davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
What B8echsr Thought.

One Of the greatest and most
remarkable orators Of his time
was Henry Ward Beecher. I
never met his equal In readiness
and versatility. His versatility
was infectious. He was q big,
healthy. vigorous man with the
physique Of an athlete, and his
intellectual fire and vigor corre-
sponded with. his physical
strength. There seemed to be no
limit to his ideas. anecdotes, Illus
trations, and incidents. He had
a fervid imagination and wonder.
full power Of assimilation and re-
production and the most observ.
ant Of eyes. He was drawing
material constantly from the for
ests. the flowers, the gardens,
and the domestic animals In the
fields and in the house. and using
them most effectively In his ser.
mons and speeches.
When the sentiment In England
In favor Of the Sou'h In our civil
war seemed to be growing to a
point where Great Britain might
recognise the Southern Confed-
eracy. Mr.. Lincoln asked Mr..
Beecher to go over and present
the Union side. Those speeches of
Mr.. Beecher. a stranger In a
strange country. to hostile
audiences. were probably as ex-
traordinary an evidence Of oratori-
cal power as was ever known. He
captured audiences, he overcame
the hostility Of persis :ent disturb.
ers Of the meetings. and with his
ready wit overwhelmed the heck
Ter.
At one Of the greatest meetings,
when the sentiment was rapidly
changing from hostility to favor. a
man arose and asked Mr. Beecher:
"If you people Of the North are
30 strong and your cause Is so
good. why after all these years
Of fieh'ins have you not licked
the South?" Mr.. Beecher's instant
I'D rns' aH'ac'ous ren''' ,va. "If
the Sou.her,-rs were En- ltshmen
we would have licked hem"
With the English love Of tair
play. the retort was accepted with
cheers.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26

gressive Republican Senators WIN
not effect a party organization Of
the upper chamber unless they
can dictate their ter1na Western
Republican and Southern Demo
cratic Senators have more than
once made ducks and brakes Of
q Old Guard plans La Toilette
held up the Senate In 1873 when
II reorganized and demanded rec
ognition the Standpatters did not
wish to accord him. And he did
1t without making any promises
to play In their back yard. He
held the whiphand and they
couldn't even secure his vote
for the Fordney tariff. With
more men of La Follette's inde-
pendence. who can predict what
the me- 8 nate viii do?
BILL WITHOUT A NAME.
There is bitter feeling among
Western Republican members Of
the House against the treatment
accorded them. This is particu-
larly seen in the Wisconsin dele
cation. Though Labelled Re
publican they were denied pat
ronage by the Administration
..1 hn-a x,r~.S &h~e~ <~l~>--
Their unprecedented majority on
the seventh win naturally make
them more belligerent.
There were not a few acts Of
insurgency at the last session of
the House when progressive Re-
publicans Joined with the Dem
ocrats In defeating the administra-
ton plans as to full reduction Of
income taxes and certain tariff
schedules Some went SO far as
to vote against the Fordney-Mc-
Cumber bill. The only thing West
ern Republicans contributed tc
the new tariff act is its name.
and Fordney. having foreseen the
coming storm wherein his State
elected a Democratic low tariff
Senator. resigned McCumber. the
other protection author of the high
tax bill, was defeated In the pri-
maries. The tariff measure is
headless. 1t should be given a
new name as long Al II cumbers
the statute books. and I suggest
II be named the Orphan Brat: No
body defends it and nobody want
ed II except the interests which
will collect annually three and q
half billion dollars subsidy out Of
II.
\ TIRED OF BAY STATE RULE.
The present Congress has been
ruled by Massachusetts, and the
East. Mondell. the so-called leader.
was from Wyoming but the COM
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
Lincoln Story Pointed.

