Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1902-12-12
STORIES ABOUT REED
Incidents In the Famous Ex-
Speakers Career.
AHExArPLE OF BIB SELF CONTROL

Pension
When Thomas b. Reed. the former
speaker Of the house. was In congress,
be was the subject Of many anecdotes,
among which may be cited the follow
ing:
On one occasion Congressman Charles
w. McClammy Of North Carolina said
to Speaker Reed: -..
tom, won't you. for goodness sake.
recognize me and give me chance to
abuse you and call you a car. auto
crat and all that and denounce your
All those Alliance fellows are raising
Cain down In my district, and | am
liable to be beaten. ] must have some
thing to show up 70 my people, and the
most popular thing is to pitch into
YOU" e..
"All right" said Speaker Reed.
There will be big crowd In the house
tomorrow and It viii be a good oppor-
tunity for you"
The next day, In great and lustrous
gathering IN the hall OF representatives,
Mr.. McClanmy got "the eye of the
speaker and was Recognized" In the
drawing remark Of the high function
airy:
.'The gentleman from North Caro-
lima"
Then, Mr.. McClammy., with waving
arms and indurated throat, proceeded
to arraign the speaker and give him
Hail Columbia. ,.
Meanwhile the speaker stood with
his fat hands resting upon the handle
Of his world renowned gavel his big,
round. immovable countenance turned
toward McClammy and his small, IN
blinking eyes fixed upon the North
Carolnian In his Evolutionary agoniza-
ton while the latter shook his fist at
the chair and denounced him In the
strongest terms OF the Carolinian vo-
cabulary that could be used within the
parliamentary limits. The thousands
Of people present enjoying the scene
| wondered at the self control Of the
speaker and the calm way In which he
called mp a new point OF business after
the breathless Carolinian took his seat
In a roar Of applause from the Demo
cratic and southern side Of the house.
Some time afterward McClammy
met Mr.. Reed In the house restaurant
and said: II am much obliged. Mr..
Speaker. for the chance you gave me-
but am afraid the effort did not
reach. guess those people in my dis
trict have done me up In spite OF II
all"
Yes" said Mr.. Reed. between a bite
Of pumpkin pie and swallow Of milk
II thought that would be the case
You had 4 great opportunity. and you
did not take advantage Of 1t. You
thought you did. but you didn't. You
don't know the rudiments Of vitupera
ton. You we're about as offensive as a
sucking dove. Why didn't you consult
Crisp and get some pointers before you
4 sailed inY'
I THE members Of the last two con
crosses viii recall the smooth shaver
visage Of former Speaker Reed" sale
an old attache Of the house to n re
porter. "nnd the older members viii
likewise remember that Reed at on,
time wore a mustache Of few strag
Cling hairs. 90 often seen on the upper
lips Of extremely heshy men. How
Mr.. Reed parted with bis hirsute apol
ogy can best be told by a certain bar
Der In the house Of representative,
who attended to that gentleman'i
wants
zone day the big man from Main,
settled himself in the BARRIERS chall
and requested q shave. When tn,
operation was completed. Mr.. Rec
4 Btraightened himself and asked, 'Hav,
you any Of that old fashioned pomad'
/ to wax mGstaches WITH
: ''rhe barber hustled among his pot
and Jars and produced French prep
aration in vogue n quarter Of centur.
ago, and then proceeded to wax thu
ends Of the Maine statesman's few
wirelike hairs
when the man Of snapshot sen
fences arose and contemplated himsel
In the glass, he turned to the aston
tshed barber and said, Cut this blank
ed blank mustache Oh. for you hav
made me look like COMPOUNDED cat
fish,
'Since then Mr.. Reed has not worl
any covering beneath his nose"
When Thomas B. Reed first entere'
congress in 1877. he received the treat
ment which "a usually accorded to new
members and was appointed on tn
committee ON territories. Afterward
In the Fifty-frst congress. when new
member came to him and compliance
because Mr.. Reed. the speaker, had pu
him oh the committee ON agriculture
Of which lie knew nothing. Reed said:
"Oh. don't mind. You probably know
as much about It as I did about the du
ties required Of me in my first CON
mittee appointment. When first cam
to congress. ! was made a member Q
the committee on territories. and
, wouldn't have known territory If
had met one walking down Pennsylvs
MID avenue"
When Mr.. Reed wss a candidate fo
speaker in the Fifty-frst congress,
three Of his competitors were the lat
President Mckinley, Mr.. Burrows no,
d United States senator, and Geners
Henderson Of Iowa, who was subs,
quently elected speaker. all of whol
had served in the Union army. Towar
, the last the contest became rattle
warm, and the friends Of one Of the'
, candidates raised an objection again