Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-02-03


From photograph taken about year ago
He was Speaker of the Forty-first and
Forty second Congresses and was
equally successful as presiding officer.
He was one of the foremost in sustain
ing all the measure of prosecuting the
great civil war, as he Was also widely
connected with the various plans
for reconstructing the nation
which followed the long desired peace
Indeed the Fourteenth Amendment
to the constitution of the United States
is practically an embodiment of the
views concerning its subject matter
which Mr. Blaine offered to the House
for their consideration. Shortly after
this event he made a terrific protest
against the plan to pay the national
debt in green backs" and under his
effective leadership this bill was de-
feated. The earliest instance of thai
'tingoism" which has SO often been
thrown up against him was in con-
nection with the Costello case in New
York in 1865, when he vigorously main.
tanned and urged upon the country the
thoroughly novel doctrine that every
naturalized American citizen was en-
titled to the same protection abroad
that would be given to the native born
American, and the lengthy discussion
of this matter eventually ended with
our treaty with Great Britain in 1870,
by which this principle was given
practical effect as opposed to the older
English theory of ''onee subject, al
ways a subject"
1t was in 1875 that Blaine first made
his appearance as candidate for the
Republican nomination for the Presi-
dency Then, as in every subsequent
national convention, he was the popu-
lar choice of the people. There he
forever crushed Roscoe Conkling, his
principal opponent for the nomina-
ton. There Col. Ingersolrs famous
eulogy was pronounced amid the wild
est scenes ever witnessed in a national
convention. Yet Blaine was defeated
by combination of all his opponents.
The combine was effected by Roscoe
Conkling, who seeing the Blaine forces
could not be broken, turned his own
votes in the direction of Hayes, the
dark horse, who was nominated. In
the following September Blaine was
appointed to succeed Lot NJ. Morrill, In
the United States Senate. Hereto
fore Conlsl.og had been leader of
that branch Of Congress. With the
appearance OF Blaine on the floor he
was forced to abandon his proud posi-
ton. The quarrel between Blaine and
Conkling was of long standing. In
deed, it dated back to the close Of the
war. when both were in Congress- to-
gether and it last until the death of
ConlSlin who had retired to private
life after being vanquished at
every point for years by Blaine.
In the Senate Blaine fought in G
most determined manner against the
plan for a deteriorated silver coinage,
and favored as the solution of this
problem a bi-metallic currency. He
advocated measures for the protection
Of American shipping and was TO the
fore among those who proposed a
steamship line between the United
States and Brazil with grant from
Congress to provide subsidy for the
enterprise. During four years he took
the Senate as his vantage ground and
then reentered the contest for the pres
idential nomination in 1880. In the
convention he received e74 votes on the
first ballot and retained his hold until
the 35th ballot when he requested his
friends tolvote for Garfield, thus inspir-
ing the alters nomination. When