San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1886-09-23
Compliments Returned.

The very special attention paid 10 US b,
that remarkable legal luminAry little Tomm,
Franklin In his speech In the case OF thu
State Va @. NJ Hull on Thursday nigh
last would seem 10 render proper some no
knowledgment ON our part. He made SO
speech Of over an hour, tho greater portion
Of which was directed 10 tho annihilation Of
''old man Julian" (as he politely termed US.
His attitude from the start was that of one
who had pc sonal grievance against u.s.
yet our previous relations had always been
civil aud courteous, and We had supposed
friendly on his part rs they were on ours.
But perhaps he merely meant to display his
powers Of invoctive while "splitt'ng the
ears OF the groundliugs, and thought we
furnished favorable subject. An sure
Tommy Is broth Of q boy. He took his
place In the arena with that air OF coasei-
Gus superiority over all other men OF wo-
man born which his preternaturally de-
veloped organ Of self-esteem has made ha-
bitual to him. His air and manner unmis-
takably said "Good people, did you ever in
all your born days see az smart chap as
now appears before your" Then no opened
his mouth and steady stream OF bosh
flowed out and on to tho close. Never
since the last visit of the Wizard oil men or
tho patent soap and jswelry men to our
town have such bursts Of eloquence, suoh
solicitations Of wit been heard or seen In
our midst. Then his gesturesl His favor
tie movement was that of jumping jack,
which became him admirably, and accorded
well with his spasmodio style of oratory.
Finally from the role Of mountebank Tom
my passed to TINT of sleight-of-hand per-
forme-. His leading effort in this line
might properly be styled the "bottle trick"
He conjured up an imag nary man laboring
under the hallucination that he had bottle
growing to his nose. Having got himself
ready Tommy waltzed into the witness
stand to exhibit how the man appeared and
how the spell might be broken. This feat
appeared to be considered a great success
by some of Tommy's intelligent admirers,
many of whom doubtless knew how 1t was
themselves as to the bottle attachment, with
this di Terence that the bottles in their cases
were not imaginary but real, petty regular
ly p-sw not from their noses but their
aud were not nearly 30 easily got
ria of as that represented by Tommy.
This scene closed the exhibition, and it is
not very violent supposition that the jury
NAV for the time have been beguiled into
the idea that they were attending some sort
of q burlesque show, and to humor the joke
brought in verdict in harmony with the
performance. We beg to submit to Tommy
whether he may not have mistaken his vo-
cation, and whether something IN the Dur.
Iesaue theatrical line or "show business"
W ould not ha monte better with his Pc
culiar natural gifts and mental tastes and
attainments than attempting to practice
law.
But to be q little more serious. That
DO tile scene was most un,otunate one Tor
Tommy, suggesting as it no doubt did to
others as we'll as 10 us chapterln his early
experience. Ten years since, during the
irst local option contest here, Tommy, then
A young man, at the tn :oing point OF lie,
voluntarily took the stump in advocacy
Of the dominion of the bottle and to fasten
4 AZ we have said not 10 the noses but to
The mouths Of the people, In most cases
rrevocably and to toe temporal and eternal
ruin of its votaries. He may himself have
the awful curse, but did he not in
,ur the ma,ediction of holy wit, WOE
INTO him who putteth the bottle to his
leighbor's lips!" He took the wrong side,
he left hand road, on tho creates
moral question OF the age. ana
We fear has not recovered from
he consequences. Some years latter
,e left Hays county, why, we do not know.
We hope he is prospecting more at San An
,onio But has anybody ever heard OF HIM
n any important case there2 or heard his
lame mentioned as that of rising man IN
political circles? We rather guess not.
from the sample he has just favored us
With, we Judge his Practice is mainly in the
police courts of that city. Thus, at middle
ge, we find him no nearer success IN his
vofession that he was ten years ago, and
With so poor an estimate of It's commendab'e
chic 9ements as to come back to San Mar
,os and without provocat.on or decent ex-
,use, essai old neighboTs and friends IN
c9uIar fish ma ,ket style. We bid him
Welcome to al, sch "b,ushing honors, AMI
axe our leave O.; him, more in pity than IN
luGer.