The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-07-24

Famous Orators in Presidential Campaigns


= to correct it If labor could do it Whe-
| Their it has been corrected or not. { NJ
| small part of my life has been spent
/ in tie attempt"
/ After Clay and Webster, the moss
! popular stump orator OF the first half
] Of the last century Was Thomas Cor
win of Ohio. A born humorist. Cozwfn
at every stage Of his lOag career made
a business Of searching out the 5ocu-
larities OF current issues and using
them 10 tighten the seriousness OF
statesmanship. But hulfor was not his
only gift He possessed also a poetic
sense. which he had cultivated by a
diiigent study OF the best English
poets. and he knew how TO appeal to
the thF0ng- Thus il was that MS
speeches. based on solid political truth,
were also illustrated by wit, BY anec-
dote and by imagery. rich yet simple,
such as the laymGn could understand
CorWin was unsxeeIled as a stump ora
tor while he lived, and his superior has
not appeared since his death The peo-
pie OF Ohio were at his feet and there
was no Office IN their gift that they
did not bestoW upon him His last
years. however, were Swallowed by the
belief that his career had been handi-
capped by his reputation as wit and
humorist. My dear Garfield said he
to the future president, just before his
death. be solemn-solemn as an ass
All the monuments in the void are
built to solemn asses.
Another famous campaign orator Of
sixty years ago was Sergeant :. Prem
tiss, native OF Maine. who there rose
in q space OF time extraordinarily brief
TO a master place at the bar. Prentiss
as an orator was inferior TO Webster
and Clay in vigor and strength. but ne
was the equal OF any man of his time
in the ready eloquence which eapti-
Yates q popular assembly He was
never at a loss for an epigram or
retort- and his iTnpromptu speeches
were his best efforts. Ben: Perley
POore somewhere relates a good story
OF enc Of Prentiss' campaigns in las
adopted state. He had arranged a
route and one Of his friends had gone
ahead 20 make arrangements for hall
in each successive town and 10 adver-
tise the meeting there The proprietor
of travelling menagerie took. advan-
tage OF these congregations and fol-
lowed. exhibiting at each place on the
day that Prentiss spoke. The first in
timation that the orator had OF the
rivalry was at = small town in the
northern part of the state. near the
Alabama line After Prentiss had benn
speaking to his audience, he observed
some Of the outsiders looking over
their shoulders and this movement was
gradually followed by more Of his au-
dience. He began to think he was
growing dull and endeavored to rouse
himself up TO more animation: but II
was al in vain. He at length looked
In the popular direction and there. to
his horror. just coming across the hill.
was an elephant. dressed lin scarlet
trappings and Oriental splendor. A
foolish feeling Of vanity not to be out
done by the elephant came over him
and he continued to talk. Wen, ladies
II 49,. Tn-~A
have the consolation that II was not
BY my competitor. ] viii not knock
under TO any twO-legged beast, but 1
yield to the elephant
Prentiss afterWard made an arrange
ment with the proprietor OF the men,