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Page 4
During his first term in Congress Mr. Blaine gave himself up to study
and observation, but in the next Congress, the Thirty-ninth, he gained
some prominence, and from that time to the end of his congressional
career he occupied a foremost place among the Republican leaders. His
reputation was that of an exceedingly industrious committeeman. He was a
member of the post-office and military committees, and of the committees
on appropriations and rules. He paid close attention to the business of
the committees, and took an active part in the debates of the House,
manifesting practical ability and genius for details. The first
remarkable speech which he made in Congress was on the subject of the
assumption by the general government of the war debts of the States, in
the course of which he urged that the North was abundantly able to carry
on the war to a successful issue. This vigorous speech attracted so much
attention that two hundred thousand copies of it were circulated in 1864
as a campaign document by the Republican party. In the winter of 1865-66
Mr. Blaine was very energetic in promoting the passage of reconstruction
measures. In the early part of 1866 he proposed a resolution which
finally became the basis of that part of the fourteenth amendment
relating to congressional representation. In the second session of the
Thirty-ninth Congress he also distinguished himself by the "Blaine
amendment" to the military bill, which was universally discussed in the
public press of the day.
In 1867 Mr. Blaine made a trip to Europe, returning in time to fight
against the greenback heresy, of which he was the foremost opponent. In
December he made an elaborate speech on the finances, in which he
analyzed Mr. Pendleton's greenback theory. "The remedy for our financial
troubles," said he, "will not be found in a superabundance of
depreciated paper currency. It lies in the opposite direction, and the
sooner the nation finds itself on a specie basis the sooner will the
public treasury be freed from embarrassment and private business be
relieved from discouragement. Instead, therefore, of entering upon a
reckless and boundless issue of legal tenders, with their constant
depreciation, if not destruction, of value, let us set resolutely to
work and make those already in circulation equal to so many gold
dollars."
This was the last great question in the discussion of which Mr. Blaine
took part on the floor of the House, his colleagues in 1869 electing him
to the office of speaker, vacated by the promotion of Schuyler Colfax to
the vice-presidency. The vote stood one hundred and thirty-five votes
for Blaine to fifty-seven for Kerr, of Indiana. Mr. Blaine proved
himself eminently fitted for the position. As a speaker he may be
classed with Henry Clay and General Banks, who are acknowledged to have
been the best speakers we have ever had. Blaine was their equal in every
respect. The whole force of such a statement as this cannot be felt
unless it is fully understood that the speaker of the House of
Representatives stands next to the President in power and importance in
the United States. The business of Congress is done largely by
committees, and the committees of the House are appointed and shaped by
the speaker. Then, to say that Blaine was one of our three ablest
speakers is to say a great deal, for a long line of very able men have
filled the speaker's chair. His quickness, his thorough knowledge of
parliamentary law and of the rules, his firmness, clear voice,
impressive manner, his ready comprehension of subjects and situations,
and his dash and brilliancy, really made him a great presiding officer.
He rose to a high place not only in the estimation of his Republican
friends, but also of his Democratic opponents, and he was re-elected to
the speakership in 1871 and again in 1873. In 1875, the Democratic
majority took control, and Mr. Blaine resumed his place on the floor to
win fresh laurels as a debater, and to discomfit the majority in many a
projected scheme which his quick eye detected and his ready words
exposed.
The governor of Maine, on the tenth of July, 1876, appointed Mr. Blaine
to the national Senate, in place of Mr. Morrill, who had resigned to
become secretary of the treasury. He was afterward elected for the
unexpired term and the full term following. On his appointment he wrote
to his constituents thus:--
Beginning with 1862, you have, by continuous elections, sent me as your
representative to the Congress of the United States. For such marked
confidence, I have endeavored to return the most zealous and devoted
service in my power, and it is certainly not without a feeling of pain
that I now surrender a trust by which I have always felt so signally
honored. It has been my boast, in public and in private, that no man on
the floor of Congress ever represented a constituency more distinguished
for intelligence, for patriotism, for public and personal virtue. The
cordial support you have so uniformly given me through these fourteen
eventful years is the chief honor of my life. In closing the intimate
relations I have so long held with the people of this district, it is
a great satisfaction to me to know that with returning health I shall
enter upon a field of duty in which I can still serve them in common
with the larger constituency of which they form a part.
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