The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1868-12-04
THE LATE TH Us STEVENS.
/ Tribute nom ) noeratic Organ.


relations with men lnstrated to very
large extent the no 81 of human char
i acter. Had he acf2 2p0n ideas which
constitute the prac of most of men
nowadays, he wolis - the date of his
! decease have been s. 1st a modern Gree
sus. When Baron hschild heard that
I the fortune of de ed rival amount
ed to only fifty mi ans, he expressed
surprise, saying he ought he was in
easy circumstances Regarded in this
light, Mr.. Thaddeu tevens was very
poor man, for his me was less than
a quarter of a mill dDllars. He ow-
ed nobody at the of his decease,
and had in the bar lancaster, as we
/ are informed by Dr. loaghter, his per-
sonal friend, aboa krenty thousand
dollars. He had nothing in pub
lie securities. His plain and simple
mansion at Lancaster cannot be valued
at above half a dozen thousand dol
lars. The sum and substance of his
means were in his furnace at Gettys-
burg. Though it in former days. as he
was accustomed to say, was an absorb
ent of his income professionally, vet in
latter ones it has been profitable, the ore
bed being superior, and the method of
blasting being by charcoal. Hence the
Confederate force did him much damage
by its raid, not so much in the value of
what was actually destroyed as in the
destruction of work at the furnace at a
period ofgreat demand for superior sorts
of iron for machine purposes. A few
! thousand dollars probably covered the
actual losses in property inflicted by the
rebel raid i'll question.
In the last part of Mr.. Stevens life he
remarked that he void take $4,000 for
his Gettysburg property, but DIR. Noble
| % ~ oS% 4, I. L
is familiar with it and the locality, esti-
mates its prospective value, in good
hands, at double that figure. The works
were carried on in Mr.. Stevens NAME
and, of course, they did not make the
returns they would had he been a prac-
teal ironmaster.
Mr.. Stevens library is very large and
varied in its character. 1t is worth sew
eral thousand dollars. He was, we learn,
| thoroughly read in the old stamp of
works in history and literature, and al
| so in the modern ones of superior char
| acter. He received, while in Congress,
great numbers of newspapers of both
sides in politics, most of which he read
as 1T respects their editorials.
In the iatter-day public career of Mr..
Stevens, his labors were. immense, and
as his physical powers were declining he
was obliged to be exceedingly circuhl-
spect in respect to his habits and efforts.
lie was through life temperance man
i'll the strict sense of the term. indulging
only in glass of wine or other drink
as form of hospitality or courtesy up
Oh the occasion of the visit of old and
valued friends, or possibly of some SUI
perlor political functionary. He there
fore received with undisguised dislike
the prescription some three years be-
fore his death, of the use of stimulants.
He was abstemious as TO diet, eating but
two meals a day, and retiring very ear
ly and rising late. He held that much
sleeping OF lying in bed, even if not
sleeping, was great natural restorer of
exhausted nature.
Breakfasting at eight o'clock, Mr..
Stevens would at once proceed to dis
pose of his mail, which was. of course,
very large. Most letters he would throw
into the waste-basket upon sight of the
names of the writers. When once ques-
toned as to the propriety of so doing,
he answered that he knew the contents
by the names. 1t was Talleyrand who
said that ''mOst letters answered them
selves" The few letters that Mr.. Stew
ems wrote were comprised in half doz-
en- lines. The most important took but
letter page. excluding party or politi-
cal ones, which were also brief for doc
moments of his life, he but little utiIiz-
ed the labors of others in carrying ON
his correspondence.
There is class OF public men who af-
feet the necessity of entire privacy when
engaged in the discharge of their du-
ties. 1t was not so with Mr.. Stevens.
He had capacity enough to go on with
| important matter in hand, and vet see
persons of high and low degree and OF
all shades i'll politics. AT the most Ia
boriOus moments he would say that he
would see the callerfO limited time
named, yet always a sufficient one for
any material purpose.
He had not the time, disposition nor
health to allow of his enjoying the hos
FATALITIES usual to the circle of exalted
public officers of the capital. He did
not entertain. On New Years or Christ
mas day, when large numbers paid their
respects in person, he exchanged the
compliments of the season in glass of
wine.
Mr.. Steven was opposed to the re-
ceipt OF the most common presents. such
as canes, &c, in compliment of public
service. AS 10 what was of weightier
character, his escutcheon is without
stain. On a certain occasion a sealed
package came to him which he suspect
ed contained money as a reward for
some public service. While engaged for
a moment in another apartment, the
package was opened incautiously by an
attendant. It contained great mum Der
of one thousand dollar bills. Mr.. Ste
vens, in causing aresealing of the pack
age and its immediate return to the
source from whence it came, expressed
great regret that it should have been
opened, because he intended to return
il. intact, suspecting the contents, yet
not wishing to know for certainty of
what in its presentation he felt to be a
wound. Another package Offive thous-
and dollars was returned with singing
retort. That he had very many like Of
fers in money and stocks is likely, and
that they were habitually refused is
sure, since that his estate is of the most
moderate value.
That Thaddeus Stevens was not half
a millionaire, at least, from his profess
siOnal and business returns, is accounted
for by his acts of iberality to persons
in need.
Referring to his kindness public of
fetal, and his indisposifion to receive
even the most common presents, it
should he stated that he regretted that
the ladies of the Treasury department
should have employed their little means
in making present to him of a gold
headed cane. His lettes in reply to the
donors is suspected to be of a most in
| teresting character. The cane was put
! upon his Windog-giu bV a cOIorpd how