Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-09-20


the Dakotas was continued ovation.
From December, 1857, to March, 1889, save
about six years, he was continuously in con-
gress. and only Judge Kelley and Sam Ran
doll. of pennsylvania, outranked him in
continuous service His nickname of Sun
set Cox" may have been given in consequence
of his initials, rs. S." but its first applica-
ton was soon after the publication in his
paper, The Statesman, of Columbus, o.,
May 10, 1853, of a sophomorical description
of sunset, beginning as follows;
A GREAT OLD SUNSET.
What a stormful sunset was that of last night
How glorious the storm, and how splendid the set
ting of the sun We do not remember yer to have
seen the like on our round globe The scene
opened in the west, with whole horizon full of
golden tnterpenetrating luster, which colored the
foliage and frightened every object in its own
rich dyes The colors grew deeper and richer,
until the golden luster was transformed into
storm cloud fun Of finest lightning, which leaped
in dazzling zgzags all round and over the city.
The wind arose with fury, the slender shrubs and
giant trees made obeisance to its majesty Some
even snapped before its force The strawberry
beds and grass plots turned up their whites" to
see Zephyrus march by.
As the rain came, and the pools formed and the
cutters hurried away thunder roared grandly,
and the fire bells caught the excitement and rung
with hearty chorus. The south and east received
the copious showers, and the west all at once
frightened up in long, polished belt of azure,
worthy Of Sicilian sky. Presently a cloud APP
peared in the azure belt in the form of castel-
lated city 1t became more vivid, revealing strange
forms of peerless fanes and aabaster temples, and
glorics rare and grand in this mundane sphere. 1t
reminds us of WORDSWORTH splendid verse in his
Excursions"
The appearance instantaneously disclosed
Was of a mighty city boldly say
a wilderness of buildings, sinking far
And self withdrawn into wondrous depth,
Far sinking into splendor without end!
Mr.. Cox's first speech in congress attract
ed much attention, and his address late i'll
1862, when he described brother congress
man as flying from the field of Bull Run
hanging to the tail of a stampeded steer,
like Anchises borne from burning Troy on
the shoulders of lEneas," made nation
laugh III spite of its sorrow. In this same
speech he summed up the Missouri contro-
versy of the time in such an admirable and
humorous style that it was at once accepted
as correct by the public This was the speech
in which he told how Fremont's greatness
twas blasted by the consuming torrent Of
'Blair's Rhetoric that being the title of
popular school book Of the time. One of his
last speeches was on the fisheries and fish
commission in which he said;
Mr.. Speaker, there never was an interest in this
country cared for by the government as this Of
fish. Our first efforts, at least in New England,
began with fish. When our ancestors-I refer to
New England, where | was educated-when our
ancestors went to King James for a charter to go
across the seas and colonize Massachusetts,, the
king asked the Puritans
what is your objectg What do you ntendy''
Their answer was ITO worship God and catch
fish" Laughter
Then the king rejoined 81 give you the char
ter Fore Cad! 1t is the apostles own calling"
Renewed laughter
Why sir even in the early churches Of New
England the early and pious Puritans used to
sing
We monsters of the bubbling deep,
Your Makers name upraise;
Up from the sands, we codliugs, peep,
And wag your tails always
Laughter and applause
So that in early New England the cure and care
Of fish was concomtant with commerce. liberty
and sanctity. In later times New England has OBJ
tanned congressional enactnents giving free salt
| for her fish. while the miserable man in Chicago
cannot get free salt for his pork. Laughter Con.
gress has always had kindly word for the fisher.
men. For many decades it gave bounties at SO
much per cod These fishermen have not become
less tenacious of their rights since the bounty
ceased They are power in numbers and influ-
ence They number q million more of men
constantly engaged in their hardy and hazardous
occupation. Their calling is associated ut the
present time with some curious wriggiiny in dpo
macy. [Laughter.l But wherever they are and
wherever they adventure, they should be cared for
| by the fostering arm of the government
The main object Of this bill sir, is to assist
the fishermen 50 much as the consumers of fish
1t would send out the SEED broadcast that food
harvests may grow In all the waters OF this land
/ trust there will be nothing done here to impair
the usefulness Of this bureau l trust as this
bill takes no money out of the treasury that nc
further objection will be made to its passage
| that the president may be able to select a good
practical man of science and energy, whether he
be a Democrat not, to occupy and honor the
position. I am not sure but that there NAV be
found some good, scientific Democrat In this
country to administer this Office. Laughter Al
the sciences cannot be monopolized by the Re
publican party. There may be Democrat dis
covered with the qualities Of good. scientific
fisherman The president will find him. The
president himself is somewhat of an expert il
that line. lLaughter.l
The last letter written by Mr. Cox referred
to an engagement to lecture on the Yellow
stone country before the Steckler association
of New York city; it was to Julius Harburg
err, president of the association and ran thus
New YORK. Sept 9, 1899
DEAR FRIESD-After your work is done to-nigh
come around to my house and see me. am dow
sick with malaral fever, and have been sine
we fixed our lecture. have tried and medicated
etc, In hope to be well for the 10th inst Perhap
/ may fail Come and let Inc talk 1t over. II vii
be great disappointment to me if can't get up il
time Yours, S. S. Cox
-Four evenings later, at $50 p M. tne yer,
time he should have been before the club, h.
breathed his last The immediate cause O
his death was peritonitis, His wife, who sur
wives him, was Miss Beecher, of Muskingum
O., an heiress and very intellectual woman
They had no children