The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-06-29
A Plealnnt Home Picture.
5OrrespOndence Cincinnati Commercial.


Happening, the other day, to be in
iAshtabula, and learning we were with
In ten miles of the home of Ben. Wade,
we determined to avail ourself of an
Invitation, extended by that gentleman
more than a year ago, to visit him at
his home. A dusty ride over plank
road, in numbering old stage, and in
two hours we were set down before The
hotel in the little village of Jefferson
which was the home OF Joshua r. Gid
dings, and is where Ben. Wade, for
more than thirty years, has resided.
Jefferson is a little inland town of less
than one thousand inhabitants, and q
dreary enough looking placeto produce
great men; nevertheless 1t has furnish
ed more men of note than any other
place in the State of Ohio, except Gin
cinnati. ..-ltaa 40
We found the venerab BILE statesman at
| a law office, surrounded by the village
lawyers, with whom he was joking,
laughing, talking and telling stories
as only an old backwoodsnan can.
| Poor Mr.. Lincoln, how he loved to tell
stories of the days when he was fiat
boatman, or split rails in Illinois. So
MI. Wade will sit for hours and talk OF
the time when he drove cattle to New
York, dug on the Erie Canal with a
spade, or chopped cord-wood in Ohio.
Storytelling, by the way, is decidedly
a weakness of our Western statesmen,
and nothing delights them so much as
log-cabin dinner, or jog of forty
miles in an old-fashioned four-horse
stage coach.
! Mr.. Wade invited us TO his house, near
by, and there introduced us to his fam
| lily, which consists of wife, two sons,
and a daughter.iD law, who is the wife
of his eldest son, George Wade.
| Mr.. Wade lives in plain white frame
/ Ii hn
surrounded by ample grounds. Every
thing about him is like the man, plain
| but substantial. In the lot near the
| house stands his Office, or "den," as the
! family familiarity term 1t, and here, for
more than thirty years, when not in
Congress, Mr.. Wade has passed most OF
| his time. Entering it with the Senator,
| we found two rooms, the floors lined
| from floor to ceiling with bookcases,
F. filled with books, This library con-
tains nothing but public documents,
maps and charts, and is the most com
plete in the country, embracing all in
| formation concerning the Government,
from its foundation to the present day.
"Nile's Register" "Madison's Notes, "
| Knox's Reports" and many other
books long since out of print, can be
found there.
| A carpet, lounge, an old-fashioned
arm chair, u few common chairs, Ia
pIeted the furniture OF the rooms, which
| seemed dreary and lonely enough in
their isolated solitude.
Begging us to be seated, the Senator
at once began to tell us about his late
trip West, and the immense country he
had travelled over. The towns, cities,
roads, land, climate, water, timber,
minerals, all he had seen was rapidly
related to us and with a power and per-
ception we have never seen equaled.
/ The Pacific Railroad eScites his euthu-
siasm, and he emphatically pro-
nounced 1t one of the greatest enter
prises of modern times. He gave US a
minute account ofthe manner and ra-
pidity with which it is built. The road
bed men. the tie-cutters, supply trains,
the rail men, the spike men, the meas
urers, all appeared visibly before US,
and we were soon convinced that Mr.
Wade had seen more in his one trip
West than we had in three trips, and u
considerable residence there to boot.
We asked Mr.. Wade about his Law
renee speech, and happening to have q
New York Times in our pocket, we
read to him the report of the speech in
that paper, and what the editor said ol
II. At the conclusion of the reading the
old Senator laughed heartily and said
THAT is very garbled account, and
the editor purposely mtsunderstands
me. Why, sir, if you would make an
EQUITABLE distribution of all the proper
tV in the United States to-day among
the people, in five years it would agalT
be in the hands OF few men. SUCH 8
measure would not be just, nor would
it be of any practicable advantage Il
the poor people If done. The editor:
and CORES pondents who have beer
writing about my speech know very
thing as the distribution of property ol
of disturbing, in any way, property
we then asked him if he would no
contradict the erroneous reports mad
of his speech. he said:
"No; L don't care what they say abou
me. I never read my own~speeches, o.
contradict any thing that Is said abou
@But," said we, "what they are say
ing about your speech is iniuring you
prospects for the Presidency"
He laughed heartily, and replied
"My dear sir, I do not seek that office
never sought any office, and neye
will. have served the people only be
cause they wished me to, and not OF my
own choosing. II is thirty years sine
began public life. am an old man
as you see, and need rest"
1t is certainly true that Mr.. Wade ha
never sought office, his election in al
cases having been the voluntary actor
of the people, or their representatives
We urged the venerable Senator to Civ
us his views on the labor question, ant
, he did SO at great length, saying among
other things ''that system of Iabo
which degrades the poor man and ele
Yates the rich; which makes the rtcl
richer and the poor poorer: which drag
the very soul out of the poor man Tor
pitiful existence, is wrong, we mus
elevate the laborer and give him shar
in the proceeds of his labor"
. We asked him how that was TO b.
done, and he said:
at don't know; 1 have thought mucl
upon the subject, but cannot solve II
The man who successfully solves tina
problem will do more for the worlC
than any man that has lived in 1t sine
ltheLdays of Christ"
we asked him if he had no idea
about the matter?
Eyes" he replied, "many, but nom
worthy of so great subject. believe
however, that the shadow OF the grea
lstrupgleis upon us, and we must NEE
iT There is deep discomfort among
The masses, and they will shortly de
mand that their condition be mad
more comfortable. Both in this ooun
try and in England, there is a restless
nsss n feverish excitement, a-discon
.tentedness with their lot among th
poor classes that we can not dlsregaro
The people want more TeOreatioDi NOR
enjoyment; they are casting about 70
relief from their monpton o9si ana nan
It," asezsS H 80
n -p- nIav, F,f