OCR Text |
Show learns's Career in tk I Has Done His Whole Duty to the People of His State. Pushed Utah and TJtahns to the Front Burnished the Star of Statehood. IH H At midnight last night the career of Thomas Kearns, United States Senator from Utah camo" to an end, although the clock In the Senate chamber has been turned back and the Senate will nominally not adjourn until noon today, and he laid aside official cares with which he has been jH burdened the past four years. Au be steps down from tho rrreatest post- tlon, save one, which a man can attain jH at the hands of the people of the great- est Government on earth, he carries with him the good will and high esteem of his colleagues and the plaudits of the large majority of the constituency which ho has so ably represented and who can truthfully oay of him, "Well done, good and faithful servant." jH Thomas Kearns has been a Senator for the whole people of the State of Utah. Creed has not figured with him In his commendations to the admtnls- fl tration for position and place in Gov-ernmental Gov-ernmental service all have been treat- jH ed alike. He has fought for Utah, faithfully. ably and well. He has pushed the State to the front. Has made the world know jfl that regardless of the menace which has so long held sway and ruled the majority of the people of his Stato, there lived In Utah others than those of the dominant church who believed In the State and in its future, who not only wero ready, but willingly gave their money, their time and talent to develop and uplift the State, and who jH also had the courage to express their convictions to the world at large when they believed that solemn compacts made with eighty-five millions of peo-pie, peo-pie, and which they had aided in ma-king, ma-king, were broken. A review of the JM work accomplished by Thomas Kearns as United States Senator from Utah Kearns's Career in Senate. A llttlo over four yoars ago the Leg Is-lature Is-lature of Utah selected Thomas Kcarus as United States Senator. It will bo re-called re-called that two years previous the Leg- jH Islaturo had been In deadlock, and no Senator was chosen. Many opinions wero H expressed at the time ns to tho wisdom of electing to tho higher branch of Con- IH gress, a man who but a few years pre- IH vlous had been a mlni-r. but who through IH sheer pluck and honest endeavor had won a place for himself among tho mining men of the country Some predicted that ho would be a failure, while those who knew his indomlnltable pluck and energy . foresaw a term of usefulness, nnd propho-sled propho-sled a new era for Utah. Fulfilled Prophecy of Friends. Determined at the outset to mako no distinction because of a man's religion. JM and fully determined as far as he was IH ublo to bring about a better understand- IH lng between the pcoplo of his State, Sena- tor Kearns fulfilled the prophecy of his fM friends, and In a short time had won for VM himself an cnvlablo position In tho hearts JM of the citizens of his Stato. Political ene- ll mles wero forced to acknowledge tho re-suits re-suits of his work, and thoso who had op- pewed him as a man unfitted for the high- tM est honor within tho gift of his State, IH rallied to his cause. IH Burnished Star of Utah's Statehood. IH In ono short year, ho had burnished tho star of Utah's statehood, and mado her IH twinkle with equal brilliancy In tho con- otollatlon of her sister States. Ho dlssl- IH pated tho fooling of resentment against IB I'tnh. and brougnt about a better under- lM standing between tho pcoplo of this coun- IH try for tho State of hla udoptlon; nor was IH this any easy thing to do. Utah Had Long- Suffered. In Washington. Utah had suffered be- IH cause of tho election and oxpulslon of IH Brlgham H. Roberts. Ills dellanco of tho decencies, backed up by his church, had IH aroused again a storm of Indignation IH against Utah until to bo a citizen of L tnh was tatamount to being put under an espionage, for no ono could come to Washington with Utah as hla homo who was not subject, first, to tho belief that ho was a polygamlst. and secondly that IPH