The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-10-04

this respect is 30 well known that it Is
scarcely necessary for me to describe him.
You have all heard. no doubt, how Mr..
Morgan rises from his chair, addresses the
presiding officer, opens his mouth, and then
Tor two, three, five or seven hours, lust ss
he happens to feel, the words flow forth,
not In waves, not in gusts as the wind
blows, but IN steady, flowing stream-and
OIL this without apparently the slightest ef-
Tort, physical or mental, on the part of Mr..
morgan, One of his speeches makes a man
tnlnk he is wonderfully made automaton
hair human, half machine-and that in
the physical act of rising from his chair he
turns on faucet, and nature does the rest
Mr. Morgan does not gesture; he uses
always the same tone, he does not find It ne
cessary to move his body or twist his neck or
to make any other visible exertion, but the
words, and the phrases, and the sentences
come streaming forth hour after hour The
most remarkable thing about it is that
they are for the most part perfect phrases
and sentences, and that the severest critic
and stickler for pure language might re-
view these speeches when they are in type
and find few words that he would care to
change. Mr. Morgan is certainly a phe
nomenon, and If to this amazing flow of
ideas, well clothed i'll the garb of fine words
ms they are, he could only add some enthu-
siasm. little of the elocution OF which
Henry Ward Beecher was so great a mas
ter, Mr.. Morgan would be invincible.
Senator Villas of Wisconsin does not lack
In these particulars. Mr.. Villas is a very
earnest man. TIe never speaks for the mere
sake of talking. When he addresses the
senate it Is with purpose in view, and he
speaks always with strong feeling, and it
may he added with stronger voice Mr..
Villas does not actually roar, but he comes
very near it, This springs from his earnest
ness, and it is natural with him, not an
aifectation. He goes perhaps to the other
extreme and mars his efforts by too great
an intensity. You know it is the common
theory nowadays whether right or wrong.
that too much intensity defeats the object
in view. The man who wishes to convince
in these prosaic times must keep himself
we'll in hand and not permit his earnestness
or enthusiasm to carry him away
The explanation of this is, | suppose, that
the true art of oratory lies in attaining and
maintaining perfect sympathy between
speaker and listener. The orator who does
not display enough enthusiasm to warm
and stir his hearers fails of his object. So
does the orator who displays more enthusi-
asm and earncstncss than the audience is
able to feel. 1t is II short step in the one
direction from sympathy to WEAKNESS, and
~ ehS o'hti iloui SN 10 Iiulcule.
Mr.. Morgan md Mr. Villas were to 20 Off III
a corner of the cloakroom some day where
no one could see them and swap qualities
as they might swap jackknives, Mr. Nor
gan thereby acquiring little more enthll-
| siasm and Mr. Villas n little less, it would
be capital trade for them both and for all
of us.
Mr.. Voorhees,, now very conspicuous be-
fore the public eye as the leader of the re-
peal forces i'll the senate, is and for many
| years has been noted orator. Mr.. Voor-
hees appears to have been born again Ten
| or 20 years ago few men in the country had
broader reputation than he rs public
| speaker, whether in congress or on the
| stump. During the past five or six years
THE Tall Sycamore of the Wabash" rs Mr..
! VOORHEES, has been called as long rs can
remember, has appeared to fall into n
rusty, we'll nigh useless way. He has not
| even taken the trouble to bestir himself, or
to use those magnificent powers of speech
| with which nature endowed him, in main
tanning his own reputation or in helping
the cause of his party. Ill health may
have had something to do with this, but
| now happily that period of inaction seems
| to have passed
Mr.. VOORHEES, is once more at the front,
| seemingly as strong and as full of fire. and
| Z,
ever was. lie is an ugly customer to tackle
in controversy, and few men have dared to
| attack him OH the floor of the senate. Ey.
Senator ingalls, is about the only man who
has ever bearded Voorhees, in his den with
| anything like success. voorhees, is natu-
! rally an orator. He never uses notes or
manuscript and would probably make :,
| miserable failure of it if he were to attempt
the employment Of these very common aids
to oratory. He is Il sledgc hammer, and
when he gets to going he does not care
much where he hits.
| When it comes to controversy, Senator
Teller of Colorado is IL tiger. No man in
the senate is more feared in debate than he
Mr.. Teller is always loaded and or il hair
trigger. The slightest provocaton touches
him off, and when he goes off in repartce
in ridicule or in logic it is we'll for his enc.
mics to beat a hasty retreat. He is quick
sarcastic, penetrating and absolutely fear.
less. Inclined very much now toward indie
pendentism in politics, devoted more to the
| cause of silver than to the fortunes of any
political party, he is as ready to turn upon
his colleagues on the Republican side OF
the chamber rs upon the Democrats across
| the aisle
Senator Palmer Of Illinois is another re-
markable old man. He is somewhat like
Mr.. Morgan in that he is able to talk on
any subject and for any length of time
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