Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-06-23

vention the house burst forth in cheers. The
next morning every Democratic member had
red bandanna handkerchief In his pocket
and a red rose in his button hole. Sam Ran
dali spread a red bandanna handkerchief
across his desk and the Democratic side o.
the house grew enthusiastic over 1.-THE knight
of the red bandanna."
a watchword like this is of much value In
a campaign. Governor Foster when he ran
for the goverhorship Of Ohio was known as
Calico Charlie" and "Old Tippecanoe'
gave Harrison many a vote. ''Old Zach
helped Taylor TO the presidency, and the ia
miliar words Jim Blaine" and the "Plumed
Knight" have added to the Maine statesman's
friends, Webster was all the better appre-
ciated from his title of 'Black Dan," and
Henry Clay's friends rejoiced in calling him
Harry of the West" We know Tom Ben
ton better from his having been called "Old
Bullion" and ''Old Hickory" was one of the
strongest elements of Jackson's success.
Speaking of the red bandanna, Thurman
has brought himself to the front as the user
Of this kind because he uses handkerchief
three times TO the ordinary mans one He is
an inveterate snuffe, and he likes to titilate
his nose with the insinuating powder. While
he was in the senate he patronized the sena-
torial snuff box, and Doorkeeper Bassett
furnished him a fresh allowance of Maccaboy
periodically. One of the best things ever
published abc-t Thurman was an article by
Howard Ci.Irroll. OF The New York Times,
which was finally put in little book called
Twelve Americans" In this Carroll tells
how Thurman first learned to snuff, and
tell the story somewhat as he gives it
Thurman was, yon know, the son Of a
Methodist preacher, and was born in Vir-
ginia- He moved to Chillicothe, o., when he
was about six years old, with his parents, and
his father engaged in wool carding. His
mother taught school, and it is from her,
doubt not, that Thurman gets the most of
dis greatness She was half sister of the
Hon William Allen, better known as "Fog-
horn Allen Allen g. Thurman studied
with her, and he became, it is said, so good
in mathematics that his schoolmates called
him Fright Angled Triangle Thurman"
1t was while he was boy here that a
'renchman named Gregoire came to Chilli
,othe. He was a man Of remarkable culture,
and had been educated as a Catholic priest,
but had never taken the orders While
studying for the priesthood he had fallen in
love with a beautiful girl, who had not, how
,ver, the social rank that he had, and had
married her. His friends had not recognized
his wife as be thoughtthey should, and as he
was a man of considerable means be decided
70 buy an estate in America and bring his
bride TO the land where all men are equal.
lie did buy SO, 600 worth of land in Virginia,
but his wife died before he sailed, having
:iven birth to a daughter. When his
.aughter was few years old financial re-
verses drove him to look up his American
land. He brought his daughter to the United
States and found he had been swindled His
thousands of acres We're of swamp and noun
tain, and were worth nothing. He had to
leach for a living, and when be came to
Shillicothe be brought his little daughter
with him This daughter was about Allen
o. Thurman's age, and he got Mrs Thurman
to take care of her on condition that he would
teach young Alien And here comes in the
red bandanna-
The old Frenchmnn was an inveterate
siruffer, and Allen harmed from him to snuff
as well as to talk French The habit clung
to him; he got to using the red bandanna
handkerchief when they were the ones chiefly
IN use, and he stuck to them
The days of snufiing are, however, fast
passing away. When Allen g. Thurman was
boy nearly every one of the old women of
the country snuffed. Dolly Madison, the
most beautiful woman of her time, tickled
many n statesman's soul by giving him a
pinch out of her own snuff box She used
two handkerchiefs, and she said to Henry
Clay one day, after the two had taken a
friendly pinch together, 81 use this" shak-
ing a red bandanna handkerchief, "for
rough work." and with that she brushed
it across her nose, "and this,n lift
ing up little piece of lace about a
foot square, ''this is my polisher," and
with that she daintily went over her
nose again. Clay was very fond of snuff.
He would stop in tie middle of a speech and
go up TO the vice presidents desk, which
Turing his time always contained box of
snuff. He would take pinch, snuff it up
his nose and then walk back and continue
his speech 1t is related that he stopped dur
ing argument before the supreme court and
asked the chief justice for pinch Of snuff.
Webster snuffed, and among the snuffers in
the senate today are Hampton, of South
Carolina, George, of Mississippi, and Beck,
of Kentucky.
Mr. Carroll describes Allen G. Thurman,s
first visit to Washington He was young
lawyer at the time and took the trip for
health. He came in q stage coach to Fred
erick Cty, Md, and thence by rail His
uncle, Bill Allen, was a senator here at
the time, and young Thurman was intro
duced to all the great lights Of the capital.
He met John C. Calhoun, and Calhoun de-
lighted Thurman. He advised him to read
closely the history of the Greek republic,
and enchanted him with his flow of Ian
guage and cordiality of manner. Calhoun
was very popular with young men and had
more personal magnetism than Is generally
credited to him
Thurman made good United States sena-
tor, and usually filled the galleries when he
talked His strongest friend In the senate
was Republican--George F. Edmunds, Of
Vermont Edmunds sld Thurman walked
together talked together and drank together.
They were paired with each other, when one
was absent, on all political questions, and the
sly winks which used to pass from one to the
other, Indicating their desire for seance in
the committee room, where they kept on tap
q very fine bottle of old Bourbon, have be-
!ome historic. But neither Of them drank to
fxcess, and neither of them ever got the
worse for their little nips They liked, how
ever, good quality of stimulant, and they
were not ashamed of it
Allen G. Thurman made no money in the
United States senate 1t cost him more than
his salary to live at Washington, and his
honesty never has been questioned. He was
rather the foe of the lobbyists than their
friend, and good story has been told Of
how he circumvented railroad lobby few
years ago. think it was in connection with
the passage of the Thurman sinking fund
act. The Gould Huntington lobby wanted
it defeated, and think that both Jay Gould
and C. P. Huntington were here. They were
confident that they were going to defeat the
bill, and they claimed that they had forty
votes. 1t was near the last of the session and
Thurman knew that he would have to pass q
bill by midnight of certain day or it
would not pass at all. The hours