OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. February 11 , 1000
Congressman Hitt as
Wayback Reporter
If Representative Robert Hoberts Hltt of
Illinois wcro to compile his romlnlsccncui
the result would bo a volume of extraordi
nary Interest. Not only has ho figured
prominently In national and International
affairs for nearly a generation , but ho has
enjoyed personal relations of a peculiarly
close character with more mon of eminence
perhaps than any other man of the day.
Away back before the war , when a mcro
boy , ho was attached to Abraham Lincoln
In a way that gave him onvlablo facilities
for studying the processes of Lincoln's mind.
Ho was a stenographer and a newspaper re
porter for the Chicago Tribune , nt that tlmo
the ono great republican organ of the west ,
and throughout the memorable debate between -
twoon Lincoln and Douglas , preceding the
hitter's election to the United Stateo senate ,
young Hltt followed Lincoln , taking down
In shorthand every word that publicly fell
from his lips. Those famous addresses
which made Lincoln's national reputation
and \vhlch , moro than anything else , con
tributed to his election as president , ewe
their permanent and enduring form to the
youthful reporter's notes , ithu originals of
which the congressman still hoards among
his literary treasures. Lincoln called him
"Hob" and was fond of the boy.
After the war Illtt came to Washington as
clerk of a congress committee and hail an
opportunity to become acquainted with the
great statesmen of the reconstruction era.
Ills good luck sent him to Paris In 1874 ,
just after the Franco-Prussian war , as soc-
r tary of legation and charge d'affaires ad
Interim. History was being made rapidly In
the French capital In those days and Hltt
Hppnt seven years In Paris , a period which
was closely packed with Important events.
Ho returned to Washlncton In 1881 to bo-
rome assistant secretary of state and the
next year was elected a member of the
house of representatives. All through his
career In congress ho has been conspicu
ous In the discussion of International ques
tions and now , as chairman of the IIOUHO
committee on foreign affairs , ho Is regarded
as a diplomatic authority bcsldo whom
there Is no peer. Had It not been for Hilt's
conspicuous position In the house and for
the fact that the administration regarded
his prescnco there as essential to the proper
handling of the complicated questions grow
ing out of the war with Spain , ho would
probably have been appointed secretary of
state when Judge Day retired from ofllco.
( Mil-Time KrlviiilHliliin.
Hltt has had the good fortune to cement
friendship moro ( Irmly than almost any other
man now In public life. Ho was Blalno's
closest friend In Washington. In the con
cluding years of Illalno-'B llfo Hltt was the
man In whom ho confided meet and was
often to bo found In the historic old man
sion on Lafayette square. At the same tlmo
that ho enjoyed thcso affectionate relations
with the great secretary of state ho was
the best friend of Speaker Heed , Blalno's
bitterest enemy in public life. And no finer
tribute could bo paid to the delicate tact of
the Illinois representative than that he
should have continued for years such a ro-
lutlonshlp with two such men without losing
the confidence of cither.
In Hltt'ti house in K street Is a room
which Is devoted to the memory of Blalne.
The walls are covei 31) ) with pictures of the
Mnlno leader , with autograph letters and
with nil sorta of relics which bring nialno
to mind , Klsowlicro In the IIOUHO are Lincoln
relics , and stored away somewhere In places
wltero they will bo found sometime and
brought to light are scores and hundreds of
confidential letters from men whoao names
will figure In history. For Instance , whllo
Hltt WM secretary of legation and charge
d'affaires In Paris , ho carried on a delight
fully personal corrcspondcnco wUh James
Ruascll Lowell , who nt that time was Amer
ican minister at MadrlJ. None of these let-
tore has ever been published. Whenever they
see the light they will make sprightly readIng -
Ing , for there Is not one of them , no matter
upon how trivial a subject , which does not
contain an odd turn of speech or a witty
allusion. How many oilier lines of corre
spondence the Illinois man haa been carryIng -
Ing on during all these years only ho can
toll.
toll.Thero
There nro eoino things which Hltt remem
bers about great men who are dead and
gene that would bo meat for the Iconoclant
and that are hardly HUoly to find their way
into any authorized biography.
Simmer mi ICir
Charles Sumner , as Hltt recalls him , was
a monument of colossal egotism. Never ,
oven for a single moment or when among
thoeo who might naturally presume- upon
sorno measure of acquaintanceship , would he
drop the pose of the statesman or mingle
with others on their own level. In a street
car ho would quote Latin to the conductor.
Ho Hcomcd always to feel that ho was an
object of observation and that he was con
trlbutlng to the dlgnjty of history. In the
senate ho was without Influence. Ho was as
far outside the dally life of his associates
as If ho had already been chiseled In
marble. Once when ho was placed by acci
dent on the useless committee on revolu
tionary claims ho took It as a personal
affront , and nobody could over explain the
matter to him. "And yet , " says Hltt , "Sum
ner was a great man and his memory will
always live. "
Hltt tells entertainingly of the way In
which the Chicago Tribune failed to print
a line of Lincoln's historic speech at Freu-
pcrt In the Douglas debate the greatest of
all Lincoln's addresses before the civil war.
Hltt was reporting the speech and was
writing out his notes for the next morning's
paper , when Owen Lovejoy , the abolltl n
agitator , rose In the rear of the hall and
delivered a harangue which Is now for
gotten , but which for the moment roused
the meeting to a frcynzy of enthusiasm ,
whllo Lincoln's had seemed rather tame.
