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5IST Congress, } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Mis. Doc. 
 
 isi Session. j \ No. 263. 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 DAVID WILBER 
 
 (A REPRESENT.\TIVE FROM XEW YORKi, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 House of Representatives and in the Senate, 
 
 FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS. FIRST SESSION. 
 
 PUBLISHED HV ORDESi OF CONGRESS. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT I'RINIING OFFICE. 
 1890. 
 
CopvA^S 
 
 Resohvd by the Senate rind House of Repn'sentatives of the United 
 States of America in Congress assembh'd. That there be printed of the 
 eulogies delivered in Congress vipon the late David Wilbek, a Representa- 
 tive in the Fif tj'-fii-st Congress from the State of New York, ten thousand 
 copies, of which two thousand five hundred copies shall be for the use of 
 the Senate and seven thousand five hundred for the use of tlie House of 
 Representatives; and tlie Secretary of the Treasury be. and lie is hereby, 
 directed to have printed a portrait of tlie .said D.wiD Wilber. to accom- 
 pany said eulogies, and for the purpose of engraving and printing said 
 portrait the sum of five lumdred dollars, or so much thereof as may be 
 neressary. is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in tlie Treasury not 
 otherwise appropriated. That of tlie quota to the House of Representa- 
 tives the Pubhc Printer shall set apart fifty copies, which lie shall have 
 bound in full morocco, with gilt edges, the same to be delivered when 
 completed to the widow of the deceased. 
 Approved, September 19, 1890. 
 
 MUG 6 1908 
 D. ot D. . 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 April 1, 1890. 
 Mr. Sherman. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my sad duty to 
 annoiince the demise of Hon. David Wilber, of New York. 
 The lamp of his life, which for mouths has been failiua:. to- 
 day went out. The time is not here to speak his eulogy. 
 At some future time I shall ask the House to turn aside from 
 its business to pay fitting tribute to his memory. For tlie 
 present I ofiEer the resolutions which I send to the Clerk's 
 
 desk. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That the House has learned with profound regret of the 
 death of Hon. David Wilbeb. a Representative from the State of New 
 
 liesolved by the House of Bepresentatives (the Senate eonciirring), That 
 a special committee of seven members of the House of Representatives 
 and tln-ee members of the Senate be appointed to take order for attendmg 
 liis funeral at his residence in tlie State of New York : and the necessary 
 expenses attendmg the execiftion of this order shall be payable out of 
 first fimds in the contingent fund of the House available therefor. 
 
 That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and directed to 
 take such steps as may be necessaiy for properly carrying out the pro- 
 visions of this resolution. 
 
 Resolved. That the Clerk communicate the foregoing resolutions to the 
 
 Senate. , , 
 
 Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
 ceased the House do now adjourn. 
 
 ■ The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 
 
4 Address of Mr. Sherman, of New York, on the 
 
 May 34, 1S90. 
 Mr. Sherman. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolutions I send 
 to the Clerk's desk. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows: 
 
 Eexolved. That the biisuiess of the House be now suspended that oppor- 
 tunity be afforded members to pay proper tribute to tlie memory of 
 Hon. David Wilber, late a Representative from the State of New York. 
 
 Resolved, That in the deatli of David Wilber the country has lost the 
 services of a safe legislator and faithful public servant. 
 
 JResolved, That as a further mark of respect to his memory the House 
 ehall at the conclusion of these ceremonies adjourn. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. SHERMAN, OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: By death the living are taught a lesson; 
 of death they know nothing, can learn nothing ; in it the 
 heart responds not to the living; the muscles have lost 
 their power ; the will is gone. Its awful mystery falls short 
 of grandeur only by reason of the stinging pain, which 
 blunts all sensibilities save that of sorrow. Whether it 
 comes with the startling vividness of the lightning or with 
 the certain premonitory warning of the low thunder, it is 
 alike incomprehensible. The now and the then are so near, 
 the invisible line which marks the divi.sion of the real and 
 the hallowed, sanctified unreal is so narrow that a single 
 step unravels the mystery. But that step taken is never 
 retraced. 
 
 The revelation that comes thereby sheds no light this side 
 the gloaming. The lesson startles, it warns us of, l)ut does 
 not reveal the hereafter. Rightly viewed it strengthens 
 our belief in Divinity and molds our lives to share the 
 happiness thus to be found. The portal we call death is 
 sooner or later opened for us all. That one bare fact 
 
Life and Character of David Wilber. 5 
 
 palsies argument. Upon it the Christian and the Pagan can 
 tind no ground of difference. Well does that man live who 
 is ready to enter therein when it opens for him, and render 
 up the account of his stewardship to his Maker. 
 
 So live, tliat, sinking in thy last long sleep, 
 
 Calm thou mayst smile, while all around thee weep. 
 
 To-day we pay our last tribute of honor, of respect, of 
 affection, for one who did so live. 
 
 On April 1, after a long and well-spent life, the immortal 
 of David Wilber passed to the higher existence. In his 
 seventieth year, in the State of his nativity, almost in sight 
 of the place of his birth, he died ; and there, on a beautiful 
 knoll overlooking the valley in which were passed all the 
 active days of his life, his body sleeps— 
 
 The sleep that knows not breaking. 
 Mr. Speaker, David Wilber was a remarkable man. He 
 was a strong, forceful character. From boyhood he made 
 his own way in the world. An honest heart and a large 
 brain he inherited from his Quaker parents. The advan- 
 tages of au academic education it was not his fortune to 
 receive. Yet his brain had remarkable absorbent and re- 
 tentive power. Nothing of moment ever escaped his atteur 
 tion, and once noted it held place in his mind ever afterward. 
 Habits of industry and frugality were learned in his youth, 
 to be followed through life. 
 
