He was his own successor in that body in 1885, and was reelected in 1891, 1897 and 1903. His period of service in the United States senate was practically contemporaneous with that of his colleague, General Joseph R. Hawley, his lifelong friend, whose death preceded his own by but a short time, and in attending whose funeral he contracted his own fatal illness.
After his entrance to the United States senate, he grew steadily in ability and influence during the twenty-six years of his service. While his best friends did not claim for him the reputation of a man of the very first order of intellect, his ability was of a high class and his integrity was sterling. He gained rank as one of the leaders of the Republican majority. Intensely devoted to his own state, he was even more deeply concerned for the whole country and could oppose what seemed to be state interests for the sake of larger national values. A man of statesmanlike instincts and of incorruptible integrity, he had acquired a vast and varied public experience which he had thoroughly rationalized, and which he always sought to use for the public welfare.
His services to the country were conspicuous and manifold ; but he belonged to the old school of public men. He was not a business man in politics, as were some of his most notable associates; but he was not disregardful of business interests, and the country represented something more to him than the entire mass of its material activities. He saved the country millions of dollars by his assiduous and competent study of appropriations; and he modified and redrafted much legislation of importance. The amendment which secured the integrity of Cuba bears his name; he rendered distinct service to the copyright cause when that matter was before congress; he was a resolute friend of the disabled soldier. His service to the country and to the Indians, in his influential work on the committee on Indian Affairs, was most noteworthy. He was a consistent advocate of trade reciprocity. He served on various important committees in the senate, including Pensions, Finance, Patents, and Revision of Laws. On the death of Senator Hoar, he was made chairman of the Judiciary committee, as a tribute to the high esteem in which he was held as a lawyer; while just a short time before his death he had been selected to preside over the impeachment court formed for the trial of Judge Swayne. His knowledge of international law was well recognized, and was well evinced in what was probably his most important speech in the
