Year: 1876

The Hon. Proctor Knott of Kentucky made
finish of himself in the House yesterday.
Mr. Blaine had left but little of him in the
passage-at-arms on the floor relative to the
Caldwell dispatch some weeks ago, but what
little remained Mr.. Knott himself made way
with yesterday. Where only yesterday was
Knott regarded by himself apparently as a
very tough and we'll well-seasoned Knott and
at times on account of his brilliance pine
knot, to-day there is, for all practical purposes,
so far as character, position and influence are
concerned, only Knott hole. Knott ha
dropped out. He can hardly be said to have
been punched out He shrunk up. loosen ed.
and ratified out himself. In his first encounter
with Mr.. Blaine he had been so severely han
died as to arouse compassion; the spectacle he
made OF himself yesterday excited only feel
ings of contempt and disgust on the part of his
audience. With committee report under
consideration which was intended to exonerate
him of blame and restore him as it were to the
good graces and the confidence of his fellow
members-a report which had been signed by
all the members of the committee regardless of
party, and would have been adopted by the
House without discussion or dissent-this man
contrived to put himself in such an attitude in
the course of an uncalled-for and indecent
speech of an hour and half as to turn the
whole sentiment of the House against himself,
compel his party friends to withdraw the re-





him, and make of himself most humiliating
spectacle before the country. Congress has
not been lacking in scenes which have brought
the blush of shame to the cheeks of self-re-
specting patriots. American citizens have had
occasion before this to hang their heads in
modification at the performances of some of
their representatives; but this exhibition by
MIR. Proctor Knott was for coarse and cowardlv
abuse, low andlmean insinuation and misrep-
resentation,. tota! disregard of propriety and
md iof,u an1 ln1.h As,,o
brutality, beyond anything ever witnessed in
that line.


No wonder his own party friends were ashamed
of him. No wonder that the report of the COM
mittee was recommitted, so that the gentlemen
composing it could have an opportunity of re-
viewing their opinion of Mr.. Proctor Knott up
on his own exhibition and illustration of him.
self And no wonder that Messrs. Frye and
Hale and Hoar felt called upon to administer a
deserved castigation to him. 1t was not mere
breach OF decorum or violation of the rules of
ordinary courtesy or sudden outburst of pas
sion in bad taste and worse temper. 1t was
something much worse than this, for it was
deliberate, cold -bloeded, revengeful, with moth
ing in the occasion, the circumstances, the time
or the place to excuse or palliate it, but every
thing rather to aggravate its indecency and
meanness. Had there been no word of protest
or rebuke uttered, and had the discussion
stopped with Knott's wild harangue, he would
have been disgraced and dishonored in the
Judgment of the public. The shamefulness of
his conduct did not need to be pointsd out Hi
own utterances made it sufficiently patent.
There will be no doubt in the public mind as to
the justice and proprety of the remarks of
Messrs. Frye, Hale and Hoar in his condemna-
ton. His humiliation was made complete by
the action of his colleagues, who, so far from
giving him any countenance or support, voted
almost to man to recommit the report and
withdraw for the present, at least, the exonera-
rion they had been ready to give him. Good
by, Mr.. Knott.