men; but only
of public duty.
He never flinched from uttering and maintaining his opinions.
He never caressed or cajoled his political antagonists. It
is a great tribute to his personal quality that he owed his
election as Senator to his political opponents who, when his
own party was divided, joined a majority of his party to elect
him. He also, as has been said, owed his appointment as Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court to the impression which his probity
and ability had made on his political opponents. When sick
with a fatal illness he left a sick bed to take his place
upon the Bench at the call of duty when the Income Tax case
was to be decided. There is no doubt that the effort hastened
his death. I do not agree with the conclusion to which he
came on that great occasion. But the fact that he came to
that conclusion is enough to make me feel sure that there
were strong reasons for it, which might well convince the
clearest understanding, and be reconciled with the most conscientious
desire to do right.
No list of the remarkable Senators of my time would be complete
which did not contain the name of Senator Vest of Missouri.
He was not a very frequent speaker, and never spoke at great
length. But his oratoric powers are of a very high order.
On some few occasions he has made speeches, always speaking
without notes, and I suppose without previous preparation
so far as expression and style go, which have very deeply
moved the Senate, though made up of men who have been accustomed
to oratory and not easily stirred to emotion. Mr. Vest is
a brave, sincere, spirited and straightforward man. He has
a good many of the prejudices of the old Southern Secessionist.
I think those prejudices would long ago have melted away in
the sunshine of our day of returning good feeling and affection,
but for the fact that his chivalrous nature will not permit
him to abandon a cause or an opinion to which he has once
adhered, while it is unpopular. He is like some old cavalier who
supported the Stuarts, who lived down into the days of the
House of Hanover, but still toasted the King over the water.
Among the most interesting characters with whom it has been
my fortune to serve is Senator John W. Daniel of Virginia.
Our ways of life, and in many particulars our ways of thinking,
are far apart. But I have been led to form a great respect
for his intellectual qualities, and for his sincere and far-
sighted patriotism
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