::; ■I •if ^^ ^^.. ^^^- Life and Public Services OF Grover Cleveland, Twenty-second President of the United States and Democratic Nominee for Re-election in 1892. AN INTRODUCTORY SKETCH BY THE LATE HON. WILLIAM DORSHEIMER, ENLARGED AND CONTINUED THROUGH HIS ADMINISTRATION, WITH A STATEMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AND A HAND BOOK OF USEFUL POLITICAL INFORMATION BY W. U. Hensel, Attorney-General of Pennsylvania; ALSO, A Sketch of the Life and Services of Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice-Presidential Nominee, BV I'RORKSSOR. CHARLKS MORRIS, , w ILLUSTRATED. ^ I Edgevvood Publishing Company. Copyright, 1892, by J. Frank Beale, Jr. TABLE OF CONTENTS. LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. FAGB. Chapikr L Parentage, Early Life, and Education 21 *• TI. His Career at the Buffalo Bar 32 " TIL The Mayorality and Municipal Reform 40 ** IV. The Democratic Canvass for Governor in N. v., in 1882 52 " V. First Year as Governor 61 " VI. Second Year as Governor 74 " VII. Canvass and Convention of '84 93 '• VIII. Cleveland-Blaine Presidential Campaign 99 " IX. Preparing for the New Administration " X. The Inauguration I32 " XL The President and Congress 161 " XII. Courtship and Marriage 180 " XIII. The President's Tours 202 •• XIV. Tour to the South and West 224 XV. The Veto Power 241^^ •♦ XVL Democratic Tariff Reform 268 " XVII. Convention of 1888 287 " XVIII. The 1888 Election Campaign 295 " XIX. The End of the Century 304 " XX. In Private Life 318 " XXL National Convention of 1892 333 LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. Chai'TKR I. The Office of Vice-President 351 " 11. Early Days in Business Life 359 " III. Political Career 367 " IV. Domestic Life 379 TABLE OF CONTENTS. PRINCIPLES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. PAGE. Chapter I. The Principles of Washington 3S5 II. III. IV. V. VI. Jefferson 390 Madison 393 Jackson 396 Tilden 403 Tariff Reform 4JI / LIVES OF ALL THE PRESIDENTS. George Washington 439 John Adams 451 Thomas Jefferson 455 James Madison 461 James Monroe ..464 John Quincy Adams 468 Andrew Jackson 472 Martin Van Buren 479 William Henry Harrison 482 John Tyler 486 James Knox Polk 490 Zachary Taylor 494 Millard Fillmore 499 Franklin Pierce 503 James Buchanan 506 ABRAHAM Lincoln 511 Andrew Johnson 519 Ulysses S. Grant 522 Rutherford B. Hayes 530 James A. Garfield 532 Chester A. Arthur 537 Benjamin Harrison 541 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. Grover Cleveland, (Steel ) Frontispiece. State Street and Capitol, Albany, N. Y 52 Governor's Mansion, " " 66 Governor's Room in Statk Catitoi 84 South Front, White IIoi'se 90 Hon. John M. Palmer (II If-tonc) 100 Democratic Nominating Convention ok 1SS4... 108 Governor Roswell P. Flower 116 East Front of Cai'ITOL, Washington 120 Starting for the Lnauguration 132 Thomas F. Bayard 138 Augustus II. Garland 142 William C. Whitney i }6 W. C. Endicott 150 William F. Vilas 154 Thomas A. Hendricks 158 Samuel J. Tilden 158 L. Q. C. Lamar 176 Mrs. Grover Cleveland 184 President Cleveland's Wedding 190 Rose E. Cleveland 194 Rev. Byron Sunderland, D. D 194 The State Dining Room 198 The East Room 198 Gov. Robert E. Pattison 215 Greeting at the Railroad Station 224 Ex-Governor CAMrBELL 230 Chief Justice Fuller 284 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Sen. Wade Hampton 300 William L. Wilson 316 William M. Springer 332 Hon. Adlai E, Stevenson (Halftone) 349 Benton McMillan 366 W. S. HoLMAN 382 Hon, W. R. Morrison 398 Charles F. Crisp (Halftone) 414 Arthur P. Gorman " 430 Hon. Isaac P. Gray '« 434 Henry Watterson " ~ 452 Gov. PIorace Boies " 468 Calvin S. Price " 484 David B. Hill " 500 Gov. William E. Russell (Half-tone) 516 CHAPTER I. PARENTAGE, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATION. G ROVER CLEVELAND was born at Cald- well, Essex County, N. J., on the i8th day of March, 1837. His father, Richard F. Cleveland, was a Presbyterian minister, the son of William Cleveland, a watchmaker, who lived at Norwich, Conn. His mother was Anna Neal, the daughter of an Irishman, a bookseller and publisher in Baltimore, Md., who had married Barbara Real, a German Quakeress, of German- town, Pa. The child who has become President of the United States was baptized in infancy Ste- phen Grover, the name of his father's predecessor in the Caldwell pastorate, but early in life young Cleveland dropped the first name. In 1 841 the Rev. Richard F. Cleveland moved to Fayetteville, Onondaga County, N. Y. The fam- ily lived there nine years and then removed to Clinton, Oneida County, and in 1853 to Holland Patent, a small village fifteen miles north of Utica. Three weeks after he began his ministry here he died, leaving a widow and nine children, of whom Grover was the third. The mother upon whom this sudden responsi- bility had fallen was a woman of dignified appear- ance, with a kindly face and unusual strength of 21 22 . LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. character. She combined the traits of her Irish and German ancestors. She Hved to rear and educate her large family and died in April, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland are buried in the cemetery at Holland Patent. Their children have erected a monument to mark their graves It bears the foUowinp- inscriptions : Rev. R. F. CLEVELAND, Pastor at Holland Patent, Died Oct. i, 1853 Aged 49 years. ANNA NEAL, Wife of R. F. Cleveland, Died July 10, 1882, Aged 78 years. Her children arise up And call her blessed. Grover had received such teaching as the country schools could furnish. But his father's narrow means compelled him to earn his living as soon as possible, and when he was fourteen years of age he became a clerk in a country store at Fayetteville. His salary the first year was fifty dollars, and he was to have one hundred dollars the second year. The removal of the family to Clinton gave Grover an opportunity to attend the academy there, and he left Fayetteville before the end of the second year. At Clinton he pursued the usual preparatory studies, intending to enter PARENTAGE, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATION. 23 Hamilton College. But his father's death shut him out of college and compelled him to begin the struggle of life. He was then seventeen years old. His elder brother William had found employ- ment as a teacher in the New York Institution for the Blind, which is situated on Ninth Avenue between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth streets^ In October, 1853, William was appointed princi- pal in the male department, and about the same time Grover was appointed his assistant. The pupils were taught orally, there being at that time few text-books which could be read by the sense of touch. Grover remained at the institution a little more than a year. He passed the winter of 1854-5 at his mother's house in Holland Patent This was the last of his home life. A neighbor, the late Ingham Townsend, who had become Interested in the youth, proposed to him that he should enter college with a view of making the ministry his profession, but the young man's mind was already fixed upon the law, and declining his friend's offer, he asked him for a loan of twenty- five dollars, to carry him to Cleveland, Ohio, where he hoped for employment in a lawyer's office. On his way west he stopped in Buffalo to visit his uncle, Lewis F. Allen. Mr. Allen, who is still living at an advanced age, was one of the most influential citizens of Buffalo. He was the owner of a large farm on Grand Island, in the Niagara 24 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. river, where he had a herd of short-horn catde, and Hved at Black Rock, formerly a separate town, but which had been lately annexed to Buffalo. Mr. Allen's house is pleasantly situated on the bank of the river, and in the midst of con- siderable grounds. It is an ample old-fashioned brick building, and was built by General Peter B. Porter, who lived there for many years. A broad hall runs from the front door to the western piazza, which commands a wide view of the Niagara and the Canadian shore. A mile or two to the north-west are the ruins of Fort Erie, the scene of desperate fighting during the War of 1 812, in which General Porter had been gready distinguished. At this point the river is an inter- esting sight. It sweeps by with a current oi between six and seven miles an hour and its broad green surface is flecked with foam and broken by countless eddies. It is not difficult for one who looks upon the tumultuous river and listens to its deep voice to imagine that it feels some premoni- tion of the agony which awaits it below. Grover was no stranger to his uncle's hospitable roof He had made frequent visits there during his boyhood. He told Mr. Allen of his intention to go to Cleveland and study law. But his uncle strongly advised him to remain in Buffalo. The young man had no acquaintances in Cleveland, while Mr. Allen knew all the principal people in Buffalo and held close and friendly relations with PARENTAGE, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATION. 25 them. Mr. Allen had, not long before, begun the compilation of the "Short-horn Herd Book," and he proposed that Grover should assist him, offering him compensation and a comfortable home. In the autumn, on Mr. Allen's application, Grover entered the law office of Henr^^ W. Rogers and Denis Bowen, who, under the firm name of Roeers & Bowen, did a large business at the bar of Erie County. Thus began Grover Cleveland's life in Buffalo. It may be well enough to consider his surround- ings. Buffalo was then a city with about one hundred thousand inhabitants. It was a com- mercial and manufacturing community, and held in its control the lake commerce, then growling into great dimensions. There were many notable men among its citizens. Mr. Fillmore had two years before left the Presidency and returned to live there. His neighbor, Nathan K. Hall, who had served in his cabinet as Postmaster-General, was United States Judge of the Northern District of New York. Solomon G. Haven, a lawyer of remarkable talent, then a member of Congress, was the leader of the bar. Retired from his pro- fession and from politics was Albert H. Tracy, who may be described as the most interesting and distinguished figure in Buffalo at that time. He had been chosen to Cono-ress before he was old enough to take his seat, and had served in the House of Representatives during the admin- 26 LIFE OF GROl^ER CLEVELAND. istrations of Monroe and John Quincy Adams, he had been for eight years in the State Senate ; and in the Court of Errors he had won a judicial reputation, hardly inferior to any in the history of the State. He had acted both with the Whig and the Democratic parties. But it was his misfortune to be out of relation, in both instances, with the leader of his parties. He despised Jackson, and disliked Clay. He had assisted Seward, Weed, and Fillmore to create the Whig party, and left it in 1840, in the hour of its triumph. Mr. Webster tried to persuade him into Tyler s cabinet with the offer of the Treasury Department, but he declined, preferring, doubtless, to- retain his Dem- ocratic associations which the acceptance of Mr. Webster's offer would have broken. Mr. Tracy never held office afterwards. He devoted so much (3f his time as was necessary to the care of his estate, but gave himself chiefly to reading and the society of those who interested him. Mr. Tracy exercised a great influence over all young men who came within his reach, and it is impos- sible to speak of Buffalo at that time without recalling his gracious presence, his kindly counsels and his delightful and instructive conversation. Mr. Allen was one of Mr. Tracy's intimate friends and the nephew was soon taken to the Tracy house. The gentlemen who made the firm of Rogers & Bowen were both notable men. Henry W. Pa RE NT A GE, EARLY L IFE, AND ED UCA TION. 2 ) Renders was a large man with a somewhat loud but hearty manner. He had at command a great store of anecdote, and without being witty he easily said smart things, and still more easily bitter ones. Mr. Rogers was the advocate of the firm, and was a strong jury lawyer. Denis Bowen was a very different person. He was quiet and unobtrusive, never went into court, nor ever sought publicity. He was a master of detail, an excellent business lawyer, with a calm dispassionate judgment to which his clients trusted implicitly. Beneath a somewhat cold manner was hidden a most gentle disposition, and Denis Bowen was not only greatly respected, but greatly loved by those among whom he lived. At that time upon the bench of the Superior Court were Isaac A. Verplanck, Joseph G. Hasten and George W. Clinton. The latter of these is still extensively known, and I will, therefore, not speak of him. Judge Verplanck had a vigorous and thoroughly unpartial mind, and a huge unwieldy body. No one could ever find how much he weighed. He once made a journey to the plains in the stage-coach days, with Mr. Fargo and a party of gentlemen. It was arranged that the coach should be driven on to the scales at the next station and weighed, passengers and all, and then. Verplanck' s weight was to be got by deducting the weight of the coach and the other passengers. But no sooner did the driver pull up than the 28 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. Judge, who was as quick of mind as slow of body, saw what his friends were at, and jumped from the coach before its weight could be taken. Judge Verplanck was a good lawyer and an excellent judge. As a nisi prius judge he could not be excelled. His dislike of work made him impa- tient of delay, and eager to get through. Busi- ness before him was done rapidly. But it Avas in criminal cases that his generous heart showed itself. There was little danger that injustice would be done in his court to any criminal, how- ever wretched, friendless, or guilty. Once he sent for a young lawyer and asked him to defend a man charged with murder. The youthful advocate pleaded his inexperience and dread of the respon- sibility. '* Have no fear," said the Judge; "I will see to it that your client does not suffer." In private Judge Verplanck was the pleasantest of companions. He was fond of food, of wine and good company. There was no bitterness in his temper, but always a genial sunshine which made him welcome everywhere. Joseph G. Masten was by far the most learned lawyer in Buffalo. Those who knew him and others well enough to judge, thought there was no better lawyer anywhere. Like Verplanck, he had a great social charm, and was a prominent figure in a society full of able and interesting men. After the death of Mr. Haven, which took place PARENTAGE, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATION 2^ in 1 86 1, John Garlson came to be the leader of the Buffalo bar. He had a clear and vigorous intellect and untiring industry. He had been carefully educated and thoroughly trained for his profession. No one could equal him in the care with which his causes were prepared, nor in the clearness with which, brushinor aside all extrane- ous matter, he presented the essential points of his argument. He had no eloquence, but liis lucidity and conciseness, and his instinct for the strong points of a case, made him a very success- ful advocate. He served with distinction in Con- gress and in the State Senate, and his sudden death, in 1874, brought to a close a career which was full of promise. The principal person in Buffalo society at that time was Dr. Walter Cary, a gentleman widely known in this country and in Europe. The doc- tor had retired from his profession by reason of delicate health. A large estate and a ready dis- position to new enterprises, gave him abundant occupation. Travel and society were his chief pleasures, and the influence of his example did much to give to Buffalo its reputation for hospi- tality. Albert Haller Tracy was the oldest son of Albert H. Tracy, mentioned above. He and Grover Cleveland were about the same age. After his father's death, by which event he came into a large fortune, Tracy retired from the pro- 30 Life of g rover cLevelanIj. fesslon in which he might easily have won distinc- tion. He had a mind remarkable for judgment and moderation. His knowledge of men and affairs was extensive, his reading considerable, and his memory most retentive. I have mentioned the most prominent men in the city in which Grover Cleveland had made his home, where his character was to be formed, his career begun, and where he was to find an entrance, if he ever did, into the path which should lead him to fame and greatness. I have, however, spoken only of the dead. There are many living persons who should be mentioned, if it were intended to make a complete description of the associations in which Cleveland found him- self ; but I am not permitted to speak of the living with the freedom which would be necessary. It will thus be seen that before he was twenty years old, Cleveland had begun the study of his profession under most favorable circumstances. He was in the family of an uncle who lived com- fortably and well. He was thrown into associa- tion with men of talent and distinction. He was in the employ of a firm of able and successful lawyers, who were entrusted with very important affairs. Thenceforth there was no element of hardship in Cleveland's life. He probably never knew what want was. He had all that it was possible to have. He had opportunity as full and com- PARENTAGE, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATION. 3I plete as if he had been born to wealth. Indeed, he had, in the necessity for exertion, a stimulant and a training which wealth could not have given him. The transplanted tree had found a con- genial soil. Grover Cleveland remained with Rogers & Bowen, as student and clerk, until 1863. At the outbreak of the war, the question had come to him as to the duty he owed his country. While teaching in New York, and while studying in Buffalo, he had always sent whatever money he could spare to his mother. He was then earning enough to make his contributions of importance to the family. It was therefore decided that the two younger brothers should go to the army, and that the bread winner should stay and work for the support of his mother and sisters. In 1872, these younger brothers, who had rep- resented the family in the army during the Civil War, were drowned at sea, in the burning of the Steamship Missouri near the Island of Abaco, October 2 2d. In that disaster they exhibited un- usual coolness and courage ; they stood by the boats when they were lowered and helped the passengers into them, doing the work the fright- ened officers should have done. But when the boats were lowered there was no room for them and they went down with the ship. CHAPTER II. HIS CAREER AT THE BUFFALO BAR. G ROVER CLEVELAND had been admit- ted to the bar In 1859, and in January, 1 863, he was appointed Assistant District Attor- ney for the County of Erie. This position brought young Cleveland into court, and accustomed him to the trial of causes. Atthattime the District Attorney had but one assistant, and upon him fell a large share of the work of the office. His industry and evenness of temper fitted him, peculiarly, for his duties, and he soon held a more important relation to the public business than it had been usual for an Assistant District Attorney to have. This was, perhaps, due, in part, to the fact that Mr. Torrance, the District Attorney, did not live in the city, but in a village twenty-five miles dis- tant. He therefore naturally left much to the capable and Industrious assistant, who was con- stantly at hand. The three years In the District Attorney's office were of great value to Cleve- land. They gave him confidence In himself, accustomed him to the trial of causes and to addressing juries ; enabled him to make a wide acquaintance among the people in the country 32 HIS CAREER Ar THE BUFFALO BAR. 3^ towns, as well as in the city, and attracted to him the attention of clients and the bar. The Assistant District Attorneyship also brought him into politics. From the time of his acceptance of that office, he was known as a Democratic politician. Mr. Dean Richmond, a man of singular ability and force of character, was then the principal Democrat in Western New York, and governed local affairs with a firm hand. At the expiration of Mr. Torrance's term, Cleve- land received the Democratic nomination for District Attorney. His nomination to so import- ant an office, when he was only twenty-nine years old, is the strongest evidence that can be given of the standing he had obtained in the community and in his profession. His opponent was Lyman K. Bass, a young Republican lawyer, afterwards a member of Congress, and who has been pre- vented by ill-health from completely fulfilling the promise of his youth. After a heated canvass, Cleveland was beaten, a result not to be wondered at, for the county then usually went Republican. An old political friend well remembers meeting Cleveland the day after the election, and recalls the perfect coolness and good humor with which he took his defeat. He at once resumed the practice of his profession, and soon formed a partnership with the late Isaac V. Vanderpool. In 1 867, the late William Dor- sheimer having been appointed, by President John- 34- ^iFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. son, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, offered Cleveland an appointment as Assistant District Attorney. This offer he declined, for the reason that the duties of the office would require frequent absence from the city, and he preferred to attend to his rapidly- growing clientage. He soon after became asso- ciated with the late A. P. Lanning and Oscar Folsom, a young companion of Cleveland, who had taken the Assistant Attorneyship which the former had declined. The name of the new firm was Lanning, Cleveland & Folsom. The daugh- ter of the last named gentleman is now the Pres- ident's wife. In the autumn of 1870, Cleveland's polit- ical friends offered him the nomination for sheriff of the county. " Now," said he, to a friend whose advice he asked, " I know that it is not usual for lawyers to be sheriffs. I do not remember of any lawyer being a sheriff. But, there are some reasons why I should consider the matter carefully. I have been compelled to earn my living since I was seventeen. I have never had time for reading, nor for thorough pro- fessional study. The sheriff's ofifice would take me out of practice, but it would keep me about the courts, and in professional relations. It would give me considerable leisure, which I could devote to self-improvement. Besides, it would enable me to save a modest competency, and give me HIS CAREER AT THE BUFFALO BAR. 35 the pecuniary independence which otherwise I may never have. I have come for your advice. What would you do in my place?" His friend strongly recommended him to accept the nomination. He received the same advice from other friends. He took the nomination and was elected. Naturally, some of the duties of the sheriff's office were grievously distasteful to him, but he performed them with that strong sense of duty which has always characterized him. He used the opportunities of the position as he had said he would. He made a considerable saving, and he gave his leisure time to profes- sional and other studies. As soon as he returned to the bar the effect was noticeable. He was a stroneer and a broader man than he had been before, and he at once took a higher place than he had ever held. At the close of his term as sheriff, he formed a partnership with his old" antagonist, Lyman K. Bass, and Wilson S. Bissell. Failing health com- pelled Mr. Bass to remove to Colorado, and after- wards Mr. George J. Sicard entered the firm, which was known as Cleveland, Bissell & Sicard. From this time, 1874, until his elecdon as Mayor, Cleveland practiced his profession with constantly increasing success. He came to have great skill in trying causes, and his arguments to the court In banc were noticeable for lucidity and thorough- ness. Many important matters were entrusted to 36 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. him, and before he again took office he was beginning to receive large fees. There can be no doubt that, had he remained at the bar, he would have won a'^ ^t-eat a success as the theatre in which he acted permit. But during the.^ j^\ iS of professional labor, Cleveland was not indifferent to politics. Indeed, he was all the time si ^unsellor of his party. After the death of Dean' Richtnon^, in 1866, Joseph Warren, the edito^^Sf the Courier, became the head of the Democ nic organization in Buf- falo. He was a native of Vermont, who had, when a very young man, gone to Albany, and from there to Buffalo. ' ^"^und employment in the editorial office of the rier, while the late William A. Seaver was s proprietor and editor. Upon the retirement of Mr. Seaver, he succeeded to the control of the paper -^nd was one of its prin- cipal owners. Mr. Wan en directed party affairs with great judgment and self-control. He never aspired to office himself, was very appreciative of the talents of others, and always ready to aid in advancing the fortunes of his friends. He was, besides, a promoter o^ all the generous enter- prises which promised to add to the prosperity of the city. All the public institutions were aided by his wise counsel and unselfish labors. Mr. War- ren was a warm friend o^ Cleveland's, and was one of the first to recognize his talents and predict his success. He died in 1876, and thenceforward HIS CAREER AT THE BUFFALO BAR. Zl Cleveland was drawn Into more responsible politi- cal relations. He was not willing to take the local leadership, which he might easily have had, for he could not give to it the necessary time and atten- tion. But he served ov\ pa ^y committees, and there was little done in * ^', matters in Buffalo as to which his advice was not taken. When he went to Albany, many 'lought him ignorant of political n|":thods. i.ac they were greatly mis- taken. Few men kn . vv practical politics better than he. During all these years,he had been a Democrat of Democrats. Through good report and evil report, he had stood ""'^h his party. Neither success nor defeat jor an instant, diminished his allegiance or his lk^s> During the early period of Cleveland's Buffalo life the city had begun a new career. Its wealth had greatly increasei^...and a number of young men with more education than their elders had become active in affairs. A desire for a higher civilization began to show itself The Young Men's Association, which maintained a small library and a course k}\.^ public lectures in the winter, had long been the principal, and it may be said the only literary society. But it had lan- guished upon a meagre income. During this time a movement was set cioot to secure an endow- ment for it. Througa the exertion of several gentlemen, among whom the late S. V, R. Wat- -38 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. son was most prominent, a fund of between eighty and ninety thousand dollars was raised by subscription and the sale of life-memberships. A valuable property was purchased and the associa- tion provided with an abundant income. During this period the Buffalo Historical Society, of which Mr. Fillmore was the first president, was formed, and also the Buffalo Academy of Fine Arts. Both of these institutions excited the interest of the more liberal citizens. It doubtless seemed to many, an ambitious undertaking to establish an Academy of Fine Arts in a place so given over to business as Buffalo. Once, in those early days, Ralph Waldo Emerson went through the gallery, which was then largely made up of pictures on sale contributed by the artists of New York and Boston, but which also contained a number of works, the property of the academy, that were worthy of attention. Said the philosopher : ' * This has begun well and will come to something in the course of the ages." Indeed those who began the work knew as well as any one, how little could be done during their life-time, but they thought a beginning should be made. To this period, also, belongs the Society of Natural History, which owes its success chiefly to the scientific zeal of George W. Clinton. Any traveler who, to-day, shall visit the Institu- tions I have mentioned, and thoroughly examine their collections, will be surprised to find how HIS CAREER AT THE BUFFALO BAR. 39 much has been accompHshed in twenty-five years. He will see that Buffalo has become the centre of literary, artistic and scientific activities, and that forces have been set at work which are sure to strengthen with time, and to greatly influence the character of the place and the lives of its people. Grover Cleveland was hardly old enough to take part in the beginning of these things. But he has done his share of work in building them up to their present prosperous state. CHAPTER III. THE MAYORALTY AND MUNICIPAL REFORM. EIGHT years ago Grover Cleveland was, as has been seen, living quietly in Buffalo and practicing law. Neither he nor any one foresaw the career which was before him^ and upon which he was soon to enter. This may be said without disparagement, for if any intelligent resident of Buffalo had been asked to name a citizen who was by nature fit to be Governor and President, he would have been more likely to mention Cleveland than any other man in the place. The National defeat of 1880 had not seriously impaired Democratic strength in Buffalo, and when the municipal election of 1881 drew near there was a strong feeling that a proper person could be elected to the Mayoralty by the Demo- crats. City affairs were in an unsatisfactory state, and there was a general feeling in favor of munici- pal reform. The party leaders urged Cleveland to take the nomination. At first he refused, but it was pressed upon him with such urgency, and with so strong an appeal to his sense of duty, that he at last consented. His candidacy led to a spirited canvass, and to his election by a majority 40 • MA YORAL TV AM) MUNICIPAL REFORM. 41 of 3500, the largest ever known in the history of the city. He took office as Mayor on the istday of Jan- uary, 1882. He at once called to his side, as his secretary, M r. Harmon S. Cutting, a devoted friend, and a lawyer of excellent standing and great expe- rience, who was unrivalled for his knowledge of municipal law. Mr. Cleveland entered upon his office with a strongf feeling that the affairs of the municipality should, so far as possible, be kept apart from party politics. He could not see why the paving, lighting, and cleaning of streets, should depend upon the exigencies of parties which had been formed upon lines of state or national policy. His first resolve was to do what he thought the interests of the city required, without reference to the effect his action would have upon either the Democratic or the Republi- can party. In his speech accepting the nomination for Mayor, he said : " There is, or there should be, no reason why the affairs of our city should not be managed with the same care and the same economy as private interests ; and when we con- sider that public officials are the trustees of the people and hold their places and exercise their powers for the benefit of the people, there should be no higher inducement to a faithful and honest discharge of public duty." In his inaugural mes- sage, he used the following language : "We hold the money of the people in our 42 LIFE OF GROVEk CLEVELAND. hands, to be used for their purposes and to fui ther their interests as members of the municl pahty, and it is quite apparent that, when any part of the funds which the taxpayers have thus intrusted to us are diverted to other purposes, or when, by design or neglect, we allow a greater sum to be applied to any municipal purpose than is necessary, we have, to that extent, violated our duty. There surely is no difference in his duties and obligations, w^hether a person is intrusted with the money of one man or many." These two declarations laid down the rule by which he meant to be guided. A trust had been placed in his hands, and as a trust he intended to administer his office. The public moneys were to be dealt with as private moneys are dealt with, by a competent and honest trustee. This rule he at once rigidly applied to municipal affairs. He applied it, in a striking manner, to a resolution which was passed by the city council appropriating five hun- dred dollars to defray the expenses attending a proper observance of Decoration Day. It was proposed, that this sum of money should be paid out of what was known as the Fourth of July fund, and therefore the resolution was obnoxious to a provision in the charter of the city, which made it a misdemeanor to appropriate money raised for one purpose to any other object. Upon this ground he refused to approve the resolution. But he also placed his refusal upon broadef Ma yora lty and Municipa l reform. 43^ grounds. In his veto message, among other things, he said : "I deem the object of this appropriation a most worthy one. The efforts of our veteran soldiers to keep aHve the memory of their fallen comrades certainly deserves the aid and encouragement of their fellow-citizens. We should all, I think, feel it a duty and a privilege to contribute to the funds necessary to carry out such a purpose. And 1 should be much disappointed if an appeal to our citizens for voluntary subscriptions for this patri. otic object should be in vain. *' But the money so contributed should be a free gift of the citizens and taxpayers, and should not be extorted from them by taxation. This is so, because the purpose for which this money Is asked does not involve their protection or interest as members of the community, and it may or may not be approved by them. "The people are forced to pay taxes into the city treasury only upon the theory that such ^ money shall be expended for public purposes, or ' purposes in which they all have a direct and practi- "^ cal interest. " The logic of this position leads directly to the conclusion that, if the people are forced to pay - their money into the public fund and it is spent by'" dieir servants and agents for purposes In which the '" people as taxpayers have no interest, the exaction "'' of such taxes from them is oppressive and unjtist; '"' 44 LiM OP GkOvPR CLlLVELAND. "I cannot rid myself of the idea that this cit) government, in its relation to the taxpayers, is a business establishment, and that it is put in our hands to be conducted on business principles. '' This theory does not admit of our donating the public funds in the manner contemplated by the action of your honorable body. "I deem it my duty, therefore, to return both of the resolutions herein referred to without my approval." This act attracted the attention of the whole community. The leading newspapers, without dis- tinction of party, gave it their approval. But in order that the object for which the money had been voted should be accomplished, a subscription was at once set afoot, which the Mayor headed by a liberal contribution. He soon had an opportu- nity to apply his principles to a more important matter. The City Council had awarded the con- tract for cleaning the streets for five years for the sum of four hundred and twenty-two thousand, five hundred dollars. Another party had offered to do the work for one hundred thousand dollars less, and the person to whom the contract had been given had himself, a few weeks before, pro- posed to perform the same service for fifty thou- sand less. This scandalous transaction was dealt with by the Mayor with a commendable directness and frankness ; he returned the resolution with a message, which contained the following language : Mayoralty ANti Municipal reform. 45 " This is a time for plain speech, and my objec- tion to the action of your honorable body now under consideration shall be plainly stated. I withhold my assent from the same, because I regard it as the culmination of a most barefaced, impudent and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people, and to worse than squander the public money. " I will not be misunderstood in this matter. There are those whose votes were given for this resolution whom I cannot and will not suspect of a willful neglect of the interests they are sworn to protect ; but it has been fully demonstrated that there are influences, both in and about your hon- orable body, which it behooves every honest man to watch and avoid with the greatest care. "When cool judgment rules the hour, the people will, I hope and believe, have no reason to com- plain of the action of your honorable body. But clumsy appeals to prejudice or passion, insinua- tions, with a kind of low, cheap cunning, as to the motives and purposes of others, and the mock heroism of brazen effrontery which openly declares that a wholesome public sentiment is to be set at naught, sometimes deceives and leads honest men to aid in the consummation of schemes, which, if exposed, they would look upon with abhorrence. " If the scandal in connection with this street cleaning contract, which has so aroused our citi- zens, shall cause them to select and watch with 46 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELaM. more care those to whom they Intrust their Inter ests, and if it serves to make all of us who are charged with official duties more careful in their performance, It will not be an unmitigated evil. "■ We are fast gaining positions In the grades of public stewardship. There is no middle ground. Those who are not lor the people, either in or out of your honorable body, are against them, and should be treated accordingly." This bold and honorable act attracted wide at- tention, and laid the foundation of a reputation which soon extended throughout the State. Mr. Cleveland continued to apply to the affairs of Buffalo the same Inflexible rule of administering his office as though It were a trust. There can be no doubt that the result was a success greater than has ever been accomplished upon so narrow a political field as a single municipality. At home, the favor which he obtained was quite universal. All party differences disappeared before a public officer who performed his duties with so complete a reference to the general welfare. During the short term of his mayoralty there were several occasions which compelled him to speak upon important topics. But whatever sub- ject he dealt with was presented In the light of the principle he had from the first declared should guide his conduct. In speaking at the semi-cen- tennial celebration of the foundation of the city, July 3d, 1882, he said: MA YORAL TV AND MUNICIPAL REFORM. 47 " We boast of our citizenship to-night. Bui this citizenship brings with it duties not itnlike those we owe our neighbor and our God. There is no better time than this for self-examination. He who deems himself too pure and holy to take part in the affairs of his city, will meet the fact that better men than he have thought it their duty to do so. * He who cannot spare a moment in his greed and selfishness to devote to public con- cerns, will, perhaps, find a well- grounded fear that he may become the prey of public plun- derers ; and he who indolently cares not who administers the government of his city, will find that he is living falsely, and in the neglect of his highest duty." When laying the corner-stone of the Young Vlen's Christian Association building, on the 7 th of September, 1882, he used the following language : '' We all hope and expect that our city has entered upon a course of unprecedented pros- perity and growth. But to my mind not all the signs about us point more surely to real great- ness than the event which we here celebrate. Good and pure government lies at the foundatiofi of the wealth and progress of every conimu7iity. As the chief executive of this proud city, I congratu- late all my fellow-citizens that to-day we lay the foundation stone of an edifice which shall be a beautiful ornament, and, what is more important, shall enclose within its walls such earnest Christian 48 LiPE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. endeavors as must make easier all our efforts to administer safely and honestly a good municipal government." These utterances disclose the high moral pur- pose in which his whole nature seemed to be absorbed, and which he was, in a measure, com- pelled to profess upon every occasion when he was required to address the people. Perhaps there was no occasion on which he made so clear a revelation of himself and his character as by the address which he delivered on the 9th of April, 1882, when taking the chair at a mass meeting to protest against the treatment of American citizens imprisoned abroad. This short speech is worthy of the careful attention of all those who wish to understand his mind and character: " Fellow Citizens. — This is the formal mode of address on occasions of this kind, but I think we seldom realize fully its meaning or how valu- able a thing it is to be a citizen. '' From the earliest civilization to be a citizen has been to be a free man, endowed with certain privileges and advantages, and entitled to the full protection of the State. The defense and protec- tion of the personal rights of its citizens has always been the paramount and most important duty of a free, enlightened government. " And perhaps no government has this sacred trust more in its keeping than this — the best and freest of them all ; for here the people who are to MA YORAL TV AND MUNICIPAL REFORM. 49 be protected are the source of those powers which they delegate upon the express compact that the citizen shall be protected. For this purpose we chose those who, for the time being, shall manage the machinery which we have set up for our defense and safety. '* And this protection adheres to us in all lands and places as an incident of citizenship. Let but the weight of a sacrilegious hand be put upon this sacred thing, and a great strong government springs to its feet to avenge the wrong. Thus it is that the native born American citizen enjoys his birthright. But when, in the westward march of empire, this nation was founded and took root, we beckoned to the Old World, and invited hither its immigration, and provided a mode by which those who sought a home among us might become our fellow citizens. They came by thousands and hundreds of thousands ; they came and Hewed the dark old woods away, And gave the virgin fields to day ; they came with strong sinews and brawny arms to aid in the growth and progress of a new coun- try ; they came, and upon our altars laid their fealty and submission ; they came to our temples of justice, and under the solemnity of an oath renounced all allegiance to every other State, potentate and sovereignty, and surrendered to us all the duty pertaining to such allegiance. We 50 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. have accepted their fealty, and invited them to surrender the protection of their native land. ''And what should be given them in return? Manifestly, good faith and every dictate of honor demand that we give them the same liberty and protection here and elsewhere which we vouchsafe to our native-born citizens. And that this has been accorded to them is the crowning glory of American institutions. ''It needed not the statute, which is now the, law of the .land, declaring that all 'naturalized citizens w^hile in forei^rn lands are entitled to and shall receive from this government the same pro- tection of person and property which is accorded to native-born citizens,' to voice the policy of our nation. "In all lands where the semblance of liberty Is preserved, the right of a person arrested to a speedy accusation and trial is, or ought to be, a fundamental law, as it Is a rule of civilization. '•At any rate, we hold it to be so, and this is one of the rights which we undertake to guarantee to any native-born or naturalized citizen of ours, whether he be imprisoned by order of the Czar of Russia or under the pretext of a law admin- istered for the benefit of the landed aristocracy of England. "We do not claim to make laws for other countries, but we do insist that whatever those \aws may be they shall, in the interests of human MA YORALTY AND MUNICIPAL REFORM, 5 I fieedom and the rights of mankind, so far as they involve the hberty of our citizens, be speedily administered. We have a right to say, and do say, that mere suspicion without examination or trial, is not sufficient to justify the long imprison- ment of a citizen of America. Other nations may permit their citizens to be thus imprisoned. Ours will not. And this in effect has been solemnly declared by statute. **We have met here to-night to consider this subject and to inquire into the cause and the reasons and the justice of the imprisonment of certain of our fellow-citizens now held in British prisons without the semblance of a trial or legal examination. Our law declares that the govern- ment shall act in such cases. But the people are the creators of the government. *'The undaunted apostle of the Christian relig ion imprisoned and persecuted, appealing centuries ago to die Roman law and the rights of Roman citizenship, boldly demanded: "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned? " *'So, too, might we ask, appealing to the law of our land and the laws of civilization: 'Is it lawful that these our fellows be- imprisoned who are American citizens and uncortdemned ? ' , '*I deem it an honor to be called upon to pre- side at such a meeting, and I thank you for it What is your further pleasure ? " CHAPTER IV. THE DEMOCRATIC CANVASS FOR GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK IN 1882. THE year 1882 was one of political reac- tion and surprising revolution. The death of Garfield, the succession of Ar- thur, the changes in Cabinet and policy, the with- drawal of Senators Conkling and Piatt and their failure of re-election, and the defeat of the regu- lar Republican caucus nominee for United States Senator In Pennsylvania, convulsed the politics of the two principal States of the Union. In the Empire and Keystone States the movements of leaders controlled the fortunes of the two great parties in whose councils these Commonwealths were supreme. Men were everywhere looking to the Gubernatorial contests of the year to shape the next Presidential campaign and to influence the control of the Federal Administra- tion, perhaps, for many years to come. In New York city and Brooklyn, where the contention of the Tammany Society and County Democracy had distracted their party for years past and led to its defeat In the Gubernatorial campaign of 1879, rival candidates were pre- 53 STATE STREET AND CAPITOL, ALBANY, NEW YORK. CANVASS FOR GOVERNOR. 55 sented In such well-known personages as Roswell P. Flower and General Henry W. Slocum. The former was recoofnized as havinof the favor of Tammany Hall ; he had wealth, extended busi- ness reputation, and the experience of a term in Coneress. General Slocum was one of the worthiest and most popular soldiers in the War for the Union, and had proved his eminent fitness for civil duties In Congress. They were pressed with a zeal that bid fair to lead to intense bitter- ness and possibly to disastrous dissension. Two Influences operated to avert the threatened coh llsion. While the local pride of Buffalo was enlisted to promote to the Chief Magistracy of the State the Mayor who had served his city so well, and while his most ardent supporters there were found among the Republicans who had contribu- ted to his municipal victory, the eyes of the cool- headed party managers at Albany had been turned to the *' availability " of a candidate who had al- ready exhibited marked elements of political strength, and who was remote from the local dis- traction of the various halls and factions of the o-reat cities of Eastern New York. Mr. Mannlnor and others of the discreet and sagacious politi- cians who controlled the party organization fully satisfied themselves that In the Mayor of Buffalo were to be found qualities of successful leadership for the campaign then before the party. The del- 56 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. egates from Western New York were solidly fc him. The Tammany people gladly espoused hi^i cause rather than risk defeat. On the third bal- lot in the State Convention their delegates went to Cleveland and his nomination was secured. As soon as the canvass opened it was seen that the choice had been a wise one. The movement for Cleveland rose in the West to a great height and ran swiftly through the State. Everywhere factional differences were swept away. In New Vork the adherents of Tammany and of the County and Irving Hall organizations united in support of the State ticket, and upon all other important nominations. Meantimie, in other States, events were pro- gressing well calculated to inspire the Democrats In Connecticut, Thomas M. Waller led the battle, which ended in victory. In Massachusetts, a combi- nation of Democrats and Independents, under the banner of General B. F. Butler, Vv^as wresting the State from Republican control. In Pennsylvania, the Independent Republican candidacy of John Stew- art, and the nomination of General James A. Bea- ver by the regular organization, made easy the elec- tion of Robert E. Pattison. The Republican dissensions were increased in proportion to the growth of Democratic union and enthusiasm. Those Republicans who were disposed to vote against their party, were not deterred by fear of failure. The certainty of CANVASS FOk GOVERNOR. 57 Cleveland's election increased the temptation to aid his cause. Thousands were eager to add to the weight of the blow which was to fall on the Administration and its friends. The Republican candidate w^as an eminent citizen. He had shown high abilities in many public employments. His character was without a stain. He had been Chief Justice of the State ; and a long career on the bench had won for him that general esteem and public favor w^hich successful judicial service almost always wins. But the more worthy the candidate the more impressive the lesson of his defeat. The murder of Garfield was to be avenged ; party chains were to be broken ; the forgery of a telegram was to be punished, and Republican independence and manhood were to be asserted. The party difficulties were very materially increased also by the attitude of lead- incr men. Mr. Evarts, who had always been ready to give his elaborate eloquence to his party, was silent, and what was of far more importance, Roscoe Conk- linor also was silent. For more than a decade he o had been the Republican advocate. His popular triumphs had been without precedent. In 1872, when Republican supremacy was threatened by a revolt, formidable on account of the number and the character of the rebels, he excited the Repub- licans who remained faithful to their party to un- exampled efforts ; efforts which created a Demo- 58 LIFE OF C ROVER CLEVELAND. cratic supineness far more effective at the polls than the Hberal Republican rebellion. In 1876 he had held his party together amid great discour- agements, and upon a lost field. He had after- wards stood aloof from the intrigues by which Mr. Tilden had been deprived of the office to which he had been elected. In 1880, at a time when Republican defeat seemed to be certain — when Mr. Blaine had been beaten in Maine, and the October elections in Ohio and Indiana were in the greatest doubt — he reluctantly came forward to aid a candidate whom he distrusted and despised. He threw himself into the canvass with all his accustomed zeal. Those who have never heard Mr. Conkling addressing a great meeting can have but little idea of the vigor, brilliancy, and fiery energy of his picturesque eloquence. The effect of his speeches at the West, and m his own State, cannot be over-stated. Never, in our politics, has any one made such a display of per- sonal power. But in 1882 he was silent. It is not necessar)^ to explain here the causes of his silence. Its effects were to be seen plainly enough by all who watched the events of that year. The Republican disaffection grew more power- ful every day. Party journals, like the Buffalo Express, openly advocated Cleveland's election. The Albany Joiti^nal, the New York Thnes, and the Tribiuie gave Judge Folger but a cold sup- CANVASS FOR GOVERNOR. 59 port. The friends of Garfield wished his defeat. The friends of Conkling wished his defeat ; and to these discontents, added to Democratic enthu- siasm, the friends of President Arthur could make but little resistance. The Republican treasury was without funds, and had the canvass lasted two weeks longer, the Republican cause would proba- bly have been practically abandoned. The elec- tion resulted in a majority of one hundred and ninety-two thousand for Grover Cleveland ; in the election of twenty-one Democratic members of the House of Representatives, and of a large majority in the State Assembly. The wisdom of those who had advised Mr. Cleveland's nomina- tion was abundantly vindicated by this overwhelm- ing victory. In that hour of triumph there was one man whose mind was filled with anxiet}^ The Demo- cratic candidate had, during the canvass, borne himself modestly, and had passed his time in the duties of his office. He heard the news of his success with joy, indeed, but it was a joy tempered by a sense of the undefined responsibilities which lay before him. This feeling showed itself in the speech which he made the night of his election at the Manhattan Club, and even more strongly in the address which he made upon taking the oath of office. To many, the governorship thus attained sug- gested the presidency. If this high anticipation 6o LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. came to him, as it did to others, it made no change in his demeanor. DeHberately and calmly he began to prepare for his departure, and performed the preliminary work in the composition of his message and the selection of his staff, as unosten- tatiously as if they were in the ordinary course of his daily employment. " If chance will have one king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir." CHAPTER V. FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR. THE office of Governor of the State of New York has long been considered the fit reward for men of large experience in pub- lic life, great natural parts, and high personal cliar- acter. It has seldom been filled by a small man or by a mere seeker after place and power. From the earliest days of the history of the State it has been looked upon, not only in the State of New York itself, but throughout the Union, as an office scarcely lower in dignity and importance than the Presidency of the United States. During the early political history of New York as a State in the Union the Presidency was prac- tically monopolized by Virginia and Massachusetts. Durino- this time, however, the Vice-Presidency, then deemed of much greater relative importance than now, and generally represendng the second choice of the electors for President, was filled for five terms out of a possible six by natives and residents of New York between the time of the accession of Thomas Jefferson and the retirement of James Monroe. Two of the men so honored, George Clinton and Daniel D. Tompkins, had 6i ^2 LIFE OP GkOVER CLEVELAND. been Governors of their State. With the election of Martin Van Buren to the Presidency, in 1836, the Presidency ceased to be the heritage of any one or two States of the Union, and since that time the country h?s always looked with hope and expectancy to the Gubernatorial choice of the State of New York for men to honor with the Presidency of the United States. The names of Silas Wricrht, WiHiam L. Marcv. William H. Sew- ard, Horatio Seymour, and Samuel J. Tilden are familiar household words in our political history as aspirants for nomination or election to the high office of President. Of these, only the two latter ever received the recocrnition of nomination, and the latter was the only Governor of his State elected to the Presidency after the success of Mr. Van Buren in 1836. With all these examples at hand, it should have been no occasion for surprise that Grover Cleve- land was looked upon with unusual interest after his election to the Governorship by a majority unprecedented in the history of the politics of American States. That he was comparatively litde known added to this interest. The element of surprise that a man of such slight experi- ence in the larger polidcs of the State should have been nominated and elected was rein- forced by a feeling of anticipation, an eager demand to know wliat he would do in the office, now that he had reached it under such exceptional FIJ^Sl' YEAk AS GOVERNOR. 