©uUtntltitt ©ollfjje GIVEN BY Vo.\i\\sVet This book is due two weeks from the last date stamped below, and if not returned at or before that time a fine of five cents a day will be incurred. .WN 3 4 193 a 52d Congrkss, } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Mis. Doc. 1st Session. j \ No. 141. ADDRESSES PRESENTATION OF THE PORTRAITS SPEAKERS GROW AND RANDALL, Late Representatives from the State of Pennsylvania, DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Fifty-Second Congress, First Session. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF CONGRESS. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. I S92. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION to provide for the printing of the addresses upon the presenta- tion of the portraits of Hons. Galusha A. Grow and Samuel J. Randall. Resoht'd bv the House of Representatives {the Senate eoncurring)^ That there be printed ten thousand copies of the addresses delivered in the House of Representatives on January 21, 1892, upon the presentation of the portraits of Hon. Galusha A. Grow and Hon. Samuel J. Randall by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That out of this number the Public Printer will deliver fifty copies to Mr. Grow, fifty copies to Mrs. Samuel J. Randall, one hundred copies to the committee of the Pennsylvania Legislature touching said portraits, one thousand to the folding room of the Senate for the use of Senators, and the remainder to the House for the use of Members and Delegates. Agreed to by the House of Representatives March 10, 1S92. Agreed to by the Senate March 9, 1S92. 2 to a) f- PROCEEDINGS IX THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. January 21, 1892. The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will read the resolu- tion which directs the order of proceedings for this hour. The Clerk read as follows: Resolved, That January 21, at 2 o'clock p. m., be set apart for the presentation to the House of Representatives of the portraits of ex-Speakers GROW and Randall by the Common- wealth of Penns>-lvania, and that upon the occasion the com- mittees of the senate and house of representatives of that State be admitted to the floor. [The portraits of the ex-Speakers named in the resolution (painted, under the direction of the Legislature of Pennsylva- nia, by W. A. Greaves, of Warren, Pa.) were placed in the area in front of the Clerk's desk.] Hon. Galusha a. Grow, of Pennsylvania, ex-Speaker, occu- pied a seat on the floor of the House. The Speaker /;■itation of the of Representatives of the United States Congress in a pnblic manner, as a token of the pride and appreciation which the peo- ple of this Commonwealth have in the memory and services of these distinguished men." The committee appointed under the provisions of this act con- sists of Hon. J. P. S. Gobin, president pro tempore of the sen- ate; Hon. C. C. Thompson, speaker of the house of repre- sentatives; Gen. D. B. McCreary, from the senate, and Messrs. F. W. Hays and John H. Fow, of the house of representatives. This committee secured the services of W. A. Greaves, of Warren, Pa., and intrusted to him the work of painting the portraits of Messrs Grow and Randall. Mr. Greaves was fortunate in securing the personal attendance in his studio of ex-Speaker Grow, and has thus been able to present from life a faithful portrait of him, but softened and silvered somewhat by the lapse of time since he occupied the chair of this House. For the portrait of Mr. Randall the artist had as a guide only a photograph furnished by the family and the crayon por- trait upon the wall of the corridor of the House, but he has sought to produce, and I believe with great success, a faithful portrait of Speaker Randall as he was when he occupied the chait of this House. The committee of the L,egislature of Pennsylvania are now present, and, by your courtesy, upon the floor of the House. It is also a pleasant feature of this occasion that we have with us ]Mr. Grow, erect, alert, and vigorous, in the full enjoyment of the talents and powers which gave him eminence in this House. And now, sir, for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and speaking in behalf of the committee of her L,egislature here present, I present to the House of Representatives of the United States Congress these portraits of its former Speakers, Galusha Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 7 A. Grow and Samuel J. Randall. They are tendered to you, in the apt language of the governor of Pennsylvania, " as a token of the pride and appreciation which the people of that Commonwealth have in the memory and services of these dis- tinguished men" and in the hope that they will prove a fitting memorial of eminent services in the past and an inspiration to patriotic efforts in the future. Sir, the successful Speaker of this House must be recognized as a great man. Our peculiar parliamentary system concen- trates in his hands vast powers and imposes great responsibili- ties. To execute the one justly and impartially and to meet the other efficiently and successfully requires talents and qual- ities, mental, moral, and physical, of no common grade. This is especially so in periods of general unrest, when the passions and prejudices of men are highly excited and their feelings and convictions are deeply aroused. It was at such periods that the sons of Pennsylvania occupied the chair of this House. When the First Congress assembled the Government had hardly been formed. The Constitution had been but recently established. The chaos which succeeded the close of the Rev- olution was but slowly giving place to more orderly methods and more systematic government. That ' ' more perfect union, ' ' which was a primary purpose of the formation of the Constitu- tion, rested as yet but uneasily and insecurely upon the various elements united. The great question of the extent of the del- egated powers of the General Government and the reserved rights of the States was a practical problem commanding attention of the best minds in the new Republic. To satisfac- torily adjust its relations with the people and to put in practical running order this new Government for a new nation was the onerous task which confronted the First Congress. Among its 8 Addresses delivered on ike Presentation of the members were many of the fathers of the Republic, and to be called upon to preside over that body and direct its delibera- tions, and so to discharge the duties of his office as to secure a subsequent reelection, was a high tribute to the talents, abilities, and character of Pennsylvania's distinguished son, Frederick A. Muhlenberg. Nearly three-quarters of a century later, when reason and argument had failed to settle the great question of the relative powers and rights of the General Government and of the individual States and the dread arbitrament of war had been invoked ; when clouds hung dark and portentous over the nation's horizon, and men were asking themselves and asking each other, with fear and trembling, whether this nation must indeed go down in blood and ruin, President Lincoln sum- moned the Thirty-seventh Congress to meet in extraordinary session on the anniversary of the nation's birth. The men who answered that call came fresh from the people. They voiced the patriotic purpose and the firm determination that the Union should be preserved aaid the nation saved. Among them were the great commoner Thaddeus Stevens, the venerable statesman John J. Crittenden, the dashing Logan, and the stately Conkling, Washburne, Colfax, Lovejoy, Voor- hees, Holman, Wilson, Windom, Dawes, Morrill, Fenton, Kelley, Hickman, McPherson, Blair, Wheeler, Pendleton, Wickliffe, Cox, Maynard, and others no less able and distin- guished, but of all that remarkable body of men who gathered in this Hall on that July morning not one remains still a mem- ber of this House except the venerable and distinguished gentle- man from Indiana, Judge Holman. The House organized promptly. Without the formality of a caucus, and with no persistent opposition, Galusha A. Grow Portraits of Speakers Grozo and Randall. 9 was elected Speaker on the first ballot. He had entered Con- gress ten years before, its youngest member. His persistent and unyielding championship of the homestead bill, his careful study of the great questions then agitating the country, his readiness in speech, his fertility of resource, his parliamentary knowledge, his courageous and, I might say, almost aggressive defense of his personal rights and dignity and of the deep convictions of the great loyal North, specially designated him as the man to take the helm, and bravely and well he held it. Samuel J. Randall entered the House when Grow left it. During the closing years of the war and the turbulent period of reconstruction he served with constantly increasing efficienc}- and prominence as a member of this bod)-, and when the death of Speaker Kerr, in the fall of 1S76, rendered a new election necessary, he naturally succeeded to the Speakership. When he took the chair partisan feeling ran high. The re- sult of the recent national election was still in dispute, and the contest continued during the entire winter, taking shape in the closing hours of the .session in an effort to prevent the conclu- sion of the counting of the electoral vote. As descriptive of the conduct and bearing of Speaker Randall in that critical juncture I can not do better than quote from his own words when he offered the resolution in this House accepting the por- traits of Sedgwick, Varnum, and Banks. Said he: "Soon after I entered this House, now more than a quarter of a century ago, I came to consider that that office which you, sir, now temporarily hold was the highest office within the reach of an American citizen; that it was a grand official station, great in the honors which it conferred and still greater in the ability it gave to impress upon our history and legislation the stamp of truth, fairness, justice, and right. * * * When it fell to my fortune to occup>- the Speaker's chair, I realized how true was my idea of the position and its possibilities ; and 10 Addresses delivered o)i the Presentation