The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-09
HE ms NoT .GREAT.

Deen submitted to your readers, and so
am emboldened to submit question upon
which there seems a great divergence of
opinion, viz: Is Charles A. Towne of Duluth,
Minn., great man in the sense that consti-
tutes greatness, say political greatness, for
suppose it is from that measure must
judge him? I think can anticipate your an
swer. Assuming that / can, then by your
measure of political greatness, why is 1t that
Mr.. Towne is so often spoken of by the peo-
pie and the press as one Of the ablest states
men in the Northwest? Why did his free sill
yer speech, delivered in the last session Of
congress, give him national reputation? !
have read and re-read that speech, studied
it, analyzed it as best l could, and for the
life of me Il cannot find anything in it to
mark it as great speech. Take from 1t what
was borrowed from Coin and the speeches
of foreign bimetallists and l can hardly find
where Towne comes in. am told that Mr..
Towne has little standing as a lawyer, that
he has been a rolling stone gathering no
moss" Yet Washington correspondent of a
Minneapolis paper in recent communica-
ton speaks of Towne though he were a
second Daniel Webster and bewails his loss
to the Sixth district and the state.
One more reference to Mr.. Towne and l
leave my inquiries for your reply, should you
deem them worthy of reply. The Associated
Press dispatches tell us that at the recent
free silver meeting at Denver, Towne's ele-
quence electrified that vast audience, and
that the climax was reached when, turning
to Mr.. Bryan. he exclaimed: This was our
leader in 1896 and he will be Our victor in
$780," Quite commonplace it seems to me.
Then why has this man grown~so great? No
one quotes his sayings Ask one who has
heard his speeches, what did he say, he can
not tell, but his reply will be- 1t was great
speech, and he electrified his hearers. Yours
truly, j. H. M.
Pine City, Mimi, Dec. 5, 1896.
The conclusion Of our correspondent
is that reached by every thoughtful
man who has watched the career Of
Mr.. Towne and studied it dispAssion-
folk &c
sense Of the word. The American habit
of exaggeration and passion for great
ness has accustomed us to loose use
of such terms, particularly as relating
to men Of public life. Probably no
funeral Grafton is ever delivered upon
an obscure member Of the house Of rep
resentatives that does not refer to him
as a statesman" No man runs for
mayor or alderman in petty city
without receiving the same tribute
from his adnniring henchmen. In the
case of Mr.. Towne particularly, how
ever, those who speak Of him fail to
distinguish between greatness and no
toriety.
Mr.. Towne is a notorious man. Not
in the bad sense Of that term, in which
is an element Of moral turpitude, but
in the meaning that he has made him
self generally talked about. This is
because he, has done an unusual thing.
1t is unusual for young man like him,
entering upon his first term in con-
gress, under the tutorship of older and
wiser men, to break absolutely with
his party and join boiling movement.
For this to happen at all would make
a man the subject of much gossip. For
it to happen in a state like Minnesota
increases the talk. That Mr.. ToWne
the free silver conspiracy, which was
hatched at Washington last winter, and
made himself the tool of the senate
cabal we do not doubt. There are men
who are willing to overlook the means
if they can reach at one bound that
position in the public eye which it
would require years of painful effort
to attain by merit and native force.
In greater or less degree that which
has happened in Towne's case has hap
pened in a great many others. Who
would have dreamed Of Teller as a
presidential possibility but for his de-
fection? Is Mr.. Bryan known to the
public today in proportion to his
strength of mind or to the prominence
given to him by events more or less
accidental? Less than two years ago
a man named Harvey, who had never
been heard Of before, was the subject
country to the other, because he had
written trashy but taking book called
COINS Financial School" For the time
being he might easily have thought
himself great He could draw big
crowds to lectures, the brainy men of
the country were willing to meet him
in joint debate, and this superficial
newspaper fellow, whose book con-
tanned not one contribution to knowl-
edge or to sound thought, stood upon
a pinnacle that some might have con-
sidered greatness. Today the rocket
has burst the rush light has gone out,
and ninety-nine out Of every hundred
men who wondered then what
Coins" would do next would
now ask you, with a vacant stare, if
you mentioned him. who in blazes is
Harvey?
This is a great country for notoriety.
1t is a cheap and easy thing to acquire
if one wants to make the necessary
sacrifice. The f1ashy papers Of the day
give a picture every morning of the
men and women who are trying to
force the citadel Of fame by any sac
rifiee, mental or moral, that may be
necessary to get themselves talked
about. The test Of greatness, or even
of modest worth, is not the rumor of
the day, but the enduring estimation
of the public. Our correspondents
measure Of Mr.. Towne's ability is ex-
actly correct He has never made
speech that, in our judgment, had in
it a single element Of greatness He
hit upon an occasion to make himself
talked about and improved 1t. He
achieved notoriety. We think it may
be accepted as certainty that two
years from now people will be asking,
when his name is mentioned, who in
blaZes is Towne?
A TIN PLATE DEMONSTRATION.
,.o,4Ior,o3 ooJyc o.,r ottop+;o, - on