IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^./ A .V % 1.0 u lii|28 ly u 125 111 ■a u ■4.0 m IL25 III 1.4 1.6 6" FhotogFaphic Sdences CarpoiHtion 23 WBT MAIN STHIT VVWSTM,N.Y. USM (716)«7a-4509 4^ *fe.v»fe/'iiV*t_ii, CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/iCIVIH Collection de m Canadian Institute for Historical IMicroraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquos Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Thaoi totha Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha boat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa In tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara ehackad balow. 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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document eat film* au taux do rMuction indiqu* ci-deaaoua. 10X 14X 18X 22X 2tX aox v/ 12X 16X »X 24X ax 32X Th« copy fllmMl h«r« ham bMn raproduMd thanks to th* gwMTOtity of: MMiopolIlM Toronto Libffiry I DtpHtmMit Tho imogoa appooring horo era tha bast quality possiblo oonaMaring tha oondMon and laglblllty of tha original copy and In kaaping with tha filming contract apaclflcatlons. Original copiaa In printad papar covara ara fllmad baglnning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or lllustratad Impraa- •lon, or tha back covar whan appropriata. AH othar original copiaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha first paga whh a printad or illuatratad Impraa- •ion, and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad Imprasston. L'axamplaira Wmt fut raproduK grioa A la g«n4roaltA da: nmnipiiimn i in into uomy Sods! SoImiom DipvtinMit Laa Imagaa aulvantaa ont 4t4 raprodultaa avae la plus grand sdn, compta tanu da la condltton at da la nattati da l'axamplaira fllmA, at an conformM avac las conditions du contrat da fllmaga. Laa axamplalras origlnaux dont hi couvartura an paplar ast imprimte aont fllmis an commandant par la pramlar plat at an tarmlnant adt par la damMra paga qui comporta una amprainta dimprasslon ou dlllustratlon, sdt par hi aacond plat, salon la cas. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa origlnaux aont fllmte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta dimpraaslon ou d'illustration at an tarmlnant par la darnMra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microficha shall contain tha symbol — •»> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appliaa. Un das symbdas suh^ants apparattra sur la darnlAra Imaga da chaqua microficha, aalon la cas: la symbols — ► signifia "A 8UIVRE", la symbols Y signifia "HN". Maps, platas, charts, ate., may ba filmad at diffarant raductlon ratioa. Thosa too larga to ba antiraly included In ona axpoaura ara fllmad baglnning in tha uppar laft hand comar, laft to right and top to bottom, as many framaa as raqulrad. Tha following diagrama !llustrata tha mathod: Las cartas, planchas, tablaaux, ate., pauvant Atra fllmAs A daa taux da rAductlon diff Arants. Lorsqua la document ast trap grand pour Atra raproduit an un saul clichA. II ast fllmA A partir da I'angia aupArlaur gaucha, da gaucha A droita, at da haut an baa, an pranant la nombra d'Imagas nAcassaira. Las diagrammas sulvanta lllustrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^* ^^^■ V, .;. 1^ ,■■ '-x: ?4: ' I If f ,\V'"fe '5-M .'^t V V 9 W W' :*^-^ *• ■ "J • w p .'.", l ' . - . f-^% -«*»'>* '■il:kf^i:S: s'iKr**' ■'■ "V^'M (»«!*«, v*t^,i.J!«.3'slJ*- * -i.^ H.- APR 15 W6 ' ■' /"',''! i^■• ij:^U. PREFACE. . For many y^rs the name of James Gillespie Blaine j^ )^d a remarkable magnietrsm, an4 has awak- .ehi|<| thi& greatest enthusiasm. No Ame^can states- m»| eVer iiUed the hearts of die people more com- pl^My tihan he did. ^{1le martyrdom of JUincoln and Garfield won for th|in a peculisir veneration, biit Mr. %tne, while liv- in|^ gahiied thli^higfaest place in publiQ esteem, :He wa^ admired as Uie most brilliant statesman of his day. |f| WA^ 1^ for his warm and generous nature ; his |i^ottsm was so broad and Md that it won*the a^p- p^^e of Ills pditical ^j)$>onents. He was fofiowed w^ thie|devdtion and entl^isiasm of the airmy dwt bdretlie eagle ^^^^^^^ Napoleon mairched Vi hi$ ^i^Hd^enofrned Vfc^tcur^ and even in defeatlie was wpt^l^^d as wa» th^ man of d^tiny after Mo>s^ co#aiict|pba;::'.. ■ - ■ ' ;' [ ■ ■."■'^;/-v-/*:' ■•'::" |iim|^^ and Ifrapliic story of Jils^ marvelous setyli^!||||aiic^^ of dur country's mG^^||i^]^B^y% 1^ of llcf^^^jfttil^^ It to|fiii^^&^^ iisiidwn^ a^ 3^^sniatt W Oiir dnfte. : llie^ work ^ws hour an Am^rl(in4aii;l;b«>ni and '■"' '^ ■'■ ■'■■ ' y \ ' :--r- ;^:''€>'y--'MK:.;^ • -4 ■'■■ , iJa :^#': ikf^M^v-. • r'\'yi 1^ I I p.'" I ^ 5^ ,*> ^ f#^- reVFAOI. , »• raised in a country town, secured a godd education and acquired habits of industry i^nd self-reliance, which were the ground-work of the great name he was to make in after life. How, by diligence, tact and faithfulness to duty, he gained distinction as- a teacher, and, by masterly abil- ity and untiring industry, achhsved the highest success as an editor and leader of public opinion. How he was elected to the Legislature of his adopted State, took high rank among his cplleagues^ was chosen to be Speaker of the House, and showed all the commanding abilities of oratory and statesman- ship which afterward made him the most majestic figure in Congress. How he was elected a Member of Congi^ess, cbi^ tinned fourteen years in this position, and during six years of the period was Speaker of the H^ua^taktiigf h^hest rank among the distinguished statesmen who have occupied the Speaker's (Aair.; , , -' v . , How he received the Portfolio of Secretary of State in President Gajrfieid's Cabinet, and upon ^e death of the President delivered a maghificeiit eulogy updn him before both houses of Cdhgress. How Jie was honored with the hoiniha^dn for th^ Presidency, .became Secretary of State in President I;brrison's Ca^btiidt^ vigoroiirsly ilefond^ AM&Mn f^hls in the fisheries disputes. widi Enjg^land, con- itucM the Pan-American Conferetit^ aiYd isect^^ th^ grand results of Redprc^t^^ and commiercial rela* tlons with the Soutji Amendmn^liohs. ; ] 1 1 i - -J M fl 'T'f'-.'j i -■>t >, CONTENTS. !;. . qHAinrER I. VSm4j Life of the Oreal Amerioan SintemiMi CHAPTER U. Yoang Blaine at a tstndent and Teiaoher . CHAPTER lit aiid Folltloal Iieader CHAPTER IV. Blaine a Member of the State Leffitdatore CHAPTER V. Itnit T^rm In CongroM CHAPTER VI. ^ ^NMid fiatvB^ U\ Copgrest . ; vO CHAPTER VII. 9I1I14 Term In Coiiirretti CHAFFER Vill. Ilpeaker of the Boose of AepreMhtatiires ^ CHAPTER IX. > ' ^e Famous BfiiUlgan I«Q|ters . 1 • • • .• - ■* .'• • «•••• 54 «9 CHAPTER^ X. ^Pie .F|iimeflJRjD4f ht*^ mid t^^ . H^K^ In the Vnlfed iMalds S^pitte , i ' cfHAFTER;Xl|. ^btiae M Sewetar^ 9f .|H;|i(» . , *. . . . 1,^ ,,;#p » 154 > « "J ■V'i -J ■■;. '■■Si •J ■ ,;i ■ .■■.•«.■ .■■•■3. -'>i ^i( m ' '- V Tc*-* . " In tlH» ViiE«sr Xhe|3lo«ltt9 ]:MiB0lMNnk F»iM03rf|*tllNi$iM CONTENTS. Eiili^ 1^ James- A« CHirftetA ^ • , « -CHAPTER XIV. K«i£mal CbmiTeiitioii of 1884 tit <3l|l«aco .BnOtiMinmr for ||ie «*FiW)Ml Msiglil*^ €HAFriR XVI. Bialaeiroiid&Ated . ' * CHAPTER*XVa Accepts the VomlnatUMi ' . *. ' ; CHAFtBR XVm. l!lie QceM; ewnipaltrii of JM4 CHAPTER XIX* Again Seeret«ry of StKte . . . , . Cak^TEI^ XX, StrlJdnv i^iaiaelMstl4w e^ liie liMft , CHAPTEk XXI. James 0. Blatee ' ... « \ CHACTBR XXIt Blf#ie as a lliin^^^iiong 3f ^ .~ . CHAPTER XJtllt Home Uf 3^ ; ii 33» ^ ."*. JOSEPH R HAWLBY % 1 ^n^^ H ^^^^^^^^HH j^H i^>^>^ 1-^ .3^H^^^^^^IHI^3 1^3 wMBLp^t ^^, j^^nBH^HM^P n H| ■PT, % .«'•' ,^^^kM W^' ' ^^ ^"S'r/ ^IH^^9 1 -o ^ tffE^ iiND PU^IC SERVKES ■■-■""■'' ^ . - . ' «imftaMlk^ is^:\i QMAi^mit •*■''.• ' '■*. ^Sti^eilQ^ ',«' High on ^e frfl of Ati^«Mica'« f^stnond ^t «iand8 the nagnc of Ja^e« C^fespie Blaihc ■$$. n ^tesinan :hteijfi»wi«(&*iid W«!^^ As ad3^«i^ tewa^ ittagiKtic and g^stt#^ Ji^ a, dtii^a^ he with hfft linerrlfig: dait^ laQ of hb tiiim, ; ^, ^^? anioals of puf coti».t^; if^ of fMUdoi^ and Wi^ jan that irhfeh rekteajU ;3i^ Im fidkn: . He ^^^ jA/i Iwlncn^aeivb^ ^^^^^^^ ' 111 i'ii^i^"i* ra# Ailperba^ people, and hk namn 4 1%" ) ^-U^'^ V S 4> » . , ,1« m»'^ »*' fr J. X8 Uri <» BOK* JAMKS O. ihAM. * * ■« - wTf«»i'»****''^ t f S'^Mi-* ''^e' L— ....MM. liiiiiirfwlr Trill II , * 1^^ tf ' S-«>*&rssfe-'^i^ Pempty. to advance large attwunt. of m«.«jr «wri -•<« ,1,'W,-' :■■■:■ ■ -• *:''S''«r>- v'-'v-/^ • v^ ■-■■ ■-•'■V. "i^^^ 1 , ■ ■ , ■ . ■ ■ ■ • - * * . ■ . . . . '^ - ' .\,- ■ ■ 55 ft.* " PA. purdiwi^ supines for &u- amy . and durfncr the d>e preservation of his troops from i&bJnfeiS? ™^ The 1^ esteem *fth which rCofoiiellkiafe vraa^ held by Washingttm «nd his cnat ; t^^! *ei^h«rd^ of iftjfe dispersion ^^ i :i»w*j!k^:hi5#iiality « • -^^'^'"^ i» .* fek-.'^^>:" tfk':^> ii»^* .1:5* S:% '■ V' ■ I tfu ■■'■i • * < '■■■■. MWOUt tto Isl- ;..,A-t... llfM^ SIMMONS BLAINK r"" I JAMBS G. BLAmmJR BLAIKS'S SARLT t^IlS. 21 y-i goods, and opened a store which he kept for the rest ofhislife. V James Blaine's son, "Squire Blaine," as he was known in the comnuinity, was married- to Miss Gilles- pie, a devout member of the Roman Catholic Churchy but their seven children — ^five boys and two girls-^ adhered to the traditional faith of the Blaines. The eldest of these five sons, James Gillespie Blaine, is the subject of this volume. il RELIGIOUS FAITH OF TH^ BLAINE FAMILY. Concerning the religious faith of his family: and his own attitude in religious matters, Mr. Blaine wrote in later life — March i oth, 1 876 — as follows : My am:estors on my father's side were, as you know, j always identified with the Presbyterian church, and they wei^ prominent and honored in the old colony I of Pennsylvania. But I will never consent to make any public declaration upon the subject, and for two irea^oi^: first, because I abhor the introduction of: an^hingthat looks like a religious test or iqualiftcatioh for office in a republfe where perfect freedom of con- ^science is the birthright of every citizen ; and, second, [because m)rmodier was a devoted Catholic. I would not for a thousand Presidencies speak a disrespectful woixi of my mother's religioiii and no pressure, will pdiiw me into^ any avowal of hbstilhy or unfriendliness to Catiiolics, though ! have never received, and do hot expect^4ihy political suppok^^ I^e Kennebec y{t^;if; .y; BLAINE'S BOiKIOCM). J Speaking of filaineV boyhood a welMcnown jour- .oalist thus wrote of a visit to his eaiiy honte in Weiit JSrownsvflle» Pennsylvania r' ^^ >/ ^. |>w.4 -I i stood beside two old graves to^lay in this vills^» ^that are In the diadow of the littlfe chiireh that so quickly recalled to ni$ LongfeUow's beautiful lines. The marble that marlced them was much nearer ^^tan the ii|ounds and the surroi^ndings impressed inewS^ the thought that a dutiful and reverent son had years afker»when means and opportunity came iliat were #anting when deadi called father «nd modier away, placed a fitting monument to mark the spot whs^ they slept It is a. i4ain» unpretentious stone tliat marks these graves, and it was the names only tiiat ^al!tracted my attention; They^ii|ii^ those of %liraim Lv Blaine and Maria Gillespie filitfie^ ' ; i. ^ / **^AVho were these two people in life?** I asked of ab-old gentleman, who had wandered along with me to this quiet city ^here the dead sleeps* A. I -^Why^ifeey were the fiither and mother of James G;. Blaine, t knew them bpth^weU* Eph^ Blaine and iwent^ficlK^Qit^nethdK i^ founders of ^is town, atid was sl|uire here fot^ liisiny la year. H^ was elected prbtjkinina^^^^^^^ ia i%'^ S* ' t5 to^ '1 '•! f <• %'I !sr' .Md moved to Waaii&^fton, the coi|hty^se»t He mar- dtd Maria» a daughter of old Neal GHlespie^ the linuM^bst. man inthts whole section, and from kia people James Gille^ie Blame deriyes hit middle name* ■ ■;,'^; '^'%"'"T/ A RlSliAllkABLB FAMILY. <^The Gillespies wei^ among the most proiiitnent ^ families in the State. The ^eal of nature's nobtlt^ m9s stamped upon them* one and all. The men werebvave and stalwart; as^ strong in ch^racteri too, as they were stout'of limb. The women were very handsome, and caffiedthmselves as. proudly as though the bipod of ak hundred wh were coursing through thetr veiils. The beauty of old Mrs, Blatne» James' mother, passed :t&to>prov«rb4 Even in her ckicrepit age sli^ pre^ served much of her early attractiveness, and her eye was likeia hawk's, as dear and flashing, then as in the days of )i«r budding womanhood, lliis was' a pecu- Hsaity of her lamt^ and she transmitted it to all her ^c]iiIdren. -"■■' '►■• ..--v >r:,^ '^ The Gillespies were ardenti intense Catholicj^ and made their religidh the leading feature of their Mv^. Neal Gillespie owned a good deal of land about here, and Eph Bl^ne built the brick house you see yonder on a portion of it, after his marriage with Miss Gilles* pie. Thei^^eir itrst chBd, Jamesi w^s born in 1830. ' St^ORV OF TRS BOr. , ^'I rfHQ^mber him very wdl when h^ wasa UA «nd used to paddle about on the river and make mud I^is aApcr|f Its banks. Kewas abifghtJad. ' , * <*•] '«-,; '''"iV^C .1'" U5 ■Jff:. \ ^ I >•. <^.i ii- •' b» fX'- Ij'-'! *k "I remember one little story about him, which I otoi heard m those days, and which is intieresttng as shewing. how truly, in his case, the child was father to the jnfiA. When he was but a little toddter, so to speahi some laborers were engaged digging a well on ^ his fa^ier'a premises. The future statesman was caught one morning peering down into the excavation, alid Ode of |lie tneui with the idea of frightening him afid thus preventing him from again putting himself indftiiger, thrust his shovel toward him, and made all sorts of ugly faces; iH /^vi^.irv **}im ran an^y, but only to nurse his anger and await an opportunity for revenge. Venturing to the well # day or two after he had been driven away, he l»uiid the men working away at the bottom^ Im* pfiovmg the importunity, he seized a dod of earth and hurM it with all his little might full at the head of his unsiispecttng enemy, with the consolatory rematic, ^ There, take that' Clod followed clod in fest sueisession, wi& accompanying expletives, until the men were fairly beside diemselves with rage and widi the^fi^it that the desperate child might take it into his hesid io use some of die stones lying about him as messengers of wrath more effective than -mere lum|>s ' of e^^.: .. ''■■'■'■•.•' ** Their shouts, however, brought his mother io the scene, and the Uttle avenger was unceremoniously h^ed^ff to the house. That was the old blood a^rt- ing itself. : AGUlespie or a Blaine nevo- turned his hs^ iipc^^M^ndor^^ - -*.* *!'.> Bujrifi*! liBLT un. .a A BOAT WITH A FAMOUS NAME; <* That's the new packet >^ James G. Blaine* that runs from, here to Pittsburg. .The two people who sleep in this graveyard little thought when theydied that they'd have a son big enough to have a paoket named for him. They died when Jim was youngs and they didn't leave anything for him to. start with either. ' " Eph Blaine was a rich man once. His grandihther left him some fifty thousand dollars, but he ^pettt it having a good time. He was not a money-^save^; but believed in enjoying the world as he lived. Hi; ttM to drive fine horses^and drove 'em tandem, too. -^^Old Neal Gillespie used to call him ' My-gigsind-fand^rtt son-tn4aw.' The Gillespi^s wasn't so slow, either; but Eph Blaine led 'em all in this country. It'ano^ wonder Jini Blaine Is smart. He comes Of good' stock on both sides. All the Gillespies were skmtt Neal Gillespie was the biggest^bralned man in i^l this country." **Do the Bktnes or any of the relatives own the oki homestead ? " *^iio, indeed. It's long since passed into stfange- hands.^ There was little of either the Blaine or 1^ ' QQespie estate left when the setQement day came; The children all had to begin new. None of cii^t^>^ finally; live ^ut here now." ^ 4 - PROUD OF THE STATESMAN. There is miich that is 'strange in the story t^iat^^^'^ ^d^tnan told m^ and much more |hat is -Inter^sting^^ We Sniped the talk beside the^itibdesi^wai^rs of A# 'y--- ^■X'. -<;; -'^i ^:r^/M'v.V^^*k%:4«^ LIFE OF HOir. JAMES Q. BLAINE^ I ^* V Monongahela, near which Mr« Blaine was born, and his femily lived for years. The little brick house doesn't stand more than forty rods from the river, and the old path which leads from the doorway that ^aine helped to make in childhood is still there. The best boat on the river now bears his name, and the plain people love to talk of his having been born in their 'midst - - .■j:jk.:^x ' : A WILD COUNTRY. It is a queer section of country in which to have found the homes of two such ^milies as the Blaines and the Gillespies. Both strong houses — ^both fond of die best things of this liife. Both educated and brainy. The Gillespie faniily was a rich and powerful femily in the region. The strength of mind and character for which all die family were noted is still a proverb in the region. The Monongahela river at this point separates jhe two counties of Fayette and Washington. Brownsville is on the Fayette side and West Brownsville on the Washington side. They are both quaint M towns, and wear the mark of many years. I don't suppofe there are 5000 people in both, and the houses straggl ^ along the banks of the river on the lowlands, which are jiist high enough to keep them out of the reach of the overflow. This country was new — ^I might say wild— ^when the Blaines and Gillespies came here. The rich treasures of the Youghiogheny region were floated down the Ohio river in rude keel boats, and the un^ told wealth in the ragged mountains was then un^* «aP" 'J* -/»* ■ blaike's EABLT UFS. 27 Icnown: Albert Gallatin used to live in this country ^en,and his residence was but a few miles up the river from this point. But mighty -hanges have taken place since those days, when he left his impress upon the finances and credit of this country so that it can ^^ never be- effeced. ..^^^''^^^ <-;■'- ^r^^-^-^-^-vW ^cr'-C.;''^./ j:-^ There seems to have been good feeling from the first between the Blaine and Gillespie families, and there seems to have been a special care to intermingle the family names as each son was bom. The old man whom I encountered in the first part of this story told me that nearly every son in the Blaine family, as in the Gillespies, wore the family name or some part of his autograph. The Gillespie family seemed to run more to girls than boys, and it seemed to be their good fortune to link their fortunes with strong itien. The daughter who was next in age to Maria, who married Ephraim A. Blaine, was wedded to the famous Tom Ewing, of Ohio, when he was a poor lawyer in Lancaster, Pa. That's how he became an upcle of James G. Blaine, and the names of Blaine and Ewing became joined, it made a strong combination. ^ A KENTUCKY SCHOOL TBAClilER. There is a tradition here that when old Tom Ew- ing was Secretary of the Interior, Blaine applied to him tot a clerkship and the old man sent him to Ken- tucky to earn aa honest living teaching school. This association of the name of Ewing with that of Blaine has given rise to the story th»t the Ewing family of 28 LIFt: OF BON. JAMSS Q. BLAIKB. I f '■ ■' I ft;-. ■.v s ^' Ohio helped James G. Blaine to an education. I might as well destroy this fiction by telling the &cts. I ^ A short drive brought me to Washington, the county-seat of this cOunty, and one of the first men I met was Major John H. £wing» an old veteran past fourscore years. " I married the sister of Ephraim L. Blaine/' he said. " He and I went to school togeUier over in yon^ der college, and I knew him nearly all his life. He was. a leader in the mischief of the school, and fond of all the good things of this life. He was the hand- somest man I ever saw, and he had a wife that was a match for him. She was one of the noblest womeii I ever knew. She inherited all the sterling traits of character and strength of mind for which the Gilles- pies were noted. *' So, you see, Blaine sprang from the best of stock on both sides. His father was Justice of the Peace over in West Brownsville for a number of ^ars, and afterwards Prothonotary of the County, He ivas elected in 1 842, and came here to live. James G. was only about twelve years old then; and ahnOst every middle-aged man you meet on the streets here r^ : members aU about him." , INTERESTING LETTER. V ^HIIi *. A letter, written upon the occasion of the Washingi.^^^^ ton County Centennial, in September, 1881, revea^ j Mr. Blaine's deep attachment for the place of his I .r birth, and his loyal interest and pride in its histoiy^J " We give the letter entire. '•,^ '.^'^ ■ ;h-- ■-■i.; Vj-U' ■ ' ■:i< :i - ■] C; . . ^ . ''^^^^^H L^_m fek ^^^^^^^^E^^^^BKli^^K'i: r-a4 :^^ ^ D. W VOORHEES. 1^^ I si' p? 1 I '':•"■ HI t ; -?»^ ,t'\r. ' •; '■■/,!<. '.: .'/ ,iO r!v5 f.' .-»-■■ ■ ' "''". .rx.^r-:-,: - ' \^ ■■■ I .\ ','' ; ' 1 ^Pf-. , - - • ^ ■ ■ ■■^.;^ ■rtl ' -■■ ■ ^'•^ , WILLIAM P. FRYE ^ BLAIR'S EARLY LIFE. 29 Washington, D. C, Sept 5, 1881. John D. McKennan : - Dear S$r,^-l had anticipated great pleasure in be- ing present at the centennial celebration of the erec- tion of Washington County, but the national sorrow which shadows every household detains me here. I shall perhaps never again have the opportunity of seeing so many of the friends of my youth, and so many of my blood and kindred, and you may well conceive my disappointment is great. The strong attachment which I feel for the county, the pride which I cherish iii its traditions, and the high estimate which I have always placed on the character of its people, increase with years and reflection. The pioneers were strong-hearted, God-fearing, resolute men, wholly, or almost wholly, of Scotch or Scotch^- Irish descent They were men who, according to an inherited maxim, never turned their backs on a friend or an enemy. For twenty years, dating from the middle period of the Revolution, the settlers were composed very largely of men who had themselves served in the Continentsd army, many of them as officers, and they imparted an intense patriotism to die public sentiment. A FOURTH-OF-JULY CELEBRATION. It may be among the illusions of memory, but I think I have nowhere else seen the Fourth of July and Washington's Birthday celebrated with such zeal and interest as in the gatherings I there attended. I re-* call a great meeting of the people on the Fourth of July, 1840, on die border of the <:ounty, in BroWns- ville,^ at which a considerable part of the procession was composed of vehicles filled with Revolutionary soldiers. I was but ten year9 old, and may possibly ?^_;.*s?* it\'*'\_ M'^rJ*; fa*' K-'V, fw ■y 1* m 1 p ■' i ■•' h ' " 1 -- ! .. 1 ' ^ l^jr*. -H 80 LIFE OP HON. rJMS 0. BLAINE. mistake, but I think there were more than two hun- dred of the grand old heroes. The modern cant criticism which we sometimes hear about Washingtotl not being, after aH, a very great man, would have been dangerous talk on that day and in that asa^tn*' blage. ' •'— CHURCH AT BROWNSVILLE, PA., And Cemetery Where Bliu^ae's Puenli are Buried. These pioneers placed a high vialue on educattofi, and while they wens still on uie frontier stiiigglfhg with, its privations they establi^ed two excdtfeip^ Col- leges, long since prosperously united in ofi^. If^cftild be impossible to bversjtate the beneficent and wid^ spread influence Which Ws^hln&^on and Jeffersbii Cti)- l4:es have iex<^rti»d^ bn' Ae <5iiS^ uVtiiJti. m.KtifT-nii iiti. I nlB.iiMlftJtiMi BLAINE'S EAMiT UFE. eft... %i country which lies between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi River. Their graduates have been proiiv- inent in tne pulpit» at the bar, on the bench» and in the high stations of public life.. During my service of eighleen years in Congress, I met a larger number of the alumni of Washington and Jefferson than of any other single college in the Union. GREAT EDUGATIONAL ADVANTAGES. l I make this statement from memory, but I feel as- suireid that a close examination of the roll^f the two HoMses, from 1863 to 1 881, would fully i^tablish its correctness. Not only were the two colle|r<^s founded and well sustained, but the entire educational system of the county, long before the school taX and public schools^ was comprehensive and tliorougfh. I remem* ber th^ in my own- boyhood there were ten or eleven academies or select $chools in the county, where }ads could bejBtted for college. ■ ! . In neaily every instance the l^resbytenan pastor was the princ^i^ teacher. ' Mainy who will be present at your Cent^niiil will recall the succession of well- drilled todeht$. who came, for sp many years, from the tuition of Dn M^lusk^, at West Alexander, from Rev. John Stockton,' at Ci*bss Creeki from Rev*^ John |i^e$pn, of Buf&Io, smd from others of like ^yorth and reputation. • A FAVORED COUNTY. It was inevitable that a county thus peopled shou grow in strength, wisdom and wealth. Its sixty thoU' sand inhabitants are favored far beyond the average 1<^ of man. They are blest with 4 fertile soil and with a health-giving climate^ which belongs to the ch^^ed latitude of the fortieth. p^Lrallel, the middle of ^ wiie^t^d^n belt q( the conitij(\cot. Bqrond 1^ '•m w •fe.,.?,?^ -9^ v7^ 1 )*' ^ W ' '' ^ , U; ' 441"* , fe -- " ' ! ' >" ' " ■ .1 ' J ' n' t ■< ■ ■ ' 'if??-' ^^ ^n«Nffi»siM«Hu»«.v 32 LIFE OF HON. JAMBS G. PLAINS. this they enjoy the happy and ennobling influences of scenery as gr?.nd and as beautiful as that which lures tourists thousands of miles beyond the sea. I have, myself, visited many of the celebrated spots in Europe and in America, and I have nowhere wit- nessed a more attractive sight than wa^ familiar to my eyes, in boyhood, from the old Indian Hill Farm, where I was born, and where my great-grandfather, the elder Neal Gillespie, settled before the outbreak of the Revolution. The majestic sweep of the Monongahela through the foot of the Alleghanies, with a chain of mountains, but twenty miles distant, in full view, gave an impres- sion of beauty and sublimity which can never be ef&ced. I talk thus familiarly of localities and of childhood incidents becSiuse your assemblage, though composed of thousands, will, in effect, be a family reunion, where die only thing in order will be tradition and recollec- tions, and personal history. Identified as I have been, for twenty-eight years, with a great and noble people in another section of the Union, I have never lost apy of my attachments for my native county and my native State. The two feelings no more conflict than does a man's love for his wife and his love for his mother. Wherever I may be in life, or whatever my fortune, the County of Washington, as it anciendy was, taking in all the State south and west of the Monongahela, will be sacred in my memory. I shall always recall with pride that my ancestry and kindred wei^t#nd are, not inconspicuously connected with its InltOiy, and that on either side of tiie beautiful river, in Prot- estant and Catholic cemeteries, five generations of my own blood sleep in honored graves. Very sin- cerely yours» James Q. JS^umfJ^ BLAINfi*S EARLY LIFE. 33 In the little burying-ground of Brownsville, close to the church, is a plain granite monument, erected by Mr. Blaine, over the graves of his father and mother ; the pedestal bears this inscription : EPHRAIM LYON BLAINR Born Feb. 28, 1796. Died June 28, 1850. MARIA GILLESPIE, WIFE OF EPHRAIM LYON BLAINE. Born May 22, 1801. Died May 5, 1871. Requiescat in Pace. Below this in large letters is> the word " Blaine." 