5^ circumstances. He had not come to the office as the result of political management, of long ser- vice in one or the other brancli of the Legislature, nor of great and widely recognized distinction in his profession. He was simply known as an honest man, of good ability, who, in whatever station he had been called to fill, had done his duty without fear or favor. While this lack of familiarity with politics and political movements undoubtedly had its drawbacks and disadvantages, which raised In the mind of the new Governor many doubts and apprehensions, it had many compensations. It left him free-handed and Independent. He was not tied up with obligations to persons, localities, or Interests. Trained to consider questions on their merits by the exacting duties of long prac- tice of the law, he could look fairly and fully at every public question as it came up, and decide as his judgment and honesty of purpose would direct. The people of New York were not long In find- ing out that this was the very thing which Governor Cleveland was determined to do. His first mes- sage was something of a disappointment, only because events had moved so rapidly In bringing him into unnatural prominence as to raise extrav- agant expectations. But it was mainly disap- pointing because It lacked the self-assertive dog- matism which the people of New York had long been trained to expect from a Governor, especially from a new one. 54 ^^^^ Oi^ GROVEk CLEVELAND. But familiarity with the duties and obHgations, as well as-" with the power and the rights con- ferred upon the Governorship, came rapidly. Then the hesitation disappeared, and the people ot the country, as well as those of New York, found that Grover Cleveland not only knew how to govern, but that he was determined to be Governor. He early learned to use without mercy the weapon of the veto power, almost autocratically lodged with the Governor of New York by the new Constitution. Between the 26th of January and the ist of March he sent to the Legislature eight veto messages. These documents clearly disclose his purposes. In one, he refused to per- mit the county of Montgomery to borrow money. In another he refused his consent to an amend- ment of the charter of Elmira which was intended to change the liability of the city for injuries re- ceived in consequence of the streets being in an unsafe and dano^erous condition. He refused his signature to a bill which would have relieved the library association of Fredonia from the payment of local taxes, and to one that authorized the county of Chautauqua to appropriate money for a soldiers' monument. He vetoed an act author- izing the village of Fayetteville, where he had lived during his boyhood, to borrow money for the pur- pose of purchasing a steam fire-engine, and also one authorizino- the villao^e of Mechanicsville to borrow money for the same purpose. FIRST YEAR AS GOVERXOR. ^j. By these vetoes he showed that he was deter- mined to adhere to the rule which had gov- erned him while Mayor of Buffalo, and to deal with the pubHc moneys on the principle that offi- cials are the trustees of the people. He did not, however, confine his use of the veto power to bills intended to prevent the ex- penditure of small sums of money by village or town or county authorities. He even dared to run the risk of unpopularity by the veto of a bill fixinor a uniform rate of five cents as fare on the o elevated railroads of the city of New York. That city had suffered severely by the unjust exactions of the roads in question, and a strong popular sentiment had been developed which demanded •that new restrictions should be imposed. But the form in which the Letrislature sought to em- body this sentiment was so unsatisfactory and its effects would hcwe been so far-reaching that the Governor saw danger and injustice ahead. It was insisted by opponents o{ the measure, who liad no interest in the roads invoh-ed, that for a commercial community like New York to disregard the implied obligation which had arisen between the State and its citizens, and between the State and citizens of other States and countries, would be, in the judgment of many thoughtful men, a dangerous and pernicious act. This latter view was taken by the Governor in the following ex- tract from his veto messacre; (55 Z/7^i? or G ROVER CLEVELAXD. *' But we have especially In our keeping the honor and good faith of a great State, and we should see to it that no suspicion attaches, through any act of ours, to the fair fame of the Common- wealth. The State should not only be strictly just, but scrupulously fair, and in its relations to the citizen every leo^al and moral obligation should be rlecognized. This can only be done by legis- lating without vindictiveness or prejudice, and with a firm determination to deal justly and fairly with those from whom we exact obedience." He rejected the advice given in many quarters to permit the bill to become a law without his signature, and jmt himself upon high ground by saying in his message, " I am convinced, that in all cases the sliare which falls upon the Executive re^■ardin^■ the leirislatlon of the Stale, should be in no manner evaded, but fairly met by the ex- pression of his carefully guarded and unbiased judgment." This courao-e challenofed admiration even from those who did not agree with his position and who differed from him in political opinion. The result was to give him popularity with people of his State, because they were convinced that whatever he did, whatever posiiiion he took, their safety and their interests w^ould be consulted. The same independent position was assumed In dealing with bills reorganizing the Fire Depart- ment in Buffalo, a measure which would have con- GOVERNOR'S MANSION • ALBANY, N. Y. FIIiST YEAR AS GOVERNOR. ^^ ferred a supposed advantage upon his own party. Other bills affecting the city of New York and having back of them considerable support in public sentiment, were subjected to the same re- lentless examination and rejected when it ap- oeared to the Governor that they did not accord with the interests of the people of his State. During his first year as Governor it fell to his lot to make a large numiber of appointments to fill vacancies in public offices. He undertook co appl)' to this duty the same principles which governed his conduct in dealing with questions more strictly financial or business in their scope. He gave heed to the demands of his party, re- cognizing in general that it is neither possible nor desirable to separate important or responsible places from accountability to the sentiment domi- nant among the people of a given locality. But this devotion to his ow^n party was ahvays accom- panied by the most exacting demands of fitness, capacity and character in the applicant. Wher- ever it was possible to do so he recognized the system of merit by which men having special fitness or experience in given lines were promoted. He made the assistant in the Insurance Depart- ment its chief; he appointed a builder of charac- ter as Commissioner of the Capitol, and made a business man, whose qualifications he knew, Superintendent of the same building. The Superintendency of Public Works, a place which yO LIFE OFGROVER CLEVELAND. had often been filled by mere partisans Avith little regard to fitness, was given to a man whose long experience in the management of the canals had made him practical and thorough. The Railroad Commission, the appointment of the original members of which Avas Imposed upon Mr. Cleve- land during his first year's service as Governor, Vv^as selected with such judgment that the choice gave general party and public satisfaction. It justified his confidence and that of the people of the State by doing Its work so faithfully and well that there has probably been less Irritation or Ill- feeling between the people and the railroads In New York than In any other State in the Union. For several years the labor question had been gradually coming to the front In New York as one of the most Important to be dealt with by political parties, Legislatures, and executive officers. The peculiar character of the working people of New York city had had much to do with giving the question importance. In addition to maintaining its supremacy as the first commer cial city of the Western world, It had recently become the larirest centre for manufacturlnof In- dustrles. This had the effect of Introducing a population which for variety In origin, Ideas, and interests could be found nowhere else. Many impracticable measures were proposed from time to time by the accepted representatives of the labor interests, too-ether with others which were FIRST YEAR AS GOVEKNOR. yi principally distinguished for criideness and ineffi- ciency. Some such measures had been permitted to become laws, perhaps, in some cases, from an honest desire on the part of Legislators and Governors, but in most instances to appease what was supposed to be the demands of a large and comrnandinor vote. The platform of the Convention by which Mr. Cleveland had been nominated gave distinct pledges committing the Democratic party in New York to the enactment of certain legislation in the interest of labor. These were accepted by Mr. Cleveland in his letter of acceptance in the followinof lancruaoe : " The platform of principles adopted by the Convention meets with my hearty approval. The doctrines therein enunciated are so distinctly and explicitly stated that their amplification seems scarcely necessitated. If elected to the office for which I have been nominated, I shall endeavor to impress them upon my administration and make them the policy of the State." Further on, in the same letter^ he says : *^The laboring classes constitute the main part of our population. They should be protected" in their efforts to assert their rights when endangered by aggregated capital, and all statutes on this sub- ject should recognize the care of the State for honest toil, and be framed with a view of improv™ incr the condition of the workingrman," 72 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. The Legislature did Its part toward redeeming these promises, and bills for the establishment of a Bureau of Labor Statistics, for prohibiting the manufacture of cigars In tenement houses, and forbidding the manufacture of woolen hats in penitentiaries were passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. But even in dealing with labor questions he did not yield his judgment to popular clamor when convinced that a proposed law affecting interests of large bodies of men were either impracticable or dangerous in principle. For this reason, he refused to slorn a bill which reached him late In the legislative session, known as the " Car Conductors' and Drivers' Bill ;" It proposed to prohibit the exaction of more than twelve hours for a day's work on street railways. This action was not taken because of any disapproval of the objects sought to be accomplished by the proposed law, but upon purely legal and constitutional grounds. The bill was defective and unskillfully drawn In that the right of contract between street car com- panies and their employes was not interfered with. It was clear that the law could never be enforced, as experience had already shown In other States. The session of the first Legislature under Mr. Cleveland's administration as Governor of the State of New York closed with credit to himself He had worked hard and faithfully to redeem the PIl^S '1 YEAR AS C0\ 1: kA Ok. *^x promises made by himself and his party, and had achieved a larger des^ree of success than o^ener- ally comes to men under such circumstances. He had maintained and increased the respect felt for his honesty and faithfulness throughout the State, and had become widely known in every section of the Union. His relations with his own party were, in general, good, in spite of the fact that they had been severely strained with certain sections of it. Already his name had been very generally discussed as that of a man who v/as most likely to enable his party to regain in the Union that power which it had lost twenty-three years before. But he made no avowals, and was not, apparently, to be turned either to the right or to the left by this consideration. He simply did his duty as it came to him, leaving the future to take care of itself. CHAPTER VI. SECOND YEAR AS GOVERNOR. IN his second annual message Grover Cleve- land showed that he felt easy in the place as well as liked it — somethin'^ which he con- fessed to his friends. He showed more and more confidence in himself and in his ability to satisly both the people of his State and himself in carry- ing out its duties. There was no longer uncer- tainty or hesitation. He showed that he knew what measures the best interests of the State demanded, and he recommended them with that dogmatism so much admired by the people of New York, and which ever wins for public men increasing popularity among intelligent people. Among the most important of the questions with which he came to deal was the relations ot corporations to the State. It had long been ap- parent that many evils were growing up about these associations of men and money, and earnest men of intellicrence and conscience had souoht some way of meeting what seemed to them a serious danger. There was general ao^reement to the proposition that if the widest publicity could be given to the accounts of corporations 74 • I SECOND YEAR AS GOVERNOR. ^5 created by the State the beginning of the end ot the evil would be reached. The Governor con- sidered this phase of the question at some lengtn in his second annual message, from which the fol- lowinor views are extracted : '' It would, in my opinion, be a most valuable protection to the people if other large corpo- rations were obliged to report to some depart- ment their transactions and financial condition. '' The State creates these corporations upon the theory that some proper thing of benefit can be better done by them than by private enterprise, and that the aggregation of the funds of many individuals may be thus profitably employed. They are launched upon the public with the seal of the State, In some sense, upon them. They are permitted to represent the advantages they possess and the wealth sure to follow from ad- mission to membership. In one hand Is held a charter from the State, and In the other is proffered their stock. *' It is a fact, singular though \vell established, ^hat people will pay their money for stock in a corporation engaged in enterprises in which they would refuse to invest if in private hands. " It is a grave question whether the formation of these artificial bodies ought not to be checked or better regulated, and in some way supervised. "At any rate, ihcy should always be kept well m hand, and the funds of Its citizens should be yg LIPE OF GRGVER CLLVELA^D. protected by the State which has Invited their investment. While the stockholders are the own- ers of the corporate property, notoriously they are oftentimes completely in the power of the direct- ors and managers, who acquire a majority of the stock and by this means perpetuate their control, using the corporate property and franchises for their benefit and profit, regardless of the inter- ests and rights of the minority of stockholders. Immense salaries are paid to officers ; transactions are consummated by which the directors make money, while the rank and file among the stock- holders lose it ; the honest investor waits for dividends and the directors orow .rich. It is suspected, too, that large sums are spent under various disouises in efforts to inlluence leoislation. ''The State should either refuse to allow these corporations to exist under its authority and patronage, or, acknowledging their paternity and its responsibility, should provide a simple, easy way for Its people, whose money is invested, and the public generally, to discover how the funds of these Institutions are spent, and how their affairs are conducted. It should at the same time pro- vide a way by which the squandering or misuse of corporate funds would be made good to the parties injured thereby. " This might well be accomplished by requiring corporations to frequently file reports made out with the utmost detail, and which would not allow SECOND YEAR AS GOVERNOR. 11 lobby expenses to be hidden under the pretext of legal services and counsel fees, accompanied by vouchers and sworn to by the officers making them, showing particularly the debts, liabiHties, expenditures, and property of the corporation: Let this report be delivered to some appropriate department or officer, who shall audit and examine the same ; provide that a false oath to such ac- count shall be perjury, and make the directors liable to refund to the injured stockholders any expenditure which shall be determined improper by the auditing authority. ''Such requirements might not be favorable to stock speculation, but they would protect the inno- cent Investors ; they might make the management of corporations more troublesome, but this ought not to be considered when the protection of the people Is the matter in hand. It would prevent corporate efforts to Influence legislation ; the honestly conducted and strong corporations would have nothing to fear ; the badly managed and weak ought to be exposed." It would be difficult to find In the record of any of our public men so well-considered a plan as that here presented, dealing with the glaring evils of legislative and official corruption. It was only natural that Grover Cleveland should devote much time, thought, and attention to the discussion of municipal affairs. His first political office, and that from which he had taken 5^8 Life of g rover Cleveland. his way into the higher walks of piil:>Hc life, was that of Mayor of Buffalo. During- the time he occupied that office he brought to the discharge of its duties a purpose to do what lay in his power toward making his city a place where health, the material independence of its citizens, and their mental and moral growth might all be pro- moted. In was in the Mayoralty that he insisted upon a decent economy and the most scrupulous fidelity to all the trusts imposed by public office. In his first message to the Legislature he had said : "They [municipal governments] should be so organized as to be simple in their details, and to cast upon the people affected thereby the full responsibility of their administration. The differ- ent departments should be in such accord as in their operation to lead toward the same results. Divided counsels and divided responsibility to the people, on the part of municipal officers, it is believed, give rise to much that is objectionable in the government of cities. If, to remedy this evil, the chief executive should be made answer- able to the people for the proper conduct of the city's affairs, it is quite clear that his power in the selection of those who manage its different depart- ments should be greatly enlarged." And a^ain he said : *' It is not only the right of the people to admin- ister their local government, but it should be made iA COND YEA R AS GOl EAW ' 0A\ . ^ C^ their duty to do so. Any departure from this doctrine is an abandonment of the principles upon which our institutions are founded, and a conces- sion of the infirmity and partial failure of the theory of a representative form of government. "If the aid of the Legislature is invoked to further projects which should be subject to local control and management, suspicion should be at once aroused, and the interference sought should be promptly and sternly refused. " If local rule is in any instance bad, weak, or inefficient, those who suffer from maladministra- tion have the remedy within their ovyn control. If, through their neglect or inattention, it falls into unworthy hands, or if bad methods and practices gain a place in its administration, it is neither harsh nor unjust to remit those who are respon^ sible for those conditions to their self-inviced fate, until their interest, if no better motive, prompts them to an earnest and active discharge of the duties of good citizenship." " The Legislature of 1884, accepting this theory and acting upon what was the drift of discussion in the city of New York, passed an elaborate bill depriving the Board of Aldermen of the power of confirmation of appointments to certain offices in that city, and lodging this power in the hands of the Mayor without restriction. In some respects the new law did not meet the opinions of the Gov- ernor, but he signed it, filing with the newly made. g(^ UPE OP C ROVER CLEVELAND. law a memorandum of tlie reasons which had led him to take this action. Under this law the im- proved condition of municipal politics in the city of New York has become apparent. The Board of Aldermen, shorn of their coveted power of con- firmation, has not been able to maintain the old and unnatural importance which had been given to it; the politics of the city has had opportunity to lose its old-time reputation for bargains and bargaining, and there is a very apparent improve- ment in the character, not only of the officials ap- pointed by the Mayor, but of those elected by the people as well. Much of this is due to Mr. Cleve- land's recognition of the need of a change in municipal methods, suggested by his own expe- rience and elaborated by his industry and ability. That much still remains to be^done no man will question, but with the interest which has been ex- cited in such questions and the intelligence which is being brought to bear upon it there can be no serious doubt of the result. When this is assured history will give due credit for it to the man who is now President of the United States. As Governor, Mr. Cleveland recognized the importance of the National Guard of New York, and did much to revive interest in its citizen sol- diery. He selected his staff not for ornam.ental purposes, as is so often the case with the militia of the several States, but with a view of eettinor the most efficient practical results. He was care- SECOXD YEAR AS GOVERNOR. gj ful to promote the true interests of the soldiers who served in the Union army during the Civil War, approving measures giving soldiers and sail- ors preference for employment upon public works, and the provision for completing the records of New York regiments and other military organiza- tions and for their safe keeping. The pardoning power, one of the most respon- sible duties of the Governor, was exercised with care, and at the same time with greater frequency than usual. His legal training and practice had evidendy convinced him that the power of trav- ersinor the sentences of the vast number and vari- ety of courts in a State like New York was one which imposed the most serious responsibilities upon the Governor. The constant tendency on the part of a certain class of judges to impose "cruel and unusual punishments" Is one of the most serious of the time, and one which constantly needs to be reviewed In order that justice may be tempered with that mercy which Is Its highest attribute. Among the more important measures passed was an Act providing for the appointment of a Commission to select and set apart such lands as might be found necessary for the preservadon of the scenery at Niagara Falls. All the Islands Im- mediately above the falls, and the lands upon the main shore, had early in the century been sold to private citizens. Some of them have been devoted gj LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. to manufacturing- purposes, the forests upon the mainland have been cut down, and a process of deterioration has begun which, if continued, will soon destroy the charm and interest which Niagara has had as an object of natural beauty and sublimity. It had been some time in contemplation to pre- serve Niagara by creating a State reservation, by removing unsightly constructions, and restoring, so far as practicable, the scenery to its original character. The efforts in this direction had been thwarted by the action of Governor Cornell, who had indicated that if the proposed measure was passed he would refuse to sign it. Governor Cleveland, however, showed a generous disposi- tion to the undertaking, and encouraged the pas- sage of the bill. This law has since been carried into complete effect with the most satisfactory re- sults, and the State Reservation at Niagara Falls promises in due time to become one of the most striking of the landscape features of the State. Already many of the serious abuses which formerly met visitors to that great natural wonder have been removed. The Dominion of Canada has, on its part, carried on the work on the opposite side of the river.* * Mvich of the credit for the success of the New York undertaking must be ascribed to the late William Dorsheimer, who was by appointment one of the original, as he was the most active^ of the Commissioners having th? work in charge, SECOND YEAR AS GOVERNOR. 83 In brief, every question which engaged the at- tention or the energies of the people of the great State of New York found in Mr. Cleveland during his "service" as Governor the most intelliorent and industrious encouracrement. The reform of th^* State Civil Service system, the protection and preservation of the forests of the Adirondacki,, the promotion of education and industry, found in the Governor of the State their most active and intelligent support. A speech which the Governor made at the Albany High School contains some observations whicli must have been derived from his own experience. It is here given both as an expression of his opinions upon important subjects, and by reason of its biographical value. He said: "I accepted the invitation of your principal to visit your school this morning with pleasure, be- cause I expected to see much that would gratify and interest me. In this I have not been disap^ pointed. But I must confess that if I had known that my visit here involved my attempti-ng to ad. dress you, I should have hesitated, and quite likel) have declined the invitation. "I hasten to assure you now that there is noi the slightest danger of my inflicting a speech upon you, and that I shall do but litde more than to ex- press my pleasure in the proof I have of the excellence of the methods and management of the school, and of the opportunities which those who g4 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. attend have within their reach of obtaining a superior education. " I never visit a school in these days without contrasting the advantages of the scholar of to- day with those of a time not many years in the past. Within my remembrance even, the educa- tion which is freely offered you was only secured by those whose parents were able to send them to academies and colleges. And thus, when you entered this school very many of you began where your parents left off. "The theory of the State in furnishing more and better schools for the children, is that it tends to fit them to better perform their duties as citizens, and that an educated man or woman is apt to be more useful as a member of the com- munity. "This leads to the thouo^ht that those who avail themselves of the means thus tendered them are in duty bound to make such use of their advan- tages as that the State shall receive in return the educated and intelligent citizens and members of the community which it has the right to expect from its schools. You, who will soon be the men of the day, should consider that you have assumed an obligation to fit yourselves by the education, which you may, if you will, receive in this school, for the proper performance of any duty of citizen- ship, and to fill any public station to which you may be called, And it seems to me to be none GOVERNOR'S ROOM IN STATE CAPITOL AT ALBANY, N. Y. SECOXD YLAR AS GOVERNOR. gj the less Important that those who are to be the wives and mothers should be educated, refined, and intelligent. To tell the truth, I should be afraid to trust the men, educated though they should be, if they were not surrounded by pure and true womanhood. Thus it is that you all, now and here, from the oldest to the youngest, owe a duty to the State which can only be an- swered by diligent study and the greatest possi- ble improvement. It is too often the case that in all walks and places the disposition is to render the least possible return to the State for the favors which she bestows. " If the consideration which I have mentioned fails to impress you, let me remind you of what you have often heard, that you owe it to your- selves and the importantpartof yourselves toseize, while you may, the opportunities to improve your minds, and store into tliem, for your own future use and advantage, the learning and knowledge now fairly within your reach. " None of you desire or expect to be less In- telligent or educated than your fellows. But un- less the notions of scholars have changed, there may be those among you who think that in some way or manner, after the school day is over, there will be an opportunity to regain any ground now lost, and to complete an education without a present devotion to school requirements. I am sure this is a mistake, A moment's reflection gg LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. ought to convince all of you that when you have once entered upon the stern, uncompromising, and unrelenting duties of mature life, there will be no time for study. You will have a contest then forced upon you which will strain every nerve and engross every faculty. A good educa- tion, if you have it, will aid you, but if you are without it, you cannot stop to acquire it. When you leave the school you are well equipped for the van in the army of life, or you are doomed to be a laggard, aimlessly and listlessly following in the rear. "Perhaps a reference to truths so trite is use- less here. I hope it is. But I have not been able to forego the chance to assure those who are hard at work that they will surely see their compensa- tion, and those, if any such there are, who find school duties irksome, and neglect or slightingly, perforin them, that they are trifling with serious things and treading on dangerous ground." Before the meeting of the Legislature in 1885 the verdict of the people of the United States, oi. "Well done," had been pronounced, and Mr. Cleveland resigned the Governorship Into the hands of David Bennett Hill, the faithful coadju- tor who had entered office wlt4i him as Lieutenant- Governor in January, 1883. With the exception of Mr. Tllden, it is doubtful whether such an in- dustrious Governor had ever been seen in Albany. Mr. Cleveland went to his room in the SECOND YEAR AS GOVERN Ok. 3g Capitol at nine o'clock in the morning, and he seldom left it, except to take his meals, before midnight. He examined every bill with a close and critical attention, and never decided upon one with whose provisions he was not perfectly fa- miliar. The same care was taken with all other official acts. The result was not only an excel- lent performance of the public service, but the Governor himself received a severe discipline and a wide education from his labors. After his resignation he retired to a quiet pri- vate residence in Albany, where he devoted him- self to the new duties to which the favor of his countrymen had called him. He received delega- tions from States and delegations from sections. He gave patient audience to the friends of men who sought, or for whom was asked, admission into his Cabinet as Presidential advisers. He heard men who wanted office for themselves or their friends. He was then, in the hour of tri- umph, the same unobtrusive man, the most modest member of his party, over the great and decisive victory achieved with him as its leader. A few days before the 4th of March, 1885, he went to Washington as the guest of the late President Arthur. He was received with many demonstrations of respect, joy, and confidence on his way to begin the new career which fate and his own merits had marked out for him. The conduct of the outgoing President toward 90 LIFE OF GROVEk CLEVELAND. his successor was marked by the urbanity and courtesy which had characterized Mr. Arthur's demeanor throughout the trying times of his entire Administration. He had come to the first office of the country under the most painful and embarrassing circumstances. Distrusted by the opposition and by a very strong faction in his own party, he bore himself as a gentleman and a patriot. His unselfish purposes and his intelli- gent policy alike were unappreciated by the Blaine wing of the party ; and they had com- passed the defeat of his nomination, only to be themselves unhorsed in the campaign. CHAPTER Vir. %'HK CANVASS AND CONVENTION OF I THE disputed result of the Presidential election of 1876, the death of President Garfield, and the unexpected accession of President Arthur gave to the political campaign of 1884 an interest and importance which had not entered into any preceding political contest since that of i860. The clean, dignified, and manly ad- ministration of President Arthur, and especially its tendencies toward tariff reform, had not given satisfaction to the majority of his party ; and it early became evident to intelligent and impartial observers that he could not secure a nomination to succeed himself. The dominance of Mr. Blaine in the counsels of his party had long been ac- knowledged ; in the early part of the canvass it was clear that he had become the commanding force. He and his followers had had a brief taste of authority while he was occupying the office of Secretary of State during the luckless and waver- ing rule of Garfield, and his last desperate effort to seize the standard of his party was rewarded with his nomination for President, Senatorjohn A. Logan being named for second place. 93 94 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. On the other hand, the drift in the Democratic party toward Mr. Cleveland was scarcely less ap- parent. The reform and progressive elements of the party represented by Mr. Tilden so long as he chose to remain their leader, had begun tr look toward the Governor of New York as his natural successor. It was generally conceded that the party, having been so long out of power, must make a nomination which would not only prove attractive to the voters directly attached to its principles, purposes, and leaders, but one which would appeal to the large and increasing number of independent, unattached, or semi-detached voters, always found most numerously in the ofreat and controllino- State of New York, and ivho had now clearly become a strong force in the politics of the United States. Mr. Cleveland's course as Governor had been such that a con- siderable element of his party in the State of New York was bitterly opposed to his promotion to the Presidency of the United States. In spite of this feeling, the State Convention held at Saratoga in June, 1884, to select delegates to tlie Demo cratic National Convention called to meet at Chicago on the eighth of July following selected seventy-two delegates, wiio were not placed under instructions as to candidates, but were directed to vote on all questions as a unit. Each element of the party then hoped to gain control of the dele- gation. THE CANVASS AXD COXVEXTlOX OP iSSa. 95 Meanwhile the canvass was Q-oinor on in other States of the Union, in many of which a strong sentiment had developed in favor of the nomi- nation of the New York candidate ; so that when the Convention met in Chicago party sentiment had pretty effectually crystallized itself around the name of Air. Cleveland as the most available candidate for the Presidency. The National Democratic Convention of 1884 met in the Exposition Hall, Chicago, at noon on Tuesday, July 8th. It was called to order by ex- Senator William H. Barnum, of Connecticut, Chairman of the National Committee, who, after prayer had been offered by the Rev. D. C. Marquis, of Chicago, congratulated the assembled delegates upon the sentiment of harmony which pervaded the body they were about to form and proceeded at once to business by naming as Temporary Chairman ex-Governor Richard B. Hubbard, of Texas, who spoke at some length on the issues of the day. Frederick O. Prince, of Massachusetts, was made Temporary Secretary, Richard J. Bright, of Indiana, Sergeant-at-arms, with a full list of assistants to each selected with care from every section of the Union. Immediately after the temporary organization had been effected, an attack was made by the minority of the delegation from the State of New York, known as the " Tammany wing," upon the unit rule which had so lono- o-overned the action g(5 LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. of National Democratic Conventions when in- structions had been made by the States from which delegations were accredited. A long dis- cussion ensued in which the opposing elements from the Empire State were the principal disput- ants, after which, by a vote of 463 to 332, the Con- vention decided in favor of the retention of the unit rule. This solidified New York for Cleve- land and vastly strengthened his cause in other States. Committees were appointed on Perma- nent Organization, Credentials, and Resolutions, composed of one delegate from each State. On the second day a permanent organization was effected, with William F. Vilas, of Wisconsin, as President ; the Temporary Secretary, Sergeant- at-arms, and assistants were declared Permanent, and Vice-Presidents and Secretaries from each State were added. The presiding officer in a long and able speech, that did much to win for him recogni- tion a few months later in his appointment as Postmaster-General in the Cabinet of the Presi- dent of the United States, laid down the princi- ples upon which he thought the canvass should be conducted and predicted the victory which followed. The Committee on Resolutions not being ready to report, an animated discussion arose over the question of naming the candidate for President, and the Convention decided that this should be done. The roll of States was called and the names of Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio ; Thomas F. THE CANVASS AND CONVENTION OF 1884. gj Bayard, of Delaware ; Joseph E. McDonald, of Indiana; John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky ; Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania, and Grover Cleveland, of New York, were formally presented as candi- dates for nomination to the office of President of the United States. Nearly all the second day, together with the day session of the third, was con- sumed in speeches. The Committee on Resolu- tions reported at the evening session of the third day, July loth, and immediately after the adop- tion of its report the first ballot for President was taken, with the following result : Cleveland, 392 ; Bayard, 170; Thurman, 88; Randall, 78 ; McDon- ald, 56; Carlisle, 27; Flower, 4; Hoadley, 3; Hendricks, i ; Tilden, i. Necessary to a choice under the two- thirds rule, 547. By a close vote adjournment was had until eleven o'clock on Friday morning, when a remark- able scene occurred in the effort to stampede the Convention to Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. A great tumult was aroused in the galleries for half an hour, at the end of which time Mr. Voor- hees, of Indiana, withdrew the name of Joseph E. McDonald, with announced purpose on the part of the deleoration from that State to cast its vote for o Mr. Hendricks. As the ballot proceeded it be- came apparent that Cleveland was the choice of the Convention, and with changes in the vote of many States, the result of the second ballot was declared as follows : Cleveland, 683 ; Bayard, gg ' LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 8i^ ; Hendricks, 45 ^^ ; Thurman, 4; Randall, 4; McDonald, 4. Upon the announcement of this result Mr. Menzies, of Indiana, made a motion, which was seconded by delegates from a number of States, that the nomination be made unani- mous. This was passed without dissent, and Grover Cleveland was declared the candidate of the National Democratic Convention for the Pres- idency of the United States. Adjournment was then had until evening, when nominations for Vice-President were declared to be in order. Upon the call of States California presented William S. Rosecrans ; Colorado, Jos- eph E. McDonald ; Georgia, John C. Black, sec- onded by Illinois, and Kansas, George W. Click. When Pennsylvania was reached ex-Senator Wil- liam A. Wallace presented the name of Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, and asked that he be nominated by acclamation. After some discus- sion the names of all other candidates were with- drawn and the vote of every delegate in the Con- vention was cast for Mr. Hendricks, who was thus made the candidate of the Democratic party for the Vice-Presidency of the United States. The ticket was completed and the nominations ratified with such an outburst of enthusiasm and demonstrations of applause as had never before been seen and heard on the continent. After the adoption of the customary resolutions of thanks the Convention adjourned sine die. CHAPTER VIII. THE CLEVELAND-BLAINE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. THE campaign which followed the nomina- tions was one of the the most exciting and bitter known to the history of this country. It was rendered particularly so by the opposition to Blaine of a large numberof indepen- dent voters in every State of the Union. These men had been Republicans almost to a man. Many of them were the leaders of their party and had been prominent in its counsels from its or- ganization. Others were young men thus early driven out of their party because of a recognition of its bad tendencies and the dangerous character of its candidate for President, Mr. Blaine. Mad- dened by these desertions and rendered desper- ate by the prospective loss of power long held by the aid of discreditable methods, the National Committee of the Republican party, aided by the close friends of its candidate, invented and gave currency to outrageous charges against the pri- vate character of the Democratic candidate. He met these with a pitiless exposure of their falsity, and with conscious integrity demanded from his friends that they should ''Tell the truth." This 99 lOO LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. declaration became a Democratic watchword dur- ing the ensuing canvass. Of Cleveland's manly conduct with relation to this phase of the cam- paign, and in striking contrast with the attitude of his opponent on questions deeply affecting his personal integrity, the editor of Harper s Weekly, August 1 6th, 1884, said: ''There was no whining about his private bus- iness; no seizing of letters, and, after a menacing pressure of public opinion, a theatrical reading of such parts as he chose and with his own com- ments ; there was no desperate equivocation and attempted concealment. 'Tell the truth' was the only reply — a reply which showed a man hon- orably unwilling to receive any public trust under false pretenses." - SPEECH OF ACCEPTANCE. In due time Governor Cleveland was notified officially of his nomination by the Committee ap- pointed for that purpose. In reply he made the following brief and pointed address : ''Mr. Chair^nan and Gentlemen of the Committee: "Your formal announcement does not, of course, convey to me the first information of the result of the Convention lately held by the De- mocracy of the Nation, and yet, when, as I listen to your message, I see about me representatives from all parts of the land of the great party which, HON. lOHN M. PALMER, CLEVELAND BLAINE CAMPAIGN. lOl claiming to be the party of the people, asks them to intrust to it the administration of their o-overn- ment, and when I consider under the influence of the stern reality which the present surroundings create, that I have been chosen to represent the plans, purposes, and the policy of the Democratic party, I am profoundly impressed by the solemnity of the occasion and by the responsibility of my position. Though. I gratefully appreciate it, I do not at this moment congratulate myself upon the distinguished honor which has been conferred upon me, because my mind is full of an anxious desire to perform well the part which has been assigned to me. " Nor do I at this moment forcret that the riehts and interests of more than fifty millions of my fellow-citizens are involved in our efforts to eain Democratic supremacy. This reflection presents to my mind the consideration which more than all others gives to the action of my party in conven- tion assembled its most sober and serious aspect. The party and its representatives which ask to be intrusted at the hands of the people with the keeping of all that concerns their welfare and their safety, should only ask it with the full appre- ciation of the sacredness of the trust, and with a firm resolve to administer it faithfully and well. I am a Democrat because I believe that this truth lies at the foundation of true Democracy. I have kept the faith, because I believe if- righdy and fairly I02 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. administered and applied, Democratic doctrines and measures will insure the happiness, content- ment, and prosperity of the people. " If, in the contest upon which we now enter, we steadfastly hold to the underlying principles of our party creed, and at all times keep in view the people's good, we shall be strong, because we are true to ourselves, and because the plain and independent voters of the land will seek by their suffrages to compass their release from party tyranny wliere there should be submission to the popular will, and their protection from party cor- ruption where there should be devotion to the people's interests. These thoughts lend a conse- cration to our cause, and we go forth, not merely to gain a partisan advantage, but pledged to give to those who trust us the utmost benefits of a pure and honest administration of National affairs. No higher purpose or motive can stimu- late us to supreme effort, or urge us to continuous and earnest labor and effective party organization. Let us not fail in this, and we may confidently hope to reap the full reward of patriotic services well performed. I have thus called to mind some simple truths, and, trite though they are, it seems to me we do well to dwell upon them at this time„ I shall soon, I hope, signify, in the usual formal manner, my acceptance of the nomination which has been tendered to me. In the meantime I gladly greet you all as co-workers in the noble cause." CLE VELAND-BLAINE CAMPAIGX. I OJ FORMAL LETTER OF ACCEPTA^XE. Subsequently, Mr. Cleveland Avrote and for- warded to the Committee of Notification the fol- lowing letter, which sets forth more in detail his ideas of the issues of the campaign : "Albany, N. Y., August i8th, 1884. " Gentlemen : I have received your communi- cation dated July 28th, 1884, informing me of my nomination to the office of President of the United States by the National Democratic Convention lately assembled at Chicago. " I accept the nomination with a grateful appre- ciation of the supreme honor conferred, and a solemn sense of the responsibility which, in its acceptance, I assume. '' I have carefully considered the platform adopted by the Convention and cordially approve the same. So plain a statement of Democratic faith and the principles upon which tliat party appeals to the suffrages of the people needs no supple- ment or explanation. '' It should be remembered that the office of President is essejitially executive in its nature. The laws enacted by the legislative branch of the Government the Chief Executive is bound faith- fully to enforce. And when the wisdom of the political party which selectn one of Its members as a nominee for that office has outlined its policy I04 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. and declared its principles, it seems to me that nothing in the character of the office or the neces- sities of the case requires more from the candi- date accepting such nomination than the sugges- tion of certain well-known truths so absolutely vital to the safety and welfare of the nation, that they cannot be too often recalled or too seriously enforced. *'We proudly call ours a government by the people. It is not such when a class is tolerated which arrogates to itself the management of pub- lic affairs, seeking to control the people instead of representing them. " Parties are the necessary outgrowth of our in- stitutions ; but a government is not by the people when one party fastens its control upon the coun- try and perpetuates its power by cajoling and be- traying the people instead of serving them. "A government is not by the people, when a result which should represent the intelligent will of free and thinking men is, or can be, determined by the shameless corruption of their suffrages. " When an election to office shall be the selection by the voters of one of their number to assume for a time a public trust instead of his dedication to the profession of politics ; when the holders of the ballot, quickened by a sense of duty, shall avenge truth betrayed and pledges broken, and when the suffrao^e shall be altoeether free and uncorrupted, the full realisation of a government CLEVELAND-BLAINE CAMPAIGM. IO5 by the people will be at hand. And of the means to this end, not one would, in my judgment, be more effective than an amendment to the Consti- tution disquahfying the President from re-election. When we consider the patronage of this great office, the allurements of power, the temptation to retain public place once gained, and, more than all, the availability a party finds in an incumbent wliom a horde of office-holders, with a zeal born of benefits received, and fostered by the hopes of favors yet to come, stand ready to aid with money and trained political service, we recognize in the eligibility of the President for re-election a most serious danger to that calm, deliberate, and intelli- gent political action which must characterize ^ government by the people. "A true American sentiment recognizes the dig- nity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil. Contented labor is an element of national prosperity. Ability to work constitutes the capi- tal and the wage of labor the income of a vast number of our population ; and this interest should be jealously protected. Our workingmen are not asking unreasonable indulgence; but as in- telligent and manly citizens, they seek the same consideration which those demand who have other interests at stake. They should receive their full share of the care and attention of those who make and execute the laws, to the end that the wants and needs of the employers and the employed 105 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. ^hall alike be subserved, and die prosperity of die country, the common heritage of both, be ad- vanced. As related to this subject, while we should not discouracfe the immicrration of those who come to acknowledoe alleoiance to our crov- ernment and add to our citizen population, yet as a means of protection to our workingmen, a different rule should prevail concerning those who, if they come, or are brought, to our land, do not intend to become Americans, but will injuriously compete with those justly entitled to our field of labor. *' In a letter accepting the nomination to the office of Governor, nearly two years ag^o, I made the following statement, to which I have steadily adhered: " ' The laboring classes constitute the main part of our population. They should be protected in their efforts peaceably to assert their rights when endangered by aggregated capital ; and all stat- utes on this subject should recognize the care of the State for honest toil and be framed with a view of improving the condition of the working- man.' "A proper regard for the welfare of the work- ingman being inseparably connected with the in- tegrity of our institutions, none of our citizens are more interested than thev in euardinir against any corrupting influences which seek to pervert the beneficent purposes of our Government; and CLEVELAKD-BLAINE CAMPAIGAT. 107 none should be more watchful of the artful machi- nations of those who allure them to self-inflicted injur)'. "In a free country, the curtailment of the abso- lute rights of the individual should only be such as is essential to the peace and good order of the community. The limit between the proper sub- jects of governmental control, and those which can be more fittingly left to the moral sense and self-imposed restraint of the citizen, should be carefully kept in view. Thus lav/s unnecessarily interfering with the habits and customs of any of our people which are not offensive to the moral sentiments of the civilized world, and which are consistent with good citizenship and the public welfare, are unwise and vexatious. *'The commerce of a nation to a ereat extent de- ■ o termines its supremacy. Cheap and easy trans- portation should therefore be liberally fostered. Within the limits of the Constitution, the General Government should so improve and protect its natural water-ways as will enable tlie producers of the country to reach a profitable market. "The people pay the wages of the public em- ployes, and they are entitled to the fair and honest work which the money thus paid should command. It is the duty of those intrusted with the management of tlieir affairs to see that such public service is forthcoming. The selection and retention of subordinates in Governm.ent employ- lo8 ^^^^ OF G ROVER CLEVELAND, ment should depend upon their ascertained fitness and the value of their work, and they should be neither expected nor allowed to do questionable party service. The interests of the people will be better protected ; the estimate of public labor and duty will be immensely improved ; public employ- ment will be open to all who can demonstrate their fitness to enter it ; the unseemly scramble for place under the Government, with the conse- quent importunity which embitters official life, will cease ; and the public departments will not be filled with those who conceive it to be their first duty to aid the party to which they owe their places, instead of rendering patient and honest return to the people. *' I believe that the public temper is such that the voters of the land are prepared to support the party which gives the best promise of administering the Government in the honest, simple, and plain manner which is consistent with its character and purposes. They have learned that mystery and concealment in the management of their affairs cover tricks and betrayal. The statesmanship they require consists in honesty and frugality, a prompt response to the needs of the people as they arise, and the vigilant pro- tection of all their varied interests. " If I should be called to the Chief Magistracy of the Nation by the suffrages of my fellow-citi- zens. I will assume the duties of that hioh office \\W I 'i'pnTu^ CL E VE L A XD- BLAIXE CA MPA IGiV. 1 I 1 v;Ith a solemn determination to dedicate every effort to the country's good, and with an humble reliance upon the favor and support of the Supreme Being, who I believe will always bless honest human endeavor in the conscientious dis- charge of public duty. "GROVER CLEVELAND. ''To Colonel William F. Vilas, Chairman, and D. P. Besfor, and others, members of the Notifica- tion Committee of the Democratic National Con^ vcjition!' independent support of CLEVELAND. The serious and earnest tone which pervaded bodi of these deliverances commended their author to the hearty support of a great body of electors whose votes had been seldom of late years cast for Democratic nominees. Among the prominent Republicans who made speeches or otherwise took an active part in favor of the election of Mr . Cleveland were George William Curtis, editor of Harpers Weekly; Carl Schurz, ex-Secretary of the Interior; Rev. Henry Ward Beecher; Colonel Charles R. Codman, Col- onel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Henry L, Pierce, the late Rev. James Freeman Clarke, all of Boston ; ex-Senator Wadleigh, of New Hamp- shire ; ex-Governors Daniel H. Chamberlain, of South Carolina, Blair, of Michigan, and Pound, of Wisconsin; Henry C. Lea, of Philadelpiiia, be- It 2 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. sides hundreds of able though less widely know*^ men in every part of the United States who were active in the promotion of the principles and the success of the Republican party so long as they thouorht its candidates creditable and honest men. While the independent candidacy of General Butler and his support by the New York Sun — which journal, late a supporter of the Democratic party, had become the most virulent foe of its candidate — distracted what was known as the " Labor vote " in some quarters, the candidacy of Governor St. John on the Prohibition ticket in equal degree weakened the Republican party, and diverted from it a considerable part of its strength in close States where it was not easily spared. Influential independent and Republican journals, like the Boston Herald and Ti^anscript, the New York Herald, Times, Evening Post, and Harper s Weekly, \ki^ Philadelphia T?