The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-03-02
THE SENATE OF 1860.


There Were Giants in Those Days-A
Glance al the Men of the Past
Especial Correspondence OF the Philadelphia
Times
WASHINGTON. Feb. 5.-Just twenty-one
years ago l used to frequently stick my
head over the railing OF the reporters gal
lery" OF the United States Senate and be-
hold the assembled wisdom there congre-
gated. And there were giants in those
days" From the same standpoint 10 dav
| but two of those men are seen there-Han-
| nibal HamliD, of Name, and Henry y.
| Anthony, of Rhode Island. Ny recolIec-
! ton of that Senate in February. lSGO. con-
veys an idea of greatness which look
over the gallery in February, 1881, does not
maintain.
John G. Breckenridge, the Vice President,
with his dark complexion, presided with a
quiet dignity that excited admiration. and
his failure as n Rebel General in a few years
thereafter can not efface from my mind the
| conception of greatness which / accorded
him then. There was James T. Bayard of
| Delaware the talented gentleman and his
colleague, Willard Salisbury, man Of un-
doubted genius, yet unable to govern his
/ appetite. Singularly enough, the small State
now has a son Of the first and brotherof the
second to represent her in the Senate Then
| there was Charles Sumner, the scholar. the
orator and the courageous advocate of
human rights. Whoever has seen him and
heard him speak viii never forget it. Not
far from him sat the venerable John J. Crit
tenden, who ardently pleaded for peace and
| Intellectually cOncOcted his compromise that
| war might be averted. And Zach Chandler.
OF Michigan, was then a new Senator. given
! somewhat 10 dissipation, and vet he had
greatness enough to wrest Presidency from
| ITS rlghtful owner. On the same side of the
| chamber sat VIM. Pitt Fessenden. he of
worse than plebeian origin, Yet withal
| great man. Also close by was the
| oratorical John p. Hale whose greatness was
somewhat clouded by inefficiency. Not far
from him sat William H. Seward, the di-
plomatist, and who few years later was as
sasslnated nearly to death on the eyentful
night when the martyr President met his
doom. The gifted Preston King was there.
| too. who afterwa-d so mysteriously iumped
from ferry-bOat at New York and whose
body never received sepulchre Al that time
Andrew johnson sat on the Demo
cratic side while James z. Doolittle
Of Wisconsin, had o chair on the Repub-
hcan side, as did also Lyman Trumbull,
| OF Illinois; now they are bright par
| ticular stars in the Democratic circus.
Pennsylvania was represented by the genial
William Bigler and the man who now die
tates the policy and action of the great Re-
publican party OF the State-Simon Cam
eron, and the latter ut that time eyinced no
contntiOn OF conscience for securing the
Senatorship by means of three Democratic
votes in the Legislature, which votes Col
Onel John w. Forney thought belonged To
him. That General Cameron is one of the
great men who constituted the Senate OF
| twenty-One year, ago will not be disputed
by those who even hate him most. His son
Don now sits nearly in the same position in
| the Chamber.
The Little Giant of the West" Stephen
A. Douglas, at that time occupied a promi.
nent place in the Councils of the Nation
And there was the burly Robert Toombs. OF
Georgia, who thought that the time would
come when he would call the roll of his
| slaves on Bunker Hill. Robert still lives to
regret that he ever made such boast
James NJ. Mason, If Virginia. and John
Shdell, OF Louisiana, were both Members
OF the Senate then, and the little
episode of their capture by our Govern.
ment during the War. which came SC
near getting us into trouble with Great
| Britain. constitutes their only claim TO great
ness. And not least among the Senator,
of that day was Jeff Davis-calm, cool and
calculating Jef-the Rebel President Al
that time, J recollect, an affection OF the
eyes prevented him from giving very close
attention TO his Senatorial duties. and one
was that his first wife was the daughter oil
President Zach Taylor, and that he had
married her in spite of the old mans oppo-
sition. came near forgetting Henry Will
son, who afterward became Vice President
and honest Ben Wade,'' of Ohio. who was
never afraid TO speak his sentiments on any
and all occasions.
Kansas and Nebraska We're Territories i'm
1850, and the States OF Nevada and Colorado.
now represented in such a solid manner.
were not even in an embryotic condition.
In looking back upon these men. who at
| that time and few years later in our Ma
TONS eventful history filed such "A large
measure of public notice, one fact is con-
spicuous-not one of them developed any
military genius. Perhaps by making SEN
ators of them, many a good General was
spoiled. However the present Senate has a
sufficient number of Generals to make up
what might have been lacking in its compo-
sition 81 years ago. ID. W c. j.