The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-25
STORIES OF CONGRESSMAN.
How One Member Turned the Point
ON u Bishop.
Washington Letter in The Sun


A member of congress from Tennes-
See coming into Washington over the
Chesapeake and Ohio one night last
week was telling stories. In the smok-
er with him was Methodist bishop
who is a good fellow himself, and he
had been making few SLY digs at the
congressman and at the kind of moral
material which found its way into the
makeup of statesmen.
which reminds me-" said the menu
ber getting the bishop i'm corner.
"A good many years ago we had FOX
law i'm my state to the effect that "
would be paid for the scalp of each and
every fox delivered to the county clerk
of each county. We also had states
man of the kind my good friend the
bishop thinks we all are. to wit, he was
u bold. bad man. That is to say. ne
was remotely suspected of removing
horses from the premises of their own
erS: he had also been interested, SO ru-
NOR said. i'm money making scheme
i'm the mountains. said money being
counterfeit. In other respects he wasn't
much better"
He was a member of your state leg
islature, which you should have also
enumerated" smiled the bishop.
Yes laughed the cogressman, he
fox law had been introduced, and as
the fox scalp receipts were about the
largest actual money receipts the con-
StituentS of this statement saw, he
was anxious to keep them coming as
long as possible and he made a noble
fight against the repeal of the law.
why. MIR. Speaker and fellow menu
bers of this body he said, during the
course of a long and able effort, the
repeal of this law will be "a deadly and
fatal blow to the grand and beautiful
cause of religion in my country, ana
will plunge us all into the vortex of the
darkness of the middle ages. Yes. gem
tlemen of this house. if you repeal this
grand and powerful instrument for the
common good and let the foxes run
wild In our midst at their own sweet
will, they will eat up all our chickens,
so that there will be none for the
Methodist preachers. Without chick
ems. fellow citizens, there will be no
Methodist preachers in our section, and
that Is the only kind We have. There
fore. gentlemen, you see what this re-
peal will end in and what will be-
come of the gospel among my constit
uents.'"
"Well?" inquired the bishop in doubt.
''They wouldn't repeal the law, OF
course, under those circumstances,
responded the congressman, and the
bishop went after the member on an
other tack.
The gentleman from Texas was. con-
versing.
"There may be some people," said he,
''whO don't think Senator Coke, who
used to be i'm the senate from our state.
Is a great. big man. but there are more
tN. hat l,.. 10, thnt h L..
he may not be an everlasting blaze of
glory. he is Il mighty good steady light
to go by. l remember away back yon-
der. when he was making himself a
power, he was pitted in some kind Of
race, ! don't recall just what, against
man named Cole. and Cole was no
slouch. either His chief weakness
was his mouth, and he could not keep
it from talking, do what he would. In
other respects he was COke's equal,
for he was at least ten years older
and had had a great deal more expert