The Irish standard., 1910-03-19
SENATOR GORDON'S
UNIQUE FAREWELL
Looked Upon as One of the
Most Remarkable
Addresses
Ever Delivered in the Senate
of the United
States.
Impressions He Received
From Story Told by
His Mother.

| The following remarkable address,
delivered by Senator Gordon OF Missis-
sippi. announcing his retirement from
the United States senate, is taken from
the Congressional Record of February
GATH
Mr.. Prrsiccnt. | am informed that
the senatorial deadlock in Mississippi
| has been broken, and that we shall
soon have Mo. Leroy Percy to take my
place in the senate. AS am about to
retire from tho senate. | shall try to
express my feelings and sentiments in
regard to ms bricc experience here I
did not expect today to make a speech,
notwithstanding found after I got
into the senate chamber that some OF
the newspapers had stated I would do
am not making set speech, and I
have not written AIRY such poetry as
that ascribed to me by the newspapers
this morning.
| | am guilty Of one little act OF poetry.
published a little hook. which have
got hid away in the desk here, ana
/. which ! am going to give to the presi-
dent of the senate wGcn l get through
here. and probably lie will have worse
opinion Of me then than he had be-
fore.
will tell you low ] came to be
United States senator. ! started when
was 5 years old. 1t took me Il long
very rugged road TO travel: but l did
get here. When ] Vas a little chap,
about s years of age-l will tell you
n story, and you may tell your children
and you old fcllows may tell Your
grandchidrcn--I received as a present
something like map on pasteboard.
1t had this great capitol as picture
at the top OF it and squares with
numbers on them. Those numbers
represented all the passions that had
cscapcd from Pandoras box. That
map had marked on ii all the tempta-s
tions that would bcfall youth grow
Ing up 1t had little teetotum, as 1t
was called, in octagon shape, and it
had numbers on II up to eight, on
which to spin. NV mother used to
take me to her side. If you should
spin the tcctotum and II went over the
| Nod y,1o 1,n9
square, that would be one OF the bad
passons but IL it escaped all those,
and the teetotum got on the great capi-
tol of the United States. you would
be in the United States senate. I saw
q great big fellow sitting up there in.
that stand. l wanted to know Of ma
IL I would get there and, God helping
me, / got there yesterday. She told
me that If I would lead a clean life
and form no bad habits, I would be
sure to get there. She never told q
story in her life. an1 so 1 knew IT.
would come true. In all my life, SEN
ators, that thing has stuck to me, and
every time I wanted to do wrong I
saw one Of those passions on that
board, and that board has stood before
my eyes from that Cay until today,
though I have never made it public
until now. + thought this was the
, place to do it.
Now, wi.h to talk to you about our
, affairs in Mississippi, and SO forth. "A
am peculiar ger!us-not much of 9
. genius, either-but have got about q
, thimbleful Of common sense that use
, occasionally and I want to use 1t now
to the best advantage
have had a varied life. I was
, born a multimillionaire, very unhap.
| PLY, too, for never saw one of theM
, that was happy yet, and I never was
, very happy myself until I got rid a
, my millions. The largest portion q
: them went to feed 4 large number o.
8 slaves that I unfortunately inherited
and the rest 1 spent on my friend
e like a gentleman should, and got I
of the incumbranca 4