The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-11

health when I started life and have
| seen that that part of my capital has
been well cared for / don't worry,
and after have once decided upon
thing let it take it's course,
What were your best working
years?'
Il believe 1 was strongest between
fortyfve and sixty-five. My brain
was quicker then and l had pleanty Of
nerve. 1 did not get to making big
deals until was forty-fve. Yes, I
! consider my years between forty-fve
and siXty-five as having been my
prime"
How are times in the West, Mr..
Sawyer"
'They are much the same as they
are all over the country. Money is
tight and business is slow 1t will con-
tinue so unit! we have a new tariff
law enacted. AS it is now, we are Civ
ing work to people of Europe and al
! lowing our own people to go idle. We
are buying European goods and send
ing our gold out to pay for them. They
compete with US in every way possible.
They take all they can get and give
US as little as they can"
Would you advise a high tariff"
mo-" replied Senator Sawyer. Il
don't think we need a high tariff, but
we need tariff that will protect. AT
present the duties are made ad valorem
instead of specific. Ad valorem means
| according to the value or selling price
of the goods to the importer. Now,
any one can lie as to the price of goods,
and the merchants of Europe make out
two sets Of bills. One is for the custom
| collector at the low price, and the
other for the importer at the price
which he really pays. Millions of dol
lars are stolen from the government by
| these fraudulent undervaluations. You
| can't cheat as to weight. A pound is a
| pound the world around, and if the
duty is charged according as to pounds
Of goods or gallons Of liquid, there
would be an enormous increase in rev.
| enue. 1t will take time to do this, but
! 1t must be done before we can have
honest Importation
DO you think we will have perma-
nent hard times?''
mo, indeed; this country is bound to
come out right in the end It did look
a little bad when Bryan was making
such an active fight. Had he been
elected, we should have had more hard
times for a year or SO. The next cleo
ton, however, would have brought
everything all right, and the country
| void have gone on with it's old-time
| prosperity"
ABOUT SENATOR SPOONER.
"By the wav. senator. l see that
| Spooner has come back to the senate"
LES, as lI1e reply. ne WdAlCu
the place, and am glad to see him in
it"
There was some talk Of yourself be-
ing the senator
Yes" replied Senator, Sawyer, -'T
could have come back to the senate
had 1 wanted the position. Wisconsin
| was ready to send either SpOOner or
myself. Our relations have always
| been frienly. and as you say, Senator
| SpOoner has been something like a son
| to me. Well, he came to me some time
| ago and told me that 1 could have
| the senatOrship if / wanted it, and that
| he would not contest the seat with me-
I replied that I would think about it,
You see, l did not want to say that 1
| would do thing and then regret II.
l did think the matter over and con-
cluded that had had enough Of public
life, and that did not want to come
here again.
How did you happen to come to the SEN
ate in the first place Mr.. Sawyer2'
| Il was rather forced into it," replied the
senator i had been in congress for some
years. but l did not care much to go to the
senate. l had, in fact, made all my arrange
ments to keep out of politics and was about
going away to Europe when one of my OPP
| ponents boosted that | did not dare to run
against him for the senate. He said 1 was
| afraid to- l sent my son-in-law off to Paris
| In my place. and stayed at home, and won
| the election to snow him that l could do so''
AT what time did you first come to con-
gress %
1T was in 1867
A STORY OF LINCOLN
Then you must have known President
Lincoln?"
Yes, did and 7 admired him very much
1 had little experience with him before 1
was elected as a member of the house of
! representatives, which showed me the sim
| plicity Of the man. Wisconsin boy and
| his father we're in the army. The father
was killed and the son needed at home to
| keep the family from going to the poorhouse.
! l went to Washington in order to secure dis
charge. l called upon Secretary Stanton and
laid the matter before him. He answered me
very gruffy that the thing was impossible,
and that the boy could not be released /
then got the members Of the house and the
senators from my state to sign a paper ask
ing for the release. With this l went to the
White house and laid the paper before Presi-
dent Lincoln. He listened to my story and
finally said: This paper states that your
| congressman consider that this boy is en-
| titled to a discharge if any one could be
| titled to it. | don't like the wording. If you
| will bring a fixed recommendation from
the delegation asking the boys discharge 1
| will grant it. You see, Lincoln wanted to
! make the Wisconsin delegation responsible
for his act. l got this paper and about
week later came back to the White house
| again. President Lincoln recognized at
| once I came in, saying: L told you you
could not have that discharge unless your
| congressman recommended it. In reply 1
laid the paper before him. He looked at it,
| and then, without a word, took up his pen
! and wrote as follows:
Hon. E. NJ. Stanton
| You will please discharge this man from
| the service. "A. Lincoln
| LAS l took the paper l asked Mr.. Lincoln to
send a man with me. Said l, L can't get at
| Mr. Stanton without help. There is always
| a crowd about his door, and he is very hard
to reach. Yes, replied President Lincoln,
| I will fix that He thereupon yelled out
| so that you could hear him all over the White
| house, Tom, Tom moment later
| colored man came in. President Lincoln di-
rected this man. who was his own messenger,
| to 60 with me to Stanton. He did so, and
at once got at the secretary Of war. l
handed him the paper with Mr.. Lincoln's in
| dorsement on it, and he wrote these words be-
low it:
| President Lincoln and then put his signature
! under that This gave my boy his discharge
| and he was soon back in Wisconsin"
C. P. HUNTINGTON'S ADVICE.
| Senator Sawyer's suggestion that there
| ing recalls a curious story that l lately heard
| of c. P. Huntington. 1t told me by a
man who is now in the government service,
| but who at the time the incident occurred was
| clerking IN San Francisco. This young man
| had saved a small amount OF money, altogether
| not more than a few hundred dollars. He
| was anxious to invest it and to find field
| where he could make a fortune. He had
| schemed and schemed, but no good chance
| seemed to offer. One day he happened to be
| sitting in the Palace hotel restaurant at lunch,
| man knew Mr.. Huntington by sight, but had
| never been introduced to him. The two ate
for some time in silence, and at last the
young man mustered up courage enough to