The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1879-04-16

ABOUT THE "PEhSOAhL or THE
46th CONGRESS. -GRANT'S EX-
SECRETARY or THE NAVY,
,ANDDA TzS' EXP H. GEEERAL
a SUGGESTIVE ROLL GALL
GEN. JOHNSON AND GEN sHER-
MN ON TIE FLOOh.-GEN.
JOHNSON'S SPEECH 10 YEARS
AGO.-S. s. cox READS SCRIP
TURE.-A NAN IN THE GAL
LERY CURSES CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, D. c., April 10, 1879.
To the Editor of the Morristown Gazette
Yesterday was dull day at the capt
toll. The Senate was discussing the eli
gibility of Mr.. Bell to seat in that
body, and the House was debating a
proposition to require three fourths
instead of two thirds vote to pass an
appropriation bill. The debate seemed
stupid enough to those who had been so
recently enthused by the eloquence of
Garfield and Blackburn, thrilled by the
alarming cry OF revolution, and amused
| by the witty word duels of Conger and
Chalmers But no debate in the Senate
or House, no matter how insipid and
pointless it may appear to those whose
taste has been spoiled by condiments, is
without its significance and weight. 1t
shows the forte or foible of some repre-
sentative man, aye the forte and foible
OF representative governments. Indeed
it does not require debate to make the
10th Congress interesting. Perhaps the
most interesting performance, to one
acquainted with his country's recent
history, is the calling of the roll. What
episodes and volumes of history do those
names recall And how tame and I'M
heroic do the wearers of those names
appear, sitting in their arm chairs, pois-
| ing their feet on their desks, or furtive-
| ly trying to smoke cigar without max
| ing any smoke. Can it be that the
| demi-gods who loom so grandly in his
tory were little men too The dearth
| of news has led me into these sterile re-
| Elections, and | was also thinking what
| a creditable show of forensic ability two
| ex cabinet ministers, now members of
the House of Representatives, have
made during the last week. One cabi-
net minister was Gen. Grants Secretary
of the Navy, the other was jefferson
Davis's Postmaster General. They are
both able men with large stomachs.
Reagan was speaking yesterday, off
hand, on very dry subject, that of
fbo r,,1oo opH fire..
quently interrupted by men of his own
party who were opposed to his views,
who piled him with questions and
sought to entrap him in contradic-
tons. But he was equal to all his OPP
ponents and met every one of them with
ready reply. While he was speaking,
Mr.. Stephens, of Georgia, tried to in
terject little speech, but the ex-cabi-
net officer was not much disposed to
yield to the ex-Vice President, who sits
on a three wheeled chair. Suppose
some lunatic had told those two gentle
men, Is years ago, when one presided
over the Confederate Senate, and the
other sat in the Confederate Cabinet,
that the day would come when they
would both sit in the q. S. Congress.
They would not have believed the luna
tic, nor would anybody in the world
have believed him. Then there is an
other little, old but remarkably well
preserved man, whom nobody ever ex-
pected to see in this congress or any
other congress. When this man dawn
ed upon history, or was it history that
dawned upon him? Well, either way
eighteen years ago, it was as a great
military leader, a cOnsummate strate-
gist, twin sphinx and phoenix of wars.
Those of US who do rot pretend to be
young ladies remember well enough,
what giants of prowess rumer and the
press made the Johnsons, McClellans,
and Beauregards to be in those, early,
untried days of the war. But it is not
my intention to depreciate the military
ability of Gen. Joseph E. johnson. 1t
was he that forced Mcclellan back from
the foothold4that Grant finally maintain
ed, and had he not been removed from
the front of Sherman, as he was moving
on Atlanta, the present General of the !
Army would not have had such an easy
promenade to the sea. Gen. Johnson |
has not yet made speech. l don't |
think he is much of an orator, but l |
once heard him in that role. 1t was six |
teen years ago when he was in command |
of the Army of Tennessee, with head
quarters at Tulahoma. Business had
called him to Knoxville, where the en-
thusiastic citizens serenaded him late at
night. He appeared on the balcony of
the hotel and told them, as we'll as can
remember, that a little fighting was
worth more than all that music and en-
thusiasm; that they would better be in
able bodied men from whom the Con-
federate ranks could be recruited. That
was the kind of demogogue Gen. Jos.
E. Johnson was sixteen years ago. He
has doubtless changed since, with the
rest of the world, and would scarcely
brow-beat band of his constituents if
they should give him a serenade now.
In his new role of statesman he has more
need of ballots than bayonets. To make
The historic tableau complete Gen. Sher-
man was on the floor as a spectator {
md here are many of them-the victo- :
'ious and vanquished, living reminis-
,nces of those heroic days. Yesterday,
ourtsen years ago, Lee surrendered 81,
'05 men, the remnant of the Confeder-
.ta Army, at Appomattox; and yester- s
lay Virginia military company were 4