The Washington herald., 1914-10-05
HISTORY BUILDERS.
Senator Vests Famous Eulogy on the
Dog.
BY DIR. f. J. EDWARDS.

Cwrttsn EIprsssb for The Washington Heraldl
the purity Of the English style. the
rhythm Of the sentences. and an almost
poetic turn to them, and the profound
sympathy which are embodied in an ad-
dress OF the late Senator George Vest.
Of Missouri. Senator Vests so-ca,led
euIogy on the dog has become almost
classic. It is frequently made use Of to
Illustrate a perfect English style sde-
quate and appropriate to the subject.
The surmises which this eulogy has oc-
! casioned have been due 10 the doubt
whether or not Senator Vest spoke with
out preparation or whether he delivered
this brief eulogy from memory after hay-
ing prepared it with great care.
The Senator'S colleagues in the United
States Senate have never doubted Sena-
tor Vests ability to produce by sponta-
neOus utterance Of equally spontaneous
thought a eulOgy Of this kind.
l am able now TO give an authorized
account OF the occasion when Senator
Vest delivered this eulogy. One Of those
who have been in doubt whether the ad-
dress was imprOmptu or prepared wrote
TO Mr.. c. c. TOOmbs now in the War
Department at Washington. to ask him
if he had any knowledge respecting the
matter. Mr.. Toombs was Senator Vests
secretary during the latter's service in
the United States Senate The letter Of
inquiry reached him at a time when
Judge Phillips, of Sedalia. Mo. had heen
visiting Col. ToOmbs. who was then in
the service of the House OF Representa-
tives. Knowing that Judge Phillips was
familiar with the circumstances, the re-
quested information was placed IN his
hands John F. TOOmbs was for years
United States Judge Of the Western dis
trict of Missouri and before his appoint
ment TO the bench he was a law partner
Of Senator Vest. He gladly wrote a brief
statement Of the facts. Early in the
'7O's a son Of kentucky, who was then
living in johnson County, Mo, was the
owner Of a valuable hound named Old
Drum. lie hound was a notable hunter.
and his owner had almost a human az
feCtion for MIN.
Judge Phillips said: "One morning Old
Drum was found dead near a neighbors
house Some one had shot him. Cir
cumstanCes pointed 10 the neighbor as
the assassin of the dog. ThereupOn he
was sued for the recovery of $50 dam
ages. The case was tried several times.
juries disagreeing until at last the de-
appealed and the plaintiff retained Col.
Welles H. BIodgett, who was for many
years the general solicitor OF the Wa
bash Railroad Company.
On the day OF the. trial Mr.. Vest hap
pened to be in the courtroom, and the
plaintiff thereupon asked him to assist
in the case. Probably Mr.. Vests consent
would not have been obtained had he not
been q stanch friend of good dogs.
Mr.. Vest sat throughout the trial as
though mere auditor. and he took no
part in the examination of the witnesses.
The courtroom was filled, for the dog
case had attracted wide attention One
of the counsel for the defendant spoke
eontemptuously of a lawsuit about q
mere hound dog. Mr.. Vest paid little or
no attention to the evidence, but when
II came his time to speak he leveled the
whole artillery Of his genius to a vindi-
cation of the dogs valuable traits The
jury was completely mastered by the ar
gument, brief as il was, and returned q
verdict OF 500 for the plaintiff. That
brief eulogy not only won the then cele-
brated case, but has passed into tradi-
ton among the choice American clas-
sizes"
Copyright. 1914. By z. ]. Edwards. All rights ~
SeTyed.l
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell
where Senator Ingalls, Net His Match