Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-05-30

HENRY CLAY.
an exactly opposite manner Daniel
Webster is to-day regarded as the great
est orator OF his generation and Henry
Clay is regarded as the statesman OF
that period I have heard the public
utterances of both of these distin-
guished gentlemen. and must say that
i have not changed my opinion concern
ing them Henry Clay was the greatest
political orator 1 ever heard, and I
still regard Daniel Webster as the great
est statesman 1 have ever known
Nevertheless the speeches of Daniel
Webster are used in the reading books
of the public schools and they are
pointed 10 by elocutionists as models
of oratory. 1 have not seen in any of
the books used in our public schools
extracts from the speeches OF Henry
Clay. and yet l know that he was a
greater orator than Daniel Webster.
do not understand the change of public
sentiment, but know that modern pub
lie opinion is wrong in its estimate OF
the oratorical and statesmanlike quail
ties of these great men,
Il think I can explain the matter 10
you said Earl s. Goodrich, who was an
intimate friend of Stephen \. Douglas
beIluu. times Daniel Webster always
prepared his speeches with great care.
He wrote them with his own Alnd and
committed them to memory OF course.
n great many OF the most inpassioneG
paragraphs OF his speeches were ex-
: tempo-aneous, but the speeches which
have been published and which still
live where the works of a patient liter
airy genius who carefully polished every
portion of the speeches which he in
tended should live forever.
Henry Clay was not 50 careful a
man." said Mr. Goodrich He was 50
full OF every subject aud so thoroughly
posted upon every topic which he dis
cussed that he did not look to the fu-
ture fer an estimate of his oratorlcai
powers He lived altogether in the
present The reporters at that time
had no system by means OF " hich they
could accurately write down the
speeches OF rapid-speakinC men I re-
member very distinctly upon one coca
sion when Mr.. Clay was addressing the
senate, the reporters in the galleries
were 50 carried away with the intense
-earnestness and personal magnetism
of the man that they neglected even the
duty OF making abstracts of the speech
which was being delivered 1 looked
up at the galleries. at the people who
were wild and almost insane in the en-
-Thusiasm OF their applause, and saw
the reporters leaning forward with
open mouths and bullying eyes, so
wholly carried away were they BY the
magnetic power of the orator That
Will explain the reason why the record
does Lot show, and the people do not
appreciate the fact, that Henry Clay
was the greatest orator OF ks time
There was one great orator IN our
younger days, said Gen Sanborn con
corning whose powers of speech the
people of to-day know nothing and
concerning which the people of future
generations viii probably never hear
Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire.
who was one OF our model presidents.
was a wonderful orator. / presume
that he secured more verdicts and had
more verdicts set aside that were CON
1rary to law than any jury pleader this
country has ever known He could
so work upon the feelings of jury that
they would forget all law and pres~
dents and give verdicts in favor of his
clients which the presiding Judges were
Obliged to set aside j remember one
occasion in which the sum of SIS was
involved The defendant was a poor
widow who was indebted to q store
L.
~dert0ok her defense without a fee, and
he 80 worked upon the jury in defense
of poor widow with fatherless chill
-dren- and the calamity which the pay
ment of the sum would involve upon
: her. that the jury rendered verdict IN
her favor requiring the storekeeper
Ito pay her $50. which was exactly twice
the amount demanded by the MERCHANT
! as his just due As soon as the verdict
was rendered Gen. Pierce, who realized
: that the judge would overrule the YER
: dict. arose. and. addressing the court
said that his client would be satisfied
with an acquittal concerning the
-anount claimed instead of an award
of damages for the prosecution With
that modification the judge allowed the
verdict to stand and the widow was re-
Iered of her debt 1 do NOT think that
In all legal practice record can be
@1ound of any lawyer who possessed
: o<z tozScaI powers sufficient to produce