8 ;*^v ]Mi^:iumy^^-:ii-%.,'mH>.M -f, - . , ^<^^^mk>'. ^•j^v/?'v,', ."'^W',':' l%i. ' t.i' ' t, ^, .ix- if- rn I?* ^ CHAPTER II. Young Blaine as a Student and Teacher. James entered Washington College in 1843, being then thirteen years of age, and became at once prom* inent as a scholar among the two or three hundred other lads from all parts of the country, and because, of his splendid physique he was also a leader to all manly athletic sports. He was not a bookworm»or a burner of midnight oil, but he was a close student, and possessed the happy faculty of assimilating knowlec^e from books and tutors far more easily and quickly than most of his fellows. In debating societies he held his own well, and was conspicuous by his ability to control and direct others. In his classes he was always foremost as a scholar^ mnd personally very popular.. To the new scholars who entered in succeeding classes he was a hero;— uniformly kind to them, ready to give assistance and advice, and eager to make pleasant their path iti col- lege life. His handsome person and neat attire; his ' ready sympathy and prompt assistance; his frank, generous Dature, and his brave, manly bearings made . him the best known, the , best lov-d, and the most popular boy at college. He w^s the arbiter among your^r boys in all their disputes^ aindtlieait^Nsil^ kt>' ..^: C ,;>'■ BtUOBNT AND TKAOBSR. 35 :*?'. -«";.• with those of his own age on alt questions. He was always for the " under dog in the fight" n GRADUATES WITH HIGH HONOR. And at the end of the usual four years' course at college he was graduated, in 1847, ^i^^ ^^^ i^^st dis- tinguished honors of his class, and went forth ^ into practical life f/t\l fitted in acquirements and training to deal with its problems, and bearing as a crown - of youthful honor the affection and esteem of all his associates. Mr. Gow, th^ editor of one of the papers in Waish- kigton^Pa., who was Blaine's classmate, speaks thus of his school-days : , ' i - Yfesj Blaiiie graduated in the class of */^i* whein he was only seventeen years old. I graduated in the same class. We were thrown a great deal together, not only inx^hool, but in society. He was a great 4vorite iil the best social cirdes in the town. He had the most remarkable memory df any boy in scfaopliand could commit and retain his lessons with- out difficulty. He never demonstrated in his youth, except by his wonderful memory, any of the great powers as a debater and tliinker that he has since given evidence of «- . Wh^ a man has filled so large a^lace in the pu1>- iife eye as Mr< Blaine has» his early life seems a great miy oft ^ When you g«5t where Werf other matt you meeriaiY tyi youpll a^ then you seem to see ir in m dH^rent Kght, and it leaves a fkr different ifii|3res- Jbn upon lyouF naind. H#re/what $e^ed to be to ■•*?< i^f A.%'^ ^ i ..'V A-'^y %■>. 1., v^' 36 LIPB OP HON. JAMES 0. BLAIKB. ..;- : ,9 you, when away, traditions far in the distant past, appear like the recollections of yesterday. People cannot only tell you of his father and his grand- father, but of almost every phase of his life from boy- hood up. REMEMBERED IN HIS COUNTRY HOME. The stories of his early struggles and triumphs are as vivid as those of his later years, and his name is closely associated with the lore of the country side. He left here soon after he graduated, but how little did he then think that his home would be made in the Northland, and his fame and fortune won many miles away from the quaint old town where he grew up. It is a nice place for peace and rest The people are contented and happy with their splendid jeducational institutions, their rich acres, and plenty of money. He had close alliances here then that were likely to bring him back to stay. Almost his first occupation after graduating was as a teacher in the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind. Why before this he went to Kentucky to teach school has been a question often - asked but never answered. There is a tradition here that there is but one being who knows. Like other boys he had his friendships and his loves, and it would be strange if he had grown up— for he is said to have been as handsome a boy as he is a man— without leaving some Impression upon the hl^arts of the maidens of the neighborhood. If there is one i»e|son Kving who' c^n tell» and .^re Aj^i.k K-...;/i3^,.. t4 03 D O 3 n i o ' , •> ,i >, w .1 u r"; :?; s Q t-» d 2 iiMiMiS^iSimmifmm0^.i'me.-i*-%s:i'i.vtkK^-^ Wii^ f tA o n w '' >."- STUDENT AND TEACHER. 87 ist it has been and doubtless will be forever kept as a sealed 'book, so far as the details are concerned. It was one of those' youthful misunderstandings that often come to two people who hope to start out on the" voyage of life together, and are» separated by an angry sea before they meet There is not even a sug- gestion as to which of the two was at fault for the parting of the ways that led their life's journeys into different paths. IMPEDIMENT IN HIS SPEECH. Mr. H; H. M. Pusey.of Iowa/ classmate, and a late member of Congress from Iowa, says: ; James Blaine, as 1 remember him, was a pretty wefl- built boy and a hard student He had an impedi- ment of speech, however, which at first prevented him from joining in our debates and declamations, but he could distance all his classmates in the matter of studies, and his memory was remarkable. We had in the college a literary society, of which I was president, about the time Blaine was sixteen years old. One day he came to me and said ; /* Bi^Bill, I woiild like to be p-president of the literary society* Can you f-f-fix it for me ? " I answered : " Why, what do you know abput the literary society? You* have never taken any part in the debates, and have alwayd preferred to p4y your fine to taking active part. Do ^011 know anything about parliamentary practice?" He rqjlied: '^No, but I can c-cominit Cushie^s Manua] to memory laone nighV* "V^ell, ^e rc$wh ym tH% at the next meeting I ■M^tHjj ,"*/ M».-n^-*M1i,*^' 9 » M t J \m C m m^^ -y ^ m^_.y.tjlL ' jr -n jmrS. ' ».f."|,l ' '. ' )"H|«t^w ' i ' 'r*.<*-y. ' )...i ' ' '^,.,- ^ •' '»?* 1 - , I.- < ' ' 38 UFE OF B9K, JAMES 6. BLAINX. *' fixed it*' for him, and at the meeting the next wcfek Blaine was elected president, vice Pusey, term ex- pired. As he had promised, he committed the entire contents of Cushin'g's Manual and he proved the^ best president the'literary society of the college ever had. STORY OF THE GOOSE. > i Another story of the same period, told by one of his old neighbors, is too good to be lost: I remember * one day his father told him to get up early and go to the market and buy a turkey. He gave him a dollar^ which was a good deal of money in those day$^ Well, James brought home the bird and handed it to old Dinah, the colored cook of the Blaine family. When the elder Blaine came down to breakfast Dinah greeted him: "Mars Blaine, dat dar turkey what Mars Jim buyed dis mawnin' am de quarest turkey I's ever seed. * 'Deed it is, Mars Blaine.'* "Why, what's the matter with it, Dinah? ain't it big enough ? ** replied the old gentleman. " It ought to be, surely; Jim paid a dollar for it" "Oh, yes, Mars Blaine, de turkey is big 'nufC but it am de funniest turkey dis yer nigger ever seed." Mars Blaine went out to the kitchen to look at the " turkey/' and found it to he a t>:n-year-old goose. He called Jim down and hauled him over the coals, saying : " Why, Jim, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Fifteen years old,' and can't tell a turkey from a goose t'* Jim hungf his' head and simply replied : "Why, how's a hdf to tell a torkey from a. goose when its feathers are t)fF?^ :aM' STUDEN? AND TBACfiER. 39 A BIG-HEARTED YOUTH. Hon. Robert E. Williams, of Illinois, a prominent- lawyer, a college-mate, but not a classmate, bears this testimony: Young Blaine was a big-heartedr^ wholes souled, good-natured fellow in his college days. We both attended Washington College, in Pennsylvaniai * and were intimate friends. Blaine was a good com- panion in his school days — strong in physical strength, foud of out-door sports, ^et in a certain sense loving seclusion and his boofc^ He was a faithful student, and was regarded by his coUege^mates as a brilliant and progressive scholar. He was an aggressive fellow whenever there was any- thing to be accomplished which he thought would be productive of good results. From his earliest college days he seemed to have but one ambition, and that was to make his mark as a journalist. He was an industrious writer, and wrote, perhaps, during his college course, a greater number and a greater variety of essays and other articles thafl any member of his cl^ss. He used to remark that a school-teacher or an editor could accomplish more good in the world than any one else, and he thought, after leaving college, he would surely enter the jcur^ naltstic walks of life. REMARKABLE FEAT OF MEMORY. Another «ays: Me was a great reader of history, sMi4 was so methodical in his arrangement of facts that he could in an instant, present a« array of them that would overwhelm art opponent An incident illustr^t- a«i--*- '^-'H^ W^fTFT^ S^f^^^^Vjr.- '• ■ r '■ ' 40 LIFE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAINE. ing this power is told of him : When a little boy, his sister challenged him to a contest in naming the counties of the State of Pennsylvania, She named them all, and he immediately named them, and every county-seat besides, '^Another writes: His most notable trait, perhaps, was combativeness. H^ ^vas always' at home in an^ argument, and generally invited it. It was the delight of the Democratic politicians, to engage him in politi- cal discussions, as he was, even then, well, versed in political history, ami was an ardent .upholder of the Whig doctrines to the last. During his course in 1 844, the party lines were drawn unusually close re- garding soni] WOULD TALK POLITICS ALL NIGHT. His ability to give utterance to anything he had to say, in the most forcible manner, was also noticeable in his wrangles or political discussions with his fellow- studeiit^I Flis absolute self-command under ditiiicul- ties here also exhibited itself distinctly in his character. He was the most skilful mathematician in his class, and "friequendy would demonstrate the problem in ^ way not found in the books. . A room-mate gives this item, which is very sugges- tive as showing his strong political bent and power : t remember, when we were rooming together, that our room was a debating headquarters, Blaine would sU ..jjj^ir - ■ W -ET^ ■ . ■ ^ '■.i j p » .,^» ) i j w,^ ,yy^^^ ^., n^.^^*yi^^» if*' UFE OF HOK. JAMES G. BLAINE. all night and talk politics if he could get anybody to ^talk back or listen. He preferred an opponent, but if he couldn't get one, he was content if he had some one to sit and listen to him. He had a fashion of sitting sideways at the table, with his feet cocked up in such a way that he could swing his right hand around and whack the ^able, Thr*-e he would sit and talk, and pound that table until i often thought he would split our ears and that table-top at the same time. . He had national. State, and county affairs on his finger ends, was familiar with men and measures, and could run over all of them. Many a night I have pleaded with him to stop, and let me go to sleep, but the only way to shut him up was to put out the visitors and the lights at the same time. Then he liad to go to bed. ; .■...- k: t'.. , HIS POPULARITY. One further reminiscence, and an interesting one: . To the new-comers and freshmen Blaine was always a hero. To them he was uniformly kind, ever ready to assist and advise them, and to make smooth and pleasant their initiation into college life. His hand- some person, his ready sympathy and prompt assist- ance, his frank and generous aatu re, and hb brave, manly bearing, made him the best known, the best loved, and the most popular boy at school. He was a natural student, excelling pre-eminently in mathe* 'maticsand English branches, showing also good work in the dead languages of the cia^ici^ Mathiematics, STUDENT AND TEAGQER. 43 without qiiestipn, were to him a pleasure. He was always perfect in mathematical recitations, and was the idol of his teacher, Professor Aid rich. His intellect early showed vigor, thoroughness, and discipline. He was not content to follow the books. A great memory rarely combines with high mathe^ matical or reasoning power, but in Mr. Blaine was early, seen that most wonderful combination, and to it his commanding force of intellect is no doubt largely due. Few men have this union of great retentive and great reasoning power in any degree, almost none in so marked a degree as Mr. Blaine. No one could come in contact with him without being impressed and almost starried by the tremendous power which this enabled him to wield. . A POWERFUL ANTAGONIST. The man who detects at a glance the weak point or fallacy of an argument, and remembers unerringly the ojEie fact in the whole world of facts which exposes it, the man whose memory never sleeps and whose logic seldom falters, is a^n antagonist whose lance is quick to kill and powerful to protect. Even in college, while he could have memorized a demonstration in Euclid as readily as Cushing's Man- ual» he rather sought to reach and establish his prop^ ositton in a fresh way and by original thought. His vigorous and eager mind would sometimes throw off resf4ratdts and discard aids, confident, like the athlete, in the eWMctty and discipline of his strength. In college, as ill after life, Mr. Blaine was strictly '\^ 44 LIFE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAINE. t: temperate in all his habits. He graduated in i847» sharing, the honors, in a class of thirty-three, with Mr. John C. Hervey, wiio afterwards became Superin- tendent of Public Instruction in Wheeling, Va., and Mr. T. W. Porter, who devoted himself to journalism. It is noticeable, as showing the tendency of his thoughts, that his graduating oration was upon "The Duty of an Educated American." , INSTRUCTOR AND FRIEND. The best results of college training are not always those which can be measured in marks, or even in knowledge and discipline. Often it would be found that the personal influence of some one professor, more than anything that he or anybody else taught, ^as that which in after life remained longest and bore the best friiit. In our large colleges such intimacies are increasingly impossible, but there was a man in Washington College, in 1847, who did for James Gi Blaine what (eyr men could have done — threw around him the influence of a thorough manhood. Mr. Blaine owed to Professor Murray a debt which could not be. measured, and which he was proud to own. With this valued friend and instructor he read through the Greek Testament, taking a portion every Sunday. It would be interesting to recover, if possible, the Salutatory which James G. Blaine rose timidly to address to his friends and schoolmates. The subject, we have seen, was one that would only havje been qhosen by a youth of some orrginaiity of thoug^ht WILLIAM MCKINLEY. r^X-r J*' ' /» ^ STUDENt ANP TEAOHIB. ^ His class mimbered* thirty-three, of whom seveftteen entered the Christian ministry. l^e following is the commencement programme: ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT or WASHINGTON COLLEGE, PA. m(iiusday» Stfitemitr 29, iS47' OKA^^UATING CLASS. ' AndNW Btrr, John H. Hampton, Edwifd B. Neely. Georse Balrd, R- C. Holliday, William M. Onr. 1)uii«s G. Blaine. John G. Jacob, Samuel Power, jMScCOdpei. Richard H tee, William H.M.Pnsey, (kMfe IX Curtis, John V. LeMoyne, T. Wilson Porter. ^ Thomas Creixhtoii, La Fayrtte Markle, Huston Quail, RgColmery, G.H.Miller, Robert Robe, Cephas Dodd, J. R. Mdoie, J. A. RwWti, Hugh W. Forbes, William S. Moore, Janiiet H. Smi^h. A|fe(«nder M . 6uw, RQl»ert J. Munce, ^ JohnH.Storer. johnCHervef. M. P. Morrison, Alexander Wilson.— 88. MATJil ALUM SIMVS HONORS ORDJgR OF EXERCISES. MkHc — Prayer-^Musit. }sr Latin 8;»lutatory . . John C. Hervey, Brooke County, Va. Mmie. 24, English S«Iutatorf and Oratio» .... James G. BWne, West Brownsville, P*. Mmie. ' ' « " , :i^- 8d. Greek Sdutatory. -T. W. Pwter. Fayette C«»ity, P«. ■ * Mktie. ^ ,. 4lh. Oration— The Sword and the Plough J. G. Jacob, WeUsbotgh, Va. ,-"■''.'"' ' . Afiuu. ' - ■ $th Onttioa^Byion .Huston Quail, Union Vall^, Pio. JIAuie. * 6th Oration— The Era of Napoleon La Fayette Markle, BTOl Giwe, Pa. Muif. 7th. A P..em-The Collegian ...CD Cnrtia, Grpye Creek, Va. • , Mum. 8ih. Otttfbh— Moral Warftre J. R. Moore^1^ells«aie» O. ♦ ."^ . -n 46 Un OF BON. JAIIBd O. BLAINt. f . \\i-' 9th. Oration— Poverty UmAiI in the Devdopment of Geaius R. C. Colmcrjr, Haycsville, O. Musie. 10th. Ontion— The American Boy E. B. Necly, WMMnglon City, D. C. Mitsit — Confirring of Digrtn — MtuU. 11th. Valedictory WiUiam M. Orr, Wayne Comty, O. Mutit. BENEDICTION. From his alma mater young Blaine went to Blue Lick Springs, Kentucky, and became a professor in the Western Military Institute, in which there were about 450 boys. A retired officer, who was a student there at the time, relates that Professor Blaine was a thin, handsome, earnest young man, with the same fascinating manners he has now. He was popular with the boys, who trusted him and made friends with him from the first. He knew the given names of every one, and he knew their shortcomings and their strong points. He was a man of great personal courage, and during a 6ght between the faculty of the school and the owners of the springs, involvirrg some questions about the removal of the school, he behaved in the bravest manner, fighting hard but keeping cool. Revolvers and knives were freely used, but Blaine only used his well-disciplined muscle. Colonel Thornton F. Johnson was the principal of the school, and his wife had a young ladies' school at Millersbui^, 'twenty miles distant. It was at this place that Mr. Blaine met Miss Stan wood, who belonged to an ex- cellent faniilyi and she afterwards became hi» wife. 4#* - ^ STUDENT A1I5 TKACHER. 47 Blaine remained in Kentucky until about the year 1851, when he returned to Pennsylvania. He had formed the intention of devoting himself to the law profession, and was anxious to pursue his studies with this end in view. "The lion knows he is strong," and young Blaine, being conscious of his powers and the influence he could exert over others, naturally de- sired to follow a pursuit in which he could appear to advantage. A LAW STUDENT. For a time he read law in his native county, and then removed to Philadelphia, where he would have larger opportunities for study, and at the same time might be able to earn a support by teaching. The fame of the Philadelphia bar is world wide. Connected with it have been some of the most famoiis lawyers whose names enrich the annals of the legal profes- sion. . Here, the young student felt would be a good train- ing school, and he could thoroughly equip himself for the profession which, at this time, he intended to adopt. Yet he could, not free himself from the charms of anticipated journalism, and found it hard to give up his early intention of making this his chosen pursuit For a time he studied law in the office of the late Theodore Cuyler, but did not seek admission to the bar. He never engaged in the practice of law. although he would doubtless have risen to the front rank in the legal profession. "Yesj I remember youilg Jamea C Blaine dis- %-r ■k' ^. ;i;*i 'WMk^MdS^^^i 1^:--';•?■■ 48 LIffI OF Bdir. JA]t£d d. fiLAIN£. i r It. tinctly," said William Chapin, the principal of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, in Philadelphia. "He was principal teacher here on the boys' side for two years, and when he departed he left behind him not only univjersal re- gret at a serious loss to the institution, but an im- pression of his personal force upon the work and its methods, which sur- vives the lapse of twenty years." The Pennsylvania In- stitution for the Instruc- tion of the Blind,at Twen- tieth and Race streets, is the second place in which Mr. Blaine taught after his graduation from Washington College. He rang the bell at the front -door of the building one summer afternoon in i$53, in answer to an advertisement for a teacher. . " I'here were thirty or forty other applicants," said Mr. Chapin, "but his manner was so winning and he possessed so many manifesdy valuable qualities that I closed an engagement with him at once, and he became a teacher in the institution. 'vl|e was n^arried, an4 bis wife and lijttle son Wtl' BCiAlNE'S ARRIVAL IN PHILADELPHIA, WHEN HE BECAME A TEACHER IN THE BLIND ASYLUM. >'■'?•» I > V STUDENT AND TEACHER. 49 ker came here with him. His qualities/ which im-: pressed me most deeply, were his culture, the thoroughness of his education and his unfailing self- possession. He wias also a man of very- decided will, and was very much disposed to argument. He was ybung then — only twenty-two— and was-rather impuU sive, leaping to a conclusion very quickly. " But he-was always ready to defend his conctusions, however suddenly he seemed to have reached- them. We had many a familiar discussion in this v^ry room, and his arguments always astonished me by tlie knowledge they displayed of facts in history aii|d politics. His memory was remarkable, and seem C# '.i fc 60 UrE (^ HON. JAMBS a. BLAINE; Indeed, this book, the first historical work of Mr. Blaine, is a model of its kind. On the title-page, in ornamental pen-work, executed at that time by Mr. Chapin, is the inscription ; ; » ■ t» , • Journal a;.i of the Pennsylvania I^isxiTunoN for the INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND, from its foundation. i '- b. Compiled from official records by James G. Blaine, 1854. The methodical character of the work is most re- markable. On the firsi, page every abbreviation used in the book is entered alphabetically. The first entfy reads : " On this and the four following pages will be found some notes in regard ta the origin of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind/ furnished by I. Francis Fisher, Esq." From this page to the 188th, in which is the. last entry made by Mr. Blaine, every line is a model of neatness and accuracy. On every page is a wide margin. At the top of the margin is the year. In ornamental figures. Below it is a brief statement of what the text con- tains opposite tha( portion of the marginal en|qf/ Sl^fi trfe -^A,-i. :i.- t>^J "^ -*■■ ' *-.; ^ STUDENT AND TBACa£R. 51 "Every year's record closes with an elaborate table, giving the attendance of menibers of the board. The last page? of the book are filled with alphabetical lists of officers of the institution and statistical tables, com- piled by the same patient and untiring hand. One of the lists is that of the * principal teachers.' No. 13 is followed by the signature, *Jas. G. Blaine, from August 5, 1852^ to —and then^ in another hand, the record is com pie i i h date November 23, 1 854. MASTER OF FACTS AND DETAILS. "I think that the book," remarked Mr. Chapin, "illustrates the character of the , man in accurate mastery ot facts and orderly presentation of details. Aye still use it for reference. "I recall one incident,'* Mr. Chapin continued, "which indicates Mr. Blaine's mode of discipline, and shows, too, that he was in those days somewhat impulsive. It was one of hts duties to take charge of the boys at breakfast, and sometimes there would be a few sleepy kiggards. One morning a whole room full of boys, five or six of tliem, faifed to appear. Mr. Blaine qiiietiy walked up-stairs and locked them in. The* boys had a scre^-driver and they unfastened the loci? ; bttt bythe time they reached the breakfast-room the tables had been cleared. * You can have no breaks fast,' was tlie teacher's announcement. The boys thereupon declared that they wouldn't go into Mr. BJaine's classes. He reported theytn to me. THE REBELLION ENDED. • " Atthough I thoiight it perhaps a little severe l6 {■■"'•I s% •t ■.■* '■*»"il«i«i»4»si!tf{aai«.w«*i««Mt;i*a - v. '' i fV^ip ' t^' ,: ^^ LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. deprive them of breakfast, I felt obliged to sustain Mr. Blaine, and told them to go to their class-rooitis as usual They still refused, and I suspended theni for the day. The next morning they rose in time for breakfast, attended classes, and the little rebellion was over. "Mr. Blaine taught mathematics, in which he ex- celled, and the higher branches. His wife was univer- sally beloved,' and often read aloud to the pupils. -When he went away^to become editor o( the Kennel'^^ J^ouma/f we felt that we had lost a man of large parts, and we have watched his upward* career with great interest He has called here a numbef of times wheti he stopped in tlie city on his way to and from Wash- ington." A PUPIL S RECOLLECTIONS. ■ t Mr. Blaine was very popular at the 4nstitution (or the Instruction of the Blind. A visitor to the Institu- tion met one of his pupils who said : "Everybody loved Mr. Blaine and his wife. Both were always ready 10 do anything for our amusement in leisure Ibours, and we had a great deal of fun, into which they entered heartily. I think that Mrs. Blaine read nearly all of Dickens* works aloud to us, and Mr. .Blaine used to make us roar with laughter by reading out of a book entitled ' Charcoal Sketches.' This large rooni at the right of the main entrance to the building, sep? arated by folding doors from another room, used .t6 be thrown open, and in the evenings he would sft there under the gaslight reading aloud to both the 1^ i «r_i< I as for for was ex- ver- i pils. larts, jreat wheti ^ash- m for (istitu- ilways leisure :hthey nearly I Blaine out of •e room I ng,sepr j used to I ould 1^ totli the J ' ■ ' ^,- ■ jfMtSKIm^^^ t^^^^^BKL^F' ^^^^^^^^1 BBt^. 