The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-07-11
EMPORIA NEW S.
FRIDAY, JULY IL, 1873.
HON. THOMAS CORwIN.
Extracts from My Scrap Book.

3
extraordinary popularity ever Civ
en- to n public servant in ire
country. Wherever he went crowd
followed at his heels, and wheneVe
he spoke there was perfect carniVa
of fun. frolic, logic and triumphs
What q wonderful and gifted maj
he was! OF large frame, broad
deep heavy chest, a complexion
swarthy as a savage, a well made
large significant head, brilliant eyes
and face so capable of expEessin:
every varying emotion, that as
comic actor he would have riyale(
Burton In his palmiest days; anC
as q preacher, would have looked
more doleful than the children o
Israel, when they sat down by thu
rivers OF Babylon, and "wept whel
they remembered Zion"
l haYe often heard our friends de
scribe him as he appeared during
the campaign of 1910, when The
people, reused to a pitch of enthu
siasm rarely witnessed, with the
| cry of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too,
followed Corwin with almost hun
CRY eagerness, content if they could
only listen to his voice and gaze
into his magic countenance.
Farmers and their wives would
get up in the middle Of the night,
fodder the cattle for the next day,
feed the horses, put the household
in order for days absence, and
then drive thirty miles over rough
roads, and through sparsely settled
neighborhoods, considering the la.
Dor well bestowed as mid night once
more found them, worn and exhaus-
ted, at home, if they had heard the
wonderful orator, Tom. Corwin,
the "Wagon Boy of Ohio"
1t was my good fortune some
years afterward to be made known
to him, and often had the satisfac-
ton of spending many hours in his
society, in different years and pla-
ces. Often have l heard him, in the
meridian of his power upon the
"stump," that place which to Cor
win was a throne, and where for the
time he was indeed the master and
the king of men.
Mr.. Corwin was a great reader, n
hard student, had a wonderful
knowledge of history, a profound
love for the sacred Scriptures, and
was gifted with a retentive and re-
markably accurate memory. His
humOr or pathos were equally ire
sistible, and Sometimes l have seen
vast multitude of men and women
before him with the faces of many
actually bathed in teras, suddenly
breaking into the most boisterous
and convulsive laughter, SO that the
tears were actually arrested half
way down the checks, where they
glistened like the dew drops of the
morning upon the comical counten-
ances of the "weepers," in doubt
weather to dry up in the sunlight
of comedy, or to proceed upon the
sorrowing mission upon which they
were originally sent to travel.
As a mere orator Mr.. Corwin eX-
celled any man it has been my for
tune to hear. So full of wit, hui
NOR, pathos, learning, history, I'M
agery a manner so charming and
magnetic as to be fascinating be-
yond description, and face so va
riable and wonderful in its power
of expressing emotions that no man
could look upon it without yielding
at once to its bewitching influence.
In private life, at the social board
he was the center and idol of the
circle, and when in Congress, in the
latter years of his life, he was al
ways surrounded by the members
who loved and honored him, and
were only too delighted to listen to
his attractive conversation. Still
Io4ap n ffap hic rnfnrn from Maxron
when forced by poverty to open
law Office at Washington, / called
at his rooms on Penns ylvania aVen-
ne to pay him visit. He occupied
TWO very small rooms, one of which
was nearly filled with q large bed.
He seemed very glad TO see me, and
pressed me TO remain and talk about
Ohio. In the course of the CONVEX
sation | asked him were he lived,
that ! might, if time permitted, call
at his house and again pay my re-
spects. Looking up with that mar
velous solemnity of manner he
could assume in a moment, he said
"You know / have had my fair
share of the good things, so called,
of this life. / have been a member
of the Legislature, lawyer among
my ueighbors, a member of Con-
gress, Governor of Ohio, a Senator
of the United States, Secretary of
the Treasury, and Minister to Mex
leo; and now" said he, changing
from the most intense gravity to
the most playful manner, 81 sleep
there (pOInting to the bed) and
board with peanut woman round
the corner"
L once went with him to Buffalo,
where he was TO speak duriag the
campaign of 1864. ia the course
of his remarks he urged the great
Importance individual effort, and
related the well known anecdote of
his defeat while running as a candi-
date for Governor of Ohio, against
Wilson Shannon, his Democratic
competitor. He said the day after
election, he met an old farmer and
friend of his, who condoled with
him CT his defeat, expressing at the
same time his establishment and
dlsmay that such an extraordinary
and unexpected event could have
occurred, and such disgrace be fns-
tened upon the people of Ohio.
Taking the old man aside he asked
him if he hsd gone to the polls on
election day, for, said Mr.. COrwin,
L noticed your township did not
give its ordinary vote"
Well, said the old man, evident
ly greatly embarrassed at the new
turn things were taking, "the fact is
Mr.. Corwin, election day was a very
fine day in these parts, and me and
my neighbors all thought you had n
sartin sure thing, and as it was q
good day for cutting buckwheat,
we thought we would not go and
vote, as it wasn't necessary, and that
accounts for the light vote, you see.' -
"And So" said Mr.. Corwin, "you
sacrificed the best Governor that
Ohio ever had for paItry batch o
buckwheat.' "Bah !" said he, turn
ing TO the chairman of the meeting
with n merry twinkle in his eye, g /
was so utterly Disguised with that
communication, Mr.. President, that
have never been able to eat buck
wheat cake from that day TO this
one"
No extravaganza of language can
more than dimly portray the excite
anu "A NILl NJn1O
during the campaign of 1910. Gen.
Harrison had been nominated for
President OF the United States, and
Mr.. Corwin for Governor of Ohio.
The State was literally vocal with
the shouiings and frantic enthusi-
asm of the people. At Dayton,
over eighty thousand persons came
together to attend single Whie
celebration and meeting. Every
house in the city was thrown open
to strangers. Universal hospitality
was the rule. The latch string was
thrust conspicuously out, and the
people We'd with each other who
should do the most to feed and en-.
terrain the multitude. Log cabin:
were erected at every corner, in
town and country, and Hhard cider
flowed in streams from inexhaust.