 With these habits and the little money he had saved from 
 the earnings of his hands for his capital, he started in the 
 business world hfty years ago, in Otsego County. Step by 
 step he advanced. His foot never slipped backward because 
 he never allowed it to. His forward course in the road of 
 prosperity was as steady and as strong as the curr(?nt of a 
 mighty river. This was not so by chance. It was because 
 
6 Address of Mr. Sherman, of New York, on the 
 
 his will power was exliaustless, his energy untiring. His 
 vocabulary knew no such word as "fail." It was because 
 he had more of conservatism than of daring. It was be- 
 cause — 
 
 He kuows the compass, sail, and oar. 
 
 Or never lavuiohes from the shore : 
 Bef(5re he builds computes the cost, 
 And in no proud pursuit is lost. 
 
 Before entering upon any undertaking he viewed it from 
 every standing point; he scanned every detail; he thought 
 out a plan of action. That plan was made with far-sight 
 shrewdness. It was executed with industry and persever- 
 ance. 
 
 He could not be said to have kept pace with the progress 
 of the time, for he was its leader. He marked the pace of 
 industrial growth and business advancement for the entire 
 community in which he lived. He was identified with every 
 enterprise which had in vieAV the advancement of his town, 
 his county, or his locality. 
 
 Not a few of then^ had their inception in his In-ain. Of 
 his time, his means, and his experience he was a liberal con- 
 tributor to the business life of the community. His 
 shoulder at the wheel was a force so well known in the 
 later years of his life that even the chronic dcjubter known 
 in every community made way for the advance of progress. 
 His personal affairs he managed with wonderful sagacity. 
 The capacity of his mind was even greater than the require- 
 ments of his extensive and varied interests. Neither his 
 hands nor his mind were ever idle. He was both progressive 
 and aggressive. He reaped the fruits of untiring energy 
 and unquestioned honesty. His business life was succe.ssful 
 to an extent even greater than that of most successful men. 
 In the county where he tilled the soil for others for a 
 meager pittance fifty years before, at his death he owned 
 
Life and Charaiier of David Wilber. 7 
 
 4,000 acres of well-cultivated land. And yet tliis was but a 
 portion of the accumulations of his life. This was not the 
 result either of selfishness or greed. He was frugal, but not 
 parsimonious; generous, but not wasteful. The accumula- 
 tion of wealth affected not his heart. To all David Wilber, 
 the capitalist, was the same kind, approachable, unostenta- 
 tious David Wilber of earlier days. He was ever ready to 
 give to others the lesson he had learned by experience. 
 With so gracious a mien did he carrjr his wealth others did 
 not covet his success, but rejoiced with him because of it. 
 He made for himself a reputation in tlie business world for 
 pluck, perseverance, and integrity which will not soon be 
 forgotten. 
 
 Politically he was a potential factor for a quarter of a cen- 
 tury. He was a molder of public opinion. For many years 
 he was the political leader of his county. He assiimed not 
 to dictate, but by common consent his judgment was always 
 consulted and very generally followed. His political con- 
 victions were strong. He was not swayed by every changing 
 breeze. His action was guided by priiiciple, not by preju- 
 dice. Here as elsewhere was shown his iron will and deter- 
 mination. In 1858, '59. "62, "05, and 'W> ho represented the 
 town of Milford, where he then resided, in the board of 
 supervisors of Otsego County. This was a Democratic 
 town; always so except when David Wilber was a candi- 
 date. 
 
 Differing in party opinion and affiliation from the ac- 
 knowledged majority of the town, he never knew defeat at 
 the polls. Not only his energy and force were shown by 
 these elections, but the esteem in which he was held by 
 neighbors, regardless of party. His rare good sense, his 
 kindly manner, and his wonderful tact in managing men 
 made him during these years the principal factor in local 
 
8 Address of Mr. Sherman., of New York, on the 
 
 legislation. It does not need the bi-oader field of State or 
 national legislatures for a strong mind to make itself known 
 and felt, nor for a leading spirit, by its natural force, to 
 assert itself. 
 
 David Wilber from 1859 to 1865 showed the truth of 
 this statement. Men possessed of the positive qualities of 
 Mr. Wilber do not often escape the public view. He was 
 no exception to the rule. In 1873 he was elected to the 
 Forty-third Congress, and again, in 1878, to the Forty- sixth 
 Congress. The reapportionment of the Congressional dis- 
 tricts of the Slate placed Mr. Wilber in a Democratic 
 district just prior to the election of the Forty-ninth Con- 
 gress, and during that Congress the district was represented 
 by a Democrat, an able, upright man. Against his will, Mr. 
 Wilber yielded to the urgent request of others and became 
 a candidate for election to the Fiftieth Congress. He con- 
 ducted this campaign with limitless energy. His election by 
 a handsome majority followed a campaign noted for its thor- 
 oughness and its aggressiveness. 
 
