Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-01-30
Senator Howe and His Mistakes.

4 .
HIM to be re elected. They believe
him to be man of superior ability.
They think him an honor to the State.
and that Wisconsin should have kent
him in the Senate as Massachusetts
kept her Webster and Sumner, and
South Carolina her Calhoun. And
Mr.. Howe is man ofsuperior ability
lie is patriot. He is sound Re.
publican. He is sound lawyer. Not
for present popularity or success
would he sacrifice principle. The
Republicans Of Wisconsin, in the early
history of the party, were generally
states rights men. Like the nullifiers
of South Carolina, they believed the
State had a sovereignty the United
States could not interfere with-that
the Y. ). Court could not take a
kidnapping case on appeal from the
State Supreme Court A Senator
was to be elected. Mr.. Howe could
have been elected by placing himself
with the State side of the question.
He declined to do so. Few in those
days thought that the question would
be settled by gigantic war Of sec.
tons, and that the Republican side
would be that entertained by Mr..
Howe, with the rebels on the other
side. His reward came at a later
election for Senator, when he was
elected and has held the place for
eighteen years But what other man
in public life can point to a similar
evidence of sagacity, with its sacri
ice. lie became Senator. but his
ambition was to be one of the JUDGES
OF the United States Supreme Court.
There came time when there was a
vacancy on that bench, and President
Grant offered him the place which
above all others he desired. He re-
fused to accept it Why? Because
at that time the Democrats had q
majority in the Wisconsin Legislature.
aud If he accepted the Judgeshlp-a
lifetime office-a Democrat would be
CHOSEN to take his place as Senator. |
What other man can furnish such an
example OF loyalty to the party that
had honored him There are numer.
Gus examples in the lite of Senator
Howe that show his goodness and his
greatness, but he had some faults that
were inexcusable and they account
wholly for his not being elected to a
fourth term. Senator Howe repre- |
scented, that is to say, he was one of
the better class of Republicans. AS
a Senator, under Grants system. he
had large control Of appointments.
Personally he wanted only honest as
well as capable men in office. In his
own Congressional District he attend
ed strictly to seeing that none but
proper men were appointed. But in
other parts of the State he listened to
the loud-mouthed fellows. IF he ever
IN other parts of the State secured an
appointment for a man against the
recommendation of poor Reyes flor.
merly Boss Keyes) we never heard of
1t. Il am known as moral, consci-
entious man whatever / do will
satisfy the moral and conscientious
men"--appeared to be his feeling.
"The moral and conscientious men
will always be satisfied if / am kept in
office, whether they get appointments
or not. They are not fighting men.
They can be subdued with palaver.
Reyes is fighting man-lf he gets
out of meat. The moral men, the
men who are honest and are Republl-
publicans from principle, will always
be with me anyhow. To keep Keyes
with me must let him control an.
pointments." This sort of reasoning
"a process of which Mr.. Howe him
self was probably unconscious the
reef on which he stranded. 1t did
not occur to him that the men who
secured place through the man Reyes
would, in the day of trial, be for
Reyes, not for the man whom Reyes
influenced. His course in this partic-
ular made all the pap,suckers think
Reyes an all powerful man, and that
Senators and congressman were mere
tools in his hands. The appointees
and expectants of Office, both State
and national, were great band of
lobbyists for the toad head Keyes.
Thus Mr.. Howe lost and thus he
deserved to lose. Giving his power
to office brokers was not good Repub.
licanism. The man mot faithful to his
own household is worse than an inf.
DEL" But in saying this we join the
other good Republicans of the State
IN Judging favorably of Mr.. Howe's
career as Senator-bonorable to him
and to the State. History will forget
his little faults, since they have lnfict-
ed their own punishment upon him.
and will write him down man wor-
af II L