Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-12
DR.. Milburn's "reminiscences
Of Nearly Sixty Years.
PROMINENT MEN OF OLD
PERSONALITIES OF STATESMEN
WHO MADE HISTORY.
Marked Changes That Had Occurred
in Congress in an Interval
of Thirty Years.

OF all the men in public life in Wash
| ipgton there Is none who is possessed OF a
more interesting fund of "reminiscences con-
nected with men and things relative to the
| national capital than Rev. DR.. W. Ii. Mil
burn. who is known throughout the civil
lied world as the blind chaplain of the
| United States Senate.
| 1t has been d.. Milburn's good fortune
| to have served in his present position at
three different periods in the history Of the
country, each of which was what might be
termed an epoch i'll the life of the nation.
Speaking of some of the incidents in
which have occurred in the course of his
long ministerial life, which began as a
member of the Illinois conference Of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, almost sixty
| years ago, DR.. Milburn said: My first cleo
ton as one of the chaplains of Congress grew
cut of a sermon which / delivered upon a
| steamer on the Ohio river, with a plain
| talk at its close to some members of Con-
gress, who were on board. This was In
| the early part of December, when / was
not much over twenty-five years Of age,
| and had been a member of the Illinois
conference two years.
During His First Term.
MY chaplaincy began soon after the
| opening of the Twenty ninth Congress, at
| the early part of President Folks admin
| lstration, and which was made memorable
| by the declaration of war against Mexico
on May Is, 1916. The chair of the House
| of Representatives was occupied in an adj
| mirable manner by John Wesley Davis of
| Indiana, and in the body were not a few
| men who then afterward filled a large
space in the public eye. The most illus
| trious of them was Mr.. John Quincy Adams.
| sixth President of the United States, and
who, besides, had filled, aside from the
| judicial bench, almost every place of dig
nifty In the gift of the people of the gov
eminent. He was old man, but was
| rarely out of his seat at the opening of
| the House every day. or in the divine ser
| vice on Sunday, for the hall of the House
was then used as national church, the
chaplains officiating. 1t is hardly necessary
| to say that Mr.. Adams always commanded
| the ear of the whole House whenever he
| spoke. His presence was venerable. but not
| otherwise imposing. He had little or no
| magnetism, but was an encyclopedia of po-
| htlcal knowledge, almost unerring in the
statement of facts, dates and names.
Near him sat Mr. Robert C. Winthrop
than whom there was no more large
| minded statesman. finished orator courtly
| accomplished gentleman on the floor.
| Among the most interesting men In the
| House was Mr.. George p. Marsh of Yer
mont, the most profound and accomplished
scholar in Congress, whose modesty and
| Kindly manners were as noteworthy as his
| learning. He was always ready to share
with you his stores of erudition and when
| ever he spoke he illumined the subject in
hand by fullness of knowledge, a dis
ciplined intellect. and brought to the dis
| cuSsion the bearing of the polished gentle
| man. The redoubtable Robert Toombs of
Georgia, with leonine aspect and fiery man
ner, entered the House in this Congress.
ana Tor the next sixteen years both ends OF
| the Capitol were to resound with his fierce
| diatribes and brilliant eloquence.
THE courtly Henry W. Hilllard Of Ala
| bama was one of the most pleasing and
ft1iC hn1 craho lyar ~
| veteran Joshua r. Giddings Of Ohio, the
| congressional wheel-horse of abolitionism,
was ever ready to thunder his anathemas
| against slavery.
Distinguished Democrats.
'On the democratic side were Hannibal
| Hamlin of Maine and Allen G. Thurman of
Ohio; the brilliant William Lowndes Yam
cey of Alabama, almost without a peer for
eloquence in the body unless it were found
in Edward Dickinson Baker of Illinois; An
! drew Johnson of Tennessee and Jefferson
| Davis of Mississippi were also members
Mr. Davis resigning to take command of a
regiment in the war with Mexico.
The two men on the floor in whom
| took the livelieSt interest were Stephen Ar
mold Douglas, from my own state and AL
| eXander Hamilton Stephens of Georgia the
| first democrat and the other a whig
They had. entered Congress two years be-
| FORE and by the conspicuous parts they
played were already gaining a national
reputation. The northern boundary of Ore
gon was then an open question between this
country and Great Britain. and the rally
| ing cry of the young democracy, headed by
Mr.. Douglas, was 'Fifty-four degrees, forty
minutes or fight Their contention was
that this country should have five degrees
| and forty minutes of British Columbia.
Alexander Stephens Personality.
''If in the days of which I speak you had
seen Mr.. Stephens in his place in the
House you would have supposed that a
stoop-shouldered boy with unkempt head
and lounging form had got into a seat by
mistake. When he arose, such was the dis
| proportion between the length of his legs
and his body, that he astonished you by
| his height. He never weighed one hundred
| pounds. and was so thin that when his
face was in repose he looked almost ca
daverous: but as he spoke the features
lighted up. became mobile, dramatically ex-
pressive. his eyes shone, and his high
pitched, piping voice, like that of John
Randolph of Roanoke, penetrated every
part of the hall and took captive every
ear. No man on the floor was more eager
ly listened to, but he never spoke unless
the occasion demanded 1t.
In the Senate.
1.-THE Senate was presided over by Mr..
George NJ. Dallas OF Pennsylvania and its
chair has never been filled by a more ur-
bane and admirable presiding officer. Take
this as an illustration of his tact: Gen.
Ashley and Mr.. Sewer were the senators
| from Arkansas. One pronounced the name
of his state as 1t is spelled and the other
as the legislature has since fixed it. When
Ashley arose Mr.. Dallas never failed to
| recognize him as the senator from Arkan-
sas, following his use, and when Sewer
| arose 1t was the senator from Arkansaw,
using his orthoepy.
"At the right Of the Presidents chair
sat John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. He
cd md a q no MIA ont
| and at the first glance there was little to
distinguish him except the marked respect
paid him on all hands. When he rose to
| speak, which was not often, silence that
could be felt rested the chamber; all
| reading, writing and chatting was sus-
pended as the somewhat sharp and grating
| tones Of his voice greeted the ear He
| rarely spoke over hour, but at the
close you were exhausted well as he.
Webster and Clay.
'Danel Webster occupied a seat not far
away from that of Mr.. Calhoun, and in
nearly all respects he was his opposite.