New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-18
MR.. PLATTS THUMB.

War instead Of a Presidential canvass. and the
Hon. Thomas c. Plat were Spartan com
mander instead OF a Republican Boss. the whole
business would be called of until the auspices
were more favorable The old Greeks were ac-
customed 10 looking upon mishaps TO their lead
ers as unmstakablc proofs OF the dlsfavor or
the gods; and so long as they continued no bust
ness was done except In the way OF religious
ceremonies and sacrifices 10 propitiate the Olym'
plan deites TO Mr.. Plat. the recognized lead
er Of great political enterprise in the thrtieih
OlympIad Of the Republic there has recently
come in rapid succession a series Of mishaps
that II he were az all superstitious would set
him TO consulting the oraclcs and making sacri-
fees He need not 20 TO Delphi for oraccs; he
can find plenty OF them at the Filth Avenue
Hotel; and as for sacrifices. he never has been
at loss for Them they strew In large numbers
his whole career. He has one already bound
and waiting the knife at Albany 10 begin on
Mr. Platt's succession Of mlsadvcntures began
| some weeks ago with slip on the sidewalk At
| a time when the other Spartan ephors-to con
| time the igure-Messrs. Depew. Miller and
| Lauterbach were depending upon him 10 lead
| of in the great enterprise Recovering In some
measure from that untoward circumstance, he
| was about 10 lead the Morton hosts in his mag
| netic and fiery manner in the State Convention
| when he suddenly fell against some article Of
| domestic furniture and was again disabled TO
such an extent that he was compelled on ac-
| count Of 1t TO leave the convention hall at the
most interesting crisis in Its proceedings. Feel
| Ing the need Of rest and recuperatl0n, be with
| drew to Florida. But even there, Ike another
! unhappy master,
| Whom unmercful disaster
| Followed fast and followed faster
he was pursued by fate or the Eumcnidcs and
| almost soon as tropic breczcs began TO fan
| his brow and the odors Of the orange groves
| were beginning TO delight the sense he mashed
| his thumb In the crack Of a door. AS the cul-
| mnation Of n rapid succession Of personal mis-
| adventures this seemed extremely inauspcious.
He returned on Thursday to his Fifth Avenue
| Hotel, his Express Company, his Lauterbach
| and his Hackctt, as is reported. In comfortable
frame Of mind, considering all things. but with
his thumb in sling; or, II not Il sling, some
similar surgical contrivance. The general Joy
at his temperance In the Lauterbach-H ackett
circle was somewhat abated by the thought OF
his crippled thumb. For to them this Is an un
commonly important thumb. 1t is the kind OF
thumb that made the youthful John HOrncr i'm
mortal as IA good boy" Everybody remembers
how
Little Jack Horner sat in a corner
Eating Christmas pie
He put In his thumb and pulled out plum.
And said what good boy am !!
The thumb that was so cruelty mashed II
| Florida was precisely that kind Of thumb. L
. | had been put into great many Christmas pies
, and the reputation Of its owner as "a good boy
. depended entirely upon its pulling out plums
1t has not always pulled out plums to be sure
| In the Garfield Administration 1t pulled oil
nothing and only mussed up the pie. In thu
; Hayes Administration 1t reached for the Post
, office plum and pulled out nothing but an I'm
e | ripe persimmon with distinctly puckery taste
In the Harrison Administration II felt roun'
for the Treasury plum and didn't get even
persmmon. But then all Christmas pies ar
. | not full of plums, and even the late John Horne
= might have failed at some time, no matter how
:. good boy he was This particular thumb, 1t i
| also TO be remembered has been uncommon
j., fortunate in pulling out pums from Taniman
|. Christmas pies-little ones-for many years. an
has had great run OF luck under GOverno
e Morton
/. 1t was surmised when the first rumor wa
q bruited Of a disaster TO Mr.. Platt's thumb tina
q possibly the Morton boom might have fallen o.
= IT, the fact being generally known that he ha
q taken 1t with him with view to giving It
q | more genial climate. Accordingly no serou
II anxiety was felt, the conviction being geners
that though 1t might have caused momentar
D. main II could not endanger the thumbnai
!, When It came to be known that he had left
A In his usual confdng way In the track Of
r door there was considerable apprehension. Fo