The record-union., 1896-09-20
CRAZED BY MONEY TALK.

Pathetic Fate Of the Man Who Came to
Town to Spend a Day.
Even the Moon Cast Silvery Light
Upon the River in Which He
Sought Relief
The Man Who Came to Town to
Spend a Day entered the breakfast
| room with a placid and unruff1ed air
OF one whose days had been passed in
| the country, forgetful of the fact that
there was such a word as politics to
perplex 9<careful writer as to whether
| to use it in the singular or the plural,
| says the New York Herald AS he
passed to his seat and thrust his legs
under the mahogany a confused babel
| Of voices in hot and earnest consulta-
| tion greeted his ear.
Don't you see that this country--the
difference in the parity of the-it's SIM
ply an Infamous attempt-these scoun-
| drely Wall street-this is the biggest
| and greateSt-yOu can't can't convince
me that sixteen OunceS-dOn't tell me
that gold and silver-this binetallic
| fraud is the greatest con-
| The Man Who Came to Town lifted
! his hands to his ears, smiled softly and
nodded to the nearest waiter. There
was a look of mingled fear and joy of
discovery in his face as he said softly:
| Don't make any disturbance about
1t, but slip over to the proprietor's office
quietly and tell him that delegation
has escaped from Bloomingdale, and
that the police ought to be notified at
| once"
| The face of the waiter betrayed one
of those sickly and CHASTITY smiles we
| read about in novels. He seemed to
think that the speech of his customer
was mutual attempt at joke. But
the Man Who Came to Town was quite
serious, so the waiter explained:
| IT'S nothing. sab, you needn't be
alarmed, sab, they'se only discussin'
the silver question, sah.'
| The Man Who Came to Town seemed
relieved, but saddened. 1t was then
!
a political campaign was on.
| Just how amid the fearful babel of
voices that ragged around him the Man
Who Came to Town got through that
awful breakfast it is no part of this
veracious chronicle to record. AS the
check came and he laid down a bill
i'll payment and the waiter returned
bearing the change upon silver plate,
o,e.;, he
| marked with an evident attempt to
| conciliate his ruffied guest:
mo objection to silver, sah?''
The Man Who Came to Town did not
speak The words that might have
come from his parched and swollen
throat stayed there. They stuck.
Wordless he went away.
BOMBARDED ON ALL SIDES.
The elevated was crowded as he rode
downtown. A single seat remained.
1t was one of the criss-cross affairs,
and the three men who occupied the
other sections bent their heads together
in an earnest debate.
IF any blankety-blank idiot tries to
tell me that-what you don't know
about this question would fila school
boy and an idiot can see that 53 cents
gold and silver have been the his
toric@'
The Man Who Came to Town to
Spend a Day arose and went to the
door The air was fresher there and
the roar of the cars drowned something
which he did not wish to hear and which
he hoped in time to forget.
The train grew more crowded. Even
| the platform was occupied. Two men
took up their posts beside the man. He
| looked at them askance, studied their
cOuntenances and seemed to feel appre
hensive. The conversation between the
two men that had been interrupted in
| boarding the train was resumed. In
calm and philosophic way one Of the
| men observed:
Il means the widest panic, the most
fearful fall of values, the degradation
| of the currency and the qualification of
the national honor if We
| The Man Who Came to Town fled in
despair. Off the elevated, down the
stairs, across the street, nearly run over
! by a passing truck, not knowing
whittier he was going, he madly rushed.
In the calm Of a byfare he pulled to-
gether his shattered nerves and walked
| slowly, thinking to himself, Il will
board an open cable"
Again a single seat, again three men.
The rational solution of the Ques-
| ton lies in an International
| He got no further. With a wild, de-
spairing cry the Man Who Came to
Town leaped from the car and gained
| the curb The passengers on the car
| looked smiled Dityingly and rode on.
! The Man Who Came to Town con-
cluded to walk. Stopping at a cross
street he heard behind him the strident
| murmur of a heated argument. When
he was able to distinguish the words
his face grew white.
1T is the ancient money of the Con-
Stitution, and no Congress on earth has
| the power"
Family the Man moved away to the
other side Of the street. Hours later,
as it seemed to him, he reached the Of
| flee of the downtown friend whom he
| wished to see. The office boy returned
| with his card and said:
THE GENERAL WAS ENGAGED.
"The General begs to say that he is
engaged at the moment, sir, but wishes
| to know if you can wait moment un-
| til he is at liberty 1t was an unex-
pected reply from his friend but the
Man Who Came to Town sat down.
| Here at least it was quiet. Lost in the
columns of the morning newspaper,
from over the transOm f1oated the frag-