of the I do not believe there is anyone worthy of being mentioned in connection with it who, the very instant he takes it, will not become so broad and generons in the scope of his political vision as to act regardless of individnal and personal conse- quences and only for the best interests of the American peo- ple, as his judgment shall dictate." The Speaker of the House rose grandly above the fettering entanglements of partisan allegiance and demonstrated that he had indeed ' ' become so broad and generous in the scope of his political vision as to act regardless of individual and personal consequences and only for the best interests of the American people." The count proceeded to a close. The danger of violence, bloodshed, and anarchy passed by, and the country recognized the strong will and the stern virtue of Samuel J. Randall as a potent factor in preserving the nation's peace. It has been my purpose, Mr. Speaker, thus briefly to simply call attention to the fact that the Speakers of this House from Pennsylvania have occupied the chair at turbulent and memor- able epochs in our history, and have so carried themselves in their high office as to give that grand old Commonwealth just cause to cherish with pride the fact that they were her sons; and I leave to my colleagues, their successors on this floor, now representing the districts which honored them and which they more greatly honored, the grateful task of detailing more fully their services and delineating more completely their characters. But, sir, I can not forbear from paying my tribute of reverent homage to one marked characteristic common to both. They were singtilarly pure, honest, and earnest in their convictions and conduct, and of unflinching courage in their allegiance to those convictions. Where the path of duty led, or where they thought it led, they trod, utterly regardless of difficulties or dangers. Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 1 1 And now, sir, the Cominonwealth of Pennsylvania tenders to you these faithful reproductions of the physical lineaments of her distinguished sons. Their services, their time, and their strength, their best qualities and most earnest efforts of mind and heart, she has freely given to the nation in the years that are past. The record of their services and achievements has gone into their country's history. Their examples and their characters, for emulation and inspiration, are and must remain a part of the nation's treasures. [Applause.] Address of Mr. Wright, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Spe.'Vker: It is always less embarrassing to eulogize men who have passed away than those who are still among us, for the kindly veil that Death draws leaves visible only the bright spots in the lives of the departed. We are too often called upon with saddened minds and hearts filled with grief to bear testimony to the virtues and graces of those who have left vacant places, and all angularities and asperities are softened and forgotten by the knowledge that they will walk among us no more. But of those who are still living, who are still fighting the battle of life and whose names may still be heard in the polit- ical arena, it requires a full measure of faith and confidence in their manhood, ability, and patriotism to proclaim them as worthy of the bright chaplet of fame without fear of its luster becoming dimmed. Galxjsha a. Grow, whom we are here to-day to honor, was born in Ashford, Windham Count>-, Conn. , from which place he removed to Susquehanna County, Pa., in May, 1S34, being 12 Addj^esses delivered on the Presentation of tJze at that time about ten years of age. In the spring of 1838 he entered Franklin Academy at Harford, Pa., leavine there in 1840 to enter Amherst College, from which he graduated with high honors in 1844. In 1845 ^'^^ began studying law with Hon. F. B. Streeter, of Montrose, Pa., and on April 19, 1847, was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna County. In 1848 he became a law partner of Hon. David Wilmot, of Bradford County, Pa., and when, in 1850, Mr. Wilmot, the can- didate of the Free Soil branch, and James Lowery, the candi- date of the Proslavery branch of the Democratic part}-, with- drew as candidates for Congress, Mr. Grow received the nomi- nation from both branches of the party and was elected. Thus Mr. Grow, over forty years ago, became a member of the Thirty-second Congress, and at once became prominent in its deliberations; and, after ten years of honorable service on the floor of the House, the best proof of the high estimation in which he was held by his colleagues is the fact that the}' elected him to the third position in the land, Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the ten years preceding his election as Speaker he served with distinction On the Committees on Indian Affairs, Agri- culture, and Territories, being a member of the latter for six years and its chairman for four years. In this decade many stirring questions disturbed the public mind. The repeal of the Missouri compromise, which caused Mr. Grow's withdrawal from the Democratic party, which had elected him, the Kansas troubles, the Lecompton bill, the home- stead bill, and the Pacific Railroad bills all agitated the political sea, and the experience of time has demonstrated the wisdom of the stand taken by him on all these important measures. After leaving Congress he was a delegate to the National Re- Portraits of Speakers Grozv and Kaiidatl. 13 publican coii\-eiitioii at Baltimore which renominated Lincoln. He was chairman of the State Republican committee in the Grant campaign of 1868, and in 1884 he was delegate to the Republican convention at Chicago which nominated Blaine. Four years, from 1870 to 1875, he was in Texas, president of the International and Great Northern Railroad, which has since been extended to the city of Mexico. Early in his Congressional career he became an earnest advocate of the homestead bill, and as the name of Galush.\ A. Grow has been so indissolubly connected with that politic and excellent measure it may not be out of place to give it a proper prominence in this connection. Though the exact origin of the idea, afterwards exemplified in the homestead law, is somewhat obscure, it certainly was one of those measures which were evolved from the will of the people, gathering in force, slowly but surely, until they over- came all opposition. It was doubtless an outgrowth of that series of laws known as donation acts, a course of sporadic legislation extending from the year 1842 to 1850, the first bearing on donations of lands in Florida and the last referring to the new Territory of Oregon, the lands being given to induce people to settle in distant and dangerous localities. The enactment of these laws fostered the sentiment growing so rapidly in the public mind that "the public lands are a heritage of the people" that the question became a burning one and was agitated at every political gathering, and was the all-engrossing topic until it assumed national importance as the great issue to be determined at the polls, by the action of the national convention of the Free Soil Democracy at Pitts- burg in 1852, when the popular sentiment assumed definite 14 Addresses delivered on the Presetitation of the shape in the declaration of principles adopted, the twelfth resolution of which reads as follows: "That the public lands of the United States belong to the people and should not be sold to individuals nor granted to cor- porations, but should be held as a sacred trust for the benefit of the people, and should be granted in limited quantities, free of cost, to landless settlers." I believe the first bill presented to Congress granting small tracts of Government lands free to actual settlers was introduced in the Thirty-first Congress by Horace Greeley, and although no action was taken on his bill, yet he continued advocating the measure in the editorial columns of the New York Tribune until tlie proposition became enacted into a law of the land. From the time he entered the Thirty-second Congress until the final passage of the law, and signature by President Lincoln on May 20, 1862, Mr. Grow was an earnest advocate of a free- homestead law, and his voice was often heard, and his energies always directed, in favor of its success. In the Thirty-third Congress, December 14, 1853, he intro- duced his homestead bill, and also in the Thirty-fourth Con- gress, as soon as the Speaker was elected, January 4, 1858, he again introduced his bill. And in the Thirty-sixth Congress, February 15, i860, a few days after the election of Speaker, he introduced his homestead bill and at the same time a bill to pre- vent all sales of the public lands except to actual settlers. His speeches upon these measures, delivered at different times during the many years it was under discussion, were, I believe, the most forcible and convincing of any made in its favor before Congress, and the following quotations therefrom will show the broad scope of his argument, and at the same time call to mind sentiments the beauty and wisdom whereof is only emphasized by experiences of time. In the Thirty-second Congress he says: Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 15 "The fundamental rights of man may be summed up in two words— life and happiness. The first is the gift of the Creator, and mav be bestowed at his pleasure; btit it is not consistent with His character for benevolence that it should be bestowed for any other purpose than to be enjoyed, and that we call hap- piness. Therefore, whatever nature has provijded for preserv- ing the one, or promoting the other, belongs alike to the whole race. And as the means for sustaining life are derived almost entirely from the soil, every person has a right to so much of the earth's surface as is necessary for his support." Again, in a speech on the homestead bill in the Thirty-third Congress, he says: "The prosperity of States depends not on the mass of wealth, but in its distribution. That country is greatest and most glorious in which there is the greatest number of happy fire- sides. ' ' And still again in a speech delivered in the Thirt>--sixtli