Bisbee daily review., 1911-09-02

lie was Hot OA tue AASt AaAAAf HUI was he of the second rank of the statesmen of his day. He was among the mediocrites and we may call him an arch medioerity. James NJ. Me Creary, or Kentucky, is one of 'em Cullom of Illinois is another one. o, their name is legion. They are in an overwhelming majority. And we couldn't get along without them. A commons house of the British parlia- ment made of Burkes, Foxes and Pitts would be a thoroughly worthless legis- lation An American congress com posed entirely Of Calhouus, Clays, ard Websters would botch the job ol sol onism. When the first continental congress met Richard Henry Lee, a greater orator of the academy than Ed ward Everett and Patrick Henry, the greatest "oratCr Of nature since De- mosthenes, were the despair of the delegates from other colonies, some of whom proposed to go home, aileg- ing that they were not fit associates, for such @ demi-goGs of statecratt; but when the declaration was made it came from Q nan who could not make a speech al all. though he was an i'm mense distance from mediocrity, Your mediOcIity in congress is a beast oi burden and there is a heap of truth in cock and bull story of the foot race between the hare and tortoise.
 For the seventy years 1S2s-1S39, with an interregnum of two years, 1S3g-41, Maine was represented by commanding figure in the national legislature at this capital and much of the time by two, George Evans the greatest man of the lot, was not oi the carpet when William Pitt Fessen- den came on, and James c. Blaln ap- peared before Fessenden died. Thom- as G. Reed was a gigantic national
 figure when Biain was yet a senator. All four of these ragged relentless wa against the democratic party, although Maine was a democratic state from her admission into the Union in 1920 until she cast her electoral vote for Ere mont in 1856.
 Nelson Dlngley and Eugene Hale were oi the elect in the second class beth far superior men to Frye, both whom did more labor than all the big four combined-Evans, FessendeD, Slain and Reed They used to call James Buchanan the old public func- tionary." but Frye was in public OI- ice from 1861 to lgll-han a century and that eClipsed the record of the fourteenth president. though 1t IS likely that Uncle Culiom has @urFass- ed Frye in this particular. Both Frye and Cullom have rendered the state important service.
 Though not a great man, Frye was a valuable man, He was an honest man and elected rather to be upright than to be rich. And that statesman in public place who does not hold that an empty purse IS the greatest calam- | ity is entitled to public applause. Bet | ter to be poor like ArisuGes than rich | like CalAs,' was the need bestowed | by Athens when Athens was yet FlE- taous. Frye was laBorous public | servant and full Of zeal He was in l love with his job and did his utmost | to serve his country. There was much | aHectatiou in his talk and that made | it exceedingly appropriate to choose i hiu president pro tempore of the sen ate, a dignity he held fer fourteen ! years, the longest tenure of theohice 1 in the history of the body.
 | We may class Frye as an orator, | though bis oratory was Reclamation ! and little else. He had a rich, musi 1 cal and a commanding voice. l first | heard him in the foTty-sixth congress l of which both James A. Mckenzie oi Kentucky and Frank Hurd of ohio | were members, and either Q greater orator than Frye In 1880 MT. Blaine 1 made the mistake of choosing James F. Joy, a poor public speaker, to pre-
 sent his name to tbe national con ] yention as candidate for the nomina ton Of president. Conklin presented Grants and Garfield, Sherman's. Joys speech feil snort in contrast with such | brilliant eloquence. Four years earl fer Bob IngersoH nearly swept the na tional convention of it's feet by the thrilling speech in which he dubbed
 the man from Maine the Plumec l Knight" ana then and there Blaine ! would have been nomiated 4 aoAe Eody had not turned of the gas. IT | 1884 Frye presented Blaines name te the convention and he did 1t eapitaHl i with the result that Blain was nemlna
 ted.
 1 Frye's oratory was of the whirlwine | type, something like William Alder T Smiths, but he did not make the
 dobbin' stick Nobody ever Tecaliet
 a point he made. Generally he wal
 wrong, as in an article on the refund
 ing bill some thiry years ago. It wal
 his single success in the game q
 statecsaft. aad it cost the countr,
 millions, for his plea was for the rat' of interest one-half per cent above thal
 for which the bonds could have beeI
 sold al par. But he was sincere ant
 many other honest men of both parties II agreed with him. Later the govern
 ment floated per cent bonds at par
 attended the national republican
 convention of 1888 and one night ai
 the sages were making a platform fol
 the convention to adopt, and the bos ses were picking candidate for th'