The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-02-27
PUBLIC cA4RAcTERs At W4sHzyGroN
ALLEN G. THURMAN.

AT tie glance down into the United
States Senate you would hardly select AL
len ". thurman as q leader. You might
| even near him speak without noticing his
| aoiiity or his influence; but after WATCHING
inc oooyfor week or two, the conviction
comes Inevitably that no mans words are
worth more listening to, and that no mans
words command such respectful attention.
In a few hours of declam alton other Soma
TORS snow you all their airs and graces, but
there is reserved strength about him
which opponents dread and friends confide
In. 1t Is not measured, but every one feels
tnat 1t is there. He is perhaps the
pialnest- looking, certainly the SIMPLEST
ana most unostentatious man in the Sonata
he looks like well-tO-do old farmer, of
shrewd sense and sterling honesty. His
clothes seem to be coarser material than
those of his colleagues, and his coat ia of q
loose comfortable shape. Fore shortened a
little In the view from above, he appears
loW-slzed, but his massive head ia set upon
square, massive body, the seat of health
and strength, rather than grace. His face,
taken alone, resembl es-strsnge as IL NAV
appear-the portrait of Mr.. Thurman puh.
ilshed In the illustrated papers last year,
put that likeness as a whole was deceive
as IL gave an incorrect impression of
the Senator'S form. All his features are
large, and his mouth is especially go.
Their habitual expression is quite sagacitv
and goodness and the very thought Of
MIN suggests kents declaration to Lear
" GU have that in your countenance which |
1 would fain call MASTER" When he rises
60 speak he stands firmly behind his desk. |
winch ls the last in the row, and confines
his movements to STOPPING down to look
tor marked reference in a book, and his
gestures to putting on and taking off his /
spectacle. His speaking is essentially a |
matter of business not of display, and his |
voice. though unmusical, is strong and |
clear enough to be heard without effort |
the Senate Chamber and the
galleries. Out of the breast-pocket of his
coat, as he speaks, prOtrudes q red silk
handkerchief, and consequently the spec-
fator is prepared to see him draw forth.
as the argument progresses, a little black
oox, tap 1t gently and regaie himself with
pinch of SNUFF. Mr.. Thurman was long a
member of the Supreme bench of Ohio, and
nls manner of addressing the Senate is
oven now like that of q judge summing M
: case to ajurys Apart from his great legal
earning, clearness of comprehension, lo0i-
'@L necnod of statement and readiness in
Eeply! thls habit of taking both sides of a
question into account and considerin1
bneLn IalFiy, may be- esteemed one of the
sources OF his influence. 1t is this which I
SLVes nIs words such weight and when be I
sISnos up men expect, az matter of course.
InaU lucy are gong TO get clear idea of I
The Issue. he never Overstates his avn
case or draws conclusions that the facts do '
1oC warrant, auu hence is rarely open to 9
'ejoinder. think have not vet seen auy
'ne seriously attempt to answer him. His o
very moderation makes his denunciatinn c
LOUDLY effective when 1t comes, breakine 9
SuG hercely, as 1t sometimes does not the \
esult of sentimental excitement. hnt thS a
fleet of an honest mans indignation at the r
contemplation OF wrong. The great fac0I- al
y of Imagination, the distinctive charac
eristic OF genius, Judge Thurman does 3,
ot seem to possess, and consequently he is e
OF a great orator so much as powerful y
chatter. Nevertheless, as observers in :,
V ashlngtOn are talking now as in Web q
ter's time, of "matches and Over-matchesD y
4 this So Senate of EQUALS" it is generally Pi
cid that no Republican Senator is able to q
Ope with the Ohio Democrat. In hIs JUS n
&c and eonsiderateness and the purity n
his motives, Thurman would have. to "
'ok to some other man than bis foremost
. tagoniet for rivalry. A nnndarn urr,..E