The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-03-23


The influence of spring weather is occasion
ally very curious. Sometimes it is unaccount-
able. There is Senator Sprague of Rhode Is
land, who has been one of the most quiet and
least belligerent of Senators, has suddenly be-
come stark mad. 1t must be the weather.
Tennyson enumerates several consequences
which have been observed to follow the qnick-
ening of the circulation at this season OF the
year, but he forgot to mention, perhaps De-
cause it was not within the scope OF MS oDser-
walton, being a subject of Queen Victoria, that
il unsets he hillary system of Senators, makes
them captions, irritable and fierce and causes
them to play such tricks before high heaven
"a astonish everybody. Senator Sprague,
while vet a boy, was so fortunate as to become
possessed of goods and estate to the extent, as
is popularity supposed, of several snug mill
IONS This gave him the lite State of Rhode
Island as kind Of pocket borough, to him
his heirs, executors, administrators and as
signs, so long as they continued to possess the
cool millions above mentioned. He was a
good fellow enough-a very good fellow He
would have his sprees once in while, ''but
boys will be boys" So he was elected Gov
ernor, through the motive force of money.
When the war broke out, he marched right
promptly with his men to the field and bore as
conspicuous and creditable part in the ac-
ton at Bull Run as anyone-for he is brave
boy beyond question. Then he was made
Senator and his forte not being debate, .he was
until this spring the mostreticent man in Con-
gress except John Morrissey. As in case Of
all silent men the conclusion was irresistible
that he kept up an aaoful thinking" His
acts, to be sure, gave no outward and visible
indication of his secret mental exercises and
conflicts. BE made no speeches except to ask
the daughter of the Chief Justice to become
Mrs. Sprague. The lady was pleased with his
propositions and accepted them, but this gave
the Senator domestic rather than national
reputation. He never made any disturbance
in the Senate, never rose to personal expla-
nation or threatened to punch the head of a
political opponent. The proposition by which
he 10 chiefly known in New England is not
one of national importance-the proposition
that the good people of Augusta, Maine, should
present him with certain real estate of great
value. This was also success and Mr.. Sprague
got the land. This was how Mr.. Sprague
General Senator, Ex-Governor and million
aire, stood before the country at the beginning
of the year 1869. His portrait was in all the
illustrated histories of the war and on all the
old dusty var charts that hang up in offices
and attics, where he appears as mild looking
youth who's incipient moustache, just strug.
Cling into existence, contrasts strangely with
the military paraphernalia that adorns his
person.
There were not lacking premonitory symp-
toms of the present. attack of loquacity. 1t
was sometime since announced that Mr..
Sprague would, 1t the next session of Congress
throw off the reserve which had prevented the
five million dolla's worth of property, more OF
less, owned by him in Rhode Island, Maine
South Carolina ami elsewhere, from having its
proper weight in national affairs. But the
dollars have now spoken, and as mere dollars
usually do,-with bfty disregard of the logi-
cal sequence of ideasor the proper relations of
words and phrases, with no inconsiderable OBJ
seurty and with all Of Dombey's arrogance
and conceit 1t was on the bill to strengthen
the public credit that tie Rhode Island Sena-
tor made his debut. Monsieur Dollars did not
like it. Being manufacturer, he feared an
increased stringency in tie money market as
a result of these repeated endorsements of the
public credit, which some If our older states
men think SO highly of as ameans of promot-
ing the general good. He conceived that there
are no interests at stake in The management
of our finances except those OF the few million
aires whose heart strings are connected with
the money market The Temporary good of a
plethora of money being advantageous for the
millionaire and having tendency to keep his
spindles going rapidly, he regards that as the
one thing needful, regardless of the ills which
a continuance of an irredeemable currency
and the difficulty of funding the national deb
az low rate of interest on account of the
widespread distrust OF the governments good
faith bring upon the toiling millions
Senator Sprague had hardly rested from hi
gigantic effort on the financial question, when
Friday ard its Senatorial debate on the repeal
of the tenure-of-office act brought BIN once
more to his feet He doesn't beIeve in the
act, and wants it repealed. Somuch he said
about the pending question, and so much was
relevant. Then the gentleman representing
five million dollars, much real estate, innu
merable cotton syindles and fast horses lectur
ed the Senate upon its stupidity, which will
great sagscity and wonderful ingenuity he at
tributed to the legal training of majority o
its members. There were too many lawyers
he said, in both Houses-men who knew moth
ing about dollars and consequently were in
capable of conducting the affairs of a great
people. By an intellectual process not easy to
be understood by impecunious individuals, the
Rhode Island Senator then passed naturally
and easily to an incidental criticism of oul
democratic institutions. 1t is narrowing te
the feelings of persons who have become at
tached to these institutions to learn that the
man who controls SO many dollars and SC
many blood horses differs from the mere law
yers who gave them to us and from legal gen
stlemen like Webster, Clay, Douglas, Chase
ston, Carpenter, Edmunds, Fessenden ant
the present day, and does not enter
- sasigh opinion of them. Dollars are
lands Hood S9@ which they rest-neither arr
seems 10 DC, IN Tue opinion of Mr.. Sprague
their essential defect. X he will be gracious
ly pleased to point out som - s."ou 49,,
they can be so modified as to-. ;.., ~, -.
enlightened appreciation, Congress- .ns naonl
will make all possible haste to comply ~:tt =;
wishes 80 as to rest no longer under the te..;
ic dispensation of the anger of hiss, 600, OOl