The Nevada County picayune., 1910-10-18

senator from another state, and the other as a candidate for the presi- dency of the United States. A year or so after the fight Benton moved to St Louis. where he opened a law ofice in connection with newspaper of which he became editor. He be- came prominent at once In the discus sion of public questions, and took a leading part in securing the admis sion of Missouri into the union. Aft CT five years residence in Missouri he was elected by the legislature one of the states first two United States senators.
 Declined Money Profit from Public
 Service.
 Immediately upon his election, with scrupulous regard for his official in- tegrity. Benton called all of his clients to his office and told them that he could not further serve them, as there might be conflict between their in- terest and the public welfare. For some of his clients he had litigation over land grants. and as senator he was in position. through the enact ment of laws, to make them and him. self wealthy in the settlement of dis puted titles. He refused even to rec ommend an attorney to them, lest this might embarrass him in his public duty. His idea of public office was that an official had no more right to use his public functions to aid per f,-ia dg fn ad fortune than he would have to put his hand into the public treasury and take money therefrom to pay private debt. Through all his official career Benton was true to this ideal and was incorruptible and above reproach from any venal standpoint
 Championed Missouri Compromise"
 Benton's career of constructive statesmanship was the greatest Mis- souri or the west has produced. He came upon the stage of public activity with the enactment of the Missouri compromise. which was largely his work He left public life coincident with the repeal of that measure. Under this compromise Missouri was admitted into the Union (though 1t was some years later before the state was formally recognized as a slave state, with the provision that no state created out of the Louisiana purchase. north of the southern boundary of Missouri, should be admitted with | slavery It hushed slavery agitation l for a decade. and any attack upon 1t 1 for time was resisted by south as well as north Benton was 39 years i old when he took his seat and had lived exactly half the years given to l him. Monroe was just beginning hls second term as president Calhoun was secretary of war. Henry Clay was speaker of the house of representa- tives In the next presidential con- 1 test Benton supported Clay against Jackson, but ever after that he was 1 Clay's political enemy and Jackson s warmest and strongest supporter.
 Father Of Homestead Law.
 To Benton more than any other man is due the fact that there is no iron. tier in the United States today. What was a wilderness west of the Rocky mountains fifty years ago is now set tied by happy and prosperous men 1 and women by reason of his effort In securing the enactment of the home stead law. Benton established the pol icy of selling public land at a maxi mum of Sl 25 an acre, giving prefer encc to actual settlers and securing to i settlers the right of preemptlon. This made settlement easy and streams of sturdy men and women began at once ] to move westward.
 1 Benton looked into the future fur ther than any other statesman of his time. In answer to the taunts that the western country, particularly Oregon, would never be anything more than a hunting ground, he prophesied that l the time would come when there i would be more people west of the ] Rockies than east. He advocated the ] construction of military road to New l Mexico. and was so earnest in his sup, i port of the idea of a transcontinental 1 railroad that his enemies charged him with being mentally unbalanced on the subject, and even his friends feared he was too enthusiastic. In one of his ] first speeches he prophesied that the Pacific coast would soon become the door of Asia and advised sending min i isters to China and Japan-a proposal at that time considered extremely hu- morous.
 Brought About Specie Payments.
 It was through Benton's effort that specie payments were established and that all our money became based on gold and silver So earnest was he in the demand for a specie basis that he was nicknamed "Old Bullion" of which he became very proud, and in his speeches often referred to himself , by that term. He was at first inclined to favor a protective tariff system. but later strongly opposed protection merely for the sake of protection. He stated his position thus: The fine ef- fleets of the tariff upon the prosperity | of tho west have heen celebrated on