The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-01-31
The Great Impeacher.

of the Cincinnati Commercial, furnishcs'thes
following personal sketch; .''99r
There is no man in the present Com
gress who has succeeded better in t'get.1
ting his name into the papers," thanlMt.
James M. Ashley, of the Toledo districtsi'
To advertise himself as extensively in con-r
nection with patent medicine as he has,
been advertised gratuitously in conncc,r
tion with his Observation-Disclosures
have cost him half million at least, and,
then it would be the pills or the lozenges.
or the powders that would have been
known; whereas, now it's the doctors-s;
The personal history of the great lmss
peacher is interesting; especially as It /,
shows sort of consistent inconsistency,
from the first to last-if Lean say "last"
at the present time, as wish I-could.-s.
Mr.. Ashley. commenced life as an .advensE
turer, and his last public effort is in beau.s
tiful harmony with that characteristics
He saw the light of this wicked world on 7
the 14th of November, 1924, and is. con4q
sequently in the forty third year Of his.
age. When, he was. sweet fifteen he's
started from his home in Pennsylvania .
for the Great West. His first employ;i,
ment was as clerk ON trading boat on
the Mississippi. He went down to New
Orleans and back again several times,
driving sharp bargains with the piantas"
ton darkes in the exchange for scalicos
and jewelry for the products of the farm..:s
Wonder lift was while thus engaged THAI.
he imbibed that strong love OF liberty
which has since been the master passion
in his breast? He got tired of the, ,trarf
ding business after awhile, and cast ana,
chor in that haven of all adventurous
youths-a printing Office. Men who are
unfit for the printing business always 60
to studying law, and Ashley was no ex-
ception to the rule. He studied law Tor :,
a while, but still hadn't found his forte,
and was determined to find that or perish .
in the attempt. So he tried boat-building
on the Mississippi. Here again he was
unlucky, and had the misfortune to lose; I.
all the profits of his trade with the planta-
tion niggers. =. ...,,l,
He went back to the law again, but
didn't stick to it. His next move was to
go to Toledo, and start a, paper Gen, Jim
Steadmar loahed him fifty or hundred
dollars, and he made his debut as the edi.,
tor of Democratic journal, showing those !,
strong principles of liberty, and SO forth,
which he had imbibed from the fatboat
traffic, hadn't yet permeated his system.
However, he failed as an editor very
soon, and toreswore Democracy and edit.
ing at one and the same time. Next he
went into the drug business in Toledo,
but he soon s~amped himself in that too.
Perhaps the people were afraid to trustia e
man with such variegated experience as 2
his to make, up their prescriptions. What :,
is more natural than man who had run
fatbost, sold pinchbeck jewelry tothe'
negroes along the Mississippi; half learned
the printing business, failed as b boat
builder. studied law, ruii a paper into .theii
ground, and failed in the drug business
run for Congress. Ashley itupon this
expedient as the only possible thing to
save him from the poor house, and he sue.
ceeded He has been in Congress eight
years, and has two more years still aheadH
of him.a -.'s = p .'.9f e,
In personal appearance, the great Ims
peacher is quite respectable: Those who
have noticed his large head and bushya
hair. and who remembers the impression
of firss glance ut Stephen A. Douglas,'
will have noticed some similarity. The
likeness does not penetrate below the
skull, I am sorry to say, but still there
are points about the head and face of the
great iImpeacher that remind one of
Douglas. A. stranger coming to WASH
ington and visiting the House gallery,
will soon notice Asilley-he can't very
we'll help it. He will see somebody rush-
ing around among the. aisles, and talking
to this member and that member, and aps1,
parently burdened with the whole bust.
ness of the establishment. and if he'll ask
who is that he'll be told that it's Ashley.
A gentleman was once trying to bring
the identity of the Toledo member to the
mind of lady: He tried to describe him
as small man, and fat man, and a light.
haired man, and curly-headed man, and
a clean-shaved man, and man with a
great, round head; but all to no purpose.
until the lady own. recollection came to
her assistance, and she exclaimed, in q
sort of "eureka" transport: "Oh, 'yesl
You mean that gentleman who was run
ming around the floor; and saying sMr.
Speaker every. once in while, but never
could get recognized" That was he, ,ex-s
actly; the very man, "sayingG e. MIR. Speaker,
much all he ever can get chance to say,
for he tries to make 30 many speeches
that members are constantly on guard
against him to prevent his making one.
Of late he has hecome very unpopular i'm
the House. Jealousy, no doubt. There
are go many men in Congress who want
to be party leaders, that it is no wonder
they should all unite to make commons
cause against towering genius like Ash
ley: Schentk, Bingham, Stevens. and a
host of others are "after him." as the say
inc is. In studied purpose to ignore him.