COMMENTS, NOTES AND REVIEWS. |
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DEWEY IN OHIO. During the month of June guests of international fame were voy- agers through the State of Ohio. The peculiar features of their respective visits are deserving of permanent note, not only because of |
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the prominence which the guests occupy in the his- tory of our day, but because of the significance of the events which they represent. The first of these in time and importance was the three days' stay in Columbus, his only stop in Ohio, of Admiral George Dewey, hero of Manila, and perhaps the most illustrious figure of our genera- tion. The Admiral with his wife, secretary and servant retinue, arrived in Columbus on Wed- nesday afternoon, June 6, and for three days was the honored and delighted guest of Ohio's Capital. The weather was propitious and the streets in gala |
attire, and the period of his stay was to his party a "continuous per- formance" of banquets, dinners, receptions, parades and entertainments. Vast throngs of people, not only from the city, but all parts of the state, crowded the streets in order to catch a glimpse of the incomparable victor, who on that memorable May day morning (1898) steamed into Manila Bay and almost in the "twinkling of an eye" sunk Admiral Montojo's ten Spanish ships with hundreds of sailors to the bottom of the sea, and this too without the loss of a single American sailor and with scarcely any damage to the American vessels. The suggestive feature of the Admiral's visit was that, although he was received with the greatest courtesy and respect due his office and his unparalleled achievements in the annals of the country, there was still lacking a spon- taneity and heartiness of enthusiasm which is usually accorded to mili- tary and naval heroes by their fellow countrymen. Dewey upon his arrival in New York, in October, 1899, was greeted with perhaps the greatest demonstration of honor and pride ever accorded by any country to a national idol. His trip the past months, by invitation, extending from New York to Chicago and St. Louis, and a few cities of the South, (137) |
138 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
did not create the public outbursts that
marked his welcome upon his
return to American shores. Seldom if
ever in the story of hero worship
was a man so suddenly and so rapidly
elevated to so exalted a station in
the popular estimation of the people and
then so quickly and so sadly
lowered therefrom; upon his midday
splendor the shades of night fell
fast and he that,
Once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of
honor"
"Fell, from morn to dewy eve,
A summer's day; and with the setting
sun,
Dropped from the zenith like a falling
star."
Within a few short weeks following his
return to this country and
the receptions of unprecedented official
and popular acclaim, came his
marriage; his transfer to his already
wealthy wife of the palatial residence
that his admiring countrymen had
presented him for his own; his quix-
otical announcement of his aspiration to
the presidency without regard
to platform and no little twaddle by
himself and his better (?) half in
his behalf. In Columbus, as in Chicago,
St. Louis, and the southern
cities the crowds were great, but they
were crowds that assembled from
a common curiosity of humanity, rather
than the admiration of an
exultant populace. He was still the
Commodore of the victorious Amer-
ican fleet in Manila Bay, but his
subsequent speedy career had stripped
him of the superhuman qualities which an
impulsive and imaginative
populace is all too apt to attribute to
a popular favorite. The admiral
in his appearance surpassed his
pictorial representations and in manner
was modest, simple and unaffected. On
the first evening of his stay
he participated in an open camp-fire
under the auspices of the G. A. R.,
at the Columbus Auditorium, in the
presence of several thousand people.
Upon being introduced in fitting words
by Governor Nash, the Admiral
hesitatingly arose, looked helplessly in
the direction of his wife, who
smiled as if to encourage him, and then
in a quivering but strong voice
said: "Comrades-I would rather
enter Manila Bay tonight than face
this audience. Your honored Governor
kindly said that I was the
greatest fighter of modern times-I am
not; my wife knows that I am
not. Comrades of 1861 to 1865 I am here
to see you tonight. There
are not many of us left; whenever I see
the button of the Loyal Legion-
I wear that button-I feel like taking
the wearer by the hand and calling
him brother. The last war compared with
that war in which you and I
served was but a scrimmage. It was
nothing. I am glad to see you
and my heart is with you always. Thank
you," and bowing bashfully
as a school boy in his first piece, the
Admiral took his seat. Without
doubt the Admiral has many strong and
lovable traits of character, like
every genuine military hero he is imbued
with moral courage; unwaver-
ing love of county; sympathy for
humanity; and unassuming large-
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 139
heartedness. Many incidents occurred during his stay to evidence the gentleness of his nature and the breadth of his sympathy with the unfor- tunate and the oppressed.
