The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-12-13
A TRIBUTE TO GOULD.

/ To the Editor of the Eagle
| Jay Gould is dead. The Nineteenth
century annunciation came via the West
ern Union wires on the night Of Dec. 3
| quite few DAYS ahead Of the ami
versary of its great precursor. a few
| GLIDE clicks and the naturalization wa:
accomplished within the inner sanctun
of every printing house, worthy the
name, throughout the world. The re-
portorial eye, with dripping pen aloft,
holds in its gaze the awful presence OF
him to whom the message came, /. e..
the business manager, and furthermore
l. e. the molder of the country's mora
sentiment. SIS it praise or damn
Damn flies the word from rancus
stormy breast. Ten thousand pens de-
scend, ink flows amain, and the rasp OF
the falcon is heard IN the land! Public
sentiment is getting nodded. The pen
describes virtue, true and trite, and goes
right on to match il with a fault as
near the size as dollar is to dollar, or
blind to window. Next forms a smaller
virtue, neat and trim, mounted behind a
larger fellow fault, and so on till the vir-
tues grow to points and heinous faults
have undisputed sway. Now comes the
COloring-half shades of vice to bring
the outlines TO the front. Last is laid on
that beautiful transparent veneering
called family affection, love of children,
etc, which all can see through without
effort, and we have the satin-finished
counterfeit presentment of Jay Gould.
Tho Of Tho ITnito1
drawn Gould's picture for the Rogues'
gallery well. Look now in the other
gallery at the faces limned. SANITY
suckers for the greater part, painful to
look upon. Your Cromwell, for instance,
on John Calvin, Martin Luther,
Peter the Hermit and that clique! En-
dOwed by nature, as it were, with IN
satiable, hungry selfishnes5 for the be-
liefs, creeds and sentiments of their age.
Drinkers i'll of all OF it, like balloons,
lnayhap, to the unspeakable relief of the
people, aud were themselves, perhaps
venturing my simple guess on the
scheme of universe-celestial cesspools,
like as not. designed by Providence to
drain surcharged humanity, and abate
the evil of too much creed, outwOrn
holy belief, and stuff that palSies energy.
Convenient vessels for the nonce, and in
this day and age what better specimens
for historians to probe and tap, to get
the spirit of a time or epoch?-of what
was eating men in such and such a
century.
But come to the gallery where they
met to hang Gould! There's Bonaparte,
and Frederick-some Caesars if you will
all satisfying, physiognomies! There am
and you! There's our resolution, will
and energy glorified. They used our
very tools.
Humanity is an ocean that takes a
profit out of every storm that blows;
give them he'll or happiness, it matters
little which, so you deliver the goods
the calm alone IS dreadful. What is The
common curse OF mankind?-the true
original articie-dsobedienc wrong.
Mediocrity, base, vile commonplaceness
twin state to fooldom.
Well known wives Of unknown men-com-
mcud me TO them:
Unknown wives of well known men--I like
But from, that senseless horde sans voice, sans
heaven,
III take my profit as 'r,vere given by heaven!
And so would you.
90 Nlple jay. anu liLIb he eS-
capped mediocrity is one Of those
relreshingly unmooted points through
whose clear medium we are
enabled smilmgly to grasp the animus of
those concerted yaps and coyote
schreeches now ascending from ali over
the country.
Scan the young man before his proiac-
ton: Timid, reserved. knowing, subtle
and resolute withal; went over few of
our fools hills toe: stopped long enough
on one TO write a book. and 50 prove his
kinship. But he took his cue from the
spirit of the age; glanced a the ces5DOol
Of business and passed on. Esrly he felF
the sullen, relentless, fateful force of the
torrent Of gold seeking. with It's elbowing
to death and lrampllnE TO Oblivion char
aCterlStiCs. He knew thc torrent had no
secrets; il was a mob. natural force.
He had. He harneSsed the Niagara
flood Of nineteenth century specula-
lion 10 the vehicle of hiS own des-
tiny. That lie succeeded do bat
recall those irideScent spurts OF disaster,
shooting heavenward as jay applied the
mighty friction of his mind 10 the ire
Sis,aUle matter! Beautiful? Yes. Snail
he say: "Ah. Cyrus. NV dear. Just step
aside one moment whilst / make q nee
eSSarv connection" Hardly.
lie lets him make pyrotechnic squirt
To tell he people there man at work.
Had he lived long enough lie would
have been the biggest "a tor in Chrislen-
dom in making men amply satisfied
each with his own lot. and to make
them eager TO keep away from the buzz
saw speculation.
4 good husband, kind father and
lover of his family. Y has would the
faslidious public demand else: There
was uIne-tenths man-were be thief