115: Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my
     .emacs file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up?

  During startup, Emacs initializes itself according to a given code/file
  order.  If some of the code executed in your .emacs file needs to be
  postponed until the initial terminal or window-system setup code has been
  executed but is not, then you will experience this problem (this
  code/file execution order is not enforced after startup).

  To postpone the execution of Emacs Lisp code until after terminal or
  window-system setup, treat the code as a "lambda list" and set the value
  of either the "term-setup-hook" or "window-setup-hook" variable to this
  "lambda function."  For example,

    (setq term-setup-hook
          (function
           (lambda ()
             (cond ((string-match "\\`vt220" (or (getenv "TERM") ""))
                    ;; Make vt220's "Do" key behave like M-x:
                    (global-set-key [do] 'execute-extended-command))
                   ))))

  For information on what Emacs does every time it is started, see the
  lisp/startup.el file.