The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-06
COL. ROBERT G. INGERsoLL.


shall not pretend to quote his language.
He said that he was more Of an enemy to-
day of every form of so called orthodox
religion than when he first began as a
critic. He describes from his point of
view the spirit of orthodox religion as a
combination of "meekuess and malignant
cy."
1 saw the Colonel in his office in Nassau
street, New York city. He was a perfect
picture of radiant health, and does not
look so old as when he left Washington
some ten years ago. His round full head
is now nearly bald. The hair that re-
mains is snow white and close cropped.
His round, full face was smooth shaven
and with scarcely line or wrinkle. His
forehead was broad and full. His eyes
are keen blue gray, with a twinkle in
their depths of the latent humor always
underlying nearly everything the Colonel
says. His nose is prominent and straight.
His mouth is fine in its lines and small
His chin is round, pronounced and very
strong in its contour. He is as smooth
shaver and as fresh colored as an English
country squire. He has the high color of
a man of health, and the unmistakable
air of success which always goes with
men who have accomplished something in
this world. When | saw him the other
morning he was dressed in a dark frock
suit with great bunch of pink and white
sweet peas in his buttonhole. He was
debating to his secretary, Mr.. Baker,
man with a. French type of face, sallow in
color, aquiline features, with the lower
half covered by a dark moustache and
short, square trimmed beard. Mr.. Baker
is the Colonels right hand, his shadow.
He is a perfect private secretary. He was
formerly very orthodox, but in the atmos-
phere of the Colonels life he has become
as radical free thinker as his employer
He has been with the Colonel for many
years, and will always be with him. There
is compact between the Colonel and Mr..
Baker that the latter shall be with him
always. Mr.. Baker preserves religiously
the record of the Colonel's life. Every
thing that he says of any Importance upon
current things-speeches, lectures, his
writings-are all a part of a complete
record kept by Mr.. Baker. He is more than
a private secretary, in that he is a devoted
friend, and has as much of an interest in
preserving an honest record of the Col
onels life as has the Colonel himself l
once heard the Colonel say that Mr.
Baker had instructions TO register truth
fully his opinions, belief and disbeliefs
for future record. He has special instruc-
lions concerning the ColoneTs death. The
latter has often discussed the subject of
his own taking of. He has a perfect
horror of any Misrepresentation concern
ing that time His life has been peace
full happy and contented one, and he be-
lieves his closing hours will be equally
happy and contented. Neither does he
believe that he will change a single iota
of his opinions up to the verge of the
grave, and Mr.. Baker is TO be there abso-
lutely TO record just what he says, so
there can be no dispute about it and no
excuse for misrepresentation.
l have seen Col. Ingersoll a great many
times during the last fifteen years,
and have never seen him SO adverse to
public compliment and so anxious, in
plain words, to keep out of the newspapers
as now In my talk with him l said
something about writing character
sketch, and he said with evident shrink
ing that no mans life should be written
until he was dead ''Who can know
anything about any mans" said he.
"Who can understand the motives that
control hint What man understands
himselfr' He then went on to say with
a funny twinkle in his eye, that there were
just two things in the world very hard to
bear. One WAS to be hated by the public /
and the other was TO be loved by it. If
you are hated you are constantly misrep-
resented, lied about and prosecuted in a
thousand ways which malignancy alone