Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1910-04-15

,
III droning citadel of feder- Ill
- alism senator without
power to see the youngest member of
the American house of lords" repre-
sentng the youngest state in the III
Union. III
II the story OF Senator Gore Of MI
Oklahoma could other pur- MI
pose than to illustrate how brave Wy
heart and persistent ambition can iN
overcome the greatest difficult MN
ties In life It would be worth telling. MN
Loyalty to a set purpose, maintained VNM
resolutely through 25 years of bitter NMM
struggle raised this poor blind Ameri- NMW
can boy to seat In the most dstin- MWN
guished law-making body in the world, WN\
although he sometimes lived on the M\N
verge of starvation. Nothing could ,MN
shake his determination to be a SEN W.
ator. He had no eyes. but he had NW
tongue. He had no money, but he had C(WO<
courage He obscure but he had \ ~
high ambition. He could not see the
world about him, but he had a smile r.
to win it. a perseverance to compel
Its admiration and support a
few months after Mississippi was n
readmitted to the Union in 1870 Thom-
as Pryor Gore was born on an SO-acre
farm 30 miles from the nearest rail. @
way. -
Hero the boy grew up among the
creeks and pines, stocky, gray-eyed little fell
When he was six years old the village of Walthau
was established in the woods nearby and the
Gore family went there to live. Young Tom at
tended small school set among the trees out
side of the village.
At the age of eight years the boys left eve
was blinded by accidental blow from a stick
Three years later he was employed as a page in
the mississippi senate and boarded at the house
OF senator j. a. George in Jackson. One day,
Iwhhe playing with crossbow, an arrow entered
his right eye and destroyed his sight
In spite of his afiiction young Gore managed
TO stand at the head of his class in school and at
the age of II years entered normal school
which 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
sional 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
ngton.
During that winter Gore and his sister taught
school for few months All the while his moth
err Il bedridden invalid read to him history, biog
raphy and other subjects connected with his po-
litical plans. and he would sit by the bed, a
strange smile on his blind countenance, dreaming
and broodng and waiting for the day when he
might take part in the great battle of politics like
other men.
His great chance 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 conflict. He
even debated with Senator Money whose tongue
all Mississippi dreaded and who smiled majes-
tically when told that his opponent was "a poor.
blind schoolboy" Senator Money declared that,
bit 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 blindfold 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 of the
leading six students in class of AZ. This expe-
rience cost him 1891 and he returned to his Mis-
sissippi village with only 25 cents in his pocket,
in a 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 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 Popalist ticket at
tackled Grover Cleveland on the stump and carried
his county.
The practice of law was not inspiring occu.
patton In Walthall. There actually As law
yers In that small. poor village. The blind advo-
cate tried few cases.
After two years effort to earn a living as
lawyer in the place of his birth Gore decided
to go 10 Texas
Having saved $40. he started In April. 1894
for Texarkana, arriving there an absolute stran.
ger with only $21 in his pocket He secured
boarding house and promptly offered himself to
the Popuist leaders for service In the approach.
Ing state and county elections. His political