Memoirs of Orange Jacobs Part 7

"Notwithstanding the earnestness and boldness of Mr. Garfield's utterances, everybody was his friend. They gave him credit for honesty, and sincerity. So sure it is that these qualities always command our respect, if they do not excite our admiration.

"The sterling qualities which I have briefly mentioned, together with his known and accepted position on the great public questions of the day, secured Mr. Garfield's nomination to the Presidency at the National Convention, which met at Chicago on the 2nd day of June, A. D. 1880. His compet.i.tor, as all know, was a patriotic and ill.u.s.trious Union General. The contest was remarkable for its thoroughness and intensity in the doubtful States, but Mr. Garfield was clearly and fairly elected, and on the 4th of March last, was duly inaugurated. He entered on the discharge of his duties as President under the most auspicious circ.u.mstances. We were at peace with all the world. The wounds of the war had been healed, and the work of reconciliation had fairly been accomplished. Prosperity reigned supreme; the good time had come and the people rejoiced. Menaced by no external power and free from domestic dissensions, he could turn his entire attention to the internal machinery of government. He determined to distinguish his term of office by its purity of administration, and its economy of expenditures. Only four months was he at the helm, but his achievements in that time will be remembered long, and bless the land for years. In that brief time he routed the army of contracting thieves from their entrenched position in the postoffice department, and established a standard of official integrity and honor that carried dismay to the spoils-hunter and dishonest official. But just as he had fully gathered the reins of government in his hands, and sent forth the uncompromising demand for honesty and integrity from all officials, and while preparing to enforce that demand, the a.s.sa.s.sin's bullet paralyzed his power and arrested the much-needed work of reform. That he made mistakes may be conceded, for all human judgments are imperfect; but the cold and pa.s.sionless voice of history, though it may find fault or flaw, will more than satisfy those who loved him most, and will place his name among the highest and purest in the list of human rulers.

"In contemplation of the solid and brilliant abilities of a great man, we often lose sight of those qualities that endear him to friends, and to the loved ones around the home circle.

Man may possess transcendant genius, and be the idol of the populace, and yet be selfish, unsocial and cruel at home.

Towering ambition may, and sometimes does, subordinate the love of wife, of children, and of parents, to its gratification. Such was not the case with Garfield. His home was his retreat from the storms and battles of life, where love reigned supreme. The telegram dictated by himself to his wife on the 2nd of July last, just after the fatal shot, was full of the holy felicities of domestic life. Mrs. Garfield was in Elberton, where the President finally died. The telegram read: 'The President wishes me to say to you for him, that he has been seriously hurt, how seriously he cannot say. He is himself in hopes you will come to him soon. He sends love to you.'

"The voice of ambition was hushed. The counsel and a.s.sociation of a statesman was subordinated to the presence and society of the loving and faithful wife; and how touching has been her devotion; how grand and n.o.ble her fort.i.tude in that trying hour!

Some one has truthfully said that there are but three words of beauty in the English language, and they are: 'Mother, Home, Heaven.' All know that the love and affection of our dead President for his aged mother, who by the cruel shot of the a.s.sa.s.sin, will be the chief mourner at the grave of her dear boy. These are the qualities, more than the brilliant display on the rostrum, in the forum or before enraptured thousands, that give the full measure of a n.o.ble manhood. This display may co-exist with selfishness and meanness; love and affection sanctify the n.o.blest gifts and the loftiest aspirations.

"No account of Mr. Garfield's character would be full and complete without a statement of his deep and fervent religious convictions.

"No man with his breadth of knowledge, with his complete mastery of the processes of induction and a.n.a.lysis, and with his metephysical character of mind, could ever be a disbeliever in the existence of G.o.d and the immortality of man. Hence we find him a member of a Christian Church and a regular attendant upon its services. The problem of human origin and human destiny early engaged his thoughts, and secured his profound consideration. He _believed_, and endeavored to regulate his conduct, habits, and life by Divine laws.

