The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-01
SENATOR ANTHONY.
His Fatal HIness-PersOnal POpularity-Inti-
macy with Burnside
H. j. Ramsdell in Philadelphia Press.

Every day during the past week / have
been expecting-to read of the death of Sena-
tor Anthony. From what 1 know of the
sick senator, have no idea that he will ever
recover. He has been gradually giving way
for many years. His failure began with
slight loss of memory. He vas not as quick
and bright as he used to be, and he did not
catch point as readily. Then he lost interest
in things. He did not care whether the world
went to tine dogs or not he did not care much
what went on in the Senate, and he did not
recognize friends and acquaintance as readily
as he used to do. 1t was with all effort that
he could place his mind and concentrate his
attention on any subject but when he made
the effort he got on very well. For years.
however, his friends could see the gradual
loosening of the golden cord His complaint
was easily distinguishable; it was the kidney
horror.
Mr. Anthony has been very high liver
for at least quarter Of a century. He has
always been very popular man in Wash
ington. His manners were always cordial
and winning; he was companionable and IN
teresting he could tell a good story, pay a
graceful compliment and listen to others now
and then, which is certainly virtue all men
cially brilliant and as a guest he was the
most popular man in the Senate He was,
and is for that matter, a bachelor and
bachelors are always in demand at dinners.
A senator may be very pleasant and his wife
may be very disagreeable. Therefore, bachelors
range higher in the market l do not believe
there has ever been a man in either house of
Congress who has eaten as many good dinners
and drunk as much good wine as Senator An
thony. He was sought by everybody, Presi-
dent, foreign ministers, cabinet officers, dis
tinguished visitors. by high Democrats and
Republicans, by his associates, by members of
the House, by newspaper men, and all, in
deed, who give good dinners. As a speaker
at that glorious part of the dinner when the
canvas back and the Burgundy have given
place to coffee and brandy he had few
equals. He never said an ungracious or a
discourteous thing, and when he spoke to
'our wives and sweethearts' he was par
ticulary brilliant, but how he could know
anything of noble wife or a glorious sweet
heart is more than l can tell, especially in
the little State of Rhode Island
Senator Anthony is over sixty-eight years
of age He was born in Rhode Island and
graduated at Brown University. He was
| Governor of his State at thirty-four years of
age, and was member of the United States
Senate at forty-four. He is the oldest sem
ator in consecutive succession on that floor,
and has been five times elected to six-year
term The term for which he was last
elected expires in 1889. Mr.. Anthony Il
hardly know whether to speak of him in the
past tense or the presently was a very graceful
speaker. He never went into general DO
litical discussion but he sometimes made po-
litical speeches And he rarely, if ever
spoke on financial questions. All his tastes
were of the refined order. On foreign ques-
tions, literary questions, art buildings and
such kindred subjects he was always an au-
| thority and on funeral orations he had no
aknrQ OF
make good volume. In making the
list of speeches on such occasions, Anthony's
name was always set down without consult
ing him. Mr.. Anthony was rudy faced,
| with white and abundant hair and long
white whiskers. He was nearly, if not quite
six feet tall, somewhat bent with years, and
weighed about a hundred and eighty or
ninety pounds.
The greatest affection existed between An
thony and his colleague, the late General
Burnside Senators from the same State are
| rarely on good terms. Think OF Cameron and
Mitchell, Conkling and Fenton, Schurz and
Drake Sumner and Wilson, Trumbull and
his colleague, Fessenden and his colleague
(names forgotten for the moment), and
dozen others l might mention with little
refection-they rarely spoke to each other
But Anthony and Burnside were constantly
together. They solved the problem which
Voltaire and j frederick the Great tried to
solve, whether friendship could endure the
test of constant companionship. l don't
know much history but if remember right
ly, Voltaire and Frederick were constantly
together for three years. that Voltaire
left the King, and was subsequently arrested
for stealing poetry and sent to prison. At
any rate the friendship of the two Rhode Is
land senators was a subject of general COM
ment here. They breakfasted together, they
took luncheon together, they drove together,
they walked together. Sometimes, as they
strolled down the avenue from the Capitol
on pleasant afternoon. they would laugh
and chat in high glee. At other times,
wrapped in rubber coats they would bowl
along humping against each other and never
say word They were so inseparable that
it was common expression among newspa-
per boys: Here they come, the Rhode Is
land twins"
Senator Anthony must be comfortably
well-off in worldly sense. With no family
and living at small expense here, he must
have saved good portion of his salary each
year. have never heard of him entertain
ing any one, and he rarely refused an invita-
lion. But, as a senator, his name was never
mentioned as a comfortable quantity by any
one. He was scrupulously rigid in his prac-
to vote on questions where party was not
concerned. His paper, the Providence Jour
nal, is very prosperous in commercial sense,
AID the Senator must have made a good deal
of money out of that. But one thing is
certain, he never made a dollar in specula-
ton or by shadowy practices
A Case of Blood Poisoning.
a.