Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-11-12

obligations, demoralize society, break up public.
in darsnss the stability and Ssse Of the
depends ON just and wholesome CT dit.
He was the jealous advocate Of a system OF
common schools, and with the aid of his friends
procured one-half of the net proceeds of the
Bank of the Commonwealth to be set apart ty
institute a school fund. About 1s2I, what WIS
then known as the New Court party, of which
MIR. Kendall was leader, came out to a man
for General jackson. On this que estionx p,-4:-e
OF the Old Court party joined them, and in Is.
the power of the State reverted To the hands of
Those who had controlled it prior to 1926. NJ.
kentaiEs leading rule as an editor was never to
state as fact that which he did not belle Se Ia be
fluc; 10 let no consideration prevent the correC-
ton of mistake when clearly ascertaned; ami
to let no Recommendations, threats or personal v &
lence drive him from his course. 1t was the
| olicy OF party to deery mis- paper as being the
vehicle Of falsehoOd. but they avoided specitics-
tiOns. After he left Kentucky friend of his
in repelling those attacks. gave public notie,..
that he would give ten dollars a piece for an
such instances when pointed out, and would
furnish file OF his paper Ia enable any of his
assailants tO make the search. The reward was
never claimed.
Early in 1879 Mr.. Kendall was appointed
Fourth Auditor of the Treasury Department by
General jackson. His fidelity there and i'm
every station where he was ever cmployed. tn
remarkable clearness and energy of his mind
&c., turned the thoughts of Gencrai Jackson
upon him as a proper person to retrieve the
affairs of the Post Office Department pIungl ~
into chaotic state OF disorder from the e,feat
of long established false principles and methn,,s
OF business, to which he was appointed on the
1st of May, 1885. Me country knows how like
magic that Department rose under his assiduous.
attention. paying of its debts, and in n littIq
more than two years nearly doubling its field of'
usefullness. 1t was Mr.. KendaYs priuciyTe
that Thine" is money to the mercaant and in
telligence to the community. He Eas i'm favor
Of sending communications with fhe greatest
possible rapidity in any shape and lyy any means
BY his express mail he reduced tO Zone half the
time occupied two years bef9fe, i'm send
ing business letters and news from the
great commercial centre ~ the extremes
Of the Union. Animated by an energetic
will, and directed by consistent honesty
f principles-indcfatigab both in men,
down, in the honest judgment of those who
know him best, more bitter, violent and unrest
Ing attacks Of calumny and abuse than the self
educated and self elevated farmer bOy of New
England-AmOs Kendall.
Between 1880 and 1910 Mr.. Kendarl's reputa-
ton as q politician attained its culminatiou
The most striking evidence of his renown at
that period is contained i'm Miss Martineau's
Retrospect OF Western Travel" written i'm
lS5. from which We take the following exceed
ingly vivid sketch
Il was fortunate enough once to catch n
glimpse Of the invisible Amos Kendall, one OF
the most remarkable men in America. He
Is supposed to lie the moving spring of the
whole administration the thinker, planner
and dOer; but it is all I'm the dark Docu-
ments are issued OF excellence which
prevents their being attributed to persons
who take the responsibility of them; a
correspondence is kept up all over the couu-
try for which no one to be answer
able; work is done, of goblin extent and with
goblin speed. which makes men look about them
with superStitious wonder; and the invisible
Amos Kendall has the credit of il ALL President
JacksOn's letters to his Cabinet are said to H.,
kendall's; the report on Sunday mails is attrib-
mted TO Kendall; the letters sent from WASH
ngtOn to appear in remote country neysDa-
pers, whence they are collected and published
IN the Globe rs demonstrations Of public Opin-
ION, are pronounced to he written by Kendall.
