YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIFE OF
THOMAS BRACKETT REED

THE LIFE OF
THOMAS BRACKETT REED
BY
SAMUEL W. McCALL
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

BOSTON AND NEW TORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
®6e Siiber?ibe ptejSjS CambtitiBe
1914

COPYRIGHT, I9I4, BY SAMUEL W. MCCALL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Puhlished December iqi4

CJ

PEEFACE
It is inevitable that one writing the Life of Thomas
B. Reed should be drawn into a discussion of the most
important questions before Congress during his long
period of service; yet I have made the consideration of
them entirely secondary to the recording of his course
upon them, and have endeavored to permit him to
present his own view in his speeches, letters, and other
writings. The great questions before the country while
he was in Congress were the Southem and race issues,
the Greenback and silver questions, the procedure
of the House (and especially obstruction), and civil-
service reform and the settlement of the monetary
standard. Through perhaps haK of the Congresses
there was a dead level of routine legislation, hardly
relieved, although accompanied by the perennial dis
cussion of the tariff. This routine, while not appeal
ing to the imagination, presents much of importance
in the development of the country and the shaping
of its practical processes of government, and it cannot
be neglected.
Reed was the most powerful figure in either House
of Congress during his time, or at least after he had op
portunity to establish himself as he did in the first few
years of his service; and his contribution to the settle
ment of every great issue before the country was in-

vi PREFACE
fluentlal in a high degree. He firmly believed in pro
tection as necessary to the prosperity of the country in
peace and its independence in war. He favored reform
in the civil service and was opposed to inflation, to the
free coinage of silver, and to the settled policy of ob
struction which for more than a century had been
carried on under the rules of the House. He himself in
his first Speakership overthrew that obstruction by his
famous ruling; and when he had been retired to the
minority and the ancient system had been restored, he
himself put it in practice so aggressively as to prevent
the transaction of all business and to compel his ad
versaries to abandon it. Ever since that time the prin
ciple of his ruluig has been accepted by all parties as the
law of the House.
He was an unyielding advocate of equality of rights
for all citizens, and steadily maintained the principles
of the Declaration of Independence. The chief reason
for his retirement from the Speakership and from pub
lic life was the annexation, against his protest, of over
sea territory, imposing as it did upon ourselves the ne
cessity of violating that principle of self-government
which he beheved to be the foundation principle of the
American Commonwealth.
In my quotations from the ojfficial reports of debates
I have as a rule preserved the expressions of approval
or disapproval on the part of the House, believing that
they possess a real historical value. Reed, it need hardly
be said, was altogether above the petty practice,
which I regret to say has found some currency in the

PREFACE vii
House of Representatives, of editing the reports of his
speeches by inserting "Applause" and "Laughter" in
the printed version, — a practice which has made
the House appear to be a very stupid sort of body, go
ing wild with enthusiasm over eloquence the cheapest
and most fustian, and convulsed with "laughter" over
jokes the point of which years of subsequent study
have failed to disclose. Indeed Reed had the reputa
tion of not even revising the reporter's notes in order
to correct the little slips and errors that will inevitably
creep into reports of speeches made in a body like the
House. Mrs. Reed and her daughter Katherine Reed Balen
tine have placed me under very great obligation by
giving me free access to the family papers, and in other
ways. I am also much indebted to Reed's son-in-law.
Captain Arthur T. Balentine. Honorable Asher C.
Hinds, who was Reed's close friend, and his parliamen
tary clerk, and who now represents the Portland dis
trict in Congress, has given me much help in many
ways, especially by advice and by putting his wide
and valuable collection of material at my disposal.
Samuel W. McCall.
WlNCHESTEB, MaSS.,
November 6, 1914.

CONTENTS
I. Boyhood and Youth  1
n. College  14
III. The Navy — Eablt Political Caeeeh . 30
IV. First Sebvice in Congebss .... 45
V. The Pottek Investigation .... 59
VI. Reed's Second Congress — His Peogbess
towards Leadebship  76
VII. The Gbeenback Issue — Relations with
Blaine  84
VIII. Winning Leadership — Supfeage fob Wo
men — Geneva Award Distributions . 93
IX. Rough and Tumble  114
X. Nomination for Speaker  129
XI. Social Life — Diversions  143
XII. Rules — The Mills Bill  152
- Xni. Speaker — The Quorum  162
XTV. The Sheeman Silver-Purchase Bill . . 173
XV. Again Minoritt Leader — Relations
with President Harrison . . . .184
XVI. Silvee-Pubchasb Repeal  191
XVII. The Wilson Bill  197
XVIII. The Quobum Ruling vindicated — The
MoEGAN Gold Conteact  211

X CONTENTS
/XIX. The Second Speakeeship  217
XX. Was — The Philippdjes  231
XXI. Weiting — Wit — Chaeacteeistics as a
Leader and Debater  240
xxn. Law Pbactice — Bowdoin Speech — Last
Days  261
Index  279

ILLUSTRATIONS
Thomas Bbackett Reed (Photogravure) . . Frontispiece
From a photograph in 1896 by Parlcer, Washington, D.C.
Thomas Bbackett Reed, Seniob, 1803-1888 . . 4
From a photograph in the Portland Historical Society.
Mes. Thomas Bbackett Reed, Senioe (Mathilda
Mitchell)  4
From a photograph by Lamson.
Biethplace of Thomas Brackett Reed, Portland,
Maine  6
From a photograph.
Thomas Brackett Reed, 1852  8
From a daguerreotype.
Thomas Brackett Reed, 1853  10
From the drawing by Franklin Simmons. Made when he
and Mr. Reed weare in school together in Portland.
Thomas Bbackett Reed, 1860  26
From his Class Album, Bowdoin CoUege.
Thomas Bbackett Reed, 1864, while Patmastbe' in
THE United States Navy  32
From a photograph by A. M. McKenney.
Thomas Beackett Reed, 1871, while in the Maine
Legislatuee  36
From a photograph by Lamson.
Thomas Bbackett Reed, 1876, when elected to
congeess  46
From a photograph by Lamson.

xii ILLUSTRATIONS
Mb. Reed's Home, Deeeing Steeet, Poetland . . 148
The Gavels used by Me. Reed as Speakee . ' . 170
The one in the centre was used, and had the handle broken
during the exciting period when Mr. Reed made his ruling
in regard to counting a quorum, during the Fifty-first
Congress. The upper oue, presented to Mr. Reed by the
Hamilton Club, of Chicago, in 1895, is inscribed, " As too
much power leads to despotism, too little leads to an
archy." The two on either side were used by Mr. Reed, as
Speaker, during the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Sessions
of Congress.
Thomas Bbackett Reed, 1894  198
From a photograph by Elmer Chickering.
"The Czab"  218
From "Cartoons" by Homer C. Davenport.
Climbing Mount Hamilton, Califoenia, 1896 . 226
Mr. Reed sits beside the driver.
From a photograph.
At MoN-ncELLO, 1897  228
Mr. Reed in the centre. Senator Hoar on his right. Sena
tor Jones, of Arkansas, on his left.
From a photograph.
Two Davenpoet Caetoons: A Huge Joke: Theee
Minutes with the Speakee '  236
From "Cartoons" by Homer C. Davenport.
Thomas Bbackett Reed, 1896  246
From a photograph by Parker, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Thomas Bbackett Reed (Susan Pebntice
Mebeill)  246
From a photograph in 1896 by Stalle, Washington, D.C.
Facsimile of a Lettbb, 14th Novembee, 1900,
Thomas B. Reed to Hon. Samuel W. McCall . 256

ILLUSTRATIONS xiii
Facsimile op an Etching by "Mark Twain" . . 262
On the Yacht "Kanawha" in the West Indies . 264
H. H. Rogers. Laurence Hutton.
Samuel L. Clemens. Thomas B. Reed.
C. G. Rice. A. G. Paine.
From a photograph by W. T. Foote, Jr., M.C. from New
York, who was one of the guests.
At Bruns-wick, Maine, in 1902  270
At the House of Parker C. Chandler.
President William De W. Hyde, of Bowdoin, Thomas B.
Reed, Parker C. Chandler, Miss Hubbard, Miss Chandler,
Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller, General O. O. How
ard, Miss Katherine Reed (now Mrs. Arthur T. Balentine).
Thomas Brackett Reed, 1901  272
From a photograph by Hollenger, New York.
The Portland Statue by Burr Churchill Miller 274
From a photograph by Adams.
Thomas 'Reed Balentine, held by his mother,
Mrs. Arthur T. Balentine, in the act op un
veiling his geandfatheb's statue at Poetland,
Maine, m 1910  276

THE LIFE OF
THOMAS BRACKETT REED

THE LIFE OF
THOMAS BRACKETT EEED
CHAPTER I
BOYHOOD AND YOUTH
Thomas Bbackett Reed was born in Portland, '
Maine, October 18, 1839. He does not appear to have
given himself any special concern about the character
of his remote ancestors, apparently thinking that,
whether they were good or bad, it was beyond his
power to change them, and accepting the responsibility
of making the most of himself as he happened to be, ,
without regard to their faults or virtues. His utter
ances upon the subject were usually in a light vein and
are consistent with a mild indifference toward ancestor-
worship as an established form of religion. In a Httle
speech wliich he made in 1902, at the centennial of the
town of York, he said that his ancestors came from
York. He had hard work to discover, he said, that
they ever existed, and certainly they held no position
of great emolument, judging from his own financial
condition when he arrived. He was interested in the
report that one of his great-grandmothers had lived to
the age of one hundred and thirteen years, and took
pains to verify it. Evidently referring to Lydia Ware

2 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Reed, the mother of his grandfather Joseph Reed, he
wrote in a letter dated September 19, 1883: "I dis
covered that she lived in Eliot — but died in the prime
of life at ninety-eight. I found that she was the great-
granddaughter of Peter Ware, known as a stout citizen
of York in the days when the Indians made the block
houses much sought after by the judicious."
But Reed's ancestors were of sterling stock in every
line. They were identified with the important coloniza
tions of New England from the times when they were
first planted. His original ancestor in this country, of
the name of Reed, — or rather Reade, as the form of
the name then was, — was born in England. The his
torian of the Reade family in America indulges in the
conjecture that this ancestor was the son of Sir Thomas
and Mary Cornwall Reade of Brocket HaU, Hertford
shire. In 1630, while he was yet a young boy, he came
to America in the great fleet with Governor Winthrop,
and settled ia Salem. This boy, named Thomas Reade,
grew up to be a man of considerable importance in
Salem, where he purchased a large tract of land, and to
this possession he added three hundred acres which he
acquired near Cape Prosper in 1662. He also rejoiced
in the title of "Colonel," which, however, then as now,
may have been compatijale with pursuits entirely
peaceful on the part of its possessor.
Jacob Reed, the son of this Thomas, moved to
Kittery, Maine, but afterwards returned to Salem. All
of Reed's ancestors of his name, succeeding Jacob, were
identified with Maine. His grandfather, Joseph Reed,

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 3
to whom reference has already been made, was born in
York in 1770, and reached the age of eighty-two years.
Joseph married Mary Brackett, who was a descendant
in the fifth generation from the real founder of the
Colony, George Cleve. Mary Brackett inherited a con
siderable property, and this, with the proceeds from
the sale of some farms owned by her husband, sup
ported them in comfort in their old age. She survived
her husband about eight years and attained the age of
eighty-four. The records of the Reed and Brackett
famihes show a high mortahty on account of the In
dian wars. Those not killed by the Indians usually
lived to a great age.
Among the children of this union was Reed's father,
for whom he was named, Thomas Brackett Reed, born
in 1803. Reed's father married for a second wife, Ma
thilda Mitchell, who is described as a woman of much
intelligence and beauty and of a deeply rehgious na
ture, known for her charitable deeds. Reed was the
first chUd of this marriage. It was from his mother that
he inherited his good looks. Mathilda was descended
from Experience Mitchell, who landed at Plymouth in
1623, and who married Jane Cook, one of the company
of the Mayflower. Thus there was blended in Reed the
blood of the Pilgrim and the Puritan.
Others of his ancestral lines led directly to those
who had mastered most incredible difficulties and
laid the foundations of Maine.
The Portland Colony, the Province of Lygonia as it
was called, was really established by George Cleve.

4 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Reed said of Cleve in his speech at the Portland Cen
tennial, in 1886, that where he "was bom, where he
lived before he came from England, or where his bones
now rest, no one of his unnumbered descendants knows
to-day." But there is no obscurity about the master
ful way in which Cleve bore himself, when he first
landed in 1632, and later for nearly a score of years
during which he remained the master-spirit of the
Province and during a portion of the time was its
Governor. By tact and diplomacy he maintained him
self against powerful antagonists both in England and
America, and, as Reed declared, "His enemies were
never victorious except in his extreme old age."
It was one of the most statesman-hke achievements
of Cleve that he secured from Sir Ferdinando Gorges
the approval of a plan for the union of New England
which would probably have permanently joined New
Hampshire and Maine to Massachusetts. Some inter
esting history was spoiled in the making when Win
throp refused to accept the plan. But the long-slum
bering claim of Massachusetts to Maine was at last
sternly asserted, and the little colony had no alterna
tive but to submit. In 1652 the Commissioners of
Massachusetts Bay came to York and declared that
Massachusetts thenceforth was to govern Maine. A
cage, a whipping-post, a ducking-stool, and a pair of
stocks, were set up as the awful emblems of the new
authority. It is profitless to speculate upon what
might have happened had Winthrop accepted the
plan proposed by Cleve. But it was destined again to

1803-1888
THOMAS brackett EBED

MRS. THOMAS BEACKETT EEED (MATHILDA JHITCHELL)

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 5
be shown that force is not the most enduring basis of
union. Whether it was that the blood of the Common
wealth did not surge warmly across the narrow strip of
New Hampshire which separated her from her prov
ince, and that she regarded the latter with something
of a stepmother's love, or whether the memory of the
early conflict lingered and Maine never quite regarded
herself as an integral part of Massachusetts, the con
nection asserted with a threat of force in those early
times did not prove to be permanent.^
The settlements at Plymouth and Salem and that
upon the shores of Casco Bay were made by the same
race. While the Maine colony is the least known to
fame, yet in the genius for colonization and for estab
lishing orderly government in the -wilderness, and in
the heroism with which it encountered danger, it was
quite the equal of either of the other two. Instead of
running generally to the north and south as at Salem
and Plymouth, the seacoast upon which George Cleve
planted the Portland Colony spreads more nearly from
east to west. Thus the cold, great enough where the
colonists raised their first habitations, increased as
they moved inland. They were shut in on the one side
by the ocean and on the other by the almost impene
trable forest which stretched to the settlements about
Quebec. For the possession of the forest they were
compelled to contend, not merely against the extreme
cold but against the French and the Indians. Indeed,
' See James G. Blame's speech in the Senate, January 22, 1878, on
the presentation of the statue of William King.

6 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the latter disputed with them the right to inhabit even
the narrow strip of land along the sea, and more than
once during the first century of its existence, Portland
was ravaged by fire, the greater number of its inhabi
tants captured or tomahawked, and the settlement
almost obliterated. But the colony persisted, steadily
grew, and finally developed into a state exercising a
potential influence in the government of the nation.
Through his mother Reed was descended from the
Wares and the Buchnams, who rendered important
service and some of whom were kiUed in the Indian
wars. Another ancestor was with Paul Jones in that
most brilliant of all sea-fights, in which the Serapis
was captured. '
It is, I imagine, more profitable to consider the gen
eral circumstances or characteristics of a colony or a
race than to find here and there in an ancestry some
notable achievement by an individual. History mov
ing upon a high moral and heroic level, like that of the
Pilgrims, and of the Puritan and Portland settlements,
wiU inevitably flower out in the production of splendid
names. There is commonly more or less of accident
to individual fame, and in its making, environment,
opportunity, and chance play a great part. The ap
pearance of the deed itself is often deceptive and in its
achievement unknown heroes may have had a greater
share than the one with whose name it is especially
identified. But where a small community of men are
undaunted by extreme hardships, where they persist
in maintaining themselves although surrounded by

BIETHPLACE OF THOMAS B. EEED, POETLAND, MAINE

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 7
grave dangers, where difficulties are so oppressive that
each man must show himself of the heroic texture of
the state itself, and where, under most adverse condi
tions, they display a devotion to liberty and to the or
derly sway of law, and keep their little commonwealth
upon a lofty plane, — from such fertile soil men are
likely to spring fitted to contend with the gravest
crises which may come upon a nation.
The father of Reed, like his father before him, fol
lowed the sea. He was a deep-sea sailor, served as mate
upon several ships in the coasting trade, and was after
wards the captain of various packets, plying between
Boston and the Maine coast. Of one of them, the
Frances, he was apparently the owner. He was fairly
well-to-do, although he does not seem to have accumu
lated much property. The house in which his son was
born, and which may yet be seen only a few paces
from the Longfellow house,* would indicate some de
gree of prosperity. He had a happy faculty for telhng
stories and he used to employ it to the delight of the
children.^ Reed and his father were upon excellent
terms and appeared to be boon companions. The
' Hon. Amos L. Allen, who was secretary to Reed during his
speakership and afterwards succeeded him in Congress, is my au
thority for the following: One day when Reed was Speaker there
arrived a picture of the house in which he was born. "That is a
pretty good-looking house to be bom in," Mr. Allen said to him. To
which Reed replied, "But I was n't bom iu the whole house, Amos;
I was only bom iu that end of it "; alluding to the fact that the house
had had an addition at one of the ends. " Well, that end of it would
be a good-looking house to be born in," persisted Mr. Allen. "But I
was n't born in the whole end of it, Amos," said the Speaker, " I was
only born in two or three of the upper rooms."

8 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
father proved his devotion to his son by mortgaging
his house to send him to college.
The Portland of the time of Reed's birth was a small
city with a population of about fifteen thousand
people. It had maintained a slow but steady growth,
and the increase it received from outside its own
limits came chiefly from the other portions of Maine.
The intelligence of its people had given it a stand
ing among American cities quite out of keeping with
their number — a distinction wliich it still enjoys.
At the time of Reed's boyhood there was probably no
other city in the world more purely of British stock.
The boys of Portland in Reed's youth apparently led
a rather strenuous life. Writing of those of a some
what later time, he said: "Boys do not do much of
anything nowadays. They are much more comfortable
to get along with. Now they are civilized, but they
have lost much on the score of picturesqueness. —
Doubtless there are still gleams of old-time savagery,
which lighten up the home circle and cheer the hearts
of mothers, but the boy as a public institution no
longer thrills the heart and engrosses the mind." He
classified the boys of his day as the "Brackett Street
boys," the "Center-Streeters, and on the banks of
Back Cove dwelt the Christian Shorers. — Beyond
them, in the unknown regions about Munjoy Hill, were
savage and warlike tribes of whom we did not even
know the names." In the good old days one "could
as easily have marched to the Pacific coast as from
Brackett Street to Munjoy Hill." And then follows

THOMAS B. EEED, 1852

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 9
an account of the ambuscades and feuds between "the
tribes." The Fourth of July was the one day of the year
given over to the boy. "All other days in the year he
took a back seat, cowered in the darkness, or did his
deeds of disorder behind fences or haystacks or in
barns or sheds; but on the Fourth of July he came out
openly and flouted the good citizens. — What guns we
used to use and what pistols ! No boy to-day who loves
life would dare to hold one in his hands unloaded. —
My first celebration cost my father five cents. It
does n't really seem much. But in those earlier and
better days of the Republic thirst could be slaked
several times at the fountain of root-beer, and the
boy with five cents could buy round cakes two for a
cent, and see the big boys touch off crackers, and once
in a while a great big boy, some princely fellow, would
even let you pop off one of his all by yourself and for
nothing. Ten of them could be bought for a cent. The
only trouble was, which wild extravagance was to be
indulged in. No five-cent boy could have them all."
Reed's early education was obtained in the Portland
schools, and chiefly in the Boys' High School, which was
a very good institution and gave its students a thor-
ough preparation for college. The head of the school.
Master Lyford, was a remarkable teacher, judging
from the testimony of very eminent men who had been
his pupils. Many years after his Portland school days
Reed wrote a letter to Lyford in wliich he paid this
tribute to his old teacher: —

10 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
That I was for five and a half years under your charge
when you were master of the Boys' High School, I have long
thought the greatest good fortune of my Hfe. — My experi
ence under other teachers and as a teacher myself has in
creased the admiration with which I remember by what
means you reduced a hundred turbulent boys to the most
systematic, thoroughly governed school which I ever saw or
of which I ever read. At a time when corporal punishment
was the standby of the best masters, you accompUshed your
work without a single blow, by sheer force of character. If a
boy had honor or ambition in him, you knew how to make
successful appeal to it. While you had accomplished assist
ants, it was the universal sentiment that no explanations
were ever so clear and luminous as yours. You made us
understand. You never let us go away with half knowledge.
I do not beheve that any hundred boys in the world ever did
so much work, the results of which [persevered?] as did the
boys of the High School when you were master.
I am glad to have a chance to say this to you; for while we
have hardly met for all these years, I have long cherished an
esteem for you of which what I have written is only a shght
expression. At the beginning of his course in the High School
Reed seems to have shown the indifference to study
which was to be expected of a young and fast-growing
boy, but one of his classmates, who afterwards won
distinction, speaks of the time when Reed " seemed to
awake from his listlessness as from a dream. From
that time on he never wasted a minute, but mastered
thoroughly everything that was set for him to do." '
Although the instruction was excellent the school
was badly housed. One of Reed's schoolboy composi
tions, probably written when he was fifteen years old,
' Letter of John W. Symonds.

V,

yflljlffi

""'~'X'

THOMAS B. EEED, 1853

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 11
denounced the building as "a disgrace to the city,"
and presented a plea for a new one. "The great
triumph of the building," he declared, was its appara
tus for heating. The larger room had but one stove
which was in a corner near the entrance, "so that
being a good boy and getting a 'back seat' was after
all a dangerous honor," conferring as it did the priv
ilege of freezing. But it was different in the class
rooms. Each of them contained " one of those excellent
inventions called air-tight stoves. If it was heated
everyone roasted; if the fire was suffered to go out,
everyone froze. And so, day after day, the boys alter
nated between heat and cold like a parcel of con
demned spirits on board one of Whiston's third-class
comets." Conditions were not improved by a fire
which destroyed part of the building for, the essay
continued, "during the last five weeks the school has
been located in a small inconvenient room, just spa
cious enough for the business of the clerk of courts."
The pupils were compelled to sit crowded upon
benches and without desks. "If they changed their
position, they were brought in close contact with the
boys next to them, which position is to the average
boy a temptation perfectly irresistible."
He conducted a small school paper, published only
in his own handwriting and called "The Northern
Light, Brighter and Brighter." His editorials covered
a wide field, dealing as they did with the problems of
the present and the future. They did not neglect the
subject of schoolboy manners. One of the papers

12 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
criticized the behavior of a fellow student in attempt
ing a joke at the expense of a teacher. The subjects of
some of his essays at this period were "Napoleon Bon
aparte," "Benedict Arnold," "Elijah on Horeb," and
"Faith as an unconscious argument." He extolled
Napoleon "in the mere worldly point of view," as "the
greatest man in all points that ever rose or towered or
fell." Of Arnold, he asked, "For why may we not as
well think of Arnold the hero as of Arnold the traitor? "
But under this sentiment is written in the hand of his
mature years, "Painful residt of reading George Lip-
pard." His essays did not differ much from the usual
schoolboy performances except that they attained at
times a form remarkable in a writer of his years, and
displayed a fondness and an aptitude for serious dis
cussion. He does not appear to have written at that
time upon the politics of the day, but that he was inter
ested in the subject is shown by a political canvass of
some of the boys of the school written by his own hand
upon the back of one of his compositions. Five of the
boys were recorded for Buchanan and seventeen for
Fremont, and on the roll of the latter was Reed's name.
Thus at that early age, and in its first national cam
paign, he is seen to have been in sympathy with the
party of which he remained a member during all the
remainder of his life. That he took a keen interest in
politics at that time will appear also from the following
written by him of the Fremont campaign: —
One of the pleasantest of my early recollections is the great
gathering of pohtical speakers in Maine during the cam-

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 13
paign in 1856. Eloquence was very cheap in Maine that
year. We had Howell Cobb and Judah P. Benjamin, Ben
Wade and N. P. Banks. It was in Deering Hall in Portland,
Maine, that Banks made the famous "Union Slide Speech,"
which afterwards caused him so much trouble and so very
nearly cost him the Speakership. Banks that day was in the
prime of vigor and personal comeliness. Dressed in blue, with
closely buttoned coat, his well-chosen language, his graceful
figure and gesture, and his aggressive way carried with him
the whole audience; and when he declared that if the country
was to be ruled in the interest of slavery he was ready to let
the Union slide, the huge round of applause made it clear
that the audience and the occasion were both with him. He
was a member of the 45th Congress, but how changed!

CHAPTER II
COLLEGE
Reed was very well fitted for college. During his prep
aration he made substantial acquirements in the
classics, for the study of which his mind had a natural
bent. He used afterwards to speak of the ease with
which his thorough preparation enabled him to take
the first years of the college course. Having success
fully passed the examinations he was admitted to
Bowdoin, August 28, 1856. His class contained fifty-
eight Freshmen, of whom he was almost the youngest.
It was the largest class that had ever entered the col
lege. The requirements for admission in mathematics
and English were not advanced, but in Greek and
Latin they would compare not unfavorably with the
requirements of the best American colleges of our day.
They included five books of the "Anabasis," two of the
"Iliad," nine books of the "iEneid," the "Bucolics"
and two "Georgics," Cicero's orations and Sallust;
also, Latin composition and the grammars of both
languages. When Reed entered Bowdoin the college contained
one hundred and ninety-five students. It was the day
of the small college and the number was not greatly
exceeded in any of the colleges of that time with per
haps three exceptions. The optional system had not

COLLEGE 15
come into vogue and with scarcely an exception all
members of a class were required to pursue the same
studies. The most stress was laid upon Latin and
Greek, and the study of those languages was continued
for three years. Mathematics was followed through
calculus. The course had a theological bent. The
Freshmen were required to study Paley 's "Natural
Theology" and the "Evidences" by the same author.
These studies were followed by "Butler's Analogy."
Hebrew was prescribed for the Seniors, or the Senior
Sophisters as they were called in the catalogue. French
and German were each taught for a year, and Spanish,
apparently optional with the student, for a portion
of a year. There was a fair amount of work in English,
mental philosophy, and logic, and a very limited
amount in science.
Very much of course depended upon the quality of
the teaching, but if that were of a high character, the
prescribed curriculum afforded the means of excellent
discipline and of a Hberal culture, and it laid the
foundation for real scholarship and for the power to
think seriously.
But the instruction appears to have been of a very
high average quality. It is doubtful if in that respect
it was quite equaled at that time by any other college
in the country. The Faculty was composed of ten
members. The President was Leonard Woods, one of
the most learned men of his day and one who had
enjoyed a range of experiences unusual in the president
of a college. When but thirty-two years old and in the

16 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
year of Reed's birth, he became President of the Col
lege. He held the office for twenty-seven years.
Early in his presidency he visited Europe and made
the acquaintance of men like Stanley, Pusey, Newman,
and Bunsen. He was received by Pope Gregory XVI,
and in fixing upon the language to be used in the inter
view. Woods suggested French, German, and Latin,
with a preference for the last, and the conversation
proceeded for an hour in Latin. He was the guest of
Louis Philippe, and was received in the apartments of
the Queen, who showed him the embroidery made by
her daughters; and he was permitted to assist in the
work of holding a skein of worsted, wliile one of the
princesses wound from it.
Very likely it was during this visit to Europe that he
conceived the design of the ecclesiastical chapel at
Bowdoin, which is still in use and which, although it
has been many times exceeded in point of cost by the
chapels of other colleges, has not been surpassed by
any of them in appropriate beauty.
Woods had been educated at Dartmouth and Union,
and it was probably from President Nott of the latter
college that he acquired very liberal ideas in the man
agement of students. Although he held the rigid
orthodox views of that time in religion, he was very
lenient in matters of discipline; two things that were
not always found together. He trusted very much to
the honor of the students. Professor Charles Carroll
Everett expressed the opinion, in an address at Bow
doin in 1879, that "imder President Woods Bowdoin

COLLEGE 17
College offered means of education in some respects
unequaled in the country." The President was much
more to the students than a mere inspiration; he bore
an important part in the work performed in the
class-room. Of the nine other instructors some were scarcely less
distinguished than the President himself, and there is
hardly one of them whose name is not held in respect
to-day beyond the Umits of the Bowdoin field. Profes
sor Parker Cleveland was perhaps the foremost Ameri
can of his time in mineralogy, and was the author of
the first textbook upon that subject in common use.
The "Edinburgh Review" spoke of his work on geol
ogy and mineralogy as "the most useful work on
mineralogy in our language."
Professor Daniel C. Upham was the author of many
books, of which his "Mental Philosophy" was for a
long time the standard textbook in American colleges.
Provost Goodwin of the University of Pennsylvania
said of him that he was "as versatile and many-sided
as Ulysses, but to the right; good and steady at heart
as the needle to the pole."
Professor Alpheus S. Packard was renowned as a
teacher of the Classics and also as an author in his
chosen field. The two Smyths were distinguished in
their respective subjects, the one as a theological
scholar and the other as the author of works on algebra
and calculus, which were widely used in the other col
leges. Professor Charles Carroll Everett, after notable
service in the Bowdoin Faculty, became a professor at

18 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Harvard. Joshua L. Chamberlain was then at the
threshold of a varied and brilliant career. Although
under thirty he had attained the rank of professor.
He was destined to become a major-general, to com
mand the Union army which received the surrender
of Lee, and afterwards to become the President of
Bowdoin and Governor of Maine. Warren Johnson
became the first Superintendent of Schools of Maine
and did much to perfect the system of state educa
tion. It was under such teachers that Reed had the
good fortune to come when he entered Bowdoin.
The conditions surroimding the college were admir
ably adapted to secure to him the full benefit to be
derived from such instructors. The number of stu
dents was small. All the members of a class pursued the
same studies. It would sometimes have the same pro
fessor in courses running through two, or even three,
years. The recitation, instead of the lecture, system
prevailed in the class-room, with its more direct con
tact between the teacher and the scholar. Each stu
dent was likely to be called upon to recite each day, to
be quizzed, and to receive the personal touch of the
instructor. It was therefore inevitable that the teacher
and the student who was not stupid should thoroughly
measure each other, and that each should grasp the
workings of the other's mind. Thus, with his four
years at Bowdoin with such instruction, following
nearly six years under Master Lyford, there were no
American boys of his time whose opportunities for
education Reed had reason to envy.

COLLEGE 19
But it is important to consider the quality of the stu
dents, who have such an important educating influence
upon each other. Turning from the instructors to the
scholars, we find that the latter were almost wholly
from New England, and the greater number of them
from Maine. They were mainly of the same racial
stock as Reed. Very few were from rich families, and
many were wholly or partially dependent upon their
own efforts for the means of maintaining themselves
in the college. These requirements were by no means
heavy, the total annual expense according to the
Catalogue being $185. The common method of earning
money was by teaching "winter school," and the col
lege terms seem to have been adjusted so that such
teaching might be followed with the least interruption
to the college work. The summer vacation was only
three weeks in length, instead of three months as is
now the rule among colleges, and the long vacation
period came in the winter. The average student did
not enter the college because it was fashionable to do
so or because he had been sent by his parents, but with
the serious purpose of obtaining an education which he
was willing to make sacrifices to secure. An atmos
phere of study pervaded the place, and the competi
tion in scholarship and in the debating contests was
very keen.
The other marked qualities of the eternal schoolboy,
however, were not wanting among the Bowdoin stu
dents. The spirit of work did not banish the spirit of
play, and they were ready to perpetrate jokes of a

20 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
practical character upon each other and even upon
members of the august Faculty. Athletic sports were
not highly developed in the colleges of that day, but
boating seems to have been well orgamzed at Bowdoin.
Reed was a member of the eight-oar crew of his class,
and from a description of the boat which "The Bugle"
has preserved for posterity, it appears that it was fifty
feet long and painted straw color with blue stripes. He
was also a member of a chess club, and one of the
editors of the college paper just referred to — "The
Bugle." For lack of intensity in athletic rivalry, except dur
ing a brief portion of the year, the societies used to
debate fiercely with each other. Reed was one of the
foremost debaters in the college, and was sent forth by
his society as one of its champions to vanquish its
rivals. His speech in one of these debates made a deep
impression, if one may judge from the current news
paper reports. The Peucinian, of which Reed was a
member, had borne upon the rolls of its membership
Nathan Lord, Henry W. Longfellow, Sergeant S.
Prentiss, George Evans, William L. Putnam, and
William P. Frye. The membership of the other society
had been not less distinguished, containing as it did
William Pitt Fessenden, Franklin Pierce, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, and John A. Andrew. Each society thus
had inspiring traditions, and the rivalry between them
was very sharp.
Reed was also one of the leading spirits in the Bow
doin Debating Club, which was apparently made up of

COLLEGE 21
members from both societies. He had a pronounced
taste for discoursing upon moral themes. His memory *)
was phenomenal and he showed clearly the ready wit > '"
for which he was afterwards distinguished in public j
life. In a short description of one of these debates /
which survives, there is evident the elaborate prepa
ration that had been made by some of the speakers.
One of Reed's adversaries was prepared to defend his
position with a huge heap of books which he had
brought in to support his arguments. When it came
Reed's turn to speak, he arose slowly and with an
appearance of indifference he proceeded to the argu
ment which his opponent had thought it necessary to
fortify with such a mass of authority. He hardly
thought it necessary, he observed, "to bring in the
whole college Ubrary," in order to maintain such a
proposition. The two societies were open ones, as distinguished
frpm those which were secret and which had only a
short time previously taken a firm hold at Bowdoin.
To societies of the latter sort Reed was sternly op
posed. There had been a strong sentiment developed
against secret orders by the agitation against Masonry,
which had attained the dignity of a national political
issue. It is not unlikely that Reed had been affected
by the arguments employed in that controversy.
Although more than three fourths of all the students
belonged to secret orders. Reed not only declined to
join, but he opposed them with some degree of bitter
ness. His classmate Allen, who became a member of

22 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the class at the beginning of the Sophomore year, was
about to join one of these orders when Reed strongly
remonstrated with him and even made it something
of a personal matter. Allen, however, persisted in his
determination and became a member of the Psi
Upsilon. That Reed's displeasure was not permanent
is easily shown by the good-will which afterwards he
repeatedly exhibited toward Allen.
During a part of his college course. Reed taught
school. In the winter of his Senior year the school of
which he was master was in Brunswick, about six miles
distant from the village in which the college was situ
ated, and he used to spend his holidays in the village
with one of his college mates, ^ walking back and forth
between the town and the school. "On one of these
walks," Reed said afterwards, "I distinctly recollect
there were huge drifts of snow from a recent storm.
Jupiter was the planet nearest to the earth that night;
and many a time I threw myself down on the snow to
rest and gaze at that large ball of fire in the heavens."
Reed's means became completely exhausted during
his Senior year and he was enabled to graduate with
his class only by a timely loan of money made by
William Pitt Fessenden. Fessenden's son Samuel and
Reed were close friends, and although of different
classes roomed together during Reed's Senior year.
Young Fessenden learned that Reed's funds were
exhausted and that he had decided to quit college,
although within three months of graduation. He
1 F. L. Dingley.

COLLEGE 23
brought the matter to the attention of his father, with
the result that a loan of two hundred dollars was made.
Reed never forgot this kindness. When Senator
Fessenden voted against the impeachment of Andrew
Johnson in 1868, and alienated many members of his
party by that courageous but unpopular act. Reed
bravely defended him, although with some risk to him
self, as he was at that time just entering upon his own
political career. The loan had long before been repaid
with interest. Reed paid the greater part of it the year
after graduation and the final payment was inclosed
in a letter written when he was an assistant paymaster
in the Navy on the U.S. Steamer Sybil at Memphis,
October 18, 1864. The letter concluded as follows: —
I know you will not believe me any less thankful if I
express my thanks in few words. Since you loaned me the
money I have seen enough of the world to know that I might
live as long again without finding a man who would do such
an act of kindness in so kind a manner.
Reed's room-mate, Samuel Fessenden, was a young
man of brilliant promise. He became a lieutenant of
artillery in the Union army, was mortally wounded in
battle, and died in Centreville, Virginia, September 1,
1862. In his speech at the Portland Centennial in
1886 Reed spoke thus tenderly of both father and
son: —
The most impressive scene I ever witnessed took place in
this Very hall. Here, almost on the very spot where I now
stand, WilUam Pitt Fessenden stood, before the constituency
which had loved and honored him for so many years. The
hall was black with the thronging multitude. It was at the

24 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
beginning of a great presidential campaign, the last he waa
ever to witness. The great problem of reconstruction was to
be reviewed. Mr. Fessenden had been the master-spirit in its
solution. The war-debt was to be assailed. Mr. Fessenden
had been chairman of the Committee on Finance and Secre
tary of the Treasury. To all this was added the intense per
sonal interest of his recent defeat of the impeachment of
Andrew Johnson. With full knowledge of the storm about
him, but with the courage of a perfect conviction,he faced the
responsibihty. The occasion was a great one, but the man
was greater than the occasion. Calmly ignoring, except in
one sharp, incisive sentence, all that was personal, with his
old vigor, terseness and simphcity he explained to his towns
men the momentous issues of the campaign. From the mo
ment he began, the party rage commenced to cease and the
old pride in his greatness and honesty began to take its place.
How strong he looked that night! Although all the world
might falter, you knew that calm face would be steadfast.
To him had happened the rare good fortune of having cour
age and character which matched a great opportunity. Few
men would have been so brave, and fewer still, successful.
I have not spoken of the conduct of our city in either of the
wars waged beyond its limits. That subject also would be
too vast for an occasion hke this. Nor do I like to speak at
all of the one within the memory of us all. For us it has as
much of sorrow as of glory. It brings up to me the vision of a
fair young face, the quiet associate of the studious hours, the
bright companion of the days of pleasure. Can it be that I
shall never look into those cheerful eyes again? Can it be
that neither the quaint jest of the happier hours, nor the
solemn confidences of the heart just opening to a full sense
of the high duties of life, will ever again fall upon the ear of
friendship or of love? It can be no otherwise. He can only
live in my memory, but he hves there, sublimated in the
crucible of death, from all imperfections, clothed upon with
all his virtues and radiant with all the possibilities of a gen
erous youth. Other companions have failed in their careers,
but not he. All the world has grown old, but he is forever
yoimg. And yet the dead, however sweetly embalmed, are

COLLEGE 25
but the dead. One touch of the vanished hand were worth
all our dreams. All our memories, however tender, are con
solation only because there can be no other, for the lost
strength and vigor of the hving, the stilled pulsations of a
heart no longer beating to thoughts of earth. What safe my
heart holds, holds many a heart in this great audience. The
generations to come will celebrate the glory. This genera
tion knows the cost.
Reed was not a hard student during the first three
years of his college course, although even during those
years he maintained a place among the leaders of his
class. He distinguished himself in the languages, but
on account of the excellent training he had received
in the High School, he was able to attain a good rank
without hard study. He aroused himself during his
Senior year, with the result that his rank was not only
the highest in the class in that year, but fell short of
being perfect only by a very small fraction. Symonds
was not far behind him, and they were in a class by
themselves, far in advance of the one who was third.
The rank for the Freshman year does not appear to be
obtainable, but on the average for the last three years
Boyd, who afterwards became a professor in the col
lege, was the leader of the class, which graduated fifty-
five members. Symonds, destined to become a mem
ber of the Supreme Court of Maine, and the youngest
man who ever attained a place upon it, was second,
and Reed was the fifth and easily one of those elected
to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Reed had distinguished
himself in language, in philosophy, moral and intel
lectual, and by taking the first prize in English com-

26 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
position in the Senior year. At graduation, August 1,
1860, he delivered an oration upon "The Fear of
Death." The newspaper reports of that time com
mended his part as "excellently written," and delivered
with energy. The Brunswick " Telegraph " is authority
for the statement that he "treated his subject in a pe
culiar vein but in good taste, and his language in many
passages was singularly beautiful and appropriate."
Many exercises evidently written by Reed while in
college are still in existence, and when his experience
and age are considered it must be conceded that they
are well written. In an essay on Penn he said: "Great
minds are perhaps only little minds magnified. If their
virtues are enlarged, their imperfections are increased.
Take a man in a crowd and you will notice neither the
one nor the other; but elevate him, let all the world
gaze at him, and his vices will be as prominent as his
virtues." Writing of the "Disquietudes of Fame," he
argued that ambition was advantageous to the world
at large but brought to the individual more sorrow
than pleasure. "A life of ambition," he said, "must
always be a life of toil and tension. And what is the
reward.'' A place in history. Can this benefit the
dead? " Among the subjects upon which he wrote were
"Is man Responsible for his Belief?" and "Does
Education have a Tendency to Detract from True
Originahty?" He had a fondness for the discussion of
theological questions. Prior to entering college he had
joined the State Street Congregational Church in
Portland, but while in college he discussed religious

THOMAS B. EEED, 1860

COLLEGE 27
questions freely and came to question some of the doc
trines of the church. A letter written February 7,
1863, to Reverend Hugh Carpenter, the pastor of his
church, will show something of the condition of Reed's
religious belief a year and a half after he had gradu
ated from college, and of the way in which his change of
belief was brought about. The letter is a long one but the
following extracts will serve to indicate its character:
During the time I was in College I had the habit of dis
cussing theological questions at every opportunity with any
body and everybody. I always took the opposite side, with
rigid and pleasing impartiahty. If my opponent was an
Unbeliever I tried to convince him of the truth of Christian
ity; if a Christian, I asked him to answer the objections
which seemed to me worthy of consideration. Of course I
could not go on in this manner without giving a careful in
vestigation to the whole subject when alone by myself. The
conclusion of the whole matter, the various phases of which
you can easily imagine, was this, that the creed of the Church
was untenable. ... I do not believe in an Atonement, because
I cannot see its necessity. The whole idea strikes me as
artificial. If all our sins and their efifects are to be washed
away by vicarious suffering and we are to find ourselves pure
and perfect when we touch the other shore, the problem of
" Recognition in Heaven " is going to be terribly compUcated.
It is needless perhaps to say that I am not persuaded of the
"fall of man " ; and as for that apotheosis of lounging, the Ufe
in the Garden of Eden, I beUeve in it as little as I do in the
Satumia Regna. If that Paradise had ever existed and man
had grown up in it, it would have been merely a Paradise of
fools. It is only by fighting the devil, that we ever get to be
anything. God's law, "In the sweat of thy face, shalt thou
eat bread," is not a sentence of banishment and disgrace,
but a promise of strength, progress and power. The doctrine
of Eternal Punisliment is equally repugnant. The main
object of punishment in this world is not to inflict pain, but

28 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
by means of pain to deter the criminal and other members of
society from committing crimes. To punish a man when he
can no longer commit crime and after the possibiUty of
serving as an example has ceased, would, on this earth, be
inexcusable and wanton malignity and I cannot think that
the conditions of things will be so radicaUy changed as to
make it wisdom, justice, and mercy in the future world. . . .
My positive beUefs can be put into a much smaller space.
I beUeve in God as the maker and controller of the world. I
have no doubt that he has predestined everything from the
beginning; that we are mere machines in his hand to do his
will, that he rules us by supplying motives, so that all our
Uttle designs are in perfect harmony with his great design.
As for the future life, I suppose we shall commence our exis
tence where we left off here. The more I have disciplined
myself here, the better position I shall have hereafter. If I
can make myself Uke the good and great of past ages, when I
reach heaven I shall sit down with St. Paul and Abraham
and Isaac and all those whose applause I have worthily
sought during my Ufe. If I become an unscrupulous villain, I
shall probably have to sit down with that rascally Jacob,
who took advantage of his brother's hunger to cheat him
out of his birthright and then filched from him his father's
blessing and afterwards became one of the Fathers of the
Faithful 
Reed could not be called a college chauvinist, but he
retained a deep regard for Bowdoin. Nearly thirty
years after his graduation he said in an address at
Brunswick: "Bowdoin has many superiors in wealth
and size, but for the production of men of good sense,
culture, intellectual grasp and capacity for affairs, it
has few rivals and no superior."
It was not at all inconsistent with this estimate that
he put upon the coUege that he made a very sensible
criticism of the college education of that time. This

COLLEGE 29
criticism appeared in a paper he read at a club in
Portland in the earlier part of his public career, and
was afterwards repeated at Bowdoin in a modified
form. With some light and witty observations about
the Faculty he mingled some serious views upon edu
cation. This paper is labeled in the handwriting of
Reed, "Professors much disgusted." But the disgust
was apparently due to their own lack of humor. He
was clearly expressing his own sense of the contrast
between the coUege standard and that to which the
college graduate was compeUed to adapt himself when
he went into active life. He said: —
"Perhaps the most useless piece of furniture on the foot
stool for the first two or three years is the college graduate,
whose scholarship was a comfort to the professors and an an
noyance to his competitors. These years are a worry to the
scholar himself. He has to take all that time to get right
with the new world, to find the other standards by which he
must measure his efforts, and to reahze the nothingness of
the honors he has won."
He detected the lack of the practical element in the
college course, and what he said would have applied
not merely to Bowdoin, but probably to all the other
colleges of that day.
If it were true [he said] that what we popularly call Educa
tion, that is. Book Learning, made the whole man, if mathe
matics, classics and sciences were all the cargo he was to
take abroad, we might easily make up a select assortment
such as no gentleman's mind should be without and send our
young graduate to sea with reasonable hope that he would
arrive safe and sound and sell all his wares in celestial and
everlasting markets.

CHAPTER III
THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER
Afteb graduating Reed at once set to work, in order
to earn money with which to pay his college debts.
He taught school for a year in the Boys' High School
of Portland, where he had fitted for college, and also
for a few months in Stockton, California. He began
the study of law in 1861, probably in San Jose, Cali
fornia, and continued its study in Portland until 1864,
in which year, on the 19th of April, he enlisted in the
Navy. He was appointed an acting assistant pay
master, was assigned to the Mississippi squadron com
manded by Admiral Porter, and ordered in June, 1864,
to the steamer SybU. He remained on this ship for
more than a year, and indeed until his active service
in the Navy ended. He was honorably discharged
November 4, 1865, after a service of nearly nineteen
months. The position of paymaster in the Navy is
not ordinarUy a fighting place; the title of the office
surely has a pacific sound; but that officer must take
his chances with his ship and is exposed to most of the
dangers of battle. If the ship is sunk he is as likely to
find his way to the bottom as is any of the crew. When
therefore Reed enUsted and took his place in a squad
ron which had rendered historic service on the Missis
sippi, at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Land-

THE NAVY— EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 81
ing, and Vicksburg, and was likely to be caUed upon
again for hazardous service, he was to be credited with
the same courage as would have been implied by
enlistment as a fighting officer or sailor. But he was
disposed to make very light of his service in the Navy,
as will appear from a speech he made before the Loyal
Legion in 1884, in Washington: —
The Navy means to me far different things than to many
here before me. To the distinguished admiral [Steedman]
who sits beside me, and to the distinguished admiral [Jen
kins] who sits opposite, it means the shriek of shot and shell,
the horrors of the blockade. To me it meant no roaring
wind, no shriek of shot and sheU, but level water and the
most deUghtful time of my Ufe. For I was on a gunboat on
the Mississippi River after the valor and courage of you
gentlemen had driven the enemy off. . . . You see, I kept a
grocery store for the government, and well remember how I
was tumbled aboard ship the first day, with the provisions
and smaU stores and a set of books, and the boat steamed up
the magnificent defiles of the Tennessee. . . . But I also suf
fered for my country. How well I remember the fatal day
when I drew five thousand dollars from the bank. The first
time I counted the bills there was only forty-eight hundred
doUars. The next time it came out fifty- two hundred dol
lars. I sweltered over it in the bank that hot August day, but
it never would come out two times aUke. Then in utter de
spair I bundled it up, took it aboard, locked myself in my
office, and there in grim despair wrestled with it alone. I And
lo and behold! there was just five thousand doUars, — just
what the bank clerk told me there was.
It was a delightful life. Thirteen hundred doUars a year
and one ration, and nothing to do. My sad heart hath often
panted for it since. However, I learned that my country
could support me, and I am bound to say it has faithfuUy
done so most ever since. What a charming life that was,
that dear old life in the J^avy! I knew aU the regulations

82 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
and the rest of them did n't. I had all my rights and most
of theirs. . . .
Do you wonder that I stand up for the Navy? I want it
increased and I have sohd reasons for it. It means some
thing to me.
Mr. Commander and compamons, I have made this speech
to you in the Ughtest vein because I have no right to use any
other. The brave faces that I see before me have been bared
to the shock of battle and of storm. You have seen on a hun
dred battle-fields the hving and the dead. It would be a
shame for me to talk seriously of service to men Uke you.
This button — insignia of the order — you wear because you
honor it. I wear it because it honors me.
His service on the Sybil, patroUing the Tennessee,
Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers, was an excellent
supplement to his training in college and as a teacher.
One has no difficidty in picturing him as the life of the
company of officers aboard the ship, making the hap
penings of the day the subject of his droU and phUo
sophic talk.
His sojourn of nearly a year in California also helped
broaden his outlook, but he was very far from getting
out of it the enjoyment that he had derived from his
service in the Navy. An article written while he was
in that state reads very much Uke the composition of a
homesick man. The inhabitants of California, he wrote,
were from all quarters of the globe — "from New Eng
land, Pike County, Missouri and distant lands." He di
vided California into two parts, " San Francisco and the
rest of California." Of the latter part, he said that it
is populated exclusively from Pike County, Missouri.
Within the hmits of that fatal region a white man is sel
dom seen. When one white man meets another there is no

\w^

THOMAS B. KEED, 1864

THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 33
pleasant spectacle, for they meet but to mingle the tears of
exile in a foreign land, to talk over happiness departed and
to dream of home and Christian civilization.
When a man lands in CaUfornia the citizens crowd around
him to explain what a fortunate being he is and to demand of
him immediate, instant recognition of the greatness of the
country. . . .
Everyone praises the cUmate. Now I am forced, though
reluctantly, to admit that the climate is not so bad. To
smoke the pipe of peace in the midst of January weather
is certainly comforting. But I have noticed that while all
Californians are gratifyingly unanimous in chanting the
glories of the cUmate of the Pacific slope in general, each one
refreshes himself by cursing in particular the spot which the
wrath of God has condemned him to help populate. The
programme of the weather in San Francisco during the sum
mer months is as regular as the rascaUty of the stockbrokers.
In the morning about ten o'clock the heat is tempered by a
wind which sets in from the ocean. Alone, by itself, this
would be grateful. But it is fated that all pleasant things
should have their compensations. And, as it is, this refreshing
breeze serves to fiU the air with clouds of blinding dust. . . .
In the interior the mornings are pleasant but the afternoons
most intolerably hot, giving one a lifelike idea of the feelings
of a wet rag. The dust lies foot-deep all summer long. What
clothes you wear is a matter of subhme indifference; for a
half-mile walk makes black and white aU one color. ... In
the winter the rain falls in torrents till the whole state is one
vast sea of mud.
Warm weather all the year round would be a comfort,
indeed, if one could sometimes sprawl on the green grass
and enjoy the pleasant breeze. But green grass we sometimes
see in dreams in California, but never on the ground. In a few
front yards in San Francisco, grass struggles for existence,
but it looks like the recollection of green grass, not green
grass itself. Even the trees are so enveloped in dust that a
man forgets the color of leaves. The whole aspect of nature
is unutterably barren. The mountains are bare of trees. . . .
One longs to see on the hiUs the forests of pine which beautify

34 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
our New England hills. . . . Nature never intended any man
to live here, only to dig gold and get himself out of it; and
shudder in dreams ever afterwards.
After five years spent in teaching, in the naval serv
ice, and in California, Reed foimd himself, in the lat
ter part of 1865, in his native city of Portland. He
had been admitted to the bar at San Jose, California,
September 8, 1863, where he was examined by WiUiam
P. Wallace, one of the most distinguished lawyers in
that state. Reed was asked if he thought the Legal
Tender Act, then recently passed, was constitutional,
and he answered that he thought it was. Wallace
thereupon said that another young man that morning
had answered the same question the other way. "We
will recommend you both favorably, as we think that
all young men who can answer great constitutional
questions off-hand, ought to be admitted to the bar."
He was also admitted to the bar of Cumberland
County, Maine, in October, 1865, on the recommenda
tion of the examining committee, of which Nathan
Webb and S. C. Stuart were members. He took an
office in Portland and began to contend for a living at
a bar which was not merely the strongest in Maine
but, in average quality, one of the strongest in the
country. Among its members were his own college
mates Putnam and Symonds, who were destined to
achieve distinction.
The first of his cases to reach the Supreme Court of
his state was decided in 1868. The amount involved
was $48. Reed, who was for the plaintiff, had won a

THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 35
verdict In the lower court, but the case was taken up
on the important question of law whether driving with
a young lady Sunday evening was a work of necessity
or charity, if the young lady had earlier in the day
walked several miles to church. The court above
reversed the verdict and Reed lost his momentous
contention. He was not long in establishing himself, and his rise
was rapid. After less than three years of practice he
was nominated by the Republicans of Portland as
their candidate for the Legislature, and his nomination
was followed by an election. His reputation as a
lawyer preceded him to the State Capitol and he was
given a place on the Judiciary Committee, which was
the leading committee in the Legislature. The most
important legislation of which he had charge was a bill
establishing a Superior Court for his county, the enact
ment of which he was able to secure. The passage of
this law reduced the time of bringing contested suits
to jury trial from three years to three months. He
was again elected to the House of Representatives in
1869, and in the foUowing year was chosen to the
State Senate.
While a member of the House, Reed delivered a
short memorial address upon WUliam Pitt Fessenden.
He began by saying: "The regard and affection which
I had for Mr. Fessenden while he lived render it neces
sary that I should say a few words to-day. My only
fear is that I may be doing less justice to the dead than
if I remain silent. . . . He occupied many high posi-

86 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
tions and he occupied none which he did not fiU." He
eulogized Fessenden as a public speaker, and praised
the "wit and wisdom of his talk and the brilUance of
his thought and action."
One of his longest speeches made in either house
was against capital punishment, and his speech is well
worth reading to-day. After presenting in a striking
fashion most of the old arguments and some new
ones in favor of his contention, he referred to his
colleague who had "brought before the House the
opinions of the assembled divines of Cumberland
County." He did not hesitate to express himself
pretty strongly about the action of this powerful body
of men, even though they came from his own county.
They declare that capital punishment alone is "consonant
with the revealed wiU of God.'' I do not purpose to answer
them or the many texts of Scripture which have been quoted.
There are times when men wrest Scripture to their own
destruction. Past history ought to make men careful how
they Ughtiy thrust their own crude notions upon the God
of Mercy and Love, who has no pleasure in the death of the
wicked. Ever since Christ died, men have stood up and
fought God with texts of his own Scripture. What hoary
wrong, doomed by the wrath of God, has there ever been,
that has not been propped up during its last years by texts
of Scripture! You aU remembet how Paul and Onesimus
bore the burden of slavery, and Paul and Timothy were
made the advocates of intemperance; and I challenge any
man to produce an instance of any reform that has not been
met by this misinterpretation, misconstruction, and dese
cration of God's Word. God's law as given to Moses, was
given to conform to the situation of the people at that time.
Picking up sticks on the Sabbath was a capital offense under
the Mosaic law. They required peculiar laws for they were

THOMAS B. EEED, 1871

THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 37
surrounded by pecuUar circumstances. If my colleague in
sists on the death penalty for murder as a divine institution,
why not for the thirty and more other crimes, to which death
was meted out by them of olden time?
In the Senate he opposed a bill which had already
passed the House, authorizing the city of Portland to
loan its credit to a railroad. He was sharply called to
account for his opposition, and in defense he declared
his unqualified hostility to every bill, from whatever
quarter it might come, proposing municipal aid to
railroads. After he retired from the Legislature, he
adhered to the same position, and in 1871 he appeared
before a committee of the Portland city councU to
oppose granting aid to another raUroad. In the course
of his remarks he sarcastically drew the conclusion
that "figures done up in the form of estimates some
times Ue."
The sessions of the Maine Legislature were brief in
those times, and his service did not materially interfere
with his law practice. His legislative service and the
prominence he had attained in his profession gave him
a reputation throughout the state, and while still a
senator he was selected in 1870 by the Republican
party as its candidate for Attorney-General of the
state, and was chosen at the ensuing election. He had
as rival candidates for the nomination two lawyers of
high standing, one of whom. General Plaisted, was
afterwards Governor of Maine. At the time Reed was
elected Attorney-General he was only thirty years old,
the youngest age at which the office has ever been

38 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
held in Maine. His three years of service in the office
greatly enriched his professional experience and estab
lished him in the front rank of the Maine bar. There
was the usual work incident to the position of chief
law-officer of the state. Among the more notable suits
in which the young Attorney-General participated
were a sensational murder trial, in which he secured
a conviction, and a recovery of money due the state
through a defalcation. The latter case affords an ex
cellent iUustration of the public-mindedness and in
dependence which always characterized Reed. The
State Treasurer had defaulted for a large amount of
money more than ten years previously. His bondsmen,
by the exercise of powerful political influence, had
avoided prosecution for this long period. Similar influ
ence was brought to bear upon Reed, but he insisted
on bringing the delayed cases forward for trial, with
the result that some of the bondsmen consented to
settlements favorable to the state and judgments were
secured against the others.
On February 5, 1870, Reed married Susan, the oldest
daughter of Reverend S. H. MerrUl of Portland. This
union was destined to be a very happy one. He took
his wife f idly into his confidence in his public work, and
she became his best critic, whose judgment he sought
and followed. It was his habit to rehearse to her what
ever he wrote or proposed to speak upon important
occasions. Among his unpublished manuscripts is one,
brilliant but rather denunciatory in tone, which bears
upon it the note in his handwriting, "Not published,

THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 39
by order of madam." The great intelligence and good
sense of Mrs. Reed proved of the highest value to him
in his work.
On June 18, 1874, he made a speech before the Re
publican State Convention of Maine. He defended
President Grant's vetoes of the inflation measures and
declared strongly for sound money. He advocated the
payment of the greenbacks according to the promise of
the government which they bore. This payment was
to be in gold and silver. "The universal consent of the
world has fixed upon gold and silver as containing that
permanent element which makes it [them] the fit cir
culating medium of the world, and all mankind are
pretty sure to be wiser than any one man or any one
nation." After his service as Attorney-General, Reed devoted
himself entirely to his law practice in Portland, which
became extensive. He had established himself as one
of the most briUiant lawyers in Maine. His own city
was at the time involved in important litigation and he
was selected by the mayor as its counsel, and until he
went to Washington he held the office of city solicitor.
During the next few years he led the life of a busy
lawyer, and during all that time he numbered Portland
among his clients.
But his professional career, which he had so success
fully entered upon, was destined to along interruption.
In 1876 he became a candidate for the Republican
nomination for Representative in Congress, and a
spirited campaign was made throughout the district.

