OTHER DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS OF THAT DAY
1858 and 1859
More than four months had elapsed since Lincoln's epoch-marking
speech at Springfield had brought on his great discussion with
Douglas, when on October 20, 1858, Governor Seward at Rochester,
New York, intensified the political inflammation of the times by
saying in a notable speech:
"These antagonistic systems (free labor and slave labor) are
continually coming close in contact. It is an irrepressible conflict
between opposing and enduring forces; and it means that the United
States must and will, sooner or later, become either an entirely
slave-holding or entirely a free-labor nation."
A book written by a young Southerner, "The Impending Crisis in the
South--How to Meet It," was recommended in a circular signed by a
large number of the Republican Congressmen, and thus given a vogue
and weight out of all proportion to the standing of the author,
whose recent death under tragic circumstances at an advanced age
has drawn the name of Hinton Rowan Helper for a brief hour from
its long obscurity.
"Dred, a Tale of the Dismal Swamp," by the author of "Uncle Tom's
Cabin," served, if such service were at all needed, to keep fresh
in all civilized lands the name of Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe.
The British Museum has a long shelf filled with different translations,
editions, and versions of her greatest literary work.
In the month of September Mr. Lincoln delivered a speech at
Cincinnati, in reply to Mr. Douglas. In that speech he addressed
himself to the citizens of Kentucky, and advocated the nomination
of Mr. Douglas to the Presidency, upon the ground that he was more
devoted to the South than were the Southern leaders themselves,
and that he was wiser in methods for defending their rights.
This was a form of attack which Douglas had not anticipated, and
which he could neither resent nor answer. As the event proved,
the seed thus sown was to bear fruit abundantly in results at the
ensuing National Democratic conventions, and at the Presidential
election two years later. Until June, Mr. Lincoln was unknown
outside of Illinois and Indiana. Judge Douglas had already taken
a high place among the able men of his time of national and
international reputation. In September, Lincoln's character was
understood and his ability was recognized in all the non-slaveholding
States of the Union. His mastery over Douglas had been complete.
His logic was unanswerable, his ridicule fatal; every position
taken by him was defended successfully. At the end Douglas had
but one recourse. He misstated Lincoln's positions, and then
assailed them.
But Lincoln was ever on the alert to expose his opponent's fallacies,
and to hold up the author to the derision or condemnation of his
hearers.
Mr. Lincoln's first fame rests, therefore, on that great debate.
Judge Douglas had long been famous as an experienced politician
and an exceptionally skilful debater. As lawyers both ranked high
in their State at a time when the bar of Illinois could boast of
exceptionally brilliant and able forensic talent.
As it is my purpose to treat of both these great men in some detail
in subsequent pages of this work, devoting at least a full chapter
to Mr. Lincoln, so long my admired and never failing friend, I
shall now proceed to give some personal recollections concerning
certain other of the distinguished characters of that day, chiefly
those connected with the bar.
I knew Judge David Davis very well. He was Circuit Judge on our
State circuit for a number of years, and until Mr. Lincoln became
President, when he was made Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States. When a young lawyer Davis was a Whig; and
my father, being also a Whig, took a great interest in him, as he
did in every young lawyer he knew who became affiliated with that
party. My father thought himself justified in believing that Davis
would become a power in the land. Hence he took up the young man
soon after he had settled in the practice of the law at Bloomington;
and I have heard him state that he gave Davis the first case he
ever had in Tazewell County, by advising another to employ him.
But he re-enacted, on the less conspicuous forum, the distressing
experience of failure of Disraeli in his first attempt to address
the English House of Commons. Davis broke down in the speech he
had prepared to make, to the great mortification of my father, who
had exhibited such unusual pride and confidence as to counsel his
employment in the case. Subsequently Davis redeemed himself, as
did Disraeli, and became a most prominent and successful lawyer.
Among other interesting circumstances of his career was that of a
little claim he had for a client in Boston against a merchant in
Chicago. He could not collect the debt, except by levying on a
tract of land in Chicago--eighty acres, I think. Davis reported
what he had done, and his client manifested dissatisfaction with
the result. He so vigorously stated his disappointment to Davis,
that the latter immediately redeemed the land by taking it himself
and paying the amount of money due the client. This tract grew in
value with the growth of Chicago until it became worth a million
dollars or more.
