lEx SItbrtB 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 "When you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Sver'thing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
9 
 
this edition of the 
 History of the Manhattan Club 
 printed on fabriano hand-made paper from type 
 during the month of december, 1915, is limited 
 to six hundred and fifty copies 
 
 this copy is number 
 
 187 
 PRINTED FOR 
 
 PAOLINO GERLI 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
i 
 
1865-1915 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF 
 THE ACTIVITIES OF HALF A CENTURY 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY WATTERSON 
 
 NEW YORK 
 1915 
 
Copyright, 1916, by 
 THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FOREWORD XV 
 
 PRELUDE xix 
 
 INTRODUCTORY xxiii 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIRST 3 
 
 A Brief Discussion of the Origin of Clubs, with some detailed 
 Reference to the Growth of "Political Clubs" in this Country 
 — The State of the Democratic Party in the Summer of 1865 
 —The actual Beginning of the Manhattan Club— Patriotic 
 Motives of the Founders. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SECOND 17 
 
 The First Club-house— Early Presidents of the Club— "Prince 
 John" Van Buren. 
 
 CHAPTER THE THIRD 24 
 
 "No. 96"— Customs and Laws— Douglas Taylor— The Fa- 
 mous Trio— "Cadaverous Ben" — Well-known Members — The 
 Bateman-Cranston Incident. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FOURTH 28 
 
 The Old Benkard House — Recollections of Mr. Lyons — 
 "Uncle Dave" Gilbert and General Martin T. McMahon 
 — Wilder Allen, the Practical Joker. 
 
 ix 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIFTH 35 
 
 The Old Club— Public Dinners and Receptions— Out-of-town 
 Members provided for— Mortality among the Club Officials — 
 The Club denounces the Use of Troops in Louisiana. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SIXTH 44 
 
 The New Club — Its Articles of Incorporation— Arrangements 
 for the Renewal of the Leasehold — The Formal Acts of 
 Transfer. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SEVENTH 48 
 
 Club Ups and Downs — Its Long and Arduous Financial 
 Struggle— Grievous Loss by Robbery — Final Adjustment of 
 its Money Affairs. 
 
 CHAPTER THE EIGHTH 54 
 
 Early Years of the New Club— Many Constitutional Changes 
 and a Few Receptions — The Election of Grover Cleveland to 
 the Presidency— Deaths of Vice-President Hendricks, Gen- 
 eral Hancock, and Governor Seymour. 
 
 CHAPTER THE NINTH 61 
 
 Last Years in the Benkard House — Removal to the Stewart 
 House, called the "Whited Sepulchre"— Memorials of Mr. 
 Cleveland— Death of Mr. Tilden. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TENTH 68 
 
 The Stewart House— Money Troubles— Truax, O'Sullivan, 
 and Rodie— "Uncle Tom" Miller— His Tragic End— Factions 
 of 1896— Colonel "Bill" Brown— His famous Cleveland-Hill 
 Dinner — His Resignation in a "Huff" — The Reception to 
 Dewey — The Admiral's good Memory. 
 
 CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH 
 
 Club Proceedings in the Stewart House — A Round of Recep- 
 tions to Gorman, Van Wyck, and Cleveland and Stevenson — 
 Death of the distinguished Frederic R. Coudert. 
 
 X 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWELFTH 82 
 
 The Stewart House a "White Elephant"— Removal to 
 Cheaper Quarters Imperative — Hunting for a New Club- 
 house—The Final Choice— A Happy Solution. 
 
 CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH 86 
 
 Final Proceedings — The New Century — Purchase of a Per- 
 manent Home — Celebration of the Club's Semi-Centenary 
 under Happy Auspices. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH 
 
 The Club Library— Mr. James Dunne, Librarian of the Man- 
 hattan Club, recalls Literary History — Gifts — Purchases — 
 Rare Volumes. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH 96 
 
 The contemporary Manhattan Club — Meeting of Old and 
 New — Present Governors of the Club and their Records — 
 The President and Ex-Presidents — Prominent Members — 
 Some Groups within the Club — Thirty-year and Older Mem- 
 bers of the Club— Notable Employees. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH 
 
 The Anniversary Banquet — A Memorable and Brilliant Affair 
 — President Britt presides and President Wilson outlines an 
 Administrative Programme — Speeches by Judge O'Brien, 
 Mr. Patrick Francis Murphy, and Mr. Frank Lawrence. 
 
 L'ENVOI 
 
 127 
 
LIST OF PLATES 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 Facsimile of Original List of Members of the Club . . xxii 
 
 Woodrow Wilson 4 
 
 Samuel J. Tilden 10 
 
 Grover Cleveland 16 
 
 Presidents of the Club : 
 
 John Van Buren, 1 865-1 866 22 
 
 Augustus Schell, 1866-1874 28 
 
 August Belmont, 1 874-1 879 36 
 
 Aaron J. Vanderpoel, 18 79-1 886 44 
 
 Frederic R. Coudert, 1 889-1 899 52 
 
 Charles H. Truax, 1899-1906 58 
 
 John Hone, 1 906-1908 64 
 
 Morgan J. O'Brien, 1908-1910 70 
 
 Alton B. Parker, 1910-1911 76 
 
 Victor J. Dowling, 1911-1914 82 
 
 Philip J. Britt, 1914- 88 
 
 Smith M. Weed 94 
 
 James A. O' Gorman 100 
 
 • • • 
 
 xni 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB p^^mG 
 
 PAGE 
 
 William F. McCombs io6 
 
 James W. Gerard 112 
 
 Francis Burton Harrison 118 
 
 Henry Watterson 124 
 
 John T. Agnew 130 
 
 Board of Governors of Manhattan Club 136 
 
 Fiftieth Anniversary Dinner, November 4, 191 5 . . .142 
 Employees of the Club 152 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 When the Manhattan Club determined to celebrate the 
 semi -centenary of its existence, it was deemed appro- 
 priate to the occasion, in the view of the Anniversary- 
 Committee, that the history of the Club for the past fifty 
 years should be written. 
 