40 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
The district was composed of the counties of York and
Cumberland. The "locality" argument was against
him, and it has been a powerfxd argument in our poli
tics. As he wrote at another time: "In politics, if you
want to defeat a man because he is a bad lot, a thief,
or a knave, don't say that; explain how he comes from
the wrong town." ^ The sitting member was from
York, and it was claimed by his friends that he was
entitled to another nomination because the representa
tive had been chosen from Cumberland County, where
Reed lived, much more than its proportionate share of
time. An appeal was taken to the lofty spirit of county
chauvinism. The candidacy of Reed was pressed on
the single ground of his high fitness for the office, and
compared with that the county argument was a very
trivial one. The counties could have no real antago
nistic interests in Washington, but it would be for the
advantage of both of them, and also of the country, to
be represented by their strongest man. Mr. Burleigh,
the sitting member, had weakened himself politically
by a proceeding which was entirely to his honor. The
Kittery Navy Yard was situated in the county in
which he lived, and he had caused an investigation of
alleged corruption in connection with it. By this action
he had incurred the hostility of the most powerful
politicians of his party in Maine.
Reed's standing with his neighbors was shown by
the result in Portland. That city decided for him at
the caucuses by 1047 votes to 393, and elected a dele-
* Saturday Evening Posi.

THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 41
gation unanimously favorable to his nomination. The
Congressional Convention was held on June 29, 1876.
The York delegates attempted to have the Conven
tion pass a resolution that York was entitled to the
nomination. This was antagonized by a resolution of
fered by one of Reed's friends to the effect that each
congressional district was a unit, that any attempt to
limit the choice to any particular section of the district
would tend to create sectional discord and strife, and
would degrade the office by making the incumbent the
representative of local and private interests instead of
the whole constituency, and that the interests of the
district, the state, and the nation only should be con
sidered. There was a warm debate over this resolution.
A York County delegate, who was described by Reed's
chief newspaper supporter as a "peppery Uttle man,"
declared that the delegation from Portland was "elected
by and represented a rabble." This declaration was
received by cheers from the one party and hisses from
the other. After more of the same sort the orator con
cluded with the statement that the business men of
the county, the young men, and the farmers " would
vote the Democratic ticket before they would vote for
Mr. Reed"; and then amid hisses he took his seat.
This stormy speech was a not very gracious recog
nition of the fact that Reed's friends were in a major
ity. And so it turned out, for Reed received 134 votes,
to 121 for all other candidates. Upon being informed
of his nomination he appeared before the Convention
and made a conciliatory speech.

42 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
But it was necessary for him to undertake a thor
ough canvass of the district, which was not very
strongly Republican even when the party was united.
The friends of the defeated candidate did not submit
gracefuUy and some of them organized a bolt in his
favor. They issued a proclamation, the strong point of
which was his record in r^ard to the Custom-House
investigation. There was, however, so much unfairness
in the document, especially in its attempted deprecia
tion of Reed, that it is doubtful whether it did not help
the latter more than it harmed him. It charged him
with being a "comparatively young man, with but
limited experience. He is not directly connected with
either of the great business interests of the district. In
his own profession he does not stand preeminent. He
is not the man Cumberland County would have
brought forward if she had been called on to name her
choice." The Portland "Advertiser," which was the
leading newspaper supporter of Mr. Burleigh in the
canvass for the nomination, but which supported Reed
after the convention had been held, in discussing the
manifesto pointed out that Portland had given Reed
1096 votes as against only 393 for Mr. Burleigh, and
admitted that " Mr. Reed is a young man, but not too
young to have distinguished himself in an arduous and
crowded profession. If not preeminent, he is at least
eminent at the bar."
But the burning county issue raged throughout the
campaign and a good deal of bitterness was shown.
There were some antagonisms also, which a man of

THE NAVY — EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 43
Reed's powerful personality would be likely to arouse.
And in addition to all the other difficulties the Repub
licans of Maine were keenly disappointed over the
failure of their fellow-citizen, James G. Blaine, after a
memorable contest, to secure the presidential nomina
tion in the Convention which had just been held at
Cincinnati. Although Blaine had received the votes of
a majority of the members of the Convention upon
different ballots, his full strength was not marshaled
upon any single ballot, and he failed of the nomination
by an extremely narrow margin. Nowhere did he have
friends more devoted to him than in his own state, and
there was danger that resentment at his defeat might
cause the loss to his party of a considerable number of
votes. But the course which Blaine pursued quickly
dispelled this danger. He loyally supported the candi
dates of his party.
The election of state officers and members of Con
gress was held in Maine in early September, in advance
of the elections in nearly all the states. The strategic
importance of the result, which the winning party
might make much of throughout the country, in
creased the interest in the contest and augmented the
efforts of both parties to secure the victory. Maine
became a great battlefield, and leading party orators
were summoned from other states to take part in the
struggle. Reed canvassed his district very thoroughly,
going from town to town, speaking at meetings both
large and small, and very much extending his personal
acquaintance with his future constituents. The prime

44 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
factor in making his campaign successful was his abil
ity in political discussion. In that field in his state he
easily shone without a rival, and it would have been
difficult to find his equal in the country anywhere.
His speeches in the campaign did not at aU lack in
partisanship. Those were the times of high partisan
feeling and Reed did not disappoint his audiences; but
apparently he had little to say about the war issues and
discussed the questions that were particularly before
the country. He ridiculed the claim of the Democratic
party that it was in favor of civil service reform. He de
nounced its attitude on the question of the currency,
declaring that it had shown itself the friend of repudi
ation. It took Tilden, he declared, forty -two days and
forty -two nights to write his letter of acceptance, —
"just two days and two nights longer than the Del
uge," — and they might consider themselves fortu
nate that he did not write more.
The result of it aU was that the proportions of the
"bolt" steadily dwindled, and although some mem
bers of his party were misled into giving a vote which
they lived to regret. Reed was elected by about 1000
plurality in a total vote reaching 31,000. Thus the
small margin by which he had been nominated was
repeated at the election, and he started upon his
career as a national statesman.

CHAPTER IV
FIRST SERVICE IN CONGRESS
The election of 1876 resulted in the choice of Mr.
Hayes as President, after a contest which was con
tinued after the election and was not decided until the
very eve of the inauguration. The election resulted
also in a House of Representatives which was Demo
cratic by a small majority and it was this House of
which Reed was first chosen a member.
A new set of questions came to the front with the
inauguration of Hayes, and those important issues
which were old took on a much modified form. The
enormous expenditures of the War, with the inflation
of the currency and the appUcation of taxation in
nearly every conceivable form, had resulted in govern
mental extravagance, in speculation, and unfortu
nately also in a good deal of corruption. The high
purposes, first of nationality and then of freedom,
which had marked the prosecution of the War, and the
readjustments which followed it, had engaged the
public mind upon a level far above the questions relat
ing to finance and to the ordinary details of correct
government; and while it was engaged in its lofty
contemplations there was an ideal opportunity for
pushing questionable schemes, for graft, and for gross
and petty thievery. The glory of the flag had become

46 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
so exalted that it would cover the passage of any
appropriation, however extravagant, which the most
indifferent rhetoric could entangle in its folds.
K Times of public exaltation are in danger of being
also times of corruption. The thrifty patriot keeps his
eye upon the main chance, and he successfully prose
cutes his operations upon the earth whUe the heads
of those about him are among the clouds. Abstract
theory and a species of idealism with Uttle qualifica
tion had been dominating the government. The doc
trine of the equality of all men was rigorously put in
practical force so far as the law could do it, and the
ballot was suddenly conferred upon millions of un
trained men, who became themselves the innocent vic
tims of a system which gave them no preliminary
training in the duties of citizenship, and who were put
to a test which no other race under similar conditions
could have endured. While the inhabitants of the
North were rejoicing in the literal application of the
principles of the Declaration of Independence, and
were in their own minds revelii^ in a golden age
of democracy, industrious politicians were using the
votes of hundreds of thousands of men in the South,
only recently in slavery and wholly without experience
in politics, for the support of a regime of plunder to
which history furnishes no parallel. This system of
robbery had been checked before the inauguration of
Mr. Hayes, but much remained to be done to put an
end to it. .
The national currency was not upon a sound basis,

THOMAS B. REED, 1876

FIRST SERVICE IN CONGRESS 47
and inflation measures had been brought forward
having for their object the payment of the national
debt in greenbacks and the issuing of more paper
money. The argument that the greenback was good
enough for the soldier who risked his life, and should
be good enough for the bondholder who risked only his
money, was taking in its popular appeal. But Grant
was the last man to cultivate popularity at the ex
pense of the public credit, or indeed at the sacrifice of
any sound principle of government, and against infla
tion he had steadUy interposed his veto. The currency
had not reached the gold basis from which it had de
parted at the beginning of the war. Indeed the na
tional greenback from the day of its issue had never
been at par with gold. The resumption of gold pay
ments had been decreed to take effect at the beginning
of the year 1879, but the large majority of both
houses of Congress, and doubtless also of the people,
at the moment was opposed to carrying the law into
effect, and strong efforts were destined to be made for
its repeal.
This question of the monetary standard continued,
in various forms, to be an engrossing one during Reed's
entire career in Washington. In addition to the issues
relating to the suffrage in the South, the civil rights of
the freedmen, and the standard of value of money,
other practical issues were coming forward. The
destruction of the spoUs system and the establishment
of necessary reforms in the civil service were among
them. These questions and others of almost equal

48 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
difficulty and importance were pressing upon an
administration which, unlike any of its predecessors,
had come into office with a clouded title. To this cloud
upon the title the President soon imparted an appear
ance of soUdity by recognizing Democratic state gov
ernments in South CaroUna and Louisiana as a result
of the same elections in which Republican electors had
been chosen and to which he himself owed his power.
The Republican critics of the President pointed out
that the Republican governments in those states had
been elected by the same votes as had been the electors
supporting the President himself. If the title of the
former was bad it was urged that that of the latter was
bad also.
But the President did not assume to pass upon the
title of the state officers. He determined that the time
had come to put a stop to the steady use of Federal
bayonets in order to sustain the reconstructed govern
ments, and that the states themselves should decide
between claimants to state office. He proceeded upon
the theory that it would be better that a mistake
should be made by state tribunals in determining
what state officers had been chosen, than that an
extraordinary Federal power should be constantly in
voked and the army permanently employed to bolster
up the claims of olie of two rival state legislatures. He
determined to require that a state government, even
if legal in form, should show its ability to stand alone.
The President summoned the new Congress to meet
in special session on October 15, 1877. This was made

FIRST SERVICE IN CONGRESS 49
necessary because of the failure of the preceding
Congress to pass the annual appropriation bUl for the
support of the army. This refusal to pass a regular
supply biU for one of the great departments of the
government served to emphasize the political passion
of the time and the issue upon which there was perhaps
the most acute division. The size and expense of the
army had little or nothing to do with the refusal, for
it was small and the appropriations asked for were
not extravagant. The real ground of opposition on the
part of the Democratic House in the preceding Con
gress was that the army had been employed to main
tain Republican state governments in the South. How
ever, it was necessary that there should be an army,
and accordingly the President caUed Congress together.
At the assembling of this Congress, Reed first took
the oath of office as a Representative. He found him
self in a distinguished company of men. Among his
colleagues from his own state were William P. Frye
and Eugene Hale, then near the beginning of careers
of public service destined to be of great length and
highly honorable to themselves and the country.
Among the other members were S. S. Cox, Clarkson
N. Potter, and Frank Hiscock of New York; Samuel J.
RandaU, W. D. Kelley, and W. S. Stenger of Penn
sylvania; J. Randolph Tucker of Virginia; Alexander
H. Stephens and James H. Blount of Georgia; H. D.
Money and Charles E. Hooker of Mississippi; J. War
ren Keifer, Charles Foster, Thomas Ewing, WiUiam
McKinley, and James A. Garfield of Ohio; J. Proctor

50 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Knott, John G. CarUsle, and J. C. S. Blackburn of
Kentucky; Carter H. Harrison, H. C. Burchard, Wil
Uam M. Springer and Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois;
Richard P. Bland of Missouri; Omar D. Conger of
Michigan; John H. Reagan, D. B. Culberson, and R.
Q. MUls of Texas; W. W. Crapo, B. F. Butler, W. A.
Field, N. P. Banks, George B. Loring, and George D.
Robinson of Massachusetts. It may well be doubted
whether any House since the foundation of the govern
ment contained a more imposing array of talent, more
men who were destined to win high distinction or who
had already achieved it, or more men with names as
splendid in our parliamentary history.
The Democrats nominated Mr. Randall for Speaker,
and the Republicans Mr. Garfield. The former was
chosen by a vote of 149 to 132.
Reed began his career in the House with a good deal
of modesty. In accordance with the rules the Speaker
appointed the committees. Those to which Reed was
assigned were not of the first rank. He was given a
place on the Committee on Territories, and to that
was soon added a place on a committee of stiU less
importance. He was very constant in his attendance,
and it was rare that he did not respond upon the roll-
call except upon occasions when the votes of Republi
cans were withheld for purposes of filibustering. At
first he took little part in debate, evidently not un
mindful of the fate of the new member who at once
attempts to assume leadership, and is too ready in the
expression of his views. He took no public part in the

FIRST SERVICE EST CONGRESS 61
work of the special session except to vote. His first
speech was a very brief one and was made at the regu
lar session in December in explanation of a small local
bUl of which he apparently had charge.
On the 18th of January, 1878, his state presented
to the government a statue of William King, and it
was given a place in the rather miscellaneous assort
ment of works of art in Statuary Hall. This occasion
was marked by speeches in both the Senate and the
House. In the course of the exercises in the Senate,
Mr. Blaine reflected upon the attitude of Massachu
setts in the War of 1812, and became involved in a
controversy with the Senators from Massachusetts.
The proceedings in the House were more uneventful,
and Reed contributed a very sober speech, excellent in
form, treating of the unsubstantial character of fame,
after the style of some of his college performances.
We aU know too sadly weU [he said] that oblivion begins
to devour the mightiest when dead, and has in all ages been
so greedy as to overtake some meu yet Uving. Human fame,
even of those who are at pains to preserve their memories, is
as evanescent as the cloud of a summer sky. . . . Hence it is
that the State of Maine, when called upon to place in the
National Hall of Statuary the figure of the son she most
wilUngly remembers, has passed by men of his time certainly
more famous but not greater, and chosen Wilham King. It
seems also highly fitting, both as a memorial and as an ex
ample, that in that Hall which has so often echoed to the
voices of many men whose fame seemed to fill the country
but who are now forgotten, because their aims were selfish
and their purposes petty, should stand the statue of WilUam
King, placed there, not because the land is resonant with his
name, but because he did bis state enduring service.

52 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
A few days afterward he took part in debate upon a
bUl relating to navigation, and he proposed an amend
ment which was adopted. After the amendment had
been carried, the Speaker suggested that the same
result could be obtained by striking out a section of the
biU, and Reed dryly repUed to the suggestion, amid
laughter by the House, "Inasmuch as my amendment
has been carried, if it pleases the Chair, I do not like
to disturb it." He voted against the so-called Bland-
Allison bill, which appeared first as a bUl for the free
coinage of sUver, and had had added to it an amend
ment which changed it into a sUver-purchase bill.
When the measure was vetoed by the President, Reed
voted to sustain the veto, although the House voted
against the President by nearly three to one.
His speech in favor of an amendment increasing the
salaries of our ministers to Great Britain, France,
Germany, and Russia, although very brief, was more
interesting than any speech he had yet made in the
House. He said in the course of it: —
We have been so niggardly in this respect altogether that
none but rich men can afford to accept these positions. For
my part, I shall be sorry when this Government reaches such
a condition that its most important and dignified offices
can be filled only by wealthy men. I believe that persons
whom we invite to do service for us in foreign countries
should be paid such salaries as will enable them, out of the
emoluments of their offices, to sustain themselves in a man
ner satisfactory to us.
On April 12, 1878, a bill was considered in the
House to reimburse WiUiam and Mary College for the

FIRST SERVICE IN CONGRESS 53
burning of its principal coUege buUding by some
drunken stragglers after a battle in the Civil War.
The measure aroused a great deal of interest on ac
count of the fame of the College. The names of George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and
Winfield Scott had been borne upon its roll of students.
Sir Christopher Wren had been its architect. Mr.
George B. Loring of Massachusetts made an eloquent
speech in favor of the appropriation. Reed made his
first real speech in the House in reply to Loring. He
opposed the bUl on the ground that it would be a
precedent for a long list of Southern war-claims. In
the course of this speech, he said: —
It seemed to me strange when Washington and Jefferson
and Sir Christopher Wren were brought in to decide the
question whether we should pay sixty-five thousand doUars
for a burned building; but when it came to the introduction
of Milton, and for aught I know, of Luther and Locke, I con
fess I was astounded. [Applau.se and laughter.] We heard of
Sir Harry Vane and CromweU. — "Why," said CromweU,
"the Lord deUver me from Sir Harry Vane"; — and I
say, upon a question of this kind, the Lord deUver the Con
gress of the United States from Sir Harry Vane and Crom
well too.
I desire this American Congress to consider this question
in the Ught of reason not in the Ught of rhetoric. — "Oh,"
they say, "this is not to estabUsh a precedent; there can be
nothing like it again on the face of the earth." Of course not,
for there was no other institution that ever graduated Wash
ington; there was no other building in this country that Sir
Christopher Wren ever built; there is no other institution in
which Jefferson was educated; and certainly there is none
around which the shades of Milton and Sir Harry Vane and
Cromwell cluster to this late date. But aU these matters are

54 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
immaterial; they are the ornamental fringing; they are not
the real soUd facts of this case.
You establish a precedent when the Government of the
United States proposes to pay for the loss and unauthor
ized destruction ol those objects deemed sacred by the laws
of war. If you pass this bih you estabhsh that principle,
nothing more, nothing less.
Now, if you establish this principle, you establish a prin
ciple that no other nation ever had the inconceivable folly
and imbecility to establish since the beginning of time.
Why, the whole world has been searched through and
through for the like of it in vain. The graceful learning of
Massachusetts has twined itself with the rugged and inter
esting persistence of Virginia in its search for a paraUel, but
to no purpose whatsoever. You may bring together Bunker
HUl and Yorktown, Massachusetts and Vuginia, and tie
them together with all the flowers of rhetoric that ever
bloomed since the Garden of Eden, but you cannot change
the plain, historic fact that no nation on earth ever was so
imbecile and idiotic as to establish a principle that would
more nearly bankrupt its treasury after victory than after
defeat. He then proceeded to review the precedents, among
them one relating to an institution of learning in
Tennessee. " It was situated in a loyal country. Out
of its halls had gone no officers to swell the ranks of
its country's foes. From the chairs of its professors
the doctrine of secession had never been preached; the
surrounding popiUation had never been tainted by
it." A biU for the relief of this institution had been
passed and Grant had vetoed it, saying: "If the prec
edent is once estabUshed that the government is lia
ble for the ravages of war, the ends of demands upon
the pubUc treasury cannot be forecast."

FIRST SERVICE EST CONGRESS 55
He then argued that WUUam and Mary CoUege had
suffered a loss of property in the Revolutionary War,
and for seventy years had pressed the claim upon the
national government, and the government had refused
to entertain it. "The statesmen of that period had too
much wisdom to permit this government to be con
nected with any principle so absurd as would be
established by this bill." He said that one thousand
two hundred out of four thousand two hundred bills
introduced during that Congress had gone to the War
Claims Committee, and other large claims had gone
to other committees.
There is but a step between paying for institutions of
learning and county buildings, and paying for the humble
firesides of the poor; and for my own part I would rather pay
for the latter than the former. Think of all these claimants
translated into that magnificent upper air in which Massa
chusetts and Virginia, and possibly South CaroUna alone can
live. [Laughter and applause.] Just think of them in that
blue empyrean, surrounded by Washington and Jefferson
and dead heroes, and Milton and Sir Harry Vane — and
my friend from Massachusetts here below emblazoning it
all in gorgeous language.
When the claim is once passed, he said, it will be
the decision people will look to and not the arguments
which secured it.
The arguments will aU be printed, they wiU make part of
that great monumental pile of eloquence which Congress is
rearing at the rate of ten volumes every year; but nobody
will read them; while the decision will be sought for by every
claim agent who loved the Lost Cause and a good many who
did not.

66 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
He said that he approved of very much that had
been said upon the subject of sectional feeling.
I do beUeve that after the magnificent contest which shook
this entire Continent, after milhons of men had been in the
field and fought each other face to face, it would have been
a pitiful and miserable close to have had half-a-dozen strug
gling wretches kicking out their lives on the gallows. Now,
whatever may be the question of right or wrong for any
individual, the only justification of rebellion is success. It
involves death to men and destruction to property. You do
not need to be told its miseries, for you have suffered them.
Any set of men who propose to plunge their people into these
horrors are bound to be successful or take the consequences.
— Why will you not, on your part, show a disposition to let
bygones be bygones, and let us have rest and peace and
returning prosperity.
The friends of the College denied that it was a war
claim. Reed interrupted one of them to ask if he
had read the title of the bill, which was, "A bill to
reimburse the College of WUliam and Mary for dam
ages," etc. The member replied that he understood
that the friends of the bill intended to change the
title. Reed : " In other words, my friend is like the dea
con who was a member of a temperance society, who
said he could not drink cider, but if they would call
it apple juice he would drink it." [Laughter.]
The exact effect of Reed's speech upon the House
cannot be known, but it was imdoubtedly great, and
the friends of the measure were not able to secure a
vote upon it during that Congress.
As this was the first occasion on which Reed made

FIRST SERVICE IN CONGRESS 57
an important speech to the House, it wUl help to a
better understanding of the quotations from his
speeches given in the following pages to refer at this
point to his appearance and manner of speaking. He
had a massive figure. He stood about six feet two
inches in height, and weighed probably two hundred
and seventy-five pounds. His eyes under great arches
of brow were hazel and were large and brilliant. They
were such eyes as one rarely sees and stamped him
unmistakably as a man of genius. He was bald, and his
head and face were of such a type as to lead Henry
Irving to say that he looked like the Stratford bust
of Shakespeare.
He spoke slowly and with a slight drawl. His voice
was powerful and penetrated to the remotest corner
of the enormous hall of the House. He rarely made a
gesture. There was never anything tense or heated in
his manner. His sentences fell from his lips in faultless
form, but as if they did that of their own accord, and
without any air of precision or the least apparent
effort on his own part. There was that in his look and
manner, sometimes called magnetism, for want of a
more definite term, which commanded the attention
of the House and quickly established his sway over it
even under circumstances the most adverse.
An iUustration of this quality was seen in his reply
later to Mr. Bourke Cockran, at a time when the latter
was in the flower of his remarkable oratory. That gen
tleman had just taken his seat after a very passionate
and eloquent speech, and there was that appearance of

58 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
exultation on his own side of the House and of dejec
tion on the other side which is sometimes seen after a
triumphant partisan speech in a great turbulent assem
bly like the House of Representatives. The task of
replying on such an occasion was for no man except
one of the first class, and even a man of the first
class might need to labor for a time in order to dis
pel the vivid impression, and dispose the House to
look at the subject from his own point of view. On
this occasion Reed arose, calm in his manner and with
nothing to suggest anxiety or excitement, paused a
moment, leveled a slashing sarcasm at a vulnerable
part of the performance which had just been wit
nessed, and before he had uttered two sentences he
had stirred up the fighting blood of his own side and
made his antagonists conscious that it was their turn
to be on the defensive. He never appeared to show
the slightest concern over the maimer of his spealdng.
And powerful as he showed himself to be, one felt that
he had greater strength stiU in reserve.

CHAPTER V
THE POTTER INVESTIGATION
The peaceable settlement of the controversy over the
election of President and the inauguration of Hayes
had not taken the question out of politics. The Demo
cratic journals were constantly putting forth the claim
that the electoral votes of Louisiana, South Carolina,
and Florida had been secured for the RepubUcan can
didates through the grossest frauds. Mr. Tilden had
received one hundred and eighty-four uncontested
votes, or within one of the number required to elect
him. It was necessary for Mr. Hayes to receive all the
other votes, including those of the three states just
mentioned, and the votes of those states had been
counted for Mr. Hayes under the decision of the elec
toral commission.
Mr. Clarkson N. Potter of New York reported a
series of resolutions to the House containuig charges ot
fraud and providing for a committee to make an in
vestigation into the election. After an exciting parUa
mentary struggle, continuing for four days, the resolu
tions were passed. The committee created by them was
one of great importance. Among the Democrats who
were appointed to it were the ablest men in that party.
Mr. Potter was made Chairman, and among his party
associates were Morrison, McMahon, and Blackburn.

60 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
In a speech in the next Congress, Reed, referring to
the Democratic membership of the Committee, said:
The household troops had been ordered up. There at the
head was a pohshed and able gentleman, taken some years
ago from our ranks, and who had voted with us often enough
since to give the people the idea that he was respectable and
to be trusted — a gentleman to whose fairness and impartial
ity in everything except his report I bear cheerful, cordial
and wilUng witness. Next came my friend from Ohio (Mr.
McMahon), keen and subtle, than whom there is no man in
five kingdoms abler to dig a pit for a witness and sweetly
coax Tiim into it. And then to give a tone of chivalry to it
was my friend from the Seventh District of Kentucky (Mr.
Blackburn), then as now undaUying and undoubting, and
consequently undastardized and undamned. Time would faU
me to give an Homeric catalogue of all the great souls of
heroes who went down to dusty death. It is enough to say
that they were the bright, consummate flower, the cream,
or, to use a metaphor more suitable to the subject, the com
bined sweetness and strength, the very "rock and rye" of
the democracy. [Laughter.]
That Reed had made a deep impression upon the
House during his few months of service was shown by
the fact that he was named as one of the four Republi
can members of this committee. One of his colleagues
was General Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts.
A stronger combination than that of these two men in
a rough-and-tumble political contest could not have
been found. Reed once characterized Butler as " pow
erful, effective, courageous and fidl of resources, and
yet seldom reaUy victorious." ^ But General Butler
was in a state of transition, at that time very far ad-
' Youth's Companion, December 8, 1898.

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 61
vanced, from the Republican to the Democratic party,
and he was destined very shortly to appear as the can
didate of the latter party for Governor of Massachu
setts. He took a middle course in the work of the
committee, and in the end made a finding which sus
tained the claim that Tilden had been elected. It is no
disparagement of Reed's other two colleagues, whose
Republicanism was above suspicion, to say that he was
the best qualified of the Republican members for the
particular work before the committee, and that the
brunt of it fell upon him. That he was relied upon
by the Republican leaders to take an important part
in the cross-examination is shown by the following
letter to him from Mr. John Sherman, who had been
especially attacked by the Democrats for the part
hehad played in Louisiana as one of the so-called "vis
iting statesmen."^ June sth, 1878.
Dear Sib: —
Upon comparing the alleged signature to "Exhibit A,"
the Weber agreement, with the genuine signature of E. A.
Weber, it is apparent that the one to the agreement is a plain
and palpable forgery, and, therefore. Senator Matthews will
commit to your keeping the original document to base the
cross-examination upon.
Press him (a) to the aUegation of the genuineness of the
signature. You can get the original from Senator Matthews in the
Senate Chamber. He will hand it to you.
Very truly yours,
John Sherman.
Hon. Thomas B. Reed.

62 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Reed did not lack for material much more novel than
that to which the pubUc had been accustomed in con
nection with Southern elections. On the face of the
original returns from the Louisiana parishes, the Til
den electors appeared to have been chosen by more
than six thousand majority. The State Returning
Board, which had judicial power, decided that there
had been intimidation in certain parishes and that the
colored Republicans had been so thoroughly terrorized
that they were afraid to vote. The returns from these
parishes were rejected. Enough votes were thus
thrown out in the whole state to convert the Demo
cratic majority of more than six thousand on the origi
nal returns into a Republican majority in excess of four
thousand. The testimony was voluminous, and I shall
only refer to such portions of it as wiU serve to show
the important part played by Reed.
The principal witness for the Democrats was James
E. Anderson, who had been the superintendent of
registration in one of the parishes. He had been ap
pointed as a Republican, and by virtue of his office he
performed important duties, not only before the elec
tion but also after it. His official return showed that
the vote in the parish had been about 2200 Democratic
and none Republican. Anderson seems to have had a
propensity for signing contradictory statements, and
was not, to say the least, an impressive witness. In one
document he declared that the election in his parish
had not been fair and peaceable, but that there had
been violence and intimidation, with bands of armed

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 63
men riding about whipping and shooting the voters.
A few days afterwards he put forth another paper,
signed also by the supervisor of another parish, de
claring that the election was the most peaceable and
orderly one ever witnessed by them, and that the
previous statement had been signed at the request of
Republican candidates and office-holders for the pur
pose of throwing out Democratic votes. He declared
that bribes in the form of offices or money had been
offered him by both sides.
With such a wealth of material Reed's cross-exami
nation of this witness was destructive in its effect, and
the cUmax was reached when he drew from him the
admission that he had purposely misled the Senate
Committee before which he had testified. The Demo
cratic majority in its report declared that " it was un
avoidable from the character of those concerned that
the committee should be exposed to mistake and im
position," and expressed an opinion of Anderson that
was far from favorable. In a speech made subsequently
in the House Reed denounced Anderson in a very di
rect fashion.
It WiU not be necessary here to review at length the
facts regarding the Presidential election as they were
brought out by the Potter Committee. They would
show a record of falsification of documents, of unblush
ing frauds, of intimidation, of bribery and attempted
bribery, and even of murder, which make as disgrace
ful a chapter as can be found in the political history
of America.

64 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
So far as the elections in Louisiana and South Caro
lina were concerned, there was presented one of those
cases where law was arrayed against civUization, and
where men, for the purpose of preventing the destruc
tion of the latter, did not hesitate to throw the former
to the winds.
But the investigation of the cipher telegrams de
serves more than a passing reference, because in that
investigation Reed was seen at his best as a cross-exam
iner, and because the disclosures made in the course of
it had the effect of destroying as a practical political
issue the charges of fraud in connection with the elec
tion of 1876. The cipher investigation had an enormous
practical effect. The House was Democratic. The Sen
ate was hanging in the balance. Sherman was in the
midst of his work, at the time unpopular, preparing
for the resumption of gold payments. The industrial
crisis which began in 1873 was still resting upon the
country. Strikes were common. The rapid building of
railroads had brought vast areas of new land under
cultivation, and the prices of agricultural products
were depressed and the farmers were poor. The only
thing necessary to produce a political convulsion would
have been a serious dispute over the title to the presi
dency. And such a dispute could be academic only
and not in any degree practical after the disclosures
contained in the cipher telegrams. Shattered by cross-
examination as had been the testimony showing frauds
in Louisiana, that testimony would stiU have left a
most disagreeable impression upon the public mind,

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 65
and popular opinion might have supported an attempt
to set aside in the courts the somewhat technical and
evasive decision of the Electoral Commission, a de
cision which did not go behind the returns to the evi
dence, and which had been reached by all the judges
voting in the line of their respective political beliefs.
But after the contents of the cipher telegrams became
known all danger of a litigated title was at an end. To
the new member from Maine must be accorded a large
share of credit for the cross-examination with which he
illuminated the case as well upon the cipher telegrams
as upon the claims of fraud.
Those telegrams undoubtedly revealed an attempt
to purchase enough electoral votes to make certain the
election of Mr. Tilden. The excuse for the attempt was
boldly avowed to be that it was justifiable to ransom
stolen goods from robbers, and that it was an effort to
buy back votes from the thieves who had stolen them.
A large mass of dispatches had been brought before
the investigating committees of the two Houses by the
Western Union Telegraph Company in response to
subpoenas. Most of them were in unintelligible cipher
and for a considerable time little attention was paid to
them. But two clever writers for the New York "Tri
bune" were able to translate many of them, and their
contents were seen to be of a startling character. A
resolution passed by the House of Representatives
particularly instructed the Potter Committee to in
vestigate these ciphers, and that work was entered
upon in themost thorough fashion.

66 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
On account of the part shown to have been played
by Mr. Pelton, who was Mr. TUden's nephew and
lived in his house. Reed conceived the notion that
TUden was not without responsibiUty in regard to
them. He proposed in the House a resolution that
Tilden be permitted to be represented by counsel
before the Committee. This resolution was defeated.
The Democratic members were not wUling to concede
that Tilden was on trial.
Reed in his cross-examination drew from Pelton the
admission that he lived at the residence of his uncle;
that he had been his miUtary secretary for two years
at Albany, when TUden was Governor of New York;
that he was not a man of large property, and did
not have the sums caUed for by the cipher dispatches.
Reed quoted from one of the mildly incriminating dis
patches and asked Pelton if he showed that to his
uncle. Pelton replied that he did not. Reed then ob
served, "I suppose it was owing to that wicked sen
tence in it — 'Answer to question asked this morning
— important to-night ' — that you did not show it."
Taking another dispatch. Reed asked Pelton if he
showed that to his uncle, and he replied that he did
not. Reed then asked whether his reluctance to con
sult his uncle in regard to it had its origin in the ex
pression which he had put into the telegram — "The
expense of what you do will be met." Pelton refused
to admit that he had consiUted his uncle and said
it was not a matter that there was any necessity to
consult him about.

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 67
You felt that you could go on and buy a State or two with
out consulting him?
I never consulted him about such things at all, sir.
Reed pressed the witness on the point whether
TUden saw any of the telegrams and secured the ad
mission that he saw some.
Did he never happen to caU for these wicked ones?"
He never knew of their existence.
Reed then turned to a dispatch in the translation of
which occurred the sentence: "If the Returning Board
can be procured absolutely, will you deposit thirty
thousand dollars?" and asked, —
Did you show that to your uncle?
No, sir.
Where did you receive it?
I have no means of fixing it; but either at the Everett
House or at Liberty Street.
Was not this quite a httle event, this statement that a
State could be bought for thirty thousand dollars, when you
were rather anxious about that time to get a State?
Pelton could not fix the place where he received it.
Then taking another telegram containing the question:
" ShaU I increase to fifty thousand if required to make
sure?" Reed asked, "Did you show that to your
uncle?" "No, sir."
Referring to another dispatch which concluded:
"Tell Russia [that is TUden] to saddle Blackstone,"
Pelton replied to Reed that he did not remember show
ing that to TUden.

68 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Was there anything by the name of Blackstone that could
be saddled about Mr. Tilden's premises?
Yes, sir, Mr. Tilden had a horse by the name of Black
stone. Then it may have meant that he take gentle exercise, may
it not?
It may.
Did you hesitate to communicate to Governor Tilden a
request that was sent aU the way from Florida, that he
should take gentle exercise? Were you that tender of your
uncle? I think I must have taken that responsibiUty.
Thus throughout a long cross-examination Reed
kept bringing dispatches proposing the purchase of
electors, to Pelton's attention, and persisted in asking
him whether Governor Tilden knew of their existence.
Pelton denied that he had ever brought these dis
patches to Tilden's attention.
Cooper had spoken to Tilden of the attempt to pur
chase the South Carolina electors, and TUden ex
pressed indignation, and summoned his nephew back
from Baltimore. Reed then asked: —
WeU, so far as you know, the scheme first received
reprobation when Mr. Cooper was indiscreet enough (from
your point of view) to mention it to your uncle?
That is my understanding.
It never received any reprobation until that time, when it
came within the purview of your uncle's sense of propriety,
and as soon as it did, it was crushed out. State how soon
after that you left your uncle's house, — whether or not it
was prior to the Florida negotiations?
How do you mean — left the house?
Did you not cease to reside there after the South Carolina
transaction and prior to the Florida negotiations.
No, sir.

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 69
Then you carried on the Florida negotiations while you
resided in your uncle's house?
Yes, sir.
And you did it after this pointed rebuke which you had
received from your uncle for your conduct in the South
Carolina matter?
Yes, sir.
And in defiance of his wishes?
Yes, sir.
Then at the time the Florida transaction was entered into,
you knew that your uncle, as the Democratic candidate for
the presidency, disapproved of it on moral grounds, and you
knew that Mr. Cooper, who was Treasurer of the Demo
cratic National Committee, also objected to it on moral
grounds? Yes, objected to it.
Where then, did you intend to get the money to do the
Florida business with?
Well, I intended when the matter was consummated, to
lay it before the National Committee and let them take such
action as they chose.
What, after this conversation with Mr. Cooper?
Yes. Mr. Manton Marble had written a letter known as
the "Ark and Shekina letter," charging Republicans
with attempting to use money; and cipher telegrams
were afterwards produced from Mr. Marble himself
which seriously required explanation. Referring to a
meeting between Marble and Pelton, after the return
of the former from Florida, and pointing his questions
with quotations from the "Ark and Shekina" letter.
Reed asked if Marble told the witness anything about
"traces of money payment being darkly visible" or
anything of that sort; or did he not use that language
in private conversation; and did the witness and Marble

70 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
talk about what might be the consequences if the mat
ter "got into the keen bright sunUght of pubUcity";
and did he say anything to witness about the "final
citadel of power," or about the " ague-smitten parish"
that might be bought; and "when you and he met, how
broad a smUe did you have on your countenance? "
Mr. TUden afterwards appeared as a vsdtness before
the Committee and denied any complicity in the tele
grams or in the transactions to which they related.
Reed's part in the investigation was conspicuous
enough to win for him the enthusiastic approval of the
newspapers of his party and the unsparing denuncia
tion of the Democratic journals. His handling of the
ciphers, and his wringing from the most important
witness against him in the Louisiana case admissions
extremely damaging, gave little support to their criti
cisms that he played the r6le of a shyster, that he was
Ul-trained and had Uttle adaptability of mind.
In making its decision the Committee was divided
upon party lines, each member finding in accordance
with the position of his party, excepting General But
ler, who took a middle ground, although he vindi
cated Sherman.
The following portions of the minority report were
very evidently written by Reed: "When the parties
to the attempted bribeiy were put upon the stand,
they were forced to admit the receipt and transmis
sion of the criminating dispatches, each and aU of
them." After speaking of the part played by the chief
parties, the report proceeded : —

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 71
The idea that this penniless man, Mr. Pelton, living in the
house and seated at the very table of his wealthy uncle, Mr.
Tilden, should have conducted negotiations involving such
large sums without word or hint to the man most deeply in
terested, or to anybody else, cannot for a moment be enter
tained by candid men.
It has been urged in Mr. TUden's behalf, that as soon
as he became aware of the South Carolina negotiations he
promptly suppressed them, and we are asked to draw the
inference that he was guiltless of aU.
Had these transactions ceased when Hardy Solomons
went home, had Pelton been discharged from his plenary
superintendence of Mr. Tilden's affairs, there might have
been some show of reason in this plea. But Mr. Pelton
remained in full control, the Florida negotiations went on,
the attempted bribery in Oregon followed, all under the
guidance of the resident nephew, Mr. Pelton. . . . Pelton
says he told Cooper not to tell Tilden. That night. Cooper
did not, but on reflection the next day, probably thinking
that he had aheady over-advanced, and that if Mr. Tilden
wanted the presidency in that way he had better pay for it
himself, he went to Mr. Tilden. Of course Mr. Tilden could
take part in no such open transaction as it had now be
come. Colonel Pelton was called home, a wiser and more
secretive man."
The report concludes by giving reasons in favor
of the claim that the Republicans honestly carried
Louisiana. It referred to the well-known violence that
had taken place and to the undisputed Democratic
circular issued during the campaign in Louisiana, ad
vising the parade of Democratic clubs on horseback
and their marching as organized bodies to the central
rendezvous, for the purpose of impressing the negroes
with the sense of their united strength, and recom
mending a systematic warning to the negroes that " We

72 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
have the means of carrying the election and mean to
use them."
The report of the Democratic majority of the Com
mittee was to the effect that TUden had carried the
state. As to the cipher telegrams, their conclusion was
that while TUden's particular friends were concerned
in the transaction, he had nothing to do with them,
but that there was a display of "mistaken zeal of his
followers and friends without authority on his part."
The report was not presented to the House until very
nearly the end of the Congress and no formal debate
took place upon it.
As a campaign topic, the election of 1876 received
far less discussion after the investigation of the Com
mittee than before it. That this was true was due
doubtless to the disclosures, and especially those re
lating to the cipher telegrams. The subject however
was occasionaUy discussed in the House, and during
the next Congress Reed made a brief and most effect
ive speech in reply to Mr. Davis, a Democrat from
North Carolina, who had introduced the subject into
the debate. Reed said that he was pained to hear
the matter opened again, but that time did not seem
to assuage the grief of the Democrats.
The attitude which they have assumed for the last four
years reminds me very much of a dog that I once owned.
After going out into the street and getting a complete and
thorough thrashing from a bigger and worthier dog, he used
to come into the house and lay down on the hearth, and then
with one paw rub one damaged ear and growl, and with the
other paw rub the other ear and growl, and then he would rub

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 73
his scarred and unhappy nose and growl, and feel bad gener
ally. [Laughter.] Now, I am in hopes that time, after a suf
ficient lapse of it, may cure them, as it has cured him. [A mem
ber interrupted to ask : "The dog is cured now? "] Reed : He is
dead. [Great laughter.] There never was a baser thing in the
history of this or any other country than the fraud lamen
tation which has been revived so eloquently and so melo
diously by the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Davis.
. . . You can always teU something of the material of which
the house is built by inspecting a portion of it. I had occa
sion to investigate one parish. — I want gentlemen to draw
their own inferences. I will not draw one, nor will I state
a fact that either side can deny or dispute. In the parish of
East Feliciana in the State of Louisiana, in the year be
tween 1874 and 1876, there were fourteen persons murdered,
and that fact no man doubts; no man can dispute it. The
Democrats say that it was on account of cotton-seed steal
ing, and personal difficulties. The Republicans say that
these murders were political. On these two points men differ,
but here are the other facts equally undisputed. First, every
man who was kiUed was a RepubUcan; second, cotton-seed
stealing and murder simultaneously ceased on election
day; third, in 1874 that parish cast 1600 Republican votes
against 800 Democratic — two to one. And in 1876, after
these murders had taken place, there were 1700 registered
Democratic votes, 400 unregistered, and one for Rutherford
B. Hayes.
A member insisted on interrupting Reed, to ask the
question whether a committee of the House had not
reported that the election in 1874 was free and fair, to
which Reed made the reply: —
I answer very distinctly, that was the very year when the
Repubhcan vote in that parish was two to one as compared
with the Democratic vote. I think it very possible that that
may have been a fair election. Now, having embalmed that
fly in the Uquid amber of my discourse, I wish to proceed.

74 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
There is evidence worth considering, to the effect
that the investigation was not intended to be aca
demic, but had the practical purpose of laying a foun
dation for a contest. The secretary of the RepubUcan
Congressional Committee made the charge that it was
the intention "to attempt the revolutionary expulsion
of the President from his office." Mr. Blaine in the
Senate, on March 24, 1879, in effect charged that it
had been the intention of the Democrats, in entering
upon the Potter investigation, "to remove the Presi
dent if they could prove fraud." In reply to Blaine
two Democratic senators, Eaton and HUl, declared
that no revolution was intended, but only an orderly
procedure in the courts in pursuance of the provisions
of the act establishing the Electoral Commission,
and HiU admitted that it was a purpose of the Potter
Committee to get material for use in the courts.
Whatever other result the investigation may have
had, it caused the fraud issue to disappear from poU
tics, and while an attempt was made to revive it in
subsequent campaigns, it did not amount to a vital
issue. The investigation resulted in giving Reed promi
nence throughout the country. He received praise
from the Republican journals for the ability which he
had displayed in the cross-examination of witnesses,
and on the other hand he was a good deal abused by
the Democratic journals for the same reason. But his
hold upon his district was strengthened, and while the
investigation had not proceeded very far when he ap
peared for reelection in September, 1878, his appoint-

THE POTTER INVESTIGATION 75
ment upon such an important committee and the suc
cess with which he took part in its work touched the
local pride of his constituency, and he was reelected
without difficulty.

