The biographical encyclopœdia of Ohio of the nineteenth century:

BIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
unpleasant and unfavorable position. It was asserted that
this delay was caused by the friends of Mr. Chase; but,
however far this may be true, it is certain that it was to
Colonel Baber's energy, enterprise and personal influence
that this important correspondence saw the light of day in
printed form on January 23d, I86o, in the Ohzio State ournza. The proceedings of the Chicago Conveution, at
which Colonel Baber was an active friend of Lincoln, are
matters of history. During the campaign which followed,
being one of the electors on the Lincoln ticket, he was one
of the most effective speakers and active canvassers in securing in the State a Republican majority of over forty
thousand. At the commencement of the war he was appointed Paymaster, United States army, and stationed
first at Washington, whence he was ordered to Louisville
and Cumberland Gap, with General George W. Morgan.
He proceeded then successively to Cincinnati, Memphis,
St. Louis and New Orleans, arriving at the latter place in
October, I863, and remaining on duty there until June,
I864. A great portion of his time was spent with the army
in the field, accompanying General Washburne in his campaign up the Bayou Teche country, and General Banks in
his Red river campaigns. From New Orleans he was
transferred to Cincinnati, and put in charge at Camp Dennison until mustered out, in November, I865. While in
the field he aided his friends at home in the Lincoln and
Johnson movement, by public correspondence and by his
effective co-operation among the soldiers. The result was
the sending of a delegation from Ohio to the Baltimore
Convention which cast a solid vote for Lincoln and Johnson as the standard-bearers of the party. Colonel Baber
was appointed one of the five members on the news
Union State Central Committee, to represent the army interest, and rendered great services in this capacity. He
sympathized with the bolters of the Philadelphia Convention of August, I866, believing that the only wise plan was
to adhere to the old ILincoln policy, and upon the ignoring
of this policy he sided with others who had formerly acted
with the Union organization, and in I867 supported the
Democratic ticket, aiding in the defeat of negro suffrage in
Ohio by a popular vote of 50,ooo, and securing the return
of Allen G. Thurman to the United States Senate in the
place of Benjamin F. Wade. On the meeting of the Legislature he drafted the resolution, which was adopted, withdrawing the former assent of Ohio to the ratification of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, on the
ground that the State had the right to do so at any time
prior to the acceptance of that amendment by three-fourths
of the States. He attended the Democratic and the
Soldiers' National Conventions in New York, in I868, and
again had the satisfaction of aiding in the defeat of Chase's
nomination. During the ensuing Presidential campaign he
stumped for the Democratic ticket, and his speeches were
circulated far and wide as the ablest of the campaign documents of the party. In the winter of 1869 he wrote the
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report of the Committee on Federal Relations, submitted to
the Senate of Ohio, setting fortli the reasons for the rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment. In the Democratic State
Convention, which was held in i869, he was instrumental
in procuring the nomination of General Rosecrans for
Governor, a nomination which unfortunately. was declined.
In the Ohio General Assembly, which met on the first
Monday in January, I870, Colonel Bal)er, who bad been
elected a representative from Franklin county in October,
i869, was appointed on the Committees on Federal Relations and Elections, whose proceedings mainly concerned
the exciting party issues which were debated in that session. I-le was soon recognized as one of the keenest and
most logical of debaters, analyzing the political issues of the
day with such readiness and perspicacity as to establish his
reputation not only as a man familiar, even to infinite
detail, with our past history, but as a statesman capable of
tracing the effect of that history upon the grave political
questions of reconstruction then agitating the nation. 1-1 is
was, perhaps, the clearest argument delivered in the Legislatui-e against the ratification of.the Fifteenth Amendment,
which passed by a majority of one only in each house. He
introduced a law to protect political organizations from
fraud in their primary nominations, which passed the
House- but was defeated in the Senate. It was reintroduced at the succeeding session, passed both branches, and
became a law on February 24t]', I871- Its familiar title is
The Baber Law." During his service in the General
'Assembly be secured the personal good will of his opponents, and became consequently most successful as a local
member in the interests of his constituents. Colonel Bal)er
supported the Greeley movement, in I872, and in September of that year be spoke, by special invitation, with Hon.
E. D. Campbell, General _Gordon, Governor Vance and
Hoi-i. Benjamin Hill, -it the reunion, at Louisville, of the
supporters of the Greeley ticket in the Southern and We!ztern States. In 1873 be was chosen by the Democratic
party as a delegate from Franl,.Iin county to the State Constitutional Convention, and proved one of its most enei —
getic, laborious and influential members. He has, in
cc.n?pany with Senator Thurman and other leading Democrats, repeatedly sttimped- the State. In addition to the
manifold variety of labors performed by him b6- has been
one of the ablest and most constant contributors to the
press. His first article was a searching review of the
speech of the celebrated Hon. Thomas Hanier, delivered
during the Clay campaign Of -1844. It was published iii
the Ohio State _7ournal, tben conducted by Mr. Follett,
and was generally commended. Since then be has written
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