The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-01
SAVES THE COUNTRY
THE MODEST CONFESSIONS OF ONE
OF THE CAMPAIGN SPELL
BINDERS.
ALWAYS ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
MANAGES TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF
WITH THE WINNING
PARTY.
ALWAYS ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
ART of CAMPAIGN oRAToRY.
How Stories Affect Audiences in the
Cities and Towns and at the
Cross Roads.

Now and then during stump speak
ing seasons I try to do a little some
thing toward saving the country my
self. The result has been that the
country has been safe ever since
began to tell audiences of my fellow
citizens what they ought to do, writes
William l.. Visscher in the Chicago
Tines Herald Not that they have al
ways acted exactly as / desired, but
they have come close enough to it to
save the country, and l am satisfied
even gratified.
Somehow I have nearly always been
on the winning side, and that certain
ly ought to be evidence of good judg-
ment, for it takes something more
than just common rabbits foot luck to
get on the right side long enough be-
fore election to make speeches for the
winning party. Still 1 don't remem-
Der to have ever secured anything
from it, barring a little bit of hur-
rying glory and a military title. Sew
eral governors that I have helped to
elect-or thought / did-have given
me appointments on their military
staffs but in those positions I have
not found either fame or emolument.
Occasionally, however, [ have had a
back seat in proscenium box at the
theater or other gatherings where the
governor and his staff had been invited
to review whatever happened to be the
show. Frequently the show was an
artesian bore, but the company re-
fer to the governor and his staff-was
generally good. That uniforms with
all the gilt trappings and the etceteras
that followed were often seriously ex-
pensive is another matter, but one
should not always expect fame and
emolument for doing his plain patri-
otto duty.
When I was a lad, before the civil
war, used to take the prizes at school
for defamation, and this led solicit
tous friends to think that I would be
a great orator. I have since learned
that to make a speech on "the politicaI
issues of the day" one must know
something else besides memorizing ad-
dresses from Daniel Webster, Henry
Clay Patrick Henry ct al. If one
continues to deliver other mems
speeches, he is likely to run against
deadly parallel some time, if he
is of sufficient consequence to be par
alleled.
Besides, in these days, there are fire.
quently persons in audiences who will
speak out in meetin" and ask ques-
lions that Webster, Clay, Henry and
others had not taken up. I met a man
like that up in Michigan a short time
ago while ''instructing the dear people,
from my standpoint, and he would have
driven me crazy, or out of the stage
door, If l had not been forewarned of
II nd hod M
nent points in his private history that
/ could, and did, throw at him with
Silencing effect.
In the early days alluded to I was
once started out to make speeches In
a county political campaign by some
mistaken gentlemen who were overcon-
f1dent of my declamatory powers
They wrote a speech for me, and 1 got
it by heart so thoroughly that I could
almost repeat it backward Once how
ever, in an unguarded moment I con-
scented to divide time" at country
squire of that ilk. The squire was
versed in neighborhood politics and
scandals, and he used me up to such
an extent that / ran away and went to
sea- / have never learned exactly how
that election went, more for the reason
that 1 never cared to know than any
other. But the county is safe. 1t is
still on the map though it has been
considerably cut up, and several other
counties have been taken from it,
This shows that the county could stand
a great deal.
Later on in life, when had learned
more, and yet didn't know half as
much as / thought I did at the time of
the county campaign, 1 took to max
ing political speeches in Colorado for
Mr.. Cleveland when he ran against Mr.
Blaine. The state went for Mr. Blaine
all right by a much larger majority
than it had been in the habit of giving
his party but hope I am not betray-
ing a confidence in saying that Hons.
Charles Thomas, Thomas Patterson,
Gov. Grant and other distinguished
local orators were also stumping the
state at the same time. Still, this is
not said in self defense, Mr.. Cleve-
land, though dAelsewhere-re-
fused to give me aaSef areseanti I am