CHAPTER VI
reed's SECOND CONGRESS — HIS PROGRESS
TOWARDS LEADERSHIP
Reed's attitude on the money question drew upon him
the opposition of the Greenback orators, and gave him
serious trouble, not indeed in the campaign of 1878,
but in the one immediately succeeding it. The cause
of greenbackism secured a strong foothold in Maine.
After repeated attempts to issue more paper money,
and then to repeal the Resumption Act, attempts
which had been defeated only by the veto, the opinion
of the country was waiting to witness the effect of the
operation of resumption which was to be put in force
the first of January, 1879.
The administration of the Treasury under President
Hayes had been above criticism. Our national bonds
to an enormous amount had been refunded at a much
lower rate of interest. Gold had been gradually piled
up so that the reserve of a hundred millions might be
in the vaults of the Treasury at the time resumption
should take effect. The operations of the Treasury
were greatly aided by the condition of the revenue,
which was sufficient to pay aU the expenses of the
government including the interest upon the debt, and
to leave a comfortable surplus each year. When gold
payments were finally resumed, public confidence was

REED'S SECOND CONGRESS 77
shown to be such that the demand upon the govern
ment for coin in exchange for greenbacks was very
slight, and the voluntary deposit of coin for notes very
large. Whether or not the remarkable revival of busi
ness was due to gold payments, it was unquestionably
true that concurrently with resumption such a revival
occurred, and under it the revenues of the government
were destined to make astonishing gains. Before the
end of President Arthur's administration the revenue
became so great that less than two thirds of it was re
quired to meet the expenses of the government and
more than one third was clear surplus. The principal
of the public debt was paid off with great rapidity,
and the currency seemed at last to have attained a
solid foundation.
The standard of value, however, was not so easily
settled. There was one disturbing factor, not generally
appreciated at the time, which was destined to grow
stronger and finally to make necessary another great
struggle. The first Congress of which Reed was a mem
ber had, against his earnest opposition, passed a bill
providing for the coinage of two million silver dollars
each month. This dollar was of the same weight and
fineness as the dollar which had been demonetized in
1873, and it was made legal tender. The silver it con
tained was not equal in value to the bullion value of the
gold dollar, and as the number of these silver dollars
increased, their bullion value diminished. They were
a charge upon the gold reserve, which had been pro
vided for the greenbacks alone. But the silver diffi-

78 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
culty was to reach its climax when Reed had become
the unquestioned leader of his party in the House, and
we shaU see how he dealt with it.
In his first Congress Reed had displayed an interest
in questions relating to the Indians and made a speech
in which he resented the attempt to encroach upon the
Indian lands. He insisted that the treaties with the
Indians should be respected and that they should not
be robbed of their lands even although a fine pretext
was put forward, as is usually done when it is necessary
to cover a breach of public faith. " I am glad, at least,"
he said, "to see that there is grace enough left in this
matter to sugar it over with pleasant phraseology. I
am glad to see that no member of this House makes a
proposition to take land away from people who own it
unless he can convince his mind that the handsome
phrase 'the march of civiUzation' will cover the oc
casion as well as the country." But jurisdiction over
the Indians was generaUy exercised by the Commit
tee on Indian Affairs, and only in exceptional in
stances did the questions relating to them come be
fore the Committee on Territories, of which he was a
member. The other work of that committee did not
especially interest him. He probably expressed his
view of his own fitness for its work when, in a later
House, of which he was Speaker, he was asked by a
member from a large city for an appointment to the
Committee on Territories. Reed expressed surprise
at the request and asked, "What do you want to be
appointed on the Committee on Territories for? You

REED'S SECOND CONGRESS 79
would not know a territory if you met one walking
down Pennsylvania Avenue."
The Forty-Sixth Congress, the second of which
Reed was a member, was Democratic by a small ma
jority, and Randall was again elected Speaker. Gar
field was for a second time made the Republican can
didate for the office and retained his position as minor
ity leader. That there had been little relative change
in the strength of the two parties was shown by the
vote for Speaker, Randall's plurality over Garfield
being only two larger than in the preceding Congress.
Among the new members were Nelson W. Aldrich of
Rhode Island, Levi P. Morton of New York, Henry
H. Bingham of Pennsylvania, and Benjamin Butter
worth of Ohio. The Greenback party appeared with
fourteen members, one of whom was Mr. Adlai E.
Stevenson of lUinois, afterwards Vice-President of the
United States.
This Congress was caUed In extraordinary session by
the President, as had been the previous one, because
of the failure to pass some of the regular appropria
tion bills, of which the army bill was one.
In the organization of the House, Reed secured a
promotion and was put on the Judiciary Committee,
an appointment generaUy sought by the lawyers of
the House. Among his Republican coUeagues on the
committee were William McKinley of Ohio and
George D. Robinson, afterwards Governor of Massa
chusetts. Reed's experience in the preceding Con
gress on the Committee on Territories had not been

80 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
such apparently as to lead him to wish to continue
on it.
In addition to the subjects dealt with by the Judi
ciary Committee, Reed displayed a deep interest in
all matters of parliamentary procedure. The brief
colloquies in which he took part show that he was
constantly making a study of the mechanism of the
House, and was carefully scrutinizing the manner in
which it operated and transacted its business, and he
soon became unequaled as a parliamentarian, not per
haps in his definite knowledge of the numerous pre
cedents in the history of the House, but in his broad
comprehension of its workings and of the anatomy of
its structure.
His great achievement as a parliamentarian was to be
the establishment of a system under which the House
could effectively do business, and he arrived at that
position by aiding to demonstrate, while a member of
the minority, how the House under its rules could be
prevented from doing business. With the other mem
bers of his own party, and indeed with nearly all mem
bers of all minority parties in the history of the House,
he engaged in filibustering. This practice was a very
common one during the first Congresses in which Reed
served, and it was not only resorted to on solemn oc
casions but was sometimes indulged in upon measures
of comparatively trivial importance. The method of
fihbustering commonly pursued was for the minority
members to refuse to respond on the roll-call, on some
measure or motion obnoxious to them, and thus to

REED'S SECOND CONGRESS 81
destroy the quorum. The House would then embark
upon another roll-call to ascertain whether a quorum
was present, and it would sometimes proceed to " com
pel the attendance of absent members," who would be
brought to the bar of the House in custody of the ser
geant-at-arms, and after excuses, usually frivolous',
for their absence, would be ordered discharged from
arrest. Reed himseff was once brought to the bar in cus
tody. He made a mock excuse, in the course of which
he said: "In any other assembly than this I should
expect an apology; but under the circumstances I am
willing to be released, and call it square at that."
After it appeared on the roll-call that a quorum was
present, the roll would again be called on the obnoxious
piece of business and again the minority members
would sit silent and no progress would be made. On
the call of the House the quorum would reappear, only
to vanish again when a forward step was to be taken
on the measure before the House. Thus business would
sometunes be delayed by a fruitless round of roU-calls
until the majority would surrender by dropping the
pending legislation, or untU by an extraordinary effort
it would be able to marshal a quorum from its own
ranks. On January 28, 1880, Reed defended the commonly
accepted construction of the constitutional provision
regarding the quorum, which construction he was
afterwards to overthrow. " It is not the visible pres
ence of members," he said, "but their judgment and

82 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
their votes that the Constitution calls for." The priv
ilege not to vote "is a privilege which every minor
ity has avaUed itself of since the foundation of the
Z—go vernment." The minority could upon great occa
sions demand that every bill should "receive the abso
lute vote of a majority of the members elected." They
would make this demand "in the face and eyes of the
country." If the demand was made on a frivolous occa
sion it would be subject to pubUc censure. "It is a
valuable privUege for the country that the minority
shaU have the right by this extraordinary mode of pro
ceeding to call the attention of the country to meas
ures which a party in a moment of madness and of
party feeling is endeavoring to force."
This speech was made early in his career and simply
presented the traditional arguments in favor of the prac
tice. He was, at a later time in his service, to resort
again to filibustering of this sort, but for the avowed
purpose of compeUing such a change of procedure as
would amount to a recognition of the fact that the
test of the constitutional quorum is whether a majority
of members is actuaUy present and not whether a ma
jority has answered on the calling of the roU.
During this session, after a long parUamentary
wrangle, a Democratic member moved to refer the sub
ject under consideration to a "committee on common
sense." Said Reed, "That would be a partisan commit
tee, all from this side." The next day, referring to party
government, he said : " The best system is to have one
party govern and the other party watch, and on general

REED'S SECOND CONGRESS 83
principles I think it would be better for us to govern
and the Democrats to watch."
The approach of the general election of 1880 caused
the two parties to subordinate all the business of the
House to the manufacture of political capital for cam
paign purposes. A portion of the national election laws
providing for the presence of deputy United States
marshals at the polls afforded a theme for the most pas
sionate declamation. On the one side it was urged that
the marshals constituted a force of mercenaries which
the administration might use to intimidate and coerce
voters, and on the other that they were necessary to
prevent fraud and violence of the worst kind. Although
the use of these officials at the polls was prescribed by
law, many Democrats resisted making the appropria
tions to pay them, while the extreme Republican view
was somewhat luridly expressed by a member who
said: —
The Democratic majority has found its way into this hall
by the Ught of burning homes and blazing churches — its
bloody footprints stain the very steps of the Capitol. — By
this means you have secured both branches of Congress.
Now the presidency is to be attained, but how? NuUify the
election laws, you say. Give us free fraud and no special
deputy marshals to detect us in our crimes.*
The Republicans, including Reed, supported the
provision for the deputy marshals, although Reed took
no part in the debate.
' Speech of Representative JuUus C. Burrows of Michigan in the
House.

CHAPTER VII
THE GREENBACK ISSUE — RELATIONS WITH
BLAINE
The presence in the House of so many members
elected as out-and-out Greenbackers served to put
emphasis on the money question, and the campaign
which foUowed showed very strongly the influence of
the forces favoring the free coinage of silver or further
issues of greenbacks. But the money issue was not
squarely joined in the general election of 1880, as in
deed it had never been in any presidential election,
even when the sentiment for inflation was at its height.
In different states it found its way to the front, but
there was no national alignment. There had been
much overheated declamation on the subject, but
there were other issues that overshadowed it and di
verted public attention. The distribution of the politi
cal control of the states was such that neither party felt
that it could afford to make the issue in its national
platform. New York was the pivotal state in a general
election, and the importance of carrying it shaped the
attitude of both the great parties on the money ques
tion. The influence of the business interests in that
state was very powerful, and indeed controlling. No
party could hope to carry it in favor of what was called
" soft money." The standard of our money was never

THE GREENBACK ISSUE 85
squarely made an issue in a presidential campaign
until 1896.
But Maine was one of the states in which the sen
timent for the greenback was very strong, and the
strength of that sentiment very nearly cost Reed
his seat. He had never sought to conceal his attitude
on the money question or to imitate the course of some
conspicuous politicians by assuming a position that
would appeal to both sides. He was uncompromis
ingly against inflation and spoke strongly against it
both in the House and in his own state. Solon Chase
was the real leader of the Greenbackers of Maine, and
this political evangelist made himself famous through
out the country by his quaint and homely way of ar
guing the question. His favorite illustration of the
evils of the contraction of the currency was to point
to its effect in reducing the price of his cattle, which
he referred to as "them steers"; and "them steers"
came into vogue far outside of Maine as a part of the
political lingo of the time. Chase made very taking
appeals to the rank and file of the voters and he coidd
not be ignored. Reed's references to Chase were some
what in the latter's style, as may be seen from the fol
lowing version of a speech he made at Lewiston. He
argued that the only successful kind of currency was
one "payable in coin at the wUl of the holder." It was
no new thing to dream of a "paper paradise." It had
been tried by every civilized nation, and " it has always
led to the pit of destruction." A small town in Maine
worth not more than ten thousand dollars had voted

86 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
to raise one hundred thousand dollars to repair the
roads and "to pay a man and a yoke of oxen fifty dol
lars a. day to work on the highways. What a place that
would have been for Solon and his steers! Solon
ought to have been there. It would have been so
much happier for him. To-day there's a heap of
trouble on the old man's mind. Here is a paradise
already created for the peripatetic Greenbacker and
the miUennium already descended." A breakfast cost
one hundred doUars in Buenos Ayres, and "in Hayti
they actuaUy have dollars three for a cent."
The old county feud had broken out again in this
campaign and a conference of Republicans from ten
towns of York County had been held in Biddeford in
May, 1880, to oppose Reed's renomination and put a
York man in his place. The conference however de
veloped strong support for Reed. One man wrote that
he had opposed Reed's first nomination and was op
posed also to all the men he had tried to put in office.
"But there is something higher than all this. . . . Mr.
Reed is the ablest man of his age in Congress and he
has won a national reputation as one of the foremost
men there." The movement for a York man did not
assume large proportions and Reed was easUy nomi
nated. But the contest for the election was very close.
In the preceding state election, the "Fusionists," com
posed of Democrats and Greenbackers, had carried
the state, and the famous "count out" by the Gover
nor and CouncU resulted in giving control of the
Legislature to the same combination. In a letter writ-

THE GREENBACK ISSUE 87
ten just after the "count out," to WiUiam B. Tobey,
Reed had denounced it and declared that "the pre
tences on which it has been done are as frivolous as
the crime is gigantic." He declared that Portland had
been disfranchised because its clerk "returned scatter
ing votes." The votes of other places had been re
jected on account of pretexts no less frivolous. Cherry-
field was "of no account in this government of the
people because one of the selectmen was born across
the border." The omission of an h in " John Burnham's
name is fatal, while his fusion competitor, Alfred
Cushman, sails in under the name of 'Alford' without
the faintest difficulty."
The principal occupation of the voter in Maine at
that time appears to have been politics. The prospect
of having the government relieve poverty and perhaps
dispense with the necessity of labor presented an El
dorado to the imaginations of the Greenbackers. It
inspired not only their orators but their poets also.
They anticipated the fervent rhetoric of a later time
in their denunciation of financial institutions and,
generally, of the rich. A correspondent of the New
York "Evemng Post," writing to his paper from
Portland, preserved the following verses which he had
heard sung at a Greenback lecture: —
Thou, Greenback, 't is of thee.
Fair money of the free.
Of thee we sing.
And through aU coming time.
Great bards in every clime
Will sing with joyful rhyme.
Gold is not King.

88 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Then smash old Shylock's bonds
With aU his gold coupons,
The banks and rings.
Monopolies must fail,
Rich paupers work in jail.
The right will then prevail,
Not money kings.
A Greenback orator followed Reed into one of his
meetings and interrupted him to dispute one of his
statements. Reed reaffirmed it. "Well," said the
Greenback orator, "I want to state that I have the law
in my satchel which says that banks cannot bank on
less than five per cent bonds." "Law in his satchel!"
replied Reed; "if this gentleman would only have less
law in his satchel and more in his head, he would be a
much more useful and reliable citizen."
A campaign Uke this was sure to become personal,
and in that particular Reed was at no disadvantage.
Speaking of the Greenback orators who had swarmed
over the state in a previous campaign, he said there was
a bankrupt Massachusetts speculator who had lost all his
own money and came to Maine to tell us how to save our
credit. There was a barber who had run the gamut of all
parties and all religions to get an audience and had never
been able to hold one except the poor unfortunate he was
lathering in the chair. With these came a swarm of utterly
unknown men, who had neither a local habitation nor a
name, — not even the luxury of a post-office address. And
yet some of these fellows deceived the very elect.
Much more of the same sort might be quoted from
Reed's speeches during this campaign. He was well
aware that he was in a desperate fight and he knew the
seductive quality of the Greenback appeals. All his

THE GREENBACK ISSUE 89
resources of wit, eloquence, argument, and invective
he called into play. He managed to secure an election,
but only by one hundred and nine votes, which was
much the smallest plurality he ever received. It is
true that his support was weakened by a squabble
over a post-office, but the influence of this contest was
insignificant compared with that of the money question.
The narrowness of the plurality tempted his antago
nist to enter a contest for the seat and carry it to the
House of Representatives.
Maine was a "September State," so far as the elec
tion of its state officers and members of Congress was
concerned, and it was therefore the theater of a bitter
contest. Each party did its utmost to secure a favor
able result, for effect on the country at the general
voting in November. But the election in Maine was
hardly better for the Republicans than a drawn battle.
It did not indicate the decisive victory they were des
tined to win in the November election, when they chose
the President and a majority of the House of Repre
sentatives, retained control of the Senate, and for the
first time since the election of 1872 gave to the same
party the presidency and both houses of Congress.
Reed was one of a party of Maine men who went
to the Republican National Convention in Chicago, in
1880, in the interest of the nomination of Blaine for
the presidency. Garfield was finally chosen by the
transfer to him of the Blaine strength. Reed was a
warm friend of Garfield, for whom he had voted as
Speaker of the House and under whom as leader he

90 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
had served. Garfield was better fitted for service in a
parliamentary body than as an .executive officer. He
was ready and eloquent in debate and he led his party
in the House with brUliancy and yet vfith good judg
ment. Reed admired him as a parUamentarian and
expressed the opinion that he was the ablest debater
with whom he had served in the House of Representa
tives; and he most heartily supported him when he was
made the candidate of his party for president.*
Although the relations between Blaine and Reed
were not those of close intimacy, and they sometimes
disagreed upon questions relating to the politics of
Maine, they were usually found acting together, and
Reed was faithful to Blaine during the years when the
latter was the leader of his party in the nation and when
his position as leader was made difficult by opposition
within his own ranks. Reed was generous in the ex
pression of admiration for Blaine's talents on more than
one occasion. He once said of him: "His rush was very
hard to withstand; he never paused to defend and
never ceased to attack." He would sometimes indulge
in a little sarcasm at Blaine's expense. Senator Lodge,
in an article in the "Century Magazine," says that he
chanced to meet Reed on State Street, Boston, just
'¦ Of Blaine's eulogy on Garfield, Reed wrote in an article in the
Youth's Companion: "The task was not easy, for Mr. Blaine had to
satisfy both the critical audience there present, who knew where
Garfield was not strong, and the greater audience, beyond, who were
filled with the accumulated pity and regret of many long weary and
anxious days of waiting by the bedside of the dying man. Both are
gone. They were both mighty in their day and generation."

THE GREENBACK ISSUE 91
after Blaine's nomination in 1884, and asked him what
he thought of it. "Well," replied Reed, "it is a great
comfort to think that the wicked politicians were not
allowed to pick the candidate, and that the nomina
tion was made by the people. The politicians would
have been guided only by a base desire to win."
Whatever other estimate may be placed upon
Blaine, he was one of the most vital, as he was one of
the most unfortunate, figures in our political histoiy.
Soon after his accession to the speakership in 1869,
he was destined to achieve a popularity possessed by
no other man in his party, and for twenty years he
shone in that respect without a rival. In the Republi
can convention of 1876, in the face of personal attacks
of unexampled bitterness, and in spite of the opposi
tion of the national administration, he received upon
different ballots the votes of a majority of all the dele
gates, and only failed of a nomination to the presidency
by the merest accident. In 1880 he was strong enough
against Grant and Conkling to dictate the nominee of
the Convention. In 1884 he was made the candidate
of his party and escaped election by the narrowest
of margins and as a result of the grotesque political
blunder of an aged clergyman. Four years afterwards
he would have received the votes of two-thirds of the
members of the National Convention of his party had
he not forbidden the use of his name. That he should for
so many years have been the most conspicuous states
man and the real leader of his party, at a period when,
in the intelligence and pubUc spirit of its rank and file,

92 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
it was unsurpassed in the history of great parties, af
fords striking proof of the brUliancy of his qualities and
of the hold he had upon the popular imagination. In
the character of his popularity he was on a level with
Henry Clay, and in the quality of what he said he
was certainly at no disadvantage with the latter. The
Little Rock incident in which he was involved was suf
ficiently unfortunate, even without exaggeration. But
its significance was magmfied by the partisan ani
mosity of critics who supplemented the known facts
by conjectures of their own, in order to draw against
him the most damaging conclusions and who reserved
standards of judgment for him which they refrained
from applying to their political friends.

CHAPTER VIII
WINNING LEADERSHIP — SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN
— GENEVA AWARD DISTRIBUTIONS
For the first time in his service Reed now found him
self a member of the majority in the House. He had
gained for himself such a favorable reputation that he
was urged by many friends to become a candidate for
Speaker. In addition to his party colleagues from
Maine, a majority of the Republicans of the Massachu
setts delegation and members from other New England
states as well as from some of the Westem states were
favorable to his candidacy. It was urged for Reed
in one of the leading journals that he was "a man of
uncommon intellectual activity and of growing power."
It was urged against him by another that he was "too
sharp of tongue" and that his seat was contested.
The movement in his favor was sufficiently marked to
attract the attention and antagonism of the Demo
cratic newspapers. One of them declared him to be
"an overgrown boy, who has not mastered the rudi
ments of the manual." ^
Godlove S. Orth of Indiana was also a candidate for
the office, and wrote Reed a letter in regard to his
candidacy to which Reed rather diplomaticaUy replied :
' Washington dispatch to the New York Sun. The same dis
patch impartially castigated all the other RepubUcan candidates.

94 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
"There will be nothing in the contest for the Speaker
ship to change my good-wUl towards you. In fact I
hope the result may be such as to increase it and to
put into my hands power and opportunity to show my
appreciation of your standing and of your service to
the party."
General Keifer of Ohio easily won the nomination
for Speaker in the RepubUcan caucus, and on account
of the support of the so-called Readjuster members,
aided by the absence of some of the Democrats, he
was elected by a much larger plurality than he could
have received on a straight party vote. Indeed, in
his speech accepting the office he declared that no
party in either House of Congress had an absolute
majority over all the other parties. It was difficult to
classify a few of the members, who might be caUed
Greenbackers or Republicans, and there was a small
group from Virginia known as Readjusters. There was,
however, apparently a clear Republican majority of
one over all other parties, which was sufficiently small
to be responsible for plenty of excitement. It was the
first Republican House, if Republican it could be
called, that had been elected since 1872. Nelson Ding
ley of Maine appeared for the first time as a member.
James W. Wadsworth and Perry Belmont appeared
from New York and Andrew G. Curtin, the War-
Governor of Pennsylvania, from that state. Abram
S. Hewitt was returned again from New York, after an
interruption in his service.
The first important discussion at this session in

WINNING LEADERSHIP 95
which Reed took part related to the right of the mem
ber-elect from Utah to his seat. It was proposed that
the man who had been elected should not be seated
because he was a polygamist, and that the candidate
who had run against him and received only a small
proportion of the vote should be admitted in his
stead. Reed moved that the subject be referred to the
Committee on Elections. The motion was made the
occasion for much lurid oratory. One member was in
favor of seating the man who had not received the
votes, because to scrutinize his claim would be in
favor of "that scarlet-robed harlot that sits enthroned
amid the hiUs of Utah." Mr. Cox of New York took
the other side, quoting from Scripture, and referred to
the order of the Emperor of Japan for a parliament.
Reed then took the floor and made a speech in which
serious argument and sarcasm were effectively blended.
I am weU aware [ke said] of the misfortune under which I
labor in being obUged to present a purely legal argument
after such coruscations of eloquence as those which have
been rayed forth by the gentlemen from New York, flash
ing and booming as they did from Japan to Jerusalem.
This whole question is one apart from any question of
polygamy or poUtics. The RepubUcan party has for twenty
years stood pledged to put down both slavery and polygamy.
One half of its duty it has performed without the assistance
of my friend from New York [Mr. Cox]; for the other half we
are proinised his assistance and I have no doubt we shaU be
able to accompUsh it in much less time.
But injustice could never be put down by injustice.
The evidence showed that the one candidate received
eighteen thousand votes and the other candidate

96 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
thirteen hundred. He then argued that under the law
of elections the disqualification of the majority can
didate would not seat the minority candidate. His
motion prevailed by 189 votes to 24.
President Garfield did not live to witness the assem
bling of Congress after his accession to the presidency.
He was assassinated by a man who was probably mad
and whose mind had been still further unbalanced by
a struggle over office which resulted in a serious divi
sion in the party, destined to continue until after the
succeeding presidential election. President Arthur, who
had succeeded to the office, sent his first aimual mes
sage at the opening of the Congress. The document
was largely devoted to financial subjects and brought
out the startling fact that out of the Government's
total annual revenue of $360,000,000, $100,000,000
was surplus. He estimated that the surplus for the en
suing year would reach $130,000,000, or more than
a third of the entire revenue. He therefore recom
mended the repeal of certain internal taxes. He also
pointed to the rapid accumulation of silver dollars in
the Treasury, of which the law required the coinage of
great numbers each year, and which persisted in re
maining on the hands of the government. He called
for the repeal of the law, and a provision that in the
future only enough silver dollars should be coined to
supply the demand. These recommendations por
tended a continuance of the fierce struggles over the
monetary standard, and a renewal of the contest over
the tariff. But the former question was sufficiently

WINNING LEADERSHIP 97
vital to force itseff into discussion, and would doubtless
have come to the front of its own force; and the pleth
oric condition of the Treasury alone was sufficient to
compel a consideration of taxation laws.
When the committee assignments were announced
it was seen that Reed was made the Chairman of the
Committee on the Judiciary, which was third in impor
tance among the committee assignments in the House,
being outranked only by the chairmanships of Ways
and Means and of Appropriations. That he should
have won this appointment after only four years of
service in the House afforded striking proof of the
rapidity with which he had risen in the estimation of
his associates. Early in the session Mr. Godlove S.
Orth of Indiana, who had been appointed to the Com
mittee on Rules, resigned as a protest against his com
mittee assignments. Reed was appointed to fiU this
vacancy on Rules, which in those days was perhaps
the most important political committee in the House.
Its importance may be judged of from its member
ship which was composed of the Speaker, Mr. Reed,
Mr. George M. Robeson, Mr. Randall, and Mr. Black
burn. Mr. Orth stUl further expressed his dissatisfaction
with his committee assignments by proposing a rule
that the committees be appointed by a board of eleven
members to be elected by the House. Since the first
Congress the rules of the House had always provided
that the committees should be appointed by the
Speaker. Reed made a speech against the proposed

98 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
rule. He said that he should protest vigorously
against the plan if he thought " there was the slightest
chance of its adoption by this or any other House."
Whatever complaint could be made of appointments
of committees by pressure upon the Speaker could be
made with redoubled force against appointments
made by the proposed board. "Think of the Speaker
ship of this House goiug into commission! Think of
the log-rolling there would be in order to get such a
board as would favor various measures that might be
presented, supposing always that there was in the
House the danger of the suggested corruption or ruin.
What modest, good men the board would have to be!
They would have to pass self-denying ordinances and
resist the temptation to shine as members of Judiciary,
Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Foreign Af
fairs." The action of a committee, Reed argued, was
under the scrutiny of the House, and when one was
appointed out of accord with the wishes of members
it became an object of suspicion ; the Speaker was not
only under the constant supervision of public opinion
but also under the supervision of the House.
The Speaker submitted to the House the question
whether the proposed Orth rule was in order, and the
House by a large majority voted in the negative.
Reed as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee
brought in a bill on January 25, 1882, to permit Justice
Hunt of the Supreme Court, who was incapacitated
for service, to retire and receive the judiciary pension.
The passage of the biU was opposed, and the debate

WINNING LEADERSHIP 99
which ensued wUl serve to show Reed's conservative at
titude toward the judiciary. The contract with a judge
who was appointed for life, he argued, was to be taken
as an entirety. It was an easy matter sitting in the
House in health and comfort to talk about the duty of
a judge "to resign the salary which by law belongs to
him for hfe, and go out to poverty and discomfort,"
when he was utterly incapacitated from supporting
himseff. He knew how easy it was to set up lofty stand
ards of human action; but he had noticed also that the
lofty standard was set up "by those who do not have
to carry it into actual battle." When he heard men mak
ing unreasonable demands on human nature he had
"a dreadful suspicion that their actions would not be
equal to their talk," ff the case was their own. The
House passed the bill.
A few days later, in a discussion on an appropriation
bill. Reed confessed that as he gained more experience
in the House he was dropping the prejudices he brought
with him, not rapidly, but "I find them disappearing
gradually." Among the prejudices he held when he
entered Congress was one " against talking for the bene
fit of the County of Buncombe, but I am entirely
satisfied that was a mistake." Whether grievances
were reasonable or imaginary, "there is nothing that
shows the right of things like a statement for and
against." Early in the session Reed reported to the House from
the Committee on Rules a resolution for a select Com
mittee on Woman Suffrage. The resolution was adopted

100 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
by 115 votes to 84. Among those voting with Reed in
favor of the resolution were Cannon, McKinley, and
Dingley. Reed was an earnest beUever in conferring
the baUot upon women. Although somewhat out of
chronological order it is perhaps well at this point to
refer to a minority report on woman's suffrage, made
not long afterwards from the Committee on the Judi
ciary. The report, or more properly the "views of
the minority," bears the names of four members of
the committee of which his name was first. It was
written by Reed.^
The report was in favor of a proposed amendment
to the Constitution, providing that the right of citi
zens to vote should not be denied or abridged on
account of sex. It set forth that no one who listened
to the reasons
given by the superior class for the continuance of any sys
tem of subjection can fail to be impressed with the noble
disinterestedness of mankind. When the subjection of per
sons of African descent was to be maintained, the good of
those persons was always the main object. When it was the
fashion to beat children, to regard them as Uttle animals who
had no rights, it was always for their good that they were
treated with severity, and never on accomit of the bad tem
per of their parents. Hence, when it is proposed to give to
the women of this country an opportunity to present their
case to the various state legislatures, to demand of the
people of the country equaUty of political rights, it is not
surprising to find that the reasons on which the continuance
of the inferiority of women is urged, are drawn ahnost
' The style of the report very clearly proves its authorship. I
have it also on the authority of his daughter, Mrs. Katherine Reed
Balentine, that her father was the author.

WINNING LEADERSHIP 101
entirely from a tender consideration of their own good. The
anxiety felt lest they should thereby deteriorate, would be
an honor to human nature were it not an historical fact that
the same sweet solicitude has been put up as a barrier
against every progress which women have made since civ
iUzation began.
If suffrage were a right, ff one man had no claim to
govern another man
except to the extent that the other man has a right to
govern him, then there can be no discussion of the question
of woman suffrage. No reason on earth can be given by
those who claim suffrage as a right of manhood which does
not make it a right of womanhood also. If the suffrage is to
be given man to protect him in his Ufe, liberty and property,
the same reasons urge that it be given to woman, for she has
the same life, liberty, and property to protect. If it be urged
that her interests are so bound up in those of man that they
are sure to be protected, the answer is that the same argu
ment was urged as to the merging in the husband of the
wife's right of property, and was pronounced by the judg
ment of mankind fallacious in practice and in principle. If
the natures of men and women are so alike that for this
reason no harm is done by suppressing woraen, what harm
can be done by elevating them to equality? If their natures
be different, what right can there be in refusing representa
tion to those who might take juster views about many social
and political questions?
It was undoubtedly true that women exercised
strong political influence through their husbands and
brothers, —
But that is just the kind of influence which is not whole
some for the community, for it is influence unaccompanied
by responsibility. . . .
We conclude then that every reason which in this country
bestows the ballot upon man is equally appUcable to the
proposition to bestow the ballot upon woman; that in our

103 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
judgment there is no foundation for the fear that woman will
thereby become unfitted for aU the duties she has hitherto
performed. On March 14, 1882, the Chinese Exclusion bUl came
before the House. Reed took his place among the op
ponents of the measure and voted first to reduce the
term of exclusion from twenty years to ten, and finally
voted against the biU altogether. It was vetoed by
President Arthur on the ground, among others, that
it was in violation of our treaty with China, and im
posed an unreasonable limitation. Another bUl was
then passed, making the limit ten years, for which
Reed voted and which was signed by the President.
On May 6, 1882, a tariff -commission biU was brought
forward for action. Reed supported it, but took no par
ticular part in the discussion except upon an amend
ment to the effect that no member of the commission
should receive any compensation except that provided
in the bill, under penalty of fine and imprisonment.
Reed said that the purpose of the amendment was
not to provide any safeguards for the members of the
commission or for the country, but "to inflict an in
sulting imputation" upon them even before they were
appointed, and by inference "to throw odium upon
the very appointment of a commission." The amend
ment was defeated and the commission bill passed.
One of the most important bills of this Congress
related to the distribution of the Geneva Award.
Reed had charge of the measure and engineered its
passage through the House. Although that historic

WINNING LEADERSHIP 103
tribunal had rendered its decision more than eight
years before, less than half the award had been dis
tributed and there still remained over nine million
dollars of the amount in the National Treasury. The
tribunal had made the award to the United States,
and not to the particular interests suffering from the
depredations of the Confederate cruisers which had
been fitted out in the home ports of Great Britain or
in the ports of her colonies. Although the sum was
thus awarded in gross, the obligation was upon the na
tion equitably to distribute it. This proved to be a
very difficult task. A distribution of part of the sum
had been ordered in 1874, and from that time until
Reed reported the bill for the final distribution Con
gress after Congress had struggled with the subject
and had reached no conclusion. It was one of those
questions which in our country are apt to become
chronic, and of which an impressive example is seen
in the French Spoliation claims, now more than a
century old.
Reed made an exhaustive speech on the subject, and
one that so illuminated all the doubtful questions con
nected with it as to receive the approbation of the
House. The facts with which he dealt were scattered
through a score of large volumes, but he declared that
the controlling facts were in reality few in number, and
he promised that if the members would listen to him
he would try to present them in a way that would aid
their judgment. He declared that the duty devolved
upon Congress to distribute the money directly and

104 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
that the subject was not one for a court. It should not
be distributed to the insurance companies because it
was clear that they had charged for war-risks which
were kept distinct from the other hazards, and these
charges had been so great that they had met every
dollar paid out by the companies for losses, and had
paid from "thirty-five to forty per cent dividends be
sides." The companies were asking Congress to pay
the "amount of money in consideration of which they
actually obtained thirty-five per cent dividends." He
believed that position involved an absurdity. If the
subject were referred to a court, it would either decide
in favor of the insurers or it would not. If it should not
decide in favor of the insurers, that would be in accord
ance with the decision that Congress had always made
and would make again. But if it should decide in their
favor, "then," Reed declared, "I do not want to give
them the chance to do that. . . .We are the law-making
power. ... If we make provision for its distribution
we must lay down just principles which shaU guide the
distribution." The man who had lost his ship and
who received only a portion of the loss from the -in
surance companies should be paid the balance out of
the Geneva fund, and the men who had paid high war
premiums should receive their money back. It was
that money which had increased the amount of the
fund. They had not been able to recoup themselves
from freights, "because they had been obliged to take
freight in competition with British bottoms, which did
not pay war premiums." The claim of the companies

WINNING LEADERSHIP 105
which had made great dividends was not to be con
sidered. "Paid once with splendid profits, why should
they come again? Simply because incorporated man
has the courage sublime enough to put the natural
man to an open shame? Unincorporated man is satis
fied to be paid once. How many payments would
satisfy incorporated man human experience has not
yet decided."
The insurance companies were able to muster strong
support, and as the debate proceeded speeches were
made against Reed's position. Reed repUed to them in
a brief speech in which he contended that the award
was " in the nature of a fine imposed upon Great Brit
ain for the injury she did our commerce. What shall
we do with the money? Distribute it to the people en
gaged in commercial pursuits who were injured by
that act of Great Britain, by her permitting Confed
erate cruisers to be fitted out in her dockyards and al
lowing them to be coaled and refitted in the ports of her
colonies." Those opposed to the bill had asked that
a court shoidd decide the question according to the law
of nations. "What!" Reed replied, "a distribution of
money among our own citizens? . . . What has the law
of nations to do with the Calcutta trade in Boston,
or with the coastwise trade in Calffomia? It is a good
mouth-filling phrase, but it does not mean business."
One of the members in opposition had said that Con
gress did not have as large a jurisdiction as the Supreme
Court. "Has it not?" asked Reed. "Then why does
not the Supreme Court transact aU the business of the

106 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
country? What is this Congress here for? To decide
individual rights, sometimes by general laws, some
times by particular laws."
The biU then passed by a vote of 133 to 67. It is a
striking tribute to the justice of Reed's position, con
sidering the ancient character of the controversy, that
his bill should have been passed by the Senate without
an amendment. In the latter body Senator Hoar, who
had charge of it, said that some of the questions raised
were "a good deal like questions in theology. . . . The
practical common sense however of the House and
Senate has brushed aside the technicalities."
The Democrat who had opposed Reed in the elec
tion, and had been defeated by so slight a margin,
entered a contest for his seat. Although a liberal allow
ance is always made by the government for the legal
expenses of both sides in a contest for a seat. Reed
apparently acted as his own counsel. He filed a brief,
a very short one, in his own behaff, covering scarcely
three printed pages. He declared that he had been
reluctant to present the brief in the case because it
hardly seemed worthy of argument. The paper pre
sented against him was, he said, "utterly vague. This
is not the fault of the able and distinguished lawyer
who prepared it. He found nothing sustained by proofs
and was therefore unable to make any definite state
ment. But it makes it difficult for me. It is hard to
reply to fog." The most definite allegation appeared
to be that there had been intimidation of voters in
favor of Reed. To this charge Reed replied in the brief.

WINNING LEADERSHIP 107
"I can only say that my experience with the Democ
racy of my district does not lead me to regard them
as cowards or sneaks. If I could scare them as easily
as the contestant seems to think and by means as in
adequate as he has proved, I have certainly been rec
reant in a plain duty. I ought to have scared more
of them." The contest was decided in favor of Reed.
During the consideration of the bill for the extension
of the charters of the national banks which were then
about to expire. Reed was absent from the House on
account of illness. He was paired evidently in favor
of the bill, for his position on the measure could hardly
be doubted. The views of one of his colleagues from
Maine, who had been chosen as a Greenbacker, are of
interest as reflecting the intensity of the greenback
sentiment in Maine at that time, and very likely in
the country. This colleague proposed an amendment
limiting the extension of the charters to three years,
and declared that the national banking system in this
country was the most dangerous institution that ever
affiicted its people. " I am willing to concede national
banks three years, to allow them to go into some honest
business, but I want them after that to be eliminated
from the financial system of the country."
The House, having the sole constitutional power to
originate revenue bills, passed and sent to the Senate
during this Congress a bill repealing certain internal
revenue taxes in order to do away with a portion of
the very large surplus revenue. The Senate amended
the bill by adding to it a revision of the tariff.

108 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
It was contended on the part of the House that
this was an abuse of its constitutional prerogative,
and the ancient controversy between the houses was
fought over again. The Senate had taken the position,
against the view of some of the greatest lawyers who
had ever sat there, that the passage by the House of
any sort of tax bUl, however insignificant in character,
conferred upon the Senate the right to range over
the whole field of taxation and radicaUy to revise the
revenue system of the country, without regard to
whether the revision was pertinent to the subjects in
the House bill or not. The ancient contention of the
House was that, when it sent a tax bill to the Senate,
the right of the latter to amend was in fairness re
stricted to the taxes imposed by the bill, and that the
broad claim of the Senate would reduce to insignificant
proportions the prerogative of the House, which was
the result of one of the great compromises in the Con
stitutional Convention. The purpose of that compro
mise was to give a substantial concession to the large
states for the equal share which was conferred upon the
smaU states in the great powers of the Senate, and to
confer upon the popular body where the states were
represented according to population, an important
prerogative with respect to taxation bills.
When the House bUl came back thus amended by
the Senate, the Democrats inaugurated a vigorous
filibuster against action, and the House was unable to
make any progress under the rules. Reed, from the
Committee on Rules, reported a special order the

WINNING LEADERSHIP 109
effect of which would be to give the majority of the
House control over the situation. The Democrats
then filibustered against the adoption of the rule,
using all the various motions that could be entertained,
from a parliamentary standpoint. A long contro
versy ensued and a partisan debate, in which the pro
ceeding was fiercely denounced by Cox, Blackburn,
and other Democrats. Reed in reply admitted that
ff it were not for a great emergency he would not favor
the rule, but the House was committed to the passage
of revenue legislation. The Democrats were preventing
the carrying out of this policy by systematic obstruc
tion. As to the constitutional question he declared that
in his judgment the biU as it was amended did not show
sufficient deference to the principles which should
govern under the Constitution. "But why," he asked,
"was that question not raised? . . . Why was it that
the gentleman from Kentucky contented himseff with
language upon the subject, instead of bringing in a
resolution upon the constitutional point?" He de
clared that the question should be referred to a com
mittee of conference to be appointed by the two Houses.
At a later stage of the discussion Reed expressed even
more strongly his opinion upon the constitutional
question. He declared that the Senate had transcended
its power in the amendment which it had made.
A conference was at last agreed to, but in a form
which displeased the Senate and especially the Demo
cratic members, none of whom would serve upon the
conference committee. Mr. Harris, the Democratic

110 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
leader, said in reply to a question by the President
of the Senate that he beUeved the Chair would be
warranted in assuming that no Democrat would serve
on the committee. The opposition in the Senate,
however, was due not to its own infringement on
the prerogative of the House, but to the circumstance
that the House did not complacently assent to the in
fringement. The outcome of the controversy was that
the conferees of both Houses agreed upon a bill which
did in effect reduce customs duties, although a bill
affecting internal revenue taxation only had passed
the House. The Republicans had yielded upon the
constitutional ground sufficiently to warrant the taunt
of Mr. J. Randolph Tucker: "They swapped the Con
stitution for the high tariff." Reed voted in sUence to
accept the conference report, evidently contenting him
seff with the resolution passed by the House protest
ing against the infraction of its constitutional rights
by the Senate. A brief reference to the matter in his
diary shows that he was impressed with the briUiancy
of the parUamentary tactics which, out of a situation
which seemed well-nigh hopeless, secured the enact
ment of the law.
During this Congress Reed supported the civil-
service-reform biU and he also delivered a speech,
longer than he usually made, against "free ships" and
in favor of developing the shipbuilding industry in the
United States. His chief argument was based upon
the desirability of being able to buUd our warships,
and especially to make repairs in time of war and to

WINNING LEADERSHIP 111
provide munitions of war. He made a report from his
committee on certain land grants given by the govern
ment to the railroads. In some cases the report affirmed
that the conditions of the grants had been complied
with and in other cases recommended forfeiture. It
was politically dangerous at that time not to report
in favor of a forfeiture, regardless of what the law and
facts were. When Reed made this report, he was en
gaged in his campaign for reelection. A Texas colonel
stumped his district and made charges against him on
account of his action on some of the grants. The
charges evidently made little impression. In that year,
in Maine, the Congressmen were elected by the state
at large, and Reed ran ahead of his ticket through
out the state. After the election he made a speech in
the City Hall in Portland, and noticed for the first
time what he called the "vUe personal attack" that
had been made upon him; and he added, amid great
cheering, "I am proud to think I have never been
called upon to answer it. You have answered it by
your votes, more thoroughly and fully than I could
have done."
On December 12, 1882, Reed supported the bUl for
a Congressional Library building. He traced the his
tory of the collection, from the small number of books
intended for the use of the two houses of Congress
until it had become the largest collection in America.
He declared that no man with any love for books
could "visit the rooms of the Congressional Library
without indignant feelings of sorrow and regret to see

112 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the contemptuous treatment by a great nation of the
rich treasures of Uterature and learning which are scat
tered around on the floors and in every passageway."
This condition could not be met by the proposal that,
as it was originally intended to be only a Congressional
Library, one haff of the books ought to be burned.
"Which haff," Reed asked, "the haff which the gen
tleman from Maryland does not like or the haff which
any other gentleman in the House does not like? . . .
In a great library meant for a great nation, nothing
pertaining to a library is out of place." He referred to
the effective use that Macaulay, in writing his history
of England, had made of pamphlets which had been
rejected as ephemeral rubbish by other historians.
We were rapidly approaching the nations of the old
world in numbers, we were in fact even topping them
in wealth, " and we shall equal them in civUization as
well." One of the brightest marks of civilization, "one
of the surest guarantees of the spread of literature and
of knowledge, is the preservation of those means where
by knowledge and wisdom come to men. Let us make
a building worthy not only of ourselves but of the ob
ject for which we buUd it."
The plea for narrow economy prevailed and the bill
failed. This was a fortunate circumstance, however,
for he had the satisfaction of helping in a later Con
gress to make more ample provision than could then
have been hoped for, and the splendid building which
now holds the Library was the result.
On February 21, 1883, Reed suggested that the haU

WINNING LEADERSHIP lis
of the House be divided into two parts, one part to be
used for the desks and the other to be "reserved, in
which members can be heard. But to put desks in
the middle of this ten-acre lot in which we are now
doing business would be the greatest mistake in the
world." Reed was impressed with the great diffi
culty of doing business in such an enormous haU, far
larger than that of any other legislative chamber in
the world, and more than twice as large as the English
House of Commons which had a much larger member
ship. He wished a hall of a proper size for doing busi
ness, so that a member, whether or not he had what
Reed called a "magnificent voice," could be heard.

CHAPTER IX
ROUGH AND TUMBLE
There was much rough-and-tumble fighting in the
House in those days, and very much of it fell to Reed
on account of his readiness and also because of his
place on the Rules Committee and his chairmanship
of the Judiciary Committee. A great deal of it was
on trifling questions of procedure or on unimportant
measures, and is no longer of any consequence except
perhaps in showing Reed's everyday manner in deal
ing with the commonplaces of business, and the offhand
banter with which he enUvened the dull routine of the
House. One day Mr. Springer of Illinois called upon
Reed to prove a proposition that the latter had put
forth. Reed : Now I cannot teach the gentleman from lUinois
any wisdom; I cannot hope to do it.
Sphingee : No, you cannot.
Reed : No, I cannot. It is necessary, for the plant to grow,
not only that there should be seeds sown, but also that there
shaU be soil Ln which to imbed them. . . . The great difficulty
is, not that I cannot teU him what is the right way, if he
would be instructed; but the difficulty is in making con
nection at the other end of the road. . . . Now I trust the
House appreciates the hopelessness of the situation and will
aUow me to sit down.
Mr. Cox of New York referred to the drinking of
liquor in Maine, where there was a prohibitory law

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 115
and said: "The Republican party drinks a good deal
of whisky clandestinely that we do not know anything
about." "When my friend from New York takes it,"
retorted Reed, "it does not remain clandestine very
long." Mr. Townshend of Illinois complained that he could
not make a five-minute speech against the tariff "but
they cry 'vote,' 'vote,' and seek to put me down."
"It is because you make the same speech every time,"
said Reed. " It is not the speech we complain of so
much as it is the monotony of the thing; we want
a change." On one occasion Springer endeavored to
secure unanimous consent to correct a statement he
had previously made in a partisan speech. Reed;
"No correction needed, we did not think it was so
when it was made." On another day Springer accused
Reed of making light of his (Springer's) remarks.
Reed: "I wiU say to the gentleman that if I 'made
light' of his remarks it is more than he ever made
of them himseff."
On January 3, 1883, in a discussion of Mississippi
River improvements, Mr. Randall referred in a lauda
tory manner to what he and his party had been will
ing to do for the river. He was followed by Mr. Cox,
to similar effect. Reed replied that he had heard
Randall make the same speech with more or less
enthusiasm six times, and had read it in two antece
dent records. "I approve of that method. . . . The
first time a man talks he has to attend to what he
says; the eighth or ninth time he has an opportunity

116 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
to put in the gestures and to look after his personal
interests." [Laughter.] Reed intimated that Randall
had an eye on the Speakership, and was "enabled to
put himseff right with the Mississippi River gentlemen
if they choose to believe his words in defiance of his
deeds. ... I am glad to see the gentleman from New
York prance forward in his usual style." A member
asked to whom Reed referred.
I refer to the gentleman from New York, Mr. Cox, who
last ornamented the situation. [Laughter.] It was a blessed
comfort to see him step forward because we knew that
another candidate had entered the ring, if I may use such
an undignified expression. [Laughter] This House and the
country wait in solemn state to hear the next candidate for
the Speakership present his views of life and duty with
reference to the Mississippi.
Reed did not take Mr. Cox at his own valuation,
for the latter had pretensions to being considered a
wit. But he put a high estimate upon him in other
respects. He subsequently wrote of him : —
Mr. Cox was not an orator, hardly a leader, and perhaps
not a wit; but in action he was a whole skirmish Une, and
has covered more movements of the Democratic party, and
led it out of more parliamentary pitfalls than any of its
orators and all its leaders put together.
The House, as has been seen, was very narrowly
Republican, and there was every incentive for indulg
ing in obstruction when a measure was brought for
ward that was especially obnoxious to the minority.
Election contests, when it was proposed to unseat
members of the minority, would usually arouse the

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 117
fiercest partisan passion and lead to the most deter
mined obstruction. In those times upon such an occa
sion the war was sure to be fought over again and the
House would become the scene of great disorder. An
election contest from South Carolina precipitated a
violent outbreak which lasted for several days, and as
progress was impossible under the regular rules of the
House, a special order was reported by the Committee
on Rules, and Reed was put in charge of the measure.
During the days that followed. Reed was therefore the
leader of the House so far as it could be said to have
any leader. They were days of somewhat more or
derly proceeding but were charged with great excite
ment. Reed's argument on the rule consisted in quot
ing precedents from Democratic speakers and others
when that party was in control of the House and re
sponsible for its action, and in reply Randall and his
Democratic colleagues cited the speeches made by
Republican members when that party was in the
minority and when it resorted to dilatory tactics to
prevent action. The ancient practice of filibustering
had at least very much simpUfied the method of pro
ceeding. An argument had been thoroughly devel
oped both for the minority and majority and was
well seasoned by precedent. Each side had only to
cite as authority the arguments put forward by the
other side in some previous Congress and to accuse it
of inconsistency. Upon that subject both sides were
equally inconsistent, and Reed with the others was
accused of inconsistency and was doubtless guilty of it.

118 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Upon the great pubUc questions Reed's course was
a remarkably consistent one, but he was not much
troubled by accusations of inconsistency. This is the
way he dealt with the subject in a later Congress : —
I do not promise the members of this House whenever
they Usten to me to give them wisdom of adamant. I do not
promise them I shaU not change my opinion when I see good
reason for doing it. I only promise that I will give them
honestly what my opinion is at the time. They must take
their chances of its being for eternity. [Laughter and ap
plause.] The House of Representatives of the Forty-seventh
Congress was destined to be the only Republican
House chosen between 1872 and 1888. The factional
strffe in the Republican party in the state of New
York, the overturn in that party caused by the
succession of Mr. Arthur to the presidency, and the
antecedent squabble over the New York coUectorship,
were probably the causes chiefly responsible for the
reaction which showed itseff in the election of 1882.
The division of the party into "Stalwarts" and "Haff-
breeds" was more clearly marked in that state than
any other, and led to the defeat of Mr. Folger for
governor by a phenomenal majority which had much
to do with making Mr. Cleveland, who was elected, the
candidate of his party for the presidency.
Reed, as has been seen, was chosen a representative
at large from Maine, leading the other candidates of
his party on the ticket. The Speaker of the preceding
House, Keifer, was conceded the renomination by the

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 119
Republicans. Carlisle displaced Randall as the Demo
cratic leader, on account of the protectionist principles
of the latter, and was nominated for the Speakership
by the Democrats and elected.
Thus Randall retired from the leadership of his
party in the House. He had led it when in the minority.
During three Congresses he had been Speaker. In the
latter position he had rendered the country a signal
service, and had possibly saved it from anarchy and
civil war. When he was Speaker, in 1877, the great
majority of his party in the House and in the country
beUeved that Tilden had been elected to the presi
dency. RandaU discarded the practice he himseff had
so often foUowed and refused to entertain dilatory
motions, to the end that the count of the presidential
vote might be consummated before the fourth of
March, the day on which the new term was to begin.
If Grant's term had come to its constitutional end and
his successor had not been determined upon, chaos
itseff would have intervened. The extent of the
damage would have been incalculable with a weak or a
small man in the Speaker's chair, and Randall reached
a subUme height on that day when he put befpre him
seff the good of the country and, partisan as he usuaUy
was, and in defiance bf many of his own party and
of the precedents which he himself had helped to
estabUsh, he cleared the way for the completion of
the count. Reed said of him, "Perhaps there may
have been better parliamentarians, men of broader
intellect and more learning, but there have been few

120 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
men with a will more like iron or a courage more
unfaltering." ^
Keffer became the titular leader of the minority in
the House, through his nomination for Speaker; but
without any disparagement of that gentleman. Reed
had shown himseff the most conspicuous Republican
member and was therefore called upon to do very
much of the work of the fighting leader.
This Congress contributed little legislation of much
importance. The division of the control of the depart
ments of government between the two parties pre
vented legislation of a partisan character. And indeed,
while there was very much of partisanship between
1873 and 1889, very little of it found its place upon
the statute books, because of the circumstance that no
party had control of both the presidency and Congress
during that time except for a period of two years.
Although there was much political skirmishing, there
was very little important legislation beyond that of the
routine sort in the Congress which was chosen in 1882.
The proceedings of this Congress do not make in
teresting reading, and ff they were not occasionaUy
relieved by the flashes of Reed's wit, they would be
intensely dull. He made a serious attack on the rules
of the House, in a speech which foreshadowed the
position he was to take, when he became Speaker, in
favor of a system of rules under which the House could
do business. On February 7, 1884, he called attention
to the necessity for amendment of the rules, pointing
1 Saturday Evening Post, December 9, 1899.

