Marion County, Indiana - Chapter 8, 1884 (part 2 of 3)

On the 14th day of January, 1861, he took the oath of office as president of the Senate. Two days afterward Governor Lane resigned to take his seat in the United States Senate, and Mr. Morton became Governor of the State. The history of his administration of the affairs of the State for six years has become the foundation-stone of his fame. He everywhere became known as the great War Governor. When the war came in April, as he had been the first to predict that it would come, and the first to crystallize the loyal sentiment of the North, so he was the first to respond to the call of the President for troops. At his word Indiana sprang to arms, and thousands of her loyal sons answered the call of the President for six regiments. Here was a chance for his wonderful executive ability. Indiana, like the other Northern States, was unprepared for war. She had but few men in her borders who were possessed of any military training. Volunteers were plenty, but how to arm and equip them was the trouble. Governor Morton was equal to the emergency. He grasped the situation at a glance, and seemed to be everywhere present, stirring and animating the citizens, bringing order out of chaos, and reducing all to a system, so that in comparatively few days Indiana was a vast military camp, and troops were ready for the field. An agent was sent to the leading manufacturers of the East and Canada to purchase arms. He gave but few hours to sleep in those days, but wore out his secretaries in continuous labors. During the four years of the war this intense strain was continued. A large number of the people of his State were opposed to the war, and thousands of them actively sympathized with the Rebellion. These things added to his labors. He was the youngest of all the loyal Governors, but so manifest was his ability, so lofty his patriotism, so hopeful was he in the darkest hours, that all turned to him for counsel. President Lincoln and his great war secretary trusted him and leaned upon him as they did upon no one else. He was often consulted by the generals in the field, especially those in the West, in regard to the movements of the army, and he was always the first one appealed to for help and reinforcements. No such appeal was ever made in vain. Of the high opinion entertained of him and his labors by the members of Mr. Lincoln's cabinet, the following extract from a letter written by Hon. S. P. Chase to Governor Morton in 1865, will evidence. Mr. Chase wrote him a letter stating that, in a conversation with Secretary Stanton the night before, " we naturally, turning our minds to the past, fell to talking of you. We agreed that no Governor rendered such services, or displayed such courage or more ability in administration ; and we agreed that your recent services were most meritorious of all, because rendered under circumstances of greatest personal risk of health and life, and which would have been by almost any man regarded, and by all accepted, as good reasons for total inaction. I have seldom heard Stanton express himself so warmly."

As we said before, the war found the North unprepared. In the autumn of 1861 he found that the general government would be unable to supply the men with overcoats in time to prevent suffering from the cold. He went to New York and purchased twenty-nine thousand overcoats for the use of the Indiana troops. The soldiers were his first care. To relieve the sick and wounded he organized a sanitary commission, which afterwards was adopted by the other States. To show his deep interest in the soldiers, and the care he took of their interests, it may be mentioned that during the siege of Vicksburg, when the army ho.«pitals were full of sick and wounded, he applied to the Secretary of War for permission to remove the Indiana sick and wounded to the North. The secretary declined to grant the permission. Governor Morton declared his intention to take the matter before the President. He did so, and the result was a general order permitting not only Indiana, but any other State to remove the sick and wounded and care for them. Under the system of relief inaugurated by him, Indiana collected and disbursed over six hundred thousand dollars in money and supplies.

In this short sketch we can do no more than glance at his work as Governor. In 1862 the Democrats elected a Legislature hostile to the war, and eflforts were made to cripple the Governor in the discharge of his duties. They refused to make appropriations to carry on the State government and to meet the interest on the public debt. Governor Morton was undismayed. He went to New York, and through the banking firm of Winslow, Lanier & Co., and some of the counties of the State and a few of the patriotic citizens, arranged for money for the use of the State. He established a financial bureau without authority of law, and' in one year and nine months he raised and paid out over a million of dollars. Every dollar of this was paid out upon his own check, and not a dollar was lost or misappropriated.

His extraordinary activity was well demonstrated in 1862, during the invasion of Kentucky by Gens. Bragg and Kirby Smith. These two active rebel generals had slipped around Gen. Buell and invaded Kentucky, threatening both Louisville and Cincinnati. On the 17th of August, late at night, he received a telegram that Kentucky had been invaded at several points. Before night of the 18th one regiment was mustered in, armed, and started for the scene of action. During the night of the 18th four more regiments were forwarded. On the morning of the 19th some of the patriotic banks and citizens advanced half a million dollars, and during the day and night four more regiments were paid and sent forward. By the 31st of August more than thirty thousand troops had been armed and sent to the relief of Kentucky. All this time the arsenal of the State was employed day and night in the manufacture of ammunition, making three hundred thousand rounds daily, and all the river towns of the State were occupied by the State militia. Ohio as well as Kentucky wanted help. Cincinnati was threatened. Governor Morton was called upon, and Indiana troops rushed to the defense of her sister State. Ammunition was wanted for the heavy guns being placed in position. The mayor of Cincinnati and Committee of Defense telegraphed to Columbus for a supply. They were instructed to make out a requisition in due form and have it approved by the commanding officer, and forward it, and the ammunition would be supplied. They then applied to Governor Morton. No requisition was askfcd for, but the telegraph flashed back the answer that in an hour a train would start; and the train did so, bearing about four thousand rounds for artillery and seven hundred and twenty thousand rounds for small-arms. In eight days Indiana supplied thirty-three thousand rounds for artillery and three million three hundred and sixty-five thousand for small-arms, the entire amount having been made at the State arsenal. For his services the Cincinnati Common Council ordered his portrait painted and placed in the City Hall, which was done with imposing ceremonies.

In 1864, in the midst of a heated Presidential canvass, the exposure came of the organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, or Sons of Liberty. This organization numbered fifty thousand members in the State, and an uprising was planned. Governor Morton had possessed himself of all their secrets, and before they knew that they were even suspected he dealt them a terrible blow and crushed tliem. He ordered the arrest of the prominent leaders of the movement, and so alarmed were the members to find that their plots were known, and that they were in the power of a man whose hatred of treason was so intense, and who was so unrelenting in his efforts to crush all disloyalty, that dismay seized upon them and they stood bewildered, not knowing what to expect. The trial and conviction of the leaders is a part of the general history of the country.

Governor Morton was triumphantly elected to the office of Governor in 1864, and the people placed a loyal Legislature to help him. It was the grandest political triumph ever achieved in this State. He entered upon the new term filled with the same ardor, the same resistless energy, the same tireless activity. But the war soon closed. It brought no relief to him from labor. But now came his greatest trial. His labors had been incessant for more than four years, the strain upon his nervous system had been intense, and he was now to pay the penalty. One morning in 1865 he awoke to find that paralysis had seized upon his left leg. This leg had been injured by a fall, and the disease struck the weakest spot. Overwork had stricken him down in the noontide of his power, and just as he saw his fame ripening. He was advised to go to Europe and place himhimself under medical treatment. He convoked the Legislature in extra session. It assembled on the 14th of November, when he read a message which surpas.sed ail his others in the comprehensive manner with which it treated of State and national policy. He concluded it with the following eloquent tribute to the American soldier :

" The war has established upon imperishable foundations the great fundamental truth of the unity and indivisibility of the nation. We are many States but one people, having one undivided sovereignty, one flag, and one common destiny. It has also established, to be confessed by all the world, the e-xalted character of the American soldier, bis matchless valor, his selfsacrificing patriotism, his capacity to endure fatigues and hardships, and his humanity, which, in the midst of carnage, has wreathed his victorious achievements with a brighter glory. He has taught the world a lesson before which it stands in amazement, how, when the storm of battle had passed, he could lay aside bis arms, put off the habiliments of war, and return with cheerfulness to the gentle pursuits of peace, and show how the bravest of soldiers could become the best of citizens. To the army and navy, under the favor of Providence, we owe the preservation of our country, and the fact that we have today a place, and the proudest place, among the nations. Let it not be said of us, as it was said in olden time, 'that Republics are ungrateful.' Let us honor the dead, cherish the living, and preserve in immortal memory the deeds and virtues of all, as an inspiration for countless generations to come."

The parting scene was of the most affecting character. Party lines were forgotten ; all recognized the great services rendered by the stricken man, and all joined in words of commendation and sympathy. Few States, few Legislatures, if any, ever witnessed such a scene. None who were present will ever forget it. It was a sublime as well as touching spectacle.

