The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-12-25

who is Whitney," is a question
frequently asked in this city Of at
taches of The Tribune by parties who
have come to look for his weekly con-
tribution from Susquehanna quite as
aniXously as they do for anything
else that appears in the paper. Who
Whitney Is can't he answered at any
great length for he is just q news
paperman and newsrapermen arc
such impersonal beings that they do
not admit of very lengthy descriptions.
Suffice it to say of him in this re-
gard that he is middle-aged and mar
ried and pretty well thought of by
his neighbors-especially those who
don't happen to read of some of the
gOings"on of Wayne, Eike and Susquc-
hanna counties, as he describes them
, in the New York ami Philadelphia
papers.
But, as to his deeds He is cer-
tainly one Of the greatest romaucers
that ever caused a metropolitan
news editor to telegraph a CORES
pondent: Are you sure of your
facts?" His yarns are mostly of the
highly improbable order, but his
clever way of dressing them up makes
them PASS current for news matter
| and many paper accepts his STUFF
| and prints it believing 1t to he
| narration of actual fact. Once in q
while he gets a query lis your source
of information on mad bull story au-
| tLentic?" to which he invariably re-
| spends: do you want aftidavits?"
| One of the best stories told on
| Whitney is to the effect that the
| freak styling himself the Human
| Ostrich, while at The Tribune office
| one night to invite a reporter to wit
ness his exhibition of eating horse
shoe nails, lamp chimneys, corks, and
other like delicacies. was shown a
| Whitney story telling Of a cow be-
! longing to a poor crippled widow that
| gathered faggots on it's horns while
grazing, brought them home at even
ing and dumped them into the wood
box. Mop" said the Human Os-
trich. Il can't swallow that"
No iurist who has come here to
assist in the local courts has won
moro popularity and admiration from
the members of the bar than Hon,
CYRUS Gordon, of Cleartield, who pre-
|
township murder case, and in tha
Smith-Loomis eiectmcnt suit at the
last term of common pleas. His busi-
ness-like way of conducting case ana
his modest, dignilicd and courteous
manners, at once brought him into
favor with the lawyers. and his COM
ing will always he welcomed by the
Lackawanna bar.
Judge Gordons presence here has an
interesting story behind it. Just al
present there Is no court in his coun'
ty; at least there are 10 jury trials
A Democratic official was to be tried
there two months ago for cmhezHle
ment. The democratic official was
close friend of the Democratic jury
commissioner. The accused official Sc
lected the names of several hundred
of his closest friends throughout the
county and induced the jury com
missioner to allow him to substitute
them for the names that were in th'
tury wheel. The fraud was discovered
and as there is no law covering sucf
an emergency courts in that count!
had to be suspended until next year
The accused official and the jury
commissioner are visiting friends il
| Canada or some other distant cline
and Judge Gordon is going around tn
state assisting in conducting courts II
busy counties, where they have jur,
wheels that have not been tamper,
with.
Dr. Henry Weisenberg, the ney
house surgeon at the Lackawanni
hospital is one of the most popula
physician over connected with that in
: stitution. lie was especially fortunat
, in being promoted to the house-sur
geonship after having served but fou
: months as Junior surgeon, Di
| Weayer's term having expired
= He has proved himself edua
to the emergency. The lowe
or mems surgical Ward Of tn
8 hospital, the care of which devolVe
> upon the house surgeon, has been es
! pecially crowded during the past tw
, | months, and it requires not only
= good medical skill but also great pres
, ence Of mind and foresight in 1t
l management, all Of which qualities ID
I Weisenberg has displayed.
Q The doctor is a New Yorker by brit
? and at first intended to become a
electrical engineer. With this inter
q he entered Lafayette college and com
$ manced q course in electrical eng
J. noering. In a short time, however y
D abandoned this idea and took up
course in chemistry, which he flnlshe
$ after two years hard work. lie the
& entered the University of Pennsy
= yania and completed the four year
= medical course. graduating with IN
class of 90. a number OF Scranto