Every mysterious paragraph i'm opposition
newspapers relates tn Kendall: and it Is soms
relief to the timid that his having now the of &c
of Postmaster General affords opportunity for
open attacks upon this twilight personage who
is proved. by the faults in the Post Office
administration; not TO be able To lo
cdly "a great genius. He unitcs with his
great talent for silence splendid audacity
1t Is clear that he could not io the work he doSs
(incretliblc enough in amount, any waylif he
went into society like other men. He did. how
ever. one evening" l think it was at the Attor-
ey-Generals. The moment went i'm intima-
tons reached me from all quarters. amid no,i.
and winks, "kendall is here; that is he!" saw
at once that his plea for seclusiOn (bad healthy
is DO false one. The extreme sallOwness of his
complexion, and hair of such perfect whiteness
as Is rarely seen In man of middle age, te sticd
to disease. His cOuntcnance does not helm
the supersttiOus to throw of their dread
of him. He probably does not desire
this superstition to melt away for there Is No
calculating how much influence was given 10
JacksOns administration by the universal be-
lief that there was concealed eye and hand b.
hind the machinery Of government, by which
everything could be fOreseen, and the hardest
deeds done. \ member OF Congress told Inc This
night that he had watched through four ses
sions for sight of Kendall. and had never oh
tanned 1t till now. Kendall was leaning on a
chair with head bent down and eve glancinp nm
at a member of Congress with whom he was in
earnest conversation. and i'm few minutes he
was gone"
Making all allowances for exaggeration. and
discardng the nonsense about supernatuaiism.
we have here certainly very impressive picture
OF the effect produced on his contemporaries by
Amos Kendall In the prime Of his power. Miss
MarIinean wrote chiefly under Wing inspiration.
but the Wings Of that day were represented nj
Washington by men like Clay and Webster, and
assurelly there must have been something OF
weight and power in Amos Kendall to have
made such an impression on antagonists Of their
calibre.
Mr. Kendall remained in the Cabinet during
General Jacksons term, and continued at the
head of the Post Office Department after the
inauguration OF Mr.. Van Buren,, but resigned
before the close OF his administration to engage
in editorial pursuits, which he followed with
well-remembered vigOr. Somewhat later, Prof
Morse, of telegraphic fame, came here for the
purpose OF getting Congress to make an appro-
from Baltimore to New York, the first line be-
tween this city and Baltimore then being
in successful operation. Congress refused to
make the appropriation, and il was then that
Mr.. Kendall after conference with Prot. Morse
agreed TO aid him in the enterprise. Mr.. Ken.
dali at this time had no means himself but nos
sessed the confidence and esteem of many
wealthy friends, who aided him I'm the affair.
Prof Morse assigned to Mr.. X. a handsome
interest in his telegraphic enterprise then i'm its
infancy, the result of which that the line Was
built and yielded princely fortunes to both of
the IN in few years.
Mr.. Kendall was iirst married i'm Kentucky 10
Miss Mary b. Voolfolk, on October lst, isis
and by this wife hal three children. She lived
but few years, and i'm 1876 he was married sec
Ond time to Miss Jane Kyle, of PENNSYLVANIA
by whom he had eleven children. His second
wife died in this city four years ago last May.
Mr.. Kendall purchased the property known "a
Kendall Green, on the northern outskirts Of
Washington, many years ago, and for sometime
resided there in a small house the estate but
in later years he erected thereon handsome
residence, and beautified the place, making il
one of the most desirable abOdes i'm the District
He was the founder Of the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum, to which he donated the valuable tract
Of land occupied by it, together with the first
building used by that institution, the 18th of
October, 1856 He was the First President there
OF, and remained as one of the directors up to
lifetime Of his death.
The Calvary Baptist Church, erected i'm 1874 L
at the corner OF Sth and II streets, was built
almost entirely by his contributions, he having
subscl ibed, mt various times, about 800 g1 to-
wardkl its erection. After its destruction b,
the in 1861 he again contributed largr
ia have il rebuilt, it being his intention to esta.
lish il as a memorial church to his wife. Las;
year he contributed 5000 TO found sch ,lar
ship in Columbian College, for q term of We r,,
to meritOrious pupils of our public schools. In