The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-19
Cur MINISTER TO MEXICO.

- y = MINISTER 10 MEXICO.
A Pen-Picture of Gen. Edward S. Bragg
His Celebrated Speech in the
Chicago Convention il Behalf of Mr..
Cleveland-Proctor Knott and his
Funny Duluth Grafton.
From the Ne,c York World.
WASHINGTON, Jan. ia wiry, cat-lke
little man walked across the Ebbitt House
lobby this morning. His square shoulders
were punched up under his ears and his
arms were poised like those of a prize
fighter His head was bent forward and
his brave left eye looked fiercely from under
his brow. The other wore a green patch,
and his short, gray whiSkers bristled with
tercenesS. He walked with the soft, stealthy
tread OF panther, but his whole air was
that Of the Bad Man from Bitter Greek, who
could lick any blanked man in the town
lie was dressed in black clothes, and a
double-breasted frock hung upon his bel
llgerent frame. The walters made way for
him and statesmen stopped and shook hands
1t was Gen. Edward IS. Bragg, the Wiscon-
sin fighter, who has just been nominated
Minister to Mexico Bragg made his friend
ship with Cleveland at the Chicago conven-
ton, where he jumped on the patform an |
announced, with shake of his fist, that
"Cleveland's friends loved INN for the enc
mics he has NADER he denounced John
Kelly, hurled back Gradys words in his
teeth and made one of the great speeches of
the convention.
Bragg is more of a fighter than a
diplomat, and he is hardly happy when out
of quarrel. He had fuss with Cen
Cutcheon, when the Fitz John Porter case
was up in the House, and the two shook
their fists at each other when they quarreled
over Bull Run. Bragg's force is the bulldog
part OF his nature, and he has few equals III
the power of acrimonious retort and invec-
tive. He is a man of brains, too, and is at
his best in his Goth year His honor has
never been questioned. and if he can curb
his fierce temper he may do some good as
our Mexican Minister
The red herdic which runs from the CAPT
tol to the White House was full to-day and
stocky, portly man hung on by the strap.
He was cold and his round head was we'll
wrapped in a green W olen comforter, and
his plug hat was pulled down over his brow.
His face only showed, but it looked like
piece of rare china. The color was as rosy
as the most horid of Ruben's paintings, and
the eyes shown out through white winkers
as blue as a midsummer sky. A short mo is
tache of silver was the only sign of whiS-
kerS, and the face was as round and as full
as that of the moon. He smiled as | asked
him whether the day was as cold as those of
Duluth. 1t was Proctor Knott, of Ken
lucky, whose funny speech on Duluth some
fifteen years ago made him famous, and
who is now visiting Washington and hob
nobbng with his old Congressional friends.
am told his speech still sells, and l saw
some of these Duluth speeches yesterday at
a second hand book store, and was told they
were worth a quarter apiece.
Proctor Knott had no idea at the time
that this speech was going to make his repu-
tation, and it was an inspiration which
comes only once in lifetime He told me
the story He said: 1T was near the close
of the session and was asked to speak on
the land subsidy bill in the Housa. | pre-
pared a sober GRAFTON, with no more fun in
its points than in the moral law, and it
was nearly as long. / tried to get the
Speakers eye, and when the bill was about
passing Holman was preferred before me.
asked him to give me his right to the
floor, or a part of his time He told me
he could not do it. At last l spoke to the
Speaker, and he said he thought he could
arrangeto give me hearing.
This was several days before the speech
was made, and | had no idea of humor as
yet A day or so later a lobbyist called
upon me and told me that bill would soon
come up to improve the harbor of Duluth
! asked him to tell me where Duluth was
knew, of course, it's situation, but wanted
him to understand that l thought but little
of his bill and be thus able to refuse his re
quest. He did not see my irony, but he put
his hand in his breast pocket and pulled out
map. Here was the whole civil. zed world
drawn in circles, and these circles grew
smaller and smaller until at last
they terminated in dot at the centre, and
on that dot was printed the word Duluth,
These were hundred mile circles, and the
distances of all the great cities of the
country were noticed, and their small dots
looked like hanlets compared With Duluth.
To look at that map you would suppose That
if you wanted to go to Liverpool London
or Constantinople you'd have first to go to
Duluth for your start, and on the map were
printed statistics showing that there were
100000 square miles about that point all
tributary to Duluth. The bland young man
delivered his eulogy of this mighty EN-
brvonic city, and | saw as he did so the
chance for some fun in the House. | asked
him to leave the map, and said that | lived
on little creek in Kentucky, and that most
of my people had never seen a ship. he did
this. and SUSPECTED nothing, saying: 'Mr.
Knott, hope you will study that map, and
go for our bill
81 replied, i will go for it, but never saw
him again. AS l thought more over the
matter the fun grew upon me, and | found
that could make my speech on the land
bill and bring in Duluth. | went to the
library and prepared some of the best parts
of the humor, and l intended it only as an
introduction to my more sober speech
When got the floor | found the House
with me, aud when my time was extended,
could not go up from the ridiculous to the
sublime. | went on with the humor and
dropped the serious Grafton, and the speech
over which had spent days of labor was
never delivered. The greater part of the
humorous speech was the result of the in
spiration of the moment, and while made
it | never thought that it would put the
country upon a broad grin. / was aston
ished the next day to find every one talking
about it, and that all my friends at the cap
itol congratulated me upon it."
Apparitions and Haunted Houses.
From Science.
The American Society for Psychical Re
search evidently finds difficulty in securing
haunted houses to be submitted to their
eaarchiny Investigations Prof ROyce, who