Early in December he sailed from New York, and spent some time in France, Italy, and Switzerland, but received little or no benefit from either travel or treatment, and in March, 1866, he returned. He gave himself no rest, but at once commenced the preparations for the political campaign of that year. He opened the campaign in a speech at Masonic Hull, which has been pronounced the greatest political speech ever made in America. It seemed as if he had determined to crush his political opponents at the outset of the campaign and render them powerless. He employed all of his wonderful powers of logic to arraign his opponents at the bar of public opinion for what. he considered their political failures. The speech not only served as a ba>-is for the platform of his party, but for all other speeches during the campaign. It lashed his enemies to fury, but it aroused his party to the very highest pitch of enthusiasm.

term commencing on the 4th day of March, 18157, and his second on the 4th day of March, 1873. The limits of this sketch forbid anything like an attempt at a history of his senatorial labors. During his ten years of service he was foremost in all things, - in debates, in party counsels, in labors. It is not invidious to say of him that in labors he was more abundant than any other, notwithstanding his physical disability. He entered the Senate at a stirring time. The war was ended, but the South was in a state of chaos. What was to be done, and how to do it, were the two questions uppermost in the minds of all. There was an irreconcilable quarrel between Congress and the President. At the very outset of his senatorial career, although it was his first legislative experience, he was given three important places. He was made chairman of the Committee on Manufactures, and a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations and that of Military AflFairs.

The first great question in which he took part was that of reconstruction. He went into the Senate with well-settled views upon this question. He had held tenaciously to the idea that this was a nation, and he insisted upon that on all occasions. He looked upon treason as a crime deserving of punishment. He could not be led to believe that those who had laid down their arms after a four years' struggle to overthrow the Government could safely be intrusted with power until, at least, they had given evidence of having renewed their allegiance. He was inspired by no hatred of the people of the South ; it was their treason he hated. His first speech on this question was an impromptu reply to Senator Doolittle, of Wisconsin. In that speech, brief as it was, he outlined his whole after-attitude on this question. He said, -

''The issue here to-day is the same which prevails throughout the country, which will be the issue of this canvass, and perhaps for years to come. It is between two paramount ideas, each struggling for the supremacy. One is, that the war to suppress the Rebellion was right and just on our part; that the rebels forfeited their civil and political rights, which can only be restored to them upon such conditions as the nation may prescribe for its future safety and prosperity. The other idea is, that the rebellion was not sinful, but was right; that those engaged in it forfeited no rights, civil or political, and have a right to talte charge of their State governments, and be restored to their representation in Congress, just as if there were no rebellion and nothing had occurred. The immediate issue before the Senate now is between the existing State governments established under the President of the United States in the rebel States and the plan of reconstruction presented by Congress."

He then proceeded to demonstrate that Congress had all the power that was necessary to formulate or dictate to the States the kind of a constitution they should adopt, and that it was in duty bound to insure justice, security, and equality to all classes in the South, and said, -

" Sir, when Congress entered upon this work it had become apparent to all men that loyal republican State governments, such as are required by the Constitution, could not be erected and maintained upon the basis of the white population. We had tried them. Congress had attempted the work of reconstruction through the fourteenth constitutional amendment by leaving the suffrage with the white men, and by leaving with the white people of the South the question as to when the colored people should exercise the right of suffrage, if ever; but when it was found that those white men were as rebellious as ever; when it was found that they persecuted the loyal men, both white and black, in their midst ; when it was found that Northern men who had gone down there were driven out by social tyranny, by a thousand annoyances, by the insecurity of life and property, then it became apparent to all men of intelligence that reconstruction could not take place upon the basis of the white population, and something else must be done. Now, sir, what was then left to do ? Either we must hold these people continually by military power or we must use such machinery on such a new basis as would enable lo^'al republican governments to be raised up ; and in the last result I will say Congress waited long, the nation waited long, - experience had to come to the rescue of reason before the thing was done. In the last resort, and as the last thing to be done, Congress determined to dig through all the rubbish, dig through the soil and the shifting sands, and go down to the eternal rock, and there, upon the basis of the everlasting principle of equal and exact justice to all men, we have planted the column of reconstruction ; and, sir, it will rise, slowly but surely, and ' the gates of hell shiill not prevail against it.' "

"^Vhy, sir, let me fr.ankly say to my friend from Wisconsin that I approached universal colored suffrage in the South reluctantly. Not because I adhered to the miserable dogma that this was the white man's government, but because I entertained fears about at once intrusting a large body of men just from slavery - to whom education had been denied by law, to whom the marriage relation had been denied, who had been made the most abject slaves - with political power. And the senator has referred to a speedh which I made in Indiana in 1865. Allow me to show the principle which then actuated me, for in that speech I said, ' In regard to the question of admitting the freedmen of the Southern States to vote, while I admit the equal rights of all men, and that in time all men will have the right to vote, without distinction of color or race, I yet believe that in the case of four million slaves just freed from bondage there should be a period of probation and preparation before they are brought to the exercise of political power.' Such was my feeling at that time, for it had not then been determined by the bloody experience of the past two years that we could not reconstruct upon the basis of the white population, and such was the opinion of a great majority of the people of the Korth. ... I confess (and I do it without shame) that I have been educated by the great events of the war. The American people have been educated rapidly ; and the man that says he has learned nothing, that he stands now where did six years ago, is like an ancient mile-post by the side of a deserted highway."

"The column of reconstruction has risen slowly. It has not been hewn from a single stone. It is composed of many blocks, painfully laid up and put together, and cemented by the tears and blood of the nation. Sir, we have done nothing arbitrarily. We have done nothing for punishment - aye, too little for punishment. Justice has not had her demand. Not a man has yet been executed for this great treason. The arch-fiend himself is now at liberty upon bail. No man is to be punished ; and now while j)unishment has gone by, as we all know, we are insisting only upon security for the future. AVe are simply asking that the evil spirits who brought this war upon us shall not again come into power during this generation, again to bring upon us rebellion and calamity. We are simply asking for those securities that we deem necessary for our peace and the peace of our posterity."

To Senator Morton more than to any other man i.s due the credit of the adoption of the fifteenth amendment. He was bold and aggressive in his advocacy of this important measure, designed as it was to secure to the colored man the right of suffrage. It was opposed by Senator Sumner and some other Republican members, but Mr. Morton led in the debate and carried the measure triumphantly through. He met all arguments, repelled all assaults, held the friends of the amendment together until the final vote was taken. Nor did his labors end with its adoption by Congress. It had to be ratified by the States. The Democratic members of the Indiana Legislature resigned to defeat its ratification. Senator Morton reached Indianapolis the morning the resignations were handed in. He sent word to the Republican members not to adjourn, but take a recess and meet him. He then showed them the resignations did not break a quorum, and demonstrated that they had the power to ratify the amendment. They acted in accordance with his wishes, and the work was done, to the amazement of the Democrats. Still States were wanted. Senator Morton was equal to the emergency. A bill was introduced providing for the reconstruction of Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia. He seized the opportunity and offered an amendment providing that before these States should be admitted to representation in Congress they should ratifiy the proposed fifteenth amendment. The amendment was referred to the Committee on Judiciary. An adverse report was made by Senator Trumbull, chairman of the committee. Senator Morton still adhered to 'his amendment, and, after a debate lasting three days, was successful. This was one of the most remarkable debates of the Senate. Still another State was wanted, and again Senator Morton led in the work of securing it. He introduced a bill authorizing the military commander of Georgia to call the Legislature of that State together, including the colored members who had been expelled the year before, and empowering the Legislature to reconstruct that State, by electing two United States senators, after ratifying the fifteenth amendment. Again the Judiciary Committee antagonized him, but again he triumphed, and the fifteenth amendment became a part of the Constitution, and stands to-day a monument of his love of justice and his powers as a leader, more enduring than brass or marble.

Space will not permit the dwelling on his labors in the great kuklux debates and other similar measures, but in all he took a leading part, and upon all he left the impress of his lofty and unyielding patriotism.

As chairman of the Committee on Elections and Privileges he rendered signal service. All questions that came before him were treated with the utmost fairness, and stern justice ruled in the decisions of his committee. One notable instance of this kind was his action in regard to the election of Caldwell as senator from Kansas. It was evident that his election had been procured by corrupt means. Senator Morton held that he should be expelled from the Senate as unworthy a seat in that body. The friends of Caldwell plead to have the election simply declared void. Mr. Morton would not listen. His sense of justice had been outraged and he felt that American politics needed purifying, and insisted on expulsion, and to save himself from that the Kansas senator resigned. With fraud, force, or corruption he had no patience, and he would neither listen to the pleadings of friends of the accused, nor pay heed to their threats. He believed in the right and had the courage to at all times and under all circumstances to maintain his beliefs.

