| OCR Text |
Show I "YOU'VE GOT 0 5HOW TME" I rif Ipll.' Origin and Originator of Missouri's Mc- ytr gpjfi name, Which Inspired Governor Hadley to Of fen W mj500 for a Substitute Bat, Alas! He Couldn't g $L ShoWhp. igp lJ(Lf! (CoprrlrM. 1911. bx tho New Tork Hcrold Co. All'rietiis rwerred 1 S ' F ILLAID JWANDIVIjSr. formerly a Repre- ftH 'mm tentative in Congress, is author of the famous S WW phrase "I'm from Missouri; you've' j?6t to 0J: show me." But it wis not until after this J t expression had given to Missouri n new nickname E the "Show Me" Stale that Its authorship was traced Rjj to Mr. Vawl Ivor. 'IS Curiosity as to how this phrase originated was ( r, aroused by Governor Herbert S. Iladley offering a H ; prize of $u00 to any one who could invent or suggest H a belter nickname for Missouri than "Show Me." tflai ' Governor Ilndley Is a native "Javhawkcr." lie con- '. ceived the idea that there -was as much of a sugges-vt sugges-vt tlon of the inciedulity of Ignorance as of hard headed R( inqulslllvenoss In the expression "I'm from Missouri; I"" you've got to show me." The Governor advocated the "Pioneer State" us a new nickname for Missouri, bc- jt cause, as he said.'Missourians had been the pioneers' wjf In developing the vast territory west of the Missis- KT sippl Itivor. J ' . The people of Missouri, and many outsiders, when m they hcaid of ('oieruor llndley's proposed prize, rose jr up as one man and demanded to he , shown why ukI ! "Show Me" was nor the very best nickname Missouri ' could have. Governor Iladley was- convinced by the Ml , WT ' result of the contest that a great majority of the pco- 55 pic of the Stale wciem'lncnlly satisfied -with '-'Show W Me" as the nickname of Missouri, 'while many rcsent- I cd even jjie suggestion of .1 change, ' " ij .i "Show Me" was.thercfore accepted as the official ,f -nickTianlc of the Plate. By Common consent of-nearly CT L 4.000,000 people It ,was decreed that Missourlrins, , wherever they travel, should be protected In their i?1 right to demand to bo shown. 1; The best historians in the State were consulted in 2 ' an effort to fiud the author of the expression from 9 which the new nickname was taken. They did not II know. The writer, after an effort of several months, Hi has succeeded in establishing tho fact, beyond tho He possibility of contradiction, that Mr. Vnndlvcr is cn- I titled to the credit of inventing the phrase. Mr. Vnndlvcr is a typicaj. Mlssourian. He is tall, straight as an arrow, and has long, wavy white hair. He has been often mistaken for the late Mark Twain, also a native of the "Show Me" State. Mr. Vandiver's phrase Is probably more widely quoted than anything Mark Twain ever wrote. lie Is what Is called In Missouri Mis-souri a "natural boru orator," and Is a debater of (lie rough and ready type. "When be was a member of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the Fifty-sixth r Congress the committee went to Philadelphia to Inspect the navy yard. The members -were Invited to attend a dinner given by the HI Five o'clock Club. Mr. Hull, of Iowa, who was chairman of the Coin 's l mlttee on Military Affairs of the House, was one of i .1 the members of the Congressional party. He and Mr. flf , Vandlver were assigned to ndjoinlng rooms at their 1 ( i hotel. When ihey went lo dress for the dinner they Bl discovered that their evening suits were missing. They reported their plight to the president of the Five m I o'Clcck Club and asked lo be excused from attend- ing The president Insisted that they must attend, I ' regardless of the loss of their evening clothes. It was ' , A with reluctanceJ.hal thev decided to go. " i V . chairman of the committee, opened the oratorical pyrotechnics, pyro-technics, and was followed by Amos Cummlhgs. Governor Hull was the next speaker. Throughout the evening he had enjoyed Mr. Vandlver's discomfiture. discom-fiture. He could not resist the temptation, In his speech, to add to It by-cnlllng attention to the Missou-rlan's Missou-rlan's lack of conventional dress. "When I came to Philadelphia to-night, I too, like Mr. Vandiver, had