The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1910-02-04
Gales, eREAT SPEECH.

For logic persuasive eloquence and
conyincine argument the speech de
livered Yesterday by Attorney General
Charles T. Gates on behalf Of the
State in the Cooper case will rank
VIE ~~~a If those made by the inn
mortal webster from whom he quoted
in the closing periods of his address
And that peroration was a gem, it was
classic breathed the highest and most
patriotic sentiment and showed con
ception of duty upon the part Of the
States chief law officer that should
be the hope and the inspiration of all
DEMONSTRATING people everywhere.
The Attorney Generals argument
will unquestionably rank with the
greatest efforts ever heard by a court
that since its organization a century
ago has been moved by the eloquence
and the logic of some of the greatest
legal minds that adorn the pages OF
Americas Jurisprudence Without pas
sion calmly, deliberately, with a thor
ough mastery of every material fact
the Attorney General demonstrated
beyond the shadow of contradiction
the Justice of the jury's verdict. He
scorned to appeal to prejudice or to
resort to the despicable methods that
characterized the attitude of counsel
for the defense. His argument was
alone upon the record. Never once
did he deviate so much as hairs
breadth from the facts as adduced in
the court below. And for this his
course deserves emulation by lawyers
under all circumstances.
There was no ranting, no idle ram
bling, no disconnected and fiambouy-
ant word painting to kill time. The
Attorney General showed that he had
knowledge of the record that was
truly remarkable. He had a mental /
photograph Of every witness, their !
demeanor on the stand, their charac-
teristics, their spoken words. And /
when it is remembered that he did |
not hear one single word of the evil
dence on the original trial, but was !
put To the necessity of securing his
information entirely from the cold and
inanimate printed pages his effort will
stand as a monument to his mental
grasp, his powers of discernment and
his flficeasing labors. Gates demon !
stratSd that hetwaA. a student: No
matter how brilliant his attainments
no man could have delivered the logi-
cal lucid, connected, clear, clean cut
record buttressed speech that Gates
did without the most careful and pains
taking search of the record, His eff
tort will live as long as man is moved
by eloquence, persuaded by argument
and convinced by logic.
Gates ought to be in the Senate of ,
he United States. There he would
sustain the highest traditions of that
august body and restore Tennessee to
he place that she held In the councils
If the nation when Grundy and White
md Johnson and Harris and Carmack :
lat in Americas House of Lords.
AS a lawyer, Gates would be the
quail of Matt Carpenter; for per-
uasive eloquence and convincing
ogic he would rank with Ben Hill; for
ugged honesty and devotion to duty
e would be comparable with Allen G.
thurman; for scorn Of demagogy and
he trucking to every passing wave of
opular clamor he would stand as i'm
Movable as George Vest Some OF
hese days the people of Tennessee 5
yill discover that it is not profitable a
> send weaklings and demagogues to a
he Senate. 0