Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-10-29
STOLE A SPEECH.
An Amusing Incident of the Presidential
Campaign of 1870.

An Amusing Incident OF the Presidential
Campaign Of 1870.
Back in the campaign of 1870 was
making tour of the west with Oliver
P. Morton and George Sheridan, one Of
the brightest speakers the American
platform has ever known, who accom-
panied him to do the funny business. -
Senator Morton would usually talk for
an hour-a dull, turgid, heavy discus
sion of the financial problem, followed
by an attack upon the Democrats of the
south for their inhuman treatment of
the negro. By the time he had finished
the audience would be soaked with wise
| advice and valuable information, but
every spark Of enthusiasm would be
quenched. Then George Sheridan would
take the platform and wake them up.
For an hour they would roar with
laughter or sit with their mouths open,
fascinated by his flights of fancy. 1t
was rare combination.
One night, after we had been out for
a couple of weeks, / think at Fort
Wayne, Sheridan said: Senator, Iwish
You would let me speak first tonight.
want to go ont into the country with
some friends. i"
"All right, replied Senator Morton
cheerfully. "You arrange it with the
chairman of the meeting"
But when Sheridan took the platform
and began to deliver Morton's speech,
word for word, as the latter had deliver
ed it every night for a fortnight, the
senator became very uneasy. He gave all
Morton's arguments against the infa-
tion of the currency and in favor of the
resumption of specie payments; he re-
cited all the statements concerning the
outrages in the south; he repeated all of
the personal "reminiscences of his exper-
fences as governor of Indiana during
the war, which the senator was accus-
toned to work in until the latter was
almost paralyzed with chagrin and
amazement, and finally, when he reach
ed point in the discussion of the fnan-
cial problem where Morton was accus-
toned to compare Pompeiian gold coin
with a United States greenback, he |
turned to the astonished victim of this |
practical joke and said in an undertone,
Let's have that coin." The senator
handed it over without murmur, and,
when Sheridan had recited the eloquent
pe1oration which he always used at the
close of his speech and had taken his
seat, Senator Morton hobbled over to the
desk on his two canes and said:
II am the victim of a practical joke.
Realizing the gravity of the issues be-
fore the American people, I came into
this campaign with carefully prepared
speech, which / have delivered in Mr..
Sheridan's hearing so often that he
has committed it to memory, and he has
delivered it here tonight much better
than could have delivered it, He also
is in the habit Ct making the same
speech, and have heard it many times,
but lack his memory and could not
repeat it to save my life. 1 will there
fore appeal to him not to punish you as
he has punished me, but to give us some
of his stories.
Then the great statesman sat down,
thoroughly knocked out. Sheridan re-
sponded and spoke half an hour longer,
with his joke as his text, and after that
If any one suggested his speaking first
Senator Morton would tell this story
ChicaUo Rerord