Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-17

placid and all his association congenial.
The final settlement of the slavery ques
ton was an all absorbing topic of Con
lgreSS and the country. Some faVoret
IClay's series of resolutions, which covered
all questions touching Territories, States
the District Of Columbia and the Union un
lder general omnibus bill. Others favored
as many separate bills as there were OBJ
tJects of legislation. The North denounced
ire eaters" and the South mathematical
'abolitionists," while the excitement need
ed no inferno to make it Internal.
On March 26 Foote moved the Senate tC
take up the Territorial bills, and was i'm
mediately replied to by Benton in favor
Iot taking up the California bill With g
great deal of dignity and a show of elo-
quence Benton rose
LAS a friend of the State of California, 81
he said, Il now come into the action, and
from this time forth will struggle for the
I admission of that State"
i At once FOote arose, and with wither-
ing sarcasm, declared
Il am glad the honorable Senator from
Missouri has come into the war He SAYS,
I am the friend of California. announce
sir-I announce, the Caesar, the Napo-
I leon of the Senate announce that have
1 come into the war with sword and buck
I ler.' There is no man in all Christendom
| that-4 would rather meet on the arena of
contest than himself"
! Considerably nettled by this sudden af-
front, Benton arose.
! II believe, by the laws of this Senate,
that personalities and attacks upon mo-
tives are forbidden, and also forbidden by
decorum. This much I believe, and now
sir, I will tell you what l know. 1 know
that the attacks made upon my motives
to-day and heretofore in this chamber are
false and coWardly."
No sooner was the word coward uttered
than did Foote flame forth upon the Senate
in rejoinder merciless and vindictive:-
Yes, sir, this Pater Senati, this CEN
sor morum, pours forth a full tide of as
offensive personalities as were ever listened
to in the Senate or as could have been ut
tered with equal volubiIity and JUNCTION by
a regular ale house disputant"
Further, he asserted that Benton was
the aggressor; that he was cool and unex-
cited; not carried away by sudden and
tempestuous wrath; not instigated by feel
Itngs of cold and sullen revenge. And then
as if to goad the distinguished Missourian
to frenzy he charged that there were
certain stains that had most hideously
blemished his character since the DAYS Of
his early manhood; there were incidents Of
recent occurrence that might relieve any
man of honor from the obligation to rec
ognize him as a fitting antagonist"
But, waving all and everything, Foote
gave the Senate and the country to~un-
edge himself responsible to the laws of
honor he shall be accommodated to pistols
for two. 1 do not denounce him as a
coward Such language is unfit for this
audience. But if he wishes to patch up
his reputation for courage, now greatly on
the wane, he will certainly have an op-
portunity of doing so whenever he makes
known his desire in the premises"
To this fiery denunciation Benton re-
turned:-'T pronounce it cowardly to give
insults where they cannot be chastised
Can take cudgel to him? Is a Senator
to be blackguarded here in the discharge
of his duty and the culprit go unpun-
ished? Is language to be used here which
would not be permitted to be used in the
lowest pothouse, tavern or oyster cellar.
and for the use of which he would be
turned out of any tavern by decent land
lord?"
These chivalrous festivities were a few
times interrupted by faint calls for order.
followed by loud explanations for such
thoughtless acts of parliamentary indie