Con- gress, in favor of the homestead bill, introduced by himself, he says : "National disasters are not the growth of a day, but the fruit of long years of injustice and wrong. The seeds planted by false, pernicious legislation often require ages to germinate and ripen into their harvests of ruin and death. The most per- nicious of all the baneful seeds of national existence is a policy that degrades labor." This bill, introduced by Mr. Grow in the Thirty-sixth Con- gress, was reported on March 6, i860, by Mr. Lovejoy, of Illi- nois, from the Committee on Public L,ands, and on March 12, i860, it passed the House by a vote of 119 yeas to 95 nays, but was rejected bv the Senate and a substitute offered by Mr. John- son, of Tennessee, granting homesteads to actual settlers at 25 cents per acre, but unlike ^Ir. Grow'.S bill, not including pre- emptions b)- those then occupying public lands. This substi- tute was in turn rejected by the House, but after long confer- ences an agreement was arrived at and the Senate bill, with 16 Addresses delk'cred on the Preseiifation of the slight amendments, accepted. Air. Colfax, of Indiana, reported it and it passed both Honses, but was promptly vetoed by Presi- dent Buchanan. During all these years of agitation in Congress Mr. Grow was rightly regarded as the champion of the homestead-law principle, and to his untiring energy more than to any other individual effort is due the final success of the measure. On July 4, 1861, at an extra session of the Thirty-seventh Congress, Galusha A. Grow was elected Speaker of the House, and while filling that exalted position had the felicity and gratification of affixing his name as Speaker to Mr. Aldrich's homestead bill, which was nearly identical with that introduced by himself in the preceding Congress. As before said, much of the credit of that great and impor- tant measure so conducive to the welfare and prosperity of our country, is due to our illustrious fellow-citizen, the presenta- tion of whose portrait to this House by the Legislature of Pennsylvania is the cause of this special gathering to-day. While I believe all Pennsylvanians are proud of the Con- gressional career of Mr. Grow and his record as Speaker of the House, I feel to an extraordinary degree the honor and privi- lege of this opportunity to pay a deserved tribute to the ability and tact with which he filled the Speaker's chair during the turbulent and exciting days from 1861 to 1863. It required ability and courage of the very highest order to preside over the deliberations of the House of Representatives at a time when the nation was assaulted from within and threatened from without; when the greatest war of the century, threatening the very life of the Republic, was in progress, and the political passions of men aroused as never before since the formation of the Government; when millions of men were Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 17 mustered and equipped for service in the field, and thousands oi" millions of treasure raised to carry on the war for the preser- vation of the Union. How well Mr. Grow filled the chair during these years of unparalleled excitement and strife is best evidenced by the unanimous vote of thanks given him by the members of the House of Representatives at the close of his term. As a citizen of the same State and county, and representing a constituency that largely helped to elect him in the days long gone by, I feel more than a passing joy at thus beholding the great honor once conferred on him perpetuated by the placing of this excellent portrait among those of the other illustrious men who have occupied the Speaker's chair during the first century of this great Republic. [Applause.] ADDRESS OF Mr. MCALEER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. Mr. Speaker: The relation of the State of Pennsylvania to the past history of the House of Representatives has been dis- tinguished and almost unique. At no time has she failed to have within these halls one or more Representatives of con- spicuous ability and marked force in the deliberations of the body. In the Continental Congress the names of Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris were alone sufficient to make their State famous. The Speaker of the First Federal Congress, Frederick A. Muhlenberg, was a Pennsylvanian, distinguished for lofty character, patriotism, learning, zeal, and efficiency in the public service. Since then a long list of great names has preser\'ed the prominence of the Commonwealth of Penn ia H. Mis. 141 2 1 8 Addresses delivered on the Presentatioti of the national legislation. The name of David Wilmot is imperish- ably linked with the legislative history that preceded the rebel- lion, and during the exciting period of the civil war the con- fessed leader of the dominant party on this floor was that robust, practical, dexterous, and forceful genius, the great com- moner of his time, Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania. To-day we are engaged in proceedings intended to perma- nently honor two other Representatives of this State whom former Congresses exalted to preside over their deliberations — Galusha a. Grow and Samuel J. Randall. The former of these, who presided over the Thirty-seventh Congress, ex-Speaker 'Grow, still lives within the Commonwealth he so ably served a generation ago, secure in the honor and respect of her people and exemplifying in ripened years all the virtues of private life and all the cultured dignity of distinguished citi- zenship. It is the hope of his fellow-citizens that he may long be spared to his country and his friends. The other was but recently called from service here by the inexorable voice of death. The echoes of his dirge still seem to linger in these halls, so fresh is the mournful recollection of his untimely taking off. It is as but yesterday that Samuel J. Randall was so notable a presence, so potent a force in this Chamber. Mr. Speaker, I could not justify so early an intrusion on the attention of this body but for the fact that I have the honor to represent the same constituency that for fourteen consecutive terms chose Samuel J. Randall for their Congressman. The presentation of his portrait by the State of Pennsylvania would seem to demand from his successor some tribute to his eminent public services and noble exami^le. The story of his career has already been ably told by his col- leagues in this body and by Senator Quay in the other House. Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 19 I can add little of interest as to the main facts of his life. Born in the city of Philadelphia, he early became identified with its municipal government as a member of councils. Then engaged in mercantile pursuits, it is quite likely he did not at that time deliberately contemplate or desire a career of exclusively public activity. There is nothing in the record of his council- manic experience to suggest the singular capacity he afterwards displayed as a parliamentarian, politician, and statesman. From city council he was elevated to the senate of his State, and after one term of service he was elected by the Third Congressional district a Federal Representative, in the year 1862. The relationship then formed between that constituency and Samuel J. R.\ndall knew no severance until it was broken by death. Fourteen times was the public trust between Representative and people renewed, and in all that long term of continuous service there never was an hour when the constitu- ency faltered, hesitated, doubted in its allegiance to its Repre- sentative. Sir, there must have been some peculiar kinship that thus bound this people to their public servant. What was it? A relationship so honorable and long continued deserves more than passing allusion. It was not identity of social ties or extraction. Mr. Randall came of a stock that was conspic- uous in the upper social walks. His constituency comprised the plainest of the "plain people," whom Mr. Lincoln so often referred to as his trust and staff. Stretching along the Dela- ware in a narrow line through the oldest part of Philadelphia, the Third Congressional district comprised, as it still comprises, a people singularly homogeneous and singularly distinct from the rest of the city. Rank has made no distinctions among them, for there are few rich and few pretentious in their number. Most 20 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the of them live by daily toil in the humblest of human industries. The most arduous trades, stevedoring and shopkeeping, employ the greater number, and in trite language, the Third Congres- sional district would be called a "poor constituency." But, Mr. Speaker, Randall lived and died a poor man, too, and like him they were too rich and too honest ever to permit another to own or buy their judgment or their vote. Then, too, they are a manly people. They hate shams, cant, and hypocrisy. Their Representative was conspicuous among public men for candor and directness. They are a brave people — strong in their convictions, aggressive in opposition, loyal to their polit- ical faith, and averse to shift)- compromises; they have all the sterling masculine traits of a plain people, unseduced by power and unenervated by wealth. Mr. Randall was a model of manly courage, physically, morally, intellectually, and polit- icalh'. His honesty was never drugged by ambition or daunted by numbers. It grew in intensity and assertiveness when wealth and power and respectability augmented and sheltered the forces of corruption. He was never more heroic than when leading the forlorn hope of honest government against the com- bined allies of spoilsmen and jobbers, placemen and favorites. The lobby had no vocation when Randall was Speaker. He was intellectually brave. He never disguised his convic- tions to his friends, to his foes, or to himself He might be wrong, but he never could be misunderstood. He followed the truth as his reason revealed it, regardless of the consequences to his own fortunes. The threat of a caucus was as powerless to intimidate him as a bribe was to tempt him. He was polit- ically brave. He was a Democrat of the most pronounced type and most constant party loyalty. If, upon economic principles, he differed with the majority of his party as to the Portraits of Speakers Groiv and Randall. 