The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1881-09-15
WHOLE NO. 1856.
OUR NATIONS SUFFERER.
Eloquent Tribute from Hon. SCHUYLER
COlfax.

CHICAGO, August 31.-At the Theta
Beta Pi banquet this evening, Schuy-
Ter Colfax, in response to the senti-
ment "Our President" said:
Twice within less than a score of
years there has been blood upon our
Presidential chair; twice in that brief
perlod IN Nations history the elect
Chef Magistrate of the Republic,
gulltless OF crime or tyranny, Of pri-
vate grievance or injustice, being laid
low by the pistol shot of the assassin.
VOID OF offense towards God or man,
with large, generous concilatory
hearts, with genial and unusually
popular manners, without malice or
i'll will, they were in their supremest
hour Of personal happiness, ambushed
by malignant but cowardly murderers,
thirsting causelessly for their life's
blood. No assassinations in history.
not even that of Henry ", of France,
for which Ravaillac was torn in pieces
by horses; nor William of Orange,
approximated these in utter and un-
parallelled infamy. One of these
great Presidents passed away in a
single night, and is enshrined in the
hearts of his grateful countrymen with
the Father Of the Country, which un-
der Providence he saved.
''The other, for whose life, so pre-
cious to the nation, millions, of every
faith and creed, have almost 'stormed
the battlements of heaven with pray
err has for sixty long days and weary
nights, looked death in the face with
patient calmness and serene courage.
All Christians have adm1rlngly eulo-
gized him, while he, himself, suffered
a thousand times more pain than the
pangs of final dissolution.
But how much we have all learned
of our nations sufferer during these
sad and painful weeks and months of
anxiety and alarm for US, and peril
for him! How closely and tenderly
he has come into all our family cir
cles, nay, into all our hearts, as no
public man hiss ever come before!
How we have stood with that brave
and loving wife, who has so grandly
and so sublimely illustrated American
womanhood as she strives with such
mistaken faith, and such tender hope
fulness to bring him back from the
shadow of death to the sunshine of
life"
Mr.. Colfax reverted to the scenes
about the bulletin board, to the inter-
est and intense anxiety at every oper-
alton performed upon the sufferer, to
the Indignation against Guiteau, to
\ ha dc 0f ohoa,. +I,c
other lands, from the highest to the
lowest in the scale of society, from
Infdel and Christian sources.
He alluded to his sterling qualities,
his integrity and manhood, and con-
cluded:
"Not exempt, despite all this, from
unjust attacks ON his integrity and
truthfulness, which his sworn denials
failed to silence, and which he felt
more keenly than the political opposi-
tion which all public men expect;
who dares now to pollute his tongue
with them? How utterly have they
all perished. Who, now, would
breathe even the faintest suspicion Of
his integrity? For in the ages yet to
come to our country posterity will
honor the widows son, whom the
Nation called to its highest honor,
unsought by him, as fitting repre-
sentative in our history of American
honor, principle, genius and worth;
and as Theta-Betas, assembled from
many States, north and South, east
and west, we send across the noun
tains to our wounded but great
hearted President our earnest saluta-
tion.
"Our hearts, our hopes are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith. triumphant DER our fears,