Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-05-12
lIalNYoLNRY ~

Nhfisltnlt nuine--fuf nc nau onc, anu
II was the only Christian thing that
survived tho ruin that Joseph Brooks
Ct. al. had brought upon the Republican
party In Arkansas--was Volncy v,
and that was of the utmost import
ance 10 everybody. fVolneyr Wand
the ", or what IL stood for, no
body ever know, and in those turbu-
lent times In Arkansas nobody over
had time to inquire--turned up ut the
opening Of the last session, Of the last,
and the last-of.its-lsind Congress, with
his courtenance of most unhallowed
rod, and bis mouth of that unaccount-
able roundncss that comes 10 q boy
who sits down unexpectedly in slip
perry place, or that fixes itself upon
the face Of O statesman who gives his
days and nights to running away from
homo crying out "Morc Troops --and
he said-volncy V. said, in his breath
less way, as ono who had run all the
way from Little Rock, Arkansas, TO
Washington, in the District Of Colum-
bia, 50 Us TO be there in time 10 tell II
to tho Attorney General in person be-
fore Congress- mct-that he was the
Governor of Arkansas. :, His hair
streamed back toward Little Rock,
but his nose rested on tho National
Capitol, and he bore under his arm the
opinion Of I. D. W. Yonley, a great
constitutional lawyer of Arkansas,that
he, Volney v, was the Governor of
Arkansas.
Yolncy V. was elected or believed
10 have been elected ~ Lieutenant Gov
ernor Of Arkansas, when Elisha Bax-
ter was elected, or supposed to have
been elected, Governor of that State.
Everybody is familiar with the polti-
cal history Of Arkansas under the
regime of Senator Clayton and Poker
Jack. We need not repeat it. Suf.
fee it to say that when Gov. Baxter
Elisha Baxter, so called-fell out,
with the remark that they were car
rying things TOO far, and Joseph
Brooks fell in with the rcmark---
"Thems the jockeys for me"-and
when by the adoption of new con
stitution Joseph Brooks found that he
was nowhere, without any friends OK
cept Claytsn and Dorsey-which was
as much worse as having no friends rs
punishment after death is worse than
death, when this all happened, and
Lieutenant Governor Volney v found
that the people had slipped everything
out from under him, including the con-
stitution,.hc made up his mind that he
was none of your Liutenant Govern
ors, but q whole Governor Baxter
had abdicated, and he was next in the
order of succession. He would have
no new constitutions, and no Garlands.
Straightway volney V. telegraphed
TO Attorney General Williams that
Baxter having abdicated and the new
constitution being unconstitutional, he
himself had succeeded TO the Execu-
tive chair, and was Governor. And
then Yolney " did the very noxtthing
in order--the thing he knew would
draw him at once TO the heart of the
Attorney General-he tclcgraphed tor
more troops llo wrote for moro troops
he sent messengers for moro troops
and then, Governor Garland having
heard of him by this time, and offer
ed n reward for his apprehension--hc
put both hands to his mouth, and his
face toward Washington, and bowling
More Troops followed the sound Of
his voice to the Capitol, while his coat
tails and hair streamed toward Little
Rock, Meantime all llArkansas search
ed with lighted candle for volney v.
partly out Of curiosity and partly for
the reward, and the Border States
caught flying glimpses of. his horizon
tai coat tails and his streaming hair as
he went toward Washington.
lie appeared to the Attorney Gen
eral very early in the session, and in q
most impressive way said he was Vol
ney V. Smith, and the Governor of
Arkansas, and that he wanted more
troops, and then he unrolled Yonley's
Opinion. II took the Attorney Gen
eral some time to read the Opinion
some little more to find out who Vol
ney was; and then the President sent
message in to Congress, saying in
effect that Arkansas was in avery bad
way without volncy land that prob
ably that the best thing to do in the
interests of peace was to vote that the
now Arkansas constitution was very
revolutionary and unconstitutional
piece of business; that 1t did not connt
for anything; and that, as matter Of
fact, Volncy V. was the de jure, de
facto, pro bono publico, ipse dirt Gov
crnor.
Congress, for some reason or other,
possibly not unconnected with the re-
kults of the fall elections. failed 10