Los Angeles herald., 1890-09-28

Arthur Mckewen, the entertaining
and versatile letter-writer, devotes his
correspondence of the goth instant to
Colonel Markham's performances on the
stump. His graphic and interesting
sketch OF the Republican champions
Websterian efforts will prove good read
ing. We quote:
The Republicans of California find
themselves at the opening of the cam
paign in predicament which is as dis
tressing to them as it is amusing to
others. All that was known about Col
onel Markham to California, outside of
his southern home, when nominated
for governor, was that he, had once been
a congressman from there for one term,
ofwhose record in Washington nothing
was remembered. But the delegates
from the south were so wild about him
and so full of tales concerning the mag
netism" with which he was stored that
the convention, afraid to offend
the citrus belters, took him on trust,
absolute stranger though he was. Mr..
Pond being a somewhat reserved and
dignifed person, the Republicans pro-
ceeded at once to make much OF his
Goodness" the which, as is well known,
being high crime and misdemeanor
during the vote-hunting season every
where. 1t was resolved to import the
magnetic Colonel to Mr.. Ponds own
stamping ground and rouse the metro
polls to passion of enthusiasm. 1t
was presumed, of course, that he was
another Demosthenes or 1ngersoll in
eloquence, and as Mr.. Pond finds it
difficult to think on his feet, the con-
trast was expected by the elated North
ern Republicans to make thousands of
votes among the masses, who admire
in candidate above all other gifts that
of oratory.
The Webster OF the orange groves
made his Introductory bow to the
metropolis on Saturday night week
ago, before a great mass-meeting. He
paralyzed that audience-not by the
sparkle of his rhetoric or the grand
sweep of his argument, but by reading
with hating diffidence a speech from
manuscript. 1t was poor speech,
meager, commonplace and dull. Since
then the electric candidate of the semi
tropics has been going about the differ
ent wards OF the city speaking nightly,
in order to make himself known to and
charm the metropolitans. This tour of
the town is popularity known as mark
hams Mash" l attended one
of these queer little mash"
meetings in small hall on the outskirts.
When the colonel came to the footlights
and smiled and bowed in response to the
noise of greeting, l never saw a
more awkward or distressed man. He
would have given thousands of dollars
to be anywhere else. Colonel Markham
is very tall and as dark as Mexican.
But his timidity of manner robs his
presence of the dignity which his height
would otherwise impart, and a certain
appealing look in his troubled eyes de-
prives his dusky countenance of strength.
He drew his manuscript address and read
it in disturbed and suffering way that
awakened pity and perhaps sympathetic
agony in his hearers, who applauded him
encouragingly at every ghost OF an open
ing. as grown people do at school ex-
hibition. 1t was all schoolboyish, the
speech, in matter and manner. The
worst reporter of any of the San Fran
cisco newspapers could have written a
better one on the issues of the campaign
such as they are. 1t was a brief, help
lessly brief, rehash of the editorials OF
| Jllc OIStIlS vi pdIby, dllt eilC III 81
half of it was an eulogy of the state cen,
trail committee, about whose intelli
gence, patriotism and wonderful knowl
edge of politics and how to run a cam
paign the poor colonel prosed and proseC
until the most earnest partisan grew
impatient. He bent his mild, doubt
full eyes on the audience over the
top of his pages, and gave this
solemn and self-respecting as
surance regarding himself and that won
dertul committee: Il am in their hands
unreservedly, and am ready to do what
ever they wish, and to go wherever they
send me, throughout this campaign
The fact that the committee have no
had the sense to have few adul
speeches written for the colonel cause
one to doubt the soundness of that ad
miration for it's ability which stuns him
His own written efforts develop, among
other things, that grammar il
a dark mystery to him. HI
perceives no difference between
was and were, and achieved thi
felicity also: 'I'm not goin' to dis
cuss the tariff question with you" An(
this metaphor: "Shafts of calumn,
have been heaped upon him." While
extolling the new silver law, and pre-
dieting the good results that might b,
expected to flow from it, he exhibited
his knowledge of mining in this mining
state, by declaring that "silver quart
mills will be erected in this city,
These were not slips of extemporaneou
oratory, but the language and thought
of great mind committed deliberatel,
to paper.