New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-07-12
~ ORATORTC4L HL4TES

Toward the end Of the last session of Con
gress the Hon. Bourke Cochran having slid
into the vacancy which his advocacy of Mr..
Mcclellan for Mayor was supposed in Demo
! cratic circles TO have helped to create. resumed
the role Of orator in chief TO his party and grea
was ITS Joy thereat. When he rose TO address
the House on a controversial topic his col
| leagues were so excited that the chattering of
their teeth would have disconnected a less
resolute speaker, and when he sat down amid
! tumultuous applause doubt was left that
Democracy had found voice To be sure.
thoughts Of ct praeterea nihiI would intrude
but, en- the whole, the opinion of the party,
just entering on Presidential campaign, was
that the value Of its rhetorical acquisition could
hardly be overestimated
Nor was the interest in Mr.. Cochran confined
to his own party. AS the Democratic National
Convention approached, the minds of Repub-
hcans, always generously inclined 10 recognize
superiority in any field of human cndea vor.
were synpathetically attuned to the expected
reverberations from ST Louis The universal
understanding that Mr.. Cochran had been
diligently preparing himself for the greatest
effort of his life, that he would be ready 10
seize the psychological moment and make a
speech of which the world would say as Fox
said of Sheridan's stupendous performance on
the trial Of Warren Hastings: eloquent in
deed it waS-SO eloquent that in comparison
'all that / have ever heard. all that | have
ever read, dwindes into nothing and vanishes
like vapor before the sun" The convention
assembled and the world waited in breathless
expectation. Who could doubt that "the occa-
sion and the man had arrived together?
But the days passed, and the sublime ORATOR.
Iammany's recovered darling and the certified
spokesman of sane and safe Democracy who
was to arouse the nOber emotions of that great
council and then ride IN the whirlwind and
direct the storn-oh. where was he? The only
mention Of his name on the floor Of the con-
vention evoked the mournful response that
he was lost, strayed or stolen. Crisis followed
hard on the heels Of crisis. The agent in charge
Of Judge Parker's interests stopped to gather in
nomination for his principal by conserving to
platform as silent on the silver question as
the candidate had been on every question and
still the long acclaimed champion OF his party's
honor chung to his obscurity. Then sudden and
unforeseen, arrived the crucial moment With
his nomination secured beyond any practical
possibility of its withdrawal. Judge Parker en-
braced the only conceivable chance of escaD-
Ing an ignominious defeat. and in so doing ad-
vertised for a real leader who would dare to
demand that his personal declaration should he
made a part Of the Democratic platform. If
there ever was an opportunity for such a man
as Mr. Cochran had vocferously proclaimed
himself to be- it was presented at that instant
And Mr.. Cochran was-On his way home!
There came from indianapolis yesterday as
pluful confession of ineptitude and plea for
absolution as a man ever uttered 1t was al
most column long, and it was signed with the
name Of W Bourke Cochran