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Show ---------------5)- HISTORICAL I 1 DEPARTMENT, f --------------- LAWMAKERS BECOME LAWBREAKERS. LAW-BREAKERS. How Brooks Assaulted Charles Sumner Sum-ner in the "United States Senate. Washington, D. C The only assault as-sault in the senate in which blows were administered was in the thirty-fourth thirty-fourth congress on the 22d of May, 1856, when Preston C. Brooks of South Carolina assaulted Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. ' Sumner had a few days previous made a speech favoring the admission of Kansas Kan-sas as a state under a constitution prohibiting slavery. The speech produced pro-duced the most intense political excitement ex-citement over the land, more especially espec-ially so in the south. On the 22d the senate adjourned in consequence of the announcement of the death of Mr. Miller of Missouri. Mr. Sumner remained at his desk in the senate chamber writing when he was approached by Preston S. Brooks and L. M. Keitt. congressmen from South Carolina, each carrying a cane. Brooks walked up to where Sumner sat and said. "Mr. Sumner I have read your speech carefully, and with as much calmness as I could be expected to read such a speech. You have libeled my stale and slandered my relative who is aged and absent, and I feel it to be my duty to punish you for it." Without waiting for any reply or asking for any explanation Brooks instantly in-stantly struck Mr. Sumner a violent blow on the top of his bare head. It was followed with a succession of blows, all dealt with herculean strength. Mr. Wilson, his colleague, afterward vice president, rushed into the senate on hearing of the attack, but found Mr. Sumner had been removed re-moved to the vice president's room in a deplorable condition. There were frightful cuts on his head, and his clothing was covered with blood. $ On the ensuing day the outrage was brought to the attention of the senate by Mr. Wilson, who said: "The seat of my colleague is vacant today. For the first time, after five years of public pub-lic service, that seat is vacant. Yesterday, Yester-day, after the touching tribute of respect re-spect to the memory of Mr. Miller of Missouri, a deceased member of the house of representatives, the senate adjourned. ad-journed. My colleague remained in his seat, engaged in public duties. While thus engaged, with pen in hand and in a position which rendered him utterly incapable of protection, or defending de-fending himself. Mr. Preston S. Brooks, a member of the house from South Carolina, approached him unobserved and abruptly addressed him. Looking I up, and before he had time to utter a single word in reply to him he received I a stunning blow on the head from the j cane in the hands of Mr. Brooks, which j made him almost senseless and unconscious; uncon-scious; endeavoring, however, to protect pro-tect himself, in rising from his chair his desk was overthrown, and while in that powerless condition he was beaten beat-en on the head, and shoulders by repeated re-peated blows from Mr. Brooks, until he sank upon the floor cf the senate, unconscious, un-conscious, exhausted and covered with his own blood. He was raised from the floor by a few friends, taken into an anteroom and his wounds dressed. From thence he was takerf" to his house j and placed upon his bed. He is thus unable to be with us today, to perform the duties which belong to him as a member of this body. To hold a member mem-ber of the senate responsible out of this chamber for words uttered in debate de-bate is a grave offense, not only against the rights of a member, but against the constitutional privileges of this body; but, sir. to come into this chamber and assault a member in his seat, until he falls exhausted upon the floor, is an offense requiring the prompt action of this body. Sir, I submit no notion I leave it to older senators, whose character and position in the senate, and before the country, eminently emi-nently fit them to take the lead in a measure to redress the wrongs of members of this body, and vindicate the honor and dignity of the senate."' A committee of investigation was appointed. ap-pointed. , In due time the committee of investigation investi-gation made a report, but the only action ac-tion taken by that body was to transmit trans-mit a message to the house, complaining complain-ing that Mr. Brooks, one of its members, mem-bers, had made a violent assault on Senator Sumner, but that, as Mr. Brooks was a member of the house of representatives, the latter alone had the power to arrest, try and punish him. j ? 5 The committee of investigation appointed ap-pointed by the house reported resolutions resolu-tions of expulsion against Brooks and censure against Keitt. The resolution to expel Brooks received, after a violent vio-lent debate, 121 votes, and there were ninety-five votes In the negative, a tworthlrds vote being required to expel ex-pel a member the resolution failed. The resolution of censure passed. Mr. Hoffman Hoff-man of Maryland was the only southern south-ern member who voted to expel Brooks. Brooks, however, stung. by the rebuke re-buke conveyed by the . vote of a majority ma-jority of the house, made a speech of coarse defiance in which he said: "If I desired to kill the senator from Massachusetts, Mas-sachusetts, why did I not do it? You all admit that I bad it in my power. Let me tell you, that expressly to prevent pre-vent taking life I used an ordinary cane presented by a friend in Baltimore. Balti-more. I went to the senate deliberately. deliberate-ly. I hesitated whether I should use a horsewhip- or a cowhide, but knowing know-ing that the strength of the senator from Massachusetts was