his domicile was sufficient excuse to watch him. IH Won Admiration Colleagues. His advancement came In bounds. Pre-sunting Pre-sunting nothing; modest In his demands. and respectful to his colleagues, ho Soon won their regard, and when they camo to know him better, they gave him the r confidence nnd assistance. No opportunl-tv opportunl-tv wan over lost sight of to say a ord fbr Utah. Ho wought to give to intern people a better understanding of tho cltl- zenship of I'tah. tM Religion No Bar to Place. Perhaps tho first thing that did moro In a material way to advance h s cause was to emphasize in the particular way of appointments that religious nffl llailon was to bo a bar to no man's ambition. His first appointments wero under what "generally known as tlo Senate patron-nee patron-nee nnd he appo'ntcd to the two posl-t!on8 posl-t!on8 allowed him In the clerical force of the Senato Ben L. Rich and Gcorgo G. Graves, tho latter tho former aeewtary of Senator Cannon. A t titae nttm-wards nttm-wards when Mr. Graves died, ho ap-nolnted ap-nolnted to Hint vacancy II A ijUnd- f"" ot Anthon II. Lund, ono of tho first coun- II A I , acllorn to President Smith. In tho mcan- I ' , timo Mr. Rich had graduated In law. and resigned to tnko up tho pracllco ot lijs "profession, and his place was nftcrwiirds -filled by George L. Wcllcr. Then ho sc-ticurcd sc-ticurcd tho appointment ot Ieracl E. u-i-'lcy ns cleric In the Census office, and assisted as-sisted him later to a promotion. lie also .a. appointed Miss Mary L. McGco to u J12C0 XCIorlCBhip In tho Census office. m Recognition in Array. .v But these Troro mlr.or matters in conv f parlson with tho llrst big thing ho did for Utah in having tho Govornuient rcc-i rcc-i ogniso in tho reorganisation of tho nrmy tho excellent work of tho Utah light bat-1 bat-1 tery, bv tho appointment of MnJ. F. A. Grant as Quartermaster with tho ranlc of t Captain. Tho bill reorganizing tho army ' was roady for passage; it had, been reported re-ported by both houses of Congress, and was ready to pass; it was then that Senator Sen-ator Kearna discovered that tho law as ' it stood would prevent tho appointment of MaJ. Grant, and ho immediately eot L about with tho help of his friends to havo It amended. It was an unusual prococtl- lug to amend a bill at such a time, but hiB friends In tho Sonato camo to his rescue, and tho bill wno so changed as to permit of tho nppolntmcnt of MnJ. Grant, ft Utah's Quota in Army Increased. t In this connection It was through tho , Senator's endeavors that Utah's quota of .ttisccond lieutenants In tho reorganised W3orvico was Increased from two to live, 9- and his nppolntcos now ecattercd all over fJ tho world nro giving good accounts of ' r themselves, and reflecting with credit tho I Two Important Appointments. '- Then camo In quick succession the np-. np-. polntmcnt of W. G. Van Horno as Judge I of tho Court of First Instanco at Cairo Egypt, at a salary of $7000 per annum, and 1 ' ., a llfo appointment, with .opportunity for advancement In a. few years. i Tho appointment of Judge A. B. Hayeo 1 f of Ogden as solicitor of internal revenuo i camo next, and the politicians at AVash-1 AVash-1 ington were beginning to recognise thoy . . had a now force to contend with in lepre- Mentations of Senator Kcarns for tho 4 acknowledgment of Utah and her clti-j clti-j Transfers Revenue Headquarters. J , It was only after a hard light that tho " ' Senator succeeded In transferring the 1 1 , headquarters of tho internal revenue dls- ' trlct of Utah. Idaho and Montana, from i Helena to Salt Lake, which gave him the J . patronage of tho revenuo collector nt a i salary "of -?4SO0, nnd chief doputy at- $17C0. " and a largo number of deputies. Equal Share for Mormons. And right hero it might bo well to call ' attention to tho fact that ho waa carry-' carry-' . Ing out his predetermined plan to give tho I- citizens of Alormon faith an equal share , in tho political patronage of Utah. , Next camo tho appointment of John T. i, i , Axton ns chaplain in tho regular army, j nnd this nppolntmcnt was mndo in tho I " fnco