 With that end in view. Colonel Henry Watterson, 
 the editor of the "Louisville Courier- Journal," was ap- 
 proached upon the subject by the representatives of the 
 Club. Colonel Watterson had been a member of the 
 Manhattan Club since 1882. He had been the personal 
 intimate and associate of almost all of the founders of 
 the organization. He was more familiar than any other 
 living man with the circumstances and conditions which 
 brought the Club into being; for over a quarter of a cen- 
 tury, when in New York City, he had made it his home. 
 He was personally acquainted with all of the distin- 
 guished men who, for half a century, had been numbered 
 among its members. His reputation as scholar, editor, 
 wit, and citizen of the world was international; while 
 as a commanding figure in the later history of our coun- 
 
 XV 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 try he was well known to the public. Tiie words which 
 had flown for a lifetime from his trenchant and graphic 
 pen always commanded attention, sometimes engen- 
 dered fear. So that, on the whole, if Colonel Watterson 
 could be induced to write the history of the Manhattan 
 Club, that institution, as well as the readers of the vol- 
 ume, were indeed to be congratulated. Colonel Watter- 
 son had for years been besought from many quarters to 
 write his Manhattan Club memoirs, but had persistently 
 declined to do so. When the request of the Club was 
 presented to him, however, he immediately expressed 
 his willingness and pleasure to undertake the work — 
 but upon one condition only, and that was that his 
 effort should be a labor of love and a testimonial of his 
 interest in and appreciation of the Club, of which he 
 has been so long an active member, and which he loves 
 so well. 
 
 In the following pages Colonel Watterson tells the his- 
 tory of the Manhattan Club for the first fifty years of 
 its existence, and has succeeded in giving us not only an 
 interesting study of its life, traditions, and achieve- 
 ments, but has presented, in his own vigorous and de- 
 lightful style, some personal reminiscences of a number 
 of the most celebrated men whom our country has pro- 
 duced, and who were members of this organization. We 
 feel confident, therefore, that this history will be inter- 
 esting and entertaining not only to the members of the 
 Manhattan Club, but also to those outside its circle who 
 may have the leisure and opportunity to peruse its 
 pages. 
 
 xvi 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 T/iese few lines are written as a public expression of 
 the gratitude and affection which its members feel to- 
 ward their scholarly and distinguished fellow-member, 
 who, in this volume, becomes the historian of the Man- 
 hattan Club. 
 
 Philip J. Britt, 
 
 President of the Manhattan Club. 
 
 New York, 
 
 November 15, 1915. 
 
PRELUDE 
 
 E needed not the burly old doctor to tell us 
 that man is a clubable animal. For the 
 matter of that, taking into the account con- 
 temporary experience and example — albeit 
 contradicting many ancient theories and 
 wifely warnings — so is woman. In the 
 older time the club seemed a rival of the 
 home. These modern days it is a home. 
 
 Club-land and club-life might be described as that narrow 
 stretch of territory lying betwixt the devil and the deep blue 
 sea, too high for the sea to wash and only within the devil's 
 reach when his imps become uncommonly enterprising and 
 lively; a safe region for those that walk straight and look 
 wary. Club laws are less importunate in the word, but more 
 exacting in the act, than home laws; something different, yet 
 equally in restraint. He who has passed unscathed through 
 the home is very well educated and disciplined for the club. 
 In both the member must be a gentleman. If he forgets him- 
 self in what is called the bosom of his family, there is none 
 but the stricken wife to chide, loving while she chides. In 
 the chartered organization he forgets himself at his peril. 
 
 The history of every club must of necessity be but a record 
 of its official doings and public functions. Its individual life 
 
 xix 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 and adventures remain ever a sealed book. Having little, if 
 anything, to conceal, it is nevertheless a secret society. To 
 the world outside, this air of premeditated mystery has ele- 
 vated the commonplaces of every-day existence into a kind 
 of romance. "What did the general say to the judge?" the 
 query runs; "and what happened then?" 
 
 The world will never know. The newspapers will never 
 find out. There is one spot where the reporter may not enter 
 at will. If he seeks "a story," he will have to invent it. 
 
 In one of the London clubs a statesman once came to his 
 end under circumstances most tragical. His body was spir- 
 ited to his lodging. Nor did all the devices of Scotland Yard 
 and the metropolitan press suffice to get at the truth — 
 known to this day scarcely to a half-dozen living men, who 
 may be relied on to make no sign. 
 
 The Manhattan Club has not been without its adventures, 
 though none of them so deep and dark as to fear exposure 
 and shun publicity. Like the migrations of the good Vicar 
 of Wakefield and his wife, "they lay chiefly betwixt the blue 
 bed and the brown." There were those of us who used in 
 later life to accuse Uncle Dave Gilbert, the most unoffending 
 and methodical of men, of nursing some awful crime — "some 
 secret mystery the spirit haunting" — but dear old Douglas 
 Taylor would come to the rescue with : "The only explana- 
 tion Dave Gilbert wants to make is that I was with him, and 
 so were Billy Brown and Charlie Dayton and Ashbel Fitch 
 and — " whereat the company, which had often heard the 
 quiz, evaporated to "the rooms thereunto adjoining." 
 
