Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-03-10

wv cHAPrlR XVIII.
On ne osmMll
ny mental assets vc~ld give me .
poor rating. I presume. IN the CON-
mercs Of modern scholarship whsa
went . WaahinSton that autumn with
Senator and Mrs. Wright. Sttll II was
no smattsring that I had. but rather a
few broad areas Of knowledge which
were firmly in my possession. Ny best
asset was not mental bot spiritual. II I
may be allowed to cay Il, In all mod
esty, for. therein claim no special ad-
vaatage. saving. possibly. an unusual
strength Of character In my aunt and
uncle. Those days the candles were
lighting the best trails Of knowledge
all over the land. Never has NE Osn-
eral spirit Of this republic been 20
high and admirable % then and q little
later. 1t was 70 speak, presently. In
the immortal voices Of Whittier. Emer-
son. whitman. Greeley and Lincoln.
The dim glow Of the candles had en-
tered their souls and out Of them came
O light that flllsd the land and was
seen Of all men.
The railroads on which We Travelled
from Uti~. the great cities through
which We passed. were . wonder and
an Inspiration to me. I was awed by
the grandeur Of Washington itself. I
took lodgings With the senator and his
wife.
"Now. Bart" said he, when ~ had
arrived, I'm going TO turn you loose
here for little while before put har-
ness on Jon. Go about for a week or
20 and get the lay Of the land and the
feel Of It. Mrs.. Wright will BE- your
guide until the general situation has
worked its way into your conscious
ness"
+. Il seemed to me that there was not
room enough In my consciousness for
the great public buildings and the pic
lures and he statues and the vast ma
chiaey Of the government. Beauty
and magnitude have Z wonderful ef-
feet when they spring fresh upon the
vision Of youth out Of the back coun.
try. I sang Of the look Of them In my
letters end soon began 70 think about
them and inpssfsctiy to understand
them. They heA their epic. lyric aed
dramatic stages In ny ososeloa0Gos.
One aftsEason " wsut b Aear Sen
ator Wright speak. Hs was to an.
swer Calhoun on detail Of the ban)sr
ing laws. Tie door and galleries were
nlled. Win what agnottoa I eaW him
rise ana begin his arsamsat q al can
bent to hear himi he aimed not at
popular sentiments Ia highly nnishsd
rhetoric. ~ did Webster. to be quoted
in the school books and repeated on
every platform. But no words Of mine
land have used many In the effort
ARC able to convey q notion Of the
masterful ease and charm Of his man.
ner on the door Of the senate or Of the
singular modssty. eourtesy, aptness
and simplicity Of his words a. they
fell from his lips. There were the
thunderous Webster. the grandeur of
" hose sentences no American has
equaled; the agile-minded Clay, whose
voice was like silver clarion the far
seeing, fiery Calhoun. Of "the swift
sword"-most formidable in debate
but was soon to learn that neither
nor all Of these men-gifted Of heaven
SO highly-could cope with the suave,
incisive. conversational sentences of
Wright. going straight to the heart Of
the subject and laying 1t bare to his
hearers. That was what people were
saying as we left the senate chamber,
late in the evening; that, indeed. was
what they were always saying after
they had heard him answer an ad.
versasy.
He had 4 priceless and unusual tai
ent for avoiding school-reader English
and the arts Of defamation and for
preparing a difficult subject to enter
the average brain. The underlying Sc
cret of his power was soon apparent
TO me. he stood always for that great
thing in America which, since then.
Whitman has called the divine aggre-
gate and seeing clearly how every
measure would be likely to affect it's
welfare, he followed the compass. It
had led him to a height OF power
above all others and was to lead him
unto the loneliest summit Of accom-
plishment in American history.
Not much In my term Of service
there is important to this little task
OF mine. did my work well, IL may
believe the senator, and grew familiar
with the 4-g.Ntle and ungentle arts Of
the politician.
One great fact grew In magnitude
and sullen pOrtent as the months
passed: the gigantic slave.holding in
terests Of the South viewed with grow
ing alarm the spread of abolition SEN
tlmeRt. Subtly, quietly and naturally
they were feeling for the means to de-
fend and increase their power. Straws
were coming to the surface In that
session which betrayed this deep un-
dercurrent Of purpose. We felt It and
1.-THE senator was worried, knew, but
held his peace. he knew how to keep
ibis opinions until the hour had struck
that summoned them to service. The
senator never played with his lance.
by and by Spencer openly sounded the
mote Of conflict.
The most welcome year Of my life
dawned .on the nrst Of January. 1874.
4 remember that arose before day
light that morning and dressed and
went out on the street to welcome II.
4 I had less than six months to wait
lor that day, appointed BY Sally. had