The Portland daily press., 1882-04-26
Blame.
The Appearance He Made Before the
Committee.

A Washington special has the following vi
fore the Shipherd Committee:
Secretary Blaine was apparently in perfect
condition this morning when he stepped brisk
ly into the room of the committee on foreign
affairs, accompanied by his youngest son, a
fresh-faced boy with his mothers countenance,
and one or two friends He looked just as well
two hours after, when, master of the situation
throughout, the committee made its bow to
him and he stepped quietly out. The ex-secre-
tary brought the programme of the days pro-
ceedings with him, They were to last just an
hour and half. He had arranged to occupy
every moment OF that time and to occupy it in
his own way. He had prepared himself and
his Statement" as carefully as though he were
about to make great speech in the Senate,
and his eloquence of presence and of voice
were as attractive as his remarks were inter-
esting Everything that he said as he stood at
the foot of the committee table Che declined to
sit DOWN head and shoulders above every man
in the room, was nicely calculated; one state
ment fitted nicely into another, and the sever
al dramatic situations succeeded one another
naturally. Everything that he said or did from
the casting of two broad blue envelopes labelled
respectively, in German text, "Blaine to Hurl-
but" and "Hurlbut to Blaine" on the commit
tee table to the latest pronunciations of "diplo-
macy" and syllabus, evinced to the careful
observer that art which concealed art from the
ordinary auditor. Mr.. Blaine had come to
Congress- He knew the precise effect of every
word and act. He held his end in view as he
pronounced or performed each -one. He was
in his most captivating mood, and he carried
everything before him. His eloquence, rem
dered picturesque by dramatic situations, and
piquant by apt characteriZations of the hum
bug who was the chief topic, was irresistible.
His audience, made up, beside the committee,
of Bliss of Morton, Bliss & Co., New York, and
two or three dozen Congressman and journal
lists, together with four ladies, surrendered with
few exceptions, at the first word and, from the
moment that he summed up Shipherd and his
claims as trash for the waste basket" to the
moment when he had slenced Perry Belmont,
after sharply reprimanding him, was, on the
whole, in word, with him. The entente cor
dale remained unbroken. The audience smiled
when he smiled, laughed when he laughed,
frowned when he frowned, would have wept
had he wept; as it was, joined him in momen-
tary sadness over the fnger-printS of the
ghoul-like Shipherd on the graves of Gar
field and Hurlbut, as it had Joined him
a second before. He played on the
feelings and passions of his audience as
a skilful performer plays on piano.
He was worthy of the attention he COM
manded. His speech was one of the most
interesting and entertaining ever heard in
a committee room. Standing at the foot
of the committee table, having twice declined
to sit down, his gray hair and beard freshly
trimmed adorning fresh face, his shapely
form clad in well-ftting Prince lbert, over
whose buttons dangled his gold-bound glasses
when he was not emphasizing a point with
them, he held all eyes as he passed from phase
to phase of his subject. He spoke vigorously;
he gesticulated with animation; he was frank !;
he was earnest; he was interested and so was
everybody else He was completely successful.
tribntion OF to-day to the literature OF the
Chili-Peru question, when he said, as the crowd
slowly filed into the presence of the throng
that had stood all the morning in the corridors
outside: well, he just cut Shipherd into
shreds, and then swept up the pieces into a
dustpan with Perry Belmont" Certain it is
that Mr.. Blaine in vigorous language contra
dicted every material assertion made by Ship
herd about Garfield, his secretary of state, or
his minister to Peru. He not only pronounced
Shlpherd forger and perjurer, but he
proved it, and his suggestion that his case, if
he were sane, might well be presented to the
grand jnry, was not jest. Mr.. Blaine's crisp
comments on Shipherd and his scheme were
thoroughly enjoyed by everybody. His rebuke
of Perry Belmont's act ion in misconstruing a
certain question propounded to Shipherd on
the Blaine dispatches to Hurlbut was not so
well received by the committee. Perry was
very effectively handled. He thinks he will
have his revenge on Wednesday, when he will
have an opportunity to cross-examine Mr..
Blaine, which he means fully to improve. He
proposes to have Mr.. Blaine answer all ques-
tions frankly, fully and directly. He thinks
he has been insulted. Mr.. Blaine's cross-ex-
animation of Mr.. Belmont will be very enter
tanning.
Mr.. Blaine has not forgotten that he served
in the House and in the Senate. He prompt
ly and finally settled a little question of par
liamentary law which the committee were dis
cussing among themselves early in the session,
and throughout addressed chairman Williams
as Mr.. President.