The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-11
How Nominating Speeches Look With the
Glamour Taken Off,
Matters in Such State Of Chaos That 1t Would Take
Born Seer to Penetrate the Veil and Make
Safe Prediction,
BY HENRY JAMES.

CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA-
NIENTO, Jan. 1O.-Wandering to the Capt.
tol to see the initial stages Of the official
process of making a Senator, I happened
into the Assembly chamber. The decor
etions of the night before We're still in
place. SmilaX garlanded the fluted pill
lars and the walls were softened by tints
Of pink and green. One might have
judged also that the atmosphere was q
holdover. The place was reasonably
crowded. All chairs were occupied
a double row Of spectators, those
in front standing on the toes of the
others, lined the railing and ebbed into
the corridor. The gallery was full, the
interest moderate and the enthusiasm not
there.
Perhaps it was over in the Senate cham
Der, where Shortridge was tying bouquets
and festoons of verbiage to the fair fame
OF Burns: He is said first to have proved
Turns lily and then to have painted the
lily. He tossed his foretop impressively
laid an appealing hand on his breast or
mis- bread basket or pointed 1t fearessly
TO heaven: There have been those TO say
senator Shortridge is not an orator, but
none such is to be found tonight. A man
who can keep a sincere tremolo in his
voice while he portrays Dan Burns as an
angel has to be an orator and an artist.
But this is carrying US into the Senate
chamber, and, so far as | am concerned,
is hearsay. While Shortridge was in &C
their Burns badges, which some of them
had heretofore concealed, the Assembly
was doing even worse, for seventeen
voted for Burns, all without evidence of
shame, and some with manifest pride.
This seemed to me a showing Of a type
of degeneracy. When Kenneally seconded
the nomination of Burns he said the mo-
ment was the prOudest of his life.
have not the happiness to know much
Of his life, but if to be faithful to Dan
Burns is reason for feelings of pride 1t
would q OF
burglary TO swell with eXultation and set
himself up as an aristoCrat
Every time there was compliment for
Burns there was applause in the lobby
by as hard gang of claquerS as ever
rode into Sacramento to make a fight for
purity. have not written of matters
in other columns. My desire is merely to
treat of the formalities through which
the name OF Burns vas projected into the
aCtga contest: Representative Cobb
made the nominating speech. In the alb
stract it was good. Coupled to the per-
sonality of Burns it became ridiculous.
Cobb is young. ardent and apparently
sincere. His address was a tribute of
which any man worthy of II might we'll
pc proud. His language was well chosen,
ms phraseology smooth, his appearance
In his favor. He spoke of the necessary
personal qualifications of a Senator of
elevating the standard of public intelli-
genge, OF the startling possibilities for
quoted from Emerson: 1T forms an epoch
IN history when God lets loose a thinker
in this planet"
Mr.. Cobb believed the thinker had been
found. Burns! Now trot out the epoch
However, after the manner of his kind
the speaker withheld the name for a ell
max. Cobb had sandwiched a bit of a
sermon in just here. He touched upon
conscience, the value of having it clear
II was this variety his man carried, re-
tusing To tolerate any other kind. The
mind must needs be we'll stored with
knowledge and the heart overlooking with
wisdom. The last expression was prob
ably intended to be something else The
coming Senator must have mental activ-
ity and moral courage, not necessarily the
gift of elOquence. In fact, his essential
traits as set forth by Cobb embraced ali
that which in the human character is
strong and pure and admirable. The
character of a gentleman in the highest
sense. He undertook to demonstrate that
he had enumerated the traits of Burns,
that charges of fraud, dishonesty, bribery,
intimidation, evil associations, betrayal
Of friendships had been brought by the
press because, sordid and corrupt, 1t is