Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-06-20

The death of the chief justice seems for
the moment to have revived the old love and
admiration for really good men in the
hearts of the people, for the old style OF
statesmen, men of dignity, loitiness OF
spirit, and sort of moral grandeur. Vi
late the people seem to have taken more to
small men,-in fact, the more our idols
have been like the average, with an
abundance of weaknesses, the more popular
they were. Mr.. Chase had tae warmest OF
friends and he was rarely deserted by one
of them, but he was not popular, and this
arose principally from the fact that he
would not stoOp to the common arts OF n
demagogue, and he was too great, intellect
ually and morally, to play bufioon with the
common herd. If he had driven fast horses,
and consorted with small politicians, not
being above taking a smile with them
occasionally, his chances of political pro-
motion would have been greater, but 1t Is
well that We have a small roll of public
men who were called to the public
service, like Seward, Sumner, Welles,
Chase and others, who did not love
small men. The funeral ceremonies
of the chief justice, showed that all of the
better classes in this community AMI in
New York, without regard to party greatly
respected and admired Mr.. Chase, and the
people always will respect such man even
if he is not fayorite. Nobody can deny
that Mr.. Chase had faults: the greatest
was his ambition. lie very much wanted
to he President, when be was secretary Of
the treasury, and to the discontinue of Mr..
Lincoln and then at Il later date he was
willing to be elected by his political oppo-
nents. and at the expense Of Gen. Grant.
ue has been accused of treachery to Mr..
Lincoln, but the charge i false, for there
can be no treachery where there Is no con-
cealment. Mr.. Chase was candidate for
the Presidency, and everybody knew it t,and
Mr.. Lincoln as well as everybody else. 1t
was a rashness, and it would have been
better If he had quietly acqmesced in the
reelection Of his chief, but, with his views
of Mr.. Lincoln at that time, it i not
strange that he desired to succeed him. \
large wing of the republican party was dis
satisfied with Mr.. Lincoln at one time it
included such men as Winter Davis, Ben
Wade, Ward Beecher and sumner.
Those men were afraid of Stewards influence
afraid that Mr.. Lincoln would settle
too easily with the Southland it has never
been proved, and never can be, whether
they were right or wrong, for Mr.. Lincoln
died before reconstruction fairly cOmmenc-
eu. III certainly Is one OF the mos, curious
points in Mr.. Chase's personal history that,
while he was a rival of Mr.. Lincoln because
he considered the latter too conservative,
IN three or four years more Mr.. Chase
became the conservative candidate for
presidential nomination, and Gen. Grant the
radical party candidate for election. 1t
shows the one principal weakness in the
character Of the chief justiee-his inordinate
ambition. lie wanted the presidency -
much that he would have taken it from
Lincoln, and from Grant, and at the hands
Of the men who had just fought the war of
the rebellion. 1t was mobile infrmity,
however, and in all other respects he was
noble man. For he was pure, lofty, honest,
and condrcted himself like ageatieman. So
many of our public men are addicted to
vices or fond of low company, that it Is re-
ireshing occasionally to look at public
man who is cleanly enough to enter any
gentleman parlor. Mr.. Chase had no
vices or evil habits, but like the Adamses,
Hoars, and that class Of men. lived a whole
some life Washington Cor. Sprinfeld Re
fiffIfyryu