MEMORIAL EXERCISES IN HONOR OF THE 
 LATE SENATOR WILLIAM B. ALLISON 
 
 ADDEESS 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. CHAUNCEY M 
 
 OF NEW YORK 
 
 IN THE 
 
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 TJNITED STATES SENATE 
 
 
 FEBRUARY 6, 1909 
 
 
 
 
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 32 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 81688—8290 
 
 AV^SHTN&TOI^ 
 
 1909 
 
 
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 A D D K E S S 
 
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 HON. CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. 
 
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 We raise the curtain to-day upon the most momentous events 
 in the history of the Republic. The life of our nation can be 
 broadly divided into three eras—its creation, its preservation, 
 and its development. The two last are vividly recalled by the 
 career of Senator William B. Allison. He entered Congress 
 in 1862 and died a Senator in 1908. Never during recorded 
 time has so much been done for liberty, humanity, and progress 
 as is crowded into this period. The whole world is its debtor, 
 but the United States is our retrospect at this hour. 
 
 We are here in the assembly honored by his membership 
 and the hall which witnessed his activities to pay tribute to 
 the memory of one of the most influential statesmen of these 
 wonderful years. He took his seat in the House of Representa¬ 
 tives when the future seemed darkest. A solid South and 
 divided North, disaster to the Union cause in the field and 
 threatened intervention by Europe, our credit seriously im¬ 
 paired, and widespread discontent created a situation full of 
 peril for the preservation of the Union. The continent trembled 
 under the tread of armies greater in number than any before 
 marshaled in modern times, and the shock of battles between 
 brothers, each willing to die for his idea, had desolated every 
 home in the land. Lincoln voiced the first and greatest neces¬ 
 sity to save the Union in these memorable words: 
 
 “ I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way 
 
 under the Constitution. If there be those who would not save 
 
 the Union unless they could at the same time save slavery, I 
 
 do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save 
 
 the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, 
 81588—8290 3 
 
 
4 
 
 I do not agree with them. My paramount object In this strug¬ 
 gle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy 
 slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, 
 I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, 
 I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leav¬ 
 ing others alone, I would also do that.” 
 
 He stood like a rock against abolitionists and radicals who 
 would have him try to free the slaves at a time when public 
 sentiment would not have sustained him and the loss of Union 
 supporters would have been fatal, but when all saw it was nec¬ 
 essary to save the Union he issued the emancipation proclama¬ 
 tion. 
 
 The success of the national cause in the civil war placed the 
 Union upon firmer foundation, to be made secure for all time 
 by the reconstruction of the States and the acceptance by those 
 in rebellion of their equal enjoyment of American citizenship 
 and unity in loyalty for the old flag. Our Government was 
 then the least in power and consideration among nations. But 
 it advanced by leaps and bounds until at the peace of Ports¬ 
 mouth between Russia and Japan, brought about by President 
 Roosevelt, we took front rank and won the right and recogni¬ 
 tion of voice and vote in all matters affecting the welfare of 
 the world. 
 
 People prosper and nations advance according to the wisdom 
 of the policies and measures which govern them. The waste of 
 war must be supplied by credit and money. The country re¬ 
 quired revenue bills to enlarge its income; the development of 
 its resources to furnish the basis for increased taxation, and a 
 currency system in harmony with great industrial nations. It 
 was in these fields that Senator Allison did most wise, benefi¬ 
 cent, and far-reaching work. Happily his State of Iowa, appre¬ 
 ciating his value to the country, kept him continuously in the 
 Senate. The record and rewards of his career were due to 
 neither luck nor chance. He won and held place and increas¬ 
 ing power by ceaseless industry, rare judgment, tact which 
 amounted to genius, and the graces which command loyalty and 
 
 love. In the House he was on the Committee on Ways and 
 81588—8290 
 
5 
 
 Means, and in the Senate for twenty-six years a member of the 
 Committee on Finance, and for twenty-five years on the Com¬ 
 mittee on Appropriations, and for twenty years its chairman. 
 In these positions he had always before him problems of revenue 
 and expenditures of the Government upon which rest its stabil¬ 
 ity, credit, and prosperity. They appealed to him because of 
 natural gifts for these questions, and by study and experience 
 he acquired such mastery over them that he became an ac¬ 
 knowledged authority and accepted leader. 
 
 He believed that industrial independence and internal devel¬ 
 opment, increase in national wealth, and a higher standard of 
 living for labor than ever known, could be had only by a pro¬ 
 tective tariff. He was the clearest and soundest of the many 
 able men who have contributed to the legislation or literature 
 of this question. The Morrill bill, enacted in 1861, had per¬ 
 formed invaluable service in replenishing the Treasury during 
 the war and stimulating production and manufactures after. 
 But the marvelous growth of our industries in both volume and 
 variety called for a new adaptation to present needs. While 
 McKinley was the unrivaled expounder and advocate of the 
 merits of the men sure which bore his name, it was the ripe 
 learning and constructive genius of Allison which framed and 
 perfected the la^v. He pointed out the weakness which was 
 afterwards developed in the Wilson bill, and his report w'arned 
 Congress and the country of the disastrous results which fol¬ 
 lowed its enactment. The universal recognition of his talents 
 for initiative and upbuilding made him a member of the sub¬ 
 committee which perfected the Dingley bill, which has been in 
 force since 1897, and to him was assigned the charge of its 
 passage in the Senate. In this brief review is seen the master 
 mind and skilled hand in legislation for the tariff during the 
 thirty-five years it was on trial. He saw his policy at times 
 crippled, and once nearly destroyed; but with faith which never 
 wavered and courage which never faltered he plead with the 
 people and labored with their representatives until the fruition 
 of his opinions and experience had ripened into law. He lived 
 