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 121
out that the House under its procedure could trans
act only eight per cent of its business, and that the
provisions of the rules must hinge upon that important
fact. Speaking on the same line February 18, with
regard to a proposition to take up the International
Copyright biU under a special order. Reed said sarcas
tically : "Our rules were intended to kill bUls; and why
should they not be left to operate as intended? " The
House refused to take up this bill for consideration,
a majority having voted for it but not the two thirds
necessary for the' suspension of the rules. Reed was
one of those who voted for its consideration. Under
the later system, which was adopted during Reed's
Speakership, an important measure like this would
have received consideration.
\ FiUbustering continued upon every occasion which
the minority deemed a proper one, and although the
House was Democratic by sixty majority, that party
was very often unable to command a quorum. The
old comedy of bringing members in under arrest was
repeatedly performed. Finally, when a Republican
member was brought in, a motion was made to impose
a small fine upon him and it was insisted upon by the
Democratic members. Reed ridiculed the proposition
out of the House. He asked the Democrats ff they
were wilhng to go to the country presenting the spec
tacle of a Democratic House two hundred strong not
able to get witliin sixty of its membership present,
and yet punishing a gentleman on this side of the House
because he was doing what sixty of your own members have

122 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
done. . . . We offered you complete control ot the House
and you did not dare to take it. . . . It is because you did
not dare to trust yourselves. You knew yourselves better
than we did. Here you have been struggUng aU night long,
two hundred strong, to pass a biU which your gentle hearts
are set upon, to pay men for Creek wars and disturbances of
1835 or some other unknown periods, and it has come down
to this, that you soUdify at last upon a fiine of five doUars
against the member from Pennsylvania, and the majestic
heart of the Democratic party is just now stirred in pursuit
of the Honorable S. S. Cox and another of your leaders
who seem somehow or another to have escaped. [Renewed
laughter.] . . . The best thing on earth you can do is to go
quietly away and try to make the country think that this
thing has never occurred. Now, is not what I have said
directly to the point? I submit to the candid judgments of
the men I see before me, calmed and soothed by what I have
said. [Laughter.]
Reed continued his opposition to the policy of not
providing for the Navy. At the end of the Civil War,
on account of the improvements in naval architecture
and especiaUy in the direction of building armored
vessels, our Navy was powerful compared with foreign
navies; but it was permitted to remain as it was at
that time. In the course of the next fifteen years
progress in naval construction abroad had made our
Navy practically obsolete. Reed was strongly in favor
of having a modern navy, although he did not favor
extravagant appropriations. When the Naval biU,
upon which he had previously spoken, was returned
from the Senate with amendments in favor of strength
ening the Navy, Reed attempted to have RandaU,
who was in charge of the bill, declare what his position
was on the Senate propositions. RandaU refused to

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 123
make it known. Reed then made a strong speech
showing the necessity of dealing with the situation
and the failure of Randall to do it. He insisted that
ordinary parliamentary courtesy, "which sometimes
goes beyond the absolute necessities of the case,"
would indicate that Randall should condescend to
make an explanation to the House at large just as if he
did not know that
he had at his back gentlemen who cared nothing about what
was in the Senate amendments either one way or another.
Think of a great nation without a navy treated to the two
reasons now given why a navy should not be built. First,
the department would be liable under the Senate amend
ment to build ships; and second, another bill was pending
which could not possibly be passed and therefore this amend
ment should not pass. . . . Here you are with the respon
sibilities of the country upon you. The gentleman from
Pennsylvania takes a gentle refuge in the past — that home
of democracy — the place where they live and from which
they never go. He says, "We are not responsible for the
paralysis of the Navy; that belongs to the past." To-day the
gentleman from Pennsylvania is chairman of the Commit
tee on Appropriations. If he is not responsible for the
present, who is? . . . Who is responsible for the paralysis
of the present? WiU he undertake to deny his responsibility
for a naval appropriation bill which passed this House
with no appropriation for ordinance? . . . Why, sir, what an
attempt! Does the Democratic party intend to go before
the country and simply disclaim responsibiUty as to the past,
hoping thereby to shirk its responsibility as to the present?
. . . The gentleman from Pennsylvania says we will never
have any war. . . . The history of mankind is to the con
trary, and it shows that no wise nation with surplus reve
nue ever before presented the defenseless spectacle which
this country presents.
In a later speech he congratulated the Democr9,tic

124 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
party upon the advance it had made regarding the
Navy. A gentleman from Tennessee had declared
that the proper Navy for the United States was "a
couple of logs with an American flag fastened to them;
and the gentleman from Connecticut, Mr. Eaton, has
to-day advanced as far as a canoe." [Laughter.]
During the same session Reed had an amusing col
loquy with Cox. He quoted from a speech on the
Naval bill made by the latter, in which he cited an
opinion of the "Admiral of the American Navy"
against the construction of some steel cruisers. Reed
attempted to unravel the mystery and ascertain who
the "Admiral of the Navy" was, and he concluded
that Cox had confused himseff with that official and
had cited an opinion of his own. Reed then pro
ceeded: —
Now I remember but one historical parallel to this.
George IV, an accomplished gentleman, — and there the
parallel is perfect with my friend from New York, — a man
who had been busy about great affairs, — and the parallel
continues, — had become so interested in those great affairs
that he actually labored under the hallucination that he
was present at the battle of Waterloo, and he insisted upon
the Duke of Wellington endorsing his statement. Now the
gentleman from New York [Mr. Cox] has been at the head
of the Committee on Naval Affairs ... he has evidently so
devoted his mind to the subject of the Navy, has evidently
become so fired with enthusiasm upon the subject, has so
absorbed himself in it that he has forgotten his own person
ality, — a great matter, — and for the moment has imagined
himself to be the Lord High Admiral of the American
Navy. Reed's speech had an irritating effect and Cox re-

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 125
joined that " if ignorance and impudence would make
a statesman the gentleman from Maine would be a
Bismarck," and there was a good deal more to the
same effect. Reed replied that Cox had avoided the
facts. He insisted that he had proved that the "Ad
miral of the Navy" did not say what Cox had alleged,
but that the statement was made by Cox himself,
"and he retorts with gross personal allusions. . . . He
quotes himseff, causing his statement to be promul
gated over this country as a statement of the 'Admiral
of the Navy.'"
Cox made the mistake of taking Reed's banter seri
ously. He denied Reed's statement and asked leave to
present in the "Record" an explanation, which he did
at considerable length, but it seemed strictly to corrob
orate the assertion made by Reed. Cox embodied in
his statement the explanation, "On the hasty glance I
cast on it, I did not observe that the quotation marks
did not refer to Admiral Porter."
On December 17, 1884, the race question was
brought under discussion by an amendment proposed
with more frankness than discretion, by Mr. Crisp of
Georgia, to a bill establishing an Interstate Commerce
Commission. The amendment provided that a certain
section of the bill should not be so construed "as to
prevent any raUroad company from providing sepa
rate accommodations for white and colored persons."
The color issue was not at that time a popular one to
advance in national legislation, and Mr. Breckinridge
of Arkansas aimed to accomplish the same end by

126 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
proposing a substitute, which was not so brutally
frank. The substitute omitted all reference to color
and provided that the act should not be construed so
as to deny to railroads "the right to classffy passen
gers as they may deem best for the public comfort
and safety." This gave Reed an opportunity to make
a sarcastic speech which proved absolutely destruc
tive of the proposition. He declared that he rejoiced to
see the question hfted by the suggestion of Breckin
ridge from a mere question of politics or of color.
This at once ceases to be a question of poUtics or color and
has now become a question of assortment; and now this
House, which is determined to pursue these robber barons,
has before it the plain question whether it will not merely
leave to them the privilege of assorting us, but whether
it will absolutely confer upon them the privilege of assort
ment by the direct enactment on the part of Congress.
Now I appeal to this House, engaged as it is in the pursuit
of wicked monopoUes, if it intends to confer upon them a
privilege of assortment without rights by law. Why surely
we must have some treasury regulation as to the method of
assortment. Are we to be assorted on the ground of size?
Am I to be put into one car because of my size and the
gentleman from Arkansas into another car because of his?
Is this to be done on account of our unfortunate difference
of measurement, or are we to be sorted on the mustache
ground? . . .
If not any of these, what basis of assortment are we to
have? For my part I object to having these robber barons
overlook and assort us on any whimsical basis they may
undertake to set up.
He made a trenchant attack on the Post-Office ap
propriation bUl. Townshend of Illinois, who had the
biU in charge, lost his temper completely under the

ROUGH AND TUMBLE 127
criticism. He declared that "every clown" on the other
side had ridiculed the biU, and he directly attacked
Reed whose denunciation of it had made him wince.
He accused the latter of defending every extravagant
appropriation that was proposed and of defending
peculators and railroad corporations. This was far
outside the courtesies of debate, and a member called
him to order, demanding that the words be taken
down. Reed interposed to say that that would give
them too much significance, but he insisted that Town
shend should specffy instances. Townshend appar
ently could not, or did not, do this, but adhered to
generaUties in his charge agauist Reed. When he re
sumed his seat, the latter took the floor. He said
simply that there were two sets of people for whose
opinion he cared a great deal: his constituency which
knew him, and the House which knew Townshend.
"It is hardly necessary to say that I shall stand vindi
cated before both." He then broke into a superb sen
tence which showed the real dignity of his attitude and
his freedom from demagogy. Referring to the taunt
about the corporations, he declared : —
While I stand here a member of this House, there is no
man on the face of the earth so poor nor any corporation so
rich that I wiU prostitute myself to injustice for the sake
of that temporary advantage which comes of maintaining
a false position because some dishonest men are clamoring
against me.
On February 15, 1884, Reed made an important
speech in PhUadelphia. Speaking of the agitation of
the tariff, he said: —

128 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
I know we should all be glad if we could step aside and say,
"Now let us have a peaceful day of rest. Pohtics are over
and the miUennium is begun." But we Uve in a world of sin
and sorrow. Otherwise there would not be any Democratic
party. I take it that I speak to an audience who beUeve in
protection to American industry. Not to those who beUeve
in fostering a few petty industries to the exclusion of others,
but who believe in that broad principle and system which
gives to American labor the entire markets of America.
He declared that it was necessary to keep up the
fight. No sooner is a monument erected than the gnawing tooth
of time sets itself upon it. The forces of evil are as continuous
and determined as the forces of right, and I am sorry to say
that right is only right by a very smaU majority that has got
to be kept up every day. This world is one where we can
not always have our own way. There have been times when
I have not been able to have mine. Therefore a good many
men that I would have Uked to punish are stiU flourishing
upon the earth. Life is a perpetual source of disappointment.
You can never do what you would hke to do. You have
always to do the best thing you can do.
The leading journals credited him with being the
most briUiant man upon his side of the House.
"His speeches," one correspondent declared, "always
bristle with points. His points of order are invariably
well taken because he is a master of parliamentary
law." He had at last fairly won his way to the real
leadership of his party in the House, a leadership
which he retained without a rival so long as he re
mained a member.

CHAPTER X
NOMINATION POR SPEAKER
The presidential election of 1884 was most bitterly
contested. The legitimate political issues furnished
sufficient material for excitement, but there was a
degree of personal bitterness toward the candidates
which was, at the time, unexampled, and which hap
pily has not since been witnessed. The rhetorical trick
of understatement had not come into vogue, and
epithets of the most vituperative character were
freely used.^ The most important factor in the result
in New York, which was the decisive state, was the
"Stalwart" and " Haff-breed" division. The struggle
over the patronage during Garfield's brief incum
bency had been followed by the resignation of Conk
ling and Platt, and the party was rent asunder in that
state. Blaine, because of his relations to the Garfield
administration and the personal hostiUty between him
and Conkling, was the last man upon whom the two
factions could be expected to unite. The defection in
Conkling's own county was much more than sufficient
to explain Blaine's defeat, and the influence of the
former throughout the state, in which he had long been
the most conspicuous figure in his party, doubtless
' For an example see Mr. George Fred Williams's speech on
Blaine at a Mugwump rally in Tremont Temple, Boston.

130 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
counted for many thousand votes. New York was an
extremely doubtful state at the best. That a change
of a few hundred votes out of a miUion and a haff
should have been sufficient to give Blaine the state
seems incredible. But Cleveland, who was at the time
Governor of the state and its favorite son, carried it by
only eleven hundred plurality. The Mugwump con
tingent in that state apparently proved less formidable
in numbers than in the character of its members and
possibly also in their animosity. If that movement
had never existed, the other known elements of dis
turbance would have been sufficient easUy to account
for the result in New York.
Reed had a far less difficult campaign in 1884 than
it had ever been his fortune to have. Blaine was very
strong in his own state, and the other candidates of his
party felt the influence of his popularity. Reed was
elected by a substantial majority, which, indeed, he
received at every subsequent election. He cordially
supported Blaine, and declared that at no time in the
history of the country had there ever been so free and
untrammeled a representation of the people as in the
convention which nominated him. The influence of
the poUtical dictators, by which Reed probably
meant what in modern parlance is called the political
boss, was not seen in its action.
There was another "charge" against Reed which
appeared in this campaign. He was accused of
"neglecting the interests of his district." The follow
ing quotation from a letter from one of the most

NOMmATION FOR SPEAKER 131
prominent Democrats in Congress is pertinent on this
point.
September 9, 1884.
Mt deab Reed: —
I returned home yesterday, regretting to find that the
work of poUtical defamation proceeds now, as of old. I
regret also that I did not arrive in time to relieve you from
what I beUeve to be the unjust charge of having neglected
the interests of your district. Certainly I have never known
a representative more diligent in looking out for what he
believes to be the interests of his constituents, than you have
always been. . . .
I am glad that you have been reelected. ... I have always
admired your capacity and fearlessness; and if my poUtical
adversaries are to be found in the House at aU, I know of
no one whose presence is more acceptable than yours. You
always give and take the blows which are incident to free
poUtical Ufe with courage and calmness. But you never
allow political differences to interfere with your personal
friendships; " hence I am proud to class you among my
friends, and trust that you wiU permit me to subscribe my
self now, as heretofore. Very truly your friend. Abeam S. Hewitt.
On July 30, 1885, Reed delivered a notable address
at Colby University, WaterviUe, Maine. In it he re
pudiated the notion that kings and leaders, and not
the people, made history even in despotic times. The
following passages will serve to show its argument and
its quality.
To history of that kind democracy was but of yesterday,
and in that history the people took no part except as they
Were forced by the brave men or cajoled by the knaves. To
such history, that interesting figure, that much-married,
much-widowed and altogether bereaved man, Henry VIII,

132 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
was the founder of our holy religion, EUzabeth its preserver
and savior. Napoleon the conqueror of Europe, and Alex
ander of the world. But democracy is not of yesterday. It
has equal date with the race of man. There has never been a
moment since time began in which every human being did
not count for what he was worth in all that was achieved by
his nation and his race. . . .
Out of the great mass of each nation has come all national
progress. It is not the leaders and foremost men who make
a nation; it is the nation which makes the leaders. The old
story which adorned the Greek Reader of my day, or some
equally venerated volume, about the army of stags with a
lion for a leader and the army of lions with a stag for a
leader, was but a silly old story after all; for in the first case
the lion would have leaped forward and the stags would
have run away, which would have been bad, even for the
Uon; and in the other case the Uons would have made a Ught
breakfast off the stag, and then acted the way lions act. . . .
If huinan progress had been more a ma,tter of leadership,
we should be in Utopia to-day. . . .
The pathway of time is strewn with the failure of lead
ers. . . .
Queen Victoria has three hundred miUions of subjects;
Elizabeth had but five. Where is the unbroken line of great
leaders under which this marvelous growth has flourished?
You wiU search for them in vain. You cannot find them
among the kings. From EUzabeth to Victoria only one name
shines out; and how much the name of WilUam of Orange
owes to the genius of Macaulay, our generation, yet under
the spell of that brUUant writer, will never know. You will
not find the great leaders among the chief advisers of the
Crown. We do not start at the recognition of a hero in Sir
Robert Walpole, bribe in hand, or in the Pelhams, or in the
Earl of Bute, or in George Grenville, or in the respectable
Marquis of Rockingham, or even in the great WilUam Pitt,
who died heartbroken because all his plans seemed to fail. All
that made him great was his steadfast representation of the
indomitable spirit of the British people for whom there was
no failure. But there stands out from the rest the great

NOMINATION FOR SPEAKER 133
figure of CromweU! Was he not a great man and a great
leader? Most assuredly I am not saying that there are not
great men and great leaders. That would be senseless. But
it is far more senseless to say with Carlyle that without
Cromwell the Puritan Revolt would never have been an
epoch in the world's history. The Puritan Revolt was an
uprising of a whole nation. It is curious to see how full of
unconscious proofs to the contrary is Carlyle's book, written
to show that CromweU alone made that epoch in history.
Everywhere you can see the rising tide long before Cromwell
was surged to the top of the wave. . . .
"Miscellaneous Persons and Shopmen as we should now
call them," says Carlyle, with his emphasis of capital letters,
"rolled about all day bellowing to every lord and judge,
'Justice on Strafford.'" Their clamor sealed his doom. In
the real history of the world the "Miscellaneous Person and
Shopman" have played many a great part of which some one
great man has had the glory. If great men, able men, rule
the world, why was not Wentworth successful? He was the
one supremely able man the King had. On his side were
constable and king, nobiUty and army. Why fell his head
into the basket? In truth, in those old fierce days when Ufe
was the stake of politics, if the great man, however "su
premely able," met a great popular wave, he had to dive
under or be drowned. . . .
The men who are on the top of these great waves get mis
taken in the popular mind for the wave itself. . . .
Every criticism against Abraham Lincoln is dying out.
Every fault of his life is dropping away, is passing out of
sight. The century after his death wiU find him trans
figured in the hearts of all mankind. . . . But to say that
without him we could not have worked out the problem
would be to do, not justice to him, but injustice to all others.
Not to one great man, but to the many belongs our victory.
Not at Springfield, but on the broad plain of Arlington
Heights, stands the monument of our shining achievement,
not towering high to heaven, but spreading lowly over many
an acre rich with the memory of the buried dead; and not
there alone, nor on the quiet hillside where every year the

134 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
living assemble to do honor to the dead, but everywhere in
hamlet and in city, in the field and in the mart — wherever
during the great struggle there was a steadfast and patriotic
soul. But it is easy to see in lands and times Uke our own how
the people govern, for all our institutions are moulded to
make visible their wishes. The people, however, had their
way even in despotic times. Not so swiftly as now, but as
surely. . . . For three quarters of a century the French
nobUity and clergy, entrenched behind existing institutions,
behind the use and wont of mankind, fighting against an
ignorant and impoverished people, thought they were suc
cessfully keeping down the rising flow of knowledge and
Uberty. But when the flood burst, not a vestige of old
nobility, of Church or State, encumbered the earth. The
ruin was as wide as the dam had been stout. A new Church
and State uprose in time, but it was the Church and State of
a freer, a more civilized, a loftier people. And so in every
country, whether liberty broadens down, as in England, from
precedent to precedent, or as in France, from revolution to
revolution, the steady progress of civiUzation comes from
the people and by the people — is forever of them. You
cannot keep the people out of government and progress. If
their intelligence does not rule, their ignorance wfll. . . .
There are a thousand ways in which knowledge and wis
dom, culture and scholarship, and even brute force and
wealth and cunning, get themselves counted. Heads are
counted and brains also. Ignorance gets counted as well as
intelligence, and is quite apt to poU the larger vote.
There is, and always has been, one tremendous ruler of
the human race — a ruler so great that no other despotism
has been possible, and that ruler is that combination of the
opinions of all, that leveUng up of universal sense which is
called Public Sentiment. That is the ever-present regulator
and police of humanity. . . .
But it behooves a man to take heed before he begins to
run counter to it, whether he longs to proclaim a great prin
ciple which will free a race, or merely wants to wear his hair
long down his back. . . . The race must go on together, and

NOMINATION FOR SPEAKER 135
as a whole. . . . Let a man proclaim a new principle in sci
ence or make an invention which supersedes the existing one,
and he must fight. Public sentiment wUl surely be on the
other side. It may try to kill him or it may only shrug its
shoulders. The abolitionists in Old England and in New
England know what this means, and so did John Wesley
and the early Methodists, and almost all great inventors.
The statue of Jacquard, whose invention added a thousand
fold to the comfort and culture of the world, stands to-day
on the very spot where his loom was burned under the orders
of the council of the wise men of the trade of Lyons. In
earlier ages we used to burn the man too.
The discovery of the solar system by Copernicus was a
marvel of wisdom. What a mighty comprehensive mind
must have filled that fraU body! But there is one circum
stance which shows that he had the wisdom of this world
as weU as of aU others. He did not publish his book until he
was on his death-bed. He knew how dangerous it is to be
right when the rest of the world is wrong. . . . The rising
sunbeams may strike into beauty the hilltops first, but their
glancing rays are barren and unfructifying until they pour
vertical into the valleys. Wisdom to be of any use must be
within easy reach of the world.
The reason why the race of man moves slowly is because
it must move aU together. ... It is not the knowledge of the
great men, the skill of the great orators, the philosophy of
the great sages that make civilization. There are no orators
to-day as persuasive as Cicero, no philosophers or wise men
greater than Aristotle or Plato. Yet civilization was not of
their day, but of ours. The sunlight ol knowledge for us
has got beyond the hilltops. The valleys of to-day are not as
beautiful as were the hills ot yore, but they teem with Ufe
and health and verdure. . . .
Our progress is slow because we have to grope in the dark.
We all Uve on hope. . . . What if the progress be slow? The
race has all time before it. Each problem gets grappled with
as it comes up.
Look at the battle between capital and labor. Each must
have the other, and yet the struggle seems perpetual. You

136 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
invent machines and get rid ot three fourths of your labor,
and lo! the insatiable human race demands more, and more,
and more of the product of your machine, and your labor
must come back. If labor should destroy capital, it would
destroy itself. If capital cheats labor, it cheats itself; . . .
Why, then, is it that there is not a settlement once for all?
Simply because men do not know what the fair share is.
It will not do to give capital too httle, otherwise men wUl
neither accumulate nor risk capital. It will not do to give
labor too httle, or men wiU not work. . . . Capital hates to
lose its interest, and men hate to starve. Then again, every
business depends on its neighbor, and aU depend on that
inevitable fluctuation between good times and bad times
which no human wisdom wiU probably ever be able to avert.
It is evidently a problem which takes in the whole world,
and can only be settled on the principles of democracy. . . .
It will get settled by the intelUgence which all acquire in the
fight. The locations of a great many rocks are found by
running against them. . . .
This history ot the progress of all by all and through all
Ufts us to the highest Pisgah of hope and certainty. In its
light the promised land of the future stands richer than the
Canaan of the wearied Hebrews, richer than the fruitage of
the vine the spies brought back, richer than the flowing
of mUk and honey; for we can see by the Ught which the
future in aU ages has thrown back upon the great souls of the
past a world where the selfishness of each has been enlight
ened into seffishness for all; where war and famine and
pestUence shall never come; where under the guardianship
of etemal justice learned through long ages of struggle, and
mistake, and become of the warp and woof of the world,
each human being shaU do all the work there is for him to do,
and shall reap, without tribute to any other, the last results
of his toil.
Apparently in December, 1886, Reed addressed the
New England Society of New York on Forefathers'
Day, and responded for the Congress of the United

NOMINATION FOR SPEAKER 137
States. His speech was a humorous one. He declared
that he knew a great deal about the House, but that
much of what he knew was strictly confidential. He
said that Congress was composed of two Houses, "a
large one and a little one. I belong to the large one."
He referred to the haU of the House as the most ab
surd place in which men ever took common counsel
over their affairs "since our ancestors transacted
business onhorseback in a ten-acre lot."
Reed was nominated by his party in 1886, and in
each subsequent campaign, by acclamation. In his
speech accepting the nomination in 1886, he denounced
the Democratic administration for its attitude on
civil-service reform. He declared that it was mort
gaged, that the first mortgage was to the Mugwumps,
and was ostensibly in favor of civil-service reform,
but it amounted to this, that when the wrong kind
of Democrat wanted office, reform kept him out, but
when another came, with friends at court, he was
nominated. Out of fifty-four appointments Commissioner Black got
fifty-two Democrats. AU others two. Fifty-two out of a
possible fifty-four! Why, the prize target at Creedmore
can show no such shooting! Nevertheless those two Demo
crats, Randall and Holman, proposed to amend the law and
take in the other two. The two lost sheep!
He declared that before Cleveland's term was out
there would not be a Republican in office, and the
places would be filled, "not by you, my Democratic
brother who rushed to Washington early, in the fuU

138 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
flush of exuberant hope, but by some Democratic
brother who has not defiled himseff by work and who
has graduated from high school."
It was very common in those days for people to ride
over the railroads on free passes and to caU on their
political friends to secure what were called "favors"
from the roads. In reply to a request of that sort to
Reed made by some one evidently very friendly to him
Reed wrote as foUows : —
... I should have another objection to writing them or
referring your request to them. It has so happened that I
took their view of a law question before a committee ot
which I was chairman, last Congress. I presume that in the
course of public duty I shall feel myself called on to take the
same view in another attack upon their rights this Congress.
I should not desire therefore to have anything in the nature ot
a favor from them. It migbt be misinterpreted by them and
certainly would be by others. I need not say to you, who
have so much experience in public affairs, that I do not
expect, by acting thus strictly, to escape public slander. I
only expect not to deserve it.
Reed's prominence in the House again made him a
conspicuous candidate for the nomination by his party
for the Speakership when the Forty-ninth Congress
assembled at its December session in 1885. One of
the leading newspapers, commenting on the rivalry
between Reed, Hiscock, and Keffer, had said that the
three strove for the recognition of their party until
finally Reed gained the ascendancy through his apt
ness in debate. Keifer, however, had not been re
elected, and the contest was continued between Reed
and Hiscock. Reed received support from many parts

NOMINATION FOR SPEAKER 139
of the country. Hiscock began with the support of his
own state, with its very large delegation, and the
chances appeared to favor him during the preliminary
contest. It was beUeved that the outcome would prove
extremely close. But Reed received in the caucus of
the Republicans 63 votes against 42 for Hiscock.
His large majority was unexpected.
The speech nominating Reed was made by McKin
ley of Ohio, according to the programme which Reed's
supporters had previously arranged. Hiscock was
named by Mr. William Walter Phelps of New Jersey,
somewhat to the surprise of his supporters, because
it had been arranged that he should be nominated by
one of his colleagues from New York. The New York
"Times" declared that this nominating speech aston
ished the friends of Hiscock. His nomination was, in
brief, urged upon the ground that it would put him in
line for election to the Speakership in the subsequent
Congress, which Mr. Phelps predicted would be
Republican in the House of Representatives. This
had the effect of arousing the caution of every man
present in the caucus who had aspirations of his own
concerning the next Congress. John D. Long, former
Governor of Massachusetts, was much in favor with
the Southern members, but in the absence of any defi
nite candidacy on his part they finally voted for Reed.
Reed's characteristics as a debater doubtless both
contributed to his success and lost him votes. He was
nothing of a compromiser. As a journalist of that day
said of him, "He never makes concessions but wins

140 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
or loses on the knockout principle." He was at that
time more direct and hard-hitting than he subse
quently came to be. The fighting in the House of that
day was more of the short-sword variety. Although
Reed was as successful at that style of warfare as any
man with whom he came in contact, he speedily out
grew it. The majority of his party selected him be
cause he had proved himseff to be its most masterful
debater, absolutely fearless, and a Republican without
qualification. The nomination as its candidate for Speaker made
Reed titular leader of his party in the House, and from
that time until he retired from Congress nearly fifteen
years later he was the candidate of his party for that
position whether it was in a minority or a majority.
He received in the House 138 votes against 178 for
Mr. Carlisle. In the appointment of committees his
name for the first time during his service appeared in
the membership of Ways and Means.
Reed's election as the leader of his party in the
House was well received throughout the country, and
some of the newspaper writers proceeded to nominate
him for the presidency. Long and Hiscock were men
tioned for the same office by one of the correspondents.
Reed, in an interview, gave a humorous account of
how he had eliminated his two rivals, and put forth
a platform which stands to-day as a very good satire
on the platform of the candidate who strives to be all
things to all men. As soon as they saw the announce
ment that they were candidates. Reed said: —

NOMINATION FOR SPEAKER 141
Long and I assembled ourselves together, held a caucus,
and agreed that the announcement so far as we are concerned
was both timely and judicious, but we decided by a unani
mous vote that Hiscock was not available, for reasons that
must suggest themselves to every thoughtful and patriotic
man. This action having narrowed the contest down to
Long and myself, I suggested, with the kindest and most dis
interested motive, that for the sake of harmony he ought to
withdraw. He demurred to the proposition, and did not
appear to take much interest in it, until I offered to make it
an object to him and volunteered to pay him five dollars in
lawful money if he would agree to retire in my favor and
make a speech nominating me in the presidential convention.
He replied that he was not a five-dollar man; whereupon
I raised him to eight. If there is anything I despise it is
avarice. I'm not a man to let a few dollars stand in the way
of harmony, so when he refused my second proposition, I
asked him how much he would take. He replied that he
would not withdraw from the canvass, and make the speech
for less than fifteen doUars, and was wilUng to let me write
it or submit it for my approval. This was pretty steep as
Long has n't the sUghtest chance of getting the nomination
and is n't much of a speaker, but I came to his terms and
offered to pay five doUars down, and the balance the day
after I received the nomination. . . .
I 'm running for the presidency upon a broad and compre
hensive platform, and if I don't get the nomination it won't
be because I 'm not willing to give satisfaction to people of
all colors, races, reUgions and poUtical views. I beUeve in
giving every man equal rights and a fair show. I believe
that every man, woman and child should receive a pension
who is entitled to it; that every just claim upon the Gov
ernment should be promptly and fuUy paid with interest to
date; that sectional strife should be smothered in fraternal
love, and that the dead issues of the war should be decently
buried at government expense. I am in favor of applying
the principles of civil service reform to all the offices of the
government, so as to give entire satisfaction to those who
are in as weU as those who are out; and that aU legislation

142 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
intended to promote the prosperity of the country should be
promptly enacted by Congress. On the labor question . . .
I urge upon Congress the passage of a bUl that will forever
settle and set at rest aU controversies between the employer
and the employed. I beUeve that the surplus in the Treasury
should remain unimpahed so far as is consistent with the
financial welfare of the country, and that Congress should
take such action in reference to the finances as will bring
the greatest good to the greatest number; and I further
desire to say [that] if I have omitted to declare my position
on any interest representing a considerable number of votes,
it shall be my earnest endeavor to amend or enlarge my plat
form accordingly. The motto on my escutcheon is, "I strive
to please," and my aim is to merit the approbation and secure
the support of Republicans, Democrats and Mugwumps.
I desire to be considered a purely non-partisan candidate,
and would prefer that my nomination and election should
be unanimous.

CHAPTER XI
SOCIAL LIFE — DIVERSIONS
In the early part of Reed's service in Washington he
lived with his family in a boarding-house on Twelfth
Street, in which apparently General Logan and Mrs.
Logan also lived and where the Logans and Reeds be
came very warm friends. He afterwards took up his
residence at the HamUton Hotel, which was much in
vogue with the New England members. Among the
other guests at the Hamilton were his colleagues of
the Maine delegation in the House, Senator Frye from
the same state, and Governor Long, a member from
Massachusetts. Long and his family sat at the same
table with Reed and his wffe and daughter, an ar
rangement that continued for several years. With a
scholar and wit like Long as his constant companion, it
may well be doubted whether such lively conversation
could have been found at any other table in Washington.
They by no means confined their attention to them
selves but they conspired together and carried conster
nation to the neighboring tables. At a near-by table sat
Governor Dingley of Maine and a member from Cali
fornia. Dingley was a strict total abstainer. The Cali
fornia member used patrioticaUy to drink a bottle of
CaUfornia wine every night with his dinner. The per
petual joke with Reed and Long, put forth with a great

144 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
variety of attack, was pretending to believe for three
or four years that the bottle of wine was at Dingley 's
place instead of at the Calffomia member's. For a
time this annoyed Dingley very much, and he at
tempted to explain; but explanations were of no avail
against such a combination as Reed and Long and
at last he resigned himseff to the inevitable joke. At
another time when Dingley's abstemious habits were
referred to. Reed said: "If you want the Governor
to take it just freeze it, the law is against taking it as
a beverage." After Reed became Speaker he removed to the
Shoreham Hotel, where he resided during the remain
ing period of his service.
He delighted in the society of yoimger men, promi
nent among whom were Robert J. Cousins, a briUiant
member from Iowa, and a jolly coterie of members
from New York, of whom James S. Sherman, after
wards Vice-President, was the leader. Reed was
much in the company of these New Yorkers and
before they separated, partly as a result of adverse
elections, they presented him with a handsome loving-
cup. He was much in demand on social occasions
and he gave up to them what time he could spare
from his work.
He was not greatly addicted to cards although he
occasionally played; and on going out for an evening's
game he sometimes delighted to affect a ruse to explain
his absence. On leaving home one evening he said to
Mrs. Reed: "I am going to call on the ItaUan Ambas-

SOCML LIFE — DIVERSIONS 145
sador, Giuseppe Canoni." A few evenings later he
repeated the same thing to Mrs. Reed. "But," she
replied, "I thought the Italian Ambassador's name
was Count  ." "No," said Reed, "it is Giuseppe
Canoni, vulgarly known as Joe Cannon."
There is a club in Portland known as the Cumber
land Club which has its home in an ample and attrac
tive old house. It bears upon its rolls the names of
many of the foremost men of Portland and other places
in Maine. Reed was one of its original members.
Many of them were boys with him when they belonged
to the "warlike tribes" on Mtmjoy Hill, or were in
cluded in the other hostile bands of that early time.
He said that it was "a peaceful little club in a smaU
city, and all its members know each other and caU
each other by their first names. This is no more than
natural for they were most of them schoolboys to
gether. . . . Nobody maintained any dignity for every
body knew everybody's weak points, and there was
never a raw spot unvisited. If a man had a fad it was
unmercffuUy exposed to the air, and ff he was n't cured
he suffered." There was probably no other place where
he was more exuberant or more thoroughly enjoyed
himself than at the club, surrounded by those who,
like himseff well along in years, were kept young with
him by the common memories of their youth. When in
Portland he passed much time there and many are
the amusing anecdotes that are told about him.
He used sometimes to write a short paper to be read
to the members. One of them was upon the club it-

146 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
self, from which quotation has been made. Another,
found among his manuscripts, and probably prepared
for the club, was about "Our Cat" Anthony, the style
of which may be inferred from the foUowing para
graphs : —
Anthony is the name of our cat. He acquired this name by
accident. He was originaUy called Cleopatra, but it was soon
discovered that this name was inappropriate. It was there
fore changed to Anthony because that seemed to conserve all
the associations possible to be saved. Anthony is not a cat
ot rare race; just a common kind of a cat, but with individual
distinctions due to . himself and not to his ancestors. He has
tiger markings and a tail which as it moves in procession
down our street is of stately grandeur. Anthony is brave;
sometimes offensively so. But he has also discretion. There
is a big yellow cat in the neighborhood. Whenever that big
yellow cat comes into view, Anthony does not stand upon the
order of his going. He goes at once. He climbs a tree and
looks down from an upper branch as who should say, "This
street is yours, my friend; take both sidewalks. A Uttle place
like this is good enough for me." There is another cat in
the neighborhood, John Small's cat, who looks exactly Uke
Anthony, ffis markings are the same, his size and age are
the same. . . . Every day he strides up the street, and when
he finds his enemy he rushes at him without a second's hesi
tation. What a meeting itis! They blend. It is neither John
Small's cat nor my cat. It is a new creature. They meet in
jouit convention, with a quorum of both bodies present.
And such an attention to business. How the fur does fly!
The marks that John Small's cat bears after one of those
meetings can never be described. He becomes protoplasm
and finaUy grows back into a cat. . . .
Anthony's nature came out finely one day as the result
ot a little deception. We brought in a stuffed cat made of
cotton, but which looked so like a cat that it deceived the
very elect. Anthony, intent upon his dinner, did not see the
stuffed cat at once, but by and by he caught sight of it. What

SOCLVL LIFE — DIVERSIONS 147
a little tiger he changed to in a second! His back did n't
arch: it hoUowed, and he slowly edged up to the stuffed cat,
waiting for an openuig. To his amazement the stuffed cat sat
bolt upright, fixing him with a glittering eye. Then Anthony
cautiously but viciously led out with his left at the eye of
the stuffed cat. The claw caught and the stuffed cat toppled
toward Anthony. Anthony left the apartment. He left it
suddenly. You could not see him leave, he left so suddenly.
Then everybody roared. But Anthony was not afraid. He
was only discreet. He reformed behind the door and crept
in again. This time his smell told him of the cheat and he
left the house and did not return for a week. His finer feel
ings had been hurt and he never resumed fuU feUowship with
the house afterwards. He had no need to do it. He was wel
come all over the neighborhood.
After moving several times from one street to an
other, Reed purchased, about the time of his first
Speakership, an attractive and spacious house at 32
Deering Street, which he occupied during the remain
der of his life and which ever since has been the home
of his family. In a cheerful room on the third story
and in the hall connected with it he kept the greater
part of his general library, which was said to be the
largest private Ubrary in Maine. It contained, exclu
sive of his law books and those in the French language,
about five thousand volumes. The books were se
lected with excellent taste. His favorite poets were
Tennyson, Burns, and Byron, and his favorite writers
of English prose, Thackeray, Dickens, Carlyle, and
Macaulay. He was also especially fond of Reade,
Lever, Emerson, LoweU, and Stevenson. He was very
fond of "Punch," of which his library contained
thirty -five volumes, beginning at 1841. It was weU

148 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
suppUed with books of reference necessary for the
study of the Scriptures, and his speeches and writings
bear ample evidence that these books were for use
rather than ornament. It contained the New Testa
ment in haff a dozen languages.
In addition to his English books he had some five
hundred French volumes, chiefly made up of the
classics and the best modern books in that language.
He read French with great facility and could speak the
language fluently and with a good accent. Shortly
after he entered Congress, in order to perfect himself
in the language, he kept a diary in French, and the work
was continued untU it nearly filled four manuscript
volumes. It was prefaced by the explanation that it
was written "only for practice in French. I cannot
show it to any one to have it corrected, and I have
not the time to correct it myseff." It contained much
about his private affairs, frequent references to the
books he was reading, and to the business of the
House, and occasionaUy a description of a dinner
party. It shows a wide range of French reading, in
which he indulged while traveling, or at home when
he had leisure.
The diary had many interruptions, for which he
would upbraid himseff, as the following entries will
show. February 25, 1886. Friday. I have frightfuUy neglected
this diary. In truth, the past week I have been going out
in society. I have eaten many dinners, and have attended
some receptions. I have been going to bed very late. On
account of this I have not had the time to write in the

n

o

a

SOCLUL LIFE — DIVERSIONS 149
journal, but I am through with it. The game is not worth
the candle.
March 11, 1886. Friday. I am not at all satisfied with
myself. I have forgotten for four days to write in my diary,
and have forgotten what I have done.
The following is one of his accounts of a dinner
party:— February 4, 1886. This evening I dined with Professor
A. G. BeU, who invented the telephone. Present were Messrs.
Long, Charles Emery Smith, Phelps, Major Powell, Dr.
Billings, Prof. Baird, Senators Cullom and Butler of South
Carolina, and several others; a good dinner. Mr. Bell told
me that he found two deaf cats, white with blue eyes. Such
cats are always deaf. He is studying the customs of these
animals. These cats are very peculiar. When they are left
to walk in the garden, they promenade by moving from
time to time their heads from one side to the other, using
their eyes instead of theh ears. He intends to breed a race
of deaf cats.
This is his reference to the first contest which he
made for the RepubUcan nomination for Speaker: —
January 16, 1886. At the beginning of the session I was
elected candidate of the Republican Party for Speaker.
There was a slight contest between Mr. Hiscock and myself
for the votes of our friends, but I did not approach any one.
Finally I succeeded in a manner very flattering to myself.
The work is full of his references to his French
readings : —
April 18, 1885. Friday. ... I studied the Civil Code in
French, and the last volume ot Maine Reports which I found
in my office. ... I began to read also at home the "Letters
of Madame de Sevigne" and the "Memoirs of Saint-Simon,"
and a history of the reign of Elizabeth from the CathoUc

150 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
point ot view, by the Abbe Destombes, which I bought in
Brussels two years ago.
September 14. Sunday. I read this morning in the second
volume of the "French Revolution" (Blanc), and did the
same thing after dinner and during the evening.
September 30. During my trip to New York from here,
I read "A Marriage in the World" by Octave FeuiUet, which
interested me. His style is so simple, so pure, that one can
read his works easily. He does not make long detours, he
does not employ many adjectives, he walks always leisurely
on a straight course. He claims attention by gentle aUure
ments. I have rarely read such books. I must read his
masterpiece, "Monsieur de Camors." After I got home I
read in the third volume of Louis Blanc.
MarcA 1,1886. Monday. Got up at half -past eight. Coidd
not sleep all night, and took a vacation of two hours and
a half. During this vacation I read "Sous les Tilleuls."
March 2, 1886. Got up at eight o'clock, but passed a bad
night. Ought to have gone to bed without reading. The
bed was not very well made. I went to the Capitol at half-
past ten, buying, while passing Brentano's, a httle copy of
"Fables" of La Fontaine. ... In the House we had a great
debate on pensions, following the debate commenced by Mr.
Henderson of Iowa. We were completely overthrown at the
moment when Mr. Butterworth commenced a good speech
which saved us. Mr. Butterworth was extremely fortunate
in his address, and very brilliant. Mr. Wilson of the Demo
cratic party made a very refined and very eloquent speech.
This evening I finished "Sous les TiUeuls." It is a book
which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I have wasted my
time. March 3, 1886. Got up at half -past eight; walked to the
Capitol. We passed the day in talking about nothing. Mr.
Butterworth ended his speech of yesterday almost pauifully.
Mr. Norwood of Georgia spoke with a fine satire against
Mr. Henderson, whom he harried without mercy. Mr. Breck-

SOCIAL LIFE — DIVERSIONS . 151
inridge of Kentucky seized a good opportunity to deUver
himself of a little piece of rhetoric which ended in a very
eloquent peroration. Mr. Brown followed him in protecting
the reputation of Colonel Dudley, the Commissioner of
Pensions. Thus ended the debates of the day. I am in a
state of extreme disgust. Without doubt this effort will be
considered everywhere very fine, but it seems to me that
these Southern gentlemen are victorious over us, and, humili
ating fact, rightfully so. Why not end these wrangles over
the Civil War, which is certainly past.
March 7, 1886. Sunday. ... In the House everything was
in order except action. In a word it was a gaseous day in
which one could talk at discretion, or rather without discre
tion. Walking was his favorite exercise, and he was accus
tomed on fair days to take the long walk from his resi
dence to the Capitol and return. At his summer place
on Grand Beach, Maine, he learned to ride a bicycle
in a way that entertained his neighbors. He had boxes
distributed along the beach which he could use to get
on the bicycle when he had, either purposely or unin
tentionally, dismounted.

CHAPTER XII
RULES — THE MILLS BILL
Reed signaUzed his assumption of the leadership of
the minority by renewing his effort made in the pre
ceding Congress to change the rules of the House, and
he made a strong attack upon them. His former
attempts had been defeated, once by filibustering and
again by a hostile Democratic majority, which, how
ever, had been reduced on that vote from its normal
strength of seventy, to eleven. He claimed that the
code of rules was a systematic outrage on govemment
by a majority, and that "the only way to do business
inside the rules was to suspend the rules. The object
of the rules appeared to be to prevent the transaction
of business." Although one of the cherished policies of
the slave-power had been to prevent Congress from
infringing upon state rights, yet its purpose had been
"rather to prevent discussion than to prevent action.
They had a majority which could determine the action
to be taken, but they could not throttle debate with
out rules." His fight was again destined to be without
result, but it showed his sincerity concerning the sub
ject on which his efforts were ultimately to be rewarded
with success.
Cleveland in his messages had taken strong ground
against the sUver legislation, under which there were

RULES — THE MILLS BILL 153
coined great numbers of silver dollars, the value of
which compared with gold was constantly dwindling.
Reed, although probably a majority of his party was
against him, strongly supported Mr. Cleveland in his
attitude. On July 6, 1886, Reed delivered the oration at the
celebration of the Centennial of Portland. It was a
notable address. The reference it contained to his
classmate, which has already been quoted, aroused the
criticism of one of the clergymen of Portland who
wrote Reed a letter from which the following is taken.
Portland, Mb., July 13, 1886.
The enclosed passage from my Sunday's discourse I was
about to hand to a Portland paper for publication, but was
persuaded from doing so. . . . In speaking of those who
passed from earth amid the horrors of civil war and of the
bright companion of his youth the orator said, "Can it be
that I shall never look into those cheerful eyes again? Can
it be that neither the quaint jest of the happier hour nor the
solemn confidence of the heart wiU ever again fall upon the
ear of friendship or of love? It can be no otherwise. He can
only Uve in my memory. The dead however sweetly em
balmed are but the dead." — Interpret this language as
we may, it is not the sweet teaching of Christianity but of
bitter and unlovely infidelity.
Reed's reply was in part as follows: —
Washington, D.C, 15 July, 1886.
I am in receipt of your favor and must confess my surprise
at the construction your remarks put upon the passage which
you quote. When I wrote the passage I had no intention to
express any opinion on the subject of the immortaUty of the
soul either for or against, especially against, nor do I think
I have. That subject was not in my thoughts. I was deaUng

154 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
only with feelings which concern this side of the grave. I
think you would not have made the mistake had you fully
given me credit in your mind for the good taste which I hope
I possess, which would always prevent me from taking an
occasion like July 6 to promulgate, even if I entertained
them, any sentiments which would be offensive not merely
to the majority of those present but even to a single one. If
the pubhc library gives you access to some words I said of
another dead friend during the session of 1869, you may
perhaps find at least the views I then expressed.
During this Congress there was little more than the
absolutely necessary legislation, with a Democratic
President and House and a Republican Senate. The
inevitable tariff was brought forward in the House and
took the form of the Morrison bUl, from the name of
the Chairman of Ways and Means. But RandaU, the
former Speaker, who had been deposed from leader
ship, had his revenge and was able by a union be
tween his followers and the RepubUcans to defeat
the measure.
The really serious attempt at tariff legislation took
place in the foUowing Congress. It failed to reach the
statute books, but it made the issue clear for the next
campaign. At the December session of 1887 Carlisle was again
chosen speaker, receiving 163 votes against 148 for
Reed. Carlisle on taking the Chair went outside the
usual routine of returning thanks for his election and
made a speech in favor of tariff reduction. Cleveland's
message to Congress, which was received during the
same week, was confined to the same subject. The
annual message had usually dealt with a great variety

RULES — THE MILLS BILL 155
of subjects, referring to the important work of the de
partments and presenting a general legislative pro
gramme for the session. The extraordinary course of
limiting the annual message to a single subject imparted
to that subject a prominence which compelled the atten
tion of friends and foes. It clearly showed that Mr.
Cleveland had fixed upon it as the issue upon which he
was to go before the country the following autumn for
reelection. That it was to be the chief issue was made
inevitable by the course of Mr. Blaine, the Republican
leader. He was at the time in Paris but he had the
habit of conducting poUtical warfare with promptness
and vigor, and he immediately joined issue with Mr.
Cleveland in a striking interview which was cabled
to the New York "Tribune."
The issue thus dramatically put forward by the re
spective leaders of the two parties pitched the key
for discussion in the newspapers and in Congress. The
House of Representatives inevitably became the the
atre of war. Under the Constitution taxation biUs
were compeUed to originate there, and the Democratic
Committee on Ways and Means, over which Roger Q.
Mills presided as chairman, brought forward the Mills
bUl. It was by no means a radical free-trade measure,
but portions of it were sufficiently upon free-trade lines
to raise the issue. The brunt of the fight for the oppo
sition feU to Reed, both because he was the ranking
man of his party in the committee and because he was
its leader on the floor of the House. The debate was a
memorable one, with MUls and Carlisle the leaders for

156 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the Democrats and Reed and McKinley for the Re
pubUcans. Reed's speeches in the House on the tariff
had usually been brief, but upon this bill he closed
the general debate for his side in one of the longest
speeches he ever made and as powerful a one, it may
fairly be claimed, as was ever deUvered in favor of
protective duties in the House of Representatives.
It will bear reading even to the present day, notwith
standing the threadbare character of the subject.
He began by a fling at the President's relation to
civU-service reform, and hinted that the offices were
used to help the cause of tariff reform. Mr. Cleveland,
he said, was rapidly shaking the dust of civil-service
reform off his feet. There was but one free trade and
he was its prophet. "Whoever faUs in battle in the
service of this new Allah and its prophet, for him shall
open the shining gates of the heaven of foreign mis
sions and Federal offices." The President had declared
in his message that tariff duties raised the price of
dutiable articles "by precisely the sum paid for such
duties," and that on all protected domestic articles
the consumer paid "nearly or quite the same en
hanced price." "That," declared Reed, "is the whole
counsel of the Lord upon the subject." He then pro
ceeded to apply this formula, reckoning the amount
of real taxation by adding the amount of duties on
foreign goods to aU articles of a similar kind consumed
in the country and he showed that the people had been
robbed of some billions of doUars in a few years. To
stop this incredible robbery was the first duty. That,

RULES — THE MILLS BILL 157
he declared, would be accomplished by striking off
all duties upon all articles produced in the United
States and by raising money by direct taxation.
But what do the friends ot virtue propose to do with these
wicked creatures? Sweep them out of existence with the
strong hand of justice? Ah, no. They are stUl to live and
still to flourish. They will have only the delightful punish
ment of being turned over to the melting eloquence ... of
the gentleman from Kentucky, while he explains his theory
of fair plunder, of honest and decent robbery, with no re
strictions save such as will be satisfactory to those good
manufacturers who have been admitted to private inter
views by the back stairs. [Laughter.] . . . The castles of these
marauders are still to smile upon the hill tops, and the tall
chimneys are still to break the sky Une of this unhappy
country. They are to be allowed to rob within seven per
cent of what they rob now and as compensation they are to
be turned loose upon the markets of the world where, accord
ing to the learned chairman, they are to reap, larger wealth
and pile up stateUer milUons. . . . Great heavens! these
amazing plunderers had in their pockets fifteen thousand
million dollars in 1882; had eight hundred millions a year
since; in all nineteen thousand eight hundred millions or
three thousand millions more than this whole country is
listed for taxation, and the Mills bill proposes to give them
more. [Applause and laughter.] Gentlemen of the other side,
heroes of the new crusade, if you believe what you say, is it
not ample time that this tribute cease? If the President is
right, and you don't dare to doubt him, an annual tribute
is paid protected manufacturers out ot the pockets of the
people more impoverishing than was ever exacted by an
Oriental despot. ... In the face of your plain duty to free
the people from this iron yoke, you stand higgling about the
amount of the tribute. If it be a tribute, be bold and sweep it
away. Why do you hesitate? It is because every wind that
blows, every sight that strikes their eyes, every sound that
resounds in their ears, shows them the foUy of theh theories

158 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
and the absurdity of their logic. What use is it to tell the
people of this empire that they have been robbed and plun
dered of one thousand million dollars every year?
He declared that he did not propose to defend protec
tion. It was bom with the Republic. It is the faith and prac
tice of every civilized nation under the sun save one. It has
survived the assaults of all the professors of the " dismal
science " called political economy. It has stood up against
all the half -knowledge of learned men who never had sense
enough to transmute their learning into wisdom. [Great ap
plause.] Mr. Frank Hurd of Ohio, a prominent tariff-reform
member, or, as Reed caUed him, " the melodious child
of free trade," who had been defeated for reelection,
had repeated a familiar argument which Reed stated
and dealt with in the following fashion: —
If a laborer with two dollars in his pocket, won in a day in
protectionist America, can buy in Liverpool for one dollar
what he wants, and you make him pay two dollars to the
Rhode Island manufacturer, don't you cheat him every day
out of half his day? Dear departed friend, first great martyr
in this great cause, why not put it the other way? If a poor
laboring man in free-trade America, without a cent in his
pocket and perhaps no pocket in his trousers, should find
out that things cost the same in Rhode Island and Liver
pool, would the happiness he would undoubtedly feel be any
thing more than an intellectual deUght?
He said that something Uke envy was reaUy at the
bottom of some of the arguments on the other side.
Whenever I walk through the streets of that democratic
importing city of New York and look at the brown-stone
fronts, my gorge always rises. I can never understand why

RULES — THE MILLS BILL 159
the virtue, which I know is on the sidewalk, is not thus re
warded. I do not feel kindly to the people inside. But when
I teel that way I know what the feeling is. It is good, honest,
high-minded envy. When some other gentlemen have the
same feeling they think it's political economy. [Great laughter.]
The cure for monopoly, he argued, was not to be
found in free trade.
Call in the British! When the day comes when this
RepubUc cannot save itself from a dozen of its own citizens
I hope to be buried one thousand leagues under some
respectable and permanent mountain range. ... It the
price is raised and maintained even for a short while it
means ruin for the combination and still lower prices for
consumers. That is one of the laws of God working for his
children. Compared with one ot the laws of Congress it is a
leviathan to a clam.
Another catching phrase of the tariff-reform orators
was, —
"The markets ot the world." How broad and cool these
words are! . . . You would imagine the markets of the
world a vast vacuum waiting until now for American goods
to break through, rush in and fill the yearning void. Will
your goods go to Austria, to Italy, Germany, Russia, or
France? Around all these benighted countries are the
Chinese walls of tariff taxes.
The best market of the world was in America,
and you are asked to give up such a market for the "markets
of the world"! Why, the history of such a transaction was
told twenty-four hundred years ago. It is a classic. You wUl
find it in the works of iEsop the fabulist. Once there was a
dog. He was a nice Uttle dog. Nothing the matter with him
excepting a few foohsh free-trade ideas in his head. He was
trotting along happy as the day, for he had in his mouth a
nice shoulder of succulent mutton. By and by he came to a

160 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
stream bridged by a plank. He trotted along and looked
over the side of the plank and he saw the markets of the
world [great laughter], and dived for them. A minute' after,
he was crawling up the bank, the wettest, the sickest [great
laughter] the nastiest, the most muttonless dog that ever
swam ashore.
After the general debate closed, the biU was for a
long time in Committee of the Whole House for
amendment, and Reed occasionally took part in the
discussion under the five-minute rule.
Mills of Texas, the Chairman of Ways and Means,
was not distinguished for restraint in the use of lan
guage, and he did not always keep his temper. One
day Reed said of him that it seemed strange that when
he was asked to explain the features of his bill, he
"finds it necessary to fly into a passion, finds it neces
sary to go off into a defense of his own virtue." At
another time, when MiUs had charged the RepubUcan
party with being in favor of "free whisky," Reed re
torted that he could not mean that, because "he knows
there would not be enough Democrats left to make
up the electoral ticket in haff the states of the Union
if they had confidence in his statement. [Laughter and
applause.] Oh, the gentleman from Texas had better
remember the position he occupies in this House, and
divert himseff with those things when he finds himself
on the far-off pampas of his own Texas." [Laughter
and applause.]
The bill passed the House by a majority of thirteen,
which was slightly less than the usual Democratic
majority, and RepubUcan orators in the subsequent

RULES — THE MILLS BILL 161
campaign enlarged upon the ill omen supposed to at
tach to the figure of the majority and to the fact that
it was cast on the anniversary of the battle of Bull
Run. Reed maintained his former position that the coun
try should be suitably defended. On August 1, 1888,
speaking on a proposition to authorize the building of
guns, he said, "What I demand is that this House shall
take practical action to bring us up abreast of the
present and not let us lose ourselves in those clouds
of patriotism, of capital, of ' sixty miUion of people,' all
those glittering generaUties which never yet built a
cannon." UntU the election In November, 1888, the country
had few other subjects for political discussion than the
tariff. Reed's speech in the House was widely printed,
and the campaign produced nothing else which so ef
fectively presented the RepubUcan side of that issue.
General Harrison, the Republican candidate, conducted
his campaign at his own home, where he addressed
many delegations of visiting Republicans, and at the
same time the country, in short and happy epigram
matic speeches. Harrison was chosen by a close vote
In the doubtful states, but by a large majority in the
Electoral CoUege. The House was also carried by the
Republicans, who retained possession of the Senate,
and for the first time In sixteen years both Houses
and the presidency were In the control of the same
party.

