Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1882 — HUBBELL, THE HIGHWAYMAN. [ARTICLE]

HUBBELL, THE HIGHWAYMAN.

The Political Dick Turpin of the Time. The New York Hour has a cartoon representing Mr. Jay Hubbell as a bandit robbing a stage-coach, called “ the civil service.” It publishes the following sketch of him j The portrait of Jay Abel Hubbell makes a good companion picture to that of Arabi Pasha, which appeared in the last issue of the Hour. Arabi Pasha is the terror of Egypt, Hubbell is the terror of a hundred thousand American Ripublican officeholders and their families. Arabi has unfolded the green flag of the Prophet, for the reason, as he says himself, that all the officeholders in Egypt are foreigners, and he wants to drive them out. He is a sharp, shrewd poli tician, and the probabilities are that he has declared war on them because they refused to pay the political assessments which he levied on them. His motto is precisely the same as that of Hubbell, “Your money or your place.” It is a curious fact that the Hubbells are of Bedouiu descent—at least the historian of the family makes himself responsible for the statement The original name, we are assured, was Hubba. Its chief had his home, it is solemnly asserted, in the Tigro-Euphrates valley. That region, for some reason or another which istory has failed to record, became very uncomfortable for him—probably because he sent out the first assessment circular —and, in consequence, he either “beat his way,” or obtained a “ free pass ” to Denmark, where he turned pirate. This enterprising old bandit, in the course of his industrious career, landed in England with a band of followers who were fully his equals in villainy. Their first exploit was the capture of the King St. Edmund. While a prisoner in their hands they endeavored to convert him from Christianity. He declined as politely as he knew how, and the old “original Hubbell” ordered him’out, tied him to a tree, shot him to death with arrows, and, to make sure of his work, cut off his head. The old sinner, it would seem, repented of his evil deeds, and, after that, settled down to an honest life; sending all the little Hubbells to Sunday-school, and, we may be certain, picking up a good fat office whenever he could lay his hands on it. One of his descendants turned Puritan, and, in 1647, set out for Connecticut. Jay Abel, who seems to have inherited all the characteristics of the old Danish pirate and Pagan, traces his descent from the blue-nosed Connecticut Yankee. A oranch of the family moved into this State, and subsequently, with the roving instincts of their race, found their way out West into Michigan, where the present illustrious statesman and Tax Collector General of the Republican party was born. Jay Abel Hubbell will be 53 years old on the 15th of next month. An admiring biographer of his says : “He was a robust youth and is a robust man. His brain is large. He has great energy of character, with sufficient caution for safety.” This “robust youth” was what is called “educated for the law,” and in due time graduated at some “college ”or another. He did not, however, seem to get along very well with his clients, if he ever had any, and he became a mining speculator. He was so thrifty in this line of business that ho grew rich, and in 1871 he conceived the idea that the House of Representatives at Washington afforded a good field for his peculiar abilities. He found himself a member of that distinguished body in 1873. He signalized himself at once by “ securing an adjudication of land titles at St. Mary’s in favor of the claimants ” —who were probably all Hubbells—and by “ making a very exhaustive speech against the Morrison Tariff bill, whose iniquities he exposed with an unsparing hand.” But this was not all. He became a great admirer of Robeson from the moment he became acquainted with his piratical career, and when that person was brought to task by a committee of the House Hubbell united in the whitewashing minority report which was presented. In 1880 he was intrusted with the control of the assessment machine for the party, which he has managed ever since. He assumed command of the blackmailing department in an address which contained the following powerful passage: “ The Southern leaders propose, when in power, to madden the North as well as to impoverish and weaken it. At all costs they propose to force the North to secede, and when they have driven the North into secession, they will laugh a quiet party laugh. The Union soldier Hancock is but the mask which hides the trail of the rebel serpent. The hand is the hand of Esau, but the voice is the voice of Jacob. Hancock chants the sweet music of the Union, but through it all, louder and shriller, is heard the old rebel yell! ” All of which is very fine. It was about this time that Gen. Garfield, cf sainted memory, was writing to “ My dear Hubbell ” to see “ Brady.” and to inquire ‘ ‘ how the departments are doing.” There is nothing more to be said about Hubbell. His notoriety is due solely and wholly to his political blackmailing achievements. He is the political Dick Turpin of the time, and as such we presenthim in this week’s cartoon supplement.