The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-11-25
miscellaneous.
THE TERRY Y-BRODERICK DUEL.

THE TERRY-BRODERICK DUEL.
The defeat Of one out of several Pres.
idential electors in State is an extraor.
dinary occurrence which has just heen
officially declared to have happened in
California. David S. Terry is the Demo.
cratic elector thus "left out in the cod.''
Had the pending election been as close
as was that of 1879 Judge Terry's defeat
might have changed the complexion of
our history for four years at least There
can be little doubt that the causes OF this
defeat lie far back Of the pending elec
tion, and must be traced to the killing Of
Senator David S. Broderick in duel
years ago by Judge Terry. Many old
residents oil the Eighth Ward remember
David s. BroderiCk as young Democrat
ic "boss" in that part Of New York
thirty y-five years ago. Dave" the "fire
laddie" and stone-msson's apprentice,
just before he left New York for San
Francisco owned popular liquor saloon
which was the headquarters of the Tam
many boys of Houston, Spring and
Varick street neighbornoods. The i'm.
mediate cause of Dawes" leaving on the
first attack Of the gold fever of 1849 was
his unexpected defeat for Congress in a
Democratic district, for which undoubt.
edly he was himself responsible. He
had become thorough political organ
izer, and in his new home as fireman
and ward politician he almost immedi.
ately acquired an asCenjancy in Demo.
cratic politics. No sooner had he secured
re idenCe than he was chosen State
Senator, and by an accident during his
term was made acting Lieutenant. Cover.
nor. "Dave" Immediately aspired to be
United States Senator, and actually spent
seven years in persistent and undaunt-
ed struggle for the prize. Three times
in 1851, 1866 and lS56-he prevented
choice by the Legislature rather than see
rival chosen. In 1852 John B. Weller
beat BroderiCk by only two majority In
1858 no election for Senator occurred. In
1854 BrOderiCk hit upon the ingenious
plan of choosing himself in advance OF
the vacancy, and nearly succeeded in the
scheme. Believed to be in 1866 as dead
politically as Denis Kearney now is, and
actually 80 unpopular as to be kept un.
der watch by the aristoCratiC vigilance
committee of that period, Broderick, in
1857, by bold political moves, was chosen
United States Senator, and had so much
power as to be able to dictate who his
colleague should be after obliging that
Colleague-Senator Gwin-in memor
able letter which afterwards became pub.
lie, to agree that Broderick should enjoy
all the patronage. This was an agree.
ment which President Buchanan refused
to acknowledge, and this led to a rupture
between the President and BroderiCk,
who on one occasion on the floor of the
Senate, averred that "the Presidents
policy towards Kansas should be as.
Cribed to the fading intellect, the petu-
lant passion and the trembling dotage of
an old man on the verge of the grave"
The rupture lead to the defeat in Cali.
fornia of the Broderick Democrats at the
Congressional elections. During that
canvass David s. Terry, the recently re.
jeCted Hancock elector, made campaign
speeches, although, like Jude Noah Da-
Wis, he was Justice of the Supreme
Court. Broderick having claimed in a
stump speech that he was following the
lead of Douglas, Judge Terry retorted by
saying that ut was the lead not of Ste.
phen but of Fred Douglas" Broderick
was breakfasting in the International
Hotel Of San Francisco with Mr.. Perley,
friend both of the Senator and of the
Judge, when the speech was read out
from morning paper. BroderiCk was
much nettled, and impulsively said II
have said that Terry is the only honest
man on the bench, but take that back"
Perley spoke up sharply at this and left
the table to go and pen a challenge,
which Broderick declined on the ground
that he had no quarrel with Perley, and
that if he had, Perley was not his equal.
Then Terry stepped into the gap and, re.
signing his judgeship for the purpose,
sent Broderick challenge which was
accepted. The duel was fought ten
miles out of San Francisco on the morn.
ing of September 13, 1852 with duelling,
pistols, at distance of ten Yards. Brod-
eriCk's ball struck the ground a few
PAGES Immediately in front of Terry
BroderiCk's hair.trigger failing him
while Terry's ball lodged in Broderick's
left lung and killed him within few
days. His death was regarded by the
anti slavery Democrats as an assassina.
tion-a sentiment which the late Gener.
al and Oregon Senator, E. D. Baker,
made the topic Of a celebrated funeral
grafton over "Dave"-as his admirers
continued to call him to the day of en-
tombing his remains beneath conspiC-
uous monument in Lone Mountain
Cemetery. Terry was indicted for MUIR
der and imprisoned but never tried,
During the civil war he was in the Con.
federate army. After the war he re.
turned to San Francisco and praCtised
law and re entered politics. In August,
1879 he unsuCGessfully ran on the Kear.
ney ticket for Attorney General. This