St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-06
FELLOWS AND ALLEN
A Story of an Encounter Between
the Two Wits,

A writer in the Philadelphia Times
says: 10 the friends of both it is
serious question as to the effect which
Fellows retirement from congress will
have on the happiness and usefulness
of Private John Allen, OF Tupelo, Miss.
They are the two wits of Washington.
with no one else in their class.
Senators Joe Black burn and John P.
Jones have records of their own, and
are III class by themselves; but Fei-
lows and Allen, by common consent.
take the cake" or. rather. divide it.
Some of the tits between Fellows and
Allen, If printed, would shadow the
traditional bouts of Charles James Fox
and Dick Sheridan.
On one occasion, at game of poker,
twenty-five cents ante and one dollar
llmmit, Fellows laid down threes on a
raise of half a dollar. Private Allen
observing it, remarked that, while Eel
lows possessed several elements of
greatness, such as eloQuence, learning
and poetry, the trait of courage was
conspicuously absent from his compo-
sition.
Fellows making no reply, Allen went
on: Take for example, he said, "the
coionel'S record as confederate soldier.
1t consists of the presence of his name
In the Yankee returns of the prisoners
OF war surrendered at Port Hudson, to-
gether with similar mention on the
ration list of Yankee prison during
the rest of the war, decling an exchange
on several occasions.
"On the other hand" pursued Allen,
look at my record. l entered the Con-
federate army at an early age and
served in the field until the war was
over and some time after, and then
walked home several hundred miles. |
was captured once, in the third year of
the war, but escaped after only six
weeks in prison."
During this recital Col. Fellows face
was a study of alternate lights and
shade. He was waiting for his oppor-
tunlty. When Allen remarked that he
had escaped from prison, Fellows inter-
rupted him.
stop there. john" he said. ION
trivial matters, such as my own record.
you may exhaust your genius for pre-
varicatlon. But when it Comes to mat.
tiers Of such Importance as your record,
the truth OF history must be preserved"
Sen ator Jones, of Nevada, who was
one II the party, inquired the reason
why Private Aliens record was of such
hist orical value.
BECAUSE" said Fellows, 'the Demo-
cratic party is deteIlorating very rapid
ly, and as Allen is still in middle life
with strong constitution, the party al.
Its present rate of degeneration NAV
easily during his lifetime reach a stage
OF decay at which Allen will become its
logical candidate for the president. In
shat case you see the necessity of pre-
CRYING his record intact"
Jones aSsented, whereat Allen asked
Fellows if he meant to dispute his state.
ment that he was taken prisoner.
NO" SAID Fellows, 'you were capt
ured while asleep on picket post in the
thir year OF the war. But you did not
csc ape from prison. The Yankees
kic ked you out of their prison in about
six weeks and told you to go back to
your id confederacy and do your
worst t. The Yankees are thrifty race,
with keen business sense, and, having
fought you for three years in the field
and boarded you for six weeks in prison,
they discovered that it was cheaper to
fight than to feed your'
Up to this writing Private Allen has
not responded to the call of time; but it
is not believed in Washington that he
has permanently retired from the ring.
he is expected TO make Democratic
speech during the pending campaign in
New York which will eclipse all
previous records-even his famous
speech in the house on the silver bill
and II may be assumed that on that &C.
casion he will get even with Colonel
Fellows.