Manchester Democrat., 1909-05-12
SENATOR ALLlsoN's REcoLLEc-
TIoNS OF PUBLIC MEN.

SENATOR ALLlSON'S RECOLLEC-
TIoNS OF PUBLIC MEN.
By Arthur Wallace Dunn, in the
Review cf Reviews.
(Had Senator William Is. Allison
been in better health during the lat
ter part of his life the country might
have been able to read "reminiscences
of most interesting kind He had
determined to write OF the most in
teresting epochs of his long public
career, but never had the time. His
last days were spent in an effort to
regain the health which had been
broken under the continuous strain
of busy life. Several months be.
fore his death had chat with
him about the great men of the past
and present whom he had known
have here set down the comments he
made, quoting him directly when his
remarks were most pertinent. The
story was submitted to Senator Alli-
son for revision, and he desired to
change few words here and there
because he feared. in the kindness
of his heart, that they might offend
lSOAtAS Af'AAie3 PSiooii, OuIN AC sllCNSI IClt
well enough to make such changes.
With such exceptions the article had
his approval. No changes have been
made since, save few of verbal
character made necessary on account
of the senator's death.-A. w. D.l
have been intimately acquaint-
ed with ten different presidents of
the United States. and during their
lncumbencies OF the presidential Of
flee was a member Of the senate or
house cf representatives.. | entered
congress q member from Iowa in 1863
in the midst of the civil war. sery-
ed eight years in the house and en-
tered the senate in 1873, and have
been member of that body contir.
uously sinca that time. The presi.
dents have known We're Lincoln
johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield. Ar.
thur. Cleveland, Harrison, Mckinley
and Roosevelt"
With these words the late Senate,
Allison entered upon an interesting
"Reminiscences when asked about RIB
lie men he had known in his long
career. The senator had then achiev.
ed a record which eclipsed all others
which may not soon be equaled. He
| had been member of the senate
continuously for thirty-five years. and
he was serving his sixth consecutive
term. Other men had been elected
for six terms-one of them, the late
Senator Morgan of Alabama, had
entered upon his sixth consecutive
term when he died-but Allison had
five years more service. At the
time of his death he had been chos,
en- by state primary for seventh
consecutive term, and il he could
nave lived to the age cf number of
senators who have died in harness
ne would have had fortytwo
years of continuous service in the
senate. Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont
was for more than thirty years a
member of the senate, but he only
llVed a little more than year after
entering upon his sixth term. John
sherman of Ohio was longer in actual
service hhan Morrill,, having thirty.
IWc years to his credit, but his ser.
wee was interrupted by four years
vacancy when he was secretary of
the treasury under President Hayes
Pathetic Reminiscenee of Buchanan
Il did not know President Buchan.
4 an personally said Senator Allison.
but ! saw him at the time of Lin.
coins first Inauguration. remem.
Der particularly his departure. He
was driving to the Baltimore & Ohio
station with his bags piled upon the
drivers seat. 1t was an old, white.
haggard face that peered out of the
WandoW, and no one gave it a friend.
iy greeting. There was no escort
and seemingly no regret at his de,
parture from the capital where he
had been chief magistrate. There
may have been some person in the
carriage with him, but apparently he
was alone. 1t was pathetic picture
OF the sad closing of q career. Buch
anan had struggled twenty years fol
the presidency, and was an old mar
when finally elected. He was con
stantly over political volcano while
m the White House. Pledges anf
promises OF twenty years were
brought to him for redemption. and
there were not places for one
fourth OF those who presented theil
political promissory notes. His term
closed with divided nation, with
his own party disrupted, and himself
blamed for conditions absolutely be
yond his control. At this distance
and in the light of knowledge and ex.
perience, the picture Of Buchanan on
that March day in 1861 looks more
pitiful to me than it then seemed"
Lincoln and Nasty.
During the first part OF President
Lincoln's administration Senator ALI
son had been active in organizing
and dispatching Iowa troops to the
front, and naturally when he came tc
Washington as a member of the
house of representatives he was well
known to the president by reputation
Il well remember one of my early
interviews with Lincoln. / had moi
talked very long before he said:
ALLISON have you read Nasby's
bookP'
II had read Petroleum v. Nasby's
'Confedrit x Roads letters, but die
not know they had been published in
book form, and replied no.
:" Not to have read Nasby pro
claims am an an ignoramus, sale
Lincoln. Listen to this and he read
selection from one of the letters.
Il then explained that had reat
the letters, but did not quite under
stand the presidents reference whel
he asked the question. / was &C
quilted of being 'an lgnoramus, ant
during the remainder OF Lincoln's lif,
in the White House we were the bes
friends. He became to me create
man day by day, and has grown a
the years pass, until he has becomt
one of the greatest figures Of Amer
lean history"
Leaders in "Rseonstruction" Era.
Mr.. Allison was amember of tn
house during the ole of Johnson
administration and the first tw
years d Grants first term. Thos
were the stormy days of "reconstru'
tion," the days when old Ben Wad
Il RrHr