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Show TH E ;C1T I Z E N' 7 " AARON B URR T events of recent date-rt- he JL one in Mexico, and the other in!t iHris call to mind one of the most' dramatic and picturesque, WO . . ; episodes in our national history. The conviction of Caillaux, the French t statesman who held communication with his countrys enemy during the war, and the revolt of Sonora province, take the memory back to that remarkable politician, - once of the United States, who dreamed of conquering Mexico and, if his accusers were right in their judgment, of setting up an empire of his own in should be included seceding western and southern states of the t vice-preside- , nt h Q-hic- Union. In some respects Aaron Burr and Caillaux warrant comparison. Both were distinctly well-bor- n and both representative of the highest culture of their time. In both the mastery of ambition, the love of power and an insatiable desire for achievement on a large field are salient characteristics. Both employed their fine intellects and their personal magnetism in the covert ways of political cunning. Both were fond of intrigue. Both lacked moral conviction. Both were libertines and were the victims of their own intellectual dishonesty. When we begin to make distinctions between the two the advantage is on the side of Burr. If he was a villain he was as cunning as Iago, as daring as Macbeth, as fascinating as Hamlet. Below the medium stature, with wonderful dark eyes and a graceful and erect demeanor he was thought by his friends to be the finest gentleman of his time. He had his own code to replace the moral code which he repudiated. He substituted etiquette for ethics. To his own standard he was true and even today there is a dispute as to how far he was false to the higher code of morality and honor. One cannot read his story without being touched by his unfailing courtesy, his dauntless courage, his fortitude in adversity and his loyalty to the one great love of his life his accomplished and beau-- , tiful daughter Theodosia. She was the fine flower of his own teaching jnd one cannot but think that she V;ould not have been what she was had he been all that his enemies suspected him of being. vestigations and twice he was acquitted at trials in chief. And during the time that he was planning his expedition he numbered among his supporters the fearless and honest Andrew Jackson, then commander of the militia in Kentucky and afterward, by grace of Burr himself, president of the United States; for it was Burr who, many years later, was able to obtain .for the hero .of New Orleans the nomination that led on to the presidency. Burr in the ASSOCIATED with was a veritable traitor who, strangely enough, became the bright, particular hero of President Jeffersons acclaim. It was he who' betrayed Burr and supplied the principal evidence against him. And this man was .none other than the commander-in-chie- f of the U. S. army, General James Wilkinson. It remained for history to disclose what a sneak, coward and traitor Wil- kinson really was. The supporters of Burr and among them Jackson took the true measure of Wilkinson, though they did not have the evidence which made him out to be as disrepdtable and perfidious as they suspected he was. That evidence was furnished many years later by the archives of the Spanish court. It proved that he was the paid agent of the Spanish government at or about time he accused Burr of disloyalty. Indeed, at the time that he sent a messenger from St.. Louis to Washington to apprise the president of Burrs plans, he dispatched another messenger to Mexico City to demand $110,000 of the Spanish viceroy as compensation for what he was doing. Wilkinson had revealed his true character early in his military career-bu- t somehow luck was with him and he rose to be commander of the army. It was in the revolutionary war that he first proved his baseness. Just before the battle of Bemis Heights an American officer, Lieutenant Colonel Hardin, made his way into the British lines to reconnoitre. On his return he ran across Wilkinson who was at an outpost. Hardin imparted the information he had obtained to Wilkinson and asked him to convey it in turn to General Gates. This Wilkinson did, telling the whole story with a flourish and making himself the hero of it. Sent oy General Gates with to 'T'HERE can be no manner of doubt good tidings, he rode post haste where he became the that, whatever his ulterior mo- Washington, note tives in the Mexican affair, his overt man of the hour. Congress took a acts did not warrant the persecution of him and was about to vote him to which he was subjected by the sword when some cynic remarked that he ought to be voted a pair of spurs then president of the United States Thomas Jefferson and by the official instead. The plan vanished amid and unofficial agents of that popular laughter, but later he was made a breatesman. vet brigadier general. Having joined So accustomed are we to regard in a cabal to elevate General Gates to Aaron Burr, the slayer of Hamilton, a higher position, he came into disas ruthless and conscienceless that in we forget that, unlike Caillaux, he was favor and resigned his new honor acquitted of treason. Three times he order to dodge the wrath of congress. was pronounced guiltless in legal in He fell back to the obscurity of his By F. P. Gallagher position ..as colonel and managed to re.. .. main in. the military service. . It was during the war that he made the acquaintance of Colonel Aaron Burr and this1 acquaintanceship ' had ripened into a friendship of, longstanding at the time of the great After the death of Hamilton at the hands of Burr, the latter was indicted on a charge of murder and flew to. South Carolina, where his daughter had become the wife of a rich planter, Alston, soon afterwards governor of the state. When the tempest of passion caused by the duel and its fatal results had passed Burr went to Washington, where he served out his term as It was obvious to everybody, including himself, that his political career was ended. He could not return to New York, and he looked for other fields of endeavor. His eyes turned toward the great west and he saw as if in a vision a rehabilitated Aaron Burr riding on the wings of glory. . In a house-boa- t he drifted down the Ohio and the Mississippi to New Orleans, the capital of that Louisiana which recently had been purchased from France by the United States. It was on this trip, no doubt, that he matured his plans at leisure, meeting Wilkinson at St. Louis. Returning toward the north, he began to interest . vice-preside- nt. important men in his enterprise. He went to Washington, where he saw President Jefferson and told him of a project to settle a vast tract of land on the Washita in Louisiana. As Jefferson was interested in having Americans emigrate to the new possession he lent a not unwilling ear to whatever it was Burr proposed. We may be sure that there was nothing . in. Burrs prospectus to .. indicate the slightest treachery toward the United States. 'r ,.4 Burr was still hoping for something to turn up that would be compatible with his dignity as a former vice? president. He even went so far as to ask the president for a diplomatic berth. When it was refused and there seemed to be no further hope of political preferment his mind reverted to his grandiose scheme. It was always his contention that . he meant merely to settle the Washita tract and, in case of war with Spain, to leau an expedition into Mexico. At that period the United States was constantly near war with Spain. The people of the west, in fact, were clamoring for the arbitrament of battle so that the disputes of the frontier might be definitely settled. Years afterward Spanish records seemed to give a more sinister aspect to Burrs project. While in Washing-- ( Continued on Page 18.) aaataaaaBaaaaaaaaaaBaaaaaaaaaaaMaiaaaaBaaaaaaaaaaBaaBBaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaBaaaaaaaaaaiaBBaaMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaBaaBBaaaBaBaaBaBaBaaaBiaaaaaaaBaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiaaaaaaaiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaae WEDDINGS Such occasions command and rightfully deserve, the most careful attention to their necessary incidental arrange- ments. 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