The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-04-14


cOrrsctsd-IIistOry writtSR BY One
whO Helped to Make II.
was recently in the town Of Fair
m1nt Marion county. for two days,
ana spent much of the time visiting my
old. friend, Governor Pierpnnt. now in
his eehty-thlrd year. whom had not
seen since my last visit there In the
campaign OF 1897. HIS head is a little
wh,,er. hts face somewhat paler, and he
bas lost some flesh as compared with
former DAYS, but he Is In excellent
bsnlih and stlll enjoys Intellectual and
social life, and has we'll retained all his
faculties save that OF hearing. He does
not come to Wheeling any more since
the completion OF the Fnlrmnnt and
Pit,sburgh branch OF the baltimore n
Oflo railroad. He takes that shorter
route when he pays his occasional VS.
h 10 his only daughter, Mrs Sivlter, OF
Pittsburgh, and hence has lost his OLD
time touch with his many Wheeling
friends.
was glad to see the grand old man
EW
.yap though he may not rival the name
and fame OF the "grand old man" across
,he seas. 10 whose genius and learning
md craftsmanship all the world pays
,fIhute. That grand old man was
born in the purple" had a rich father
and married an heiress and n castle.
and was put in parliament away back
IN fsSs, and kept there continuously Tor
ivD generations. attaining in that pc"
rod the premiership Of England -FOUR
times
Rut Fairmont's grand old man had
no such opportunities. His Antecedents
were lIke those OF Lincoln. "the short
and Eimple annals Of the poor. Born
IN log cabin in MononGAita county,
Injured to hard toll from infancy, re-
ceglng only msnsre schooling, going
10 college after he was his own man.
carrying n hod in vacations 10 work
his way through: messing win COR
don Batelle. OF honored memory at an
expense to each OF 20 cents per week
teaching school and studying law AZ
,sr ne was 26, and yet with all this
bsrdicnn coming to the front rs the
drgt citizen OF West Virginia at the
outsct on the war. This VAS an ordeal
10 test the quality Of mans makeup.
Mr. Gladstone owes much to nature
NO doubt but stiIl more perhaps 10 MS
opportunities, while Governor Perpont
owes everything to his own unasslsteo
character and upright lie.
Tie Grand old Sian at Home.
Pardon the above as an unexpected
preface TO my call to see the venerable
war governor" OF Virginia at his mod
%, home in the shire town Of Marion
county. where he lives among his peo-
ple universally respected, and looked up
In by the Younger element as was
Charles Carroll. OF Carroiiton, IN his
last days. as "a venerable man who
had come down TO them from former
generation" There at Fnirmont lives
the man who was governor OF Virginia
n, Wheeling from June. 1861. to June
1863. and governor OF the same com
g7onwealth Mt Alexandria, Virginia.
from June, 1868. 10 May, 1855. and yet
aRnln governor Of that ancient state
at Richmond from May, 1862 10 Jahu-
ary. 1865. -
This is n variation Of Eovernorship
peruljar 10 tho history Of Virginia. But
comparatively few people understand
how It happened. It Is really n puzzle
10 tho present generation. The aver
agc man Mt FaIrmont. as elsewhere,
thinks his eminent feIIow-cittZen was
once governor OF West Virginia, be"
cause he resided nt Wheel during
the formative period Of the 6tw state.
and took an active part in the series OF
cvolutIons that finally resulted tn ttJ
admission into the union IN new com.
i,,oHwealth. All over this country
haye.as a traveller. been 80 frequently
called upon to explain the unique mo'
dus operandi Of Virgtnia's reoFEaRi2a-
tl0n and West Virglnia's formation that
feel rs q 7 had been teaching 1t MS
specially ut summer schools.
FROM my experience will venture to
sar that there are not to-day n dozen
members OF Congress who do not regard
West Virginia as n revolutionary cpl"
FOde Of the war, irregular In It's char-
acter. defective in It's legitimacy, hc-
comniahed s0iely under the war pow
cr, and as a companion incident to the
emancipation OF the slaves. Indeed
the average politician WITH twit you
when he refers to the incident. as II 1t
vas well understood piece OF Repub-
iican sharp practice, about the lnue-
feasibility OF which the less said the
better, which only shows his general
want Of real knowledge concerning one
Or the most important events Ot Amer
lean history. Perhaps II would be well
enough before / knock at the governors
door at Fatrmont, ia order TO have some
rcminlgccut conversation with him, to
devote few paragraphs az this writ
ing TO the occurrence in his history 10
which am abiding.
Daniel wsbsfcr'S Prophecy Ia 1851.
II Is now 2G years since the state OF
VGrEiuia undertook 10 secedc from the
American Union. AZ far back as 1851
Daniel Webster warned VIrglnln IN tho
p.ain"gt and most unmistnlSable terms
that In thcvery day In which she should
make this attempt her western counties
would arise In their strength and throw
on h"r authority and form an indcpcnd-
EN-. state. That great statesman knew
moro than all the Fir2lnin politicians
rIt together IN 1851. Hc renauncd not
only historically and politically but
geographically. He knew hOw unnatur-
nl how uncUnEenlal and how lnprOfta.
bic wag the status OF western Virginia
under the dominaHcy of N" old state.
IIc knew Or her unsuccessful efforts to
obtain justice from the old state lie
Knew how Philip Doddrldgc ard Alex
1nd"r Campbell had warned tho slave.
holders Of tho pAEt ny f1r back nB tho
convention ~ lS29-'30 that they were
nIlinR up wrath against the day Of
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