The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1907-07-31

against your practice Of the law viii
be rciAoyrd.'
Senator Morgan went back to hi
family and his plow. and he never
heard anything further of the order.
Senator Morgan was as courteous as
he was able in debate and always low
ed a joke. In the old days he liked
nothing better than to cross swords
with the late Senator Hoar. says the
st. Louis Republic.
ON one occasion Mr.. Hoar vas urg-
ing an important fishery bill in which
the people of New England were inter-
ested. Mr.. Morgan opposed it vigor-
ously. and Mt the end Of his speech
Senator Hoar sarcastically inquired:
"What do the people Of Alabama
know about Goldfish. anyway"
80 much" replied Senator Morgan,
quickly and with the keenest Of smiles,
that II the senator from Massachu-
sets should throw a Goldfish into a ten
acre field Of people in Alabama Il
would dispense them to a man and at
once"
Senator Morgan. who was M Of the
great orators Of the upper house, spent
only three years In school, and those
In his early childhood, says a CORE
spondent Of the P%ittsburg Dispatch.
From 6 to 9 years Of age embraced his
entire academic training, and the most
that he learned In that brief schooling
was Latin. In that one branch he was
thoroughly grounded, thanks also to
private instruction. and to 1t he at.
tributed his remarkably ready com
mand Of the English tongue in long
drawn out debates.
On every public question he discussed
and they were numerous-John T.
Morgan was perhaps the best informed
man in congress. While other lesisla-
tive obstructionists could talk and talk
to consume time. all the while saying
nothing, Morgan's speeches, without q
book or a scrap Of paper to jog his
memory. We're packed full Of informa-
ton, his facts m%arshaled with consum-
mate skill. When the question Of Ha-
waiian annexation was suddenly sprung
upon the country toward the close of
Benjamin Harrison's administration,
Morgan knew more about the islands
than any man in Washington.
When Morgan vas In Paris as q
member Of the Boring sea commission,
LORI! Hammer. impressed by the Ala.
1Cp ,,npo,,, 80 ~sVh13r
questions, asked him Of what univer
sity he was a graduate.
II never saw the inside Of a uni
versity." was the reply.
II beg your PARDON" rejoined his
lordship. "Of course not all Of your
institutions Of learning are called uni
versities. But what college did you
attend-what was your alma materY"
lmagiae Lord Hannen's amazement
when informed that three short years
in a primary school was the nearest
Morgan eve had to Il college training.
Neither vas Morgan a bookworm
AS Il reader he was not remarkable
The secret OF his learning was his
memoir. What he read. II 1t amount
ed to anything. stuck like a bur. He
thought more than he read. and what
ever he studied he mastered.
senator Morgan lived in an Old fash
ioned house in John Marshall place III
Washington. The name of that street
gives an index to Mr.. Morgan's char
acter. writes Il Washington correspond
ent Of the Chicago Inter Ocean. II
used to be -Four and a Half street
which name, Mr.. Morgan contended
and reasonably. vas too long. too clum.
sy and absurd. He picked out John
Marshall, the eXpOundcr Of the cOnsti
tuition. as a fit person to be hOnored
by having u street named after him
and he selected his own street Is the
proper street to carry the name.
Patiently. year after year, he worked
with the district commissioners to have
the name Of the street changed. Con
tinued rebuffs did not bother him
Finally the commissioners changed the
name Of the block In which Senator
Morgan's house stood to John Marshal
place. The senator smiled and passed
on to sc something else. 1t had taken hin
some years to win, but he had o
Mr.. Morgan's wonderful ability t.
grasp a subject in short time was Illus
trated a few years ago, when he was
employed to make an argument In 6
case involving a patent for a moving
machine, says the Philadelphia Press
The client was desperate, and he EN-
ployed Senator Morgan on a friends
advice, giving the senator only six
hours in which to prepare. Mr.. Nor
CAMS argument astOunded the court
and almost paralyzed his client, SC
comprehensive and accurate was his
knowledge Of the details Of mechanics
as applied to that particular moving
| machine.