September 1857

Harper's Magazine archives (subscription required) ^ | September 1857

[iowamark]

The Rock Island Railroad bridge was the first bridge across the Mississippi river, and this case was very important to the future of the railroads. Abraham Lincoln perhaps becomes something of a national figure here with his successful defense of the bridge.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from September 22 (reply #60.)

Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher

[colorado tanker]

It’s good to represent railroads. They pay their legal bills and pay them promptly.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

It’s good to represent railroads. They pay their legal bills and pay them promptly.

Lincoln charged fixed fees for standard legal services, and not very high fees at that. The economic reality of the time and place meant most of his clients couldn't pay a lot. I imagine the railroad got charged the top of his sliding scale hourly rates. That must have been nice since he was working hard to restore his finances after spending so much time doing politics.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from September 1 (reply #3).

William J. Cooper, Jr., Jefferson Davis, American

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from September 18 (reply #56).

The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas

[Tax-chick]

“There is not a tunnel that is a successful project, in the world.”

[Homer_J_Simpson]

I noticed that. He must be thinking about tunnels under rivers.

[Tax-chick]

Yes, I assume so. It was interesting, though, especially when one considers the array of underwater tunnels today.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Of course, as a skilled politician and lawyer he could have just made it up for the benefit of the jury.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

[Continued from September 27 (reply #66).]

September 28. Panic is very dreadful in Wall Street. The banks will probably stand, but failures are multiplying, and no one knows on whom he can depend, or on what. Every security is distrusted.

Dialogue between two seedy street-operators at my barber’s:

“How’s money this morning?”
“I ain’t seen any. Have you?”
“I saw a twenty shillin’ piece this mornin’ and I thought I’d try what I could raise on it.”
“Wal, I guess you can raise two dollars.”

I am confirmed in my convictions on two points, namely: First, credit systems and expanded paper currencies are mischievous and immoral. Second, we should foster our own manufactures by protection instead of running in debt to England, France, and Germany.

The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas

[rdl6989]

The Panic of 1857 is an interesting subject in and of itself.

[colorado tanker]

I don’t believe marijuana was illegal in 1857. Sure sounds like Jeff Davis was smoking some.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Whatever he was smoking there must have been plenty to go around.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from September 28 (reply #71).

The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas

[Tax-chick]

In summary, “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel FINE!”

It’s the consolation of philosophy, in a way, only it’s the consolation of describing disaster in vehemently vivid verbiage. Rather like Alexander Hamilton’s hurricane story, which started him on his monumentally wordy North American career.

[Tax-chick]

we should foster our own manufactures by protection

The eternal temptation ...

[Homer_J_Simpson]

William H. Hurlbut has appeared in Strong’s diary before. The first entry was on December 6 of last year (reply #19) , then on March 8 (reply #32) , and most recently and most notoriously on August 30 (reply #29) . Hurlbut is currently a writer of editorials for the New York Times. Strong still doesn’t like him.

Continued from September 29 (reply #75).

The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas