OS THE nd Setn/iees ' : : ; -:;U'V,:"..' , ,o'v: : - : ''vV-NS m it lift Glass t' L&tf' Book Ps 0d . ■ MEMORIAL ADDRESSES LIFE AND SERVICES Philip Sidney Post (Late a Representative from Illinois) DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE. Fifty-third Congress, Third Session. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1895- AUG 6 lyOM U. or a CONTENTS. Page. Proceedings in the House 5 Military and civic tributes. 69 Memorial address by — Mr. BoUTELLE 57 Mr. BKODERICK -. 66 Mr. BYNUM 29 Mr. Clarke of Alabama . 4° Mr. DomvER 47 Mr. Goldzier ... 62 Mr. Grosvenor 33 Mr. Grout 20 Mr. Henderson of Illinois 10 Mr. Lane 25 Mr. Lucas 42 Mr. Stockdale ' 52 Mr. Wheeler of Alabama 45 Proceedings in the Senate 73 Memorial address by — Mr. Cullqm - 7^ Mr. Teller 84 Mr. Palmer .-_. 88 Death of Representative Post, Proceedings in the House. January 7, 1895. The following prayer was made by the Chaplain, Rev. E. B. Bagbv: ( > Thou great disposer of all human events, in whom are the issues of life and death, we come into Thy presence this morning deeply conscious of the shortness and uncer- tainty of life. Since our last meeting in the halls of leg- islation our ranks have been broken into, and the Angel of Death has called hence a distinguished member of this body. We bear upon our hearts, tender with sympathy, the sorrow of his bereaved family. May the}' feel beneath them Thv everlasting arms. May they be kept by Tin- peace, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. Impress upon us all the lesson of this hour. As our bodies are frail and our days are few, may we live as if there were but a step betwixt us and death; and when the night comes may we lie down in peace to sleep, and awake in the morn- ing of the resurrection to the light of Thy love, the joy of Thy presence, and to the glory of Thy everlasting home, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. :*: ;■: % * * Mr. Henderson of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my painful duty to announce to the members of the House 5 6 Proceedings in the House. of Representatives the death of my colleague and friend, the Hon. Philip Sidney Post, of Illinois. He died at 4 o'clock on Sunday morning, the 6th instant, at the Ham- ilton House, in this city, after a brief illness. On Friday afternoon I saw and conversed with him, as did many other members, in the House, and his sudden and unexpected death has shocked and saddened all of us who have been familiar with his kindly and genial face during his service in this body. At some future time I shall ask the House to suspend its business and pay suitable tribute to the memory of his distinguished services and honorable life. At present I will only say that he was a brave and gal- lant soldier, an intelligent and faithful Representative in this body, and a kind and affectionate husband, father, and friend. Mr. Speaker, I now ask the House to adopt the resolu- tions which I send to the Clerk's desk. The resolutions were read, as follows: Resolved, That the House of Representatives has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. Philit Sidney Post, late a Representative from the State of Illinois. Raolved, That a committee of nine members of the House be appointed by the Speaker, to act with such Senators as may be selected, to attend the funeral of the deceased; that the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House shall take order for super- intending the funeral of the deceased at his home, and that the necessary expenses attending the execution of this order shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. Resolved, That the Clerk of the House be directed to communicate to the Sen- ate a copy of these resolutions. Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now adjourn. Mr. Henderson of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of those resolutions. The resolutions were adopted. The Speaker announced, in pursuance of the foregoing resolutions, the appointment of the committee on the part Proceedings in the House. 7 of the House, as follows: Mr. Henderson of Illinois, Mr. Bynum, Mr. Boutelle, Mr. Lane. Mr. Marsh, Mr. Childs, Mr. Stallings, Mr. Wheeler of Illinois, and Mr. Lucas. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Piatt, one (if its clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the follow- in"- resolutions on the announcement of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, late a Representative from the State of Illinois: In nil- Senate, January 7, 1S95. 'ved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the announcement of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney PosT.latea Representative from the State of Illinois. Resolved, That a committee of rive Senators be appointed by the Presiding Officer, to join the committee appointed on the part of the House of Represent- atives, to take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased and to accom- pany the remains t.i the place of burial. R, toeved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives. Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the Senate do now adjourn. And that, in compliance with the above resolutions, the Presiding Officer had appointed Mr. Palmer, Mr. Cullom, Mr. Mitchell of Wisconsin, Mr. Gallinger, and Mr. Allen as the committee to join a similar committee on the part of the House. The House then, in pursuance of the resolutions pre- viouslv adopted, adjourned. February 4, 1895. The Speaker laid before the House the following reso- lution: Resolved, That Tuesday, the 26th day of February next, beginning at 2 o'clock p. m., be set apart for eulogies on the life and services of Hon. Philip Sidni y Pi is 1 , late a Representative from the Tenth district of Illinois. The resolution was unanimously agreed to. MEMORIAL ADDRESSES February 26, 1895. The Speaker. The hour of half past 3 o'clock having arrived, the House proceeds to the consideration of the spe- cial order, which the Clerk will read. The Clerk read as follows: Resolved, That Tuesday, the 20th day of February nest, beginning at 2 o'clock p. m., be set apart for eulogies on the life and services of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, late a Representative from the Tenth district of Illinois. Mr. HENDERSON of Illinois. I offer the resolutions which I send to the desk. The Clerk read as follows: Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, a Representative from the State of Illinois. Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memorv of the deceased the busi- ness of the House be now suspended that his associates may be able to pay tribute to his high character and distinguished services. Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect the House shall, at the con- clusion of these ceremonies, adjourn. Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. Resolved, That the Clerk be directed to transmit a copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. The question being taken, the resolutions were unani- mously adopted. 9 io Address of Mr. Henderson of Illinois. ADDRESS OF MR. HENDERSON OF ILLINOIS. Mr. Speaker: The death of the late Hon. Philip Sid- NEY Post occurred at the Hamilton House, in this city, on Sunday, the 6th day of January, 1895, at the hour of 4 o'clock in the morning, and was so sudden and unexpected as to shock not only his many friends in this body, but the people of his Congressional district and State. Some of us, Mr. Speaker, had seen and conversed with General Post here in the Hall of the House on the Friday afternoon be- fore his death. He was then apparently in good health and with as fair a promise of life as any of us here to-day. And yet in a few brief hours, surrounded by his faithful and devoted wife and a loving son and daughter, he was stricken down and passed away to meet and act with us here no more forever. While contemplating the sudden- ness of his decease we can but exclaim: Surely man " Com- eth forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and contiuueth not." Gen. Philip Sidney Post was born in the town of Florida, in the county of Orange and State of New York, 011 the 19th of March, 1833, and was therefore, at the time of his decease, not quite sixty-two . years of age. He was born of highly respectable parentage, and was liberally educated, having graduated with honors at Union College, in Schenectady, N. Y. , in the year 1855. After gradu- ating at Union College he studied law at the law school in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In the year 1S61 he followed his father and mother to Galesburtr, 111., where, movinsf Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. n from the State of New York, they had made their home in 1854, and I believe General Post continued ever after the year 1861 to make Galesburg his place of residence. But, Mr. Speaker, at the time General Post joined his father and mother at Galesburg civil war was threatening the dissolution of the Union, and, inspired by a spirit of patriotism and devotion to his country, he helped to raise a company of volunteers in the count}' of Knox, where he resided. But, as Illinois had furnished all the volunteers called for from that State, this company raised in Knox County could not be accepted; and so the company pro- ceeded to the city of St. Louis, Mo. , where it was mustered into the service of the United States as Company A of the Ninth Regiment of Missouri Volunteers, although the regi- ment was composed wholly of citizens of Illinois, and was subsequently constituted by order of the War Department the Fifty-ninth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. General Post was elected a second lieutenant of the company he had helped to enlist; but in the organization of the regiment he was made adjutant, and in January, 1862, was promoted to the rank of major of the regiment. As Gen. J. C. Keltou, late Adjutant-General of the Army of the United States, and afterwards governor of the Soldiers' Home in this city, now deceased, had been made colonel of the regiment, but had been assigned to duty on the staff of Major-General Halleck, General Post took command of the regiment as major, and by a severe midwinter march joined General Curtis in the campaign made by that officer preceding the battle of Pea Ridge, in the State of Arkansas. In that engagement General Post distinguished himself as an able, brave, and gallant officer, for which he was specially 12 Address of Mr. Henderson of Illinois. mentioned in the official reports of the battle. He was severely injured by a gunshot wound in the shoulder dur- ing the engagement, but, notwithstanding, he refused to leave the field, until, helpless from the loss of blood, he was taken off. Some ten days after the battle of Pea Ridge General POST was unanimously elected colonel by the officers of the regiment in place of Colonel Kelton, who had recommended his appointment, and was commissioned and mustered in as such. General Post returned to the field before he had recov- ered fully from the wounds which he received at the battle of Pea Ridge, and at Hamburg Landing, in May, 1862, was assigned to the command of a brigade, and marched the same to its place in the line of battle before Corinth four days before the evacuation of that place. During the sum- mer of 1862 he was actively engaged in military duties in Mississippi. Among other orders executed by him, he moved upon the large factories at Bay Springs, Miss., sur- prised the enemy which guarded them, drove them out in confusion, and completely disabled the mills. He also commanded an expedition to Allsboro, Ala., and in less than twenty hours seized, loaded, and carried away $80,000 worth of cotton, his command having marched thirty-six miles in the round trip from Iuka. General Post then crossed the Tennessee River with his brigade to assist in expelling Bragg and Kirby Smith from Kentucky and Tennessee, and after the 18th of August, 1862, his brigade was identified with and participated in the movements of the armies of the Ohio and the Cumber- land. At Louisville, Ky. , on the 1st of October, 1862, he was assigned to the command of the First Brigade, First Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 13 Division, Twentieth Army Corps, which was composed of the Twenty-second Indiana Infantry, the Fourth, Fifth, and Fifty-ninth Illinois Infantry, and the Fifth Wisconsin Battery. General Post commanded this brigade for some twelve or thirteen months, and until after the Chickamauea o campaign and battle, when, in a reorganization of the Army, the brigade lost its identity. During the year Gen- eral Post commanded this brigade it performed meritorious service at Perryville, Lancaster, Nolensville, Liberty Gap, and at Chickamauga. This brigade lost in the year of its existence eight hundred and fifty heroic men on the battle- field, and was especially noted and referred to for its drill and discipline; and General Post's division commander, in recommending him for promotion, said: In all these campaigns and battles Colonel Post has shown himself a com- mander of rare qualifications and extraordinary energy and one of the best tacti- cians in the Army. The evidence of his skill was exhibited wherever his brigade maneuvered, on drill or the battlefield. General Post also participated in the Atlanta campaign of 1864, and in August of that year was assigned to the com- mand of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Army Corps. At the battle of Lovejoy Station, when General Wood, who commanded the division, was wounded, General Post took command of the division and checked the advance of the enemy to the north. After the close of the Atlanta campaign and the occupa- tion of Atlanta by Sherman's army, General Post rendered gallant service in checking the movement of Hood into Tennessee, and especially at the battle of Nashville, where, while participating in the charge on Overton Hill, he was struck by a grapeshot and severely wounded. For some time his recovery seemed doubtful. For his gallantrv in 14 Address of Mr. Henderson of Illinois. the battle of Nashville he was brevetted a brigadier-general and received a medal from Congress. After recovering from the wound received at the battle of Nashville General Post was stationed at San Antonio, Tex., where he had command of sixteen regiments of infan- try, and where he performed his last service and closed his distinguished military career. After the battle of Nashville Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, in a special report, recom- mended the appointment of General Post as a colonel in the Regular Army and said of him: General Post is an active, energetic, and intelligent officer, and his bravery in battle is beyond question. His capability and efficiency as a commander of troops have been fully demonstrated. His corps commander also reviewed his military career in a report made, to the Secretary of War, recommending his appointment as a colonel in the Regular Army of the United States, in the following words: I most respectfully and earnestly recommend Brig. Gen. Philip Sidney Post as colonel in the Regular Army of the United States. General Post entered the Army as second lieutenant, but soon rose by his superior merits to major. He commanded his regiment in the obstinately fought battle of Pea Ridge and was severely wounded. Shortly after that battle he was promoted colonel of his regiment. Returning to the field even before he had recovered from his wound, he rejoined his regiment in front of Corinth, and was placed in command of a brigade. From that time to the end of the war General Post's career was an unbroken term of arduous service, useful labor, and brilliant actions. He par- ticipated honorably in some of the most obstinately contested battles and glorious victories of the war. In the great battle and decisive triumph of Nashville Gen- eral Post's brigade did more hard fighting and rendered more important service than any like organization in the Army. In the grandest and most vigorous assault that was made on the enemy's intrenchments, near the close of the fight- ing on the second day, General Post fell, and as it was at first supposed mortally wounded, at the head of his brigade, leading it to the onslaught. A discharge of grape killed his horse under him and tore away a portion of his left hip. I know of no officer of General Post's grade who has made a better or more brilliant record. General Post was, on the reorganization of the Army, in- formed by the Secretary of War of these recommendations Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 15 and that they had been favorably considered. But, as the war was over and peace had been established, General Post preferred the pursuits of civil life, and declined the honor proposed to be conferred upon him, and accord- ingly, on the 1 6th of February, 1S66, he left the military service. But General Post did not remain long in private life, for in the same year, 1866, when he left the sendee as a soldier, he was appointed by the Government which he had so well served consul at Vienna, and served as such until 1874, when for his ability and fidelity he was pro- moted to the office of consul-general, and served as such until 1879, when he retired from the consular service, and in 1SS0 returned to his home in Galesburg. In his consular service General Post displayed the same intelligence and fidelity to duty he had done in the mili- tary service. In his long residence abroad he never forgot his country or his Americanism, and when he returned to the United States he returned as an American, with Amer- ican manners and with the thoughts, feelings, and actions of a simple American citizen. He, however, brought with him a deeper, purer, and stronger love of his country, for which he had shed his blood and periled his life on many battlefields. General Post made, while consul and consul-general, many valuable reports of interest to the country, some of which have been received and quoted as authorities. Among others was an elaborate one on the culture of the sugar beet and the manufacture of beet sugar. He also made an interesting and valuable report on the railway sys- tem of Austria and the protection of American inventors. 