The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1899-03-04
Gordon VS.. Roosevelt.


The coolest Inhabitant" will
whom The Gazette exchanged a few
words a couple of weeks ago, was
in laxative mood last Wednesday
and among other things he said:
''In his interesting lecture, en-,
titled "The Last Days of the Con
federacy," Gen. Gordon refers &c
himself only once or twice through
out the Whole narrative and he
apologies to the audience for sc
doing, and the consequence is that
the nearer admires the unfeigned
modesty of the great Georgian
almost as much as he does the ster-
ling patriotism for which the old
hero is noted. When it is con
sidered that the general was one OF
the principle figures of that conflict
of giants references to- his own vic
tories would be pardonable, but the
marked absence of self throughout
his beautiful lecture shows the gen.
uine character of the man. Such a
man needs not foot his own Lorn;
his reputation rests upon founda-
ton as broad as the universe and as
solid as the pillars of heaven. Cor
don was hero of '6u'64.
ssNot so with Theodore Roose-
welt, one of the latter-day heroes.
He was the second officer in com
mand of a regiment which, be it
SAID to its credit, fought with COM
mendable bravery at Santiago. Do
not understand me as detractor Of
these men. | would not pluck
away from their well-earned laurels
the tiniest leaf They fought well
and they are entitled to the respect
and gratitude of their countrymen.
But what l want to do is to illus
trate the modesty of Gordon and
the painful lack of that rare attri
butte in the New York Rough Rider.
Roosevelt fought one battle which
admit would have been quite a res
pectabIe skirmish in Our 'unpleas-
antness' with the Yanks,--but
only few months ago Teddy has
told the American people about the
part that he played in It so often
that those who saw the real stuff are
beginning to be tired of it. And
unlike Gen. Gordon Roosevelt
seems to think she was the whole
thing for in nearly all his anecdotes
he is the star performer. In his
recent article published in Scribner's
he speaks SO much Of himself that
one is irresistibly drawn to the con-
clusion that ;he New Yorker is the
trumpet of his own fame. Here is
what he says In the M:rch Scrib-
ner's. Just listen:
SAT every halt he writes, sEwe took adj
vantage of the cover, sinking down behind
any mound, bush or tree trunk in the neigbor-
hood. The trees, of course, furnished no
from the Mauser bullets. Once
was standing behind large palm with my
head out to one side, very fortunately; for a
bullet passed through the palm, filling my
left eye and ear with the dust and splinters.'
e.This is only one of the many
narrow escapes of which he tells us.
Now, to an old reb who followed
StonewalI or Gordon or Wheeler,
all this hog-wash which have filed
the newspapers and the magazines
since the late Spanish American
is sickening to say the
least. If such little things which
in, the Civil war were writ
ten l dare Say that all the news
oapermen and the historians would
be busy writing them until Gabriel
blows the bugle for the last roll
call. But 1 am DEPRESSING.
simply wanted to make the COM
oarison, however odious it may APP
pear, between Gordon, the true
hero of s61 who leaves the praise
Of himself to others, and Roosevelt,
The self-praised warrior of toS who
evidently believes with P. t. Bar
aum that the American people like
% be humbugged.
Judge Debaillon held court in Abb
>a,,;lJa chic week The Tuloe ic bent