| Show 1 Presidents Pro Tempore BY SAVOYARD In 1867 the Democratic tI party vas vas on the verge erge of despair The south was prostrate The west solidly Republican can New York was a a doubtful state and New Jersey Democratic Kentucky Maryland Marland and Delaware were also Democratic Ohio was a traditional h Abolition and Republican state and nobody dreamed that the very first streak of dawn was to come to the Democratic party In the then Empire state of the then tIlen great west vest Ben Wade president pro tempore of or the United States senate was a candidate for lor a third term in the senate and It was the general understanding that Clement L was to be his Democratic competitor R H B Hayes was the Republican candidate for gov guy governor governor He had been a soldier of the war and a prominent nt member of the congress from Ohio What a lapful of ot successes came to him At his belt were the scalps of Thurman and Allen and Tilden and I believe Pendleton Every state exulted when Allen G I Thurman ran for tor governor of Ohio in 1867 The issue was whether he word white should be 0 strick stricken en from the suffrage clause of the constitution of the state of ot Chase and Wade Vade and Giddings On the night of election it was ascertained d that ne negro negro negro gro suffrage was beaten by more than and It was some twelve hours before the Democrats ceased ce sed to Jubilate over oer what was very nearly conceded as a Democratic victory on the state ticket However some of or the remote precincts of the western reserve came up with votes enough to elect Hayes by some 2000 plurality but the legisla legislature legislature ture tune was Democratic and every Demo Democratic Democratic Democratic cratic heart In every state exulted when Allen G Thurman was chosen Ben Wades successor suc in the United States senate He took his seat in 1869 and served until 1881 Henry Henrj B Anthony whose who e physical ph resemblance to Thurman was notable succeeded Wade as president pro tern tem ternand ternand and served four years when he was succeeded by Matthew Hale Carpenter whom Judge Jeremiah S Black pro pronounced pronounced flounced the greatest grea st lawyer who ever spoke the English tongue I am not much of a judge of a lawyer but I Iam Iam Iam am very nearly persuaded that Carpen Carpenter ter was the greatest orator I ever heard His voice was perfect he never raised It above a conversational pitch and yet et it was distinct to the occupant of or the remotest niche of the farthest gallery and the music of it was so seductive and the vocabulary voc of his speech so simple and yet so rich that thatto thatto thatto to employ ploy the eulogy of Ben Johnson pronounced on Francis Bacon Your only fear was that he should make an end About 1872 or 1873 congress perpetrated perpetrated perpetrated what was known as the salary alary grab My Iy recollection Is that Carpen Carpenter ter supported it but some weeks ago I read a very ery entertaining narrative about him in which it was narrative that Carpenter voted against it Hoy How However ever that may be he defended It on the stump and made a most audacious speech In one OTIe of the Wisconsin coun counties counties counties ties then th n inhabited by staid Puritans from New England that cost him his election He lie was himself a Vermonter and in one of the first cases in which he was eer ever retained his adversary was Senator George F Edmunds Carpenter was a Douglas Democrat later war Democrat later yet a Republican Republican Republican lican Had the south adhered to Doug Douglas Douglas Douglas las how different might have been our history Had the south not gone rabid In what a different story might be told When the south goes out to Denver next July she ought to put the thinking cap In the suit case It will be needed Thomas W Ferry of Michigan suc sue succeeded deeded Carpenter as president pro tem tern tempore tempore pore of the senate Donn Piatt de declared declared dared that Dick Merrick a great law lawyer lawyer lawyer yer of that day was the th only man in America who could wear chin whiskers shave his upper lip Up and stay He was writing of and concerning a certain chapter in Ferrys life at that time We all recollect what a great big load of ot responsibility it was sought to put on Ferry that he should count the vote ote la In the election electon of 1876 It was I an absurd proposition that the two houses of congress were to be convened a certain Thursday of February 1877 Just to look on while the president pro tern opened such certificates as he deemed legal and counted the vote yote without appeal from his decision And yet that Is what Morton and Edmunds and Sherman and Logan insisted on Conkling revolted or It would have been attempted and violence would have haie resulted A way was was found to perpetrate the outrage no less effectively however the partisan electoral