Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-09-20

Independence Of each denomination, the hospiI
.tality and fraternal feeling of the members,
land the lack of q regular ministry. When
IGarfeId returned to Ohio 1t was natural
that he should soon gravitate 70
the struggling little college of the young
sect at Hiram, Portage county, near his boy
hoods home. He become Professor Of Latin
and Greek and threw himself with the energy
and industry, which are leading traits OF MS
character, into the work of building up tie in
lstitution. Before he had been two years IN
his professorship he was appointed President
lof the college Hiram is lonesome country
village, three miles from railroad built upon
Ia high hill, overlooking twenty miles OF cheese
making country to the southwark. 1t contains
|hfty or sixty houses, clustered
around the green, in the centre of which
stands the homely red brick college structure
plain living and high thinking was the order
i Of things at Hiram College in those days The
steachers were poor, and the institution was
poor, but there was great deal OF hard, faith
,ful study done, and many ambitious plans
formed. The young President taught, lee
3tured and preached, and all the time studied
as diligently as any acolyte in the temple OF
knowledge He frequently spoke on Sundays
lin the churches of the towns in the vicinity, to
create an interest in the college. Among the
Disciples any one can preach who has mind
Ito. no ordination being required. FROM these
Sunday discourses came the story that Gar
field was a minister. He never considered
himself such, and never had any intention OF
dndlng a career in the pulpit. His ambition
h he had any outside of the school, lay in the
direction Of law and politics.
HIS MARRIAGE.
During his professorship Garfield married
Miss Lucretia Rudolph, daughter Of farmer
in the neighborhood. whose acquaintance he
had made while at the academy, where she
was also pupil She was quiet, thoughtful
girl, of singularly sweet and refined disposition
fond Of study and reading, possessing warm
heart and a mind with the capacity OF steady
growth The marriage was love affair on
both sides, and has been thoroughly happy
lone Much Of General Garfleld's subsequent
success in life may be attributed to the never
failing sympathy and intelligence and COM
spanionship Of his wife. and the stimulus OF a
sIoving home circle. The young couple bought
IA neat little cottage fronting on the college
campus, and began their welded life poor and
in debt. but with brave hearts.
'In 1859 the college President was elected to
4 the State Senate from the counties Of Portage
and Summit He did not resign his Presidency,
because he looked upon few months in the
4 Legislature as an episode not likely to change
the course of his life. But the war came to
alter all his plans. During the winter Of 1861
he was active in the passage of measures fol-
zarming the State militia, and his eloquence
and energy made him conspicuous leader Of
I the Union party Early in the summer Of 1861
4 he was elected Colonel Of an infantry regiment
(the Forty -second), raised in Northern Ohio
many of the soldiers in which had been stu
: dents at Hiram He took the field in Eastern
kentucky, was soon put in command of 6
8brigade, and. by making one of the hardest
marches ever made by recruits, surprised ant
srepulsed the Confederate forces. undel
! Humphrey Marshall, at Piketon.
From Eastern Kentucky General Garfield
was transferred to Louisville. and from thai
6place FASTENED TO join the army Of Genera
SBuell, which ne reached with his brigade il
,time to participate in the second days flghtinS
Z at Pittsburg Landing He took part In thu
Siege at Corinth and in the operations along the
aMemphis.and Charleston Railroad In Janua
Try, 1868, he was appointed Chief o
'fStsfr Of the Army Of the Cumberland
.Sand bore prominent part in all th'
campaigns In Middle Tennessee In thu
@sprinR and summer of that year. Hi
last conspicuous military service was at thu
battle Of Chickamauga. For his conduct II
that battle he was promoted to Major
s|alship. 1t is said that he wrote all the orders
4given TO the army that day, and submitted
Ethem to General Rosecrans for approval save
Zone. The one he did not write was the fata
Border to General Wood, which was so wordeC
as not to correctly convey the meaning of th'
commanding General, and which caused the
destruction of the right wing of the army.
3 ELECTED TO CONGRESS-.
4 THE Congressional district in which Garfield
zlived was the one long made famous by Joshua
4R. Giddings The old anti-slGvery champion
<grew careless Of the arts Of politics toward the
: lend of his career, and came to look upon Q
nomination and reelection as a matter Of
7course. His over confidence was taken al
Vantage of in 1885, by an ambitious lawyer
named Hutchins. to carry convention agains
him. The friends of Giddings never forgave
Hutchins, and cast about for a means of de
sfeating him The old man himself was com
9fortably quartered in his consulate at Mon
'streal, and did not care to make fight to gel
5back to Congress. So his supporters made
! use of the popularity Of Gen. Garfield and
Nominated him while he was in the field with
Sout asking his consent. This was in 1852
When he heard Of the nomination Garfield re
Elected that it would be fifteen months before
the Congress would meet to which he would
{ be elected, and believing, as did every one
selse, that the war could not possibly last 8
year longer. concluded to accept. have
often heard him express regret that he did moi
ahelp tight the war through. and say that he
never would have left the army to go to Con
gress had he foreseen that the struggle would
continue beyond the year 1863. He continued
! his military service up to the time Congress;
: met
"On entering Congress in December. 1868
General Garfield was placed upon the Commit
tee on Military Affairs, with Schenck and
Farnsworth, who we're also fresh from the field
s He took an active part in the debate of the
House, and won recognition which few mem
bers succeeded in gaining. He was not popular
among his fellow-members during his frs
term They thought him something of pc
zdant because he sometimes showed his scholar
ship in his speeches, and they were Jealous OF
his prominence. His solid attachments and
amiable social qualities enabled him tC
overcome this prejudice during his sec
& ond term, and he became on terms Of
s close friendship with the best mer
lin both houses. His committee service during
his second term was on the Ways and Means
which was quite to his taste, for 1t gave him
an opportunity to prosecute the studies in
finance and political economy, which he had
always felt fondness for He was q hard
worker and great reader in those days, go
+ ing home with his arms full OF books from the
Congressional Library, and sitting up late al
nights to read them 1t was then that he laid
{ the foundation Of the convictions on the sub
aject Of national finance which he has
since held to firmly amid all the storms
: OF political agitation. He was renomi
mated in 1854, without opposition, but
Nm 1866, Mr. Hutchins, who he had
2supplanted, made an effort to defeat him
( dutchins canvassed the district thoroughly,
but the convention nominated Garfield by &C
clamation. he has had no opposition since in
S his own party. In 1872 the Liberals and Deme-
Gratis united TO beat him. but his majority was
larger than ever. In 1874 the Greenbackers
and Democrats combined and put up popular
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