The news & observer., 1897-01-23
Still Concealing That Speech
About His Person.
The COMMITTEE GOr TIRED
PREFERRED THEIR SUPPER TO
CAMPAIGN ORATORY.
TIE MECKLEN5uRG CON TESTS
Mr.. Mccall Made An Able Argument
Yesterday in Behalf of the Con-
testees, Reid and

Ransom.


has been here for week. He came load
ed with a speech-a great and eloquent
sneech. say those who heard it during the
last canlpaign-a speech about free bal
lot and fair count honest elections and
Democratic rascaIity. This post-campaign
oratdon has been in the womb of the
mind of the giant from Mecklenburg for
a week now, aye more, and there is no
immediate prospect of his being deliver
ed of it.
He has been trying to get rid of this
great phiIllipic for many days,
but so far the House Elections commit
tee has succeeded TN thwarting his Ell
forts On that direction. And now the
slumbering eloquence that has so long
been locked in THE conyoiuEons OF nus
mighty brain must hush its lmIauenP
cry for freedom and slunlber on, at least
till next Monday afternoon, perhaps long
er.
When the committee met in the Su-
preme court room yesterday afternoon
Walter Regulus came in with Jaunty
air. his sombrero I'm hand and his ong
coat t4tsils floating in the autumn preezes-
He had a bundle of his briefs under
his arm and q smile on his face.
He opened up the meeting IN his cnolc-
est open-air-platform voice and gesture
that would have done credit to his Illus
nrieus, namesake, when addressing the
Carthaginians on his return from Rome.
But Mr.. Henry labored under
,iisady vantage of having a less lofty theme
than his predecessor After POM
nous exordium he announced that It was
his desire to amend his answer TO the
effect dhat the reason he failed to give
30 DAYS notice required by law for taking
deuosftions. was that the Supreme court
had not finally passed upon the nauter
of counting the Pineyille township de-
turns.
The request to be allowed to amend his
amswer was denied, and Mr. Henry S
smile faded just a Tiny bEt as he stuck
a c6gar in has mouth and walked out ID
disgust. but he soon came back and sat
down to listen to MIR. McCalFs excellent
speerh. When that able gentleman De-
gan Walter Regulus looked unconcerned,
then he grew interested, then bored. Al
last his face grew solemn and he redden-
ed slightly about the gills as he glanced
md at the clock and saw that Mr.. Nc
Call had been speaking an hour, and as
vet there was no sign of stopping. Waiter
pretended to drop asleep, but he dldn
sleep. He was trying to fool hImseif
into the belief that he didn't care hg
if he never delivered that speech, but he
did and his face was redder than his hair
when he saw that Mccall had been
speaking nearly Two hours and not one
time yet had he said finally, brethren.
Walter Regulus looked desperate his
eyes blazed and his face shed great drops
of perspirsation, and the pompolis Dig
nifty was all soaked ont of his ponderoils
personality. But Mccall talked on. LII
was now 6 o'clock. Would he never
stop? Walter cast a supphcatang look
around at the committee, but they We're
helpless. Some of them were SO rude
as TO laugh. And now it was $40 o'clock.
Walter sighed audibly. 1t was sigh OF
relief Mr.. Mccall was summing up his
argument; there was yet hope. Ihe
hands of the clock pointed 10 $40 and
he was done.
With a bound Mr.. Henry sprang from
his chair and stood i'm their midst and
was already uttering the first words OF
that speech about which he had Thought
by day and dreamed by night ever since
the Legislature had been in session. The
beginning was suspicious, the sample
was good, but the audience was hard
hearted. not to say rude. Perhaps hum
gry would be better term. Like the
men I'm the Bible who had been lnvsted
10 a wedding supper the members of this
committee began forthwith to make ex-
,,ses One said he had caucus to att
tend and he begged to be excused, an
other wanted to go to another commit
tee meeting. while third had promised
q voung lady to cali and all wanted Sup
nor "A motion to adjourn was made.
There was no use contending against
sueb odds. With dying look Wal
ter Reyulus Henry, of Charlotte, n. o.,
dropped in a heap into his chair.
S.gnahe.lv moved to amend the motion
TO the effect that they adjourn until
o'clock Monday instead of Saturday.
..Is that satisfactory to you, Mr.. Hen
yvg', asked the chairman. Have You any
objection to the notion z
II have very serious objection, sir; but
my objections don't seem to count for
amyrtEhing here" he said with groan.
Everybody except Mr.. Henry laughed
and the motion was carried with a whoop.
nhis having been dome, Mr.. Henry rose
with the air of one who had
suffered martyrdom and taking out
his printed briefs said, hmnbly: Mr..
Chairman, as I'm not allowed to speak
hone the gentleman will condescend to
allow me to offer them this brief which
I hope they will read prayerfully and
carefully"
In opening the argument for the eontes-
tants. Mr. Mccall asked the committee
to put aside all partisan consideration
and let it be decided entirely on question.
of law. He contended that the law had
not been complied with by the contestees;
they had not given the required thirty
days notice, and the sitting members
should not be ousted unless they were
turned out according to law. The new
election law did not pass the act govern
ing these contests, and the attorneys for
the contestees knew it. They proceeded
in every other particular under this law
nI..t., 1aI r. "A