Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-02-22
A noomHNG srArEsmAN.
How One Of the Host Remarkable
Wen i'm the Country, Sir, Mas
tered the Tremendous Sab

but it might be. Jones is hot al
uncommon name. In fact, it Wouli
be improper to mention the liam
Of the solemn Senator who figure
as the veracinus historian Of .+L0
gan's Two Weeks on Finance be
cause the story was related in exec
utiye session should be held invio
late.
/ The story itself runs thus:
"By the way" Inquired our sOlOn
helping himself TO a fresh cigar on
of Maxey's cigar-case, tdid yos
ever hear the particulars of tina
course of study ?"
Nobody had heard it.
"WelI, venture to say that an
the only man living who is convers
ant with all the facts, aud dom
think | ought to monopoliZe 81
much valuable information. Ytu
see when the financial question frs
came up in the session of 1874
Logan, Morton, Carpenter and some
other Western Republicans got raj.
tied, ami concluded that their con-
stituents wanted more money. Lo-
gan was particularly excited. Sc
much so that when the debate on
Mprton's initiation bill opened he
jumped up to make a speech, ac-
cOrding to his usual custom, without
any preparation beyond that of ask
ing his next neighbor, Old Hamlin,
what subject was under considera-
tiOn. Hamlin on this occasion had
been asleep, in consequence of Howe
having line floor at the time, ana
didn't know so Logan senf a page
down to the clerks desk to inquire.
"Fhe page came back with in
formation that the subject under
consideration was that oi finances.
'Oho, said Logan, 'I'll make a
speech So he took the floor as
soon aS Howe finished, and began
to talk finance. But after stumb-
ling through the Introductory SEN
tences he concluded that he was
getting off wrong, and whispered to
Hamlin to move to go into execu-
tive session, which was done.
''That night when John went
home he said to his wife, who is
much more of a Senator than he is,
intellectually speaking, that he
didn't seem to catch the subject ex-
actly. 1t didn't roll off the end of
his tongue like speeches on the ku-
%iuA biii and the Fifteenth Amenu
hent. In fact, he couldn't see how
the war was TO be worked in, ant
the idea Of having to make a Speeci
without any war in Ii was some
thing he had never contemplated.
WhereupOn Mrs. l.. suggested to
John that he ought to study the
question before he attempted to
make speech on it.
"JOhn said that was a good sug-
gestiOn. He would adopt it, and
begin operations Immediately.
Accordingly, the next day, when
John took seat in the Senate, he
wrote note, and, calling page,
sent it to Sp0fford. the Librarian OF
Congress. Sp0ford opened the note,
ana immediately becssnIe violently
agitated. 1t read as follows:
"'MY DEAR SPOFFORD-Please
send me, by bearer, all the books
yost have 'dciIlng tne suuJect y. fl
nance.'"
"'Eheu y said Spofford, with em-
phasis. (Eheu is profanity in Lat
in. Spoff0rd is so learned that he
even swears classicalIy.) The inn
mediate cause of SpOff0rd's classical
was the thought that he
had some twenty-five thousand
books on finance, with pamphlets
beyond computation, and Logan
him TO load them all upon
that poor small boy.
Finally, upon reflection, Spofford
70 send John fifteen or
twenty of his elementary works, |
with a polite note to the effect that |
when he finished them more would |
be forthcoming. John had the books |
sent to his cOmmittee-rOOm, and, |
with his private secretary support |
ing his lett flank, Immediately at
tackled them.
"The first one he haHnnnod 70 get |
hold of was an essay of the Sixteenth |
century, printed IN old EuglIoH
'Gadr calculated John, |
finance is an old subject, amt it ? |
Here SpOffOrd has sent me an |
ancient work in the original Greek" !"
1.-The private secretary glanced at |
The book, and timidly suggested |
that it was not Greek, but old Eng
Iish.
"'Oh, WE'LL said John, lit looks
ike Greek. Isn't much like the
new English-the kind we speak, /
you know To which the private |
secretary responded that it was
much the same IN all except the
shape of the letters, with ehe men
tai reservation that there was no
written language much like the |
English John used.
'tF'inally, after about an hour and |
4 half of deep study, John con-
.luded that he would begin to block |
out his speech. So he began to die
tate, az follows:
"'MR. PRESIDENT The subject |
under consideration is one that has
has engrossed the attention of man.
kind from the earlier ages. In fact,
we find in the Scriptures that the
subject of finance was the root of all |
evil several thousand years ago. |
But / will not consume the time of |
he Senate in tracing the history of
financial discussion. Suffice it to /
SAY that, in every age of the world
IF which we have any knowledge |
rom the time when the PhBni-
.ians, under Julius Caesar, overrun
Greece and destroyed Herculaneum
md Pompeii; from the historic
siege and capture of Troy by the
great Hannibal at the head of his
nvincible Romans from the days
when Lycurgus made laws for
Carthage, and Semiramis. glorious
of the Nile, ensnared the
1recian conqueror, Tamerlane, in
he silken meshes of her charms,
lown to the memorable hour when
Washington crossed the
Alps yes, Mr.. President, from that
linn past down to the present day i
he great subject of finance has en-
crossed the deliberations of states
men and absorbed the attention of
But, Mr.. President,
1t this time the subject of finance
mas a new significance. When the
Dlood-red fires of rebellion burst
'orth over our fair land few years
ago. and armed treason raised its
bloody hand against the best Gov
eminent the world ever saw, who
was it that leaped to the rescue of 4
he Union? 1t was the Republican
party. l repeat it, sir, the great
md glorious Republican party.
Shall that proud record be effaced,
Mr.. President? No, never! Mr..
when. in 1861. the tOcSin /