New-York tribune., 1875-01-15
LOGAN on HIS FERT.

Pranced there in upon the arena of the great
debate, like trick mule in circus, or a
spawned nightmare upon the track OF beau
tiful dream-Logan of Illinois. There was a
vision of mustaches, eyebrows, and hair piled
on each other in arches large brandishing
Of arms 4 lose, and stridulous war-whOop {;
and much as though q picture of the Decrfield
massacre had stepped out from the pages of
our early history, Logan took the American
Senate by its large, capacious ear. And then
he went for his mother tongue. He smote it
right and left, hip and thigh, and showed no
mercy. Swinging the great broadax of his
logic hieh in air. he turned it ere it fell. and
with the hammer side struck the language of
sixty millions of people fairly in the
face, and mashed it beyond recognition.
Under his stroke the floor of the Amer
lean Senate was spattercd with the remnants
of once proud vocabulary. and messengers,
do0rkeepers and pages were covered from
head to foot with the spray. In tho fearful
two hours which followed the first roar of his
Grafton, all the parts of speech were routed
and put to flight. There were orphaned adec-
tives and widowed nouns bachelor verbs driven
to polygamy, and polygamous verbs left
lonely, cOnjunctions discovered, propositions
scattered, adverbs disheveled and distorted, and
syntax flung into wild disorder. 1t was great
day for Logan
He set his teeth into the language as the
untamed tiger of the jungles takes between
his mouth and paw the wearing apparel Of
the wayfarer, and the ripping of it was heard
through all the forest depths. 1t reverberated
to the other end of the Capitol, and sluggish
Representatives lifted up their ears and lis
tened to the roar with terrified awe. Some
started for the scene; but upon being
told the cause of tho disturbance in the
brief communication, "Logan's up" turned
back, with full assurance that they could hear
from that end Of the Capitol all that was
worth hearing. So through two hours Logan
swung his beautiful arms over the hea DIS of
the Senate like the booins of government
derrick, while his chin churned the language
like q pile-driver in heavy sea, and the
baffled reporters made wild pluDges with
their pencils to gather up his regurgita-
tions for the printer. And he talked well
He began by saying that he considered
it his duty to stand by the ship, a figure of
speech which made Howe of Wisconsin prick
up his ears, for that statesman had invented
III on LU6 pIcNlOuo uuu Cldilutu III dS Ills
own. Logan also proposed to stand by the
ship His strong point is standing by the
ship. He did in December, 1859, when he said
on the floor Of the House of Representatives,
"I came here as Democrat, and expect to
(" support Democrat. l may have differed
with gentlemen upon this side of the House
Gin reference to issues that are passed. but
"God knows that l have differed from the
other side from my childhood, and with that
." side will never affiliate so long as have
"breath in my body" This, with change of
the name of the party, is in effect what he
said on wednesday. And be spoke very loud
both times, and he means what he says, every
word of it. He did in 1859. He is q very
earnest statesman.
Logan argued that there was government
In Louisiana. And when we say argued, we
mean that he talked about it, and said there
was a government, and asked anybody to
deny it, and read from a Shreveport paper
AS to the military interference, president
"Grant had nothing to do with it, Sheridan
chad nothing to do with it. and the Senate
chad nothing TO do with it," If anybody was
responsible it wa, Kellogg. All that the
Democrats wanted was TO raise o clamor in
the country, and he believed "that this raid
"made in tho Senate, in thu Now-York press,
"and by the New-York meeting showed that
"there was some kind OF understanding that