 Frequent and severe illness took him often from his seat 
 on this floor, and yet he kept a close watch upon legislation. 
 Mr. Wilber often expressed a determination to retire from 
 Congress at the close of that term. But the demands were 
 so urgent for him to become his party's standard-bearer in 
 the Presidential campaign of 1888. that finally, overper- 
 suaded, he took up the task of another campaign. He car- 
 ried it through with a measure of success beyond the most 
 sanguine expectations. 
 
 In the Fifty-fii-st Congress he never took his seat. He 
 was taken seriously ill on October 30 last, and from that 
 sickness he never recovered. 
 
 By special order of the House he, with his distinguished 
 colleague from Pennsylvania, with whom he was paired, took 
 
Life and Character of David Wilber. 9 
 
 Ms oath of office at Ms home. The pair he so much hoped 
 to end by his presence here God dissolved. 
 
 In Congress he never took part in debate. He was not a 
 conspicuous figure upon the floor. It was in committee that 
 Ms constructive genius found play. He represented his con- 
 stituency faithfully and well. His value as a member came 
 not that he was an orator, or possessed wonderfully quick 
 perception, but because of his plodding industry, his coji- 
 stant watchfulness, and his excellent good judgment. 
 
 As in business so was he here, genial, approachable, 
 kindly. He did not share the common belief that here each 
 must make his pathway forward over the prostrate forms of 
 his colleagues. Were it necessary to crowd some other 
 back that he might push forward he was content to remain 
 behind. He was frequently a delegate in State conventions 
 and was also a delegate to the national conventions of 18S0 
 and 1888. His participation in public affairs covered a 
 period longer than the life of many of his colleagues on 
 this floor. 
 
 His record is that of an honorable man who never shirked 
 a duty, or diverged from the path where conscience led. 
 
 Of Mr. Wilber"s domestic life I will speak but a single 
 word. 
 
 He was married in 1845. and his wife and two sous sur- 
 vive him. In the family circle 3Ir. Wilber was always 
 cheerful, considerate, and loving. The cares of his life he 
 carried alone, its happiness he shared with his family. The 
 liglit his sunny disposition shed about his liome will never 
 wholly fade. What was bright and tender and true of him 
 will be uppermost in the mind of the bereaved wife, soften- 
 ing lier sorrow until they shall meet again. 
 
 Mr. Wilber was a firni supporter of the church and the 
 school. He was a director in more than one educational 
 
10 Address of Mr. McCormick^ of Peiiiisylvaiiia, on the 
 
 institution. ■ His Christianity was not of tlie sectarian type; 
 he had an affection for all men. He did good for the love 
 of it. To him no single creed conld point the road to 
 Heaven. Desirous was he to help any good work under 
 the auspices of whatever denomination it was instituted. 
 No deserving charity went empty-handed from his door. 
 To do foi' others was to him a jileasure. Injustice he could 
 not tolerate. Sham in every form he scorned. In his 
 friendship he was intensely strong and true as steel. 
 Strangely, perhaps, his dislikes were not as strong as his 
 likes. He was slow to auger, plenteous in mercy. He was 
 quick to see an injustice and sensitive to a personal affront, 
 but he quickly forgave and forgot. He was well balanced ; 
 his body, his mind, his heart kept even pace with each 
 other. What he appeared to be he was — a large-hearted, 
 broad-minded, i:)lain-s2)okeu, kindly man. 
 
 ADDRESS OF Mr. Mccormick, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: My first acciuaintance with David Wilber 
 was in the beginning of the Fiftieth Congress. He was 
 my colleague in committee, and although at that time' suf- 
 fering to some extent from disease, he took an active part 
 in all the work of the committee. I was impressed with his 
 strong good sense and his outspoken convictions. He was 
 a type of manhood not uncommon in this country of great 
 opportunities. He was honest, industrious, and self-reliant, 
 and these qualities had made him a si;ccess in life. Born to 
 poverty, self-educated, and without any of the advantages 
 that wealth and social position give to tho^e who jiossess 
 them, he fought the battle of life single-handed, and acquired 
 for himself both wealth and position. Four times he was 
 
/,//(■ and Character of David U'ilber. \\ 
 
 elected to Congress by a district doubtful witli any other 
 candidate; once he represented his party in its national con- 
 vention, and for more tlian thirty years he had held posi- 
 tions of trust and responsibility. Everywhere and at all 
 times he performed his duty with fidelity, and he leaves to 
 his family an honored name. 
 
 His life is another example of what may be accomplislied 
 by honest, energetic, well-directed effort. From a poor l)oy 
 he came to be a wealthy and honored citizen, loved and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. Those who knew liim best 
 and longest trusted him imi)licitly, and tlieir confidence 
 was never betrayed. 
 
 H?*died amongst the people with whom he had spent his 
 life, his birth-place being in one of the counties comprising 
 the district he so faithfully represented in Congress. 
 
 Mr. WiLBER was a business man of rare ability, and accus- 
 tomed as he was to business methods, the long debates in 
 Congress and the delays in legislation were exceedingly dis- 
 tasteful to him. In the first session of the Forty-sixth Con- 
 gress, on May 15, 1879, he made a brief speech, in which he 
 used this language: 
 
 I have met here day after day and listened to wild theories upon dif- 
 ferent subjects, and in my judgment as a business man this Congress has 
 not done as much legislation that will benefit the country since the ISth 
 day of March as any ten good business men would do in one lialf day. 
 
