Anecdotes of public men; by John W. Forney.

20 ANECDOTES OF PUBLIC MEN.
debted to Stephen A. Douglas-God bless him! I believe my
Confederate friend has held on to his interest, and I shall be
glad if he is as fortunate as I was. Duluth is now the fashion,
and I wish it all success, because it can not grow rich without
reflecting some of its wealth upon Superior City, its near neighbor.
In i868, the Republicans of Pennsylvania, by a unanimous
vote, put me at the head of their delegation to the Republican
National Convention, to vote for General Grant as their candidate for President. The first thing I did, after getting to Chicago, was to go out to look on the monument to Stephen A.
Douglas, on the shore of Lake Michigan; the next to visit the
massive buildings of the Illinois Central Railroad Company,
the enterprise which he alone carried through Congress. The
monument was not complete, but the palatial edifices of the
railroad were. I could not help it, but when I remembered
how in Paris and London, just the year before, I had seen Illinois Central securities quoted among the consols of the oldest
governments, and that that road was enriching all connected
with it-I say I could not help, as I thought of these things,
drawing the contrast between the vital and vigorous championship of Douglas of this stupendous work and the studied neglect of his memory by those who have profited by it. After
passing through the magnificent dep6t and the adjacent buildings, I said to an employe, "Who owns the most stock in the
Illinois Central?" " Indeed, I do not know, sir," was his reply.
"Well, my friend, I think the man who ought to own the most
of it, and whose children should be most benefited by it, was
Stephen A. Douglas." I think the man may have heard of
Douglas, but it was clear to me, from his look, that he thought
I was a lunatic.
[January 29, I87I.]