Evening star., 1934-08-05
Hot Seats of the Mighty
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

So rapid was the growth Of the new
State that North Carolina changed its
mind again and claimed the territory
as one Of It's own counties John Sc
vier was tired Of this sort OF pickering
and held aloof, so Gov. Caswen of
North Carolina declared the county
in revolt and sent an army TO depoSe
and capture John Sewer. who had
been duly elected Governor of the
new State. There were battles and
Sewer was taken and thrown In
prison. Later he was released and
moved TO Ohio, where he was elected
to Congress, and then to Tennessee.
He represented Tennessee in Congress
ana was eight times Governor of the
State.
More GubernatOrial Troubles.
Samuel Houston's case is another
historic instance Of a Governors
troubles. Virginia born. but an adopt
ed member Of the Cherokee Tribe, he
joined the Army and attracted the
notice of Andrew jackson. His career
was more than remarkable, ranging
over most of the known United States
of the period. He was a Representa-
tive in Congress from Tennessee, he
was twice President Of the Republic
Of Texas and twice United States Sem
ator after Texas had been annexed to
the United States. In 1859 he had
climbed to the dignity of Governor of
Texas But Houston, Virginian and
a Tennesseean, was strongly opposed
to secession. His opposition was so
spirited that in spite of his practically
| unmatched career Of brilliant public
service in both civil and military life,
he was deposed as Governor.
Nearer North Dakota in both time
and space was the case Of John Peter
Altgeld. Born IN Germany in lS47,
he was brought as a child to Mans
field, Ohio. As boy he was a private
In the Union Army during the Civil
War. He removed TO Missouri. where
he taught school and practiced law;
thence to Chicago, where he became
judge of the Superior Court. In 1892
he was elected Governor of Illinois as
Democrat and one Of his first Official
acts was TO pardon Friede, Schwab
and Neebe. three men who had been
accused of anarchy and convicted of
completely in the frightful disorders
incident to the Haymarket riots of
1886. Gov. Altgeld's pardons we're
granted in response to petitions from
citizens all over the country VIII. we're
convinced that the men had been
convicted on insufficient evidence. Yet
there was another party which stood
aghast at this apparent conformation
Of anarchy. Theodore Roosevelt bit
terly condemned the pardons. For a
time 1t looked as though the demand
for Atgeld's removal from Office would
result in violence almost equaling the
Haymarket strike. He served out his
term, but his seat was uneasy. He
was in constant danger Of assassina-
ton.
William Sulzer was elected Governor
OF New York and in January took a
seat from which he was ousted In
october after an elaborate impeach-
ment trial. Tammany Hall did not
approve Of the Sulzer policies In Office
and while that fight was purely po-
litical its bitterness held the attention
Of the whole country while it lasted,
especially as Sulzer had been a dis
tinguished member Of Congress for Is
years.
The bitterness against the late Gov.
Rolph Of California ON account OF the
Mooney case and his approval of the
lynching Of the San Jose kidnapers
placed him in a category somewhat
similar to Altgeld's, although feeling
did not run as high. Gov. Murray Of
Oklahoma has been an almost con-
slant target Many Governors have
been removed after impeachment
trials. The Governors chair Is one
of the most uneasy of seats.