Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1877-11-22
AN HONEST MAN.
"Over this Coffin Arches Bow of Unques.
toned Integrity"
Eloquent Tribute of DR.. Bayliss at Morton's
Funeral.

Oliver Perry Morton was an honest man.
No man in this country ever had such chances
to enrich himself at the public expense, but
there is at this point absolutely no dimness on
the glory of his career. Over this coffin
arches bow of unquestioned integrity. With
abundant opportunity to die worth millions
he chose to die in comparative indulgence. If
an honest man is the noblest work of God,
then this casket holds what is mortal of one
of Gods noblest works. His hands are clean.
He has stood against the tide of dishonest
schemes and schemers-a Gibraltar against
the sea. He believed and acted upon the
belief, that it is better to 20 poor to an
honored grave than TO 60 by questionable
fortune to a splendid burial. After his re-
turn from Oregon he said to his secretary {:
You must be very careful in making up the
accounts, for am sick and cannot look af-
ter them, and then added: l would rather
die than have a blot on my name. Battle
SCARED, Obdurate as he was in political strife,
on this subject he was as scrupulOus as a
Puritan and as sensitive as woman. This
mans honesty comes like sweet harmony into
the discord of public greed and unscrupu-
lousness for the nations sake. In his mode
of life he was rigidly plain and simple. He
refused to attend courto.'l be-
cause he would be obliged to go in court
dress.
If Senator Morton were alive he would not
desire me to stand here and say that he was a
Christian in the ordinary sense OF the term.
If there was anything he despised it was a
man who made profession of christianity
insincerely and aimed to use his relation to
the church as means Of political prefer
ment He did not make minute study of
Christian evidence, but he took the system as
whole. He saw how the relig ion of the
bible meets the demands of man for an in
telligent faith in the Supreme Power which
rules the universe. At his own table he had
silent blessing after the manner of the
File less some one were present on
whom he could call to perform that duty
orally. AS death approached bis wife said :
"Oliver, are you not afraid to die?' He said,
"No." 'Do you love your Savior?' she
asked with emphasis; lie answered, II do, .
and added, ''and my wife and boys
But time hastens. The solemn hour is
here The grave waits for the mighty, and
though we weep and wonder where we can
find another like him, we must prepare tor
the solemn knell of ''earth to earth, ashes to
ashes, dust to dust" MassilIon at the funeral
of king of France, stood before the vast
assemblage holding in his hands golden urn
which contained a lock of hair from the
head of the silent monarch. Slowly he raised
his band and stood motionless and pale as q
statue until awe hushed the people to the
stiffness OF death. Minutes passed; some
| thought he was struck dumb before the
august multitude AT last he said in tones
which thrilled men with deep solmnity,
''God alone is great" The death of this sou
of power is blow which makes nation
reel but as we stagger backward from the
shock let us be grateful that we may lean
against this pillar of truth from which
springs an arch of hope that spans all worlds
Still the Lod God omnipotent reigneth