New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-11-18
A PROPHECY WITH a QUERY
Lowell and MI. Dooley' Adduceo III
Pen1v TO Solemn Election Comment

To the Editor OF The Tribune ,,,,,,+
Sf,. To a citizen OF Providence II Jug
tn he impossible to be unkind' L hHo"
then the writer has not always hVe"
,,7 II this communication seems 10 oe'7ii :
., +;,ro,,- cold water on the pleasure III ~
r,-i,iob two of your esteemed con'eIiip
- ara 81 present enjoying 1t VIII De
,.,,eo : annreciate the fact that II mas iioe
l,oen their nature to enjoy themselves ii'"OH
y, tho life poIitical-at least not for hi'1'iS
,-oo,e- and also because l suspect mat
+l.o,- do not really feel comfortable IN SPlI0
50 +t,ofr affected cheerfulness. These
,,,arl.s are r.rompted by observing the al
,,os+ childish glee of The Sun anu Tue
l,ea--z- solemn air with which The Even
- r3os-,, conducts its preaching on the re-
s,.Its of the recent election
AZ neither Yesterday mornings nor TINS
Mornings issue of The Tribune contained
hirlr in the way Of reply or comment
ON the editorial in The Evening Fosl u
LIST saturday fear you are going to let
!; mass unnoticed. And 80 one VINO uoeS
not have to live in TIE came Town WIN
THE Post this seems 100 bad
Will YOU permit M 10 all Your aIIeii lioi
and that OF your read rs 10 he particular
avcited nv amusement as well as other
emotions? The paragraph occurs III u.
editorial entitled Taking our Bearings.
Toward the last part Of the article Inc
vrriter evidently gets down to what ne
wants to say and in almost paIheuc "ol"S
renews his long lost faith III the American
peopIe The paragraph begins WIN Inc
words, The America il which we stun I'VE
is inhabited" etc, and after recltIhs as
leading virtue of said inhabitants their
ability TO interpret the Constitution as Ips
Post" does, and contrary 10 the way III
which THE Post" has lately feared that
some one else has been constituting H. t4ie
writer winds up as follows;
Sc, also, when strong men wept at the
delivery of the OsawatOmIe speech, ana
said TO each other tearfully that It was the
new Magma Charta from which all mod
ern history would date, the American peo-
ple looked on with a quizzical smile. as
they thought how one election day would
change all that-as it has done.
Now if The Posts attention could only
bc called to the words OF Lowell, where he
makes q wise man say something on the
subject of prophecy that seems TO me very
helpful just now, perhaps The Post
might be induced 10 look away frcm the
sight of the strong men that 50 excited its
concern and get into the far more useful
pastirne Of booming and instTucting its
favorite candidate for 1912. in the person of
the great but untried executive of Prince
ton University.
The words OF Lowell to which I wish 70
direct THE Posts attention are:
~ e-a-lther's rule WIS safer n It's TO CROW,
Don't never prophesy-onIess ye know
1t is barely possible that the aforesaid
speech at Osawatoinie may contain in II
such large proportion Of truth that the
rest of us will not willingly let it die, but
would rather be reluctantly forced TO per
nit The Post to do as Mr. Dooley'' sug-
gested we might have to allow Andrew
Carnegie TO act by reason of his exercise OF
mind in regard to the Philippine pro
eramme. That philosophers conclusion
was: so I suppose, Hinnissy. we'll have
u stay an do tn best We can. an lave
Andrew Carnegie seceed frm the Union"
WALTER J. LADD.
Providence, r. J., Nov 10.