The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-23

he has known, he bears hunted and
a haggard look. 1t is as if he hears
yet the fierce denunciation, the open
insults, the singing taunts which
assailed him from all hands after he
cast that fatal vote a generation ago.
Haunted by Jibes of Opponents.
Though the period of an average
lifetime has passed since then, he walks
about as though the fierce invective
of Butler, the violent structures of
Chandler were still ringing in his ears;
as though Ire unconsciously felt tina.
every passer-by was repeating the
sneers of Sumner. the lordly disdain
of Conkling, the taunts of Boutwell,.
and the high scorn of the ever intense
Wilson. Though asserting the recti-
tude of his purpose, Senator Ross IS
not one Of those lofty souls who can
rise above and ignore the treatment to
which he was subjected in the fierce
turbulence of that tempestuous era
In our talk, when l directed the con-
versation to the famous trial, his APP
pearance changed. His body became
erect. His eye took on again the
brightness of youth. His cheeks flush
ed through the shaggy gray beard.
His memory, formerly halting and I'M
certain, worked with the precision of
a machine. His voice lost the hest
fancy of age, and rang again with the
clearness of his earlier and more ac-
tive DAYS.
Speaking of the impeachment trial
and his personal relations with the ex-
citing events of the time, Gov. Ross
said; Douglas said. after the pas
sage OF the Kansas and Nebraska bill,
that he could travel from New York
to Chicago by the light of his burning
effigies. If effigies are honors, I was
more distinguished than he. l don't
believe there was even a bypath or
country road in all the North so OBJ
scure but it was lighted by my burn-
ing effigies. OF course that was not
pleasant. Nor could l enjoy having
many of the men whom ! had long re-
garded as my party leaders, my asso-
ciates in the Senate, refuse me all rec
ognition. l was made a pariah, a
political leper, a thing unclean. But
l could not help it.
At First Opposed to Johnson.
mo man ever knew the struggle
that vote cost me. l went into the
trial very radical Republican.
was just out of the army. / had been
through all the bitterness of the slav-
cry fight in Kansas. Much of my
fighting was against Price in Missou-
RI, where we became thoroughly i'm
bued with the strong feelings engen-
dered by the border rufiianism in that
state. Rebellion was hateful 10 me in
all its forms. The Ku-Klux outrages
and unfair acts of the tentative gov
ernments established by Mr.. Johnson
in some of the Southern states only
added to the intensity of my feelings.
Accordingly had strenuously opposed
the Presidents policy throughout
These were the sentiments of the peo-
pie of Kansas. We were all thorough
radicals. l do not see how we could
have been otherwise.
when the House of Representatives
brought the impeachment charges
against Mr.. johnson had no idea but
that they were we'll founded. 1t never
occurred to me that that high and
drastic remedy would be resorted to as
mere move upon the political check
erboard. / fully expected that the
charges would be sustained and that
/ would vote for impeachment. But
when I took the oath. not as a sera-
tor, but as a judge and a juror. to give
Andrew Johnson a fair and impartial
trial, that oath meant to me what II
said. / determined to throw off every
prejudice and prediction possible,
and observe that oath, notwithstand-
ing l was utterly opposed to the Pres
ident and earnestly desired the country
and the Office rid of him. The major
! ity of my party in the Senate were. l
thought, very arbitrary They refused
| to admit much evidence which !
thought should have been heard.
Politics in the Prosecution.
1.-THE conviction was slowly borne in
upon me during the long trial that
there was too much politics in the pros
ecution. AS the end was reached was
forced to the conclusion that while Mr..
Johnson had been arbitrary, utterly
tactless, most foolish, surprisingly I'M
wise and incredibly stubborn and hard
headed, yet he was in nowise criminal,
and had nowhere crossed the line
marking the limits of his constitutional
rights, but had sought only to secure
a judicial determination of all the
disputed questions in the Supreme
Court. No man can ever know the
struggle it cost me, but had a solemn
duty to perform, and l did it. / have
never regretted 1t. But Ii was my po-
litical death knell, as l knew 1T
would be-"
AS he approached his three score and
ten few days ago Gov. Ross feared
that he would not live long So, dur
ing intervals of leisure. he prepared a
short volume of $50 octave pages, en-
titled the Impeachment and Trial Of
President Andrew Johnson" giving in
a brief way the salient features of the
famous trial. 1t is a most extraordi-
nary work. Gov. Ross is not only the
author, but the publisher With his own
hands he set the type. He read the
proofs. He sized the paper He ran
the form over the press. He prepared
them for the binder. and superintendent
the work for that functionary. 1t is the
only book in evidence the sole work
of man who has attained such high
honors, or position in any way APP
preaching them in this or any other
country.