"In conclusion let me say, the hero statesman of this age, and the loved idol of this nation, has gone down to an honored grave. He died in the zenith of his reputation and glory, after a struggle which has held the admiration of the world for his heroism and manhood. He lived long enough after the fatal shot to feel the sympathy of the nation, and the deep indignation of the people, at the manner of his taking-off. He has gone to the still heights where crime and pain come not. A nation mourns his loss, and millions of freeman now and hereafter will revere his virtues and guard his fame.

"Though dead in the flesh he lives in the spirit, and in the affections and memory of his countrymen.

"The principles and lessons he taught are his best legacy to his country.

"His memory will never die until time shall be no more. The tears of a sorrowing people will water the sod that covers the remains of their loved magistrate; and from every blade of gra.s.s that grows, and from the leaf of every flower that blooms upon his grave, an avenging spirit shall arise to demand requital for the d.a.m.nation of his taking-off. Then at the grave of the great departed, let us tender anew our vows of fidelity to our country and to freedom, and consecrate every wish and aspiration of our hearts to an undivided and free Republic, remembering that though Presidents may die our country must and shall live forever. 'G.o.d reigns, and the Government, at Was.h.i.+ngton still lives.'"

When I had finished speaking the chairman introduced Rev. George Herbert Watson, whose address was very sympathetic and scholarly as well as impressive. The chairman next introduced the Honorable William H. White, whose address was brief, earnest, patriotic and eloquent.

Political and Not Party Convictions

I have always been of the opinion, and have so declared in public speeches and newspaper articles, that the true policy of the Pacific Coast was the division of its area into small States. I will give but a few of the many reasons for such opinion, for I do not intend to go elaborately into a statement of them. The time for effective action has pa.s.sed. I desire to state only enough to show the trend of my views on the subject.

First, then, as to the lower house of Congress. The area of the three states bordering on the Pacific Ocean--California, Oregon and Was.h.i.+ngton--is fully one-half covered by mountains. The sides of these mountains are to a certain extent covered with a heavy growth of timber and with practically impa.s.sable canyons; their ridges sharp, gravelly and sterile, with fertile coves and small valleys as yet unoccupied by either the hunter or the hardy woodsman. Many cycles of years will roll away before these fertile spots will be occupied with the romantic homes of these last-named cla.s.ses.

The Atlantic Coast in the same number of degrees of lat.i.tude, commencing at the forty-fifth degree on the coast of Maine and proceeding south for sixteen degrees, is covered to some extent with mountains; but as a general rule they are low as compared with our ranges. Much of the land on their slopes is rich and accessible, and all of their fertile slopes, coves and small valleys have been long since occupied.

I state these facts to show that in addition to natural causes the States bordering on the Atlantic in the same number of degrees of north lat.i.tude, as will more fully appear, must continue to have the dominating power in the lower house of Congress. The three States bordering on the Pacific Ocean extend over sixteen degrees of north lat.i.tude. Commencing at the 45th degree in Maine and going south sixteen degrees, thirteen States border on the Atlantic. These thirteen States have a representation in the lower house of Congress of 103 members; while the three States bordering on the Pacific have a representation of fourteen members. Thus it is manifest that for many years to come, and possibly forever, with a slowly-diminis.h.i.+ng power, the Atlantic will have the control on all subjects of tariff, of finance, of currency and of immigration; subjects in which the Pacific Coast is deeply interested, and upon some of which there is not only an actual, but growing conflict of interests and convictions. Add to this the further fact that Was.h.i.+ngton and Oregon extend inland for over four hundred and fifty miles, and California on an average of two hundred and fifty miles, and, applying the same rule of inland extension to the Atlantic Coast, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with their thirty Representatives, would be let in and added to the 103; thus giving to the Atlantic Coast permanent control of all those vital subjects of legislation, so far at least, as the lower house of Congress is concerned. It will thus be seen that a fatal mistake has been made in the political division of the Pacific Coast. I have confined myself strictly to the Ocean-bordering states. The great Inland Empire, lying between the Rocky Mountains on the west and the Alleghany Range on the east, is more intimately and strongly connected by commercial and financial ties with the Atlantic than with the Pacific Coast. As a partial compensation for this inevitable want of political power in the lower house of Congress, it was the true policy, as I have declared, for the Pacific Coast to divide its immense territorial area into small States, so as to secure in the United States Senate, an approach to equality of political power. We have seen that within sixteen degrees of north lat.i.tude on the Atlantic Coast there are thirteen States, bordering on the ocean, with twenty-six Senators; while on the Pacific Coast in the same number of degrees of lat.i.tude there are but three States, with only six Senators. California should have been divided into three States; Oregon, into three States; and Was.h.i.+ngton into three States. This would give only nine States in a far greater territorial area than that contained in the thirteen States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. Even then, this would give us only eighteen Senators; but it would be a nearer approach to equality in political power than now.

