The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-08
TAYLOR, OF TENNESSEE,
An Appreciative sketch of Governor
"FiddIer Bob"

bod"
From the Louisville Courier Journal.
A friend from Tennessee tells me that
the Hon. Robert L. Taylor is making the
race for governor Under a great many
difficulties. chief Of which Is that he real
ICES that his fire and frenzy brand of elo-
quence is not what it once was. There was
a day when Gov. Bob could speak his
piece with the best of them; he can do the
caper yet. Unfortunately the world has
passed your mere sky-scraper. 1t is re-
lated that when the first continental con-
gress assembled Richard Henry Lee made
a speech that stamped him as an orator
second only to Patrick Henry. One New
England member said to a colleague: 1--WE
might as well go home; we are not worthy
to associate with men of such tremendous
powers" The next day that member
served on a committee with Lee and he
found that in the practical affairs of
craftsmanship Lee was only an ordinary
man-not superior to himself
By an accident Taylor was elected a
member of the Forty-sixth congress. 1t
is not necessary to repeat the story; it
has been told thousand times-the story
or the fiddle, the carpet-bag, the Jug of
whisky and the puncheon floor, etc. 1t
was not the fiddle and things that enabled
Taylor to beat Pettibone in that over
whelmingly republican district but it was
ALT Taylor, an elder brother of Bob's.
who did the work. Pettibone, a carpet
Dagger from Michigan, had defeated ALT
for the nomination. There was a bolt and
Bob got the usufruct. Pettibone was a
curiosity. Like Butler of North Carolina
the head of the populist party, he is a man
who ought not to have been educated.
A little learning made a statesman OF
him. He beat Bob Taylor for a seat in
the Forty-seventh congress and he was the
most muscurial man in the whole House.
One day he made a speech in Latin, Just
to show that he knew something about
Latin. He was a very good sort of man
and harmless and an orator, too. l be-
Heve he was in congress several terms.
In congress Bob Taylor was general IA
vorite. He was not able to make many
speeches, but those he did make were
rouSers. l shall not relate the ''swipe''
Gen. Bragg of Wisconsin gave him on
pension case one night 1t was a cruel, if
not a felon blow, and Bob never recovered
from it. 1 would be glad to know what
became of the pensioner whose claim Bob
SO eloquently advocated that night 1t
was the hight of oratory-pathetic, hys-
teric oratory. Bragg killed the bill with
this remark: 'Well, Mr.. Speaker 1 much
regret that my duty as a congressman re-
quires that l oppose the granting of a
pension to this poor soldier who was shot
to death with chronic diarrhoea in 1861 and
never found it out until 1881"
Bob, when he could get the floor-and he
was boiling over with eloquence every day
for he was under 30 then-used to go down
to the committee room and crate to the
clerks and visitors, one of the latter being
the famous Dr. Mary Walker. He repeat
ed time and again the speech of his ma
ternal uncle, Langdon c. Haynes, that was
probably as fine a specimen of mountain
oratory as ever fell from the lips of man.
1t was about the mountains and the
streams, the valleys and the skies, the
sunshine and the moonlight, the stars that
twinkled above and the grass that grew
beneath, the trees that were rooted like
Clan Alpine's pine and the birds that sang
like Orpheus lutte, and the man who
whipped the British at Kings mountain.
and much other of like order stuff Bob
delivered it beautifully, and as a declaim-
er Candidate Bryan is not mark to him.
Tennessee has been famous for guber-
Material campaigns. The race between
James K. Polk and James c.. Jones is
yet recalled by old citizens, and the races
Andy Johnson made against Gustavus A.
Henry and Meredith r. Gentry will ever
be a history and tradition. The race
between Sentor ana Stokes resulted in a
n.
was another race, that of Taylor against
Taylor, some years ago when Bob con-
tested the office with ALI. 1t was called
the war of the roses, and had 1t occurred
half century earlier it would have
been the most picturesque event in Ameri-
can politics. 1 have forgotten whether
Bob was white or red, Lancaster or York,
but he triumphed, and ALI triumphed,
too, for it sent him to congress two or
three times. And ALI earned his salary;
he did not eat at Chamberlain's; he did
not run with the diplomatic corps; he
rarely dined at the Senate restaurant. He
was modest, retiring, and, to give the
devil his due, a capable representative
plain man representing a plain people.
l shall never forget the day he made his
speech on the Springer "pop-gun" tariff
bill. 1t was made under the most trying
circumstances ever knew congressman
to address the House. He followed Bourke
Cochran, who received at the close an
ovation never saw equalled. 1t was not
Alfs time to speak, but the solon who
was down to speak pleaded Illness and
in the melee Reed rushed round to find a
volunteer to take his place. He appealed
to member after member. Finally All
said: I'm speak for Mr.. Reed" and
speak he did, and very good protective
tariff speech 1t was, too.
The ambition of ALI Taylor's life is to be
prosperous farmer in East Tennessee.
That ambition has been gratlfed. 1t Is
the ambition of Bob Taylor to be Senator
from Tennessee. Once he was elected sem
ator, after the fashion Dave Murray was
nominated for congress this year. Be-
fore the vote was announced vote was
changed and he could not spare that vote.
1t was in 1881. was looking at him when
the dispatch was placed in his hand ar
nouncing his election: saw his friends
congratulating him, and a few minutes
later l saw the dispatch placed in his
hands announcing his defeat. IT makes
the heart sick of politics as ] recall the eff.
forts to throw off the reflection of tho
pang Of disappointment that knew was
then gnawing at his heart. That was In
February 1881 as ! remember. Jackson
was elected, and for more than fifteen
years 1t has been the hope of Bob Taylor
to be the COLLEAGUE of Tsham q Hare