Judge Davis was a remarkably popular man on his circuit. He was
thoroughly honest, and could not endure a dishonest man on the
witness-stand or anywhere else. I remember a man in Chicago who
on one occasion filed a bill of discovery for the purpose of finding
real estate that he seemed once to have had an interest in, and
which also involved the insertion of Judge Davis's own name, since
he had himself at one time owned the tract of land involved. The
man had lost his voice to a considerable extent, so that he had
come to be called "Whispering Smith." He became notorious as a
successful collector of debts, where persons had failed and were
unable to pay their debts. He had filed in this case a bill of
discovery consisting of thirty or forty printed pages which included
the names of many persons who had been found to have owned the real
estate at one time or another, among them being Judge Davis.
Discovering this, and being entirely innocent of any complicity
with the party who had failed, the Judge denounced Smith in open
court for the outrage of swearing to something he did not know
anything about, and practically threw him out of court.
There was an incident characteristic of his fidelity to friendships
which I think well worth relating. It occurred when I was Governor
of Illinois. I was invited by the Agricultural Society of McLean
County to deliver an address, and went to Bloomington on the day
designated. I was called upon by Judge Davis, who resided there.
He was a very polite man, and asked me if he could not take me out
to the fair-ground. I told him I would be delighted if he would
do so. He came for me with his carriage, and on our arrival at
the grounds took me to the stand, disregarding the prearrangements
of the officials of the fair, and introduced me to the audience.
In doing so he made a speech, very complimentary to my father, but
scarcely mentioning me at all--not more than to introduce me at
the end of his eulogistic remarks. Many of the lawyers of the town
were present. I knew them all, and they were much amused at this
unusual style of introduction. And so was I. I knew, of course,
that he was a great friend of my father, and a great friend of mine
as well.
Judge Davis was elected to the Senate in 1877 to succeed General
Logan, and resigned his seat on the bench to accept the position.
He became quite fond of the Senate, and during his one term there
he was elected president _pro tempore_ of the body under somewhat
unusual conditions. The Senate at that time was almost evenly
divided between the two parties. The two senators from New York,
however (both Republicans), and Mr. Aldrich, of Rhode Island, had
been elected by their respective Legislatures, but had not taken
their seats. This gave the Democrats a temporary majority, and
the Senate proceeded to elect Senator Bayard, of Delaware, as its
president _pro tempore_. Within the next day or two, however, the
two New York senators and Senator Aldrich were admitted to their
seats; this left a majority of two for the Republicans if Davis
acted with them, and the two parties tied if Davis acted with the
Democrats. Under these circumstances, General Logan, who after
being out for two years had been re-elected to the Senate, moved
in the caucus that David Davis be the Republican candidate for
president _pro tempore_. Later he made the nomination in the Senate
itself, and Senator Davis was elected, Senator Bayard descending,
amid general laughter, from the chair which he had occupied for
but a short time.
Senator Davis was very proud of the position of president _pro
tempore_, which he retained to the end of his Senate term. He had
been acting quite independently, but seemed to incline a little
toward the Democrats. After he became president _pro tempore_,
while he never announced himself a Republican, he generally acted
with the Republicans.
I was in the Senate the day before Senator Davis's term expired.
He was soliloquizing to himself in the intervals of putting motions
and attending to the routine of his office. He was very fond of
Senator Isham G. Harris of Tennessee, and when he had occasion to
call a senator to the chair, generally it would be Harris. He
called Harris to him while I was there, and I heard him say as his
friend came up: "Harris, Harris! When I get out of here I won't
have to listen to old Bayard any more!"
He was a very remarkable man and a friend of Lincoln, and Lincoln
was a friend of his. I suppose that Davis did as much to secure
Lincoln's nomination over Seward as any one man, although Judge
Logan worked with equal zeal. But Davis knew more people than did
Judge Logan, although the latter was, in my opinion, the better
lawyer.
In the days of Davis's judicial life on the State bench, the judge
and the lawyer had a pretty large circuit. Davis's circuit was
composed of several large counties. It was the custom to travel
the circuit, judge, lawyers, and all, together. At that period
there were no railway facilities worth mentioning, and they had to
go by private conveyance--wagon or carriage or on horseback as the
case might be. Probably a dozen lawyers might go together, all
putting up at the same hotel, and generally having a good time at
night, spinning yarns. Lincoln was a good story-teller, and so
was Davis; and the evenings were made exceedingly agreeable to all
concerned.