1 ■» '* ^^R . a. iri i : i Jl J^^^^^ ^fe:*i' ' ^,- r "^ ^ ' , ■■->!^Si| ^^- £ t *"*- > ■- ' "*'" f ii^ ^^■^H J 1^. hi^^ ■^--..>: ■ % Hi ■T' : — in ^^^^^ .'^ ^^^^^^P Wf" ^^ ' '■ GEORGE F EDMUNDS .Ob '^4tmiBk>av^^!lMei>tm CD CO o B CO O CO PQ * 1! STUDENT AND TEACHER. : 63 boys and girls. Then we would wind up with a spell- ing-bee. Sometimes Mr. Blaine would give out the words^ and sometimes one of the big boys would do it, while Mr. Blaine stood up among the boys. Then we would have great fun trying to ' spell the teacher down.'" When a celebrated minister in New York was asked by a young and ambitious pulpiteer how he could get a call to a large church and a wider field for the ex- ercise of his gifts, he was told to fill well the place he then occupied. Promotion would come then in. a natural way. It was Mr. Blaine's ambition to be use- ful wherever he was and to " fill the bill." ^ This was the great secret of his upward career; he stepped ea$tly from the lower to the higher sphere. :. r- ^ ■-:M '!&vmi^imk^.^f>i;;ssi£m^: r-- 'a£2i.;.iw!vi!'».>Wt. Tlf "i*"?' r ■' "•"'"'J-— 'f^.v"-^ N? B^ y:: i^f^" HAPTER III. Bditor and Political Leader. Miss Stanwoop was a native of Maine, and after her marriage to Mr. Blaine was anxious for him to make that State his home. This he determined to do, and in I S5 3 the youhg couple removed to Augusta, where they made their home. In the following year Mr. Blaine entered into part- nership with Joseph Baker, a prominent lawyer of that- town, and the two purchased The Kennebec JourneUy of which Mr. Bi^ine at once became the editor. The JournoL was a weekly paper, one of the organs of the Whig( party, and exercised considerable political influ- ence; In 1857 Mr. Blaine disposed of his interest in this paper, and became editor of The Portland Daily Adverkser, In the campaign of i860 he returned temporarily to his old post on The Kennebec youmal on account of th^ illness of its editor. - ^ His Career In journalism lasted six years, and was ,' marked throughout by ability and success. It served' to- give him a good introduction to the world of poli- tics and ftatesmanship. In ^eryidiing he wrote Mr, Blaine if«is vigorous and fearless. He contended', always f^r^principie. ^io amount of adverse opinion could malc^ Um ^nge bis ecu rse. He was not lih ir — w dation. „^.N,,E THE REPtiBLlCAN PARTV. , HELPS TO ORGANIC TH ^^ Mr. When the old Wh g Pf^^ ^„son P. MorriU Btaine joined »>-^<^-'i?rpa°; - *"^ ^'"^ ""r; ;„ organUing the R^P"~/on the Buchanan Ad- State. H« '•SOJouSi^' Vef in the ae« organ- ministration made him a p zatiop. Klent of Maine, speakirtg ol The late Governor Ke"t^ -Almost from Mr. Blaine's career •" ri«^ ^^ ^ of the Ken- the day of W^«— ^.riJrJe of twenty-three. M- Blatee' sprang into a p2°^ of ^ .^^ fi,e he was politics and P°l'«=y°^^J';'"o^,neils of the Repubhcan a leading power '" *«^°^„den. Hamlin, and the party, so recogn«ed by Jes^ ^^.„ prominent m two Morrills. and °*«^ *;",„t^.„i„e he was chosen - the State. Before he was "f^"^ f the RepuWt- ctrman of the E-£- f:";S"n from which he can organiMtion m Mame ^ J ^jitical campaign -'m EDITOR AND POLITICAL LEADER. 67 In the South those Whigs who, though still unwilling to profiess an anti-slavery creed, would not unite with the Democrats, were reorganized under the name of the American party, with Humphrey Marshall, Henry Winter Davis^ Horace Maynard, and men of that class, for leaders. This party was founded on pro- scription of foreigners, and with special hostility to the Roman Catholic Church. It had a fitful and fever- ish succes's, and in 1854-5, under the name of Know- nothings, enrolled tens of thousands in secret lodges. But its creed was narrow, its principles were illiberal, and its methods of procedure boyish and undignified. Jhe great body of thinking men in the North saw that the real contest impending was against slavery and not against naturalization laws and ecclesiastical dogmas. Tlie Know-nothings therefore speedily dis- appeared, and a new party sprang into existence com- posed of Anti-Slavery Whigs and Anti-Slavery Democrats. The latter infused into the ranks of the new organi- zation a spirit and an energy which Whig traditions could never inspire. '■"■''■''- *• INSTANT SUCCESS. The same name was not at once adopted in all the free States in 1854, but by the ensuing year there was a general recognition throughout the North that all who intended to made a serious fight against the pro* slavery Democracy would unite imder the flag of the Republican party. In its fi rst eflbrt, without compact org^nixationi iKhbout dlscif^ipei. 1| rallied the anth -\'i ^ •*■"». •* ..■ii-,- : 68 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. P> I I ^; IKi slavery sentiment so successfully as to carry nearly all of the free States, and to secure a plurality of the members of the House of Representatives. The indignation of the people knew no bounds. Old political landmarks disappeared, and jparty prejudices of these generations were swept aside in a day. With such success in the outset, the Republicans pre- pared for a vigorous struggle in' the approaching Presidential election. REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. The anti-slav.ery development of the North was not more intense than the pro-slavery development of the South. Every other issue was merged in the one absorbing demand by Southern slaveholders for what they sincerely believed to be their rights in the Terri- tories. It was not viewed on either side as an ordi- nary political contest It was felt to be a question, noil of expediency, but of morality, not of policy, but of honor. It did not merely enlist men — women took a large part in the agitation. It did not end with absorb- ing the laity ; the clergy were as profoundly concerned. The power of the Church, on both sides of the dividing line, was used with great effect in shaping public opinion and directing political action. The Missouri Compromise was repealed in May. Before the end of the year a large majority of the people of the North and a large majority of the pebjpfc of the South were distinctly arrayed against each other on a question which touched the interest, the pn'- 'imtmmet^r «^» 60. U« OF HOK. JAMES O. BUINB. A nro».ess. or in the light of ex- ';r.^ ^'.^-- " '"»•"•"" •"' progress. J/^rw**-* intimates, foreshadow It does not. as the ^^^^'^jj^ salvation. The d,e dissolution of *;^ ""^.^ J.'e the Union. Th.y slave States «.ll .T „ it Ssemtton. for the arm We too great a stake m>t»P^^j^^^ ,3ary , of the Federa G^""';^'^^^ ^„d massacre by the tt, keep them from 'n^"^"^"" u„der the accursed i.mions of j'^V^'/rifuTe^come. must come from lash. But dissolut on If U ever ^^^ ^^^^^^ the free States, stripped °J *^« ^f^^n for the la?t ift the government. ^*^y^^ to desperwion^by^ twenty years, «^goadfi^„ ^ cbntinuance and perpetua. y ' «'°"*- , . It V«. saved by arresjing the gigantjc the Union will *^^J^^„ J^spcJitical supremacy, ■ strides of Aesteve-pow^rtoww^^^J^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ driving if«««V- .'S equal rigte'^*^**^ tag to the North its ju_st "<» «"1"^^ j^^««y. may nOt V|,, ..ternative^n^-^^^^if^ iB the end resOU from tl^ penn_^ ^^ . RepubUcan t«rty. we a« not JP^^ ^,„,3t heart the contrary. it « J^^^f J^ glorious ««>ve««f. that beati. *« "fT^^Jj "Tee will n^it^,T : lye live, belieying th»t a coaotry re«ec ex- aind dow The h^y arm sary tHe Lirsed from ' radcd . ubya restqiif- iutthft nay n0t my; 0^ It hea^t ivem€*^t» t the in- cry ** f wniUAM windom: ■y>rt^kf:^Mimiit^.isniiik'tM>f'^'c^-x-^ THOMAS B. REED. *-s ^W^^^^^p ti'^*fe''-'^ ■ ■'^•^^ EDITOR AND FOLlTlCAL LEADBU. 61 - ■ M •■■.■'i f^hame add cul^e: of slavery, purified and restored to |,tlie Republicanism of its palmy days/will be the \ richest legacy we can leave to posterity. Drive rum jas a beverage from all the avenues of society, place ^ the tide of foreign immigration- that is pouring in upon j us with such fearful power Under proper restrictions, I and in a course of education that shall prepare it, as. ;the American citizen is now prepared, for the high ^functions of freedom; strike the fetters from the limb tof every- slave that breathes in 'all this vast domain, so ithat, from centre to circumference, only the glad shout jpf liberty shall be heard.'and the smile of Providence will bless this land as it never has been blessed, and th€ glory shall roll on from generation to generation whik time shall last. • MR. BLAINE ON THE NEW PARfV. ; > In Mai:<^ i855f Mr. Blaine wrote enthusiistic^ly rof the (S&^l(i8ttion of the new party in Maine, and of its ifirst dooviiition : v. \ It cart no longer bfe questionecl' that we have in «Maine a Well-organized and powerful party, which shares the sympathy and influence of a decided majority of the piebple. That radical and permaneiit causes have been operating for years to brirfg about ;the present condition of things, is so well known as to need no repetition. Ignored and resisted as tliose causes were by selfish . schemers, personal aims, and the force of old party watchwords, ttiey increased yearly in breadth and strength, until they have be- come one resistless current of public opinion, fed 1: ^ " -isl ;.t; ■, ';;t.K; ¥.- V r^"- I*' 62 LIFE OF HOK. JAMES G. BLAINE. the various springs of moral and pattibtic feelings, vrhich are so fresh add healthful in the social soil of Maine, on which the ship of State is fairly launched, with the flags of temperance, freedom, and American eiiterpri^e waving proudly at the masthead. The Republican party, therefore,' is not the creatioii of a few individuals; it is the production of moral ideas whick have' long been asserting their sway in the consciences and hearts of the people. It is pre- eminently the child of ideas and of the people. Strong as these ideas and thdr friends hadsfiown themselves ill the political efforts of the two or three years past, old' political organizations had prevented the union of men of like principles in one well-organized party.. _ " :_-•..''?' -v-v'-^'' The men were called by different names, yet they had a coinmon faith and common purposes. Their principles needed expression in a common pthtforni; The people desired one political family and Oii$ oro;anization. Right, expediency and necessity called for a convention. What time more opportune and appropriate tlian the birthday of Washington ? So ready were the people for action, so manifest the necessity, that a long notice wais not required. The convention of the as^d was one of the most re- markable and interesting that ever assembled in our State. The number in attendance w^s very large— not less than nine or ten hundred. It was composed of the true and influential portion of the people from ali ptarts of the State. Its members cawie in due pro- ■f':" '.^:^' ■. .*. KDITOK A^D PULlTiCAL LEAPEK. 63 IgS, of [led, icaii nost 1*0- i in our large— >mpose „S.„.«5. A. fC''* tiFE OF »^^- ^^ ^fr and ave its fij** J' demands n*'^"?''!!? ^" rty tbat has the *« ""Tis he only truly «««°"'^^ P"''^ &4-i " k*> ^m> a; " -^"•"''"^nMthesec^^ . ^ the country ^»"f^..„ ^^t now jt^^ ■'^•■^'''■^ :'cM0y EDITOR A|I0 POLITIGAL LEADER. 65 H. SeAvard, the great Republican leader, in one of his editorials we find these strong, exultmg words : The prayer of the freeman is answered. A ques- tion of the highest importance, the right decision of which for months has excited the deepest solicitude, - has been solved to the joy of patriotic Americans,.and for the welfare of the public. J8y the force of his own character as a man and a statesman, and of the moral and political principles which he represents, and which centre in him, William H. Seward has been re-elected to the American Senate by the State which in her earlier days gave the nation a Clinton, a Livingston, a }ay, a Hamilton, and which now with her population* •her iresources, antf.strenjgth increased twenty-fold,, bears upin berartns freedom'^s great lieader against traitors at home and storms of ^ relentless opposition . from abroad. » r The heart of Venation thrpbs at ti[je.^event which, amid exultationand congratulatiOnsi^li^^ and steam are announcing to the; true m^^ this whole continent and ojf the civiliz^ wo4^ t ^he contest through which he has passed is without parallel in the history of this country. We have waited until the clouds of the conflict were passing away and the can- non of rejoicing had ceased, to express our exultant gratitude ^t the event to which we have looked for- ward with the strongest hope. . Reviewing the field, we saw that nothing but Mr. Seward's naked strength and the devotion of the peo- ple of the Empire Sta^e to him and to his princij^es jz vl ' ''rS ■ m * <■! 5. ft ■'?,-»!; ■Si' ' ^i:- ^T^"* ti«p+' , • '■'*' «« UW of BOW. .»A'»P» could rescue htaf^m*e^^.,^ ^^^^ 1^ iude. Four months have p ^ ^^ j^ ^^^,. Th. wickedness has culm"««J ^ j^^j^ ^i „ow oo- great American ««*«*?*" ^fo^e his country tnehtto*n fUs aproudw e^va«^,f I'd .^ghter fu.u« « ever before, and a serene . ^. securely his. vivv^Ant of the RepuWic n» - there been a greater necessior ^^^ ^,U, of *%ar-seeing -^^t „r SJt caUatich of 8«^ courage that no Creator dang ^,^^^^^^^^^„dr iu^ to Denize and gutde. V_ ^ ,^6 cause and . meaning of his tnumph. H^ « „^„i«rtions. H.s S or defeat of the oWpohucaU^^^^ ^ bitterest and f ^^^^^^j^^Wch belabored f«>« l^ , «, belong to the V^r^'J.^ «„,! overthrow. ^ formation to *« ^our o^ fiends and support«« „f his ablest »»d ""X Sio'=««^ ^"^^ \^Z teve belonged !?*^^J^\ed by that party wh.d. tas his election has b««'^«^„j .^rength ftom all forH«' been gathering numbers an ^ ^ young giant^ ^ oreanizations. which has a"*^ • ^.J^^ „d rapiH I . .' I, 68 LIFE OF aon, JAMES O. BLAINE. NORTHERN TREASON. , Of the famous Dred Scott decision, Mr. Blaine wrote: Whither do all these things tend ? Are we to be a permanently subdued people ? We can but regard them as the last turns to the screws of despotism, that presage the mighty uprising and triumph of the peo- ple. Slavery has got to the farthest limits of its power and aggression. Henceforth it must lose in the great contest which it is waging against freedom. The day o.f truce has gone by ; the slaveholders have left the free men of the nation no other resort but revolution — a revolution, if slavery wills itc to be ai* other, only through the peaceful agencies of the pre 3$, public opinion, of religion, and of the baifot-box. These aided by time, and die increase of free popula- tion, at no distant day, will give us every department of the government, and regain to national freedom what has been lost by Southern cupidity and Northern treason. I 4 ■I sime ^ be gard that peo- f its se in idorn. have t but I ae r»Q press, tt*box. opula- tment , >edo|Vl J rthern ! < < W PQ W a w xn w fa p< w ;• •; .vi-'-i.s; -M^ fi ■ »-^.t VJ' VlIvk* «*■**«*. ,■- ' . o < w < c < >-< << o ^. Pi o W Q Q <: iz; »*,' '• r rj- ■ fe. CHAPTER IV. ! Blaine a Member of the State Legislature. ^, In 1 858, when he was in his twenty-ninth year; Mr. Blaine was elected to the Legislature. He served two years on the floor of the Low^r House and two years in the chair, where he displayed the qualities of parliamenCary leadership and control that afterward gave him such renown in the National Legislature at Washington. It is also worthy of mention that he took an active part as a public speaker in the Fre- mont campilign of 1856. Mr. Blaine was brought into prominence in his adopted State through his able editorials in the journals with which he was connected, and through the active interest he exhibited in all political affairs. He was public spirited ; his pen and voice were always ready. It was not surprising that his neigh- bors and fellow-citizens should, look to one so youitg for a leader; the young man was much older in wis^ dom and experience than he was in years. His was an old head on young shoulders. Jn the campaign of 1856 tlie Kansas question^ In- volving the introduction of slavery into new territory, was discussed tumultuou. t«7- «*>■--";". > v-^ h^ix^t pt^^ ^■^■-'.^'k t.' MEMBER OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE. ^■^v, i p.y'' 4jr^y^ff^t" 71 ELECTED TO THE UIGLSLATURE. The prominent part taken by Mr. Blaine in public af^irs, particularly in the Fremont campaign, naturally^ drew attention to him as one suitable to represent his district in the Legislature. One remarkable characteristic of the man is worth noting. It wQuld hardly be believed he was at thi^ time extremely timid and diffident, and with great difr ficulty could be induced to give a public address. Yet such was the case. His speeches at this time were written out and committed to memory, and he seems to have acquired only grradually the full com- mand of his powers and the ability to respond im- promptu to the demand of the hour. Returnin|^ from the National Convention at Philadelphia, in which he *was one of the delegates who helped to nominate Fremont for the presidency, he was asked at a ratifica- tion meeting to make a speech. At first he refused, but finally yielding to the urgeiit request, he b€g?in in fstammering fashion, but soon rose to the occasion and spoke with telling effect. in the Legi«ilature he exhibited those commanding qualities and pre-eminent capabilities for leadership which afterward made him one of the moat remark- able ai^d successful speakers who ever occupied the chair of the House of Representatives. AN IMPORTANT SPEECH. There was a movement at this tim'e, particularly in the South, for the purchase of the Island of Cuba. A bill was introduced into Congress by Mr. Slidell> o^ ^M \^. 72 LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. Louisiana/settihg fortH the desirableness of making such a purchase and providing that the whole amount to be paid should not be over jjj 125,000,000, and that $30,000,000 of. this amount should be put into the hands of the President at once for the purpose of beginning negotiations. In the Maine Legislature, Mr. Porter, of Lowell, introduced a resolution "that our Representatives in Congress be instructed to exert their influence and give their votes for any honorable measure that may be brought forward looking to the early acquisition of Cuba by the United States." It became widely known through the newspapers that Mr. Blaine was opposed to these resolves, and, as he said, they advertised him for the performance. He did not disappoint public expectation. In a brilliant and masterly oration he pointed out the extraordinary character and dangerous tendency of the Slidell bill ; he showed how it broke down the constitutional safeguards of our Govern- ment by giving the whole treaty-making power to the Executive, and by allowing him, at his discretion, to aiinex territory, form States, and to resolve on peace or war. Then leaving the narrow question of the Slidell billr he stated his own views on the general subject of the acquisition of Cuba as follows : OBJECTIONS TO THE PURCHASE OF CUBA. In reference to the general subject of the acquisition of Cuba, which may be considered as in some sense before . the House, I have a few remarks to ofier, and rpi MfiMBER OP TUE STATE LEGISLATURE. 73 I am frank to confess that " a good deal may be said on one side of that question, and a good deal on the other." The acquisition of the island would incorpo- rate into our nation a large number of people differing radically and essentially from us in race, in language, in religion, in domestichab its, and in civil institutions. Even with our enormous powers of deglutition, diges- tion and absorption, our energies would be taxed to a dangerous extent by the attempt to make the mixed and mongrel people of that island homogeneous with our own. OTHERS MUST KEEP HANDS OFF. Its annexation would also increase to an alarming extent the influence of the slave power in the govern- ment of this country, and would give them additional strength and prestige in the Senate of the United States, which, as every one knows, has always been their stronghold, both for offense and defense. The objections to the acquisition of Cuba, which grew out of these considerations, are most cogent and pressing, and certainly of sufficient weight to restrain .the ardor of annexation, which some of our people might be supposed to cherish when looking at the subject purely from a commercial standpoint. On the other hand, there is a very general acqui- escence in tlie position that our country can never permit any other power to obtain possession of the island. Such is the well-known and peculiar Mtuation with reference to our own country, that we would be deaf to the plainest dictates of sclt-interest if we should , t- >'NfeA.-J »ita^-:<;■* 'S^, .%.-/:,. 4-' ,"--. 1.'-; . tO« OF aOK. "MIS O. BlilNS. national elec loa o^ ^ 860 appr ^^g^ussion ran deep and strong. The great ad* ^vocate bf popu- lar sovereignty was Senator Stephen ^ Douglas, of ttlM nois. One of the towering pil- lars of the Re- publican party was Abraham Lincoln, of the same State. These two great tribunes met each other in pub- lic debate, and A A^^ ronsoicuous abiwty, here Mr. ^'-°'" ^^^jt^o^ sUtesmansWp wWch; *^ ^'f r-lTuf 2 t f -"popular leader of M, pointed Vim out a^ V^^^' t. ^ onrl described, as a newspaper STEPKB" A. DOUGLAS. I nator tn A. of ttli^ 3ne o( ring pi^ the Re- party; Vbraham^' of the State. wo gres^^ nes tn®t lerinpub- jate, and us abnity, ^ip which: der of M$ newspaper 8VO f^&tnark- : '^^^^^*mmmtm»*-iim^ r ■■V I ' ^ ni .-^^ ^i y o/. cy^. A^^^--^^ MEMBER OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE. 77 abje men. He has' sketched the combatants with a master hand. With a few bold strokes he has out- lined -the giants in their gladiatorial combat. No reader can fail to be interested in the following graphic description, which is among the most brilliant productions from Mr. Blaine's facile and graceful pen : 'A GIGANTIC TASK. The contest that ensued was memorable. Douglas had a herculean task before him. The Republican party was strong, united, conscious of its power, popiular, growing. The Democratic party was rent with faction, and the Administration was irrevocably opposed to the rt turn of Douglas to the Senate. He entered the field, therefore, with a powerful opponent in front, and with defection and betrayal in the rear. He was every- where known as a debater of singular skill. His mind was fertile in resources. He was master of logic. No man perceived more quickly than he the strength or weakness of an argument, and no one excelled him in the use of sophistry and fallacy. Where he could not elucidate a point to his own' advantage, he would fatally becloud it for his opponent. In that peculiar style of debate which, in its intensity, resembles a physical combat, he had no equal. He spoke with extraordinary readiness. There was no halting, in his phrase. He used good English, terse, vigorous, pointed. He disregarded the adornments of rhetoric — rarely used a simile, and was master of the sledge-hammer style of debate. -*S UTE OF HOS. JAHES O. BIAIOT. t :- ^ i 78 appreciation of v.tt. "^ ; f American polices. cedents, except from *« » ^,, comprei^ensive. Inside that field l^^J^-tt learning «as limited^ minute, cnttcal. BfV""*^ recreations ivpre not m He was not a reader. "'* • f ^^^ voluminary literature. In j'- *'Scrd^e to find a line of speaking it would be d« e.d.e ^^ ^^^ ^^ poetry or a classical «""» °" j^t^ter. He could L orator, and by ^ong P-'^^^ ,,, ^^n conclusions, lead a crowd almost ,rres,st,W> ^^ ^^^^^^^^^ He could, if he wished, mote a 't: was in short, an able, audaciou. almost uncon- ,„^:«: Opponent in 9^X^:2^ -V -" 1 It would have been ^"^-^ ^'\^fo,e the people of the same type able '°«^J^.^ ^^^ probably have Illinois. W^'-^^'^'St enco""''^- But the man been destroyed m *« ^'^^^^ challenged h>m to Scarcely could two men be more ^.^^^^ and mental const.tut.on. than Ab« ^^^ ^,_^ ^^^ Stephen A. Doug as. Mr. Lmco ^^^^.^ ^^^ philosophic. He loved the «^* .,^,^ „ ^ de- He would not argue from a t=a P ^^^ ^„d„rion. ceived himself or deceive others oy MEMBER OF THK STATE LEGISLATURE. 79 He had pondered deeply on the issue which aroused him to action. He had given anxious thought to the problems of free government and to the destir f the Republic. He had for himself marked out a path of duty, and he walked in it fearlessly. His mental processes were slower but more profound than those of Douglas. He did not seek to say merely the thing which was best for that day's debate, but the thing which would stand the test of time and square itself with eternal justice. He wished nothing to ap- pear white unless it was white. His logic was severe and faultless. He did not resort to fallacy, and could detect it in his opponent, and expose it with merciless directness. He had an abounding sense of humor, and always employed it in the illustration of his argument — never for the mere sake of provoking merriment. In this respect he had the wonderful aptness of Frank- lin. • He often taught a great truth with the felicitous brevity of an iEsop Fable. His words did not fall in an impetuous torrent as did those of Douglas, but they were always well chosen, deliberate, and con- clusive. . ' Thus fitted for the contest, these men proceeded to a discussior: which at the time was so interesting as to enchain the attention of the Nation — in its immediate effect so striking as to affect the organization of parties, in its subsequent effect so powerful as to change the fate of millions. <^. ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 IM £ 1^ |20 B^HI ■IMU U 116 tw Sceices CorpQratiQn ^ 33 WIST MAIN STIHT lWnSTH,N.Y. I45M (7I6)I72-4S03 t b 80 LIFE OF HON. lAVES 6. BLAIKp. A TRUE PROPHET. > . V The nomination of Lincoln in i860 came about a$ Mr. Blaine hacl prophesied, and after the election the relations between the two ftien became close and inti? mate, and so continued. . ' On the 7th of February, 1862, an exciting question camef up for discussion in the Maine Legislature* Resolutions had been sen!: down from the senate to the house for concurrence, endorsingtheadmrnistrattoh ' of President Lincoln, and stating "that It is the duty of Congress to provide for the confiscation of the estates of the rebels and the liberation of their slaves^ and for accepting the services of all able-bodied men*, of whatever status, as military necessity may require." These resolutions found an opponent in Mr. Gould, of Thomaston, who made ah elaborate argument against them. To him Blaine replied. He discussed the question -in two phases — ^first^ as to the power of Congress to adopt such measures ; secondly, as to the expediency of adopting them. He denied that the war power in this Government is lodged wholly in the President; he held with Hamilton, and all constitu- tional lawyers, from Marshall to Webster, that Con- gress had no limitation on its authority to provide for the common defence in any manner. POWER OF CONGRESS. At the origin of our Government, Mr. Chairman, the people were jealous of their liberties ; they gave power guardeclly and grudgingly to their rulers ; thej^ were hostile, alx>ve all thiogs, to what is termed the J7.^,. >"tf '>ii . ••«- 'j.js's,<^^''?*1,t'--"vS'' MEMBER OF THE STATE LEaiSLAT&RE. 81 '4 oce-man power, and you cannot but observe, with what peculiar care they provided against the abuse of the war power. For after giving Congress the power "to declare war, and to raise and support* armies," they added in the Constitution these remark- able and emphatic words, "but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years," which is precisely the period for which the Representatives in the popular branch are chosen. Thus, sir, this power was not given to Congress sim- ply, but in effect it was given to the House of Repre- sentatives ; the people placing it where they could lay their hands di reedy upon it at every biennial election, and say " yes " or " no " to the principles or policy Of any war. In all that I am thus maintaining in regard to the supreme war power of Congress, I make no conflict between that and the Executive power, which in war, as well as in all matters of civil administration, belongs to the. President. The question at issue between the gendeman from Thomaston and myself is not whether the President has power of great magnitude in the conduct of a war, for that I readily admit, or rather J stoutly affirm ; but the point at issue is, which is superior in authority, Congress or the President? I think I h^ve shown that tfte Constitution vests the supreme unlimited power in Congress, and that the President must obey the direction of Congress, as the chief executive officer of the nation, and at the sa^ne time he must be held accountable for th^ npiode iq &!&& m^'^^^^^^ifm-M ■ r-v T;p^? 82 LIFB OF HON. JAMES G.rBLAiVS. r e^/ ^ K'-' whidi his subordinate ojBlicers execute fhe trust con- fided to them. ■..:-■: >^'.... ■;f,:;:--'i-.~^'..;./--i;v-''::.v...;" '' A BOLD, REJOINDER. • Mr. Gould had denied the existence of a civil war, and that the rebels had, therefore, full right to the (protection of property, guaranteed by the Constitu- tion, and could only be deprived of it by d^e process of law. Blaine scornfully rejoins I To assume the ground of the gentleman from Thom^ston, with its legitimate sequences, is practically . to give up the contest For he tells you, and he cer- tainly repeated it a score of times, that you cannot deprive these rebels of their property except "by due process of law," and at the same time he confesses that within the rebel territory it is impossible to serve any precept or enforce any verdict Heat the same time declares that we have not belligerent rights because the contest is not a civil war. Prayi what kind of a war is it? The gendeman acknowIedge$ that the rebels are traitors, and if so they must be engaged in some kind of war, because the ConstitU'^ ' ^on declares that " treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them." it is, therefore, war on their side. It must also be' war on ours, and if so, what kind of war ? ^v Mr. Gould rose and^d that he would dd^ne it as damisHe ynz-T, ^^ Mr, Blaine:^ ^ V Dbifientic war f that's it! Wdl, Mr. Chiln^M^, we* ^H kam something befcre dite disciisnon is ovf»r» 3^ >l Ilbmt^ic war ! I have heki-d -:..,.• ;Vr'': 'V, •■ ■^;:-7:/ '■'.■. lilOllTS iyi THE GOVERNMENT. '• f I have endeavored to establish as essentia] to the maintenance of my position two proposMoni t Ftr^V that ^he war power of this Government is lodged ^ Congress ; and second, that under every princtple ai$4 every f>recedent of international law the Govermi^li^ of the Uriited States, whil^ sovereign over aH;1l^a^ $0 long as the rebellion endures, all the rights of |«s^ against those who in arnied "force are seekii^tlmj}|i|| of the nation. The first resolve, endorsing tile i^^': ministration in general terms, is, I be^ev^ not olne^ill:' to in 2uiy quarter, and is not in dis^te betwn^enm gentleman from Thomaston and myself ^ . - ; The tmly objectir M-^-;^ ' BS!' ". .*■• itv - is id ; hi m^^ ■\ rtve-., 'i ■tf ■4 ive ' j^ ^e4 .;| inal -v m^ '''■ ":■ ► the tiielM^ mi ^u *-.\^ o CO « « to w o tn CO d t^i^'i %^-^' Mh ; -■ ■"'"■ ?* - "- "• -'■?.'■.■* A , ; • , 1^ ' -..-J ... . . -1 - ■ Ji f : 1 .« ^v. -J -.1' '. . ■ . ^ '^':'M ^ _^.^ . -» - » ;"i5vlm ..,'.'.-.-■ (/■.-'.■■- »>.„., 1 ^m^^^^ \ \ J 1 ; ?-»* ^^^ v.j-¥..' ' -"^^ ,'• '.i. 1 ^ V.,., r-ft, ■■ , -.,»,.;s.w'^ . ■ •■ f ^■,> ,.• '.r?*. .»^„ -., W . . r: l;l ^— .:-•• ,,.'-' -^, ,'i-',n-^- • - "* '■' '""— ' - .-i;^ h4 O O K u J- o < < PQ « w w 7J m ■«. •-■ lO^KR or THB STATK IiHdl^ATUftl|. d6 o o o O P < « en A" 4 s^itfi^ fennal, whbfeas to i^flettmy^ feeling^ itshoutd I j6e jn^riQ and cordial and unreserved^ I l>eing an early - ai|d tinflinchtng believer in the ability, the honesty and patnottsm ot^A Lincoln, I didin my hunible V^^pbere, both with pen and tongue, all I could to pro- :'m6t%!^ his election. , % ^ NEGROES IN THE ARMY^ ' i^ ' Then passing- to the third resolution, respecting the : VfiiHitary eitiploynient of negroes, Mr. Blaine said:' The're$o>lution must be taken and judged by i^elf^ ll& Own words. . It simply declares thar the servi^eid^pf ca^^ negroes "to rise," Itfui^/ mr slays, that these men should be employed as !* ihititat^ necessity and the safety of the Republic may demandi** 1 do not anticipate that any necessity wiU ar^ for^^i'niing the slaves, and as at presentadvi$e4 I wcMild not vote for a resolution recominending that jt0p.: But there are a thousand things which tiiiie ^^^pesT may^ do, which would gready ligji^feii tjie lira of pur brave brethren in the ianl|cs o^ ifi^^^^ [attons^ army. They may dig trenches, thro^iifr ^4^^lu^|H»nts, la^ on fortification SrStid in train^p»ort- lo^gs^c^ and inake themsel^s-" generally usefiiL**: \^ ^ gentleman ; should infer dmt I ^rii>k Ih^^lbgteiJ j^ some ||ro{)0sition3: ^ hi^^i^ doinm 49 ld^ 1 tell hlin: ihat^ if^liift pf th^ nattoji $ecnif5i ^^iniand "•im fcv ■ ^^v > ^i? ^ 86 Ura 0? BON. MMS8 Q; BLAUOL the violation of the Constitution, I would violate- it, and in taking this ground I am but repeating the ex« pression of President Lincoln in his mes^^age, when he declared that "it were better to violate one provision than that all should perish." And I will gfive a higher and more venerable authority than President Lincoln,, for the same doctrine. No les^ a personage than Thomas Jeflferson wrote the following sentiments in a letter to J. R. Calvin, from his retirement at Monticello, ' September 22, 1 8 10: "The question you propose, whether circum- stances do not sometimes occur, which mak^ it a duty, in officers of high trust, to assume authorities beyond the law, is easy *o€ solution in principle, but some- times embarrassing in practice. A strict observance of the written laws is doubdess one of the high duties of a good citizen; but it is not the highest. The laWs of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property, aAd all those v^o are enjoying th^m with us ; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."' ■ ._- .,.';_ This doctrine cuts right athwart, and scatters to th<^ four winds of heaven the whole argument' of the gentleman. He sticks to forma ; I go for subsuince. He saqrifices the end to the means ; I stand 'ready to use the means essential ta the end. I stand wt^, or- father follow after, Jdferson and Lincoln; 1» ass^mei ..K :< -^^• .;*?;^ ,;■'*' ^V:'-; KBIIBBR Of TBB STATU LMISUtTOTtB. 87 a ground which both of tho?e statesmen have denounced and execrated. i * j ?? I read in the President's Message something more than a great proposition for compensated emancipa- tion, i read in it a declaration as plain as language can make it, that resolute measures may be deemed necessary to crush out the rebellion speedily and eflfectually, will be unhesitatingly adopted. *»• .' m Kff' '■V'i ^^''^^^'■>- *'■■]': I- I >^:'^ t^- t*^ CHAPTER V. First Term in Congress. In 1862 Mr. Blaine was nominated for Congress in the Kennebec District, and was elected by a majority of 3»Ooo votes. To this position he was successively elected, in each succeeding Congress, until his promo* tionr'to the United States Senate. During the first term of his long career as Repre* sentative he had for colleagues such men as Elihu B. Washburne,Owen Lovejby, George W. Julian, Godlove S. Orth, Schuyler CoUaacrjatnes F. Wilson, William B. AUisonv John A. Kasson^ Alexatnder H. Rice, Henry* L. Daw^ William Windom, F. P. Blair, Jr., James Brpol^s, Etii^ttS Coining, Reuben £. Fentoii,. Francis Kernan, George H. PentUeton, Rol>ert C. Schenck, James A. Garfield, Samuel J. Randall, William D. Kelley, Thad. deus Stevens, G. W. Schofield; and many other distin^ guished men. Among these he soon was recognized as a man whose influence was sure to be felt and to increase with time. . , His first reputation in the Lower House of Con^ gress was that of an exceedingly industrious Cpmmit* , teeman. He was a inember trf 0m Post XWiqe aywJ - Military Committees, aiid of the CommiiHtees on ^- ' iMToprialions ami Rules. I^^idcb tot^ i2iShi.i?2?si®iJ ,=■<■-■ ■ nitST TERM IN OONOBISS. 99 * business of the committees, and took an active part in the debates of the House, manifesting practical ability and g;enius for details. THRILLING SPEECH. The first remarkable speech which he made in Congress was on the subject of the assumption by the General Government of the war debts of the States, in the course of which he urged that the North was abundantly able to carry on the war to a successful issue. This vigorous speech attracted so much at- tention that 200,000 copies of Jt were 'circu- lated in 1864 as a cam- paign document by the Republican party. In January, 1868, he introduced a resolution in relation to Cohgres- ^' »• washburne. sional representation, which was referred to the Re^ construction Committee, and was subsequently made the basils of the Fourteenth Amendment. I^ Decem- ber, 1867, he made an elaborate speech on the financed, in which he analyzed Mr; Pendleton's green- back-theory. ^ The remedy for our financial trouble^' ^d he, "will not bei found in a superabundaiice of ^■■1 g^^^_ m ^^^^K» -^'/^^^^^H i ■•.••.^.•^ff^B f '^^^^^^H ^ ^^^ ^?'--??^., ' •l , rt (* j> i^ri:yf. 90 LIFE or BOM. MMB8 .^. BU^Unt. ■T \ .' K depreciated paper currency. *It lies in the qipostte direction* and the sooner the Nation finds itself on a specie basis the sooner will the public treasury be freed from embarrassment and private business be re* lieved from discouragenxent. Instead, therefore, of entering upon a reckless and boundless issue of legal-tenders, with their constant depreciation, if not destruction, . of value, let u^ set res* olutely to. work wad' make those already in. circulation equal to so many gold dollars/' ELECTED SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. , At the opening of the first session of the 41st Congress the Republi- can caucus nominate Mr. Blaine for Speaker by acclamation,. and he was elected by a vote of 136 to 57 for Mr. Kerr. He was re-elected, without opposition in his own party, Speaker of the 42d and 43d Coiigresses. In that position his quick- nes& of perception decision of manner, thorough knowledge of parliamentary law and usages, and impartial and judicial mind, added to hfs deaf voice and impressive preisence, i^ade Uok a truly gr(^t SCHUYLER COLFAX. M I ; ..if', ^ >r.J: -^1 ram tesk nt f$m3sxsi&. n^ {^residing ofiBcer. No persoirwho has occupied die Speaker's Chair has ever filled it more acceptably. - The Democratic " tidal wave " of 1874 returned a Democratic majority to the House, and Mf. Blaine returned to the floor. There his parliamentary skill and self-possession', together with his audacity of madner and versatilit)' of talent, made him one of the most adroit and aggressive leaders ever enjo^jetd by a political party. ■ During Mr.' Blaine's first term in Congress there were many excit- ing debates. The war \^s In progress, and it often required all the courage and tactics of those who believed in pushing it to a conclu* sipn to silence the fre- quent clamor for peace. **• ^- P^wes. Mr. Blaine did not believe in peace at the cost of a nation, r _ , DISCUSSION OF FREE TRADE. llieni as ever afterward, Mr. Blaine was an ardent; l^rotecttonisjt. He believed the country would thrive under ^^rotectssd industries, and he was a a>rdial supporter of all government measures for cafrytbg n >.f*?\> '^:se.^i,.W'»^ \si i ?!»-*ui. iS,4ia,.|i'r»t-'£to»t4i, 'y.m ^iTv^..^^^^ n .'*:: £ Of «0y. MME^ O. BLAINE. out this policy. A: speech by Mr. S. S. Cox in favOI* of free trade^ in which he sneeringly referred to ;^ New England States as "protected States," catted forth from Mr. Blaine a gallant defense of his own State of Maine. He spoke as follows:. ; - f it has grown to be a habit in this house, Mt Chairman, to speak ci New England as a unfit, and in assailing the New England States to d^ them ,tog. -»• V0t m of "lew 6fti X »e t0 feitive a 3 ikfor iumes SAMUEL J RANDALL ..fo SHELBY M. GOLLUM. CO m^mm ^4 ■^1 FIRST TERM IN CONGRESS. 93 td charge here that the State I represent receives from Federal legislation any undue protection to her local interests, he either ignorantly or wilfully misrepresents the case so grossly, that for ten minutes I will occupy die attention of this House in correcting him, ! Sir, I am tired of such talk as ' the gendeman from Ohio has indulged iatOrday,and in so far as it includes my own State as being a pen- ^pn^r upon the Gen- eral Government, or dependet^t upon the bounty of any other ^tate, V I liorl , back the diarg^ with scorn. If there be a State in this Union that can say with laiith that her Federal qbnnection confers no »^^cial benefit of a ma- lieri^ character, that State is Maine. -^ i ^nd y6t, sir, no State is more attached to the Fed- eral Union than Maine. Her affection and her pnde are centred in the Union, and God knows she has contributed of her best . blood and treasure without i^int in supporting die war for the Union ; and she wiil do so to the end. But she resents, and I, speak-* ing for her, resent the insinuation that she. derives s. s. cox. - "-A.:? -3 J ,■>. --ill ■ 'Ml .W. .. M'S:^. k^;* Sm&^y^^^^^ \Wf ''■ '$! ■' i^> fee - 1^' '^. SSi5^ ??* *!,»»> 91 UFB OP RON. JAMBS O. BLAIKX. any undue advantage from Federal legislation, or that she gets a single dollar she does not pay t^i^. This much, sir, I have felt called upon to say in re- sponse to the elaborate and carefully prepared speech of the gentleman from Ohio. I have spoken in vindi- cation of a State that is as independent and as proud as any within the limits of the .Union. I have spoken for a people as high-toned and as hon^ orable as can be found in the wide world. I have spoken for a par- ticular class— many of^ them my constituents-*- who are as manly and sis: 1>rave as ever faced the ocean's storm. And so long, sir, as I h^ve a seat on this, floor, the State of Maine shall ndt^ be slandereid by Ji A, KASSON* - gehdeman from Ohio, or by gendemen from any other ' States. .' "'■•J-- '■'^'■■"- C: DEFENCE OF NEGRO SOLDIERS. " Blaine advocated the enlistment of the slaves iiilli <»uf armies. Mr; Mallpry, of Kentuckyraccilsied d^ negro troops of cowardice, " My friend from Maine," be said, ** who seems to be listening so attentively^ Kved in Kentucky ^fice, aihI know? |he n^ro and his at^ m< ^yv' ■*■- ■/■■» ^ rW$T TERM pr OOMTGIJ^p, : l>6 tributes, and he knows, if he wiir teH you what h^ know^ that they won't fight" ^ Mr. Blaine made this incisive reply : , -, f ; From a residence of five years in Kentucky I came to the conclusion from what I saw of the negroes that there was a great » i> > !; ^ - deal of fight in them. I have entire faith-^and if I had not, I Would oever vote a dollar of appro- priation for these n^gro troops-^ that well-trained dnd. disciplined negroes will make good troops., I do not believe they will make as good troops as white men,and I do not value any white man's opinion who does think so. Now I ask the gentleman ffpm Kentucky if he believes that a thousand white men, of the Kentucky race— and I believe that no more gallant race than the Kentuckians ever lived^un- armed ^nd iindrilled, would ha^e stood any better be- ABRAHAM LINCOLN, '4 'M -HI. -t3 . I mi LUTE OF HOH. JAKES O. BLAINB. 3 u. l''^ V m :t fore the rebel musketry than the negroes themselves did. ARDENT SUPPORTER OF LINCOLN. As might have been expected. Mr. Blaine lent all his powerful influence to the support of President Lincoln and his administration. In respect to his re- lations with the President, Mr. Ward H. Lamon, who was Marshal of the District of Columbia and on terms of special intimacy with Mr. Lincoln, makes the follow- ing staten^ent: "I knew those who were Mr. Lincoln's friends and those who were plotting against him, and I am sure that there was no one among the younger members of Congress on more intimate, cordial and confidential terms with him than Mr. Blaine, nor was there any one more implicitly trusted by Mr. IJncoln. When the movement was made against Mr. Lincoln in the winter preceding the campaign of 1864, Mr. Blatne :Was the person with whom Mr. Lincoln constantly coiiferred about Maine, and I was present at aeon-, ference between the two when Mr. Lir\coIn requested Mr. Blaine to proceed to Maine and see if there was any^ adverse movement there. ^^H^Mr. Lincoln became acquainted with Mi^ Blaine in niihots during his memorable campaign with Douglas in 1 858. Mr. Blaine w&s corresponding frpm the scene of contest w!.th his paper in Mainer^nd in one of his letters he predicted that Lincoln would be defeiated for Senator by Douglas; but would l>eat Douglas for President in i«8^. This letter wi^ qop^d -PTfT" riRSt T^Bitt IN POKOEESS. 97 p. in several illtnois papers, and Mr. Lincoln cut it out and carried it in his small memorandum book until loog after he was inaugurated as President. It natur- ally laid the foundation for cordial friendship between the two," , ; VIEWS ON THE DRAJT. The unswerving patriotism of Mr. Blaine was never questioned, and no warmer words in support of the war-policy of the Government were spoken than those whiph fell from his lips.' He admitted the necessity of keeping the army up to the required size, yet he was Opposed to the extreme measures advocated by some persons for bringing men into the field. Upon ihese measures he had tills to say; A conscription is a hard thing at best, Mr. Speaker, but the people of this country are patriotically willing to submit to one in this great crisis for the great causie at stake. There is no necessity, however; for making it absolutely merciless and sweeping. I say, in my judgment, there is no necessity for making it so, even if there were no antecedent questions as to the expediency and practicability of the measure. I be- lieve the law as it stands, allowing commutation and substitution, is sufficientfy effective, if judieibusly en-, forced. It will raise a large number of men l>y Its direct operation, and it will secure a very large amount of ftioney with which to pay bounties to vol- unteers. I Cannot refrain from asking gentlem^en around me Aether in^ their judgment the pending' measure, if 7 , ' rfi Ma .V '-"■ ^^•i.;^^ f.'C t* .n * 98 UFB or BOM. JA1II8 O^ BLAINE. t • • , submitted to the popular vote) would teceive the sup- port of even a respectable minority in aiiy district in the loyal States ? Just let it be understood that who- ever the lot falls on must go, regardless of ail business considerations, all private interests, all personal en- gagements, all family obltgationst that the draft is to be sharp, decisive, final and inexorable, without com- < mutation and without substitution, and my word for it- you will create consternation in all the loyal Stai^. ^ Such a conscription was never resorted to but oncie, even in the French Empire under the absolutism of the first Napoleon, and for the Congress of the United States to attempt its enforcement upon their (ionstitu- eDts is to ignore the first principles of Republican and Representative Government. ; . ELOQUfilfT PLEA FOR THE SOLDIERS. On an occasion near the close of the war, in a speech on the Enrolment Bill, in February, 1865, he spoke as follows in behalf of 'the soldiers in tl^ field: Nothing so discourages and disheartens i3m brave men at the front as the belief that proper measures are not adopted at home for re-enforcing and suscaiiv ing them^ Even a lukewarmness or a backwardness^ in that respect is enough ; but when you add to tbat the suspicion that unfair devices have been resorted toby those charged with Ming ijuotas, you naturally influence the prejudices and passions of our veterant in the field, in a manner calculated to lessen thetfpeip^ $onid ^al^and weaken the^se^ili^ armj^. > ■ •r'-tV •fj'*'. ,,,; T* •-. I'l FIBST TERM 11^ 00NGBId3. M ^ftcr four year« 6C such patriotic arid heroic dfort Hor ; National u nity a» , the world has never witnessMQjt^ b^ifbret: we cannot iiow afford to have the great caiite 4njured^ or its fair fame darkened by a single unworthy tnddent connected With it. TTie improper practices of individuals cannot disgrjp,oe or degrade the Natktn; but after, these practices are brought to the attention tof Congress, we shall assuredly be disgraced and 6^ graded if we fail to apply the requisite remedy when tiiat remedy is in our pow^r. Let us, then, in this hour of triumph to the National arms, do our duty "here, our duty to the troops in the field, our duty to our constituents at home, and our duty above all, to our country;, whose existence has been in siich peril in tfie pifst,. but whose future of greatness and g\6ty ^secms now so a,ssured and so radiant iXWAL MEN IN SECEDED STATES. \N . Gbncerning the duties of the Federal Government toward the loyal citizens in rebellious States, Mr. Blame said: ; Among the most solemn duties of a sovereign gov- - emment is the protection of those citizens who, under great temptattons and amid great perils, maintain :their foidi and their loyalty. The obligation mAe Fcd-^I Government to protect the loyalists of the South is supreme, and they must take all needful naeans lo assure that protection. Among the most needfiil i* the gifi of free suffrage, and that mtist be guaranteed.- *. ^ -, tb&Tfi is no prot^tion you ctn ex^nd to a man so '1*4 \ ''if :1 fti..- , X C-. c^%: 'S^ !>i iT irl- , ■;.•«■ 7S i yw assure permanency to the 8«»«?"5?^ J*. J. Wowal of suBraee is not merely the .«»«*'«« f^^ ' . Si:ilS2toward*0sewho«^^ bu"it is the «ost far^igl^ted ?«•;•«•" *8'*"*.S Si^. the s„«st guar«tce ^^ arid public justice. '.y i5- 'i- u, ,% V 1 ■ •»' ^'.-:f 'i'> • :i ♦ ' he fc : O '^ ■ij.,'-"i. :*;, ■, * '•-•1" ,:;.■ \ -;-^ ,,p^-fyf-*nr. -. i -• • «» i^i CHAPTER VI. Second Term in Congress. Mr. Blaine's services in the House of Representa- tives were able and efficient. Not merely did he draw attention to himself at Washington as the future leader of the great Republican party, but throughout the country his name became familiar and his popularity Was assured. Naturally he was the pride of his own State. "The, Man from Maine " was becoming widely known ; hi^^ strojig personality was felt in Congress, and his manly bearing, fairness in debate, and loyalty to the Union^ were distioguishing traits of tne rising leader. His, first term in Congress was the natural antecedent to a second term^ and when his^ district made its nomina- jtion in 1864 he -was selected as the Republican can- didate. . .-■""■■■■,/■ ■•' '" P' The letter of acceptance he wrote on this occasion IS of special interest, and we take pleasure in laying It before the reader : ' Augusta, Aug. 20, 1864. Gen, J. R. Bachelder: Diar Sir: I am in receipt of your favor advising me that on the 10th ihst., the Union Convention of the Third'District iinanimouslyjiominated me for re^lec^ '■ - , * ^" -, ,1 *:f:'^?v-.' ., ■\V,.;.\:, •/--;:;:', .(101) ' "'^^ ' " y^-ii t'ifii'-'. &a;; It- A...-.?, ., 102 UKE i)^H(^ JAMES 6/ BLAIKB. tion as Representative in Congress. For this generous action/ aBw^itrasifortlie coridial inaoner attending it, and the very complimentary phrase in which it is conveyed, I am under profound obligations. It is far Easier for me to tind {he inspiring cause of such favor and such unanimity In the personal partiality of friends^ than in any merits gr services which I may justly. claim as my own. , ^ :- In noininatihg me as the Union candidate, and pledging me to no other platform, you place me on the precise ground I desire to occupy. The controlling and absorbing issue before the American people is whether the Federal Union shall be saved or lost. In comparison with that, all other issues and controversies > are subordinate, and entitled. to consideration just in the degree that they may i^nfluence fhe end which \ Washington declarea to be ** the primary object of patriotic desire." To maintain tJie Un^ a gigantic . war has been carried on, now in the fourth year of its , duration, and the resources of the country, both in men andftfiioney, have been freely expended in. support of it. The. war was not a matter of choice with the Government, unless it was prepared to surrender its power over one-half of its territory aiid'inc^ur all the hazards of anarchy throughout the other half. It was begun by those who sought to overthrow the Federal authority. It should be ended the very day tha( authorityjs recognized and re-established throughout Its ^r^tful- domain.- - • ; .■'^- - 1:^>' ''^'^i'l '^ The desire for peace after the sufferings and tnats of the past three years is natural- Springing froni the very instincts of humanity it is irrepressible. The danger to be avoided is tiiat in aiming to attain peac^i we shall be deceiared by the shadow and thus ml! ^, secure the substan^^ Peace on the basis of disiini^ * .h:? '•■ - ■ -■ ■^d,- ^^1 (108) .