 My relations witli Mr. Wilber were only such as came 
 from committee association, and of his good works and his 
 virtues as a citizen I will therefore leave others to speak 
 who knew him well. I have given only my impressions of 
 •the man acquired during my very brief official acquaint- 
 ance with him. This was sufficient, however, to make me 
 regret his loss to his family, to the community in which he 
 lived, and to the country he served so honorably and well. 
 
12 Address of Mr. McRae, of Arkansas., on. the 
 
 ADDRESS OF Mr. MCRAE, OF ARKANSAS. 
 
 Mr. Speaker : Death has stricken another name from the 
 roll of the membership of this House. David Wilber, the 
 late Representative from the Twenty-fourth New York dis- 
 trict, has fallen into the " sleep that no pain shall wake," 
 and the public business is now suspended, that his friends 
 may have an opportunity to pay proper respect to his 
 memory and to study his virtues. 
 
 In the observance of this long-established ceremonial we 
 meet as members of a common fainily. At the grave it has 
 been said that "'envy holds her breath, partisan bitterness is 
 hushed for a moment, and even .silence, that rare visitant 
 here, extends her tranquilizing wings for a little while over 
 us." It is amid such surroiindings that the weakness of the 
 individual, the necessity for a stronger fraternity of man, 
 and the power and beauty of God are forcibly impressed 
 upon us. Such occasions, thoiigh sad, are beneficial to the 
 living, in that they serve to open the way for that great 
 truth that man's du.ties reach out beyond tlie lines that in- 
 close party or sect and touch his fellows wherever they may 
 be found. By this act we honor the lamented dead, and at 
 the same time should be reminded of our own mortality and 
 how fleeting are the honors of this world. 
 
 Naturally in the presence of death our reflections turn to 
 the grandeur of that ambition which aspires beyond the 
 affairs of life, and so we think of our friend to-day. That 
 there is another and better life to which death is but" 
 the entrance and that the soul is immortal I do not in the 
 least doubt, nor do I doubt that thr(3Ugh Divine grace it is 
 the privilege of all who will to enjoy tliat life throughout 
 
Life and Character of David Wilber. 13 
 
 eternity. The innate cravings for the infinite, the longings 
 of its every emotion, its growth and holy aspirations all de- 
 clare there is siich a life beyond the grave. " Intelligence 
 speaks and says that the light of reason shall not go out in 
 the grave. Revelation points out man's escape from the 
 shadow of death; the sun of righteousness with effulgent 
 beams lights iip the charnel house. " 'T is only a resting 
 place. Our departed friend had been baptized into the faith 
 of the great Gallileau and died a believer in the Christian 
 religion, and so we feel assured that he shall awake to 
 immortality beyond the confines of the tomb. Mr. Wilber 
 was more than thirty years my senior, but to some extent I 
 enjoyed his confidence and frieudshij) during the time I 
 knew him. 
 
 What I knew of him I learned from seeing him on this 
 floor and by service with him in the committee-room during 
 the Fiftieth Congress. Others who knew lam at home and 
 who are more familiar with his life have in a befitting man- 
 ner sjjoken of his achievements in private life and of his 
 successful public career, as well as of those qualities of head 
 and heart which endeared him to the people who knew and 
 honored him. While from my knowledge of him I would 
 not feel warranted in naming him as one of those great 
 characters who have marked the periods in our country's 
 political history, I can truthfully say that he possessed many 
 qualities which have commended themselves to the good of 
 all ages, and without which there is no true gi-eatness. 
 
 While he was peculiarly a man of affairs and business, he 
 loved his country and her institutions and was proud of 
 her growth and prosperity. He was honest in all matters, 
 public and jjrivate; just to both friend and foe, and pure in 
 purpose and moi-als. His public life was one of strict in- 
 tegrity, and his private character was without stain. His 
 
14 Address of Mr. McRae.^ of Arkansas, u>i the 
 
 benevolent nature made him the friend of all mankind, and 
 he was generous in his helpfulness to all the needy and de- 
 serving. Sincere and earnest, he intended always to do 
 right and to render to everj' one his dues. He was faith- 
 ful to his convictions, true to his friends, devoted to his 
 family, and always acted under a sense of duty. A Ger- 
 man writer has said that "there are two things supremely 
 beautiful in this world, the starry sky above our heads and 
 the sense of duty in our hearts." This sense of duty ap- 
 peared to be always present with our friend. Not that he 
 was always right, for some of us must say, to be true to our 
 own convictions, that he was often wrong on questions of 
 governmental policy, and yet it does not change the argu- 
 ment that he so believed. 
 
 We shall miss him upon this floor ; the people of his dis- 
 trict will miss him; his family will miss him more than all; 
 but he has left us a legacy of good examples, his people at 
 home the record of a faithful and honorable service as their 
 Representative, and his family a good na.me, and ample for- 
 tune honestly acquired. His many deeds of charity and 
 kindness will be long remembered by his neighbors and 
 friends. To the grief-stricken widow and sons we can only 
 commend the language of inspiration: ""Now he is dead, 
 wherefore should I fast ? can I bring liini back again ? I 
 shall go to him, biit he shall not rectum to me." As we lay 
 this tribute on the grave of our friend and bid him adieu we 
 do so in the full confidence that he has gone — 
 
 Out of the shadows of sadness. 
 Into the sunshine of gladness, 
 
 Into the light of the blest ; 
 Out of a land very dreary. 
 Out of the world very weary, 
 
 Into the rapture of rest. 
 
