The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-03-09

- ~ - $50 = @s.se~9 =
reputation previously acquired 9 % sminenss
w0a outside no place where = l1ette cOnsidera-
ton ~ shown for the feelings g failures OF b.
gains by sheer force Of his own character, and,
he loses and falls bacl, he must expect no
mercy and will receive no sympathy. t II 8
fcld in which the survival Of the strongest II
the recognized rule and whore no pretCnse can
survive and no glamour can mislead. The
real man IL discovered, he worth u impartially
,vl Weighed. BIZ rank Z trrsvocaoly dscidsd.
Geld was the youngest member In the
House when he entered, and WAS but seven
years from his college graduation; but hs had
not bccn in his seat sixty days before his ability
was recognized and his place conceded. He
stepped to tho front with the confidence Of one
with strong men Of both partissj nineteen Of
them have since been transferred TO the Sem
ate. and m,ny Of them have served With dis
tinctiOn III the 0ubernat0rial chairs Of their
respective States and on foreign missions OF
great consequences. But, among all, nons grew
% O;1 np,d'y g nCns !: g firmly = Carried: 4 =
field sncceedrd because I'll tho world in concert
could not have kept him In tho background,
and because, whom once In the front, ho
played his part with . prompt intrepidity and
commanding oas0 that were but tho outward
bvulptOu1n Vi tu0 1uuW6u00 I000EV00 O1 000IKy
on which Il was in his power to draw. Indeed,
tue apparently reserved force which Garaeld
possessed was one OF his great characteristics.
HI never did no well but thst Il seemed he
could easily have done better. He never ex-
pended so much strength but that be seemed
to be holding additional power q call This z
one OF the happAst and rarest distinctions Of
an effective leader, and often counts for %
much in persuadlng IN assembly - eloquent
and elab0rAte argument.
His military Lite. illustrated By honorable per.
formanCe and rich in promise, va, - he him.
self felt. prematurely terminated and neces-
sarily incomplete. Speculation - to what he
might have done in = field where the great
prizes are 20 few cannot be profitable II u
sufficient to say that as soldier he did his duty
bravcly, he did II intelligently, he won IN en-
viablo fame and he retired from tho service
without blot or breath against him. Az law
yer, though admirably equipped for tho pro-
on its practice.
Tho few efforts made 1t the bar we're dis
tinguished BY the same high order OF talent
which he exhibited ON every deld where he Was
put to ths test, and, II : man may be accepted
% competent judge OF his own capacities and
adaptations, the law was the profession to
which Garfield should have devoted himself.
But fate ordained otherwise. and his reputation
in history will rest largely upon his services in
the House Of Representatives. That service
was exceptionally long. He was nine times
consecutively Congressman TO the House, an
Representatives Of the moro than 1000 who
have been elected from the organization Of the
Government to this hour.
Al . parliamentary orator, - debater on
an issue squarely Joined, where the position
had been chosen aud the ground laid out, Gar
field must be assigned very high rank-more
perhaps than any man with whom ho was a.
aH0Ai i,sv fn Elo III M
systematic study to public questions, and he
came to every discussion IN which he took
part with elaborate and complete preparations.
He was q steady and indefAti0able worker.
Those who imagine that talent or genius can
supply the place or achieve tho results Of labor
will hnd no encouragement in Gar6eld's life. In
preliminary work he was apt, rapid and skill-
ful. he possessed In high degree the power
OF readily absorbing ideas and facts, and, like
DR.. Johnson had the art Of getting from .
book III that was Of value in II by . reading
apparently SO quick and cursory that il seemed
| He was pre-eminently ! fair and candid
man; in debate he took no petty ad-
/ vantage, stopped to no unworthy msth-
ods, avoided personal allus.on, rarely ap-
+, pealed to prejudice. did not seek to
inflAme passion He had quicker oye Tor the
| point, and on his own side he 20 marshaled his
| weghty arguments as to make his hearers for
I get any possible lack in the complete strength
| Of his position. He had habit Of stating his
| opponents side with such amplitude Of fairness
and such liberality Of concession that his sol-
/ lowers often complain d that he Wa giving his
case away. But never In his prolonged partici-
patton in The proceedings In the House did he
1 give his case away or fail. IN the judgment OF
| competent and impartial listeners, to gain the
4 mastery. These characteristics which marked
| Garfield AZ great debater did not, however,
\ H.
