The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-05
A Kentucky Misunderstanding?

IN unfortunate misunderstanding, which
may ultimately agitate the Federation of
States and even Engage the attentive wis
dom of the Federal Congress, is now shak-
Ing the Commonwealth of Kentucky from
its centre all around to its circumference.
The facts in this case, which we may call
the Richardson Bradley incident, have been
Lid before the readers Of THE SUN as they
have been developed from day to day. They
may be summarized as follows:
During Mr.. HILARY A. HERBERr's term
of office as Secretary of tho Navy, Congress
authorized the building of q battleship
which the Secretary resolved to name the
Kentucky. About that time, that is to
say, last winter, Mr.. HERBERT met In
Washington Miss HARRIET BAINBRIDaE
RICHARDSON, to whom he now refers as
Every beautiful and attractive" md before
he separated from her. he says, "she under.
stood that she was to chrlsten the battle.
ship before mentioned. The vessel, how.
ever, was not finished during Mr.. HERBERT's
term Of Office. The Kentucky will not be
launched until some time in January next.
Meanwhile changes took place and Mr.,
JOHN D. LONG of Massachusetts became
Secretary of the Navy.
In the exercise of his official functions,
finding the christening of the battleship
Kentucky a duty yet to be discharged, Sec
rotary LONG wrote to Governor BRADLEY of
Kentucky, requesting him to designate a
lady to be present on the occasion of the
launch for the purpose of christening the
vessel" Immediately after the receipt of
this request from the Secretary, a petition
praying the Gov4rnor to appoint his daugh-
ter, Miss CHRISTINE BRADLEY, as sponsor
for the battleship was presented to him by
the Commercial Club of Louisville and the
President Of the Lexington Chamber of
Commerce. The Chief Executive of the
Blue Grass State gracefully acceded to this
request, and his daughter was selected to
confer upon the ship the name Of the State
thus to be honored.
Whereupon Miss RICHARDSON, who Is a
great.niece of the illustrious Commodore
BAINBRIDGE and, according to a local re.
port. also a daughter of JANE STOKE
STAMPS RICHARDSON, a belle and heiress
of note" appeared in print to assert her
prior claim to the honor of christening the
battleship, and to c~riticise the action of
Governor BRADLEY In selecting his W
daughter to perform that function. 1t Is q
pretty quarrel as 1t stands.
1t must be admitted that Miss RICHARD
SON has displayed great and unusual abil-
ity In her management of her case. 1t
might have been expected that q lady, an
noyed by being thus %supplanted in dig
nifty by another, would have resorted
to some u feminine tactics as to
stigmatize her rival as "a mean old
thing" or to c~riticise the At of her dress
in the back. But Miss HARRIET Balm
BRIDGE RICHARDSON, the beautiful and at
t~ractive young lady of refinement that she
is, directs the batteries of her scorn only
upon Governor BRADLEY. Referring Co the
report that the Governors staff officers
were the real authors of the petition re-
questing the Governor to appoint his daugh.
ter to the sponsorship of the ship. she says
81 have no official unners with petitions
urging my selection again; neither have
i had at work any political influence among
the tradespeople of Kentucky" And. with
this passing a~llusion to the tradespeople,
she withers the spirit of the Chief Executive
of her State by the remark: when Cover
nor BRADLEY takes the laurel from my
head and places 1t upon that of his daugh-
ter, just because he thinks he has the
power to do SO, / blush for the courtesy Of
the gallant Governor Of Kentucky"
There is a certain illogicalness in this
burst of eloquence that has a feminine
charm. But let that pass.
AS we have said already, it is evident that
this unhappy affair, which is prolific of
social discord in Kentucky, and may cause
grave political complications there and
elsewhere, is the result OF a misunderstood
Ing. Miss RICHARDSON, although ex-Secre-
tary HERBERT gusrdedly says "Shs under