Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-10

tween Mr.. Lincoln and Mr.. Sperry, and
seldom does the latter speak of the mar
tyred President without tears coming into
his eyes.
Here is an incident Of campaigning in
those days which Mr.. Sperry relates.
How the Kansan Campaigned.
One evening a gawky. tall Kansas boy
drifted into his Office and presented let
ter from Horace Greedy. which. as usual,
no one could read AS nearly as Mr.
Sperry could figure it out. Mr.. Greeley
tor. and as Mr.. Sperry had just been dis
appointed in q speaker he promptly asked
the stranger to accompany him to a rally
in neighboring town. The town hall
was packed with men and women, and
the meeting was soon under way. Finally
the stranger was introduced as coming
from Bloody Kansas" He slowly got
up. reached back in his hip pocket and
pulled out large pistol He added. an
other and also produced two dangerous
looking knives from somewhere, putting
veritable arsenal in front of him on
the table. He then turned to his as
tonished audience. and, In lurid English,
announced that If anybody felt inclined
to interrupt his speech, he was ready
for him. Needless to say the meeting
broke up then and there.
Mr.. Sperry was a delegate to the ma
tional republican convention that nomi-
member of the national committee. He
was then postmaster of New Haven, hav-
ing been appointed by President Lincoln
| in 1861. His political activity does not
seem to have impaired his usefulness as a
postmaster, for year after year he was
mentioned in the highest terms in the
reports of the Postmaster General.
His Record as a Postmaster.
From 1861 until 1885 Mr.. Sperry served
continuously as postmaster Of New Ha-
ven. President Cleveland removed him
from office. in spite of protests of demo
Gratis and republicans alike. A monster
ment In Mr.. Sperrys behalf, but his po-
litical activities in the cause of the re-
publican party were too much for Presi-
dent Cleveland. and Mr.. Sperry had to
leave. President Harrison reappointed
him. but he stayed only four years. and
was again removed early in the second
Cleveland administration. Altogether MIR
Sperry served as postmaster Of New Ha-
ven twenty-eight years and two months.
In 1894 the republicans OF the second
congressional district of Connection,
rendered him the nomination for Con-
gress. His election followed that fall.
and he had the distinction of being the
first republican member of the House
from that district in twenty-five years.
Ever since then he has been unanimously
renominated and elected by matorities
ranging from $500 to nearly 1900, in
| a district formerly democratic. and the
United States. No man. either republi-
can or democrat. has ever been elected
from this district for seven terms be-
fore, and 1t is a common saying around
New Haven that Mr.. sperry can go to
Congress as long as he wants to.
Mr.. Sperry's congressional life is COM
paratively recent history. His expert
ence in the post Office at New Haven led
Speaker Reed to appoint him on the post
Office committee of the House. where he
has always been stanch friend of the
postal employees and of every proposition
for the betterment of the postal sery-
ice
Father of Rural Delivery.
Mr.. Sperry has many times been called
the father of rural free delivery Twenty
years before he came to Congress he
advocated II. He always claimed that
the country people, were just as much
entitled to have their mail brought to
them as the city folks. During his first
term in Congress he introduced bill for
rural free delivery, and the present sys-
tenn is based on this measure. When
the Post Office Department first started
to inaugurate the SERVICE Mr.. Sperry was
asked to name half dozen towns in his
district for experiments. He did SO, and
ent rural service has grown to it's vast
proportions.
Mr.. Sperry was a familiar figure in
Washington during Lincoln's admins
trations, and has seen Washington grow
from q country town to a great city.
The old Willard Hotel was his stopping
place, and he often tells how he used to
see chickens and pigs in the mud on
Pennsylvania avenue. He had the run
of the White House. and was always a
welcome guest there.
One Of the proud monuments in his
useful life Is his connection with the
Monitor. Through his political infiu-
ence he was able to get for John
Ericsson a hearing before the Secretary
OF the Navy. Gideon Welles. who was also
a Connecticut man, but the Secretary
was not much impressed with the posi-
bilities Of the new invention Cornelius
Bushnell of New Haven. who was
practical shipbuilder. became interested,
however. and through these two New
Haven men the Navy Department was
finally induced to give Capt Ericsson .