Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1907-02-22
EULOGY OF A RIVER.
The Tombigbee's GIories ExtoIIed
In the House.
DWARFS GREAT MISSISSIPPI.
Great Enthusiasm Aroused by Repre-
sentative Gamblers Eloquent Plea For
River Appropriation - Members
Hasten to Locate Noble Stream.

sentative Gamblers Eloquent Plea For
River Appropriation - Members
Hasten to Locate Noble Stream.
One Of the most tremendous speeches
In the history OF that body was deliv-
esed IN the house of representatives the
other afternoon. says Washington
Times. The members rose and clIpped
their hands Ia gleeful admiration at
tile eloquence Of Ezekiel Samuel Can
dler OF Mississippi, who spoke as no
man has before spoken upon the beau
ties and the glories of the Tombighee
river. Poor old he Soto, His bones,
washed these 400 years by the Father
OF Waters. were impelled To heaVe in
eavy and regret that the Mississippi
after all these years must be laid in
the shade 10y the grandeur of the Tom
bigbce.
Il love tie Mississippi" declared the
orator. oh. that beautiful name that
we treasure. which We love and to
NhlNh We Nlah-s lslltlt ptttN dipuuh
the tireside al tnsne are taught to sing
its praises and TO speak in reverence
to its virtues. But the Mississippi. my
friends. sinks into nsiguificance in its
grandeur and its beauty when it comes
in comparison TO the Tombigbee'
When the MiSsissippian had used up
his time allowance Mr.. Lawrence OF
Massachusetts asked unanimous con
sent that he be allowed FIVE minutes
longer The chairman departed from
the usual custom and showed that he.
too. was enjoying il when he annOunc-
ed. The chair is pleased to say there is
no objection" All this time the Tom.
bigbee was flowing
My heart goes out in gratitude to
my distinguished friend from MaSSa-
chusetts and also to the members OF
this committee for this great favor"
said Gambler. Il am sure it is prompt,
eI by the interest IN this great river
about which am talking, because we
all know il appeals to the heart OF
every American citizen throughout this
bibdu lbu'l. anu lllt l'-ttN Allsll illts
have tOday--and they have expressed
that regret To me often-iS that il has
been so long neglected. have heard
Its murmuriug waves as they Went
singing their beautiful song toward the
gulf since early childhood. and they
have continued To sing along the path
of my life and have given me inspira
tion to love the beauties of nature and
admire those graudeurs and those glu-
ries that come alone from the. great
creative hand of God above
He explained that the river was wide
10 make 1t little deeper. Then there
would come the roses To blossom and
the birds to sing"
And while the member sat and !
hung upon the eloquent words, won
derine where in creation and what in |
creation the Tombigbee river was.
Ezekiel Samuel Gambler produced a
song, which he said he had intended |
to sing
Sing 1t. Sing itr rang out from all
parts of the house.
IF there was ever time when | !
longed to he able TO sing it is now"
said the speaker amid laughter. In !
that respect my education was neglect |
ed. My good mother ut one time want |
ed me to take music lessons. but ! did |
hot see the necessity for ii. But did !
not know the day would come when | |
should stand here advocating the Tom !
bigbee river. II had | would have /
taken lessons from the best musician |
that II would be possible for me To |
find, and then ! would have been pre- |
should have sung it am satisfied that |
ycu won!d have said. Take your S.. |
100000 because your river is worth ii |
and worth more
He said TIE Tombigbee was the only !
river that had inspired both poet and !
musician.
what about the Wabash?" asked |
Mr. Rainey of illinois,
And what about the Suwaneef" ask /
ed Mr.. Towne of New York.
''I'll tell you all about them in this
song" he replied Then he read the |
song. the singing of which. to the great |
disappointment of the house, he was !
forced to forego The chorus ran;
The Mssissippi's wide and grand
The Suwanee's famed in song,
The waters of the Wabash. too,
Flow merry along,
But all their beauties pale and fade
And have no charm for me,
For / have known since childhood
days
The dear old Tombigbee!
The dear old Tombigbee,
And after loud, long. wild hand
clapping and good laugh the mem-
bers went home toward sunset and
consulted their maps to find the Tom