Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-12-06

Chief Executive OF Illinois. Both Gordon
and Palmer are men Of histories. Both
served with credit in the late war, and
Palmer came out OF 1t q maior-general, bay-
ing been 10 some Of the most noted battles,
and having started in as colonel. Gordon
entered the Confederate service as captain
and he rose 10 be licutenaut-general, and
he was commanding his troops OF the time
that Lee surrendered at Appomattox. he
was shot oil TO pieces during the war, and
his handsome face bears the scars that he
received during its battles. lie was
wounded Eve times az the battle OF Sharps-
burg, and the fifth ball entered his cheek
and laid him low on the field In speaking
about this wound not long ago he told a
curious story, which illustrates Q feature
OF his character which Will come into play
during his senatorial career. II 10 the fact
that Gordon never loses his head, and That
he can think under any circumstances.
Said General Gordon:
"WhileI lay there wounded on the field
my mind went through curious process
of reasoning. / thought had been struck
by q cannon-ball, and said TO myself: L
have been struck in the head with a six
pound solid shot. IL has carried away my
head. can feel that there Is a little piece
OF the skull left on the left side. But my
brain must DO gone entirely. Therefore |
am dead. And yet / am thinking. And
how can man think with his head shot on !
And IL am thinking 1 cannot be dead.
And yet no man can live after his head is
shot of. Still, / may have consciousness
after am dead, but my body cannot have
action. Now, If can lift my leg then IL
must be that am alive. ! Will try mat
| Cant Yes. can. see it rising. am
not dead, after all and with thar WOKE -.
no and found that my head was sun on
but / reasoned as philosophically ana logi-
| cally over the matter rs though was IN
my Office"
man who can reason this way under
such circumstances is not likely TO nave
much trouble on the Senate moor anu
! Gordon has had experience in the Sehate
| In the past. lie was elected TO the senate
| i'm 1873 and showed himself briiliant
sneaker and debater. He was reelected
| in 1879. but resigned the year following on
| the grounds that he was too poor TO remain
| in notifies and went back 10 Georges end
! engaged IN railroading. He mace SgI-
| time / am told. but reverses came ana ne
| lostlt He was elected Governor OF Geof-
| ola in 1856 and he has been IN poIlIicss
| more or less all his life. Gordon is one OF
the ine-looking men OF the new nleinoG III.
| He is tall. straight, and military IN ms
| hearing. He IS very popular with MS ora
soldiers and Notwithstanding the TACT that
| he opposed the Farmers Alliance ana was
opposed by them he was elected to the
Senate. Senator Gordon is noted as an
! after.dipner speaker. He is fond OF ms
| fellow-men and will have many friends
| here. ,,
General John NJ. Palmer is also q popu-
| lar man He is the oldest of the new me NJ
| bers and with the exception OF NORTH no
| viii probablv be the oldest man in the
| senate. He was born IN Kentucky just
seyenty-four years ago. and he moved 10
| Illinois at the age of fifteen. The carrier
| part Of his life was spent as hepuDllcah'
| Int ne separated from his party during the
| time he was Governor OF the state ana
came out as q Democrat. and ne clallns 10
| be Democrat as matter OF prlhclple.
| Senator Palmer IS very approaGnlapiL'
man. There is no foOllshnesS or snODDlsh-
ness about him, and his friends say that
| his heart is as big as his body, and be IS
\ physically one of the big men OF the SEN
| ate. He is especially strong among the
| farmers, and he is presidential posslolilty
| in that he could carry as large a farming
vote as any man in his party.
PETER AND KYLE.
The two simon-pure Alliance senators
are. however, Senator PETER, OF Kansas,
| and Senator KYLE, of South Dakota. Both
of these men have gotten to the Senate by
| being constitutional klckers. They have
run their campaigns on the begging basis,
and have made votes by pleading poverty
and mortgages. Neither of them, | ven
| ture. ever made over $500 year during
| their lives, and this $4,000 job IS bonanza
| To them. KYLE came into Dakota some
years ago as q Congregational preacher.
lie started a church at Aberdeen, and his
enemies say that in the articles OF lncorpo-
ration or in the constitution of the church
| he left out three very important matters
| One of these was as TO the existence OF
God. a second was as to the existence OF
| the Trinity, and the third as to the belief
| i'm a future state. These, so the story
goes, were left out merely through care,
| iessness on Senator Kyle's part, but one OF
| the old elders rectified the matter and they
| got in. Kyle had little to do with polltlcs
| before he went TO Dakota. He did no.
| thing there until this Farmers Alliance
| movement came up. and then he Jumped
| into the fray on the side OF the farmers anc
| advocated their theories. He had no idea Of
| being senator and had decided to leave
| the Dakotas and move to Boston. ms
| household goods were packed ana atth'
| depot when he found that he had beer
! chosen TO the biggest Office In the gift o.
| his State, that he had the right TO be called
| Senator KYLE and that his wages for 81
wears TO come would be nearly 900 a week
| he thereupon decided TO stay and he /;
now at Washington ready TO earn his sala
| nv. Mr.. Kyle is tall, thin, and angular II
| appearance. He looks like Mr.. Canady
| the old Sergeant-at-Arms'of the senate
He is TWENTY wears Younger than Petfel
and has no whiskers at all. Senator Pehe
| brides himself on his whiskers. llk'
| Samson his muscle has gone INTO his han
| and the rest of his body is tail and thin II
| consequence. He has the students stool
and, as ingalls, says, he talks with a per
| petual cough. Neither he nor Kyle ar
dangerous and they are men OF peac
rather than war.
BAD MEN FROM THE SOUTH.
The two fighters among the new senator
| come from the far South, and they ar
more or less allied to the Alliance party
Jerry Simpson says chat Irby OF Soutl
Carolina Is renegade, and that he ha
gone back on the Alliance and become
Democrat. The Democratic party ar
counting on his vote, and whether DE
mocrat or not he promises TO cut some
thing of a figure here. He has the reputa
ton of being fighter in South Carolina
and il is said that he was at several time
ready TO engage in duels there, and that h
went around with his pistol IN his poke
and fire in hrs eve. He had one or tw'
shooting scrapes, and after one left tn
State for time. 1t is certain that he IS n
coward, and II NAV DC tnat tneIe Will
some lively fighting in the Alliance cam
if he remains in it. Senator lrby had, 1t I
said, duel while he was at Princeton L
1871, but the pistols were not loaded AM
no one was hurt.
Senator Chiffon, of Texas, comes fro1
the State of bold, bad men. He Is
straight fne-looking fellow, and wear
when at home great sombrero AM
during part of his career has carried
revolver on his hip. He is much stronge
man than the average, and starting III
with nothing he has made u reputation
q lawyer and q speaker. He Is appointe
to the Senate by his old friend, Governo
Hogg. The two were boys together whll
working at the printing trade IN Iylel
and they slept under the same blanket
Now Hogg has become Governor and h
gives has old playmate the best offer IN hi
! power.
SENATOR aIBsoN's APPOINTMENT.
Another curious appointment was tina
of Senator Gibson, OF Maryland. Gibso
has been in Congress for several terms an
|, he was about TO open campaign as car
dIdate for the clerkship OF the presen
House, when he received q note froI
Senator German asking him 70 call at hl
house before half-past o'clock one morn
. ing. Gibson is living on his country-sea
A. 4 4