commission All AU AUthe the Democrats had to do was to stand pat The Republicans knew that They The knew that the vote of the disputed states could not be he counted for Hayes unless the house of representatives overwhelmingly Democratic assented to It So they got UD up the electoral commission Tilden opposed it In a aletter aletter aletter I letter to Hewitt that showed that he was a prophetess prophet s well as asage eHre I is a passage Why Wb surrender before a I fight After defeat is the time to sur cur surrender surrender render Hewitt did not dream that fifteen men five senators five representatives representatives and five members of the supreme court chosen as the act pro provided provided provided vided could be found Cound who would de decide decide dedde cide for tor Hayes Ha es Had he thought so he would have made public letter there would have been no elec ele electoral electoral toral commission the vote would have been counted In a constitutional way and Samuel J J Tilden inaugurated Thomas W V Ferrys name will al always always ways be associated with that great contest He bore himself well and to this day the public is at a loss to know whether he Intended tc take the revo revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary advice adice of Oliver P Morton or harken to the warning of or Roscoe Conkling During the entire contro controversy versy three long months of suspense he never gave a hint as to what he would do No doubt it was a great re relief lief lIet to him when the electoral bill pass passed passed passed ed and lifted off his shoulders the great load of responsibility The fort congress was Demo Democratic Democratic Democratic cratic in both houses Samuel J Ran Randall Randall dall dali was speaker of ot the house and und Allen G Thurman president pro tempore One day the senate was in a parlia parliamentary parliamentary men tary perplexity when Carpenter rose and said suid that in such difficulty he always sought the coursel counsel of ot the sena senator senator senator tor from Ohio and find in his absence he turned to the senator from Vermont Edmunds the two great parliamentary authorities of the body but as both were then out of the chamber he was left len to his own resources and that he would venture a guess at it But Thurman was more than a great parliamentary lawyer law er He lIe was all sorts of a great lawyer the equal of or any man of his day and generation It was his masterly of or the const constitution ution lution 1 during the miserable reconstruction tion era more than any other single agency that worked to overturn car at the routh Fouth and change the Democratic membership of ot a very small minority in the senate when he entered It to an actual Democratic ma majority majority But If the old Roman were to revisit these scenes he ho would search long before he found the Democratic party he left here and led in the sen senate senate senate ate for twelve glorious years Thurman gave place to John Sher Sherman Sherman Sherman man as senator from Ohio in 1881 There was a special session immediate immediately ly after inauguration called by Gar Garfield Garfield Garfield field to consider appointments and that was prolonged Into May It had mo momentous momentous momentous consequences At first several teats seats on the Republican side were va vacant vacant Vacant cant Blaine Blame and Windom had gone into the cabinet and their seats thus vacated were Unsupplied Besides there were two or three other vacancies I on the Republican side due to one cause or another Thus the Democrats were able to elect Thomas F Bayard Byard president pro tern tem but it was not for forlong forlong forlong long When the vacancies were sup supplied supplied supplied plied and Mahone the Re Republicans Republicans Republicans publicans were able to depose but not with a straight Republican David Davis got the place A little later the quarrel between Conkling g and Blaine Elaine was fought to a 8 standstill over New York patronage the Democrats for Mahones scalp came to the rescue of ot the administration tion Conkling and Platt Piatt resigned the president was assassinated and these and other things like them brought about the Democratic victory of 1884 when Grover Cleveland was elected president over James Jamea G Blaine Blame George F Edmunds was the n next president pro tern followed by John Sherman John JohnJ J Ingalls served from 1887 tb t and Isham G GHarris GHarris GHarris Harris came in the fhe third t Democrat so 80 honored since Benjamin counting Bayard who was in inthe inthe inthe the chair only a short while I omitted C F Mander who preceded Harris whom Mr II Frye Fr e the present pr ent occupant succeeded A volume containing accurate ace rate and concise biographies of ull all the presidents pro tern of the United States senate would be a valuable contribution of Or our I political history |
