The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-20
GREAT STUMP SPEAKERS.
.,narss1vE, INTELLECTUAL, WIT
lMF ''-1 nv AND HUMOROUS.

of Merit.
,vo,bing can take the place Of the spoken
-, che personal impression, the personal
-,rrsnt." was an opinion expressed by
S-.snncey NJ. Depew while discussing the
Cnpa of the press in representing and
'nI ,iins publio opinion. No man ever
~ .ra more approximately of the mighty
' spsn of the press of to-day. aud of its
-.a,dous force in modern civilization
We MIR, Depew did In his address.
II was his belief, however,
chat the press could not sup
'Iant the platform, the pulpit and the
p.Irnp and chat these influences must con-
tnne doing their work, each to certain
LIZ snpplementinR the other. Mr..
S H.s.,v has the conviction that the stump
IN never be supplanted as a factor in
.nnarican politics, and he believes that to
:, is due in great measure the healthy
p-;totion. the political virllity. and the
stnrdv common sense in regard TO political
sfSairs which characterize the American
people.
The greatest of the stump orators have
lived and been conspicuous within Mr.. De-
naT's recollection and that Of most OF the
man with whom he has been politically as
socased. A comparatively small number
of men who are Mr.. Depew's political COM
nsnions to-day were born too late to hear
the panJ stump orators Of the earlier gen.
Grafton. Webster and Clay were,
nerhaps, the greatest Of the stump
sneakers of the generation that ended
its career during President Fill
mores administration. The triumphs of
Webster on the stump have never been OK
oeeded, although they have been approached
closely by others who followed him in po-
Iticsl life. Whan he was to speak no hall
was big enough to contain those who de-
sired TO hear him. He had only to open his
window and step forth upon the balcony of
his hotel in Baltimore or Washington to
find vast throng, stretching out as far as
the eve could reach, waiting patiently to
listen to the man who was called the god
like Daniel.
Clay was. perhaps, a more popular orator
than Webster He was loved, while Web
ster was feared. In some Of Clay's political
extending frequently through a
dozen states, enormous throngs gathered,
impelled not 30 Eluch by the desire 30 be
with Clay's argument as with
the feeling which led SO many of them to
seek to touch his hand and to receive the
kindly glance Of his eyes. No political
orator of his generation, perhaps none since,
has swayed great masses with charming
and with affection ss Clay did
during his political tours.
THE FREE SOIL CAMPAIGN.
With the advent Of the Free Soil party
In 1S47-'48 a new race Of political orators was
developed, many of whom maintained a
splendid prestige until the close of the civil
war, and then another generation took their
places
"In New York state,n said Gen. Thomas
James, 1.-THE finest stump speaker that the
young free sellers listened to was Prince
John Van Buren,. Unlike mis- father, Martin
Van Buren,, Prince John was Of splendid
physical proportions Like Conkling, he was
q man whom it did the eye good to look
upon when he appeared in public; but. unlike
Conkling, he attracted by delightful man
nerism, and gained extraordinary personal
which is illustrated nowadays
by the sobriquet of Prince, first applied to
him by Thurlow Weed, by which he was
always afterward known. He did not dis
like to be called Prince John. He had
achieved fine reputation as q lawyer be-
fore he took d very active part in politics,
and had he been possessed Of that ambition
which mastered his father he might have
gained as many successes as the father won.
Prince John, however, was a hail-fellow-
yet always digniied, fond Of the
good things Of life, possessed Of wonderful
animal spirits, keen sense of humor, and
a repugnance for some OF the responsible
ties and trials OF Office holding. The young
men Of the present generation can hardly
realize the extent of his popularity nor how
great his fame was. The older generation
alone remembers him, and it does seem
strange that a man who had such extraordi-
DRry gifts aud such widespread popularity
ha oil
In the free soil campaign through 1847-'52
Prince John gained a reputation as stump
speaker which extended throughout the en-
tire country. In Utica in 1843, when Da-
vid Dudley Field and other men Of great
had brought about the nomiua-
tion of Martin Van buren, for President on
the free soil platform Ia nomination ratified
afterward by a national convention at Buff
falo), Prince John was asked to speak at a
mass meeting In support of the new move-
ment. 1t was delicate position to put him
10. The candidate was his own father. who
had served as President Ten thousand
persons were gathered to hear him. He
stood before that throng a superb specimen
of physical manhood, without revealing his
but seeming to be at per-
feet ease. He spoke with his hands
IN his pockets much of the time.
a mannerism which for most men
"ouiN hoNo D6eu uuulEutIou, Oub
which in Prince Johns case gave no
offence. He spoke for more than two
hours His speech was mosaic of wit,
humor, pathos, and profound argument.
TWAS published widely, and it exerted a
powerful influence toward the consolidation
OF various elements which created the Free
Sou party in Buffalo, thereby splitting the
Democratic party and defeating the cleo
ton of Louie Cass for the presidency.
frlnce Johns repute as a result Of that
speech was 80 great that appeal was made
10 MIN to go to many other cities. He
spoke In Faneuil Hall, Boston, on the clos
ing night Of the campaign. Webster had
spoken IN that hall the night before for the
wings. The opinion expressed by those
VINO heard both speeches was rather more
natterlng to the effort of Primes John than
60 that OF Webster,
Another stump speaker during that cam
Vass was Daniel S. Dickinson. He was what
would De called a magnetic man on the
stump. His speeches were, and were meant
TO De, ephemeral, but popular. He was an
enemy OF Van Buren,, and, perhaps, did as
much as any man, except John G. Calhoun,
70 prevent Van Burenis nomination in 1874.
Dickinson gained such repute that where
ever ne was announced to speak the day of
his appearance was holiday He estab-
ilshed himself with his party 50 firmly that
he was leading candidate for the vice
presidential nomination at least twice, and
many OF the members Of his party regarded
mn as an available candidate for the pres
idency. William NJ. Evarts gained his first
repute as powerful speaker on the stump
early in the SOS and Roscoe Copklino