Life — December 1, 1892 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘LIFE: “While there's Life there's Hope,” XX. DECEMBER 1, 1892. 28 West Twenty-Tuirp Street, New York. VOL. No. 518. Published every Thursday. $5.00 year in advance. Postage to foreign countries in the Postal Union, §1.04 a year, extra. Single copies, 10 cents. y. ng at this office,” Single copies of Vols I. and II. out of print. « bound, $30.00; Vol. I]. bound, $15.00. Hack numbers, one year old, 25 cents per copy. Vols. IIT to XVI.Jinclu- sive, bound or in flat numbers, at $10.00 per volume. | Subscribers wishing address changed will greatly facilitate matters by sending old address a3 well as new. Rejected contributions will be destroyed untess accompanied by a stamped and directed envelope. f Wet a lot of interesting con- { fidences our friends the poli- ticians ‘must be imparting to one another now that there is no longer an election in prospect to be affected , by untimely revelations! How much edifying political gossip must have been swapped over some Thanksgiving din- ners, that would make interesting read- ing if it could only be brought out! How much Mr. Whitney must know that would help to sell newspapers if it could be put in type! And Mr. Croker! Aye! and the old Man Substantial himself for that mat- ter! There was that interesting story that -’ came out the other day about what hap- pened at the little dinner at the Victoria Hotel. Either of the gentlemen above named could tell, if he chose, whether it was true that Mr. Sheehan tried to put gyves on Mr. Cleveland, and that Mr. Cleveland shook them off with profane emphasis. And that other tale of why and how the protection-is-unconstitutional plank got into the Chicago platform! Some day, no doubt, the true versions of these stories, and others like them, will come out, but not until the contemporaneous human interest has faded out of them, and they have passed over into the small-beer chronicle of history. The story of what Mr. Cleveland said to Mr. Sheehan may not be accurate as it has been told, but it is such a pretty story as it stands that is seems a pity not to believe it. Moreover, it is not incredibly creditable to Mr. Cleveland, whose peculiar strength lies in his ability to make himself clearly understood at times when the temptation to shuffle and compromise is greatest. . * . 'O choose Mr, Edward Murphy as the senatorial colleague of Mr. Hill would be to give the State of New York aan unparalleled chance to be astonished at the development of statesmanlike qualities in two politicians. Whether these qualities could be developed in those men is a question by itself. Bosses have developed into statesmen before now, as witness the case of Daniel Manning. There is no doubt that the senators from New York ought to be men of statesman- like proportions, and that the people of the State, without distinction of faction, would rejoice to see Senator Hill and his prospective colleague prove equal to their opportunity. If Mr. Hill is to do that he must turn over a new leaf and try to get himself acclimated in Washington. . . « EANWHILE there are a num- ber of things that a good many people would like to know. What did Mr. Croker say to Mr. 3. Sheehan; what did Mr, McLaugh- lin say to Mr. Hill, and what in thunder did Mr. Hill say to him- self before they all concluded to cut themselves down from the limb where they were hanging to- gether and work their way into the front of Mr. Cleveland's procession ? The late anti-snappers are too polite nowadays to ask such questions as these, and the gentlemen most concerned do not volunteer any information. But after all, in the light of recent events, such enquiries are curious rather than im- portant. The large fact that has been particularly obvious since election is that the American ship of state is a railway vessel still, and shapes her course according to how the wind blows. It may be possible some time to get machinery enough inside of her to drive her in the teeth of the popular gales, but that has not been done yet, and the prospect of doing it cannot be said to be immediately encouraging. . . . F the three methods of becoming a great man Mr. Cleveland has ex- perienced at least two, That he was born great may be disputed, but he had achieved a reasonable measure of great- ness before he left the White House the first time, and in the recent election greatness was thrust upon him to an extent that has left him far and away the biggest individual entity in current American politics. The size of the oppor- tunity before him, considered in connection with the dimen- sions of the reputation behind him, warrants large expecta- tions of useful work from him during the next four years. * . . T is said that President Harrison contemplates extending the operation of the Civil Service law to several depart- ments not yet covered. Lire has no doubt that Mr. Cleve- land would be very much obliged to him. comicbooks.com