21 practicability of some legislative measures, he ever yielded the most earnest support to party candidates and party causes. His democracy in essential matters was almost a religious conviction. While preserving in a remarkable degree the respect and friendship of the leaders of the opposing party, he was yet their most tireless, resourceful, and implacable antagonist. Neverthe- less, his opposition was without bitterness. He was too large- minded to attach resentments to mere difference of opinion. For open foes he had respect and admiration; he hated only a treacherous friend. For many years actively engaged in the political contentions in his State, yet the kindest and friendliest relations always existed between himself and the prominent men of his party. So true is this, that his most conspicuous rival for party supremacy — once an honored and valued Sen- ator, and still the foremost leader of his party in the State, William A. Wallace — presented the name of Mr. R.\nd.a.ll to the Democratic National Convention of iSSo for nomination for the Presidency. I know it was R.\ndall's purpose, had he lived, to have named Senator Wallace to the State convention of 1890 as his choice for governor of the Commonwealth. Such amenities sweeten active political life and redeem it from its most intol- erable features. Yet his life was not entirely free from some of the bitterness that accompanies political activity. He, too, had known the Judas kiss and felt the stab in the back from the hand he had nourished. All other wrongs he could forget and forgive, but he was too great and too true and too honest himself not to despise and loathe a false and traitorous friend. Mr. Speaker, I have tried to suggest some of the personal traits which bound Mr. R.\nd.\ll to the Democracy of the 22 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the Third Congressional district. They are worthy of note, since the attachment they caused was alike honorable to him and to his constituency. And, sir, after all, were not these the same traits that gave Samuel J. Randall his national reputation, that made him a trusted adviser in his party, an heroic leader in legislative con- flict, and an honored presiding officer of three Congresses? No man's public life in our history was a more perfect reflex of his private virtues and personal characteristics. Too often public men on the official stage act a part which does not disclose their true character. It was not so with Mr. Rand.\ll. The traits that endeared him to his family, to his friends, and to his con- stituency were the same traits that marked him when he stood in the view of the nation. He was real, and true, and unpre- tentious in every situation. He wrote no treatise and compiled no memoirs ; he left no collection of speeches that will be handed down to the political student, and no enactment on the statute book bears his name. Yet he was a potential agency in legislation that has seldom been exceeded in any single Repre- sentative. He left his impress upon the political and legisla- tive policy of his time, as Emerson says the hero conquers — by his presence. His force of character alone, unaided and unob- truded, raised him to the distinction and power that he achieved. I know of no finer illustration in our history of the irresistible force of honesty, integrity, and fidelity united to the homeliest capacity. Some such example was needed, and is still needed, if the youth of the land is not to be seduced by the too frequent success in public life of principles and methods that would be execrated if they were not successful. Mr. Speaker, it is difficult in analyzing a life like Mr. R.a.n- DALL's to illustrate by many conspicuous incidents the quali- Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 23 ties that exalted him. This is often true of many conspicuously useful lives. The most valuable characteristics are not always the most showy. Other speakers at other times have recounted the details of his public career. It is not my desire to repeat that stor\', instructive and interesting as it is. I shall content myself with briefly summarizing his most distinguishing public characteristics. He was an undemonstrative man and of simple habits and life. No great character since the foundation of the Republic lived a more unostentatious, sincere, and democratic life than he. He was easy of access, and recognized the absolute equality of citizenship. This was a trait of his essential democracy. The lowliest voter in his district could see its Representative as freely and would be received as cordially and as respectfully as the richest and most potential. He was absolutely sincere. No man could or did ever say that Randall misled him or that he was disappointed in Samuel J. Randall. He was thoroughly honest. It ought to be a matter of no great distinction to say that a public man is honest. But Ran- d.\ll's honesty was of a kind and at a time when it necessarily became conspicuous and memorable. It was as "a river of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." If when the Democracy regained power in this Chamber, Mr. Randall or a man like him for honesty had not led his party, its return to power would have vanished as a dream. Will it be doubted that when in 1874 a political tidal wave gave the House of Representatives to the Democracy, the manly and defiant presence of Randall held the forces of cor- ruption aloof? The champion of honesty conquered corruption by his presence. 24 Addresses delivered on ike Presentation of the His patriotism was above party, and comprehended his coun- try as the supreme object of his aifections and his labors. I can not better express his ideal of duty and devotion than by quot- ing his words when, upon an occasion similar to this, he stated his estimate of the obligations and powers of the Speaker of this House. Nothing could be clearer, more forcible, or more impressive than the following sentences: "When it fell to my fortune to occupy the Speaker's chair I realized how true was my idea of the position and its possi- bilities ; and I do not believe there is anyone worthy of being mentioned in connection with it who, the very instant he takes it, will not become so broad and generous in the scope of his political vision as to act regardless of individual and personal consequences, and only for the best interests of the American people as his judgment shall dictate." These words are worth)- of being graven over the door of this Chamber as an immutable law of the Republic. Patriotism has never reached a higher utterance. Country first and party after — this was the creed of Samuel J. Randall. And how well he exemplified it. It fell to his lot to be Speaker of the House at one of the most critical stages of our history. The peace of the nation hung in the balance. The Presidency was at stake, and the party of Mr. Randall unanimously believed that Samuel J. Tilden was of right entitled to the office. Mr. Randall, too, believed it most profoundly. But in the Speaker's chair he felt he owed to the laws and to the safety of the Republic a duty paraniount to any mere party obligation. Therefore it was that with face steadfastly set toward the public weal he bent all the power of his office toward a peaceful and legal settlement of the controversy. One look, one word of dovibt from him would have precipitated a conflict that would have wrapped the land in sorrow, bloodshed, and anarchy. The nation owes him an inestimable debt of gratitude that he then Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 25 held the inflammable elements of party in check and saved the Union of States though his party lost the Presidency. Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war. He was courageous. Who that saw Samuel J. Randall then presiding over the smoldering passions of party could doubt his courage. A weak and timid man in his place would have been the ruin of his country. A partisan or a coward would have betrayed constitutional government. He was capable, instructed, and tireless in the public service. Need I recall the memorable struggle over the "force bill?" The leader of a minority threatened with a measure that meant political destruction to his party, he so led his forces that he averted that result, and thus made possible every Democratic victorv since. What an enviable fate was his to save by peace- ful measures and by personal efforts, first his party, then his country ! Mr. Speaker, is his portrait not worthy to hang in these halls? May not every American, every lover of free institu- tions, every admirer of honesty, sincerity, and manhood, do him reverence ? The people of the Third Congressional district are proud of the honor they enjoy in having contributed S.