The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1881-01-22
THE CURLED IpARIING
a New workers. Opinion Of ConkIin,

and rs soon as we touched Conklin
politics | saw the fire of old hates {
eleven years ago flash through hi
eyes.
said to him, show do you genera
as Fenton man, regard Mr.. Conk
ling %'
"He Is man who never originates
anything in his life; never had an
convictions upon any question OF til
hour, never made a speech on time
ly topic, unless II invo vel the patron
. age; read. nothing; goes nowhere
just lives among his political menials
talks politics of n personal sort, AM
bulldozes presidents. The word bull
dozer applies to him more than to an,
of the Kuklux. He has superciliolIi
commanding way of eXtortlng from
authority what gentleman would re
quest in equity and with modesty
His talents are brilliant within their
limitations. Being selfish talents, the,
reflect no luster upon his time aud i
he should die to day he would have
such IL funeral as Bill Tweed might
have had in the height of his power
only much smaller The Assessors
guagers, weighers, inspector and vari-
Gus creatures he had given something
to would walk as piece of formality
to his grave; but the historian would
take up his long Senatorial record to
seek in vain for his views on general
questions. There would be nothing
found but series of assaults on per.
sons who might dispute his patronage
and defenses of his political meIIials,
| 81, i'm In1 In. t. L..
never made speech in the State
since he has been in the Senate assist
ing any general project of benilicence,
has done nothing to improve the NOR
ais and intelligence of his fellow
citizens, and the moral he will point
will be the decay in his period of the
great party which had revolutionized
the country"
After this outbreak | waited mo-
ment and said: as the Sprague
question giving Conking any trouble?"
Plenty of it," said the friend o
Fenton. "What little has been pub
lished gives no insight into that scan
dial compared to what there is in it.
He did not go to his daughters we'd
ding in Utica because he was so much
infatuated at Washington that he
could not go away, even to pretend II
parental interest. What does such Il
man IA that care about public opinion?
And | am told that there is a certain
doctor in Washington, said this party
"who, if his jaws could be unlocked
would tell II tremendous tale"
Did not the Conkling element work
pretty well to elect Garfield"
'tThey never put their hands to the
plow," said the general, 4" till the pub
lie had become so Enthusiastically for
Garfield that they were afraid to hold
back,
Where were Conkling and Arthur
when Garfield came to New York ?"
Said the man again: Why up TO
that time they had never opened
their mouths. Conkling was holding
Arthur down. When Garfield came
to the city of New York, on the Cen
trail railroad he was received at the
State line and at Dunkirk by an i'm
mense crowd. He made little speech
and went from there on to Buffalo and
spoke again, and so continued drop
ping gems from his mouth along the
line of the Central railroad. That mo-
ment Conkling and Arthur were over
in Canada, iishing-keeping out Of the
way, raising no voice of welcome,
simp v looking on to see ii there was Il
propeet of his defeat, AS they expected.
The further Garfield advanced, the
better impression he made, speaking
eXtemporaneously all the ime. When
he came out of the Fifth Avenue Ho-
tel, New York, he gave that impetus
to the business feeling here which be-
gan to speak with power. The tide.
turned early In the campaign. Though
the Grecnback detection in Maine
seemed to obscure it for II moment
there never was any danger of Gar
fierd4s defeat from the outset. As he
returned along the line of the Erie
railroad he made speech ut Port JAR
Wis, attended by such swarms of canal
boatman and miners, right out of their
work, aud covered over with CRIME,
that he said To me / feel this testi-
feel, ut last, that this comes
from the people and is not got up by
the politicians So he went along,
speaking at Corning, at Elmira, at
Hornellvile, and finally at Chautau-
qua lake and he arours,d this State
from Wall street to the wilderness
parts. Then Mr.. Conkling, frightened
ut what had taken place, came away
from his fishing excursion, slipped into
New York, and made ready for that
speech where he painted Arthur in all
the colors of knight, and barely
Garlield's name. Not one
point of hospitality had he shown
when his candidate entered the State
Of New iork-a thing unparalleled in
the country. He skunk into the cam
paign like whipped deserter, turned
back at the point of the bayonet of the
Provost Guard.