New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-11-25
TWENTY PAGES AT SUNRISE
WHEN KENTUCKIAN MEETS KENTUCklAN-
THEN WHAT?

| 70 TOE TOO HIGH.ToNED TO SLAUGHTER OR BE
SLAUGHTERED BY THE JUDGEf-MUoH
VERBAL GUsH BUT NO RICH RED
GORE UP TO DATE
rnr TELEGRAPH TO THE rKrBusE.l
| louisville KY, Nov. 24-Kentucky has soured
nm sourmash temporarily. Just at present
the delightful possibility Of duel
between two OF her sons leaves moro enticing
taste in her mouth that even her own smooth
whiskey She scents gore-or at least hopes to at
an early day. When the sanguinary exercises
10 open? How soon is Senator Joe Blackburn TO
ro ginning for Judge Rucker, when may the
| Judge be expected to whip out his knife for tho
artistic acknowledgment Of Joseph2 During the last
few days have put these questions to scores OF
Colonies and Majors, but have received no satSiac-
tory reply. They all admrt that tho BiachDurh-
Rucker quarrel is the leading toplc Oh coh'cisS"o"
in the sporting circles of the bluegrass coun-
trv They assure you that there has been nothing
like II as an appeal to the heroic instinct since
Mr. Sullivan made his tour of the southwest bue
| press them to tell you what the upshot Is going 10
he and they look wise, shake their heads anu
say nothing-that is, nothing In particular Every
body hereabouts that knows joe and inc Juuso
reports that both incapable Of showing the "hie
feather. "Bet your llfeD said a military chieitan
Oy brcven to me last evening, as he set down MS
glass a. that II they meet, there's going to be no
Rob Acres funny business No, sir; somebody
going to get pumped with cold lead" SIN another
of these sons Of Mars put 1t this way: THANK you
no sugar In mine Joe Blackburn is no dunghll FOWL
Joe IS game, Joe is. Sos Rucker. He's got plenty
OF sand, and Amt afraid OF anything thaS "dlhs
on two legs"
What then, in those suspicious circumstances,
stands In the way Of duel? Both subscribe to the
code; each one II rumor be correct has come 10 nave
wild thirst for the Others hearts blood So, what
prevents them from promptly selecting seconds ana
surgeons and undcrakcrs and rushing to the defence
| of their "honor,1 Well, It's just here. BlacLburns
friends set I'D that he used such perfectly dread
ful and at the same time such strikingly truthful
language in regard to the Judge that rs gentleman
he is debarred from fighting him. It Is related OF
John Doc that in the course of msunderstand-
ing with Richard Roc he casually Observed: Go to,
Richard, you a cockeyed pelican of rerdltlon'
| Richard, a highsprcd person, not fancyng that
style of pet name, promptly sent challenge to John
But John spurned the cartel saying: II obviously IS
out OF tho question that a perfect gentleman like me
should descend to the level of cockeycd pelican Of
perdion' This is the ground taken by the Ken
| lucky Senator'S contingent. Joe has branded the
Judge as a caricature upon humanity, for whose OK
istence the Lord in fair dealing owes an apology TO
mankind stung to fury by this vitrloc characters
cation the Judge has written letter which is inter
preted as calling out Blackburn, at all events as
beautifully opening the way for the Senator to call
him out The letter ends with this ugly and omnous
paragraph:
| Gas for myself while have not said anything in
this letter or In any OF my interviews with members
Of the press which did not believe was trne nor
anything that IS or was intended to be personally
offensive yet If at any tlme for any cause you
| should desire a meeting with me, can assure you
that your slightest intimatOn to that effect VIII meet
with prompt acceptance on my part.
| at rests with you to say what the result OF the
| controversy shall be. Sincerely,
"A W. RUCKER.,
But Just here the hitch comes that has thrown
Kentucky into a state Of such tantazng uncertainty.
| Can one of her favorfe sons. the representative OF
| his Commonwealth in the United States Senate, con-
sisently with his sefrespect and high tone consent
| to a hostile meeting with a carIcature upon human
ity7, All men created equal. " rhaps,' rea-
sons Joe at all draw the line at individuals
| for whose existence the Lord in fair dealing owes
an apology to mankind" Judge Rucker's friends
| meet the delicate point raised by Blackburn with
bowls Of derision, quantities of picturesque profanity
and related criticisms. They hold that the Judge,
while perhaps not as widely known the Senator is
a leading citizen OF Colorado, his peer in all manly
qualities as good a shot-besdes being kentuckian.
But right here and to the better OF the
Judges position let in short meter what all this
fuss that IS at present convuslng certain Circles IN
| Kentucky and Colorado Is about. One day toward
The end of last october Joe escorted the judge 10 the
White House and introduced him 10 Mr. Cleveland
Colonel Lamont had arranged for the Interview There
were present In addition to those named. Secretary
! FndIc0tt and TWO other persons whose identity IS
concealed the presumption being that they wero Ia
dies the daughters OF the Senator Directly AFTER
election Judge Ruckcr In conversation with Ie-orter
stated that during this Interview Mr. Cleveland as
serted that he feared the Demo, racy Won b, kni Ell
In New-York and made decidedly uncomplmenfary
references TO Governor Hill, Mayor Hewitt and Hugh
Grant Tammany's candidate for Mayo. saying fr
example that Hewitt vert no the Mayora'ty canvass
with tho hope Of defeating him. NO sooner hal
Backburns attention been directed TO this statement
Of Fuckers than he denounced It us an unmtigated
falsehood Nor did he stop there He broadly IN
situated that Rucker went to tho White House as me
paid spy that the opposition had employed TO 10 their
dirty work. Furthermore he remor'clessly plloried
the Judge {" a caricature upon humanity etc, as
ahovo re- ated Moth rg daunted iy Blackburn's ro-
clous invectNe the Judge emphatcaly Ieairmec, IN,
truth OF what he had asserted Ihcn Mr. Nlev lan i
talking with the Judge and that certainly he had never
used the language imputed to him touching the can
yassd hat NO such words as those which the Judge
had put into Mr. Cleveands mouth had ever been
important witnesses Of cour'e was good for Black
burn and bad for the Judge. Bot ihc judge pro
Don ratio brethro1 in Colorado to bet against Cove
and-hs explanation being that he basel AHA nI alV t
White House interview. Another circumstance
served to keep the Julgo in CON come en i;ns
nj or Grants name mentioned during the Inter
view with Mr. Cleveland. But few DAYS later he
| recalled thai Hewt's name had been mentioned, al
| though not by the President
II Is from the dragon teeth thus sown that tho Inn
pendnC cxrpation OF Joe of the Judge-ln case II
does impend-has sprung 1t tho talk here yes
terday that Colonel John Moore an experienced IRE
ratcr acting for the Judge, had started from Denver
tho Judges homc-n the lightning express, his des
tnaon being Blackburn. and his object 10 deliver Ia
him a challenge. The serious question that remains
is Ia Elac lburn as a who respects the code
| and as a Kentuckian who presumably would Ike 10
have future warranted in turning cold shoulder 70
The Judges hostile overurcsl Well. the whole. II
looks to the impartial observer as though he Is not
claim that no IL not his social equal After living at
| the same hotel with him at Washington on terms OF
mat the Judge Is deficient I'm standing That's the
way Fuckers friends putting u. OF course th'
, of intercourse between the counts for nothing
, that Joe has only Just found the Judge out. Tx