The Washington herald., 1911-08-07

! such nature as might not be placed In
fun upon public records.
At least II may be stated that this
meeting was held in the autumn OF
the year 1850. and In one Of the great
public buildings Of the city OF Wash
ington. Apparently It was more private
than official in its nature, and appar-
emily 1t now had lasted for some time.
The hour was late. Darkness presently
must enshroud the room. Even now
the shadows fell heavy upon the lofty
portraits, the rich furnishings the
mixed assemblage of somewhat hodge
podge decorations. Twice an ancient
colored man had appeared at the door
| with lighted taper, as though to offer
! better illumination, but each time the
master of the place had waved him
away, as though unwilling to have pres
| ent a witness even so humble as he,
! Through the door. thus half opened.
there might have been seen in the hall
two silent and motionless figures, stand
| ing guard.
Obviously the persons here present
| were Of importance. It was equally OBJ
| vious that they sought no intrusion.
Why. then, in a meeting so private and
| SO serious, should there came remark
| upon a topic certainly not a matter
of state in the usual acceptance of the
| term? Why should the leader have been
concerned over the slight matter OF a
| woman's late presence here in WASH
| ington?
| AS though to question his associates
| the speaker turned his glance down the
| long table. where sat figures. in
distinct in the gathering gloom. At his
| right hand, half in shadow, there showed
the bold outlines of a leonine head set
upon broad shoulders. Under cavernous
brows, dark eyes looked out with Sc
riousness. Half revealed as 1t was, here
Cot ri, To hn aA
godlike. That this presence was ami
| mared with a brain whose decision had
value, might have been learned from the
| fitting gaze Of the leader. which. cast
now on this or the other, returned always
| to this man at the right. There were
seven gentlemen Of them IN all, and OF
these all were clad in the costume Of the
! day, save this one, who retained the
! fashion Of an earlier time. His coat
might have come from TIE Revolution, lis
color possiblyethe blue Of an earlier day.
The trousers fitted close to massive and
shapely limbs, and the long waistcoat, not
of a modish silk. was bun in color, such
! as might one time have been worn by
: Washington himself. This man, these
| men, distinguished IN every line, might
| have been statsmen OF an earlier day
| than that of Calhoun, Clay, and Benton.
! Yet the year Of 1850, that time when
forced and formal peace began to mask
the attitude of sections already arrayed
| for a later war, might have been called
| as important as any in our history.
! The ranks Of these men at the table,
| too, might have been called arranged as
| though by some shrewd compromise.
Even a careless eye or ear might have
declared both sections. North and South,
to have been represented here. Grave
men they were, and accustomed to think,
and they reflected. thus early in Mil
| lard E,iI1r1ora's administration
ly balanced political powers Of the time.
| The Geadlong haste Of both sections
was in the year 1850 halted for a time
by the sage counsels Of such leaders as
| Clay, In the South: even Webster in the
North. The South claimed, after the
| cession of the enormous Spanish terri
tories to the southwest, that the accepted
| line of compromise established in 1920
| by which slavery might not pass north
Of the parallel OF latitude thirty-six de-
| grees thirty minutes, should be extended
i westward quite to the Pacific Ocean.
! She grumbled that although she had
helped fight for and pay for this terri
tory. she could not control II, and could
not move into 1t legally slaves which
| then made the most valued part OF a
| Southern mans property. AS against
this feeling. the united politicians had
| thrown to the hot-headed Southerners
/ sop IN Ine IOrIn Oh the IuRlIlVe Save
| act. The right for a Southern owner to
| follow and claim his slave in any North
ern State was granted under the Consti-
| tuition of the United States. Under the
compromise Of 1850, 1t was extended and
| confirmed
The abolitionists Of the North rose IN
arms against this part Of the great COM
| constitutional, seemed to them nefarious
and Infamous. The leaders in Congress,
both Whig and Democrat, feared now,
| therefore, nothing In the world so much
as the outbreak Of a new political party,
which might disorganize this nicely ad-
| tusted compromise, put an end to what
all politicians were fond of calling the
/ 'fnality" Of the arrangement, and so
| bring on, II not an encounter OF armed
4 forces. II not a rupture of the Union.
at least what to them seemed almost
as bad. the disintegration Of the two
/ great parties Of the day, the Wings and
/ Democrats.
/ II compromise showed IN this meeting
OF men from different sections. It was.
therefore, but matter IN tune with tbs
time. Party was at that day not
matter of geography. There existed then.
1 however, as there exists to-day, the
4 great dividing line between those who
/ are In and those who are out. obviously
\ now, although they represented dinerent
4 SeCIlOnS OF tne COuHug, lhcot iLCA hhC-
| wise represented the party which. under
/ the adjusted vote OF the day. could be
called fortunate enough TO dwell within
| the gates of Washington and not in
| the outer darkness Of political defeat.
/ The dark-hrowed man at the leaders,
/ right presently began to speak. His
/ voice. deep and clear as that Of great
bronze bell. was slow and deliberate, az
| fittinSly voicing an accurate mind
sir" he said, this matter Is one de-
serving our most careful study, trivial
though at first blush It would seem. AS
Z to the danger OF this woman's machina-
! tions here. there is no question. A match
may produce convuision. explosion, dis
aster. when applied to q powder maga-
zine As you know. this country dwells
continually above an awful magazine.
At any time there may be an explosion
! which will mean ruin not only for our
party. but our country. The Free Soil
party. twice defeated. does not down.
There is nationalist movement now
going forward which Ignores the Con-
stitution itself. With you. dread any
talk, any act, OF our own or another
nation. which shall even Indirectly In
fame the Northern resentment against
II ~ - A.