^■^ w ^-^ i , %,^ f-i". * 104 tJFE 0P HOK4 JAKQBS ^< BliAINB. is A delysioii. It is no peace at all. It is but t^e beginoirig of war-— more wasteful, tnore destructive, more cruel than we have thus far experienced Those who ^ly for the ** immediate cessation of the war/' are the best advocates of its endless continuance. They mean peace by the recognition of Rebel Independence, and Rebel independ* ence is absolut^y in^ compatible with peace. Among the cherished errors of those who are willing to acknowledge the S)uthern Confed- eracy as.' the »basis Qi peace, the most fatal is that'whi^ assumes. the continued u nion, hart niony, and power of the loyal States. This cannot be. Contentions and strifes without num* ber would at . once spring up. The border States would ,be con- vulsed with , a .fierce contest as to wl^ich sec^ tion they ivould adhere to. The Pacific slope, to escape the dangers and constant embroilments which it could neither control nor avoid, would naturallj/r seek for independence; and the i^brthwest, if it did not l^tlow the example, would demand sucb i' reconstruction of the government 0|f the remaining States^ as WQuld make our further connection there- wi|h undesirable, if not absolutely intolerable. In ^hort, disunion uj^on the line of the ^revoked States W.P. FRYE. t>. , '.•'' -^'4 'i'- SM)lft> fftfiM I!^ OONt^RBSS. t05 would inVoMistlietoUFiAd speedy disintegration of the Federal Gk>vefnnlentj and we would find ourselve;^ launched on ^*a sea of troubles," with no pilot capable of holding the helm, and no chart'to guide us on out perilous voyage. • v* ;; / ^^ i There fs indeed but one path of safety, and that 'is likewise the path of honor and of interest We muit preserve the 'Union. Differ as we may as to the meas- ures necessary to that end, there shall be no diir'i i^ been a member of th<§ Committee OQ Military 'Af&irSi which was second in importance to no other com^, mittee at this time* Upon his re-election as represent- ative he r^stim^d his position on this committee, and. was ako appointed on the CoTnmittee on War Debts of Loyal States. ^' "In both these positions Mr. Blaine was active. He took the ground that the loyal States ought to be re? imbursed by the Gov- ernment for their war .expenses,and brought forvi'ard a proposition to that effect Never half-hearted in any^ thing he ; undertook^ he was very earnesjt and persistent in f h|^ a d V o c acy of t h i s^ measu re, summoning all his elo(|uence, re- sources, and igreat qualities of leader$h|p in carrying it to a^uf- cessful issue^- fp fact^ VriLLiAM R. MORRISON. his achievement was so brilliant that from this time he was regarded 3s tbe foremost leader of his party. Buch a couragieoiis, ni^se, dashing, magnetic man was needed to bring tog^^h^r and hold in inviiicibie unity the yaripusoelenients pf the gr^at Union pal15^ anil lead it ^ vicjtor^^J^^ 'W ai r< m 0:^' ff' Jx; '%" ^^^^^J^^if&^^M^^^^M^^^^ '*, ■■-'•St.'-'^' ■ «-rti:^ >.:!:' iM great ^ »rsbip , ^ a suc- n fact, t W?kS as the 5, wise, •gether . sntsof t.' ■ > SkCOm TBBM IN CONCUIBSS. X&f t)Jatipn*8 caf^itol as magnificent as it had achieved on the field of battle. ■ ' ' i " * ~ • A MEMORABLE SPEECH. The measure for reimbursing the loyal States for their war expensels was advocated by Mr. Blaine in a masterly and Convincing speech. The proposition i^ine up in a Committee of the Whole House on ?April 12, 1864, on a special order to reimburse the State of Pennsylvania for its expenses in dalling out the militia during the invasion of thai; State by the Con- federate armies.. Mr. Blaine moved to substitute for- the bill introduced by Mr. Stevens, of Fennsylvinia, a' brll to reimburse all the loyal States for the d^arges Ith^ had incurred^ . /;^ H4 hJMi in the preceding January called the atten- tion of the House' to this subject by submittiilg a res- 0}ution,^ahd now he desired the a^Uoii of the House on the bill proposed. TTiere had been, he urged, a r lejgitimate expenditure in aU the Stetes/fp| the:^ pur- pose of suppressing the lebellion ; these expenditures were necessary and made ja good faith for the defence and preservation pf the nation^ life, and slipuld be refunded by the National Government. Such Veiip- bursemefit was ju$t and expedient, and ought to come trom tlm National Treasury. In the course 0/ liis re- marks Mr. Blaine said : . If ^e twenty-four loyal Statesj now striving, with patriotic rivali^, to outdo each other in defending and rescuing tiie nation from its per^were hereafter to A^lpj^ie ^ entire Union, there might be notiiing^ '\'if^i 1 <' ' j^ ii"^ V* -3'_ 'Ms- ^^'i llJaS-^lilite' .>-i* *■'■ ■•• m Utt of llOif. JAllES G. BLAttre. . gained and nothing lost to any one of them, by consoU idating their respective war debts into one common charge Upton the aggregate resources of the nation. ■ Under such circumstances' each State would be freed from an individual tax only to incur a burden of similar magnitude in meeting its component part of the total national debt. - THE UNION SURE TO BE RESTORED. But the actual case, presented for our consideration and decision, is far different from this. We are en- ^gagedin a struggle which must inevitably resultin re- storing to loyalty, and to duty, eleven States now i^i'; rebellion against the authority of the National Go^ ernment. And beyond that, as a consequence of a r^ stored Union, and of the boundless prosperity whi^h awaits the auspicious^ event, our vast Western>donnaii^ will be peopled with. a rapidity exceeding all preG# dent, and States without number almost will spring into existence, to add to the strength and insure' tlt^ perpetuity of our Government. - y- \ Well-considered estimates based on past progre^ and the established ratio of our advance in Wealth anq "population, assure us that within less than a centurjr (torn this time we shall have added forty new States to our Union, making, with the number now compo^'i ing it, a grand total of seventy-five prosperous Com- monwealths. Were it not for the blood s6 fVecfe . poured out^ and the treasureso lavishly expended 1:^ the twenty-four loyal States represented ofi this flo^ the eleven States now in revolt would not be saved ^ \K- : • ';:^>. . *■'".--.:. .:;r5-^. ''•'"•. 4. ■•i.> i-S:.*! ROSCOE CONKLING. - '"i."'' GEORGE S. BOUTWELL fo m th •^'1 'X-i'-T." •■.'•'/"y • -H' fSECONP TERM IN CONGRESS. 109 firom self-destructibn, and the forty States so speedily to grow up in the Mississippi valley and onjthe Pacific slope would never come into existence. WHERE. tHE BURDEN FALLS. ^^ Of the immense natiqnal debt' which we are incur- ring, jn this struggle, each State will, of course, have to bear a share ; but it is quite manifest that for twa generations to come, owing to our established system of taxation, the present loyal States will have to endure vastly the larger proportion of the total burd/sn. k it fair or just, that in addi- tion to this they shall each be called upon to ' * Isear, unaided, a large lo<:al debt, necessarily, ind yet generously, in- curred in aid of the one common object of pre- S<^rving the life of the #hole nation? w. l. holman. ; j T^ question which I present, therefore, is not one fo^ dispute or difference between any of the States ' h^e repriesented, for they all have a common interest m adopting the proposed nveasure. The financial is- H^i^rs^ther between the twenty-four loyal States, oi^ tifie one handt and the deveiv revolted States together ., )■ "■y?* " .10 ura OF HOW. iA*tt day to determm ^^^ ^^ ?""f ^eret K'-^s"^- who are bearing for the interest oi »■?« > -.-at contest the heat and burden of the g«at c ^^^ ^^ The war closing m J«>y- '^"S.^'^ thirty-three mil- condition: a nation r"'''?S^,f thousand millions lions of people, ownmg over ^^^^'"J^^^^^jfi,^ hun. of property. a«d carrymg. a debt ^ J^ ^^.^; AreA pillions of do^^/!-- . ]^*i V same that it d^bt and property w.ll ^J^^ ^^^^ ^ n,tio of was when the ""'f J^Sanced productiveness our advance and the larg«y= commercial puP- of agricultural. "^^'^^^'^^^^Z^n advantage that suits, gives the present f^^^^^^, at the very renders the debt fer less nu ^ . , , . °-"'='' ^\.a^ ^^;:;L!rSrvery brief ' And if the revolutionary debt be«.me«^^^^ period so light »i '^ ,*^ "rtf„,^gress. assume a . with a vastly accelerated «tto otp g ^^^ ^^ similar auspicious resuln^* r^r^^^^ ^^,,„^ i„ are now contracting ? were ^ Q^^ weaUhandpopulationtobenomo««p ^^ ^^ ^^ Britain's has been «»«' '^^S^^JfJ of forty-five . of the present «»7^^^*aSnting to fifty thou, .million soub. ""^^P^PS^^uponthis ratio of prog- sand millioHs of dollars. ^^*"^tobefelta«a;bW. den. But upon the increase 01 PP ...?». >^^^j4gj r» " m .* '.f SB60N0 TERM IN 0ONORKS8. Ill opment of wealth to be so assuredly anticipated, the debt would be so small, in comparison with the total resources of the nation, as to become absolutely incon- siderable. ' . To' those who may be disposed to doubt the future progress of our country according to the ratio as- sumed, a few familiar considerations in respect to our resources may be recalled with advantage. We oc- cupy a territory at least three million square miles in extent ; within a fraction as large as the whole of Europe. Our habitable and cultivable area is indeed • larger than that of all Europe, to say nothing of the superior fertility and general productiveness of our soil. So vast is our extent that though we may glibly re- peat its numerical measure, we find it most difficult to form any just conception of it. The State of Texas alone is equal in area to the empire of France and the kingdom of Portugal united ; and yet these two monarchies support a population of forty millions, while Texas has but six hundred thousand inhabitants. , OUR GREAT STATES. Or, if we wish for a comparative measure nearer ,home, let me state that the area of Texas is greater than that of the six New England States, together with New York and New Jersey and Pennsylvania and Ohio and Indiana all combined. California, the second Stiate in size, is equal in extent to the kingdom of Spain and the kingdom of Belgium together. Spain and Belgium have twenty millions of people, while ■ L '\. ■^r :*." f* ^ „- ,"-r-^ ,''■ 112 LIFE Of HON. JAMES O. BLAINE. California has not half a million. And we might pursue this species of comparison almost indefinitely, clearly showing that in capacity, and assured destiny our individual States, if peaceful and united, are to CHARLES SUMl^ER. become as wealthy, as populous, and as. powerful as the separate great nations of Europe. - *^^ Mere territorial extent does not, of course, imply future greatness, though it is one great requisite to it And in our case Jt is so vast an element that we niay be pardoned for dwelling on it with emphasis attd b( wl la thi c< ai ml ml '.Ui^w.'ii'- V,. vr >iifc-!e«K3«ill«! r» ■■ " ■ IW i't' ■ ight tely, itiny e to I. irful as tetdit we may SECOND TERM IN CQIfGBESS. 113 iteration. The land that is still in the hands of our Government, not sold nor even pre-empted, amounts to a thousand millbns of acres— an extent of territory thirteen times as large as Great Britain, and equal in area to all the kingdoms of Europe, with Russia and Turkey alone excepted. THE nation's. WEALTH. Combined with this almost limitless expanse of territory we have facilities- for the acquisition and consolidation of wealth — ^varied, magnificent, and im- measurable. Our agricultural resources, bounteous and boundless by nature, are, by the application of mechanical skill and labor-saving machinery, receiving a development each decade, which a century in the past would have failed to secure, and which a ^entu ry •in the future will place beyond all present power of computationr-giving us so far the lead in th^ produc- tion of those staple articles essential to life snd civili- zation that we become the arbiter of the world's desdny without aiming at the world's empire. The single State of Illinois, cultivated to its capacity, can produce as large a crop of cereals as has ever been grown within the limits of the United States j while Texas, if peopled but half as densely as Mary- land even, could give an annual return of cotton larger than, the largest that has ever been grown in all the cotton States together. Our facilities for.commferce and exchange, both domestic and foreign—who shall . measure them ? 0"^ oceans, our vast inland seas, our marvelous and unlimited i^o^ ^f n^yigaUe streaniS| -^'k "^'^ J, r*#*- i'w>i ii i i "»L ' t7i <» ■vt-. -■ :. '. "■if<'W. i f -m 114 LIFE OF HON. JAlOBS 6. BLAUnBl our canals, our network of railroads more than tKifty thousand miles in^ extent, greater than the railroads of all Europe and all the vvorld besides — ^se give us avenues of trade and channels of communication, both natural and artificial, such as no other nation has ever , enjoyed, and which tend to the production of wealth with a rapidity not to be measured by any standard of the past. The enormous field for manufacturing industry in- all its complex and endless variety — with our raw material, our wonderful motive-power both by water and steam, our healthful climate, our cheap carriage, our home consumption, our foreign demand— fore- shadows a traffic whose magnitude and whose profit will in no long period surpass the gigantic industrial system of Great Britain, where -to-day the cunning' hands of ten million artisans accomplish, with mechan- ical aid, the work of six hundred millions of men t OUR IMMENSE RESOURCES. . Our mines of gold and silver and iron and copper and lead and coal,wirh their untold and unimaginable wealth, spread over millions of acres of territory, in the Valley^ on the mountain-side, along rivers, yielding already a rich harvest, are destined yet to increase a thousar.d-fold, yntil their every-day treasures, " familiar growii, -* Shall realise Orient's fabled wealth." - TTiese are the great elements of material progress ; and they comprehend the entire. circle of human enter- prise— agriculture, commerce, maoufacmrei$, niiniRg^ j; - ^^ SBOOND 'i*ERM IN CONORESS. 115 They assure to us a growth in propesty and popula- tion that will surpass the most sanguine deductions of our censuff tables, framed as those tablfes are upon the. ratios and relations of our progress in the past. They give into our hands, under the blessing of Almighty God, the power to command our fate as a Nation. They hold out to us the grandest future reserved for any people ; and with this promise they teach us the lesson of patience, and make confidence and fortitude a diity. With such amplitude and afHu- ence of resources, and with such avast stake at issue, weshotild be unworthy of our lineage and our inlieri- tance if we for one moment distrusted our ability to maintain ourselves a united people, with "one country, one constitution, one destiny." GRAPPLING WITH HARD PROBLEMS, The foregoing tribute to the loyal States is as just as it is eloquent. It reveals the masterly thought of tii^ statesman and the Wisdom df the financier^^It rtoks^moiig the great deliverances oiT thi iSopt of Congress iand is worthy 6f Henry Cliy in his fitnniiest days.' ••:'.-.-;'.;^-^;._ Mt. Blaine discussed in the same able manner other questions which came before Congress. He had evi- dently made a study of each, and his speeches, instead Qf being so much Wind and tongue, threw light on the subjects he handled. He had some othier end in view tha^ tci d^W the attention of his constituents to the fk$ ihat he was making harangues in Congress; and ■r'i W- I wr Ik: »^i. !■■?;../■ ?:■■ .-.i." ft: 116 LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BL:UNB. represented. , He did not speak for effect ; he was not constantly shouting " Mr. Speaker," in order to figure in newspaper reports. To him the floor of Congress wa^ not a place for empty speech-making, but a tri* bunal where the questions profoundly agitating the Nation w6re to be tried and settled according to enlightened statesmanship, and in keeping with th^' grsivity of the interests at stake. PROPOSITION TO TAH EXPORTS. | . Looking to the sources whence the nation c<)!ol^ derive the immense revenue needed fbr its war-d^i| Mr. Blaine proposed to levy a tax on exports. y^W^ ^as :somethtng new, and coming from any 6rdni|Ei man would have been considered audacioii6| if m absurd. He threw around it such charms of eloqueiie^ gavl; suc^ co£fc»i^t' reasons for its adoption, aiid li?(|$ so ^powerful in ^u^tainiiig his novel views that -^1^8 meiliiife i^tracted* universal attention, and w^s^^ ^ci)ti|^' throughout ^>the country. '^ 'v^^r^y^^-i-'.-'--^^l:.^M' t^kJpi|i|e urg^d th^ a tax was now nei^^ ^^i)^ntiiin^nance of our National credit" *Wl|J^ the^^ his speech followed Mr. Madisitf^ argument; who demanded export dutie$ for :!th^ *'^ ^^ei>fenc(Hiraging domestic manufacturers ^it4^l cuting Equitable treaties of commerce with ^ ns^tio^/' He spoke nextof di&8ul!Ject&liabfeli| .tiu^ttlon-i '' " -"^V. ■^--v:'^;•;:v^■^--^v;■^ .;v ';■;■ The general and obvious (Ss^iii^oi^is^ to tax su#i And such^dfily as have nacdmpettag product in foreign paitSf or ft ^li ^Y^nts so^h weak cotn^tition ^ wsQ *<^ flQt jure ress the g to I the coal4 -dcbi ThU Hna^ if not uenc^ d was at W» as d^ needed idiso^^ leW ^nd|>|^ taxsujE^ I foreign n as win BOy^E OF REPRESENTATIVES, WASHINGTON, D. C. UNITED STATES SENATE, WASHINGTON, D. C. ■ ; ; ■■■'.-■ '"''■■: f^.- v'-fj^gt.it-:.*-,^?:, , "« SECO50 T£Rlt m C0N$^RE8S. 117 ^i-!! give as the command of the market aftel* the pom^ modity has paid its export dues in this country. EXPORTS OP COTTON. As an ibustratio)), take cotton, which is out leading export iif time of peace. It is believed with confidence jthat the Aitierican product can pay an export t^ix of .jBve. cents per pound, and yet with ease maintain its ll^re^sminence in the m arkets of England atid the IjEUropean continent. '"'"" ' r export in a single has reached three tbfilion two hundred y t}i6tisand bates of five . Jiundfed pounds ^ch, i^iind it would rapidljr run ^h&fipind that figure after i^^ce is restore^ and ;^e competition of fifee U'abor is applied. to its Suction^ But if it lid never go beyond iej^uantity nknied, an Report ta* of five cents pound would yield thos. a. HENDRtCKS. ir^yenue of -eighty Mi&iian dollars from this single fe as any oiie wll %?e b^^^ %» L-'-'X Tobacco smd naval stores also afford a large mar- gin for an export ^x^ owing to the superior quality aad quantity of the American 'pr .i ^ JQ^7.t'tl I": **<.'' I I 118 tiFE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAIKE. 5^' •*; .■*■£*■:■■ ■ TOE LUXURY OF TOBACCO. In' the case of tobacco, might we not, at all events, share with foreign nations the advantage of the enormous tax which this article of luxury will bear, making them pay a moiety into our coffers instead ot^ monopolizing it all for their own ? Should petroleum continue to be developed :.n such immense quantities, without being found elsewhere, it, too, will in due time bear a very considerable export tax, as, indeed, will all articles (without attempting their specific enumeration) whose production is peculiar to this country, or whose quality may be greatly superior to products of similar kind in other countries, or, in the comprehensive phrase of Mr. Madison, "articles in which America is not rivaled in* foreign markets." *'^^e fear that has often been expressed, that the Congressional power to tax e^eports might be used to oppress certain sections, and to dfscrinfinate against particular commodities/is manifestly grroundles$. It i$ sdways safe to trust to self-interest in a nation as weU as in an individual. The highest National in<> terestjo the matter we are discussing is to encourage exports in every honorable and practicable yfay ; and the moment that an export tax should tend to check or decrease exportation, that .moment it would be abolished or reduced. w . Of course, there must be^exportation before revemiie can be deri^'^d from an export ta:^, and bem^ i rep^t #kat; the interest \/hich underlies the whole design affords the most absolute ^gjiaran^ against any op;^ '^*ii-v4^,.;' V ■ • "'MM SEdbND'TERM IN CONGRESS. 119 pressive attempt to discnminate against any section or any particular commodity. :' i -EXPENSE OF COLLECTION. , Not the least advantage, Mr. Speaker, in this mode of collecting the tax, is the cheapness with which it can be done. The points of shipment of cotton are so few that you may count them on your fingers; and the tendency, owing to the converging of water-courses and railroad lines, is against any increase in the num- ber of these ports. The same ofificers of customs, that are already there, to collect your tariff duties, can perform the labor of collecting the export duties, with- out a dollar's additional expense, beyond the salaries of clerics tliat the increase of business might demand. Compare with this the vast expense of sending an army of excisemen throughout all the cotton and tobacco plantations, and you will find that the system of export duties would effect a saving of millions to the Government, simply in the mode of collection. And, sir, you could invent no more offensive system of taxation than would be involved in sending your Government agents to every rural home in the plant> ing regions, to interrogate the farmer as to the num- , ber-of bales in his cotton crop, or how many pounds of tobacco he had raised. . The officials, who should perambulate tlie country 6n such errands, would ac- quire, in popular opinion, as bad a reputation as - Dr. Johnson, in his, Dictionary, fastened on the English ex- ctsetnan," an odious ^wretch, employed to collect an unjust tax. "/ ^ ■ - Xl v-^ -^^ Wf'-—^ ■^^^:nrjs^^,^im WBWiT'*,'"H|f''' |v_"/ ._■ I- - " < f|«r*> i ' i'v- ' |i^- • cMaWer vil • * ■ lliird Term in Congress. Mr. Blaine was in Congress to remain. He would have been compelled to fight his way out if he had wished to retire. Having become the most command- ing figure in the council of the Natidn, he was, ex- pected to remain and continue his career.^ He was by this time a thoroughly qualified legislator; his ▼alue to his party and the ^oiintry was* gratefully rec- bghized; in every position, assigned him he had proved his conspicuous ability and efficient service, and his rehomination in 1868 'came as a matter of course. It was felt, not merely by the people of the district he represented, but by his party throughout tiie country, that he was needed at Washington, and his retirement froni office would be a public calamity. The question of the hour related to the national currency. Mr. Blaine had long studied this perplex- ing subject, and was outs'poken in the expression oif his views. He believed in afi "honest dollar." Thadr d^'s Stevens, of PehniylvaLni^, introduced his cele- brated Gold Bill,, and Mr. Blaine moved to lay it on the table.' In doing i^ he gave* one of bis inimitable thrusts which stabbed ,^e Creetiback falUcy to the !^^t^-^ ,-^-> -1*« '■? '•■'./"■?»' >->.'ii r i r i . i i'iUli tHIRD TERM IN C^NORESd. 121 quick. " The bill," he said, " aims at what is impossi- ble. You cannot make a gold dollar worth less than it is, or a paper dollar, worth more than it is, by a Congressional declaration." He also made a powerful speech in favor of an "honest dollar," which was one of the most important contributions made in Conjgress to the discussion of the vexed question upon which there was a great variety of opinion. He resolutely opppsed the vievvs expressed by G. H. Pendleton, of Ohio, and Benjamin F. Buder, of Massachusetts. SPEECH ON THE CURRENCY. The position of these gentlemen I understand to be simply this : That the principal of the United States bonds, known as the Five-twenties, may be fairly and legally paid in paper currency by the Government after the expiration of five years from the date of issue. A brief review of the origin of the Five-twen^ bonds will'demonstrate,.! think, that this position is in contravention of the honor and . good faith of the National Government; that it is hostile to the spirit and the letter of the law; that it contemptuously ig- nores the common understanding between borrowef and lender at the time the loan was negotiated; and that finally, even if such mode of payment were honorable and practicable, it would prove disastrous to the financial interests of the Government and the genesral prosperity of the country. Now, Mr, Speaker, suppose, for the sake of argu- ment, we admit t|iat the Government may fairly and '.4 H.-^,-* ^ m ii m it k l^ r-^. .JNl -X^MMA -f-d'.- in 122 UFS or fiOK. JAJtES 0. dLAlNE. ■»! li; fif? ^ tv^;-^ legally pay the Five*twenty bonds in paper currency, what then ? I ask the gentleman from Massachusetts' to tell us, what then ? It is easy, I know, to issue as many greenbacks as will pay the maturing bonds, re- gardless of the effect upon the inflation of prices, and the general derangement of business. Five hundred millions of the Five-twenties are now payable, and ac- cording to the easy mode suggested, all we have to do is to set the printing-presses in motion, and " so long as rags and lampblack hold out " we need have . no embarrassment about paying our National Debt. ABSURD INFLATION. But the ugly question recurs, whsit are yoit going to do with the greenbacks thus put afloat? Five hundred millions thi^ year, and eleven hundred mil- lions more on this theory of payment by the year 1872; so that within the period of four or five years we would only have added to our paper money the trifling inflation of sixteen hundred millions of dollars. We should all have splendid times doubtless ! Wheat, under the new dispensation, ought to bring twenty dollars a bushel, and boots would not be worth more than two hundred dollars a pair, and the farmers of our country would be as well off as Santa Anna's rabble pf Mexican soldiers, who were allowed ten dol- lars a' day for their services and charged eleven for their rations and clothing. The sixteen hundred millions of greenbacks adaed to the amount already issuedr would give 11s some twenty-three htto^t^ed millions of paper money, and I Aj: THIKO TEfill m OONCRISS. m suppose the theory of the new doctrine would leave this mass permanently in circulation, for it would hardly be consistent to advocate the redemption of the greenbacks in gold after having repudiated and foresworn our obligation on the bonds. But if it be intended to redeem the legal tenders in gold/ what will have been the net gain to the Govern- ment in the whole transaction? If any gentleman will tell me, I shall be glad to learn how it would be easier to pay sixteen hundred millions in gold in the redenfption of green- backs, than to pay the same amount in the redemption of Five* twenty bonds ? The policy advocated, it seems to me, has only two alternatives— ^the benjamin f. butler. one to ruinously inflate the currency and leave it so, reckless of results ; the other to ruinously inflate the currency at the outset, only to render redemption in gold far more burdensome in the end. v^ THE TRUE REMEDY. The remedy for our financial troubles, Mr. Speaker, vHU not be found in a superabundance of depreciated p^pfir currency. It Ues in the opposite direction^ *~i i^^ifeV.. » j« -♦^« -j''ii'^'^ ;.0'"* ' si^ it*-' ' ■y,. > f 'i^;' m , tlflS OF fiOK. JAMES 6. BLAmS^ --- ' ." .