Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Feb. 17, 1911, edition 1 / Page 8
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IK'?, Xr- CAfiULTNA;C.0Km OF CURRENT NEWS' Proctor's Pecuiiarities HAPPENINGS AND INCIDENTS OP GENERAL INTEREST TO TAR 1 - v I HEEL CITIZENS. By NED K. MORGAN, v : tKS.t f m f?5a or Divine Sat at Dr. John P. Gulliver, Hearing Him Speak, Was Tremendously Im pressed and Believed Him Di- I vinely Selected to Lead. i 'i ' After Abraham Lincoln had deliv ered his now traditional speech ...at Cooper's Union, in New York, in Feb ruary, 1860, he was urged to speak in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. At that time these three New England states held their elec tions in the early spring; and as the spring elections of I860 were thought iikely to reveal -what populanfeellng was on the question then uppermost Jn the minds of the people, there was a special eagerness on the part of the young Republican party, then about to enter upon its second presidential campaign, to carry these three states. Mr. Lincoln was willing to speak three times in Connecticut, once in Rhode IslaDd, and, if possible, once in New Hampshire. One 6f the towns selected in Connecticut for a speech was Norwich, the home of the Repub lican candidate for governor, William A. Buckingham. ; - One of the "men who sat upon the platform the night that Lincoln de livered his Norwich speech was Rev Dr. John Gulliver. At that time he was one of the most distinguished clergymen in,, his denomination the Congregational. . He afterwards was president of Knox college, id" Lincoln's own state, and later a distinguished professor in Andover seminary, hold ing that position until his death in 1894. "I had been much impressed by the ecanty reports of the speeches made ty Mr. Lincoln in his debates with Douglas," said Dr. Gulliver, "and I was especially impressed by . the re port which appeared in the New York Tribune of the Coopert Union address. But I must say that I was not pre pared for what I saw and heard at the meeting in our own Breed hall. Mr. Lincoln had not spoken five mln utes before he had me completely under his sway. I sat .amazed at the profound logic, irresistible and com plete, Avith which he presented his subject. And I caught mself won dering as doubtless many another wondered' that night how it had hap pened that this lawyer of the prairies, unschooled and untutored, had obtain ed such mastery of the English lan guage and of argument mastery that rose to heights which appeared to me to be sublime. cident of McKinley's Death Mortally Wounded, the Chief Executive Smilingly Welcomed a Buffalo Phy. sician Who Previous Day Had Pair H'm H igh Compliment I believe it was practically the unan imous opinion of those who were near President McKinley at the time of his visit to Buffalo in September, 1901, that at no time during his term as president did he seem so thoroughly happy. He was buoyant, his spirits were high, he was looking forward to an important departure in our eco nomic policy, he had been showered with evidences of the profound esteem and the real "affection, that the people generally entertained for him. He felt he had obtained the full confi dence cf his fellow countrymen that they believed absolutely in his sin cerity and integrity of purpose, and his desire to serve the. whole people impartially and with fairness. .. . Especially did the president ' seem tOv realize all this the day before he was shot down, and he did not hesi tate to express bis sense of gratitude over the discovery. He had a grate ful word for everybody who was pre sented to him that day and sometimes several words. In the course of the afternoon a prominent physician of Buffalo was presented to the president. " There was the usual interchange of formali ties, and then the physician presumed upon the good nature of the presi dent to take a little more of his time. "Mr. President," he said, "I want to take this opportunity to say to you that there is no member of your party who more sincerely admires your courage as president, or who has higher personal respect for you, than I. I am not in any sense a politician, and so I can say this to you without an imputation or suspicion that I have some favor to ask. I have nc favor to ask of you except the one that I believe is in the hearts of all sincere Americans, and that is, that you shall continue through the remainder of your term as president to bring to your great office the dignity and high achievement which have so far char acterized your administration." Probably nothing that was said to the president that day touched him more deeply than the words of this physician, and before he would permit the latter to give way to the gue:s behind him. the president spoke with .feeling and with cordial appreciation of what the -.hysician had said to him i Tfc3 folicwicj; Jay the president. Lincoln's Feet "I was so greatly affected by the speech that- when I returned home and went to bed I found it impossible to go to sleep. I lay awake for hours thinking of the speakor and his speech. And finally I was possessed by the thought that I must see him again must talk with him. Then it occurred to me that he .. was going to take the six o'clock train in the morning for Providence, where he was to speak in the evening, and I determined to meet him at the station. "I got up at once