George F. Hoar

They entitle him to the highest respect, and should far outweigh his faults and mistakes.

His independence of his own party led him to support a very much worse party domination, and to help to accomplish measures and establish principles to which he had been all his life utterly opposed.

I have thought that in his dislikes and severe judgment of individuals he lost sight of great principles.

He has never seemed to care for organization, still less to be influenced by that attachment to organization which, while sometimes leading to great evil, has been the source of inspiration of nearly everything that has been accomplished…

But he seems to me to have erred in underrating the value of party instrumentalities and of official power in accomplishing what is best for the good of the people.

So he will be entitled to a high place in the history of the very stormy time in which he has lived, and to the gratitude of his countrymen.

He also combated with great power the dangerous heresy of fiat money and an irredeemable currency.

He was a clear reasoner, and not lacking on fit occasion in a stirring eloquence.

Among the great characters which American has given to mankind these two famous brothers, so different, yet so like in their earnest love of country, their independence and courage, their devotion to duty, will ever hold a high place.

Sherman was not an eloquent man, except on some few occasions, when his simple statement without ornament or passion rose to the highest eloquence by reason of the impressiveness of his fact or of his reasoning.

He was wise, brave, strong, patriotic, honest, faithful, simple-hearted, sincere.

The resumption of specie payments and the establishment of the gold standard, the two great financial achievements of our time, are largely due to his powerful, persistent and most effective advocacy.

Sherman's great fame and the title to his countrymen's remembrance which will most distinguish him from other men of his time, will rest upon his service as a financier.

Whatever you may think of the signs of the times, the Government will rise from the strife greater, stronger and more prosperous than ever.

His inflexible courage and his clear vision manifested themselves in the very darkest period of our history, when hope seemed at times to have gone out in every other heart.

But in him sound judgment and common sense, better than genius, better than eloquence, always prevailed, and sometimes seemed to rise to sublimity which genius never attains.

He was a man of inflexible honesty, inflexible courage, inflexible love of country.

His countrymen always listened for his voice and frequently listened for his voice more eagerly than for that of any other man.

Of course, in a republic it can be claimed for no man that he controlled the course of history.

They do not rise and fall with the temperature about them.

They utter the best thought which their countrymen in their time are able to reach.

They rather are men who represent the limitations as well as the accomplishments of the people around them.

Such men are not always those who have held the highest places or been famous for great genius or even enjoyed great popularity.

It is rarely more than once or twice in a generation that a great figure passes from the earth who seems the very embodiment of the character and temper of his time.

But modesty and disinterestedness are qualities that are so infrequent among public men that we may well pardon this bright and delightful genius for that fault.