Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-17
kilograms to The Star.
FRIGHTENING THE WHITE CAPS
How the Order was BrokenUp in Ohio
EX-SENATOR BARNUMS ILL.
Big Suits Against Iowa Railroads.
WM. III. BARNUNPS ILLNESS.
He is Slowly Recovering, but Sees Few
Visitors-A Talk With His Son.

Special DisratSb to THE EVENING STAR.
BRIDGEPoRT, Conn, Dec. 17.-William II.
Barnum, chairman of the national democratic
committee, is still confined to his house at
Lime Rock. Recently, when it seemed neces-
sary he has been allowed to receive visitors on
business, but such conferences have been short,
the family fearing that lengthy talks would be
injurious to the invalid. When a newspaper
man called at the house one day last week it
was deemed inadvisable to let him see Mr..
Barnum. He has not been permitted to read
the newspapers yet. not even those which pub
lished obituary notices of himself at the time
when the doctors said he could not live many
hours, and knows very little about what has
been said and published regarding the defeat
of Mr.. Cleveland.
Mr.. Barnum's son Charles is not an active
politician, but is close observer of political
affairs and better able to speak for his father
than any one else. He is identified with the
senior Barnum in vast business enterprises in
Connecticut and the west. The newspaper
obituaries published soon after the November
election, when it was reported that William II.
Barnum was dead or dying, were referred TO
last week by the caller and Charles Barnum
said: "Yes, the family noticed that many of
the papers had announcements and comments
on the death of father but no papers have
been submitted to him vet. 1t would be some
| thing of shock to him TO be reminded so
forclbly that he was so near death by a perusal
of the newspapers. and it might interfere with
the progress of his Improvement. He Is get
ting along nicely now. is able TO be up and
around but hasn't strength yet to venture
far beyond his room. We are following out the
instructions of his physician, DIR. Cragan. OF
New York, in the matter of testing fathers
strength, and think that be will entirely re-
cover. The day he came from New York, the
day before election. he was a very sick man.
He should have left there long before. Yes,
read IN the newspapers that remark attributed
to father that If he were found dead on the
morning of November z, he hoped no one
would say that his death was in consequence of
democratic defeat He never made any such
remark. He isn't the kind of man to indulge
in such forebodlngs. lie was confident of vic
tory up to the last. He was deeply interested
i'll Connecticut, and had told the national COM
mittee that Connecticut would go democratic" y"
At conference of democratic leaders in
| New York, held long before election. Mr.. Bar
mum gave his personal pledge that Connecti-
! cut should cast its electoral votes for Cleve-
land, and it was to see that the promise was
| redeemed that he came to Connecticut the day
| before election. One reason why he remained
/ at democratic headquarters in New York long
| after intimate friends told him that to continue
| at work might mean the sacrifice of his life,
ment which his retirement before election
| would certainly cause. The republican lead
! ers. it was naturally inferred, would make po-
/ litical capital out of his retirement from cam
/ paign direction. notwithstanding that ill
/ health was the sole cause of such Withdrawal.
| The day before election he conferred by tele-
graph with the directors of the campaign on
| the democratic side in this state. The next
day he remained at home too sick a man to
even get to the polls to vote.
Mr.. Charles Barnum continues his statement
as follows: ''On the night OF election father
remained ont until IL o'clock TO hear the re-
turns. and then went to bed without knowing
whether it Cleveland Harrison. or
whether his pledge to the electoral committee
concerning Connecticut had been redeemed.
The next morning the first question he asked
was. How did Connecticut go? Democratic
| said Then am Satisfied his reply,
and he laid back on his pillow and inquired no
further.
1T was very injudicious. in my Judgment,
that tariff message of President Cleveland. Ii
put the democratic party on the defensive dur
Ing the campaign. 1t brought forth antago-
nism from business sources that would not
have been encountered If the message had not
been sent to Congress. Business men were
scared by tie reports that their business in
danger on account of the tariff cry. 1t hurt
the party. That same element. thinking that
ahey were in danger. contributed TO the fund
| for the benefit of the republican candidates. !
thlnk llat tne republican party llau thTce uol-
lars to the democrats one. Parties pretty
well demOralzed when it becomes a question
of how much money is required to buy an cleo
tion.
Il can't say whether father will go into poll
tics again He certainly will not If he is gov
erned by the family opinion. He is too old a
man now to be engaged in active politics. If
he RECEIVERS sufficiently he may leave Lime
Rock for the winter and so to New York or
some place where the climate is not so severe"
h,N~.l aNNa
across the street from the Office of Barnum,
Richardson & Co.. on the day when Mr.. Charles
Barnum was seen. registered a temperature
low enough to drive a New Yorker back to the
metropolis; it was down to 10 degrees above
zero. W. *.