Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1909-06-18

entitled % the sobriquet OF The man
who never forgets'' il Is Thomas p
I Gore. the blind senator from Okla
homa- He might have also. and r-op-
eriy, TIE nickname OF the man who
never sleeps" The attention If the
United States recently has been drawn
10 Senator Cores remarkable mauorv
by Il demonstration II it the other dar
on the floor Of the senate. Senator
Lodge Of Massachusetts the dav before
had concluded long tariff speech in de-
fense Of the New England cotton man
ufacturers. in which be took issue with
several statements made ten DAYS pre-
viously by Senator Gore as to the prot
its made IL this business.
Senator Gore arose in his seat and.
relying solely on bis memory. although
he has Z habit when speaking Of hold
ing 4 manuscript in his hand as II
reading from il. replied At length. en-
ploying figures and statistics with
which no ordinary man would tax his
memory. In the course Of that speech
Senator Gore took up seriatim a dozen
firms by name, giving their capital
stock, their surplus. their earnings.
the par value Of their stocks and
host OF other fiscal incidentals 4 man
with eyes would never have trusted
his memory with such a series Of facts,
especially when be knew thar his an
tagonists were eagerly drinking IN ev-
cry word in the hope OF catching him
IN a misstatement OF fact
This feat Of memory by the blind
senator IS not his greatest perform
ance. II would be hard to designate
any one act OF memor!zation on his
part as greater than several others
which might be mentioned For in
stance, when he was & boy Of sixteen
years OF age, his friends say. he could
repeat any ordinary speech after hear
ing II read twice. Senator Gore IS now
only thirty nine years If aga and at
that time had been blind only 4 few
years He had acquired the power of
concentration. however. even ar that
age. and this is the secret Of his great
memory.
1t Is Of record that Senator Gore con
ceived his senatorial ambition at the
age Of twenty when one # his friends
read to him q debate IN the senate
from a Congressional Record. He has
gained all OF his knowledge cf men
and events since then through friends
and relatives and particularly his wife
through reading and conversation
Given an even chance in the senate. he
has already demonstrated that be has
no superior and few equals as ready
debater on any subject which may be
broaehed. He has q faciIe knack for
making innocent remarks with sting
10 them. When Senator Smoot OF
Utah recently challenged q broad
statement Of Senator Cores about the
profits Of the cotton industry Senator
Gore astounded him by doing practi-
cally what he did 10 Senator Lodge.
quoting a long list Of firms and profits
10 Offset which the senator from Jtah,
who is in possession Of all his tacuI-
ties. could from sheer aStonishment
offer nothing In reply.
How does Senator Gore memorlze!
II is his habit Of life. Nothing escapes
him which comes from word Of mouth
in his immediate vicinity. Before ne
went to Washington he had a library
in his home in Oklahoma Of probably
600 volumes. II is said Of him that ne
could 90 10 any bookshelf IN that II
brary and pick out the book he want
ed by feeling Of IL Now that Ihls IL
brary is increased. and he has gone 10
new quarters In the senate once oullu-
ing he is not quite so familiar VIII
the lay Of his belongings. 0ul he can
describe any book he owns. even 10 lls
color and texture. so that any one en-"
can find II. and he can detect the
wrong book when put into his manu- L
II Is one he has ever held before
When he wants material for speech
his memory tells him where 1t can Dc
found If he has ever beard OF lle SUI
iscr before. He has those portions reau
IN him which are Of the most o=neA'
70 his argument at issue. II the! are
figures he may have them read IN.ce-
r,urfng the following days and nIslls
they are turned over many times III lle
course of memorization and arrange
ments in logical sequence FOR deii' eE!-
Tnless the speech is long deiayeu ~
delivery it is not necessary lot 'Ie
LI,n5 senator 70 refresh his memor!
by rereading Of the facts OF ms ar
a,,rant He can carry them for days
and months. and If sufficiently lmpoF,
-ant he never forgets them Ihe COTTON
6gures which he recently quoted 10
ators Lodge and Smoot Eere reau -
Senator Gore twice. ,,.,
Not long ago Senator Galillisel
songht TO confound Senator Gore .;
an ant quotation from Macbeth JUN
os the human mind can form sen
tance Senator Gore retorted us az
equally apt quotation from the ,,s sal-s
+raaadv which put Senator Galiingei
,I.+erIv to rout Senator Gore. II Trans
r,ras has not been any more u
S+,,d.nt of Shakespeare than Oh
araI other authors; but having had tne
tragedy read TO him at some tllne ~ !.
-. NO sooner was one part Oh II