In no small measure as a result of the influences thus put into
operation, the lawyers of the period were better qualified to get
along in life than those of later days; that is to say, for the
rough-and-tumble life they were better able to take care of themselves
than the lawyers of a more recent date have been, as a general rule.
Judge Stephen T. Logan was, I think, the best lawyer that I have
ever known in Illinois. He went to Illinois at an early age and
lived there until his death; he had attained the age of a little
more than eighty years before he died. He was purely a lawyer.
I think I never knew another lawyer who could so everlastingly ruin
a man who undertook to misrepresent the truth. He seemed to
understand intuitively whether a man was trying to tell the truth
or was lying; if the latter, his words would so effectually be torn
to pieces that they could be of no earthly value. But he was not
an adept as a politician. He ran for Congress at one time against
a man named Thomas L. Harris, and was beaten. He also ran later
for Judge of the Supreme Court, and was beaten. This defeat was
not his fault, however, as the community was a strongly Democratic
one. I recall a story current in those days, to the effect that
some man who had recently come from the east inquired, while talking
with him, "By the way, Judge, didn't you run for the Supreme Court
last year?" In his squeaky voice, the judge replied, "No; I hardly
walked."
But the judge was a true man in every respect,--honest, faithful
to his friends, and fearless in doing whatever he believed to be
right. He felt, I think, a little bit disappointed that President
Lincoln did not appoint him instead of Davis a Judge of the Supreme
Court.
I came to Washington and saw Mr. Lincoln in Judge Logan's behalf
without any suggestion that I do so from Logan or any one else,
but simply because I believed that the President ought to appoint
him on the Supreme Bench in preference to any other man in the
State.
Logan was a better lawyer than Davis; but Davis was an abler
politician than Logan. I have always felt that in view of the fact
that Lincoln and Logan had been partners earlier, and also neighbors
and close friends, he ought to have nominated Logan instead of
Davis. Davis, Logan, and Browning were all well qualified for the
Supreme Court, all of them friends of Lincoln, and all Whigs.
Lincoln had to make the choice, and I think the selection was
influenced by Davis's great assistance in securing his nomination.
Judge Logan was also a close Whig friend of my father, and earnest
in his friendship for me on that account. When I was a candidate
for the nomination for Governor I had a pretty stiff fight for the
first term. There were rumors that men were going to attack my
personal character. I did not know about the judge's action in
the premises, but when the convention met, Judge Logan went to it
as a private citizen and crowded himself into the hall, remaining
here until I was nominated. Then he went home. I was told afterwards
that he had gone there for the purpose of defending me in case of
an attack against my personal character.
Of course, I could not but greatly appreciate a friendship so
manifest.
He had a son, David Logan, who went to Oregon as a young lawyer,
and became very eminent there. In later years the judge wrote to
him, proposing that if he would come back home he would take him
into partnership. To this the father received a reply from David,
proposing that if he would come out there a partnership with the
son was subject to his acceptance or refusal. The judge died after
attaining full four-score years, and the son at an age less
advanced.
I think Judge Logan also felt a bit sour toward Mr. Lincoln because
the latter, he thought, ought to have been more helpful than he
was to his son in his effort to be elected to the United States
Senate from Oregon, at the time Baker was elected.
Speaking of Judges Logan and Davis, I am reminded of the exceptionally
high character of the lawyers of Illinois of that day, and more
especially of Springfield. I think there has never been a time
when it had another such splendid bar. It must be that high personal
character in leaders has a direct and marked influence in elevating
the general characters of the followers. The young lawyers,
especially, are impelled by a force implanted by nature to admire
and to strive to imitate or attain to the great qualities manifested
in life of those to whom leadership is conceded by common consent.
Colonel E. D. Baker was a very good lawyer. Also Orville H.
Browning, of Quincy, who was in Springfield attending the various
courts whose sittings were at the State capital much of the time.