*;;^^?^, Indianapolis A^^ze^^, and the powerful and effective cartoons and cari- catures of Puck, gave to the Cleveland campaign a journalistic support which his party had not enjoyed for a generation ; and they were a tre- mendous factor in achievinof the successful result. Throughout the campaign Governor Cleveland bore himself with great dignity, composure, and self-reliance. He exercised with his usual dili- gence and efficiency the functions of the Guber- natorial office in Albany ; he seldom went beyond the borders of his own State, and never neglected CLEVELAND-BLAINE CAMPAIGN. II3 the duties of its Chief Magistracy to promote hiS election or to serve the purposes of the party managers. His few speeches were characterized by the same seriousness and sincerity which pervaded all the utterances of his official career, and one of the effects of the popular confidence thus gained was seen in the steady increase of his support in business and financial circles ; the Commercial Exchanges of New York and other centres of trade manifested a great preponderance of sentiment in his favor. In contrast with his campaign and his personal conduct was the wild pageantry with which Blaine was conducted over the country, culminating in a series of ovations, dinners, and receptions in New York city. One of these, a select assem- blage of millionaires to do honor to the Republican candidate, created a strong feeling that his election was chiefly desired by the plutocrats and monopo- lists ; at another a misfit preacher named Bur- chard dropped an ill-timed remark, aspersing the Democracy as the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion," and to these two incidents many of Mr. Blaine's admirers lay the accountability for the slender adverse plurality which lost to him New York and the Presidency. AMONG OLD FRIENDS. In the course of this campaign, and when the fiercest attacks upon his private character were beine made, Mr. Cleveland made a visit to his old 1 T4 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. home and to the friends of his youth and manhood in Buffalo. On October 2d, 1884, after the longest, interval of absence during his thirty years resi- dence there, he was received with such an ovation of enthusiasm as testified that his hold upon the affections and esteem of his fellow-townsmen had not weakened. For the people of that great city, Henry Martin, President of the Manufacturers' and Tradesmen's Bank, welcomed him, and, in a speech of reply. Governor Cleveland, referring to the significance of the greeting, said with great pathos : 'Tt tells me that my neighbors are still my friends. It assures me that I have not been alto- gether unsuccessful in my efforts to deserve their confidence and attachment. In years to come, I shall deem myself not far wrong if I still retain their good opinion ; and if surrounding cares and perplexities bring but anxiety and vexation, I shall find solace and comfort in the memory of the days spent here, and in recalling the kindness of my Buffalo friends." To the great business men's meeting in Nev/ York, to which Mr. Tilden sent a letter of char- acteristic strength, Mr. Cleveland spoke with entire acceptability, and in his Newark, N. J., speech, near the close of the campaign, he thus foreshadowed what has come to be the supreme issue of political discussion in the closing years of his first term : " It is quite plain, too, that the people have a CLEVELAND-BLAINE CAMPAIGN. II5 right to demand that no more money should be taken from them directly or indirectly for public uses than is necessary for an honest and econom- ical administration of public affairs. Indeed, the rio^ht of the Government to exact tribute from the citizens is limited to its actual necessities, and every cent taken from the people beyond that re- quired for their protection by the Government is no better than robbery. We surely must con- demn, then, a system which takes from the pock- ets of the people millions of dollars not needed for the support of the Government, and which tends to the inauguration of corrupt schemes and extravagant expenditures. " The Democratic party has declared that all taxation shall be limited by the requirements of an economical Government. This is plain and direct ; and it distinctly recognizes the value of labor and its ricrht to oovernmental care when it further declares that the necessary reduction in taxation and limitation thereof to the country's needs should be effected without destroying American labor, or the ability to compete success- fully with foreign labor, and without injuring the interests of our laboring population." In the last speech of the 1884 campaign, at Bridgeport, Connecticut, he said: '' The world does not present a more sublime spectacle than a nation of freemen determining their own cause, and the leader whom they follow at such a time may well feel a sober, solemn sense Il6 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. of responsibility. The plaudits of his fellows he should feel, but only to feel more Intensely what a serious thing it is to have in keeping their hopes and their confidence." Two years before, when there opened to him the wide prospect of election to the Gubernatorial chair of New York, he had, in the privacy of his own family circle, written the following letter, which accidentally came to light In the campaign of 1884, only to disclose his modest and yet self- reliant character, his consecration to public duty, and utter disregard of any other consideration than the conscientious exercise of solemn trust: Mayor's Office, Buffalo, N. Y., November 7th, 1883. My Dear Brother : — I have just voted. I sit here in the Mayor's office alone, with the excep- tion of an artist from Frank Leslie's newspaper, who is sketching the office. If mother were here I should be Vv^rltinof to her, and I feel as if it were time for me to write to some one who will believe what I write. I have been for some time In the atmosphere of certain success, so that I have been sure that I should assume the duties of the hieh office for which I have been named. I have tried hard In the light of this fact to properly appreciate the responsibilities that will rest upon me, and they are much — too much — underesti- ROSWELL P. FLOWER, Governor of New York. CLE VELAND BLAINE CAMPAIGN. I I 7 mated. But the thouoht that has troubled me Is: Can I well perform my duties, and in such a manner as to do some good to the people of the State ? I know there is room for it, and I know that I am honest and sincere in my desire to do well, but the question is whether I know enough to accomplish what I desire. The social life which seems to await me has also been a subject of much anxious thought. I have a notion that I can regulate that very much as I desire, and if I can I shall spend very little in the purely ornamental part of the office. In point of fact, I will tell you, first of all others, the policy I intend to adopt, and that is to make the matter a business enofaeement between the people of the State and myself, in which the obligation on my side is to perform the duties assigned me with an eye single to the interest of my employers. I shall have no idea of re-election or of any higher political preferment in my head, but be very thankful and happy if I can well serve one term as the people's Governor. Do you know that if mother were alive I should feel so much safer? I have always thought her prayers had much to do with my success. I shall expect you to help me in that way. Give my love to and to , if she is with you, and believe me. Your affectionate brother, GROVER CLEVELAND. ii8 LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. The State election In Ohio took place In Octo- l)er and was carried by the Republican candidates for State offices. Mr. Blaine made an election- eering tour tnroucrh that State durinnf the latter part of September, and the most active efforts were put forth to secure a favorable result. The Demo- crats carried Georgia and West Virginia, so that the State elections which had long been supposed to influence the general result at the Presidential election, were deemed an offset to each other, Indi- ana havlncr ceased to be an October State. The election was held on November 4th, 1884, resultlno" in the choice of electors as follows : FOR CLEVELAND. Alabama, lo Arkansas 7 Connecticut, 6 Delaware, 3 Florida, 4 Georgia, 12 Indiana, 15 Kentucky, 13 Louisiana, 8 Maryland, 8 Mississippi, 9 Missouri, . 16 New Jersey^ 9 New York, 36 North Carolina, 1 1 South Carolina, 9 Tennessee, , . 12 Texas, 13 Virginia 12 West Virginia, 6 Total, 219 FOR BLAINE. California, 8 Colorado, 3 Illinois, 22 Iowa, 13 Kansas, 9 Maine, 6 Massachusetts, 14 Michigan, 13 Minnesota, 7 Nebraska, 5 Nevada, 3 New Hampshire, 4 Ohio, 23 Oregon, 3 Pennsylvania, 30 Rhode Island, 4 Vermont, 4 Wisconsin, 11 Total, iSa CLEVELAND-BLAINE CAMPAIGN. I I9 The popular vote aggregated as follows: Cleveland, 4,874,986 Butler, I73,370 Blaine, 4,851,981 St. John, 150,369 For some days after the election an attempt was made to represent the result as doubtful be- cause the plurality in the State of New York was small. But the effort was so decidedly the last expirini^- hope of a defeated party that it produced no other feelini^ stronirer than distrust and a de- termination that no such fraudulent result as that of 1876 should be declared. In four days after the election the result was universally accepted. The managers of the defeated party, in their intense disappointment, vented their rage partly upon the Prohibitionists, and to some degree upon the luckless speech of Rev. Dr. Burchard; their deepest resentment, however, was exhibited against the so-called " Mugwumps," for whom no terms of reproach were deemed too violent. The Independent Republicans, who had vainly pro- tested against Blaine's nomination and had con- tributed to his defeat at the polls, received the abuse now heaped upon them with great com- placency and hopefully looked to the new Admin- istration for their vindication. The Democrats over the whole country cele- brated their victory with jubilees, barbecues, parades, and varied methods of popular rejoicing. The celebration of 1876 had been premature; but now the triumphant party gave vent to dem- I20 LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. onstratlons of unqualified and unrestrained joy. Amid all this, in many quarters, were heard the warning voices of discreet leaders, pointing out that the victory should be interpreted as a tri- umph of the better elements of all parties, and a narrow escape of the Government from threatened perils rather than a mere partisan achievement. Speculation was rife as to how a comparatively untried man would meet and deal with the great responsibilities of an office coming to him under the peculiar circumstances of the campaign of 1884. CHAPTER IX. PREPARING FOR THE NEW ADMINISTRATION. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM — THE SILVER QUESTION. ^ ¥ ^HE interval between the retirement of Governor Cleveland from the Executive i chair of New York, which David B. Hill, the Lieutenant-Governor, was now called upon to fill, and the inauguration of a Democratic Ad- ministration at the Federal capital, was busily occupied with consultations and plans for the re- organization in Federal power of a party virtually excluded from it for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury. Chief in all such councils and first among all counselors of the President-elect, then and ever since, was and has been Colonel Daniel S. Lamont, who was soon to be translated from the position of Private Secretary to the Governor of New York to that of Private Secretary to the President of the United States. A young man, trained in the best school of New York politics, experienced in journalism, quick to perceive the value and character of men, discreet in speech, and efficient in commanding the largest share of information from any visitor, whether he has an axe to grind or comes merely as an interested 121 122 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. observer of the action and character of others — he has shown hunself the most intelHgent, as he has become the best known of all the men who in the arduous and difficult post of Private Secre- tary have contributed to increase the interest and the pleasure or to lighten the labor of men in the public life of the United States. To most men the lack of all experience in pub- lic life in a Federal office would have been a seri- ous drawback on the threshold of an Administra- tion which was to bring back to the country the policy of a party long excluded. But it was rather an advantao^e to Grover Cleveland. He had none of those prejudices, those likes and dislikes, which incessantly surround the men who have had many years experience in the somewhat artificial and insincere life of Washington. He did not know personally any large number of those with whom he was destined to deal. But he had patience, the faculty of investigating everything with care, and of deciding it on its merits, and he had an insight into men and their characters which is rare. There were more things to do in the interval between the election in November, 1884, and the inauguration of March 4th, 1885, than the mere choosing of men to carry out the policy of the new President and the party behind him. Delegations with ideas of various kinds, which they w^ere anx- ious to force upon the attention of the powers that were to be, had to be received and answered. THE PRE PARA TION. I 2 5 Eccentric men and women must be received and treated with a politeness which such persons at times do much to strain. The admonition of many well-meaning persons without ideas or mission, but with a capacity for curiosity, had to be accepted in a spirit as meek as was consonant with the fail- ings of humanity. Most important, and most dif- ficult of all, the man who was to take upon him- self such a burden was compelled continually to enunciate anew the principles upon which he would seek to shape his policy. His election had been promoted by the support of a large and growing class of men in politics formerly denom- inated by the somewhat indefinite name of " inde- pendent voters," but known during the campaign and since by the title of '' Mugwumps " — a distinct- ive addition to the nomenclature of politics. CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM LETTER. Before his retirement from the Governorship, under date of December 25th, 1884, Mr. Cleve- land wrote a letter to Mr. George William Curtis, President of the National Civil Service Reform Association, in which he laid down with great dis- tinctness the general policy which he wished to pursue in the matter of removals from office and appointments. In this letter the President-elect said : " That a practical reform In the civil service is abundantly established by the fact that a statute 1 2 5 ^/^^ 0^ GkO VER CLE VELaND. referred to in your communication to secure such a result has been passed in Congress with the assent of both political parties, and by the further fact that a sentiment is generally prevalent among patriotic people calling for the. fair and honest enforcement of the law which has thus been en- acted. I regard myself pledged to this, because my conception of true Democratic faith and pub- lic duty requires that this and all other statutes should be in good faith and without evasion en- forced, and because in many utterances made prior to my election as President, approved by the party to which I belong, and which I have no disposition to disclaim, I have in effect promised the people that this should be done. "I am not unmindful of the fact, to which you refer, that many of our citizens fear that the recent party changes in the national Executive may demonstrate that the abuses which have grown up in the civil service are ineradicable. I know that they are deeply rooted, and that the spoils system has been supposed to be intimately related to success in the maintenance of party organiza- tion, and I am not sure that all those who profess to be the friends of this reform will stand firmly among its advocates when they find it obstructing their way to patronage and place. " But fully appreciating the trust committed to my charge, no such consideration shall cause a relaxation on my part of an earnest effort to en- force the law. "There is a class of Government positions which are not within the letter of the civil-service statute, but which are so disconnected with the policy of an Administration that the removal therefrom THE PRE PARA TION. 1 1 7 of present incumbents, In my opinion, should not be made during the term for which they were appointed solely on partisan grounds, and for the purpose of putting in their places those who are in political accord with the appointing power. " But many now holding such positions have forfeited all just claim to retention because they have used their places for party purposes, in dis- regard of their duty to the people, and because, instead of being decent public servants, they have proved themselves offensive partisans and un- scrupulous manipulators of local party manage- ment. "The lessons of the past should be unlearned, and such officials, as well as their successors, should be taught that efficiency and fitness and devotion to public duty are the conditions of their continuance in public place, and that the quiet and unobtrusive exercise of individual political rights is the reasonable measure of their party service. *'If I were addressing none but party friends, I should deem it entirely proper to remind them that, though the comlne Administration is to be Democratic, a due regard for the people's interest does not permit faithful party work to be always rewarded by appointment to office, and to say to them that^ while Democrats may expect all proper consideration, selections for office not embraced within the civil-service rules will be based upon sufficient inquiry as to fitness instituted by those charged with that duty, rather than persistent importunity or self-solicited recommendations on behalf of candidates for appointment." 128 ^^^^ ^^ GROVER CLEVELAND. THE SILVER LETTER OF 1 885. Another element of strength to Mr. Cleveland in the exciting campaign which had just closed was the general impression of his substantial sound- ness on all financial questions, measured by the standards of Jefferson, Jackson, and Tilden, and by the general acceptance by the people of the country after many years of agitation of the dan- ger of inflation of a currency worth less than its face. At the time under discussion there was a general fear on the part of thoughtful students of financial questions that disaster would finally re- sult from the compulsory coinage under the law of 1878 of a minimum of two millions of silver dollars each month. Mr. Cleveland, a short time before his inauguration, in a letter under date of February 28th, 1885, and addressed to Mr. War- ner, a representative from the State of Ohio, and others, set forth his views upon this question at considerable length and with much positiveness. Besides other things, he said : *' To the Hon. A. y. Warner and others, Members of the Forty-eighth Congress. " Gentlemen : The letter which I have had the honor to receive from you invites, and indeed obliges, me to give expression to some grave public necessities, although in advance of the moment when they would become the objects of my official care and partial responsibility. Your THE PREPARATION. I 29 solicitude that my judgment shall have been care- fully and deliberately farmed is entirely just, and I accept the suggestion in the same friendly spirit in which it has been made. It is also fully justi- fied by the nature of the financial crisis which, under the operation of the act of Congress of February 28th, 1878, is now close at hand. ^' By a compliance with the requirements of that law all the vaults of the Federal Treasury have been and are heaped full of silver coins, which are now worth less than eighty-five per cent, of the gold dollar prescribed as the unit of value in section 16 of the act of February 12th, 1873, and which, with the silver certificates repre- senting such coin, are receivable for all public dues. Being thus receivable, while also constantly increasing in quantity at the rate of $28,000,000 a year, it has followed of necessity that the flow of gold into the Treasury has steadily diminished. Silver and silver certificates have displaced and are now displacing the gold in the Federal Treasury now available for the crold oblio^ationsof the United States and for redemption of the United States notes called ' greenbacks,' if not already en- croached upon, is perilously near such encroach- ment. " These are facts which, as they do not admit of difference of opinion, call for no argument. They have been forewarned to us in the official reports of every Secretary of the Treasury, from 1878 till now. They are plainly affirmed in the last De- cember report of the present Secretary of the Treasury to the Speaker of the present House of Representatives. They appear in the official doc- uments of this Congress, and in the records of the 130 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. New York Clearing-house, of which the Treasury is a member, and through which the bulk of the receipts and payments of the Federal Government and country pass. "These being the facts of our present condi- tion, our danger, and our duty to avert that dan- ger, would seem to be plain. I hope that you concur with me and with the great majority of our fellow-citizens, in deeming it most desirable at the present juncture to maintain and continue in use the mass of our gold coin, as well as the mass of silver already coined. This is possible by a pres- ent suspension of the purchase and coinage ot silver. I am not aware that by any other method it is possible. It is of momentous importance to prevent the two metals from parting company ; to prevent the increasing displacement of gold by the increasing coinage of silver ; to prevent the disuse of gold in the custom-houses of the United States in the daily business of the people; to pre- vent the ultimate expulsion of gold by silver. Such a financial crisis as these events would cer- tainly precipitate, were it now to follow upon so long a period of commercial depression, would involve the people of every city and every State in the Union in a prolonged and disastrous trou- ble. The revival of business enterprise and pros- perity so ardently desired, and apparently so near, would be hopelessly postponed. Gold would be withdrawn to its hoarding places, and an unpre- cedented contraction in the actual volume of our currency would speedily take place. " Saddest of all, in every workshop, mill, factor}', store, and on every railroad and farm the wages of labor, already depressed, would suffer still fur- THE PREPARATION. I'^x ther depression by a scaling down of the purchas- ino- power of every so-called dollar paid into the halids of toil. From these impending calamities, it is surely a most patriotic and grateful duty of the representatives of the people to deliver them. '*! am, gendemen, with sincere respect, your fellow-citiz%n, . ^j^q^ER CLEVELAND. *' Albany, February 24th, 1885." CHAPTER X. THE INAUGURATION. ORGANIZATION OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION — THE CABINET OFFICERS AND HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS, A S the day for the Inauguration of the Presi- dent drew near, pubHc interest in the men who would be chosen as his constitutional advisers became more and more aroused. At a comparatively early day Mr. Cleveland adopted a policy, which he has since carried out with much success, of giving out informally and unofficially indications of any important appointment, message, or policy upon which he had determined. In this way it was generally known that Senator Bayard, of Delaware, would be tendered the office of Sec- retary of State, nominally considered the leading place in the Cabinet because first created and sur- rounded by traditions which gave it this rank by Thomas Jefferson, the first incumbent of the office under President Washington. From time to time hints were let fall as to other members of the Cabinet, although no official announcement was made until the day following the inauguration, when their names were sent to the Senate. 132 2 STARTING FOR THE INAUGURATION. THE INAUGURATION. I 35 The day fixed by law for the inauguration of the new President, March 4th, 1885, was the most perfect, from an atmospheric point of view, that Washinorton had seen for months. The President- elect, accompanied by the Vice-President-elect, INIr. Hendricks, and members of the Senate Com- mittee appointed to escort them to the Capitol, went at about half-past ten o'clock to the White House, where President Arthur and the Marshal of the district were in waitinor. A start was made at once, the carriages falling into line in the place arranged for them by the Chief Marshal, General Henry W. Slocum, of New York. The Regular Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Artillery, the Marine Band and detachments from the militia of several States contributed to swell the procession to somethinof like twentv-five thousand men. As usual, the ceremonies of inauguration were per- formed at the east front of the Capitol, and in this case before an audience estimated to number one hundred and fifty thousand. Mr. Cleveland was dressed in the regulation Prince Albert suit. In speaking he held his left hand closed behind his back, usinof his rio^ht hand for makingr the cus- tomary gestures of the public speaker. He spoke without manuscript, as is his wont, and in a clear, resonant voice. His self-confidence and compo- sure were as marvelous to the hundreds of more experienced public men who surrounded him as they were novel and yet reassuring to the people 1^6 ^^P^ ^P GROVER CLEVELAND. of the country. The most important utterances of his inaugural address were as follows : EXTRACTS FROM THE INAUGURAL. "Amid the din of party strife the people's choice was made, but its attendant circumstances demonstrated anew the strength and safety of a government by the people. " In each succeeding year it more clearly ap- pears that our Democratic principle needs no apology, and that in its fearless and faithful ap- plication is to be found the surest guaranty of good government. But the best results in the operation of a government wherein every citizen has a share largely depend upon a proper limita- tion of purely partisan zeal and effort, and a cor- rect appreciation of the time when the heat of the partisan should be merged in the patriotism of the citizen. " To-day the Executive branch of the govern- ment is transferred to new keeping, but this is still the government of all the people, and it should be none the less an object of affectionate solicitude. At this hour the animosities of polit- ical strife, the bitterness of partisan defeat, and the exultation of partisan triumph should be sup- planted by an ungrudging aquiescence in the popular will, and a sober, conscientious concern for the general weal. " Moreover, if from this hour we cheerfully and honesdy abandon all secdonal prejudice and dis- trust, and determine with manly confidence in one another to work out harmoniously the achieve- ments of our national destiny, we shall deserve to THE INAUGURATION. X^J realize all the benefits which our happy form of government can bestow ; on this conspicuous oc- casion we may well renew the pledge of devotion to the Constitution, which, launched by the found- ers of the Republic and consecrated by their prayers and patriotic devotion, has for almost a century borne the hopes and the aspirations of a great people through prosperity and peace, and through the foreign conflicts and the perils of do- mestic strife and vicissitudes. " By the Father of his Country our Constitution was commended for adoption, as * the result of a spirit of amity and mutual concession.' In that same spirit it should be administered, in order to promote the lasting welfare of the country, and to secure the full measure of its priceless benefits to us and to those who will succeed to the blessings of our national life. The large variety of diverse and competing interests subject to Federal control, persistently seeking the recognition of their claims, need o^ive us no fear that the crreat- est orood to the greatest number will fail to beac- compllshed, If in the halls of the National Legis- lature that spirit of amity and mutual concession shall prevail in which the Constitution had Its birth. " If this involves the surrender or postpone- ment of private Interests, the sacrifice of local van- tages, compensation will be found in assurance that thus the minor interest Is subserved and the general welfare advanced." ADVISERS OF THE EXECUTIVE. It was not until the next day after the Inaugu- ration ceremonies that the curiosity of the country /i>§ LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. o concerning the Cabinet was officially gratified. Thomas F. Bayard, Secretary of State, had seen long service in the Senate from the State of Dela- ware, and had attained such prominence that he had been voted for in three National Conventions as a candidate for President. His nature was conservative ; his mind was trained to politics from early manhood by a close study of our system of orovernment. He had taken hi^h rank as a law- yer, both in the practice of his profession and in legal arguments before that august body, the Senate of the United States. His appointment as Secretary of State gave general satisfaction because of the known dignity of his character, his conservatism., and his lack of those fiery and impractical qualities which distinguish demagogues and men of so-called " mao^nedsm." His career in the State Department has justified the hopes of his friends and confounded his enemies. The man selected for that most important and difficult office, Secretary of the Treasury, was Daniel Mannincr of the State of New York. He was a man whose career illustrated the eenius of our institutions better, perhaps, than that of any one who ever occupied that office. A memberof a worthy family in his native State of New York, he was early apprenticed to learn the trade of printer in the office of the Argus at Albany. Here his industry, his unfailing good sense, and his energy gave him the opportunities he needed. THOMAS F. BAYARD, SECRETARY OF STATE. THE INAUGURATION. I4I As a result he rose rapidly through different grades of the business and editorial departments of the paper until he became its editor and owner. With business prosperity he had also entered into the bankinor business, and thus turned his attention to the study of financial questions. Always active in politics, he rose with each step of his business and professional advancement in the councils of his party, until, as Chairman of the State Committee, in the first Democratic State of the Union, he became the Warwick who made Governors and Presidents without subjecting himself to the charcre of beinor a " boss '' — that great bugbear of the modern prudes of politics. He had early recognized the qualities of Mr. Cleveland, both practical and available, and he was the earnest and successful leader in direct- ine his nomination for President, as well as a potent factor in securing his election. His career as Secretary of the Treasury \vas, taking its brevity into consideration, the most brilliant in the history of the United States ; and when, after less than two years service, he was com- pelled to resign because of impaired health, he retired with universal respect and admiration of his countrymen, and when he died, early in the present year, he was as sincerely mourned as a loss to our politics as if he had been for many years one of the leading figures in shaping the policies of a great nation. 14^ L IFE OF GR VER CLE VELAND. For Attorney-General the President selected Augustus H. Garland, of Arkansas. One of the ablest lawyers of his State, he had been its Gover- nor in the troublous times of the carijet-bao'trers, which so tried the souls of honest men, and he had rendered conspicuous service in ridding his State and section of these human pests. His service in the Senate of the United States had de- monstrated his attainments as a lawyer, his patriotism and honesty as a man, and his useful- ness as a legislator. To William C. Whitney, of- the State of New York, was confided the difficult task of takinor the Navy Departm.ent and of redeeming it from reproach. He was the youngest man in the Cabinet, but he had done conspicuous work for the cause of good government in the State and city of New York ; and as corporation counsel ot that great municipality he had shown the energy and executive efficiency which in his present larger sphere have made his department clean and respectable. The success attending his efforts to restore the navy on sound business principles has justified the confidence reposed in him by President Cleveland ; and the present political " solidity " of New York vindicates the wisdom of the daring experiment of taking two Cabinet officers from a single State. For Secretary of War, William C. Endicott, who had seen judicial service in his native State AUGUSTUS H. GARLAND. THE INAUGURATION. I 45 of Massachusetts, was selected. He was the least known of the members of the new Cabinet; but the absence of scandal and the preservation of discipline in his department show his honesty and ability. The Post-Office Department is in many re- spects the mo-t important and most difficult port- folio in the Cabinet of the President. Its subor- dinates greatly outnumber those of all others combined, its efficiency is tested even in the re- motest hamlet, and its revenues give it second place in rank. Wm. F. Vilas, of Wisconsin, had the training of a lawyer who had always been an apt and ardent student of politics. He gave close attention to every detail of the work in his De- partment and rendered excellent service in it until his transfer to the head of the Interior De- partment in December, 1887. L. O. C. Lamar, then a Senator of the United States from Mississippi, was chosen as Secretary of the Interior. Under his direction, the many and serious abuses in his Department were cor- rected. He carried out a wise policy of dealing with the Indians under which peaceful relations have been uniformly maintained since March, 1885; he inaugurated reforms in the affairs of the Patent Office ; he selected careful and honest men to manacre the Pension Office and the Aericultural Departm.ent; he took firm measures to bring the delinquentPacificRailroads to account,and carried 1^5 ^^^^ OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. out In the most conscientious way the policy of reclaiming land grants to railroads after they had lapsed because of a failure to perform the condition of the orrants. His course in office fully justified the choice of the President, and his appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States was only regretted because it took him out of an executive office which he had managed faithfully and well. The first vacancy In the Cabinet was caused by the retirement of Daniel Manning from the office of Secretary of the Treasury. He was succeeded by Charles S. Falrchild, who was promoted from the position of First Assistant Secretary. He had had a careful training in the larger politics of the State of New York, where he had rendered conspicuous service as Attorney-General In pros- ecution of the canal frauds unearthed by Mr. Tllden while Governor. He has shown himselfa worthy successor of Mr. Manning, of whose policy he himxself has always been a faithfu-1 pupil and follower. By the appointment of Mr. Lamar to a judge- ship of the Supreme Court, and the ensuing trans- fer of Mr. Vilas from the Post-Office Department to the Interior, Don M. Dickinson, of Michigan, became Postmaster-General. Durlne" his brief term of service he has shown the Industry, hon- esty, and executive capacity, as well as political good sense, which long distinguished hira as the W. C. WHITNEY THE INAUGURATIOX 149 head of his profession and the leader of his party in Michigan. HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS. Scarcely less important than the selection of a Cabinet of constitutional advisers was the choice of men to fill those offices popularly recognized as of the second grade, the duties of whose posi- tions compel them none the less to study and learn the details of their various departments, and upon whom the President and the heads of de- partments m\ist in a large measure depend. Among the men thus chosen^ and chosen with- out mistake, were John Goode, of Virginia, as Solicitor-General of the United States. His nomination was defeated in a partisan Senate by the petty malice of William Mahone, whose ne- farious and disgraceful schemxes Mr. Goode had exposed at every turn, and with just, unsparing severity. Another was the lamented and gifted Malcolm Hay, of Pennsylvania, whose illness, soon after proving fatal, compelled his early res- ignation as First Assistant Postmaster-General. His successor, A. E. Stevenson, of Illinois, charged especially with the selection of fourth-class post- masters, by far the most numerous class of public servants, has carried out with conspicuous fidelity the policy, the necessity of which became early apparent, of making the postal service effective by removing the men whose only desire was to I50 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. obstruct its operations in order to embarrass th?s new Administration. George A. Jenks, one of the foremost lawyers of Pennsylvania, who, as counsel for Tilden before the Electoral Commission, achieved more reputation in one Congressional term than comes to most public men in a lifetime, became Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and was a terror to the violators of the land and other laws with the execution of which he was charged. He was finally promoted to be Solici- tor-General of the United States. Charles S. Fairchild and Judge Isaac H. Maynard, of New York, together v;ith ex-Governor Hugh J. Thomp- son, of South Carolina, have done good work as Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury; while Gen- eral William S. Rosecrans, of California, as Reg- ister of the Treasury; Conrad N. Jordan, of New York, as Treasurer of the United States ; Judge McCue, of New York, as Solicitor of the Treasury, and Milton J. Durham, of Kentucky, as First Comp- troller, have rendered service to the Treasury and the country in the various positions of trust to which they have -been called. In the Interior Department the veteran soldier. General Joseph E. Johnston, of Virginia, has been conspicuous as Commissioner of Railroads ; John D. C. Atkins, as Indian Commissioner, and Norman J. Coleman, as Commissioner of Agriculture, have adminis- tered their Important offices, so large as to be of *"he magnitude of and to be called " departments," C. ENDICOTTj THE INA UG URA TION. I 5 3 with honesty and efficiency. Scarcely second In importance to a Cabinet office Is the great Bureau of Pensions, which, under the Conimlsslonership of General John C. Black, the veteran soldier and maimed hero of the Union cause, has been ad- ministered with a promptitude, efficiency, econo- my of expenditure, and liberality of construction unprecedented under Republican administrations. Next In the amount of receipts to the customs service Itself Is the system of Internal Revenue, which constitutes a department; to the head of it the President, with his characteristic sagacity in the selection of men, called a vigorous, clear- headed, and able executive officer In the person of Joseph S. Miller, an ex-Representative in Con- gress from West Virginia. To the wisdom and fitness of choice displayed in these and many other worthy and no less im- portant Executive appointments, and to the sin- gleness of purpose with which the appointees have carried out the President's policies, have been largely due the cohesion and success of Mr. Cleveland's Administration. In the diplomatic service, Edward J. Phelps, of Vermont, as Minister to England ; Robert M. McLane, of Maryland, as Minister to France; George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, as Min.^ster to Germany; George V. N. Lothrop, of Michigan, as Minister to Russia; J. B. Stallo, of Ohio, as Minister to Italy ; Richard B. Hubbard, as Minis^ 154 ^^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. ter to Japan ; and Thomas M. Waller, of Connect- icut, as Consul-General to London, are only some of the principal appointments to a branch of the service of which not a sincrle member has reflected discredit or dishonor upon his country or the Administration. During the first year of his administration Pres- ident Cleveland was subjected to considerable criticism in his own party, and to malignant mis- representation from without, because of his rigid adherence to the civil-service reform policy which he had set out to establish and maintain. Many of the less thoughtful members of his own party made the complaint that he did not proceed rap- idly enough in the work of making removals. On the other hand, some of his independeiit support- ers were inclined to forofet that he was confronted by '* a condition, not a theory," and made loud outcry each time some cringing incumbent of an office was removed that the President w^as forget- ting his pledges. Still another class of complaints came from Republicans, both in office and out. There was general resentment on the part of these people at the audacity which would deprive them of what they had come to believe was a vested right to hold office ; consequently, early in the session of the Forty-ninth Congress, the Senate, under the lead of Mr. Edmunds, of Ver- mont, set up the claim, hitherto never advanced, that that body was entitled to the "papers ' upon WILLIAM F. VILAS, THE INAUGURATION. 157 which removals and appointments had been made. The President refused to comply with this request, holding that such documents affected considera- tions private to himself. After some little delay the Senate found that its position was indefensible, and quietly receded from it, by confirming the men appointed to the offices in question. On the whole, however, the people of the coun- try sustained the President in his position. There was general recognition of the fact that many unfriendly incumbents of office had impeded the service in order to discredit the new Administra- tion ; that others had truckled to the new powers in the hope that their sudden zeal might hide their cowardice and inefficiency; and that still others had all of a sudden become great reformers when they could no longer prostitute the public service to party and selfish ends. The desire of the people to see fair play finally triumphed over the impatient friends of the President, his imprac- ticable supporters who had expected so much, and his unscrupulous enemies in the Senate and in the minor offices. It was then seen that the standard of public service fixed by the new Ad- ministration was such a lofty one that no scandal had come from the actions of any of the new officials, whether in the departments or in the sub- ordinate offices ; that the minor places in the de- partments at Washington and in the large custom- houses and post-of^ces were filled strictly in obe- 1^8 LII^E OF GROVEk CLEVELAND. dience to the civil-service law ; that there were no glaring instances in which officials had used their places to do political wrongs, and that, as a whole, the public service of the United States had never been in better condition. For the first time, a substantial advance had been made in orenuine civil-service reform, and the President's victory was secured without the alienation of any influen- tial element of his own party, and without violating any obligation, express or implied, which he took upon himself in becoming its candidate. In the years to follow, the wisdom of his policy was to be more fully tested and more emphatically ap- proved. In the death, on the 25th of November, 1885, of thehonoredstatesman,ThomasA. Hendricks, Vice- President of the United States, the new Demo- cratic circle was first broken. From his earliest manhood, even before he reached his majority, he had upheld the standard of his party, and incul- cated such a lofty patriotism that he had never done auorht which could be construed as inimical to the interests of his country. The highest honors were paid to his memory. The President, immediately upon the receipt of the sad tidings of his death, issued a proclamation to the country, recounting his services and directing that the various branches of the Government should pay the customary tributes of respect to his memory. CHAPTER XI. THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. MESSAGES TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE— TARIFF REVISION AND OTHER REFORMS. ON the first Monday in December, 1885, the Forty-ninth Congress met, and President Cleveland transmitted his first annual message. He adverted feelingly in its opening sentences to the death of Vice-President Hendricks, and paid a warm tribute to his mem- ory. He discussed with much fullness all the leading questions which affected the country, and with general public acceptance. Among the issues which have since become of great import- ance were the enactment of laws to prevent the collection of a surplus revenue, the retention of the public lands for actual setders, and the reform of the abuses which had crept into the civil service. On the reduction of taxation his views were so clear and conscientious upon the one issue, which he has since projected into import- ance, that his conclusions are given at length: *'The fact that our revenues are in excess^ of the actual needs of an economical adrninistration of the Government, justifies a reduction in the 161 I 52 Z/y^^ OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. amount exacted from the people for Its support. Our Government is but the means estabHshed by the will of a free people by which certain princi- ples are applied which they have adopted for their benefit and protection ; and it is never better ad- ministered and its true spirit is never better ob- served than when the people's taxation for its support is scrupulously limited to the actual necessity of expenditure, and distributed accord- ing to a just and equitable plan. *' The proposition with which we have to deal is the reduction of the revenue received by the Government, and indirectly paid by the people from customs duties. The question of free trade is not involved, nor is there now any occasion for the general discussion of the wisdom or expediency of a protective system. Justice and fairness dic- tate that in any modification of our present laws relating to revenue, the industries and Interests which have been encouraged by such laws, and In which our citizens have large Investments, should not be ruthlessly Injured or destroyed. We should also deal with the subject In such a manner as to protect the Interests of American labor, which is the capital of our worklngmen ; Its stability and proper remuneration furnish the most justifiable pretext for a protective policy. "Within these limitations a certain reduction should be made in our customs revenue. The amount of such reduction having been determined, the inquiry follows, where can it best be remitted and what articles can best be released from duty, in the interests of our citizens? I think the re- duction should be made in the revenue derived from a tax upon the imported necessaries of life. THE PRESIDENT AXD CONGRESS. j(5-» We thus directly lessen the cost of living in every family of the land, and release to the people in every humble home a larger measure of the re- wards of frugal industry." CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM. Having announced his devotion to a genuine reform of the civil-service abuses in his letter of acceptance, in various letters and speeches during the campaign, and in his first inaugural address, he took occasion to emphasize anew his position in the following language : " I am inclined to think that there is no senti- ment more general in the minds of the people of our country, than a conviction of the correctness of the principle upon which the law enforcing civil- service reform is based. * * * * Experience in its administration will probably suggest amend- ment of the methods of its execution, but I venture to hope that we shall never again be remitted to the system which distributes public positions purely as rewards for partisan service. Doubts may well be entertained whether our Government could survive the strain of a continuance of this system, which upon every change of Administration in- spires an immense army of claimants for office to lay siege to the patronage of Government, en- grossing the time of public officers with their im- portunities, spreading abroad the contagion of their disappointment, and filling the air with the tumult of their discontent. "The allurements of an immense number of offices and places, exhibited to the voters of the 1 64 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. land, and die promise of their bestowal in recog^ nition of partisan activity, debauch the suffrage and rob political action of its thoughtful and de- liberative character. The evil would increase with the multiplication of offices consequent upon our extension, and the mania for office-holding, growing from its indulgence, would pervade our population so generally that joatriotic purpose, the support of principle, the desire for the public good, and solicitude for the nation's welfare, would be nearly banished from the activity of our party contests and cause them to degenerate Into ieno- ble, selfish, and disgraceful struggles for the pos- session of office and public place. Civil-service reform enforced by law came none too soon to check the progress of demoralization. One of its effects, not enough regarded, is the freedom it brings to the political action of those conservative and sober men who, in fear of the confusion and risk attending an arbitrary and sudden change in all the public offices with a change of party rule, cast their ballots aoalnst such a chance. o '' Parties seem to be necessary, and will long continue to exist; nor can it be now denied that there are legitimate advantages, not disconnected with office-holding, which follow party supremacy. While partisanship continues bitter and pro- nounced, and supplies so much of motive to senti- ment and action, it is not fair to hold public offi- cials, in charge of important trusts, responsible for the best results in the performance of their duties, and yet insist that they shall rely, in confidential and important places, upon the work of those not only opposed to them in political affiliation, but so steeped in partisan prejudice and rancor that they THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. jg,. have no loyalty to their chiefs and no desire for their success. Civil-service reform does not ex- act this, nor does it require that those In subor- dinate positions who fail in yielding their best ser- vice, or who are incompetent, should be retained simply because they are in place. The whining of a clerk discharged for indolence or Incompetency, who, though he gained his place by the worst pos- sible operation of the spoils system, suddenly discovers that he is entitled to protection under the sanction of civil-service reform, represents an idea no less absurd than the clamor of the applicant who claims the vacant position as his compensation for the most questionable party work. "The civil-service law does not prevent the dis- charge of the indolent or incompetent clerk, but it does prevent supphing his place with the unfit party worker. Thus, in both these phases, is seen benefit to the public service. And the people who desire good government having se- cured this statute, will not relinquish its benefits without protest. Nor are they unmindful of the fact that its full advantages can onlv be eained through the complete good faith of those having its execution In charge. And this they will insist upon." THE PUBLIC LANDS. Since the advent of the present Adminlstradon the policy of preserving the public lands for actual settlers has been consistently carried out. Closely allied with this policy has been the restoration of unearned lands granted to railroads to the public J 56 Z//^£: OF GROVER CLEVELAND. domain. The President had given careful atten- tion to the question and thus announced his con- clusions : " It is not for the * common benefit of the United States' that a large area of the public lands should be acquired, directly or through fraud, in the hands of a single individual. The Nation's strength is in the people. The Nation's prosperity is in their prosperity. The Nation's glory is in the equality of her justice. The Nation's perpetuity is in the patriotism of all her people. Hence, as far as practicable, the plan adopted in the disposal of the public lands should have in view the original policy, which encouraged many purchasers of these lands for homes, and discouraeed the massiuQ^ of larcre areas. Exclu- j^ive of Alaska, about three-fifths of the national domain has been sold or subjected to contract or p-rant. Of the remaininof two-fifths a consider- able portion is either mountain or desert. A rapidly increasing population creates a growing- demand for homes, and the accumulation of wealth inspires an eager competition to obtain the public land for speculative purposes. In the future this collision of interests will be more marked than in the past, and the execution of the Nation's trust in behalf of our settlers will be more difficult. I therefore commend to your attention the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary of the Interior with refer- ence to the repeal and modification of certain of our land laws. "The nation has made princely grants and subsidies to a system of railroads projected as THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. 