Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-27
THE SENATE OF TO-DAY.
THE MEN WHO FIGURE IN THE
DEBATES.

Edmunds and Sherman-Beck's Pug
naeity-Lamar the Logician-BrowI
ana ,Conger-Vest and Voorhees,, the
Orators-Jones, of fFlorida-The Saint.
~ hoar-hansas' Senators-Van Wycl1
W WASHINGTON. FEB. 25.-A short time ago
! wrote TO you about the characteristics q
members OF the House which had been mos
| strongly developed by the tariff debate. sena.
tors have their characteristics, too, and the,
have also had some sharp tarin talk. Tn,
man of the Senate with most striking charae
teristics Is Edmunds, of Vermont. He is the
embodiment of brains and disregard for all
the courtesies of debate. He takes pleasure IN
banging and cutting people around. He sits
there with his head between his shoulders and
seldom gets up but that it is TO
oppose and maui somebody. His red
face and deep-sunk eyes never change their
expression. His right fore finger is his meth
cd of gesture. John sherman is cool and has
a poor voice. He is audacious and cares not
what may be said about his honesty or integ-
rity. He is callous TO public opinion In
ngure tall and in face refined, he has a Ger
lam Ian grace about nm that few others possess
Hls arguments, though they do not always
snow good joiner work, are often most con
vlnclng. He seldom gets testy and is ever
ready to go further in scheme than any
IS pugnacious and not always pithy
lie has physical force that
seems ineXhaustible. lie has talked
more on the tariff than any man during the
debate He is blunt and his diction is COED.
His most striking popularity is his power OF
naylng man alive without SAYING ANYTHING.
to which personal exception could be taken. A
Scotchman by birth, he Is thrifty and as tena-
elous of an idea as any Sandy in his native
land. Beck is good man to have on your
side in parliamentary fight. Morrill,, of
.I.nF L.
illustrate that faculty of his, Twill tell a story
He was in the House during the war. A con
stituent of his had a brother in the Army Of
the Pot0mac, who died near Hampton,
virginia, while in camp. A natural
desire to take the body home possessed
the living brother. He came to Washington
but could not get pass through the lines nor
permission to remove the body. After wait
ing around here without any result for sew
eral days he finally went TO seek MorrilPs
assistance. He had never seen Morrill,. The
latter gave him note TO Secretary Stanton
which produced a pass and the permission he
desired. few days ago the surviving broth
er was in this city. Meeting Morrill, in the
rotunda of the capitol he spoke to him.
Shaking his hand warmly Morrill, said with
out moments hesitation: 81 am glad to
see YOU, Mr. Gould. Did you get your BROTH
er's body home all right?"
Lamar is the clearest speech aker in the
Senate. Personally he does not attract
But he has one of the most
analytic minds in the country. In rough and
tutuDie ueDttt ne is TeauY. bllt lAdL Is not hiS
forte. His strong point is when there is to be
made a speech on a subject that he can study
beforehand When he gets through on such
occasions there Is practically nothing left to
be SAID. Brown, of Georgia, Is methodical
slow, and thoroughly sensible. He never gets
out of plane of common sense. He speaks
in sort OF conversational way, and his only
gesture is movement up and down of his
hands-all the fingers of the right touching
those of the left-in front of him. Call Of
Florida,i is noted for talking more than anybody
else. His remarks have never attracted any
special attention. ingalls, is the best educated
man in Congress. His appearance is striking
slim figure, closely buttoned in long coat.
an intellectual face, eye glasses on nose, and a
He has a sarcasm that is sharp and hurts when
it cuts. He IS apt in pertinent references.
Blair, of New Hampshire, belongs to that
goOdy- -gOOdy school OF which Ferry is such
very picturesque fallen example. Blair has
not strong mind, and is most easily
upset. Conger is in the Senate
toned down edition OF what
he was in the House. His discordant voice
is not heard often except when the duty on
lumber is proposed to be removed. He sticks
to his swallow tail coat, which attracts thS
quicker the attention which under any cir
cumstances would be given him. He is still
nasty fighter. Anthony, of Rhode Island, is
not good talker and knows it. He therefore
seldom says anything. When he does address
the Senate it is in ierky, nervous sentences.
lie Is "chummy" man, and must have al
ways particular friend with whom he can
spend his time. - Morgan, Of Alabama;
voice, is often ON his feet. He
is deep. He does not appear wei
in discussing small things. His stronghold s
dealing with constitutional questions. He s
a strong man. Vest, of Missouri, is an orator
He was born an orator, and when he gets to
logic he is not exactly at home. Not that he
is at sea at all, but he does not appear at best
in the avenues of logic. His voice is silver.
Words OF beauty, and periods of perfect SYM
metry roll from his mouth as evenly as Pull
man car goes its way over steel rails. Dan
voorhees, 1s another orator. He is a tough
fighter, too. He is tall and handsome. His
voice is good and clear, He can make g
speech that win make you hang
that most powerful of all forensic
weapons-ridicule. He sometimes drops into
anecdote in the Senate. They say about his
qualities as a stump speaker out in Indiana
that when he starts on the warpath the Re-
publicans take to the woods. Jones, of Florida
has somewhat boyish look. His voice and
manner are blunt. His mind Is one of re-
search. His speeches are sound arguments,
and, what can be said Of few speeches, read
remarkably well when put in cold type. Cerro
Gordo Williams is dashing and breezy. He
the Mexican war. He cbews good deal OF
tobacco OF his own raising. He is
farmer. and has a model farm in the
blue grass region Of Kentucky. He would
conduct the Senate Just as he does his farm
on strict business principles. Coke, OF Texas,
has big frame and big voice. He can thun-
der logic. At first he is not pleasing speak
er, but he grows on you. Logan is loud, but
when he gets into a subject that he knows all
about no one can unhOrse him. Despite his
enmity to the yernacular, he would attract
attention anywhere as a speaker. He won't
move when he once plants his number mines
anywhere. Hoar. OF Massachusetts, is the most
unpopular man in the Senate. lie is disagreea-
bic to look at. There beams out from all over
him such Lam much better than-tho air
that you want to hit him once for his mother
in-law. He can say the meanest things in the
most malicious way, and then sneak out Of
them. The other Sena tor from Massachu-
setts is Dawes. He has a fine looking head,
but not much in it. He is principally noted
for always making speech when there are
any Massachusetts people in the gallery.
Plumb, of Kansas is the most matter of fact
man IN the Senate. He talks right from the
shoulder, and pays more attention to the par
ticular interests of his constituents than any
other man in the Senate. Senator Jonas, Of
Louisiana, is the smallest man in stature in the
Senate. He is black -haired and moustached.
He makes very good Senator, but there
is nothing very brilliant about him. The
leading feature of his legislative makeup is q
desire to see the Mississippi river improved
looks like big man intellectually, but is in
fact bald disappointment. senator Hawley,
OF Connecticut, Is courteous, fine-lOoking and
possessed of fine faculties all around lie Is
few instances of successful newspaper men
making successful members Of the National
Legislature. Senator Van Wyck is nothing.
If not independent. He cares no more
plans of procedure than he does
for what Bismarck wouldn't think should be
the proper policy for this country to pursue.
lie has fund OF western wit. He always
wants to be right, but often goes the wrong
way to fulfill that ambition. Senator Me-
Pherson of New Jersey, says a good deal but
in reality does not say much. These are the
men who are most prominent in the Senate.