The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-05-19


of Brevity'
WASHINGTON, May ls.-lSpecial I'm
-. ut,ie room In the Shoreham hotel
,rhicb Speaker Reed uses as library
soros framed woodcut picture taken
from the pages Of an illustrated paper OF
rnonv wears ago. This picture marks the
heoinning of "a good deal OF the recent po'
uticol history of this country. IL depicts
,he scene when Tom Reed won his spurs
ssa member of congress. IL was Just ~
Gears ago that Mr. Reed came down here
a. green congressman, and the Hayes
ridden imbroglio was the sensation OF the
bour. Nothing else was talked or A
snecial committee to Investigate the 1876
election was ordered, and Reed was lucky
enoueh to get a place upon IL. CARRIED,
Hale and others who had more reputation
dooI,ned 20 serve because they were afraid
they might get into trouble heeu ac-
oonted what they had refused, and 1t
trrned ont to be a good thing for him that
no aid The committee, it will be remem-
hored was known as the Potter committee,
from the name Of it's chairman. Its first
sorious work was an examination of the
witness Anderson, conducted by Colonel
william r. Morrison, the famous Demo-
Graf from Illinois He induced the witness
20 make revelations which scandalized the
country and made the Republicans feel
very sick. That was on Friday. The next
morninq Governor Claflin, one of the Re-
rublican managers of that day, came to
Washington. He met Reed and said to
him: -,
UWbat Is the matter with all our fell
lovsp They appear to have run away since
that man Anderson made his confessions.
can't find one of our men. Guess they
must be i'm hiding somewhere.
"Well, we'll change all that, drawled
Reed.
"What are you going to doH" inquired
the governor.
ii am going to cross examine that fell
low Anderson, and I'll tear him all to
pieces.
Reed as a Cross Examiner.
When the Republican managers heard
of this. they tried to coax Reed off. They
said il would be mistake. Even II An
derson was liar, he was a smart one, and
IL would be impossible to catch him. A
failure to shake his testimony would hurt
the Republican cause. But Reed stuck to
his purpose "I'll make that chap trot or
Jump the harness" he said.
The next Monday the committee met
again and Reed went at Anderson. In half
an hour he had his witness on the run. 1t Is
safe to say that witness never before had
such an uncomfortable two hours OF it be-
fore a congressional committee. The con
LESSONS which Reed wrung from him be-
came the sensation of the day. All the
newspapers took it up. The illustrated
papers made pictures of the scene. 1t was
great day for the new congressman from
Maine He was an unknown man no
longer. That one feat made him famous.
Jerry Simpson says he enjoys speaking
TO the house of representatives when
things are lively. He likes "a fight above
all other things. When there is a storm on
the legislative waters, and the spray Is fly
ing, 1t reminds him of his first speech
Many years ago Jerry Simpson was sail
or before the mast. Later he rose to be
the captain of a vessel on the great lakes,
and in 1878 he was in command of the
barge Rutter, which left Chicago late In
October and ran into dreadful storm
The bark was in tow of steamer, but
the hawser parted in the storm and the
barge was set adrift. She finally pulled
up in shoal water off Ludington, Mich.
where lifeboat tried to rescue the i'm
periled sailors, but found the sea running
too high. Then the government tug came
out and tried to take the men off. Th'
tug brought out lot of longshoremer
who were to try to save the cargo of thu
bark, and they would have succeeded M
doubt If the storm had not just then broker
out with redoubled fury. The cargo wa
OF rye, and every sailor knows that that Il
slippery stuff to have in the hold of YES
nj fho 81 81
A Marrow Escape.
Tho rye kept running to one side,
says Mr.. Simpson, "till our ship wa
irightfully listed, and, in fact, the wate
was standing ankle deep upon the lee sid
OF our deck. The seas were now running
pretty high, and 1t looked as II we were II
tight fix. ordered the longshoremen Il
take to the rigging and to hold on with
death grip In order to avoid being washet
away. In a few minutes the crew and
mad to do the same thing. We climbed
into the upper rigging, with the seas boil
ing through and over our poor craft below
US felt particularly sad when saw IN
trunk and all my best clothes go 1oatinI
oy' BY this time the ship was pounding
very hard on the bottom, and as every biI
sea struck her / thought it would be tn
"hu euoo Blu WOulu DTcdk III tWO un'
go to pieces
Fully 5000 people were gathered Oh
the shore watching our struggle agains
the elements and wondering If we shoul'
De able to reach the shore alive. Twenty
Tour hours we stuck to the rigging, an
pretty dreary work 1t was, you may i'm
agine. But we knew the gallant crews @
the life saving service were coming, and W
nau encouragement to hold out. FINAL
.ne iifeboat reached us, and the longshors
men We're sent ashore on the first trip
linen the crew and followed. When W
stepped upon the shore, the people gave u
aroyal welcome. They gathered about u
WIN dry clothing, with hot coffee an
ioou' Nothing was too good for us. A
soon as we had been warmed and fed, the
INSISTED should tell them all about tn
shipwreck. They led the way to publ
nai set me upon the platform and toll
.ne 10 go ahead. In this way was induces
40 make my first speech i'm public, and
'nink IL was the best speech ever made,
Felicity and Brevity.