Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-08-27
SHEPHERD LEFFLER.
His Reaord in Congrcss--The Man for
The Times, as the Democrats Say.
Special correspondence of Denson Review.

future beng evident to the casual
observer, she was taken in Us the six.
teenth member of that family which
has since increased to thirty-seven.
The great object in becoming 4
State was to have . voice in the coun
ellis of the nation, and take part in
the affairs of the Republic, whose in
stitutions, with but one exception,
were the glory Of the century. To
attain that object the people of the
infant State chose one Of their mum
Der to represent them ut the national
capital, and the result of their choice
is thus chronicled in the Conqres
siondI Globe, Dec. 20, 1916:
''The President notified the House,
through his private Secretary, Mr.. J.
X. Walker, that he had approved and
signed the bill admitting the State OF
Iowa into the Union, whcreupon-
"Mr. Rethbun informed the House
that the members elect from the State
OF Iowa we're present and desired to
be qualified.
"And Mr.. Hastings and Mr. Shep-
herd Letter (Democrats) Represen-
tatives from the State of Iowa, pre-
senteI themselves, and the Speaker
administered to them the oath to sup.
port the Constitution of the United
States, and they took their seats in
the House."
Here then was the beginning of Mr..
Shepherd LETTERS political career,
which lasted four years. From the
arduous tolls of that period he has
been allowed twenty-five years for
rest and recuperation, and now the
news reaches us that in the course of
the ''rotation of office" advocated by
his party so earnestly he finds it his
turn once more, and the Democrats
have nominated him for Governor of
Iowa.
"By their fruits We shall know
them" But what if they don't bear
fruit? Let us see what Mr.. LETTER
did during his tour years Of Con
gressional life. With prccaution
that points to the possession of a
prophetic vision, and with a success
equaled by few, he Il, oided making
that very embarrassing thing - a
record. Preferring to be responsible
for sins of omission, during the re-
mainder of the Goth Congress-, in the
last session of which he took his seat,
he contented himself with hearing
and seeing. Not single motion or
resolution stands recorded in his name
for that time. But the recorded votes
show that in this as in all subsequent
sessions, he voted steadily for all
measures sustaining the iniquitous
war Oh Mexico, and against every
measure tending to limit or prescribe
the extension of slavery.
At the beginning of the Thlrtieth
Congress he was honored with sub
ordinate position on the very import
ant committee of Expenditures in the
Post-office Department, showing that
his striking abilities were duly ap-
preciated by his colleagues. During
the first session of the Thirtieth Con.
gress he still maintained the discreet
reserve that appears to have been his
settled policy. But at the second
session he asserted himself nobly and
came forward with one bill and three
resolutions. One resolution in regard
to the District Court of Iowa, to aid
the improvement of the Des Moines
and Rock River rapids, and a bill to
aid in the construction of a railroad
from Dubuque to KeoIuk. The
character of these measures being
purely local leads one to imagine
that they were the result of an ire
sistible pressure from home rather
than the spontaneous outshoots of the
Hon. gentleman's vigorous INTEL, ct.
At the beginning of the Thirty-tirst
Congress he was made Chairman of
the Committee on Invalid Pensions,
and with the exception of his com
mittee reports, no resolutions or bills
stand accredited to him during the
whole Congress, except one bill to
grant lands to aid two railroads. OF
course during the whole time he did
what every member of Congress has
to do--present sundry petitions of in.
divlduals, and resolutions of the Gen
crIl Assembly of the State of Iowa.
The tremendous amount of these
shows that the activity of the people
Of that State was not adequately rep
resented in the person of Mr.. Letter.
But his browning effort, his "maid.
en- speech, "his old maid speech, so to
speak, for it was never paired, took
place June 9th, 1850. On that day
he caught the Speakers eye and rose
to aid the cause of William Thomp-
son, whose seat from the FIRST Dis
:rict of Iowa was contested by Daniel
f. Miller For an hour he contended
that the Mormon, vote which would
have elected Miller, was rightly re-
jected, though the evidence shows
that the Mormons had settled at
GAINESVILLE, built houses, improved
lands, and were amcnablc to the laws
of Iowa.
Notwithstanding majority of the
House were sympathizers with Mr..
Letter, they wlthstood his sound rea-
soning and earnest pleading and I'M
seated Mr.. Thompson. This, how
ever, was the limit of Democratic
justice; for, though it was clear that
if Thompson was not elected Miller
was, they declared tho scat vacant
They could turn out a tellow-Demo-
crat, but they could not take in a Re
publican.
After this single metcoric display
Mr.. LETTERS light went out. He drew
pay, mileage and stationery like any
other member, ia thing abominablc
Ill the eyes Of modern Iowa Demo
crats) and departed to woll-earncd
obscurity. Since then the inelodious
name of Lefilcr has never issued from
the capacious throat Of the base-voiccd
clerk and demanded a plaintive aye
or nay.
The only thing that has withstood
the tendency Of the times is the Dem
ocratic party-though it is due to
them to admit that they do progress
backwards. Iowa IN 1850, with a
population Of less than two hundred
~ ,,,o,J A <rn,ov,l ..4olI:.. L.