Evening journal., 1898-10-05
A TRIBUTE TO BAYARD.
THE LATE HON. THOMAS +. BAY
ARD-STATESMAN, SCHOLAR,
,-sr-N-rrfr rrTr
GENTLEMAN.

latte Hon. Thomas +. Bayard, the last
dread consequence of which indispcsi-
ton was unhappily not averted. recalls /
to the mind some Of the phases of uhe /
Ele-wOrk of man who but recently
rested on his well-earned laurels, and
whose umbl mlshed public career culmi-
mated ere it had shot past the meridian
mark. Other ard greatsr men than
was Mr.. Bayard have recently passed
on into the land of shades, but we
know of no living public man whose
death would come nearer home, or
whose demise would be attended by 50
sincere and hsartfelt a regret as that
attending the DEATH OF this pre-emi-
nent Delawarean. "a sadness falls upon
us, a sadness that win not lift as We
recall the fact that Mr.. Bayard is no
more; and the mind intuitively realizes
how complete, how indisputable is that
Biblical philosophy Man lis like to
vanity; his days are as a shadow that
p1sseth away"
Although the late Hon. Thomas f.
Bayard could not Zoe regarded as one OF
the pre-eminently great ones of the
earth, msn whose prolfundity Of knowl-
edge I'M either this CIR that particular
walk cf life can never suffer the least
eclipse. he, Mr.. Bayard, was never sub
jectedl to THE charge of having narrowly
escaped greatness. Mr. Bayardwas a great
man; in fact. far greater than many
public men who were seemingly, but
only seemingly. the peer or equal Of
this eminent SON of Delaware. The
late Hon. James G. Blaine-we reluct-
antly dignity such man with the pre-
fix Honorable" .e"-se.dom missed an op-
portunity to beMttle Mr. Bayard. But it
would have taken a far ab-er man than
was the glib-tongued eX-schioolmaster
and political trickster from Maine to
successfully depreciate such man as
the late Mr.. Bayard. 1t would have
taken a far more unimpeachable and
statesmanlfke man than was Mr. Blaine
that falsely dubbed "Plumod
Knight" a man who received his po-
litical quieMs from the hands Of the
people. and who subsequently di,d OF
mon a-nomination''-t successfully dis
count or even belitt.e such a man as
was Mr.. Bayard There have been, and
perhaps are to-day, just a few isolated
men whose completeness was OF 50
evidtnt O character that your plumed
knights, your magnetic men were To-
tally unable to touch them with a
forty-foot p2le MI Bayard was ex-
actly one Of them
1t were both idle and Improbable
to recapitulate the ancientness cd
longevity Of Mr.. Bayard's family tree
or to recount the beztowmsnt of Ssna.
torial honors upon both that gentleman
and his ancestors. All that is so mucf
historical matter, and concerning which
the pHblic has full knowledge. But
more or less important as such facts
may be, lending a measure Of hOn0i
and proper pride to the State from
which Mr.. Bayard emanated, they sinh
into inslgnifcance when compar5t
with the higher, the rarer, the noble
attributes of the man himself We re
member how, during the Hon. Grove.
Clevelamd's first administration, Mr.
Rayard, as Secretary Of State, rendere,
invaluable service by procuring the re
pcaa bf certain fiscal duties duties tha
were inimical to the trade interests o
both Spain and this country. And W
remember how, during MIR. Cleveland
second administration. Mr.. Bayard, a
Ambassador to England, amicably SIT
tied the Bering Sea and Venezue!ai
disputes, awkward complication
threatening at one time the peace c
two hemispheres. IN all this Mr. Bay
ard not only evidenced his capabiat
Of successfully handling the intrlcat
dfplomncics peculiar to the by n
means plastic diplomatic word cf Et
rope, but he also demonstrated the fax
that the exceedingly Jealous and del
cate art of diplomacy was his metie
his forte. During Mr.. Bayard's Am
bassadcrship a not incon siderable So
ticn Of the American press seldom n
an opportunity pass to charge Mr. Bay
ard with toadying or trucking to th
upper and more exclusive circles
English society, These fippant and r
dfculous charges were MT only a d,
grace to the section in question, HI
they evidenced, in the Night Of subc
quent events, a painful disregard f
the truth andanutter and culpab,e ign
rance of the true purpose and inns
nobility of Mr.. Baysrd. But, th-n.
is more or less the custom, a villainol
and derogatory custom it is, for vei
great many of us to viliiy, with
shameless and witiess wit. those in Q
flee. from the President down.
would seem as if the vox populi ee;
mates a Government official, especial
when that official happens to hcld Il