Gloucester County Democrat., 1899-10-26
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS
NUMBER IL

lands, but he earnestly advocated free
coal, thereby setting a worthy example
For that and other reasons McMillin
deserves well of the country.
Ex-speaker GaIusha A. Grow.
The Republican party has cut such
a wide swath in American history and
plowed its ideas so deep into our insti-
tutions that people are apt to forget
how young it is. There is one man
serving in the house Of representatives.
few years past the psalmist's allos-
ment Of threescere and ten, who was q
representative for three terms before
that party was born.
That man is Galusha A. Grow, who
was first elected to congress in 1850
He was speaker in the stormy days Of
1851 and 1862, and then that thing
happened to him which happens TO most
Office seekers sooner or later generally
sooner he was defeated, losing at one
time both his seat in congress and the
speakers chair.
In his autobiography find the re-
markable statement that he was once
reelected to congress by unanimous
vote
Happy Mr. Growl So far as I have
been able to ascertain, that bit Of good
fortune has been vouchsafed to only
one other American statesman General
Lowell Fl. Rousseau Of Kentucky He
was about 10 be expelled from congress
for breaking his cane over the head Of
a member To avert this calamity he
resigned and appealed to his people for
vindication. His performance so pleased
his constituents that not a vote was
cast against him for reelection Mr..
Grow was the immediate successor Of a
man who made more reputation accord
ing to his ability than any other who
ever served in the American congress
David Wilmot, whose fame rests wholly
on one short amendment to another
mans bill
Mr. Grow public life began in pre-
cisely the middle of the century and
viii soon reach the end of it. and in all
viii probably run well into the TWEEN
tieth century.
Think of what he has seen and heard
When he was first elected to congress,
Fillmore was president. Roger B. Taney
was chief justice, Daniel Webster was
secretary of state. Thomas Corwin sec
retary of the treasury and John ]. Crit
tenden was attorney general
Relic Of Bygone Days.
Charles Sumner, Edwin NJ Stanton.
Henry Wilson, Schuyler Colfax, VIII
liam A Wheeler, Chester A. Arthur.
Thomas A. Hendricks, Levi P. Morton
and Adlai E. Stevenson had not yet
been heard of outside their own neigh
borheods-
Melville " Fuller had not read the
FIRST word in Blackstone; Abraham Lin
coin was a country lawyer at Spring
field. with little reputation outside Of
Illinois; James G. Blaine was teaching
school in Kentucky; General Grant
was an obscure captain in the regular
army Rutherford B. Hayes was study
ing law in Cincinnati; samuel J. Til
den was winning his first honors al the
bar james A. EAxnssI was goi1g to
school cut IN the Western Reserves
Grover Cleveland was pondering over
the intricaciesof Of the English grammar
Charles f. Crisp was bothering his
boyish brain with the characters Of the
alphabet. William L. Wilson was wres-
tling with the multiplication table.
When the late Judge Holman. then
Father Of the House, took Mr.. Grow
by the arm and walked down the main
aisle to have him sworn in as member
Of the Fifty-third congress, after an
absence of 81 years. one irreverent rep
resentative murmured. '.That looks like
the vanguard of the army of the resur-
rection
If Mr.. Grow is cunning with his pen,
what book he could write describing
the scenes which he has witnessed and
part of which he wasl