Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-02-27

second and decisive days fight in the great battle
especially eventful to Garfield 1t not to the
armies with which he was serving HIS practical
sense was called into exercise 10 completing the
task, assigned him by General Buell.. OF recon
structing bridges and reestablishng lines Of rail-
way communication for the army. His occupation
in this useful but not brilliant field was varied by
service On cOurtS-mart1ll o. importance in which
department OF duty he won valuable reputation,
the able and eminent Judge Advocate General of
the Army. That OF itself was warrant to honor
able fame; for among the great men who in those
Try Ing days gave themselves, with entire Devotion
tn the service Of their country one who brought to
that service the ripest learning, the most fervid
eloquence, the most varied attainments, who
labOred with lnOdeSty and stunned applause who
In the day OF triumph sat reserved and silent and
grateful-as Francis Deak in the hour OF Hungary s
deliverance-was Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, who
In his honorable retirement enjoys the respect and
veneraton Of all who love the Union of the States
Early In 1853 Garfield was assigned to the highly
General RoSecranS then at the head OF the Army
OF the Cumberland Perhaps in great military
campaign no subordinate officer requires sounder
Judgment and quicker knowledge OF men than the
chief of stan to the commanding general. An in
discreet man in such position can sow more dis
cord, breed more Jealousy and disseminate more
strife than any other officer In the entire organZa-
ton. When General Garfield assumed his new
duties he found various troubles already well de-
veloped and seriously affecting the value and
efficiency OF the Army OF the Cumberland. The
energy the impartiality .and the tact with which
he sought to allay these dissensions, and to dis
charge the duties Of his new and trying position
Will always remain one OF the most striking proofs
OF his great versatility. His military CItr,,es closed
-, the memorable field of Chicka:nauga a fen
which howcv,s,- disastrous To the Union arms gave
to him the occasion OF wi3s.ng imperishabe lau-
IelS The very rare distinction Was accorded him
of great promotion for his bravery field that
was lost. President Lincoln appointed him a
a major-general in the army OF the United States
for gallant and meritorou5 conduct In the battle
OF Chckamauga.
The Army of the Cumberland was reorganized
under the command OF General Thomas, who
off fa11 nf ifc fuic IIa
was extremely desir0us to accept the position,
! but was embarrassed By the fact that he had, a
year before, been elected to Congress, and the
time when he must take his seat was drawing
near. He preferred to remain in the military SER
vice, and had within his own breast the largest
confidence OF success In the wider field which his
new rank opened to him. Balancing the argu-
lnents On the one side and the other, anxious to
determine what was for the best, desirols above
all things to do his patriotic duty, he was dec-
Svely Influenced by the advice Of President LIN
coin and Secretary Stanton, both of whom assured
value in the House Of Representatives.. He re-
signed his commits sion OF Major-general on the 9Th
House OF Representatives the 7th He had
served two years and four months in the Army,
and had Just completed his thirty second year.
The Thirty-eighth Congress is pre-eminently en-
titled In history TO the designation OF the War
Congress. 1t was elected while the war was
hagrant, and every member was chosen upon the
issues involved in the cont nuance OF the srurteie
The Thirty seventh Congress had, indeed. legis-
lated to large extent on war measures, but was
chosen before any one believed that secession Of
the states would be actually attempted. The mag
nitufle OF the work which tell upon its successor
WAS unprecedented, both in respect to the vast
sums OF money raised for TIE support of the Army
and Navy and OF the new and extraordinary powers
OF legislation which 1t was forced TO exercise. Only
twenty-four States were represented. and one hun
dred and eighty-tWO members were upon its roll
Among these were many distinguished party lead
ers on both sides, veterans in the public service
with established regulations for ability and with
that skill which comes oHsy from parliamentary
experience. Into this asSemblage OF men Garnesd
r. hDn Jll
almost be said unexpectedly. The question OF tax
ing command OF division If troops under General
Thomas or taking his seat In Congress was kept
open Till the last moment. So late, indeed, that the
resignation OF his military commission and his APP
pearance IN the House We re almost contempora-
neOuS He wore the unirOlin OF a Maior-general OF
the United States Army Oh Saturday, and on Mon
day in civilians dress he answered to the ro-caIl
as Representative in Congress from the State OF
OHIO.
