The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1851-10-16
A wisconsin Debating Club.

Christopher Columbus, or Gen. George
Washington' On the affirmative, Mcssrs.
Van Dreezer, Dusenbury, and Phenix
on the negative Messrs. Foster, Millgan,
nda Sampson. Mr.. Van Dreezer has the
floor"
Mr.. ", the village lawyer, smart,
dapper looking man, arose, and taking
sup Of water from the tin cup which was
before him, did depose and say =
{" Mr.. President and Gentlemen and La
dies-I rise to advocate the affirmative of
this question; that is to say, that I affirm
that Mr.. Columbus did greater benefit to
mankind than General Washington. In
order more fully to digest the interrogatory
just propounded, to enter fully into the
merits of the case, I will give brief, sue
cinct, and condensed account of Mr. Co.
lumbus's life and exploits. Sir, who was
Christopher Columbus Sir, echo answers,
the greatest man of his times. Sir, Col
umbus was the offspring of a man Of the
same name, who was an indignant basket
maker in small town called Rome, stu
ated on the river Tigers, stream which
takes its rise in the Pyanine mountains,
and flows in southeasterly course into
the Gulf of Mexico. AT an early age
Columbus evinced decided talent for the
sea, and occupied the leisure hours of his
infancy in perusing books of travel and
works on navigation. 1t was while engag-
ed in these pursuits that he inadvertently
met with the works of Robinson and Cruise,
and Captain Cook, and the definition he
made from them was that far away over
the trackless main, hitherto untrodden blythe
foot of man, was an undiscovered country.
I" AS he approached to manhood, he was
filled with desire to discover that country
which he so often saw in his youthful
dreams actuatcd by this desire, he petit
toned the great Political Pope of Rome
to give him three yawls and a jolly boat to
carry out his desi ign. That distinguished
man at first refused, but his wife Cleopatra
being pleased with the promising looks of
Mr.. Columbus, actuated with magnani-
nifty which is caricature of her sex, pre-
vailed upon him to grant Columbus's re-
quest, whereupon, providing his vessels
with stores and men out of his own pocket,
Columbus got ready, and on certain day
of certain month, and in certain year, he
set sail from the Holy Sea of Rome, and
after long and tempestuous trip, he set
foot at last, upon the Plymouth Rock, in
the Island of Juan Fernandez; it was on
that occasion thathe exclaimed-'Breathes
there any man with soul so perfectly dead
as never to himself has said, this is my own,
my native land =
"Sir, Mr.. Columbus did not long survive
the hardships of that voyage, and was taken
prisoner by the King of the Cannon ball
Islands, and with all his crew cast into
chains and slavery, where he died an igno-
minous natural death, with his whole crew,
leaving not one to tell the tale. Peace to
his ashes and their'n.
"Sir, the discovery of this continent was
the greatest invention of the year 1892
elnandez Island was the stepping stone
to the settlement of this country, Sir.
United States, North and South America,
Oregon and Asia, Hindoostan and Belo-
chisten, England and Turkey, France and
: China, and many others too numerous to
mcntion-behold these countries traversed
by steamboats,, railroads and telegraphs,
and ask yourself, would these things have
been if it hadn't been for Columbus ? and
your reply would certainly be, Certainly
not, SIR IF il hadn't been for Columbus
General Washington wouldn't have been a
man-but suppose he had, what then :
What did Washington ever do that was a
great benefit to this country' There is
much said about his talents for war. TO
be sure, he performed several mastery re-
treats, but what is that an evidence off,
. Sir, it is that he was coward 20
General Washington coward 20
screamed Foster, the village doctor, in a
voice of thunder. "General Washington
a coward T.? Who so base as dare say it :
Look at him at the battle of the Nile, look
at him at Waterloo, the Cowpens, on the
Plains of Marathon, at the Pyramids, at
Stillman's defeat, at Bad axe and, sir,
look at him at the battle of New Orleans %
"General Washington at the battle OF
New Orleans !" exclaimed a huge back