The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-10-17
GOSSIP FROM WASHINGTON.

Is General Harrison great man?
We have had a great deal of discussion
of this topic in Washington. Some Of
the men who know Harrison best and
like him least give an affirmative answer
to the foregoing question. Take Clark
son, for example. He is as good stu
dent of character as you could ask for.
He knows Harrison through and through.
He doesn't like the ex-president little
| bit. Yet | have heard Clarkson say
| General Harrison is really n great man.
That he has the grasp of things which
only an intellectual giant can have, and
| that in an analysis of men and things
he is simply marvellous. According to
Mr.. Clarkson, no man was able to fool
| Harrison in the White House. He was
| suspicious of everything and every man
presented to him. He cross questioned
all hands, from senators down to aspi-
rants for consulships, as if they were on
the witness stand. He insisted upon
knowing every fact and incident If
there was possibility of criticism he
was sure to find it and to use it. Every
man who went at him with a sugges-
| ton or hope became at once a defend
ant. This sort of thing made Harrison
unpopular, but it will be long time
before people get through telling how
keen and bright he was as prosecuting
attorney in the presidential Office
|
Senator Sherman has different idea
of General Harrison's ability. AS the
Nestor of the Republican party, as the
man of longest experience and greatest
career among all our public characters,
it must be admitted his opinion is both
| interesting and important Il do not
think General Harrison a great man."
! said Senator Sherman some time since
land L will tell you why. He and
served together six years in the senate
There L watched him closely. He had
come to congress with considerable local
prestige, and the fact that he was the
grandson of former president made him
a marked man. Much was expected of
| Yet the records show that in all those
six years General Harrison introduced
no bill that was considered important
and he became identified with no legisla-
| ton or policy which can be remembered
and he did not make speech of sufficient
weight or wisdom to attract the coun-
! try's attention. In my opinion" con-
cluded Senator Sherman, "a man who is
failure during a term of six years in
the United States senate has none of the
elements of greatness in him."
| Possibly Senator Sherman would be
willing to concede that General Harri-
son has grown. His long experience in
| Westinghouse will be 40 years come
next December since John Sherman first
came to this capital as a member of con-
gress-should have taught him how men
sometimes develop most amazingly after
an unpromising start. Probably no one
would care to deny that Grover Cleve-
land is a great man, though he gave
scant signs thereof 20 or even 10 years
ago. 1t is well known that when Mr..
, Cleveland first came to Washington he
was lamentably ignorant of government
methods, National questions and political
history. His first administration was
decidedly that of an amateur. Today it
would be difficult to find man in all the
land who knows the government and the
laws, the principles and the practical
workings of the Nation better than this
same Cleveland. General Harrison, too,
developed rapidly after he came to the