Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Oct. 14, 1910, edition 1 / Page 3
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i Ly JOSEPH W. IX)LK UTSIDE of Missouri the home of Thomas II. Ben ton, United States sena tor from 1821 to 1851, is known only to the stu dent of v history. Web ster, Clay and Calhoun are familiar words everywhere, yet Benton served in the United States senate longer than any of these, and was responsible for .' more sound legislation than all of them together. His name was never prominently connected with the presi dency, yet he accomplished more for his country than have the majority of the presidents. This remarkable man came into the world in 1782, six years after the sign ing of the Declaration of Independ ence, and departed in 1858, three yearsV before the Civil war. Thus his life cov ered the formative epoch of a govern ment by the people in the making, and ended just before the outbreak that shook the foundations of the republic and bathed the nation in blood. For many years he ignored the mutterings In the political sky and preferred to believe the talk of war between the states over the quesfnon of slavery mere idle chatter. When he realized that the sentiment of disunion was real he took an uncompromising stand in favor of the union and refused to alter his position or trim his sails to meet the breezes from Missouri that were blowing the other way. Though entering public life as an advocate of the admission of Missouri into the union unrestricted as to slavery, he left the public service in the evening of life because he would not consent to vote for the extension of slavery into territory that had before been free. He was a firm believer in the doctrine of state rights, which was, as he understood it, the right of the states to govern themselves as to all matters except those delegated to the federal government. His theory of the republic was an "indissoluble union of self-governing states" a federated re pupbllc. His education, that is the school part of it, was limited to the grammar schools and a short time In the University of North Carolina. In a larger sense he continued his studies until the day of his death, and was one of the best informed men of his time. While other statesmen were in dulging in the dissipations common to that period among public men, he de voted his spare moments to investiga tion and study, and his knowledge of the details of public matters was vast ly superior to that of any of his com peers. Benton's high moral character was blemished by his pugnacious dispo sition. In his early days he was in volved in many "affairs of honor" as duels were termed then. He had not been in St. Louis long when the most unfortunate event in his career oc curred. In the trial of a law suit some trivial dispute arose between him and a young attorney named Charles Lucas, a highly esteemed and most estimable young man. Lucas won the case and Benton challenged him. Lucas declined the challenge at first, but Benton persisted and offered deliberate insults. Lucas then accepted. They fought a first duel and no one being injured a second meeting was insisted upon by both parties. In the second duel Lucas fell, mortally wounded. Before dying he took Benton's hand and forgave him, but Benton never forgave him self, and the shadow of this tragedy went with him through the years to his grave. The code-duelio as re sorted to in those days often for -insignificant things, and every public man of consequence had figured in such an affair either as principal or sec ond. This duel was fought the year after Benton arrived in St. Louis. Four years later the father of the lamented victim of the duelling cus tom was one of the unsuccessful can didates for senator against Benton. His Fight With "Old Hickory." Benton, like Andrew Jackson, was of North Carolina birth, and, like Old Hickory, moved to Tennessee when a youth just entering upon manhood's estate. He became Jackson's friend while they both lived in Nashville and co-operated with Jackson in raising the brigade of militia which became the nucleus of the army that was to annihilate the British at New Orleans and make January 8, 1815, a red-letter day in American annals. ' It was on Benton's advice that the brigade ,was formed and offered to the government by Jackson, and for a time he was on Jackson's staff. Their friendly re lations were, however. Interrupted by a disgraceful brawl. Jesse Ben ton, a brother of Thomas Benton, had fought a duel and Jackson had seconded the antagonist. An angry dispute arose, Benton espousing his brother's cause. Jackson struck Ben ton with a horsewhip-, and In return was shot in the shoulder by Benton. Jackson carried Benton's bulletin his shoulder until the close of his presi dential term, and the wound gave him some physical distress to the end of his days. The feeling between them ran high after this episode. not to subside until the hand of fate lii was to bring them together again, one a senator from another state, and the other as a candidate for the presi dency of the United States. A year or so after the fight Benton moved to St. Louis, where he opened a law office in connection with a newspaper of which he became editor. He be came prominent at once in the discus sion of public questions, and took a leading part in securing the admis sion of Missouri into the union. Aft er a Ave years residence in Missouri he was elected by the legislature one of the state's first two United States senators. Declined Money Profit from Public Service. Immediately upon his election, with scrupulous regard for his official in tegrity, Benton called all of his clients ft his office and told them that he could not further serve them, as