1 6 Address of Air. Henderson of Illinois. He recommended the inspection of American meats to be exported to other countries, and fifteen years later, as a member of this body, he voted for a law providing for such an inspection of meats as he had been the first to recom- mend when serving his country abroad. When General Post retired from the consular service, in 1879, John Hay, then Assistant Secretary of State, paid him the following tribute: An examination discloses that many important duties in addition to the more formal business of your office were intrusted to you during your long continuance with the I lepartment, and they were performed in a manner that commanded its approval and commendation. Your reputation in the service and your character as a representative of the Government were known to the Department and in the service, and to the high opinion entertained of your standing by my predecessor and the officers of the Department may be added the testimony of your colleagues and my own personal and official acquaintance with the reputation which distin- guished your career ab/oad. After General Post's return to Galesburg he engaged, in 1883, in the real-estate business, and gave his attention to it until 1886, when he was nominated and elected as a Rep- resentative in the Fiftieth Congress. Before his election to Congress, however, General Post had served as a mem- ber at large of the Republican State central committee of Illinois from 1882 to 1886, and in the latter year was com- mander of the department of Illinois of the Grand Army of the Republic, in which organization he ever took great interest and was an active, earnest, devoted member. General Post was elected a member of the House of Representatives in the Fiftieth Congress by the narrow plu- rality of twenty-nine votes over Nicholas E. Worthington, a Democrat, who had been twice previously elected a mem- ber of the House from the same district; and his right to a seat in the House was contested by Mr. Worthington. Life and Services of Philip Sidney /'ost. \~ But the contest was decided by the Committee on Elections and by the House in favor of General Post, and he served his constituents so well and so faithfully that he has since been elected, successively, a member of the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses. But, Mr. Speaker, when the roll of the Fifty-fourth Con- gress shall be called in this Hall he will not be here to answer to his name. Many of us, Mr. Speaker, are familiar with the services of Philip Sidney Post during nearly eight years that he has been a member of this bodv, and know that he has been an intelligent, faithful, and efficient member. He has been active, earnest, and zealous in the discharge of his public duties, and especially in regard to whatever affected the interests in any way of his constituents and his district. For them he contended with an earnestness and a persistency I have seldom or never seen surpassed. That General POST was a man of positive convictions on public questions which he had investigated, and that he was fearless in the expression and defense of them, all who knew him well can testify. He was a man of undoubted ability and possessed all the elements necessary to make a strong character; and while he had rendered distinguished services to his country, he was always modest and unassum- ing and never paraded them, even before his friends. But, Mr. Speaker, whether in military life, where the souls of men are stirred to great deeds; in the consular service in a foreign country, where the honor and dignity as well as the commercial interests of his own countrv were involved, or here in this Hall, where important ques- tions of great public interest were constantly coming up H Mis 80 2 18 Address of Mr. Henderson of Illinois. for consideration and action, General Post was always found to be intelligent, watchful, and faithful to duty. He was genial and pleasant in his intercourse with his fellow-members, and such was his courteous and kindly demeanor, as he walked into and out of this Hall from day to day during the years of his service here, that I think it can be truly said he won the universal respect of every member of the House who knew him, and his death was deeply regretted by all. Mr. Speaker, the life work of General POST is closed for- ever; but he has not lived in vain. His life has been useful to the community in which he lived and to his country, and he leaves behind him a record for distinguished pub- lic service, and a name which is a rich heritage for his bereaved wife 'and children, his family and friends, and which will form a bright page in his country's historv. Mr. Speaker, I was one of the committee appointed by the House to accompany the remains of our departed friend to his home and his final resting place. And all of us can testify to the evidences of universal respect and sor- row which were manifested by the people of the citv of Galesburg, in which General Post had for so manv vears made his home. The whole city seemed to be in mourn- ing, business was suspended, the stores and many private residences were draped in mourning, and it seemed that the entire population of the city and surrounding country had turned out to honor their distinguished citizen and soldier, their able and faithful Representative, who had been so suddenly stricken down by the icy hand of death. It was evident, Mr. Speaker, to everyone who witnessed the demonstrations of sorrow and respect manifested in Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 19 honor of General Post that he had a strong' hold upon the hearts and affections of the people among whom he had lived and whom he had so ably and faithfully served in war and in peace. Sorrowing citizens from every part of his district, and many from other portions of the State, and especially large numbers of his old comrades in arms, were present to pay a last tribute of respect to their faithful Representative, whom they honored and loved. Mr. Speaker, I can not close this tribute of respect to the memory of rav departed friend and colleague without ex- pressing the deep sympathy I feel for his noble and grief- stricken wife and children. They bore themselves so nobly and so bravely in their great sorrow as to command the respect and tender regard of all who witnessed it. May God bless and comfort them in their great bereavement. Mr. Speaker, it was a bright and beautiful winter's day when, in the cemetery of his own beloved city, in the pres- ence of a sorrowing multitude, the bugle sounded ''Lights out," and we laid away at rest all that was mortal of Gen. Philip Sidxey Post, the brave soldier, the patriotic citizen, the able and faithful Representative and statesman. All honor to his memorv! 20 Address of Mr. Grout of Vermont. Address of Mr. Grout. Mr. Speaker: My first acquaintance with Philip Sidney Post, late a member of this House from the State of Illi- nois, was in the Fiftieth Congress, although I came near knowing him at the Poughkeepsie law school, where he was a student in 1855, just ahead of my own entrance into that institution, in 1S56. He was admitted to the bar in Illinois in 1856, and entered at once into active practice, taking good rank in the profession. Very soon, however, with our deceased brother as with thousands of others in that day, were the peaceful encoun- ters of the courts suddenly exchanged for the bustle of the camp and the fearful onset of battle. Young Post was among the first to rallv in defense of the flag and for the preservation of the Union. He was at once recognized as brave and capable, and accordinglv rap- idlv rose from the lowest commissioned grade to be brevet brigadier-general. He was a second lieutenant in the Fifty-ninth Illinois Infantry June 8, 1861; was adjutant July 21, 1861; major January 1, 1862; colonel March 9, 1862, and brevet briga- dier-general December 16, 1864, the date of the battle of Xashville, where his conduct was exceptionally gallant and where he was severely wounded. His promotion to be colonel was also marked by a severe wound in the battle of Pea Ridge, March 7, two days before the date of his commission. His command while in the Army was nearly all the time out of proportion to his rank, being much of the time of a Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 21 brigade and some of the time of a division, thereby show- ing plainer than words can tell the confidence reposed in him by his superior officers, with whom his standing was deservedly high. Not alone, however, did his soldierly qualities fix atten- tion with his superiors, but in a marked degree did he com- mand the confidence and esteem of the officers and men under his command, thereby enabling him always to keep abreast, if not ahead, of what was expected of him. His militarv career was, in short, a well-rounded success, and would alone entitle him to a place in the history of his State and the nation. But his civil life was little less distinguished. At the close of the war he returned to his profession; but had hardly gathered up the broken threads of his earlv practice when, in 1S66, he was appointed by Presi- dent Johnson consul to Vienna. And so satisfactory was his service that he was continued by President Grant, who, in 1874 promoted him to be consul-general for Austria- Hungary, which office he held till 1879, when he resigned, having been for thirteen years in the consular service — a long period under the present American system, which keeps not only consular and diplomatic offices but all others subject to the rise and fall of political parties. This long-continued acquaintance of General Post with American commercial interests abroad made him an ear- nest advocate of a permanent consular system, wholly inde- pendent of party politics, as calculated to secure greater efficiency and so more effectually serve and protect the com- mercial rights of the American people in foreign countries. And in the consideration of this and cognate questions in 22 Address of Mr. Grout of Vermont. this body, from time to time, his opinions were always received with respectful attention. They were really help- ful in the solution of all questions connected with our foreign service. After General Post's return from his long and honor- able residence abroad he found himself irresistibly drawn into the politics of his State and district. He served four years, from 1882 to 1886, as member at large on the Illi- nois Republican State central committee. His old comrades, also, again gathered around him, and in 1886 placed him at their head as commander of the Grand Army of the Republic for the Department of Illi- nois. Thev had in the long ago been with him in the shock of battle; and after twenty years of peace they formed again at his command, but only in memory of that sad but heroic time. General Post's political star was now ascendant in his Congressional district; and the same year he was elected to a seat in this House, which he held continuously till his death. He was also reelected to the Fifty-fourth Congress. This plainly shows the full esteem and confidence in which he was held by the people of his district, who always felt a just pride in his service here, which was alike honorable to him and them. His committee work was always careful and conscien- tious. I speak from personal knowledge of that in the Fifty-first Congress, during which time we were associates on the District of Columbia Committee, and at a time, too, when important questions involving large interests were up for consideration. General Post was not a neutral quantity, but a man of opinions and convictions, and never wanting in courage to Life ami Services of Philip Sidney Post. 23 express them, though always with proper respect for those of others. This, coupled with a quick perception and a high sense of honor, made him always useful and reliable, and gave him good rank, indeed excellent rank, as citizen, lawyer, soldier, consul, and lawmaker. Rut in the midst of usefulness, in the full maturity of his powers, and in apparently perfect health, with no hint of weakness or decay, the summons came, and our friend was hurried over the river before his fellows in this House so much as knew of his illness. It is true the corporal form was left and has since been lowered by loving hands into the arms of our common mother, but the part that animated the clay and for the time made it something more than dust, that had intelli- gence and moral perception; that loved, hoped, and feared; that part, on service of warrant by the Rider on the pale horse, mysteriously left its tenement here never to return — the very suddenness of the departure saying to us all, "Be ye also ready." Air. Speaker, occurrences like this bring us face to face with the unfathomable mystery of death, equaled only by the greater mystery of life. In fact, all is mystery. Man's origin, existence, and destiny are all wrapped in mystery, and only for the Book of Books and the hope and faith which it inspires all would be darkness both at the begin- ning and at the end. Possibly, however, hardly that; for since the creation of man, in all ages and among all tribes and peoples, both civilized and savage, there has existed with many a belief in a future state, and with all a desire for it; and reason, unassisted by revelation, leads to the conclusion that, as throughout the material world man's 24 Address of Mr. Grout of I ermont. desire for a thing' is proof of its existence, so it would be unreasonable to say that in the spiritual domain he was hungering and thirsting after that which had no existence; unreasonable to say that this law that runs through all nature, supplying everywhere in response to demand, and even in this mortal state feeding the spiritual man accord- ing to desire, does not apply to the soul's universal prayer that it may live beyond the tomb. Here, then, seems to be a ray of hope outside of revela- tion; but the Word of God is, after all, our reliance. That tells us in simple phrase not only of the origin of the race, how "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," but it also lights up the portals of the grave. It contains the express promise of man's resurrection from the dead: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." To such, however, as are not satisfied with this author- ity, but perchance have been led by eloquence and wit and good digestion at three hundred dollars a night to deny its authenticity, I can only say, in the language of Long- fellow' s ' ' Golden Legend ' ' : There is no confessor like unto Death! Thou canst not see him, but he is near; Thou needest not whisper above thy breath, Ami he will hear; He will answer the questions, The vague surmises and suggestions, That till thy soul with doubt and fear ! Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 25 Address of Mr. Lane. Mr. SPEAKER: It is written that all men must die. No one is exempt from this fatal decree. We live to die and die to live for evermore, thanks to that fatal decree that has so ordained our being, for it opens to us the visions of endless life. It is said that death is the golden key that opens the pal- ace of eternity and grants us the crown of life. Men die that they may die no more. This is a world of pain, of tears, and death; the next is a world of everlasting joy and eternal life. The Angel of Death has again passed through this Chamber. We almost heard the moving of his wings as he summoned from our midst our friend, Gen. Philip Sidney Post, a Representative from the Commonwealth of Illinois. On Friday afternoon I was engaged with him for some time in private conversation in this Hall about the condi- tion of the country and the prospects of legislation; on the Sunday morning following I heard of his sudden death. General Post had just passed the sixty-second milestone in his life's journey, and in the full meridian of his physical and mental manhood he ceased his earthly labors and laid himself down and died. I knew of General Post for many years, but never had the pleasure of meeting him until I saw him here in the first session of the Fiftieth Congress. I soon became acquainted with him, and during the eight years of our service here together I enjoyed his company verv much. 26 'Address of Mr. Lane of Illinois. < ieneral POST was no ordinary man, but rather one capa- ble of filling the highest position in the gift of a free people. When elected to Congress the first time he pos- sessed a national reputation. At the outbreak of the war he entered the Armv as a second lieutenant, and for gal- lant and meritorious services in many a well-fought battle he was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant, then to major, colonel, and finally to brigadier-general. After the war he served his country for over thirteen years in the consular service, and became distinguished as the repre- sentative of this nation in foreign lands. In the fall of 1886 he was elected a member of Congress, and has four times since been reelected his own successor, in the last election receiving over 13,000 majority over his competitor. He was deservedly popular with his people, and no member of Congress from any State served his constituents more intelligently and faithfully than did our deceased col- league. Politically General Post was a Republican, patri- otic and sincere. He was firm in his political beliefs, but he was wholly unmindful of the party lash. When he could not agree with his party he had the courage of his convictions and exercised the right to vote as his concience dictated. Thus, on the silver question he refused to fol- low his party, and spoke and voted for the free coinage of silver, and I may say that his speech on this question, delivered in this Chamber in May, 1S90, was a strong one, full of earnest thought and patriotic utterances. He said, on that occasion : "I am in favor, as the fathers of the Republic were in favor, of the full use of both gold and silver as money. Whatever proposed legislation tends to that end I will support; whatever does not will meet my earnest opposition." Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 27 Brave and noble words were these uttered by our col- league, and I may say of him that few men in this country were as well informed on the financial question as General Post. He made the subject one of profound study, and he dis- cussed it with great ability and learning 011 the floor of this House, on the platform and the hustings. It was impossi- ble to know General Post and not to admire and love him. He was a jurist, soldier, and statesman, a noble citizen and a good man. The memorv of his useful life and his shining, spotless character is a more valuable inheritance to his chil- dren than all worldly riches. His family adored and wor- shiped him, and all his neighbors loved and admired this manly man. I was appointed by this House as one of the Congres- sional committee to attend the funeral. On Monday night, January 7, 1895, we took his casket from the hotel in this city to the depot. From thence we bore it over the Alleghany Mountains, and across the States of Ohio and Indiana, to his prairie home in the great State of Illinois. We reached there on the morning of the 9th day of Jan- uary. The bod}- was then taken to the rotunda of the court-house, where it lay in state until 2 o'clock. All business was suspended in the city, and the entire pop- ulation, irrespective of party, race, creed, or class, turned out and paid their respects to their deceased friend and fellow-citizen. People came from all parts of the State to attend the funeral, and a touching feature connected with the ceremony was the presence of a vast number of the Grand Army of the Republic, in whose ranks were nu- merous soldiers who had followed General Post in manv a 28 Address of Mr. Lane of Illinois. well-fought battle during the war of the rebellion. Upon their rugged and manly faces was plainly seen the sincere and profound sorrow they all felt for their dead commander. At 2 o'clock the remains were taken to the church, where, in the presence of an immense gathering of the people, religious services were held; and then, about the setting of the sun, we bore the remains to the silent city of the dead, where the funeral services were concluded. From the church to the cemetery the sides of the streets were crowded with people along the entire way; both sexes, all ages, classes, and conditions, reverently stood with uncov- vered heads while the remains passed by. And there in that quiet and lonely spot, in that silent city of the dead, the casket, covered with the Stars and Stripes, containing the earthly remains of General Post, was lowered to its final resting place, where we left him sleeping in peace and honor. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 29 ADDRESS OF MR. BYNUM. Mr. Speaker: It is in no merely perfunctory manner that I participate in the exercises of the House on this occasion. In the great strife for success in this active world we are often carried along in the exciting rush of the multitude, and at times unmindful that many, weary of the journey, have fallen by the wayside. It is only when some con- spicuous character has been stricken down that the tread of the throng becomes noiseless and harsh voices engaged in bitter contention are subdued to the gentler tones of sym- pathy and sorrow. In the closing hours of this Congress, with a Calendar burdened with important measures affecting the interests of private individuals almost without number, as well as those of a public character designed to promote the prosperity- of all, we lay aside for the hour the business of legislation to pay a tribute to the memory and place upon record for all time our admiration for the noble traits of character so con- spicuously possessed and exemplified in the private as well as public life by one whom we all respected and honored and were proud to call our friend. It is no discredit to the living nor any reflection upon the dead who were colleagues of General Post to say that he was, during the whole of his service, the most respected and beloved of all. There was no affectation in his manner; no fulsome flattery fell from his lips. He was always the same affable gentleman, free from guile or bitterness; with- out ostentation, dignified, courteous, and manly in all his 30 Address of Mr, Bynnin of Indiana. bearing, It lias been claimed that nature, the influences of suns and seasons, the surrounding scenery, the hills, the mountains, the streams, the plains, the forests, and the flowers, sway and mold the character of a people. Whether this be a fact or not, it is certainly true that the character of General Post was emblematic of his surroundings. The great prairies of the West, in the midst of which he spent the most of his life, have been gorgeously described as the domain above which "the sun at his zenith seems to linger in admiration and wonder for a moment in his cease- less course to the Pacific, where the icy blasts of the north are melted to cool breezes in the warm embrace of the sultry winds of the south, and where, under the influence of all that is inspiring, the soul of an American citizen rises to the full measure. of his country's opportunities and his own duties." His nature and disposition were as smooth as the broad plains which surrounded him, and his magnanimity and patriotism as boundless as the skies above him. It is not for me to speak of the great services which he rendered his country in both civil and military life; this has been done by Representatives from his own State. Enter- ing the Union Army as a lieutenant at less than twenty- nine vears of age, by his courage and bravery he was by brevet made a brigadier-general before the close of the war. His soldierly qualities were the more to be admired because he never mentioned them, much less boasted of them. A man of true courage is wholly destitute of the proclivities of a braggart. Modesty was the predominant trait of his character. His uniform, displaying his various ranks from that of lieutenant to brigadier-general, stained with his patriotic Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 31 blood from a frightful wound received in battle, inclosed in a modest case at his home in Galesburg, where it was viewed bv the members of the committee which accompanied his remains in the evening after we had laid him away to rest, presents a history and a record that I would rather enjoy and transmit as a legacy to future generations than all the riches of the Rothschilds or all the honors that could be acquired in civil life. The great esteem in which General Post was held by his townspeople, his constituents, and the citizens of his State was evidenced by the emblems of mourning everywhere dis- played and the universal sorrow expressed at his death and the great honors which were paid to his remains on the day of his funeral. Distinguished citizens from all parts of the State were present. All business was suspended. The funeral procession, composed of civil and military organiza- tions and a concourse of citizens, was the largest and most imposing ever seen in the place. In the procession were a large number of Grand Army veterans, whose features plaiulv portrayed the privations and hardships of the army life through which they had passed and whose step and posture silently told of declining years and advancing dis- solution. It was not, however, wholly the public services of Gen- eral Post that endeared him to his people. It was because of those noble traits of character which distinguished him in social life here and elsewhere, and which he practiced around the fireside of his home, in the family circle of do- mestic life, that he was enshrined in the affections of his friends and neighbors as well as of his wife and children. He was the companion of his wife in all her joys and 32 Address of Mr. Bynum of Indiana. griefs; a devoted husband, ready to make the smallest or the greatest sacrifice that would contribute to her solace and pleasure. To his children he was not only a father but a companion, to whom they could go and in whom they could confide with an assurance of sympathy in all of their trials and troubles. It is impossible for the finite mind to fathom the mys- teries of Providence. Certainly the death of General Post, bound to earth by every link that chained together a de- voted husband and a loving wife, an affectionate father and adoring children, with not a single cloud in the skies to obscure the sunshine of their happiness, surrounded with every comfort and endeared to his people by a faithful and conspicuous service in their behalf in the Halls of Congress and upon the fields of battle, is more than we can compre- hend except by an implicit faith in the promises of the Redeemer. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 33 ADDRESS OF MR. GROSVENOR. Mr. Speaker: If it can be said now, or at any time, that it is a pleasure to speak words of praise of the dead, this would be to me an occasion where my brief effort would be a labor of love. Philip Sidney Post was the type of a host of young men in this country who in 1861 went into the war for the single, undivided, patriotic purpose of putting down a re- bellion that threatened the autonomy and integrity of the country, and for the sole purpose of restoring the Union of the States and the supremacy of the Constitution. It was not ambition that led them thus to sacrifice home and ma- terial interests; it was patriotism. It was not the hope of self-aggrandizement; it was the love of country, and in that Mr. Post was a representative of that type of men of 1861. I do not in this remark intend to discriminate against the men who went later, and there are a great many reasons why I do not. There were those who did not feel that they were called upon to enter the ranks of the Union Army until the necessitv grew greater than it seemed to be in 1861. We were told that the war was to be of short duration, to speed- ily close with a great victory for the Union; and so it was that many, burdened by other cares and other engagements, hesitated. There were also those, and many of them, who afterwards became a splendid component part of the Union forces, who were not old enough in 1861, but became old enough in the later years of that struggle to be valuable and efficient soldiers. But the men of 1861 — who laid aside H Mis 80 — 3 54 Address of Mr. Grosvenor of Ohio. their occupations; the men who had position at home, who had something to do; the men who made sacrifices for the single-hearted purpose of which I have spoken — to save the Union — and who stayed in the Army during the war, who were present when the great triumph of the cause for which they fought came — after all have something to recom- mend them which is notable and conspicuous and belongs to them alone. There can be no words of eulogy of ours on this occa- sion that will testify so eloquently and so irresistiblv to the grand and the soldierly qualities of our dead comrade as the record itself. It was not an easy matter to rise from a second lieutenant in 1861 to become so soon the colonel nt' a regiment and to be intrusted with the command of a brigade and 'a division by the rapid ratio of promotion which was his lot. It was a war, Mr. Speaker, that did not develop the suc- cessful humbug. It was a war that ultimately decided the merits of men. A great many entered the service in 1861 with the insignia of the eagle on their shoulders, and yet found themselves at an early period in the year 1862 glad to be allowed the retirement of home, while others took their places and went forward to achieve triumph. So the man who achieved promotion under the eyes of the great leaders of the army in which General Post served was a man necessarily of more than ordinary character and more than ordinary soldierly qualities and ability. I did not know this distinguished officer until a late period in the war, and I wish I could describe the first time I ever saw him. I wish I could paint with words a pic- ture adequate to the occasion. It was on the 16th da}- of Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 35 December, 1864, at the battle of Nashville. The troops with whom I was serving were on the extreme left of the attack on ( >verton Hill, and the brigade of General Post was on the left of Wood's corps, and his left joined the right of the troops with whom I was serving. The attack was made in the afternoon, about 3 o'clock, perhaps half an hour earlier. It was the second day of the great decisive battle of Nashville. It was a battle in which those who served in the Army of the Cumberland during the whole of these memorable years take special interest. I remember very well when a gallant young commander of the regiment to which I belonged, and had commanded, mounted his horse in the twilight of the morning of the 15th, moved to the head of the regiment, and said to me, ' ' This is the first battle that old Pap Thomas ever commanded on his own account and without anybody to interfere with him, and vou will see the shortest, sharpest, and the cleanest-cut victory of this war. ' ' His words came true. But when they did come, his bloody body lay there full against the earthwork of the enemy at Raines's house. General Thomas on that occa- sion demonstrated to the people of this country and to the intelligent people of the world something of the character- istics of the man whom we now so fondly cherish in our memories. As early as the 6th of December an organized attempt — I will not characterize the mistakes of the dead — had been made to drive Thomas into a battle. He was there; others were at far distant points. The question was a question of organization of rapidlv accumulating forces and the fitting of men and horses for 36 Address of Mr. Grosvenor- of Ohio. the coming engagement. The general who had never made a mistake in four years of service was better calcu- lated to judge of the emergency than the men in civil life sitting at the other end of a telegraph line and operating upon the prejudices or judgment of the great general down in Virginia. And so it was that General Thomas refused to be driven into that battle, and day by day, from early dawn until late in the night, worked with a patience and assidu- ity that challenged the admiration of every soldier under him to prepare his command for battle. And finally, when the peremptory order was sent to him to make an attack on the next morning at a certain hour, he telegraphed: ( j iiiiitry is all covered with sleet. If anything tries to move here it will slip up. Six days afterwards, with his successor within one hun- dred and