A Man About Town

Powerline links to a story in the NY Daily News about the possible solution to the mystery of what happened to Judge Crater, who they call the "missingest man in America." I was more struck by their description of him as "a Tammany Hall stalwart, justice of the state Supreme Court and dapper man about town".

"There were two or three things that I wanted to know. I do not care about a mystery. So I began to inquire.

"It took me two weeks to find out what women carry in dress suit cases. And then I began to ask why a mattress is made in two pieces. This serious query was at first received with suspicion because it sounded like a conundrum. I was at last assured that its double form of construction was designed to make lighter the burden of woman, who makes up beds. I was so foolish as to persist, begging to know why, then, they were not made in two equal pieces; whereupon I was shunned.

"The third draught that I craved from the fount of knowledge was enlightenment concerning the character known as A Man About Town. He was more vague in my mind than a type should be. We must have a concrete idea of anything, even if it be an imaginary idea, before we can comprehend it. Now, I have a mental picture of John Doe that is as clear as a steel engraving. His eyes are weak blue; he wears a brown vest and a shiny black serge coat."

Read the whole thing.