Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-01-09
PREFACE


The Light In the Clearing shone upon
many things and mostly upon those
which. above all others, have impassioned
and perpetuated the Spirit OF America
and which, just now, seem to me to be
worthy OF attention. 1 believe that spirit
to be the very candle Of the Lord which.
IN this dark and windy night Of time, has
hlckered so that the souls Of the faithful
have been afraid. But let US be OF good
cheer. 1t Is shining brighter as l write
and. under God. | believe Il shall. by and
BY. be seen and loved OF all men.
One self-contained, Homerlc figure, OF
the remote countryside IN which l was
born. had the true Spirit of Democracy
ard shed Its light abroad In the senate OF
ti.e United States and the capitol at Al
bany. He carried the Candle of the Lord.
u led him to height Of self -forgetful-
ness achieved by only two others-Wash-
sngton and Lincoln. Yet have been sur
prised by the profound and general ig-
norance OF this generation regarding the
career of Sllas Wright
The distinguished ssnator who served
At his side for many years. Thomas III.
Benton OF Missouri, has this to say OF
5ilas Wright In his Thirty Years. View;
He refused cabinet appointments un-
Folk, whom he may be said to have
elected. He refused a seat on the bench
OF the Supreme court Of the United
states; he rejected instantly the nonilna-
lion In 1874 for vice president; he refused
TO be put In nomination for the presi-
icncy. He spent that time In declining
olllce which others did In winning 1t. The
uiiices he did accept, II might we'll be
sud, were thrust upon him. He was born
great and above office and unwlllngly de-
scended to H.
So much by way of preparing the reader
to meet the great commoner In these
pages
There were those who accused Mr.
Wright OF being a spokesman. the only
warrant for which claim would seem to
be his remark in a letter: when our
enemies accuse US of feeding our friends
instead OF thcm never let them lie In tell
Ing the story
tIe was. in fact, hrman being. through
and through, but SO upright that they
used to say OF him that he was "as hon
SIT as any man uni1er heaven or In It."
For my knowledge of the color and
spirit of the time am Indebted TO a long
course OF reading In It's books, newspa-
pers and periodicals.. notably the North
American Review. the United States Mag
azine and Democratic keview, the New
York Mirror. the Knckerbocker, the st.
Lawrence Republican, Renton's Thirty
Years. View, Bancroft's Life Of Martin
Van Buren, histories Of Wright and his
time by Hammond and Jenkins, and to
many manuscript letters of the distin-
gilshed commoner In the New York pub
lie library and in the possession OF Mr..
samuel Wright Of Weybridge, Vermont.
To any who may think that they dis
cover portraits In these pages I desire to
say that all the characters-save only
elias Wright and President Van Buren
hnd Bnrlon Baynes-are purely imagine
ary however. there were Grlmshaws
and Purvlses and l,lnases and Aunt Deels
and Unoic Penbodys IN almost every rus
llc noighborhood those days, and 1 regrct
10 add that Rowing Kate was on many
roads. The case OF Amos Grimshaw bears
. striking resemblance to that of young
sickford. executed long ago In Malone
for the particulars OF which case ! am
Indebted to my friend, Mr.. II. L, Ives OF
Potsdam.
THE AUTHOR.