Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/lifepublicservic01 nort WALKER BLAINE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES —OF— Hon. JAMES G. BLAINE “THE PLUMED KNIGHT” —CONTAINING— A FULL ACCOUNT OF HIS EARLY LIFE; HIS EDUCATION AND CAREER AS A TEACHER; HIS BRILLIANT SER- VICES IN CONGRESS AND AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE; HIS ABLE AND PATRI- OTIC RECORD IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. —INCLUDING— His Nomination for the Presidency; his Eminent Services as Secretary of State ; his Sickness and Death. The Whole forming- a Complete and Graphic Account of AMERICA’S MOST DISTINGUISHED STATESMAN. BY HENRY DAVENPORT NORTHROP, D.D. Author of “ Story of the New World,” Etc. EMBELLISHED WITH SUPERB PHOTOTYPE ENGRAVINGS. H. J. SMITH & CO., Publishers, 234 South Eighth Street, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 263 & 265 Wabash Avenu«. i CHICAGO, ILL. Copyright, 1893 q r n ' ■ rj / ri the sincere sanction of my head and of my heart. I move its adoption. Then, amid the silence of the crowded hall, the Clerk of the House read as follows: Resolved, That the thanks of this House are due, and are hereby tendered, to Hon. James G. Blaine, for the distinguished ability and impartiality with which he has discharged the duty of Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Forty-second Congress. 142 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. The resolution was adopted unanimously. FOUR YEARS OF SERVICE. On the same day, in adjourning the House sine die , Mr. Blaine spoke as follows: Gentlemen : For the forty-second time since the Federal Government was organized, its great repre- sentative body stands on the eve of dissolution. The final word which separates us is suspended for a moment that I may return my sincere thanks for the kind expressions respecting my official conduct, which, without division of party, you have caused to be en- tered on your journal. At the close of four years’ service in this responsi- ble and often trying position, it is a source of honor- able pride that I have so administered my trust as to secure the confidence and approbation of both sides of the House. It would not be strange if, in the necessarily rapid discharge of the daily business, I should have erred in some of the decisions made on points, and often without precedent to guide me. It has been my good fortune, however, to be always sus- tained by the House, and in no single instance to have had a ruling reversed. I advert to this gratifying fact, to quote the language of the most eloquent of my predecessors, “ in no spirit of exaltation, but as fur- nishing a powerful motive for undissembled gratitude.” And now, gentlemen, with a hearty God bless you all, I discharge my only remaining duty in declaring that the House of Representatives for the Forty-second Congress is adjourned without day. SPEAKER OP THE HOUSE. 143 THIRD ELECTION. For the third time, James G. Blaine, of Maine, was elected Speaker of the United States House of Rep- resentatives on December 2, 1873. He was con- ducted to the chair by Mr. Maynard, of Tennessee, and Mr. Wood, of New York, and spoke as follows: Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : The vote this moment announced by the Clerk is such an expression of your confidence as calls for my sincerest thanks, To be chosen Speaker of the American House of Representatives is always an honorable distinction; to be chosen a third time enhances the honor more than three-fold ; to be chosen by the largest body that ever assembled in the Capi- tol imposes a burden of responsibility which only your indulgent kindness could embolden me to assume. The first occupant of this chair presided over a House of sixty-five members, representing a popula- tion far below the present aggregate of the State of New York. At that time in the whole United States 144 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. there were not fifty thousand civilized inhabitants to be found oge hundred miles distant from the flow of the Atlantic tide. MARVELLOUS GROWTH. To-dav, gentlemen, a large body of you come from beyond that limit, and represent districts then peopled only by the Indian and adventurous frontiersman. The National Government is not yet as old as many of its citizens ; but in this brief span of time, less than one lengthened life, it has, under God’s providence, ex- tended its power until a continent is the field of its empire, and attests the majesty of its law. With the growth of new States and the resultant changes in the centres of population, new interests are developed, rival to the old, but by no means hos- tile, diverse, but not antagonistic. Nay, rather are all these interests in harmony ; and the true science of just government is to give to each its full and fair play, oppressing none by undue exaction, favoring none by undue privilege. It is this great lesson which our daily experience is teaching us, binding us together more closely, making our mutual dependence more manifest, and causing us to feel, whether we live in the North or in the South, in the East or in the West, that we have indeed but “one country, one Constitu- tion. one destiny.” VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. At the close of the session, March 3, 1875, Mr. Blaine addressed the House in a very impressive man- ner. He took farewell of the expiring Congress and SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 145 * of his own office as Speaker. After the customary vote of thanks he spoke as follows : Gentlemen : I close with this hour a six years’ ser- vice as Speaker of the House of Representatives — a period surpassed in length by but two of my predeces- sors, and equaled by only two others. The rapid mutations of personal and political fortunes in this country have limited the great majority of those who have occupied this Chair to shorter terms of office. It would be the gravest insensibility to the honors and responsibilities of life, not to be deeply touched by so signal a mark of public esteem as that which I have thrice received at the hands of my political as- sociates. I desire in this last moment to renew to A POST OF DIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY, them, one and all, my thanks and my gratitude. To those from whom I differ in my party relations — the minority of this House — I tender my acknowl- edgments for the generous courtesy with which they have treated me. By one of those sudden and de- cisive changes which distinguish popular institutions, and which conspicuously mark a free people, that minority is transformed in the ensuing Congress to the governing power of the House. However it might possibly have been under other circumstances, that event renders these words my farewell to the Chair. The Speakership of the American House of Repre- sentatives is a post of honor, of dignity, of power, of responsibility. Its duties are at once complex and 10 146 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. continuous ; they are both onerous and delicate ; they are performed in the broad light of day, under the eye of the whole people, subject at all times to the closest observation, and always attended with the sharpest criticism. I think no other official is held to such in- stant and such rigid accountability. Parliamentary rulings in their very nature are peremptory ; almost absolute in authority and instantaneous • in effect. They cannot always be enforced in such a way as to win applause or secure popularity ; but I am sure that no man of any party who is worthy to fill this Chair will ever see a dividing line between duty and policy. Thanking you once more, and thanking you most cordially for the honorable testimonial you have placed on record to my credit, I perform my only remaining duty in declaring that the Forty-third Congress has reached its constitutional limit, and that the House of Representatives stands adjourned without day. SHARP SKIRMISH WITH BEN.. BUTLER. The retiring Speaker’s words thrilled the immense assemblage. Cheers and shouts of approval attested his popularity. Says an eye-witness: “ Never before was witnessed such a scene at the close of Congress.” The attack upon him by B. F. Butler will have a special interest to the reader. On the 1 6th of March, 1871, when the House was debating a resolution pro- viding for an investigation into alleged outrages upon loyal citizens of the South, Mr. Butler bitterly assailed Mr. Blaine, and censured him for being the author SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 147 of the resolution and securing its adoption by a Re- publican caucus. The following sharp discussion en- sued : Mr. Blaine — I nominated Mr. Butler chairman of the committee, because I knew that if I omitted the appointment of the gentleman, it would be heralded throughout the length and breadth of the country, by the clacqueurs who have so industriously distributed this letter this morning, that the Speaker had packed the committee, as the gentleman sa ; c j } le would, with “ weak-kneed Republicans,” who would not go into an investioation vigorously, as he would. That was the reason. So that the Chair laid the responsibility upon the gentleman of declining the appointment. Mr. Butler — I knew that was the trick of the Chair. Mr. Blaine — Ah, the “ trick ! ” We now know what the gentleman meant by the word “ trick.” I am very glad to know that the “ trick ” was successful. Mr. Butler — No doubt. Mr. Blaine — It is this “trick” which places the gentleman from Massachusetts on his responsibility before the country. Then he defied Mr. Butler to name any members who had voted under coercion ; and on his refusal to do so, on the plea that he could .not violate private conversations, the Speaker exclaimed : * Oh, no; but you will distribute throughout the entire country unfounded calumnies purporting to rest upon assertions made in private conversations, which, when called for, cannot be verified. 148 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Mr. Butler — Pardon me, sir. I said there was a caucus Mr. Blaine — I hope God will pardon you ; but you ought not to ask me to do it ! Mr. Butler— I will ask God, and not you. Mr. Blaine — I am glad the gentleman will. Mr. Butler — I have no favors to ask of the devil. THE PARTY CAUCUS. Mr. Blaine had some plain words to speak concern- ing the binding power of the party caucus. He jibed Butler for being a weather-vane in politics, changing from one party to another. He defended his own right to take part in the proceedings of the House. These were his words : Why, even in the worst days of the Democracy, when the gentleman himself was in the front rank of the worst wing of it, when was it ever attempted to say that a majority of a party caucus could bind men upon measures that involved questions of constitu- tional law, of personal honor, of religious scruple ? The gentleman asked what would have been done — he asked my colleague (Mr. Peters) what would have been done in case of members of a party voting against the caucus nominee for Speaker. I understand that was intended as a thrust at myself. Caucus nomina- tions of officers have always been held as binding. But, just here, let me say, that if a minority did not vote against the decision of the caucus that nominated me for Speaker, in my judgment, it was not the fault of the gentleman from Massachusetts. If the requisite ROBERT T. LINCOLN. CHAUNCEV M. DEPEW. SPEAKER OP THE HOUSE. 149 number could have been found to have gone over to the despised Nazarenes on the opposite side, that gentleman would have led them as gallantly as he did the forces in the Charleston Convention. Mr. Speaker, in old times it was the ordinary habit of the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives to take part in de- bate. The custom has fallen into disuse. For one, I am very glad that it has. For one, I ap- prove of the conclusion that forbids it. The Speaker should, with consistent fidelity to his own party, be the im- partial administrator of the rules of the House, and a constant par- ticipation in the discus- sions of members would take from him that appearance of impartiality which it is so important to maintain in the rulings of the Chair. THE HEIGHT OF INSOLENCE. But at the same time I despise and denounce the insolence of the gentleman from Massachusetts, when he attempts to say that the Representative from the Third District of the State of Maine has no riuht to Fame a resolution ; has no right to seek that under 150 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the rules that resolution shall be adopted; has no right to ask the judgment of the House upon that resolution. Why, even the insolence of the gentleman himself never reached that sublime height before. Now, Mr. Speaker, nobody regrets more sincerely than I do any occurrence which calls me to take the floor. On questions of propriety, I appeal to members on both sides of the House, and they will bear me witness, that the circulation of this letter in the morning prints; its distribution throughout the land by telegraph ; the laying it upon the desks of mem- bers, was intended to be by the gentleman from Massachusetts, not openly and boldly, but covertly — I will not use a stronger phrase — an j insult to the Speaker WILLIAM D. KELLEY. of this House. As SUch j) l resent it. I denounce it in all its essential state- ments, and in all its misstatements, and in all its meaner inferences and meaner innuendoes. I denounce this letter as groundless without justification ; and the gentleman himself, I trust, will live to see the day when he will be ashamed of having written it, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 151 CREDIT MOBILIER SCANDAL. At the second session of the 42d Congress, begin- ning December 2, 1872, Speaker Blaine on the first day called attention to the charges made by Demo- cratic orators and newspapers during the Presidential campaign just closed, that the Vice-President (Colfax), and the Vice-President elect (Wilson), the Secretary of the Treasury, several Senators, the Speaker of the Hou se, and a large number of Representatives, includ- ing James A. Garfield, H. L. Dawes and William D. Kelley, had been bribed during the years 1867 and 1868, by Oakes Ames, a member of the House from Massachusetts; that he and his agents had given them presents of stock in a corporation known as the Credit Mobilier, to influence their legislative action for the benefit of the Union Pacific Railroad company. Upon Speaker Blaine’s motion, a committee of in- vestigation was appointed by Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York, a noted Democrat temporarily called to the Chair. After the close of the campaign (as was remarked by the Republic Magazine at the time) the dominant party might well have claimed, and would have insisted had they been opposed to a thorough investigation and a full exposure of corruption, that the verdict of the people in the late canvass was sufficient answer to these charges ; but the Republican party not merely granted all the investigations sought, but summoned on the leading committee a majority of its political foes to conduct inquest. 152 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. In moving his resolution for the appointment of a committee to investigate the charge Mr. Blaine said : A charge of bribery of members is the gravest that can be made in a legislative body. It seems to me, sir, that this charge demands prompt, thorough and impartial investigation, and I have taken the floor for the purpose of moving that investigation. Unwilling, of course, to appoint any committee of investigation to examine into a charge in which I was myself in- cluded, I have called you, sir, to the Chair, an honored member of the House, honored here and honored in the country; and when on Saturday last I called upon you and advised you of this service, I placed upon you no other restriction in the appointment of a committee than that it should not contain a majority of my politi- cal friends. REFUSES INCREASED SALARY. In the strict discharge of his functions Mr. Blaine had been in favor of economy, and refused to accept the increased salary assigned to the Speaker by the notorious Salary Bill. During the consideration of the bill, on the last day of January, 1873, he addressed the House as Speaker, and made the following re- marks : The Chair now desires to make a statement per- sonal to himself. In reading the bill the Chair pre- sumes the language of this amendment would make the Speaker’s salary $10,000 for this Congress. The salary of the Speaker, the last time the question of pay was under consideration, was adjusted to that of SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 153 the Vice-President and members of the Cabinet. The Chair thinks that adjustment should not be disturbed, and the question which he now raises does not affect the pay of other members of the House. He asks unanimous consent to put in the word “ hereafter,” to follow the words “ shall receive.” This will affect who- ever shall be Speaker of the House of Representa- tives hereafter, and does not affect the Speaker of this House, but leaves him upon the same plane with the Vice-President and Cabinet officers, upon the salary as before adjusted. Mr. Blaine’s course was approved by the Nation, and his refusal to accept increased salary was proof that his main idea was not to grab the loaves and fishes. When the repeal of the bill was under con- sideration he cast the deciding vote, as Speaker, which kept the matter before the House. 9 CHAPTER IX. The Famous Mulligan Letters. After the war the Republicans had a majority in 1 Congress up to 1874. During this year, which was, to some extent, a period of revolution in politics, the Democrats obtained a majority of Congressmen, and during the ensuing session they endeavored to make the most of their power. They assumed that the Republican rule at Wash- ington had been attended by wholesale corruption and fraud. They began to pry and investigate. Commit- tee after committee was appointed, the object being to fasten charges upon the party that had ruled so long in Congress. Every stone was to be overturned to see what was concealed under it; every bush was to be beaten to discover what game might be lurking within it; every man’s pockets were to be turned in- side out to ascertain whether there was any lucre there which had been dishonestly obtained. There was a craze for investigation. The bloodhounds were to be put upon the track. Congress was to play the detect- ive, and rake the gutters for evidences of underhanded dealings. Unquestionably there were opportunity and neces- sity for investigation, No political party was ever in ( 154 ) THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 155 power for a whole generation without drawing to it some men whose patriotism burned to obtain the loaves and fishes, whose highest ambition was to serve their country for what they could make out of it. The in- vestigating committees did start some game; with an immense whoop and shout they chased and bagged it. It was the right thing to do, and no man who is not a thief will enter a single word of protest. ATTACK ON MR. BLAINE. Of course, a mark so conspicuous as the late Speaker of the House could not escape this mania for investi- gation. His political opponents were eager to cripple his power and limit his influence. They foresaw that under his leadership his party would likely maintain its prestige, and would continue to legislate for the country. Eyes were opened and ears were listening for something that might prove damaging to his repu- tation. There he stood in all his integrity, his whole life open as the sunlight, his course consistent and honorable from the beginning, his name a tower of strength in the councils of the Nation ; he was a mark for envy, as every man is who, by his own genius and brilliancy, rises above his fellows and is carried upon the wave of a nation’s applause. The question therefore was whether any charge could be brought against Mr. Blaine concerning his conduct of public affairs, or his private transactions outside of his political life. The movement against him did not begin in Congress. A western newspaper, far from being a leading journal, made an attack upon 156 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. him which at first awakened very little attention, but which was repeated, and each time with greater bold- ness and definiteness of detail. This was a fine nut for his enemies to crack; this was something they had been eager to obtain ; this gave them the opportunity their malice had been seeking. It was not claimed that he was a murderer, that he was a horse- thief, that he was a pickpocket, that he had cheated his washer- woman, but it was asserted that as Speaker of the House he had used his vast influence in favor of certain western railroads, and that he had been amply com- pensated for his services. In short, he had taken money which would not have come to him if he had not favored the corporations from which the guilty spoils were received. He had obtained stock from these railroad companies on terms exceedingly favor- able, and his honesty as a man and statesman was called in question. AN INVESTIGATION APPOINTED. At this time the Hon. Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana, was Speaker of the House, and one of the most con- spicuous members was Hon. Proctor Knott, of Ken- tucky. The matter of Mr. Blaine’s dreadful conduct having been brought to the attention of the House, a committee of investigation was appointed with Mr. Knott as chairman, a man who would not be likely ever to incur the charge of whitewashing any man opposed to his own political principles. On April 24, 1876, Mr. Blaine made an eloquent and convincing speech in the House in answer to the BLAINE AND HARRISON FAMILIES AT BAR HARBOR. SCENE AT THE DEATH BED OF TAMES G. BLAINE. THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 157 charges, and by his frank statement carried conviction to many minds which before had been somewhat suspicious. And here it must be said, that in all this unhappy affair by which he was placed as a culprit before Congress and the country, his bearing was that of an innocent, high-minded, noble, brave man, who courted investigation instead of seeking to evade it. In answer to the grave charge that he had received a considerable sum of money from the Union Pacific Railroad Company for official influence, and another sum from an Arkansas railroad, he made the following comprehensive and straightforward speech : A SERIOUS ACCUSATION REFUTED. Mr. Speaker, with the leave of the House so kindly granted, I shall proceed to submit certain facts and correct certain errors personal to myself. The dates of the correspondence embraced in my statement will show that it was impossible for me to make it earlier. I shall be as brief as the circumstances will permit. For some months past a charge against me has been circulating in private — and was recently made public — designing to show that I had in some indirect manner received the large sum of $64,000 from i*he Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1871, for what services or for what purpose has never been stated. The alleged proofs of the serious accusation were based, according to the original story, upon the author- ship of E. H. Rollins, treasurer of the Union Pacific Company, who, it is averred, had full knowledge that I got the money, and also upon the authority of Morton, ( 158 ) THE WHITE HOUSE— THE OBJECT OF BLAINE’S AMBITION. THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 159 Bliss & Company, bankers, of New York, through whom the draft for $64,000 was said to have been negotiated for my benefit, as they confidently knew. Hearing of this charge some weeks in advance of its publication, I procured the following statement from the two principal witnesses, who were quoted as having such definite knowledge against me: o o Union Pacific Railroad Company. Boston, March 31, 1876. Dear Sir : — In response to your. inquiry, I beg leave to state that I have been treasurer of the Union Pacific Railroad Company since April 8, 1871, and have necessarily known of all disbursements made since that date. During the entire period up to the present time I am sure that no money has been paid in any way or to any person by the company in which you were interested in any manner whatever. I make the statement in justice to the company, to you, and to myself. Very respectfully yours, E. H. Rollins. Hon. James G. Blaine. New York, April 6, 1876. Dear Sir : — In answer to your inquiry, we beg to say that no draft, note, or check, or other evidence of value has passed through our books in which you were known or supposed to have any interest of any kind, direct or indirect. We remain, very respectfully, your obedient ser- vants, Morton, Bliss & Co. Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. V 160 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Some persons on reading the letters of Morton, Bliss & Company said that its denial seemed to be confined to any payment that had passed through their books, whereas they might have paid a draft in which I was interested and yet no entry made of it on their books. On the criticism being made known to the firm, they at once addressed me the following letter : New York, April 13, 1876. Dear Sir : — It has been suggested to us that our letter of the 6t’n instant was not sufficiently inclusive or exclusive. In that letter we stated “ that no draft, note, or check, or other evidence of value has ever passed through our books in which you were known or supposed to have any interest, direct or indirect.” It may be proper for us to add that nothing has been paid to us in any form, or at any time, to any person or any corporation in which you were known, believed, or supposed to have any interest whatever. We remain, very respectfully, your obedient ser- vants, Morton, Bliss & Co. Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. The two witnesses quoted for the original charge having thus effectually disposed of it, the charge itself reappeared in another form to this effect, namely : That a certain draft was negotiated at the house of Morton, Bliss & Company in 1871, through Thomas A. Scott, then president of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, for the sum of $64,000, and that $75,000 of the bonds of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Company were pledged as collateral ; that the Union 4 THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 161 Pacific Company paid the draft and took up the col- lateral ; that the cash proceeds of it went to me, and that I had furnished, or sold, or in some way conveyed or transferred to Thomas A. Scott, these Little Rock and Fort Smith bonds which had been used as col- lateral ; that the bonds in reality had belonged to me or some friend or constituent of mine for whom I was acting. I endeavor to state the charge in its boldest form and in all its phases. THE WHOLE STORY FALSE. I desire here and now to declare that all and every part of this story that connects my name with it, is absolutely un- true, without a particle of foundation in fact, and without a tittle of evidence to substantiate it. I never had any transaction of any kind with Thomas A. Scott concerning bonds of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Road, or the bonds of any other railroad, or any business in any way connected with railroads, directly or indirectly, immediately or re- motely. I never had any business transactions what- ever with the Union Pacific Railroad Company, or any ll 162 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. of its officers or agents or representatives, and never, in any manner, received from that Company, directly or indirectly, a single dollar in money, or stocks, or bonds, or any other form of value. And as to the particular transaction referred to, I never so much as heard of it until nearly two years after its alleged occurrence, when it was talked of, at the time of the Credit Mobilier investigation, in 1873. But while my denial ought to be conclusive, I should greatly regret to be compelled to leave the matter there. I am fortunately able to sustain my own dec- laration by the most conclusive evidence that the case admits of, or that human testimony can supply. If any person or persons know the truth or falsity of these charges, it must be the officers of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. CONVINCING LETTERS. I accordingly addressed a note to the president of that company, a gentleman who has been a director of the company from its organization, I believe, who has a more thorough acquaintance with its business transactions, probably, than any other man. The cor- respondence, which I here submit, will explain itself, and leave nothing to be said. I will read these letters in their proper order. They need no comment. Washington, D. C., April 13, 1876. Dear Sir : — You have doubtless observed the scandal now in circulation in regard to my having been in- terested in certain bonds of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Road, alleged to have been purchased by your THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 163 company in 1871. It is due to me, I think, that some statement in regard to the subject should be made by yourself, as the official head of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Very respectfully, J. G. Blaine. Sidney Dillon, Esq., President Union Pacific Rail- road Company. Office Union Pacific Railroad Company, New York, April 15, 1876. Dear Sir : — I have your favor of the 13th instant, and in reply desire to say that I have this day written Colonel Thomas A. Scott, who was president of the Union Pacific Company at the time of the transaction referred to, a letter, of which I send a copy herewith. On receipt of his reply, I will enclose it to you. Very respectfully, Sidney Dillon, President. Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. Office of the Union Pacific Railroad Co., New York, April 15, 1876. Dear Sir : — The press of the country are making allegations that certain bonds of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Company, in 1871, were obtained from Hon. James G. Blaine, of Maine, or that the avails, in some form, went to his benefit, and that the knowl- edge of those facts rests with the officers of the com- pany and with yourself. These statements are injuri- ous both to Mr. Blaine and to the Union Pacific Rail- road Company. There were never any facts to warrant them, and I think that a statement to the public is due both from you and myself. I desire, as president of 164 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the company, to repel any such inference in the most emphatic manner, and would be glad to hear from you on the subject. Very respectfully, Sidney Dillon, President. Col. Thomas A. Scott, Philadelphia, Pa. Office Union Pacific Railroad Company, New York, April 22, 1876. Dear Sir : — As I advised you some days ago, I wrote Colonel Thomas A. Scott, and begged leave to enclose you his reply. I desire further to say that I was a director of the company and a member of the executive committee in 1871, and to add my testimony to that of Colonel Scott in verification of all that he has stated in the enclosed letter. Truly yours, Sidney Dillon, President. Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. Philadelphia, April 21, 1876. My Dear Sir : — I have your letter under date New York, April 15, 1876, stating that the press of the country are making allegations that certain bonds of the Little Rock and f'ort Smith Railroad, purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1871, were obtained from Hon. James G. Blaine, of Maine, or that the avails in some form went to his benefit; that there never were any facts to warrant them ; that it is your desire as president of the company to repel any such inference in the most emphatic manner, and ask- ing me to make a statement in regard to the matter. In reply, I beg leave to say that much as I dislike the idea of entering into any of the controversies that are before the public in these days of scandal from THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 165 which but few men in public life seem to be exempt, I feel it my duty to state : That the Little Rock and Fort Smith bonds pur- chased by the Union .Pacific Railroad Company in 1871 were not purchased or received from Mr. Blaine, directly or indirectly, and that of the money paid by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, or of the avails of said bonds, not one dollar went to Mr. Blaine or to any person for him, or for his benefit in any form. All statements to the effect that Mr. Blaine ever had any transactions with me, directly or indirectly, involving money or valuables of any kind, are abso- lutely without foundation in fact. I take pleasure in making this statement to you, and you may use it in any manner you deem best for the interest of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Very truly yours, Thomas A. Scott. Sidney -Dillon, Esq., President, Union Pacific Railroad Company, New York. THE CASE IN A NUTSHELL. Let me now, Mr. Speaker, briefly summarize what I presented: First, that the story of my receiving $64,000 or any other sum of money, or anything of value, from the Union Pacific Railroad Company, di- rectly or indirectly, or in any form, is absolutely dis- proved by the most conclusive testimony. Second, that no bond of mine was ever sold to the Atlantic and Pacific, or the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Rail- road Company, and that not a single dollar of money from either of these companies ever went to my profit or benefit. Third, that instead of receiving bonds of 7 o 166 LIFE OP HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the Little Rock and Fort Smith Road as a gratuity, I never had one except at the regular market price ; and instead of making a large fortune off that com- pany, I have incurred a severe pecuniary loss from my investment in its securities, which I still retain ; and out of such affairs as these grows the popular gossip of large fortunes amassed in Con- gress. I can hardly expect, Mr. Speaker, that any statement from me will stop the work of those who have so in- dustriously circu- lated these calum- nies. For months past the effort has been ener- getic and contin- uous to spread Joseph r. hawley. these stories in private circles. Emissaries of slander have visited editorial rooms of leading Republican papers from Boston to Omaha, and whispered of revelations to come that were too terrible even to be spoken in loud tones, and at last the revelations have been made. I am now, Mr. Speaker, in the fourteenth THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 167 year of a not inactive service in this hall ; I have taken and given blows ; I have no doubt said many things in the heat of debate that I would gladly re- call ; I have no doubt given votes which in fuller light I would gladly change ; but I have never done anything in my public career for which I could be put to the faintest blush in any presence, or for which I cannot answer to my constituents, my conscience, and the Great Searcher of Hearts. FANNING THE FLAME OF SCANDAL. The foregoing statement of Mr. Blaine was final and convincing except to those who were not willing to be convinced by any denial or any array of evi- dence. The effect was to increase the confidence his friends and his party had reposed in him ; but there were members of Congress and newspapers quite ready to renew the attack. The time for holding the Republican National Convention was not far distant, and it was understood that Mr. Blaine was a promi- nent candidate for the presidential nomination. The favorite political game was played, and an attempt was made to smirch Mr. Blaine’s reputation and kill his chances in the convention. On the first of May it was stated with a great flour- ish in one of the leading newspapers of New York that Mr. Blaine had received as a gift certain shares of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and it was said that positive proof was at hand of his then being engaged in a lawsuit regarding these shares. It was shown that John E. Blaine, brother of James G., was the one 168 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. interested in the lawsuit in a Kansas court; it was also proved by the lawyers and newspaper correspond- ents that Mr. Blaine was not in any way interested or concerned in the transaction. He concluded his explanation as follows : OPPOSED TO A FLEA-HUNT. Having now noticed the two charges that have been so extensively circulated, I shall refrain from calling the attention of the House to any others that may be invented. To quote the language of another, “I do not propose to make my public life a perpetual and uncomfortable flea-hunt, in the vain efforts to run down stories which have no basis in truth, which are usually anonymous, and whose total refutation brings no pun- ishment to those who have been guilty of originating them.” It was plain that Mr. Blaine was master of the situ- ation, and was not likely to suffer from the attacks of his enemies. He was strong in his defence ; he boldly met every charge and it fell before him ; his popu- larity, instead of diminishing, had increased, and the weapons hurled at him had only struck his impenetra- ble armor and fallen harmlessly at his feet. But he was not to be allowed to rest. Acquitted by the great tribunal of public opinion, he had still to encounter the political venom of his accusers in Con- gress. On the 2d of May Mr. Tarbox, of Massa- chusetts, introduced into the House a resolution call- ing for an investigation of an alleged purchase by the Union Pacific Railroad Company of certain bonds of THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 169 the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Company. It was claimed that the price paid was much greater than the real value of the bonds. OBJECT OF THE RESOLUTION. The statement of Mr. Tarbox in introducing his, proposition was, that the investigation was not aimed at Mr. Blaine, and was not to be directed to his busi- ness transactions. As this was supposed to be a truthful statement no objection was made, and the inquiry was ordered. At once it appeared that the object was directly the opposite to what had been stated. It was another covert attack on Mr. Blaine. Under the guise of an investigation of a railroad transaction, he and his pri- vate affairs were to be dragged before the nation. He was just as ready to meet this attack as he had been to repel others. He demanded a prompt investigation, for he was not willing to remain a moment under suspicion. He wished to meet at once all charges brought against him. There was no haste on the part of his enemies ; delay was what they courted, for it would damage Mr. Blaine’s chances in the National Convention. NEW AND STARTLING FEATURE. Suddenly it was announced that some of Mr. Blaine’s private correspondence would be produced in evidence. A confidential clerk, named Mulligan, had come from Boston to Washington to testify that he had abstracted some of Mr. Blaine’s letters, showing his transactions with certain Railroad Companies, and 170 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. these would show conclusively the crookedness of his dealings. With almost equal suddenness it was an- nounced that Mr. Blaine had obtained possession of his own letters, and they would not appear in evidence. The affair was the talk of the country. Mr. Blaine’s enemies more than insinuated that he had secured the letters in order to suppress them and stifle their damaging disclosures. His friends were restless and nervous, and hardly knew what to think of his action. In fact, he took the letters, not to suppress them, but to make them public, to put the truthful construction upon them, and not allow a misinformed investigating committee to put an interpretation upon them which was utterly false. A BOLD MOVE. Nothing could show rrfore conclusively Mr. Blaine’s consummate generalship than his production of this correspondence on the floor of Congress. His ene- mies were struck with astonishment ; his friends ex- pressed their admiration and delight. In an instant the whole situation had changed. There was nothing in the letters he was ashamed of, and although Mulli- gan could produce letters he had no right whatever to make public, he could not furnish any criminating evi- dence. The two witnesses from Boston, Fisher and Mulligan, only gave him the opportunity to clear away the whole mass of innuendoes, charges, whisperings, and base insinuations which had been industriously gathered about his name. The investigation commit- tee tried to obtain these letters. Mr. Blaine refused THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 171 to yield them up, claimed his right to hold and use them, and in support of it brought forward the opin- ions of ex-Judge Black, a good Democrat, and Mat- thew H. Carpenter, the distinguished Senator from Wisconsin. His refusal was at- tributed by many to fear of revealing the contents of the letters. Judge then of their astonishment when in the course of his mem- orable defence before the House of Repre- sentatives he held up the parcel of letters, and with a voice that thrilled his auditors, exclaimed: “I invite the confidence of 44,000,000 of my countrymen while I read those letters from the desk.” THE GLADIATOR FACES HIS FOES. On the 5th of June Mr. Blaine quietly arose in the House of Representatives, and said : “ Mr. Speaker, if the morning hour has expired, I desire to speak on a question of privilege.” Whereupon Mr. Blaine proceeded as follows : Mr. Speaker, on the second day of May this reso- lution was passed by the House: 172 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. “Whereas, it is publicly alleged, and is not denied by the officers of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, that that corporation did, in the year 1871 or 1872, become the owner of certain bonds of the Little Rock , and Fort Smith Railroad Company, for which bonds the said Union Pacific Railroad Company paid a con- sideration largely in excess of their market or actual value, and that the board of directors of said Union Pacific Railroad Company, though urged, have ne- glected to investigate said transaction ; therefore, “ Be it resolved , That the Committee on the Judici- ary be instructed to inquire if any such transaction took place, and, if so, what were the circumstances or inducements thereto, from what person or persons said bonds were obtained and upon what considera- tion, and whether the transaction was from corrupt design or in furtherance of any corrupt object; and that the committee have power to send for persons and papers. ’’ AIMED AT HIMSELF. That resolution on its face, and in its fair intent, was obviously designed to find out whether any im- proper thing had been done by the Union Pacific Rail- road Company; and of course, incidentally thereto, to find out with, whom the transaction was made. No sooner was the sub-committee designated than it became entirely obvious that the resolution was solely and only aimed at me. I think there had not been three questions asked until it was evident that the investigation was to be a personal one upon me, THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 173 and that the Union Pacific Railroad, or any other in- cident of the transaction, was secondary, insignificant and unimportant. I do not complain of that ; I do not say that I had any reason to complain of it. If the investigation was to be made in that personal sense, I was ready to meet it. * The gentleman on whose statement the accusation rested was first called. He stated what he knew from rumor. Then there were called Mr. Rollins, Mr. Morton, and Mr. Millard, from Omaha, a Government director of the Union Pacific Road, and finally Thomas A. Scott. THE CHARGE DISPROVED. The testimony was completely and conclusively in disproof of the charge that there was any possibility that I could have had anything to do with the transac- tion. When the famous witness Mulligan came here loaded with information in regard to the Fort Smith Road, the gentleman from Virginia drew out what he knew had no reference whatever to the question of investigation. He then and there insisted on all my private memoranda being allowed to be exhibited by that man in reference to business that had no more connection, no more relation, no more to do with that investigation than with the North Pole. And the gentleman tried his best, also, though I be- lieve that has been abandoned, to capture and use and control my private correspondence. This man has se- lected, out of correspondence running over a great many years, letters which he thought would be pecu- 174 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. liarly damaging to me. He came here loaded with them. He came here for a sensation. He came here primed. He came here on that particular errand. I was advised of it, and I obtained those letters under circumstances which have been notoriously scattered over the United States, and are known to everybody. I have them. I claim that I have the entire right to those letters, not only by natural right, but by all the principles and precedents of law, as the man who held those letters in possession held them wrongfully. VIOLATION OF PRIVATE RIGHTS. The committee that attempted to take those letters from that man for use against me proceeded wrong- fully. It proceeded in all boldness to a most defiant violation of the ordinary private and personal rights which belong to every American citizen. I wanted the gentleman from Kentucky and the gentleman from Virginia to introduce that question upon this floor, but they did not do it. I stood up and declined, not only on the conclusions of my own mind, but by eminent legal advice. I was standing behind the rights which belong to every American citizen, and if they wanted to treat the ques- tion in my person anywhere in the legislative halls or judicial halls, I was ready. Then there went forth everywhere the idea and impression that because I wmuld not permit that man, or any man whom I could prevent, from holding as a menace over my head my private correspondence, there must be in it something deadly and destructive to my reputation. THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 175 I would like any gentleman to stand up here and tell me that he is willing and ready to have his private correspondence scanned over and made public for the last eight or ten years. I would like any gentleman to say that. Does it imply guilt ? Does it imply wrong-doing? Does it imply any sense of weakness that a man will protect his private correspondence ? No, sir; it is the first instinct to do it, and it is the last outrage upon any man to violate it. PRODUCES THE LETTERS. Now, Mr. Speaker, I say that I have defied the power of the House to compel me to produce these letters. I speak with all respect to this House. I know its powers, and I trust I respect them. But I say that this House has no more power to order what shall be done or not done with my private corre- spondence, than it has with what I shall do in the nur- ture and education of my children, not a particle. The right is as sacred in the one case as it is in the other. But, sir, having vindicated that right, standing by it, ready to make, any sacrifice in defence of it, here and now, if any gentleman wants to take issue with me on behalf of this House, I am ready for any ex- tremity of contest or conflict in behalf of so sacred a right. And while I am so, I am not afraid to show the letters. Thank God Almighty, I am not ashamed to show them. There they are (holding up a package of letters). There is the very original package. And with some sense of humiliation, with a mortification I do not attempt to conceal, with a sense of the outrage 176 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. which I think any man in my position would feel, I in- vite the confidence of forty-four millions of my country- men, while I read those letters from this desk. (Ap- plause.) ******* This is the letter in which Mulligan says, and puts down in his abstract, that I admitted the sixty-four thousand dollar sale of bonds : Washington, D. C., April i 8, 1872. My dear Mr. Fisher : — I answered you very hastily last evening, as you said you wished for an immediate reply, and perhaps in my hurry I did not make myself fully understood. You have been, for some time, la- boring under a totally erroneous impression in regard to my results in the Fort Smith matter. The sales of bonds which you spoke of my making, and which you seem to have thought were for my own benefit, were entirely otherwise. I did not have the money in my possession forty-eight hours, but paid it over directly to the parties whom I tried, by every means in my power, to protect from loss. I am very sure that you have little idea of the labors, the losses, the efforts and the sacrifices I have made within the past year to save those innocent persons, who invested on my request, from personal loss. And I say to you to-night, that I am immeasurably worse off than if I had never touched the Fort Smith matter. The demand you make upon me now is one which I am entirely unable to comply with. I cannot do it. It is not in my power. You say that “necessity knows no law.” That applies to me as well as to you, and when I have reached the point I am now at, I simply fall back on that law. You are as well aware THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 177 as I am, that the bonds are due me under the contract. Could I have them, I could adjust many matters not now in my power, and as long as this and other matters remain unadjusted between us, I do not recognize the equity, or the lawfulness, of your calling on me for a partial settlement. I am ready at any moment to make a full, fair, comprehensive settlement with you, on the most liberal terms. I will not be exacting or captious or critical, but am ready and eager to make a broad and generous adjustment with you, and if we can’t agree ourselves, we can select a mutual friend who can easily compromise all points of difference between us. You will, I trust, see that I am disposed to meet you in a spirit of friendly cordiality, and yet with a sense of self-defence that impels me to be frank and expose to you my pecuniary weakness. With very kind regards to Mrs. Fisher, I am yours truly, J. G. Blaine. W. Fisher, Jr., Esq. ARKANSAS LAND GRANT. I now pass to a letter dated Augusta, Me., October 4, 1869, but I read these letters now somewhat in their order. Now to this letter I ask the attention of the House. In the March session of 1869, the first one at which I was Speaker, the extra session of the Forty- first Congress, a land grant in the State of Arkansas to the Little Rock Road was reported. I never remem- ber to have heard of the road, until at the last night of the session, when it was up here for consideration. The gentleman in Boston with whom I had relations did not have anything to do with that road for nearly 12 178 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. three or four months after that time. It is in the light of that statement that I desire that letter read. In the autumn, six or eight months afterward, I was looking over the Globe , probably with some curiosity, if not pride, to see the decisions I had made the first five weeks I was speaker. I had not until then recalled this decision of mine, and when I came across it, all the facts came back to me fresh, and I wrote this letter : (Personal.) Augusta, Me., October 4, 1869. My Dear Sir : — I spoke to you a short time ago about a point of interest to your railroad company that occurred at the last session of the Congress. It was on the last night of the session, when the bill renewing the land grant to the State of Arkansas for the Little Rock Road was reached, and Julian, of In- diana, chairman of the Public Lands Committee, and, by right, entitled to the floor, attempted to put on the bill as an amendment, the Fremont El Paso scheme — a scheme probably well known to Mr. Caldwell. The House was thin, and the lobby in the Fremont interest had the thing all set up, and Julian’s amendment was likely to prevail if brought to a vote. Roots, and the other members from Arkansas, who were doing their best for their own bill (to which there seemed to be no objection), were in despair, for it was well known that the Senate was hostile to the Fremont scheme, and if the Arkansas bill had gone back to the Senate with Julian’s amendments, the whole thing could have gone on the table and slept the sleep of death. In this dilemma, Roots came to me to know what on earth he could do under the rules ; for he said it was vital to his constituents that the bill should pass. I told THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 179 him that Julian’s amendment was entirely out of order, because not o-ermane: but he had not sufficient confi- dence in his own knowledge of the rules to make the point, but he said General Logan was opposed to the Fremont scheme and would probably make the point. I sent my page to General Logan with the suggestion, and he at once made the point. I could not do other- wise than sustain it, and so the bill was freed from the mischievous -amendment moved by Julian, and at once passed without objection. At that time I had never seen Mr. Caldwell, but you can tell him that without knowing it, I did him a great favor. Sincerely yours, J. G. Blaine. W. Fisher, Jr., Esq., 24 India Street, Boston. The amendment referred to in that letter will be found in The Congressional Globe of the First Session of the Forty-first Congress, page 702. That was before the Boston persons had ever touched the road. “THOSE BONDS WERE NOT MINE.” There is mentioned in another letter $6,000 of land- o-rant bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad for which I o stood as only part owner; these were only in part mine. As I have started to make a personal explanation, I want to make a full explanation in regard to this mat- ter. Those bonds were not mine except in this sense : In 1869, a lady who is a member of my family and whose financial affairs I have looked after for many years — many gentlemen will know to whom I refer without my being more explicit — bought, on the rec- ommendation of Mr. Hooper, $6,000 in land-grant 180 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad as they were issued in 1869. She got them on what was called the stockholder’s basis ; I think it was a very favorable basis on which they distributed the bonds. These $ 6,000 of land-grant bonds were obtained in that way. In 1871 the Union Pacific Railroad Company broke down, and these bonds fell so that they were worth about forty cents on the dollar. She was anxious to make herself safe, and I had so much confidence in the Fort Smith land bonds, that I proposed to her to make an exchange. The six bonds were in my pos- session, and I had previously advanced money to her for certain purposes, and held a part of these bonds as a security for that advance. The bonds, in that sense and in that sense only, were mine — that they were security for the loan which I had made. They were all literally hers ; they were all sold finally for her account — not one of them for me. I make this statement in order to be perfectly fair. WHAT “SOMEBODY ELSE” SAID. I do not wish to detain the House, but I have one or two more observations to make. The specific charge that went to the committee, as it affects me, is whether I was a party in interest to the $64,000 trans- action ; and I submit that up to this time there has not been one particle of proof before the committee, sus- taining that charge. Gentlemen have said that they heard somebody else say, and generally, when that somebody else was brought on the stand, it appeared that he did not say it at all. Colonel Thomas A, THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 181 Scott swore very positively and distinctly, under the most rigid cross-examination, all about it. Let me call attention to that letter of mine which Mulligan says refers to that. I ask your attention, gentlemen, as closely as if you were a jury, while I show the ab' surdity of that statement. It is in evidence that, with the exception of a small fraction, the bonds which were sold to parties in Maine were first mortgage bonds. It is in evidence, over and over again, that the bonds which went to the Union Pacific Road were land-grant bonds. Therefore it is a moral impossibility that the bonds taken up to Maine should have gone to the Union Pacific Railroad. They were of different series, different kinds, different colors, everything different, as different as if not issued within a thousand miles of each other. So, on its face, it is shown that it could not be so. A GREAT DEAL OF HEARSAY. There has not been, I say, one positive piece of tes- timony in any direction. They sent to Arkansas to get some hearsay about bonds. They sent to Boston to get some hearsay. Mulligan was contradicted by Fisher, and Atkins and Scott swore directly against him. Morton, of Morton, Bliss & Co., never heard my name in the matter. Carnegee, who negotiated the note, never heard my name in that connection. Rol- lins said it was one of the intangible rumors he spoke of as floating in the air. Gentlemen who have lived any time in Washington, need not be told that intangible rumors get very considerable circulation here ; and if 182 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. a man is to-be held accountable in public opinion for intangible rumors, who in the House will stand? Now, gentlemen, those letters I have read were picked out of correspondence extending over fifteen years. The man did his worst, the very worst he could, out of the most intimate business correspond- ence of my life. I ask, gentlemen, if any of you, and I ask it with some feeling, can stand a severer scrutiny of, or more rigid investigation into, your private cor- respondence ? That was the worst he could do. THAT CABLE DESPATCH. There is one piece of testimony wanting. There is but one thing to close the complete circle of evidence. There is but one witness whom I could not have, to whom the Judiciary Committee, taking into account the great and intimate connection he had with the transaction, was asked to send a cable despatch, and I ask the gentleman from Kentucky if that cable de- spatch was sent to him? Mr. Frye. Who? Mr. Blaine. To Josiah Caldwell. Mr. Knott. I v will reply to the gentleman that Judge Hamton and myself have both endeavored to get Mr. Caldwell’s address, and have not yet got it. Mr. Blaine. Has the gentleman from Kentucky re- ceived a despatch from Mr. Caldwell ? Mr. Knott. I will explain that directly. Mr. Blaine. I want a categorical answer. Mr. Knott. I have received a despatch purporting to be from Mr. Caldwell. THE FAMOUS MULLIGAN LETTERS. 183 Mr. Blaine. You did? Mr. Knott. How did you know I got it? Mr. Blaine. When did you get it? I want the gentleman from Kentucky to answer when he got it. Mr. Knott. Answer my question first. Mr. Blaine. I never heard of it until yesterday. Mr. Knott. How did you hear it ? Mr. Blaine. I heard that you got a despatch last Thursday morning, at eight o’clock, from Josiah Cald- well, completely and absolutely exonerating me from this charge, and you have suppressed it. (Protracted applause upon the floor and in the galleries.) I want the- gentleman to answer. (After a pause.) Does the gentleman from Kentucky decline to answer? A BOLD CHARGE. The gentleman from Kentucky in responding prob- ably, I think, from what he said, intended to convey the idea that I had some illegitimate knowledge of how that despatch was obtained. I have had no com- munication with Josiah Caldwell. I have had no means of knowing from the telegraph office whether the despatch was received. But I tell the gentleman from Kentucky that murder will out, and secrets will leak. And I tell the gentleman now, and I am pre- pared to state to this House, that at eight o’clock on last Thursday morning, or thereabouts, the gentleman from Kentucky received and receipted for a message addressed to him from Josiah Caldwell, in London, en- tirely corroborating and substantiating the statements of Thomas A. Scott, which he had just read in the 184 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. New York papers, and entirely exculpating me from the charge which I am bound to believe, from the suppression of that report, that the gentleman is anxious to fasten upon me. (Protracted applause from the floor and galleries.) MR. BLAINE THE VICTOR. All accounts agree in representing the scene in the House during this speech as one unparalleled. The grand bearing, the acute reasoning, the eloquent periods and triumphant vindication of the accused, made a profound impression upon those who were present on that memorable day. Equally telling was the effect upon the country at large. The man Mulli- gan had done his worst ; he had picked a number of letters from a correspondence extending over many years, had separated them from their connection, and with infernal ingenuity had twisted their meaning to his own contemptible purposes. Such rascality de- served the red-hot condemnation it received. The scene was one of moral sublimity when Mr. Blaine turned to his abashed accusers, and with all the magnetic, overwhelming force of which he was capable, roared out in thunder tones: “You have received from Josiah Caldwell a despatch completely and ab- solutely exonerating me, and you have suppressed it ! ” The day on which Mr. Blaine made complete his vindication was a historic day in Congress, one that can never be forgotten by any who were wit- nesses of the extraordinary scene. CHAPTER X. “ The Plumed Knight ” and the Presidency. The desire of Mr. Blaine’s friends to secure for him the nomination for the presidency took definite shape in 1876. No one supposed his name could be kept out of the Convention, for his long and brilliant public career pointed him out as one most worthy to receive the honor of a nomination. It was not certain, however, that he could overcome the various prefer- ences which always appear in a national convention, and gain a majority of the delegates. There was a widespread feeling in the Republican party that too many reproaches gathered about Presi- dent Grant’s last administration to admit of his re-nom- ination. The breath of scandal mingled with the winds that floated the Nation’s flag-. There was the scandal of the Whisky Ring; another of the Department of the Interior; another of the War Department, and many whisperings and insinuations of widespread corruption in high places. Any man who went boldly into the den and dragged out hidden frauds or dishonesties was popular with the people. The Attorney-General, Mr. Bristow, had done this, and by reason of having uncovered the whisky frauds was quite the man of the hour. But he had ( 185 ) 136 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. powerful rivals in Senator Conkling, of New York, and ex-Governor Morton, of Indiana. ALL HOSTILE TO MR. BLAINE. Superadded to Mr. Conkling’s pre-eminent ability, which not even his political opponents ever disputed, and the commanding position he held in the Senate, he had the support of the administration. “ Washing- ton ” was hurrahing for him, and all that is meant by that term was enlisted in his behalf. Mr. Morton had been the “ war-governor ” of o Indiana, had made him- self famous by a bril- liant record, was a rank foe to the solid South, and was making the most of his past ser- vices to influence the Convention in his favor. Unfortunately an the Sunday morning pre- ceding the Convention at Cincinnati, Mr. Blaine met with a partial sunstroke. In company with Mrs. Blaine he was on his way to church when, being overcome by the heat, he was compelled to sit down, and afterward to request that he miodit be carried home. This untoward event o had some effect upon his prospects in the Convention, BLAINE AND THE PRESIDENCY. 187 yet his friends exerted themselves to the utmost, and did their best to hold his forces in line of battle. The report was industriously circulated at Cincinnati that he had been stricken with apoplexy and his illness was quite too serious to admit of his undergoing the strain of a presidential campaign. AN ENCOURAGING TELEGRAM. The anxiety of Mr. Blaine’s friends was allayed by a telegram received from him bv Congressman Eugene Hale, of Maine, which read as follows : I am entirely convalescent, suffering only from phys- ical weakness. Impress upon my friends the great depth of gratitude I feel for the unparalleled stead- fastness with which they have adhered to me in my hour of trial. J. G. Blaine. The decisive hour in the Convention was awaited with breathless suspense. The excitement was intense, not only at Cincinnati but in all parts of the country; excited crowds stood impatiently before bulletin-boards to obtain the news, and the public fever plainly indi- cated that great interest was felt in the result. At length the time came for launching; Mr. Blaine’s name before the Convention, and Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, of Illinois, ascended the platform. His ap- pearance was the signal for an outburst of enthusiasm which shook the immense building, and seemed to roll its waves to the Atlantic on the one side and the Pacific on the other. He rose to the dignity of the occasion and delivered an address which has been famous since the hour that g;ave it birth. 188 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. It was in this celebrated speech that Mr. Blaine was first called “The Plumed Knight,” an inspiring name ever after designating his heroic spirit, his courageous bearing and manly characteristics, all of which united to make him the most magnetic political leader of his time. SPEECH OF ROBERT G. INGERSOI L. Massachusetts may be satisfied with the loyalty of Benjamin H. Bristow ; so am I ; but if any man nominated by this convention cannot carry the State of Massachusetts, I am not satisfied with the loyalty of that State. If the nominee of this conven- tion cannot carry the grand old Common- wealth of Massachusetts by seventy-five thousand majority, I would advise them to sell out Faneuil Hall as a Democratic headquarters. I would advise them to take from Bunker Hill that old monu- ment of glory. The Republicans of the. United States demand as their leader in the great contest of 1876 a man of in- telligence, a man of integrity, a man of well-known ROBERT G. INGERSOLL. BLAINE AND THE PRESIDENCY. 189 and approved political opinions. They demand a re- former after as well as before the election. They de- mand a politician in the highest, broadest and best sense — a man of superb moral courage. They de- mand a man acquainted with public affairs, with the wants of the people ; with not only the requirements of the hour, but with the demands of the future. They demand a man broad enough to comprehend the relations of this government to the other nations of the earth. They demand a man well versed in the powers, duties, and prerogatives of each and every department of this Government. They demand a man who will sacredly preserve the financial honor of the United States ; one who knows enough to know that the national debt must be paid through the prosperity of this people ; one who knows enough to know that all the financial theories in the world cannot redeem a single dollar ; one who knows enough to know that all the money must be made, not by law, but by labor ; one who knows enough to know that the people of the United States have the industry to make the money and the honor to pay it over just as fast as they make it. The Republicans of the United States demand a man who knows that prosperity and resumption, when they come, must come together ; that when they come, they will come hand in hand through the golden harvest fields; hand in hand by the whirling spindles and the turning wheels ; hand in hand past the open furnace doors ; hand in hand by the flaming forges ; hand in 190 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. hand by the chimneys filled with eager fire — greeted and grasped by the countless sons of toil. This money has to be dug out of the earth. You cannot make it by passing resolutions in a political convention. The Republicans of the United States want a man who knows that the government should protect every citizen, at home and abroad ; who knows that any government that will not defend its defenders, and protect its protectors, is a disgrace to the map of the world. They demand a man who believes in the eter- nal separation and divorcement of Church and School. They demand a man whose political reputation is spotless as a star; but they do not demand that their candidate shall have a certificate of moral character signed by a Confederate Congress. The man who has, in full, heaped and rounded measure, all these splendid qualifications, is the present grand and gal- lant leader of the Republican party — James G. Blaine. Our country, crowned with the vast and marvelous achievements of its first century, asks for a man wor- thy of the past and prophetic of her future; asks for a man who has the audacity of genius ; asks for a man who is the grandest combination of heart, conscience and brain beneath her flag. Such a man is James G. Blaine. For the Republican host, led by this intrepid man, there can be no defeat. This is a grand year — a year filled with the recol- lections of the Revolution ; filled with proud and ten- BLAINE AND THE PRESIDENCY. 191 der memories of the past; with the sacred legends of liberty ; a year in which the sons of freedom will drink from the fountains of enthusiasm ; a year in which the people call for a man who has preserved in Congress what our soldiers won upon the field ; a year in which they call for the man who has torn from the throat of treason the tongue of slander ; for the man who has snatched the mask of Democracy from the hideous face of rebellion ; for the man who, like an intellectual athlete, has stood in the arena of debate and chal- lenged all comers, and who is still a total stranger to defeat. Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight , James G. Blaine marched down the halls of the American Congress, and threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of the defamers of his country and the maligners of his honor. For the Republican party to desert this gallant leader now, is as though an army should desert their general upon the field of battle. James G. Blaine is now and has been for years the bearer of the sacred standard of the Republican party. I call it sacred, because no human being can stand be- neath its folds without becoming- and without remain- ing free. Gentlemen of the convention, in the name of the great Republic, the only Republic that ever existed upon the earth ; in the name of all her defenders and of all her supporters ; in the name of all her soldiers living ; in the name of all her soldiers dead upon the 192 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. field of batde, and in the name of those who perisned in the skeleton clutch of famine at Andersonville and Libby, whose sufferings he so vividly remembers, Illin- ois — Illinois nominates for the next President of this country, that prince of parliamentarians — that leader of leaders — James G. Blaine. Maine sent us to this magnificent Convention with a memory of her own salvation from impending peril fresh upon her. To you representatives of 50,000,000 of the American people who have met here to counsel how the Republic can be saved, she says, “ Represent- atives of the people, take the man, the true man, the staunch man, for your leader, who has just saved me, and he will bring you to safety and certain victory.” RESULT OF THE BALLOTING. Early in Mr. Blaine’s career it became an under- stood thing that whenever his name was mentioned in a popular assembly it would be attended with demon- strations of the wildest excitement and most enthu- siastic approval. It was so on this occasion. All that has ever been said or written concerning the great uprising of thousands of people in a national conven- tion when the name of some favorite candidate was mentioned, would fail to give an adequate description of the unparalleled scene when the “ Plumed Knight” was placed in nomination. The first ballot gave Mr. Blaine 285 votes. The whole number of votes in the convention was 756, and 379 were necessary to a choice. After the first ballot had ended all compliments to “ favorite sons ” the real RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 194 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. contest began. After several ballots which made it evident that neither Conkling, Morton, Bristow nor Hartranft could be nominated, the inevitable “ dark horse” was trotted out, and the popular candidates were defeated. On the seventh ballot Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, received 384 votes and Mr. Blaine 351. This was an unex- pected outcome of the contest, but when it be- came evident that none of Mr. Blaine’s rivals could be nominated they united to compass his defeat. Like a solid phalanx his friends and supporters stood by him to the end. HE HEARS THE NEWS. The telegraph flashed the result of the ballot- ing across the continent. With his accustomed coolness and self-pos- session Mr. Blaine was awaiting- the news in Washing- o o ton. A gentleman who was with him gives the follow- ing account of what transpired at Mr. Blaine’s resi- dence. “I happened to be in his library in Washington when the balloting was going on in Cincinnati on that hot July day in 1876. A telegraph instrument was on his BENJAMIN H. HILL. BLAINE AND THE PRESIDENCY. 195 library table, and Mr. Sherman, his private secretary, a deft operator, was manipulating its key. Despatches came from dozens of friends giving the last votes, which only lacked a few of a nomination, and everybody pre- dicted the success of Blaine on the next ballot. Only four persons beside Mr. Sherman were in the room. It was a moment of ^reat excitement. The next vote was quietly ticked over the wire, and then the next announced the nomination of Mr. Hayes. “ Mr. Blaine was the only cool person in the apart- ment. It was such a reversal of all anticipations and assurances that self-possession was out of the question except with Mr. Blaine. He had just left his bed after two days of unconsciousness with sunstroke, but he was as self-possessed as the portraits on the wall. He merely gave a murmur of surprise, and before anybody had recovered from the surprise, he had written, in a firm, fluent hand, three despatches — now in my pos- session — one to Mr. Hayes of congratulation : “‘To Gov. R. B. Hayes, Columbus, Ohio. ‘“I offer you my sincerest congratulations on your nomination. It will be alike my highest pleasure as well as my first political duty to do the utmost in my power to promote your election. The earliest moments of my returning and confirmed health will be devoted to securing you as large a vote in Maine as she would have given for myself. J. G. Blaine.’ “Another despatch was sent to the Maine delegates thanking them for their devotion, and another to Eu- gene Hale and Mr. Frye, asking them to go personally 196 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. to Mr. Hayes, at Columbus, and present his good-will, with promises of hearty aid in the campaign. The occasion affected him no more than the news of a servant quitting his employ would have done. Half an hour afterward he was out with Secretary Fish in an open carriage, receiving the cheers of the thousands of people who were gathered about the telegraph bulletins.” ON THE STUMP. Although Mr. Blaine had been defeated in the Convention he did not “ sulk in his tent.” He was too loyal to his party and country to allow his interest in political issues to cool. He did not measure his duty to the nation by his own successes or defeats. The nation is greater than any man or any party ; he was a patriot, not a pretender. Men come and go; principles and ideas abide ; he was enlisted in behalf of the principle, the idea, and not for the man. The man, at best, was but a representative of the thoughts and measures of the hour; not himself, but what he stood for — this was the matter of gravest concern. Accordingly Mr. Blaine was found ardently sup- porting the nominees and platform of the Republi- can Convention. He threw his whole soul into the campaign. Immense and enthusiastic throngs at- tended his triumphal progress through twelve States in which he spoke, and never did king or conqueror receive a more hearty ovation than that which greeted him at every step. His audiences in some instances reached 20,000- persons ; his name and portrait were BLAINE AND THE PRESIDENCY. 197 carried in bannered processions ; his coming was everywhere the signal for a popular uprising, and any one not acquainted with the circumstances would have supposed he, and not another, was die presi- dential nominee, and everybody was going to vote for him. SQUIRE BROWN S HORSE. Hon. Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, tells an anecdote of Mr. Blaine which shows one secret of his unbounded popularity. It illustrates his mar- vellous memory, and his personal power over men. He had a way of making- them feel he was specially interested in them ; he could re- member names and faces, and recall them after long periods of time. Judge Thurman’s anecdote is as follows: All the people of both parties turned out to hear Blaine. I have among my clients a promi- nent old farmer, who is one of the wealthiest men in the county. He was a good Republican and after Blaine got through speaking, and was shaking hands with everybody, I saw my old client in the ALLEN G. THURMAN. 198 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. crowd looking on at the orator of the day rather in- terestedly. I said to him, “Squire Brown” (that is not his name, but it will do here), “ would you like to know Mr. Blaine ? ” Of course he said he would ; so I took him to the Maine statesman and introduced him, at the same time telling Blaine who he was. Blaine’s eye was in- stantly caught by the handsome appearance and style of his trotters. One of them particularly pleased him, and he said to my client that the colt should be trained, as it would make a very superior trot- ter. Well, after a five minutes’ talk, Blaine went away. In 1880 he came into Ohio again and to my town. He spoke to an immense audience as usual. In the crowd was my old Republican client, Squire Brown. He was waiting- in the outskirts of the audience, won- dering- if Mr. Blaine would remember him if he went to speak to him. All at once Blaine caught sight of the old man. He went straight up to him, called his name, and after a few words said : “ Squire Brown, did you ever train the near colt of that team you were driving when I was here four years ago ? I have often thought of that colt, and I believe he would make a great horse if trained.” “Now,” said Judge Thurman, “here was a man who had made a canvass for the Presidency, and had a nation’s labor almost on his shoulders, and yet so wonderful was his memory that the least in- BLAINE AND THE PRESIDENCY. 