 The Manhattan was from the first a simple homelike club. 
 We played most games for small stakes. A little group 
 actually played draw-poker, forbidden in most clubs, with- 
 out the usual consequences of fuss or scandal. The standard 
 play now is, and for years has been, dominoes chiefly for 
 drinks, "wasting the midday oil," as was once observed by 
 Sylvester O' Sullivan, in that great voice of his, crossing the 
 
 XX 
 
PRELUDE 
 
 living-room into the "library," — as he called the bar, — "and 
 impoverishing themselves and their families instead of im- 
 proving their minds, as I am about to improve mine." 
 
 In perusing the pages which follow the reader must con- 
 tent himself with a crude narrative of the Club's visible and 
 official life. It will be found valuable only as a register — 
 interesting solely in a suggestive way. No claims of author- 
 ship are, or could be, advanced in its favor. It has not been 
 composed, but compiled and edited, albeit with fidelity and 
 painstaking. It records a half-century of honorable and not 
 undistinguished service. It reminds the present, and will 
 advise the future, of the past. If it undertook to do more, it 
 would exceed the requirement, passing quite beyond the 
 province of such a digest. 
 
 The Manhattan Club ranks second to no club in America. 
 To the veteran member who, as a labor of love and duty, 
 has framed these chapters and put these pages together, it 
 doubtless appears, through the magnifying haze of years, 
 greater — certainly dearer — than any. But with the Union 
 Club and the Union League — its contemporaries — and the 
 Century, its senior — it links the life of primitive old New 
 York with that of the wondrous great metropolis ; marks im- 
 • pressively the progressive revolutions of modern times; and 
 tells us that, in spite of tide and chance, of time and change, 
 we are Americans, one and all, whether we call ourselves 
 Republicans or Democrats, the party label but a trade-mark 
 stamp, "the man a man for a' that." 
 
 At the request of the committee having the celebration of 
 the semi-centenary of the Club in charge, I have added a 
 concluding chapter of personal reminiscence, whose unin- 
 tentioned egotism may be forgiven if its subject-matter be 
 found worth while. The period of the Tilden domination in 
 the Empire State, beginning with the election of the Sage of 
 Gramercy Park to the governorship in 1875, and not ending 
 until his death in 1886, marked the rise of the Democratic 
 
 xxi 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Party from the deeps of political adversity to the firm, high 
 ground of its former prestige and influence — a Democrat in 
 the White House at Washington, and in the executive man- 
 sion at Albany, all the result of the wise leadership of Samuel 
 Jones Tilden, one of the founders and always a loyal mem- 
 ber of the Manhattan Club. It is hoped the space given to 
 this will not appear disproportioned. It forms an important 
 part of the Club's history, and recalls an almost forgotten 
 chapter of national history. 
 
 I have taken for an Introductory Chapter a sketch written 
 by Mr. Edward G. Riggs, a member of the Club, and printed 
 in the New York "Sun" some twenty-three years ago, which 
 is so graphic as a contemporary picture and so vivid as a 
 personal reminiscence as fitly to precede the more detailed 
 narration. 
 
 I have had from members of the Manhattan both assist- 
 ance and sympathy in collecting the data needful to an 
 adequate record of the Club's activities; but from Mr. Alex- 
 ander Konta a direct personal interest and an actual division 
 of labor which have been invaluable. In every way and at 
 each turning his literary training, artistic perception and 
 critical judgment, his constant support and loyal zeal, have 
 made that easy which otherwise would have been hard in- 
 deed. This prelude would be neither sufficient nor just with- 
 out my most grateful acknowledgment to Mr. Konta. 
 
II iidi rsi<iiii ({ . iio't luill 11 iiiji-i'i tn hifoiiif Mt iiihi I S of ihi 
 
 Manhattan ( 'li n," 
 
 in coiifi.i'iiiitij to thf ('(iiistitiitliiii lieretofore ado/ifnl, n/id to jxi;/ to Wilson G. Hi'nt, 
 Treasurer, '//■ his orih r, on ilvtiuind, the sinn of Tiro Ihniili i i1 ])(tll<trs inch, for the 
 fnilintion fi' mul om ijinr's dues in ad mure from \st diiij of (Jcldlur, I8G0. 
 
 New York-, SipLi-inhi r -Ixth, Isc, 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 RESIDENCES. 
 
 ^ /- A ^ ' ^^^2-^^-^ 
 
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 //Z -^rc/ - ^-r- . 
 
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 ■J) 
 
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 DPICINAL LIST OP MEiVRl^T?c; . 
 
 Presented to the 
 
 MA;{IiATTAN CLUB , 
 by the daughter of its Pounaer 
 
 186b— 1916 . 
 
 'A 
 
INTRODUCTORY 1 
 
 I 
 
 HE Manhattan Club, at Fifth Avenue and 
 Thirty-fourth Street, is the home of the 
 swallowtail Democracy. To the Demo- 
 cratic Party it is what the Union League 
 Club is to the Republican Party. The mem- 
 bers wear fine linen, have many changes of 
 raiment, are partial to patent-leathers and 
 silk-woven goloshes. There are brains and culture in the 
 Club. The Club building is the marble house erected by the 
 late Alexander T. Stewart. It cost $1,000,000. It is marble 
 throughout. It is just as solidly marble inside as outside. 
 The Club has a twenty-one years' lease on the building — 
 $35,000 a year for the first five years, $37,500 a year for the 
 next five years, and $40,000 a year for the remaining eleven 
 years. The house is still owned by the Stewart estate. 
 
