Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-10-14
JUDGE STEVENS
AT FORTNICHTLY
Presents Paper on "Ihe Great
Commoner" Before the Mem
bers on Saturday Evening

mOner," is one or the interesting
characters in American History. On
saturday evening Judge E. Ray Ste
yens of Madison opened the year fol
| the Fortnightly Literary club by dis
cussing this unusual parsonage, the
meeting being held at the home OF
Mr.. and Mrs. H. e. Cole.
| Thadeus Stevens was Pennsyl-
vanian, a lawyer, b h q o I
and defender of the oppressed. In
the legal profession, early in his ca
reer. he fought for the justice OF the
nero and in the end his haired OF the
south was so great he became oppres
sive as some believed. AT the par ne
was a leader and in congress foremost.
when he made up his mind on a
mode of procedure 1t was next 70 I'M
possible to change it. When ne dleo
his body, at his request was placed IN
an obscure cemetery, buryng ground
in which both blacks and whites are
| inferred.
Judge Stevens introduced The
Great Commoner," when he appeared
in the United States senate, then a
member of the House OF Representa-
tives, leaning heavily on the arm OF
his companion. He was aged seventy
six years, his face was pallid and with
great effort, he read the terse mes
sage which he himself had framed
with all the care Of the great lawyer
that was speaking:
"Mr. President: IN obedience to
the order of the House of Repre-
| sentatives we appear before you,
and in the name of the House
of Representatives and all the
people of the United States, we do
lmpeach Andrew Johnson, Presi-
| dent of the United States, of high
crimes and misdemeanor in 0Eh7e
! ce: and we further inform the.
Senate that the House of Repre-
| sentatives will in due time ex-
hibit particular articles of inn
! parchment against him, and make
good the same; and in their name
| we demand that the Senate take
order for the appearance of said
Andrew Johnson to answer said
Impeachment"
That was one of the most excit-
ing events after the close of the Ci-
vii war The president and congress
had come to swords points, the exc
cutive defying the legislative branch
Of the government. In the fight Sec
retary Stanton was barricaded in his
Office where he ate and slept. Not
since the assassination of Lincoln
was Washington in such excitement
and one of the foremost figures of the
time was Thadeus Stevens.
The speaker at the club told of the
struggle and the outcome, how Tha-
deus Stevens was a great figure in the
contest, how his whole life seems to
have been q preparation for leadership
in the dark Gays of the Civil War,
how he enjoyed battle, how he was
able to quiet a bowling mob, and
how he defended the free school sy-
stem of Pennsylvania
Stevens was leader to give the
colcrfd man the right of franchise,
! drafted the thirteenth amendment to
| the constitution and foretold the
south what would happen in case the
! war was waged. He had no patience
with the border state policy. Ste
vens was foremost in the reconstruc-
tion policies extended after the war
The speaker discussed Stevens
traits and many Of the problems that
confronted the country in the late
CO.'S, Stevens remaining a central fig
ure in 1t all. In closing Judge Stevens
said: Certain it is that the guild
| ing star Of his career was the hatred Of
privilege and the love of equality
of all before the law. To him no man
was so poor or SO friendless as to be
beneath the equal protection of tne
law, and none so powerful as to rise
above its sway
In the discussion A. S. Kingsford
stated that the statesman was un-
charitble and carried things to too
great an extreme in so far as the
south was concerned. The policy Of
Stevens resulted in the days of the
carpet bagger" and other forms ad-
opted by the southerners to prevent
the domination of the colored man
in politics.
| Superintendent A. C.. Kingsford
compared the commoner to otner
great men of history and r. B. Griggs
gave few recollections OF the recon
struction period after tire war. Others
Ijoined in the discussion
| Mr.. and Mrs. f. III. Horstman and
Miss Leila johnson were elected mem
bers. r. B. Griggs was elected secre-
tary to fill the place made vacant by
Miss Ethel S. Horton who is at the
University this year.