St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-06
A CONGRESSIONAL H0MoR1sr.
Holc RepresesatG iye H0rr AcIaieoed HIS
Fame as the Leading HH,nOrist of
C191ress

HoW Representa iye Horr Aclaieced HIS
Fame as the Leading Hu,norist of
Congress-.
The great, and in fact the only, humorist
of the present congress is the Hon. Roswell
G. Horr, Of Michigan, writes Washington
correspondent. Since Proctor Knott, of
Kentucky. caused nine out Of every ten
people in the United States to smile and
shake their sides with laughter, and at the
same time caused his name to be known aud
famous. Washington has had no simon
pure funny man until Horr came along to
fill the vacuum. Although appearances are
on his side, the life of humorist is not a
happy one. 1t has its drawbacks. In talk
ing with reporter Mr.. Horr confdentially
admitted that be bitterly regretted the day
when cruel fate made him say some alleged
funny thing In the house. Since that mo-
ment he has been "humorst.n Since that
moment also his life has known no joy.
Horr's reputation was made one day in the
Forty-sixth congress, when, in an uninten-
tionally funny speech, he advised the people
of the south that, if they wished to prosper
and become powerful and respected in this
country and In this age, they must ''raise
less hell and more hogs and hominy." The
remark brought down the house and the
galleries. The newspapers of the land pub
lished it and commented on it far and wide,
and, much against his will, Horn became a
funny man. So with Proctor Knott He
arose in his seat in the house one day to
make speech against spending money to
improve the harbor of Duluth, in Minnesota,
then about TO become the terminus of rail-
road. Knott arose in all seriousness, but
before he sat down had made one of the
most remarkable speeches ever delivered on
the floor Of congress-rNmarkahle in more
ways than one. 1t was forcible; it was ele-
giant; it was classical; it was poetical, and it
was irresistibly funny. Added to that, it
was effective, and killed off the appropriation
it was aimed at. Horr's speeches, on the
contrary, are not elegant. classical or poeti-
cal. They are often funny, and nearly
always forcible. Even to look at Horr is
enough to make one laugh. As he stands
in the aisle endeavoring to get the speakers
eye he is an object to excite the amusement
of a mummy. About fine feet six inches
tall, Horr's legs are about as long as boy's
of A. His stomach, which is u wonderful
thing, both in size and shape, runs out in
front of him, as if it were about to tip him
over every moment This stomach is
terrible thing for a man of Horr's size to
carry around with him. 1t is every bit as
large as the celebrated stomach of David
Davis, and the latter is a man six feet high
Horr has thick gray hair, which stands per-
fectly upright from his head. His chin
whiskers, also gray, stand straight down.
In the middle are his fat, red face, fiat nose,
pop eyes, and jolly smile. When he talks
his voice goes away up into high E, and his
only gesture is a pump-handle motion of his
right arm. The index finger of Horr's right
hand is broken at the second joint, and as
he shakes it at the speaker it looks every
moment as If it were about to fall off. Horr
is man of a good, comfortable stock of
brains, added to a great amount of horse
sense. He is an interchangeable worker, and
as honest as the day is long. There are
also several men in the house of representa-
tives who are capable Of making bright,
happy, witty speeches, so sparkling, SO deep,
and so filled with keen, dry humor that such
a man as Horr would never see the point at
all. Yet, all the same, Horr now has the
belt for being the funny man Of congress.
Take the case of ''Sunset" Cox for instance.
He and Horr once crossed blades in fierce
encounter with their tongues. Cox savagely
attacked the Saginaw lumberman" one
day, and the latter, who had spent the night
with Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Artemus
Ward, and other friends, replied to him.
Cox's speech was delivered on the spur of
the moment. The fun was genuine, the
diction elegant, and the humor dry. Yet
when Horn arose and in his high, squeaky
voice called Cox lot of silly names, and
swore him in as the hero of several stale
jokes which had been going the rounds of
the almanacs and the illustrated papers for
years, the house fairly yelled with delight.
The crown was awarded toa Horr, and the
wreath was placed on his big, fat head.