The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1880-09-09
THE MAuRY ouARTETTE.
Whitthorne. Balloonfat, Hughes
and Blackburn Address the Sow
ereign People Brains, Belly,
Bombast. and Bosh Bril-
liantly Brought Out in
the Order Named.

Whitthore, Ballanfant, Hughes and
Black burn-spoke here Monday to
very large crowd. The negroes
swarmed in front OF the speakers
stand and as the day was warm and
currents of air were rather Infre-
quent the fragrant Odors of 'Araby
the Blest'' failed to salute the nos
trils Of the bystsnders. Gen.
Whitthorne opened the discussion.
He was in fine speaking trim, and
there was an air of intellectual SUI
periority about the man which
very perceptibly dwarfed his three
competitors. He made strong
and very entertaining speech, in
which the violent and repressIve
measures of the republican party
were graphically depicted, and the
record of its candidate scorchingly
reviewed. He avoidet, very prop
erly, any discussion of the state
debt. upon the ground that that
question could not possibly enter
the American Congress, and sus-
tanned himself through all the sta
ges of the debate with prudence
wisdom and discretion. His views
on all public questions were search
ing and profound and they were
supported by becoming dignity
which commanded the respect OF
friend and foe alike. Ills conclusive
logic, sententious comment and
dignifed bearing afforded pleas
ing contrast to the Zulu-like antics
and maudlin fol-de-rol of Ballanfant,
the swelling self Importance and
sloppy swash of Hughes, and the
flabby piatltudes of Blackburn.
AT the conclusion of Gen. Whit
thorne's remarks, the Honorable
John Balloonfat sailed into the de-
pate like a canal boat without
rudGer and for an hour or more he |
fought and fit and gouged and bit
and made the welkin ring, until the
maddened crowd exclaimed, "Oh,
Death, where is thy stingp' He
got the vital issues of tie day, the |
proceedings of congress and the do
ings of the Legislature so Internally |
mixed that you couldn't tell the |
state debt from motion to ad-
journ, and long before he concluded |
the wonderful performance num-
bers of wretched looking men ran
down..to the cemetery and sat on the
tombstones for recreation. He |
shook In the faces of the people |
twelve reasons why Gen. Whit
81 hn -
Congress, but, in his own case, he
never once deigDed to explain why
it is that his friends allow him to re-
main at large when thousands of
more rational men are shut up in
the insane asylums of the country.
But everything must come to an
end In this world, and the remarks
of the Honorable John were no ex-
ception to the rule. They were
cut short at last and he deposited |
the business department of his
breeches in chair, much to the re
lief of everybody. The only COM
ment we heard made on his speech
was uttered by small boy perched
on the court house fence. He said
he had been good for a week and
his mother told him he might go |
and hear the speaking, but if it was
all like that he intended to go home |
and ask her to let him spend the
rest of the evening pulling up the
weeds in the vicinity of his grand
mothers grave.
Judges Hughes, who is familiar
to the sovereign people as freckles
and fly specks in the summer
for be has been a standing
for office ever since be
dotted bi5s and breech- clouts, foi
lowed Balloonfat. His speech was
for the negroes, and as they had
been informed of that fact before
hand they we're delighted with ev-
ervthing he said and applauded &C
cOrdingly. Just let our colored fell
low citizens know that a gigantic
mind like Judge Hughes has
been taxed to furnish them with an
banquet and they will
reach the point of appreciation if
they have to climb every step of
the way and steal chickens for a
living the rest OF their days. In
this particular instance, the feast
was a beggarly affair and Judge
Hughes himself was a miserable
appetizer, but as Sambo seemed to
enjoy it we suppose we have no
right to complain.
But badinage aside, Judge
Hughes harangue, from beginning
o end, was an outpouring of the
nushiest mouthings that ever
cached a reasoning mortaPs ear.
However, after listening to it, we
we're convinced of one thing, to
Wit: That if this country ever pro-
luced a greater man than Judge
hughes, Judge Hughes himself is
lot aware of it.
Col. Blackburn spoke last. He
complained of great physical and
mental prostration, which we sup
'ose was produced by Balloonfat's I
insane freaks and Hughes copious
discharges of balderdash. These |
Tere enough, the Lord knows, to {
rios trate an army mule. Col L
blackburn contented himself with q
REF illusions to his candidacy, ID
is personal merits and his political p
reed. He was evidently suffering a
rom the effects of recent illness, \
nd it would not be fair to subject +
i'm to criticism. His manner of L
ealing with his competitors was s
ourteOus and fair, his views we're u
Ather conservatively expressed, '
nd his department, barring some y
atural defects for which he is not r
esponsible, was, upon the whole, "
A heavy rain came a
p before the speaking closed and G
&c reservoirs of heaven poured G
own their aqueous contents, to Off a
1t, we suppose, the mighty food {.
r oratory with which Balloonfat \
nd Hughes had deluged the pub y
C mind. Whether the crowd took ;
lis view of the matter or not, we l.
re unable to say, but one thing is 4
srtain, they dispersed. and that ID
)eedilV. without debating the