THE BOERS IN OHIO. On Monday evening, June 12, but a few days after the departure of Admiral Dewey, the city for a few hours was the host, as Mr. Dooley would say, "inofficially" of two other distinguished guests, namely, |
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Messrs. Wessells and Fischer, Boer representatives of the Transvaal Republic, who are traversing this country in the hopes of eliciting sympathy and aid for the sister republic in the heart of Africa. In March the two South African Republics (Republic of South Africa and Orange Free State) addressed to the United States Government and some of the European powers, particularly Belgium, Holland and Switzerland, through their consuls at Pretoria, a request for friendly "irtervention" in behalf of their country in the unequal struggle with the British Empire. Replies from all the select |
invitees were received of the polite "compliments but regrets" order. Secretary Hay and Lord Salisbury exchanged notes in which Uncle Sam expressed "hope that a way to bring about peace might be found" but John Bull coldly intimated that the "affair" had gone too far and would have to be continued to "a finish." The Envoys then as a dernier resort turned their faces America-ward and landed in New York May 15. The two named above entered Columbus late in the evening, almost unheralded, and were escorted by a semi-self-constituted com- mittee of prominent citizens to the City Hall, where an audience of 500 or 600 gave them a half-hearty welcome as they passed up the aisle to the stage. The Mayor of the city, several councilmen and an ex-mayor spoke a few words of greeting in glittering generalities. Mr. C. W. Wessels, President of the Transvaal Volksraad, presented at some length the claims of his countrymen to the sympathy of the American people. Mr. Wessells, we were told, was a typical Boer, exceedingly tall, mus- cular build, and long, flowing patriarchial beard. He spoke with a sort of German accent, but in very good English and in a forceful and sincere manner. He gave a brief and desultory historical sketch of the South African Republic, dwelling with great emphasis upon the com- mon racial origin of the Boers and Americans; upon the fact that the early ancestry of the Boers left their native Dutch country to found a new republic in the dark continent but a few years after the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Holland to establish the American Republic on the shores of Cape Cod. He gave illustrations to show that the English had always been the oppressors of the Boers, and that they had always |
140 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
sought to obtain possession of their
lands, following them as they
moved farther inland in the hope of
securing control of the valuable
mines they were supposed to contain. He
referred to the Jameson raid
as an instance of the greed of the
British and cited other incidents in
support of his claim that Great Britain
only cared for the rich gold
mines in Africa.
"They accuse us, of illtreating the
natives," continued Mr. Wessells.
"When we settled where our
republics were founded, there were but few
natives there. They soon learned that
the Boers protected them and
then they swarmed into our villages.
Today there are three natives
to every one white man in our republics.
When the war began they
wanted to fight for us. We refused to
permit them, but had them take
care of our horses and drive our wagons.
"The Hebrews, a race of people once
noted for their bravery and
warfare, and who have now resolved
themselves into a race of money-
lenders, were also our friends, and they
are fighting side by side with
our burghers. The British say we are
mistreating the Catholics. Some
of our highest officials in Pretoria are
Catholics and the Catholic Church
owns some of the most valuable property
in the city. Instead of the
Catholics in our republics fighting
against us they have joined with us
in the war with those who claim they are
seeking to liberate them."
Mr. Wessells said that entire families,
including men 75 years of
age, children 15 years old and women and
children were engaged in the
war with the British. He said that while
they were building up their
republic the British were assembling
their soldiers from all parts of the
world at different points in South
Africa. He asked whether they had
not, therefore, done right in their
action in beginning the war, or
should they have waited until they had
been surrounded and the British
had opened the war.
"We have died for our country; we are still dying; we are
fighting
today!" said Mr. Wessells.
"Lord Roberts is in Pretoria, they say, but
the British were once in Washington, and
still they did not conquer
America. We know God will give us
liberty!"
Mr. Wessells next referred to the Boer
style of fighting. He said
they were on the defensive. When they
defeated the British they did
not press on after them and endeavor to
kill them, but stopped and held
meetings of prayer. The dying and the
wounded were cared for and
no attempt was made to follow a
successful charge.
In conclusion he said: "We want you
to tell Great Britain you
don't agree with her in her attempts to
crush the South African repub-
lics. We trust that you will do
something for us in this line, and that
your men will do something. We don't
want you to fight our battles,
but we want America to be our jury, and
if you don't find us guilty
of what we have been accused of, stop
the war. I trust that God
Almighty will show you a way to assist
us in giving us our liberty-
gaining our liberty as you did one day.
While it looks dark for us
now, we remember it is always darkest
before dawn."
Mr. A. D. Fischer, Secretary of the
Orange Free State, and a man
of apparently more culture but less
force than Mr. Wessells, followed
in a short address of similar strain.
Resolutions of sympathy for the
Boer republic and expressing "Our
hope that they may be able to
continue the present struggle until
right conquers might, until the
Boers dispel for all time England's
dream of an Empire in South
Africa," were passed by a slight
vote in their favor and no vote to
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 141
the contrary. A shade of pathetic and
almost tragic sadness was cast
over the proceedings of the of the
meeting; by the fact that only a few
short hours before the wires across the
wide waters had flashed the
news that General Roberts with the
British troops had occupied Pre-
toria, meaning that it was the beginning
of the end, for the plucky, but
all too rash, Dutch descendants in the
African republic, and that
England's star of empire was more than
ever in the ascendancy. Thus
revolve like a kaleidoscope the scenes
of history.
VATRALSKY'S TRIBUTE TO MACGAHAN.
Januarius Aloysius MacGahan was born
June 4, 1844, on a farm
three miles from New Lexington, Perry
county, Ohio. His father was
a native of County Derry, Ireland, and
his mother of mixed Irish and
German stock. When MacGahan was six
years old his father died and
the boy had a serious struggle with the
world throughout his youth
and early manhood. He was phenomenally
bright and intellectual, and
in spite of the exacting labors on the
farm, which he had to perform
in behalf of himself and his widowed
mother, he nevertheless acquired
by diligent reading and study a certain
kind of valuable education. He
absorbed all the books in the
neighborhood and what little the country
pedagogue knew, when in 1861 he applied
for the position of school
teacher in his district and was refused
because of his youth and inexper-
ience. He thereupon moved his mother's
family to Huntington,
Indiana, where he taught school for
three years, thence moving on
to St. Louis, where he began his
remarkable career as a writer and
correspondent. In December, 1868, he
went to Europe for the purpose
of perfecting himself in the foreign
languages. At the beginning of the
France- Prussian conflict he was
employed by the New York Herald
to accompany the French army and report
the course of the war. Mr.
