cherry to
night, had held her agalnst a tobacco
scented coat, and that the girl was a
woman, and an awakened woman at
that. Cherry—klissed a man! Her fa
ther's heart winced away from the
thought.
Young Idoyd and Peter had walked
home with her. But if Anne was right
in her maldenly susplcions of Lloyd's
intentions, then It must have been Pe
ter who surprised little Cherry with a
sudden embrace.
And as he came to his conclusions
a certain rellef crept into the old
man's heart. Peter was an odd fel
low; he was ten years too old for the
child. But Peter was a lover of books
and gardens and woods and musle, aft
er all, and Peter's father and this old
man musing by the fire had been “Lee”
and “Paul™ to each other since boy
hood. Peter might glve Cherry a kiss
as innocently as a brother; In any
case, Peter would walt for her, would
be all consideration and tenderness
when he did win her.
Cherry, he reflected fearfully, was
as pretty as her mother had been at
elghteen, with the same rounded chin
and apricot cheeks, and the same
-shadowed innocent blue eyes with a
film of corn-colored halr blown across
them., She had the strange, the inde
finable quality that without words, al
most without glances, draws youth
toward youth, draws admiration and
pession, draws life and all its pain.
Her father for the first time tonight
formulated in his heart the thought
that she might be happily married—
Married—nonsense! Why, what did
she know of life, of submission and
courage and sacrifice? It would be
years, many years, before the snowy
frills, and the pale gold head, and the
firm, brown little hand would be ready
for that!
Not many hours after he went slow
ly up to bed morning began to creep
into the little valley. Alix, at he:
early bath, heard quall calling, and
looked out to see the last of the fog
vanishing at eight o’clock, and to get
a wet rush of fragrance from the Per
slan lilac, blooming this year for the
first time. At half-past eight she came
out Into the garden, to find her father
somewhat ruefully studying the tum
bled rulns of the yellow banksla rose,
The garden was still wet, but warm
ing fast; she picked a plume of dark
and perfumed heliotrope, and began to
fasten it in his coat lapel while she
kissed him.
“We'll never get that back on the
roof, my dear boy,” Alix sald mater
nally.
Her father pursed hislips, shook
his head doubtfully. The rose, a short
week ago, bad been spreading fanlike
branches well toward the ridge-pole, a
story and a half above their heads.
But the great wind of yestereve that
had ended the spring and brought in
the summer had dragged it from its
place and flung it, a Jumble of emerald
leaves and sweet clusters of creamy
blossoms, across the path and the
steps of the porch. Alix tentatlively
tugged at a loose spray, and stood
biting her thumb.
Her attention was distracted by the
setter puppy who came clumsily gam
boling toward her. “Hello, old Bumpy
doodles!” she said with rich affec
tion, kissing the dog’'s silky head, and
burying both hands In his feathered
collar. “Hello, old Buck!”
“Alexandra, for heaven’'s sake stop
handling that brute!” sald Peter
Joyce disgustedly, coming up the path.
“I dare say you've not had your break
fast, either. Go wash your hands!
‘Morning, Doctor!”
Father and daughter turned to smile
upon him, a tall, lean man, with g
young face and a finely groomed head,
and with touches of premature silver
at his temples,
He was a bachelor, just entering
his thirtles, a fastidlious, critical, ex
acting man by reputation, but showing
his best slde to the Stricklands. They
had a vague Idea that he was rich, ac
cording to thelr modest standard, but
he apparently had no extravagan!
tastes, and lived as quletly, or more
quietly, than they did. He liked soli
tude, books, music, dogs, and his fire
'side. The old doctor's one soclal en-
Joyment was In visiting Peter, and
the younger man went to no other
place so steadily as he came to the
~old house under the redwoods.
“'Morning, Peter!"” sald Doctor
Strickland now, smiling at him.
“Have you had yours?”