Life and Character of David Wilder. 15 
 
 Out of t<i-da\"s sin and sorrow. 
 Into a blissful to-raoi-row, 
 
 Into a day without gloom ; 
 Out of a land fUlel with sighing, 
 Land of tlie deal and the dying, 
 
 Into a land without tomb. 
 
 ADDRESS OF Mr. Russell, of Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Speaker : My acquaintance with Hon. David Wil- 
 BER was formed ditring the Fiftieth Congress through asso- 
 ciation on the Committee on Railways and Canals. He was 
 among the oldest in years in that association and I among 
 the youngest. Between us was the half portion of that 
 period which is the allotted age of man. But there was a 
 separation in age only. In acquaintance the difference in 
 our years proved a strong span and a tender tie, by which I 
 came to know of our dead brother's kind heart and generous 
 humanity. 
 
 In what society in life are fcmnd so great jealousy of 
 success and so little sympathy for failure as lien- in our 
 Congressional association ? But David Wilber's nature 
 spurned that jealousy and cultivated that sympathy. His 
 was an exceptional disposition, unselfish, kind, helpful, con- 
 siderate. It- is a full appreciation of that noble disposition 
 ■which prompts from me to-day a young man's tribute to an 
 elder's guidance, support, and encouragement. He, of full- 
 ness in experience and of knowledge in affairs, was ever 
 ready to impart that experience and that knowledge ; not to 
 parade it as a patent assigned to his own use and bequest, 
 but to infuse it, that his fellows might use and profit. A 
 character which shuts not up its good qualities for selfish 
 purposes and personal aggrandizement is beautiful and 
 
16 Address of Mr. Russell., of Connecticut, on the 
 
 chivalric anywhere. It is notable and beneficent in Con- 
 gress. 
 
 During the sessions of the last Congress Mr. Wilber's 
 health was failing. His attendance on his duties here was 
 a great physical effort. He was oftener in the committee- 
 room and at home in his hotel to his friends than on this floor. 
 It was in those places that we came to know him and to love 
 him. In revered memory we recall him comfortably resting 
 in easy chair or on lounge and interestingly talking on ques- 
 tions of public import in Congress and in tiie nation. De- 
 cided in opinion, grounded in his political faith, reasoning 
 his views, his Congressional work was that of suggestion 
 and encouragement to those whose physical strength pei-- 
 mitted vigorous action on the measures in which he believed. 
 His counsel was given so as to conceal even the semblance 
 of arrogance or aged wisdom. It was as the teaching of an 
 instructor who has first gained the att'ection of the pupil 
 and then bestows rather than dictates knowledge. The 
 cheerful, helpful, ingenuous association which our friend 
 gave to his fellows lives in my memory as his eminent 
 characteristic. I thank him for that association, whicli was 
 forbidding to none, inviting to all, honest and honorable 
 always. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I can not refer in detail to the business and 
 political life of Mr. Wilber. His colleagues from New York 
 State will do that. They, more appropriately than myself, 
 can make reference to those qualities of heart and head which 
 in the privacy of the family circle and in the intimacy of 
 close relationship made him the good and true man. I have 
 spoken of his fellowship here, which was free and unpreten- 
 tious, and carried with it cheer and comfort and benefit to us 
 who came within its influence. But I must not overlook 
 a characteristic which impressed itself upon all who came 
 
Life and Charade r of Dmnd Wilbcr. 17 
 
 into his association. It was a purpose indomitable, though 
 not Ijelligerent; it was a pursuit indefatigable, though not 
 obnoxious. 
 
 Whatever he undertook was pursued with the purpose 
 of accomplishment. His whole life was energy, active and 
 not bombastic. His force was success achieved and not 
 merely contemplated. The unfailing purpose and the un- 
 tiring pursuit which raised him to prominence and affluence 
 in business carried him through the embarrassments and 
 contentions of political life. His intimate political associates 
 must rank him as a propelling power, if not a .showy pen- 
 nant, attached to the political craft of the great Empire 
 
 State. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, whatever may be the great hereafter, we 
 who loved the fellowship of David Wilber here and we 
 who recall his honest purposes and his honorable pursuits 
 in life, would renew associatio)i with him in that hereafter, 
 and in holy purpose and eternal pursuit be with him again. 
 
 ADDRESS OF Mr. TRACEY, OF NEW YORK, 
 
 Mr. Speaker: Few persons appreciate the variety of 
 emotions a member of this House is subject to in the per- 
 formance of his duties. There is always before him the 
 knowledge that he must never deviate from the line marked 
 out by his oath to support the Constitution, and this when 
 public questions are being considered occasionally brings to 
 him anxiety of mind when deciding whether he should sup- 
 port or approve a proposition. At times he is annoyed and 
 irritated by the difficulty of obtaining what he deems proper 
 consideration from committees to which his measures have 
 been referred, while at other times he is gladdened by suc- 
 H. Mis. aG3 2 
 
18 Address of Mr. Tracy , of Neiv VorA, on the 
 
 cess and made grateful to those colleagues who have aided 
 hi in ill accomijlishing results to effect which he has worked 
 so eai'iiestly; and, Mi*. Speaker, while he is thus satisfying 
 some delicate qiiestion of conscience, or is being moved by 
 feelings of anger, joy, or gratitude, there comes a day when 
 another emotion is aroused, and he is startled Ijy the an- 
 nouncement that death has entered tlie ranks and removed 
 one of his colaborers, and he is grieved at the loss of a com- 
 rade and filled with symjjathy for ihe afflicted family of his 
 friend. 
 
