The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-04-10
APRIL FOOL STORY.
It Changed the Destinies Of Some
Kentucky Politicians.


One member Of the group had said 1
something about the pranks that are
played on the 1st of April. THAT re-
minds me-" said an old newspaper man /
in the group, "of a joke 1 sprung in 4
Kentucky a few years ago, and had /
no idea when I conceived. the idea of |
| springing the joke Just what effect it /
would have. I actually, in an innocent I
way, changed the destinies of a few
| men and caused a perfect political
| stampede in the state of Kentucky. 1t
| was just at the beginning Of Grover
| CleVeland's last administra ton He
| mad just been inaugUrated "a few weeks
| before on March (, and Kentucky was
| one great seething mass of Office seek
( ers. John G. Carlisle was a big man
/ in the affairs of Kentucky at that
/ time. He was in high favor. He had
/ resigned his position in the United
| states senate. Mr.. Cleveland having Of
/ Tered him the position of secretary Of
| the treasury. Because Of Mr.. Carlisle's
| good standing with MI Cleveland, the
| politically ambitious men and women
! Of Kentucky thought they could get
/ anything they wanted. Heads began
! TO bob up ia all sections of the state,
/
| conceivable kind of Office There We're
q dozen or more candidates for nearly
| all the offices. and the places sought
| covered everything in the blue book Of
| the government, so that you can i'm
aglne what a vast army of Office seek
eTs there was in the commonwealth.
And everybody was looking to Carlisle.
Even the fellows who afterward rot
| ten-egged' him because Of his switch
on the money question were clutching
at his Coattail then. They knew the
president would allow him 10 parcel out
the patronage of the state. and they
were not so far wrong about this. This
was the political situation in Kentucky
when the LIST of April rolled around,
Immediately after Mr.. Cleveland's in
auguration. I was telegraph editor on
an evening paper in Louisville Copy
had been d little slow and 1 had been
loahnS on the desk. I conceived the
idea Of fixing up a telegram from
| Washington. and knowing nearly all Of
the most prominent candidates for the
various places, I concluded that I
would make this the text Of my fake
message from the national capital I
! went to work and I became enthusi-
astic over the effort and decided to
| simply make the message ring, and.
without evideneing any vanity, I was
really proud Of the yarn wheI I had
finished it.
Under a Washington date line" the
narrator continued. Il proceeded TO tell
the story Of an important executive
message TO the senate Of the United
states. / went into all the little details
incident to such a thing. all the little
I ceremonial niceties, in order to give the
story the color OF genuineness- In sub
stance, the story was that the presi-
l dent had sent to the senate a message
/ announcing certain appointments in
/ which Kentuckisns were largely inter
ested. ] picked out certain men in
Kentucky and placed them. I gave one
man a consulship and another some
sort of governmental commission in
South or Central America. / put a
well-knowu lawyer in the Office of dis
trict attorney. and told who his assist
ant would he. I filled as many Of the
Offices as / could conveniently deal
with in one story. / picked up one
bright fellow, who was not doing so
wei. and made him minister to Swift
erland. We ran several pictures in with
the story. Among them was the pic
ture of the new minister to Switzer-
s land He was in a BARRIERS chair when
the paper came out. It was the second
edition A newsboy showed the paper
at aim and there was his picture. ana
his new title, and the barber had to
fan him to keep him from swoOning on
account OF the suddenness Of it all
With the head. the story ran down to
the end of the column, with just few
lines running over to the next page
! This was a part of the trick. Country
papers, within easy reach Of Louis
Vile fell into the trap and reprinted
the story, giving it much wider ciTcu-
Iation They did not read the few
q lines on the next page. Here is where
they erred. On the page to which the
story had been continued I had con-
cIuded the story in this wise: This IS
what might have happened If today
was not the 1st of April had really
called many of the successful men. But
a rather curious thing was that haq
stirred by friend up by saying he had
been given the position of minister 10
Switzerland. He had not applied lot
the position, as d matter OF facJ put
the April fool story started the pee
buzzing in his bonnet. Henry w after
son took his case up and he got sooo
appointment in the windup-