The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-11-24
BADGER AND VANCE

Mr.. Richard H. Battle, of Raleigh
oar, recently delivered an address be-
fore ST. Mary's Episcopal School on
Zebulon Baird Vance. He had a fine
theme and judging from a partial re-
port. in the Raleigh News and Obser-
yer he treated it Interestingly and hap
PLY. 1t is quotable as well as enjoy
able. We make an extract that will
surprise some who did not know Vanc
as he was:
Mr. Battle said hat Vance's humor
had led many people to form a false
estimate of him, to regard him as a
mere joker. But when the time came
he had eclipsed by his earnest elo-
quence such statesmen as Morehead,
Badger and Graham, Badger declaring
that he was the greatest stump speak
er the world had ever seen. Il heard
John Sherman say once" said the
speaker, that while Vance was in con-
gress he had recognized his great abil-
thy, his wit and his perfect honesty
and declared he would would fill a great
place in public life"
Mr.. Battle touched briefly on Vance's
campaign against Holden and declared
hat the ablest speech he had ever
heard in his life was made by Vance
from the southeast corner Of the
court house in Raleigh when the whole
street and all the vacan space around
was damned with people eager to hear
him..
AS showing Vance's great power over
men his visit ito the army of northern
Virginia was ~instanced. General Lee
saying on his departure that he had
been worth $4,000 men to him"
Let us supplement. Senator Upton
h northwest, vas at Raleigh in
1872. He heard Vance n said to us,
that he was the best stump speaker he
had heard since he heard Tom Corwin,
of Ohio, twenty years before, and that
Vance reminded him more of that mar
vellous speaker than n other man
he had heard. We heard the late bril-
liant Colonel Duncan X. McRae say
in 1872 as we were returning together
from the speaking, that the speech of
Vance was the very best political
speech he had ever heard" and we add,
we knew at the time that McRae was
noa partial to Vance. Vance was a
greater popular speaker than Badger,
and by much odds. Of public speakers
VIC loNC lCo4u SlLAS iOtVt Az AAASA ~
sembled the late Abram w. Venable
than any other. He was hardly so elo-
quent, but he had more power n wa
a better actor and a~necdotist, al
though Venable was not equalled by
any one save Vance. Mr.. Badger had
a very high rank in the senate. The
late Senator Harlan, of New Hamp-
shire, in his volume of "reminiscences,
says Mr.. Badger was really of the very
first rank among the great senators,
but the place was not accorded linn.
He was in the senate but one term,
and yet he became the Whig leader In
that time in that then very able and
august body. AS a lawyer-an advocate
Mr.. Badger was easily first among
North Carolina lawyer-facile prin-
ceps. We purposed to. simply introduce
a quotation from Battle, when 10! we
have written all this. AS a CONVERSE
tionalist MI. Badger was decidedly su.
perior to any other person we have
met. The late Edward j. Hale, senior
said in advanced years, that Mr.. Bad
ger was the greatest actor he had eve
seen on or off the stage. We know he
was incomparably fine for we heard
him speak many times through more
than twenty years.