The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-02
Shelby Moore Cullom
BY sAvoYARo.

They used to call James Buchanan
the old public functionary," because
of his thirty-nine years of officeholding,
beginning with his service in the Sew
enteenth congress. and ending with the
inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as
president of the United States. He
served in both houses of congress. He
was our minister to two first-class for
eign courts. He was secretary of state
in the cabinet of James K. Polk; and
he was the fifteenth president of the
United States.
But during the last f1fty-fiye years
Shelby NJ. Cullom has held office more
than fifty years. beginning as city at
torney of Springfield. H., and culmin-
ating in a service in the United States
senate longer than that of any other
man who ever held the commission of
Illinois as a member of that body.
From city attorney, Cullom went to
the legislature, of which body he was
speaker one term. Then he was in
congress for three terIns-1S65-71. In
1876 he was elected governor of Illi-
noiS and was reelected in 1885, resign
ing in 1888 to succeed David Davis as
a senator in congress. of which body
he is Yet a member after a lapse of
a quarter of a century. and his pres
d.
is one of the less than a dozen men
who have been given five terms in the
senate.
In the first half of the last century
Kentucky gave to Illinois two citizens,
each of whom became governor of his
adopted state and United States SEN
atOr from the sanction NJ. Palmer, a
jackson Democrat, and Shelby NJ. Gull
lom, Clay Wing. Palmer was from
the heart of the blue grass, the county
of Scott, and doubtless got political in
SEPARATION from that grim old soldier
who slew Tecumseh and served Jack
son and the Democratic party SO long
and faithfully in both houses of con-
SreSs, for which he was chosen ninth
vice-president of the United States.
While yet in his teens Palmer be-
came citizen of Illinois. and at %
he was called to the bar. Soon there
after he was a judge on the bench.
and I'm 1896 he was elected to the state
senate as an anti-Nebraska Democrat
when he parted company with Doug
las and Joined the Republican party.
Twice has there been prolific exodus
from the ranks of the Democracy, and
Palmer participated in both-the first,
lS54-55, when such men as Morton. Ju-
liam. TrumDull. Boutwell,, our old friend
General Grosvenor. and thousands of
others Joined with their former enemies
in the anti-slavery crusade On all
other questions except slavery there
has rarely got together body of men
who held more antagonistic political
views. than the convention that nomi-
mated Abraham Lincoln for president
in 1860. but slavery was paramount,
and on that question they were agreed
as to the principle. though somewhat
divided as to the policy.
Palmer. the old Democrat. was chosen
elector for the state at large on the
ticket of Lincoln, the old Wing. Dur
ing the war he was colonel of a reei-
ment, brigadier and major general.
and saw much harder service and did
much hard fighting. If the secret pol
itical and military history of Ken
lucky for the last eighteen months of
the war were presented TO this epoch.
as it really existed. unknown as It was
to the general public of that genera
ton, it would I'LL the people with as
constituent. A butcher. cruel as Alva.
without his genius for war or courage
for battle, was master of the state
the ever infamous Stephen G. Bur-
bridge. very great man was COVER
z. Bramlette a federal
soldier. Burbridge caused hundreds of
prisoners of war and citizens to be
tried by drum-head court-martial. con-
demned. and executed. and General
Frank Wolford, pillar of the Union
cause, went to his grave believing that
1t was only the interposition of chance
that enabled him to escape assassina-
ton at the hands of the monster
The correspondence between Lincoln
and Bramlette on the subject of Bur-
bridges butcheries is fascinating
chapter in the history of the war. and
whether he meant IL or not. the impress
sion was created that Governor Bran
lette contemplated calling from the
'front.' every Kentucky regiment in the
federal army to drive Burbridge from
the state, and it is certain that he
organized some thousands of militia.
and it is equally certain that he was
in the hunor to employ them against
the butcher.