It was a blind kind of search. He was the worst
scattered of men. But I will throw the weight
of this introduction upon one very peculiar feature
of Mr. Stanley’s character, and that is his indestructible
Americanism —an Americanism which he is
proud of. And in this day and time, when it
is the custom to ape and imitate English methods and
fashion, it is like a breath of fresh air to stand
in the presence of this untainted American citizen
who has been caressed and complimented by half of the
crowned heads of Europe who could clothe his body
from his head to his heels with the orders and decorations
lavished upon him. And yet, when the untitled
myriads of his own country put out their hands in welcome
to him and greet him, “Well done,” through
the Congress of the United States, that is the crown
that is worth all the rest to him. He is a product
of institutions which exist in no other country on
earth-institutions that bring out all that is best
and most heroic in a man. I introduce Henry
M. Stanley.
DINNER TO MR. JEROME
A dinner to express their confidence
in the integrity and good judgment of District-Attorney
Jerome was given at Delmonico’s by
over three hundred of his admirers on the evening of
May 7, 1909.
Indeed, that is very sudden. I was not informed
that the verdict was going to depend upon my judgment,
but that makes not the least difference in the world
when you already know all about it. It is not
any matter when you are called upon to express it;
you can get up and do it, and my verdict has already
been recorded in my heart and in my head as regards
Mr. Jerome and his administration of the criminal affairs
of this county.
I agree with everything Mr. Choate has said in his
letter regarding Mr. Jerome; I agree with everything
Mr. Shepard has said; and I agree with everything
Mr. Jerome has said in his own commendation.
And I thought Mr. Jerome was modest in that.
If he had been talking about another officer of this
county, he could have painted the joys and sorrows
of office and his victories in even stronger language
than he did.
I voted for Mr. Jerome in those old days, and I should
like to vote for him again if he runs for any office.
I moved out of New York, and that is the reason,
I suppose, I cannot vote for him again. There
may be some way, but I have not found it out.
But now I am a farmer—a farmer up in Connecticut,
and winning laurels. Those people already speak
with such high favor, admiration, of my farming, and
they say that I am the only man that has ever come
to that region who could make two blades of grass
grow where only three grew before.
Well, I cannot vote for him. You see that.
As it stands now, I cannot. I am crippled in
that way and to that extent, for I would ever so much
like to do it. I am not a Congress, and I cannot
distribute pensions, and I don’t know any other
legitimate way to buy a vote. But if I should
think of any legitimate way, I shall make use of it,
and then I shall vote for Mr. Jerome.
Copyrights
Mark Twain's Speeches from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