“My house,” sald Mr. Joyce, fastid
lously, “Is a well-managed place, Say,”
he added, pursing his lips to whistle,
as he looked at the rose tree, “did
Tuesday's wind do that?"
“Tuesday's wind and Dad,” Alix
answered. “Wlll it go back, Peter?”
“I—l don’t know!"™ he mused,
walking slowly about the wreck. “If
we had a lever down here, and some
fellow on the roof with a rope, may
be."
“Mr. Lloyd s coming over!"” Alix
announced. Peter nodded absently,
but the mentlon of Martin Lloyd re
minded him that they had all dined
at his house on the very evening when
the mysterious gale had commenced,
and with Interest he asked:
“Cherry catch cold coming home
Tuesday night?"
“No; she squeezed in between Dad
and me, and was as warm as toast!”
Alix answered casually. “How'd you
like Mr. Lloyd?" she added.
“Nice fellow!" Peter answered.
“He's awfully nice,” Alix agreed.
“Who is he?” Peter asked curiously.
“Where are his people and all that?”
“His people live In Portland,” the
girl answered. “He's a mining en
gineer, and he's waiting now to be
called to El Nido; he’s to be at a mine
there. He's lots of fun—when you
know him, really!"”
“Talking of the new Prince Charm
ing, of course,” Anne said, joining
them, and linking an arm in her un
cle's and In Alix’s arm. “Don't bring
that puppy in, Allx, please! Break
fast, Uncle Lee. Come and have an
other cup of coffee, Peter!”
“Prince Charming, eh?' Peter
echoed thoughtfully, as they all
turned toward a delicious drift of the
odor of bacon and coffee, and crossed
the porch to the dining room. “I was
going down for the mail, but now I'll
have to stay and see this rose matter
tittough! Thanks, Anne, but I'll
wutch you. Where's Cherry?” he
added, glancing about.
Cherry answered the question her
self by tralling In in a Japanese wrap
per, and beginning to drink her coffee
with bare, slender arms resting on the
table. Nobody protested, the adored
youngest was usually given her way.
“I heard you all laughing, under
the window and {t—woke—me—up!”
Cherry satd dreamlily.
“It seems to me,” Anne, who had
been eyeing her uneasily, sald lightly,
“that some one I know is getting pret
ty old to come downstairs in that rig
when strangers are here!”
“It seems to me this Is just as de
cent as lots of things—bathing sults,
for Instance!"” Cherry returned in
“Hello, Old Bumpy-doodles!” Said
Alix, Burying Both Hands in His
Feathered Collar,
stantly, gathering the robe about her,
and giving Anne a resentful glance
over her blue cup.
“I have a rope somewhere—" the
doctor ruminated. “Where did I put
that long rope—what did I have it
for, in the first place—"
“You had It to guy the apple tree,”
Alix reminded him. “The tree that
died after all—"
“Ah, yes!” sald her father, his at
tentive face brightening. “Ah, yes!
Now where is that rope?” But even
as Alix observed that she had seen it
somewhere, and advanced a tentative
guess as to the cellar, his eyes fell
upon Cherry, aud went from Cherry's
‘Vubsorbed face—for she was dreaming
over her breakfast—to Peter, and he
wondered If Peter had kissed her.
“Come on, let's get at it!" Allx ex
clalmed with relish. “Come on,
Sweetums,” she added, to the dog.
She caught his forepaws, and he
whipped his beautiful tall between
his legs, and looked about with agon
ized eyes while she dragged him
through a clumsy dance. *“He's the
darlingest pup we ever had!” Allx
stated to Cherry, who was departing
for the upper regions and a complete
costume.
“Bring your cligarette out here, Pe
ter,” the old doctor sald, crossing the
garden to look In the abandoned
greenhouse for his rope. “It's not
here,” he stated. Then he began
again, “You brought Cherry home last
night?' he asked.
“As a matter of fact, I didn't,”” Pe
ter answered, In his quick, precise
tones. “I came with Lloyd and Cherry
as far as the bridge, then I cut up the
hill. Why?' he added sharply.
