The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-02-28
Personal /.
49, Stories

/ 1uIeS LuSu whose names were at
one time in the mouths of almost ev-
cry American, and who arc spending
their remaining, days in seclusien,
are David Turple, OF Indiana; j..
Proctor Knott, OF Kentucky, and
Roger O. Mills, of Texas. Their.
names are rarely seen In print nova
days, yet they are enjoying life
famonS their books in thelr several
homes. Turpie and Knott we're DEM
Iocrats In the senate and house in the
Edays when the civil war had reduced
that party until 1t had SO few mem,
tbers that it could not demand roll
icaH. Mills came in soon after, and
thSn served as chairman of the ways
lana means committee when the dem
focratS returned to power. :.
Proctor Knott is one Of the most
picturesque men in the country. He
won fame in congress as q humorist,
and that fact embittered his life. He
liked to be funny, but he was also
fserious. A screamingly funny speech
he made in 1870 on the question of
lpaving Pennsylvania avenue ranked
him as professional humOrist. Pro-
test as he would, every time he got
up to speak the house would begin to
laugh, and 1t was no use to be any
thing but frivolous. A year later he
discovered Duluth, Mimi. Duluth
was then an imaginary spot on an
imaginary railroad. In speaking.
against the proposed subsidy for this
railroad, Knott employed an unpar-
lalleled flow OF sarcastic oratory and
described Duluth as the center Of the
universe. Thirty-six years have
passed and Duluth, largely, thanks
| to Proctor knottis advertising, is
1n0y Nrf, Ia
world.
Proctor Knott was born in Ken
ttucky in 1929, and after being adj
Emltted to the bar, went to Missouri
to make his fortune. He had the
lsum of 81 when he arrived at his
destination. He sat on a stump a
while and was lonesome. Then he
went into the country store and
bought s. cents worth Of chewing to-
baccC. He stepped on the scales to
weigh himself and tipped the beam
at nfnety-tive pounds. He likes to
tell how he began life with 95 cents
land ninety-fiVe pounds. In his long
political career Proctor Knott held
many positions Of honor. He was in
the Missouri legislature, and later
lserVed as attorney general Of that
again and again, and also elected
him governor. After teaching law in
centre college, he retired to Leba-
non. ~
| When his old friends drop in there
to see him they can always hear a
good story and have a hearty laugh,
put he prefers his seclusion-mourn-
Ing that world with funny bone
would not permit good joker to be
tserious when he wanted to. Duluth
is proud OF him, and has entertained
MIN as the guest of the city. There
was great race horse named Proc
tor Knott; there are hundreds of
boys named after him, and in the aft.
er-dlnner speeches Of the time there
are lnnumerable mavericks born of
the wit Of the old man who is now
laughing over his books in Lebanon.
| David TurH:e probably would have
been in the senate today had the
democrats held Indiana Beveridge
succeeded him. Mr.. Turp;c is in his
seventy-e1ghth year, and since his re-
urement from public life has devoted
hmself to his books. He has writ
ten charming story Of Indiana life
called Sketches Of My Own Times"
He first went to the senate in 1853
as the successor OF Jesse, d. Bright,
VINO was expelled for disloyalty to
the union. OF all those who were in
the senate then, but one other sur
yves, and he is John 3. Henderson,
OF Missouri. In 1887 Turpie went
to the senate for the second time and
remained twelve years He vas "a
colleague Of the mighty Dan Voor-
hee5 and is known as the most schol-
ariy OF HOOsiers. He was the last
democrat to represent his common
wealth in the upper house Of con-
gress.
Roger Q. Mills lives alone at Cor
s1cana. He Is nearly four score, and
mas permitted the world to wag on