Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1885 — REMINISCENCES OF PUBLIC MEN. [ARTICLE]

REMINISCENCES OF PUBLIC MEN.

BT BEN : FKRLKY POORS. It M. T. Hunter, once nicknamed “liua Mad Tom' Hunter,” controlled the national finances during the administrations of Pierce and Buchanan, aa chairman of tbe Senate Committee on finance. He had entered the House of Representatives during the Broad Seal controversy, caused by the appearance of a j New Jersey delegation Tearing certificates of their election under the State seal, while a Democratic delegation claimed to have received a large majority of the popular vote. After the contest Mr. Hunter was elected Speaker by a coalition l»etween some conservative Democrats and Whigs, and a few years later he was elected Senator by a coalition between the conservative Democrats and Whigs of Virginia. Industrious and faithful, no shadow of suspicion as to the absolute integrity of his motives ever clouded his reputation. He was rather heavily built, with'features betraying his- descent from Pocahontas, a ck-an-shaved face, a broad forehead, large, dark eyes, a profusion of long, black hair, and pleasing manners. As secession apE reached there was some antagonism etween Hunter and Wise. After the war he served, I think, as State Treasurer of Virginia, and became reduced in circumstances. Zack Chandler, of Michigan, and William Pitt Fessenden, of Maine, had no especial love for each other, and the former used occasionally to rebel against the rule of the latter in the Senate. One day the following personal conversation occurred in a debate: » Mr. Chandler—“ The Senator from Maine dwells largely upon practical business knowledge, and he seems to sneer at practical business knowledge. I tell the Senator that if ho had a little more of it on 1 his committee, it would be better for his committee.” Mr. Fessenden—“Undoubtedly. I agree to that. We made a great mistake in not having the Senator from Michigan upon it; but we got along very well, notwithstanding.” Mr. Chandler—“l have nothing to say about that The Senator from Michigan can stand upon his own merits.” Mr. Fessenden—“l believe he is the only Senator who boasts of having a practical knowledge every time he addresses the Senate.” 1 “Mr. Chandler—“ The Senator from Maine has lectured this body about enough, not only on practical knowledge, but about its business and general conduct For my part, I have got about enough of his lecturing, and will thank him to lecture somebody else next time.”

John Wilkes Booth was, when he committed his great crime, 27 years of age. He had played stock parts at Washington and other Southern and Western cities, where he had given unmistakable evidence of genuine dramatic talent. He had, added to his native genius, the advantage of a voice musically full and rich; a face almost classic in outline; features highly intellectual; a piercing, black eye, capable of expressing the fiercest and the tenderest passion and emotion, and a commanding figure and impressive stage address. In his transitions from the cjuiet and reflective passages of a part to the fierce and violent outbreaks of passion, his sudden and impetuous manner had in it something of that electrical force and power which made ,the elder Booth so celebrated, and called up afresh to the memory of men of the last generation the presence, voice, and manner of his father. Convivial inhis habits, sprightly and genial in conversation, John Wilkes made many friends among the young men of his own age, and he was a favorite among the ladies at the National Hotel, where he boarded. His features in repose had rather a sombre and melancholy cast, yet, under agreeable influences or emotions, the expression was very animated and glowing. His hair, jet black and glossy, curled slightly, and set off in fine relief a high,’ intellectual forehead and a face full of intelligence. Beth chin and nose were markedly prominent, and ,the firm-set lips and lines about the mouth indicated firmness of will, decision, and resolution. He was scrupulously neat in his dress, and selected his habits with a rare perception of‘what was becoming to his figure and complexion. He would pass anywhere for a neatly but not over-dressed man of fashion. Of his political views very little was known. Being of Southern birth and education, it was presumed his sympathies tended in that direction; but he exhibited no particular warmth or zeal for the liebellion, and nothing to indicate the remotest desire to further the cause by so much as giving it pecuniary aid, much less personal assistance. It was reported Ly a gentleman who heard the conversation, that during his engagement in Louisville in 1862, Booth fell into a controversy with the treasurer of the theater—a rabid secessionist —while standing one morning,in the box-office. He remarked, in effect, that he was a Southern man, and liked the people of the South, who had been kind to him, but he could not, for all that, admit that they had any right or occasion to secede; that they had it all their own way in Congress, and that if they insisted on fighting, they should have taken the American flag and fought under that.