The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-27

| deIphia and was chosen there as secretary,
/ the man who nominated me said that |
| came from district in Ohio which was so
| Democratic that could never get an Off ce
unless that convention gave me one ms
caused a laugh and they elected me.
SCHUYLER Coifax, of Indiana. was made as
sistant secretary on the same grounds. and
we walked M together. This was my first
Office and my next was during the same
year was a delegate TO the convention
at Columbus, o., which nominated Salmon
II. Chase for governor. 1t was, / think.
the first Republican convention held in
Ohio, and was chosen as president of il.
The reason for the choice was that such
an antipathy existed between the older
candidates that none of them could be
chosen and they picked me up as CON-
promise. / remember that was
| almost scared TO death when they put
the gavel in my hand, but 1 got
through somehow. When / was nonli-
mated for congress I had left Mansfield to
practice law at Cleveland, but on hearing
of my nomination, | came oack Ny OPP
ponent was an old farmer named Lindsey.
whom they called 'Ceedkorn' Lindsey
He had been in congress before. and he
had gotten the title during his first cam
paign from a letter which he had written
to one of his supporters, in which he
spelled seed corn Coed Korn.' His con-
stituents. however, claimed that the Wings
were laughing at the farmers. They car
ried seed corn with them TO the polls and
made this word the watchword of their
campaign and elected him. They ran him
for a second term against me. but de-
feated him. | was elected by a good
majority, and | spent my first years in
Washington City during the Pierce and
Buchanan administrations.
int - pa
said l.
II never considered HIM great man."
replied Senator Sherman. "He was of Or
binary ability and lacked courage. He
was controlled by the Southern Democracy
and was neither bright man nor an able
one. He was opposed TO US in the Kansas
Nebraska fight. with which had much to
do. and through which l came into ma
tlonai prominence"
JUST BEFORE THE WAR
Senator Sherman here talked for some
time of the great men before the war and
of the troublous times of Buchanan's adj
ministration. He was on the committee
of congress sent to the West to examine
into the Kansas-Nebraska outrages, and
during this tine he was often in danger of
his life. Ruffians surrounded the COM
mittee rooms and the congressman re-
ceived many threats to leave, adorned
with pictures of collins above which were
skulls and cross-bones. Senator Sherman
wrote the report of the committee and it
was struggled through to Washington City
inside the clothing of the wife of DR.. Robin
son, afterwards governor of Kansas. John
Brown was the sergeant-at-arms of the
committee. and Senator Sherman saws that
Brown told him all the circumstances of
the killing at Ossawatomie, and seemed
gEsa1 b lot J., ut4
the hanging of men by sort of vigilance
committee as contrary to law. He referred
to Ben Wade as a better man than he was
credited with being, and said, "Ben Wade
was rough in his expressions and he was
often accustomed to use the word damn
but he never accompanied it with the
name of the Deity, and do not think he
ought to be called a profane man."
| asked Senator Sherman if he realized
at this time that the war was coming.
He replied, Yes, had no doubt of it
and l told my Southern friends in con-
gress that, if the states seeded, there
would certainly be war; They thought
differently and many of them believed
that the North would accept secession
without a struggle. | remember one, an
especial friend of mine, Crawford, of
Georgia. We often talked over the situa-
ton together, and just before he was about
to leave Washington 1 urged him not to
" H.,
10 come back again. | am going to the
South now and in two years will be back
here at Washington as envoy extraor-
binary and minister plenipotentiary from
the Confederate States to the United
States l replied, You are much more
likely to come back here as prisoner of
war; You do not appreciate our people
at the North. You have no idea of our
character or our resources. We have not
commenced to think of the matter of Sc
cesslon seriously as yet. We have not be-
gun to get angry, but can tell you that
the North will never permit a disruption
OF the Union, and If the South attempts it,
every home in it will be visited with the
horrors of war; Crawford did not believe
me, but when | met him some years later
at the Atlanta exposition, he referred to
the conversation"
SHERMAN AND HAYES.
Senator Sherman knew President Lin
coin well, and a mutual admiration ex-
listed between them. He was intimate
with all the presidents from Lincoln to
Harrison, and he was as close to President
Hayes as any man in his cabinet. During
our conversation / asked him what ex-
President Hayes was doing now.
Senator Sherman replied: "He is living
as an ex-president ought to live. He is
rich, and he is devoting his energy and
his fortune solely to the public good. He
is connected with number of charitable
associations, and no private life could be
more useful than his. He is about 20
years of age now, but he is in a good con-
dition physically and intellectually. He
avoids noterlety, and has taken no part
in politics since he left the White House.
l consider him a man of much greater
ability than he is given credit for. His
administration was always burdened W it'll
the question of the legality of his seat.
but he gave the country one of the abiest
administrations of its history, and he was
as good an executive as any country has
ever had"
by the way, senator, | see that Ben
Butler has written book. You must
know him."
Yes" replied Senator Sherman, ben.
Butler is a remarkable character. I first
knew him during the Charleston conven-
ton OF 1860, but did not meet him till he
was malor-general during the war. I
don't think he was great soldier. though
considering the fact that he had no mill
tary training, he did fairly well. In poll
ties he has always belonged to the school
of inhationists."
STORIES OF THAD STEVENS.
From Butler the talk drifted to Tbad.
deus Stevens, and Senator Sherman said:
"Thaddeus Stevens and | were great
friends, though We were always on differ
ent sides of money questions, and he used
TO say that my eyes were not big enough
TO see anything but a gold dollar. He was
man of brilliant intellect, biting sarcasm
and inmate wit. He was an ardent sun
pprter of mine at the t;rua IF .ba -