with a power to sway men, had an eye to details the most minute, business
acumen, familiarity with public affairs, patience to labor and to wait,
and not least of all, physical endurance. He was an extraordinary man, and
no governor has had more odds to encounter, nor has one ever met his
obligation with more fidelity. With the state palsied in every pulse by
misrule and wanton waste, he seized the reins, and from the outset guided
the affairs of the commonwealth with the skill of a trained statesman.
The slogan of the time was retrenchment and reform. This alliterative
legend was the watchword of the incoming administration. He met the issue
like a combatant in the arena. He came not with empty demonstrations. No
profuse promises filled the air. It was not promise that was needed, but
performance. The tremendous task was assumed, and its execution has made
the name of Houston forever famous in the chronicles of Alabama. Whatever
others may have done, none have done more for Alabama than George S.
Houston. Pre-eminent as his greatness was, Mr. Houston was not unschooled
in the affairs of the public when he was called to the chair of the
governorship, in 1874. He had seen much of public life. Beginning life as
a lawyer in 1831, he was made a legislator the next year, then came a
career as a solicitor in his district, and within ten years after entering
on public life he was sent to congress. His career in congress was a
prolonged and notable one. With one slight intermission he was retained in
congress for eighteen years, extending from 1841 to 1859. It was generally
conceded in his district that he was an invincible candidate, for one
after another of some of the most prominent men of the district were
defeated by him, and some of them more than once.
His congressional career was distinguished by his positions as chairman of
military affairs, chairman of the ways and means committee, and chairman
of the judiciary. If this distinction has been exceeded by any one, the
instance is not recalled. Certainly up to that time it had never been true
of any other, and was a matter of comment at the time.
Politically, Mr. Houston was a Unionist and, therefore, opposed to the
war. In this he was not unlike many others. But Unionist as he was, he
suffered along with the others from the disastrous invasion to which North
Alabama was subjected, declining with characteristic firmness to take the
oath of allegiance to the United States government. Though honored by the
people of Alabama with an election to the senate in 1865, his seat was
denied him at Washington and he practiced law in Athens till 1874, when he
was triumphantly elected governor of the state, under the conditions
already described. He made a heroic canvass of the state, and greatly
impressed the people everywhere with his peculiar fitness for the position
for which he had been nominated.
It is related that on one occasion, when Mr. Houston was to speak in a new
town in the interior, the people of the town and of the region round about
were all agog over the disposal of the great candidate on his arrival.
There was but one painted dwelling in the town, and that belonged to a
well-to-do widow, who took it in a complimentary way that her home should
be selected for the entertainment of the distinguished visitor. The day of
the speaking arrived, and so did the speaker. The town was filled with
country folk, drawn together to see and hear the man about which so much
was being said. On his arrival, Mr. Houston was taken to "the white
house," where a sumptuous dinner awaited him. He was assigned to one end
of the table, while the hostess occupied the other, no others being
present except the waiters. Mr. Houston was invited with genuine country
hospitality by the good woman, "Now, just help yourself, you see what's
before you." Mr. Houston was an excellent converses and while keeping up a
fusillade of conversation, he nibbled at the food, but really ate but
little. Though hungry, and not without ample gastronomical powers, Mr.
Houston ate quite moderately. He soon finished the meal, and in wonder
that her guest should prize her elaborate spread so lightly, the
hospitable hostess rather chided him with, "Why, you don't eat anything. I
got you the best dinner I could, and here it is, you don't eat." With
characteristic courtliness, Mr. Houston said, "Madame, should I follow the
dictates of my inclination, I should eat everything you have on your
table. I have never tasted food that was better, and it requires restraint
for me not to indulge to the fullest. But do you see that big crowd out
yonder. I have to speak at once, and be away to another appointment for
tonight. Should I eat as I am tempted, I should be too full for
utterance." "Well, now," said the good woman, "that's what I've often
hearn 'em say, an empty barrel sounds the loudest." Governor Houston used
to relate this incident with great gusto.
Many were the anecdotes related of him as the retrenchment and reform
governor of the state. One of these illustrates the rigid management of
affairs, under Governor Houston. It was reported to him that the wells for
the supply of water on the capitol grounds were in an unsavory condition
and needed to be rid of their unwholesome water, each of which contained a
great deal. He caused it to be known that he was seeking one who would do
the work at the lowest figure of clearing out the wells. The cheapest
offer made was $7. The economic genius cudgelled his brain a bit, and the
happy thought occurred to him of inviting the fire companies of the city
to enter a contest on the capitol grounds, and so the invitation was
extended to them to come to the capitol, and in the presence of the
governor test their rival ability in seeking to throw the water highest on
the dome.
