Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-02-02

| quence
lie held that great and noble body rs abb
solutely at his command as though it was
| family or tribe of which he was the
chief. He dispatched business with CELEBRITY
which seems incredible. The stroke of his
gavcl meant authority, and the house
obeyed it, and no eyes which ever looked
forth from the speak cr's desk upon u throug
| animated by tho most consuming of the
| higher passions ever commanded such ODE
dience by glance as his Therefore he
gained the respect which comes from proper
fear and even Democrats joined with Re
| pubicans in saying, There is n man!' 1t
| was the superb exhibition of these quail
ties which undoubtedly suggested first TO
| the congressman Of his party, and through
them TO vast numbers of the party through
out the country, that here was the man to
succeed in tbs presidency the hero of the
civil war.
Blaine himself WAS ain acknowledged can
didate before he had finished his second
term, and he used his power as speaker UNI
qucstionably so far rs he honorably could,
to create the politics which command n
presidential nomination. Over in the SEN
ate there were certainly three rivals OF his
for that nomination, two con spcuous-Mr.
Morton and Mr. Conkling-and Mr.. Blaine
played his game against them and played 1t
splendidly. At tho beginning of his third
term as speaker he realized that if his grasp
was not quite upon the presidency his hand
could almost touch the prize.
His Moral Courage.
1t is therefore all the more remarkable
that Mr. Blaine was capable of exploiting
as he did in the highest degree both moral
courage and audacity, which might serious
ly imperil his prospects. His audacity was
displayed when he was brought face to face
with grave charges affecting his tegrity of
character. Accusations were publicly made
that he had received as price for his intlu-
ence certain securities from railway seek
ing congressional aid. The proof of these
accusations were said to be in the posses
sion of q certain clerk named Mulligan
and in the shape of letters. The friends of
MIR. Blaine looked very solemn in these
days and he was himself most anxious
One morning when this black cloud was
hanging over him ard his friends he arose
to question Of personal privilege. There
had been n hint of his intention. The great
galleries were packed. Every scat upon tho
floorwas taken, and senators had come from
their chamber that they might see and hear
Blaine in this hour of his desperation and
peril For every discomfort which this
, throng suffered they were amply repaid
: The scene which took place has been alinos
unequaled in parliamentary annals Blaine
stood there magnificent in his defiance
He held aloft the bundle of discriminating
letters, of itself dramatic picture and sit
uation worthy of the greatest dramatists,
and he declared with some sense of humil-
iation and personal outrage that he would
; himself read these letters TO the house, that
. its members might see what those accusa-
: tons we're.
Blaine was never more superb. lie CON
quered that house by his very magnifcence
of resistance lie held himself at bay so
= that men cheered and the galleries resound-
ed to the echo with the applause of this
spectacle He read the letters through, and
- then, with dramatic power which, if ii were
:. acting, was n finer exhibition of the dra-
matte gift than the greatest actors have
ever shown, he pointed the finger of scorn
md accusation ut Il certain member of the
= house and accused him of withholding a
: telegram which would have proved his in
nocence
Blaine's enemies always asserted that this
was acting. They did not deny the magniii-
cence of the performance. but they suspect
g ed its sincerity. For his friends it was a
5 perfect vndication, ard for himself it was
4 n complete victory, as the formal charges
perilous step to take Had it failed Blaine
must inevitably have been ruined.
His moral courage was displayed when
: at the very last Of his experience as speaker
: he deiied the majority i'll his own party and
made ruling which he insisted was Just
: and in accordance with his oath as speaker,
q but which enabled the Democratic minor
: fly successfully to maintain its fight agains
a what was then called the force bill. 4
weaker man than Blaine would have beer
:, ruined by this ruling but it cost him n
strength in his own party and gained 70
t him the admiration of many Democrats, s.
: that it was long afterward said that of nj
S Republicans MI Blaine was the most popu
+ lar with the Democracy.
His First Failure.
He lost the presidential nomination Il
! 1876 when it was almost his Personal AMI
n mostly unquestionably cost him that priz5
~ The oifense he had given to ConklinG AM
;, anger which he had caused to arise in tn
:, hearts of men who controlled other dele
: cations led to II TASTY combination, whic
=, resulted in a ballot that sent Mr. Blaine I
:, the rear. Men wonderos, how he would nc
: in this emergency. His r1eart had been 5
q enthusiastically set upon the nominatio
n that many believed he would show some c
n the weaknesses of human nature, and tina
=. we would discover the weak point in hi
a mental and moral equipment Bat he rC
a vealed the highest resources. He sent
p, most cordial dispatch to Governor Hayes
Il the nominee promised to take active pan
:, in the canvass, and did, going to Maine an
conducting there, us chairman of the stat
!, COMMITTEES. IL CANVASS which was the adm
=, ration Of every man who saw it.
" In these canyasses as Is politician Nj
> Blaine was not less great than when upo
:, the floor Of congress. lie frequently mad
~ Il sleepiuGcar his home. They would hea
~ of him one day in Portland and the next i
AZ the lumber regions He received dispatchG
and reports in this car He gave order
y like II general on field OF battle. II
" brought himself into personal touch wit
all of the politicians and as many Of til
- citizens as possible, and some of the ane
" dotes which are told OF the way in whic
~ he met sudden emergencies suggest h
Z wonderful intellectual resources and I'll
rapidity o. his mental operation.
Hiainp I'm tha Sonata