Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1912-05-16
new NEWS OF YESTERDAY
When Lincoln and Greeley Were
Members of Congress.
Great Editor Said the Future Presi-
dent Seemed to Him Then Most
lnconspicuous, Serious-Minded
and Serious-Mannered.
BY E. J. EDWARDS.

by z. y. EOW RHOS.
The late Colonel George Bliss, who
was prominent in Republican politics
in New York state for upwards of 30
years, and at one time was United
States district attorney for the south
ern district of New York, was for
many years an intimate personal
friend of Horace Greeley His init
macy with Greeley was so close that
the great editor was accustomed to
call Colonel Bliss by his first name.
and often by the dimnutive OF
George" Bliss being much the
younger man of the two.
1T was at the time when Lincoln's
body was lying in state in the rotunda
Of the city hall in New York" said
Colonel Bliss, that Greeley told me
of his most vivid recollection of Abra-
ham Lincoln as a member of con-
! gress. Little know as the fact may
be today, Lincoln and Greeley were
members of the same congress; Lin
coin was elected for a full term in
1916, and to fill Il vacancy in the same
| congress Greeley took his seat in the
| house in December. lS4S, and re-
manned there until March Of the
| following year. Greeley accepted the
| nomination and election for two rea-
sons, he told me; first, because he
wanted to get a view of what was go
ing on from the inside in the way of
national legislation and politics, and,
next, because he thought it would be
a good chance for him to write special
political letters to the Tribune from
| Washington.
1t was the last session OF the
I congress in which Lincoln sat- con-
tinued Mr.. Greeley. and l had heard
very little of Abraham Lincoln, ex-
| cept that had been told that Wing
of that name had been elected to con-
gress Unexpectedly from the San
canon district in Illinois. That was
about the only thing that gave Lin
coin any prominence in those days;
and I was, in fact, so little interested
in the man that I served almost a
month in congress before l had him
| pointed out to me.
"A few days after that l made Lin
coins acquaintance. 1t was not long
before discovered that he and both
| agreed on the slavery question as one
which must be answered permanent
| ly in the course of q few years. and
| Conversations
Il asked Mr.. Greeley" continued
| Colonel Bliss, whether Lincoln. at
tracted much attention as a repre-
sentative or enjoyed any noticeable
| popularity?
90 Not that I Observed replied Gree
ley. He seemed to me about as quiet
and inconspicuous and serious-minded
a man as any one of the two hundred
members of the house at that time
There is one thing, however, that
l do remember about Lincoln the con-
gresham which has always seemed
to me very strange. Ten years later
we printed reports of Lincolns de-
bates with Douglas, and 1 particularly
noticed that Lincoln interpolated his
| speeches with a great many anec-
dotes. l inquired about this and
| friends of Lincoln told me that in Iii
nois it was his invariable custom to
! illustrate or point an argument by
president the country became speed
| fly familiar with Lincoln's habit of
using stories in this manner. But
here is strange thing. had great
| many chats with Lincoln in the last
two months or six weeks of the ses-
sion of congress of which We we're
both members. We found ourselves
very nearly in agreement on most po-
litical questions; we were strongly in
agreement on protection. And Lincoln
| got in the habit of coming almost
every day to my seat and talking with
me. Yet in all our conversations Lin
coin did not once tell one story or re-
late a single anecdote or indulge in
any humor except occasionally a dry,
| trifling scintillation of humor.
thought him as serious-minded and
J serious-manenred a man as l had ever
met. I have often wondered whether
! he refrained from telling stories to me
| because he thought 1 was a man who
! would not appreciate a story, or
whether he began to indulge in that
sort of thing generally after he be-
came popular az a stump speaker IN
Illinois. l have never been able to
decide which explanation is the cor.
rect one"
Copyright, 1911, by f. ]. Edwards All
Rights Reserved.)