The day was appointed, due notice of the contest given, and a crowd
assembled to witness the proceedings. The full wells were placed at their
disposal, and streams and jets of water played toward the summit of the
dome. When it was over the governor, as an interested spectator, appeared
before the successful contestant, made a speech on the value of fire
companies, lauded the merits of the company that threw the water highest,
and amid yells, the crowd dispersed. The wells were cleansed, the fire
companies pleased, and $7 saved to the treasury of Alabama in vindication
of a policy of retrenchment and reform. His policy arrested ruin in
Alabama, restored confidence, re-established the credit of the state, and
started it on a fresh career of prosperity.
Governor Houston was honored by an election to the United States senate,
but died before he could enter on his duties, his death occurring at
Athens on January 17, 1879.
JOHN T. MORGAN
Among the many distinguished sons of Alabama, none is held in higher or
more deserving esteem, than the late Senator John Tyler Morgan. He was a
man eminent of gifts, of the highest culture, and of reigning ability.
Patriot, statesman, jurist, orator, he was all of these in a pre-eminent
sense, the recognition of which was shown in many instances, and through a
long succession of years. The record of no man produced by the state is
more interwoven into Alabama history than is that of this distinguished
citizen. Nor is his fame based on other than on superior merit.
Not less distinguished is he in the annals of the nation. For a long
period of years, Mr. Morgan was retained in the National Senate, a tower
of strength, the acknowledged leader of southern statesmanship, the equal
of any in the country. A great constitutional lawyer, he stood the chief
exponent and champion of the constitution in the senate of the United
States.
An arduous and industrious worker, his labors in behalf of Alabama were
unremitting during a long term of years. The sturdy Welsh blood in his
veins gave to him a steadfastness of poise, together with an immensity of
reserve force which was meted out only in response to demand. Never
spasmodic or impulsive, but steady and ready, he responded always with
gigantic ability, and with a power exercised in such way as to be most
effective. Possessed of a wide compass of valuable information, which
sought expression in facility and fluency of diction, Morgan came to be a
source of authority in the senate. When he spoke, all men listened with
profound respect.
The name of Morgan descends from Revolutionary times, during which period
it was represented by the famous General Daniel Morgan, who was among the
distinguished officers of the first American army. Along the years of the
history of America the name appears in different connections and always
with credit. General John H. Morgan, the daring Confederate cavalry
leader, was a kinsman of Senator John T. Morgan. The family was noted for
its longevity, the father of Senator Morgan dying at the advanced age of
ninety-four.
Mr. Morgan pursued his legal studies under his brother-in-law, William P.
Chilton. With the same assiduity with which he did all that he undertook,
he addressed himself to the acquisition of the profound principles of the
law. From the beginning, he was a most diligent student, a skillful
pleader, and a successful advocate. His first appearance in public life
was on the occasion of the Alabama convention which chose delegates to the
famous Charleston convention in 1860. The state convention of that
particular date was composed of the giants of the state. Morgan was then
just thirty-six years old, and his ability was unknown save in the local
courts in which he practiced.
Sent as a delegate from Dallas County to the convention already named, he
had just entered the hall when he heard his name called by the secretary
as the chairman of the committee on credentials. He had heard much in the
corridors of the hotels where the air was vibrant with the discussion of
contesting delegations, in which discussions many of the most prominent
men of the state shared. Devoted to his profession, he had never taken any
active share in public questions, but was interested in the informal
discussions.
On hearing the announcement of his name on entering the hall, he mounted a
chair, addressed the presiding officer, and was about to decline the honor
of the chairmanship, when Judge George W. Stone pulled his coat and begged
him not to finish his sentence as he had begun it, but to change it and
call his committee together. Yielding to the judgment of his senior
friend, he did as he was bidden.
The work of the committee was both laborious and irksome, and many
delicate and sensitive features were involved in the task committed to Mr.
Morgan. There was no avoidance of a storm on its presentation. The storm
followed its submission. The young advocate, all unknown to the body,
mingled in the forensic fray in a manly defense of his report, and so ably
was it sustained by his power of presentation of the reasons for its
adoption, and so tactfully did he parry the blows of the giants who came
against him in the contest, that the question was heard all around--"Who
is Morgan?" The brilliancy of his oratory, and the skill which he
exhibited in debate, caught the attention of the public on that occasion,
and he never again sank from view till his remains were deposited in the
tomb.
His ability established on that occasion led to his becoming an elector in
the approaching presidential contest in behalf of Breckenridge and Lane.
An elector for the state at large, he canvassed Alabama throughout, and
came to be known first, as an orator of great resource and power. This, in
turn, led to his choice as a member of the secession convention of
Alabama.
