Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1867-01-25
Esrpub,lcan E'ca Sketches OF n
s'oupIe cS Esrefc;sfa


contains the following very likely sketches
including several incidental cuts nj SIMON
Cameron and the Radical SenEte geEcrllly
rAi7 rosEEY.
What large amount OF influence rornoy
las in pounsl -yania ro.iiics, 10 be sure
lie vrs generous enough 10 decline being a
candidate Ter Senatorial honors, a few weeks
ago. aud to write letter urging the election
OF Thad Stevens. lie caused his withdraw
nj 70 ne ,rlegraphed all over the country,
and wished il to be construed as beautiful
example Of sclf-sacriflcing patriotism
which II certainly would have been had
there been ghost Of Il chance OF his elec>
ton; for there il no way in which man
like Fcrney can serve his country 30 well
as by keeping out Of Office. But when
rornry cale out for Stephens he was elect
ed Of c9urSc-m mere matter Of form 10 count
tho votes "1he weight Of his powerful
iphu,ncc" was enough TO turn the scale,
and that 80 quickly that the poor devils on
the other end would be most rudely upset
Finally forney and Stevens went 10 Harris
burg together, and certainly their presence
oueh, TO have been enough for the purposes
Of an ordinary election. Well. Republi>
can caucus was held while tho d stinguish>
ed Forney was IN Harrisburg. with the
weight OF his influence" and the result, ms
the newspapers tell us to- day, YVES Cameron
lotty six; Stevens, seven. Now, u those
seven. SIX we're personal friends Of old Thad.
md were for him from the commencement
Of the fight. Consequently the weight u
Forney's powerful influence 10 one vote, and
that l am told coDndsntialy was a. Came
ron's disposal, and was only not given for
Cameron because il wasn't wanted. Now
comes the tug Of war for Forncy. Came
ron's election having been secured, Mr..
John ". r., may as well pick up his small
clothes and hc ready TO leave the capitol
building, ior he will bc hunted out OF II Ger
tain, within month after Camerons deiut
IN the Senate There is already n strong
opposition TO him among the Senators, and
nll II needs is komc one to start II into acs
tive form, ir order 10 Gust him from the
Secretary ship. Cameron Ii just the man 10
do this and If he will only do il speedily he
will counter balance with good, much OF the
evil of his own corrupt life. The lcgisla>
turc Of Penns ylvanis has done wisely in re-
fnsirg to be controlled in the choice Of n
Senator lay renegade Democrat, who
year ago wrote letter to Andy johnson,
advising him TO re- organize the Dsmoci a'ic
party. and has since been abusing poor An
dy because he refused TO put some of his re
lations in office.
Gentlemen IN pursuit OF = situation will
take notice, then, that after the 4th Of
March next, there will be vacancy in the
office Of Secretary of the Senate. The berth
il n good onc--good pay and liberal steal.
ings, II managed as Forney has managed H.
was about 10 suggest that il ought 10 be
gwen TO some good volunteer officer Of the
late war, but that would violate tho custom
OF tho honorable body, which. in more than
two hundred employ es. hasn't half q dozen
men who took part in the war. Hasn't some
Senator a brotht r, or uncle, or aunt, who
would do the business
Nh JAMES VI. AsnIEN
There IL not man IN the present Con
gross who has succeeded better ia "eettng
hls name into the papers" than Mr.. James
Ashley, of the Toledo district 10 adScr.
tisc himself ms extensively in connection
with patent medicine a he has been a!
verified .ratuit0usly in connection with lIs
impeachment noStrum, would have cost him
halt million AT least, and then 1t would bc
thu oils or The lozen.es or the powders that
would have been known whereas now II $
the doctor. The personal history OF thu
g'ra, iinpeacher IN interesting. especially ~
u shows n soft Of consistent inconsistency,
from first to las, ii | can say "last' at ttc
present tinle, and wish could, Ms Ash
les commenced life As an adycn,uTer. and
his last publ effort is in beautiful harmony
with thlt Characteristic. lie saw the light
of thus wicked world on tho i,h Of Novem-
her, 1891, and Is consequently IN the forty
third year OF his age. When he was sweet
fifteen lac started from his home in Penn
8, vTnia fer the Great West. Ills first ems
pl"ymcnt wns as clerk on n trading boat
on the Mississippi. He went down Ia New
ulleans and back again several times, div
ing sha'p bargains with the plantation
dmkies IN the exchange Of calico aud jewel
~ for the products OF the farm. Wonder
~ IL was while thus engaged that he mbibel
thn, strong love of liberty which has since
been the master passion in his breasty He
got tired Il the trading business after n
while, and cas-. anchor in that haven % all
adventurous ycuthS-a printing Office. Men
Who are unit iDr the printing business
always 90 10 stud ing law, and Ashley was
10 exception 60 the rule lie studied las
Tor white. tn, s,ill hadn't found his 'orte,
arl wa determined & lind tina. or perish
il the attempt, So he tried boat>buildng
on ,hc Mississippi Here agun he was un-
lnrky, mud had the misfortune 70 lose all
tho profits of his trade with the plantation
Wr.ets
Ne went back to the law again. bnt III Int
suck tor. lll- next move was TO go TO Tole-
do and star, a paper. General Jim Steadnan
lNancl him il,v or hundred dollars and
lie made his y bat as the editor OF a Demo
cratic lnurnsl, showing that those strong
principles OF liberty, and so forth, which he
had imblhed i-oin the illt>tos traffic ,hadn'l
We, rermeatcd his system. However, he
failed as an editor very soon, and iores {
Democracy and editing at ono and at the
same time. Next he went into the drug
business III Toledo, but he soon swamped
himself in that too. Perhaps the people
wcro afraid TO trust y man wi h such varie,
gated experience As his to make up their
prescriptions. What was more natural thar
that man who had run u fiat>boat, sold
rinchbsck Jewslry to the negroes along the
Mississippi. hall learned the printing busi>
ncss failed as = boat builder, studied law.
,nn apapcr into the ground and failed in tho
dug business, should run for Congress.
Ashley hit upon this ,xpedient as the only
possible thing to save HIM from the poor
house. and he succeeded. He has been in
congress eight years, and has two more
years still ahead Of him.
In personal appearance the great impeach
er Is quito respectable. Those who have
noticed his large head and bushy hair, and
who remember the impression Of a first
glance at Stephen A. Douglas, will have no.
,iced some similarity. The likeness does
not penetrate below tho skull. am sorry to
say but still there are points about the
head and face OF the great impcacher that
remind one OF Douglas. A stranger coming
I. TO Washington and visiting the House gal
ler,, viii soon notice Ashlcv-he can't very
well help il. He will see somebody rushing
around among the aisles, and talking to this
member and that member, and apparently
burdened with the whole business Of the
establishment, and II he'll ask who is that
he'll be told tina, it's Ashley. \ gentleman
was once trying to bring the indinlity OF the
Toledo member TO the mind OF the lady. He
tried to describe him as small man. n ia,
man, and light-haired man, and curly
headed man, and clean shaved man, and ,
man with n bug voice, and man with ,
great round heard; bit all 10 no purpose
until the lady 5 Own recollection came 10 he
assistance, and She exclaimed in scrt o