Part 13

"James A. Garfield, in common with Abraham Lincoln, the patriotic and lamented Douglas, and the eloquent Clay, sprang from the loins of the American people. These all forced their way from poverty up to commanding positions and national renown. Their genius for public affairs was triumphant over all opposition and victorious in their rising greatness. The success of such men is possible only in a government by the people. Be it said to the everlasting honor of the people, and their fitness for government, that they not only recognized the ability of these men, but they gave them their affections without stint, and their hearty support in opposition to party. And to-day, from his sublime heights, he whom we commemorate beholds a manifestation of this affection, by a nation in mourning.

"His knowledge, tact, and judgment made him equal to every position bestowed upon him by the partiality of his countrymen; yea, more, he was a leader in all. As a student, scholar, and teacher he stood high. As a soldier his coolness in the shock of battle, as well as his admirable foresight and judgment, won for him rapid promotion. As a legislator, debater, orator and statesman he had but few equals and no superiors. And it was in these capacities that I knew him well, as it is in the character of Congressman that he is best known to the great mass of the American people, I pause for a brief time to consider some of his qualities as a legislator.

"He was for many years, while the Republicans had control of the House, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. This was a position of the highest importance and of the most commanding influence. It gave him control of all the appropriations of the Government and made his the actual leader of the House. A defeat of this committee by the House would be as disastrous to the party in power as the defeat of the ministry in England: a defeat by his own party would show such lack of unity of purpose, and of objects, and ideas on the part of the majority, as to render them incapable of carrying on the Government.

"Firm, decided, full of expedients, and wonderful in debate, he not only carried his measures triumphantly through, but at each session strengthened his hold upon his party and the country. In the fierce contests that raged upon such occasions, he showed that his knowledge and intellect were stupendous. His quick perception grasped, his strong memory retained, and his ready logic commanded, immense sources of useful knowledge, gathered from science, reflection, the history of the past, and the stirring events of the present. In debate he rejected all rhetorical ornament, all ostentation and show. Stating his premises concisely, his reasoning led to the conclusion aimed at, as irresistibly as the current of a deep and strong river leads to the sea. There was a logical force and point to his clear sentences that tended to his conclusions with the directness and certainty with which the successive steps in a mathematical demonstration point to the grand result. In making an attack or repelling an assault upon his position, he always had a mark, and his intellectual shots fell in and around that mark with effective proximity.

"But while he was truly great in devising and successfully carrying through the great appropriation bills, made necessary by the enormous expenditures of the war, he was greater by far as the philosophic leader of his party.

"After the power vanished from his party in the House, although his knowledge, of the principles and rules of parliamentary law was full and accurate, he rarely spoke on questions of order; but when the principles, policy, methods, or measures of the Republican party were attacked, he was always put forward as their champion; and, although men will and do honestly differ about such matters, yet by the concessions of friend and foe alike, the proudest monuments of his intellectual greatness have for their base these masterly vindications.

"He had a power of generalization and classification possessed by but few men. He was not a logician in the popular sense of the term. He addressed the intuitions, and consciences, of men quite as often as their reason. John C. Calhoun, Senators Morton and Bayard and Garfield, stand unrivalled among American statesmen for their wonderful powers of generalization, classification, and analysis. This power made Calhoun a dangerous antagonist to Webster, with all his sledge-hammer strokes of logic and incisive reasoning. Morton's fame and reputation rests upon this foundation alone. Garfield possessed this power in a remarkable degree. It was this power that enabled him to hold popular audiences even in a two-hours' speech on the dreary topics of finance.

"He gathered up the fundamental principles underlying the complicated topics of political economy, stated them with such clearness and simplicity, as not only to bring them within the comprehension of, but to make them attractive to the ordinary understanding. The most voluminous and complicated mass of facts, fused in the furnace of such an intellect, is quickly reduced to order; the good separated from the bad, the valuable from the worthless; and the principles underlying the good and valuable made manifest, like as the fire of the furnace releases the precious metal from the rock, dirt and sand by which it is surrounded, and utilizes it for purposes of commerce and civilization.