199 cident fixed itself there and was never forgotten. I have never known any one in my day with a memory like that, and now I begin to understand why it is that Blaine’s popularity is so much greater than that of any other man in his party.” CHAPTER XI. Blaine in the United States Senate. Mr. Blaine was appointed by the Governor of Maine, July 19, 1876, to be United States Senator to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Morrill, who then became Secretary of the Treasury, and took his seat in that august body at the opening of its session in December, 1876. Many regretted that the able Speaker of the House, the dashing and brilliant debater in Committee of the Whole, should, as they expressed it, be shelved in the Senate. Four years passed, and it would be hard to name a man who had been less securely shelved, a Senator who moved so promptly to the front. The Senate contained a large number of able men and some skillful debaters, but in logical, off-hand discus- sion, in quick perception and full command of every resource, it never contained a man superior to Mr. Blaine. His career in the Senate was as active as that in the House. He took a prominent part in every im- portant debate, and though not fearing to differ from his party, was always a strong party man, and one of the recognized leaders on the Republican side. ( 200 ) BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 201 ADDRESS TO HIS CONSTITUENTS. He was subsequently elected for the unexpired term and for the ensuing term expiring in 1883. On his appointment he wrote to the people of his Con- gressional District a farewell address, in which he said : Beginning with 1862 you have by continuous elec- tions sent me as your representative to the Congress of the United States. For such marked confidence I have endeavored to return the most zealous and de- voted service in my power, and it is certainly not without a feeling of pain that I now surrender a trust by which I have always felt so signally honored. It has been my boast in public and in private that no man on the floor of Congress ever represented a constituency more distinguished for intelligence, for patriotism, for public and personal virtue. The cor- dial support you have so uniformly given me through these fourteen eventful years is the chief honor of my life. In closing the intimate relations I have so loner held with the people of this district it is a great satis- faction to me to know that with returning health I shall enter upon a field of duty in which I can still serve them in common with the larger constituency of which they form a part. A GLOWING TRIBUTE. The Kennebec Journal of his State, well represent- ing the sentiment of the public in the State, said : “Fourteen years ago, standing in the convention at which he was first nominated, Mr. Blaine pledged himself to use his best services for the district, and to" 202 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. support to the best of his ability the policy of Abra- ham Lincoln to subdue the rebellion, and then and there expressed plainly the idea that slavery must and ought to be abolished to save the Union. That he has kept his pledge faithfully his constituents know and feel, and the records of Congress attest. “To this district his abilities were freely given, and as he rose in honor in the House and in the public es- timation he reflected honor and gave strength to the constituency that supported him. Every step he made in advance was a gain for them. It was a grand thing for this district to have as its Representative in Con- gress for six years the Speaker of the House, filling the place next in importance to that of President of the United States with matchless ability. TAKES UP NEW DUTIES. “It was a grander thing when he took the lead of the minority in the House last December, routed the Democratic majority, and drove back in dismay the ex-Confederates who were intending and expecting through the advantage they had already gained to grasp the supreme power in the Nation and w'ield it in the interest of the cause of secession and rebellion revived. For what he has done as their representa- tive in Congress, never will this Illd. district of Maine forget to honor the name of James G. Blaine. It will live in the hearts of this people even as the name of Henry Clay is still loved by the people of his old dis- trict in Kentucky.” He at once entered actively upon his new official BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 203 duties, and his prestige in the House and his great popularity with the people made him a prominent figure in his new position. His progressive nature had little regard for the tradition of that body, which expects new members to listen to their elders instead of pushing forward in debates. He could not remain silent on questions upon which he was well informed, and so he at once became a debater in the Senate. He made a strong speech in favor of restricting Chinese immigration, which was much censured and much praised, according to the point of view of his critics. He voted against the Electoral Commission bill. He opposed the Bland silver bill in a vigorous speech, and favored the coinage of an honest silver dollar. The question of the restoration of the Amer- ican carrying trade upon the seas received a great deal of attention from him, and his speeches and letters on this subject attracted much attention. One of these speeches was made at a New York Chamber of Com- merce dinner, and was accepted as a masterly presen- tation of the subject. A PLOT FRUSTRATED. Mr. Blaine’s sagacity, coolness and wisdom as a party leader were conspicuously demonstrated in the measures he took to circumvent the Democratic plot for stealing the State Government of Maine in 1879, by fraudulently counting out Republican members of the Legislature. All the advantages, save that of being in the right, were with his opponents at the start. His supporters were eager to resort to arms as the only 204 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. ELAINE. means of obtaining justice, but they were restrained by him. His plan was first to arouse public sentiment by ex- posing the enormity of the plot, next to tangle up his antagonists in a web of contradictions, and then, after obtaining the judgment of the Supreme Court, to seize and hold the legislative halls. It was completely suc- cessful, and the conspiracy became impotent and ridiculous. His position on the Chinese question was the result of a thorough investigation of the subject in all its bearings, and when a conclusion had been reached, he threw all the force of his genius and ability in opposi- tion to an unlimited immigration of those people to this country. This action made him the most popular statesman on the Pacific coast, and the people of those States gave him the most decided manifestations of their esteem and confidence. His independence of action made him friends and enemies, but apparently indifferent to personal interests or popular clamor, he boldly proclaimed and defended his convictions. He was no time-serving politician. A STRONG PROTECTIONIST. He never waited to ascertain the current of public opinion and then drift with it. On the contrary he was a born leader, who made public opinion, and his ad- vanced ideas led him to the front, while his magnetism brought a host of followers. He possessed those qual- ities which make a military commander great, a diplo- mat effective, and a statesman popular. His position BLAINE IN TI1E UNITED STATES SENATE. 205 on the tariff question was in strict harmony with his party, and ever since he entered the halls of legislation he advocated the doctrine of protection to labor. In the Senate, as in the House, Mr. Blaine was a staunch advocate of a protective tariff. On the 2 2d of April, 187S, he offered the following resolutions : Resolved , That any radical change in our present tariff laws, would in the judgment of the Senate, be inopportune, would needlessly derange the business interests of the country, and would seriously retard that return to prosperity for which all should earnestly co-operate. Resolved, That in the judgment of the Senate, it should be the fixed policy of this government to so maintain our tariff for revenue as to afford adequate protection to American labor. On the 1 st of May, 1S78, Mr. Blaine called up his resolutions and urged their passage in a storm)' speech, which, however, was ineffectual at the time. HIS VIEWS ON PUBLIC QUESTIONS. In the Senate Mr. Blaine was as firm an advocate of the principles and measures of his party as he had been in the House of Representatives. There was no wavering. The old classic saying that they do not change their characters who change their skies applied to him ; and he was the same man under the roof of the Senate Chamber that he was before taking his seat in that august body. In the main he supported the policy of President 206 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Hayes, but did not approve of the President’s action in recognizing the Democratic government in some States of the South. His views were broad ; his range of vision took in the whole country. Whatever was American in the highest sense of the term, whatever would advance the welfare and prosperity of the whole country, found in him an earnest advocate. Moreover, he boldly proclaimed his belief in popular rights, the rights of the whole people ; these were not to be trampled down by any false theory of State sover- eignty. SPEECH ON CHINESE IMMIGRATION. Mr. Blaine’s speech on the Chinese question at- tracted wide attention. A bill had been introduced restricting the number of Chinamen on incoming ves- sels to fifteen, and otherwise placing obstructions in the way of a wholesale introduction of this class of foreigners into the United States. It was one of the important questions of the hour, as it is still. Mr. Blaine heartily supported this bill. His speech was so masterly and comprehensive, that it is here repro- duced nearly entire : As I said, the Chinese question is not new. We have had it here very often, and proceeding some- what to the second branch, I lay down this principle, that, so far as my vote is concerned, I will not admit a man to immigration to this country that I am not willing to place on the basis of a citizen. Let me re- peat that. We ought not to admit to this country of universal suffrage the immigration of a great people, BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 207 great in numbers, whom we ourselves declare to be utterly, unfit to become citizens. What do you say on that point? In the Senate of the United States, on the fourth of July, 1870, a patriotic day, we were amending the naturalization laws. We had made all the negroes of the United States voters practically ; at least we had said they should not be deprived of suffrage by rea- son of race or color. We had admitted them all, and we then amended the naturali- zation laws so that the gentleman from Africa himself could become a citizen of the United States ; and an immigrant from Africa to-morrow, from the coast of Guinea or Seneo-am- <_> bia, can be naturalized and made an Ameri- can citizen. The Senator Trumbull moved to add : “ Or persons born in the Chinese empire.” He said : “ I have offered this amendment so as to bring the distinct question before the Senate, whether they will vote to naturalize persons from Africa, and vote to refuse to naturalize those who come from 208 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. China. I ask for the yeas and nays on my amend- ment.” WHO THEY WERE. The yeas and nays were as follows on the ques- tion of whether we would ever admit a Chinaman to be come an American citizen. The yeas were: Messrs Fenton, Fowler, McDonald, Pomeroy, Rice, Robertson, Sprague, Sumner, and Trumbull — 9 - The nays were : Messrs. Bayard, Bore- man, Chandler, Conk- ling, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Gilbert, Hamil- ton, of Maryland, Ham- lin, Harlan, Howe, McCreery, Morrill, of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Osborn, Ramsey, Sauls- bury, Sawyer, Scott, Stewart, Stockton, JAMES f. WILSON. Thayer, Thurman, Tip- ton, Vickers, Warner, Wiley, Williams, and Wilson — 3 1 . My friend from Rhode Island [Mr. Anthony] and the honorable Chairman of the Judiciary Committee [Mr. Edmunds] are put among the absent, but there was a vote of 31 against 9 in a Senate three-fourths Republican, declaring that the Chinaman never ought to be made a citizen. I think that settles the whole BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 209 question, if that was a correct vote, because you cannot in our system of government as it is to-day, with safety to all, permit a large immigration of people who are not to be made citizens and take part in the govern- ment. The Senator from California tells us that already the male adult Chinese in California are more numerous than the white voters. I take him as an authority from his own State, and I should expect him to take my statement about my own State. ' THE DILEMMA. It seems to me that if we adopt as a permanent policy the free immigration of those who, by over- whelming votes in both branches of Congress, we say shall forever remain political and social pariahs in a great free government, we have introduced an element that we cannot handle. You cannot stop where we are ; you are compelled to do one of two things — • either exclude the immigration of Chinese or include them in the great family of citizens. Well, what about the question of numbers? Did it ever occur to my honorable friend from Ohio that the vast myriads of millions almost, as you might call them, the incalculable hordes in China, are much nearer to the Pacific coast of the United States, in point of money and passage, in point of expense of reaching it, than the people of Kansas ? A man in Shanghai or Hong- Kong can be delivered at San Francisco more cheaply than a man in Omaha now. I do not speak of the Atlantic coast, where the population is still more dense; but you may take the Mississippi valley, Illinois, 14 210 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, all the great Com- monwealths of that valley, and they are, in point of expense, further off from the Pacific slope than the vast hordes in China and Japan. CHEAP TRANSPORTATION. I am told by those who are familiar with the ccnv mercial affairs of the Pacific side that a person can be sent from any of the great Chinese ports to San Fran- cisco for something over $30. I suppose in an emigrant train over the Pacific Railroad from Omaha, not to speak of the expense of reaching Omaha, but from that point alone, it would cost $50 per head, and that would be cheap railroad fare as things go in this country. So that in point of practicability — in point of getting there — the Chinaman to-day has an advan- tage over an American laborer in any part of the country, except in the case of those who are already on the Pacific coast. Ought we to exclude them ? The question lies in my mind thus : either the Anglo-Saxon race will pos- sess the Pacific slope or the Mongolians will possess it. You give them the start to-day with the keen thrust of necessity behind them, and with the ease of transportation before them, with the inducements to come, while we are filling up the other portions of the continent, and it is entirely inevitable, if not demon- strable, that they will occupy that great space of country between the Sierras and the Pacific coast. They are themselves to-day establishing steamship lines ; they are themselves to-day providing the means of trans- BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 211 portation ; and when gentlemen say that we admit from all other countries, where do you find the slightest parallel? And in a Republic especially, in any govern- ment that maintains itself, the unit of order and of administration is in the family. A DISCORDANT ELEMENT. The immigrants that come to us from all portions of the British Isles, from Germany, from Norway, from France, from Spain, from Italy, come here with the idea of the family as much engraven on their minds and in their customs and in their habits as we have it. The Asiatic cannot go on with our population and make a homogeneous element. The idea of comparing European immigration with an immigration that has no regard to family, that does not recognize the rela- tion of husband and wife, that does not observe the tie of parent and child, that does not have in the slightest degree the ennobling and the civilizing influences of the hearthstone and the fireside, why, when gentlemen talk loosely about emigration from European states as contrasted with that, they certainly are forgetting his- tory and forgetting themselves. There has not been from the outset any immigration of Chinese in the sense in which immigration comes to us from Europe. It has all been “under contract” and through agencies, and if not in every respect of the Coolie type, the entire immigration from China has had the worst and most demoralizing features of Coolieism. The Burlingame treaty specially “reprobated any other than an entirely voluntary immigration,” and yet from 212 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the first Chinaman that came, in 1848, to the last one that landed in San Francisco, it is safe to say that not one in one hundred came in an “entirely voluntary” manner. THEIR NUMBERS. Up to October, 1876, the records of the San Fran- cisco Custom-House show that 233,136 Chinese had arrived in this country, and that 93,273 had returned to China. The immigration since has been quite large, and allowing for returns and deaths, the best statistics I can procure show .that about 100,000 Chinese are in California and from 20,000 to 25,000 in the adjacent Pacific States and Territories. Of this large population fully nine-tenths are adult males. The women have not in all numbered over seven thousand, and, according to all accounts, they are impure and lewd far beyond the Anglo-Saxon conception of impurity and lewdness. One of the best- informed Californians I ever met says that not one score of decent and pure women could ever have been found in the whole Chinese immigration. It is only in the imagined, rather I hope the unim- agined, feculence and foulness of Sodom and Gomor- rah that any parallel can be found to the atrocious nastiness of the Chinese quarter of San Francisco. I speak of this from abounding testimony — largely from those who have had personal opportunity to study the subject in its revolting details. In the entire Chinese population of the Pacific coast scarcely one family is to be found ; no hearthstone of BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 213 comfort, no fireside of joy ; no father nor mother, nor brother nor sister ; no child reared by parents ; no domestic and ennobling influences ; no ties of affec- tion. The relation of wife is degraded beyond all description, the females holding and dishonoring that sacred name being sold and transferred from one man to another, without shame and without fear; one woman being- at the same time the wife to several men. NOT FIT TO BE ADMITTED. Many of these women came to San Francisco under written contracts for prostitution, openly and shame- lessly entered into. I have myself read the transla- tion of some of these abominable documents. If as a nation we have the right to keep out infectious dis- eases, if we have the right to exclude the criminal classes from coming to us, we surely possess the right to exclude that immigration which reeks with impurity, and which cannot come to us without plenteously sow- ing the seeds of moral and physical disease, destitu- tion and death. The Chinese immigration to California began with the American immigration in 1848. The two races have been side by side for more than thirty years, nearly an entire generation, and not one step toward assimilation has been taken. The Chinese occupy their own peculiar quarter in the city, adhere to their own dress, speak their own language, worship in their own heathen temples, and, inside the municipal law and independent of it, administer a code among them- 214 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. selves, even pronouncing the death penalty, and ex- ecuting it in criminal secrecy. ALWAYS THE SAME CHINAMAN. If this were for a year only, or for two, or five, or even ten years, it might be claimed that more time was needed for domestication and assimilation ; but this has been going on for an entire generation, and the Chinaman to-day approaches no nearer to our civilization than he did when the Golden Gate first received him. In sworn testimony be- fore an investigating committee of Congress, Dr. Mears, the health officer of San Fran- cisco, described as “ a careful and learned man,” testified that the condition of the Chi- nese quarter is “horri- ble, inconceivably hor- rible.” He stated that the Chinese as a rule “ live in large tenement houses, large numbers crowded into individ- ual rooms, without proper ventilation, with bad drain- age, and underground, with a great deal of filth, the odors from which are horrible.” He described their “mode of taking a room ten feet high and putting a BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 215 flooring half-way to the ceiling, both floors being crowded at night with sleepers. In these crowded dens cases of small-pox were concealed from the police.” “They live underground in bunks. The to- pography of that portion of Chinadom is such that you enter a house sometimes and think that it is a one-story house, and you will find two or three stories down below on the side of the hill, where they live in great filth.” Another close and accurate observer, a resident of California, says : “ The only wonder is that desolating pestilences have not ensued. Small-pox has often been epidemic, and could always be traced to Chinese origin. The Chinese quarter was once occupied by shops, churches, and dwellings of Americans. Now these are as thoroughly Mongolian as any part of Can- ton. All other races flee from the contact.” A HIDEOUS RABBLE. Dr. Mears further testified and gave many revolting details in proof that the Chinese “ are cruel and indif- ferent to their sick.” He described cases of Chinese lepers at the city hospital : “ Their feet dropped off by dry gangrene and their hands were wasted and atten- uated. Their finger-nails dropped off.” He said the Chinese were gradually working eastward, and would by-and-by crowd into Eastern cities, where the con- ditions under which they live in San Francisco would produce, in the absence of its climatic advantages, de- structive pestilence. Perhaps a Chinese quarter in Boston, with forty 216 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. thousand Mongolians located somewhere between the south end and the north end of the city and separating the two would give Mr. Garrison some new views as to the power and right of a nation to exclude moral and physical pestilence from its bordersT In San Francisco there is no hot weather, the thermometer rarely rising above 65°. One of the most intelligent physicians in the United States says that the Chinese quarter of San Francisco transferred to Saint Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, or any Eastern city, would in a hot summer breed a plague equal to the “ black death” that is now alarming the civilized world. o A LIBEL ON WHITE PEOPLE. When Mr. Garrison says that the immigration of Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen, Frenchmen, Ger- mans, and Scandinavians, must be put on the same footing- as the Chinese Coolies, he confounds all dis- tinctions, and, of course without intending it, libels almost the entire white population whose blood is inherited from the races he names. All the immigra- tion from Europe to-day assimilates at once with its own blood on this soil, and to place the Chinese Coolies on the same footing is to shut one’s eyes to all the instincts of human nature and all the teachings of history. Is it not inevitable that a class of men living in this degraded and filthy condition, and on the poorest of food, can work for less than the American laborer is entitled to receive for his daily toil? Put the two classes of labor side by side, and the cheap servile BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 217 labor pulls down the more manly toil to its level. The free white laborer never could compete with slave labor of the South. In the Chinaman the white laborer finds only another form of servile competition — in some aspects more revolting and corrupting than African slavery. Whoever contends for the unre- stricted immigration of Chinese Coolies contends for that system of toil which blights the prospects of the white laborer — dooming him to starvation wages, killing his ambition by rendering his struggle hope- less, and ending in a plodding and pitiless poverty. IMMINENT DANGER. Nor is it a truthful answer to say that this danger is remote. Remote it may be for Mr. Garrison, for Boston, for New England, but it is instant and pressing on the Pacific slope. Already the Chinese male adults on that coast are well-nigh as numerous as the white voters of California, and it is conceded that a Chinese emigrant can be placed in San Francisco for one-half the amount required to transport a man from the Mississippi valley to the Pacific coast, and for one- third what it requires for a New Yorker or a New Englander to reach California or Oregon. The late Caleb Cushing, who had carefully studied the Chinese question, ever since his mission to Pekin in 1842, maintained that, unless resisted by the United States, the first general famine in China would be followed by an immigration to California that would swamp the white race. I observe that a New England newspaper — I specially regret that such ignorance 218 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. should be shown in New England — says it is only “a strip” on the Pacific that the Chinaman seeks for a home. The Chinese are already scattered in three States and two adjacent Territories, whose area is larger than the original thirteen Colonies. California alone is larger than New England, New York, Penn- sylvania, and Ohio, and is capable of maintaining a vast population of Anglo-Saxon freemen, if we do not surrender it to Chinese Coolies. LEGIONS OF THEM. Before the same committee of investigation from whose report I have already quoted, Mr.T. W. Jackson, a man of high character, who had traveled extensively in the East, testified that his strong belief was “that if the Chinese felt that they were safe and had a firm footing in California, they would come in enormous numbers, because the population of China is practically inexhaustible.” Such, indeed, is the unbroken testi- mony of all who are entitled to express an opinion. The decision of Congress on this matter, therefore, becomes of the very last importance. Pfad it been in favor of Chinese immigration, with the encouragement and protection which that would have implied, it re- quires no vivid imagination to foresee that the great slope between the Sierras and the Pacific would be- come thee immigrating ground for the Chinese empire. So that I do not at all exaggerate when I say that on the adoption or rejection of the policy passed upon by Congress hangs the fate of the Pacific slope — whether its labor shall be that of American freemen or servile BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 219 Mongolians. If Mr. Garrison thinks the interests of his own countrymen, his own government, and, in a still larger sense, the interests of humanity and civili- zation, will be promoted by giving up the Pacific to Mongolian labor, I beg respectfully but firmly to differ from him. A LAW HIGHER THAN CHARITY. There is no ground on which we are bound to receive them to our own detriment. Charity is the first of Christian graces. But Mr. Garrison would not feel obliged to receive into his family a person that would physically contaminate or morally corrupt his children. As with a family, so with a nation ; the same instinct of self-preservation exists, the same right to prefer the interests of our own people, the same duty to exclude that which is corrupting and dangerous to the Republic. The outcry that we are violating our treaty obliga- tions is without any foundation. The article on emi- gration in the treaty has not been observed by China for a single hour since it was made. All the testi- mony taken on the subject — and it has been full and copious — shows conclusively that the entire emigration was “ under contract ” ; that the Coolies had been gathered together for export, and gathered as agents in our Western States would gather live-stock for shipment. THE “HIGH-BINDERS.” A very competent witness in California, speaking to this point, says : 220 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. “ On the arrival of the Chinese in California they are consigned like hogs to the different Chinese com- panies, their contracts are vised, and the Coolie com- mences to pay to the companies fees to insure care if he is taken sick and his return home dead or alive. His return is prevented until after his contract has been entirely fulfilled. If he breaks his contract the spies of the six companies hunt him to prevent his re- turning to China, by arrangement with the steamship company or their agents in the steamship employ to prevent his getting a ticket. The agents of the steam- ship companies testified to this same fact. If a ticket is obtained for him by others he is forcibly stopped on the day of sailing by employees of the six companies, called ‘ high-binders,’ who can always be seen guarding the Coolies.” Mr. Joseph J. Ray, a Philadelphia merchant, long resident in China, and a close observer of its emigra- tion, says “ that of the Chinese who have reached our shores were not free agents in their coming. Files of the Hong-Kong newspapers from 1861 would sup- ply information regarding the ‘ barracoons ’ at that port, and when the system had become too great a scandal, their removal to Macao (a Portuguese colony, forty miles distant), in which * barracoons ’ the Chinese, in every sense prisoners, were retained until their shipment to San Francisco, Callao, Havana, etc. These, called by courtesy emigrants, were collected from within a radius of two or three hundred miles from Canton, and consisted of the abjectly poor, who, BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 221 willing or not, were sold to obtain food for their fami- lies, or for gambling debts (the Chinese, as you are aware, being inveterate gamblers), or the scapegraces of the country, fleeing .to avoid punishment.” .A BROKEN TREATY. It is, of course, a mere misuse of terms to call this an “ entirely voluntary emigration,” and yet none other was permissible under the Burlingame treaty. Our Government would be clearly justified in disre- garding the treaty on the single ground that the Chinese Government had never respected its provis- ions. But without any reference to that, our Govern- ment possesses the right to abrogate the treaty if it judges that its continuance is “ pernicious to the State.” Indeed, the two pending propositions in the Senate differed not in regard to our own right to abro- gate the treaty, but simply as to whether we should do it in July, 1879, by the exercise of our power with- out further notice to China, or whether we should do it in January, 1880, after notifying China that we had made up our minds to do it. Nearly a year ago Congress by joint resolution ex- pressed its discontent with the existing treaty, and thus clearly gave notice to the civilized world — if notice were needful — of the desire and intention of our peo- ple. In the late action of Congress the opposing proposition — moved as a substitute for the bill to which I gave my support — requested the President to notify the Emperor of China that Chinese immigration is “ unsatisfactory and pernicious,” and in effect if he 222 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. would not modify the treaty as we desired, then the President should notify the Emperor that after January i, 1880, the United States will “ treat the obnoxious stipulations as at an end.” AMERICAN RIGHTS. Both propositions — the bill that we passed and the substitute that we rejected — assumed alike the full right to abrogate the treaty. Whether it were better to abrogate it after last year’s joint resolution, or to inform the Emperor of China directly that if he would not consent to the change “ we would make it any- how,” must be relegated for decision to the schools of taste and etiquette. The first proposition resting on our clear constitutional power seemed to me a better mode of proceeding than to ask the Emperor of China to consent to a modification, and informing him at the same time that, whether he consented or not, we would on next New Year’s day treat “the obnoxious stipula- tions as at an end.” As to the power of Congress to do just what has been done, no one will entertain a doubt who examines the whole question. An admir- able summary of the right and power is found in an opinion delivered by that eminent jurist, Benjamin R. Curtis, when he was a judge of the United States Su- preme Court. OPINION OF JUDGE CURTIS. Judge Curtis said : “ It cannot be admitted that the only method of escape from a treaty is by the consent of the other party to it or a declaration of war. To re- fuse to execute a treaty for reasons which approve BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 223 themselves to the conscientious judgment of a nation is a matter of the utmost gravity ; but the poiver to do so is a prerogative of which no nation can be deprived with- out deeply affecting its independence. That the people of the United States have deprived their government of this power I do not believe. That it must reside some- where, and be applicable to all cases, I am convinced, and I feel no doubt that it belongs to Congress .” A great deal has been said about the danger to our trade if China should resort to some form of retalia- tion. The natural and pertinent retaliation is to re- strict American immigration to China. Against that we will enter no protest, and should have no right to do so. The talk about China closing her ports to our trade is made only by those who do not understand the question. Last year the total amount of our ex- ports to all Chinese ports outside of Hong-Kong, was about $692,000. I have called Hong-kong a Chinese port, but every child knows it is under British control, and if we were at war with China to-day Hong-kong would be as open to us as Liverpool. AN EMPTY THREAT. To speak of China punishing us by suspending trade is only the suggestion of dense ignorance. We pay China an immense balance in coin, and probably we always shall do it. But if the trade question had the importance which some have erroneously attributed to it, I would not seek its continuance by permitting a vicious immigration of Chinese Coolies. The Bristol merchants cried out that commerce would be ruined 224 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. if England persisted in destroying the slave trade. But history does not record that England sacrificed her honor by yielding to the cry. The enlightened religious sentiment of the Pacific coast views with profound alarm the tendency and ef- fect of unrestricted Chinese immigration. The “ pas- tors and delegates 'of the Congregational churches of California” a year since expressed their “conviction ” that “the Burlingame treaty ought to be so modified by the General Government as to restrict Chinese im- migration.”- ■ o PORTENTOUS EVILS. Rev. S. V. Blakeslee, editor of the oldest religious paper on the Pacific coast, spoke thus in an official address : “ Moreover, wealthy English and American compa- nies have organized great money-making, plans for bringing millions — it is true — even millions — of these Chinese into our State, and into all parts of the Union ; and they have sent out emissaries into China to induce the people, by every true and false story, to migrate here. Already two himdred and fifty thousand have come, of whom one hundred thousand remain. “The tendency of all this is tremendously toward evil ; toward vice and abomination ; toward all op- posed to the true spirit of Americanism, and is very dangerous to our morality, to our stability, and to our success as a people and a nation. Millions more of these Chinese must come if not prevented by any legal, or moral, or mobocratic restraint, increasing inealeu- BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 225 lably by numbers the evils already existing, while a spirit of race prejudices and clanship jealousies and a conflict of interests must be developed, portending possible evil beyond all description.” CHINESE HEATHENISM. In regard to the process of converting and Chris- tianizing this people, a missionary who has been in the field since 1849 testifies that not one in a thousand has even nominally professed a change from heathenism, and that of this small number nearly one-half had been taught in missionary schools in China. The same mis- sionary says : “As they come in still larger numbers they will more effectually support each other in their national peculiarities and vices, become still more con- firmed in heathen immoralities, with an influence in every respect incalculably bad.” Under what possible sense of duty any American can feel that he promotes Christianity by the process of handing California over to heathenism is more than I am able to discover. I have heard a good deal about their cheap labor. I do not myself believe in cheap labor. I do not be- 4 lieve cheap labor should be an object of legislation, and it will not be in a republic. You cannot have the wealthy classes in a republic where suffrage is univer- sal legislate for cheap labor. I undertake to repeat that. I say that you cannot have the wealthy classes in a republic where suffrage is universal legislate in what is called the interest of cheap labor. Labor should not be cheap, and it should not be dear; it should have its share, and it will have its share. 15 226 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. There is not a laborer on the Pacific coast to-day, I say that to my honorable colleague — whose whole life has been consistent and uniform in defense and advocacy of the interests of the laboring classes — there is not a laboring man on the Pacific coast to-day who does not , feel wounded and grieved and crushed by the competi- tion that comes from this source. CHEAP LABOR. Then the answer is: “Well, are not American laborers equal to Chinese laborers?” I answer that question by asking another. Were not free white laborers equal to African slaves in the South ? When you tell me that the Chinaman driving out the free American labor only proves the superiority of the Chinaman, I ask you, Did the African slave labor driving out the free white labor from the South prove the superiority of slave labor? The conditions are not unlike ; the parallel is not complete, and yet it is a parallel. It is servile labor ; it is not free labor such as we in- tend to develop and encourage and build up in this country. It is labor that comes here under a mortgage. It is labor that comes here to subsist on what the American laborer cannot subsist on. You cannotwork a man who must have beef and bread, and would prefer beer, alongside of a man who can live on rice. It cannot be done. In all such conflicts and in all such struggles the result is not to bring up the man who lives on rice to the beef-and-bread standard, but it is to bringdown the‘beef-and-bread man to the rice standard. BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 227 Slave labor degraded free labor ; it took out its re- spectability ; it put an odious cast upon it. THE CAUSE OF HONEST TOIL. It throttled the prosperity of a fine and fair portion of the United States; and a worse than slave labor will throttle and impair the prosperity of a still finer and fairer section of the United States. We can choose here to-day whether our legislation shall be in the interest of the American free laborer or for the servile laborer from China. I feel and know that I am pleading the cause of the free American laborer and of his children and of his children’s children. It has been well said that it is the cause of “ the house against the hovel ; of the com- forts of the freeman against the squalor of the slave.” It has been charged that my position would arraign labor-saving machinery and condemn it. This answer is not only superficial ; it is also absurd. Labor- saving machinery has multiplied the power to pay, has developed new wants, and has continually enlarged the area of labor and constantly advanced the wages of the laborer. But servile toil has always dragged free labor to its lowest level, and has stripped it of one muniment after another until it was helpless and hope- less. Whenever that condition comes to the free laborer of America, the Republic of equal rights is gone, and we shall live under the worst of oligarchies — that of mere wealth, whose profit only measures the wretchedness of the unpaid toilsmen that produce it. 228 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. HIS VIEWS ON THE SILVER BILL. Mr. Blaine’s views on the coinage of silver were equally pronounced, and were expressed with similar force and clearness. When the Senate considered the bill authorizing the free coinage of the standard silver dollar, and to restore its legal tender character, he offered a substi- tute for the bill, containing three propositions, as he states in these words : 1. That the dollar shall contain four hundred and twenty-five grains of standard silver, shall have unlim- ited coinage, and be an unlimited legal tender. 2. That all profits of coinage shall go to the govern- ment, and not to the operator in silver bullion. 3. That silver dollars or silver bullion, assayed 1 mint-stamped, may be deposited with the assistant treasurer of New York, for which coin certificates may be issued, the same in denomination as United States notes, not below ten dollars, and that these shall be redeemable on demand in coin or bullion, thus fur- nishing a paper circulation based on an actual deposit of precious metal, giving us notes as valuable as those of the Bank of England, and doing away at once with the dreaded inconvenience of silver on account of bulk and weight. EXCESSIVE PAPER MONEY. Mr. Blaine presented his views on the Silver Ques- tion in a rather lengthy and very able speech, on the day he offered his substitute, which was February 7, 1878. The concluding portion of his speech read thus; BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 229 The effect of paying the labor of this country in silver coin of full value, as compared with the irre- deemable paper, or as compared even with silver of inferior value, will make itself felt in a single genera- tion to the extent of tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, in the aggregate savings which represent consolidated capital. It is the instinct of man, from the savage to the scholar — developed in childhood and remaining with ao-e — to value the metals which in all tongues are called precious. Excessive paper money leads to extravagance, to waste, and to want, as we painfully witness on all sides to-day. And in the midst of the proof of its demoralizing and destructive effect, we hear it proclaimed in the halls of Congress that “the people demand cheap money.” I deny it. I de- clare such a phrase to be a total misapprehension — a total misinterpretation of the popular wish. SILVER ALWAYS CURRENT. The people do not demand cheap money. They demand an abundance of good money, which is an entirely different thing. They do not want a single gold standard, that will exclude silver and benefit those already rich. They do not want an inferior silver standard, that will drive out gold and not help those already poor. They want both metals, in full value, in equal honor, in whatever abundance the bountiful earth will yield them to the searching eye of science and to the hard hand of labor. The two metals have existed, side by side, in har monious, honorable companionship as money, ever 230 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. since intelligent trade was known among men. It is well-nigh forty centuries since “Abraham weighed to Ephron four hundred shekels of silver — current money with the merchant.’’ Since that time nations have risen and fallen, races have disappeared, dialects and languages have been forgotten, arts have been lost, treasures have perished, continents have been discov- ered, islands have been sunk in the sea, and through all these ages and through all these changes silver and gold have reigned supreme as the representation of value, as the media of exchange. The dethrone- ment of each has been attempted in turn, and some- times the dethronement of both ; but always in vain ! And we are here to-day, deliberating anew over the problem which comes down to us from Abraham’s time — the weight of the silver that shall be “ current money with the merchant.” STOOD UP FOR AMERICA. It was a prominent part of the policy of Mr. Blaine, in public life, to stand armed against the undue domi- nation of foreign states in the affairs of America. He consistently and persistently denied the right of any foreign state to exercise a control over questions purely American. Whenever a measure was sprung, touching the strict independence of the country, Blaine was found witli drawn sword ready to repel the assault. This policy led him, not infrequently, to take the arena in opposition to measures which he deemed likely to affect unfairly the high rank of the American Republic. BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 231 It was this principle of action which brought him into prominence during the debate in the Senate on the Halifax Fishery Award, in 1878. He was one of the most indignant of all at what he deemed the <_> treachery and overreaching of Great Britain in that matter. Finally consenting to accept the report of the Committee on Foreign Relations, he nevertheless left on record a ringing protest against some of the principles and facts involved in the controversy. On the first of June he delivered an address in the Senate, the spirit of which may be inferred from the following extract : A ONE-SIDED TREATY. Mr. President, I shall support the report made by the Committee on Foreign Relations, although I wish that some amendments could be made to it. But I do not concur in what was implied in the remarks of the Senator from Ohio, on this subject, that Great Britain had discharged her duties under this treaty with exemplary fidelity, and that we were in danger of not following a good example. I maintain that from the first, throughout the whole of the treaty — and I know I am taking what has not been heretofore a popular side, or the generally ac- cepted version — it has been a treaty of a singularly one-sided character, in which, as I shall show, the en- tire advantage was gained by Great Britain, and in the parts that she has not esteemed it to be her inter- est to fulfil it, she has declined to fulfil it. Up to this day one of the most important parts of the 232 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. treaty has been evaded, and its fulfilment refused by Great Britain. Let me explain. When the Joint High Commis- sion came to consider what were known as the Ala- bama Claims, they agreed upon three rules which Great Britain diplomatically disavowed through her commissioners to have been accepted rules of inter- national law at the time, but said that they would agree to them as the basis of a settlement, and they might go before the tribunal as if they had been in force as principles of international law at the time of their alleged infraction. Then Great Britain and the United States, in binding themselves to the observ- ance of these rules in future, assumed another mutual obligation in this clause of the treaty : “And the high contracting parties agree to observe these rules between themselves in future, and to bring them to the knowledge of thife other maritime powers and to invite them to accede to them.” Unless I am entirely misinformed, and I think I am A BRITISH REFUSAL. correctly informed, Great Britain has refused up to this time, and it has been seven years this month since the treaty was perfected, to join with the United States in asking the other maritime powers to agree to those rules. I have ground for believing this statement to be substantially, if not literally, true, and if the Senate will support me in a resolution which I shall offer, we shall find out, authentically, that Mr. Fish, lately BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 233 Secretary of State, advised Great Britain that, refus- ing to join with the United States in proposing these rules for other maritime powers, the United States would be justified in treating them as a nullity. I do not pretend at all to be inside of the secrets and aims and purposes of British diplomacy, but I do know that having got those three rules which bind us very tightly which make us keep a very sharp police on fifteen thousand miles of ocean front that encirele our own dominions, and hold us accountable for any priva- teers or depredators or “Alabamas,” or any sort of cruisers that may get out in case Great Britain goes to war with Russia, as is now possible if not prob- able (I hope not even probable), and makes us ac- countable in damages afterward for any losses thus resulting to her subjects — that while she holds us thus closely under the three rules, she has not asked another nation in all Europe to be bound by those rules; she has refused to join the United States in asking the maritime powers to accept them and be bound by them. I do not believe in having one part of the treaty quoted on us to the letter “ which kill- eth,” and then to have the part which does not exactly comport with the interest of Great Britain, absolutely slurred over and denied. I repeat, I do not pretend to see any further through secret and hidden motives than anybody else, and I do not pretend to know, much less do I pretend to state, what the motive of Great Britain is, although I have heard it, and I have heard it was because the 234 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. government of the German Empire objected to these rules being made general in Europe. SOME THINGS WE OUGHT TO KNOW. At all events it is known, and we ought to know here authentically — and it would be some advantage to know it before we pass on the measure — we ought to know authentically what has transpired between this government and the government of Great Britain with regard to these three rules, which were so finely chiseled and so closely drawn and so narrowly con- structed that when we got into the tribunal, at Geneva, we were practically powerless. When confessedly the aid and support of Great Britain to the rebellion had been hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to this country; when they swept our mercantile marine, two-thirds of it, out of existence ; when their aid and countenance to the Confederacy had destroyed one of the great leading interests of the United States, we consented to such a narrow construction of these three rules as absolutely cut us down to fifteen and a half million dollars for damages, and Great Britain at once gets seven and a half millions of that back — two mil- lions on the Washington Claims Commission, of 1871- 72, and now five and a half millions more on this fishery award. So, when the Senator from Ohio holds up the ex- ample of Great Britain to us to imitate in this matter, I beg him to observe what Great Britain’s course has been in regard to this part of the treaty. It was Great Britain’s highest interest to pay the Geneva award. BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 235 She never paid fifteen million dollars in her life that was so good an investment as that was under the o circumstances. ENGLAND GETS MORE THAN SHE GIVES. Whether we can find anybody, under the narrow rules that were laid down, that is a lawful claimant for the money awarded us at Geneva, is quite another thing; that is for us to determine; but Great Britain herself gained the incalculable advantage of making us a practical ally to her, willing or, unwilling, in all her contests with European powers. The Russians are watched by every form of observation if they land on the coast of Maine, or if they buy a vessel in New York or Philadelphia ; and the moment there is a dec- laration of war, instead of Great Britain doing the watching, we shall be compelled, under the three rules, to do it ourselves. We shall be forced on the anxious-seat, and if a Russian vessel should escape from our coast, and Great Britain could show that we have not used due diligence, we are to be responsible in the amounts of money that may result from her depredations on British commerce. Great Britain gets all these vast advantages out of us, and then refuses, as I say, for some reason, and continues to refuse, up to this time, to agree that other maritime nations, in whose adop- tion of these three rules we might have very great in- terests, shall act on them — refuses even to submit them, as the treaty bound her to do — and she has permitted seven years to go by without so much as uniting with 236 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. us in asking a single European power to accept them. A HISTORIC REVIEW. Now, let us go back a little, inasmuch as we are dis- cussing this subject generally, as the Senator from Ohio has introduced it. When the war broke out, in 1 86 1 , Mr. Seward, through our minister at the Court of St. James, Mr. Adams, immediately proposed that the United States should become a party to the treaty of Paris, to which there had been forty-six or forty- seven nations of the earth already parties, to suppress privateering. Lord John Russell, recently deceased, apparently received the proposition with the utmost complaisance, and agreed to it; and after the agree- ment was made, and we thought the treaty was about to become a regular convention between the two governments, he put in a condition that it should not at all affect the existing relations between Great Britain and the Confederate States, or that the ques- tion should not in the least degree be affected by the relations of any internal dissensions in the United States ; in other words, that if we lived to survive the Rebellion in the United States, the very time when we should not need the advantage of this treaty, we might enjoy it ; but that, pending that, we should not have any advantage from it at all. WHAT SEWARD SAID. And the British Government would not agree, on the other hand, that if any disturbance should take place in any part of the British Empire, we should not BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 237 be similarly bound as England was then. Let me read just what Mr. Seward said on that point : “The proposed declaration is inadmissible, among other reasons, because it is not mutual. It proposes a special rule by which her majesty’s obligations shall be meliorated in their bearing upon internal difficulties now prevailing in the United States, while the obliga- tions to be assumed by the United States shall not be similarly meliorated, or at all affected in their bearing on internal differences that may now be prevailing or may hereafter arise and prevail in Great Britain.” The whole of it was one-sided. And now I will give the honorable Senator from Ohio a very substantial reason why the government of the United States ought to proceed to the payment of the fishery award in a different manner from that which the government of Great Britain adopted with reference to the Geneva award. The struggles between the Dominion of Canada, or that which now constitutes the Dominion of Canada, the British-American provinces, and the United States, for reciprocal relations of trade and commerce, have been troublesome questions for eighty years, and every time we have attempted to adjust them, the fish- eries have been put forward as the stumbling-block in the way of a fair agreement ; and the payment of the five and a half millions settles the question for only twelve years, and then it is all open again. But, on the other hand, the fifteen and a half mil- lions, paid in pursuance of the Geneva award, closed 238 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. that account for all time ; or, if it left it open at all, it left it open with the three rules operating in Great Britain’s favor. But let us pay this five and a half millions, as the honorable Senator from Ohio invites us to do ; let us walk up without saying one word, and pay this five and a half millions of dollars to Great Britain, and what is the result? It is inevitably ac- cepted by the government of Great Britain as a con- cession on the part of the government of the United States, as a just measure of value of those fishery priv- ileges, and any subsequent notice that we might give, six or eight years hence, would be treated as an after- thought. don’t go too fast. If we do not make that point at this time, we lose all the advantage of making it at all ; and if we now pay that money without in some form emphatically entering our dissent from it as a just measure of the value of the fisheries, we are estopped from ever plead- ing it hereafter, and we shall have committed ourselves to the conclusion that those fisheries, in reciprocal ar- rangements for trade between the Dominion of Canada and the United States, are to be reckoned as of the value of a half million dollars per annum bonus from the United States, in addition to the admission of Canadian fish free of duty to our markets. This question, Mr. President, has some sectional and local relation, I know. We are much more af- fected by it where I come from than are the people where the Senator from Ohio comes from. It is a BLAINE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 239 matter of daily, very pressing interest with us, and we know very well that if we sit still here and consent to this award being accepted publicly as a just measure of value, we ean never have the trade between the Do- minion of Canada and the United States regulated thereafter upon any fair, equitable, amicable basis. CHAPTER XII. Blaine as Secretary of State. In 1880 Mr. Blaine was a candidate for the nomi- nation for the Presidency:- The movement to make him the nominee of his party was not manufactured, not in any sense “worked up,” but was spontaneous throughout the country. The general voice of his party named him for the high honor. He did not have to creep and crawl to obtain supporters. When the public eye swept around the horizon in search of a great leader in the approaching campaign, his com- manding figure towered up in stately proportions and caught the gaze of the multitude. The National Convention was held at Chicago on June 2d. A strong minority of the delegates favored General Grant for a third term ; the leaders were Senators Conkling, Cameron and Logan. These as- tute chieftains used all the arts of persuasion and diplomacy in favor of their choice. Like a solid wall the Grant men stood, without break or waver- ing, until the final vote was declared. John Sherman, of Ohio, was another candidate, and a very respectable number of the delegates gave him their votes. The third candidate was Mr. Blaine, ( 240 ) BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE 241 whose supporters were extremely aggressive and en- thusiastic. These three names were borne to the front amidst a contest seldom equalled for courage JAMES A. GARFIELD. and generalship. The country waited with intense interest for the decision to be declared. Mr. Blaine was nominated by James F. Joy, of Michigan, and the nomination was seconded by Will- iam P. Frye, of Maine, in a telling speech, which moved the convention to tumultuous applause. 16 242 LIFE OF IION. JAMES G. BLAINE. THE HERO AT THE HELM. Mr. Frye said : I once saw a storm at sea in the night-time ; an old ship battling for its life with the MRS. LUCRETIA R. GARFIELD. fury of the tempest ; darkness everywhere ; the winds raging and howling ; the huge waves beating BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 243 on the sides of the ship, and making her shiver from •stem to stern. The lightning was flashing, the thun- ders rolling ; there was danger everywhere. I saw at the helm a bold, courageous, immovable, commanding man. In the tempest, calm; in the commotion, quiet; in the danger, hopeful. I saw him take the old ship and bring her into her harbor, into still waters, into safety. That man was a hero. I saw the good old ship of State, the State of Maine, within the last year, fighting her way through the same waves, against the dangers. She was freighted with all that is precious in the principles of our Re- public ; with the rights of the American citizenship, with all that is guaranteed to the American citizen by our Constitution. The eyes of the whole nation were on her, and intense anxiety filled every Amen- ican heart lest the grand old ship, the “ State of Maine,” might go down beneath the waves forever, carrying her precious freight with her. But there was a man at the helm, calm, deliberate, command- ing, sagacious ; he made even the foolish man wise ; courageous, he inspired the timid with courage; hope- ful, he gave heart to the dismayed, and he brought that good old ship safely into harbor, into safety; and she floats to-day greater, purer, stronger for her bap- tism of danger. That man, too, was heroic, and his name was James G. Blaine. GARFIELD NOMINATED. As none of the leading candidates could obtain a majority, a compromise was effected and James A, 244 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Garfield received the nomination. In the following November he was elected. Soon after the election he decided upon a visit to Washington. Mr. Blaine was in Bangor, Maine, where he received a note from General Garfield appointing an interview in Washington about November 24. He reached the capital on the 26th, and on the afternoon of that day called upon the President-elect at the latter’s private residence. For two hours they were closeted without interruption from a single person. At this conference, General Garfield, without reservation, tendered the State Department to Mr. Blaine. When Mr. Blaine had recovered from his surprise he replied : “ General, I was hardly prepared for this tender on your part. I do not know how to make answer. I would like some time for reflection and consultation, and in the meantime I will advise you.” General Garfield then and there urcmd Mr. Blaine to o accept, but he made no binding answer at the time. Subsequently Mr. Blaine had a conference with his closest friends, and the weight of their testimony was that he should accept the place. Said he : “ Gentle- men, I am inclined to accept General Garfield’s offer; but meanwhile, I will for a very short period still fur- ther hold it under advisement.” BECOMES SECRETARY OF STATE. After this conference with his friends the fact that General Garfield had offered the Senator the Secre- taryship of State was communicated to one or two of Blaine’s confidential friends, and he said: “If the sen- BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 245 timent of the country endorses the selection General Garfield has made, I will accept the office. Otherwise WILLIAM H. HUNT. not.” Early in December the announcement was made in one or two newspapers, directly and absolutely, that Senator Blaine had been invited by General Garfield to take the State Department. It soon became ac- 246 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. cepted as a fact. The universal expression of news- paper opinion was that the selection was a good one. Thereupon Senator Blaine wrote the following letter of acceptance : Washington, December 20, 1880. My Dear Garfield : — Your generous invitation to enter your Cabinet as Secretary of State has been under consideration for more than three weeks. The thought had really never occurred to my mind until at our late conference you presented it with such cogent arguments in its favor, and with such warmth of per- sonal friendship in aid of your kind offer, I know that an early answer is desirable, and I have waited only long enough to consider the subject in all its bearings, and to make up my mind definitely and conclusively. I now say to you, in the same cordial spirit in which you have invited me, that I accept the position. It is no affectation for me to add that I make this decision, not for the honor of the promotion it gives me in the public service, but because I think I can be useful to the country and to the party; useful to you as the responsible leader of the party and the great head of the government. I am influenced somewhat, perhaps, by the shower of letters I have received urging me to accept, written to me in consequence of the mere unauthorized news- paper report that you had been pleased to offer me the place. While I have received these letters from all sections of the Union I have been especially pleased and even surprised at the cordial and widely extended feeling in my favor throughout New England, where I had expected to encounter local jealousy and per- haps rival aspiration. BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 247 In our new relation I shall give all that I am and all that I can hope to be, freely and loyally, to your service. You need no pledge of my loyalty in heart and act. I should be false to myself did I not prove true both to the great trust you confide to me and to your own personal and political fortunes in the pres- ent and in the future. Your administration must be made brilliantly successful and strong in the confi- dence and pride of the people, not at all directing its energies for re-election, and yet compelling that result by the logic of events and by the imperious necessi- ties of the situation. To that most desirable consummation I feel that, next to yourself, I can possibly contribute as much influence as any other one man. I say this not from egotism or vainglory, but merely as a deduction from a plain analysis of the political forces which have been at work in the country for five years past, and which have been significantly shown in two great National Conventions. I accept it as one of the happiest cir- cumstances connected with this affair that in allying my political fortunes with yours — or rather for the time merging mine in yours — my heart goes with my head, and that I carry to you not only political sup- port but personal and devoted friendship. I can but regard it as somewhat remarkable that two men of the same age, entering Congress at the same time, influenced by the same aims and cherishing the same ambitions, should never, for a single moment in eighteen years of close intimacy, have had a misun- derstanding or coolness, and that our friendship has steadily grown with our growth and strengthened with our strength. It is this fact which hassled me to the conclusion embodied in this letter ; for however much, my dear 248 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Garfield, I might admire you as a statesman, I would not enter your cabinet if I did not believe in you as a man and love you as a friend. Always faithfully yours, James G. Blaine. Mr. Blaine qualified as Secretary of State March 5, 1881, two days following the inauguration of the Presi- dent, and immediately assumed the duties of the office. president Garfield’s cabinet. President Garfield’s Cabinet was as follows Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, of Maine; Secretary of the Treasury, William Windom, of Min- nesota; Secretary of the Navy, William H. Hunt, of Louisiana ; Secretary of War, Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois ; Secretary of the Interior, Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Iowa ; Attorney-General, Wayne McVeagh, of Peftn- sylvania ; Postmaster-General, Thomas L. James, of New York. The foreign policy announced by President Garfield was : First, to bring about peace and prevent future wars in North and South America ; and, secondly, to cultivate such friendly commercial relations with all American countries as would lead to a large increase in the export trade of the United States. It was for the purpose of promoting peace on the Western Hemisphere that it was determined to invite all the independent governments of North and South America to meet in a peace conference at Washington on March 15, 1882. The project met with cordial approval in South BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 249 America, and, had it been carried out, would have raised the standard of civilization, and possibly, by opening- South American markets to our manufac- tures, would have wiped out $i 2,000,000 balance of trade which Spanish America brings against us every year. The invitations to this important conference were subsequently sent out by President Arthur, but in a short time they were recalled, after some of the countries had actually accepted them. It was a pacific policy and was wholly in accord with the Monroe Doc- trine and the characteristic traditions of American di- plomacy. THE PANAMA CANAL. \/ President Garfield in his inaugural address had re- peated the declaration of his predecessor that it was “the right and duty of the United States to assert and maintain such supervision and authority ctver any in- teroceanic canal across the isthmus that connects North and South America as will protect our Na- tional interests.” This policy, which had received the direct approval of Congress, was vigorously upheld by Secretary Blaine. The Colombian Republic had proposed to the European Powers to join in a guar- antee to the neutrality of the proposed Panama Canal. One of President Garfield’s first acts under the ad- vice of Secretary Blaine was to remind the European Government of the exclusive rights which the United States had secured with the country to be traversed by the interoceanic waterway. These exclusive rights rendered the prior guarantee of the United States 250 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Government indispensable, and the Powers were in- formed that any foreign guarantee would be not only an unnecessary but unfriendly act. PROPOSITION TO GREAT BRITAIN. As the United States had made in the Clayton- Bulwer Treaty of 1850 a special agreement with Great Britain on this subject, Secretary Blaine sup- plemented his memorandum to the Powers by a formal proposal for the abrogation of all provisions of that convention which were not in accord with the guar- antees and privileges covenanted for in the compact with the Colombian Republic. In his State paper, the most elaborate of the series receiving his signature as Secretary of State, Mr. Blaine contended that the operation of the Clayton- Bulwer Treaty practically conceded to Great Britain the control of any canal which might be constructed in the isthmus, as that Power was required by its in- sular position and colonial possessions to maintain a naval establishment with which the United States could not compete. As the American Government had bound itself by its engagements in the Clayton- Bulwer Treaty not to fight in the isthmus, nor to for- tify the mouths of any waterway that might be con- structed, the Secretary argued that if any struggle for the control of the canal were to arise England would have an advantage at the outset which would prove decisive. A BASE SURRENDER. “The treaty,” he remarked, “commands this Gov- BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 251 eminent not to use a single regiment of troops to protect its interests in connection with the interoceanic canal, but to surrender the transit to the guardianship and control of the British Navy.” The logic of this paper was unanswerable from an American point of view. If the Monroe Doctrine be anything more than a tradition, the control of the Panama Canal must not be allowed to pass out of American hands; and since the country having the most powerful navy is the real guardian of the free- dom of an interoceanic canal under any system of in- ternational guarantees, or in the absence of treaty law, the Panama Canal, as Mr. Blaine said, under the Clay- ton-Bulwer Treaty would be surrendered, if not in form yet in effect, to the control of Great Britain. PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE TREATY. In Secretary Blaine’s instructions to Mr. James Rus- sell Lowell, Minister to England, is the following sum- mar) r of the changes in the Clayton-Bulwer treaty of 1850, necessary to meet the views of the United States Government : “First. Every part of the treaty which forbids the United States fortifying the canal, and holding the political control of it in conjunction with the country in which it is located, to be cancelled. “ Second. Every part of the treaty in which Great Britain and the United States agree to make no ac- quisition of territory in Central America to remain in full force.” The admirable and forcible chain of reasoning by LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. 