“What's up?"
“Nothing's up,” Doctor Strickland
sald slowly. *“But I think Lloyd ad
mires—or Is beginning to admire—
her,” he sald.
“Who—Cherry!” Peter exclaimed,
with distaste and incredulity In his
tone.
“You don't think so?’ the doctor,
looking at him wistfully, asked eag
erly.
“Why, certainly not!" Peter sald,
his face very red. “She's much
younger than Anne and Alix—"
“It doesn't always go by that,” the
doctor suggested.
“No, I know It doesn't,” Peter an
swered In his qulck, annoyed fashion.
“I should be sorry,” Cherry's father
admitted.
“Sorry!"” Peter echoed Impatiently.
“But it's quite out of the question, of
course! It's quite out of the ques
tion. She—she wouldn't conslder him
for an Instant,” he suddenly decided
in great satisfaction. “You mustn't
forget that she has something to do
with it! Very fastidious, Cherry.
She's not llke other girls!”
“Thats true—that's true!” Doctor
Strickland agreed, In great rellef.
They turned back toward the garden,
in time to meet Alix and several dogs
streaming across the clearing. Over
the girl's shoulder was colled the
great rope; she leaped varlous logs
and small bushes as she came, and
the dogs barked madly and leaped
with her. Breathless, she stumbled
and fell into her father's arms, and
both men had the same thoughts, one
that made them smile upon her tom
boyishness indulgently: “If this s
twenty-one—eighteen 1s three long
years younger and less responsible!”
CHAPTER 11.
Immediately they gathered by the
fallen rose vine, all talking and dis
puting at once. A light rope was tied;
an experimental tug broke it llke a
string, tumbling Allx violently in a
sitting position, and precipitating her
father into a loamy bed. Anne, who
was bargaining with a Chinese fruit
vendor frankly interested In their un
dertaking, had called that she would
help them In a second, when behind
Alix, who was still sitting on the
ground, another voice offered help.
A young man had come into the
doctor’'s garden; work was stopped
for a few minutes while they wel
comed Martin Lloyd.
He was tall and falr, broad, but
with not an ounce of extra welght,
with brown eyes always laughing, and
a ready friendliness always In evi
dence. Anne’s heart gave a throb of
approval as she studied him; Alix
flushed furlously, scowled a certain
boyish approval; Cherry had not come
down,
“Can you help us?' The doctor
echoed his question doubtfully., “I
don’t know that It can be done!” he
admitted.
“What's that you're eating—an apri
cot?’ Martin sald to Anne, in his
laughing way. “I was going to say
that if it was a peach, you are a can
nibal!”
“Oh, help!” Alix ejaculated, with a
look of elaborate scorn,
“No, but where were you last
night?” Martin added in a lower tone
when he and Anne could speak unno
ticed. The happy color flooded her
face.
“I have to take care of my famlily
sometimes!” she reminded him de
murely. “Wasn't Cherry a good substi
tute?”
“Cherry’s adorable!” he agreed.
“Isn't she sweet?’ Anne asked en
thusiastically, “She’s only a little girl,
really, but she’s a little girl who is
going to have a lot of attention some
day!” she added, in her most matron
1y manner.
- Martin did not answer, but turning
briskly toward the doctor, he devoted
himself to the business In hand.
They were all deep In the first
united tug, each person placed care
fully by the doctor, and guys for the
rope driven at Intervals decided by
Martin, when there was an interrup
tion for Cherry’s arrival on the scene.
With characteristic coquetry she did
not approach, as the others had, by
means of the front porch and the gar
THE DOLORES STAR.
den path, but crept from the study
window Into a veritable tunnel of
green bloom, and came crawling down
it, as sweet and fragrant, as lovely
and as fresh, as the roses themselves.
