OAF A IT A TT.T.TTS'mrAWfim "
"November 20 , iSoi ) .
Speaker Henderson s
Chiefest Hobby
( Copyrighted , ISM ) , by the 8. S. McClure Co. )
Belting aside questions of public policy ,
there Is no subject upon which David Brcn-
nor Henderson has moro pronounced views
than uixti the lni | > ortanco to young men of
thorough training in the art of disputation.
This Is quite natural In a man whoso excepfi
tlonal abilities as a public speaker and a
debater have been aiich powerful aids to ad
vancement as they have In Colonel Hcndortj
HOII' case. It Is true that ns speaker of the
house of representatives , ono of the most
dllllcult bodies In the world to control , ho
will need to bring comparatively untried
faculties into play , but beyond a doubt his
Hpoechoa and debates on the floor of the
house , In conventions and on the platform
have been a special training which will bo
of Immense advantage to him in his now
place. His predecessor , Thomas Bracket !
Iloeil , was all the stronger as presiding
olllcer because of his aklll In debate.
"Tbero was no progressive American
neighborhood without Its debating society
when 1 wan young , " Bald Colonel Henderson
the other day. "Some communlttw boasted
of two or moro and the young man who took
no Interest In their meetings was decidedly
at a dlBadvantago In more ways than one
among his associates. Every sort of topic
was discussed by .the youthful debaters and
with quite OH much earnestness as If the de
cision of the Judges at the eloHQ of each ds- )
puto were binding upon thu whole world ,
At first blush you may not perceive how 1
general and thorough Is the training re- '
celvod , how wide the range of Information 1
acquired by the young man who throws himi
self heart and soul Into general debating , >
but a little reflection will convince you that
the ability to express bis views Is only one 1
of thu advantages ho derives.
"Ono of tbo moat desirable things about
regular debating Is that the speakers are 1
forced to read extensively and study deeply.
In no other way can they hope to stand a 1
chance of making a good showing. Such 1
reading and study Is far moro beneficial than 1
ordinary preparation for class room work ,
In the ono case ho must take the Initiative ,
must bring out every possible point In favor
of his contention In order to sustain his side
of the dispute. Besides , ho must under-
Btnnd nil the points likely to 'bo advanced
on the other sldo that ho may the moro
readily answer them. In the other case he
has only to acquaint himself sulllclently with
the subject to make a fairly satisfactory
recitation possible. H la not expected that
ho will take the Initiative at all ; the In
structor does that.
"Tho higher institutions of learning In
this country could do the young men of
America no greater service than to make a
specialty of instruction In disputation and
public speaking. It would Increase the hold
of the students vastly upon the things they
know and HO would bo of great advantage
oven to those who do not enter public life ;
to those who do It would bo simply Invalu-
able. The simple power of thinking on his
feet Is something which many a man has
had to learn long after his school days have
passed , but It Is something that must of
necessity bo acquired by every youngster
who attonda n debating school of the sort
that was common in Iowa In the 'GO'S.
Nowadays few such organizations are to bo
found anywhere , I am afraid. "
When Colonel Henderson won a boy , living
at homo with his father's family on "Hen-
dorson's 1'ralrlo , " the debating school was
his greatest passion , and undoubtedly ho
owes much to the experience ho acquired
then. There was a debating society In the
homo neighborhood which hold Its meeting
in the "Henderson school house ; " there
was another In the neighborhood to the
west , and yet another to the south. As the
school house In which the societies In the
adjoining neighborhoods mot were within
easy riding distance ho Joined all three and
gave up three nights each week to disputa
tion. Naturally , ho had to devote virtually
all his spare time to preparing himself for
the debates. This gave him little oppor
tunity for the ordinary amusements of '
youngsters of Ills own age , for often
the questions at Issue before the three 1
debating societies were of the most di
verse nature and It was his prac
tice always to Inform himself as thoroughly
on the opposite side as on his own.
On ono occasion tbo question to bo debated I
was very Intricate , and , moreover , ono re
garding which a good deal could bo said on i
both sides. Young Henderson noticed this i
In his reading , and soon after ho arrived I
at the school house was mighty glad ho had.
