The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-03-09
coN6Rss5MEN WHO ROSE, REIGNEo
AND FELL" QUICKLY.
Some Went Up Like . Rocket and Came
Down Like q Stick-Floating In on the
Tide of Fickle Public Opinion-Curious
Biographies.
Especial Correspondence

ended said career with that speech OR soon
after. If, however, the inquirer will be-
gin with the reopeuing of the slavery con-
troversy in 1854 he will find hundreds OF
cases of apparently brilliant men who
have, as Windy Phillips said of Napoleon
Bonaparte rose. reigned and fell" Now
in this house there are l3l men who have
never been in congress before and al who
have never been in any legislative body
| higher than the town council, while in the
senate are % who have never been in con-
press before the beginning of their present
terms. and if any correspondent could
look from this gallery and name the few
men-the very few men--who are TO en-
dure and grow, TO rise and shine, then
what a very valuable correspondent that
writer would be!
Set the House on Fire.
Some of the cases are both entertaining
and instructive. In the Forty first con-
gress there came as representative from
Nevada a young, ardent and black eyed
enthusiast who was claimed as the rising
orator of the Pacific coast. He said little
or nothing till the question of removing
the political disabilities OF General John
c. Breckinridge came before the house,
when he arose and delivered speech IN
favor of amnesty which electrified the en-
tire body. This is no stereotyped express
sion-he really set the house on fire, and
great future was predicted for him. IL
was his first success and his last. He COM
mtted some indiscretion, was not renom-
mated, went over to Utah and joined III
movement for statehood, was elected Unit
ed States senator from the would be ''state
l.. rafr
ed admission. He went somewhere to
practice law, and now not one CT those
who served on committees with him even
know the postoffice address of the brilliant
and eloquent Tom Fitch.
Another curious case was that OF Con-
gressman Foley, Hoosier statesmen who
started in well, but wrote to one OF his
constituents short letter which contain
ed i3 gross errors in spelling. The letter
was published, and Mr.. Foley wrote In
complaint that they had not put 1t down
as he wrote it, but had "mucilated" it.
He never returned.
Conspicuous Figures.
It is to be noted that every great excite
ment or political revulsiOn floats in great
number of these new men, nearly ali OF
whom float out again on the ebb tide, but
here and there one remains and becomesa
statesman of national fame. 1t does not,
however. prove want of ability for man
to remain here for one term only. Men or
| really commanding talents have come to
congress in years when there was nothing
| to call out their abilities, while other men
of great intellect have tried it term, fall
| ed to like it, refused a denomination and
| made brilliant success i'll other depart
ments of activity.
OF the great political revulsions which
| have revolutionized the house OF represent
atives the most notable was that of 1894,
and of all those new members who after
so long a contest succeeded in placing Nat
| 2. Banks in the speakers chair not more
| than score remained figures OF national
| consequence The high tide of medioc-
rity was apparently reached in 1862, when
| the reaction against Lincoln's war policy
| fioated so many queer characters into con-
| gress.
1t is matter for laughter or sighs, as
| ones personal temperament may Incline,
| to look over the list and note the names
| of the once mighty men who hurled phi
| lippcs against the war party and note how
| completely most of them have passed out
of the popular mind. The end of the war
| produced small wave in the opposite di-
| rection, and the great revulsion OF 1874
| proved an exception to the general rule be-
| cause so many OF the men fioated into con-
| gress by the tidal wave of that year were
| really old southern statesmen who had
| been in temporary retirement owing to
| circumstances beyond their control-to
! put ii in the mildest possible form. Last
| of all came the truly marvellous revulsion
| of 1890. but it would take several columns
/ to describe the newly created statesmen Of
that years crop.
| How Men Come and Go.
A curious and amusing feature of the
record is the perfect regularity with which
| the fads come and 90, and how the tenn
| porary domination of each fad brings in
| an entirely new set of men, most of whom,
| when their pet issue has ceased TO excite
| the public, are lost in complete obscurity.
| The slavery question was first, OF course.
| and long remained the greatest exciting
| cause of these temporary floods. KNOW
| Nothingism,' - as it was called, foated in
| at least 80 and possibly 40 new men, a
small remnant Of whom clung together
| and under the lead of Mr.. Zollicoffer Of
| Tennessee called themselves South Amer
| leans, maintaining some show of force al
/ most 10 the beginning Of the war.
About once in eight or ten years temper
| ance brings IN squad of new men. Ed
| ucation Is equally spasmodic, and as TO
| finance and wrongs OF labor we have them,
like the poor, always with us, but at in
! tervals of IL years or SO they play havoc
| with all old party lines. as in 1890. 1t is
said in congress that no one man has con-
| centrated IL his support the strength Of 80
, many fads as the late senator and present
| Representative Blair Of New HAMPSHIRE.
| Education. temperance, woman suffrage
! and God in the constitution are his sup
ports in the order named. and he Is besides
! pronounced proteciionist and advanced
| Republican on ali other ISSUES and real
ly first rate man and pleasant gentleman
Material For CoE5ectare.
The opinion Of his associates Il set forf b
| BIZ a Democrat fhgs. we cuss him. but we
love him {" ASK 4 Eepublioan. and nine
times out Of ten he viii sag. Blair isr : a
crank. Of course. he IL too intelligent for
| that, but''- and there he hesitates for
words IL finish tie sentence. His DiogTa-
ply. OF autobiography. rather. in The Con-
gressionaI Directory gives pretty good
hint as to his mental make Up, and into u
I Ec Us ~1EAEl q SAf5EA @AA .AsSrA4D<- ~~
feIlse OF bis record or the Chinese question
There are. as said before, l5l men il
/ this ho7se and 23 ~ this senate who n>v-
Ct vera in congress before. making IA
entirely lev use1. AID Of these "a were
never n any legislative body whatever
Here is material for conjecture indeed
Let u. see il we tan dessuce from tie les
sons Of the past auy guide as 70 how rszans
and whieh o1ss Of these i5+ are 20 remain
"a permanent statesmen AID sFrakiiaa
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