The sun., 1908-02-16
M.

which time may not hea.
HI.
During the succeeding administration
Davis vehenaontly opposed the CompTo-
mise OF 1850 advocated by Henry Clay.
But the Wing party triumphed. and thus
secured n truce Of ten years b0tweon the
radically divergent civilization OF the South
and the North. Davis's colleague 10 the
Senate. Henry 8. Fo0tO, had aeceptsd
the compromise. and each Of the Senators
appealed 20 the people Of tho State 70 sup
port him. FootS. a. the leader OF WhAS
may be called the conservatives. was the
victor In the Mississippi contest.
After the rOturn Of the Democrats to
power in March, lsSS President franklin
Pierce appointed Davis Secretary Of war
AZ TO his fitness for the position there
was nowhere. not even among his most
inveterate opponents, the slightest dis
pute. His West Point training, his long
apprenticaahip In the Regular army and
his cisCinR RuiShed career In Mexico we're
sufHlcient guarantees. His qualifications
for the War Department were soon demon
strated. He revised the regulations OF the
service. introduced new tactics and caused
the infantry to be provided with rt1Ss
constructed on the latest models, The
-mlnie' ball was an innovation OF his, 80
was likewise the medical corps. He de-
sired 60 change the method Of promotion
% that merit and not age should determins
rank In the service. Here. however, he
failed. He brought about extensive Inn
provements which made West Point the
equal Of any other military school In the
world. He found the actual strength OF
the Regular army 1000 officers and rnsn;
he raised IL to 5000 electives, with 1900
on the roll. He planned larger and stronger
fortresses At important and exposed points
without evinoing any favoritism TO his
own section, and he secured what was but
a just increase of pay to rank, file and
field in view Of the fact that the coet OF
living had advanced at least 20 per cent.
New duties were entrusted by Congress
to his department: the improvements In
the District Of Columbia were left 70 his
supervision and the annex to the Capitol
was planned and executed under the direc-
ton OF jefferson Davis. Cabin John
Bridge was also his work. and his name
used to adorn one Of the great stones OF
what then was the broadest arch In the
world.
Did Davis favor the Nebraska bill2 That
he approved OF the repeal Of the Compron'ise
Of 1850 cannot. In our authors opinion, be
doubted. though when its consequences
were known he stoutly denied having ap-
proved Of the scheme. Douglas no de-
nounced repeatedly as a demagogie and a
treacherous man. In 1850 Davis was chosen
a United states Senator from Mississippi,
and he resumed q seat in that body after
the expiration Of the Pierce Administration.
There is no doubt that for three years
thereafter Davis. Douglas and Seward were
the most influential members Of the Senate.
AZ early as February. 1853, Davis declared
that when tho interests which a Senator
represented should no longer find protsc-
ton under the laws Of the Union; when they
should be. in fact. constantly warred upon,
he should hold Il 10 be his duty TO retire. a.
would an ambassador from q foreign coun-
try on the eve OF war. The election Of lSSs.
he said about the same time. had been but a
truce between the great sections. truce In
which both sides might gather strength Tor
another struggle which would give one
the other the mastery. II ia noteworthy
that in October, 1854. when after spending
some months in Portland, Me-. he Get cut
for Washington he was received throughout
his journey with the highest marks Of cour-
UcBY ADu DODulAT esUo5Ins Wits NOtNuoIh
and Eastern men did not agree with the
Mississipp leader politically they valued
him highly and remembered with gratitude.
even pride. his able and fearless public ser-
vices. both in war and in peace. In Boston
he was made the guest Of tho city and was
invited to address an audience in Faneuil
Hall. AZ the meeting held therein he was
introduced by Caleb Gushing, and IL was
observed that Robert c. Winthrop and
Edward Everett were present. With an
allusion to the laurels won by Davis on that
October day we take leave Of the present
biography. for his relation to the Southern
Confederacy is too we'll known to need dis
cussion. In Faneuil Hall he spoke with evi-
dent feeling and senuine love for the Union.
Nevertheless he confessed himself a mem
ber OF the so-called Slave Expansionist
group OF the Lower South, ,invei ghed against
agitation and intermeddling in the Affairs OF
sovereiRn States. arraigned the motives OF
Douglas without mentioning his name, and
argued warmly in favor Of the decision Of
the United States Supreme Court in the
Dred Scott case He threatened no one.
however. nor indulged in any bra aggadocio.
In all that was ssid there was an earnest
and anxious tone, as Of one who foresees an
impending calamity.