The Portland daily press., 1892-04-11

quit him, but at the same time. is it fair,
is it just, is fright between man and man
that his business should be discrlml-
mated against by the Legislature? ANY
reasonable person will wot not o7
course, there is another view OF THIS
matter. While many are condemn1ng
the legislature for doing these things,
there are others who take the same
view that the legislature does, namely,
that every swindle that's duly legalized
ezad made proper reduces the number OF
swindles just that much. This, it is
claimed, is in the interest of public
morals, and should be encouraged alike
by press and pulpit. By legalizing all
the swindles it will then become impos-
sible for anyone to be swindled And
when there are no longer any
swindles there will be no induce
ment for anyone to be swindler and
we will all become upright and honor
able by law. This will place all on
common level as to honesty and the very
rich man will, by statute, become quite
as good as a poor man. BY this means
no man may be SO rich but he can get
through the eye Of the celestial needle.
Sir Thomas More's Utopian govern
ment will therefore become beautiful
reality. Here is where the publicist
rises superior to the preacher and NOR
alist. While the latter is wasting his
time trying to persuade men to be hon
est the former passes few laws maxi
ing all crimes legal and all men respect
able. The law is great thing, but it
requires politician to apply its beau
ties 50 as to work the greatest good to
the greatest number.
THE LATE POET WHITMAN.
It is safe to say that dear old Walt
Whitman has been more talked about
in NewYork since his death than he was
during the last ten years OF his Lie.
When the news came that he had gone
over the dark river there were score
of well-known men in New York who
recalled many interesting "reminiscences
of the good gray poet" as he was
thirty years ago. He was familiar
figure on Broadway in ante-magnifcent
physique as he was in later years by the
popularity of much of his poetry. At
the age of forty he was a magnificent
specimen of physical manhood with
heavy shoulders, full, rounded chest,
well-developed biceps and sturdy,
sinewy legs. He' had adopted as
early as his twentieth year the
habit of wearing his shirt open,
exposing his chest. This was his
custom winter and summer. And no
matter how the winds blew or how hot
the sun shone his health never appeared
to be affected. In all his songs Whit
man was fond of sounding the praises OF
the virility and vigor Of men and of the
gentleness of woman. He was a strong
man himself, and he gloried in it. A
friend who knew him we'll in Camden,
tells me that the poet excited some
comment and perhaps a little criticism
at his home in Camden some years ago
by his disregard for the conventional
tiles supposed to hedge around and
environ genius, for he insisted upon
making companions of deck hands on
the ferry boats, and car-drivers on the
street cars. ''Uncle Walt" as they used
to call him, paid no more heed to these
gossipy ani1nadversions than he did to
the winds that blew every day across his
brawny chest. just as long as he was
able to hobble, he walked from his home
o block to the street cars. rode to the
ferry, crossed the river to Philadelphia
and after half dozen trips returned
home again and retired to his den,
where he finished his work for the day.
On pleasant summer days up to his
sixty fifth year Mr.. Whitman daily in
dulgod in the luxury Of a sun bath.
This means that he Invested himself OF
his clothing in the little attic room ad-
joining his study and rubbed himself
vigorously while he walked about in the
warm rays that shone through the win
dows This, he always claimed, invig-
GRATED him and gave him greater men
tai activity. He had often been adj
vised to try Gen. Pleasonton's blue
glass theory which was just at that
time about dying out. But the old gen
tlenaan laz1ghingly replied that he
wanted no strained sunbeams, nor did
he want any colored ones. He pre-
ferred to take his sun bath pure as he
had always done, and he continued I'M
til he became too feeble to rub himself.
LoTrA AID THE POOR PLAYER.
Robert Dunlap, the halter, told me
yesterday a story about Lolita Crabtree,
the actress, which has never been seen
in print. Seine years ago when E. L.
Davenport and James w. Wallaclx were
playing the legitimate through the
country they made an appeal to the in
te1lcctuality OF Chicago in the famous
Crosby opera house. They had as oppo-
sition little Lolita, at that time genu-
inc song and dance variety actress. 1t
was about the period that she intro
duced the banjo to the American stage
outside of burnt-corl1isn. McVicker's
theater was packed every night by peo-
pie who went wild over Lotta's childish
tricks and banjo playing, while Daven-
port and Wallack presented themselves
to empty seats. On Saturday night Mr.
Davenport being called before the cur
tain-he was always famous for his
after-play speeches-indulged in some
rather questionable criticism Of Cllica-
go's taste. He referred to the fact
that the legitimate had not been appre-