CHAPTER XIII
SPEAKER — THE QUORUM
As soon as It had been determined that the House was
to be Republican, an animated contest among the mem
bers elect was at once entered upon for the Speaker
ship. Reed's position as leader of his party in the House
made him the natural selection, but he was from one
of the smaller states, remote from the center of popu
lation, and the argument founded on geography,
logically not appealing but often convincing In our
politics, was against him. His leading antagonist was
McKinley, who had great personal popularity and who
came from the important and centraUy located state
of Ohio. There were other candidates, among whom
was Henderson of Iowa. Reed had many loyal friends,
and among the foremost of them was Lodge, then a
representative from Massachusetts, who was indefati
gable In his efforts to bring support to Reed. He began
the contest with New England solidly behind him.
New York soon followed. His friends urged his skillful
and bold leadership of his party in the House whUe in
the minority, as a controlling reason for nominating
him when it became the majority party. He had borne
the brunt of the fighting; to him should come the rec
ognition In victory which had been accorded him in

SPEAKER— THE QUORUM 163
defeat. Otherwise he would be deprived of his fair
share In the triumph of his party.
The vote proved to be extremely close in the Repub
lican caucus. No candidate had a majority on the first
baUot, although Reed was a strong leader and lacked
only sis votes of receiving the necessary number. On
the second baUot he gained seven votes from the forces
of the other candidates, and received eighty-five votes,
or one more than a majority. Thus he did not owe
his nomination to a coalition with any other candidate.
The choice of the caucus was ratified in the House when
it assembled on December 2, 1889. Reed received the
votes of 166 members to 154 for Carlisle.
The Speakership brought Reed a far broader oppor
tunity for public service than he had ever before
enjoyed. It gave him the leadership of the popular
House of Congress, a leadership not merely formal
in its nature but with powers that made the office
almost superfluously strong. Ever since the first Con
gress the appointment of committees had been vested
in the Speaker. This power gave him an influence with
those members who received the most coveted appoint
ments. On the other hand, that influence was to some
extent offset by the effect of the disappointment of
the other and more numerous members who had placed
a higher estimate upon their own capacity than was
reflected in the appointments which the Speaker gave
them. It had also been the rule for nearly a quarter
of a century for the Speaker to be ex officio Chairman
of the powerful Committee on Rules. These special

164 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
powers made him much more than a nominal leader,
and they cast on him a responsibility which he could
not evade and which to our modern Speakers has usu
aUy been a source of unpopularity.
Reed's speech on taking the chair was a model, not
merely In point of brevity but In the substance of what
he said. After thanking the House for the honor, he
said that the duties and responsibihties of the Speaker
ship were "both political and parliamentary. So far
as the duties are poUtical, I sincerely hope they may
be performed with a proper sense of what is due to
the people of this whole country. So far as they are
parliamentary, I hope, with equal sincerity, that they
may be performed with a proper sense of what is due
to both sides of this Chamber."
The House contained a large number of strong men.
On the Democratic side were CarUsle, Randall, Crisp,
Wilson, Turner, and Springer. On the Republican side
were McKinley, Butterworth, Hitt, Cannon, Hen
derson, DalzeU, DolUver, La FoUette, Sherman, and
Payne. The list of men who afterwards attained dis
tinction might easily be prolonged.
The Republican majority would have been an ex
tremely narrow one for the transaction of business,
even if the opposition had not employed filibustering
as a parliamentary weapon. A quorum of the House
consisted of 166 members on the day of Reed's elec
tion, and that was the precise vote which he received.
By the subsequent death of a Republican member it
was reduced to 165. It was obvious that only upon rare

SPEAKER — THE QUORUM 165
occasions would the Republican party be able again to
marshal so many of its members as on the opening day
of the session. If the burden of maintaining a quorum
was to be borne by that party, evidently there would
be either no legislation at aU or only such as its oppo
nents would agree to have enacted. In the partisan
temper that then prevailed there was little likelihood
of the transaction of any except the most formal busi
ness by the consent of both sides.
With the parties so nearly balanced violent partisan
ship was not long in breaking Into a flame. The diffi
culty first assumed an acute phase upon the approval
of the Journal, which is usually a perfimctory matter
of business. The somewhat censorious Bland of Mis
souri Insisted that the Speaker, in advance of the adop
tion of rules by the House, should recognize him on a
caU for teUers. There was a partisan discussion upon
this subject, and the Democratic leaders approached
the limit of parliamentary courtesy in their criticism
of the Speaker. It was' evident that no party legislation
whatever could be accomplished under the practice
which had prevailed from the beginning of the govern
ment of determining a quorum simply by the call of
the roll, for the Democrats would sit silent when their
names were called and it was impossible for the Re
publicans to marshal the necessary 165 members.
The Issue was finaUy drawn in a way not to be evaded .
On January 29, 1890, Dalzell reported from the Com
mittee on Elections a resolution in a contested election
case awarding the disputed seat to a RepubUcan. Crisp

166 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
raised the question of consideration, and only 163
members responded, or two less than a quorum. Not
merely was It beyond the power of the Republicans to
produce a quorum at that time, but It appeared equally
certain that they would not be able to produce one at
any time during that Congress. It would require the
presence of all the Uving RepubUcan members on the
opening day, and that every man of them could be
marshaled at any one time did not seem to be within
the bounds of possibiUty. The time had come when the
only alternatives were either a complete surrender or
something which In the light of the precedents of a
century would be revolutionary.
Reed had carefuUy planned to meet the emergency
which had long seemed to him Inevitable and had
determined upon his course. But the element of doubt
was whether his party associates in the House would
sanction the radical course which he meditated. He
was intending to overturn not merely Democratic
precedents but RepubUcan precedents as weU. Times
almost without number the leaders of his own party
had maintained that the constitutional quorum was to
be determined by the roll-call, and not by the bodily
presence of members. The position had never seriously.
been questioned that, If a majority of the representa
tives failed to answer to their names on the calling
of the roll, there was no quorum present for the trans
action of business, even If every member might ac
tually be present in the hall of the House. The leader
of any party might well doubt whether he would be

SPEAKER — THE QUORUM 167
sustained In overturning a construction so long estab
Ushed and acquiesced in by aU parties. Reed had made
up his mind upon the course he should pursue. He did
not propose to surrender and If his party failed to sus
tain him he had determined to resign the Speakership
and to retire from the House.'
Thus It came about that when only 163 members
answered to their names, the House was not embarked
upon the usual succession of fruitless roll-calls. Instead
of ordering the roll to be caUed again. Reed calmly
said: "The Chair directs the clerk to record the names
of the foUowing members present and refusing to vote."
He then proceeded to name a number of Democrats
and among them Carlisle and other Democratic leaders
who were present when their names were caUed and
who refrained from voting.
At once the House was in an uproar. There was an
explosion as violent as was ever witnessed in a legis
lative body. The Speaker's recital of the names was
Interrupted by passionate remonstrance. His course
was denounced as revolutionary. For a considerable
time the tumult stopped the business of the House.
Reed remained unruffied, and when the noise would
for a moment subside he would add to his count of Dem
ocrats present and not voting. One member of much
digmty, but not conspicuous for a sense of humor,
' My authority for this statement is Hon. Elihu Root. Mr. Root
informed me that in advance of his ruling Reed had told him of his
purpose to make it, and that if his party did not support him he
should resign and practice law in New York. An understanding was
arrived at that he was to enter Mr. Root's law office.

168 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
gravely arose with a book In his hand and said:
"I deny your right, Mr. Speaker, to count me as
present and I desire to read from the parliamentary
law on that subject." Reed raised a hearty laugh by
cooUy saying in reply, and with his customary drawl :
"The Chair is making a statement of fact that the
gentleman from Kentucky Is present. Does he deny
it?" After the noise had subsided sufficiently for the
Speaker to make a connected statement he proceeded
to state the question to the House, "The Chair treats
this^ subject In orderly fashion, and will submit his
opinion to the House, which, ff not acquiesced In by
the House, can be overruled on an appeal taken from
the decision." He then proceeded to state his opinion.
In a few words and yet so weightily that, while the
argument might be greatly amplified. It could not be
more clearly put. He held that the Constitution con
templated that when a majority of the members were
actually present there was a quorum for the transac
tion of business whether they voted or refused to vote.
Referring to the constitutional power of the House
to compel the attendance of absent members, he said:
"If members can be present and refuse to exercise
their function, to wit, not be counted as a quorum,
that provision would seem to be entirely nugatory.
Inasmuch as the Constitution only provides for their
attendance, that attendance Is enough. If more was
needed the Constitution would have provided for
more."

SPEAKER — THE QUORUM 169
This ruling was followed by a scene of disorder even
greater than that which had preceded it, and for three
days the House was a perfect bedlam. The Speaker
was denounced not only in parliamentary but In un
parliamentary terms. All the old weapons in the ar
senal of obstruction were brought into play and one
after another Reed ruled them out of order. Some of
them he declared were not even subject to an appeal
from the Chair. One member, Breckinridge of Ken
tucky, shouted: "The Speaker's decision Is clearly
corrupt." Reed was accused of being a czar and of
usurping jurisdiction. His decision was pronounced
revolutionary, which was doubtless correct when It Is
compared with the decisions made by Speakers for a
great number of years. There was little difficulty In
showing In the argument which followed that the
Speaker had overruled all the precedents, and that he
himseff, in common with all the members of the House
who had borne any Important part in its proceedings,
had recognized the opposite procedure. He did not
pretend that he was obeying the precedents of the
House, but admitted that he was overruling them. He
simply reverted to the terms of the Constitution and
claimed that the quorum established by that instru
ment was a present and not a voting quorum. During
those three days of wild excitement apparently the
coolest man in the House was the Speaker.
The debate was noteworthy In point of ability, Car
lisle, Crisp, and Turner distinguishing themselves on
the Democratic side while McKinley, Cannon, and

170 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Butterworth led on the RepubUcan side. Perhaps the
ablest speech of the debate was made by Butterworth,
He argued that a representative was chosen to serve
not merely his own constituency but the whole coun
try, and that he had no warrant to attempt to paralyze
the action of the House, but that the country had a
right to require that he should be in his place and per
form his duties. "For that reason the Constitution
provides that those who are here may, by force, bring
the rest of the members into this Hall, not merely to
serve their own constituents, but to serve that broader
constituency, the people of this country whose servants
they are." What was the object of the power to com
pel members to attend?
To leave the House in precisely the same condition as be
fore they were brought in, a condition which rendered it
necessary to bring them in to change and improve it ? Was
this authority conferred by the Constitution only to enable
us to go through the farce of bringing in the absentees and
learning after each member has been seated in his place
that, while under the Constitution he is actually personally
present to make a quorum to do business, yet when an at
tempt is made to do the thing which required his presence,
he at once by merely closing his mouth becomes construc
tively absent? Or he may, in fact, while present, arise in his
place and assert that he is absent, and we must take his
word for it. What an absurdity on the face of it, no matter
how sanctified by age! It is the weapon of the revolutionist.
It is the weapon of anarchy.
At last the question whether the Speaker's decision
should be overruled was submitted to the House. A
mere handful of the Republicans voting with the Demo
crats would have overthrown the Speaker and his

tn

QH

Q

>
O«KE-i

SPEAKER— THE QUORUM 171
ruling. But his party stood with him to a man. After
much filibustering the ruUng was sustained.
Thus was estabUshed the most Important landmark
in the parUamentary practice of the House. It seems
difficult to beUeve that there should ever have been
any other construction put upon the Constitution than
that the power to compel the attendance of absent
members in order to secure a quorum was for the pur
pose of enabling the House to transact the business
of the country, and not simply for the purpose of per
mitting those who were present to look upon the faces
of those who had been absent. Not merely did the
Supreme Court subsequently sustain the constitution
ality of Reed's ruling, but within a brief period, by the
indorsement of his party antagonists. It was destined
to become the settled law of the House. In the two next
succeeding Congresses the House was controlled by
the Democrats and the ancient practice was reestab
lished. At an important juncture they found them
selves unable to procure a quorum from their own
ranks. And as Reed had established the new prece
dent, so there came to him the distinction of forcing
his antagonists to ratffy It. After his retirement from
the Speakership he had become the leader of the Repub
Ucans upon the floor. He inaugurated a determined
filibuster and under his lead the members of his party
declined to vote. For weeks the House was unable to
make the slightest progress In the transaction of busi
ness. It was bound hand and foot. The deadlock was
at last broken by the adoption of a rule providing that

172 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
a member who was present might be counted for the
purpose of making a quorum, whether he voted or not.
The fact that the counting under the Democratic
rule was to be done by two tellers made no difference
in the principle Involved, and ever since that time the
rule of a present instead of a voting quorum, as es
tablished by Reed, has been the rule of the House, no
matter by what party It has been controlled.
The ruUng has resulted in saving a great amount of
the time of the House, and has facilitated the transac
tion of Its business. It has done away vsdth a system
which might in critical times produce a paralysis of
our popular representative assembly, and it has con
duced to party responsibility. This achievement stands
as a signal triumph for Reed's clearness of vision;
and in the strength with which he maintained his posi
tion against tremendous pressure and in the face of
the precedents of a century, and In the serene courage
and seff-control with which he bore himseff amid those
violent and stormy scenes without paraUel in the his
tory of Congress, it furnishes convincing proof of the
greatness of his character.

CHAPTER XIV
THE SHERMAN SILVER-PURCHASE BILL
The decision concerning the quorum enabled the Re
pubUcans to dispose of their legislative programme.
Not the least important problem pressing for solution
was that relating to the use of silver in the currency.
The coinage of the so-caUed Bland-AUIson dollars,
which were legal tender, had resulted in adding to the
currency a vast quantity of silver doUars, the bulUon
value of which was very much less than that of the
gold doUar. It was the poUcy of the government to
maintain the parity of aU its money, and so long as
the treasury stock of gold was sufficient, the value
of the dollar, whether paper or silver, or whatever
its character, was equal to that of the gold in a gold
dollar. But it had become apparent that a too heavy
burden was being placed upon the gold reserve, which
had originally been created for the redemption of the
greenbacks. That reserve was none too large in times
of stress for the three hundred and odd mUlions of
greenbacks, but when there was added a nearly equal
amount of legal-tender silver dollars, the strain was
certain to become too great the instant that a finan
cial crisis occurred.
A large minority of the Republican members and
a majority of the Democrats favored the free coinage

174 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
of sUver. Without doubt a majority of both Houses
of Congress would have voted In favor of a measure
to that end, providing It had been squarely presented.
Reed was strongly opposed to free coinage. Represent
ing his own views and that of a majority of the Repub
lican members, he did his utmost to prevent the pas
sage of a free-coinage biU. It would have been a simple
device for the President, who did not favor free coin
age, to Interpose the veto. But he was a candidate for
reelection, and his friends beUeved that a veto would
destroy his prospect of being again chosen. There ap
peared to be some doubt what his action would be.
But In any event they did not desire to put him in the
heroic attitude of saving the public credit by consciously
throwing away his chance of reelection and ensuring
the choice of a Democrat as his successor. As he was
destined to defeat in any event, in the safe light of sub
sequent wisdom it would have turned out to be better
for the country and for his own fame, ff a free-coinage
bill had been passed and vetoed. But Reed was so
strongly opposed to free coinage that he did not care to
take any chances of its becoming law. The passage of
some sort of a silver bUl was inevitable and he strove
to make It as far as possible from free coinage. A com
promise was agreed upon which provided that 4,500,000
ounces of silver should be purchased each month in the
open market, and that treasury notes, redeemable in
gold, should be Issued up to the actual cost of the silver.
The large party who believed that it was necessary to
" do something for silver," and some of those who were

THE SHERMAN SILVER-PURCHASE BILL 175
Interested In the production of the metal joined forces
with the gold-standard members and substituted this
poUcy for free coinage. It was contended that the
purchase of so much sUver each month would raise the
price of the metal and diminish the gap existing be
tween the intrinsic values of the silver and the gold
dollar. An act was passed on those lines and was for
tunately destined to a very brief Ufe. Reed subse
quently said of this act: " That it then and there saved
this country from the free coinage for which every
Democratic leader was then clamoring, and on which
they are now silent, I do know."
Another important feature of the Republican pol
icy was a revision of the tariff. It was necessary to
reduce the revenue, and this was accomplished chiefly
In two ways, by removing the duty on sugar and by
placing the duty on many articles so high as to reduce
Importation and thereby cut down the revenue de
rived from them. Some duties were made much too
high, even from the standpoint of the Republican
poUcy of protection. The popular feature of the law
was found in the reciprocity amendments, put there at
the insistence of Blaine, who was at the time Secretary
of State. Another important party measure was the
so-called Force BUl, which provided for United Statds
marshals to supervise national elections. This measure
was strongly resisted even in the RepubUcan caucus,
and after a contest lasting three days was finally
adopted only by a majority of one. That an important
measure which so evenly divided the party should have

176 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
received Its practically unanimous support in the House
affords a striking example of the rigid discipline and
the closeness with which party lines were then drawn.
Cannon, who had with signal ability led the attack
on the bill in the caucus, accepted the decision and
reported to the House from the Rules Committee the
order giving the measure the right of way.
Among the charges made against Reed's conduct
In the Chair was one that he impaired what was called
the "freedom of debate." He was in favor of per
mitting the House to decide. In any given debate,
when it had heard enough of talking. The "previous
question" had been developed long before Reed's day.
It had been made necessary because, as the size of the
House increased, debate was often indulged in for the
purely physical purpose of delay. On one occasion a
member had held the floor continuously for twenty-
four hours, and the substance of what he said could
doubtless have been compressed within the compass
of a few minutes. To permit a man, under the pre
tense of debating, to monopolize the time of the House,
to prevent it from taking action, and to consume the
time of the other members as well as his own, never
impressed Reed as conspicuously illustrating the free
dom of debate. In the picturesque diction of Repre
sentative Charles B. Landis, of Indiana, "he did
not gag debate, he simply gagged the horse-traders In a
public place who sought to gag business. He thought
that a man who had a private baUoon to inflate should
hire a field," The same gentleman observed, upon the

THE SHERMAN SILYER-PURCHASE BILL 177
countmg of the quorum: "He beUeved that when a
burly demagogue shouted until the acoustics bled, it
was prima facie evidence that he was In the vicinity,
and could be counted." '
Since the Civil War there has been no session of
the House of Representatives characterized by the
partisan acrimony that marked the first session of
the Fffty-first Congress. The Speaker was the cen
tral object of attack, and he bore himseff through
out with that remarkable coolness and good nature
which under the circumstances was the most striking
proof of real courage. Mr. Lodge says of Reed's
conduct: —
I followed and watched him through aU that session of
bitter conflict and stormy attack. Not only did he exhibit
throughout the qualities I have mentioned, but, although he
was capable ot wrath and strongly combative, I never saw
his good nature fail, or his ready wit turn, as it might well
have done, to anger and fierce denunciation. I remember that,
one evening, when obstruction had been employed for hours
to prevent a vote, and everybody was tired and in a bad
temper, I went up to the Speaker's desk and asked how long
this business was to last. Mr. Reed, perfectly unruffled,
turned around with a pleasant smile, and said: "We shaU
get a vote in about an hour. Springer has only two more
pieces in his repertoire."
A political campaign following such a session was
sure to be bitterly fought. The election In Reed's
district was held two months In advance of the gen
eral election, and before the passage of the tariff bill.
The ruling concerning the quorum attracted especial
' Article by Mr. Landis, in the Peru, Indiana, RepubUcan.

178 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
attention In his personal campaign. It was something
for which the initial responsibiUty was whoUy upon
him. On the stump he stoutly defended his course,
which he declared was necessary to give vitaUty to our
kind of government. "Of what use," he said at Port
land, "was an election Itseff, that grand culmination
of the power of the citizen, ff, after aU, nothing could
be done without the sanction of the beaten party?
What statesman could there be so foolish as to bat
tle for power with responsibiUty when he could have
the same power without responsibility?" He was re
ceived with such extraordinary enthusiasm throughout
his district that he beUeved that he should be reelected.
Having been accustomed to smaU majorities, he hoped
to receive fifteen hundred votes over his antagonist.
But he won by the surprising plurality of 4516, which
was much the largest that had ever been given him, and,
with a single exception, four times what he had ever
previously received.
He took a prominent part in the campaign through
out the country. Speaking at Pittsburg, AprU 26, 1890,
he said: —
It we are not to-day in the forefront ot human progress, to
have been followers of Abraham Lincoln in the years gone by
is not an honor but a burning disgrace. Progress is of the
essence of RepubUcanism. To have met great emergencies as
they arose has been our history. To meet great emergencies
as they shall arise must be our daily walk and duty or we
cease to be. Hanging on to the old traditions is the business
of the Democratic party, and it does that business well; we
can never rival it. PoUticians are only eleventh-hour men.
They are worthy of their hire, but they never bear the

THE SHERMAN SILVER-PURCHASE BILL 179
burden and heat of the day. If they cry aloud betore their
hour they only tum back the shadow on the dial.
He maintained that the election of national officers
should be controlled by national laws. There would
be no danger in the nation of the domination of the
black man's vote, because the white race greatly out
numbered the black in the country.
If cheating at the poUs be only a pious fraud, in South
Carolina excusable, because the white man is superior in
inteUect though inferior in numbers, there can be no such
excuse in the United States election, where the white man
with his superior intellect is superior in numbers also!
He spoke to an enormous audience at New Haven
on October 3. The New York "Tribune" said that no
Republican ever received such an ovation in Connecti
cut. He denounced obstruction and said that at the
previous session there had been over four hundred roll-
calls, of which three hundred were as useless as the
platform of the Democratic party. "It is a magnifi
cent tribute to us, thus spending one whole month of
our time calUng over our own names."
At Champaign, lUinois, October 21, he spoke on the
grounds of the University of Illinois to fifteen thousand
people. "I am used," he said, "to the peaceful ways
of the East and this multitude exercises a sort of
terror on me, for this is the first time that I ever faced
so big a crowd."
At Burlington, Iowa, on October 22, he was compelled
to speak twice in order to reach the vast numbers who
had assembled. On October 24, an enormous audience

180 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
greeted him In Chicago. "There was nothing in the
Constitution of the Democratic party," he said, "to
prevent it from being denunciatory of the greenback
when we were Issuing It for the salvation of the coun
try and then being violently In favor of it when we were
trying to make It as good as gold."
Speaking, October 23, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to a
great crowd of prosperous-looking farmers, he expressed
his surprise and said that the assembly could hardly
be made up of farmers, for he looked in vain "for the
sad-eyed, poorly-clad men covered aU over with mort
gages and Democratic pity."
Everywhere It was the same story. The people
turned out in multitudes to hear him, and with serious
argument he mingled much witty banter and ridicule
of his party antagonists. But his own triumphant
reelection and the vast crowds were no index of the
result. The McKinley Tariff bill had been passed
only a month before the general election. At once
there was a general increase in prices, and especially
In prices of articles in common use. Shrewd traders
of all sorts reaped a rich harvest. Everything was laid
to the tariff, whether particular duties had been
changed or not, and when election day came around,
the people, beUeving that they had been robbed,
voted with enthusiasm for the Democratic candi
dates for Congress and gave that party the next
House by a rousing majority.
Under the somewhat unpopular feature of our sys
tem by which a House that has just been repudiated

THE SHERMAN SILVER-PURCHASE BILL 181
at the polls may continue to legislate, there still re
mained the short session of the Fifty -first Congress.
Reed as the leader of his party was compelled, while
still In the Chair, to endure with as much philosophy
as he could command the triumph of his enemies. And
he bore himseff with seff-control and good nature.
His party antagonists however did not show themselves
sportsmanlike winners and conducted themselves with
a good deal of haughtiness. Their attitude was shown
in their refusal to propose or vote for the usual per
functory resolution of thanks to the Speaker, which
It had been the long-established office of the minority
to propose at the end of each Congress. Either no
resolution would be presented or it must be presented
by a Republican. On March 2, 1891, Mr. McKinley,
the Republican floor-leader, offered the resolution.
Instead of permitting its adoption by the ordinary
voice vote, this extraordinary proceeding was made
still more extraordinary by the demand by Mr. Mills,
the Democratic leader, for the yeas and nays. The
resolution passed by 156 to 118, the Democrats gen
erally going on record against it. On the passage of
the resolution Reed made the following response : —
After two long and stormy sessions, in some respects
unparalleled in one hundred years, the House of Repre
sentatives of the Fifty-first Congress will soon pass with
completed record into the history of the country and its
works will foUow it. What we have done is in large manner
political. Whatever is political rouses the sternest, the most
turbulent, the most unforgiving passions of the human race.
Political action can never be justly viewed from a near

182 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
standpoint. Time and distance are needed for a ripe judg
ment and the verdict ot history is the only verdict worth
recording. To state in language which would seem adequate
the achievements of this House would not be suitable to this
time or this place. ... If our deeds do not praise us, our
words cannot. Confident as I am of the verdict of time on
what we have done, I am stiU more confident that the high
est commendation wiU be given us in the future, not for what
measures we have passed, valuable as they are, but because
we have taken so long a stride in the direction of responsible
government. Having demonstrated to the people that those
who have been elected to do their will can do it, henceforth
excuses will not be taken for performance, and government
by the people wiU be stronger in the land.
Towards those who have opposed what the majority of the
House desired we can have no unkindly or personal feeling.
Whoever offers battle to old convictions and faiths must
expect battle.
During this Congress Reed was invited to attend
a dinner of the "Blue Grass Club" which he declined
in the foUowing letter: —
Speakee'b Room, Washington, D.C.
28 February, 1890.
Mt deae Mk. Caetjth: —
I shaU not accept the invitation tendered me by the Blue
Grass Club. The reason is very simple. I notice that Jay F.
Durham is President. Now Jay F. Durham assured me
during the late "disturbances" that if they had me in Ken
tucky they would kUl me. Knowing the said Durham to be
a journaUst, his declarations to me import absolute verity.
I do not wish to be kUled, especiaUy in Kentucky where such
an event is too common to attract attention. For a good
man to die anjrwhere is of course gain; but I think I can
make more by dying later and elsewhere.
Yours truly,
T. B. Reed.

THE SHERMAN SILVER-PURCHASE BILL 183
For the bitter hostUity of the opposition Reed found
rich compensation In the loyal friendship of his Re
pubUcan coUeagues. In the fierce fighting of that
Congress they stood by him in unbroken ranks. At Its
close they asked him to sit for a portrait, which he
consented to do, and It was presented to the House
of Representatives. It was painted by Sargent; and
although he was probably the most distinguished
among the artists whose portraits of the Speakers hang
in the House lobby, he was not strikingly successful in
his portrait of Reed.

CHAPTER XV
AGAIN MINORITY LEADER — RELATIONS WITH
PRESIDENT HARRISON
The result of the Congressional elections in 1890 was
to put the Democrats very strongly In control of the
House, and to distribute again the poUtical control
of the two Houses and the Presidency, so that neither
party could be held responsible for legislation. Crisp
was elected Speaker. Reed was nominated for that
office by his party, and became minority leader. He
led a very smaU army, and he affectionately said of
Its members that "they behaved with gentleness and
modesty, partly because they were very good men and
partly because there were very few of them." A vic
tory for the Democrats was foreshadowed in the
next presidential election, and that party sought to
make the character of its control of the House as ap
pealing as possible to the country.
Under the inspiration of the leadership of Mr. Cleve
land, who was sternly in favor of the gold standard,
against the majority of his party In the House, a con
siderable minority of the Democratic members arrayed
themselves against the silver agitation. Mr. WiUiams
of Massachusetts denounced the movement for the
free coinage of sUver as a proposition for national bank
ruptcy and to pay seventy cents on the dollar. He

AGAIN MINORITY LEADER 185
declared that the Democrats who favored the free
coinage of silver were attempting to make a Farmers'
AlUance party out of the Democratic party. A vote
had been taken upon which seventy Democrats had
voted against free coinage. "These men," declared
Williams, "are the Democrats of this House. [Great
laughter.] Yes, you may laugh. Bad consciences require
some consolation."
Reed skilffuUy fomented this difference. He saw
that at the moment the line of cleavage in the enor
mous majority arrayed against him was upon the
question of the money standard. Upon that question
his position and that of Mr. Cleveland were identical.
The President-elect wished to have the silver-pur
chase clause of the so-called Sherman law repealed
before he came into office, and a repeal bill was intro
duced near the end of the Fffty-second Congress. Mr.
Bryan opposed the rule for its consideration in an im
passioned speech In which he lamented the attitude
of his party associates who favored it. Reed expressed
a mock sympathy with Bryan, who, he said, had
been in the habit of listening to the shoutings of the Demo
cratic party from the highest citizen to the lowest in favor of
"free silver," and what they call the "good of the people."
Well, he finds now that, in power, even the Democratic
party has got to obey the everlasting laws of common sense.
[Laughter.] When they are in the minority they can throw
their hmbs about in aU sorts of contortions; they can look
any way that they think beautiful. But when they come
into power, they have got to act according to the eternal
verities and that is going to be a great shock to him on every
occasion. [Renewed laughter.] He is going to see the leader

186 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
of the House quail on the subject of free trade. He is going to
see "patriots" all around him operating as some of them are
going to operate to-day, and I beg of him to summon to his
assistance that stoicism which his countenance indicates, in
order to help him in his very mournful future. [Laughter and
applause.] Reed played the part of minority leader after his
old style, a little more kindly perhaps, but wittUy
and upon occasion with tremendous force of attack.
He would sometimes make off-hand speeches under
the rules of informal debate on the appropriation bills,
and he would entertain both sides of the House with
his philosophical suggestions. His speech on a pro
posed appropriation for educating the Indians affords
a good example of his maimer in debates of that char
acter. He began with the assumption that the Indian
had very many human characteristics. One thing
that was most apparent in the human race was the de
termination that nobody should get very much ahead
of the average.
If you actuaUy wish to advance any set of people you can
not do it by educating one here and there, sporadicaUy; you
must make all the rest come forward or they will not permit
some one to go ahead.
He could easily believe the stories that educated
Indians sank back to the "blanket" condition of their
tribes after they had returned to their savage homes,
"because among Indians just as among white men
pubUc opinion, pubUc sentiment, reigns supreme."
The Indians could never be absorbed by the white

AGAIN MINORITY LEADER 187
race unless the great gulf of Ignorance was bridged
over and
the bridge has got to be wide enough to take in the whole
Indian race in tbis country. We can never be united by Uttle
bridges that wiU bring an occasional Indian in contact with
us. — Just as surely as pubhc sentiment works among white
men, just so surely pubhc sentiment works among Indians;
and a part of that pubhc sentiment is the good old-fashioned
human passion, envy. We hate to see people standing too
much above ourselves. You ought to take all the Indians
and educate them. What are you proposing to do? You are
proposing to stop in mid-career.
During the first session of this Congress the prac
tical poUtical question that most concerned the Re
publicans related to the candidate to be nominated for
the presidency. General Harrison was President. He
was an extremely able lawyer. In point of intellectual
capacity he has probably not been surpassed by any
president since the Civil War. But he was cold and
without personal magnetism. He had In very slight
degree the faculty for making new friends, and indeed
he chUled his old friends with an appearance of indiffer
ence which was probably only apparent but was as In
jurious In its effect upon his poUtical fortunes as ff it
had been genuine.
The most powerful political office in Reed's district
was the coUectorship of Portland. He never displayed
the sUghtest disposition to use the offices In his own
interest, but he was naturaUy concerned not to have
so influential an office in his own home put in hostile
control. His position as the representative of Portland

188 THOMAS BRACKETT REED =
and leader of his party In the House of Representatives
made It In the highest degree proper, according to the
political ethics of that time, that his opinion upon the
question should be received with much weight. He
acquainted the President with his views on the subject.
Reed expressed his disgust over the appointment when
it was finaUy made, in the foUowing characteristic
fashion: "I had but two enemies in Maine, and one
of them Harrison pardoned out of the penitentiary
and the other he appointed coUector of Portland."
As the sequel of the ensuing presidential election
proved, there was much indifference on both sides.
The foUowing quotation from a letter from Reed to
Charles FairchUd of Boston wiU serve to show his view
of the subject: —
Blaine is out and we are face to face with a Siberian soli
tude. I don't know what will happen but I beg to say to you
as an influential Massachusetts man that if any ice chest is
to hold our fortunes you must not ask me to come to Massa
chusetts during the campaign if you send a delegation which
is for the said ice chest. Don't forget this and find fault with
me. I have spent my Ufe taking political piUs but my powers
of deglutition are after all limited. B. Harrison would be
dead to start with.
A similar opinion, but appUed to both Cleveland and
Harrison, appears in a letter from Colonel Ingersoll to
Reed: — July 30, 1892.
Mt deak Friend: —
AU the IngersoUs, Browns and Farrells enjoyed to the
utmost that article ot yours on the two Congresses. It is
unanswerable, admirable in every way, full of sense, logic

AGAIN MINORITY LEADER 189
and facts, and it has wit enough, so that it can safely be
"warranted to keep in any climate." You have painted
Holman's portrait to perfection. I know exactly how he
looked at that "Solemn moment." The article should be
used as a campaign document — if there is to be a cam
paign. At present each party would like to find some way to beat
the candidate ot the other without electing its own.
Long life to you. Yours always, R. G. Ingersoll.
The reference In Colonel IngersoU's letter was to an
article by Reed In the "North American Review" of
July, 1892, comparing the Houses of the Fifty-first
and Fffty-second Congresses. It contained a brilUant
attack on the Democratic House, and Is well worth
reading to-day. Referring to the character of the
Democratic majority, he said that It presented "the
dead level of a Dutch landscape, with all its windmUls,
but without a trace of its beauty and fertility." Reed
was present at the Republican National Convention
at MinneapoUs, and his appearance was made the
occasion of the most spontaneous ovation that the
Convention witnessed. Harrison was nominated and
after a campaign spiritless on both sides, Cleveland
was elected President in a very light vote.
On the last day of the session. Reed, notwithstand
ing the attitude of the minority towards him In the
preceding Congress, proposed on behaff of his party
associates the customary resolution of thanks to the
Speaker. His speech In support of the resolution how
ever showed that he had not forgotten the treatment

190 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
he had received. He declared that the Speakership was
a very high office. No attack open or covert could be
made upon it "without leaving a legacy of disorder,"
not because the Speaker himseff was sacred but be
cause he embodied the House and its dignity and power.
If at any time, in the heat of passion, action has been taken
which has been thus inimical to the pubhc good and the pub
lic order, let us leave to those who so acted the honor or the
shame, and in no way give to their example the flattery of an
imitation. . . . Therefore, placing patriotism above partisan
ship, placing duty above even a just resentment, notwith
standing we do not approve of the parUamentary law ot the
Speaker and his associates and deem that the system reestab
lished is undemocratic and unwise, nevertheless by offering
the customary resolution, we tender to the Speaker of this
House the expression of our belief that he, hke aU his prede
cessors, has performed the trying duties ot his office with
upright intention and honorable purpose.

CHAPTER XVI
SILVER-PURCHASE REPEAL
The election of 1892 had residted disastrously for the
RepubUcans and the stalemate in the control of the
government was broken. With Mr. Cleveland as Pres
ident, there were chosen a Democratic House and Sen
ate, although the latter body was controlled by that
party by a very slender majority. The Republicans
however had gained forty seats in the House, and
when they nominated Reed as their candidate for
Speaker he became the leader of a strong and deter
mined minority. At no time in his career did he show
to better advantage as a parliamentary fighter than
in this Congress. He was indeed only the leader of the
minority, and he cannot be compared with himself as
the floor-leader of the majority because he never held
that position. Whenever he was leader of the majority
party. It made him the Speaker of the House. He was
in his physical and intellectual prime, and his experi
ence, running through sixteen years on the floor and in
the Chair, had brought about a development of his own
powers and given him a command of the procedure of
the House which made him a dangerous antagonist.
The President had summoned Congress to meet in
extraordinary session on August 7, 1893, to repeal
the so-called Sherman Silver law. That was the first

192 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
subject to engage the attention of the House. The
Silver Purchase Act of 1890 did not have the hoped-for
effect of sustaining the buUion value of the silver dollar.
On the other hand, after a temporary advance, the price
of silver had gone steadily down. During the three
years that the act had been in force the Treasury had
invested more than $140,000,000 in silver bullion and
had issued treasury notes in payment, which were a
charge upon the gold reserve. But the silver bullion lay
an uncoined and inert mass In the vaults of the Treas
ury, and although its acquirement had vastly increased
the gold obligations of the government it did not aug
ment by a particle the ability of the government to
meet them. On the slender gold reserve of $100,000,000
there was thrown the burden, not merely of redeeming
more than three times that amount in greenbacks,
but of redeeming also the treasury notes Issued in pay
ment for the silver and of maintaining at a parity with
gold some hundreds of millions of Ught-weight silver
dollars. As a result the Treasury had fallen into a very critical
condition. There was a genuine fear that the govern
ment could not maintain gold payments. Not merely
was the condition of the Treasury serious but the finan
cial condition of the country speedUy became appall
ing. Business slackened; securities became depressed;
American stocks and bonds held abroad were sold in
our markets and the exportation of their purchase-
price still further reduced the stock of gold in the
country ; banks suspended payment, railroad after rail-

SILVER-PURCHASE REPEAL 193
road went into the hands of receivers, and there were
witnessed all the evidences of an acute financial crisis.
The Democratic platform on which Cleveland was
elected had declared for a radical reduction of the
tariff. It was asserted by a large section of the Repub
licans that the promise of what was called free trade,
ratified as it had been at the election, was responsible
for the derangement of industrial and financial condi
tions. Undoubtedly the threat of radical reductions
of the tariff had imposed caution on prudent manu
facturers and caused them to prepare for possibly
rough weather by taking in sail; but the condition of
the currency was so menacing that it Is difficult to be
lieve that the tariff was the only or indeed the chief
cause. It was a matter of much doubt whether the Presi
dent could secure the desired repeal. Within a month
before his inauguration a rule for the consideration of
a repeal bill had been defeated in the House, a large
majority of the Democrats voting against it. Would it
meet a more friendly reception from his party at the
extraordinary session? It seemed likely that the bal
ance of power would be held by the Republicans. Was
there danger that, in order to defeat the President and
embarrass his administration, they would "play poli
tics"? Whatever doubt existed upon that subject
was speedily dispelled. It became known that Reed
stood firmly with the President. The Purchase Act,
it is true, had been passed during his Speakership,
but he had consented to It, not because he favored It

194 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
as a proposition standing by Itseff, but because he be
lieved it necessary In order to prevent something he
regarded as disastrous in the extreme. To his mind
the practical alternatives were the passage of the pur
chase bUl or the passage of a bUl for free coinage. Be
tween those alternatives he could not hesitate. But the
situation was very different at the special session. There
was presented only the naked question of repeal, and
upon that question he brought his powerful aid to the
support of the President.
The debate that ensued upon the introduction of the
biU was memorable In point of ability, and leading
orators in the two parties could be found contending
upon either side.
Reed made the principal speech for the RepubUcans,
and for nearly two hours he argued for repeal. The
Sherman Act, he said, had no defenders.
The silver men, although they were glad to get it, stood
prepared to declare that it was not what they wanted.
Those who had yielded to the demand for that act in the
earnest hope that what they desired might turn out to be
just and right were in no condition to defend it at all. It
had not answered their hopes. Wherever there is an attack
upon one side and no defence on the other, there is sure to be
a shining victory.
Referring to the "crime of 1873," which was the
aUeged stealthy demonetization of sUver, he said he was
amazed that the charge had lived so long.
Why I myself have heard a man — in this very House of
Representatives — denounce the demonetization of silver as
stealthy and "fiendish," and he himself introduced the bill
on the floor ot this House, and squarely and openly declared

SILVER-PURCHASE REPEAL 195
that a double standard was impossible, and that the gold
standard was the only thing we could possibly have. [Laugh
ter and applause.]
It had been answered so often that he should not
burden his speech with the proofs.
I shall simply content myself with saying that there never
was a more open, straightforward discussion since the begin
ning of time than that by which silver was demonetized. . . .
What then is the pathway of duty? The unconditional re
peal. That will either give rehef or not. If not then we must
try something else and the sooner the better. ... It is such
a pity that we had to waste so much time in this weary wel
ter of talk.
We stand in a very peculiar position, we Republicans,
to-day. [Laughter.] The representative of the Democratic '
party just chosen President ot the United States finds him
self powerless in his first great recommendation to his own
party. Were he left to their tender mercies [laughter], the
country would witness the spectacle of the President of its
choice overthrown by. the party charged with this country's
government. What wonder then that he appeals to the pa
triotism of another party whose patriotism has never been
appealed to in vain. [Applause on the Republican side.]
Never, I say. La vain. The proudest part ot the proud
record of the Republican party has been its steadfast devo
tion to the cause of sound finance. When this country was
tempted to pay its bonds in depreciated money, the Repub
hcan party responded with loud acclaim to that noble senti
ment of General Hawley that every bond was as sacred as
a soldier's grave. It cost us hard fighting and sore struggle,
but the credit of this country has no superior in the world.
[Applause on the Republican side] When the same argu
ments heard to-day were heard fifteen years ago, sounding
the praises of a depreciated currency and proclaiming the
glories of fiat money, the party of Abraham Lincoln marched
steadily towards specie payments and prosperity. [Ap
plause.] What we were in our days of victory, the same are

196 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
we in our days of defeat. Champions of true and solid
finance. [Applause.] And when the time comes, as it surely
wiU come, for us to lead this land back to those paths of
prosperity and fame which were trodden under RepubUcan
rule for so many years, we shall take back with us our an
cient glory undimmed by adversity; our ancient honor un-
suUied by defeat. [Prolonged applause on the floor and in the
galleries] A very large majority of the RepubUcans voted for
the repeal and it passed by a great majority.
Mr. Cleveland displayed a resolute courage in press
ing the measure, but he achieved a large measure of
unpopularity with his party, which was in favor of
free coinage as was afterward clearly shown. That
his efforts prevented the currency of the country from
falling speedUy to the silver standard there can be no
doubt. The contest was not finaUy won. Other battles
remained to be fought. But It would have been lost
but for the Silver-Purchase repeal. And those who
believe that Incalculable damage would have come
upon the country by the depreciation of Its currency
and Its departure from the established standard of the
civilized world, will hold In grateful remembrance the
patriotic self-sacrifice and the stem and heroic courage
of Grover Cleveland.

CHAPTER XVII
THE WILSON BILL
The next Important measure In the Democratic pro
gramme was the repeal of the national election law,
which provided for the presence of United States offi
cers at the polls at national elections. That measure
had from Its first enactment been unpopular with the
Democratic party and it was but natural, when that
party succeeded to the control of the government, that
the law should be repealed. Reed and his party sup
ported the law. Among all the various arguments put
forward against repeal the strongest was based upon
the common interest of aU parts of the country in hon
est national elections. An election of a governor or a
legislature in South Carolina was a concern of the
people of that state, and the principle of home rule
would ordinarUy require that they should be per
mitted to conduct the election in their own way. But
an election of members of Congress and of presiden
tial electors was a common concern of the whole coun
try. Violence and fraud in one state would equally
affect the remotest states of the Union. A man in
Florida or Texas would have no ground of complaint
ff Maine or Oregon should fairly give the decisive votes
which should establish in the government of the na
tion a system of poUcies in which he did not beUeve.

198 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
But he would have the strongest groxmd of complaint
ff the result in the latter states should be brought
about by violence and fraud. The right to regulate the
choice of agencies of the national government Inhered
In the very idea of nationaUty.
The arguments against repeal, however valid they
may have been, did not avaU to save the law, and It
was repealed at the special session, along with the
silver law.
The third great party measure to be brought forward
was the reduction of the tariff. The Ways and Means
Committee was presided over by William L. WUson
of West Virginia, a man of engaging personality and
an orator of no mean quality. He had associated with
him in the committee some of the strongest men in his
party, among them Bryan, Cockran, Turner, and Mc-
Millin. The bill was reported to the House very early
in the December session. It was not an extreme meas
ure except in respect to a comparatively small number
of duties.
A long debate ensued in Committee of the Whole,
in which Reed frequently took part In short speeches
covering with ridicule the different paragraphs of
the bUl as they came up for amendment. His great
contribution to the debate was made February 1,
1894, when he closed for the RepubUcans. On that
day the scene in the House of Representatives was an
extraordinary one. The galleries were crowded to suf
focation, even the corridors of the Capitol were packed,
and by common consent the unusual course was taken

THOMAS B. REED, 1894

THE WILSON BILL 199
of admitting the families and friends of members to
vacant places on the floor of the House. Every inch of
room was occupied by members and senators, and by
ladles, many of whom occupied the seats of members.
It may well be doubted whether the vast hall had
ever before presented so brilliant a spectacle.
¦^be burden of closing the debate for the Republicans
fell to Reed alone; that for the Democrats was divided
between the Speaker, who left the Chair, and the
Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Reed spoke first and was followed by the Speaker and
by WUson. The occasion was an inspiring one to Reed.
His heroic figure fitted well into the surroundings and
as he swept steadily and majestically into his argu
ment his hold upon his audience constantly strength
ened, and when he took his seat, after speaking an
hour and a haff, the loud cheers that died away only
to begin again afforded a deserved tribute to the great
ness of his effort.
The speech wUl lose by condensation, and since it
cannot be reproduced here In its entirety, perhaps the
best remaining test of its quality may be afforded by
extracts from it which may fairly serve as examples
of the whole.
The history of protection has been most remarkable.
Fifty years ago the question seemed to be closed. Great
Britain had adopted free trade, the United States had started
in the same direction, and the whole world seemed about
to follow. To-day the entire situation seems to be reversed.
The whole civilized world except Great Britain has become
protectionist, and the very year last passed has witnessed the

200 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
desertion of EngUsh principles by the last EngUsh colony
which held out. This has been done in defiance of the
opinions of every political economist in England who wrote
prior to 1850, and ot most of those who have written
since. When you add to this that the arguments against it have
seemed so clear and simple that every schoolboy can com
prehend them and every patriot with suitable lungs could
fill the atmosphere with the catchwords [laughter], the
wonder increases that in every country it should still flourish
and maintain its vigor. Ten years ago it was equally true at
one and the same time that every boy who graduated from
college graduated a free trader and that every one of them
who afterward became a producer or distributor ot our goods
became also a protectionist. . . .
I have here an article in the "Fortnightly Review,"
wherein Mr. J. Stephen Jeans, a British free-trade writer,
in December, 1892, declared that "America has for many
years enjoyed an amazing degree of prosperity, so much so
indeed that to use the eloquent words of Edmund Burke,
'Generalities which in all other cases are apt to heighten and
raise the subject have here a tendency to sink it. Fiction
lags after truth, invention is unfruitful, and imagination
cold and barren.'"
When I read these words I recaUed a scene in this House,
and said how differently men look at the same things. Here
is a cool-blooded Enghshman, who, in talking of the "not
unreasonable hopes" — I use his very words — -which his
countrymen entertain, "that the greatest market in the
world and probably in the world's history is once again to be
found lying at the feet of British industry and commerce,"
declares that "America has for many years enjoyed an
amazing degree of prosperity, so much so, indeed," that he
has to use the words of Burke to say that he cannot even
describe it. And yet, in this very hall a member of the
Committee of Ways and Means, liimself a countryman of
Edmund Burke and whose wonderful eloquence moved this
assembly as I never saw it moved before, allowed himself,
amid "laughter and applause on the Democratic side," to

THE WILSON BILL 201
compare this amazing prosperity to a "prolonged debauch,"
from which the country could rescue itself only by the free
use of the committee's dilution of the original beverage.
[Laughter.] It seems, however, almost a desecration to put
the facts over against the figure of speech. . . .
Was that crusade the same as is waged here to-day? Are
the gentlemen of the Ways and Means Committee legit
imate successors of Bright and Cobden and the Anti-Corn-
Law League? Not the least in the world. That was a fight
by the manufacturers. This is a fight against the manu
facturers. The manufacturers then desired no protection
whatever. Turn over this big volume of Cobden's speeches
until you come to the twentieth speech, seven years after he
began; you will find hardly one allusion to protective duties
to manufacturers, and even in the twentieth speech they are
only aUuded to to reiterate the declaration made in 1838
when the Anti-Corn-Law League began, that all duties were
to be aboUshed so as to make food cheaper. [Applause on the
Democratic side.] I am glad to see that my Democratic
friends recognize a bit of truth, but I am afraid it is by mis
take. It so happens, Mr. Speaker, the corn laws were not, as
these Democrats in their ignorance imagine, for the protec
tion of the farmer. [Laughter.] What Cobden was fighting
was an odious law enacted to enhance the price of bread,
for the benefit, not of the farmer, but ot the aristocratic
owner of land. Workingmen were clamoring for increase of
pay. The manufacturers knew that decrease in the price of
wheat was equivalent to higher pay. . . .
The men who made the fight were not philanthropists or
saints. They were good, honest, selfish men, struggUng tor
their own interests, and never lost sight of them. Down to
their latest day they resisted lesser hours of labor, and were
deaf to all improvements which led to the elevation of the
working classes. They held firmly to the doctrine that "as
wages fall profits rise." . . .
But all these questions of wages are to be met, says the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Cockran), by our superior
civilization, and he accuses me ot "confessing that civiliza
tion at the highest level is incapable of meeting the compe-

202 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
tition ot civiUzation at its lowest level!" [Laughter on the
Democratic side.]
Now it is a great truth that civUization can successfully
meet barbarism, but it must do it with brains and not with
rhetoric. How often have I heard this and similar eloquent
outbursts about our superiority, and therefore inevitable
conquest of the interior. Survival ot the superior! That is
not the way the naturahst put it. " Survival of the fittest "
was his expression; survival of the fittest to survive, not
the superior, not the loveliest, not the most intellectual, but
the one who fitted best into the surroundings. Compare the
strong Bull ot Bashan with a salt-water smelt. Who doubts
the superiority of the buU? Yet, if you drop them both into
the Atlantic Ocean, I wUl take my chances with the smelt.
[Laughter] A httle tomtit, insignificant as a bit of dust in the
balance, cannot compare with the domestic swan either in
grace, beauty, or power. Yet, it both were dropped trom
a baUoon hung high in air, I would rather be the insignificant
tomtit than the graceful swan. It I had a job to dig on a rail
way, the competitor for that job whom I should fear would
not be my friend from New York (Mr. Cockran) [laughter],
but some child of sunny Italy so newly imported that he had
not grown up to the wages ot this adopted country. . . .
Why did the working people of CaUfornia object to the
Chinese? Because they knew that it they swarmed here in
sufficient numbers the law of wages would make our own
wages impossible. Had the Chinese had the same wants, and
been therefore forced to demand the same wages, they could
have worshiped their ancestors here without let or hindrance.
It was just because the higher civilization could not contend
on a tree field with the lower that the higher civUization had
to put brains into the scale and protect itself. . . .
Let me restate this: Men in America demand high and
higher wages because their surroundings erect what used to
be luxuries into necessities. Men who come here are soon
affected by these same surroundings and are soon under
the same necessities. But Chinamen, because they sequester
themselves from these surroundings, and bales of goods,
because they cannot have the labor in them subjected to our

THE WILSON BILL 203
influences, ought to be under the restriction ot law. I do not
mean to make the comparison go on all fours and have the
goods prohibited like the Chinese. I only meant to convey
an idea. . . .
To hear the discussions in Congress you would suppose
that invention dropped from Heaven like manna to the
Jews. [Laughter.] You would suppose that James Watt
reached out into the darkness and pulled back a steam-
engine. It was not so. All invention is the product of neces
sities and of pressure. When the boy who wanted to go off to
play so rigged the stopcocks that the engine went itself, he
was not only a true inventor, but he had the same motive
— personal advantage — that all inventors have, and like
them was urged on by business necessities. . . .
As a further proof that invention is born of necessity, tell
me why great inventions never come until the world is in
such shape as to enjoy them? What would the Crusaders
have done with railroads? There was not money enough in
the world, or travel, or merchandise, to keep them going a
week. [Laughter.] . . .
Therefore I say that the great forces of nature and the
wisest inventions are alike unprofitable except for a large
consumption. Hence, large consumption is at the basis of
saving in manufacture, and hence high wages contribute
their share to progress. If you once accept the idea that
necessity is the mother of invention, instead ot regarding
invention as coming from Heaven knows where, you can see
how high wages stimulate it. . . .
Our laws have invited money and men, and we have
grown great and rich thereby. The gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Black) has noticed that men come here, and he does
not want them to come; hence he is wUling that our wages
shaU be lowered to keep people away. Well, this is not the
time to discuss immigration; but while people are coming I
am glad they have not yet imbibed the gentleman's ideas
and have not yet begun to clamor for lower wages. I really
cannot help adding that when the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Black) starts his reformed immigration ot men who
come here "unawed by uifluence and unbribed by gain," I

204 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
hope to be there, for it would be a sight hitherto unknown
on earth of men who forsook their home without being either
pushed or pulled. [Laughter.] . . .
Let me give one item, and the figures shall be furnished
by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Wheeler), who told
me in your presence that the value ot all the cotton raised in
the United States was only $300,000,000, while the finished
product of that cotton was worth $1,750,000,000. When
cotton leaves the field, it is worth $300,000,000; when it
leaves the mill, it is worth six times as much. On our own
cotton crop alone we might in time make the profit on a bil
lion and a half of manufactured goods. Nor is there anything
to prevent such a result in a protective tariff.
Some men think, indeed this bUl and its author's speeches
proceed upon the supposition, that the first step toward
gaining the markets ot the world is to give up our own, just
as if a fortified army, with enemies on all flanks, should over
turn its own breastworks as the first preliminary to a march
into the open. Even the foolish chivahy of the Marquis ot
Montcalm, which led him to his death on the Heights ot
Abraham, had not that crowning folly. Such is not the his
tory of the world; such is not even the example of England.
Tariff duties, whether levied for that purpose or for revenue,
become a dead letter when we are able to compete with the
outside world.
We are the only rival that England fears, for we alone
have in our borders the population and the wages, the raw
material, and within ourselves the great market which in
sures to us the most improved machinery. Our constant
power to increase our wages insures us also continuous prog
ress. If you wish us to follow the example of England, I say
yes, with all my heart, but her real example and nothing less.
Let us keep protection, as she did, until no rival dares to
invade our territory, and then we may take our chances for a
future which by that time wUl not be unknown. . . .
Where he [Lincoln] failed we cannot hope to succeed. But
though we faU here to-day like our great leader of other days,
in the larger field before the mightier tribunal which will
finaUy and forever decide this question we shall be more than

THE WILSON BILL 205
conquerors; for this great nation, shaking off as it has once
before the influence ot a lower civUization, will go on to fulfill
its high destiny untU over the South, as weU as over the
North, shall be spread the full measure of that amazing
prosperity which is the wonder of the world. [Prolonged
applause on the floor and in the galleries.]
The biU was carried in the House with slightly less
than the usual Democratic majority, but it was des
tined to have a rough passage before it finally became
a law. The Senate grafted upon it six hundred or more
amendments, some of which were radical in their
character. When the bill came back to the House for
action on these amendments, there was much brave
talk against the mutilation of the bill. On July 19,
1894, a drastic rule was proposed with reference to the
conference. Reed felt sure that with all this display
of bravery the House in the end would yield to the
Senate and he turned his batteries of ridicule upon the
conference. The proposed rule, he said, would present
the House to the Senate as sohd, and that would be
Uable to be misleading.
Your committee needs aU the factitious support that they
can possibly get and that is another reason why you should
adopt this rule because it is in your power and you want
to hold up the hands of the brethren — which are not very
strong [laughter] — and make them vigorous, because they
are contending, not with idealists, not with individuals with
a theory, but with individuals who have definite purposes,
definite aims, definite motives; gentlemen who know pre
cisely on which side their provisions are buttered. [Laugh
ter and applause] . . . The gentleman from Ohio has paid
a touching tribute to the stern persistence of the conferees
on the part of the House on this bill — their heroism is

206 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
dragged before the public for the first time — I hope the
gentleman from Ohio, in his reserved time or in mine, will
tell us just how long this courage is to last. [Laughter and
applause on the Republican side.] What does "courage"
mean or what does it amount to when it backs down as soon
as the time comes? [Laughter.] What does courage that lasts
only a week amount to, when it is the courage of two weeks
that does the busiaess?
After the adoption of the rule Mr. WUson made an
eloquent speech full of defiance to the Senate and caused
to be read the famous letter to himseff from the Presi
dent. The reading of the letter was frequently Inter
rupted with loud cheers from the Democratic members,
and especially the passage which denounced the aban
donment of their tariff platform as "party perfidy and
party dishonor." Reed in reply took occasion again
to call attention to the passing display of courage.
The gentleman from West Virginia, he said, "amid the
uproarious applause of the other side, has pledged
this House of Representatives to stand out against
the Senate." He drew out the admission from Wilson
that although the President's letter was marked
"personal," he had consented to have it made public.
The President has been pleased [Reed said] to address
a communication to the House of Representatives through
his faithful Committee of Ways and Means. Whether this
relationship thus intimate between a committee of this
House and the President was contemplated by the Constitu
tion of the United States or not, is hardly worth the trouble
of inquiry. Least ot aU would anybody on this side find fault
with the severe language which the President — the Demo
cratic President — has seen fit to use about a Democratic
Senate. [Laughter and applause on the Republican side.]

