El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-02-25
ROMANCES OF AMBITION
Picturesque Figures In the State
Department.
John Shermans Honest Ambition - The
Case of Timothy Pickering-The Roll of
Great Men Who Have Been Secretary
of State-A Look Backward.

of State-A Look Backward.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.-[Special. John
Sherman will be the thirty fourth secretary
of state of the United States. There is no
other office in the government, excepting
the presidency. whose roster of incumbents
shows so many names distinguished in the
history of the country. Indeed, of the 33
men who have been secretary of state no
fewer than six aftcrward became presi-
dent. These were jefferson, Madison,
Monroe, John Q. Adams, Van Buren, and
Buchanan. A majority of the remaining
secretaries of state We're conspicuous can
didates for the presid >ncy, and some of
them narrowly missed achieving their am
bition. Among the more prominent of
these great men who were near to the pres
idency and Yet never quite reached it may
be mentioned Clay, Webster, Calhoun,
Lewis Cass, Blaine, Gresham and now
John sherman.
Sherman's Worthy Ambition.
For 20 years Mr.. Sherman was an aspir-
ant for the presidential nomination of his
party. Time and again has he been de-
feated. He some years ago renowned his
ambition, but there is to this day n feeling
among Republican leaders everywhere
that Mr.. Sherman had fairly earned the
presidency; that he had won it by his serv
ices and his leadership.
OF all the secretaries of state only three
or four failed to impress themselves upon
the history of their cOuntry-Only three or
four are now forgotten men, III the sense
that the masses of the people cannot recall
their names and do not know anything of
their history. No one will forget the six
presidents who graduated from the state
department, nor will any one forget such
great names Clay, Webster, Calhoun,
Marcy, Cass, Fish and Seward. But who
remembers Timothy Pickering, or Robert
Smith, or Louis McLane, or John Forsyth,
or Hugh s. Legare, or Abel p. Upshur? Yet
all of these were great men in their day.
OF all the romanCes of ambition and
fame connected with the state department
that of Timothy Pickering is in some re-
spccts the most interesting. He was d
Massachusetts man, educated for the law,
but he never practiccd. In the early days
of the Revolution he was q militiaman.
He published a little book on discipline
For the Militia" Washington made him
adjutant general of the Revolutionary army
and then quartermaster general. When
peace came, he went into business as a
commission merchant in Philadelphia, but
was not successful The people of Massa-
chusetts offered to make him a judge if he
would return to that state, but he declined
and took his family TO the frontier in the
valley of Wyoming, Pennsylvania. There
he became involved in the Connecticut set
tiers Instruction. One night his house
was attacked, and he had to flee through
the woods to Philadelphia. Later he re-
turned to his home and was taken out of
bed at midnight BY masked men and held
q captive in the forest for three weeks.
An Eventful Career.
Washington appointed him postmaster
general, and later secretary of war; and
w -.,fc toto
this post for a time under President Adams,
but, becoming involved in quarrels, was
dismissed. Colonel Pickering was poor
and in debt. Again he went into the val
ley of Wyoming, and with his own hands
felled trees and started to carve out farm.
Thus the man who had held more cabinet
appointments than any other American
has ever held went from the second place
in the government to log cabin. The
people of Massachusetts raised fund of
S25, 900 to relieve him from debt, and he
returned to his native state and became IA
farmer. But the people twice elected him
to the United States senate, and afterward
TO congress for two terms. He was once
censured by the senate, was once burned in
effigy in Philadelphia, but closed his days
in peace and honor.
Robert Smith of Maryland was u lawyer,
soldier, secretary of the navy under .Jeffcr-
son and secretary of state under Madison.
Louis McLane of Delaware began life as
a midshipman in the navy, became MEM
Der OF congress, q senator, was twice min
lister to England, was secretary of the treas
ury and finally secretary of state.
John Forsyth Of Georgia was a lawyer.
senator, governor of his state,
minister to Spain and secretary of state.
Hugh 5. Legare of South Carolina (pro-
nounCed Leh gree was French Huguenot.
He was n student and an orator and a
contributor to the reviews. He came to
congress, was appointed attorney general
by President Tyler and succeeded Webster
as secretary of state. He died suddenly at
Boston while attending the ceremonies of
Bunker Hill monument.
His successor as secretary of state, Abel
P. Upshur of Virginia, also met tragic
fate. He was killed with several Other
by the bursting of u gun on board the war
ship Princeton on the Potomac river near
this city. President Tyler would probably
have met the same fate if he had not lir-
gercd in the cabin to pay his attentions to
the young lady whom he afterward mar
ricd.
Great Names In History.
Some of our past secretaries OF state arc
better known in history for other services.
For instance. John Marshall, who was sec
rotary of state under Adams, is remem-
bered chiefly as chief justice of the supreme
court. What a career was hisl Six years
n soldier, u successful lawyer, one OF inc
three American ENJOYS to France who
were snubbed by TEHeyrand and the only
one who had the Courage to defy the die
tator, author of the phrase, ''Millions for
defense, but not one cent for tribute,
secretary of war, secretary of state and
for 80 years chief Justice of n court which
his learning and wisdom made the great
est judicial tribunal in the world and won
for him undying fame as an expounder of
the constitution.
.Jered better as senators than as secretaries
of state Edward Everett 5 fame is as q
writer and orator rather than as diplo
matist.
Add TO those already mentioned the
names of Edmund Randolph, Edward Liv-
ingston, John NJ. Clayton, William l..