The National tribune., 1905-10-05
COL. CHAS. ELLET, JR.
Very Interesting Chapter In the His
tory Of This Remark able Man,

Editor National Tribune: Your very
interesting story OF Col. Ellet and his
rams in Chapter XXI of your history
| lacks something of completeness. which.
knowing there be few at this late date
who can do it, / undertake to supply
You leave out of your story the most
| important item of his history as an
engineer that of the suspension bridge
| at Wheeling, w. Va. which he built in
| it's entirety. Immediately on it's COM
| pletion the steamboat interest on the
| Western waters began to form a COM
| hinatiOn to have it taken down as IAN
| obstruction to commerce. 1t was the
| first bridge across navigable stream
| In America, and the steamboatmen saw
| in it but the fOrerunner Of many more
! to follow. Already Ellet had drawn
plans for similar bridge on a far Iarg-
CT scale to be built at st. Louis, Mo.
This bridge building must be stopped
and with that purpose the fight was to
be made on the bridge at Wheeling
Those were the ralmy days of steam
boating, and thos" engaged in that in
tercst could combine more money and
| influence to engage in a fight in which
| they were jointly and individually in
terested than any ether business in the
country. They went into ii with a will
They wanted II lawyer of ability men
| tally equipped, with comprehensive
knowledge OF law, both State and Ma
| tional, one able to browbeat witnesses
| and convince jurymen, and they chose
| as chief counsel Edwin NJ Stanton, then
arrived at prominence as a lawyer, and
especially in tho qualities desired. The
| trial came off at the COuntyseat of Ohio
County. Stanton. with full confidence
| In the law he had studied up and the
| ability he possessed to present it, open
| ed the case. The opposing counsel |
| think, replied, but am not sure. Ellet,
as contractor, still had an interest that
| entitled him to representation i'm the
case, and his lawyer arose and in proper
| legal manner demanded that the case
be thrown out of court for want of jur-
| isdiction. In the closing days of the
/ session Of Congress Ellet had gone to
Washington and secured the insertion
of a three-line amendment to the Post
| Office Appropriation bill, making the
road over the Wheeling Bridge a post
| road. No one objected, and no one no.
| ticed 1t, and when Ellet's LAWYER wa,
| called on to state his grounds for deny
| ing the jurisdiction of the court he read
that three-line amendment, which was
a statute of the General Government
and 1t was not competent for an Ohio
Circuit Court TO annul it. And so the
suit for which such great preparation
had been made. and which was notori-
Gus throughout the land, and towards
| the expense Of which every prominent
| steamboat man on the Western waters
| had contributed, came to naught, not
through the superior aDllity or the Op-
posing counsel. nor the weakness I'm the
NV with which Stanton had fortified
himself, hut through the wit OF young
civil engineer. This was a tremendous
modification for Stanton, and all OF the
strength OF his intense nature seemed
| to be concentrated in hate for Eiiet. In
the hotel or In the street when he was
Obliged to meet him he would M more
recognize him than IL he had been n
miserable NANCY cur
Exactly at the time this suit was be.