The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-12-24
ANECDOTES TOLD OF
CUSHMAN K. DAVIS
New York Mail and Express.)


New York Mail and Express.)
Visitors to the senate chamber on the
opening day OF congress expressed sur
prise that the desk of the late Senator
Cushman K. Davis was not draped. as
is the custom when a member of the
senate dies. Tt was explained, however.
that the absence of any sign OF mourn
| ing was due TO the fact that Mr.. Davis
Z died and was buried when the senate
was not in session, and the senate had
not been officially informed Of his
death.
Mr.. Davis was one of the most Iovable
men in the senate. and his colleagues
bear reverent testimony to his sterling
worth, his unvarying courtesy, his
great learning and his untiring indus
try. He was known as the student of
the senate for though his work as q
less reading of the daily litera ture of
politics and diplomacy. he found time
Tor reading on subjects which had little
bearing on his duties in the senate.
The hours that he devoted to mis- read
ing for relaxation we're those stolen
from sleep. and it was a habit II ST.
Paul. among those who knew him.
when they passed his house a { an early
hour in the morning, TO look up at the
lighted windows of his library and say:
Senator Davis IS reading either a book
on Shakespeare or Napoleon" And if
that Senator Davis was either out of
town. or too sick to be out of bed,
If a man can be said to ride hobbies
in literature, Shakespeare and NapOl-
con were the hobbies of Cushman K,
Davis. Outside of the list of profess
sional Shakespearean commentators
Mr.. Davis was probably the best posted
Shakespearean scholar in the United
States. He wrote for private circula-
ton a study Of Shakespeare as a law
yer, and his researches for that work
induced Mr.. Davis to enter the field of
legal history, so that he knew the
origin and the history of all important
features of English Jurisprudence. It
was his keen delight to trace some
modern law back through the centuries
to its original source in the Norman,
or even the older AngIO-SaxOn courts
Senator Davis was one Of the strong
est opponents Of the theory that Fran
els Bacon wrote ShakeSpeare'S works
and in this matter he had many dis
CuSSiOnS with his fellow statesmen. Mr..
IgRatius D0nneIIy and the people Of
Minnesota perhaps. will renembe Sen
atOr Davis best by one of the celebrat-
ed arguments he had with Mr.. Don
nelly on this subject some years ago,
/ in which he ably maintained his side
of the question. and showed his great
knowledge of Shakespeare and the
dramatistS Of the Elizabethan era.
"
I only to that Of Shakespeare. What
Shakespeare was TO literature, NapOl-
con. in Senator Davis estimation, was
to history. Just as he had in his IL
bTary every important book relating to
Shakespeare and his plays, so Mr..
Davis had all the literature of Napol
con, and. in addition 20 his books and
| pamphlets, ho possessed a copy and in
many cases the original of all the best
! engraVings. etchings, buSts and medal
lions of the great emperor. His Ma
poleoniC library numbered over $50 vol
umes. and every room in his house, IN
ST. Paul and in Washington. had on
/ its walls some picture Of the COrsiCan
Among the floral tributes at the fu-
neral OF SenaLOr Davis was a design
sent by the Old Telegraphers' associa-
/ ticn, on which was marked in imnlor-
| telles the Geographic symbol, Thirty,
which means good night, and IS the
! last word sent By the operator before
/ he closes his office. This tribue recalls
/ the fact that Mr.. Davis was an expert
( telegraph operator before he entered
/ the army during the civil war. As lleu-
/ tenant with his regiment in Arkansas
! he had occasion to make use OF MS
! knowledge of the key, and when the
/ confederates captured Little Rock Mr..
! Davis sent the last message to the city
/ before the wires were cut. He had
! tapped the wire in the field and was
{ talking with the confederate oPSfo
/ in the city. and getting a considerable
amount OF information for use of the
army when the operator in Little hock
/ flashed d message over the wire; Good
by. Yank; I hear your mems guns out
! SIDE the city, and am going to cut the
/ wire
A great many persons in Washington
used to confuse Senators Quay and
Davis. and. indeed, there was very
/ striking resemblance between them.
/ They were warm friends, and each Jo-
/ coseIy resented the mistakes of iden-
/ tity. One day Senator Davis heard that
J Senator Quay, on being taken for him,
! had said: oh no; I am ugly enough,
/ but not as ugly as Davis" Senator
/ Davis awaited his time. A few days
later one of Senator Quay's cOnstltu-
ents accosted Mr.. Davis, mistaklng
/ him. of course. for the Pennsylvania,
/ and presented a petition for an import
ant postoffice. Mr.. Davis assured the
man that he should have the place, and
/ that he would read of his appointment
/ in dav or two. A week later Senator
! Ouav was amazed to receive an indig-
/ mani letter. demanding why he had not
I kent his promise about the postohlce
After an almost endless series Of let
/ ters. Senator Quay learned that MS
/ only escape would be to appoint the
| man. and then Senator Davis told nm
| that he had his revenge.
/ Nothing better illustrates senator
Davis love for books than the fact mat
when he came back to St Paul after
his service in the army he expended me
] last dollar he had in the world for a
Z