167 great national highways to connect the Pacific States with the East. It has been charo-ed that these donations from the people have been di- verted to private gain and corrupt uses, and thus public indignation has been aroused and suspi- cion enorendered. Our areat nation does not begrudge its generosity, but It abhors peculation and fraud; and the favorable regard of our people for the great corporations to which these grants were made can only be revived by a restoration of confidence, to be secured by their constant, unequivocal, and clearly manifested integrity. A faithful application of the undimin- ished proceeds of the grants to the construction and perfecting of their roads, an honest discharge of their obligations, and entire justice to all the people In the enjoyment of their rights on these highways of travel, are all the public asks, and It will be content with no less. To secure these things should be the common purpose of the officers of the Government, as well as of the corporations. With this accomplishment, pros- perity would be permanently secured to the roads, and national pride would take the place of na- tional complaint." With the same object In view, he interposed his veto to maintain the lands of the Indian tribes free from Invasion by railroads without the consent of the tribes, thus protecting the wards of the nation from the exactions of corporations. Wherever an attempt has been made by Con- gress to surrender any of the rights of Indian tribes by giving away privileges to their lands, J 58 ^^^^ O^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. President Cleveland has interposed his veto to prevent, or has suggested the insertion of new and additional safeguards for the better protection of their rights. PROTECTING THE SETTLERS, During the early part of the year 1887, ^^ Northern Pacific Railroad Company undertook to enforce with much severity certain litigation with men who had settled on certain lands afterward found to lie within the limits of indemnity lands to be selected by the Company for making up any deficiencies in the lands granted to it by Congress. Among these cases was that of Guilford Miller. He claimed that he had settled upon the land in 1878, and that he had cultivated the same under the homestead law until 1884, when he claimed title. The case was referred to the Attorney- General, who, upon its strictly technical and legal aspects, decided against the settler. All the papers were, at his request, turned over to the President, who examined them with the great care and comprehensive industry which has usually distinguished his examination of such cases, both as Governor and President. On April 25th, 1887, he addressed a notable letter to the Secretary of the Interior, suggesting a method of settlement, which, while not interferine with the risfhts of Mil- ler, would also permit the railroad to select an equal amount of land from some contiguous por- THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. j 5q tion of the public domain to indemnify It for this loss. In other words, the President sought a way to decide the matter upon the equities of the case, in such a way, as he expressed it, "as to protect this settler from hardship and loss." In the course of his letter he laid down the fol- lowing as settling the policy he would pursue : "There seems to be no evidence presented showing how much, if any, of this vast tract is ne- cessary for the fulfillment of the grant to the rail- road company, nor does there appear to be any limitation of the time within which this fact should be made known and the corporation obliged to make its selection. After a lapse of fifteen years this large body of the public domain Is still held in reserve, to the exclusion of settlers, for the convenience of a corporate beneficiary of the Government, and awaiting its selection, though It Is entirely certain that much of this reserved land can never be honestly claimed by said corpora- tion. Such a condition of the public lands should no longer continue. So far as It Is the result of executive rules and methods, these should be abandoned, and so far as It is a consequence of improvident laws, these should be repealed or amended. "Our public domaip is our national wealth, the earnest of our crrowth and the heritaee of our people. It should promise limitless development and riches, relief to a crowding population, and homes to thrift and industry. These Inestimable advantages should be jealously guarded, and a careful and enlightened policy on the part of the 170 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. Government should secure them to the people. In the case under consideration I assume that there is an abundance of land within the area which has been reserved for indemnity, in which no citizen or settler has a legal or equitable inter- est, for all purposes of such indemnification to this railroad company, if its grant has not already been satisfied." During the year 1886 an executive proclama- tion was issued, directing the removal of the fences by which large sections of the public domain in the ranch secdons of the country were inclosed. This had become one of the most serious of abuses. Men who had gained the personal or the party favor of men in power had been permitted to fence in great tracts of public land, and they had success- fully defied all attempts at their removal. But from the day that President Cleveland issued his order the fences began to come down, and since that time thousands of acres of land have thus been thrown open for the actual settler. By the action of the President and Secretary of the Interior, about 20,000,000 acres of land not granted to railroads by Congress, but withdrawn from settlement as indemnity lands to await the convenience of railroad companies, were restored to the public domain and thrown open to settle- ment. Thousands of homes are being made by settlers on these lands. In the Forty-seventh Congress the Republicans were in full possession THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. i •; l of both branches of Congress, and not one rail- road land grant was forfeited. In the Forty- eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses the Demo- cratic party controlled the House of Representa- tives, and these Congresses passed laws restoring 50,000,000 acres of unearned railroad land grants to the public domain. With scarcely an exception these bills passed the House before the Senate considered them. The Republican Senate passed no forfeiture bill that the House did not pass, but the House passed bills forfeiting 38,000,000 acres of grants that the Republican Senate did not pass, and the' House Committee on Public Lands made favorable reports on bills to forfeit grants amount- ing to 12,000,000 or 13,000,000 more. VETOING LOG-ROLLING SCHEMES. Another class of questions which early attracted President Cleveland's attention was that of appro- priadons for public buildings. It has long been a recognized scandal to the name of Congress that such measures are passed by a system known as log-rolling, or members of Congress or State delegations voting for an appropriation for a like favor to be given in return.. The President early in his administration set his face consistently against this policy, and has carried it out to its logical results by interposing his veto of such ap- propriations where the interest or the sum pro- posed to be expended largely exceeded the rent 172 Life of g rover Cleveland. paid for public buildings, always taking into con- sideration all the elements of the case, such as the presence or absence of Federal courts, of internal revenue offices, and of such conditions as would promote the best interests of the local- ity in question. By judicious adherence to this policy he has saved large sums of money, and saved the country from the dangers which would follow the bad precedent otherwise set to future legislators and Presidents. - He has also interposed the veto power in the matter of the private claims so persistently lobbied throuorh Congress, insisting that the laws as ad- ministered by the courts are generally ample to protect the rights of individuals when dealing with the Government. He has done much by this course to promote the growth of a healthy public sentiment which shall demand the reference of all such claims to the regular Federal courts and to the Court of Claims for adjudication and settlement. During the second session of the Forty-ninth Congress a bill was passed creating an Inter- state Commerce Commission, and granting it certain powers to prohibit discrimination in rates of carrying of passengers and freight. The bill was at once signed by the President and a most efficient Commission appointed for the purpose of carrying its provisions into effect. Of this Commission Thomas M. Cooley, of Michigan, one THE PRE^IDJENT AND CONGRESS. \ ;? 3 of the ablest jurists in the country, was elected Chairman. The law was universally accepted by both the people and the railroads with good re- sults. The Pacific Railroads having asked for an ex- tension of the time granted them by the Thur- man Act for making settlement with the Govern- ment, an act was passed authorizing the appoint- ment of a Commission vested with full power to investigate the question in all its bearings. This Commission was appointed by President Cleve- land, and the majority reported in favor of certain rigid assertions of right on the part of the Gov- ernment as well as in favor of (rrantine cer- tain concessions. Under this report the money advanced by the Government would be secured, and at the same time the companies would be granted such a reasonable extension of time as would enable them to fully carry out their ob- ligations to the Government, without undue im- pairment of their resources or injury to the section of country dependent upon them for the promo- tion of its interests. The President sent this re- port to Congress with favorable recommendations, but insisted that the rio^hts of the Government should be protected by adequate safeguards. Thus at every turn have President Cleveland and his advisers shown a careful regard for the interests of the people, and a determination to carry out the laws enacted to secure those inter- 174 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. ests. No demagoguery has disfigured these whole some efforts to promote the public welfare. No crusade against property of any kind has been in- dulged in, and no attempt has been made to array one class of men ao^ainst another. o OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. At the first session of the Fiftieth Congress the President sent to the Senate a treaty just con- cluded with the Emperor of China, by which all classes of Chinese excluded from this country under our laws were upon a complete and full understandinof with China to be excluded durinor a term of twenty years. The Administration had been able to negotiate this most desirable treaty because of its liberal policy in dealing with com- pensations paid to the Government of China as damages for certain outrages perpetrated upon a number of inoffending Chinese in the Territory of Wyoming. But partisan feeling was so strong in the Senate that a change of a single word was made in the treaty, thus rendering it necessary to return it to China for ratification. The treaty se- cured everything which the Government of the United States had sought to accomplish by law, and made the term of exclusion long enough to turn the tide of Chinese immigration permanently away from our shores. In his first annual messaofe the President di- rected attention sharply to the condition of the THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. I ^5 law relating to the Presidential succession, with the result that bills which had long been pending without ability to command support In both houses of Congress were taken up and passed Into a law which was eminently satisfactory to public sentiment, and under the operation of which the Presidential succession descends from the elected Vice-President to the Cabinet officers, be- ginning with the Secretary of State, and not to the President /r^ te7n. of the Senate. Approval was given to a law designed to check the manufacture and sale of products fraudulently sold as butter, known as the Oleomargarine Bill, the President going extensively into his reasons for signing the bill. During the first session of the Forty-ninth Congress President Cleveland sent a special mes- sage to Congress recommending legislation look- ing toward a peaceful settlement by arbitration of disputes between laboring men and their em- ployers. His recommendations were carefully drawn, and the narrow constitutional authority of Congress over the question was enforced; but it showed the President's interest In such questions and his anxiety to do whatever lay in his power to promote an object so worthy the attention of all thoughtful and philanthropic men. This review of the principal acts of the Ad^ ministration, brief as it Is, Is still sufficient to show that every question has been approached with a 1^6 Ui>E OF GROVER CLEVELAND. desire and determination to act with promptness, intelligence, and vigor on all questions affecting the interests of the public. There has been no cringing to corporations on the one hand and no injustice has been done to them, on the other, having purely partisan or political ends in view. The rights of our people in foreign countries and in commerce have been upheld in a manly and straightforward manner, with determination to exact what was right, but without bluster or bravado. The public service has been clean and honest, so that *' public office " has indeed been deemed a "public trust." Whether from the standpoint of the patriot or the partisan of the President, his Administration has fairly justified itself, and it has a right to appeal with confidence to the country. In nothing has the Administration served its party and the country better than in demon- strating the utter groundlessness of the fears — honestly felt in some quarters and pretended in others — that a change of parties in control of the Government threatened disaster to the business interests of the country. The conservative but firm policy of the President and his Cabinet in all matters touching the relations of the Govern- ment with business have inspired confidence in the Administration and disarmed those who have been wont to " indict a whole party" for cherish- ing destructive purposes. The great commercial L. Q. C. LAMAR, THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS. I 79 centres of the land have been quick to respond to every occasion with expressions of their con- fidence In the President and his party. The Democracy enters upon the Presidential cam- paign of 1888 without any of the distrust attaching to it as an organization by which so many of the independent voters in former years seem to have been affected ; and every promise is given in the situation, as it stands, of accessions to the sup- port of Cleveland and Thurman from elements which have hitherto withheld themselves from the Democracy, CHAPTER XII. COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE, AND DOMESTIC LIFE. WHILE there has never been any ten- dency hi the United States to imitate the court customs of European coun- tries, interest has always been strong in the domestic hfe of our pubhc men, and especially of those called to the Presidency. While the majority of these have been drawn from the average plain life of the plain people of the country, our history does not present a single case in which the men elected President, or who succeeded as Vice- Presidents, were not of gentlemanly social aspect, and their families, if they had them, did not do the honors of the White House with credit to them- selves and to their country. Only twice in the history of the country have our Presidents been bachelors, and, curiously enough, these were James Buchanan, the last Democratic President chosen before the fatal di- vision which sundered the party in i est In that attractive region. After a return to Washington and official duties, Mr. Cleveland re- joined his wife about the middle of July, and with Secretary and Mrs. Fairchild and other friends they began a series of visits to points in Central and Western New York, which had been familiar to his boyhood associations and to which his re> turn at this time was of peculiar interest because of certain historical celebrations then In progress. At Fayetteville, N. Y., where he had lived eleven of the first fourteen years of his life, in 214 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND, an address upon the village green to two thousand persons gathered to greet him, he spoke most tenderly and feelingly of the schoolmates and childhood pranks of his early days. At Holland Patent, on July 12th; at the Clinton Centennial, July 13th; at Forest Port, July 15th, where he re- ceived the citizens at the home of his brother, Rev. Wm. N. Cleveland, and at Cazenovia, July 1 8th, where he was the guest of the Falrchild household, he was deeply touched by the gracious hospitality and fervent greeting of the family friends who had watched his sudden rise to ex- alted position and enlarged usefulness with pecu- liar local and personal pride. Of all the ad- dresses delivered upon this trip the most notable was that made at Clinton, than which none of his public utterances more clearly reveals the pro- found sentiment and domestic traits of the Presi- dent. He said: "I am by no means certain of my standing here among those who celebrate the centennial of Clinton's existence as a village. My recollections of the place reach backward but about thirty-six years, and my residence here covered a very brief period. But these recollections are fresh and distinct to-day, and pleasant, too, though not en- tirely free from sombre coloring. " It was here In the school, at the foot of College Hill, that I began my preparation for col- THE PRESIDENT'S TOURS. 21 5 lege life and enjoyed the anticipation of a collegiate education. We had but two teachers in our school. One became afterward a judge in Chicago and the other passed through the legal profession to the ministry, and within the last two years was living further West. I read a little Latin with two other boys in the class. I think I floundered through four books of the ' ^neid.' The other boys had nice, large, modern editions of Virgil, with big print and plenty of notes to help one over the hard places. Mine was a little, old-fashioned copy, which my father used before me, with no notes, and which was only translated by hard knocks. I believe I have forgiven those other boys for their persistent refusal to allow me the use of the notes in their books. At any rate, they do not seem to have been overtaken by any dire retribution, for one of them is now a rich and prosperous lawyer in Buffalo, and the other is a professor In your college and the orator of to-day's celebration. The struggles with ten lines of Virgil, which at first made up my daily task, are amusing as re- membered now ; but with them I am also forced to remember that Instead of being the beginning of the higher education for which I honestly longed, they occurred near the end of my school advantages. This suggests a disappointment which no lapse of time can alleviate, and a de- privation I have sadly felt with every passing year. 21 6 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. " I remember Benoni Butler and his store. I don't know whether he was an habitual poet or not, but I heard him recite one poem of his own man- ufacture which embodied an account of a travel to or from Clinton in the early days.. lean recall but two" lines of this poem, as follows : " ' Paris Hill next came in sight, And there we tarried over night.* " I remember the next-door neiohbors, Drs. Bissell and Scollard, and good, kind neighbors they were, too, not your cross, crabbed kind, who could not bear to see a boy about. It always seemed to me that they drove very fine horses ; and for that reason I thought they must be ex- tremely rich. " I don't know that I should indulge further rec- ollections that must seem very little like centen- nial history, but I want to establish as well as I can my right to be here. I might speak of the College Faculty, who cast such a pleasing though sober shade of dignity over the place, and who, with other educated and substantial citizens, made up the best of social life. I was a boy then, and slightly felt the atmosphere of this condition, but, notwithstanding, I believe I absorbed a lasting ap- preciation of the intelligence and refinement which made this a delightful home. " I know that you will bear with me, my friends, if I yield to the impulse which the mention of THE PRESIDENrS TOURS. 217 home creates and speak of my own home here, and how throuofhthe memories which chister about it I may claim a tender relationship to your vil- lage. Here it was that our family circle entire, parents and children, lived day after day in loving and affectionate converse, and here for the last time we met around the family altar and thanked God that oiir household was unbroken by death or separation. We never met together in any other home after leaving this, and death followed closely our departure. And thus it is that as with advancing years I survey the havoc death has made, and the thoughts of my early home become more sacred, the remembrance of this pleasant spot, so related, is revived and chastened. I can only add my thanks for the privilege of being with you to-day, and wish for the village of Cliuv ton in the future a continuation and increase -of the blessings of the past." THE CENTENNIAL AND THE CONSTITUTION. On September 15th, i6th, and 17th, 1887, ^he people of the country celebrated with a magnifi- cent pageant and eminently fit public exercises the centennial of the makinor of their Federal Con- stitutlon in Philadelphia. In that city, a hundred years before, had sat the Congress which fash- ioned this great charter, pronounced by Mr. Glad- stone to be " the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of 2lS LIFE OF G ROVER CLE VELA XD. man." The first day's spectacle was an industrial parade, with twenty thousand men in line, and an almost endless train of devices to illustrate the progress of a hundred years in the arts and sciences. The President and his wife, with a party of Cabinet officers and other friends, reached the city on the evening of that day. Mr. Cleveland attended the reception of the Catholic Club to Cardinal Gibbons, and the reception to the visiting Governors of the States at the Academy of Fine Arts; next morninor he was welcomed to the Com- mercial Exchange, and made an address to the business men of Philadelphia, which was received with much favor ; later in the day, he reviewed the parade of twenty thousand soldiers, and in the eveninsf the President and Mrs. Cleveland re- ceived the people in the Academy of Music, where tea thousand persons paid their respects. The same evening, the President visited the dinner of the Clover Club, a Bohemian dinine organization, at whose board some of the most brilliant wits of the country are to be found, and he bravely held his own in light badinage and ready repartee. The literary and musical exercises were held Sat- urday, September 17th, 1887, in Independence Square, and, before the delivery of the oration by Justice Miller, of the United States Supreme Court, the President made the following address: '' I deem it a very great honor and pleasure to participate in these impressive exercises. Every THE PRESIDENT'S TOURS. 219 American citizen should on this centennial day rejoice in his citizenship. He will not find the cause of his rejoicing in the antiquity of his country, for among the nations of the earth his stands with the youngest. He will not find it in the glitter and the pomp that bedeck a monarch and dazzle abject and servile subjects, for in this country the people themselves are the rulers. He will not find it in the story of bloody foreign con- quests, for his Government has been content to care for its own domain and people. He should rejoice because the work of framing our Constitu- tion was completed one hundred years ago to- day, and because when completed it established a free Government. He should rejoice because this Constitution and Government have survived with so many blessings and have demonstrated so fully the strength and value of popular rule. He should rejoice in the wondrous growth and achievements of the past one hundred years and also in the glorious promise of the Constitution through centuries to come. We shall fail to be duly thankful for all that was done for us one hundred years ago unless we realize the difficul- ties of the work then in hand, and the dangers avoided in the task of forming ' a more perfect Union ' between disjointed and inharmonious States, with interests and opinions radically diverse and stubbornly maintained. The perplexities of the Convention which undertook the labor of pre- 220 LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAXD. paring our Constitution are apparent in these earnest words of one of the most illustrious of its members : ' The small progress we have made after four or five weeks of close attendan.ee and continued reasoning with each other, our different sentiments on almost every question — several of the last producing as many noes as yeas — is, methinks, a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the human understandinor. We indeed seem o to feel our want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of gov- ernment and examined the different forms of those republics which, having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution, now no longer exist. In this situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have heretofore not once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Liorht to illuminate our understanding?' " And this wise man, proposing to his fellows that the aid and blessine of God should be in- voked in their extremity, declared : ' I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proof I see of the truth that God gov- erns in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow can- not fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His no- tice? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred THE PRESIDENTS TOURS. 12\ writings, that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without His concur- ring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the building of Babylon. We shall be divided by our litde partial interests, our pro- jects shall be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and byword down to future ages ; and, what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance despair of estab- lishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest.' '' In the face of all discouragements the fathers of the Republic labored on for four weary, long months in alternate hope and fear, but always with rugged resolve, never faltering in a sturdy endeavor sanctified by a prophetic sense of the value to posterity of their success and always with unflinching faith in the principles which make the foundadon of a government by the people. At last their task was done. It is related that upon the back of the chair occupied by Washing- ton as President of the Convention a sun was painted, and that as the delegates were signing the completed Constitution one of them said : 'I have often and often, in the course of the session and in the solicitude of my hopes and fears as to its Issue, looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I know that it is a ris- 222 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. ing and not a setting sun.' We stand to-day on the spot where this rising sun emerged from poHtical niehtand darkness, and in its own brigrht meridian hght we mark its glorious way. Clouds have sometimes obscured its rays and dreadful storms have made us fear, but God has held it on its course, and throuo-h its hfe-crivincr warmth has performed His latest miracle in the creation of this wondrous land and people. As we look down that past century to the origin of our Con- stitution ; as we contemplate its trials and its tri- umphs ; as we realize how completely the princi- ples upon which it is based have met every national peril and every national deed, how de- voutly should we confess with Franklin, ' God governs in the affairs of men,' and how solemn should be the reflection that to our hands is com- mitted this ark of the people's covenant, and that ours is the duty to shield it from impious hands. We receive it sealed with the tests of a century. It has been found sufficient in the past, and in all the future years it v/ill be found sufficient if the American people are true to their sacred trust. ** Another centennial day will come, and millions yet unborn will inquire concerning our steward- ship and the safety of their Constitution. God grant that they may find it unimpaired ; and as we rejoice in the patriotism and devotion of those who lived a hundred years ago, so may others who follow us rejoice in our fidelity and in our jealous love for constitutional liberty." THE PRESIDENT'S TOURS. 223 In the evening a great banquet was given jointly by the learned and scientific societies of Philadelphia in the Academy of Music. Six hundred of the most distino^uished men of the country sat down to it, and the President made another felicitous address, after having also, earlier in the evening, made a happy after- dinner speech at the quarterly feast of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Philadelphia so- ciety, critical, exclusive, and intensely Republican, was stirred to its depths with enthusiasm for the President, and only divided the lavish honors paid him with his winsome and popular helpmeet. On October 28th, 1886. President Cleveland bore a conspicuous part in the ceremonies of un- veiling the Bartholdi Statue of " Liberty " on Bedloe Island in New York Harbor. This mae- nificent work was the grift to America of the sculptor and the French people ; the enterprise of the New York World secured the necessary fund to erect the pedestal. The dedication of it was the occasion of a great civic, military, and naval demonstration ; and Mr. Cleveland's brief address was graceful and appropriate. CHAPTER XIV. THE TOUR TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. THE greatest popular ovation and personal triumph awaited his journey to the West, the Northwest, and the South. A hun- dred years before the chief executive of the Re- pubHc, the father of his country, had set the well- approved fashion of a President becoming per- sonally acquainted with the land whose affairs he is expected to administer. In 1791 Washington visited New Enijland and went as far south as Augusta, Ga., traveling one thousand seven hun- dred miles in sixty-six days. On the morning of September 30th, 1 887, a train of three magnificently appointed Pullman palace cars, furnished with all the appliances and comforts of modern travel, drew out from the Baltimore and Potomac Station in Washinorton, bearinof the Presi- dent, his wife. Secretary Lamont and wife, and other political associates and personal friends, ladies and gentlemen, the party being some- what changed at different points of the route. At Baltimore, York, Harrisburg, Altoona, Pittsburgh, 224 TOUR TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. 227 and other stopping places, great crowds of people thronged the railway stations and gave vent to their enthusiasm by every conceivable variety of demonstration. Beyond Pittsburgh the shooting of a gas well, especially arranged for the Presidential party by Mr. James M. Guffey, was a novel spectacle, illus- trative of the peculiar natural features and mar- velous resource^ of Western Pennsylvania. The State of Ohio was traversed at nighttime, and the first stop was made in Indianapolis. There a general decoration of the city, a great procession of people, booming cannon, pealing bells, and bands of music welcomed the distinguished party. In responding to Governor Gray's address the President paid a feeling tribute to Indiana's great statesman, who had been associated with him on the ticket in 1884, and Mrs. Hendricks entertained the visitors at lunch. Resuming their journey, the party reached St. Louis at midnight of the second and third days ; and attendance upon Divine worship on Sunday was followed next day with visits to the Fair, then in progress, receptions at the hands of the Commercial Exchanges, general assemblages of the people to do honor to their civil head, and the pomp of Immense parades. Chicago was reached on October 5th, and like scenes of popular enthusiasm were witnessed there. In a public address in that city the Presi- dent gave expression to his idea of the duty of 2 28 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. the people in relation to the responsibilities o) their officials : " You have said the President ought to see Chicago. I am here to see it and its hospitable, large-hearted people. But because your city is so great, and your interests so large and important, I know you will allow me to suggest that I have left at home a city you ought to see and know more about. In point of fact, it would be well for you to keep your eyes closely upon it all the time. Your servants and agents are there. They are there to protect your interests and to aid your efforts to advance your prosperity and well- being. Your bustling trade, and your wearing, ceaseless activity of hand and brain, will not yield the results you deserve unless wisdom guides the policy of your Government, and unless your needs are regarded at the Capitol of the nation. It will be well for you not to forget that in the perform- ance of your political duties with calm thoughtful- ness and broad patriotism there lies not only a safecruard ao^ainst business disaster, but an im- portant obligation of citizenship." From Chicago the tourists went to Milwaukee, thence to Madison, where the Sabbath was quietly spent with the family of Postmaster-General Vilas. In a speech at the banquet given by the people of Milwaukee, Mr. Cleveland, speaking of the Pres- idency, used this language : '' And because it belongs to all the people, the TOUR 10 THE SOUTH AND WEST. 229 obligation Is manifest on their part to maintain a constant and continuous watchfulness and interest concerning Its care and operation. Their duty is not entirely done when they have exercised their suffrage and indicated their choice of the incum- bent. Nor is their duty performed by settling- down to bitter, malignant, and senseless abuse of all that is done or attempted to be done by the incumbent selected. The acts of an Administra- tion should not be approved as a matter of course, and for no better reason than that it represents a political party. But more unpatriotic than all others are those who, having neither party discontent nor fair ground of criticism to excuse or justify their conduct, rail because of personal disappoint- ments, who misrepresent for sensational purposes, and who profess to see swift destruction in the rejection of their plans of governmental manage- ment. After all, we need have no fear that the American people will permit this high office to suffer. There is a patriotic sentiment abroad which, in the midst of all party feeling and all party dis- appointment, will assert Itself, and will insist that the office which stands for the people's will, shall, in all its vigor, minister to their prosperity and welfare." From Madison, by way of La Crosse, the Pres- idential company proceeded to St. Paul and Min- neapolis, the two marvelous cities of the great Northwest. To the people of St. Paul the Presi- dent pleasantly said : ": 230 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND.' " My visit to 3^ou being a social one, and trusting that we have a sort of friendly feeling for each other, I want to suggest to you why I am particu- larly and personally interested in St. Paul and its people. Some years ago a young girl dwelt among you and went to school. She has grown up to be a woman, and is now my wife. If any one thinks a President ought not to mention things of this sort in public, I hope he or she does not live in St. Paul, for I do not want to shock any- body when I thank the good people of this city because they neither married nor spoiled my wife, and when I tell them they are related to that in my life better than all earthly honors and dis- tinctions. Hereafter, you may be sure that her pleasant recollections of her school days will be reinforced by the no less pleasant memory of our present visit, and thus will our present Interest in St. Paul and its kind citizens be increased and perpetuated." The train left Minneapolis for Omaha early on the morning of October 12th, and as progress westward was made the demonstrations of wel- come took on a more novel aspect. At Chaska tar barrels stacked hlcjh were burned, balloons set off, and brass bands drowned the locomotive whistle. At Sioux City baskets of flowers were showered upon the guests of the people ; and in Omaha a ereat concourse welcomed them. Thence the trip was directed to Kansas City, where a rX (.OVKkNoK CAMl'lJKI.L. TOUR TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. 23 I longer stay had been arranged. While there the President laid the corner-stone of the new build- ing for the Young Men's Christian Association, and the following is an extract from his address upon that occasion : " In the busy activities of our daily life we are apt to neglect instrumentalities which are quietly but effectually doing most important service in molding our national character. Among these, and challenging but little notice compared with their valuable results, are the Youne Men's Chris- tian Associations scattered throughout the country. All will admit the supreme Importance oi that honesty and fixed principle which rest upon Christian motives and purposes, and all will ac- knowledge the sad and Increasing temptations which beset our young men and lure them to their destruction. "To save these young men, oftentimes de- prived of the restraints of home, from degrada- tion ind ruin, and to fit them for usefulness and honor, these associations have entered the field of Christian effort and are pushing their noble work. When it is considered that the objects of their efforts are to be the active men for good or evil in the next generation, mere human prudence dictates that these associations should be" aided and encouraged. Their increase and flourishing condition reflect the highest honor upon the good men who have devoted themselves 232 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. to this work, and demonstrate that the American people are not entirely lacking in appreciation of its value. Twenty years ago but one of these associations owned a building, and that was valued at eleven thousand dollars. To-day more than one hundred such buildings, valued at more than five million dollars, beautify the different cities of our land and beckon our young men to lives of usefulness. " I am especially pleased to be able to participate to-day in laying the corner-stone of another of these edifices in this active and growing city ; and I trust that theencouracrement oriven the Youn^r Men's Christian Association located here may be commensurate with its assured usefulness and in keeping with the generosity and intelligence which are characteristic of the people of Kansas City." Turning southward from Kansas City, the next important stop was made at Memphis, Tenn. On the way thither, what might have proved a terri- ble disaster w^as averted by the providential dis- covery in good time that a trestle over which the train must pass had been fired. A sad accident which clouded the celebration at Memphis was the sudden death of Judge John T. Ellett, who expired on the platform just after the President had replied to the address of welcome delivered by Judge Ellett for his fellow-citizens. Sunday was spent at the beautiful Belle Meade farm of General W. H. Jackson, and on Monday, October 17th, Nash- TOUR TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. 233 ville and Chattanooga received the visitors with true Southern hospitahty. i\tlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery, Alabama, were reserved for the close of the tour, which had been from the begin- ning a perfect success, and was attended with such demonstrations of popular good feeling as no event since the close of the war had excited. At Montgomery, the President, his heart filled with joy at the sure signs he saw everywhere of a re- stored Union and a subsidence of sectionalism, said : "Your fellow-countrymen appreciate the value of intimate and profitable business relations with you, and there need be no fear that they will per- mit them to be destroyed or endangered by de- signing demagogues. The wickedness of those partisans who seek to aid their ambitious schemes by engendering hate among a generous people is fast meeting exposure ; and yet there is and should be an insistence upon a strict adherence to the settlement which has been made of disputed questions and upon the unreserved acceptance of such settlement. As against this I believe no business considerations should prevail, and I firmly believe that there is American fairness enough abroad in the land to insure a proper and substantial recotrnition of the o-ood faith which you have exhibited. We know that you still have problems to solve involving considerations con- cerning you alone^ questions beyond the reach of 234 ^^^^ ^^ GROVER CLEVELAND. Federal law or Interference, and with which none but you should deal. I have no fear that you will fail to do your manful 3uty in these matters, but may I not, in the extension of the thoughts which I have before suggested, say to you that the educational advantages and the care which may be accorded to every class of your citizens have a relation to the general character of the entire country as intimate and potential as your production and the development of your mineral resources have to its material prosperity?" The tone of this address reflected the feelings awakened not only in the President, but in the minds of his fellow-countrymen, who were deeply impressed by the pervading and enthusiastic pa- triotism of a section so lately estranged ; and when Mr. Cleveland returned to Washincrton on Octo- ber 2 2d, his movements for the past three w^eeks had done much to strengthen the popular senti- ment in behalf of obliterating from American pol- itics the baleful issues of race and sectional strife. AT THE PRESBYTERIAN REUNION. On February 21st, 1888, the President and his wife, accompanied by some of his Cabinet, made a brief trip to a part of the South not visited before. They spent a day or two in Jacksonville, Florida, being received there and at all the stations on the way with extravagant outbursts of enthusiasm. Returning, a few days later, they were greeted in '^OVR TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. :^35 Charleston, S. C, with like cordiality and heart- iness. In May, 1888, thfe two General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, North and South, being then in session in Philadelphia and Balti- more, respectively, the notion was conceived by some of the good people desiring the closer union and the final reconciliation of these bodies to bring them into a social conference. Arrange- ments were made for public meetings and for the private entertainment of the delegates ; the Pres- ident, himself the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, was urgently invited to participate in the exer- cises, and he visited Philadelphia for that purpose. At a reception to the members of the two As- semblies, given by Mr. Wistar Morris at his home in Overbrook, a suburb of Philadelphia, on May 2 1 St, the President spoke as follows : "I am very much gratified by the opportunity here afforded me to meet the representatives of the Presbyterian Church. "Surely a man never should lose his interest in the welfare of the Church in which he was reared ; and yet I will not find fault with any of you who deem ita sad confession made when I acknowledo-e that I must recall the days now long past to find my closest relations to the grand and noble de- nomination which you represent. I say this be- cause those of us who inherit fealty to our Church, as I did, begin early to learn those things which ^^^ LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. make us Presbyterians all the days of our lives ; and thus It Is that the riorors of our earliest teach- ing, by which we are grounded In our lasting allegiances, are especially vivid and perhaps the best remembered. The attendance upon church services three times each Sunday, and upon Sab- bath-school during noon Intermission, may be irksome enough to a boy of ten or tw^elve years of age to be well fixed In his memory ; but I have never known a man who regretted these things in the years of his maturity. The Shorter Cate- chism, though thoroughly studied and learned, was not, perhaps, at the time perfectly understood; and yet In the stern duties and labors of after life those are not apt to be the worst citizens who were early taught, ' What Is the chief end of man ?' '' Speaking of these things and In the presence of those here assembled, the most tender thoughts crowd upon my mind — all connected with Presby- terianism and Its teachings. There are present with me now memories of a kind and affectionate father, consecrated to the cause, and called to his rest and his reward In the midday of his useful- ness ; a sacred recollection of the prayers and pious love of a sainted mother and a family circle hallowed and sanctified by the spirit of Presbyte- rlanism. " I certainly cannot but express the wish and hope that the Presbyterian Church will always be TOUR TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. ^^"J at the front in every movement which promises the temporal as well as the spiritual advancement of mankind. In the turmoil and the bustle of every-day life few men are foolish enough to ignore the practical value to our people and our country of the church organizations established among us and the advantage of Christian exam- ple and teaching. " The field is vast and the work sufficient to en- gage the efforts of every sect and denomination ; but I am inclined to believe that the Church which is most tolerant and conservative without loss of spiritual strength will soonest find the way to the hearts and affections of the people. While we may be pardoned for insisting that our denomina- tion is the best, we may, I think, safely concede much that is ofood to all other Churches that seek to make men better. •* I am here to ereet the delegates of two Gen- eral Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church. One is called 'North' and the other 'South.' The subject is too deep and intricate for me, but I cannot help wondering why this should be. These words, so far -as they denote separation and estrangement, should be obsolete. In the counsels of the nation and in the business of the country they no longer mean reproach and antagonism. Even the sol- diers who foueht for the North and for the South are restored to fraternity and unity. This frater- nity and unity is taught and enjoined by our A^O LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. Church. When shall she herself be united with all the added strength and usefulness that har- mony and union insure ?" TO THE CATHOLIC CLUB. The frankness and self-assertion of this expres- sion, coupled with a true spirit of religious tolera- tion, recall Mr. Cleveland's letter to the Catholic Club, of Philadelphia, to which, under date of February loth 1887, he wrote: " The thoughtfulness which prompted this invi- tation is gratefully appreciated, and I regret that my public duties here will prevent Its acceptance. I should be glad to join the contenlplated expres- sion of respect to be tendered to the distinguished head of the Catholic Church in the United States, whose personal acquaintance I very much enjoy, and who is so worthily entitled to the esteem of all his fellow-citizens. " I thank you for the admirable letter which ac- companied my invitation, in which you announce as one of the doctrines of your Club * that a good and exemplary Catholic must, ex necessitate rei, be a good and exemplary citizen,' and ' that the teachings of both human and divine law, thus merging In the one word duty, form the only union of Church and State that a civil and religious Government can recognize.' '' I know you will permit me as a Protestant to supplement this noble sentiment by the expres- TOUk TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. 239 slon of my conviction that the same Influence and result follow a sincere and consistent devotion to the teachings of every religious creed which is based upon Divine sanction. A wholesome relig- ious faith thus inures to the perpetuity, the safety, and prosperity of our Republic, by exacting the due observance of civil law, the preservation of public order, and a proper regard for the rights of all ; and thus are its adherents better fitted for good citizenship and confirmed in a sure and steadfast patriotism. It seems to me, too, that the conception of duty to the State, which Is derived from religious precept, Involves a sense of personal responsibility which is of the greatest value In the operation of the Government by the people. It will be a fortunate day for our country when every citizen feels that he has an ever present duty to perform to the State which he cannot escape from or neglect without being false to his religious as well as his civil allegiance." VERSATILITY OF GENIUS. On June 27th, 1888, the President attended the commencement exercises of the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, conferred the degrees upon the graduates, received many thousands of visitors, and responded to a sentiment at the alumni dinner, after which he visited the house and the grave of Jefferson, founder of the Univer- sity. ^40 LiPE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. On July 3d, 1888, the German singing societies of the country, holding their national Saengerfest in Baltimore, Md., gave the President and his wife an urgent invitation to attend one of their grand concerts in the Academy of Music. The invita- tion was accepted, and the visit was the occasion of a magnificent ovation to the Presidential party, not only from his enthusiastic German admirers, but from the Democratic clubs of the country, then assembling in their great Fourth of July Con- vention. The foregoing narrative recalls visits of the President to every section of the country except- ing the Pacific slope and the extreme Southwest, touching three-fourths of the States and many of the chief cities; demandinor from him attention to the widest variety of interests, moral and material, anddrawingupon him for frequent public speeches. These many occasions found him ready, apt, and versatile ; and nothing could better illustrate the profound earnestness, the lofty patriotism and the keen intelligence of the President, than the elevated bearing and the easy yet dignified de- meanor which have marked his comminorlino- with his fellow-countrymen at their homes and amid their familiar associations. CHAPTER XV. EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER THE BATTLE-FLAG INCIDENT FRAUDULENT PENSION BILLS. ALTHOUGH the Constitution of the Uni- ted States requires the assent of the Pres- ident to every bill before it becomes a law, unless both Houses determine by a two-thirds aye-and-no vote to pass it over his veto, this power of disapproval has been, on the whole, sparingly used by the Executives of the United States. Until 1830 there were but nine vetoes — two by Washington, none by Adams, none by Jefferson, six by Madison, and one by INIonroe. Jackson exercised the veto nine times, besides pocketing several bills presented just prior to the final adjournment. So Infrequent was the exercise of this power that Jackson and the prerogative Itself were 241 -2^^ LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAl^b. fiercely attacked, and Tyler had a stormy time because he had the temerity to veto six bills. '*Polk vetoed three and Pierce nine bills; Buchanan and Lincoln but few; Grant more, one of his forty-two vetoes being of a bill to in- crease the amount of greenbacks to ^400.ocxd,ooo and authorize the Issue of ^46,000,000 In national bank notes ; Johnson, In his controversy with Congress, a great many. And so of President Hayes, when it was attempted to repeal general legislation by riders on appropriation bills, though his most important veto was of the silver bill of 1878. President Arthur exercised the power but rarely. ''It has devolved upon the present Incumbent of the Presidential office to exercise the veto power in more instances than all the other Presi- dents put together ; a clear indication of the in- crease in legislation and of carelessness In the enactment of special laws, requiring greater care In examination and the application of closer busi- ness scrutiny, as well, doubtless, of a different view of the functions of eovernment than that In- dulgedin by some of the leading politicians In the period just preceding Mr. Cleveland's inaugura- tion. " * * * His view In takinor office seems to have been that free Institutions are inconsistent with a paternal government; that governmental administration Is a business matter, to be carried EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. .^43 forward on business principles ; that it is the duty of the Executive to examine all bills presented to him for his approval, and to require a recon- sideration of those which he thinks improper to he passed into laws. There is not a particle of doubt that it was the intention of the framers of the Constitution, and of those who adopted it, that this should be the attitude of the Executive in re- lation to the enactment of laws; and it is clear that the danger was that the power would be exer- cised too litde, rather than too often or too much. It is vastly easier to say yes than no ; to yield to importunity rather than resist it."''' To Mr. Cleveland's conscientious care and unflagging personal industry in the detailed ex- amination of lecrislative enactments, as much as to the considerations advanced in the foregoing extracts, have been due the unexampled fre- quency and vigor with which he has wielded the veto power. That he has not gone far wrong, upon the whole, is shown by the fact that the two Houses of Congress have almost invariably acquiesced in the wisdom of his decisions and the cogency of his reasons. APPROPRIATIONS FOR FEDERAL BUILDINGS. While individual members, intent upon making capital for themselves at home, and special locali- * The President's Vetoes, pp. 7, 8. 244 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. ties, eaeer to serve their own interests at the general expense, have bewailed the disapproval of their bills for public building appropriations, the average common sense of the great body of the people has heartily approved the stand taken by the President, and has recognized the consist- ency of his cause in measuring such bills by con- siderations like these, announced in his various messao^es : " The necessities of the Government should control the question, and it should be decided as a business proposition, depending upon the needs of a Government building at the points proposed, in order to do the Government work." ''While a fine Government buildinof is a desir- able ornament to any town or city, and while the securing of an appropriation therefor is often considered as an illustration of zeal and activity in the interests of a constituency, I am of the opinion that the expenditure of public money for such a purpose should depend upon the necessity of such a building for public uses." " The care and protection which the Govern- ment owes to the people do not embrace the grant of public buildings to decorate thriving and prosperous cities and villages, nor should such buildings be erected upon any principle of fair distribution among localities. The Government is not an almoner of gifts among the people, but an instrumentality by which the people's affairs EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 245 should be conducted upon business principles, regulated by the public needs." Upon another occasion, in disposing of a bill for the relief of a stricken community, he assumed this statesmanlike position : " I do not believe that the power ana duty of the General Government ought to be extended tc the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people suppoj't the Govenunent, the Government should nut support the people. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid i7i such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government, and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of the kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthen the bond of a common brother- hood." THE PENSION VETOES. His most numerous class of vetoes has included a large number of the cases of private pension bills, whose beneficiaries or their agents, unwilling 246 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. to depend upon the ordinary operation of the ex- tremely Hberal existing pension laws and their present prompt execution, resort to Congress for special action on their cases. In that body they are acted upon without general investigation of their merits and without any of the deliberation and care which characterize department work. The President, as all members of Congress well know, did not overstate the case when, in his message of June 21st, 1886, he said: " A large proportion of these bills have never been submit- ted to a majority of either branch of Congress, but are the results of nominal sessions, held for the express purpose of their consideration, and attended by a small minority of the members of the respective Houses of the legislative branch of Government. Thus, In considering these bills I have not felt that I was aided by the deliberate judgment of the Congress; and when I have deemed it my duty to disapprove many of the bills presented, I have hardly regarded my action as a dissent from the conclusions of the people's rep- resentatives." An uncontradicted description of a recent scene in the Senate, with the President's most relentless and abusive antagonist. Senator Ingalls, In the chair, illustrates how necessary to save the pub- lic treasury is the careful and judicious examina- tion by the Executive of bills thus passed: '* The Senate yesterday considered pension EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 247 bills on the calendar and in a short space of time passed about ninety of them. The mode of pro- cedure in this rapid passage of the bills is rather interesting. Usually, when such a measure is to be considered, the bill is reported by its number and the presiding officer sa)s : Tn Committee of the Whole and the bill will he read at leneth.' This is done, and then he says : ' The bill is open to amendment : if there be no amendment it will be reported to the Senate. The Committee has had under consideration bill numbered . The bill is still open to amendment. If there be no amend- ment the question is upon ordering the bill to be enorrossed and read a third time. Senators in the -affirmative will say '' aye ;" negative, *' no." The ayes appear to have it ; the bill will be engrossed and read the third time.' The bill is then read by its title, when the presiding officer says : ' The question is upon the passage of the bill,' and the question is then put. " But when the Senate is considering these bills hastily upon the calendar a different method is adopted. It is understood that no objection will be made to them, and it is desirable to get them out of the way as quickly as possible. Yesterday Mr. Ingalls stood up in front of his desk marking the place on the calendar. He would call for a bill by its number on the order of business and the clerk would report its number as a bill. Then Mr. Ingalls says: * In Committee of the 248 ■ LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. Whole.' The clerk reads the bill rapidly, and as he finishes Mr. Ingalls says : ' Reported to the Senate, engrossed, read third time, and passed. No. — ,' calling out the next measure. No vote is taken ; no one listened to the bill ; in fact, the whole business was transacted by the President pro te7npo7'e and the Clerk. There were less than a dozen Senators in the chamber, all engaged in something else than o^ivinor attention to the busi- ness being transacted, as, in fact, their attention was not required." The frequency with which private bills have had to be vetoed therefore illustrates the careless- ness of Congress and not the existence of any hostility on Mr. Cleveland's part to this special class of legislation. On the contrary, with proper qualification against frauds and impostures upon the Government's bounty, Mr. Cleveland has shown himself consistently in favor of its most liberal extension to deserving subjects of it. In his annual message, December 6th, 1886, he pre- sents this succinct and striking statement: "The report of the Commissioner of Pensions contains a detailed and most satisfactory exhibit of the operations of the Pension Bureau during the last fiscal year. The amottnt of work done was the largest in any year since the organiza- tion of the Bureau ; and it has been done at less cost than du7Hng the previous year in every division. EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 249 "On the thirtieth day of June, 1886, there were 3^5'7S3 pensioners on the rolls of the Bureau. ''Since 1 861 there have been 1,018,732 appli- cations for pensions filed, of which 78,834 were based upon service In the War of 1812. There were 62 1,754 of these applications allowed, includ- ing- 60,178 to the soldiers of 181 2 and their widows. "The total amount paid for pensions since 1861 is $808,624,811.57. "The number of new pensions allowed during the year ended June 30th, 1886, 1340,857 — alarger number than has been allowed In any year save one since 1861 ; the names of 2,229 pensioners which had been previously dropped from the rolls, were restored during the year, and after deduct- ing those dropped within the same time for va- rious causes, a net increase remains for the year of 20,658 names. "From January T St, 1 861, to December ist, 1885, 1 ,967 private pension acts had been passed. Since the last-mentioned date, and during the last ses- sion of the Congress, 644 such acts became laws. " It seems to me that no one can examine our pension establishment and Its operations without being convinced that through its instrumentality justice can be very nearly done to all who are en- titled under present laws to the pension bounty of the Government. " But it is undeniable that cases exist, well en- 250 L^PE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. titled to relief, in which the Pension Bureau is powerless to aid. The really worthy cases of this class are such as only lack by misfortune the kind or quantity of proof which the law and regu- lations of the Bureau require, or which, though their merit is apparent, for some other reason cannot be justly dealt with through general laws. These conditions fully justify application to the Congress and special enactments. But resort to the Congress for a special pension act to overrule the deliberate and careful determination of the Pension Bureau on the merits or to secure favor- able action when It could not be expected under the most liberal execution of general laws, it must be admitted, opens the door to the allow- ance of questionable claims and presents to the legislative and executive branches of the Gov- ernm.ent applications concededly not within the law and plainly devoid of merit, but so sur- rounded by sentiment and patriotic feeling that they are hard to resist. I suppose it will not be denied that many claims for pensions are made without merit and that many have been allowed upon fraudulent representations. This has been declared from the Pension Bureau, not only In this, but in prior Administrations. "The usefulness and the justice of any system for the distribution of pensions depend upon the equality and uniformity of Its operation. *Tt will be seen from the report of the Commis- EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 25! sloner that there are now paid by the Govern- ment one hundred and thirty-one different rates of pension. "He estimates from the best information he can obtain that nine thousand of those who have served in the Army and Navy of the United States are now supported, in whole or in part, from pub- He funds or by organized charities, exclusive of those in soldiers' homes under the direction and control of the Government. Only 13 per cent, of these are pensioners, while of the entire number of men furnished for the late war something like 20 per cent., including their widows and relatives, have been or are now in receipt of pensions. ''The American people, with a patriotic and grateful regard for our ex-soldiers — too broad and too sacred to be monopolized by any special advocates — are not only willing but anxious that equal and exact justice should be done to all hon- est claimants for pensions. In their sight the friendless and destitute soldier, dependent on public charity, if otherwise entitled, has precisely the same right to share in the provision ma*de for those who fought their country's battles as those better able, through friends and Influence, to push their claims. Every pension that is granted under our present plan upon any other grounds than actual service, and injury or disease Incurred In such service, and every Instance of the many in which pensions are increased on other grounds 2^2 LIFE OF GR VER CLE VELAND. than the merits of the claim, work an Injustice to the brave and crippled, but poor and friendless soldier, who is entirely neglected or who must be content with the smallest sum allowed under gen- eral laws. '* There are far too many neighborhoods in which are found glaring cases of Inequality of treatment In the matter of pensions ; and they are largely due to a yielding in the Pension Bureau to impor- tunity on the part of those, other than the pen- sioner, who are especially interested, or they arise from special acts passed for the benefit of indi- viduals. "The men who fought side by side should stand side by side when they participate in a grateful nation's kind remembrance. ** Every consideration of fairness and justice to our ex-soldiers, and the protection of the patriotic instinct of our citizens from perversion and viola- tion, point to the adoption of a pension system broad and comprehensive enough to cover every contingency, and which shall make unnecessary an objectionable volume of special legislation. "As long as we adhere to the principle of grant- ing pensions for service, and disability as the re- sult of service, the allowance of pensions should be restricted to cases presenting these features. "Every patriotic heart responds to a tender con- sideration for those who, having served their country long and well, arc reduced to destitution EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 2^^ and dependence, not as an incident of their ser> vice, but with advancinof acre or throuorh sickness or misfortune. We are all tempted by the con- templation of such a condition to supply relief, and are often impatient of the limitations of pub- lic duty. Yielding to no one in the desire to in- dulee this feelinof of consideration, I cannot rid myself of the conviction that if these ex- soldiers are to be relieved, they and their cause are entitled to the benefit of an enact- ment, under which relief may be claimed as a rleht, and that such relief should be granted under the sanction of law, not in evasion of it ; nor should such worthy objects of care, all equally entitled, be remitted to the unequal opera- tion of sympathy, or the tender mercies of social and political influence, with their unjust discriminations. *' The discharged soldiers and sailors of the coun- try are our fellow-citizens, and interested with us in the passage and faithful execution of wholesome laws. They cannot be swerved from their duty of citizenship by artful appeals to their spirit of brotherhood born of common peril and suffering, nor will they exact as a test of devotion to their welfare a willingness to neglect public duty In their behalf." VETO OF THE DEPENDENT PENSION BILL. Early in 1887 Congress passed the first general bill ''since the close of the late civil war, permitting 2 54 ^^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. a pension to the soldiers and sailors who served In that war upon the ground of service and present disability alone, and in the e7iiire absence of any injuries, received by the casualties or incidents of such service!' It was, as the President expressed it, " an avowed departure from the principle thus far adhered to respecting Union soldiers, that the bounty of the Government In the Vv^ay of pen- sions is generously bestowed when granted to those who in their military service, and in the line of military duty, have, to a greater or less extent, been disabled." In view of this fact ; of the annual expenditure already of over ^75,000,000 a year for pensions; of nearly 400,000 now borne on the pension rolls, and a steady increase of the number* the fu rther away the war period becomes, — the Pres- ident vetoed the bill, and it did not become a law. The force of his reasons for disapproval was rec- ognized by conservative men all over the country ; and the most intelligent representatives of a sound public judgment gave hearty Indorsement to * In the New York N'ation of February 3d, 1887, will be found the annual cost of the European military establishmeyits with the numbers which compose them, as compared with our present and the proposed pen- sion list, as follows: ANNUAL COST. NUMBERS. Great Britain, ^^102,477,010 209,480 Austria- Hungary, 51,307,602 286,423 Germany, 91,522,495 449o42 France, 126,366,086 523,283 U. S. present pension list, .... 75,000,000 365,783 As proposed, 147,000,000 ^^S^l^Z EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. ^55 such considerations as these, advanced in his message : " I am of the opinion that it may fairly be con- tended that under the provisions of this section any soldier, whose faculties of mind or body have become impaired by accident, disease, or age, irrespective of his service in the army as a cause, and who by his labor only is left incapable of gain- ing the fair support he might with unimpaired powers have provided for himself, and who is not so well endowed with this world's eoods as to live without work, may claim to participate in its bounty; that it is not required that he should be without property, but only that labor should be necessary to his support in some degree ; nor is it required that he should be now receiving sup- port from others. " Believing this to be the proper interpretation of the bill, I cannot but remember that the sol diers of our civil war, in their pay and bounty, received such compensation for military service as has never been received by soldiers before, since mankind first went to war ; that never before, on behalf of any soldiery, have so many and such generous laws been passed to relieve against the incidents of war ; that statutes have been passed giving them a preference in all pub- lic employments ; that the really needy and homeless Union soldiers of the Rebellion have been, to a large extent, provided for at soldiers' 2^,6 UFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND. homes, instituted and supported by the Govern- ment, where they are maintained together, free from the sense of degradation which attaches to o the usual support of charity ; and that never before in the history of the country has it been proposed to render Government aid toward the support of any of its soldiers based alone upon a military service so recent, and where age and circumstances appeared so little to demand such aid. " Hitherto such relief has been eranted to sur- viving soldiers few in number, venerable in age, after a long lapse of time since their military ser- vice, and as a parting benefaction tendered by a grateful people. " I cannot believe that the vast peaceful army of Union soldiers, who, having contentedly re- sumed their places in the ordinary avocations of life, cherish as sacred the memory of patriotic service, or who, having been disabled by the casu- alties of war, justly regard the present pension- roll, on which appear their names, as a roll of honor, desire at ihls time and in the present ex- igency, to be confounded with those who through such a bill as this are willing to be objects of simple charity and to gain a place upon the pen- sion-roll through alleged dependence. ** Recent personal observation and experience constrain me to refer to another result which will inevitably follow the passage of this. bill. It is EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. ^57 sad but nevertheless true, that already in the matter of procuring pensions there exists a wide- spread disregard of truth and good faith, stimu- lated by those who as agents undertake to estab- lish claims for pensions, heedlessly entered upon by the expectant beneficiary, and encouraged or at least not condemned by those unwilling to obstruct a neighbor's plans. " In the execution of this proposed law under any interpretation, a wdde field of inquiry would be opened for the establishment of facts largely within the knowledge of the claimants alone ; and there can be no doubt that the race after the pen- sions offered by this bill w^ould not only stimulate weakness and pretended incapacity for labor, but put a further premium on dishonesty and men- dacity. *'The effect of new invitations to apply for pensions, or of new advantages added to causes for pensions already existing, is somedmes start- ling. "Thus in March, 1879, large arrearages of pensions were allowed to be added to all claims filed prior to July ist, 1880. For the 3'ear from July I St, 1879, to July ist, 1880, there were filed 110,673 Claims, though in the year immediately previous there were but z6,^^2 filed, and in the year following but 18,455. " While cost should not be set against a patri- otic duty or the recognition of a right, sdll, when 258 LIFE OF GROVFR CLEVELAND. a measure proposed is based upon generosity or motives of charity, it is not amiss to meditate somewhat upon the expense which it involves. Experience has demonstrated, I beheve, that all estimates concerning" the probable future cost of a pension list are uncertain and unreliable, and always fall far below actual realization. " The chairman of the House Committee on Pensions calculates that the number of pensioners under this bill would be 33,105, and the increased cost $4,767,120 ; this is upon the theory that only those who are entirely unable to work would be its beneficiaries. Such was the principle of the Revolutionary pension law of 181 8, much more clearly stated, it seems to me, than in this bill. When the law of 18 18 w^as upon its passage in Congress the number of pensioners to be bene- fited thereby was thought to be 374; but the number of applicants under the act was 22,297, and the number of pensions actually allowed 20,485, costing, it is reported, for the first year, $[,847,900, instead of $40,000, the estimated ex' pense for that period." PRIVATE PENSION VETOES. Upon such grounds as these the President, while signing far more private pension bills* than any of * " The Democracy has held sacred and has far advanced the claims of the pensioner as the common debt of the common people, to be sacredly, Wonestly, and munificently paid. Never since the tender hand of peace EXERCISE OE THE VETO POWER. 259 his predecessors, has felt impelled to puncture a vast number of frauds attempted in the name^ of charity, and to correct gross carelessness and im- providence on the part of Congress in passing them. For this he has been subject to malignant misrepresentation, and the abuse of rancorous partisans and of some narrow^minded people who think they are patriots simply because they were soldiers. Few if any of these complainants have ever had the fairness or taken the trouble to actually read the vetoes or weigh their merits ; and from such no honest judgment can be reasonably expected. Even the great body of people will, no doubt, be agreeably surprised to find that these much maligned vetoes rest on impregnable grounds; and Mr. Cleveland could not better afford to invite dis- cussion of any phase of his Presidendal policy than of the reasons which have induced his disap- proval of many of the private pension jobs. They are thus summarized in the pamphlet from which previous extracts have been made :* Some of these bills were vetoed because the first bound up the wounds of rugged war; never since the awful fruit of battle cumbered the red earih; never since men died and women wept and children sorrowed, has greater munificence or more eager willingness been manifest than has been shown to the pensioners by the triumphant Democracy— which, God willing, shall for many years pour the nation's reviving streams by the stricken and dit%o\^^^r— General John C. Black, Commissioner of Pensions. * «' The Vetoes of the President," pages 13, 14, IS, e6. 2 6o LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. claims named in them had already been allowed, and die effect of permitting them to become laws would be to deprive the claimants of several months' pay. Some were disapproved because the claims were still pending in the Pension Office ; some, because disability existed before, and some, because it was'occasioned after service. Most of the bills disapproved were in respect of claims which had already been minutely, and, in many instances, frequently examined and rejected in the Pension Office ; but in each instance, where time was afforded, the President made a careful exam- ination for himself, being compelled to let, how- ever, a large number become laws for want of time to make such examination, of itself a com- mentary on the objectionable manner in which this business is conducted. Amoncr those vetoed we find a claim on behalf of the widow of a per- son who, sixteen years after the close of the war, fell backward from a ladder and fractured his skull ; another, predicated upon the ground that the daimant's husband was deaf, and being drowned in crossing a river could not hear the ferryman call out that the boat was sinking, al- though, as the President says, " How he could have saved his life if he had heard the warninor, is not stated;" another of an old gentleman of sev- enty-five, who claimed that he contracted chronic diarrhoea in the Blackhawk War. The President said : " I am Inclined to think it would have been EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 26 1 a fortunate thing if, in this case, it could have been demonstrated that a man could thrive so well with a chronic diarrhoea for fifty-two years, as its exist- ence in the case of this good old gentleman would prove. We should then, perhaps, have less of it in claims for tensions." The examination in that case showed that the applicant did not claim to have had diarrhoea for many years just preced- ing the applicr.tion. In another instance, the claim attributed " death from apoplexy .o a wound in the knee received nineteen years before the apoplectic attack." In another case the man was discharged from the hospital with a certificate : " We do not believe him sick, or that he has been sick, but completely worthless. He is obese, and a malingerer to such an extent that he is almost an imbecile." In another instance the beneficiary's husband died in a street fight from the blow of a fist ; in another the son was killed in 1862, and his father was not aware of it until 1864. The boy had been in charge of an uncle, and afterward of other persons, ever since he was nine years old. The President says : " After the exhibition of heart- lessness and abandonment on the part of a father, which is a prominent feature in this case, I should be sorry to be a party to a scheme permitting him to profit by the death of his patriotic son. The claimant relinquished the care of his son, and should be held to have relinquished all claim to 262 LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. his assistance, and the benefit so indecently claimed, as the result of his death.'' In another case of a fisticuff, the Presi- dent says : " The Government ought not to be called upon to insure against the quarrel- some propensities of its individual soldiers, nor to compensate one who is worsted in a fight, or even in an unprovoked attack, when the cause of injury is in no way connected with or related to any requirement or incident of military service." In another case a widow applied for a pension and did not claim that the death resulted from military service. The President says : " This presents the question whether a gift in such a case is a proper disposition of money appropriated for the pur- pose of paying pensions. The passage of this law would, in my opinion^ establish a precedent so far-reaching, and open the door to such a vast multitude of claims not on principle within our present pension laws, that I am constrained to dis- approve the bill under consideration." In another instance the decedent was addicted to periodical sprees and died In the city lock-up, where he had been taken by an officer while on a drunken spree. In another case the death was from yellow fever in 1878. In another the claimant was enrolled as a substitute March 25th, 1865, when high boun- ties were paid, and remained in the army one month and seventeen days, during which time he 'aad the measles. " Fifteen years after this bril- EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 26 \ liarit service and this terrific encounter with the measles, and on the 28th day of June, 1880, the claimant discovered that his attack of the measles had some relation to his army enrollment, and that this disease had settled in his eyes , also af- fecting his spinal column," Another case was this, as stated by the President : This man '' was mustered Into the service October 26th, 1861 ; he never did a day's service, so far as his name ap- pears, and the muster-out roll of his company re- ports him as having deserted at Camp Cameron, Pennsylvania, November 14th, 1861. He visited his family about the first day of December, 1861, and was found December 30th, 1861, drowned in a canal about six miles from his home. Those who prosecute claims for pensions have grown very bold when cases of this description are pre- sented for consideration." In another Instance the Committee reported favorably, " In view of the lone and faithful service and hieh character of the claimant." The President states the facts and continues: "Thus It quite plainly appears that this claimant spent most of his term of enlistment in desertion or In Imprisonment as a punishment for that offense, and thus is exhibited 'the long and faithful service and the hicrh character of the claimant,' mentioned as entitling him to consid- eration by the Committee who reported favorably upon this bill. I withhold my assent from this bill because if the facts betore me, derived from 264 L^F^ OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. the army records and die statements of the claim ant, are true, the allowance of this claim would, In my opinion, be a travesty upon our whole scheme of pensions and an insult to every decent veteran soldier." Yet another case was this: The mother of the decedent, her husband, the father, having aban- doned her, was allowed a pension as dependent mother from 1862 to 1884, when she died. The father applied in 1877, alleging the death of his wife, but the claim was rejected by the Pension Office because she was living, and after her death again rejected because of the abandonment. The President says : '' The allegation in 1877 of the man who now poses as the aged and dependent father of a dead soldier, that the mother died in 1872, when at that time her claim was pending for pension largely based upon his abandonment; the affidavit of the man who testified that he saw her die in 1872 ; the effrontery of this unworthy father renewing his claim after the detection of his fraud and the actual death of the mother, and the allegation of the mother that she was a widow when in fact she w^as an abandoned wife, show the processes which enter into these claims for pensions, and the boldness, wath which plans are somxetimes concocted to rob the Government by actually trafficking in death, and imposing upon the sacred sentiments of patriotism and national i^fratitude/* EXERCISE OF THE VETO POWER. 265 THE BATTLE-FLAG INCIDENT. In the summer of 18S7 occurred the popular sensation growing out of an alleged executive order for the return to the Confederates of the batde flags which had been captured from them by the Union forces during the late Civil War. Frothy party orators worked themselves and some mis- guided people into a state of intense excitement; virulent newspapers seized eagerly an opportunity to misrepresent the President and his party ; while a few Governors, like Foraker, of Ohio, pranced to the front with most vehement declarations that they would resist all attempts to tear from the custody of the States the flags captured by their troops — a proceeding which had, of course, never been contemplated except in their own imagina- tions. The simple facts of the matter were that for years past, with a growing feeling of friendliness between the North and South, and frequent ex- change of visits on the part of military organiza- tions that had faced each other with hostile front on the field, the return of captured battle flags had come into vogue. A number of these trophies in custody of the War Department at Washing- ton had been allowed under Republican Adminis- trations to be stowed away in a room in the sub- basement and were decaying rapidly when in 1882 they were transferred to the Ordnance 2 66 ^'^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. Museum. Adjutant- General Drum, noticing their increasing dilapidation, suggested that they be re- turned to the States from which the organizations carrying them liad come. The President, without much reflection, assented to the idea, which, at most, was by no means so advanced a measure of reconciliation as many that had been urged by Sumner, Greeley, Lincoln, Grant, and other leading Republicans. As soon as it was recognized that the matter was to be made the subject of malig- nant representation the country over, the Presi- dent quietly gave the following direction revoking the order of Adjutant-General Drum : " I have considered it with more care, and finding the return of the flags not authorized by existing law nor justified by any existing act, request nothing fur- ther be done except to inventory and take mea- sures to preserve them." Sufficient pretext, however, had been afforded such men as Fairchild, of Wisconsin; Foraker, of Ohio; Tuttle, of Iowa, and others of their stripe to insult the President; and when, shortly after the flag episode, it was announced that he had been invited to visit St. Louis on the occasion of the National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic there, it was proclaimed by Tuttle and others that if Mr. Cleveland went he would be publicly insulted. This declaration of an offensive purpose injured only the authors of it, and Gen- eral Sherman publicly rebuked it in a letter June MXercise of the veto power. 267 1 2th, in which he declared that the President was the Commander-in-chief of all the armies, free to go anywhere, and the idea of his being insulted by any true soldier was monstrous. The President himself in a letter of characteristic dignity declined to visit St. Louis on this occasion ; but the citizens of Missouri, shamed by the con- duct of the Tutdes, Fairchilds, and Forakers, urged him to make another opportunity for them to show their respect for his high office and him- self. This invitation resulted in the tour and re^ ception which have been previously described \w these pages. CHAPTER XVI. DEMOCRATIC TARIFF REFORM POLICY THE GREAT ISSUE OF 1888. PRESIDENT CLEVELAND and his Ad- ministration had thus, during the first two years and a half of his term, inaugurated every minor reform that had been promised in the platform of the Convention which had nomi- nated him or in his own letters and speeches. But there was still a great work to be done. This was the liofhteninor of the burden of that taxation which had been borne by the country since the close of the war. Republican Administrations had tied up the debt still remaining unpaid in long- time bonds, none of which were payable before the year 1892, and the most of which run at an exorbitant rate of interest until the year 1907. This had been done when there was nothing in the material condition of the country to demand the payment of four or four and a half per cent, interest on the debt about to be refunded. For many years even the party in power had perceived that the time would come when, while the money must continue to flow into the Treas- ury in undiminished volume, it could not be taken 268 DEMOCRATIC TARIFF REFORM POLICY. 269 out for any of the legitimate objects of govern- ment. So that during all of the Presidential term filled by Chester A. Arthur his Secretaries of the Treasury had insisted that a wise and discreet reduction of the tariff duties was imperative. In 1883 a Tariff Commission was appointed, but its members turned out to be either interested manu- facturers themselves or their willing dupes. The result was a report which, while it recommended a reduction on certain lines of manufactured goods and enlarged the free list on some articles of almost no importance, really proposed a con- siderable increase on other articles necessary for the life and comfort of every element of our pop- ulation. Even this incongruous report was not accepted, but Congress proceeded to make from it a compromise scheme, the average reduction of which was less than four per cent., while the ine- qualities of classification and of tax were not removed. On some classes of goods these ine- qualities even became greater, experience soon proved, while the opportunities for fraud were in- creased. It was apparent after a trial of less than a year that the tariff must be revised on entirely different lines if taxes were to be reduced, and labor and capital relieved of the heavy load they had carried so long. The party in power, though mainly made up of men who were in favor of the theory called protection, /. ^., the laying of a tax on importations for the benefit of the domestic 270 ^^^^ OF G ROVER CLEVELAND, manufacturer and the alleo^ed interest of the lab* orer, with incidental reference to the revenue needed for the Government, was not wholly com- posed of persons professing allegiance to this school of political economy. This had nominally been the dominant idea in the Whig party, of whose effects the Republican party became the legatee, but even its leaders never for a moment contemplated a tax on im- ports averaging nearly fifty per cent, on the entire list. A good proportion of the membership of the party had, however, been drawn from the young and independent men, who from the years 1850 to i860, had not been satisfied with the policy of the then existing political parties. The majority of these men were not attached to the idea'of pro- tection which has since become so popular with its beneficiaries as to acquire a sort of sacredness. So that in 1857, when the further reduction of the revenue tariff of 1846 was under discussion in Congress, two-thirds of the Representatives, and nearly all the Senators from New England, most of whom were adherents of the Republican party, voted in favor of the bill. Among these, was Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, who had raised himself from the humblest surroundino^s and was to live to become Vice-President of the United States; in a long speech in which he expressed the sentiments of his colleague, Mr. Sumner, as well as his own, he said : DEMOCRA TIC TARIFF REFORM POLICY. o / I HENRY WILSON ON THE TARIFF IN 1857. "The manufacturers, Mr. Chairman, make no war upon the wool-growers. They assume that the reduction of the duty on wool, or repeal of the duty altogether, will infuse vigor into that droop- ing interest, stimulate home production, and dim- inish the importation of foreign woolen manufac- turers, and afford a steady and increasing demand for American wool. They believe this policy will be more beneficial to the wool-growers, to the agricultural interests, than the present policy. The manufacturers of woolen fabrics, many of them men of large experience and extensive knowledge, entertain these views, and they are sustained in these opinions by the experience of the great manufacturing nations of the Old World. "Since the reductions of duties on raw mate- rials in England, since wool was admitted free, her woolen manufactures have so increased, so pros- pered, that the production of native wool has in- creased more than loo percent. The experience of England, France, and Belgium demonstrates the wisdom of that policy which makes the raw material duty free. Let us profit by their example. " If our manufactures are to increase, to keep pace with the population and the growing wants of our people; if we are to have the control of the markets of our own country; if we are to ^7^ LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. meet with and compete with the manufacturers of England and other nations of Western Europe in the markets of the world, we must have our raw materials admitted duty free or at a mere nomi- nal rate. ******** " We of New England believe that wool, es- pecially the cheap wools, manila, hemp, flax, raw silk, lead, tin, brass, hides, linseed, and many other articles used in our manufactories can be admit- ted dutyfree, or for a mere nominal duty, without injuring to any extent any considerable interest of the country." Further on he said: " In closing, Mr. Chairman, the remarks I have felt it my duty to submit to the Senate and the country, that the Commonwealth I represent on this floor — I say in part, for my colleague, Mr. Sumner, after an enforced absence of more than nine months, is here to-night to give his vote if he can raise his voice for the interest of his State — has a deep interest in the modification of the tariff of 1846 by this Congress. Her merchants, man- ufacturers, mechanics, and businessmen in all de- partments of a varied industry want action now before the Thirty-fourth Congress passes away. " They are for the reduction of the revenue to the actual wants of an economical administration of the Government; for the depletion of the Treasury, now full with millions of hoarded gold; DEMOCRATIC TARIFF REFORM POLICY. 273 for a free-list embracing articles of prime neces- sity we do not produce ; for mere nominal duties on articles which make up a large portion of our do- mestic industry^ and for such an adjustment of the duties on the productions of other nations that come in direct competition with the product of American capital, labor, and skill as shall im- pose the least burdens on that capital, labor, and skill." Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, then a member of the House, now the patriarch of the Senate, expressed the opinion that the proposed duty of 20 per cent, on cutlery, edged tools, etc., was ample in spite of the fact that he has now announced his oppo- sition to a bill which makes a slio^ht reduction in the present duty of 50 per cent, on the same class of goods ! JOHN SHERMAN IN 1 867. In 1867 John Sherman, of Ohio, in the course of a speech discussing the revenue question, said: " Every law imposing a duty on imported goods is necessarily a restraint on trade. It imposes a burden upon the purchase and sale of imported goods and tends to prevent their importation. The expression 'a free-trade tariff,' involves an absurdity." * * * ''Every duty on imported mer- chandise orives to the domestic manufacturer an advantage equal to the duty, and to that extent 274 ^^^^ ^^ GROVER CLEVELAND. every tariff is a protective tariff." * * * "If you converse with Intelligent men engaged In the business of manufacturing they will tell you that they are willing to compete with England, France, Germany, and all the countries of Europe at the old rates of duty. If you reduce their products to a specie basis, and put them upon the same footing they were on before the war, the present rates of duty would be too high. It would not be necessary for scarce any branch of industry to be protected to the extent of your present tariff law. They do not ask protection against the pauper labor of Europe, but they ask protection against the creation of your own laws." In March, 1872, in a speech discussing this ever present question, Mr. Sherman said: *' I have listened with patience, day by day, to the state- ments of gentlemen who are interested In our domestic productions. I am a firm believer In the general Idea of protecting their Industries, but I assure them, as I assure their representatives here, that if the present high rates of duty, unex- ampled In our country, and higher by nearly 50 per cent, than they were in 1861, are maintained on metallic and textile fabrics after we have re- pealed the very internal taxes which gave rise to them, and after we have substantially given them their raw materials free of duties, we shall have a feellnof of dissatisfaction amonor other interests DEMOCRA TIC TARIFF REFORM FOLIC Y. 275 In the country that will overthrow the whole system, and do greater harm than can possibly be done by a moderate reduction of the present rates of duty. And I am quite sure that intelligent men engaged in the production of various forms of textile and metallic fabrics feel as I do, that it is wiser and better to do what is just and right, to make a reduction on their products, at least to the extent of the reduction in this bill on the raw materials, rather than to invite a controversy in which I believe they will be in the wrong." * * * '' The public mind is not yet prepared to apply the key to a genuine revenue reform. A few years of further experience will convince the whole body of our people that a system of national taxes, which rests the whole burden of taxation on consumption, and not one cent on property or income, is intrinsically unjust. While the expenses of the National Government are largely caused by the protection of property, it is but right to require property to contribute to their payment. It will not do to say that each person consumes in proportion to his means. This is not true. Every one must see that the con- sumption of the rich does not bear the same re- lation to the consumption of the poor as the in- come of the one does to the wages of the other. As wealth accumulates this injustice in the funda- mental basis of our system will be felt and forced upon the attention of Congress," 276 L^P^ OF G ROVER CLEVELAND PRESIDENT Arthur's views. President Arthur, In his annual messagfe, trans- mitted to Congress in December, 1882, used the followlnor lancruao^e : " I recommend an enlaro^e- ment of the free Hst so as to include the numerous articles which yield inconsiderable revenue, a simplification of the complex and inconsistent schedule of duties upon certain manufactures, particularly cotton, iron, and steel, and a sub- stantial reduction of duties on those articles and on sugar, molasses, silk, wool, and woolen goods.'* Charles J. Folger, Secretary of the Treasury, in his report to President Arthur, made at the same time, said: *' The classes of merchandise paying the largest amount of duties from customs are the followinor: Suear and molasses, wool and manufactures from it, iron and steel and the manufactures from them, manufactures of silk, manufactures of cotton. A substantial reduction upon each of the class of articles named is rec- ommended. And it is believed that the time has arrived when a reduction of duties on nearly all the articles in the tariff is demanded and is feasible." In his annual report for 1884, Hugh McCulloch, President Arthur's last Secretary of the Treasury, concluded a long discussion of the revenue de- rived for customs duty with the following recom- mendations : — " First — That the existing duties upon raw DEMOCRATIC TARIFJ" REFORM POLICY. 277 material which are used in manufactures should be removed. This can be done in the interest of our foreign trade. " Second — That the duties upon the articles used or consumed by those who are least able to bear the burden of taxation should be reduced. This also can be effected without prejudice to our export trade." The Republican tariff platform of 1884 de clared : " The Democratic party has failed complete^/ to relieve the people of the burden of unneces- sary taxation by a wise reduction of the surplus. The Republican party pledges itself to correct th'-j inequalities of the tariff and to reduce the sur- plus." CLEVELAND ON THE TARIFF. In his first annual message President Cleveland gave due attention to this question without con- ferring upon it that prominence it attained in late messages when the gravity of the case demanded more extended and more heroic treatment. He said : " A due regard for the interests and prosperity of all the people demands that our finance shall be established upon such a sound and sensible basis as shall secure the safety and con- fidence of business interests and make the wages of labor sure and steady ; and that our system of revenue shall be so adjusted as to relieve the 278 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. people from unnecessary taxation, having a du(; regard to the interests of capital invested and of workingmen employed in American industries, and preventing the accumulation of a surplus in the Treasury to tempt extravagance and waste." In his second annual message, transmitted to Congress in December, 1886, the President en- larged upon the issue which was then assuming the first importance. His views are fairly re- flected in the following extracts: " Good government, and especially the govern- ment of wdiich every American citizen boasts, has for its objects the protection of every person within its care In the greatest liberty consistent with the good order of society, and his perfect security In the enjoyment of his earnings, with the least possible diminution for public needs. When more of the people's substance is exacted through the form of taxation than is necessary to meet the just obligations of the Government and the ex- pense of Its economical administration, such ex- action becomes ruthless extortion and a violation of the fundamental principles of a free Govern- ment. ** Those w^ho toil for daily wages are beginning to understand that capital, though sometimes vaunting Its Importance and clamoring for the protection and favor of the Government, is dull and sluggish, till, touched by the magical hand of labor, It springs into activity, furnishing an occa- DE MO CKA TIC TARIFF REFORM FOLIC Y. 279 sion for Federal taxation and gaining the value which enables it to bear its burden. And the la- boring man is thoughtfully inquiring whether in these circumstances, and considering the tribute he constantly pays into the public Treasury as he supplies his daily wants, he receives his fair share of advantages. " There is also a suspicion abroad, that the sur- plus of our revenues indicates abnormal and ex- ceptional business profits, which, under the system which produces such surplus, increase, without corresponding benefit to the people at large, the vast accumulations of a few amono^ our citizens whose fortunes, rivaling the wealth of the most favored in anti-democratic nations, are not the natural growth of a steady, plain, and industrious republic. " It has been the policy of the Government to collect the principal part of its revenues by a tax upon imports ; and no change in this policy is de- sirable. But the present condition of affairs con- strains our people to demand that by a revision of our revenue laws the receipts of the Govern- ment shall be reduced to the necessary expense of its economical administration ; and this demand should be recognized and obeyed by the people's representatives in the legislative branch of the Government. " In readjusting the burdens of Federal taxation, 3 sound public policy requires that such of our 23o ^^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. citizens as have built up large and Important industries under present conditions should not be suddenly and to their injury, deprived of ad- vantages to which they have adapted their business; but if the public good requires it, they should be content with such consideration as shall deal fairly and cautiously with their interests, while the just demand of the people for relief from needless taxation is honestly answered. A reason- able and timely submission to such a demand should certainly be possible without disastrous shock to any interest ; and a cheerful concession sometimes averts abrupt and heedless action, often the outgrowth of impatience and delayed justice. " Due regard should be also accorded, in any proposed readjustment, to the interests of American labor so far as they are Involved. We coneratulate ourselves that there Is amonof us no laboring class, fixed within unyielding bounds and doomed under all conditions to the Inexorable fate of daily toil. We recognize in labor a chief factor in the wealth of the Republic, and we treat those who have it in their keeping as citizens en- titled to the most careful reofard and thouorhtful attention. This regard and attention should be awarded them, not only because labor is the capital of our workingmen, justly entitled to its share of Government favor, but for the further and not less Important reason, that the laboring man, surrounded by his family in his humble home DEMOCRA Ti C TARIFF REFORM POL IC V. 2 S I as a consumer is vitally interested in all that cheapens the cost of living and enables him to bring within his domestic circle additional com- forts and advantages. " This relation of the workingman to the reve- nue laws of the country, and the manner in which it palpably influences the question of wages, should not be forgotten in the justifiable promi- nence given to the proper maintenance of the supply and protection of well-paid labor. And these considerations suggest such an arrangement of Government revenues as shall reduce the ex- pense of living, while it does not curtail the op- portunity for work nor reduce the compensation of American labor, and injuriously affect its con- dition and the dignified place it holds in the esti- mation of our people. " But our farmers and aorriculturists — those who from the soil produce the things consumed by all — are perhaps more directly and plainly con- cerned than any other of our citizens in a just and careful system of Federal taxation. Those actually engaged in and more remotely connected with this kind of work number nearly one-half of our population. None labor harder or more con- tinuously than they. No enactments limit their hours of toil, and no interposidon of the Govern- ment enhances to any great extent the value of their products. And yet for many of the neces- saries and comforts of life, which the most scru- 2S2 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. pulous economy enables them to bring inio their homes, and for their implements of husbandry, they are obliged to pay a price largely increased by an unnatural profit which, by the action of the Government, is given to the more favored manu- facturer. " I recommend that, keeping in view all these considerations, the increasing and unnecessary surplus of national income annually accumulating be released to the people by an amendment to our revenue laws which shall cheapen the price of the necessaries of life and eive freer entrance to such imported materials as by American labor may be manufactured into marketable commodi- ties. Nothing can be accomplished, however, in the direction of this much-needed reform unless the subject is approached in a patriotic spirit of devotion to the interests of the entire country and with a willingness to yield something for the pub- lic good." SOUNDING A BATTLE CRY. But all that had gone before was the merest child's play compared with the courage, the mag- nificent audacity of statesmanship, which the Pres- ident displayed in his third annual message, trans- mitted to the opening session of the Fiftieth Con- gress, in December, 18S7. Rising to the occasion by casting all other issues aside, as unimportant '*n comparison with the reduction of revenues in DEMOCRA TIC TARIFF REFORM FOLIC K 283 order to rid the country of a dangerous surplus, he devoted all his annual message to the consid- eration of this one question.