Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1910-10-28
He Made Up With Jackson

This afternoon as l stood beforeI
the fireplace in the presidents room,l
there came to my mind for the first
time in years an anecdOte-Or, rather,
two anecdotes-of Andrew JacksOnI
that | heard on good authority when L
first came to Washington" he began
But before | tell them to you as they
were told to me | shall remind you of,
the fact that an intense animostty
characterized the relations that existed
between Jackson and Henry Clay. 1t
was one of the rare cases in which
Clay permitted himself to have a per-
sonal animosity, though frequently, as
we all know, he would be mans POI
litical enemy to the full limit Of his
powers.
We'll, one day, a friend, calling up
on President Jackson, remarked in the
course of the conversation: Henry
Clay is not only a moral coward; he
is a physical coward, as we'll
"Thereupon Jackson got up, knock
ed the ashes. out of his corncob pipe
into the presidential fireplace, straight
ened up to his full height, and re-
torted:
by God, you wrong him! The
id scoundrel is as brave as lion.
know his weakness and his strength =
Now, for many years Thomas H..
Benton. for thirty successive years
senator from Missouri, beginning In
1920, and Andrew Jackson had been
bitter enemies, although they were of
the sam. party. They had not spoken
since 1913, l believe, when Benton was
thrown downstairs at the time when
his brother put a bullet through Jack
sons shoulder down in North Caro-
lima. At any rate, Benton had not
visited the white house since Jackson
had been its chief occupant. But it
so happened that a day or two after
President Jackson had paid his char
acteristic tribute to Clay's bravery,
the man to whom Jackson had deliv-
cred the tribute met Benton and told
him of the incident Benton, clearly
astonished for an instant. eagerly ask
ed if his informant was sure that
Jackson had made the remark as
quoted. and the reply was that there
was no doubt about 1t.
Then l will call upon him my
self, said Benton. with grim deter
mination
Sure enough. a day or two later
the senior senator from Missouri pre-
scented himself at the white house and
his name was taken into his old enc
my. In a moment he was admitted to
the presidents private office. Jack
son was standing before the fireplace.
| He looked searchingly at Benton, who
remained standing upon the threshold.
/ At last Jackson spoke. Is it to be
war or peace? he asked.
For answer. Benton. with both
hands outstretched. went across the
room, the next moment the differences
of years were healed, and the friend
| ship thus unexpectedly and suddenly
re-established remained unbroken un-
| til .Jackson's death. Benton becoming
/ Jacksons lieutenant in many things
on the floor of the senate.
But to my mind" concluded Mr..
/ Blaine. the best part of the recon-
| Citation OF those two great characters
| lay in the reply that Benton gave to
his friends when they asked him how
he came to put aside his enmity to-
ward Andrew Jackson. 1 could not
afford 10 remain estranged from a man
who was brave enough TO pay such
| tribute to an enemy as Andrew Jack
son did TO Henry Clay when he de-
clared he was as brave as lion.' said
/ Senator Benton
/ Downright. 1910 by r !. Edwards, All
| Rights Reservedl