In 1873 he delivered a speech in the Senate, which in the light of later events looks almost like prophecy. The question under discussion was a resolution instructing the Committee on Privileges and Elections to report upon the best and most practicable mode of electing a President and Vice-President, and providing a tribunal to adjust and decide all contested elections connected therewith. Senator Morton took strong grounds in favor of doing away with the Electoral College and electing a President by the direct vote of the people. In the course of that speech, in regard to the dangers of the present system, he said, - -

" There is imminent danger of revolution to the nation whenever the result of a Presidential election is to be determined by the vole of a State in which the choice of electors has been irregular, or is alleged to have been carried by fraud or violence, and where there is no method of having these questions i-xamined and settled in advance; where the choice of President depends upon the election in a State which has been publicly characterized by fraud or violence, and in which one party is alleged to have triumphed and secured the certificates of election by chicanery or the fraudulent interposition of courts. If the system of electoral colleges is to be continued, some means should be devisgd by which the election of these electors in the States may be contested, so that if it has been controlled by fraud or violence, or if there be two sets of electors, each claiming the right to cast the vote of a State, there may be some machinery or tribunal provided by which fraudulent returns could be set aside or corrected, and the contending claims of different sets of electors be settled in advance of the time when the vote is to be finally counted, and by which the President of the Senate may no longer be left to exercise the dangerous powers that seem to be placed in hi^ bauds by the

Could he have been given the power to look into the future only three years he could not have been able to better jjortray the dangers that were before us as a nation. This was one of his great powers, - to discern the signs of the times, and see the pitfalls and the rocks that lay hidden from view. It was this power which stamped him before all other Americans, a wise statesman.

It was Morton that gave to us the civil rights bill, which were intended to make good the promises of the nation to the colored men, - that they should have equal and exact justice with all races. That they have since failed was no fault of his.

In the Senate he left the stamp of his individuality upon all legislation. He was the moving spirit, the leader, the one upon whom all relied. There was no question of public moment too small for his attention ; but his mind grasped all, his wisdom foresaw all, and as far as possible he attempted to warn and to guide the country that it might avoid the danger he saw before it. He spoke often in the Senate, but always with effect, and was listened to with the utmost attention, for it soon became recognized that when he summed up the arguments there was little or nothing left to be said. When defeated, as he sometimes was, he at once accepted the situation, but never despaired. His fertility of resource was wonderful, his industry was prodigious. The last stroke, which ended eventually his life, came while in the discharge of his senatorial duties, and though not in his place at the capitol, yet, like John Quincy Adams, he died in the harness. In 1877 the Senate ordered an investigation into the case of Senator Grover, of Oregon, who was charged with having secured his election to the Senate through corrupt means. This duty devolved upon the Committee on Privileges and Elections, of which Senator Morton was chairman. It was necessary to go across the continent to Oregon. Senator Morton, though physically feeble and worn out by his incessant labors, did not hesitate to undertake the long and tiresome journey, in company with Senators Saulsbury, of Delaware, and McMillan, of Minnesota.

much prostrated, but the sea-voyage to Portland, Oregon, seemed to do him good. The investigation lasted eighteen days, during which he labored incessantly, and the sessions of the committee were sometimes prolonged late into the night. This labor nearly broke down the other members of the committee, but it seemed the iron will of Senator Morton rose above every trial, for, in addition to his work on the committee, he prepared an elaborate political speech to be used in the approaching Ohio campaign. At the conclusion of the investigation he addressed the people of Salem in a speech of considerable length, which was pronounced the ablest speech ever heard in the State.

He arrived in San Francisco on his return home early in August, and on the 6th received his second stroke of paralysis. By morning his entire left side was paralyzed. We take the following account of his journey home and the closing scenes from a sketch written by Hon. C. M. Walker:

" NotwithstAnding his alarming condition ho insisted upon starting home the next diiy, and accordingly a special car was furnished, in which a cot was provided and the best arrangements possible made for his comfort. Then, on the 7th of August, accompanied, as usual, by his wife and son, he started from San Francisco for his Indiana home. During this long journey, though he was very much depressed and even feared he would not reach home to die, he uttered not a word of complaint, but bore bis affliction in heroic silence. At Cheyenne, W. T., he was met by his brother-in-law, Col. W. R. Holloway, who thenceforward was a constant attendant at bis bedside, and at Peoria, III., Dr. W. C. Thompson, the senator's longtime physician, joined the sad party. His house in Indianapolis not being prepared for his reception, he was taken to Richmond, Wayne Co., and to the residence of his moiherin law, Mrs. Burbank, in that city. Here he was at once made as comfortable as his condition would permit, and had every attention that medical skill or loving affection could devise. The news of his attack had already spread abroad, and, although as yet his friends did not think it would prove fatal, the greatet-t concern was manil'ested throughout the country. Letters and telegrams poured in from all parts, and this continued during his entire illness. Many distinguished men visited him, and a still larger number sent messages of love and sympathy. On the 13th of September the President of the United States vis^ited Richmond for the express purpose of calling on the sick senator. The meeting between them was simple but affecting. The great war Oovernor and distinguished senator lay stretched upon his bed broken, emaciated, and almost helpless. His once massive features were pinched with pain, and the eyes that had flashed fire in so many contests were dimmed by sickness and by the medicines taken to alleviate bis sufferings. Approaching the bed, the President pressed the senator's extended hand warmly, and then, bending over, kissed him on the forehead. The interview was necessarily brief, and after a few words of earnest sympathy from the President, in which he said he spoke for the country as well as for himself, he retired from the room evidently much affected. In this interview Senator Morton assured the President that he would be in his seat in the Senate at the opening of the regular session of Congress in December. Such was doubtless his expectation at the time, but it was not to be realized.

"On the evening of the I5th of October he was placed in a special car and removed to his home in Indianapolis. This short trip seemed to do him some good, and the hope of his recovery, at least sufficiently to take his seat in the Senate, was strengthened. During the following weeks Col. Holloway and other friends were unremitting in their attentions, and nothing was left undone either to prolong his life or mitigate his sufferings. All this time he took a lively interest in current affairs, and especially in what was passing in the political world. He wanted the papers read to him during nearly every waking moment, and even at night, waking from a short sleep, his first exclamation was ' Read.' If the reader stopped a moment to rest or for any other purpose, he would say, * Read on ! Don't stop till I tell you.' So absorbing was his interest in publio affairs, and bis desire to keep up with current events. Meanwhile it had become apparent that his vital forces were giving way, and that he could not last much longer. For many days, even weeks, he took no nourishment except milk, or occasionally a Htfle boef-tea, and even these were not digested. The paralysis seemed to have reached his stomach, and all natural action was destroyed. Still his mind continued active and clear, and when friends visited his bedside ho would welcome them with a pleasant smile and grasp of the hand. As long as there was the slightest ground for hope those nearest to him clung to the belief that he would recover, but from Tuesday, October 3Utb, it became evident to all that his case was hopeless. His symptoms on that day were such as to make it plain that his end was drawing near. During the 31st his death was hourly expected, and several times the rumor went abroad that he was dead. A great many telegrams were received from all parts of the country, inquiring if thise rumors were true, and asking for information as to his condition. Thursday, November 1, 1877, dawned gloomily. The dull, gray light that first found admittance to the sick-room fell upon a dying man, though the end was yet some hours distant. During the dHy he lay very quietly, only making known his wants in broken accents. A number of friends were in and out of the room during the day, and his wife and family remained near the bedside. In the afternoon he sank rapidly. At 4.45 o'clock he had a paroxysm of pain, and passing his hand over his* stomach, said feebly, * I am dying.' A little later his youngest son, taking his hand, said, 'Father, do you know me?' Ho nodded an assent, and gave signs of satisfaction when his son and other members of the family kissed him. A few minutes after five o'clock, while Dr. Thompson was holding his hand^ he said, * I am dying ; I am worn out.' These were the last audible words he uttered. Then he ceased to move, and at twenty-eight minutes past five o'clock the vital spark went out^ and his great life was at an end.

"The news of Senator Morton's death caused a profound sensation throughout the country. Although the event had been anticipated for several days, it came as a shock at last, and created a sorrow so deep and wide-spread that it could only be compared to that caused by the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln. Flags were displayed at half-mast, and bells were tolled throughout the hind. Men gathered on the street corners, and discussed the event as a national calamity. The President of the United States issued a special order directing the flags on all the public buildings to be placed at half-mast, and the government departments to be closed on the day of the funeral. He also sent a telegram to W. R. Holloway, expressive of his personal bereavement, and his sympathy for the surviving family of the departed statesman. The Vice-President of the United States sent a similar dispatch. The cabinet met, and gave expression to their deep sense of the nation's loss. The Senate and the House of Representatives each appointed committees to attend the funeral, and both adjourned as a further mark of respect to his memory. The Governor of Indiana and the mayor of Indianapolis issued proclamations closing public offices, and calling upon citizens to suspend business during the funeral services. The bells of Indianapolis were tolled and the City Council met, and, after passing memorial resolutions, resolved to attend the funeral in a body. The City Council of Cincinnati met, and appointed a committee to attend the funeral. Citizens' meetings were held in all the large towns of the State, and appropriate action taken in regard to the sad event. The State University and the public schools of Indianapolis were ordered to be closed on the day of the funeral. The Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, of which Senator Morton was chairman, met, and having passed a resolution of sympathy and condolence, adjourned in honor of his memory. The members of the bar of Indianapolis and other cities met and took appropriate action. In many of the country towns throughout the State the court-bouses were draped in mourning and business was suspended. The press teemed with elaborate articles upon his character and public services, and agreed with remarkable unanimity that the country had lost one of its greatest men. Military companies and social organizations of various kinds met and determined to attend the funeral. Thus in all directions, and by every means known to modern society, men gave expression to their profound sorrow, and to the respect and afi'ection which they bore fur the deceased.

in the main hall of the court-house at Indianapolis, where they lay in state during Sunday and part of Monday. During this time they were viewed by many thousands of persons who came from afar and near to take a last look at one who bad filled so large a place in the history of the country. Special trains were run on several of the railroads, bringing a great number of persons to the city, and the solemn procession which passed through the court-house during those days had seemingly no end.