* This document was brief to a degree which was comforting when the long, prosy messages usually sent to Congress by Presidents are considered. Fojf once the people of the United States had a mes- sage they could read and did read. The effect was immediate. Public attention was focused upon this one great question as it had not been similarly directed to any issue since the absorbing days of the war. Young men not accustomed to such direct and pointed appeals were surprised, but their attention and their intelligence were aroused. Politicians who had been accustomed to discuss only the war and Its cognate questions were amazed at the awful audacity of a President who did not so much as Intimate anything about the various sections of the country. Some timid members of the President's own party were alarmed at his seeming willingness to Intrust all his political eggs to one basket. The protected manufacturers who had fattened on a tariff were naturally alarmed. But the general feeling In * It has not been thought necessary or desirable in such a book as this^ to attempt to make extracts from the President's annual message of 1887. Every word would be essential to a knowledge of it. A complete appre- ciation of the leading issues of the second campaign can only be gained by a thorough study of this document, and of the speeches made in the House in support of it 284 Z/Zi? OF GROVER CLEVELAND. the country was one of relief. Its politics had been drifting into a condition of torpidity, and the country, as was so well shown by the Presi- dent, was plunging Into the most serious of perils. Great satisfaction was expressed among men of every avocation and party at the feeling that something more than a mere commonplace struggle over the offices was now to begin. The message at once attracted the attention of the leaders of the Republican party, now in the minority and opposition. Mr. Blaine, ever eager to direct attention to himseli, submitted himself to a newspaper interview in Paris. Senator Sher- man took occasion to make such reply from his place on the floor of th i 7 days afterward, on March 4th, 1889, he surren- dered the office of President and the executive mansion to his successor, and retired to private Hfe, having made himself a name for unflinching honesty and a high sense of official responsibility during his Presidential career, which will live long in history, and place his record among that of the American Presidents most noted for probity and non-partisan public spirit. CHAPTER XX. IN PRIVATE LIFE. IN the whole history of mankind there have been few stories as remarkable as that of Grover Cleveland. In 1880, a private citizen of an interior city, of no higher public importance than any other of the 50,000,000 inhabitants of the United States; in. 1884, the President of the greatest republic the world has ever known, the elected ruler of the most prosperous nation upon the o-lobe. It seemed almost the work of maoric. No doubt Dame Fortune had a hand in it, but character had as much, and the admiration of the American people for unapproachable integrity in office had the most. It was his record for un- flinching honesty and a high public spirit as Mayor of Buffalo that in two years made him Governor of New York, that stepping-stone to the Presi- dency of the United States. His integrity and ability in this office gave him the nomination for President, and the Democratic party carried him successfully into this exalted office, though his opponent was the most eminent statesman in the Republican ranks. Four years had now passed, during which President Cleveland had shown such ability, in- 318 rN PRIVA TE L IfE. ^ j g tegrlty, and single-souled devotion to duty as to make him the favorite of his party, and their can- didate for the two ensuingr terms. Yet it was doubtless with a sense of rehef that he resio-ned to his successor the cares and duties of office, and retired to private hfe, seeking rest from the inces- sant labors of his Presidential service. On leaving Washington, however, the ex- President had no thought of pursuing an idle life. The instinct of work, the American delioht in oc- cupation, was too strong in him for that, and he, without loss of time, resumed the practice of his old profession. Seeking the city of New York, he opened a law office on Madison Avenue, and during the last four years the practice of law in the New York courts has been his held of labor. As regards Mr. Cleveland's private means, it may be said that he saved no orreat sum out of his Presidential salary; but, on the other hand, he made fortunate investments, some of them by the advice of Mr. Whitney, so that he had a for- tune of about $200,000. His wife's wealth was considerably larger than this, but this Mr. Cleve- land would never touch, his sole relation to It being advice in regard to Investments. His wife's wealth, in his opinion, was her own, and it was his duty to pay his own way through the world. He had hopes of adding considerably to his for- tune through the profits of his legal practice, -^20 ^^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. which he entered upon with some enthuslasin. These hopes have not been reahzed. His pro- fessional business has not been large, pardy from the fact that he has kept clear from connection with those great corporations which might have thrown very profitable business into his hands. He has received retainers Irom some of these associations, but has invariably declined them. He conducted one important case, in his first year's practice, appearing in the Supreme Court of die Uiiited States. Here the judges received him with every manifestation of high considera- tion, but he lost the case. Since then his busi- ness has consisted largely In what are called " references." This Is a species of office practice which is not very consplcuou:: or ex.iilarating, but It does not pay badly, and demands that steady attention to detail and patient labor which has distinguished Mr. Cleveland, alike in public ani private life. It Is said that his Income from his profession has been from ^20,ooc) to ^25,000 a year, no more than enough to meet his family necessities In the style in which he is obliged to live. During Mr. Cleveland's New York life he has taken pains to keep clear of entangling polidcal alliances, and to avoid intimacy with men or con- nection with cliques which would be likely to injure him In public opinion. That he had this In view, however. Is questionable. No doubt his IN PRIVATE LIFE, -,21 natural abhorrence of political jobbery or trickery has kept him from any such dubious connections. Of his various city intimates, who include a num- ber of prominent men, the most prominent has been ex-Mayor Grace. No man has been seen more often at the house and In the office of Mr. Cleveland, and the friendship between the two men has been unbroken by a woid of discord. Cleveland has shown himself a companionable man, not much of a reader, but a good listener, one who knows how to hear and digest other men's opinions, and to take good advice from whatever quarter - it may come. His political creed has been a simple one : to do what he thouorht to be rlo^ht without re^rard to what men might say, but to use his utmost endeavors to widen his knowledge and improve his judgment as to the right and wrong of political questions. When In the Presidential chair it was suggested to him that he ought to use his power to put an end to Governor Hill's Influence in New York politics; to crush him, in short. He replied to the politician who had suggested It: "This crush- ing Is likely to be an ugly business. I won't undertake it. A oood many men have due their graves in their efforts to crush others." Here we have a political manual in a nut-shell. Mr. Cleveland, however, has not hesitated to express his opinion on political questions during his private life, and has always done so with that ^2 2 ^-^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. pithy honesty which will cling to him through life. His motto has bticn, '' What I think right/' not "how many votes may it cost." During his four years' life as a lawyer, he has appeared at various times at public dinners and elsewhere, where he has not hesitated in the free expression of his opinion. Thus, at the Mercantile Club Dinner, at Boston, December 12th, 1889, ^^^ spoke in the most uncompromising terms in favor of Civil Service Reform and of the Australian secret ballot. In regard to this system, he said that the official ballot is the '* vital principle of the (ballot) re- form." To permit the use of an unofficial ballot " would leave the door as wide open as ever to bribery and corruption," arid an "official ballot only would sweep away to a very great extent, if not entirely, all excuse for campaign funds — that fruitful source of bribery and corruption, for if the State paid all the expenses of the election there would be little plea to levy assessments upon candidates, and contributions from interested outsiders. "- The public utterance of Mr. Cleveland that has attracted most viridespread attention, however, came in the form of a letter, in which he took open ground against the free coinage of silver. This letter will be allowed to speak for itself: " E. Ellery Anderson, Esq. " My Dear Sir. — I have this afternoon re- IN PRIVA TE LIFE. ^21 celved your note inviting me to attend to-morrow evening a meeting called for the purpose of voic- ing the opposition of the business men of our city to ' free coinage of silver In the United States.' I shall not be able to attend and address the meet- ing as you request, but I am glad that the busi- ness interests of New York are at last to be heard on the subject. It surely cannot be neces- sary for me to make a formal expression of my acrreement with those who believe that the oreat- est perils would be invited by the adoption of the scheme embraced in the measure now pending in Congress for an unlimited coinage of silver at our mints. " If we have developed an unexpected capacity for the assimilation of a largely Increased volume of the currency, and even If we have demonstrated the usefulness of such an increase, these condi- tions fall far short of insurinor us against disaster if In the present situation we enter upon the dan- gerous and reckless experiment of free, unlimited, and independent silver coinage. " Yours very truly, **Grover Cleveland. "February loth, 1891." This letter caused no small sensation. It was commented upon in all quarters, some persons asserting that the ex-President had destroyed all hope of a renomlnatlon, though In the East his letter was applauded by men of all parties. It ^24. ^^P^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. was said that nothing else could have been ex- pected from Mr. Cleveland. As to its effect, he has been re-nominated on a platform which ex- presses virtually similar views, and since the Con- vention the hopes of the free silver advocates have been dashed by a decisively adverse vote in Congress. The United States is safe from free silver coinage for a year to come. We have said that Mr. Cleveland is a compan- ionable man. He likes to have good fellows around him, and is utterly unassuming, unpreten- tious, and eenial in his dealintrs with his associates. As regards his social habits, he has improved under the influence of his wife. His bachelor life at Buffalo was not calculated to teach him the manners of polished society, and Mrs. Cleveland has in some respects made another man of him. She has in New York arranged little dinner par- ties, where he met men and women of otlier than political influence, intercourse with whom has had a softenmg and broa lening effect which he was not likely to gain in official life. Among those intimate friends whom he owes to his wife's influence are the the editors of two of our great illustrated monthlies, men whose society he thoroughly enjoys, and whose conver- sation has opened to him a broad new field of life beyond the domain of politics. To one of these men, Mr. Gilder, of The Century, he owes his introduction to a domain of IN PRIVATE LIFE. ^2^ enjo^'ment which has been an unending source of deho^ht to him. Mr. Cleveland's business has not been one that kept him tied to the office. He has had abundant leisure for recreation, and this recreation has largely taken the form of fishing, of which he is very fond. Formerly he looked upon the Adirondacks as the ideal place of re- pose ; largely for the opportunities of trout fish- ing wdiich it presented. But this w^oodland dis- trict has its drawbacks, largely in the form of black flies, and our ardent sportsman often felt that its misery outweighed its enjoyments. He has reformed all that. The sea is now his chosen place of resort, and deep-sea fishing his delight. How this chancre came about is the sub- stance of the story we have next to tell. Joe Jefferson, the " Rip Van Winkle " of theat- rical fame, had become possessed of a property on Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, where the ad- joining waters offered excellent sea-bass fishing. Mr. Gilder, who had been touched with the same fever, Invited Mr. Cleveland to take a summer's vacation in that breezy district. Here he was taken out to fish for sea-bass, and he found the sport so exhilarating and the sea breezes so in- vieoratinor that he became fascinated with the pursuit, and incontinently deserted the Adiron- dacks for this new world of sport. Joe Jefferson, as we have said, w^as one of the club of Buzzard Bay fishermen. Mr. Cleveland ^26 ^^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. made his acquaintance, and soon began to enjoy Jefferson as much as he did the fishing. There was here no talk of poHtics, and no suggestion of business Hfe. The conversation was confined to fishing chat, social subjects, and a free spice of that fund of anecdote, humorous and dramatic, which Jefferson has in his mental store-house, and which his visitor delighted to hear. Jefferson, moreover, was a good sportsman, a fact which endeared him the more to the sport-loving ex- President, and the two men have become intimate associates. Of other men whom he has met there may be named Edwin Booth, who shared this intimacy ; and Mr. E. C. Benedict, the Wall Street broker, a gentleman who is an enthusiastic lover of the game of cribbage. As Cleveland enjoys the same game, the representatives from Wall Street and from the White House have spent manv a nicrht over the cribbaore board, as intent on the fortunes of the eame as thouirh the fate of CD O the nation or the money market depended upon it. As regards Mr. Cleveland's abilities as a fisher- man and his powers as a philosopher, Mr. Jeffer- son has recently made the following appreciative remarks : '' Great men are apt to be good fishermen. Yju can judge a man's characteristics better wlien you fish with him than under almost any other conditions. Mr. Cleveland Is an eminent IN PR 1 1 \4 TE L IFE. ^27 philosopher and a profound thinker. He is a Sherman, consequently, of a high order, as emi- nent philosophers generally are. He fishes with a rod in a scientific manner, and possesses the art of cajoling a bass to his hook with almost ab- solute certainty. ''Mr. Cleveland, Mr. Gilder, of the Century Magazine, my son, and myself own a lake and three islands at Marsh Pee on Cape Cod. We named them in spirit of mild satire, after the name of the capes^ which very frequently termi- nate in ' it ;' for instance, Manomit, Cotonit, and Naquissit. The islands' names are Getonit, Notinit, and Comofifit. " Some of the hshino^ that I have seen Mr. Cleveland do in the vicinity of our camping grounds at Marsh Pee would sound so incredible that I do not wish to peril my reputation as a re- liable relator of piscatorial anecdotes. During our great raids on the finny tribe, Mr. Cleveland observed that wide reticence that indicates an in- terest in the sport — complacency and peace and harmony with all mankind." Mr. Cleveland's prowess as a fisherman Is said to be remarkable. At the end of a troll line, or In landing a 20-pound striped bass, he displays all the patience and self-control of a statesman. His catch is at times phenomenal. Seventy- five blue fish in a day are recorded of him. Yet he can wait all day in patience for a bite, without a ^28 ^^^^ CF G ROVER CLEVELAND. word of complaint If none comes. His friends, in fact, speak of him as an ideal fisherman, and one "who tells the absolute truth about his catch — an extraordinary evidence of virtue in a fisherman. Mr. Cleveland is Mr. Jefferson's neighbor in another sense than as a visitor. He has acquired a property of his own on Buzzard's Bay, and ** Gray Gables," as his residence is christened, is now his summer house. The house in question is near the village of Bourne, a place "delightful to travel//^;;/." Ex- ternally it is not attractive. Trees are conspicu- ous by their absence, the house is bare and exposed, and its prevailing gray hue is not particularly beautiful. It is a quaindy-shaped mansion, abundant in gables, from which, and Its dusty color, it derives its name. Internally Gray Gables is said to be delightfully attractive. The rooms are finished in natural woods, each room having Its own particular wood — oak, cherr)^ spruce, etc. — and the general effect is very agreeable. The leading architectural fea- ture Is the hall, which Is of magnificent propor- tions. Its walls run up to the roof, a height of 1 8 or 20 feet, and are broken midway by an airy balcony, which communicates with the stairs, and from which access Is gained to the chambers, which are tucked cozily away beneath the gables. There are no carpets on the floors. Mats take their place. Bits of tapestry and needlework are LV PRIVA TE L IFE. ^ ^ q used freely as ornaments. Everywhere are easy seats, cosy nooks, soft rugs, cool rooms ; and altogether, between the architect's taste in build- ing and Mrs. Cleveland's genius in furnishing and adorning, Gray Gables constitutes as attract- ive a summer residence as even an ex- President could covet. Mrs. Cleveland is not given to the piscatorial art. She rarely indulges in what is her husband's absorbing passion, though on one occason in which she was induced to do so, the story goes that she greitly astonished Mr. Cleveland by her remarkable run of luck. Fish after fish came up at the end of her line, while he sat in gloomv silence without a nibble. He felt forced to con- gratulate his wife on her success, yet it was a rather awkward situation for a crack fisherman to find himself in It was not until theday*s sport was over that the truth came out. The fun-lov- ing woman had bribed the man who prepared their lines to make hers specially attractive, and to fix Mr. Cleveland's so that the bass would have no inducement to bite. The result was a hearty lau'^h at the disappointed fisherman. The story, in its way, has a certain affinity to that told by Plutarch, of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, in which Antony having ill-luck as an angler, hired divers to place fish on his hook. Cleopatra saw through this trick, and the next day turned the tables on him by hiring a diver to ^^O ^^^"^ OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. place on his hook a salt fish from Pontus, laugh- ing heartily at the discomfited angler as he drew this up. There is another inmate of Gray Gables of whom we have ngt spoken, but who certainly deserves a paragraph. Baby Ruth, who came into this world in October, 1891, has not yet rounded her first year as a citizeness of this great republic, yet she has already gained as great a host of admirers as either of her parents. So far this admiration is wasted on this very young lady, but the time is cominqr in which she will know what it all means. A few words are here in place in regard to the personal appearance and quahties of the man who is again presented as the candidate of the Demo- cratic party. Mr. Cleveland is a little under six feet in height, but is so heavily built that he looks of less stature. His weight is about 250 pounds : his hair is scant, he wears a lio^ht mustache ; the lines of his face are deeply graven, and his ordi- nary aspect is that of a grave and serious man, easily lighted by a gleam of humor or a kindly feeling. He generally dresses in a Prince Albert frock coat, but on informal occasions wears a gray business suit with cutaway or sack coat. In conversation, he is quiet, dignified, and self- possessed, a good listener, but not without a positive, and when necessary, a dogmatic manner. In public speech he is easy, self-contained, fluent, IX PRIVA TE LIFE. ^ ^ j and impressive. His personal qualities include a strong power of will, intiexible courage, and un- questionable honesty, which are not unmixed with a keen sense of humor, a sly sarcasm, and the generous sympathies of a warm heart. While in offi:e he, while untiringly industrious himself, expected the same industry in his subor- dinates. He would stay up late at night, if ne- cessar}^ to complete his tasks. He had an un- usual ability in mastering the details of a case, and not infrequently a member of the Cabinet, after submitting to him a matter in general, would find next day that its chief was familiar with all its details, which he had spent part of the night in acquiring. In this way he got through with enormous quantities of business, without ne- glect of the numerous social duties which his position as head of the Government exacted of him. With a high and even stern sense of official duty, his sympathies are easily aroused. In the circles where he is most intimately known are current many incidents testifying to the warmth of his generosity, his fidelity to his friends, and his sincere appreciation of the fireside virtues which alike adorn citizen and ruler. Of the President's great-grandfather, who died in Benjamin Franklin's house in 1757, that illus- trious man said: '' He is a gentleman easy and affable in his ^^o LIFE OF GROVE R CLEVELAND. conversation, open and sincere in his friendship, and above any species of meanness and dissim- ulation.'* These quaUties have not been lost in the family inheritance. WM. M. SPRINGER. CHAPTER XXI. THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION OF 1 892. THE city which had been chosen by the National Committee for the meeting of the Democratic National Convention of 1892 was Chicago, the date June 21st. For the use of the Convention a large ''Wigwam" had been constructed, a huge frame building about 300 feet long by 200 wide, with a seating capacity of nearly 20,000. The original plan contemplated a canvas roof, upheld by a single great pole in the centre of the building. Unluckily, shortly be- fore the day fixed for the meeting of the Conven- tion, Chicago was visited by one of those wild Western tornadoes which are no respectors of places or purposes, and the great canvas roof went off with a whirl. It was decided not to replace it, but to build a wooden roof, upheld by a forest of pillars from within. This work was barely finished when the opening day arrived, and proved to have two serious defects. The thick pillars interfered gready with the view, while the hastily constructed roof failed to be water-proof, and as it rained frequendy during the Convention, seats witliin the Wigwam often became the reverse of comfortable. 333 ^^4 L IFE OF GK O \ FR CL E ICELAND. In this hucre thouorh leaky hall the deleeates beofan to assemble at 1 1 o'clock in the mornine of June 2 1 St, and ere long the immense building was well filled with delegates and spectators. After prayer by the Rev. John Ronso, the busi- ness of the Convention beo^an in the escortinof to the chair by Charles Jewett, Thomas Wilson, and Adlai E Stevenson of William C. Owens, of Ken- tucky, who had been chosen as temporary chair- man. After the applause which greeted his ap- pearance had subsided, he opened the Convention with a brief speech, from which we quote the most significant passages : " There are two grreat dangrers which menace the Democratic party — one is external, the other internal ; the first is the organized machinery of organized capital, supported by the whole power of the government ; the second is the tendency amonof Democrats to make issues amonor them- selves. Two needs, therefore, stand before us indispensable to success — unity and harmony. Of the one this chair and gavel stand representa- tive ; it remains for you to supply the other. . . . " We can succeed ; we must do more, we must deserve success. Above the wreck, if need be, of selfish combinations we must rear a temple to the plain people and build a shrine so broad that every lover of liis kind may kneel. The burden must be lifted from the back of toil, and to that end it has a rWai to demand that whoever bears CONVENTION CF i8g2. ^ ^ e our banner must lift It above the smoke of con- flict and the din of action, that every Democrat of the Union may follow its lead in exultant and In irresistible combat. Let us not mistake. The gravity of the situation demands the broadest pa- triotism and every needful sacrifice. Our work but begins here. Under the suns of summer and the frosts of autumn we must carry It forward with unfaltering courage to a triumphant close.'' The remalnlncT business of the first session was the appointment of Committees on Credentials, Rules and Order of Business, Permanent Oreanl- zatlon, and Resolutions, after which Mr. Cable, of Illinois, offered a resolution of sympathy with *' that distinguished American, James G. Blaine, in the heavy affliction which has befallen him " — the death of his son. This resolution was re- ceived with applause and passed unanimously, the Convention then adjourning. The second day's session began at 11.30 on Wednesday morning by a prayer from Rev. W. F. H. Henry, of Chicago. While waiting for re- ports from the committees the Convention was addressed by Senator Palmer, of Illinois, in a pleasant vein, that put the audience In excellent humor. "Select a solid, firm Democrat for this contest, put the banner In his hand, and then rally about him," he concluded. The Committee on Credentials now appeared, with a unanimous report ; after which the Com- ^^5 ^^^^' ^^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. mittee on Permanent Organization reported the name of William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, for Permanent Chairman, S. P. Sheerin, of Wisconsin, for Permanent Secretary, and a list of names for the other officials of the Convention. Mr. Wilson was escorted to the platform by a committee ap- pointed for that purpose. After the applause which greeted his appearance had subsided, he arose and addressed the assembly. Mr. Wilson began his speech by thanking the delegates for the honor they had done him. "This Convention," he went on to say, " has a high and patriotic work to perform. We owe much to our party; we owe much to our country. The mission of the Democratic party is to fight for the under dog. When that party Is out of power we may be sure there Is an under dog to fight for, and that the under dog is generally the American people. Never was this truth brought home to us more defiantly than by the recent convention at Minneapolis. We are not de- ceived as to the temper, we are not in doubt as to the purpose of our opponents. Having taxed us for years without excuse and without mercy they now propose to disarm us of further power to resist their exactions." The Chairman next alluded to the question of tariff and taxation, the latter of which he desig- nated as the question around which all the great battles of freedom have been fouofht. The Re- CONVEXTION OF iSg2. ^^7 publican Idea of reciprocity he stiginatlzed as retaliation, and retaliation on our own people. The Democratic party, he added, Is for the pro- tection that protects and for reciprocity that re- ciprocates. " It is not for me," he said in conclusion, " to attempt to foreshadow what your choice should or ought to be In the selection of your candidates. One thing only I venture to say. Whoever may be your chosen leader in this campaign no tele- crram will flash across the sea from the castle of absent tariff lords to conL^^ratulace him. But from the home of labor, from the fireside of \\\^ toller, from the hearts of all who love justice and equity, will come up prayers for his success and recruits for the great Democratic host th:it must strike down the beast of sectionalism and the Moloch of monopoly before we can have ever again a people's government run by a people's faithful representatives." The remaining business of the session was brief. The Committee on Resolutions was not yet ready to report. The report of the Commit- tee on Rules was received, the unit rule of voting being retained ; a gavel of zinc was presented to the Convention from the miners of Missouri ; the names of the members of the National Committee were presented ; and the Convention adjourned, to meet again at 5 o'clock that afternoon. 338 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. THE PLATFORM. It was 5.35 P.M. when the duties of the Con- vention were resumed, by a prayer from Rev. Thomas Reed, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At 6.24, Charles H. Jones, of Missouri, Clialrman of the Committee on Resolutions, announced that the report of the committee was ready. At his request ex-Secretary Vilas read the report to the Con- vention. It opened as follows : "The representatives of the Democratic party of the United States, in national convention assembled, do reaffirm their alleo^iance to the principles of the party as formulated by Jefferson, and exemplified by the long and illustrious line of his successors in Democratic leadership, from Madison to Cleveland." It went on to denounce the centralizing tendency of the Government, with its menace to the reserved rlc^lits of the States, and spoke as follows of the -Force Bill:" "We warn the people of our common country, jealous for the preservation of their free institu- tions, that the policy of Federal control of elec- tions, to which the Republican party has committed itself, is fraught with the gravest dangers, scarcely less momentous than would result from a revolu- tion, practically establishing monarchy on the ruins of the Republic. It strikes at the North as well as the South, and Injures the colored citizens even more than the whites. It means a horde of Dep- CON VENTION OF i8g2. -2 ^ q uty Marshals at every polling place armed with Federal power. Returning Boards appointed and controlled by Federal authority, the outrage of the electoral rights of the people in the several States, the subjugation of the colored people to the control of the party in power and the reviving of race antagonisms, now happily abated : of the utmost peril to the safety and happiness of all ; a measure deliberately and justly described by a leading Republican Senator as the * most infa- mous bill that ever crossed the threshold of the Senate.' " Such a policy, it declared, meant the perpetual dominance of an oligarchy of office-holders ; It had been emphatically condemned In 1890, at the polls, yet the Republican party had reiterated its intention to support it. In regard to the question of the tariff, the report declared that Government necessity was the only justification for taxation, and that any customs charore more than sufficient to cover the difference in cost of labor here and abroad was unjust and oppressive to workingmen. It denounced the McKInley bill as an atrocity of class legislation, and demanded a revision of the tariff law, stating that " in making reductions in taxation it is not proposed to injure any domestic industries, but rather to promote their health growth. . . . Many industries have come to rely upon legislation for heakhy continuance, so that any changes of law ^AQ LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. must be at every step regardful of the labor and capital thus involved." The report proceeded to declare that the oper- ation of the McKinley bill had been attended by reduction of wages, dullness in trade, and distress ; that after thirty years of high tariff the homes and farms of the country were burdened with an immense load of debc ; and stated that "We denounce a poHcy which fosters no industry so much as it does diat of the Sheriff." It followed by denouncing the recent reciprocity scheme as a juggling sham, which pretended to establish closer trade relations with agricultural countries by prohibiting trade with the countries of the world which stood ready to take our entire surplus product, and to send us commodities of prime necessity. It next declared that trusts and combinations were a result of prohibitive taxes, and that their evils could and should be controlled and removed by law. As regards the public lands, they had been given away freely by the Republican party to railroads and non-settlers. This policy had been reversed by the Democratic administration, which had reclaimed nearly 100,000,000 acres of such unwise donations. This policy was to be contin- ued until every acre unlawfully held should be restored to the people. On the subject of coinage, the report spoke with unhesitating freedom, saying: CONVENTION OF iSgs. ^ . t "We denounce the Republican legislation known as the Sherman act of 1890 as a cowardly makeshift, fraught with possibilities of danger in the future, which should make all of its support- ers, as well as its author, anxious for its speedy ^ repeal. We hold to the use of both gold and ' silver as the standard money of the country, and to the coinage of both gold and silver without discriminating against either metal or charge for minta'j^e, but the dollar unit of coinage of both . metals must be of equal intrinsic and exchange- able value or be adjustf^d through international agreement or by such safeguards of legislation as shall insure the maintenance of the parity of the two metals and the equal power of every dollar at all times in die markets and in the payment of debts ; and we demand that all paper currency shall be kept at par with and redeemable in such coin. We insist upon this policy as especially necessary for the protection of the farmers and laborin'^ class'^s, tlie first and most defenceless victims of unstable money and a tluctuating cur- rency." The policy of Civil Service Reform was next advocated, and the system under which Federal office-holders can usurp control of party conven- tions was denounced, the Democratic party being- pledged to the reform of all such abuses. The report went on to declare that the Democratic party was the only one that had given the coun- oj_2 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. try a foreign policy that compelled respect abroad and Inspired confidence at home. It favored the maintenance of a navy strong enough for all pur- poses of national defence, and, while stating that this country had always been the refuge of the oppressed, and Its people In sympathy with the oppressed of every land, opposed indiscriminate immigration, saying: "• We heartily approve all legitimate efforts to prevent the United States from being used as the dumping ground for the known criminals and professional paupers of Europe, and we demand the riorid enforcement of the laws aofalnst Chinese immigration or the Importation of foreign work- men under contract to degrade American labor and lessen its wages, but we condemn and de- nounce any and all attempts to restrict the im- migration of the industrious and worthy of foreign lands." Other planks of the platform favored just and liberal pensions to disabled Union soldiers, their widows and dependents ; the Improvement of the Mississippi and other important waterways ; the early construction and protection against foreign control of the Nicaragua Canal ; the support by Congress of the World's Columbian Exposition ; the liberal support of education; the admission of all Territories which have the necessary popu- lation and resources ; legislation to protect rail- way employees ; the enactment of laws to abolish CONVENTION,' OF i8g3. ^ . ^ the sweating system, contract convict labor, and the employment in factories of children ; and con- cluded in the following words : '' Upon this statement of principles and poli- cies the Democratic party asks the intelligent judgment of the American people. It asks a change of administration and a change of party in order that there may be a change of system and a change of methods, thus assuring main- tenance unimpaired of the. institutions under which the republic has grown great and power- ful." On tlie completion of the reading, the tariff plank of the platform was excepted to by Dele- gate Neal, of Ohio, who moved to substitute a resolution which denounced the McKinley bill as a fraud and a scheme of robbery, and declared that the Government had no right to impose a tax ex- cept for revenue. This motion called forth a lively debate, but it was finally carried by a large ma- jority, the Convention establishing itself firmly on the policy of a tariff for revenue only. A free coinage plank was next proposed, but was voted down, and the platform as amended was adopted. THE NOMINATIONS. The next business before the Convention was the nomination of candidates for the Presidency. There was but little doubt by this time as to who would be the nominee, and when Governor ^.^ LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAArD. Abbett, of New Jersey, took the stand for the purpose of nominating Cleveland, the roar of ap- plause that broke out could not be stilled for a full half-hour. It was with the greatest difficulty that he succeeded in completing his remarks on the subject, which ended in the following appre- ciative words : "The thundering echoes of this Convention, announcing the nomination of Grover Cleveland, will not have died out over the hills and through the valleys of this land before you will hear and see all our leaders rallying to the support of our candidate. It is because he has crystallized into a living issue the great principle upon which this batde is to be fought out. If he did not create tariff reform he made it a Presidential issue. He vitalized it, and presented it to our party as the issue for which we oui^^ht to fiorht and continue to battle until upon it victory is assured. There are few men in his position who would have the cour- age to boldly make the issue, and present it so clearly and forcibly as he did in his great message of 1887, " I believe that his policy then was to force a national issue which would appeal to the judgment of the people. We must honor a man who is honest enough and bold enouo-h under such cir- cumstances, to proclaim that the success of the party upon principle is better than evasion or shirking of true national issues for temporary CONV'ENTIOy OF iSg2. ^ . r success. The Democracy of* New Jersey there- fore presents to this Convention, in this the peo- ple's year, the nominee of the people, the plain, blunt, honest citizen, the idol of the Democratic masses — Grover Cleveland." He was followed by W. C. De Witt, of New York, who nominated David B. Hill. Governor Boies, of Iowa, was nominated by John F. Dun- combe. By the time the Convention was ready to ballot, more than ten hours had passed, and it was 3.30 A. M. when the result of the first ballo.t was announced. It was what had been anticipated. Cleveland had a clear majority over the necessary two-thirds vote, and on tlie motion of Mr. Upshur, of Maryland, seconded, by Governor Flower, of New York, the nomination was made unanimous, and the Convention adjourned till 2 p.m., after a session that had lasted the entire niirht. The final session was a brief one. Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, was nominated for Vice- President on the first billot, and the Convention adjourned sine die, having completed its work. RECORD OF THE CONVENTION. Toward the close of the Convention it became evident to the many thousands anxiously awaiting the outcome in tlie convention city and throughout the country that Mr. Cleveland would be nominated on the first ballot. The ex-President himself felt confident all through the trying hours preceding the vote, that this would be the course of the Convention. The ballot resulted as follov/s : For President, GEOVER CLEVELAND, of New York. For Vice President, ADLAI E. STEVENSON of Illinois. rho vote for President was : J-rover Cleveland, of New York 617i David B. Hill, of New York 115 Horace Boies, of Iowa 103 Arthur P. Gorman, of Maryland 3'"^ A. E. Stevenson, of Illinois 1G| John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky. , 14 William B. Morrison, of Illinois 2 James E. Campbell, of Ohio 2 Robert E. Pa^tison, of Pennsylvania 1 William B. Whitney, of New York 1 William Russell, of Massachusetts , 1 The vote for Vice President was : Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois 402 Isaac P. Gray, of Indiana 3i3 Allen B. Morse, of Michigan 86 John L. Mitchell, of Wisconsin 45 Henry Watterson, of Kentucky 26 Bourke Cockran, of New York 5 Lambert Tree, of Illinois 1 The number of votes cast was 909^ ; 607 were necessary to a choice. Of the scattering votes Campbell got 2 from Alabama. Carlisle got 3 from Florida, 6 from Kentucky, 5 from Ohio. Total 14. Stevenson got 16| from North Carolina. Pattison got 1 from West Virginia. Russell got 1 from Massachusetts. Whitney got 1 from Maine. RECORD OF THE CONVENTION. The first and only ballot for President was as follows : States. Alabama Cleveland. 14 Hill. 2 3 "5 *i 1 '4 '3 72 1 - 11 6 \i *i 115 Boi?s. 1 5 'e 26 '2 11 *i 3 "e 16 13 1 *6 'i 103 Gorman. 1 *i *i 1 'i i 2 '5 i *3 ■ '3 'i 36* Scatv Arkansas 16 California 18 Colorado Connecticut. Delaware 12 6 •• Florida 5 Georgia 17 Idaho. Illinois 48 Indiana 30 Iowa Kansas 20 Kentucky 18 3 9 6 24 28 18 8 34 \\ 15 8 . . 20 : 1 14 8 04 8 2 7 24 23 8 12 8 7 24 3 2 5 2 ! 4 2 2 2 . 6171 Louisiana Maine Maryland • Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Misteissippi Missouri •• Moutana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey' New York North Carolina Yl\ North Dakota ■"1 Ohio Oregon I'enns^'lvania . . Rhode Island. Sou til Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas •• Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Alaska Arizona District of Columbia... New Mexico Oklahoma Utah . , Indian Territory Total 38| HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. A Biographical Sketch OP ADLAl E, STEVENSON ASSISTANT POST-MASTER GENERAL AND DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 1892. CHAPTER I. THE OFFICE OF VICE-PRESIDENT. IN the Federal Convention of "our wise an- cestors," who framed that Constitution under which, with shtT:ht chanires, the Government has been administered successfully for more than a century, the office of President, as it now exists, and the mode of filling- it, were not created and adopted without serious variances of opinion and repeated changes of plan. In the article on President and Vice-President, as finally adopted, It was provided that each elec- tor could vote for two persons as his choice for President without expressing any preference or distinction. The failure of any candidate to receive a clear majority of all the votes cast, or a tie resulting between the highest two candidates, each with a majority — events not unlikely to occur in the manifold political divisions of that day — was provided for by the regulation that the House of Representatives, voting by States, should make choice between the two tied, or among the highest five of whom none had received a majority. The same article provided, however, that after the choice of President, the next highest electoral vote should designate the Vice-President; and ^r2 LIFE OF AD LAI E. STEVEySON. only in the event of a tie should the election to that office be referred to Congress, and then to the Senate, votnig Individually, and not to the pop- ular branch nor to a vote by States. To the office of Vice-President Itself, created rather grudgingly, objecdon was made. " Such an officer as Vice-President," said Williamson, '' is not wanted." Says Bancroft : '' To make an ex° cuse for his existence the Convention decreed that he should be President of the Senate." The peculiar powers, duties, and significance of it have always been more or less the subject of conten- tion. John Adams, the first Vice-President, said to the Senate : " Gentlemen, I do not know whether the framers of the Constitution had in view the two Kings of Sparta, the two Consuls of Rome, or the two Suffetes of Carthaore when thev formed it — the one to have all the power while he held it, and the other to be nothing. Gentlemen, I feel great difficulty how to act. I am possessed of two separate powers — the one in esse, the other in posse. I am Vice-President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything. But I am President also of the Senate. When the President comes Into the Senate what shall I be ? I wish, gendeman, to think what I shall be." Years ago the Senate took away from the Vice-President and assumed for itself the power to appoint the working com- mittees of that body ; and except to preside In the Senate, and cast the decidlnor vote jn case pf a Ue THE OFFICE OF VICE-PRESIDENT. 353 It has been left to the Vice-President only to await the contingency pointed out by that section of the Federal Constitution, which says, "Incase of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide * for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inabihty, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be re- moved, or a President shall be elected." Under the original scheme of the Constitution as framed by its authors, John Adams being the second choice of a majority of the Electoral College for President, both at the first and sec- ond elections of Washington, became the Vice- President, although George Clinton, Republican, _>— ^ received 50 electoral votes in 1 7^2, To 'j'] for yy 1 Adams. In the sharply contested struggle of \X^ 1796, Thomas Jefferson came within two votes of the Presidency, and receiving more votes than the P'ederalist candidate for Vice-President, he was chosen to the second place in an administration of which the Chief was his political antagonist. It was not until after the treachery of Aaron Burr, in 1801, forcing a tie vote between him and * Congress has recently provided that in such cases the Secretary of State shall act as President pending the new election. >^CA LIFE OF AD LA I E. STEVENSO.V. his Chief in the Electoral College, had opened the eyes of the people to the danger of their real choice being obstructed by the uncertain machin- ery of that cumbersome device, that such change was made in the plan of electing the President and Vice-President as tended to more direcdy secure the real expression of the popular will. By the Twelfth Amendment, proposed by Con- gress in 1803 and promptly ratified by the States, it was prescribed that henceforth electors should designate distinctly their one choice for President and for Vice-President ; that " the person having the orreatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors ap- pointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the two hio;hest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice." By the same Amendment an oversight of the original instrument was corrected in the enact- ment that " no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eliofible to that of Vice-President of the United States." Burr, of course, failed of re-election to the Vice-Presidency ; under Jefferson's second ad- ministration and in the first of Madison's terms George Clinton brought to the Vice- Presidency THE OFFICE OF VICE-PRESIDENT. -> rr an honored name, worth, and fit dignity. Elbrldge Gerry, elected Vice-President to Aladison, died suddenly in the second year of his term ; Daniel D. Tompkins, who went into office and out of it with Monroe, in the uneventful era of good feel- ing, was a more conspicuous statesman before than after he became Vice-President ; John C. Calhoun, previously distinguished as a Represen- tative, and by brilliant Cabinet service, became Vice-President by the mutual consent of the fierce Adams and Jackson factions in the electoral strug- gle of 1824, but differed almost throughout his administration from President John Quincy Adams, and was an active party to the combina- tion which defeated him. Personal and political alienation and a revival of ihe old troubles between Monroe's War Secre- tary and the chief captain of the Seminole War soon produced a far more violent rupture between Jackson and Calhoun than had ever occurred between Adams and Calhoun, ensuing in the lat- ter's resignation of the Vice-Presidency and his antagonism of Van Buren. Then followed Van Buren's own political ascendency, first as Vice- President, then as President, to be succeeded by his defeat, even after Calhoun had become recon- ciled to his support. Richard M. Johnson, the Van Buren candidate for Vice-President, failed of election in the Elect- oral College; he only received 147 electoral votes, 256 ^^^'^ OF AD LAI E. STEVENSON-. while his Chief had 170, the number necessary to a choice being 148. The election being- referred to the Senate, Johnson was chosen by 33 votes to 16 for Francis Granger, the highest Whig candidate. During the first thirteen Presidential terms, covering the period from 1789 to 1841, none of the eight Presidents died, resigned, or had been impeached, and no one of the twelve persons who within that period had acted as Vice-Presidents had ever succeeded to the higher place. That experience came to the country early in the ad- ministration of Harrison, who died after a month in office, and John Tyler became his successor. His choice as a candidate on the Whig ticket of 1840 had been directed by a desire to secure the support of an element different from that which was rallied by Harrison's name ; and Tyler's de- fection from Whig principles and policies, which might have been reasonably expected, called forth for him bitter denunciation from his late sup- porters and added the word " Tylerize " to our political nomenclature. John Tyler's estrange- ment from the party which made Harrison Presi- dent ought to have taught the politicians that they had not, by the policy pursued in the selections they made for Vice-President, avoided the dangers which it had been sought to obviate by the con- stitutional amendment of 1803. But the lesson has not always been heeded. Since 1841 it hap- THE OFFICE OF VICE-PRESIDENT. iq^ O. pened, within a period no longer than the space of a generation, that three Vice-Presidents suc- ceeded to vacancies caused by death ; none of them united his party in support of his adminis- tration, nor attained by election the office to which he came by accident, though all aspired to it. Fillmore was chosen Vice-President by the same electors who made Taylor President, but his signature to the Fugitive Slave Law, approved by a vote of 227 to 60 in the next National Con- vention of his party, lost him. a renomination. William R. Kind's lone career of usefulness and distinction was crowned with election to the Vice- Presidency, and a graceful grant by Congress gave him permission to take the oath of office in Cuba, where, on March 4th, 1853, he was sojourn- inor for his healtli. / John C. Breckinridge's name was a fit one to (^ ' be associated with any Democratic candidate and to be honored by election in 1856. He was the nominee of one wing of his party, in its fatal dissensions of i860, for the hi-hest place. Hamlin's defeat for renomination, in 1 864, was due to a spirit of concession to the Southern Loyalists, and resulted in the Johnson succession to the murdered Lincoln, with all the train of political com[)lications that followed. Colfax's de- feat for renomination as Vice-President with Grant is ascribed to the hostility of the newspaper -^rg LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVEXSON. correspondents, whose righteous wrath he had provoked. Mr. Wheeler "ghded through the official routine " of Hayes' term to be submerged by the obscurity which settled upon the whole of that administration ; while Arthur shared the fate of Fillmore — in seeing his policy almost unan- imously indorsed by his party and himself rejected by that dominant faction which had chosen the head of the ticket in 1880, and completed it with a view to reconcile the disappointed elements of the Convention, having no thought to the re- mote contingency of the Presidential succession. Since John C. Calhoun's day no Vice-President has ever been re-elected, and no man who became President by succession has been subsequently elected to the office. Mr. Hendricks, elected Vice-President in Mr. Cleveland's first term of office, died in office on Ma^^€iu4lh, 1885. He was succeeded by the Hon. John Sherman as President of the Senate, and Actinof Vice-President. Sherman was succeeded in 1889 by Hon. John J. Ingalls. A CHAPTER II. EARLY DAYS AND BUSINESS LIFE. DLAI E. STEVENSON comes from that shrewd and sturdy Scotch-Irish stock which has added so much to the brain and brawn of our country. His father was born at Mecklenburg, N. C, a town famous for having issued the first Declaradon of Independence in this country. This memorable document, proclaimed on May 20th, 1775, more than a year before the Fourdi of July Declaration, is said to have been prepared and promulgated by the great-granduncle of the subject of our sketch. From Mecklenburg Mr. Stevenson's father made his way westward, and setded in Christian County, in southwestern Kentucky, where he became a farmer in a small way. Here his son Adlai was born on the 23d of October, 1835, and between boyish labors on the paternal farm, boyish pranks, and sports in that then thinly-setded country, and such schooling as could be had in the rude country school of that date and locality, passed his life until he reached the age of I 5. He was then a well-grown and handsome lad, with a fair educadon, considering his limited opportunides, and with evidence of that ambition 359 36o LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. and ability which were destined to bring him into his future prominence in our national councils. In 1852, when the future legislator was in his 15th year, his father decided to try his fortunes in the then rapidly-growing State of Illinois, and removed to Bloomington, in that State, then a town of no great dimensions or importance, now a city of over 20,000 population. In Kentucky Mr. Stevenson had been a slaveholder to a small extent. He was a poor man, and the sale of his few slaves would have been of much importance to him in his new venture in life. Yet, setting aside questions of pecuniary profit for what seemed to him the demands of duty and human right, he gave freedom to his slaves, and with light pocket but satisfied conscience set out in search of a new home afar. In those days the railroad had not penetrated to that region of the far West, and the emigrants had to make their northward way, with their slender store of household goods and treasures, by wagon. The journey, which now would be a matter of part of a day, then took three long weeks, voune Stevenson drivine" one of thewacrons. No doubt this weary trip was attended by its fair share of hardship and adventure, for the roads of that day must have been, in part, little more than blazed foresc tracks, while the rude farm wagons were not insured against break-down accidents, nor the travelers against troubles by field and fell.. EARL V DA YS AND BUSINESS LIFE. 35 j The family cavalcade reached BloomingLoii in the month of June, 1852. Here the elder Steven- son enofa^Jfed in the millinor business, while his son, feelino^ that the time had come for his life-work to commence, b::;gan work at once, at the not light labor of haulinof loo^s. These were broucrht from a piece of woodland known as '* Blooming Grove," a locality which now forms a large part of the city of Bloomington. But the ambitious youth was not one to settle down to a life work in the useful but humble duty of haulinof loofs. His view of life looked forward to a goal in which log-rolling was likely to be still a favorite occupation, though not one in which he^ had any desire to take part. With an earnest desire to improve himself mentally, he worked early and late in summer, and in the winter taught public school, availing himself of his somewhat sparse Kentucky education to advance the educa- tional interests of Illinois. His ardent desire was to attend college, and to this his unflaororincr efforts were directed. Bloom- ington possessed an educational institution of some importance, the Wesleyan University of Illinois. Here, the ambitious youth entered him- self as a student, and obtained his first acquaint- ance with the higher branches of study. His teaching brought him in an income of thirty dol- lars a month, with the privilege of boarding round among the patrons of the school, then the pre- 362 LIFE OF ADLA: E STEVE XSOV. vailing fashion in frontier settlements, and one In wliich the poor schoolmaster often found lenten fare and rough accommodations, though usually a warm welcome to soften them. It may be seen that young Stevenson's life was not passed on a bed of roses. His father was in moderate circumstances, and while in sympathy with his son's effort to obtain an education, was not able to give him personal aid. The world lay before him ; he must work his own way through it. Wesleyan University, despite its high-sound- ing title, did not offer the opportunities for an advanced education which the aspiring youth desired. It was, moreover, a Methodist institu- tion. His family were all Presbyterian, and he had been brought up in the Presbyterian Church. For this reason, he had fixed his desires on the famous Presbyterian institution known as Centre College, of Danville, Ky., for the completion of his education. With this in view, he saved all he could out of his slender income, and was ena- bled to inscribe his name on the roll of pupils of this well known institution. He obtained board in the town at $2.50 per week, all that his small store of money would admit of his paying, and went at his studies with an energy and determi- nation to succeed which made small light of poverty and discouragement. Centre College then con- tained many students of future note. Among his classmates were : W. C. Breckenridgc, John EARL V DA YS AXD BUSIAESS LIFE. 363 Young Brown, Thomas D. Crittenden, the after- ward Senators Blackburn and Davidson, and Governor McCreery, with other men destined to win their way to fame. Of Mr. Stevenson's college life we have few particulars to relate. He joined die College Society of Phi Delta Theta — of which President Harrison is also a member — studied with ardent enthusiasm, and made himself a name as one of the most earnest and able students of the institu- tion. At the compledon of the last year of his attendance at college he was at the head of his class, and would, no doubt, have graduated with hio-h honors after a year more of study, had not his colleo-e life been brouoht to a sudden termina- tion. His graduating year would have been 1856, but he was called home in 1855, by the deatli of his father, and found himself unable to return. His father had died a poor man, leaving no prop- erty but the homestead, and it was necessary for tlie young student to end his college career at that point, and enter at once upon the practical duties of life. He xvas now twenty years of age. Morally and intellectually alike, he had made his mark amono- his fellow-students. His habits had been exemplary; he did not smoke or drink, and as a stu- dent had been a remarkably hard worker. Of his college recreadons, a principal pordon had been the part he took in the poHtical debadng society 21 364 LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. of the students, in which he gained his first prac- tice in that exposition of Democratic principles by which he was to make his mark in after hfe. While pursuing his college studies, he had occupied much of his spare time in reading law. being