 to witness for ten years the most extraordinary progress and 
 . 81588—8290 
 
 ^ • 
 
prosperity ever known in any land—the result, as he believed, 
 of the triumph of his principles. 
 
 But the Senator’s activities were in every branch of revenue 
 legislation. He prepared in 1868 the internal-revenue law 
 which, with few modifications, is still in force, and with the least 
 possible burden upon the people yields large returns to the 
 Treasury. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton was the greatest of constructive states¬ 
 men. With little of precedent for guidance he formed out of 
 chaos a model system of constitutional government and devised 
 the details for its administration. He was the father of pro¬ 
 tective principles, and his report on that subject has been the 
 inspiration of all subsequent discussion and legislation. His 
 methods and rules for the management of our customs re¬ 
 mained unchanged for a century. Primitive conditions in the 
 importation of foreign goods had grown and expanded until our 
 commerce had so far outgrown the regulations which had con¬ 
 trolled it for a hundred years that modifications adapted to 
 modern situations were necessary. The work had been under¬ 
 taken many times and failed, and was finally placed in the 
 hands of Senator Allison. After two years of patient effort he 
 succeeded in enacting a law wholly prepared by himself which, 
 without change, has been the guide of our customs-revenue 
 service from 1890 until today. 
 
 Senator Allison was a disciple of Hamilton. He revered his 
 memory and was a profound student of his works. At a time 
 when the people were wildly following the ignis fatuus of vis¬ 
 ionary finance, Allison kept his faith in sound economic princi¬ 
 ples. He early saw that material development and progress 
 were temporary and delusive unless based upon a stable and 
 unfluctuating standard of value. We came out of the ci^dl war 
 with our currency upon foundations as insecure as the earth¬ 
 quake soil of Messina, and feverish speculation followed by dis¬ 
 astrous panics was our perpetual peril. A loyal sentiment that 
 the irredeemable greenback had saved the Union nurtured faith 
 in fiat money and the virtues of the paper mill in maintaining 
 
 values. This and the silver heresy threatened political oblivion 
 81588—8290 
 
7 
 
 to all who opposed them. The Senator’s fight for sound money 
 illustrated the practical ability of his statesmanship. He could 
 bow to the storm and not be bent. He saw no merit in so 
 attempting to stem the tide as to be swept into outer darkness 
 and lost to sight and memory. He preferred to go with and 
 guide it—the most difficult of tasks. It required from 1865 to 
 1875 before the people could be educated to belief in a specie 
 basis. That decade was as full of peril to our industries as the 
 civil war had been to our nationality. The resumption act was 
 the work of John Sherman, but his ablest and most efficient 
 associate was Senator Allison. 
 
 That law made our depreciated currency as good as gold in 
 theory, but not in fact The enormous output of silver alarmed 
 the mining industry because the supply was exceeding the de¬ 
 mand. Besides the selfish interests of the mine owners, some of 
 the best minds in the country became advocates of the free and 
 unlimited coinage of silver. The farmer was persuaded it would 
 double the price of his products and pay off his mortgages; the 
 debtor that it would reduce the amount of his loans; the work¬ 
 man that it would double his wages, and by the mysterious 
 alchemy of a government stamp, its purchasing power would 
 not diminish with its falling price. Both Houses of Congress 
 were captured by its fallacies and popularity. Popular pas¬ 
 sions had not run so high since the civil war. Wise and prudent 
 men saw that the success of the scheme would drive out gold, put 
 the country on a silver basis, and after a wild carnival end in 
 bankruptcy. Senator Allison saved the situation by securing 
 the assent of a majority for a limited coinage of silver, bought 
 by and belonging to the Government. The working of this com¬ 
 promise demonstrated the folly of a double standard and 
 brought the people to see that except the opinion of the world 
 could be changed we must come to gold. In hastening that 
 event our friend performed invaluable and lasting service. The 
 successful legislator must adjust the bill he proposes or has in 
 charge to the diverse views of his colleagues without impair¬ 
 ing its essential object. He yields, harmonizes, and conciliates, 
 but gets in the main what he wants at the time or gains a step 
 
 for further advance when the majority are brought to his view. 
 
 81588—8290 
 
 » • 
 
8 
 
 
 Senator Allison was past master of that art. He knew the 
 Senate. Its capricious moods were his opportunity. His pa¬ 
 tience was never exhausted, the serenity of his temper never 
 ruffled. He could grant to an adversary an amendment with 
 such grace and deference to superior judgment that the flattered 
 enemy accepted a few suggestions from the master as a tribute 
 to his talents. The post-mortem revealed his mistake. 
 
