Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-22
HOW GREAT MEN WRITE.
The Penmanship of the President and His
Cabinet-A Look Mt a Lot OF Sena-
torial Autographs.

The Penmanship of the President ana ms
Cabinet-A Look Mt Lot of Sena-
torial Autographs.
President Arthur writes big up-and-
down hand which sprawls and jumps
from one word to the next without leav-
ing the paper. He is evidently glad
when the end of his name is reached,
for he closes it with a flourish, and the
final ''r'' takes shoot right through
the Arthur and across the st" The
presidents figures are well made, trick
which he had to learn when he taught
school, and his penmanship is quite leg
ible.
No one would imagine Secretary Ere
linghuysen's autograph was written by
a man. 1t looks like the signature of a
palsied old woman. The letters are
small and Grabbed, and foreign policy
modelled on that autograph would be
weak indeed. Hugh McCulloch. old as
he is. writes far steadier than Freling-
huysen, and Secretary Chandler has a
good round hand. Robert L. Lincoln's
signature has an RI bigger than all
of the rest of his name, and the IT"
the middle initial, is monogramed with
IGt allN- Ncu DlC"sltI NiAbtS
in the same loud way that he dresses.
The ink flows in rivers, and every curve
says This is the great Brewster, with
his coat-of-arms, his frilled shirt, his
white plug hat, and his aristocratic
noodle" Judge Gresham pens his
name in big black curves, and his sig
nature, like himself, is plain, common
sense, and outspoken.
In the same way the characters of
some of the senators may be seen IN
their autographs. Lucius Quintius
Lamar writes as though he were monk
in some old monastery of the fifteenth
century. The letters are small and neat
and made in the up-and-down strokes
in vogue before Spencer invented his
curves and loops. 1t is a scholarly
hand, and is warmer, | think, than that
of George Frisbie Hoar, which stands
upon the paper As cold as Massachusetts
and as reserved as Boston, without a
period or redundant flourish, and alb
breviated at every point.
The late Senator Anthony wrote
hand modelled on the tracks in the mud
of his big turkey farm in little Rhode
Island. The ..y" at the close of his
autograph has flourish like a big tur-
keys claw, and it ends in a knob like
the bone end of the same. The hand
of David Davis is as heavy as himself.
He uses blue ink and punctuates pro-
fusely. Howell Jackson, of Tennessee,
writes an old-time hand. Senator
Pugh, of Alabama, scribbles in acute
angles, and Isham G. Harris throws his
pen about boldly as il he knew the gov
ernment was paying for the ink.
John A. Logan's signature takes up
half a page, and it is like nothing out
side of the hieroglyphics in the subter-
ranean tomb of III. 1t is as bold and
aggressive as Logan's own character,
and he closes it with a dashing curve
half as big as the sword which he car
ried during the war.
Senator Edmunds has also an illeg-
ible signature, but it looks more like the
sign on a Chinese tea box than the
Egyptian scrawl of Logan. Senator
FRYE writes his name, state, and date
without taking his pen from the paper
an emblem of quickness on the part
of the senator Camden of West Nir-
ginia and Jones of Florida have the
same style of handwriting, and ingalls,
of Kansas. Ransom of North Carolina,
Bayard of Delaware, and little Gen.
Hale of Maine all use up-and-down
strokes, and write as if they were not
ashamed of their names. Senators
Sherman, Vest, and Angus Cameron all
have small, tinely-written signatures,
but voorhees, writes with bold goose
Quill flourish clustering hand, and
Ben Harrison evidently uses steel pen.
Philetus Sawyer, the millionaire OF
Wisconsin, prints his signature; Warner
Miller uses goose-quill; Plumb, OF
Kansas, writes hand which would de-
light the old printers who set type fol
him when he was editing a country
newspaper, and Senator Sewell, of New
jersey. uses more ink than any other
man in the senate.
Mcmillan. of Minnesota, puts a long
flourish under his signature, and pens
his letters in bold, straight strokes.
Van Wyck, of Nebraska. has a sigma
turc like green school-boyS and his
letters are half like capitals and half
like small letters; he puts his residence
in all his autographs, and gives the day
and date of his writing. Eli Salisbury
writes ou straight line across the page
and he evidently has a mathematical
eve. Senator Tabor signature is the
best thing about him. Senator Gar
land, of Arkansas, writes ike copper
plate, and Senator Call, of Florida, has
whip-like flourish under his name
which looks as though a maiden's hand
! had penaed it. German, of Maryland.
writes big, bold hand. 1t is the fist
Of baseball player, and a man in
sound physical condition. Hill, of Col
orado, writes well, but the autographs
of Beck and Joe Brown look as if they
were scrawled off with the wrong end
| of a gooSe-quill.
Take the senators all in all, and they
are as good set of penmen as you will
find in any body of the kind. They
write, as rule. palmer than the MEM
bers of the house, some of whom can
| hardly read their own writing. Good
| writing is by no means a sign of agreat
man. Indeed this has been shown true
i'll so many eases that some people have
come to think that great man must
necessarily be a bad writer. This has
not been the case in our history. All of
our presidents have been good penmen.
Washington's accounts were neatly
kept; John Adams had a signature
which would have taken a premium in
writing school, and Thomas Jefferson
had legible script. james Madison
! wrote like an accomplished lady, and
Munroe signed his name in angles, but
so plainly that he who ran could read.
1t looks cold and reserved. 1t has not
flourish too much, and reminds me of
that of Senator George Frisbie Hoar.
Andrew jackson wrote a bold, open