The herald., 1893-01-28

was very appropriate and stuck to him
Abbreviated to the "Plumed Knight, .
1t has been one of the fsvorite designa
uons OF Blaine ever since. No man o
later days in the Republican part,
could, on the Whole, be compared t.
him. Probably Roscoe Conkling cam,
nearer being his equal than any othei
leader of that party, but this compari.
son would necessarily be limited to the
intellect and to oratory. The New
Yorker possessed remarkable power
OF crystallizing facts and embodyins
them IN cogent argument. But his tenn
permanent was fSigid and his elouu ence
was the product of the brain and Of
sheer reasoning powers. 1t might be
called the efflorescence of the mind.
Blalne's fervid outbursts poured right
from the heart, and they were guided by
a mind of singular acuteness and fertil-
lty. He was nearly altogether of Irish
blood and be possessed the mother
wit of that race. He could be
as terrible in invective as O'Con-
nell or Grattan and as sententious as
William Pitt. His celebrated rencounter
with Roscoe Conkling in the house of
representatives was probably the most
overwhelming assault in parliamentary
annals. In vain the New Yorker essayed
to reply. For the time being be was an
minated. 1t WAS not in mortal power
to stem such Q resistless torrent. Conk-
ling would have done better not to have
attempted to do SO. His vain effort
simply made his failure the more con-
spicuous. 1t was dearly bought tri-
umph for Blaine, however. Conkling
never forgave him; and in 1884 it was
Oneida county, Conkling's home, that
made the change in Blaine's vote that
gave the state of New York to Cleveland
by llO4 plurality. Conkling was beaten
In debate but he got even at the polls.
In any review, however brief, of the
career of Blaine, it would not be right
to omit recognition of the noble SER
vices the dead statesman has rendered
to his country. Two OF them were
priceless. In the first he defeated the
force bill by declining to count. when
speaker, members present and not vot-
ing, In estimating quorum of the
hours OF epresentatives-the very op-
posite OF the ruling Of Gear Reed in the
Fitty-trst congress. The success of the
force bill then meant q very different
thing from what it would mean now.
That was over twenty years ago, and |
the success of the measure then would |
have involved the practical extinction OF
Tree government in the states then lately
IN rebellion, and the speedy undermining
OF free institutions everywhere in the
United States. 1t was an inestimable
service to freedom. 1t brought down
lpon his head the resentment of the
'adical wing OF his own party although,
ingulsriy enough, he was looked upon
10 the embodiment of Republican radi-
alism by the southern people. 1t re-
Iuired great courage as we'll as patriot
sm to take such a stand on the part of
y pm hi'''> - sf~ .as-anr I--+ -+h;-
le put country above party, and there
8 no man endowed with sufficient men
ality to be able to calculats the bene-
It's that flowed to the United States
md to liberty from his action.
Nor was this the last great service he
endered to his countrymen, There
never was more dangerous or crsitier
Matched in the United States
than that which sought to elect General
Grant third time president. 1t vio-
lated all the precedents of the republic,
and ignored the express declarations
and actions Of Washington, Jefferson
and Jackson, the only three men who
could ever have been nominated for
third term. The great services of Gen
eral Grant made the conspiracy an ex-
ceedingly dangerous one. With this
deep-rooted tradition once overthrown,
a force bill and a military dictatorship
would have followed as surely as the
night the day. There was but one man
who could defeat the scheme, and that
man was James G. Blaine. He held the
fort for the republic, and all the assaults
of Grants 306 pretorians were power
less to dislodge him. That figure was
their high water mark, and they needed
fifty more votes to succeed in their
scheme. They at last realized they
were dealing with man as inaexible
and more powerful than themselves.
Their numbers counted for nothing.
Unable to secure the nomination him
self, Blaine nominated Garfield, and
thus the malign conspiracy came to
naught.
Events 80 shaped themselves that
Blaine was the Warwick of the Repub-
licsn party. He was the king-maker
rather than the king, the man behind
the throne greater than the throne it.
self. He was indirectly the cause Of the
nomination of Hayes. He was con-
fessedly the creator OF the presidential
fortunes of Garfield and Harrison. He
formulated the issues on which Harri-
con was elected in 1888, and he shaped
that campaign with consummate skill.
Though abroad at the time his voice was
most potential.
1t is not the purpose Of this article to
glorify the political career OF James G.
Blaine. The ideas which have domi-
mated the columns Of the HERALD have
been politically diametrlcally the oppo
site of those which for years received the
impassioned and effective advocacy OF
Al ~. ~e.<~k k..~ Il IL