! liamcntary leader. AZ tnat term IL understood
\ wherever free representative government ex-
lists. is necessarily and very strictly tho organ
| or his party. An ardent American defined the
instructive warmth Of patriotism when he Of
fersd the toast, "Our country, always right;
but, right or wrong. our country"
j The parliamentary leader who has body OF
followers that will do, and dare. and die for
the cause ID one who believes his party always
right hut, right or wrong. is for his party. No
| moro important or exactlng duty dcSOlyel
upon him than the selection Of the fed and
the time for contest. He must know not
merely how to strike, but where 70 strike and
when to strike. He often skllifully avoids the
strength OF his opponents position and scat
ters confusion in his ranks by attacking Al cx-
| pose.l point when really the righteousness ol
the cause and the strength Of the logical in-
trcnchmcnt are against him. He cOnqn.rs Of
ten both against the right and the heavy bat
! IAllOIlSt 40 WuCu yOutt& SuAAtSa EoAt III Nuc
days OF his Toryisn, carried the House Of Com.
| mons against justice, against immemoFia
rights against his own con 'ic,iOns-if, indeed
1T that period Fox had con sictions-and in thu
interests Of corrupt adm listration, in obedi
ence 70 tyrannicals sovereign, drove Wilkes
from the sea: to which III, electors Of Middle
sex had chosen hmm, and installed
law but OF public decency. For IN achieve
ment OF that kmd Garfield was disqualified
disqualified BY the texture Of his mind, by th,
honesty OF his heart, by his conscience and b.
every instinct and aspiration OF his nature
Tho three most distinguished parliamentar,
leaders hitherto developed in this country arsi
Mr.. Clay, Mr.. Douglas ana Thaddeus Stevens
Each was man OF consummate ability Of grea
carnestness, Of intense Ters0nality, differing
widely each from the others. and yet with I
eignal trait in colnmOn.-the power TO command
LII the give aud take Of daily discussion in th,
art Of controlling and consolidating reluctant
and refractory followers in tho skill TO over
come I'll forms Of opposition and to meet with
competency and courage the various phases o
nnlooksd-for assault or unsuspected detection
II would be difficult 70 rank with these fonrti
name in all our Congressional history. But o
these Mr.. Clay WAS the greatest. II would
parliamentary annals Of the world : par
alcl to Mr.. Clay In l84i, when, at "a years o
age, he took the control OF the Whig part,
| IIum suo AtccluCul WuO u30 A0SrAvcu sAa0AI wut
frsges, against the power Of Webster in tn
Cabinet, against the eloqncIlce Of Choate in th
Senate, against the herculsAn Efforts OF CAlel
Cushing and Henry A. Wise in the House. L
unsharcd leadership. in tho pride and plsnti
tude Of power, he hurled against John Tyle
with deepest scoFn the mass Of that conqusg
ing column which had swept over tho land i
1870, and drove his administration to see
shelter behind the lines OF his political fosl
Mr.. Douglas achieved : victory scarcsly L.
wonderful when, In 1854, against tho sscre
desires OF strong administration, against th
wise counsel Of the older chiefA against d
conservative instincts and even the moral sans
Of tho country, he forced reluctant Congress
into repeal Of the Missouri compromise. MI
1haddeus Stevens, IN his contest from 1865
1868, actually advanced his parliamentary lead
ershlp until Congress tied the hands Of th
President aud governed tho country by its ow
will, leaving only perfunctory duties to b dil
charged BY the Executive. With S200, ,OO0, 90
Of patronage In his hands at tho openin
Of the contest. aided BY the active force Of Sew
ard In the Cabinet and the moral power q
Chase on the bench. Andrew johnson coul
not command the support Of one-third in eithe
house against the parliamentary uprisinQ D