of at least twenty other applicants, representing as many different Stales. jt Brought Utah to tho Front. Utah was coming to the front; her Son-Jv, Son-Jv, ator was now demanding recognition and, I Holding out Irrefutable arguments thnt fhe Stato had been neglected for years, , and tho official register of tho employees of tho Government showed the scanty concern con-cern that tho administration had paid to JUtah. VJ . . Aided Free Delivery Service. Taking up now tho subject of post-! post-! offices. "When tho system of rural freo i dollvory was In Its swaddling clothes, ho ,had printed nt his own expense circular 4 letters and instructions to postniasters 1 nnd others desiring- the benefits of rural rfreo dollvory, and went them broadcast "throughout Utah, with the splendid re-. re-. i -suit that Is now attested by the number of A routes established by him nnd through I i his direct agency It was ho who ap pointed In this connection W, M. Steolo yJas Inspector of Routes In tho rural freo delivery services, and by this appoint-ment appoint-ment obtained a recognition which brought tho State again to tho front in ; the matter of Importance. Thero is not . a postmaster in all of Utah but knows the good that Senator Kcarns has dono Jin this Blngle branch of. tho service. 1 Knew Needs' of People. ' o He had had amplo opportunity, which only comes from a thorpugh knowledgo ' ot tho needs of his Stato' of the great boon that rural freo delivery would be to tho country people, and of tho magnlficont opportunities op-portunities It offered In tho way of educa- tlon. He has not begrudged his timo In looking after tho smnllest detail affecting i creases for clerk hire promotions, estab-j estab-j (llshment of freo delivery systems, speak j volumes for tho work ho has accom- t pushed. And It might not bo out of placo I right here to call attention to tho fact 5 that few men in public llfo havo ever se- , cured such recognition at tho hands of his party in so short a time, ij Secret of His Success. Tho Sonate indeed is a close corporation Its members are Jealous of their prerogative, preroga-tive, and aro slow to welcome in their midst a now comer. Ho must bo tried and sorely tried before thoy extend to him tho hand of friendship: by his rugged insight and modest demeanor ho won that recog-f recog-f nltlon which It takes some men years to got, and others never receive. And so it Is peculiar that in the short space of four hearts of his colleagues, which insures their assistance in whatever ho undertakes. under-takes. This has been ono of tho secrets Of hl3 CUCCCSS. ia Places for Utahns.-mlnl Utahns.-mlnl f0?lnow aSln l appoirit-should appoirit-should be made of the appointment of r C. Boebo as Bank Examiner in a ?L dial trict, created bv Senator Kearns for tho V,pUrp0BeT,0 fhl3 appointment I5 en&8CcedUBahn I J?ffSa? klthGeor that he might pursue his studies if ufo -George B. McCabo of Ogden, throuch thSLCfTorts of Senator Kearns UAh pofnted a member of tho Pension Board or Appeals, and declining this appointment waj later made Law Clerk for th ment of Agriculture. r tho E,ePtt- Pvebuilding- Fort Douglas, t , Th0, rebuilding of Fort Douglas m, ifJ?' dUM luno cnacVor8 of slnar" Kearna, and ho has been norsiEton? VI i?, I efforts to make this one of (ho c?4t manent posts of tho countrj" por i First Great Service to Utah. Going back now to the tin nt ui , K tlon, let it bo recalled that ole" He eorvico ho rendered for Vtahi pub" L visit to tho Whlto House In whi' v,Yas a n resented tho great benefit that would Vr, ' from a general system of lrrlrmnn COnmo, , , also let it bo remembered that h nncJ . thing he did after PrcsidGnt nil? nr : w.a? Inaugurated, afte PresWcn? McK.n' loy's death, was to Impress . no,, iVi . n" necessity of embodying In his" ho some reference to the ubJecofTHgf I Helped Frame Irrigation Law. 1 ' It was Senator Kcarns. who -mo ii ber of tho committee wh h r L?