MacGahan's ability, daring courage and
graphic descriptive powers at
once placed him in the fore rank of
modern war correspondents. His
letters were in demand by the leading
English and American journals
and he did specially bold and brilliant
work for the London News. It
was said by a contemporary writer that
"His experiences, in variety,
during the few years of foreign life,
were not probably ever equaled
by any journalist, and never did one
accomplish so much, excepting
Stanley." He witnessed the ravages
of the Commune in Paris (1870)
when he was arrested and condemned to
death, his execution being pre-
vented only through the influence of the
United States Minister Wash-
burn. He accompanied General Sherman and
party through Europe in
1871-2. In 1873, alone, he made a
perilous journey through Asia to
Khiva. In the same year he
circumnavigated the Mediterranean in a
warship and visited Cuba, Key West and
traveled extensively through
142 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
the United States. It 1874 he was with the troops of Don Carlos in the Civil War in Spain. During this service he became a prisoner of the Republican soldiers, who took him for a Carlist and would have put him to death but for the intervention of the United States minister. In 1875 he accompanied the Pandora expedition to the Arctic seas. In 1876 occurred his memorable experience with the Turkish army and his jour- ney through Bulgaria, followed the next year by his visit to St. Peters- |
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burg and subsequent accompaniment of the Russian army to Bulgaria, where he was everywhere "hailed a liberator and deliverer." Archibald Forbes, the great English war correspondent, who rode by his side, says: "The grateful and affectionate demonstrations of the people of Bulgaria towards MacGahan surpassed anything of the kind he ever saw or imagined, for the grateful people ran after him as he rode through the streets of the towns and villages of that country, kissing |
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 143
his boots, saddle, bridle, and even the
little pet horse that he rode."
Of MacGahan's services to the cause of
humanity Mr. Forbes has this
to say: "MacGahan's work in the
exposure of the Turkish atrocities
in Bulgaria, which he carried out so
thoroughly and effectively in 1876.
produced very remarkable results.
Regarded simply in its literary
merits, there is nothing I know of to
excel it in vividness, in pathos, in
burning earnestness, in a glow of
conviction that fires from the heart
to the heart. His letters stirred Mr.
Gladstone into a convulsive par-
oxism of burning revolt against the
barbarities they described. They
moved England to its very depths, and
men travelling in railway car-
riages were to be noticed with flushed
faces and moistened eyes as they
read them. Lord Beaconsfield tried to
whistle down the wind the
awful significance of the disclosures
made in those wonderful letters.
The master of jeers, jibed at, as
'coffee-house babble', the revelations
that were making the nations to throb
with indignant passion. A
British official, Mr. Walter Baring, was
sent into Bulgaria on the track
of the two Americans, MacGahan and
Schuyler, with the intent to dis-
parage their testimony by the results of
cold official investigation. But
lo! Baring, official as he was,
nevertheless was an honest man with eyes
and a heart; and he who had been sent
out on the mission to curse
MacGahan, blessed him instead
altogether, for he more than confirmed
the latter's figures and pictures of
murder, brutality and atrocity. It is
not too much to say that this Ohio boy,
who worked on a farm in his
youth and picked up his education
anyhow, changed the face of Eastern
Europe. When he began to write of the
Bulgarian atrocities, the Turk
swayed direct rule to the banks of the
Danube, and his suzerainty
stretched to the Carpathians. Now
Roumania owns no more the suze-
rainty, Servia is an independent
kingdom, Bulgaria is tributary but in
name, and Roumelia is governed, not for
the Turks, but for the Roume-
lians. All this reform is the direct and
immediate outcome of the Russo-
Turkish war.
"But what brought about the
Russo-Turkish war? What forced the
Czar, reluctant as he was and inadequately
prepared, to cross the
Danube and wage with varying fortune the
war that brought his legions
finally to the very gates of Stamboul?
The passionate, irresistible
pressure of the Pan-Slavist section of
his subjects, burning with ungov-
ernable fury against the ruthless Turk,
because of his cruelty on those
brother Slavs of Bulgaria and Roumelia;
and the man who told the
world and those Russian Slavs of those
horrors-the man whose voice
rang out clear through the
nations with its burden of wrongs and shame
and deviltry, was no illustrious
statesman, no famed literateur, but just
this young American from off the little
farm in Perry county, Ohio."
MacGahan was preparing to attend and
write up the International
Congress at Berlin, when, declining to
abandon a sick friend at Con-
stantinople, he was himself attacked
with the malignant fever that had
prostrated his friend, and died after a
few days' illness, June 9, 1878.