there might be a conflict between their in terest and the public welfare. For some of his clients he had litigation over land grants, and as senator he was in a position, through the enact ment of laws,, to make them and him self wealthy in the settlement of dis puted titles. He refused even to rec ommend an attorney to them, lest this might embarrass him in his public duty. His idea of public office was that an official had no more right to use his public functions to aid per sonal friends or to advance his own fortune than he would have to put his hand into the public treasury and take money therefrom to pay a private debt. Through all his official career Benton was true to this ideal and was incorruptible and above reproach from any venal standpoint. Championed "Missouri Compromise." Benton's career of constructive statesmanship was the greatest Mis souri or the west has produced. He came upon the stage of public activity with the enactment of the Missouri compromise, which was largely his work. He left public life coincident with the repeal of that measure. Under this compromise Missouri was admitted into the Union (though it was some years later before the state was formally recognized) as a slave state, with the provision that no state created out of the Louisiana purchase, north of the southern boundary of Missouri, should be admitted with slavery. It hushed slavery agitation for a decade, and any attack upon it for a time was resisted by south as well as north. Benton was 39 years old when he took his seat and had lived exactly half the years given to him. Monroe was just beginning his second term as president, Calhoun was secretary of war, Henry Clay was speaker, of the house of representa tives. In the next presidential con test Benton supported Clay against Jackson, but ever after that he was Clay's political enemy and Jackson's warmest and strongest supporter. Father of Homestead Law. To Benton more than any other man is due the fact that there is no fron tier in the United States today. What was a wilderness west of the Rocky mountains fifty years ago is now set tled by happy and prosperous men and women by reason of his effort in securing the enactment of the home stead law. Benton established the pol icy of selling public land at a maxl mum of $1.25 an acre, giving prefer ence to actual settlers and securing to settlers the right of preemption. This made settlement easy and streams of sturdy men and women began at once to move westward. Benton looked into the future fur ther than any other statesman of his time. In answer to the taunts that the western country, particularly Oregon, 'would never be anything more than a hunting ground, he prophesied that the time would come when there would be more peonle west of the Rockies than east. He advocated the construction of a military, road to New Mexico, and was so earnest in his sup port of the idea of a transcontinental railroad that his enemies charged him with being mentally unbalanced on the subject, and even his friends feared he was too enthusiastic. In one of his first speeches he prophesied that the Pacific coast would soon become the door of Asia and advised sending min isters to China and Japan a proposal at that time considered extremely hu morous. Brought About Specie Payments. It was through Benton's effort that specie payments were established and that all our money became based on gold and silver. So earnest was he in the demand for a specie basis that he was nicknamed "Old Bullion," of which he became very proud, and in his speeches often referred to himself by that term. He was at first inclined to favor a protective tariff system, but later strongly opposed protection merely for the sake of protection. He stated his position thus: "The fine ef fects of the tariff upon the prosperity of the west have been celebrated on this floor. With how much reason let facts respond and people judge. I do not think we are indebted to the high tariff for our fertile lands and navi gable rivers, and I am certain we are Indebted to those blessings for the prosperity we enjoy." While he op posed the protective system he voted 1 )., I I I U PiSg ft (fe'-lM WJ for a protective duty on lead, which was largely produced in Missouri. In this he made the mistake that has been made by so many senators and congressmen of this day, who say they oppose protection, but vote for pro tection on the products of their own states, thereby placing themselves in the position of not being able to suc cessfully question the justice of the demand of those in other states for a larger share of protection for them selves. After the election of Andrew Jack son to the chief magistracy Benton be came the right arm of that great presi dent. In the atttempted nullificaion of the tariff laws by South Carolina, Benton made effective Jackson's ulti matum to that state demanding sub mission to the law, by engineering the passage of a compromise tariff bill which stopped everybody from talking of fighting, but satisfied nobody. Fought United States Bank. Jackson's greatest battle was against the United States bank, which he declared must either be put out of business or it would run the govern ment. Benton led this fight in the senate. He brought up the question in 1831 by submitting a resolution to the effect that it was not expedient to re-charter the bank. The war against the bank raged fiercely for years. It had many powerful adherents and ob tained the support of a number of members of congress, as was shown later by investigation, through what amounted to brazen bribery in the way of favoritism on loans. In the midst of the fight the presidential elec tion of 1832 took place and Jackson was triumphantly re-elected. Shortly