Autobiography of Charles Clinton Nourse Part 8

It is sufficient to say that the supreme court held the provisions of the inter-state commerce law, that gave to s.h.i.+ppers a remedy for unjust discrimination by a civil suit for damages, to be a penal statute upon the ground that if the railroad company discriminated by charging one person ten dollars for a particular service and charged another person twenty dollars for a like service, then a suit to recover back the ten dollars thus unjustly demanded and received by the railroad company was in the nature of a statute to recover a penalty. Upon this mode of reasoning a suit against any person or corporation who unjustly and unlawfully gets possession of my money, for the purpose of recovering back what they illegally obtained, would come under the head of a suit to recover a penalty. The trouble with the supreme court of the United States has been that they have uniformly regarded this legislation by congress to protect the people against unjust charges and discriminations as intended to punish the railroad companies of the country, and the court has felt called upon to protect the railroads from legislation interfering with their absolute control over their freight and pa.s.senger traffic. The court has a.s.sumed the role of a conservative element in the government, intended for the protection of railroad property against the legislative power of the country.

CHAPTER XI

DES MOINES RIVER LAND t.i.tLES

The next important litigation in which I was engaged during my professional career, of public interest, was my engagement by Roswell S. Burrows, one of the original stockholders of the Des Moines Navigation Company, in suits growing out of his owners.h.i.+p of certain lands belonging to the Des Moines river grants, so-called. I will not undertake in this paper to go into a detailed history of the Des Moines river t.i.tles, so-called. Colonel C. H. Gatch some years ago prepared for publication a series of articles that were published in the _Annals of Iowa_, Volume I, that gives a detailed account and history of the land grant by congress, and the various decisions of the United States land department construing the original grant of 1846, and also the decision of the supreme court of the United States in the numerous cases from time to time decided by that court. I deem this the most correct and just account of this important litigation that has ever been given to the public. Honorable B. F. Gue also published in his _History of Iowa_ what purports to be an account of the various decisions and rulings of the land department and of the actions of the courts with reference to these lands. A part of his history is correct, but in treating of the rights of certain of the settlers he has done great injustice to the stockholders of the Des Moines Navigation Company who furnished the money to the company for the purchase of these lands. The first unwarranted statement contained in Mr. Gue's history is that persons who brought and maintained suits for possession of their lands against certain settlers were mere speculators who had bought a doubtful t.i.tle to these lands for a song.

The contract between the state of Iowa and the Des Moines Navigation Company, whereby that company became interested in certain lands of this grant, was made in 1853, after the state had disposed of the larger part of the lands lying below the Racc.o.o.n fork of the Des Moines river, and was made at a time when there was no question as to the right of the state to the lands above the Racc.o.o.n fork to the northern boundary of the state. Under this contract the company paid to the state, upon the execution of the agreement, over $60,000 in cash for the purpose of enabling the state to pay the indebtedness that had been incurred by the board of public works up to that time.

