Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/213

 JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD 175 command of a division. His inclination was to accept and continue the military career, which had superior attractions; but he yielded to the repre sentations of the President and Secretary Stanton, that he would be more useful in the house of repre sentatives. Gen. Garfield was thirty-two years old when he entered congress. He found in the house, which was to be the theater of his lasting fame, many with whom his name was for the next twenty years intimately associated. Schuyler Colfax was its speaker, and Conkling, Blaine, Washburne, Ste vens, Fenton, Schenck, Henry Winter Davis, William B. Allison, and William R. Morrison were among its members. His military reputation had preceded him, and secured for him a place in the committee on military affairs, then the most im portant in congress. His first speech (January 14, 1864), upon a motion to print extra copies of Gen. Rosecrans official report, was listened to with attention; and, indeed, whenever he spoke upon army matters this was the case. But the attention was given to the man for the information he pos sessed and imparted rather than to the orator; for in effective speech, as in every other matter in which Garfield succeeded, he came to excellence only by labor and practice. He was soon regarded as an authority on military matters, and his opinion was sought as an expert, experienced and careful,