The Portland daily press., 1900-10-06
A SLICK BIT OF WORK.
The sharp Trick That Was Pulled or
by Reporter.

zone of the sharpest bits of newspaper
work in my recollection" said one of the
New York correspondents when the sub
ject of getting news under difficulties
came up, ''was pulled off by a New York
political reporter during the snap con-
vention excitement in New York in 1892.
You'll remember that the Hill people
announced their intention of pulling off
a delegate choosing convention in New
York state while the cold weather was
still on, and the Cleveland people set up
a howl that could be heard all over the
country The Cleveland folks soon be-
came known as antisnappers, and they
united in denouncing the snap winter
convention Of the Hill people.
zone day in January the political re-
porters attached to the New York news
papers got the tip by the underground
method that William G. Whitney had
called a meeting of the antsnappers from
all over the state, to be held in one of the
main parlors of the Murray Hill hotel
that night. The political reporters hus-
tied around to get preliminary details as
to the purposes of the meeting, but they
were turned down everywhere by all
hands connected with the antisnapper
about what was going to be DONE More
over, they were told that nary a newspa-
per man was to be admitted to the meet
ing or be told anything about what had
occurred after it was over. 1t was an inn
poItant bit Of news, and the men who
covered polticals were in a quandaly.
They held a meeting to consider the situ-
alton at the Fifth Avenue hotel As they
were talking. with their heads together,
an up state Democratic politician, one of
the antisnappers, passed through the ro-
tunda of the hotel He happened to be
the living image of one of the newspaper
men. The newspaper men gazed after
the receding figure of the politician and
commented on the resemblance. The
man who looked like the politician spoke
up.
-" Hes down here to attend that Muir
ray Hill meeting tonight, said he thought
fully. If we could only sandbag him or
give him knockout drops, I could act as
his substitute at the meeting
'He thought it out for awhile and then
turned to the crowd confidently.
" I've got it, said he. I'll attend the
meeting in his place. he won't be there.
You fellows be on hand after the meet
ing. and I'll give you the stuff
1T was then about o'clock in the aft
ernoon. The political reporter, who was
a real ringer for the up state Democrat
ic 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 mentioned the name of well known
Albany man whom they both knew. I
took him up there yesterday, and he was
in pretty bad way. He's always spo-
ken pretty highly of you. I'm going to
take a run up to White Plains to look
him over and see how he's getting on.
Come on up with me. You can get back
by O'clock
"'All right said the politician, and
they got into a hanson and were driven
to the Grand Central station. They were
so busily engaged in talking that the pol
itician didn't notice which gate they went
through to take the train. They got
aboard the Boston express, which only
hesitates a few times on the way to the
town of beans, the first stop being made
at New Haven. The politician was bliss
fully ignorant of the destination Of the
train and figured that he was on q local
bound for White Plains. When the
brakeman sung out All aboardp the po-
litical reporter said to the politician, 'Ex-
cuse ME a minute; / want to go up for
ward to see if there's boy with the aft
ernoon papers on the train just as the
train was pulling out he hoped off.
Shabby trick? OF course it was, but a
political reporters life is a warfare.
The Murray Hill meeting was called
for I o'clock About 90 of the most
prominent Cleveland men in the state
and city Of New York were on hand,
and they were solemnly ushered into the
parlor where the meeting took place.
They had to pass all kinds Of guards and
doorkeepers and sergeants-at-arms but
the neUspapr man got through them all.
His resemblance to the politician he i'm
personated was simply stunning, and he
used some bits of make up to increase
the resemblance. He took q seat in the
rear, and he didn't miss a trick. The
whole outfit pledged not to give a single
detail of the meeting to the newspaper
men first Of all, and then the business
went forward. Just when the meeting
was about to adjourn the sergeant-at-
arms handed a telegram to Mr.. Whitney,
the CHAIRMAN.
1.-The newspaper man correctly figured
that it was from the politician who had
been sent speeding on his way to Bos-
ton. He quietly rose, picked up his hat
and walked out by the rear door, nobody
suspecting anything. We had no means
OF ascertaining what a bombshell the
missing politicians telegram threw into
the crowd, but we did learn later that it
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 ho-
tel and there the political reporter who
had sat throughout the antisnappers
meeting gave us all Of the details. He
had a remarkable memory, and he had
the whole thing down pat in addition
% a manifold copy Of the resolutions
which had been passed. with which each
man at the meeting had been furnished
He could have written the thing up him
Ielf and scored a clean scoop on the
jown, but he passed his pickings over to
all of us, which was a pretty generous
thing in itself, for we'd all have been