The Dawson journal., 1883-03-15
Mr.. STEPHENS LIFE.
An Authorized Sketch of the
Great COmmOner's Career.

In an authorized interview in
the New York Herald sin March,
1882, Mr.. Stephons gave a sketch
of his life and opinions, which is
as follows: 81 am now past 70
years of age, and feel as if my
declining health and physical de-
bility render it proper that one
more capable of performing the
duties of the position should take
my place. That is not very ele-
CANT way of stating it. You can
say that retiring is due to my age
and infrmities. l wish that the
remainder sof my deys, should
they be extended to tho end of the
present congress, be spent in quiet
and rest. The labors of a mam-
Der of congress are too heavy for
me to discharge as I ought to. 1
could never consent to hold any
Office the duties OF which / am
physically unable to discharge. 1
never assume public trust unless
l think myself equal to it's duties" :"
after your long public service
are you still a Democrat and in
sympathy with that party?"
eyes, I have always been a
Democrat. l have never acknowl-
edged allegiance to any party. My
allegiance has been true to princi-
pie, and my party organization !
have never held to be other than
subordinate to the great essential
principles of constitutional gov
ernment as announced by Jeffar-
son, and maintained by the fathers
of the republic. In that school of
politics | was born and reared and
in it l expect to die
"How many members Of the
congress to which you were first
elected are here or liying?"
Let me see. There are no
members now of either branch
Senate or Housewife were here
when l first entered congress.
Several who were then members
are still living. [ can now recall
as among the living Hannibal
Hamlin, of Maine; Hamilton Fish,
of New York; Gen. Clingman, of
North Carolina; Armstead Burt,
of North Carolina; George ".
Jones, of Tennessee; L. Q. G. Ell
mo, Of New Jersey; David L. Yu-
lee, of Florida; Orlando r. Flick
lin, John Wentworth and John A.
McClerland, Of Illinois; George P.
Marsh, of Vermont, and Mr..
Ramsey, late Secretary of War
under President Hayes. All these
and some others, whose names I
do not recall, are among the men
now living who came in with me
in the Twenty-eight Congress.
When [ first came to congress
Yulee was a delegate from Flori-
ds, and he afterwards represented
that state in the senate. There
was quite a shoal of new members
of congress who came in with me
in 1S43 who made deep impress
sion in the history OF the country.
Besides those just named as now
living who stood prominently be-
fore the country in the arena of
politics l might mention Stephen
A. Douglas, of Illinois; Andrew
johnson, of Tennessee; Howell
Cobb, of Georgia; Jacob Collamer,
of Vermont; Robert CcClelland,
of Michigan subsequently, Secre-
tary of the Interior in President
Pierce's administration, and John
P. Hale, of New Hampshire.
There is a man yet living, who be-
came very distinguished, Robert
C. Schenck, of Ohio. He figured
largely in the civil war. Now,
there is still another list of men
with whom / was associated when
l first entered congress. That Is
to say, among the living men to-
day who were in congress when l
came in, and were distinguished at
that time, are Kenneth Raynor, of
North Carolinia, now Solicitor of
the Treasury, and Robert Win
throp, of Boston, who was after
wards Speaker of the House.
This list, you see, is quite small.
But here is a larger list, for 1t