The San Francisco call., 1908-03-15

Every, night during that long siegea
Huntington was at Coles house, plan :
ming, comforting, advising, pleading.
And in the end he was granted all !
that he desired
The assistance of the government far
overshadowed all other aid advanced.
Cities and counties had been appealed !
to and responded. San Francisco had
donated $1,000.O00 to the road, Califor- :
MIA like sum, Los Angeles $4,000,
Los Angeles county s150.000 other dis !
tricts in proportion. But through ;
Coles efforts this was made un
necessary.
Then, in 1871, the railroad began a ,
fight to secure possession of Goat ISL
and for terminal purposes. The propo
sition aroused the entire city of San !
Francisco. There was scarce a dis !
senting voice in its condemnation. A ;
petition as large as big bible was sent :
to Washington, asking that the re-
quest be denied
And of all the California delega- :
tion Senator Cole was the only one to
oppose the grant. In response to the !
public demand he fought the measure !
and, single handed, won. The war :
department, in whose jurisdiction the :
island is, he won over. Goat island !
remained the property of the govern !
ment.
Il expected that, losing in this plan
the railroad would prepare to make !
their terminal in San Francisco itself !
crossing the bay at Dumbarton point
Instead of this it planned to make Port
Costa the center. 1t required the in
lection of new blood the coming of !
younger m1n, to make the corporations :
: see its mistake.
1T is only now, after 81 years, that J
the logical plan is being followed" :
says Senator Cole.
.It was by this thwarting that he !,
made an enemy of the railroad. Since !
then he has had not the slightest con-
nection with the corporation.
OF anecdotes of persons and places
Senator Cole has q vast store. The
names of the mighty flow from his lips
Familiarity. He has known and judged :
them.
Sometimes his opinion does not tally
with that generally accepted. For in
stance:
Carl Schurz? A self-satisfed Ger
man. His conceit counteracted the bet
ter qualities with which he was en-
dowed."
OF Lincoln with whom for years he
associated closely, he can tell much
that reveals the less known qualities of
the man. In his intercourse there were
many. of the flashes of quaint wit and
humor that have given the memory of
the president heart interest to mil
lions.
"Once I went to Lincoln in regard to
some appointments" says Senator Cole.
II explained the matter and then after
rejecting moment, he replied: In the
early days in Springfield there were but
three churches, Baptist, Methodist and
Presbyterian. But by and by there
came a Universafist. His presence
aroused the Indignation of the older
pastors. They conferred and planned.
The next Sunday the Baptist, who had
been selected as the first to speak
against the newcomer, rose and said: 4
Three creeds have been preached here,
brethren and sisters. but now there has
come stranger. who breaches a new.
! He says, brethren and sisters, that all
men must be saved. But let us hope
for better things.''''
OF all the addresses he has heard
Senator Cole declared that in his opin-
ion the most eloquent was that deliv-
cred by Representative Winter Davis
of Baltimore at the expulsion of John
Long of Ohio from congress in 1864 be-
cause of reasonable utterances. The
event was one of the most dramatic
in the history of congress.
But none could compare with Thad- I
deus stevens for biting wit
stevens was clubfooted Once, when
passing through a crowd of the cnri- J
Gus at a trial, woman remarked, I
There goes that lame lawyer
Quick as flash Stevens turned.
Lame man, madam, he corrected, not
lame lawyer
Even when he was near death his(
brilliancy was undulled. So weak(
that he had to be carried up the steps,
of the capitol, he said to his bearers
one day-both of them brawny-1i
wonder who will carry me up when(
you are dead"
Since 1880 Senator Cole has lived1
quietly on his estate at Colegroye. a.
suburb OF Los Angeles, named after1
him. He has taken little part in active(
affairs, content, as he Is today. to CON-
tinus in the practice of law. The prep-1
aration of his memoirs has occupied1
much Of his time during the last few
yearg.