The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-01
THE PROMINENT GENTLEMAN.
A Fiction That We Could Not Dispenss
with in THIS Day.

From the New Orleans Picayune.
ON the principle OF rendering unto
Caesar the things that are Caesal-s g.,
and giving honor where honor is due,
IL is about time that the world created
some fitting as a testimon-
ial of its gratitude 10 a certain prom
inent gentleman" That the gentleman
Is anonymous and o~bstinately persists
in remaining so. is, of course, from an
excessive modesty that rather in
creases than diminishes our many OBJ
legations to him. In reality we all
know him. and have a many occa-
sions when we were glad to avail our
selves of his kindly services. when he
obligingly stood sponsor for views we
were too cowardly to father. and when
he good-naturedly permitted us to
prove by him otherwise unsupported
statements. He is an important per-
sonage i'm every community. ubiqui-
tous, omniscient, totally indispensable
n irresponsible. In the mystery in
which he surrounds himself he looms
up vast and ~portentous, and his words
have n weight we would never dream
of attaching to the utterances of a
mere Smith or Jones. IL would be i'm
possible to conceive OF the d%esolation
his removal would cause, for in a way
he is the originator of every movement.
Who singles "A man out of all the rest
In a town for office? Nobody. "A
certain prominent gentleman" sug-
gests that our worthy townsman
would make a good Justice of the
peace, or mayor. or governor. and so
the boom is launched and nobody is
responsible for IL If IL turns out bad
ly. Perhaps in a town a big deal in
real estate is contemplated. or there is
ak of a new railroad. or something
of the kind. Little Brown, who sits
I'm his office with his eyes on his edger
all day. has no more real information
about il than we have. and we would
laugh his personal theories to scorn.
But when he tells us that a prominent
gentleman says this and that about
IL we feel at once that he has been
hobnobbing with capitalists and rail-
IA presidents. and treat the informa-
ton with the respect IL deserves, COM
ing from such an authentic source.
The certain prominent gentleman is
pr~e-eminently "A specialist. which, of
course. makes his opinions on different
subjects of such value. Most scandal.
IL traced to its origin. goes back to a
certain prominent society man. or
club man." whose name can never, of
course. be mentioned. "A certain
prominent business man" is the au-
thority for rumors about stocks and
bonds n shaky firms; IA certain
prominent church member is guilty
of the most shocking conduct in every
community in C~hristendom, but he
never is brought to account. and so II
goes. Just now the gentleman is To-
Gated In Washington, or Havana. or
Key West, and he is working overtime
giving out war rumors. The president
has confided in him. the divers have
furnished him exclusive and private
information. there is nothing hidden or
secret from the all-seeing eye OF the
"a certain prominent gentleman IL
is a time when a mere man would
boast OF himself n proclaim his
glory to the world, but not so with "a
certain prominent gentleman" Never
before was he SO thoroughly ~incognNo
as at this particular moment, when the
world would like TO know who he IL,
| and how he came TO know Il all.