superior to mine I thought he might wrest it from me. If he had I might have done what I should have regretted for the remainder of my life. A voice: "He would have killed him:-) Ten days ago, foreseeing what the action of the house would be, my resignation was ; put into the hands of the governor of South Carolina. And now, Mr. Speaker. Speak-er. I announce to you and to the house, I am no longer a member of the thirty-fourth thirty-fourth congress." Returning home to South Carolina, Brooks was feted and feasted and made the recipient of every possible mark j of honor and admiring gratitude. An election was soon held to fill the va-I va-I cancy caused by his resignation and I he was elected by a unanimous vote. Once more, namely, on the 8th of January", Jan-uary", 1857, he made a characteristic speech on the floor of congress against the prohibition of Slavery In Nebraska. But his career was suddenly terminated, terminat-ed, on the 27th of the same month. His sickness was briefinflammation of the throat and he died in terrible pain. In the intensity of his sufferings from strangulation he endeavored to tear open his throat that he might get breath. He was but 58 years old and left a widow and four children. His frame was pronounced by the undertaker under-taker the largest for which he had ever been called on to furnish a coffin. $ $ $ Another exciting scene in the senate was in 1850. At the conclusion of a violent debate. Senator Benton of Missouri Mis-souri bared his breast to Senator Foote of Mississippi and dared him to shoot. The exciting incident arose out of the bitter ante-bellum debates. Foote had been remorselessly attacking the motives mo-tives and deeds of the northern senators sena-tors in their policy toward the south. This debate became very heated in April. On September 17 Senator Benton Ben-ton claimed that a certain newspaper article had been supervised and approved ap-proved by Senator Foote. This article represented to be a report of the remarks re-marks indulged in by the Mississippi senator personal to the senator from Missouri. In the midst of this debate Senator Foote interrupted the senator from Missouri, and for the time had the floor. While he was making some reference ref-erence to Benton, the latter walked excitedly toward him. The report of the affair is explicit in stating that Senator Benton was unarmed. He made no sign of being about to make an assault, but his angry face alarmed the senator from Mississippi. Senator Foote started to run away, and Senator Benton increased his speed. As Benton came after him, Foote hurried along and drew a five-chambered five-chambered revolver as he ran. Benton Ben-ton was in full chase. He did not see the weapon, but was apparently very anxious to overtake Foote. Senator Dodge of Wisconsin reached Benton and begged him for God's sake to do nothing which would compromise him with the senate: Benton was finally persuaded to turn and retrace his steps. He looked over his shoulder and caught sight of the senator from Mississippi with the revolver in his hand. This aroused him to a frenzy of desperation. He broke away from Dodge and rushed back at Foote. .He stopped within a few feet of him. Tearing open his waistcoat and his shirt, he bared his breast to the Mississippi senator, who was brandishing' the revolver in his hand. He had cocked the weapon as he turned, when he saw he could run no farther. Benton stood .within a few feet of him, and, with his naked bosom as a target, dramatically cried to Foote: "l am not armed: "I have no pistol. "I disdain to carry firearms. "Let him fire. . ; ; "Stand out of the way and let the assassin as-sassin fire." $ S $ As may be imagined, there was a scene of . the most intense excitement In the old senate, now the chamber of the United States supreme court. Cow- 1 ering at the front of the president's desk, was the thoroughly frightened Foote. Towering over him was the gigantic gi-gantic Benton. He was in a rage that would have made the gods proud. Slowly Slow-ly Foote wilted. He sank into a chair, and finally Dickinson of New York came and took the revolver away from him. A senate committee investigated the matter and did not require the belligerents bellig-erents to apologize. The gist of the report re-port was that the senators probably felt badly enough and an apology was unnecessary. It was urgently recommended recom-mended that the practice of carrying concealed weapons in the senate be dispensed dis-pensed with. In 1860 Roger A. Pryor of Virginia and John F. Potter of "Wisconsin had an affair following a speech in the house of representatives made by Owen Lovejoy of Illinois, concerning the assassination as-sassination of his brother, Elijah P. Lovejoy, at Alton, Ills., for denouncing slavery in his newspaper. Lovejoy's speech was one of the strongest deliveries against slavery ever heard in the house, and led to a scene of excitement and tumult, in which Potter became involved. He struck Representative Barksdale of Mississippi, whb wore a wig, something some-thing not suspected by any member of the house, and the hirsute adornment went flying in one direction, while Its owner went in another. As a result of blows exchanger Pryor challenged Potter Pot-ter to a duel. Duels were more common com-mon in those days than now. Pryor was rated an expert pistol shot, which Potter learned, and when the seconds of the Virginian called on Potter to ascertain what weapons he desired, he promptly said bowie knives. . Before the critical moment arrived when the two men would face each other on the field of honor, Pryor's seconds called the duel off, declaring they could not consent to let their principal fight with such a barbarous weapon. |