 In 1864, when the idea of such a club was first promul- 
 gated, the present splendor of the Club would have been a 
 fatuous dream. The Democracy was at its lowest point in 
 the history of the nation. It was not fashionable to be a 
 Democrat. The glory of Lincoln and the Republican Party 
 was shining like a midday sun. A Democrat was nothing 
 
 1 Edward G. Riggs in the New York "Sun," April 23, 1892. 
 
 xxiii 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 but a copperhead. He was considered little less than a 
 traitor. Innumerable instances are on record where he was 
 shunned as a most unwholesome person. The bitterness 
 was intense. The memories of those days are still fresh in 
 the minds of some of the old members of the Club, including 
 Douglas Taylor, who, more than any other man, must be 
 considered the original founder of the Club ; Manton Marble, 
 John T. Agnew, George Ticknor Curtis, Andrew H. Green, 
 Henry Hilton, and Edward Cooper. 
 
 It may be said truthfully that but for the Union League 
 Club, the Manhattan Club would perhaps never have been 
 organized. The Union League Club was fairly on its way 
 to prosperity when the Democratic Party nominated Mc- 
 Clellan and Pendleton to oppose Lincoln and Johnson. The 
 Union League Club was Republican in every fibre. The ap- 
 plications of Democrats to join it were distastefully received. 
 It is true that in a spasm of generosity it accepted James T. 
 Brady, Charles P. Daly, and William Butler Duncan. Judge 
 Daly, however, quickly retired from the Union League. The 
 atmosphere was not pleasant to him. He and Mr. Brady and 
 Mr. Duncan were as loyal as any three men on earth. The 
 Union Leaguers, though, were shy of such company. The 
 three leading clubs of New York at the time — the Union, 
 the Union League, and the Century — had for presidents 
 pronounced Republicans like William M. Evarts, Hamilton 
 Fish, and William H. Seward. The famous Century Club 
 was opposed even to Gulian C. Verplanck. Radical notions 
 abounded. Sturdy old Democrats resented the harsh senti- 
 ments of the Republicans. An abortive attempt to organize 
 a Democratic club similar to the Union League was made 
 in 1864, just prior to the McClellan-Pendleton campaign. 
 General McClellan and his associate on the ticket were 
 greatly interested in the project. Their headquarters were at 
 the New York Hotel. The McClellan Executive Committee 
 occasionally met at Delmonico's, and it was there, in the 
 
 xxiv 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 presence of the candidate, Manton Marble, John T. Hoffman 
 (Recorder at the time), Douglas Taylor, Augustus Schell, 
 George W. McLean, Henry Hilton, and others, that the 
 project received its first inspiration. The overwhelming 
 defeat of McClellan and Pendleton followed, and the idea of 
 a swell Democratic club was shattered for the moment. The 
 Democratic Party was poverty-stricken. Democrats who 
 had voted for McClellan and Pendleton were flouted and 
 malignantly dubbed copperheads. 
 
 But there were energetic spirits behind the club move- 
 ment. The spring of '65 was ushered in, and with it the club 
 project was taken up again. The little band of Democrats 
 had various meetings at the residence of George W. McLean, 
 at the New York Hotel, in the office of Manton Marble, and 
 at the office of Douglas Taylor, then commissioner of jurors. 
 In the latter place, in April, 1865, a meeting was held at 
 which a number of judges and leading Democrats were pres- 
 ent, including Mayor Gunther and Recorder Hoffman, and 
 a committee consisting of Chief Justice Charles P. Daly of 
 the Common Pleas, Clerk Nathaniel Jarvis of that court, and 
 Mr. Taylor was delegated to visit Democrats and secure sig- 
 natures for the proposed club. The initiation fee and dues 
 were fixed at two hundred dollars. This was a staggerer, to 
 begin with. It was a problem as to how many Democrats 
 in New York City would put their hands in their pockets and 
 pay two hundred dollars to join a club, the representative of 
 a party consisting of "copperheads and traitors." Things 
 ran along until the following June, when a meeting of the 
 Club's pioneers was held in Augustus Schell's law office, 
 then at 40 Wall Street. It was there that Mr. Marble sug- 
 gested that the new Club should be known as the Manhattan 
 Club ; and at a subsequent meeting at the same place the fol- 
 lowing twenty-five Democrats were selected as permanent 
 managers of the organization : Gulian C. Verplanck, Augus- 
 tus Schell, John A. Dix, William F. Allen, August Belmont, 
 
 XXV 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 John Van Buren (son of Martin Van Buren), Horace F. 
 Clark, George W. McLean, S. L. M. Barlow, Charles 
 O'Conor, Samuel J. Tilden, George Ticknor Curtis, Andrew 
 H. Green, William Butler Duncan, Henry Hilton, Anthony 
 L. Robertson, Manton Marble, William C. Prime, James T. 
 Brady, Edwards Pierrepont, Wilson G. Hunt, Edward 
 Cooper, Douglas Taylor, John T. Hoffman, and E.L.Corliss. 
 General Dix, who had sat in Buchanan's cabinet, was nomi- 
 nally a Democrat, but declined to serve as one of the mana- 
 gers. In fact, he switched over to the Union Leaguers. 
 
