The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-11-18

| were very graf, duu d-Sp VI the COh
miitee on private land cl,ims. Per-
haps the greatest service he rendered
to the country was the resoluie fight
he m de locomp.l the Pacific railroad
corpprations 10 keep their faith with
the government that created them.
There he was an "Old Roman" in
deed. Against q powerful lobby, in
def nee of an interested press, he
perseyered until what is know as The
Thurm IN act became embedded in
the statutes. Under its provisions
the road. are compelled to lay asiie a
sinking fund for the payment of their
oh igations to the treasury. His
arguments against the constltu ional-
ity of the civil rights bill. brought
upon him severe republican condem-
nation, but they have since bsen sus-
tained by The supreme court Of the
United States in opinions that read
like quotations from bis speeches.
Mr.. Thurman never believed in the
doctrine of secession, but the earnest
ness and eloquence with which he
pleaded for gentler terms to The sta'es
that had been in rebellion lei to the
charge that he was opposed to the
war for the preservation of the Union.
HIS true position on The question he
declared In a letter 10 a friend. 81
did all | could" sid he, "to help to
preserve the Union without a war,
but after it begin thought there Was
but one thing to do, aud that was to
fight it out | therefore sustained all
constitutional measures that ended in
my judgement to put down t e re-
beiiion. | never believed in the doc
trine Of sees ssinn.
Early in 1876 Mr.. Thurman was
widely spoken for as a candidate for
the presidency, but the TiIden wave
was then too strong for any one to
stem. Curiously enough, his own
state went against him in favor of
Uncle Bill" Alen, who represented
what was then called the "Ohio idea"
on the currency question, to which
Thurman was opposed. His
name was not mentioned on
the first ballot. but on the second
Nevada gave him two cf her six votes.
When the dispute over the presi-
dental election arose he was made a
member OF tbs Electoral Commission.
from which, however, he was com
PEELED to resign before it had finished
its work. He favored the organization
of that tribunal to settle the question
peacefully. ut is time," said be, in
a speech on the subj ct, "to cease to
have judges of your supreme court;
il is time 10 cease to honor and respect
senators and represen atives in con-
gress it is time to cease to ask the
people to yield a willing obedience to
the laws and a willing and reverential
obedience to the decisions of the
courts, if those who constitute the
highest judicial tribunal, members of
the highest legislative assembly in all
the Republic, are so utterly corrupt
that they are willing TO be forsworn,
in the decision of a cause submitted
to them, at the behest of their party.
When the Democratic party found
itself with a majority in the Forty
sixth Congress his associates in the
senate chose Mr.. Thurman to preside
over its deliberations during the Ill
ness of Vice President Wheeler.
In 1880, the Ohio democratic state
assembled to appoint del
egates to the national convention,
unanimously adopted resolutions in |
favor Of his nomination for the presi- |
dency and instructed the delegates to
support him. On the first ballot he
received the vote OF Ohio and good |
from some of the other s a'es.
On the second ballot il became appar-
ent that Hancock would be nominated |
aud all the votes, except those for
indiana, were changed to him. Four
years later, his name was again men,
toned, but the Ohio democracy was
split on the currency question and his
canvass was not effective. When he
retired from the senate in 1881, he
to decline Office of any kind,
but short time afterwards, President
who had been elected to
'utceed him in the senate, prevailed
On him to represent with ex-senator
Howe, of Wisconsin, and Mr.. Evarts,
the country at the International Mon
eiary at Paris in the spring of that
year. When he was nominated for
the vice presidency two years ago last
June, he made at the sge of "a,
most vigorous campaign and spoke in
many of the leading cities of the
union. The splendid greeting he re-
,eived everywhere attested to his
popularity. His private