Her bright head was hidden by a blue
sunbonnet, assumed, she explained
later, because the thorns tangled her
hatr; but as, laughing and smothered
with roses, she crept Into view, the
sunbonnet slipped back, and the love
-Iy, flushed little face, with tendrils of
gold straylng across the white fore
head, and mischief gleaming In the
blue, blue eyes was framed only in
loosened pale gold halr,
Years afterward Allx remembered
her so, as Martin Lloyd helped her to
spring free of the branches, and she
stood laughing at their surprise and
still clinging to his hand. “The day
we ralsed the rose tree” had a place
of its own In Alix's memory, as a time
of carefree fun and content, a time of
perfume and sunshine—perhaps the
last time of its kind that any one of
them was to know.
Cherry looked at Martin daringly as
she joined the laborers; her whole be
ing was thrilling to the excitement of
his glance; she was hardly consclous
of what she was doing or saying. Mar
tin came close to her, in the general
confusion.
“How's my little sweetheart this
morning?"
Cherry looked up, her throat con
tracted, she looked down again, un
able to speak. She had been walting
for his first word; now that it had
come It seemed so far richer and
sweeter than her wildest dream.
“How can I see you a' minute?” Mar
tin murmured, snapping his big knife
shut.
“I have to walk down for the mall
—'" stammered Cherry, consclous only
of Martin and herself.
Both Peter and her father were
watching her with an uneasiness and
Laughing and Smothered With Roses,
She Crept Into View.
suspicion that had sprung into being
full-blown. Both men were asking
themselves what they knew of this
strange young man who was suddenly
a part of their Intimate little world.
Peter, in his secret heart, had a
vague, dissatisfied feeling that Lloyd
was a man who held women, as a
class, rather in disrespect, and had
probably had his experiences with
them, but there was no way of ex
pressing, much less governing his
conduct toward Martin by so purely
speculative a prejudice. Somewhat
appalled, in the sunny garden, strug
gling with the banksia, Peter decided
that this was not much to know of a
person who might have the audacity
to fall In love with an exquisite and
innocent Cherry. After all, she would
uot be a little girl forever; some man
would want to take that little corn
colored head and that delicious little
pink-clad person away with him some
day, to be his wife—
And suddenly Peter was torn by a
stab of pure pain, and he stood puz
zled and slek, In the garden bed, won
dering what was happening to him.
“Listen—want a drink?” Alix asked,
coming out with a tin dipper that
spilled a glittering sheet of water
down the thirsty nasturtiums. “Rest
a few minutes, Peter. Dad wanted a
pole, and Mr. Lloyd has gons up into
the woods to cut one.”
“And where's Cherry?’ Peter asked,
drinking deep.
“She went along—just up In the
woods here!" Alix answered. “They’ll
be back before you could get there.
They've been gone five minutes!”
. . - - . . .
Five minutes were enough to take
Cherry and her lover out of sight of
the house, enough to have him put his
arm about her, and to have her raise
her lips confidently, and yet shyly,
again to his. They kissed each other
deeply, again and again,
Thelr talk was incoherent. Cherry
was stlll playing, coquetting and smfl
ing, her words few, and Martin, hav
ing her so near, could only repeat the
endearing phrases that attempted to
express to her his love and fervor.
“You darling! Do you know how I
love you? You darling—you little ex
quisite beauty! Do you love me—do
you love me?” Martin murmured, and
Cherry answered breathlessly:
“You know I do—but you know I
do!”
“Congratulate these crea
tures—they are going to be
marriedl”
(TO BE CONTINURDA
Where Your Taxes Go
How Uncle Sam Spends Your Money
in Conducting Your Business
By EDWARD G. LOWRY
Author “Washington Cio-—Up-." “Banks and Financial Systems,” etc. C i
Political and Economic Articles to Leading Periodicals ul a Writer of l{;?.:‘.’::;
Authority on the National Government's Business Methods.
