LEADERS AND MEASURES.
Fourteen years after the surrender of Appomattox, the Republicans
surrendered in the Capitol at Washington and passed into the
minority. President Grant having failed in his severe Southern
policy, President Hayes tried conciliation. Never did a President
enter upon his duties with more sincere good-will for every section.
There was displayed in every act of the incoming Administration a
kindliness toward Southern men and Southern interests that almost
aroused a jealousy in the North. It was not an affectation on the
part of the President, but a true and honest sentiment. The good-
will experiment was not quickly made. It took a long time to
determine results, and even after the uncompromising spirit of the
Southern Democrats had become apparent President Hayes was slow to
pronounce the plan a failure. It had seemed to him the only hope
of making the South peaceful and prosperous, and he had determined
to give it a full trial.
It was evident that the Democrats would have in the Senate of the
Forty-sixth Congress that majority that had passed from them in
that body when many of its curule chairs were vacated by those who
went into the Rebellion. The Democrats in the House of the Forty-
fifth Congress, by refusing to make the necessary appropriation
for the support of the army, rendered an extra session necessary.
When Congress met, on the 18th of March, 1879, the Democrats had
a majority of ten in the Senate, and over twenty in the House.
Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, was recognized by the Democrats in the
Senate as their leader. He was a broad-shouldered, sturdily built
man, with a large square head and ruddy complexion, gray hair and
beard, and a positive manner that commanded respect. Earnest,
outspoken, and free in his criticisms of men and manners, he would
wave his red bandana pocket handkerchief like a guidon, give his
nose a trumpet-blast, take a fresh pinch of snuff, and dash into
the debate, dealing rough blows, and scattering the carefully
prepared arguments of his adversaries like chaff. When he sat down
he would signal to a Republican friend, and they would leave the
Senate Chamber by different doors and meet in a committee-room,
where there was a supply of old Bourbon whisky.
Senator Bayard, of Delaware, who was also prominent in the Democratic
ranks, never forgot that he was the descendant of a long line of
eminent statesmen. Tall and straight, his movements were graceful,
and his cleanly shaven face and iron-gray hair were classic in
beauty. Broad in intellect, he was patient and courteous in debate,
rarely losing his dignity or his temper.
Senator Beck, of Kentucky, enjoyed the rare advantage of being
ineligible to the Presidential chair, and he did not consequently
feel hampered by what he might add in debate to his "record." He
was a stalwart, farmer-like looking man, with that overcharged
brain which made his tongue at times falter because he could not
utter what his furious, fiery eloquence prompted. Entirely different
in personal appearance and manner was Senator Pendleton, of Ohio,
whose courteous deportment had won him the appellation of "Gentleman
George," and who adorned every subject on which he spoke. Senator
Saulsbury, of Delaware, a spare, grim, uncompromising bachelor,
with a tall, slender figure like that of Thomas Jefferson, would
have made a glorious Puritan leader, and Senator Pinckney Whyte,
of Maryland, a gentleman by birth and education, was evidently
restive at times under the political restraint of the party "bosses"
in his State.
Senator Cockrell, of Missouri, was an able lawyer, who had the good
sense not to parade his gallant services in the Confederate army,
and who was ever on the watch for some extravagant appropriation.
He, with Ransom, of North Carolina, and other Confederate brigadiers,
saw opposite to them, as their equal, Senator Bruce, of Mississippi,
round-faced, bright-eyed, and sepia-hued, the emancipated slave
who had reached the full stature of citizenship through the flame
of battle that discomfited them.
Another eloquent debater was Senator Lamar, of Mississippi, whose
influence in molding public opinion at the South had been as healthy
as it had been powerful. Senator Vest, youthful in appearance,
was a fiery speaker, and always ready for a tilt with an opponent.
The swarthy features of Senator Logan, of Illinois, with his long,
coal-black hair and moustache, stood out like a charcoal sketch
against the gilded wall of the Senate, and he seemed as ready to
meet his political opponents as he had been at the head of his
brigade to charge the enemy.