anS Pressed, hitched up my old gray horse, and in the early morning drove down to- the railroad station. It was a dark, gloomy morning, with a mist rising from the river. Alone, I paced the station plat form for about half an hour, and then, through the gloom and the mist, I saw him come around the corner into the alley which led to the station. His tall, gaunt form loomed up grotesque ly in the mist. He was unattended, and he swung a carpet bag' in his hand as he took giant strides towards the station. "I introduced myself to Mr. Lincoln, Best Editorial Spurred on by Horace Greeley, He Produced a Masterpiece When De pressed in Mind and Suffer ing From a Severe Cold. "Literary workmanship is a peculiar thing," said George William Curtis, one day, when he was in a reminis cent mood. "I have sometimes la bored over a paragraph, or even a phrase, In the hope that I could get the perfect verbal expression that I wanted, only to find that the more se vere my labor, the greater my care, the more certainly I missed the mark I was striving for. "On the other hand, I have some times written off-hand, so to say, with no especial definite purpose in mind, only to find that I had written at my best that there was an ease and spontaneity in what I had written and something of my personality or Indi viduality in it. As a result of experi ences of this sort I have sometimes wondered whether, for prose writing, the swift, spontaneous manner of expressing thought is not best after mortally wounded, lay awaiting the arrival of the physicians and sur geons who had been summoned to his side. As these men arrived one after another and bent over him, the wound ed man looked searchingly into each new face, tl was a habit of McKln ley's to look intently into the face of every person he met, that he might remember its owner should they two chance to meet again. Finally, all the men of medicine and surgery who had been summon-ed were present, with one exception, and at last he, too, arrived with all possible speed and bent over the president. For an instant the latter looked pierc ingly at him, then his eyes lighted up in recognition, a smile parted his lips, and he began to speak, faintly, yet clearly. "Doctor," he said, "it was good of you to come. I remember well what you said to me yesterday, and among other things' you told me was this: that' you had no favcr to ask of me. Today I am not so fortunate I have to ask a professional favor of you. But before you begin to render me that favor I want to thank you for coming. Again the president smiled into the face bent over him. Then he gently closed his eyes and patiently awaited the services 'of the physicians and surgeons. (Copyright, 1910, by E. J. Edwards. All Rights Reserved.) Bismarck's New Year Eve. Bismarck was not without supersti tion, and this always was noticeable on the eve of the new year. From nine o'clock that night until after mid night he would not take water in any circumstances from a glass. It was an ancient tradition in the chancellor's family that any one who set the leg end at defiance would pass through a serious illness. If another tradition is true, the observance of the family legend must have been a sore trouble to the iron chancellor, for the Paris contemporary from which we take the fcregoing says that Bismarck not only loved war, but beer and wines, espe cially French .wines. He was not averse to punch and grog, but on New Year's eve grog was under tha ban, for it contains water. Sarcasm. The age of univsrs.-.l peace had dawned. "Git yer af'nocn extry!" bawled the newsboy, yawning. "All 'bout ther' bein ncthin dem'"' told him how I had been seized with the idea to meet him at the station, and ended by asking if I could ride a short distance with him. With the utmost good humor though I after wards learned he had had but two hours sleep and had planned to do some resting on the train he told me that we could sit together while we rode and talk about the matters that were in everybody's mind. And he talked to me for nearly an hour upon the great issue that was before the country." And I sat, content, at his feet. And it seemed to me that I was in the presence of the greatest nature I had ever met. "He left the train at Plainfield," continued Dr. Gulliver, "where it was necessary to change cars for Provi dence. I caught the early train back, and I remember thinking over and over again on the return: 'This man has been selected of God to lead the United States in the great struggle for r. supreme issue.' And when he was nominated for president three months later at Chicago, I felt that my prophetic forecast had been accu rate how marvelously accurate we all know now." (Copyright, 1910, by E. J. Edwards. All Rights Reserved.) of G. W. Curtis all although, of course, such a meth od would not serve poetry. "You may recall that for a time I did editorial work upon the New York Tribune. It was at a time when Hor ace Greeley had an ambition to gather around him in the Tribune office al most everyone who had gained with the public some reputation above the ordinary as a writer. My arrange ments with him permitted me to make occasional lecture trips. Some of these trips, especially those undertak en in winter, made great drafts upon my strength, so that it often happened I returned home completely worn out, although really a rest of a day or two put me In fighting