\muel J. Randall to the nation. ]\Iay the people of the entire country, may the Congress of the States, ever bear in grateful recollection his ser^'ices, his life, and his name. May the youth of the Republic never cease to emulate his achievements, his principles, and his character. His memory will endure so long as the love of patriotism, purity, and public virtue shall en- dure. [Applause. ] 26 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the ADDRESS OF Mr. BROSIUS, OF PENNSYLVANIA, Mr. Speaker: I could not, if I would, add anything but my cordial approval to what has been so fitly and gracefully said of the distinguished Pennsylvanians whose features, durably preserved on canvas, will hereafter occupy conspicuous places in the tapestrj' of faces that will adorn the walls of the House. Nor can I, by placing upon the canvas of this occasion another figure, in any degree mar the pictures already there, nor dim the laurels that so fitly wreathe their brows. But it has seemed to the Representatives of Pennsylvania in this House that this notable occasion would lack completeness if some allusion was not made to another distinguished Penn- sylvanian who rose to equal eminence with those whose por- traits have just been presented to the House. I have risen, therefore, at the suggestion of my colleagues, to perform in a feeble way the duty which they think the occasion imposes, to bring into more distinct view than heretofore and place upon record some observations on the character and public services of the first Pennsylvanian who presided over the deliberations of this first body. The Speaker of the first House of Representatives under the Constitution, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, was born in Montgomery County, Pa., on January i, A. X>- 1750. He died in the city of Lancaster, Pa., on the 4th day of June, A. D. 1811. He came from a distinguished family of German Lutherans, a family which has filled with great credit many positions of eminence and honor both in church and state, five of whom Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 'Ti have been members of this House, a family of scholars, divines, and statesmen, whose acheivements include the honors of learn- ing, ecclesiastical distinction, and civic renown. His father was the founder and patriarch of the German Lutheran Church in America, and enjoyed a deserved preemi- nence in learning and piety. His mother was the daughter of good Father Conrad Weiser, who became the pioneer of the Germans in the settlement of Pennsylvania, and through whom he is said to have derived a strain of aboriginal blood, and he did not quite conceal how proud he was of that drop of native American blood, which was perhaps the only one that has figured in the parliamentary his- tory of the country. Born of pious parents, he was in his youth dedicated to the church; was educated at the University of Halle and ordained as a minister in the year 1770. His employment in the minis- try was of short duration. The time that was to try men's souls was at hand. His firm attachment to the American cause inclined him to more active exertions in its support. It was thought by the Germans of Pennsylvania that they ought to have in the Continental Congress a representative of their particular interest. Mr. Muhlenberg's ardent patriotism and liberal acquirements fitted him in an exceptional degree for such a station, and he was elected a member of that body in March, 1779. He served, however, for a single year, when he was transferred to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, and was the speaker of that body in the years i78i-'82. He was also a member ot the council of censors of Pennsylvania in i783-'84 and presided over that body. Upon the organization of the county of Montgomery he was ■commissioned as a justice of the court, register of wills, and 28 Addresses delivered 07i the Presentation of the recorder of deeds. He was a delegate to the Pennsylvania con- vention to ratify the Federal Constitution in 1787, and presided over that body. At the first election for members of Congress under the Constitution he was a candidate on the anti-Federal ticket and was elected. On the organization of the House on the 1st day of April, 1789, he was elected to preside over its deliberations. He had a recognized genius for presiding. He remained in Congress four consecutive terms, and was reelected Speaker of the Third Congress. It is recorded that when he was nominated for the Third Con- gress the address to the people contained these words: "The contest by which he was placed in a situation to be Speaker of the first House of Representatives in Congress will be commemorated for the honor of America as long as the Union lasts; and for Mr. Muhlenberg's honor the conduct which he observed in that arduous and important oflSce ought never to be forgotten. ' ' At the close of each Congress over which he presided he received a unanimous vote of thanks for the ability and cour- tesy with which he discharged the duties of the office, to which he replied in a few remarks of rare grace and felicity, which seemed to have set the fashion for a hundred years. To intense patriotism Mr. Muhlenberg added a rare ampli- tude of understanding, a wide experience, a firm will, and great courage. To say that he possessed iu a high degree that quickness and clearness of intellectual perception, that power of swift and accurate generalization, the capacity to comprehend by a lightning flash not only the nearest link, but the entire chain of a difficult situation, or that he possessed that facility for lucid statement which could make a proposition, however intricate, as clear to others as to himself, qualities which have given us in recent years some masterful speakers,, would not be Portraits of Speakers Groic and Kandatl. 29 justified by any information that we possess. But the assem- blage of qualities which he is known to have possessed could not fail to qualify him in an eminent degree for the Speaker's chair at the time he occupied it. There is no record extant that raises any doubt that he filled that most difficult of posi- tions under our Government with distinguished ability, con- spicuous courtesy, and entire impartiality. True, the House at that time consisted of but sixty-five members, a small assembly compared with the present House, and much easier controlled. Disorder and tumult had not then been invited by an unwieldy multitude. The first House was never suffocated in its own smoke. Dignity and decorum were among its conspicuous characteristics. It was the initial period in our legislative history. It was the point of embarkation on our new voyage, in our new ship. Buoys could not be followed. New channels must needs be marked out. The strength of the noble ship would hardly have saved it from destruction but for the skill and wisdom of such trusty pilots as Speaker Muhlen- berg and his contemporaries, whose experience, knowledge, and foresight were important agencies in the organization of the new Government. Mr. Muhlenberg carried with him to every field of his coun- try's service that heroic spirit which was a notable characteris- tic of his family, which animated his distinguished brother when, standing in his pulpit the last time in full military uniform, poorly concealed by the symbol of his holy office, thrown carelessly over him, he uttered those memorable words, "There is a time for all things — a time to preach, a time to pray, and there is a time to fight, and that time has come." As his brother put conscience into his fighting, so did he put conscience into every public undertaking. 30 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the Devotion to duty, fidelity to conviction, loyalty to conscience, the elevation of public obligations above private interests, and the subjection of conduct in all situations to the restraints of moral principle, gems of character fit for a setting in the "wrought gold" of the deep moral basis of his life, were the attributes which enabled the first Speaker of the American House of Representatives to adorn with distinguished probity every situation to which he was ever called. The dignity of his character, the elevation of his mind, and his unflinching will united in summing up a strong person- ality which left its impress with great distinctness upon his country, and are elements which can not be overlooked in assign- ing him appropriate rank among the stars of nobleness that glitter on Pennsylvania's fair brow. It is the singular felicity of that State to have furnished the first of that succession of illustrious statesmen who have pre- sided over the deliberations of this body for a hundred years, illustrating the principles of American parliamentary law, and shedding conspicuous luster on the historj^ of parliamentary leadership in the New World. But the memory of Mr. Muhlen- berg's great character, his shining virtues, his useful public services, is the exclusive possession of no district. It is the Commonwealth's, the nation's. It is a part of that immortal heritage of glory that has descended from illustrious sires upon their sons, that they, like Hector's boy, might catch heroic fire from the recollection of the great and good men of the past who earned and enjoyed the just applause of having deserved well of their country. And now, Mr. Speaker, as we gaze upon these distinguished faces, radiant with the great qualities which were exemplified in their public careers, speaking pictures which seem as if the Portraits of Speakers Grow and /\ai/da//. 31 painter, after putting upon them the last touch of his art, had breathed into them the breath of life ; let me express the prayer of Pennsylvania, in which every other State will joyfully unite, that that seat of eminence, that Olympian chair which has been filled by illustrious statesmen, will never be compromised by an occupant who will dim the splendor of our parliamentary suc- cession. [Applause.] Address of Mr, Henderson, of Iowa. Mr. Speaker : On the 29th of April, 1891, the governor of Pennsvlvania approved "An act to provide for the presentation of the portraits of Samuel J. Randall and Galusha A. Grow to the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and making an appropriation for the painting of the same." In pursuance of that act of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the paintings have been finished and this day tendered to the House of Representatives for its acceptance. A resohition accepting the same has been offered and ably supported by the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Holman], and I find sincere pleasure in seconding that resolution. Every member of this House will, I am sure, cordially sup- port the resolution. All will welcome the faces of these dis- tinguished public servants to the gallery where may be seen the men who have presided over the United States House of Representatives. By this act of the State of Pennsylvania a high honor is conferred upon this body, and by that act Pennsylvania does but justice to herself These great men by their private and public lives won hon- 32 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the ors for their country and their State. Their country and State will to-day unite in bearing witness to the merits of these true sons of Pennsylvania — sons of the Republic. Galusha a. Grow was born at Ashford, Windham County, Conn., August 31, 1823, and still lives to enjoy the respect of his countrymen. I believe that he is of Puritan extraction, and is a pure extract of that historic stock. At ten years of age his mother with her six children moved to Pennsylvania, his father having died when he was three years of age. At twenty-one years of age we find him graduated at Amherst College, and he was admitted to the bar in 1847. ^^^^ this good work, accomplished while yet so young, left him with impaired health. Seeking to recover his health he engaged in surveying wild lands and occasionally in rafting. In these pursuits he rapidly gathered a knowledge of men, an insight into character, a keen knowledge of and sympathy for the poor and the workers, and these vigorous, manly pur- suits quickly restored him to health and equipped him with the vigor so soon to be needed in a great public career during the most trying period of his country's life. In 1850 he was elected to the Thirty-second Congress from ,the old Fourteenth Congressional district of Pennsylvania, and was successively reelected to the Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and Thirty-seventh Congresses. During the Thirty-seventh Congress he was Speaker of this House. In the Thirty-fifth Congress he was the Republican nominee for Speaker when James L. Orr, of South Carolina, was elected. He particularly distinguished himself as a mem- ber of the Committee on Territories, of which committee he was chairman, in the Thirty-fourth Congress. Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 33 It will be remembered that during this period there was an unyielding struggle between those who believed in free and those who believed in slave territory. The Committee on Ter- ritories was the great committee of power on this vital ques- tion, a question deeply underlying the great rebellion. In the desperate struggle before the war to push slavery into free territory Galusha A. Grow took a leading part and proved himself to be a far-seeing, broad-minded statesman, an able debater, and an uncompromising, true, warm-hearted friend of humanity and freedom. A close student of history thus speaks of Mr. Grow's rela- tion to that period and to the period itself : "This period of Mr. Grow's service, from 1851 to 1863, was one full of excitement and peril both to individuals and the coun- try, and exacted of its principal free-soil actors, in efforts to hon- esth' and independently perform their constitutional duties, the highest moral and physical courage. The pro-slavery leaders were arrogant, defiant, and aggressive. Their great ambition was to dominate in all the affairs of the nation, to subordinate all the power of the Government and 'freedom, free speech, and free men ' in the maintenance of a tyrannical and demoral- izing rule; to seize on our virgin Territories, to degrade them into slave communities, and to violently stamp out, in blood, all opposition to their arbitrary and unlawful edicts. Thvis Kansas by the 'border ruffians,' supported by all the powers, military and civil, of the National Government, was degraded into an Aceldama— a field of blood; and even principal cities were dragooned into pursuit of hapless fugitive slaves." The spirit that dominated the slave power in " bleeding Kan- sas" was as surely on the alert at the national capital. A Sen- ator was murderously assailed in his seat and " the code " was flourished in the faces of free-soil members. These times must be recalled and understood in order to comprehend the charac- ter and services of Galusha A. Grow. H. Mis. 141 3 34 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the Amid all these trying scenes and events he was calm, inde- pendent, fearless, and resolutely, coolly fought the battle of freedom on this floor. No danger or threat drove him from the performance of his constitutional duties. Hesitation in the face of duty and danger was no part of the character of this calm, iron-made man. To measure character take it not in life's sunshine, but when the clouds and storms of life envelop it in trials, and in sorrows. This test applied to Mr. Grow marks him as one of the calm, heroic characters in our country's history. THE FATHER OF FREE HOMES. Mr. Grow has also heavy claims upon the gratitude of the people of this country' for having been the father of free homes. In the first session of the Thirty-fifth Congress, on January 4, 1858, he introduced his famous bill " to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain." His maiden speech in Congress was made on this question m May, 1852. Although it failed at that session it became the law of the land in 1863, and brought blessings that can not be estimated to toiling millions of his countrymen. It was Mr. Grow's bill that became the homestead law, and he had the satisfaction of signing it as Speaker. But while the champion of the actual home-seeker he was the tireless enemy of the ' ' land-grabber, ' ' and was ever on the alert to keep the public domain from passing into the hands of "syndicates" and "laud barons," and during the Thirty-fifth Congress he made repeated though fruitless eflforts to secure legislation to keep that class from feeding and fattening on the public lands. On all great questions he was brave and outspoken and made Portraits of Speakers Grozv and Randall. 35 a record showing great scope of intelligence and never-halting patriotism. He was for "free speech, free soil, and free men ;" he was for protection and against free trade. On the admission of Oregon, on Lecompton and the English bill, and on the Crittenden- Montgomery compromise, on the proposition to appropriate millions for the purchase of Cuba, and on all great public questions he demonstrated his high character, his broad states- manship, his devotion to his country, and his tender love for humanity. As speaker of this House he was fair, firm, and fearless, showing a keen regard for the laws of this country, the laws of this body, and the higher law which touches every heart from the divine source of all law. SAMUEL J. RANDALL. In speaking of S.\MUEL J. Randall I feel as if speaking of one who is yet a part of us. The rapid step, the tireless energy, the cordial hand, the cheerful voice, and the friendly face are yet with us, and it is hard and unnatural to speak of him as being no longer here. But the proceedings had in this House on April 14, 1890, and in the Senate on September 13, 1890, bear sad and eloquent evidence that this great sou of Pennsylvania is dead. When he fell who was left that could wear his mantle ? When he fell this country was startled and pained, knowing that it had lost a leader of such strong composite powers that the vacancy could not easily be filled. He died April 13, 1890, at his post of duty, in the vigor of manhood, being but sixty-one years six months and three days old. On both his father's and mother's side he came of stock that had been trusted by the people, and Mr. Rand.\ll was the 36 Addresses delivered on the Prcsentatioti of the improved product of that stock, and from early manhood com- manded confidence among men and assumed leadership as his birthright. I say, assumed leadership; I should say accepted. He was liberally educated, but had no ambition for a learned profession. It has been said "that he was not a student." I do not agree to this. I knew him well and pronounce him an ardent student — an untiring student. Preachers are found outside of pulpits and churches. Teach- ers there are who never saw college or university. Students there are of governments, of heart-beats, and of human actions who never read the classics, held diploma, or dreamed of alma mater. To this class Mr. R.\ndall belonged, and with restless, tire- less mind he studied the great lessons of life and of government. Serving for years with him on the Committee on Appropria- tions, I always found him armed with that knowledge that comes from hard work and careful study. Whatever was assigned to him to do was done — done well, and no needed preparation was ever neglected. Whatever presented itself to be done by him was met more than halfway. He knew his duty b\- instinct, and was oiily happy when doing it and doing it well. He was called early into active public life, and grew stronger at every step. His country in danger, and we find him in the ranks as a volunteer private soldier, May 13, 1861. His fighting qualities quickly advanced him. While fighting under Col. George H. Thomas his keen insight into character quickly detected the genius of Thomas, and we see him writing on a drumhead an earnest appeal that Col. Thomas be made a general. The splendid career of this ofiicer Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 37 attested the keen insight and sweep of vision of Mr. Randall as a student of character. He was sent to the Thirty-eighth Congress and served for twenty-eight years consecutively. This House was his school, this country his university. Few ranked above him in his class. A true economist was Samuel J. Randall. He did not neglect any party advantage, but was slow to gain such advan- tage by crippling or starving liis country. As Speaker he was clear, and firmer than clear. He was kind, but quick. In the chair and in debate he often won by rapidity of thought and action. Let me give his own idea of the Speakership and in his own words. He regarded it as one of the highest honors that could be conferred upon an American citizen, and spoke of it as an office giving opportunity "to impress upon our history and leg- islation the stamp of truth, fairness, justice, and right." Few portraits of ex-Speakers of this House will be hung in yonder gallery that will attract and hold more of our people or command more of their affection and respect. As a friend he was as true and open as he was when a foe. Like all strong, intense natures, he loved and hated cordially ; but, like all truly great men, his loves predominated. Once brought within the circle of his friendship, few could escape or ever wished to. He was respectful to those in office, but more so to the simple citizen, untutored in the conventionalities of life, who approached him for aid or counsel. His respect for, and kind, gentle treatment of, the poor was the crowning glory of his life as a public man. The call or correspondence of the humblest citizen always met with the prompt and respectful attention due from the servant to the sovereign in the Republic. 