It was customary to have three speakers i
or more on each side , the question generally
being worded so that ono sldo took the af
firmative and tbo other tbo
negative. Hen
derson's reputation had como to bo such j
that he was generally chosen , as on tbla
.
occasion , to open the debate In support of
the ninrmatlve. Naturally , tbo next best debater -
bater in the society was Invariably selected
to lead for the negative. Henderson had
already enjoyed some close disputes with
the young man who was to oppose him that
night , and was wondering how ho could best
him , for tbo negative side was at least as
strong as the ulllrmatlvo. Hut when the
mooting was called to order It was an
nounced that the leader of the negative was
not present and would not bo there. In the
regular course of events the duty of answer
ing Henderson on behalf of the negative
contention would have devolved upon the
second speaker on that side , but that Indi
vidual | declined to accept the responsibility
and so did the next speaker. In the clr-
cunistaiiccti , It was at first proposed to give
up | the- debate , llcforc deciding upon that
course , however , the presiding ofllcor sug
gested ( that perhaps Henderson would consent -
sent to lead both sides.
Ho demurred for a moment , but on second
thought concluded to accept the proposition ,
and , then ensued a debate the like of which
had | never before been heard In tbo little
school house. For the nlllnmaUvo side Hen
derson J ( made so many strong points that a
decision ] | In Its favor appeared to bo a fore
gone conclusion , and when ho had finished
the ) speakers who were to support him In
opposition ] to himself felt that he had hardly
treated them fairly. After a brief Interval
for real ho arose again and proceeded to
answer his own arguments. He sccuica
fulily to outdo himself , and uhen ho eat
down the second time not ono person In the
room could decide which side had fared
best at his hands. The feeling of uncer
tainty was not dispelled by the subsequent
spcakoiH on cither side , and the result , in
{ act , was a draw , the Judges being entirely
unable to decide as to the weight of evidence
adduced.
A I'lilcruill A < linonllliii.
A few hours after his enlistment In 1801
David B. Henderson went homo to talk the
situation | over with the family. The possi-
billty ; that some member thcrcoi might go
u the front had often been discussed with
bated i , breath , though , ns in so many other
instances | , , it hud seemed exceedingly remote
hitherto. Hut David had transformed pos-
slblllty ) Into certainty and his announcement
was like a bombshell In the houjohold.
Ilesides him there wore five Henderson
sons James , Thomas , George , William and
Alexander. As soon as David had explained
the situation a family council was called.
Every ono understood that David's step was
Irrevocable , ftnd therefore no ono sought to
discuss Its wisdom. ( Apparently none of the
sons ( doubted It ; at all events every ono of
them 'was eager to follow David's example.
Hut , this wouldn't do , of courso. The father
had , passed the ago limit and therefore ho
must stay at homo , but It would bo Impossl-
iiin for him to carry on the accessary farm-
ing operations-010110 and sonic of tbo sons
must remain. It was David himself who
pointed this out. Not all could flght , ho
aid ; the Industries of the country must go
on despite the war and the duty of the loyal
noble that of the
stay-at-home was as as
soldlor. This was clear enough and the
night was given over to a heated discussion
as to who should not enlist. It was finally
agreed that three should stay and three
should go , the selection of soldiers and stayl'
at-homes to bo based upon considerations
of sound sense. Alexander , next older than
David ( who was the youngest ) , had always
been closest to him , and Alexander declared
with Hashing eyes that no matter who else
remained at homo ho should go if David did.
But the final decision was that James and
J
George , who were married men , should stay
at home , Thomas and William should fol-
J
low David's example and enlist , while
Alexander should remain with his parents
to help work the old farm. Ho finally
yielded , though protesting bitterly.
It was G In the morning when the family
council was ready to disperse. Mother
Henderson ] had sat weeping all night bo-
cause David , "her baby , " was going to the
front | , and she remained weeping while
Father j Henderson knelt and prayed 'aloud
nt the end of the deliberations. No member
of tbo Henderson family over forgot that
prayer. , Father Henderson habitually spoke
with a broad Scottish burr , but In prayer or
exhortation , bo generally dropped It for
"pulpit English , " clear and forcible In con-
structloi , ) . In the gray dawn of that fall
morning , his diction was clearer and stronger
than usual , and at the conclusion of his
prayer ; when all arose from tholr knees the
mental : atmosphere was calm and clarified.
