The Hattiesburg news., 1911-04-20
The Senate Leadership
(Savoyard, in Nashville Banner)

ling, and a powerful man he was. He
drove Carl Schurtz, Lyman Trumbull
and Charles Sumner out of the RepuD-
lican party, and proved himself
match for all of them in debate. Early
in his career Sumner had supported
the Democratic party, and Trumbull
was a Democrat until Douglas drove
him into the Republican party in
1855; and eighteen years later, Conk-
ling sent him back into the party OF
his youth and early manhood. 1t is
curious fact that this man, who was
the author of the Southern Recon
struction measures of the Republican
party, became the political tutor Oh
| William Jennings Bryan, thrice leader
of the Democratic party and idol OF
the South.
| But for nearly ten years we may say
that Conkling was the leader of the
Senate. Carpenter was his ablest lieu
tenant, and he was well supported by
| John A. Logan and Don Cameron.
While Grant was President, Conkling
was almost supreme, though Morton,
very powerful man, was Senator, and
a rival of Conkling for the nomination
by the Republicans for President in
l1S76. Edmunds, Hoar and ingalls,
we're content to allow Conkling to
reign, and even Sumner was rebuked
and deprived of the chairmanship oil
Foreign Affairs. It is another curious
fact, though a story too long to tell
here. that even the negro Senator,
Revels, Joined with Conkling in the
work of humiliating Sumner. Neither
r. B. Hayes nor John Sherman had
any love for Conkling, but even when
they ruled the executive department,
: Conkling continued the leader OF the
Senate, and leader he was the four
: years James G. Blaine was Senator.
It is likely that Conkling would have
, remained the leader of the Republican
, side of the Senate the remainder of his
natural life II the Garfield administra-
) tion had not surrendered William Ma
: hone to the Democratic chieftains who
then voted to confirm Robertson, and
( thus drove to retirement the ablest, II
, not the greatest and the most success
full leader the Republican party ever
had in the Senate. -
, As Conkling went Gut, Aldrich came
2 in, or a few months later. And now
economic questions had supplanted
: the Southern question. The Negro
i. gave way to the tariff. The Fifteenth
: amendment was nullified amid thu
a storm raised by the Issue of the fre'
h and unlimited coinage of silver int
a full legal tender dollars at the arb
y trary ratio of 16 to l. Both parue
, were hypocrites and towards whe
q they had to grapple with the simpl
"a issue of whether the American dolla
!, should be worth 100. cents. Both pa
h ties enacted the Bland-Allison act tc
"a limited coinage. The Republican pa
"A tv passed the Sherman silver law, thf
20 raised the limit" These blundel
M cost the American people hundreds
n millions, and they would have CO..
an more than double as much more ha
~ not Grover Cleveland, with the grip
ar an olympian demi-god, seized the iss'
III and smote it till it died and made
a. grave with innumerable other error
or more or less honest.
IN AIdrich was the real leader OF \
he party in the Senate from 1885 till
nv retired to private life. He was Z
"a business man turned statesman.
~. orator, no lawyer, no scholar, he knt
70. men, how to manage them, and he
,as manage them. Theory he cast asit
,as along with everything that was n
W. demonstratively practical. Pig Iro
Kelley was doctrinaire, and Aldri
accepted his preachments and ?
Inc them into practical use, He ma
4 the McKin1sy f1zI1 III dictat
nr. much Of the wis tarin He ma
5E W ItI sl