Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-09-30

moral perceptlOnb, nhue hlh VIM ho "nn ~
a soldier and a statesman. He was appointed
20 a position in the army, not at his own re-
quest though he had offered his services to
the governor Of Ohio, but because IL was felt
that he was needed in the position to which
he was called. He was without military train
ing, but IL was n time when men Of good sense
and resoluto will must accept positions OF i'm
portance for which they were not wholly fit
ted, and do their best at all hazards. 10 such
call Garfield never responded nay. lilo de-
voted himself Immediately TO the study of
military science, and, by the help Of his his
torical reading and practical judgment, bo-
came a successful as he could only be brave
soldier. When, after he had driven Hum
phrey Marshall from Kentucky, the rise Of the
rivors in his rear left his little army without
supplies, he took personal charge OF the bus
mess Of forwarding them. Finding steam
or which might be used for the purpose, he
ordered her captain to proceed with cargo
of provisions and when the captain refused
to face the fury Of the swollen river, Col. Gar
| field himself took the helm lie had learned to
steer canal boat, and he could steera river
steamer, however fierce the torrent, II only he
| might possibly save his suffering men. When
II was necessary that some ono should take
rope to the shore, and no one on board dared
to risk his life in the attempt, he himself
could do what others refused 80 he brought
the supplies into camp amid the cheers Of his
men.
This same rosolute straightforwardness,
coupled with quick and clear perception of
the morally right thing 10 do, made him
| statesman of the highest order. For what
makes man n statesman but the power TO
see clearly the simple but far-reaching under
| lying principles which ought to control the
conduct of states, and the skill and courage
| to apply them without regard to the favor or
| gsNf ant oil will
rank in tho judgment of mankind with states
men who, like William the Silent, have found
| ed republics, or like Bismarck have created
empires, or like Gladstone have carried for
| ward TO completion great reforms for the good
| of nations but he assuredly possessed in
| high degree the qualities which made the
achievement of these things possible by these
princes among statesmen. When, as a MEM
Der Of the Ohio state senate, the question Of
aGording permanent guarantees for the per-
petuity Of slavery by constitutional amend
ment came up, though in a minority, he be-
came Mt once the leader Of the opposition to
such an amendment, taking feRrlessly the sim.
pie position that such guarantees would be
morally wrong and must not be granted, even
though refusal might imporil the perpetuity
of the nation. When his division command
err at one time sent him an order to hunt out
and deliver up a fugitive slave supposed to
have taken refuge in his camp, he refused to
obey the order ~ conceive" said he ''that
my soldiers are here for quite another pur-
pose" His staff officers reminded him that
he was in danger of being court martialed for
disobedience to ORDERS but no such peril could
swerve him from the path Of duty marked out
for him by his own convictions. During the
dark days of the war, when timid men, blind
ed by their desire to conciliate parties and
powers which they feared, were counselling
| peace-when on tho floor of Congress men
from his own state pronounced the war
failure and urged the withdrawal of troops
from the South--wi,h the same clearness he
perceived the righteous necessity Of the course
which the government was pursuing, and the
certainty Of complete triumph. The same
elements Of true craftsmanship have appeared
in all his public life since the war. He was
great because, with broad, clear, well-stored
mind, he was truthful and fearless.
The second statement in eulogy Of General
Garfield, which seems 10 complete the record
Of his noble life, is that, being such man as
he was 80 true TO the best instincts of noble
nature, he won the crown OF martyrdom. We
call him q martyr, and we do so rightly for
who is a martyr? 1t is he who has commit
ted himself to some great principle of action,
and who, in defense of that principle has so
incurred the enmity of men hostile TO il as to
lose his own life thereby. Thus his death
bears witness to the sincerity Of his convic-
ton that the principles which he defends are
sound and Just. The immediate conviction
of the world, on hearing Of the assault upon
the President, was that he had fallen q sacri-
fee to the principles OF administrative reform
to which he had committed himself. Clearly
aud fearlessly he had pronounced his adher-
ence to such principles. Ten years ago on
the floor OF Congress, he declared his hostili-
ty to the system of appointments in use. I'VE
press such appointments upon the depart
ments. we crowd the doors, we fill the corri-
doris. The public business is obstructed
the patience OF officers is worn out and men
are appointed, not because they are fit for the
position, but because we ask it." Speaking
of another part of the system-that OF polit-
ical assessments upon public ofiicers-he bold
ly pronounced it shameful fact" and an
"extortion." Still more fully and emphati-
cally he declared his position in his inaugural
The civil service can never" he said, "be
placed on q satisfactory basis until it is regu
lated by law. For the good Of the service it.
self, for the protection of those who are in
trusted with the appointing power against the
waste of time and obstruction to the public
business caused by the inordinate pressure for
place, and for the protection of incumbents
against intrigue and wrong, l shall at the
proper time ask Congress TO fix the tenure of
the minor officers Of the several executive de-
partments, and prescribe the grounds upon
which removals shall be made during terms
for which incumbents have been appointed"
Thus completely did he commit himself to
the work of administrative reform. It was
no plank of party platform, introduced for
popular effect II was no matter of the poll
cy of q single administration. He saw that
the very permanence of our government and
of popular freedom require that all parts of
the executive administration of the govern
ment should be regulated by law and open to
Iall naNt Nha Fat-
terms. Upon this principle he began the
conduct of his own administration. Patient
ly, kindly, generously, he sought 10 satisfy
the demands of all his political associates, so
far as he could do so and in his own iudQ-
ment hold fast to the great principle to which
he had committed himself Many men were
fearful Of the issue when he called TO the irst
place in his cabinet brilliant political chief
tain, whose previous record seemed to COM
init him TO another policy than that which the
president had ayowed. But they soon learned
that Gen. Garfield was president in reality
and that the political chief had entered the
cabinet TO serve and not 10 rule To the de-
partments of the treasury, the post-ofioe, and
TO the office of attorney general, he called men
of the highest ability and skill, committed az
earnestly as himself to the principles of re-
form. In due time the conflict with the enc
mics of reform began. In the battle that fol-
lowed there was no Bull Run for the Presi.
dent. The first victory was won. But the
bitterness Of those who had suffered defeat
became the poison Of madness in the breast
of an assassin. President Garfield, in the
House Of Representatives ON the occasion of
the first anniversary Of the death of President
Lincoln, said; 1T was no one man who
killed President Lincoln it was the embodied
spirit of treason and slavery, inspired with
fearful, despairing hate, that struck him down
in the moment of the nations supremest JOY"
So Of his own death we may say that it was
no one man that killed James A. Garfield; it
was the embodied spirit of political ambition
and partisan hate that struck him down in the
moment of the nations supremest hope. 1t
| he haA Al.