"As a speaker he was always dignified and impressive. He had strong convictions, and he uttered them with courage and earnestness. He was one of the few members who could always command the attention of the House. I have seen him arise in a tumult of excitement, and as soon as the tones of his clear, ringing voice echoed through the vast hall, all was hushed, and every ear was open, and every eye was turned toward him. I was present when he delivered his great speech on the importance and necessity of standing by the Resumption law and the currency of the Constitution. Many members were wavering, hard times were abroad in the land; bankruptcies were frequent, and enormous in amount. There was an appalling shrinkage of values, and a wild cry came up from the North, the South and the great Inland West for more money. The advocates, of the policy of largely increasing the volume of the greenback currency, were jubilant; but that speech decided their fate.

"The doubting were convinced, and the wavering fixed, in their determination to stand by the Resumption law. Resumption succeeded. The national honor was preserved. Business rests upon a solid foundation and an era of prosperity prevails. To no man is the nation more indebted for this auspicious condition of affairs than to him whose untimely death we mourn to-day.

"Notwithstanding the earnestness and boldness of Mr. Garfield's utterances, everybody was his friend. They gave him credit for honesty, and sincerity. So sure it is that these qualities always command our respect, if they do not excite our admiration.

"The sterling qualities which I have briefly mentioned, together with his known and accepted position on the great public questions of the day, secured Mr. Garfield's nomination to the Presidency at the National Convention, which met at Chicago on the 2nd day of June, A. D. 1880. His competitor, as all know, was a patriotic and illustrious Union General. The contest was remarkable for its thoroughness and intensity in the doubtful States, but Mr. Garfield was clearly and fairly elected, and on the 4th of March last, was duly inaugurated. He entered on the discharge of his duties as President under the most auspicious circumstances. We were at peace with all the world. The wounds of the war had been healed, and the work of reconciliation had fairly been accomplished. Prosperity reigned supreme; the good time had come and the people rejoiced. Menaced by no external power and free from domestic dissensions, he could turn his entire attention to the internal machinery of government. He determined to distinguish his term of office by its purity of administration, and its economy of expenditures. Only four months was he at the helm, but his achievements in that time will be remembered long, and bless the land for years. In that brief time he routed the army of contracting thieves from their entrenched position in the postoffice department, and established a standard of official integrity and honor that carried dismay to the spoils-hunter and dishonest official. But just as he had fully gathered the reins of government in his hands, and sent forth the uncompromising demand for honesty and integrity from all officials, and while preparing to enforce that demand, the assassin's bullet paralyzed his power and arrested the much-needed work of reform. That he made mistakes may be conceded, for all human judgments are imperfect; but the cold and passionless voice of history, though it may find fault or flaw, will more than satisfy those who loved him most, and will place his name among the highest and purest in the list of human rulers.

"In contemplation of the solid and brilliant abilities of a great man, we often lose sight of those qualities that endear him to friends, and to the loved ones around the home circle. Man may possess transcendant genius, and be the idol of the populace, and yet be selfish, unsocial and cruel at home. Towering ambition may, and sometimes does, subordinate the love of wife, of children, and of parents, to its gratification. Such was not the case with Garfield. His home was his retreat from the storms and battles of life, where love reigned supreme. The telegram dictated by himself to his wife on the 2nd of July last, just after the fatal shot, was full of the holy felicities of domestic life. Mrs. Garfield was in Elberton, where the President finally died. The telegram read: 'The President wishes me to say to you for him, that he has been seriously hurt, how seriously he cannot say. He is himself in hopes you will come to him soon. He sends love to you.'

"The voice of ambition was hushed. The counsel and association of a statesman was subordinated to the presence and society of the loving and faithful wife; and how touching has been her devotion; how grand and noble her fortitude in that trying hour! Some one has truthfully said that there are but three words of beauty in the English language, and they are: 'Mother, Home, Heaven.' All know that the love and affection of our dead President for his aged mother, who by the cruel shot of the assassin, will be the chief mourner at the grave of her dear boy. These are the qualities, more than the brilliant display on the rostrum, in the forum or before enraptured thousands, that give the full measure of a noble manhood. This display may co-exist with selfishness and meanness; love and affection sanctify the noblest gifts and the loftiest aspirations.