144 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
In the year 1884, his remains at Constantinople were disinterred and brought by the United States steamer "Powhatan" to this country. In New York city the remains lay in state for a day in the city hall, where thousands paid tribute to the honored dead. The remains were subse- quently brought to Columbus, Ohio, where again for a day they lay in state in the rotunda of the capitol building. His funeral was held Sep- tember 12, 1884, at New Lexington, Ohio. The religious exercises were conducted at St. Rose Church by Bishop John A. Watterson, who delivered an eloquent address upon the "Power and Responsibility of the Newspaper Press." The body was borne to the grave, in the little cemetery just outside of the village, attended by thousands of interested spectators, and some sixty distinguished journalists, representing all parts of the state. At the grave, after military honors, and the usual religious rites an eulogy on the life and character of J. A. MacGahan was pronounced by E. S. Colborn, a poem was read by Col. William A. Taylor and an address delivered by Hon. Silas H. Wright, on "The Office of a Newspaper Correspondent." Great interest is freshly awakened in the life and memory of Mac- Gahan by the visit to his grave, on May 19, 1900, of Stoyan Krstoff Vatralsky, a native of Bulgaria, a great admirer of MacGahan and |
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Comments, Notes and Reviews. 145
ington Court House, Mr. Vatralsky
addressed the people of Mac-
Gahan's native county in the following
brief and inexpressive words:
"I do not come here in an official
capacity; yet, in coming thus to
honor the dust of MacGahan, I am a
representative of the Bulgarian
people. We Bulgarians sincerely cherish
in the grateful niche of our
memory the name of Januarius Aloysius
MacGahan as one of the liber-
ators of our country.
"MacGahan and Eugene Schuyler,
another true American, were
Bulgaria's first friends, and at the
time she needed them most. They
not only accomplished a great work
themselves, at an opportune time,
but furthermore set in motion forces and
influences that made other
men's work more effective, thus
rendering the achievement of her lib-
eration possible. Had it not been for
these American writers, their
graphic and realistic exposure of
Bulgaria's wounds and tears to the
world, there would have been no
Gladstonian thunder; no European
consternation; no Russo-Turkish war; no
free Bulgaria. It was the
American pen that drove the Russian
sword to action.
"Although he died at the early age
of thirty-four, MacGahan's life
was far from being either brief or in
vain. Measured not by years but
by achievements, he lived a long life.
Long enough to set history to the
task of writing his name among the
world's illustrious; among the great
journalists, philanthropists and
liberators of whole races. And I venture
to predict that in the future his merits
shall be more universally, more
adequately recognized than hitherto.
Bulgaria and Ohio must and will
yet do what becomes them as enlightened
states. Some of you, as I
hope, shall live to see a suitable
memorial marking his resting place.
Yet even now MacGahan has a prouder
monument than most historic
heroes-his monument is independent
Bulgaria. His name illumines
the pages of Bulgarian history, and his
cherished name is graven deep
in the heart of a rising race; and there
it shall endure forever."
After this meeting Mr. Vatralsky visited
the burial place of the great
American Journalist and after strewing
flowers upon the unmarked
grave, laid the following original ode
upon the mound:
TO JANUARIUS ALOYSIUS MACGAHAN.
A pilgrim from the ends of earth I come
To kneel devoutly at your lowly tomb;
To own our debt, we never can repay;
To sigh my gratitude, thank God and pray;
To bless your name, and bless your name-
For this I came.
No marble shaft denotes your resting
place;
Yet God has raised memorial to your
work
Of grateful hearts that stir a rising
race,
No longer subject to the fiendish Turk.
Vol. IX-10.
146 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Your years, though few, to shield the weak you spent; Your life, though brief, accomplished its intent: All diplomatic shylocks, bloody Turks, despite, 'Twas not in vain the Lord gave you a pen to write; Your Pen was followed by the Russian Sword, Driven by force that you yourself called forth; So came the dauntless warriors of the North, And bondsmen were to freedom sweet restored.
Though still unmarked your verdant bed, rest you content: Bulgaria is free-behold your monument! Stoyan Krstoff Vatralsky. |
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In a personal conversation with the writer, Mr. Vatralsky spoke in the most touching and pathetic terms of MacGahan, whom he declared was regarded in the country of Bulgaria in the same light as is Wash- ington by the American, Lincoln by the Afro-American and Kosciusko by Poland. It is the aim and ambition of Mr. Vatralsky to inaugurate a movement that will bring about a fitting monument over the remains of MacGahan. He proposes to arouse the interest of his countrymen in this project and since his visit to New Lexington, he presented his plans to President McKinley at Washington, and as the result of that conference he writes: "I came to Washington for the purpose of interesting President McKinley in the MacGahan monument project; but, as was to be |
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 147
expected of so enlightened and so public
spirited a man, who is as proud
of his native state as she is proud of
him; who glories in her distin-
guished sons in whose galaxy he
constitutes so conspicuous a member, I
found him only too glad to co-operate
with any wise movement to that
laudable end. He furthermore called my
attention to one of his speeches
(delivered at the banquet of the Ohio
Republican League at Columbus,
February 12, 1892), which contains the
following superb passage:
"'In journalism she (Ohio) has been
conspicuous. The Bulgarian
liberator, as he is called, whose fame
as correspondent is international,
whose life was a chivalrous romance,
whose pen was weighted with
power and might, the heroic MacGahan,
was a Buckeye boy. His
body, transferred from the ancient seat
of Eastern empire, now rests
among the rugged hills of his native
county of Perry, where he spent
his boyhood.'
"All this is beautifully true, as
only the eloquent lips of William
McKinley can utter it. But it is not to
the credit of any of us that the
grave of this Ohio youth, whose name and
achievements have added
glory to the name American, lustre to
journalistic enterprise and dignity
to the race of man, should remain still
unmarked. His native state is
justly proud of him as one of her most
distinguished sons, and Bulgaria
is sincerely grateful to him as one of
her greatest benefactors; it would
be in accordance with public sentiment,
therefore, as well as a befitting
and handsome recognition of MacGahan's
high merits, should Ohio and
Bulgaria, assisted by the press, whose
profession the hero adorned.
unite their talent and material
contributions in erecting him a becoming
memorial."
