Maxon, Virginia

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Robert G. Cousins

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Volume 14 | Number 7 Article 2
7-1-1933
Robert G. Cousins
Virginia Maxon
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Recommended Citation
Maxon, Virginia. "Robert G. Cousins." The Palimpsest 14 (1933), 253-266.
Available at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/palimpsest/vol14/iss7/2
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The Palimpsest
E D I T E D  B Y  J O H N  E L Y  B R I G G S  
V o l . X I V  I s s u e d  in  J u l y  1 9 3 3  N o .  7
C O P Y R I G H T  1 9 3 3  B Y  T H E  S T A T E  H I S T O R I C A L  S O C I E T Y  O F  I O W A
Robert G. Cousins
Lest we forget — lest we forget.” . . .
His deep rich voice, vibrant with feeling, 
swelled to the corners of the great Hall of Repre­
sentatives and died away. Silence echoed an in­
stant while the speaker, young and tall and im­
pressive, resumed his seat. Somewhere in the 
audience a man coughed nervously, suggesting a 
sob. A nose was blown. Dry throats murmured 
in audible swallowing. Then a gust of heavy 
applause rose and fell and rose again thunder­
ously. The orator bowed his dark, well-shaped 
head in acknowledgment.
Robert G. Cousins, United States Representa­
tive from Iowa, had just concluded his speech on 
the sinking of the Maine. In scarcely more than 
five minutes, he had deeply stirred the hearts of 
his fellow Congressmen. With a few beautiful 
words he had plead powerfully for an appropri-
253
254 THE PALIMPSEST
ation to relieve the families of the victims of the 
Maine disaster. Grimly his tribute recalled the 
tragedy of the great battleship to those in whom 
lay the power of making reparations for a grate­
ful nation “to its dead defenders and their living 
kin" — a feeble sort of recompense. “Human na­
ture does, in human ways, its best, and still feels 
deep in debt.”
The classic speech, so scant in length, so rich 
in eloquence, was speedily reported on the front 
page of newspapers all over the country. Almost 
overnight, Representative Cousins found himself 
the popular author of an address which critics 
were exalting to oratorical heights. “Silver- 
tongued”, “golden-voiced”, he was called. 
Stacked into a column, the clippings quoting and 
commenting upon his Maine speech might have 
approximated his own towering height of six feet 
two.
Editor Medill of the Chicago Tribune declared, 
closing an editorial of March 22, 1898, “Like 
Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg, Mr. Cousins’ 
brief address will be preserved as one of the gems 
of American oratory.” Unqualified admiration 
came from Democratic Kentucky in the article of 
“Savoyard”, Louisville Courier-Journal reporter, 
when he affirmed: “I have been about this capitol 
the most of the last twenty years but I have never
ROBERT G. COUSINS 255
seen nor heard anything on that floor that even 
approached this gem of a speech.” And nearer 
home, expanding with pride at the prowess of a 
native son, yet attempting to remain clear-visioned 
in its praise, the Des Moines Iowa State Register 
commented: “We do not exaggerate when we say 
that Mr. Cousins’ speech on the wreck of the 
Maine has been more commented upon and has 
received more praise than any one other speech 
delivered during the present controversies over 
Cuba . . . We believe that Mr. Cousins has
made a place for himself in school books of the 
future and in the histories of two republics.”
Thrilled by the Congressman’s brilliant flight 
into Websterian realms, his friends at home in 
Tipton, Iowa, staunchly declared they “always 
knew Bob Cousins would do something some­
day.” Of course it was a little hard to reconcile 
their recollections of a sunburned youngster, who 
used to race bare-legged through his father’s hay 
fields, with a dignified, earnest political figure 
swaying multitudes with his eloquence. But then, 
“Bob” had worked hard and learned much since 
those hay-field days.
Until he was twenty-one, life had consisted 
mostly of schoolbooks and farm chores for Robert 
G. Cousins. He was born on January 31, 1859, 
in the Red Oak Grove community five miles north
256 THE PALIMPSEST
of Tipton. Pioneer blood flowed in the veins of 
the son of James and Mary (Dallas) Cousins: 
both grandfathers, Robert Cousins and Robert 
Dallas, had been among Cedar County’s earliest 
settlers, the former coming in 1841, the latter in 
1839.
