Henry Fountain Ashurst Quotes

Henry Fountain Ashurst was an American Democratic politician and one of the first two Senators from Arizona. Largely self-educated, he served as a district attorney and member of the Arizona Territorial legislature before fulfilling his childhood ambition of joining the United States Senate. During his time in the Senate, Ashurst was chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Judiciary Committee.

Called "the longest U.S. theatrical engagement on record" by Time,

Ashurst's political career was noted for a self-contradictory voting record, the use of a sesquipedalian vocabulary, and for a love of public speaking that earned him a reputation as one of the Senate's greatest orators. Among the sobriquets assigned to him were "the Dean of Inconsistency", "Five-Syllable Henry", and the "Silver-Tongued Sunbeam of the Painted Desert". Wikipedia  

✵ 13. September 1874 – 31. May 1962
Henry Fountain Ashurst photo
Henry Fountain Ashurst: 10   quotes 0   likes

Famous Henry Fountain Ashurst Quotes

“No man is fit to be a Senator… unless he is willing to surrender his political life for great principle.”

"Ashurst, Defeated, Reviews Service". New York Times (September 12, 1940), p. 18.

“It is still an open question as to whether mankind or insects shall ultimately inherit the earth. It is my opinion that mankind … has about a 50-50 chance….”

"The Silver-Tongued Sunbeam" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848048,00.html. Time (August 7, 1939)

“Poker teaches self-reliance, self-control, self-respect, self-denial, and independence. But when cards are wild or are given fictitious authority, the noble game is robbed of its romance, grace and stimulation and degenerates into a gambling scheme.”

Johnson, James W. (2002). Arizona Politicians: The Noble and the Notorious, illustrations by David `Fitz' Fitzsimmons, University of Arizona Press. p 118.

“I could throw 56-pound words clear across the Grand Canyon. As a matter of course, I went into politics.”

"The Silver-Tongued Sunbeam" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896290-1,00.html. Time (June 8, 1962)

Henry Fountain Ashurst Quotes

“There has never been superadded to these vices of mine the withering, embalming vice of consistency.”

"Arizona's Pioneer Senator". New York Times (June 1, 1962)

“A speech is entertaining only when serenely detached from all information.”

"The Silver-Tongued Sunbeam" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848048,00.html. Time (August 7, 1939)

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