Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-07-20
WASHINGTON.
t:nth'a Gossip
SOME PEN PORTRAITS.

per;
II was talking with s friend last night
about our early impressions of men re-
Gently prominent i'll the senate. He
could remember farther back than |
could, but had not been so steady an
observer. | wrote sketch OF the sem
ate about 1867, and the next year went
TO Washington, and for about six years
was an almost daily reader Of the de-
bates, and went 10 the deliberations of
the senate at least once week NV
friend remarked about
THE PERIOD or CARPET BAGGERY.
That the senate at that time suffered
such cohiagiou he wondered how it
preserved any character at all. There
was one senator from the SOUTH" he
said, "who, from the moment be went
TO the senate, sold not only his own
vote, but the votes of men over whom
he had not the least influence. He
would market the highest men in that
senate to some schemer.
THE moment man representing
the tariff interest or railroad interes,
or some land grab drew our carpet-bag-
ger aside the Senator would immedia-
tely take out his pencil and begin to
| figure. After while no would hold
the paper up before the schemer and
say: Jim, il will cost you just that sum,
and you would show the addition. Then
he would particularize the cost of each
vote. Edmunds will require 81 600 |
guess we can get Conkhng for 81 500.
| Sumner is d--n fool; and we may
cheat him. Wilson, of Massachusetts,,
will take $1,000. Sherman wants 5000
Of course, he was selling these men and
doing them gross injustice, but that was
the regular game. AS for his fellow
carpet baggers, one of them says he
has no doubt he was sold at least one
hundred times"
"Well," said |, chow do you account
for such reckless man as thatY
at was in his nature; he would nj.
ways take penitentiary chances. While
he was nervous man, there was n
certain insensate stolid quality about
him which made him believe the day
of judgment would never come. Most
of his feliow-senators knew OF these
traits ~ rumors would come to them,
but of course nothing tangible"
How about Ramsey, of Minnesota
"Wel, Ramsey is one of the i'm?
mortals. That fellow is hard on TO
seventy years old, but he is whalcbone
all through. Belonging to the second
class of men, he is still one of the
strongest in that class. He was born
as close to Harrisburg rs Simon Cam
eron, and, therefore, grew up in the
political atmosphere and was clerk
in ona of the county offices mt the age
of thirteen, 80 he has been in politics
over half century. When he was
twenty-five years old he was one of
Harrison's electors, or was secretary of
the electoral body or something of that
kind and in 1871 he was clerk of the
Legislature, and came to congress in
1843. He married the daughter of a
fellow congressman, and in lS40 John
M. Clayton, of Delaware, sent MIN
to be the first governor of Mime.
/, sofa territory. He holds about tn,
same relation to the State of Minnesota
and the Guy of st. Paul that Peter
Stuyvesant does to New York or James
Logan to Philadelphia. That beauti-
full county in which are two superb
cities, ST. Paul and Minneapolis, bears
the name of Ramsey When Ramsey
arrived there on steamboat the in
dams wera shooting across the river at
each other, and as late us 1868 the State
had to hang whole band Of indians
for getting up an instruction. Ram.
sey il rich, has been Governor, Senator,
Seer etary Of war, and | suppose he yet
takes his drop of whiskey in his sly
way"
OLD SALISBURY.
"What has become of Salisbury,
who once drank so muchY
"Why, he is Chancellor of the State
of Delaware, and is paying the penalty
for his whisky days. While he makes
a good Chancellor, and his decisions
are respected, he is effected with par
alysis of a very extraordinary sort. For
instance, if he drops his eyes he can
not move his limbs. He must look up
before he can raise either his hands or
feet. They take him to Philadelphia
occasionally to be operated upon by
specialists. He owed his life to his
wife, who was the sister of one Of the
Governors ofDelaware. A very touch
ing thing is said TO have happened
between her and Charles Sumner.
| Salisbury sat near Sumner in the
senate, and was an annoyance; and
though Sumner drank his wine until
it helped put him under the sod, he
despised a drunkard. Salisbury had
on so many occasions interrupted the
senate, and made drunken exhibition
of himself that Sumner prepared
resolution to expel him, and it would
have passed, as the fact was notorious,
and public opinion was calling for an
example. But Mrs. Salisbury, hostile
rs her husband politically was to Sum
ner, called on the Massachusetts states.
man, and asked him for the sake of
Mr.. Saulsbury's family to take no fur
ther step, and she would promise bet
ter behavior. Salisbury did behave
better, but he bad already sown the
seeds Of his disease, and wrecked a
splendid constitution and beautiful
presence. am told that on a recent
occasion Salisbury exclaimed to
party Of his friends: Gentlemen, /
know now the secret of my sflIiction.
II was tobacco Thus do we ALWAYS