The editor of the Quarterly has arranged
with Mr. Vatralsky for
the publication, in a future number, of
a complete account from his
pen of the services which MacGahan
rendered to the cause of humanity,
a work which aroused the world to action
over the Turkish atrocities,
which instigated the Russo-Turkish war
and resulted in the independence
of Bulgaria.
BOOK REVIEWS.
"RECOLLECTIONS OF A LIFE
TIME." Roeliff Brinkerhoff; pp. 448,
illustrated. The Robert Clark Company,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Few books of so purely a personal nature
as this of General Brink-
erhoff's have been issued lately that
contain so much of interest to the
ordinary reader. General Brinkerhoff in
the most unpretentious manner,
but in a very delightful, easy and
fluent style, has recounted the story of
his life, which spans the period of the
last three quarters of the present
eventful century. Not only is the book
most entertainingly written, but
it is replete with wise and lightful
comments upon events and persons
and with profitable philosophical
thoughts upon life in its various
148 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
phases. In his boyhood General
Brinkerhoff was a tutor for some
years at the Hermitage, the home of
Andrew Jackson, whose grand-
children became the pupils of General
Brinkerhoff; he therefore saw and
studied thus early the awful system of
human slavery. He makes this
reflection concerning the effect it
produced upon the two races. "The
truth is, the negro race, in the
compulsory school of slavery, has been
elevated to a plane of civiliaztion
higher than it has ever attained else-
where in the world's history, and now
that the negro has graduated
into freedom and full citizenship, the
hope of his future lies in the
training and discipline he received in
bondage as much as anything we
can do for him now. In fact, without
that preliminary training, he
could do but very little, or at the best
nothing more, than has been done
in Africa.
"Slavery to the negro was a
civilizer, and undoubtedly elevated him
far above his previous condition of
savagery, but to the whites, as a
whole, it was a great curse in almost
every direction. It corrupted
morals, degraded labor, stifled
enterprise and so handicapped the indus-
trial development of the South, that
with all its superior advantages by
nature, it steadily fell behind its
northern competitors."
Of the anti and pro-slavery sides he has
this to say: "The Abolition-
ists of the North and the fire-eaters of
the South were simply fanatics of
the most ultra type, and each of these
parties was an injury to the cause
they championed rather than a help. They
doubtless were honest men,
and self-sacrificing, but they had no
charity for each other, and were
utterly oblivious to the fact that there
are usually two sides to every
question and that truth usually lies
between two extremes. My exper-
ience in life is that the most dangerous
man is a wrong-headed, strong-
headed, honest man. Philip II in burning
Protestants, Calvin in burn-
ing Servetus, Cotton Mather, in burning old
women as witches, were
honest men, and no doubt thought they
were doing God's service, but
nevertheless they were very cruel and
very much mistaken."
The General enjoyed rare opportunities
of acquaintance with many
of the most distinguished men who
figured on the political stage of the
last fifty years. Among his close
friends were Salmon P. Chase,
James G. Blaine; James A. Garfield;
Rutherford B. Hayes, Horace
Greeley, Samuel J. Tilden, Senator John
Sherman, Roscoe Conkling
and many others equally prominent. Of
Mr. Chase he says: "Salmon
P. Chase was the logical candidate of
the Republicans for President in
1860, and he would have been the
candidate except for the opposition
of the old Whig element in the
Republican party in Ohio under the
leadership of Mr. Corwin.
Intellectually, Mr. Chase was the superior
of Mr. Lincoln, but he was not a popular
leader, and lacked that
matchless political sagacity so
conspicuous in Mr. Lincoln, and which
was so indispensable to a pilot of the
ship of state in the stormy years
of the Great Rebellion. The only
weakness I ever detected in Chase was
the infatuation of his later years to be
president, and I always thought
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 149
that arose more from a desire to gratify
the ambition of his daughter
rather than his own. Upon this subject
he seemed to be unable to see,
what every well-informed person could
not help seeing, that the pres-
idency to him was impossible."
General Brinkerhoff was one of the early
and staunch advocates of
Abolition and was a delegate to the
Pittsburg Convention, held February
22, 1856, at which the Republican party
as a national organization,
came into existence and which convention
arranged for the later national
convention for the nomination of
candidates for President and Vice
President, and which convention met on
June 17, 1856, at Philadelphia.
At the Pittsburg convention Mr.
Brinkerhoff formed the acquaintance
of William Dennison, afterwards Governor
of Ohio and postmaster-
general in the cabinet of President
Lincoln. Of Mr. Dennison he says:
"Mr. Dennison was not a great man,
but he was an accomplished gen-
tleman, and a reliable and efficient
executive officer. His ability as Gov-
ernor of Ohio at the opening of the war
was everywhere recognized,
and gave him a national reputation, and
made him postmaster-general
upon the retirement of Montgomery Blair
from Mr. Lincoln's cabinet."
At the outbreak of the Rebellion General
Brinkerhoff was appointed
first lieutenant of the 61st O. V. I. He
was subsequently commissioned
as Captain and Assistant Quartermaster
in the United States army, but
he did not continue in active service
throughout the war, as ill health
made it necessary for him to return to
the North, and he does not,
in his memoirs, attempt to give any
recital of the civil conflict.