Then there was Archibald Williams; and Stephen A. Douglas, a great
man in every way, was on the bench a part of the time. Abraham
Lincoln was, of course, the equal of any man, on the bench or off
of it. Such men prominently in the lead as lawyers, and as men
among men, could not but stimulate the ambitions and loftier
aspirations of other lawyers, especially the younger ones. In
striving to pay the tributes--imitation, etc.,--that can be accorded
to greatness, they become great themselves; and perhaps here may
be found the real or chief cause of the very large numbers of
conspicuously eminent men congregated at the capital of Illinois
in those days.
Judge Lyman Trumbull I always regarded as one of the exceptional
lawyers of the country. I came to know him well while I was a
member of the House and he a United States Senator. During those
days I saw very much of him. When Trumbull came to the Senate
there was some prejudice against him, growing out of circumstances
(related elsewhere in these pages) which prevented the election of
Mr. Lincoln, and which seemed to be plainly within Mr. Trumbull's
control. But the feeling soon vanished, and Trumbull's course in
the Senate was so true to the principles of the party which Mr.
Lincoln had championed, that the manner in which he had secured
the election was soon forgotten, or at least condoned, and the
judge remained there for a long period of service--three terms.
While he was there I came to the House of Representatives, and came
to be, as our association grew more and more intimate, very fond
of Senator Trumbull. I also admired his ability. He was one of
the few in that body who could hold his own with Judge Douglas in
debate, and when he came into the Senate he at once took issue with
Douglas, they being in controversy with each other very frequently
on slavery and other political questions, until Douglas's career
ended, about the beginning of the Civil War.
I was, perhaps, as intimate personally with Judge Trumbull during
my stay in the House as any other member. Barton C. Cook and Norman
B. Judd also were as intimate with the judge, as any other members
of the Illinois delegation. Nothing ever happened to change these
conditions, until the vote which Trumbull cast against the impeachment
of Andrew Johnson. Mr. Cook and Mr. Judd, especially the latter,
seemed to be almost bitterly angry against Judge Trumbull.
As a result of that vote opposition to him began to grow in the
party. However, almost immediately after the impeachment he was
re-elected, although at the time not a candidate. He was subsequently
nominated by the Democratic party for Governor of Illinois. I ran
against him as the candidate of the Republican party, and was
elected over him by a majority of about thirty-eight thousand. He
imagined, so I have heard, that he was going to beat me, and was
considerably surprised at his failure to do so.
He died only a few years ago, at an advanced age. His first wife
was a sister of Dr. Jayne, an excellent man, and, I am glad to add,
he and I are warm personal friends. I am very sorry to say, though,
that his children, I believe, are all gone, as are mine.
There were other men who had risen to prominence in Illinois, of
whom I wish to write, and some who were then new upon the stage of
public life, whom I knew and who subsequently achieved distinction.
I have already postponed my reminiscences of Mr. Lincoln to a later
chapter than I could wish, but in point of time we have now come
to the year of his nomination and election to the Presidency of
the United States, and the beginning of a career which was to be
finished in the course of only a little over four years.
The reference to my old friend Doctor William Jayne reminds me that
I should say something of my Springfield friends,--some living,
but many dead. It is to these friends that I am indebted for my
success in public life, and they have generally loyally supported
me, although friends in other parts of the State have been quite
as loyal and devoted to my interests when I have been a candidate
for high public office.
In the days of Lincoln, I do not believe that there ever was a
community that contained so many really splendid men, men who were
so well fitted to fill any place in the State or Nation, as did
Springfield. I can refer to only a few of those of State and
National renown. If I have overlooked some whom I should have
mentioned, I hope I shall be pardoned.
First of all comes Lincoln. From time to time, as I have written
these recollections, I have spoken of him. I will later give my
estimate of Douglas, who, while not a citizen of Springfield, spent
a great deal of time there as a member of the Supreme Court, as a
member of the Legislature, and on legal, political, and social
affairs. In the last-mentioned connection he at one time was a
rival for the hand of Mary Todd, afterwards Mrs. Abraham Lincoln.
I have thought and written something of Stephen T. Logan, and to
my own old law partner, Milton Hay, I refer in other parts of these
recollections. There were no better lawyers in their day.
William H. Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, was a capable lawyer
also. He wrote an excellent life of his distinguished partner.