after this Jackson made an order with drawing the public funds from the bank. This precipitated a tremendous public uproar and the senate adopted a resolution censuring Jackson for the act. Benton immediately began a fight to expunge this resolution from the record, and finally, in the last days of the Jackson administration, the mo tion prevailed amidst great excitement and the resolution of censure was ex punged by having a black border drawn around it and across Its face the words: "Expunged by order of the senate, January 16, 1837." Jackson deeply appreciated the value of Ben ton's support and years later, on his deathbed, said to a friend: "Tell Col. Benton I am grateful." Benton was the supporter of Jack son's successors to the presidency, particularly of Van Buren and Polk, but after Andrew Jackson, the presi dents up to the Civil war wielded lit tle influence compared with those be fore, and were largely engaged In a game of hide-and-seek on the slavery question. In 1848 the anti-Bentonites carried a majority of the Missouri legislature. and a resolution was passed demand ing that slavery be permitted to exist In territory north of the Missouri com promise boundary and instructing the senators to vote accordingly. Benton denounced this resolution as treason able and refused to obey It. He said it did not represent the sentiment of the people of the state and he appealed from the Missouri legislature to the Missouri people. The struggle was bit ter and Intense. As Benton was up for re-election, it being the close of his fifth term as senator, the effort was to control the legislature which was to elect the senator for the fol lowing term. Neither side obtained a majority of the members and a dead lock resulted to be broken by the anti Benton Democrats combining with the Whigs and bringing about Benton's defeat. The old warrior was not dismayed and kept up the fight. In 1852 he was sent to the lower house of congress from St. Lous as a Union Democrat. For thirty years he had been absolute dictator in the politics of Missouri. Hi3 word was final, and his wishes law, but the tide had turned, and for the remaining years of his life set steadily against him. Yet at no time in his career does Benton present a more inspiring figure than when, with his back to the wall, crowded on every side by foes, he continued to battle for the principles he believed in. By com promising and by truckling to the pub lic sentiment of his state he could have regained his seat in the senate, but he would have lost the love and admiration due the brave man who prefers defeat with the right to vic tory with what he considers wrong. Benton's mannerisms were marked and did not tend to make him popular with the masses. He seemed egotis tical to the point of absurdity, yet in him it was merely exaggerated self- respect. To the casual observer stern and pompous, he was gentle and tender-hearted to those who knew him well. His public and private life were above reproach. His high sense of honor as a public servant, his incor ruptible integrity, his unwavering ad herence at whatever cost to the prin ciples he believed in, his powerful in tellect and his aggressive energy com bined to make him a fighter eminently qualified to lead and represent the militant people of the West In the first half of the last century. He was defeated for re-election to the house in 1851, and in 185G became the candidate of the Union Democrats for governor, and ran third in the race. He was now 74 years old, but as vigorous and robust as ever. Without lamenting his fate or the people's in gratitude, he cheerfully took up the completion of his "Thirty Years' View," giving a mental picture of the important events in the history of our country with which he had been con nected. In 1858 he died in Washing ton, undismayed by the storm of pub lic misunderstanding that had wreck ed his political life. He looked into j the future and saw the approval of coming generations whose views would not be obscured by the passions and excitement of the moment. When the news of his death reached Missouri there was an entire change of senti ment and all classes united to do honor to his memory. They then real ized that the mightiest man of MiS' sourl was dead, the man who towered above friends and foes. All the state was in mourning and his funeral at St. Louis was attended by more than forty thousand people. Saved Missouri to Union. It was the fight Benton made tfcat enabled others, when the war. came, to keep Missouri in the Union. If Mis souri had seceded there probably would have been a different story to tell than that which came from Appo mattox. So Benton won life's battle by sim ple honesty, by perseverance, by hav ing ideals and remaining true to them in sunshine and in shadow. His influ ence will be felt for good as long as this republic lasts, and the failure to secure political preferment at the end of his life by giving up the fight ac centuates the grandeur of his charac ter. He lost for the moment, but in losing he gained for all time. For him there was victory in defeat. The les son of his life is it is not essential always to win, but it is essential to keep the faith. The Mystery of a Duel. Having fought his duel and saved his honor by firing a shot in the air, the editor of a French provinffal newspaper went back to his desk and the incident had quite left his mind when he felt something strange in his thigh. He looked and found that he was bleeding profusely. A doctor was called, who discov ered that a bullet was embedded in the editor's thigh some two inches deep and required extraction. "Why was this not taken notice of on the spot where the duel took place?" he asked. The editor was as much in the dark as the doctor. At the mo ment of the duel he had fired into the air and his adversary also took a distracted sort of aim. There had evidently been no intention of doing the slightest harm on either side. The editor felt nothing as he left the field and had shaken hands with his antagonist as a sign of reconcilia tion. How a bullet came to be lodged in his thigh was simply one of the mysteries of dueling. Another Bocm for the Crops. "Not many delegates appeared at the Esperantist congress that met in Kansas." "No. Most of them stopped off and hired out as harvest hands." Strategy. Bessie But didn't you say if George tried to kiss you, why, you wouldn't Etand for it? Peggy I didn't I I sat down in a hammock. LESSON TEXT.