The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-22

/ 70 BE- defended hy the soldiers Of the Fed
/ urJl Government. and h, terminated in q
! very iew years 10y that legislation In
bio,d-E,d which foc 80 Iou. had occurr',
! on III" trail between Independence. No
! AMI Santa Fc and Alhuqu.iIur IN New
; Mexico. when IN" Sioux. ApaChes. 90
, m.u"h's and Pawures attacked every ear
I AVIAN unless it was too strong 20 be over
. powered.
In is-S came "a g;oat parliamentary con
! test in which Ecnton bore CONSPICUOUS part
Mr.. calhoun th'n advanced his idea Of null
I hii"ati"u 10y State "f Federal legislation
I when .he people o.: that state believed the
Enactment OF such legislation WIS ahso-
luteiy destructive Of their best interests.
! Slavery was not involved IN that contest.
II was question -; tariff taxation cal
h"un Iggu"i with great ability that a State
co. ia remain i'm the Union and vet Cuiify
an act # IA" Federal ConSr.s- which even
The supreme Court decided to be consti-
tutioral.
have always regarded Mr.. Calhoun as
one of the greatest analytical disputauts
this or any other country has ever pro-
duc'd. have studied his works. lat I WIS
never able To appreci ate his arguments tn
favor Of nulliiicltiun. jackson. who was
th'u President. looked upoT, II as absolute
treason. and declared that II Calhoun IN
d"rtouk To carry il oft he would hang him
as high as Hannah. Clay and Webster stood
by IN" side of Benton in defending the posi-
III n taken by Jackson and although there
was compromise without armed conflict
between South Carolina and the General
Government. | HAY" no doubt that thu. nui-
Hhcatiua contest OF IS3a Influenced all the
subsequent career Of Colonel Benton. and
the opinions he then formed were rr-pouSi-
bl" for his final political overthrow in
Missouri
Colonel Benton. above all rn=n-I will not
say above all men. but certainly without
any superior in the regard / am about to
mrnti"n-luved the Union. 1t cOlor,d and
influenced all his life, and he firmly believed
that Mr.. Calhoun was a traitor and hal
then iuauSuraisd or attempted TO inaugU-
rat" a scheme to establish Il southern con-
fed-racy based upon the institution OF AZ
riC"n slavery Notwithstanding, many a.T!-
mouivu~ debates, he renewed ms fri, ndshp
with Nelst.! and clay. but never forgaVe
Mr. ca huUu. heard him in 1856. when
candidate for Governor of Missouri ,!eclar.
"m9hatically in "A public addr-ss tina; IL he
had been President in is,> instead Of threat
eninG to hang calhoun. he would have
hanged him on the eastern exposure Of the
Capitol and appealed to the I.-vpi,. of the
United states TO Vindicate his action.
Passing over intermediate events. | come
now 10 The crisis I'm Bentous remarkable
public life. The question Of slavery had
Remained not in guicsCent attitude. but
not The foremost question In the politics OF
~ N's NHtH ii''E lAS AltNlcih VI ar NheH
Texas applied for admission to the Union
IN lsii-41 as a slave state. Colonel Benton op-
pcsed the admission Ct Texas. and IL sound
ed the knell of his fate in Missouri. A
young, ambitious and able coIerie of poll
ticians had grown up In Missouri while Ben
ton during thirty OF nearly thirty years
had laborcd in Washington. HIS manners
We're not such as to make him popular He
was aggressive and almost insulting to men
who differed with him. To give II single
instance of his manner OF meeting people:
In one OF the counties OF my old circuit
when 1 first commenced practicing law was
a most excellent. learned. and modest man,