The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-03-06

one can see, but why should the calls
for Judge Terry's short essay on silver
be many times more numerous than
those Of any other representative? The
member for the Little Rock district is
one Of those sarcastically quiet men like
Grown of Calaveras," and, like him,
he occasionally ''cleans out the crowd"
very unexpectedly.
In a rather close acquaintance of two
years have never known him to laugh,
Gad very rarely to smile, and his speech
has not in it a grain Of humor or a
single sentence Of what may be called
popular claptrap. Yet 5000 copies of
it have already gone ont, and the de-
mand continues. Georgia alone ordered
40, 900, but when the Atlanta Constitu-
ton published it in full some of them
were recalled. Georgia and Alabama
have together taken over $1,000, and it
is believed that Arkansas and Texas
will equal it. It is probably the best
condensed speech in the silver series,
and therefore convenient for textbook.
A Silver Tongued Orator.
Of all the silver speeches, however,
that of Hon. Charles A. TOwne of Du-
luth was by far the most catching. It
would be rash to pronounce it the best
ever delivered here in favor of silver,
for ones prepossessions may mislead
him, but all the silverites SO consider it,
and it is the safest of prophecies that its
circulation will run far into the hun
dreds of thousands In fact, the demand
was SO great within a few hours after
it was delivered that Mr.. Towne decid-
ed to revise it very thoroughly and con-
tract for printing it by the bale. 1t will
-, l. g. go, 80
where the silver issue is up. To height
en- the interest the best reply to it was
! made by another Minnesota man, Hon.
James Thompson McCleary of Mankato,
who used the same charts to prove the
exact opposite of Mr.. Towne's conten-
tion-a delightful illustration of the
sad truth that Figures will 1ie.''
hardly dare say that these two speeches
rank with that historic contention of
Lincoln and Douglas, but do believe
| they will occupy a similar place so long
| as the silver question is prominent.
I have never witnessed just such a
scene in the house as that when Mr..
| Towne was speaking. His time was
! twice extended by unanimous consent
and finally made unlimited, and when it
| was questioned if this could be done I'M
| der the rules a member on the gold side
| offered to surrender all his time to the
| speaker. 1t was amusing to watch such
cid goldltes as Dingley, Cannon, GrOs-
venor, Boutelle and Walker, who never
I took eyes off the speaker or interrupted,
| but sat like enraptured amateurs listen
/ ing to a great singer, and when a new
| member insisted on asking a question,
| there was general growl of displeasure,
| and if am not greatly mistaken a New
York member shouted in a stage whis-
| per, keep still, you id HoosierI''
| When Mr.. Towne closed, business was
| impossible for several minutes. In vain
did Chairman Serene Payne handle the
| gave1. Men of all faiths crowded to
shake hands and congratulate, and the
next speaker, Hon. q. s. Hall of Mis-
souri,, whose remarks were expected to
| be of intense interest, as he was to an
nounce his own conversion to gold, talk
| ed five minutes before we could hear a
word in the galleries. Mr.. Towne is 81.
| years old and never ran for Office till
| 1894, but Minnesota men tell us that he
was an eloquent debater in college at
| 16, popular speaker in campaigns at IS,
ran for congress on silver platform in
| a gold district and received nearly 1O,-
| 600 majority.
What Congressman Bailey Proved.
Another oeech for which the demand
| is great and the circulation is expected
to run well toward so, 0oO is that of
Hon. Joseph ". Bailey of the Fifth
Texas, the boy Of the house when he en-