On the other side of the Senate Chamber the _pater Senatus_ was
Governor Anthony, of Rhode Island, a man of gracious presence and
kind heart, whose eyes were dimmed, but who had not lost the fire
and brilliancy which had characterized his early editorial and
Senatorial life. Senator Hamlin, of Maine, was the eldest in years
on the floor, and yet he did not display the first sign of the
weakness of advancing age. Tall, slightly round-shouldered, always
wearing a black dress coat, and never an overcoat, he was a remarkably
well-preserved man. His forehead was somewhat wrinkled, his black
eyes gleamed with vigorous vitality, and his large mouth, with its
massive under jaw, was not concealed by a moustache or beard. He
rarely spoke, but when he took the floor he always had something
to say worth hearing, and he was always listened to.
Senator Edmunds, of Vermont, was an able man and a good lawyer,
remarkably well posted in the current literature of the day.
Another man learned in the law was the ponderous Senator Davis, of
Illinois, who had left the Supreme Court for the Senate, thinking
it was the better avenue to the White House, and whose political
views were bounded by his personal ambition.
Senator Conkling, of New York, was then at the height of his
brilliant Congressional career. Able, high-bred, and stately, he
had defeated his home rival, Fenton, and he now claimed the disposal
of the New York patronage that he might use it to secure the re-
election of General Grant, to be followed by his own elevation to
the Presidential chair. The words, "conciliation of enemies," were
not in his vocabulary, yet no Senator had so many tried and trusty
friends. Another prominent lawyer was Matt. Carpenter, of Wisconsin,
one side of whom as described by Charles Sumner when he called him
a "jester," while Mr. Edmunds, by a ready pun, as aptly described
the other side of him by declaring that the Senator from Massachusetts
probably meant a "sug-gester." Retaining the dragoon swagger,
which he had acquired at West Point, a jovial nature, indifferent
to the decorum of public life, he seemed to have been tossed into
the Senate, where other people had with difficulty found their way
by hard climbing or by costly purchase.
Senator Ingalls, of Kansas, whose remarks were a stream of epigram,
eloquence, and euphony, delicately flavored with sarcasm, often
showed a keen appreciation of the ridiculous. Remarkably well
informed, and able to command the information in the storehouse of
his brain, he never ranted, rarely gesticulated, and his ceremoniously
polite excoriations of opponents were like dropping hot lead upon
sore places. Very different was Senator Burnside, of Rhode Island,
who was known as the "Kaiser William," and whose martial aspect
indicated his straightforward honesty of purpose. He was at times
restive under the trammels of parliamentary rule, and would speak
his mind, no matter who was troubled thereby.
Senator Dawes, of Massachusetts, with clean-shaven cheeks and
puritanical earnestness, had been transplanted from the House of
Representatives with Senator Allison, of Iowa, a man of rare
financial ability, who afterward took a prominent part in the
proceedings of the Senate. Then there was Senator Plumb, of Kansas,
earnest and straightforward, of whom it was said that he was "Western
from the hem of his short pantaloons to the comfortable slouch of
his hat."
Senator Blaine, of Maine, was one of the youngest Senators, yet
when he rose to speak all listened. Compactly and strongly built,
with a commanding figure, prominent features, watchful, gray-hazel
eyes, and a rich, manly voice, he was very ready in debate. When
the army bill was up, and it was argued that the South was in danger
of intimidation, he showed the absurdity of such a position by
giving the exact numbers of troops then stationed in each State:
"And the entire South has eleven hundred and fifty-five soldiers
to intimidate, overrun, oppress, and destroy the liberties of
fifteen million people! In the Southern States there are twelve
hundred and three counties. If you distribute the soldiers evenly
there is not quite one for each county; when I give the counties,
I give them from the census of 1870. If you distribute them
territorially, there is one for every seven hundred square miles
of territory, so that if you make a territorial distribution, I
would remind the honorable Senator from Delaware, if I saw him in
his seat, that the quota of his State would be three, 'one ragged
sergeant and two abreast,' as the old song has it. That is the
force ready to destroy the liberties of Delaware!"