Then , taking David by the arm , Father 1
Henderson led him from the house and out ,
behind the barn. There the two had a long
talk , at the close of which the elder of the i
two men said solemnly : *
"Now , David , I am sure you don't yet ap-
predate what you have done ; you don't ;
realize what you have to face. Hut you i
are doing what Is right and I have only to i
say this ; Don't falter. I don't want to i
sco your face again unless you can como.
homo with honor , "
Then thu father kissed the son and they
shook 1'iuids with n grip that was llko a i
clasp of steel ,
\ . Mi-mory In lliiUlc.
The memory of that paternal admonition 1
remained with David I ) . Henderson all '
through his soldiering days. . It was weeks
after his company In which ho ranked as '
lirst lieutenant had gouo south before ho
was under lire , at Fort Donolson. Colonel
Henderson had often confessed , to hieIntl -
mates that the crucial test of facing death i
of advancing against flying shot and shell 1
and singing bullets gave him a strange , un-
certain feeling. Hut above the roar of the
guns , the screaming of the shells and the
song of the bullctB ho seemed to hear the
solemn , measured tones of his father :
"Don't falter. I don't want to see your
face again unless you can como homo to mo
In honor. "
Then there arose from the young lieu-
tenant's heart an Inarticulate prayer , while
THE SPEAKER OP THE FIFTY-SIXTH CONGRESS DAVID B. HENDERSON OF
IOWA.
in wordless self-communion ho reasoned out
the situation something to this effect :
"You are in the place you should be In.
You are doing your duty. Face It. Don't
falter. "
Then all fear rolled away , and when ho
turned ' to encourage his men , some of whom
showed palo faces and quivering , ashen lips ,
ho was cheerful , almost smiling , and It was
given to him to shout the order in ringing
tones ' :
"Closo up , men ! Close up ! "
Then , with a dash , they made for the
breastworks , hero and there a man falling1
by the sldo of their young leader till eleven
had been stricken. Just at the moment of
J1
J triumph Henderson felt a stinging pain In
the J lower part of the face , there was a plon-
tlful gush of blood ho had been shot the ,
first time ho was under flre. His Jaw was i
broken and itwas thought for a time that
ho must surely die. However , a furlough i
spent at Henderson's Prairie , where ho had i
the care of his mother , pure air to breathe i
and plenty of good country fare brought him i
round right speedily and ho was soon at the i
J
j front again. In the battle of Shlloh his i
. brother | Thomas , the second son of the Tarn-
J lly , was killed instantly , shot through tbo
heart in the thick of the flght at the locality
which has since been termed the "Hornet's i
Nest. "
No two men have over worked together In i
closer harmony than Colonel Henderson and 1
Senator Allison. Thu senator likes to tell I
bow 1 and 'when ' he first saw Henderson. It
was i when the latter took bis famous band I
of student recruits to Dubuque.
"Someone said ono morning that a coun '
tryman I wished to see me , " says the senator ,
who was in charge of the Dubuque recrult-
ing 1 station. "I asked that ho bo shown In ,
and a tall , clean-limbed , clear-eyed young '
ster i entered. Ho had a lot of recruits with
him 1 and bo said his name was Henderson.
I looked at the recruits ; they were all right.
Henderson bad not only brought those boys
In ! on his own responsibility , but he had |
done i It with almost no expense to anyone ; '
his enthusiasm had been so Infectious that
the farmers had been glad to feed and trans-
port ; them free. "
That was the sort of chap Allison was
looking for and the friendship then .begun
has novor'beon broken. After the war was
over It was 'Allison who advised Henderson
In politics and law ; It was Allison who sug
gested to Henderson that ho should run for
congress and backed him up In tbo canvass ;
they have been together In every campaign J
over since and could not feel bound together
In closer friendship were they born of the
Bamo mother. I. D. M ,
" Crushed
Detroit Free Press : Spllklns Is n college
graduate. The other evening ho was calling
on a young lady and they were talking over
the results of the Saturday foot ball games. ,
"Were you a foot ball player , Mr. Spll
klns ? " asked the young lady.
