Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-01-17
jim Nve,

e SsoiiSs arc appearing
in print of the late Senator Nye.
Here is an incident illustrative of one
of his we'll known defects. Just be-
fore Secretary Chase resigned the
Treasury in 1864, Horace Greeley. be-
ing in Washington, was asked who
he thought would be a good successor
to the important office.
"The best man l can think Of" said
Greeley, is 'sis Jim Nyc."
Jim Nye? You cannot mean IL
What in the world is there to recon.
mend him"
Just this" replied the journalist,
I've known Nye for good many
years. He's always borrowing mon
ey, and I've never known him to nav
a dollar back. Now, if he could be
in the Treasury, he'd keep borrowing
in his old way, while nobody could
ever get anything out of him. and the
result would be that the Treasury
woulc be full all the time-and the
treasurer would be full too, and
things would go OH swimmingiy.,
The Virginia City (Ney. J, Chronicle
says that Nye went to Secretary Stan
ton once to make 3 petition for some
dead soldiers orphans. II was in the
darkest days of the war. Stanton said.
u have not time, Mr.. Nye, to see
what you want" 'Suppose that Won
take time, Mr.. Secretary .You arc
unreasonable, Mr.. Nyc, in pressing
such a thing at this time" said Stan.
ton. "Pcrmit me to say that you are
the unreasonable man, answered
Nye. '1f you were not a United
States Senator I should say that Won
were very impertinent," said Stanton
haughtily. eff you were not great
Secretary Of War should be tempted
to say that you were making .
damned fool Of yourself,r replied the
o'd Gray Eagle, with his eyes blaz-
Ing Stanton looked at him a mo.
mept, and then softcning, said "Mav
De ! am, Jim-who knows-come in
side and tell me all about it," "Now
Ned, my boy, you arc growing sens;.
ble," said Nye, and the business was
quickly arranged.
At the time Bret Harte's famo,,s
poem Of the "Hcathen Chinee.' was
the rage, an incident occurred in Tho
Senate which we do not rccollect Of
seeing in print. Bret Harte's heroes
were "Bill Nye" and urruthful
Jeems," yet, on account of Senator
Nye being representative from the
Pacific coast, many people confoup,a.
ed him with the Nyc of the gam.,,;n,
exploit, although their nam,s wer1
a,nerent, and it being highly proba
bic that Harte evolved The characte,
Of "Rn Nye7 from. his inner con
scssasasss' Senator Nyc enjoyed .
JOKE Immensely if it was level
GU 81 seme enc else's expense, but h,
was very sensitive about the attemp
TO make him the "Heathen Chinee
Nye. About this time he was in
aWging in a fearful philippe on
gay, against the Mongolian race i,
general, and the Chinese lin-particu
lar, who were, according to his speech
oVerrunning the Pacific coast an,
running the country with chea,
labor. 1t was a speech intended I,
fire the Nevada heart and send him
self back to the Senate.
4 When he got through, Senate
Trumbull got up in his cool, cynica
way, and remarked that ssome allow
"ance should.be made for the person
al feelings of the Senator from Nc
"vada, as the country was aware @
the fact thst thelc had been som
difficulty between the Chinese an
the Nye family "
II With all his wit, Nyc was unabl
to parry the force of this palpablc hi
and he Joined in with the laug
(which pervaded the usually dignifie
Senate.