The contract provided that the company should continue the work under supervision of a state engineer and commissioner, chosen by the state of Iowa, and should advance the money to pay, as the work progressed, a specific amount per cubic foot for stone work, excavation, timbers, and other material furnished in the construction of the locks and dams. Estimates were to be made from time to time by the engineer of the work of the amount expended by the company at the prices named in the contract, and as fast as $30,000 was so expended the company was to receive lands at $1.25 per acre. At the time this contract was made it had been found impossible to sell and dispose of the lands by the state commissioners rapidly enough to get money to pay the contractors who theretofore had been doing the work under contracts with the commissioners. The only difference between the Des Moines Navigation Company and the contractors engaged in this work was that the former now agreed to furnish money in advance to pay off the old unpaid obligations of the commissioners, and agreed to advance money as it was needed and take the lands in gross at $1.25 per acre as fast as each additional $30,000 were advanced and expended on the work. In the summer of 1857 the company made a demand on Mr. Manning, commissioner of the Des Moines River Improvement, to certify to them additional lands on certain estimates made by the engineer, which Mr. Manning refused. They accordingly brought suit against the commissioner asking of the court a writ of mandamus to compel him to certify the lands shown to be due them by the certificate of the engineer. I have already referred to this suit in the former part of this paper. I was employed by Mr. Manning and defended against it upon the ground chiefly that before the company could maintain suit for specific performance it was necessary for them to show that they had in all respects complied with their various contract obligations toward the state. The main provision of the contract that the commissioner claimed had not been complied with related to the progress of the work; that is to say, one-fourth of the entire contemplated improvement between the Racc.o.o.n fork of the Des Moines river and the Mississippi river had not been completed. The company, being defeated in this application for mandamus, ceased work upon the improvement, and in the winter of 1858 a settlement was made between the state and the company. This settlement was more especially brought about by those who had organized a railroad company for the purpose of building a railroad from Keokuk up the valley of the Des Moines river. This organization was known as the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company, and they desired a grant from the state of the remaining lands of the grant to aid them in the construction of their railroad. The basis of the settlement between the state and the Des Moines Navigation Company was simply that the company should receive a conveyance from the state for the lands that had been certified to the state under the grant up to that time, and that had not been heretofore disposed of by the state, or certified to the company, amounting to about 37,500 acres, and should pay to the state $20,000 in addition to the money already paid and expended on the improvement, and should surrender and cancel their contract and right to any further lands of the grant. (The terms of this settlement are contained in a joint resolution of the seventh general a.s.sembly, found on page 425 of the acts of that session.) At the time of this settlement there was no question by anyone as to the extent of the grant and the validity of the t.i.tle of the state to the alternate sections five miles on either side of the river up to the northern boundary of the state.

In pursuance of the settlement proposed by the joint resolution which was accepted by the company, Governor Lowe on May 3, 1858, executed fourteen deeds or patents to the Navigation Company, conveying by particular description the lands to which the company was ent.i.tled under the resolution of compromise; and on May 18, 1858, a general deed conveying the same and any previously omitted lands by general description.

Another disturbing element in regard to the t.i.tle to the lands arose under the grant of congress made in 1856 to the state of Iowa, to aid in the construction of certain lines of railroad crossing the state and having their initial point at the Mississippi river, and crossing the Des Moines river at various points between the Racc.o.o.n fork and the northern boundary of the state. These railroad companies raised the question as to the validity of the t.i.tle of the Des Moines Navigation Company to the lands they had purchased from the state north of the Racc.o.o.n fork of the river. The Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Company brought suit, or rather induced Litchfield to bring suit against them for lands lying within the line of their grant under act of 1856, or rather that would have been within their grant if not reserved from its operation or that had not been granted for the improvement of the Des Moines river. This suit was adroitly managed on the part of the railroad company so as to avoid testing any question of its t.i.tle, and contained a stipulation that the company was in possession of the land under their grant and the court was only called upon to decide the extent of the grant under the act of 1846 to the state for the improvement of the river, and the supreme court of the United States decided that the act of 1846 did not grant to the state for the improvement of the river any lands north of the Racc.o.o.n fork. This decision was made at the December term, 1859, and is found reported in 23 Howard, S.C.U.S., page 66. The act of 1856, making the grant to the state for the purpose of aiding in the construction of these railroads, in express terms reserved from the operation of the grant any lands that had been theretofore reserved by any competent authority under any other grant of congress. The announcement of this decision created considerable excitement in the Des Moines valley, and the river lands above the Racc.o.o.n fork that had theretofore been deeded by the state to the Des Moines Navigation Company and had been by that company divided among its stockholders in consideration of the moneys that they had advanced to the company, and had been paid by the company to the state as before stated, were considered the lawful prey of every adventurer who could induce the local land offices to allow them to locate a land warrant upon any of these lands.

