The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-03


.low-residents OF the Mountain State
should know me. Many OF 'cm do.
There's a full half-million folks in
this city and State that know all about
Caleb Conover. They know he's on
the squire. that he'll look after their
interests, that he's white man. They
know he's n man they can trust in
their public life and welcome in their
homes. And. as 1 said, there's lot
of these people here tonight.
But there's a lot of other folks here
who only know me by what SANDER
and Jokes they've picked up around
town or in the out-of-Stntc newspapers.
It's these latter folks I'm talking to
now. | want them to know tho real
me; not the uneducated crook and
iliterate Teller my p'litical enemies
have made me out. They can't think
I'm all bad, or they wouldn't be my
guests. Would they. now? And
little frankness ought to do the rest.
Some people say I've risen from
the gutter. Well, I've risen from It,
haven't I? A lot Of men on Pompton
Avenue and in the big clubs are just
where they started when they were
born. Not step in advance of where
their fathers left IN. Swell chance
they'd have had II their parents had
started EN- in the gutter as mine did,
wouldn't they? Where'd they be now?
What does the start amount to-?
The finish lines where the scores
counted. Gutter or palace
ga mans man for a. that says @
poet by the name of r. Burns. And
he was right, even If he did waste his
time on versc-stringing. Only it al
ways seemed pity to mo those words
measley poet. Some one whose name
carried weight. and whose words would
be Quoted more. Because then moro
folks might hear of It and believe it.
! don't suppose one person in ffty's
ever heard of this r. Burns person.
q never did, myself. till I bought
Famous Quotation book to use in ono
of my campaigns. That's how l got
familiar with the writings OF r. Burns
and Ibid and Byron and all those
rhymer people) Now. If some puulic
character like Tom Piatt, or Matt Quay.
or some one else that-everybodys heard
OF. had said that quotation about a
man being a mani
Caleb paused to gather up the loose
threads of his discourse. This caused
him a moment Of dull bewilderment,
for he was not accustomed to digress,
either In mind or talk and the phenom-
enon puzzled him. He rallied and went
on:
But that isn't the point was
telling you about myself started in
the gutter. just as the knockers say
l did. Or down by the freight yards
and that's about the same thing. Ny
1m1otheE ..t toek in washing-when she
was ten-he was stevedore-:.nd no
oleo there was brought up on a
street where the feller-man or bow
VINO couldn't fight had to stay indoors
ana 1hdoors was one place never stay
az oil
q. elevators; then I got job firing
on last freight, and from that took
-, 70 praKlhg on a local passenger run.
linen was yardmaster and then in
the suprintendents office, and then
came the job of superintendent ana ar
ter mat general manager and work
60 my way up till ran the G. G. e. x
Ioaa slngle-handed. Meantime I was
. .U,. after your city's interests
once as Mayor. for the boys knew they
couiu pank on me. l got hold Of in
terests here and interests there Chean
Fun-down interests they were. for tho
most part, but 1 built 'em IN. Take
the g. G. & x. for instance. Bigeest
roao IN the State to-day. How'd It
get SO! made it.. 1t was all run
ton,, t and on its last legs when I
look hold. I acquired it and"
e
mat queer tendency 10 let sin his
grasp on his subject.
remember that C. G. & X. dea]n
" whispered Greer to his wife, .He- inr-
sied shares and pulled wires and snread
calamity rumors till he was mile To-
smash the stock down to a dollar-ten
per He scared out all the other bir
FOLDERS. gobbled their stock. reor.
sanized. and reaped a clean five million
IN the deal"
"Hush" retortcd Mrs. Greer. .~rh,s
$ TOO rich to miss. must remember
t all. TO-"
$50, you see" Caleb was continu-
ng, i fought my way up. Every NOV,
vas a fight, and every fight was a
yin, That's my motto Fight 10 win
IN II you don't win, let it he vo,,r
xecutor, not you, that knows Won lost
SUIT the biggest fight OF ali was ~
ONE. controlled the city. I he1ned
ontrol the State. had ali the mnpev
ny man needed, and / was sncnding
right here in the town where +
'as earned. l was a successful man
tut the man who's satisfied with sue.
ess would be satisfied with failure.
ma wasn't satisfied
JNnV