Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-09-17
AN OLD STATESMAN.
c,,sraI Afchlsoa Once President
ofthe United States.
p, Man Who Succeeded Polk and Preceded
''' Gsosral Taylor as Chief Ruler Of
ne Nation - "reminiscences
of6reat Personagss, Dead
and Living,
r,,,,, the 81 Louis RspubIicaa.

4
e King, and was, by the operation OF
n, constitution, the legal President OF
~. United States for one day, Is no"
, ,u ru his farm in Clinton County,
,,1;.-Turi. where, ne has resided for
N, wears. He was the colleague o
49,, -, GREAT men. Clay. Calhoun, Men-
" Ernton and Silas Wright, together
.,L ,rher wrll.knOwn statesmen at
vi p4riOd of our legislative history
,,.'..',.rtTe most difficult and exciting
ION. which ever agltatsd the peo-
md tested the strength OF the COn-
.rruti,u were pending.
ma. estate Of General Atchi>on COW
,,rI acres. diversified with prairie
''> '',.,l land. The mansion OF the
,..,.r,,l ! located in the centre OF
t.autiful grove Of locust trees standing
N 81 natural elevation or mound, Stop
i,,,, ON All sides except towards tue
nth The dwelling Il a neat, uh-
,-.,.ntipuS riiiicc erected on the site Oh
r., handsome mansion which Was
in-rrd "a the ground some ten years
s,,n The uuthOuSes surrounding the
T,,rIling give the place an air OF nome
IN, Srock at the front door brought an
.,r,pIant, hy whom the visitors Were
'To1r into the parlor, and presently
,Ea rand old man, General AtcnlsOn
or,..sr.d extending 10 the visitors
~. cordial welcome. His presence Is
;rrnr-;rr =, heing six feet two inches IN
I.E,rt with form as straight as an
CIV and unbenI 10y advancing years.
n, t;,.n,r,,Ts face was ola tlOrid color,
80 otrvlth gray hair and beard drop
I'm, n reasonable length below the chin.
IN. features are strong and expressive
Ola firm, positive character, the for
tsgj of good height, the eyes small and
,snahIr nf expressing the emotions or
,ra mind. % as not to be misunderstood.
All 10 this rather sonOrOus voice, OF
,Ia,.iD, intonatiOn and an infection
l,pgh and one will not wonder that he
va. The delight Of social circles and his
s,riety courted by the great ones OF the
land among whom he spent so many
yrsrs He was dressed in suit Of black
with vest Of immaculate white, and
wor. slippers beautifully embroidered
~ def hands. AS he stood before MS
visiturs, he appeared altogether what
has been said Ofhim, dignitied person
s,e. such - made him the model pre-
siding officer for many years Of the most
identified and august body in the cOun-
try- the senate of the United States.
The General SAYS he weighs about 2OO
rounds, having i'm late years added 10
his svoirrlupOis, his customary weight
being IN pounds.
The General stated he was seventy
five years old on the llth day OF Au-
GUST last. Speaking of his age he
mentioned a rather amusing circum-
stance. \ few years ago he went to
Kansas CITY To meet his old friend
JrtferSon Davis. He also met there
General James Shields, and in compar-
irr their ages both Davis and Shields,
be found, were two years younger than
he was. This General Atchison could
not very well account for, as about
thirty wears ago, when he met both
these gentlemen, they were about two
wears older than himself BY what
ntrromaucv he out~tripped them in the
race Of life he could not devine.
whisky and the south.
Speaking of prohibition, General
Atrii>on said that he was opposed to
il. hut that he believed the question
should h. submitted to the vote of the
people. In reply u q question whether
/, was true OF not that he had made a
Vow never 20 drink, as the Southern
rlu~e was commonly reported 70 have
teen lost by whisky, General AtchiSon
said.
We won several BATTLES and made
rurhiug uut of them on account Of
whisky. | will say that much. there
were some sober men in our councils.
have >,.n men in high commands
rgrimg in the saddle while the common
soldiers were suffering priyatiOns.'
General AtchisOn has served two full
terms Of six years each in the United
states Senate, the last time by election,
and during his last term in that august
body he was Nice-President Of the
United States after the death Of Mr..
King. He said: II was thirty-tive
wears Of age when / went to the Senate.
hsd no expectation of receiving the
appointment. II was rendered me
without solicitation on my part or by
my friends. / was residing al Platte
City, where / held the position of Cir
cult Judge, and while seated on the
bench one day I received a package by
mail from Jefferson City. General
Altman, who brought the package to
NE, laid it on the bench, but / was too
busy TO open il. Altman said, Let me
Ol+n it,, which he did, and then APP
lri>s'i me Of my appointment Is Sena-
tor"
President for rhIrty-Six Hours.
General, please explain how you be-
came President of the United States for
one day"
III was this way: Polk went into
Office on the Sd of March, lS49, on
saturday at u NJ. The next day, the
4ih, occurring an sunday, General
Taylor was not inaugurated. He was
not lnaugurated till Monday, the 5th,
AZ i VI. IL was then canvaSsed among
senators whether there was an inter
hEnum. Ii WAS plain that there was
either an interregnum or l was Presi-
UehL OF the United States, being Chair
man Of the Senate, having succeed
Judge Magnum of North Carolina. The
Judge walked me up at 3 O'clock in the
morning and said jOcularly that as /
was Irr>Ident of the United States he
wanted me to appoint him Secretary of
HIate. Other Senators came to me and
ADVISED me to claim the ranking
privilege for life under the law giving
lresldent Of the United States that
e"o.ument. | replied that would not
~Srune any doubtful powers. The
once OF President was vacant from
saturday night at l. z. NJ. to Monday
noon, when General Taylor was sworn
10. made no pretentiOa to the office,
SuI II was entitled to il | had one
coast to make, that not a woman or
Sui'u shed a tear on account Of my
IehoNlng any one from Office during
my incumbeney of the place. 4 great
nabF such questions are liable to arise
1''Uer our form Of government"
,, The seed OF the War.
l. Mlat was known as Clay's Omni-
S4S biiI, was momentOus and disturb
.S question: continued the General,
anu anu Clay had a large following, a large
tSruon OF the Democracy sided with
lay, was willing as Mr.. Clay pro-
fStl, TO take the measure in a lump
,,LouJolEty and voted against separating
IL. i -