fifty miles, coming with a commission to super- sede him, Thomas moved when he got ready upon a plan of battle of his own, and achieved the splendid victory of Nashville. Prominent in that battle was the corps of Stanley, but Stanley was not there to command it. He had fallen under a terrible wound in the sanguinary conflict in the latter days of November at Franklin. Wood was in command; and on the left, on that bloody second clay, holding a position of danger and honor, and holding it with confidence in him- self and with the confidence of every man in his command, was Philip Sidney Post. It was then for the first time that I met him or saw him. He had made an assault upon Overton Hill, a strongly forti- fied position which we could not flank, but which could be enveloped upon the right and upon the left. Near the left, toward the very salient of the work, marched the brigade of Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 37 Post. It became important that I should try to have a personal conference with him. As his column moved for- ward the awful fire of shot and shell from the salient of the enemy's works struck his column full in the front. At that moment the scene and surroundings were awful in a grandeur such as I had never before witnessed. It was on a December day, the condition of the weather substantially like that of fall or spring in more northern latitudes. A terrific thunderstorm was playing. The artil- lerv of heaven was joining with the artillery of man — the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and the great column of men, hopeful, enthusiastic, confident of victory, had been told by Thomas that it was possible for them to capture that hill, to put an end to the battle, and to make an end of Hood's gallant army. It was not an easy army to overcome, for behind it were hunger, famine, defeat, and destruction, while in front of it were the homes of more than half of the men of that army. Nashville for winter quarters, the Ohio River for the dividing line between the two armies, and the hope of a successful occupation of Tennessee and Kentucky during the winter — these were the thoughts presented to their minds. Thev were led by such men as Hood, Cheatham, Maney, and others of their most distinguished leaders and fighters. So when Hood's army made its final stand upon Overton Hill, behind its great fortifications, with its artil- lery pouring its terrible fire down, it took a man of cour- age to lead the heaviest of the assault upon the worst angle of the works, the most salient and deadly of the enemy's defenses. 38 Address of Mr. Grosvenor of Ohio. To that place was assigned Philip Sidney Post, of Illinois. I remember very well how he looked, although he was at some little distance from me. He was calm, imperturbable, absolutely unaffected by the surroundings, simply going right at the great object that was in front of him. Suddenly his column in front wavered, halted, became entangled in confusion, and, as another terrific ava- lanche of shot and shell struck his column, he, pressing to the front upon his horse, was struck, and fell, "horse and rider in one red burial blent." I turned from my fruitless effort to have an interview with him, and left him, as I supposed, dead upon the battlefield. General Thomas telegraphed that night the modest dis- patch announcing the victory, announcing the capture of thirty pieces of artillery in the angle of Overton Hill, announcing the capture of a large force of the enemy, and then stating that one of the saddest features of that victorv was the loss to the Army of the Cumberland of the gallant General POST, of Illinois, whom he stated had been shot dead. It was months before we knew that he was alive, and I never met him again until I met him here as a member of Congress. Here I saw him and talked with him, associated with him everywhere, spoke with him about the war, spoke with him about Nashville, and I do not remember a man who spoke of great events like those, in which he had been a great actor, in which he had achieved undying honor and imperishable fame, who yet talked about those events and joined in the conversation as a mere matter of everyday concern. I have never heard him respond, even by a single word, to any suggestion in regard to the splen- did part which he himself played in that brilliant contest. Life and Sen ices of Philip Sidney Post. 39 Mr. Speaker, I will not pursue this subject further. I have spoken upon this branch of the subject on this occa- sion from a heart full of comradeship, a heart overflowing with love for the man whom we mourn. If there was in all the range of my acquaintance a man who was a true type of the splendid American volunteer soldier that man was Philip Sidney Post, of Illinois. Brave, wise, not reckless, not heedless, always cautious, always careful, but always going to the point where he was ordered to go, lie was an intelligent soldier, a soldier who represented that intelligence that made the Union Army of the Xortli in 1864 the best organized, the most sensible, and the most powerful body of men of equal numbers per- haps that had ever shouldered the musket up to that time in all the history of the world. I came here to testify this much in his honor. I am here, figuratively speaking, to shed a tear over his untimely death. A man who could develop as he did in war times, a man who could grasp the conditions that followed the war, a man who could achieve success in so many and such varied branches of life in which he was thrown by his fellow-men ought, it would seem to me, to have lived to a later and riper age, so that he might have demon- strated what it is possible for an American to achieve in this country of ours. 40 Address of Mr. Clarke of Alabama. ADDRESS OF MR. CLARKE OF ALABAMA. Mr. Speaker: It may not be altogether amiss that one who has not had the advantage of a long and close associa- tion with General Post should record a sincere appreciation of his manly character and honorable career. I knew him first in the early days of the Fifty-first Con- gress, a period of intense bitterness. No two men could have been farther apart in antecedents, training, and con- victions on most public questions; yet I instinctively recog- nized in him a generous, kindly, and just man, bringing to bear upon every subject strong sense, ripe experience, and an earnest desire for the promotion of the welfare of every part of his country. He carried upon his body dreadful wounds received in the very front of battle. Others have said that he frequently suffered intense pain from them to the clay of his death. His acquaintances, his everyday asso- ciates, never heard a complaint from him. As modest as he was brave, proud, as no man could have failed to be, of his record as a soldier, he never obtruded it upon the House or made it a theme of ordinary conversation. He did not need to do so; his comrades and his commanding officers bore witness to it; his one time foes, his later friends, hon- ored him for it; it is graven in his country's history, a page of its glory. Fame found him where duty led him. I have alluded to the honor and esteem in which he was held on this side of the House. With the old Confederate soldiers here, serving in war in his front, dealing him wounds and receiving from him full Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 41 measure in return, there was more than mere respect; there was a genuine and hearty liking. They felt that no thought, word, or vote of his was actuated by sectional bitterness. He had been a magnificent enemy in war; he was a sincere friend in peace. Humanity and his country are the better that he has lived, the poorer that an untimely death has stilled a wise brain, a brave soul, and a kind heart. Address ol Mr. Lucas of South Dakota. Address of Mr. Lucas. Mr. Speaker: When I recall Philip Sidney Post I am impressed with the belief that he was no ordinary man. His long pnblic career is evidence of superior ability. He possessed qualities of head and heart that peculiarly fitted him as a useful and valuable citizen and equipped him splendidly for his public career. The career of General Post was one of success from early manhood until death. His every step demonstrated his capacity and the match- less worth of the free institutions of our great Republic in offering possibilities to the youth of our country. In his early life he chose the law as a profession, and was advancing with rapid strides to eminence in his calling when his attention was wrested from his books and briefs and directed toward the theater of war. My information is that General Post was a most promis- ing young lawyer and was forging his way to distinction and honor when he abandoned all and entered the Army as a soldier. In his new relations the same elements of char- acter were soon developed that had marked him as a rising young lawyer. He adapted himself to military life and imbibed so readily and accurately the spirit of discipline so necessary to make an army effective that his superiors recognized in him the material for a leader. Promotion came to him without seeking, and as his responsibilities increased the latent powers in the man were brought out, proving his worth and ability. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 43 As a soldier General Post was admirable. Though twice wounded in battle, once believed to be, and reported, mor- tally, he never faltered or wavered in his determination to remain in the field until the end. He was a skillful com- mander — cool, cautious, and brave and dashing in time of action. At the termination of the war his wounds were so severely afflicting as to incapacitate him from entering upon his profession. In 1866 he was appointed consul to Vienna and promoted to consul-general for Austria-Hungary to represent this country. In those capacities he remained abroad for thir- teen years. His courtesy and suavity won him the pro- found respect and admiration of the people among whom he dwelt. The dignity and honor of our country were fit- tingly represented and personified in the person of General Post. On his return home to Galesburg, 111., he was not long left to enjoy the comforts and pleasures of domestic life, but was called to serve that intelligent and rich district upon this floor. For eight years he did so with ability and fidelity, and last November he was elected to serve a fifth term. I first met General Post, so as to become personallv acquainted with him, in 1886, while he was department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic of Illinois. I knew much of his history as a soldier before that date, and admired him as a dashing officer ; but when I came to know him personally, I discovered traits in his personality that greatly increased my admiration and drew me close to him as a comrade and a man. 44 Address of Mr. Lucas of South Dakota. In the rush of military and official life he drew to him- self close and warm friends beyond his vicinage. As I wit- nessed the swaying throng of sorrowing people who passed with measured tread and bowed heads at his home in Gales- burg to look upon his calm face as it lay in state I was con- vinced that nowhere was he more highly esteemed than at his own home. The honors and distinction he bore were won in the line of active duty faithfully discharged. In the forum and on the hustings he was a tower of strength, not for his elo- quence, but because of his candor, sincerity, and unques- tioned integrity. The people believed in Philip Sidney Post, and he believed in the common people. His honesty and tireless industry gave him a place in the hearts of his constituents such as few men attain. But others are far abler to speak of him as a statesman and diplomat than I am. As a comrade of that great army of soldiers who spent bitter hours of trial let me remember and speak of him. The marble monuments builded by grateful hands will crumble and fall, but the memory of the heroic and honorable career of Philip Sidney Post will live on, because it is preserved in story and history. He went out, as we all must go, at the summons from on high. Did he go to the deathless solitude of forgetfulness? We believe not. The longings of the human heart in all the ages is well expressed by Cato, when he savs: Plato, thou reasonest well ! Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire. This longing after immortality? Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul Back on herself, and startles at destruction? 'Tis the divinity that stirs within us. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 45 Address of Mr. Wheeler of Alabama. Mr. Speaker: Gen. Philip Sidney Post possessed in an eminent degree qualities which are admired by people of all classes and conditions. He was one of the most dis- tinguished military men in the present Congress, having by his verv gallant and efficient service risen rapidly from the grade of second lieutenant to that of brigade commander. He was twice very severely wounded in battle, and he enjoyed the admiration of his soldiers and subordinate officers and was very highly regarded by all his superior commanders. Soon after the war he was appointed consul to Vienna, and on account of his marked merit was promoted to the post of consul-general of Austria-Hungary. One quality of General Post's character which must have been observed by all his associates was his unaffected modesty. Notwithstanding his very distinguished service as a soldier and his long and valued experience as a diplo- mat at foreign courts, his most intimate friends seldom, if ever, heard him make any allusion to himself in connection with any of the events which had given him prominence and distinction. It was my good fortune to enjoy a pleasantly close acquaintance with General Post, and but a few hours before he was seized with the fatal sickness which so suddenly terminated his earthly career I met him and his family at an entertainment and had quite a lengthy conversation with him. His hold on life then seemed to me as certain 46 Address of Mr. Wheeler of Alabama. as that of any person in that vast assemblage. It was late Friday night when I bade him adieu, and I conld hardly comprehend the possibility of its truth when on Sunday morning I received the sad intelligence of his death. Regarding the services of General Post in Congress, all the members of the present House and Senate are well informed. He ranked among the first in ability, learning, and culture; and in sterling integrity and courageous con- ception and execution of duty he had few equals. Gentlemen from Illinois who are more familiar with the details of General Post's career than I am have told us of the useful and beautiful life of their lamented col- league at his home in the State he served so well and which delighted to honor him. It is most appropriate that we should pause in our duties to express our grief at the death of a man like General Post, and to place on record our testimony to his noble character and exalted worth. In the beautiful cemetery at his Galesburg home, in the midst of the people who loved and honored him and sur- rounded by those who survive of the valorous veterans he so bravely led, what is mortal of Philip Sidney Post will rest forever. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. \- address of Mr. Dolliver. Mr. Speaker: I desire to join with my friend from Illi- nois and his associates in this House in a few words of tribute to the memory of General Post. I remember upon my entrance into the Fifty-first Congress the kindly greet- ing of General Post, and in the latter years of his service it was my privilege to enjoy a somewhat intimate personal acquaintance with him. Long before his death I had often thought and spoken of him as a splendid example of what a man of signal ability and high character was able to achieve in a generation such as that in which he lived. It seldom happens to anyone to be great both in military and civil life. The records of the war of the rebellion show that among the really great military commanders developed by that struggle General Post's name ought to occupy a notable place. Not only measured by his sacrifices, but measured by his achievements, he will be accorded a high position in the history of the country as a successful soldier. Of course behind such services as he rendered the United States in the hour of public danger there lay a foundation of patriotism and an intelligent comprehension of the duties of citizenship in a Republic like ours; and that comprehension of the duties of citizenship gave to his career in civil life as long as he lived an eminence and distinction such as fall to the lot of but few men to attain. If I were called upon to point to the characteristic of General Post which most impressed those who came in 48 Address of Mr. Dolliver of Iowa. contact with him, I would say that it was his extraordi- nary originality and strength of character. There are few men who go through life in places of high official distinc- tion and in the discharge of great duties who take so little of color from their surroundings as did General Post. I heard General Sherman, shortly after the death of General Grant, say of him that he had been in situations more lowly and more exalted than any man who ever lived in the world, and had been absolutely unaffected by either. It is to that small group of men General Post belonged. He was not bewildered by distinction won in the mili- tary service of his country; he was not encumbered by the offices of trust which betokened the confidence of his fellow-citizens. Thirteen years of continued public serv- ice in an eminent position in one of the most glittering capitals of the world, very far from coloring General Post's views of life, only served to emphasize and illustrate the sterling Americanism of his character. The House of Representatives gave to General Post a field of activity well suited to his tastes and intellectual gifts. He was both a student and an orator. His long residence abroad had familiarized him not only with the conditions of social and industrial life in other countries, but with the practical measures brought forward by states- men in other lands for the solution of social and industrial problems. No man has occupied a seat in this Chamber since the war who was able to bring to the discussion of these questions a greater store of actual knowledge or more thoroughly considered convictions. He takes his place among the leading thinkers of his time upon the complex problems which relate to the industrial life of the Republic. