The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-01-28
THE MEN IN CONGRESS

Washington letter giving an account
Of some notables in the present con-
gress. The article is too long for re-
production, but it has many truths that
would interest our readers. Charles F.
Sprague, worth SIS, 900, 900, is the big
gest %plutocrat in the house, and halls
from Massachusetts. The next big
gest money king in a cotton mill man
There are 'lots" of m%illionaires in the
senate, worth from $50 0 900 up. Ga
lusha A. Grow, OF Pennsylvania, is the
oldest member of the house. Tom
Reed is the latest. Sulloway, of New
Hampshire, is tallest-six feet four
inches. The shortest man is George B.
Mcclellan. The ugliest man in the
senate is Cockre1l, of Missouri. In the
house, Eddy, of Minnesota, carries the
knife. The handsomest member is
Darrell, of Massachusetts,. The hand
soonest senator is Penrose, of Pennsyl-
vania. The swell-senator is Lodge, of
distinguished looking senator, and is
from Iowa. Wolcott has more clothes.
COckrell is the worst dressed in the
senate. The writer of the descriptions
says of our mountain Chesterfield:
For some reason, interesting as a
subject of psychological inquiry, he
appears in a very much dressed-up
condition on rare occasions, but the
phenomenon is purely spasmodic, and
Immediately he lapses into his &C
customed disorderly aspect. Gus
tomarily he looks as ff he had on his
wedding suit of forty years earlier
shiny and buttoned awry. Neverthe-
less, he is a brilliant orator, in the old
lime forid style, impetuous and ear
nest"
ga mans a mar for a that" He is
careless as to his "get up" but when
he does "get up" he makes a success
both in the dress of the physi-
cal man and in the displays or ora
tory. Hurrah! for Romulus z. Linney!
Dingley is a poor speaker, and surely
a worse tariff builder and revenue
raiser. There are mo geat orators in
the house." The republicans have
such as are considered orators-Hen-
derson, of Iowa; Dolliver, Of Iowa, and
Cousins, of Iowa If this classification
is correct, it is remarkable, and all
three from the same state and a west
ern one. Dolliver is described .'fas a
wit of the first water" Henderson is
'fervid and impressive; Dolliver is
smooth and nullfteous"; and Cousins
h a fine voice and prepares his
speeches carefully" Does he read
them? If SO, he lis no orator, what
that Bailey, of Texas, is the only dem
ocrat who is considered seriously as
an orator." The writer fails to ap-
preciate democratic Private John AL
len, of Mississippi, and says he "is
somewhat Of a clown" It is perillous
to reputation to be either brilliant or
funny. Vance was both, and as a con-
sequence, was long moderated. Sheri-
dan and Burke suffered because of the
splendor of their speeches. The plod-
ding man of statistics is considered the
able man and safe man, while genius
is discounted. There is nothing in the
imagination to rob the owner of the
power of profound reasoning and sound
thinking. The dull. heavy horse has to
pull hard and make slow progress. The
Arabian courSer makes a dash with
splendid spirit and quickly reaches the
goal. In the senate, according to the
correspondent, Frye and Wolcott are
the foremost orators. Wolcott is 'tthe
williest and Aldrich is the most expert
DICTATOR" We suspect the writer we
quote from lis a republican. He has
but one reference to a southern DEM
ocrat in the house, and overlooks Sen