Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-11
MAKING EnooUENCE TO ORDER
How Some Speeches That Have Electri-
fed Congress Have Been Made.

HAsfttFeSto9S
! "It's a mistaken idea that Senator's
\ and members speeches are written by
| their private secretaries said an old at
\ tache of the capitol the other day, turning
I slowly to Star man after a long study OF
| the vacant chairs and bare galleries. GAS
| general thing, their private secretaries
| don't know any more than they do"
| Then he stopped for little, and drummed
| his stick against the marble flags. while
! be dropped OFF again into a study. mo,
sir" he added, leaning his chin on his
cane and looking the scribe straight in
| the eye; ''they don't. Eve been trying to
make out the composition of q private
| secretary. | can't doit. don't see what
Congressman want them for, unless it's
on account Of kind of feeling that they
ought to have some ore around that
knows less than they do.
"But as / was saying, it don't make any
difference about the secretaries, they don't
write the speeches. And, to tell you the
truth, think the most of the Congress-
men IN both Houses now write their own
speeches; but some of them don't. What!
You amt surprised at that? Why, how
! long have you been about? Why, as long
as lean remember there's bean men hang
| ing about the capitol to write speeches
! for so much a line. Some of them read
mighty nice in the Record and l tell you
they surprise arural constituency. Years
ago these men used to make lots of
| money"
SIS there much of that done nowYo
! asked the Star.
well, it's hard to say. There's pro-
| badly not so much as formerly, but you
! can't tell. It's only when a mistake oc-
! ours, and TWO men get the same speech,
| or something like that, that you can dis
| cover it, though | can generally pick out
| my man. Now, there's the case Mr.. Vest
| spoke OF, where Allen and Nugen both
| printed the same speech. Such instances
have occurred frequently. But generally
when man delivers an old speech, he
| goes far enough back in the Record after
| 1t not to double up in that way. Some
| years ago, L remember, q very brilliant
| speech was printed by very slow, Ordi-
nary man in the House, and created quite
! sensation, the members district being
flooded with the Globe of that date. But
one of the members discovered that the
same speech had been made by very dis
tinguished statesman in the House two or
three terms previous. Along about the
FOrty-second or Forty-third Congress-or
maybe it was the FOrty-fourth, l don't
just remember-there was very ordinary
man in the House from Tennessee, named
Coldwell. He hadneVer done anythiDgin
particular, and never said much, until one
day he came out with a very brilliant
speech that set all the House in cOInmo-
ton, and made HIM quite famous. But in
the Forty-fifth Congress he was succeeded
by another COldwell, who was really
brilliant fellow. One day he was thus &C
cOsted in one of the committee rooms:
'''I met Bill Blank the other day.
"'Ah,' replied COldwell, vaguely, not
knowing the name.
"'YOu know BillP
"'NO; l don't remember him.
l. I,s-- II H.
who wrote your great speech on --
year or so ago. Leastwise, he told me so
the other day.
''The Congressman smiled grimly.
"'I guess it was my predecessor he
knew and the mystery of the wonderful
OratOrical development was explained.
''There are lots of these cases, but they
don't all come out. If they did -!
Well, | guess there'd be some suicides.
You remember the case of White? No!
Why, Speaker White, of Kentucky, it is
thought, killed himself on account of an
exposure of this sort. White was very
able man, but he got caught in bad fix.
He was Speaker of the House in the
Twenty-seventh Congress, you know, and
as l have said, he was an able man, but
he was so pressed with business that
when he had to deliver his valedictOry he
got one of those men, who are always on
hand to make q little money, to write his
address. 1t was handed him just a little
while before the time he had to deliver it,
and he put it in his pocket without read
ing. When the tine came he rose and,
slowly unfolding the manuscript, read
the address. 1t was very brilliant-but
it was Aaron Burr's famous valedictory
to the Senate. The Speaker never recOv-
cred from the shock. He went home, was
taken very i'll, and it is supposed he killed
himself for shame.
Gin former days." the old man added,
after waiting little while for his dis
closures to sink deep into the reporter,
lin former days these speech-writers used
to make lots of money. l don't know
whether they do as well now or not. They
used to get 500, $3.50 and 5000 for a good
speech, and l knew of one speech that
sold for $3.50. No; never heard Of Clay
or Webster hiring any speeches written,
but l know that some of their speeches,
which were thought to be imprOmptu,
were carefully prepared before being de-
liVprpd -