The Daily soliphone., 1902-04-12

laterss with some sympathetic inter est, but seldom with any serious no tion that he might win. It would be idle now to speculate on the why's and wherefors, for if the general public is not absolutely familiar with every phase and feature of the late campaign, since the story has been so often told in every house and bone. Suffice it to say that Clarke did win, despite all odds, and he won in the open, by free fight on fair field. His race was clean and straight, his battle brave and manly. Those who smiled at his pretensions at the outset had smal,, conception of the invincible courage which is thesvery bedrock of the mans character. But there were many who knew him; many who did not so smile; many who believed in him implicitly and hesitated not to enlist in his behalf. and among all this many there were no dodgers, no skulkers, no laggards, .ncne who were not willing 10 see him throughto the bitter end, wholly devoted to his cause without money and without price.
 And such man has been recently 
 described as austere and naughty, cold and indifferent, etc., etc. Not so. There was never nature more frank, more open, moro honest, more genial, more kind, more candid than bis, and while it is true that there is natural dignity in the bearing of Gov. Clarke, and ofttimes even majesty of manner, by no means in- viting to vulgar familiarity, yet this assures the fact that no honor, how- ever high. thatmay be bestowed up on him in future will be eyer worn unworthily or lose it's luster from bis bearing.
 But what are his equipments for public usefulness?" may be asked. In the first place, his character for incorruptible honesty and absolute integrity stands unimpeached and uuimpeachable, unquestioned and objectionable, openly admitted by all, and attested by long political and official record spotlessly clean.
 Then add to a fine classical educa- toa an immense amount of legal learning, enriched and ripened by long practice, up-to-date and ready for use, and assimilated and classi- fled by as bright a brain as his gem eration has produced. A cultured mind, indeed, is his, not in the sense of the lighter accomplishments, but finely equipped with the profounder wisdom. the fruit of deeper study. To this may be added ready com- prehension of men and affairs, a gift of conception, remarkable no less for swiftness than accuracy, and vc- cabulary wonderful for it's range and DO yer of lucid statement and convey ling argument. His campaign speeches have seldom scared to sem. timental flights, and he has habitual
 
 ly discarded the tricks of the olocu- tionist, wherefore he seldom raises the roof with the ringing cheers and boisterous applause that so often greet the fulminations of tue more fiery orator and platform speaker. But his audiences are alway orderly, quiet and thoughtful. They haven t time to stamp, they are liste ing, and while they listen they also think, and they keep it up long after he has closed and gone. He lays down premises with limpid cleanness, fol- flows it with an argument resistless in its s mp'e fa'raess and. pure logi ', and then drives horne and clenchcs a conclusion from which there is no es- cape, and all in language and terms perfectly plain. clean, chaste Saxon and absolutely fit for publication as they fall from his lips. Otherwise, as campaigner, Gov. Clarke is emi-
 
 nently "tnixer, and when the big joint debates were over, and while the great crowds yet fingered. he