The author gives a very graphic account
of the assassination of
President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre of
which he was an eye witness.
General Brinkerhoff after the war failed
of an appointment as minister
to the Netherlands, and commenting
thereon says: "I was not seriously
disappointed, and have long since been
satisfied that it was a blessing
that I failed, and I have never desired
nor sought public office since,
and I have not yet reached a point where
I would be willing to accept
any office to which a salary is
attached. The truth is, that public life
in the United States, as now
conditioned, is so evanescent, and public
service is so poorly paid, that a
competent man, unless already inde-
pendently rich, cannot afford to enter
it, except as a duty, and at a
sacrifice, which troublesome times may
require. The result is, our
civil service in all departments is
crippled by incompetents, and must
remain far below its possibilities,
until character and capacity, instead
of political activity, shall be the sole
requirements in all departments
of the public service which are purely
administrative, and tenure in such
positions shall be during good behavior.
I have faith to believe that the
time is not distant when the American
people will demand such a condi-
tion of our civil service, and I hope to
live long enough to see it fairly
inaugurated. In our legislative
department, where, in the nature of
things, politics must be in the
ascendant, I see no great promise of
large improvement, except in the general
improvement of our people in
150 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
intelligence and virtue. A democracy is
the best government in the
world for the masses of men so long as a
fair working majority of
citizens are intelligent and honest but
when these fail the proverbial
"man on horseback" is not far
off, and the quicker he comes the better.
I am an optimist by nature, and possibly
I may be too sanguine as to
our future, but I have an abiding faith
in the American people. They
are liable to imposition, and are, more
or less, the prey of demagogues,
but when matters become so serious as to
threaten public order, or the
liberties of the people, so that action
is indispensable, the average
American is as true to the right as the
needle to the pole. Our danger
now is not from Americans, but from
foreigners, and I believe the
average American begins to see this
fact, and when he does see it fully
a remedy will be found. At least let us
hope so."
The General gives some very interesting
incidents of the political
methods of James G. Blaine of whom and
of Garfield he says: "I had
been told in Maine that Mr. Blaine was
slippery and I am sorry to say
that I am convinced that they told me
the truth. Blaine was a very able
man, and wonderfully attractive, but,
when the highest test of character
came, he was 'slippery.' Garfield was a
greater man and a better
man, but unfortunately, he lacked the
stamina to stand up against polit-
ical pressure. Left to himself, all of
his instincts were for the right,
but against pressure he was weak as
water. If Garfield had lived to a
second term, so as to be beyond the fear
of party pressure, he would
have been a great President, I think;
but, unfortunately, the opportunity
was denied him, and his defect of
character in all probability caused his
assassination.
"Roscoe Conklin I knew from his
youth upwards. We were boys
together at the Auburn Academy, and I
knew every phase of his mental
and moral make-up. He was strong where
Garfield was weak, and when
Garfield failed him he exploded like a
bomb, and the consequences are
a matter of history. They were both
great men, but they both had a fatal
weakness. However, 'we are all miserable
sinners,' and I drop the
curtain upon them both, and upon Blaine
also. Of all the statesmen I
have intimately known, and of whom I
have written in these memoirs,
Salmon P. Chase was the noblest. He had
his weakness, but his weak-
ness was of the head and not of the
heart. I try to be charitable to all,
as I hope others will be charitable to
me.
"In the senate, Roscoe Conkling was
one of the bravest. I rarely
agreed with him, but I knew where to
find him. He was as imperious
as Caesar, and as proud as Lucifer, but
he was true to his word, and
he never abandoned a friend to save
himself."
General Brinkerhoff devotes a large
portion of one of the chapters
to the origin and history of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, of which he was the progenitor
and is now the President. He
called the initial meeting for the
purpose of organizing the society,
which convened at Mansfield on the first
of September, 1875, some fifty
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 151
members being present, representing the
leading archaeologists and
scholars of the state. The conference
continued for two days, resulting
in the formation of "The State
Archaeological Association of Ohio."
General Brinkerhoff was elected
President. In 1876 the General Assem-
bly made an appropriation of $2,500.00
to enable this Association to make
an archaeological exhibit at the
Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia,
and in which Ohio eclipsed all other states,
and was second only to the
Smithsonian collection made by the
United States government. In 1885
this association was reorganized and
incorporated (13th of March) as
"The Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society." In February,
1893, following the death of President
Hayes, General Brinkerhoff was
elected President of the Society and has
since been annually elected.
At a banquet in Columbus, February,
1891, of the Ohio Archaeological
and Historical Society, General
Brinkerhoff was put upon the program
to respond to the toast "Ohio at
the Columbian Exposition." He had
had no time for preparation, but being
the last speaker upon the list,
bethought himself of some proper way in
which Ohio could be repre-
sented at the coming world's great fair.
He thought of her many distin-
guished sons and the project occurred to
him of erecting upon the
exposition grounds a statue which might
subsequently be removed to
Columbus, the statue to be a symbolical
figure of Ohio. This sugges-
tion was: "That Ohio should be
represented at the fair by a group of
statuary, in the center of which should
be a noble matron to represent
Ohio, and around her should be such
children as Grant, Sherman,
Sheridan, Chase, Stanton and Garfield;
and then upon the pedestal
shall be engraved the proud utterance of
Cornelia, the "Mother of the
Gracchi," "These are my
jewels." A resolution was unanimously
adopted recommending the legislature to
adopt the suggestion, and
appropriate the funds necessary to have
it put in granite and bronze.
