The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-02-23
Mr.. HEN|TTS HOT SHOT.
His Remarks at a Washing
tons Birthday Banquet.
{" NATIONAL CREDIT" THE THEME.
He Works in His Opinion Of Southern
Statesmen-lIe Delivered Scorch-
ing Criticism Of Them and Their
Abandonment OF Principle.


New York, Feb. 23.-What was in
tended to be "A celebration last night of
Washington's birthday on an elaborate
scale had been planned by the New York
Southern society. Owing to strange
mischance, however. many of the guests
Of honor expected did not put In their APP
pearance at the annual banquet.
Secretary Carlisle, Speaker Crisp, Con-
gresham Allen of Mississippi and Hon.
Isador Rayner of Maryland were invited,
but all of these. at the last nom ent,
found IL impossible to attend.
ExMayor Abrlm :. Hewitt. responding
TO the toast, Our national credit" paid n
tribute To Secretary Carlisle and then pro-
ceeded 10 lay out the southern statesman.
The character of southern craftsmanship.
he said, has decreased from the time be-
fore the war and her senators and con-
gressmen today are az pigmies compared
with the intellectual giants OF that time
The statesmen of today show little signs
of having studied the great economical
questions affecting the interests of the
country.
Proceeding, Mr.. Hewitt aimed to show
that southerners did not understand the
silver question, and continued: There
are statesmen from the south who have
succumbed to the fallacy that positions
in the supreme court of the United States
are local questions to be settled on de-
mand of local politicians. Ii might be
supposed that the supreme court repre-
sented the whole United States and that
everybody had right to demand that it
be filled without regard to politics or To-
cality.
Created n Commotion.
"It is not football for ward politicians
to kick about from one end OF the United
States to the other. Such men as Cal
hou1, Brenton, Reeves and Crawford
would have resigned the high positions
in the senate and gone home in sackcloth
and ashes rather than abandon princi-
pie such as this to man without charac-
ter or worth and who had no right TO
speak for the great state of New York"
These remarks created commotion,
but Mr.. Hewitt continued without ap-
pearing to notice the sensation he was
causing He ask ed: "Are you less brave
now than your fathers were 30 years ago.
when they sacrificed everything they
possessed TO their convictions, that you
will allow your congressman and senators
TO msrepresent both their country and
the truthp'
Later the speaker went on TO condemn
the southern congressman for their atti-
tude on various public questions, includ-
ing the tariff, and said that gross ignor-
ance could be the only explanation OF
their course. The conclusion of MIR.
Hewitt's address was received in silence.
Gordon Defends the South.
The gauntlet thrown down was imme-
diRtely taken mp by James Lindsay Cor
don, young New York lawyer of Vir-
ginian birth. He defended the public
men of the south, claimed that they were
the level of other Americans in all re-
spects, and pointed to high positions
which many Of them occupied. They
were as well equipped morally and intel
lectually as the men OF the north, east or
west.
Mr.. Gordon was warmly congratulated
for his defense of the south, and Elihu
Root. who spoke next, tried to smooth
over the ripples raised with conciliatory
speech lie said there was no south, no
north, when IL came TO he question OF
devotion TO the United States.
The other speeches were without special
significance.