Matthew Stanley Quay, ^v PROCEEDINGS TO COMMEMORATE THE PUBLIC SERVICES OF Matthew Stanley Ouay PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE, Wednesday, March 22, 1905. M» BXCHANOt. <.5) PROCEEDINGS UPON THE DEATH OF Honorable Matthew Stanley Ouay IN THE PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE, Wednesday, March 22, 1905. In the Senate, Tuesday, January 3, 1905. On motion, .crfr^Senator'White, the following resolu- tion was twice read, considered, and agreed to : Whereas, Since the adjournment of this Senate the Honorable Matthew Stanley Quay, senior Senator from Pennsylvania in the Senate of the United States, has been called away from the scene of his earthly labors and achievements ; and Whereas, In his life, he rendered to his native State conspicuous tmd invaluable services as a member of the General Assembly, as a soldier in the Civil War, as Secretary of the Commonwealth, as State Treas- urer and as her representative in the Senate of the United States for many years, thus winning for him- (3) Memorial Services. self one of the foremost places among the citizens and statesmen of his State and country; therefore, Resolved, That the Senate at a day to be fixed here- after, shall hold suitable memorial services in honor of this distinguished son and citizen of the Common- wealth and that a committee of three be appointed to arrange the order of the said memorial services, and out of respect to his memory the Senate do now ad- iourn. MEMORIAL SERVICES JOINT MEETING OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE. Held in honor of the late Matthew Stanley Quay, in the Hall of the House of Representatives, Wednesday evening, March twenty-second, one thousand nine hundred and live, President of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor William M. Brown in the Chair. The PRESIDENT of the Senate announces the joint convention will come to order and will be opened by the Chaplain of the Senate by reading, first, a les- son from the Scriptures. REV. J. WESLEY SULLIVAN, Chaplain of the Senate, read the twenty-third Psalm as follows : "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. "He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies ; Thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (5) Memorial Services. The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: We will now be led in prayer by the Chaplain of the Senate. PRAYER. THE CHAPLAIN: Oh, Lord, our God, we thank Thee that w^e can come into Thy presence under all circumstances of life. W'c thank Thee that we can come together in this memorial service this night and call back to our memories the one who has passed away, a prince of the leaders of men in the great ])ath- way of Hfc. W'c come to thank thee, dear God, for this great life and the lessons which it presents to us, teaching us that Thou doest not only call by death those in the humljle walks of life, but those in the highest sphere; that death is no respecter of persons — we don't know who will be the next to answer the call. Grant that we may receive from the lessons that will be presented to us that helpfulness that will en- courage us and make us better and nobler in life, and notwithstanding our loss, we recognize Thy good- ness to the departed. We thank Thee that he pos- sessed the greatest heritage of life, that of being bom of humble, consecrated Christians, parents that were followers of Thee, for after all, O God, the greatest blessing of life is that of being born aright. We thank Thee that Thou didst give him such a companion in life to be his helpmate and to encourage him in all the interests of his life, and we ask that Thy special blessing may rest upon the widow who only a few weeks ago at the grave, 'midst all the manifestations of honor and respect, said that last farewell to her companion of life. Enter into her life to-night as never before, and we ask Thee for tlie scmis and daugh- ters that 1diou didst give to this man and this woman Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. as they think of their noble father and the great herit- age that he has left them, may it be an impulse to them of right living that will be pleasing in Thy sight. We thank Thee, dear God, for his work for the nation. We thank Thee for his life in this Commonwealth, and we ask that the people of this State and our Gov- ernor and those associated for the welfare of this Com- monwealth may receive Thy richest favor and bless- ing, and we ask that those who have been associated with him in the political life and in the affairs of this State and nation, that they may catch the spirit of the man, and upon those on whom his mantle has fallen to carry out his great w^ork may there descend that wisdom which cometh from on high. We ask now that Thy favor and blessing may be upon all of us in divine presence. Pardon all our sins and direct us in all our ways of life until the day dawn, the shadows flee away, and we ask it all for Christ's sake. Amen. The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Mem- bers of the Senate and House of Representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen : Upon me has fallen the duty and the privilege of presiding over the details of this service in memory of him whom we meet to-night to honor. This is the day and the hour fixed by the Legislature of the great Commonwealth of Pennsyl- vania to commemorate in a memorial service the death of one of the greatest characters, if not the