The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1879-08-07
(Ik

the names of Gems. Ewing and Rice will bt
more prominently before the people of the
United States than those of fanny other states
men of the Democratic party. By genera
consent the Ohio canvass of this summer is
assumed to have a direct and important
bearing upon the Presidential contest Of
1880. Whether its significance in this re.
spect is oyerestimated or otherwise, it il
certain that the great National issues which
now divide parties in Congress are to bt
presented to the voters of Ohio, for thei
verdict, and that the advocates of Demo.
cratic principles, in all parts of the Union
viii regard Ewing and Rice as the repre-.
Esenta6ves and champions of honest juries
free and fair elections, and the subordina
ton Of the military to the civil power.
There are a few illustrious names among
the public men of every country, which nj
one can think of singly. If we were t.
mention the name of Adams or Bayard
memory at once throws open the vista O
buried years, the Adamses and Bayards o.
the past re-appear, and we are soon lost IL
contemplation of the great historic events
in which they bore conspicuous and honor
able parts. So the name of Ewing newt
ably recalls that Of his honored father. Il a,
whom thev are few brighter or ee
serving OF veneration in the history Of thu
Republic. The early life of Gen. Ewing
father was a hard struggle with poverty
not fashionable poperty-not ease and Idle
ness at the expense of others, but manly
toll, hard4abor for daily bread and for the
means of obtaining an education. To ac.
Ecomphsh this dominant ambition of his
youth he worked as a common laborer In
the salt works Of the Kanawha river. Alb
solutely free from vice of every kind, In
,lspired with an Unsuitable thirst for known
Hedge, strong, brave, self-reliant, he climbed
lstep by step until he became a man of rare
and varied learning, and so profoundly
lyersed in the law that many Of the ahlest
%jurists regarded hun as the leading lawyer
Lin America. Entering the United States
ESenate at the comparatively early age Of
~Iforty-one, he became at once a leader, tax
ing rank with Webster and CLAW and then
great compatriots. At the bar, in the Sen
ate and in the Cabinet, his learning, his
consummate mastery oflogic, and hisinnate
nobility and strength of character made him
one of the most prominent figures in the
history Of his time. As a great example Of
patriotic virtue, as an illustration of the
career that is possible to the poor boy who
possesses intellectual strength, moral purity,
and courage enough to work upward and
onward, there are few lives that can be
more proftably studied than that of the
father Of Gen. Tom Ewing, of Ohio.
On the 7th of August, 1929, Gen. Thos.
Ewing was born in the paternal residence
at Lancaster, O. He was the third son Of
the great statesman, and was not destined,
Ike his father, to struggle with adverse
fortune. Inheriting his fathers ambition
for the requirement of knowledge, Che
means of qualification were within his reach
After a thorough preparatory course, he en-
tered Brown University under the presidency
of DR.. Francis Wayland, and graduated il
1854. He was popular at college with botf
faculty and students; with the former be
cause of his manly department and good
standing IN his studies, with the latter be
cause OF his genial temper, which renderef
him always approachable and companion.
able. The writer of this sketch recalls
with pleasure the Tom Ewing Of {
quarter of a century ago, with his splen,
did physique, his intellectual, frank
almost transparent face, his ever-ready wit
his pleasant smile, his chiyalrous regard fol
the feelings of all his associates, his lively
interest in public affairs, his keen sympa
thy with thepoor and oppressed, his hatred
Of injustice in every shape, and recalling
this pleasant picture experiences a peculiar
delight in finding the fulfllment of the
bright promise of his early manhood In the
Gen. Ewing of to-day, whose sympathie:
are still with the weak as against the
strong, with right against wrong, with the
struggling masses against oppression ofcon.
solidated cash and centralized despotism.
In 1855, young Ewing graduated at the
Cincinnati Law School, where he was re
garded as a worthy son of his distinguished
father, because he possessed many of thosl
peculiar traits that had made the eldel
Ewing a giant in the legal profession. TIT
next year he removedto Kansas and entered
upon the practice of law at ~Leavenworth
He achieved success from the outset, ant
: soon became the head Of his profession il
that State. Taking an active partinpolitics
he became prominent among the leadin!
Republicans of a~nte-bellum times, ant
was chosen Chief Justice. of the Suprem
Court of Kansas, a position which he file
with much credit for two years.
Prior to this, in 1856, Mr.. Ewing wa
married to a~daughter of the Rev. William
Cox, of ohio, a distinguished minister Q
the Pcsbyterian church, in which faith hi
children have been reared.
IGen. Ewing first appears in the hstor
of the wal of the rebellion as the. colonel Q
the Eleventh regiment of Kansas yoluntee
infantry, recruited and organized by him i
the autumn of 1862. He led his comman
gallantlysm several engagements 0 afte
it entered the field, and was promoted t
be a brigadier-general on the 18th c
March, 1853. He was soon assignedto tn
command of the district of the border, com
prising the State of Kansas and the west
ern portion of Missouri, in which positlo
he won the approval of his superiors a
Washington. We have not space for a dc
tailed account of Gen. Ewing's militar
services. Among the most Important wa
the stubborn and sanguinary conflict 6
Pilot Knob, on the 9th of Septembel
1854, in which he achieved a brlliar
victory at the sacrifice of one-fourth of b
available force. From the beginning t
the end of his service in the Union arm
Gen. Ewing was popular with his surbol
dinates and respected by his superiors. q
attained the rank of brevet Encouragement
and would have been made a full maio
general had not the redundant list been
filed that scarcely any degree of mer
could insure further admissions.
Since the war Gen, Ewing has been col
spicuous in Ohio and in National polite
He was a member Of the Ohio Constitl
tional Convention of 1894, where b
legal attainments and oratorical powe
gave him deserved prominence. As a mer
Der of the Democratic majority in Il
Forty-ffth Congress, he calamity led Il
movement for the reconciliation of silve
and splendidly fulfilled the predictions of h
! friends by the zeal and ability with whit
, he championed the cause Of the masse
against the exactions of the power whit
had dominated Congress for many yeal
"A .,1o eaho1or n -aadu on1 oro oaf