 The first meeting of the Managing Committee was at Del- 
 monico's. Fourteenth Street and Fifth Avenue, on Tuesday 
 evening, July i8, 1865. At this and subsequent meetings in 
 the same month, Mr. Augustus Schell acting as chairman, 
 Mr. Marble was requested to frame a constitution. Judge 
 Hilton and John Van Buren were appointed a committee to 
 secure a permanent home for the Club, and Mr. Taylor and 
 Mr. McLean hustled around to get members. A list of one 
 hundred and twenty Democrats was secured. They were 
 ready to pay the two hundred dollars each. 
 
 The next thing was to get a home. The Moffatt mansion 
 in Union Square, at that time next to the Everett House, 
 was rejected. The committee finally purchased the old 
 Parker or Benkard mansion, at Fifth Avenue and Fifteenth 
 Street, for $110,000. Half of this money was to be raised on 
 bonds. A fund for preliminary expenses was made neces- 
 sary, and August Belmont subscribed $10,000; Augustus 
 Schell, $5000; Judge Hilton, $5000; S. L. M. Barlow, $5000; 
 Horace F. Clark, $5000; William Butler Duncan, $5000; 
 Samuel J. Tilden, $5000; and Mr. Marble and others made 
 up the sum to $55,000. The Democracy was not dead yet. 
 As a matter of fact, none of that $55,000 was ever required. 
 The membership list rapidly rose to three hundred, and this 
 gave the Club $60,000 to start with, so the subscriptions were 
 not called in. 
 
 xxvi 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 The first officers of the Club were : John Van Buren, presi- 
 dent; Augustus Schell, vice-president; Manton Marble, 
 secretary; and Wilson G. Hunt, treasurer. Mr. Hunt soon 
 retired. Old Dean Richmond was elected a manager in his 
 place, and when he died, shortly afterward, Horatio Sey- 
 mour accepted the place. The first House Committee com- 
 prised Mr. McLean, Mr. Hilton, and Hiram Cranston, 
 proprietor of the New York Hotel. All worked like beavers 
 to fix up the home of the Club. The "house-warming" was 
 on December i6, 1865. 
 
 The first president of the Club, John Van Buren, was 
 known as "Prince John." He was the son of Martin Van 
 Buren, the Kinderhook statesman, who was governor of the 
 State in 1828, secretary of state under Jackson in 1829, min- 
 ister to England in 1831, vice-president under Jackson in 
 1833, and eighth President of the United States in 1837. 
 John Van Buren was attached to the American Legation in 
 London under his father. The present Queen of England 
 was then Princess Victoria, daughter of Edward, Duke of 
 Kent, fourth son of George III. John Van Buren, at a grand 
 state ball at which the ambassadors of that day were present, 
 had the honor of dancing with Princess Victoria. He opened 
 the quadrille with the future Queen of England, and the 
 American newspapers got to calling him Prince John. The 
 title remained with him until his death on October 13, 1866. 
 His successors as president of the Club, in their order from 
 that day to this, are: Augustus Schell, August Belmont, 
 Aaron J. Vanderpoel, Manton Marble, and Frederic R. 
 Coudert. 
 
 II 
 
 The Club has always been a factor in Democratic politics. 
 Its first venture in national affairs, though, was not success- 
 ful. This was an effort, practically, to capture President 
 Andrew Johnson and make him a full-fledged Democrat. It 
 
 xxvii 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 was a strategic move, and at one time the managers of the- 
 Club thought it would be successful. President Johnson 
 was not pleasing the Republicans, by any means. The 
 Democracy was at such a low ebb that the Manhattan 
 strategists believed that any effort, no matter how difficult, 
 should be attempted to revive the party's fortunes in the 
 nation. The scheme was started when this letter was sent 
 to President Johnson on March 12, 1866: 
 
 To the Hon. Andrew Johnson, 
 
 President of the United States. 
 
 Sir: The undersigned members of the Managing Commit- 
 tee of the Manhattan Club beg leave to apprise you that you 
 were this day elected an honorary member of the Club, and 
 to request your acceptance of the same. They enclose a 
 copy of their Constitution and By-Laws, with a list of mem- 
 bers of the Club, which will be found to include a fair 
 representation of the intelligence, enterprise, wealth, and 
 patriotism of our City and State. They have also been re- 
 quested to say to you, in behalf of the Club, that they desire 
 to procure a full-length portrait of yourself, to be painted by 
 one of our first artists, and that they will be much obliged if 
 you will gratify them by consenting to sit to him. It is the 
 earnest desire of the Club to adorn their walls with the 
 representation of the form and lineaments of a statesman 
 and patriot whose efforts to restore the peace and union of 
 our distracted country and whose just and fearless rebukes 
 of disunionists command their unanimous, cordial, and en- 
 thusiastic approbation. 
 
 Please address your answer to 
 
 John Van Buren, 
 
 President of the Manhattan Club, 
 96 Fifth Avenue. 
 
 xxviii 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 W. F. Allen, S. L. M. Barlow, August Belmont, James T. 
 Brady, Hiram Cranston, George Ticknor Curtis, Edward 
 Cooper, Edward L. Corliss, H. F. Clark, W. Butler Duncan, 
 Andrew H. Green, John T. Hoffman, Henry Hilton, Edwards 
 Pierrepont, Manton Marble, George W. McLean, W. C. 
 Prime, Dean Richmond, Augustus Schell, Douglas Taylor, 
 G. C. Verplanck, S. J. Tilden; John Van Buren, President. 
 