He was especially fortunate in the constituency
which elected him. Descended almost entirely
district were intensely radical On all all questions
relating to human rights. We'll educated thrifty
ing OF character, not quick to bestow confidence,
and slow to withdraw 1T, they were at once the
most helpful and most exacttng OF supporters.
Their tenacious trust In man in whom they have
once conded is illustrated by the unparalleled fact
that Elisha Whittlesey, Joshua K. Giddings and
James A. Garfield represented the district for
fifty-four years.
There is no test OF mans ability In any depart
ment OF public life more severe than service in the
little Difference is paid to reputation previously
acquired. or to emtnence won outside: no place
where so little consideration is shown for the feel
ings or the failures Of beginners. What a man
gains in the House he gains by sheer force OF his
own character, and ii he loses and falls back he
must expect no mercy, and Will receive no syln-
pathy 1t Is field in which the survival OF the
strongest Is the recognized rule, and where no pre-
tense can deceive and no glamour can mislead
The real man is discovered, his worth is impair
TALLY weighed, his rank Is irreversbly decreed.
. Win possibly single exception Garfield was
the Youngest member in the House when he en-
tered, and was but seven years from his college
graduation. But he had not been in his seat sixty
days before his ability was recognized and his
place conceded. He stepped to rhe front with the
confidence of one who belonged there The House
was crowded with strong men of both parties;
nineteen OF them have since been transferred to
the Senate, and many OF them have served with
distinction in the gubernatoral chairs OF their
spective States and on foreign missions OF great
rapidly, none so firmly as Garfield. AS is said by
Trevelyan OF his parliamentary nero. Garfield sue
ceeded "because all the world In concert could not
have kept him in the back ground, and because
when once in the front he played his part with a
prompt intrepidity and commanding ease that
were but the outward symptoms OF the immense
reserves of energy, on which it was his power to
draw" Indeed the apparently reserved force
which Garfield possessed was one Of his great
seemed he could easily have done better He never
expended so much strength but that he seemed to
be be holding additional power to call This is one OF
debater, and often counts for as much in persuad-
in9lan assembly as the eloquent and elaborate
argument.
The great measure of Garfeld's fame was filled
by his service In the House OF representatives
His military life, Illustrated by honorable per-
formance, and rich in promise, was, as he
himself felt, prematureiy terminated, and
necessary incomplete. Speculation as to what
he might have done in held, where the
great prizes are SO few, cannot be profit
able 1t Is sufficient to say that soldier he did
his duty Draveiy; he did il intell1gently; he won
an enviable fame, and he retired from the service
without blot or breath against him. As lawyer,
though admirably equipped for the profession, he
can scarcely be said to have entered on its prac-
uce. The few Efforts he made at the bar were dts
t1ngulShed by the same high order OF talent which
he eexhlDited on every field where he put the
test, and II a man may be accepted as competent
Judge OF his own capacities and adaptations the
law was the profession to which Garfield should
have devoted himself. But fate ordained other
wise, and his reputation In history will rest largely
vpOn his service In the House OF Representatives
Ihat service was exceptionally long. He was nine
times consecutively chosen to the House, an honor
enjoyed Dy not more than SIX other Representa-
t1ves OF the more than five thousand who have
been elected from the organization OF the govern
ment to this hour.
AS parliamentary orator, aa debater on an is
sue squarely joined, where the position had been
chosen and the ground laid out, GARFIELD must be
assigned very high rank. More, perhaps than
any man with whom he was associated in public
6ife he gave careful and systematic study to pub
TIC questions, and he came to every discussion In