St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-17

how or other the post facto political
prophet always counts up more
numerously in the newspapers
than he does on the tally sheet.
And The prophetic visions and dreams
that are dreamed after the thing
the prophet dreamed about has
appeared in all the ''boiler plate" pa
pers-lt is astonishing how closely a
dream in the midnight visions of good
all-around dreamer can be mace to par
allel the accomplished fact. AT least it
is astonishing until the reader has gone
into the dream business himself apd
manipulated few syndicate pre-
sentiments for popular use. After
you once get the combination you can
outdream -"Peter lbbetson" with one
eve shut. AT the same time, my son,
do not decry prophetic utrerance. 1t is
q good practice for you to read history,
and learning what men and nations
have done, try your hand at forecasting
what other men and nations will do
under similar circumstances. 1t isn't
too often you will make BULBS eye;
you may feel proud if you make a few
good line shots in your lifetime,
and can prove that they weren't
scratches. And, of course, to give
must make them public long in advance
of the event. Nobody, not the most
credulous person in all the world, places
the slightest credence III the inspired
outbursts of a post faotO prophet. He is
always fraud and usually liar, hay
ing never made or dreamed of making
the predictions he says he did. But |
like to see you try your hand at it. I've
made my shots: didn't always miss the
target; o. no, made few cutters. And
even when |
Missed the Target Entirely
l usually hit something else-the barn
over the way or a wandering cow in the
next field which happened to be stray
Ing within the range of my prophecy.
Ills better to have prOpheSied at a great
European war OF the end of the world
and hit a cow than never to have
prOphesied at all. But you say: "If
l prophesy publicly and don't come
within thousand years of anything
people will make fun of me, and if [
keep my prophecy dark until after the
event they won't believe l ever pro-
phesied." Well, no and yes. If you
fail it doesn't necessarily follow that
are they won't pay the slightest atten-
tion to you and won't know that you
ever yet phophesied, unless you get up
on the city wall and bawl Yourself
hoarse reminding them of it, You.
may feel highly honored if the
great, hurrying, noisy, busy world pays
enough attention to you to listen to you
at all. And if it remembers what you.
said long enough to poke fun at you
about it, why, bless you, my boy, you
have at least secured hearing. And
that is triumph. Go down to Wash
ington; see the new member. Hon.
John Raw, of Crudeville, Dough county,
whom the chance of the drawing
has given the best scat in the
house; see him standing on his
ing 'Mr. Speaker until the ventilators
rattle: the speaker slowly raises his
eyes; Hon. Mr.. Raw's patience and per-
sistence are about to triumph; hope fills
his fainting heart and
Nerves His Failing Voice:
with one last despairing effort he bel
lows "Mr. Speaker" as though all the
loud-SOunding bulls on Bashan's hills
were roaring the Drinking Chorus from
1.-The Guzzlers," and in gentle tones
the Speaker, glancing calmly far over
the head of the bowling dervish from
Dough county, recognizes quiet man
away back in the shadowy obscurity of
the last seat in the chamber who hasn't
said anything. Consider Johnny Raw's
ways and be wise, my son. The first
thing for you to do is to catch the speak
erS eye. Your second surmise is cor
rect. You can't make a record
Tor a prophecy on private
track with invited witnesses Of
your own choosing. These private
tracks are frequently little fast. and
the private watcher little slow. Many
horse has trotted in 2:O91S OH pri-
vate track that got shut clear cut by
three-minute colt when they trotted at
the county fair.'s But you don't
prophesy necessarily for the approba-
ton of the public, my son. Never mind
what people say. If you have something
to prOpheSy lift your voice and cry aloud.
They'll listen to you by and by. That
is, If you propheSy concerning things
that concern them. People don't care
to hear about the end of the world.
That don't concern them very much;
they ali know whenthat is coming. The
end of the world2will come to you and
to every man who hears your voice some
time within the next hundred years.
That much we all know. No man now
living will see the year 1898. except
few old liars who are not yet born, but
who intend, by the assistance of local
editors of their town papers, to live to
the ripe old age of 11S years. So if you
have anything to say it is time for you
to begin. Longer you put it off, more
trouble you will have catching the
speakers eye.