 In view of the fact that the Constitution of the Club ex- 
 pressly declares that its object is to advance Democratic 
 principles, the foregoing letter was a mighty interesting one 
 to send to a man elected on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln, 
 the first President of the Republican Party. The managers 
 of the Club and those in the scheme eagerly awaited a reply 
 from President Johnson. It came ten days later, and the 
 night the letter reached the Club there was a fine old hubbub 
 over it. The letter said : 
 
 Executive Mansion, 
 Washington, D. C, March 22, 1866. 
 
 John Van Buren, Esq., John T. Hoffman, Esq., et al. 
 
 Gentlemen : 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your letter of the 12th instant, informing me of my elec- 
 tion as an Honorary Member of the Manhattan Club of New 
 York City, and asking me to allow an artist of your selection 
 to take a full-length portrait of myself for your Club. 
 
 In communicating to you my acceptance of these compli- 
 ments, I desire to thank you sincerely for them and for the 
 friendly expressions of support and encouragement you 
 tender me in the discharge of my public duties. An honest 
 and clear conviction of duty and consciousness of rectitude 
 of purpose, the unwavering support of the American people, 
 and the blessing of an all-wise Providence will, I believe, 
 enable me to meet any emergency. I feel that I have the 
 
 xxix 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 first two ; and it shall be the object of my every endeavor to 
 deserve the remaining requisite. 
 I am, gentlemen, with great respect, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Andrew Johnson. 
 
 The artist was promptly sent on to Washington, and the 
 painting then made of President Johnson still hangs in the 
 Manhattan Club. There was nothing particular in Presi- 
 dent Johnson's letter to encourage the managers, but it was 
 a starting-point. It was decided to push the game. Up to 
 that time no man had been elected a member who could not 
 conscientiously say that he was a Democrat. In order to 
 carry out the scheme with President Johnson this feature 
 was modified, and Clarence Seward, Thurlow Weed, and a 
 dozen other friends of Johnson were admitted to the Club. 
 Old members, talking of that period in the Club's existence, 
 say they thought then that they had Johnson sure. But in 
 order to fasten him it was decided to get up a great meeting 
 in Union Square to sustain Johnson, and hurrah for his pol- 
 icy of making enemies in his own party. This meeting was 
 held on September 17, 1866, and John A. Dix, who was at 
 that time in the Union League Club, was pushed to the front 
 as chairman. He was nothing but a "stall," it was remarked 
 by a veteran of the Club. The Manhattan Club's crusade 
 into the enemy's camp was known as the "Citizens' move- 
 ment." This covered the real object of the Democratic 
 schemers. President Johnson came on to New York, and 
 the meeting in Union Square was the largest ever held there. 
 It sustained President Johnson and his policy with the 
 greatest enthusiasm. John T. Hoffman, all the Schells, 
 and every manager of the Manhattan Club believed then 
 that they had captured Johnson. A great banquet was given 
 in his honor at the Club, and the "Citizens," otherwise 
 Democrats, feasted him at Delmonico's. The Republicans, 
 
 XXX 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 though, were fully aware of the Manhattan Club's tactics 
 concerning Johnson, and they, too, went to work. An old 
 manager of the Club (Douglas Taylor), recalling the epi- 
 sode, says : 
 
 "We hungry Democrats thought we had Johnson sure. 
 We wined and dined him in great shape. But Johnson was 
 afraid of impeachment, and the Republicans held that axe 
 over his head. His Democracy soon oozed out, and Seward, 
 Weed, and all the Johnson Democrats went back to the Re- 
 publican Party." 
 
 In 1868 the Club took a very active part in the campaign 
 of Seymour and Blair. They offered the Democratic Na- 
 tional Committee the use of the club-house, and the in- 
 vitation was accepted. Seymour and Blair received the 
 Notification Committee there, and made the Club their head- 
 quarters. Governor Seymour had a little bedroom at the 
 top of the building, and there he discussed the plans of the 
 campaign with the Executive Committee. His strongest 
 diet and stimulant during the time were stewed oysters and 
 green tea. In the '72 campaign Horace Greeley was break- 
 fasted at the Manhattan. All the leading Democrats visited 
 the Club to greet Mr. Greeley and drink his health. But a 
 decline in the Club's fortunes followed the Greeley cam- 
 paign. Many Democrats had not reconciled themselves to 
 the candidacy of Mr. Greeley, and the feeling among the 
 members was not happy. The attendance fell off, and finan- 
 cial entanglements appeared above the horizon. The elec- 
 tion of Samuel J. Tilden as governor in 1874 reawakened 
 interest; and the fight in 1876, when Mr. Tilden, an original 
 manager of the Club, was a candidate, stirred its enthusiasm. 
 But the Greeley feeling had taken deep root, and in 1877 the 
 Club was reorganized, August Belmont remaining as presi- 
 dent. From that time, however, the Club has continued to 
 grow, and it is now booming. It is true that there is a Mug- 
 wump element in the Manhattan, bitterly opposed to certain 
 
 xxxi 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 T)emocratic leaders. But in view of the experience in dealing 
 with unknown gods, the officers of the Club are practically 
 compelled to recognize the great Democratic leaders, no 
 matter whether personally objectionable to them or not. 
 