Joseph Medlll , the proprietor of the Trib
une , was carried away with Lovojoy's speech
and came up to Hilt's desk excitedly , or
dered him to stop transcribing his notes of
Lincoln's speech and to let the Tribune
have every word of Lovejoy's harangue In
the morning. The Tribune the next mornIng -
Ing was all Lovojoy and there was only a
\\ord about Lincoln's oration. "An Illus
tration , " says Hltt In telling the story , "of
the fact that the contemporaneous Impres
sion of a great occasion does not always
coincide with the judgment of history. "
Mr. Illtt Is of medium height , of modest
bearing and one of those In public life , not
any too numerous , who Is a gentleman al
ways. His voice Is softly modulated , Ms
manner Is frank and friendly , although he
DANP STAND , PAlKMOUNT PAHK , COUNCIL BLUFFS J. 0 , AND W. WOOD-
WAUD ; ARCHITECTS.
never forgets the diplomatic proprieties
his conversation Is stored with Information
and anocdotc , and yet ho has never been
knovMi to reveal a thing which was to bo
kept In confidence. Ho makes no prcten
tlons to oratory and Is not much of a poli
tician.
Seumas MacManus ,
Irish Story Teller
( Continued from Sixth Pago. )
glvo up such nonsense and attend to his
school. Jamlo MaoManus , or "The Mas-
ther , " as ho was alternately called , per
sisted. Finally , finding himself so drawn
lo writing and foreseeing , at any rate , a
much remuneration from It as ho recelvoi
from his school , ho threw up the school an
cast his fortunes ultimately \\Ith literature
As ho had been prominent In the cole
bratlon of the centenary of Irish rebellion of
1898 , some attributed his severance to that
connection , assuming that he had been
dismissed because of It , while others , who
know of his resignation and future plans ,
hulled him as visionary and Impractical to
glvo up the position of "Masthcr" and
sixty pounds a year for uncertainty and
writing "for the papers. "
The So n HIof Humor.
Persons casually meeting Mr. MacManus
complain that he docs not live up to hU
reputation as a humorist In private life , ae
his manner Is serious and absorbed , but hta
friends find that his cvery-day sense of
humor Is sulllclent for all purposes , espe
cially when he plays some practical joke on
them , as ho Is sometimes given to doing. He
1ms the traditional Irish qualities of quiet
waggery , of warm-hearted Impulses and of
"fighting some more for Ireland. " In his
more Individual traits he has a sure-head-
edness that Is authoritative. Ho docs not
surrender his convictions and can "argufy"
as persistently as his own Dllly Baxter. In
his young days the father of Seumas Mac
Manus was known as the greatest fighter
the strongest man In his parts ; his mother
Is still noted for her witty power of rldl-
culo and her homely humor. The projectlve
power of the father's transmitted aggressive
ness and the wit and homely logic from thi
maternal influence have made a combination
of vital force that the son Is turning to
good account. In the face of all his good
fortune ho has the admirable sense to ac
cept himself quite naturally and to keep his
head straight , that Is , from being turned.
When It Is turned It Is In reminiscence of
Donegal , for with the fun there Is a human
pathos of sympathy In all his writings , and
when ho wears Donegal homespuns there-
was a pride of place and a tender affection
of Interest with Donegal's plodding children
that went along with the purchase that no
London tailor could supplant , not to mention
the added value that "Shan dreamed the
warp and woof of It. " But that doesn't
count very much ; ho Is just as likely to
wear his worst hat to a reception and his
best In a storm. "Where did you get that
hat ? " ho was asked one day as ho put on a
yachting cap preparatory to making a call.
"In Derry" ho replied , qulto unconcernedly
Mr. MacManus is giving readings from his
stories and poems this winter and he Is
meeting with unusual success ; the quaint
Inflection of speech , the-drollery of the Irish
manner and the Inimitable Irish brogue
which Mr. MacManus accounts his proudest
possession are as good as a trip to Ireland.
A Tooth Puller
The daughter of a Mlsslssipplan who has
adopted Memphis as her home tells the
following story on her father :
"Papa was relating to the family and some
of his friends one day the experience ho had
gene through In having a tooth pulled. He
said the dentist pulled so hard that he pulled
him clear out of his chair. I was only a little
girl at the time , but I mustered up courage
to eay , half-muslngly :
" 'Well , papa , that must have liurt mighty
bad. '
" 'Well , I guess It did , ' he replied. 'If
you could have seen the two roots of that
tooth that were wrapped around my back
bone you would know how It hurt without
asking mo. '
"I suppose ho meant Jawbone , but the
laugh that followed was too loud for mo to
hear the correction and I do not know to this
day whcro the roots of that tooth had taken
hold. "
"THE BUST OF BEAUTY. "
nn InterrhtliiK Illun. *
triilnl liimk. which §
v < u will ninlltfcfnltMl T
in n I'lilln nnvolonu M
for tlifi iinKlni ; . It W
( I'll * how ( without A
liiily nuiy ! 'i ' > bte - n \
iwrfect unit attractQ
ivulliiuru. T
I.\ n the plainest
figure cull ho trims' 9
( ornieu to ou of .
n u B e u I y f
tiuiiuty , mi. '
[ i o r b unit A
iiiKrlinitlni : , 7
* , i sgjR 1vrit loan - i
§ ' * -L.- u viv-jji l---- " day enclonf
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A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF
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Ilurdy Itosos , I.lllos. Fhrtibs and ( limbers ,
Peonies , In nil culor.s known , I'lilox and ninny
otlutr line hardy Perennials , ulso Gladiolus
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liirno. lioulthv plitutH that uro stiru to ulooni
tlm tlrstyi'iir.
FHliE wit'1 ' directions how to grow
I'A'I'il or1 ' "l cliro for them to ehuheit
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