 Alas, such a shock as this has not been an infrequent 
 occurrence of late. Onlj^ a little more than half the Fifty- 
 first Congress has passed, and we who remain have to mourn 
 the loss of nine of our colleagues. Burnes, Townshend, 
 Nntting, Gay, Laird, Cox. Kelley, Wilber, and Randall had 
 many devoted friends, and were men of exceptional strength 
 in their respective districts. Of them all, however, the 
 gentleman in whose memory eulogies are being pronounced 
 to-day was the only one representing a constituency the 
 normal majority of which was opposed to the party of its 
 member of Congress. 
 
 The phenomenal success of Mr. Wilber as a candidate 
 before the people must have been a great gratification to 
 him, and his surviving relatives and friends may well take 
 pride in the record of his i^olitical life. 
 
 During the many years he lived in the county of Otsego 
 he may be said to have worked constantly, but while all this 
 time he was accumulating wealth, the people realized that 
 their prosperity was also being added to throi;gh his efforts; 
 and his advice was sought by those interested in public im- 
 l)rovements and by individuals seeking counsel to guide 
 them in tlieir private enterprises. 
 
 Whenever in a rural commimity we find a man, long a 
 
Life and Character of David Wilber. 19 
 
 resident there, who is selected by common consent to lead in 
 all movements for the general welfare, we may safely con- 
 clude that he has been a true and unselfish friend to his 
 neighbors. While attending Mi". Wilber's funeral several 
 weeks ago I was greatly impressed by the evidences of affec- 
 tion and respect with which our late colleague was regarded 
 by his constituents. There appeareil to be a total suspension 
 of business that day in the active village of Oneouta and a 
 large influx of visitors who came as mourners from different 
 parts of the district. The tributes paid to his memory liy 
 the several clergymen present at the services gave evidence 
 of Ml'. Wilber's unbounded charity and of his great nobility 
 and purity of character, both in ijublic and private life. 
 
 The procession which formed at the close of the church 
 ceremonies included in the line various organizations named 
 in honor of Mr. Wilber, and composed of men of splendid 
 physique, who bore on their intelligent countenances expres- 
 sions of sincere grief. 
 
 As our colleague was laid at rest on the hillside overlook- 
 ing the beautiful valley of the Susquehanna, one could but 
 feel that for many years to come his tomb will be pointed 
 out to the traveler as inclosing the remains of one wlio had 
 been a friend of the people, working for them and with 
 them at home, and modestly but firmly advancing and guard- 
 ing their interests in the Congress of the United States. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. FARQUHAR, OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Mr. Speaker : Long, long years ago, in the land in which I 
 was born, there was a custom that when they laid in the earth 
 their dead chiefs, or the patriarchs of their families, mourn- 
 ers came to mark the resting spot of the revered dead with 
 
20 Address of Mr. Farquliar, of New York, on tlie 
 
 stones from the bi-(_)i;)k and the mountain-side, until there 
 was erected over the bleak places and in the rich valleys of 
 that northern land the memorial cairn, which stands to-day 
 the memento of the lov^e permeating the old tribal condition 
 of the Celtic race. I come to-day, as a matter of duty, as a 
 matter of kindness, as a matter of the most imperative 
 demand of my own heart, to add my tribute to the memorial 
 cairn of David Wilber. 
 
 I know, Mr. Speaker, it is quite customary on occasions 
 like this — for I have sat many years in this House — to hear 
 orations with fine-turned periods, furbished and refiirbished 
 for a fxmeral occasion, full of eulogy, full of expressions 
 that I may even say are overdone for the individuals, but 
 still that come from hearts that gush with feeling for those 
 whom they would eulogize. I could not, if I would, stand 
 on this floor to-day with any finished oration to the memory 
 of David Wilber. 
 
 Ah, his was a character that needs no finely-turned sen- 
 tences. A pioneer of that part of western New York which 
 when he was boi'u was almost a wilderness; a great, rugged, 
 struggling, fighting, pushing character, that made his way 
 in the world against all obstacles: a man whose cardinal 
 ])riuciple was honesty, and after that generosity. No fine 
 words can carry back to David Wilber's home a single 
 expression of kindly esteem that the good honest people of 
 western New York will not recognize as truth and justice 
 when spoken in his memory. 
 
 Why do we regret to lose such men here? If it were pos- 
 sible it would be my wish that this Congress and all succeed- 
 ing Congresses might have within their lialls many David 
 Wilbers. He was a man whose o])inions were formed in 
 the jn-actical .school of life, so that he could instantly detect 
 right from wrong, evil from good, falsehood from the bright 
 
Life and Character of David Wilber. 21 
 
 diamond of truth. David Wilber foiight the battle of life 
 honestly, cast his freeman's vote honestly, acted honestly. 
 and all his advice to kin or neighbor was honest. Such 
 men, may I say, are somewhat rare in Congress, for there is 
 often such dissembling in our political votes and wordy con- 
 tests here that I say the rugged, honest line of life of David 
 Wilber is the one that all of us ought to emulate and strive 
 to match. 
 
