The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-12-12
FINE BEARD COUNTRY
Champ Clark Hurries to Capital
to Defend Missouri Variety.
IN THE WORLD"
Congressman Cites Two Boards One
Nine and the Other Eleven Feet
lona-Why He Considers Wh'skers
Indices of Character.

Nine and the Other Eleven Feet
lonq-Why He Considers Whiskers
lndices of Character.
Champ Clark, congressman IRON
Pike county, Mo-, is among those VINO
have arrived in washington for the
coming session Of congress, says spe-
cial dispatch to the New York Times.
Some fellow in Washington recently
made the statement that ne knew
man who had a beard seven feet long.
..That's no beard at ALL" said MI.
Clark, and be wrote letter 10 the
washington Post telling about man
in Pike county who had beard as Is a
beard. The public not being fully sat
isfed. the congressman from Pike went
on to Washington two weeks earlier
than he intended to see about 1t.
He gave out an interview on the
subject the other day, and If any one
further questions that Missouri pro-
duces the greatest whiskers In the
world the matter will be brought up
in congress- and a special Investigation
asked for.
"Judge Elijah Gates" said Mr..
Clark, 'has a beard nine feet ana q
half long. BE lives in my county, just
a few miles from my house, and l
know him very well. But his wh1s'
kers are not any special curiosity. be-
cause there is q man a few miles far-
ther down the road who has beard
eleven and q half feet long. This
mans name is Valentine Tapley. |
know him very well.
sThese fellows make me think q
mans character can be told by his
whiskers. Now, Elijah Gates Is pug
nacious kind Of fellow, not scrapper
or a brawler, you understand, but OF
stubborn type Of man. His whiskers
are right stiff, like horses name. But
Valentine Tapley-his are soft as SILK
and Tapley is mild hammered and thor
oughly agreeable, one OF those unan1'
nous sort Of fellows.
"Of course these fellows do not wear
their boards down all the time. They
couldn't do it without tying a knot In
them like q horses tail. But they
wear 'em inside their vests in SIX
bags. Old man Tapley takes his out
once or twice a year for the benefit OF
his neighbors. Old man Elijah Gates
takes his out, too, but only to comb it.
! he has one of those sugar tree COMBS
made for it, and he combs it with
that"
Mr.. Clark has no suggestion OF a
hirsute adornment on his classic face.
No one Is therefore able to read his
character from his beard. II he had
one, though, it would probably not be
soft and silken like Valentine Tap
ley's, for Mr.. Clark is not unanimous.
In addition to this whiskers matter
upon which he Is engaged, he Is pre-
pairing himself for a fight against the
California congressman who have
been trying for several years to put
out Of business the greatest winery IN
the world, which is Pike county, Mo.
They propose to do it by having all
wine in the making Of which sugar Is
used termed adulterated wine or arti-
fetal wine.
.aThis is because out in California
there is a grape, the only one In the
world, which has enough natural sugar
| in it to make wine without any addi-
tional sugar." he said. For several
successive years they have been try
| ing all sorts Of schemes to declare that
the only pure wine.
81 went over to see DR.. Wiley about
this thing several years ago. before we
had any pure food law, when he was
about to declare the wine made with
sugar adulterated under an old statute
which declared that there should be
certain fixed standards Of things, like
yardsticks, gallon measures and 30
| forth.
'aThey introduced bill in congress
next. I killed that. and now they are
going to introduce another, and III
have to fight that"
So 1t Is wine and whiskers which
bring Champ Clark back to Washing
ton, two things which he IS usually
thought to have no interest in at all.