Another cla.s.s of persons, however, were deeply interested in the question of this t.i.tle. Prior to the contract made with the Des Moines Navigation Company the state of Iowa had sold some fifty thousand acres or more of these lands located above the Racc.o.o.n fork of the river, and many of these lands were occupied by actual settlers who had made improvements thereon and had paid the state valuable considerations for their t.i.tle. To avoid the hards.h.i.+ps that must otherwise have resulted from the decision of the supreme court, congress on March 2, 1861, pa.s.sed the following joint resolution: "Resolved, that all the t.i.tle which the United States still retain in the tracts of land along the Des Moines river, above the mouth of the Racc.o.o.n fork thereof, which have been certified to said state improperly by the department of the interior as a part of the grant by act of congress approved August 8, 1846, and which are now held by bona fide purchasers under the state of Iowa, be, and the same is hereby relinquished to the state of Iowa."

The congress of the United States further on the 12th of July, 1862, pa.s.sed an act in express terms extending the grant to the northern boundary of the state, and providing that such lands "be held and applied in accordance with the provisions of the original grant, except that the consent of congress is hereby given to the application of a portion thereof to aid in the construction of the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad, in accordance with the provisions of the act of the general a.s.sembly of the state of Iowa, approved March 22, 1858."

At the December term, 1866, the supreme court of the United States, in the case of Samuel Wolcott vs. The Des Moines Navigation Company, reported in 5 Wallace, page 681, made a further decision confirming the t.i.tle of the Des Moines Navigation Company under the acts of congress of 1861-2, to the lands that had been deeded to them by the state of Iowa as before recited, and further deciding that the lands within the five mile limits of the Des Moines river had been reserved by competent authority for this work of internal improvement at the time of the pa.s.sage of the railroad grant of 1856.

Mr. Gue in his history of Iowa unfortunately attempts to disparage the t.i.tle of the stockholders of the Des Moines Navigation Company by stating they were mere speculators who had purchased an impaired t.i.tle, and were therefore ent.i.tled to no consideration. On the contrary, the men who received these deeds directly from the Des Moines Navigation Company were stockholders who had advanced their money in payment of their stock, which money had been paid over by that company directly to the state.

Soon after the decision of the supreme court in the Litchfield case in 1859, a suit was brought in the circuit court of the United States for the southern district of Iowa, asking an injunction against the local United States land officers at Fort Dodge and at Des Moines, to prevent them from receiving and recognizing any location or purchase of these reserved lands. The reservation of the land affected not only the lands within the railroad grant, but affected the right of any person to locate upon or purchase these lands from the United States, as they were not lands subject to settlement or entry. Justice Miller heard this application for an injunction, and an argument was filed by the authorities in Was.h.i.+ngton claiming that the proper officers of the land department had the sole authority to determine the question as to whether or not these lands were subject to location and entry, and that the question of the effect of such location and entry could only be decided by the courts, after entries were made and patents granted; that if the lands were not legally subject to entry as to any person claiming them, the action of the land officers would be void, and a court, if called upon by the owner, could cancel any patent or other evidence of t.i.tle illegally issued. Justice Miller, after the full argument of the case, sustained this view of the case and held that the only remedy for parties claiming these lands under the act of 1846, and the subsequent act of 1861-2, was to apply to the court for the cancellation of any t.i.tles wrongfully issued by the land department or by the President. In accordance with this view of the case a number of suits were brought by the grantees of the Des Moines Navigation Company, who received their t.i.tles from the company in consideration of the moneys they had advanced as stockholders, and the supreme court of the United States, upon appeal to that court, cancelled a number of entries and patents that had been wrongfully issued. An attempt was made to make a distinction between the Des Moines Navigation Company and individuals who had purchased the lands from the state of Iowa, and settled thereon.

