Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-24
A CORRESPONDENTS ESTIMATE OF A
SACRAMENTO SENATOR.


SACRAMENTO SENATOR.
The legislative correspondent OF the
! San Francisco Post has this to say of Sen
ator Grove L. johnson of Sacramento:
have but slight acquaintance with this gen
tleman, though We live in the town, and whaf
say OF him is the result of six weeks study III the
Senate. have heard him speak in previous years
put never before attempted to analyze the man
johnson is young man, not quite forty years Of
age, Is about five feet eight inches in he ght and
weighs about lao pounds. lie is strong winded and
has Lot spare pound of flesh. He has large,
oblong head, precipitous on all tides, very high
above the ears and it is thatcned with heavy sup
ply OF straight hair, nearly black. ha face IS also
oblong and is ornamented with heavy, wiry brown
whlskers and mustache. His eyes not brilliant
or III any way conspicuous, and his nose is simply
pam, straight slightly dubious at the end with dis
tended nostrls. The forehead is well covered with
hair, and furrowed with thought, and the exposed
portions OF his countenaCce are pale, il not pallid
The mouth is concealed, though imagine that 1T is
ssessed OF generous proport ons. Pain is written
on this pale aud xious countenance and there Is,
IN spite Of his amazing vitality, tired spot about
the man. The fragile delicate body carries slight
stoop on the shoulders and yet it is elastic as the
| AR He looks like man who might be sick nigh
| unto death one day and prematurely vigorous the
next 1t is evident that this nervous elastic sensi-
tive body IS responsive to all the variations OF the
weather; Its bar0metric sensbility must be very
| acute. He treads firmly, moves quickly like a
|
swallow and is never in state OF repose. One
fears hat tn walking furnace will burn out
Such vitality apd physical toughness rarely ever
seen IN frame so fragile. Such body, even Win
feeble mind, or none at all, would be tremendu-
Gus force among men. johnson is scrupulously
neat in his person, though never dressy, and he
| carries about him the atmosphere OF thorough
gentleman. The left lapel OF his broadcloth coat is
| always ornamented with a small bouquet, which Is
part of the mans character and it is redolent not
only with he fumes OF flowers, but OF that domes-
Inn t1faqGN
a halo The countenance, the manners OF the man,
proclaim aloud the fact that he is family man,
free from all kinds of sexual excuses Jonnson's
voice is Undesirable, though shall make an effort
to characterize it. His ce is strong, smooth and
elastic, and lacks body. 1t is thin, but never
! breaks, and it penetrates the very marrow OF the
nearer. When expressing resentment 1t has me-
talc ring-sounds hike the Jingle OF q steel blade
bobbing upon stone. Then again it grows soft
and tender, like the purling Of mountain brook.
Often his voice is sad, solemn, plaintive, but more
frequently il cuts the air with the shrill sound OF
mimic ball. Sometime, when he becomes denuncia-
tory his voice grows harsh and fierce, and you feel
that skulls are being broken. moment later the
same voice will ring out in higher key like the
tones OF Il silver bell 1 know little about Johnsons
history from report, but there is a history in his
voice TIE hearer feels assured that there IS art
in the voice, and that it is telling Fierce strug
gles deadly conflicts, great indecorum, restless wait
ing, bitter complaining, exultation, defiant toll,
tender feeling have been that mans portion in life
as well see through his strange voice. This char
acterlStlc OF JohnSonS voice accounts much OF
HIS POWER OVER MEN.
Men strike hands with him and swear to stand by
him. because his voice tells them that he has lived
their life of pain and conhict-he is ing
them His voice, to nell who have not been hard
ened by money, is reminiscent of pluck, endeavor
and the kind OF herosm that is level with the eXpe
rience of the masses. And when his voice in bitter
sarcasm vibrates, like the sting of bee it pro-
poses to enter human flesh, outraged men feel that
he may be their helper against wrong doors. john
sons manners are worthy OF special study. As a
matter OF course his intense nature must be variable
in expression. Generally he is afable ami accessible
to all, whether friend or foe but now and then,
harsh natures and cold blooded critics his
path, he shrinks in an icy GOODNESS At these times
the inner man seems to be alternating in ala
baster cave. His eager activity spoils the natural
courtesy Of the man, and he appears at times in his
preoccupied state OF mind to be obvious to those
about him. But when he is thoroughly him.
self he is as winning as beautiful and
tender hearted woman, and, them his
personal magnetism is irresistible. At such
moments Johnson can met the heart and
cammand the good will Of his most bitter enemies |
Occasionally he seems to look upon every man an
enemy, but am inclined to the opinion that he is
naturally predsposed to kind feeling. The mental
ity of Grove Johnson is in keeping with his physical
makeup. His mental powers are nearly always at
white heat, and wonder that his intense mind has
not long since shattered his body. Frequently this
mental intensity does PROSTATE him, and imagine
that sickness and recovery alike with johnson come
from mental From the opening to the close
of each session Johnsons mind is on the leap like
greyhound after hare. Tho5gh often accused of
the fault myself, his intensity frequently
makes me sick. The toughness of his mental fiber
is phenomenal-hse endurance is astonishing. AS a
matter of course he is brilliant do not NEAR by
this that he is Eighty, but that he is always original,
and never common p.aee-neyer slow. AT the same
time he seems to be as thorough as any plodder.