"The funeral, which took place Monday, November 5th, was a grand and imposing pageant, - solemn, impressive, and memorable. A vast concourse of people was assembled from all parts of the country. Every branch of the federal government was represented. The President, being unable to attend, sent his son to represent him. Of the cabinet officers. Secretary Thompson, of the navy, and Attorney-General Devens were present. On the part of the Senate of the United States there were Senators McDonald, of Indiana, Davis, of Illinois, Bayard, of Delaware, Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Burnside, of Rhode Island, and Booth, of California. On the part of the House of Representatives there were Representatives Ilanna and Cobb, of Indiana, Banks, of Massachusetts, Townsend, of New York, Wilson, of West Virginia, Burchard, of Illinois, and Davidson, of Florida. The ju^ciary department was represented by federal judges from several neighboring States, and the army by a number of officers. Besides these, there were a great number of distinguished citizens from all parts of Indiana, Governors, ex-Governors, and representative men from other States, numerous military companies and delegates from civil societies, and thousands of his neighbors who knew and loved him."

It would not be proper or just to close this short sketch without referring, at least in a brief way, to the political services of Senator Morton other than those directly connected with his labors in the Senate and as Governor of Indiana, and to touch upon the general characteristics of the man.

Great as was his work in both of the high oflBces to which the people elevated him, his labors in the general field of politics were no less prodigious. From 1856, when he first entered politics, until death claimed him, his voice and pen were never idle. In every political contest he was foremost in the fight, and the downtrodden and oppressed were always his care. Not only did he engage in the political battles in his own State, but in almost every State of the North he sent forth the bugle-call which rallied the forces of republicanism. Few men made more stump speeches than he, and none ever carried such weight. In Indiana, during each campaign, he spoke incessantly, and he always knew how to touch the popular chord of patriotism. He not only spoke, but hundreds of editorials from his pen found their way into the columns of the leading papers. His political speeches, if collected and published, would make a political history of the country in its great struggle unequaled. He was always ready to answer the calls of his party. His devotion to his party was witnessed by his declining the English mission. President Grant was desirous of concluding a treaty with Great Britain on the subject of the depredations of the rebel cruisers, and urged Senator Morton to undertake the mission. He was inclined to accept it, but the Legislature of Indiana was controlled by the Democrats, and he declined. President Grant wrote to him as follows :

" Dear Sir^ - Your letter of the 19th inst., declining the English mission, with reasons therefor, is received. I fully concur with you in all the reasons which you give for the course you find it your duty to pursue in the matter, but regret that the country is not to have your valuable services at the English Court at this important juncture. Your course, however, I deem wise, and it will be highly appreciated by your constituents in Indiana and throughout the country.

It is difficult to justly sum up the character of such a man. He was a born leader, and no sooner did he enter political life than he took the leadership of his party and maintained it until his death. He was a man of strong will, indomitable energy, and untiring industry, and was possessed of moral and physical courage which approached the sublime. As a party leader and organizer he has had no equal. The universal testimony of those who were with him in the Senate is to the eflFect that America has never produced a party leader who could even lay claim to rival him. He was strong because he was always in earnest ; because he never forgot a friend ; because he was ever ready to meet a foe. He always mastered his subject, and never undertook to discuss it until he had thoroughly studied every phase of it. It was this that gave him such great power with an audience.

His mind was of an analytical order, and when he spoke his sentences were terse, logical, and oftentimes eloquent. There was little or no fancy about him, and he rather despised those fancy flights of oratory by which some men endeavor to capture their audiences. He dealt with facts, and he dealt with them as living things. While he was often severe and even terrible in his denunciation or arraignment of his opponents, he never was personal, but always calm, dignified, urbane. To illustrate this we cannot do better than quote a paragraph from a letter written by Senator Jones, of Florida, to the Morton Monument Association. He says, -

"He was one of the few public men of eminence who was strong enough in all the resources of legitimate argument so as never to feel the necessity or entertain the Inclination of resorting to persona! vituperation in the discussions of the Senate. He attacked communities, States, and parties at times with great vigor, but, in the language of Mr. Grattan, * he knew how to be severe without being unparliamentary.' "

His patriotism was something sublime. He loved the country, the whole country, with a devotion that knew no shrinking, and to it he gave heart, soul, everything. He clung to the idea that we are a nation with a tenacity that forced conviction upon every mind he addressed. It was the burden of nearly all his speeches. He labored to impress this ruling idea upon the people, for to him it was the key of our whole political system. To his mind it embraced the true conception of our government, and the only one upon which the Union could safely rest. To him the idea that we were but a mere confederation of States was abhorrent. In it he saw future disaster and ruin. In May, 1860, he wrote, -

" It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public mind that we are one people, a nation, and not a mere coalition of sovereign and independent States."

"The war has established upon imperishable foundations the great fundamental truth of the unity and indivisibility of the nation. We are many States, but one people ; having an undivided sovereignty, one flag, one common destiny."

of every party. It should be presented on the banner of every party. It should be taught in every school, academy, and college. It should be the political north star by which every political manager should steer his bark. It should be the central idea of American politics, and every child should, so to speak, be vaccinated with the idea that he may be protected against this political distemper which has brought such calamity upon our country."

'* What the sun is in the heavens, diffusing light and life and warmth, and by its subtle influence holding the planets in their orbits, and preserving the harmony of the universe, such is the sentiment of nationality in a people diffusing life and protection in every direction, holding the faces of Americans always toward their home, protecting the States in the exercise of their just powers, and preserving the harmony of all. We must have a nation. It is a necessity of our political existence. We should cherish the idea that while the States have their rights, sacred and inviolable, which we should guard with untiring vigilance, never permitting an encroachment upon them, and remembering that such encroachment is as much a violation of the Constitution of the United States as to encroach upon the rights of the general government; still bearing in mind that the States are but subordinate parts of one great nation, - that the nation is over all, even as God is over the universe."

He hated freason with all the power he had, and he would stamp it out as a poison that if left alone would kill the body and soul of the nation. He was unsparing in his denunciation of the foul crime, and was often accused of hating the South. His feelings in this matter are best expressed in his own language. On Decoration Day, 1877, in the last speech he ever made in his own State, he said, -

** We will let by-gones be by-gones. We cannot forget the past; we ought not forget it. God has planted memory in our minds and we cannot blot it out. But while we cannot forget, yet we can forgive, and we will forgive all who accept the great doctrines of equal liberty and of equal rights to all, and equal protection to all, and will be reconciled to them. And while we cannot forget the past, we will treat them as if the past had never occurred, and that is all that can be asked ; and that is true reconciliation. True reconciliation does not require us to forget these dead; does not require us to forget the living soldier and to cease to do him justice. We must remember that there is an eternal difference between right and wrong, and that we were on the right side and that they were on the wrong side ; and all that we ask of them is that hereafter they shall be on the right side. We should forever remember that we were in the right. We want to transmit that as a sacred inheritance to our remotest posterity. We know that in that great struggle we were in the right. We were grandly in the right and they were terribly in the wrong. The whole civilized world has now said that we were in the right, and we know if there is such a thing as right and wrong, we were in the right and they were in the wrong. We want that grand distinction to pass down through all time ; but that is entirely consistent with true reconciliation. We say to those who were on the other side of that great contest that cost so dearly in blood and treasure, that cost us so much suffering and sacrifice, that while we shall forever cherish the lessons that were taught us by that struggle, and while we shall forever stand by the principles that we maintained in that contest, all we ask of them is that they shall hereafter stand upon those principles, and let us go forward hand in hand and as Americans and as brethren through all the future pages of our country's history."

