The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1910-10-13

or so after the fight Benton moved
TO st. Louis, where he opened q law
oillce in connection with q newspaper
Of which he became editor. lie be-
came prominent at once in The discus.
sion Of public questions, and took a
leading part in securing the admls.
sion OF Missouri into the union. Ait.
er FIVE yoars residence in Missouri
he WIS elected by the legislature one
Of tho states first two United States
senators.
Declined Money Profi' from Public
Service.
Immediately upon his election, with
scTupulous regard for his official In.
toFrity BENTON called all Of his clients
to his Office and told them that he
could not further serve them. as there
might be Il conflict between their in
'cr"5t and tho public welfare. For
some Of his clients no had litigation
over land grants. and as senator he
was In position, through the enac,.
mont OF laws, to make them and him
self wealthy I'm the settlement Of Dis.
pui"d titles He refused even to rec
omm'nd an attorney to them, lest this
might Cmharrags him In his public
aaty His idea Of public Office
vas that an official had no more right
To- use his public functions to aid ppr.
sonal friends or to advance his own
forum" than he would have to put his
hand into the public treasury and take
money thor"lrUm to pay private
debt Through all his official career
Benton was true to this ideal and was
iu'1rrur'lble ana above reproach from
any ycnnl standpoint.
Champiored missouri Compromise"
HrutOn'5 career OF constructive
s'a''smanghip was the greatest Mis-.
souri, or the west has produced. lie
cam" uruu the stage OF public activity
With the enactment of the Missouri
compromise. which was largely his
work Hc left public life coincldcnt
with the repeal OF that measure
Under this compromise Missouri was
admitted into tho Union Though Il
was some years Inter before the state
was formally recognized as Il slave
state, with tn" provision that no state
created out OF the Louisiana purchase,
north Of the southern boundary of
Missouri, should be admitted with
slavery. II hushed slavery agitation
for n decade and any attack upon It
for n time was resisted by south as
we'll a. north Benton was 80 years
old whom he took his scat and had
lived exactly half the years given 10
him. Monroe was just beginning his
second term as president Calhoun was
secretary Of war, Henry Clay was
speaker OF the house of representa-.
tiyca In the next presidential con
test Benton supported Clay against
Jackson, but ever after that he was
Clay's political enemy and Jnckson's
warmcst and strongest supporter.
Father Of Homestead Law.
To Benton more than any other man
IS due tho fact that there Is 10 from.
tier In the United States today. What
was wilderness west Of tho Rocky
mountains nifty years ago IS now set.
u"d by happy and prosperous men
ana women by reason Of his effort In
securing tho enactment Of the home
stead law. Benton established the pol
Icy OF selling public lana Mt maxi
mum OF SIZE an acre, giving prefer
'hrN To actual settlers anu securing To
-
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