"Oh , yes , Indeed , I was quite a star In my
"
day.
"Oh , you were. Ono of those falling stars i ,
I suppose , "
Spllklns went homo early.
Reminiscent 1 of the
Late Governor
Satmders
The veteran Ottumwa newspaper man , S.
S.r
D. Evans , has recalled the following Inter
| esting story of the late Governor Alvln
Saunders , which has found its way Into
print ' In the Conservative , from which it is
reproduced- '
"Tho recent death of Alvln Saunders , ex-
x11
governor i of Nebraska , calls to mind a peril
which the writer shared with the governor
about ' nineteen years ago in New Mexico.
At that time the railway had not reached
Santa ' Fe , but Espanola , a town of Inchoate
tom
civilization ' , was the terminus , and from
there ' to Santa Fe , a distance of about thirty
miles , the old-fashioned stage made the
distance. i Governor Saunders add one or
two ' of his friends , bad been at Santa Fo
and i were on their way home by the way of
Denver , and tlfey were on the stage. The
writer's destination was also Espanola ,
thence : ho designed going to the Indian village 1-
1o
lage of Santa Clara , where he was to procure -
cure a party of Indians and explore the
mountains westward.
"The stage , with four horses attached ,
rolled out of the sleepy old town one sum-
mer : atternoon in the rainy season , and two
hcurs behind time ; the weather when wo
started was fine ; not a cloud In the skies ,
but before we had reached the San Juan
river a violent etorm came on , Hooding the
country with water and made the roads
heavy and as muddy as they could be In
that land cf sand and clay. We did not ,
therefore , reach the San Juan river until
after dark and the "river" that Is ordinarily
but a dry arroyo with scarce enough water
in It to satisfy the thirst of a mule , veIn
found to bo a raging torrent , 100 yards In
with , Its tawny surface agitated , angry and
forbidding.
"The driver hesitated and seemed loth to
urge his horses Into the current ; thceo who
know most about the treacherous stream , Its
quicksands and the murky waters , were
those who seemed most willing to camp on
the shore and wait for the waters to sub-
side ; wo did wait a time and at loot the
passengers , of whom there were eight or
ten , voted to go on and the driver gathered
up the reins , cracked his whip and oncour-
aged the leaders of bis team to plunge In. ,
The waters were surcharged with mud and
sand brought down from the mountains and
each ono realized that If the stage were
overturned there would bo narrow chances :
Indeed for anyone to swim out with clothIng -
Ing saturated In such a mixture of mud and
water ; all depended , therefore , upon cross.
Ing the stream without turning over. 13.V
"I was sitting on the same scat with Gov-
eriior Saunders , he on the left and I on he
right , or that sldo which first ed
the current. I deemed that I had a edt
fortunate position and bad made up my mind
that In case the stage should turn over ndI
would Jump so as to throw myself out of
the entanglements and thus escape from >
being rolled over and over inside that coach
and drowned llko n rat In a trap. I was
quite confident I could escape according to
the plan I had laid , but remember now
how sorry I felt for the big governor who
would have no chance to Jump. The stage
rolled , tumbled , groaned and trembled and
several times It seemed to bo evenly bal
anced between turning over and holding on ;
the water leaked In at the bottom and rolled
over in a wave over the sldo of the coach
and I presume everybody prayed for de
liverance ; the driver , however , was a superb
follow ; ho kept cool , cracked his whip , en
couraged his horses and the faithful beasts
at last pulled us out of the Jaws of death.
" this time It dark and
"By was pitch lan
terns were brought out ; the coach ascended
a hill and the assistant driver from the
station who had met us nt the ford , went
ahead with the lantern to explore the way.
