The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1907-02-23

LINCOLN FIRST VIEW OF IDttIAN,
THE LEAST MAN HE EVER SAW"
August election by "the whole hog
Jackson men," but he was absent In
congress during the whole of the cam
paign. and now that he came to the
duties OF his office 1t was discovered
that he had been all the while an anti
Jackson man and was quite willing to
aid the Wings in furtherance of some
OF their worst schemes. These schemes
We're then just beginning to be Matched
in great numbers. but In due time they
were enacted into laws and prepared
Illinois with the proper weights of pub
lie debt and rag currency to sink her
deeper than her neighbors into the
miserles of financial ruin In 1897. The
specializing fever was just reaching
Illinois. The land and town lot bust
ness had barely taken shape Mt Chi
cago, and state banks and multitude.
nous internal improvements We're yet
to be invented. But this legislature
was very wise one in its own conceit
and was not slow to launch out with
the first OF series of magnificent eN.
periments. 1t contented itself, how.
ever, with chartering state bank,
with capital of S1.500,000; recharter-
ing, with n capital of 100000. the
Shawneetown bank, which had broken
twelve years before. and providing for
a loan Of 100000 on the credit of the
state wherewlth to make beginning
on the Illinois and Michigan canal.
The bill for the latter project. was
drawn and introduced by Senator
James NJ Strobe, the gentleman who
described with such moving eloquence
the horrors of Stillman's defeat. These
measures Governor Ford considers "the
beginning of all the bad legislation
which followed In few years and
which, ns,iis well known. resulted In
generakruin." Mr.. Lincoln favored
them3all and faithfully followed out
the policy of which they were the in
auguration mt subsequent sessions of
the same body. For the present, new
ertheless. he was silent member al.
though he was assigned prominent
place on the committee on public ac-
counts and expenditures. The bank
charters We're drawn by Democrat
( who hoped to find his account in the
issue. All the bills were passed by n
legislature ''nomInally" Democratic
but the board OF canal commissioners
was composed exclusively of Wings
and the Wings straightway assumed
control of the banks.
II was at n special session of this
legislature that Lincoln first saw ste
| phen A. Douglas and, viewing his nc
tive little person with immense amuse
ment pronounced him 1.-The least man
he ever saw" Douglas had come into
the state (from VermonD only the pre-
vious year, but. having studied law for
several months. considered himself
emnently qualified to be states attor'
| ney for the district In which he lived
and was now come to Vandalla for
that purpose. The place was already
! filled by man of considerable dlstinc
ton, but the Incumbent, remaining al
home, possibly In bllssful ignorance OF
his neighbor's design, was easily sup
planted by the supple Vermonter.
It Is the misfortune Of legislatures II
general, as 1t was In those days thu
peculiar misfortune Of the legislator,
Of Illinois. to be beset by multitude
Of gentlemen engaged In the exclusiy,
business of "log rolling" Chief amonI
the rollers were some of the mos
distinguished" members, each assist
ed by an influential delegation from
the district, bank or ''institution" to b.
benefited by the Legislation proposed
An expert 'log roller" an especially
willy and persuasive person who coulC
depict the merits Of his scheme witt
roseate but deluslye eloquence, wa