The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1869-11-24
Death Of Robert ]. Walker
An Unpublished Leaf From Kan
sas History.

The telegraph announces the death,
in the person of the above in
dividual of about the meanest speci-
men of human nature that was ever
entrusted with high Office by a cred
ulous constituency. The Picayune
attempts to make big man of him
and says that he was "worthily count
ed" among the great men of the Senate
when it contained Calhoun, Clay,
Webster and Silas Wright. The an
nouncement can be received only with
horse-laugh by those who know any
thing of the personal history of the
notorious individual. The idea of
comparing him with the distinguished
statesmen named above is about as
ridiculous as to compare his puny sta
ture with that of the Colossus of
Rhodes.
Little Bob Walker was a native of
Pennsylvania, but, like great many
other shrewd Yankees, early took his
carpet-bag and came to the South to
seek a fortune among people upon
whom lie was destined in after lite to
heap so many ISLANDERS. He chose
Mississippi as the field of his operations,
where he soon achieved some local
distinction as lawyer and scheming
politician. In 1885 he was elected to
the Senate of the United States over
Governor George Poindexter and sub
sequently reelected over Sergeant S.
Prentiss.. He was in the. Senate for
ten years. Of course, like most windy
orators, he did his share ofpubhc speak
ing, but the pages of the Congressional
Globe fail to show anything from him
"worthy to be counted among the
speeches of the great men by whom he
was surrounded. In 1915 he was
appointed Secretary Of the Treasury
by President Polk, since which time
he has resided constantly in the city
of Washington. In fact the only rep
utation for ability he has is derived
from his supposed able administration
of the Treasury department. One of his
reports was published in England and
much quoted in the discussion on the
"corn laws" But this reputation was
Fictitious one. Mr.. Walker was the
first Secretary of the Treasury after
the passage of the sub-Treasurv Act,
and has the credit of the successful
working of system which was ready
made for him by the hands of others.
The plan is so simple and feasible that
any ordinary bank-teller could have
put it into operation. AS for his repu-
tation in England, it was simply owing
to the fact that the British statesmen,
who were endeavoring to secure abso-
Lutte free trade, seized hold of every
foreign opinion which could possibly
bear upon their favorite measure. Mr.
Walkers opinions were SIMPLY dl-
gest of the opinions of leading Demo
cratic Statesmen for a quarter of a
century prior to the publication of his
report. That he was no fnancier is
proved by his puerile utterances on the
Federal currency since the war. If he
had had any real financial ability the
Radicals would long since have brought
it into requisition i'll the management
of their great national debt.
During his residence in Washington
Mr.. Walker was engaged in lucrative
practice before the Supreme Court, and
was the standing attorney of all the
unprincipled lobbyists who fleece the
government by getting their claims al
lowed by Congressional committees
and the Court of Claims. He has also
engaged personally in lobbying on his
own account. Many of his transac-
tons in regard to the Pacific railroad,
and other gigantic swindlng opera
tions, are so we'll known, that it IS suf-
ficient to know at Washington that a
scheme smells of Bob Walkers fingers
to damn it forever as tainted with a
hopeless rascality.
During the Kansas troubles the
President sent out little Bob Walker
to play Governor among the "Border
Rufians," after so many had lost their
regulations in fruitless effort to keep
order in the territory. Bob had a
panacea of hisown which! he had no
doubt would cure all the ills of "bleed-
ing Kansas" and mitigate the "crime"
the Southerners had committed against
her. He detailed it to a. select audi
ence of Missouri politicians (of this
we have personal knowledge) in his
room in "a hotel at st. Louis. 1t was
to submit only the slavery clause of the
Kansas Constitution to the people, as
slavery was the only bone of conten-
ton between the two parties in the
Territory. If, said he, the State should
thus be admitted as a free State, we
could then admit the Indian Territory
as great Southern, slaveholding, cot
ton State, as a compromise, just as
Michigan and Arkansas were admitted
at the same time, the one as free and
the other as q slave State. The "BOr-