The question may be asked: Are there no means by which this fatal mistake may now be remedied? As a lawyer, and being somewhat acquainted with the history of my country, I am compelled to answer, No.

On the admission of a State into the Union, there is an implied compact on the part of the Federal Government to defend such admitted State against all unlawful invasion of its territory. If there be a dispute about boundaries, it must be settled in the proper Court, and the final decree of that Court will be enforced by all the power of the Federal Government.

Again, the possession of power is always connected with the desire to perpetuate it, and also with a sensitive jealousy of all measures having a tendency to diminish its controlling effectiveness, or to lessen the value of the units const.i.tuting that power. The admission of every State has, to some extent, this effect; hence the demands are more exacting, and the admission more difficult, now, than heretofore.

There has been but one instance in our history where a State has been divided, and the segregated portion been admitted into the Union as a State; and that is the case of West Virginia; but that admission was based on facts and conditions which every patriot hopes may never occur again. Virginia not only claimed the right peaceably to secede from the Union but to be the sole and exclusive judge not only of the existence, but also, of the sufficiency of the causes, to warrant such secession.

She did all she could to make that secession effective. Old Virginia had by her act, and by her theory of the nature of the Government under the Const.i.tution, estopped herself to deny that the forty-eight counties west of the Alleghany Range possessed the same right of secession--if any such right existed--that she possessed herself; she could therefore make no rightful objection. The people of the forty-eight counties were loyal to the Federal Government, and flag. They called a Convention, adopted a Const.i.tution republican in form which was approved by nearly unanimous vote of its legal electors--28,321 for and only 572 against--and under that Const.i.tution, with the name of West Virginia they were admitted into the Union on December 31st, 1862. This was done partly as a war measure, and partly to show the disintegrating effect of the logic of secession.

The State of Texas requires a brief notice. She was admitted into the Union as a State on December 29th, 1845. By the prudential foresight of her statesmen, in a compact entered into between her and the Federal Government, she reserved the right to form four additional States out of her large area. She has not as yet exercised that right, but no doubt will in due time; thus securing ten Senators, while the whole Pacific Coast, with almost twice her territorial area, has fixed its number irrevocably at six.

The Ram's Horn Incident

Esau sold his birthright, with all that it implied, for a mess of pottage. Infant communities, whether territorial or munic.i.p.al, feeling the pressure of present want, are always tempted by money-sharks to mortgage, sell, or surrender, for a mere song, rights and franchises of a constantly increasing income, and relinquish political power necessary for a legitimate a.s.sertion and protection of their rights in years to come. A striking exemplification of this short-sightedness appears in what is said above as to the formation of only three States to cover the whole Pacific Coast. The supplicant for this birthright, and all its prospective enormous income, finds his most congenial and hospitable host in a munic.i.p.al legislature. He is usually, but not always, accompanied by the fascinating Miss Graftis.