The driver at last yelled out : "You fol
lows who want to e.ivo your skins and bones
pllo out of that coach for hell's a poppln' all
round here ! " Wo fellows piled out , the big
governor nt the last and the coach had not
gone fifty yards further when It turned over
and over and disappeared In .the depths of n
ravine. Wo all walked on to the station
of San Juan and It was there that I last
saw ex-Governor Saunders. "
About Noted People
Judge Isaac Story of Somervllle , Mass. , n
relative of the famous commentator of the
constitution , Is the second oldest judge In
his state. The other day he celebrated his
eighty-first birthday in vigorous health. Ho
has been on the bench twenty-six years and
rarely missed a session of court.
Robert Barr , the novelist , has escaped the
early trials through which , according to
tradition , most literary men must pass. He
says that his first article "was gracefully
accepted" by the first magazine to which It
was sent , and that unvarying success fol
lowed. His only struggles , he adds , were
with the English language.
Judge Albert G. Norrell of Utah , formerly
of Mississippi , speaking recently in his homo
state of Congressman-elect Brlgham H.
Roberts , said : "Roberts Is really a man
of considerable ability. Physically he Is one
of the finest-looking men I ever saw , and
were it not for his plurality of wives ho
would be regarded as a good citizen any
where. "
Richard E. Brooks , the sculptor , has com
pleted for the Boston city hall a series of
medallion portraits of the living ex-mayors
of Boston. They will be hung In the may
or's office and take the place of the portraits
traits hitherto customary. They represent
Dr. Samuel Green , General A. P. Martin ,
Thomas N. Hart , Nathan Matthews , Jr. ,
Edwin U. Curtis and the approaching "ex-
mayor. " Josiah Quincy.
H. A. London of North Carolina , who was
a member of Confederate General Bryan
Grimes' staff , reiterates in a recently pub
lished letter that General Grimes planned
and commanded the last charge at Appomattox -
mattox , and that General W. R. Cox's North
Carolina brigade fired the last volley there.
The distinction has been claimed for other
southern troops , notably the sharpshooters
of General Evans' division , under command
of Captain William Kalgler.
Spain is forgetting the disasters of the
war in the tragedy of the retirement of the
most famous of bullstlckers , Guerrlta do
Cordova , before whose sword over 3,000 vic
tims have fallen. He Is still in the prime
of life , and his retirement is- said to be due
to religious conversion. He attended a re
ligious festival and as ho gazed at the im
ago of the Virgin he was overc me by a
sense of the blood bo had spilt and of the
Injuries ho had brought upon his colleagues.
So he went homo and snipped oft the lock
of hair that marks the toreador.
An Incident which Is probably unique In
Mr. Chamberlain's parliamentary experience
occurred during the special session of par
liament. At ono stage of the colonial secre
tary's three hours' defense of his policy In
the Transvaal he suddenly lost the thread
of the argument he was pursuing , looked up
at the colling with a curious expression , and
then exclaimed : "Where was I ? " Mr. Balfour -
four , in an undertone , supplied the cue and
Mr. Chamberlain , with a Jaunty "Oh , yes , "
immediately recovered himself and resumed
at the point where bo left off. The incident
was BO rapid in its action that It doubtless
escaped general observation.
Ono of Mr. Hobart's neighbors tell how
the vice president made his first fee as a
lawyer. Ho was employed to write the will
of a well known manufacturer of Paterson ,
who was wealthy. Asked hla fee , Mr. Hobart -
bart , the legal fledgling , replied : "One hun
dred dollars. " It was from this that ho
received a significant hint how to succeed
as a lawyer. The manufacturer was well
pleased with his attorney and turning to bis
desk drew out a package of bank checks
that had como In during the regular course
of business. Taking up ono for $800 ho In
dorsed It and handed it to Mr. Hobart.
"With this start in life , " said the narrator
of the story , "Mr. Hobart married the
daughter of Socrates Tuttle , who has been
his helpmeet through all the years that have
followed. Years afterward Mr. Hobart
learned that tbo granddaughter of bis first
client was about to bo married , and that the
family had been reduced to financial straits.
Ho sent to her his check for ? 1CO to assist
In purchasing her trousseau and took steps
to provide other members of the family with
employment. "
