The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1910-05-07

resolutely through rs years of bitter NMM
struggle raised this poor blind Ameri- MWW
can boy to a seat IN the most dstin- MMN
guished law-making body in the world. WN\
although he sometimes lived on the MIN
verge OF starvation Nothing could &\\
snake his determination to be a SEN NM
ator He had no eyes, but he had NJ
tongue. He had no money. but he had mo,
courage. He was obscure but he had M
high ambition. He could not see the
world about him. but he had smile v
70 win It, perseverance to compel &c
ats admiration and support
few months after Mississippi was
feadmitted to the Union in 1870 Thorn
as Pryor Gore was born on an s0-acre
farm 30 miles from the nearest rail- -
way. E
Here the boy grew up among the
creeks and pines. a stocky. eray-eved utt,o f.,
-ow' VINO could outrun any of his comnanions
"nen ne was SIX years old the village of WathaIl
was established in the woods nearby and tbe
Gore family went there to live Young Tom at
~ . smaii scnooi set among the trees out
side OF the village.
At the age of eight years the boys left eva
was blinded by an accidental blow from a stick.
Inree years later he was employed a. a pare in
the Mississippi senate and boarded at the house
o. senator j. q. George in Jackson. One day,
wniie playing with crossbow. arrow entered
MS right eye and destroyed his sight
In spite Of his af1iction young Gore managed
to stand at the head of his class In school and at
the age or II years entered normal school
wnicn was opened Here he gradually became
totally blind yet he mastered the high school
course.
While Gore was attending the high school his
closest companion was a classmate, Charles H.
Pittman. This youth used to read to him. One
DAY they found an old volume of the Congress
sionai Record. Going out to the stable the blind
student would stand for hours while Pittman read
to him the speeches Of the lawmakers at Wash
dngton.
During that winter Gore and his sister taught
school for few months. All the while his moth
er, bedridden invalid, read to him history biog-
raphy and other subjects. connected with his DO
Htical plans. and he would sit by the bed a
strange smile on his blind countenance, dreaming
and brooding and waiting for the day when he
might take part in the great battle Of politics like
other men.
His great chance came in the spring of 1891
The Populist movement was spreading rapidly
and he Joined It, In the state campaign for a
legislature to elect United States senator he
took up the cause Of Barksdale against George
although as boy he had lived in Georges house
The blind orator shrank from no conflict He
even debated with Senator Money, whose tongue
all Mississippi dreaded and who smiled males
tcally when told that his opponent was "a poor.
blind schoolboy." Senator Money declared that
but for his antagonists blindness, he would hold
him personally responsible for his words-a
deadly thing to say in Mississippi Gore prompt
ly replied, Let him then bndfold himself and
will meet him."
In September of that year he went, TO the law
school at Cumberland university Tennessee and
studied law for ten months He was one of the
leading SIX students in a class Of A. This expe-
rience cost him 1891 and he returned to his Mis-
sissippi village with only 25 cents in his pocket
IN suit OF clothes he had worn for IA months
He had almost been compelled to leave the law
school months before for the lack of suitable
clothing.
Yet his unquenchable ambition to reach the
United States senate grew more intense as the
difficulties OF his situation increased.
Cores father had taken up the practice of
law in Walthall and on returning from the law
school in 1892 the youth was welcomed as an
assistant In the office. That year. too he was
presidential eector the Populist ticket at
tackled Grover Cleveland on the stump and carried
his county.
The practice of law not an inspiring occu-
patton in Walthall. There were actually As law.
yers in that small. poor village. The blind advo-
cate tried q few cases.
After a two years effort to earn living as
lawyer in the place Of his birth Gore decided
90 90 TO Texas
Having saved s40 he started in April, 1894
for Texarkana. arriving there an absolute stran-
ger with only s21 in his pocket. He secured a
boarding house and promptly offered himself to
the Populist leaders for service in the approach
ing state and county elections. His political
speeches brought in money enough to pay his ex-
penses, but he found chance to practice law
In the winter he went back to Walthall and for a
year made another desperate effort to win success
as lawyer. He was nominated for congress by
the Populists. but was defeated Yet his speeches
In the campaign attracted much attention
On the last day of the year 1895 the sightless
nd unsucs essfu lawyer decided to abandon the