Mr. Gue in his history of Iowa claims that the act of congress of 1861 was only intended for the protection of those purchasers from the state who had actually settled upon their lands and made improvements thereon, and that congress in using the words "bona fide purchasers from the state of Iowa" did not include in those words citizens or residents of the state of New York who had bought their lands in good faith from the state of Iowa. The supreme court of the United States in the very purpose of its organization was intended by the const.i.tution to organize a judicial body or tribunal before which all citizens of the United States should be equal before the law, without regard to the state in which they had their residence or location. There was no question about the fact that the Des Moines Navigation Company was a bona fide purchaser of these lands. At the time that they paid their money and took a conveyance from the state of Iowa, the stockholders of that company honestly believed they were getting a good and perfect t.i.tle and were paying out their money for same in the utmost good faith. The statement of Mr. Gue in his history before referred to, that the persons who received deeds for these lands from the Des Moines Navigation Company were mere speculators, purchasing for a song a doubtful and disputed t.i.tle, is wholly without foundation and fact, and the denunciation of the supreme court of the United States because the court made no distinction between bona fide purchasers because of their location or residence, very greatly mars the reliability and impartiality that ought to have been characteristic of this history of Iowa. Mr. Gue was a resident of Fort Dodge, where for years the atmosphere of that locality was permeated by the pa.s.sion of men who had been disappointed in their attempt to secure a t.i.tle to lands that they all knew before and at the time of the location and attempted entry on the same, had already been sold for a valuable consideration by the state of Iowa. The opinion of the supreme court, delivered by Justice Miller in the case of Williams vs. Baker, reported in 17 Wallace, 144, contains an accurate and clear exposition of this entire controversy, which fortunately was settled by the supreme court of the United States, and to which they have continuously and consistently adhered.

Long after the diversion of the remaining lands of this grant to the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company, the Iowa Homestead Company, grantee of the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Company brought suit for a portion of these lands embraced in the river grant above the Racc.o.o.n fork, and attempted to disturb the t.i.tle. In the meantime the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company had mortgaged these lands for the purpose of continuing their road from Des Moines to Fort Dodge. On the foreclosure of this mortgage these remaining lands were sold to a company known as the Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railroad Company, organized for the purpose of owning and operating that portion of the old Des Moines Valley road that had been constructed between Des Moines and Fort Dodge. On the foreclosure of this mortgage I had represented Martin Flynn and a number of the other contractors, for whom I had filed a mechanics' lien for work done and material furnished in the construction of the road north of Gowrie. I succeeded in obtaining a provision in the decree of foreclosure making these liens paramount to that of the mortgage, and when the road was purchased by the new organization called the Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railroad Company they were compelled to pay off Flynn and these other lien holders in order to secure their t.i.tle. This new railroad organization elected Mr. Charles Whitehead, an attorney of New York City, its president, and I received from Mr. Whitehead a telegram asking if I could be retained as general attorney of their road. I replied that upon the receipt of a draft for five hundred dollars I would accept of the same as a general retainer. One object, I think, that the company had in desiring my services was to secure some one familiar with the question of the t.i.tle of these Des Moines river lands that the new organization had bought in connection with this other part of the road.

The last contest over the t.i.tle was the case of the Iowa Homestead Company claiming the t.i.tle under the railroad grant of 1856. It was the case of the Iowa Homestead vs. The Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railroad Company, reported in 17 Wallace, 84. Mr. Gue, in his history of Iowa, makes a special point as to the hards.h.i.+p visited on one of the settlers by the name of Crilley. I was attorney for Mr. Burrows in that case.

Mr. Crilley first attempted to locate a warrant upon a tract of land near Fort Dodge prior to the decision of the supreme court of the United States in the Striker case. He was refused permission to make any such location or entry and was distinctly informed by the local land officers that the lands belonged to the Des Moines river grant.

After the decision in the Striker case in 1859 and after the settlement between the state of Iowa and the Des Moines Navigation Company and the payment of the last $20,000 of the consideration, and after the execution of the deeds and patents by the state to the Des Moines Navigation Company, Crilley succeeded in inducing the local land officers to allow his location, and ultimately obtained a patent through their influence, signed by the President. The circuit court of the United States declared his patent void and decreed cancellation of the same. He took his appeal to the supreme court at Was.h.i.+ngton and that court affirmed the decree. The judges of the circuit court at Des Moines permitted Mr. Crilley, by his attorney, then to file a claim for his improvements under the occupying claimant law of Iowa.

Commissioners were appointed and his improvements were valued at a very liberal amount, far in excess of their real value or cost. Mr. Burrows paid the money into court and Crilley received the same, but after he received pay for his improvements he still refused to vacate the land.

