The National tribune., 1899-04-27
RETIREMENT Of SpEAKHp REED.
withdra wal OF Ono of tho vsry Ablest Ne,
In Public Life,

l "1tn0f3 wal OF Ono OF tho vofY AbleSe Mou
in Public Life.
The sensation of the week has been tn 9
retirement from politics Of Speaker Reed.
This takes away one of tho very ablest
men that ever filled a place In the public
eye. Little reason hs many have had for
liking Thos. b. Reed, nobody has ever
denied that for the highest range OF
ability, intellectualit lity, and force of char
acter he has had few equals in our
history. The causes that have led to his
retirement are various. In the first place
he is very fond of the good things of this
life, and those which money will buy.
| In his % years of public life he has had
opportunity to make but very little beyond
his salary. Occasionally he has had a
legal case which brought in good fee, or
some other commission, but these wind
falls have neither been frequent nor large.
In the meanwhile, he has been associat-
ing with men who had a great deal Of
m ney, which impressed upon him his
own poverty. He is now 60 years old, and
while he could remain in Congress until
he died, he feels that he has quite enough
of fame, and would like to turn his great
abilities for awhile in the direction OF pro-
v1dIng SubStantai support LOT Hihsei!
and family. Next, he is disappointed
politically.
While he has made the Speakership a
position of the utmost Importance, and
probably would have been reelected to
that position by the next Congress, he
has had the ambition which no American
in public life is free from, of being Presi-
dent. But, unlike many able men who
have cherished that ambition, he is big
enough and clear-sighted enough to see
that there is little chance of that aspira-
ton being realized. The St. Louis Con-
ventiOn was severe revelation to MN.
He organized his campaign, and friends
spent a great deal Of money. To him and
them it locked as if he had an excellent
show. But while the Republicans every
where had the greatest admiration for Mr.
Reed, it was clear that they preferred NAL.
Mckinley for the Presidential nominee
There were sufficient reasons for this,
which Mr.. Reed could never be made to-
understand Mai. Mckinley was 4 more
man to the great body oil
voters. He had lived all his life in the
West, had grown up with Western men,
served with them as private soldier ana
an officer, and had been for years before
their ewes as n Representative and Gov
ernor OF a great State. He had lived all
these wears in the fierceSt light OF pub
licity, and it was felt that he could Saieiy
dare the still fiercer exposure oil Il fresI |
Dental campaign. lie had crowned az
this by his authorship of Tarfl bill
which had been attacked with the utmost
rancor, and replaced by his politica! op-
ponents by a measure which Frustrated
all the industries Of the country, and
brought upon us most distressing com
mercial crisis. The people wanted
chance TO vote for him, to express the',
OF the men who had turned |
him down. :,
While Mr. Reeds life had been equally |
clean, he had been for ears Representa-
tive of a far Down East District, ana only
come into National prominence
by his vigorous administration. OF the
a weak showing in the St. Louis Con
vention. He attributed this to Senator
Hanna's management, and consequently
has hated Hanna with all the intensity oi
his strong nature. Really, while ianna
was IshrGwd and able, NC,
Kinley would have won Tl'h an! Sois .; Gi
management, for he was the logical candl-
date. Mr. Reed is a good hater, ne mas
an unsurpassed talent for cutting sarcasm
and has it so little under control that IT
is quite as dangerous TO his friends as MS
opponents.
Naturally, this. has raised up for him
among the Republican leaders plentiul
crop OF those who, while adnirInG ms
abilities, are not wildly jealous OF ad-
his political fortunes. lie man
aged to quarrel with President HARRISON,
and most of the men Immediately around
him, and in this Administration he has
been annoyirgly hostile to many things
upon which the President had set ms
heart. He was against the war. opposed
10 the Nicaragua Canal, averse TO the
of Hawaii, and the laying oi
Pacific cable, decidedly unfriendly to pen
sion legislation, etc.
Things at last reached such pass that
his dethroncmcnt from the position OF
sneaker was seriously considered, and
movement to tina; end actually begun
At this point Mr. Feed received a PROPOSE
ion from a prominent firm OF New YORK
awyers to enter their concern, with an
assurance Of an income of 900 a year,
md he has accepted. He Will go 10
europe with his family, for three
months visit, aud returning, resign ms
seat in Congress, and enter upon the
,r cticn Of Iaw in Now York. |