New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-01-27
SENATOR REVEL.

Senator Revel is daily expected 10 mako his
appearance in Washington. AS the ilrst col
ored man ever elected to the United States
Senate, there is an exceptional interest In the
event. There il not the slightest doubt that
he will be received with all proper courtesy
and treated with due respect. There is yet
some legislation required in regard to the al
mission of the representatives OF the State oil
Mississippi, from which he has been elected J;
bnt it will not need much time for its accom-
plishment, and Immediately thereafter Senator
Revel will take his seat with his colleague,
Senator Acom, in the Senate. We have not
heard much of Senator Revel, but those things
we have heard of him are calculated to give
assurance that he is well fitted for the posi-
lion to which he has been elected.
In the first place, he is reported to DO
thoroughly respectable man; and this is saying
much in days like these, when we see so many
men who are not respectable elected to high
office. Moreover he is not only possessed OF
this intrinsic qualification, but he has the sat
isfaction of knowing that it has brought Its
reward, for writer who knows him declares
that he is respected by whites and blacks alike.
This is certainly q most desirable thing for
Senator; and we should think even moro highly
than we now do of the Senate if the same re-
mark could be made of every one of its mem
beers. In the second place, Senator Revel ap-
pears to be man of character and principle.
We infer this from his lifelong devotion to
moral labors. In his youth, he gratiiied his
craving for knowledge by studying IN various
schools and seminares, and as soon as he was
properly prepared he became teacher and
~.
preacher, in which pursuits he has spent the
greater part of his life, and in which he has
accomplished large amount of good, not only by
his sermons, but by organizing churches. These
are strong points in favor OF the new Senator.
It is something in these days of corruption,
to be able to point TO an honorable life and
career of service in the cause of humanity and
morals. We should think even more highly
than we now do of the Senate if every one of
its members had a record Of this kind. In the
third place, Senator Revel appears to be a
truly loyal man. He was a resident OF Mary
land when the war broke out, and he at once
took an active part in raising cOlOred troops for
the defense of the Union. Subsequently we
hear of his activity i'll various loyal works
After the capture of Vicksburg, he assisted the
Provost Marshal in his duties, and at several
other points he rendered important service to
the Union authorities. This is another strong
point in favor Of the new Senator and will
bring him high credit in body all of whose
members Qncluding Carrot Davis boast of
their LOYAL devotion to the Union. In the
fourth place, Senator Revel is man who has
had some experience in public life and in minor
official positions. He was a member OF the
City Council of Natchez, where his friends say
he served with honor, and he was also elected
to the State Senate Of Mississippi. So that he
is not an absolute novice in politics, and this,
also, is a point in his advantage as Senator.
Taking all these things into consideration, we
see many reasons to believe that Senator Rcvel
will prove to be an excellent Senator-that he
will do nothing to degrade the body of which
he is member, but that, on the contrary, he
will be credit to it. A Senator who is at
once man of principle, of loyalty, of respect
ability, of Christian morality, of experience
and intelligence, need not be afraid to take
his place in the highest legislative body in the
world.