In the House of Representatives that sturdy Democratic champion,
Samuel J. Randall, of Philadelphia, was elected Speaker, receiving
one hundred and forty-three votes against one hundred and twenty-
five votes for James A. Garfield, and thirteen votes for Hendrick
B. Wright. The Democrats were ably led by Carlisle and Blackburn,
of Kentucky; by Morrison and Sparks, of Illinois; by Reagan and
Mills, of Texas; by the stately Fernando Wood, of New York, and by
Mr. Sam. Cox, who reminded one of those jocular festivities of
mediaeval times, when the Abbot of Misrule took possession of his
masters and issued his merry orders superciliously to those with
whose insults his ears were still tingling.
On the Republican side were Aldrich, Conger, Frye, Hawley, and
Lapham, qualifying themselves for service in the Senate; the burly
Robeson, ready to defend his acts as Secretary of the Navy; Judge
Kelley, of Philadelphia, who had come down from a former generation;
Rainey and Smalls, emancipated men and brethren; the witty Tom.
Reed, of Maine, who was always happy in his sarcasms; the able and
effective Frank Hiscock, of New York, the effective Ben. Butterworth,
of Ohio, with others known to fame, constituting a strong House,
fresh from the people, and bringing their latest will.
The Democratic Congress again attached to the bill making appropriations
for the support of the army an irrelevant piece of legislation
aimed directly at the purity of the ballot, thinking that the
President, who had so evidently desired to conciliate the South,
would not dare to offend it by refusing his official approval. To
their surprise, he returned the bill to Congress with a veto message,
so dispassionate, yet so entirely covering the case, that it threw
the Democratic majorities in Congress into confusion, and forced
them to abandon the programme they had marked out. They consoled
themselves by turning out nearly all of the officers of the Senate,
many of whom were old and faithful servants, and dividing the places
thus made vacant among their relatives and henchmen.
President Hayes, by his succession of vetoes, restored _l'entente
cordiale_ between himself and the greater portion of the Republican
members of Congress. His pure patriotism, his high rectitude of
intention, and his personal virtues had never been doubted, and
when he was again found acting in accord with the party that elected
him, it was believed that he would be carried pleasantly through
his embarrassing duties, and that his civil success would match
his exploits in arms.
The opera of "Pinafore" became all the rage at Washington, as
elsewhere. It was performed at theatres by church choirs, by
amateurs, by a colored company, and finally by some juvenile
vocalists belonging to the very first families at the West End.
Generally speaking, vocalists, especially of the feminine persuasion,
have scruples about giving their ages, but on the programmes of
this company the ages of the performers were printed opposite to
their names. Sir Joseph Porter was personated by Aleck McCormick,
a son of Commissioner McCormick, aged twelve; Miss Betty Ordway,
aged eleven, was Josephine; Miss Mary Wilson, aged ten, was charming
as Little Buttercup; Willie Wilson, aged eleven, was Captain
Corcoran; Dick Wallack, aged eleven, was a good Ralph Rackstraw,
and Daisy Ricketts, demurely attired as Aunt Ophelia, was primly
"splendid." The sisters, the cousins, and the aunts, the sailors,
and especially the marine guard, were all represented. The singing
was tolerable and the acting generally bad, but the performance
was nevertheless enjoyed by the crowded audience. The little people
eclipsed the colored choir, and were equal to at least half of the
professional combinations.
[Facsimile]
RoscoeConkling
ROSCOE CONKLING was born at Albany, New York, October 30th, 1829;
studied law and commenced practice at Utica in 1846; was Mayor of
Utica in 1858; was a Representative in Congress, December 5th, 1859
- March 3d, 1867; was a United States Senator from March 3d, 1867,
until his resignation on the 16th of May, 1881; removed to New York
City, and entered upon the practice of his profession.