River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-11-13
LITTLE KATE CHASE THAT WAS.
Mrs. Gov. Sprague That is.

Mrs. Gov Sprague That is.
Lady Jane Grey Swisshelm, the great
Pittsburg (Pa.) writer, who seems in
her old age to be more than ever
afflicted with cdcoethes scribendi, gives
her opinion of the Sprague. Conkline
difficulty. Here is what the old lady
has to say:
Little Kate Chase, when mere child,
was the head OF her fathers establish.
ment, her own mother and her two
step-mothers having died before she
was dozen years old. She was a
mere school girl when she presided at
his reception when he was governor OF
Ohio; was bright and beautiful and
spoiled with adulaton, with no mother
to guide her. She was ambitious, and
brave, and daring, and reckless. and
naughty, and defiant; but always much
in trouble, and the subject of gossip,
and seemed to rely ON her father 10
get her out of scrapes. OHIO, in those
days, was away west; and western girls
generally defy eastern ideas of pro-
priety; so large allowance should be
made for her escapades on the tomboy
theory.
OF course her fathers political
enemies were willing TO believe the
worst, but this is no. easily reconciled
with the idea of her being the mother OF
large family of lovely children.
Since their removal to Washington the
consuming desire Of her life has been
to be FIRST Lady. In pursuance of this
silly ambition she used to be rude to
Mrs. Lincoln, in demanding equality
of precedence. 1t was to gain this, the
great ambition of her life. that she
urged her father into bis candidacy for
the presidency and defeated the i'm
parchment of President Johnson.
While he was president, through her
friendship with Mrs. Patterson she
shone at the white house; but had that
staunch matron, Mrs. Wade, presided
there, Kate must have taken back
seat. So, through profuse hospitality
pretty toilets, constant attendance il
gallery, and smiles, mods, scented notes,
boquets, and so on and SO forth, she
turned the scale and kept Mr.. johnson
in place.
She loves power This country is
ruined by the women who live in
Washington All that men do, in cleo
tions, is to send dough for them tc
knead, and roll and pat. and put into
shape. Kate Chase and Winnie Ream
were the two most successful moulders
Of dough that | ever met in that city oil
unbaked bread. To be this it was not
necessary that they should be bad wo.
men. Nay, | should thInk it impossible
they could have exerted the influence
they did if they had been impure.
What was required was to be pretty
and chatty, and cunning and captiva
ting, and keep those BOBBY men hop,
ping about like the little ball under
Sgnor Blitz's thimbles. 1t is not q
game of vice so much as sleight finland
or, at least, so it appeared to me; and
watched their tricks and their man
ners" pretty closely. Men in authority
like to be amused and fl4ttered, and
Mrs. Sprague is an adept in the art Of
amusing and fiattering them.
The property LETT by her father had
been confiscated by the taxes levied tc
meet the great Gov. Shepherd steal, and
she set her wits to work to get these
property-holder in the District of Co,
lumbia who would 70: have felt it just
and right that his or her taxes should
have been cut down at least one hal
while they staggered under that load
laid upon them by the open thefts oil
men high in place.
The United States Senate, no doubt
RENTED the taxes of the old home oil
Judge Chase out of respect to his mem.
ory, and, no doubt, his daughter used
her personal influence with Senator
Conkling to induce him to act as the
representative of herself and sisters in
procuring that remission.
There is not necessarily any impro-
priety in his presenting the case, and
even urging the passage of the measure
as personal favor to himself; that Mrs.
Sprague did send bouquets and notes to
his desk would seem to indicate that
her mode of lobbying was of the most
graceful, highly approved and innocent
kind. Had her relations with Senator
Conkling been criminal, they would
scarcely have blossomed out into these
public manifestations.
That very small pattern of man, her
husband, once proposed in the United
States Senate to employ and pay lady
clerks in the departments ON the same
plan that he did factory girls; and all
the soul that he has must have been
rafting around in his little body like a
grain of mustard seed in dry gourd,
or he would have gone to Washington
last winter on the first hint of scandal,
and quietly notified Senator Conkling
that he had rights at stake and children
10 protect.
The fact that Senator Conkling went
openly to Sprague's house, taking his
trunk, shows that Mr.. Splague had not
given him reason to understand that he
would not be welcome.
The vino affair seems like another
instance of Hates constitutional will
fulness and habitual defiance of Mrs.
Grundy.
For her fathers sake, and that of her
sisters and her children. and for the
sake of truth and fair dealing, | trust
that the most generous allowance will
be made for her She has, no doubt,
been using Mr.. Conkling to procure
Government favor for herself and
family, but this does not prove that she
has been false to herself and broken
her VOWS as a wife.
The other day genuine tramp, with
a stomach yearning for a pleked-up
meal, undertook TO enter yard on
Winder street. A large, fierce dog
stood at the gate to give him hostile
welcome. and after vainly trying to
propitate the animal the tramp called
to a lad of ten VINO was making kite
on the veranda, "Hey sonny "Yes,
I'm hay" was the reply. Say, bub,
call off yer dog mo use-no use, re-
piled the lad Even il ycu cot in here
mas waiting at the kitchen door with
a kettle OF no. water. Sarah's working
the telephone TO get the police, and
I'm here to boiler 'murder' and wake
up the whole streetl"-Dtteoit Free