greatest, that our Commonwealth has produced. The President and members of this joint assembly and millions of others in Pennsylvania stand with un- covered heads and sad hearts in the presence of the great and solemn fact that he has forever been taken away from those stirring scenes of life wherein for more than forty years he stood as one of the most dis- Memorial Services. tinguished sons and central figures of our great Com- monwealth. It is fitting that these services should be held here upon this hill. Here was the center around which gathered all those stirring events that contri- buted to the great fact that Senator Quay, starting as a poor boy in Beaver rose up the ladder of fame until he stepped upon the highest round of that lad- der, and stands to-day enshrined in the hearts not alone of Pennsylvanians, but of loyal people through- out the length and breadth of this land, enshrined in a memory that shall never fade as long as history is read. It is fitting that here amidst these scenes mem- orial services should be held in honor of one who as loving husband, kind father, faithful friend, splendid statesman, brave and patriotic soldier, always did his duty upon every occasion, whether amidst the small and trivial duties of life, or sitting all day upon his horse, upon the frightful field of Fredericksburg doing what he could in his humble, human way, in order that the fairest emblem of human power that ever deco- rated any sky might still adorn the blue dome that bends above this our dear God favored land. It is fitting, too, that here should be heard falling from the lips of his life-long friend, the great jurist, and the splendid Governor of Pennsylvania, words of conmiemoration and commendation of that great patient character whom a true and noble American woman was proud to call husband, bright and loving children delighted to call father, tens of thousands of patriotic Pennsylvanians earnestly and lovingly called friend, and millions of manhood loving Americans were glad to acknowledge as one of the most forceful and fair characters that ever adorned American public life. He who is more able than anyone within the Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. confines of her borders to perform this splendid task and tell the story of the great deeds and the noble virtues of him in whose honor we meet to-night will address yon. I now have the great pleasure of in- troducing to you the one who will deliver the only address upon this occasion, the Governor of Penn- svlvania, Samuel W. Pennypacker. (10) address by Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, Governor of Pennsvlvania. ai) 12 Memorial Services. Matthew Stanley Quay. "He reads much; He is a great observer and he looks Quite through the deeds of men." Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II. In the township of Schuylkill, in the county of Ches- ter, in this State, within two miles of the Valley Forge, and within half a mile of the famous colonial mansion known as Moore Hall, whence William Moore rode forth as a colonel into the French and Indian War, a rill of water starting in a spring along the slope of a hill finds its way to the Pickering Creek which a mile beyond empties into the River Schuylkill. There is no habitation in sight, but over the spring stands a dilapidated stone spring house and beside the rill are the trunks of some cherry trees which fruited along ago. On a broken limb the robin unalarmed sings his note of hope, and on the decaying roof the red squirrel undisturbed sits to crack his nut. At this spot, now wild and deserted, blue with the violet and yellow with the dandelion, James Anderson, the earliest know^n American ancestor of ]\Tatthew Stan- ley Quay, built a rude log cabin in 1713 and became the pioneer settler in that region of country. His life had its chapter of romance. Born on the Isle of Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 13 Skye, in Scotland, as a youth he found his way to America, went to work for a Quaker preacher and miher of means hving in the Chester Valley, eloped with the daughter of his employer and brought her here to be his wife and companion in the woods. Their only neighbors w^re the Delaware Indians, who were near and friendly. When their oldest boy, Patrick, came into the world, later to be a captain in the French and Indian War, a member of the Penn- sylvania xAssembly, a major in Wayne's Regiment in the Revolution, and Commander of the Pennsylvania Musketry Battalion after the battle of Long Island, he was at times suckled by an Indian squaw while his mother trudged across the Valley Hills to visit her old home. Nearly two hundred years afterwards, the great grandson of this colonial and revolutionary sol- dier arose in his seat in the United States Senate and compelled compliance by the National Government with contracts, spurned and forgotten by every one else, which were for the benefit of the Delaware In- dians in their reservation to the west of the Mississippi. What manner of man was this who alone had the will to take up the cause of the friendless, the strength to make his efforts successful, and who refused to per- mit two centuries of time to weaken an obligation ? Matthew Stanley Quay in his character and work was a purely American product. To say that he was a typical Pennsylvanian does not much narrow the proposition, for Henry Adams has truly written: 'Tf the American Union succeeded, the good sense, liber- ality and