The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-02-14
CALLER GusHING


public men of whom at the moment of
their death it is very hard, and seems to
be very ungrac1ous, to tell the truth, or
even to express the opinion universally
entertained of them. The New York
Times, however, on the morning after his
death, had very truthful and admirable
article upon his character and career, and
those who read it will more readily I'M
derstand why q man of the remarkable
powers, the various learning, the charm
ing accomplishment, the very great abil
ity and prolonged public experience of
Mr.. Cushing has left so little mark upon
his times, and had so little hold of the
public regard. He was personally one
of the most delightful of men in CONVEX
sation, for his memory was a store-house
of interesting knowledge; he was exceed
ingly fluent and fellcitous in expression:
he had perfect selfpossession and great
quickness, with . playful humor For
half a century he had been prominent
actor in public affairs, and he had seen
and known every prominent man during
that time. Nor were his sympathies
limited to professional or political inter
ests. He was a scholar in many litera-
lures, and his literary tastes and ambi-
lions were very strong. The charm and
ascendency of his personal impressions
were strikingly shown in the admiration
which Mr.. Sumner felt for him. They
were the two men who represented the
two extreme and hostile tendencies of
thought and feeling in New England,
and especially in Massachusetts, during
the last generation, yet in the later years
of his life Mr.. Sumner welcomed no
friend more warmly than Mr.. Cushing,
and no one was more impressed than Mr..
Sumner by Mr.. Cushing's great acquire
&c on6 oIi1ifinc
of Mr.. Cushing to be Chief Justice of the
United States had not been withdrawn,
we presume, incredible as it seems, that
Mr.. Sumner would have voted for con-
hrmatiOn.
The public amaZement when General
Grant nominated to the chief justiceship
of the United States the man who had
been president of the Charleston conven-
ton in 1860, and the deep and strong and
universal protest which compelled the
withdrawal of his name, were a revela-
ton of the profound distrust which his
career had tostered in the country But
the nomination showed no less the assem-
dency which the powers of Mr. Cushing
had obtained over General Grant, as over
Mr.. Sumner. Mr.. Cushing had been un-
doubtedly of very great service to the
Grant administration. His immense
knowledge of public law and his polite
al experience, with his tact and personal
attraction, were naturally exceedingly
agreeable and convenient; and to Gen.
Grant, who had been a soldier, and was
not familiar with political history or ira
ditions, the name of Caleb Cushing did
not suggest, as it did to those who knew
our political history, the image of pro-
digious political acrobat. The explana-
ton is familiar. 1t is contained in the
remark of an eminet man who exclaim-
ed, as he came from party of which, as
usual, Mr.. Gushing was thecenter, Good
Heaven! what man that would be if he
had only the least touch of political prin-
ciplep' There was some insolent sneer-
ing when Governor Andrew, of Massa,
chusetts, declined to accept Mr. Cush-
ing's offer of service in the war. But
with his knowledge of Mr. Cushing's
character and career, Governor Andrew
would have been guilty of great public
offense had he accepted the offer
In the perfect simplicity, gaiety, and
charm of his personal intercourse it was
strange to remember that the fascinating
man was Caleb Cushing He was en-
tirely frank and free. but still held him.
self wholly aloof. There was kind of
Voltairean GOODNESS about him, and his
response was to wit and intellectual
challenge, not to sensibility or to moral
or generous emotion. His capacity as a
practical publlcist was probably not sur
passed by that of any American at any
time and of all men in the country he
was most fitted, at the time he was sent,
for the mission to Spain, upon which he
departed amid universal approval. His
diplomatic service in China, also, and
his services at the Geneva Tribunal of
Arbitration, were very great and admir-
able. There was, indeed, no service of
that kind, involving vast learning, wide
experience, and the ready resources of
a most accomplished advocate, for which
Mr.. Gushing was not felt to be equal,
if not more equal, than all
our other public men. In poll
tics he had been on all sides, ranging
from an old Wing to Secession Demo
crat, but he probably never made poll
teal change nor took a political step
which was felt to be the result of patri-
otto conviction or political principle.
He was an unique character in our his
tory; and it can not be denied that the
feeling with which his career is regard
ed is an evidence of the rectitude of
public sentiment, while it is a conclu-
sive reply to the assertion that politics
are absolutely Independent of all but
considerations of expediency. But no
great human concern can be SO indie
pendent. The one thing profoundly
and permanently admirable is principle,
and without that every power and &C
complishment and attraction fail to win
the sincere and afectionate respect
which is the best part of fame.