The gold leaf., 1910-03-10

Mississippi Makes Farewell
Address After Service of
Sixty Days-One of the
Most Unique Speeches Ever
Delivered in the Senate
Senators Laugh and Applaud
as Confederate Veteran
Pleads for Era of Good Feel
ing Between the Sections.
| Special to the Baltimore Sun.
Washington, Feb. PA rare treat
was accorded the Senate late this
afternoon when venerable Senator
James Gordon, of Mississippi, one OF
III" most genial and picturesque fig
ures that ever donned the Senatorial
| tOga, delivered the only speech he will
ever make to that august body-com-
bining bis maiden address and his
valedictOry in one. Senator Gordon
will relinquish his seat iii the Senate as
soon as his newly chosen successor,
MIR. Leroy Percy, now on the way to
Washington, arrives and is sworn in.
For nearly an hour Senator Cor
don interested the Senate with his
appeal for an era of good feeling in
public affairs, and with wit, humor
and poetry he enlivened his rugged
utterance.
DEPEW PRAISES THE OLD RO-
MAN.
The climax of the occasion came at
the end of his speech after Senator
Depew, of New York, in few words
referred to the valedictOry as the
most remarkable speech ever made
| by any man upon entering or leaving
| Congress, when Senator Hey burn,
! to whom Senator Gordon had made
/ certain pertinent references, strOlled
across the arena in front of the Vice
Presidents rOStrum and cordially
grasped the Mississippian by the
hand after Gordon had extended All
open Invitation to him to throw up
his hat in front of the statue of
Robert E. Lee.
Senator Gordon invited Senator
Hey burn to visit the Gordon planta-
tion on "the prairies of Mississippi" "
to taste the sweets of Southern hos
pitality, and when that was over "we
will then come back to Washington,
go over into Statuary Hall, arm in
arm, and while toss my hat into the
air in honor of Gen. Grant, who was
a great soldier and good fellow, the
Senator from Idaho may toss his hat
i'll the air in front of the statue OF
General Robert E. Lee"
Mr.. Gordon took the Senate by
surprise when he arose to deliver his
valpdictory. II am informed" he
said, that the deadlock in Missis-
sippi has been broken and that we
will soon have here Mr.. Leroy Percy
as my successor. l have some senti-
ments toexpress before | leave. | did
not expect to make a speech, al
though some OF the newspapers said
that would"
HIS AMBITION REALIZED.
Colonel Gordon grew reminiscent
and took the Senate into his conf
dence. He admitted that ever since
he was quite young he had had al
ambition to come to the Senate
; ''It was a rugged road, but at last
got here" he said He then told how
when a small boy, he had been pre-
sented with q toy board, which wa:
checked over with different objects
some of them good and some of then
bad. One of these objects was tht
Capitol OF the United States, and hi!
mother told him, he said, that if b,
would be good and would live cor
rect life he might some day hope tC
sit in the seat of the man, who wai
= pictured there.
"She had never told me q lie, and
knew that what she said was true.
knew that | would some day Occup.
the seat of that big man, and, Coz
helping me, got there" referring tt
) the fact that for time he had occu
pied the seat of the presiding officer
81 have listened with interest to tn
speeches here, and the more | hear O
J. them the sOrrier / am for the million
aires. Why, if there is a fellow in TIL
United States [ am sorry for it
Rockefeller, because he has NOR
: money than any one else. That's hi
J misfortune. He can'tg go on the stree
with one of his grandchildren unles
E he is afraid that some one might XII
: him. Why, know that he loves on
! of those children better than he love
all of the money that he has got.
WOULD WELCOME ROCKEFEL
LER.
II think Mr.. Rockefeller is a goo
( man. | see his employees speak we
of him, and am told that he neve
I had a strike. | am told also that h
: has given much money to churche
: and education Now don't suppOs
8 that everybody will like that, bu
8 those who don't like it can put it i
S their pipes and smoke it. I'd like 70
! Mr. Rockefeller to come down t
: Mississippi and run his pipe line
8 through my land. He could hav
Z right of way for all the lines he want
ed, forI know that in my time coal o
! has been reduced from 40 cents t
! 10 cents per gallon"