democratic spirit of Pennsylvania had a right to claim credit for the result." It has ever been the policy of the American government, following the ex- ample set by Penn in 1682, to open wide the doors 14 Memorial Services. for the inponr of ])cople of other lands endeavoring to escape Ironi the rigidity of institutions and conven- tionahties at home, and it is to be hoped this Hberality may have long continuance. Nevertheless he has a strong incentive to patriotic effort and feels a keener interest in the welfare of both Commonwealth and nation, who may look back to the participation of his forefathers in the early trials and struggles of the people. "A human life," wrote George Eliot, "should be well rooted in some spot of a native land." Major Patrick Anderson married Ann Beaton, sis- ter of Col. John Beaton, as deft in penmanship as he was vigorous with the sword, who through the whole period of the Revolution performed effective service in the military affairs of Chester county. Joseph Quay wooed and won their daughter, and, with com- mendable pride named his son Anderson Beaton Quay and trained him to l)ecome a clergyman in the Presbyterian Church. The inheritance to which Matthew Stanley Quay succeeded was one of honorable traditions and little substance. No great career ever began under more unpropitious auspices and no leader of men ever de- pended less upon mere adventitious and personal ad- vantages. He was l:)orn September 30, 1833, in Dills- burg, York county, where his father then had a church, a village which even to-day has a population of only seven hundred and thirty-two persons. The family income probably never exceeded $800.00 a year. He was short in stature, meagre in form and had no presence likely to impress the ordinary ob- server. His voice had so little volume that he shunned public speech. A weakened muscle per- mitted one eyelid to droop and seemed to those to Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 15 whom the cause was unknown to give warning of a certain subtlety. A tendency to puhiionary trou- ble, which had brought death to many of the imme- diate household, was an ever present threat from early manhood to late maturity. At the age of seventeen years, he was graduated from Jefferson College, at twenty-one he was admitted to the bar, and two years later became prothonotary of Beaver county. So freighted and so equipped he entered upon the strug- p-les of a life beset from start to finish with tumultuous storm and unrelenting strife. The task which nature in its adaptation of means to necessary ends had fitted him to perform, or toward which the current and pressure of events swept him, or, if it be preferred, which he, impelled by the instinct for the exercise of conscious power, as some birds take to the water and others to the air, set for himself, was one of high importance and of vast complication and difficulty. Seldom in the history of the world have the forces which make for the advancement of the people been set in motion or directed by those charged wdth the functions of government. The ruler, whether hereditary or selected, is apt to be a conservative, satisfied with the conditions which have led to his elevation and interested that they should be continued. It might be written of the uncrowned kmg of many other lands beside Miletus that "He had grown so great The throne was lost behind the subject's shadow." It was no King of Prussia, but Count Bismarck who brought about the consolidation of the German Empire. In the struggle of England with Erance for supremacy, it was not George III, but William Pitt who welded the forces which finally led to the 16 Memorial Services. Gvcrllirow of tlie Corsican. 1 Tow many of us can tell which one of the Ijourbons was King of r ranee in the time of Cardinal Ivichelieu? There is a catalogue of the Kings of England. It is printed in the histories and perhaps the children are still compelled to learn it by rote, as they certainly at one time were, but the men whose characters left their impress upon the de- termining events in the development of English life and institutions were Becket and Wolsey, Shaftes- bury and Clarendon, Disraeli and Gladstone. In the main the rulers who have been potent factors in shap- ing" the destinies of their time have been those who like Caesar, Cromwell and Naooleon grasped sceptres, set themselves upon thrones and established dynasties. The experience of other countries has been repeated in America because it is an evolution, the outcome of laws more permanent than any system of government, deep seated as nature itself, which influence all human institutions. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gallatin, Thaddeus Stevens and many others of a type entirely familiar to the student of our affairs, never reached the Presidency of the United States, but they formu- lated measures and dictated policies to an extent which few Presidents have been able to equal. When we reflect that the President is elected for a term of only four years, the Governors of the States for a term of from one to four years, a period entirely too brief to ])ermit the acquisition of accurate knowledge and that they reach these positions only through the nom- inations of political parties, it must be plain that men will arise who, i)ossessing the capacity, devoting themselves to the study of ])ublic interests and the methods of advancing them, acquiring the skill and proficiency which come with experience, exercise a Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 17 dominating- influence in public affairs. Fortunately they succeed only by a scjrt of divine right and hold their power only so long as they serve the public need. No other steep is so hard to climb and the foothold upon no other crest is so precarious. He who reaches the height is a mental athlete and he who holds it a marvel of capacity. We give our plaudits to the successful general who can command an army of a hundred thousand troops, but he has the power of life and death to enable him to enforce discipline. We W'Onder at the organization of a great railroad sys- tem, but every employe knows that the livelihood of his wife and children depend upon his attention to the orders given him. What are we to think of him who without any of these means of control prevails upon a million of men to forget their diverse views and interests and to work together for a common political purpose? Such masters of statecraft, in other lands and in earlier days in this country, were called statesmen and were honored for their achieve- ments. That we have become so prone of recent years to apply to them opprobrious epithets only shows that we are beginning to forget the philosophy of our institutions and to be weary of the system of government handed down to us by the fathers. In the capacity for the building up and the mainte- nance of political forces and for their application to the accomplishment of public ends, it may well be doubted whether the country ever before produced the equal of Mr. Quay. From the time of his election to the olhce of State Treasurer in 1885, down until his death on the 28th of May, 1904. pul)lic and politi- cal results in this State may be said to have rested upon his decision. During this long period, every 18 Memorial Services. means which hiinian ing-eiuiity could devise and un- limited resources could bring to bear was used to overthrow his influence. Coalitions between shrewd politicians seeking for substantial reward, heated zealots and earnest reformers, looking backward to the golden age and forward to Utopia, exerted their energies without effect. Men whom he had trained and who had gathered information as his allies were secured to do battle against him only to meet discom- fiture. Scandal intended to be harmful to the State and to him, disseminated far beyond the State's bor- ders, seemed only to give him strength. Even the processes of the criminal court of Philadelphia w^ere invoked bv his enemies and in vain. Thrifty commer- cialism reaching out to grasp the Senatorship clutched the empty air. His final reliance was ever upon the confidence of the people. The bourgeoisie and the men in blouses never failed him. When in 1885, the l)olitical powers then in control decreed his retirement, he announced instead his candidacy for a high State oflice and he won. Ten years later seemingly over- whelming forces united to wrest from him the con- trol -of the organization of his party. They included the Governor, the mayor of Philadelphia, the party organizations in Philadelphia and Pittsburg and the strongest corporate influences in the State. The ini- tial step was an effort to secure the chairmanship of the State Committee and they suggested for the posi- tion a gentleman long identified with Mr. Quay in political movements. Mr. Quay picked up the glove and announced that he himself would contest for the chairmanship. No such political battle was ever be- fore or since waged in America. Neither Marlbor- ough, nor P)Onapartc ever contended with such odds Hon. Matthe-iV Stanley Quay. 19 in opposition. But to nse his own metaphor, he ca"r- ried the "tiery cross" from Philadelphia to Erie, the very audacity of the movement brought the people to his support and again he won. None but a real leader among men so compels adverse circumstances to yield to his will. And when he went physically fee- ble, tottering toward his grave, cjuiet had settled over all factions and there were none to dispute his mas- tery. In Southey's poem of the Battle of Blenheim, when little Peterkin asked : "But what good came of it at last?" the answer was "Why that I cannot tell, said he. But 'twas a famous victory." No such reply can be given by the political leader. Mere success, no matter how much we admire the skill and the prowess, can never be a justification. While he may be excused from adopting the standards of the idealist and from pursuing methods wdiich are impracticable and lead to inevitable failure, the wel- fare of the community and the improvement of pub- lic life are the objects for which parties arise and gov- ernments are instituted, and unless these ends be served the outcome is a barren waste. The work of Mr. Quay must be subjected at last to this test. The majority for the Repul^lican candidate for President in this State in 1888, the first presidential election after Mr. Quay became recognized as the leader of liis party, was 79,458, and the majority for the Repub- lican candidate for President in the year of his death had risen to 505,519. In other words, during the course of his career, the people of the Commonwealth 20 Memorial Services. were rai)i(lly drifting' into accord with liis political views. It at least shows that they were not dissatis- fied with prevailing conditions. It may be open to dispnte as to whether or not the principles of one political party are more nearly correct than those oi another, but this much is