shape again. "Well, from the particular trip I have in mind I returned to New York depressed in mind and body and bringing a severe cold with me, con tracted in the inclement weather that had been my portion the entire two weeks out. I was very glad to be so near my own fireside once more, but as the Tribune office lay on my path way thither I stopped in there for a minute, not expecting to do any work, but to get my mail and notify Mr. Greeley of my return. "As soon as Mr. Greeley say me he cried out to me in. his piping voice: 'George, I am glad you have got here. I want you to write a leader for to morrow morning's paper' and he pro ceeded to outline the subject, which dealt with a delicate foreign situation. " 'But, Mr. Greeley,' I remonstrated, 'I am in no condition to write any thing. I am used up; I am half sick with a bad cold. And, furthermore, I know very little, or almost nothing, about the subject.' "Greeley waved my protests aside. 'Never mind, George, never mind,' he piped, 'you can do it. Turn it over in ycur mind for a few minutes, then get started, and the editorial will come all right. When you have finished it send it up, and then you can go home.' "Well, tired as I was, half sick as I was, little a3 I knew about the sub ject, I decided I would do the best I could, for I saw that Greeley really wanted me to write the editorial. So I spent perhaps half an hour in the library looking up data, and then I 'started in,' as Greeley called it. It was a little hard at first, but at last I forgot all about my. cold, all about my poor aching body, all about every thing except the editorial, and my pen traveled rapidly back and forth across the paper. I had not worked so fast so spontaneously In months. In a little over an hour I finished the edi torial, read it over once, marked it, sent it up to the composing room, and then went home. "The next morning I hardly dared to look at the Tribune for fear that I should be ashamed of my editorial. But instead of that, on reading it In cold type, when I had got my courage screwed up to that point, I found that it was the best editorial I had ever written. It was clear, concise, sponta neous, effective. And a day pr two later, when Greeley saw me again, he cried enthusiastically: " 'George, I told you you could do it if you got started. You never wrote a better editorial, and never will.' "I wish," concluded Mr. Curtis, "that some one would explain to me how it was that I, In that condition, without taking much thought, and no especial pains, nevertheless was able to write as I like to write, and as Greeley, 'v;ho was a very competent judge, liked to have his editors write." (Copyright. 1910. by E. J. Edwards. All Rights Reserved.) Honor for American Woman. Mrs. Grubb, wife of General Grubb, who was formerly United States min ister to Soain. is the only worrrtit Jn the United States who has beenf.fi ored with the Spanish order of the Order of Noble Ladie3 of Maria Luisa. She received it recently from tK ;ueen of Spain. Mrs. Grubb now rv sides at Edggwater, N. J. Raleigh. Mm. V. W. KItcb in, en tertained a few frj3:ids cjmpi-ncionlary to the wives and taus.'it.era cf mem bers of the genor.il a3?.ewiM" visiting in Raleigh, all of 'vhoni were invited Richmond. O. A. Starbuck, formei division deputy collector of the Unit ed States internal revenue departmenl stationed at Greensboro, has been made general deputy collector on duty with Colonel W. H. Chapman, United .States revenue agent for the Fourth North Carolina and Second Virginia collection districts, with headquarters in Richmond. Washington. James J. Britt of North Carolina was nominated by President Taft to be third assistant postmaster general. Mr;- Britt has served for a number of years as a special assistant attorney general for the postofflce department. He will succeed , A. L. Lrwshe, who resigned because of ill health. Durham. The Durham and - South Carolina railroad case will not be in vestigated as was expected, the post ponement of the hearing being until some date not now determined. Ill ness of Superintendent R. A. Huney cutt and Agent J. M. Reams made a continuation necessary. Unjust freight distribution is the charge lodged against the road. I Raleigh. Phillip Mills, the colored i wife murderer, of Transylvania coun ty, died in the electric chair in the state prison. The prisoner made no statement. He and his wife quar reled about the possession of their i children. She ran with the baby in her arms. He struck her over the head with a gun, killing her and causing fatal injuries to the child. Raleigh. In custody of Chief-of-Police N. H. Dunlap, of Maxton, Sheriff Sharp of Wilson, and a posse cf Kuards, Lewis West, the negro who killed Deputy Sheriff Munford and dangerously wounded Chief of Police Clover at Wilson, is locked in the penitentiary here. All doubt of the identity of the prisoner is dispelled by positive Identification. Spencer. In keeping a state-wido movement inaugurated by the 22,0(M members of the Junior Order of Unit ed American Mechanics in North Car olina, Spencer council No. 74, forward ed a petition to the general assembly at Raleigh asking that an act be pass ed requiring that the Bible be taught in the public schools of the state. It is demanded that the Bible be made a text book in the schools. Asheville. An effort will be made to allow Buncombe county to ve mi an issue of $100,000 or more of I a for the improvement of the roads in all parts of the county, according to the program outlined by the Bun combe County Good Roads associa tion. If the county commissioners find they have not the power to call the election without authorization by the legislature, such' an act' will be asked to be presented. Statesville C. L. Davis, a citizen of Davidson, has been placed under a .