 David Wilber assumed and accepted political service not 
 for its honors. He was called into jjolitical life by what 
 you might call neighborhood desires and claims. He was 
 asked to represent the sentiments of his district, the busi- 
 ness of his district, the claims of his district, as an integral 
 part of a national body; and in assuming these duties he 
 came to Congress repeatedly with the same simple-hearted- 
 ness, the same honesty of purpose, to serve not alone his 
 neighbors and his people, but to serve, in his share, the 
 whole United States of America. 
 
 ■National in all his opinions, generous to all those who 
 neither believed in his political ideas nor even in his relig- 
 ious tenets, David Wilber sought to ingraft upon all leg- 
 islation God's honest truth, and nothing else. Why should 
 he not have been' carried to his last resting-place in New 
 York witli the tears and bewailments of hundreds of his 
 neighbors, for he had served them all faithfully? Ah, 
 that reputation which comes to a man on this floor may 
 often be well earned, yot in the lapse of a few years it proves 
 to be transient, it passes away, till not even one line is left; 
 whereas such a life as David Wilber's lives as an example 
 to the young as well as a consolation to the (dd of the sec- 
 tion where he was so well beloved. 
 
 I thank God and I thank the people of the State of New 
 York that he was sent from that old Otsego district repeat- 
 
22 Address of Mr. Farquhar^ of Nczv York. 
 
 edly; that they gave us an example of a public man of rug- 
 ged honesty, a man of practical political affairs, as well as 
 a generous and noble citizen. None in that State, none hei'e, 
 can add one word to the eulogy which his own character and 
 life can jmss upon David Wilber. To his people, to his 
 neighbors, to his beloved family, his character will endure 
 long years after all memory of his political honors has 
 passed away. 
 
 The Speaker Y)ro tempore. The question is upon the adop- 
 tion of the resolutions offered by the gentleman from New 
 York. 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously adopted; and in ac- 
 cordance therewith the House adjourned. 
 
PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. 
 
 June 19, 1890. 
 
 The Vice-President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
 resolutions from the House of Representatives, which will 
 be read. 
 
 The Chief Clerk read as follows : 
 
 In the House of Represextatives, May 34, 1890. 
 
 Resolved. That the business of the House be now susijended, tliat oppor- 
 tunity be afforded memljers to pay proper tribute to the memory of Hon. 
 Davu) Wilder, late a Representative from the State of New York. 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of DA\aD Wilbee the country has lost the 
 services of a safe legislator and faitliful pubUc servant. 
 
 Resolved, That as a f lu-tlier mark of respect to liis memory the House 
 shall at the conclusion of these ceremonies adjourn. 
 
 Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
 
 Address of Mr. Evarts, of New York. 
 
 Mr. President : David Wilber lived to the age of sev- 
 enty years, and died very near the spot in which he was 
 born, in the Otsego district of the State of New York. Yet 
 probably, thottgh his home was tlie same, no greater change 
 could be found in a man's lifetime than that which trans- 
 pired from the siirroundings in which he was born to the 
 surroundings in which he died. 
 
 33 
 
24 Address of Mr. Ez'arts, o/ A'cw York, on the 
 
 Seventy years ago, Mr. President, calls uji to mind a con- 
 dition of life, both in nature and society, at the spot at which 
 David Wilber was born, that was almost frontiei" life in a 
 certain sense, and in some very important particulars much 
 more of a frontier life than our jjresent system of sending 
 populations to occupy new lands. The railroads, the tele- 
 graphs, have changed wholly the circumstances of new set- 
 tlements which attended far beyond the time of Mr. Wil- 
 ber's birth the situation in which he was born. 
 
 Mr. Wilber was born entirely poor, biit from jDarents of 
 sterling and upright character and conduct in life. He 
 followed the path of life of one who labors in the pursuit of 
 wealth, or prosperity at least. I believe that he met no 
 misfortunes in his whole career in which he started in life 
 Avith nothing but the earnings of his hands. 
 
 His thrift, his prudence, his savings, his faculties, his high 
 moral character, and his large and increasing authority among 
 his fellow-men brought him to be possessed of a great fortune, 
 and to be at all times an animating member of all interests 
 surrounding him in his town, in his county, in his section of 
 the State, in his ])arty, and, so far as his jarivate and pi;blic 
 life were connected with it, the welfare of the country. 
 
 Without education, I believe even academic, there has been 
 no stage in his progress in which he did not show those natural 
 faculties and those natural traits which made him adequate 
 for increasing obligations, increasing responsibilities, and 
 increasing duties. His relations to his neighbors, whether in 
 the intei'est of commerce and maniifactures, or of society, or 
 then opening into a- itolitical career, wrought from all sides, 
 from all portions of society, a consenting confidence in him. 
 however differences might give preference for this or that 
 competit()r. I 1)elieve that political opponents at no time 
 hesitated to feel that David Wilber brought into all these 
 
Life and Character of Dai-id Uilbcr. 25 
 
 employ nionts, whether public or private, a character and a 
 coiiduct that every one should recognize as an advantage 
 and an honor to the communities in which he lived. 
 
 Mr. President, he grew u^) to the age of seventy to see him- 
 self surrounded and the whole State filled iip with the largest 
 interests of population, of commerce, of manufacture, and 
 of political interests of that State and that State's share of 
 political interests in this great country. 
 