After tramping to school in the winter and 
making hay and plowing corn on his father’s farm 
during the summer until late in his teens, “Bob” 
entered Cornell College at Mount Vernon, fifteen 
miles away. He graduated in 1881 as a Bachelor 
of Civil Engineering and three years later, having 
“sustained a good moral character’’ and “pursued 
professional or scientific studies ”, he was awarded 
the degree of Civil Engineer.
But meanwhile engineering seems to have lost 
its appeal for the scholarly young man. He had 
probed into musty old law books and found them 
fascinating. Suddenly he decided to become a 
lawyer. Colonel Charles A. Clark, a Cedar Rap­
ids attorney, offered to let Engineer Cousins study 
in his office. Cousins did, passed the state bar 
examinations in 1882, and established a law office 
of his own in Tipton. Even at this profession he 
was but a half-hearted practitioner. He found it 
ever so much more interesting to pore long hours 
over Thackeray or Kipling or Dickens than to 
ferret out nice legal distinctions from tedious re-
ROBERT G. COUSINS 257
ports. His literary reading encroached alarm­
ingly upon business hours and consumed too much 
of the normal time for sleep.
Politics lent a new zest to his legal activities. 
In 1885 he tossed his hat into the political ring, 
campaigned vigorously, and won a seat in the 
House of Representatives of the Twenty-first 
General Assembly. Full of ambition and enthusi­
asm, he commenced his public career at Des 
Moines in January, 1886. Though not particu­
larly influential as a legislator, he performed his 
duties faithfully and creditably — introducing a 
few bills, participating effectively in debate, serv­
ing on important standing and special committees, 
and presenting numerous petitions including one 
to require public school instruction in the effects of 
alcohol on “the physical, mental and moral na­
ture’’, a measure for which he voted. Perhaps the 
most significant recognition of his talent, as well 
as an opportunity to demonstrate his professional 
ability, was his election by the House to be one of 
the seven managers of the impeachment prosecu­
tion of the State Auditor. His brilliant conduct 
at that trial caused enthusiastic journalists and 
veteran legislators to prophesy a glorious future 
for this “coming American statesman’’.
The eloquence of Robert G. Cousins was uti­
lized to good advantage in the campaign of 1888.
258 THE PALIMPSEST
Harrison carried the State by a large majority and 
Cousins had the honor of casting one of Iowa’s 
electoral votes for him. The following year he 
was elected prosecuting attorney of Cedar County 
and served one term. But he aspired to higher 
office. In 1892 he defeated the Democratic in­
cumbent from the Fifth Congressional District 
and began his long period of service as United 
States Representative in March, 1893.
Handsome, eloquent, and charming in manner, 
he was promptly accepted in congressional circles 
as a potential leader. His debut in Washington 
society was equally propitious. If he had set the 
hearts of Tipton belles a-flutter when occasionally 
he had whisked them away on Sunday evenings 
for a buggy ride, his presence at a ball made the 
Washington belles quite as twittery.
For eight consecutive terms Congressman 
Cousins represented the Fifth Iowa District. 
During those sixteen years he delivered speeches 
that are generally regarded as among the most 
finished and beautiful bits of oratory ever made on 
the floor of the House. He often addressed ex­
clusive clubs in large cities. Erudite, subtle, per­
suasive, emotional, he was something of an enigma 
even to the friends who knew him best. “A mys­
tery”, the Louisville Courier-Journal once called 
him. “He seldom speaks, but is the finest orator
ROBERT G. COUSINS 259
in congress.” Commenting upon his flare for bril­
liant repartee, the paper continued: ‘‘If remarks 
Cousins makes in the cloak room were uttered on 
the floor and put on record, he would be as fa­
mous as Blaine was in the early ’70’s.” Then, as 
if to qualify the praise, the writer added skeptic­
ally that it would be better for Mr. Cousins if he 
had family responsibility.
But he never married. As he had buried him­
self among the books and memoirs of his bachelor 
apartment in Tipton and shut out romance, so he 
withstood the charms of hopeful young ladies at 
the capital. Society gossip once rumored that he 
was engaged to the daughter of Thomas B. Reed, 
but the report was apparently unfounded. By 
and by eligible debutantes, spinsters, widows, and 
whatever began to smooth their crinolines resign­
edly and guess that “Bob Cousins was a con­
firmed old bachelor after all.”
