Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1881-10-08

His heart IL kind
He's gone but yet behind him
Death cannot blight his laurcls,
Nor time inspire his fame"
The simple story Of his life is so elo-!
quent. so truly American, that no country
man of JAMES A. GARFIELD ever tires at itsi
frequent repetition. Born in 1881, the!
year 1910 finds him an uncouth orphan|
boy struggling along the prosaic dead
level Of life on farm; few years later
we see him enduring the hardships and|
drudgery OF canal boatman's experience; \
at eighteen years of age an ambitions|
student in an academy; the next year al
country school teacher, earning money to|
continue his studies; at twenty-three al
hard working student in Williams Col
lege; four years later college graduate,
and Professor in a College, struggling|
against debts occurred in educating him
self; Mt the age of twenty eight College,
President and State Senator; in 1861
then only twenty nine. a man of influence
throughout his State; in 1861 Colonel of
the And Ohio Infantry, commander of al
brigade, driving forward with resistless'
energy into Eastern Kentucky, and
against superior numbers winning the first
noted battle in the West; in 1862 Brig
adler General and Chief of Staff to Gen.
Rosecrans, Commander Of the Army Of
the Cumberland; then the same year al
Major General; in 1863 reluctantly leav-!
ing the army to take his seat in Congress'
as the successor of Joshua r. Giddings );
reelected eight times, almost without OPP
position IN his own party, and from the
first taking the position of an acknowl-
edged leader in Congress; in 1880, receiv-
ing, unsought, the unanimous nomination.
fnr St,fn
and triumphant election; in tho same,
year, while earnestly working for the,
nomination Of another, made against his
protest, the standard bearer of the Repub-
lean party, and elected President of the]
bai."s Sss'sco. How marvellous sf,rs Zoe. e
outline of his life seems as we recount it;
to-day In what other land than Amer
ica ID such success possible
And yet this eminontly ruccessful ana!
rested ON solid foundations. We must)
look within man, and not without him,
Tor the secret Of success. The man him
self, and not his circumstances or sur
roundings shape his future. His aspira-
tons, his energy, his courage, his]
strength OF will-these are what deter
mine his success or failure.
The traits of that character which the
world has learned to revere, and which,
every American loves, appeared early inl
JAMES A. GARFIELD. Perseverance, mental
power, truthfulness, and generosity of
nature-these were what made him great
Possessing these qualities, in America, he
could not fail of becoming marked man
and winning distinction. He was from
the people and of the people, natural
product OF our system Of Government and
national life.
JAMES A. GARFIELD simply reaped the
harvest which his own hard working hands
sowed. The only genius he had was a.
genius for good, plain, honest, hard work
This was the "open secret " of his marvel
Gus success. He became the grand man
he was because nature gave him strong
mind in a strong body, and he developed
and used this endowment. With untiring
patience and industry he fitted himself for
usefulness. On the brain and Drawn of
the West he grated the culture and
learning of the East, and then used these for
country, for humanity, for God
Pure and courageous as boy; ambi-
tious and self-reliant as young man; EN-
thusiastic and painstaking as a teacher !
treless and brave as a soldier; bold and
aggressive, but even-tempered and Just as]
Congressional leader; broad and com
prehensive, trusting to principle and right
and scorning the temporary success won|
by tricks OF demagagues, as a Statement A
never owing machine" but winning|
success by ability, by devotion to the pub
lie good, and by his straight forward
honesty, as politician; as President,l
sorely tried, but bearing himself with
such patience, firmness and wisdom that thel
Nation soon saw that the right man was inl
the right place-that the man whom thew
had made First Citizen was Just, patriotic,l
broad and liberal in his Judgment and|
firm as rock, the President OF the wholeI
Nation and not of a section, or POLITICAL
party; as man and a citizen he was sol
hearty, 80 sympathetic, so loving OF theI
life around him, Of his family, OF hisI
friends, his State, and his country, il is mol
marvel that America loved him and hon
ored him while living, aud that she]
mourns him broken-heartedly, and incon-
solably, when dead
Ger GAnnLp's tomb with silent grief oppressed,
nco,usnA meurns her hero now at rest
Whose leaves are watercd with a Nations tears"
We do not live die-to ourselvesl
alone. Certainly such man as JAMES A.
GARrIELp does mott This noble life, thisj
heroic sick room, and the sad death, is FULL
OF lessons. Let me put few Of theml
INTO words;
l. We have here an admirable illustra-
ton OF the true idea Of greatness.
What says the Christi "Whosoever will
be grsatssf among you let him be your
sereaw." To no man in American history,
not even 10 WASHINGTON or LINCOLN could
the term public servant SO often abused
aud u misnomer- so fully applied as tot
jams A. GARFIELD. Wrote George Alfred3
Townsend last year: GARFIELD has beenk
the drudge Of his State, OF his constitu-
ents, OF the public, Of educational institu-
tons aud moral societies and Of his party