■■■ ■'.■■■• ^ .' - * • . ■■■ .■■■■■.' and the ^oner the nation finds itself on a specie basis, the sooner will the public treasury be freed iirom^ embarrassment, and private business relieved ftofm discouragement. Instead, therefore, of entering uptmi a reckless and boundless issue of legal tenders, iyi^ their consequent depression if not deBtrucdqn df^; value, let us set resolutely to work and make ^os€i already in circulation equal to as many gold dol-| lars. T;:' ^'^ •■.■:--'/'-■> ■"• '■ .,v '-'^ "■-■;■;-''• 'v| Discarding all such schemes so at once unwortl^] and unprofitable, let us direct our policy steadily, btitj not rashly, towards the resumption of specie payment,^ and when we have attained that end--easily'attainable at no distant day if the proper policy be putsiied— ^w^ can alL unite on some honorable plan for the redeit^-i tton of the Five-twenty bonds^ and the issuing insteadl 0)ereof a new series of bonds which can be iii<»ii^ favorably placed at a lower rate of interest Wiiei| we sliall have reached the specie basis, the vllluf;x>r ilJiiited States securities will be so high iii the moii^y; inaJ^t of the world, that we can command pu^v^^ : * ^iOHESt MONEY FOR AN HONEST DEpT. v ,^ : W^^biii then cair ih our Five4W€!ntJbfii<^^ ^die^jirt^ of the bond, aada^^^^ ;4e^l6ait diat will be eagerly sought for by caplia**^*^^ e^4 w^il vbe free frdm those ekm^nls of e. i^fli-wjrtsaiiiasMRtmaiiJt':* ' * "'' '..<■ % WM. a ALtlSON. ■^M ;:iii!SUim1kl*V''i3aiitJfci«.ii«««B,!ii>;-^rw ■■11''^- 1 £iUaSN£ HALSl ■rP,:'^ >u:«^v« M«>»>A't:s>«««a!IMB<*W;KS«£v i>- I ■" *i'^ THIBD TEBH IN CONGRESS. 126 honor demands it; our National interest equally de- mands it We have vindicated our claim to the highest heroism on a hundred bloody battle-fields, and have stopped at no sacrifice of life needful to the mainte- nance of our National integrity. I am sure that in the peace which our arms have conquered, we shall not dishonor ourselves by withholding from any public ; creditor a dolUr 'i^t we promised to pay him, nor seek by cunning > truction and clever afterthought, to evade or escape the full responsibility of our Na- tional indebtedness. It will doubtiess cost us a vast sum to pay that indebtedness — but it would cost us incalculably more not to pay it. •A MAN OF MANY AFFAIRS. Such were Mr. Blaine's views upon the currency. The majority of his countrymen received them as just and sound; the average common sense approved them. A man who cannot talk common sense had better not talk at all ; Mr. Blaine demonstrated his right to talk by talking sense. He was extremely active during this term in- Con- gress. He had already proved his efficiency as a good comniittee-man, and many committees wanted him. He iiras the leading spirit in the House, and in all the multifarious affairs of legislation his advice was sought aad his co-operation was heartily welcomed. From ^ appointment of a restaurant-keeper for the Capitol up tol the drafting of a foreign treaty his voice was ini; fii!^ seemed to combine a good part of Copgre^s^ llilswn person, ^i \i mwjBj'fi f l^i: p.. 126 LIFE OF HON. JAlfES O. BLAINE. iik^'^-- '.,■■>" ^'^-Jl.. ::'"■■■*-■■■" ■ , P*:^ .^ S*-' .:;, B^ IS4 One of. the subjects much debated it this time wais the basis of representation in Congress: It was main- tained by some persons tnat the basis should be the numjjer of voters ; others argued that the only correct basis is the number of population. Mr. Blaine held to the latter view, and was opposed by so powerful a leader, iand parliamentarian as' Roscoe Conklihjg; Blaine described Conkling as " presenting the spec- tacle of the waterman in the PUgrinCs Progress, vvho got his living by rowing in one direction while looking in another." He then proceeded with his speech as follows: BASIS or REPWISENTATION IN CQNGRESS, Since the beginning of the. present session, Mn Chairman, we have had several propositions to amend the Federal Constitution with respect to the basis of representation in Congress. These propositions have differed somewhat in phrase, but they all e-nbrace substantially the one idea of making suffrage instead of population the basis of apportioning Representa- tives ; or, in other words, to give the States in future a representation proportioned to their voters instead pf their inhabitants. . The effect contemplated and intended by this change is perfecdy well understood, and on all hands frankly avowed. It is to deprive the lately rebellious States of the unfair advantage of a large representation in this House, based on their colored population, so long as that population shall be denied political rights by the legislation of those St^^tes, Tlie progOsed coiisti. '>:<, .-».k!jMBM(ai«e»»'5'-*'.'itii l-I't^Wf' I; >.--.■ .■,>■'■- ^i^. THIRD TERM IK CONGRESS. 127 -tuttonal amendment would simply say to those States, while you refuse to enfranchise, your black population, you shall have no rep- resentation based on , their numbers; but ac-- niit them to civil and political rights, and they shaU at once be counted to your advantage "in the apportionment of -Representatives. The direct object thus aimed at, as it re-* spects the rebellious States, has been so generally approved that little thought seems to have been given to the incidental evils which roscoe conkling. the proposed constitutional amendment would inflict- -on a large portion of the loyal States— evils, in my judgment, so serious and alarming as to lead me to oppose the amendment in any form in which it has yet been presented. NON-VOTERS TO BE CONSIDERED; m As ah abstract proposition, no one will deny that, population is the true basis of representation; for Women, children, and other non- voting classes may Haire as vital an interest in the legislation of td^e cou^ifay as tliQseiyHo actually deposit the ballot, In-: '\ '^1 ' ^ ;>l!l &f■^:-^;^■ir ^^t^' •^r-- 128 tm OF BON. jAMis a BEtAmS. ,dee4 the very amendment we are discussing implies that population is the true basis, inasmuch as th^ exclusion of th« black people of the South from polit- ical rights has suggested this indirectly coercive mode , of -securing them those rights. Were the negroes to be enfranchised thrpughotit the South to-day, no on& would insist on the adoption of this amendment ; and yet if the amendment shall lie incorporated in the Federal Constitution, its incidental evUs will abide in the loyal States long after the direct evil which it aims to cure may haV^ , be^n^ erait^feated iii.the Southernr /States^ , ■•:■.;,,:■,':■ /v..; ~ ■ .,. . Basing representation on voteili unless 'Congress should be empowered to define their qualifi<^1»on, would tend to cheapen suffrage everywhere. There woul^ \>6 an unseen^Iy :scrati9ble in ^l the States durihg each decade, to increase^ by every meaiis, the number of voters, and all conseiVative resttfcttons, such aR%e rj^irement of reading ao^dl^i^rii^ng^ en^rc^ in iomeof the Statesi wotild be strick^^ do^n ^ an a wh and redkiess effort to procure an ^larged represen^ion iti the National councHs. ^re%ners would be'tnyited to vote cm u inere prdiiiMiiaiy ^^jdeq.^ laration of intefitiipn. -' tt has long been a puzzle to many reflecting persons ^t a country like ours ^tdd have no distinctively Ameiican tommerce. Other countries are mistresses of the seas. Mr. Blaine had some plain iK^^irds to $;|»eak on this subject: He ^^noi^nced the ^ranttng^^ "".>'' ■'d'^ *?'!?; R-l''r »^^ lies the olit- ode B to one- and ^ the " iein aiitis Lhernr gress ^^on, Sphere States is,^e Gl»^ns, idovm signers sj « deo. persond nc^vely stresses eords td granting ANDREW JPHHSOR t2 w I- v^J Wise B/r f>^ 130 LIFE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAtNB. of new America"* registers to ships transferred to foreign owners during the war, and upon the subject of ship-building said u One word more, Mr. Speaker. The whole tone of the speeches we hs^ve had from both the gentlei^ien from Ohio (Mr. Spaulding and Mr. Garfield) was for free trade. They urge that we shall buy our ships wherever we can get them cheapest, and that all restrictions as to registry should be abolished. Well, sir, if we are prepared to reduce this free trade theory to practice, why not have it in everything ? There is no branch of American industry that is, to-day, so little protected and so much oppressed by our reven^e la]iys as ship-building. It is taxed at all points, and nearly ta^ed to death ; and I submit to these new advocates of free trade that it would be better to begin with some interest that is essentially protected by our laws to-day. If wc are going to have free trade, let us have it equally and impartially applied to all the industrial interests of the land ; but for myself, I am opposed to it altogether. In theor)' and in practice I am for pro- tecting American industry in all its forms, and to this end we must encourage American manufactures, and we must equally encourage American commerce. AN HONOKABLE CAREER. It would be impossible within the limits of a single volume t6 detail all the varied and eminent services rendered by Mr. Blaine in Congress. He stood in the e>e of the Nation. His course was marked by wise * »"«•« I "■ J' TBIBD T£R]C IN CONGRESS. 131 to )J€Ct measures, patriotic impulses, commanding oratory and far-sighted statesmanship. One had arisen who was a worthy successor of the Nation's most illustrious sons ; he was looked upon as a great leader, a sturdy defender of all rightful legislation, and a benefactor of his country by the measures he advocated iti the interest of all her citizens. When he received his nomination in 1866, an influ- entjal Democratic journal thus expressed its satisfac* tion in view of his prospective election : "As a ready and forcible debater, a clear reasoner, a sound legis- lator, fearless advocate, and true supporter of the principles and organization of the party of Union and Right, he has made a mark in the annals of Congress of which he and those who elected him maybe proud.'* '■J r«T"' Ki „ fc^' Ki' CHAPTER VIIL i leaker of the House of Represenltttivas. fihu Blaine was elected Speaker of the House of ]^;|9fesentatiyes on March 4, 1869. He was devate^: I t^,j|bJa.pOsiti6ni for the reason that no other member i o||i^ House was so well qualified to4>reside over, its 4^|NeiatloRS. Even when in college* as we have seeiii hlflkral it skUled parliamentarian, and at that time wai a||| to guide a deliberative body through all the tittri- ( ci||i|« of motions, counter motions, amendments^ i^pt^sl apl 4^sions^ He was even then, without knowing 1 i|||!§;!^fing the training which afterwardwa^ to^veH *' 'l;eii$ctencyand distinction in the Speaket^t ehair at \ career in Congress naturally marked j)im.^|^ ||e; highest distinction^ Hi^ abiHty, firmrie$s|^^ f$es8ton, bad been proved many ttme^'ai^|^ j^i)£lversally cotnceded ihat he would gvici^ :h had been occupied with pffe-emtfi|^ i^ Banks, and x^ther great leadei^ anct :imd c^^ty to theb^li poi^bt^. ifi|r j^r h^ %Ne^ Ai^ place among ^e presiding officers of the House of ^^i 'm'^ - .-.\ ■ **» S, ^}| ■ I 5 k^' V''i SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 133 Pi o o X' Representatives, and he will be remembered \% Speaker Blaine, a title that will distinguish him mere than any other he ever bore. Having received the nomination for Speaker in the Republican caucus, he was elected by one hundred and twenty-five votes against fifty-seven for the Demo- cratic candidate, Hon. Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana. Mr. Kerr was an able» popular and active Represent- ative, aiid in the changes of party precedent and power became at length one of Mr. Blaine's successors. SPEECH ON TAKING THE CHAIR. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I thank you profoundly for the great honor which you have just conferred upon me. The gratification which this signal mark of your confidence brings to nr.r"indB its only drawback in the diffidence with which I as- sume the weighty duties devolved upon me Succeed- ing to a chair made illustrious by the pe«:vyces of such .e^nent statesmen and skilled parliamentarians as Clayi arid Stevenson, and Polk, and Winthrop, and BiM>ks, and Grow, and' Colfax, I may well distrust my ability to meet the just expectations of those who ^have shown me such marked partiality. But relying, ^Ipeiiitlemcn, on my honest purpose to perform all my ^duties ^ithfiilly and fearlessly, and trusting in a large itieasure to. the indulgence which I am sure you^ill alw^s extend to ine,I shall hope to retain, as I have ^i^eiired your confidence, your kindly rc;gard' and your * generous support: Tlie Forty-first Congress assembles at an auspicious '■■,>S\ ■>$k ■.;t. >■■ 2i^!^^ j*;iife.;^v, M&i^^^^?^^^Si!^^S^i^£^:'''*^<^^fe^-^ ;. ■■>• ^f^■J■,j■4?^'■ ^^^^^^T^^ ^7 ^^^^!^^^^^j^^^!^^^^^^^^i^^^ l^^^^^^ '/• 'i' , If:- 134 LIFE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAINE. period in the history of our Government. The splen- did and impressive ceremonial which We have just witnessed in another part of the Capitol appropriately l^iK. i"- IC^*: iSi%* ULYSSES S. GRANT. symbolizes the triumphs ofjHp pa$t and the hopes of the Aiture. * ; TRIBUTE TO GENERAL GRANT. A great chieftain, whose sword at the head <^ gallant and victorious armies saved the Republic from dismemberment and ruin» has been fidy called to Umi highest ci>^c honor which a grateful peopk^an b^ ^i?;:;-. y of of >m he SPEAKER or THE HOUSE. 136 Stow. Sustained by a Congress th^t so ably repre» sents tlie loyalty, the patriotism, and the personal .worth of the nation, the President this day inaugurated will assure to the country an administration of purity, fidelity, and prosperity; an era of liberty regulated by law, and of law thoroughly inspired with liberty. Congratulating you, gentlemen, upon the happy auguries of the day, and invoking the gracious bless- ing of Almighty God on the arduous and responsible labors before you, I am now ready to take the oath of office and enter upon the discharge of the duties to which you have called me. TAKING THE OATH. The Hon; Elihu B. Washburne, of Illinois, senior ' metnber of the House, then administered the oath of office. .^ ' - * Mr. Blaine proved at once his fitness for the Speakership. He could not be entangled in the meshes of parliamentary tactics ; his coolness was conspicuous on gll occasions; his impartiality was evident; his quick decisions stood the test of parlia- mentary law. In the wild storm of debate his calm demeanor and guiding hand were felt. One word from him would cut the tangle that a moment before appeared to be hopeless. He was impatient of delaysr and expedited business by his prompt and ready ' rulings. ^* His quickness,'^ wrote a well-informed Washington cor^respondeht, "his thorough knowledge of parlia- meRt^ la>^ and of the irules, his firmness, clear voite, ■•■♦■; "fe *li< 'C'T' 'jr-T' '*^Mj^P^^v-;^j:^^, ,^^-'^,"%/^, ^^ 136 UFS OF EOS. JAMES 0. BLAINE. ^^•^ ^\t ^%^ ,-t^ * - and impressive ihanner, his ready comprehension o subjects and situations, and his dash and briIH;^ncy have been widely recognized, and really made him a great presiding officer." He was soon celebrated for his dispatch of business, ' He waS' described as adverse to red tape, and hav- ing an admirable iaculty for cutting corners and knocking away obstruc- tions so that the House could go by the most direct way to the end it was seeking. No man since Qay presided with such jan absolute knowledge of the rules of the House and with so great a mastery in the rapid, intelligent, and faithful discharge of business. His knowledge of parlia- mentary law was in- stinctive and complete, , HANNIBAL HAMLIN.^ and his administration of itlso fair that both sides of the House united at the close of each Congress in cordial thanks for his im- psirtiallty. - VOTE OF THANKS. Oil the 3d of March, 1871, Blaine's first term as Speaker came to an end, Mr, S/S. Cox, of N6it ;:?. ■■•:>v::r^5' ..;, K^ ^i^ SnBA&£9J)F THE HOUSE. w York, his old opponent, a consistent and courageous Democrat, moved a resolution of thanks to Mr. Blatne for his conduct in the Chair. It was in the following terms: ' Resolved, In view of the difficulties involved in the performance of the du- ties of the presiding officer of this House, and of the able, cour- teous, dignified, and im- partial discharge of those duties by Hon. J. G. Blaine during the present Congress, it is emineftdy becoming that our thanks be and they are hereby ten- diered to the Speaker thereof!. The resolution was ^reed to unanimously, and the retiring george s. BOUTWEtt, Speaker, in adjourning the Hou?e at noon, pronounced the valedictory of the Forty-first Congress : Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: Our labors are at an end ; but I delay the final ad- JQurniiHjnt long enough to returri my most profound and respectml thanks. for the commendation which vou' have bee,h pleased to bestow upon my official cg irse aitd conduct ' f i.i \ -I 3*i 138 LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. / "■i GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. In a deliberative body of this character a predding ofificer is fortunate if he retains the confidence and steady support of his political, associates. Beyond that you give me the assurance that I have earned the respect and good-will of those from whom I am sepa- rated by party lines, Your expressions are most grateful to me, and are ifkost gratefully acknowledged. The Congress whose existence closes with this hour enjoys a memorable distinction. It is the first in which all the States have been represented on this floor since tlie, baleful winter that preceded our late bloody war. Ten years have passed since then — years of trial and of triumph; years of wild destruction and years of careful rebuilding ; and after all, i^nd as the result of all, the National Government is here to-day, united, strong, proud, defiant, and just, with a t?erri» torial area vasdy expanded, and with threeTdddlMpnal States represented on the folds of its flag^ For tl^ese prosperous fruits of our grea| struggle let us humbly give thanks to the God of battles and to the Prince of Peace. And now, gentlemen, with one more expression of the obligation I feel for the considerate kindness withr which you have always sustained me, I perform the only reroairiir^ duty of my ofBce, in declaring, as J now do, that the House of Representatives of the Forty-first Congress is adjourned without day. RE-ELECTED SPEAKER. The Forty-second Congress met on 'the foUowitig^ ^ rV'-^- -s'" - .■■■ ' J* *.^>*'i?^ SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. day. It was a foregone conclusion that the popular Speaker of the House would be honored again by his associates. He received 1 26 votes, and the opposing WILLIAM A. WHEELER. cahdii-t-. -of "S''*'»i«»..'i.*i',- '■ ■ SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 141 *A labor in vain, I am now ready to proceed with the further organization of the House ; and, as the first step thereto, I will myself take the oath prescribed by the Constitution and laws. *• ABLE, PROMPT AND IMPARTIAL." : Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, who had served the longest continuously in the House, then administered the oath. - Again, at the close of the second session of the Forty-second Congress, a vote of thanks was ihoved by Mr. Samuel J. Randall, of his native State of Penn- sylvania, " for the able, prompt, and impartial manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office," during the second session, and on the final dissolution on the 3d of March, 1873, Mr. Dan. Voorhees, of In- diana, addressing the temporary chairman, Mr, W. A. Wheeler, of New Y irk, said : ! I rise to .present a matter to the House in which I airti sure every member will concur. In doing. so I perform the most pleasant duty of my entire senrice on this floor. I offer the following resolution. It has the sincere sanction of my head and of my heart I niove its adoption. : Then, amid the silence of tlie crowded hall, the Clerk of the House read as follows : Resolved, That the thanks of this House are due, and are hereby tendered, to Hon. James G. Blaine, for the distinguished ability and impartiality with which he has discharged the duty of Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Forty-secohd iCongress. x: '£AKER OP THE HOUSE. 14a THIRD ELECTION. For the third time, James G. Blaine, of Maine, was elected Speaker of the United States House of Rep- resentatives on December 2, 1873. He was con- ducted to the chair by Mr. Maynard, of Tennessee, and Mr. Wood, of New York, and spoke as follows : Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The vote this moment a mounced by the Clerk is such an expression of your confidence as calls for my sincerest thanks, To be chosen Speaker of the American House of Representatives is always an honorable distinction; to be chosen a third time enhances tiie honor more than tiree-fold; to be chosea by the largest body that ever assembled in the Capi- tol imposes a burden f. t. frelinghuysen. of respon'-i'bility which only your indulgent kindness could embolden me to assume. The first occupant of this chair presided over a House of sixty-five members, representing a popula- tion far below the present aggregate of the State of New York. At that time in the whole United States 1^ d SS^^Bi^'^'i * iH |HBp ^ i K ' ^SP^^*^.-^ Bi ,J^!. . '* vt*** .144 UFE OP HON. JAMES O. BLAINE. there were not fifty thousand civilized inhabitants to be found one hundred miles distant from the flow of the Atlantic tide. MARVELLOUS GROWTH. To-day, gentlemen, a large body of you come from beyond that limit, and represent districts then peopled only by the Indian and adventurous frontiersman. The National Government is not yet as old as many of its citizens ; but in this brief span of. time, less than one lengthened life, it has, under God's providente, ex- tended its power until a continent is the field of its empire, and attests the majesty of its law. With the growth of new States and the resultant changes in the centres of population, new interests are developed, rival to the old, but by no means hos- tile, diverse, but not antagonistic. Nay, rather are all these interests in harmony ; and the true science of just government is to give to each its full and fair play, oppressing none by undue exaction, favoring none by undue privilege. It is this great lesson which our daily experience is teaching us, binding us together more closely, making our mutual dependence more manifest, and causing us to feel, whether we live in the North or in the South, in the East or in the West, that we have indeed but " one country, one Constitu- tion, one destiny." VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. At the close of the session, March 3, 1875, Mr. Blaine addressed tlie House in a very impressive man- ned. He took farewell of the expiring Congress ^nd - *'4l^aiffji: h -.■i SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 146 of his own office as Speaker. After the customary vote of thanks he spoke as follows : Gentlemen : I close with this hour a six years' ser- vice as Speaker of the House of Representatives — a period surpassed in length by but two of my predeces- sors, and equaled by only two others. The rapid mutations of personal and 'political fortunes in this country have limited the great majority of those who have occupied this Chair to shorter terms of office. It would be the gravest, insensibility to the honors and responsibilities of life, not to be deeply touched by so signal a mark of public esteem as that which I have thrice received at the hands of my political as- sociates. I desire in this last moment to renew to A POST OF DIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY. them, one and all, my thanks and my gratitude. To those from whom I differ in my party relations —the minority of this House — I tender my acknowl- edgments for the generous courtesy with which they have treated me. By one of those sudden and. de- cisive changes which distinguish popular institutions, and which conspicuously mark a ■ free people, that minority is transformed in the ensuing Congress to the governing power of the House. However it might possibly have been under other circumstances, that event renders th^se words my farewell to the Chair. The Speakership of the American House of Repre- sentatives is a post of honor, of dignity, of power, of responsibility. Its duties are at once complex and .