The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-05-06

In the introduction TO the biographical
sketch of Richard Parks Bland, Mr.. Champ
Clark writes:
"N hat WAS the secret OF this mans
~wondrous hold upon the affections of man
kind2 Not dazzling genius. for he had none.
Not soul-stirring eloquencc, for he was no
orator. Not personal magnetism, for he
was destitute of it. Not CURLY manner. for
his WAS brusque. Not great and varied
learning. for his reading was not wide and
his Investigations were limited to economic
subjects. Not scintillating Wit, for his was
a serious mind. Not the cunning of demn-
gogues, for he was artiess as a little child
Not great wealth. for he was poor In this
worlds goods. and had no desire for riches.
Not a glamor of military successes, for,
though a brave indian fighter on the West
ern frontier, he never spoke of that feature
of his life without being asked about it,
and then with blushing mcdesty. Not a
commanding presence, for. though his face
was strong. he would never have been Sc
lacted as a leader of men by his flesh marks
alone.
In fact, he possessed few, II any, of the
characteristics which are usually deemed
necessary to d great political career; new
ertheless II is not too much to say that he
was one OF the most potent factors in the
politics Of our age.
young men ambitious of political prefer
ment and of a noble and enduring fame will
do well 10 pass lightly by the shrewd ma
nipulators and aspiring mountebankS, and
TO study profoundly the far-reaching re-
suits of BANDS career. They will discover
tina, his commanding position was due 20
his intense devotion to principle. to his alb
sorb,ng love OF truth, to his integrity Of
mind. and to his unauailing courage. He
stood for conscience in politics and for i'm
partial Justice and equal rights TO ell
Gods children. Without arrogance CT char
acter, he possessed a independence of
soul which would not have fiattered Nep-
tune for his trident or Jove for his power
to thunder. He was what Marc Anthony
described himself TO be, but what Marc
most emphatically was not-'s plain. blunt
man. who loved his friends and he died
amid the lamentations of the. plain people,
of whom he was the best type
In Anderson County. Kentucky. on March
:, 1879. Champ Clark was born. His moth
or was born in Kentucky. and his father
came of a New Jersey family. Both par
ents had strong characters. The mother
died when her now distinguished son WAS
y NkA pNs " hhs
yond his years.
When Champ Clark was a child. his ia
Their, as an itinerant dentist, rode around
over four or five counties with a huge pair
of sadlebass, one end of which was filled
with dental implements. the other with
speeches of Stephen A. Douglas, John c.
Breckenridge, and other great Democrats
of the times. He was a natural controver-
s%ialist, arguing on any subject. His con-
victions on politics and religion were
strong. and his prejudices equally so. He
was thoroughly Democratic in political
faith. with Thomas Jefferson and Andrew
Jackson as his political idols.
1t is related that while On these jour-
neys Of mingled doctoring and preaching
all the Wings and Republicans on HIS cir
cult were made miserable by his arguments
for Democratic principles. and by. his ap-
propriate quotations from the speeches Of
Breckenridge and Douglas. which he always
had at his lips end. Said one who knew
him well: He would corner them up and
argufy with them till they were Dizzy,