- ' ; general irrlirafinn in- .,V.. rramed tho f service to declaim tho great wLtthat HL1 country tlun anything elsotw i,?J Ltcrn Hf, . dono in tho history of tho aa bccn ; since tho passage o? th'e' AolT Fought for Uintah Reserve OpenW Hl 1 Early in hie administration ho urca th'. open ng of tho Uintah rcsorvatlnr , Hl I hns flehtlnp tooth and nan to hHnli . itVt1 ,th0 conummatlon of P this Scat H work slnco ho has been in tho Sen-ifwi . SsSSfflSSgl- was blocking the onenlmr i!r thilhat ho , resorvatlon, ho offered a 8?nt te, erat tlon calling upon tho Secretary 0Tttn i t 1,n,teriori? exnIaln tho reason for thS na';hThls wa,B h,s a"8wer to his critics ; veSTan ffK 'SS: Eecoyered Money for Utah. HL If J10 rcldcnto of Brlgham CItv i f miliar wlth tho fight Senator ICcarns "a wjth tho Secretary of tho lntcdSr I ha. ?'l Government pay back moneys j deposited-, by them for and the depart ment could not dollvcr; for years this money had been tied up In the Treasury, and It wns ot until Senator Kcarns started to work on tho caso that nn opportunity op-portunity was offered to got it back, nor was this action alono confined to Brig-ham, Brig-ham, for ovory part of tho Stato has benefited bene-fited by It. Tho matter was first brought to Senator Kearns's attention by Edward V. Chaso of Brlgham City, nnd ho Is thoroughly familiar with the persistent per-sistent efforts tho Senator mado to havo th; Government right Its wrong. Work for Southern Utah. Soulhorn Utah is familiar with Senator Koarns'fl work in tho building of tho Indian In-dian school there. When ho camo to tho Senate, truo tho appropriation had been mndo but the wholo caso was tied up bc-causo bc-causo of tho fact that tho Legislature of Utah had not given Its sanction to tho sale of tho land to tho Govornmcnt. In a short timo thia matter was unraveled, and tho building of tho Indlnn school greatly expedited. Worked for Interest All. Among tho other things accomplished by tho Senator was tho making of Salt Lnko a port of entry with n survoyor s offico In Salt Lako City; tho promotion of W. S. Hedges to a chief clerkship and tho defeat of tho proposition of tho Secretary Secre-tary of tho Interior to erect plants for tho manufacture of comont In Arizona, It Is no exaggeration to say that no man or woman in Utah ovor appealed to Scnntor Kearna for his assistance, that it was not freely and chcorfully glvon. Tho records of his offico in Washington aro filled with requests of Utahns, nnd whero It wns possible to help them, all had been served. Secured Commutation for Miller. In this connection it might bo woll to recall tho numerous transfers ho has ob-'talned ob-'talned in tho department, tho promotions thnt ho hns been able to obtain, nnd It might not bo out of placo In this connection con-nection to mention tho caso of AVIllIam L. Miller, who was convicted of dcaor-tlon dcaor-tlon In tho Philippines, and sontonced to four years imprisonment; ho appealed through his pcoplo to Sonator Kcarns to Interest himself in tho commutation of his sentence, and after many nrguments .with tho Sccrotary of War, tho term was reduced Jo two years. Aided Mormons to Land. During his term, especially In tho early part of 1902, a largo number of Mormon Immigrants wero detained nt Boston; tho Senator was appealed to by tho leaders of tho church to help them, and ho went before tho Secretary of tho Treasury and obtained an order permitting them to lamH Order Discrimination Bevoked. .. i uciiovmg that theso pcoplo woro being discriminated against because of tholr rollglon. Senator Kearns insisted that hereafter because an immigrant claimed to bo a Mormon, tbero should bo no discrimination dis-crimination against him. Ho insisted that tho Secretary of tho Treasury advise his Inspoctors In this matter, and after that thero were no detentions. Secured Many Transfers. Charles Abcrnathy and William- A. Earhcart aro citizens of Weber county. Both of them wero employed at Washington. Wash-ington. Mr. Abcrnathy was a compoaltor in tho Government printing offico, and during tho summer recess ho was laid off with a number of others, ho sought out Sonator Kcarns and tho order reinstating hfm wns forthwith promulgated. William A. Earhcart was a clerk in tho offico of tho auditor of the Postofflco department; his