Herndon was one of the earliest Republicans of his State. While
Lincoln believed in the principles of the party from the very
beginning, the truth is, he was a little slow in becoming a member
of it; and Herndon always claimed that he had much to do with making
Abraham Lincoln an active member of the Republican party. Herndon
believed that he was qualified to fill almost any office, and I
think he was a little dissatisfied that Lincoln did not give him
some high position.
William Butler, belonging to this same period, was one of the
leading citizens and a devoted friend of Lincoln and an excellent
man. Nor can I forget Antram Campbell, one of my first law partners.
We were always warm friends. I saw him on his death-bed when I
returned home from Washington, where I was serving as a Member of
Congress. He recognized me, but could not speak, and I can see
now the tears falling from his eyes.
Of the State officers of that day, Richard Yates was Governor.
The State, under the lead of its War Governor, did not waste time
or spare money in putting the troops in readiness for the field,
and perhaps there was no governor of any State more watchful of
the State's interests, or more devoted to the interests of the
Union, or more loved by the people of his own State, including the
troops in the field, than was Governor Yates. He was loyalty
itself, and for many years was an apostle of liberty. He retired
from the office of governor, to take his place as a senator from
Illinois in the United States Senate. His fame, however, rests on
being the great War Governor of the State of Illinois, the compeer
of Morton, Andrews, and Curtin.
His son, Richard Yates, many years later succeeded to the office
of governor, and is one of the prominent men of Springfield to-day.
O. M. Hatch was Secretary of State. He was among my early influential
friends in Springfield. Uncle Jesse K. Dubois, for whom I had high
regard, and who was quite well known in and out of Illinois, was
one of the State officers. O. H. Miner was Auditor of the State
at one time. He was a very good man. His son, Louis Miner, and
Harry Dorwin, a nephew of my deceased wife, are joint owners of
the Springfield _Journal_, one of the oldest Republican organs of
the State.
Colonel John Williams could not be said to be a National or State
character, but he was a good business man, and one of the best
friends I ever had, so I cannot refrain from a passing tribute to
his memory.
When I was elected to Congress the first time, in 1864, my friends
knew that I had spent a considerable sum of money for election
expenses. It being Lincoln's district, and Lincoln being a candidate
for re-election as President, the National Committee helped some;
but I was naturally compelled to spend a great deal myself. I
considered to whom I should apply for assistance, and thought of
Colonel Williams. I went to him, candidly explaining that I should
be unable to make the race without financial assistance; he told
me to draw on him for whatever funds I might want, and at the end
to let him know the total amount, and that he would take care of
it. I did so. He gave me what I asked for, and I gave him my
note, which I paid as soon as I could; but he never bothered me
about it. I always had a warm spot for him in my heart.
Nicholas H. Ridgely, the grandfather of the Hon. William Barret
Ridgely, who married one of my daughters, and who served as United
States Comptroller of the Currency for a number of years, was one
of the leading bankers of the State, and was reputed to be one of
the first millionaires of Illinois. He was a very careful banker,
and was probably too careful to be popular among the people generally;
but every one knew that there was no sounder institution in the
State than the Ridgely National Bank. His son, Charles Ridgely,
whom I always regarded as one of the most interesting men in
Springfield, has passed away just about the time that I am writing
these lines. Mr. Charles Ridgely was a man of great reading and
great cultivation, and a man whom any one would like to meet. His
death was a loss to Springfield of one of its most interesting and
enterprising characters.
S. H. Jones ("Sam" Jones, as he was known) was another well-known
character in Springfield, as well as throughout Illinois. He was
a warm friend and supporter of mine in the early days.
James C. Robinson was twice elected to Congress. He and Governor
Oglesby were opponents for State Senator from the district. A
little story in this connection occurs to me, which Oglesby used
to tell.
When running for the Senate, before the Civil War, Oglesby and
Robinson travelled together over the district. The settlements in
those days were very scattering, and as the rivals were good friends
personally they agreed to go together and hold joint discussions.
They held one every day, the understanding being that if either
desired to talk anywhere else aside from the joint debate he had
a right to do so.
At one place Robinson announced that he would make a speech in the
courthouse. A large crowd greeted him, which he captured with one
of his characteristic speeches. Oglesby was sitting in front of
the hotel across the way by himself, and listening to the cheering.
He became very uneasy lest Robinson should get the best of it.