The president Of the village and
leading ci'iz ms. one after an
other. mounted the platform,
III = Vas 'he plaza ~ Mr.
Be"ch.r's' house. and expressed
their confidence in him and the
confidence Of his neighbors. the
villa gers. Then Mr. Beecher said
to me: "You were born in this
town and are known all over the
country. II you feel like saying
something It would travel far"
OF course. I was very glad Of the
oppor' unity because I believed
In him.
In the course Of my speech
told a story which had wonderful
vogue I said: "Mr. Lincoln told
me of an experience he had In his
early practice when he was de-
Tending a man who had been &C.
cused Of a vicious assault upon a
neighbor. There were no wit
nesses, and under the laws Of evi.
dence at that time the accused
could not testify. So the COM
plainant had It all his own way.
The only opportunity Mr.. Lincoln
had to help his client was to
break down the accuser on a
cross-examination. Mr.. Lincoln
said he saw that the accuser was
a boastful and bumpfious man.
and 50 asked him: How much
ground was there over which you
and my cl ent fought?' The W.T.
ness answered proudly: Six
acres. Mr.. Lincoln Well said
Lincoln. don't you think this was
q mighty small crop Of fight to
raise on such a large farm?' Mr..
Lincoln said the Judge laughed
and 20 did the district attorney
and the Jury. and the client was
acquitted"
The appositeness was In the six
acres Of ground Of the Lincoln
trial and of the six months of the
Beecher trial. As this was a new
story Of Lincoln's. which had
never been printed, and as 1t re-
lated to the trial of the most ia
nous Of preachers on the worst
Of charges that could be made
aga nst q preacher. the story was
printed all over the country. and
from friends and consular agents
who sent me clippings. I found
was copied In almost every coun-
try In the world.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
A Loyal Supporter.

Hastings said that when Web
ster began his speech be was a.
near his idol as possible and
stood right In front of him.
When the statesman made. o
gesture to emphasise . sentence
he lost his hold on the balustrade
and pitched forward. The young
Irishman was equal to the occa,
sion and interposed an athletic
arm. which prevented Mr.. Web
'ster from falling. and held him
until he had finished his address.
The fact that he could continue
his address under such conditions
Increased. II that was possible, the
admiration Of young Hastings.
Webster was one Of the few men
who. when drunk all over. had a
sober head.
The speech was very effective.
not only to that audience, but.
as reported. all over the country.
Hastings was sent for and es.
corted to the dining-room, where
the guests had reassembled. Web.
ster grasped him by the hand.
and In his most Jovian way ex.
claimed: Young man. you pre-
vented me from disgracing my
self. I thank you and win never
forget you" Hastings reported
his feelings as such that II he
hal died tha' night he had re.
ceived Of life all 1t had which
was worth living for
DO not know what were Mr..
wehster's drinking habits. but the
popular reports In regard 70 them
had a very Injurious effect upon
Young men. and especially Young
lawyers. It was the universal
conversation that Webster was un-
able to do his best work and have
his mind at its highest efficiency
except under the influence of
copious drafts Of brandy. Many
young lawyer. believing this,
drank to excess, not because he
loved alcohol, but because he be-
lieved its use might make him a
second Webster.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
"DeliUers" a Speech.

Having lived in that atmosphere.
I tried the experiment myself.
Happily for me. discovered how
utterly false It is. I tried the
hard liquors. brandy. whisky and
gin. and then the wines. I found
that all had a depressing and
deadenins effect upon the mind.
but that there was a certain ex.
hilaration, though not a healthy
one. in champagne. I also dis
covered. and found the same was
true with everyone else. that the
mind works best and produces the
more satisfactory results without
any alcohol whatever.
I doubt II any speaker. unless
he has become dependent upon
stimulants. can use them before
making an important effort with
out having his mental machinery
more or less clogged. I know
1t is reported that Addison. whose
English has been the model Of
succeeding generations, in writ
ing his best essays wore the car
pet out while walking between
sentences from the sideboard
where the brandy was to his
writing-table. But they had heroic
constitutions and iron-clad diges-
tive apparatus in those times,
which have not been transmitted
to their descendants.
Henry J. Raymond told me the
following story Of william H.
Seward. He said that one morn
ing a messenger came to his Of
flee Raymond at that time was
editor Of the New York Times)
and said that Mr.. Seward was at
the Astor House and wanted to.
see me. When arrived Mr..
Seward said: IT am on my way
to my home at Auburn. where
am expected to deliver a speech for
the whole country In exclamation
and defense of our administration.
johnson was President.) When
I am ready I will wire you. and
then send me one Of your best
reporters" About two weeks
afterward Mr.. Raymond received
this cryptic telegram from Mr..
Seward: Send me the man of
whom I spoke"
When the reporter returned he
said to Mr.. Raymond: "When I
arri, ed at Auburn expected that
a gr.at meeting had been adver-
tised. but there were no hand
bills. notices or anything In ths
local payera. % went Up to Mr..
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26