"No account of Mr. Garfield's character would be full and complete without a statement of his deep and fervent religious convictions.

"No man with his breadth of knowledge, with his complete mastery of the processes of induction and analysis, and with his metephysical character of mind, could ever be a disbeliever in the existence of God and the immortality of man. Hence we find him a member of a Christian Church and a regular attendant upon its services. The problem of human origin and human destiny early engaged his thoughts, and secured his profound consideration. He _believed_, and endeavored to regulate his conduct, habits, and life by Divine laws.

"In conclusion let me say, the hero statesman of this age, and the loved idol of this nation, has gone down to an honored grave. He died in the zenith of his reputation and glory, after a struggle which has held the admiration of the world for his heroism and manhood. He lived long enough after the fatal shot to feel the sympathy of the nation, and the deep indignation of the people, at the manner of his taking-off. He has gone to the still heights where crime and pain come not. A nation mourns his loss, and millions of freeman now and hereafter will revere his virtues and guard his fame.

"Though dead in the flesh he lives in the spirit, and in the affections and memory of his countrymen.

"The principles and lessons he taught are his best legacy to his country.

"His memory will never die until time shall be no more. The tears of a sorrowing people will water the sod that covers the remains of their loved magistrate; and from every blade of grass that grows, and from the leaf of every flower that blooms upon his grave, an avenging spirit shall arise to demand requital for the damnation of his taking-off. Then at the grave of the great departed, let us tender anew our vows of fidelity to our country and to freedom, and consecrate every wish and aspiration of our hearts to an undivided and free Republic, remembering that though Presidents may die our country must and shall live forever. 'God reigns, and the Government, at Washington still lives.'"

When I had finished speaking the chairman introduced Rev. George Herbert Watson, whose address was very sympathetic and scholarly as well as impressive. The chairman next introduced the Honorable William H. White, whose address was brief, earnest, patriotic and eloquent.

Political and Not Party Convictions

I have always been of the opinion, and have so declared in public speeches and newspaper articles, that the true policy of the Pacific Coast was the division of its area into small States. I will give but a few of the many reasons for such opinion, for I do not intend to go elaborately into a statement of them. The time for effective action has passed. I desire to state only enough to show the trend of my views on the subject.

First, then, as to the lower house of Congress. The area of the three states bordering on the Pacific Ocean--California, Oregon and Washington--is fully one-half covered by mountains. The sides of these mountains are to a certain extent covered with a heavy growth of timber and with practically impassable canyons; their ridges sharp, gravelly and sterile, with fertile coves and small valleys as yet unoccupied by either the hunter or the hardy woodsman. Many cycles of years will roll away before these fertile spots will be occupied with the romantic homes of these last-named classes.

The Atlantic Coast in the same number of degrees of latitude, commencing at the forty-fifth degree on the coast of Maine and proceeding south for sixteen degrees, is covered to some extent with mountains; but as a general rule they are low as compared with our ranges. Much of the land on their slopes is rich and accessible, and all of their fertile slopes, coves and small valleys have been long since occupied.

