Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-12-12

| Match In ga ca Curia&i:y shop
| keercr-or.c as - CaI.ties.
1t Is proh Mo j..t no american has
in rcoc'.t YES - no. a. coached
to the Old 'oHl LET wit" in the sense
that Theodore / Ok and SIDNEY Smith
were wits as the la;e Thomas Bracket
Reed, the eX-speal:,r nj the house Of
representatives. lis casual epigrams
Were telegraphed all over the country
as matters oI news. and just as the
casual sayings of Hook. Smith and
| Charles l.a'ih are classics today so Mr.
Reeds sayings viii probably long con-
tinue to he remembered. says a Wash
ington special to the New York Times.
His last known utterance of this kind
| his last illness. 1t summed up the anti
| trust agitation from his standpoint
| He was talking with one of the house
leaders about the antitrust programme.
and the leader asked him what Ii"
| thought was to be done.
"You have a golden opportunity" re-
piled Mr.. Reed in his worst drawl.
IAN indetinable something is to be done
in way nobody knows bow and at a
time nobody knows when. That, as
understand it, is the programme against
the trusts. The opportunity is so broad
should think you could not miss it,
Not long ago Mr.. Reed was in Wash,
ington to appear before the supreme
court He arrived before the court did
and had to wait. There were a good
many other onlookers and lawyers in
the same rredicament, and some of
them began TO manifest Impotence.
Finally one of them. who knew Mr..
Reed, leaned over TO him and said.
"Mr. Speaker. can't you count quo
rum
A look of offended surprise came over
the eX-speaker's round face. Sir said
he in tones OF stern rebuke, You forget
that when l counted a quorum there al
ways was Il quorum"
One of Nj. Reeds visits to WASHING
ton was made just after the withdraw
al of his successor. Speaker Henderson,
from the congressional race in Iowa. \
newspaper correspondent espied Mr..
Reed standing Oh the opposite side of
the street contemplating the sky. The
correspondent knew that it would be a
difficult matter to induce Mr.. Reed to
talk about his successor. so instead of
accosting the eX-speaker at once he
walked up and down the block for five
minutes framing an appeal which
should touch the Maine mans heart.
Having composed an artful, skillful
address, he crossed the street to where
Mr.. Reed was still standing. 1t was his
intention to prevent Mr.. Reed from in
terrupting by pouring out his entire ar
gument, explaining the reasons why it
was patriotic duty for Mr.. Reed to
talk before the latter could get in a
word. He carried out his scheme Sue
cessfully, It took three minutes to de-
liver the address, and Mr.. Reed did not
get chance to interrupt. 1t was such
convincing argument that the CORE
spondent did not see how Mr.. Reed
could refuse to talk.
Mr.. Reed seemed moved. Instead Of
abruptly refusing to talk, as had at first
been his evident intention, he looked up
at the sky and began to think. The
correspondent knew enough not to dis
turb the current of Mr.. Reeds thoughts.
For three or four minutes the ex-speak-
er gazed at the sky with meditative
air. At last he slowly brought his gaze
back to earth, cleared his throat and
spoke.
THAT cloud" said he, indicates that
we are going to have rain"
In the summer Of 1891 Mr.. Reed
went abroad and while in London sat
for his portrait to the famous painter
John Sargent. During the winter fol-
lowing the finished portrait was sent
to Washington and duly hung IL the
lobby of the house. His colleagues
looked at. it and shook their heads ST.
lently. Visitors to the capitol were
taken around by the guides and shown
the last addition to the gallery Of por-
traits of ex-speakers and expressed
their opinions also.
Mr.. Reed was seen one day to 60 out
into the lobby and stand for several
minutes before. his portrait and then
return to his seat. A newspaper mali.
who had observed this, took occasion
to see him later and ask him what he
thought of the portrait.
''Wells" he replied in his well known
drawl, II may have done so poorly
here as to deserve to be remembered
by that picture, but am taking COOL
deal of consolation from the thought
that everybody says it is a fine por-
trait, but very bad likeness.
During Mr.. Reeds last years in the
house there was keen demand from
publishers of magazines for his manu-
script. The offers for his ideas on al
most any public question We're some
times phenomenal, and If he had been
a more strenuous individual In his lit
'erary habits he might have added
large sums to his income. On one or'
% sion news came that the state OF