The Washington herald., 1907-06-13
S Dead Statesman
John Tyler Morgan in the United
States Senate and Out

A me old character was John Tyler
/ Morgan Of Alabama. who passed away
/ Tuesday night a his residence here. In his
! thirty years as Senator of the United
/ States from the State Of Alabama he
| earned the respect and admiration Of HIS
/ colleagues on both sides of the chamber.
| No one will miss him more than his col
! league, the venerable Edmund Winston
Pettus. They were the TWO oldest men I'm
| the Senate. Pettus is nearly eIghty-six.
/ Morgan would have been eighty-three had
/ be lived until the twentieth Of this month
| They We're like brothers. and the child
/ like trustfuluess Of the older man in the
! judgment Of the younger upon all public
I questions was one Of the touching things
about their intimacy.
/ Senator Morgan was less Of a partisan
/ than any Of his colleagues. fTIe refused
70 be guided by political considerations.
and spoke and voted in accordance with
the dictates Of his conscience Tn the
/ legislative controversy following the at
tempt of President Cleveland 90 restore
Queen LiliuoEalaui % the Hawaiian
throne Mr.. Morgan took up the cause Of
the young republic In opposition 20 the
attitude Of most of his Democratic col
leagues. By many he was regarded as
the father Of the isthmlan canal"
In every way within his power no urged
the project Of connecting the Atlantic
and the Pacific by an artificial water
way across the Central American 18th
mus. lie was convinced OF the superior
advantages OF the Nicaragua route and
was bitterly disappointed when the Pan
ANA plan was accepted. He wept when
thu final decision was reached But. al
though an opponent Of the Panama route
Mr.. Morgan. il Is cOutended by his
friends. did much 10 bring the United
States TO a realization of the importance
of the canal scheme.
His course I'm connection with the 18th
mlan Canal and Hawaiian affairs showed
Mr.. Morgan's nonpartisan conservatism.
He proved again that he placed convIc-
tion against plrtlsanship or political ex-
pedlency when NE opposed the railway
rate bill Of the last Congress. Every
Democrat except Morgan and Pettus
voted for the measure. The only other
vote cast against it was that OF Foraker.
a Republican. q
Mr Morgan was opposed bitterly 70
tho principles Of Democracy advocated
by BRYAN and Hearst They remind me"
he would say. I'm telling his favorite
story. "of hoy who was very ir II I
can throw him into q H.. said the doc
tor. 4 can save him But why should
rr ~ al 10
he's so weak asked the boys father.
Well. I'm an expert on fits, said the
doctor, and I know how 20 cure them
That's the way with BRYAN and Hearst"
Mr.. Morgan would continue. IF they can
throw the country into q fl, the country
will be cured Of Organism and Hearst
ism"
Mr. Morgan's steady candidate for
President was Associate Justice John NJ
Harlan, Of the United States Supreme
Court. in spite Of the fact that Justice
Harlan had always been a Republican.
But he should be a Democr9t-he is a
Democrat in his principles Mr.. Morgan
would say. Justice Harlan. 10 Mr.. Nor
gans way Of thinking, was the ideal
patriot and statesman. The Alabama
Senator's admiration for the jurist began
in their association as members Of the
Paris tribunal Of arbitration 90 adjust
the Berlng Sea sealing controversy be |
tween Great Britain ana the United
States.
His respect for his chosen profession Of
the law was one Of Mr. Morgans most
marked characteristics. To him the
greatest safety TO the republic lay in
the judiciary. In an address delivered
before a class Of law students in Wash |
ington he spoke Of the action of the Fed /
eral Supreme Court in declaring the in
come tax to be unconstitutional as due
TO a change Of mind on the part Of one
of the justices. and pointed out that
while the country knew this, it accepted
the decision without question. This show
ed, lie argued, that the judiciary was
above suspicion in the United States. and
he maintained that the people were not
mistaken in that view.
Society never cav Mr.. Morgan He
lived in an old but attractive house i'm
part Of Washington once fashionable. but
now in the business section. Il is John
Marshall place. Il short street running
from the District Courts building to
Pennsylvania avenue and known until n
few years ago as FOur-and-a-h1lf street.
All around the Morgan residence are
lawyers offices. There is nothing in tho
environment TO attract the average run
of humanity, but 70 Mr.. Morgan the stu
alton had many advantages, among them
It's quietude al night, its proximity 70 the
Capitol. and the fact that il was redolent
OF the law and the legal profession Here
he lived. year in and year out. the rOu
tine Of his existence broken only By
occasional visits TO Alabama. When Con- /
gress was in session he would go 10 the !
Capitol early, and after the Senate ad- !
journed would return to his home 10
spend the rest of the day IN reading. |
writing, and study
He had many admirers. but few inti- (
mates. His immediate family consisted Of |
two devoted daughters. He gave his
Democratic colleagues much concern by /
his consistent refusal TO be bound by |
party agreements. He was as likely to !