The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-05-03
A MAN TO BE ADMIRED.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM
II. era WORD.


The Georgia Historical Society held its
May meeting last night. The feature OF the
meeting was paper read by G. N. West,
ESQ.,. upon William II. Crawford giving a
brief sketch of the life and character OF the
great Georgian. Mr.. West very properly
dwelt upon the fact, in the beginning OF his
paper, that it is remar kable that 30 little is
known of the life and character OF Craw-
ford beyond the general fact that he was
one of the most distinguished men that
Georgia ever produced, that he received
more honors than have ever been bestowed
upon any other Georgian, and that he Is the
only candidate that Georgia ever furnished
for the presidency.
Mr.. West drew attention to the fact that
the only record handed down TO posterity
purporting to give any special account OF
Crawford ls the diary of John Quincy
Adams, his lifelong opponent, filled with
slanderous utterances against him.
Mr.. West commenced by rapid plct-
ure of Mr.. Crawford presiding in the supe-
rior court of Lexington county about 1882,
and then referred to the various preceding
scenes in his life, which had eliminated IN
his candidacy for the presidency in 1874,
and referred to the fact that notwithstand-
ing Mr.. Crawford's prominence in the
United States before he became judge,
scarcely anything was known by the people
Of his own state, up TO this day, OF what
had been his career and circumstances
He stated that Mr.. Crawford was born in
Virginia in 1772. He was removed to
Georgia by his parents in 1879. They lived
in Columbia county. near the Savannah
river, Mr.. Crawford received his educa-
ton from DR.. Moses Waddel, and was
after ward teacher in the Richmond Acad-
envy. While there he addressed petition
10 the governor. protesting against the con-
summation of the "Yazoo' fraud, q brief &C.
count OF which the speaker gave. He was
| called to the bar in 1899, and moved to Lex
ington county.
IN THE LEGISLATURES.
He was elected to the legislature in 1902,
and to the Senate, succeeding Senator
| George Jones, in 1897 The speaker went
| on to say what very raw senator Mr..
| Crawford must have been when he went to
| Washington, and yet that in four years, he
| was made president of the Senate, in two
years more Secretary of War, which he
| declined, and the same year minister to
| France. Two years afterward, l. g. 1913,
| Secretary Of War, in 1916, Secretary OF the
| Treasury under Mr.. Monroe, which seat he
| filed until the end OF Mr.. Monroe's
administration in 1924,
| Mr.. West, in the course OF this narration
| of Mr.. Crawfod's life, adverted to the
occurrences which Mr.. Crawford must have
| had before his eyes while he was in France,
which was during the latter part OF the
reign of Napoleon. and while the latter was
in Elba, and during tue famous 100
days. He drew a picture OF Mr.. CraW-
ford's reception by Napoleon and of his life
| In Paris.
Mr.. West described the condition Of polit-
ical affairs, and of the relations OF public
men toward each other, and of parties dur-
ing the two terms OF Mr.. Monroe. He
mentioned the personal animosities which
characterized the political contests OF the
day, and that Mr. era wford was conspicu-
Gus mark for calumny.
THE FAMOUS "a. B. PLOT"
He referred to the famous "a. B. plot, "
so fully described by Mr.. Benton, in which
Mr.. Crawford was charged with malfeas-
ance as Secretary OF the Treasury, by Ninian
| Edwards of Illinois, but. upon full investi-
cation, was completely exoperated by d
| committee upon which where Mr.. Webster
and John Randolph. He referred to the
luminosity which was entertained toward
Mr.. Crawford by John Quincy Adams, who
| regarded the former as his CHIEF rival Tor
the presidency. Mr.. Adams kept diary
| for many years, in which he noted the
transactions of every day. and his opinion
! of the men surrounding him, and recorded
in it his dislike for Mr.. Crawford.
Mr.. Adams desired this diary to be trans
mitted to his children, and one of his sons
had ii printed in twelve volumes, which can
| be found In all the libraries. This then
was the chief mode by which Mr.. Crawford
would be known to the future readers OF
American history, and the result would be
almost inevitable, that Mr.. Crawford would
| be tested by the conclusions there ex'
| pressed by Mr.. Adams. On account of this
| peculiar state of facts, Mr.. West proceeded
to give quotations from Mr.. Adams book,
| showing his deep-seated dislike for Mr.. Craw'
ford, and in which he held Mr.. Crawford
up as of no ability. an intriguer, traitor
and q perjurer.
| HIS OPINION UNCHANGED.
There was nothing in the work which
| showed that he had ever changed his opin-
| ion, as In 1927, when Mr.. Crawford had re-
| tired to judicial life in Georgia. Mr.. Adams
! expressed the same judgment in even
stronger terms, and yet in 1924 he offered
to the man whom he thus handed down &c
posterity as incapable, base, intriguing aud
| a perjurer, the position OF Secretary OF the
| Treasury in bis oEn cabinet. aud the
custodian of the funds OF the nation.
This would seem to utterly give the lie &c
| Mr.. Adams own expressed views OF Mr..
| Crawford; but Mr.. West went on to show
| that he had the same morose and miSlead-
ing opinions about all his Contemporaries
| DN lTOuA kbS SuIho " VI ~ IA w u1SL
be denounced Theophilus Parsons, Timothy
Pickering, Daniel Webster, John G. Gals
houu, Andrew jackson, Henry Clay, Will
lam II. Crawford, and. in fact, every great
man Of his day, as engaged in endeavoring
TO thwart his (AdamsD career by base anC
dirty tricks. intended to destroy his char.
| acter.
The showing made by Mr.. West of the
want of reliability in Mr.. Adams work is
conclusive, and it is to be hoped that it viii
have a more substantial shape than that OF
a mere address to the society.
HIS DEFEAT FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
Mr.. West went on to describe the subse
quent life Of Mr.. Crawford, after he had
BEEN defeated for the presidency in 1924 by
the combination between Adams and Clay
'the Puritan and the black-leg," as phrased
by John Randolph. He then became q
judge of the superior court in Georgia, and
presided until 1884. when he died in thai
state.
Mr.. West expressed great regret that il
common with the men of his time, Mr.
Crawfords avocations and pursuits did not
permit him TO produce anything that was
transmitted to posterity that could show hi!
great abilities TO them. BE was q man Of
affairs, and devoted himself 30 the official
business that came before him with tbt
greatest success and ability. but wrot'