with the exception perhaps of Capt. Dan Taylor, there never was one more so. Kennett had been mayor for three successive terms, giving the people an uncommonly clean and successful administration, and, what counted for more than all in the way of prestige, he had only two years before defeated the great and only Benton in the same district. Yet the conditions were somewhat changed now. The Free-soil party had been steadily growing, and the Whig party, to which Kennett belonged, had been as steadily declining, until now, in 1856, it had no national existence, though many of its leaders had tried to perpetuate its organization into the American or Know-Nothing party. Kennett followed Paschall, George Knapp and the Missouri Republican into the fold of the Democracy. Meantime the Blair party had elected John How to be mayor, and obtained political control of the city government, which they held until Taylor's election in 1861. The success of Blair in his congressional aspirations was a mere feature and incident of the revolution, clouded only by the crushing defeat of 'Old Bullion' for the governorship." "Blair," said Hyde, "managed to catch the Speaker's eye often enough to get in a few speeches on his favorite topic and to arrest the attention of the House by his striking views and earnest manner. He was now fairly launched upon the political career he had mapped out for himself, and was looked upon by his colleagues in the House of Representatives as a brilliant star in the galaxy of Western Republicans." The Blair-Barret Contest. "In 1858 Frank Blair was again a candidate for Congress, and this time he had for his opponent Col. J. Richard Barret, or 'Missouri Dick,' as he was called. Barret, like Blair, was a Kentuckian. He was a fair lawyer, a tolerably good speaker, and one of the handsomest men in the county. He was president of the Fair Association, and, mounted on one of Gen. Singleton's coal-black Morgan stallions, with a white satin rosette on his lapel, he was as commanding a looking man as ever made an appearance in the amphitheater. He was a general favorite, and for the occasion made an excellent candidate. The canvass was a hot one. For the first time there was a systematic organization of the Democratic forces, and special attention was paid to the floating vote, which at that time, owing to the magnitude of the river trade, was large. When the canvass was fairly opened there were fireworks, torchlight processions and speaking all over the city. Every night the Levee was ablaze with bonfires. The steamboatmen were Democrats almost without exception. Larry Wessels and Capt. John A. McDonald were then the leading 'runners' on the Levee, and with Tom Russell and other hackmen 'ruled the roost' among the 'longshoremen or 'roustabouts.' These were promptly fixed by the Democrats, and as promptly unfixed by the other side, the result being, as usual in such cases, a total indifference as to whether Blair or Barret won. It was about the close of the canvass Paschall made the prediction that Barret's vote in the city and county would reach 7,000 and elect him. Barret was indeed elected by a small majority and his vote was a trifle above the figure given, and Blair, in contesting the seat, referred to Paschall's prophecy, as showing a guilty knowledge of fraudulent preparations to stuff the ballot-boxes! It was not till near the close of the first session of the Thirty-fifth Congress that the contest was determined, it being in Blair's favor; when Blair resigned, immediately returned to St. Louis and prepared to run for the unexpired term and also the full term of the Thirty-sixth Congress. "Blair's resignation was in the nature of an act to appease a pretty general feeling that the decision against Barret was a partisan outrage. Certain it is that public sentiment was greatly aroused, as the belief was not confined to Democrats that 'Missouri Dick' had been fairly and honestly elected, and ought not to have been deprived of the fruit of his victory. The latter's return home was made the occasion of a stupendous popular ovation. A committee of citizens met him at East St. Louis with carriages, and in great pomp escorted him to the city, the arrival being timed for an evening demonstration. It was by far the biggest political affair that had, up to that time, been witnessed in St. Louis. He spoke of his coming to the city when but 15 years of age; of his education at the St. Louis University; of his admission and practice at the bar; of his service for four terms in the legislature, where he had the Fair Association incorporated; of his fostering care of that institution; and then launched out into a review of the malign purposes and schemes of the Republican, or abolition party, of which Mr. Blair was the local head and prime conspirator. Of course great emphasis was put upon the recent vote of the House, by which the district was deprived of its chosen representative, etc. "The echoes of Barret's immense ovation had scarcely died away before there were symptoms, of a reaction in Blair's favor. It soon became apparent that the latter's friends were concentrating their efforts more or less upon the long term, though by