and valued friend, Samuel Sloan.
One fall he failed to appear,
and there was no special train to
meet me. l was told by friends
that the reason was his wife had
died and he was mourning. The
morning after the meeting I start
ed to call upon him. but was in
formed that he was very hostile
and would not see me. / was not
going to lose an old friend like
that and went Up to his Office.
As soon as l entered he said: Go
away: don't want to see you
again." I appealed to him, say
ing: 81 cannot lose SO good a
friend as you. If there Is any,
thing I have done or said | will
do everything In my power to
make 1t right"
He turned on me sharply AMI
with great emotion told this
story: MY wife and I lived In
loving harmony for over thirty
years. and when she died recently
! was heartbrol1en. The whole
town was sympathetic; most Of
the business houses closed during
the hour Of the funeral. I had
arranged to have ministers whom
my wife admired. and with them
selected passages Of Scrip
lures and hymns to which she
was devoted. A new minister In
town was invited by the Others
to participate, and without my
knowledge. looked over the
congregation. all Mary's friends.
"I listened 10 the services.
which Mary herself would have
chosen. and said to Mary's spirit.
which knew to be lowering
. about: We are all paying you
loving tributa.' Then the new
minister had for his part the an.
nouncement and reading Of
hymn. AT the last Republican
convention at Saratoga, In order
to illustrate the condition OF the
Democratic party, you told
story about a boy walking among
the children's graves in the old
cemetery at Peekskill. eating
green >. apples and wh,stling
Nearer. My God. to Thee The
new minister gave that hymn.
Nearer. My God. to Thee Your
story came IN In my mind and I
burst out laughing. I disgracei
myself. insu.ted the memory Of
Mary and ] never want 70 see
you again" = :.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
THE TURK OF CRUEL
LEGEND is NO MORE

siderable role In national politics.
These were not "harem women"
as Ia generally supposed. Besides.
what is q harem? Harem In Turk
ish means wife. Ny harem n my
wife. Ny harem is also the bed
room Of my wife and myself. Il
is not q place OF orgies. even In th<
homes Of the pashas-
The nobility Of the Turkish rice
is strongly attached to monogamy:
his wife In invaribly jealous and
the pasha is not admitted into the
harem where his wife's serving
women and ladies of her suite
live.
A custom forbids the wife TO
enter the Salsmlek. reserved for
the husbands uses only, the
pasha and his wife meet in en-
apartment situated between the
Salamlek and the harem. This
place 10 called the mabeine
odasE.
The sultan himself never enters
the private apartments Of his
wife-thAt is to say. his harem-
without the express permission of
the chief eunuch.
The Turk Of cruel legend 10 no
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
CHAUNCEY NJ DEPEw.
Chats With Great Men of
Past Reveal Many Con-
sidered joking a Peril

when he was one Of the speak
ers after an important dinner. II
was q rare trea, to hear him.
The effort apparently was TN
promptu. and thai added to its
effect upon his auditors. That 1t
was thoroughly prepared I found
by hearing II several times. al.
ways unchanged and always pro-
ducing the same thrilling effect.
He spoke one night at Cooper
Institute al q celebration by the
colored people Of Mr.. Lincoln's
proclamation emancipating them
from slavery. As usual he was
master Of the occasion and of his
audience He was then deliver
ing q series Of addresses attack.
ing the Bible. His mind was full
of that subject. and apparently
he could not help assailing the
faith Of the groes by asking.
II there was a God of justice and
mercy. why did he leave them so
long In slavery or permit them
ever to be slaves.
To an emotional audience like
the on before him 1t was a mos
dangerous attack upon faith.
was so fond Of the colonel and
such an intense admirer Of him.
l hated to conyrovert him. bul
felt II was necessary to do SO.
The religious. fervor which Is SO
intense with the colored people.
made II comparatively easy to re-
store their faith. II II had been
weakened. and to bring them to a
recognition Of the fact that their
blessings had all come from God.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
Ingersoil's Speech.