There are two cases in our munic.i.p.al history that I will briefly note as ill.u.s.trations of this tendency. In neither, so far as I know and believe, was there any graft. In both I was to some extent officially connected; in the Rams-Horn case painfully so; in the Railroad Avenue case simply as an officer and protestant. Many years ago--the dates are not important--the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company asked the City Council of Seattle for the grant of a right-of-way for a railroad track down and over West Street. This was the historic Ram's-Horn. I and a few others opposed the grant. The City Council hesitated. Its members desired the approval of the grant by the people, and especially by the lot-owners along the street, before they acted. A meeting was called at the Pavilion to secure, if possible, such approval. The meeting was fairly attended. Mr. James McNaught, a shrewd and able man and lawyer, was attorney for the Company. He read the proposed ordinance and explained its provisions, and then, with a glowing eulogy on the advantages of a railroad, closed amid the vociferous applause of the audience. I arose to oppose the grant; but as there was a continuous and determined cry of "Vote!" "Vote!" "Vote!" "Vote!" I resumed my seat. The proposed ordinance was approved by about a two-thirds vote of those present, and the City Council speedily enacted it into law. The Railroad Company built its road from the south end of the town and laid its track down to Columbia Street; there it stopped, to await the result of certain condemnation proceedings. The wearers of the shoe, although voting for its purchase, soon felt its pinch, and they wanted compensation for its pain. The Company threatened to go across Columbia Street. It was stopped by a judicial restraining order. Having been elected Corporation Counsel, I came into the case a short time before the hearing on the motion made by the Company for the vacation of this order. The former legal adviser of the City, and who had commenced the suit, I asked to continue in the case and to argue the pending motion.

He did so, and made a technical and very ingenious argument against the validity of the grant. I must confess that I believed the ordinance valid, and that the objections urged against it were unsound, and I was fully convinced the Court would so hold. In the mean time Columbia Street had been graded and macadamized. Its surface was fully eighteen inches above the railroad track. Being fully informed by a careful personal inspection, and thorough measurement by experts, of the exact fact, I proposed to compromise. I first proposed to allow the Company to cross Columbia Street, but to cross at the existing grade. This would require a reconstruction of the tracks already finished, and subject the Company to many suits for damages in case of their change of grade.

Secondly, I agreed to withdraw the pending suit if this proposal was accepted by the Company. This all took place in open Court, and the compromise was approved in open Court; the ordinance, at the request of the Company's attorney, was declared valid by the Court. The compromise was also approved.

The next morning, to my astonishment, a large force of men was put at work by the Company to cut through Columbia Street; basing its action on the alleged ground that the compromise was null and void because of a mutual mistake of the facts by the parties. There was no mutual mistake.

I fully knew and understood all of the facts.

An incipient riot was in progress; but the interference of the police and the issuance of a restraining order soon put an end to operations.

The newspapers emptied their vials of wrath on me as the princ.i.p.al sinner.

An appeal was taken by the Company to the Supreme Court, and that learned and unimpa.s.sioned tribunal affirmed every position taken by me in the case; it held the ordinance to be valid and the compromise binding. Thus, ended the somewhat celebrated Ram's-Horn case, and with it that railroad across Columbia Street.

On the publication of the decision of the Supreme Court, it was amusing to see my calumniators retreat to cover; still d.a.m.ning, however, with faint praise.

Railroad Avenue

There is one more topic of intensified local interest that I will briefly notice. I am now and always have been opposed, not to Railroad Avenue, which extends along the water-front of the city, but to the network of tracks permitted and authorized to be placed thereon. At the foot of Columbia Street, crossing Railroad Avenue to the west line thereof, you cross nine railroad tracks, or eighteen lines of slightly elevated railroad iron. Such are the existing and authorized conditions.