- Memory verses 34' GOLDEN TEXT. have done It Intn it these my brethren.l umu me. Aia.ii. zo: TIME. Tuesday, Apt The same day as our la PLACE. On the Mou Suggestion and Practf That there Is a day o v a fact, but It is difficulty important, to decide the hZ or time of the coming of 1e If" judgment It Is said in Matt 2i that "this generation shall1 not I away till all these things be ac, J plished," and it is repeated in Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32, and again in Matt. 16:28, "there are some of them that stand here, which shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming In his kingdom," when "the Son of man shall come in the giory oi nis jj ainer wiin nis augeia, and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds." This must refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the old dispensation or age, and the coming of the gospel dispensation. But' it does not exclude the great and final coming and judgment day at the end of that age. There is really a judgment day at every great crisis of the nation or of 'our lives, at death, at the coming of rewards or punishments for our ac tions, at every time of decision. For Instance, we have seen within the last few years many persons who have been for years growing rich by graft and dishonesty and have suddenly met. their judgment day, while others have been reaping the rewards of faithful eciiiue. ou 5 uuug uicu wuu uav-o uccu going on in course of drinking and rioting for a long time, suddenly find themselves drunkards, in 111 health. Incapacitated for their best work. They have been brought up at a judgment day; while those who have resisted temptation and been faithful and true are also reaping their rewards. Then shall the king say unto them nn Vila riirVit Viand The eVippti th righteous. Come. Draw near to your Elder Brother, to your Father, to your home, for here is the place for you. Ye blessed of my Father means exact ly "my Father's blessed ones," denot ing not 6imply that they have been blessed by him, but that they are his. Blessings innumerable had come to them through their being willing to become his children and accept the kind of blessings he had to bestow, , such as his loving care, the 'bestowal of the Holy Spirit, the experiences of the gospel, the renewal of the heart. sanctiflcation by the Spirit, the power to become children and heirs of God, the gifts and fruits of the Spirit, eter nal life, the favor of God, the rest in the everlasting arms, the pavilion un der the shadow of his wings. Receive not by purchaser o'r"Byr'3& bors, but by becoming children of God, like God, and therefore heirs heirs of God, and joint heirs with Je sus Christ Every one must be the heir of him whose child he is. He that is a child of sin is an heir of sin; a child of the devil Inherits from the 'devil; a child of goodness and of God inherits from God. The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom which con sists In righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17), in which, saints reign over infinite forces and powers to make them minister to hap piness and good: "All things are yours," because "ye are Christ's." , Ye have done It unto me, the poor and needy and sick, and all the classes whom Jesus helped in Pales- tino are his representatives now on earth. The only visible expression of " our love to him is through them. What a privilege this is to show our love to our Master. How it enriches our life if we keep in mind that we are not only helping the needy, but ex pressing our love to our Master. . The unconsciousness of the right eous shows that their virtues Were sincere and true. Whosoever does good deeds for the sake of the reward deserves no reward, and will obtain, none, for the soul of goodness is left out of such deeds. The cause of the doom was the re fusal to do the deeds that belong ta the heavenly kingdom and to be ruled by its motiverv They refused to ba fit for heaven. They decided to liT selfish lives. The plan of their lives was such thf t all the evils of soci ety graft, ctd labor, poverty, degra dation, crime, oppression, drunken ness, disease, could go on without any effort on their part to put an end to them. The punishment is like the sin: It omits heaven and joy and God ani5 the .. companionship of the good from our lives, and adds the everlasting f:re. This is a warning of love. It i : statement of the fact that by the ature of things sin leads to rul righteousness 'to heaven. c No evil can enter heaven, fc heaven would not be hea longer. President Eliot of liar ' addre;tO medical nion. howevraf people raislit j lieve In a future hcil. iv tor's business to show y if they persisted in c would find a hell iu r It ;.s for t:;ich cf ci.oice, and start leads vhere wa J forever. The law tf.tl more thu 30-.
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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Oct. 14, 1910, edition 1
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