Connecticut western news., 1902-03-27


 Characterised - Bill Jones' Mule
 coIt-How Senator Vest RequIted a
 Courteous Act-When War Waged
 Desolation - Caught Them Both Ways-Reaten by Sixth of Vote. Copyright. 1902. by Champ Clark.I When Senator Joe Blackburn returned to Washington last spring to re-enter the house of the conscript fathers after an enforced retirement of four years, he was joyfully welcomed to the finest capital in the world" by Swo of his old schoolmates, now occupying high sta tions and who easily rank among the | most illustrious citizens of the republic, MT. Justice John Marshall Harlan of | the supreme court and George Graham Vest, the brilliant junior senator from | Missouri. It is an interesting historical fact that these three distinguished men, all redheaded, and another red headed statesman of equal renown, R. | Gratz Brown, were in their youth classmates at an old fashioned high grade academy at Frankfort, Ky. The quartet were all destined to high ca | reer.
 Vests Story.
 When Senator Vest was in his prime, he was the prince of stump speakers He excelled in every feature of that difficult sort of oratory. He used logic, learning, sarcasm, irony, wit, humor, eloquence. As an anecdote teller in public speaking he never had a supe- | rior.
 Up till the last few years all kinds of independent parties or political side shows 1eurished in Missouri. The | Granger movement" 'the Tadpoles," l the Greenbacke etc, made life burdensome to the Democrats. Vest is Democrat of the straightest sect" and in his speeches he laid on and spared not. He was as merciless In rid icule as Voltaire himself. One of Nests opponents on one occasion twitted him | with the fact that prominent Demo crat had deserted his party. "Oh, yes," replied Vest, 'the hereditary enemies of the Democratic party laud every Democrat who deserts to the Tadpoles as a great man and prominent citizen. will tell you about that. When l was q boy and was living in Frankfort, Ky, there was an old fellow named Bill Jones who got drunk every time he came to town. One day by the time he was satisfactorily primed the rains had raised the Kentucky river till 1t Nas rushing torrent. He had to e9Oos 1t to get home, and people tried t0 diusuade him from such an idiotic performance, but go he would, and go he did. He mounted his old slab sided mare, followed by a diminutive mule eu1t, and boldly plunged into the river which carried him, the old mare and the mule colt over the dam, and they disappeared in the whirlpool below. Folks upon the bank watched in vain for them to come to the surface. Tax ing 1t for granted that Bill was drown ed, the citizens dragged the river to hnd his body, fired cannon to make the corpse rise and did all the things usu- ally done on such mournful casions. At last, In sheer despera ton, they gave up the attempt and settled down to the conclusion that Bill had fioated down into the Ohio. But the next Saturday he rode Into town, chipper as ever, and ready for another spree on his old
 mare, but minus the mule colt So citizens gathered about him and told how they had moUrned him for dead. Oh said Bill, I got out all right So did my old gray mare, and all l lost was that measly mule coltr And so in this case" concluded Vest, i've have not lost a prominent citizen, an infiu- ertial Democrat, but a scrubby politi- cal mule colt"
 A Graceful Deed.
 To hear certain persons who desire office but can't get it, talk, politics is sad business and hardens the human heart to such an extent that Pharaoh's by comparison was soft. According to these doctrinaires, all politicians are bad lot, utterly destitute of the milk of human kindness and with no more sense of gratitude than a marble stat ue. It Is real pleasure to undeceive them.
 However that may be, the following anecdote will convince all who are con- yincible that Senator Vest is not an ungrateful man:
 He and John D. Stephenson of St. Louis were both elected to the Missou- Il legislature in 1860. Vest was easily leader of the southern sympathizers, and Stephenson was one of the leaders of the unconditional Union men. But they were close personal friends. No- where on this continent was debate more savage, feeling higher or excite ment more tense than in the Missouri legislature in 1S60-61. When war be- gan, Vest cast his fortunes with the oDI ho
 ion army, rising to the rank of major general. Tn the early stages of that un- happy conflict General Stephenson cap tured Boonville, Vests home town, while the latter was far away fighting with "Old Pap" Price. Mrs. Vest was very sick at home. General Stephen son, hearing that and remembering his personal friendship for her husband, placed a guard about her house to rro- tect her from harm and to prevent her and her little babe from being disturb cd by unwonted noise. It was a grace full deed by a noble man which bore good fruit after he was in his grave. Senator Vests Revenge.
 , It's an old saying that "the whirli- gig of time brings its own revenges." | It Is an amazing fact that nobody ever , thought to say that the whirligig Of time frequently brings splendid exam ples of gratitude" but 1t does all the same. Thirty four years after General , Stephenson protected Vests wife and , child from the. horrors of war the brave old general went to his reward, full of honors, but poor in this worlds goods.
 Ills aged widow applied to congress for
 a pension such as had been granted the
 widows of General John A. Logan,
 General Frank r. Blair and other dis tinguished Union volunteer major gen erals. The professional economists in the senate made a hard fight against , the bill. Vest, remembering General SteDhenson's kindness to his dear ones