One Of the greatest orators of
his generation, and I might say
OF ours. was Robert G. fngersoll.
I was privileged to meet Colonel
Ingersoll many times, and on sew
eraI occasions to be q speaker on
the same platform. The senith
of his fame was reached by his
"plumed-knight" speech. nominat.
ing James G. Blaine for Presi-
dent, at the national Republican
convention in 1876 IL wac NJ
testimony Of all the delegates
thai II the vote could have baen
taken Immediately at the conclu-
sion OF the speech. Mr.. bla.n.
would have been elected
Colonel Ingersoll carried off the
orarorical honors Of that cam
paign in a series Of speeches. COW
ering the whole country. say
q series Of speeches: he really
had but one. which was the mos,
effective campaign address I ever
heard, but which he delivered
over and over again. and every
time with phenomenal success. a
success the like OF which I have
never known. He delivered It to
an immense audience in New
York and swept them off their
feet. He repeated this triumph
the next day at an open-air meet
ing In Wall Street, and again the
next day at a great gathering In
New Jersey. The newspapers
printed the speech In full every
day after its delivery. as IL had
been a new and first utterance Of
the great orator.
spoke with him severai times
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
The Peril of Hu,nor.

j had very Interesting talk on
the subject with General Garfield.
when he was running for Presi.
dent. He very kindly said to me:
you have every qualification for
success In public life: you might
Get anywhere and to the highest
places except Cor your humor.
know Its great value 20 a speaker
before an audience. but it is dan
gerous at the polls When be-
gan In politics. soon after gradu-
atioI, / found ] had q keen sense
Of humor. and that made me the
most sought-after of all our neigh.
borhood speakers. but I also soon
discovered II was seriously i'm.
pairing the pubic opin on Of me
Tor responsible positions, 80 I de-
cided to cut II Out. II was very
difficult, but have succeeded
% thoroughly tina. I can no longer
tell a story or appreciate the point
Of one when 1t is told to me. Had
] followed my aatural bent I
would not now be the ca didate of
my party for President of the
United States"
When look back over sixty.
five years on the platform In pub
Lie speaking. ano the success of
different methods before audi
snces. political. literary. business,
or q legislature itself, and espe.
cially when consider my own
pleasure In the efforts, the results
and compensations have been Tar
greater than the attainment of
any office. For, after all. a man
might be dull and q bore to him.
self and others for q lifetime and
have the rsputs ton Of being a
serious thinker and q solid ci.izen,
and yet never reach the Presi-
dency.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
BY CHAUNCEy N. DEPEW.

tCepyrixht.> isfs. B, Charis. scribser'
With The Wheeie, syssicsss. ise.l
I'm the course Of the campaign
Of 1855 ] had a. fellow speak
Il ers many times on the plat
form Statesmen Of national repu
tion- These gentlemen. with few
exceptions, made heavy. ponder
Gus. and platitudinous speeches.
If they ever had possessed humor
they were afraid Of Il. The
crowd. however. would invariably
desert the statesman for the
SPEAKER who could give them
amusement with instruction. The
elder statesmen said by way of
advice: while the people want
20 be amused. they have no faith
In a man or woman with wit or
anecdote. When il comes to the
election Of men to conduct public
affairs. they invariably prefer seri.
Gus men," There Is no doubt that
q reputation for wit has seriously
impaired the prospects OF many
Of the ablest men In the country.
The only exception to this rule
was Abraham Lincoln. But when
he ran for president the first time
he was comparatively unknown
outside his State Of Illinois. The
campaign managers In their lit
srature put forward only his seri-
Gus speeches. which were very 70
markable. especially the one he
delivered In Cooper Union. New
York, which deeply impressed the
thoughtful men Of the East. He
could safely tell stories and Jokes
after he had demonstrated his
greatness as President. Then the
people regarded his story. eli g
rs the necessary relief and relaxn-
tion Of an overburdened and over.
worked public servant. But be-
fore he had demonstrated his
genius as an executive, they would
probably have regarded these same
traits as evidences of frivolity,
unfit ting the possessor for great
and grave responsibilities.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
Old Guard Of G. O., P.
Eager to Keep New
Congress Out of Cap.
itOl as Long as 1t
Can Shudders at
Thought of March a.