$100 bond by Justice Turner for his appearance at the next term of Iredell superior court to answer the charge of. "biting off the nose of Will Alley." Charlotte. Rev. Dr. John L. Cald well, of Pinebluff, Ark., will fill the pulpit at the First Presbyterian church for the next two months. On the first of May, Mr. Caldwell will assume the presidency of the Presby terian college. Durham. Judge Jeter C. Pritchard. has been invited to make the annual address before Trinity college and the public here February 22 and has sic. cepted the invitation. Judge Pritch- J ara comes under the auspices of the , "9019" society, the scholarship organ- ization of the college. The day it- I self is known as the civic celebration ! and is ditlnct among .the large oc casions at Trinity college. Charlott?. A total of 51.0S0.55 was ! realized from, the polico co-irt during j January. Of this 8 mo j: tit $rol.'J4 con sisted of fines, $J52.!;5. was coBts and a miscellaneous rsmitianuo of $33.6 completed the total. Shelby. Charlotte people have bought the Patterson springs pro perty here, embracing 100 acres of valuable land. The property was sold under a decree of court The property is situated four miles from here, on the Southern railway, and has a hotel building on it. Stanley. At a very enthusiastic mass meeting a new county was launched. It will be comprised of part of Gaston and Lincoln counties. Greensboro. Greensboro has adopt ed the commission form of govern ment, including the features of the Initiative, referendum and recall by a two to one ballot. , Raleigh. The supreme court grant ed licenses to practice law to thirty five of the forty-five applicants who undertook examination when the cour opened for the spring :rm. Copyright, igii. by Associated Literary Press "But, Nan, you love me!" Nan Hartwick shook her head ob stinately. "I have a right to my career, Jimmie. Can't you wait?" "Wait?" He looked at her yearn ingly. "I don't want, to wait. I want to marry you and take care of you. And what career is there open to you ?" "Mr. Proctor will surely be elected mayor," she answered. "And I will go to the city hall with him. See the opportunities I will have to do good! There will be poor families to help, and hungry men to set to work, and wrongs that I can set right. This is a big city, Jimmie; I will be in a posi tion to make life brighter for many people." "I don't like this man Proctor," said Jimmie Marquis, frowning. "Mr. Proctor is a gentleman," re turned the girl quietly, but with flash ing eyes. "Oh, he's all right that way," Jim mie hastened to concede; "but some times I think the fellow's crazy. His father and two of his brothers, you know, were con3ned In asylums at dif ferent periods of their lives. He cer tainly looks queer, himself, when he gets to yelling about the 'rights of the people and waving his arms, that long hair in his eyes " "If the professional politicians had given more attention to the rights of the people," interrupted Nan, tartly, "an obscure lawyer wouldn't now be on the verge of election as mayor of the biggest city of the state. They are all against him; every newspaper is hostile, even. He has no &ne but himself to fight his battles." ' "Beg pardon, Nan; the Eagle isn't hostile to Proctor. We may poke a little fun at him, but I have my in structions to give 'the people's candi date' a square deal. And I'm doing it. "But let Proctor take care of him self; won't you marry me, darling?" Nan answered him firmly: "Not as long as there are such opportunities before' me. Can't you wait two or three years, Jimmie?" Gloom could not long maintain an abiding place on the sunny face of Jimmie Marquis; even now, when he had never been more serious, he smiled. "Wait?" he cried. "Of course I'll wait, sweetheart! And I may not "I Forgot the Most Important Part of My Errand." have to; there will be no career for you unless Proctor becomes mayor. And he hasn't been elected yet." Jimmie, political reporter on the Morning Eagle, went to Rudolph Proc tor the next afternoon to get his views on the municipal ownership of certain utilities, incidentally, he expected to pick up and embellish in his own clever fashion some of the man's pe culiarities. These little sidelights were eagerly read, for the "people's candi date" was sweeping everything before him, and there was keen interest in hi3 personality, hitherto unknown. And then, of course, he wouldsee Nan, who was secretary and stenographer to the candidate. The candidate had been working at a tremendous strain for seyeral weeks, and against strong opposition. It wag beginning to tell in his mauner and appearance: Jlmmia found the tall, angular young lawyc-r, with his wide, thin, orator's mouth, pacing back and forth across his private oflice. He was gesticulating freely and holding forth on his favorite topic, politics, to Nan. His black eyes were glistening with ex citement; his hair tumbled about his forehead in confusion. He received Marquis with a stiff