 President Cleveland has always had a good many friends 
 in the Club. He is a member. The Club gave him a recep- 
 tion and dinner on his election as governor in 1882. The 
 Club has always royally entertained the Democratic gov- 
 ernors and Democratic senators. Many of the members, 
 nevertheless, have prided themselves upon belonging to a 
 Democratic club with swallowtail proclivities and affilia- 
 tions. They do not hesitate to say that they don't like the 
 "short-hairs." It is a matter of fact that John Kelly, through 
 his friends in the Club, was elected three times, and that he 
 always refused to accept the membership. He never quali- 
 fied. Richard Croker has not been in the Club more than 
 half a dozen times in his life. He will only go there on the 
 invitation of Mayor Gilroy or some of his old personal 
 friends in the Tammany organization. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The Manhattan Club has always been famous for its kitchen. 
 Uncle Sam Ward became a member on January 22, 1866, and 
 from that day until his death was an habitual frequenter, his 
 home being just around the corner. He did more to make 
 the Club famous in one direction than any dozen men in 
 it. He gathered around him a little coterie of his own. It 
 included John Brougham, Joseph Jefferson, William J. 
 Florence, William Henry Hurlbert, Oakey Hall, Dion 
 Boucicault, "Winter Garden" Stuart, and others. Commo- 
 dore Vanderbilt played whist in the Club with his friends 
 every night for years. 
 
 This article, however, aims not to deal in memories, but 
 rather to speak of the Manhattan as it is to-day. The 
 
 xxxii 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Stewart house has been described a hundred times : the pic- 
 tures in the main corridor, with its marble pillars and great 
 chandeliers; the superbly frescoed ceiling; the drawing- 
 room, enriched with bric-a-brac, paintings, mirrors, vases, 
 crystal chandeliers, medallions, statuettes, and velvet car- 
 pets; the library, the dining-room, the kitchen at the top of 
 the building, the reception- and the billiard-rooms. In the 
 library are the English and American papers, books of fiction 
 and reference, scientific works, biographies, history, the 
 poets, Burke's "Peerage," for the use of the younger mem- 
 bers, and Balzac's works, for the delight of those more ad- 
 vanced in life. 
 
 The dining-room is on the second floor, on the Fifth Ave- 
 nue side. It is the room once occupied by President Grant 
 as a bed-chamber when he was the guest of Mr. Stewart. It 
 glows like fairyland at night, when the crystal chandeliers 
 are lighted and the tables are adorned with wax candles, in 
 solid silver candelabra, with tiny red and gold shades. The 
 main stairway, leading from the main corridor to the top of 
 the building, is of marble, and alone cost $100,000. In the 
 general reception-room there are some very handsome me- 
 dallions, including those of Alexander Hamilton, Carroll of 
 CarroUton, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. 
 Valuable paintings are here, there, and everywhere. It cost 
 the Club quite $500,000 to fit up the building when it moved 
 from the old house at Fifteenth Street and Fifth Avenue two 
 years ago. But people will want to know something about 
 the members of the Club and the experiences there. 
 
 President Coudert is now in Paris. He is one of the coun- 
 sel appointed by President Harrison to represent the United 
 States before the Behring Sea Commission. Mr. Coudert 
 started life about as poor as anybody possibly could be. He 
 was well educated, though, and made his first money trans- 
 lating the French papers for the "New York Herald." The 
 money he earned there helped him to become a lawyer, and 
 
 xxxiii 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 he has attained international fame in his profession. Many 
 of Mr. Coudert's friends thought that President Cleveland 
 would make him ambassador at Paris. In Mr. Coudert's 
 absence, Christopher Columbus Baldwin is acting president. 
 He is a Wall Street banker. J. Edward Simmons, the treas- 
 urer, is president of the Fourth National Bank. He was a 
 Troy boy, and grew up with Senator Edward Murphy, Jr. 
 The fondness of Mr. Simmons for Mr. Murphy has been 
 very deep from those days, and no man was prouder of Mr. 
 Murphy's elevation to the United States Senate than was he. 
 
 Among the life members is John T. Agnew, who is looked 
 upon as the Nestor of the Club. Mr. Agnew is vice-presi- 
 dent of the Continental National Bank, and is an authority 
 on banking and financial questions. He is godfather to half 
 the members of the Club ; that is, he was their sponsor when 
 they came before the Board of Governors for election. Mr. 
 Agnew is a handsome, gray-haired gentleman who has 
 maintained in life such a strict observance of hygienic rule 
 that at threescore and ten, although he has a twitch of 
 rheumatism, his complexion is that of rosy youth. He is a 
 type of the true American. He looks like an American. He 
 is six feet high, and straight as a mast. He could have been 
 president of the Club. He has had offers of every office the 
 Club had, but has persistently declined. He has more influ- 
 ence than any other member of the Club in certain direc- 
 tions. He is bright as a new dollar, an enthusiastic believer 
 in the future of New York, who thinks the town is only just 
 starting. Usually he sits in an arm-chair in the big morning- 
 room, and on entering the members first make it their busi- 
 ness to pay their respects to him. Some of the other life 
 members are ex-Congressman Perry Belmont, son of August 
 Belmont, who did so much for the Club ; ex-Mayor Edward 
 Cooper, who came within an ace of being nominated for 
 governor in 1882, when Mr. Cleveland won the prize j ex- 
 Mayor Smith Ely, Manton Marble, Robert B. Roosevelt, 
 
 xxxiv 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Douglas Taylor, Nelson J. Waterbury, Jr., and Sidney Web- 
 ster, nephew of Franklin Pierce and son-in-law of Hamilton 
 Fish. 
 
