Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-05-11

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RASnRRoson, Nay e.--what is fames
- ~ Ao1tAe limitations nor definition,
o1n61ae1 nor rulA II thrives on any
ong ~ everything. from ambrosia 10
IN tfon genius 70 eccentricity. Il iif.
~ = snces and among peoples. The
Gonv5 pu1son may Be- the 6axon's food,
- ~ American may grow famous on
lA9e which would but bind the Britisher
IN 0uso ssoursly In the chains Of OBJ
oD069ey. America teens with famous
-. Railway trains, steamers, hotels,
ue1oooD ~ ftall Of them. In no other
eoanazy ~ there % many ''well known"
mGn-men whose names, spoken or
ulntsd. are recognized as familiar by a
nAtoe3ey of hearers or readers a. In this
l1esd republic. Perhaps Il would be
1hess coacsit to say We have 30 many
n1c9o really great men than England,
HancO a. Germany. In point Of fact I
1oa1 believe we have half as many. but
- become better acquainted with our
nceAble men, and we note men for
smaller reason. This is fraternal, COM
panicnable people. Few arbitrary bar
xien are erected between classes.
Our great statesmen, great law
yesA great railroaders, great pugi-
lists. great inventors, great journal
~. great gamblers, great wits. great
oeatoss, great baseball players, great
miIlicnaires, great actors, great poll
tic3ans, great horse trainers, great mer-
chants hobnob together like brothers.
And We are, too, such travellers that the
Californian h almost as well known In
New York a. the New Yorker. Men
from all the hooks and crannies Of the
hind are constantly meeting and COM
mingling in business. politics, Office seek
ing. summer resorting, conventions OF
thousand kinds, anniversary gatherings
such a. the presidential Inauguration and
the Warrington centennial.
1 But more than all we arc a nation Of
gossipG. We talk more about men than
thinga And-the secret of II all--our
newspapers are greater gossips than we
ara They 90 deftly mix their news and
their gossip that you can't tell ono from
the other. You don't wish to. Only, IL
you stop to think about It at all, you are
likely to realize that the gossip is tho
best part Of the feast. without the Cos
sip. news b like pudding unsauced. II
really hungry for substantials you could
81 your bread minus butter, but you
prefer the butter. and plenty Of II.
II h tho newspaper that makes our
great men. It is the newspaper that
scans hotel registers, sets Argus eyed OBJ
servers In hotel rotundas; 1t Is the news
paper that makes the name of Col. Slap
dash, Of Texas, well known in Boston,
and the name Of Judge Goodboy. OF New
York. like unto household word In the
states Of the Mississippi valley or the
Pacific coast. The English newspaper
does not gossip, except in the most lin
ited and frozen fashion. The French
newspaper does not gossip, except about
actresses, Boulanger, and the three or
four conspicuous figures momentarily
before the public eye. The German
newspapers never heard of such a thing
aSgusGip. and doubt IL their language
contains synonym for the word.
In this country the man who does or
becomes anything little out of the
common run is introduced to the public
In detail--as boy. collegiate. early strug-
gler for distinction, winner of fame or
succeA We are told how many girls
he courted before no married, what
clothes be wears, what he eats, what
eort Of neckties he likes. His wife and
children are introduced along with him,
and . good many Of his other relatives.
All the newspapers gossip. and then
swap gossip. and thus the new man be.
fore the public eye. or the new woman,
becomes a. well known TO the whole
American people as IL our country were
suburban neighborhood and we had
new settler with his washing out ON the
line and the first calls made by all our
good but inquisitive and observing
wives.
| Nor Is this all. We have developed an
amazing fondness for printing mems
pictures. and for calling men by their
baptismal appellations or their nick
names. Thus we have "Jim" Blaine,
bob" Ingersoll. "Tecump" Sherman,
Mat" Quay, Charley" Farwell, tom"
Bowen. Sam" Cox, ''Joe" Cannon,
Tom" Reed, "Chance" Depew, "Uncle
john Sherman, grandfather" Payne
and many Others, just as we used 10
have ANDY" johnson. "Chet" Arthur,
Jack" Logan and "Abe" Lincoln. All
these are aids to the memory and pro-
moters Of familiarity. Going still further
we are prone to make men great for lit
tie things. In making its famous persons
goasip uses wonderful variety OF ma
tsgials. This man is known the country
over for his old hat, another for his era
vat. third because he is in love with an
actreas, q fourth because he killed
another man. fifth for his funny
stories. and man may gain fame at ono
fell swoop by a single remark. like Flan-
nagan's "What are wo here for2"
: There are centers Of commerce, manu-
featuring. learning, railroads. culture,
horse breeding, natural gas, literature
and other material and immaterial things,
but Washington is the center Of gossip.
In other places gossip is an amusement;
here It is a business. And it is here the
methods. trends and influence OF the
national characteristic of gossiping are
best studied. Here is it seen as ON
housetop how gossip makes public man
more widely known for his personal
traits or cccentricities than for his genius
or craftsmanship, how gossip gives fame,
or at least its common equivalent, noto-
riety, to men who have no other claim
thereto. how reputations are manufact-