River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-05-17

and proudly IelL That IL lie was not too great 10
reach the hand Of help ana reeogn.t on 10 The
slave no other Senator could r!zhtfully refuse.
We rise by raising others, and ne who stoops
above the fallen stands erect.
Roscoe Conkling was az absolutel, Lonest
man. Honeaty is the oak around which ali
other virtues cling. Without that they fall
and groYeling die in weeds and dust lie be-
lieyed that Nation should discharge It's obi
cations. He knew that n promise could not be
made often enough or emphatic enough to take
the place OF payment He felt that the
promise Of ihe Government was the
promise OF every citizsn-that National
Obligation was personal debt. and
that no possible combination OF words ami
pictures could take the place OF coin. lie ut
tered the splendid truth that 1.-THE higher OBJ
legations among men are not set down in
writing s.gne1 and sealed. but reside
In honor" He knew that reputation was
the sacrifice OF honor, the death OF the
Nat onal soul tie knew that without
character, without integrity. there is no
wealth. and that below poverty below bank
ruptey, is the rayless abyss OF reputation. He
upheld the sacredness OF contracts, OF plighled
National faith, and helped TO save and keep the
honor Of his native land. This adds another
laurel 10 his brow. H. was the ideal repre-
sentative. faithful and ineorruptible. He be-
heyed that constituents aad his country
were entitled 10 the fruit OF his experience, TO
his best ana highest thought No man ever
held the standard OF respons bility higher than
he. He voted accord ng TO his judgment, his
eonse ence. He made no bargans-he ne Their
bought nor so d. To correct evils, abolish
abuses and inaugurate reforms, he believed
was not only the duty but the privilege OF
legislators. He ne thcr sold nor mort
gagged mselL He was in Congress dur;
ing the years Of vast expenditure, of war and
waste, when the credit OF the Nation was
loaned 70 individuals, when claims were thick
as leaves in June, when the amendment OF a
statute. the change Of q single word, meant
millions. and when emp res were given
10 corporations. He stood at the sum
NIT OF his power-peer OF the greatest
q leader tried AMI trusted He had
the tastes OF Prince, the fortune OF peas
ant and yet he never sweryed. No corpora
ton was great enough or rich enough 10 pur-
chase HIM. His vote could not be bought flor
all tie sun Sees or the close earth wombs,
or the profound seas hide" Il s hand was
never touched by any bride, and his
soul there never was sordid stain.
Poverty was his priceless crown. Above
his marvellous intellectual gifts, above all place
he ever reached, above tbs ermine he refused,
rises his integrity like some great m ountaln
peak and there IL stands, firm as the earth be-
meath pure as the stars above.
The speaker then spoke OF Mr.. Conkling as a
lawyer and an orator, in both OF which charac-
ters he declared HIM TO be without q peer Con-
tinuing, he said:
He abhorred the Pharisee and loathed all
fraud. He had a profound aversion for those
who insist on putting base motives back OF the
good deeds OF others. He wore no mask.
He knew his friends; his enemies knew
n. He had 10 patience with pre-
tense, with patriotic reasons for IN
manly acts. He did his work and bravely
spoke his thought. Sensitive to the last
degree, he keenly felt the blows and slabs of
the cavious and obscure, OF the smallest. of
the weakest, but the greatest could not drive
him from cony.ction's fie "a. He would not
stoop TO ask or give an explanation. He left
his words and deeds TO justify themselves. He
held in light esteem friend who heard with
half believing the SANDER OF foe He
walked a highway OF his own, and kept the
company OF his self-respect. He would rot turn
aside to avoid foe. TO greet or gam friend. In
his nature there was no compromise To him
there were but Two paths-the right and wrong.
tie was maligned misrcpresented and misuu-
derstood, but he would not answer. He knew
that character spea@s louder far than any
words. He WIS as silent then as he is now, and
his silence, better than any form OF speech, re-
fut9d every charge.
He was an American-proud OF his country
that was and ever wall be proud of him. He did
not find perfection only IN other lands. lie did
not grow small and shrunken, wilhered and
apologeticin the presence OF those upon whom
greatness had been thrust by chance. He could
not be oYerawed by Dukes or l. Ords nor aattered
INTO Hertebrateless SuDserV'cncy by the patron
IL ng smiles OF Kings In The midst OF conven-
tionalites he had the feeling OF suffocation.
He believed in the royalty Of man. in the SOW
eregnty of the citizen, ami in the matchless
greatness of this republic He was OF the
CLASSIC mold-a figure from the antique world.
He had TIL pose Of the great statues, the pride
and bearing OF the intellectual Greek, OF the
conquer ng Roman, and he stood in the wide
free air as though within his veins there flowed
the blood of hundred Kings.
As he lived he died Proud he entered the
darsness-or the dawn-that we call death.
Unshrnlingly he passed beyond our horizon,
beyoGd the twilights purple hills beyond the ut
most reach OF human harm or help, to that
vast realm Of sence or of Joy where the innu-
merabIe dwell and he has left with US his
wealth OF thought and deed-the memory OF a
brave, lmperious, honest man, who bowed
alone 10 death
After the address General Hustled said
few words and the memorial services ended