*- .» ' - A-^ '' .». > •. >,-• 146 LIFE QF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. continuous ; they are both onerous and delicate ; they are performed in the broad light of day» under the eye of the whok people, subject at all times to the closest observation, and always attended with the sharpest criticism. I think no other official is held to such in- stant and such rigid accountability. Parliamentary rulings in their very nature are peremptory ; almost absolute in authority and instantaneous in effect. They cannot always^be enforced in such a way as to win applause or secure popularity ; but I am sure that no man of any party who, is worthy to fill this Chair will ever see a dividing line between duty and policy. Thanking you once more, and thanking you most cordially for the honorable testimonial you have placed on record to my credit, I perform my only remaining duty in declaring that the Fort^/ -third Congress has reached its constitutional limit, and that the House of Representatives stands adjourned without day. SHARP SKIRMISH WITH BEN BUTLER. The retiring Speaker's words thrilled the immense assemblage. Cheers and shouts of approval attested his popularity. Says an eye-witness : " Never before was witnessed such a scene at the close of Congress." The attack upon him by B. F. Butler Will have a special interest to the reader. Qn the 1 6th of March, 1871, when the House was debating a resolution pro- viding for an investigation into alleged outrages upon loyal citizens of the South, Mr. Butler bitterly assailed Mr. Blaine, and censured him for being the author SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 147 of the resolution and securing its adoption by a Re- publican caucus. The following sharp discussion en- sued : » Mr.. Blaine— I nominated Mr. Butler chairman of the committee, because I knew that if I omitted the appointment of the gentleman, it would be heralded throughout the length and breadth of the country, by the clacqueurs who have so industriously distributed this letter this morning, that the Speaker had packed the committee, as the gentleman said he would, with " weak-kneed Republicans," who would not go into an investigation vigorously, as he would. That was the reason. So that the Chair laid the responsibility upon the gentleman of declining die appointment. Mr. Butler^- 1 knew that was the trick of the Chair. Mr. Blaine — Ah, the " trick ! " We now know what the gentleman meant by the word " trick." I am very glad to know that the " trick " was successful. Mr. Butler — No doubt. Mr. Blaine — It is this " trick '^ which places the gentleman from Massachusetts on his responsibility before tie country. Then he defied Mr. Butler to name any members who had voted under coercion ; and on his refusal to do so, on the plea that he could not violate private conversations, the Speaker exclaimed : Oh, no; but you will distribute throughout the entire country unfounded calumnies purporting to rest upon assertions made in private conversations, whii.li, when called for, cannot be verified. ^1 148 LIFE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAINE. Mr. Butler — Pardon me, sir. I said there was a caucus^ Mr. Blaine — ^I hope God will pardon you ; but you ought not to ask me to do it! f^ Mr. Butler— I will ask God, and not you. Mr. Blaine — I am glad the gentleman will. Mr. Butler — I have no favors to ask of the devil. THE PARTY CAUCUS. Mr. Blaine had some plain words to speak concern- ing the binding power of the party caucus. He jibed Butler for being a weather-vane in pplitics, changing from one party to another. He defended his own right to take part in the proceedings of the House. These were his words : Why, even in the worst' days of the Democracy, when the gentleman himself was in the front rank of the worst wing of it, when was it ever attempted to say that a majority of a party caucus could bind men upon measures that involved questions of constitu^- tional law, of personal honor, of religious scruple? The gentleman asked what would have been done — he asked my colleaorue (Mr. Peters) what would have been done in case of members of a party voting against the caucus nominee for Speaker. I understand that was intended as a thrust at myself Caucus nomina- tions of officers have always been held as binding. But, just here, let me say, that if a minority did not vote against the decision of the caucus that nominated me for Speaker, in my judgment, it was not the fault of the gentleman from Massachusetts. If the requisite 1 dfi^i--'- ROBERT T. LINCOLN. r ^^vs^^^SV.-^sv-^sssS^^^^jj^^ CHAUNCEY M. DEPEVV. dPEAKER OF THE HOUSS. 149 number could have been found to have gone over to the despised Nazarenes on the opposite side, that gentleman would have led them as gallantly as he did the forces in the Charleston Convention. Mr. Speaker, in old times it was the ordinary habit of the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives to take part in de- bate. The custom has faUen into disuse. For one, I am very glad that it has. For one, I ap- prove of the conclusion that forbids it. The Speaker shoulr!, with consistent fidelity to his own party, be the im- partial administrator of the rules of the House, and a constant par- ticipation in the discus- sions of members would simon gameron. tqJke from him that appearance of impartiality which it lifcso important to maintain in the rulings of the Chair. THE HEIGHT OF INSOjVENCE. But at the same time I despise and denounce the insolence of the gentleman from Massachusetts, when he attempts to say that the Representative from the Third District of the State of Maine has no right to frame a resolution; has no right to seek that under 150 LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. the rules that resolution shall be adopted; has noright to ask the judgmenr of the House upon that resolution. Why, even the insolence of the gentleman himself never resdw.u t .at sublime height before. Now, Ih:, S^.^eaker, nrbody regrets more sincerely than I dc any occurrence which calls me to take the floor. On questions of propriety, I appeal to members on both sides of the House, and they will bear me witness, that the circulation of this letter in the morning prints; its distribution throughout the land by tiilegraph ; the laying it upon the desks of mem- bers, was intended to be by the gentleman from Massachusetts, not openly and boldly, but covertly— I will not use a stronger phrase — an insult to the Speaker WILLIALl D. KELLEY. of this HoUSe. As SUch I resent it. I denounce it in all its essential state- ments, and in all its misstatements, and in all its meaner in( srences and meaner innuendoes. I denounce this letter as groundless without justification; and the gentlcm 1 himself, I trust, will live to see the day when ht will be ashamed of having written it. •-■i'--.-^^ip<*l[^>»7"^' SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 161 CREDIT MOBILIER SCANDAL. At the second session of the 42d Congress, begin- ning December 2, 1872, Speaker Blaine on the first day called attention to the charges made by Demo- cratic orators and newspapers during the Presidential campaign just closed, that the Vice-President (Colfax), and the Vice-President elect (Wilson), the Secretary of the Treasury, several Senators, the Speaker of the House, and a large number of Representatives, includ- ing James A. Garfield, H. L. Dawes an^ William D. Kelley, had been bribed during the years 1867 and 1868, by Oakes Ames, a member of the House from Massachusetts ; that he and his agents had given them presents of stock in a corporation known as the Credit Mobilier, to influence their legislative action for the benefit of the Union Pacific Railroad company. Upon Speaker Blaine's motion, a committee of in- vestigation was appointed by Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York, a noted Democrat temporarily called to the Chair. • After the close of the campaign (as was remarked by the Republic Magazine at the time) the dominant party might well have claimed, and would have insisted had they been opposed to a thorough investigation and a full exposure 'of corruption, that the verdict of the people in the late canvass was sufficient answer to these charges ; but the Republican party not merely granted all the investigations sought, but summoned on the leading committee a majority of its political foes to conduct tli€ inquest J52 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. In moving his resolution for the appointment of a committee-to investigate the charge Mr. Blaine said: A charge of bribery of members is the gravest that can be made in a legislative body. It seems to me, sir, that this charge demands prompt, thorough and impartial investigation,, and I have taken the floor for the purpose of moving that investigation. Unwilling, of course, to appoint any committee of investigation to examine into a charge in which I was myself in- cluded, I have called you, sir, to the Chair, an honored member of the House, honored here and honored in the country ; and when on Saturday last I called upon you and advised you of this service, I placed upon you no other restriction in the appointment of a committee than that it should not contain a majority of my politi- cal friends. REFUSES INCREASED SALARY. In the strict discharge of his functions Mr. Blaine had been in favor of economy, and refused to accept the increased salary assigned to the Speaker by the notorious Salary Bill. During the consideration of the bill, on the last day of January, 1873, he addressed the House as Speaker, and made the following re- marks: The Chair now desires to make a statement per- sonal to himself. In reading the bill the Chair pre- sumes the language of this amendment would make the Speaker's salary $10,000 for this Congress. The salary of the Speaker, the last time the question of pay was under consideration, was adjuste4 to that of I ^i ■ \ Sft, .'«E. SPEAHEB OF THE HOUSE. 153 I the Vice-President and members of the Cabinet. The Chair thinks that adjustment should not be disturbed, and the question which he now raises does not affect the pay of other members of the House. He asks unanimous consent to put in the word " hereafter," to follow the words " shall receive." This will affect who- ever shall be Speaker of the House of Representa- tives hereafter, and does not affect the Speaker of this House, but leaves him upon the same plane with the Vice-President . and Cabinet officers, upon the salary as before adjusted. Mr. Blaine's course was approved by the Nation, and his refusal to accept increased salary was proof that his main idea was not to grab the loaves and fishes. When the repeal of the* bill was under con- sideration he cast the deciding vote, as Speaker, which kept the matter before the House. 1,-5™" .f."*" '^■j^dn CHAPTER IX. The Famous Mulligan Letters. After the war the Republicans had a majority in Congress up to 1874. During this year, which was, to some extent, a period of revolution in politics, the Democrats obtained a majority of Congressmen, and during the ensuing session they endeavored to make the most of their power. They assumed that the Republican rule at Wash* ington had been attfended by wholesale corruption and fraud. They began to pry and investigate. Commit- tee after committee was appointed, the object being to fasten charges upon the party that had ruled so long in Congress. Every stone was to be overturned to see what was concealed under it ; every bush was to be beaten to discover what g^me might be lurking within it ; every man's pockets were to be turned in- side out to ascertain whether there was any lucre there which had been dishonestly obtained. There was a xraze for investigation. The bloodhounds were to be put upon the track. Congress was to play the detect- ive, and r^Jce the gutters for evidences of underhanded dealings. Unquestionably there were opportunity and neces- sity for investigation. No political party was ever-ih THE FAMOUS JtfULLIGAN LETTERS. ^ w «v loo I power for a whole generation without drawing to it some men whose patriotism burned to obtai* e loaves and fishes, whose highest ambition was to serve their country for what they could make out of it. The in- vestigating committees did start some game ; with an immense whoop and shout they chased and bagged it. It was the right thing to do, and no man who is not a thief will enter a single word of protest. ATTACK ON MR. BLAINE. Of course, a mark so conspicuous as the late Speaker of the House could not escape this mania for investi- gation. His political opponents were eager to cripple his power. and limit his influence. They foresaw that under his leadership his party would likely maintain it^ prestige, and would continue to legislate for the country. Eyes were opened and ears were listening for something that might prove damaging to his repu- tation. There he stood in all his integrity, his whole life open as the sunlight, his course consistent and honorable from the beginning, his name a tower of strength in the councils of the Nation ; he was a mark for envy, as every man is who, by his own genius and - brilliancy, rises above his fellows and is carried upon the wave of a nation's applause. The question therefore was whether any charge could be brought against Mr. Blaine concerning his conduct of public affairs, or his private transactions outside of his political life. The movetnent against him did not begin in Congress* A western newspaper, for from being a lesiding journal, made an attack upon _^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ks // «J»>.^ A* y.. 1.0 ^1^ y£ [jBi 122 t Ufi 12.0 u 1.1 11 — ^^^1^ WUU |lg5 1 1. 4 ^ 1 1.6 ^ ^ FhotDgraphic Sdfflices Carporation ¥^ jC^ v ^ <> .v<^. as WIST MAIN STRMT WIUTIR.N.Y. 14510 (716)t72-4S03 156 LIFE OF HON. JAMJSS G. BLAINE, him which at first awakened very little Atteirtiofi, but which was repeated, and each time with greater bolf^ ness and de^niteness of detail. This was a fine oilt for his enemies to crack ; this was somet^trig. dieyha4 been eager to obtain ; this gave them the opporttini^ their malice had been seeking. It was not claimed that he was. a murderer, that he was a horse-thief^ that he was a pickpocket, that he had cheated his-waslleif| woman, but it was asserted that as Speaker of thi Hoiise he had used his vast influence infayor of cisrtam western railroads, and that he had been amply iobi^ pensated for his services. In short; he had ta(ki|| money which would not have come to him/ if he haci not favored the corporations from which the guilty^ spoils were received. He had obtained stock frdtni these railroad companies on t^rms exceedingly favoi^ able, and his honesty as a man and statesman wisl called in question. AN INVESTIGATION APPOINTED. At this time the Hon. Michael C. Kerr, of IndianaQ; was Speaker of the House, and one of the most con- spicuous members was Hon. Proctor Knott, of Kdn*; tucky. The matter of Mr. Blaine's dreadful condM#^ having been brought to the attention of the Houses Jj committee of investigation was appointed with Mjt*^ Knott as chairman, a man who would not be likely evef^ to incur the charge of whitewashing any than opposed to his own political principles. On April 24, 1876, Mr. Blaine mads an eloqtiteiil and convincing speech in the House In answer t^ III 1 i '¥■' '!!-<^'X Sit -~'i' ' '■'-; ' :^''-'K'-4 i^B^itS ?>^:®3!«#-«i ,> '..i '- ^ f^ii.yfilCW^SJ^^S^Bm!l war - -^f F? if' ■ J .ffc|l^ ^^n £*;=";''. . ,,/ ' ,;r ^i'^ «* 1 ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^BK^^^g3B^^^^^^^^^^jjJi^^^B?l3hiMZ^'^^^B8BiHr*K/jJii^ (;*■■• V- jfe^^' ^r31^f ^''^'■^''f! ■'■> 'i ^ ""'■^^^^^/.l^^lf-^^^^ vI-S ^P^^^^^^HflH^^'^I^S^Si^s^^^ni i^^^^n^H - m ' ^^ ^x III WPl Mi IM ^^^^ft .■ ^-,. '-^- i ^P^^* '^ '**~iP''^wW;'&**'!Sfe- , / ^' ^^jB^ ■ ' / % ^MH|^^1^^ w.m ,,<».>>;,''!.*■ - ■ ■' ''f^^Sf jfifeir-" W^' % \. /I- > -. .it ■ ' lyi. -^^^J^-^f^: ;.«5K| ftl*^^* ! r-^f^--" :• '■ ^n,v'^ t.^' --?' ami o pq Pi < W w o tn t— t <1 Q W < k"^'- •-"fe. w 'A I— I < C/3 w < o Q < Q W < W w u - , _■*, .. • It ■ - A.' u v^. ■ "i^i---- j ■ i ui 'A ■^■.;'-" HH »^' ■ < h4 PQ • m w ■ ■>■ •p^ '' f^ < "■:■■ t— > fc o w THE FAMOUS MULUOAN LETTERS. 167 < w Q Ui < w CJ t/3 !,.J i charges, and by his frank statement carried conviction to many niinds which before had been somewhati suspicious. And here it must be said, that in all this unhappy affair by which he was placed as a culprit before Congress and the country, his bearing was tfiat of an innocent, high-minded, noble, brave man, who courted investigation instead of seeking to evade it >In answer to the grave charge that he had received a considerable sum of money from the Union Pacific .Railroad Company for ofificial influence, and another sum from an Arkansas railroad, he made the^ollowing comprehensive and straightforward speech : A SERIOUS ACCUSATION REFUTED. Mr. speaker, with the leave of the House so kindly granted, I shall proceed to submit certain facts and | correct certain errors personal to myself. Xhe dates ' of the -correspondence embraced in my statement will i show that it was impossible for me to make it earlier. • i shall be as brief as the circumstances will permit For some months past a charge against me has been ^ circulating in private — and was recently made public— , designing to. show that I had in some indirect mannet; J, received the large sum of $64,ocx> from the .Union v Pacific Railroad Company in 1^71, for what services , or for what purpose has never been stated, The alleged proofs of the serious accusation were based, according to the original story, upon the author- 1 ship of E. H. Rollins, treasurer of the Union Pacific Company, who, it is averred, had full knowledge that ^ I got the money, and also upon theauthority of MottQin^^ ■'Js '-^ •■Ifc-v./, .' 1 o"' *-;> \ '>. ) *■ .•* m i#' V (,,7 , T-.^-x'-'i ^-Ji \ y ill .« t ,2, ,. 9.tA^ 1 TttS FAMOUS tfOLUGAK UBTVBBS. lei Pacific Company paid tht draft and took up the Cot- tateral ; that the cash proceeds of it went to < me, and that I had furnished, or sold, or in some way conveyed or transferred to Thomas A. Scott, these Little Rock and Fort Smith bonds which had been \ised as col- lateral ; that the bonds in reality had belonged to me or some friend or constituent of mine for whom I was acting. I endeavor to state the charge in its boldest form and in all its phases. THE WHOLE STORY FALSE. I desire here and now to declare that all and every part of this story that connects my name with it, is absolutely un- true, without a particle of foundation in fact, and without a tittle of evidence to substantiate it; I never had any transaction of any kind !• s. morrill. ^-- with Thomas A. Scott concerning bonds of the Lttde Rock and Fort Smith Road, or the bonds of any other railroad, or any business in an^^ way connected with railroadji, directly or indirecd]^, imniiediately or re- moteiy^ •I never had any business transactions whls^ ever wUJi the UtiioR Pacific Raikoaid Company^ ^ any. u •J r k F - « Mm. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ I ■ '•'■'/.'■/ ^4^ A i >W*'^ V ■/-.■;<> ^ ■ fRllftiu::"^ ^ 1 1 Miliin ■ ■ %^ ^M BV J ^ i,< m^..-^^ ' •*(«?? Ve^^rOc teV."- 162 Um 07 HON. JAMES 6. BLAIKX. i^-' '<^" ,. < of its officers or agents or representatives, and never» in any. manner, received from that Company, directly^ or indirectly, a single dollar in money, or stocks, or bonds, or any other form of value. And as to the particular transaction referred to, I never so much as heard of it until nearly two years after its alleged occurrence, when it was talked of, at - the time of the Credit Mobilier investigation, in 1873. But while my denial ought to be conclusive, I should gready regret to be compelled to leave the matter there. I am fortunately able to sustain my own dec- laration by the most conclusive evidence that the case- admits of, or that human testimony can supply. If any person or persons know the truth or falsity of these charges, it must be the officers of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. CONVINCING LETTERS. ' I accordingly addressed a note to the president of that company, a gentleman who has been a director of the compamy from its organization, I believe, .who has a more thorough acquaintance With its business: transactions, probably, than any other man. The cor- respondence, which I here submit, will explain itself, and leave nothing to be said. I will read these letters in their proper order. They need no comment. Washington, p. C, April 13, 1876. DearSir.'r^You have doubdess observed the scandal now in circulation in regard to my having been tn« ^ terested in certain bonch of the Little Rock *md Fori < ' .Smith Road, alleged to have been purchased by your- *s<-. f ? "J. "■'''id %"■■■.•■, ftH FAMOUS MtLLIOAK LETTERS. 163 company in 187 1. It is due to me, I think, that some statement in regard to the subject should be made by yourself, as the official head of the Union Pacific . Railroad Company. Very respectfully, . ' ' ■ J. G. Blaine. Sidney Pillon, Esq., President Union Pacific Rail- road Company. OrncE Union Pacific Railroad Company, ::ys-i.i New York, April 15, 1876. Dear Sir: — I have your favor of the 13th instant, and in reply desire to say that I have this day written Colonel Thomas A. Scott, who was president of the Union Pacific Company at the time of the transaction referred to, a lettfer, of which I send a copy herewith. On receipt of his reply, I will enclose it to you. * ' Very respectfully, SiDi^EY Dillon, President. Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. Office of the Union Pacific Railroad Co., New York, April 15, 1876. Dear Sir : — ^The press of the country are making allegations that certain bonds of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Company, in 1 87 1 , were obtained from Hon. James G. Blaine, of Maine, or that the avails, in some form, went to his benefit, and that the knowl- edge of those facts rests with the officers of the com- pany and with yourself. These statements are imuri- ou^ both to Mr. Blaine and to the Union Pacific Rail- road Company. There were never any facts to warrant them, imd I think that a statement to the public Js due both froni you and myself. I desire, as president of . *■- -. i'j >Ti* 164 LIFE OF BON. JAMES O. BLAINli :/' >i. ^ ,,>*<* the company, to repel any such inference in the most emphatic manner, and would be glad to hear from you on the subject Very respectfully, Sidney Dillon, President Col. Thomas A. Scott, Philadelphia, Pa. Office Union Pacific Railroad Company, New York, April 22, 1876. Dear Sir:— r-As I advised you some days ago, I wrote Colonel Thomas A. Scott, and begged leave to enclose you his reply. I desire further to say that I was a director of the company and a member of the executive committee in 1871, and to add my testimony to that o£ Colonel Scott in verification of all that he has stated in the enclosed letter. Truly yours, ' . Sidney Dillon, President. Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. Phi£adelphia, April 21, 1876. My Dear Sir: — I have your letter under date New York, April 15, 1876, stating that the press of the Country are making allegations that certain bonds of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, purchased " by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1 871, were obtained from Hon. James G. Blaine, of Maine, or ' that the avails in some form went to his benefit; that there never were any facts to warrant them ; that it is your desire as president of the company to repel any . such inference in the most emphatic manner, and ask- ing me to make a statement in regard to the matter. In reply, I beg leave to say that much as I disiike the idea of entermg into any of the controversies that at-e before the public iii these days odT ^scandal frbni -■f^^ '?;it'=/^--^:' ,^'tk. C,-Y ,' tHE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTEBS. 165 I e y w le if id re )r It is »y k- It at III which but few men in public life seem to be exempt, I feel it my duty to state : That the Little Rock and Fort Smith bonds pur- chased by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 187 1 were not purchased or received from Mr. Blaine, directly or indirectly, and that of the money paid by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, or of the avails of said bonds, not one dollar went to Mr. Blaine or to any person for him, or for his benefit in any form. All statements to the effect that Mr. Blaine ever had any transactions with me, directly or indirectly, involving money or valuables of any kind, are abso- lutely without foundation in fact. I take j)leasure in niaking this statement to you, and you may use it in any manner you deem best for the mterest of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Very truly yours, Thomas A. Scottt. Sidney Dillon, Esq., President, Union Pacific Rliilroad Company, New York. THE CASE IN A NUTSHELL. Let me now, Mr. Speaker, briefly summarize what I presented: First, that the story of my receiving $64,000 or any other sum of money, or anything of value, from the Union Pacific Railroad Company, di- rectly or indirectly, or in any form, is absolutely dis- proved by the most conclusive testimony. Second, that no bond of mine was ever sold to the Atlantic and Pacific, or the Missouri, Kansas and Texas R^il- roa4 Company, and tliat not a single dollar of inoney from either of these companies ever went to my profit or benefit. Third, th^t instead of receiving bonds of rf^t*. mm' w: J66 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. :, ' the Little Rock and Fort Smith Road as a gratuity, I never had one except at the regular market price ; and instead of making a large fortune off that com- pany, I have incurred a severe pecuniary loss from my investment in its securities, which I still retain; aiid out of such affairs as these grows the popular gossip of large fortunes amassed in Con- gress. I can hardly expect, Mr. Speaker, that any statement from me will stop. the work of those who have so in- dustriously circu- lated these calum-. nies. For months past the effort has been ener- getic and contin- uous to spread JOSEPH R. HAWLEY. these stoHcs in private circles. Emissaries of slander have visited editorial rooms of leading Republican papers from* Boston to Omaha, and whispered of revelations to 'come that were too terrible even to be spoken in loud tones, and at last the revelations have been made. I am now^.Mr. Speaker, in the fourteenth ^*'>- ^>--- ■ SVA ^-^ M- O'-^ TBB FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 167 year of a not inactive service in this hall; I have taken and given blows; I have no doubt said many things in trie heat of debate that I would gladly re- call ; I have no doubt given votes which in fuller light I would gladly change ; but I have never done anything in my public career for which I could be put to the faintest blush in any presence, or for which I cannot answer to my constituents, my conscience, and the Great Searcher of Hearts. FANNING THE FLAHIE OF SCANDAL. The foregoing statement of Mr. Blaine was final and convincing except to those who were not willing to be convinced by any denial or any array of evi- dence. The effect was to increase the coiiBdence his friends and his party had reposed in him ; but there were members of Congress and newspapers quite ready to renew the attack. The time for holding the Republican National Convention was not far distant, and it was understood that Mr. Blaine was a promi- nent candidate for the presidential nomination. The favorite political game was played, and an attempt was made to smirch Mr. Blaine's reputation and kill his chances in the convention. On the first of May it was stated with a great flour- ish in one of the leading newspapers of New York that Mr. Blaine had received as a gi(t certain shares of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and it was said that positive proof was at hand of his then being engaged in a lawsuit regarding these shares. It was shown .that John E. Blaine, brother of James G., was the one w. '.'f If* " >1'A 168 UFB OF RON. JAMBS O. BLAINfi. Iff".