St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-03-11

and often count for as much in persuading an
assembly rs the eloquent and elaborate arSu-
ment. The great measure OF Garneld s lame
was filed by his service in the House of Rep
fesentatives. His military life, illustrated by
honorable performance and rich in promise,
was, as he himself felt, prematurely ternlna
ted and necessarily incomplete. Speculation
as to what he might have done in d field
where the great prizes are so few can not DE
profitable. 1t is sufficient to say that as %
Soldier he did his duty bravely, lie did it in
diligently he won an enviable name, and he
returned from the service without blot or
blenish against him: As LAWYER. though
admirably equipped for the profession. he can
scarcely be said to have entered upon its
practice. The few efforts ne made Mt the bar
were distinguished by the same high order OF
talent which he exhibited on every field
where he put to the test, and if man
may be accepted a. a competent judge OF ms
own capacities and adaptations, the law was
the profession to which Garfield should have
devoted himself; but fate ordained otherwise,
| and his reputation i'll history will rest largely
upon his service in the House of Representa-
tives. That service was exceptionally long.
| He was nine times consecutively chosen to
the House. an honor enjoyed by not more
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 orator, rs dcbater on
an issue squarely joined. where the position
| had been chosen and the ground laid out, Gar
field must be assigned very high rank. More
perhaps than any man with whom he was us,
/
| systematic study to public questions and he
came to every discussion in which he took
part with elaborate and complete prepare
| ton He IL steady and indcfatigable
worker. Those who imagine that
talent or genius can supply the
place or achieve the results OF labor
| In the preliminary work he was apt, rapid
and sklfful. He possessed in a high degree the
power of readily absorbing ideas and facts,
and, like Dr.. Johnson, had the art of getting
value value in in it BY reading apparently
so quick and cnrsory that it seemed
like mere glance at the table OF con
tents He was pre- eminently fair and can
| did man i'll debate, took no petty advantage,
stopped to no unworthy methods, avoided
personal illusions, rarely appealed to preJu1
| dice did not seek to infiame passion lie
had a quicker eye for the strong point of his
adversary than for his weak point, and on
| his own side he so marShaled his Welghtv
arguments as to make his hearers forget any
possible lack in the complete strength of his
! position. He had habit OF stating his oppo-
nent's side with such amplitude OF fairness
| and such iberalty of concession that his fol-
| lowers often complained that he was weak
| ening his case, but never in his prolonged
participation in the proceedings of the House
| did he give way or fail in the judgment of
competent and impartial listeners to gain the
mastery.
| These characteristics, which marked Gar
| field as a great debater did not, however,
make him Il great parliamentary leader.
stood wherever free representative govern
| ment exists, is necessarily and very strictly
| the organ OF his party.
Those unfamiliar with GarfieldS industry,
and ignorant of the details of his work, may,
in some degree, measure them by the annals
of Congress. No one of the generation of
| public men to which he belonged has contrib
| uted so much that will be valuable for future
| reference. His speeches are numerous, many
of them brilliant, all of them well studied,
| carefully phrased and exhaustive of the sub
| iect under consideration. Collected from the
| scattered pages of ninety royal octave vol
umes of Congressional record, they would
! present an Invaluable compendium of the po-
| litical history of the most important era
| through which the National Government has
ever passed. When the history of this period
! shall be impartiallY written. when war legis-
| lation, measures ofreconstruction, protection
| of human rights, amendments to the Consti-
| tuition, maintenance of public credit, be re-
| viewed, unSurrOunded by prejudice and dis
| connected from partisanism. the speeches of
| Garfield will be estimated Mt their true value,
| and will be found to comprise a vast maya
| zine of fact and argument, of clear analysis
| and sound conclusion. Indeed if no other
! authority were accessible, his speeches in the
House of Representatives, from December
| 1853 to June 1890, would give a well connected
! history and complete defense of the impor
| tant legislation of the seventeen eventful
| years that constitute his parliamentary lite.
! Far beyond that, his speeches would be found
! to forecast many great measures yet to be
completed, measures which he knew were be-
yond the public opinion of the hour, but
popular approval within the period of his
own lifetime and by the aid of his own efforts
Differing as Garfield does from the brilliant
parliamentary leaders, it is not easy to find
American public life. He perhaps more nearly
resembles Mr.. Seward in his supreme faith in
the the, III, .eonauering power OF principle; He
| dustry of investigation to which John Quincy
Adams owes his prominence and his presi-
dency. He had some af those ponderous ell.
re nf
ster and which in all our public life have left
the great Massachusetts Senator wtnout III
intellectual peer. z,.- .. f.
In English parliamentary history, IA in our
| own, the leaders in the House of Commons
present points of essential difference from
Garfield, but some Of his methods recall the
best features in the strong, Independent
course of Sir Robert Peel, and striking resem-
blances are discernibe in that most promis-
ing of modern conservatives, who died too
early for his country and his fame, the Lord
George Bentinck. He had all OF Burke's love
for the sublime and the beautiful, with posi-
bly, something of his superabundance, and in
his faith and his magnanimity in his power of
statement, in his subtle analysis, in his fault
less logic, in his love of literature, in his
wealth and world of illustration, one is re-
minded of that great English statesman of to-
day who, confronted with obstacles that
would daunt any but the dauntlcss, reviled
by those whom he would relieve as bitterly as
by those whose supposed rights he is forced
to invade, still labors with serene courage for
the amelioration of Ireland and for the honor
of the English name; Garield's nomination
to the Presidency, while not predicted or an
ticipated, was not surprise to the country.
His prominence in Congress, his solid quail
ties, his wide reputation, strengthened by his
then recent election as Senator from Ohio,
kept him in the public eye as man occupy
ing the very highest rank among those en-
titled to be called statesmen. 1t was not mere
chance that brought him this high power.
owe must" says Mr.. Emerson. "Reckon sue
cess constitutional trait. If Eric is in robust
health and has slept well, and is at the top of
his condition and thirty years old, at his de-
parture from Greenland he will steer west,
and his ships will reach New Foundland, but
take Eric out and put in a stronger and holder
man and the ships will sail 500, 1000, l500miles
farther and reach Labrador and New Eng
land" There is no chance in results. AS a
candidate Garfield steadily grew i'll popular
favor. He was met with a storm of detrac-
ton at the very hour of his nomination. and
it continued with increasing volume and mo-
mentum until the close OF his victorious cam