A writ was issued to dispossess him, and upon the service of the writ by the United States marshal, Mr. Crilley presented a loaded revolver to the deputy marshal and threatened his life. The marshal thereupon returned to Des Moines and secured authority to arrest Mr. Crilley, which he did, and Mr. Crilley was actually detained in prison for several weeks and until he agreed peaceably to surrender possession of the land. This is the whole story of the inhumanity out of which Mr.

Gue's history of Iowa makes a case of such extreme cruelty and hards.h.i.+p.

That this controversy over the t.i.tle of the Des Moines river grant was a most unfortunate one, both for those who purchased the lands from the state and those who attempted to purchase them from the general government after the state had sold them, there can be no question. It was also very detrimental to the settlement of that part of the state.

The squatters or settlers made very indifferent improvements and very indifferent cultivation of the land, and seldom if ever paid any taxes.

After the t.i.tle of the Des Moines Navigation Company and its stockholders and grantees had become fully settled, the counties where these lands were located levied taxes upon the same, and suits were brought against the Des Moines Navigation Company and its grantees. The supreme court of Iowa held that from the date of the joint resolution of 1861 the t.i.tle to these lands inured to and became perfect in those who had purchased and taken their deeds from the Des Moines Navigation Company, and held them liable for the taxes that had been a.s.sessed from the date of that joint resolution of 1861.

I continued to act as attorney for the Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railroad Company for about ten years. I was not, however, employed upon a salary, but only after my general retainer charged that company from time to time for services actually rendered, and charged them as I did any other client.

CHAPTER XII

A. O. U. W. CONTROVERSY

One other case of some notoriety and public interest in which I was engaged in the latter years of my practice was the controversy between the two branches of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. It seems that the Grand Lodge of this organization had adopted an amendment to their plan of organization by which in case of extraordinary loss and liability occurring in any locality, and within the jurisdiction of some subordinate state lodge, the members of lodges in other states might be a.s.sessed and required to contribute for the payment of such extraordinary losses. A portion of the members in the state of Iowa refused to recognize this requisition and seceded from the organization as a national body, and organized another state lodge by the same name, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and incorporated themselves under the general provisions of the law of Iowa for the organization of benevolent societies, repudiating any connection with the national lodge. Those who adhered to the national organization still continued, however, to do business by their old name and under their former organization as adherents of the national body. The new organization, relying upon their incorporation as giving them some special advantage, brought suit in the district court of Dubuque county for an injunction against this old organization adhering to the national body, and sought to perpetually enjoin them from the use of the name "Ancient Order of United Workmen," or the initials "A.O.U.W." Upon the trial of this case on demurrer in the district court in Dubuque, I sought to obtain a continuance of the hearing on the ground of my ill health, having been confined to my room and my bed for some three weeks. The judge of the district court granted a continuance only for a few days. I went to Dubuque, however, and made a three hours' argument in the case, sitting in my chair, not having strength to stand upon my feet. The court granted a perpetual injunction against my client. An appeal was taken immediately to the supreme court and an interlocutory order obtained staying the injunction until the case could be heard in that court. On the final hearing and trial the injunction was dissolved, and the right of my client to use and do business under the t.i.tle of "Ancient Order of United Workmen" was successfully maintained. This decision is fully reported in supreme court reports, 96 Iowa, 592.

CHAPTER XIII

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN CAREER

It will be necessary now to go back a few years in order to record certain events important in my personal career.

In the summer of 1880 James A. Garfield received from the republican national convention at Chicago the nomination as candidate for President of the United States. At that time the states of Indiana and Ohio continued to hold their state elections early in the month of October, and the result of the elections in those two states in October had a most important and almost controlling influence upon the result of the presidential contest at the ensuing November election.

Early in September of that year I received from the state central committee of the state of Indiana an invitation to accompany ex-Governor Kirkwood of Iowa in a canva.s.sing tour of two weeks, which invitation I accepted. We had a very agreeable and enjoyable trip.