When the war began, he became major of the Fifth Alabama Regiment, and on
the reorganization of the regiment, was chosen lieutenant colonel of that
command. Authorized by the war department to raise a cavalry regiment, he
returned to Alabama and did so. Going with his new regiment to the western
army, he was later assigned to the headship of the conscript bureau in
Alabama, according to the request of the Alabama delegation in congress.
Later still, he was notified by General R. E. Lee that he had been made a
brigadier general and assigned to the command of Rode's old brigade. While
on his way to the Virginia front, he learned in Richmond of the death of
Colonel Webb, who had been associated with him in raising the cavalry
regiment, and that he (Morgan) had been elected again to the colonelcy of
the regiment. On learning this, he declined the offered promotion in the
Army of Northern Virginia, and returned. He was again made a brigadier
general, and toward the close of the war was in the command of a division
in the Tennessee army.
During the period of the reconstruction, General Morgan became the most
sturdy and famous champion of the people of Alabama, and greatly endeared
himself to them by his incessant labor in resisting the encroachments on
their rights. When, at last the power of reconstruction was broken, he
was, in 1876, elected to the national senate to succeed the notorious
George E. Spencer. From that time till his death, he was the political
idol of the Democratic party in the state of Alabama. For full thirty
years he served with distinguished ability in the senate, and died in the
harness of a statesman.
One of the chief characteristics of Senator Morgan was his ability to
think with unerring accuracy on his feet. His ability to husband rapidly
his resources was remarkable. Nor in presenting these resources was there
ever a lack of classic diction. His chaste elegance commanded the
attention of every listener, especially since it was voiced in musical
tones. His power of application and his tenacity came to be known as
dominant factors of his life. Once enlisted in a cause, he espoused it
with undiminished zeal to the end. For many years he bent all his energy
toward the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal, and resisted the change
to that of the Panama Canal, and was fearless in his denunciation of the
measures adopted to bring about the change, but was forced to yield to the
numerical strength of partisanship. Another remarkable power which he
possessed was that of physical endurance. During the contest in the senate
over the Force bill he held the floor all night, speaking so as to consume
the time, and thereby prevent the passage of that measure.
Not Alabama alone, but the entire South owes to General Morgan a debt of
gratitude for the fearlessness of his defense of the South when an able
defender was most needed.
With a versatility which seemed without limit, Senator Morgan was always
prepared for any great junctures that might arise. He was equally at home
upon a great constitutional question, an issue of broad policy, or a
tangled principle of international law. His career marks an era of
greatness in the history of the state.
JAMES L. PUGH
For solid and substantial worth without ornament or frippery, no son of
Alabama has surpassed the Hon. James L. Pugh. His presence and bearing and
his conversation and speeches conveyed the same idea. Utterly without
ostentation, he acted and spoke with an evident absence of
self-consciousness.
Mr. Pugh was a man of stable rather than of brilliant qualities, hence he
was an intensely practical man. He was indifferent to nothing of interest,
was never superficial, and regarded everything from the viewpoint of the
practical. He was studious, judicial in his cast of mind, of conservative
temperament, and deliberate of speech. Often animated in public address,
he was never excitable or explosive. His every utterance indicated
deliberation.
The year of his birth was identical with that of the admission of Alabama
into the Union--1819. He came from hardy North Carolina stock, and was
brought by his father to Alabama when he was only four years old. At
eleven he was an orphan boy, a most precarious condition for one so young
in a frontier state. A bare-footed boy, left largely to shift for himself,
he afforded an index of his future worth and greatness, by engaging to
ride the country mail on Saturdays in order to provide means for the
payment of his tuition during the remainder of the week. Later, while yet
a youth, he became a clerk in a dry goods establishment in Eufaula, where
he obtained frugally hoarded means with which to prosecute his studies,
meanwhile looking forward to the law as a profession. After a severe
taxation of strength during the day as a clerk, he would study late at
night, and by such studious application, qualified himself for entrance on
his legal studies. He studied law in the office of John Gill Shorter, who
afterward became governor of Alabama.
After the entrance of Mr. Pugh on the practice of law for a number of
years, he was chosen an elector on the Taylor ticket, and later still, was
a Buchanan elector. Thus, before the people, his way to congress was
opened, and as a member of the house of representatives he was chosen in
1858. The outbreak of the war occurring two years later, like all other
southern members, he withdrew from congress, shared in the secession
sentiment of the state, and was among the first to enlist as a volunteer
from Alabama in the service of the Confederacy. He was enrolled as a
private soldier in the first Alabama regiment of infantry.