2.72 which Mr. Blaine led to these conclusions forced the English newspapers to admit that he had made out a good case upon British precedents, and that the right SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD. of the United States to control the Panama Canal was stronger, and the necessity of such control greater, than the right and necessity of England to control the Suez Canal. BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 253 WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION PROMISED. The brief administration of President Garfield was remarkable for its promise of broad statesmanship. For many years Congress and the entire government had been busy in making war, in restoring peace and in paying the immense war debt. It was all the United States could do to preserve the Union, and other na- tions were profiting by the neglect of this country to properly cultivate its foreign relations. England had absorbed our commerce and directed into her own coffers the trade of the South American countries. And now, under the auspices of the French Repub- lic, under the direction of a citizen of France, and backed by continental capitalists, active preparations had been made to construct an interoceanic canal across the Isthmus of Panama, while, under the Clay- ton-Bulwer treaty of 1850, the United States was practically powerless to take any steps for the pro- tection of her own interests. HOME POLICY. At the same time at home a more sagacious South- ern policy was demanded, a policy which would pro- mote the material reconstruction of the South, here- tofore neglected for the sake of political recon- struction. The Southern policy of the Administration would have been to cultivate cordial relations between the different sections of the country, and, by thus promot- ing the flow Southward of Northern capital, to assist the development of the Southern States. Mr. Blaine 254 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. had great faith in the future of the South. On one occasion he said : In reconstructing the South we made the same mis- WAYNE MACVEAGH. take the British Government is making with the Irish. If we had made a government donation of $50,000,000 for the purpose of constructing a railway from Charles- ton to the southern end of California, and spent every BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 255 dollar of it between Charleston and the Mississippi river in the first three years following the war, the problem of reconstruction would have solved itself ; the people would have had business interests, instead of politics, to occupy their attention. I believe that within ten years the material increase in the Southern States, east of the Mississippi, will equal, if it does not surpass, that of the Northwestern States, west of the Mississippi. FOREIGN^ POLICY . As to the policy of the Garfield administration and its course of action during the war between Chili and Peru, a short and succinct presentation of the facts should be given here inasmuch as Mr. Blaine was con- sidered the originator of the projected action on the part of the United States. The following carefully prepared article gives such a clear exhibit of the subject, and which appeared in the New York Tribune , will inform the general reader of the facts as they ex- ist, and which we publish along with Mr. Blaine’s state- ment : The war between Chili and Peru had virtually ended with the capture of Lima on January 17, 1881. Pierola, the president, had succeeded in rallying a few followers in the north, and Calderon, assuming the provisional Presidency, had convoked a Congress in the vicinity of Lima. The State Department made strenuous ex- ertions to bring about the conclusion of an early peace between Chili and the two prostrate States which have been crushed in war. The influence of the Govern- 256 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. ment was brought to bear upon victorious Chili in the interest of peace and magnanimity ; but owing to an unfortunate misapprehension of Mr. Blaine’s instructions, the United States Ministers did not pro- mote the ends of peace. - THE PEACE CONGRESS. Special envoys were accordingly sent to South America accredited to the three Governments with o-eneral instructions which should enable them to o bring those belligerent Powers into friendly relations. These envoys were Mr. Trescot and Mr. Walker Blaine, and their mission was to perform a most deli- cate and important diplomatic duty in the interest of peace. After they had set out from New York Mr. Blaine resigned, and Mr. Frelinghuysen reversed the diplomatic policy with such precipitate haste that the envoys on arriving at their destination were informed by the Chilian Minister of Foreign Affairs that their instructions had been countermanded and that their mission was an idle farce. By this extraordinary reversal of diplomatic meth- ods and purposes the influence of the United States Government on the South American coast was re- duced to so low a point as to become insignificant. Mr. Blaine’s policy had been at once strong and pacific. It was followed by a period of no-policy which enabled Chili to make a conqueror’s terms with the conquered and to seize as much territory as pleased its rapacious generals. The most conspicuous act of Mr. Blaine’s adminis- BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 257 tration of the State Department was his invitation to the Peace Congress. This plan had been decided upon before the assassination of President Garfield. The proposition was to invite all the independent Governments of North and South America to meet the Peace Congress at Washington on March 15, 1882. The representatives of all the minor Govern- ments on this continent were to agree, if possible, upon some comprehensive plan for averting war by means of arbitration and for resisting the intrigues of Euro- pean diplomacy. Invitations were sent on November 22, with the limitations and restrictions originally de- signed. Mr. Frelinghuysen lost no time in under- mining this Diplomatic Congress and the meeting never took place. It cannot be doubted that the pro- posed Congress would have had a most important effect, not only in promoting the ends of peace, but in stimulating American trade with the Spanish-American States. It was a brilliant conception — a most useful project. THE PRESERVATION OF PEACE. Mr. Blaine has described the Congress as an im- portant and impressive step on the part of the United States toward closer relationship with our continental neighbors. In no event could harm have resulted in the assembling of the Peace Congress. Failure was next to impossible. Success might be regarded as certain. The subject to be discussed was peace, and how it can be permanently preserved in North and South 17 258 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. America. The labors of the Congress would have probably ended in a well-digested system qf arbitration, under which all troubles between American States could be quickly, effectually and satisfactorily adjusted. Such a consummation would have been worth a great struggle and a great sacrifice. It could have been reached without any struggle and would have involved no sacrifice. It was within our grasp. It was ours for the asking. It would have been a signal victory of philanthropy over the selfishness of human ambi- tion ; a complete triumph of Christian principles as applied to the affairs of Nations. It would have reflected enduring honor on our new country, and would have imparted a new spirit and a new brother- hood to all America. Nor would its influence beyond the sea have been small. The example of seventeen independent Na- tions solemnly agreeing to abolish the arbitrament of the sword, and to settle every dispute by peaceful methods of adjudication, would have exerted an influ- ence to the utmost confines of civilization, and upon the generations of men yet to come. mr. blaine’s statement. Shortly after Mr. Blaine retired from the Cabinet, and after President Arthur had modified the foreign policy laid down by his predecessor, he wrote the fol- lowing letter to a paper in Chicago, in explanation of his position. «rAs there is a desire to re-read it, the entire letter is given : BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 259 Augusta, Maine, Sept, ist, 1882. The foreign policy of President Garfield’s adminis- tration had two principal objects in view : First, to bring about peace, and prevent future wars in North and South America ; second, to cultivate such friendly commercial relations with all American countries as would lead to a large increase in the export trade of the United States, by supplying those fabrics in which we are abundantly able to compete with the manufac- turing nations of Europe. To attain the second object the first must be ac- complished. It would be idle to attempt the develop- ment and enlargement of our trade with the countries o of North and South America if that trade were liable at any unforeseen moment to be violently interrupted by such wars as that which for three years has en- grossed and almost engulfed Chili, Peru, and Bolivia ; as that which was barely averted by the friendly of- fices of the United States between Chili and the Ar- gentine Republic ; as that which has been postponed by the same good offices, but not decisively aban- doned, between Mexico and Guatemala ; as that which is threatened between Brazil and Uruguay; as that which is even now foreshadowed between Brazil and the Argentine States. THE WAR SPIRIT. Peace is essential to commerce, is the very life of honest trade, is the solid basis of international pros- perity ; and yet there is no part of the world where a resort to arms is so prompt as in the Spanish-American 260 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Republics. Those Republics have grown out of the old Colonial divisions, formed from capricious grants to favorites by Royal charter, and their boundaries are in many cases not clearly defined, and consequently afford the basis of continual disputes, breaking forth too often in open war. To induce the Spanish-Ameri- can States to adopt some peaceful mode of adjusting their frequently recurring contentions was regarded by the late President as one of the most honorable and useful ends to which the diplomacy of the United States could contribute — useful especially to those States by securing permanent peace within all their borders, and useful to our own country by affording a coveted opportunity for extending its commerce and securing enlarged fields for our products and manu- factures. THE MOTIVE FOR CALLING A PEACE CONGRESS. Instead of friendly intervention here and there, patching up a treaty between two countries to-day, securing a truce betweefl two others to-morrow, it was apparent to the President that a more comprehensive plan should be adopted if war was to cease in the Western Hemisphere. It was evident that certain European Powers had in the past been interested in promoting strife between the Spanish American coun. tries, and might be so interested in the future, while the interest of the United States was wholly and always on the side of peace with all our American neighbors, and peace between them all. It was therefore the President’s belief that mere in- BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 261 cidental and partial adjustments failed to attain the desired end, and that a common agreement of peace, permanent in its character and continental in its extent, THOMAS L. JAMES. should, if possible, be secured. To effect this end it had been resolved, before the fatal shot of July 2, to invite all the independent governments of North and South America to meet in a Peace Congress at Wash- 262 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. ington. The date to be assigned was the 15th of March, 1882, and the invitations would have been is- sued directly after the New England tour, which the President was not permitted to make. Nearly six months later, on November 22, President Garfield’s successor issued the invitations for the Peace Congress o in the same spirit and scope and with the same limita- tions and restrictions that had been originally de- signed. o SOUTH AMERICA APPROVES. As soon as the project was understood in South America it received a most cordial approval, and some of the countries, not following the leisurely routine of diplomatic correspondence, made haste to accept the invitation. There can be no doubt that within a brief period all the nations invited would have formally sig- nified their readiness to attend the Congress ; but in six weeks after the invitations had gone to the several countries, President Arthur caused them to be recalled, or at least suspended. The subject was afterward referred to Congress in a special message, in which the President ably vin- dicated his constitutional right to assemble the Peace Congress, but expressed a desire that the legislative department of the Government should give an opinion upon the expediency of the step before the Congress should be allowed to convene. Meanwhile the nations that received the invitations were in an embarrassing situation ; for after they were asked by the President to come, they found that the BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 263 matter had been reconsidered and referred to another department of the Government. This change was universally accepted as a practical though indirect abandonment of the project, for it was not from the first probable that Congress would take any action whatever upon the subject. THE PROJECT DEFEATED. The good will and welcome of the invitation would be destroyed by a long debate in the Senate and House, in which the question would necessarily become intermixed with personal and party politics, and the project would be ultimately wrecked from the same cause and by the same process that destroyed the use- fulness of the Panama Congress more than fifty years ago, when Mr. Clay was Secretary of State. The time for Congressional action would have been after the o Peace Conference had closed its labors. The conference could not agree upon anything that would be binding upon the United States, unless as- sented to as a treaty by the Senate, or enacted into a law by both branches. The assembling of the Peace Conference, as President Arthur so well demonstrated was not in derogation of any right or prerogative of the Senate or House. The money necessary for the expenses of the conference — which would not have ex- ceeded $10,000 — could not, with reason or propriety, have been refused by Congress. If it had been re- fused, patriotism andphilanthropy would have promptly supplied it. 264 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. THE NECESSITY OF FRIENDLY INTERVENTION. The Spanish American States are in special need of the help which the Peace Congress would afford them. They require external pressure to keep them from war. When at war they require external pressure to bring them to peace. Their outbreaks are not only frequent, but are sanguinary and sometimes cruel. The inhabitants of those countries are a brave people, belonging to a race that have always been brave, descended of men that have always been proud. They are of hot temper, quick to take affront,, ready to avenge a wrong, whether real or fancied. They are at the same time generous and chivalrous, and though tending for years to past estrangement and alienation from us, they would promptly respond to any advance made by the Great Republic of the North, as they have for two generations termed our Government. The moral influence upon the Spanish American people of such an international assembly as the Peace Congress, called by thejnvitation and meeting under the auspices of the United States, would have proved beneficent and far-reaching. It would have raised the standard of their civilization. It would have turned their attention to the things of peace ; and the con- tinent, whose undeveloped wealth amazed Humboldt, might have had a new life given to it, a new and splendid career opened to its inhabitants. Such friendly interventions as the proposed Peace Congress, and as the attempt to restore peace between Chili and Peru, fell within the line of both duty and BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 265 interest on the part of the United States. Nations like individuals often require the aid of a common friend to restore relations of amity. Peru and Chili are in deplorable need of a wise and powerful media- tor. Though exhausted by war, they are unable to make peace, and, unless they shall be aided by the in- tervention of a friend, political anarchy and social dis- order will come to the conquered, and evil scarcely less serious to the conqueror. Our own Government can- not take the ground that it will not offer friendly in- tervention to settle troubles between American coun- tries, unless at the same time it freely concedes to European governments the right of such intervention, and thus consents to a practical destruction of the Monroe doctrine and an unlimited increase of Euro- pean and monarchical influence on this continent. MEDIATION DEMANDED. The late special envoy to Peru and Chili, Mr. Trescot, gives it as his deliberate and published conclusion that if the instructions under which he set out upon his mission had not been revoked, peace between those angry belligerents would have been established as the result of his labors — necessarily to the great benefit of the United States. If our Government does not resume its efforts to secure peace in South America, some European government will be forced to perform that friendly office. The United States cannot play between nations the part of the dog in the manger. We must perform the duty of humane intervention ourselves, or give way 266 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. to foreign governments that are willing to accept the responsibility of the great trust and secure the enhanced influence and numberless advantages result- ing from such a philanthropic and beneficent course. ITS COMMERCIAL VALUE. A most significant and important result would have followed the assembling of the Peace Congress. A friendship and an intimacy would have been estab- lished between the States of North and South Amer- ica, which would have demanded and enforced a closer commercial connection. A movement in the near future, as the legitimate outgrowth of assured peace, would in all probability have been a great commercial cortference at the city of Mexico or Rio Janeiro, whose deliberations would be directed to a better system of trade on the two continents. To such a conference the Dominion of Canada could properly be asked to send representatives, as that government is allowed by Great Britain a very large liberty in regulating its commercial relations. In the Peace Congress, to be composed of independent governments, the Dominion could not have taken any part, and was consequently not invited. From this trade conference of the two continents the United States could hardly have failed to gain great advan- tages. At present the commercial relations of this country with the Spanish American countries, both continental and insular, are unsatisfactory and unprof- itable — indeed, those relations are absolutely oppres- sive to the financial interests of the Government and BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 267 people of the United States. In our current ex- changes it requires about $120,000,000 to pay the balances which Spanish America brings against us every year. This amount is 50 per cent, more than the average annual product of the gold and silver mines of the United States during the past five years. This vast sum does not of course go to Spanish America in coin, but it goes across the ocean in coin or its equiv- alent, to pay European countries for manufactured articles which they furnish to Spanish America — a large proportion of which should be furnished by the manufacturers of the United States. THE TARIFF AND SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE. At this point of the argument the free trader ap- pears and declares that our protective tariff destroys our power of competition with European countries, and that if we will abolish protection, we shall soon have South American trade. The answer is not suffi- cient, for to-day there are many articles which we can send to South America, and sell as cheaply as Euro- pean manufacturers can furnish them. It is idle, of course, to make this statement to the genuine apostle of free trade and the implacable enemy of protection, for the great postulate of his argument, the foundation of his creed, is that nothing can be made as cheaply in America as in Europe. Nevertheless facts are stubborn, and the hard figures of arithmetic cannot be satisfactorily answered by airy figures of speech. The truth remains that the coarser 268 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. descriptions of cottons and cotton prints, boots and shoes, ordinary household furniture, harness for draft animals, agricultural implements of all kinds, doors, sashes and blinds, locks, bolts and hinges, -silverware, plated ware, wooden ware, ordinary paper and paper- hangings, common vehicles, ordinary window-glass and glassware, rubber goods, coal oils, lard oils, kerosenes, white lead, lead pipe, and articles in which lead is a chief component, can be, and are produced as cheaply in the United States as in any other part of the world. The list of such articles might be lengthened by the addition of those classed as “ notions ; ” but enough only are given to show that this country would, with proper commercial arrangements, export much more largely than it now does to Spanish America. BRITISH MONOPOLY. In the trade relations of the world, it does not follow that mere ability to produce as cheaply as another nation insures a division of an established market, or, indeed, any participation in it. France manufactures many articles as cheaply as England — some articles at even less cost. Portugal lies nearer to France than to England, and the expense of transporting the French fabric to the Portuguese market is therefore less than the transportation of English fabric. And yet Great Britain has almost a monopoly in the trade of Portugal. The same condition applies, though in a less degree, in the trade of Turkey, Syria and Egypt, which England holds to a much greater BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 269 extent than any of the other European nations that are able to produce the same fabric as cheaply. If it be said in answer, that England has special trade-relations by treaty with Portugal and special obligations binding the other countries, the ready answer is, that she has no more favorable position with regard to those countries than can be readily and easily acquired by the United States with respect to all the countries of America. That end will be reached whenever the United States desires it, and wills it, and is ready to take the steps necessary to secure it. THE OMINOUS ADVERSE BALANCE. At present the trade with Spanish America runs so strongly in channels adverse to us, that, besides our inability to furnish manufactured articles, we do not get the profit on our own raw products that are shipped there. Our petroleum reaches most of the Spanish-American ports after twice crossing the At- lantic, paying often a better profit to the European middle man, who handles it, than it does to the pro- ducer of the oil in the northwestern counties of Penn- sylvania. Flour and pork from the West reach Cuba by way of Spain, and though we buy and consume ninety per cent, of the total products of Cuba, almost that proportion of her purchases are made in Europe — made, of course, with money furnished directly from our pockets. As our exports to Spanish America grow less, as European imports constantly grow large, the balance 270 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. against us will show an annual increase, and will con- tinue to exhaust our supply of the precious metals. We are increasing our imports from South America, and the millions we annually pay for coffee, wool, hides, guano, cinchona, caoutchouc, cabinet woods, dye woods and other articles, go for the ultimate benefit of Euro- pean manufacturers who take the gold from us and send their fabrics to Spanish America. If we could send our fabrics, our gold would stay at home and our general prosperity would be sensibly increased. But so long as we repel Spanish America, so long as we leave her to cultivate intimate relations with Europe, alone, so long our trade relations will remain unsatisfactory and even embarrassing. Those countries sell to us very heavy. They buy from us lightly. OUR EXPORTS. And the amount they bring us in debt each year is larger than the heaviest aggregate balance of trade we ever have against us in the worst of times. The average balance against us in the whole world in the five most adverse years we ever experienced, was about one hundred millions of dollars. This plainly shows that in our European exchanges there is always a balance in our favor and that our chief deficiency arises from our mal-adjusted commercial relations with Spanish America. It follows that if our Spanish America trade were placed on a better and more equitable foundation, it Si Him ( 271 ) DEPARTMENT OF STATE— SECRETARY BLAINE’S APARTMENTS. 272 LIFE OF IION. JAMES G. BLAINE. would be almost impossible even in years most unfa- vorable to' us, to bring us in debt to the world. With such heavy purchases as we are compelled to make from Spanish America, it could hardly be ex- pected that we should be able to adjust the entire account by exports. But the balance against us of one hundred and twenty millions in gold coin is far too large, and in time of stringency is a standing menace of final disaster. It should not be forgotten that every million dollars of products or fabrics that we sell in Spanish America is a million dollars in gold saved to our own country. The immediate profit is to the producer and exporter, but the entire country realizes a gain in the ease and affluence of the money market which is insured by keeping our gold at home The question involved is so large, the object to be ' achieved is so great, that no effort on the part of the Government to accomplish it could be too earnest or too long continued. o COMPACT OF NATIONS. It is only claimed for the Peace Congress, designed under the administration of Garfield, that it was an important and impressive step on the part of the United States toward closer relationship with our con- tinental neighbors. The present tendency in those countries is toward Europe, and it is a lamentable fact that their people are not so near to us in feeling as they were sixty years ago when they threw off the yoke of Spanish tyranny. We were then a weak republic of ten millions, but BLAINE AS SECRETARY OF STATE. 273 we did not hesitate to recognize the independence of the new governments, even at the risk of war with Spain. Our foreign policy at that time was specially designed to extend our influence in the Western Hemisphere, and the statesmen of that era — the era of DeWitt Clinton and the younger Adams, of Clay and of Crawford, of Webster and Calhoun, of Van Buren and Benton, of Jackson and of Edward Living- ston — were always courageous in the inspiring meas- ures which they advocated for the expansion of our commercial dominion. THE PERIL TO BE AVOIDED BY THE UNION. Three-score years have passed. The power of the Republic in many directions has grown beyond all anticipation, but we have relatively lost ground in some great fields of enterprise. We have added thousands of miles to our ocean front, but our com- merce has fallen off, and from ardent friendship with Spanish America we have drifted into indifference if not into coldness. It is but one step further to reach a condition of positive unfriendliness, which may end in what would be equivalent to a commercial alliance against us. Already one of the most dangerous of movements — that of a European guarantee and guar- dianship of the Interoceanic Canal — is suggested and urged upon the Great Foreign Powers by representa- tives of a South American country. If these tenden- cies are to be averted, if Spanish-American friendship is to be regained, if the commercial empire that legiti- mately belongs to us is to be ours, we must not be 18 274 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. idle and witness its transfer to others. If we would reconquer it, a great first step is to be taken. It is the first step that costs. It is also the first step that counts. Can there be suggested a wiser step than the Peace Congress of the two Americas, that was devised under Garfield, and had the weight of his great name ? A SPECTACLE MORALLY SUBLIME. In no event could harm have resulted in the assem- bling of the Peace Congress; failure was next to im- possible. Success might be regarded as certain. The subject to be discussed was peace, and how it can be permanently preserved in North and South America. The labors of the Congress would have probably ended in a well-digested system of arbitration, under which all troubles between American States could be quickly, effectually and satisfactorily adjusted. Such a consummation would have been worth a great struggle and a great sacrifice. It could have been reached without any struggle and would have in- volved no sacrifice. It was within our grasp. It was ours for the asking. It would have been a signal victory of philanthropy over the' selfishness of human ambition ; a complete triumph of Christian principles as applied to the af- fairs of Nations. It would have reflected enduring honor on our new country, and would have imparted a new spirit and a new brotherhood to all America. Nor would its influence beyond the sea have been small. The example of seventeen independent Na- ( 275 ) SECRETARY BLAINE AT THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 276 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. tions solemnly agreeing to abolish the arbitrament of the sword, and to settle every dispute by peaceful methods of abjudication, would have exerted an in- fluence to the utmost confines of civilization, and upon generations of men yet to come. James G. Blaine. But whatever might have been the ultimate result of his foreign policy, and whatever he might have ac- complished to render the administration to which he was attached popular and prosperous, was prevented by the assassination of the President, just four months from the day of his inauguration. His policy had been formulated and its details duly specified, and no doubt the President and his first officer were antici- pating additional prosperity for the people. THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. On the bright Saturday morning of July 2d, the President prepared to leave the National Capital for New York, and thence to New England to join in the reunion of his classmates at the Commencement of Williams College. Secretary Blaine accompanied him to the station and observed the almost boyish delight with which he anticipated this meeting with his fellow- students of former days. Passing into the station through the ladies’ waiting-room, they were about to pass to the train, when that fiend in human form, Guiteau, fired the fatal shot which finally after weeks and months of suffering, and during which not only our nation but the world, watched in spirit, by his bed- ( 277 ) BLAINE ASSISTING GARFIELD’S NURSES. 278 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. side, ended in his death. The people of the country will not forget the noble devotion shown by Mr. Blaine to his dying superior officer — how he watched at his bedside, and amidst his and his Nation’s sorrows dis- charged all the responsible duties of his position. Garfield’s death. On September 6 the President was removed from Washington to Elberon, whither he was followed the same day by Mr. Blaine and the rest of the Cabinet. The apparent improvement in the President’s condition warranted the belief that he would continue to gain, and Mr. Blaine went for a short rest to his home in Augusta. He was on his way back to Elberon on the nineteenth day of September when the fatal mo- ment came and reached there the next morning. It is the universal testimony of press and people that, during the weary weeks which intervened between the Pjesident’s injury and death, Mr. Blaine’s every action and constant demeanor were absolutely fault- less. CHAPTER XIII. Eulogy of James A. Garfield. On the twenty-seventh day of February, 1882, an eulogy was delivered before both Houses of Congress, by the Hon. Janies G. Blaine, Secretary of State during the administration of Mr. Garfield, on the murdered President. The scene at the Capitol was a very impressive one, and will linger long in the memory of those who witnessed it. The bright morn- ing sunshine brought forth thousands, who flocked Capitolward long before the hour announced for the opening of the doors. There were a number of Com gressmen early on the ground, actively engaged in plao ing their ladies and other friends. At half-past 10 the galleries were literally packed, and those who came afterwards had to be content with occasional unsatis' factory glimpses through the open doors. It appeared that the seating capacity had been greatly over-esti- mated. Notwithstanding the reiterated announcements of the press that none without tickets would be ad- mitted to the Capitol buildings, there were hundreds there merely to be turned away. The scene within was inspiriting, yet of a sombre tinge. Four-fifths of the immense audience were ladies and these were mostly dressed in black or sober colors. Only here and there a flower on a bonnet, a single ribbon or bow at a feminine throat made an obtrusive show of color. This universal black made the thou- sands of white faces stand out in bold relief with an effect which was startling. The array of fur-lined circulars and other wraps that were hung over the cornice and dangled in front, contrary to the rules of 279 280 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. the House, made a ludicrous picture. In the Diplo. matic gallery, clad in purple and black velvets and other rich but sober fabrios, was a distinguished assem- blage of ladies. The Countess Lewenhaupt, wife of the Swedish Minister; Mrs. and Miss Preston, wife and daughter of the Haytian Minister; Viscountess Das Nogueiros, wife of the Minister from Portugal; Senora Don Francisco Barca, Spain; Senor Dom Simon Camacho, Venezuela, and others, were specially notable. In the President’s gallery sat Mrs. Blaine, the wife of the distinguished orator of the day and the cynosure of all eyes. She had scarcely got seated when a page entered and presented her with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Mrs. Blaine was attired in rich black velvet and circular lined with leopard skin, which was allowed to fall over the gallery rail. She was accompanied by Mrs. Matthews and Miss Dodge and Mrs. Justice Field. Mrs. David Dudley Field, Mrs. Bradley, Mrs. Brewster, Mrs. Frelinghuysen and Mrs. G. W. Curtis were near her. While these galleries were being filled the Marine Band, stationed in the lobby back of the Speaker’s desk, poured forth the sweetest airs, the partial con- cealment giving the music the charm of coming from some vast music box. On the floor about half the members of the House had gathered by eleven o’clock. Most of them ap- peared to be contemplating the great painting of Gar- field that hung above the Speaker’s chair, while the rest ogled the ladies in the galleries and joined in con- versation. A loud buzz of subdued voices from two or three thousand persons filled the chamber. Three figures occupied conspicuous places on the front seats and these were the venerable figure of Washington’s great man, W. W. Corcoran, the lean figure of Cyrus W. Field and the shrivelled-up figure of the historian, George Bancroft. They came in early and sat there 281 282 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. alone. Immediately back of them, on both sides the main aisle, the desks had been removed and the vacant chairs awaited the arrival of the Senators and other dignitaries. The General of the Army came in first by the main door and he and stubby Phil Sheridan made a funny pair to come down the aisle together. They were followed by the princely General Hancock, “The Superb,” and Generals Howard and Meigs. All were in full uniform. They attracted a storm of eyes and were made the immediate focus of a thousand opera-glasses. Not very long, however:, for that body which always claims priority in attractiveness very soon entered from the Speaker’s lobby. The full diplomatic corps, in all its royal splendor of gold lace and its courtly decorations, filed in and took the second row of seats in the semicircle. The foreign gentlemen always form a picturesque group, but never so much as when clustered together among thousands of people in solemn conventional black. The red fez and gold em- broidery of the Turks were in curious contrast with the loose, plain purple robes of the Chinese. The representatives of the Japanese Government appeared in American full dress, swallow-tails, white ties and gloves, like the ordinary American gentleman and ordinary American waiter. The members of the Diplo- matic Corps wore the regulation costumes of their respective countries and were marshaled by Mr. Allen, the Hawaiian Minister, who is now known as the dean since the departure of Sir Edward Thornton. While everybody was picking out the prettiest uniform in came Doctor Bliss, walking down the main aisle alone, his presence recalling the painful cause of this august gathering. The doctor seemed conscious of the general curiosity and hastily passed down and slipped into a side seat just back of the Diplomatic Corps. Shortly afterward Judge Cox, Judge Hagner, Judge Wiley and blaine’s eulogy of Garfield. 2&3 Marshal Henry came in and sat near him. Before in- terest had ceased in these reminders of Garfield and his assassin Admiral Porter and Rear Admirals Rogers and Worden were escorted to corresponding seats on the opposite side, sitting immediately behind the great generals. They were also resplendent in the showy uniform of the American navy that is to be. When the House was called to order at noon the seats set aside for the Senate, Cabinet and others were still vacant, though every other seat was occupied, and the space outside the rail was crowded with ex-Con- gressmen and the lesser dignitaries. The House Clerk, however, had scarcely read the resolutions which ap- pointed the occasion before the Senate was announced. President Davis waddled upon the stand and reached out for the gavel in his business-like way, the House remaining standing until the Senators were seated. The Supreme Court, in full black robes, quickly fol- lowed the Senate, and then the President and his Cabinet were announced. The President came in leaning on the arm of Senator Sherman, who was, with McKinley, of the House, acting for the joint committee. The announcement of the President of the United States was greeted by general applause. He was seated at the corner of the aisle on the first row of seats to the Speaker’s right and next to Cyrus W. Field. Arthur didn’t seem to know just what to do with his hat for half a second. Field offered to take it, but the President finally found relief in placing it under his seat. Frelinghuysen sat opposite the President across the aisle, next him Secretary Folger, who sat bolt upright in his straight-backed chair, and next sat Secretary Robert Lincoln, who rested on the small of his back in a very ungraceful but comfortable way, while beyond Lincoln were Attorney-General Brewster, Hunt, Postmaster-General Howe and Secre- 284 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. tary Kirkwood. The President wore a Prince Albert coat, with a low-cut rolling collar, a high vest, showing only his black scarf, surmounted by a black pin. His gloves were black, undressed kid and his shoes were topped by black cloth gaiters. Attorney-General Brewster wore a bright blue scarf and carried a crush hat. Secretary Kirkwood also carried a crush hat, known in Iowa as t a slouch, the only slouch visible in the Cabinet. Soon after the President was seated and last of all came James G. Blaine, the orator of the day. The announcement of his name was followed by a storm of applause which, by the side of that which greeted the President, seemed like a whirlwind of enthusiasm. Blaine came down the aisle escorted on either side by Senator Sherman and Representative McKinley. He was followed by William E. Chandler, Emmons Blaine and the ex-Premier’s private secretary, who bore in his right hand a huge white envelope containing the great address. Mr. Blaine advanced to the rostrum, where he was warmly greeted by Vice-President Davis, and then took his seat at the middle of the Clerk's desk. On the left of the orator sat Representative McKinley and Clerk McPherson, representing the authority and dignity of the House of Representatives. On the right sat Senator Sherman and Secretary Shober, represent- ing the authority and dignity of the Senate. On the desk in front of the orator was a glass of water, on his left a silver pitcher and a brace of gold-lined goblets The address was preceded by a brief prayer from Chaplain Power, nearly everybody on the floor rising to their feet and this example being followed to some extent in the galleries. When Mr. Blaine began, the vast assemblage was almost deathly quiet, for the speaker’s voice was low and not very clear. As he got warmed up, however, in reciting the military and civic blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 285 honors of his late beloved chief his voice came out, round and full, with its old power. The attention of the audience was captured at the start. Nobody got up, nobody wearied, nobody did aught but listen to catch the orator’s every word. When Mr. Blaine reached that portion of his speech in which he alluded to the causes which led to the shooting of Garfield there was a visible straining to catch the full import of his words. It was a very delicate subject and the orator, with rare tact and judgment, trod daintily on the ground. It was notice- able that at this point the President leaned slightly forward, shifted his feet about and fumbled his watch- chain and his glasses in an abstracted way, fully bound up in his intentness on the language of the orator. The intensity of feeling in the entire audience was un- consciously illustrated in the long breath of relief that swept over the human sea when Mr. Blaine turned from the subject to treat of the religious character of the illustrious deceased. Every one straightened up and looked at his neighbor, as much as to say: “Well, I’m glad that is over.” At the close, instead of the brilliant rhetoric of the plumed knight, as nearly everybody had anticipated, there was the simplest and most touching appeal for human sympathy for the poor sufferer by the sea. The speaker’s eyes were suffused with tears as he recited the simple story. In fact he almost broke down. The sympathetic eyes of President Arthur filled, his mouth twitched, and he thought it not un- manly to dash away a tear with a sweep of his hand. There were a good many other eyes wet in that vast audience and many women in the galleries sobbed outright. When the final sentence was spoken and the orator sat down, round after round of applause burst forth. 286 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. THE EULOGY IN FULL. Ex-Secretary Blaine’s Eloquent and Dignified Tribute to the Memory of his • Dead Chief. Mr. President: For the second time in this genera- tion the great departments of the Government of the United States are assembled in the Hall of Represent- atives to do honor to the memory of a murdered President. Lincoln fell at the close of a mighty strug- gle in which the passions of men had been deeply stirred. The tragical termination of his great life added but another to the lengthened succession of horrors which had marked so many lintels with the blood of the first born. Garfield was slain in a day of peace, when brother had been reconciled to brother and when anger and hate had been banished from the land. “ Whoever shall hereafter draw the portrait of murder, if he will show it as it has been exhibited where such example was last to have been looked for, let him not give it the grim visage of Moloch, the brow knitted by revenge, the face black with settled hate. Let him draw, rather, a decorous, smooth-faced, bloodless demon; not so much an example of human nature in its depravity and in its paroxysms of crime as an infernal being, a fiend in the ordinary display and development of his character.” From the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth till the uprising against Charles First about twenty thou- sand emigrants came from old England to New Eng- land. As they came in pursuit of intellectual freedom and ecclesiastical independence rather than for worldly honor and profit, the emigration naturally ceased when the contest for religious liberty began in earnest at home. The man who struck his most effective blow for freedom of conscience by sailing for the Colonies in 1620 would have been accounted a deserter to leave i blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 287 after 1640. The opportunity had then come on the soil of England for that great contest which established the authority of Parliament, gave religious freedom to the people, sent Charles to the block and committed to the hands of Oliver Cromwell the supreme executive authority of England. The English emigration was never renewed, and from these twenty thousand men, with a small emigration from Scotland and from France, are descended the vast numbers who have New England blood in their veins. In 1685 the revocation of the edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. scattered to other countries four hundred thousand Protestants, who were among the most in- telligent and enterprising of French subjects — mer- chants of capital, skilled manufacturers and handi- craftsmen, superior at the time to all others in Europe. A considerable number of these Huguenot French came to America; a few landed in New Eng- land and became honorably prominent in its history. Their names have in large part become anglicized or have disappeared, but their blood is traceable in many of the most reputable families, and their fame is perpetuated in honorable memorials and useful institutions. From these two sources, the English Puritan and the French Huguenot, came the late President — his father, Abram Garfield, being descended from the one, and his mother, Eliza Ballou, from the other. It was good stock on both sides — none better, none braver, none truer. There was in it an inheritance of courage, of manliness, of imperishable love of liberty, of undying adherence to principle. Garfield was proud of his blood ; and, with as much satisfaction as if he were a British nobleman reading his stately ancestral record in Burke’s Peerage, he spoke of him- self as ninth in descent from those who would not 288 elaine’s eulogy op garfield. endure the oppression of the Stuarts and seventh in descent from the brave French Protestants who refused to submit to tyranny even from the Grand Monarque. General Garfield delighted to dwell on these traits, and during his only visit to England he busied him- self in discovering every trace of his forefathers in parish registries and on ancient army rolls. Sitting with a friend in the gallery of the House of Commons one night after a long day’s labor in this field of research, he said, with evident elation, that in every war in which for three centuries patriots of English blood had struck sturdy blows for constitutional government and human liberty his family had been represented. They were at Marston Moor, at Naseby and at Preston ; they were at Bunker Hill, at Saratoga and at Monmouth, and in his own person had battled for the same great cause in the war which preserved the Union of the States. Losing his father before he was two years old, the early life of Garfield was one of privation, but its poverty has been made indelicately and unjustly prom- inent. Thousands of readers have imagined him as the ragged, starving child whose reality too often greets the eye in the squalid sections of our large cities. General Garfield’s infancy and youth had none of their destitution, none of their pitiful features appeal- ing to the tender heart and to the open hand of charity. He was a poor boy in the same sense in which Henry Clay was a poor boy ; in which Andrew J[ackson was a poor boy ; in which Daniel Webster was a poor boy ; in the sense in which a large majority of the eminent men of America in all generations have been poor boys. Before a great multitude of men, in a public speech, Mr. Webster bore this testimony : “ It did not happen to me to be born in a log cabin, but my elder brothers and sisters were born in a log 19 289 HON. JAMES G. BLAINE DELIVERING THE GARFIELD MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 990 blaine’s eulogy of gakfield. cabin raised amid the snow drifts of New Hampshire, at a period so early that when the smoke rose first from its rude chimney and curled over the frozen hills there was no similar evidence of a white man’s habitation between it and the settlements on the rivers of Canada. Its remains still exist. I make to it an annual visit. I carry my children to it to teach them the hardships endured by the generations which have gone before them. I love to dwell on the tender recollections, the kindred ties, the early affections and the touching narratives and incidents which mingle with all I know of this primitive family abode.” With the requisite change of scene the same words would aptly portray the early days of Garfield. The poverty of the frontier, where all are engaged in a common struggle and where a common sympathy and hearty co-operation lighten the burdens of each, is a very different poverty — different in kind, different in influence and effect — from that conscious and humili- ating indigence which is every day forced to contrast itself with neighboring wealth, on which it feels a sense of grinding dependence. The poverty of the frontier is indeed no poverty. It is but the beginning of wealth, and has the boundless possibilities of the future always opening before it. No man ever grew up in the agricultural regions of the West, where a house-raising, or even a corn-husking, is a matter of common interest and helpfulness, with any other feel- ing than that of broad-minded, generous independence. This honorable independence marked the youth of Garfield as it marks the youth of millions of the best blood and brain now training for the future citizenship and future government of the Republic. Garfield was born heir to land, to the title of freeholder which has been the patent and passport of self-respect with the Anglo-Saxon race ever since Hengist and Horsa landed blaine’s eulogy of gakfield. 291 on the shores of England. His adventure on the canal — an alternative between that and the deck of a Lake Erie schooner — was a farmer boy’s device for earning money, just as the New England lad begins a possibly great career by sailing befose the mast on a coasting vessel or on a merchantman bound to the farther India or to the China Seas. No manly man feels anything of shame in looking back to early struggles with adverse circumstances, and no man feels a worthier pride than when he has conquered the obstacles to his progress. But no one of noble mould desires to be looked upon as having occupied a menial position, as having been repressed by a feeling of inferiority, or as having suffered the evils of poverty until relief was found at the hand of charity. General Garfield’s youth presented no hard- ships which family love and family energy did not overcome, subjected him to no privations which he did not cheerfully accept, and left no memories save those which were recalled with delight and transmitted with profit and with pride. Garfield's early opportunities for securing aA. educa- tion were extremely limited, and yet were sufficient to develop in him an intense desire to learn. He could read at three years of age, and each winter he had the advantage of the district school. He read all the books to be found within the circle of his acquaintance: some of them he got by heart. While yet in child- hood he was a constant student of the Bible and be- came familiar with its literature. The dignity and earnestness of his speech in his maturer life gave evi- dence of this early training. At eighteen years of age he was able to teach school, and thenceforward his ambition was to obtain a college education. To this end he bent all his efforts, working in the harvest field, at the carpenter’s bonch, and, in the winter season. 292 BLAINES EULO#T ®F GARPMLE), teaching the common schools of the neighborhood. While thus laboriously occupied he found time to ptosecute his studies, and was so successful that at twenty-two years of age he was able to enter the junior class at Williams College, then under the presidency of the venerable and honored Mark Hopkins, who, in the fullness of his powers, survives the eminent pupil to whom he was of inestimable service. '’The history of Garfield’s life to this period presents no novel features. He had undoubtedly shown perse- verance, self-reliance, self-sacrifice and ambition — qualities which, be it said for the honor of our country, are everywhere to be found among the young men of America. But from his graduation at Williams onward to the hour of his tragical death Garfield’s career was eminent and exceptional. Slowly working through his educational period, receiving his diploma when twenty-four years of age, he seemed at one bound to spring into conspicuous and brilliant success. Within six years he was successively president of a college, State Senator of Ohio, Major General in the Army of the United States and Representative-elect to the National Congress. A combination of honors so varied, so elevated, within a period so brief and to . a man so young, is without precedent or parallel in the history of the country. Garfield’s army life was begun with no other military knowledge than such as he had hastily gained from books in the few months preceding his march to the field. Stepping from civil life to the head of a regi- ment, the first order he received when ready to cross the Ohio was to assume command of a brigade and to operate as an independent force in Eastern Kentucky. His immediate duty was to check the advance of Humphrey Marshall, who was marching down the Big Sandy with the intention of occupying in connection BLAINE'S EULOGY OF GARFIELD. 293 with other Confederate forces the entire territory of Kentucky and of precipitating the State into secession. This was at the close of the year 1861. Seldom, if ever, has a young college professor been thrown into a more embarrassing and discouraging position. He knew just enough of military science, as he expressed it himself, to measure the extent of his ignorance, and with a handful of men he was marching in rough win- ter weather into a strange country among a hostile population to confront a largely superior force under the command of a distinguished graduate of West Point, who had seen active and important service in two preceding wars. The result of the campaign is matter of history. The skill, the endurance, the extraordinary energy shown by Garfield, the courage he imparted to his men, raw and untried as himself, the measures he adopted to increase his force and to create in the enemy’s mind exaggerated estimates of his numbers, bore perfect fruit in the routing of Marshall, the capture of his camp, the dispersion of his force and the eman- cipation of an important territory from the control of the rebellion. Coming at the close of a long series of disasters to the Union arms, Garfield’s victory had an unusual and extraneous importance and in the popular judgment elevated the young commander to the rank of a military hero. With less than two thousand men in his entire command, with a mobilized force of only eleven hundred, without cannon, he had met an army of five thousand and defeated them — driving Marshall’s forces successively from two strongholds of their own selection, fortified with abundant artillery. Major General Buell, commanding the Department of the Ohio, an experienced and able soldier of the regular army, published an order of thanks and congratulation on the brilliant result of the Big Sandy campaign, 294 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. which would have turned the head of a less cool and sensible man than Garfield. Buell declared that his services had called into action the highest qualities of a soldier, and President Lincoln supplemented these words of praise by the more substantial reward of a brigadier general’s commission, to bear date from the day of his decisive victory over Marshall. The subsequent military career of Garfield fully sus- tained its brilliant beginning. With his new commis- sion he was assigned to the command of a brigade in the Army of the Ohio, and took part in the second and decisive day’s fight in the great battle of Shiloh. The remainder of the year 1862 was not especially eventful to Garfield, as it was not to the armies with which he was serving. His practical sense was called into exer- cise in completing the task, assigned him by General Buell, of reconstructing bridges and re-establishing lines of railway communication for the army. His occupation in this useful but not brilliant field was varied by service on courts-martial of importance, in which department of duty he won a valuable reputa- tion, attracting the notice and securing the approval of the able and eminent Judge Advocate General of the Army. That of itself was warrant to honorable fame; for among the great men who in those trying days gave themselves, with entire devotion, to the ser- vice of their country, one who brought to that service the ripest learning, the most fervid eloquence, the most varied attainments, who labored with modesty and shunned applause, who in the day of triumph sat re- served and silent and grateful — as Francis Deak in the hour of Hungary’s deliverance — was Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, who in his honorable retirement enjoys the respect and veneration of all who love the Union of the States. Early in 1863 Garfield was assigned to the highly Blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 295 important and responsible post of chief of staff to General Rosecrans, then at the head of the Army of the Cumberland. Perhaps in a great military cam- paign no subordinate officer requires sounder judgment and quicker knowledge of men than the chief of staff to the commanding general. An indiscreet man in such a position can sow more discord, breed more jealousy and disseminate more strife than any other officer in the entire organization. When General Gar- field assumed, his new duties he found various troubles already well developed and seriously affecting the value and efficiency of the Army of the Cumberland. The energy, the impartiality and the tact with which he sought to allay these dissensions and to discharge the duties of his new and trying position will always re- main one of the most striking proofs of his great ver- satility. His military duties closed on the memorable field of Chickamauga, a field which, however disastrous to the Union arms, gave to him the occasion of winning imperishable laurels. The very rare distinction was accorded him of a great promotion for his bravery on a field that was lost. President Lincoln appointed him a major-general in the army of the United States for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Chicka- mauga. The Army of the Cumberland was reorganized under the command of General Thomas, who promptly of- fered Garfield one of its divisions. He was extremely desirous to accept the position, but was embarrassed by the fact that he had a year before been elected to Con- gress and the time when he must take his seat was drawing near. He preferred to remain in the military service and had within his own breast the largest con- fidence of success in the wider field which his new rank opened to him. Balancing the arguments on tho one side and the other, anxious to determine what was 296 Blaine’s eulogy of garfield. for the best, desirous above all things to do his patriotic duty, he was decisively influenced by the advice of President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, both of whom assured him that he could at that time be of especial value in the House of Representatives. He resigned his commission of major-general on the 5th day of December, 1863, and took his seat in the House of Representatives on the 7th. He had served two years and four months in the army and had just completed his thirty-second year. The Thirty-eighth Congress is pre-eminently entitled in history to the designation of the War Congress. It was elected while the war was flagrant and every member was chosen upon the issues involved in the continuance of the struggle. The Thirty-seventh Con- gress had, indeed, legislated to a large extent on war measures, but it was chosen before any one believed that secession of the States would be actually at- tempted. The magnitude of the work which fell upon its successor was unprecedented, both in respect to the vast sums of money raised for the support of the army and navy, and of the new and extraordinary powers of legislation which it was forced to exercise. Only twenty-four States were represented, and one hundred and eighty-two members were upon its roll. Among these were many distinguished party leaders on both sides, veterans in the public service, with established reputations for ability and with that skill which comes only from parliamentary experience. Into this as- semblage of men Garfield entered without special prep, aration, and it might almost be said unexpectedly. The question of taking command of a division of troops un- der General Thomas or taking his seat in Congress was kept open till the last moment — so late, indeed, that the resignation of his military commission and his appear- ance in the House were almost contemporaneous. He blaine’s eulogy of gaefield. 297 wore the uniform of a major-general of the United States Army on Saturday, and on Monday, in civilian’s dress, he answered to the roll-call as a Representative in Congress from the State of Ohio. He was especially fortunate in the constituency which elected him. Descended almost entirely from New England stock, the men of the Ashtabula district were intensely radical on all questions relating to human rights. Well educated, thrifty, thoroughly intelligent in affairs, acutely discerning of character, not quick to bestow confidence and slow to withdraw it, they were at once the most helpful and most exacting of sup- porters. Their tenacious trust in men in whom they have once confided is illustrated by the unparalleled fact that Elisha Whittlesey, Joshua R. Giddings and James A. Garfield represented the district for fifty-four years. There is no test of a man’s ability in any depart- ment of public life more severe than service in the House of Representatives ; there is no place where so little deference is paid to reputation previously ac- quired, or to eminence won outside ; no place where so little consideration is shown to the feelings or the fail- ures of beginners. What a man gains in the House he gains by sheer force of his own character, and if he loses and falls back, he must expect no mercy and will receive no sympathy. It is a field in which the sur- vival of the strongest is the recognized rule, and where no pretence can deceive and no glamour can mislead. The real man is discovered, his worth is impartially weighed, his rank is irreversibly decreed. With possibly a single exception, Garfield was the youngest member in the House when he entered and was but seven years from his college graduation. But he had not been in his seat sixty days before his abil- ity was recognized and his place conceded. He stepped 298 BLAINE’S EULOGY OF GARFIELD., to the front with the confidence of one who belonged there. The House was crowded with strong men of both parties ; nineteen of them have since been trans- ferred to the Senate and many of them have served with distinction in the Gubernatorial chairs of their re- spective States and on foreign missions of great conse- quence ; but among them all none grew so rapidly, none so firmly, as Garfield. As is said by Trevelyan of his parliamentary hero, Garfield succeeded “ because all the world in concert could not have kept him in tin. background, and because when once in the front he played his part with a prompt intrepidity and a com- manding ease that were but the outward symptoms of the immense reserves of energy on which it was in his power to draw.” Indeed, the apparently reserved force which Garfield possessed was one of his great charac- teristics. He never did so well but that it seemed he could easily have done better. He never expended so much strength but that he seemed to be* holding addi- tional power at call. This is one of the happiest and rarest distinctions of an effective debater, and often counts for as much in persuading an assembly as the eloquent and elaborate argument. The great measure of Garfield’s fame was filled by his service in the House of Representatives. His mil- itary life, illustrated by honorable performance and rich in promise, was, as he himself felt, prematurely terminated and necessarily incomplete. Speculation as to what he might have done in a field where the great prizes are so few cannot be profitable. It is sufficient to say that as a soldier he did his duty bravely ; he did it intelligently ; he won an enviable fame, and he re- tired from the service without blot or breath against him. As a lawyer, though admirably equipped for the profession, he can scarcely be said to have entered on its practice The few efforts he made at the bar BLAINES EULOGY OF GARFIELD. 299 were distinguished by the same high order of talent which he exhibited on every field where he was put to the test, and if a man may be accepted as a competent judge of his own capacities and adaptations, the law was the profession to which Garfield should have de- voted himself. But fate ordained otherwise, and his reputation in history will rest largely upon his service in the House of Representatives. That service 'was exceptionally long. He was nine times consecutively chosen to the House, an honor enjoyed by not more than six other Representatives of the more than five thousand who have been elected from the organization of the government to this hour. As a parliamentary orator, as a debater on an issue squarely joined, where the position had been chosen and the ground laid out, Garfield must be assigned a very high rank. . More, perhaps, than any man with whom he was associated in public life, he gave careful and systematic study to public questions, and he came to every discussion in which he took part with elabor- ate and complete preparation. He -was a steady and indefatigable worker. Those who imagine that talent or genius can supply the place or achieve the results of labor will find no encouragement in Garfield’s life. In preliminary work he was apt, rapid and skilful. He possessed in a high degree the power of readily absorb- ing ideas and facts, and, like Dr. Johnson, had the art of getting from a book all that was of value in it by a reading apparently so quick and cursory that it seemed like a mere glance at the table of contents. He was a pre- eminently fair and candid man in debate, took no petty advantage, stooped to no unworthy methods, avoided personal allusions, rarely appealed to prejudice, did not seek to inflame passion. He had a quicker eye for the strong point of his adversary than for his weak point, and on his own side he so marshaled his weighty argu- 300 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. merits as to make his hearers forget any possible lack in the complete strength of his position. He had a habit of stating his opponent’s side with such amplitude of fairness and such liberality of concession that his followers often complained that he was giving his case away. But never in his prolonged participation in the proceedings of the House did he give his case away or fail in the judgment of competent and impartial listen- ers to gain the mastery. These characteristics, which marked Garfield as a great debater, did not, however, make him a great par- liamentary leader. A parliamentary leader, as that term is understood wherever free representative gov- ernment exists, is necessarily and very strictly the or- gan of his party. An ardent American defined the instinctive warmth of patriotism when he offered the toast : “ Our country, always right, but right or wrong, our country.” The parliamentary leader who has a body of followers that will do and dare and die for the cause is one who believes his party always right, but right or wrong, is for his party. No more important or exacting duty devolves upon him than the selection of the field and the time for contest. He must know not merely how to strike, but where to strike and when to strike. He often skilfully avoids the strength of his opponent’s position, and scatters confusion in his ranks by attacking an exposed point when really the right- eousness of the cause and the strength of logical in- trenchment are against him. He conquers often both against the right and the heavy battalions ; as when young Charles Fox, in the days of his toryism, carried the House of Commons against justice, against its im- memorial rights, against his own convictions, if indeed at that period Fox had convictions, and, in the interest of a corrupt administration, in obedience to a tyrannical sovereign, drove . Wilkes from the seat to which the Blaine’s eulogy op Garfield* 301 electors of Middlesex had chosen him, and installed Luttrell in defiance, not merely of law, but of public decency. For an achievement of that kind Garfield was disqualified — disqualified by the texture of his mind, by the honesty of his heart, by his conscience, and by every instinct and aspiration of his nature. The three most distinguished parliamentary leaders hitherto developed in this country are Mr. Clay, Mr. Dousdas and Mr. Thaddeus Stevens. Each was a man O of consummate ability, of great earnestness, of intense personality, differing widely each from the others, and yet with a single trait in common — the power to com- mand. ' In the give and take of daily discussion; in the art of controlling and consolidating reluctant and refractory followers; in the skill to overcome all forms of opposition and to meet with competency and courage the varying phases of unlooked-for assault or unsus- pected defection, it would be difficult to rank with these a fourth name in all our Congressional history. But of these Mr. Clay was the greatest. It would, perhaps, be impossible to find in the parliamentary annals of the world a parallel to Mr. Cla}- in 1841, when at sixty- four years of age he took the control of the Whig party from the President who had received their suffrages, against the power of Webster in the Cabinet, against the eloquence of Choate in the Senate, against the herculean efforts of Caleb Cushing and Henry A. Wise in the House. In unshared leadership, in the pride and plenitude of power, he hurled against John Tyler with deepest scorn the mass of that conquering column which had swept over the land in 1840 and drove his administration to seek shelter behind the lines of his political foes. Mr. Douglas achieved a victory scarcely less wonderful when, in 1854, against the secret desires of a strong administration, against the wise counsel of the older chiefs, against the conservative instincts and 302 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. even the moral sense of the country, he forced a reluc- tant Congress into a repeal of the Missouri compromise. Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, in Kis contests from 1865 to 1868, actually advanced his parliamentary leadership until Congress tied the hands of the President and governed the country by its own will, leaving only perfunctory duties to be discharged b}^ the Executive. With two hundred millions of patronage in his hands at the opening of the contest, aided by the active force of Seward in the Cabinet and the moral power of Chase on the bench, Andrew Johnson could not com- mand the support of one-third in either house against the Parliamentary uprising of which Thaddeus Stevens was the animating spirit and the unquestioned leader. From these three great men Garfield differed radi- cally, differed in the quality of his mind, in tempera- ment, in the form and phase of ambition. He could not do what they did, but he could do what they could not, and in the breadth of his Congressional work he left that which will longer exert a potential influence among men, and which, measured by the severe test of posthumous criticism, will secure a more enduring and more enviable fame. Those unfamiliar with Garfield’s industry and igno- rant of the details of his work may in some degree measure them by the annals of Congress. No one of the generation of public men to which he belonged has contributed so much that will be valuable for future reference. His speeches are numerous, many of them brilliant, all of them well studied, carefully phrased and exhaustive of the subject under consideration. Collected from the scattered pages of ninety royal octavo volumes of the Congressional Record they would present an invaluable compendium of the political history of the most important era through which the national government has ever passed. When the his- blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 303 tory of this period shall be impartially written, when war legislation, measures of reconstruction, protection of human rights, amendments to the Constitution, maintenance of public credit, steps toward specie re- sumption, true theories of revenue may be reviewed, unsurrounded by prejudice and disconnected from par- tisanism, the speeches of Garfield will be estimated at their true value, and will be found to comprise a vast magazine of fact and argument, of clear analysis and sound conclusion. Indeed, if no other authority were accessible, his speeches in the House of Representatives from December, 1863, to June, 1880, would give a well-connected history and complete defense of the im- portant legislation of the seventeen eventful years that constitute his parliamentary life. Far beyond that, his speeches would be found to forecast many great measures, yet to be completed — measures which’ he knew were beyond the public opinion of the hour, but which he confidently believed would secure popular approval within the period of his own lifetime and by the aid of- his own efforts. Differing, as Garfield does, from the brilliant parlia- mentary leaders, it is not easy to find his counterpart anywhere in the record of American public life. He perhaps more clearly resembles Mr. Seward in his supreme faith in the all-conquering power of a principle. He had the love of learning and the patient industry of investigation to which J ohn Quincy Adams owes his prominence and his Presidency. He had some of those ponderous elements of mind which distinguished Mr. Webster and which, indeed, in all our public life have left the great Massachusetts Senator without an intel- lectual peer. In English parliamentary history, as in our own, the leaders in the House of Commons present points of essential difference from Garfield. But some of his 304 BLAINE S EULOGY OP- GARFIELD. methods recall the best features in the strong, inde- pendent course of Sir Robert Peel, and striking re- semblances are discernible in that most promising of modern Conservatives, who died too early for his coun- try and his fame, the Lord George Bentinck. He had all of Burke’s love for the sublime and the beautiful, with possibly something of his superabundance, and in his faith and his magnanimity, in his power of state- ment, in his subtle analysis, in his faultless logic, in his love of literature, in his wealth and world of illustra- tion, one is reminded of that great English statesman of to-day, who, confronted with obstacles that would daunt any but the dauntless, reviled by those whom he would relieve as bitterly as by those whose supposed rights he is forced to invade, still labors with serene courage for the amelioration of Ireland and for the honor of the English name. Garfield’s nomination to the Presidency, while not predicted or anticipated, was not a surprise to the country. His prominence in Congress, his solid quali- ties, his wide reputation, strengthened by his then recent election as Senator from Ohio, kept him in the public eye as a man occupying the very highest rank among those entitled to be called statesmen. It was not mere chance that brought him this high honor. “We must,” says Mr. Emerson, “reckon success a con- stitutional trait. If Eric is in robust health and has slept well and is at the top of his condition and thirty years old at his departure from Greenland he will steer west and his ships will reach New Foundland. But take Eric out and put in a stronger and bolder man and the ships will sail six hundred, one thousand, fifteen hundred miles farther and reach Labrador and New England. There is no chance in results.” As a candidate Garfield steadily grew in popular favor. He was met with a storm of detraction at the Blaine’s eulogy of Garfield. 305 very hour of his nomination, and it continued with in- creasing volume and momentum until the close of his victorious campaign: No might nor greatness in mortality Can censure ’scape ; back-wounding calumny The whitest virtue strikes. What kings so strong Can tie the gall «p in the slanderous tongue. Under it all he was calm and strong and confident; never lost his self-possession, did no unwise act, spoke no hasty or ill-considered word. Indeed nothing in his whole life is more remarkable or more creditable than his bearing through those five full months of vitupera- tion — a prolonged agony of trial to a sensitive man, a constant and cruel draft upon the powers of moral en- durance. The great mass of these unjust imputations passed unnoticed and, with the general debris of the campaign, fell into oblivion. But in a few instances the iron entered his soul and he died with the injury unforgotten if not unforgiven. One aspect of Garfield’s candidacy was unprecedented. Never before, in the history of partisan contests in this country, had a successful Presidential candidate spoken freely on passing events and current issues. To at- tempt anything of the kind seemed novel, rash and even desperate. The older class of voters recalled the unfortunate Alabama letter, in which Mr. Clay was supposed to have signed his political death warrant. They remembered also the hot-tempered effusion by which General Scott lost-a large share of his popularity before his nomination, and the unfortunate speeches which rapidly consumed the remainder. The younger voters had seen Mr. Greeley in a series of vigorous and original addresses, preparing the pathway for his own defeat. Unmindful of these warnings, unheeding the advice of friends, Garfield spoke to large crowds as he 20 306 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. journeyed to and from New York in August, to a great multitude in that city, to delegations and deputations of every kind that called at Mentor during the sum- mer and autumn. With innumerable critics, watch- ful and eager to catch a phrase that might be turned into odium or ridicule, or a sentence that might be distorted to his own or his party’s injury, Garfield did not trip or halt in any one of his seventy speeches. This seems all the more remarkable when it is re- membered that he did not write what he said, and yet spoke with such logical consecutiveness of thought and such admirable precision of phrase as to defy the accident of misreport and the malignity of misrepre- sentation. In the beginning of his Presidential life, Garfield’s experience did not yield him pleasure or satisfaction. The duties that engross so large a portion of the Presi- dent’s time were distasteful to him, and were unfavor- ably contrasted with his legislative work. “ I have been dealing all these years with ideas,” he impatiently exclaimed one day, “ and here I am dealing only with persons. I have been heretofore treating of the funda- mental principles of government, and here I am con- sidering all day whether A or B shall be appointed to this or that office.” He was earnestly seeking some practical way of correcting the evils arising from the distribution of overgrown and unwieldy patronage — evils always appreciated and often discussed by him, but whose magnitude had been more deeply impressed upon his mind since his accession to the Presidency. Had he lived, a comprehensive improvement in the mode of appointment and in the tenure of office would have been proposed by him, and with the aid of Con- gress no doubt perfected. But while many of the Executive duties were not grateful to him, he was assiduous and conscientious in blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 207 their discharge. From the very outset he exhibited administrative talent of a high order. He grasped the helm of office with the hand of a master. In this re- spect, indeed, he constantly surprised many who were most intimately associated with him in the govern- ment, and especially those who had feared that he might be lacking in the executive faculty. His dispo- sition of business was orderly and rapid. His power of analysis and his skill in classification enabled him to dispatch a vast mass of detail with singular promptness and ease. His Cabinet meetings were ad- mirably conducted. His clear presentation of official subjects, his well-considered suggestion of topics on which discussion was invited, his quick decision when all had been heard, combined to show a thoroughness of mental training as rare as his natural ability and his facile adaptation to a new and enlarged field of labor. With perfect comprehension of all the inheritances of the war, with a cool calculation of the obstacles in his way, impelled always by a generous enthusiasm, Garfield conceived that much might be done by his administration towards restoring harmony between the different sections of the Union. He was anxious to go South and speak to the people. As early as April he had ineffectually endeavored to arrange for a trip to Nashville, whither he had been cordially invited, and he was again disappointed a few weeks later to find that he could not go to South Carolina to attend the centennial celebration of the victory of the Cowpens. But for the autumn he definitely counted on being present at three memorable assemblies in the South — the celebration at Yorktown, the opening of the Cotton Exposition at Atlanta, and the meeting of the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga. He was already turning over in his mind his address for each occasion, and the three taken together, he said to a friend, gave 308 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. him the exact scope and verge which he needed. At Yorktown he would have before him the associations of a hundred years that bound the South and the North in the sacred memory of a common danger and a common victory. At Atlanta he would present the material interests and the industrial development which appealed to the thrift and independence of every household, and which should unite the two sections by the instinct of self-interest and self-defense. At Chat- tanooga he would revive memories of the war only to show that after all its disaster and all its suffering the country was stronger and greater, the Union rendered indissoluble, and the future, through the agony and blood of one generation, made brighter and better for all. Garfield’s ambition for the success of his administra- tion was high. With strong caution and conservatism in his nature, he was in no danger of attempting rash experiments or of resorting to the empiricism of states- manship. But he believed that renewed and closer at- tention should be given to questions affecting the ma- terial interests and commercial prospects of fifty millions of people. He believed that our continental relations, extensive and undeveloped as they are, in- volved responsibility, and could be cultivated into profitable friendship or be abandoned to harmful indif- ference or lasting enmity. He believed with equal confidence that an essential forerunner to a new era of national progress must be a feeling of contentment in every section of the Union, and a generous belief that the benefits and burdens of government would be com- mon to all. Himself a conspicuous illustration of what ability and ambition may do under republican institu- tions, he loved his country with a passion of patriotic devotion, and every waking thought was given to her advancement. He was an American in all his aspira- blaine’s eulogy of gaefield. 309 tions, and he looked to the destiny and influence of the United States with the philosophic composure of Jeffer- son and the demonstrative confidence of John Adams. The political events which disturbed the President’s serenity for many weeks before that fateful day in July form an important chapter in his career, and, in his own judgment, involved questions of principle and of right which are vitally essential to the constitutional administration of the Federal' Government. It would be out of place here and now to speak the language of controversy ; but the events referred to, however they mav continue to be source of contention with others, have become, so far as Garfield is concerned, as much a matter of history as his heroism at Chickamauga or * his illustrious service' in the House. Detail is not needful, and personal antagonism shall not be rekindled by any word uttered to-day. The motives of those op- posing him are not to be here adversely interpreted nor their course harshly characterized. But of the dead President this is to be said, and said because his own speech is forever silenced, and he can be no more heard except through the fidelity and the love of survi- ving friends : From the beginning to the end of the con- troversy he so much deplored, the President was never for one moment actuated by any motive of gain to him- self or of loss to others. Least of all men did he har- bor revenge, rarely did he even show resentment, and malice was not in his nature. He was congenially employed only in the exchange of good offices and the doing of kindly deeds. There was not an hour, from the beginning of the trouble till the fatal shot entered his body, when the President would not gladly, for the sake of restoring harmony, have retraced any step he had taken if such retracing had merely involved consequences personal to himself. The pride of consistency or any supposed 310 blaine’s eulogy of gaefield. sense of humiliation that might result from surrender- ing his position had not a feather’s weight with him. No man was ever less subject to such influences from within or from without. But after most anxious de- liberation and the coolest survey of all the circum- stances, he solemnly believed that the true preroga- tives of the Executive were involved in the issue which had been raised, and that he would be unfaithful to his supreme obligation if he failed to maintain, in all their vigor, the constitutional rights and dignities of his great office. He believed this in all the convictions of conscience when in sound and vigorous health, and he believed it in his suffering and prostration in the last conscious thought which his wearied mind bestowed on the transitory struggles of life. More than this need not be said. Less than this could not be said. Justice to the dead, the highest ob- ligation that devolves upon the living, demands the declaration that in all the bearings of the subject, actual or possible, the President was content in his mind, justified in his conscience, immovable in his con- clusions. The religious element in Garfield’s character was deep and earnest. In his early youth he espoused the faith of the Disciples, a sect of that great Baptist Com- munion which in different ecclesiastical establishments is so numerous and so influential throughout all parts of the United States. But the broadening tendency of his mind and his active spirit of inquiry were early apparent and carried him beyond the dogmas of sect and the restraints of association. In selecting a college in which to continue his education, he rejected Beth- any, though presided over by Alexander Campbell, the greatest preacher of his church. His reasons were characteristic : first, that Bethany leaned too heavily toward slavery ; and, second, that being himself a Dis- blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 31 j ciple and the son of Disciple parents, he had little ac- quaintance with people of other beliefs, and he thought it would make him more liberal, quoting his own words, both in his religious and general views, to go into a new circle and be under new influences. The liberal tendency which he anticipated as the result of wider culture was fully realized. He was emancipated from mere sectarian belief, and with eager interest pushed his investigations in the direction of modern progressive thought. He followed with quick- ening step in the paths of exploration and speculation so fearlessly trodden by Darwin, by Huxley, by Tyndall and by other living scientists of the radical and advanced type. His own church, binding its dis- ciples by no formulated creed, but accepting the Old and New Testaments as the word of God with unbiased liberality of private interpretation, favored, if it did not stimulate, the spirit of investigation. Its mem- bers profess with sincerity, and profess only to be of one mind and one faith with those who immediately followed the Master, and who were first called Chris- tians at Antioch. But however high Garfield reasoned of “ fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute,” he was never separ- ated from the Church of the Disciples in his affections and in his associations. For him it held the ark of the covenant. To him it was the gate of heaven. The world of religious belief is full of solecisms and contra- dictions. A philosophic observer declares that men by the thousand will die in defence of a creed whose doc- trines they do not comprehend, and whose tenets they habitually violate. It is equally true that men by the thousand will cling to church organizations with in- stinctive and undying fidelity when their belief in ma- turer years is radically different from that which in- spired them as neophytes. 