, 1897-09-23
POWER lNAsENTENCE
IT WAS DELIVERED BY COLONEL
BRECKENRIDGE IN 1894.

A st. Louis Newspaper Man Tells Of the
Greatest Speech He Ever Heard -Ths
Orators Evidence That the Year Wa. .
Bad One For Fruit.
II ] We're asked to name the greatest
speech e"er heard, ! should select the one
delivered by Colonel VI. G. p. Breckinr!dge
mt the little tawn of Athens, near Licking
ton, which tie Kentuckiuns insist upon
pronouncing Athens, during his memoir
able campaign for denomination In 1884.
1t WAS ncIr the close Of tho campaign.
The whole blue grass region had been in II
fernscnt of excitement for three months.
The pnrtisGns OF B~r'ckinridge and Owen
went heavily armed, expecting every min
ute something that would precipitate n
general melee. Had a fight been prscipi.
tatcd 1T any OF the meetings addressed by
Breckenridge le would have been ono Of
the first tn 60 down undcr the fusilladc. No
one knew this better than Colonel Brock
inridgc, and yet neither by qunver of voice
nor finch CT muscle did he display the least
sign of fear, | watched him every day for
more than three weeks when the nervous
tension WAS So great that scores Of men
more robust than he had been ordered to
bed by their physicians lest they collapse,
and hc seemed utterly unmindful Of any
unusual excitement.
The sentiment in the Athens neighbor-
hood WAS about equally divided between
breckenridge and Owen. The women
there. as elsewhere throuph the district,
were arrayed in hostile camps. Owen had
mad u speech in the town Il few weeks he
fore, aud tho Ercckirridgo people had de-
tcrrnined TO eclipse, III point of attendance
and enthusiasm. the meeting Of the Owen
followers. The day WAS sultry. The sun
shuno brazcnly through n sky unlocked
with n singh" loud. The leaves hung limp
and rarched and motionless on the trees
which rordrrrd the white stretch of turn
pike road leading from Lexington TO
Athens. Colonel Breckenridge drove out
over this breaches, dusty road with an
escort of ountcd Kcnturkinns, who ,Dade
the sultry Dir vibrant with their wild en-
thusiaSm. y carriage load of correspond
ents followed in the cloud Of dust raised by
tho rural ca ralry. We were regarded with
suspicion because we were careful to de-
clare our neutrality.
Greut hordcs Of people came pouring into
the town from all points of the compass.
A troop of handsome women mounted on
payly cararisoned and high stopping Ken
lucky horses swept down the main street
and out to the meeting place amid u snlvo
Of Shouts that shook the armament. Men
sashCd and h,lted moved in columns like
infantry at drill. Bright faced girls and
rollickilig boys marched to the roll OF
drums and screams of flies. In the hlnz-
ing sun stood iioCks of harehcnacd women
and c~oatloss men chattcring ike so many
geese. These were Ovens local par isans,
who looked s~uilcnly on the BrCch inridgo
followers, drunk with the hope Of victory.
The speakers stand had been erected
under II largo apple tree whose branches
spread out to rrodi9ious lengths. 1t was
In the center Of IL 200 acre blue grass pas
turo. Fully 1000 pcojlr crowded around
tho stand. They We're Irassed closer than
II they had been in n hall. Owen root
ers" were scattered all ,hrnush tho tllronR.
The crash and bluro of tho ban could not
be heard for the shouts of the men, the
screams of the women and tho sGricks of
the children when the carriage containing
Colonel Drcckinridgc drove into the
grounds. In" noise increased rs he as
ccndcd tho Platform. In an instant after
he waved his bands for order tho turnult
ceased. ono could almost hear che heart
beats of those nearest him. without tho
formulity Of nn Introduction the colonel
launched outiu;oh his speech. For ten min
utes not q e0unu WAS made. Then his icl.
lowers regiiucd possession Of their incul-
ties n suUn lost it again in ronrs of ;tp-
pluusc. Sometimes 10 would have to stop
talking for two or three ninntc until the
storm of enthusiasm bad spent itself.
He had lter speaking about half an hour
and had reached one Of those tremendous
uliInaxcs OF which only those who have sat
the srrll Of his cluquence know the
thrill. NoECn were crying ana broad
cl,cstcd men were IugGing each other in n
delirium oi joy. Ike c~Crrcsi o~n'lci',s,
though trained 10 such scenes, ha! dropped
their pencils and closed their notebooks.
They, loo, were shouting II screaming
like maniurs.
Gradually the noise ard urronr died
away. just ms wc were in that calm which
follows u storm and Colonel breckenridge
had stepped forward to resume his speech,
there came shooting through the VnIpitHt-
Ing mir this defiant shout, in II shrill, pip
Ing voice:
"Hurrnh for Owen!"
Men sprang from their seats ms If from
an electric shock. Tho wonncn's moans
broke out IN n hystCricnl snrick. The cor
respondents. with blancheu faces, looked
npp4ulinqiy at ono another for advice ms to
how to save themselves from the fus!ladc
which it seemed certain was coming.
BrcrkinriIgc WIS thu only calm person in
that vast ~nsscinblagc of men and women
anxious To -et at tho iBsolrnt individual
who had the hnrdihood ut such u supreme
moment - shout for Owen ut n Brcckin-
ridge meeting. The colonel turned slowly
and looked unconcernudly about him.
Then, casting his eyes upward, he saw
clinging to u limb not five feet above his
head - small hoy, who was grinning with
the satisfaction afforded him by the effect
Of : sliri!l voice in giving vent to that
dtlInt shout. breckenridge smiled with
hearty good nature, and with n graceful
wnltErc tuwuri tho irizen little imp who
had sd rudDy hruhen the effect of his trc-
mcndous climax, he faced the audience
again and said:
Ladies' and gentlemen, l had heard this
was !, bad year for fruit, n now know
it is"
lii alralf Magh and IL hnlf Cry tho crowd
guvo vent to its feeling and the terrific
cyclone OF enthusiasm TINT onsued swept
the impatient %youngstcr from his perch
into tho arms of II Convey of wonen who
had iiucked close to the stand when they
saw the nuthor of all the excitement, con-
fidrnt TINT he would he torn to pieces II
they did no: protect him.
Tho roturns show that Colonel Breckin-
ridge carried Athens precinct, md ! be-
licvc 1t was the good injured wit and feadi-
ness with which he foiled the premcditated
attempt If tho local Owen managers to
break up his meeting there in Il row that
turned tho tide In that Loighborhood In his
favor.-J. j. Dickinson in St. Louis Re-
public.
Disguised.