 As in the gold standard, so whenever a principle was involved, 
 the Senator’s mind was clear from the beginning; but it re¬ 
 quired, step by step, twenty years before the idea captured the 
 country. The strongest criticism of his career was his willing¬ 
 ness to compromise; but the Constitution of the United States 
 was a compromise between the large and smaller States. The 
 Missouri Compromise of Henry Clay in 1820 was the salvation 
 of the Union—secession then would have succeeded; but' forty 
 years devoted to instilling into youth love for the Nation and 
 the flag, and the growth in population and resources of the free 
 States welded the Union beyond the possibility of disruption. 
 
 The country reunited in faith and loyalty, the industrial and 
 financial systems which had commanded his unequaled talents 
 for a third of a century triumphantly established and working 
 out the beneficent results of prosperity, production, and happi¬ 
 ness upon which he had based faith and prophecy, the old states¬ 
 man might have been content. 
 
 Nations, like individuals, “ pass this way but once.” Golden 
 opportunities at the milestones are lost or won. The triumphs 
 of one generation make trouble for the next. Progress and 
 development create new issues and statesmen confront fresh 
 problems with every advance. Railroad mileage had increased 
 with the growth of population and extension of settlements. 
 These lines are the arteries of commerce and had been consoli¬ 
 dated into great systems. Evils existed in some of them which 
 angered the people against them all. Government ownership or 
 government control were leading issues. The President and his 
 advisers prepared a large scheme of government control. It 
 was threatened, on the one hand, by conservative forces which 
 
 fight all change in existing conditions, and radical reformers 
 81588—8290 
 
9 
 
 who would put on the measure drastic amendments so far- 
 reaching and confiscatory as to involve years of litigation and 
 invite an adverse decision from the Supreme Court. The 
 veteran victor of a hundred legislative battlefields was called 
 into council. The suggestions of Senator Allison perfected 
 and passed the rate bill. It has stood the test of the courts. It 
 has largely eliminated the evils of railway management, and 
 the people and investors recognize its wisdom. 
 
 Senator Allison was never spectacular. He was modest and 
 retiring to a degree. Many of his colleagues filled large space 
 with their speeches in the Congressional Record, while his 
 monument was in the statute books. Because of the radicalism 
 of their proposals, or their eloquence in debate, or their manu¬ 
 facture ^ epigrams, others had headlines and columns in the 
 press, while this tireless and unheralded architect of the public 
 welfare was standing guard over the Treasury or making laws 
 which marked epochs in our history. 
 
 He rarely missed a vote. When the bell rang for a roll call, 
 coming from his constant labor in the room of the Committee 
 on Appropriations, he was among the first to enter the Senate. 
 His name was at the top of the list. He never waited to find 
 out how the question was going, but answered promptly, and 
 that answer often decided the fate of the measure. He had the 
 courage of his convictions and not of a majority behind him. 
 
 He represented an agricultural State whose people often 
 differed with him on economic and financial questions. But 
 a singularly broad-minded and intelligent constituency recog¬ 
 nized his honesty, character, and greatness, and loyally returned 
 him again and again to the seat in which he shed such luster 
 upon Iowa. His closing hours were passed in the supreme 
 happiness that after thirty-five years of continuous service in 
 the Senate and after passing the limit of fourscore the people 
 had commissioned him for another term. 
 
 If, as I believe, those who meet in the activities of this life 
 
 are reunited hereafter, it was a wonderful band of immortals 
 
 who greeted Allison. President Lincoln had consulted him on 
 
 measures for raising money to carry on the war; Johnson on 
 81588—8200 
 
10 
 
 constitutional amendments, civil rights, and general amnesty; 
 Grant on the reconstruction of the States, finance, and a gov¬ 
 ernment for the District of Columbia, still working satisfactorily 
 and wholly devised by Allison ; Hayes on the resumption of 
 specie payments; Arthur on the policy of a tariff commission; 
 Harrison on the McKinley tariff legislation and closer relations 
 between the republics of the Western Hemisphere by a Pan- 
 American Congress; Cleveland on the repeal of the purchase 
 clause of the Sherman silver law; and McKinley on tariff, cur¬ 
 rency, the gold standard, and grave questions arising out of 
 the acquisition and government of Porto Rico and the Philip¬ 
 pines—all of them era-making measures. Three of these Presi¬ 
 dents had urgently invited him to join their cabinets, and twice 
 the Presidency had been almost within his grasp. When he 
 first obtained the floor in Congress he addressed Speaker 
 Schuyler Colfax, and when he spoke last, forty-five years after¬ 
 wards, Vice-President Fairbanks in the chair recognized the 
 Senator from Iowa. Seward, Chase, and Stanton, John Sher¬ 
 man, James G. Blaine, and Thaddeus Stevens were his asso¬ 
 ciates and intimates. When the future historian writes the 
 story of this remarkable period and portrays the actors in that 
 great national drama who contributed to its distinction, he 
 will place among the few in the front rank the name of 
 
 William B. Allison. 
 
 81588—8290 
 
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