The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-06-12
TAILOR TO PRESIDENT.

Inc Atlanta Georgian pays the 1Ol-
lowing tribute to one of the most re-
viled men who ever held the high Of
fee Of president of the United States
One Of the most dramatic careers in
American history was recalled to mem
DRY by the formal dedication at Green
vile, Tenn, on Monday last Of the ma
tional burial ground which bears the
name of the seventeenth president of
the United States
Andrew Johnson.
For thirty-five years the grass his
covered his almost forgotten grave in
this quiet little village of the dead.
Around him on every side loom the
peaks Of the Blue Ridge. But not less
rugged were the angular outlines of
his checkered life For there was much
in his character which suggested an
intimate resemblance to his native
mountains.
Fate was both kind and cruel to this
extraordinary man. At times she strok-
ed him with glove Of velvet. Again,
she scourged him with a lash Of scor-
pions. She lifted him to the very high
est round of the ladder Of fortune
giving him the office which was filled
by the martyred Lincoln; but she made
him shoulder his cross of anguish and
walk the Via Dolorosa."
1t is doubtful If there ever lived a
man who was more signally honored
Or more bitterly reviled than Andrew
Johnson.
In the long line of presidents reach
ing from Washington to Taft, he is
the solitary exception among the occu-
pants of the federal White House to be
arraigned before the bar of the senate
on an issue of impeachment.
BY single vote he escaped the brand
Of conviction.
But we must bear in mind the violent
passions and the stubborn misunder-
standings which vexed the turbulent
era of reconstruction.
There was too much fever heat in
the blood to admit of calm pulsebeats.
Luckily the deciding ballot was cast
in judicial moderation; and posterity.
without being blind to the faults of
the defendant, has ratified and indors-
ed the verdict.
1t is whollyimpossible to contemplate
~AA~ S"3 CNA VI ILAiS extraordinary man
without being impressed with the Cd.
portunities for distinction which are of
fered by our free institutions to the
very humblest youth in the land.
Born of obscure parentage and bred
to manual labor, this plain man of the
people began life in the role of a viii
lage tailor. He was ignorant of the
common rudiments Of an English edu-
cation. But he chose the right wom-
an to be his helpmeet, and thanks to
this gentle daughter of the Tennessee
mountains, who guided his awkward
pen, and taught him to unlock the
treasures Of his mother tongue, he was
soon able to discard the local vernac-
ular.
Moreover, his ambition was fired.
He gained admission to the bar; and
from law he turned to politics He be-
came an orator of national reputation
and an oracle of consummate wisdom.
His feiloW-citizens were only too proud
to honor the man who had overcome
such handicaps; and sustaining. himself
with splendid credit in the state legis-
lature, he was sent for eight years to
congress.
On account of the sharp issues of
this period he naturally developed
some opposition; and, knowing how
strongly he was entrenched in his own
district, an effort was made to defeat
him by gerrymandering the state. But
he boldly met the challenge bv sue
cessfully making the race for governor
OF Tennessee; and later he was sent
to the senate of the United States.
The gathering war clouds found him
an emphatic unionst. Because of his
stubborn resistance to secession and
his refusal to acquiesce in the majority
sentiment Of his state upon the issues
Of the conflict, he was appointed bv
Mr.. Lincoln in 1862 war governor of
Tennessee. Events tended to make
HIM the most conspicuous figure upon
the southern horizon in republican pol
tiles; and when the party met in ma
tional conclave In 1864 he received the
nomination for vice. president. 1t was
an effort to weaken the confederacy
and to win converts from the dis
mayed camp of Dixie following the dis
aster at Gettysburg.
Then rang the assassin's shot in
F'oTd's theatre.
Abraham Lincoln, by the infamous
act of mailman, was removed from
public stage and Andrew johnson was
sworn into office by Chief Justice
Chase.
The tailor Of Greenville had become
the president of the United States.
But he was destined to pay an ex-
orbitant prce for the presidential hon.