38 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the A STRONG DEBATER. Mr. Randall was a great power in debate, made all the more so because a thorough student in public affairs, gifted with a strong memory, quick of thought, and destitute of fear. He loved his country and made the interests of all other nations secondary to those of the land of his birth. Neither foreign blandishments, foreign sophistries, nor for- eign gold could tempt him. He was true to labor and all home sources from which labor drew its food and its supplies. It can be truly said that "he was a tribune of the people." He was honest, as is attested by the fact that after being in the public service as private, sergeant, captain, provost-mar- shal. State senator, and member of Congress for nearly thirty- five years, and living modesth' and economically, he died poor in pocket, though rich, very rich, in the love of his home, his State, and his country. Address of Mr. Holman, of Indiana, Mr. Speaker: The State of Pennsylvania, through a com- mittee of her citizens, appointed for that purpose, now present, by invitation of the House, in this Hall, presents to the national House of Representatives the portraits of Galusha A. Grow and Samuel J. Randall, former Speakers of the House, and gentlemen now representing in Congress districts formerly rep- resented by those eminent citizens and other gentlemen from that State have, in touching and eloquent words, spoken of their public services and submitted to the Hoiise the wishes of Portraits of Speakers Grozv and Randall. 39 their great Commonwealth that the House shall accept these portraits. I rise, Mr. Speaker, to move that the House accept these por- traits so gracefully presented by Pennsylvania, to become a part of the galaxy of portraits of illustrious men who have in the past presided over the national House of Representatives and of those who will in the coming ages fill that high post of honor — a galaxy that will be of ever-increasing interest, not only to those who will in the future occupy seats in this Hall, but to all the American people. The legend " Republics are ungrateful " can not be applied to our Republic. The sentiment of public duty and honor has from the beginning been fortified and upheld by the generous applause which has followed the faithful fulfillment of a public trust. See in the halls of this Capitol how the States of the Union vie with each other in honoring the memory of their sons who have rendered valuable service to their country! Galusha a. Grow was Speaker of the House during the Thirty-seventh Congress; Samuel J. Randall, during the second session of the Forty-fourth Congress and during the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses. The period of time between the 4th day of July, i86i, when Mr. Grow was elected Speaker, and the 4th day of March, 1877, when Mr. Randall completed his first term as Speaker, embraced and involved events of such magnitude as to be without comparison with any other period in our history except that in which our Republic was formed, perhaps of greater importance, for in that period the final appeal to arms and the statesmanship that followed determined the question of African slavery which the cupidity of Europe had fastened upon us, a question which the wisdom and patriotism of the fathers of the Republic could not solve, 40 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the which statesmanship, with fear and trembling, could only from the time the Government was formed hold in abeyance. If the beneficent results to mankind which the influence and example of this great Republic seem to assure shall be realized, the events of that period will stand in history in importance without comparison with any other in the current history of the world. At 12 o'clock on the 4th day of July, 1861, in response to the proclamation of President L,incoln, Congress assembled. This city was a military camp. The hurried movement of armed men, the ceaseless notes of the war drum, all told the sad story, ' ' war is upon us. ' ' The basement of this Capitol was a depot of military supplies and the whole landscape was a tented field. Entering this Hall at noon on that 4th day of July, 1861, was an event long to be remembered. The galleries were packed with an anxious and excited multitude, but, alas, on this floor how many seats were vacant ! Even the old statesmen who had long ser^'ed in this House and were devoted to the Union, who passed down this aisle a few months before and passed up to the Speaker notice that they had resigned their seats in the Thirty-sixth Congress, and left this Hall with bowed heads and cheeks bathed with tears, were not here. Yet it was a remarkable and memorable assemblage. Most of those present were comparatively new members, but some of the greatest men of our country were present. Here in this seat now occupied by my distinguished colleague [Mr. Brown] sat John J. Crittenden, grave and silent; there, on the first aisle to the left, sat Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky; yonder, on the second aisle on the right, Thaddeus Stevens, his strong face expressing decision of purpose; farther on, Elihu B. Wash- Portraits of Speakers Grow and Rainia/I. 41 burne, of Illfnois, then known as the father of the House. Men then known to the whole country, and who connected the past glories of the Republic with the hour of its deadly peril, a peril which patriots had seen from the beginning, but hoped to die before the dreaded issue would drench the land with the blood of intestine war. Under circumstances like these there was little formality in organizing the House. John Hickman, of Pennsylvania, nom- inated Francis P. Blair, jr., the young and ambitious member from Missouri, afterwards so distinguished as a general in the Union Army, for Speaker. Thaddeus Stevens nominated Galusha A. Grow, who had served ten years in the House as the successor of David Wil- mot, well known to the country as the author of the ' ' Wilmot proviso" against the extension of slavery. Fourteen members of the House were voted for as Speaker. Francis P. Blair, jr., in person withdrew his name and voted for Mr. Grow. One hundred and fifty-nine votes were cast, and John W. Forney, Clerk of the former House, a historical character, announced the election of Mr. Grow as Speaker of the Thirty-seventh Congress by a very large majority. He had received nearly two-thirds of the votes cast. Speaker Grow, with a resolute and earnest face, took the Speaker's stand and delivered his address. It was full of patri- otic sentiment, well in harmony with the feeling of Republic- ans and Democrats alike who were members of the House. As he uttered the following words the silence of even the gallery was profound, and tears glistened in the eyes of many of the older members of the House : "If the Republic is to be dismembered and the sun of its liberty must go down into endless night, let it set amid the roar 42 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the of cannon and din of battle, when there is no longer an arm to strike or a heart to bleed in its cause, so that coming genera- tions may not reproach the present with being too imbecile to preserve the priceless legacy bequeathed by our fathers, so as to transmit it unimpaired to future times." This was an auspicious beginning. The noble words I have quoted exactly expressed the spirit of the House. The period during which Mr. Grow presided as Speaker was full of anx- iety, sometimes of alarm for the public safety ; but Republicans and Democrats alike were confident that the cause of the Union would triumph. There was never a day or an hour even dur- ing the session of the 22d of July, the day after the battle of Bull Run, when either Republican or Democratic members felt apprehensive of the final result. The anxiety was as to the basis on which the Union should be restored. Speaker Grow filled his great office so well that I do not think a single appeal was taken from his decisions, and before he announced, on the 4th day of March, 1863, the final adjourn- ment of the Thirty-seventh Congress, he had received the cor- dial commendation of his course as Speaker from every mem- ber of the House. I should add that while Speaker, while Mr. Grow was cour- teous and considerate as the presiding officer of the House and impartial and just in his decisions, he himself was treated by the members. Democrats and Republicans, with more consid- eration and kindness, in that period of public danger, than might have occurred under other conditions. But Galusha a. Grow left the Speaker's chair with the sin- cere respect and kindly wishes of all the members of the Thirty- seventh Congress, with the universal feeling that he had filled the great office, at one of the most trying periods in our history, ably, impartially, and well. Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 43 Mr. Randall was first elected Speaker on the first Monday in December, 1876, at the opening of the second session of the Forty-fourth Conoress, Michael C. Kerr, who was elected Speaker at the opening of that Congress, having died during the vacation, in early manhood. His death was sincerely regretted by every member of the House. Mr. Randall was reelected Speaker of the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses one of the few instances where any member ever held the oflice for so long a period. The interval between the 4th of March, 1863, when Speaker Grow laid down the gavel, to the first Monday in December, 1876, when Mr. R.