Governor Kirkwood was a very companionable man and was received with much honor and enthusiasm, and our meetings were largely attended and were quite successful. Part of the time we did not speak together at the same meetings, but had separate appointments a.s.signed us. At one point where there existed a considerable manufacturing industry, the local committee waited upon us at our hotel before the speaking, and suggested that they desired us to especially discuss the tariff question and its effect upon our American manufacturers. After the committee had retired Governor Kirkwood walked the floor of the room for a few minutes, and turning suddenly upon me he said, "Charlie, do you understand this tariff question?" I told him no, I knew very little about it. "Well," he said, "I was raised a democrat and am not much of a tariff man anyhow, and I want you to take up this tariff question if either of us must." I told him that I could talk about the general effect of protecting American labor and the duty of the American congress to so arrange the tariff upon imports as to relieve our people from compet.i.tion with the low wages paid in Europe; that the American laborer must receive higher wages than the European laborer for he must educate his children and must enjoy better conditions in life, and as our free inst.i.tutions were based upon the intelligence of the voter, we could not afford to allow the laboring man to occupy the position socially or politically of the European laborer; that I could talk along that line all they wanted, but when it came to discussing schedules or specific duties I should not venture upon any such discourse; in fact, I was satisfied that few people understood the subject sufficiently to discuss the detail of tariff duties with intelligence. I filled the bill accordingly, as Governor Kirkwood placed that part of the program in my charge, but he himself did not say "tariff" once.

At Indianapolis we attended a grand rally at which Roscoe Conkling, of New York, was the princ.i.p.al orator of the day. The managers had arranged for a grand parade, and the Governor with myself and several other gentlemen were a.s.signed to a carriage that was to take prominent part in the procession. Conkling had arrived, it seems, early in the day, and the procession was delayed for over an hour waiting for that distinguished gentleman to complete his toilet before making his appearance in public. The streets and the balcony of the hotel were lined with ladies in their holiday attire, and as the procession pa.s.sed by we heard frequent inquiries from the finely dressed maidens as to which was Conkling, and when he was pointed out to them they were enthusiastic in their declarations that he was a handsome man. I was introduced to Mr. Conkling in the corridor of the hotel, after his speech, and was shocked and surprised at his want of courtesy and decent manners. He was there for the purpose of advocating the election of Mr. Garfield, and adding if possible enthusiasm to the occasion, and yet openly in the hearing of the crowd he was cursing the folly of the convention in nominating Mr. Garfield instead of renominating Grant for the third term. A more arrogant and conceited public man it has never been my misfortune to meet.

An incident occurred the following Sunday morning more pleasant to record. I got up very early, and going down to the lower portico of the hotel I found a few persons astir. I felt somewhat lonesome and seeing a well dressed, intelligent looking colored man on the pavement, I entered into conversation with him in regard to the political situation, and asked him whether or not the colored men of the city would not all support Mr. Garfield, the republican nominee. To my surprise he said, "No, sah, some of them will vote the democratic ticket." I said to him, "How is it possible for a colored man to support the democratic ticket in view of the history of the past twenty-five years? The colored race have been emanc.i.p.ated and enfranchised and made equal before the law through the efforts of the republican party of the nation. How, then, can any of your people support the democratic party?" "Well, sah," said he, "in some respects a colored man is very much like a white man." Said I, "What do you mean by that?" "Well, sah," said he, "I'll tell you. Occasionally, sah, you will find a colored man that is a d.a.m.n fool." I saw a twinkle in his eye and realized that he was intending his reply for a joke. I immediately offered him my hand and shook hands with him heartily, telling him that since there were so many white men of that kind I supposed it would be unreasonable not to expect occasionally a colored man that was a fool.

Upon my return to Iowa after the October election in Indiana I made a speech in the opera house at Oskaloosa, Iowa, and the gallery was filled with colored men, many of them from What Cheer, a mining district near Oskaloosa. I related to them the particulars of my interview with the colored gentleman of Indianapolis. They enjoyed it hugely and gave me rounds of applause, and I told them I hoped that in some respects they would not be like the few that were back in Indiana.

After the election of Mr. Garfield, Governor Kirkwood was appointed Secretary of the Interior, and as I had official business before the supreme court that summer I visited Was.h.i.+ngton City in company with my wife, and spent a pleasant two weeks admiring the wonders of the national capital. Bishop Andrews, of the Methodist Episcopal church, had been for a number of years a resident of Des Moines and our near neighbor on Fourth street, and in company with his excellent wife Mrs.

