Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-06-10

witness. He is commonly called Gov
Ross here, where he is familiarly known
and affectionately regarded by nearly
every man, woman and child in the COM
munity, but he recently confided to the
NEW MEXICAN that he would much prefer
to be called major-a title that he felt he
had earned an enduring right to wear.
In the summer of 1866, Ma jor Ross was
appointed as a Republican by Gov.
Crawford, of Kansas, to succeed James
Henry Lane in the United States senate,
the latter having died by his own hand
at Leavenworth, on July II, of that year,
and under that appointment served six
months and was then elected to serve the
remaining four years of Lanes term.
After leaving the senate, in 1871, he set
tied at Coffeyville, Kas, and resumed
work at the printers case, but soon after,
losing everything he had in cyclone,
moved to Lawrence, Kas., and secured
control of daily paper called the Stand
ard, which he moved to Leavenworth and
VIGOROUSLY CONDUCTED
the same there as an advocate of Demo-
cratic principles until 1882, when he be-
came resident of New Mexico. In 1885
President Cleveland appointed him gov
ernor of this territory and he served the
people in that difficult and responsible
capacity for four years with signal
ability, fidelity and courage.
The New MEXICAN comes now to treat
of the most interesting, impressive and
credltable incident in the eventful life of
this brave and upright man. He was one
of the immortal seven Republican United
States senators, who, in 1868, dared to
face political and social ostracism, the
scorn and Indignation of excited and un-
reasoning Republicans everywhere, and
the certainty that they would be igno.
miniously retired from their exalted
stations by vengeful constituencies at the
earliest possible moment, for what-sim-
ply for standing up like heroes and sup
porting with their votes their solemn and
deep-rooted conviction that Andrew John
son, president of the United States, was
not guilty of the "high crimes and mis-
demeanors" charged against him by a
bitterly partisan and hostile house of
representatives. The votes of these seven
Republican senators, in addition to the
twelve Democratic senators, were essen
tial to avert verdict Of guilty. If one
of these had wavered and weakened at
that momentous moment, and voted with
the partisan majority, Andrew johnson
would have been rudely
DRAGGED FROM HIS HIGH PLACE
and Benjamin F. Wade, of Ohio, would
have been inaugurated as president of
the United States as swiftly as the oath
of office could have been administered
and he could have been whirled in a car
riage from the capitol to the White house,
and noxious seeds of revolution would
have been sown that would have marked
the beginning of the end of this grand
republic. And it would be impossible to
disabuse Major Ross mind of the belief
that, on the eve of that fateful vote, a
deliberate plot to assassinate him was
formed, that one of the managers of the
impeachment trial was party to it, and
that, if he had gone to Baltimore for an
evenings relaxation, as he was earnestly
and persuasively solicited to do by a
pretended friend, he would not have re-
turned alive. He says that a "still small
voice" whispered to him not to go and
he obeyed that voice.
In the serene composure of his three
score years and ten, twenty-eight years
after the memorable impeachment trial,
Major Ross has written history of the
stirring events leading up to and sur
rounding that trial. 1t is a strong, vivid,
intense, yet dispassionate and dignitied
recital of the facts composing the dra-
matte story and the New MEXICAN is per-
suaded that it is destined to take high
rank az valuable contribution to politi-
cal literature.
PREFACE BY SENATOR HILL.
The terse and glowing preface to the
volume is from the pen of Senator Hill,
of New York, and it is needless to add
that it perfectly fills the bill.
The initial chapter of the book sets
forth Mr.. Lincoln's plan of reconstruc-
ton as outlined in his message to con-
gress and his amnesty proclamation of
December 8, 1868; shows that Mr.. Lin
coin claimed the constitutional right to
reorganize the lately seeded states by
the temporary appointment of civil Off
GERS; shows that the Republican ma ajority
in congress repudiated this plan, de-
claring that the revolted states must be
regarded as rebel states, subject to
military occupation and without repre-
sentation in congress"
This, the author holds, was rebuke to
Mr.. Lincoln for having presumed to treat
the rebel states as in any sense states of
the Union. Then follows an account of
the partisan reconstruction legisla-
tion attempted by congress, which failed
for lack of Mr.. Lincoln's signature; the
rupture that resulted between Mr.. Lin
coin and the Republicans of congress;
Mr.. Lincoln's determination, immediate
ly before his death, with the concurrence
of every member of his cabinet, to reor-
ganize the southern states on the "one-
tenth basls;" Mr.. Johnson's subsequent
adoption of the reconstruction policy
matured by Mr.. Lincoln, and his pro-
| ,1pakion of