health ailed him while In Washington, Washing-ton, and ho wanted a transfer. Tho law requires a man to serve a net period beforo be-foro boir.g eligible; Senntor Kcarns was able to havo this regulation waived, and Mr. Earhcart was sent to a cllmnto better bet-ter suited to his falling health. Services in Behalf of Old Soldiers. There IS perhaps no greater hcrltago.for a man to leavo upon the lnoffaccablo rec--ords of history than that of duty woir performcd. His Is tho secret conscloua-ncs. conscloua-ncs. of having honestly and faithfully performed his mission. And in this connection con-nection It Is well to recnll his services In behalf of tho old soldior, a work dear.-indeed, to his heart, and a work In which ho hna bent his greatest energies. Ho la ono of thoso who believe that tho defenders defend-ers of tho Union are entitled to tho most generous recognition by tho Government. Freely has he given both time nnd influence influ-ence Jor tho boy3 who woro tho bluo. Each claim submitted to him has been carefully considered nnd personally attended at-tended to by him. Besult Is Well Known. Ho has obtained a great many pensions, and assisted many moro In obtaining increases. in-creases. There has been no putting off matters that affected tho welfare of the old soldier; no delay for a moro favorable opportunity to proscuto the claims, whoso adjudication means so much to tho applicants. appli-cants. Case of Temple Short Thero is ono case, which teaches perhaps per-haps a greater lesson In this connection than anything referred to. It Is that of Temnlo Short, a citizen of Utah, and ono of thoso who wont to tho front In tho dark days of 'Cl that tho Union might bo' preserved. With ranks depleted his old regiment was prcsont at tho last muster, mus-ter, and Tcmplo Short answered to his name. Through some oversight when he went homo to Join his family, the muster officer mado a mistake In tho records, nnd Short's namo was sent to tho War departmpnt at Washington as a deserter. For years the stigma rested upon him for years he worked to havo the record corrected; waited in vain for somo action that would at least wlpo from his record as a soldier the dishonor which was not his. Cleared Old Soldier's Name. Tho Mnlonoy can tell you what a flght Senator Kearn3 mado for thin soldier. sol-dier. For weeks ho worked to clear this old soldier's name. In tho ond ho triumphed, tri-umphed, and followed up this victory Tiy obtaining a generous pension for tho old man. with a tldv sum In h.ixir nnn.un enough, I am told to keep him comfort-ablo comfort-ablo the remainder of his days. A great many cases could bo cited whero through the Senator's earnest efforts, claims which have lain dormant for vears havo been brought to llfo and prorap'tly adjudicated. adjudi-cated. His Greatest Disappointment. Ono of tho greatest disappointments of his official llfo has beon his failure to provide pensions for tho veterans of tho Indian wars. Honestly and faithfully ho struggled for recognition of somo sort and it ls believed ho has sown tho seed which Bnortly will result In the passago of a bill giving to tho pioneer army that subjugated tho Western country a pension pen-sion commensurato with their invaluable services. Vast Amount Boutine Work. Routine work which he has attended to for tho citizens of Utah Is attested bv tho thousands of letters now on file asklmr his assistance, nnd acknowledging hu sop-Ices. Everybody has received prompt attention and careful consideration of hN needs. He has Insisted that every renuei? bo compiled with, and that all lcttero rc-ce rc-ce ve respectful and Immedlato conslder- Senator for Wholo People. To sum up his Hcrvlcos In tho Sonntn it can be truthfully gaid that ho hnS Senator for the whole pcopUi without regard re-gard to politics or rollgrouH affiliation Ho wC!? lila Sonaito conscious of tho fact that ho has endeavored to do his who?n duty by tho people as ho has seen "and if somo of his actions have been mCr,: deratood. .friend and foo alike shoulri 2? -'t give him tho credit of having dono iShente.Ch h thUBht bC3t f0r '3 co"? |