True stories of old Houston and Houstonians: historical and personal sketches / by S. O. Young. Page: 114

114 TRUE STORIES OF OLD
"What are you doing with that bell? There's no fire anywhere,"
he said. "You come with me." So saying he grabbed
Sinclair by the collar.
"Hold up, captain," said "Sin;" "Cleveland is elected."
"Is he?" said the captain. "Give me that rope," and the two
took hold and woke the town up some more. By the time they
reached the sidewalk, after tiring themselves out, the whole
town was in an uproar, for the news had spread and everybody
ws rejoicing. The captain invited "Sin" over to have a
"snifter" and as they were taking it he looked at "Sin" and said:
"Sinclair, if you have got the Jimmies and have spread a false
report, I'm going to lock you up in jail if it takes me a year to
catch you."
The news seemed too good to be true.
During the whole thirty years I have known Sinclair I have
never heard of his doing a small or mean thing. I am sure exMayor
John Browne will not say the same thing, for he holds
different views and, perhaps, has reason for doing so. Some
years ago Sinclair, while on the Post, got up his famous goat
races. He had the whole town goat mad. Mayor Browne met
him on the street one day and told him he would give him some
goats if he would come after or send for them. Sinclair thanked
hih, and going to his office he put the following in the Post:
-NOTICE.
"Any boy in Houston who wants a fine goat for nothing can
get one by calling at Mayor Browne's residence this morning,
As there are only a few goats, it will be first come, first served.
The first boy there gets the pick."
The next morning Mayor Browne thought every boy in Houston
had gone crazy. His yard was full of boys, the street was
full and they kept coming. When he could get away he went
gunning for Sinclair, but "Sin" hid out until the mayor's wrath
had died down a bit.
If Sinclair would only settle down and write his memoirs and
tell of his journalistic experiences, it would make a most interesting
book. He has seen both the tragic and humorous side
of newspaper life and can tell his story well.
To meet the quiet, affable gentleman that he is, for the first
time one would never suspect that so youthful a man could be
one of the oldest and most competent newspapermen in Texas,
and yet Sinclair is all of that. I believe he has filled every
position on a newspaper, from printer's devil to editor-in-chief,
except that of society editor. I would not swear, however, that
he has not tried his hand at that, too, on the sly.
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