He was possessed of moral courage that few public men obtain to, and a physical courage which almost amounted to an insensibility to personal danger. The first was exhibited often by the stand he took upon great public questions, regardless of what clamor there might be from political friends or foes. Making up his mind that a thing was right, it mattered not what all the world might say or do, he stood like a rock. He was ambitious, and yet for popularity's sake he would not desert a right. One of the greatest acts of his life was when, as it appeared to his friends, he closed the doors against all hopes of reaching the Presidency by the stand he took in favor of the Chinese immigrants. He was an open candidate for that high office. To speak for the Mongolian was, seemingly, to espouse a cause so unpopular as to be political death. He did not hesitate a moment. He believed he was right, and with all his power he took up the cause of the Chinese. The fear of being called inconsistent often keeps public men from changing their ideas of public policy. It was not so with Mr. Morton. He had the courage of his convictions. His physical courage might be illustrated by numerous incidents, but one must suffice, and we tell it as it was narrated by Governor Porter, who was a witness to it. In his earlier years as an attorney Mr. Morton appeared in a case of some magnitude at Indianapolis. One of the opposing lawyers was of the fire-eating kind, and had a reputation as one who was ready to use his revolver. During the trial he was exceedingly ugly, and ap- peared in court with his pistol ostentatiously displayed, and had succeeded in cowing the other attorneys. Finally, Mr. Morton administered to him a scathing rebuke. As he took his seat the subject of his rebuke arose and said to those near him that he intended to make Morton apologize then and there. All expected a tragedy. Few knew anything of Mr. Morton. He went to where Mr. Morton was sitting and said, in an insulting tone, " I have come to demand an apology from you." Quick as a flash Mr. Morton turned upon him, and looking him steadily in the eyes, said, in a tone sharp and clear, " I have no apology to make to you," and then deliberately repeated the offensive remark. He had met a man that knew no fear, and was cowed completely.

Mr. Morton was simple in his tastes ; honest in the strictest sense of the word. No taint of corruption ever lingered near him. He loved his home, his family, his friends, and they clung to him with a devotion equal to his love. His nature was kind and sympathetic. The cry of the suffering or sorrowing always found an echo in his heart. The cares of state often absorbed him to such a degree that he forgot himself, his own physical weakness, his own wants, but never so that he forgot his home or family, and he always turned to them for rest. When in the bosom of his family he was as simple as a child.

His children were especiall}' dear to him, and amid all the cares of state he thought of them and endeavored to guide their young minds into the paths of honor. Few men in the height of power would write to their children so simple, so loving, and yet so grand a letter as the following :

"Washington, January 1, 1871. "My Dear Children, - This is the first day of the New Year, and iiere it is bright and cheerful and warm, and everybody seems happy. Your mother is as well as usual, and sends her love to you, and her heartfelt wishes for your health and for your future hapj>iness and success in life. You can never know the depth of a mother's love, - how constantly you are in her thoughts, her anxiety about you from day to day, and wh.at sacrifices she would make for you. We have been talking about you, and wondering what you are doing, and hoping you will make great progress in your studies during the year which has just come in. One year is a great portion of one's lifetime. Much may be done in one year in getting an education and fitting yourself for the duties of life. Lost time can never be recalled, and cannot be made up. Each year should show a great deal learned, and great improvement in the manners and characters of my dear children.

" My great anxiety and desire are about my little boys. I am constantly wondering what they will be when they grow up to be men. Will they be learned, talented, good, prosperous, and an honor to their parents and country ? Such is my daily prayer. We hope you think of us, and love us, and think of your dear absent brother, who is so far away on a lonely island in the Northern Sea. You must constantly remember him in your prayers, that he may be preserved in health, and be prosperous and be safely returned to us during the year.

" Your mother will return to you in a few days, and in the mean time you must not neglect your books, and show to her that you can be dutiful and studious in her absence.

There was no love of pomp in his nature, and he was always accessible to the people, the poor equally with the rich. He gave to the country seventeen years of his life, and wore himself out and died a poor man, as he had lived. His last audible words expressed it all, " I am worn out." Yes, he had worn himself out.

The people of Indiana have raised in the Circle Park of Indianapolis a bronze statue of the great war Governor and senator, but his greatest monument lives in the pages of the Constitution and laws of his country, and in the doctrines of patriotism he inculcated and enforced.

Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks was born Sept. 7, 1819, on a farm near Zanesville, Muskingum Co., Ohio, his father, John Hendricks, having been a native of Western Pennsylvania. The family was one of the first to settle in Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland Co., and took an active part in the administration of public affairs, serving with honor in the Legislature and other places of trust. The mother, Jane Thomson Hendricks, was of Scotch descent. Her grandfather, John Thomson, emigrated to Pennsylvania before the Revolution, and was conspicuous among the pioneers of that date for his intelligence, integrity, enterprise, love of country, and far-reaching good-will to men. As soon as assured of the wisdom of emigration, he addressed a letter to the Scotch people setting forth the advantages of American soil.

climate, aad institutions so forcibly that the section of the State where he lived was principally settled by his countrymen. Several of his sons were soldiers in the Revolutionary war, and many of his descendants have attained distinction in the diflFerent walks of life. Beside those bearing his name, may be mentioTied the Agnews, of New York, the Blacks and Watsons, of Pittsburgh, the Wylies, of Philadelphia, and the Heudrickses, of Indiana. The wife of John Hendricks and her niece are the only members of the Thomson family who emigrated West. In nearly every branch of the family the pioneer Calvinistic faith of the Thomsons is still maintained. When Thomas A. Hendricks was six months old his parents removed from Ohio to Madison, Ind. This was the home of William Hendricks, that uncle of Thomas A. who in indirect line preceded him in the enjoyment of his signal tokens of public confidence and respect. He was then a member of Congress, three years subsequently he was elected Governor, and at the end of the term was chosen to the United States Senate. All of these positions he filled acceptably. He was indeed the first representative in Congress who brought the State into favorable repute. John, the father of Thomas A., had some share of government patronage. He held the appointment of deputy surveyor of public land under Gen. Jackson, and in that capacity became generally known and respected. As early as 1822 he removed with his family to the interior of the State, and held the first title to the fine land upon a portion of which Shelbyville, the county-seat of Shelby County, is located. In the heart of the dense forest, upon a gentle eminence overlooking the beautiful valley, he built the sightly and commodious brick homestead which yet stands in good preservation in open view of the thriving city and richly cultivated country around. It soon became known as a centre of learning and social delight, and was the favorite resort of men of distinction and worth. It was in particular the seat of hospitality to the orthodox ministry, Mr. Hendricks being the principal founder and supporter of the Presbyterian Church in the community. The presiding genius of that home was the gentle wife and mother, who tempered the atmosphere of learning and zeal with the sweet influences of charity and love. Essentially clever and persistent, she was possessed of a rare quality of patience, which stood her in better stead than a turbulent, aggressive spirit. A close analy.sis of the character of Thomas A. Hendricks is not necessary to show that this trait was preeminently his birthright. It is thus apparent that the childhood and youth of Mr. Hendricks were passed under the happiest auspices. Together with his brothers and sisters he attended the village school and derived the full benefit of very respectable and thorough instruction. His senior brother, Abram, pursued college studies at the University of Ohio, and at South Hanover, Ind., and subsequently became a minister of the Presbyterian Church. In turn Thomas A. attended college at South Hanover, and then began the study of law at home under the advice and instruction of Judge Major. In so doing he followed the bent of his early and most cherished inclinations. In boyhood he developed a fondness for legal discussions, and when but twelve years of age attended the hearing of important cases in the courts. The final period of law study he prosecuted under the tuition of his uncle, Judge Thomson, of Chambersburg, Pa., and was admitted to the bar at Shelbyville. His success was not rapid, but he grew in favor by careful attention to business, and acquired a leading practice. His professional career has since been so interwoven with official life that it is next to impossible to refer to one without speaking of the other. In 1848 he was elected to the Legislature, and declined a renomination. In 1850 he was chosen without opposition senatorial delegate to the convention empowered to amend the State Constitution, and took an important part in the deliberative proceedings. In 1851 he was elected to Congress from the Indianapolis district, and re-elected in 1852, but defeated in 1854. He was in 1855 appointed commissioner of the general land office by President Pierce. This mark of executive favor was expected, and the wisdom of the selection proved by the able and satisfactory manner in which the duties were discharged at a time when the sales, entries, and grants were larger than ever before in the history of the country. The term of four years in the land office was followed by an unsuccessful race for Governor In 1860. In 1 862 he was chosen United States senator by the unanimous vote of his party, and during the period of his term in the Senate, the Democrats being in a small minority, he was compelled to take a prominent part in the proceedings of that body. He favored the earnest prosecution of the war, and voted for supplies to sustain the army. He was opposed to conscription, and favored the enlistment of volunteers and payment of soldiers' bounties. At the close of the war he held that the States engaged in rebellion had at no time been out of the Union, and were therefore entitled to fall representation in Congress. He maintained that the people of those States should have entire control of their respective State governments. These views placed him in opposition to the reconstruction policy which was adopted by the majority in Congress. He also opposed the constitutional amendments because the Southern States were not represented, and because, in his opinion, such amendments should not be made before sectional passions had time to subside. He held that amendments to the Constitution should be considered only when the public is in a cool, deliberative frame of mind. His term in the Senate expired March 4, 1869, when he devoted himself exclusively to the profession of law, having in 1860 removed to Indianapolis with that end in view. In 1862 he formed a partnership with Mr. Oscar B. Hord, which was extended in 1866 to a cousin, Col. A. W. Hendricks, under the firm-name of Hendricks, Hord & Hendricks. The business of the firm was large, important, and lucrative. In 1872, Thomas A. Hendricks was forced to relinquish the practice of his profession by an election to the office of chief executive of the State. He accepted the nomination against his earnest protest, but made a vigorous contest, supporting the Greeley ticket. He was inaugurated Governor Jan. 13, 1873, and served the State in that office for four years. He gave his undivided attention to the interests of the State, his administration of public affiiirs being above criticism. In the political contest of 1876 he was the Democratic candidate for the Vice-Presidency, and carried his own State by upward of five thousand majority. After the decision of the

