The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-03


 marion County is in the heart of < L .nf.cky. within her borders the <ne,sar grasss begins, moving to the orfhwest and the blue grass
 eda coming from the North <4 ud nast. In Marion County, f1oo. the .'Pennyrile" starts on it's jour &ev to the South and Southwest. ard oniy a step over the Casey county line. 10 the Southeast. the mountains Marion County. situate on beautiful plateau. is Lebanon.
 Whom ne'sr a town surpasses
 For honest men and bonny iasses.
 At Lebanon resides in serene retire- nent. in the enjoyment of all the feiie. tty that comes to the man oI splshu" Intellect and brilliant imagination. ]. Proctor Knott. the scholar. the orator. the poet. the turist. the statesman. am Induced to write something VI this xra nj because of some sloyenly stun \ MT. William E. Curtis has given the public concerning him In recent syndi- cate writings. A Mir. Dexter Marsnab also dropped into more or less notion on fl1s same subject some weeks ago dtruifying the Pat Donan claim 10 Knott's humor, and declaring that the < Du1uth speech finished Knott's hopes as a lawyer. Here Is what Curtis says;
 "A bin granting a tract of land to fhe Bayfield, and St. Croix Railroad pe- irx under consideration MT. knotI inspired ,by It's opponents, made VII ~ ana satirical speech. which is un- enrnassed in Congressional literature, It Is a Singular fact that the Kentucky RnpreHantatave' reputation for wit and satire rests upon no other foundation' fze never made funny speech before or since. although he was known Tor h1s good stories and his abilitY as a minnic- An eccentric and brilliant lrish advenxurer named Pat ,Donan, who was connseted with newspapers in the Northwest at different times. always clzl1ned to be the author of the speech. and Mr Knott never took the trouble fo make a formal denial. 1t is entire iv probable that Donan. who was, em- pIoyed in Washington at that time in the interests of rival project. gave Mr. nnott the suggestion and the in- formation upon which his speech was based but Donan claims that he wrote If and that Proctor Knott committed 1t fo memory from his manuscript.
 aTIoxv&ver that may be. the speech afa,,6s as a model Of wit and satire, nhd what was intended to be ridicule has since become prophecy. MT. knott cnristened Duluth as The zenith City of the Unsalted Seas;" He described It's unlimited resources in ironieai terms. but, strange to say. the deyel- onu,nnf of what was then imaginary wealth has become an actual, tangible fact NIr. Knott's speech reads very strangely in the light of the present prosperity and commercial activity or the eitv.-
 I. Proctor Knott was born in Marion fr a cated man. and the scope of his learn ine embraces most of the literature that has value In the unarts of intel lecfuaf exchanges. At the age of fwentv he became a citizen of Mtssou- ii. and the following year he was ad- uftted to the bar of that State. In ia- ter years his powerful arguments fn Congress against the fourteenth anaendment to the Federal Constttu- lion extorted from Jeremiah s. Black inc extravagant compliment that pro- founder exposition of the American nolEty of government had never been rnade in either branch of the Ameri- can Congress.
 At the age of twenty-seven Knott was returned to the House or ReoTs- seutatives of the Missouri Legislature Trapeachment proceeding was institut- a arainst an official of the State gov eminent and Knott was appointed lead er of the Board of Managers selected bv the House to conduct the trial In fhe Forty-fourth Congress he was leader of the Board of Managers, VaS accused Secretary sof War Belknap at inc bar of the Senate. So greatly 1.d knott. then twentY-seven years cd. distInguish himself in the Missouri inpeachment ease he was appointed 10 supply the vacancy in the office of At torney General of Missouri. position to which he was chosen by the ! 1opte at the succeeding election.
 The war overturned the real State government of Missouri and Knott re- turned to his old Kentucky home In 1883 and opened ailaw office at Lehan- non. Tn 1Ss7--until 1870 Kentucky ahose Congressman in the month of August after the term began on the preceding March--Knott was elected 1 member of the Fortieth Congress. Ali of the Kentucky delegation were Democrats, and all but Matt Adams, who had been a major in the Union army. were denied their seats It was In times when thrift and loyalty were twfn--when nothing was odious but treason Finally, in sheer shame, all the Kentucky delegation, but John Young Brown, were seated. though they stole John D. Youngs seat and gave 1t to Sam Mckee. Brown was not