no Evening clothes," said Governor Hull. "But when I explained the situation to your progresshe tailors theyt-showed .the characteristic v ' K ' K ' P'w'I'a-''-'PHI liffli I ffBWlBw mm I WILLI ARD D. VAN- 'x&r DIVER Author of "Jhn from Missouri, Mis-souri, You've Got to Sttow Mcu' Mr. Vandlver accepted the situation complacently, but Governor Hull showed signs of being worried. Almost at the last moment he hurried to the hotel tailor shop and succeeded In finding an evening suit that fitted him fairly well. He routed It, and laughed lo himself as he thought what a good practical joke It would be when the Missouri Itepresentallve appeared ap-peared at the dinner without an evening suit. Governor Hull's Joke. -The Mlssourian was as much surpriseu" as anybody else when ho saw Governor Hull, across the table from him, wearing a "splketall" coat. Mr. Vnndlvcr was unusually conspicuous by reason ofbolng the only guest ut the banquet In a business suit. After the dinner was finished the speechmaklny starled. The members of the committee were Invited, in turn, to make speeches. Eugene Foss, of Chicago, who was spirit of enterprise of your city by making a suit for "uie in' fifteen minutes. But for their hospitality I could not have been j'our guest at this splendid dln-jier." dln-jier." Mr. Vnudlver squirmed. In his chair. It was his turn to be called. ,When he arose hlstall, slender figure fig-ure accentuated his lack of an evening suit He drew his fingers through his long white hair nnd waded in. He had just won signal laurels In Congress by driving to his lair the eminent republican debater Charles S. Grosvcnor, of Ohio. Ho now made a satirical speech. Ho spoke in the fiee and easy style for which Mis-fjourinus Mis-fjourinus are famous, but In every sentence there wns n fiing at Philadelphia and Governor Hull. "Why," he exclaimed. "Governor Hull is one of the greatest fakers In Congress. Ills story about the gieat enterpiisc and hospitality of your city Is mcr pretence. You aie a hundred years behind the times. Your ballot box stuffers arc still out of Jail and your political corruptionists arc walking free on the streets of your city. . "Your tailors have not shown any disposition to hurry up a dress suit for me. You have hea'rd Governor Gov-ernor Hull's preposterous storv of how they made one for him In fifteen minutes, but I have a different explanation ex-planation for you. When I came to Philadelphia today to-day I had an evening suit. You sec me here without one. The fact of the matter Is flint Governor Hull stole mine. That Is why he Is here lit conventional dross and I am not "The story of your enterprise and hospitality pnlls on me I do notJ)clIeve you have cither. INam from a land of corn and cotton and cockleburrs and demo-orals, demo-orals, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies sat-isfies me. f Tin from Missouri; you've got to show me." The Mlssourian sat down in the midst of loud np-plauso np-plauso Ills rough and ready oratory made a hit with the banqueters The significance of the closing sentence of the Q -f 2-i;E . ' . 's&R&i &?; vJ III T w 'r4 v v'vv ?'v Sv CHAMP CLAJRK Missourian's speech escaped the reporters, but the M Congressional party carried it back to Washington, M nnd it soon found its way to Missouri. But In its M transmission from mouth to mouth the author was M lost sight of. M In a little while Mlssourlans, whenever they were H In doubt, were using the expression, ""You've got H to shoi' me." "Show me' congresses began to H spring up in every pnrt of the Stntc.