certain that those of the Re- publican party have controlled the affairs of the nation throughout a long period of great growth and pros- perity, and that Pennsylvania has been their most pro- nounced and assured advocate and exponent. In 1885 her indebtedness amounted to $17,972,683.28 and since that time it has been entirely liquidated ex- cept as to a comparatively small amount not due and covered by moneys in the Sinking Fund. Her rev- enues are more than twice those of the nation at the time Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase. She taxes no man's farm or home. Mr. Quay himself as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House carried into operation the act freeing real estate from taxation and resulting in the system of collecting her revenues from the corporations of the State, a system studied with benefit by those respon- sible for the financial methods of Massachusetts, New" "^'ork and Virginia. She expends more every year for the support of the public schools than any other State. W here else on earth is there a people more prosperous, contented and happy? Her laborers re- ceive in comparison with those of other lands and other states remunerative compensation and her pro- prietors dissipate the surplus of their large fortunes in l)uilding universities in Chicago and libraries over the world. The management of her affairs has been in the main cleanly and eflicient and conducted with a spirit so liberal that many of her judges, for a long Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 21 time the State Librarian, and throtigh three adminis- trations the Superintendent of her Schools, directing the annual expenditure of $6,000,000, have been retained in office, though of opposite political faith. In what other State is there the evidence of such ad- vanced political thought? She has had sufficient breadth of view to give attention to correct sentiment and even to aesthetics. Monuments have been erected on distant battlefields to commemorate the bravery of her soldiers. She preserved the field of Gettysburg and after making it a Valhalla and mark- ing it with a care unknown elsewhere, she gave it into the custody of the nation. She has established a park at Valley Forge that the tenacious courage of the American Revolutionary soldiers may not be forgot- ten. She has taken means to preserve and cultivate her forests. She protects the game in her woods and the fish in her waters. No one of these movements could have succeeded without the support of Mr. Quay and many of them had their origin in his direct intervention. In tnat impressive speech in the Academy of Music in 1901, wherein he prophetically announced that his political race was run, and pathe- tically declared: "I have many friends to remember, I have no enemies to punish," he did not forget the cause of higher education and made this appeal for the University of Pennsylvania: "The State and the people of Pennsylvania should cherish it and make of it, as they can, the first tem])le of science in the world." The time came when the personal influence of Wx. Ouav. apart from tliat of tlie State in whose councils he was so potent, was exerted in national aft'airs. In 1887, he took his seat in the United States Senate. 22 Memorial Services. To an extent equalled by few other American States- men, he permanently affected the development of our national life. For a quarter of a century no Republi- can could have been elected President of the United States and no national policy have succeeded without his consent. Two of the Presidents were placed in that high office because of his personal efforts. In 1888, in charge of the National Republican campaign, he confronted his opponents in the city of New York, cowed them in their stronghold, where even Mr. Blaine had failed, and by the exercise of both strength and skill ensured the election of Mr. Harrison. In 1900, by the defeat of Mr. Hanna, who came to the national convention fortified with at least the tacit sup- port of the administration, he secured the nomination for the Vice Presidency of Mr. Roosevelt with all the momentous consequences later to flow from that event. The manufacturers of the country made their contracts for the erection of mills and the employment of workmen with a sense of entire security that so long as he remained in the Senate the doctrine of pro- tection, so important to them, would be maintained as the national policy. The Force Bill stood in its way and he defeated the measure. When Mr. Cleve- land sought to destroy the tariff system, he thwarted the efforts of the President and obtained such a modi- fication of the radical views urged as to have the act adopted comport with safety. Florida looked up to him as her third Senator. Three territories relied u])on him to lift them to the dignity of statehood, and in all probability only his death disappointed their ex- pectations. When the religious sentiment of the country was aroused by the proposition to open the gates of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago on lloii. AlaUhcw Stanley Quay. 23 Sundays, through his efforts they were kept closed. When there was need for wise counsel or energetic action, no other Senator had more fully the confidence of his fellows and as a result no other of them was more effective in accomplishing or preventing legisla- tion. To what cause was his continuous success to be at- tributed? How did it come about that this bold sailor was able