The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1891-05-01
A TRIO OF GREAT MEN.
WALTER WELLMAN ON EDMuNDS,
SHERMAN AND BLAINE.

The Senators Not rs Cold as They Arr
Generally Believed to Be-BIaine's Mag
netism and Lack Of Revengefulness
Washington Gossip.
Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON, April 16.-Members Of
congress, usually rs plentiful in the Cap
ital City MS bees in clover patch, are
now rare birds among us. A few SEN
ators and representatives are still here
resting after their labors during the re-
cent ''long" congress, but the great ma
jority are at home attending to private
business, in some cases too long neglect.
ed. saw Senator Edmunds here week
or two ago. It was just before his resig-
nation from the senate, after q career of
Just twenty-five years Of great distinc-
ton. The old gentleman sat in the Ii
brary of his beautiful home, talking
about everything under the sun, but not
consenting to have anything said by him
published as an interview.
Gossip has been busy Of late with the
names of Edmunds and Sherman, who
with Secretary Blaine form the trio of
living men who have played the great
est parts and had greatest influence upon
politics and legislation in this country
during the last quarter century. The
rumor of Edmunds' intended retirement
turned out to be true, but it is not likely
that Sherman will leave the senate for
some years to come. Edmunds and
Sherman have had the reputation of be-
ing the two coolest men in the senate.
Innumerable jokes have been made Of
their alleged frigidity. Yet there was
never a greater injustice; and thought
as sat chatting with the veteran from
Vermont, as had once before thought
while visiting Senator Sherman in his
library, how little the great public
knows of the real natures and DISPOSE
lions of famous men. AS matter of
fact, both Edmunds and Sherman are in
their homes warm hearted, genial. Iowa
BILE.
A new phase of the formers character
was shown when asked permission to
publish some of the interesting remarks
which he had made 10 me. "No," he
said, 81 cannot. More than month
ago promised another newspaper friend
of mine that the first time l was inter-
viewed he should be the interviewer. l
am waiting for him to come to see me.
A score of newspaper correspondents
have asked for interviews, but to all
have been compelled to return the same
answer. must keep my promise"
A few days later the correspondent
who had the senator's pledge called for
his interview, and was not disappointed.
Secretary Blaine has lost none of his
famous magnetism. He still possesses
that almost magic power of charming
men who come in contact with him. He
is much less accessible than formerly,
however. He has evidently reached the
period of life in which he wants to work
in quiet. undisturbed by callers. Very
few men see the secretary Of state nova
days. He does most of lis work at home,
walking over to the state department
every day for an hour or so, and gener-
ally dropping in to see the president on
his way. To this day robably there is
no man in public life Who has so many
devoted admirers, and some of these
friends are inclined to grum b1Hbecause
thev are not received ~ r. " AZ thew
were in years gone by. They evidently
forget that Mr. Blaine has grown beyond
the field of personal politics. 1t is no
longer necessary for him to attach friends
to himself, to manipulate men. His |
realm now is more that of the purely in
tellectual. Mr.. Blaines present Creed
said one of his intimate friends to me,
sis that ideas rule the world, and all the
men and women in it,"
A man very near to Mr.. Blaine now is
William E. Curtis, the newspaper cor
respondent. Since the death of his son
Walker Mr.. Blaine has instinctively
turned to Curtis MS his most trusted
helper in all practical affairs. This re-
minds me of Mr.. Blaines remarkable
facility for attaching to himself men
who once belonged TO his enemies. This
Mr.. Curtis was for years a friend and
confidant of Roscoe Conkling, and at
one time probably disliked Blaine as
mnch as Conkling did. Murat Halstead,
the brilliant writer and editor, was once
bitterly opposed to Blaine He fell un-
der the magnetic spell, however, and is
now Blaine's devoted admirer The
same thing is true of that great old man,
Mr.. Medill the editor of the Chicago
Tribune.
General John w. Foster is still an
other instance of this remarkable facility
of Mr. Blaine, be it amiability, for
giveness, forgetfulness or whatever it
is. General Foster is the only Ameri-
can, it is said, who had the distinction
of filling three first class foreign mis-
sions. He was minister to Russia, to
Spain and to Mexico. He was devoted
to Judge Walter Gresham, who never
did like Mr. Blaine. He was devoted
also to Chester A. Arthur, and was in
the Arthur administration one Of the
earliest workers in the field of reciprocity.
Yet Mr.. Blaine now has this man, who
has borne him no very friendly feeling
in the past, as one of his most trusty
and most efficient aids in the reciprocity
propaganda Mr.. Foster is now in Spain,
endeavoring to negotiate treaty, and
has with him Mr.. Blaine's younger son,
To,,,oc n |