Now it chanced that Oglesby could play a violin splendidly. A man
came along with one in his hands, and Oglesby asked if he might
borrow it for the evening, to which the man consented. He commenced
playing in order to attract the crowd from Robinson, and in order
to break up his meeting. He succeeded; one by one they came out
of the courthouse, and when Oglesby swung into a stirring dance
measure the crowd at once responded with an impromptu hoe-down.
Robinson, seeing his audience dwindling, quit speaking and came
out himself. Taking in the situation at a glance, he pulled off
his shoes and became the most enthusiastic participant, dancing
first with one and then with another of his late hearers, winning
them all back again and completely turning the tables against his
adroit opponent.
This is a good illustration of early campaigning in the country
districts of Illinois. There was the utmost good feeling, and a
disposition to let the best man win.
Among the early men and incidents connected with the practice of
the law in Springfield, in the sixties, and before and during the
time I was Speaker of the House, the Rev. Peter Cartwright must
not be forgotten. He was one of the prominent figures in the
pioneer educational and religious life of the Western country, more
particularly of Illinois. He was a wonderful type of the times--
a man of great courage, of considerable ability, and most remarkable
in his capacity as a minister of the Gospel. He believed in camp-
meetings; and when Peter Cartwright conducted a camp-meeting the
loafers and rowdies inclined to interrupt the worship knew they
would invite trouble if they ventured to interfere with or annoy
the meeting. He was ready, not only to preach the Gospel but to
fight, as sometimes he felt it his duty to do. No man dared in
the presence of Cartwright to interrupt the meeting, as in those
times irresponsible parties hanging about such gatherings frequently
attempted to do in his absence.
Cartwright was not only an able pioneer preacher, but he was a
loyal Democrat, too. He believed in Democracy, and was ready to
run on the Democratic ticket, or to advance the party's cause in
any other way. He was nominated for Congress as against Mr. Lincoln,
the only time Lincoln ever ran for Congress.
Some persons disapproved of Cartwright's activity in politics,
questioning the propriety of it on the part of a minister. Among
these was Judge Treat, then our Federal Judge in the Springfield
district. The story goes that the Judge signified to Mr. Lincoln
his dislike of Cartwright, and his willingness to lend a helping
hand in case Lincoln should need help and would let him know the
fact. He thought he could get a good many votes for Lincoln, and
the latter thanked him and told him if he found need of his help
he would let him know. On one occasion during the campaign Lincoln
was walking along one side of the street when he saw Treat on the
farther side, proceeding in the opposite direction, toward his
home. Lincoln called out to him: "Judge, I won't need your help.
I have got the better of the old Methodist preacher, and I will
beat him; so I will not have to call upon you for help." This so
embarrassed the judge, lest some one should hear what was being
said, that he almost ran, in his hurry to get into his house.
It so happened that some of Peter Cartwright's grandchildren were
somewhat reckless boys, and one of them killed another young man.
Mr. Peyton Harrison, the father of the slayer, was a friend of Mr.
Lincoln and also of Judge Logan, and had grown to be a good friend
of mine, I being a young lawyer. The two and I were employed in
the defence of the young man. I did the running about, and other
things necessary to be done until the time arrived for the trial.
I had the accused man in my house part of the intervening time.
When the Circuit Court convened he, having been previously indicted,
was delivered up and the trial came on. It lasted some ten or
twelve days. In the meantime, Peter Cartwright, and his daughter
Mrs. Harrison, the mother of the young man on trial, were at my
house most of the time. They drove into town from where they lived,
some ten or twelve miles out, every day, and remained until nearly
night, going back and forth as long as the trial lasted. Cartwright
became somewhat attached to me on account of my efforts in the
young man's behalf.
The trial resulted in the acquittal of young Harrison, in whose
behalf Mr. Lincoln and Judge Logan exerted themselves very
earnestly.
Springfield seems changed to me since my old friend, David T.
Littler, passed away. If I visited Springfield during the heat of
Summer, when every one else was gone, I was always sure that Dave
Littler would be there to greet me. Littler was a unique character.
His manners and speech were bluff and frank; he never was afraid
of any one, and never was afraid to speak just exactly what he
thought. Senator Littler, Colonel Bluford Wilson, a particularly
devoted friend, and I travelled through Europe together, and we
had a great time.