312 blaine's eulogy of garfield. But after this range of speculation and this latitude of doubt, Garfield came back always with freshness and delight to the simpler instincts of religious faith, which, earliest implanted, longest survive. Not many weeks before his assassination, walking on the banks of the Potomac with a friend, and conversing on those topics of personal religion concerning which noble natures have an unconquerable reserve, he said that he found the Lord's Prayer and the simple petitions learned in infancy infinitely restful to him, not merely in their stated repetition, but in their casual and frequent re- call as he went about the daily duties of life. Certain texts of Scripture had a very strong hold on his mem- ory and his heart. He heard, while in Edinburgh some years ago, an eminent Scotch preacher who pre- faced his sermon with reading the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, which book had been the sub- ject of careful study with Garfield during all his re- ligious life. He was greatly impressed by the elocution of the preacher, and declared that it had imparted a new and deeper meaning to the majestic utterances of St. Paul. He referred often in after years to that memorable service, and dwelt with exaltation of feel- ing upon the radiant promise and the assured hope with which the great Apostle of the Gentiles was “ persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The crowning characteristic of General Garfield’s re- ligious opinions, as, indeed, of all his opinions, was his liberality. In all things he had charity. Tolerance was of his nature. He respected in others the qualities which he possessed himself — sincerity of conviction and frankness of expression. With him the inquiry was blainb’s eulogy of garfield. 313 not so much what a man believes, but does he believe it? The lines of his friendship and his confidence en- circled men of every creed and men of no creed, and to the end of his life on his ever-lengthening list of friends were to be found the names of a pious Catholic priest and of an honest-minded and generous-hearted free- thinker. On the morning of Saturday, July second, the Pres- ident was a contented and happy man — not in an ordi- nary degree, but joyfully, almost boyishly happy. On his way to the railroad station, to which he drove slowly, in conscious enjoyment of the beautiful morn- ing, with an unwonted sense of leisure and a keen an- ticipation of pleasure, his talk was all in the grateful and gratulatory vein. He felt that after four months of trial his administration was strong in its grasp of af- fairs, strong in popular favor and destined to grow stronger; that grave difficulties confronting him at his inauguration had been safely passed ; that trouble lay behind him, and not before him ; that he was soon to meet the wife whom he loved, now recovering from an illness which had but lately disquieted and at times almost unnerved him ; that he was going to his alma mater to renew the most cherished associations of his young manhood, ■■ and to exchange greetings with those whose deepening interest had followed every step of his upward progress from the day he entered upon his col- iege course until he had attained the loftiest elevation in the gift of his countrymen. Surely, if happiness can ever come from the honors or triumphs of this world, on that quiet July morning James A. Garfield may well have been a happy man. No foreboding of evil haunted him ; no slightest pre- monition of danger clouded his sky. His terrible fate was upon him in an instant. One moment he stood erect, strong, confident in the years stretching peace- 314 blaine’s eulogy of garfield. fully out before him. The next he lay wounded, bleeding, helpless, doomed to weary weeks of torture, to silence and the grave. Great in life, he was surpassingly great in death. For no cause, in the very frenzy of wantonness and wickedness, by the red hand of murder, he was thrust from the full tide of this world’s interest, from its hopes, its aspirations, its victories, into the visible presence of death — and he did not quail. Not alone for the one short moment in which, stunned and dazed, he could give up life, hardly aware of its relinquish- ment, but through days of deadly languor, through weeks of agony, that was not less agony because si- lently borne, with clear sight and calm courage he looked into his open grave. What blight and ruin met his anguished eyes whose lips may tell — what brilliant, broken plans, what bathed, high ambitions, what sundering of strong, warm manhood’s friendships, what bitter rending of sweet household ties ! Behind him a proud, expectant nation, a great host of sustain- ing friends, a cherished and happy mother, wearing the full, rich honors of her early toil and tears ; the wife of his youth, whose whole life lay in his; the little boys not yet emerged from childhood’s day of frolic; the fair, young daughter; the sturdy sons just springing into closest companionship, claiming every day and every day rewarding a father’s love and care ; and in his heart the eager, rejoicing power to meet all de- mands. Before him, desolation and great darkness ! And his soul was not shaken. His countrymen were thrilled with instant, profound and universal sympathy. Masterful in his mortal weakness, he became the centre of a nation’s love, enshrined in the prayers of a world. But all the love and all the sympathy could not share with him his suffering. He trod the wine-press alone. With unfaltering front he faced death. With unfail- blaine’s eulogy of garfield. 315 ing tenderness he took leave of life. Above the de- moniac hiss of the assassin’s bullet he heard the voice of God. With simple resignation he bowed to the Divine decree. As the end drew near, his early craving for the sea returned. The stately mansion of power had been to him the wearisome hospital of pain, and he begged to be taken from its prison walls, from its oppressive, stifling air, from its homelessness and its hopelessness. Gently, silently, the love of a great people bore the pale sufferer to the longed-for healing of the sea, to live or to die, as God should will, within sight of its heaving billows, within sound of its manifold voices. With wan, fevered face tenderly lifted to the cooling breeze, he looked out wistfully upon the ocean’s changing wonders ; on its far sails, whitening in the morning light ; on its restless waves, rolling shoreward to break and die beneath the noonday sun ; on the red clouds of evening, arching low to the horizon ; on the serene and shining pathway of the stars. Let us think that his dying eyes read a mystic meaning which only the rapt and parting soul may know. Let us believe that in the silence of the receding world he heard the great waves breaking on a further shore, and felt al- ready upon his wasted brow the breath of the eternal morning. CHAPTER XIV. National Convention of 1884 at Chicago, A cloudless sky, bright sunlight, and a breeze from the lake, welcomed the delegates to the first day’s session of the national convention. Before eight o’clock the hotel lobbies were crowded to suffocation, and guests had to wait for places at the breakfast tables. An hour before noon, the time set for the meeting of the convention, the sidewalks leading to the Exposition Building were crowded, bands of music played, peddlers of Blaine, Arthur, and Logan badges hawked their wares, and occa- sionally an enthusiastic friend of one of the can- didates addressed on the street corners a throng of curious idlers. The Exposition Building, in which the conven- tion was held, fronts on Michigan avenue. In its rear are the tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, built upon the shores of the lake. The building itself resembles more than anything else a huge machine-shop without smokepipes. There is a central building, two long glass-roofed exten- sions running North and South, and two huge wings, each fronting on the avenue. The building is of brick, painted a sombre, green color, which the storms of five years have turned mouldy. 316 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 317 Over the main entrance was hung a long linen banner, upon which, painted in blue letters, edged with red, were the words, “ Republican National Convention.” A profusion of big flags decorated the gabled archway of the main hall, streamers and small banners floated from the poles along the roof, and heavy silk flags crackled in the wind from the main staff on the central dome of the building and its projecting wings. At half-past eleven o'clock, the pedestrians on Adams street were halted by a procession marching down to the Exposition Building. An excellent band played a lively march and it was followed by the Young Men’s Republican Club. Every mem- ber was attired in a light spring suit of clothes, a high white hat and a fancy cane. The club marched with the regularity and precision of veterans. The ladies smiled as the handsome fellows passed by, and they passed into the building with an evident determination to howl the loudest for their favorite candidate. The different delegations straggled into the hall between eleven and twelve o’clock. Some marched in together; others straggled along by twos and. threes, keeping the ushers busy to find them places. An enterprising manufacturer of patent medicine had chartered a brass band and a huge stage, on the sides of which were posters calling at- tention to the stuff and had stationed the dodger at the main approach to the building, where it at- 318 NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION BUILDING, CHICAGO, 1884. THE CONVENTION' OF 1884. 319 tractecl the attention of every passer. The ap- proaches to the main floor and the different galler- ies were indicated by signs, so that there was no delay in seating the holders of tickets Hehneted policemen and doorkeepers decorated with blue badges guarded the approaches and rigidly excluded every intruder. The huge, unwieldy machine for grinding out presidential candidates settled to its work with a buzz of talk and handshaking. The distant band hummed rather than played airs from “Patience,” and at last Chairman Sabin, with his broad, sallow face and curving moustache, stepped forward and put his hand on the starting bar, picking up a little mallet, sadly out of place in a situation which needed a beetle to deal a con- trolling blow. A slim clergyman, with a white hand and a small moustache, made an eloquent prayer, which drew subdued applause from people who mistook the peroration not unnaturally for a speech, and the big, broad-shouldered Kansan Mar- tin, who acts as Secretary of the National Commit- tee, read an inaudible call. A little stir, a sort of dressing of ranks and Sa- bin’s speech ended with the nomination for tempo- rary chairman of Powell Clayton, a tall, sallow, round-headed, crop-haired Arkansan, with an empty sleeve and the expression of a Southwest- erner. Lodge, of Massachusetts, a crisp-haired, brown-bearded young fellow, climbs a chair in the 320 THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . Massachusetts delegation and puts up John R. Lynch. One great yell goes up — the shrill cry of Southern delegates — as a dozen negroes jumped in their seats, camp-meeting fashion. A sturdy, stocky side-whiskered drover-like looking man, Dutcher, of New York, seconds the nomination, meeting the Edmunds move half way with an Arthur welcome. Gravity follows in every Blaine State, while the Arthur States bubble and boil over into the aisle. Frank Hatton, slim and earnest, watches the bat- tle on one side, and Sharpe, with his bulldog face, fairly looks pleasant. Chris Magee, a tall, fine- looking man, seeks a side aisle, while his alternate slips into his seat, and Tom Cooper looks anxiously from a high stage seat. Speech-making begins; George William Curtis on one side, suave, courtly, with a voice of wonder- fully sympathetic quality and face all soft serenity, speaks, his voice rising and falling from one tremb- ling cadence to another, and Stewart on the other side, with sharp, strident voice and clear, dark face, and features with a straight, strong profile, puts the Blaine side in a great stir and swing and rustle. There are other speeches. Carr, of Illinois, a big, round fellow, with a crackling, explosive voice, rides the buzz triumphantly. Roosevelt’s boyish effort is drowned in it. Hoar, a big, broad-chested swimmer in this sea of manifold sound, breasts its current for a few moments and, after a running THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 321 wrangle over the method of voting, the slow roll is called. It takes two hours, man after man, lean- ing against the reading desk and shouting his share of 820 names into space, wearies of the work. By relays it goes on. A name is called ; up rises a distant man, and shouts the syllabic reply, Powell Clayton or John R. Lynch. The tally goes on. The cheering is short and small. The inter- est lies below the names. Illinois starts off for Clayton and when the votes change to Lynch a shout goes up. Connecticut shrewdly divides. Mc- Kinley leads off in Ohio, with a big purple badge on his breast. New Jersey runs by commentless, but in New York every vote is w T atched until the full Blaine strength is registered of twenty-nine. In Pennsylvania McManes leads off for Lynch. Grow raises his gray head to vote, and Stewart steps forward with hat and note-book tally in his hand, as the roll runs through Republican districts which vote for Clayton. Once there is a cheer over Tom Platt, and when Yirginia is reached and a thin, weazened, long-haired figure, Mahone, rises, the cheering rises and falls like the pulse of a storm. The vote is known before it is announced, and a tall Mississippian^ jumps in a chair and waves the square yard of blue silk on which the State is marked. Yell, cheer and shout, hand-clapping and stamp- ing, and at last John R. Lynch, a mulatto of the agile, facile type of ability in many directions, 21 322 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. takes the gavel of a National Convention in his hand. The rest is routine, and after an empty stump-speech, the great barrel of a hall empties, and surmise and speculation over the vote of 431 for Lynch and 387 for Clayton spreads over the town. PROCEEDINGS IN DETAIL. The full proceedings of this most important con- vention in detail will be found below. On the first day of the session, Tuesday, June 3d, the con- vention was called to order at 12.25 by United States Senator Sabin, of Minnesota, as follows : Gentlemen of the Eighth Republican National Convention : The hour having arrived appointed for the meeting of this convention, it will now be opened with prayer by Rev. Frank Bristol, of Chicago. The prayer was then offered by Mr. Bristol as follows : “ God of our fathers, we adore and worship Thee, and to Thee, by whose grace and providence we are what we are, as a nation, we would lift our hearts in rendering thanksgiving and everlasting prayer. “We thank Thee for our glorious national heri- tage, for this magnificent land of wealthy hills and fertile plains, and for the laws and institutions which make it a land of progress and liberty. “ We thank Thee for our Christian sires, lovers of freedom and of God, men of conscience and in- tegrity, whose names have jewelled history, and THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 323 the memory of whose deeds is an inspiration to heroism and patriotic pride. “We thank Thee for Plymouth Rock, for York- town, for Appomattox, footsteps to mark the pro- gress of righteousness and the higher law. “We thank Thee for the Declaration of Inde- pendence, the Constitution of the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation, our blood-bought charter of freedom. “We thank Thee for the Republican party and for its splendid history, and its still more splendid possibilities. And now, as this great convention enters on a work which will involve the most pre- cious interests of millions of people, and, in a large sense, the interests of free institutions, we devoutly and most earnestly supplicate the blessing of Al- mighty God. Bless the members of this body, the homes, the States,^ the parts of the nation which they represent. May the ambition of patriotism, the wisdom of statesmanship and the righteousness of Christian consciousness possess every breast and control every action. And may the result of this convention be in harmony with the will of God concerning us, and be received with joy by the people of the whole land. And grant, Almighty God, that the coming political campaign may be conducted with that intelligence, patriotism and dignity of temper that becomes a great and intelli- gent people. Continue Thy mercies to us. Bless our country with peace, prosperity and universal enlightenment. May we never deny the faith of our fathers. May we never cease to be a temper- ate, a free, an industrious, a Sabbath-keeping, a God-fearing and a Christian people, blessed with the righteousness which exalteth a nation. Amen.” 324 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. The Chair — The Secretary of the National Com- mittee will now read the call for the convention. The secretary then read the call. When he had finished Mr. Sabin addressed the convention as follows : “Gentlemen of the Convention : — On behalf of the National Republican Committee, permit me to welcome you to Chicago. As chairman of that committee it is both my duty and pleasure to call you to order as a National Republican Convention. This city, already known as the 1 City of Conven- tions,’ is among the most cherished of all the spots of our country sacred to the memories of a Re- publican. It is the birth-place of Republican vic- tory, On these fields of labor gathered the early fathers of our political faith and planned the great battle for the preservation of the Union. [Ap- plause.] “ Here they chose that immortal chief that led us on to victory — Abraham Lincoln. [Applause.] Here were gathered in counsel those men who secured the fruits of that long trouble by elevating to the first place in the nation the foremost chief- tain of that great contest — General Grant. [Loud applause.] Here was afterwards witnessed that signal triumph, which anticipated the wish of the nation, by nominating, as color-bearer of the party, that honored soldier, that shining citizen, that representative American — J ames A. Garfield. [Loud applause.] Every deliberation of Republi- can forces on this historic ground has been followed by signal victory, and every convention on this spot has carried forward our line of battle until to- THE CONTENTION OF 1884. 325 day our forces overlook every position of the enemy. “ Indeed, so secure now is the integrity of the Union, so firmly imbedded in the Constitution and laws of the land are the safeguards of individual liberty, so fairly and fully achieved, that, by gen- eral consent, the time has now arrived for the new disposition of party forces in contemplation of new lines of operation. Having compassed the defeat of our opponents on all former occasions, the party is about to set its house in order, and take counsel as to the direction and the management of its future course. “ In the comparative lull of party strife, which distinguishes the present condition of national politics, there is discernible an increasing disposi- tion to look after the men who are to execute, and the methods that are to guide them in the execu- tion of the powers committed to them for the man- agement of the affairs of the Republic. As a result of the rule adopted in the last National Republican Convention, this convention finds itself constituted of a large majority of gentlemen who have been clothed with the delegated powers of the conven- tion in their several congressional districts. On this consideration may be grounded a hope that the voice of the people [applause] will, beyond recent precedent, be felt in moulding the work you are assembled to perform, so that its results may be such as to win the unhesitating and undivided support of every lover of those principles by which the party has heretofore triumphed and yet will triumph. [Applause.] When we consider the memories of the past so intimately connected with this city, and even with 326 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. this edifice, which the people of Chicago have so generously placed at your disposal ; when we re- flect upon the deep-seated concern among all people in the result of your deliberations, and the various incentives to the abandonment of personal ambi- tions in the interest of the party welfare, you can- not wonder that the Committee, and beyond it the great Republican masses, extend you a most hearty welcome to this scene of labor, in the constant hope that your efforts will result in such an exposition of Republican doctrine and disclose such a just appreciation of Republican men in the choice of your nominees as to rejoice the hearts of your con- stituents and keep victory on the side of your ever victorious banner. In conclusion, at the re- quest of the National Republican Convention, I have to propose to you as temporary chairman of this Convention the Hon. Powell Clayton, of Ar- kansas. [Loud applause.] The remaining preliminaries were such as must always be arranged in a National Convention. A temporary organization was effected, the creden- tials of delegates from the various States and Territories were examined, committees were ap- pointed, incidentally speeches were made, the leading spirits of the Convention began to get their work in, the favorites were received with applause when they made their appearance, and through it all the buzz of electioneering for the different candidates went on. There was suppressed excite- ment which was only waiting its opportunity to break out and go crazy over some “ favorite son.” THE CONVENTION OF 1884, 327 The first day was consumed in getting the huge body into shape and readiness for the serious busi- ness on hand. The Convention comprised a fine body of men — men who were intelligent, quick of apprehension, evidently bent on business, earnest in spirit and able as statesmen and as political leaders. The feature of the second day of the Convention was the enthusiasm over Blaine, during which an unprecedented scene was witnessed. When the committee on permanent organization was ready to report, Smalls, the colored delegate from South Carolina, and one or two others, questioned the propriety of making the permanent organization before the credentials committee had reported as to the title of contested delegates, but these few objectors were quietly overruled, as they were in 1880, and the chairman of the committee, George Williams, of Indiana, presented the report. It advised the election of ex-Senator John B. Henderson, of Missouri, as permanent chairman of the Convention, together with a long list of vice- presidents and secretaries, too numerous even to be read to the Convention. There were not half a dozen dissenting votes to the adoption of the committee report. Some of the Blaine leaders had been advised to oppose the election of Henderson by moving to substitute Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, but this they refused to do. Sev- eral days ago one of the most prominent of the 328 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. Blaine managers publicly avowed that the election of General Henderson as permanent president of the Convention would be acceptable, and soon afterward General Henderson publicly declared that he would not present President Arthur’s name to the Convention. Knowing General Henderson’s choice to be Ar- thur, the Blaine managers were perfectly willing to give him a solid vote for permanent chairman. As soon as the election was announced, Mr. Lynch appointed Mr. Grow, Mr. Hoar, of Massachusetts, and Mr, Williams, of Indiana, a committee to escort Mr. Henderson to the chair. The temporary chairman then placed his soft black felt hat on the desk before him, stuffed a few pamphlets in his pocket, and prepared to vacate a seat to which for the first time in the history of the party a man of his color has been elected. Loud cheering greeted Henderson as, flanked on either side by this distinguished escort, he ascended the platform and advanced to the desk. The presiding officer of the Convention is a tall, slender, well-proportioned man, who does not look to be over forty-five years of age, but is consider- ably older. He has regular features, blue eyes, thin, brown hair, a bald spot on the back of his skull, carefulty-trimmed brown chin-whiskers, and, with gold-bowed glasses astride his nose, looks the picture of an active, prosperous lawyer. From the outside pocket of Mr. Henderson’s THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 329 coat protruded the end of a package of manuscript containing his address to the Convention. He laid this paper on the desk and took the handle of the new gavel, trimmed with ribbons, in his hand, and sharply rapped the body to silence. A bustling usher advanced and pinned a huge white silk, gold- tasseled badge upon the lapel of Mr. Henderson’s coat, and, with a prefatory cough, he began to read his speech. The Convention listened quietly until the Chair- man, with questionable taste, called attention to some of the more prominent men upon whom it could fitly bestow the honor of the nomination. Without mentioning names, Mr. Henderson, in unmistakable terms, brought out singly the differ- ent candidates who are most prominently dis. cussed. First on his list was Arthur, and, as he complimented the Administration, a cheer, loud, brief, and by no means enthusiastic, was given by the President’s followers. His next reference was to Vermont’s candidate, and the few Edmunds men in the hall made all the noise they could. The reference to John Sherman brought forth shrieks of delight from half the Ohio delegation and a few men in the galleries, Logan was next on the list, and he received the loudest and heartiest applause of any of the gentlemen before mentioned. His friends in the Convention and among the spectators — they were numerous — shouted at the top of their lungs for the Senator from Illinois. 330 the convention of 1884, Almost before the echo of the last cheer had died away the Chairman said : “ Maine has her honored favorite, whose splendid abilities and per sonal qualities have endeared him to the hearts of his friends, and the brilliancy of whose genius challenges the admiration of all.” Before the words w r ere fairlv out of the Chair* %/ man’s mouth the Pennsylvanians on the front row began to cheer. The faint opening applause ex- tended and swelled until, from the rear of the stage to the end of the hall, a hoarse reverberating roar arose and echoed from end to end of the building and outside, until the noise was audible above the bustle of street traffic two blocks away. The first wild burst of enthusiasm only added fuel to the flame, and a second great, spontaneous, full-hearted cheer rose from the floor to the rafters and fairly shook the structure. Then followed a scene seldom witnessed in any public body, and never equalled in National Conventions of late years. The delegates, alternates and spectators rose to their feet as by a common impulse, and testified their admiration of the people’s candidate, Cheers, shouts, sharp screams and animated bowl- ings broke upon the Convention with appalling force. Men tossed^ their hats in the air, waved pocket- handkerchiefs, shook their canes, mounted chairs, leaped back and forth in the aisles, and acted like madmen. The New York delegation, excepting a THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . 331 few Edmunds men, was on its feet, screaming as loudly as the Pennsylvanians, while Ohio and Illi- nois contributed liberally to the racket. The tremendous burst of enthusiasm carried away the colored brethren, and they screamed with true Methodistic camp-meeting fervor. Ex- hausted at last, the noise abated only to be again renewed with fresh force. Four times the Con- vention rose to its feet, and four times did the vast assemblage exhaust itself in noise. A little knot of New England people only kept their seats, and were not budged by the excitement. The display of public sentiment in Blaine’s behalf was not unexpected, but it overwhelmed those gentlemen who, for three days past, had been working by hook or crook to defeat the people’s choice. It revealed to them, as by the flash of an electric light, the vast and irresistible force demand- ing his nomination for the Presidency, It showed them the weakness of their own cause in a manner not susceptible of argument, and threw a wet blanket upon their burning hopes of bringing forth tire dark horse winner. At last the excitement abated, and the president readjusted his glasses, preparatory to resuming his speech. He had hardly opened his mouth when a voice high up in the gallery over the stage in a shrill tone ex- claimed : “ Hit ’em agin ! ” and for the last time a wild roar of applause went through the vast hall. CHAPTER XV. Enthusiasm for the Plumed Knight. The third day of the Convention was of much more importance than the preceding, and two sessions were held. In the morning legislation for the party was discussed and adopted and the national platform was agreed upon. The proposition of a minority of the Committee on Rules, changing the basis of representation in the National Convention from the present electoral system to that of the voting strength of the party on an apportionment, after each presidential elec- tion, commended itself to the conservative senti- ment of the Convention, but it had the misfortune to be considered before the nominations were made. The consequence was that it was unmercifully handled. The Southern delegate resented it with some heat as an attempt to curtail his rights, and at this particular time the friends of no candidate were desirous of treading on the toes of the Southern delegate. Martin I. Townsend, representing Arthur, and Judge West, of Ohio, representing Blaine, came to his rescue. Everybody seemed to have something to say against the proposition, and even Massa- 832 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 333 chusetts, where it originated, finally put forward General Long with a motion to bury it in the Na- tional Committee room. Decent burial, however, was considered too decent for it with the South- erners holding the balance of power between candi- dates, and so it was ignominiously voted down. The report of the Committee on Resolutions caused no debate. Everybody was equally sur- prised at its length and breadth and thickness. “ Yery strong and very Blainey,” was one comment, and Murat Halstead said Blaine’s tracks ran all over it like the track of a buzz saw. The call of States for the appointment of mem- bers of the National Committee brought the Con- vention to the dinner recess. These appointments were not so easily made as heretofore, for the rea- son that a rule passed in the morning disqualified for membership the office-holding class, of which the committee has been heretofore in the main composed. In view of the confusion caused by this new deal a good many States were not prepared, and begged to be excused when their names were called. It was a little disappointing that the Convention did not begin the work of nomination before dinner ; but neither side seemed quite ready, and so there was a skip of the whole afternoon in fixing the hour of recess. The few hours of delay seemed to feed instead of wasting the enthusiasm of the Blaine columns. 334 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. Their headquarters were in the possession of a shouting mob. In the rotunda, on another floor of the hotel, a glee club, hired by the Arthur man- agers at $50 a day to go around and sing popular songs with the name of the President ingeniously interwoven therein, tried to make a diversion, but without avail. The audience good-naturedly ap- plauded the singing, but filled every pause with three cheers for Blaine. The climax of excitement seemed reached when a band came marching into the hotel playing, “ Rally around the flag, boys,” and followed by an impromptu procession of about 1,000 men, bearing aloft a portrait of Blaine, wearing Blaine badges and hoarse with Blaine cheers. The crowd turned in behind and, marching out of the hotel, moved in a body, with continual rein- forcements, towards the Convention hall, and when it arrived there it was almost a mob. It was through this phalanx of Blaine’s followers and in this Blaine atmosphere that the exercises of the evening began. The scene at the night session was one of the most impressive ever known in American political history, and is thus described by an eye witness in a peculiarly graphic manner: “A thousand gleaming gas-lights, 10,000 eager faces, long rows of brilliant banners and waving flags, and the flashing coats-of-arms of the States formed a dazzling picture in Exposition Hall to- THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 335 night. The business of the evening was the nomi- nation of candidates for President, and the session, while lacking the excitement of balloting for choice, was the most entertaining of the Convention. “ Long before the delegates took their seats every chair allotted to spectators was filled. The handsome toilettes of the ladies formed a rich back- ground to the dark outline of the men. Two banks of humanity, one piled up to the roof in the rear of the stage, and the other heaped in ascend- ing tiers to a height of fifty feet at the rear of the hall, faced each other. On the two raised plat- forms stretching the whole length of the vast audi- torium on either side were packed like sandwiches rows of favored spectators. First come first served is the rule in the management of the Convention, and this rule applies to the seats improperly sup- posed to have been reserved for the press as w r ell as those assigned to the public. “ Outside the building, at the hour of meeting, fully 5,000 people stood patiently in line waiting an opportunity to enter. Stupid doorkeepers, in- solent watchmen and consequential ushers did all in their power to annoy and harass the people. Half an hour before the Convention met, the dele- gates began to enter the hall, the band played with renewed vigor, and the peddlers of fans did a lively business. “ The atmosphere of the hall was hot and op- pressive. Hardly a breath of air passed through the open window in the roof, and the heat of the gas and the warmth of the crowd raised the tem- perature to an uncomfortable degree. As one after another of the most prominent delegates entered they were faintly cheered by their friends 336 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. in the audience, but there was none of the hotly expressed admiration for individuals that was a marked feature of the Convention of 1880. “As a matter of fact there has been but little marked personal leadership on the floor of the Convention for any of the candidates, and the local favorites are not numerous. Mr. Hoar is almost certain to receive a tender welcome. He is re- membered as the presiding officer of the Conven- tion four years ago. Chairman Henderson, Secre- tary McPherson, young Roosevelt and Lodge, ex-Congressman Lynch, Galusha A. Grow, George William Curtis, Senator Mahone and General Carr, of Illinois, are among the best known men in the hall. “ The most striking feature at night is the faces of the people. The gas-lights are so arranged that they seem to throw a peculiar ghastly pallor upon the countenances of those beneath, making them appear almost waxen in color. This array of up- turned, animated faces, seen from the stage eleva- tion, possesses a fascination for the on-looker that rivals the interest felt in the proceedings. “At 7.30 o’clock the gavel of Chairman Hender- son fell sharply upon the desk, and instantly a hush fell upon the great assembly. Hardly had the echo of the hammer died away when the sharp voice of Mr. Dutcher, of New York, was heard moving the adoption of a resolution to issue 500 additional tickets of admission to the already over- crowded hall. The resolution was adopted. Bayne, of Pennsylvania, moved that the call of the mem- bers of the National Committee, announced this afternoon, be reread, but his request was greeted with hisses. THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 337 l< There seemed to be a suspicion that Colonel Bayne desired delay, and there was loud applause as Augustus Brandegee stepped from a seat in the rear of the chairman and advanced to the front of the stage, Connecticut being first in the list of States called for the nomination of candidates. Brandegee presented the name of General Hawley. A thick, broad-shouldered, heavy-set man, under medium size, somewhat resembling Secretary Bristow in personal appearance, his face adorned with a heavy, short-cropped, gray moustache and a tuft of gray whiskers, is Brandegee. He is not an accomplished orator, but an excellent rough- and-ready talker. “ The nomination of General Logan was seconded by General Prentiss, of Missouri, a venerable, gray- haired, gray-bearded man, somewhat resembling in appearance a Methodist parson, and in the tremb- ling tones of his voice the oratory of a Baptist class-leader. Mr. Prentiss made a speech of such length that the impatient Convention cheered and hissed him down. Indiana was called next, but did not, as was expected, present the name of Har- rison. Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, were slowly called by the Clerk, with no response. “ ‘ Maine,’ he shouted, and sank back into his seat, knowing full well the response that would follow. There was an instant, clear, loud, wild burst of applause that seemed to come from the throat of every man in the hall. To describe, in its fullness of enthusiasm, in its spontaneity of sentiment, in its fervor of devofion, the scene that followed — a scene such as was never before wit- nessed in a National Convention — is well-nigh impossible. 22 338 the convention of 1884. “ First came the cheer rattling through the hall like a volley of infantry; then deepening, as it grew in force, like the roar of cannon, and swelling as it progressed like the crash of a thunderbolt across the skies. From the stage to the end of the hall, a distance of the eighth of a mile, the cheer- ing, rolling in dense waves of sound, hoarse and shrill, sharp and clear, commingling in a wild tumult of applause, which, in the minds of all who heard it, and of those who witnessed the great scene, meant the nomination of James G. Blaine. “ With common impulse the audience, delegates and spectators, jumped to their feet. Staid old politicians on the platform, venerable senators and representatives, long tried in Congress ; new dele- gates, who vmre never before in a National Con- vention, were drawn into the whirlpool of excite- ment as straws are sucked into the eddies of a river. Every delegate, save a bare patch here and there on the floor, where the friends of Arthur and of Edmunds sat, mounted his chair and took part in the demonstration. “ Looking over the human sea from the stage to the balconies, there was a surging mob of men and women waving hats, umbrellas, parasols and flags. Against the dark background a thousand white handkerchiefs swung over the heads of the excited audience, dotted the hall with specks of white, like the caps of the breakers on a stormy sea. Men put their hats on the tops of canes and waved them high over their heads. Women tore their bright fichus and laces from around their snowy necks, and lean- ing far forward over the galleries, franticly swung them to and fro to give emphasis to their shrill screams of joy. THE CONTENTION OF 1884. 339 “From outside the glass windows under the dome of the hall, where an adventurous crowd of men and boys had gathered to witness the pro- ceedings, loud cat-calls and screams were heard above the roar beneath. Men hung dangerously over the front of the galleries and waved the ends of banners that had been fastened there as decora- tions to the hall. “The Arthur delegates from New York and the Edmunds delegates, who had at first refused to leave their seats, were compelled by natural im- pulse and curiosity to mount their chairs, and soon many a well-known anti-Blaine delegate was seen waving his hat and cheering as loudly as any sup- porter of the Plumed Knight. “ When, tired with cheering and lung-exhausted, the din ceased in one part of the hall, it would be taken up in another part, and the tumult renewed. Senator Warner Miller, usually impressive and never flustered, advanced from a seat in the rear of the chairman to the front of the stage, and, waving his arms wildly over his head, shouted his loudest, and then, as if realizing the undignified char- acter of his deportment, beckoned a messenger and directed him to hurry Judge West to the platform. “ Mr. Henderson vainly pounded his gavel for order. Its dull beats upon the hollow desk were no more audible to the wild crowd in the hall than were the strains of the hand in the rear to the cheering spectators on the platform. The ap- plause echoed blocks away along the streets lead- ing to the Exposition Building, and the engineers of the locomotives on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in the rear of the hall, added to the din by loud shrieks from the whistles of their engines. 340 THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . At last, exhausted, the tumult ceased, not on the instant, but by degrees, fitful cheers being given long after Judge West reached the platform and was escorted to his seat. “ The man selected to present Blaine’s name to the Convention is blind. He was helped to the platform by two sturdy young men, who carefully guarded his progress up the steep steps and along the tortuous aisles to the seat provided for him on the left of the presiding officer’s chair. “ Judge West seems to be nearing the goal of three-score and ten. His silver gray hair was smoothly brushed away from a noble forehead. Time had implanted deep wrinkles and furrows around the sharp features of an intelligent face. White chin whiskers and a white, close-cut mous- tache hid his mouth and resolute square-cut chin. A prominent nose and bushy eyebrows give charac- ter if they do not add beauty to his countenance. Dressed plainly in black, wearing no ornament save a blue Blaine badge on the lapel of his coat and a small watch-chain, the old man leaned back in his arm-chair and faced the surging mob, as, though blind, he felt himself its master. “ For the last time the applause rolled through the hall and ended in a wild roar as the Ohio orator rose to his feet and, lifting his right hand above his head, by gesture compelled silence. Ten minutes of uproar^and storm were followed by still- ness in which a whisper could be heard as the first clear, distinct, sharp tones of the speaker rolled through the building. The clean cut sentences, brilliant delivery and confident manner of the speaker captivated the crowd. They were in sympathy with him from the start, and he retained his grasp upon their feelings to the finish. THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 341 “As lie made point after point in the opening of his speech, roar after roar of applause echoed through the hall. 4 Shall the Republican party triumph again ? ’ exclaimed the orator, after allud- ing to its victories in the past. 4 Yes, with James G. Blaine,’ yelled one of the delegates in the front row, and the audience again leaped forward and gave a tremendous cheer. 44 4 Who shall be our candidate ? ’ shouted Judge West as leaning back in the chair from which he delivered the greatest part of his speech, he brought a big palm leaf fan high above his head and seem- ingly awaited a reply. 4 Blaine ! ’ 4 Blaine ! ’ 4 Blaine ! ’ was the stentorian reply, and another burst of ap- plause put a temporary end to Judge West’s speech. 44 The bold orator in a single sentence denounced the candidacy of Arthur, characterizing him as the candidate of Wall Street and the bankers, and he predicted if nominated that the resurrection- ists could not fathom the depth of his grave next November. 44 At last the supreme moment came. When Judge West formally put Blaine in nomination a scene followed of a description never equalled and utterly indescribable. Compared to the first out- burst, the second ovation to Blaine was as the full burst of a storm after the grumblings of early thunder have passed. 44 The audience rose to its feet, impelled by an irresistible impulse to testify their admiration for the great Republican candidate. Grave men acted as though mad. Newspapers were torn into bits, and scattered high in the air, active boys clambered along the high rafters over the hall and, detaching the flags, passed them down to men in the front row of 342 the convention of 1884 . the galleries, who waved them frantically over the heads of those below, and the bands three times es- sayed to drown the noise by playing their loudest air. “ It was futile. Men drew off their coats and shook them in the air. Umbrellas were hoisted and waved over the heads of their owners. Again handkerchiefs were brought forth, and swung to and fro like snowflakes in a hurricane. Those too tired to shout gave shrill whistles, and pande- monium universal and all-pervading seemed to have broken forth. “ The most delightful picture of the evening, and one observed by few, occurred on the stage when Mr. Elkins, Blaine’s life-long friend and chief manager, and Senator Tom Cooper, of Penn- sylvania, embraced, each trying to out-tire the other in their mutual contributions to the common din. The California delegation, which has done some of Blaine’s best work here, was on its feet, cheering as loudly as Rocky Mountain throats could swell. Congressman Tom Bayne, of Penn- sylvania, another of the Blaine managers, formed one of the loudest crowds of shouters. “ George W illiam Curtis sat in his seat at the head of the New York delegation, blushing and paling by turns, astounded by the demonstration and unable to quell it. A faint smile overspread his genial countenance as the uproar continued, but it was not a smile of . satisfaction. Young Roosevelt, of New York, and Lodge, of Massa- chusetts, sat in their places uneasy and disconso- late. Not so Senator Hoar. The excitement was too much for him, and he mounted his chair, and looked over the thousands of people who were THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 343 shouting and screaming like madmen. The ne- groes from the South joined in the furore, and were the noisiest of the delegates. “ When at last there seemed a prospect that the cheering would end, some enthusiastic friend of Blaine brought into the hall, before the Chairman’s desk, a huge American flag, and placed upon the top of the staff a helmet of flowers, surmounted by a long white plume, the helmet of Navarre. Again did the audience cheer, until it seemed as though the throats of men would burst. The flag and helmet were raised to the stage, and again a deeper, longer, louder cheer arose. Ladies took flowers from their belts and threw them in the air. The atmosphere was fanned by the waving of in- numerable banners. “ The decorations were stripped from the wall by the excited audience, and shook madly in the air. Full fifteen minutes were consumed in this unprecedented demonstration. “James G. Blaine,” closed Judge West, and another great roar went up like the noise of many waters, sweeping the great waves of sound around the hall; and the crowd without, by this time aware of what was under way, answered in a muffled roar, which echoed within. The old man ceased, with the echo of his eloquence still filling- all the air, ten thousand people swaying like reeds in the wind under his voice, and feebly groped to leave the platform. A friend was at his side in an instant, and Edward McPherson laid about the old man’s shoulders his long blue, old-fashioned cloak, and, drawing it closer to him, its folds fall- ing straight, the speaker took a seat behind. By contrast with the wild tempest of sound just before, 344 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. the rustling movement and stir and talk which fill this great house of sounds with perpetual mur- murs, seemed silence itself as Governor Davis, of Minnesota, a full, round man with a bulging frock- coat, strong face and a black moustache, arose. For once and for the first time in the three times in which James G. Blaine has been put before a National Convention in nomination the work has been well and skillfully planned, and performed as well.- The voice of Governor Davis is none of the best by contrast with the resonant tones with which Judge West had filled the great house of sounds. “ Governor Davis seemed feeble, but, catching after a sentence or two the attention of the Con- vention, he recalled, in a few well-turned sentences, the recent political past of James G. Blaine, which had led him heartily to support after two conven- tions the candidates who had defeated him. In five minutes he was done, but again, at every reference, near or remote, to the great candidate before the Convention, there came the old swelling echo of sound. State followed State, and section section in the presentation of Blaine’s name. Cas- sius M. Goodloe spoke next for the South and for Kentucky. Himself built and raised after the Kentucky model, large, tall, straight and shapely, and with a voice like a trumpet, his say was short and straight. He claimed for Southern Kepub- licans the right and readiness to support the Northern choice. “ There was a pause of an instant, that was silence by the side of uproar, and Thomas C. Platt, of New York, stood by- the Chairman with his short figure and sloping, smooth forehead. In ten TIIE CONVENTION OF 1884. 345 sentences he pledged New York, and, since he, too, had the privilege to speak the name of Blaine before the Convention, was rewarded with such a burst of applause as few speakers gain in a lifetime, applause which was cut and scarred by hisses from the benches where the New York ‘boys’ sat. He closed, and Grow, with his courtly presence, stepped on his chair, and in his turn pledged the leading Republican State of the Union, Pennsyl- vania, in fluent, etfective speech. “ It is one of the misfortunes of this great gather- ing that no man is fairly treated unless he drowns all sound with a torrent of voice, and it was not until Grow took the platform, and an Ohio dele- gate pleaded for fair play, that Grow was heard through, and then another shout, a swaying tem- pest of hats and canes, and Blaine’s welcome was over. It had been of a character and volume, of an intensity of enthusiasm which seemed there and then to settle the nomination of Blaine and deter- mine the choice of the Convention by its own act. “Arthur’s welcome followed hard on in shout, volume and enthusiasm, a worthy second. £ Ne- braska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,’ the gray-coated secretary, in his colorless voice was saying, as he read the list of States — ‘ New York.’ It was like match to powder, like the flash and reflection of light from a turning mirror. Up went half of the New York delegation with a shout ; up went the Southern States by squads and platoons; up went the corporal’s guard in Penn- sylvania, which latter furnished Arthur a second abler far than his original nominator. “ The Convention was flooded again with sound and uproar in such down-pour as only this human 346 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. Niagara can match or equal. Delegates, alternates, banks of spectators, galleries, the stage, were all one wild Babel of yell, shout and cheers, one sway- ing mass of delirious men and women, one long, broad sea of sound, which surged and swung from wall to wall. “ It was less in volume than Blaine’s welcome, for through the din could be faintly heard the band, which the earlier uproar had utterly drowned and extinguished as the sea sucks up the rivers, but next to that outburst stood this wild roar. Bit by bit out of mere noise there came purpose and plan. “ The welcome to Blaine had left the flags in the galleries in the hands of his friends, and, after more than one friendly battle for the standard, these began to wave along all the front of the galleries. Two flags were torn from the wall, found their way to Texas and Tennessee, waved there and then were passed to New York, where they were waved for an instant over the delegation and then began their march down the aisle. “All this in a great roar, in which man could shout to man ten feet off and be unheard. A rugged-faced Western journalist put his hands to his lips and sounded a Comanche whoop, and a Western delegate re-echoed it, and this ‘ Wah, wah, wah-o-o-o’ cut through the noise: Nothing else did. Minute by minute the din grew ; minute by minute through fifteen minutes this uproar lasted. The human voice at its loud uttermost, coats and hats in the air, umbrellas circling round and round, handkerchiefs whitening the air.” CHAPTER XVI. Blaine Nominated. The morning of June 6th, 1884, is probably one of the most memorable in the history of political conventions in the United States. Never was there a more patriotic, enthusiastic mass of men gathered together than there was in the Chicago Exposition building on that day. The work was over; all that remained was to have that work tested. It was tested, and the voice of the people was heeded. James G. Blaine, the Maine states- man, was nominated as the candidate of the Re- publican masses. The scene in that great hall was one that beggars description. A prominent English journalist thus gives his impression of it : “ It has been my fortune to see some of the most gorgeous and remarkable spectacles that have taken place in the Old World during the last fif- teen years, but I have seen none more remarkable than the Republican Convention which has just closed in the nomination of James G. Blaine for President of the United States. Three successive viceroys and governors-general I have seen arrive in Bombay to rule the 250,000,000 of India in the name of Queen Victoria. When Lord Mayo 347 348 THE CONTENTION OF 1884. reached the western shore of India he was re- ceived by thousands of white and dark soldiers, a crowd of gorgeous officials, salvos of artillery, and plenty of flags flying, all a sad enough contrast with the way in which, not long after his assassin- ation by a Mohammedan convict in the Andaman Islands, his body was borne on board a British man-of-war in Bombay harbor, and carried back to England. “ I saw Lord Northbrook, the next viceroy, travel in triumphal state through many of the native states, where rajahs and maharajahs came forth to do him homage with troops of elephants covered with brocades of gold and silver, dancing girls, whose lithe, dusky bodies shone in- silks and gems; soidars, followed by their picturesque and swarthy warriors, Raj poors, Mahrattas, Bengalese, stalwart Sikhs and olive Madrasees. I have seen Lord Lytton parading the length and breadth of Hindostan, smoking innumerable cigarettes, and behaving with the childish antics of an excited Frenchman, amid surroundings of human and architectural Oriental magnificence of the most marvellous description. “ Beneath the scarred and battered walls of Delhi I saw the Prince of Wales received by all the chiefs of Northern India and the Punjaub, accompanied by five hundred splendidly bedizened elephants, three thousand horses covered with cloth of gold, and twenty thousand native and European troops. I followed him into Cashmere, where the Maharajah Runjeet received him in his winter capital perched among the Himalayan Mountains. Buddhist Llamas danced grotesque dances disguised in the horns and hides of wild THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 349 beasts; dancing girls, the flash of whose black eyes emulated the splendor of their jewels, and with frontlets of golden coins that descended from beneath abundant tresses of shining jet, clapped their bangled hands and whirled their feet to the music of lascivious dances; elephants, horses, and yaks from Thibet swelled the procession that swept up the hills in the purple light of a ruby and opal sunset, and troops of soldiers arrayed in scarlet, blue, and green, kept guard among the forests of pines and rhododendrons. “I have seen Victoria open her Parliament, the marriage of not a few of her progeny, and the re- view of more than eighty thousand of her British and Hindoo troops. I have seen her Majesty pro- claimed as Empress on the plains of Delhi, from a splendid pavilion surrounded by the silken cano- pies of hundreds of princes and nobles, whose an- cestors were famous, splendid, and civilized, when hers were wandering savages amid the forests of Europe and Great Britain. Certainly all these spectacles were gorgeous, worthy to leave an indel- ible impression upon the least susceptible of minds. But, shall I tell you ? not one of them impressed me nearly so much as the Convention which ha3 just culminated in the nomination of Blaine. “ What is the reason ? It is this. Many of the scenes I have mentioned were more splendid, more * capable of pleasing the senses, but they were all characterized by a certain want of soul, and had none of that deep, powerful, electrifying enthusiasm which I have just witnessed as the accompani- ments of a United States Republican nomination. When I recall those marvellous bursts of cheering which greeted the mere mention of the name of 350 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. Blaine ; that frantic, long-continued shouting of a vast and earnest multitude ; that wild hat-waving, banner-waving, and handkerchief-waving; that rolling thundering of the feet like the sonorous boom of a ponderous surf upon a steep, oriental shore ; that great hall radiant with the gaudy-col- ored symbols of federated States, that fluttered, agitated by the mighty storm of applause, above the heads of 10,000 soul-stirred men — I am bound to confess that I never saw such a scene, and do not believe that such an one could be possible in any country on earth where the people have not their government in their own hands. “ The scene to me was like the embodied, tumul- tuously earnest soul of a great free nation. The millions of Hindostan, which England holds down by the sword and the cannon, her subjects in Great Britain may be pleased with a royal pageant at a coronation or a wedding ; her colonies in Canada may be tickled and delighted with the ceremonies attending the arrival of a viceroy, thrust upon them without their wishes being consulted ; but neither in Hindostan, the British Isles, nor in her depend- encies can she ever hope to see such a gathering under her constitution, for constitutional purposes, as the Republicans of the United States have just presented in Chicago. England or any other mo- narchial nation on earth must be like Byron’s cele- brated description of Greece ; it may be fair, but you are bound to start because soul is absent. “ The intense enthusiasm of the Republican Convention is, to my mind, a proof that no nation, as a nation, can possess a heart so warm and strong, a soul so earnest, determined and so grand, as a people who themselves possess the complete pow- THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 351 ers of their own government, and the election of their own chief officers to carry on that govern- ment for the good of the citizens at home and abroad. “ I feel still the thrill of indescribable enthusi- astic tumult which swept James G. Blaine onwards to the forefront of the nation, and it would have been well for every monarch-ridden man in the world if he, too, could have been present in the Exposition Building to feel it, and ponder on its lessons of the rights and glory of absolute freedom.” THE “PLUMED knight’s” VICTORY. It did not take later than the hour of meeting for the anti- Blaine men to find out that the Blaine managers had not fought off a ballot the night be- fore because they feared it. Another recess had been spent in hopeless attempts to make a winning combination, and morning found Arthur making no headway, Edmunds supported by a forlorn hope, Sherman surely shrinking, and nobody else within the longest range of the nominating light- ning. The inevitable ballot was approached by the Blaine men hopefully and by the ouposition sul- lenly. It was a surprise in that it showed Blaine to have a larger first ballot strength than his mana- gers had claimed, and Arthur less than anybody, even the most enthusiastic of his opponents, had suspected. The weakness of the administration cause being thus exposed, the nomination of Blaine 3»2 THE CONVENTION OF 1584. might have been effected without further delay, but the Convention resolved itself into a mob, and the Edmunds and Arthur people made up in noise what they lacked in numbers, so that it was really economic of time to stick to the prearranged Blaine schedule of four ballots. The Convention was 'called to order at 11.19 A. M. by Chairman Henderson, who said : “ The Convention this morning will be opened by prayer by the Rev. Henry Martyn Scudder, of Chicago.” Mr. Scudder, pastor of Plymouth Church, Chi- cago, offered the following prayer : “ Almighty and ever blessed God, we worship Thee as the author of our being, as the creator of our mortal bodies and of our immortal spirits, and we adore Thee as the inexhaustible personal source of all light and love and truth and liberty and peace and gladness, and we do glorify Thee as the Supreme Law-giver and as the only rightful sovereign of all hearts and all consciences, and we do thank Thee with reverence and gratitude for the benignant providence which, from the very beginning, has watched over our beloved country. We thank Thee for its manifold deliverances in times of national peril, for its grand victory over slavery, for its symmetric development under Thy protecting care, and for its present advancement among the nations of the earth, and we do also bless Thee for our just laws and liberal institutions, for our civil and religious liberty, for our fertile lands and abundant resources, for our great cities and our happy homes. THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 353 “We bless Thee, Lord God of truth and grace, for the great faith and for our Christian churches, and for our educational privileges, and for the privileges that Thou dost continually grant to our people for their growth in the knowledge, virtue and power that constitute genuine, rational hu- manity ; and we ask Thee to pronounce Thy bene- diction upon this Convention, and grant it to-day Thy invaluable support, and that what is done here may be done in righteousness and truth, and in the spirit of patriotism ; and may every man in this Convention be endowed with the true inspira- tion of loyalty and truth and fidelity to the highest interests of our great Republic ; and now, finally, Great and Holy God, we pray Thee that this Con- vention may be led with unanimity to select for nomination to the Presidency of these United States the right man, and when he is selected by this Convention may he be elected by the American people to the chief magistracy of this country, and after he has been elected, if that be Thy will, may his life be precious in Thy sight, and may he be so endowed with every gift that he may give the country an administration that shall be an honor to this Convention, to the Republican party, and the whole American people, and a lesson to mankind ; an administration which shall be ac- ceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord of Hosts, Thou, who art the Lord God, and we ask it in the name of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.” The Chair — Gentlemen of the Convention, the Secretary will call the roll of the States and Ter- ritories that have not yet given in the names of 23 354 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. the members of the National Committee, and which were passed yesterday. A delegate from California — I desire to offer a resolution without comment. Mr. Davis, of Illinois — I demand the regular order; I object to this resolution. The Secretary then proceeded to call the roll of the States for National Committeemen, as follows : California, Horace Davis ; Colorado (a delegate from Colorado : “ Pass Colorado for the present ”) ; Florida (a delegate from Florida : “ Pass Florida”) ; New Hampshire, Edwin H. Fallett; Tennessee, W. D. Brownlow ; District of Columbia, Mr. Car- son : “ We have not agreed yet, and I am satisfied we will not agree.” New Mexico, Colonel Wil- liam H. Ryners. A delegate from California — I desire to with- draw the resolution I had in mind. I do so at the request of the members of my delegation. The Chair — Gentlemen of the Convention, there is now nothing in order except to call the roll for the nomination of a candidate for the Presidency. Mr. Turner of Alabama — Mr. President, is that call of the roll for balloting ? The Chair — For balloting — the nomination of the candidate. The Secretary then proceeded to call the roll of States for the vote on a candidate for the Presi- dency, the first ballot resulting as follows; THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 355 THE FIRST BALLOT. States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man. Alabama, 20 I 17 I Arkansas, 14 8 4 2 California, 16 16 Colorado, 6 6 Connecticut,* 12 Delaware, 6 5 1 Florida, 8 1 7 Georgia, 24 24 Illinois, 44 3 1 40 Indiana, 3 ° 18 9 I 2 Iowa, 26 26 Kansas,* 18 12 4 I Kentucky,! 26 5/4 16 2 >4 I Louisiana, 16 2 10 3 Maine, 12 12 Maryland, 16 IO 6 Massachusetts 28 I 2 2 5 Michigan, 26 15 2 7 Minnesota, 14 7 1 6 Mississippi, 18 1 i7 Missouri, 3 2 5 10 6 10 I Nebraska, 10 8 2 Nevada, 6 6 New Hampshire, 8 4 4 New Jersey, 18 9 6 I New York,f 72 28 3 1 1 2 North Carolina, 22 2 19 1 Ohio, 46 21 2 5 Oregon, 6 6 Pennsylvania, 60 47 1 1 1 1 Rhode Island, 8 8 South Carolina, 18 1 17 Tennessee, 24 7 16 1 Texas, 26 r 3 1 1 2 Vermont, 8 8 Virginia, 24 2 21 1 West Virginia, 12 12 Wisconsin, 22 10 6 6 Arizona, 2 2 Dakota, 2 2 # m Idaho, 2 / • 2 • « „ * 356 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man. Montana, 2 1 1 New Mexico, 2 . . 2 Utah, 2 . . 2 Washington, 2 2 Wyoming, 2 . . 2 District of Columbia, 2 1 1 Totals, 820 334 y 2 2 78 93 6 3/^ 3° * Hawley, 1 2 and 1 . f Lincoln, 1 and 2. 4 W. T. Slier- man, 2. During the roll-call there were numerous calls for a poll of the delegates, which necessitated the calling by the Secretary of the names of the in- dividual delegates in the States from which these calls proceeded. This caused great delay in bal- loting. After the announcement of the vote by the Secretary, the Chair said : “A ballot for a candidate for the Presidency having been had without securing a nomination, according to the rules, the Convention will now proceed to another vote. The Secretary will call the roll.” THE SECOND BALLOT. The Secretary called the roll of States for the second ballot, which resulted as follows : States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man Alabama, 20 2 17 . . I Arkansas, 14 11 3 California, Colorado, 16 16 6 6 . . . . . . Connecticut,* 12 . . . • . . , . Delaware, 6 5 1 Florida, 8 1 7 Georgia, 24 24 Illinois, 44 3 1 • • 4° THE CONVENTION -tJH OO GO r—i O 357 States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man. Indiana, 3 ° 18 9 I 2 Iowa, 26 26 , . Kansas,* 18 13 2 2 Kentucky, J 26 5 17 2 1 Louisiana, l6 4 9 2 Maine, 12 12 Maryland, 16 12 4 Massachusetts, 28 1 3 24 Michigan, J 26 15 4 5 Minnesota, 14 7 1 6 Mississippi, 18 1 17 Missouri, 3 2 7 10 5 8 1 Nebraska, 10 8 2 Nevada, 6 6 New Hampshire 8 . . 5 3 New Jersey, f 18 9 6 1 New York,f 72 28 3 1 12 North Carolina, 22 3 18 , , 1 Ohio, 46 23 . . . . 2 3 Oregon, 6 6 . . Pennsylvania, 60 47 11 1 1 Rhode Island, 8 . . • 8 South Carolina, 18 1 17 Tennessee, 24 7 16 1 Texas, 26 *3 11 2 Vermont, 8 8 , . Virginia, 24 2 21 1 West Virginia, 12 12 Wisconsin, 22 11 6 5 Arizona, 2 2 Dakota, 2 2 , , District of Columbia, 2 1 1 Idaho, 2 2 Montana, 2 1 1 New Mexico, 2 2 Utah, 2 2 Washington, 2 2 Wyoming, 2 2 Totals, 820 349 276 85 61 28 * Hawley, 12 and Sherman, 2. 1. f Lincoln, 1, 2 and 1. JW T. 358 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. When the announcement was made of the result of the second ballot, owing to the gain shown by the Blaine column, there was wild cheering, which did not subside for several minutes. Upon the partial subsidence of the noise, some delegates shouted for the regular order. The Chair — No nomination having been made, the Convention will now proceed to the third bal- lot, and the Secretary will call the roll of States and Territories. THE THIRD BALLOT. The Secretary called the roll for the third bal- lot, which resulted as follows : States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man. Alabama, 20 0 I . . Arkansas, 14 1 1 3 California, 16 16 Colorado, 6 6 , , Connecticut,* 12 . . Delaware, 6 5 1 Florida, 8 1 7 Georgia, 24 24 Illinois, 44 3 1 40 Indiana, 3 ° 18 10 . . 2 Iowa, 26 26 . , . / Kansas,* 18 15 2 . . Kentucky, f 26 6 16 2 I Louisiana, 16 4 9 2 . . Maine, 12 12 Maryland, 16 12 4 Massachusetts, 28 1 3 24 Michigan, J 26 18 4 .3 . . I Minnesota, Mississippi, f 14 7 2 5 18 1 16 Missouri, 32 1 2 1 1 4 4 THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . 359 States. Total vote. Nebraska, io Blaine. IO Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man. Nevada, 6 6 , . , . New Hampshir 8 5 3 New Jersey, f 18 1 1 1 • . New York, 72 28 3 2 12 North Carolina, 22 4 18 # # Ohio, 46 25 , . . . 21 Oregon, 6 6 . . • • Pennsylvania, 60 5 o 8 , 1 1 . . Rhode Island, 8 . . 8 South Carolina, 18 2 16 Tennessee, 24 7 17 Texas, 26 14 1 1 1 . . Vermont, 8 8 Virginia, 24 4 20 West Virginia, 12 I 2 . • Wisconsin,^ 22 1 1 IO Arizona, 2 2 . , Dakota, 2 2 . . Idaho, 2 1 • 1 Montana, New Mexico, 2 1 . , 1 2 . # 2 Utah, 2 2 Washington, 2 2 Wyoming, 2 2 Dist. of Columbia, 2 1 1 Totals, 820 375 274 69 53 25 * Hawley, 12 and 1. f Lincoln, 1, 1 and 6 JW. T. Sherman, 1 and 1. While the roll was being called for the third ballot the count in Kentucky and Massachusetts was challenged, but upon dissatisfaction being ex- pressed each of the gentlemen challenging with- drew the challenge. When eighteen votes were announced for James G. Blaine from the State of Michigan there was tremendous cheering. When Nebraska was reached Mr. Thurston arose and said: 360 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. “ Mr. Chairman : Nebraska, with her fifty thou- sand Republicans — ” Here again a profound hostility appeared to pre- vail among the audience against further oratory, and it was manifested in the most vociferous man- ner. The Chairman finally succeeded in getting order, and Mr. Thurston continued — “casts ten votes for James G. Blaine,” and sat down amid tremendous noise. While the roll was proceeding and after the State of Nevada had been called, delegates were seen rushing through the aisles in various direc- tions. When North Carolina was reached there was a great deal of uproar and the Chair said : “ The gentlemen in the aisles will please take their seats and the Sergeant-at-Arms will please see that they do so.” An assistant Sergeant-at-Arms rushed around at a terrific pace insisting with vehemence that the order applied with peculiar force and especially to the reporters. When the result of the third ballot was an- nounced there was another scene of wild confusion and cheering. When opportunity offered, Judge Foraker, of Ohio, was recognized by the Chair. Judge Foraker — I move that we take a recess until half-past 7 o’clock this evening. Mr. Dutcher, of New York — I second the motion for a recess. On the question of adjournment there were many THE CONTENTION OF 1884. 361 delays, occasioned by the demand from certain of the States for a polling of the vote. The result on the vote was yeas, 364 ; nays, 450. This an- nouncement produced another season of wild cheer- ing, during which Mr. Foraker, of Ohio, again arose in his seat. Mr. Foraker, of Ohio — I move that the rules of this Convention be suspended, and that James G. Blaine be nominated by acclamation. [Loud ap- plause and great confusion.] Mr. Roosevelt, of New York — It cannot be done. [Loud cries of “ Roll-call, roll-call,” and continued confusion.] Mr. Winston, of North Carolina — I move that we proceed with the order of business — proceed to call the roll for another ballot. [Loud cries of “ Call the roll, call the roll,” and great confusion.] Mr. Houck, of Tennessee — I desire to inquire how Mr. Cassel, of Tennessee, is recorded ? [Con- tinued confusion, and cries of “ Too late, too late,” and “ Roll-call, roll-call.”] Mr. Foraker — My motion is that the rules of this Convention be suspended, and that James G. Blaine be nominated by acclamation. [Loud and long-continued cheers and great confusion.] Mr. Roosevelt, of New York — I ask for roll-call. Mr. Burrows, of Michigan — I demand the regular order and a call of the roll. [Loud cheers.] Mr. Roosevelt, of New York — On behalf of New York I ask for a call of the roll. [Great confusion 362 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. Mr. Burrows, of Michigan — I demand a call of the roll and I move that we proceed to ballot. [Continued confusion and commotion in the hall.] Mr. Foraker, of Ohio — In order that the time of this Convention may be saved, at the request of several members, I withdraw the motion I made. The Chairman directed the Clerk to call the roll of States for the fourth ballot. THE FOURTH BALLOT. The Secretary called the roll of the States for the fourth and last ballot as follows : States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur. Edmunds. Logan. Alabama, 20 8 12 # , Arkansas, 14 1 1 3 California, 16 16 Colorado, 6 6 . , Connecticut,* 12 . . . . Delaware, 6 5 I Florida, 8 3 5 v Georgia, 24 24 Illinois, 44 34 3 6 Indiana, 3° 3° . . Iowa, 26 24 2 Kansas, 18 18 Kentucky, f 26 9 1 Louisiana, 16 9 7 Maine, 12 1 2 Maryland, 16 i5 1 Massachusetts, 28 3 7 18 Michigan, 26 26 • Minnesota, 14 14 Mississippi, ' 18 2 16 Missouri, 3 2 3 2 . . Nebraska, 10 10 Nevada, 6 6 Sher- man. THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . 363 States. Total vote. Blaine. Arthur Edmunds. Logan. Sher- man. New Hampshire, 8 3 2 3 New Jersey, 18 17 1 New York,*! 72 2 9 3° 9 North Carolina,* 22 8 12 Ohio, 46 46 Oregon, 6 6 Pennsylvania, 60 5 1 8 1 Rhode Island, 8 7 1 South Carolina, 18 2 U 1 Tennessee, 24 1 1 I 2 Texas, 26 U 8 Vermont, 8 8 Virginia, 24 4 20 West Virginia, 12 12 Wisconsin, 22 22 Arizona, 2 2 Dakota, 2 2 District of Columbia, 2 1 1 Idaho, 2 2 Montana, 2 2 New Mexico, 2 2 Utah, 2 2 Washington, 2 2 Wyoming, 2 2 Totals, * Hawley, r2, 2 820 and 1. 541 207 4 Lincoln, 1 4 i and 1. 7 • • During the ballot, when the State of Arkansas was called, Mr. Burrows, of Michigan, arose and said : “ I rise to a question of order. It is utterly im- possible to hear a word unless order is restored. Unless that order is restored I shall move that this Convention adjourn to a hall by itself to finish these proceedings.” [Great applause, confusion and laughter.] The vote of Florida was polled on the fourth 364 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. ballot. When the name of Joseph E. Lee, of Florida, was called, he said : “ The old guard dies, but never surrenders — Chester A. Arthur.” [Ap- plause.] When Georgia was called, the chairman of the delegation, Mr. Buck, said : “ Before coming into this Convention the delegation of Georgia agreed to act as a unit. A majority of the dele- gation are still for Chester A. Arthur, and unless a vote is called I shall announce twenty-four votes for Arthur.” [Loud applause and cries of “ Good ! good ! ”] The Chair — Is there any contest in Georgia? [Loud cries of “ No, no.”] The Chair — Georgia then casts her twenty-four votes for Chester A. Arthur. [Loud applause.] When Illinois was called the chairman of the delegation, Mr. S. M. Cullom, said : “ I ask leave of this Convention to read a dispatch which I re- ceived a few moments ago from General John A. Logan, addressed to the Illinois delegation. [Loud cries of “ Regular order, regular order,” “ We object, ” “ Call the roll,” and great confusion.] Mr. Cullom — To the Republicans [loud cries of “ Order ! Call the roll ! Regular order ! ”] — I am directed by General Logan to read it to this Con- vention, and shall send the dispatch to the desk to be read. [Loud cries of “ No ! no ! ” and great confusion.] Mr. Burrows, of Michigan — I make the point of order that the reading of the dispatch is not in THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 365 order, and nothing but the announcement of the vote is in order. [Loud applause.] The Chair — The Chair sustains the point of order. [Loud applause.] Mr. Cullom — The Illinois delegation then with- draws the name of General Logan, and gives for Blaine 34 votes, for Logan 7, and for Arthur 3. [Loud applause and loud cheers.] When the State of Ohio was called, Judge For- aker arose and said : “For what I suppose to be the best interests of this party, I presented the name of John Sherman to this Convention. Also supposing it to be for the best interests of the party, we have until now favorably and most cordially supported him. Now, also, in the in* terests of the party, we withdraw him and cast for James G. Blaine forty-six votes.” [Tremendou outburst of applause.] The Secretary then announced the result of th« fourth ballot for President as follows : Whole number of delegates, 820 ; whole number of votes cast, 816 ; necessary to a choice, 411 ; of which Robert T. Lincoln received 2, John A. Logan 7, Joseph R. Hawley 15, George F. Edmunds 41, Chester A. Arthur 207, and James G. Blaine 544. The Secretary’s announcement of the vote for James G. Blaine got no further than the hundreds, for his voice was lost in the whirlwind of ap- plause that followed the announcement of the fact of Blaine’s nomination, which had been a certainty THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . 867 ever sinoe Shelby M. Cullom had tried to read his telegram from John A. Logan. Every person in the audience, delegates and visitors alike, rose to their feet simultaneously, and all being Blaine men, shouted and sang their delight at the success of the man from Maine with demonstrations of joy such as had not been seen before in the Convention. It took nearly thirty minutes to get to business. The Chair — Gentlemen of the Convention [the ushers making diligent efforts to restore quiet], Order ! [At this point the booming of the cannon was heard, which caused renewed cheering. The Convention at length becoming comparatively quiet the Chairman resumed.] James G. Blaine, of Maine, having received the votes of a majority of all the delegates elected to the Convention — [the Chairman at this point finding himself unable to make his voice heard in the confusion that pre- vailed handed the written announcement to the Secretary, who read it as follows :] J ames G. Blaine having received the votes of a majority of all the delegates elected to this Con- vention, the question now before the Convention is, shall the nomination of Mr. Blaine be made unanimous. [Cries of “ Yes.”] On that motion the Chair recognized Mr. Burleigh, of New York. Mr. Burleigh having taken the platform, said : Mr. President — In behalf of the President of the United States, and at his request, I move to 368 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. make the nomination of James G. Blaine unani- mous, and I promise for the friends of President Arthur, who are always loyal at the polls, and for Northern New York, 20,000 Republican majority, and I promise you. all that we will do all we can for the ticket and for the nominee, and will show you in November next that New York is a Repub- lican State. It elected James A. Garfield and it will elect James G. Blaine, of Maine. [Applause.] The Chair — The gentleman from Minnesota has the floor. Mr. Sabin, of Minnesota, having the floor, said : Mr. Chairman, four yours ago, in this very hall, and as a delegate to the National Republican Con- vention, I was opposed to Chester A. Arthur and to the elements with which he then associated. Since then he has been called, under the most > trying circumstances, to fill the first place in the gift of the people of this country. So well, so nobly, so faithfully has he fulfilled this trust, and so happily has he disappointed, not only those of his opponents, but his friends, so fully has he filled the position of the scholar and the gentleman, that he is possessed of that great, good common sense, which has made his administration a great and pronounced success, that he has grown upon me, until to-day I honor and revere Chester A. Arthur. [Applause.] As a friend of his, I no less honor and revere that prince of gentlemen, that scholar, that gifted statesman, James G. Blaine, whose nomination it affords me the greatest pleas- ure to second, with the prediction that his name THE CONVENTION OF 1884 . 369 before the country in November will produce that same spontaneous enthusiasm which will make him President of the United States on the 4th of March next. [Loud and prolonged applause. Cries of Curtis.] Mr. Plumb, of Kansas — Mr. Chairman, this Convention has discharged two of its most impor- tant trusts, and is now, notwithstanding the length of time it has been in session and the exciting scenes through which it has passed, in thorough good humor, and I believe we are ready to go on and conclude the business which brought us all here. [No, no.] Mr. Houck, of Nebraska — There is a motion to make the nomination unanimous. That is the question before the Convention, and I call for the regular order. Mr. Plumb, of Kansas — Before proceeding with that I desire to respond to the sentiment which pervades the entire Convention. I move that this nomination be made unanimous, and I hope there will not be a dissenting voice in all this vast as- semblage. The Chair — I have been requested to read to the Convention the following telegraphic despatch : The President has sent the following despatch to Mr. Blaine : The Hon. James G. Blaine, Augusta, Maine — = As the candidate of the Republican party you will have my earnest, cordial support. 24 370 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. The Chair — Shall the motion to make the nom- ination unanimous prevail ? All those in favor of that will say aye [the tremendous shout of “ aye ” sent up by the vast multitude clearly demonstrated the fact that the nomination was made unani- mous.] Mr. Husted, of New York — I move that this Convention do now adjourn until eight o’clock this evening. The motion prevailed. The Convention then adjourned until eight o’clock in the evening. There was a very large attendance, as well of delegates as of spectators, at the evening session. The galleries were hardly less crowded than at any of the preceding sessions ; but there was a marked absence of any other feeling than one of simple curiosity. It was 8.15 o’clock when the Chair- man’s gavel fell, calling the Convention to order. The resolution limiting speeches of nomination to ten minutes passed, and the clerk proceeded to call the roll of States for nominations. No re- sponse was received until Illinois was reached, when Senator Plumb, of Kansas, said that it was but a matter of just recognition to the great body of the soldiers of the war for the Union, that a representative from their number should be placed as the second name on the ticket. The Grand Army of the Republic had enrolled more than three-quarters of a million men who lately wore the blue. In presenting a name from their ranks, THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 371 the Speaker would mention a man fitted in every way for the first place ; a man who would add strength to the ticket, and justify the hopes and expectations of the party. That man was General John A. Logan. The speaker did not present him on behalf of Illinois, or of any other State, but of the whole United States. He belonged no more to Illinois than to Kansas, where 75,000 soldiers would receive the news of his nomination with shouts of gladness. The speaker was commis- sioned by the State of Kansas to make this nomi- nation. The nomination was seconded by Judge Houck, of Tennessee ; Hon. J. M. Thurston, of Nebraska ; Senator Joseph W. Lee, of Pennsylvania; Con- gressman Horr, of Michigan; John C. Dancy, col- ored, and delegates from Georgia and Kentucky. A motion was made to nominate Logan by ac- clamation. This method was tried but did not prove satisfactory, and, after several speeches were made, Congressman Davis, of Illinois, demanded a call of the roll on the nominations. This was ordered. When New York was reached, George William Curtis announced that his delegation was not quite ready, and asked that time be given to make the count. The request was granted, and the call proceeded. The roll being completed, New York was again called, and Mr. Curtis announced the vote of that State as one vote for Foraker, of Ohio ; six votes 372 the convention of 1884. for Gresham, of Indiana, and sixty votes for Logan. The vote was unanimous, with the ex- ception of these seven from New York, Logan’s total vote being 779. The nomination was then made unanimous. It would be impossible in the above detailed description of the proceedings to tell of the tumul- tuous enthusiasm that prevailed from the time the Convention began until its work was ended. No better idea can be given than that of a gen- tleman who wrote the following letter to a friend. The description is a most graphic one : “ James G. Blaine is nominated. “ Twice defeated for the nomination, once in 1876 by the jealousy of a part of New England and the opposition of Ohio and the South and once in 1880 by the machine, the choice of Republican States and Republican voters has become at last the choice of the Republican party. Yesterday evening left without question or challenge the position he occupied before the Convention. He was the first choice of an overwhelming plurality. He was the second choice of an equally over- whelming majority. No one candidate could equal his strength on the first ballot and no combination of candidates could equal the number of those who, when their first choice was laid aside, preferred James G. Blaine to any other man within the party. “ These things were plain. They pointed to a logical result, which accident might prevent or intrigue defeat 3 but the course and outcome of the THE CONTENTION OF 1884. 373 day showed that neither could accomplish its pur- pose. He was nominated. The steady march of Republican desires, begun long ago in village primaries and the county caucus, had to-day its long drawn triumph and crowning suffrage. Step by step the work in the Convention went on. “ The roll-call for the first ballot is over at last. Then clerks bend over the tally sheets, innumer- able pencils pass up and down, and, as Henderson rises to give the result, there is a wild sway and raid of telegraph boys about the correspondent’s desk. All over the land men are putting up before listening thousands the tally : Blaine, 334i ; Ar- thur, 278; Edmunds, 93; Logan, 63£ ; John Sherman, 30 ; Hawley, 13 ; Lincoln, 3 ; General Sherman, 2. The first ballot ends in a Blaine storm checked as the second ballot opens. “ Changes begin. Arkansas adds three votes to Blaine. A dozen States pass, and the vote stands unchanged. The second ballot goes on and Blaine is gaining. Every vote is watched with breathless interest followed by tumults of applause. The Blaine men feel that they are gaining ground. The Arthur men know that they are losing. The Edmunds men are disconsolate. The ballot ends, and Blaine is further to the front. “With Blaine at 349 and Arthur at 276, how- ever. the gap was widened past repair between the candidates, and it was plain when order came again, such order as this restless mob gives, that the next ballot must make or mar all the plans of the past or assure all the hopes of the future. “ In the midst of it, his lips vainly forming sen- tence after sentence, stands Eoraker, slender, well- built, his face shining wi* u + he effort and his voice 374 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. carried away by the Blaine gale. Minute by minute passes before a lull comes, and then it be- comes known, rather by men passing the word along than by any hearing of his words, that he moves a recess until 7.30. “It was the last uncertain chance to defeat Blaine, the bare possibility that five hours of cabal might bring the candidate, in place of Blaine, whom five months of popular agitation and discussion had not evolved. “Straightway Stewart, steadying himself, shouts in the storm that breaks on Foraker’s motion that the opposing forces have passed the skirmish line and the battle must join. For the first time in the frequent popular calls for Blaine his cause has had good management before the Convention. For the first time it had now a leader in the Conven- tion. There is in the stress and storm of these conflicts the shock, if not the danger, of battle, and Stewart, by voice and manner, by look and gesture, standing erect, his face aflame and his arm extended, threw into his manner all that a leader in the forefront needed. This may not be the best way to decide momentous issues ; but, given these conditions, by such leadership is victory won, and won it was.” While these stirring scenes were being enacted in Chicago, Mr. Blaine was at his home in Au- gusta, Maine, with his family. He heard the news a very Tew moments after the final ballot was taken. The now nominee of the Republican party was quietly swinging in a hammock under a spreading apple tree, **~d sitting round him were THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 375 Mrs. Blaine and two of her daughters, Miss Stan- wood (Mrs. Blaine’s sister), Miss Dodge (“Gail Hamilton ”), Mr. and Mrs. Homan, Miss Manly and Miss Johnson. His demeanor of quiet composure was in nowise disturbed from what it has been all through the past week. “ I did not expect a definite result so soon,” said Mr. Blaine, addressing one of the group, “ but the anxiety in regard to the nomination question is over at least.” NOMINATED BY THE POPULAR WILL. To Mr. Sprague, editor of his home paper, who at this moment put in his appearance, he said : “ Well, the biggest liar in the country cannot say I schemed, or dictated, or traded, or had anything to do with the nomination or Convention. I have asked no delegate to vote for me ; have written to no man, not even to Mr. Manly or Mr. John A. Stevens, or Mr. Bigelow, or my friend Homan here. To no one have I said one word in any way, manner or shape that can in any way be construed to be a bid or move toward this nomination.” At this instant the report of the old cannon on the wharf at Hallowell, said to be one that was used on the “ Boxer” during her fight with the “ En- terprise,” gave the first boom for Blaine that was sounded in the State of Maine. “ Isn’t this glorious ! ” cried Miss Dodge to some 376 THE CONVENTION OF 1884. ladies who had just driven up. The first congratu- latory despatch received by Mr. Blaine was from General Collis, of New York, and was sent before the final vote was taken. SOUNDS OF REJOICING. Mr. Blaine and his entire family seemed just as quiet and unconcerned as ever ; but as the crowd of friends increased and the streets around began to be crowded with village folks shouting their huzzas and pushing to get the best view of the happy party on the lawn, the children began to show signs of excitement. Then Miss Dodg< caught the sound of the church bells as they began to ring, and this was followed by shrieks of steam whistles from factories and steamers on the river. The noise as it increased began to relax the severe strain which the entire family held over their feelings, and one by one they grew more animated, a brighter light came to the eye, and the voices were raised a little higher. The air was filled with shouts of joy as the throngs grew thicker on the streets. The bells and guns from Hallowell and Gardiner, two and six miles down the river, joined in the general din. Newspaper correspondents began to make their way along to the party on the lawn, and Mr. Blaine himself began to show the effects of the tremendous excitement as the crowd grew larger and the noise increased in volume. It seemed as THE CONVENTION OF 1884. 377 though every workshop and store had emptied itself into the streets, and everybody was excited and jubilant. The Democrats caught the excitement, and were inclined to feel that the selection of an Augusta resi- dent was at least an honor to good citizens, and they were willing to join in the glad celebration going on. Congratulatory despatches kept coming in as fast as the facilities of the telegraph office could receive them. Extra operators and a large- force of mes- sengers were put on. The local train from Gar- diner and Hallowell brought in all that could stand upon it. The 8 o’clock train also brought crowds. At 8.30 a procession was formed in the square down town. Headed by a brass band, they marched over the city and to Mr. Blaine’s house, where they began the celebration that will be kept up the remainder of the campaign. When the procession reached Mr. Blaine’s resi- dence on Commercial street it halted, and the spokesman of the party cried : “ Three cheers for the next President of the United States.” A storm of cheers followed. In response, Mr. Blaine appeared at the doorway and surveyed the assem- bled multitude for a moment. All demonstration was quickly hushed, and Mr. Blaine spoke as fol- lows : “ My friends and my neighbors — I thank you most sincerely for the honor of this call. There is no spot in the world where good news comes to 378 the convention of 1884. me so gratefully as here at my own home, among the people with whom I have been on terms of friendship and intimacy for more than thirty years — people whom I know and who know me. Thanking you again for the heartiness of the com- pliment, I bid you good-night.” There was a happy gathering that night in the Blaine mansion. Long after the rest of the family had retired, Mr. and Mrs. Blaine sat up and talked about the gratifying result of the Convention’s work. Mrs. Blaine was proud and happy ; proud of her noble husband and his great abilities, and happy because the people had rebuked treachery and called him to be their standard-bearer to lead them on to victory at the polls. Mr. Blaine showed no excitement whatever. He was calm and col- lected, and after talking for an hour or two, went to bed and slept as soundly as though he had not passed through weeks of waiting for the people’s decision. CHAPTER XVII. Mr. Blaine Accepts the Nomination. Never was a presidential nomination more sponta- neous than that which placed the banner of his great party in the hands of the “Plumed Knight.” He had received over 7,000 letters urging him to be a candi- date, but had not answered one. When the news came from Chicago he received it with calm satisfac- tion, and said he received the nomination with greater pleasure from the fact that it was entirely unsolicited. His friends and neighbors soon crowded about him to extend their congratulations. The telegraph wires were burdened with messages of good-will. The first came from President Arthur. In any other man the generosity and promptness of the pledge might have excited surprise ; in Chester A. Arthur it was only natural. To the Hon. James G. Blaine , Augusta , Maine : As the candidate of the Republican. party, you will have my earnest and cordial support. Chester A. Arthur. Another brought the benediction of a bereaved home, and there came with it a voice from beyond the grave. ( 379 ) 380 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G . BLAINE. Cleveland, O., June 7. To Hon. yames G. Blaine : Our household joins in one great thanksgiving. ’From the quiet of our home we send our most earnest wish that through the turbulent months to follow, and in the day of victory, you may be guarded and kept. Lucretia R. Garfield. In Augusta the good news was hailed with great rejoicing by the fellow-citizens of the honored candi- date. Bells were rung and cannon fired. Far into the night the streets were thronged with people filling the air with their lusty cheers for the “ Man from Maine.” Early in the evening a crowd gathered about Mr. Blaine’s house, and in response to the cheering, he appeared at the door and briefly addressed them : My Friends and my Neighbors: I thank you most sincerely for the honor of this call. There is no spot in the world where good news comes to me so grate- fully as here at my own home ; among the people with whom I have been on terms of friendship and intimacy for more than thirty years, people whom I know and who know me. Thanking you again for the heartiness of the compliment, I bid you good-night. informed of his nomination. The committee appointed to inform Mr. Blaine of his nomination performed that duty at Augusta, June 21. The ceremony took place on the lawn near the house. Representatives of every State and Territory were there. Mr. Henderson, as chairman of the ( 381 ) THE RETURN OF THE MAINE DELEGATES FROM CHICAGO, AFTER NOMINATING JAMES G. BLAINE, 382 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Committee and on behalf of the Convention, in a few well-chosen words formally tendered to Mr. Blaine the nomination of the Republican party foi* the Presidency of the United States. During the address of the chairman Mr. Blaine stood with folded arms, the central figure of a brilliant and picturesque group. And then with a becoming recognition of the present honor and the responsibility which was its price, and with a hope- ful look into the face of the future, which seemed in the stillness of that perfect June day to whisper back a glad “ Hail and Welcome,” he briefly responded, accepting the nomination : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the National Committee : I receive not without deep sensibility your official notice of the action of the National Conven- tion already brought to my knowledge through the public press. I appreciate more profoundly than I can express the honor which is implied in a nomina- tion for the Presidency by the Republican party of the nation — speaking through the authoritative voice of duly accredited delegates. To be selected as a candi- date by such an assemblage from the list of eminent statesmen whose names were presented, fills me with embarrassment. I can only express my gratitude for so signal an honor, and my earnest desire to prove worthy of the great trust reposed in me. In accepting the nomination, as I now do, I am im- pressed, I might almost say oppressed, with a sense of the labor and responsibility which attach to my position. The burden is lightened, however, by the hosts of BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 383 earnest men who support my candidacy, many of whom add — as does your honorable committee — the cheer of personal friendship to the pledge of political fealty. A more formal acceptance will naturally be ex- pected, and will in due season be communicated. It may, however, not be inappropriate at this time to say that I have already made careful study of the principles announced by the National Convention, and that in the whole and in detail they have my heartiest sympa- thy, and meet my unqualified approval. Apart from your official errand, gentlemen, I am extremely happy to welcome you all to my home. With many of you I have already shared the duties of public service, and have enjoyed the most cordial friendship. I trust your journey from all parts of the great Republic has been agreeable, and that during your stay in Maine you will feel that you are not among strangers, but with friends. Invoking the blessing of God upon the great cause which we jointly represent, let us turn to the*-future without fear and with manly hearts. LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. Having accepted the nomination informally, Mr, Blaine afterward forwarded to the National Republh can Committee the following letter in which his views on public questions and the leading issues of the campaign were clearly stated, and which was con- sidered to be an admirable presentation of the great principles of the party : 384 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Augusta, Me., July 15, 1884. The Hon. John B. Henderson and Others of the Committee, etc., etc. Gentlemen : — In accepting the nomination for the Presidency tendered me by the National Republican Convention, I beg to express a deep sense of the honor which is conferred, and of the duty which is im- posed. I venture to accompany the accept- ance with some obser- vations upon the ques- tions involved in the contest — q u e s t i o n s whose settlement may affect the future of the Nation favorably or unfavorably for a long series of years. In enumerating the issues upon which the Republican party ap- peals for popular sup- port, the Convention has been singularly explicit and felicitous. It has properly given the leading position to the industrial interests of the country as affected by the tariff on im- ports. On that question the two political parties are radically in conflict. Almost the first act of the Re- publicans, when they came into power in 1861, was the establishment of the principle of protection to Amer- BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 385 ican laoor and to American capital. This principle the Republican party has ever since steadily maintained, while on the other hand the Democratic party in Con- gress has for fifty years persistently warred upon it. Twice within that period our opponents have destroyed tariffs arranged for protection, and since the close of the Civil War, whenever they have controlled the House of Representatives, hostile legislation has been attempted — never more conspicuously than in their principal measure at the late session of Congress. TARIFF REVISION. Revenue laws are in their very nature subject to frequent revision in order that they may be adapted to changes and modifications of trade. The Republi- can party is not contending for the permanency of any particular statute. The issue between the two parties does not have reference to a specific law. It is far broader and far deeper. It involves a principle of wide application and beneficent influence, against a theory which we believe to be unsound in conception and inevitably hurtful in practice. In the many tariff revisions which have been neces- sary for the past twenty-three years, or which may hereafter become necessary, the Republican party has maintained and will maintain the policy of protection to American industry, while our opponents insist upon a revision which practically destroys that policy. The issue is thus distinct, well defined, and unavoidable. The pending election may determine the fate of protection for a generation. The overthrow of the 25 386 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. policy means a large and permanent reduction in the wages of the American laborer, besides involving the loss of vast amounts of American capital invested in manufacturing enterprises. The value of the present revenue system to the people of the United States is not a matter of theory, and I shall submit no argument to sustain it. I only invite attention to certain facts of official record which seem to con- stitute a demonstra- tion. HOW RICH IS OUR NATION ? In the census of 1850, an effort was made for the first time in our history to obtain a valuation of all the property in the United States. The attempt was in a large degree unsuc- cessful. Partly from lack of time, partly from preju- dice among many who thought the inquiries fore- shadowed a new scheme of taxation, the returns were incomplete and unsatisfactory. Little more was done than to consolidate the local valuation used in the States for purposes of assessment, and that differs widely from a complete exhibit of all the property. In the census of i860, however, the work was done BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 387 with great thoroughness — the distinction between “assessed” value and “true” value being carefully observed. The grand result was that the “true value” of all the property in the States and Territories (ex- cluding slaves) amounted to fourteen thousand millions of dollars ($14,000,000,000). This aggregate was the net result of the labor and the savings of all the people within the area of the United States, from the time the first British colonists landed in 1607, down to the year i860. It represented the fruit of the toil of two hun- dred and fifty years. VAST INCREASE OF WEALTH. After i860 the business of the country was encour- aged and developed by a protective tariff. At the end of twenty years, the total property of the United States, as returned by the census of 1880, amounted to the enormous aggregate of forty-four thousand millions of dollars ($44,000,000,000). This great result was at- tained, notwithstanding the fact that countless millions had, in the interval, been wasted in the progress of a bloody war. It thus appears, that while our population between i860 and 1880 increased sixty per cent., the aggregate property increased two hundred and four- teen per cent., showing a vastly enhanced wealth per capita among the people. Thirty thousand millions of dollars ($30,000,000,000) had been added during these twenty years to the permanent wealth of the Nation. These results are regarded by the older nations of the world as phenomenal. That our country should surmount the peril and the cost of a gigantic war, and 388 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE for an entire period of twenty years make an average gain to its wealth of $i 25,000,000 per month, surpasses the experience of all other nations, ancient or modern. Even the opponents of the present revenue system do not pretend that in the whole history of civilization any parallel can be found to the material progress of the United States since the accession of the Republican party to power. MORAL PROGRESS. The period between i860 and to-day has not been one of material prosperity only. At no time in the history of the United States has there been such prog- ress in the moral and philanthropic field. Religious and charitable institutions, schools, seminaries and colleges have been founded and endowed far more generously than at any previous time in our history. Greater and more varied relief has been extended to human suffering, and the entire progress of the country in wealth has been accompanied and dignified by a broadening and elevation of our National character as a people. Our opponents find fault that our revenue system produces a surplus. But they should not forget that the law has given a specific purpose to which all of the surplus is profitably and honorably applied — the re- duction of the public debt and the consequent relief of the burden of taxation. No dollar has been wasted, and the only extravagance with which the party stands charged is the generous pensioning of soldiers, sailors, and their families — an extravagance which embodies BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 389 the highest form of justice in the recognition- and payment of a sacred debt. When reduction of taxa- tion is to be made, the Republican party can be CHESTER A. ARTHUR. trusted to accomplish it in such a form as will most effectively aid the industries of the Nation. A RADICAL ERROR. A frequent accusation by our opponents is that the- 390 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. foreign commerce of the country has steadily decayed under the influence of the protective tariff. In this way they seek to array the importing interests against the Republican party. It is a common and yet radical error to confound the commerce of the country with its carrying trade — an error often committed inno- cently and sometimes designedly — but an error so gross that it does not distinguish between the ship and the cargo. Foreign commerce represents the exports and imports of a country, regardless of the nationality of the vessel that may carry the commodities of ex- change. Our carrying trade has, from some obvious causes, suffered many discouragements since i860, but our foreign commerce has in the same period steadily and prodigiously increased — increased, indeed, at a rate and to an amount which absolutely dwarf all pre- vious developments of our trade beyond the sea. IMMENSE EXPORT TRADE. From i860 to the present time, the foreign com- merce of the United States (divided with approximate equality between exports and imports) reached the astounding aggregate of twenty-four thousand mil- lions of dollars ($24,000,000,000) . The balance in this vast commerce inclined in our favor, but it would have been much larger if our trade with the countries of America — elsewhere referred to — had been more wisely adjusted. • It is difficult even to appreciate the magnitude of our export trade since i860, and we can gain a cor- rect conception of it only by comparison with preced- BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 391 ing results in the same field. The total exports from the United States from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 down to the day of Lincoln’s election in i860, added to all that had previously been exported from the American colonies from their original settlement, amounted to less than nine thousand millions of dollars ($9,000,000,000). On the other hand, our exports from i860 to the close of the last fiscal year exceeded twelve thousand millions of dollars ($12,000,000,000) — the whole of it being the product of American labor. Evidently a protective tariff has not injured our export trade, when, under its influence, we exported in twenty-four years 40 per cent, more than the total amount that had been exported in the entire previous history of American commerce. All the details when analyzed, correspond with this gigan- tic result. THE FARMER LEADS. The commercial cities of the Union never had such growth as they have enjoyed since i860. Our chief emporium, the city of New York, with its dependen- cies, has, within that period, doubled her population and increased her wealth fivefold. During the same period, the imports and exports which have entered and left her harbor are more than double, in bulk and value, the whole amount imported and exported by her between the settlement of the first Dutch colony on the Island of Manhattan and the outbreak of the Civil War in i860. The agricultural interest is by far the largest in the 392 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Nation, and is entitled, in every adjustment of revenue laws, to the first consideration. Any policy hostile to the fullest development of agriculture in the United States must be abandoned. Realizing this fact, the opponents of the present system of revenue have labored very earnestly to persuade the farmers of the United States that they are robbed by a protective tariff, and the effort is thus made to consolidate their vast influence in favor of free trade. But, happily, the farmers of America are intelligent, and cannot be misled by sophistry when conclusive facts are before them. They see plainly that, during the past twenty- four years, wealth has not been acquired in one sec- tion or by one interest at the expense of another sec- tion or another interest. They see that the agricul- tural States have made even more rapid progress than the manufacturing States. AGRICULTURE PAYS. The farmers see that in i860 Massachusetts and Illinois had about the same wealth — between $800,- 000,000 and $900,000,000 each — and that in 1880 Massachusetts had advanced to $2,600,000,000, while Illinois had advanced to $3,200,000,000. They see that New Jersey and Iowa were just equal in popula- tion in i860, and that in twenty years the wealth of New Jersey was increased by the sum of $850,000,000, while the wealth of Iowa was increased by the sum of $1,500,000,000. They see that the nine leading agricultural States of the West had grown so rapidly in prosperity that BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 393 the a°f2rre°:ate addition to their wealth since i860 is almost as great as the wealth of the entire country in that year. They see that the South, which is almost exclusively agricultural, has shared in the general prosperity, and that, having recovered from the loss and devastation of war, it has gained so rapidly that its total wealth is at least the double of that which it possessed in i860, exclusive of slaves. THE GREAT HOME MARKET. In these extraordinary developments the farmers see the helpful impulse of a home -market, and they see that the financial and revenue system, enacted since the Republican party came into power, has es- tablished and constantly expanded the home market. They see that even in the case of wheat, which is our chief cereal export, they have sold, in the average of the years since the close-of the war, three bushels at home to one they have sold abroad, and that in the case of corn, the only other cereal which we export to any extent, one hundred bushels have been used at home to three and a half bushels exported. In some years the disparity has been so great that for ever)' peck of corn exported one hundred bushels have been consumed in the home market. The far- mers see that, in the increasing competition from the grain fields of Russia and from the distant plains of India, the growth of the home market becomes daily of greater concern to them, and that its impairment would depreciate the value of every acre of tillable land in the Union. 394 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. INTERNAL FREE TRADE. Such facts as these, touching the growth and con- sumption of cereals at home, give us some slight con- ception of the vastness of the internal commerce of the United States. They suggest also, that in ad- dition to the advantages which the American people enjoy from protection against foreign competition, they enjoy the advantages of absolute free trade over a larger area and with a greater population than any other nation. The internal commerce of our thirty- eight States and nine Territories is carried on without let or hindrance, without tax, detention, or govern- mental interference of any kind whatever. It spreads freely over an area of three and a half million square miles— almost equal in extent to the whole continent of Europe. Its profits are enjoyed to-day by 56,000,- 000 of American freemen and from this enjoyment no monopoly is created. DOMESTIC COMMERCE. According to Alexander Hamilton, when he dis- cussed the same subject in 1790, “ the internal compe- tition which takes place does away with everything like monopoly, and by degrees reduces the prices of articles to the minimum of a reasonable profit on the capital employed.” It is impossible to point to a single monopoly in the United States that has been created or fostered by the industrial system which is upheld by the Republican party. Compared with our foreign commerce, these do- mestic exchanges are inconceivably great in amount — BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 395 requiring merely as one instrumentality as large a mileage of railway as exists to-day in all the other nations of the world combined. These internal ex- changes are estimated by the Statistical Bureau of the Treasury Department to be annually twenty times as great in amount as our foreign commerce. It is into this vast field of home trade — at once the creation and the heritage of the American people — that foreign nations are striving by every device to enter. It is into this field that the opponents of our present rev- enue system would freely admit the countries of Europe — countries into whose internal trade we could not reciprocally enter, countries to which we should be surrendering every advantage of trade ; from which we should be gaining nothing in return. LABOR AND CAPITAL. A policy of this kind would be 'disastrous to the mechanics and workingmen of the United States. Wages are unjustly reduced when an industrious man is not able by his earnings to live in comfort, educate his children, and lay by a sufficient amount for the ne- cessities of age. The reduction of wages inevitably consequent upon throwing our home market open to the world would deprive them of the power to do this. It would prove a great calamity to our country. It would produce a conflict between the poor and the rich, and in the sorrowful degradation of labor would plant the seeds of public danger. The Republican party has steadily aimed to main- tain just relations between labor and capital, guarding 396 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. with care the rights of each. A conflict between the two has always led in the past and will always lead in the future to the injury of both. Labor is indispen- sable to the creation and profitable use of capital, and capital increases the efficiency and value of labor. Whoever arrays the one against the other is an enemy of both. That policy is wisest and best which har- monizes the two on the basis of absolute justice. The Republican party has protected the free labor of America so that its compensation is larger than is real- ized in any other country. It has guarded our people against the unfair competition of contract labor from China, and may be called upon to prohibit the growth of a similar evil from Europe. It is obviously unfair to permit capitalists to make contracts for cheap labor in foreign countries to the hurt and disparagement of the labor of American citizens. Such a policy (like that which would leave the time and other conditions of home labor exclusively in the control of the employer) is injurious to all parties — not the least so to the unhappy persons who are made the subjects of the contract. AN INTELLIGENT AND VIRTUOUS PEOPLE. The institutions of the United States rest upon the intelligence and virtue of all the people. Suffrage is made universal as a just weapon of self-protection to every citizen. It is not the interest of the Republic that any economic system should be adopted which involves the reduction of wages to the hard standard prevailing elsewhere. The Republican party aims to elevate and dignify labor — not to degrade it. BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 397 As a substitute for the industrial system which, under Republican administration, has developed such extraordinary prosperity, our opponents offer a policy which is but a series of experiments upon our system of revenue — a policy whose end must be harm to our manufactures and greater harm to our labor. Experi- ment in the industrial and financial system is the country’s greatest dread, as stability is its greatest boon. Even the uncertainty resulting from the recent tariff agitation in Congress has hurtfully affected the business of the entire country. Who can measure the harm to our shops and our homes, to our farms and our commerce, if the uncer- tainty of perpetual tariff agitation is to be inflicted upon the country? We are in the midst of an abun- dant harvest ; we are on the eve of a revival of general prosperity. Nothing stands in our way but the dread of a change in the industrial system which has wrought such wonders in the last twenty years, and which, with the power of increased capital, will work still greater marvels of prosperity in the twenty years to come. OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. Our foreign relations favor our domestic develop- ment. We are at peace with the world — at peace upon a sound basis, with no unsettled questions df sufficient magnitude to embarrass or distract us. Happily re- moved by our geographical position from participation or interest in those questions of dynasty or boundary which so frequently disturb the peace of Europe, we are left to cultivate friendly relations with all, and are 398 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. free from possible entanglements in the quarrels of any. The United States has no cause and no desire to engage in conflict with any Power on earth, and we may rest in assured confidence that no Power desires to attack the United States. With the nations of the Western Hemisphere we should cultivate closer relations, and for our common prosperity and advancement we should invite them all to join with us in an agreement, that, for the future, all international troubles in North or South America shall be adjusted by impartial arbitration, and not by arms. This project was part of the fixed policy of President Garfield’s administration, and it should, in my judgment, be renewed. Its accomplishment on this continent would favorably affect the nations beyond the sea, and thus powerfully contribute at no distant day to the universal acceptance of the philanthropic and Christian principle of arbitration. NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD. The effect even of suggesting it for the Spanish- American States has been most happy, and has in- creased the confidence of those people in our friendly disposition. It fell to my lot as Secretary of State, in June, 1881, to quiet apprehension in the Republic of Mexico by giving the assurance, in an official despatch, fhat “ there is not the faintest desire in the United States for territorial extension south of the Rio Grande. The boundaries of the two Republics have been estab- lished in conformity with the best jurisdictional inter- ests of both. The line of demarcation is not merely BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 399 conventional. It is more. It separates a Spanish- American people from a Saxon-American people. It divides one great nation from another with distinct and natural finality.” We seek the conquests of peace. We desire to extend our commerce, and in an especial degree with our friends and neighbors on this continent. We have not improved our relations with Spanish-America as wisely and persistently as we might have done. For more than a generation the sympathy of those coun- tries has been allowed to drift away from us. We should now make every effort to gain their friendship. Our trade with them is already large. During the last year our exchanges in the Western Hemisphere amounted to $350,000,000 — nearly one- fourth of our entire foreign commerce. To those who may be disposed to underrate the value of our trade with the countries of North and South America, it may be well to state that their population is nearly or quite 50,000,000, and that, in proportion to aggregate num- bers, we import nearly double as much from them as we do from Europe. UNSATISFACTORY TRADE. But the result of the whole American trade is in a high degree unsatisfactory. The imports during the past year exceeded $225,000,000, while the exports were less than $125,000,000 — showing a balance against us of more than $100,000,000. But the money does not go to Spanish-America. We send large sums to Europe in coin or its equivalent to pay European 400 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. manufacturers for the goods which they send to Span- ish America. We are but paymasters for this enor- mous amount annually to European factors — an amount which is a serious draft, in every financial depression, upon our resources of specie. Cannot this condition of trade in great part be changed ? Cannot the market for our products be greatly enlarged? We have made a beginning in our effort to improve our trade relations with Mexico, and we should not be content until similar and mutually advantageous arrangements have been successively made with every nation of North and South America. While the great Powers of Europe are steadily en- larging their colonial domination in Asia and Africa, it is the especial province of this country to improve and expand its trade with the nations of America. No field promises so much. No field has been culti- vated so little. Our foreign policy should be an American policy in its broadest and most compre- hensive sense — a policy of peace, of friendship, of commercial enlargement. A PATRIOTIC NAME. The name of America, which belongs to us in our National capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism. Citizenship of the Republic must be the panoply and safeguard of him who wears it. The American citizen, rich or poor, native or naturalized, white or colored, must everywhere walk secure in his personal and civil rights. The Republic should never accept a lesser duty, it can never assume a BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 401 nobler one, than the protection of the humblest man who owes it loyalty — protection at home, and protec- tion which shall follow him abroad into whatever land he may go upon a lawful errand. I recognize, not without regret, the necessity for speaking of two sections of our common country. But the regret diminishes when I see that the elements which separated them are fast disappearing. Pre- judices have yielded and are yielding, while a growing cordiality warms the Southern and the Northern heart alike. Can any one doubt that between the sections confidence and esteem are to-day more marked than at any period in the sixty years preceding the election of President Lincoln ? This is the result in part of time, and in part of Republican principles applied under the favorable condition of uniformity. PEACE AND PROSPERITY. It would be a great calamity to change these influ- ences under which Southern Commonwealths are learning to vindicate civil rights, and adapting them- selves to the conditions of political tranquillity and industrial progress. If there be occasional and violent outbreaks in the South against this peaceful progress, the public opinion of the country regards them as exceptional, and hopefully trusts that each will prove the last. The South needs capital and occupation, not con- troversy. As much as any part of the North, the South needs the full protection of the revenue laws which the Republican party offers. Some of the 26 402 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Southern States have already entered upon a career of industrial development and prosperity. These, at least, should not lend their electoral votes to destroy their own future. Any effort to unite the Southern States upon issues that grow out of the memories of the war, will sum- mon the Northern States to combine in the assertion of that Nationality which was their inspiration in the civil struggle. And thus great energies which should be united in a common industrial development will be wasted in hurtful strife. The Democratic party shows itself a foe to Southern prosperity by always invoking and urging Southern political consolidation. Such a policy quenches the rising instinct of patriotism in the heart of the Southern youth ; it revives and stimulates prejudice ; it substitutes the spirit of barbaric venge^ ance for the love of peace, progress and harmony. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM. The general character of the Civil Service of the United States, under all administrations, has been honorable. In the one supreme test — the collection and disbursement of revenue — the record of fidelity has never been surpassed in any Nation. With the almost fabulous sums which were received and paid during the late war, scrupulous integrity was the pre- vailing rule. Indeed, throughout that trying period it can be said, to the honor of the American name, that unfaithfulness and dishonesty among civil officers were as rare as misconduct and cowardice on the field of battle. BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 403 The growth of the country has continually and ne- cessarily enlarged the Civil Service, until now it in- cludes a vast body of officers. Rules and methods of appointment which prevailed when the number was smaller, have been found insufficient and impracticable, and earnest efforts have been made to separate the great mass of ministerial officers from partisan influ- ence and personal control. Impartiality in the mode of appointment to be based on qualification, and security of tenure to be based on faithful discharge of duty, are the two ends to be accomplished. The pub- lic business will be aided by separating the legislative branch of the government from all control of appoint- ments, and the Executive Department will be relieved by subjecting appointments to fixed rules, and thus removing them from the caprice of favoritism. But there should be right observance of the law which gives, in all cases of equal competency, the preference to the soldiers who risked their lives in defence of the Union. REMOVALS FROM OFFICE. I entered Congress in 1863, and in a somewhat pro- longed service I never found it expedient to request or recommend the removal of a civil officer, except in four instances, and then for non-political reasons which were instantly conclusive with the appointing power. The officers in the district, appointed by Mr. Lincoln in 1861 upon the recommendation of my predecessor, served, as a rule, until death or resignation. I adopted at the beginning of my service the test of competitive *04 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. examination for appointments to West Point, and maintained it so long as I had the right by law to nominate a cadet. In the case of many officers I found that the present law, which arbitrarily limits the term of the commission, offered a constant temptation to changes for mere political reasons. I have publicly expressed the belief that the essential modification of that law would be in many respects advantageous. “ COMMERCIAL SENTINELS.” My observation in the Department of State con- firmed the conclusion of my legislative experience, and impressed me with the conviction that the rule of impartial appointment might with advantage be car- ried beyond any existing provision of the civil service law. It should be applied to appointments in the con- sular service. Consuls should be commercial senti- nels — encircling the globe with watchfulness for their country’s interests. Their intelligence and compe- tency become, therefore, matters of great public con- cern. No man should be appointed to an American consulate who is not well instructed in the history and resources of his own country, and in the requirements and language of commerce in the country to which he is sent. The same rule should be applied even more rigidly to secretaries of legation in our diplomatic ser- vice. The people have the right to the most efficient agents in the discharge of public business, and the ap- pointing power should regard this as the prior and ulterior consideration. Religious liberty is the right of every citizen of the BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 405 Republic. Congress is forbidden by the Constitution to make any law “ respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” For a century, under this guarantee. Protestant and Catholic, Jew and Gentile, have worshiped God ac- cording to the dictates of conscience, But religious liberty must not be perverted to the justification of offences against the law. TREASONABLE POLYGAMY. A religious sect, strongly entrenched in one of the Territories of the Union, and spreading rapidly into four other Territories, claims the right to destroy the great safeguard and muniment of social order, and to practise as a religious privilege that which is a crime punished with severe penalty in every State of the Union. The sacredness and unity of the family must be preserved as the foundation of all civil govern- ment, as the source of orderly administration, as the surest guarantee of moral purity. The claim of the Mormons that they are divinely authorized to practise polygamy should no more be admitted than the claim of certain heathen tribes, if they should come among us, to continue the right of human sacrifice. The law does not interfere with what a man believes ; it takes cognizance only of what he does. As citizens, the Mormons are entitled to the same civil rights as others, and to these they must be confined. Polygamy can never receive National sanction or toleration by admitting the com- munity that upholds it as a State in the Union. Like 406 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. others, the Mormons must learn that the liberty of the. individual ceases where the rights of society begin. The people of the United States, though often urged and tempted, have never seriously contemplated the recognition of any other money than gold and silver — and currency directly convertible into them. They have not done so, they will not do so, under any necessity less pressing than that of desperate war. The one special requisite for the completion of our monetary system is the fixing of the relative values of silver and gold. THE SILVER QUESTION. The large use of silver as the money of account among Asiatic nations, taken in connection with the increasing commerce of the world, gives the weightiest reasons for an international agreement in the premises. Our Government should not cease to urge this measure until a common standard of value shall be reached and established — a standard that shall enable the United States to use the silver from its mines as an auxiliary to gold in settling the balances of commercial exchange. The strength of the Republic is increased by the multiplication of land-holders. Our laws should look to the judicuios encouragement of actual settlers on the public domain, which should henceforth be held as a sacred trust for the benefit of those seeking homes. The tendency to consolidate large tracts of land in the ownership of individuals or corporations should, with proper regard to vested rights, be discouraged. BLAINE ACCEPTS THE NOMINATION. 407 One hundred thousand acres of land in the hands of one man is far less profitable to the Nation in every way than when its ownership is divided among one thousand men. The evil of permitting large tracts of the National domain to be consolidated and controlled by the few against the many, is enhanced when the persons controlling it are aliens. DISPOSITION OF PUBLIC LANDS. It is but fair that the public land should be disposed of only to actual settlers, and to those who are citizens of the Republic, or willing to become so. Among our National interests, one languishes — the foreign carrying trade. It was very seriously crippled in our Civil War, and another blow was given to it in the general substitution of steam for sail in ocean traffic. With a frontage on the two great oceans, with a freightage larger than that of any other nation, we have every inducement to restore our navigation. Yet the Government has hitherto refused its help. A small share of the encouragement given by the Government to railways and to manufactures, and a small share of the capital and the zeal given by our citizens to those enterprises, would have carried our ships to every sea and to every port. A law just en- acted removes some of the burdens upon our naviga- tion, and inspires hope that this great interest may at last receive its due share of attention. All efforts in this direction should receive encouragement. This survey of our condition as a Nation reminds us that material prosperity is but a mockery if it does 408 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. not tend to preserve the liberty of the people. A free ballot is the safeguard of Republican institutions, with- out which no national welfare is assured. A popular election, honestly conducted, embodies the very ma- jesty of true government. Ten millions of voters desire to take part in the pending contest. The safety of the Republic rests upon the integrity of the ballot, upon the security of suffrage to the citizens. To deposit a fraudulent vote is no worse a crime against constitutional liberty than to obstruct the de- posit of an honest vote. He who corrupts suffrage strikes at the very root of free government. He is the arch-enemy of the Republic. He forgets that in trampling upon the rights of others he fatally imperils his own rights. “ It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us,” but we can maintain our heri- tage only by guarding with vigilance the source of popular power. I am, with great respect, your obedi- ent servant, James G. Blaine. CHAPTER XVIII. The Great Campaign of 1884. The political battle which followed Mr. Blaine’s nomination for the Presidency at Chicago has never been surpassed in this country for unscrupulous means employed to defeat a popular candidate. The bitterest assaults were made upon him, the most out- rageous falsehoods were circulated by his enemies, and, as the time for the election drew near, it was universally felt that the result was involved in grave doubt. A very large number of Republicans, headed by several newspapers which had always heretofore fol- lowed the party dictates, bolted the nominations and actively supported Mr. Cleveland, the Democratic candidate. All sorts of extraneous matters were dragged into the party warfare, some of the assaults on the Repub- lican nominee being of a particularly aggravating character. Most of these were allowed to pass by unnoticed, but one of them was of such a nature that Mr. Blaine brought a suit for libel against a news- paper in Indiana. After a year or two this case was discontinued. ( 409 ) 410 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Feeling most acutely the hazardous situation in which he was placed, Blaine went into the canvass with even more than his ordinary energy. He trav- elled over Ohio, Indiana, New York, and some other States, addressing large meetings and giving counsel to his party leaders. In his speeches he made the doctrine of protection the main issue, thus for the first time in more than a third of a century bringing it to the foremost place in a Presidential campaign. GREETED WITH ENTHUSIASM. Immense crowds at all points assembled to get a sight of the “ Plumed Knight ” and hear his soul-stir- ring speeches. In public halls, in the open air, from the steps of his railway train, his clarion voice thrilled the multitudes and aroused them to unwonted enthu- siasm. His tour was a triumphal progress. Ever ready to discuss the issues of the hour, quick in his perceptions of the exigencies of the occasion, rising always in princely fashion to the demands of the moment, he pushed on his vigorous campaign, and infused life and courage into the great party whose standard had been placed in his hands. The contest was drawing to a close, and a large number of prominent citizens of the city of New York felt that it would be a just tribute to Mr. Blaine’s devoted labors in the contest to offer him a public banquet. The invitation was sent, and he replied from Evansville, appointing Wednesday evening, October 29th, as the date most convenient to him. The company that gathered on that occasion was THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 411 one of the most distinguished ever assembled in the Metropolis. Hon. William M. Evarts presided, Mr. Blaine sitting at his right hand, and Hon. L. P. Mor- ton, United States Minister to France, at his left. Other guests at this table were Noah Davis, Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court of New York ; ex-Gov- ernor Cornell, of New York ; Governor Hoyt, of Pennsylvania; Cyrus W. Field, the construc- tor of the Atlantic ca- ble; and Charles E. Coon, Assistant Secre- tary of the Treasury. At the other tables were many of the most eminent and respected men of New York City, representing all the learned professions and all branches of trade and industry. Various addresses were made, william m. evarts. but the chief interest of the evening centred upon that of Mr. Blaine himself, which was as follows : SPEECH AT THE BANQUET. It is a great reversal of positions, Mr. President (addressing Mr. Evarts), that makes me hear you ascribe leadership to me. (Applause.) For it has been my duty and my pleasure in these long years to 412 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. follow you (applause and cheers) ; to learn from you wisdom in public affairs, and join with my countrymen in ascribing to you, not merely the great merit of leadership in the noblest of professions, but to yield our admiration for the singular success which has given to you the opportunity to lead in the three most important cases ever pleaded by a member of the American bar. (Applause.) First, in resisting your own party in what you deemed the impolicy, if not the madness, of impeaching a President (cries of “ Good! Good!” and cheers) ; second, in maintaining before the greatest international tribunal that has ever assembled in modern times the rights of your country and obtaining redress for wrongs to her that grew out of the Civil War (applause) ; and third, in perhaps averting another civil war by pleading before an Elec- toral Commission a peaceful settlement of the angriest political discussion that ever arose between the parties in the United States. (Applause and cheers.) I turn now from your President to thank you, mer- chants, professional men, leaders in the great and complex society of New York — to thank you for receiving me, not merely at this festal board, but also in that far more impressive reception which the close of this rainy day witnesses in your broad and beauti- ful avenue. I could not, I am sure, by any possible stretch of vanity take this large and generous demon- stration to myself. It is given to me only for the time as the representative of the principles which you and I hold in common, touching those great interests which THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 413 underlie, as we believe, the prosperity of the Nation. (Applause.) And it is fitting that the commercial metropolis of the continent should lead ; it is fitting that the financial centre of the continent should lead ; it is fitting that this great city, second only in the world, should give an expression to the continent of its views and its judgment on the important questions to be decided Tuesday next by the American people. (Cheers.) And I venture — not that I know it so well as you, but that I am spokesman for the present — I venture to remind you, men of New York, with your wealth and your just influence and your magnificent prestige, that seventy per cent, of the entire property of this city has been acquired since Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated, the 4th of March, 1861. I should not mention here a fact of percentage and of statistics if it did not carry with it an argument and a moral. The common apprehension in regard to New York is that it is simply a great commercial city — so great that its exports and imports represent largely the major part of all that is exported from or imported into the United States. That we all know. But we are often prone to forget that New York is the largest manufacturing city in the world, with per- haps a single exception ; that of the $6,000,000,000 of manufactures annually produced in the United States, this great Empire State furnishes one-fifth — $1,200,- 000,000 — of which this great Empire City produces $500,000,000. And from these facts comes that great 414 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. sympathy, that identity of interest which has moved the previously existing conflicts between what have been known as the manufacturing and the commercial interests, and has taught us that there can be no true prosperity in the country unless the three great inter- ests comprehended by agriculture, manufactures, and commerce are acting in harmony, the one with the other, and joining together for a common end and for the common good. (Cheers.) It is usually thought that a change of Government means but little ; that we come together with our votes a given day and count them as the sun goes down, and one party goes out and another comes in. But, gentlemen, it is worth while to remember that the United States is proceeding to-day upon a given basis of public policy — I might say upon a given series of public policies. We have a great financial system; we have a great currency system ; we have an impor- tant National credit ; we have a levying of duties, as has been so well described by your distinguished President of the evening, so adjusted that the indus- tries of the country are fostered and encouraged thereby ; we have three important constitutional amendments that grew out of the war, upon which, at this hour and in the hours, and the days, and the weeks, and the years to follow, great issues hang in this country. Are we — if we should be invited to step down and out and our opponents to step up and in (applause) — are we to understand that these policies are to be THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 415 reversed? (Cries of “Yes! Yes!”) Then if we are to understand that they are to be reversed we should, one and all, prepare for a grand disaster. (“ Hear ! Hear ! ” and cheers.) For a single illustration, let me recall to your minds that the repeal of ten lines in the National Banking Act would restore to vitality and vigor the old State-bank system from which we had happily escaped, as we thought, for all the remainder of our lives. (Applause.) If these policies are to be reversed, you will have to recast your accounts and review your ledgers and. prepare for a new, and I may say, a dangerous depar- ture ; and if these policies are not to be reversed, they will certainly be better maintained by the great party which originated them and has thus far sustained them with vigor and success. (Applause.) As I have already said, we speak of New York as the great exporting and importing city, and from that perhaps we often give an exaggerated importance, relatively speaking, to our foreign trade, because this magnificent metropolis never would have attained its grandeur and its wealth upon the foreign trade alone. We should never forget, important as that trade is, representing the enormous sum of $1,500,000,000 an- nually, that it sinks into insignificance and is dwarfed out of sight when we think of those vast domestic exchanges of which New York is the admitted centre and which annually exceed $2,000,000,000. (Applause.) Our foreign trade naturally brings to our considera- tion the foreign relations of this country, so well de- 416 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. scribed by my distinguished friend as always simple and sincere. It is the safeguard of Republics that they are not adapted to war. (Cheers.) I mean ag- gressive war. (Cheers.) And it is the safeguard of this Republic that in a defensive war we can defy the world. (Loud cheering.) This Nation to-day is in profound peace with the world. (Cheers.) But, in my judgment, it has before it a great duty which will not only make that profound peace permanent, but shall set such an example as will absolutely abolish war on this continent, and by a great example and a lofty moral precedent shall ultimately abolish it in other continents. (Great and long-continued cheering.) I am justified in saying that every one of the seven- teen independent Powers of North and South America is not only willing but ready — is not only ready but eager — to enter into a solemn compact in a congress that may be called in the name of peace to agree that if, unhappily, differences shall arise — as differences will arise between men and nations — they shall be settled upon the peaceful and Christian basis of arbi- tration. (Great cheering.) And, as I have often said before, I am glad to repeat in this great centre of civilization and power that in my judgment no National spectacle, no inter- national spectacle, no continental spectacle, could be more grand than that the Republics of the Western World should meet together and solemnly agree that neither the soil of North nor that of South America THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 417 shall be hereafter stained by brothers’ blood. (Pro- longed cheering.) The Republican party, gentlemen, cannot be said to be on trial. (Cheers.) To be on trial implies something to be tried for. (“ Right ! ” “ That’s so ! ” and cheers.) The Republican party in its twenty- three years of rulership has advanced the interests of this country far beyond that of any of its predecessors in power. It has elevated the standard of America — it has increased its wealth in a ratio never before realized, and, I may add, never before dreamed of. (Great cheering.) Statistics, I know, are dry ; and I have dwelt so much upon them in the last six weeks that they might be supposed to be especially dry to me. And yet I never can forget the eloquence of the figures which tell us that the wealth of this great Empire State when the Republican party took the reins of government was estimated at $ 1,800,000,000, and that twenty years afterward, under the influence of an industrial and financial system for which that party is proudly responsible (great applause), under the influence of that industrial and financial system, the same tests which gave you $1,800,000,000 of property in i860 gave you $6,300,000,000 in 1880. (Loud and long- continued cheering.) There has never been in all the history of financial progress — there has never been in all the history of the world — any parallel to this ; and I am sure, gentlemen, that the Republican party is not arrogant nor over-confident when it claims to itself the 27 418 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. credit of organizingr and maintaining the industrial system which gave to you and your associates in en- terprise the equal and just laws which enable you to made this marvelous progress. (Great cheering.) As I have said, that party is not on trial. If it has made mistakes, they have been merged and forgotten in the greater success which has corrected them. (Cheers.) If it has had internal differences, they are laid aside. (Cheers.) If it has had factional strife, I am sure that has ceased. (Renewed cheering.) And I am equally sure that, looking to the history of the past and looking to that great future which we are justified in prophesying, this Imperial State cannot afford to reverse, and therefore will not reverse, those great policies upon which it has grown and advanced from glory to glory. (Enthusiastic cheering.) I thank you, gentlemen ; I thank that larger number with whom I have already had the pleasure of ex- changing greetings to-day, I thank the ministers, the merchants, the lawyers, the professional men, the mechanics, the laboring men of New York (applause), for a cordial reception, an over-generous welcome, which in all the mutations of my future life will be to me among the proudest and most precious of my memories. THE FAMOUS BURCHARD INCIDENT. The foregoing remarkable speech was made at the banquet in the evening. At ten o’clock in the morn- ing of that day a large number of clergymen of all de- nominations called on Mr. Blaine at the Fifth Avenue THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884 . 419 Hotel to present a series of resolutions and assure him of their respect and loyalty. The clergymen went into the main corridor of the hotel, and soon Mr. Blaine appeared, accompanied by the committee of clergymen who had been appointed to receive him, several members of his family, and Hon. Levi. P. Morton. Rev. S. D. Burchard, D. D., a well-known and hon- ored minister of the Presbyterian Church,, was called upon a few minutes before the appearance of Mr. Blaine to deliver the address, the one who had been chosen for this purpose being unexpectedly absent. Dr. Burchard was a warm admirer of Mr. Blaine, and those who knew him will acquit him of any but the best of intentions in the part he acted on this now celebrated occasion. His error was one of judgment, and doubtless due to the fact that he was suddenly called upon to deliver the address. He stepped to the side of Mr. Blaine, and spoke as follows: DR. BURCHARd’s SPEECH. “We are very happy to welcome you to this city. You see here a representation of all denominations of this city. You see the large number that are rep- resented. We are your friends, Mr. Blaine, and, not- withstanding ail the calumnies that have been urged in the papers against you, we stand by your side. (Shouts of “Amen.’’) We expect to vote for you next Tuesday. We have higher expectations, which are that you will be the President of the United States, and that you will do honor to your name, to the 420 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. United States, and .to the high office you will occupy. We are Republicans, and_don’t propose to leave our party and identify ourselves with the party whose antecedents have been Rum, Romanism and Rebellion. We are loyal to our flag. We are loyal to you.” The unfortunate expression, “ Rum, Romanism and Rebellion,” produced instantly a perceptible impres- sion on Mr. Blaine. His expression was one of surprise and painful anxiety. His quick per- ception saw at once that these words, ap- plied to his political opponents, would be resented by them, and might alienate from him many who had in- tended to break from party lines, and give him their support at the polls. He made no reference to them at the time, however, and REV. S. D. BURCHARD his reply to the cordial welcome of the clergymen was one of his happiest efforts. HE REFERS TO THE BURCHARD SPEECH. On reaching New Haven, on November ist, Mr. Blaine made the following- address referring to Dr. Burchard’s expression : THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 421 There has been placed in my hands since my arrival in New Haven an address from the clergymen of this city expressing their respect and confidence, and, through the person who delivered it, the assurance that in matters of public right and in matters of public participation under the laws and Constitution of the United States they know no sect; they know no Prot- estant, no Catholic, no Hebrew, but the equality of all. (“ Good ! ” and cheers.) In the city of Hartford I had a letter put into my hands asking me why I charged the Democratic party with being inspired by rum, Romanism and rebellion. (A voice, “You never said that.”) My answer, in the first place, is that they put in my mouth an unfortunate expression of another man ; and, in the next place, it gives me an opportu- nity to say, at the close of the campaign, that in public speeches which I have made I have refrained carefully and instinctively from making any disrespectful allu- sion to the Democratic party. I differ from that party profoundly on matters of principle, but I have too much respect for the millions of my countrymen whom it embraces to assail it with epithets or abuse. (“ Good ! Good ! ” and cheers.) In the next place, I am sure that I am the last man in the United States who would make a disrespectful allusion to another man’s religion. The United States guarantees freedom of religious opinion, and before the law and under the Constitution the Protestant and the Catholic and the Hebrew stand entitled to abso- lutely the same recognition and the same protection 422 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. (loud cheering) ; and if disrespectful allusion is here to be made against the religion of any man, as I have said, I am the last man to make it ; though Protestant by conviction and connected with a Protestant church, I should esteem myself of all men the most degraded if, under any pressure or under any temptation, I could in any presence make a disrespectful allusion to that ancient faith in which my mother lived and died. (Enthusiastic and long-continued cheering.) THE RESULT OF THE ELECTION. Mr. Blaine returned to his home at Augusta, re- ceiving an imposing reception at Boston on the way. The election occurred on November 4th. The result turned upon the vote of New York State, and for some days that was in doubt. After an inexplicable delay on the part of the Democratic officers of election, a delay during which grave suspicions arose that the returns were being tampered with and falsified, it was announced that Mr. Cleveland had carried the State by a narrow margin of 1,047 votes. In the electoral colleo-e Mr. Blaine received 182 votes and Mr. Cleveland 219. Not only was Mr. Blaine sorely disappointed at the result of the election, but his party yielded to defeat with a sorrow that was painfully evident. Millions of his countrymen had hoped to see him elevated to the highest position in the gift of the people. After the first shock of disap- pointment he returned to his literary pursuits, and continued his work on his “Twenty Years of Con- gress,” a masterpiece of political history which exhibits THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 423 the fruits of his long experience in our national affairs, his consummate analytical power, and his marvellous intellectual ability. This work will stand as one of his proudest monuments, and vrill be immortal in the annals of the Republic. CHAPTER XIX. Again Secretary of State. The events in Mr. Blaine’s later career, extending through the closing years of his life, are prominent and well marked. He lived in the eye of the public. No other man in the nation was accorded so much attention and comment in the public journals which make it their business to record transactions of uni- versal interest. The Washington correspondent of one of our lead- ing journals published the following reminiscences, which properly form a part of the history of Mr. Blaine in connection with the presidency and his second appointment as Secretary of State : In the spring of 1884, long before the two conven- tions had met, I called at Mr. Blaine’s house for the purpose of talking to him about the possible outcome of the Republican Convention to be held at Chicago. Mr. Blaine was then the leading- candidate. General Grant was in Washington. It was just before the Grant-Ward failure, and a number of enthusiastic friends of General Grant thought that he might receive the nomination. Mr. Blaine at that time showed singular indifference. Delegation after delegation ( 424 ) SECRETARY OF STATE. 425 came to see him at his house, but without eliciting any response. No one who went to see him at that time- received the impression that he desired the nomination. During the special call which I made for the purpose of finding out if possible his personal views Mr. Blaine said, “ I am afraid I am going to be nominated.” This was such a peculiar expression that I asked Mr. Blaine what he meant by it. He replied that the drift was clearly going his way, and that unless he took active steps to counteract it by an ab- solute refusal to permit his name to be used he would receive the nom- ination. He foresaw the whole situation with remarka- ble clearness. He esti- mated very justly the strength of the other candidates. The reason why he feared the nom- ination was his profound belief that the Republi- benjamin harrison. can party could not win in the coming campaign. His reasons for that were given with great exactness. There was great distress throughout the country. Times were hard and all the dissatisfaction that had been accumulating during years of Republican admin- 426 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. istration he believed would culminate in that year. Nearly everything that he predicted at that time, even to the character of the contests in the various States, proved to be true. WHY HE DECLINED TO RUN AGAIN. Mr. Blaine’s feelings even then made him shrink from the possible dangers of the situation. For many years he had a pro- found ambition to be the President of the United States. Yet in every contest he had encountered great trials and even dangers. In 1876 the extraordinary attack made upon him in the Blouse of Repre- sentatives came near causing his death. The sunstroke during the Cincinnati Convention was indirectly one of the results of the enor- mous strain he had undergone prior to that time. Blis enemies then said that the illness was a sham to create sympathy. Mr. Blaine’s personal pride was hurt by the result of the campaign of 1884. He was deeply wounded by the attitude of some of the Republican leaders. He believed that if there had been perfect harmony SECRETARY OF STATE. 