The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-19

ton, to which he adhered, with some
intervals of independently, throughout
his life. In 1910 Harrison was elected
the first Wing president, and his choice
for secretary Of state fell upon Web
ster. His principal service to the pres
ident was to revise the inaugural ad-
dress and to cut out the old-fasbioned
classical illusions.
BY this time the question of slavery,
and especially of the extension Of slave
territory. had come to be the most i'm
portant controversy before the public,
and during the years from 1872 to 1860
Webster was compelled to take ground.
1t was his natural instinct to dislike
slavery: he had protested against the
opening Of the Missouri territory to
slavery in 1913; he had mathematical
the New Englanders who still found a
profit in the Illicit slave trade: he had
early declared, 4 regard domestic
slavery as one of the greatest evils,
both moral and political;" he opposed
the annexation of Texas, and depre-
Gated the Mexican war. On the other
hand, he never had any sympathy with
the ab0litiOnists, or even with ardent
and persistent anti slavery men Ike
John Quincy Adams, and when the
question came to a head in the cam
paign of 1913 he faltered, and few
AlDnLH1 laLEE maze MS pest Known.
thought not his best speech.
There are but two days in American
history which tell their own story
without explanation-the Fourth of
July and the eth of March-and the
latter Of these TWO days marks Web
ster's deliberate and final speech upon
slavery Senator Chase wrote to his
friend Sumner on that very day: va!
Va Massachusetts has spoken. and
such a speech Nothing proposed
nothing apparently thought of but alb
s0lute and unconditional surrender.
VIII not Faneuil hail thunder once
mOre2"
There was some reason in the violent
feeling of the anti-slavery people to-
ward Webster. for they had hoped that
without adopting their principle Of
eternal war upon slavery. he might
take the ground that the time had
come at last to limit the hated instftu-
ton within the boundaries OF the then
slave-h0lding states. It was not
enough for him to declare: Il would
not take pains uselessly to re1ffirm an
ordinance Of nature nor to re-enact a
law Of God" Chase asked, pertinently:
What else should lawmakers do than
TO re5thTm the ordinances of GOd?"
Many extreme ab0litionists insisted
that Webster was bidding for southern
votes IN the convention of 1852.
The charge is unnecessary. Webster
sincerely loved the Union, and nowhere
in his writing is there a more noble
aposthrophe TO the Union, a more
strenuous aTraignment Of secession.
than in this very speech. The real diff
ticulty which affected his whole charae-
ter and life was a lack of comprehen-
sion Of the moral issue, a lack Of IN
deFstanding of the danger to the Union
from the continuance Of slavery. He
was not che Of those who lay awake
nights in Indignation at the arrogance
OF the slave power, or the national hui
initiation Of slavery. The torrent of de-
nunciation he met with the story of the
old farmer VINO refused to clear his
paths because ''he did not mean TO
clear off the snow until it stopped
showing. Webster could not under
stand that the snow Of criticism would
never cease falling until it had become
glacier which should grind to DOW
der the apparently indestructible rock
Of slavery.
Webster was, with all his Individual
power. man extremely susceptible to
influence; throughout his life he had
been accustomed to receive from time
to time the financial aid Of the rich
New England Wings, and there is a
story Of Boston gentleman who was
visited by one of the TOO frequent can
vassers for a fund TO pay off Daniel
Webster's debts. He generously sub
scribed $1,000. and when in due time
he was reminded of his pledge he
turned in a note Of hand for 81 900
signed by the great man. The collector
insisted that he could not pay Daniel
Webster's debts with Daniel Webster's
notes. and the subscriber was compelled
10 relinquish a second $1,000 in clear
cash The truth IS that Webster occu-
pied the position Of a public man whose
ultimate support was the Subscriptions
Of ow-cOuntrymen. and 1t was in
evitable that his own comfort and
peace of mind should seem to him of
large Importance. on the other hand
he could not hsllJ being imensihlv af
fected by what he knew 70 be the on
position Of his warm friends.,the ''eot-
tor Wings" Of New England. They
desired compromise ana thought the
concession that slavery enght 90 into
new territory asfsBssll. affair in com
parison with hasgnenx between the sec-