The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1899-02-11
FAMOUS M|SSOUR|ANS.
The Statues of Blair and Benton,
Duly Presented to and Accepted
by Congress.
THE EXERCISES WERE INTERESTING,
a Large attendance on the Floor N, III.
house and In the Galleries Listened to
the Speeches by Messrs. Carmacl, of
tennessee, and Dockery. Lloyd and
Champ Clark, of Missouri.

Washington, Feb. 4-Centrarv q
custom i'll such cases, there was q
large attendance of members in the
house this afternoon, when the hour
arrived for the exercises attending
the Official acceptance by OF
the statues OF Benton and BLAIR, erect,
ca IN Statua-y hall, by the state of
Missouri.
The speaking commanded attentive
interest, and frequent applause punct-
uated the salient features.o the ord
tory.
Representative Dockery opened the
exercises with a short Introductory
speech that was loudly a%pplauded. He
was followed by Representative Car
mack, of Tennessee, in q tribute to the
memory of Benton, but consumed only
d few minutes, when he asked leave to
print his remarks, and yielded to the
orator OF the day, Champ Clark, who
delivered 4 formal speech on Blair.
In anticipation of u characteristic ef-
fort en- the part Of the staiwart Mis-
%sourian, many seats on the floor were
occupied and the galleries filled. No
enc was disappointed. Throughout his
speech, lasting an hour and Il half,
there was the closest attention On the
part of members and spectators, and
laughter and applause here and there
marked the continuous interest of the
listeners. Mr.. Clark spoke in that
thoroughly characteristic manner
which always %enlists the interest of
his colleagues and frequcnters of the
galleries.
House and galleries applaudeG vocif-
e~rCuslv as he concluded. The eXer-
cises were concluded by Representa-
tive Lloyd. of Missouri. in 4 splendid
tribute to the memory of Benton.
An Eloquent Tribuf- +" the Memory u.
Frank +. Blair.
In his tribute 10 the Of
Frank p. Blair, Hon. Champ Clark, rep
%resentative from the Ninth Missouri
congressional district, spoke in part as
follows:
When Gov. 2. Gratz Brown. one of the
most brilliant OF all Missouri statesmen,
on a historic occasion, said: Missouri is
Il grand state and deserves to be grandly
governed" he uttered an immortal truth.
lie might have added with equal Veracity:
She deserves to be srandly represented
in the congress of the United States anG
she has been. in the main, particularly in
the senate, where pauc!ty of members and
length of tenure more surely fix a man in
the public eye than service in the house.
First and last. Missouri has commits
stoned q different men 10 represent her ut
the other end Of the capitol, il the less
numerous branch of the national leSiSl2-
ture, IN the chamber OF the cOnscript IA
theIs in the upper house or congress-"
improperly so called, or, as senator Nor
gan, OF Alabama, would have il. "a-l:as-
saGors 6 a sovereign state TO the f@deraI
government" Beginning with David Bar
ton and Thomas Hart Benton, her pioneer
senator's, who at once attracted general
af:en.tcn and challenged universal LINZ /,
ration 10y reason of their onlInaE -i1- t. /
ents, down to this very hour. when in the
persons of Francis Marion Cockrel! and
enviahle position in that Conspicuous
arena. Missouri has taken second place
10 none OF her sister states.
These y senators naturally divide them +,
selves into claSSrs-the Barton line and
the Benton line, 10 in the former and six
in the latter.
In the Barton line are Barton himself.
Alexander Buckner, Lewis +. Linn. David
r.. Atchison, James s. Green, Waldo +.
johnson, Robert Wilson. i. Graft Brown.
D. Drake. Daniel +. levitt, FRANK
strong. James Shields and George G. Vest.
In the Benton line are Benton himself.
Henry S. Geyer,, T,usten Polk; Joan /.
Marion CockTell.
Lncky the man who gets INTO Barton's
seat: luckier, far luckier, the nan VINO
secures that Of Thomas Ii. Benton rs the
R RIs.2. INDICATE d longer puOi'o lie ''F
Unier the law each state hes The right
to place the statues of wu-Rn etiE two
American citizens IL Statu3ry
hail, but in this regard Missouri has been
more fortunate than most of her sister
states. for, while she can only, place two
there herself. three of her soidier-states-
men stand there in bronze and marble as
perpetual reminders of her glory. in adj
d.tion to Benton and Blair, through the
Shields. that iiiustrous Irish-American,
Il hero of two wars. and the Only man
that ever did, in all human probability
ever will, represent three states of the
Upon the base of his statue in yonder
hall are b!aZoned the coats of arms of
Illinois. Minnesota and Missouri. in whose
service he spent his life but as he wrought
for the whole country in the senate and
In the field. his fame belongs to the whole
in whose cause he freely shed
Either Benton or Blair is a sufficient
theme for any orator.
l shall confine my remarks. in the main,
to the latter, with only Incidental refer
ence to the former. leaving the great con-
temporary of Webster, Clay and Calhoun
TO my colleagues.
III NtlS L VI SUN "a - hAN- NNN-N
ungracious to talk much about the civil
war and ma appear like sweet bells '
angied. out of tune" but this is a his
toric occasion, Frank Blair is a historic
parsonage, and the truth should be told
about him. All his deeds with which his
tory will concern itself are those which
he performed in matters pertaining to
that unhappy period-either before, dur
Ing, or after. A speech about him with
out mention of these things would he like
the play of Hamlet with the Prince of
Denmark left out.
Mr.. Clark, in easy. flowing Ian
guage, traced The life of Frank P.
Blair through the politics! and mar
tial struggles that en~compassed i,
related many anecdotes and made
many witty illusions to his subject.
His address was rich in references to
the civil wal and the part that Blair
n that memorable struggle. He
up Blair's commanding quail
ties in these words:
A Natural Leader.
The old Latin dictuTn runs: "Poeta mas
citur, non fit" The same is true OF the
leader of men-he is born, not made.
What constitutes the quality of leader
shin. Mr.. Speaker? You do not know? l
do not know? None Of US knows. No
man can tell.
Talent, genius, learning, courage, elo-
ouence. greatness in many fields We may
define with something approXimatins ex-
actness; but who can inform us as to the
~f lAnda-Shfn2 W. oil I