The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1873-12-30
TIE MIRROR INTO WHICH CONGRESS-
MEN LOOK,
Tn. Autobiography of Lord John Hawisy

initiated) is one oil the marNei' VI tors
;ngton life 1t is microcosm OF the Gap rep
;tal and. in particular, it is handbook oil ste'
autobiography of all the Senators and hep yer
resentatives. 1t is the picture OF the hVes sor
Of public men as they understand their the
o,gn lives or. rather,as they wish the pub gri
lie TO understand those lives. The book Is Pc
n life sketch of the entire Congress, or a ON
sketch of marked lives 1t is the one OPP lie
nortunity for the public to look upon their hu
representatives in the light OF their own ~ ~
estimation. git
Each year the compiler of the directory, its
Major Ben Perley Poore, sends out 70 al an
members of Congress note in sone'ni"s n
like the following form -,,.,,o a.. on
Those gentlemen who have not supp''ddo ' AZ M to
sired SM s, uesnysnience These sketches are no III
biorraph es and the Joint OVn H ,T compiler TO be
publish nothing except what answer tne or dele ~
qugsiuIf mi name: home post office address; place
and time OF birth early education; colleague, enui
cation, Hs{yinn or business: and all public Off "
ccs held with dates holding them gpton 20 :,
,,..ss the name OF their opponent and the vote d
given him and the politics oil Sach' Nv
This opportunity is not to be missed ii
The pigeon holes of the compiler, when p
engaged in preparing this work. are curl
ous illustrations of the self-measure OF (,
nubic men. The Directory is quite as /
notable for what does not appear IN 1t as I
for what does. Brevity is too much Tor
the member from Podunk, and be forth
with sends twenty folio pages descriptive
Of his career. which must be compressed
10 "stickful" 1t is fair to say that the
modesty of public men is as much noticed
os their assurance Some decline to tell
their age Some overlook important por-
tons of their career, with which the public
are too familiar. Some tell great many
things which the public care nothing
about. Some tell things which never oc-
Cured at all And the compiler cuts ana
slashes at their wordy accounts OF them
selves in order to reduce it to presentable
shape and admissible size. Here is what
the Directory admits Of Lord John haw-
leys piece .
sixth DISTRICT.
Counties Bureau, Henry, Lee,Putnam and Rock
John B. Hawley. Of Rock Island, was born in
Fairfield County, Conn, February " loaa. WI INA
Illinois with his parents when quite young stuu,
jow and IN coming 10 the Bar, In 1854, settled
nc Rock Stand: In 1885 he was elected ale ~
tnrncy. ring four years In 1861 he entered IN,
Union army n Captain, aud took an active par u
the battles If Forte Henry and uoneison TecslNln-
injuries In tue last engagement which MADE u ne
ca-ary for him retire from mil tary duty ~ loh-
iu 1855 be was nppo ntcd by President Llnco
Postmaster OF Rock III md and moved the yea
following by President Johnson wa eectcu 20 IN
Fo.ty-drst and FO-ty.-econd Congresses. and va
reelected 20 the urty.th ri Congress a. kepnbI
can. receiving I8.i23 votes again Iel5 votes &c
G. True-dalc. Liberal and Democrat
Mr. Hawley seems to have wholly oml
ted the history Of the early part Of his on
cial life. when he was a Democrat an
gladly picked up any stray crumbs th'
might fail from the Democratic table II
omits to tell how he claimed Democrat
patronage because he was Democra
He cunts TO say that he begged the lttI
Office of City Clerk and afterwards Cit
Attorney, from Democratic City Counc
on the ground that he was a Democra
He forcets to say that when DR.. LOup v
Gated the office of County Clerk, there b
ing Democratic Board of County Con
missioners, Gould, Kistler and Holme
he claimed and succeeded in getting {
appointment ofCounty Clerk. on the grou
that he was Democrat He forgets tos
that he was elected an Alderman on
principle of no salary, and that when
order wus drawn to pay him and otht
their salaries, he refused his order for I
litical efTect~Until he thought the peoT
had forgotten all about it, when
sneaked into the Clerks oil
and receipted for it and got the money
it. He was a salary grabber as long a
as that He forgets to say that he bcgg
DR.. Truesdale to give him the post oft
that he cried till tears ran down his chez
as big as horse-tais and until Truesd
did resign and let him have the Office.
forgets to say that he was a Democrat
long as the Democrats had anything
give him, and that when he could get b
ter pay from the other side he left
Democrats and went over to the enel
Mr.. Hawley is altogether too modes
these respects in the piece he WI
about himself and we come to his re
with the missing portions of his hist,
for the benefit of Mr. Ben Perley Poore
the next edition of the Directory,
But there is one bit of information
Hawley has furnished Mr.. Ben Pc
Poore about himself, which will be n
here, viz that he took an active pal
the battles of Forts Henry and DoneI
receiving injuries in the last engager
which made it necessary for him to r
from military duty in 1862" This
pleasing piece Of fiction which will s
our people with surprise. Mr.. Hawley
never in any engagement at all, an
never received any injuries He st;
for Fort Donelson, but did not get
enough to be in the engagement
came home very soon after that for
taken, with weak back, and that's a
military service he ever rendered
Hawley's story written by himself Sc
we'll enough in the Congressional i
tory, but it will create only derisive Ii
ter here, where the facts are known
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The California Political Revolution
Some of the characteristics of the