- interested in the lawsuit in a Kansas court ; it was also proved by the lawyers and newspaper correspond- ents that Mr. Blaine was not in any way interested or concerned in the transaction. He concluded his explanation as follows : OPPOSED TO A FLEA-HUNT. Having now noticed the two charges that have been SO extensively circulated, I shall refrain from calling the attention of the House to any others that may be invented. To quote the language of another, " I do not propose to make my public life a perpetual and uncomfortable flea-hunt, in the vain efforts to run down stories which have no basis in truth, which are usually anonymous, and whose total refutation brings no pun- ishment to those who have been guilty of originating them.'' It was plain that Mr. Blaine was master of the situ- ation, and was not likely to suffer from the attacks of It his enemies. He was strong in his defence ; he boldly met every charge and it fell before him; his popu- larity, instead of diminishing, had increased, and the weapons hurled at him had only struck his impenetra- ble armor and fallen harmlessly at his feet. But he was not to be allowed to rest Acquitted by the great tribunal of public opinion, he had still to encounter the political venom of his accusers in Con- gress. On the 2d of May Mr. Tarbcj:, of Massa- chusetts, introduceld into the House a resolution call- ing for an investigation of an alleged purchase by the Union Pacific Railroad Company of certain bonds of ... i«* ■'tzi si c^'i 'k ■"^/* ;->■;■*■■■ •V,. THE FAMOtTS MULU6AN LETTERS. 169 the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Cotn^itdiriy. It was 'Claimed that the price paid was much greater than the real value of the bonds. OBJECT OF THE RESOLUTION. The* statement of Mr. Tarbox in introducing hfe. proposition was, that the investigation was not aimed at Mr. Blaine, and was not to be directed to his busi- ness transactions. As this was supposed to be a truthful statement no objection was made, and the inquiry was ordered. At once it appeared that the object was directly the opposite to what had been stated. It was another . covert attack on Mr. Blaine. Upder the guise of an investigation of ,a railroad transaction, he and his pri- vate affairs were to be dragged before the nation. He was just as ready to meet this attack as he had been to repel others. Ife demanded a prompt investigation, for he was hot willing to remain a moment under suspicion. ' H^ wished to meet at once all charges brought against him. There was no haste on the part of his enemies ; delay was what they courted, for it would damage Mr. Blaine's chances in the National Convention. NEW AND STARTLING FEATURE. Suddenly it was announced that some of Mr. Blaine's private correspondence would be produced in evidence* A confidential clerk, named Mulligan, had come from Boston to Washington to testify that he had abstracted some of Mr. Blaine's letters, showing his transactions with certain Railroad Companies, and ■^"^^ jS* Aw'cJ;*". 170 LIFE OF HON; J^^MES 6. BLAINE.. ,4 f these would show conclusively the crookedness of his, dealings. With almost equal suddenness it w^rs an-, nounced tliat Mr. Blaine had obtained possession of his own letters, and they would not appear in evidence. The affair was the talk of the country. Mr. Blaine's enemies more than insinuated that he had secured the letters in order to suppress them and stifle their damaging disclosures. His friends were restless and nervous, and hardly knew what to think of his actipi^^ In fact, he took the letters, not to suppress them, but to make them public, to put the truthful construction upon them, and not allow a misinformed investigating committee to put an interpretation upon them which was utterly false. A BOLD MOVE. Nothing could show more conclusively Mr. Blaine's consummate generalship than his'production of this correspondence on the floor of Congress. His ene- mies were struck with astonishment ; his friends ex- pressed their admiration and delight. In an instant the whole situation had changed. There was nothing in the letters he was ashamed of, and although Mulli- gan could produce letters he hfd no rightwhatever to make public, he could .not furnish any criminating evi-, dence. The two witnesses from Boston, Fisher and Mulligan, only gave him the opportunity to clear away the whole mass of innuendoes, charges, whisperings, and base -insinuations which had been industriously gathered about his name. The investigation commit- tee tried to obtain these letters. Mr. Blaine refused T £"' tat FAMOUS lltTLUOAN LfitTEfiS. m to yield them up, claimed his right to hold and use them, and in support of it brought forward the opin- ions of ex-Judge Black, a good Democrat, and Mat- *th6w H. Carpenter, the distinguished Senator from Wisconsin* , His refusal was at- ttibuted by many to fear of revealing the contents of the letters. Judge then of their astonishment when in the course of his mem- orable defence before the House of Repre- sentatives he held up the parcel of letters, and with a voice that thrilled his auditors, exclaimed: **l invite a. h. garland. the confidence of 44,000,000 of my countrymen wliile I read those letters from the desk." ^r/-i THE GLADIATOR FACES HIS FOES. Oil the 5th of June Mr. Blaine quietly arose in th6 Hoiise of Representatives, and said : " Mr. Speaker, if the morning hour has expired^ I desire to speak on a question of privilege." Whereupon Mr. Blaine proceeded as follows : Mr. Speaker, on the second day of May this^reso* ludoti was passed by the House: . J' - 172 LIFE OP HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. il " Whereas, it is publicly alleged, and is not denied by the officers of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, that that corporation did, in the year 1871 or 1872, become the owner of certain bonds of the Little Rock . and Fort Smith Railroad Company, for which bonds the said Union Pacific Railroad Company paid a con- sideration largely in excess of their market or actual value, and that the board of directors of. said Union Pacific Railroad Company, though urged, have ne- glected to investigate said transaction ; therefore, "^e iV resolved^ That the Committee on the Judici- ary be instructed to inquire if any such transaction took place, and, if so, what were the circumstances or inducements thereto, from what person or persons said bonds were obtained and upon what considera- tion, and whether, the transaction was from corrupt dfspjgn or in furtherante of any corrupt object; and that the committee have power to send for p^soQS and papers.'' AIMED AT HIMSELF. That resolution on its face, and in its fair intent, was obviously designed to find out whether any im- proper thing had been done by the Union Pacific Rail- road Company ; and of course, incidientally thereto, to find out with whom the transaction was made. No sooner was the sub-committee designated than it became entirely obvious that the resolution was solely and only aimed at me. I think there had not been three questions asked until it was evident, that the investigation was to be a personal one upoii me> THE FAMOUS HULLIOAN LETTERS. i73 and that the Union Pacific Railroad, or any other in- tident of the transaction, was secondary, insignificant ^nd unimportant I do not complain of that; I do not say that I had any reason to complain of it. I^ the investigation w^s to be made in that personal sense, I was ready to meet it. The gentleman on whose statement the accusation rested was first called. He stated what he kn6^ from rumor. Then there were called Mr. Rollins, Mr. Morton, and Mr. Millard, from Omaha, a Government director of the Union Pacific Road, and finally Thomas A. Scott '■■ \ THE CHARGE DISPROVED. ' The testimony was completely and conclusively in disproof of the charge that there was any possibility that I could have had anything to do with the transac- tion: When the famous witness Mulligan came here loaded with information in regard to the Fort Smith Road, the gentleman from Virginia drew out what he knew had no reference whatever to the question of investigation. He then and there insisted on all my private memoranda being allowed to be exhibited by that man in reference to business that had no more connection, no more relation, no more to do with that investigation than with the North Pole. And the gentleman tried his best also, though I be- lieve that has been abandoned, to capture and use and control my private correspondence^ This man has se- liecteVf, but of correspondence running over a great many years, letters ^ich he thought would be pecii- %*■• s a^^ ^ XJi 174 LIFE Of nolf: IAmes g. blaine. t'f/^- 1'/- liarly damaging to me. He came here loaded with them. He came here for a sensation. He came here primed. He came here on that particular errand. I was advised of it, and I obtained those letters under circumstances which havie been notoriously scattered ove'r the United States, and are known to everybody. I have them. I claim that I have the entire right to those Fetters, not only by natural right, but by all the principles and precedents of law, as the man who held those letters in possession held them wrongfully. VIOLATION OF PRIVATE RIGHTS. The committee that attempted to .take those letters from that man for use against me proceeded wrong- fully. It proceeded in all boldness to a most defiant violation- of the ordinary private and .personal rights which belong to every American citizen. I wanted the gentleman from Kentucky and the gentlenian from Virginia to introduce that question upon this floor, but they did not do it. I stood up and declined, not only on the conclusions of my own mind, but by eminent legal advice. I was standing behind the rights which belong to every American citizen, and if they w£tnted to treat the ques- tion in my person anywhere in the legislative halls or .judicial halls, I was read.y. Then there went forth everywhere the idea and impression, that because I would not permit that man, or any man whom I could "prevent, from holding as a menace over my head itiy private correspondence, there must be in it somethifig deadly and destructive to my reputation. - -r*^ '^c ri-lMf- .«^^Hi-^X^#fi^|^^iA ^<^'r-^AV THE FAMOUS MULU6AN LETTEHS. 176 !r I would like any gentleman to stand up here and tell me that he is willing and ready to have his private correspondence scanned over and made public for the last eight or ten years. I would like any gentleman to say that Does it imply guilt ? Does it imply wrong-doing ? Does it imply any sense of weakness that a man will protect his private correspondence ? No, sir ; it is the first mstinct to do it, and it is the last outrage upon any man to violate it PRODUCES THE LETTERS. Now, Mr. Speaker, I say that I have defied the power. of the House to compel me to produce these letters. I speak with^ all respect to this House. I know its powers, and I trust I respect them. Biit I say that this House has no more power to order what shall be done or not done with my private corre- spondence, than it has with what I shall do in the nur^n ture and education of my children, not a particle. The right is as sacred in the one case as it is in the other. But, sir, having vindicated that right, standing by it, ready to make any sacrifice in defence of it, here and now, if any gentleman wants to take issue with me on behalf of this House, I am ready for anyjexf tremity of contest or conflict in l^ehalf of so sacred a right And while I am so, I am not afraid to show the letters. Thank God Almighty, I am not ashamed to show them. There they are (holding up a package of letters). There is the very original package. And with some sense of humiliation, with a mortification I do not attempt to conceal, with a sense of the outi:age . *>i i?f ^J' 176 UFE OF BON. JAMES O. BLAINI. which I think any man in my position would feel, I in- vite the confidence of forty-four millions of my country- men, while I read those letters from this desk. (Ap- plause.) « • * * « • 41 This is the letter m which Mulligan says, and puts down in his abstract, that I admitted the sixty-four thousand dollar sale of bonds : Washington, D. C, April iS, 1872. My dear Mr. Fisher : — I answered you very hastily last evening, as you said you wished for an immediate reply, and perhaps in my hurry I did not make myself fully understood. You have been, for some time, la- boring under a totally erroneous impression in regard to my results in the Fort Smith matter. The sales of bonds which you spoke of my making, and which you seem to have thought were for my own benefit, were entirely otherwise. I:did not have the money in my possession forty-eight hours, but paid it over direcdy to the parties whom I tried, by every means in my power, to protect from loss. I am very sure that ypu have little idea of the labors, the losses, the efforts and the sacrifices I have made within the past year to save those innocent persons, who invested on my request, from personal loss. . And I say to you to-night, that I am immeasurably worse off than if I had never touched the Fort Sitiith matter. The demand you make upon me now is one which I am entirely unable to comply with. I cannot do it. It is not in my power. You say that "necessity knows rio law." That applies to me as well as to yoO^ and when I have reached the point I am now at, I simply fall back on that law. You are as well aware \:m ■'*i'W '\:^T*-^ THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 177 ^ , >•'.« as I am, that the bonds are due me under the contract. Could I have them, I could adjust many matters not now in my power, and as long as this and other matters remain unadjusted between us, I do not recognize the equity, or the lawfulness, of your calling on me for a partial settlement. I am ready at any moment to make a full, fair, comprehensive settlement with you, on the most liberal terms. I will not be exacting or captious or critical, but am ready and eager to make a broad and generous adjustment with you, and if we can't agree ourselves, we can select a mutual friend who can easily compromise all points of difference between us. You will, I trust, see that I am disposed to meet you in a spirit of friendly cordiality, and yet with a sense of self-defence that impels me to be frank and expose to you my pecuniary weakness. Witn very kind regards to Mrs. Fisher, I am yours truly, , J. G. Blaine. W, Fisher, Jr., Esq. ARKANSAS LAND GRANT. I now pass to a letter dated Augusta, Me., October 4, 1869, but I read these letters now somewhat in their order. Now to this letter I ask the attention of the House. In the March session of 1869, the first one at which I was Speaker, the extra session of the Forty- first Congress, a land grant in the State of Arkansas to the Little Rock Road was reported. I never remem- ber to have heard of the road, until at the last night of t|ie session, when it was up here for consideration. The gendeinan in Boston with whom I had relatioyis did not have anything to do with that road for nearly ''^1 '.'i; ;i;' 178 LITE OF HON. JAMES O. BLAIITI, ■v-. C- three or four months after that time. It is in the light of that statement that I desire that letter read. In the autumn, six or eight months afterward, I was looking over the Globe, probably with some curiosity, if not pride, to see the decisions I had m*ade the first five weeks I was speaker. I had not until then recalled this decision of mine, and when I came across it, all the facts came back to me fresh, and I wrote this letter : (Personal.) , Augusta, Me., October 4. 1869. My Dear Sir:-^ spoke to you a siiort time ago about a point of interest to your railroad company that occurred at the last session of the Congress. It was on the last night of the session, when the bill renewing the land grant to the State of Arkansas for the Litde Rock Road was reached, and Julian, of In- diana, chairman of the Public Lands Committee, and, by right, entitled to the floor, attempted to put on the bill as an amendment, the Fremont El Paso scheme — a scheme probably well known to Mr. Caldwell. The House was thin, and the lobby in the Fremont interest had the thing all set up, and Julian's amendment was likely to prevail if brought to a vote. Roots, and the other members from Arkansas, who were doing their best for their own bill (to which there seemed to be no objection), were in despair, for it was well known that the Senate was hostile to the Fremont scheme, atnd if the Arkansas bill had gone back to the Senate with Julian's amendments, the whole thing could have gone on the table and slept the skep of aeadi. In this dilemma, Roots came to me to know what oh earth he could do under the rules : for he said it was vital to his constituents that the bill should |)a8s. \xxAA »♦&- ^.?^... TBE FAMOUS HULUGAN LETTERS. 170 him that Julian's amendment was entirely out of order, because not germane ; but he had not sufficient confi- dence in his o^n knowledge of the rules to make the point, but he said General Logan was opposed to the Fremont scheme and would probably make the point. I sent my page to General Logan with the suggestion, and he at once made the point. I could not do other- wise than sustain it, and so the bill was freed from the mischievous amendment moved by Julian, and at once passed withput objection. At that time I had never seen Mr. Caldwell, but you can tell him that without knowing it, I did him a great favor. Sincerely yours, ' J. G. Blaine. W. Fisher, Jr., Esq., 24 India Street, Boston. • •• ■ The amendment referred to in that letter will be found in The Congressional Globe of the First Session of the Forty-first Congress, page 702. That was before the Boston persons had ever touched the road. "THOSE BONDS WERE NOT MINE." There is mentioned in another letter j^6,ooo of land- grant bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad for which I stood as only part owner; these were only in part mine. As I have started to make a personal explanation, I want to make a full explanation in regard to^this mat- ter. Those bonds were not mine except in this sense : In 1869, a lady who is a member of my family and whose financial affairs I have looked after for many years-^many gentlemen will know to whom I refer without my being more explicit— bought, on the rec- plhmendatioii of Mr, Hooper, $6,000 in land-grant 5 r J'-,* 180 LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. ■■.-i ^■^>. bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad as they were issued in 1869. She got them on what. was called the stockholder's basis ; I ^hink it was a very favorable basis on which they distributed the bonds. These $6,000 of land-grant bonds were obtained in that way. In 1 871 the Union Pacific Railroad Company broke down, and these bonds fell so that they were worth about forty cents on the dollar. She was anxious to make herself safe, and I had so much confidence in thie Fort Smith land bonds, that I proposed to her to make an exchange. The six bonds were in my pos- session, and I had previously advanced money to her for certain purposes, and held a part of these bonds as a security for that advance. The bonds, in that sense and in that sense only, were mine — that they were security for the loan which I had made. They were all literally hers ; they were all sold finally for her account — not one of them for me. I make this statement in order to be perfectly fair. WHAT "SOMEBODY ELSE" SAID. I do not wish to detain the House, but I have one or two more observations to make. The specific charge that went to the committee, as it affects me, is whether I was a party in interest to the $64^000 trans- action ; and I submit that up to this time there has not been one particle of proof before the committee, sus- taining that charge. Gentlemen have said that they heard somebody else say, and generally, when that somebody else was brought on the stand, it appeared that he did not say it at all. Colonel Thomas A. THE FAMOUS MULU6AN LETTERS. 181 Scott swore very positively and distinctly, under the most rigid cross-examination, all about it. Let me call attention to that letter of mine which Mulligan si*/s refers to that I ask your attention, gentlemen, as closely as if you were a jury, while I show the ab- surdity of that statement. It is in evidence that, with the exception of a small fraction, the bonds which were sold to parties in Maine were first mortgage bonds. It is in evidence, over and over again, that the bonds which went to the Union Pacific Road were land-grant bonds. Therefore it is a moral impossibility that the bonds taken up to Maine should have gone to the Union Pacific Railroad. They were of different series, different kinds, different colors, everything different, as different as if not issued within a thousand miles of each other. So, on its face, it is shown that it could not be so. A GREAT DEAL OF HEARSAY. There has not been, I say, one positive piece of tes- timony in any direction. They sent to Arkansas to get some hearsay about bonds. They sent to Boston to get some hearsay. Mulligan was contradicted by Fisher, and Atkins and Scott swore directly against him. Morton, of Morton, Bliss & Co., never heard my name in the matter. Carnegee, who negotiated the note, never heard my name in that connection. Rol- lins said it was one of the intangible rumors he spoke of as floating in the air. Gendemen who have lived any time in Washington, need not be told that intangible rumors get very considerable circulation here ; and if ,-,fs 182 LIFE OF HON. JAMES 6. BLAINE. a man is to be held accountable in public opinion for intangible rumors, who in the House will stand ? Now, gentlemen, those letters I have read were picked out of correspondence extending over fifteen years. The man did his worst, the very worst he could, out of the most intimate business correspond- ence of my life. I ask, gendemen, if any of you, and I ask it with some feeling, can stand a severer scrutiny of, or more rigid investigation into, your private cor- respondence ? That was the worst he could do. THAT CABLE DESPATCH. There is one piece of testimony wanting. There is but one thing to close the complete circle of evidence^ There is but one witness whom I could not have, to whom the Judiciary Committee, taking into account the great and intimate coni\ection he had with the transaction, was asked to send a cable despatch, and I ask the gentleman from Kentucky if that cable de- spatch was sent to him ? Mr. Frye. Who? Mr. Blaine. To Josiah Caldwell. Mr. Knott. I will reply to the gentleman that Judge Hamton and myself have both endeavored to get Mr. Caldwell's address, and have not yet got it. Mr. Blaine. Has the genrieman from Kentucky re- ceived a despatch from Mr. Caldwell ? Mr. Knott. I will explain that directly. Mr. Blaine. I want a categorical answer. Mr. Knott. I have received a despatch purporting to be from Mr. Caldwell. -4- ?».- m:\-it J ■>'::; :^. i\'?-' ,-^:- '•'"II'^?' JIBE FAMOUS MULUGAX LKTtfiHS. 183 e n :o It le id It ;o K Mr. Blaine. You. did? Mr. Knott. How did you know I got it ? Mr. Blaine. When did you get it? I want the gentleman from Kentucky to answer when he got it. Mr. Knott. Answer my, question first. Mr. Blaine. I never heard of it until yesterday. Mr. Knott. How did you hear it ? Mr. Blaine. I heard that you got a despatch last Thursday morning, at eight o'clock, from Josiah Cald- well, completely and absolutely exonerating me from this charge, and you have suppressed it. (Protracted applause upon the floor and in the galleries.) I want the gentleman to answer. (After a pause.) Does the gentleman from Kentucky decline to answer ?. A BOLD CHARGE. . The gendeman from Kentucky in responding prob- ably, I think, from what he said, intended to convey^ the idea that I had some illegitimate knowledge of how that despatch was obtained. I have had no com- munication with Josiah Caldwell. I have had no means of-knowing from the telegraph office whether the despatch was received. But I tell the gentleman from Kentucky that murder will out, and secrets will leak. And I tell the gentleman now, and I am pre- pared- to state to this House, that at eight o'clock on last Thursday morning, or thereabouts, the gentleman from Kentucky received and receipted for a message addressed to him from Josiah Caldwell, in London, en- tirely corroborating and substantiating the statements of Thomas A. Scott, which he had just read in the -i^^ '*-':■ '■^ 184 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. r\- New York papers, and entirely exculpating me from the charge which I. am bound to believe, from the suppression of that report, that the gentleman is anxious to fasten upon me. (Protracted applause from the floor and galleries.) MR. BLAINE THE VICTOR. * All accounts agree in representing the scene in the House during this speech as one unparalleled. The grand bearing, the acute reasoning, the eloquent periods and triumphant vindication of the accused, made a profound impression upon those who were present on that memorable day. Equally telling was the effect upon the country at large. The man Mulli- gan had done his worst; he had picked a number of letters from a correspondence extending over many years, had separated them from their connection, and with infernal ingenuity had twisted their meaning to his own contemptible purposes. Suc;< rascality de- served the red-hot condemnation it received. The scene was one of moral sublimity when Mr. Blaine turned to his abashed accusers, and with all the magnetic, overwhelming force of which he was capable, roared out in thunder tones: "You have received from Josiah Caldwell a despatch completely and ab- ) solutely exonerating mef, and you have suppressed it ! ** The day on which Mr. Blaine made complete his vindication was a historic day in Congress, one that can never be forgotten by any who were wit- nesses of the extraordinary scene. If ^'"Si . i^r*':~-J h CHAPTER X.; <