Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1910-03-05
Remarkable
Scene i'm the
II. 8. Senate
CONTINUED from First Page.)

there (pointing at the presiding Of
/ ficer's chair} and l wanted to know
! OF ma il l would get there. She told
me that If l would lead a clean life
| and form no bad habits l would be
| sure to get there. She never told a
story In her life and / knew it was
true. God helping me, / got there
yesterday. In all my life, Senators,
that thing has stuck to me, and every
time / wanted to do wrong ! saw
| one OF those passions on that board. I
have never made this public until
| now l thought this was the place
to do it."
81 am a peculiar sort of genius,
not much of a genius either" the
Senator went on, but ] have got
! thimbleful of common sense for
use occasionally, and I want TO use
il now 10 the best advantage. I have
had varied life. / was born a null
timillionaire. very unhappily too, for
| never saw one of them that was
happy yet, and l never was happy
/ myself until l got rid of my millions.
The largest portion OF them went TO
feed the large number OF slaves that
| unfortunately inherited, and the
rest l spent on my friends like a
gentleman and got rid of the encum-
brance. tLaughter.)
Il have been listening to speeches
here very carefully, and the more 1
heard of the speeches the sorrier 1
felt for the millionaires. Thank God
l am not one any more. I heard the
/ Senator from Arkansas (Jeff Davis)
the other day make n speech in which
he abused Rockefeller"
Here Senator Depew, Senator
Bailey, and a few other members
left their seats and moved over where
they could hear better, while Senator
Hepburn, Senator Keen and others
dropped their books and began to
| listen. Senator Lodge looked as II
he didn't know whether to be shock
ed or pleased.
81 cannot help sympathizing With
a fellow" said the picturesque Mis-
sissippian. that everybody is cuss-
| ing. And l never could see what they
cussed him for, unless IL was that
he had more money than anybody
else. and ! do not think that IS any
fault, but a misfortune. I am sorry
for a man in his condition. when a
man cannot go out on the street and
have even his little grandchildren
walk in sight Of him without threats
/ that they will be killed. / know the
old fellow loves those children bet
! ter than all the gold in his vaults,
and he would not be a human being
III he did not.
Il am going 20 say something that
is unpopular in my section OF the
country. and If were an ofiiceseeKer
/ might be tempted to go wrong, but
l always did say before my people
what l thought was right. / think
that Mr. Rockefeller is a good man.
and / am going TO think SO until
somebody shows me that he has done
wrong. / see his employees very often
and / never saw one who did not
speak well of him. ! am told that he
never had a strike among his en-
ployees. I am told also, that he has
given il many millions do
not think much OF him for that, be-
cause he had more than he had any
use for-but he has given 90 the
poor, 20 charity. to the churches, for
education, and TO build hospitals all
over the country; and If the people
don't like that in the United States.
then they can put 1t in their pipes
and smoke IL. 1 have said it.
If my friend from Arkansas is
opposed to what ] call prosperity
would like Mr.. Rockefeller to come
down and run his pipes through Mis-
sissippi. He can go over all my land
We shall be glad to have him. l used
TO pay 40 cents a gallon for oil to
be burned in my lamps. Now / can
get IL for 10 cents gallon. ! don't
know whether Mr.. Rockefeller is the
cause of the price coming down to
10 cents, but / think It viii remain
that way in Mississippi IL We get the
conveniences that this pipe business
proposes to give up. l intended TO
vote for those pipes and / did. That
all there is TO it,"
Senator La Toilette was busy TAX
ing notes and occasionally laughing
behind his hand. Gen. Gordon turned
then 10 his career as a Confederate
soldier. He wanted the Senators to
understand that he was just a plain,
blunt Old Confederate who wore the
gray and fought and bled
But / did not die" he added. Il
skedaddled frequently. You under
stand that word, at least those old
soldiers here will understand it."
Gen. Gordon said that he had had
the honor of capturing some promi-
nent men in the Northern army in
the war. One man. a great big man
named Shafter, then a Major in the
Ninth Michigan and later Gen.
Shafter.
He was a very poor shot" said
Gen. Gordon, ''for / advanced at
him with my sabre and he shot at
me five times and never touched me-
And now / will tell you another
truth. That fellow Shafter gave me
an awful scare anyhow. When / ap-
preached him he handed me his pis-
tol and said: You are welcome to
IL, but il will do you no good. L
have shot all the cartridges away, but
over at the stockade near Franklin
] have a valise that contains a thou
sand cartridges and you are welcome
TO them If you will go and get them
l said, Thank you for the pistol.
Will go after them We captured the
fort and got the cartridges, but /
never used them. never fired a shot
during the war. That is a fact.
had enough to do to look after the