The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-12
Who is Greatest :?
Continued from Page Two.)

organizations The Vice Presidency
continued to be potent factor in the
government and to be in public favor
and repute for generation. Among
the big men of the republic who held
the office were George Clinton and
John G. Calhoun. In all that period
there were some able Speakers of the
House Of Representatives of course,
but until the period OF the war OF 1872
and the following years no one held
the place who exertcd a broad and
commanling place in American poll
ties. Mr.. Clay was not the first able
Speaker. There had been MunlenpurG
and Macon, and one or two New Eng
land men of influence and character.
But Clay and Chevrs were~.masterful
men, the one a native of Virginia
Chill boy of the Slashes"), the other
a native OF the Gamecock state OF
South Carolina and member OF re-
markablc coterie of cultured South
Carolinans who for years represented
their little community in the great
councils Of the Confederacy with con-
spicuous ability: Ldngdon. Cbeves.
Wm. Lowndes, Jno. G. Calhoun, RobL.
\. Hayne. The last named, with the
cloquent 60. McDuffie, came upon the
arena a little later than the others.
Clay was the grandest man who ever
sat In the speaker . SHdls. Ike MhSo
orator, politician, statesman, parliament
tarian, diplomatist. On the floor OF
Congress no man ever exertcd as mulch
influence as Harry Of the West IN
all the weightiest matters Of the times
in which he lived he moved the very
central figure. Worshipped by his
friends and followers, hated by his
enemies. admired for His commanding
ability of all impartial minds. & was
Henry Clay who. joining forces with
the weaker but more scholarly men,
John Quincy Adams, disrupted tho
3irst organization of the Democratic
party, and VINO led off portion
of it with cohering fragments Of the al
ready dead party of Federalism into a
new organization. Clay created By his
fascinating leadership the Wing party.
He gave it it's early tone of Jeffersonian
principle. yhe first Whie party. the
WhiG party before and in 1910, was
really 4 party of notable historical
principles, of liberty aid progress. At
ter that date it fell Oft more and more
Clay could never be President, rs he
said, because, the Convention would
not nominate him when he could be
elected. This excused him from the re-
SuonSibiljty and may not be strictly a
true bill" The noblest work
Of Henry Clay's life was that in which
he saved the Union In the
three compromises of 1870, 1883
and 1850. In the first of these he was
Speaker when he juggled with John
Randolph and sent the bill admitting
Missouri to the Senate, while the elo-
Cuent Virginiau, was mapping. In 1855
he Joined Calhoun in getting q. tariff
compromise measure through in order
10 save the Union from Internal war
and at the same time down President
jackson. He succeeded as we'll with
IDoJ1 a "a had nTpEiONSlX done
With the Randolph of Roanoke
Again in his old age. when the danger
was imminent and such men as Robert
Toombs menaced, he came upon the
scene and with the powerful aid OF
Daniel Webster, who had been OPP
posed to HIM n Congress III 1888 ne
secured the compromises or
1850. For ten years longer tho Union
remained at peace. Clay was not as
some suppose, in the debates of the
notification period the originator OF
the phrase also made famous by Gen.
Grant, Let us have peace 1t was
used by Burke in the British parlia-
ment in The latter part of the previous
century.
The great speakers besides Clay wero
not many. The more gifted ones come
in something like our own day. The
showiest of these was Blaine. the most
judicial and the clearest in intclli-
gance was Carlyle. But Randall was
n force in politics as Winthrop had not
! been. Reed was overrateG by his ohSn
parry. but was nevertheless Il man OF
great strength of will and nobility OF
! intellect None of the .atar Speakers
have been truly great men, but Reed
and>Crisp were both above the aver
age of the men who have sat in The
Speakers chair. Reeds forcing through
the new rules by q tyrannical oyerturii
of the old is the principal action of his
life. Carlyle was thinker, and eH-
cept on the tariff question. not really
9 leader. In the chair he was always
fair and just and had the profound
respect of his political opponents. !
well remember the day when Repre-
sentative White. of his own State, n
hot headed Republican. shouted out In
debate that the Speaker was the "puid
attorney of The Kentucky wlliskey
ring" The whole house Kissed and
even the Republican members called
him to order But the calm, philoso-
phical Speaker sat unmoved. He did
not rebuke the outrage.