ice to the heroic quality of
the man. He declared him "the gamest man" he ever saw.

I served in my second term on the Committee on Elections under
the Chairmanship of George W. McCrary. Election cases in
the House up to that time were, as they always were in the
English House of Commons and as they have been too often in
the Senate, determined entirely by party feeling. Whenever
there was a plausible reason for making a contest the dominant
party in the House almost always awarded the seat to the man
of its own side. There is a well-authenticated story of Thaddeus
Stevens, that going into the room of the Committee of Elections,
of which he was a member, he found a hearing going on. He
asked one of his Republican colleagues what was the point
in the case. "There is not much point to it" was the answer.
"They are both damned scoundrels." "Well," said Stevens, "which
is the Republican damned scoundrel? I want to go for the
Republican damned scoundrel."

We had a good many contests. But the Committee determined
to settle all the questions before it as they would if they
were judges in a court of justice. The powerful influence
of Mr. McCrary, the Chairman, aided largely to bring about
that result. The Democratic minority soon discovered that
we were sincere and in earnest. They met us in a like spirit.
I believe the Committee on Elections during that Congress
reported on every case with absolute impartiality, and the
House followed their lead. I formed a very pleasant friendship
on that Committee with Judge William M. Merrick, a Maryland
Democrat, who had made himself very much disliked by the Republican
authorities during the War because of his supposed sympathy
with Rebellion. I do not think he sympathized with the Rebellion.
But he construed the Constitution very strictly and was opposed
to many measures of the Administration. He was nominated
by President Cleveland to be Judge of the Supreme Court of
the District of Columbia. The Judiciary Committee of the
Senate reported against him, putting their objection on the
ground of the conduct imputed to him during the War, and also
of his age. He was then sixty-seven years old. I dissented
from the Committee, of which I was a member, and I exerted
myself with all my might to secure his confirmation, and was
successful. He made a most admirable Judge, and my action
was abundantly vindicated by the result.

I have taken special satisfaction in two repo