Lyman Kidder Bass (November 13, 1836 – May 11, 1889) was a U.S. Representative from New York.
Born in the town of Alden, New York, Bass attended the common schools and was graduated from Union College, Schenectady, New York, in 1856. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1858 and commenced practice in Buffalo, New York. In 1865, he ran against Grover Cleveland and was narrowly elected district attorney for Erie County. He served in this role 1865 - 1872. He was renominated in 1871, but declined to accept. In 1870, he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election to the Forty-second Congress.
Bass was elected as a Republican to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877). Because of ill health, he declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1876. In Congress, Bass made a name for himself while serving on the House Committee on Expenditures in the War Department. During his time on the committee, it looked into spending by Secretary of War William Worth Belknap.
He moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1877. While there, he was asked to be an associate counsel by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Co. Bass worked on a case against the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway regarding the right of way through the Arkansas Canon on the route from Denver to Leadville. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and was won due to Bass' argument. He was then appointed chief counsel of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Co. and principal counsel of the Mexican National Railway.
Bass died while on a visit to New York City and was interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York.
Famous quotes containing the words lyman and/or bass:
“Isn’t it strange some people make
You feel so tired inside,
Your thoughts begin to shrivel up
Like leaves all brown and dried!”
—Rachel Lyman Field (1894–1942)
“How are we to know that a Dracula is a key-pounding pianist who lifts his hands up to his face, or that a bass fiddle is the doghouse, or that shmaltz musicians are four-button suit guys and long underwear boys?”
—In New York City, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)