to guide his bark over the stormiest of seas in safety for a lifetime, when all around so many others sank beneath the waves? In the days of our savage forefathers, whenever an unusual or extra- ordinary event in the domain of nature happened, it was explained to their undisciplined minds as the out- come of sorcery or witch-craft. The ignorant of our own time, when the results of public controversies dis- appoint them, and "the rustic cackle of their burgh" has been mistaken for "the echo of the great wave tliat rolls around the world," find easy consolation in the thought that those who differ have been corrupt. It is a scientific axiom that whenever a fact is ascertained which is not in accord with an accepted theory, the theory must be discarded as incorrect. It happened in many of the most important of Mr. Quay's politi- cal battles, notably in the contests of 1895 ^ind with Mr. Wanamaker, such power as comes from the pos- session of money was in the league against him. There is a story which has come down to us from the days of old that once a wonderful nuisician charmed the ears of the people with the wild and wierd notes of an unearthly music and when the curious listeners peered into his instrument, behold ! it turned out that he played but upon a single string, stretched across a dead man's skull. Mr. Quay was not that kind of 24 Memorial Services an artist. He knew alike what were the needs of the manufacturer that the mills might be prosperous and what were the aspirations of the laborer that the little home might be adorned, he understood the manner of life in the trades, in the professions, and on the farms, he sympathized with the old soldier, proudly w^earing his decorations at his Grand Army Post, and with the miner carrying a light in his cap to dispel the underground darkness, and all these were chords in that mighty instrument which responded to his touch, and which embraced all the interests and hopes of a great Commonwealth. The successful chess player wins his game because he is able to see the plans of his adversary and to make the combinations which are necessary to overthrow them. It is idle to learn his moves because the same situation never again oc- curs. Mr. Quay overcame his opponents because he saw more clearly, reasoned more accurately and delved more deeply. They who thought they knew some petty or unscrupulous device which they might learn by sitting at his feet and then go off to imitate wasted their efforts. Strong men brought into con- tact with him, impressed by the extent of his informa- tion, the breadth of his views, and the sagacity of his conclusions became his adherents. Mr. Johnson of Philadelphia, and Mr. Watson, of Pittsburg, both have testified to his perception of difficult legal proposi- tions, Mr. Swank to his knowledge of the statistics of iron manufacture, and Mr. Kii)ling to his accpiaintance with literature. He accumulated a large library, car- ried books with him when he went to fish, wrote from Florida letters in the Latin tongue and discussed the merits of the Italian poets over the table with Mr. Roosevelt. The only subscribers among the Sena- Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 25 tors to Brown's Genesis of the United States were Mr. Quay and Mr. Lodge. He never doubted the peo- ple of the State or the merits of their achievements, and they reciprocated the conhdence. There are those among us, who Hke the false mother in the time of Solomon, would dissever the Commonwealth if they could seize a fragment, and who never tire in their dispraise, but he wrote and in his heart believed that "of all this union of states, Pennsylvania 1? the fairest and the happiest and the most intelligent and the best governed." He could turn phrases wath the same apt skill that he directed conventions. He was not without faults. If his conduct some- times fell below the highest ethical standards, where is the man who can honestly scan his own life and throw a stone? Though he cared nothing for the mere accumulation of money ; and was little "afflicted with the mania for owning things," he exulted in the exercise of power and like the war horse in Job smelled "the battle afar off, the thunder of the cap- tains and the shouting." He regarded men and their aims too much as mere counters to be used for his purposes. He cared too little for their conuuent. But in nature as a distinguished poet has observed : "The low sun makes the color." However much we may admire, we seldom love the austerely virtuous. He was simple and modest and absolutely without vanity. After his winning the Presidency for Mr. Harrison, at no dinners amid the clanking of glasses did he tell of what he had accomplished and there is no record in his manuscript to narrate to us w^hat he thought of the work of his life. Like Wayne and 26 Memorial Servicer. Meade, like Rittenhoiise and Dickinson, he left be- hind him no book of memoirs to impress upon future generations how much they owed to his efforts, but if his letters to politicians and men of affairs could be gathered together, and printed, their cleanliness and delicacy, their indications of quick perception and al)undant information, their gentleness and self re- straint would lead to a higher and more just apprecia- tion of the rec(uirements of pul)lic life. He had a keen sense of duty. There are men who would scorn to fail in the performance of the obliga- tions of a sealed instrument who without compunc- tion pass lightly over