dignity, but thawed when the reporter had explained his errand. With a weighty clearing of his throat, he be gan to expound bis views, which were original, to say the least. "Hadn't you better dictate that, Mr. Proctor?" Interrupted Nan. Jimmie started in astonishment. In the first place, such a suggestion was almost an aspersion on hi3 good faith and ability as a reporter; and in the jecond place she spoke very different ly from the assuredV cheerful Nan he was accustomed to eVpe. , Jimmie looked at her curiously. Her face was almost as whitvas ner shirt waist, and her hands wer trembling violently. There was something in her eyes that brought Jimmie half out of his chair with a question on his lips. x But the question was not asked. She shot him a look of warning and en treaty that sealed bis lips. He sank back again, silent, but watchful and un satisfied. "All this byplay had taken but a sec ond or two. While it was being enact ed Proctor glanced keenly, almost sus piciously, from one to the other. Then, apparently satisfied with his scrutiny, he agreed. "A very good idea, Miss Hartwick; no possibility of mistakes, then. And a good many mistakes have been made, this campaign." The interview was soon given and transcribed. While Jimmie was still marveling at Nan's peculiar actions. Proctor read the typewritten . sheets, nodding his head with satisfaction. But when he held them out to JIej mie, it was Nan who took theinTTroml his hand. "Let me write qn here what it is," she said, with a pltifui ghost of a smile. She Inserted the first sheet in the machine and clicked off a few words. Jimmie, more mystified than ever, took the manuscript and bowed him- self out; but in the general office, where three clerks were busy with campaign literature, he stopped. The last appealing look which Nan had given him impelled the reading of that sentence. And this is what it said: "P. wildly insane; revolver in pocket; says he is going to kill all o us. Please help me." Jimmie, summoning a whistle' to his stiff lips, turned back to the pri vate office again. He longed to run, but did not dare to do so; precipitate action might result in a tragedy. He walked carelessly back, and thrust open the door without knocking. Proctor was Btriding up and down, talking about , "the rights of the peo ple," and those who would ".crucify the people's leader.' Nan, huddled in her chair, watched him fearfully. The candidate swung on his heel sharply when Jimmie entered; but he was given no time for protest. "Oh, Mr. Proctor," he said, easily, "I forgot the most important part of my errand. The Eagle has decided to come out for you strong. They want to 'play up' this interview, first page, and all that, and need three or four thotographs of you in characteristic poses, to illus trate it. So put on your hat; there's a : photograph gallery across the street." . ." Jimmie could see the outline of the heavy revolver in Proctor's coat pock et as he spoke. The madman made' a'.. half-motion toward the weapon; his eyes glittered dangerously. Jimmie's. muscles contracted; he rose on his toes, ready to launch himself onto the' other if the movement were .completed. But there was no necessity for a struggle, after all. The ruse won. Proctor smiled a -smile-of gratiCid vanity. ;'' . ;' "Very well,":-he acquiesced; pom-. , pously. "I am; glad "the Eagle" is - at last to align itself fearlesly on the side of right. We can give them some very striking pictures." -k" He caught up. hls ht; Jimmie locked, his arm within Hhetihadman's, steered him gently through the - doorway, across the otttej tfice and down the , stairs. ProctpK' bejym a loud-voiced , speech to hisudtejlee of one. Watch- . ing his chanc;th'e;feporter deftly re moved the revplvelirciii' the madman's pocket. '!'$ " ' When the 1 patfo jwagon had gal loped away withi vftS. frothing, strug- t gling prisoner; tttsflje,:- elbowed his way rudely through: the'crow.d; that had collectedr darted into the hallway and hounded upa-frs hree steps at a time. He rushed 'through Proctor's outer office like a football player with a goal in sight and threw open "the 'InV ner door. Nan had slipped to the floor in a faint, but when he knelt beside her and gathered her in his arms, her eye3 opened and she smiled. "He's gone?" she whispered, and reading confirma tion in Jimmle's eyes, "I knew you could do it How I prayed for you to come! All the afternoon he watched me. He wouldn't let me go near the door or the telephone. We were to be the human sacrifice to insure his elec tion, he said." She shuddered at the thought of the danger that had stopped so close. ' x Her glance wandered to the three clerks who clustered, big-eyed with astonishment in the doorway. "Oh, Jimmie," she said, and clung to him, "take me away from here! I don't want a career. I want a home with you!" " ' A Critical ; Period. And it finally came to pass that the women got the suffrage. "What are you going to dtf.with it?" asked an innocent bystander. "Well," explained the womfto, "noth ing of importance can be dene with out disturbfng business, and of course we don't want to do that." And thus was another crisis n the history of the world successfully averts ed. Life.
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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Feb. 17, 1911, edition 1
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