427 in the State of New York he could have been elected. He felt that if the votes had been honestly counted he would have been elected. The result of that elec- tion made him resolve that he would never go through another campaign except under conditions, which, from the nature of things, would be impossible. What he dreaded more than anything else was that he should be regarded as posing before the American public as a perpetual candidate. He knew that if he had remained in this country during the year preced- ing the campaign of 1888 his position would be mis- represented, and so he went to Europe in the early summer of 1887 f° r the s0 ^ e purpose of avoiding every possible political complication. Only on one condition would Mr. Blaine have consented to arain become a candidate. This was <_> divulged in a conversation I had with him in Paris, just after he had written the letter of November, 1887, to Mr. B. F. Jones, announcing that he would not be a candidate under any circumstances. Mr. Blaine said then, in the course of a private conversation, that he had been elected to the proud position as the chief of the Republican party by his nomination at Chicago in 1884, That was a position which, after having led his party to defeat, he could feel justified in retaining only by the unanimous consent of every other possible candidate. He said that he would have consented to run again if no one of prominence in the party had opposed his renomination. 428 LIFE OF 1ION. JAMES G. BLAINE. HIS PARIS LETTER. But when he saw that candidate after candidate was announced for the next Chicago Convention he re- o solved to write the letter to Mr. Jones. This letter was written without any second thought. It was an ir- revocable determination based upon a feeling of intense personal pride. Only those who knew Mr. Blaine well can appreciate how intense was this personal feel- ing. He felt that he could not be brought to occupy a more undignified position after having been elected leader than to be obliged to appear before the public contesting with others for the right to hold the position of leader. After writing the Paris letter Mr. Blaine determined to escape from all persecution, and to enjoy, if possible, a visit to some of the more interesting parts of Europe without having his footsteps dogged. He took great care to disclose to no one his intention to leave, and departed for Vienna. He went from Vienna on toBuda- Pesth and remained there for some time, completely eluding his pursuers. No representative of any American newspaper crossed his path for several weeks. Public attention was diverted to other chan- nels in America. The contentions of candidates om cupied the public mind. Mr. Blaine’s withdrawal was accepted as having been made in good faith. So great, however, was the disappointment over his withdrawal and so difficult did it become to concen- trate partisan enthusiasm upon any one of the numer- SECRETARY OF STATE. 429 ous Republican candidates that the thoughts of the leaders be^an to turn amiin to Mr. Blaine. The result was that Benjamin Harrison was nom- inatedand subsequently elected President of the United States. To make him President no one helped more than Mr. Blaine. In his old time fashion he stumped the country, delivering most brilliant and telling speeches on the tariff, which was then the one great point at issue. AGAIN IN THE CABINET. He was called by President Harrison to the position of Secretary of State, which he filled with ability. His policy was marked by the revival of his old project of a Spanish-American Congress for the furtherance of trade with the South and by the calling of an inter- national marine conference, which met in Washington and formulated important rules for the protection of life and safety of property at sea. Although a protec- tionist he did not hesitate to denounce some of the provisions of the McKinley Tariff bill. Mr. Blaine as Secretary of State initiated a spirited foreign policy that was characterized by the vigor and earnestness with which he upheld American interests. What that policy was he described, as we have already seen, in a letter published September i, 1882, in which he said : “ The foreign policy of President Garfield’s adminis- tration had two principal objects in view. First, to bring about peace and prevent future wars in North and South America ; second, to cultivate such friendly 430 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. commercial relations with all American countries as would lead to a large increase in the export trade of the United States by supplying those fabrics in which we are abundantly able to compete with the manu- facturing nations of Europe.” Mr. Blaine projected an international peace congress to be held at Washington for the furtherance of these plans, which idea was not carried out owing to the death of President Garfield, but which was revived later on during the administration of President Harri- son. In Mr. Blaine’s “ Twenty Years of Congress” he further expounds his views upon the relations of foreign countries to the United States in the following o o paragraph : OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. “ This brief history of the spirit rather than the events which characterized the foreign relations of the United States during the Civil War has been under- taken with no desire to revive the feelings of burning indignation which they provoked, or to prolong the discussion of the angry questions to which they gave rise. The relations of nations are not and should not be governed by sentiment. The interest and ambition of States, like those of men, will disturb the moral sense and incline to one side or the other the strict balance of impartial justice. New days bring new issues, and old passions are unsafe counsellors. Twenty years have gone by. England has paid the cost of her mistake. The Republic of Mexico has SECRETARY OF STATE, 431 seen the fame and the fortunes of the emperors who sought her conquest sink suddenly — as into the pits which they themselves had digged for their victims — and the Republic of the United States has come out of her long and bitter struggle so strong that never again will she afford the temptation of the opportunity for unfriendly governments to strike at her national life. Let the past be the past, but let it be the past with all the instruction and warning of its experience. “ The future safety of these continents rests upon the strength and maintenance of the Union ; for, had dis- solution been possible, events have shown with what small regard the interests or the honor of either of the belligerents would have been treated. It has been taught to the smaller republics that if this strength be shattered they will be the spoil of foreign arms and the dependent provinces again of foreign monarchs. When this contest was over the day of immaturity had passed and the United States stood before the world a great and permanent Power. That Power can afford to bury all resentments. Tranquil at home, developing its inexhaustible resources with a rapidity and success unknown in history, bound in sincere friendship and beyond the possibility of hostile rivalry with other republics of the continent, standing mid- way between Asia and Europe, a power on the Pacific as well as on the Atlantic, with no temptations to in- termeddle in the questions which disturb the Old World, the Republic of the United States desires to live in amicable relations with all peoples, demanding 432 LIFE OP HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. only the abstinence of foreign intervention in the development of that policy which her political creed, her territorial extent and the close and cordial neigdi- o borhood of kindred governments have made the essential rule of her national life.” A FIRM BUT PACIFIC POLICY. Mr. Blaine’s policy was pacific, and was wholly in accord with the Monroe doctrine and the char- acteristic traditions of American diplomacy. President Garfield, in his inaugural address, had repeated the dec- laration of his prede- cessor that it was “ the right and duty of the United States to assert and maintain such super- vision and authority over any interoceanic canal across the isthmus that connects North and john w. foster. South America as will protect our national interests.” This policy, which had received the direct approval of Congress, was vigorously upheld by Secretary Blaine. The Colombian Republic had proposed to the European Powers to join in a guarantee of the neutrality of the proposed Panama Canal. SECRETARY OF STATE. 433 One of President Garfield’s first acts, under the ad- vice of Secretary Blaine, was to remind the European governments of the exclusive rights which the United States had secured with the country to be traversed by the interoceanic waterway. These exclusive rights rendered the prior guarantee of the United States government indispensable, and the Powers were informed that any foreign guarantee would be not only an unnecessary but an unfriendly act. As the United States had made in the Clayton-Buhver treaty of 1850 a special agreement with Great Britain on this subject, Secretary Blaine supplemented his memorandum to the Powers by a formal proposal for the abrogation of all provisions of that convention which were not in accord with the guarantees and privileges covenanted for in the compact with the Colombian Republic. AN IMPORTANT TREATY. In this State paper, the most elaborate of the series, receiving his signature as Secretary of State, Mr. Blaine contended that the operation of the Clayton- Bulwer treaty practically conceded to Great Britain the control of any canal which might be constructed on the Isthmus, as that Power was required by its insular position and colonial possessions to maintain a naval establishment with which the United States could not compete. As the American government had bound itself by its engagements in the Clayton- Buhver treaty not to fight in the Isthmus, nor to fortify the mouths of any waterway that might be constructed, Mr. Blaine argued that if any struggle for the control 28 434 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. of the canal were to arise, England would have an advantage at the outset which would prove decisive. “ The treaty,” he said, “ commands this government not to use a single regiment of troops to protect its interests in connection with the interoceanic canal but to surrender the transit to the guardianship and control of the British navy.” The logic of the paper was unanswerable from an American point of view. Mr. Blaine made strenuous exertions to bring about the conclusion of an early peace between Chili and Peru, and the influence of the government was brought to bear upon victorious Chili in the interests of peace and magnanimity. But owing to an unfortunate mis- apprehension of Mr. Blaine’s instructions, the United States Ministers did not promote the ends of peace. Special envoys — William H. Trescot and Walker Blaine — were accordingly sent to South America with general instructions which should enable them to bring o o the belligerent powers into friendly relations. After they set out on their mission of peace Secretary Blaine resigned and Mr. Frelinghuysen reversed the diplo- matic policy with such precipitate haste that the envoys on arriving at their destination were informed by the Chilian Minister of Foreign Affairs that their instructions had been countermanded and that their mission was an idle farce. By this extraordinary reversal of diplomatic methods and purposes the influ- ence of the United States on the South American coast was reduced to so low a point as to become SECRETARY OF STATE. 435 insignificant. Mr. Blaine’s policy had been at once strong and pacific. ANXIOUS TO COMPLETE HIS WORK. Mr. Blaine re-entered public life with distinct pur- poses in view. He wished to complete the work that was interrupted in 1 88 1 by the death of Garfield. More intimate political and economic relations with the nations of Central and South America had been his dream for years, and he devoted the three years of his Secretaryship of State to working for the good of the three Americas and the United States in par- ticular. So industriously did Mr. Blaine work that not a year of President Harrison’s administration had elapsed before the Peace Congress, conceived by Mr. Blaine just before his entrance to Garfield’s cabinet, materi- alized. Representatives gathered in Washington from eighteen different independent nations on this hemis- phere. Mr. Blaine was the presiding officer. There were no immediate results. None were expected. But the Congress soon bore fruit in that it opened the way for the reciprocity treaties which were the strik- ing and brilliant creation of the Secretary of State. HE CREATES RECIPROCITY. When the McKinley bill was being considered by the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Blaine urged the incorporation of reciprocity clauses. He proposed that the President should have power to open the ports of the United States to any or all of the products of the other American nations and colonies, whenever 436 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and for as long as they should admit to their ports, duty free or at reduced rates, an equivalent amount of the natural and manufactured products of the United States. The suggestion was renewed in the Senate, and it found more favor than it did before the Ways and Means Committee It was the most daring proposition of recent years. An amendment to the bill was finally adopted. It was not Mr. Blaine’s sugges- tion, but it was directly due to it. It provides that certain articles shall be placed upon the free list, but that after a given time dutv should be reduced upon goods imported from countries that decided to make equivalent concessions. Under the new law, reciprocity treaties were made with Brazil and sev- eral other South American countries, beside Spain and other European nations. The wisdom of Mr. Blaine’s proposition is shown by the fact that since the execu- tion of the first of these treaties of trade there has been an extension of the foreign trade of the United SECRETARY OF STATE. 437 States amounting- to $75,000,000, while taxation has been reduced to the extent of $80,000,000. MUCH SKILLFUL DIPLOMACY. To accomplish this great commercial coup was Mr. Blaine’s chief motive for entering the Cabinet, but his administration of the other affairs of State have been marked with sin ocular success. There have been few administrations in the country’s history which have had to face so many subtle international questions, but the results reached were invariably to the credit of the United States. As Secretary of State in President Harrison’s Cabinet Mr. Blaine was able to take up again some of the great policies which the assassination of Pres- ident Garfield and the political consequences of his death had interrupted. Legislation having prepared the way for a meeting of a Pan-American Congress in October, 1889, Secretary Blaine made the opening address of welcome and presided over the sessions, which were prolonged for nearly five months. It was he who had devised this project four years before, and his was the master mind that directed the deliberations of this impressive assembly, which brought about a frank exchange of views on all questions relating to the welfare of the American continent. The most important results of this Congress were the adoption of a report favoring the negotiation of partial treaties of reciprocity, the authorization of surveys for a railroad system on north and south lines, 438 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and the passage of a resolution in favor of compul- sory arbitration as an expedient for averting war. BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENTS. Mr. Blaine acted promptly upon the advice of the Pan-American Congress. As soon as the Tariff act had been enacted with its reciprocity provisions inserted at his suggestion, he negotiated a treaty with Brazil highly favorable to the American export trade. This was followed by the treaty with Spain in relation to Cuba, by which nearly one-half the imported sugar supply was regulated to mutual advantage. Subse- quently treaties were made with Germany, Austria- Hungary, France, San Domingo, the five coffee Repub- lics of Central America, British Guiana and all the Brit- ish West Indies except the Bahamas. Experience has fully vindicated Mr. Blaine’s judgment of Reciprocity as a great business policy for the United States, and a British Prime Minister’s direct tribute to its success leaves nothing wanting to complete Mr. Blaine’s diplomatic reputation. Mr. Blaine was called upon to deal with a large number of complex questions during his second term in the State Department. He upheld with inflexible firmness American rights and the course of home rule in Samoa, until a treaty of peace excluding the su- premacy of any foreign Government was negotiated. With equal courage and splendid argumentative force he resented the menaces of Italy after the lynchings in New Orleans ; but as soon as this attitude of hostil- ity was disclaimed the State Department, acting upon ( 439 ) PLAN OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WASHINGTON, 440 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. a sense of justice which had received instant expres- sion after the bloody work of the mob had been accom- plished, made reparation in the form of an indemnity. EXTRADITION TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN. With Great Britain a much-needed extradition treaty was negotiated, by which Canada was closed as a retreat for American embezzlers. At the same time a resolute but not unconciliatory stand was taken with reference to American rights in Behring Sea, which showed the way to an adjustment of this controversy by a tribunal which is about to assemble. In the Chilian complications Mr. Blaine co-operated with the President in upholding the dignity and honor of the country under conditions of exceptional diffi- culty. An attitude of strict neutrality was maintained during the civil war in that country. Political refugees under the American flag were not abandoned in their extremity; the Itata was pursued for violation of port and neutrality laws, and the wanton conduct of the police and public authorities of Valparaiso in the assault upon the Baltimore’s men was so resented as to command universal respect and to procure from Chili a reparation adequate to the offence. During- this brilliant administration of foreign affairs, also, the unjust and grievous restrictions against the importation of American pork into European countries have been removed, to the great and doubtless per- manent advantage of American producers. Vigorous as Mr. Blaine’s controversial work was with Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Chili, and determined as was SECRETARY OF STATE. 441 his defence of American rights in the Barrundia affair and on all occasions, his chief glory is that of con- ducting the most successful business administration of the State Department ever known, and of promot- ing the ends of peace by putting in operation as far as possible the policy of arbitration. LAST APPEARANCE IN THE SENATE. Mr. Blaine’s last appearance in a public capacity at the Capitol was made before the Commerce Commit- tee of the Senate. His powers of mind and body had been failing then, and the fact had been remarked by some of his friends, but on this occasion he seemed to feel the life and fire of youth, and his address to the committee was characterized by the clearness of thought, penetration, energy, and vigor of the Blaine of old. The subject before the committee was a bill to grant a French company authority to lay a cable from the United States to San Domingo. The Government of Brazil had given to this company the monopoly of the right to lay a cable through Brazilian territory to the West Indies, where it was to connect with a cable from France. Attached to the Brazilian grant was a condition that the cable company should secure cable connection with the United States, Brazil being anxious to have direct communication with this coun- try. In order to comply with this condition a new and auxiliary corporation to the original French company was organized. It came to the Government of the United States for permission to lay a cable from SECRETARY OF STATE. 443 Charleston or Port Roval to San Dominoo, where it was to connect with the cable from Brazil. Mr. Blaine, as Secretary of State, declined, in the name of the President, to grant the privilege requested unless the company would agree to waive its monopoly rights in Brazil in favor of any American company which might wish to lay a cable. HE CARRIES HIS POINT. The company claimed that it was impossible to agree to such a thing ; that it only wanted to lay a cable to San Domingo and had no control over the other com- pany, whose line ran to Brazil. Mr. Blaine considered this to be a subterfuge, and insisted that no cable should be laid until the Brazilian Government should grant permission to any cable company the same rights as were accorded the French company. An attempt was then made to get from Congress what Mr. Blaine had denied, and a bill granting the necessary permission to lay a cable in territory of the United States was introduced. When the bill came up for a hearing before the Committee on Commerce, of which Senator Frye was chairman, Mr. Jeff Chand- ler appeared in behalf of the company. Mr. Blaine replied and astonished the committee by the animation he displayed. He carried his point, and by a unani- mous vote the committee coincided with the position taken by Mr. Blaine. HE LEAVES THE CABINET. The term of President Harrison wore on, and again a Republican National Convention approached. The 441 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. name of Blaine was still one with which to conjure, and the Secretary, though indifferent personally, was put forward by several leaders of the party for the nomination. Led by advisers he resigned the Secretaryship of State on Saturday, June 4, 1892. This action created great excitement, for it put Mr. Blaine once more in the lists. Despite his resignation from Harrison’s Cabinet he declared repeatedly that his name would not go before the convention. But the presentation of Mr. Blaine’s name and the nomination of Harrison on the first ballot by a very decided majority are easily recalled by all. Mr. Blaine’s health would not permit of his entering actively into the campaign, but he identified himself with the work in various ways, and was always in sympathy with the younger and more active of the party leaders. Mr. Blaine passed the summer months at Bar Harbor, and after a few weeks in his Augusta home in the fall he returned with his family to Washington for the winter, entering the residence in which he died. DEFEATED IN THE CONVENTION OF 1 892. Chauncey M. Depew gave a detailed account of the circumstances under which he took the leadership of the Harrison forces and the opposition to James G. Blaine’s supporters at the Minneapolis convention of June, 1892. At that time Mr. Depew only stated that he was not in favor of Mr. Blaine’s nomination because Mr. Blaine “was not a candidate.” He held that the Blaine boomers had no right to use Mr. Blaine’s name, SECRETARY OF STATE. 445 since he had so distinctly stated in his letter to Gen- eral Clarkson that he must be considered out of the race. But in spite of this many people have not been able to understand how Mr. Depew could assume a position seemingly of aggressive hostility to his old time-friend. A reporter therefore called on Mr. Depew and asked if he would not now give an explanation. Mr. Depew thought for a moment, then leaned back in his big office chair, and said : You ask me a ques- tion which has often been put to me : How could you as a Blaine man of twenty-five years, have so cordially and strenuously sup- ported the nomination of General Harrison at Minneapolis? I pre- sume i have received john wanamaker. a bushel of letters on that subject, most of them very abusive. They charge ingratitude, unfaithfulness and similar crimes. I have been on terms of the closest friendship with Mr. Blaine for a quarter of a century. I had supported him without regard to personal conse- quence whenever he was a candidate,, and had never 446 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. asked or expected any return from him. I believed in the man, in his unequalled capacity for public affairs, in his leadership, in his genius for things American, and felt that his administration, if he should become President, would be phenomenally beneficial to the country, and brilliant. During the dominance of Mr. Conkling in this State, this persistent and consistent support of Mr. Blaine led to very unpleasant conse- quences for me. Mr. Conkling broke rela- tions which had been very cordial and inti- mate, and whenever I appeared at State or national conventions, it was in the minority and opposition. blaine’s positive DECLINATION. This enthusiasm and support of Mr. Blaine for the Chief Magistracy had in it no element of opposi- tion or enmity to anybody else or to anybody else’s ambitions. It was simply a desire to have James G. Blaine President of the United States. When Mr. Blaine wrote his letter toGeneral Clarkson I determined to ascertain if that meant that he would not take the SECRETARY OP STATE. 447 nomination if tenderecThim. I sent the late General Husted down to Washington on this mission. Mr. Blaine said to the General : “ Say to Chauncey Depew for me that he is entitled, if any man is, to know ex- actly what my intentions are. I am not a candidate and will not accept the nomination and he must, there- fore, act as, he thinks best, without regard to me, in selecting the candidate whom he will support.’’ I saw Mr. Blaine a few days before I went to the convention, Mr. Depew continued, and I had a con- ference with him of an hour and a half. It was the most delightful of all the many charming interviews I have had with him. Our discussion was mainly of the convention and the party. The talk about candidates was particularly free, and Mr. Blaine was especially clear in his discussion of the probabilities of success. HE PREDICTED DEFEAT. He said that no Republican who could be nominated — not even himself — would be successful in the coming canvass. He indicated the forces which had been ac- cumulating ever since the war for a change of the policy of the government, and he believed the time had come when they would be too strong for the Republican party. He said several times, “ I sec no prospect of success in this canvass. The people are determined to try another policy.” He was fully alive to and very emphatic on the merits of the Republican policy and its benefits to the country. But he was equally clear that all kinds of elements antagonistic to each other were in unison 448 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. for a trjial of their theories of government, hoping that in the common success to which they were pledged each one would have an opportunity of having its views tried in practical legislation. HARRISON DESERVED WELL. During the conversation he asked me whom I was for and I told him I was for General Harrison. He said that General Har- rison’s administration had deserved the sup- port of the country, but that no President would ever again be re-elected to succeed himself. He might after an interval be re-elected. The chief reason Mr. Blaine gave was that the patronage was so large that there would be enough dis- appointed office-seekers to defeat the re-election of any President who might be renominated. As I was leaving I asked Mr. Blaine if in the con- tingencies which always happen in a convention his nomination seemed the only way out, would he accept if nominated. He laughingly said, “ I can’t be elected,” but gave no other reason. I then said to him, “ If you have any other answer to give my address is the West SECRETARY OF STATE. 449 Hotel, Minneapolis,” but at Minneapolis I heard noth- ing from him, directly or indirectly. A member of the present House of Representa- tives, one of the most intimate friends of Mr. Blaine, told me recently that he had in his pocket a letter from Mr. Blaine to be read in case he was nominated, positively declining the nomination. The friends of Mr. Blaine who saw most of him and were nearest to him and understood best his physical condition felt what I am certain he believed, that the cares and anxieties of the canvass would have killed him before it was half over, AT OPHIR FARM. When he was at Mr. Whitelaw Reid’s house, at Ophir Farm, a few months ago, he requested me to come up there because he said that he did not want to speak unless I would speak also. There were sur- rounding him there a company of men who had been his devoted admirers and steadfast friends always. His mind was as clear as ever, but the fatal weakness which has just ended in his death was so apparent that the meeting was a very sad one. Mr. Blaine would not trust himself — as in the old days he always did — to extemporaneous talk, but he read his speech from type-written slips. He bade us all individually an affectionate, rather more than usually tender good-night, and went to bed early. He was not up when we left in the morning and none of us have ever seen him since. There are no mourners for his death more sincere 29 450 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and no men who will cherish his memory more gen- erously and lovingly than his old-time friends who, at Minneapolis, believed that he was not a candidate, that he would not take the nomination if nominated, and that it would kill him if he entered the canvass. CHAPTER XX. Striking Characteristics of the Man. Mr. Blaine’s most marked characteristic was his manliness. He was a noble specimen of American independence, energy and virility. He was an unduly grown man. He was constantly reproducing himself. Mentally and physically he was a forced man, and his years should have been eighty instead of but sixty- two. His head was extremely narrow over the eyes, and his brain seemed to be hung back of his ears. This gave him a curious power for quick judgment from facts real, or apparent, and forced him to quick conclusions on every question. The ease with which he met questions is due to this fact. Persons not well acquainted with him looked upon his quick judgment as surface capacity. He was born with a woman’s power of quick judgment, which his experience increased and made almost in- fallible. In the last twenty years of his life he proba- bly did not read one book entirely through. He had a habit of securing the meat of a book with what seemed hurried glances, but he was so familiar with all topics that he could quickly pick the new from the old, which made study easy to him. He was born a ( 451 ) 452 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. business man, but his virility and vigor, coupled with the faculty of speech, made the excitement and flavor of politics more acceptable than slow, plodding busi- ness. He was a newsgatherer, a keen observer, and some- thing of a gossip. These combined to make him the rarest of companions. His stock of anecdotes and experiences illustrated his conversation, of which his listeners never tired. PEERLESS POLITICAL ORATOR. On the stump he was unequalled. His ideas were arrayed in picturesque language, which, coupled with his logic and force of statement, carried conviction. On the stump Mr. Blaine made votes, a thing few orators do, and votes from the other side. As a writer he has stood the test both in a literary and historic sense. In literary work he never used a stenographer, but sat bolt upright in a straight- backed chair at a small table, writing rapidly, in one of the best hands ever written by a public man. He was untiring, and all his work showed thought. While Mr. Blaine was thought by some to be spec- tacular and was accused of posing, the reverse is true. He never tried for effects, and was impervious to pub- lic opinion when he knew that public opinion was partisan or biased. His aim in life was to know the American government, and in this he succeeded bet- ter, with, perhaps, the exception of General Butler, than any man of his time. There was nothing dra- matic in Mr. Blaine’s nature ; there was in the effect CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 453 of his public acts at times, but never in his nature. Had he been elevated to the Presidency in 1884 he would have seriously disappointed the calamity shriek- ers who poisoned the air with their howls against him. His pride would have given him the best Cabinet possible, and he would have said : “ I think you are best fitted for this position, and you for that ; ” and from the moment of his inauguration his administra- tion would have been conducted with vigor, firmness and progress, and an eye to the good of the whole people INTENSELY AMERICAN. Mr. Blaine’s life, character, surroundings and habits were intensely American. He considered the United States a government the result of all the ages pre- ceding, and his hope was to see the whole Continent governed under the same principles as the United States. There was no evidence of smallness or meanness in his character. His political opponents — and he always preferred a Democrat to an indepen- dent — were his friends. He believed there was room in this country for two parties, and they, being based on ideas of perpetual liberty, it was immaterial, in the sense of the country’s security, which party prevailed. He was a Whig and a Republican by choice. His religion was as broad as his political principles. He was almost puritanical in his faith, and walked each day with the belief of certain reward or punish- ment after death. He was affectionate to all, and was an especial favorite with children. When he rode 454 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. through the streets of Augusta the little children came running- to the fences and gates with “ Hello, Mr. Blaine,” and even the dogs of the little city all seemed to know him, and would come out and wag their tails. 1 O HIS DOMESTIC LIFE. As to his domestic life, while there has been a mass of false information and common assertion made, no man ever walked out of life purer in person or with more love for his family. All of his polit- ical reverses seemed to soften him toward men, and the excessive ami- ability of his character prevented him from met- ing out the punishment that the cut-throats that dogged his steps de- served. He never used profanity, he never drank whisky, wine and very seldom used tobacco, and while never assert- ing it, he was a strict moralist. He knew every public man’s history, and, as for that, many private ones, and he was a walking encyclopaedia of family history. He was a little too fond of wealthy men, but caring little for money himself, his business invest- CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 455 ments were for the benefit of his family or friends, with many aids to charity. While Speaker of the House he was phenomenal in the dispatch of business and his faculty of control. This arose from his business qualifications. With all his political activity and public usefulness he found time to improve himself, and to look out for and care for his friends, and to discharge the duties of an American citizen. He was the most commanding figure on the civil side of the events following the war after Thaddeus Stevens, and he loses nothing by comparison with any of the great civic characters of America. NOT TO BE JUDGED NOW. No adequate judgment of this man can be formed in the present century. His personal character, as shown by the knowledge of his friends, his public record, and the experience of his daily life will all enter into a fair judgment as to his position as one of America’s leading men. The victim of heated partisan onslaught, now is not the time — nor in this century — to do justice to the most striking figure in the past twenty-five years of the nation’s history. If any one wants proof of Mr. Blaine’s greatness as a leader, let him observe his course in Maine since 1863. Look at his position for all this time, as a leader of his party in Maine, a State second to none in culture and men of capacity and brains. His re- tention of the leadership is pretty good evidence of his capacity and ability. His following in American 456 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. politics was the most unique in American history. Friends fell out, but the ranks were always filled, and there were never vacancies. He held men with hooks of steel. He was sometimes indifferent — the result of business or political duties — but he never forgot a name or a face. And he never forgot an injury. He was as sensitive as a child at unjust criticism, but he had the curious fault of forgiving his enemies without being asked to. BLAINE AT HIS BEST. At the best period of his life, which was about 1876, Mr. Blaine was close to six feet in height and weighed 190 pounds. He had large feet, large hands, brown hair, blue-gray eyes, a very large nose, thick at the end with open nostrils, a not too large mouth, droop- ing at one corner, a face long but square, a narrow head with what might be called a high dome. He wore a full beard and moustache. He Avas very quick in talking and in his bodily movements. His manner was quick and sharp and his voice was penetrating, with a very peculiar cadence and easily heard by large audiences. After 1876 his voice became rather thick, but until his last illness it remained as distinct as a bell. He always dressed in black, wearing a Prince Albert coat, and for many years a high silk hat. He seldom, if ever, wore any jewelry. He may have had a watch, but I never noticed it. His personal expenses were nothing a day. He was very abstemious in drinking, eating, and sleeping. He was a mass of CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 457 nervous energy, and politics was but an outlet and served to preserve his health. The highest earthly honors could not have compen- sated for the death of his children and friends. Sel- dom is it that any statesman of any country in the decline of his life has met so hard a fate in the matter of grief as Mr. Blaine met. The sympathy of the whole nation went to him during his afflictions of the last three years, but throughout all he bore it with the patience and dignity of a good citizen and God-fearing man. There is a difference between character and reputation, and to the few who knew Mr. Blaine in truth the estimation made of the man by his political opponents reach the dignity of burlesque, and intensify the love and affections of those who knew him. HIS PART IN LEGISLATION. The criticism has been made that Mr. Blaine, in his congressional career, originated no particular laws. This may be true in a measure, but as the leader of his party in Congress no great party politics could have succeeded without his aid or have become laws without his consent. Essentially a man of action, he aided any and every wise measure proposed by mem- bers of his party. His plan of reciprocity embodied in the McKinley bill, and after a fierce fight, was essentially a further step growing out of a home policy of protection, and was patent to him and believed by him to be necessary to the future welfare of the Republic. This opinion was the result of his many years of experience in public life, and was another 458 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. evidence of his landing on his feet whenever he jumped in a political movement. He was the best all-around politician in America. He skimmed the newspapers each morning, and watched the changes of public opinion with the eager- ness of a practiced editor. He was always abreast of or slightly in advance of the foremost men of this Republic. His motto was undying principle with everlasting energy. Self-made, self-contained, self- reliant, he stands out as the best product of American manhood in the last three decades. In all political moves he kept in close touch with his friends in every part of the Republic. When interested, his influence at once became apparent and felt. UNDESERVED ABUSE. In his relations with public men he was often the subject of criticism and personal abuse, which was as undeserved as it was ungenerous-. In his Iona- career no individual act of meanness can be charged against him. He was not as unique or as picturesque as Butler, but he was infinitely more useful. He pos- sessed the least vanity of any public man in the United States. Flattery was useless as an approach to his favor, and when in conversation he would pump you dry, getting the information he desired and filtering it away in the storehouses of his brain and keeping it for a wet day for use. His natural ability was devel- oped, educated, and completed by his contact with men. Human life and nature was a book which he easily read. He profited by experiences. He was CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 459 the most unsuspecting of men, and while you appar- ently received his confidence, he never told you half he knew or felt. Reticent when necessary, he was talkative to an extreme when in the society of pleas- ant companions, and no one else in a company desired anybody to speak except Mr. Blaine; not because it was Blaine, but on account of the manner of the man and the strength of his talk. <15 Brilliant is a commonplace word when applied to his marvelous faculty of entertaining. He was espec- ially fond of young men, he was courteous to women, he was deferential to old men. He was essentially a kind-hearted and affectionate man. He was a unity in which none of the parts were dwarfed. He was great in all he did, in the manner of it, doing of it, and its results. HOW NEW ENGLAND VIEWED HIM. It is a curious feature of politics that with the ex- ception of Maine he was weak politically in New Eng- land. This was probably due largely to the fact that New England is tenacious of birthright, and he was an emigrant to New England. And yet, with the excep- tion of Daniel Webster, no man in New England ever equaled him in ability, and in his morals, public and private life, he represented New England’s moral sen- timent better than any man of his day. But he had to battle in his political ambitions with the puritanism of New England, except Maine. The great heart of the loyal American people reached out to and loved and believed in him. Blaine’s magnetism was noth- 460 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. ing but the realization of manhood. Bismarck in Germany, Gladstone in England, Blaine in America — s the world’s three greatest civic men of the last quarter century. HIS FRIENDSHIP FOR RANDALL. A warm and lasting friendship sprang up between Mr. Blaine and the late Speaker Samuel J. Randall which was never broken. He made the great Pennsyl- vania Demo- crat his ally in his uneven fight against the Force bill, and in many other ways demon strated his confidence in him. In his library, hang- ing almost directly over john g. Carlisle. the desk upon which he worked in Augusta, was a full bust picture of the late Mr. Randall. He observed a friend look- ing at it intently and said, pointing to it: “There is one of the truest and most forceful Americans who CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 461 has ever lived. He is a man to be relied upon in any emergency.” The compact between himself and the man he was eulogizing which defeated the Force bill made Grant’s administration Blaine’s enemy. From that hour the whole power of the Federal Government was turned against him. To revive the animosities of former years his old combatant, Senator Conkling, was chosen by the Grant forces as its candidate, and thus the bit- ter fight went on. His famous tilt with Ben Butler in 1871 is often re- called by old Congressmen. The Massachusetts states- man hit him some pretty hard blows with words while criticising him for being the author of the resolution for investigating the illegal outrages in the South. Blaine left the chair, and in defending himself made it exceedingly interesting for the hero of Fort Fisher. HIS FAME AS A DEBATER. It was- not until 1874, however, that Mr. Blaine shone at his best as a debater. The Democrats con- trolled the House, and the Maine statesman was the leader of the minority. It was a stormy session, and Ben Hill, of Georgia; Blackburn, of Kentucky, and other Southern orators took the criticism of Mr. Blaine into their own hands, and some of the most acrimonious and brilliant discussions ever heard in Congress took place between the “Plumed Knight” and the men who were resisting the reconstruction measures of the day. It was during this time that Mr. Blackburn used the famous sentence in bolstering 462 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. up Northern Democrats, which has been so often re- peated: “ He who dallies is a dastard, and he who doubts is damned.” While the discussion on the general amnesty bill was going on to remove the political disabilities of the participants in the rebellion Blaine moved to amend by making an exception of Jefferson Davis. Hill’s retort was exceedingly severe, and Mr. Blaine’s re- marks in reply were equally incisive. He cited a resolution, introduced by Hill in the Confederate Senate, providing that every Union soldier found on Confederate soil should be presumed to come with in- tent to incite insurrection and should suffer the death penalty. SOME BITTER DISCUSSION. This was the firebrand which started a new burning, and the discussion upon the pending legislation was intensely bitter and at times so intense that it seemed as though personal encounters could hardly be averted. They could not have been, had not the afflictions of war softened the angry tempest over sectional ques- tions which was aroused by this debate. A spirit was manifest that could not have been quelled before the sword had done its work and taught its useful lessons. It is a study worthy of the effort of the present gen- eration to go back to the records of that era and read them carefully. They are among the most conspicu- ous examples of what years may bring to a nation that can be found in the annals of any land. They are doubly interesting now, because on the highest fence CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 463 corner of the close of that debate will be found the cross roads where Republican Presidential aspirants parted in a hunt for the White House. There were plenty of dogs and guns on all sides. Mr. Blaine’s signboard was the biggest of them all, and the hand pointing for him in the direction of the Presidency seemed steadier than any of the others. It was the first real opportunity that he had had to assert and announce himself as the Republican Ajax defying the political lightning. The figure was heroic, the attitude good, and the feet well set on the pedes- tal which this controversy built. All the years behind this hour for him had simply been preparation for the announcement. Here it was, and the uneven fight began. HAILED AS A CHIEF. It was less than two years from this leaving behind all the customs and by-play of preparation for the national crown before he was to face all comers on the open field. The months after the notable contro- versy between Mr. Hill, of Georgia, and Blackburn, of Kentucky, were to Mr. Blaine full of the fervor of adulation by those who hailed him with the same spirit that had greeted “Harry of the West” years before. Then he became the target of ambitious rivals in his own party, but the legitimate prey of the Democracy, who desired a less popular candidate to meet in battle, where all the chances were against them. Games were put up to disconcert him by all the antagonistic elements, and not even Henry Clay faced more for- 464 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. midable intrigues and bitter opposition than “ Blaine of Maine,” as he was now familiarly called. He was constantly in the spur of the onset on the floor of the House and in manoeuvres of inside manipulation. In private, surrounded with the comfort and eulogy of a vast majority of his party, he made a picture that can never be forgotten for its finish. A GREAT LEADER. Perhaps no man ever so completely dominated the rank and file of a great political organization as did Mr. Blaine during the two years after the finger-board from a political discussion pointed him toward the White House. The shifts and hustles in General Grant’s administration during the last two years of its existence were many. The effort to break it down and destroy its influence in pending issues were next to irresistible. The Mugwump tender to the Democ- racy which made itself felt in the nomination of Hor- ace Greeley gathered rather than lost force by the fact that the Democracy would not tolerate the ambi- tions of the great editor. This was a subtle rather than a manly force, and in its hummings about lit upon Secretary Bristow as its candidate. This gentleman had been brought from Kentucky by General Grant, from a district attorney’s office, and put into the Treasury Department. The whiskey ring trials offered a perch for his Presidential aspirations, and the virtu- ous element of the Republican party made use of him as a fence against Mr. Blaine. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 465 A STAR OF THE FIRST MAGNITUDE. It is said that on November 8, 1572, the astronomer Tycho Brahe saw a star in the constellation of Cassio- peia break into sudden splendor, a splendor so bril- liant that it could be seen even at noonday. The observer watched the unusual spectacle night after night, and found to his dismay that its brilliancy was gradually diminishing. For many months this light in the northern sky burned more and more dimly, until at last it went out altogether. A star had become extinct. James G. Blaine had sturdy friends and unrelenting enemies, but friends and enemies alike agree that he occupied a conspicuous position in the constellation of American statesmen. History will vindicate his right to that most honorable distinction, for it would be impossible to recite the events which threw this nation into chaos in the earlier sixties, or to name the men who moulded public opinion during the five years when the country summoned a super-human courage and rebuilt the Union on the graves of a million heroes, or to review the slow processes which, like a hot fire, have since welded the States into a harmo- nious whole, without referring to James G. Blaine as one of the foremost in the group of giants whose work is recorded in that strange chapter of our history. It would be futile to place his character in the even balances, for his life and methods so frequently ran counter to the judgment of many, and he so often interfered with their prejudices, that to be justly criti- 30 466 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. cal or wholly impartial is not possible. That task, which wiil not prove an ungrateful one, we may safely leave to the new generation. We are all agreed, however, in this — that by Mr. Blaine’s death a bril- liant star in our political firmament, whose fading flames were watched from every hilltop and valley of the land, became extinct. A TYPICAL AMERICAN. And this also we may venture upon without being accused of reck- 1 e s s n e s s — that Mr. Blaine was a typical American. With no unusual advantages in his youth, but with that lofty aspiration which our free institutions cherish, he used the opportunities of his day to such good purpose that fame as well as wealth crowned his per- sistent efforts. He was a close student of human nature, was gifted with intuitions as quick as the lightning’s flash, saw an advantage as soon as it rose to the surface, detected the weak point in the attack of an enemy, won in debate by ridicule as well CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN. 467 as logic, was master of himself at all times, and thus generally master of the situation. The eminence he reached was the reward of con- tinuous toil. His career was made up of shocks, cataclysms, anxieties and ambitions. So freely did he spend himself, however, that he has been a sufferer from physical ailments during his last ten years, and when death besieged him at sixty-three, when he should have been on the hither side of his prime, he surrendered the citadel and fell prisoner to fate. Perhaps no man of our time has done harder work, or done it with more intensity of feeling. We may furthermore venture upon this — that Mr. Blaine in all the policies of his public life created unbounded enthusiasm. If he was hated by some, even hatred admitted his sovereignty over the multi- tude. He had a burning eloquence which swayed his audience as the whirlwind the field of grain. and not the common people merely, but his peers in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He has more than once killed a foe with an epigram, and his sarcasm in debate was like a succession of relentless thunder- bolts. HIS MATCHLESS TRIUMPHS. The golden period of his life was passed in Con- gress. He was there his best, his largest self. As Speaker of the House he was admirably equipped, and by his tact and diplomacy, as well as by his cour- age, he earned the laurel. In the old reconstruction days he was not as hot headed as many of his party, 468 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and threw his influence in the direction of a quick reconciliation of our sectional difficulties. The Presidency was denied him, but he could well afford to forego that triumph in the consciousness of so many others. The leader of his party during the stormiest period of the Republic, he enjoyed honors enough to satisfy all reasonable hopes, and now that he has gone it will not be easy to find another with such versatility of gifts and such widespread influence. He has passed into history ; he has begun the journey to that bourne from which no traveller returns. Like the star which Tycho Brahe saw in the heavens, the fires of his great career have gone out. b o CHAPTER XXI. James G. Blaine. His Place in Modern Politics — His Leadership and Char- acter— An Estimate by John Russell Young. The death of Blaine comes as an incident rather than an event. It has been expected for a long- time. Hour by hour the flame of life was known to be flick- ering to the end. Unlike Hayes and Butler, Bishop Brooks and Judge Lamar, who, as it were, bear him company to the eternities, he was denied the grace of a sudden death. For days he had been uncon- scious, or at least spoke no word. To him long watching hours were appointed, even as to his beloved friend Garfield. He was to die on the theatre of his fame. That was fitting. Around him were the re- membrances of great men who had ruled the republic. His deathbed was within the shadow of the White House. Every association recalled ambition, elo- quence, statesmanship and endeavor. He was a young man. In the course of nature many years were due him. England is ruled by a statemsan old enough to be his father, and those who loved and followed Blaine had reason to anticipate another generation of his leadership. Blaine was among the last of that group of bril- ( 469 ) 470 „ LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. liant young men who, coming at the close of the war, were in their intellectual achievements to be regarded as its fruit and flower. In times of stress, as in se- cession days, history teaches us that youth finds oppor- tunity. The young men of France governed the Rev- olution — the young men of the Colonies achieved independence. The statesmen contemporary of Mr. Blaine were a memorable company. Conkling, Mor- ton, Allison, Garfield, Marshall Jewell, Harrison, Ar- thur, Edmunds, Windom, and Wilson of Iowa, were among the number. The legislation after the war shows character and power. They had the intrepidity, perhaps the thought- lessness of youth, or they would never have dared impeachment. With the exception of Garfield, with his old head on young shoulders, they believed in that experiment. Blaine, as I remember, formally ex- pressed in his memoirs a regret for his precipitancy. Impeachment we must regard as a war system — the consequences of war. A party governed by young men was the party to make it come true. COMES TO THE FRONT. Blaine soon became the unquestioned leader of the Republican party. His rival for a time was the late Mr. Colfax, who was, however, to go down under dis- tressing circumstances. Since the time of Henry Clay no young men held, at so early an age, a party lead- ership. By the ordinary progress of events Blaine should have gained the Presidency. But at the outset of his career he came in collision with the military HIS LEADERSHIP. 471 prestige of Grant. History shows how this antago- nism affected his fortunes, but it would be an interest- ing study to weigh its effects upon the country. If Blaine had been in hearty accord with Grant recon- struction would have assumed a new phase, and we might not now be mourning the ravished electoral votes which established Southern supremacy. Blaine instinctively, as became a man of peace, shrank from the military methods. He probably felt in his heart toward Grant as the English statesmen did to Marl- borough and Wellington — a conviction that a military career was incompatible with statesmanship. At all events the silent antagonism between the civilian and the soldier prevented reconstruction and destroyed Blaine’s hopes for the Presidency. The strength of Blaine’s leadership lay in his com- mon sense. He was learned in the occult, capricious laws of human nature. He knew that two and two make four, and that even the strongest minds will have a craving for cakes and ale. He believed in the nation’s growth. Independent and at times lawless in his convictions in his political methods, without fear or regrets, his heart went out to the newer States. The loyal support ever given to Blaine by the great Western Commonwealths was because he was in sym- pathy with the builders of empires. His own modest life of adventure, the floating as a schoolmaster be- tween the States of Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Maine, had given him an appreciation of the adven- turers who were pressing Republican domination to 472 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This done, and the chain of States welded together, not alone by the political tie of union, but by rail and steam, and Blaine looked toward what the fancy of Dickens calls “ the golden South America.” ENTHUSIASTIC FOR RECIPROCITY. Blaine had the imperial dream of reciprocity. There were statesmen when Garfield came into power who regretted that our American policy did not embrace the Pacific. This had been the urgent wish of Grant, which, in a measure, he had inherited from Burlin- game. During the brief, tragic Garfield episode, and subsequently under Harrison, this Asiatic policy was pressed upon Blaine. It was pointed out that Amer- ican influence should dominate Asia as far as Singa- pore, that the great Asiatic nations were craving our commercial alliance, that the growth and endurance of the Pacific commonwealths were involved in a p-en- o erous policy toward Asia. Grant, like Burlingame, had formed these conclusions by study of the East. To Blaine, however, the East was little more than a romance or a poem. He had neither seen nor felt it. His conceptions of Chinese civilization were based upon the police reports of San Francisco and the note books of hurried travellers like the late Bayard Tay- lor. Lord John Russell said it took Parliament seven years to pass a bill. Blaine believed that an adminis- tration could do but one thing in four years. To at- tempt two things meant a failure in both. “I mean,” he said to the writer two years ago, “ to complete the HIS LEADERSHIP. 473 work of reciprocity, which will be as much as Harri- son can do. That done, we can think about Asia.” BROTHERHOOD OF NATIONS. There were those of us who were impatient with this resolution, but we must needs admire the splen- dor of the conception of reciprocity. A federation of commonwealths over the whole American conti- nent ! What a superb way we opened to the twen- tieth century ! Why waste time picking up coral islands in the Pacific or jabbering with African kings over flannel and beads, when we had the roads to des- tiny spreading toward Greenland and Patagonia ! Seward had made Alaska a pawn in the fascinating game. Grant had tried San Domingo as a second move, to be defeated by purblind jealousy. Blaine would make a royal move and advance the queen be- yond the Andes and to the Amazon. As I have said, it was an imperial dream, recalling what Henry Clay believed possible as an outcome of his Panama Congress. With what success it is too soon to say. It may be the unfinished window in the tower as we read in the “Arabian Nights.” Even as these high purposes came within his reach, when at last standing as it were on the steps of the throne he was enabled to mould the throne’s decrees, there came upon him, as upon no public man in my time, the inscrutable hand of God. His children were to die. Disease was to strike him even unto death. Every promise, joy and hope was to sink into cloud and night. No sadder mystery in the ways of God as we 474 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. see them among man than this of Blaine. And I can well believe that out of it all there came at times the feeling that death was a benediction, and that in the end alone was peace. A KING AMONG MEN. It will be difficult to assign Blaine a place in our history. This, however, is the work of another gener- ation. I knew him for many years on terms of intimacy, more especially while he was a member of the House and before political differences brought rifts into the party. I have worked with him for hours in Wash- ington, and had his companionship at my fireside. I found him always an original, sincere, intrepid man, amiable, sympathetic, with a Napoleonic instinct for the kernel of a subject. In a flippant way he has been called “ magnetic.” This meaningless word seems especially so when applied to Blaine. He had that perfect courtesy which is shown in absolute respect for the feelings of those around him. Sovereign or serf had equal kindness at his hands. He had no fear, no resentments, and friends were often impatient at his forgiveness of enemies. It is difficult also to estimate his intellectual standard. He was not a supreme orator like Conkling. He wanted Morton’s lucidity of expression. He was not learned in the books like Garfield. He had not enjoyed the legal training of Edmunds. He missed the cogent, rifle ball aptness of Harrison as a speaker. But he had a quality in which he surpassed any man of his time. It is hard to describe it, but I presume HIS LEADERSHIP. 475 it should be called the genius of leadership. He would be a brave man or one with a gnarled, rugged nature, who could come within the gleam of that magnificent eye, or under the spell of that persuasive voice and not be prone to follow. And in this leader- ship was the arrogance of genius. Blaine, like Grant, never called a council of war to fight his political battles. It was go and he goeth, or come and he cometh, to his followers, as I have heard many an eminent statesman say when speaking of service with the “Plumed Knight” of Maine. LIKELY TO BE UNDERRATED. In the way of mere achievements, that is to say, speeches, legislation or the development of high policies, the life of Blaine may be regarded as a disappointment. Critics may ask us to study him as we do some of those stupendous ruins which show what it was in the mind of man to attempt, but not in the heart of man to do. He will be called a Coleridge among statesmen — his life strewn with the wrecks of magnificent opportunities. This, however, would be an unfair criticism. Blaine dies in what would be the youth of a public man. The time to do his work was denied him. He had more sorrows than are common. He had battles to fight such as devolved upon no American statesman. There was the mighty personal- ity of Grant, the haughty personality of Conkling, the majestic personality of Edmunds. There was the uncompromising hostility of the critical conservative Republicanism — theorists and dreamers, especially of 476 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the New England school. There was the South. Alone he fought them, and in every battle he was triumphant. No political antagonist ever beat him down. My heart was not with him in some of these con- tests, but I never ceased to admire the fertility of his genius, his courage and his will. He was ever a knight in the terror of his blows, in the swift amplitude of his forgiveness. I think of it all now that he lies o in his coffin, and, recalling of Blaine so many years of admiration and friendship, his loyalty to his party, his chivalry to woman, his gentleness to children, his haughty Americanism and supreme power of intellect which made him almost an object of worship to so many millions of his countrymen, give him my sorrow- ing farewell. A great man has gone and a nation mourns an untimely fate. CHAPTER XXII. Blaine as a Man Among Other Men. The eminent journalist, E. J. Gibson, who was inti- mately acquainted with Mr. Blaine, furnishes the fol- lowing interesting sketch : Although Mr. Blaine was so highly regarded because of his rare ability and brilliant attainments, yet his so- called magnetic manner gave him much of his popu- larity. He rarely forgot a face or name, and he had the faculty of giving every person with whom he came in contact the impression that he was really glad to see him, something which can be said of very few men in public life. My own experience with Mr. Blaine w'as probably similar to that of a multitude of others. When a reporter on a New York newspaper, doing some campaign work in Philadelphia, I happened to be in the city on the afternoon that Mr. Blaine was to deliver a campaign address in the Academy of Music in the Fall of 1878. Wishing to meet him personally I sent up my card to him at the Continental Hotel. I was invited up at once, and much to my surprise was taken into his room, where many of the leading Re publicans of the city were gathered, and taking me by the arm Mr. Blaine introduced me to every man pres- ent. I had never been treated so well by a public " (477) 478 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. man, and I certainly went away entertaining a feeling of the highest regard personally for Mr. Blaine. Some years afterward when he was nominated for President, I went to Maine to represent the same newspaper and remained with Mr. Blaine during the entire campaign. I then had an opportunity to be- come thoroughly well acquainted with him, and this acquaintance was renewed by a similar experience for six weeks during the State campaign in Maine in 1886, and afterward in Washington. During a good deal of the time I was in Maine and in the country in 1884 I traveled with Mr. Blaine alone and we went into every nook and corner of Maine that could be reached by railroad. HE KNEW ALMOST EVERYBODY. We never entered a town that Mr. Blaine did not recognize apparently the majority of the inhabitants. He seemed to know everybody in the State, and he never went into a town or city elsewhere in the country, within my knowledge, without meeting some one that he knew, so extensive was his acquaintance. I never knew but one other man who had a like faculty of remembering persons whom he had met before, and that was Vice-President Hamlin, of the same State. Mr. Hamlin accompanied us on a trip at one time to Presque Isle, a village in the extreme northeastern part of Maine. The Vice-President had not been in the same town for seventeen years, but when he got off from the train he shook hands with three persons whom he had met in the same place on A MAN AMONG MEN. 479 his visit there seventeen years before and called each one by name, although he had never seen them but once. Mr. Blaine at the same time recognized per- sonally a large number of the citizens whom he had met only once, and that a good many years before. At a reception given by Governor Smith at his house in New Hampshire, I stood a few feet away from Mr. Blaine and heard him personally greet by name 200 or 300 persons, many of whom he had never met but once. One man, after shaking hands with Mr. Blaine, remarked : “ I suppose you do not remember me, Mr. Blaine, as it is twelve years ago since I saw you.” Mr. Blaine quickly replied: “Oh. yes, I remember you well. You were at Mr. Blank’s house when I was there in 1872.” I afterward asked Mr. Blaine in regard to that particular person and he said that he met him at a reception in another city twelve years before, which illustrates his wonderful memory of faces. QUICK TO SEE A POINT. One of the most notable things in regard to Mr. Blaine’s skill as a party leader was his alertness in seizing upon a position on difficult or exciting public questions that would be likely to receive the support of his party and to be popular in the country. A mis- take by an opponent would be seen by Mr. Blaine almost immediately, and he was not slow to take ad- vantage of it. Perhaps this could not be illustrated better than in his celebrated statement on the tariff question sent from Europe in reply to Mr. Cleveland’s 480 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. message in 1887. Mr. Blaine gave the keynote of the campaign to his party in that message. In the hundreds of speeches which I have heard him deliver he always made an effort to bring out one central point that would fix the attention of his hearers. He did not like to deliver long speeches. He preferred, as he told me himself, to handle one topic in such a way as to make an impression and leave to others the work of entertaining the audience. For that purpose he generally took with him a speaker who could put an audience in good humor, and Mr. Blaine would confine himself to one or two of the cen- tral issues of the campaign. Many of his speeches were delivered with a view of reaching the entire country, rather than the audience to which he was speaking. He had a clear voice and a direct, simple manner of stating questions that always made it easy for the people to understand him. Mr. Blaine rarely wrote out a speech. I remember only one speech in the campaign of 1884 that he wrote out in advance, and then he had been grossly misrep- resented, and he desired to put himself right in such a way that there would be no excuse for continuing the misstatements. The speech I refer to was deliv- ered in the State Fair grounds at Manchester, New Hampshire, and I held the manuscript in my hands while Mr. Blaine spoke, and I found that he did not deviate hardly a word from what he had written, although he did not write the speech more than an hour before it was delivered, and had had no oppor- A MAN AMONG MEN. 481 tunity to do more than read it after he had completed the manuscripts. HIS LITERARY STYLE. Mr. Blaine’s literary style has been criticised by some of the men who posed as critics on such mat- ters, but most of the people generally will agree with Senator Hoar in the statement that the dead leader had “a marvelous literary instinct.” His style was free from exaggeration and excess, and the little poses of phrase so often affected by writers. Mr. Blaine was a splendid Latin student, and yet none would ever be aware of the fact so far as the use of Latin phrases in his speeches and writings are concerned. I asked him once if he thought it was worth while for a boy to spend his time learning the dead languages. He replied that he did not think that Greek was of any particular advantage, excepting to men who in- tended to pursue a literary life or special callings that would make researches into the works of ancient au- thors necessary. But he said that Latin, in his opinion, was decidedly necessary in the formation of a correct English style, and he added that whatever there was of good in his style he attributed to his study of Latin. As to modern languages, he thought them an advan- tage in some cases, but to the great majority of men he thought the time might be more advantageously employed than in studying modern languages, outside of the English. In the case of his own sons, however, he said that he had Walker and Emmons both learn French and German, and had given them an opportu- 31 482 LIFE OF IION. JAMES G. BLAINE. nity to perfect themselves in the languages by study abroad. HIS EULOGY ON GARFIELD. Senator Hoar in speaking of Mr. Blaine’s literary works, says that his eulogy on Garfield has always seemed to him (Mr. Hoar) one of the most exquisite productions of the class to which it belonged. This recalls to mind the fact that Mr. Blaine in giving me a bound copy of that eulogy, with an autograph inscrip- tion in it, remarked that he took as much pride in that address as in anything he had ever delivered or written. The death of Garfield was a great blow to Mr. Blaine. He told me that had Garfield lived he had no doubt before the end of his term that the Republican party would be thoroughly united, and the animosity that had grown out of the effort to renominate Gen- eral Grant fora third term would have died out under the kindly influences of Garfield’s administration. Al- though Mr. Blaine is everywhere known for his aggres- siveness in politics, yet he was in no sense a vindictive man, and was personally anxious to live on terms of peace and good-will with everybody. He was anxious to be reconciled to Conkling, and the fact that they never were reconciled was not Mr. Blaine’s fault, as I know of my own personal knowledge. WOULD HAVE SOLIDIFIED THE PARTY. Although the nomination of Judge Robertson for Collector of New York by Garfield was ascribed to Blaine, there is good reasons for saying that Blaine A MAN AMONG MEN. 483 did not dictate it. But even had he done so, there was no good reason for Conkling pursuing the course that he did in the matter. Judge Robertson was quoted in a recent interview as saying that General Arthur made a great mistake when he did not keep Mr. Blaine in his Cabinet, as it would have solidified the party and insured President Arthur’s renomination. That recalls a remark that Mr. Blaine made to me in discussing the same subject. He said that he did not care to remain in President Arthur’s Cabinet, but that he would have done so if it had been insisted upon, and he thought that President Arthur had an op- portunity to unite the party and to bring about an era of good feeling, such as would not be likely to occur again in a long time. President Arthur took the other course and made the great mistake of going to Albany to try and re-elect Mr. Conkling, and as Judge Rob- ertson says, “President Arthur got no thanks for it.” During the campaign of 1884 efforts were made by mutual friends to bring Mr. Conkling and Mr. Blaine together, and also to bring Mr. Arthur to New York to preside at a meeting where Mr. Blaine was presid- ing. But so far as Mr. Conkling and Mr. Arthur were concerned, the efforts were a failure. Although Mr. Arthur was spending a short vacation at the residence of Mr. Frelinghuysen, in New Jersey, only a short distance from New York, yet he refused to attend the meeting, and I know that Mr. Blaine felt hurt as a result of that failure. 