Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-21
,rRoN A STAFF CORRESPONDENT. !

fFRON A STAFF CORRESPoNDENTl
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2O.-In all the his
torv of the last sickness and death of dis
tinguished public men in this city, there
cannot be found anv instance where there
have been such extraordinary secrecy and
mystery in regard to the condition of the
patient and the nature of his disease OBJ
served as in the case of ex-Secretary
Blaine.
In the cases of all of the great men who
have died here since the war, or who have
died in other places after years of identii-
cation with Washington in public life, the
public have been kept informed of the
minutest details, both in regard to the
character of the ailment and the daily and
hourly condition of the patient Neither
ftmily nor friends objected 10 this. They
recognized that the patients belonged almost
as much to the people at large, whose favor
and support made them what they were, as
thew did to their families, who only minis
ter to their domestic comfort and afford
them the sympathy which in moments of
rest is as grateful as are the sympathy and
admiration OF the great public at other
times
Poor Handling of the Present Case.
This rule has been strangely departed
from in the case of Mr. Blaine. From the
first the anxiety and inquisitiyeness of the
public seemed to be offensive to the family
of the statesman. The inquiries may have
been often too obtrusive, judged from any
standpoint, but net more so than happened
N the case of Grant, Garfield, Sheridan
and Others who were anxious to crafty the
public with all the minuti9 of their
afiiction, feeling buoyed up and encouraged
by the evidence of love and sympathy in
that hour which must come to everything
that lives, and which is an hour of dread
and uniathomable solemnity, no matter
what the spiritual strength or the stoical
philosophy OF the chief actor of the
tragedy.
Instead of resulting in any sort of privacy
or immunity, this policy brought irritation
and annoyance to the family of Mr.. Blaine
The physicians were forbidden to divulge
anything in regard to the condition or
disease of the patient, and the information
given at the door by the servants or by
young Jim was plainly stereotyped in
character, and bore the imprint of decep-
tion and misrepresentation on its surface.
Friends of the Family Deceived.
Friends. who called and were admitted
were not allowed to know more than the
outside public in regard to the real facts of
the case. Thev were deceived on the in
side as others were on the outside For
two weeks the constant answer was that
'sNIr Blaine is little better to-day" and
if Mr. Blaine had improved in accordance
with these statements, he would not only
have been the most robust man in WASH
1ngton bv this time, but he would have
been greater physically than any of the
shining lights of that profession which is
now so popular with the elite clubs of the
lands.
Not until Sunday morning, when it was
thought death was at hand, was any true
statement OF the condition of the patient
given TO the public, and when death did
not come the misrepresentation began
again, and on Monday morning the public
were informed that Mr.. Blaine was "better
than he had been for several days"
The Truth Bound to Leak Out.
Of course the truth leaked out constantly,
in the shape OF odds and ends of intorma-
tion, and in this lies the harm of the whole
remarkable treatment of the matter. These
odds and ends were used by individuals and
bv the press as they became available,
an odd here and end there, all naturally
sensational because of the verV lack of in
formation which provoked the use of fancy
where facts were hidden, and the result has
been a mass of contradictory and sensa-
tional matter such as probably never at
tended the last sickness of a man of the
public The people demanded information;
they got all that was available, with the
addition of statements which were mere in
ferences.
Since the relapse of Sunday morning it
has leaked out that at various times for a
week previous TO that day it was feared
that Mr.. Blaine would succumb to similar
attacks, though none of them were so Sc
we're as that one. 1t was rather that this
attack was apparently a climax of the
series which made it so alarming than the
actual severity of this particular attack.
Death Very Near for a Long Time.
1t is known to-day that the statement of
Yesterday morning that Mr. Blaine was
Fsbetter than be had been for three days" is
true in this sense, that for three days the
patient had been 50 low it was expected the
end might occur at any time, and that all
of the friends and relatives of the family
had been confdentially spprised of the
facts.
The condition of Mr. Blaine at this time
Is also IOu0O. Dy the l0Qlrect met10QS
through which only any real information
can be had, to be that of one more dead
than alive. While he arouses himself and
occasionally gives utterance to few words,
he is usually in state of stupor so pro-
found that at times the attendants can
hardly say whether he is dead or alive. He
is TOO weak to assist himself in the least,
an has to be turned and lifted like child.
lie has been able to take only the weakest
of LIQUID nourishment for several days, and
that through q tube, his head remaining on
The piIIow. A healthy person would starVe
on the quantity he has swallowed He is
living on his old vitality, and when that |
nutrition is exhausted the end will come,
unless in the meantime he should, through |
some unexpected rally, be able to take food |
stronger than the thin broth or tea which is
now administered to him.
Great Physically as Wen as Politically.
Blaine was q great man physically as he |
was politically. Few men living his con-
fined life could cope with him in tests of |
activity and strength, when ia the prime of |
his manhood 1t is this wonderful vitality |