Litchfield enquirer., 1865-06-29
WHOLE NO. 2O96.
2 is..,.g!l t-.l ..t aE -LI ' m
 JIM LANE OF KANSAS.

l Closely connected with Kansas politics. and on your tongue half the time when that is the topic, is James H. Lane. The person who picks him up for anything but a man of com mandng intellect, will be very likely to get his fingers burned. No man who is fool, or half a fool could so thoroughly take possession ofa State as he has taken possession of Kansas; so hold at his will the gateway to all it's posi- tions of trust and honor: so identify himself With 1t that when you speak of one you inevi- tably think of the other, and so shape and mould it. That he has acquired and done allthis, simply by the force of intellect, do not, of course mean. All ajuggler's art, all the delft management by which one man is played off against another all the uses to which human weakness can be put, and by which mems am- bition, spite, avarice, zeal and blindness can be played upon as a harp of thousand strings he has it all.
 Every joker in Kansas is full of spicy little gems from his speeches, everybody laughs at travesties on his extravagant style of oratory, on stories of his broken promises on his gross, open and palpable lies; and everybody is ready waiting and anxious to be fooled again by the same man. You see him get off the boat on his arrival home-no welcome, nobody glad to see him; everybody has been plotting to beat him but his electric presence magnetizes all minds, foils all schemes-he again rides on the whirlwind and dir ects che storm. He is tall, muscular, and singularly plain in his looks his voice is cracked and harsh, his' gesticulation awkward; but he beats all the rabble rousers' you ever heard. He has introduced into the newspaper literature and stump eloquence of Kansas all those phrases;which denote blood thirstiness and rampant spirit of murder and riot abroad. A few desperate men take cour- age by it for unlawful deeds, few mimic him because they are his adorers, but the great body of the people understand it for what it is worth and never practice what they so loudly applaud. Jim occasionally iolns the Methodist Church. the event generally occurring just previous to election, ,and then his speeches grow redundant with pulpit cant Some of my enemies he said, accuse me of irreligious principles and of profanity. My God What, Jim Lane an ir- religious man Why, I never swore in my life
 Yes,, though, (in tragic bass) once-once It was at the head of my Indiana Regiment, in Mexico, at the battle of Buena Vista, (pro- nounced by Jim, Bony Wisty,) looked to my front, and there was acres and acres of Mexi- cans; to my rear and there their cavalry was drawn up, their gorgeous panoply, their richly caparisoned steeds and murderous spears glist- ening in tEe morning sun, and to my right and my left were more (tragic bass again) acres and acres of Mexicans. Then, in the excitement of the moment, and tor-getful (accent on 'for') of my religions principles, exclaimed to my brave Indiana boys, (a shrill tenor) Charge on em, a-d d--m lem, charge on lem ? (tragic bass) the only time eoer swore in nag hfe.'
 And pious men thought him an athlete of the faith, and wondered that amid so many tempta- tions their hero had, fallen but orce
 Jim Lane, in ability, in indomitable will, in energy that commands success, and in brains which everybody worshps, stands high among the first men of the country To be sure, it may be said that to be big man in Kansas, is not to be big man everywhere, and that al- most anybody may be giant among pigmies and the judgement of many may be like that of a wit on Fred. Douglass, he is an orator among niggers, and nigger among orators But tell you, as said before, let those who so think, be careful that in picking up Jim Lane for a fool they do not get their fingers burned. His influence at Washington is as great at it is at home and the control of all mat ters there, relating to Kansas, rests as implic- itly in his hands as do the results of the Repub- lican caucus in his-own town. Lanes recom- mendation is indispensable to every ofice-seek- CT; and he sometimes plays shrewd tricks on bores by giving his endorsement. and then per sonally visiting the Department to which the application was addressed, and by some excuse, as "a mistake in the name, or facts subsequent ly ascertained' withdraw the approval, and forever squelch the hopes of the aspirant which is by him attributed to the proverbial ingratitude of Republics, or to any other reason but Lanes faithlessness. And at the next Convention he will roll up his sleeves, and fight till he is tired, and hurrah till he is hoarse for Jim Lane. . .-.-. B6T This story is related of Dutch jus tice, residing in the pleasant valley of the Hudson. .s-s t.s.aia.r..' s.s
 He kept small tavern. and was not re- markable for the acuteness of his mental per' captions, nor would it appear was one of bis customers much better off in the matter of gumption One morning man stepped in and bought bottle of small beer. Hestood talking few minutes, and soon said..--
 'Pm sorry purchased this beer. wish you would exchange it for some crackers and cheese to the same amount aas tall,asf
 The simple boniface readily assented, and the man took the plate of crackers and cheese and ate them As he was going out the land lord hesitatingly reminded him that he hadn't paid for them. I 8sa 5eaI f15 VI
 Yes, l did ? said the customer; I gave | you the beer for them.
 We'll, den, knowsh dat; but den you l hQunn'f cpiv Ic..