30 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



and together entered the Union army. He was a true patriot, 

 a good soldier, and quickly won promotion. His important 

 career in Congress is known to everybody. Personally I re- 

 garded him as the ablest member of the lower house. He 

 scarcely had a superior as a debater anywhere. He had the 

 power of repartee and no man in Congress was better acquaint- 

 ed With men and books, and history, than he. He had a power- 

 ful memory, and possessed books to read, and not for parlor or- 

 nament only. As a youth at school he was proficient and am- 

 bitious. Ambition never forsook him. He had a right to it, for 

 he was able and prepared for any post. It is said that Presi- 

 dent McKinley looked on him as one of the most potent men en- 

 gaged in public affairs. As a lawyer he had few equals and he 

 possessed a kindly wit that served him before juries as it did on 

 the floor of Congress. Major Lacey will be remembered by 

 many as an intense partisan in the political controversies that 

 have divided the Republican party. He took his stand with de- 

 cision, and he maintained it with earnestness. He belonged with 

 the old guard, and never faltered. He never minced his words. 

 But those who knew him best will remember him as a man of 

 varied talents and many-sided activities. In the legislature 

 every measure came in for a share of his attention. As a mem- 

 ber of Congress it was his pride to cover a wider field than any 

 member of either house. And he did with thoroughness every- 

 thing he turned his hand to. He was always a hard-working 

 lawyer. Those Who met him before the jury and the judges be- 

 fore whom he practiced regarded him highly. He was fre- 

 quently upon the platform, and his occasional addresses, all of 

 them suggesting study and care in preparation, would fill a 

 large volume. 



Judge J. L. Waite, in the Burlington Hawk-Eye : 

 The announcement from Oskaloosa of the sudden death of 

 Major John F. Lacey is a shock to the people of Iowa and to a 

 wide circle of friends and acquaintances in other states. Major 

 Lacey, in his prime, was in the front rank of useful and influ- 

 ential legislators at Washington and was in demand in national 

 campaigns as a platform speaker at republican rallies. The 

 major's political addresses were always instructive and at the 