In 1909 Congressman Cousins, then apparently 
at the peak of his career with a glamorous future 
blazing on the horizon, declined to run for a ninth 
term as Representative. Being extremely sensi­
tive, he may have been deeply offended by some 
unwarranted criticism or partisan gibe. Perhaps 
he visioned a gradual decline of his faculties and 
influence that pointed to ultimate defeat. A phi­
losopher at heart, he had always clung rigidly to
260 THE PALIMPSEST
principles, never compromising his political, finan­
cial, or intellectual honesty — though he could not 
control his own appetite. At last the time had 
come when past accomplishment and promise of 
achievement in the years to come seemed to afford 
him little satisfaction. He had made a name for 
himself. He had served on several important 
House committees, been chairman of the Commit­
tee on Foreign Affairs, and promoted the interests 
of his constituents. He had given requests for 
service his solicitous attention, whether they came 
from the White House or a prairie farm. These 
notes were together among his papers:
Montour, la.
Hon. Robert G. Cousins,
Dear Sir:
Please send me a book about chickens and a book about 
squirrels, and some about birds, and some onion seeds, 
and a book about wild animals.
White House 
Washington, D. C.
My dear Mr. Cousins:
I earnestly hope you can give us those two big ships. I 
do not feel that we are excused as a nation if we fail to 
provide for them now. I look confidently to the House 
Committee for helping the navy at this time.
Faithfully yours,
Theodore Roosevelt
ROBERT G. COUSINS 261
But eventually he tired of public life. He 
wanted to be back home alone with his books and 
music and old friends. He wanted solitude, and a 
life of quiet and contemplation.
After his sudden retirement at the age of forty- 
nine he never again actively engaged in politics. 
Nevertheless he was a familiar figure on lecture 
and chautauqua platforms for many years. And 
occasionally he lent his eloquence to public causes, 
particularly during the World War.
Stirring and elegant, Orator Cousins’s speeches 
never failed to move his audience. He could 
plead a cause with tremendous power; he could 
rise to emotional heights in flights of pure oratory. 
Harvey Ingham regarded him as the greatest 
“ornamental ’ orator of his time, William Jennings 
Bryan and Jonathan P. Dolliver not excepted. 
Whereas the latter were generally arguing a con­
troversial question, Cousins’s orations were more 
often oratory for its own sake.
The power of his eloquence, the perfection of 
his diction, and the nobility of his thought is well 
demonstrated by the opening words of his eulogy 
of a martyred President on the day of McKinley’s 
funeral at a memorial service in Cedar Rapids.
“'When the noise of earthly things is hushed; 
when all the nations of the earth display their en­
signs at half-mast; when belts are taken off of
262 THE PALIMPSEST
wheels and factories are silent as the grave; when 
Mammon locks his doors of trade, and commerce 
calls a halt; when rushing engines on great rail­
way systems pause and hold their fiery breath; 
when labor lets its hammer fall or leaves the plow 
half through the furrowed field, and all together 
come, with solemn tread and tearful eyes, into the 
sanctuaries of the world — how vain and helpless 
then is human speech. The best there is in feeling 
and in thought must remain inarticulate/'
Congressman Cousins’s charm lay not alone in 
his polished diction. He possessed, in the words 
of his intimate friend, W. R. Boyd of Cedar Rap­
ids, “all the equipment, natural and acquired, of a 
great orator. In form an Apollo — handsome as 
a god; a voice like the tones of a great organ, 
‘most strangely sweet;’ ‘his stature molded with a 
perfect grace;’ a mind enriched with all that the 
best literature of all times could give to one ca­
pable of the keenest appreciation; a memory which 
caught and held everything worth while; a wit as 
keen as that of Burns; a knowledge of the com­
mon man, whence he came — for, to use his own 
language, he ‘came out of the loins of labor and 
out of the heart of a continent’ — as inherent, as 
sympathetic as that of the Scotch bard himself. 
Small wonder that he could charm and ‘hold spell­
bound’ any audience, anywhere, and upon almost
ROBERT G. COUSINS 263
any theme — from Shakespeare to free silver and 
the tariff.”