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 1.9 His opinions sometimes led him into an open disagreement with his party associates, but that disagreement never led him into the field of factional politics, never lost him the good will of those from whom he differed, or the confidence and respect of the leaders with whom he associated. He never quarreled. In fact, his great strength in the House came in part from the persuasive affability of his manner and the modest reserve of his opinions. While others clamored for public notoriety and wasted their influence in spectacular advertisement, he relied with cheerful assurance upon the well-tried weapons of debate and argument. It is no small tribute to the intellectual power of our departed friend to say that his own Congres- sional district never faltered in its support of any position relating to public affairs which General Post assumed after he had presented his views and defended his opinions be- fore the people upon the hustings; and no man here will question the sincerity which he brought into every speech which he delivered and every vote which he recorded on this floor. But whatever he accomplished in this Cham- ber, and however important his public service may have been as the representative of his country in foreign capi- tals, those who knew him, as they reflect upon his career, will always be drawn to the splendid years of his early man- hood when he offered his sword for the defense of the flag of our common country. His comrade, General Grosvenor, has spoken beautifully of him as a representative of the youth of 1861 who for- got the interests of home and business, and out of a pure patriotism entered the ranks of the Union Army to main- tain the integrity of the Republic. To have served even H Mis 80 4 50 Address of Mr. Dolliver of Iowa. in a humble way in that Army gives to a man an honor that does not belong- to the walks of peace and to his chil- dren an inheritance that can not fade. But General Post, though he began his service in a humble station, by the force of military genius, joined with a courage that knew neither failure nor danger, ended his career with the record of a distinction that has become a passport to renown wher- ever the history of the United States attracts the interest and attention of men. It was a record based upon achievements, upon sacrifices, upon success, and not gained by accident or by favor. He fought at the front, and his maimed and broken body car- ried to the grave the cruel marks of the battlefield. When I think of what this generation owes to the men of 1861, of the loss and sorrow of those memorable years, I can but feel a new sense of gratitude to the heroic leaders whose courage and wisdom guided the armies of the Republic and won the final victory for the Union. Their names will be embalmed in the reverent memory of their countrymen and their fame become a precious heritage to all generations. I would like to speak of General Post as I knew him in the relations of friendship and daily association which make up so large a part of the reward of membership in this House. I have never known a man whose heart was fuller of good fellowship, of kindly sentiment, than his. He was a master of the art of conversation, and the group that gathered about him in the office of the hotel in which we both lodged, after the labors of the day were over, will not forget those quiet hours, passing often far into the night, which were enlivened by the wisdom of his discourse, by his kindly philosophy of life, and by the subtle influence of his gracious personality. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 51 He lived for his family in an atmosphere made beautiful by all the graces that adorn domestic life. We can not hope by the poor words we speak here to lighten the afflic- tion which has fallen so suddenly upon those he loved. They have the consolation which comes from the knowl- edge that the American people bring to the grave of Gen- eral Post the tribute of honor which belongs to the soldier and statesman, and that his life was literally given to defend his country and render service to his fellow-men. We can only commend them to God and the word of His grace, and as we turn away from these memorial ceremonies to the stir- ring and arduous affairs in which we are engaged we will often think and often speak of that interesting and pictur- esque figure in the public life of our time whose face we are to see no more among us. ^2 Address <>/ Mr. Stockdale of Mississippi. ADDRESS OF MR. STOCKDALE, Mr. Speaker: The House of Representatives pauses to- day and suspends business to speak of life and of death. We do not understand either. We know that life is and that death will come. Confucius said in answer to a request to explain death: "How can I explain death when I do not understand life?" Whether the soul that vivifies the body is a new indi- vidual creation to exist without end, or whether a scintilla- tion of Jehovah flashing- out upon the world, to return to , its source when the carbon burns out, is mystery behind the veil. But wha'tever be its source or destiny, we know it is sublime to live. In e,very thought, in every pulsation, in everv ambition, in every high hope, the exultant thrill ot the breath of God flashes through this dual man, in whose person the world of mind and the world of matter first met in mutual acquaintance. The grim, ghastly alchemist that dissolves that union and terminates this glorious life we call Death, the dreaded enemy of mankind that only the Christian's hope can overcome. No philosophy can enter his dark abode. Whether the exit from this world is the entrance to the higher, grander, eternal life is not within the power of the horoscope. The invisible shore has no beacon. That bourn whence no traveler returns gives back no echo. Xo ray comes through the shadows of the dark valley. Yet there is a consciousness within which, as the spark received from across the ocean proves the existence of kindred fire on the Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 53 other side, receives through that mystic chord from beyond the dark river assurances that there is life on the golden shore, and a sublime faith makes it bright and everlasting. It is of life I desire to speak to-day, not of death. I desire to speak of General POST as he lived, as he still lives in the memory of his friends and admirers and in the archives of this great nation. General Post and myself became members of the United States Congress at the same time— of the Fiftieth Congress. I met him indifferently with other Representatives who were strangers to me. I observed his course as a national legis- lator and was attracted by it, and became interested in him for main- reasons. I recognized him as a man of intellec- tual force and honesty of purpose, in whom all sections of the country could trust. He was a partisan, yes, but an honest partisan, advocating earnestly what he believed to be right, and with manhood enough to correct, as far as possible, any mistake he might make. He was conscientious of duty and alert in its discharge, but not narrow or sectional. His idea of duty compre- hended justice to the whole nation. He was ambitious, but his aspirations were to rise upon merit to the level of great men, and had none of that ignoble temper to pull others down. He had much of the spirit that would raise mortals to the skies, and none of that other spirit that would drag angels down. He wanted the country to become great, and wanted all the people to rise with it. He had a heart big- enough to rejoice in the prosperity of all parts of the coun- try, and despised oppression. When the clouds gathered over this land of the brave, and thickened and darkened 54 Address of Mr. Stockdale of Mississippi. and finally burst into the storm of war, Lieutenant Post did not hesitate to enter the field where giants grappled. He wielded his battle-ax fiercely, but when peace perched on the banner of the Union to General POST'S vision its wings were white, and he had no desire to circumscribe their expanse. No frown disfigured his brow. Without malice he hailed the triumph of arms as the triumph of peace, and the triumph of peace as the harbinger of good will and restored prosperity to all the land. There was no grasping hands across chasms; to him there was no chasm. Peace closed the breach forever, and we were one people. He did not know a North and a South, an East and a West, but as a Representative knew them all alike. The voice of patriotism from any section awoke the same emotions in his breast. The wail of distress from any shore touched the same chord in his heart. A devoted, fearless friend of his country's flag, he cared not from what direction came the breeze that bore it aloft. Brave and frank and honest himself, he confided in the honor of other brave men. Fearless and aggressive, conscious of his strength, he con- cealed no weapons of revenge, but poised his lance in open combat at the brightest shield in the arena of brains, as he had done in the field of battle. His scholarly style, classic diction, and elevated thoughts commanded attention whenever he addressed the House. He was such a Representative as elevated his constitu- ents in the esteem of his compeers. Frank, generous, and genial in social relations, he was entitled to and possessed the friendship of many of his associates on both sides of the House and the respect of all. It is sad that his life was severed midway in his career of usefulness and with higher honors perhaps awaiting him. Life and Services of Philip Sidmv Post. 55 Such is my reading of the life and character of General Post. No circumstance other than his worth aided my favorable opinion. We marched in hostile columns during the war and contended in opposing parties here. Only the judgment is involved in differences of opinion. All the other great elements of manhood may meet unrestrained by that difference. General Post was not a follower in the conflict of arms, but stood in the front line against the assaults of the fiercest foe that ever marched to battle, and bore to his grave many honorable marks of his great gallantry. Nor was he a follower in civil life. With no time or taste for bitter memories or the company of the ignoble, and no heart for the destruction of the hopes of his fellow-men, he again advanced to the front in the columns of this marvel- ous civilization that seems like the march of the gods. His aim in life seemed to be to benefit and not injure. Benevo- lence and charity were his characteristics. Such characters rise in memory's horizon like the even- ing star in the sky, serene and kindly aglow among the cold, glittering lights of the later night. Upon the sorrows of the bereaved family, so sudden and crushing, I mav not intrude. If I could, I would gladly contribute to the allevi- ation of their woe, that may be assuaged but not removed. Time's cold fingers may soothe the wounds, but they will not heal. Deep down in the human heart are chambers sacred to the memory of the loved and lost and may not be invaded. They speak only by the unbidden and yet not unwelcome tear. I may say that though with hearts bowed in sorrow they may travel to the boundaries of the nation, the name of Post will secure them welcome. No shadow of dishonor 56 Address of Mr. Stockdale of Mississippi. trails after his name. A soldier of renown and gallant fame, an able and honest statesman, and a worthy, patriotic, and virtuous citizen is written in the memory of those who knew him. A few days ago I stood on the shores of the great Gulf and heard the many-voiced waves, soft and low on the incom- ing tide, suggesting, as it seemed, memories of a deceased brother who sleeps in the bosom of the great sister State by the lakes. I returned to the nation's capital with mes- sages of condolence from the great-hearted people of Missis- sippi to the sorrowing citizens of Illinois; and may we not claim that the loss is mutual? Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 57 Address of Mr. Boutelle. Mr. Speaker: I can hardly hope to add anything to the appreciative tributes that have been paid to the memory of our distinguished friend and associate, and yet I should be unresponsive to my own impulses if I should fail to make some expression of my sincere sorrow for his loss and rev- erence for his memory. My own acquaintance with Gen- eral Post has been confined entirely to the period of his public life here. While we served under the same flag and in the same cause during the late war, in which he gained such merited distinction, we first became acquainted in this capital city as members of this body, and although my acquaintance with him has always been of an exceedingly pleasing character, that of the past few years has assumed an intimacy of social friendship which caused his sudden death to prove a sharp and severe personal bereavement. No word has been said here to-day in eulogy of General Post that has failed to elicit the warmest and most heart- felt response from my own convictions and feelings. He was eminently the true type of an American citizen, a gentleman in the highest and noblest sense of the term; and often during my acquaintance with him, when 1 have reflected upon the modesty which marked his entire de- meanor, while all the time I had full knowledge of the glorious record he had made in his country's service, I have thought how aptly his name was given in his infancy, for of all those who have rendered the history of that great war period of our nation's life illustrious and splendid I 58 Address of Mr. BoiUelle of Maine. know of no man on either side better entitled to have borne the name of the chivalrous and gentle Philip Sidney than my friend General Post. He was of the very essence of chivalry. His nature was composed of those elements of honor, truth, and gentleness that go to form the very highest examples of what we revere as real manhood. I was particularly struck this afternoon by that portion of the eloquent tribute of my friend from Alabama, Mr. Clarke, in which he alluded to one of General Post's most remarkable characteristics as his modesty. I never heard him speak of any episode of personal prowess or personal achievement with which he had been identified during the war. It was not through lack of interest in his personal service or in his relations as a soldier, for he was very proud of his comradeship with those who bore the burden of battle, proud of the associ- ations of those eventful years, proud of the victories that were won and of the results that were achieved. He liked to talk about them in an impersonal way, and was generous in awarding praise to others, and yet in all the conversations that I had with him and those in which I heard him mingle I never heard him refer to a personal achievement or a personal sacrifice. So it happened that while I had that general public knowledge which we all obtain in regard to men who have figured prominently and brilliantly in times of great importance in our history, it was not until General Post had passed away, while under the same roof with myself, that I became fully conscious that during all the years in which we had associated with him here, when his face was habitually wreathed with a pleasant smile and when he met us all day after day with Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 