New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-01-24
PETER OUT ~ THE NIGHT.


PETER dear. We fear you are IN alarmist.
Else why should you wag your hrsu;e chm
and say. as You did in the Senate on Monday
a day of rcributon is coming day OF rcck-
oning Is nigh AT hand The people Will SInltc
their enemy. In their wrath this great crime
will be avenged e? Language so earnest ana
imprisoned should not be INDUCED In unless
you have Nvices that warrant H. Many people
will be disturbed by 1t. Some will provision
themselves for siege and barricndc thcr
doors and windows. Some will bctak" them
selves to the mountain Businesses. others VIII
fly into the depths If forests. and many VIII
90 down cellar and wait for II To blow over.
Your language PETER. Is more blood curdllng
and more devastating than anything even thai
was uttered on the floor ~ the Senate during
the eclipse Of gayety and the general sense Of
impending doom which prevailed while the til-
yer debate WAS on In the extra session. Ar"
YOU determined. PETER 10 tcrrify the whole
land into wild insanity or gibbcring hlocy; To
stop business, break up families. destroy the
peace Of communities, dcpopulate States ana
Law waste large tracts Of country by these
ominous outgvngs? We hope not. PETER.
And yet with your general intelligence You can
not fail TO perceive that this will be- th" incyi-
table effect If people take you seriously ana
believe rs you would 10 doubt have them. that
you know what you are talking about AMI are
not talking through your hat"
Nothing could be more impressive. PETER,
than your statement that you were Standing
in the night of the nineteenth century and look
ing toward the dawn of the twentieth al
though as n matter of fact there seems Ia be
no necessity for your standing there unless
YOU have lost your night key. Perhaps you
have Or maybe you have insomnia and are in
the habit OF standing In the night looking
toward the dawn. However that may be. your
description Of yourself in that attitude Is cX-
trcmcly picturesque and vivid. 1t would make
n great historic picture for the twentieth cent
ury-if 1t ever CQmes-tO look at and study. II
occurs to us that II might serve rs a design for
the silver dollar to be issued when the scignior
age Is coined. 1t might be entitled. PETER In
the Night OF the Nineteenth Century, and we
should hope that the prIdcs who are Just now
crltcising the st. Gaudcns medal would not OBJ
ject to draping the figure In Il nGhishlrt. we
regret however that standing there in the
night YOU should "scc coming wave OF IRE
and blood" Because we do not believe that
such n spectacle rs that would impart cheer
fnl expression 10 your usually calm and rather
taking countenance. Moreover, a wave OF fire
and blood would be difficult to represent on
canvas though we are aware that such waves
are of frequent occurrence In Kansas and Colo
RADIO AS a matter of fact. we have n strong
suspicion that standing there in the night you
do not actually see 4 wave Of fire AMI blood
We are told that persons who stand ont In the
night looking toward the dawn are liable to see
such things, or think they see them. and that
the usual practice Is TO lean against lamp
post and let them 20 by without trying to stop
them.
You were quite right PETER. in utterlng Il
prayer that the wave may spend its force on
the sea-" Or, IL not on the sea- somewhere in
the lower part of Chesapeake Bay or on the
Potomac Such Il wave as that rolling up Penn
sylvania-avc. would end all hopes for quorum
I'm the House or Senate BY the way, PETER,
was there anybody riding on the crest of that
wave Of fire and blood? And If there was, did
he resemble in any important particular Davis
H. Waite. Of Colorado? II the wave had n
rider, it's dollars to doughnus that Davis III.
| Waite was on II. Your peroration was fine,
| PETER although we must insist that ii inspires
| terror TO n quite unreasonable extent. You
| say: Behind me Is Rome and before me God
| alone I'm His infinite wisdom knows" Geo
graphically speaking, 1t may not be precise,
for as a matter OF fact, we believe that be-
hind you is Topeka, Kan, which is much
younger town. But Rome sounds better than
Topeka, and your poetic license gives you the
power Of substitution 1t seems TO us that you
| dropped a stitch when you left the future 10
Infinite Wisdom. leaving it to be inferred that
you do not know all about 1t yourself That is
an unfortunate confession for Il man to make
who stands out I'm the Eight OF the nineteenth
century looking toward the dawn Of the TWEEN
| tieth and seeing n wave Of fire and blood COM
ing. Right there, PETER. we fear that the wind