The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-03
HENRY CLAY

whose personal followings were each
characterized by an intensity of devotion
such as was never possessed by Scottish
cheftain or feudal lord One has been
but three years in his grave, and the
magnetism of his winning personality is
hardly yet "Reminiscences. The other died
forty'four years ago this day.
An almost remarkable parallelism ey-
listed between the characters and careers
of those two brilliant statesmen, Henry
Clay and james &. Blaine. Each was
speaker of the House, Senator, and Secre-
tary OF State Both aspired to the Pres
ldency with II worthy ambition, and both
tailed because of personal 'animosities as
vindictive as their personal following was
enthusiastic. BY II similar cruel fatality
both were thrice disappointed of the nom
nation when nomna ton meant cleo
ton, and both We're finally nominated only
to be defeated at the polls. BY an equally
curious fatality both were defeated in
New York State by the detection of
misguided little party. In 1874 the abo-
litionsts of New York, by casting their
votes for Birney, elected man whose adj
ministration riveted tighter the chains of
slavery. In 1914 the Prohibition party
drew from Blaine enough votes in New
York to defeat the only party that has
ever done anything to restrict the liquor
'A'''hNi tii't w pace III DOMtI IL I)trUN Oh
which the liquor traffic is one of the
greatest props. Both men were leaders
of their respective parties for II genera
tion. Blaine unconsciously drew his own
portrait as well of that of the great Ken
tuckian, when he said, in his Twenty
Years of Congress- "Other men have
eNcelled Mr.. Clay in specific powers, but
III the rare combination of qualities,
which constitute ut once the matchless
los .l..,. 8 -
summate ability and ineXhaustible re-
Souces, he has never been surpassed by
any man speaking the English tongue ~
The political career of Henry Clay was
Il marvellous one. He first became Il MEM
Der of the Senate in lS0G,at the age of 80,
and was II still n member of that body at
the time of his death, June 30, 1852
Meantime, however, he had been through
many political vicissitudes having been
representative in Congress- Secretary of
State, Presidential candidate and ALWAYS
the greatest personal power in his party
Twice he retired from public life in dis
gust, and although like Blaine, he was
the target for the most vcnomous shafts
of partisan hatred and malice lie never
retired from the commanding position to
which his distinguished talents and the
passionate and affectionate devotion of
his followers assigned him.
Clay was statesman by intuition.
He possessed that magnificent confidence
in himself which compels confidence from
others. He possessed to the fullest de-
gree the genius for leadership the spirit
of initiative, but not always the discre-
ton that should accompany it. He was
a strong leader, but he was not always
safe guide. The prize of the Presidency
was always before his eyes, and even his
oft-quoted declaration that he ''would
rather be right than President" was
made mt H. time when he was far more de
sirious of being President than he was
sure of being right.
1t was largely by his wonderful gift of
oratory that Clay was able to maintain
his leadership throughout his long career.
He was undoubtedly the greatest parlia-
mentary orator the country has ever seen.
His written speeches do not impress us
as masterpieces, nor do they offer to the
student any profound theories of govern
ment or eXpositions of economic theories
Like the speeches of Fox, cold type can
not do them justice. Webster exceled
Clay in breadth of knowledge, in keen
ness of reasoning, in weight of argument
and perfection of style. But Clay pos
sessed oratorical temperament, nervous
exaltation which irresistibly carried the
mind and heart of his audience with him.
Only thus can we account for the mar
vellouS oratorical effects the demonstra-
tons of enthusiasm, rapture and tears
known to have been produced by the ut
terance of sentiments which fail to arouse
or even to strongly impress the reader
to-day. "To appreciate the full charm
of his rhetoric and his winning persuasive
ness" says one who heard him. ito feel
the thrill which was flashed through the
nerves of his hearers by the magnificent
pI,,r nf hic m h1,ci ~.
thunderstorms of his anger and scorn.
one has to hear that musical cajoling fiat
terng, inspiring, overawing, terrifying,
in turn-a voice to the cadence of which
it was a physical delight to listen; one
had to see the face, not handsome but
glowing with the fire of inspiration; that
lofty mien, that commanding stature con-
stantly growing under his words, and
the grand sweep of his gesture, majestic
in it's dignity, and full of grace and
strength-the whole man superior be-
ing while he spoke"
And yet this powerful, brilliant, fear
less statesman was the Great Pacifica-
tor" He was a compromiser He COM
promised on the tariff in 1928 and again
in 1888. He was the author of the mis-
sonrl Compromise" of 1921, which post
poned the destruction of slavery forty
years at a time when it might. PERHAPS.
have been settled without the frightful
cost the settlement later entailed. He
compromised with the slave power again
In lSoO, and IL is to be feared that he
compromised with his own conscience in
the Raleigh and Alabama letters in 1914
III which he sought Southern support for
the Presidency by approving the scheme
to annex Texas as slave territory.
But whatever his weakness or his err