The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-11-12
CARINACk
How Washington Viewed the Habit
For Which He Died

Z WASHINGTON. Nov. PA bullet
sped yesterday through the cIayerest
mead and shattered the most brilliant
brain in Tennessee.
There are those, northward. who
may regard this as hyper5Ole, but
south Of Mason and Dixon's line no
enc will. The man VINO was murder
ed in Nashville or Monday vas the
most brilliant man the south has sent
10 the senate those twenty years. the
most brilliant man any State mas sent
TO the senate in his time.
Tall, 1.-THE, handsome TO look at, viii
an insouciant grace that approached
recklessness, and with a biting free
dom Of tongue like Charles Summers
0arnack of Tennessee invited the
fate of Sumner and fulfilled IL 10 the
uttermost, which Sumner did not. Tie
cause OF his death was far more triv-
ial than the almost infinitesimal wit
ticism which invited Brooks attack ON
Sumner, and yet 1t sufHced fer his
death.
To one who has known Carmack
and known the lively and bitter wit
that garnished all he said. 1t seems
surprising that he should have died
merely for a mild criticism, and not for
one Of those tremendous Hudhras sar-
casms he threw SO often at his foes.
For instance, Senator Foraker
might nave been stirred beyond re-
straint by the unprintable, or hardly
printable, onslaught which Carmack
made upon him in the senate just be.
fore his term ended. Though The Con-
gressional Record prints the speech,
no other publication can.
Or Dolliver. lately the Rooseveltian
choice for vice president of lac Unit
cd States, might have taken exception
TO a murderous point to Carmack's de-
scrirtion of him as monkey; and yet
.Garnlack never used that offensive
word in his descriptiG.-ail he did was
10 delineate the characteristics of a
monkey, aIlude casually to Deliver in
his opening. and let It go al that.
And now he dies merely for describ-
ing man as mixer of soda and vino
gar and dies apparently for that Of
Tense alone.
In all probability Carmaek was the
wittiest man who ever entered the
United States senate. His wit was
not forced, rs the wit of so many Con-
sressional humorists is; on the con.
trary, Carmack's wit shone best when
he had had no chance for preparation
and when some assault of the moment
evoked his battery. He never prepar-
ed speech; the glories Of wit that
reused the joy even OF Republicans
were eXtemporaneous. almost always,
and challenged always by some incau-
tious attack from the other side.
No man on the Democratic side has
gone down to defeat recently with so
general regret on the Republican side
as we'll as on his own. They have all
been looking forward TO his return,
and there has been no craftsmanship
about it. When Taylor beat him It
was looked upon as momentary aber.
ration, and his secure return to Fra.
zier's seat was never doubted here. 1t
would be hard for any other man SO
long gone from Washington to die
and leave so deep agvoid
Though Col. Cooper was the man
for attacks upon whom ex-senator
Carmack was killed, the leader of the
anti'CarnEack faction was not Col.
Cooper, but Gov. Patterson, a young
man in politics.
Patterson has only recently been
the chieftain of the anti.Carmack fore.
IS. while ago the name generally
associated with that leadership vas
that of ex-Gov. Benton McMillin.
When Senator Taylor ran for Car.
mack's place in the senate McMillin
was regarded as Carmack'S leading RI
val, McMlllin going down to Mexico
for few months vacation, came back
to Tennessee with the announcement
that he was out for Camack's seat:
that his health was fine: that he had
taken n bath every day, and some.
times twice day, an was in great
shape physically. This report was car.
ried to Carmack for reply.
81 am doomed" said Carmack, "a
hatred for me that would cause Ben
ton McATillin to take bath every dav,
let alone twice day. must be as bit
ter as fate and as mrelenting as
nnrelenting as DEATH"
His bitter wit was shown at the ex.
pense of all his antagonists, except,
strange to say, the nun whose son
murdered him, at whose expense it
was comparatively light When OK.
Gov. Clarke, now Senator from Ar