I state these facts to show that in addition to natural causes the States bordering on the Atlantic in the same number of degrees of north latitude, as will more fully appear, must continue to have the dominating power in the lower house of Congress. The three States bordering on the Pacific Ocean extend over sixteen degrees of north latitude. Commencing at the 45th degree in Maine and going south sixteen degrees, thirteen States border on the Atlantic. These thirteen States have a representation in the lower house of Congress of 103 members; while the three States bordering on the Pacific have a representation of fourteen members. Thus it is manifest that for many years to come, and possibly forever, with a slowly-diminishing power, the Atlantic will have the control on all subjects of tariff, of finance, of currency and of immigration; subjects in which the Pacific Coast is deeply interested, and upon some of which there is not only an actual, but growing conflict of interests and convictions. Add to this the further fact that Washington and Oregon extend inland for over four hundred and fifty miles, and California on an average of two hundred and fifty miles, and, applying the same rule of inland extension to the Atlantic Coast, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with their thirty Representatives, would be let in and added to the 103; thus giving to the Atlantic Coast permanent control of all those vital subjects of legislation, so far at least, as the lower house of Congress is concerned. It will thus be seen that a fatal mistake has been made in the political division of the Pacific Coast. I have confined myself strictly to the Ocean-bordering states. The great Inland Empire, lying between the Rocky Mountains on the west and the Alleghany Range on the east, is more intimately and strongly connected by commercial and financial ties with the Atlantic than with the Pacific Coast. As a partial compensation for this inevitable want of political power in the lower house of Congress, it was the true policy, as I have declared, for the Pacific Coast to divide its immense territorial area into small States, so as to secure in the United States Senate, an approach to equality of political power. We have seen that within sixteen degrees of north latitude on the Atlantic Coast there are thirteen States, bordering on the ocean, with twenty-six Senators; while on the Pacific Coast in the same number of degrees of latitude there are but three States, with only six Senators. California should have been divided into three States; Oregon, into three States; and Washington into three States. This would give only nine States in a far greater territorial area than that contained in the thirteen States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. Even then, this would give us only eighteen Senators; but it would be a nearer approach to equality in political power than now.

The question may be asked: Are there no means by which this fatal mistake may now be remedied? As a lawyer, and being somewhat acquainted with the history of my country, I am compelled to answer, No.

On the admission of a State into the Union, there is an implied compact on the part of the Federal Government to defend such admitted State against all unlawful invasion of its territory. If there be a dispute about boundaries, it must be settled in the proper Court, and the final decree of that Court will be enforced by all the power of the Federal Government.

Again, the possession of power is always connected with the desire to perpetuate it, and also with a sensitive jealousy of all measures having a tendency to diminish its controlling effectiveness, or to lessen the value of the units constituting that power. The admission of every State has, to some extent, this effect; hence the demands are more exacting, and the admission more difficult, now, than heretofore.

There has been but one instance in our history where a State has been divided, and the segregated portion been admitted into the Union as a State; and that is the case of West Virginia; but that admission was based on facts and conditions which every patriot hopes may never occur again. Virginia not only claimed the right peaceably to secede from the Union but to be the sole and exclusive judge not only of the existence, but also, of the sufficiency of the causes, to warrant such secession. She did all she could to make that secession effective. Old Virginia had by her act, and by her theory of the nature of the Government under the Constitution, estopped herself to deny that the forty-eight counties west of the Alleghany Range possessed the same right of secession--if any such right existed--that she possessed herself; she could therefore make no rightful objection. The people of the forty-eight counties were loyal to the Federal Government, and flag. They called a Convention, adopted a Constitution republican in form which was approved by nearly unanimous vote of its legal electors--28,321 for and only 572 against--and under that Constitution, with the name of West Virginia they were admitted into the Union on December 31st, 1862. This was done partly as a war measure, and partly to show the disintegrating effect of the logic of secession.

The State of Texas requires a brief notice. She was admitted into the Union as a State on December 29th, 1845. By the prudential foresight of her statesmen, in a compact entered into between her and the Federal Government, she reserved the right to form four additional States out of her large area. She has not as yet exercised that right, but no doubt will in due time; thus securing ten Senators, while the whole Pacific Coast, with almost twice her territorial area, has fixed its number irrevocably at six.

The Ram's Horn Incident

Esau sold his birthright, with all that it implied, for a mess of pottage. Infant communities, whether territorial or municipal, feeling the pressure of present want, are always tempted by money-sharks to mortgage, sell, or surrender, for a mere song, rights and franchises of a constantly increasing income, and relinquish political power necessary for a legitimate assertion and protection of their rights in years to come. A striking exemplification of this short-sightedness appears in what is said above as to the formation of only three States to cover the whole Pacific Coast. The supplicant for this birthright, and all its prospective enormous income, finds his most congenial and hospitable host in a municipal legislature. He is usually, but not always, accompanied by the fascinating Miss Graftis.