The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-31
GREAT TOBACCO CHEwERs.
How Col Ingersoll Handled His Quid
in the Kerr Trial.
Copyright, 1889.

Copyright, 1881
NEW York, March 30-One of the most
successful pieces of work that Col Robert
G. Iugersoll ever did was his defense of
Thomas B. Kerr, the gentleman who was
recently acquitted of bribing some Of our
city fathers. Crowds daily attended this
otherwise dull trial to watch Bob" Mover
had the popular belief in his ability been
more clearly shown. Yet 1t must b. ad-
mitted that never did a man behave more
atrociously in public than this same apostle
of infideity.
In the morning it was his habit to come
into court about 10 o'clock. Then he would
sit down and stretch himself while one Of
his associates went on vita the routine
work. His big body with its broad shoulders
would be huddled up so that it looked very
much smaller than it really was. After
about thirty minutes Of quiet the colonel
wou d crack joke, which invar ably con
vulsed his hearers, and then he would begin
fishing around in his pockets for his tobacco.
His quid was always very small aud al
most anybody else could have chewad it
without attracting any attention. But TIE
colonel made no attempt to concealment.
Five minutes after the quid disappeared into
his mouth his jaws were wagging at an aw
full rate. The floor was carpeted and there
were cuspidors at conve lent distances, but
the colonel didn't bother about them. He
expectorated ali arou1 I'd, while the high
toned and fastidious Jonn Bird, his associate,
strove vainly to conceal his disgust. The
colonels own person did lot excape the
shower of tobacco juice. Usually when the
colonel got up to address Judge Daniels he
would first remove the tobacco, but occa-
sioually he forgot this. and 1t somewhat af-
fected the clearness of his remarks.
W1en tue colonel threw away his quid he
usually did it in instalments. Then it was
that he convulsed the spectators by drawing
an immense jack knife from mis- pocket and
using the large blade as toothpick. The
colonel dug away at mis- teeth with great in
dustrY and vigor. and it certainly looked as
though he would scare some OF them il he
didn't cut his tongue in two. As the colonel
usually took between three and four chews
| day it may be imagined that he was a
deteStable object to look at during large
| POI ton Of eacd session.
There is another great lawyer, now dsad
| and gone, who was an expert in his manip-
| ulation Of q ''chaw.n | refer to Roscoe
Conkiing. | RENE Der his appearance in
| the Hoyt will case when Mary Irene Hoy
vas contssting her fathers will. This was
| one of the most famous cases that ever came
| into the surrogate's court, and the daily at
| tendance was always very large. | have
seen the ex-senator lean against the railing
| before Surrogate Rollins and make long
| argument on some abstruse legal poin ,
punctuating his remarks 10y streams Of to-
bacco juice, which ne let fly around him
with the widest Indifference as to the con-
| sequences.
His tall form, blonde beard and naughty
face gave him striking and refined appear
ance which made his manners the more
startling. Conkling used larger guilds and
chewed more constantly than Colonel lnger-
soil. He appeared, also, to take keener
| enjoyment in the habit.
The most curious of all is Ben Butler.
| Nobody, as far as | have heard, ever saw
Ben put any tobacco in his mouth or take
| any from it. Neither could l learn thai he
| was ever seen to expectO ate. But every
| body who saw him Was convinced that he
| did chew t bacco. | saw him argue in a case
| ia the United States circuit court in this
| city about Two years ago. He appeared to
| be blind, lis eyes were sunken 30 lar into
| his fat cheeks. His jaws were constantly In
| motion and mine grew tired Watching them.
| Up and down went his chops with the regu-
| larity Of machine. 1t was the nearest ap-
proacl to perpetual mott n ever saw. His
| face looked for all the world like that of al
| old German wo nan who had lost b sr teeth
| and chewed uff.
| 1t is curious that none of those three gen.
| tlemen was known TO chew except when at
| work. Is it because the habit is conducible
to activity of minds That is theory never
| heard advanced before.
| DAVID WECHSLER.