The Irish standard., 1888-08-11
OLD-TIME STATESMEN.
A Very Large Number Of Them
Were Young Men.

A. Very Large Number OF Them
Were Young Men.
The Remarkably Youthful Set of Men
Known as the Fathers of the Repub-
lic"-Educa ion in the Days of
Our Keyered Ancestors.
The "fathers Of the Republic were not
the sexagenarians and scptuagenarlans OF
their era, writes Edward p. Clark IN the
Chicago Ame,icu. On the contrary: they
were as q rule. are markedly youthful! set OF
men 1t is the wigs, queues and knee
breeches'' which have caused the nnsappfe-
hension. The pictures in the school history
show White-haired men who bear every APP
pearance of being swell up in years" ana
the child instinctively thinks of them as
old. Almost superhuman wisdom was re-
quired to discharge their almost l1nposslole
task, and it consequently seems as though
they must have possessed the requisite
wisdom and experience OF the world. Ii 1ne
question were asked which of the TWO poo-
les. the convention of 17SS or the Unlteo
States Senate OF 1883, showed the highest
average of age doubtless nine persons out
Of every ten would answer that the trainers
of the constitution were much the older.
Fortv-one deputies from the various
States subscribed their names to the con
stitution on the 18th day OF September 1900.
The birthdays of all but four are known.
OF these thirty-seven there We're but hve
who were as old as sixty, and, III tfuth, one
Of these five did not complete MS slXtlelh
wear until the month after the conVehtloA
dissolved. The Nestor OF that BODY was
Benjamin Franklin, who was more than
eighty-one when it met. Roger sherman
came next in seniority, at slXty-slx: inefi
followed two members each IN th2I SHY
fourth year. and the deputy who was just
turning sixty. But only o11e-slxth OF one
whole number were entitled to be called ola
men.
Turn now to the other extreme. Jonathan
DAYTON. of New Jersey, lacked several
months of being 81 when the convention
met: William jackson, Of Pennsylvania,
was but 20; Charles Pinckney, OF South
Carolina, only 80; Alexander Hamilton, OF
New York, was but a few months past 80;
Rufus King, of Massachusetts, 81; Gouver-
neuer Morris, Of New Y orl1, IS. and james
Madison, of Virginia, 49, Twelve OF the
tllirty-seven were under 80, and twenty less
than as years old. 4 full third were thus
within the class which, in speaking OF age
nowadays, we call young men. The average
age of the whole number fell just inside OF
Is years.
It would be waste of space to argue
that the young men OF the convention DID
their full share Of the work. 1t is
enough TO have cited the great names
just mentioned and to add that
the committee to which the lnstru-
ment was referred for final revision con-
sisted Of Johnson, aged 60; Hamilton: 80;
C1ouverneuer Morris, 50; Madison, Sc, and
King, 80. Bancroft calls Madison the
chief author Of the constitution Hamil-
toms work III the Fedc9'Glist is conceded to
have been the most potent agency III COM
naendlng the Instrument to the country and
securing it's adoption. Marshall, then only
So, furnished the powerful assistance with
out which Madison could not have secured
the narrow majority by whicE. their State
was persuaded to accept it.
The Constitutional convention was not
unique as q field for youthful achievement.
jefferson tad been only 80 years CID when
he wrote the "Declaration Of Independ-
ence.n Hamilton was made Secretary OF
the Treasury by Washington, and began his
great career as fnancier at the age of 80.
AT the same time King, who had become
carpet-bagger to New Yorl-since he
represented Massachusetts III the Constitu-
tional convention - was elected United
States Senator at 81. Thirty had been fixed
as the minimum age for Senators, and half of
those first elected We're between 80 and IS.
A few years later Henry Clay came to the
Senate, and was admitted without thought
that he was not eljgible-tlle fact beng that
he did not reach the age Of 50 until more
thaa three months later.
No limit of age for the Judiciary was liked
in the constitution, but il there be any place
in the Government where maturity is &C.
manded it is on the bench Of the Supreme
Court. Washington appointed as one Of the
early Justices, James lredell, who was but
80 years old; John Adams gave place to
Bushrod Washington at SO, and Jefferson
named William Johnson at only 50. This
was simply the adoption Of the Federal
Government of the same principle which
the States had applied to the choice of
Judges John Jay, who was made first
Chief Justice.of the United States at 4a, had
been appointed Chief Justice OF New York
when but 81. Ireden had been judge Of the
superior court Of North Carolina when only
AZ.
The truth is that what we have come to
consider the especial era Of old men was