The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-02

SOME FAMOUS FEUDS,
Blaine, COnkling, Lamar.
~sY HON. JOHN J. INGALLS,


stigma. The man who rs branded as a
liar publicly is in a cul-de-sac. He can go
further. He must wear the epthet or
fight To bite the thumb. or thrust out the
tongue and say "tu quoque,' does not shift
the burden of dishonor in the estimation
of gentlemen.
For the first time in the six years that 1
had known him Conkling was, figuratiyely
speaking. knocked out. Accustomed to OBJ
sequiouS aduation which had swollen his
egregious vanity to the point of tumefac-
ton, his habitual attitude was that of SUI
puerciious disdain.
He by far the most picturesque and
commanding figure of an historic epoch.
His circumstances was inordinate,
but justified by magnificent presence, by
the possession of extraordinary intellectual
gifts, by national reputation and the de-
votion of a great constituency.
In the senate he had no rivals. No one
challenged him. If any differed with him
it was with Difference. almost with timid-
ity. He seemed Indifferent alike to appro-
baton censure. Like Wolsey he was
Lofty and sour to them that loved him
not,
To those men that sought him, sweet as
summer"
That this Alcibiades of repubicansm
should be called liar and denounced as
an object of unmitigated contempt in the
forum of his most imposing triumphs, be-
fore crowded galleries, by a confederate
incredible. Had dynamite bomb explod-
ed in the gangway of the brilliantly lighted
chamber the CONSERVATION could hardly
have been more bewildering.
Instantaneous silence hefell. The spec
tators held their breath Mr.. Conkling
acted like one stunned. He became pallid
and then flushed again. His disconcertion
was extreme. He hesitated and floundered
ptiably. He pretended at first not to
have heard the insult and asked Lamar in
effect to repeat.
He said: "Mr. President, I was diverted
during the commencement of remark the
elimination of which I heard from the
member from Mississippi. If l understood
him Alright, he intended to impute. and did,
in plain and supplementary language,
impute to me an intentional missta tement.
The senator does not disclaim that?"
Mr.. Lamar: II will state what I in
tended SO that there may be no mistake"
The Presiding officer: docs the sena-
tor from New York yield?
Mr.. Lamar: 'Al that H.
The Presiding officer: docs the senator
from New York yield to the senator from
Mississippi"
Mr.. Lamar: "He appealed to me to know,
and l will give
The Presiding officer: 1.-THE senator from
New York has the floor. Does he yield to
the senator from mississippi"
AS he had asked Lamar question which
that senator was endeavoring to answer,
the interrogations of the chair seemed SUI
perfiuous. but they afforded time for re-
Fiction, and at last Mr.. Conklng said: IT
am willing to respond to the chair. ] shall
respond to the chair in due time. Whether
/ am willing to respond to the member from
Mississippi depends entirely upon what
that member intends to say, and what he
did say For the time being L do not
choose to hold any communication with
him. The chair understands me now; /
will proceed.
81 understood the senator from MISSISSIPPI
pi to state in plain and unparliamentary
language that the statement of mine to
which he referred was a falsehood, If /
caught his word Alright. Mr.. President,
this not being the place ITO measure with
any man the capacity to violate decency
to violate the rules of the senate, to
commit any of the improprietes of life. I
have only to say that If the senator-the
member from Mississippi-did impute or
intended to impute, me falsehood moth
ing except the fact that this is the senate
would prevent me from denouncing him as
BLACKBOARD and a coward" C(Applause
in the galeries)
The Presiding Officer: "There should be
no cheering in the galleries If there shall
be any more the chair will order the gal
leries to be cleared The senator from New
York will proceed"
Mr.. Conkling: LET me be more specific
Mr.. President Should the member from
Mississippi, except in the presence of the
senate, charge me by intima ton other
wise with falsehood, I would denounce him
as Backyard, as a coward and liar;
and understanding what he said as I have
said, the rules and propreties of the SEN
ate are the only restraint upon me- I do
not think I need say anything else, Mr..
President"
Mr.. Lamar concluded: "I have only a.
say that the senator from New York xnder-
stood me correctly. I did mean to say just
precisely the words, and all that they i'm
ported. beg pardon of the senate for the
supplementary language. 1t was very
harsh; it was very severe; 1t was such as
no good would deserve and no brave
man would wear!"
Mr. Conkling never seemed quite the
same afterward. His prestige was gone.
His enemies-and they were many-exulted
in his discontinue. Two years later he
resigned his seat in the senate, and his
life afterward was a prolonged monologus
of despair. Today he is a splendid remin-
iscence. To the next generation his fszaS
will be a tradition.
But of all the feuds of the century. thu
most far-reaching in its tragic consequences
was the political duel between Conkling and
Blaine, which began with their appearance
in congress and ended only with their
lives. They were rivals and foes from the
start or about the same age, they both
aspired to leadership, but in Temperament
and intellectual habits they had nothing in
common. They were altogether the most
striking personalities of their generation.
They were enemies by instinct Their hos
tility was automatic.
Their first alteration occurred April 80
1S6G, in debate on the charges against
Provost Marshal General Fry, In which it
was alleged that Mr.. Conkling, while a
member of congress, had taken a fee Of
$1,000 as Judge advocate.
During the discussion, which was ex-
Rlaip sT
do not happen to possess the volubiity Of
the gentleman from the Utica district. 1t
took him thirty minutes the other day to
explain that an alteration in the reporters
notes for the Globe was no alteration at
ALL And 1t. has taken him an hour today
to explain that while he and General Fry
have been at swords'-points for year
there has been difficulty at all between
them. The gentleman from New York has
attempted to pass off his appearance In this
simnlxx hn axaxa1 ess