Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-07-20
william Pitt Kellogg Tells Of
Bloomington Convention
ONE OF THE few SURVIVORS.
Appointed Louisiana Collector by Lin
coin on the Day Before the Prssiden,
Was Asssssinated - Has Attended
Many National Conventions.

WniAm Hltt heuOgg, formerly gov
ernor OF Louisiana and Abraham Lin
coins old friend. related recently some
of the incidents Of the so called Bloom
ington convention Of 1856. In which
the Republican party was born. He
is one of the few survivors of the 226
delegates from Illinois who attended
that convention. Some say there are
only two of these delegates besides
Mr.. Kellogg living
Abraham Lincoln was one Of the
delegates. Ii was at this assembly
that he first gained prominence as a
public speaker. 1t was there that he
delivered what has come TO be known
as his ''lost speech"-lost because there
were no stenographers to take II down
and because the newspaper reporters
were so entranced by the flow OF
words that they neglected to take
notes.
The bloomington convention, It win
be recalled, developed from a gather
ing of Illinois editors at Decatur on
Feb. %, 1856. This meeting OF ed
itors, who were opposed to slavery,
had been called for the purpose of
agreeing on line of policy to be pur-
sued In the campaign the following
year. OF this group of editors Paul
Selby. now of Chicago and who Mt
that time edited the Jacksonville Jour
nal. is the only survivor. Abraham
Lincoln was guest and assisted In
preparing the resolutions which rec
commended the state convention In
Bloomington.
Building still Stands.
This convention of 1856 was not
known as Republican, but ms "anti-
Nebraskan." Its origin was founded
chiefly upon the Kansas Nebraska bill,
which repealed the Missouri compro.
mise and thereby removed the restric-
ton against the Introduction OF slav-
cry into the territory north Of the par
allei Of 80 degrees and 80 minutes.
Anti-slavery Democrats and nnti-slav.
cry Wings both were attracted to this
so called -Nebraskan convention. 1t
wasn't until year or two later that
the name Republican, began to be sub
stituted for anti-Nebraskan."
"The convention Of 1885," said Mr..
Kellogg, twas held In MAJORS hall. a
two story building that is standing to
this day. The ground floor was occu.
pied by two stores, and we delegates
marched up little narrow stairway
at the rear to room on the second
floor The call was for 226 delegates
but the interest was so intense that al
most twice that number appeared.
II was chairman Of the Fulton coun.
ty delegation, and Mr.. Lincoln was
chairman of the Sangamon county del
egation."
Mr.. Kellogg recalled that IL was In
this ''lost speech" that Lincoln deliv-
cred the famous epigram. "You can fool
all of the people some Of the time and
some Of the people all OF the time, but
you can't fool all of the people all OF
the time"
Mr.. Kellogg was an alternate to the
national convention held In Philadel.
phia in 1853, which nominated FIRE.
mont He has attended every Repub-
lican national convention since then
up until 1896. He Is eighty-two years
old and is still active physically and
mentally.
How He Went TO Louisiana.
An interesting story has been told Of
how Mr.. Kellogg came to go from the
f,,t In hn
construction days. When Mr.. Lincoln
was elected the second time Mr.. KEEL
logg was chief justice Of Nebraska. He
had gone on to Washington to see
President Lincoln inaugurated the sec
ond time, and Lincoln called him to
the White House and told him he had
decided to make him collector In Lou.
isiana.
THAT" said Mr.. Kellogg, twas on
Thursday, the day before Mr.. Lincoln
was assass.nated. Mr.. Lincoln insist
ed I should start for New Orleans on
Saturday and ordered that the com.
mission should be made out at once"
Mr.. Kellogg called at the White
House on Friday morning and obtained
his commission and received the well
wishes of President Lincoln. He had
bought two tickets for Ford's theater
that night, intending to go to the per-
formhnce with Richard Yates OF Ilii-
nois. father Of the present Yates OF
that name and then a United States
senator Mr.. Kellogg, however. got
mixed up with some of his friends who
insisted on celebrating his appoint
ment TO the collectorship. The result
was he missed the show, but Senator
Yates went.
Late In the evening" said Mr.. Kel-
logg. II was In my room, No. u, at the
old National hotel, when Yates rushed
In as pale as death and cried. Ny God,
the president has been shotr
'The next day we stood In the drizzle
with the other sorrowing thousands
and saw the presidents body borne
from the house in Tenth street where
he had died. The next two days as
tramped the streets with my freshly
signed commission in my pocket were