Later on this idea was carried into
effect and that splendid statue now
stands in the State House yard, the
figure of General Hayes having
been added to the number.
For the last twenty-five years General
Brinkerhoff has devoted nearly
all of his time and energy and much of
his means to charitable and
philanthropic work. For many years he
has been a member of the Ohio
State Board of Charities, and has taken
a most prominent and influential
part in Prison Reform and been President
of the National Prison Con-
gress and of its National Association,
and also at various times
been at the head of the National
Association for the promotion of Char-
itable Institutions.
The final chapter of General
Brinkerhoff's book gives his religious
views and shows him to be as strong in
the orthodox Christian faith as
were his forefathers. This book is
certainly one that will merit wide
reading, not only because of its large
amount of valuable information
which it imparts in a pleasing narrative
way, indeed at times in rollick-
152 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
ingly gossipy way, but because of the
healthy, stimulative and patriotic
sentiments which pervade every page.
"SLAVERY AND FOUR YEARS OF
WAR." Joseph Warren Keifer. 2 Vol.
pp. 676. Illustrated. G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York and London.
The first chapter, comprising some 150
pages, is devoted to the
history of slavery from the time of its
introduction into the American
colonies to its final extinction under
the Emancipation Proclamation
We do not know of a more complete or
concise presentation of the
terribly interesting theme, negro
slavery in America in its political, legal
and social aspects than is here
presented by General Keifer. This
feature of the work alone makes it a
valuable one to the general reader.
The author's participation in the Civil
War was an important and
prominent one. He enlisted as a private
soldier on April 27, 1861, was
mustered out as a brevet major-general
of volunteers on June 27, 1865.
He saw active service in Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
Georgia, West Virginia, Maryland and
other states. He was in many
of the great battles which he describes
in detail. He was four times
wounded. He received his promotion from
the ranks to the generalship
for gallant and distinguished services
during the campaign, ending
with the surrender of the Insurgent army
under General R. E. Lee."
The regiments under his command were the
110th, 122nd and 126th
Ohio; 67th and 138th Pennsylvania; 6th
Maryland and 9th New York
heavy artillery. The loss which his
soldiers sustained were, killed on
the field, 54 officers and 812 enlisted
men; wounded, 101 officers and
2,410 enlisted men; aggregate, 3,377,
only six less than the killed and
wounded under Scott and Taylor in their
conquest of Mexico (1846 to
1848), and more than the like casualties
under the direct command of
Washington in the Revolutionary War from
Lexington to Yorktown."
The General's narrative of the war is
that of a personal nature, a
sort of continuous diary, rather than
the scholarly and critical work of
the historian. He is not a word painter,
but he writes in a simple,
clear and forceful manner, but to those
who take any interest in the
recital of the story of the great
rebellion, and particularly to those
who participated in the events which
came under his observation, the
work cannot fail to be both attractive
and instructive.
General Keifer's work is noticeable for
one thing, and that is its
creditable absence of bitter criticism
of his superiors or contempo-
raries. He is fair and just to all
associates. Always loyal to the situation
and the occasion, rather than fault
finding and captious. Indeed he
deals all too briefly with some of the
mole famous personages with
whom he served or came in contact. Some
of his impressions of other
generals are worthy of note,
particularly that of General Sheridan, of
whom he says: "Sheridan seemed
restless, nervous and petulant. He
was short of stature, especially broad
across the shoulders, with legs
Comments, Notes and
Reviews. 153
rather short even for his height. His
head was quite large, nose
prominent, eyes full; he had a strong
face and was of a cheerful, social
disposition, rather than retiring and
taciturn. Irish characteristics pre-
dominated in him, and when not on duty,
he was disposed to be rollick-
ing and free and easy. He was not hard
to approach by his inferiors, but
he was not always discriminating in the
language he used to them. He
did not seem to be a deliberate thinker
or reasoner, and often gave
the impression that his decisions or
opinions were off-hand and not the
result of reflection. In the quiet of
camp he seemed to be less able to
combine or plan great movements than in
emergencies on the field.
In a battle he often showed the
excitement of his impetuous nature,
but he never lost his head or showed any
disposition save to push the
enemy. There are some opinions formed
after seeing him in several
great battles and knowing him personally
in all the later years of his
life, it remains to say that he was an
honest man, and devotedly loyal
to his friends."
The General's chapter on his boyhood
pursuits and studies is good
reading for any American boy, as
illustrating how early hard work
later makes the strong, vigorous and
self-reliant man.
Personal reminiscences of Lincoln are
always interesting and worthy
of preservation. General Keifer says:
"At Springfield, Illinois, I
saw and heard in February, 1858, before
the Supreme Court, an ungainly
appearing man, called Abe Lincoln. He
was arguing the application of
a statute of limitations to a defective
tax title to land. He talked very
much in a conversational way to the
judges, and they gave attention,
and in a Socratic way the discussion
went on. I did not see anything
to specially attract attention to Mr.