loaned books for that purpose by a lawyer friend he had made in Danville. The law, In fact, was the profession he had chosen in his own mind for his future career, and shortly after leav- ing colleije he entered the law office of Hon. Robert T. Williams, then a lawyer of some note in the Bloomington courts. His previous read- ino-s now stood hi n In ijooJ stead, and after a year of industrious study he was pronounced by his preceptor fitted for examination, and was admitted to the bar. His admission took place on May ist, 1858. He was now in his 23d year. Anxious to obtain a practice that would afford him the means of a livelihood, he looked around him for a promising opening for a young lawyer. While reading law he had supported himself by his old occupation of teaching school, but this was no lonorer availa- ble. He must now make his living by his pro- fission. Mr. Williams advised him to go to M;^tamora and start there, giving him letters of introduction to friends of his own in that town. The youthful aspirant took this advice, hung out his shingle in that small country town, and after a month's weary waiting obtained his first case — a EARL y DA YS AND BUSTXESS LIFE. -,5^ suit before a justice of the peace, His opponent was John Clark, an experienced lawyer, but Stevenson won the case and pocketed his first fee — the small sum of five dollars. His success in this suit brouorht him some prestige, more cases came to him, and his first year's business netted him a profit of $500. The young lawyer was not long in making his ability felt, and through the influence of friends he received, in 1861, the appointment of Master in Chancery. In 1864 he was elected District Attorney for the 23 I District of Illinois, consisting of three counties. During his occupancy of this office, he rode his circuit on horseback. He held the position for four years, but the pay was small, and at the end of that time he gave it up, an I also his office in Metamora, returninof to Bloom- ington. Here he formed a law partnership with his double cousin, James S. Ewing, and began practice In the court in which Abraham Lincoln had formerly practiced. Mr. Stevenson had become acquainted with Lincoln during his boy- hood days, and admired him gready. He was only sorry, as 'he afterward often said, that Lincoln was not a Democrat. Among the young lawyer's intimates at Metamora may be named Col. Robert Ingersoll, the famous anti-Bible controversialist and political orator. At that time Ingersoll was not pronounced In his religious views. If he held radical opinions in religion, he ^56 ^^^^ OF ADLAI E. STEVE X SON. kept them to himself. It Is only necessary to say further In conclusion of our review of Mr. Steven- son's business life, that the law firm of Stevenson & Ewing- greatly prospered and still exists, having one of the largest legal practices In central Illi- nois. It is said of It that It has never been a corporation firm, being on the opposite side In all corporation cases. Almost every legal battle in which Mr. Stevenson has been personally engaged has been against a corporation. BENTON McMillan. CHAPTER III. POLITICAL CAREER. WE have told the story of Mr. Steven- son's youthful days, his strenuous efforts to obtain an education, and his successful professional career, before enter- ing upon the record of his political life, which is sufficiently important to demand separate treatment. As we have already said, his pre- dilection toward a political career was manifested in his college life, in which he took an active part in the political debates of the students. His public career as a politician began in 1858, while he was still a law student in Mr. Williams's office. This was the year of the famous Lincoln and Douglas debate Mr. Douglas had arranged to come to Bloomington to speak, and the Demo- cratic citizens of that town chose Mr. Stevenson as a member of the committee appointed to receive him. Douglas took a fancy to the young man, and advised him to enter politics, telling him that he was rather a young man, but might hope yet to be President or Vice-President of the United States — a prediction which, unlike many prophe- cies of the same kind, bids fair to be fulfilled. The young law student took the advice of the 3^7 368 LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. veteran statesman. He was already a ready speaker, not particularly eloquent, but level- headed and argumentative, and with the faculty of generally flooring his opponent. Soon after Douglas left the town Stevenson took the stump on the side of the Democracy, and made a consid- erable number of speeches during the campaign. His next active political work was during the Presidential campaign of i860, in which he made himself quite a reputation as a clear and logical speaker. In 1864 he was placed on the McClel- lan electoral ticket, and stumped the State for the Democratic candidate, making over one hundred speeches. He was equally active during the succeeding Presidential campaigns, being one of the principal Democratic speakers in 1868, and again in 1872. With undimished energy and enthusiasm he toc^k the stump for Tilden in 1876, for Hancock in 1880, and for Cleveland in 1884, and in fact has b -en actively engaged as a speaker in every Pn^sidential campaign since i860. His first nomination to a political position was made in 1874, when the People's party, an organi- zadon with no polidcal affiliation, yet opposed to the extravagance of the existing Republican ad- ministration, made him its candidate for Congress. The district, comprising the five counties of McL.ean, De Witt, Logan, Tazewell, and Mason, was strongly Republican, giving a majority of POLITICAL CAREER. ^5q 3,000 for that party. Mr. Stevenson declined the nomination. He was not eager for office, and particularly did not care to run on a hopeless ticket. About a week afterward the Democratic Committee of the District ratified the nomination of the People's party. The case still seemed hope- less, but Mr. Stevenson now accepted the nomi- nation, and went in to win with all his well-known energy. The result was a surprise to both par- ties. The Republican majority was swept away and he was sent to Congress with a majority of 1,285 votes — I splendid attestation of his popular- ity as a citizen and ability as an orator. As a member of the Forty-fourth Congress Mr. Stevenson made his mark in his strenuous opposition to the mo le of settlement of the Tilden- Hayes electoral dispute — the Presidential steal, as it was named at the time. He made a number of able speeches on the question, of which, in illus- tration of his powers as an orator, we eive die concluding portion of the last, in which he strongly arraigns the decision of the Electoral Commission as venial, and a dangerously partisan setdement of a vital political question. " The worst effect of this decision, Mr. Speaker," he said, "will be Its lesson to the young men of our country. Hereafter old-fashioned honesty is at a discount, and villainy and fraud the legalized instruments of success. The fact may be con- ceded, the proof is overwhelming, that the honest 370 LIFE OF AD LAI E. STEVENSON. voice of States has been overthrown by outrage and fraud, and yet the chosen tribunal of the people has entered the solemn record that there is no remedy. O Judgment! thou art_fled to brutish beasts ! '' Mr. Speaker, my criticism of the decision of this tribunal rests upon its finding in the cases of Louisiana and Florida. Upon the Oregon case I have no criticism to offer. It is true, Mr. Speaker, we have now reached the final act in this oreat drama, and the record here made will pass into history. Time, the great healer, will bring a balm to those who feel sick at heart because of this wrong. But who can estimate the evils that may result to us and our children from this judgment. Fortunate, indeed, will it be for this country if our people lose not faith in popular institutions; fortunate if they abate not their confidence in the integrity of that high tribunal. For a century the bulwark of our liberty in all kinds of popular commotion and peril, the Supreme Court of the United States has been looked upon as the final arbitrator, its decrees heeded as the voice of God. How disastrous may be the result of decisions so manifestly partisan I will not now attempt to fore- cast. Let this vote be now taken and the curtain fall, that no hindrance or delay be interposed to the execution of the law but that of faithful ad- herence to its mandates. By honest efforts to revive the prostrate industries of the country, and POLITICAL CAREER. 'hl'^ restore public confidence by obedience to the con- stituted authorities, we will show ourselves patriots rather than partisans in this hour of our country's misfortune." It may be well at this point to allude to certain unfounded charges . which have recently been broucrht ao-ainst Mr. Stevenson, and the refuta- tion of which forms a proper portion of his history. It has been claimed that he was, at the outbreak of the war, a leading member of the disloyal asso- ciation known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, and that all hi^s sympathies were with the South. This charge is absolutely without foundation. Mr. Stevenson says in regard to it: '4 never had any sympathy with the Knights of the Golden Circle. At the time that organization was said to exist, I did not know that it existed. My heart sympa- thies were with the Union cause." What he here says was abundantly proved by his acts. Home duties at the time prevented his going personally to the war, but he did his utmost in aid of the raising of troops. We have the testimony of an Illinois colonel, who raised two companies of men in the vicinity of Bloomington that Mr. Stevenson was his right hand in the work. He went about the county with him, making speeches in favor of the cause, and using every effort to eain recruits. In further attestation of what we have here said, we may advert to a eulogy on Stephen A. Douglas, shordy after the ^^2 ^^^^^ OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. death of the IlHnois champion of Democracy, In 1861. This address is filled \^ith Union sentiments. Mr. Stevenson quotes largely, and approvingly, fnm Mr. Douglas's fervid speeches, in favor of the North, and indorses the strongly Unionistic remarks of the deceased statesman, with an ear- nestness that admits of but one interpretation, viz., that Adlai E. Stevenson was heart and soul in favor of the preservation of the Union. In further evidence of this, we may offer a very brief quotation from one of his speeches on the pensioning of our veterans. " I trust that neither this Congress, nor any that may come after it, may pursue other than the most generous policy toward the defenders of our Republic. To provide for them- when disabled by wounds or disease, and for their families when dependent, is a sacred duty, an obligation impera- tive upon the government. It should be our policy so clearly defined that all men may read, that he who perils life In the defense of this government is henceforth under Its guardianship." We need say no more. This weak campaign lie has been scotched and killed, and Mr. Steven- son's abiding loyalty to the Union Is beyond the shadow of a doubt. In 1876 Mr. Stevenson was renominated for Congress by the Democratic party, the nomina- tion being now ratified by the People's and Inde- pendent parties. It was, however, a Presidendal POLITICAL CAREER. " ^y^ year, and he was defeated at the polls, but only by 200 votes, he running far ahead of his ticlvet. In 1878 the no.nination was again tendered him. He declined it, but so great a pressure was brought to bear on him by his friends that he was finally induced to accept. It was, as before, ratified by the People's and Independent parties. The election that followed was hotly contested, but Stevenson won by a majority of 1,800, a striking evidence of his popularity in view of the great Republican strength of the District. He ran again in 1880, but this being a Presidential year he was de- feated, yet only by the small majority of 242 votes. After 1880 the State was redistrlcted by a Re- publican Legislature, and Stevenson placed in a district of which every county was Republican. He ran for Congress again in 1882, and was de- feated by 350 votes. This was his last effort. In the succeeding Congressional election his old op- ponent was returned by over 2,700 majority, an- other interesting evidence that Stevenson's per- sonal popularity had gained him a large support from the other party. In 1884 Mr. Stevenson was one of the delegates to the Democratic National Convendon at Chicago, and afterward was a member of the committee appointed to wait upon Cleveland and Hendricks and notify them of their nomination. Mr. Cleve- land was then at the State House in Albany, and 374 l^FE OF AD LAI E. STEVENSON. there first met the two men who were to be asso- ciated on the Democratic ticket of 1892. The new President's appreciation of the valu- able services of the Illinois delegate was soon shown. In July, 1S85, the First Assistant Post- master-General, Malcolm Hay, was obliged to re- siirn, his health havinir failed under the laborious nature of his duties, Mr. Stevenson wasappointed to s icceed him, his appointment dating from July 7tli, 1 885. The task be fore the new official was no light one ; the bulk of the work of the office fell upon him, but he proved fully competent to its performance, and by his geniality and justice made himself friends and acquaintances in almost every town and hamlet in the United States, his duties bringing him directly into contact with an army of postmasters. No man was more popular in Washington. His distinoruishino^ characteristic was his dislike of red tape, and absence of form- ality marked his performance of his official duties. The latchstring was always out in his office. No repellant doorkeeper stood between him and the public ; no guards were necessary to herald a vis- itor ; every man who had business with the office had simply to walk in, and no one failed to meet witli a cheerful reception, and a polite attention to his remarks. He often had interviews with more than a hundred men daily; and even after 2 o'clock, the official hour for closing the doors to visitors, Mr. Stevenson was readily accessible. In POLITICAL CAREER. ^75 fact, he could be seen at any time while at the office, and, though doubtless often pestered with bores, was Invariably kind and considerate. He was not a deleorate to the 1888 nominatine Conventfon, nor did he attend Its sessions, but his Inrtuence was thrown In favor of makinir Mr. Cleveland the nominee, and during* the campai^^n he worked night and day for the man of his clioice, his whole soul bsiuLT for Cleveland. The number of his speeches cannot be oriven. Ten were mide in New Y )rk and an uncounted number in IHInois and other States. After the election of Pres-d jint Harrison, and the appoint- ment of his Cabinet, it fell to the lot of Mr. Stevenson, In the absence of Don M. Dickinson, the Postmaster-General, to t irn over the office to John Wanamiker, the newly-appointed Post- master-General. This he did, and to his own Inconvenience, consented to retain the position of First Assistant for 10 or 1 2 days, until his suc- cessor, John M. Clarkson, Avas appointed. Mr. Stevenson then returned home and re- sumed the practice of his profession. In which he has since that period been actively engaged. In the Democratic National Convention of 1892, Mr. Stevenson took a prominent part, as head of the Illinois delegation. In which position he cast the vote of the State as a unit In favor of the nomi- nation of Grover Cleveland. When the question of nominatino: a candidate for Vice-President 3^6 ^^^^-^ OF ADLAI E. STEVENSOiV. came before the Convention, the Hon. Isaac P. Gray, of Indiana, was much the most prominent name. But when Ilhnois was reached in the roll- call of States, Nicholas E. Worthin;j^ton rose, and advancing to the platform, delivered the following brief but effective speech : "Mr. Chairman and Fellow-Delegates: — 11 inois has presented no Presidential candidate to this Convention. It has within its borders more than one favorite son, whom it would have de- lighted to honor, and who are worthy of all the political honors that could be conferred upon them. But here in this great city of Chicago, in this great Commonu^ealth of IlHnois, bordering upon ihe Lake end the Mississippi, In the centre of this great Republic, the Democracy, catching the vibrations of the crround swell that came from the South, and the East, and the West, put aside its favorite sons, for the time buried its State pride, and echoing back to Texas, Connecticut, and California, with 48 votes shouted the name of Grover Cleveland. " But for the Vice-Presidency, for the second highest place in the gift of the people, it has a candidate so fully equipped by nature and educa- tion that it feels that it would be a political fault to fail to urge his name for nomination before you. I stand here, then, gentlemen, to name as a can- didate for that position a man that is known by every woman and child and voter^iat ever licked POLITICAL CARLER.. 377 a postage-stamp In every village and hamlet in the land. [Applause.] A big-bodied, big-hearted, big-brained man ; a man of commanding presence, of dignified mien ; a man whose courtesy in his every-day manners is rarely equalled and never excelled ; a man who in the administration of his duties in the last Democratic administration was the beau ideal of an honest, honorable, useful, and efficient Democratic office-holder. I refer to the Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson. Like his great leader, who bears your banner, he believes that public office Is a public trust, but he believes, also, that the Democrats are the best trustees of this public trust. '* Nor can the pride of office make him proud or haughty. I appeal to every Senator and Con- gressman who is here. If ever he found the hauehtiness of office, the chlllinof indifference of a little brief authority in the atmosphere of the room of- the Assistant Postmaster-General during Cleveland's administration. . . . Will you help us eive the 24 electoral votes to Grover Cleveland by voting for the man whose name I now present — a man who does not have to e^t a certificate from a labor organization to prove that he Is a friend of the people — a man that we all love — Adlai E. Stevenson, of 111 nols." This address was frequendy Interrupted by ap- plause, and ended In an outburst of cheers which showed that die rieht vein had been touched, and 378 LIFE. OF AD LA I E. STEVENSON. that Stevenson was the man for the people. But the true test came when the voting began, and the result showed that Stevenson had received 402 votes to 343 for Gray, with 157 for other can- didates. Hardly had the vote been announced before Iowa changed the vote of its delegation from Watterson to Stevenson. This started a stampede. With rapid speed Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas changed their votes to Stevenson, and then, on the motion of Mr. Cole, of Ohio, the nomination of the Illinois candidate was made by acclama- tion, and Adlai E. Stevenson wheeled into line as second on the Democratic Presidential ticket of 1892. CHAPTER IV. DOMESTIC LIFE. WE shall conclude with what is an impor- tant element in every man's story — the record of his courtship and mar- riage (in case he has avoided the gulf of old bach- elorhood), and of his life at home, and as a member of society. Mr. Stevenson was fortunate in ob- taining for wife the daughter of his old colleore president. During his student days at Danville he made the acquaintance of Miss Letitia Green, the daughter of Dr. L. W. Green, President of Centre College, and a charming example of Ken- tucky's lovely daughters. Many meetings took place between them, and though no word of love was spoken, their affection existed from that time. Dr. Green died in 1863, and his daughter Leti- tia came to live with her married sister, Mrs. Matthew Scott, at Chenoa, Illinois. This place lay in the line of Mr. Stevenson's route as district attorney. He had kept up the acquaintance by letter, and now called frequently on the young lady during his horseback journeys about the dis- trict. These days of courtship had their natural result in a proposal and acceptance, and on De- cember 20th, 1866, his marriage to Miss Green 379 38o LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. took place at Mrs. Scott's house, the ceremony benig- performed by the Rev. Dr. Craii^, of Chi- caoro. The happy couple made their way to I)loomuig- ton, where they received an enthusiastic welcome. From there they made a wedding journey to Kentucky, visiting a. I the old scenes and most of the old friends, who now could be found In almost every town of that State. Tney were a handsome couple, Mrs. Stevenson b-^ing a most favorable example of Western beauty and refinement, while Kentucky never raised a man of more present- able personal appearance than her husband, cl- one with more true manliness of soul and more devoted public spirit. The home of the Stevensons, wldiin which they have lived for the past six or eight years, Is a modest two-story brick residence on the principal street of Bloomlngton. It has a porch and a broad piazza along half its front and extending back the full lenorth of both its sides, while It stanJs back from the street, with a sylvan surrounding of trees and bushes. On both sides are broad, open lawns, and in front extends Franklin Square, the well-wooded public breathing place of Blooming- ton. The house has a hallway extending through its centre, is modestly but comfortably furnished, and the taste of the inmates is shown in a good display of books and pictures. The Stevenson homestead Is made attractive D OME S i IC L IFE. ^ g I by the presence of four children, three daughters and one son. The daughters — JuHa, Mary, and Ledtia by name — are still young, Letitia, the youngest, being but i6, while Julia is not yet 20. They are all pretty, vivacious, and of joyous dis- positions, and BiOomington knows no livelier and happier home. The son, Louis, is 23 years of age, and none too strong. While preparing for Yale College, he was injured during a hunting excursion by the bursting of his gun, being so seriously hurt that for a year and a half he was not able to leave the house. Recently he has spent some time in Southern California, and wi h decided advantage to his health, having returned home very greatly improved. The other members of the family consist of Mrs. Stevenson, now a matronly lady, of amiable and benevolent countenance, and devoted to home interests, and Mr. Stevenson's aged mother, now %i years of age. The old lady has a fervent admiration of her son, and with reason, for, to quote her own words, " My boy was always what I would wish him to be. He loved me, and words were never necessary to make me know it. His acts prove it. He was dutiful ; he was honest; he was a good boy, and he has been a good man." The old lady's eulogy is in no sense misplaced ; her son is undeniably a good man, and one of the most genial and sociable that can be found in the -,§2 LIFE OF AD LAI K. STEVENSON. wide West. He has an exhaustless fund of wit and humor, and during his younger days was known and admired as the wit of that portion of Illinois. His enjoyment of a joke has never left him, and his laugh rings out as cheerily now on hearing a good story as it did 20 years ago. He is fond of music, is devoted to his family, and loves nothino;- better than to oather them around him, not as the stern parent, but as the warm sympathizer in all their joys and sor- rows. In brief, we may say that their residence is a typical American home, and that there is no family in the land more admirable for the per- sonal and social qualities of its inmates. As re- gards the respect in which Mr. Stevenson is held by the citizens of his district nothing need be said. They have testified to it by voting for him without regard to party, and by their unanimous delight in his recent nomination to the exalted office of Vice-President. WxM. S. HQLHAN. PRINCIPLES Democratic Party PRINCIPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY. CHAPTER I. THE PRINCIPLES OF WASHINGTON. WASHINGTON lived before the days of party politics. He exemplified his principles by his conduct, whether at the head of the army or of the civil Administra- tion. He had studied well the principles of free governments in former ages and was well grounded in the faith. In his Farewell Address to the American people he left a legacy any party might well be proud of Not because he was at the head of a so-called Democratic or Republican or any party, but because the few fundamental principles upon which rested the perpetuity of the Union which he announced have always been a part of the faith of the Democracy, does it become appropriate here to insert those principles. No person can be a sound Democrat who cannot o-ive unqualified assent to them. In substance he announced the following principles : — 25 385 ^35 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. "The union of the government is the main pillar in the edifice of our real independence : the support of our tranquillity at home, our peace abroad ; of our safety and our prosperity, yea, of the very liberty all so highly prize." He warned his countrymen that from different causes and from different quarters great pains would be taken (as was the case three-quarters of a century after that), and many artifices would be employed to weaken In the minds of the people the conviction of this great truth. He told them that this was a point in their political fortress against which the batteries of internal and exter- nal enemies would most constantly and most actively, though covertly and insidiously, direct their assaults. He entreated them to cherish a cordial, habitual, and Immovable attachment to the Union, accus- toming them to think and speak of it as the pal- ladium of their political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety, discountenancino- whatever miofht even sues^est a suspicion that it could in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frown upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our coun- trymen from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which link together the various parts of our common country. Whether he called himself a Democrat or not makes no difference, this principle of cherishing DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. ^gy an absolute devotion to the existence of the Union under one form of government is a sacred Demo- cratic principle that must be subscribed to by every citizen of this great Republic who aspires to be called an American Democrat. It is be- cause Democrats have ever entertained the same convictions and (save by the men who called themselves Democrats, but had forgotten or dis- regarded the warning voice of Washington, and went into a rebellion against the Government, thereby seeking to destroy the Union) have ever been true to these principles, and above all other parties most profoundl)' impressed with the truth of this doctrine, that many of the most thought- ful men have ever been Democrats. Washington sought by most cogent arguments to impress upon his countrymen that all parts of the country. North, South, East, and West, \\?A a common destiny and a common interest in the general welfare of every other section, and be- cause each added strength and security to tlie other, and in this sense the Union was the main prop of our liberties, so that the love for one should endear to the people the preservation of the other, and thus become the primary object of patriotic desire. Democrats believe all this ; and though the party itself became distracted and many of its adher- ents were dragged into a rebellion, still, so soon as military force was overcome and the conviction ^gg DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. of the mind could be freely exercised, even those again became as ardently attached to the Union as any other portion of our people, and since the close of the war have sought, by every means within their power, to bring together and bind more closely the whole people of this Union in the bonds of a fraternal brotherhood of States. Washington warned his countrymen against sec- tionalism. He cautioned them that designing men, as they ever have, would endeavor to excite a belief that there was a real difference ©f local interests and views. He said one of the expedi- ents of partyisms would be to acquire influence in one particular section by misrepresenting the opinions and aims of another section, and that they could not shield themselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings aroused by these misrepresentations, tending to alienate the sections from each other instead of binding them more closely together with fraternal regard and affection, bringing about the opposite result. It is because we have seen the Democratic party en- deavoring by every possible means In Its power to Inculcate these same great truths, while its op- ponents have conducted themselves toward one section precisely In the way and manner suggested by Washington men would, that they are forced to be Democrats when true to their convictions of ricrht. He cautioned his countrymen against heaping DEMOCKATIC PRINCIPLES. ^gg up public debts for posterity to pay, thus ungen- erously throwing upon them burdens which we ourselves should pay. This whole business of bonded indebtedness is undemocratic and oueht pot to be indulged in if by any means it can be avoided. It is true that men callinor themselves Democrats have been led astray by the plausible arguments of those who regarded " public debts as public blessings," still the Democratic party, as such, has ever denounced the practice, and be- cause they have always coincided with him in this particular they are Democrats. Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, he conjured his fellow- citizens, their jealousy ought to be constantly awake. Numerous oppor- tunities would be offered, he said, to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduc- tion, to mislead public opinion, to influence public councils. No attachment, therefore, for one nation to the exclusion of another should be tolerated. Such conduct would lead to concessions to one nation and denials of privileges to others, and would invite a multitude of evils upon us. It is because this has been a fundamental prin- ciple of the Democratic party, who most heartily believe in the doctrine, hence they are Democrats. Washington also advised his countrymen to re- sist with care the spirit of innovation upon the principles on which the Government was founded, ^QQ DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. however specious the pretext might be. One method of assault would be, he said, to effect under the forms of the Constitution alterations which would impair the whole system. It is be- cause the Democratic party, impressed by the truth of these teachings of Washington, has op- posed the numerous amendments constantly being proposed that they are Democrats, believing that in this they adhere more strictly to the teachings of Washington than any other party. A CHAPTER II. THE PRINCIPLES OF JEFFERSON. LTHOUGH in his time not called "a Democrat," yet the leader of what was then known as the Republican party, con- tending against the Federal or strong govern- ment party, Thomas Jefferson was perhaps one of the best expounders of those principles now held by the Democratic party among all of those Revolutionary sages. In his writines and official messaoes as PresI- dent we find the most frequent allusions to and rigid application of them in the administration of public affairs, so that he has been called " the father of the Democratic party." It was pecu- DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. ^gj liarly appropriate that he should do so, because, though early in the history of our Government yet, anti-democratic principles were already slowly creeping into the administration of public affairs under the Administration of the elder Adams, so tiiat it required vigorous opposition and deter- mined application to bring the Government back once more to be administered in accordance with those pure principles of a representative demo- cratic government. In his inaugural address, delivered to Congress on March 4th, 1801, the commencement as well of a new century as of a new era in our govern- ment, President Jefferson announced the follow- ing fundamental doctrines of democracy, which, he said, he deemed essential principles of our Government, which should guide him in its admin- istration. He compressed them within the smallest possible compass, stating only the general prin- ciples, but not all their limitations: — First. Equal and exact justice to all men of what- ever vState or persuasion, religious or political. Second. Peace, commerce, and honest friend- ship with all nations ; entangling alliance with none. Third. The support of the State govern- ments in all their rights as the most competent administrators of our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tenden- cies. ^^2 DEMOCRATIC PKIAXIPLES. Fourth. The preservation of the General Gov- ernment in its whole constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad. FiftJi. A jealous care of the right of election by the people, a mild and safe corrective of abuses, which are lopped by the sword of revolu- tion where peaceable means are unprovided. Sixth. Absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principles of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism. Seventh. A well-disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace, and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them. Eighth. The supremacy of the civil over the military authority. Ninth. Economy in the public expenses, that labor many be lightly burdened. Tenth. The honest payment of our debts and the sacred preservation of the public faith. Eleventh. Encouracrement of acrriculture and of commerce as its handmaid. Twelfth. The diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of public reason. Thirteenth. Freedom of relieion. Fourteenth. Freedom of the press. Fifteenth. Freedom of the person under the protection oi llie habeas corpus. DEMOCRATIC PKhXCxPLES. -g- Sixteenth. Trial by juries impartially selected. " These principles," said Jefferson, " form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through the age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and the blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust ; and should we wander from them in moments of error or alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety." It is because Democrats believe every one of those fundamental principles to be true that they are Democrats. CHAPTER III. THE PRINCIPLES OF MADISON. DEMOCRATS believe in a full, unequivocal and hearty support of the Constitution, in a strict construction of it, and in the spirit and the purpose for which it was formed, and in Madison, also, who took such a deep interest in its formation as to be called " the father of the Constitution," they have another exponent of sound Democratic principles. ^Q. DEMOCRATIC PRL\C1PLES. He knew well the principles on which that Con- stitution was founded. He had studied the rise, progress, decay, and fall of every free govern- ment which had gone before, and, profiting by the very misfortunes of other nations, he had secured in the adoption of our Constitution such principles as he fondly believed would prevent us as a people from falling into similar errors. Standing upon the threshold of his great office as President of the United States, succeeding Jefferson, he an- nounced the following as additional principles vital to the welfare of the American people in their intercourse with foreign nations. They were in part but the echoes which came from the lips of Washington and Jefferson, and became the policy of the Democratic party ever since. He announced them as follows : — First. To cheris peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having a corresponding disposi- tion. Second. To maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations. Third. To prefer in all cases amicable discus- sions and reasonable accommodation of differences to a decision of them by an appeal to arms. Fom^th. To exclude foreign intrigues and for- eign parualities, so degrading to all countries and so baneful to free ones. Fifth. To foster a spirit of independence, too just to Invade the rights of others, too proud to DEMOCRATIC PRIXC/PLES. ^g^ surrender our own, too liberal to indulge unworthy prejudices ourselves, and too elevated not to look down upon them in others. Sixth. To hold the Union of the States as the basis of their peace and happiness. Seventh. To support the Constitution, which Is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities. Eighth. To respect the rights and authorities reserved to the States and the people as equally incorporated with and essential to the success of the general system. Ninth. To avoid the slightest Interferences with the rights of conscience or the functions of reli- gion, so wisely exempted from civil jurisdiction. Tenth. To preserve in their full energy the salutary provisions in behalf of private and per- sonal rights and the freedom of the press. Eleventh. To observe economy In public ex- penditures. Twelfth. To liberate public resources by an honorable discharge of the public debts. Thirteenth. To keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia Is the firmest bulwark of republics. Fourteenth. Tiiat without standing armies, their liberties can never be In danger, nor with large ones, safe. Fifteenth. To promote, by authorized means, ^gg DEMOCRATIC PRIXCIPLES. improvements friendly to agriculture, to commerce, to manufactures, and to external as well as inter- nal commerce. Sixteenth. To favor, In like manner, the ad- vancement of science and diffusion of information as the best aliment of true liberty. Seventeenth. To carry on benevolent plans for the conversion of our aboriginal neighbors from the degradation and wretchedness of savacre life to a participation of the improvements of which the human mind and manners are susceptible in a civilized state. In one of his messages he also laid down the principle that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently free, all of which Democrats de- voutly believe. CMAPTER IV. THE PRINXIPLES OF JACKSON. IN the principles of Andrew Jackson the De- mocracy take great pride. From his inaugu- ral address, on March 4th, a. d. 1829, to the close of his Administration of eight years, in every message to Con^rress he uttered Democratic sen- timents in a terse, vigorous style, which, on ac- count of their self-evident truth, deeply rooted themselves in American hearts and became the DEMOCRATIC PRIXCIPL^S. ^^y principles of the Democratic party, which during his Administration first took that name and which it has held ever since. They are found scattered all through his messages, and were his guide in deciding all questions of national policy, so many of which pressed themselves upon him during his term of office. From these the following may be selected and placed in order, which should be thoroughly studied and applied to all questions which may even now arise. First. He said: " Regard should be had for the rights of the several States, taking care not "to confound the powers reserved to them with th^se they had in the Constitution granted to the Gen- eral Government. Second. In every aspect of the case advantao-e must result from strict and faithful economy in the administration of public affairs. Third. He declared the unnecessary duration of the public debt incompadble with real inde- pendence. Fourth. In the adjustment of a ca riff for reve- nue, he insisted that a spirit of equity, caution, and compromise requires the great interests of agri- culture, manufactures, and commerce to be equally favored. Fifth. He admitted the policy of internal im- provements to be wise only in so far as they could be promoted by constitutional acts of the General Government. 2Qg DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. Sixth. He declared standine armies to be dan- gerous to free government, and that the mihtary should be in strict subordination to the civil power. Seventh. He declared the national militia to be the bulwark of our national defense. In enforcing this principle, he declared that so long as the Government was administered for the orood of the people and regulated by their will ; so long as it secured to the people the rights of person and of property, liberty of conscience and of the press, the Government would be worth defending, and so- long as it was worth defending the patriotic militia would cover it with an impenetrable cegis. Eighth, He pledged himself to the work of reform in the Administration, so that the patronage of the General Government, which had been brought into conflict with the freedom of elections and had disturbed the rightful course of appoint- ments by continuing in power unfaithful and in- competent public servants, should no longer be used for that purpose. Ninth. He declared his belief in the principle that the integrity and zeal of public officers would advance the interests of the public service more than mere numbers. Te7ith. He declared the right of the people to elect a President, and that it was never designed that their choice should in any case be defeated by the intervention of agents, enforcing this principle by saying, what experience had amply HON. W. R. MORRISON. DEMOCRATIC rRINCTPLES. ^qq proved, that in proportion as agents were multi- plied to execute the will of the people, there was the danger increased that their wishes would be frustrated. Some 7nay be unfaithful — all liable to err. So far, then, as the people were con- cerned, it was better for them to express their own will. Eleventh. The majority should govern. No President elected by a minority could so success- fully discharge his duties as he who knew he was supported by the majority of the people. Twelfth. He advocated rotation in office. Cor- ruption, he said, would spring up among those in power, and, therefore, he thought appointments should not be made for a longer period than four years. Everybody had equal right to office, and he favored removals as a leading principle which would give healthful action to the political system. Thirteenth. He advocated unfettered com- merce, free from restrictive tariff laws, leaving it to flow into those natural channels in which indi- vidual enterprise, always the surest and safest ofuide, miofht direct it. Fourteenth. He opposed specific tariffs, be- cause subject to frequent changes, generally pro- duced by selfish motives, and under such Influ- ences could never be just and equal. Fifteenth. The proper fostering of manufac- tures and commerce tended to increase the value of agricultural products. 400 DEMOCRATIC PRJXCIPLES. Sixteenth. In cases of real doubt as to matters of mere public policy he advocated a direct ap- peal to the people, the source of all power, as the most sacred of all obligations and the wisest and most safe course to pursue. Seventeenth, He advocated a just and equita- ble bankrupt law as beneficial to the country at lartre, because after the means to discharge debts had entirely been exhausted, not to discharge them only served to dispirit tlie debtor, sink him into a state of apathy, make him a useless drone in society, or a vicious member of it, if not a feel- ing witness of the rigor and inhumanity of his country. Oppressive debt being the bane of en- terprise, it should be the care of the Republic not to exert a grinding power over misfortune and poverty. EigJiteenth. He declared in favor of the prin- ciple that no money should be expended until first appropriated for the purpose by the Legislature. The people paid the taxes, and their direct repre- sentatives should alone have the right to say what they should be taxed for, in what sums, and how and when it should be paid. Nineteenth. He utterly opposed the system of Government aiding private corporations in mak- ing internal improvements. It was deceptive and conducive of improvidence in the expenditure of public moneys. For this purpose appropriations could be obtained with orreater facilities, granted DEMOCRATIC PRlNCirLES. 40 f with inadequate- security, and frequently compli- cated the admlnstration of (government. Twc7itieth. The operations of the General Gov- ernment should b- stricdy confined 10 the few simple but important objects for which it was origi- nally designed. fiuenty-first. He favored the veto power in the Executive, hit only to be exercised in cases of at- tempted violaton of the Constitution, or in cases next to it in importance. Tiuenty-second. He advocated State rights as far as consistent wi'h the rightful action of the General Governnvmt as the very best means of preserving harmony b tween them ; and pro- nounced this the tru(^ faith, and the one to which might be mainly attributed the success of the en- tire system, and to which alone we must look for stability in it. Twenty-third. He advocated "a uniform and sound currency," but doubted the constitutionality and expediency of a National Bank ; and after- ward made his Administradon famous by suc- cessful opposing the renewal of its charter. Twenty-fourth. Precious metals as the only cur- rency known to the Constitudon. Their peculiar properties rendered them the standard of values in other countries, and had been adopted in th s. The experience of the evils of paper money had made it so obnoxious in the past that the framers of the Consdtudon had forbidden its adoption as the legal tender currency of the country. 402 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. Variableness must ever be the characteristic of a currency not based upon those metals. Expan-. sion and contraction, without regard to principles which regulate the value of those metals as a standard in the general trade of the world, were, he said, extremely pernicious. Where these properties are not infused into the circulation, and do not control it, prices must vary according to the tide of the issue ; the value and stability of property exposed, uncertainty attend the administration of institutions constantly liable to temptations of an interest distinct from that of the community at large, all this attended by loss to the laboring class, who have neither time nor opportunity to watch the ebb and flow of the money market. Twe7ity-fifth. He renews his advocacy of a cheerful compliance with the will of the majority ; and the exercise of the power as expressed in a spirit of moderation, justice and brotherly kind- ness as the best means to cement and forever pre- serve the Union. Those, he closes, who advocate sentiments adverse to those expressed, however honest, are, in effect, the worst enemies of their country. CHAPTER V. THE PRINCIPLES OF TILDEN. TH E fundamental principles of liberty adapted to a republican form of govern- ment were thus laid down by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Jackson, and carried out by a long line of public men in legislation and the concerns of government. Among the men who did much to preserve and maintain these principles of popular government, in which the relations of the General Government to the States and the relation of both to the people were pre- served in true adjustment, was Samuel J. Tilden, elected President in 1876 by the people and by a majority of the honestly chosen electors, and defrauded of the office as the successful result of a dastardly conspiracy. Mr. Tilden began to take an active part in the discussion of serious political questions as -early as 1833, when the question of the right of a State to nullify the laws of the United States was the dominant one. He had early been brought into close personal and political association with Mar- tin Van Buren, Silas W^right, and other leaders of the Democratic party in the State of New York, and by their advice contributed to the discussion of the issues tb.en uppermost in the public mind. 403 404 ^^^^ ^^ G ROVER CLEVELAND. From that time, when he contributed to the local newspapers of his native county, until his death in 1886, his letters, speeches, and legal arguments form a body of constitudonal interpretation which, in both quandty and value, are of the highest im- portance to the student of political nistory. It is difficult to make any selection from all this body of Tilden's writings which will fairly represent him, but the following extracts give a fair idea of his devotion to his country and to Democratic principles : *' It is no part of the duty of the State to coerce the individual man, except so far as his conduct may affect others, not reniotely and consequen- tially, but by violating rights which legislation can reco-nize and undertake to protect." •' The reason why self-government is better than government by any one man, or by a foreign people, is that the policy evolved by this process is generally better adapted to the actual condition of the society on which it is to operate." ** Every business, every industrial interest, is paralyzed under excessive taxation, false systems of finance, extravagant cost of protection, dimin- ished ability to consume." "These taxes, when laid on imports in the man- ner in which they were laid in the Congressional THE PRINCIPLES OF TILDEN. 405 carnival of manufacturers which framed our present tariff, cause a misapplication of industry that charges on the consumer what neither the Government is able to collect as taxes, nor the manufacturer to appropriate as profits. They lessen the productive power of human labor as if God had cursed it with ungenial climate or sterile soil." " There is no royal road for a government more than for an individual or a corporation. What you want to do is to cut down your expenses and live within your income. I would give all the legerdemain of finance and financiering — I would give the whole of it — for the old homely maxim, 'Live within your income.'" '' Disunion and centralization are equally fatal to good government." " When the two ideas of personal gain and the bestowal of office are allowtd to be in our mind at the same time they will become associated, and it is but a step to the sale of the greatest trusts. Intellect, training, and virtue will soon succumb to wealth. Vulgar millionaires will grasp the highest seats of honor and power as they would put a new emblazonment on their carriages or a gaudy livery on their servants." 4o6 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. ** Principles are the test of political character. The Democracy always made fidelity to official trust and justice to the toiling masses who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow a funda- mental article in their party creed." " I myself never lost courage, never lost my belief that the element of human society which seeks for what is good is more powerful, if we will trust it, than all those selfish combinations that would obtain unjust advantage over the masses of the people." "Whoever obstructs the means of payment ob- structs also the facilities of sale. We must relax our barbarous revenue system so as not to retard the natural processes of trade. We must no longer legislate against the wants of humanity and the beneficence of God." " The pecuniary sacrifices of the people are not to be measured by the receipts into the Treasury. They are vastly greater. A tax that starts in its career by disturbing the productive power of la- bor, and then comes to the consumer distended by profits of successive intermediaries and by in- surance aorainst the risks of a fickle or uncertain o govermental policy and of a fluctuating govern- mental standard ofvalue, blights human well-being at every step. When it reaches the hapless child THE PRINCIPLES OF TILDEN. 407 of toil who buys his bread by the single loaf and his fuel by the basket, it devours his earnings and inflicts starvation." •'The Constitution of the United States is by its own terms declared to be perpetual. The government created by its acts, within the sphere of its powers, directly upon each individual citiztm. No State is authorized, in any contingency, to suspend or obstruct that action, or to exempt any cidzen from the obligadon to obedience. Any pretended act of nullificadon or secession where- by such effect is attempted to be produced is ab- solutely void." .