THE WILSON BILL 207
The House without a division voted to sustain Wil
son and his colleagues In their battle with the Senate.
But the end of the "courage," which Reed foresaw,
came to pass. After some weeks more spent in confer
ence it was given out that a Democratic senator pro
posed to make a motion to terminate the conference
which would mean the end of the bill. Thereupon
the Democratic leaders of the House adopted the pro
gramme that the House should recede and concur in
the six hundred or more Senate amendments by a
single vote. In addition It was proposed that the House
should consider as separate propositions, bUls putting
on the free list sugar, coal, iron, and barbed wire, and
vote upon them after an hour's debate upon each.
The adoption of this programme meant the passage
into law of the WUson bill with all the Senate amend
ments, and an attempt to disguise the proceeding by
a demonstration upon the free-list bills, which could
by no possibility pass the Senate and become laws.
This outcome of the "courage" which Reed had
emphasized a few weeks previously gave him a supreme
opportunity, and he never used his power of ridicule
more effectively than on the day when the programme
came before the House.
The first proposition you are called upon to vote [he said]
is that you wUl take action upon papers that are not before
you, that you will violate the principles of parliamentary
law in order to do a thing which you yourselves have pro
claimed to be disgusting. You are going to trample upon the
barriers which preserve the rights ot the people of this coun
try, in order to perform an act which would be distasteful to

208 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
gentlemen who were differently constituted from yourselves.
[Laughter on the Republican side.] You are going to do it
in defiance ot all your protestations, in defiance of all your
declarations ! You are going to die, not only in the last ditch,
but in the very lowest part of the ditch. [Laughter on the
Republican side.] You are going to enact a bill which you
beUeve not to be an honest bill, and you are going to accom
pany it with a parade, which you also know is not honest.
You are going to desert the "roU ot honor" [laughter] in order
to trick yourselves out with the gewgaws that are contained
in this proposition. You are going to give us free sugar. —
Yes, in your minds. [Laughter.] You are going to give us free
coal. — Oh, my friends! And then you are going to give us
tree iron, and you are going to do it in a bold and manly
way, Uke the backdown you are making here. [Laughter and
applause on the Republican side.] You are going to have no
committee of this House, not even your own pUant com
mittee, to stand between you and the noble purpose that
thrills your souls. [Laughter and applau.se on the Republican
side.] Now how do you like the whole programme? You are
going to vote it; say how you like it.
A voice on the Democratic side replied amid laugh
ter, "First-rate." Reed retorted, "Providence loves
a cheerful devourer." [Laughter.]
Wilson made a speech, composed in large part of
a denunciation of trusts and monopolies, and closed
with a reference to the bill presented to put sugar
on the free list, which, however, could not become a
law. Reed in reply expressed regret for the position of
his antagonists.
So tar as the gentleman from West Virginia is concerned
and his compatriots, there is not the sUghtest necessity of my
commenting on the difference between this scene of sorrow,
and the triumphal procession which carried him out of this

THE WILSON BILL 209
House. [Laughter and applause on the Republican side.] He
is not so joyous now, having been carried out in another
brancb, and more effectuaUy. [Renewed laughter.] Our con
ferees came back to us, gentlemen of the House, without so
much as the name of the bUl that they transported across
this buUding a month ago. It wiU be known in history as
the " Gorman-Brice bUl, vice the Wilson bUl dead." [Laughter
and applause on the Republican side.] Aye, dead on the
field of "dishonor." [Renewed laughter and applause.] The
gentleman from West Virginia and his compatriots appear
before us now, not as the triumphal reformers, marching to
glory at the sound of their own sweet voices. They are little
babes in the wood, and it wUl be found pretty soon that
they were left there by theh "uncle" in the White House.
[Great laughter and applause on the Republican side.] And
I can hear the coming sound of the pinions ot the little
birds, bearing the baUots that are to bury them out ot sight.
[Laughter on the Republican side] We shall not write your
epitaph. That has been done by a nearer and a dearer. That
has been done by the man whose name must be affixed to
this bill before it can discredit the statute books. His name
must be to it.* We have a proposition to fhe one of those
pop-gun tariff bills for which the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Springer) was deposed from the Committee on Ways and
Means. [Laughter on Republican side.] His successor, after
filUng the atmosphere with his outspread wings, finds his
nest in some other bird's premises. [Laughter on the Repub
lican side.] Why not resign it you were to adopt the ac
tion of the other person. I congratulate the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Springer) upon his personal triumph.
And so it continued throughout the day. Never was
a retreat made more disastrous. Never was a subter
fuge more mercilessly torn to pieces than that of the
four little tariff bills which were designed to cover the
' President Cleveland refused to sign the bill, and in default of his
signature it became a law ten days after it had been submitted to
hi^.

210 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
retreat. When the last of these bills was reached for
consideration. Reed said: —
This is the last of the air-cushions which the statesmen of
this httle kingdom of LiUiput, in which we are now Uving,
have arranged for themselves to tumble on this evening. Of
course it is a cushion that is filled with air hke the rest —
not wind, because wind is air in motion; this is air that has
gone to rest. [Laughter.]
Shortly after the passage of the biU, the campaign
opened for the election of members of the House.
Reed was the most sought man In his party, and his
part in the campaign was conspicuous. The result was
an overwhelming rout for the Democracy. The major
ity of 90 which they had in the House was transformed
into a RepubUcan majority of 145, the greatest change
between two successive elections that had ever been
witnessed In the history of the House. The represen
tation from most of the Southern states, on account
of the race Issue, and from the Tammany districts In
New York City, was too securely attached to the
Democratic party to be lost even in a revolution.
But almost every other seat in the country was taken
by the Republicans. The result meant the return of
Reed to the Speakership by an enormous majority.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE QUORUM RULING VINDICATED — THE MORGAN
GOLD CONTRACT
There remain some portions of the work of this Con
gress to which reference should be made. The old con
troversy over the rules steadily recurred, and Reed
was pretty apt to have a word upon it. One day the
question of the quorum came under discussion, and in
a reply to a speech by Springer Reed said: —
When I find the gentleman from lUinois and the Supreme
Court of the United States in opposition, of course it would
be a very puzzUng matter to me if I did not have some con
victions of my own. [Laughter.] I am sorry that the gentle
man cannot seem to understand the matters involved in these
discussions. I am exceedingly sorry that the Democratic
party cannot understand them, and I realize the truth of the
old proverb that a match for the very gods is lack of knowl
edge — to put it in no harsher fashion. [Laughter]
He favored a rule which would prevent one man
from taking all the time of the House under the pre
text of "freedom of debate." A limitation was neces
sary in the Interest of that very freedom. Reed favored
what he called the previous question of the fathers.
"WhUe I am not violently In love with a thing because
our fathers were for it, I can use the argument when
I am appealing to a set of gentlemen who are fond of

212 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the action of our fathers." [Laughter.] He declared
that the House should have restored to Itseff the power
that had been taken away
by a few fiUbusters — fiUbuster being a Spanish name for
a land pirate. [Laughter.] Let us not confuse honest debate
with that miserable bastard business by which one man
stands here and sets up his wiU against the will of all of us.
I know and so do you that we are all the embodiment of
absolute wisdom [laughter], but this is a world on which we
have got to live and let live; and it may happen even to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. KUgore) , that on some occasion
the wisdom of three hundred and fifty-five other gentlemen
may be on a par with his or possibly just a httle shade better.
[Laughter] A danger to be guarded against in framing a rule was
that men would often give It an unreasonable applica
tion. It was a saying of his that "men never remain
reasonably bad. They carry their badness to excess
and therefore to correction." It was his contention
that the House should retain control of debate, so that
when It was abused and indulged In for purposes of
delay, the House itseff could act upon the situation
and close debate in such a case if It saw fit to do so.
It was during the second session of this Congress
that his antagonists were forced to adopt the principle
of the present, instead of the voting, quorum which
he had enunciated in his famous ruUng when Speaker.
There came a time when the Democrats, although they
had a majority of ninety, were unable to maintain a
quorum out of their own numbers. The situation was
ornamented with the usual long succession of fruitless
roU-calls. Under Reed's lead the fight was desperately

THE QUORUM RULING VINDICATED 213
waged. The RepubUcans refrained from voting on
motions and other matters of business. There was fur
nished an illustration of the truth of the aphorism im
plied in a question put by Reed during the preceding
Congress: "Do you not see that ff the House gives
permission for piracy some gentleman may choose
to go Into that Interesting and lucrative business?"
Reed proceeded to reduce the Democratic theory of a
quorum to an absurdity. The business of the House
was at a complete standstill for many days, and
finally, after many messages to absent members, the
majority surrendered, and on April 17, 1894, a rule
was adopted providing that tellers should note enough
names of members present and not answering on a
roll-call to make a quorum, and that such members
should be counted as present in order to make a quorum.
Partisanship had done Its worst in the bitterness
with which it had assaUed Reed for his ruling upon the
quorum. He might have been pardoned a word of
triumph. But he was too large a man to indulge in it.
He made a brief and simple speech on the proposed rule
in which there was not the least glorification.
This scene here to-day [he said] is a more effective address
than any I could make. The House is about to adopt the
principle for which we contended in the Fifty-first Congress
and is about to adopt it under circumstances which show
conclusively to the country its value. No words that I can
utter can add to the importance of the occasion. I con
gratulate the Fifty-third Congress on the wise decision it
is about to make.
^ The rule was adopted by a vote of 213 to 47, and thus

214 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
was brought to an end the most historic controversy
in the development of the law of the House.
During January, 1895, the condition of the Treas
ury became desperate. The gold reserve would have
been very narrow even In normal times to maintain
the stability of our monetary standard, but there was
a great deficit in our revenues which Intensified the
difficulty. This deficiency had exceeded a hundred
milUon in less than two years. When greenbacks br
treasury notes had been redeemed in gold, the necessi
ties of the government would require their use in pay
ing Its running expenses. And when paid out they
woidd again be presented for redemption in gold. An
income tax had been provided, but at the outset its
constitutionality appeared very doubtful, and it was
finally overturned by a decision of the Supreme Court;
but even this tax, ff it had been upheld, would have
been insufficient to meet the emergency. An impor
tant fault In the conduct of the Treasury at that time
consisted in the failure to provide a sufficient revenue,
which might easUy have been obtained by the tempo
rary imposition of stamp taxes.
In defaidt of sufficient revenue. Reed himseff Intro
duced a blU to keep the balance of receipts and expen
ditures separate from the redemption account of the
Treasury; and for a separate Issue of bonds to maintain
the vaUdlty of each account. The majority, however,
refused to accept his biU and adopted another policy
which was subjected to much criticism. In order to
procure a supply of gold the administration made a

THE QUORUM RULING VINDICATED 215
contract with J. P. Morgan and Company for the
sale of some sixty-five millions of four per cents,
at a premium much smaller than that which simi
lar bonds usually commanded. These bonds, like
the other bonds of the govemment, were payable In
coin. There was a provision in the contract that Mor
gan and Company would accept three per cents at
par on condition that they contained a provision
making them payable In gold. In order to issue such
an exceptional bond it was necessary to secure action
by Congress, and WUson brought forward a bill to
sanction the Issue. Reed was willing to give his full
support to any proceeding which the administration
believed necessary in its effort to maintain the gold
standard, but he gravely doubted the wisdom of having
a small issue of bonds different from all the other bonds
of the government and thus to some extent discredit
ing them. He reluctantly voted for the bill, which
failed to pass the House. His desire to amend the bill
drew out a letter from a banker who severely criti
cised Reed, but upon somewhat narrow grounds. The
following quotations are from Reed's reply to this
letter:— 'WAsmNGTON, D.C, Feb. 11, 1895.
Mt deab Sib: —
You seem to be a member ot a respectable firm of bankers
and say you are a RepubUcan. Would it not be wiser for you
to suspect me of patriotism than of ambition? I have ex
plained at tull length my reasons for action in a speech which
I enclose. I desire to add that Mr. Hendricks, a banker from
Brooklyn, and I had agreed upon my substitute, with an
amendment to which Mr. Springer had assented, and the

216 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
same would have passed at once but the Administration
forbade. Had that passed, it might have gone through the
Senate and could have done some good. If you wUl read an
article in the Boston "Herald," Saturday, February ninth,
you wUl see a true statement of those Sf per cent bonds. If
you deshe to approve of such a trade, you may do so, — I
do not.
If you are really a Repubhcan, why should you think ill
ot your own friends in order to think well of the pilots who
have put us on these rocks? When you see these bonds at
their proper premium you will see what has been done. As
the "Herald" says: "We protest that the valuation of our
credit involved in the President's arrangement is not a true
one. If the bonds had been sold in open competition they
would unquestionably have brought a much better figure.
But here there was, so far as is known, no competition. The
President appears to have put himself into the hands of a
syndicate of foreign and native bankers, and his chief aim
in the negotiation would seem to have been to make the dif
ference between gold bonds and coin bonds as large as pos
sible, with the view ot giving an impressive object-lesson to
Congress. The lesson is obviously cooked up, and the cook
ing has been done at the expense of American taxpayers."
Now the "Herald" is "Gold," "Mugwump," and every
thing except RepubUcan. Is John Sherman advising this ac
tion? I happen to know that he is not. On the contrary, I
submitted my proposition to him and he fully approved it
as the only practical one.
Is Mr. Carlisle a sounder financier than Mr. Sherman?
Very truly yours,
T. B. Reed.

CHAPTER XIX
THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP
The Fffty-fourth Congress assembled on December
2, 1895, and Reed was chosen Speaker of the House,
receiving 240 votes to 95 for Crisp, — a very ample
majority compared with that which he had led in his
previous Speakership. He was not merely the leader of
the House, but, since the President was a Democrat,
he was the official head of his party in the country.
It is doubtful ff he ever took more satisfaction in
pubhc Iffe than during the first session of this Con
gress. Out of the vituperation and calumny of his
first Speakership and the hard and continuous fight
ing as minority leader in the next two Congresses, he
had emerged into smooth water, with an enormous
majority behind him, vindicated by the country and
vindicated too by his political opponents in that part
of his official conduct which they had most violently
assaUed. He took a placid enjoyment In presiding over the
House, and his manner was much like that of a be
nevolent teacher. The phUosophy and often the hu
mor of his rulings helped make the House thoroughly
good-natured. On assuming the Chair he said that it
would not be unbecoming if he acknowledged that it
was very agreeable for him

218 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
to stand once more in the place which I left four years ago.
. . . Nor shall I now speak of the future, for we are not now
putting off the harness but putting it on. Yet I think I may
venture to say of the future, in the light ot the past, that if
we do some things which for the moment seem inadequate, it
may be that time, which has justified itself ot us on many
occasions, may do so again.
There was very Uttle to do in the way of party legis
lation because the chronic political difference between
the House and the Executive was again witnessed.
But the forward movement of events developed ques
tions which could not be settled by the maintenance
of the old party aUgnments. As In the preceding Con
gress, Reed generally supported the President in mat
ters which were not clearly partisan. It may fairly be
assumed that he approved of the legislation desired
by the President and speedily passed by a House so
strongly Republican and led by himseff.
The Venezuela boundary controversy was the most
Important subject brought forward and acted upon at
the request of the President. In the boundary dispute
between Great Britain and Venezuela, our govern
ment had proposed that the question be submitted to
arbitration. Great Britain declined to act according
to the suggestion. President Cleveland thereupon
sent to Congress his famous message in which he urged
that the attitude of Great Britain threatened the Mon
roe Doctrine. He argued that ff a European country
extended its boundaries and took possession of the
territory of an American country against its wiU, "it
Is difficult to see why to that extent such European

'THE CZAR"

THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP 219
power does not thereby attempt to extend its system
of government to that portion of this continent which
is thus taken. This is the precise action which Presi
dent Monroe declared to be 'dangerous to our peace
and safety.' " He asked Congress to appropriate money
for a commission to be appointed by the President
which should investigate and report upon the boundary
in dispute between the two countries, and when such
a report had been made and accepted, the President
declared, with more bluntness than diplomacy, that it
would in his opinion "be the duty of the United States
to resist by every means In its power, as a wilfful aggres
sion upon its rights and interests," the appropriation
by Great Britain of any lands which the Commission
had determined to belong to Venezuela.
This recommendation was sufficiently heroic. It was,
perhaps, a fair application of the Monroe Doctrine,
even ff a somewhat Ul-mannered one. There seemed
no other course open to Congress than to make an ap
propriation for the commission. The Committee on
Foreign Affairs had not yet been announced, but Hitt
of lUinois was certain to be its chairman, and Reed
accorded recognition to him to offer the resolution.
It passed the House without opposition. Direct as
this proceeding was. It could have given no offense
to Great Britain. But the conclusion of the message
was more undiplomatic and even warlike in tone. " In
making these recommendations," the President pro
ceeded, " I am fully aUve to the responsibUity incurred,
and keenly realize aU the consequences that may fol-

220 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
low." There was an even more direct hint at war in the
concluding paragraph. As WiUiam James put it, "The
President's fearful blunder was in coupling his direct
threat of war with his demand for a commission." ^
Except for the affair with Mexico, Great Britain
was the only foreign nation with which we had ever
been at war; and In those good old days, which cul
minated and, let us hope, came to an end in the Ven
ezuela incident, a "war scare" with Great Britain was
quite the proper thing with which to fire the national
heart. And a "war scare" speedily appeared. The
world proceeded with enthusiasm to sell securities
In our great international market in New York, and
stocks tumbled In a sensational way. WhUe we had
vast wealth, seventy mUUon people, great moral power,
and aU the other subjects for fine political speaking, —
what was more to the point at the moment, our har
bors were undefended and we were without ships.
However worthy the nation might be, it was hardly
an opportune time for It to fly Into a rage against the
most formidably armed nation in the world so far as
the geographical isolation of the United States was
concerned. The British statesmen, however, showed
much good sense and the difference was amicably ad
justed. During the winter of 1895-96 the canvass for the
Republican presidential nomination became very ac
tive. Reed's fitness and avaUabUIty as a candidate
' See letter of William James to the author. Congressional
Record, Dec. 28, 1895.

THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP 221
were very widely recognized. The tariff was to be an
important issue, and he had made clear his position
upon that Issue in many hard-fought battles. The
money question was sure to come forward, although
it was not foreseen in the preUminary campaign that
It was to be the paramount issue. His record upon
that question made him conspicuously the one man
in his party to be nominated.
On the tariff he was at a disadvantage in the contest
with McKinley. The Republican tariff' which had been
enacted in 1890 bore the name of the latter. " McKin
leyism" became the campaign epithet which was scorn-
fuUy flung at the RepubUcans, and was made to do
effective service in the congressional elections of 1890,
and in the presidential election two years afterwards.
It represented the overshadowing issue then in the
pubUc mind. If ever anything had appeared to be
repudiated at the poUs it was "McKinleyism," and In
the popular mind the order which came in under Mr.
Cleveland represented not so much an affirmative issue
of its own as anti-McKInleyism.
The country signally faUed to prosper under Mr.
Cleveland, and there was a violent revulsion of popu
lar sentiment. The pendulum swung back to the oppo
site extreme and the thing that had just been an epi
thet became a watchword. McKinleyism became at
the moment as popular as it had before been unpopu
lar, and It made a more definite and effective appeal
than all the remarkable work Reed had done against
the Mills biU and the Wilson bUl ^nd in favor of pro-

222 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
tection measures. When therefore Reed defeated Mc
Kinley for the Speakership and appointed him, as his
leading antagonist, to the chairmanship of Ways and
Means, he placed him in a position which at first
won him much odium and unpopularity but which in
the end was to furnish him, not indeed with his strong
est reason, but with his most effective appeal for the
nomination. It Is hardly putting It too strongly to say ,
that the vote in the caucus of the RepubUcans of the
House which defeated McKinley for the Speakership
made him President.
But the canvass was destined In its first stages to be
very exciting. Mr. Mark Hanna made his first con
spicuous appearance in poUtics as the manner of the
McKinley campaign. Probably no man who ever
lived in America had a greater influence with what are
caUed "the interests," and In those days " the Interests "
had tremendous power. Mr. James F. Aldrich, a mem
ber of Congress from IlUnois, was the manager for
Reed. The first serious setback that the Reed forces
received was in the Southern states. Those states cast
no electoral votes for the RepubUcan candidates, but
they had as full a representation in the National Con
vention, on the basis of population, as the strongest
RepubUcan states. Securing delegates was largely a
matter of dicker with the local "machines" and with
so-caUed leaders. The McKinley managers made co
pious hauls of delegates from the South.
About this feature of the campaign Reed used after
wards to speak with a good deal of bitterness. He be-

THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP 223
lieved that the use of money played an important part
in securing the Southern delegates. But his friends
continued to make a stout fight. Public meetings were
held in support of his candidacy in different parts of
the country. Perhaps the most Important of these
meetings was that held In Boston where a great audi
ence listened to speeches by WilUam Alden Smith and
Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was a warm personal
friend of Reed and his enthusiastic supporter. The
friendship between the two men began ten years or
more before 1896, near the opening of Roosevelt's
public career, and continued through the remainder
of Reed's Iffe. They were not In agreement on the im
portant questions related to the war with Spain but,
notwithstanding that, they remained friends.
Reed's state and Massachusetts and Rhode Island
endorsed him very strongly, and elected delegates in
his favor. New Hampshire commended both Reed
and McKinley, but chose delegates friendly to the
former. Connecticut also was in favor of Reed, but with
some division among the delegates. His candidacy
received a disastrous blow In Vermont. New England
had been confidently reUed upon, but Vermont broke
the soUdity of that section by declaring for McKinley.
The defection of that state, the inroads upon the
Southern delegates, and the carrying of Illinois by
McKinley, gave such an Impetus to the forces of the
latter, that when the Convention assembled in June,
it was clearly apparent that he would be chosen on
the first ballot.

224 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
The member of the National Committee from Maine,
Mr. Joseph H. Manley, was in charge of Reed's inter
ests at the Convention, and In the week preceding the
meeting of the delegates he made a statement that" the
vote In the National Committee this afternoon was so
overwhelmingly for Govemor McKinley that it settles
his nomination on the first ballot." Naturally this pro
duced consternation among the friends of Reed, who
were ready to keep up the fight until the vote in the
convention proved that they were beaten. The Reed
newspapers censured Manley with some asperity. The
fact seemed to be that Manley was depressed by the
residt of the decision of the National Committee con
cerning the contested delegations, and expressed him
seff with a great deal of frankness as weU as with truth.
He regretted his frankness, however, as is shown by
the following from a letter he wrote to Reed: —
St. Louis, June 12, 1896.
Mt DEAR Mr. Reed : —
I am in receipt of your letter. I did make the statement
attributed to me. It was a great mistake and I shall regret it
all my life. I was so surprised at the action of the Committee
and the open announcement that they were to practically
seat all the McKinley contestants — have the Committee on
Credentials adopt the National Committee's report — both
chairmen of the Convention, that I felt it was all over and
everyone in the Country I thought would so understand it.
I have never been disloyal in thought, word, or deed to you.
What more can I say? I have suffered more than you can
ever know because ot my mistake. . . .
The Convention met at St. Louis on June 16, 1896,
and on June 18 the nominations were made. Reed's

THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP 225
name was presented In briUiant speeches by Senator
Lodge of Massachusetts and by Mr. Charles E. Little
field, one of the delegates-at-large from Maine. The
result was a foregone conclusion, and for that reason aU
the wavering delegates, and those who were not firmly
pledged to other candidates and wished to aUy them
selves with the sure winner, voted for McKinley, who
was nominated on the first ballot. Reed received 831
votes. If all the delegates had acted according to their
real opinions and the opinions of their constituents,
he would certainly have received a very much larger
vote. The determining factor In the choice of delegates
had been the tariff, but that was not to be the fore
most issue in the campaign. The money question was
destined to displace the tariff, largely on account of the
radical action of the Democratic Convention, which
assembled later at Chicago, and which responded to
Mr. Bryan's "crown of thorns and cross of gold"
speech by making him Its nominee. Fortunately for
the party and the country, the friends of Reed had a
strong ff not determining influence in securing the adop
tion by the Republican convention of a money plank
firmly pledging the party to the gold standard.
The campaign which foUowed was conspicuous
among all the campaigns that have ever been waged
in the country, for the reason that a clear-cut issue was
presented to the voters. There was practically no eva
sion. The question was whether we should have the
gold standard, or the free coinage of both gold and

226 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, which meant the silver
standard. For obviously the free coinage of both metals
at that ratio when their relative buUIon value was as
32 to 1, could have had no other result than to banish
gold from circidatlon and from the coinage. Reed was
the one man In practical politics and prominent in his
party who was fitted to lead upon that issue.
He had some thought of retiring from politics, but
the suddenness with which the money issue had been
thrust upon the country, and Its great Importance,
caused him to decide to stand for reelection to the
House. The following from a letter to Mr. Dalzell
reveals his attitude. Ghand Beach, Mb., 1 Aug. '96.
Dear Dalzell: —
Thanks for your telegram which reached me after a wan
dering. But is n't it a lovely situation! Of course we shall
beat them, but what a task it seems likely to be. Let me
know how things are in N.J. & Pa., and what you hear trom
any ot our feUows in the West. My people wanted me to be
up again and things were so mixed here that I felt I must.
One can't help a sense of disgust over some things, but
there are issues at stake which are too important for any
body's mere personal notions. In fact politics is mostly pill-
taking. . . .
Be a good man, my dear, and you will be rewarded in
Heaven — a good place if it materiahzes for any of us but
Dingley. Yours
T. B. R.
Having determined to continue in politics, he took
a leading part In the campaign, beginning his speaking
in Maine and concluding on the Pacific coast. He was

a I

THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP 227
renominated July 29, 1896, and the speech which he
made on that occasion was widely printed throughout
the country.
Two months ago [he said] no man ot any standing would
have risked his reputation as a prophet by hinting the slight
est doubt ot Republican success. Four years of actual trial
of the opposition, under the guidance of its best and twice-
trusted leader, had left no shadow of question as to public
duty. However far the RepubUcan party might have fallen
short of perfection, nevertheless all men felt that it was the
best party just now to draw nigh to for whatever is to be
lett to us of sound government, commercial success, and
business prosperity.
Two months have sUpped away — hardly time to ripen a
strawberry, much less a system of finance — and there are
those who tell us that all things have changed, that those very
men who were being arrayed for decent burial have burst
the cerements of the grave, and, transfigured by some new
arrangement of crowns ot thorns and crosses of gold, are
to lead us to a new happiness, and even repair all damage
they themselves have wrought.
Now, this may be so, but to me it does not seem probable.
Human experience in every walk of life teaches us that those
who have blundered will blunder again, and that the wisest
course is not to employ a ship captain who has not yet
emerged from his last shipwreck, but the safe sailor who has
never lost a ship, passenger, or a letter, but who has sailed
safe through every sea. He may have lost mast and sail,
and even been rudderless for hours, but if he has every time
come safe to shore, better have him than all the landsmen
who are forever shouting what they can do, and never dare
to tell of what they have done. Boasters are worth nothing.
Deeds are facts and are forever and ever. Talk dies on the
empty air. Better a pound of performance than a shipload
of language.
But is it wise or just to call all Democrats together, and
to declare them all wrong, then announce they must be beaten

228 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
because they are Democrats? That would be very unwise,
very unjust, and senseless altogether. It would flout all his
tory, and especially their own. Parties are one thing, their
individual members may be another. Parties seldom follow
theh best men. They follow theh average sense. In real ac
tion there can be but two parties, the creating party and the
retarding party. The progressive party may be unwise in its
progress, and the retarding party may be unwise in its con
servatism, but both serve a good purpose, and between them
both the world slowly and safely moves ahead. Dreadfully
slowly sometimes, but it does always move ahead.
The speech from which the preceding brief extracts
are taken was received with approbation by Repub
licans throughout the country. The newspapers re
printed it widely, and made it the subject of favor
able comment. Among the letters that came to Reed
was the following: — July 31, 1896.
Dear Tom : — Your speech was magnificent. You struck
the keynote exactly. We must not in any way ignore the
tariff; but we must put our main effort on finance.
Oh, Lord! what would I not give if only you were our stand
ard-bearer; and, as that is impossible, if only the managers
would follow on the lines that you have pointed out.
Faithfully yours,
Theodore Roosevelt.
Hon. Thomas B. Reed,
Pine Point, Me.
Probably the country was never before so thoroughly
canvassed as in the campaign of 1896. From the one
ocean to the other there was scarcely a viUage that did
not have its political rallies on both sides, and in the
great cities and larger towns there was a steady suc
cession of meetings during the month and a haff pre-

mi^m

THE SECOND SPEAKERSHIP 229
ceding the election. The result of this extraordinary
activity was an enormous vote, probably much the
largest on the basis of population that has ever been
cast In the country. Bryan was decisively defeated
on the electoral vote, and still more decisively on the
popular vote; but at no election either before or since
1896 has his party, whether victorious or defeated,
polled so large a vote as was cast for him. The result
of the election was to give the Republicans not only
the Presidency but the control of both Houses of Con
gress, and therefore to confer upon them the undivided
responsibiUty for the government of the country.
During the second period of Reed's Speakership
there was a Congressional excursion to Monticello.
That excursion has no importance here except for the
following fragment in Reed's handwriting relating
an incident of the trip to which Senator Hoar was a
party. It may be said in explanation that when these
two men met socially each was pretty apt to have his
say about the House to which the other belonged.
Was chaflSng Brother Hoar about the Senate, much to the
delight ot Mrs. Hoar, when the Senator said: —
"Mr. Speaker, have you read the new edition of .lEsop's
'Fables,' recently translated out of the original Greek?"
"No," said the Speaker, "I have not seen it."
"Well," said the Senator, "there is a fable there which
reads like this: Once there was a lunatic asylum with a
keeper — "
Said the Speaker, interrupting, "Oh, I know how original
that Greek is, and I think I could name the translator."
" Well," said Hoar, "once there was a lunatic asylum with
a keeper, and one of the inmates proposed a resolution that

230 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
they should aU take off their strait-jackets. Then they aU
rose, each one reaching for his jacket, but seeing all the others
do the same, each one reaUzed the damage Ukely to ensue,
sat down, and all unanimously voted against the resolution.
Then the keeper pointed out to the country how perfectly
free these people were."
"But," said the Speaker sweetly, "you have forgotten the
moral. Let me translate it out of stiU more original Greek.
'Moral. This teaches that a lunatic asylum with a keeper
is much better than a Senate without.' "

CHAPTER XX
WAR — THE PHILIPPINES
With the inauguration of McKinley there came to an
end that balanced condition of the parties which had
existed since the first Congress of Grant's second term.
Only for six years of that Interval had the President
and both Houses been in accord politically, and at no
time was the agreement much stronger than nomi
nal. The party majority was so slender in the one
House or the other, and sometimes In both, that no
administration ever had a reaUy free hand. But the
Republican majority in the first Congress under Mc
Kinley was not merely ample — it was so large as to
Invite extreme party legislation. Events however were
destined to shape themselves so that after the first
session of this Congress new Issues came forward and
party lines were for the time obliterated.
Almost immediately after his inauguration the
President caUed the Congress together in extraordinary
session to revise the tariff. Reed was again chosen
Speaker, receiving 200 votes against 114 for Joseph
W. Bailey of Texas. That the President and Congress
were fully in accord on the tariff was at once shown.
On the opening day Dingley Introduced a tariff bill,
amid the applause of his side, and a Committee on
Ways and Means was at once appointed to consider

232 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
it. Three days later he reported the biU back to the
House, and In July It had finally passed both Houses
and become a law. The bUl was an expression of
the extreme reaction from the Democratic tariff
which preceded It. The average of duties on dutiable
goods was lower than that of the McKinley law, but
under the broader and fairer test there was little dff-
ference between the two measures In the average duty
on aU goods coming Into the country, both dutiable
and free. It would doubtless have been better party
poUcy and would have injured no Interest ff the range
of duties had been made lower. With the details of
the measure Reed had nothing to do and he probably
knew nothing about them, but undoubtedly he fuUy
indorsed the protective character of the bill.
But the routine of the work of this Congress was des
tined to be broken by an event which startled the whole
world. The rebeUion in the Island of Cuba against the
authority of Spain had been proceeding with varying
fortunes. It had at last been checked and appeared to
be approaching the point of suppression. The United
States battleship Maine, doubtless for some friendly
purpose, had been sent to Havana. During the night
of February 15, 1898, whUe lying at anchor in the
harbor of that city, the ship was suddenly blown up
by some agency of extraordinary force. The country
was at once stirred from one end to the other. The con
clusion most commonly assumed was that the ship had
been blown up by Spaniards, and that Spain was re
sponsible for the deed. In fact this conclusion was

WAR — THE PHILIPPINES 233
gravely stated in speeches in Congress. The popular
impulse was to rush into war. The administration at
once ordered an inquiry by a board of naval officers,
and asked for a suspension of judgment. This was
commendable, but as another power was vitally con
cerned, it would have been better to go further and
admit her under proper conditions to participate In the
investigation or at least to be represented. The Board
of Inquiry reported that the destruction of the ship
had been caused by an external explosion and this
report was speedily followed by legislation that made
war Inevitable.
Reed was firmly against war. WhUe he was not a
"peace-at-any-price" statesman, he was profoundly
Impressed with the barbarism of war and its antago
nism to the spirit of the age. He knew also that al
though war might settle the issue over which it was
waged It was Uable to leave new and more difficult
problems in Its train. He exerted his personal influence
with members to the breaking-point and helped delay
the outbreak. And after a resolution had passed the
one House and had been amended by the other, he
used his power of appointment to select conservative
conferees on the part of the House.
To do the President justice, he was also opposed to
war. Even after he knew the contents of the report of
the naval board he summoned members of both Houses
to the White House and urged them to stay action.
At the last his message to Congress recommended a
course which would have left the question open for

234 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
diplomatic negotiation. He angered some of the ex
treme advocates of war who denounced him In the
cloak rooms and lobbies of the Capitol for his last
efforts to maintain peace. The spectators would troop
from the gaUerles of one chamber to those of the other
as the conference report passed to and fro between
the Houses and as the one House or the other thus
became the centre of interest. After an exciting ses
sion running far into the night the report of the
conference was finaUy agreed to In both Houses, and
an ultimatum was directed against Spain which she
coidd not accept and which made war a certainty.
The final vote In the House was 311 in favor of the
report to 6 against it.
Three days later, when the first practical war meas
ure was brought before the House, In the shape of
a resolution to prohibit the export of coal or other
war material. Reed called to the Chair one of the six
members who had voted against the conference re
port and as he passed the gavel to him, said: "I envy
you the luxury of your vote. I was where I could not
do It."
After the country was at war Reed supported the
measures necessary to its prosecution. When how
ever it was proposed to annex the Sandwich Islands as
a war measure he refused to foUow. The naval power
of Spain in the Phillppihes had been completely de
stroyed, and It appeared no more necessary to annex
HawaU In order to conquer Spain or to promote the
purposes for which we went to war, than it was to an-

WAR— THE PHILIPPINES 235
nex the moon. There were powerful Interests in the
United States that were very willing to make the war
a pretext for annexation. The production of sugar was
an important industry in Hawaii, and the plantations
were largely owned in the United States. There could
be no more certain road to wealth than to produce sugar
on tropical soil and with tropical labor, and to be
permitted to seU it free of all duty in a great market
made artificially high by a tariff levied against all other
foreign products. The annexation of the Islands meant
the perpetual admission of their sugar free into the
United States in place of the temporary arrangement
which had been adopted to that end. Then, too, with
out regard to the war with Spain, there was a powerful
party in the United States in favor of acquiring over
sea territory in order to extend the boundaries of the
country. One of the foundation principles of Reed's poUtical
beUef was the right of seff-government in communi
ties. It was not seriously proposed that the Islands
should be admitted as a state Into the American Union,
to participate, at some time in the future, in the com
mon govemment of all; and their status therefore
would be that of a vassal nation subject to the sover
eignty and control of the Imperial state. Reed took the
Declaration of Independence very seriously. Many
years before the annexation was proposed, he had said
In a speech In the House that "the best government
of which a people Is capable Is a government which they
establish for themselves. With all its imperfections,

236 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
with all its shortcomings, it Is always better adapted
to them than any other government, even though In
vented by wiser men!" He was therefore opposed to
annexation, whether the Sandwich Islands only were
considered, or whether the proceeding was to be the
entering wedge for a more distant and daring applica
tion of imperialism.
The resolution to annex Hawaii was brought for
ward In the House after repeated attempts to consider
it had failed. Reed would exercise no discretion which
he had under the rules to give recognition to a motion
to call up the resolution. Finally It acquired the right of
way under the rules and came before the House. It was
not the custom for the Speaker to vote. Reed was at
home IU when the vote was taken. For the two-fold rea
son therefore of custom and absence, there was no neces
sity for his position to be announced. But the Speaker
pro tempore, Mr. DalzeU, at Reed's request announced
to the House that ff the Speaker were present he would
vote nay. It Is doubtful ff such a course had ever be
fore been taken by a Speaker.
In the summer of 1898 Reed stood for election to the
House for the tweffth time, and received the great ma
jority that he had become accustomed to receive dur
ing the last haff-dozen elections at which he was a
candidate. But the difference between him and the ad
ministration became more serious, as the result of an
issue which the war had brought forward. The war
with Spain had proved a most unequal contest, be
cause of the vast diEEerence between the resources of

WAR — THE PHILIPPINES 237
the two nations. In the treaty of peace we purchased
the Philippines and thereby purchased a war which
proved much more deadly than that which the
treaty had brought to an end. The Philippines were
In rebellion against Spain just as Cuba had been.
The United States went to war for the avowed purpose
of securing the independence of Cuba. The latter
country was within the traditional radius of our polit
ical action, and from her nearness and her relation to
the American people they were deeply interested In her
weffare. On the other hand, probably not one person
out of ten of the population of the United States had
ever heard of the Philippines before the outbreak of
the war. They were situated in the hemisphere in whose
affairs it was our traditional pohcy not to Interfere.
They were on the farther side of the greatest ocean in
the world, and their acquirement would destroy the
Invulnerability established by our two ocean bulwarks
and profoundly affect our military problem. We had
made ourselves their allies in their war for independ
ence, and had taken their leader from Hong Kong to
Manila on our fleet. Could we therefore purchase and
assert a title against which we had encouraged them^
in rebellion? Reed profoundly disbelieved in the exist
ence of a colonial theory of our Constitution, or In
making an application of such a theory to the Phil
ippines by taking on the "last colonial curse of
Spain." When therefore the islands had been acquired from
Spain by treaty made by the President with the advice

238 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
and consent of the Senate, and war had been entered
upon for the purpose of subjugating their Inhabitants
to our control, he determined to retire from pubhc Ufe.
He said to his trusted friend and secretary, Asher C.
Hinds, "I have tried, perhaps not always successfully,
to make the acts of my pubUc Iffe accord with my con
science, and I cannot now do this thing." He had been
elected to the succeeding Congress and was certain to
be chosen again to the Speakership, an office of which
he once said that it had but one superior and no peer.
But he put forth a brief address to the Republicans of
his district announcing his retirement.
While I am naturally repugnant [he said] to obtrude my
self again upon public attention even here at home, I am
sure no one would expect me to leave the First Maine District
after so long a service without some word expressing to you
my appreciation of your friendship and my gratitude for your
generous treatment. Words alone are quite inadequate and
I must appeal to your memories. During three and twenty
years of pohtical life not always peaceful, you have never
questioned one single public act of mine. Other men have had
to look after their districts, but my district has always looked
after me. This, in the land where I was born, and where
you know my shortcomings as well as I do myself, gives me
a right to be proud of my relations with you. No honors are
ever quite like those which come from home. It would not be
just for me not to add also my thanks to those Democrats
who have so often given me theh help. This I can do even in
a letter to Republicans, for they and you know that no sail
has been trimmed for any breeze nor any doubtful flag ever
flown. OfiSceas a "ribbon to stick in your coat" is worth no
body's consideration. 0£Bce as opportunity is worth all con
sideration. That opportunity you have given me, untram
meled, in the fullest and amplest manner, and I return you

WAR — THE PHILIPPINES 239
sincerest thanks. If I have deserved any praise it belongs
of right to you.
Whatever may happen I am sure the First Maine Dis
trict will always be true to the principles ot hberty, self-
government, and the rights of man.

CHAPTER XXI
WRITINGS — WIT— CHARACTERISTICS AS A LEADER
AND DEBATER
Reed occasionaUy wrote articles for the magazines
and weekly journals, chiefly for the "North American
Review" and the "Saturday Evening Post." He also
made speeches upon many occasions, at college anni
versaries, and before societies that were not poUtical
in character. These speeches and writings would fill
a considerable volume, and they are well worthy of
being coUected and preserved. They were prepared
with much greater care than his Congressional speeches,
many of which were offhand; and for that very reason
perhaps they have less movement and are not so easily
read. The form of his extemporaneous speech was
faultless and his mind worked at its best under the
stimulus of a hard fight and a great occasion. The
tendency to philosophize which strongly marked his
speaking was even more strongly shown in what he
wrote. Space will obviously not permit the reproduc
tion here of the outline of argument of any of his pre
pared orations or magazine articles. The following
quotations taken here and there wiU serve to give a
touch of his style and thought.
We wiU not press too strongly on the seven fat and seven
lean kine which came up out of the sea in the dream of

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 241
Pharaoh, but you may depend upon it that that dream had
its origin in actual facts, and that the alternation of good
times and hard times antedates the pyramids.
Ultimately, the people govern. There are ostentatious
actors here and there, who stud the stage with panoply or
with clanging arms, who seem to do many things; but in the
end the popular feeUng has its way.
The President of Harvard, in his lamented entrance into
the Democratic party, was evidently thinking more ot the
courage of his convictions than the sense of them.
Why should the President of Harvard make so great a
parade amid the applause of the unthinking of his unwiUing
ness to hold office? Has that ceased to be honorable in this
country? When the noble bead-roll ot Harvard worthies is
told, are pohticians, who are but statesmen in the making,
to be hereatter omitted? Why should a man's advice, who is
not and never intends to be a candidate for office, be so much
loftier than all others?
A tariff bill could be framed, we think, which would be
free from all the errors of that celebrated bill and retain its
virtues. Where would you enact such a bill? Why, in your
own mind, of course. Unfortunately, a bill enacted in the
mind has no extra-territorial force. A bill enacted by Con
gress, like the progress ot the world, is the result of a fierce
conflict of opposing human iuterests, and must be so.
Just think ot a non-partisan Free Trader sitting on a tariff
tax! Of course he would be above any prejudice except his
own. A tariff bill at any thne is not and cannot be the creature
ot one mind. It means the result of a contest by all interests
and all minds. Hence, whenever any man thinks of a tariff
he would make, he always thinks of a tariff bill which wiU
never be enacted.

242 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Necessities may mean anything men are wilUng to work
tor. . . . Even a peacock feather is a necessity in the early
stages of glory.
No form of government can be based on systematic injus
tice. The election ot Congressmen is a national not a local
matter. If it be a race-question, is there any reason why the
white man in the South should have two votes to my one?
Is he alone of mortals to eat his cake and have it too? Is he
to suppress his negro and have him also? Among all his reme
dies he has never proposed to surrender the representation
which he owes to the very negro whose vote he refuses. The
negro is human enough to be represented, but not human
enough to have his vote counted.
Some men hke to stand erect, and some men, even after
they are rich and in high place, Uke to crawl.
The equal rights of women have but just reached the
region of possibUities. Men have only just left off sneering
and have but just begun to consider. Every step of progress
from the harem and the veU to free society and property
holding has been steadily fought by the vanity, selfishness
and indolence, not only of mankind but of womankind also.
It is a fact that it [conservatism] halts aU truth for dis
cussion, but it equally halts all untruth. The truth sur
vives, the untruth perishes. Men have but httle capacity
for the recognition of truth at first sight, and of a hundred
things which seem plausible, it is fortunate if one be true.
Hence it is weU that aU things should be held at arm's length
and stand the scrutiny of our prejudices and interests, of
our reUgion and our kkep ticism.
We make more progress by owning our faults than by al
ways dwelUng on our virtues.
The statesman, though still without guile, hes less, seldom
murders, loves hberty more and power less. Mercantile

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 243
morality is higher, attorneys pettifog less and help justice
more. When you don't know what to do, don't do it. If the
proposition is to press an oak back into an acorn, it had
better be carefully considered.
The best of us only pass from one inaccuracy to another,
and so do the worst, but on the whole, the last inaccuracy
is nearer the truth than the old one.
When grief has changed into peace, and the enduring re
sult has made the sorrows undergone merely a fading mem
ory instead of a grinding present torture, only then do even
the saints realize that sainthood can come in no other way.
He thus rendered the phrase, omne ignotum pro
magnifico : —
Everything we do not know anything about always looks
big. The human creature is imaginative. If he sees a tail dis
appearing over a fence, he images the whole beast and usually
images the wrong beast. . . . Whenever we take a trip into the
realms ot fancy, we see a good many things that never were.
Speaking of a panic in Wall Street which squeezed
the inflation out of values, he said: —
, Water flowed down both sides of the street.
It took four thousand years of pagan and fifteen centu
ries of Christian civilization to produce a two-pronged fork,
and another century to bring it into use.
We endure filth diseases thousands of years and call them
visitations of God, and when some one brighter than the
rest discovers the cause and proposes the remedy we listen,
in early ages, with the horror suitable to greet a man who
wishes to interfere with God's methods in the universe.

