Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-17
PLAYED A SHARP TRICK

OhS Va tHoIendfIRSt DIS OF newspaper
work In my refolteet4on,'' said one of the
New York eoSgsspoHhents. when the SUBJ
ject of getting gnews slnder difficulties came
up. was pulled offdby- New York politi-
cal reporter who hasaince got rich in Next
can mining ventures during the snap con-
vention excitement In New York in 1892.
You'll remember that the Hill faction an
nounced their Intention of pulling off a
delegate-choosing convention in New York
state while the coldrtweather was still on,
and the Cleveland cTowd set up howl that
could be heard all 9ver the country. The
Cleveland outfit, cofhfposed of such men as
William c. WhitneY. ex-secretary of the
Treasury Fairchild, E. Ellery Anderson and
that lot, soon became known as anti-snap-
pers, and they united in denouncing the
snap winter convention of the Hill faction.
one day in January the political report
ers attached to the New York newspapers
got the tip by the underground method
.hat Nliiiam Z. Whitney had called meet
ing OF the anti-snappers from all over the
state, to be held in one of the main par
lors of the Murray Hill Hotel that nj ght
Inc political reporters hustled around to
get preliminary details as to the purposes
OF the meeting, but they were turned down
everywhere by all hands connected with the
anti-snapper movement Not a word could
they get about what was going to be done.
Moreover, they were told that the meeting
at the Murray Hill was to be a star cham
Der affair of the purest ray serene, and that
nary newspaper man was to be admitted
or be told anything about what had oc-
CURED after 1t was over. 1t was an import
ant DIT or news, and the men who covered
pollucals were in a qua naery. They held
meeting to consider the situation at the
fifth Avenue Hotel. AS they were talking
with their heads together an upstate demo
cratic l'ohtlcian, one of the Cleveland anti
snappers, passed through the rotunda of the
MOTEL He happened to be the living image
OF one. of the newspaper men, a short,
stout, dressy chap, who never made his pub
Inc newspaper men gazed after the re-
ceulng inquire of the politician and comment
ed on the resemblance. The man who look
ed like the politician spoke up.
He's down here to attend that Murray
Hin meeting tonight said he, thoughtfully.
: II We could only sandbag him, OF give him
the Knockout drops, something, L could
act as his substitute at the meeting
He thought it out for while longer.
and then he turned to the crowd confident
ly.
Tive got it. said he I'll attend the
meeting in his place. He won't be there.
You fellows be on hand after the meeting
and I'll give you the stuff
1t was then about o'clock in the after
noon. The political reporter, who was a
real ringer for the upstate democratic
politician, went after the latter. He knew
him
By the way said the newspaper man,
there's an old friend of ours UP in White
Plains taking the gold cure and he men
TONED the name of well-known Albany
man whom they both knew. I took him
up there yesterday. and he was in a pretty
bad way He'd been on a iamboree down
mere for couple of weeks, and let himself
go to pieces. He's always spoken pretty
highly of you. I'm going to take a run up
to White Plains to look him over and see
now he's getting on. Come on UP with
me-you can get back by 8 O'clock
All right said the Politician; and they
got into hanson and were driven to the
Grand Central station. They were so busily
in talking that the politician didn't
notice which gate they went through to
take the train. The newspaper man didn't
buy any tickets-he knew the gateman
They got aboard the 5Beston express, which
only hesitatessa few times on the way to
the town of beans, the first stop being
made at New Haven. The politician was
ol1ssfully Ignorant of. the destination of the
train. and figured that he was on a local
bound for White Plains. When the brake
man sung out ,'All Abroad the political re-
porter said to the politician, Excuse me
minute want to go up forward to see if
there a boy with the afternoon papers on
the train. Just as the train was pulling
out he hoped off, Shabby trick? OF
course it was. But political reporters
life is a warfare. !
O'Clock About fifty of the most promi-
hent Cleveland mon in the state and civ
of New York we're on hand. and they were
spiemnly ushered into the parlor where
the meeting took place. They had to pass
all kinds of guards and doorkeepers and
ACCOMPLISHMENTS the newspaper man
go through them all. His Resemblance. 10
the politician he in1personated was simply
up to increase the resemblance. He. topl1
a seat in the rear. and he didn't miss a
trick. The whole outfit pledged not to give
single detail of the meeting to the news
paper men first Of all. and then the bust
ness went forward Just when the meet
ing was about TO adjourn the sergeant-at-
arms handed a telegram to MFR. Whitney,
the chairman.
The newspaper man correctly figured
that 1t was from the politician who had
been sent speeding on his way. to Boston.
He quietly rose. picked up his hat, and
walked out by the rear door, nobody sus-
pecting anything. We had no means of as
what bombshell the missing
politicians telegram threw into the crowd
but We did learn later that 1t was from
him, and that he told In it OF the job that
had been put up, on him.
we adjourned in cabs to another hotel
and there the political reporter. who had
sat throughout the anti-snappers' meeting
gave us all of the details. He had re-
markabie memory, and he had the whole
thing down pat in addition to a manifold
copy of the resolutions which had been
passed, with which each man at the meet
ing had been furnished. He could have
written the Thing up himself and scored a
clean scoop on the town, but passed his
picklngs over to all of us. which was a
pretty generous thing in itself: for we'd
all have been in trouble with our papers
had We been beaten on the thing Every
morning paper in New York had four col
umns on the first page the next morning
about the anti-snappers' meeting. resoIu.
tons and all. l saw Mr.. Whitney a few
days later, and l couldn't refrain from
a bit.
I believe you gentlemen could pene-
trate a vacuum without admitting the air
along with YOU he said''
LO IS LEARNING
He is No Longer Satisfied With Plain