The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-11-02
JOHN SHERMAN.

In the death of John Sherman, a
unique figure passes from the activi-
ties of American public life. For forty
four years he held public office, by far
the most of that time, by the suffrages
of his fellow citizens. From the time
that he first entered congress, when
barely more than thirty years of age, his
fellow citizens of Ohio never refused
him their votes whenever he asked for
them. Yet he was neither a magnetic
man, nor what is understood by the
term popular idol. He commanded the
allegiance of his fellow citizens through
the sheer force of an intellectually
which was genius, though with less of
the imaginative faculty in it than we
are accustomed to think of as a COM
ponent part of genius
Throughout the years of his public
life, appealing as the years went on, to
new generations of voters, through all
the changes in times and manners, of
political and party issues, he never
knew defeat. His political judgment
seemed unerring. He seemed to know
with the certainty of intuition, and yet
undoubtedly by the calmest of intellec-
tual processes, just what the winning
issue at any particular election would
be.
On more than one occasion he saved
the Republican party. Perhaps there
was no more notable occasion of this
than in the congressional election of
1878 The Greenbackers ever since the
panic of 1873 had been growing in
strength. In 1878 in coalition with the
Democrats in many congressional dis
tricts throughout the country, they
threatened not only to control the
House of Representatives, but the Sen
ate as well. They argued that the rea-
son gold was at premium, a matter
that then was looked on as the great
financial i'll of the country was that
the government was discriminating
against its own notes. 1t refused to ac-
cept them in payment of duties on i'm
ports. So telling We're the arguments
of the Greenbackers in the then con-
dition of affairs, that the party leaders
all feared the defeat of the Republican
party. John Sherman, then secretary of
the Treasury under Hayes, boldly ac-
cepted the argument of the Greenback-
ers and by treasury order directed that
on and after January l, 1879, United
States treasury notes should be receiv-
ed at all custom houses in payment of
customs duties This was the famous
Resumption of Specie Payments"
The effect of it was just what the
Greenbackers said it would be. But the
Republican party got the credit of it,
and turned defeat into victory.
1t was John Sherman who put the
final quietus to the Bloody Shirt" is
sue, though strange to say, he was the
last man of any note to be elected on
it. His term in the United States SEN
ate had expired and he was to go before
the Ohio legislature for reelection.
Ohio had become a doubtful state so
far as her Legislature was concerned.
1t was necessary for Sherman to make
sure of Republican legislature With
his unerring political sagacity he saw
that the Bloody Shirt issue was good
for one more campaign in Ohio. He
carried the state on that issue and was
reelected. But that was the end of
that issue.
No character in America has been
more bitterly asailed than John Sher-
man, and for what has since come to
be known in campaign argot as 1.-The
crime of '73." 1t was John Sherman
who in effect, demonetized silver. Yet
in all the heated controversy over the
demonetizing act of 1873, since then, no
man took a less important part than
John Sherman. He was a man who
never refought old battles. He had the
power to make his acts the acts of his
party, and to impress his ideas on his
party as its party principles. So that
when afterwards these were attacked,
the party itself had to defend.
John Sherman was thrice a prominent
candidate for the Republican party. He
failed of his hopes for two reasons. He
lacked the fascinating, magnetic quail
tiles that would command support
where he was not personally known;
and the Republican party of the South.
which he more than any one else Great
ed, and kept in power as long as it was
kept in power the carpet bag and
the negro domination regime, always
proved unfaithful to him.
John Sherman was great man; great
because of his commanding and pro-
found intellectually He did his coun-
try many and great services.