, 1890-11-09
A LITERARY MYSTERY.
A Remarkable Open Letter From
Mr.. Truthful James.
Some Tips on Methods of the Wye
ming Senatorial Contest.
He Who Runs May Read Between
the Lines and Figure.

Below is a freak in the way OF a letter.
The only key that can be furnished is a
brief statement of an incident Of the
United States senatorial nva 1t is
now perhaps a month since an anony
nous poem entitled Illus Picture" wasre.
ceived by many prominent people
through the state. 1t was a dirty attack
on Judge NJ. G. Brown, of Laramie,
charging him with nearly every crime in
the decalogue. The writer figures that
the instigator Of the secret assault hasn't
settled for the literary work or the ex-
pense incident to the publication and cir
c~ulatlon of the vile d~oRgerel. Or it may
be that the father of the first document
is sending this out to more effectually hide
his identity. By reading between the
lines one may infer that the
Job was arranged from Omaha and
under cover. There arc thrusts at two great
Republicans, whose names are now cou-
pied with mention of representation in
the upper house at Washington. OF
course neither Of these had aught to do
with the poem. Some close reader may
find enough between the lines to fix upon
the author OF the Homeric lines called
his picture" The open letter from
Truthful James was received by Mayor
Riner last Monday. Here 1t is;
IAN open letter from Truthful James
New YORK CRY. Nov. 3, lS9O.-To
all whom 1t may concern: There is in
this metropolis one business firm not
found 10 the directory. This is my BUSH
ness and one others who is the genius of
the concern. l am just a general mana
ger.
In every capital and large city OF the
country we have agents who are known to
no one but US as connected with our en-
'erprise. These agents are selected from
the few who will stand fire OF any sort of
scrutiny or suspicioniDg equal to a chiefo I
police. They pick up what ought to be
better known and send on pointers
which are worked up first-class and then
coutrived back into the channels that pay
us well. 1t sometimes happens hat those
in need of such aid are already in some
information as to our advantages and how
to find us at first hand. This saves the
GAD Vi lnltTlDtuldlCH anu tue Tlsk OF
being sold to a higher bidder, but not but
the fewest OF our locals have ever proved
such knaves Of the pocket
This season we had tidings of a good
Job from Omaha, if the touching up of
what was said to be about done suited.
We took the limp and skeleton like thing
and made it live again according to order;
aud then 1t came back for a higher notch
of tip-top elevation and c~oloring to life.
This writing, in poor verse, was fairly
recast and worked up in a style that as
tonished the originals. The beloved fea-
lures OF His Portrait must have been
very satisfactory, for it was printed and
put in trade Of give and take" as free
as royal bounty that sweeps Il favorite
edition and counts no cost. That is it.
These fine geniuses, the muse and
minstrel have counted no sost and we
are out OF flush and this is the first
time in our business we have been played
such a trick.
Managed we'll? So they thought. Found
out2 So we say; and it was not Omaha of
the Nebraskee of prairie and sweat that
produced these fine aspirations tor the
United States Senate, but the mountains
of white woman fame. That's the part Of
the known world where virtue and ambI-
ton need not De taught All the people
just breathe these in through that equal
suffrage air that whooped it into the union
to the tune of sixty thousand and a hun
dred and fifty odd.
1t makes no part of our business
whether ''the beloved features" were too
much touched up or touched down. As
long as a man is alive that's his business.
The order for the darned thing was filed
and twice filled and not a nickel to my
ward and me.
We are not in a position to 20 into
court and recover, for we are society peo-
pie OF some rank and keep the secret of
our revenues as we have through prosper
GUS years. All these times we have not
come up with a single dead beat, and
manv a stunning editorial and s~ally-at-
arms in literature of unique sorts have
brought us handsome deposits. We can
make them sweat. though. these hank
erers for honors to which they were not
inherited.
If the poet had known these rhyming
strategies when he wrote "Heathen Chi
nee it would have run about this way:
And for ways that are dark,
And for tricks that are game,
It's the Westerner's politics