The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-31

gus IdIls, MINNESOTA, 6uTveyOf-Ronefal OF
Minnesota vice John +. Forrish, term ex-
pired.
NORWOOD AND.GALL.
Added to Ingalls, Cup OF Bitterness by
Republican Senators.
WASHINGTON, March 3O.--[Special. l-Of
the bright men who go out of congress this
year none will be more regretted than the
snappy little statesman from Wisconsin,
John Colt Spooner. His admirers in the
senate gave him 81, 600 dinner at Chamber
Inns the other night, where everybody about
the board made a speech in honor of the
guest OF the evening, and under the mel
lowing influence OF their sorrow and good
deal of champagne, all hands broke up in
tears aud went home sobbing and crying
like an anxious bench of young girls at
country revival. The president and the
vice-president graced the occasion with
their presence; and Uncle Jerry Rusk. who
Wisconsin folks think will be the next presi-
dent, was there. A good deal of this fuss
about Spooner has been made with the
deadly object of adding wormwood and gall
to the defeat of John James ingalls,. By
his course on the election bill and his speech
on silver, the Kansas statesman enraged
good many of his republican col
leagues. Besides this, Ingalls, has never
bridled his tongue, and there rankles
in the breast of many well-known sena-
tor some caustic and bitter, but witty, re-
mark of his. So, although he had been in
the senate three terms, no sumptuous din
Il. o:1r
service was bought for him. He goes into
retirement Stunned and ignored by men
who have often rejoiced to hear his cutting
and unanswerable party speeches at critical
times when they themselves, and indeed
no other man living, was capable of such
Philippics.
II has always been Ingalls, boast that he
said that he thought about everybody
around him without the slightest hesita-
tion. It was he who first made the remark
that "Evarts is a fine statesman but he
needs pair of false teeth" OF the stout
and specialized little Henderson. of Ne
braska, he said, ''Ah, how much he looks
like Dutch bull-fddler in lager beer gar
den." Senator Allison he characterized as
shat velvety statesman" The memory of
Joe Brown, of Georgia, can never be separ-
ated from Ingalls, famous allusion to his
habit of washing his hands with invisible
soap in invisible water"
Perhaps ingalls, had no better friend in
the senate than old Philetus Sawyer, of
Wisconsin. Many time when the animos-
tiles he had engendered made it impossible
for him to pass some measure of legislation
which he specially wanted put through,
Ingalls, has besought Sawyer to take care of
it for him. The old man never failed to be
obliging. and passed Ingalls, bills as
friend did not escape the Kansas senator's
tongue. On one occasion friend was tell
ing him that young man from Kansas,
who had studied in Paris, was painting
Sawyer's portrait to be hung in the capital
at Madison, Wisconsin.
"Well, well,' said Ingalls,, "has he come
all the way from Paris to paint NY old
friend Philetus? Is he 80 bold as to try to
catch that rare, delicate and evanescent
on the face of the Wisconsin
senatorW And then after a pause, turning
to his listener, he added, HAS our young
friend ever tried to paint a cabbage?"
Spooner, like Ingalls,. is literary in his
style, but his appreciation of bright idea
has never led him to say thing that would
lawyer and hard hitter in debate. Out
in Wisconsin the people regard him as the
greatest man the state has sent to the SEN
ate since Matt Carpenter die. Without
Carpenters brilliancy, or wit, he is quite as
great constitutional lawyer and great
deal better politician. He is the only man
who has gone out of the senate in the last
fifteen years of whom it could be predicted
that he will return to represent his state In
that body. Senator Sawyer, who takes as
much pride in Spooner. as if he we're his own
son, has decided that he will not be can
didate for reelection two years from now
if there is the slightest chance of electing
Spooner. wisconsin is queer state, and
it would not be strange to see Spooner re-
turn soon. Matt Carpenter was elected
three years after his defeat by the grangers,
simply on account of his intellectual brill
iancy.
met the other day on the street Jim
Coleman, who was for ten years Carpen-
ter's law partner. "Ah." said he, ''it will
be long time before We see another man
like poor Matt. There WAS continual sum |
NOR in his veins. Great as he was intel
so that his talents shine out lumi- |
nously upon the broad field of public events
he was, those of us who know him best re-
member more than all how unseliish, low
ing and lovable he always was. His wit |
,ame as free and as spontaneous MS sun
light. / shall never forget the sparkle of
nis eye as he would say n good thing"
'One time," said MIR. Coleman, "a Wis
,onsin gentleman, who had been appointed
% consulship somewhere in France where
hey made good wine, sent two TASKS of IL
20 our office, one for him and one for me.
was not there when it came, and u little
while after jerry Black dropped in. Be
ween them they emptied ono of the TASKS.
When came took up tho untouched flask
md remarked, 4 suppose. Matt, this is
nine.'" 80
"'oh, no. said Matt, that's mine, we
frank yours
II can see him now as he made that happy
eply, the humor of it showing in his eyes
md his smile quite as much as in the
vords.s
One OF the best stories about Carpenter
3 told by the Websterian colored man who
ends the door OF the supreme court room.
carpenter and Jerry Black were often on
he same side in the great cases which they
rgued before the supreme court. But ON
ne occasion they were opposed to each
ther. Black WAS an inveterate consumer
4 chewing tobacco. With every sueESed-
ng head In his argument he would take