St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-09
Ex-Speakep Carlisle, His I'm
assuming Greatness and
How He Lives.
Representative Breckenridge
Talks His Speeches into
a Graphophone.
Joe Cannon Tired of Con-
greSsional Life---GosSip
About Holman.
Special couesponaence of the Globe.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-THE present
congressional session is going to be one
of fighting from the word go. Both
Democrats and Republicans have dipped
their tongues in Oil of vitriol, and tie
acrimonious remarks of the past week
are but the beginning of a poisonous
stream of eloquence, which will burn,
not only the hearts of their opponents,
but which will stir the souls of both
parties throughout the country.
The men are ripe for the occasion.
There have never been more noted
leaders in both houses of congress than
there are now, and the house has
dozen brainy statesmen who are ready
for the fray and are glad that it is on.
/ took look at Johu q. Carlisle to-day.
He looks almost as young as he did
when he was elected speaker six years
ago. His shoulders have become slight
ly stopped, it is true, and the bald spot
on his crown has widened, but his blue
eyes are full of fire and the iron of his
blood has not been weakened by his
unremitting industry. Carlisle is one
the hardest workers in public life. He
leaves his accomplished Juno-like wife
to keep up the society emf of his WASH
ington life, and he delves in figures and
facts as though he were young lawyer
of twenty-five with his reputation to
make. John q. Carlisle is six feet tall.
Of slender form, he has a strong,
rough, honest face. His forehead is
high and broad, his complexion is sal
low, his eyes light gray and his cheeks
are thin. He dresses in statesmen's
black, wears a doubie-breasted fr0ck,
and ties with his own hands the black
string necktie around his standing col
lar. would not call him handsome
man, but he would be striking one
anywhere. On the floor ne speaks with
few gestures. and his voice is hard,
metallic one, becoming at times almost
nasal. His forte is his wonderful COM
mand of facts and statistics. He re-
members everything that he has ever
read, and he seems TO have read every
thing. He makes no fuss in his speak
Ing. does not talk to the galleries, and
is the most unassumlng man in Wash
iDgton.
rode down with him from the capt.
had reached the avenue young negro
girl entered the car. There was no seat
for her and she grasped the strap as she
looked up'and down the benches on
both sides. l was surprised to see
Speaker Carlisle. for he was then
speaker of the house, half rise to give
her his place. A moment later he saw
that he could make room for her beside
him, and he crowded the rest of us up
against the end and mOtiOned her to sit
down. His treatment of every one else
is n the Same democratic basis. His
latehString is out to everybody. and
any one who wants to see him can see
him at any time. He lives very nicely
here at Washington, and his brick
house OH K street is one of the most at
tractive ones of the capital. He is
fortunate in having wife who knows
how to take care of him, and Mrs. Car
Isle watches over his health as care
fully as though he were her son instead
of her husband.
Carlisle is the embodiment of the free
trade idea, and the same may be said of
W. g. z. Breckenridge, who, in connec-
ton with McCreary, makes the Ken
lucky delegation one of the strongest
from the South. Breckenridge is known
as the silver-tongued orator in his own
state. He is an eloquent speaker, is a
man of fine culture, and he delights in
well-rounded sentences. He weighs a
third as much again as Carlisle, though
he is not as tall, and he is one of the
fine looking men of the house. His
hair is frosted silver. his beard is as
white as newly-slaked lime. and his
cheeks are as rosy as the rising moon.
He is noted lawyer, and was profes.
sor in the university of Louisville be-
fore he came to congress. Many of his
speeches are eXtempOre ones, and he
has shown himself to be good all-rOund
fighter. He is as good fellow as he is
q statesman, and he lives in very fine
brick house here, about two miles from
the capitol, on Sixteenth street, In the
shadow of ex-senator Henderson's $780,
600 brown stone chateau. Brecken-
ridge has curious way of preparing
his speeches. He dictates the matter to
the graphophone and then has the CYL
inders written out in typewriting. He
did, for long time, dictate his mail d.
rectly to the typewriter, and he is one
OF the men who can get through great
deal of business in very short time.
Representative Breckenridge's cou-
Sin. Breckenridge. of Arkansas, is also
prominent in the Democratic party. He
is the son of john c. Breckenridge, and
ne moves about the house as though he
wanted to fight, and was ready to take
up one at moments notice. He is q
lean little anatomy, with q sal
low face and heavy jaw. He possess
SEES considerable ability and has shown
himself an able speaker.
MeCreary. of Kentucky, is also good
speaker. though he has not as vet shown
himself to possess the eloQuence of
breckenridge or the facts of Carlisle.
He is straight, well-padded brunette
OF medium height, with a pair of ewes as
black as oiled jet, with broad. full
forehead and with raven black hair. He
dresses well, is perfectly at home upon
the floor and his speeches show him to
be something of student. He is fiftv-
two years old. is a practicing LAWYER
and was speaker of the Kentucky house
and governor of the state before he was
elected to congress. He is long speak
er, but his speeches are by no means of
the length as that which he accused the
late Sam Cox of making. McCreary
says that when he left college twenty
odd years ago he made q visit to New
York, and in passing through Washing
ton he spent a few moments in the
house gallery. He saw a little man
standing in the middle of the floor and
pounding the air very vigorously while
he kept the house in storm of laugh
ter. He asked who this was and was
told that it was Sam Cox. He was not
able to wait for the end of the speech
and went on to New York and then
back to Kentucky. He did not again
come to Washington until he was elect
ed to congress, and through some
troubles In his family he was not able
to get to the house on the first day of
the session. When he did enter it he
saw the same little man standing in the
same place and pounding the air in the
same way. 1t was Sunset Cox rounding
mp one OF the last speeches of his three
decades of federal legislation. Nc
Creary, In talking to Cox about the
matter. said that he liked the beginning
of the speech and he very much ad-
mired the end of it. and that it would be
bis lifelong regret that he had never
heard the middle of it.
Ohio compares with Kentucky In this