After 1911, when he delivered a eulogy of 
Jonathan P. Dolliver at the memorial services of 
the Pioneer Law Makers’ Association, he with­
drew from platform life. His had been a rela­
tively brief career, but full — from the earliest 
campaigning for James G. Blaine in 1884 to the 
glorious tribute to the crew of the Maine at the 
summit of his career, and the later mellowed 
special-occasion addresses. Scarcely a year 
passed without his taking the stump for some Re­
publican candidate; sometimes he made as many 
as seventy speeches in a single canvass.
From the time of his retirement, life held for him 
mostly books and music and the ‘‘poison that 
lurks in the heart of a grain of corn”. He loved 
music passionately. That he might enjoy the mas­
terpieces whenever he pleased, he bought one of 
the earliest phonographs in Cedar County. On 
summer evenings he would stick its big horn in the 
window of his downtown room, and the strains of 
a Bach or Grieg or Beethoven composition would 
float out over the courthouse square across the 
street. The classics never wearied him; he hated 
jazz. He refused to remain in hearing distance of 
popular tunes — just as for a long time he refused 
to ride in an automobile.
264 THE PALIMPSEST
Besides the phonograph, his bachelor rooms 
held a fascinating collection of curios, including 
ponderous swords salvaged from distant wars, 
Indian relics, bizarre basketry, and souvenirs from 
famous friends. There were stacks of musty legal 
documents, some valuable, some worthless, yel­
lowed letters from notables in the political and 
literary world, copies of his own best speeches.
Rarely were persons invited to visit his sanctum. 
He sat alone in its shadows, generally, reading by 
the glow of a bare electric bulb, until cataracts 
grew over his eyes. Gradually the printed pages 
became dim, blurred, and finally obliterated as the 
shadows deepened into darkness. Friends offered 
to read to him. He listened to their recitals of 
news impatiently, and longed for Shakespeare or 
whimsical Burns, but he did not bother the willing 
friends to read from them.
It was during this time of his affliction that the 
government called for volunteers to help sell Lib­
erty Bonds. Cousins responded. Though it had 
been five years since he had retired from the lec­
ture platform, the partially-blind orator left his 
seclusion to perform this duty. Twenty-three 
times he journeyed across Iowa, speaking daily. 
In appreciation the Treasury Department awarded 
him a much-prized medal “For Patriotic Service 
in Behalf of the Liberty Loans”.
ROBERT G. COUSINS 265
Finally the cataracts were removed; and he re­
turned feverishly to his reading — and to his her­
mitage. . . . On a January morning in 1931 he 
was found at home, unconscious. Friends took 
him to the University hospital at Iowa City. There 
he remained the rest of his life.
The “Bob” Cousins whom Tipton callers found 
when occasionally they visited him in the dark­
ened hospital room was far different from the 
silver-tongued orator who had once swayed vast 
audiences, and different too from the quiet, book­
ish scholar who used to come home from Congress 
and shut himself alone in his rooms for weeks at a 
time. Enfeebled, a little wasted, he lay for two 
years staring into the past. Only vestiges re­
mained of the dominating speaker that he had 
once been. His voice still rolled, deep and reso­
nant. The hair was still thick, but grizzled and 
white. Usually a fat cigar burned on the table 
beside him.
He would talk musingly, a bit wistfully, of 
things as they used to be, of the days when he 
and Tom Reed were intimates down in Washing­
ton, of his library which he sadly missed. Sud­
denly he would inquire: “And who won the de­
clamatory contest at home? or, “What was the 
senior class play? He followed the activities of 
young people with almost childlike eagerness,
266 THE PALIMPSEST
with more interest indeed than he evinced toward 
any one else in his home town.
Several months before his death he prepared an 
oration to be read at his funeral. Mrs. Mildred 
Yule Phelps of West Branch, whose father had 
been an intimate friend of Mr. Cousins, was se­
lected by the dying man to read his posthumous 
address.
The closing lines of his final message contain 
something of the thought he had so often ex­
pressed for others on similar occasions. In death 
he turned from his past and spoke of the future. 
Yet there is a hint of futility and resignation in 
his words. “And so to-day at the last parting of 
the ways, we have done all that can be done for 
our friend — we have come to go part way home 
with him; all that can be done by mortal man until 
immortality in whatsoever form or essence shall 
reveal what the living cannot know of vital exist­
ence beyond our ken, and until we shall be like 
unto him in state, and participate in whatever 
vision dawns at the inexorable door of death.”
He died on June 19, 1933.
V irginia M axson


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Robert G. Cousins

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