59 his characteristically cordial and kindly greeting, he was bearing about with him mortal wonnds; that his body had been shot and lacerated and torn by grape and canister on more than one field of battle, on one of which he had been left for dead. I have no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that General Post fell at last as a victim of injuries received in his military service. While the frightful wounds that he had received on various occasions were not immediate in their fatal effect, I am con- fident that his taking off at so early a period of his maturity is directly attributable to the injuries he had sustained in the performance of his duty as a citizen and a soldier. I need not allude further to his record in the war. It is a part of history, and to-day that history has been illumi- nated by the testimony of men who served with him under the same flag and of men who served against him on many bloody fields. That record will stand. It will stand to his honor through all time to come. The grand State of Illi- nois and the great nation which he so faithfully served in war and in peace will see to it that his memory is kept green. His comrades will cherish it as the dearest herit- age a true soldier and a good man can leave when he passes beyond the veil that hides from mortal vision the joys of the better life. But, Mr. Speaker, to my mind the highest proofs of man- hood are not found on the field of battle or in the public forum. I believe the true test of the highest manhood is to be found in domestic relations, in the sanctity of home, in the discharge of those sacred duties and obligations which come to us day by day and hour by hour outside of the excitements and distractions of public life, but which 60 Address of Mr. Boutel/e of Maine. call up all that is best in our natures in the gentle and kindly relations of husband, father, neighbor, fellow-citizen, friend. And it is in that respect that I love to remember Gen. Philip Sidney Post. For the past two years my social relations with him have been of an intimate char- acter; and no history of his achievements in the field, no record of public effort or public success in legislative life, could commend him to me as he has been endeared by my knowledge of the simple beauty and affection of his private life. It has been said, Mr. Speaker, that "all the world loves a lover." That is true. And to my mind the most lovable of all love is that which endures through all the years of conjugal life and parental experience and only brightens as the days go by. To my mind there is something especially beautiful in that kind of affection which enables the true lover, as the years roll away and the silver threads steal in among the chestnut tresses, to see beneath them onlv the be- loved features and sweet smile of the bright-eyed girl who was so proudly led to the altar in the "auld lang syne.'' Such was the relation of General Post to his wife and his children. It was a delight to mingle with them in their family relations. It is a delight to me to remember now how beautiful were all those associations of the family in which his life was passed. And to those to whom his death came as the most severe of all calamities that can befall what immeasurable comfort there must be in the remem- brance of that steadfast devotion, that unfailing affection, which kept them here with him through all the long and scorching weeks of last summer's session, caring for his comfort, cheering him amid the labors of public life, and Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 61 giving to him that which I know was dearer to him than all else, the constant support of the presence and compan- ionship of those he best loved. And what a consolation, too, it must be to them that when the summons came it was not at the time of his first sharp illness four or five weeks previous, when all of his household were away at their home in Illinois, but that his family were enabled to come here with him, and that when he knew he was passing away he could feel upon his fore- head the soft hand of affection, and realize that he was sur- rounded by the wife and daughter and son who had so loved him to the end, and who will cherish his memory as a pre- cious inheritance. The hero lies still where the dew-dropping willows Like fond weeping mourners lean over his grave. The lightnings may flash, the loud thunders rattle; He heeds not, he hears not; he's free from all pain. He sleeps his last sleep; he has fought his last battle; No sound can awake him to glory again. That, Mr. Speaker, is true of earthly life and earthly glory; but, thanks be to Him who gave us the family altar and the affections which twine around it, our deceased friend lived and died in the full confidence and faith, which we share with him, that there is a glory and a happiness brighter than any that has blessed us here, and that beyond the shores of time he will be reunited in immortal joy with those now left sorrowing here. 62 Address of Mr. Goldzier of Illinois. Address of Mr. Goldzier. Mr. Speaker: The awful mystery of death has been a most fruitful theme for the speculation of man. Around the final fact of death are grouped the poetical allegories of every religion and creed. Its impressive earnestness, its deep, insoluble mystery, inspired the Greek Olympus, as well as the Walhalla of Teuton mythology, the happy hunting ground of the Indian, and the radiant picture of the hereafter conceived by Christian creeds. Even he who regards existence with the skepticism of this materialistic age is moved in the presence of death, and the agnostic's lips pronounce in awe the words of Goethe: Who dare express him And who profess him. Saying, [ believe in him; Who, feeling, seeing. Deny his being, Saying, I believe him not. Death and eternity, terms so familiar to our language, gain new significance when we gaze into the countenance of one who but recently was one of us, filled with the breath of life; whose voice we heard, whose grasp we felt, and who now lies before us mute and cold, with closed eyes and lips, the same and yet another; among us yet, but not of us. And as we look upon those lips, closed to us forever, the thought occurs that the secret of life and death is a mystery no longer to him who is before us; that the spirit which has departed could solve for us the question, Is eternitv, that of which we know, the unceasing mutation of matter Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 63 which turns into glowing life in nature; that which we call death, which causes to spring from the earth, to which we consign the body, grain and flowers and trees and foliage, a new life and yet the same, or is there existence beyond this? Where is the beginning? Where is the end? How much of the feelings and passions which throb the human heart accompany us into the beyond? But yet these lips are mute! Still as we gaze the form before us in death brings back remembrance of him we loved in life, and in the deep recesses of recollection his form appears reanimated. Death, the dread messenger of destruction, has held a rich harvest among those who assembled here in the Fifty- third Congress. We have seen a number of our colaborers borne hence, called from their work, dying like warriors on the field of battle, and many times have we been called in solemn conclave to pay the last honor and tribute to the departed. Last, but not least, among those whom death has called was he in whose memory we are assembled here to-day — our friend, our colleague and brother, dear to us in life, honored and revered in death — Philip Sidney Post, of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I remember years ago I sat at the bedside of an expiring friend whose life had been a model of up- rightness and purity. For days he had been unconscious, but as death approached his soul seemed to revive, and, in full possession of his senses, he uttered these his last words: "I have never in my life acted or spoken contrary to my best convictions." I think this sentiment may well be applied to him whose eulogies are uttered here to-dav. It forms a glowing 64 Address of Mr, Goldzier of Illinois. epitaph upon the monument of one whose singleness of purpose, whose honest, upright devotion to duty, whose firmness and fearlessness of conviction have marked the course of his life. It was this devotion to principle which urged Mr. Post at the first call of his country to enter the ranks of the Army. Firmly imbued with the justice of the Union cause, he was among the first to eagerly hasten to the defense of the country. Entering the Arm}' a young man, as second lieutenant, his courage and ability and, beyond all, his religious devotion to duty, soon made him a mark for preferment. Steadily he advanced, step by step, bringing to every new duty imposed upon him renewed vigor and enthusiasm, and thus the close of the war found him with the rank of a brigadier-general. Such honor in the field where man's highest boon, his life and blood, are at stake is not cheaply bought, and many wounds received in battle attest the bravery, the courage, and the devotion of our departed friend. Seriously, and as was reported mortally, wounded, he was left upon the battlefield of Nashville, and his friends and associates mourned him as one whose career had been closed forever. He recovered, and was spared to his family and to his country for man} - a year of useful vigor. Returning from the field, he devoted himself to the pur- suits of peace with the same energy and fidelity which had characterized his military career. Soon after the close of the war Mr. Post was chosen for the important consulate at Vienna, and in that capacitv he served his Government with distinction. His charm of manner endeared him not alone to all Americans who Life and Serines of Philip Sidney Post. 65 came in contact with him, but he became well known and highly prized by the citizens of the Austrian capital, who recognized his merits. Some years after his return Mr. Post became a member of this House for the first time. It is needless to say to you who have known him that his career was one of ear- nest, painstaking devotion to a duty the weight and impor- tance of which seemed at all times to be impressed upon him. In the midst of his labor the call came to him to which we all must respond sooner or later, and on the 6th day of January, 1895, death ended his career. A man's life is to me like a book whose pages we peruse; his death is that page upon which are inscribed the words "The end." The book of life of Philip Sidney Post is one the read- ing of which elevates and ennobles us. It is such a book as one should treasure and guard. It is such a book as I would hand down to my children to teach them from its pages the lessons of upright, fearless, honest devotion to duty, the lessons of honor and courage, such as formed the features of his life. The lives of such as Mr. Post are beacons in our path, and long after his body has been resolved to dust his spirit will dwell among us and teach to us the lesson of his life. Let those who pass the mound which marks his resting place pause and in reverence say, "Honor to him; here lies the body of a true, an upright man." H Mis 8c 66 Address of Mr. Broderick of Kansas. Address of Mr. Broderick. Mr. Speaker: I have had the privilege of association with but few men whom I admired as I did General POST, and I desire to unite with friends here in offering tribute to his memory. When a voting man he resided and practiced his pro- fession for a short time in the State I in part represent. This was before the beginning of the late war, but my per- sonal acquaintance with him did not commence until April, 1891. We met at that time at a Western States congress, which was being held at Kansas City, Mo. In August of the same year we again met. This time it was at the reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic at Detroit, Mich. When the reunion closed we, with a little company of friends, made a tour of the Great Lakes on a carrying steamer. There were only six of us in the party, and we were on the lakes two weeks. During this time we became well acquainted, and the relations of General Post and myself were ever after the most cordial. I have but little knowledge of the career of the deceased prior to the times mentioned, except as it appears in the history of the country. I need not do more than simply refer to his public service. The story of his whole life has been told here by members from his own State who are competent to speak accurately from long and intimate ac- quaintance. It is a personal history full of interest and replete with success ; one of which every relative and friend may be justly proud and one worthy of emulation. Active, Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 67 energetic, courageous, thoughtful, and determined; a great soldier in war, but always generous alike to friend and foe; a wise diplomat in time of peace; a statesman of the highest order and a citizen of irreproachable character — this is a brief mention of an honored and illustrious life. From the first he impressed me as a strong character and a leader of men. He was quick of perception, wise, just, candid, and earnest. These qualities gave him leadership, whether in the service of his country commanding an army or at his Illinois home in the walks of private life. In looking at General Post as I saw him and knew him I regarded him as one of the most fearless, independent, and valuable members of this body. While he was always loyal to his party upon questions of well-settled party pol- icy, upon other questions he reserved to himself the right to determine what line of duty he should follow. Time and again we have seen him stand upon this floor to be counted when but few of his party associates agreed with him. When he espoused a cause or undertook to champion a measure he was earnest and untiring in his zeal. And in this connection it is worthy of mention that in debate and in all the relations with his fellow-members he never failed to be courteous or to recognize the rights and responsibili- ties of others. He was unwavering in his fidelity to friends, and no member of this body was more highly esteemed. To know General Post was to admire him. Mr. Speaker, the work of this active life is done. He has left to others the example and good results of a well-spent life. I talked with him but a few davs before his death, and he seemed in the best of spirits, and, so far as I could observe, 68 Address 0/ Air. Broderick of Kansas. he had before him the promise of many more years of use- fulness. I would not have then believed that he would be the next of our number to answer the dread summons. On the evening when the sad news was heralded over the city that General Post was dead his innumerable friends sorrowfully inquired, "Can this be? I saw him but yesterday. While the great sorrow fell most heavily upon his house- hold, its shadow touched and will linger wherever he was known. His genial company will be missed here, but the loss of his companionship in the beloved home can not be assuaged. Grief for departed friends can only be alleviated by belief in God and in immortality. Thine, Lord, is wisdom. Thine alone! Justice and truth before Thee stand ; Vet, nearer to Thy sacred throne, Mercy withholds Thy lifted hand. Each evening shows Thy tender love, Each rising morn Thy plenteous grace; Thy wakened wrath doth slowly move, Thy willing mercy Hies apace ! To Thy benign indulgent care. Father, this light, this breath we owe; And all we have, and all we are, From Thee, great source of being, (low. Life ami Services of Philip Sidney Post. 69 MILITARY AND CIVIC TRIBUTES. Mr. Henderson of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask consent to have printed in the Record resolutions adopted by sev- eral military and civic bodies commendatory of the char- acter of onr departed friend. There was no objection. The resolutions are as follows: Headquarters Seventy-fourth Illinois Association. Rockford, III., January y, iS^S- Dear. Madam: At a special meeting of the Society of the Seventy-fourth Illi- nois this day held at Rockford, 111., the following action was taken regarding the death of your husband, General Post, and the undersigned were directed to communicate the same to you : "The surviving members of the Seventy-fourth Illinois Regiment, so long in the brigade commanded by Gen. Philit Sidney Post in the Army of the Cum- berland, desire to express to his widow and children the real sympathy which they feel for them in this hour of bereavement. " The wife and children have lost a husband and father; every member of his old brigade has lost a friend. " For whatever reputation our regiment acquired in the discharge of its duty in march and battle it was indebted, more than to any other cause, to the careful instruction and kindly advice of General Post in the early days of its service. '• We bear willing