The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-10-08
Mississippi's Great Senator.

Mississippi's Great Senator.
1t appears that the sovereign pee
, pie of the Sovereign State of Missis
sippi have voted John Sharp Will
Iliams the most illustrious living citi
zen of that great commonwealth
So say VIZ all. John Sharp William
is a remarkable man, the first Sena
tor in the American Congress, tn,
ablest and most accomplished states
man in the American Legislature
He travelled no royal road to this dis.
tinction. He worked his passage tc
the front in both houses, in one OF
which he showed himself to possess
the qualities that make the great
parliamentary debater.
The House and Senate of our Con-
gress are not perfect, but in one re-
spect each is infallible-each knows
the capacity of it's each and every
member, and weighs him with per-
feet eXactitude. Neither House will
tolerate a Ounce, or a sham. To
gain first place in u Congress a
man must have the goods and show
them. When a new member rises
in either H ouse, a new face, a
strange voice, he is listened to with
respect, and ere he has spoken fifteen
minutes his measure is taken and it
is always and ever absolutely cor
rect measure. 1t was never known
to be a fault. Physical presence and
voice, of course, go a great ways and
are material aids, but Congress will
not be bored and Adonis and Orpheus
combined in II would speak to
empty benches in Senate or House
unless he fetched some brains with
him.
Now, John Sharp is no dude. He
has not the presence of Apollo, and
his is not a tuneful tongue. l am
always reminded of an anecdote ak
en- from French history when John
rises to make a speech. At the siege
of T%oulon, Dugommier, the con
mander of the French forces, was
holding a conference with his gen.
erals and Bonaparte, then a subordi-
nate, left the councils. A general
spoke up and asked who that little
Insignificant officer" was. To which
the commander replied: THAT lit
tie Insignificant, officer is a greater
man than any of u.s."
When John Sharp Williams takes
the floor in the United States Senate
the chamber and the galleries give
ear. He never rises unless he has
something to say and before he has
been speaking five minutes he is GER
tain to say something that will give
the Senate food for thought. That
is what makes John Sharp Williams
the biggest man in the United States
Senate. AS a debater the Senate has
not known his match since Allen G..
Thurman and Ben Hill, and in a
rough and tumble l don't believe the
Senate has known John Sharp VIII
liams' match since Stephen A. Doug
las.
4
Francis Jeffrey, the famous essay
list of the Edinburgh Review, opined
that had Benjamin Franklin been a
graduate of Harvard, the world
would never have heard Of him, and
it is doubtless true that many con-
siderable men have been spoiled by
classical education, but there are
cases where college train
ing has been of great assistance.
James A. Garfield is one example:
so is John Sharp Williams. Cabot
is another. John Sharp is.
perhaps, the best educated man in
Congress. Not only is he a graduate
of the University of Virginia, but he
studied at famous schools in Ger
many and France.
All a college is for is to fit a man
to be a student. This country is full
of college graduates who have no
for books and are hopeless ig-
noramuses. But Williams is a man
Of vast acquired knowledge. There
are many others of whom the same
nay be said; but all Williams
knowledge is accurate, and that can
De said of very few men. Hence