The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1895-02-28
EDWARD DUDLEY DUNCAN.
The Walking Representative Tells Why
lie Walked.


Representative e Dndlev Duncan
OF Washington county, WAS in the city
yesterday. He came from Nashville
on a purely personal matt and after
rems lining in the city all day returned
to the capital on the night train.
A great deal has been said and writ
ten about Mr.. Duncan. He has been
called the walking delegate, the "no
madic statesman" and 80 forth and
his journey aCrops the mountains has
been published in every paper on the
continent.
But there was no reason for il. Mr..
Duncan is u cultured gentleman, en-
tirely devoid of those mossback, back.
woods proclivities with which his
name has been surrounded and he is
II man who is just as much at home in
a drawing room as he is on farm.
He is only 26years OF age, good look
lug, wiry, lithesome and graceful and
speaks in a manner that demonstrates
at once that when he gets to Rome he
can do as the Romans do.
"You fellows mistook my object in
my walk across the mountains al
together" he said yesterday. 81 had
no idea there would he such hue and
cry about it or | would have avoided
the notoricty, / had promised myself
that walk for long time, and when
the chance offered | embraced the
opportunity.
"All that stuff about having no
money and no transportation was all
rot. / have my passes the same as
other Legislators and I've never refused
them, either, and have enough mon
ey for all pressing emergencies.
"The whole truth is, / am writing a
novel, the scene OF which is laid in
Nashville and a we'll known attorney
is working at it with me-. Certain Of
my characters are mountaineers and
TOOK THAT WALK
just to see them, as l wanted to see
them. never enjoyed myself &c
much in my life.
Experienced Well / should say so
Why, in one place where l stopped
there was only one large room and 9
big family, and after they had put me
to bed, imagine my surprise when 9
couple of fine, handsome, big girls
crawIed under my bed and went tC
sleep on spread. tell you it was &
trip full of regulations.
Concerning the Legislature,
firmly believe that the majority OF thu
members went there with the fixed in
tent of doing good and working on al
economical basis. They appeared Il
be fully imbued with the spirit Of re
trenchment.
"That little item tackled on TO tn
investigation affair will make it cos
fully $4,000, whereas the origina
appropriation was only $4,000.
81 think when they get back ant
get to work that there will be a NOV
for retrenchment.
One great expense is annihilatec
= There was to have been a codificatiol
s Of our laws this session, but that j
cut off, very decided inducement i
favor of retrenchment.
"That coroner's bill was a good ont
4 [ made speech in favor Of it. 1t wi
stop the bogus business so comma
e At coroner's inquests. l mean in n
+ alton to witnesses and fees. ] believ
Tennessee has thrown away 81, 100000
n IN witness fees in cases that did nc
' require any investigation at all.
j pm not on the inside, but from al
? pearances in general this investigatiu
is of an extremely partisan natur
= But from what learn from my CO
d leagues and from what / know frol
4. bservation things look far more hop
8 ful for Mr.. Evans than they did
J, month ago.
!, "I'm not prepared to talk. A sho
IS interview is always hard one. Son
fellow once asked Daniel Webster
r make a ten minute speech, and DAM
is replied: Il have not time to prepa
a a ten-minute speech, but if you wa
o. me to talk for an hour I'll do i
- That's nv fix"-Chdttd1,OO1n Times