New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-23
SPEECH OF MR.. PHELPS.

AT tho close of General Schofeld's speech the
chairman introduced William Walter Phelps to
sneak for Congress-" Mr.. Phelps said:
This certainly trying unless one like sherman
and Woos )rd and Talmage who don't care rap hat
thcv saw Laughter 1 wish were back TINS moment
in CONGRESS- No one listens there, and man speaks
so much better, when no one listens lhis silent
attention with which you are starting makes me
nervous I am not used to 1t. never saw anything
like il i'm Washington except last week at Arlington
went out there with a few jersey veterans to place
tablet on the grave of their old COMMANDER made
long speech under the trees and in the snow yet the
vast majority of my audience never stirred unrll was
through Nor did they then Laughter l wish you
had all been there, gentlemen. renewed laughter.
wish your fascinating chairman, who always gets what
he wants except and then a fec were there now.
| told him | would better not come.
"Thnk it over" said he, and you'll feel better about
And did think it over and am thinking 1t over
now and if YOU to know how feel, ask DR..
Talmaoe about the drunken man he found sitting on
the stops of his Tabernacle DR.. Tamage takes
every one in in that Taoernacle so he tried to take
this man. But the man refused.
was thinking would join your church. he said,
but the longer think about it, the sickcr feel.'
Applause.
Another thing against your president He promised
70 send the last report that might how ought to
sneak that Il one promise he kept The report came,
In an envelope that oheeriully suggested public
or sha thy yGe gt
| read-"T last speech OF Daniel Webster before
the ew-England Society OF NewYork." Continued
Do you wonder, gentlemen, that I am forced
TO saw that | feel, like Artemus Ward,
with naked ca2nibals brandishing their spears
at his breast" not dsmayed, but some
what discouraged"i Indeed nothing encourages me
but the recollection of the heroic suerngs OF the
Pilgrim Fathers, and the knowledge that not a man
who hears me can vote at the jersey polls chcers aud
vet if we can believe ew-England orators, the
Pilgrim Fathers never had dinner and II they never
had no dinner how could they have an aiter-dmner
speech Or If they had bad dlnner what kind But
Mr. Depew can answer that. For he cannot deny
that the subject brought to his attention, in the
course OF business by recent letter OF this purport
To the President OF the Central Road
They say you a great after dinner
speaker Will you kindly inform me what kind OF a
speech you could make if you got your dinner at the
PoughKeepsie restaurant "a Laughter and applause
thought would speak about Congress tonight
thought it would be novelty 10 this stated audience
tor man TO speak OF anything he knew s1metn,ng
heard DR.. Taimage speak OF reigiont And yet he
speaks on everything else-the Brooklyn Bridge the
shop girl the Stock Exchange and the Devil.
Or Depew speak OF railways ;et who ever made
greater railway success Labor reduced from 10 TO
SO per cent says he last report Why at this rate
there will be no labo. at all the Central and that's
lust what his friends said when he took the road
We'll one thing is certain the Vanderbilts won't get
much work out OF Chauncey Applause
papers And yet he has made the new South he spoke
so touchingy of with his Atlanta Constitution "A
circulation weekly of 100000 gentlemen And he
knows how to paper, too. lie noticed a citizen
as dead. The citizen appeared alive |! Laughter.
Can't correct it, SAID Editor Grady But III put
YOU in among the Births Great laughter.
CONGRESS FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION.
want to say two or three things about Congress.
They are the results Of personal observation and they
are very different IRON the common impression. For
these wrong impressions think the newspapers are
to blame our city papers than our country
For that matter, l sometimes think that city
papers as class are ngulary ont OF sympathy with
The millions of Americans who live of OF Manhattan
Island Ii was certainly from them that got my
ideas about Congresss When / went up to Washington
first some fourteen years ago, telt sure was going
INFO bad comDany-that | should find Congressman a
bad lot many OF them corrupt majority selt-seekng,
and nearly ali stupid. Actual contact soon convinced
me of my error And am here tonight to say that
do not know where one could elsewhere find in
collection OF citizens larger number of high character
than IN tho House of Representatives. Cheers. The
papers spoke OF gross intemperance. found major
ity of them men who conscenuously abstained from
ali Intoxicating drinks, while moderation
conspclously the rule have seen but two cases OF
inemperance the floor of the House, and these
not gross and were In a measure excusahle
expected TO find most of the members irreligious,
dissolute and pre- fame. l don't pretend TO know
the secret vices of any OF them but know tar
their associates tell very many regious while
the general of net and conversation that OF
selt-respectng gentlemen. Especially ] was taught
that many were corrupt selling their yotes and
turning ready to every solicitation to private gain