Electoral Commission Governor Hendricks, accompanied by his wife, made a brief sojourn in Europe, spending the summer in a tour of Great Britain, Germany, and France. He resumed on his return the practice of law with his former partners, with the addition of ex-Governor Conrad Baker, who took Governor Hendricks' place in the firm when succeeded by him in the gubernatorial office, the firm-name being Baker, Hord & Hendricks. The personal mention of Thomas A. Hendricks may be given briefly : he was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but has for some years been a member of the Episcopal Church, and is senior warden of St. Paul's Cathedral, Indianapolis. He was married near Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 25, 1845, to Miss Eliza C. Morgan, who is a granddaughter of Dr. Stephen Wood, a prominent citizen and early settler of Hamilton County, Ohio. Governor and Mrs. Hendricks have had but one child, a son born in 1848, who lived to be three years of age. The extent and character of Governor Hendricks' attainments can be well gauged by his public and professional record. The .same may be said of his political views, although he has stronger convictions than are credited to him. Under a somewhat cautious, reserved manner he conceals great depth of sentiment and indomitable faith in the triumph of right over wrong, truth over envy, malice, and detraction. In social as in public relations he is steadfast in his friendships and generous to his foes. He has a happy equanimity of temper which reconciles him to the inevitable and nerves him to make the best of life. A certain amount of benignity is imparted to his voice, which in carrying a point before a jury is almost irresistible. In appearance Governor Hendricks is distinguished, possessing a fine figure and a dignified presence. As his methods of thought and forms of expression are peculiar to himself, so in the execution of his plans he departs so much from the beaten track that the end in view is often lost sight of by others. It is none the less plain to him, and it is a question if he ever sought an object, the accomplishment of which depended upon his own exertions, that he did not gain.

father, John McDonald, was of Scotch extraction, a native of Pennsylvania, and by occupation a farmer. He was a man of sterling worth, determined and selfsacrificing. He died when Joseph E. was still in his infancy, thus depriving him of support and counsel, and casting upon him many burdens and responsibilities. His mother, Eleanor Piatt, was a Pennsylvanian, her ancestors being French Huguenots, who located first in New Jersey and afterwards permanently in Ohio. She was a woman of superior intellect, her standards all high, her influences always elevating. Her highest ambition - a mother's - was to educate her children and make them useful members of society. She and her husband were both earnest members of the Presbyterian Church. She later married John Kerr, of Butler County, Ohio, a native of Ireland, and a frugal, industrious farmer. He with his family moved in the fall of 1826 to \ Montgomery County, Ind., Joseph E. then being seven years of age. While still a mere boy he determined to make the profession of law his life-work. At twelve years of age he was apprenticed to the saddler's trade at Lafayette. For nearly six years he served as an apprentice, being released from the last three months for fidelity to the interest of his employers. These three months he spent in studying. During his apprenticeship he had access to the library of a government official, and what leisure he commanded was devoted to the English branches. He entered Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind., in 1838, supporting himself by plying his trade. Two years later he was a student al: Asbury University, Greencastle. Mr. McDonald did not graduate. A diploma and degree were given him, however, while he was a member of the United States Senate. His first preceptor in law was Zebulon Baird, one of the first lawyers of the State, and a resident of Lafayette. In 1853 he was admitted to practice upon an examination before the Supreme Court of the State. Four years later he began practicing in Crawfordsville, and in 1859 removed to Indianapolis. His first law partner at Indianapolis was ex-judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana, Addison L. Roache. His present partners are John M. Butler and A. L. Mason. Mr. McDonald, with the late Judge Black, was counsel for the defendants in the celebrated case of Bowles, Horsey, and Milligan, tried for treason and conspiracy by a military commission at Indianapolis, and sentenced to be hung. The case was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, where a number of important constitutional questions arose as to the relations of the general government to the States, the war power of the government, and the rights of the citizen. The defendants were released by the Supreme Court. In the case of Beebe vs. the State, in which the Supreme Court decided that the enactment known as the Maine liquor law was unconstitutional, Mr. McDonald was of the counsel for the defendants. He was also one of the attorneys for the parties who assailed the constitutionality of the Baxter liquor law. He has taken an active part in many other important cases before the Supreme Court of the State and the Federal Court.

The senator is most successful in his pleading before a jury, and is a shrewd examiner. He is not an eloquent talker, but has the ability to influence those who listen to him by the fairness of his arguments.

Before he had received his license to practice law, Mr. McDonald was nominated for the office of prosecuting attorney, and elected the following fall over Robert Jones, Whig, and a prominent member of the Lafayette bar. This was the first election of that class of officers by the people, they having been formerly chosen by the Legislature. As prosecuting atJ torney he served four years. He was elected to the Thirty-first Congress from the district in which Crawfordsville was then situated, having removed to that place during his official term as prosecutor at Lafayette.

Returning to the State after his congressional term, he was elected attorney-general of Indiana five years later. He was the first choice of the people for this office, and held it two terms. With Oliver P. Morton as an opponent, he made the race for Governor of Indiana in 1864. He ran ahead of his ticket, but Mr. Morton was elected by nearly twenty thousand votes. Eleven years later Mr. McDonald took his seat in the United States Senate as a successor to Daniel D. Pratt. He was chairman of the Committee on Public Lands and the second member of the

Judiciary Committee. He visited New Orleans to investigate the count of the vote of Louisiana in the contest of 1876, and made the principal argument for the objectors before the P]lectoral Commission. The senator was also a member of the Teller- Wallace committee to investigate the frauds in elections in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. At the expiration of his senatorial term he returned to Indianapolis, where he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession. He is and always has been a firm and consistent Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, as personified in the political life of Andrew Jackson. He believes the true idea of American democracy is to preserve unimpaired all the rights reserved to the States, respectively, and to the people, without infringing upon any of the powers delegated to the general government by the Constitution, and that constitutional government is of the first importance and a necessity to the perpetuity of the American Union. He believes in the virtue of the people, and in their ability and purpose to maintain their institutions inviolate against the assaults of designing men. As an orator, both at the bar and on the hustings, Mr. McDonald is cool, logical, and forcible ; as a citizen, he has the confidence and respect of all who know him, regardless of political creeds. He is regarded by all parties as a statesman of acknowledged merit. His views are broad and comprehensive on all questions of public interest, - not a man of expedients, but stating his views clearly and boldly, leaving the result to the candid judgment of the people. The opinions of his most bitter opponents are never treated with disdain. His steadfastness of purpose, his honest desire to accomplish what was best for the people have given him a home in their hearts and won for him high honors at their hands. Their confidence has never been betrayed or sacrificed for personal aggrandizement. Mr. McDonald is in religion an attendant and pewholder, but not a member, of the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis. He has been three times married. On the 25th of November, 1844, he was united to Miss Nancy Ruth Buell, to whom were born children, - Ezekiel M., Malcolm A., Frank B., and Annie M. (Mrs. Caldwell). Mrs. McDonald died Sept. 7, 1872, and he was again married on the 15th of September, 1874, to Mrs. Araminta W. Vance, who died Feb. 2, 1875. On the 12th of January, 1881, he was married to his present wife, Mrs. Josephine F. Barnard, nee Farnsworth, of Indianapolis, daughter of Joseph Farnsworth, formerly of Madison, Ind.