Lincoln, save that he was awkward,
ungainly in build, more than plain in
features and dress, his clothes not
fitting him, his trousers being several
inches too short, exposing a
long, large, unshapely foot, roughly
clad. But he was even then, by
those who knew him best, regarded as
intellectually and professionally
a great man. When I next saw him (March
25, 1865, twenty days
before his martyrdom) he looked much the
same, except better dressed.
though he was then President of the
United States and commander-in-
chief of its army and navy. He appeared
on both occasions a sad man,
thoughtful and serious. The last time I
saw him he was watching the
result of an assault on the enemy's
outer line of works from Fort
Fisher in front of Petersburg, the day
Fort Stedman was carried and
held for a time by the
Confederates."
General Keifer had a conspicuous career
in Congress, being a mem-
ber of the 45th, 46th, 47th and 48th
Congresses, ending March 4, 1885,
and covering the administrations of
President Hayes, Garfield and
Arthur. He was speaker of the 47th
Congress, being elected over such
distinguished competitors as Mr. Reed of
Maine, Mr. Burrows, of Mich-
igan, and Mr. Hiscock, of New York. In
speaking of this Congress
Mr. Keifer pays the following tribute to
Messrs. Blaine and Conkling:
154 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
"Mr. Blaine was too inordinately
ambitious and jealous of power to
patiently bide his time, and Mr.
Conkling was too imperious and venge-
ful to tolerate, through his political
friends, fair treatment of his
supposed enemies. Mr. Conkling was a man
of honesty and sincerity,
true to his friends to a degree, of
overtowering intellect, with marvel-
ous industry. Notwithstanding his many
unfortunate traits of character,
Mr. Conkling was a great man.
"Mr. Blaine was essentially a
politician, and possessed of a vaulting
and consuming ambition, and was jealous
of even his would-be personal
and political friends. Mr. Conkling
advised some of his friends in Con-
gress to support me for Speaker, as did
also his former senatorial
colleague, Mr. Platt, of New York. The
members from New York
state, however, though many of them were
followers of Mr. Conkling,
unitedly supported Mr. Hiscock until the
latter decided, during the
caucus, himself to vote for me. Mr.
Blaine, though to me personally
professing warm friendship, held secret
meetings at the State Depart-
ment and at his house to devise methods
of preventing my election. He
had been a member, for many terms, of
the House, and thrice its
Speaker, had been a Senator, and for a
few months Secretary of State
under Presidents Garfield and Arthur. He
had an extended acquaintance
and many enthusiastic friends. He lacked
breadth and strength of learn-
ing, as well as sincerity of character.
He, however, came near being
a great man, especially in public,
popular estimation."
The final chapter of the General's work
is devoted to a brief resume
of the late Spanish war, in which he
served as a major-general of the
American volunteers.
His position in the American troops was
illustrative and indicative
of the united loyalty of both the North
and the South in the New Era
of the war for common humanity. General
Keifer's ranking com-
mander was General Fitzhugh Lee and in
Keifer's division there were
southern troops--1st and 2nd Louisiana,
1st and 2nd Alabama and 1st
and 2nd Texas. Some of these regiments
and many of the companies
were commanded by ex-Confederate
officers. It was a literal and har-
monious blending of the blue and the
gray in the cause of the Red,
White and Blue. That Spanish-American
war of 114 days was mem-
orable, not only for its brevity, but a
stupendous victory at a minimum
loss on the American side, of which
General Keifer gives the following
summary: "The total casualties in
battle during the war, in our navy,
were 17 killed and 67 wounded (no naval
officer injured); and in our army,
23 officers and 257 men killed, and 113
officers and 1,464 men wounded;
grand total, 297 killed and 1,644
wounded, of all arms of the service.
The deaths from disease and causes other
than battle, in camps and
at sea, were 80 officers and 2,485
enlisted men. Many died at their
homes of disease, some of wounds."
General Keifer's work is a valuable
contribution to American history,
and the literature concerning the great
Rebellion.
COMMENTS, NOTES AND REVIEWS. |
|
DEWEY IN OHIO. During the month of June guests of international fame were voy- agers through the State of Ohio. The peculiar features of their respective visits are deserving of permanent note, not only because of |
|
the prominence which the guests occupy in the his- tory of our day, but because of the significance of the events which they represent. The first of these in time and importance was the three days' stay in Columbus, his only stop in Ohio, of Admiral George Dewey, hero of Manila, and perhaps the most illustrious figure of our genera- tion. The Admiral with his wife, secretary and servant retinue, arrived in Columbus on Wed- nesday afternoon, June 6, and for three days was the honored and delighted guest of Ohio's Capital. The weather was propitious and the streets in gala |
attire, and the period of his stay was to his party a "continuous per- formance" of banquets, dinners, receptions, parades and entertainments. Vast throngs of people, not only from the city, but all parts of the state, crowded the streets in order to catch a glimpse of the incomparable victor, who on that memorable May day morning (1898) steamed into Manila Bay and almost in the "twinkling of an eye" sunk Admiral Montojo's ten Spanish ships with hundreds of sailors to the bottom of the sea, and this too without the loss of a single American sailor and with scarcely any damage to the American vessels. The suggestive feature of the Admiral's visit was that, although he was received with the greatest courtesy and respect due his office and his unparalleled achievements in the annals of the country, there was still lacking a spon- taneity and heartiness of enthusiasm which is usually accorded to mili- tary and naval heroes by their fellow countrymen. Dewey upon his arrival in New York, in October, 1899, was greeted with perhaps the greatest demonstration of honor and pride ever accorded by any country to a national idol. His trip the past months, by invitation, extending from New York to Chicago and St. Louis, and a few cities of the South, (137) |