"I Had a Glimpse into the Future To-night—and It Wasn't Pleasant"

DESPITE the title, today's story isn't science fiction . . .

"A Hundred Years from Now."

By Oliver P. Newman (1877-1956).

First appearance: Munsey's, August 1925.

Short short story (5 pages).

Online at UNZ (HERE).

   "In the Globe office men still talk of Schooler's story of the 'Happy Widower' dinner, which began with a frolic, raced gayly through ten courses, and ended in sudden murder, with a horrified company staring, wide-eyed, from the body of their famous manager to the white-faced, frenzied woman whose jealousy he had flouted once too often."

WHERE do you go from up? Some people, sad to say, just can't handle the prospect of becoming a has-been . . .

Principal characters:

~ Henry Cooley ("had made that sign mean a warm bed, a square meal, an assignment, a story to get, to write, and to be paid for"), Schooler ("a hundred years from now nobody will know the difference"), Cul Jenkins ("That's the man—Cul Jenkins, who sent Barney Slattery to the penitentiary"), Henderson ("the star reporter, and in the confidence of the proprietor"), and the old janitor ("He's stone dead").

References:

- "John L." (Wikipedia HERE).

- "Lillian Russell" (Wikipedia HERE).

- "Queen Victoria" (Wikipedia HERE).

- "Casey at the Bat" (Wikipedia HERE).

- "Eugene Field's" (Wikipedia HERE) "Willie" (actual title, "Little Willie": All Poetry HERE).

- "Spanish war headlines" (Wikipedia HERE).

- "the New York Journal" (Wikipedia HERE).

- "30":

  "-30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, via telegraphy, teletype, electronic transmission, or paper copy, as a necessary way to indicate the end of the article." (Wikipedia HERE.)

Resource:

- When he wasn't being a newspaper reporter, our author, Oliver Peck Newman, spent most of his time in political positions; see Wikipedia (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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