Governor David Wallace was born in Mifflin County, Pa., April 24, 1799. His parents removed to Ohio when he was a boy, and from that State, through the influence of Gen. Harrison, he received a cadetship in West Point Academy, where, after graduation, he was for some time a tutor in mathematics. He removed to Brookville while still a young man, and began the practice of the law there. He represented the county in the Legislature some years, and in 1834 was elected Lieutenant-Governor on the ticket with Governor Noble's re-election. In 1837 he was elected Governor and removed to the capital, which was thenceforward his home. He married, as his second wife, Zerelda, eldest daughter of the eminent physician. Dr. Sanders, and in 1839 the Legislature purchased for the official residence of the Executive the house then recently built by Dr. Sanders on the northwest corner of Illinois and Market Streets. In 1841, at a special election to meet the demand of President Harrison for an extra session of Congress, he was elected over a^ Judge Wick, and served till March 4, 1843. In Congress it was his fortune to be the last man on the roll of the committee to which had been referred the petition of Professor Morse for forty thousand dollars to make an electric telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore. The vote on recommending such an appropriation was a tie till Governor Wallace gave the casting vote for it. He saved that just appropriation, and it beat him in his contest for re-election. His opponent, the late William J. Brown, used the idleness and waste of spending money on such schemes with disastrous effect. After the establishment of the Court of Common Pleas he served a term as its judge. He was also prosecutor in the Circuit Court for some years. Both in intellect and personal appearance and bearing Governor Wallace seemed formed by nature for an orator, and when deeply moved, as he was sometimes at the bar, espe- cially in prosecuting cruel crimes, he was the most eloquent man ever heard in Indianapolis. His nature was exceedingly social, genial, and generous, and he was a most delightful companion for young men, whose company he seemed to prefer. He died in September, 1859. His eldest son, William, is a distinguished member of the bar, and even more distinguished as an orator and leading member of the Odd- Fellows. His second, Lewis, is the well-known novelist and general, now minister to Constantinople.

Less known as a politician, but not less favorably known professionally than the distinguished lawyers whose lives have just been briefly sketched, is John M. Butler.

John Maynard Butler. - The parents of Mr. Butler were Calvin Butler and Malvina French Butler, the latter of whom was a direct descendant of Governor Bradford, of Massachusetts, both natives of Vermont. The former learned the trade of a shoemaker, which was followed until his thirtieth year, when, having a desire to acquire an education, he made his way through Middlebury College, and subsequently entered the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass. Having thus gained a thorough theological as well as classical training, he came West to preach, and settled in Evansville, Ind. Subsequently he removed to Northern Illinois, where his death occurred in 1854. There being a large family of children in the household, the subject of this sketch, who was born at Evansville, Ind., Sept. 17, 1834, was compelled to rely mainly upon his own exertions, and consequently at the age of twelve years engaged as clerk and in other employments. Having inherited a love of learning and a determination to acquire a thorough education, he succeeded in entering Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, in 1851, and through his own efforts, with partial help, graduated in 1856. The same day he was elected president of the Female Seminary at Crawfordsville, which position he held for three successive years, after which he became principal of the High-School. During this period he pursued the study of the law with the intention of adopting it as a profession. In the fall of 1861 he made an extended tour through the Northwestern States, in pursuit of a location for the practice of law. Returning, he settled in Crawfordsville in November, 1861. From that day until the present he has been kept constantly busy, his first case being an important one that passed through the Circuit and Supreme Courts of Indiana, ending in the complete success of the young lawyer. This gave him an early prestige and greatly increased his practice in the town and surrounding counties. In 1871 he came to Indianapolis and succeeded Judge A. L. Roache as partner with Hon. Joseph E. Mo- Donald, their relations being continued to the present time. Mr. George C. Butler was taken into the firm in 1875, and after his death Mr. A. L. Mason, the present firm being McDonald, Butler & Mason. Their practice has steadily increased, notwithstanding the protracted absence of Mr. McDonald when filUng the office of United States senator at Washington. Mr. Butler's thorough mastery of the intricate problems of the law, and ability in the conduct of important cases, have placed him in the foremost rank of successful lawyers in the State. Difi^ering from his distinguished partner politically, he ha.s always affiliated ardently with the Republican cause, and has taken no inconsiderable part in forwarding the interests of that party. Aspiring to no office, and repeatedly declining nominations, he has been an active worker in political campaigns, speaking throughout this State and extending his labors to other States. He is a popular political orator, his speeches having been extensively published and read. Mr. Butler is an active member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, in which he is a ruling elder and member of the board of trustees. As a jurist he stands in the first rank in a bar that embraces in its list many of the ablest lawyers in the country, the practice of the firm being with cases of the weightiest importance. Wisely avoiding the paths that lead to military and civic distinction, he has a far more enviable record as a successful lawyer, a useful and respected citizen, and a thorough Christian gentleman. Mr. Butler was married in April, 1857, to Miss Sue W. Jennison, of Crawfordsville, Ind. Their children are a son and a daughter. George Calvin Butler, a brother of Mr. Butler, was born May 3, 1851, in Marine, 111., and graduated at Wabash College in 1872. He adopted the law as a profession, became a partner in a firm that was constantly dealing with difficult suits, involving the subtleties of the law and vast property interests. His talents comraanded the confidence of his superiors and placed in his charge cases rarely intrusted to a young man. He invariably became master of his cases, and early won the high approbation of the judges of the highest courts at which he practiced. His brilliant career as a promising and successful lawyer and a sincere and earnest Christian was suddenly ended by death on the 10th of November, 1^82.

From its central situation the capital has been the principal point of business for Eastern agencies ever since it was large enough to have any business to attend to. Claims of Eastern merchants have been largely sent here to collect in all parts of the State, and the business, though involving no great extent of law practice or erudition, has been very lucrative. The firm of Fletcher, Butler & Yandes did a very extensive collecting business, with a very large litigated business besides ; but probably the largest collecting business, combined with ordinary legal business, ever conducted in the city was that of William Henderson.

William Henderson. - The ancestors of Mr. Henderson were of Scotch-Irish extraction, and resided in the north of Ireland. John Henderson, his father, was a native of Albemarle County, Va., where his parents settled before the Revolution. He was married to Miss Nancy Bucker and had- children, - Thomas, Robert, Reuben, John, Polly, and William. Mr. Henderson on reaching manhood removed to Alabama, and later to Mooresville, Morgan Co., where his death occurred. His son William was born Oct. 14, 1820, in Lawrence County, Ala., in the immediate vicinity of the town of Molton, and at the age of nine years removed with his parents to Indiana. His early educational advantages were limited, both from want of opportunities adjacent to his home and lack of means to prosecute his studies abroad. At the age of seventeen years he engaged in active labor, and later acquired the trade of a saddler in Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio. During an apprenticeship of four y«ars, diligent attendance upon the sessions of a night school enabled him to become proficient in the various English branches, and fitted him for the calling of a teacher. He, during this interval, began the study of law with Messrs. J. S. & A. J. Hawkins, of Eaton, which was continued for two years, when he was admitted to practice in Indiana, his license having been signed by Judges J. T. Elliott and David Kilgore, and in March, 184-1, removed to Newcastle, Henry Co., Ind., where an office was opened in connection with the late Judge Samuel E. Perkins, of Richmond, Ind., and later of Indianapolis. This business connection was continued until the appointment of the latter to the Supreme Court Bench, when the copartnership was dissolved. Mr. Henderson was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Indiana by examination in November, 1849, and to the bar of the United States Supreme Court in 1857. He continued to be a resident of Newcastle until 1851, when he located in Indianapolis. Here his abilities soon brought an extended and lucrative practice, which has been continued, with the exception of a brief interval devoted to other pursuits, until the present time, his business having pertained rather to commercial interests than to litigation of a general character. He has been since 1852 attorney for the Berkshire Life Insurance Company, and for ten years their general financial agent for the investment of the company's funds. ^ He was one of the incorporators and' has been for several years a director of the Board of Water- Works of the city of Indianapolis.

Mr. Henderson was in his political affiliations until 1854 a Whig. A change of views at that time caused him to act with the Democratic party, of which he has since been one of the most active supporters, though not a candidate for preferment at its hands. William Henderson was married in January, 1845, to Miss Martha A., daughter of Jonathan Paul, one of the earliest settlers of Decatur County, Ind. Their two children are William R., a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, settled at Holden, Mo., and Sarah (Mrs. J. P. Wiggins), of Indianapolis. Mrs. Henderson's death occurred in May, 1854, and he was married in April, 1855, to Miss Rachel McHargh, of Greensburg, Ind.