\ndall first called the House to order as Speaker, was filled full of great events. The tremendous armies, the military resources, the terrific battles involved, on this great theater, in deciding the issue which successive generations of men had transmitted to that period, astonished all Europe, where for centuries the un- sheathed sword was the only symbol of power. To the statesmen of Europe one result was inevitable: the millions of men North and South accustomed to the pursuit of arms could never return to the self-restraint and peaceful indus- tries of a Republic. Guerrilla warfare would in any event over- throw the voluntar}' obedience to law on which free institutions must rest; hence France, with the approval of other European powers, established imperialism in Mexico. But when the last decisive battle was fought the millions of men of the North and of the South in arms at once understood how the issue of the war was decided. The great armies melted away as if by magic, and at once these millions of men North and South, as if in gigantic rivalry, began to restore and build up peaceful industries on the smoldering ruins of war. The Union was restored. 44 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the This unexampled event changed the face of the whole polit- ical world. Only a note from the United States to the Emperor of France and every symbol of imperialism in Mexico turned to " dust and ashes " and that Republic entered upon a career of greatness not previously achieved. How will the historians of the coming ages, ever seeking to discover a cause for a great event, point to the everliving force of a great example : Washington, when the last battle of the war of the Revolution had been fought, with simple majesty, appear- ing before Congress and modestly delivering up the commission which Congress seven years before had given him to "Com- mand the forces raised or to be raised in defense of American liberty," and gladly returning to his beautiful home on the banks of the Potomac! Who shall say that these great armies, returning to their homes and to peaceful industries, without tunuilt or disorder, were not animated by the spirit of that illustrious example? When Samuel J. Randall first assiimed the seat of the Speaker and, with a face expressing manly self-reliance, called the House to order, how wonderful the contrast with the scene when his personal friend, Galusha A. Grow, assumed that office. Every seat in this great Hall was filled, and a more kindly and fraternal feeling existed among the members from the States, North and South, a more lively interest in the gen- eral welfare, than had been known in Congress for more than two generations. Mr. Randall had a larger experience in legislative proce- dure than Mr. Grow and became a great master in parliamen- tary law. No man who was ever Speaker more largely or more beneficially influenced the general course of our legislation. But, while the whole period of his Speakership was one of great Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 45 Congressional activity, he encountered the greatest question of that period at the very thresliokl. The Electoral Commission, which was in effect created to decide who were elected President and Vice-President in 1876, and the method of procedure, was provided for by an act of Congress when it was uncertain which party would have the advantage in organizing the Commission. Mr. Randall was a Democrat, a positive partisan of the Jeffersonian school. He believed that Tilden and Hendricks had been respectively elected President and Vice-President of the United States in the Presidential election of 1876, and was a warm, personal friend of both. When it became obvious that under the decisions of the Commission Mr. Hayes would be declared elected President, the political friends of Mr. Tilden and Mr. Hendricks were furious in their indignation of what they deemed partisan decisions of that great Commission, but Mr. Randall resolved at once to stand by the law. For this determination he was more fiercely assailed in the excitement of the hour by his political associates and friends than I have ever seen a Speaker of the Hotise assailed by his political ene- mies. It was an hour of fiery passion and tumult, but he did not quail or "yield a tithe of a hair," but firmly breasted the storm. "It is the law," he exclaimed, "and must be exe- cuted." I know of no greater display- of fortitude in all our history. All the centuries have delighted to honor illustrious examples of obedience to law and public duty in the old repub- lics, but none exceed in the greatness of the occasion or in the unflinching fortitude displayed than that which occurred in this Hall on that memorable occasion. The historian in the progress of time will explain how the disaster of civil war was averted by the fortitude of Samuel J. 46 Addresses delivered on the Presentation of the Randall in resisting the passions of the hour in obedience to law. No man in public life suffers by performing his duty. After this memorable contest Mr. Randall was with general approval twice elected Speaker of the House. I take from an elaborate article published at the time of Mr. Randall's death in the New York Sun, whose distinguished editor, Gen. Charles A. Dana, was a warm friend of Mr. Ran- dall, the sentiments I at the time expressed, as published in that article, of the character of Mr. Randall after years of association with him in the affairs of this House : "Mr. Holman, who served with Mr. Randall on the Ap- propriations Committee for many years, said that Mr. Ran- dall was one of the greatest men of his time, and that during the years that he was in Congress he had done more to shape legislation and had impressed his views more clearly upon our statute books than any other man in either House. He was a man of unswerving integrity and would never support any measure which involved any useless or extravagant expendi- ture, even if it was to be spent in his own district ; but if, on the other hand, the bill was for the good of the country, it found in him a warm friend and earnest advocate. ' Mr. Ran- dall,' added Mr. Holman, 'was by long odds the ablest mem- ber of the House, and was one of its most loved and respected members. ' ' ' It is a pleasant memory to me that after intimate association with Mr. Randall for nearly a quarter of a century in the current business of the House we never differed in opinion on public questions except on one, the tariff, and as to that, as between ourselves, knowing each other's views, we never dis- cussed it. That he was surrounded by a great body of per- sonal and political friends who differed with him on that issue was natural; he was a born leader among men. His magna- nimity and iidelity to duty secured him public esteem, and loy- alty to his friends won to him their sincere love and affection. Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. 47 Pennsylvania, with a history of great characters whom the whole world delights to honor — Penn and Franklin and their successors who honored public life — can safely place in her list of eminent citizens the names of Galusha A. Grow and Samuel J. Randall, and this national House of Representa- tives will, I am sure, express the sentiments of the whole people by accepting their portraits. There is no blemish on the record of either of their lives, and each in the high office he held rendered valuable serv- ice to his country. They were both young men when they became Speakers. Tiieir manners in the Speaker's chair were different. Mr. Grow, with a countenance bright and cheerful, carefully noted the current of events. Mr. Randall, whose face was singularly elegant in the classical outline of its fea- tures, sat in his chair firm and sedate, and with a never-absent expression in his manners of self-reliance. Mr. Grow spoke fluently in deciding a question. Mr. Randall did not use a word more than was necessary to express his opinion and leave no doubt of his meaning. In times of turbulence Mr. Grow, bv the pleasant courtesy of his appeal, brought the House to order; Mr. Randall, rising from his seat, with every feature of his face and every rap of the gavel expressing the authority of the Speaker, quelled the tumult. Both were fair, just, and impartial, and always sustained by the House. Mr. Grow as a legislator is most famous as one of the first, if not the first, champion of the homestead policy of disposing of the public lands, the most beneficent measure ever enacted by Congress, Mr. Randall as the champion of the maxim " frugality in government can alone secure honesty and purity in its administration." While differing in characteristics as Speakers of the House, while one was a Republican and the other a Democrat, both 48 Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall. were alike devoted to the welfare, the honor, and prosperity of their country. Samuel J. Randall, the work of his life completed, leaving a great record of beneficent public service, scarcely nineteen months ago passed on to that better country, where the just and the good flourish in immortal youth. And his fellow- citizens have written his epitaph in imperishable words, " Well done, good and faithful servant. ' " Galusha a. Grow, in the vigor of life, is still in our midst, respected and honored by his countrymen in all the States of the Union. He is, while I am speaking, gracing as of old, as a guest of the House, the Speaker's chair by the side of the now honored Speaker of the House, a pleasing incident of this hour. I feel that I will have the sympathy of every member in expressing the hope that a beneficent Providence will pro- long his life for many years-, that he may behold, year after year, in the ever-growing prosperity of our country, the value of the Union of the States which he so manfully upheld. [Applause. ] I therefore, Mr. Speaker, submit the resolution which I send to the Clerk's desk: The Clerk read as follows: Resolc'ed, That this House has received with great satisfac- tion the portraits of Hon. Galusha A. Grow, Speaker of the Thirty-seventh Congress, and Hon. Samuel J. Randall, Speaker of the Forty-fourth Congress at its second session and of the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses, presented by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and will cause them to be placed and preserved among those of the other distinguished men who in times past have presided over the House of Rep- resentatives. The question being taken, the resolution of Mr. Holman was unanimously adopted. C 5022420