Hoi man

well-defined philosophy of government, and his
legislative conduct was quite in accordance there-
with. He was in many respects a Jeffersonian,
carrying the ideas of a simple agricultural era
over into the age of railroads, industrialism, and
high finance. According to his view, most of
the people were poor and over-taxed; govern-
mental outlays usually benefited those who least
needed help; one outlay bred others; in the long
run democratic institutions could hardly survive
the strain. A typical expression of his views may
be found in one of his speeches against naval
expansion, a program due, he charged, to the
uneasiness of capitalistic interests, "the unexam-
pled accumulation of great fortunes ... the out-
growth in a large degree of partial and vicious
legislation," which desired a government based
on physical power, and whose designs were fa-
cilitated by the existence of "the vast and dis-
honoring surplus in the Treasury"—collected by
unnecessary taxation (Congressional Record, 49
Cong., 2 Sess., App., p. 98).

His attitude was sometimes shortsighted, and
the "Holman amendment," carried for years in
the rules of the House, by which an appropriation
bill was permitted to embody a change in exist-
ing law, "provided it be germane to the subject
matter and retrenches expenses," aggravated the
pernicious practice of "riders" and in part de-
feated the intention of its author. As an offset,
however, his opposition in 1885 to the "scatter
policy" by which various committees were au-
thorized to bring in appropriation bills disclosed
a thorough understanding of budgetary pro-
cedure, and his predictions as to the evils involved
in the change were fully justified by subsequent
developments. He was meticulously honest and
applied his own principles of economy to expense
accounts when on public service. Numerous
anecdotes were the natural and perhaps the chief
result, of this habit, among them a story of his
forcing a congressional committee of inspection
to take a laborious trip in an army ambulance in
order to reduce transportation costs. His nick-
name and the hostility of many contemporaries
whose measures he defeated, combined with his
lanky frame, simplicity of manner, careless dress,
somewhat uncouth appearance, and fondness for
chewing tobacco, caused his real ability to be
frequently underrated. Aside from such matters
as his attempts to starve the Library of Congress
and his hostility to expenditures for the improve-
ment of the national capital, his speeches in gen-
eral disclose a high order of ability and in many
instances a profound insight into the injustice
and hardship involved in many of the economic
policies of the day. James G. Elaine, whose ideals

Holme

were very different, paid tribute to his character
and ability (Twenty Years of Congress, vol. I,
1884, p. 329). Testimony is unanimous that, per-
sonally, Holman was a delightful character, with
many qualities reminiscent of Lincoln, the same
ability as a raconteur, and somewhat the same
whimsical appreciation of the virtues and weak-
nesses of the common man. He was a remark-
ably effective stump speaker.

[Cong. Record, 59 Cong., i Sess., pp. 2512 ft., App.,
pp. 259 E; Washington Post, Apr. 23, 24, 1897; In-
dianapolis Jour., Apr. 23, 1897; Biog. Dir. Aw. Cong.
(1928); A Biog. Hist, of Eminent and Self-made Men
of the State of Ind. (1880), vol. I; C. C. Carlton, in
O. O. Stealy, Twenty Years in the Press Gallery
(1906), pp. 318-22.] W.A.R.

HOLME, THOMAS (1624-1695), surveyor,
map-maker, member of the Provincial Council
of Pennsylvania, was probably a native of York-
shire, England, although there is a tradition that
he was born in Ireland. His early life is obscure.
It is said that he was a captain in the Parliamen-
tary forces during the Civil Wars, that he ac-
companied Admiral Penn on the Hispaniola
expedition of 1654-55, and that he was one of
Cromwell's soldiers who received a land grant in
Ireland about 1655. He joined the Society of
Friends and in 1672 was associated with Abra-
ham Fuller in the publication of a pamphlet de-
scribing the suffering and persecution of the
Irish Quakers. His wife, whose name is un-
known, died before 1682. They had five children,
of whom four probably came to America with
their father.

Holme's connection with the history of Penn-
sylvania began on Apr. 18, 1682, when he was
appointed surveyor-general of the province by
William Penn. He sailed on the Amity, Apr. 23,
and reached his destination some time in June.
Acting with the Commissioners for Settling the
Colony, he was instructed by the proprietor to
choose the site for a great city which was high,
dry, and healthy, and provided with a good deep
harbor. A preliminary survey was made, but the
final selection of the site was delayed until after
Penn's own arrival in the province in October
1682. Holme then laid out that part of the city
of Philadelphia which lies between South Street
and Vine Street and extends from the Delaware
to a distance of three blocks beyond the Schuyl-
kill. He also prepared a map, entitled A Por-
traiture of the City of Philadelphia, which was
first printed in A Letter from William Penn ..,
to the Committee of the Free Society of Traders
(London, 1683). With the exception of some
changes made in 1684 under Holme's supervi-
sion, the Portraiture is still substantially ac-
curate, On the completion of this task, he began

159