testimony not only to his great efficiency as an officer, but to his sterling qualities as a man. He was a strict disciplinarian, and yet was loved by all. He was brave to a fault, and yet was never rash. He never spared himself, but was careful of his men. His was a patriotism that responded to the first call of his country, and notwithstanding wounds of the severest character, endured even unto the end." John H. Sherratt, President. Homer P. Holland, Secretary. Mr>. Philip Sidney Pi si , Galesburg, III. ■jo Military and Civic Tributes. The Washington Board of Trade, January 24, 1895. My Dear Madam: At a meeting of the Washington Board of Trade, held the evening of the 22d instant, the following resolution was unanimously adopted, a copy of which I send herewith: "iP, wived. That in the death of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, a Representative in 1 '.mgress from the State of Illinois, and a member of the Committee on the Dis- trict of Columbia, the national capital has sustained a severe and unusual loss. "General Post was untiring in his earnest devotion to the interests of this Dis- trict, and looked to its improvement and development with a patriotic pride which induced him to make self-sacrificing efforts in adding to the health and comfort of its people and its attractiveness as the capital of a great nation. " I luring his residence here General Post won the warm regard of many of our citizens by his gentlemanly and courteous demeanor and his cordiality of manner. "He was the firm supporter and friend of this Board of Trade, and in his death many of its members have suffered personal loss. •• The Board of Trade therefore tenders its sincere sympathy to his afflicted family, and directs that the secretary transmit to them a copy of this resolution." Respectfully, yours, John B. Wight, Secretary. Mrs. Philip S..Post, Galesburg, III. A meeting of the Republican Congressional central committee of the old Tenth district was held at the Union Hotel at Galesburg to take suitable action relative to the death of the late Representative, Gen. P. S. Post. The following resolutions were prepared and unanimously adopted : " Whereas God in His inscrutable wisdom has seen fit to suddenly call the Hon. Philip Sidney Post from his earthly career, we, the members of the Republican Congressional committee of the old Tenth district of Illinois, which district General Post has so ably represented in the lower House of Congress of the United States for the last eight years, deem it but fitting to take cognizance of the public calamity that has befallen us. " We desire to place on record our appreciation of the faithful and zealous serv- ices rendered by General Post to the people of this district and of the State of Illinois. " His entire life was that of a typical patriotic American citizen, whose deeds will be engraven on the pages of history forever. During the late civil war he earned the love and admiration of his subordinates and the commendation of his superiors for his many acts of gallantry and bravery. In his capacity as a repre- sentative of our Government in a foreign land, his valuable researches in the methods of government, finance, and commerce have proven of inestimable value. As a member of Congress his services to his constituents, irrespective of party affiliations, speak more eloquently than words can express. While at all times a Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 71 true Republican, yet by his unilorm fairness he won the admiration and friendship of his political opponents. His private life was that of a pure and upright citi i n. and is worthy of emulation: Therefore, '•/?<• it resolved, That we tender to his stricken family our heartfeh sympathy and condolence in their hour of grief, assuring them that the valuable services rendered by the husband and father during his long public career will alway.- be gratefully remembered by the people of this district and State. " Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be furnished the family of (Jeneral Post. A. L. Schimpi-'F, Peoria County, Chairman. \V. H. Shaw, Fulton County. Secretary. Henry Emrich, Knox County. A. G. Hammond, Stark County. The death of General Post has caused profound sorrow among many members of the general assembly. He was highly esteemed. The legislators from General POST'S Congressional district held a meeting to-night and adopted the following, which was transmitted to Mrs. 1'osT: " Springfield, III., January 7, 1895. Mrs. Gen. P. S. Post, Galesburg, 111.: At a meeting held at the Leland Hotel in Springfield, at which the following members of the thirty-ninth general assembly were present. Senators 11. V. Fisher, F. C. Harding, ami J. W. Templeton, and Representatives J. W. White, N. H. Guthrie, F. Murdock, George Murray, William Payne, G. C. Stickney, L. B. De Forest, loseph Mulligan, and W. N. Pilgrim, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : •'Resolved, That we have heard of the sudden death of Gen. Philip Sidney Post with the most profound sorrow. His death takes from those who loved and respected him a tender husband, a loving father, a brave soldier, a true patriot, a wise statesman, and an honest man, and his death is not onlya loss to his family, his friends, his Congressional district, and his State, but it is a loss also to the nation. We therefore beg to extend to Mrs. Post and the family our heartfelt sympathy in this dark hour of affliction and sorrow, and may God in His merciful providence comfort them in their distress " At a regular meeting of Gen. George Crook Post, No. 81, Grand Army of the Republic, Kirkwood, 111., the following resolutions were adopted: •• Whereas, at Washington, D. C, January 6, 1895, God in His providence removed from our ranks our distinguished comrade Gen. Philip Sidney Post, M. C: "Resolved, That Gen. George Crook Post, N0.81, Grand Armyof the Republic, having in its membership comrades who served in the regiment with Generr.! 72 Military and Civic Tributes. Post, and saw him promoted from second lieutenant to a general commanding a division, and witnessed his heroism and several woundings upon the field of battle, and many others of us having enjoyed his acquaintance and friendship, his death comes to us as a personal sorrow. We will leave history to record his fame, sacrifices, and eminent service in behalf of his country, while we mourn him as a friend and genial, warm-hearted comrade. "Resolved, That by the death of General Post our country has lost one of its purest and ablest legislators. "Resolved, That to his bereaved family we extend our sympathies for the loss of a tender and devoted husband, a noble and patriotic fatner." \V. H. Hart well, R. R. Davidson, A. Edwards, Committee. January, 1895. The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. MeGann). In accordance with the resolutions already adopted, and as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the House now stands adjourned until to-morrow morning at 11 o'clock. Proceedings in the Senate. January 7, 1895. A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. T. O. Towles, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Senate the intelligence of the death of Philip Sidney Post, late a member of the House from the State of Illinois, and trans- mitted the resolutions of the House thereon. The message also announced that the Speaker of the House had appointed Mr. Henderson of Illinois, Mr. Bynum, Mr. Boutelle, Mr. Lane, Mr. Marsh, Mr. Childs, Mr. Stall- ing-s, Mr. Wheeler of Illinois, and Mr. Lucas as the com- mittee on the part of the House to take charge of the funeral arrangements. The Presiding Officer. The Chair lays before the Sen- ate the resolutions of the House of Representatives which will be read. The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: In the House of Representatives, January 7. t8q$. Resolved, That the House of Representatives has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, late a representative from the State of Illinois. Resolved, That a committee of nine members of the House be appointed by the Speaker, to act with such Senators as may be selected, to attend the funeral of the deceased, and that the Sergeant-at Arms of the House shall take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased at his home; and the necessary- expenses attending the execution of this order shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. Resolved, That the Clerk of the House be directed to communicate to the Senate a copy of these resolutions. Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now adjourn. 73 74 Proceedings in the Senate. Mr. Palmer. Mr. President, I ask for the immediate con- sideration of the resolutions which I send to the desk. The Presiding Officer. The resolutions will be read. The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the announcement of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney P ST, late a Representative from the State of Illinois. Resolved, That a committee of five Senators be appointed by the Presiding Officer to join the committee appointed on the part of the House of Representa- tives to take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased and to accom- pany the remains to the place of burial. Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives. The resolutions were considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to. The Presiding Officer appointed under the second reso- lution, as the committee on the part of the Senate, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Cullom, Mr. Mitchell of Wisconsin, Mr. Gal- linger, and Mr. Allen. Mr. Palmer. Mr. President, I offer an additional reso- lution, and ask for its adoption. The Presiding Officer. The resolution will be read. The Secretary read the resolution, as follows: Resolved, That, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the Senate do now adjourn. The Presiding Officer. The question is on agreeing to the resolution. The resolution was unanimously agreed to; and the Senate adjourned until Tuesday, January 8, 1895, at 12 o'clock m. February 27, 1895. A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. T. O. Towles, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House Proceedings in (he Senate. 75 had passed resolutions commemorative of the life and char- acter of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, late a Representative from the State of Illinois. Mr. CtJLLOM. I ask that the resolutions received from the House of Representatives in reference to the death of Gen- eral Post of Illinois be laid on the table, and I wish to state that my colleague [Mr. Palmer] and I will agree upon some future day when the resolutions shall be called up. The Vice-President. The resolutions will lie on the table. MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. March i, 1895. Mr. Cullom. I ask that the resolutions of the House of Representatives in relation to the death of my late colleague in that body, General Post, be now laid before the Senate. The Presiding Officer. The Chair lays before the Sen- ate the resolutions of the House of Representatives, which will be read. The Secretary read as follows: Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, a Representative from the State of Illinois. Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the business of the House be now suspended, that his associates may be able to pay tribute to his high character and distinguished services. Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect the House shall, at the conclu- sion of these ceremonies, adjourn. Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. Mr. Cuu.om. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which I send to the desk. The Presiding Officer. The resolutions offered by the Senator from Illinois will be read. The Secretary read as follows: Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow the announcement of the death of Hon. Philip Sidney Post, late a Representative in Congress from the Tenth district of the State of Illinois. Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended in order that fitting tribute be paid to his memory. 77 78 Address of Mr. Cullom of Illim ADDRESS OF MR. CULLOM. Mr. President : The State of Illinois has furnished to the Congress of the United States a large number of its most able and eminent members, and upon the roll of dis- tinguished statesmen and soldiers of this country the names of those furnished by Illinois present a record of great bril- liancy. Among all these patriotic names that of Philip Sidney Post will ever stand honored and revered by our people. That peculiar quality and attribute of the true American citizen by which he is enabled when duty calls to step promptly from the walks of peaceful, quiet civil life into the very midst of the battle and the fray, and there take his place as an intelligent, patriotic, faithful soldier of his country, was preeminently manifest in the career of Gen. Philip Sidney Post. In an instant, as it were, the whole tenor and character of his life was changed by the call to arms in the proclamation of President Lincoln in 1861. The echo of the guns which fired upon Sumter had not ceased when that call was issued. Over a great portion of the country the news that an attack had been made upon the flag was read at the same time that the President's call for seventy-five thousand men was made public. In a moment, almost, hundreds of thousands of men sprang from the silent, quiet, and steady pursuits of ordinary life into the very midst of cruel, relentless war. The best warriors of the world were they. No military education had trained them to the ways of war, but they were transformed in a day into a vast army, having but one thought and one inspiration. Life ami Services of Philip Sidney Post. 79 Of these, and foremost among them, was Philip Sidney Post. He was an ideal volunteer soldier. Logan's descrip- tion of the volunteer soldier of the United States was as thoroughly fitted to General Post as to almost any man of the war period. Over the whole great field of the West and Southwest his services were required. Badly wounded at Pea Ridge, in 1862, he still continued, upon recovery, to follow the for- tunes of the Army, and at Nashville, in 1864, he was again seriously wounded by a grapeshot. His military career included in its scope all the States from Missouri and Ten- nessee to the Mexican border. When the painter or the sculptor shall perpetuate his image upon the canvas or in bronze, his gallant form and manly bearing will be recognized as the type of the gallant American soldier. In the city of Alexandria yonder the friends and mourn- ers of the Confederate dead of that city have erected a statue in bronze representing the Confederate soldier. The statue stands on a pedestal upon which is inscribed the names of the particular soldiers in whose honor and memory it was erected. I do not know the story of the statue, nor the idea and special theme of the artist, but I do know that nowhere have I ever seen an image so expressive or a storv so eloquent as that simple figure tells to those who look upon it. It mutely stands in sadness, with musket at rest, the vigorous, manly head slightly bowed as in sorrow over the death of beloved comrades, and the frank, open face tinged with a shade of doubt for the future of his cause. More than once have I visited this statue, simply to observe what a volume of history it tells and what won- drous memories the work of a true artist can evoke. 