Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-05-27

tention in Paris by the sumptuous ma
ture of his living, and by his social en-
tertainment. Seeing the failure of his
earlier attempt, and how by follow
ing the weakened foreign policy of
the wings he had been superseded by
dark horse like Polk on the previous
occasion, Cass now made himself the
special champion of the famous fifty
four, forty or fight" demand which
tickled the hearts and aroused the
highest patriotism of the people
throughout the homes of the north
west. He had early seen the impor-
lance of Americans possessing Canada
and in December, 1916, Senator Cass
that of Senator Chambers in October,
1895, holding up the specter Of war;
and insisting that nothing but conces-
sions or sensible precautions could
! prevent armed collision with Great
Britain. From henceforth he was the
leader of the .'fifty-four forties' or the
jingoes as they would now be called.
Accordingly in the campaign of 1848
Cass became the hot favorite of the
democratic party. But being more Of
a statesman than a mere politician he
was defeated, the question of squatter
sovereignty, and incidentally the hos
tility of British interests having con
tributed to the confusion or disrup-
ton of the Cass contingent There
were barnburners and free sellers and
cotton wings and conscience wings
and Henekers and regular democrats
and roundheads, while the great cen
trail facts stood out against Cass that
he had wabbled with Webster
on the doctrine of annexation
in 1914 and that he had flirted with
the question of states rights, but
above all was Van Buren's opposition.
1t was the often-expressed opinion
of William H. Seward that Van Buren,
never committed but one fatal error
in politics, and that was when, nurs-
ing resentment at his failure to secure
the nomination in 1874, he permitted
wing of his party to nominate him
as a hopeless candidate in 1848, there
by entailing just what was intended to
be entailed. the defeat of the demo
cratic candidate.
General Cass was never greater
than in the hour of his defeat by
General Taylor in 1848. He looked
upon himself merely as the represent
tative of his party, and took his de-
fAo+ with nnrfOaf
out resentment. It was the party
which was defeated, and not Cass.
the man, in his opinion, and the sim
pie dignity with which, after having
served for a time in the cabinet of
Buchanan, he retired from public life
to his home in Michigan, was a beauti-
full Indication of the mans real great
ness.
In the senate, however, he welded
a powerful influence, and with Henry
Clay opposed the claims of the south
ern states to such an extent that Cass
will always be considered one of
those great Americans who built up
this nation and who furthered policies
calculated to strengthen it in the
north and to free it from the curse
Of slavery in the south.
Webster, Clay and Cass are a trio
of American statesmen who graced
the senate or the Office of the secre-
tary of state and who even if none of
them ever attained to the presidency,
wOrthily maintained the traditions
of this country a generation ago. He
was not a Washington in national sig
nifcance, nor a Lincoln in administra-
tion, nor Grant in arms, but he was
a true American who stood up against
Lord Brougham and Clarendon for
the rights of his country. He was a
man of sound judgment. Physically
he had a large figure, with massive
head, firm mouth, and features that
bespoke earnestness, animation, Amer
icanism and personal and political in
tegrity.
The career of Cass is the more ap-
propriate study just now because
some of the difficulties he confronted
and some of the politics he advocated
are of large interest as a result of our
latest war.