Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-10-21
Communicated
STEAK RANDALL

SPEAKER RANDALL.
At the southwest corner of Seventh
and Walnut streets, Philadelphia,
where the fine granite building Of the
Philadelphia Saving Fund stands to.
day, there stood some fifteen years ago
an old fashioned, spacious. brick build.
ing. known as .'the Randall mansion"
II was just two blocks southwest of
Independence Hall and directly oppo.
site Washington Square. The house
was of three stories, with broad bay
windows on the rear, opening upon n
well-kept garden, ON the south end of
which stood a one-story brick build
ing opening oa Ssysaih street, dis
playing on the window shutter a strip
of tin with the name in gold letters.
JOSIAH RANDALL. "Only this and
nothing more" Mr.. Randall was a
: lawyer of the old school, one of those
cwbo made the Philadelphia bar pro.
verbal, among whom were such men
as Horace Binney. John Sargent, the
father in law of Gen. Meade, aud Gov.
Wise Of Virginia, Geo. NJ. Dallas, VIM.
Duane, Joseph and e.. j. Ingersoll,
Zalegman Phillips-"a very small man
with a very large queue" j. X. Kane,
father Of the Arctic navigator, Chas.
Chauncey and others, among whom
Josiah Randall held a prominent place.
On n occasion within my recoliec-
ton, while MIR. Randall was in Eng.
land, some knotty question of inter-
national law was before Parlisment,
and he was requested to give an opin.
ion before either the Commons or a
special committee, / can not at this
length of time say which, but 1 do
know that his opinion was generally
adopted and Mr.. Randall highly com
plimentsd. The feeling in those days
ran high against England, and in
England against America, and it was
looked upon as a very great honor to a
Philadelphia lawyer. Mr.. Randall
was a gentleman of the old school, and
always dressed in one wsy-a blue
dress coat with gilt buttons, a buff or
white vest, and trowserss strapped close
to his boots. He was a man of the
same size and appearance as our Mr..
Berwin; small, quick In his motions,
close cut gray hair, and q hauteur
which said as plain as Roman caps:
"Doli me tangere." Mr.. Randall had
a family OF three sons-W. Seward,
Samuel j. and Robert e. Seward Ran.
hti uitu dDOul lWtlNc lfdST ago. kDU-
ert +. hangs out a shingle as a lawyer,
and Sam is the Speaker of the House
of Representatives. He read law, /
think, in his fathers office, but gave it
up for mercantile pursuits, and when
elected in place of Thomas b. Flor.
ence, 'the practical batter," as Repre-
sentative Of the First Congressional
district, he was in a commission bust.
ness at Front and Walnut streets. Mr..
Randall began his political life as a
Democratic ward politician, and his
well known place IN society, his tall
ents for that intricate business, and his
boldness in carrying out any scheme,
made him very soon a prominent man
in his party. / do not suppose that
some of his past doinRs would make
Mr.. Randall throw up his hat, and so
let the veil be drawn-'.siat nominis in
umbra." Mr.. Randall Is a man going
we'll on to fifty; in earlier days a sym
m~etrically built, 1.-THE man, with droop-
ing, blonde mustache, and a mlen
which showed his aristocratic breed
ing and a perfect indifference to any
mans opinion; in a word. confidence
and self-assertion. He could associate
with and flatter the lowest of small
place hunters, but that class of men
dare not intrude upon his private lite
or social relations. He is not an elO-
quent man, but be is a grand tactician
and consummate manager. His course
as Representative has shown us a man
equal to any emergency, both as to
parliamentary rules and trickery. and
a partisan who never yet deserted his
colors, aud his friends as we'll as his
opponents must have been equally
surprised at his position a. Speaker of
the last session of Congress, when he
fairly outskirmished the skirmishers,
and by his decided stand and rulings
did more to break up rings and de-
moralize ring managers than has been
accomplished by any single man with
in the last decade. Those who best
know him and his proclivities alone
know how to estimate the man. 1t is
difficult to say what his course NAV be
during the present Congress, and when
politics seem to be in a transition state;
but knowing the man and his deter
mined character, it is fair to presume
that he will keep up the standard of
the record he has made and work pat
riotically for the interests of our whole
country. The railroad question prob
ably had little influence in his tri-
umphant reelection. There is no
doubt that Mr.. Randall has adopted
many of the advanced ideas in poll
tics, and broken from the shell of the
old parties, and the present Congress
will probably show that Mr.. Randall
has taken a position in the front rank
of coming men. +.