Copyright, Western Newspaper Union
VL
HIRE GOVERNMENT HELP
The clvil service commission hires
all employees in the classified service
of the government. The only thing to
be sald about the classified service, Is
that it has not yet been classified.
But you shall hear what the civil serv
ice commission has to say about hir
ing help, without comment from me,
There Is an utter lack of definitely
planned and well-organized employ
ment policy in the government serv
ice,
There 1s need for a centralized em
ployment office with jurisdiction in all
matters relating to employment.
The employment methods of the gov
ernment should be such as to serve
for a model for private business.
There Is at present no central con
trol over the executlve service short
of the President. The President is a
busy man and cannot concern himself
with the detalls of the executlve de
partments.
The lack of efficiency In govern
ment offices has a marked effect on
private business.
Definite information concerning the
number of federal civil employees In
different branches of the service and
the amount of the government pay
roll are not readily avallable.
An officlal register, or blue book,
Is Issued every two years. It Is out
of date long before it is printed.
A provision of the clvll service rules
theoretically gives the civil service
commisslon authority to collect and
maintain complete personunel statis
ties. The labor and expense involved,,
however, practically prohiblt the col
lection and compilation of reliable sta
tistleal data,
In addition to the llmits of the com
mission’s authority is the absence of
authority to enforce its findings. The
commission can make recommenda
tions to the departments and offices
and urge thelr observance, but it can
not enforce them.
Congress passed what s known as
the civil service law January 16, 1883,
This act created the United States
clvil service commission. The law was
intended to cure in part the evils
traceable to the spolls system, which
grew out of the four-year-tenure-of
office act of 1820,
During the first 40 years after the
organization of our government, ad
ministrative practice with regard to
the civil service seemed to conform
to the intention of the founders. The
Constitution fixed the term of no of
deer In the executive branch of the
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Secretary Mellon of the treasury, in
a letter to Representative Fordney,.
chalrman of the committee on ways
and means of the house of representa
tlves, says: “Ordinary expenditures
for the first three quarters of the fis
cal year, 1921, have been $3,783,771,-
996.74, or at the rate of about $3,000,-
000,000 for the year. . . According
to the latest estimates of the spending
departments, . . ordinary expendi.
tures during the fiscal year, 1922, in
cluding interest on the public debt,
will be over $4,000,000,000.
“The natlon cannot continue to
spend at this shocking rate. As the
President said in his message, the bur
den is unbearable, and there are two
avenues of relief, ‘One is resistance
in appropriation and the other is the
utmost economy in administration.’”
R. C. Leflingwell, formerly an assis
tant secretary of the treasury, whom
I have quoted previously in these ar
ticles, and who is still deeply and ac
tively interested in securing retrench
ment in national expenditures, com
menting on this utterance of Secretary
Mellon, says: “Why should there be
retrenchment in public expenditure?
Why does the secretary of the treas
ury speak of current and estimated ex
penditures as shocking? What is the
evil that we are discussing and what
is its effect?
“Government expenditures must be
met from taxes. To the extent that
they are met promptly from taxes and
from honest taxes directly laid upon
the incomes of the people, and In pro
portion to those incomes, exaggeration
of the evil of government expenditure
is avoided. Government expenditure
takes the money of all the people for
the supposed benefit of a portion of
the people, honestly or dishonestly,
equally or unequally, avowedly by di
rect taxation, or surreptitiously by the
indirect taxation which results from
Inflation of currency and credit and
of the public debt.
“Government expenditure takes the
fruits of the earth and the labor of
the people and diverts them from the
productive and reproductive enter
prises of men, from the natural enjoy
ment of the men, who by thelr pru
dence, foresight and effort, created the
wealth and made It avallable, to the
sometimes benevolent and sometimes
bélligerent, but almost always econom
lcally wasteful, purposes of govern
ment.