244 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Never expect toleration from a crowd that has other views
and has them vividly.
Wrong is never so weak as in its hour of triumph.
If we ever learn to treat the living with the tenderness
with which we instinctively treat the dead, we shall then
have a civilization weU worth distributing.
The description of the view across Portland Harbor,
given in his Portland Centennial address, will serve as
an example of a different vein: —
The long slope ot grassy verdure varied by the darker
foliage of the trees spreads wide to the water's edge. Then
begins the bright sparkle of the summer sea, that many-
twinkling smile of ocean, that countless laughter of the
waves which has lighted up the heart of man centuries since
.^schylus died, and centuries before he lived. Across the
sunUt waters, dotted with the white saUs or seamed with the
bubbUng foam ot the steamers' track, past the wharves,
bristling with masts and noisy with commerce, the gaze
falls upon the houses sloping quickly upward in the center
and becoming more and more embowered in trees as they
climb the hills at either end. Following the taU spires the
eye loses itself in the bright blue sky beyond. ... If you shut
your eyes and let the lofty spires disappear, the happy homes
glisten out of sight, and the wharves give place to a curving
line of shelving, pebbly beach; if you imagine the bright
water unvexed by traffic, the tall peninsula covered with
forests and bushy swamps, with the same expanse of island
and of sea, and the whole scene undisturbed by any sound
save the clanging cries ot innumerable birds and water
fowl, you will be looking upon Machigonne as it appeared to
George Cleve.
In society Reed was one of the most delightful of
men. His talk, usually merry and witty, but sometimes
serious and wise, made him the center of any free social

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 245
group of which he happened to be a member. He was
overwhelmed with Invitations to dinner, and wherever
he dined he was sure to be the Iffe of the company.
He estabUshed a primacy In witty table-talk at Wash
ington, which no one questioned. But he had none of
the airs of the social autocrat, and never took posses
sion of any company. What he said that was serious
was said graciously and without sermonizing. He had a
loud and merry laugh, and it was never louder or mer
rier than when the joke appeared to be on himself,
which was not often. And mingled with his wit there
was a good deal of social philosophy. If it had been his
fortune to be followed about by some such faithful
chronicler as followed Johnson, the result would have
been a most Interesting and amusing work. It is a mis
fortune that such a mass of briUiant talk should have
perished. Reed was too busy a man to write out ac
counts of dinner-parties that he attended. And since
the long social letter has almost disappeared and the
diary also, there is Uttle probability that chance reports
of his talk wiU hereafter appear. The diaries which
he kept were fragmentary, and they dealt very Uttle
with his own part in table conversation.
There was nothing studied about his wit, — It was
spontaneous and was entirely characteristic of him.
Whenever there was occasion for Its exercise, it was
ready, and was always sufficient for the occasion. A
mere quotation can do him little justice because it is
Impossible to reproduce his personal characteristics.
His slow enunciation and drawl, which were not in

246 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the least affectations but were bom in him, his amia
biUty of manner, his overflowing and contagious good-
humor, and his gravity when he was serious, aU were
exactly adapted to what he said and lent much force
to It.
What has been presented in the foregoing pages sup
plemented by a few anecdotes may give a fair idea of
the quaUty of his wit. There was something in the
temperament of Mr. Springer, a member from Illinois,
that caUed out Reed's sarcasm. Reed once spoke of him
In debate as a gentleman who "on account of his many
virtues had been made Chairman of Ways and Means
and leader of the House."
Springer, in the course of a speech one day, applying
to himseff an ancient and oft-quoted saying, attributed
to Henry Clay, said, "As for me, I would rather be
right than be President." Reed drawled out in reply,
" Well, the gentleman will never be either."
One day in one of the House lobbies, with many of
the members lounging about. General Henderson was
chaffing Reed about his size and asked, "How much
do you weigh, Tom?" Reed repUed gravely that he
weighed one hundred and ninety-nine pounds, which
was probably seventy-five pounds under his real
weight. "Oh, we aU know better than that," said
Henderson. "Well," said Reed, "I'll own up to two
hundred pounds, but no gentleman ever weighs over
two hundred."
Once the House was making an effort to secure a
quorum, and, as is usuaUy done in such cases, tele-

THOMAS B. KEED, 1896

i&<^^ ^

MRS. THOMAS B. RBED, 1896

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 247
grams were sent to members who were absent. One
man, who was delayed by a flood on the railroad,
telegraphed Reed, saying, "Washout on Une, can't
come." Reed telegraphed back, "Buy another shirt
and come on next train."
He caUed on the famUy of a member who was very
ill, and when he Inquired about his condition the mem
ber's wffe replied that he was out of his head much of
the time and did not know what he was talking about.
"He ought to come up to the House," repUed Reed;
" they are all that way up there."
When Reed was Speaker, he overruled on an occa
sion a point of order made by a very clever Democratic
member. The latter discovered that Reed, in his lit
tle book on parUamentary procedure, called "Reed's
Rules," had taken a different position, and thinking
to confound the Speaker, he walked in triumph to the
desk, book in hand, and pointing to the passage, asked
the Speaker to read It. After the Speaker had read it,
the member asked him to explain it. "Oh," repUed
Reed coolly, "the hook is wrong,"
He was bitterly opposed to our war with the Philip
pines, and he expressed his Idea of the glory of the war
in a concrete case in the following fashion. One morn
ing, when the newspapers had printed a report that
our army had captured Aguinaldo's young son. Reed
came to his office and found his law partner at work at
his desk. Reed affected surprise and said, "What, are
you workir^ to-day? I shoxdd think you would be cele
brating, I see by the papers that the American army

248 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
has captured the infant son of Aguinaldo, and at last
accounts was in hot pursuit of the mother."
He once heard a man warmly arguing In favor of
taking the PhiUppines on the ground that we should
take American freedom to them. "Yes," said Reed,
"canned freedom."
AUuding to two of his coUeagues in the House, he
said : " They never open their mouths without subtract
ing from the sum of human knowledge."
When his daughter Katherine, or "Kitty" as he
called her, was a Uttle girl she had a cat to which she
was much devoted. One day the kitten was sleeping
in Reed's chair when he was about to sit down. His
daughter in horror gave the chair a sudden puU to save
the cat from annihilation and as a result Reed sat
down heavUy on the floor. It was a rather serious
happening for a man of his size, and even a lesser man
might easUy have lost his temper. But the only notice
he took of the matter was to say gravely after he had
got on his feet, "Kitty, remember that it is easier to
get another cat than another father."
Once when was he speaking to the House, a member
insisted on interrupting him to ask a question. Reed
yielded and the member asked a partisan question
which had very little point. Reed most effectively
disposed of the matter by saying : "The gentleman from
Maryland is of course not the flower of our intelligence,
but he knows better than to ask such a question as
that."
" During one of his campaigns he was speaking at

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 249
South Berwick in his district, and he was near the end
of the speech. The audience was hanging upon the
words of his peroration when a man came down in his
seat with a crash. Such an incident would often dis
concert a speaker, and the "last magnificent para
graph" would be spoken with little effect, ff spoken at
all. Reed at once secured again the command of his
audience by saying, "Well, you must at least credit
me with making a knockdown argument."
Very much used to be said about Washington ma
laria, and one day some one suggested to Reed that
the term was employed often to cover the effects of
drinking too much whisky. "Washington malaria,"
replied Reed, " can be bought for about two doUars
a gaUon." Reed was a master, probably unrivaled, in the art
of making a five-minute speech. There was much wis
dom as well as drollery in his remark one evemng to a
member who was a reaUy eloquent but somewhat dff-
fuse speaker: "  , you do not understand the theory
of five-minute debate. The object is to convey to the
House in the space of five minutes either information
or misinformation. You have consumed several pe
riods of five minutes this afternoon without doing
either."! The reputation of being a wit or humorist is a dis
astrous reputation for one to achieve in our national
House of Representatives and probably also in any
other field of our pubUc Iffe. There is danger that such
1 Hemy Cabot Lodge's article on Reed in the Century Magazine,

250 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
a character wIU never afterwards be taken seriously.
More than one man of a wide range of talents has begun
his career with a "funny" speech, and has never been
able to outlive its Influence, however solemn he might
afterwards appear, or however learned and profound.
That Reed was never in the slightest danger of gaining
such a reputation Is one proof of his caliber. While
he was more witty and could be more humorous than
other men, his wit and humor were only weapons
among others in his varied arsenal just as formidable
of their kind, and their use was never indulged In for
display, but was severely subordinated to the require
ments of the debate. In a parUamentary battle he was
not merely a whole army corps, but a whole army, with
its mighty volume of musketry. Its squadrons of cav
alry, and Its pieces of great ordnance with their heavy
weight of metal. When he was upon the floor the
House received just what the occasion demanded.
The opinion of Mr. Lodge is worth a great deal. He
has been closely associated during a long public
career with the statesmen and orators of his own
country, and has known many of those abroad. He
said of Reed: "He was the finest, the most effective
debater that I have ever seen or heard." And
again he said: "I fully appreciate the truth of Emer
son's doctrine of the force of under-statement; but I
cannot express my own belief in regard to Mr. Reed
without also saying that in my opinion there never
has been a greater or more perfectly equipped leader
in any parliamentary body at any period." Familiar

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 251
also as he was with Reed in social as well as In pubUc
life, his word is weighty when he says, "No more
agreeable companion ever lived. Like Dr. Johnson he
loved to sit and have his talk out, and no one was ever
better to listen to or a better Ustener, for his sym
pathies were wide, his interests unlimited, and nothing
human was alien to him." '
There could not have been a better judge than
Senator George F. Hoar. He said of Reed: —
He had a very strong hold on Massachusetts. His sin
cerity, his simpUcity, his inflexible honesty, his courage and
his sagacity, as well as his wit, of a kind that has been
pecuUar to New England from a time even before Dr.
Franklin down to Hosea Biglow, just suited the taste ot the
people. When he went to Europe some years ago, I gave
him a letter to LoweU. They sat up together late into the
morning hours, and I heard from both of the deUght which
each of them took in that night's talk. The people Uked to
hear him on public questions better than any other man,
not excepting Blaine or McKinley.
Mr. John Sharp WUUams of Mississippi, who had
been the leader of the Democratic party in the House,
referred to Reed as " that ever memorable genius, the
ablest running debater the American people ever
saw." Reed delighted to have his joke about the Senate,
and especially about long debates which there was no
rule to terminate, even when the great majority of the
Senate itseff was desirous of voting. One day he hap
pened to enter the Chamber when a Senator was de-
• In the Century Magazine.

252 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
livering a speech with nearly all the seats empty, and
Reed ejaculated, as much to himseff as to the member
by his side, "There does n't seem to be a quorum in
the divine presence to-day."
In one of his unpubUshed manuscripts purporting
to be a "History of the United States, published in
1940," he says that the people had grown weary of the
caliber of their presidents between 1880 and 1890, and
had adopted a constitutional amendment providing
that they should be chosen by the Senate out of the
Senate itseff. He thus describes the first election: —
So intense was the public excitement that the whole
nation left its vocations, flung business to the winds, and
assembled in front ot the Capitol where, in the open day, the
tremendous scene ot the choice of the wisest man should be
made by and out of the wisest body of men. It was by secret
ballot, so that no possibility of influence by public clamor
could disturb the serene judgment of the Immortals. When
the baUots had been coUected and spread out, the Chief
Justice, who presided, was observed to hesitate and those
nearest could see by his pallor that something unexpected
had happened. But with a strong effort he rose to his feet
and through a megaphone, then recently invented by Edi
son, shouted to the vast multitude the astounding result:
seventy-six Senators had each received one vote. For a
moment a stillness as of death settled upon the multitude.
Never untU that moment had the people realized that, like
the Deacon's One Hoss Shay the Senate of the United States
was one level mass of wisdom and vutue, perfect in all its
parts, and radiant from North to South with that hght of
inteUigence which never shone on sea or shore.
Among his papers was found a manuscript on
Imperialism, apparently written during the negotia
tion of the Treaty of Paris, and while McKinley was

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 253
V£^ely speaking upon his Western tour about
"Destiny." It weigh tUy states his position upon the
wisdom of our over-sea expansion and is worthy of
even more Uberal quotations than those which foUow:
History probably teaches that nations have their destinies
like individuals, and the unknown, unanticipated and unex
pected has so large a part in it that wisdom and foresight are
but smaU factors in the development of a nation. Never
theless what foresight we have and what wisdom we have
acquired we must exercise. Otherwise we are no better than
the beasts of the field to whom the slaughter-house is a sur
prise as well as a shock and which they doubtless, being
ignorant, call destiny and an overruUng providence. Escape
they cannot. We can.
The people of this country for a hundred and twenty years
have with one accord thought themselves singularly fortunate
iu the great men who were, so far as great men could be,
the founders of the republic, and yet only a few days ago,
with the tacit and also vociferous approval of the American
people, an English writer has declared that "The farewell
address of Washington has ceased to be the compass of the
statesman and become the curio of the historian." Such a
change as this concisely and rhetoricaUy stated deserves
some other consideration than tumultuous hurrahs and self-
congratulation. Six months ago the new doctrine was not
and to-day it is aheady bursting its swaddUng-clothes. It
seems, moreover, Ukely that we, the American people, wiU
have no discussion of this new idea, but will only have the
poor privilege of saying what we wiU do with it and nothing
at aU about whether we will have it or not.
Wisdom of course did not die with forefathers even as wise
and famous as were ours. The world does not roU about the
sun a hundred and twenty times and about itself forty and
four thousand times without evolving conditions and
awakening new notions, some of which ^re for the good of the
world. Nevertheless aU new notions are not good. Indeed
we know that most of them are bad and that aU of them

254 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
should pass under careful scrutiny before being put into
action. The spoken and even the written word may be
harmless and fly away, being winged, but deeds cannot
depart and are never effaced from the history ot the race.
We may reclimb heights from which we have faUen, but
oftener nations find that, after a mistake, there is no place
for repentance even if they seek it carefuUy with tears. . . .
At the beginning of this year we were most admhably situ
ated. We had no standing army which could overrun our
people. We were at peace within our own borders and with
aU the world. . . . Even the misfortunes of hard times we
had so wrested to our advantage that the next period ot
prosperity on the verge of which we then were looked
brighter than aU the wonderful past. I am quite weU aware
that there are those who wiU speak with due contempt for the
base commercial spirit which these suggestions may indicate,
and that to the truly patriotic mind men kiUed in battle and
a whole army fleeing from yeUow fever are much more de
sirable things to a Christian nation than wealth the result of
inteUect and peace. What has been said would not have been
ventured upon had there not been signs that the commercial
sphit which it is dishonoring to invoke whUe trying to pre
vent war, is much appealed to when we are considering the
results of war. . . .
We were then in a condition which secured to us the re
spect and envy of the civilized world. The quarrels which
other nations have we did not have. The sun did set on our
dominions and our drum-beat did not encircle the world
with our martial airs. Our guns were not hkely to be called
upon to throw projectiles which cost, each of them, the price
of a happy home, nor did any bombardment seem Ukely to
cost us the value of a village. I have said that we were a
harmonious nation. Perhaps what should have been said
was that we were on the way to become so; for no man
acquainted with our system of government and its practical
workings could fail to see that our vast territory had given
us much trouble to govern satisfactorily, because of different
views entertained by the different sections of the nation.
Nevertheless we were substantiaUy of one blood and the

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 255
raihoad, distance-defying, and the telegraph and telephone,
time-defying, were doing their work in reconciling to com
mon ideas, not diverse peoples, but peoples separated by
local self-government and distance.
What is the object in forming a nation? So far as the life
of most nations goes they were gathered together by that
kind of progressive instinct which caused families to unite
and tribes to be formed. Yet in all cases the purpose was the
common preservation against other nations, a union to repel
the foe from without. Then ambition tempted, and in due
time the overgrown nation fell to pieces of its own weight
under internal dissensions and under the attack of a larger
neighbor. Such has been the history of aU empires. I do
not say that it wiU always be so, for there seems to be a faint
dawn which indicates a coming day when nations wUl respect
other nations' right to hve as now individuals respect the
right of their neighbors to live. There was a time when the
main struggle of each man was to kill the other and keep
himself alive. It must be admitted however that the history
of the last thirty years indicates a long wait before the cur
tain rises on the federation ot the world. Our own commis
sioners at Paris are now illustrating the old doctrine that the
reasons ot the strongest are the soundest. . . .
Our fathers did not make their Declaration of Independ
ence as a piece of rhetoric but as a guide of national life.
It was a degenerate day which pronounced the noble words
to be only glittermg generalities to please the ears of chUdren
and to adorn the phrases of orators. That degeneracy has
been paid for in blood. . . .
Human selfishness pervades aU human life. It is the main
spring of human action. Any man's selfishness would wreck
aU his surroundmgs were it not for the antidote, which is
the selfishness of all the rest. Therefore if men are to be
justly governed they must participate ia government. Do I
mean to say that aU men are of equal power? No they can
not be. But give every man equal rights, and mtellect and
wisdom wiU justify themselves by persuading where they
have no power of command.
The highest level of hberty in any land is the hberty of

256 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
the meanest citizen. Do you want another example from the
history ot our new ally, with whom we are to unite to propa
gate liberty by force? Already plans are being matured to
govern with military power the lands we are conquering
untU such time as the blessings of liberty can be fully vouch
safed. So England began with Ireland. Read what Charles
James Fox said a hundred years ago in the famous speech of
February 3, 1800. Ireland began under a military despot
ism, and remained under the tutelage ot a nation we deem
worthy to be our companion in the regeneration ot the
world. Did this good nation govern unselfishly? Did she
make out of Ireland more than Ireland could have made out
of herself? After more than a century of dreadful struggle
England, proud obstinate England, found no other way than
to admit to equal rights the enslaved land, "the aliens in
blood and reUgion." So in the whole history ot the world
there is no peace for the governors untU the governed are
governors also.
Six months ago we all believed this. The first man we met
on the street and the last would have but echoed each other
in reply. Why have we aU changed? . . .
We have before us a most tremendous problem brought
upon us as carelessly and as jauntily as if it were but the
play ot summer breezes. . . .
Freedom never meant the best government in the abstract,
it only meant the government best fitted to the people gov
erned. We have not the best laws in the United States that
wise men could dream of. What we have is the best laws our
people are fit for; and as they grow in knowledge and sense the
laws follow in laggard procession. But they follow.
Porto Rico is not to us the lofty result of love of liberty,
native or foreign. It is an indemnity. A republic dependent
upon the consent of the governed has taken an indemnity in
a war tor liberty, to help pay the expenses of a high and holy
quest. This may seem to be a slight lowering of purpose, but
if the newspapers speak truly and the people have welcomed
this with loud acclaim, then we may waive that and speak of
what is before us. If we are to have this island we must
govern it, and the question is, how. We are sometimes told

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CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 257
that there wiU be no trouble. See how England governed
her colonies. AU we have to do is to do what she does. It is
all very simple. Yet the principles of our government are
totaUy different. We say, or used to say before Washington
became an English curio, that no man or set of men was wise
enough to govern others. Where are we to get these men
wise enough to attempt it? I notice from some of the papers
that we are to have a set of men spring up endowed with
great broad views, men hitherto unknown in politics, who
wiU do this governing, and the happy Porto Rican, reUeved
at once from Spanish thraUdom and the necessity of govern
ing himself, will see the dawn of a great civilization moving
from North and South Carolina and lighting up the Atlantic
and the Caribbean Sea. . . .
Let us come out of the clouds and say how we will govern.
Or rather let us face the fact that under our system and
under our principles we can govern but one way. When
Abraham Lincohi gave the sanction of his great name to
Parker's words of wisdom, "government of the people, for
the people and by the people," he knew that not one single
clause could be omitted. If it be "of the people" and "for
the people" it must also be "by the people." Has the
Gettysburg speech also become a British curio?
The Philippines are obnoxious to aU that has been written,
with the addition of disadvantages all theh own. They are
in the Tropics. They are inhabited by peoples still more
unlike us than the Porto Ricans. Laws that fit us cannot
fit them. If we are to shoot negroes with gatling guns, what
would we do to the Filipinos?
But there are deeper questions involved. When this
nation was estabUshed there were, speaking broadly, no
republics in the world. We determined that in this hemi
sphere the experiment ot free government should be tried,
unawed by infiuence ot the Old World. Hence we established
the Monroe Doctrine, and we can all remember the whhl-
wind of passion with which we, unarmed and unprepared,
greeted the attempt of Great Britain to oppress the Repub
lic of Venezuela. Is that Doctrine also a British curio?
They so understand it, and "Punch" has given his best jeer

258 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
for halt a century. "Pray, who are you. Sir?" says Dame
Europa. "Uncle Sam," was the reply. "Ah! any relation to
the late Colonel Monroe? " Are we prepared to give up the
doctrine that we wiU brook no interference from outside
in this hemisphere, that the New World shall here undis
turbed maintain liberty and equality — "government of the
people tor the people and by the people"? But we cannot
do both things. We cannot interfere in the Old World and
demand non-interference in the New. . . . Destiny can
hardly be replied to, because it is a word which shows that
thinking has ended, or perhaps has never begun. . . .
Public opinion is the foundation and the sole foundation
on which any nation can rest. But it is public opiaion solidi
fied by discussion, by full and mature reflection, guided by
the past as well as the present. The voice of those crying
aloud in the market-places is not the voice of God either for
time or for eternity. There was once a city where for the
space of two solid hours all the people cried out, "Great is
Diana of the Ephesians!" For two hours public sentiment
was unanimous. Yet in that very city at that very time Paul
was preaching the Living God.
There is a final consideration not to be forgotten. We
cannot measure our demands, whether wise or unwise, by
our grasping deshes. The eternal principles of justice de
mand recognition. We are great and powerful. Never for a
moment has Spain had an ultimate hope. We are four to
one in numbers. We are ten to one in credit, and wealth and
credit are the strongest sinews in modern war. We have
been three hundred miles from our base and Spain three
thousand. Spain has shown her weakness sooner than the
wisest dreamed. She has fled at the first skirmish. The
Inspector General of our own army has declared that the war
was not ours but the Lord's. Think of it! a hundred thous
and troops in Cuba alone and no battle! Surely the hosts
of Midian broke no more signally before the lamps and
pitchers of Gideon.
But these things, strong as they are, are but trifles beside
the great risk we run of forgetting the foundation princi
ples of our government. Our Fathers forgot them once, and

CHARACTERISTICS AS A DEBATER 259
Lincoln's Second Inaugural tells the solemn story in words
as stately and subhme as ever flowed from lips inspired by
God. I do not compare our possible governing of others
without their participation to the sin of human slavery; but,
as I remember the story of the Indians whom we have
governed at home and of the negroes we are governing at
home, that time may come when I can claim the credit of
great moderation speaking of the government of people
utterly unknown four thousand miles away.
The announcement of Reed's intention to practice
law in New York was variously interpreted. By many
it was rightly considered to mean his retirement from
pubUc life. Senator Hoar construed it in that way and
having very much at heart the PhlUppine question he
wrote Reed the following letter.
Worcester, Mass., Apr. 21, 1899.
Mt dear Mr. Speaker: —
It is a very bad thing indeed to take off the brake when the
wagon is going downhill. I am very much afraid we shall
tip over. But we will trust in God till the breeching breaks.
I am, with cordial regard.
Faithfully yours, Geo. F. Hoar.
Some of Reed's colleagues In the House did not
think his resumption of law practice, although in an
other state than his own, necessarily meant his retire
ment from Congress; and since he had been chosen
again to the House, he was urged to accept another
election to the Speakership. One of the members from
Ohio, Mr. J. H. BromweU, wrote him as follows: —
... If such a thing were possible I would like, for the
benefit of the majority in the next House, if you could
remain a member until after the reorganization, accept the

260 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
Speakership, permit the House, after getting together, to
select your successor, and then, if you still adhere to your
determination to withdraw, afford your associates an oppor
tunity to tender you such an ovation as you are entitled to
by reason of your past eminent services and as will display
to the country the admuation, respect and personal esteem
of your feUow members.
General Henderson, who was destined to succeed
Reed as Speaker, wrote him, offering to support him
again ff he would retain his seat. Reed soon set at rest
the last doubt of his Intention, and his retirement was
accepted as a fact.

CHAPTER XXII
LAW PRACTICE — BOWDOIN SPEECH — LAST DATS
When Reed retired from public Iffe he entered upon
the practice of law in New York City. He connected
himseff with the strong and prosperous firm of Simp
son, Thacher, and Barnum, of which he became senior
partner and thereafter his name appeared first in the
firm name. The practice of the firm had been very
lucrative, and undoubtedly his connection with it
attracted new cUents and added much to Its prosperity.
He thus was enabled speedily to repair his fortunes.
He had no sooner established himseff in a successful
law practice in Portland than he entered Congress, and
after that event his practice must have steadily
dwindled ff indeed it did not entirely cease to exist.
What he received from this source, from writing, and
from his official salary, was sufficient to support him
and his family in comfort, and probably to permit also
some saving, as he Uved prudently. But he was far
from wealthy on his retirement after twenty -five years
of public service.
Mr. John Moore, a wealthy New York banker, was
a native of Maine, and he and Reed had long been
friends. Moore was partly responsible for the oppor
tunity that came to Reed to enter the law firm, and
doubtless also for other opportunities. As ff to furnish

262 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
a further proof of the free-masonry existing among the
sons of Maine when they meet in so distant a place as
New York, Mr. A. G. Paine proved of great assistance
to Reed. Paine possessed remarkable business talent
and had accumulated a large fortune. Reed and he
had been boys together in Maine, but from the time
when Reed was ten years old until he came to New
York, they had scarcely met. Paine took a deep inter
est in him, and helped him to invest his savings so that
they multiplied; and between Moore and Paine and
the law firm and his own labor Reed In a few years
acquired a comfortable fortune.
Those were days well along in the McKinley era,
when for a decade the rich indeed flourished like
the green bay tree, but when the poor also were per
mitted to look into the promised land of prosperity.
The noise of the Greenbacker was not heard In the
land, and the golden age of the Chautauqua orator
had not yet dawned.
Reed took a hand at the law work of the firm, advis
ing and preparing cases for trial. ^ He sometimes ap
peared in the United States courts, and once at least he
argued a case before the Supreme Court at Washing
ton. A friend who knew his manner well In the House
of Representatives, and who happened to hear this
argument before the Court, said that he spoke In his
House style and that he greatly entertained the Jus
tices. The truth is that Reed spoke himseff, whether in
1 Vide address on Reed before the Bar Association of New York
City, Year Book, 1904, by Thomas H. Hubbard.

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warn
FACSIMILE OF ETCHING BY "MARK TWAIN'
LAST DAYS 263
Congress or the courts or on any public occasion, and
he was much too great a man to affect any particular
style or to try to narrow himseff to fit the supposed
requirements of any particular tribunal. He thus
helped compensate the justices for much tedious pun
ishment administered by lawyers who keep their noses
in a record of instances and of quillets, and who do not
strike out manfully at the judgment and good sense
of the men before them.
Reed soon gathered about himseff In New York a
circle of friends In addition to those who have been
mentioned. Mark Twain and he became almost in
separable. Dr. Butler, the President of Columbia
University, was also one of the circle.
Reed was invited to deliver the Phi Beta Kappa ora
tion at the Harvard Commencement of 1899, as will
appear from the foUowIi^ letter: —
My DEAR Sib: —
In behalf ot the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard, I
write to ask if you will honor us by delivering the oration at
the annual meeting of the Society, June 29 next.
We can promise you an excellent audience and a dinner
which is more to be commended from an intellectual than
from a gastronomic point ot view, and I assure you that it
wUl be a great pleasure to us all if you will consent to come.
Very truly y'rs., MooEFiELD Storey.
He had, however, determined to visit Europe again
before actively entering upon his law practice, and, in
company with Mrs. Reed and their daughter, he spent
the summer traveUng abroad, chiefly on the Conti-

264 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
nent. The Reeds received many attentions from dis
tinguished men In Europe, especially in France, and in
Belgium, where they were entertained by the King,
Reed was an indefatigable sightseer, with a fresh and
unquenchable Interest which led him to begin his work
early in the morning and to continue it untU night,
without even stoppmg for the midday meal.
After his retirement he took a long cruise with Mr.
Henry H. Rogers, on the latter's yacht, and another
member of the company was Mark Twain. He planned
to travel more and to pass his winters in Washington.
Reed took a keen Interest in public questions, among
which those relating to the Philippines were upper
most. His fundamental poUtical creed, which was
embodied In the Declaration of Independence, had
been, as we have seen, shocked by our Asiatic ven
ture. When he learned that our mUitary policy in
those islands put in practice some of the devices
which had been applied by Weyler In Cuba and had
startled the people of the country, he was fiUed with
Indignation. There is among his papers a form of an
ironical petition as ff from Weyler to Congress, of
which the foUowing is a copy: —
To the Congress of the United States : —
The procession ot events since I was Governor-General
ot Cuba has been such that I am sure every one, especially
those who were very strenuous against me a few years ago,
will acknowledge that the time has come for me to receive
justice at the hands ot a high minded people, whose acts
have recently been ot such a character that they must now
understand the motives which actuated me.

ON THE YACHT "KANAWHA"
H. H. Eogers, Mark Twaiu, 0. C. Rice, Laurence Hutton, Thomas B. Reed and A. G. Paine

LAST DAYS 265
No one wUl deny that, by the law of nations, the Cubans
owed to Spain aUegiance and orderly conduct, just such as
are now owed by the Filipinos to the United States since the
Treaty of Paris. Had the Cubans retrained from attacks
upon our soldiers, we intended to give them such liberty as
was suitable and such as they were capable of exercising in
the opinion of Spain, their Sovereign Lord and Ruler. In
stead of submitting to such reasonable control as we in
tended to have, they fired upon our troops just as some of
you say the misguided FUipinos did upon your troops, re
gardless of our honorable intentions. Thereupon, you said,
as we did, that, untU they submitted, you had nothing to do
but to reduce them to submission. After that, you intended
to do them justice. These misguided persons, like the Cu
bans, did not realize that one always gets better justice
administered to him after he is down than if he were still in
the ring. It may be that this metaphor is badly handled by
me since it is one employed mostly by the English-speaking
peoples who are now so happily united by a common en
deavor to convince, the one the Boers, and the other the
Filipinos, that liberty consists in the control of the stronger.
It is true that, in reducing the Cubans to submission, there
were methods adopted that excited compassion on the part of
Senator Proctor and other rehable gentlemen, and stirred
your American people with deep and destructive indignation.
It then seemed to you that injuring people in war ought not
to be tolerated, and you were so near and so potent that my
efforts were obliged to be discontinued. I do not complain of
that, for you did not then know that "war was hell," and had
for the moment forgotten that "all really good work is rough
in the doing," as has said your noble President, "the great
and good friend" to whom the Emperor will in due time send
a bronze king in token that your country is worthy ot better
tilings. You did not, when you attacked my administra
tion, have any forecast of the future, so as to enable you
to see on the waU the names of General Bell and Smith
and Waller, and other persons from whom I have received
the flattery of an imitation. I understand that some of
your people think your conduct is justified by what your

266 THOMAS BRACKETT EEED
ancestors did to the Indians. If that be a justification, I can
assure you that I am entitled to the same; for Las Casas,
a priest as holy as any you now have, assures me in his books
that we Spaniards treated the Indians as badly as you ever
did. I wUl not detain your attention longer, but come directly
to the request which is very dear to me. Now you have
leamed that "war is heU," and have adopted those forms
ot the hereatter to which I had given my sanction, would it
not seem to you just to adopt, when speaking of me, some
forms of expression of a more sympathetic nature than those
formerly used, when the future was a sealed book, and the
idea of spreading civilization had not reached that "rough
ness" which characterizes "aU reaUy good work."
I beg to tender to you the assurance ot the distinguished
and increasing consideration with which I am.
Sincerely yours, Weylek.
He ridiculed too our "purchase" of the PhiUp
pines, and, as an aboUtionist of the old school to whom
the seUing of men was most abhorrent, he would
satiricaUy reckon up the amount each Malay cost us
per head. The foUowing from a letter written to
J. C. Courts, the Clerk of the House Committee on
Appropriations, iUustrates the ironical vein in which
he would discuss the matter in a famiUar letter to
a friend: — Pine Point, Me., 15 Aug. 1900.
Thanks for the statistics which I hope to find use for.
... I have got to hunt aU over your figures even to find
out how much each yeUow man cost us in the bush. As I
make it out he has cost $30 per Malay and he is stiU in the
bush. Why did n't you purchase him ot Spain F. 0. B., with
definite freight-rate, and insurance paid? . . .

LAST DAYS 267
The following letter Is of interest and is seff-ex-
planatory : — ExBctrrrvB Mansion,
Washington, Oct. 3, 1901.
Dear Tom: —
I thank you for your letter. No man could wish to become
President under the shadow of so awful a disaster; but it
would be morbid not to accept the facts and do all that can
be done. Give my love to Mrs. Reed.
Sincerely yours, Theodore Roosevelt.
On February 20, 1902, he spoke in New York before
the American Newspaper Pubhshers' Association. It
was in the main a droU speech with some serious dis
cussion of journaUsm.
It must be confessed \he said] that I know very Uttle
about newspapers. Probably a good man could not know
much unless, indeed, he was a publisher or an editor. That
the editors and publishers are good men, actuated by the
highest motives, I notice incidentally in the newspapers
themselves. I do not quarrel with them because they admit
it; but I wish they would not admit it every day. . . . Which
reminds me to say to you (being for the moment in a position
of superiority) that absolute goodness and disinterestedness
can be predicated of no profession outside of the profession
of the law. . . . Even now, if a man were to keep files of his
paper, he would have to live outdoors himself. Newspapers
are what they are, by virtue of a power greater than them
selves. They are much more the product of the readers than
of the editors and publishers. . . . The newspaper would be
better if the subscriber was, and even preachers would
do better if the congregation would let them.
He would occasionally make a joumey to Washing
ton after his retirement; but after he ceased to be a
member he probably never went upon the floor of the

268 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
House, as was his right under the rules. When he
visited the Capitol he would repair to the Inner room
of the Committee on Ways and Means, of which he
had been a member; word would be passed around
among his friends, and he would soon be surrounded by
them. It was a rare treat at such times to hear him
talk upon such subjects as were uppermost in his mind.
His last public appearance In his native city was
at the " Old Home " celebration, on August 7, 1900.
The City HaU, which was crowded with his friends
and neighbors, shook with applause as he made a
very brief speech, the concluding words of which
were : —
Here 's to the State of Maine, settled mostly by the blood
of old England, but always preferring liberty to ancestry;
a strong old democratic state, yet among the first to help
give Uberty to the slave. May her future be as noble as her
past. Here is to the state of Maine, the land of the bluest skies,
the greenest earth, the richest air, the strongest, and, what
is better, the sturdiest men, the fairest, and, what is best of
all, the truest women under the sun.
On July 25, 1902, Bowdoin CoUege celebrated Its
hundredth anniversary and Reed delivered the princi
pal address on the occasion. It was chiefly on the sub
ject on which he never grew weary of talking, — the
rule of the people and the way in which they work
out the destinies of the world. It was a notable speech,
as the foUowing quotations will show: —
Progress must be ot the race as a whole, and not of a
few individuals who are to be leaders and masters. . . . All

LAST DAYS 269
assemblages of men are different from the men themselves.
Neither inteUigence nor culture can prevent a mob from
acting as a mob. The wise man and the knave lose their
identity and merge themselves into a new being. The habits
of individual life are broken up and the safeguards as well.
In our everyday Ufe we have to be in constant control of our
selves. We know our limited powers and do not purpose to
attempt what we cannot do. As part of a mob, that limita
tion is lost. We feel that we have the power of all, let our
selves loose, and over-ride our acquhed limitations. Our
reason at such times wUl not work at its best, for our habits
are broken up, and human reason tor everyday life depends
on habits. . . . Our constitution and system of government are
in full recognition of the fact that our people are to govern
and also of the equally important fact that they should have
a chance to learn how to govern. We elect a House every
two years. We elect a President for four years and a Senate
tor six. Why are there these differences? Why should not
the people have opportunity to change aU of them every two
years and make a clean sweep as it seemed to them good?
Simply because wisdom is not born in an hour. Our fore
fathers believed that the discussions involved in changing
during three different periods the Executive and the two
chambers, would involve also an education of the whole
people which would make theh judgment sound. Three
times within my experience the judgment of the people ot
this country has been changed on three great questions.
That the final judgment was correct is not for me to say in
this presence, but as a rule I think I should prefer the judg
ment of men after discussion rather than without discussion.
It is a great thing to have institutions so framed that the
people can educate themselves before they are called upon to
act. Time and truth against any two is sound doctrine, but
truth without time has not an even chance with error.
Learned men often lead the attacks upon new discoveries.
One would naturally think the multitude would at least be
the average of the individuals who compose it, but it cannot
be so. Too many of the wise and intelUgent conceal their
wisdom and refuse to make opposition to ignorance, because

270 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
they prefer the popularity which comes from men to the
righteousness which comes from God. . . . The time which
elapses from the moment when a new idea for the good of
the race strUies the thought of wise men and the time when
a working majority adopts it, is most astonishingly long.
Whole generations come and go with the truth in fuU view,
and we rest devoted to our ignorance. Read Glanvil's book
defending witchcraft, and see on how smaU a basis of ap
parent reason a worldwide faith can rest, a faith which
led so many innocent men to conviction for an impossible
crime. . . .
You may think tor a moment that these things were so
long ago that one might as weU mourn over the deaths of the
Deluge, yet some of these horrors were inflicted by these
very engines within five generations of men, perhaps within
a hundred years. In France itself the right to inflict torture
was abolished only a little more than a hundred years ago. . . .
There were here and there men who opposed it faintly, on
the ground, as La Bruyere put it, that "Torture was a mar
vellous invention entirely sure to destroy an innocent man
who had a feeble constitution and to save a guilty man who
was born robust." Nobody fought it because it was cruel
but because it did not surely elicit truth, and the first
thought about it to-day — the thought of suffering and
anguish — was the last thought ot a hundred years ago. . . .
When we declaim with fervor and satisfaction that the
eternal years of God belong to truth and see in ecstatic vision
the triumph ot the future, we seldom have it in our thoughts
that the reason why truth is given the eternal years of God
is because she needs them every one. . . . Truth does not
prevail by being known to the wise, it must penetrate to the
depths of the human race to be prevalent. The great intel
lects even, and the great sages, cannot enjoy truth until we
all have it and until it has been reduced to a habit ot Ufe. . . .
I have thus given a few examples to iUustrate my idea,
which is that those who are comparatively uneducated at
any state of the world's progress are not only necessarUy the
most numerous, but they have an influence which is out of
proportion to their numbers. Men even when wrong, it in

LAST DAYS 271
earnest, count for more than those who are right. Momen
tum is weight multiplied by velocity. With wide knowledge
come doubt and difficulties. Ignorance has no hesitations.
"The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men
that can render a reason."
To me it seems apparent that the final cause of this fact —
the reason of its existence — is the unalterable determination
of the divine powers that the human race shaU be kept
together. ... If the plain people could once get it into their
minds that the growth in grace and knowledge of the Lord
of those under them was essential to their own progress and
happiness, there would be heartier and more useful support
to all measures which tend to uplift us aU. . . .
When the slaves were liberated, the first thought of some
of the best ot them was to be learned preachers, doctors, and
lawyers. Heaven forbid that those who are worthy should
be cut off from any employment, but the longing was not a
wise one. To-day the colored race are acquiring that knowl
edge which is the basis ot theh future hope, the knowledge
of how to Uve an everyday life and cope with everyday
duties. When these people have demonstrated, as they surely will,
their capabiUties for everyday life, they will grow to aU the
rest. On the other hand, the scorn with which the negro is
treated is a blunder. It keeps him down, and the scorner
also. It is the same thing that the white slaves met with in
old feudal days. It took a thousand years for them to reach
equality. If the principles of the Christian religion could be
honestly applied, it would solve the problem somewhat
sooner. If religion does not solve it, selfishness will; for men
wiU sooner or later understand that a mass ot ignorance can
not exist without lowering the standard of those who think
themselves the better classes. . . .
I have dwelt upon the darker side ot the history of human
progress, not because the other side is not bright with the
possibilities of a better life, but because we all flatter our
selves about it overmuch. There is no lack of those who
glorify the advance and forget the long years ot struggle.
There are those also who make past advances an excuse for

272 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
present rest. Some of our lessons we have only halt learned.
We go back to the bad past on very shght provocation.
There are places in the United States where prevails the right
of private war, which five hundred years ago found its grave
in France. But before this audience, I have no right to en
croach upon modem history. All it would be proper for me
to do would be to insist that righteousness has not yet been
firmly established even here, and duty stiU has its caU upon
us, every one.
But is it possible in this complex mystery of human prog
ress for individual man to do anything? Are we not like the
bees, governed by the sphit of the hive, carrying us whither
we know not? Are we not the victims of destiny, with our
lot marked out for us beyond our wiU and ken? Is not this a
world under control of the survival ot the fittest — not the
fittest to enjoy the society of the Almighty, but the fittest to
trample on each other? I do not beUeve it. Survival of the
strongest may be new to science, but it is not new to reUgion.
The strong, remorseless arm striking down the weak and pos
sessing the earth, the unpitying tramp of the horses' hoots
devastating the land, are well known to the years that have
gone, and they filled the thoughts of men; but they are no
longer supremely prevalent on earth. Justice and equal
ity and the rights of man have an ever-increasing sway, and
the power of the mighty in arms is every day more and more
mitigated by that justice and love which satisfies the long
ings of the human heart better than even riches or superior
ity or power. Whatever contribution any man makes to hu
manity and justice wiU not be lost, but wiU be gathered up
and be among the treasures of the Almighty.
Near the time of the celebration of the College Cen
tennial Reed entertained his classmates at a dinner
at the Cumberland Club. He was at that time ap
parently In good health and he greatly enjoyed the
occasion. Augustine Jones, a classmate and a famous
teacher, wrote Reed a letter In which he presented him

THOMAS B. REED, 1901

LAST DAYS 273
as the central figure of the dinner, as he almost in
variably was on similar occasions in Washington or
elsewhere. A portion of the letter foUows: —
Sam Johnson's Literary Club was the uppermost thought
in my mind, except the Class of 1860, as we sat in that circle.
You seemed to have the Olympian power over thuigs as host
born also of wide experience of affairs and exalted position,
and constantly reminded me of the "giant of learning" in
the midst of smaller men. I am sure that without a shade ot
envy in a single soul of us we were to a man proud to have
been your classmates.
On this letter Is minuted Reed's reply written in his
own hand: — Portland, Me., 30 June, 1902.
Dear Augustine: —
It is just Uke your old modest fashion to give us the glory
and not take your share.
It is a curious tact that while you were writing that very
letter I was thinking of how much better that same dinner
was because you were there and set so much of the talk in
motion. We did have a rare good time such as we may have again,
but cannot sanely look for, so controUed are men by httle
circumstances which do so much when they are combined
as they happily were that evening. I have the same wonder
over it that you have. I had grave doubts of it before, but
none after. It comforts me much that we all were so merry
and so full of the occasion.
Brown and I talked it over after you were gone and we
rejoiced. I was about to write you especially thanking you for being
there and am more than glad that you felt repaid.
With kindest regards. Truly yours,
T. B. Reed.

274 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
But such a "rare good time" of which he held out
the hope he was not destined to have again. He was
probably not himseff conscious of any failing of health,
but he appeared to be less strong. He had been trou
bled with lameness in an ankle and on the advice of his
physician had dieted to reduce his weight by twenty
pounds. Having accomplished that, he felt better, and
continued dieting until he had shrunk twenty pounds
more. He had a less robust appearance, his face be
came more palUd and by contrast his eyes seemed even
larger and more briUiant. He complained of vague
discomforts, and became apprehensive and nervous
but was averse to consulting doctors. He had prob
ably been afflicted for some months with the disease
to which he finally succumbed, the progress of which
might have been arrested by prompt treatment.
On Friday, November 28, 1902, he was a guest at
a dinner in New York City, given by Mr. George
Harvey to Mark Twain. He made a brief and very in
formal speech, in which he joked the humorist about
some of the things that happened on the cruise they
had made together on Mr. Rogers's yacht. Among
other things he accused Mark Twain of permitting
himseff, "in the enthusiasm of the moment, to play
trumps when he has got more suit-cards left in his
hand," and he alluded to himseff as the only person
aboard the yacht "who had real gravity that was cal
culated to keep the ship in order and keep her down."
He did not reach home that night until after one
o'clock, and he rose at six to take a train for PhUa-

THE PORTLAND STATUE

LAST DAYS 275
delphia, where he had an appointment. While in
Philadelphia he was extremely busy. On Sunday he
went to Washington where he had some business be
fore the Supreme Court. As the Shoreham where he
had lived so long was temporarily closed, he went to
the ArUugton Hotel.
On Monday, he visited the Supreme Court. Dur
ing the afternoon of that day, he suffered a sharp
attack of pain. On Tuesday he again went to the
Capitol, where some of his friends discovered him In
the inner room of the Committee on Ways and Means.
He sat in one of the large, heavily cushioned chairs
and looked pale and weary. The President's message
was just being read in the House, and one of the
members coming from the floor repeated a highly
colored phrase about the result of our PhlUppine
policy. Reed's eyes flashed and he said with his old
fire, "I suppose he put that there for the same reason
that they put tails on coats, — for the benefit of the
lackeys." And he then proceeded with a witty little
discourse on the uses of coat-tails, and their value
to lackeys who would have something to brush. He
was soon surrounded by a group of his old friends and
he seemed to take a good deal of pleasure in the talk.
One of them read from a newspaper that he happened
to have some of Reed's jokes at the Mark Twain din
ner, and Reed joined in the laugh which followed.
He complained of not feeling well. He went from the
Committee room to the Senate end of the Capitol,
where he talked with other friends. He was seen to sink

276 THOMAS BRACKETT REED
into a chair and complained of sharp pains. " I am
sick," he said, "and ought to be In bed this minute."
Those who were with him were alarmed at his condi
tion, which seemed at the moment very serious. Soon
he rallied and was taken to his hotel. His physicians
decided that he was suffering from appendicitis, and
an advanced case of disease of the kidneys. The
former aUment appeared to be an incident and not a
primary factor, and its symptoms soon subsided.'
But with the exception of a sUght temporary check
now and then, the kidney disease proceeded steadily.
One of the attending physicians subsequently expressed
the opinion that Reed had had chronic Bright's disease
for years and that its violent form was precipitated by
the attack of appendicitis.^ His wffe and daughter were
summoned to Washington. For much of the time he
was unconscious or whoUy or partially delirious. In his
moments of delirium he would astonish his physicians
by the sententious and dignified manner In which he
would argue with them against the administrating of
remedies. "If unfair, then I apologize," he explained
when told by one of the doctors that he might have been
unfair in a decision. Again: "If you have repented
of your action we will consider that phase of the
case." After a remedy had been given him he broke
out: "Doctor, you have no legal right to do that. It is
the third time you have taken the liberty. I will
1 See " Brief Report of the Last Illness of the Hon. Thomas
B. Reed " by one of his physicians, T. L. MacDonald, M.D.
2 Washington Post, Dec. 8, 1902.

THO.MAS REED BALENTINE
Held by his mother, Mrs. Arthur T. Balentine, in the act of unveiling his
grandfather's statue at Portiand, Maine, in 1910

LAST DAYS 277
have you understand that the citizen Is not obUged
to submit to the dictation of the man with the hoe."
Thus his two or three remaining days wore away
with unconsciousness and deUrium alternating, and
with only a rare glimpse upon the world as he had
known It. By Saturday, December 6, his condition be
came very grave. Late In the evening of that day his
delirium began to abate, and he sank into a peaceful
sleep, out of which at midnight he passed Into another
world. Over the road on which he had so often journeyed to
and fro between Portland and the country's Capitol
they brought him home again for all time. He was
placed in the Evergreen Cemetery, in which his young
son and his father and mother were buried, and where
in 1914, in the springtime, his wffe was laid beside him.
Upon the most beautfful promenade of the city, near
the crest of a hUl, a statue of him was reared by popu
lar subscription, and was unveiled byhis young grand
son, Thomas Reed Balentine. The figure, giant-like
and majestic, seeming hardly larger than life to those
who knew him, stands silhouetted against the sky, as
if to typffy the high background against which the
deeds of his public Iffe shine. About its base, upon a
summer's day, the barefoot boys of Portland may be
seen playing, just as he played near the same spot
in his own boyhood, perchance waging mimic wars
against the "warlike tribes" on Munjoy HUl.
THE END

INDEX

INDEX

/Esop's Fables, paraphrase of, by
R., 159; 229.
Aguinaldo, Emilio, 247.
Aldrich, James F., R.'s manager
in canvass for nomination, in
1896, 222.
Aldrich, Nelson W., 79.
Allen, Amos L., quoted, 7 n.; 22.
American Newspaper Publishers'
Association, R.'s address be
fore, 267.
Anderson, James E., witness be
fore Potter Committee, 62, 63;
R.'s cross - examination of,
63.
Anderson, Samuel J., unsuccess
fully contests R.'s seat in 47th
Congress, 10.
Andrew, John A., 20.
Anthony, "Our Cat," R.'s paper
on, 146, 147.
Anti-Corn-Law League, 201.
Appropriations, extravagance of,
after the Civil War, 45, 46.
"Ark and Shekina letter," the,
69.
Army of the U.S., and Republi
can state governments in
South, 49.
Army Appropriation biU, faUs of
passage in 44th Congress, 49.
Arthur, Chester A., Vice-Presi
dent, succeeds Garfield in the
presidency, 96; his first aimual
message, 96; and Chinese Ex
clusion bills, 102; 118.
Baird, Spencer F., 149.

Balentine, Katherine (Reed),
R.'s daughter, 100 n.
Balentine, Thomas Reed, R.'s
grandson, unveils monument
to R., 277.
Banks, Nathamel P., his "Union
SUde Speech," 13; 50.
Barbed wire. See Free list.
Bell, Alexander Graham, 149.
Benjamin, Judah P., 13.
Billings, John S., 149.
Bingham, Henry H., 79.
Black, John C, 137, 203.
Blackburn, J. C. S., on Pot-
ter Committee, 59; SO, 97,
109.
Blackstone, Tilden's horse, fig
ures in cipher telegrams, 67, 68.
Blaine, James G., his speech in
Senate, presenting statue of
King, 5n., 51; and the presi
dential nomination of 1876, 43;
reflects on Massachusetts, 51;
on the purpose of the Potter
investigation (1877), 74; de
feated for nomination for Pres
ident in 1880, by Garfield, 89,
90; R.'s relations with and
opinion of, 90, 91; R. on hia
eulogy of Garfield, 90 n.; his
place in om political history,
91; his popularity, 91, 92;
Conkling's hostility to, suffi
cient to explain his defeat in
1884, 129, 130; supported by
R., 130; joins issue with Cleve
land on tariff question, 155;
261.

INDEX

Blanc, Louis, his French Revolu
tion, ISO.
Bland, Richard P., SO, 165.
Bland-Allison bill, vetoed by
President Hayes, 52; veto of,
overruled in House, 62; 77.
Bland-Allison dollars, result of
coinage of, 173.
Blount, James H., 49.
Blue Grass Club, R. decUnes
invitation of, 182.
Boston Herald, and the proposed
issue of bonds, 216.
Bowdoin CoUege, R. admitted to,
14; requirements for admission
to, in 1856, 14; curriculum of,
15; high quality of instruction
in, IS J^.; President Woods, 15-
17; some professors at, 17, 18;
quahty of students at, in R.'s
time, 19-21; societies at, 20,
21, 22; R.'s enduring affection
for, 28; excerpts from R.'s ad
dress at centennial celebration
of, 268-272.
Bowdoin Debating Club, 20, 21.
Boyd, Professor, 25.
Brackett, Mary, marries Joseph
Reed, 3. And see Reed, Mary
(Brackett).
Breckinridge, Clifton R., 125,
126.
Breckinridge, William C. P., ISO,
169.
Bright, John, 201.
BromweU, Jacob H., letter ot, to
R., 259.
Brown, WiUiam W., 151.
Brunswick Telegraph, quoted, 26.
Bryan, William J., opposes biU to
repeal silver-purchase clause,
185; R. pokes fun at, 185, 186;
nominated for President in

1896, 225; decisively defeated,
but poUs largest vote ever cast
for Democratic candidate, 229;
198.
Buchanan, James, 12.
Bugle, the, coUege paper, 20.
"Buncombe, County of," 99.
Bunsen, Baron Christian K. J.,
16.
Burchard, Horatio C, 50.
Burchard, Samuel D., 91.
Burleigh, John H., beaten by R.
for Congressional nomination,
40, 41, 42.
Burlington, Iowa, R.'s speech at
(1890), 179.
Burns, Robert, 147.
Burrows, Julius C, quoted, 83.
Bute, Eari of, 132.
Butler, Benjamin F., on Potter
Committee, 60, 61; sustains
Tilden's claim of election, 61;
50, 70.
Butler, Matthew C, 149.
Butler, Nicholas M., 263.
Butterworth, Benj., his speech on
. "counting a quorum," 170;
79, 150, 164.
Byron, George Gordon, Lord,
147.
California, result of R.'s stay in,
32; its people and climate de
scribed by R., 32-34.
Campbell, AUen G., contests G.
Q. Cannon's election as Dele
gate from Utah, 95, 96.
Cannon, George Q., Delegate-
elect from Utah, to 47th Con
gress, unseated, 95, 96.
Cannon, Joseph G., 60, 100, 145,
164, 169, 176.
"Canoni, Giuseppe," 145.

INDEX

283

Capital, R. on the struggle be
tween labor and, 135, 136.
Capital punishment, R.'s speech
in opposition to, 36.
Carlisle, John G., chosen speaker
of House in 48th Congress, 119;
in 49th Congress, 140; in 60th
Congress, 154; his tariff-reduc
tion address, 164; leader in
debate on MiUs biU, 156; 50,
164, 169, 216.
Carlyle, Thomas, quoted by R.,
133; 147.
Carpenter, Rev. Hugh, letter of
R. to, on his religious beliefs,
27, 28.
Caruth, Asher G., 182.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, R.'s speech
at (1890), 180.
Century Magazine, 90, 250, 251.
Chamberlain, Joshua L., Profes
sor at Bowdoin, 18; his briUiant
career, 18.
Champaign, IU., R.'s speech at
(1890), 179.
Chase, Solon, leader of the
Greenbackers in Maine, 85,
86.
Chinese, in California, 202, 203.
Chinese Exclusion biU, as first
reported opposed by R., and
vetoed by Arthur, 102;
amended bill passed, 102.
Cipher telegrams, investigation
of, by Potter Committee, 64-
72; majority of committee ab
solves TUden from blame for,
72.
CivU-Service reform, R. on Dem
ocratic attitude toward, 44,
137, 138; favored by R., 110.
Civil War, results of great expen
ditures of, 45, 46.

Class of 1860 (Bowdom), enter
tained by R., 272.
Clay, Henry, Blaine's popularity
compared with his, 92.
Clemens, Samuel L., 263, 264,
274, 276.
Cleve, George, 3, 4, 5, 244.
Cleveland, Grover, chosen Gov
emor of N.Y., in 1882, 118; his
small plurality in New York in
1884, 130; R. on attitude of his
administration toward civil-
service reform, 137, 166; his
opposition to sUver legislation,
152, 163; supported by R.
therein, 153; his annual mes
sage of 1887 confined to tariff,
154, 165; Blaine joins issue
with, 166; favors gold stand
ard, 184, 185; would have
silver-purchase provision re
pealed before his inauguration,
185; his second election as
President, 189; calls extra ses
sion of S3d Congress, to repeal
sUver-purchase law, 191; pow
erfully supported by R. in
securing repeal, 193, 194, 196;
his course commended, 196;
his letter to Wilson on Senate
amendments to Wilson Tariff
bill, 206; R. on his attitude
toward the biU, 209; aUows biU
to become law without bis sig
nature, 209 n. ; and the pro
posed issue of gold bonds
(1896), 216; usuaUy supported
by R. in non-partisan matters,
in 54th Congress, 218; his
Venezuelan message, 218-220;
188, 221.
Cleveland, Parker, Professor at
Bowdoin, 17.

