The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-10-17

pest ana most commonplace Of topics
glisten with the reflected light Of his d.
vino Gift Of cloquence. The marvel - how
he manages always TO employ such perfccs
selection OF words, NOW he cCntYtvoS always
to turn his sentences with such irreproach-
able nedtncss and grace. But he does ~,
and II In not possible for human soul to 81
within sound OF his voice and escape his
subtle fascination.
Amos Cummings' Com speech.
Perhaps this III the first time Amos Cum
mings was ever accused Of being \ great
orator. As a rule, he does not rise to this
height, but / have heard Amos make q
number OF tlD best and most effective short
speeches hat were ever delivered In the
house Of representatives. II he makes q
long speech, a carefully prepared speech. 1t
Is likely to be something rather prosaic.
Where he Is Mt his best, where every man
IL at his best, II he only knew It, is In rush
ing In, without generalization, without
preparation, and dashing of n few burning
sentences that come right from the henrt,
and which nre sure to reach h spot for
which they were intended.
remember an occasion In which the
house had spent an hour or two discussing
something or other, / forget what, but the
more men talked the more confused every
one appeared to be. They only managed
to I'LL the air with fog. They had editorial
lied, and from my perch in the press gal
lery ! saw that Amos was anxious to get
into the arena with a paragraph. Present.
ly he found his chance and sailed in. He
spoke about two minutes. But every word
was q gem. Every sentence had lightning
In It,. In these two minutes he cleared
away the mist and fog. He went right to
the heart Of tho whole business, and when
lie had finished there was nothing more to
be said. The house voted, and voted the
way Amos wanted it to vote. His para
graph had beaten all the editorials. It had
been an italicized paragraph, and it won
the day. This two minute speech was mn
Grafton, and better o%rations are not often
heard in our halls Of congress.
Tom Reeds Idea.
Some people may say / am wrong in put
ting Tom Reed in my list of great orators.
In truth, it Is difficult to tell whether Reed
is an orator or a debater. In my opinion,
he is both. That he is the greatest debater
alive there can be no doubt. He has not
his equal in the house or the senate nor in
the British house of commons or the French
chamb her Of deputies. He is always q de-
batter, but in the process Of debating he
often strikes a note that entities him to
rank also as an orator. OF late, however,
Reed is falling into an unfortunate habit
of giving attention to but a single idea.
Parliamentary law and the rules Of the
house may be fine topics with which to i'm
press his ability and his learning upon
those who rear him, but he cannot make q
great national reputation in that way. The
people want something besides quibbling
On technicalities or a lawyers sparring for
courtroom advantages. It is high time for
Mr.. Reed to drop his one idea role and use
his magnificent talents in battling for some
thing higher and nearer the hearts of the
people.
If Reed has any rivals as a debater in the
present house, they are Cochran and Bur-
rows. The former needs a few more years
of experience, and then he will be at least
the equal Of any man save Reed. Burrows
is a great debater, and when he is stirred to
action. which unfortunately is but infre.
quently, can and does make genuine ora
tor Of himself. He and Reed are rivals for
leadership on the Republican side, and il
the Republicans ever gain control of the
house again you will see a pretty fight be
tween them over the speakership. A great
er debater and much greater orator thar
either of them was lost to the Republican
side when Ben Butterworth retired to pri
ate life. He is a remarkable man, and
it is a pity Ohio doesn't send him to con
gress again.
A Silver Tongue.
Another remarkable orator is w. C. P
Breckenridge, or willy" Breckenridge, III
his friends call him to distinguish hin
from his cousin, Clifton Breckenridge, from
Arkansas. He is justly called the silve
haired and silver tongued orator. In a sof
and pleasing voice, with graceful gestures
and his white head nodding like the plum
age Of a lily, he produces a flow ant
rhythm such as no other mar in the Amer
lean congress can approach. His speeches
are poetry. He is a Kentucky song bird
1 remember one speech of his in which Ii
pictured the harmony that should exis
always between the two sections of tn
countryside north and the southland il
which he spoke of the horrors of war a
things that he hoped would never agail
be seen in this country. Many Of his listen
ers were in tears. Il
Wholly different is Boutelle Of Maine
He is a sharpshooter. Sometimes he NOR
resembles a gatling gun. One Of the mos
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