Littler was for many years a member of the State Senate of Illinois,
and was a very useful member in securing favors for his district;
and there is no district in the State more dependent upon the
Legislature than the Springfield district. He was very ambitious,
and when many of my friends in Illinois believed that President
McKinley would honor me with an appointment to his cabinet, he
thought he was pretty sure to succeed me in the United States
Senate. My secret opinion was that the politicians who were running
State affairs at that time were fooling him; but it never came to
a test, as I did not enter the cabinet.
It is a pleasure to record that I was able to show a substantial
token of friendship when, through my influence, Senator Littler
was appointed by President Cleveland one of the Pacific Railroad
Commissioners.
Speaking of Colonel Littler reminds me of our mutual friend, Mr.
Rheuna Lawrence, an estimable citizen of Springfield in his day.
When I was re-elected to the Senate in the Winter of 1901, Rheuna
Lawrence and David Littler were both desperately ill. I visited
them both before leaving for Washington. Lawrence died soon after,
but Littler recovered and lived for a year or two.
Rheuna Lawrence was intensely interested in my campaign in 1900.
He attended the Peoria convention as one of the Springfield delegates.
There was a contesting delegation from Sangamon County, and my
friends, among whom were Lawrence and Littler, were seated. My
friends won out all along the line, and the excitement was too much
for Rheuna, who was not a drinking man at all; but he and Dave got
in their cups, and it was very amusing to those who knew Mr. Lawrence
as one of the cleanest and most estimable of our citizens to hear
Littler refer to him as "my drunken friend, Rheuna." All of which,
of course, was only a little pleasantry which I repeat for the
benefit of those who attended that convention, and knew Lawrence
and Littler well.
James C. Conkling was a prominent lawyer at home, in the days of
Lincoln. He was a zealous Republican and a stanch supporter of
Lincoln; also a lawyer and a business man; but for some reason or
other, I do not know why, he became involved and failed, and the
people, especially the older citizens, insisted that he be appointed
postmaster. I recommended him, and the appointment was made. He
served a term and passed away. His son, Mr. Clinton Conkling, is
now one of the leading attorneys of the city.
Henry Green was noted as a great lawyer. He came to Illinois from
Canada and studied law in Clinton County with the Hon. Lawrence
Weldon, who was a prominent lawyer himself, and for years served
as a member of the Court of Claims at Washington. Weldon was a
lovable character. Green was for some years the partner of Milton
Hay, the firm being Hay, Green, and Littler; it changed later to
Green and Humphrey. While I always believed that Hay was the best
lawyer in the State, many lawyers believed that Green was the ablest
in connection with railroad litigation.
The Hon. O. H. Browning was one of the most prominent men of Illinois
in the early times, and was about Springfield, the capital, a great
deal, attending the Federal Court, and also the Supreme Court of
the State. Browning, Archibald Williams, and Jack Grimshaw were
all three very excellent lawyers, quite prominent in their profession,
as well as associates in the Whig party. Browning was probably
the most prominent of the three. He was appointed by Governor
Yates to succeed Douglas, after the death of the latter, in the
United States Senate. Of course he did not remain there long,
being succeeded, I think, by William A. Richardson, a strong Democrat
of Quincy, and a man of considerable ability. After he went out
of the Senate, Browning was appointed by Andrew Johnson as Secretary
of the Interior. He became a follower of Mr. Johnson, who had
broken with the Republican party, and when he got out of office,
I think he ceased to take any part in politics. He had been talked
about a good deal at one time as the proper man for the Supreme
bench, but as between him and Logan and Davis, Mr. Lincoln decided
in favor of Davis.
It is impossible to mention all the many friends and supporters
loyal and devoted to me who are now living, but I shall be pardoned,
I am sure, for saying a few words in reference to some of them at
present in Springfield, who are especially esteemed.
I have been away from Springfield most of the time for nearly thirty
years, and as I go back there during the vacations for brief periods,
I feel lonely, because so many of the familiar faces of earlier
days have passed away. As I walk the streets now it seems that I
know comparatively few people; but I have the best of reasons for
knowing that among them are many splendid men.