HIS REASONING PROCESSES
Are continuous persistent and relieved by electric
sparks. Frequently however, he leaves point ex-
posed, but his rapidly of thought and EXPIRE sion
gives his opponent but little time to make the dis
covery. He has good Imagination, but his fancy
lacks culture, is easily seen in the character of
his metaphors. His literary traits suffer from his
terrible intensity. The literary instincts cannot be
nurtured except in repose, and Mr.. Johns n is
stranger TO that luxury. His memory is retentive
of ideas, but not Of FORMS In directness of mind
Mr. johnson exces. He takes the shortest route to
everything, and never plays by the wa, side. John
sons knowledge of law is good. He may not be as
tho ough Wendell and Nye aud several other Sen
ators, but he is able to his entire stock of legal
lore at moments notice. In his knowledge of poll
ties he Is the equal of any man in the State But
must say something OF the character, CT general
make up OF Grove 10 nson. In the main he is far
and just, and | came to this conclusion by
studying his spontaneous acts. No man def
cient in his sense OF right can uniformly be
lust in little things. In his relations with other
Senators he gives to each his due in natural and
easy Indeed, he is systematic IN his efforts
to do the fair thing among his fellow members. Aud
wards just conduct. He is apparently straight
forward and direct in his conduct and he always
plains his moives frankly and fairly. Thus far
have seen signs OF concealment or strategy, and
am inclined to the opinion that he is unable tone
conplish nything oy indirect methods. There is no
pretense assumption about him. On the con-
trary, he is always perfectly natural and flee from
disguise. The open fearlessness OF johnson Is
amazing He asks no quarter Graves no mercy, and
never shelters him elf behind anything anybody.
He fights upon top of the breastwoTks and scorns all
kinds of defensive armor. He exposes himself and
invites attack. There is nothing on earth that he
fears in the way of attack, and can imagine moth
ing that would daunt him in the least. He would
FACE ALL THE CoMBATANTs OF EARTH
Without fear And yet this fearless man is ex-
ceedingly sensitive and easily hurt by chance
word unkind look. verify believe that
cold blooded calculation could silently torture john
son. but thousand enemies could never move him
from position by the most vigorous and ong-con-
tinued assaults 1t is seldom that mans courage
so thoroughly overcomes all natural lnhrmity Mr..
johnson is naturally affecticnate, tender and play
full and he is often lively, but he is generally grave
and serious in the extreme. The willpoWer OF this
phenomenal man is terrific, AID he can at any mo-
ment consolidate and command himself iii a manner
thoroughly despotic But must cease from this
fru'tless effort to portray that mans character.
would like to understand his interior history; but
never shall for he makes no parade OF his inner
life. ! must now say something OF Johnson, the
debater He is not orator, or at least, he never
scars attempts to impress men by the arts Of the
public speaker. He relies solely upon thought and
argument, and seeks to present his case i'll the sim
plest and most direct manner. He is sometimes
eloquent and genuine elcquenee is within his reach
but he does his best only when there is specific
point to be gained Buncombe is wholly beyond
his capacity. He marshals everything aud trains
all his guns on single point. He wishes to accom-
psh distinct and practical result hence he never
'spurges" He economies strength words and
noise and stands in his tracks to the end Of his
speech. He is a torrent in his intense earnestness
or stream OF electricity, and when he gets through
he sits down. He uses the whole from head to
foot with quiet energy and hurs his arguments like
proi.ctiles from lannon's mouth. He gathers up
the magnetism Of his nature and ours it upon his
audience. And while he is imprisoned in his
speeches he never loses his self control. In the
and seeks to win by rational compulsion, and some
how or other he nearly always WINS On several oc
casons he has convinced the Serate against its H.
and obtained fair victory. Indeed, know Of no
man who meets with success as often as Grove
johnson. He is in debate utterly irresistible. In
retort and quick reply he surpasses al the speakers
that have heard in California. In fact he is
terrible in sudden repartee and it is hardly safe to
provoke him. l will not write any instance by way
of illustration, though many are fresh in my
memory.
HIS FLUENCY IS EXTRAORDINARY
And he never hestates for q word or thought and
his choice of words is always good. His sentences
are we'll built and very strong, and humor follows
refinedly ON the heels of argument and Illustration
Frequently he tickes the fancy by gems Of thought,