The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-07

instant and HAWKES. patriotism. They
were worthy sons Of worthy sires The
greatest blessing that could be bestowed
upon the brave men before me is the privi-
lege which you enjoy of seeing the seeds OF
valor which you planted more than thirty
years ago spring into life and bear the rich
fruitage of loyalty and heroism which the
Nation has recently SO lovingly garnered in
its storehouse of patriotic achievements.
Sad. indeed, would 1t have been had you
lived to see the Nation you fought to save
shrfvel into indifference at such time. 1t
was by reason of your glorious example,
calling men to duty and sacrifice that we
compelled Spain to sue for peace before she
had won single battle, sunk war ship or
captured flag
NATIONAL UNITY.
Morton rendered no greater service to the
country than in his persistent and heroic
advocacy of the unity of the Nation. Who
ever espoused that principle was his friend;
whoever denied it, his enemy. He never
struck false note on this high theme He
presented it with an emphasis and a fervor
which constrained men to abarslon home
and kindred and everything they had hither-
to priced most dearly for it's sake. When
tinid souls prated of peace, lover of peace
though he was, he Indignantly rejected any
suggestion of compromise which involved a
recognition of the right of secession or con
templated the establishment Of petty prin-
cipalities or fragmentary governments in
place of a united Nation.
AS early as 1860, when many good men
were seemingly willing to sacrifice even the
land that had nourished them rather than
resort to arms, he declared: 1--WE do not
say that the Union may be preserved upon
certain conditions. We do not measure our
fidelity by our success, but we say it must
and shall be preserved whatever party may
be in the ascendant. We do not say the
Republican party first and the Union after
ward, but we say the Union first, last and
all the time and that we will wage uncom-
promising warfare upon all parties that
contemplate its destruction" And later he
said II will know that man only who VOWS
fidelity to the Union and the Constitution
under all circumstances and at all hazards:
To that man, come from whatever political
organization he may, by whatever name he
may be known, / give my hand as a friend
and brother. and between us there shall be
no strife" The President was strengthened;
officers in the field faced the enemy with a
higher hope and a loftier courage; the SOL
diers forgot their hardships, privations and
sufferingS; men everywhere rekindled their
faith and renewed their devotion when Nor
toms tongue of flame, speaking from his
soul of fire. appealed to them to maintain
the Union against treachery and treason,
whatever might betide.
CAREER IN THE SENATE.
When Morton entered the Senate he was
peculiarly qualified for leadership in that
august body He brought with him the ripe
Judgment. the wide experience, the deep in
sight, the profound wisdom of one who had
studied great questions in a large and ex-
haustive manner. He brought with him also
a thoroughly disciplined legal mind, for he
was lawyer of the old school who reasoned
from principles as Marshall and Story, and
Jay did rather than from cases which are
often but the individual expressions of
opinion of extremely fallible judges. He
brought with him, too, splendid courage, I'M
sWerV1ng honesty, unceaSing industry and
an uncomfortable will. No one was better
fitted to deal with the great constitutional
questions which came up for settlement
than this man, who had served with dis
tinction at the bar and who had won emf
hence as judge and undying fame as
ruler. He was the foremost figure in a
Senate of great men. His associates de-
ferred to him and frequently accepted his
conclusions as final He took a leading
part in the great debates on reconstruction,
the appointment of the electoral commission
and the investigation of the Louisiana
frauds. He made the committee on privi
leges and elections, of which he was chair
man. the principal committee of the Senate.
Nothing could be insignificant with which
he was identified. Whenever Morton spoke
the galleries were crowded and the floor
of the Senate chamber thronged with a
multitude eager to listen to his words of
patriotism and wisdom, knowing that they
were the utterances of a man who always
expressed his convictions in words Of knoWl-
edge and words of power. The scholarly
Sumner saw in Morton elements of strength
which no other senator possessed and Nor
ton felt the abiding charm of the man who
had Travelled more widely and who had read
more deeply than any of his contempo-
raries. Though they differed seriously at
times, nothing could interrupt the warm
current of their friendship.
QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP.
When the smoke of battle was in his nos
trils and the powder prime on his hands
Morton was superb. Never daunted by
odds, he conquered difficulties and sur
mounted obstacles which other men would
have deemed insuperable. He was no fair
weather fighter. He did not pitch his tent
at a conveniently safe distance from the
enemy but was always at the head Of the
advancing column, urging it to further eff
fort. II others faltered, he never wavered.
His very presence was an inspiration to his
followers. They caught something of his
hope and earnestness and courage, and
trusted implicitly in his leadership. He
trampled down opposition at times as the
grapes are crushed in the wine press, Dur
ing his lifetime the political battles in In
diana, and sometimes even in the Nation,
were fought on the lines he laid down. Men
waited for him to strike the keynote and
then caught it up and repeated it on the
hustings. He was aggressive, but not vim
dictive, and wholly free from the petty in
science and boastful arrogance of small
souls. He never carried the white flag or
truce. but always the royal purple of de-
termination. He was intolerant of pre-
tense, abhorred a sham and despised hypo-
critic. He was fertile in eXpedients, a re-
sourceful man, prolific in suggestion, quick
20 take advantage OF the mistakes and
blunders of others and convert them into
weapons of assault. He did not veil his
purposes behind ambiguous words. He had
the simplicity, the directneSS the charming
candor the engaging frankness of all great
natures. He asked TO be assigned to a COM
mand in the field but it was felt that his
services as Governor were too valuable TO
be dispensed with. What royal soldier he
would have made-another Logan, around
whom men would have rallied, and, catching
his enthusiasm, have joyously followed
wheresoever he led. His caution and dash
his magnetism and courage his tenderness
and sternness his adaptability to new sit
uationS, his willingness to grapple with any
odds, his belief in his star and in the ulti-
mate triumph of the right, would have
placed him in the front rank of military
commanders, in the class to which Grant,
and Sherman, and Sheridan, and Thomas
belongs
HIS LITERARY STYLE.
Morton spoke to the intellect and con-
science of men. He stirred their souls as
the angel of the Lord moved the stagnant
waters. His style is marked by the SIM
terizes the utterances of the Hebrew proph-
cts. He spoke in the same lofty vein in
which they proclaimed the sins of men and
prophesied their destruction if they refused
to hearken to the voice of Jehovah. He did
not seek to persuade by honeyed phrases,
but TO convince by forcible premise and
inevitable conclusion. 1t is said that john
Bright talked matters over with his gar
dener to learn what the plain people thought
on public questions; so Morton, in office,
and shop and factory on the street and IN
the market place discussed the things in
which he was interested with those who
often represented public opinion more ac-
curately than the theorist who draws de-
II