I like to feel, on the eve of visiting Springfield, that I shall
see my friend, Judge J. Otis Humphrey, United States District Judge
for the Southern District of Illinois. I have all the affection
and interest in Judge Humphrey that one could entertain for a
brother, and I know that he has the same feeling for me. He is an
able man, and is regarded by the Bar as the ablest judge who has
ever occupied the United States District Bench at Springfield. I
have known him from his boyhood, and knew his father before him.
It was one of the great pleasures of my public career to have been
able to secure from the late President McKinley his appointment as
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, and
later to have secured his promotion to the position of United States
District Judge. He is now the senior United States District Judge
of the seventh circuit, and I regard him as the ablest judge of
them all. I sincerely hope that higher honors, which he so well
deserves in his chosen career, are still in store for him.
In connection with Judge Humphrey I am reminded of the late Judge
Solomon H. Bethea, who was appointed United States Attorney for
the Northern District of Illinois, and who was later promoted to
the Federal Bench. Humphrey and Bethea I have always regarded as
my two judges, as they were both appointed on my recommendation.
Bethea was a man of very strong and positive character. These
traits were so conspicuous that his manners were, by some, regarded
as extremely dictatorial. He was highly educated, a student all
his life, and a very cultivated man. At the same time he was a
first-rate politician. I do not know of two more useful men to
lead a floor fight in a convention than Bethea and Humphrey. Judge
Bethea was my friend and supporter from the time I was elected to
the United States Senate, in 1883, until his death. He made a
splendid record as United States Attorney, and am informed that
during his incumbency of that office, he never lost a case before
a jury. Very unfortunately, just when he reached the goal of his
highest ambition, a Federal judgeship, his health failed. I have
never for a moment doubted that had he lived and retained his health
he would have made an enviable record on the bench.
There is no better man in Springfield than John W. Bunn. He has
been my friend ever since I first went to Springfield. He was a
friend of Lincoln, and there was no one in Springfield in whom
Lincoln placed more confidence. I believe that one of the first
appointments he made, after entering the office of President, was
that of John W. Bunn as Pension Agent at Springfield. He was the
trusted friend of the War Governor, Yates, and performed many
important duties for him during the Civil War. From those early
days down to the present, every one has had confidence in John W.
Bunn and in his integrity and honesty. I am glad to say that he
is still living as one of the foremost citizens of his city.
The Hon. James A. Connelly, who for two terms represented the
district in Congress, was a very influential and popular member of
Congress; and being a good lawyer he was a prominent member of the
Judiciary Committee of the House. He is a forcible speaker, and
has always taken an active part in behalf of the party in campaigns
in the State.
Mr. E. F. Leonard--Frank Leonard, as he was familiarly known among
his friends--was my secretary when I was Governor of Illinois. He
was later president of the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad,
stationed at Peoria, and I have always believed him to be one of
the best railroad presidents in the State. He was particularly
noted for his sound common sense and as a scholarly, well posted
man in public affairs. I do not think he ever said or did a foolish
thing in his life. He has retired from business, and lives quietly
and elegantly, being a man of wealth, at the beautiful little
college town of Amherst, Massachusetts, in the vicinity of which
he was born.
One of the oldest men in Springfield is Edward Thayer. He has been
a merchant in that town ever since I first went there, and was
engaged in business some years before that, I believe. His father
was living when I first went to Springfield, and was a very refined,
cultivated, elegant Eastern gentleman. Mr. Thayer, although over
ninety-five, still seems to enjoy the best of health, and attends
his store every day.
The present Governor of Illinois, the Hon. Charles S. Deneen,
although a citizen of Chicago, has lived in Springfield for nearly
six years, during his incumbency of office. Governor Deneen has
had a very successful public career. He has creditably filled
every public office which he has held. I have been interested in
him, not only on his own account, but on account of his father,
whom I knew well and whom I respected highly. Years ago I obtained
his appointment in the consular service, in which he served during
the Harrison administration. Governor Deneen has taken a prominent
part in public affairs in Cook County and has held several responsible
positions there. He made a splendid State's Attorney of Cook
County. His honor and integrity were above suspicion. His record
as State's Attorney paved the way to the higher office of Governor
of Illinois. He is a conservative man, and has given the State a
conservative administration. Unfortunately he has had difficulties
with the Legislature, but on the whole I regard his administration
as a successful and creditable one. Governor Deneen and I are the
only two men in the history of the State who have been honored by
its people by being re-elected to succeed themselves as Governor.