The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-11
THE LATE SENATOR VEST.

Vest. 1t kept Benton in the Sen
ate thirty years and Vest was given
the toga until ill-health forced him to
retire to private life. 1t is rare that
any State neglects it's public men who
possess great ability if they belong 20
| the dominant party in the State. While
| there are not wanting cases of in
gratitude in Republics, Mr.. Vest never
felt it. From his young manhood,
Missouri to practice law, Mr.. Vest
has been conspicuous figure in pub
| lie life in his adopted State. He
served in the Constitutional Conven-
ton to act on the question of the rel
! atoms of the State and Federal gov
ernments He was recognized as the
Header of the State Rights party in
the Legislature and when war was
declared took sides with the South.
He served in the Confederate House
! and Senate with ability. After the
war he resumed the practice of the
law at Sedalia, Mo-, and built up
a large law practice. Though in his
twenty years service in the Congress
of the United States and his four
years service in the Congress of the
Confederate States he delivered not a
few great speeches and wrote his name
in large letters in the legislative his
tory of his country, it was as an adj
vocate before the jury that he was at
| his best. 1t was because of his sur
passing eloquence before a jury that
| he became a resident of Missouri in
stead of California. He was the son
of a Kentucky mechanic and started
to California to seek his fortune. He
enjoyed the best educational advantages
Kentucky afforded, and had been IL
censed to practice law. His party
was detained at Boonville, Mo-, on the
way to the gold fields and at that
point when he was called by a slave
owner to defend in court a negro
charged with the murder of white
woman and her two children, he was
glad to get the fee. Vests eloquence
succeeded in clearing the prisoner, but
the case was promptly carried up to
Missouri's Supreme Court-that is,
before Judge Lynch-and the verdict
of the jury in the court below was
overruled. The culprit confessed his
guilt and was given short shrift an
the stake. Then the mob turned its
attention to the daring young lawyer
| from Kentucky, and he was given
| tWenty-four hours to leave town. His
reply was to open law office in the
village the very next day. The order
| of the mob aroused his antagonism,
and he then and there gave up his
| California dream. The grit of the I'M
known young lawyer gained the re-
| spect of the rude population, his sur
passing elouuence thrilled them, and
popular lawyer in Missouri He had
humor of unique kind, ;le had gem
uine eloquence, he loved men, horses,
dogs-all things animate, and he had
| the courage of a lion. AS a specimen
| of his natural eloquence, as shown in
an extempore speech, the following
! plea, embracing an eloquent tribute
to the dog, before a jury in a case in
which one man sued another for
damages inflicted by a dogs bite, is
regarded as his best:
Gentlemen of the jury, the best
| friend a man has in the world may
| turn against him and become his enc
| my. His son or daughter that he has
reared with loving care may prove I'M
grateful. Those who are nearest and
dearest to us, those whom we trust
with our happiness and good name,
may become traitors to their faith.
The money that a man has he may
Hose. 1t flies away from him perhaps
when he needs it most. A mans repu-
tation may be sacrificed in a moment
of ill-considered action. The people
who are prone to fall on their knees
to do us honor when prosperity Is
with us may be the first to throw the
stone of malice when failure settles its
cloud upon our heads.
"The one absolutely unselfish friend
that a man can have in this selfish
world. the one that never deserts him,
the one that never proves ungrateful
| or treacherous, is his dog. mans dog
stands by him in prosperity and in
poverty, in health and in sickness. He
will sleep on the cold ground where
the wintry winds blow and the snow
drives fiercely, if only he may be near
his masters side. He Will kiss the
| hand that has no food to offer He
will lick the wounds and sores that
come in encounter with the roughness
of the world He guards the sleep OF
| his pauper master as if he were a
| prince. When all other friends desert
! he remains. When riches take wings
and reputation falls to pieces he is as
constant in his love as the sun in its
Journeys through the heavens. If for
tune drives the master forth an out
cast in the world, friendless and
homeless, the faithful dog asks no
higher privilege than that OF accom-
panying him, to guard against danger,
to fight against his enemies.
"And when the last scene of all
comes. and when death takes the mas
ter in it's embrace, and his body is laid
away in the cold ground, no matter
if all other friends pursue their way,
there by his graveside will the noble
| dog be found, his head between his
paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert
watchfulness, faithful and true even
! in DEATH
In 1876 Mr.. Vest was an asp1rant for
| the Governorship, but he was defeat
! ed. In 1878 he was elected to the
| an5 ,apoaipa5 tbara until "a