Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-10-22
A BIG GUN.


to be one of the ablest stump speakers
of the State. He has had public ex-
perience as lawyer, member OF the Leg
;slature of Congress, candidate for Gov
erner, etc, running back some thir'y
wears. he is not close reasoner or
very sound logician, but his powers oil
sarcasm and ridicule are very rarely
found. He is likewise eloquent, pa
thetic and forcible by turns, as his
strong impulses may move him. He is
of restless, nervous, combative nature,
and seems to chafe under the restrain 8
of retiracy. Such man cannot long
submit 10 the hum drum of private life.
His reputation as an eccentric, cratic
uoIiticiar is national No man can
better entertain public assemblage for
an hour or two than Emerson Etherldge.
He is almost as voluble as George Fran
els Train, with far better education and
mowers of debate. The public was not
surprised, then, to see the announcement
that he would speak at the Greenlaw Up
era House and to hear him confess in his
own gushing style, that he had consent
ed to allow some gentleman to vote for
him for a certain Office The Office is
supposed to be that Of State Senator
from the Twenty-third Senatorial Dis
trict. Mr.. Etheridge was in the Senate
during the session of 'T0-'7l, and made
some violent speeches in favor of 20
cents ad valorem tax. This is not new
idea with him, as he advocated Il long
before the present funding law had ever
been heard of. He entertained his crowd
in a mastery style last night. The Rad
ical leaders we're notably present and
conspicuous, and applauded his hits at
the Democracy. 1t was ungraclous in
him to be so severe on the eighteen Re
publicans who voted for the bill in the
House and the four Senators who sus-
tanned it in the upper House. DE as
sumed that what be calls the dark-lantern
movement originated last spring because
some gentlemen signed paper favoring
low taxation very long stretch of his
imagination indeed. The distinguished
gentleman who seemed to preside at the
meeting last procured those names at
time when he was very bitter against the
Bartlett movement for not opening the
issues of the legislative campaign IN
which feeling he had the sympathy as
we'll as counsel Of Mr.. Etheridge.
We will notice only one point he made
now, as we agree with him in some
others. BE boldly and recklessly as
serted that only one paper in the State,
(the Ayalsnche), does not sustain and
maintain the Funding Ring. why is
this2" be inquired in his peculiar dra-
matte style and continued:
The reason is obvious. These funders
have $l,5OOO00 every year of your
money. Well, suppose they pay out
$500 600 to control the newspapers and
Legislators, they still have 81, 900, 600 left
The newspapers Of the State, with one
or two exceptions, have gone one way.
The money is all one way. That's what
the matter.
This fling was as uncalled for as IN
just. We will simply say that the files
OF the LEDGER will show that it was the
first paper in the State that fully exposed
the funding scheme, and that we kept
up the opposition as long as it was
efectual. We have never changed our
views upon that question, and will not
in the light Of the facts before US. The
people in this end Of the State are
nearly all one way on this question, aud
we're before they had the good fortune to
learn the views OF Mr.. Etheridge. As
to the sweeping charge of corruption
against the press of This State, we resent
it with contempt as the bitter esulitiOn Of
one whose ambition in life has never
been realized.