Tlu)ugh the Indianapolis bar has been so largely recruited from local bars, it has not lacked a fine supply of home-grown ability and attainment. Among those who have acquired a good position and reputation, after studying and entering the profession here, may be named Governor Albert G. Porter, Gen. John Coburn, William Wallace, Judge C. C. Hines, John Caven, the last better known as the mayor and executive officer of countless city duties during the greater part of the war, and the efficient promoter of the water supply and the Belt road and stock-yard enterprises, William W. Woollen, John S. Duncan, Gen. Fred. Knefler, Charles P. Jacobs, A. S. Wishard, and others. Governor Porter came here a young man or well-grown lad, and studied his profession with Hiram Brown, his father-in-law, and entered the bar here, as did Mr. Caven, who also came here a young man, and studied law with Smith & Yandes.

Hon. Albert G. Poeter was born at Lawrenceburg, Dearborn Co., Ind., April 20, 1824. His father was a native of Pennsylvania. At the age of eighteen the father became a volunteer soldier in the war of 1812. At the engagement of Mississiuewa, in the then existing Territory of Indiana, he received a serious wound, which never left him free from pain, and which he carried through life as an evidence of the honorable part he bore in that memorable struggle. He was a man of courage and convictions, of pleasant anecdote and brimming humor.

The mother came of a family of exceptional business tact and ability, and was accordinirly a woman of extraordinary good sense and judgment. She believed in cheerfulness, thrift, and energy, sturdy honesty, and honest straightforwardness. These fell to her son as an inheritance, and under the inspiration of his young ambition, even in his youth, the lines of his character were carved clean and clear.

His father, at the end of the war of 1812, settled in Indiana, at Lawrenccburg. The fandily remained there until the death of the grandfather of young Porter on his mother's side, when his father removed to Kentucky, having purchased the old homestead which belonged to his grandfather. Attached to that homestead there was a ferry across the Ohio River, nearly opposite Lawrenccburg. This ferry was on the regular route of travel from Indiana to Kentucky, and the father, who was then in moderate circumstances, left the entire management of that ferry, which consisted both of a horse-boat and a skiff, to his two sons. The responsibility which was thus early placed upon young Porter, and the necessity in a great measure of earning his own livelihood by labor, developed in him those traces of independence of character for which he became noted in later life. Many notable people were rowed across the Ohio River in his skiff when the travel was not heavy enough for the horse-boat.

At the age of fourteen he had saved money enough from the allowances he received for running the ferry to start for college. At the earliest opportunity he left the skiff and ferry-boat for Hanover College, Indiana, where he entered the preparatory department. There he remained until the scanty means which he had saved were exhausted. His father was unable to assist him, and there seemed to be no recourse for him except to go back to the horse ferryboat and the skiff, or to seek some other means to secure the funds necessary for the education that he was determined to have. At this juncture an uncle, who was in good circumstances and with whom the nephew was a favorite, wrote to him, telling him that he had heard that his means were exhausted, that he understood that he was determined to have an education, and that he, the uncle, would help him to get it. In the language of the letter, he would " see him through." That was the happiest day in young Porter's life. He speedily and gratefully accepted his uncle's proposition, and from that time there were fewer obstacles in his youthful career. But the acceptance of the offer made necessary a change of location. His uncle was a Methodist, and he desired that his young ward should enter upon his studies at 'Asbury University, at Greencastle, Ind.

Alter graduation he returned to Lawrenccburg and studied law for about ten months, when his health began to fail. Thinking that a change of occupation, even for a short time, would be beneficial, he secured a position as clerk in the ofiBce of the auditor of State, Horatio J. Harris. Governor Whitconib, wlio was at that time without a private secretary, noticed the neatness of the young clerk's writing and his habits of accuracy, and requested the auditor to allow Mr. Porter to act as his secretary. The request was granted.

Governor Whitcomb was a man of studious habits and scholarly attainments, whose association would sensibly quicken and influence the efforts of any young man. Mr. Porter remained with the Governor for several months and then turned again to the study of law, locating permanently at Indianapolis, where he entered upon the practice of his profession, in which he has long held a front rank at the Indiana bar. He was appointed May 3, 1851, as city attorney for a term of two years, and subsequently (May, 1857-59) served as a member of the Common Council.

In 1853, Mr. Porter, who was then a Democrat, was appointed by Governor Wright reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Indiana, to fill a vacancy that had occurred by the death of the former reporter. By this time Mr. Porter had attained a reputation for industry and ability, and he was unanimously recommended by the Supreme Court judges to fill this vacancy. The following year he was elected to the same ofiBce on the general ticket by fourteen thousand majority.

In 1&56 he came into the newly-formed Kepublican party on the question of the exclusion of slavery from the Territories, and in 1858, although not a candidate for the nomination, Mr. Porter was nominated by the Republican convention at Indianapolis as a candidate for Congress. Hon. Martin M. Ray was his Democratic opponent.

The district two years previously had gone Democratic by eight hundred majority, yet Mr. Porter was elected to Congress by a majority of more than one thousand, and two years afterwards, when he was a candidate against Robert L. VValpole, he was elected by an increased majority. Before the meeting of the convention to nominate a candidate again, however, Mr. Porter published a card declining further service in Congress. Gen. Dumont, then

While in Congress, Mr. Porter was a member of the Judiciary Committee for his entire term of service. In this capacity he developed great ability as a lawyer, and assisted in drawing the important law reports for that committee during his term of service.

He made a report on the liability of railroads which had received land-grants to transport United States troops and war material free of charge. This report attracted a good deal of attention, and, upon motion of Elihu B. Washburne, was republished at the next session of Congress as a very important contribution to anti-monopoly literature. That report took the ground that the provision in the landgrant acts should be and ought to be enforced. Before that time the monopolies had been having their own way, having seemed to control both Congress and the executive ; but after Mr. Porter's report they were compelled to transport troops and munitions of war free. The consequence was that the revenues of the government were largely increased from this source. Like most young members, he made a speech in favor of the abolition of the franking privilege. He was always on the side of the people. In the notable contest relative to the Isthmus of Chiriqui, Mr. Porter took sides against the scheme, and antagonized Gen. Dan Sickles, who was one of its noted advocates. Another of Mr. Porter's notable speeches was on the general subject of the war, and condemning all compromise schemes. Mr. Porter retired from congressional life because he had a young and growing family, and wisely thought that he ought not to sacrifice his future in political life, but should return to the profession of the law, and endeavor to build up his fortune. This he did, and in his professional career he was eminently successful.

Mr. Porter was put in nomination before the convention of 1876 as a candidate for Governor of Indiana, but he caused a letter to be read declining to allow his name to be used. Notwithstanding his declaration, however, he received many votes in the convention. From the time he left Congress he devoted himself assiduously to his profession, although he nearly always took some part in State political campaigns. He continued his practice until he was very unexpectedly invited, in 1881, to accept the appointment of First Comptroller of the United States Treasury. This appointment was tendered him by Secretary Sherman, who knew his position as a lawyer in Indiana, and who desired a competent person to fill the place. The duties of First Comptroller of the Treasury are not generally understood. They are very important, and are entirely judicial. It is the one office in the government from whose decisions there is no appeal. The Secretary of the Treasury cannot annul decisions of the First Comptroller. The word of the First Comptroller of the Treasury is the final authority on all constructions of law and interpretations of statutes relating to the vast disbursements of the treasury. To this ofiice Mr. Porter was summoned without notice by the Secretary of the Treasury, and he occupied it with distinguished ability. It is a position which requires great knowledge of the law and unimpeached integrity.

From this position he was called by the convention of June 17, 1880, to represent his party as the candidate for Governor of the State. As has been the case with every office which he has held, this honor has come to him unsought. The campaign was made in the spirit of his dispatch of acceptance, in which he said,- -

" The contest will be a strenuous one, but if there is not one Republican who feels that he is too humble to do something for the cause, and all will work earnestly and with good cheer, we shall win the field. Let us have very many township and schoolhouse meetings and few great conventions, and let every man feel that what is greatly worth having is greatly worth working for."

He was elected in October, 1880, over Franklin Landers, the Democratic nominee, by a majority of six thousand nine hundred and fifty-three, - about two thousand ahead of the ticket.

The administration of Governor Porter thus far has been one of the most faithful, honest, and economical which has ever characterized the history of Indiana. There are few men in public life who are

Governor Porter is by nature of a conservative temperament, but it is a conservatism that comports well with all his other characteristics, and has in it nothing suggestive of timidity. It is that mental poise which causes him to thoroughly investigate all questions before taking action upon them.

These qualities have been brought with effect to the discharge of the duties of Governor, noticeably in the veto messages sent by him to the Assemblies of 1881 and 1883, which, had not a veto intercepted the passage of bills, would not only needlessly have caused the expenditure of large amounts of money, but, in at least one instance, would have invaded the constitutional guaranty of personal security. In no instance, except upon purely party questions, has a bill been reconsidered by the Legislature after his veto. The same care has been bestowed upon the consideration of public accounts, and in whatever degree authority to control public expenditures is vested in the Governor he has used it, though unostentatiously, in the interest of economy.