Evening journal., 1914-03-25
New News Of Yesterday
What Might Have Hap
pened to Colonel Henry
WatterSOn.
By Holland.

In the presidential campaign OF
1854 Colonel Henry Watterson took
active part, but in the very hot
weather of August he spent a week or
ten days at a seashore resort on the
Atlantic coast a few miles from Nor
folk. He was then asked If he would
speak at a mass meeting which was
to be held upon the public square in
Norfolk. and he replied that he would
do that, provided he could speak in
the afternoon.
Colonel WattersoD asked me to go
with him to the Norfolk meeting, and
as ! had never heard him speak as a
campaigner, / gladly accepted the in
vitatlon. He said TO me Just before
he began his speech that he wanted
me to join him Immediately after he
had finished.
II want to talk about something
else than campaign speaking he
said as we walked from the pubic
square to the hotel. Il always feel
like talking about anything but cam
paign politics for an hour Or two
after / have finished speaking"
II occurred TO me to ask Colonel
Watterson how many terms his father,
Harvey NJ. Watterson. had served in
the lower house Of Congress and when.
/ knew In vague way that the
senior Watterson had served several
terms in Congress before the begin
ming of the Civil War.
Il often find myself wondering"
said Colonel Watterson, "how my
career would have shaped itself IN
case my father had been willing to
accept appointment as governor of
the territory Of Oregon. Had he prom
ised to accept that appointment it
would have been gladly made by
President Franklin Pierce.
1T is not generally known, think,
that 1t was due as much to my father
as to any other man that Franklin
Pierce was nominated for President
in 1852. Father was a delegate to the
convention, representing one of the
Tennessee districts. The ballotlng for
the presidential nomination was con-
tinued for a long time The leading
politicians of the South thought the
better plan would be to nominate n
Northern man who was popular and
well known and who was in sympa
thy with the states rights Democ-
racy.
my father served in Congress
when Franklin Pierce was also a
member of the lower house. The
two men became intimate Father
grew very fond Of Pierce and regarded
him as a man of unusual intellectual
power. He always felt that Pierce en-
tertained very cordial feeling toward
him. They were certainly warm
friends. My father earnestly advo-
Gated the nomination of Franklin
Pierce after the convention had be-
come deadlocked, not being able to
secure a two-thirds vote in favor Of
any of the men named as candidates
for the nomination. And there is no
doubt that his influence was sufficient
to persuade many OF the delegates
that the nomination of General Pierce
was the most expedient one which
could be made.
Father, however, was unable to
support some of the policies with
which President Pierce was identi-
fed He openly and publicly antag-
onized them. That did not impair
their personal relations. For that
reason President Pierce offered to
nominate my father as governor OF
the territory of Oregt n, intimating
that Oregon would soon become a
state, and that father would be in a
position to be chosen its first senator
"The offer, however, was firmly de-
clined. Had father accepted it | un-
N.
I Oregon with him and have grown az
in the territory and the state. ] GER
tainly would have had very differ
ent career from the one which it ha'
been my happy privilege had fathei
accepted that offer"
Copyright, 1914. by +. J. Edwards
All rights reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tel