The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-03-02

low more discord, breed more jealousy
md disseminate more strife than any
Jthee, officer IN the entire Organization
When General Carried assumed his
new duties, he found xaRious troubles
already web developed and seriously al
Iecting the gaIns and efficiency of the
army of the Cumberland The energy,
Tie impartIaiity and the tact with which
he sought TO ailay these duties of his
new and trying position will always re-
main one Of tbs most sLEiking-pB00fs-.O Of !
his great versatility. His military du-
ties closed On the memorable field of |
field which, however dis |
10 the union armies, gave ITO HIM I
the occasion of winning
~ EMPE1tIsHA BILE IlAURELS.
The very rare distinction was accorded
him of great promotion for his BRAY
cry on 4 field that was lost. President
Lincoln appointed hiHa- a major general
in the army of the United States for his
gallant and meritoriOus conduct in the
battle of Chicamauga. The army ofihe
Cun,6erland was reuFganized under the
command of General Thomas, who
OF the divis1ons. He was ex-
tremely DESTROYS to accept
the position, but was embarrassed
by The fact that he had the year before
been elected to congress, and the timG
when he must take his, seat was draw
ing near. He preferred TO remain IN the
military service, and had within his
own breast large confidence Of success
in the wider field which his new rank
opened to him, Balancing the argu-
ments on one side and then the other,
anxious 10 determine what was for the
best, DESTROYS above all things to do his
ss%Ns.. A.ukwr l.. lasasw In
enced by the advice of President
Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, both OF
whom assured Him that he could at that
time be Ct especial value In the house
of representatives, He therefore re-
signed his commission of major general
on the 9TH of December, 1868, and took
his seat in the house OF representatives
on tile 9Th. He had served two years
and -four months IN thel army and had
just completed his thirty second year.
The thirty-eighth congress is preemin
emily entitled in history to the desig-
nation Of the bali sifH 35al-r
ss. snI 4HwAR,CoNGREss.a yai .i .
| 1t WAS elected while the war was flag
| rant, and every member was chosen
upon issues involved in the continuance
tof it. The thirty seventh congress had
indeed legislated to large extenton war
measures, but it was chosen before any
one believed secession of the states
would be actually attempted. The mag
nitude Of the work which fell upon its
successor was unprecedented; both in re-
| spect to the vast sum of money raised
| for the support or the army and navy,
and of the new and extraordinary pow
ers Of legislation which it was forced to
exercise. Only twenty four states were
represented, and 1872 members were up
| TNo oil nua
| distinguished party leaders on both
sides, veterans in the public service'with
established regulations, for ability. and
with the skill which comes only from
parliamentary experience.
Into this assemblage of men Garfield
entered without special preparation,
and, il might almost be said, unexpect:
edfy. The question of taking command
ola division of 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 mill
taFy commission and his appearance in
the house were almost contemporaneous.
He wore the uniform OF a major gen
eral of the United States army on Sat
urday, and on Monday he an
swered to the roll call as representa-
tive in congress from the state
of Ohio. He was especially fortunate in
| the constituency which elected him.
Descended almost entirely from New
| England stock 1.-The men of the Ashtabula
district were intensely radical on all
questions relating to human rights.
Well educated, thrifty, thoroughly in
telligente in affairs, acutely discerning
of character not quick to bestow conf :
dence and slow to withdraw it, they
were at once the most helpful and most
1 ayonfrnrp IF - Thnir
trust in men whom they had once con-
fided in is illustrated by the unparal-
leled fact that Elisha Whittlesey, Joshua
| r. GIddings and Jas. A. Garfield repre-.
scented the district r'- lli fa
| f.--- FOR FIFTY-FOUR YEARS. - ..--
There is no test of a mans ability in
/ any department of public life more Sc
we're than service in the house of repre-.
sentatives. There is no place where
so little Difference is paid to reputation
previously acquired or to emlnence Won
outside, no place where 30 little consid.
GRAFTON is shown for tbs feelings or fail.
! ures of beginners. What man gains
in the house he gains by sheer force OF
his own character, and if he loses OF
falls back he must expect no mercy and
will receive no sympathy! 1t is a field
in which the survival of the strongest
Is the recognized rule, and nc
glamour can mislead. The real man
is discovered, his worth is impartially
weighed, his rank is irrevocably decid
ed. With possibly one exception, Gar
field was the youngest member in the
house of representatives when he enter
ed and was but seven years from his
college graduation, but he had not beer
i in his seat sixty days before he was rec
Ognized and his place conceded. He
stepped to the front with the confidence
of a man who belonged there The
. house was crowded with strong men Of
i both parties Nineteen of them have
since been transferred to the senate, and
many ofthem have served with distinc
ton in the gubernatorial chairs of theil
respective states and on foreign
missions of great a conse
puence, but among all none grew so rap
idly, none so firmly as Garfield A.
said of Trevelyan, his parliamentary
hero, Garfield succeeded because all the
world in concert
COULD NOT HAVE KEPT HIM IN TIE
.a BACK GROUND,
and because when once in the front he
played his part with prompt intrepid
4 ity and a commanding ease that were
but the outward symptoms of the i'm
mense resource of energy from which il
was in his power to draw. Indeed, the
apparently reserve force which Garfield
possessed was one of his great character.
istics. He never did so well but that il
seemed he could easily have done bet
ter. He never expended so much
strength but that he seemed to be hold
ing additional power at call. This is
one of the happiest and rarest distlnc-
tions of an effective leader and often
counts for as much in persuading an
assembly as the eloquent and elaborate
argument which distinguished his ser.
vice in the house of Representatives. His
military life illustrated by honorable
performance and rich in promise, was
as he himself fell, prematurely terminated,
end necessarily incomplete. Specula.
ton as to what he might have done, in a
field where the great prizes are so few,
cannot be profitable. 1t is sufficient to
say that as q soldier he did his duty
bravely-he did it intelligently. He
won an enViable fame and he retired
| from the service without q blot or
breath against him.
As a lawyer, though admirably
equipped for the profession, he can
scarcely be said to have entered on its
practice. The few efforts made by him at
the bar were distinguished by the same
high order of talent which he exhibited
on every field where he was put to test,
and If a man be accepted as q compe-
tent judge of his own capacities and
| adaptions, the law is the profession
to which Garfield should have de-
voted himself, but fate ordained other
wise, and his reputation in history will
rest largely upon his service in the house
of representatives. That service was ex-
ceptionally long. He was
NINE TIMES CONSEQUENTLY CHOSEN TO
THE HOUSE,
an honor enjoyed by not moro than six
other representatives of the more than
five thousand who have been elected
from the organization of the government
TO this hour. AS a parliamentary ora
tor, as debater on an issue squarely
Joined, where the position had been
chosen and the ground laid out Garfield
must be assigned q very hiOh rank