The Daily Texarkanian., 1894-05-07
BRECKENRIDGE AT LEXINGTON
He of the Silver Hairs and Tongue"
Pleads His Cause at the Bar Of
Public Opinion,

Public Opinion,
Yesterdays dispatches announce
that Congressman w. c. p. Breck-
inridge, the aged 'Lothario" of
of the Fifty-third Congress, has
opened his canvass for re election
to Congress, from the famous Ken
lucky district, which he now rep
resents, or misrepresents, as the
coming election shall decide. He
opened his campaign at Lexington
on Saturday, to an audience of
over three thousand people, large
majority of whom were voters of
the Seventh District. His address
was generally conceded to be the
ablest and most eloquent ever heard
from his lips He briefly reviewed
the incidents of the notorious legal
scandal in which he was one of the
two leading characters. He also
referred with bitterness to the ac-
ton taken against him by the Min
isters Union, of Lexington, and
succeeded in arousing his hearers
to wild demonstrations of enthu-
siasm.
After reviewing his life from boy
hood, and recounting his history as
citizen, soldier and public servant,
he continued and finally closed his
address with the following words;
81 do not wish this district to
conceive that l have any defense to
make for what I have done, and of
which / have been guilty. En-
tangled by weakness, by passion, by
sin, in coils which it was almost inn
possible to break, | did everything
that was in my power to prevent a
public scandal, except the one
thing which for no moment ever
entered my mind
"Your reelection of me can
neither take from nor add to the
punishment | have suffered, 1t has
not been hypocrisy that my life has
not been consistently wrong; | knew
the secret sin; I tried to atone for
it in ways that it is not becoming
in me to more than allude to, How
many kind words did this atonement'
produce to others; how much OF
self-control and how much of self
sacrifice; how much of earnestness
and labor in aid of good things and
good causes? When came to make
public utterance under these cir
cumstances to any audience, how
cautious was | that no word Nof
mine might tempt others to be
guilty as | was guilty. Now that
exposure has come there is an ele-
ment of gladness in it. care not
now what letters come in my mail;
| care not now for the closet door
to be opened-there is no skeleton
there and ] can go into the clear
sunlight out of mystery and look up
through the blue skies into the
upper world with the feeling that
there is no cloud there. am not
afraid that from the horizon will
suddenly come clap Of thunder
and fash of lightning that will de-
stroy me and mine. This is Of the
past. I will wear with me the scars,
but I will not longer carry the
dread. ! will come out of that
storm, however long it may last, in
some respects conqueror' Sweet
domestic relations which ] abso-
luselJ need, and out Of which have
no life, are mine.
If some one in your midst can
better do the work you want done
as your representative, choose him.
choose one whose life has been
stainless, whose morals your young
men initiate with profit; whose days
have been pure and whose nights
have been sinless; whose ability is
ample, whose experience is vide
When some one comes to write his
tory whatever blame he may attach
to me he will write Of me that, even
with that blame he loved the poor,
he toiled for his fellowmen, he
labored for good causes; loyal tC
principles, faithful to truth, devoted