Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-07
FIDDLING STATESMEN.

FIDDLING STATESMEN.
Ho,c Georgia Legislators Scrdpe Their Was
to Office.
ATLANTA Constitution.
There are few people who know what az
important part the fiddle plays in South
ern politics. Of course, the country a
large knows how Bob Taylor, the boy con
gresham from Tennessee, fiddled his way
into Office two years ago, and how he failet
this time because he thought he could run
on his brains rather than his bow. Ger
tain local people know how Uncle jim
Harris, famous for his taking ways in Full
ton, snatches popular music from his fid
die in our country contests. But there are
few men who know how general and how
potent the fiddle is.
Several members of the present house
are expert fiddlers and fiddle their way in
| to Office. Tom Watson, the brilliant
member from AcDuffie, is tho best fiddler
| n. 1.-THE house. He says:
II have the best and most Intelligent
constituency in the state, in my opinion
Ny opponent was good man and good
| AoAAhOAs OAU Woo AAOU o HAoSoASVN CfOes0oA
felt that speaking might be considered
q sort of natural gift, or due to a pro-
fession-so didn't press him on that
point. But playing the fiddle was pure
ly acquired accomplishment, and Incl
dental to my profession-and as many OF
my younger constituents are fond OF
dancing and like the music of the
fiddle, 1 crowded him on that
EIl1o
"Oh, no! And you should have seen the
look of silent despair on that good mans
face as he stood in a corner of a room,
while sat on box like a king on his
throne, and made my old fiddle talk, while
the boys and girls danced to my music.
made it rule to get every girl to promise
to make her partner in the reel vote for me
before she would dance with him. I tell
you fiddle is big help in fight where
you have young folks in the question:
'What tunes did you find most POPULAR p
'The best vote making tune," said the
Hon. Tom, refectively. shat ever came
out of fiddle is Mississippi Sawyer
next to this think is sYaller gal. como
out tonight"
"Did your constituents require any
other physical accomplishments at your
hands?"
''Some of my constituents love to go in
swimming. We have several good ponds
in our country, and any day in the cam
pais you might have seen me with q
crowd of stripped voters diving in curve
from a stump, my graceful anatomy
spread out in the atmosphere as executed
a somersault."
Mr.. Buck of Lumkin contests with the
palm as fiddler. Beyond slight dispo-
sition to call his fiddle violin, he is per-
haps as good as Watson. He says:
"My constituency is quiet one and de-
manded solemn tunes on the fiddle. had
to work, therefore, very carefully. One of
my constituents claimed that all fddlers
went to the devil. The boys and girls told
me to play ahead and they would all fol-
low the fiddler, no matter where he went.
That satisfied me. 1 found the miners
very susceptible to music, and they liked
it lively and bright. AS for country
breakdown, where no man would think of
cutting the pigeon wing until he was
eight feet in the air, and where your pref
ty girl partner rebuzzees away from you
three feet at a slide, you won't make the
music too quick or too strong. If you've
got the right motion to your elbow and the
right twist to your fingers, and good rosin
on your bow, you ought to get every vote
in crowd like that"
There are very few things that man
can do that are honest, and full of fun,
that don't come handy to him somew here
or other in political campaign.
Two of the mountain members OF the
Legislature were at fashionable ball the
other night, watching the gay crowd of
walters that spun by them to the soft
music OF the orchestra. They were evi-
IDENTIFY very much astor;shea 1T the spec
tacle. At last one Of them askei the
other:
''ycu reckon any Of these men are mar
ried?"
eyes, I saw some a-dancing that know
was married."
''Well," twas the deliberate reply, ''rll
be logged if Kate Southern didn't kill
Narcissa Cowart for heap less than
that