Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-28
MURRAY'S MUSINGS.

Russell B. Harrison as Man-Incident
in Metropolitan Observation-Disclosures o
Criminal News in the Papers.
rFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
THE other evening while a group of poll
ticians newspaper men and travellers a
the Fifth Avenue Hotel were discussing thing!
in general one of the party remarked what Z
small world this is He gave an interesting ex
ample of how he had met the same gentlemen
in London; in an out-of-the-way place in France
and subsequently at dinner party In New
York. Others of the group gave similar ex
periences. During the conversation a gentle
man with whom had too slight an acquaint
ance to remember approached and called me
out. An explanation followed. and found
that he was the real estate agent in upper New
York, of whom Irented my fiat some three
years ago. "Im living in the South now." said
he, 'at Bridgeport, Ala"
This brought some military "reminiscences
up in my mind and l observed at once that
once lived in Bridgeport and was engaged there
for short time also in the real estate business.
1t was while a soldier IN the army of the Cum.
berland in 1862 and the real estate transaction
consisted of digging rifle pits along this side OF
the Tennessee river and building fort of earth
and timber at the foot of the mountains over
looking the then dismanted railroad bridges
leading to Chattanooga.
You did9' he exclaimed. laughing. And
4 then he called to a couple of native Southern
I ers. who were few feet away. and introduced
me. Here is man who helped build those
| earthworks around there" went on my real
| estate friend. II wish you hadn't piled SO
much dirt up Pm building my house on that
Yes, and we dug up two skeletons nearby"
interrupted one of the others-"Union soldiers,
who had been buried by you fellows"
| L fastened to assure him that neither of
them was mihe. And then l recalled how Just
as We had about finished the fort we were
ordered back on the Bragg campaign, and how
| we attempted to cross the mountain by direct
! route, and how having boosted lot of artillery
half way up the rocky slope we were obliged
| to come down again, thoroughly used up and
everlastingly disgusted, to take the old Hunts
| vile road. We had a signal station on the
| heights above and from it could see into four
| States of the Union and the glowing camp
| fires OF the Confederate army on the other side
| of the stream.
| my summer house now stands on that old
| site, said the SOutherner, grasping my hand
| again, land it looks down on new town of
| nearly thousand souls. We have blasted a
| good wagon road where you worked that night
| and use it every day. While you we're there
| was over across the river in our rifle pits, 1
| tell you, sir, when those two skeletons were
| turned up the other day and the boys gathered
| the brass buttons and bullets out of the shall
| low grave it made my heart sick, for it brought
to myInind the memory of the near and dear
| ones who fell later at Chattanooga. But
| its all gone now. Youwouldn't know that coun-
| try. Fully one-half of the new town is COM
| posed of n orthern and Western men. and we
| are now developing the splendid mineral re-
| sources of the region hand in hand that you
| and l dug up with spades and with shot and
| shell in the effort to kill each other. There is
| nothing but the skeleton of the war left, but it
| is rather unpleasant to have this skeleton rat
tied in our faces either metarhorically or act
ually."
SO 1 thought, as thanked them for the cor
dial invitation to visit their corner of Alabama
| and returned to my friends. But supposing one
! of these skeletons had been mine-what thenS
Crime and the Newspapers.
| UpEoPLE would save money by reading the
| papers," said Broadway policeman,
| commenting on the bogus check game, the
| iimfam game, the overcoat and umbrella
| game, the bunko game. the green goods game,
| the out-of-the-station-house game, The
| send-the- oods-home game. and other common
methods of swindling prevalent in New York
He had dropped into 1.-THE Owl'' cigar store to
notify the proprietor that tall young man
with blonde mustache was operating
in that neighborhood, and to request
! that if the aforesaid young man
| should order few boxes of cigars as
Christmas presents for his friends delivered at
his residence in a swell part of town to do up
the goods slowly enough to consume time
enough to notify the headquarters OF the
"Tenderloin" precinct. The name which would
be given, he said, would be that of the real
| resident at the address named, but the swindler
would meet the delivery boy on the front steps
and get possession of the goods under some
pretext or other 1t was game that had been
worked somewhat extensively of late. and had
been duly exposed, but as long as people didn't
read the newspapers they were liable to be
caught. They wanted to catch the swindler.
/ "YOu see," he continued in philosophic
mood, mo matter how thoroughly these tricks
are exposed by the newspapers there are plenty
OF people to work EN- on. you'd think NOBODY
of any sense could be bunkoed now, wouldn't
you? And yet there are lots more being caught
that way than you ever hear of. good many
smart men and lots more smart women never
read the newspapers-ar least the police re-
ports the crimes record. They think papers
shouldn't print 1t, maybe, and yet the printing
of such things saves many from being swindled.
These swindlers are more afraid of the news
papers than they are of us, for If their games
weren't made public you know, they'd be
swarms of 'em where there's only one now.
Yet it seems like nobody reads the news
papers when chap like this can work
such racket, now don't it? And all the other
games too. tell you if everybody would read
the newspapers it would save ,l us good deal OF Of
the market-yes it would" And with this bit
of sound philosophy the big man in blue swung
out and tacking down upon the Thirty-tllird
street corner into gang of toughs caused
sudden movement in all directions.
Not so Bad as Painted.
MIR. RUSSELL HARRISON is rather popular
1'A young man in New York society. He is
not only popular, but deservedly SO, and those
who know him best would like him Just
as well If he were not the son of the
President of the United States, though, of
cours, the relationship gives him additional
importance in the eyes of a great many people
studied his manners very closely one evening
last week while in his company at the big doll
show, and failed TO see any evidence
of that disease known as the big
head, with which he is reported
to be suffering. Young Harrison is a
handsome fellow. of pleasant, gentlemanly
manners kind and obliging even to impudent
strangers who force themselves upon him.
There is nothing of the habitual hauteur of his
distinguished father about him, and he strikes
me as plain, honest gentleman who is satisfied
with his own merits and is willing to pass for
what they are worth. At the doll show, in
which he took with Mr.. Artell. of the Judge, a
great deal of interest, he was evidently re-
garded by the ladies with the same considera-
ton they would feel toward any gentleman who
had devoted the like time and energy TO such a
commendable charitable enterprise.
Quite a Ladies' Man.
IRON the doll show with Mr.. Russell Harrison
as guide and companion to Otero and
"Buck' Taylor is a wide step for the imagIna-