the claims of home, friendship and country. It signified much that his sons grown to young manhood ever gave him a parting kiss be- fore they retired for the night. His grandmother as she neared her end three-cjuarters of a century ago be- sought those around her to bury her among her kin- dred in Chester county. Their means were limited and her grave was dug in Ohio. Two years ago, Mr. Quay hearing of her wish saw to it that thenceforth she rested in the family graveyard near the home of her youth. A hint was perhaps all that an appealing friend could secure, but it was never forgotten and seldom ineffective. In 1862, he had resigned from the colonelcy of the 134th Pennsylvania Volunteers. The Army of the Potomac marched forth to do bat- tle. Arising from a bed of sickness he hastened to the l\ai)pahann()ck, fcuight as a volunteer aide along the front line at Frcdericksl)urg and later received from Congress a medal of honor for brave and un- usual service. W ith him it meant little to say that his term had ended. Who is there to-day who cares for the Indian, Hon. Matthew Stanley Qtiay. 2i whether he comes or whether he goes? We hold by an unassailable title the lands that once belonged to him, and his braves in their moccasined feet connt for nothing in the marts of commerce or in the conven- tions of parties. Bnt Pennsylvania, which still looks back to that famons treaty at Shackamaxon, which was never signed, and never broken, may feel her pride stir again when she reflects that the last service of her Senator was rendered, not in an effort to gain political advantage or to advance her interests, but in aid of the wTonged, the down-trodden and the help- less. In every village in the State, and in many beyond it, may be heard the tales of his goodness of heart and his tender and helpfnl sympathy for the unfortunate. An old anxl impoverished widow of a soldier in In- diana, who had exhausted, without result, the in- fluence of the politicians of her own state as a last re- sort wrote to Mr. Quay and in a few weeks the pen- sion which gladdened her heart and lessened her mis- eries was granted. A little Seminole girl in Florida met with an accident which threatened permanent dis- ability. He sent her to a hospital and paid the ex- penses of the difficult operation necessary for her re- storation. In 1886, a political opponent in Lacka- wanna county was thrown from a carriage and frac- tured his skull. Learning upon inquiry that his re- sources w^ere narrow, Mr. Quay sent the noted sur- geon Dr. Agnew from Philadelphia to Scranton upon a special train to minister to him, and through an agent still living who Avith tears in his eyes discloses the incident, himself met the large expenditure which in all probability saved a life. A great master of English fiction in one of the strongest of his novels 28 Memorial Services. wilh a skill which only comes with long discipline has woven a scene, the deep pathos of which appeals to the sympathies of every reader. An incumbent who has done many kindly deeds, w'orn with age and see- ing that his end is approaching, is called upon by the Archdeacon. At the interview, which ensues, the incumbent tells that he is soon to die and asks not for prayer and absolution, but that the living be given to a clergyman of the neighborhood who has been weighed down with many trials and burdens. The Archdeacon, himself somewhat gross and worldly, overcome by the situation, kneels and kisses the old man's hand in mute recognition of superior worth. What Anthony Trollope devised in romance in an effort to exemplify the most exalted spirit of self abnegation was realized in the events of actual life. When the clouds began to settle down over Mr. Quay and their gloom steadily deepened, he sent for his private secretary, who had long been at his side and knew his every want, predicted his own death in the near future, and while he still had the strength, pro- vided for his attendant an employment on which he could depend. The good and brave old heart de- lil)erately denied himself the comfort and assistance wliich he needed more than ever before and accepted untrained help in order that one who had been near and useful to him should not suffer. Will Pennsylva- nia ever fully understand how large in character, as well as in strength was this statesman she has lost ! The time has gone by and the harvest we might have garnered, had we only known, will never be ours. The past is rolled up as a scroll. Tn the legend from Norseland the strange bird which the dull and grub- bing flock pecked at and abused one day rose aloft Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 29 upon strong pinion and soared away to the distant ether to return to them no more. "It might have been" are the saddest of sad words. It is aU too late for us to reap, too late even to- bend over as did the archdeacon to kiss his hand and acknowledge our shortcomings, but we still may implore for him that peace for which he uttered his last eloquent prayer and which w-e ever denied to him while he was upon earth. The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE. The ex- ercises will now close with a benediction by the Chap- lain of the Senate. The CHAPLAIN. And now, Lord, as we go from this place of sacred memory we ask that the blessing of God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit may be ours now and evermore. Amen. (30) DEC 5 I9t}ti LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 744 211 5