 It is not easy to speak without great respect of a life that 
 has thus heen made up from the beginning and is closed with 
 no shadow or turning in the traits and conduct which have 
 made him useful to his fellow-citizens and always remem- 
 bered by those who survive him. 
 
 I can hardly say that I had the privilege of any beyond a 
 mere personal acquaintance with David Wilber; but 1 had 
 long known him and respected him for his situation and 
 conduct in life. 
 
 He did not live to take his seat in this Congress, but died 
 at home. He was elected in 1872 a member of the Forty- 
 third Congress and in 1878 of the Forty-sixth Congress and 
 then of the Fiftieth Congress. He was expecting and was 
 looked for by all who surrounded him to do a useful duty 
 during, this Congress; but Providence directed otherwise. 
 His steps were turned to a greater and higher sphere, and 
 he passed out of life in the honorable respect and affection 
 of all who knew him. 
 
 Mr. President, I oifer the following resolutions: 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate receives with deep sensibility the announce- 
 ment of the death of Hon. David Wilbee, late a member of the House 
 of Representatives from the State of New York, and tenders to the 
 family an<l relatives of the deceased the assurance of its sympathy in their 
 bereavement. 
 
 Resohx'd, That the Secretary be directed to transmit to the family of 
 Mr. WiLBEK a coi>y of the foregoing resolution. 
 
26 Address of Mr. Hiscock, of New York, on the 
 
 ADDRESS OF Mr. HISCOCK, OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Mr. President : I avail myself of this oiiportunity to 
 respectfully pay a tribute to my late colleague in the House 
 of Representatives from the Twenty-fourth Congressional 
 district of New York, Hon. David Wilber. 
 
 Mr. Wilber was born near Quaker street, in the city 
 and county of Schenectady, New York, on October 5, 1820. 
 In boyhood he removed with his parents to Milford, Otsego 
 County, N. Y., where he received a common-school educa- 
 tion. 
 
 At the time of his death he was president of the Wilber 
 National Bank of Oneonta, N. Y. He was a Representative 
 of the State of New York in the Forty-third, Forty-sixth, 
 Fiftieth, and was re-elected to, but on account of the illness 
 of which he died never took his seat in, the Fifty-first 
 Congress. 
 
 This brief statement is the history of his progress and 
 achievements from boj^hood to manhood, and will find a 
 parallel in the career of many of those men who have con- 
 tributed to the development of New York and maintained 
 her political and commercial supremacy. Without the ad- 
 vantages of inherited wealth, without the aid of a liberal 
 education— much less than that, with a common-school edu- 
 cation of fifty j^ears ago — Mr. AVilber accumulated a large 
 fortune, and by his business methods, marked by ability 
 and integrity, so impressed himself iii^ou a constituency 
 represented by 36,000 voters that at four general elections 
 he was chosen to represent them in the most honorable posi- 
 tion within their power of selection. 
 
 I am conversant, sir, somewhat with the Congressional 
 
Life and Character of David Wilber. 27 
 
 district that Mr. Wilber so loug aud so ably represented, 
 and I believe it embraces within its boundaries the earlier 
 settlements in New York west of Albany. Rich in agri- 
 cultural resources, it early invited immigrants from more 
 eastern parts of New York and the New England States, 
 and Mr. Wilber was compelled to measure mental and 
 moral forces in the achievement of his positions with the 
 best intellects and the highest culture of his native State, 
 and there was hardly a contest between him and others for 
 supremacy. A thoroughly honest man, a decidedly able 
 man, he gained, and continued to possess until his death, 
 the esteem, absolute confidence, and admiration of all who 
 knew him. He accumulated wealth, but not at the sacri- 
 fice of the respect of his fellow-citizens; and when he was 
 selected to high official positions, his political opponents 
 conceded his eminent fitness, and that they were worthily 
 bestowed by his political party. He was, sir, one of those 
 men who, without trickery or manipulation, commanded a 
 large support from his political opponents. He was not a 
 brilliant man, as that expression is applied to orators, and 
 he was not a genius, as we often apply the term to those 
 who have been eminently successful. His growth was slow 
 but constant, and unmarked by disaster to others or Ijy 
 those questionable methods that are so often in the public 
 mind obscured by great results. 
 
 It is just to say that he was not regarded as a great man, 
 compared with many who have added to the renown of his 
 native State; yet, sir, I can recall very few who accom- 
 plished so much as a leader in molding sentiment or voic- 
 ing its purposes as David Wilber. And in his generation 
 I do not recall one who has contributed more to the mate- 
 rial interests of a Congressional district, more largely in- 
 fluenced its people, and at the same time maintained, as he 
 
28 Address 0/ Mr. Hiscock, of Neiv York. 
 
 liad a riglit to, the confidence and respect of those whom he 
 represented than lie. 
 
 Men of his character and achievements, taking into ac- 
 count the disadvantageous circumstances with which he 
 was surrounded in early youth, arg fast joining the ma- 
 jority on the other side, and I believe, sir, it is more than 
 doubtful if others will be found to fill their places. 
 
 The Vice-President. The question is on the adoption of 
 the resolutions submitted by the Senator from New York 
 [Mr. Evarts]. 
 
 The resohitions were agreed to unanimously. 
 
 Mr. Evarts. I move that the Senate do now adjourn. 
 
 The motion was agreed to; and the Senate adjourned 
 until to-morrow, Friday, June 20, 1890, at 12 o'clock m. 
 
n