284

INDEX

Coal. See Free Ust.
Cobb, HoweU, 13.
Cobden, John, 201.
Cockran, W. Bourke, R. in debate
with, 67, 58; 198, 200, 201,
202.
Colby University, R.'s address
at, quoted, 131-136.
College education in the eighteen-
fifties, criticized by R., 28, 29.
Committees of the House. See
Speaker.
Conger, Omar D., 60.
Congress, Forty-fourth, faUs to
pass Army Appropriation bUl,
49. Forty-fifth, important ques
tions pending before, 46 jf.;
R.'s first Congress, 48; special
session of, 48 jf.; some leading
members of, 49-50; House
investigates election of 1876,
and cipher telegrams (Potter
Committee), 59-76.
Forty-sixth, composition of,
79; special session of, 79;
Greenback party first repre
sented in, 79; debate on pres
ence of U.S. marshals at poUs,
83. Forty-seventh, R. a candidate
for Speaker, 93; Keifer chosen
Speaker, 94; biU to repeal cer
tain intemal revenue taxes
raises question of constitution
al prerogative of House, 107 Jf. ;
small majority of RepubUcans
in House, leads to obstruction
and partisan debate, 116, 117;
the only Republican House
chosen between 1872 and 1888,
118. Forty-eighth, Carlisle chosen

Speaker, 119; contributed Uttle
legislation of importance, and
why, 120; proceedings of, en
Uvened only by R.'s wit, 120;
fihbustering in, and inability
of Democrats to command a
quorum, 121, 122; debate on
appropriations for Navy in,
122-125; race question dis
cussed in, 125, 126; appropria
tions for Post Office Dept. at
tacked by R., 126, 127.
Forty-ninth, R. wins Re
pubUcan nomination for
Speaker, 138, 189; Cariisle
chosen Speaker, 140; Senate
and House of, controlled by
different parties, 154; paucity
of legislation by, 164; Cleve
land's message of 1887 to, 164,
165; MUls tariff biU in, 156/.;
House passes MiUs bUI, 160.
Fiftieth, Carlisle chosen
Speaker, 154.
Fifty-first, RepubUcan in
both branches, 161 ; contest for
Speakership, 162, 163; R. cho
sen Speaker, 163; smaU Re
pubUcan majority in House
causes difficulty in holding a
quorum, 164 ff.; violent par
tisanship in House, 165; up
roarious scene in House, on
R.'s "counting aquorum," 167-
169; debate thereon, 169-171;
R.'s mUng sustained, 171; atti
tude of House to free coinage
of sUver, 173, 174; passes Sher
man SUver-Purchase biU, 174,
175; and revises tariff, 175;
House passes Force biU, 175,
176; first session of, marked
by extreme partisan acrimony,

INDEX

285

177; Democrats oppose usual
resolution of thanksto Speaker,
181; R. on record of, 181, 182.
Fifty-second, Democratic ma
jority in House, 180, 184;
Crisp chosen Speaker, 184; R.
minority leader, 184, 186; atti
tude of Democrats in House
toward free coinage, 184-186.
Fifty-third, Democrats con
trol both houses of, 191; R.'s
strong leadership of minority
in, 191; extra session of, 191/.;
National Election law repealed
by, 197, 198; Wilson tariff bUl
debated and passed by, 198-
210; four supplementary free-
listbUlspassedby House, 207/.;
House adopts principle of R.'s
quorum ruling, 211-214; biU
authorizing issue of gold bonds
rejected by House, 215.
Fifty-fourth, great Republi
can majority in, 210, 217; R.
chosen Speaker, 217; Cleve
land's Venezuelan message to,
218, 219; passes resolution
making appropriations for pro
posed boundary commission,
219. Fifty-fifth, Republican in
both houses, 229; majority in
House unwieldy, 231; R. cho
sen Speaker, 231; extraordi
nary session of, passes Dingley
tariff biU, 231, 232; passes meas
ure leading to war with Spain,
233, 234.
Fifty-sixth, R. elected to,
236, but resigns his seat, 238.
ConkUng, Roscoe, result of his
hostUity to Blaine, in 1884, 129,
130; 91.

Connecticut, attitude of, toward
R.'s nomination iu 1896, 223.
Conservatism, advantage of, 242.
Constitution of the U.S., pro
posed woman-suffrage amend
ment to, 100-102; and the quo
rum of the House, 168, 170.
Cook, Jane, marries Experience
MitcheU, 3.
Cooper, Peter, 68.
Courts, J. C, letter of R. to, 266.
Cousins, Robert J., 144.
Cox, Samuel S. ("Sunset"), R.'s
colloquies with, 114, 115, 116,
124, 126; R.'s estimate of, 116;
49, m, 109, 122.
Crapo, WiUiam W., 50.
Crisp, Charles F., introduces
"Jim Crow" amendment to
Interstate Commerce Commis
sion bill, 125 ; chosen Speaker of
62d Congress, 184; R. proposes
resolution of thanks to, 189,
190; 164, 165, 169, 199.
Cromwell, Oliver, R.'s opinion of,
133; 53.
Cuba, rebeUion in, 232; effect of
blowing-up of Maine, 232, 233.
Culberson, David B., 60.
Cullom, Shelby M., 149.
Cumberland Club, a favorite
haunt of R. in Portland, 145;
described by R., 146.
Cumberland County, Maine, R.
admitted to bar of, 34; contest
between, and York County for
Congressional candidate, 40/.,
86.
Currency of U.S., not on sound
basis in 1876, 46, 47. And see
Free coinage. Gold standard.
Silver.
Curtin, Andrew G., 94.

286

INDEX

Dalzell, John, letters of R. to, 226;
164, 165, 236.
Davis, Joseph J., 72, 73.
Dawes, Henry L., 51.
Declaration of Independence,
taken very seriously by R.,
236, 236, 255, 264.
Democratic administration, R. on
attitude of toward civU-service
reform, 137, 138.
Democratic National Conven
tion of 1896, nominates Bryan,
225.
Democratic party, and civU-serv-
ice reform, 44; opposed to
presence of U.S. marshals at
poUs, 83; controls both Houses
of 63d Congress, 191; over
whelming defeat of, in elec
tions of 1894, 210, 217.
Democratic platform of 1892,
193.
Democrats, in House, fiUbuster
on intemal revenue tariff revi
sion biU, 108, 109; disturbed by
filibustering in 48th Congress,
121; and the counting of a
quorum, 165/.; in 51st Con
gress, majority of, favor free
coinage, 174; vote against
resolution of thanks to R. at
close of 51st Congress, 181;
have majority of House in 62d
Congress, 184; but a strong
minority of them opposed to
free coinage, 184, 185; in 53d
Congress, repeal National Elec
tion law, 197; in 63d Congress,
forced to adopt R.'s quorum
ruling, 211-214.
Deputy Marshals of the U.S.,
presence of, at the polls, dis
cussed in 46th Congress, 83.

And see National election
law.
"Destmy," 253, 258.
Destombes, CyriUe J., 150.
Dickens, Charles, 147.
Dingley, Nelson, sponsor for
tariff bUl of 1897, 231, 232; 94,
100, 143, 144, 226.
DoUiver, Jonathan P., 164.
Dudley, WilUam W., 151.
Durham, Jay F., 182.
Eaton, WiUiam W., on the pur
pose of the Potter investiga
tion, 74; 124.
Election contests, partisan pas
sions aroused in, in 47th Con
gress, 116, 117.
Electoral Commission (1877),
counts votes of S.C., La.,
and Fla., for Hayes, 59, 65;
74.
EUot, Charles W., 241.
EUzabeth, Queen, 132.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 147.
England. See Great Britain.
Evans, George, 20.
Everett, Charles CarroU, quoted,
16; professor at Bowdoin,
17.
Evergreen Cemetery, Portland,
R. buried in, 277.
Ewing, Thomas, 49.
FairchUd, Charles, 188.
Fessenden, Samuel, R.'s close
friend, 22; kUled in Civil War,
23; R.'s tribute to, in oration
at Portland Centennial, 24, 25,
criticized, 153, 154.
Fessenden, WiUiam Pitt, his loan
to R. in college, 22, 23; R.'s
gratitude, 23; his vote against

INDEX

287

impeachment of Pres. Johnson,
23, 24; R.'s memorial address
on, 36, 36; 20.
Feuillet, Octave, his A Marriage
in the World, and Monsieur de
Camors, 150.
Field, Walbridge A., 60.
Filibustering in the House, 80/.;
resorted to by R., 80, 81, 82;
effect of, 117; efficacy of, illus
trated, 121; in 61st Congress,
leads to counting a quorum by
R., 164/; resorted to by R. to
force Democrats to ratify his
"quorum" ruling, 171; under
R.'s lead, in 63d Congress, 212,
213.
Filipinos, the. See Philippines.
Financial condition of U.S., in
1893, and its causes, 192, 193;
in Jan., 1895, 214; R.'s remedy
for, 214; Democratic majority
decides to issue bonds, 216.
Florida, electoral votes of, cast
for Hayes, 69.
Folger, Charles J., overwhelming
defeat of, for govemor of N.Y.,
118.
Force biU, passed by House in
51st Congress, 176, 176.
Fortnightly Review, 200.
Foster, Charles, 49.
Fox, Charles James, 256.
Free coinage of sUver, in the cam-
, paign of 1880, 84; Arthur's
recommendation conceming,
96; by whom favored, 173, 174;
R. and majority of RepubUcans
opposed to, 174; attitude of
Pres. Harrison toward, 174;
minority of Democrats op
posed to, in 62d Congress, 184,
185; the issue m 1896, 225,

226. And see Bland-AUison
bUl, Gold Standard.
Free list, separate biUs putting
sugar and other articles on,
passed by House in conjunc
tion with WUson tariff biU,
207/
Free Masonry, agitation against,
21.
Free passes, R. on, 138.
"Free ships," R. opposed to, 110.
"Free trade," and the financial
crisis of 1893, 193; R. on faUa-
cies of, 199, 200.
"Freedom ot debate," R. charged
with impairing, 176; 211.
Fremont, John C, 12.
French, R.'s proficiency in, 148;
he keeps a diary in, 148.
French books, in R.'s library, 148.
Frye, WUliam P., 20, 49, 143.
Garfield, James A., minority
leader in 45th and 46th Con
gresses, 79; nominated tor
President (1880), 89, 90; R.
on Blaine's eulogy of, 90 n.;
assassination of, 96; 49, 60,
129.
Geneva Award, bUl for distribu
tion of, 102/
Geneva Tribunal, nature of its
award, 103.
George IV, and the battle of
N Waterloo, 124.
Gold reserve, too heavily bur
dened by coinage of sUver dol
lars under Bland-AUison Act,
173, 192, 193, 214; proposed
issue of gold bonds to protect,
215.
Gold Standard, maintenance of,
favored by Cleveland, 184; Re-

288

INDEX

publicans pledged to, in plat
form ot 1896, 225; the clear-
cut issue in that campaign, 225,
226. And see Free coinage.
Goodwin, Daniel R., 17.
Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 4.
Grant, U. S., his vetoes of in
flation measures, 47; 39, 54, 91,
119.
Great Britain, and the Venezue
lan question, 218, 257, 268; at
titude ot, after Cleveland's
message, 218-220; and her col
onies, 267.
Greenback party, first represen
tation of, in 46th Congress,
79.
Greenbackers, in the 46th Con
gress, 84; led by Solon Chase in
Maine, 86, 86; catch a gUmpse
of Eldorado, 87; R.'s charac
terization of, 88.
Greenbackism, in Maine, 76, 86,
86; in campaign of 1880, 84/
Greenbacks, R.'s views on pay
ment of, 39; status of, 47.
Gregory XVI, Pope, 16.
GrenvUle, George, 132.
Guiteau, Charles J., assassin of
Garfield, 96.
Hale, Eugene, 49.
"Halt-breeds," in N.Y. RepubU
can politics, 118, 129.
Hamilton Hotel, 143.
Hanna, Marcus A., first appear
ance of, in politics, 222.
Harris, Isham G., 109, 110.
Harrison, Benjamin, chosen Pres
ident, 161; and free coinage,
174; attitude of RepubUcans
toward renomination of, 187,
188; personal characteristics

of, 187; offends R. in matter
of Portland coUectorship, 188;
R.'s indifference to success of,
188; defeated for reelection,
188.
Harrison, Carter H., 50.
Harvey, George, 274.
Havana, destruction of Maine in
harbor of, 232.
Hawaii, R. opposed to annexa
tion of, 234, 235; Spanish war
made a pretext tor annexation
of, 235.
Hawley, Joseph R., 195.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 20.
Hayes, R. B., contested election
of, 45, 48, 59 /.; recognizes
Democratic state officers in La.
and S.C., 48; his action criti
cized, 48; his theory in that re
gard, 48; vetoes Bland-AUison
bUl, 52; administration of
Treasury under, 76, 77.
Henderson, David B., 150, 162,
164, 246, 260.
Hewitt, Abram S., letter to R.,
131; 94.
HUl, Benjamin H., on the pur
pose ot the Potter investiga
tion, 74.
Hmds, Asher C, 238.
Hiscock, Frank, candidate for
Republican nomination for
Speaker in 49th Congress, 138;
beaten by R., 139; 49, 140,
141, 149.
Hitt, Robert R., 164, 219.
Hoar, George F., and R., anec
dote of, 229, 230; quoted, on
R., 251; letter of, to R., 259;
61, 106.
Holman, WiUiam S., 137, 189.
Hooker, Charles E., 49.

INDEX

House of Representatives, and
filibustering, 80-83; claims
that its constitutional pre
rogative to originate taxation
was abused by Senate, 108 /. ;
enormous hall of, 113, 137;
rules of, attacked by R., 120,
121, 152; possibiUties ot fiUbus-
tering illustrated, 121, 122; R.
the real Republican leader in,
from 1883 to his retirement,
128; and titiJar leader trom
1886, 140; style ot fightmg in,
in R.'s day, 140; constitution
al quorum ot, as estabUshed
by R., 167 /.; R.'s decision
thereon the most important
landmark in its parUamentary
history, 171; increased ability
of, to transact business, 171,
172; R.'s ruling finally adopted
by Democrats, 172. And see
Congress.
Hubbard, Thomas H., 262 n.
Hunt, Ward, Justice of Supreme
Court, bill for retirement ot,
favored by R., 98, 99.
Hurd, Frank H., 158.
ImperiaUsm, excerpts trom MS.
on, tound among R.'s papers,
252-259.
Inconsistency, R.'s treatment of
charge ot, 117, 118.
Indians, R. on treaties with, 78;
R. on appropriation for educa
tion of, 186, 187.
Industrial crisis of 1873, stUl felt
in 1876, 64.
Inflation of the currency, 39.
IngersoU, Robert G., letter of, to
R., 188.
Insurance companies, R. on their

claim to share in the Geneva
Award, 104-106.
Internal revenue taxes, bill to re
peal in part, in 47th Congress,
107-110.
Interstate Commerce Commis
sion, biU to create, 126.
Iron. See Free list.
Irving, Sir Henry, compares
Reed's appearance to Stratford
bust of Shakespeare, 67.
James, WUUam, quoted, 220 and
n.
Jeans, J. Stephen, quoted, 200.
Jefferson, Thomas, 63, 65.
Johnson, Andrew, Fessenden's
vote on impeachment of, 23,
24.
Johnson, Samuel, R. compared
to, 26.
Johnson, Warren, professor at
Bowdoin, 18.
Jones, Augustine, letter of, to R.,
and R.'s reply, 273.
Jones, John Paul, 6.
Judiciary Committee, R. a mem
ber ot, in 46th Congress, 79, 80,
and Chairman ot, in 47th, 97.
Keiter, J. Warren, chosen Speak
er in 47th Congress, 94; titular
leader of minority in House in
48th Congress, 118, 120; over
shadowed by R., 120; 49, 138.
KeUey, WUliam D., 49.
Kilgore, Constantine B., 212.
King, WiUiam, statue ot, 51.
Knott, J. Proctor, 60.
La FoUette, Robert M., 164.
La Fontaine, Jean de. Fables,
150.

290

INDEX

Labor, R. on the struggle be
tween capital and, 135, 136.
Land grants, and the railroads,
111.
Landis, Charles B., quoted, on
R. as Speaker, 176, 177.
Leaders, do not make history,
131/
Legal Tender Act, R.'s youthful
view of constitutionaUty of, 34.
Legislature of Maine, R.'s serv
ice in both houses of, 35-37.
Leopold II, King ot the Belgians,
264.
Lever, Charles, 147.
Liberty, highest level ot, 255,
256.
Library of Congress, R. favors
new buUding for. 111, 112.
Lincoln, Abraham, R. on, 133;
his Gettysburg speech, 257; his
Second Inaugural, 269; 204.
Littlefield, Charles E., 225.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, quoted, on
R. and Blaine, 90, 91; supports
R. tor Speakership, 162; on
R.'s conduct in the Chair, in
61st Congress, 177; nominates
R. in Convention of 1896, 225;
quoted, on R. as a debater,
250, 251; compares R. to Dr.
Johnson, 251.
Logan, John A., 143.
Logan, Mary S. C, 143.
Long, John D., 139, 140, 141,
143, 144, 149.
LongfeUow, Henry W., 20.
Lord, Nathan, 20.
Loring, George B., favors ap
propriation for WUliam and
Mary CoUege, 53, 55; 50.
Louis PhiUppe, King of the
French, 16.

Louisiana, Democratic state of
ficers of, recognized by Hayes,
48; electoral votes of, counted
for Hayes, 59; conditious in, in
1876, 64; report of minority of
Potter Committee on result of
election ot 1876 in, 71, 72; R.
quoted on the same subject,
73, 74.
LoweU, James Russell, 147,
261.
Lyford, Master, of Portland
Boys' High School, R.'s teach
er, 9, 18; R.'s appreciation of,
10.
Lygonia, Province ot, founded by
Cleve, 3, 4.
MacDonald, T. L., 276 n.
McKinley, WUliam, with R.
leads opposition to MUls biU,
166; R.'s leading opponent in
contest for Speakership ot
51st Congress, 162; in the can
vass tor nomination in 1896,
221 /. ; his advantage over R.
on the tariff, 221, 222; his de
feat in Speakership contest
made him President, 222; ob
tains many Southem dele
gates, 222, 223; endorsed by
Vermont and Illinois, 223; calls
extra session ot 55th Congress
to revise tariff, 231; opposed to
war with Spain, 233; seeks to
stay action, 233, 234; acquires
PhUippiues by treaty, 237,
238; 49, 79, 100, 139, 164, 169,
181, 251, 252. And see Tariff
biU ot 1890.
"McKmleyism," 221.
McMahon, John A., on Potter
Committee, 59.

INDEX

291

McMiUin, Benton, 198.
Macaulay, Thomas B., Lord, 132,
147.
Maine, campaign of 1876 in, 43,
44; a "September state," 43;
Greenbackism in, 76, 85, 86;
carried by "Fusionists" iu
1879, 86, 87; the "count out,"
86, denounced by R., 87; poli
tics the principal occupation
ot voters in, 87; bitter contest
in (Sept. 1880), results iu a
drawn battle, 89; R. chosen
one of Congressmen-at-large
for (1882), 111; R.'s toast to,
268.
Maine, First Congressional Dis
trict of, contest tor nomina
tion m (1876), 40, 41; R. nom
inated, 41, and elected, 44;
the county issue, 42; bitter
ness ot the campaign, 42; R.'s
speeches, 44; R. charged with
neglecting its affairs, 130, 131;
R. nominated by acclamation
by Republicans of, from 1886
to 1898, 137; R.'s campaign in
1890, 177, 178, and election
by his largest plurality, 178;
R. renominated by Republi
cans ot, in 1896, 227; R.'s fare
weU address to RepubUcans of,
238, 239.
Maine, battleship, destruction
of, in Havana harbor, and its
effect, 232, 233.
Maine, colony, claimed by Mas
sachusetts Bay, 4, 6; charac
ter and history ot, 5, 6.
Manley, Joseph H., his pre-Con-
vention/oTix pas in 1896, 224;
his letter to R., 224.
Marble, Manton, and the Pot

ter Committee investigation,
69.
Marie Am^lie, Queen of the
French, 16.
MarshaU, John, 63.
Massachusetts, Blaine's attack
on, 51; endorses R. for nomin
ation in 1896, 223.
Massachusetts Bay, Colony of,
asserts claim to Maine, 4, 5.
Matthews, Stanley, 61.
MerriU, Rev. S. H., R.'s father-
in-law, 38.
MerrUl, Susan, marries R. (1870),
38. Aud see Reed, Susan
(MerriU).
Mills, Roger Q., sponsor tor tariff
bin of 1887, 165; R.'s collo
quies with, 160; 50.
MUton, John, 53, 65.
MitcheU, Experience, R.'s ma
ternal ancestor, 3.
MitcheU, Matilda, marries T. B.
Reed I, 3. And see Reed, Ma
tUda (Mitchell).
Monetary standard, question of,
an engrossing one, during R.'s
whole career, 47; not easUy
settled, 77. And see Gold
standard.
Money, Hernando D., 49.
Money issue, not squarely joined
in campaign ot 1880, 84.
Monroe Doctrine, in the Ven
ezuelan boundary controversy,
219; 257, 268.
MonticeUo, Congressional ex
cursion to, 229.
Moore, John, 261.
Morgan, J. P. and Co., pro
posed sale of bonds to, 215,
216.
Morrison, WiUiam R., on Potter

INDEX

Committee, 59; sponsor for
tariff biU of 1886, 154.
Morton, Levi P., 79.
Mugwumps, in New York, in
election of 1884, 130; R. on re
lation of Democratic adminis
tration to, 137.
Murch, Thompson H., elected to
47th Congress from Maine as
a Greenbacker, 107; on Na
tional banking system, 107.
National banks, bUl for extension
of charters of, 107.
National election law, repealed
by 53d Congress, 197, 198.
And see Deputy marshals.
Navy ot U.S.,R. enlists in (April,
1864), and is honorably dis
charged from, 30; his service
in, 31, 32; practically obsolete,
m 1883, 122; R. favors modem-
izing of, 122; debate on ap
propriations for, 122-125.
Negro- See Race question.
New England Society ot New
York, R.'s Forefathers' Day
address before, 136, 137.
New Hampshire, plan for union
of, with Mass., 4, 6 ; attitude ot,
toward R.'s nomination, 223.
New Haven, R.'s speech at
(1890), 179.
New York, and the money issue,
84, 85; Republican factions in,
responsible for reaction in
1882, 118; Cleveland chosen
governor ot, 118; the decisive
state iu election of 1884,
129; "Stalwarts "and "Half-
breeds" in, 129; carried by
Cleveland, 130.
New York City, fight over col-

lectorship ot port, 118; R. be
gins practice of law in, 261.
New York Evening Post, quoted,
87.
New York Sun, quoted on R.
(1881), 93 and n.
New York Times, 139.
New York Tribune, cipher tele
grams translated by members
ot staff of, 65; 155, 179.
Newcastle, first Duke of, 132.
Newman, John Henry, 16.
North American Review, 189, 240.
Northem Light, the, school paper,
conducted by R., 11, 12.
Norwood, Thomas M., 150, 151.
Nott, EUphalet, 16.
Oregon, attempted bribery in, 71.
Orth, Godlove S., candidate for
Speaker, 93, 94; proposes new
riJe concerning appointment
of committees, 97, 98.
Outhwaite, Joseph H., 205, 206.
Packard, Alpheus S., Professor
at Bowdoin, 17.
Paine, A. G., 262.
Parity, poUcy ot the government
to maintain, 173.
ParUamentary procedure, R.'s
deep interest in, 80.
Payne, Sereno E., 164.
Pelham, Henry, 132.
Pelton, W. T., and the cipher
telegrams, 66 /.; R.'s cross-
examination of, 66-70; R.'s
comments on testimony ot, 71.
People, the, not leaders, make
history, 131 /.
Peucinian Society, at Bowdoin,
20.
Phelps, WUUam Walter, 139, 149.

INDEX

293

Phi Beta Kappa of Harvard, R.
invited to deliver aimual ad
dress before, 263.
Philadelphia, R. speaks in, on
agitation of the tariff, 127,
128.
PhUippines, purchase of, leads
to war with natives, 237;
status of, with regard to U.S.,
237; R.'s opposition to war
with, 247, 248; R. on military
poUcy ot U.S. in, 264; purchase
ot, ridiculed by R., 266; 257,
275.
Pierce, Franklin, 20.
Pitt, WiUiam, 132.
Pittsburg, R.'s speech at (1890),
178, 179.
Plaisted, Harris M., 37.
Platt, Thomas C, 129.
Portland, in the eighteen-thir-
ties, 8, 9; boys of, 8, 9; centen
nial of, R.'s oration at, 4, 23-
25, 163, 154, 244; early vicis
situdes of, 6; R. begins practice
at, 34, 36; R. city sohcitor ot,
39; supports R. for nomina
tion for Congress, 40, 41; R.'s
home on Deering St., 147, 148;
Harrison offends R. in matter
of coUectorship of, 188; view
across harbor ot, described
by R., 244; R. attends "Old
Home" celebration at, 268,
269.
Portland Advertiser, quoted, 42.
Portland Boys' High School, R.
teaches in, 30.
Portland Colony. See Lygonia,
province of.
Porto Rico, 256.
Post-Office appropriation bill,
attacked by Reed, 126, 127.

Potter, Clarkson N., chairman of
Committee to investigate elec
tion of 1876,59/; 49.
Potter Committee (1877), inves
tigates election of 1876, 59-
64; and cipher telegrams, 65-
72; divided on party lines in its
report, 70-72; minority report
quoted, 70, 71; majority re
port of, 72; report of, not acted
on, 72; discussion as to pur
pose of its investigation, 74.
PoweU, John W., 149.
Prentiss, Sergeant S., 20.
Presidential election of 1876, in
vestigation of (Potter Commit
tee), 69/; discussed by R. in
46th Congress, 73, 74.
Presidential election ot 1884,
bitterly contested, 129, 130;
N.Y. decisive state in, 129,
130.
Presidential election of 1888,
tariff main subject of discus
sion in, 161.
Previous question, the, 176.
Proctor, Redfield, 265.
Protection, R.'s eulogy of, 158;
R. on the history of, 199, 200.
Public Sentiment, R. on the
power of, 134, 135.
Punch, 147, 257, 258.
Puritan Revolt, the, 133.
Pusey, Edward B., 16.
Putnam, WiUiam L., 20.
Quorum of the House, R.'s early
views on the constitutional
provision regarding, 81, 82;
difficidty ot obtaining, in 51st
Congress, 165, 166; "counted"
by R. (Jan. 29, 1880), 167/;
principle ot R.'s ruling on, fin-

294

INDEX

aUy adopted by Democrats,
171, 172, 211-214; R. defends
his ruling thereon in his 1890
campaign, 178.
Race question, discussed in
House (1884), on biU to create
Interstate Commerce Coinmis-
sion, 125, 126; 179, 242.
Railroads, R. opposes municipal
aid to, 37.
RandaU, Samuel J., elected
Speaker ot House in 46th Con-
' gress, 60, and in 46th, 79; his
protectionist principles lead to
his supersession by Carlisle as
Democratic leader in House,
119; his signal service to the
country in 1877, 119; R.'s opin
ion of, 119; and appropriations
for the Navy, 122, 123; joms
forces with RepubUcans to de
feat Morrison biU, 154; 49, 52,
97, 115, 116, 117, 137, 164.
Reade, original form ot Reed, 2.
Reade, Charles, 147.
Reade, Mary CornwaU, 2.
Reade, Sir 'Thomas, 2.
Reade, Thomas, R.'s immigrant
ancestor, 2.
Reade famUy in America, 2.
Readjusters, in 47th Congress,
94.
Reagan, John H., 50.
Reed, Jacob, R.'s ancestor, 2.
Reed, Joseph, R.'s grandfather,
2, 3.
Reed, Katherine, R.'s daughter,
anecdote ot, 248; 263, 264.
And see Balentine, Katherine
Reed.
Reed, Lydia Ware, R.'s great-
grandmother, 2.

Reed, Maiy (Brackett), R.'s
grandmother, 3.
Reed, MatUda (Mitchell), R.'s
mother, 3, 277.
Reed, Susan (MerriU), R.'s wife,
of great assistance to him in
his work, 38, 39; 144, 145, 263,
264.
Reed, Thomas Brackett I., R.'s
father, his relations with his
son, 7; 3, 277.
Reed, Thomas Brackett.
I. 1839-1877. Birth and
ancestry, 1-3, 6, 7; his birth
place, 7 n.; his relations with
his father, 7, 8; describes the
boys of Portland, and their di
versions, 8, 9; how they cele
brated the "Fourth," 9; at
the Boys' High School, 9-12;
Master Lyford, 9, 10; J. W.
Symonds quoted, on his school
lite, 10; conducts the Northem
Light, 11, 12; his contributions
thereto, 12; his early interest
in politics, 12, 13; enters Bow
doin CoUege, 14; member of
class crew, and ot the Peucin
ian, 20; prominent in Debating
Club, 20, 21 ; opposed to secret
societies, 21, 22; and Amos
Allen, 22; teaches school in
winter, 22; loan trom W. P.
Fessenden enables him to grad
uate, 22, 23; his gratitude, 23;
defends W. P. F. for his vote
on Johnson impeachment, 23;
repays the loan, 23; his trib
ute to the Fessendens in his
oration at Portland Centen
nial, 23-26; his rank in coUege,
25; elected to Phi Beta Kap
pa, 25; his Commencement

INDEX

295

"part," 26; essays written in
coUege still extant, 26; his
fondness tor theological dis
cussion, 26, 27; letter to Rev.
H. Carpenter on his reUgious
beUet, 27, 28; his deep regard
for Bowdoin, 28; criticizes col
lege education ot his day, 29;
teaches after graduation in
Portland, and Stockton, Cal.,
30; studies law, 30; paymaster
in the Navy, AprU, 1864, to
Nov., 1865, 30-32; his own
views thereon, 31, 32; describes
people ot California, 32-34;
admitted to the bar there, 34;
deems the Legal Tender Act
constitutional, 34; admitted to
bar in Maine, and begins prac
tice in Portland, 34; his first
case in the Supreme Court, 34,
35; rises rapidly at the bar, 36;
in both houses of the Maine
Legislature, 35-37; his me
morial address on W. P. Fessen
den, 35; opposes capital pun
ishment, 36, and govemment
aid to railroads, 37; thrice
elected Attorney-General of
Maine, 37, 38; the youngest
man to hold the offlce, 37; his
work therein, 38; marries Su
san MerrUl, 38; submits his
writings and speeches to her
criticism, 38, 39; defends
Grant's vetoes of inflation
measures, 39; declares for
sound money, 39; in the front
rank ot the profession, 39; city
sohcitor of Portland, 39; can
didate tor Republican nomina
tion for Congress in 1st Maine
District (1876), 39, 40; the

"county issue," 40, 41, 42;
supported by Portland, 40, 41;
receives nomination, 41; his
canvass of the district, 42-44;
opposed by friends of rival
candidate, 42, 43; tone ot his
speeches, 44; elected, 44.
II. Congressional sendee prior
to Speakership (1877-1891).
— Takes oath at special ses
sion of 46th Congress, 49;
appointed to Committee on
Territories, 50; takes little
part in debate at special ses
sion, 50; his first speech, 61;
speaks on presentation of
statue of W. King, 51; votes
against Bland-AUison bill, and
to sustain Veto, 52; on diplo
matic salaries, 52; his first real
speech in opposition to bill for
relief of William and Mary Col
lege, 63-56 ; effect of the speech,
66; on Democratic member
ship ot Potter Committee,
60; significance ot his appoint
ment as one ot tour Republi
can members ot the Commit
tee, 60; the best qualified of
all for its work, 60; his cross-
examination ot J. E. Anderson,
63; his theory as to TUden's
responsibility for cipher tele
grams, 66 /.; his cross-exam
ination of Pelton, 66-69; his
reputation enhanced by his
share in the investigation, 70,
74; his minority report, quoted,
70-72; reelected in 1878, 76;
opposes Bland-AUison Act,
77; his interest in Indian af
fairs, 78; his view of the work of
the Committee on Territories,

296

INDEX

78, 79; on Judiciary Commit
tee in 46th Congress, 79; his in
terest in parliamentary pro
cedure, and its result, 80; en
gages in filibustering, 80, 81;
defends the then customary
construction of constitutional
provision regarding a quorum,
81, 82; on party government,
83; an uncompromising foe of
inflation, 85; and Solon Chase,
85, 86; his renomination in
1890 opposed, without suc
cess, 86; in the Fusion "count
out" in Maine, 87; his speeches
in the campaign, 88-89; elect
ed, 89; Blaine delegate to Re
publican National Convention
of, 1880, 89; his opinion ot Gar
field, 90; his relations with,
and opinion of, Blaine, 90 and
n., 91; candidate tor Speaker
in 47th Congress, 93, 94; on
a contested election in Utah,
95, 96; chairman ot Judiciary
Committee, 97; member ot
Rules Committee, 97; opposes
Orth resolution for changing
method ot appointment of
committees, 97, 98; favors bill
to retire Justice Hunt, 98, 99;
on talking for¬the " County of
Buncombe," 99; favors wom
an suffrage, 99, 100; his
views thereon, 100-102; and
Chinese Exclusion, 102; favors
biU for a tariff commission,
102; introduces bUl tor distri
bution of Geneva Award, 102;
opposes aUowing insurance
companies to participate, 104,
105, 106; his seat unsuccess
fully contested, 106, 107; on

the constitutional prerogative
of the House to originate rev
enue bills, 109; favors civU-ser-
vice reform, 110; opposes free
ships, 110; on land grants to
raUroads, 111; elected to 48th
Congress "at large," 111, 118;
favors bill for new Congres
sional Library, 111, 112; favors
reducing size of hall of the
House, 113; temporary leader
of the House in So. Carolina
election contest, 117; inconsist
ent in matters ot filibustering,
117; his view of consistency,
118; his opinion of S. J. Ran
dall, 119; overshadows Keifer
as minority leader in 48th
Congress, 120; attacks rules of
the Houae, 120, 121; ridicules
majority tor inability to keep a
quorum, 121, 122; opposes pol
icy ot starving the Navy, 122-
124; coUoquy with Cox, 124,
125; on the race question, 126;
criticizes Post-Office appropri
ation biU, 126, 127; speaks in
Phila. on agitation of the tar
iff, 128; finally attains leader
ship ot Republican party in the
House, 128; his campaign in
1884, 130; supports Blaine,
130; charged with neglecting
the interests of his district,
130, 131; letter of Hewitt to,
on that subject, 130, 131; ad
dress at Colby University on
the real makers ot history, 131-
136; speaks betore New Eng
land Society of N.Y., 137;
nominated tor reelection by ac
clamation in 1886, and there
after, 1 37 ; denounces Cleveland

INDEX

297

administration for its attitude
on civU-service reform, 137,
138; on the administration and
the Mugwumps, 137; opposed
to free passes, 138; RepubU
can candidate for Speakership,
defeating Hiscock, 138, 139,
149; not a compromiser, 139,
140; becomes titular leader of
RepubUcans, 140; goes to
Committee ot Ways and
Means, 140; his selection as
leader popular in the country,
140; his humorous account of
the contest tor leadership, 140,
141; his burlesque platform,
141, 142; debate on pensions
(1886) described in his diary,
150, 151; again attacks the
rules, 152; supports Cleveland
in opposition to sUver legisla
tion, 153; answers criticism ot
his reference to S. Fessenden
in Portland Centennial ad
dress, 153, 154; leads opposi
tion to MiUs tariff bUl, 166;
his powerful speech closing
general debate, 166-160; on
national defence, 161; his
tariff speech an effective
campaign document in 1888,
161. III. The Fifty-first Congress
(1889-1891). — As candidate
for Speakership, opposed by
McKinley, 162, 163; nomi
nated by a majority ot one, and
elected, 163; opportunities for
pubUc service inherent in the
office, 163; his speech on tak
ing the chair, 164; narrowness
of Republican majority in
House causes trouble for the

Speaker, 165; his plans laid
to meet the emergency, 166;
his proposed course overturns
Republican as well as Demo
cratic precedents, 166; doubts
whether his party will support
him, 166, 167; determines to
resign if not sustained, 167 and
n.; "counts" a quorum, 167;
states the case to the House,
168; denounced by Democrats,
169; his ruling discussed in
noteworthy debate, 169, 170,
and sustained, 171; importance
of his ruling, 171, 172; in suc
ceeding Congress, by fihbus
tering, forces Democrats to
ratify his ruUng, 171, 172; 212,
213; significance of his achieve
ment, 172; strongly opposed to
free coinage, 174; on the Sher
man Silver-Purchase bill, 175;
charged with impairing "free
dom of debate," 176; his course
in that regard, described by
C. B. Landis, 176, 177; the cen
tral subject of attack in parti
san debates ot 1889-90, 177;
his conduct described by
Lodge, 177; elected in 1890 by
the largest plurality of his ca
reer, 178; his speech at Pitts
burg (1890), 179; favors con
trol of national elections by na
tional laws, 179; his speeches
at various places attract
great crowds, 179, 180; his de
meanor in the chair in the
short session, 181; Democrats
oppose usual resolution of
thanks to, 182; his reply to
the resolution, 182; loyalty of
Republican coUeagues, 183;

298

INDEX

his portrait painted by Sar
gent, 183.
IV. From the Fifty-second
Congress to his Retirement. —
Minority leader in 52d Con
gress, 184; foments Democratic
differences on tree coinage,
185; pokes fun at Bryan, 185,
186; how he led the minority,
186, 187; offended by Pres.
Harrison in matter of Portland
CoUectorship, 187, 188; letter
to C. Fairchild on Harrison's
renomination, 188; his North
American article on 51st and
52d Congresses, 189; proposes
resolution ot thanks to Speaker
Crisp, 189, 190; again minority
leader in 53d Congress, 191;
his command ot the procedure
ot the House, 191; stands with
Cleveland for repeal ot SUver-
Purchaae law, 193-195; op
poses repeal of National Elec
tion law, 197; in debate on
WUson tariff bill, 198; closes
debate for Republicans, 199-
205; speech on mle relating to
conference on Wilson bill, 205-
206; on Cleveland's letter to
Wilson, criticizing Senate, 206;
ridicules conference report,
207, 208, 209; on the free-list
bills, 209, 210; proposes cer
tain reforms in the rules, 211,
212; leads filibuster m 63d
Congress, 212, 213; bis plan to
remedy condition of the Treas
ury, rejected by Democrats,
214; his attitude toward pro
posed issue ot gold bonds, 216;
replies to criticism of his
course, 216, 216; chosen Speak

er of S4th Congress, 217; ad
vantages of his position, 217;
speech on taking the chair, 217,
218; supports Cleveland in
matters not clearly partisan,
218; proposed as Republican
candidate tor Presidency, 220,
221; at a disadvantage with
McKinley on the tariff, 221,
222; secures few delegates
from Southern states, 222; be
lieves use of money respon
sible, 223; relationswith Roose
velt, 223; attitude of New
England toward his candidacy,
223; detection ot Vermont, dis
astrous, 223; Manley's faux
pas, explained in letter to, 224 ;
his vote in the Convention,
225; his friends responsible for
hard-money plank in plat
form, 225; decides to run again
for Congress, 226; letter to
Dalzell, 226; campaigns all
over the country, 226; his
speech accepting renomina
tion, widely approved, 227,
228; letter of Roosevelt there
on, 228; describes an incident
ot a trip to MonticeUo, 229,
230; chosen Speaker ot 55th
Congress, 231; firmly against
war with Spain, 233; opposes
conference report on war reso
lution, 233, 234; opposes an
nexation ot HawaU, 234, 235,
236; takes Declaration ot In
dependence seriously, 235; his
twelfth election to the House
(1898), 236; disbelieves in co
lonial theory of the Consti
tution, 237; acquisition of Phil
ippines causes his retirement

INDEX

299

from public life, 238; elected to
66th Congress, but announces
his retirement to Republicans
of his district, 238, 239; bitter
ly opposed to war with PhU-
ippines, 247-248; MS. essay
on.Imperialism, 253-259; urged
not to retire, 259, 260; letters
ot G. P. Hoar and J. H. Brown-
well, 259.
V. Last Years (1899-1902).
— Begins practice in New
York, 261-263; his manner in
Court, 262, 263; invited to de
Uver oration betore Phi Beta
Kappa ot Harvard, 263; re
tains his interest in pubUc
questions, especially, the Phil
ippines, 264; his imaginary
petition of Gen. Weyler to
Congress, 264-266; ridicules
purchase of the PhiUppines,
266; letter to J. C. Courts, 266;
addresses Newspaper Pub
lishers' Association, 267; his
visits to Washington, 267, 268;
speaks at Portland "Old
Home" celebration, 268; his
notable speech at Bowdoin
CoUege Centennial, 268-272;
seeks to reduce weight by diet
ing, 274; signs ot ill health,
274; taken suddenly ill at
Washington, 275; his last days
and death, 276, 277; his burial
in Portland, 277; statue ot,
erected by popular subscrip
tion, 277.
VI. In various aspects. —
His personal appearance, 57;
said by Sir H. Irving to resem
ble bust ot Shakespeare, 57.
His characteristics as a debater.

57, 68, 139, 140, 186, 187, 249,
250,251. His humor and ready
wit iUustrated by examples of
many varieties, 83, 85, 86, 88,
114-116, 122, 124, 137, 141,
142, 146, 160, 168, 182, 185,
188, 195, 205, 206, 208, 209,
211, 212, 229, 246-249; quality
of his wit, 245, 246, 260;
Springer a favorite object of
his raiUery, 246; enjoyed mak
ing fun of the Senate, 251,
252; his History of the U.S.,
published in 19^0, 252. Social
lite, in Washington, 143, 144;
the Cumberland Club in Port
land, 145, 146; his reading, 147,
148; addicted to French books,
148; extracts from his diary,
written in French, 148-161;
walking and bicycling his fa
vorite exercises, 161 ; a delight
ful companion in society, 244,
245; characteristics of his con
versation, 246, 246; his circle of
friends in New York, 263; vis
its Europe (1899), 263, 264;
yachting, 264; dinner of the
Class ot 1860, 272, 273; letters
from and to A. Jones, 273. His
writings, in magazines, etc.,
style of, iUustrated by divers
quotations, 240-244; descrip
tion of view across Portland
Harbor, 244; his unpubUshed
essay on ImperiaUsm, 253-259.
Reed, Simpson, Thacher, and
Barnum, R.'s law firm in N.Y.,
261.
Reed's Rules, 247.
Religion, R.'s views on, 27, 28.
RepubUcan National Committee,
224.

soo

INDEX

Republican National Conven
tion of 1880, 89; ot 188h
R.'s characterization of, 130;
ot 189S, 189; ot 1896, election
of delegates to, nomination of
McKinley by, and adoption
ot hard-money plank, 222-
225.
Republican party, favors pres
ence ot U.S. marshal at poUs,
83; triumph ot, in 1880, 89;
division in, after Garfield's
election, 96; effect of factional
strife in, in New York, 118; R.
on the past and future of, 178;
attitude ot, toward renomina
tion of Harrison, 187, 188; tri
umph ot, in elections of 1894,
210, 217; canvass tor presiden
tial nomination of in 1896,
220 /.; campaign of 1896,
waged by, in defence of gold
standard, 226, 226; elects Pres
ident, and majority in both
houses, 229, 231.
Republican State Convention of
Maine (1874), R.'s speech be
fore, 39.
Republicans, and the surplus
revenue, 107 /. ; charged with
"swapping the Constitution
tor a high tariff," 110; small
majority of, in 47th Congress,
116; R. becomes titular leader
of, in House, 140; in 51st Con
gress, nominate R. tor Speaker
by close vote, 163; smaU ma
jority of, iu House, and diffi
culty in maintaining a quorum,
164/; sustain R. in "counting
a quorum," 170, 171; large
minority of, favor free coinage,
173; loyalty of to R., 183; atti

tude of, on repeal of SUver-
Purchase law, 194-196.
Revenue, large surplus in, 96;
Republicans seek to reduce
surplus in by repealing inter
nal revenue taxes, 107 /.
Rhode Island, endorses R. for
nomination in 1896, 223.
Robeson, George M., 97.
Robinson, George D., 50, 79.
Rogers, Henry H., 264, 274.
Roosevelt, Theodore, supports
R. for Presidential nomina
tion, 223; letters of, to R., 228,
267; 275.
Root, Elihu, on R.'s purpose to
resign Speakership under cer
tain circumstances, 167 and re.
Rules, Committee on, R. a mem
ber of, in 47th Congress, 97.
Saint-Simon, Due de. Memoirs,
149.
San Jos^, Cal., R. studies law at,
30; R. admitted to bar at, 34.
Sandwich Islands. See Hawaii.
Sargent, John S., paints R.'s por
trait for House lobby, 183.
Saturday Evening Post, 240.
Scott, Winfield, 53.
Scriptures, R. a student ot, 148.
Secret coUege societies, R. op
posed to, 21, 22.
Self-government, R.'s view of
right ot, 235.
Senate ot U.S., raises constitu
tional question by adding re
vision of tariff to bill to repeal
internal revenue taxes, 107/.;
a favorite subject of R.'s hu
mor, 251, 252.
Sfivignfi, Madame de. Letters, 149.
Sherman, James S., 144, 164.

INDEX

301

Sherman, John, letter to R. on
Potter investigation, 61, 64,
70, 216.
Sherman Silver-Purchase bUl,
provisions ot, 174; passed by
61st Congress, 176; Cleveland
seeks repeal ot, before inaugu
ration, 185 ; bill to repeal, intro
duced in 52d Congress, 185;
Cleveland calls extra session of
53d Congress to repeal, 192/;
repeal ot, opposed by many
Democrats, 193, and supported
by R., 193, 194; debate on m-
troduction ot biU, 194; it passes
by Republican aid, 194, 196.
Shipbuilding industry in U.S.,
R. favors development ot, 110,
111.
Shoreham Hotel, 144.
Silver, use ot, in the currency,
173/.; coinage of Bland-AUi
son dollars, 173; accumulation
ot bullion in Treasury under
Sherman Act, 192; demoneti
zation of, 194, 196. And see
Bland-AUison Act, Free coin
age.
SUver coinage, Cleveland's oppo
sition to, supported by R., 162,
153.
SUver doUar, bullion value of,
not sustained by Sherman Act,
192.
Smith, Charles Emery, 149.
Smith, WUliam Alden, supports
R. for Presidential nomination,
223.
Smyth, Egbert C, Professor at
Bowdoin, 17.
Smyth, WiUiam, Professor at
Bowdoin, 17.
Solomons, Hardy, 71.

Sound Money, R. early declares
in favor ot, 39.
Sous les Tilleuls, 150.
South Carolina, Democratic
state officers of, recognized by
Hayes, 48; electoral vote of,
cast tor Hayes, 69; conditions
in, in 1876, 64; election contest
from, 117.
Southern States, McKinley dele
gates from, in 1896, 222; al
leged use ot money in securing
delegates from, 223.
Spain, weakness ot, 268.
Spanish War, the, cause ot, 233;
R. strongly opposed to, 233;
made inevitable by action of
Congress, 233, 234; and its re
sults, treated ironicaUy by R.
in imaginary petition of Wey
ler, 264-266; 258.
Speaker ot the House, commit
tees always appointed by, 97,
133; power ot, in R.'s time,
163, 164, 190.
Specie payments, preparation for
resumption ot, 47; unsuccess
ful efforts to prevent resump
tion of, 76; effects ot resump
tion, 77.
Springer, William M., R.'s col
loquies with, 114, 115; always
calls out R.'s sarcasm, 246; 50,
164, 209, 211.
"Stalwarts," in N.Y. RepubU
can poUtics, 118.
Stanley, Arthur P., 16.
Stenger, William S., 49.
Stephens, Alexander H., 49.
Stevenson, Adlai E., 79.
Stevenson, R. L., 147.
Stockton, Cal., R. teaches at,
30.

302

INDEX

Storey, Moorfield, letter of, to
R., 263.
Strafford, Earl ot, 133.
Stuart, S. C, 34.
Sugar, and the annexation of
Hawaii, 235.
Sugar. See Free list.
Supreme Court of U.S., sustains
constitutionality of R.'s ruling
on counting a quorum, 171.
Surplus revenue. See Revenue.
SybU, U.S. Steamer, R.'s whole
naval service on, 30, 32.
Symonds, Joseph W., R.'s class
mate, quoted, 10; 26.
Tariff, revision ot, tacked to bUl
to repeal internal revenue
taxes, 107/.; R. speaks in
PhUadelphia on agitation ot,
128; reduction of, urged by
Cleveland and Cariisle (1887),
165; main subject of discus
sion in election ot 1888, 161;
reduction ot, demanded in
Democratic platform of 1892,
193; effect ot that demand on
industrial and financial con
ditions, 193; in the canvass for
the nomination in 1896, 221;
sundry remarks ot R. on, 241.
And see Free list. Tariff biUs.
Tariff biUs: Of 1886 (Morrison),
defeated by RandaU in com
bination with RepubUcans,
154. Of 1887 (MiUs), in the
House, 155 /.; R.'s closing
speech on, 156-60; passes
House, 160.
Of 1894 (WUson), in the
House, 198 /.; R.'s closing
speech on, 199-205; amended

by Senate, 205; conference re
port on, ridiculed by R., 207,
208, 209; passed by Congress,
210. . Of 1890 (McKinley), passed
by 51st Congress, 175; main
cause ot Democratic victory
in Congressional election in
1890, 180.
Of 1897 (Dingley), passed
by 65th Congress, 231, 232;
range of duties in, 232.
Tariff commission, bill to create,
supported by R., 102.
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 147.
Territories, Committee on, R. a
member of, 50, 78.
Thackeray, WiUiam M., 147.
TUden, Samuel J., electoral votes
cast tor (1876), 59; his claim
supported by Butler, 61; pro
posed purchase of electoral
votes tor, revealed by cipher
telegrams, 65 /. ; his responsi
bility for activities of Pelton
and others, 66 /. ; testifies be
tore Potter Committee, 70;
R.'s comments, in minority re
port, on his connection with
cipher telegrams, 71; ab
solved by majority of commit
tee, 72; 44, 119.
Townshend, Richard W., con
troversy with R., 126, 127;
115.
Treasury of U.S., and the Sher
man SUver-Purchase Act, 192;
critical condition of, 192, 214;
proposed measures for relief of,
216.
Tucker, J. Randolph, 49, 110.
Turner, Henry G., 164, 169, 198.
Twain, Mark. See Clemens.

INDEX

303

Uphfun, Daniel C, Professor at
Bowdoin, 17.
Utah, R. on contested election
of delegate to 47th Congress
from, 95, 96.
Vane, Sir Harry, 53, 66.
Venezuela boundary question,
Cleveland's message concern
mg, 218-220; 267.
Vermont, breaks solidity of New
England for R.'s nomination,
223.
Victoria, Queen, 132.
Wadsworth, James W., 94.
WaUace, WUliam P., 34.
Walpole, Sir Robert, 132.
Ware, Peter, R.'s ancestor, 2.
Washington, George, 63, 55, 257.
Washington Post, 277 n.
Ways and Means Committee,
R. becomes a member of
(1885), 140; rooms of, R.'s
favorite resort at the Capitol
after his retirement, 268.
Webb, Nathan, 34.
Weber, E. A., 61.
Wellington, first Duke of, 124.
Wentworth, Thomas. See Straf
ford.
Wesley, John, 135.
Westem Union Telegraph Co.,
65.
Weyler, Nicolau V., imaginary

petition ot, to Congress, 264-
266.
Wheeler, Joseph, 204, 266.
WUliam III, 32.
William and Mary CoUege, bUl
tor relief of, opposed by R., 52-
66.
WiUiams, George Fred, 129 re.,
184, 185.
WUliams, John Sharp, quoted,
on R. as a debater, 251.
Wilson, WUUam L., sponsor for
tariff biU ot 1894, 198, 199;
Cleveland's letter to, 206; his
speech on the conference re
port, 208; 150, 215.
Winthrop, John, 2, 4.
Woman Suffrage, R. favors reso
lution for appointment ot se
lect committee on, 99, 100;
R.'s minority report in favor
ot, 100-102.
Women, R. on the status and
political rights of, 101, 102,
242.
Woods, Leonard, President of
Bowdoin (1839-66), his career
and acquirements, 15-17.
Wren, Sir Christopher, 63.
York, Me., centennial of, 1.
York County, contest between,
and Cumberland County, for
Congressional candidate, 40/,
86.

Cbe rotjcrjiitie pce^^
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