no means abandoning the contest for the vacant seat. In this phase of affairs Barrett was besought to withdraw from the candidacy for either the long or the short term, and permit an alliance with some man like Kennett, who could bring a support to the Democratic ticket which otherwise was likely to go to Blair. But Col. Barret was obdurate, and would not listen to the suggestion. Nothing could convince him he was not going in by a sweeping majority for both terms. When the returns were counted it was found that Blair had obtained the richest part of the honors, being elected to the full term of the Thirty-sixth Congress, though by their votes the people repudiated the action of the House in ousting Barret from his seat in the thirty-fifth. Again, in 1862, he was a candidate, returning from the war for that purpose. This time he had Sam Knox-"Knox of Massachusetts"-and Lewis V. Bogy for opponents. He obtained the certificate on a showing of some 250 plurality over Knox, his Radical rival, but the latter contested and obtained the seat. That was the last appearance of Frank Blair in the political arena until after the close of the war." Richard P. Bland's Colleagues. The Missouri delegation when Richard P. Bland began his service in Congress was composed of E. O. Stanard, Erastus Wells, William H. Stone, Robert A. Hatcher, Aylett H. Buckner, Thomas T. Crittenden, Abram Comingo, Isaac C. Parker, Ira N. Hyde, John B. Clark, Jr. It is not difficult to understand how Mr. Bland came to make coinage his specialty. "The crime of '73," as the venerable Senator Stewart called it on all occasions, the demonetization of silver, had taken place in the Congress preceding the one in which Mr. Bland began his career. If there was anything with which the new Missouri member felt especially familiar that subject was the precious metals. Shortly after he completed his education and reached his majority at his Kentucky home he went to the Pacific slope to seek his fortune. He settled in what is now Nevada and mixed mining with the practice of law for several years. He was a county treasurer out there. Then he came to Missouri, and became his brother's law partner at Rolla, soon after settling in Lebanon, the extension of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad opening up that part of the Ozark country and making it attractive. Mr. Bland had lived in Missouri less than ten years when he was elected to Congress. Here was another evidence of the man's forcefulness of character. Without any Confederate record, at a time when that counted in politics, and with only eight years' residence in the State, at the age of 37, he was elected to Congress. The speaker of the Forty-third Congress was very willing to let Mr. Bland have the committee assignment which suited his inclination. There are two committees of the House which deal with forms of money-the Banking and Currency, and the Coinage, Weights and Measures. At that time Banking and Currency was the dominating committee of the two. Prominent upon it had been Judge Aylett H. Buckner, one of the strong men of the Missouri delegation. The national banking and currency laws came from that committee. Coinage, Weights and Measures was one of those committees which existed for little more than the purpose of giving some member of the majority a chairmanship and a clerk. Furthermore, as the preceding Congress had revised the coinage laws, there was no prospect for any serious work by that committee, yet in three Congresses, Bland had pushed the coinage question to the front, had forced a transfer of the relative positions of these two committees and had begotten the Bland dollar. The sixteen years which followed steadily increased his prestige as the foremost advocate of free coinage of silver. The persistency with which he pressed the issue made him, in the eyes of the East, a "silver crank," yet in each successive organization of the coinage committee the Speaker recognized the position Mr. Bland had won by making him the chairman or the leader of the minority of the committee. The Birthplace of the Issue. The room of the committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures was in the old part of the capitol under the dome, opening on a side corridor but little used. It looked out on a court, and was warmed and ventilated by an old-fashioned fireplace with a quaintly carved Carrara marble mantel, one of only half a dozen to be seen in the whole capitol. There Mr. Bland was to be found when the House was not in session, and there was the place to hear the theory of bimetalism expounded at its best. In the closing months of the Fifty-third Congress, when, after twenty-two years of service, he had been beaten at the polls, and when only chaos seemed to face the Democracy, Mr. Bland had no doubt of the ultimate triumph of the cause of silver. In a number of conversations he forecasted what he thought would come to pass. He said that the only hope for the Democratic party to pull itself together was to take a decided stand for free silver, regardless of the rest of the world, and upon the old ratio. He said this must be done, and that the sooner it was done the quicker would be |