Wheeling Sunday Register

ANNUAL SWEAR-OFFES.

THE USUAL CROP IS BEING HARVESTED.

Justice of the Peace Wobbles Tells How People Make Good Resolves by Affidavit Before Magistrates—A Fortune in the Business.

Chicago Herald.

THE OTHER HAND PEASE

"Tell you what, business has been at its best to-day," remarked Mr. Wobbles to a reporter, as he rolled back with a yawn in his easy chair. Wobbles, by the way, is a well known justice of the peace. A quill was perched behind his ear and his hand was all bedaubed with ink, showing the reckless manner now," continued Wobbles. "I guess I have made out no less than ten to-day.

"Affidavits are the whole business. You would be greatly surprised at the number of people I have put upon oath of reform in the past few days.

You see, the first of the year is the popular time for various reforms. It has and every fellow who has any fault or vice of any description swears that he will begin a new leaf with the new year.

have been very busy this morning and it will increase with each day as the new year advances.

"Who are the people who swear off?"

"The majority of those who come before me on such errands are men addicted to drink who want to quit. I have had such a rush of this kind that for their accommodation I have had several thousand oaths printed. Sometimes, you see, there are two or three men in the office at the same time, and if I had to write out each oath it would consume too much time. The printed oaths answer just as well. The blank space, stating time for which the affiant wishes to abstain, is all that has to be filled out. The date is affixed, together with his and my name. He is then sworn to the affidavit and the whole thing is over in less time than it takes to tell it.

This can be done so quietly that the room might be full of people and not one of them would know what had transpired. The majority of these fellows are regular customers.

When they come in they call for one of those red tickets and all is understood, while an outsider is none the wiser.

"But this is not the only kind of reform that brings trade. Men come here to put themselves upon oath of abstinence of all kinds of vices. I have made out affidavits for all kinds of queer vows. Nor is the business confined to the trifling classes. Some names are signed to these little red tickets that would create a flutter in society if they were known. I have sworn some of our best and worthiest citizens upon just such cases. A very prominent business man of this city had me to make him out an affidavit, stating that he would never engage in any game of cards or chance of any kind while he remained in Illinois.

He had lost a very large sum of money at a game of poker, and this is what brought him to me. He told me that he wanted to limit his oath only to Illinois, as he could not confine his conduct in such narrow bounds when he left the State.

SOME FUNNY STORIES.

"Not long ago a very prominent Chicago drummer had me administer him an oath that he would never be seen again in this State.

He had gotten drunk and was robbed. There is always some reason for these unreasonable cases. I never will forget the nice young man that came here one day and swore that he would never visit or speak with a certain young lady who, by the way, is prominent in social circles. The young lady by some means, had been notified of the piece of conduct, and she entered and made a similar oath, only adding that she would, on no condition, ever be seen within speaking distance with him. They were both earnest in what they swore to, but it was done in the heat of a quarrel, and two days had hardly passed before they were again as thick as ever.

"Just about this time last year a young woman in a long, flowing black veil came into the office. A young man of a florid complexion leaned on her arm. The uneasy and excited look in her eyes and the tremor of her lips bespoke the trouble. He was just recovering from a protracted drunk and was suffering the reaction. He was in full possession of his faculties—I never swear them unless they are. He signed one of these red tickets to keep sober for twelve months.

This morning they returned. His wife—for such she was—said he had kept the oath and wished to renew it again for 1892. Mothers have come here with sons, sisters with brothers, and lovers with sweethearts. They find it to be successful in binding the affiant, and this mode of reform is becoming highly popular.

"The day before yesterday one young man swore that, beginning with the first of the year and for twelve months following, during good health, he would rise at 7 in the morning and retire with the tapping of the bells at 10 o'clock at night. In this class of oaths some specify a certain time for certain months, generally giving themselves more latitude in summer than in winter, while others make a constantly fixed time, stating conditions of exceptions in case of balls and dances.

Wobbles charges 25 cents per swear-off, and says his revenue from this source annually amounts to hundreds of dollars—one year reaching $500.