r T u an open secret In Wash
ington that the administration
! does not wish the new Con-
gress to organize and begin busi-
ness before December. ,is2s. II
IL not generally known that one
reason for this opinion II that
nobody can make q certain pre-
diction - to what win be. done.
In tact. although the official re-
turns report that fifteen more
men labeled Republican" were
elected to the House on November
7.than were labeled Democrat"
there Is . panicky feeling among
the Republican leaders as to
what q large number Of the Re-
publicans. so-called. VIII do when
they come to Warrington. WIN
they put on the harness and
trot In the regular party tracesf
In spite Of the tact that Chair.
man Adams expresses "gratifica-
ton" at the result of the cleo
ton. It Il well known that there
IL great nervousness. not only a.
to how a score and, more Western
Republican Congressmen-elect win
vote on administration questions.
but there 10 q feeling of uncer-
tainty whether they win, even
vote for a Republican a. Speaker.
Enough Of them may break away
to prevent the reorganization Of
the House by the party In power
at the White House.
PLAYING FOR DELAY.
And that L. one reason why
Congress was convened earlier
than the regular December date
In the hope that all the ap-
preparation biIls can be passed
before March 4. 80 as to leave
no imperative reason for calling
the new Congress in session until
It Is thirteen months old. II the
Republican majority elected to
the. new Cohgress was Of the
Old Guard type and could be
depended upon. there would not
be such insistence upon keeping
1t away from. Washington. 1t
IL the sword Of Damocles hang.
ing over the head Of Gillett and
the others which makes them
shudder at the approach Of 'the
ides Of March" IL the new Con.
gress is to begin action at that
time. There are other reasons
for wishing delay. Newberry is
the. ghost that win not down
II he had not bought his seat
in the Senate. the Republicans
could not have organized the
Senate in 1919 and could not have
packed the Foreign Affairs Com.
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26

mittee against the peace treaty.
Newberry's expenditure was a
paying Investment" for the
time being though it has since be-
come q liability. II the new Con-
gress convenes in March. New
berry will be expelled II 1t
does not come until December
Of 1923, the final chapter In that
crime can be postponed. And
that IL the thing asked now.
They are playing for time to
mobilize the shattered forces.
SENATE TROUBLESOME.
The Republican majority In the
Senate. as well a. in the House.
has been reduced It is not, how
ever. the small margin that gives
30 much uneasiness as the radi.
cally different opinion enter
tanned by the majority. The last
session showed that enough Of
the old Senators refused to stand
hitched to prevent the carrying
out Of the fun Administration
program. They will all return
strengthened In their insurgency
Most Of the new Republican
Senators elected are conspicuous
ly out Of harmony with the pro-
gram which Harding. Lodge and
Hinctt tavor. The farm bloc"
Of 1s21'22 was a small source
of irritation compared to what
the new bloc" will be when re-
inforced by such men as Brook
hart. Howell. Frazier. Shipstead
and others. They will be able
to come to the assistance Of the
Democrats and block all standpat
legislation that may be proposed
1t II even possible that the pro-
The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
Opinion With Him.

Beecher's famous trial on
charges made by Theodore Tflton
against him on relations with
Tilton's wife engrossed the atten.
ton Of the world. The charge was
a shock to the -tligious and moral
sense Of countless millions If
people. When the trisa was over