He shouldered his musket and went with his command to Pensacola, where he
underwent all the fortunes of a soldier in the ranks, declining any
consideration because of the position which he had held as a member of the
national congress. Numerous were the offers made him by his comrades to
assume his duties, and thus relieve him of hardship, but all this he
politely declined, and met the exactions of military duty with cheerful
alacrity. His position was one that tested his mettle, for often beneath
the blazing sun he was engaged in common with his comrades in throwing up
earthworks. The regiment of which he was a member, was ordered to
Paducah, Kentucky, where he served for a year, when his constituents
recalled him by electing him a member of the Confederate congress. In his
first race he had no opposition, but in the second campaign, in 1863, he
had three opponents, but was a second time elected, and served the state
in the congress of the Confederacy till the downfall of the government. No
one was more loyal to the young government than Mr. Pugh, for there was
not a month, of the four years of its career, that he was not engaged in
its service. After the capitulation of the armies, he returned to Eufaula,
and resumed the practice of law.
An ardent southerner and patriot, he naturally shared in the resistance
against carpetbag rule, and as occasion would demand he would lend
assistance to his struggling people, though he sought no office, but was
rigid in his devotion to his profession. In the memorable contest of 1876,
he was a Tilden elector, and made an active canvass in this and other
states. In 1875, when the backbone of reconstruction was broken, he was
chosen a member of the state constitutional convention, and rendered
valuable service as one of the most prominent members of that body.
In appreciation of worth and service, Mr. Pugh was chosen a National
Senator from Alabama in 1880, and was a yoke-fellow of John T. Morgan in
the senate for the space of eighteen years. It was universally conceded
that no state had a stronger brace of senators than Alabama during that
period of southern rehabilitation. He was not conspicuous as a speechmaker
in the senate chamber, though he was not silent, for as occasion demanded
he was heard, and always effectively. When he did arise to speak, he
commanded universal attention, partly because of the high esteem in which
he was held, and partly because it was understood that when Senator Pugh
spoke it was with well-digested views on measures of great importance. He
retired from the senate in 1897, being at that time seventy-seven years
old, and returned to his home at Eufaula, where he resided till his death.
A review of the career of Mr. Pugh will reveal the fact that in all his
emergencies from private life it was in response to recognized duty. He
was not spectacular, and never relied on his oratory for popular acclaim.
His power before the people lay in his impressiveness as a solid speaker,
for no one could listen to him without the impression of the intensity of
his conviction. Whether always right or not, he believed it, and therefore
spoke. Only when he felt that he could be of service was that service
tendered. No more convincing expression of his patriotism could be
afforded than when as a returned congressman he quietly enlisted as a
private in the ranks of the army, at a time when men vastly inferior to
him were solicitous for commissions. This affords an index of the
sturdiness of the character of Senator Pugh. No position ever held by him
was characterized by other than by the most substantial efficiency. No man
who ever represented Alabama in any sphere was more practically and
patriotically loyal than James Lawrence Pugh.
ANSON WEST
The Rev. Anson West, D.D., was the chief Methodist historian of the state.
While the work of which he is the author properly relates itself to the
history of Methodism in Alabama, there is much collateral history
necessarily embraced within its compass which makes it a valuable
contribution to the archives of the state. In its scope, his history
extends from the earliest settlement of Alabama by the whites, to a period
well within the last decade of the nineteenth century--a span of well nigh
a hundred years.
The history of a people such as the Methodists are, and have been from the
fountain source of statehood, and even before, is not without immense
value. Methodists have been a mighty force in Alabama, and still are, and
the record of their achievements affecting all the orbits of life is a
mighty stimulus, as is all history, for, as Goethe puts it, "The best
thing which we derive from history is the enthusiasm that it raises in
us."
But the service rendered the state by Dr. Anson West is not to be
restricted to his history of Methodism. He was a tower of strength in his
generation, a man of commanding pulpit ability, a scholar of decided
literary taste, and a character possessed of originality of thought and
boldness of expression which challenged admiration, even though it did not
always carry conviction. Not unlike most preachers, especially of the
Methodist and Baptist ranks, of the period when his life dawned into
manhood. Dr. West was a typical polemicist. In those early days of
ecclesiastical controversy, the man who could wield the most trenchant
blade, and deal the heaviest blows, elicited the most popular applause.
Dr. West was a born debater, and every antagonist found him full panoplied
and never averse to vindicate lustily any cause which he might espouse.
Still he was a cultured gentleman, and numbered many friends among those
with whom he denominationally differed. Nor were his disputations directed
alone against those of an opposite school of theology, but within the pale
of his own people his sword was often brandished in the espousal of a view
which he cherished. It was in the field of controversy that Dr. West was
at his best. Happily, those days of controversy, often not conducted in
the gentlest spirit, are well behind us, but the time was when the clash
of ecclesiastical combat resounded the country through. They had the
redeeming value of stimulating thought, producing much literature of a
sort, and creating schools which else would not have been. Not to be a
combatant in those early days, was to be a man of inertness and of narrow
influence.