Nourse had a very enjoyable time. Governor Kirkwood also arranged that we should attend a private reception of the President and his wife, and Mrs. Nourse enjoyed the privilege of quite a tete a tete with the President's lady, officially known as the first lady of the land. When my wife bid her good evening she shook hands with her and expressed the hope that she would be very happy in her new position. Mrs. Garfield was rather a sad faced person and responded in a tone almost prophetic, "I hope so. We do not know." Afterwards upon the a.s.sa.s.sination of Mr.

Garfield I was called upon to take part in a meeting held in the Baptist church in Des Moines, commemorating the memory of that excellent man. I found in my wife's sc.r.a.p book some years afterwards a newspaper clipping containing a report of the remarks I made on that occasion which I here insert:

For the past five days our nation has been in mourning and the Christian civilization of the world has sympathized with us in our bereavement. By official proclamations, by public meetings and resolutions, by draping our homes and places of business and houses of wors.h.i.+p with the emblems of mourning, we have sought to give expression to our sorrow and to testify our appreciation of our n.o.ble dead.

Tomorrow the whole nation is to attend upon his burial and the day is set apart as sacred to his memory. And yet with all this we cannot restore the life that has been so wantonly destroyed. Death is inexorable, and we can do nothing for him who has gone out from the sh.o.r.es of time forever.

But in a better sense of the word Garfield is not dead. So long as we cherish the manly virtues of which his life was the exponent, so long as we remember the trials and sacrifices of his boyhood, the labors and successes of his riper years, the heroism, faith, fidelity of his life, and the calm triumphant heroism of his death, so long will he live to us and to the nation, and so long may we be profited by his life.

I can think of no better text this morning for profitable consideration than one of the many rich gems of thought he has left us out of the storehouse of this great heart and intellect. At the graves of the fallen heroes of the late war he expressed this sentiment, "I love to believe that no heroic sacrifice is ever lost, that the characters of men are molded and inspired by what their fathers have done, that treasured up in American souls are all the unconscious influences of the great deeds of the Anglo Saxon race, from Agincourt to Bunker Hill."

In the oldest book of the Book of Books the patient man in his deep affliction asks the question, "If a man dies shall he live again?" This question refers primarily to man's immortality, but we may dwell upon it in its other meaning, this morning, as relating to the silent and unconscious power and influence of the life and example of the one whom we say is dead.

And think what a treasure we have in the memory of this man. Others have challenged the admiration of the world because of their great abilities. Others have been brave in war and wise in counsel. Others have been heroes and statesmen, and we have honored them and done homage to their greatness, but this man was not only great and wise and brave, but a good, true and pure man also, and the nation loved him. We give honor to his greatness, we give the tribute of praise to his great abilities and his great achievements, but we bring tears and heart throbs to the tomb where manly virtue, purity, and faith are to be enshrined. How much there is in the life of this man that we would wish to bring into the everyday life of our homes. Here is the model of a life from which we would have our children mold their own future, no blemishes to record, nothing to apologize for, nothing to cover up--it stands out in its moral perfection and beauty--in its intellectual strength and greatness--in its religious faith and fervor, a fully developed manhood--a complete character--a perfect pattern.

Do you want an inspiration for your child? Repeat to him the story of this man's youth, of his struggle with poverty and adversity, without influential friends or fortune. Do you want to teach the young men of the nation the value of sincerity, honesty, earnestness, and truthfulness in the affairs of life? Here is the demonstration and the proof that even in American politics and American statesmans.h.i.+p, dishonesty, deceit, and duplicity are not necessary to success. Do you want to rebuke the conceit of the would-be learned who teach our young men that the religious faith that their mothers taught them is somehow a reproach to their intellectual progress--we have here a man of the broadest culture, of the strongest intellectual grasp and development, whose religious faith was the very basis and strength of his greatness and intellectual power.

CHAPTER XIV

THE BROWN IMPEACHMENT CASE