The daily sentinel., 1907-05-16

a the president; his vote alone a
a stood between Johnson and a
a retirement. II was conf a
"a IDENTIFY believed by Ross con- a
a stituents and by his colleag- a
a ues in the senate that he a
| a would vote against Johnson. q
a He was about the only sena- a
| q tor, though, who had eN- a
| q pressed no opinion. q
Sectional feeling was high. John
son had been nominated for the vice
/ presidency with Lincoln partly. II was
said, to placate the war Democrats.
He was a Tennesseean of humble
origin, but his origin was no humber
than that of the illustrious Amer
/ lean who headed the ticket. Then
I followed the assassination of Lincoln
Iand accession OF Johnson TO the pres
idency. The Republicans We're in
I the majority in congress and John
sons theories as to states rights were
[ in bitter discord with theirs
The carpetbagger saw in the south
fields ripe for the harvest. Johnson
stood in their way He believed in a
moderate policy of reconstruction. a
policy along the lines Lincoln would
have pursued. The majority in con-
! gress, still heated with factional
strife, was determined upon punitive
measures. The crisis came when
Johnson attempted to remove Edwin
| NJ. Stanton as secretary of war, in
spite of the tenure of office" act that
had been passed over his veto and
that deprived him OF the right 10
make changes even in his own official
/ family without the consent of the
l fiercely hostile senate.
This led to his impeachment. The
trial began March 23, 1865, and COW
cred the period between that date
and May &c of the same year. At no
period in the country's history since
the close of the war of the revolution
save only the first years of the civil
war, was its future so imperiled as
during the Johnson Impeachment
proceedings and the events leading
up to them. Not only was the great
est interest manifested in this coun-
try. but foreign nations that looked
with disfavor upon all republican
/ forms of government watched trans
piring events here with the keenest
of eyes.
Ross saved Johnson. and after the
| lapse Of forty years Il is entirely prob
able n majority of his countrymen
are prepared to say his vote was
right. But It cost him everything he
held dear except his honor. His con-
stltuents burned him In effigy; he
was denounced as few men have been
denounced by their own people. and,
at the end of his term. he was forced
to leave Kansas forever. Misfortune
seemed to pursue him through the
balance of his life for when he died.
at the age of more than so years, he
was earning modest living as a
lcompositor.
| There have been few more pathetic
| figures I'm the political history of this
country than that of Edmund G. Ross
| but to the last he retained the quiet
dignity and composure of man
whose conscience had been his best
comfort throughout his troubled
career.
! or the seven Republican senator's
who voted with the twelve Democrats
10 acquit Johnson, Ross more than
any other kept his opinions to himself
up to the hour of voting. Tremen-
dous pressure was brought to bear
upon hi mfrom the Republican side.
Persuasion was followed by menace
He was told that II he voted mot
guilty" he would be publicly charged
with having been bribed. He was
threatened with assassination. He
was deluged with kilograms from
Kansas demanding the conviction Of
the president, but his only reply was
81 do not recognize your right to de-
mand that / shall vote either for or
against conviction. / have taken an
oath to do impartial Justice" His
Kansas colleague. Senator Pomeroy
had told him that a vote for acquittal
would be his political death.
The first roll call was in Johnson's
favor. 1t mads plain Ross position
and brought down upon him all the
rage of the radicals. who would not
believe that any Republican from
Kansas would dare go against thesen
timent of his state. II felt most fore
ibly.' he said afterward. "in casting
the vote did that was with my own
hands digging my political grave"
Kansas never forgave him. He was
unable even to re-establish himself I'm
business after he left the senate, and
moved to New Mexico to resume his
trade as a printer, which he had
abandoned at the outbreak OF the
civil war to enlist in n Kansas cavalry
regiment
During his first administration
Cleveland appointed Ross territorial
governor of New Mexico. The old
Santa Fe ring was one of the most
corrupt political combinations for
private plunder in the west. The Re
publican legislature fought him at
every step and Democratic officials Of
his own appointment were faithless
to him. But Governor Ross stood his
ground. and his veto messages con-
tanned some OF the most merciless eX-
posures of his opponents that ter
ritory accustomed to plain speech