Evening journal., 1910-03-02
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The OId-Time Orator Who
Acted His Speeches
By "HoIIand.g

This daily series OF anecdotes and Incl
dents that throw new, interesting and fire.
qucntly dramatic light on famous events
collected by Mr.. Edwards during near
forty years of more or less intimate ac-
quaintance with many Of the country's
leaders since the Civil war. Each sn-
ecdote OF incident is fresh from Mr.. Ed
wards notebook, and, either Ia wnole VI
YESTERDAY, garnered from the men
who made the news-the histOry--or from
equally authoritative sources. AS inn
portant contributions OF the Human in
terest' sort to American history. these
articles have a distinctive value all their
own.
Member Of the Maryland State CON
vention to ratify the Federal Constitu-
ton. minister extraordinary and then
resident minister to England over a
hundred years ago, Attorney General
under. Madison. colonel of a regiment in
the War Of 1872 member Of the Ma
tional House of Representatives, Minis
ter 10 Russia. and finally United States
Senator from 1920 to 1922. the year of
his death-such. I'm brief was the crowd
cd career Of William Pnlkney OF Mary
land. a famous statesman and lawyer of
his time who is all but forgotten to-day.
He It was who was the grandfather of
William Pnkney Whyte, who was sue
ceeded In the L. S. Senate by Arthur Pue
German in 1881, and who. on the lat
ter's death in 1906, again became men,
ber OF that body, remaining there until
his own death in 1908.
But though William Pinkney died
eighty-eight years ago, there did not die
until 1897 a distinguished American who
had knowledge of William Pnkney from
some Of that great dgure's later con-
temporaries and friends. This was
Thomas Lanir Clingman. who went 10
the Senate from North Carolina in 1858.
withdrew therefrom in 1861 TO become
colonel in the Conferorate Army, ulti-
mately rising 10 a brigadier generaiship,
and who. 1 believe in ths closing wears
Of his life was further distinguished as
the sole Survivor of those Senators who
resigned to Jake sides win the Con-
federacy.
When I was a boy" said Senator
Clingmau, when the countrys intellect
ual giants Of other days were under dis
cuslon, william Pinlxney of Maryland
was thought by many persons to be the
finest orator who appeared before the
United States Supreme Court, and the
equal. even, CT Henry Clay and Daniel
Webster in oratorical ability. Anyway,
he certainly was the greatest actor who
over delivered an grafton or appeared
before that great tribunal and I base
my opinion on information / gathered
many years ago from men who knew per-
sonaly OF William Pinkney's career and
the manner in which he did things.
Every speech he ever delivered be-
fore the Supreme Court was prepared
with the utmost care. He would often
spend days in drafting out a speech.
and then he would go over it word by
word, sometimes devoting more time to
this revision than to making the draft
And when every word. even TO the arti-
Gle Of speech. suited him to a nicely
but not before--he would spend incredi-
BILE labor committing the whole Of the
speech to heart.
"But he did not stop here. With his
periods firmly written upon the tablets
of his memory, he would take his stand
before a great pier glass, and there, as
he delivered his speech to his reflection,
practice every gesture that was TO go
with It. work out every expressive emo
tion for the face. exactly as an actor
would do for his pan I'm a play. And
with all this minute preparation he tried
especially TO study the best way to pro-
duce the effect Of extemporaneous speak
Ing.
"Thus he would busy himself right up
TO the day before he was to argue a case
before the Supreme Court. The follow
ing morning he would rise early, take a
light breakfast. and having put on his
riding clothes, mount his horse and gal
lop perhaps as much as twenty miles
away into the country. but always tim
ing himself so that he could get bach
just a few minutes before the hour fix.
ed for his appearance before the court
Then he would dash up 10 the Capitol
turn over his horse to some one whS
was waiting for It, and rush, breathles'
and sometimes bespattered with mud
into the court room, throw his gloves
p upon the table, apologize profusely. finally
begin his argument with studied effect
D so that It would appear to be extempo
raneous.
"The first time William Pinkney dl,
this. you may be sure that he made
great impression. And the second an,
\ third time the impression was equally
as great But pretty soon the justice
and others began to wonder, and mayb
C to scratch their heads. and then It cam
" out lndl III was tli HtAlnt bn lHt part %
- the great lawyer-that he had learne
a his argument by heart days before an
c had practced every gesture, every ex
b preston of his face. before that grea
= pier glass Of his That was the day
- however when stilted oratory was tn
l. fashion. and when Latin quotations in
II terlarded both a Senatorial address and
speech In Supreme Court argument
and so. 7 suppose. the discovery tina
Mr.. PinHney was acting did not harr
= his reputation as an orator. But IN
: public man who would pursue such tao
!. tics to-day would probably be laughe
back into private life"
Copyright 1910, by e. J. Edwards)
Tn.nnnrrn,u Mr. Edvlards will tell Q