( :■: ::: Qur wlse aucestors warned us against standing armies and all those false systems of government which require standing armies. They formed the Union of the States that we might be free from the jealousies of coterminous countries, wdiich has been the usual pretext of tyrants for maintaining costly military establishments. They founded that Union on the principles of local self-government, to be everywhere carried on by the voluntary co operadon of the governed. They did not intend that one part of our country should govern another part." '• * * The destrucdon of all local self-govern- ment in a country so extensive as ours, and em- 4o8 LIFE OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. bracing such elements of diversity in habits, man- ners, opinions, and interests, and the exercises by a single centralized authority of all the powers of society over so vast a region and over such pop- ulation would entail upon us an indefinite series of civic commotions, and repeat here the worst crimes and worst calamities of history." *' Our wise ancestors warned us that this grand experiment in self-government would turn on the intelligence and virtue of the people, and that our efforts to cultivate and elevate must be com- mensurate with our diffusion of political rights and political powers. It is a great partnership in self-government. Every man yields a share in the government of himself to every other man, and acquires a share in the government over that other man." " The immigrants who have contributed so much to swell the population of our Northern States spring from the same parent stocks with ourselves. They come to rejoin their kindred. Races have a growth and culture as well as individuals. What a race has been many centuries in accumulating is often appropriated and developed in an indi- vidual life, in the ascent from the humblest origin to the highest attainments of the species. Our accessions are drawn from races which has lived under essentially the same climatic infiuences THE PRINCIPLES OF TILDE N. 409 with ourselves, which have attained the highest civiHzation and made the largest progress in the arts and industries of mankind. They are at- tract?ed here by their aspirations for civil liberty, or for the improvement of their personal condi- tion ; and every aspiration ennobles. They are well represented in all our occupations which call for intellect and culture, and even the portion which come to fill the ranks of raw labor, made vacant by tb.e ascent to more skilled and more remunerative employments, which our universal education opens to all, show a capacity quickly to follow in the noble competition for improvement." "There is no instrumentality in human society so potential in its influence upon mankind, for good or ( vil, as the governmental machinery for administering justice and for making and execu- ting laws. Not all the eleemo-ynary institutions of private benevolence to which philanthropists may devote their li\ es, are so fruitful in benefits as the rescue and preservation of this machinery from the perversions that make it the instrument of conspiracy, fraud, and crime against the most sacred rights and interests of the people." " Every power is a trust and involves a duty." " All history shows that reform in Government must not be expected from those who sit serenely 4IO LIFE OF G ROVER CLFVELAXD. on the social mountain tops, enjoying the benefits of the existing" order of things. Even the Divine Author of our rehgion found His followers, not among the self-complacent Pharisees, but among lowly minded fishermen." "■ The Republican party is largely made up of those who live by their wits, and who aspire in politics to advantages over the rest of mankind similar to those which their daily lives are devoted to securing in private business. **The Democratic party consists largely of those who live by the work of their hands, and whose political action is governed by their sentiments or imagination. "It results that the Democratic party, more read- ily than the Republican party, can be molded to the support of reform measures which involve a sacrifice of selfish interests." F CHAPTER VI. THE PRINCIPLES OF TARIFF REFORM. OLLOWING is the famous message of December, 1887, sent by President Cleve land to the first session of the Fiftieth Con- gress : — To the Congress of the United States: — You are confronted at the threshold of your leo-islative duties with a condition of the national finances which imperatively demands immediate and careful consideration. The amount of money annually exacted, through the operation of present laws, from the industries and necessities of the people, largely exceeds the sum necessary to meet the expenses of the Gov- ernment. When we consider that the theory of our insti- tutions guarantees to every citizen the full enjoy- ment of all the fruits of his industry and enter- prise, with only such deduction as may be his share toward the careful and economical main- tenance of the Government which protects him, it is plain that the exaction of more than this is in- defensible extortion, and a culpable betrayal of American fairness and justice. This wrong in- flicted upon those who bear the burden of national 411 412 DEMOCRA TIC PRINCIPLES. taxation, like other wrongs, multiplies a brood of evil consequences. The public treasury, which should only exist as a conduit conveying the people's tribute to its legitimate objects of expend- iture, becomes a hoarding-place for money need- lessly withdrawn from trade and the people's use, thus crippling our national energies, suspending our country's development, preventing investment in productive enterprise, threatening financial dis- turbance, and inviting schemes of public plunder. This condition of our treasury is not altogether new ; and it has more than once of late been sub- mitted to the people's representatives in the Con- gress, who alone can apply a remedy. And yet the situation still continues, with aggravated inci- dents, more than ever presaging financial convul- sion and widespread disaster. It will not do to neglect this situation because its dangers are not now palpably imminent and appan nt. They exist none the less certainly, and await the unforeseen and unexpected occasion when suddeiily they will be precipitated upon us. On the 30th day of June, 1885, the excess of revenues over public expenditures after comply- ing with the annual requirement of the sinking- fund act, was $17,859,735.84; during the year ended June 30th, 1886, such excess amounted to $49,405,545.20 ; and during the year ended June 30th, 1887, it reached the sum of $55,567,849.54. The annual contributions to the sinking fund DEMOCRATIC PAVAC/PLES. 413 during the three years above specified, amountlncr in the aggregate to $138,058, 320.94, and deducted from the surplus as stated, were made by calling in for that purpose outstanding three per cent, bonds of the Government. Durincr the six months prior to June 30th, 1887, the surplus revenue had grown so large by repeated accumulations, and it was feared the withdrawal of this great sum of money needed by the people, would so affect the business of the country, that the sum of $79,864,- 100 of such surplus was applied to the payment of the principal and interest of the three per cent, bonds still outstanding, and which were then pay- able at the option of the Government. The pre- carious condition of financial affairs among the people still needing relief, immediately after the 30th day of June, 1887, the remainder of the three per cent, bonds then outstanding, amounting with principal and interest to the sum of $18,877,500, were called in and applied to the sinking-fund con- tribution for the current fiscal year. Notwi:h- standing these operations of the Treasury De- partment, representations of distress in business circles not only continued but increased, and absolute peril seemed at hand. In these circum- stances the contribution to the sinking fund for the current fiscal year was at once completed by the expenditure of $27,684,283.55 in the purchase of Government bonds not yet due bearing four and four and a half per cent, interest, the pre- 4 1 4 DEMOCRA TIC PRINCTPL ES. mium paid thereon averaging about twenty-four per cent, for the former and eight per cent, for the latter. In addition to this the interest accru- ing during the current year upon the outstanding bonded indebtedness of the Government was to some extent anticipated, and banks selected as depositories of public money were permitted to somewhat increase their deposits. While the expedients thus employed to release to the people the money lying idle in the Treasury served to avert immediate danger, our surplus revenues have continued to accumulate, the excess for the present year amounting on the first day of December to $55,258,701.19, and estimated to reach the sum of $1 1 3,000,000 on the 30th of June next, at which date it is expected that this sum, added to prior accumulations, will swell the sur- plus in the Treasury to $140,000,000. There seems to be no assurance that, with such a withdrawal from use of the people's circula- ting medium, our business community may not in the near future be subjected to the same distress which was quite lately produced from the same cause. And while the functions of our National Treasury should be few and simple, and while its best condition would be reached, I believe, by its entire disconnection with private business inter- ests, yet when, by a perversion of its purposes, it idly holds money uselessly subtracted from the channels of trade, there seems to be reason for the CHARLES F. CRISP, Speaker of tlie House. DEMOCRA TIC PRINCIPLES. 415 claim that some legitimate means should be de- vised by the Government to restore in an emer- gency, without waste or extravagance, such money to its place among the people. If such an emergency arises there now exists no clear and undoubted executive power of relief. Heretofore the redemption of three per cent, bonds, which were payable at the option of the Govern- ment, has afforded a means for the disbursement of the excess of our revenues ; but these bonds have all been retired, and there are no bonds out- standing the payment of which we have the right to insist upon. The contribution to the sinking fund which furnishes the occasion for expenditure in the purchase of bonds has been already made for the current year, so that there is no outlet in that direction. In the present state of legislation the only pre- tense of any existing executive power to restore, at this time, any part of our surplus revenues to the people by its expenditure, consists in the suppo- sition that the Secretary of the Treasury may enter the market and purchase the bonds of the Govern- ment not yet due, at a rate of premium to be agreed upon. The only provision of law from which such power could be derived is found in an appropriation bill passed a number of years ago ; and it is subject to the suspicion that it was intended as temporary aad limited in its applica- tion, instead of conferring a continuing discretion 4 1 6 DEMOCRA TIC PRINCIPLES. and authority. No condition ought to exist which would justify the grant of power to a single offi- cial, upon his judgment of its necessity, to withhold from or release to the business of the people, in an unusual manner, money held in the Treasury, and thus affect, at his will, the financial situation of the country ; and if it is deemed wise to lodge in the Secretary of the Treasury the authority in the present juncture to purchase bonds, it should be plainly vested, and provided, as far as possible, with such checks and limitations as will define this official's right and discretion, and at the same time relieve him from undue responsibility. In considering the question of purchasing bonds as a means of restoring to circulation the surplus money accumulating in the Treasury, it should be borne in mind that premiums must of course be paid upon such purchase, that there may be a large part of these bonds held as investments which cannot be purchased at any price, and that combinations among holders who are willing to sell, may unreasonably enhance the cost of such bonds to the Government. It has been suggested that the present bonded debt might be refunded at a less rate of interest, and the difference between the old and new se- curity paid in cash, thus finding use for the surplus in the Treasury. The success of this plan, it is apparent, must depend upon the volition of the holders of the present bonds ; and it is not entirely DEMOCRA TIC PRINCIPLES. 417 certain that the inducement which must be offered them would result in more financial benefit to the Government than the purchase of bonds while the latter proposition w^ould reduce the principal of the debt by actual payment; instead of extending it. The proposition to deposit the money held by the Government in banks throughout the country, for use by the people, is, it seems to me, exceed- ingly objectionable in principle, as establishing too close a relationship between the operations of the Government Treasury and the business of the country, and too extensive a commingling of their money, thus fostering an unnatural reliance in private business upon public funds. If this scheme should be adopted, it should only be done as a temporary expedient to meet an urgent neces- sity. Legislative and executive effort should gen- erally be in the opposite direction, and should have a tendency to divorce, as much and as fast as can safely be done, the Treasury Department from private enterprise. Of course it is not expected that unnecessary and extravagant appropriations will be made for the purpose of avoiding the accumulation of an excess of revenue. Such expenditure, beside the demoralization of all just conceptions of public duty which it entails, stimulates a habit of reckless improvidence not in the least consistent with the mission of our people or the high and beneficent purposes of our Government. 4i8 DEMOCRA TIC PRINCIPLES. I have deemed it my duty to thus bring to the knowledge of my countrymen, as well as to the attention of their representatives charged with the responsibility of legislative relief, the gravity of our financial situation. The failure of the Congress heretofore to provide against the dangers which it was quite evident the very nature of the diffi- culty must necessarily produce, caused a condition of financial distress and apprehension since your last adjournment which taxed to the utmost all the authority and expedients within executive control ; and these appear now to be exhausted. If disaster results from the continued inaction of Congress, the responsibility must rest where it belongs. Thoucrh the situation thus far considered is fraught with danger which should be fully realized, and though it presents features of wrong to the people as well as peril to the country, it is but a result growing out of a perfectly palpable and apparent cause, constantly reproducing the same alarming circumstances — a congested national treasury and a depleted monetary condition in the business of the country. It need hardly be stated that while the present situation demands a remedy, we can only be saved from a like predicament in the future by the removal of its cause. Our scheme of taxation, by means of which this needless surplus is taken from the people and put in the public treasury, consists of a tariff or DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. 419 duty levied upon Importations from abroad, and internal revenue taxes levied upon the consump- tion of tobacco and spirituous and malt liquors. It must be conceded that none of the things sub- jected to internal revenue taxation are, strictly speaking, necessaries ; there appears to be no just complaint of this taxation by the consumers of these articles, and there seems to be nothing- so well able to bear the burden without hardship to any portion of the people. But our present tariff laws, the vicious, inequi- table and illogical source o{ unnecessary taxation, ou^ht to be at once revised and amended. These laws, as their primary and plain effect, raise the price to consumers of all articles imported and subject to duty, by precisely the sum paid for such duties. Thus the amount of the duty measures the tax paid by those who purchase for use these im- ported articles. Many of these things, however, are raised or manufactured in our own country, and the duties now levied upon foreign goods and products are called protection to these home manufactures, because they render it possible for those of our people who are manufacturers to make these taxed articles and sell them for a price equal to that demanded for the imported goods that have paid customs duty. So it happens that while comparatively a few use the imported articles, millions of our people, who never use and never saw any of the foreign products, purchase and use 420 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. things of the same kind made in this country, and pay therefor nearly or quite the same enhanced price which the duty adds to the imported articles. Those who buy imports pay the duty charged there- on into the pubHc treasury, but the great majority of our citizens, who buy domestic articles of the same class, pa)' a sum at least approximately equal to this duty to the home manufacturer. This ref- erence to the operation of our tariff laws is not made by way of instruction, but in order that we may be constandy reminded of the manner in which they impose a burden upon those who con- sume domestic products as well as those who con- sume imported articles, and thus create a tax upon ail our people. It is not proposed to entirely relieve the country of this taxation. It must be extensively continued as the source of the Government's income; and in a readjustment of our tariff the interests of American labor eneaofed in manufacture should be carefully considered, as well as the preservadon of our manufacturers. It may be called protection, or by any other name, but relief from the hard- ships and dangers of our present tariff laws should be devised with especial precaution against imperil- ing the existence of our manufacturino^ interests. But this existence should not mean a condition which, without regard to the public welfare or a national exigency, must always insure the realiza- tion of immense profits instead of moderately DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. 42 1 profitable returns. As the volume and diversity of our national activities Increase, new recruits are added to those who desire a continuation of the advantages which they conceive the present system of tariff taxation directly affords them. So stub- bornly have all efforts to reform the present con- dition been resisted by those of our fellow-citizens thus engaged, that they can hardly complain of the suspicion, entertained to a certain extent, that there exists an organized combination all along the line to maintain their advantage. We are in the midst of centennial celebrations, and with becomino pride we rejoice in American skill and ingenuity, in American energy and en- terprise, and In the wonderful natural adyantages and resources developed by a century's national growth. Yet when an attempt is made to justify a scheme which permits a tax to be laid upon every consumer in the land for the benefit of our manu- facturers, quite be^'ond a reasonable demand for governmental regard, it suits the purposes of ad- vocacy to call our manufactures infant industries, still needing- the highest and greatest degree of favor and fostering care that can be wrung from Federal legislation. It is also said that the increase In the price of domestic manufcictures resulting from the present tariff is necessary in order that higher wages may be paid to our workingmen employed in manufac- tories than are paid for what is called the pauper 422 DEMOCRATIC rKLXCIPLES. labor of Europe. All will acknowledge the force of an argument which involves the welfare and liberal compensation of our laboring people. Our labor is honorable in the eyes of every Ameri- can citizen; and as it lies at the foundation of our development and progress, it is entitled, without affectation or hypocrisy, to the utmost regard. The standard of our laborers' life should not be measured by that of any other country less fa- vored, and they are entitled to their full share of all our advantages. By the last census it is made to appear that of the 17,392,099 of our population engaged in all kinds of industries 7,670,493 are employed in agriculture, 4.074,238 in professional and personal service '(2,934,876 of whom are domestic servants and laborers), while 1,810,256 are employed in trade and transportation, and 3,837.1 i 2 are classed as employed in manufacturing and mining. For present purposes, however, the last number given should be considerably reduced. Without attempting to enumerate all, it will be conceded that there should be deducted from those which it includes 375,143 carpenters and joiners, 285,401 milliners, dressmakers and seamstresses, 172,726 blacksmiths, 1 33. 756tailorsandtailoresses, 102,473 masons, 76,241 butchers,4i,309bakers, 22,083 plas- terers, and 4891 engaged in manufacturing agri- cultural implements, amounting in the aggregate to 1,214,023, leaving 2,623,089 persons employed in DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES, 423 such manufacturing industries as are claimed to be benefited by a higii tariff. To these the appeal is made to save their em- ployment and maintain their wages by resisting a change. There should be no disposition to answer such suggestions by the allegation that theyare in a minority among those who labor, and therefore should forego no advantage, in the interest of low prices for the majority ; their compensation, as it may be affected by the operation of tariff laws, should at all times be scrupulously kept in view ; and yet with slight reflection they will not overlook the fact that theyare consumers with the rest; that they, too, have their own wants and -those of their families to supply from their earnings, and that the price of the necessaries of life, as well as theamount of their wages, will regulate the meas- ure of their welfare and comfort. But the reduction of taxation demanded should be so measured as not to necessitate or justify either the loss of employment by the working- man nor the lessening of his waees : and the profits still remaining to the manufacturer, after a necessary readjustment, should furnish no excuse for the sacrifice of the interests of his employes either in their opportunity to work or in the dimi- nution of their compensation. Nor can the worker in manufactures fail to understand that while a high tariff is claimed to be necessary to allow the 424 DEMOCRATIC rKIAXIPLES. payment of remunerative wages, it certainly re- sults in a very large increase in the price of nearly all sorts of manufactures, which, in almost count- less forms, he needs for the use of himself and his family. He receives at the desk of his employer his wages, and perhaps before he reaches his home is obliged, in a purchase for family use of an article which embraces his own labor, to return in the payment of the increase in price which the tariff permits, the hard-earned compensation of many days of toil. The farmer and the agriculturist who manufac- turenothing,butwho pa)the increased pricewhich the tariff imposes, upon every agricidturat imple- ment, upon all he wears and upon all he uses and owns, except the increase of his ilocks and herds, and such things as his husbandry produces from the soil, is invited to aid in maintaining the pres- ent situation ; and he is told that a high duty on imported wool is necessary for the benefit of those who have sheep to shear, in order that the price of their wool may be increased. They of course are not reminded that the farmer who has no sheep is by this scheme obliged, in his purchases of cloth- ing and woolen goods to pay a tribute to his fellow farmer as well as to the manufacturer and merchant; nor is any mention made of the fact that the sheep owners themselves and their house- holds must wear clothino^ and use other articles DEMOCRA TIC PRINCIPLES. 425 manufactured from the wool they sell at tariff prices, and thus as consumers must return their share of this increased price to the tradesman. I think it may be fairly assumed that a large proportion of the sheep owned by the farmers tlirouo-hout the country are found in small flocks numbering from twenty-five to fifty. The duty on the grade of imported wool which these sheep yield is ten cents each pound if of the value of thirty cents or less, and twelve cents if of the value of more than thirty cents. If the liberal esdmate of six pounds be allowed for each fleece, the duty t'hereon would be sixty or seventy- two cents, and this may be taken as the utmost enhancement of its price to the farmer by reason of this duty. Eighteen dollars would thus represent the in- creased price of tlu^ wool from twenty-five sheep and thirty-six dollars that from the wool of fifty sheep ; and at present values this addition would amount to about one-third of its price. If upon its sale the farmer receives this or a less tariff profit, the wool leaves his hands charged with precisely that sum, which in all its changes will adhere to it, until it reaches the consumer. When manufactured into cloth and other eoods and material for use, its cost is not only increased to the extent of the farmer's tariff profit, but a fur- ther sum has been added for the benefit of the manufacturer under the operation of other tariff laws. In the meantime the day arrives when the 426 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. farmer finds it necessary to purchase woolen goods and material to clothe himself and family for the winter. When he faces the tradesman for that purpose he discovers that he is obliged not only to return in the way of increased prices his tariff profit on the wool he sold, and which then perhaps lies before him in manufactured form, but that he must add a considerable sum thereto to meet a further increase in cost caused by a tariff duty on the manufacture. Thus in the end he is aroused to the fact that he has paid upon a moder- ate purchase, as a result of the tariff scheme, which, when he sold his wool seemed so profitable, ari increase in price more than sufficient to sweep away all the tariff profit he recieved upon the wool he produced and sold. When the number of farmers enoraored in wool- raising" is compared with all the farmers in the country, and the small proportion they bear to our population is considered ; when it is made appar- ent that, in the case of a large part of those who own sheep, the benefit of the present tariff on wool is illusory; and, above all, when it must be conceded that the increase of the cost of living caused by such tariff becomes a burden upon those with moderate means and the poor, the employed and unemployed, the sick and well, and the young and old, and that it constitutes a tax which, with relentless grasp, is fastened upon the clothing of every man, woman and child in the land, reasons DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. 427 are suo^eested why the removal or reduction of this duty should be included in a revision of our tariff laws. In speaking of the increased cost to the con- sumer of our home manufactures, resulting from a duty laid upon imported articles of the same description, the fact is not overlooked that com- petition among our domestic producers sometimes has the effect of keeping the price of their pro- ducts below the highest limit allowed by such duty. But it is notorious that this competition is too often strangled by combinations quite prevalent at this time, and frequently called trusts, which have for their object the regulation of the supply and price of commodities made and sold by mem- bers of the combination. The people can hardly hope for any consideration in the operation of these selfish schemes. If, however, in the absence of such combination, a healthy and free competition reduces the price of any particular dutiable article of home produc- tion below the limit which it might otherwise reach under our tariff laws, and if, with such reduced price, its manufacture continues to thrive, it is entirely evident that one thing has been discovered which should be carefully scrutinized in an effort to reduce taxation. The necessity of combination to maintain the price of any commodity to the tariff point, fur- nishes oroof that some one is wilhng to accept 428 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. lower prices for such commodity, and that such prices are remunt:rative ; and lower prices pro- duced by competition prove the same thing. Thus, where either of these conditions exist, a case would seem to be presented for an easy reduction of taxation. The considerations which have been presented touching our tariff laws are intended only to en- force an earnest recommendation that the surplus revenues of the Government be prevented by the reduction of our customs duties, and, at the same time, to emphasize a suggestion that in accom- plishing this purpose, we may discharge a double duty to our people by granting to them a measure of relief from tariff taxation in quarters where it is most needed and from sources where it can be most fairly and justly accorded. Nor can the presentation made of such consid- erations be, with any degree of fairness, regarded as evidence of unfriendliness toward our manu- facturing interests, or of any lack of appreciation of their value and importance. These interests constitute a leadino^ and most substantial element of our national crreatness and furnish the proud proof of our country's progress. But if in the emergency that presses upon us our manufacturers are asked to surrender somethinor for the public good and to avert disaster, their pa- triotism, as well as a irrateful recognition of advan- tages already afforded, should lead them tq vvjljjng DEMOCRAT IC PRIXCIPLF.S. 429 cooperation. No demand is made that diey shall forego all the benefits of governmental regard ; but they cannot fail to be admonished of their duty, as well as their enlightened self-interest and safety, when they are reminded of the fact that financial panic and collapse, to which the present condition tends, afford no greater sheltc^r or pro- tection to our manufactures than to our other im- portant enterprises. Opportunity for safe, care- ful and deliberate reform is now offered ; and none of us should be unmindful of a time when an abused and irritated people, heedless of those who have resisted timely and reasonable relief, may insist upon a radical and sweeping rectification of their wrongs. The difficulty attending a wise and fair revision of our tariff laws is not under-estimated. It will require on the part of the Congress great labor and care, and especially abroad and national con- templation of the subject, and a patriotic disregard of such local and selfish claims as are unreasonable and reckless of the welfare of the entire country. Underour present laws more than four thousand articles are subject to duty. Many of these do not in any way compete wath our owm manufactures, and many are hardly worth attention as subjects of revenue. A considerable reduction can be made in the aggregate, by adding them to the free list. The taxation of luxuries presents no features of liardship; but the necessaries of life used and 430 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. consumed by all the people, the duty upon which adds to the cost of living in every home, should be greatly cheapened. The radical reduction of the duties imposed upon raw material used in manufactures, or its free im- portation, is of course an important factor in any effort to reduce the price of these necessaries ; it would not only relieve them from the increased cost caused by the tariff on such material, but the manufactured product being thus cheapened, that part of the tariff now laid upon such product, as a compensation to our manufacturers for the present price of raw material, could be accord- ingly modified. Such reduction, or free importa- tion, would serve, beside, to largely reduce the revenue. It is not apparent how such a change can have an injurious effect upon our manufac- turers. On the contrary, it would appear to give them a better chance in foreiorn markets with the o manufacturers of other countries, who cheapen their wares by free material. Thus our people might have the opportunity of extending their sales bej^ond the limits of home consumption — saving them from the depression, interruption in business, and loss caused by a glutted domestic market, and affording their employes more certain and steady labor, with its resulting quiet and con- tentment. The question thus imperatively presented for solution should be approached in a spirit higher SENATOR A. P. GORMAN. DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES. 431 than partisanship and considered In the Hght of that regard for patriotic duty which should char- acterize the action of those intrusted with the weal of a confiding people. But the obligation to declared party policy and principle Is not wanting to urge prompt and effective action. Both of the great political parties now represented In the Government have, by repeated and authoritative declarations, condemned the condition of our laws which permit the collection from the people of unnecessary revenue, and have, in the most solemn manner, promised its correction ; and neither as citizens nor partisans are our countrymen In a mood to condone the deliberate violation of these pledges. Our progress toward a wise conclusion will not be improved by dwelling upon the theories of pro- tection and free trade. This savors too much of bandying epithets. It Is a condition which con- fronts us — not a theory. Relief from this condi- tion may involve a slight reduction of the advan- tages which we award our home productions, but the entire withdrawal of such advantages should not be contemplated. The question of free trade is absolutely irrelevant: and the persistent claim made in certain quarters, that all efforts to relieve the people from unjust and unnecessary taxation are schemes of so-called free-traders, Is mischiev- ous and far removed from any consideration for the public good. 432 DF.MOCRA lie PRIXCIPLES. The simple and plain duty which we owe the people is to reduce taxation to tlie necessar)' ex- penses of an economical operation of the Govern- ment, and to restore to the business of the country the money which we hold in the Treasury through the perversion of governmental powers. These thinos can and should be done with safetv to all our industries, without danger to the opportur.ity for remunerative labor which our workingmen need, and with benefit to them and all our people, by cheapening their means of subsistence and increasing the measure of their comforts. The Constitution provides that the President " shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the Union." It has been the custom of the Executive, in compliance with this provision, to annually exhibit to the Con- gress, at the opening of its session, the general condition of the country, and to detail, with some particularity, the operations of the different Ex- ecutive Departments. It would be especially agree- able to follow this course at the present time, and to call attention to the valuable accomplishments of these Departments during the last fiscal year. But I am so much impressed with the paramount importance of the subject to which this communi- cation has thus far been devoted, that I shall forego the addition of any other topic, and only urge upon your immediate consideration the " state of the Union" as shown in the present DEMOCRATIC PRL\'CIPLES. 433 condition of our treasury and our general fiscal situation, upon which every element of our safety and prosperity depends. The reports of the heads of Departments, which will be submitted, contain full and explicit infor- mation touchinor the transaction of the business intrusted to them, and such recommendations relating to legislation in the public interest as the\- deem advisable. I ask for these reports and recommendations the deliberate examination and action of the Lei^islative branch of the Govern- ment. There are other subjects not embraced in the departmental reports demanding legislative con- sideration and which I should be o^lad to submit. Some of them, however, have been earnestly pre- sented in previous messages, and as to them I beg leave to repeat prior recommendations. As the law makes no provision for any report from the Department of State, a brief history of the transactions of that important Department, together with other matters which it may here- after be deemed essential to commend to the attention of the Congress, may furnish the occa- sion for a future communication. GROVER CLEVELAND. ION. ISAAC P. (IRAY. LIVES All the Presidents UNITED STATES, OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE NATION'S HISTORY GEORGE WASHINGTON, FIRST President of the United States, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the 22d of February, 1732. He was the son of Augustine Washington, a wealthy planter, and his second wife, Mary Ball. John Washington, the great-grandfather of the illus- trious subject of this sketch, emigrated from Eng- land and settled in Virginia about 1657. George Washinofton's father died when he was in his eleventh year, leaving him in the care of his mother, a woman of marked strength of charac- ter. She was worthy of her trust. From her he acquired that self-restraint, love of order, and strict regard for justice and fair dealing, which, with his inherent probity and truthfulness, formed the basis of a character rarely equaled for its simple, yet commanding nobleness. Apart from his mother s training, the youthful Washington received only the ordinary country- 439 440 ^^^ FORMER PRESIDENTS. school education of the time, never having attended college, or taken instruction in the ancient Ian- eua^res. He had no inclination for any but the most practical studies, but in these he was remark- ably precocious. When barely sixteen Lord Fair- fax, who had become greatly interested in the promising lad, engaged him to survey his vast estates lying in the wilderness west of the Blue Ridge. So satisfactory was his performance of this perilous and difficult task, that, on its comple- tion, he was appointed Public Surveyor. This office he held for three years, acquiring consider- able pecuniary benefits, as well as a knowledge of the country, which was of value to him in his subsequent military career. When only nineteen, Washington was appointed Military Inspector of one of the districts into which Virginia was then divided. In November, 1753, he was sent by Governor Dinwiddie on a mission to the French posts, near the Ohio River, to ascer- tain the designs of France in that quarter. It was a mission of hardship and peril, performed with rare prudence, sagacity, and resolution. Its bril- liant success laid the foundation of his fortunes. "From that time," says Irving, "Washington was the rising hope of Virginia." Of Washington's services in the resulting war, we cannot speak in detail. An unfortunate mili- tary expedition to the frontier was followed by a campaign under Braddock, whom he accompanied GEORGE WASHINGTON. ,,, 441 as aid-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, In his march against Fort Duquesne. That imprudent General, scorning the advice of his youthful aid, met disastrous defeat and death. In the batde, Washington's coat was pierced by four bullets. His bravery and presence of mind alone saved the army from total destruction. Washington, on his return, was appointed com- mander-in-chief of all the troops of the colony, then numbering about two thousand men. This was in 1755, when he was but little more than twenty-three years of age. Having led the Vir- ginia troops in Forbes' expedition in 1758, by which Fort Duquesne was captured, he resigned his commission, and, in January, 1759, married Mrs. Martha Custis {iiee Dandridge), and settled down at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac, which estate he had inherited from his elder brother Lawrence, and to which he added until it reached some eiofht thousand acres. The fifteen years following his marriage were, to Washington, years of such happiness as is rarely accorded to mortals. It was the halcyon period of his life. His home was the centre of a generous hospitality, where the duties of a busy planter and of a Judge of the County Court were varied by rural enjoyments and social intercourse. He managed his estates with prudence and econ- omy. He slurred over nothing, and exhibited, even then, that rigid adherence to system and . . 2 ^^'^ FORMER PRESIDENTS. accuracy of detail, which subsequently marked his performance of his public duties. In the difficulties which presently arose between Great Britain and her American Colonies, Wash- ington sympathized deeply with the latter, and took an earnest, though not specially prominent part in those movements which finally led to the War of Independence. In the first general Con- gress of the Colonies, which met in Philadelphia, on the 5di of September, 1774, we find the name of W^ashington among the Virginia Delegates. As to the part he took in that Congress, we can only judge from a remark made by Patrick Henry, also a Delegate: ''Colonel Washington," said the great orator, " was undoubtedly the greatest man on that floor, if you speak of solid information and sound judgment." In the councils of his native province, we also get glimpses of his calm and dignified presence. And he is ever on the side of the Colonies — mod- erate, yet resolute, hopeful of an amicable adjust- ment of difficulties, yet advocating measures look- ing to a final appeal to arms. At lenorth the storm broke. The Battle of Lexington called the whole country to arms. While in the East the rude militia of New Eng- land beleaguered Boston with undisciplined but stern determination, Congress, in May, 1775, met a second time in Philadelphia. A Federal Union was formed and an army called for. As chair- GE OR GE WA SHIXG TON. 443 man of the various Committees on Military Affairs, Washington drew up most of the rules and regu- lations of the army, and devised measures for defense. The question now arose — By whom was the army to be led ? Hancock, of Massa- chusetts, was ambitious of the place. Sectional jealousies showed themselves. Happily, how- ever, Johnson, of Maryland, rising in his seat, nominated Washington. The election was by ballot, and unanimous. Modestly expressing sin- cere doubts as to his capability, Washington accepted the position with thanks, but refused to receive any salary. " I will keep an exact account of my expenses," he said. " These I doubt not Congress will discharcje. That is all I desire.'* On the 15th of June he received his commis- sion. Writing a tender letter to his wife, he rapidly prepared to start on the following day to the army before Boston. He was now in the full vigor of manhood, forty-three years of age, tall, stately, of powerful frame and commanding presence. " As he sat his horse with manly grace," says Irving, " his military bearing de- lighted every eye, and wherever he went the air rune with acclamations." On his way to the army, Washington met the tidings of the Batde of Bunker Hill. When told how bravely the militia had acted, a load seemed lifted from his heart. " The liberties of the coun- try are safe !" he exclaimed. On the 2d of July 444 ^^'^ FORMER PRESIDENTS. he took command of the troops, at Cambridge, Mass., the entire force then numberinor about 15,000 men. It was not until March, 1776, that the siege of Boston ended in the withdrawal of the British forces. Washington's admirable con- duct of this siege drew forth the enthusiastic ap- plause of the nation. Congress had a gold medal struck, bearing the effigy of Washington as the Deliverer of Boston. Hastening to defend New York from threat- ened attack, Washington there received, on the 9th of July, 1776, a copy of the "Declaration of Independence," adopted by Congress five days previously. On the 2 7di of the following month occurred the disastrous batde of Long Island, the misfortunes of which were retrieved, however, by Washington's admirable retreat, one of the most brilliant achievements of the war. Again defeated at White Plains, he was compelled to retire across New Jersey. On the 7th of De- cember he passed to the west side of the Dela- ware, at the head of a dispirited army of less than four thousand effective men. many of them with- out shoes, and leaving tracks of blood in the snow. This was the darkest period of the war But suddenly, as if inspired, Washington, in the midst of a driving storm, on Christmas night re- crossing the Delaware, now filled with floating ice, gained in rapid succession the brilliant vic- tories of Trenton and Princeton, thus changing GEORGE IVA^II/NGTO.V. ^ ,r the entire aspect of affairs. Never were victories better timed. The waning hopes of the people in their cause and their commander were at once restored as if by magic. It is not possible, in this necessarily brief sketch, to give the details of the agonizing strug- gle in which Washington and his little army were now involved. Superior numbers and equip- ments often Inflicted upon him disasters which would have crushed a less resolute spirit. Cheered, however, by occasional glimpses of vic- tory, and wisely taking advantage of what his troops learned in hardship and defeat, he was at length enabled, by one sagacious and deeply planned movement, to bring the war virtually to a close In the capture of the British army of 7,000 men, under Cornwallis, at Yorktown, on the 19th of October, [781. The tidings of the surrender of Cornwallis filled the country with joy. The lull in the ac- tivity of both Congress and the people was not viewed with favor by Washington. It was a period of peril. Idleness in the army fostered discontents there, which at one time threatened the gravest mischief. It was only by the utmost ►'exertion that Washington induced the malcon- '^.ents to turn a deaf ear to those who were at- -^iemptlng, as he alleged, " to open the flood-gates of civil discord, and deluge our rising empire with blood." 44^ ^^^ FORMER PRESIDENTS. On September 3d, 1 783, a treaty of peace was signed at Paris, by which the complete indepen- dence of the United States was secured. On the 23d of December following, Washington for- mally resigned his command. The very next mornine he hastened to his beloved Mount Ver- non, arriving there that evening, in time to enjoy the festivities which there greeted him. Washington was not long permitted to enjoy his retirement. Indeed, his solicitude for the per- petuity of the political fabric he had helped to raise he could not have shaken off if he would. Unconsciously, it might have been, by his letters to his old friends still in public life, he continued to exercise a powerful influence on national affairs. He was one of the first to propose a remodeling of the Articles of Confederation, which were now acknowledged to be insufficient for their purpose. At length, a convention of delegates from the several States, to form a new Constitution, met at Philadelphia, in May, 1787. Washington pre- sided over its session, which was long and stormy. After four months of deliberation was formed that Constitution under which, with some subse- quent amendments, we now live. When the new Constitution was finally ratified, Washington was called to the Presidency by the unanimous voice of the people. In April, 1 789, he set out from Mount Vernon for New York, then the seat of Government, to be inaugurated. GEORGE WASHINGTON-, j.y " His progress," says Irving, " was a continuous ovation. The ringing of bells and the roaring of cannon proclaimed his course. Old and young, women and children, thronged the highways to bless and welcome him." His inauguration took place April 30th, i 789, before an immense multi- tude. The eight years of Washington's Administra- tion were years of trouble and difficulty. The two parties which had sprung up — the Federalist and the Republican — were gready embittered ao^ainst each other, each charcrinor die other with the most unpatriotic designs. No other man than Washington could have carried the country safely through so perilous a period. His prudent, firm, yet conciliatory spirit, aided by the love and ven- eration with which the people regarded him, kept down insurrection and silenced discontent. That he passed through this trying period safely cannot but be a matter of astonishment. The angry partisan contests, to which we have referred, were of themselves sufficient to dis- hearten any common man. Even Washington was distrustful of the event, so fiercely were the par- tisans of both pardes enlisted — the Federalists clamoring for a stronger government, the Repub- licans for addldonal checks on the power already intrusted to the Executive. Besides, the Revolu- tion then raging In France became a source of contention. The Federalists sided with England, 448 OUR FORMER FRE SIDE NTS. who was bent on crushing that Revolution, the Republicans, on the other hand, sympathized deeply with the French people : so that between them both, it was with extreme difficulty that the President could prevent our young Republic, bur- dened with debt, her people groaning under taxes necessarily heavy, and with finances, commerce, and the industrial arts in a condition of chaos, from beinor draeofed into a fresh war with either France or Eno^land. But^ before retiring from the Presidency, Wash- ington had the happiness of seeing many of the difficulties from which he had apprehended so much, placed in a fair way of final adjustment. A finan- cial system was developed which lightened the burden of public debt and revived the drooping energies of the people. The country progressed rapidly. Immigrants flocked to our shores, and the regions west of the Alleehanies beo^an to fill upo New States claimed admission and were received into the Union — Vermont, in 1791 ; Ken- tucky, in 1792 ; and Tennessee, in 1796 ; so that, before the close of Washington's second term, the original thirteen States had increased to sixteen. Having served two Presidential terms, Wash- ington, declining another election, returned once more to Mount Vernon, " that haven of repose to which he had so often turned a wistful eye," bear- ing with him the love and gratitude of his country-^ men, to whom, in his memorable " Farewell Ad GEORGE WASHINGTON. ^^o dress," he bequeathed a legacy of practical politi- cal wisdom which it will be well for them to remember and profit by. In this immortal docu- ment he insisted that tlu^ uni(jn of the States was "a main pillar" in the real Independence of the people. He also entreated them to "steer clear of any permanent alliances with any portion of the foreiorn world." At Mount Vernon Washington found constant occupation in the supervision of his various estates. It was while taking his usual round on horseback to look after his farms, that, on the i 2th of December, 1799, he encountered a cold, winter storm. He reached home chill and dam[). The next day he had a sore throat, with some hoarsc;- ness. By the morning of the 14th he could scarcely swallow. " I find I am going," said he to a friend. "I believed from the first tliat the attack would be fatal." That night, betwc-en ten and eleven, he expired, without a struggle or a sigh, In the sixty-eighth year of his age, his disease being acute laryngitis. Three days afterward his remains were deposited In the family tombs at Mount Vernon, where they still repose-. Washington left a reputation on which there is no stain. " His character," says Irving, " possessed fewer inequalides, and a rarer union of virtues than .perhaps ever fell to the lot of onr* man. * * * It seems as If Providence had endowed him In a pre-eminent degree with the qualities 29 450 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. requisite to fit him for the high destiny he was called upon to fulfill." In stature Washington was six feet two inches in height, well proportioned, and firmly built. His hair was brown, his eyes blue and set far apart. From boyhood he was famous for great strength and agility. Jefferson pronounced him "the best horseman of his age, and the most grace- ful fiorure that could be seen on horseback." He was scrupulously neat, gentlemanly, and punctual, and always dignified and reserved. In the resolution passed upon learning of his death, the National House of Representatives described \\\\\\ for the first time in that well-known phrase, " First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," — a tribute which succedinor o-enerations have continued to bestow upon Washington without question or doubt. By common consent to him is accorded as pre-emi- nendy appropriate the title, " Pater Patriae," — the " Father of his Country." Of Washington, Lord Brougham says : " It will 'be the duty of the historian and the sage, in all ages, to omit no occasion of commemorating this illustrious man ; and until time shall be no more will a test of the progress our race has made in wisdom and virtue be derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of Washington." JOHN ADAMS. ^-j JOHN ADAMS, SECOND President of the United States, was born at Braintree, now Oulncy, Mass., October 19th, 1 735. He was the eldest son oi John Adams, a farmer, and Susanna Boylston. Graduating from Harvard in i 755, he studied law, defraying his expenses by teaching. In 1764, hav- ing meanwhile been admitted to the bar, he mar- ried Miss Abigail Smith, a lady whose energy of character contributed largely to his subsequent advancement. As early as 1761, we find young Adams look- ing forward, with prophetic vision, to American Independence. When the memorable Stamp Act was passed in 1765, he joined heart and soul in opposition to it. A series of resolutions which he drew up against It and presented to the citizens of Braintree was adopted also by more than forty other towns in the Province. He took the ad- vanced grounds that it was absolutely void — Parliament havino- no ricrht to tax the Colonies. In 1 768 he removed to Boston. The rise of the young lawyer was now rapid, and he was the lead- ing man in many prominent cases. When, in Sep- tember, 1774, the first Colonial Congress met, at Philadelphia, Adams was one of the five Delegates from Massachusetts. In that Congress he took f». prominent part He it was who, on the 6th of ,^2 ^^'^ FORMER PRESIDENTS. May, 1776, boldly advanced upon the path oi Independence, by moving " the adoption of such measures as would best conduce to the happiness and safety of the American people." It was Adams, who, a month later, seconded the resolu- tion of Lee, of Virginia, " that these United States are, and of right ought to be, independent." It was he who uttered the famous words, " Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, with my country is my unalterable determination." He, too, it was, v/ho, with Jefferson, Franklin, Sher- man, and Livingston, drew up that famous *' Dec- laration of Independence," which, adopted by Con- gress on the 4th of July, 1776, decided a question, " greater, perhaps, than ever was or will be de- cided anywhere." During all these years of engrossing public duty he produced many able essays on the rights of the Colonies. These ap- peared in the leading journals of the day and exerted wide influence. The motion to prepare a Declaration of Independence was opposed by a strong party, to the champion of which Adams made reply and Jefferson said, " John Adams was the ablest advocate and champion of indepen- dence on the floor of the House." Writing to his wife on. July 3d, 1776, and refer- ring to the Declaration of Independence, that day adopted, he forecast the manner of that day's celebration by bonfires, fireworks, etc., as " the i^reat anniversary festival." During all the years 4 s^^ ^•^ \ HENRY WATTERSON JOHN ADA MS. ^ r 3 of the war he was a most zealous worker and val- ued counselor. After its years of gloom and trial, on the 21st of January, 1783, he assisted in the conclusion of a treaty of peace, by which Great Britain acknowledged the complete inde- pendence of the United States. On the previous October, he had achieved what he ever regarded as the greatest success of his life — the formation of a treaty of peace and alliance with Holland, which had a most important bearing on the nego- tiations leading to the hnal adjustment with Eng- land. He was United States Minister to Eno-jand from 1785 to 1788, and Vice-President during both the terms of Washington. 'During these years, as presiding officer of the Senate, he gave no less than twenty casting votes, all of them on ques- tions of great importance, and all supporting the policy of the President. Mr. Adams was himself inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1797, having been elected over Jefferson by a small majority. Thomas Pinckney was nominated for the Vice-Presidency with him, they representing the Federal party, but in the Electoral College Thomas Jefferson received the choice and became Vice-President. He retained as his Cabinet the officers previously chosen by Washington. He came into office at a critical period. The conduct of the French Directory, in refusing to receive our ambassadors, and in trying to injure ^cj, OCR FORMER PRESIDENTS. our commerce by unjust decrees, excited Intense ill-feellne, and finally led to what Is known as "the Quasi War" with France. Congress now passed the so-called "Alien and Sedition Laws," by which extraordinary and, it is alleged, unconstitutional powers were conferred upon the President. Though the apprehended war was averted, the odium of these laws effectually destroyed the pop- ularity of Adams, who, on running for a second term, was defeated by Mr. Jefferson, representing the Republicans, who were the Democratic party of that day. On the 4th of March, 1801, he re- tired to private life on his farm near Quincy. His course as President had brought upon him the reproaches of both parties, and his days were ended in comparative obscurity and neglect. He lived to see his son, John Quincy Adams, in the Presidential chair. Bv a singular coincidence, the death of Mr. Adams and that of his old political rival, Jefferson, took place on the same day, and almost at the same hour. Stranger still. It was on July the 4th, 1826, whilst bells were rincrinor and cannon roar- ing to celebrate the fiftieth Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, their own immortal production, that these two men passed away. Mr. Adams was asked if he knew what day it w^as. "Oh! yes!" he exclaimed, "It Is the Fourth of July. God bless It! God bless you all! It Is a great and glorious day!" and soon after quietly expired, in the ninety-first year of his age. THOMAS JEFFERSON. 455 Mr Adams possessed a vigorous and polished intellect, and was one of the most upright of men. His character was one to command respect, rather than to win affection. There was a certam lack of warmth in his stately courtesy which seemed tc forbid approach. Yet nobody, we are told, could know him intimately without admirmg the simplicity and trutli which shone in all his action.s THOMAS JEFFERSON. /-y^HOMAS JEFFERSON, who succeeded I Adams as President, was born at Shadwell, -i- Albermarle Coanty, Va., April 2d, 1743- i'cter Jefferson, his father, was a man of great lorce of character and of remarkably powerful Dhysique. His mother, Jane Randolph, was from a most respectable English family. He was the eldest of eight children. He became a classical student when a mere boy, and entered college in an advanced class when but seventeen years o a