The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-05-10
IN MEMORY OF CONKLING
Grafton by Col. Robert G. Ingersoll Be-
fore the New York Legislature.
A Characteristically Eloquent Tribute to the
Integrity, Msnlinsss and Statesmanlike
Qualities of the Dead Senator.


listened to Grafton by Col Robert O. Ineer-
soil to the memory of Roscoe Conkling. and one
fourth as many more besieged the barred doors,
while many climbed to the roof and peeped
through the sky-liehts The ceremonies were
under the auspices of the Senate and Assembly.
Colonel Ineersoll said:
Roscoe Conkling-a great man, an orator, q
statesman, q lawyer, distinguished citizen OF
the Republic, in the zenith OF his fame and
power. has reached his journeys end; and We
are met, here in the city Of his birth, to pay our
tribute to his worth and work He earned and
held proud position in the public thought. He
stood for independence, for courage and, above
all. for absolute integrity, and his name was
known and honored by many millions Of his fell
low-men. The literature OF many lands Ia rich
with the tributes that gratitude, admiration and
love have paid to the great and honored dead.
These tributes disclose the character Of nations.
the ideals of the human race. In them we find
the estimates Of greatness, the deeds and lives
that challenged praise and thrilled
the hearts of men. In the presence of death,
the good man judges as he would be judged.
the greatest walk in shadow, and that faults and
failures mingle with the lives Of all. In the
grave should be buried the preJudices and pas
sions born of conflict. Charity should hold the
scales in which are weighed the deeds of men,
Peculsritiss, traits born of locality and sur
roundings-these are but the dust of the race;
these are accidents, draDery, clothes, fashions,
that have nothing to do with the man except to
hide his cbaracrer. They are clouds that cling
to mountains. Time gives us clearer vision.
That which was merely local fades away; tho
words OF envy are forgotten, and all there is of
sterling worth remains. He who was called q
partisan. is patriot; the revolutionist and the
outlaw are the founders of nations and he who
was regarded as scheming, selfish politician
becomes a statesman, philosopher, whose
words and deeds shed light Fortunate Is that
nation great enough TO know the great
"When . great man dies-one who has nobly
fought the battle OF life. who has been faithful
to every trust and has uttered his highest.
nobest thought; one who has stood proudly by
the right in spite of jser and taunt, neither
stopped by foe nor swerved by friend-in homer
ing him. in speaking words OF praise and love
above his dust We pay tribute to ourselves
How Door this world would be without its
graves. without the memories of its mighty dead;
only tho voiceless speak for ever Intelligence.
integrity and courage are the great pillars that
support the state. Above all the citizens of a
free nation should honor the brave
and Independent man, the man of stainless
integrity, Of will and intellectual force.
Such men are the Aliases on whose mighty
shoulders rest the great fabric OF the Republic.
Flatterers, cringers. crawlers, tme-servers. are
the dangerous citizens of democracy. They
who gain applause and power By oandering to
the mistakes, the prejudices and passions OF the
multitude are the enemies of liberty When
claIQ0r
anarchy begins. and the Republic reaches the
edge of chaos Mediocrity, touched with ambi-
ton, hatters the base and caluminates the great,
while the true patriot. who will do neither. is
often sacrificed. In a government of the people
leader should be q teacher; he should carry the
torch OF truth.
"Most people are the slaves of habit. followers
of custom, believers in the wisdom of the past,
aud were IL not for brave and splendid souls,
the dust of antique time would lie unswept and
f.frx,f ofsf mona hn fohl To- h2a g.
truth to overpeer' Custom IL prison, locked
and barred by those who long ago were dust
the keys of which in the keeping of the dead.
Nothing is grander than when a strong, intrep id
man breaks chains, levels walls, and breasts the
many headed mob like some great cliff that
meets and mocks the innumerable pillows of the
The politician bastens to agree with the
majority. insists that their prejudice is patriot
lam. that their Ignorance is wisdom; not that he
loves them. but because he loves himself The
statesman, the real reformer. points out the mis-
takes of the multitude attacks the prejudices of
his countrymen, laughs 1t their follies, denoun-
ces their crueltes. enlightens and enlarges their
minds aud educates the conscience, not because
he loves himself but because be loves and
serves the right and wishes to make his country
great and free. With him defeat is but spur
to further effort He who refuses to stoop,
who cannot be bribed by the promise of success
the fear Of failure. who walks the highway Of
tho right and ia disaster stands erect, 10 the
only victor. Nothing IL more despicable than
TO reach fame by crawling. position by crinR-
ing When real history shall be written by the
truthful and the wise. these mon, these knsel-
ers at the shrines Of chance and fraud, these
brazen idols, worshiped once gods, will be
the very food Of scorn, while those who bore the
burden OF defeat who earned and kept thsir
seif-respect, who would not bow tn man or men
for place or power, will wear upon their brows
the laurel mingled with the oak.
Roscoe Conkling was q man Of supurb cour-
age. He not only acted without fear, but he
had that fortitude of soul that bears the conse-
quences of the course pursued without COM
plant He was charged with being proud The
charge was true: he was proud. His knees were
as inflsxible as the 'unwedgeable aud gnarled
oak. but he was not vain. Vanity rests on the
opinion of others; pride. on our own. The
source OF vanity is from without; OF pride. from
within. Vanity is vaue that turns. a willow
that bends. with every breeze; pride Is the oak
that defes the storm. One is cloud, the other
rock. One ia weakness. the other strength.
'This imperious man entered public life in the
dawn Of the reformation, at time when the
country needed men of pride. of principle and
| courage The institution of slavery had poisoned
| all the springs Of power. Before this crime am
bition fell upon its knees. politicians. judges.
| cergymen and merchant princes bowed low and
| humbly. with their bats in their hands. The
| real friend of man denounced the enemy
| Of his country; the real enemy OF the human
| race was called statesman and q patriot.
union and national greatness. The temple Of
| American liberty was finished; the auction
| block was the cornerstone 1t is hard to con-
ceive of the utter decentralization, of the poit-
zeal blindness and immortality, of the patriotic
dishonesty. of the cruelty and degra-
| dation of a people who supplemented
| the incompatible Declaration of Indspend-
/ euce with the fugitive siave-law.
| Think of the honorable statesmen of that ig-
| noble time who wallowed in this mire. and who.
| decorated with dripping filth, received the
| plaudlts of their fellow -menl The noble. the
/ really patriotic, were the victims of mobs, and
| the shameless were clad in the robes Of Office.
| But let us speak no word of biame let MS feel
| that each one acted according To his light, &C,
| cording to his darkness. At last the conflict
i came The hosts of light and darkness prepared
/ to meet upon the fields of war; The question
| was presented: Shall the Republic be slave OF
| freel The Republican party had triumphed al
| tho polls The greatest man in our his
| tory was Presidentelect The victors were
| appalled,: they shrank from the great
| responsibility OF success. In the presence OF re
bellion they hesitated; they offered to return
the fruits of victory. Hoping to avert war, they
were willing that slavery should become i'm
| mortal. An amendment to the Constitution was
| proposed to the effect that no subsequent amend
| ment should ever be made that in any way
| should interfere with the right OF man TO stea
| his felow-men. This, the most marvellous prop
| osition ever submitted to q congress OF civil
lied men, received in the House an overwhelm
| ing majority, and the necessary two-thirds IN
| the Senate. The Republican party, IN the mo
ment of its triumph. deserted every principl.