( In the course of H n few years nobody ever thought of referring to Mis- M sourl as anything else than the "Show Me" State, and IH Mlssourlans were. themselves called the "Show-Mcs." M The popularity of tho new Missouri nickname VB nroiificd the Jealousy of the Illinois "Suckers," tho H Kansas "Jnyhawkers," the Arkausas "Toothpicks," IH the Nebraska '"Bngcaters," tlie Towh "Hawkeyes" IH and the Indlunn "Hooslers." It Is charged Ty Mis- IH fiourlans that the "Suckers," "Jayhawkcrs," "Tooth- H picks," "Bugeaters' "IlaAvkeyes" and "Hooslers" H conspired to give the new nickname of M"ls- fB sourl a meaning which Mlssourlans -ivere not willing H to accept as the correct one. The jealous rivals of IH other States declared that the new nickname meant H that Mlssourlans -were so dull of comprehension that - IH they could not understand even the Blmplest proposl- H tlon, and that they had to be shown how to do every- H thing. M Governor Hndley got this Idea -while he was living H In Kansas, and the germ of it stuck to him after he M became a Mlssourian by adoption. It 'clung to him IH until he wns shown by the contest he Instituted that t IH he had accepted an erroneous Interpretation of "show, IH Meaning of "Show Me." 1 When Mr. Vnndivpr was asked to explain the mean- H Ing of "show me" he said IH "Tlie typical Mlssourian may be a little slow In ac- M tlon, but he Is alert nnd is not easily taken In. He Is M not caiight by the glamour of conventional pretence IH or high sounding phrases In short, he Is a man of ijH good, hard sense, and must be convinced before he Ih fl converted. He laughs at shams and asks to be shown JA the real facts. I think that Is why the phrase 'I'm IH from Missouri; you're got to show me,' has become IH popular.' Champ Clnrk, who will be the next Speaker of the H National Hoftsc of Representatives, has been trying IH for a good many years to give the State the name of l "Imperial Missouri." He Is now convinced that "Show IH Me" will slick. Mr. Clark said- H '"Show me' means that the people of Missouri are IH not easily 'gulled;' that you have to demonstrate a thing to them before they will believe It. Aristotle H said that Ineredulily Is the source of :dl wisdom. H "I gnve tho State the sobriquet of 'Imperial Mis- H sourl' August 10. 1S07. In a speech at Columbia, Mo. H 1 stated that my sobriquet was a growth, as most H other phrnscs which li,vc are a growth. For Instance, H Daniel Wftbster oi-cc said that 'This Is a-govcrnment M of all the people for all the people.' H "Abraham Lincoln took that and remodelled It into H 'a government of the people, by the ie.ople and for fl - the people.'- .-..- A H "In one of the most famous collections of words in H tlie English language the germ of the sobriquet 'Un- H pcrlaliAIIsbOiirr was fmind in a statement by Henry H Waid Beecher that 'Missouri Is an oinilre" within It- ) H self,' but as New York fs called the Phnplre State and 'j Georgia Is the Empire Stale of the Southif we under- H took to call Missouri the Empire State we would have H to add to It and make It the 'Empire State of the H MIssKsippI Valley. which would be too long. After a H good deal of cogitation I hit upon the sobriquet 'Im- H perlal Missouri.' " M Discussing the result of the contest for a new and M better nickname than "Show Me," Governor Hadley H H "In offering the prize I said I preferred the deslgna- M tlon 'Pioneer State' because Mlssourlans had been M pioneers In the development of the West. I said also H that 1 had never oecn particularly enthusiastic over M -the expression 'I'm from Missouri; you've got to show M me,' as it lind In Jt as much of a suggestion of the In- fl credulity of Ignorance as of hardheaded inquisitive- H nes1. However, It was apparent from the discussion j M that there was quite a general satisfaction throughout i H the State and the country with the expression In that H it was supposed to carry with it the suggestion that H the Mlssourian did not propose to have nnythlng 'put H over' on iH "Viewed from that standpoint, the expression and Jl the designation which has been applied to the State H Is not uncomplimentary nor unsatisfactory. IH "It stands as a protest against shams, pretences and H hypocrisy. It signifies tho conservatively aggresslva H attitude of the people of this State against that which H seems to be wrong or presents the appearance of hav- H ing a 'joker' In It" H Mr. Vandiver is now living In St. Louis, where he is H treasurer of an insurance company. He retired from H Congress six yenrs ago to accept an appointment at H Insurauce Commissioner of Missouri under Governor jH Joseph W. Folk. H t - IH |
