Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-06-24
ORATORY IN THE SENATE
Various Styles Exhibited in the
Tariff Debate.
senator Aldricll ond His 1mitotor,
smoot--Ln Toilette for High Trag.
edy-DolIiver, the orator ,and
Ills Fellow Iownn-The
blind Senator. I,


There are as many styles OF oratory
In the United States Senate as there are
senators who declaim In that body. and
all styles have been displayed in this
tariff debate The main difference be-
tween the Aldrich forces and the pro
gressive" western senators Of the repub-
lean faith Is that the latter possess ia
their ranks the orators. while most of
the Aldrtch men are mere takers. says
a Washington correspondent Of the New
York Post.
Senator Aldrich himself has made one
set" speech since the tariff discussion
began. but II did not SAVIOR Of the orator.
ical He Is too full OF facts and figures.
too intent on the shortcut" to give
vent to a rounded sentence which has
been FURNISHED so as to be worthy OF
preservation as an oratorical gem. Aside
from his language Senator Aldrich has
a peculiar style, equally his own. of get
ting rid Of what he has to say. He has
80 grown into the habit of knitting his
brows that one Of his friends who sat
in the gallery remarked: "Aldrich is
rapidly losing his good looks This fac
uty OF frowning. combined with what
Representative Bennett Of New York has
caused to be known In Washington as
Albany tactics" translated, means
''Never say anything you can't take
back or deny" Senator Aldrich is hard
to tie down.
When somebody else Is speaking. and
says something with which the senator
Is In hearty accord, he will nod his head
vigorously. On the other hand, II he
does not agree with the remarks of the
speaker he will wag his head sideways
which Is the signal for all the Aldrich
camp to go Into action. One Of the
really funny things OF the tariff session
is the effort Of Senator Smoot OF Utah
to copy all of Senator Aldrich's manner
inns. He will lose his temper in debate
and tr as overhearing as Senator AL
drch, II opportunity offers. and he will
wag his head In unison with Senator Aid
rich always taking care however. to see
first which way Aldrich IS wagging.
Neither OF these leading lights has tried
to make long speech without reading
most of his remarks.
LA TOILETTE FOR HIGH TRAGEDY.
From high tragedy the Senate looks
unanimously to Senator La Toilette OF
Wisconsin. The statesman is known the
country over for his histtrionic and ora
torical ability. In the course of his long
speeches he will touch every chord OF
the human emotions. He needs a wide
range OF floor space on which TO enact
bodily what his mind Is thinking. and
his voice Is saying. He will stand erect
and then sink his upper body below the
level OF the desk beside him while he
| raises one OF the Dingley rates. tigura-
lively speaking, from the floor to the
ceiling In illustration Of what he charg-
es Senator Aldrich's committee with hav-
ing done. Let Senators Gallinger, Smoot.
or lldrich interrupt him. and he will
stlfen. bend forward as far as his desk
will let him, and then extending his arm
full length. shake his fist In their faces
while breathing words Of defiance at
them. There are those who think that
Senator La Follette's temperament, as
displayed In his speeches, hurt. rather
than help, his efforts to induce the SEN
ate to adopt his ideas.
A close second to Senator la Toilette
In dramatic delivery is Senator Cunmins
OF Iowa. The Iowan Is not as strenuous
In his delivery, but he mas halting
method OF speaking his words. usually
stopping them in the middle, which,
coupled with a hiCh-ptched. tense voice
and a certain grace OF gesture also robs
him OF some effectiveness In public
speaking. Furthermore. the Iowan is
not quite as thorough on facts and fig
ures rs Senator La Toilette. but Is as
good as any when It comes to stating
off-hand the fundamental principles of
tariff revision. AS he becomes more and
more at home in the Senate, he i'm
proves.
Senator Beveridge OF Indiana Is another
Progressive" who has come to this
tariff debate with more or less per-
functory knowledge Of the question.
The Indianan has not yet offered to the
Senate anything deliberately definite ex-
cept his amendment TO the tobacco sched-
ule. However. Senator Beveridge dress
ed the idea In brand new clothes and
made II sound business-like. AS O basis
for display OF oratory, Senator Beve-
| ridge. who Ia noted for this accomplish
| ment. has been lost In the tariff debate.
He Mas taken the subject as plain,
matter of-fact business proposition. and
refrained from displaying his powers OF
language. Instead the senator has
| taken a new angle After somebody else
has let go OF a high-fown paragraph, he
will rise In his seat. reduce the propo-
sttion to plain English, and remarks:
THAT Is my understanding OF It,"
DOLLIvER THE ORATOR
That senator who has progressed farth-
est along the lines Of real oratorical and
debating ability is Senator Dolliver Of
Iowa. This Iowan, who has voted for
| republican tariff measures for twelve
years back. has made up his mind that
he has been wrong In standing for too
much protection. He has long been In
| training, and now his former member
ship on the House committee on ways
and means is serving him In good stead.
II anybody imagined that the Iowan,
who sat by and saw Dingley. Payne. and
I'alzeli run the Dingley bill through the
House, did not. have his eyes and ears
open, he has found himself mistaken.
When this tariff session came along,
Senator Dolliver had a good foundation
In tariff lore and he had the further ad-
vantage of knowing where to go to find
out what he did not know. As result,
In the short space OF month. he show
ed the Senate that he had a surprising
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