I have always been opposed to those conditions; first, because they are unusual, unnecessary and dangerous; unusual, because no city can be named permitting such a nuisance; unnecessary, because one track, or, to be liberal, two tracks, with spurs to the warehouses on the west and the wholesale or commission houses on the east, where the conditions permit it, would be ample, under the control of an intelligent company or management, for all the purposes of trade and commerce; dangerous, as experience has shown: the killed and injured on this interlocked system, intensified by supervening and dense fogs, speak only by groans and death-knells. I have opposed this network of tracks because instead of being an aid to travel and commerce, it is an actual obstruction of them. The idea of doing the commercial business of a million people, or one-half a million, with the accompanying pa.s.senger traffic, across nine railroad tracks, carries with it a strong implication of the absurd. In actual operation this implication becomes an irritating reality. The City Council has recognized the fact and prohibited the closing by any railroad company of the mouth of any street for over five minutes; but this is only a partial aleviation, and not the removal of the obstruction or danger. Railroad No. 1 closes it for four-and-a-half minutes; Railroad No. 2 closes it for four-and-a-half minutes; No. 3, for the same length of time. The closing is really continuous. Thus legally you can stand in the street, endure the slush and rain for at least twelve minutes to study the beauties of nature and of an enveloping fog, and enjoy the beneficence of the clouds in dropping their garnered fatness down.

The irritation arising from these causes will intensify with the increase of population and the swelling of the volume of coastwise and ocean commerce. Let the population of West Seattle reach twenty thousand or more; let "the mosquito fleet" be doubled and ocean and coastwise steamers be multiplied, with the consequent enormous, increase of the volume of business--and the demand for the modification, or entire abolition, of this irritating nuisance will become imperative. Some of the railroads have wisely noted the indications of the coming storm and have tunnelled under the city, deeming it cheaper to pay interest on permanent tunnel investments, than to pay damages for slaughter and injury on the avenue. Railroad Avenue is now used, to a great extent, as a train make-up yard, as a switching-ground and as a depot for loaded and empty cars. This will be continued with a constantly increasing exasperation, until the City is compelled to re-purchase at an enormous expense, that which was granted as a free gift.

The Great Seattle Fire

June 6th, 1889, will ever be a memorable day in the history of Seattle--that being the day of the Great Fire which, like a besom of destruction swept out of existence a goodly portion of the embryo city.

Brilliant prospects, and glowing antic.i.p.ations, evanished like the rainbow amid the storm of fire. Nearly all the business houses were reduced to ashes; or, if any portion of their roughly serrated and toppling walls remained, they were a silent and menancing memento of the fierce power of the fire-fiend. The fire originated in a paint shop, on the water front near Madison Street, in the careless upsetting of a flaming pot of varnish. There was a stiff breeze from the northwest, constantly accelerated by the ever-increasing heat. The fire, easily overcoming the heroic efforts of the Volunteer Fire Department, swept south and southeasterly, crossing Second Avenue at the rear end of the Boston Block, burning a large frame building immediately south of, and ab.u.t.ting upon that block; thence, in the same direction southeast nearly on a straight line, thus taking in the Catholic Church; thence onward to the Bay, making a s.p.a.ce swept by the fire a large triangle, with an area of from thirty to forty acres.

The Boston Block was saved through strenuous efforts of its tenants; long scantling were carried by them into the hall on the second story.

Having raised the windows at the end of the hall, the south end of the frame building burning first, we succeeded by our united strength in forcing the unburned portion over into the consuming caldron of fire to the south. Thus the Boston Block, though somewhat scorched, was saved.

Jacobs & Jenner had their law offices near the north entrance, and during the progress of the fire many persons whose residences or places of business were along its actual or threatened track, presuming on our generosity and permission, brought armloads of portable valuables, s.n.a.t.c.hed by them from the very teeth of the fire, and in an excited manner, placed them against one of the walls in the offices. So doing, they rushed out in the hope of reaching their residences or places of business again; but the surrounding wall of fire, with its intense heat, forbade. Some of them soon returned and dropped into seats, and their countenances were the pictures of sadness, sorrow and despair. I said to one, a n.o.ble specimen of physical manhood and latent energy: "Sir, your actions are unmanly; hope, even in your case, has not bidden the world farewell; cheer up, sir--just before dawn the darkness is the deepest."

Within a year from that time my admonished friend was worth far more than he was before the fire; and he often reminded me of my rebuke, as he called it.

Being satisfied that the offices, papers, library and furniture were safe, I locked the doors and went up to my residence on Fourth Avenue, where I had a commanding view of the progress of the fire.