Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-07-29
PASSING OF CUSHMAN
Quaint Sayings of the Represent
ative From Washington.
WlTTIEST OF CONGRESSMEN.

and the second he was accorded unan-
imously. that he was the wittiest.
There had long been the claim that
Frank Marion Eddy of Minnesota was
the homeliest man in the hall Walk
ing down the aisle one day, Cushman
claimed the speakers attention and
after spread eagle speech that might
have prefaced any subject he turned
toward Eddy and said: "Look us over
compare this face with that Doint-
ing to Eddy and tell me am l not the
homelier?"
Having succeeded to the seat made
vacant 10y James Hamilton Lewis, the
members were anxious to see what
"Jim HAMS successor was like
They saw six feet Of dangling, slim
manhood, Il sober, gloomy exterior
with clothing hanging limp and i'll
fitting.
They gazpd at him for a moment
and then. bursting into . laugh, some
one said, Great hea~anS, do they
raise anything but freaks in Washing
tonY To which Cushman replied
drawling'y. We'll, we try to keep
pace with the rest of this great coun-
try, sir"
When the river and harbor bill was
being discussed and most of the mem
bers had hidden themselves in the
cloakrooms Cushman arose to speak.
No one paid much attention for
awhile. Suddenly some listener awoke
the house with roar of laughter.
Five minutes later the seats were filed
with listeners to one of the witticst
speeches ever delivered there.
]. Adam Bede. who had n reputation
for humor, was once followed in one
Of his wittiest speeches by Cushman,
who said:
"After listening to Mr.. Bede's speech
l am forced TO the conclusion that my
folks subscribed to the same almanac
thai his did"
After ScA A.tIry Hitchcock resigned
from the interior department Cushman
made II speech in which he said,
"Whcn the news of Mr. Hitchcock 5
retirement was sent out there was not
a dry throat west of the mississippi
Telling of his going to congress he
said Il Crept noiselcssly into the hall,
oppressed by the vast gobs of states
manship | knew were To be found on
every conscious Of my own uu-
worthincss except as to the matter Of
dcpulchrude where I knew | was
supreme"
Now ana then Cushman cssayed to
fay the methods of the house. On
one occasion he said. a man who in
troduces bill here puts his manhood
in his pocket and goes trottins down
the aisle to the speakers room-or the
bill dies"
Serene Payne, who. then as now,
was chairman of the committee on
ways and means, came in for a special
drubbing AT Cushman's hands in that
speech, as did General Charles II.
Grosvenor OF Ohio and John Dalzell,
the speakers Republican colleagues on
the committee on rules. 1t was in
that speech that Mr.. Cushman gave
his famous explanation Of why he was
so thin.
Il have behind me an honest but in
furiatcd constituency" he said half
4 million worthy, honest. patriotic pco-
pie, who are demanding and rightfUlly,
that l secure certain needed legisla-
tion for them. That is the pressure on
me from the rear. Then, in this house,
whenever I try TO secure conSiderati ton
Of the matters in which my people are
interested | run up against the stone
wall that surrounds the speaker and
the committee on rules That is the
pressure in front And l tell you
frankly that between the two | have
become thinner than a Cancelled post
age stamp. That is what is the mat
ter with me-"
One Of CushmanS first speeches
made hit in the house In lamentinr
the panic of 1893 he said that his con
stituentS were SO impoverished by the
hard times that they had to live o,
clans washed ashore until their stom-
achS rose and fell with the tide
Here are a few Of Cushman's cpl
grams:
"a great many of our citizens seem
to be possessed of the desire to live
on the installmcnt plan-too many live
swiftly. too few properly"
There are too many Of Us Amer
leans who would rather ride in n
mortgagcd automobile. run with bor-
rowcd gasoline, than walk in the path
of hOuOra hlp ObScuritv
The career of Cushman was typically
American and as typically western
He was born in Iowa I'm 1861 got
village schooling. and. with all his
earthly possessions in a small sized
handkerchief, he tied the corners loose
ly across the top and made for the
boundlcSS west. He landed in Wash
ington ard became water boy for
railroad. Next he was Il section hand.
then a laborcr, later cowboy in Wy
oming, cook in lumber camp
lumberman. sawmill hand and later
a farmer
For five years, when times we're
hardest and fees fewest and smallest.
he was a lawyer In Tacoma.
Troubles Due to Legacy.
We have never known any good to
come of a legacy. Henry got $500 in
the mail one day, and his troubles be-
gan on the spot He bought a horse.
The horse kicked one of the children
and ran AWAY brpalyino rr, IN niphtv