“Government exploits all of us for
the benefit, or supposed benefit, of
‘some of us. Yielding to the vague
government except those of thae Pres.
ident and vice president. It was tpe
~established usage during these first
40 years to permit executive officers
except members of the cablinet, to nolq
office for an unlimited period during
good behavior. The practice was
changed In 1820 by the four-year-ten.
ure act. The spolls system, as it wyg
officlally described as early as 1835
was Introduced and extended unti]
permeated the entire civil service of
the country.
The fundamental purpose of the cfy.
il service law was to establish, {n the
parts of the service covered bLy ity
provisions, a erit system whereby
selection for appolntment should he
made upon the basis of demonstrateq
relative fitness, without regard to po
litlcal, religious, or other such con.
slderations.
The act requires that the rules shgl|
provide, among other things, for open
competitive examinations for testing
the fitness of applicants for the clussl
fled service, the making of appoint.
ments from among those passing with
highest grades, an apportionment of
appointments In the departments at
Washington among the states and ter
ritories, a perlod of probation hefore
absolute appointment and the pro
hibition of the use of officlal nuthority
to coerce the political action of any
person or body.
In 1883, the year in which the civil
service law was enacted, 13,924 post
tions In the clvil service were mnde
subject to competition, The entire
number of positions in the federal
executlve clvil service on June 20,
1016, was 480,327. At the height of
the war expansion there were apjrox
imately 1,000,000 men and women em
ployed In the federal executive civil
service, about 700,000 of whom held
positions subject to competition. On
July 31, 1920, the entire number of
federal executive civil positions, as
nearly as can be estimated, had been
reduced to 691,116, ’xpprnxlnu!uly
450,000 of these were subject to com
petition, or, In other words, in the
classified service. The force s stilt
slowly but steadlly decreasing.
During the 19 months of our partici
pation in the war the civil service
commission gave competitive exami
nations under the civil service law and
rules to slightly less than 1,000,000 per
sons, and about 400,000 persons with
tested qualifications were supplied by
the commission to the service. A nor
mal year's business s about 200000
persons examined and about 50,00
appointed.
aspirations of men for a better world
or a better distribution of the good
things of this earth, government im
poses upon all of us ever-increasing
burdens In the effort to benefit vocif
erous and organized minorities.
“Each of the executive departments
is concerned to improve its service
and to discover new and useful fields
of service. The entire organization
of the army, of the navy, of each of
the departments, Independent oflices
and agencies of the government, is de
voted to an important task. Its par
ticular function seems of vital use
fulness, even necessity. Experts In
each are allve to its defects and to
the opportunities for usefulness which
have not been availed of.
“The secretary, or other head of
the department, drawn from private
life, perhaps wholly ignorant at the
outset of the nature and extent of IS
problems, promptly becomes the ndvo
cate of the policles and demands of
his permanent assistants and bureau
chiefs. If he does not become such
advocate, he may break down the
morale of his organization and possibly
lose the confidence of his personnel.
“Behind it all is the pressure of or
ganized interests in the constituencles,
which are the beneficiaries of speclfic
expenditures, operating upon politi
clans, executive departments, senators
and congressmen. The strident volce
of greed Is heard in the market pluce
and in legislative halls; the volce of
the people is barely audible.
“The fact that each project is con
sidered separately, without reference,
elther in executive departments Of
congress, to ways and means of financ
ing it, prevents concentration of popu:
lar opinion on the awful total. All
agree that there must be economy, but
as each item is presented all seeming
ly agree that that is not the propef
field for economy. There must be econ
omy, but there must be a merchant
marine, whatever the cost. There must
be economy, but the government must
pay high wages to railroad employees
and furnish transportation on the rail
roads at less than cost. There must
be economy, but the World war BOI'.
diers must have their bonus. Ther®
must be economy, but Civil war pen
sions must be increased. There must
be economy, but we must prepare fof
war, regardless of expense.”
You know this is true. The new
budget law will help very much this
condltion, but unless you are interest:
ed, continuously, actively, openly lo°
terested, your money will not be saved