Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-10-12
mos. every Northern state in the Union. and
IN nea, IL all of the large towns and cities.


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There may have been, and there msy bt
now few choice minds that radiate grea
thou ghts, fertile, intuitive and sensitive
mirrors of brilliant ideas, inexplicable
Qeniuses, battling analysis.-but Senator
Frye does not belong to that ethereal class
His eloquence is graceful.-there is a rhy
thin, cadence, and magnetism to it,-bu1
it is of the practical, sensible, logical, com
nonsense kind. 1t interests, it holds, il
moves, it pleases. it convinces. His hear,
is full of feeling, and swells into graciou!
expression. He thinks deeply, strongly
correctly, and then speaks frankly, fear
lessly, honestly, and forcibly, having full
faith in what he says and the effect is magi
cal. "This man." observes Mirabeau, evil
do somewhat; he believes every word be
says"
Senator Frye's style is generally colo
quail, not grandiloquent, but yet it has thai
all-potent eleme Mt, that mysterious and in
tangible something or another, which is not
physical git, nor the result of intellectual
culture, but which charms the ears of his
auditors, and takes the public mind by
storm. His arguments are substantial, his
reas )ns cogent, his theories plausible, bis
illus .rations apt, his resources not those Of
the dramatist, or the formal rhetoricisn, but
draw Il from deep wells of actual personal
expt rience and practical observation in che
every day aft airs of real life, as we'll az
from the exhaustlesS reservoirs OF classic
aud general reading. When he rises to
speak he may not know in just what exact
form of language he is about to express
himself, but he is sure of certain ideas,
great underly ing principles of government,
of political economy, of Republicanism,-
func amental truths thoroughly thought out,
safe springs of action on which he may de-
pend for the inspiration of the moment.
In recent years. stump speaking being no
long r a novelty to him, he has endeavored
to lie ssen his efforts iI that direction, but
the popular demand for him as speaker
is SO great and So Widespread that it is diff
| ficult for him to resist.
| When delivered, they are masterpieces
for preservation, and yet he never, with
hardly an exception, prepares speech by
writ ng it out in advance. His mastery
effort at Boston, in May 1898, beautiful
tribute to the memory of his friend James
G.. Blaine, was one of the exceptions.
have heard him say that his ideas do not
seem to move quickly, until he begins to
move his arms in gesticulation, tnen his
thou ghts flow rapidly, ana are absolutely
clear and distinct in their utterance. As
re. ole of his long practice, he remembers
figures, amounts, quantities and dis
tances with great accuracy, and recalls
nam 20 and incidents with certainty. He
is OF y seldom in error as TO fact. Thus
clear and d, finite and specific, he is blessed
with vivid Imagination which comes into
play when he speaks, aud he ornaments and
illus rates his discourses with occasional
high flights of uaalloyed el3quence.
His speeches ID both Houses of Congress,
and his incidental non-political addresses all
have the same commendable characteristics.
He has stamped upon his strongly marked
| features the impress of superior intellect
uali AMI of a remarkable command of
lang indicated by massive brow and
prominent nose.
He is direct, pronounced, and enthusi-
astic, as mich so in the Senate as anywhere
else, but perhaps not quite so vehement.
He is always listen I'd to, whether making a
short or a long speech, intently listened to
by every one within the sound of his mag
nifcent voice.
Mr.. Frye in private life is man of
scrupulous integrity and honor. He is re-
ligious in his tendencies,-I think Con-
gregationalist, or Presbyterian,-a strict
ly temperate man, making temperance
speeches now and then. He is very de-
voted in his friendships, entirely taken up
with his family life and his duties as q
srnator, and l might say as public orator
Of his party.
x
NJ. Frye excelled especially in the dis
cussi On of the slavery question, and he has
always been leader in the consideration
of all measures pertaining to the welfare
of tie colored race. The war of the Re
bellion, and the obligation of the nation to
the soldiers of the Union, have enlisted his
valuable attention, and he has energetic
ally denounced frauds in election, as illus.
trated by Democratic crimes against the
suffrage.
Our important foreign relations the pro.
tectiye tariff. and its relations to the
welfare of the plain people of the United
States, especially the wage-earners, have
been problems of great CO ,cern with him,
and the great commercial questions, par
tcluarly the restoration of the merchant
marine.
II, is perhaps at his very best when dis.
or rather the condition of the American
workingman, as effected by the high
wages resulting from the tariff.
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In the lower house of Congress he was
chairman of the library committee, served
for several terms on the judiciary, and
was a member of the committee on ways
and means. He was prominent advocate
of the act admitting parties to testify. In
the distribution of the Geneva award he
espoused the cause of the actual losers,
conducted that fight in the House through
four Congresses, and in the Senate through
one, uotil the bill introduced by him origi-
naly in the House became law, and the
entire fund was distributed according to its
terms. He served on several special COM
rnittees, and was most influential and alb
solutely upright member.
In the Senate he was for several years
chairman of the committee on commerce,
one OF the largest and most important in
that body; member of the committee on
foreign relations, and on privileges and
elect ms, and also chairman of special
committee on Pacific railroads.
He is now member of the committee ou
commerce AMI foreign relations, and on
Revolutionary claims. He took leadin ,