484 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. A good deal has been written and said about Mr. Blaine’s return to New York after his visit to the West in the campaign of 1884, and in regard to the dinner he attended gotten up by the late Cyrus W. Field, and the consequent Burchard incident which would not have happened if Mr. Blaine had carried out his original intentions of not returning to New York city. THAT FATAL NEW YORK DINNER. I discussed that matter at a good deal of length with Mr. Blaine two years afterward, and he told me then, as he told me at the time, that he did not want to return to New York city, and was persuaded against his will to do so. He said that he could not refuse to attend the dinner given by Cyrus W. Field without offending some of the prominent managers in his can- vass. Mr. Field had been very active in assisting in the work of the campaign, and, as a result, Mr. Blaine allowed himself to be persuaded by ex-Senator Platt and others to return to New York, which unquestion- ably caused him the loss of the Presidency. As to the Burchard incident, I was present in the hotel at the time the speech was delivered. I did not myself notice Mr. Burchard make the remark that was attributed to him. But . a few minutes later ex-Collector Murphy, of New York, who is himself a Roman Catholic, came to me in the corridor of the hotel and remarked that if something was not done right away to offset what Burchard had said in his speech that it would do great harm, because the Demo- A MAN AMONG MEN. 485 cratic newspaper correspondents, who were there within a few feet of us at that moment, were preparing to make the most of it. mr. blaine’s unconcern. I immediately went up to Mr. Blaine’s room to see him about it, and found that he was not aware that anything of the kind had been said. But he remarked that an attempt to correct an alleged statement of that kind might do as much harm as good, as it would offend the Protestants, particularly those of the bigoted kind. He did not seem to think that the matter was of any particular importance. Two hours later when I had learned that the Demo- crats were preparing to circulate this “Rum, Roman- ism, and Rebellion ” alleged statement of Dr. Burch- ard, in the form of handbills and in other ways, I again saw Mr. Blaine about the matter, but found that he was not much concerned. It was not until late in the next day that his friends persuaded him to make the statement that he did in regard to the matter. Many persons have blamed Mr. Blaine for not replying to Dr. Burchard at the time the remark was made, but there is no doubt that he never heard the remark if it was ever made, and although I was listening to the speech, though not with much care, I did not hear it. With Mr. Blaine’s extraordinary alertness and skill in making use of any incident of that kind if he had heard it, he would undoubtedly have been prompt to reply. A good many persons have undertaken to ridicule state- ments to the effect that Mr. Blaine was defeated for 486 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the Presidency by the use Democrats made of that alleged remark on the part of Dr. Burchard. I have good reason for saying that it is capable of proof that enough votes were changed in that way to account for his defeat in New York. MANY VOTES CHANGED. Handbills were circulated at every Catholic Church in New York on the following Sunday, headed, “See what Blaine says,” and then the remark was ascribed to Mr. Blaine himself. A handbill of that kind was delivered at nearly every house in Brooklyn, and, among others, at my own. Some time after the elec- tion a considerable number of men were placed at my disposal, and I was charged with the duty of investi- gating to see if I could ascertain whether or not any votes actually had been changed as a result of the use the Democrats made of that alleged remark of Dr. Burchard. I found a number of men who were willing to acknowledge that they changed their votes on that account. One of these was the president of a large Catholic educational institution in the upper part of New York city. He told me that he intended to vote for Mr. Blaine, but he changed his mind and voted for Mr. Cleveland, because the Catholic Church had been insulted in Mr. Blaine’s presence and he had not resented it. Passing a certain jewelry store the same day I met an ex-State Senator who lived in Flushing who told me of several persons who had similarly been influ- enced. He went with me into the jewelry store, and A MAN AMONG MEN. 487 the proprietor told us of a German shoemaker in the basement of the building who had been influenced in the same way. I saw that shoemaker, and he said that he had changed his vote on that account, and gave the names of several of his friends who had done the same thing. I found a Catholic priest in West- chester county who had advised the members of his flock to vote against Mr. Blaine as the only way of repelling the insult that had been offered to the church. Pursuing the matter further, I gathered a large number of names of persons who were willing to acknowledge that they had been influenced in the same way. Patrick Ford showed me hundreds of letters from different parts of the State telling of votes that had been changed in that way, and he expressed the opinion that thousands of votes had been lost to Blaine on account of the Burchard incident. As Mr. Cleve- land only had 1047 plurality in New York a change of 550 votes would have elected Mr. Blaine. I have never had any doubt in my own mind after that inves- tigation that he would have been elected had he not returned to New York, after his trip from the West, contrary to his own judgment. DID NOT SEEK THE NOMINATION. Mr. Blaine told me in August of 1884 that he had not sought the nomination for President that year, and he seemed to think that it was not a good year for a Republican to run in. He told mein 1886 that he did not believe that any Republican could be elected in 1888, but after Mr. Cleveland’s celebrated tariff mes- 488 LIFE OF IiON. JAMES G. BLAINE. sage Mr. Blaine changed his mind and he did think there was a good opportunity then for the Republicans to elect their candidate. He had said before that he would not be a candidate. But when it became evi- dent that the campaign was to turn on the tariff, and Mr. Blaine had in letters from Europe expressed the opinion that a Republican would be elected, his friends made an effort to get him to consent to accept the nom- ination. His health was not good, however, and he was depressed in spirits at that time. Still Mr. Boutelle and others who were concerned in that effort believe that he would have accepted had he been nom- inated. Mr. Boutelle holds to the opinion that if it had not been for telegrams sent from Chicago to Mr. Blaine by a United States Senator and some others supposed to be close in his confidence that Mr. Blaine would have been nominated and elected. But in view of his health during the past four years, and the organic disease with which he was suffering, everybody must now concede that it would have shortened his life had he been made President. Mr. Blaine was very tenacious of life, and I never traveled with a man who was more concerned about his safety on railroads. He was extremely nervous, and if anything happened in the way of a slight acci- dent to a train it upset him at once. He was very fond of company, and always liked to have some one to talk to, and when left to himself was very apt to be moody and melancholy. He may have had some premonition A MAN AMONG MEN. 489 of his organic trouble, but it was very evident to any person brought much in contact with him that good company and cheerful surroundings were necessary to his health. There was a vein of something approaching super- stition in him which has always made me wonder that he consented to move into the old Seward mansion, considering the mishaps that have befallen its former occupants. When Mr. Blaine went out of the Cabinet at the death of Garfield his physicians told him that it would be necessary for him to take up some work that would keep his mind occupied, and that was how he came to undertake the work of writing a history of his “ Twenty Years in Congress.” It was a kind of work that was congenial to him, and no man in the country was prob- ably so well fitted to perform it. His acquaintance with the political history of the country and his knowl- edge of public men and events were second to that of no other man. He devoted a great deal of time to that work, and told me that it gave him more satisfac- tion than anything that he had ever done. But it is not at all improbable that it did much to shorten his life. DID NOT CHERISH ENMITY. Mr. Blaine did not cherish enmity. He was very sensitive to criticism which reflected on his honor as a man. In the campaign of 1884 ex-Secretary Bayard, who was associated with Mr. Blaine in business enter- prises, and for whom Mr. Blaine had high regard, de- livered a speech in Brooklyn in which he attacked Mr. 490 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Blaine’s character personally on account of the Mul- ligan letters. When I read the speech the next day I spoke to Mr. Blaine about it. He had not seen it and said he could hardly believe that Mr. Bayard would do a thing of that kind, and requested me to point out the part of the speech to which I referred. I got the paper and showed it to him. He read it, dropped the paper on the floor and sat looking out of the window in a most dejected manner for at least fifteen minutes, evidently feeling deeply hurt. Some years later, when Mr. Blaine was Secretary of State, I chanced to be passing down the corridor of the Department just as Mr. Bayard stepped out of the elevator into which Mr. Blaine was about to enter. “ Hello, Tom, how are you ? ” was Mr. Blaine’s hearty greeting, which was met with a similarly friendly re- sponse on the part of Mr. Bayard, and the two locked arms and walked off together. Remembering the incident in regard to the speech some years before, I was strikingly impressed with the fact that Mr. Blaine was a very forgiving man. That was evident also in the impartial, not to say charitable manner, in which he spoke of his worst opponents in this “Twenty Years of Congress.” While Mr. Blaine had a good business faculty, he was very careless of details in money matters. I re- call a curious incident in that respect. One time while on his way to a town in the extreme northeast- ern part of Maine to deliver a speech, to reach which it was necessary to make a long detour by rail A MAN AMONG MEN. 491 through New Brunswick, some ill-informed friends advised him to break the journey by stopping all night at a little village not far from the New Brunswick frontier. My own experience with village inns led me to endeavor to persuade Mr. Blaine against making the stop. But he thought his friends must know the place well, or they would not have advised him ; and so we started together from Augusta in the afternoon and reached the place where we were to stop over night about io o’clock. It was very dark, and there was no conveyance at the station ; and we had to get a man with a lantern to pilot us to the inn, about a quarter of a mile off. When we got there we found a regular old-fashioned country inn. As there was to be a circus in town next day, all the rooms were engaged, which was a sorry outlook for Mr. Blaine and myself. But the proprietor said that he would have a couple of rooms fixed up, and so we sat down to wait. It seems that he routed out a couple of his guests, and made them get out of the rooms so that we could have them. When we finally got to our rooms Mr. Blaine came into mine just as I was making a tour of inspection to ascertain the number of bed-fellows I would have. I found the bed was well peopled in its way, and Mr. Blaine was horrified. I then went with him to his room, and while we were not able to discover any like inhabitants, there were suspicious evidences of them about. Mr. Blaine insisted on my remaining 492 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. with him in his room, and we did not enjoy what might be called a tranquil night’s rest. When we came to settle up in the morning I found that Mr. Blaine had come away from home, expecting to be gone some days, without having thought to bring with him any money, which illustrates his dis- regard of details. But in his larger business transactions he was very successful. His first entry into the newspaper busi- ness in Maine brought him a profit, so he told me, of $i 8,000. He got the money all in cash and took it home and put it out on the table and showed it to his wife, with the proud satisfaction of saying that it all belonged to them. That was the first money that he ever got together as a surplus, and he managed to invest it to good account. He lost money in some of his enterprises, but as a rule they were successful, and it will be no surprise if his estate foots up in the neighborhood of a million. $ 1 CHAPTER XXIII. Home Life and Personal Traits. No more fascinating spot exists in Washington to the average sightseer than the late home of Sec- retary Blaine. Mr. Blaine had had several homes in Washington — a modest three-story residence on Fif- teenth street ; the towering mansion on Dupont circle ; an elegant house on Lafayette square ; and the big, rambling structure which decorative art had trans- formed into a most luxurious residence. No. 17 Madison place boasts of a career as diver- sified as that of a modern politician. It has been in turn dwelling house, boarding house, government office and twice the home of the premier of the ad- ministration. The third floor under the slanting roof sheltered a Chief Executive of the nation, President Polk having lived there for the four months of the White House repairs. In Secretary Seward’s occu- pancy it was the social headquarters of the wealth and distinction of the day. On the memorable night of his attempted assassination a scene of horror was enacted under its roof, the memory of which seems as fresh as if it were an incident of yesterday. After years of ( 493 ) 494 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. service as a government office the house was finally vacated and leased by Secretary Blaine. He made it one of the cosiest of homes — not spacious enough for large entertainments, but just the thing for the conveniences and smaller hospitalities SECRETARY BLAINE’S DINING-ROOM. that Mrs. Blaine had contemplated. It has a cheerful look at night, with the light streaming from every window, and particularly from the kitchen and the servants’ quarters, which, after the style of the old days, stretch out in a long L at the back. HOME LIFE. 495 INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS. On one side of the hall is a small parlor, decorated in white and gold, where Mr. Blaine saw his callers. It is furnished in antique mahogany in a comfortable and pleasing style. The family are welcomed there, and occasionally breakfast is served there, so that the room does not at all take on the look of a regular workshop. The dining-room is on the other side of the hall, facing the street, and is rather small, since the table will only accommodate eighteen persons. It is furnished in antique oak, and is bright and cheerful, in keeping with all the rest of the house. Upstairs the drawing-room occupies the entire width of the house. It is light and delicate in coloring, and pale olive, with a touch of crimson, as the predominating tint. Adjoining on one side was Mr. and Mrs. Blaine’s bedroom, and opposite, at the other side of the hall, is the library. The library is the favorite sitting-room of the house- hold. Their intimate friends join them there, and in the late afternoon the young ladies are sure to be found there with such of their friends who drop in. They keep up the English custom of offering a cup of tea and a sweet bite to those who come in. After dinner Mr. Blaine always joined his family, and the group about that library table was generally one of unusual distinction. The room has a good north light. It is finished in mahogany. The walls are lined with low bookshelves, there are several splendid canvases, in nearly every corner are writing tables 496 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and desks, piles of books are on tables and mantels, and there is always an air lingering of the mental and social relaxation that the room witnesses. COLONIAL TASTES. The furniture throughout the house is in harmony with the colonial style predominating in its architec- ture. Much of it was brought from the Blaines’ Augusta home, but most of it was selected by Mrs. Blaine in New York. There are many fine pictures on the walls, a few that they bought during their last trip to Europe, and many old engravings and prints that are familiar to all who remember the look of the Augusta home. It was considered rather an unusual thing for Sec- retary Blaine to take up his home in a house tainted by the history of an attempted murder, and people with a superstitious turn of mind indulged in many re- marks when, to let more light and sun into the house, Mr. Blaine had four windows cut into the south wall. The Blaine home in Augusta is not extravagantly furnished. It is simply comfortable and artistic. The house and inclosed grounds are richly shaded with apple trees, and all the surroundings are after the neat but plain New England style. The summer residence at Bar Harbor is quite a pretentious cottage. It is called the “ Stanwood,” for the family name of Mrs. Blaine. Mr. Blaine never gave up his home nor his home life in Maine, but for nearly thirty years he maintained a 'home in Washington. A few years after first entering Washington, he purchased the residence HOME LIFE. 497 at 821 West Fifteenth Street, where he lived while in Washington for about ten years. Early in the seven- ties he had built a fine new residence in Dupont Circle. The death of Garfield changing his plans, he leased this house, and returned to Maine. THE SEWARD HOUSE. About the beginning- of President Harrison’s Ad- ministration, after he had begun his duties as Secre- tary of State, Mr. Blaine purchased his late home, which has always been known as the Seward House, described above. The old place had been unoccupied for some time, and was in a dilapidated condition. Mr. Blaine gave it a thorough overhauling, and, with- out destroying the quaint features of the old-fashioned architecture, he changed it into an elegant home, with modern equipments and facilities. The house has some very gloomy associations. Its first occupant was Secretary Spencer, whose son, a young lieutenant in the navy, was hanged at sea early in the forties for an alleged attempt at mutiny. Dur- ing Buchanan’s Administration the Washington Club occupied it, and it was from it that Philip Barton Key walked out into the sunny street just before he was shot and killed by General Daniel E. Sickles. Secretary Seward was the next to occupy it. And on April 14, 1865, Louis Payne forced his way into one of its chambers where the Secretary was lying ill and stabbed him nearly to death. For four years after this the War Department kept a patrol there day and night and this did not add to the reputation of the house. 32 498 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. After Secretary Seward, Secretary Belknap was the tenant and he had hardly got his household settled when his wife died very unexpectedly. He soon re- moved and after this the house remained unoccupied until 1889, when Mr. Blaine established himself and family in it. Within two years and a half Mr. and BLAINE’S FAVORITE SEAT AT HIS BAR HARBOR VILLA. Mrs. Blaine lost their three eldest children and the Secretary himself died in the house. Gloomy tradi- tions have hung over the house for a half century, and the latest death within its walls will not tend to dispel them. LIFE AT BAR HARBOR. During the summer Mr. Blaine lived on his porch at HOME LIFE. 499 Bar Harbor, Maine, a great deal of the time and seemed to enjoy immensely having his grandchildren about him to talk with. This Bar Harbor cottage is a large building and is chiefly remarkable for its great veranda, which completely encircles the house. A beautiful view can be had from its porches, on which the family almost lived in the summer time. It is about twenty feet w T ide where it overlooks Mount Desert Bay. Mr. Blaine was very fond of Bar Harbor, and occa- sionally, when in a reminiscent mood, would tell his visitors of the time when he might have bought the whole island for $500. Mr. Blaine said that when he was in the Maine Legislature he had for a seat mate Old Man Rodick, the original settler and proprietor of the island. This was in 1856. The two men be- came well acquainted, and one summer Rodick asked Mr. Blaine up to his home. Rodick lived alone on the island. Mr. Blaine went there and admired the place greatly, whereupon Rodick offered to sell it tc him for $500. HIS SOCIAL QUALITIES. Personally Mr. Blaine was a delightful man ; whether at his home or at his position of duty his caller was always received with dignified courtesy and consider- ation, and it was a charming trait of his that all those with whom he came in contact were made to feel that he always felt in them and their affairs the interest of a friend. Thousands recall brief association with him with delight, and many are the stories that can be told 500 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. of Mr. Blaine’s remarkable memory of faces and names. High as his position in Washington became, Mr. Blaine always kept in close touch with all his old friends in Augusta and throughout Maine, and always on his visits to the State upon which he cast so much honor, his hand was ready and willing to grasp the hands of all those whom he met. His home was al- ways open to all the citizens of Augusta. He was idolized by the Republicans of his State and admired and often voted for by the men of other parties. In his life as a citizen there was never the slightest osten- tation, no display of money, no assumption of social supremacy. When Mr. Blaine returned home from a season in Washington with his family to Augusta, he and his entered into the life of the little city as heartily as did any of the inhabitants. Mr. Blaine was often on the street and he seldom rode. Mrs. Blaine was promi- nent in church work and mingled freely among many friends, while the sons and daughters did not hold themselves off from the other youth of the city, but enjoyed what they enjoyed. FAVORITE IN SOCIETY. Mr. Blaine was exceedingly popular in society, and his fame reached across the Atlantic. The London World published a sketch of him immediately after his appointment as Secretary of State in the Garfield Cabinet, part of which is worthy of reproduction in this notice. After describing his political career and HOME LIFE. 501 paying a just tribute to his statesmanlike attributes, the article thus depicts his daily life at Washington during the session of Congress : “ Mr. Secretary Blaine’s house is incontestably the most popular in Washington. On Wednesday afternoon, the day in Washington when during the session the wives of Cabinet Ministers and those of foreign ambassadors receive, there is no house in the American capital so crowded. Whatever the weather, however thin the attendance in other drawing rooms, there is always a throng at Mr. Blaine’s. Nor is this due to the im- portance of his present position as Secretary of State. It was the same when he was in Congress, whether as member or Speaker of the House. It was the same when he was in the Senate. It would be the same if Mr. Blaine were not in politics. People go there be- cause they like Mr. Blaine and all his family, which consists of his intellectual and ladylike wife, a kins- woman of brilliant reputation in American letters who uses the nom de plume of ‘ Gail Hamilton,’ and six fine and promising children. “In the examination of the drawing rooms at Mr. Blaine’s we find among other valuable possessions one very interesting picture — a large canvas by Sir Peter Lely, representing Charles II. and his Court. It is signed with the date 1658. It was painted by Sir Peter for Lord Baltimore and was bought by Mr. Blaine for a sum of comparative unimportance at the sale of the Calvert estate, Riverdale, Md., some few years ago. There is not an art gallery in Europe, 502 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. public or private, which would not be enriched by this large historical picture, full of portraits and executed in Lely’s most delicate and yet most animated style. “ Near at hand on a pedestal stands a fine life-size bust of Mr. Blaine, as good a likeness of the states- man as could perhaps be obtained in this form of a man, the charm of whose features lies principally in their mobility and ever changing play. Portraits of men of letters abound here. Thackeray, Dickens, Disraeli, Washington Irving, Hawthorne and many others gaze down from the walls, principally in the last of the suite of drawing rooms — the one in which the Premier sits of a morning- before going- to the De- partment of State, examining such letters as impera- tively demand his attention at home. Routine cor- respondence was carried on by secretaries in a vast room at the top of the house, and was an enormous and never ceasing task.” HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. As to personal appearance, there is one adjective which best describes Mr. Blaine. He was command- ing, not only in stature, but particularly so in features, up to the close of his life. Mr. Blaine was a splendid type of manhood. Straight as a Maine pine, broad- shouldered and stout, yet as light of step as an athlete, he was a man who would compel attention, even from the few who might not recognize him. He had a full, high forehead, large, keen, observant eyes, of a liquid magnetism, a nose aquiline and slightly prominent, and of the sort to emphasize the strength of character HOME LIFE. 503 of its owner. His short, cropped beard, which half concealed the lower portion of his face, gave him a semi-military air. . In speech, Mr. Blaine was rapid, but distinct in utterance and clear cut in expression. It was his masterly arrangement of the facts and his grasp of the logic of the situation, rather than eloquence, that made what he said so effective. He was never superfluous. He seldom sought occasion to speak, and almost always spoke extemporaneously, his wonderful knowl- edge of the minutest portions of the country’s political history and his retentive memory making prepared efforts quite unnecessary, save on most important oc- casions. The greatest oration of his life was undoubt- edly his eulogy of Garfield. There are few more eloquent or beautiful tributes in print in the English language. SOME OF HIS HABITS. Mr. Blaine was always a hard personal worker. This may be illustrated by the fact that in the corre- spondence with the authorities of Italy in reference to the New Orleans affair, he wrote all the letters himself, not even using an amanuensis. The cares of his high position ever rested lightly on him, and it was not un- til domestic sorrows came crowding in upon him thick and fast that Mr. Blaine began to need the services of physicians, and that the country became fearful for his health. A gentleman who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Blaine said that, in his opinion, Mr. Blaine broke 504 LIFE OF HON'. JAMES G. BLAINE. Hon Jim ES WM^e T SHOWING il Pop, the KSrRUCTlON OF THE 6LIN3 "OS S 3=~ himself down by intemperate work and irregular hab' its of eating. Mr. Blaine was a high-pressure worker. Whenever he became deeply interested in a subject, Mr. Blaine would shut himself up in his room, would not allow himself to be disturbed, and would not eat, sleep, or rest until he had finished his task. He seemed to have adopted the motto which the great elec- trician, Edison, who works in much the same way, gave to a youth, “ Don’t look at the clock.” An example of Mr. Blaine’s habit of con- tinued, uninterrupted labor was furnished in the early part of the Behring Sea cor- respondence. He became intensely Pi/\T E OfJ BLAINE’S CHAIR in the blind absorbed in carrying asylum. on this correspond- ence with Great Britain, and would retire to his room where he worked with law books, diplomatic corrsepond- ence, and papers piled high around him. He would start in after breakfast, and sometimes would work on steadily, without rest or food, until nine or ten o’clock HOME LIFE. 505 at night. Then he would be too fatigued to eat, and the next morning would make up for it. These fits of labor would use him up for a week. He was not a large eater, but he was very irregular in his eating. Apparently he had no marked fond- ness for any kind of food. He did not care for fancy dishes, and when traveling seldom consulted the menu, but told the waiter to bring him a good meal. He liked plain, old-fash- ioned cooking. When- ever he did taste any- thing which greatly pleased him it was hard to get him to quit, and he would continue to eat, despite his watchful wife’s admonitions. In former years he was fond of horseback riding and took considerable exercise, but afterward he showed much disinclination to bodily exertion. DELIGHTFUL MANNERS. The personality of James G. Blaine was peculiar to an extent which distinguished him from the vast majority of politicians. He was a man with remark- ably charming manners, an easy and agreeable dis- position, and a refinement and cultivation far above the average. It is said that no man could meet him BLAINE’S FAVORITE READING- CHAIR. 506 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. without being fascinated by him, and he had a recol- lection for names and faces which has become pro- verbial. Mr. Blaine was a man with what Chesterfield would have called “a distinguished manner;” not that he was ceremonial or pompous, but he possessed that grace and smoothness which is generally supposed to bespeak a lofty and cultivated mind. No one could meet him without knowing instinctively that he was a man, not only of thought, but of reading. The char- acteristic of his mind was that he looked at every sub- ject from the very broadest standpoint. On all subjects of a political, economic, or historical nature he was accustomed to generalize about the great results before coming down to the minute details, and it was this which fitted him for leadership. IDOL OF THE RURAL POPULATION. Energetic and active, he was possessed of a restless nature which inspired life in every enterprise which he undertook. The enthusiasm and devotion which he inspired among his followers was a phenomenon without a parallel in American politics. It was a sin- gular fact that this feeling- of enthusiasm for Mr. Blaine was strongest among that section of the people to which we have been taught to look for the truest exemplars of the homely and uncorrupted virtues of American citizenship. Mr. Blaine was emphatically the candidate of the rural voters, in contrast to the people of the great cities. The most earnest opponents of machine poli- HOME LIFE. 507 tics had been the most zealous in laboring for his advancement. Fifty years ago this rural popularity would have been enough to insure his election by a large majority. But in the last half century the per- centage of the civic element in the United States has increased so rapidly that a candidate now has to sat- isfy another class of voters. A MAN OF THE PEOPLE. While thoroughly conversant with the abstract prin- ciples of political economy, Mr. Blaine was essentially a man of the people, fond of human society and com- panionship and wide in his feelings and' sympathies. From early childhood he had been accustomed to popularity among his acquaintances, When he entered Congress without much reputation his magnetism at once made itself felt in that political clearing-house, and he easily became the most popular member of that body. Mr. Blaine was always generous in his sympathies, and he overflowed with animal spirits, which made him the life of every assemblage. In the society of the capital he was equally at home and universally run after. At first it was thought that this ease and grace of mind and body were all that made up his political capital, but that idea was quickly dispelled when he began to display capacities for leadership. The Blaine, however, of 1892 was far different from the Blaine who came to Congress as a simple Maine journalist and ex-State legislator. He was constantly improving through observation, reading, and experience, and 508 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. Bl.AINE. drawing much that was helpful from those with whom he came in contact. Mr. Blaine’s range of knowledge extended far beyond the domain of politics. He was fond of poetry and works of fiction, laid down a novel to pick up a descriptive sketch of a remote period, and was inter- ested in music and painting. HIS HIGH TEMPER. It has been said that the principal characteristics of Mr. Blaine’s intellectual make-up were those which he derived from his Celtic ancestry. He was highly developed on the side of his imagination and sympa- thies, and possessed a nimbleness and facility of mind that was rare. These were joined to fascinating per- sonal qualities that would distinguish any man from his fellows. Mr. Blaine occasionally lost his temper. He would get very angry now and then without warning, but this as quickly subsided and he would resume his cheerful, social manner. He had the quality of humor which is conspicuous by its absence in many another American statesman. Mr. Blaine never was dull. Mere association with him lifted people out of their commonplace lives and excited heroic emotions. He could, it seemed, instill life into the deadest subjects, and even the most stupid men felt the intoxication of his presence. It has been said that Mr. Blaine was so far superior to the general average in this country that he could not logically claim an office like the Presidency, which HOME LIFE. 509 ts supposed to be representative of the American people. Intellectually he was the superior of most of the Presidents. Mr. Blaine had many of the quali- ties of Garfield, and the two were in long and intimate association before the latter was nominated. He dif- fered in almost every respect from Roscoe Conkling. Henry Clay is believed at Washington to have been the only man in American history peculiar for the qualities which distinguished Blaine, but it is likewise believed that Blaine was the greater of the two in the possession and exercise of these qualities. The careers of the two men show many singular parallels. HIS PERSONAL MAGNETISM. The great charm of this man lay in what has been so often called his personal magnetism. Great orator, debater, statesman as he was, he would never have numbered his friends by the million had these been his only striking qualities. What made him really great was the strong power which he possessed over men, both as masses and individuals. As an orator he stood in the first rank. In his speeches action played a leading part. He rarely stood in front of his desk, but was wont to move out into the aisle, and often advanced toward his opponent with uplifted menacing finger. Wit and sarcasm were favorite weapons with him, and his sallies were invariably greeted with hearty laughter. There was common sense in all his utterances and snap in his mode of expression. During the winter of 1875-76 he had many bouts with political opponents, and not only did BLAINE AND GRANT STARTING FOR A WALK. ( 510 ) HOME LIFE. 511 he hold his own most gallantly, but he also won ap- plause from unprejudiced audiences and adverse majorities. To account for such influence all that can be said is that quickness and personal magnetism constituted the quintessence of the powerful impres- sion produced by his speeches. Great, too, was his power of ridicule, as the few who ventured to expose themselves to his withering sarcasm learned to their cost. How many apt nick- names he invented for his political opponents ! Early in his career, incensed at Conkling’s over-bearing manner and excessive pomposity, he applied to him the epithet of “Turkey gobbler.” Soon afterward Senator Conkling was asked if he would never forgive Blaine. “Never,” he replied, “so long as memory finds a place in this distracted brain of mine ! ” Cox, of New York, owed to Blaine his sobriquets of “Sun- set” and “ Dewdrop,” and Blaine has also been charged with describing Butler, of Massachusetts, as “a lamen- tably successful cross between a fox and a hog ! ” HE WAS A MILLIONAIRE. As to Mr. Blaine’s wealth, it is not easy to form an approximately exact estimate. He was among the list of millionaires. His holdings of coal lands in Western Pennsylvania, which he inherited from his father, are very large and have been very profitable. He was associated with a number of men of wealth in various enterprises, and his sagacity and business foresight kept him from wasting much money on brilliant but illusory speculative projects. He was 512 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. interested with Secretary Elkins years ago in a silver mine, out of which he made considerable money. He owned valuable real estate in Washington. Mr. Blaine bought his Dupont Circle property, now almost in the heart of the fashionable Northwest, when Stewart Castle, which is across the way, was thought to be out in the suburbs. The grounds and the house cost him approximately $85,000. Two or three years ago he sold a number of the lots in the rear of his house for $75,000. The house and the remaining ground is valued by competent judges at $150,000. Mr. Leiter, Mr. Blaine’s tenant, originally paid $12,- 000 a year rent, which has been reduced to $8,000 in consideration of Mr. Leiter making certain repairs necessary after the fire, which came near consuming it. The house on Lafayette square he at first rented for three years, with an option of purchasing for $65,- 000. He took advantage of the option and bought the property after six months residence. OTHER PROPERTIES. He also owned some valuable ground on P street and a considerable area of ground of a less well- established but increasing value on what is known as Meridian Hill. This property is just beyond the old city limits and overlooks the town. Mr. Blaine bought it very cheap, paying in the neighborhood of ten cents a foot. A boom in it a few years ago makes it salable now at from fifty cents to $1 per square foot, and some of the choicest lots are held at $1.50. Mr. Blaine also owned residence property in Augusta and HOME LIFE. 513 Bar Harbor, Me. He was associated with Mr. C. P. Huntington and President Ingalls, of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company, in the ownership of lands along the line of that road. He was also one of the directors in the West Virginia Central Railroad Company, in which ex-Senator Davis, Secretary Elkins, ex-Secretary Bayard and others are interested. Charming as Mr. Blaine was in ordinary social inter- course, it was in the family circle that he was seen at the best. No man in public life was more fortunate in his domestic relations. He was the companion and confidant of his children, and they feared him no more than they feared one of their own number. Mrs. Blaine was a model wife and mother, and more is due to her strong judgment, quick perception and heroic courage than the world will ever know. HIS VISIT TO HIS OLD HOME. Many years, nearly two score, after Mr. Blaine’s father had removed from West Brownsville to Wash- ington, Mr. Blaine returned to the place of his birth. He had left it when a boy of 12. He returned gray- haired and full of honors, accompanied by his sons 33 MISS HATTIE BLAINE. 514 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Emmons and James, and Stephen B. Elkins. The party passed the day in going about the little town and made a long stay in the quiet, quaint cemetery in which lie Mr. Blaine’s parents. While Mr. Blaine’s visit to his birthplace was the most dramatic event of the day, it was preceded and followed by others of almost equal interest. He and Mr. Elkins took a long walk before breakfast down the eastern river bank, and after breakfast a Iona- line of people filed into the hotel to shake hands. Among them was an old man with tangled white beard reach- ing nearly to his waist. He grasped Mr. Blaine’s hand, saying: “Don’t you know me?” Mr. Blaine gazed straight into his eyes for nearly a minute. “Don’t you remember John Harb — ” the old man began, when Mr. Blaine exclaimed: “John Harbison — of course I remember you and your partner John Paul. I remember, too, how good the grapes were in your back yard and how I used to climb the fence to get them.” A wrinkled old Irishman with weazened face rushed up exclaiming, “ Me God ! Misther Blaine, but it’s moighty glad I am to see you.” “How are you, Johnny Malone?” was the quick reply. Johnny was a farm hand who worked over the whole region when Blaine was a boy. Then an aged and very black negress pressed up and seized Mr. Blaine’s hand in both hers. The tears poured over her cheeks and she sobbed violently. “Why, Aunt Hetty!” Mr. Blaine exclaimed, and HOME LIFE. 515 calmed her agitation. Henrietta Harbison worked in Neil Gillespie’s family when a little wench, and she cooked the dinner that President-elect Harrison ate when journeying to take his inauguration. Mr. Blaine slipped a yellow coin into the old woman’s hand as she turned to go, exclaiming: “God bless you; may you have health and happiness in this world and a home in Heaven hereafter.” AN INSTANCE OF HIS MEMORY. Another man, who was a playmate of Mr. Blaine in his early boyhood, now a Western Pennsylvania mer- chant, speaking of Blaine’s remembrance of his early friends, tells this story : “ Many years after our early boyhood days I occasionally saw in print some remark of Congressman Blaine, of Maine, that had so much the ring of my old schoolmate that I thought there must be some relationship. I knew Blaine was smart enough to be a Congressman, but you know a boy will never be more than a boy to one who has not seen him in years. One day, however, I read a speech containing some of my old schoolmate’s pet expres- sions. Then I sat down and wrote a letter, telling who I was and asking if he was really my old com- panion. “ Only a few days afterward I received a long letter from Mr. Blaine, written from the Senate Chamber, expressing the greatest satisfaction at hearing from me and recalling acquaintances and happenings of thirty years ago. A year or two later he came to Ohio to speak and I, being near Massillon, went over 516 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. there to hear him. I got there late. Jim was already on the platform, with a crowd of prominent men around him, waiting for the time to begin. The sight of him made me forget my age for a moment and his too. I was a boy again, and stretching my arms over the crowd I tapped him on the head with my cane. “ He looked around and caught my eye. He hadn’t seen me in over thirty years, mind you, when we were both beardless boys, but it wasn’t half a minute be- fore he had broken loose from the political big bugs who were talking to him, elbowed his way through the crowd and had both my hands in his. His hand had a powerful grip, too. We exchanged notes for a few minutes, when the committee called him to come to the front. ‘ Confound it ! ’ says he, ‘ it’s always the way ; now I must be Mr. Blaine again, I suppose. ’ ” A STORY BY BOUTELLE. Mr. Blaine always had the admiration and hearty co-operation of his colleagues. Congressman Boutelle, a day or two since, told the following story as illus- trating Blaine’s subtlety in matters of State: “Mr. Blaine’s versatility is wonderful. I remember in the administration of Governor Garcelon, when the Dem- ocrats were trying to vote the State from us, and when Maine was in fever heat and civil war seemed impending, Mr. Blaine was the chairman of the State Committee, and had charge of the Republican fight. We had been endeavoring to get the Governor to submit the questions at issue to the Supreme Court, but had not succeeded. HOME LIFE. 517 “Mr. Blaine led the fighting; was aggressive and unyielding, and of course nothing that he could say would be listened to by the other side. Presently there appeared a letter to the Governor, signed by Lot M. Morrill, who was known otherwise as a peace- loving, conservative Republican, asking the Governor to lay before the Supreme Court the questions at issue. The letter was mild in tone, frank and fair in its expressions, and adroitly put upon the Democrats the onus of refusing- to submit the dispute to arbitration. “ Public sentiment at once changed. The Governor was obliged to o submit the matter, and the decision was in favor of the Republicans. For years Mr. Morrill , received the praise of hundreds of men, not only in Maine, but throughout the United States, for his ' wisdom and tact. “ Mr. Blaine wrote that letter. Mr. Morrill simply copied it and signed his name.” HIS DOMESTIC SORROWS. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine had six children, three sons MRS. J. G. BLAINE, JR. 518 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and three daughters. Two years and a half before his death all his children were living. On Janu- ary 15, 1890, Walker, the eldest son, died in Wash- ington after a very brief illness. At the time he was an Assistant Secretary of State, and a young man of most brilliant promise. He had achieved distinction by able service on several occasions, He was a grad- o uate of Yale, and in many respects he was the proto- type of his father. He inherited the brow and eye of his father, and resembled him closely mentally and in his tastes and habits. He was very dear to his father’s heart, and his sudden death was the real cause of the beginning of Mr. Blaine’s collapse. On February 2, less than a month after the death of Walker, the eldest daughter died. She was Mrs. John J. Coppinger, wife of a colonel in the army. On June 18 of this year, very soon after the Minneapolis Convention, Emmons Blaine, the second son, died, and the fact that his death was superinduced by his tremendous exertions to secure the nomination of his father only served to increase the sorrow of his parents. Emmons Blaine three years ago married Miss Anita McCormick, whose fortune was $3,000,000, and his life had been passed since leaving Harvard in the affairs of Western railroads. Bereavements so many and in such proximity served to undermine the health of the rugged physique, and to these sorrows was added another which, perhaps, caused more grief than all the rest. The sensational o marriage and still more sensational married life of his HOME LIFE. 519 youngest son, James G. Blaine, Jr., in all the details, are still fresh in the public mind. In all these sorrows Mr. and Mrs. Blaine ever had the sympathy of the whole people of the country. Three children are living, Mrs. Walter Damrosch, Miss Hattie Blaine, and James G. Blaine, Jr. The unfortunate marriage of the latter, and the subse- quent separation of himself and wife, form a painful chapter in the family history. Mr. Blaine wrote an open letter which was intended to suppress public gossip and justify himself and wife in the part they acted in this unfortunate affair. THE WASHINGTON HOME. Mr. Blaine’s house has one of the most beautiful interiors in Washington. It was from the first a beau- tiful home, where sorrows, frequent and heavy though they had been, never once shut out the sunlight. Mrs. Blaine would have it so, and Mr. Blaine liked it. While in deepest suffering for those who had been taken away, the devoted wife and mother never ceased to keep the home bright and beautiful for those who were left. Crape was never on the door, and at no time after the death of Walker, and two weeks later the death of Alice, were the blinds closed against the sunlight. o 1 The wedding of Margaret Blaine and Walter o o Damrosch will long be remembered as the most beautiful house wedding Washington had seen for many a day. Mrs. Blaine was determined to cast no shadow over her daughter’s happiness. The windows 520 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. were thrown open on that perfeet May day, and the whole house seemed filled with sunshine, while the outlook on Lafayette Square showed the first foliage and blossoms of spring. The drawing-room is the whole width of the spacious old-fashioned house, and is finished in white with delicate gold lines. The beautiful room was decked with roses, and beneath the portraits of her children, Walker and Alice, Mrs. Blaine had set masses of violets. For the first time mother and daughters laid aside their black gowns. Before the bride and her sister appeared in their white gowns, Mrs. Blaine came in to greet the wedding guests. All the morn- ing the suffering woman had been in the seclusion of her own room, making the bravest struggle to lift herself above and out of the grief which weighed so heavily upon her. It was not strange that Mrs. Blaine’s nearest friends doubted her strength to endure the ordeal. But when she came to the drawing-room that morning there was no sign of the struggle she had undergone. She had laid off her black gown for one of soft gray satin and black lace, and with a gracious sweetness of manner none will ever forget, she welcomed the guests. Mrs. Blaine again put on her black gown, but their home life went on with no outward sign of mourning. Until Mr. Blaine’s last illness their friends always found them in the drawing-room in the late afternoon daily, where, around a simple tea table, Mrs. Blaine and Miss Dodge were the cleverest talkers. CHAPTER XXIII. Reminiscences of the “Plumed Knight.” James G. Blaine was a country boy. He had the pre-eminent advantages of fresh air ; of bare feet in summer ; of sleeping in an old-time, healthy house ; of working in the harvest fields ; and of throwing snow-balls in winter. His early life was not artificial, fashionable, “ dudeish,” and effeminate ; like the Titans of old he husbanded strength by contact with mother- earth. He was a manly boy. He did not grow in a city back-yard ; he was an oak of the mountains. He is remembered at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where he spent some part of his early life, and many incidents are related by the residents of that locality which show the character of the boy. What he was then in the commendable qualities of his character he Was in after years, and his broad manhood was only an enlargement of his boyhood, the mind mature, the judgment formed, the conscience quickened, the mag- nificent faculties developed. The interest which the old friends and neighbors take in a lad they have known and the pride they feel in his successes are pleasantly illustrated in the inci- dents narrated concerning 1 Mr. Blaine’s early life. ( 521 ) 522 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. A LEADER IN THE GAME. “He was a master boy,” says one old lady of Brownsville, “ to lead off. He would get together a lot of youngsters and propose a frolic in the hills, a game of hall, or a fishing jaunt, and all agreed to his suggestion and joined in whatever he proposed. “It was enough to always insure the sport that Jimmy Blaine had charge of the game or the frolic, for it was understood he would not fail to do his part for the general entertainment. He protected the younger boys against the older, but taught them all to rely upon themselves as much as possible. He was cheerful, generous, and truthful, and always ready to do a good turn for friend or neighbor. He came to our house o> to borrow a net one morning, and father — that’s what I called my husband — chdn’t want to let it go. ‘I’ll bring it back to-morrow,' said Jimmy. ‘It isn’t bring- ing it back that I’m talking about, but letting it go,’ said father. Jimmy thought a minute ; then he re- plied, ‘You’d better lend it to me than to somebody that’ll never brings it back.’ Father laughed, and then I knew he would give in. Jimmy got the net, and, of course, returned it according to agreement. “ Once I got him to stand still long enough to am swer a few questions. He was so full of life and fun that it was hard work to keep hin\ quiet for any length of time. I asked him some questions in his- tory, geography, and the catechism, and he answered all correctly — that is, if I knew the correct answers — and then I asked him what he expected to follow when REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 523 he grew up. ‘ Maybe I’ll be a preacher or a steam- boat captain,’ he replied, ‘ but I’d rather be a member of Congress.’ He hadn’t forgotten this reply when he was here a few years ago, and acknowledged that he had had his preference.” GENEROUS TO A FAULT. Another aged dame remembered him as the most charitable boy she ever knew. “ Why, he would give away his dinner rather than have any one else go hungry. He gave his pennies and his fruit and his candy to the children of poor parents, and did this so often that it was talked about in the town. He played jokes upon some of his mates, but only upon his equals in strength and opportunity. He seemed to despise everything in the way of a mean advan- tage.” “ When we were boys,” said a bright-eyed old gentleman, “down on Indian Hill farm, Jim Blaine was a lively chap. He kept the whole township in arms. Once I got even with him. I was down in the meadow pitching hay. He knew that I was going to do that job, and he went down there a day or two before and fixed one of the haycocks so it could not be lifted. He ran a long wire through it in such a way as to hold it together, and then fastened it under the mid- dle of the stack to a post which he had driven in the ground. Some of the other boys knew about the game, and they stood around looking kind of sneaking and smiling a little. “ I tackled the doctored stack early in the day. I 524 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. drove my fork into the top, and, spitting on my hands, bore down upon it. It didn’t budge. I tried it once more, with a little extra strength, and broke the fork clean off at the handle. A boy sitting on a rail fence snickered, and I knew something was up. A mo- ment’s examination convinced me that the stack was tied down, and just then the boy who had laughed pointed in the direction of another stack not far away. “ I felt in my bones that Jim Blaine was hiding there. So I crawled up kind of easy, and finding him watch- ing the performance on his hands and knees, with some of the grass thrown over him, I got behind him and raised him one with my boot. I was mad, and I put a good deal of heft into that kick, for he shot out of the stack head first, as if he had been fired from a cannon. It humped him for a while, I tell you, and there was a lively scattering amqng the rest of the boys. HOW HE TURNED THE TABLES. “ He was always great in learning some good piece for speaking in school. It was nothing for him to get it by heart, as the boys called it. He generally told the boys what he was going to speak, so that none of them would get the same ; but once a fellow, whose name was .Ames or Amos, pitched upon the same piece that Jim had, just for a joke, and as his name was called first, he took all the wind out of Jim’s sails by pretty good speaking. Jim didn’t appear to mind it much, but the teacher remarked that they had better REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 525 have an understanding in future, and avoid repetition. The time came pretty soon when they had a school exhibition, and each one who took part had to write his own piece. Blaine was given his choice between the first and last speeches, and he chose the first. It was grand. I don’t think he has made a better one since. “ When Ames’s name was called he wasn’t there, although a few minutes before he was seen in his seat. ‘ Gone home, sick,’ said one of the boys. It finally leaked out that Ames lacked either the ability or the disposition to write a piece for himself and had gone to Blaine for help, and that Jim, not caring to keep all the good things, and remembering Ames’s favor on a former occasion, had copied and given him most of his own speech, and had only followed Ames’s example in using it first. Ames left the school and this part of the country shortly afterward.” DAILY LIFE IN WASHINGTON. From a distinguished correspondent who has known Mr. Blaine intimately for many years, we gather the following interesting details of his daily life and habits : At first he lived in Washington in a nomadic way — in hotels or boarding-houses, as do most Con- gressmen — but when he was elected Speaker he bought a* house on Fifteenth Street, in the best quarter of the town. Opposite lived Hamilton Fish, then Secretary of State ; next door lived Fernando Wood ; General Sherman’s house was only a few doors dis- 526 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. tant, and General Butler could be found just around the corner. Blaine’s house was thought a handsome one at that time, but it was only a plain brick structure in a row, and it cuts no sort of a figure in these days when big mansions in the Queen Anne, Elizabethan, Norman, and I know not how many other styles abound at the capital. There were two big parlors on the first floor, and back of them a sitting-room and dining-room, and all four rooms connected by folding doors, so that the crowds that used to surge in at the Speaker’s official receptions were measurably well accommodated. In the belongings of this, his first Washington home, Blaine showed a fondness for engravings, for substan- tial furniture, and for books. WIT AND HUMOR. He was much given to hospitality, and never ap- peared so happy as when entertaining a congenial dinner party at his big round table. For his dinner- table talks he had an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes and witticisms. I never heard him tell the same story twice. He did not resemble in the least the hand- organ type of man who has only one little set of tunes. No matter what the topic may be, he is sure to con- tribute to the conversation something particularly bright and entertaining. When not entertaining friends at his own house he usually dined out. I remember to have warned him once of the perils of the diner-out — how an eminent man had come to an untimely end by eating big din- REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 527 ners. He said he observed a strict rule at dinner parties — he took soup and roast beef, but no prepared dishes ; no dessert, except a little ice cream. By sticking closely to this dietary programme, he could dine out every day in the week without injuring his digestion. In those days Blaine was not a great letter-writer, either with his own hand or vicariously through that of his secretary. He did not, like Garfield, reply to all the letters he received. He was a great newspaper reader, and always knew the attitude of evefy really important journal in the country on the dominant issues of the day. He knew the history of these journals, too, and something of the men who made them, and if there was any power behind the chairs of their editors he was pretty sure to be informed about it. “wasn’t quite sure.” He was not accessible at all times and to all the world, as many men who cherish great political ambi- tion think it necessary to be. The impassable black guardian of the hall door was never quite sure that Mr. Blaine was in, but he would see. If the visitor was not welcome he would manage to make him believe that the Speaker had just gone out a few minutes before. This colored person had a fine in- stinct for discerning the men whom his master would probably wish to receive. They were shown into the front parlor ; others waited in the hall. In the Fifteenth Street house Blaine lived while in 528 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Washington until after the death of Garfield. He had previously begun to build a huge, expensive red-brick pile out on the P Street Circle, deeming himself com- fortably rich at the time, and thinking the position of blaine’s Washington mansion. Secretary of State carried with it duties of enlarged hospitality. The house was a mistake as he soon found. He lived in it only about a year. As a private citizen it was much too large for his needs ; besides, a considerable share of his fortune melted away in the REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 529 great shrinkage in stocks, and he did not feel able to support the expensive establishment which the house demanded. He considered himself very fortunate to be able to lease it for a sum which amounted to six per cent, on its cost. ' Then he condensed his household into a dwelling of moderate capacity, facing on Lafayette Square. From his front window he could see the White House through the trees in the pretty park. Not many of his own belongings came with this house save his books and a few pictures. In it he did most of the work on his “Twenty Years of Congress,” living as retired as his friends would let him, and getting his exercise mainly from a daily morning walk to the Capitol, whither he went to consult the books in the Congressional Library. THE OLD HOMESTEAD. All this time his real home, if the attachments of himself and the members of his family were consid- ered, was the large, old-fashioned, broad-fronted white house, with its green blinds, its maples, and its grassy yard, which stands on a quiet, shady street near the State Capitol, in Augusta, Me. This house typifies the well-to-do phase of village life in New England, as it expressed itself in architecture before the recent mania for colors, angles, balconies, and fanciful forms came in. It represents the plainness, solidity, and conservatism of the last generation. Mr. Blaine modified it very little, and not at all at the expense of its sober, old-time appearance. He 34 530 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. added two or three rooms in the rear — one large library, which was his work-room, and which during the many hard fights he waged with the Democrats when he was chairman of the State Republican Com- mittee used to be a rendezvous for his lieutenants from all parts of the State. In the course of two Maine campaigns I saw a good deal of Mr. Blaine. He was the busiest man in the State, hurrying from county to county to address mass-meetings, writing telegrams on the trains, getting a pocketful of dis- patches at every town, dictating letters at night to his secretary, yet always cheerful and companionable, and with a good joke or anecdote ready to enliven every occasion. A STILL HUNT. He knew the whole State as well as his own door- yard, and was acquainted with the leading men in every town. He brought the canvass down to the school districts. The hurrah work of processions, banners, and big meetings he estimated at its proper value, but he never depended on it to produce results. The real business of a campaign was to perfect local organization, ascertain who were the doubtful voters, and bring argument and personal influence to bear upon them through the efforts of their Republican neighbors. Saturdays we special correspondents used to man- age to get back to Augusta if we could, to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon with Blaine at his house. In the evening some musical friends of the family would REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 531 usually come in, and we had a good time singing old- fashioned Church tunes, for which Blaine had a fond- ness, and in which he would join with his children and with all the members of the company who could make any show of a voice. PIE STOOD CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE. On the floor of the House, in the Speaker’s chair, again on the floor of the House, hence in the Senate, and during political campaigns, on the stump in almost every Northern State, Mr. Blaine was emphatically with the people and of the people. His opinions on all questions were pronounced, sometimes to aggres- siveness, and his worst enemy never accused him of evading or avoiding any responsibility or the expres- sion of his conviction on any public issue. “What great measure did Mr. Blaine ever origi- nate?” asks the unfledged but omnipotent chamber statesman, and might go on indefinitely asking what great measure did Mr. Sherman, or Mr. Thurman ever originate, or Mr. Edmunds, or Mr. Conkling, or Mr. Webster, or Mr. Gallatin? Such critics and such criticisms are equally shallow. Great measures grow in the minds of the people. Specie payment came after long public discussion, and now Senators are quarreling as to who it was that drafted the bill passed in 1875. So it is with all measures of great public moment. They do not spring from the mind of one man sitting behind his Congressional desk. The duty of the statesman is to shape, mould, guide, direct in a Re- 532 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. publican government. The creative power is in the minds of many, and the cause of action is necessity. The great lawyer does not create his case. He argues it, develops it, applies principles to it. A FAMOUS SPEECH. To say that Mr. Blaine was a power in Congress is simply to affirm history. Though entering very young, he made his mark at once. At the period of darkest depression in the war, when anxiety brooded every- where and boded everything, Mr. Blaine delivered a speech on “ The Ability of the American People to Suppress the Rebellion,” which has been cited for the great attention and commendation it received. Its value lay not alone in its timeliness, for after its first wide circulation it was reprinted as a campaign docu- ment in the Presidential campaign of 1864. It was the delivery of this speech, and some discus- sions which took place shortly after, that caused Thad- deus Stevens to say that “ Blaine of Maine has shown as great aptitude and ability for the higher walks of public life as any man that had come to Congress during his period of service.” VALUABLE SERVICE. During the first session of Mr. Blaine’s service as member of the Post Office Committee he took an ac- tive part in co-operation with the chairman, Hon. John B. Alley, and the late James Brooks of New York, in encouraging and securing the system of postal cars now in universal use. Distribution on the cars had not been attempted on any great scale, and the first REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 533 appropriations for the enlarged service were not granted without opposition. Following the war, and throughout the period of reconstruction, Mr. Blaine was active, energetic, and intelligent. He was especially prominent in shaping some of the most important features of the Four- teenth Amendment, particularly that relating to the basis of representation. The discussions on this great series of questions, in which Blaine figured largely, are among the most interesting and valuable in the history of the American Congress. OFF TO EUROPE. Mr. Blaine became a leader in legislation as he be- came the leader of men generally, by virtue of his comprehensiveness of mind, his quick perception of objective points, and his devotion in advocating what he felt was right and duty. In 1867 Mr. Blaine sought a temporary relaxation- from official cares and labors, and for the first time paid a short visit to Europe. While he was out of the country the theory of paying the public debt in greenbacks was started in Ohio by Mr. Pendleton, and in Massachusetts by General Butler. Just after his return in the autumn, at a special or adjourned session of Congress in November, Mr. Blaine as- saulted the proposition in a speech of great research, logic, and force. It thus happened that he was the first man in either branch of Congress who spoke against the financial heresy that in subsequent years has engrossed so much of public attention. From 534 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. that time, both in Congress and before the people, Mr. Blaine was indefatigable in bringing the public opinion of the country to the right standard of finan- cial and national honor. THE YOUNGEST SPEAKER. Six years in Congress had made him so conspicuous as a leader, and so noted as a parliamentarian, that he was made Speaker of the House, a position that he filled with marked ability for six years, when the Democrats obtained control of that body. Mr. Blaine was perhaps the youngest man who ever occupied the Speaker’s chair, being then 39 years of age. He pre- sided over some of the most important and exciting sessions of the House, and by his just rulings, admir- able tact, and magnetic influence, he passed through the long and trying period with the approbation of both friend and foe. A MEMORABLE EVENT. Even more marked, at least in the popular eye, than his career as Speaker, was Mr. Blaine’s course in the House when he returned to the floor at the close of his Speakership. Few have forgotten the sudden tilt by which, in a day, a victorious and exult- ant Democratic majority was changed into a surprised, subdued, and saddened crowd, under Mr. Blaine’s ag- gressive and unexpected tactics. The debates of that memorable session on the prop- osition to remove the disabilities of Jefferson Davis are still fresh in all minds, and more likely to be appre- ciated perhaps to-day than at any time within the last REMINISCENCES OF THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 535 three years. Mr. Blaine’s speeches laid the founda- tion of success in the campaign of 1876, though he was not selected as the standard-bearer. The excite- ment growing out of this exciting session with all its attendant events brought Mr. Blaine more prominently before the country than any other citizen. His congressional career embraced the most trying period of his country’s history, the sombre years of the rebellion, the reconstruction period, and the perilous time when the election of President Hayes aroused an apparently triumphant Democratic party almost to the verge of madness. A GREAT DEBATER. A good example of Mr. Blaine’s powers as a debater is found in a speech delivered in the Senate, April 14, 1879, when an effort was made by the Democrats to strike out the words from a section of the Revised Statutes which provided for the use of soldiers to keep peace at the polls. In reply to the charge that the soldiers were used to intimidate Southern voters, Mr. Blaine said: “The entire South has 1,155 soldiers to intimidate, overrun, oppress and destroy the liberties of 15,000,- 0.00 people ! In the Southern States there are 1,203 counties. If you distribute the soldiers, there is not quite one for each county. If you distribute them territorially, there is one for every seven hundred square miles of territory, so that if you make a terri- torial distribution, I would remind the honorable Sena- tor from Delaware, if I saw him in his seat, that the 536 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. quota for his State would be three. ‘ One ragged sergeant and two abreast,’ as the old song has it. That is the force ready to destroy the liberties of Delaware.” He was a member of the Thirty-eighth, Thirty- ninth, Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second, Forty-third, and Forty-fourth Congresses, and became the acknowl- edged leader of the party in the House, and his speeches during the period which he served in Con- gress are a glowing tribute to his ability, his acute sagacity, his broad and sound statesmanship, and un- flinching patriotism. CHAPTER XXIV. In the Valley of Death. The doubt in which the country was kept with re- gard to Mr. Blaine’s physical condition by exagger- ated and conflicting reports was at last mournfully dis- pelled, and his fellow-citizens were aware that the career of the most distinguished of our contemporary statesmen was nearing its end. There was still some difference of opinion as to the precise phase which the illness from which he was suffering had reached, and as to the imminence of its apprehended conse- quence. There were those who said that a rally of some- thing more than a transient kind was not past hoping for, while others insisted that the final issue had be- come a question of hours or at most of days. The one point to which the American people paid attention and attached importance was that' Mr. Blaine was in- disputably stricken with a fatal sickness, from which there was no hope of his recovery, and that while he might linger for a greater or shorter length of time, according to circumstances which could not be fore- seen, the death sentence had been pronounced. It is not merely the lapse of time that measures life ( 537 ) 538 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and consumes it, and at sixty-two Mr. Blaine had lived as much as many a one twenty years his senior. Al- ways a man of correct and abstemious habits, and in his later years, at least, solicitous for the preservation of his health, the relatively early decay of his physical powers was a striking- instance of the sword wearing out the scabbard. A HARD WORKER. He had all his life been a hard worker at the most exhausting kind of toil, and to the demands made by his brilliant and restless intellect upon a body never more than ordinarily robust were added the exactions of a singularly nervous and emotional temperament. Happiness, with the peace of mind which it implies, was the tonic which he needed, the elixir of life to have prolonged his years. If his ambitions could have been satisfied and his affections spared, he would not in all human probabil- ity have been stricken in the very fulness of his man- hood ; but the medicine which alone might have saved him he could not have, and the accumulation of sorrow, anxiety and disappointment bore him down. On December 18, 1892, the announcement was made that James G. Blaine’s death at any hour would be no surprise to those acquainted with his critical condition. About the only assurance given by his physician was that his immediate death was not ex- pected. The sick man had a sinking spell in the morning, which was of a most alarming character, and from which he rallied with the greatest difficulty. A IN THE VALLEY OP DEATH. 539 return of the prostration, it was feared, would find his vitality too low for recovery. THE TOTTERING OAK. Mr. Blaine had not been a well man for more than a year. When he returned from Bar Harbor about a year before and took up his winter residence in Wash- ington, he showed a marked improvement over what had been his condition when he left New York for Bar Harbor in the previous June. He took up his work in the State Department, but it was noticed that his old time energy was lacking. He was not regular in his attendance at the office. The least inclement weather usually kept him from going over to the Department, and he would transact the routine business of his office, such as the signing of his mail, at his residence. He would be troubled very frequently with what was believed to be tempor- ary sick spells, which would last perhaps for a day and sometimes for several days. He was in the hands of a physician most of the time, and at no time within the preceding twelve months could he have been con- sidered a thoroughly well man. After resigning from the State Department he went away and the rest and freedom seemed to benefit him. His appearance, however, when he returned to Washington in the fall was not reassuring. His trouble seemed to return with greater frequency until he was practically confined to the house. A short drive, a couple of weeks previous, was the last time 540 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. he was outside of' his house, and it was believed the last time he was outside his chamber. CONCEALMENT FINALLY ABANDONED. It had been believed for more than a year by ob- servers that he suffered from some organic trouble. The family and physicians would never admit it until the above date, when the attending physician made the statement that “ evidences of local organic disease have been manifested recently, and it is believed that his present condition is due to this cause.” There is reason to believe that the family were aware of Mr. Blaine’s precarious condition, but, as in the case of other great public men, there was a disposition to conceal the exact state of the patient’s health from those outside the family circle. A SYMPATHETIC CROWD. The scenes about the Blaine mansion were sad, and, at times, almost dramatic. The news of his sinking spell in the morning soon spread on the streets and about the hotels, and all day long groups of sym- pathetic and anxious watchers stood in the vicinity of the “ Red House,” waiting for tidings from the sick- room. It was not surprising then that about 8 o’clock in the evening one of the local papers put out an edition telling of the statesman’s near approach to death. Many on reading the extra hastened toward Mr. Blaine’s house. The crowd gathered to such an extent that its presence was made known to the inmates. James G. Blaine, Jr., about half past 8, came out of IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH 541 the front door, and hurriedly approaching a group standing on the pavement, said with some emotion i “ What does this mean ? What are you standing about here for ? ” “Mr. Blaine,” said one and have read in an evening paper that your father was dying.” “That is untrue,” said young Mr. Blaine excitedly. “ My father is very ill, but it is un- true that he is dying.” “We are very glad to hear you say so,” answered the gentle- men, and the group dis- persed. Approaching a news- paper correspondent, Mr. Blaine, somewhat softened by the sympa- thetic tone of the gentlemen whom he had just ques- tioned, asked: “What has caused this excitement?” He was told the news had spread over the city that his father was critically ill, if not dying, and that such a statement had been published in an extra edition of an evening paper. He asked for and was handed a copy. He opened it and as the headline “ Near Death ” caught his eye, he exclaimed : of those present, “ we heard WALKER BLAINE. 542 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. ELAINE. “That is absolutely unjustifiable. No information has been given from this house or by Mr. Blaine’s physicians that would warrant that line. Mr. Blaine is very sick, but at no time have I said that he was critically ill, and any publication to that effect is un- true. The physicians have just left and have assured us that Mr. Blaine is better than he was this morning, and is likely to pass a comfortable night.” With this he hurried into the house. Two police officers quietly dispersed the crowd from the immediate vicinity of the house, but late into the night small groups of newspaper men and others watched at a respectful distance. THE LAMP FLICKERING. The truth is that all day long the life of Mr. Blaine hung trembling in the balance. For more than an hour in the forenoon hope was abandoned and the end was momentarily expected by physicians, family and friends. All simulation was thrown aside in the apparently imminent presence of death, and the suppressed facts of his illness — the long denied but now admitted Bright’s disease, the occasional intervals of delirium, the long hours when he had lain incapable of speech or motion, these and other distressing fea- tures of his illness all incidental to the one overpow- ering organic trouble, Bright’s disease — aggravated as this had been by a cold contracted while impru- dently venturing out driving two weeks before, and by malarial fever, and confronted by a constitution IN THE YALLET OF DEATH. 543 impaired by nearly two years of continuous sickness — all these facts were now tacitly admitted. The physicians declared that there had not been any hemorrhages as had been asserted, but this was almost the only alarmi'ng symptom which was denied. The first crisis was reached between ioand n o’clock this morning, when a sinking spell set in, from w h i c h the worst was feared. His family were called round the bed- side and his physicians sent messenger after messenger to the near- est drug store, with prescriptions requiring hasty attention. The distinguished patient lay unconscious and to all appearances dying, until shortly before i o’clock, when a slight rally set in. His pulse, which had almost ceased to beat, became again perceptible, and partial consciousness was restored. The rally continued during the day and into the night. NO IMMEDIATE APPREHENSION. While the improvement in Mr. Blaine’s condition was but slight and not sufficient to afford any great amount of encouragement to his family and friends, 544 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the reaction had seemed to modify the feeling of ap- N prehension for the immediate future. James G. Blaine, Jr., and Walter J. Damrosch, the ex-Secretary’s son-in- law, walked down the avenue in the evening. All day representatives of the press patrolled Madi- son Place and carefully watched the old red mansion which has become celebrated for its historical associa- tions, and the fatality with which misfortune has fol- lowed its occupants. From the Sickels-Keyes tragedy, more than a third of a century ago, followed by the attempted assassination of Secretary Seward, during the last year of the civil war, down to the present time, the pall of ill fate has hung over the mansion. During the less than four years’ occupancy of this house by the Blaine family, his daughter, the wife of Colonel Coppinger ; Walker Blaine and Emmons Blaine, the Secretary’s promising sons, died. VISITED BY PRESIDENT HARRISON. President Harrison, accompanied by his private secretary, Mr. E. J Halford, walked over from the White House to the ex-Secretary’s residence in the evening, to personally inquire as to his condition, and expressed relief and gratification at being informed that there had been some abatement of the more alarming symptoms. From an intimate friend of the family it was learned that it was only when Mr. Blaine was suddenly seized with the sinking spell in the morning which threatened for some minutes to terminate in heart failure, that his family fully realized how near he was to death’s IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH. 545 door. For a few seconds he seemed to be in extremis and the watchers bent anxiously over him. The ema- ciated face of the dying statesman was white as marble and his features sadly drawn. At times he scarcely seemed to breathe, and at others gasped for breath. The physicians who had been hastily summoned were in the meantime not idle. They plied him with stimu- lative cordials, the trained nurses chafed his extremi- ties, and it was only after working over the patient for upward of thirty min- utes and the application of every art known to the medical profession that Mr. Blaine slowly revived. mrs. blaine’s wonder- ful will. The family gathered around the bedside were! all in tears, except Mrs Blaine. She maintained mrs. james g. blaine. outward composure throughout the trying scene, and calmly gave such directions to the attendants as were necessary. Her will power, when in fact her heart was breaking, is described as something pathetic and marvelous. It has been her cheerfulness that has soothed her husband’s despondency. Mr. Blaine’s physical condition was such that he at times gave away to despondency. While manifesting no fear 35 546 life OF SON. JAMES G. BLAINE. of death, Mr. Blaine often said he did not want to die. Shortly after 1 1 o’clock p. m. a closed carriage was driven rapidly to the front of the Blaine mansion from which alighted Miss Hattie Blaine, Miss Abigail Dodge (Gail Hamilton) and Mrs. Damrosch. The ladies were closely veiled and ran through the crowd of correspondents and others gathered in front of the house into the mansion, followed by James G. Blaine, Jr., who had just returned from a few minutes’ walk. Mr. Blaine, in response to an inquiry, said his father was about the same. DR. JOHNSTON DESCRIBES THE ATTACK. At 9.30 o’clock the next evening a reporter had an interview with Mr. Blaine’s attending physicians, Drs. W. W. Johnston and Frank Hyatt. Speaking for both of them, Dr. Johnston said : “ Blaine is distinctly better to-night than he was last night, and much better than he was this morning.” “ What was the nature of the attack to-day, Doctor ? ” “ It was a failure of his heart to perform its func- tions satisfactorily.” “ His trouble is not in his heart ? ” was asked. “ No, it is not. But in the general weakness from which he is suffering, all the organs are affected, and the heart makes manifest the weakness of the whole system. Blaine’s condition has been such that when he takes cold, as he did ten days or two weeks ago, fever followed, causing a deterioration of the system. IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH. 54? MRS. WALTER DAMROSCH. For some days prior to and including yesterday, how- ever, he was recovering from the effects of the cold and fever, and last night he was entirely free from fever, his pulse beating strongly and his condition 548 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. quite gratifying. This morning, however, he had an ill turn, his heart-beats became more indistinct and irregular, and he was more languid and less observant. However, he rallied from that condition, those symp- toms disappeared, he has taken nourishment during the afternoon, and to-night, as I said, he is better and brighter. His pulse is stronger and the reaction quite marked.” It was the general impression throughout the coun- try that Mr. Blaine was in his last sickness, and the end was not far distant. For a long time alarming reports concerning his impaired health had been cir- culated ; no one considered him a well man ; his her- culean labors had told heavily on his strong constitu- tion, and now the majestic tower was trembling and giving ominous sign of its final downfall. The intense sympathetic interest felt everywhere testified to the distinguished statesman’s popularity. In the House and Senate expressions of solicitude and grief were heard on all sides. Democrats joined Re- publicans in their sympathy for the family and expres- sions of regret that the life of one of America’s most brilliant statesmen was evidently drawing to a close. The chaplains of both branches referred feelingly to the serious illness of Mr. Blaine in their morning invocations. CHAPTER XXVI. The Closing Scenes. On the morning of January 27, 1893, at eleven o’clock, James G. Blaine died. Gathered about his bedside when death came were all those he loved best. In thirty minutes from the time of the an- nouncement that the end had come the historic man- sion where he breathed his last became the one object of special interest to the civilized world. The sad news flew to the ends of the earth. Mr. Blaine sank to his final rest like a tired child in its mother’s arms. In fact, the anxious watchers at the bedside knew not when the end had come. The first warning that the end was at hand came at nine o’clock in the morning, when Mr. Blaine suffered a totally unexpected relapse. Both of the physicians who had been constantly in attendance upon him were hastily summoned. Dr. Johnston was the first to arrive, Dr. Hyatt following a few minutes later. They did all that could be done for the dying man, but soon realized that Mr. Blaine was beyond human aid. It was at half-past ten that the family were sum- moned, and Dr. Johnston, as gently as he could, in- formed them that the end was close at hand. ( 549 ) 550 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Then the family entered the sick-chamber, and waited for death to come. Mrs. Blaine had been with the sufferer all the morning. In fact, to her de- votion and constant attention was largely due Mr. Blaine’s great battle for life. When he died there were present at his bedside his wife, his two daugh- ters, Mrs. Walter Damrosch and Miss Harriet Blaine ; Mr. James G. Blaine, Jr.; Mr. Walter Damrosch and Miss Abigail Dodge. WATCHED FOR DEATH IN SILENCE. From the time the family gathered about the bedside of the dying statesman until his spirit had departed no word was spoken. Now and then the doctors or the professional nurse would move about, seeking to ease the sufferer as best they could. Mrs. Blaine sat by the head of the bed, holding one wasted hand of the sufferer and smoothing back his hair. His two daughters knelt at either side of the bed, weeping silently, their heads buried in their hands. That the end had been so long expected robbed it of none of its horrors. During the last half hour of Mr. Blaine’s life it was simply a weary waiting for the departing spirit to take its flight. DR. JOHNSTON. CLOSING SCENES. 