80 Address of Mr. Cullom of Illinois. When the time comes for the inspired sculptor to depict the ideal soldier of the United States in bronze or marble and to fix the soldier of the Union in composite figure, I believe that he will come near to presenting the form of Philip Sidney Post. If he shall succeed in reviving in the statue the Union soldier as we knew him in such truth as we find in the Confederate soldier's statue at Alexandria, he will receive the merited approval of the people. But, Mr. President, there was another noticeable feature in the character and life of General Post. As he was ready to make the great change from citizen to soldier at the demand of duty, so with equal readiness did he, in 1866, lay aside his uniform and assume the responsibilities of an exacting foreign consular service. His constant attention and devotion for twelve years to his official duties in a foreign land obtained for him the high approbation of his Government. He then again entered the domain of private life at his beautiful home city in Illinois, and in due time he was sought out by the people of the district in which he lived to receive the highest honors with which they could invest him. He entered Congress, and from the very start of his legislative life in Washington he kept and main- tained the highest and most creditable position officially and personally. Mr. President, General Post in politics was a Repub- lican, and was sturdy and earnest in defense of his views; yet he was always ready to listen to those who differed with him and to accord equal sincerity to an opponent. General Post became a very prominent member of the House of Representatives, and exerted great influence in that body in shaping the policy of the Government. Life ii/iii St rvices of Philip Sidney Post. Si But, Mr. President, I did not intend to refer in detail to the man}- events which occurred in the striking career of General Post. I prefer rather to speak of him as a man and a citizen, and as we knew him iti the daily walks of life. He was of us and with us. He was of our time and belonged to our age. He participated in our trials and our difficulties, and he was with us in our joys and our suc- cesses. His geniality and sociability made him friemis everywhere and in all circles. He was the life of any gathering or society in which he mingled. He was apt and pleasant in conversation, and always ready to make manifest his friendship and sympathy for the common people. It was not alone in his public career that he acquired his highest laurels. In his social and domestic life, in his associations and relations with his neighbors and with the friends who lived near his home, were the proofs of his adaptation to the demands and requirements of ordi- nary life. He was an inspirer of happiness, and carried with him an atmosphere of content which made everybody happy. From his early life he was always an active, energetic man, and in whatever field of duty he was placed he was earnest and sincere in his constant efforts to give his people the very best service which he could possibly render. Rut death has taken him away. The seasons come and go with unfailing certainty. Day follows day, and the night succeeds the morning under the absolute and defi- nite laws of the universe. Every thing, every being, every material object which has life and growth has its beginning and its end. It is first born, it next lives, and at last it H Mis 80 6 . . Address of Mr. Cullom of Illinois. dies. Death is the cessation of life. It is a natural and a philosophical change. It is universal to all, and therefore ought not to be looked upon with dread. If the Christian theory be true, as it surely is, the passing of life is not a sad and tearful change. It is the fruition of the phenom- enon of life. It is the harvest home of humanity, the season of rest. It is the glorious horizon of eternal peace, beyond whose shining drapery exists the great forever, where every soul must claim its everlasting home. It has been said that — It is not all of life to live, nor all of death to die. The two conditions, life and death, complete and make perfect the economy of human existence, just as creative power designed them. Divinity controls, and ordains that death shall be and is the complement of life. Death is the state proper to follow life. Before life came, what was there? And after death, what is there? When a child is born the thought is, "What will he be?" And when a man dies the question is, "What has he been?" Philip Sidney Post was our brother, our friend. What has he been? God will measure him by his own just bal- ance for time past and for eternity to come. We measure him as we knew him. We measure him by his life, which is before us, and we cherish him for his humanity and kind- ness in life, which we knew and which we loved. The crisis which he has met and passed awaits us all. Can we meet it as he has done? Can we stand at the open door of an endless future and cast all doubts and fears aside? Can we ennoble our lives by the nobility with which we lay it down at last? Life an i Sen ices of Philip Sidney Post. 83 Xo traveler has returned to tell us of the night beyond. Nor ever will a message reach us to say whether the way is drear and dark, or if the stars shall shine again. Yet, after all, why should a message come? Are we to be more favored than the countless millions gone long before? It is enough to know that God reigns. 84 Address of Mr. Teller of Colorado. Address of Mr. Teller. Mr. President: Among the pleasant personal recollec- tions of my public life will be the remembrance of my asso- ciation with General Post. I made his acquaintance when he first came into the Fiftieth Congress. I had known of him as a public man for many years. As a soldier in the late war he had taken high rank. At the close of the war, crowned with honors that few young men bore, he was given service in a foreign land as consul to Austria-Hungary. So well did he discharge the duties of the position that in a short time he was advanced to that of consul-general, and in the latter capacity he served until 1879, when he returned to his home at Galesburg, 111. While abroad General Post had shown signs of great ability in politico-economic affairs. He submitted from his post as consul-general some very valuable reports, and, living in Europe at the time when great economic ques- tions were exciting attention, General Post became a close student of such questions. He was living in Europe when Germany changed her monetary system. He was living in Europe when France closed her mints to silver. He was living in Europe when the United States demonetized sil- ver. As a student of economic science General Post could not but be attracted by such events. He became, as I have said, a thorough student of the philosophy of money. He returned to the United States a firm believer in the doctrine of bimetallism and went into a region of coun- try where that doctrine was not popular. The portion Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 85 of Illinois in which General Post lived is one of the best sections in that great State. The people there are culti- vated and intelligent. There are there great wealth and enterprise and a good deal of pride. In a community hostile in sentiment General Post never hesitated to express his views on public questions, and notwithstanding the fact that when he was nominated for Congress but a very small portion of his constituents were in accord with him, he was elected to the Fiftieth Congress, thrice reelected, and if he had lived would have been a member of the Fifty-fourth Congress. Mr. President, I do not speak of General Post in a per- functory way. I am rarely heard upon occasions of this kind. I speak of General Post because I knew his worth. I speak of him because I know his death is a loss not only to his district but to the American people. I wish we had more men like him in public life. I wish we had more men of his stamp whom we could hold up to the American youth and say, "Here is a man who in every department of life in which he has been placed has fulfilled every duty imposed upon him in the highest possible degree." Not only that, but when in the course of events in his State a change was made in the district in which he lived, such was his position in the community that the added counties to his district sent their delegates instructed for his renomination, all but two, as the Senator from Illi- nois [Mr. Cullom] reminds me, newly put in the district. Whether the people believed with General Post on eco- nomic questions or not, they recognized his great ability and integrity. Mr. President, General Post was a most companionable man. I shall never forget the trip I made from this city to 86 Address of Mr. Teller of Colorado. Chicago after our adjournment last session in company with him. I had been attracted to him because of his economic views, and had become socially very closely connected with him; and I recall the pleasant hours as we traveled from this city to the great city of the lakes, and the many sub- jects which he discussed with the ability that had brought to him the support of the intelligent constituency in Illi- nois which he represented here. General Post was one of the best illustrations of Ameri- canism that can be produced. Born in the great State of New York, fortunate in his family relations, and enabled to receive at Union College a classical education and a legal education at Poughkeepsie, in the same State, he early went to Galesburg, which at that time, I may say, was the intel- lectual center of the State of Illinois. From the very first he took high rank in the community in which he lived — a rank he maintained to the clay of his death, as illustrated by his last nomination and election. Mr. President, as the Senator from Illinois [Mr. CullomJ has said, General Post was a Republican. He was a parti- san in many respects; he believed in the Republican party and its doctrines, but he had the courage of his convictions, and whenever he found his party not in accord with him he had the courage not only in the House of Representa- tives to declare his belief, but upon every stump in Illinois he gave forth no uncertain sound. No citizen of that great State which he represented doubted how he stood upon any public question. His honesty, his integrity, was never called in question. He made a record as a soldier in his youth, as a diplomat in middle life, and as a statesman his record has been rarely excelled. Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 87 Mr. President, not only has the State he represented so long and so ably in Congress suffered a great loss, but the American people also have suffered a loss. We who believe in certain economic principles feel that with his death we, and through us the whole people, have suffered a loss. I believe few men have ever been in public life who can be held up to the American youth as better examples of Amer- ican patriotism, of a broad statesmanship, of a thorough lit- erary culture, of painstaking duty properly discharged, than General Post. The death of such a man is greatly to be deplored, and I trust that when we to-night express our grief over his death those who listen to us or who will read the feeble words we utter will feel that they are not mere perfunctory words, but a tribute to a deserving, loyal American citizen now no more. 88 Address of Mr. Palmer of Jlli nois. ADDRESS OF MR. PALMER. Mr. President: It is my duty to bear my testimony to the valuable service, in -war and peace, of my friend and comrade, Philip Sidney Post. I saw him first in 1861 in Missouri. In the earnestness of his patriotism, his troops of the Illinois regiment having gone to Missouri and been formed into a regiment under the authority of the State of Missouri, called the Ninth Missouri, he joined them there. We ultimately recovered him and his regiment and made it the Fifty-ninth Illinois. I regret, Mr. President, that I have not had time to pre- pare a tribute to the memory of General POST worthy of him. I must depend upon my recollection of the events to which I know he was a party and to such facts and circum- stances as will serve to illustrate his military and political history. When I first met General Post he was a voting man. I was older than he was. I learned that he was a man of emi- nent patriotism, earnestly devoted to the cause that he had espoused. I learned that he was devoted to his military duties. I learned that he had the highest and an accu- rate conception of the mission of the Republic. I had not known him before. I met him afterwards and learned to appreciate his worth. During the war General Post, through the various grades that he occupied, always did his duty. Mr. President, there is no higher tribute to be paid to any man than that he did Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 89 his duty. We speak of men who have distinguished them- selves in public service, but the man who has done his duty is entitled to the highest consideration. My knowledge of General Post lasted through several years. I remember distinctly on the great day at Chicka- mauga I heard he occupied a position on the extreme right of our army, and while I felt all those apprehensions that may properly be attributed to a. doubting soldier, I felt that nothing would be wanting in Post. He was at Crawfish Springs, on the right of our army, and I felt perfectly safe so far as he was concerned that he would do his whole duty. After the close of the war I knew General Post. I knew of his having been sent abroad in the discharge of impor- tant public duties, and I never doubted his ability, his fidel- ity, or his patriotism. I knew him during his successive elections and reelections as a member of Congress from the Galesburg district in our State. While I differed with him in regard to public questions, I never doubted his integrity or his fidelity to his own convictions. I have rarely known in my life a man who was more distinctly devoted to public duty. I have rarely met a man who was more unselfish than General Post. I have rarely met a man who, according to his own conceptions of duty, discharged it more faithfully. General Post was when I first met him a remarkable specimen of manly strength and health and vigor. During the war he was wounded, and no doubt his life was short- ened by the wounds he then received. Did he regard those wounds as being marks of honor received in the discharge of the great duties of a soldier? I have never known 90 Address of Mr. Palmer oj Illinois. whether he welcomed them or regarded them as misfor- tunes. Mr. President, there are in military life tributes to men that men receive from the enemy. There are marks of distinction that are written in terms that admit of no other description than the fact that they have been received as the wounds of General Post were received, and would be accepted as tokens of honor. That he was a gallant soldier no one can doubt. That he was a faithful patriot has never been questioned. That he was an upright, honorable man has never been disputed. He died in this city within a very short time, and his death seems to have been untimely. But after all, I have lived long enough to know that the man who has discharged his duties while he lives has no reason to fear the termination of life. Indeed, although I had not conversed with General Post for perhaps a month, I knew better than others that he himself regarded his life as uncertain. I knew that he felt conscious that his term of life would be shortened by conditions that need not now be mentioned. I have learned and I know that that which we call death is a mere discharge from service. We talk about death as an enemy. Death is not an enemy to the man who has discharged the duties of life. Every means has been employed to inspire the human mind with terror of death. The painters so depict it. But there is no greater fallacy than that. General Post had not lived as long as many others, but he had faithfully discharged the duties of the life which was given to him. He served out his term of enlistment, and when that term expired, whether he was conscious of Life and Services of Philip Sidney Post. 91 the approach of what men mistakenly call the great enemy or not I do not know; but he had served his term of. enlist- ment — he had served it faithfully. In regard to the life to which we are passing I ask par- don for using a phrase that has been very much abused when I sav that you and I, after we have served faithfully the term of our enlistment, will receive a pension from that Master who judgeth all things well, who has regard for our infirmities, who recognizes the earnestness of our purposes. That we shall receive it in that life to which we are tending can never be doubted. We will pass from the life that is to the life which is to come, as General POST has done. In the beautiful language of that legend which we all love and in which all our hopes are involved, in that condition we shall be received with the plaudit, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Philip Sidney Post discharged all the duties of his life, and, as far as we can judge, in submission to the great Mas- ter of Life who knows all things; and we may well under- stand that in that state into which he has passed, that state which may be regarded as a blessed state, that state which must be regarded as a deliverance from this condition, the patriot, the soldier, the kind husband, the good father, the faithful citizen, the man who discharged all his social duties with fidelity, who was not wanting in anything, who was depended upon by those who knew him and loved him, as all did who knew him — we may well understand that when such a man passes from the life that is to the life which is to come he shall be welcome. Mr. President, I do not know in what language that wel- come may be spoken. When you or I appear before the 92 Address of Air. Palmer of Illinois. Master of Life I do not know in what language he will speak to the man who has fulfilled all these duties of life. I have faith to believe that the language will be, "Wel- come, thou good and faithful servant." Having dis- charged the duties of this life, what can be expected in the next ? The Presiding Officer. The question is on agreeing to the resolutions submitted by the Senator from Illinois. The resolutions were unanimously agreed to.