Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-14
United States tue one hundred and twenty fifth.
 [Seal] WILLIAM MKINLEI. By the President, JOHN HAY, Secretary of State.

by the 1feSlOenC,
 JOHN HAY, Secretary of State.
 Fhe record of Benjamin Harrison
 lineage can adOrn an eScutcheon Wltn
 loyalty and AmericaniSm ill all It's
 markings. He came of good stock
 sturdy. strong and courageous. ground
 ed in the belief that the republic had
 been created to endure and to become
 q power among the nations of the
 earth. In Benjamin Harrison was re
 tiected the indomitable will and the in- flexible determination of his diStin-, guiShed grandsire, the hero of Ilppe- canoe, ninth president of the United
 States and famous for the vigor of the l campaign which he waged when the country was young and courage was
 the shield and buckler for its defense. William Henry Harrison was more nearly like his grandson than the grandson was like his own father. John Scott Harrison was not man of great parts. He had been elected TO congress twice from his district in Ohio. but he never attained the dis
 tinction that his son did as q cool.
 calm reviewer. l dispassiOnate and impartial judge. and an analyst of power and precision. In this the Ben
  was the Harrison who. with John Hancock and others of glorious menl- ory, signed that document in which they pledged their lives. their for tunes and their sacred honOrS' to throw off the British yoke.
 From the signer of the Declaration of Independence down to the last of the main branches of the tree. the Ha" rsons have been of rugged character. plain of speech. honest in intent and action and loyal in every thread and fibre 10 the flag that received it's first baptism ut Lexington.
 Renjamin IiarriSon's boyhood was
 mucl: like flat of Lincoln and Grant. He was born in North Bend. O.. in 1S:}:3', when that part of the Buckeye state was q comparative wilderness and the sight of painted Indian was in no way out of the common. Ills fathers political prominence did not abSolve, the younger Harrison from hard work. Gnd lis distinguished an- ceStry was 20 aid in keeping him from the usual tasks that fell to the lot of the youngest boy on the farm. It was ] an educational experience. as General Harrison remarked many times ill later years. It hardened him. 1t made hir1 more Selfreliant. The OK pcrienccs i.l that little Ohio farm were
 monitors and governors throughout the busy life tliat followed.
 At the age of 15 the grandson of William Henry Harrison entered the Miami university in Oxford. O. He attended the district school before that. but had attracted no particular attention. Inlmediately after his ad- mission 10 tEe university. however. he began to develop. and at the age of IS he was graduated. Then he went into the office of Judge Bellamy Storer of Cincinnati. and so hard did he study and so proficient did he become that Ie was admitted Q the bar before l,c was S1 years old. At that early age he was married. and with a supreme confidence in his own prowess he went
 to Indianapolis to practice law. His capital at that time was between S2OO and S3CG
 For q long time Benjamin Harrison and his family lived in small apart ments in comparative poverty. and yet | he was successful from the start He l early developed unusual ability as q lawyer and soon made his mark in the l profession. When the war broke out, | at the request of Governor Morton. he | raised a company and was commis- stoned q second lieutenant. then cap- l tain. and afterwards colonel of the Seventeenth Indiana regiment. With | that regiment he went to the front. but | had little opportunity to distinguish | himself his command only having l guard or garrison duty to do. An op-
 portunity soon came. however. and at | Resaca he achieved renOwn. It was l then, according to history. that Gen | eral Hooker rode up to him and said
 By God Ben Harrison. I'll make you
 brigadier for this days work Shortly afterward Colonel Harrison
 was breveted brigadier-genera1. | General Harrison served with credit
 and without injury until the end of the l war.
 At that time General Harrison was 1 described as being "although only 30 l years a mere boy in appearance. and | slight of frame. He had square shoul-
 ders and powerful arm. He was an
 odd-lookin@ figure. slender. with a big | towwhite head. short neck and short | legs. He used to ride q large horse. | too. and was laughed at q good deal. l But he had the respect and confidence
 of all. He was exceedingly tenacious | of his rights. or rather of the rights Of
 his command. He insisted on having | for his boys the best camping place l and the best of the supplies and ac- 1 COutremenIS. lie was young ana h. 1 experienced and knew little of the art l of war. but he had learned what his
 rights were. and in his quiet way he 1 insisted upon having them, and invari- | ably succeeded.
 General Harriscn's record as q sol 1 dier in the civil war was just about 1 what might be expected of one of his l blood. Whatever promotion he got l was on merit. whatever praise he re- 1 ceived was because he deserved il. 1 After he was made q colonel he was
 placed in command of a brigade which
 was attached to the Eleventh ana 1 Twelfth army corps. At the close of
 the war he returned to Indianapolis to
 resume the practice of law.
 While he was in the field he had been elected reporter of the supreme
 court and after peace had been de l clared he took the office and served
 until 1868, when he declined a. re-elec- | ton.
 Gradually he became influential in
 the counsels of his party in the state. l ;x, ifE .