551 Dr. Johnston at eleven o’clock felt the patient’s pulse, then bent down in the vain hope of hearing some faint echo of life. Then he knew the end had come. Without a word he placed the sufferer’s hands across his chest and, motioning to Dr. Hyatt, quietly left the room. A few moments later the physicians left the house. Walking up to the newspaper men who were in wait- ing Dr. Johnston said: “Gentlemen, Mr. Blaine is dead.” Mr. Blaine had been critically ill for weeks, and there was no hope of his recovery. Notwithstanding this fact the news of his death came suddenly and almost unexpectedly. For several days he had been somewhat better, and it was confidently expected that he would live for many days. The return of pleasant weather, it was thought by the physicians, would materially aid Mr. Blaine. FOR MANY YEARS AN INVALID. Mr. Blaine had been in bad health since 1887. The first serious symptoms were caused by what is tech- nically known as arterial fibrosis — that is, a hardening of the walls of the arteries. This, as time wore on, developed into a form of Bright’s disease. It also impaired other organs, notably the heart and lungs. The stroke of paralysis from which Mr. Blaine suf- fered while travelling in Milan, some years ago, was directly traceable to this illness. No remedies appeared to be of avail. The family became alarmed, and consulted distinguished specialists. In no instance 552 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. was other than temporary relief afforded. The gen- eral system became impaired, and three years after the first alarming indications Mr. Blaine became a confirmed invalid. Mr. Blaine’s vitality was so great, his mind was so active, and his spirit so high that the members of his family hoped that death could be averted for many years. This hopeful spirit was manifested all through the time when Mr. Blaine succumbed to the slightest shock. Cold settled in his throat and chest fre- quently, and on every occasion he was forced to either take to his bed or suspend his daily pursuits. The repetition of these attacks finally resulted in a species of nervous depression, and towards the last Mr. Blaine became a hypochondriac. Despite this fear that every weak spell would be his last, his spirit and ambition never left him. A HARD FIGHT FOR LIFE. His fight for life during the last six weeks was regarded in local medical circles as one of the most remarkable examples of physical endurance to be found in the records of medical science. All the doctors could do was to endeavor to keep life in the frame as long as possible. Time and time again death had appeared inevitable, but the use of heroic remedies was, until the last, able to postpone the inevitable end for a time. The local physicians had been most Constantin their attendance at the bedside of the sick man. Profes- sional nurses and the members of the family had CLOSING SCENES. 553 exhausted every means at their command to ease the weary hours. Even at nine o’clock in the morning a hope was entertained that Mr. Blaine might be pulled through this relapse. Nitro-glycerine was administered, but not with the usual result of easing the pressure upon the heart and restoring comparative calm to his throb- bing nerves. His pulse became intermittent. For a time it would beat furiously, and then stop altogether for several moments. Then oedema of the lungs set in. Mucous secretions began to fill the air spaces. The breathing became la- bored and finally ster- torous. Mr. Blaine was at this point unable to move. He seemed con- scious that the end was rapidly drawing near. The expression of the face, the twitching of the facial muscles, were evidence that he was conscious. The lamp of his life and the light of his great intellect were extinguished simultaneously. MIND CLEAR TO THE LAST. A remarkable feature of Mr. Blaine’s entire illness lies in the fact that his brain was at all times clear. Physical exhaustion frequently intervened and reduced 554 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. him to a semi-comatose condition, but at no time, it is believed, did his brain wander. In the latter stages of the illness with which Mr. Blaine suffered softening of the brain is not an uncom- mon symptom. This case is said to be an exception. To the last he retained his mental penetration. At times he was keenly alive to his condition and sur- roundings and at other times dimly conscious, but no mental delusions and no wanderings of the mind were ever noticed. The news of Mr. Blaine’s death spread like wild- fire. Crowds gathered on the corner and visitors flocked to the house. The Rev. Dr. Hamlin, who was passing the house when the announcement of death was made, at once entered and remained with the family for some time. PRESIDENT HARRISON INFORMED. Word was sent to the President immediately after the death, and at twenty-five minutes after eleven President Harrison, accompanied by Private Secretary Halford and Lieutenant Parker, walked over to the Blaine mansion. The President showed marked signs of grief. Postmaster-General Wanamaker followed the President, and then the other members of the Cabinet and many prominent people followed. The President received warning of Mr. Blaine’s approaching end through a bulletin, which informed him that Mr. Blaine could not live through the day. He immediately had the substance of the despatch telegraphed over the departmental wires to the vari- CLOSING SCENES. 655 ous Cabinet officers. It was a few minutes later only that Mr. Montgomery, the operator at the White House, received another message addressed to the President. “ Blaine is ” is all he waited to hear, and he started on a run for the room of Private Sec- retary Halford. The final word “ dead ” reached him as he was in the hallway separating the telegraph room from Mr. Halford’s office. The Cabinet was immediately notified, and came to the Cabinet meeting at the usual hour fully prepared. THE OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION. The President at two o’clock issued the following proclamation : “ Executive Mansion, “Washington, January 27, 1893. “It is my painful duty to announce to the people of the United States the death of James Gillespie Blaine, which occurred in this city to-day at eleven o’clock. “ For a full generation this eminent citizen has occupied a conspicuous and influential position in the nation. His first public service was in the Legislature of his State. Afterward for fourteen years he was a member of the National House of Representatives, and was three times its chosen Speaker. In 1876 he was elected to the Senate. He resigned his seat in that body in 1881 to accept the position of Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Garfield. “ After the tragic death of his chief he resigned from the Cabinet, and devoting himself to literary work, gave to the public his ‘Twenty Years of Con- gress,’ a most valuable and enduring contribution to our political literature. 556 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. In March, 1889, he again became Secretary of State, and continued to exercise this office until June, 1892. His devotion to the public interests, his marked ability and his exalted patriotism have won for him the gratitude and affection of his countrymen and the admiration of the world. In the varied pursuits of legislation, diplomacy and literature his genius has added new lustre to American citizenship. As a suitable expression of the national apprecia- tion of his great public services and of the general sorrow caused by his death I direct that on the day of his funeral all the departments of the executive branch of the government at Washington be closed and that on all public buildings throughout the United States the national flag shall be displayed at half-staff, and that for a period of thirty days the Department of State be draped in mourning. By order of the President. BENJAMIN HARRISON, President. John W. Foster, Secretary of State. CONGRESS ADJOURNED. As soon as the reading of the journal was ended in the Senate the announcement of Mr. Blaine’s death was made by Mr. Hale, of Maine, who was for many years one of the closest personal and political friends of the dead statesman, and who said that the dread event would carry sadness and mourning throughout all the United States and would awaken interest and sorrow wherever civilized men lived. His remarks were followed by a motion by Mr. Cockrell, of Missouri, that the Senate adjourn out of CLOSING SCENES. 557 respect to the memory of the deceased, and the mo- tion was declared carried. The adjournment made the sixth interruption of business in the Senate caused by death within the few preceding weeks. The death of ex-Speaker Blaine also brought the business of the House to a sudden termination. A few committee reports were made, including a bill to re- peal the federal election laws, and then, after brief and affecting speeches by Mr. Milliken, who represents Mr. Blaine’s old district, and Holman, who served many years with him in the House and who had always been his personal friend, the House out of re- spect to the memory of the dead statesman adjourned. SENATOR HALES EULOGY. In announcing Mr. Blaine’s death to the Senate, Mr. Hale delivered the following appreciative eulogy upon the dead statesman : “Mr. President: We are a^ain summoned into o the presence of death. A very great man has passed from this earth. Mr. James G. Blaine died in his house in this city at ti o’clock this morning. His long illness had in some measure prepared us for that, but the dread event will carry sadness and mourning throughout all the United States and will awaken interest and sorrow wherever civilized man lives on the face of the globe. “ Mr. Blaine’s career was so remarkable and his public services were so great that in all histories which may be written of his times he will stand as a central 558 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. figure, not only as to his own country, but on policies and subjects that affected other great nations. He belonged, Mr. President, not to any one State but to all the country, and Pennsylvania, which gave him birthplace and nurtured him, and Maine, where he made his home and where he became her first citizen and which filled his lap with all the honors which she could bestow, mourn him no more to-day than do the dwellers by the shores of the great gulf and in the cabins of the far Sierras. “ This is no time nor place for me to speak in detail of his distinguished public life. He was for years a distinguished member on the floor of the House of Representatives of the nation, and for six years pre- sided as its Speaker. His services in this chamber covered years. He was twice Secretary of State and was until of late a member of the present Adminis- tration. I do not think there is one Senator here who would not deem it fitting, in view of these facts and of the fact that he died where his last peaceful look from his chamber window might embrace this Capitol, where his voice had been so many times heard, that we make a precedent at this time, and that, although Mr. Blaine was at the time of his death a private citizen, this body take immediate adjournment.” IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. When the House met the Chaplain referred to Mr. Blaine in his prayer in these words: “ O eternal God, we stand before thee profoundly moved as the news comes to the Capitol and flies CLOSING SCENES. 559 through the land that a great man and a prince among the people has ended his earthly career. Rich in the manifold gifts with which thou hadst endowed him, tireless in energy, devoting himself for a generation to the service of the land, holding men to him by bonds stronger than steel, winning for himself the hearty affection and confidence of millions of his fellow-citi- zens and such a place as has rarely been held by any man, he passes from us mourned, honored, loved — his memory a fragrance in this House and throughout the Capitol and throughout the nation.” Congressman Milliken, of Maine, said : Mr. Speaker : It becomes my sad duty to an- nounce to this House the death of James G. Blaine. Mr. Blaine was for fourteen years a prominent and leading member of this House. For six years he was the distinguished Speaker of the House. Every posi- tion he has held he has gilded with the light of genius, and he has given to the public service for a genera- tion such devotion and such industry and such labor as have brought him to his death to-day. I do not doubt that every member of this House will be glad to pay him a tribute of respect by an adjournment. Mr. Holman, of Indiana, said : Mr. Speaker, the deaths which have been announced so recently of illustrious citizens may well bring to our minds the prophetic words of the Hebrew King: “ How are the mighty fallen ! ” The death of James G. Blaine will profoundly impress the sensibilities of the country. A great man is dead. He laid the 560 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. foundation of his fame in this hall. Here were his great and early triumphs. How often have we heard in this hall the tones of his ringing eloquence ! Great in statesmanship, known not only to our country but to the statesmen of the civilized world, and not only great in statesmanship, not only one of the illustrious char- acters which have illustrated the value of free institu- tions, but beyond that, he was great in the field of literature. As the historian of the grandest epoch in the history of the world he did his work well. His history, covering a period of years, will go down to posterity as one of the brightest illustrations of the time in which he lived and of the grand events of which he was a part. It would seem, Mr. Speaker, to be eminently proper and fitting that with the an- nouncement of his death here in this the theatre of his great achievements, this House, out of respect to his memory, should adjourn. I therefore move that the House do now adjourn. THE PRESIDENT WAS SHOCKED. Within an hour of the announcement of Mr. Blaine’s death a newspaper correspondent found President Harrison in his private office at the White House with one or two members of his Cabinet. He ap- peared to be deeply moved. He said : “ I was greatly shocked to learn of Mr. Blaine’s death. The impression made upon me was no less profound because of the fact that Mr. Blaine’s illness has for some time been believed to be fatal. The physicians and relatives of Mr. Blaine abandoned hope CLOSING SCENES. 561 some time ago, but his death was none the less un- expected and a great shock to me. Before learning the sad news I was preparing to call at the Blaine residence. I at once paid a visit and left a message of sympathy with James G. Blaine, Jr.” Cleveland’s words of praise. The news of Mr. Blaine’s death did not reach Mr. Cleveland until the afternoon. He was in his office in New York at the time. Although both oc- cupied so large a place in the public life of this country during the pre- ceding nine years, Mr. Blaine and Mr. Cleve- land did not meet often. They had headed oppos- ing tickets in a national election long before they met personally, and Mr. Cleveland had been elected and inaugurated before the opportunity arose for them to become acquainted. Then very properly Mr. Blaine made the first call, when, as Mr. Cleveland said, they had a very pleasant interview. It was suggested that these reminiscent facts would be of unique and profound interest at this time. 36 562 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Mr. Cleveland said: “The first time I ever saw Mr. Blaine I had a very pleasant interview with him at the White House, shortly after my inauguration as Presi- dent. While I have seen but very little of him since that time, yet in a personal way, in common with all other American citizens, I have not failed to admire his traits, the breadth of his information and the alert- ness of his intellect. “A figure like his,” continued Mr. Cleveland, “ which has been so prominently before the people and which they have so long seen in different lights, cannot fail to be long remembered by those of the present generation, and will certainly occupy a large place in the history of the country. “ In common with all his countrymen,” concluded Mr. Cleveland, “ I share the regret occasioned by the death of a man such as Mr. Blaine, so well entitled to be called an American statesman irrespective of differ- ences in political beliefs or in opinions touching public questions.” HOW DEATH CAME TO HIM. Though forewarned repeatedly of the precarious character of his health, Mr. Blaine exhibited little depression or despondency during the last two or three years of his life. In his own family circle, too, one affliction came upon another, not fewer than four deaths occurring between 1890 and 1892. Nevertheless, Mr. Blaine kept up an appearance of cheerfulness and in- terest, and old friends found him genial and compan- ionable and as fertile and brilliant in conversation as CLOSING SCENES. 563 he had always been. As often as his health per- mitted he went out to dinners and other social gather- ings, and he gave constant entertainments at home. His fondness for society never failed, and even when, confined to the house, he had given up the habit of seeing people downstairs in the general reception- rooms, he had many callers come up to the parlor on the second floor of the refitted Seward house, and there chatted with them for long periods with great apparent pleasure. A journalist who called on Mr. Blaine on the Sun- day before he was taken with his last illness, found him in the brightest spirits, and enjoyed a conversa- tion on current topics which must have lasted nearly an hour. Though physically weak and noticeably pallid from his long stay indoors, he showed no trace of listlessness or depression. Seated in an easy-chair near the fireplace in the drawing-room on the second floor, he chatted about politics past and present with all the interest and brilliancy of earlier days. His manner was as cordial and spirited as ever, and though disease had left its marks in the slowness of his ges- tures and the deliberation of his speech, his conversa- tionshowed no perceptible abatement in range or force. WORDS OF A DYING MAN. The whole subject of his withdrawal from the Cab- inet in June, 1892, was gone over in a frank and unre- served way, Blaine discussing that interesting and im- portant incident with as little show of feeling as if it had happened twenty years ago. '' 584 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. His own retirement from the Cabinet, he said, had not been prompted by personal motives altogether; nor did he, as some false friends had asserted, cherish, either at the time or afterward, any bitterness of feel- ing toward the President. He had not expected nor desired a nomination from the Minneapolis convention, and had stood ready to congratulate with all cordiality the Republican nominees on their election. Blaine’s whole manner showed that he had suffered no shade of disappointment or ill feeling to disturb the personal tranquillity which he had sought to secure for the closing days of his career by his definite retirement from public life. Too much value can scarcely be attached to these frank expressions on the events and incidents of June, the closing chapter of Mr. Blaine’s long political career. The conversation in which they were embodied was one of the last of any length held by him ; for a few days later he became seriously ill again and took to his bed, from which he never rose. CHAPTER XXVII. Last Honors to the Dead Statesman. The funeral of James G. Blaine was a simple one, and the invitations to attend it were based upon the rules governing the invitations to public functions. The President, the Cabinet, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Diplomatic Corps, the Senators and Rep- resentatives in Congress, were invited to the services at the church, and seats were provided for them in order of precedence. A brief service at the house at Madison place pre- ceded the more formal ceremonies at the Church of the Covenant. To this ceremony not more than one hundred and fifty officials, associates of Mr. Blaine, and friends of the family were invited. Among them were the President, who came accompanied by Mrs. McKee and his private secretary ; the Vice-President and Mrs. Morton, with their daughter ; Speaker and Mrs. Crisp, the Members of the Cabinet, with their families; Chief Justice Fuller and his wile, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, Mrs. John A. Logan, whose husband was on the Republican ticket with Blaine in 1884; Mrs. Garfield, whose husband Mr. Blaine was with when murdered by Guiteau ; General Alger, Mr. ( 566 ) 566 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Mrs. Hitt, Miss Macomb, Miss Loring, Senator and Mrs. Cameron and Miss Cameron, Senator and Mrs. Chandler, Gen- eral and Mrs. Parke, Mrs. Eugene Hale, Mrs. T. S. Hamlin, Mrs. Alexander Rodgers, Senator and Mrs. Wolcott, Mr. and Mrs. John R. McLean, Mrs. John Hay, Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Newlands, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Cumming, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cabot Lodge, Mr. and Mrs. Howland, Mr. and Mrs. Marcellus Bailey, Mrs. Audenreid, Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Dunnell, of Minnesota ; ex-Governor and Mrs. Perham, of Maine ; Sir Julian and Lady Paunceforte, Mr. A. C. Tyler, Mrs. Francis B. Loring, Senators Gordon and Voorhees, Representative Holman and J. T. Devine, Mr. Blaine’s stenographer in the preparation of his “Twenty Years of Congress ; ” Representative Blount and Mr. Charles Emory Smith, ex-Minister to Russia; Representative and Mrs. Dingley, Representative Milliken, Mrs. Frye, a Maine delegation of fourteen headed by Governor Cleaves, and Mr. S. P. Fessenden, of Connecticut; Senator and Mrs. Manderson, Sena- tors Allison, McPherson, Sherman, Cockrell, Gorman, Aldrich and Morrill; Senator and Miss Dawes, Senator Hoar, Senator and Mrs. Washburn, Senator Ransom and General Baird, Judge and Mrs. Wylie. A SIMPLE CEREMONY. Mr. Elaine’s body lay in a large drawing-room one flight above the street. The coffin of red cedar, cov- ered with black cloth and with a railing of silver run- ning all around it, rested upon floral pedestals, beneath LAST HONORS. 567 which was stretched a thick carpet of roses nine feet long and four feet wide. The room was crowded with wreaths and crosses of flowers, with palms, lilies and huge masses of violets. The upper part of the coffin was covered over with glass. The body was clothed in black broadcloth, and the hands were folded across the breast. Those who had been invited began to gather at ten o’clock. A long row of carriages extended very soon on either side of the door. A dozen policemen kept the entrance clear. The crowd on the sidewalk facing the house was quiet. It was not a large crowd. At eleven o’clock the President, who was one of the last to arrive, entered the house. He glanced for a mo- ment at the thin, worn face in the coffin, and then took the seat which had been reserved for him. Mrs. Blaine entered immediately after, leaning upon the arm of her son, followed by the other members of the family. THE PALLBEARERS. The service which followed was very simple. The Rev. Dr. Hamlin, of the Church of the Covenant, prayed, standing beside the coffin. He asked God to comfort and uphold those whom the dead man had left behind him. The prayer was short. At its con- clusion Walter Damrosch, Mr. Blaine’s son-in-law, played a few chords upon the piano. The undertaker’s assistants hurriedly gathered up as many as possible of the floral tributes and took them in a wagon to the church, while the coffin was 568 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. carried downstairs to the hearse. The pallbearers who accompanied it were Senators Hale and Frye, of Maine; Senator Morgan, of Alabama; Representatives Thomas B. Reed and Boutelle, of Maine ; Represent- ative Hitt, of Illinois, formerly Mr. Blaine’s Assistant Secretary of State ; Representative Bingham, of Penn- sylvania, the State in which Mr. Blaine was born ; Gen. Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, Mr. Blaine’s second cousin; and John Hay, formerly Assistant Secretary of State. The pallbearers were all selected by Mrs. Blaine, and acted at her request. When the coffin was brought from the house the crowd had increased. There were thousands of men and women gathered about. All the men removed their hats and stood in silence as the funeral proces- sion started for the Church of the Covenant near by. DECORATIONS OF THE CHURCH. Meanwhile the officials and friends of the family who, for lack of space, could not be invited to the cer- emony at the house, had gathered in the church. They numbered 800, as representative a political gathering probably as was ever brought together in this country. Nearly every branch of the public service and all im- portant departments of official life in Washington were represented. The two middle rows of seats on either side of the central aisle were roped off with ribbons of white satin. Every attempt was made to prevent an air of gloom surrounding the services. The badges of the ushers were of white satin, the decorations of the altar were LAST HONORS. 569 brilliant with coloring — white and red and violet. There was not a particle of black in all the decoration of the church. The seats fenced in with white satin were reserved for the family and for those who had been invited because of their official position. The altar was a mass of flowers, and when the wagon loads of roses, violets and lilies were brought from the house it was almost impossible to find room for them. Huge wreaths were hung upon the posts of pews and piled upon the floor at the foot of the altar. The floral carpet which Mrs. Emmons Blaine had sent was spread upon the floor before the altar, and upon it were the supports for the coffin. DISTINGUISHED PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH. At the hour of twelve all those who had been in- vited had arrived and the church was filled. The gen- eral public was not admitted to any part of the cer- emony, and a number of policemen, with ropes stretched around the church, kept the approaches clear. The gathering in the church was impressive and interesting. All the Judges of the Supreme Court sat together in seats just back of those reserved for the family, with the exception of Chief-Justice Fuller, who attended the services at the house and sat with the family. Justices Field and Gray arrived first, and immediately behind them followed Justices Blatchford, Brewer and Brown. They were a fine, simple-looking lot of men, with solemn laces, wear- ing old-fashioned clothing and tight black gloves, very American and very comforting to look at. 570 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Back of them sat the strange assortment of men who go to make up the Diplomatic Corps in this country. There was Sir Julian Pauncefote, the Brit- ish Minister, who came in a stunning equipage with English coachman and footman, each more than six feet tall. A very dignified spectacle was Sir Julian, solemnly doing honor to the man whose popularity was largely built up on his disagreements with Great Britain. Across the aisle sat Mr. Mavroyeni Bey, the Turkish Minister. Mr. Tateno, the Japanese Minis- ter, sat next to Mr. Ye, the Corean Charge d’ Affaires. Mr. Ye wore a black pointed cap. OTHER DIPLOMATS PRESENT. Prince Contacuzene, the Russian Minister, with his secretary ; J. Mott Smith, the Hawaiian Minister ; Dr. Holbein, the German Minister, with Baron Kettler, also of his legation ; Senor Romero, of the Mexican Legation ; Count Sponneck, the Danish Minister ; G. De Weckherlin, the Minister from the Netherlands; Mr. Claparede, the Swiss Minister ; Senor Don Ho- racio Guzman, the Nicaraguan Minister ; Senor Men- donca, the Brazilian Minister ; M. Patenotre, the French Minister ; Dr. Bustamente, the Venezuelan Minister; Mr. Sousa Rosa, the Portuguese Minister; Mr. Le Ghait, the Belgian Minister ; Mr. Grip, the Swedish Minister ; Baron Fava and Marquis Imperi- al^ of the Italian Legation, and a lot of attaches, gor- geous in raiment and personal attraction, filled several rows of seats. Whoever has not been in Washington has no idea LAST HONORS. 671 of the fine sight which the Diplomatic Corps pre- sented. These distinguished diplomats travel all over the world in the course of their interesting careers, but they never go to a country where a man as great in the eyes of his fellow-citizens as Mr. Blaine was is laid to rest with as little fuss and feathers as they witnessed that day. The seats of the Senators and Representatives in Congress were back of those occupied by the Diplo- matic Corps. They were filled by a crowd of men well known to the country, and a few women. Among them were Gov. Cleaves, of Maine, and a delegation from that State ; ex-Senator Davis, of West Virginia; ex-Delegate Cannon, of Utah ; Mr. and Mrs. D. T. McKee, Warner Miller, Dr. J. C. Welling, Mr. and Mrs. Roessle, and ex-Senator Eustis, of Louisiana. Delegations from the Union League Clubs of New York and Philadelphia and from a dozen other organ- izations throughout the country were also seated within the white satin inclosure, as were also the heads of the bureaus in the State Department, THE PROCESSION ENTERS THE CHURCH. The funeral procession from the house reached the church at 12 o’clock. Dr. Teunk S. Hamlin, who but a short time before led the service at the funeral of Walker Blaine, walked slowly up the aisle at the head of the procession, reading as he walked from the burial service, beginning with the verse, “ I am the resurrection and the life.” Slowly and solemnly he repeated the words which emphasize the fact that am- 572 LIFE OF HON JAMES G. BLAINE. bition and hope of preferment all stop at the grave. “We bring nothing into this world,” he told his hear- ers ; “ we can take nothing from it.” This, of course, was not taken in too harshly literal a sense by his hearers, who knew that Mr. Blaine had taken with him the one thing which had made his life worth liv- ing — the affection and admiration of millions of his countrymen. Behind Dr. Hamlin walked the honorary pall- bearers, with the big figure of “ Tom ” Reed towering above all the others. He walked with his heavy head bowed down. Eight undertakers’ assistants came next, carrying the coffin, which was almost buried from sight beneath a mound of flowers. MRS. BLAINE WAS ABSENT. Mrs. Blaine did noc attend the services at the church. Directly behind the coffin came her daughter, Mrs. Damrosch, leaning upon the arm of her brother, James G. Blaine — no longer James G. Blaine, Jr. Miss Harriet Blaine, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Blaine, and the other members of the family followed. All the women were heavily veiled. Next came the President, with Mrs. McKee leaning upon his arm. He was very pale, and his head appeared to be sunk more deeply than ever in the collar of his heavy overcoat. He took a seat in the third row behind the honorary pall-bearers. Fred Brown, Mr. Blaine’s colored butler, rode on the box of the carriage in which were Miss Hattie Blaine and young James G. Blaine, and sat with the LAST HONORS. 573 family in the church. It is doubtful whether Mr. Blaine had any more sincere mourner outside of his immediate family than this faithful servant who sat listening with appreciation to every word of comfort and wiping his eyes at every allusion to his dead mas- ter’s good qualities. Miss Abigail Dodge (Gail Hamilton), Mr. Blaine’s cousin, entered the church and sat with the ladies of Mr. Blaine’s family, dressed like them in deep mourn- ing. THE SERVICE. When the congregation was seated Mr. Damrosch, who had taken the place of the regular organist, played for a short time, and then came the reading by Dr. Hamlin of extracts from the Bible. Prayer followed. The prayer was in the nature of a eulogy on the dead man. It enumerated his great qualities as a patriot, statesman, father, and husband, and condoled with the people of the United States and the President, with the State of Maine and State of Pennsylvania, and with all of the commonwealths, upon the loss which they had sustained. Here in full is the text of the prayer : dr. hamlin’s prayer. “ Thanks be unto thee, Almighty God, that we come into the presence of death with such words of triumph as these. “Thanks be unto thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that immortal life is no- more a dim surmise, a probable speculation, but an assured fact. “ Thanks be unto thee, O Holy Spirit of God, that 574 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. thou hast revealed to the hearts and minds of men these truthful verities upon which we rest when human life passeth like a shadow, when our hopes are all frustrated and our plans all put to naught in the pres- ence of the great destroyer. “Thanks be unto God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for Christian triumph in the pres- ence of the open grave. “We render thee in this sacred and solemn place and presence, O God, our tribute of gratitude for that thou didst make thy servant whose ashes we are now committing to the resting place of all the living. We thank thee for all that mental endowment with which thou didst bless him, for all the fidelity in culture and refinement in the pursuit of all that makes the human mind clear and true and strong and mighty that marked his life. “We thank thee for his patriotism, his serif ne and unchanging faith in the institutions of the land he loved. We thank thee for his services to his country in days and years of peril, through critical times steadily holding to his confidence in the great princi- ples that underlie our institutions. We thank thee for his faith in God, his faith in Jesus Christ, his acceptance of Him as his personal Saviour and Redeemer. We thank thee for his broad charity, his kindness and sweetness of heart that impressed all those that love man and serve God. We thank thee for his strong serenity under the great and crushing bereavements that in these last years have fallen upon LAST HONORS. 575 him and upon his household. We thank thee for his fortitude during all these weeks of waiting, for his patience and his gentleness. We thank thee, Lord, for all that our departed brother through thy grace was as man and citizen, as patriot, as a servant of his country, as husband and father in the beautiful life of the home. “ And now we entreat thee, O God, that thy com- fort may come upon those that are most nearly bereaved, that these members of his own household and those of near kindred may be strong in faith, trusting in God alone ; and while there flows to them such a stream of sympathy from all parts of the land and of the world, we pray thee that, receiving it with gratitude, they may rest not in it, but in the priceless sympathy of the Son of God. “We entreat thee that they may be able to look, not into the open grave, but into the open heavens ; not at what they have lost, but at what the dear one gone has left behind. And we entreat thee that the fragrant and precious memories of this dear husband and father, friend and kinsman, may be their solace in these desolate and trying days. “We ask thy blessing, O Lord, our God, upon the Executive Department of the Government with which thy servant was so intimately associated. We com- mend to thee the President of the United States, the Vice-President and all the members of the Cabinet with whom our departed brother labored. And we entreat that upon them all in this sense of loss and 576 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE this new admonition of their own mortality, there may come a comforting consciousness and serene trust in God and the Lord Jesus Christ. “We pray Thee, Our Father, for the Congress of the United States, in whose councils for so long thy servant participated, and with such influence for good. We entreat thee that every member of Congress may be impressed anew with the need of trust in God in preparation for this event that cometh alike to all, and that their work henceforth may be done under the consciousness of their responsibility to God under the power of an endless life. “We ask thy blessing upon all our commonwealths. We commend to thee especially the State in which our brother was born and the State thit adopted him and that together rejoice to-day in his illustrious ser- vice ; and we pray thee that the Executives and leg- islators of all our commonwealths may be men of God ; that they may trust and serve thee. “We ask thy blessing, O Lord, upon all the people of the land, upon the millions that with singular fidel- ity have loved him, whose voice so many of them have heard, whose counsels so many of them have followed, but who now rests speechless in death. We entreat thee that his patriotism, his lofty purposes, his sincere and constant love for the institutions of the land may animate all the people and may be a blessed heritage to every citizen of the republic. “We commend to thee the nations of the earth — all those lands that have felt the touch of his hand in the LAST HONORS. 577 great relations of diplomacy, and we pray thee that there may come to them all a more profound trust in God, in the people, in the liberties wherewith God is making people free, and in all those blessed gifts that come from him to the nation that loves and serves the Lord of hosts. “And we ask thy blessing, O Lord, upon this church. We thank thee that thy servant had part in its very beginning ; that he did not despise the day of small things. We thank thee that he loved and aided it in its early days and its progress ; that he worshipped here and sat at this communion table. We pray thee that thou will grant to this church, as thou taketh from it one and another, the consolation of thy holy Spirit and thine abiding grace. “And now, dear Lord, as we go hence and take our place about the open grave and deposit there this sa- cred and precious dust, wilt thou go with us, and as this family return to their desolate home wilt thou be with them. Wilt thou make good the void that is in their hearts ; may this many-times bereaveid, this sorely afflicted household have the abundant comfort and strength and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord; and we beseech thee, our Heavenly Father, that throughout all the land and throughout all the world, wherever the eyes and hearts of men are turning at this hour towards this place, wherever any are send- ing to God the tributes of thanks for the services of this life, wherever there is sorrow to-day, we entreat thee that thy presence may soothe every sorrow, and 37 578 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. that the hope of immortality may be inspired afresh in every heart. “ Forgive our sins ; receive us all into the number of thy dear children ; help us to so live that we shall be ready at any moment to hear thee say, ‘Son, daughter, thy work on earth is finished ; come home ; ’ and so to each at last may there open the doors of the seat of God; and may we enter in to be forever blessed.” At the end of this prayer the clergyman and con- gregation repeated the Lord’s Prayer together and the services at the church were ended. TO THE GRAVE. The flowers were removed from the altar and taken to the cemetery. The mourners entered their car- riages and, following the hearse, began the procession to the grave. About one hundred carriages, including those of the Vice-President and members of the Cab- inet, were in line. Spectators were scattered on either side of the way all along the route. It was a clear day, with only a few clouds for the sun to struggle with now and then. In the prosper- ous parts of the city men and women gathered at the windows to see the procession go by. In the poorer streets through which the funeral passed on the way to Georgetown, mothers, black and white, brought their children to the doors and offered them the fine parade of carriages full of distinguished people as a pleasing diversion in their quiet lives. It was a long drive to the cemetery, going as the LAST HONORS. 579 funeral procession did at a slow walk. The hearse, which had left the church at twelve forty-five p. m., reached Oak Hill, the burying-ground, shortly after two. The cemetery was crowded with men, women, and children who had gathered in the morning to look at the open grave. With difficulty the funeral party managed to clear a way through the curious crowd from about the Blaine plot. The immediate relatives, 580 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. intimate friends, and members of the Cabinet groupec themselves about the grave. The ground was soft muddy, and partly covered with snow. The general crowd of sightseers pressed about as closely as possi- ble, and ranged themselves on the slanting terraces of graves that mark the hillside above the Blaine plot. Beside the open grave there was a large mound of fresh, red earth. Seven men, dressed in long blue flannel blouses reaching below the knee and fastened at the waist with big brass buckles, stood with long- handled spades ready to pile in the dirt upon the coffin. I stt si (1 COMMITTED TO THE TOMB. Mr. Blaine’s body was committed to the earth with a short prayer. It was lowered into the grave with the flowers still lying upon the coffin-lid, and imme- diately the seven grave-diggers with long blouses fell to piling in the earth. For a while the women of Mr, j Blaine’s household stood sobbing as the work went on. Before it had been finished they had been led away. j One after another the members of the Cabinet with- drew. Mr. Wanamaker remained later than any of his associates, gazing sadly upon the work of the seven men. Finally he too departed, leaving young James G. Blaine alone with the crowd of curiosity seekers beside his father’s grave. He waited until the task of filling the grave and sealing the brick vault had been completed. Then he too went away. For almost an hour the crowd surged about, worry- ing the policemen and grave-diggers with their LAST HONORS. 581 attempts to despoil the grave of its flowers. One policeman should be commended for the manner in which he enforced the law and administered reproof simultaneously. Those he had to combat were women. His unfailing and patient remonstrance was : “ Ladies, if you don’t know better than to take flowers off the grave I shall have to teach you.” WHERE MR, BLAINE LIES. Beside the grave of Mr, Blaine are those of Emmons Blaine and Mrs. Alice Blaine Coppinger. A white marble cross marks Mrs. Coppinger’s grave. There is room perhaps for two more graves in the plot in which Mr. Blaine lies buried. There is no room for anything more than a very simple headstone to mark his resting-place. On Mr Blaine’s right, as he lies in his grave, is a headstone marked simply “ Peter Palmer,” and on his left the grave of Stephen Glegg Rowan, Vice-Admiral of the United States Navy, who lies buried beside his wife. Not far from where Mr. Blaine lies, in a more thickly settled point of the ceme- tery, is the grave of John Howard Payne, author of “Home, Sweet Home.” MRS. BLAINE AT THE GRAVE. At four o’clock in the afternoon the crowds that had filled the cemetery had dispersed. Only a few chil- dren ran about the muddy walks and played in the half-melted snow of the graveyard. A woman, deeply veiled, walked down the winding path to the grave and leaned against the trunk of the dead tree. It was Mrs. Blaine. 582 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. At her feet were thousands upon thousands of roses, violets and lilies, shutting out from sight the scar j which marked her husband’s resting place in the earth. All about were low mounds marking other graves, some of children and some of old men. Many were tramped down and disfigured by the thousands who had struggled for a last look at her husband’s coffin. Behind her the sun was going down. Before her was a deep ravine, a swollen brook rushing through it, and beyond a gloomy series of red hills. Above the hills she could see the white shaft of the Washington Monument, the dome of the Capitol and the roof of the State Department building, beyond which, but visible, was the White House. Occasionally a few children gathered about with their hands behind their backs to contemplate the lady heavily veiled. They were warned away by an old man in charge of the cemetery gate, who had undertaken the task of pro- tecting the flowers on the grave until the gates should close. After almost an hour spent by the dead tree at the head of the grave Mrs. Blaine was led away to a car- riage by her son. It was getting dark. The sun was hidden from view behind the hilh, and the grave, with its burden of flowers, lay in the shadow. Two or three policemen who had lingered about the gate cleared the cemetery of the children and of the few curious ones who remained. The iron gates were closed, and Blaine was left alone to begin his long rest beneath the sod. CHAPTER XXVin. Friendly Tributes to the Great Leader. The universal regret occasioned by Mr. Blaine’s death, and the esteem in which he was held, were voiced in many ways. The various State legislatures that were in session adjourned, showing thereby respect for his memory. Glowing eulogies filled the columns of the press, and prominent men vied with one another in speaking words of praise. Several members of the Cabinet placed on record their high appreciation of the man. Said Secretary Noble : James G. Blaine died within three days of the sixty-third anniversary of his birth and little less than thirty years from the time he en- tered Congress, on the first Monday of December, 1863. During this long and most eventful period he held the attention and commanded the respect of his countrymen to a most extraordinary degree — more, I think, than any other political leader save Lincoln or Clay. Like Clay his followers were loving and en- thusiastic, and alike they achieved great success but failed to reach the summit of their ambition — the Presidency. Blaine was highly intellectual and refined. He had great mental discipline and vigor, with physi- cal strength and the courage of his convictions. His ( 583 ) 584 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. learning and experience gave him immense resources of precedent and illustration, and no man was ever more ready to see his opportunity or take advantage of his opponent in debate. The facility and variety of his attack and defense were unsurpassed. He was distinguished as a Con- gressman, as a Senator, Cabinet Minister and political leader, displaying great wisdom in counsel, and for- mulated the principles and issues of his party with unerring accuracy. He had epitomized a great part of his public career in his work, “Twenty Years in Congress,” and added to and perpetuated his fame by the literary value of this narrative. I have heard General Sherman, whose judgment in such matters was acknowledged, say that Blaine’s book was a great work ; that he considered its lucid and incisive expres- sions and comprehensive and accurate statements gave it rank with Macaulay’s history. It is one of the most valuable of books. Blaine was an American thor- oughly and invariably — he loved our country and institutions. His death will be greatly lamented, and the whole nation will do his memory honor. His critics will not be in this country. THE IDOL OF HIS PARTY. Secretary Elkins said : Mr. Blaine was a wonderful man and wonderfully gifted. He was one of the greatest statesmen and political leaders the country has produced, and the most conspicuous leader of his time. He was the idol of his party, the most loved man in it. He had, more than any other political FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 585 leader in this country, the most enthusiastic following and best and most loyal friends. He inspired his party more thoroughly than any other man in it. For nearly twenty years he did more than any other leader to shape its policy. His control over men, his power to draw them to him and command their unselfish support was beyond that of any other party leader in the history of the country. His loss will be widely felt and mourned, but his life will be a continuing inspiration to his party. Mr. Blaine, though thoroughly educated, full of culture and accomplishments, never paraded his learning. He was versatile, full of resources and more widely informed than any man or statesman of his time. In a certain sense, he was modest, seldom speaking of himself, his position or commanding influence in his party and in the country. He was broad, liberal and just, always generous to an opponent ; tender, gentle and affectionate toward his friends. He sought the Presidency in. ’76, after that seemingly abandoning all hope of ever reaching that high place. In ’84 he did not seek the nomination, and in ’88 steadfastly refused to allow his name to £0 before the convention. Of late years he was not only the central figure in American politics, but at all social gatherings and wherever he went. In and out of office he attracted more attention and excited more enthusiasm than any other citizen of the republic. Wherever he went peo- ple always eagerly turned to look at him, or stopped to see him as he passed by. His claim to greatness 586 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. will rest upon his literary work and his statesmanship. Either would place him in the front rank of the great- est men of the republic. His “Twenty Years in Con- gress” will stand as an enduring monument, and always mark him truly great. The strain put upon him and the effort in writing his great work, I think, had much to do in breaking down his health. The production of such a work in so short a time ; so just and discriminating; so fair to contemporaries and to all : so thoroughly authentic and reliable, stands in the history of literature unparalleled. Without distinction of party, his death will be mourned as a great loss to the country. Truly, a great man has passed away, and a great light gone out. LOVE FOR PENNSYLVANIANS. Postmaster-General Wanamaker said: Eleven years ago I made the acquaintance of Mr. Blaine, when at his invitation I went to his house with his intimate personal friend for consultation about accepting pub- lic office. The friendship then begun ripened in the 1884 campaign, and since 1887 has been more or less intimate. His kindness and enthusiasm, that so greatly attracted every one, were often manifested in a special degree to Pennsylvanians, among whom he was born. He liked to talk of people in Philadel- phia who lived at the time he was teacher and editor there. I shall not soon forget the last hours spent with him when he talked freely about his feelings and his plans, about a week before he went upstairs for FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 587 the last time. Pennsylvania may well be proud of her brilliant son, clever as Henry Clay and eloquent as Daniel Webster. As an all-around statesman his name will always be cherished with the ten greatest Americans. HIS STURDY AMERICANISM. Secretary Rusk said : I first met Mr. Blaine in 1868, I being then Bank Comptroller in Wisconsin, to which State he came to make tariff speeches. He was then one of the most forcible speakers in the Republican party on this important question. The acquaintance then formed with him has continued uninterruptedly since, being welded by our closer personal and polit- ical relations during the Forty-second, Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses, in which we were both mem- bers of the House of Representatives, he being Speaker during the first two Congresses, a position for which I warmly supported him. I have no hesita- tion in saying that in many respects Mr. Blaine out- ranked any of his contemporaries, and none has wielded a greater influence in shaping the fortunes of the Republican party. One of the qualities I have always esteemed the most highly in James G. Blaine was his sturdy, un- swerving Americanism. He will always be one of the conspicuous figures in the political history of this country. While serving with him in President Har- rison’s Cabinet our relations were of the most cordial and friendly character. For some time I noted with deep regret that physically he was not as vigorous as 588 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. in former years. His death, while not unexpected, will be a great shock to the people of the whole na- tion, irrespective of their political sentiments. HIS EXALTED PATRIOTISM. Secretary of State Foster said : Other of his friends are more competent to speak of Mr. Blaine’s services and genius in Congress, in politics and in literature. In diplomacy his chief characteristic was his exalted Americanism. He was a thorough believer in the o Monroe Doctrine, and the reciprocity policy which dis- tinguished the close of his public career was an out- growth of his convictions respecting that doctrine. His diplomatic correspondence will rank among the best of his political productions. His reputation abroad will mainly rest upon his acts as Secretary of State, and it is not an exaggeration to say that in the past ten years at least, he has been the best known American in foreign lands. Secretary of the Treasury Foster said : I first met Mr. Blaine when he became a member of the Forty- second Congress, and during his six years service as Speaker of the House of Representatives. At that time he was in full health and a magnificent speci- men, both physically and mentally, of mature man- hood. As Speaker, he was the absolute dictator of the proceedings of the House, enjoying more fully the respect and confidence of the members than, perhaps, any other Speaker, with perhaps the exception of Henry Clay, whose career Mr. Blaine’s so much re- sembled. His career has been one of leadership, and FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 589 without doubt he possessed the confidence, respect and affection of the vast majority of the American people more than any man of his time. His fame is world-wide. His personal popularity and his hold upon the popular affection was not confined to his own party. His death will be sincerely mourned. COMPARED WITH WEBSTER AND CLAY. Attorney-General Miller said : It is customary to speak of one, who, being elected to the Vice-Presi- dency, becomes President, as an accidental President. With reference to Mr. Blaine, it may be truly said that his failure to be President was an accident. The desire of an old gentleman to make a striking sentence by alliteration defeated the worthy ambition of a life- time, and in no small degree changed the direction of public affairs in the nation. In the whole history of the country there has scarcely been a more striking figure than Mr. Blaine, and no personality in the country has been more strongly impressed upon his contemporaries. At the funeral of Daniel Webster one of his neigh- bors, who lived near Marshfield, looking on the face of the dead statesman, said: “Daniel Webster, the world will be lonesome without you.” The same may be said with propriety of James G. Blaine. Mr. Blaine, with the possible exception of Henry Clay, was the most brilliant statesman and political leader this country has ever produced. An excellent judge of character, he understood instinctively the strong and weak points of those with whom he came in contact. 590 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Full of human sympathy, he received all who ap- proached him with a kindness and affability that made them at once his friends. Fie was a most accurate judge of public sentiment and he knew, as few men did, how to present a question of public policy so as to appeal to the sympathy and win the support of the people. He was a born leader of men and richly endowed by nature with all those qualities that make a great statesman. In the United States a thorough legal training is almost indispensable to a great and diversified public career. That without such training Mr. Blaine could achieve success in the various positions he has been called upon to fill is an additional evidence of his ex- traordinary natural powers. , ESTIMATE OF A SOUTHERNER. Speaker Crisp said: The people of the South have always entertained the kindliest feeling for Mr. Blaine. His part in the defeat of the first Force bill will never be forgotten. It was within his power as Speaker at the time that bill was under consideration to have brought about its passage, but he resisted the strongest kind of party pressure and absolutely refused to enter- tain the idea of a cloture rule. If such a rule had been made it is probable that the bill would have been passed. He rose above the partisan to the height of a patriot. Mr. Blaine was a great man — one of the greatest this country has ever produced. Hamilton Fish was Secretary of State when Mr. Blaine was the Speaker of the House of Representa- FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 591 tives. His first expression on hearing of the great statesman’s death was: “A great man has gone.” Continuing, he said : “ His death will be universally regretted, and the unkind things that have been said about him will be, I think, not repeated. He was an affectionate man in his own family, and during the eight years he lived near me I had an opportunity to see what an interest he took in his family, and what love and admiration he had for his children. But his death will not only be mourned by his widow and children. For months the whole country has been watching at his bedside and the whole country will mourn its loss. I cannot say too much of Mr. Blaine’s ability. Had he not been so great and brilliant he might have been President. He was a great man when he first entered upon a political career. He became greater as years rolled by. He has been accused of sensational things, but when Secretary of State under Harrison he did nothing of a rash or sensational sort. Blaine was a man with a most remark- able memory and in debate he could quote figures for hours without referring to notes. He was certainly the greatest American of his time, and during the latter years of his life the people had every confidence in him, and they felt assured that if he ever had reached the Presidential chair his administration would have been conservative and prosperous. The nation has lost its greatest citizen ; his unique place in history will never be filled. 592 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. A REMARKABLE MAN. William M. Evarts, ex-Secretary of State and ex- Senator, was always a great admirer of Mr. Blaine’s abilities as a great statesman. Mr. Evarts said : It is the close of a very eventful political career. Mr. Blaine was one of the most bril- liant public men in the history of the country. Besides his brilliant public career, he attracted about him more personal admiration and applause than any man of his time. His hold in a place of history and in the affections of the people of the United States will live long after his death. My acquaintance with Mr. Blain-e was intimate and agreeable for many years, and I followed with interest the career of the most conspicuous personality in recent public life. Mr. Blaine was an able presiding officer in the House, and in the Senate he ably demonstrated his capacity and ability readily to grasp the great questions of the day. At one time there was no orator in America who was more than his equal, and in debate he was an antag- onist worthy to meet. His memory was something marvellous, and facts and figures, when necessary, were always at his tongue’s end. He had one great ambition. He had the right to it. There are others who aspired to the Presidency, and were as capable as Mr. Blaine of administering the affairs of the highest office in the land, but, like Henry Clay, it was destined that he should never reach the White House. But his fame could not have been greater had he reached the height of his ambition. His place in his- FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 593 tory will always remain. More ample testimony as to his brilliant and varied career, accomplishments and services may well await a later day. blaine’s own state does him honor. The following proclamation was issued from the Executive Department on the death of James G. Blaine. State of Maine Executive Chamber, Augusta, Jan. 27, 1893. To the People of Maine: — The Governor announces with feelings of profound sorrow that the Hon. James G. Blaine died in the city of Washington this forenoon at the hour of 11 o’clock. His long, faithful and distinguished service to his State and to the country is fully recognized and appre- ciated. His noble life was filled with usefulness. He was highly honored while living, and his death is sin- cerely and deeply mourned by every household in the land. In recognition of his most eminent career, and as a manifestation of the high respect entertained for his memory, the Governor directs that the national flag be at once displayed at half-mast upon the public buildings of the State, and during the funeral services all the departments of the Executive branch of the State government be closed. Henry B. Cleaves, Governor, The Legislature appointed a committee to attend the funeral of Mr. Blaine, also one to draw up appro- priate resolutions, and then adjourned until Monday. Memorial services were held by the Legislature on 38 594 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. the day of the funeral. Governor Cleaves and Gen- eral Selden Connor, chief of staff, represented the State at the funeral services. GENERAL REGRET IN CHICAGO. Although it had been known for weeks that Mr. Blaine was hopelessly ill, the news of his death came with something like a shock to the majority of the people of Chicago. Everywhere there were heard expressions of sorrow and regret that so able a man had been taken from the service of his country. Political differences were obliterated and Democrats and Republicans alike uttered tributes of respect for the dead statesman. The general expressions re- minded one of the scene in the last Democratic Na- tional Convention, when resolutions of sympathy with Mr. Blaine on the death of his son, Emmons, were passed by a rising vote. Mr. Blaine’s death was the topic of conversation at the clubs, hotels, public offices, Board of Trade, Stock Exchange, and all places where men congregate. Mayor Washburne ordered the flag on the City Hall to be lowered to half-mast, and Marshal Hitchcock caused the Stars and Stripes over the Federal Building also to be placed at half- mast. The Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, Minister of Trade and Commerce, who frequently met Mr. Blaine during the reciprocity negotiations at Washington, said that he did not share in the belief prevalent that Mr. Blaine was unfriendly toward Canada. From experience he had learned to regard Mr. Blaine as an advanced and FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 595 liberal-minded statesman, ever disposed to do justice to every country. KIND WORDS FROM ADLAI E. STEVENSON. “I shall ever retain most kindly memories of this great statesman, and his family have my profound sympathy in this their hour of deepest sorrow.” These were the words with which Vice-President-elect Stevenson closed a brief interview on the death of Mr. Blaine. “Mr. Blaine was a great debater — a man of wonderful eloquence. Life, color, passion and per- sonality were all thrown into his address. He com- bined with his eloquence such a thorough knowledge of his subject and such a complete mastery of detail that his argument seemed irresistible. “ He possessed to a large degree that magnetism which appeals to friend and foe — that something which made men follow his leadership wherever he led them. As a popular idol, as a great leader of his party, no statesman in modern times had a more de- voted following, possibly none had engendered more bitter opposition among sections of his own followers than Mr. Blaine. Mr. Blaine had many warm personal friends among Democrats.” o TRIBUTE FROM CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. Mr. Depew gave the following highly appreciative estimate of the dead statesman : Blaine was easily the most interesting and con- spicuous figure in the United States. He held this position and had this unique distinction for a longer period than any other American statesman. He alone 596 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. of our public men aroused the curiosity and fixed the attention of Europe upon his opinions and purposes. He was a factor of equal and commanding importance in our affairs, whether in or out of office. He had a following for a quarter of a century whose ardor and enthusiasm neither time nor defeat could cool or quench. It is rare that a party leader combines the intelligence which secures the assent of his party and the personal qualities which win the affections of his partisans. The Scotch-Irish blood of Mr. Blaine hap- pily blended the clear, cold and keen intellect of the one race and the susceptibility and impressionability of the other. The secret of his success is not difficult to find. He was always in close touch with the people. This ready sympathy with popular aspirations and quick determination to meet them aroused the distrust of the critic and the terror of the conservative. For that reason he always had the opposition of Mug-wumps. The rapidity with which he arrived at conclusions and the certainty and suddenness with which he acted upon them created among these classes distrust and suspicion. They charged him with ulterior motives and secret machinations. But the real source of his power was his frankness and transparent candor. The plain people of the country did not misunderstand him. He was pecu- liarly the representative of American ideas. His ad- vanced position and aggressive attitude in our foreign relations excited the liveliest apprehensions in Europe FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 597 and hostility at home. His action on those questions was the natural result of the intense pride and ambi- tion in the progress and power of the United States which were the moving influences of his life. The American people, as a rule, look with great doubt upon spectacular exhibitions by public men. If, however, the dramatic surprise has in it the elements of victory, then they are captured by the episode, as they were by the fall of Vicksburg on the Fourth of July, or Sherman’s march to the sea. Mr. Blaine’s defiant attitude and daring counter- assault upon his enemies in the midst of the canvass- ing for a Presidential nomination, when h-e rushed down the aisle of the House of Representatives and himself read and presented the letters which it was charged would Incriminate him, was one of the most brilliant, daring and triumphant movements in par- liamentary history. ' It sent a thrill of pride through the households of his friends, and of admiration through those of his enemies, all over the land. H is sudden and angry attack upon the McKinley bill before the committee which had it in charge, when he smashed his hat upon the copy of the bill and declared that there was nothing in it for the farmer, led to the examination and revision which enabled that bill to become a law. HIS WONDERFUL MEMORY. Senator Sawyer, of Wisconsin, tells the following as to Mr. Blaine’s wonderful memory for names and faces:' “In 1874,” he said, “ Mr. Blaine made a speech 598 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. in Wisconsin and he stopped with me. While he was there I gave a dinner in Mr. Blaine’s honor, to which I invited Mr. Meyer, of Fond-du-Lac. In 1891, more than sixteen years afterward, Mr. Meyer came here and I took him to call on Mr. Blaine. Before we got there we met Mr. Blaine, and when within about forty feet of him he walked quickly forward and without any hesitation said : ‘ Mr. C. L. J. Meyer, how do you do ? ’ ” A gentleman of the party with Senator Sawyer, said : “ I was with Mr. Blaine when he visited Lan- caster, O., during a campaign. Mr. Blaine had lived there, and he got a great reception. He remembered all the old residents. Finally some one brought in a man whom they said he would not remember. “Mr. Blaine replied: ‘Yes, I do, give me a little time.’ -Pretty soon he remarked to the man, ‘I never saw you but once,’ and then he told this story : “ ‘ When I was a boy there was great excitement one day because a convict had escaped from the Columbus Penitentiary, and had been tracked into that neigh- borhood. Police arrested him, and I (Mr. Blaine) was one of the crowd around. The man was taken to a blacksmith shop and had fetters riveted on him by the blacksmith. You (turning to the man) and I walked home to Lancaster tog-ether after that.’ ” o THE SORROW OF DIPLOMATS. The death of Mr. Blaine occasioned great regret among the members of the diplomatic corps at the Capital, with nearly all of whom his relations were quite intimate. Baron Fava, the Italian Minister, dean FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 599 of the corps, said: “Personally, the death of Mr. Blaine is a great affliction. He was in office as Sec- retary of State when I reached Washington, nearly thirteen years ago, and went with me to the President when I presented my credentials. Since then our relations have been very pleasant. The loss to the country of one of its greatest men I can appreciate, and I desire to express the sorrow, not only of myself, but of all my associates in the Diplomatic College, at the sad event which has so afflicted your country.” Mr. Le Ghait, the Belgian Minister, who was with Baron Fava when the reporter saw him, gave his con- currence to the expressions of sorrow, and said that the members of the diplomatic corps would desire to manifest in the most pronounced manner their appre- ciation of the worth of the dead statesman, and would take part as a body in his funeral if it were a public ceremonial, as they understood it would be. MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY. It is impossible to estimate even approximately the number of callers who left cards at the Blaine mansion on the day of his death. Mr. Blaine was known the world over and from every part of the globe mes- sages of sympathy and sorrow are coming. Here are a few telegrams given out this evening : President-elect Grover Cleveland. — His brilliant statesmanship will always be an inspiration to the nation he has served so long and so well. Permit me to extend my sympathy on the death of your distin- guished husband. 600 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. Gov. Roswell P. Flower, of New York. — My great respect and admiration for your late husband prompts me to send this word of sympathy in your bereave- ment. The country will mourn his loss as that of a brilliant statesman and true friend. Gov. Pattison, of Pennsylvania. — The sad message of the death of Mr. Blaine has just reached me. You have my heartfelt sympathy. The people of his native State were greatly devoted to him while living and mourn with you his death. Gov, Crounse, of Nebraska. — The people of Ne- braska weep with you over the death of your distin- guished husband. The solace for our sorrow comes from the brilliant inheritance he has bequeathed the nation. Gov. Cleaves, of Maine. — Permit me to express to you the great sorrow felt by the people of Maine at the death of Mr. Blaine. You are assured of their deepest sympathy and that the entire States mourns with you. Robert T. Lincoln, Minister to Great Britain. — We lose a dear friend and deeply sympathize with you and your children in your great affliction. Chief-Justice Melville W. Fuller. — Accept my sincere sympathy. Gov. McKinley, of Ohio. — Please receive our sincere sympathy on the death of your noble husband. The people of Ohio share in your great sorrow and lament the death of an illustrious statesman. Gen. R. A. Alger. — The nation has lost its foremost FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 601 and best beloved citizen, but the name of your hus- band and the love of all classes, parties and creeds for him shall never die. lames S. Clarkson. — We send you loving sympathy from the sorrowing hearts of a household in which love of Mr. Blaine has long been a sweet and sacred thing. J. B. Foraker. — Mrs. Foraker joins me in tender- ing sympathy. The death of Mr. Blaine is a national loss that will be recognized and deplored by all Ameri- cans regardless of political differences. Andrew Carnegie. — The sad news is everywhere. The whole city seems stricken with grief. We shall, of course, return to pay our last tribute. Gov. Boies, of Iowa. — The whole nation mourns the death of your gifted husband. Nowhere within its borders is sorrow for him or sympathy for you more sincere than among his multitude of friends in Iowa. COMMENTS BY NEWSPAPERS. From the Inter-Ocean, Chicago. The death of James G. Blaine, though on account of his long illness fully anticipated, will cause a spasm of grief throughout the country. Anticipation of death is not always the realization of that great change. It is human never to be ready for the death of loved ones, and it is only when the eternal harvester cuts the cord and removes every shred that can sustain hope that we realize that they are gone from us for- ever. And certainly Mr. Blaine was a man loved and 602 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. cherished by the American people. He was one of them, and they clung to him through good and evil report with a tenacity that defied all efforts, both of friends and foes. Other characters may have cast grander shadows over the nation and impressed the people with a sense of greater obligation for services rendered, but no other excited their imaginations and stirred their feelings to such an extent as did James G. Blaine. It must be said of Mr. Blaine as of all other great political leaders, that he was not always wise nor was he always just, but whom the people much love they forgive much, and if they ever charged up any of these errors of judgment or temper against Mr. Blaine, they wrote them in the sand and the lines disappeared with the waves of returning enthusiasm which invariably came when he again spoke to them. Mr. Blaine was a man of comprehensive information with a wonderful faculty for placing that information interestingly and clearly before others. He was bold yet diplomatic both in action and speech. His state papers will take rank with those of our greatest secretaries. There was a directness and American rinof about them that found an echo in every American heart. It is, however, as the political leader that Mr. Blaine will live in history and in the memory of his country- men. As such he is not comparable with any of his contemporaries, nor is it probable that his like will again be seen in American politics for a long time. FRIENDLY TRIBUTES. 603 From the Courier-Journal, Louisville. Among the modern leaders of American party politics James G. Blaine stood easily first. In the power of drawing to himself the admiration of great masses of the people, and of arousing the enthusiasm of his followers, he had no equal in either political camp. A certain lack of prestige which marked his brief service in the Senate may be traced directly to the circumstance that he was not a trained lawyer. No man has ever made a career in the Senate — that crave- O yard of Presidential hopes and coffin of slain ambi- tions — who was not. But as a commoner upon the floor of the national House of Representatives, Mr. Blaine was a Titan. He was a Titan before the people. He was a Titan among his political asso- ciates in the closet and at the round table where party plans are laid and party plans decided. Mr. Blaine’s lot was cast in high party lines. In political controversy he neither asked nor gave quarter. But in his private intercourse he was altogether free from political prejudices, unreserved and generous to his adversaries, genial to all, and altogether delightful as a companion. He was not so august as Clay nor so unguarded as Douglas, but he will rank with those for a party leader and be classed with them and com- pared to them by the biographers, for as political chieftains and popular debaters the trio possessed much in common. Peace to the ashes of a noble adversary ! All 604 LIFE OF HON. JAMES G. BLAINE. honor to the name of a great American ! At last the Plumed Knight has joined the knightly throng whom the ages have assembled on the other side. From the American, Baltimore. Mr. Blaine was the foremost figure of his time in American public life, and this was due to the extraor- dinary qualities of the man. His name came to be reckoned among the half-dozen names which consti- tute the crowning galaxy of American statesmanship. No man in American politics filled a broader space for a longer period than Mr. Blaine, and the country loses him while in the maturity of his splendid powers. From the Constitution, Atlanta. Mr. Blaine’s death removes one of the most brilliant and picturesque figures in modern politics. Com- paring him with Henry Clay as a partisan, Blaine had a better hold on the public mind, though Clay was a greater man as a statesman, while not cutting such a figure in politics. The people, regardless of party, instinctively knew that at his best Mr. Blaine was a representative American, a man ardently in love with his whole country and its institutions.