 In looking over the general list of the Club and the hap- 
 penings there, the remark of old man Weller is recalled. Mr. 
 Weller, on seeing a canary-bird in a cage inside a jail, said: 
 "There 's wheels within wheels." So in the Manhattan there 
 are comprised a variety of clubs and coteries, and almost 
 every other club in the City of New York, if not in the 
 United States, is represented by some little group. For in- 
 stance, giving credit to antiquity first, there is the Cuttyhunk 
 Club. Who of the old-timers has not heard of the glories of 
 Cuttyhunk and George Barnard and Charlie Osborn, and 
 the "Dreadnought," and old Billy Woodhull, and Sam Post, 
 and Billy Spence, and Phcene Ingraham? Several of the old 
 set have gone to their account, but they helped to make the 
 island of Cuttyhunk a merry resort years before the Ameri- 
 cus Club was born; and during those days, and since, the 
 followers of Cuttyhunk have been very numerous in the 
 Manhattan Club. The stories that Joseph J. O'Donohue 
 can tell about bass hauls sound like killy stories when com- 
 pared with the high-hook records of these Cuttyhunkers. It 
 is true that the menhaden fishers in Buzzard's Bay have 
 pretty well killed the big bass fishing at Cuttyhunk, but this 
 has not caused any diminution in the Cuttyhunk yarns which 
 are heard every afternoon in the Manhattan parlors. 
 
 Then there is the set known as the "Larchmont crew." 
 They spread all over the Club. They have two or three 
 members of the Board of Governors, including Assistant 
 District Attorney Harry Macdona, who in the last election 
 was the only young man elected to the Board. It was a per- 
 sonal triumph for Mr. Macdona. The Larchmont element 
 in the Club also owns the office of secretary in the person 
 of David Gilbert. Then there are Chester Munroe, Colley 
 Colt of the "Dauntless," Jordan L. Mott, Jr., Gus Monroe, 
 
 XXXV 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 George Cormack, and Matt Clark, and they make up a set 
 that always hangs together. 
 
 Then there is also what is known as the "Day Club" or as 
 the "New York Stock Exchange." They have a very power- 
 ful little club of their own inside the Manhattan. They have 
 three representatives on the Board of Governors, and while 
 they are not always together in the Club, like the Cutty- 
 hunkers and the Larchmont crew, they appear most unani- 
 mously together on nights of election when any one in whom 
 they are interested is a candidate. John Hone may properly 
 be considered the leader of the Day Club. 
 
 Next in importance comes the Union Club crowd. They 
 have five members on the Board of Governors, one of them 
 being the newly elected and very popular governor, Daniel 
 Bayne. He defeated Francis K. Pendleton, the son of 
 Senator Pendleton, who ran for Vice-President on the ticket 
 headed by General McClellan when the Club was first 
 thought of. The Union Club crowd in the Club is a sort of 
 political club. They are banded together to push their own 
 interests. 
 
 Then, in addition to these coteries there are social lines 
 and lines of affinity cross-cutting the sets and cliques. There 
 is a breakfast set, members who breakfast at the Club up to 
 one o'clock. There is an afternoon set that begins to come in 
 about two and stays till dinner-time. They play billiards, 
 talk, or play chess or dominoes. Then there 's the night set. 
 This last is largely composed of the hard-working public 
 officials, including many judges and some city officials, as 
 Mayor Gilroy, Supervisor W. J. K. Kenny, Corporation 
 Counsel Clark, and their friends. 
 
 Recurring to the subject of games, there is a rule in the 
 Club which tells the games that may be played there. These 
 are whist, euchre, Boston, all-fours, ecarte, bezique, crib- 
 bage, piquet, hearts, billiards, chess, checkers, backgammon, 
 and dominoes. 
 
 xxxvi 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 The champion billiard-player of the Club is James Inglis, 
 and the pool champion, when Joseph J. O'Donohue is not 
 around, is Eddie Bell, though Phcene Ingraham is a pretty 
 fair hand at the game. But there is now coming to the front 
 a gentleman who gives promise of making some of the old- 
 time billiard and pool champions very tired. He finds time 
 occasionally on Saturdays to ease his mind from the cares of 
 the Standard Oil Company and various collateral activities 
 and industries. This is John D. Archbold. It is admitted 
 with great regret by the old-time champions that Mr. Arch- 
 bold's game is improving to such an extent that it will be 
 necessary to get a special class for him pretty soon. Van 
 Emberg and Bissell believe themselves to be in Archbold's 
 class, but this belief is limited to themselves. The great 
 English billiard champion is said to be Major Ulrich; but as 
 "blackjack" is now replacing the English game in the Club, 
 the Major is falling off for lack of practice. Blackjack is the 
 French game of billiards, with the addition of a black pin, 
 which is a heavy counter in the game. Arthur Ingraham, 
 Harry Macdona, Dave Gilbert, and Colonel Loeser are the 
 blackjack fiends. Manton Marble and Judge Abram R. 
 Lawrence are the two oldest billiard-players in the Club. 
 
 The judicial group is very exclusive. They dine together, 
 especially Judge Edward Van Brunt, Judge John Clinton 
 Gray, Judge Miles Beach, Judge Charles Truax, Judge 
 Roger Pryor, Judge Ingraham, Judge Barrett, Judge Gilder- 
 sleeve, Judge George Andrews, Judge Lawrence, and Judge 
 Bookstaver. 
 
 The society end of the Club is represented by William C. 
 Whitney, who is chairman of the Library Committee and 
 one of the governors; August Belmont, Jr., Oliver H. P. 
 Belmont, Carroll Bryce, J. Coleman Drayton, Cornelius 
 Vanderbilt, J. Sergeant Cram, Joe Decker, Reginald Franck- 
 lyn, George and Frederic Frelinghuysen, sons of President 
 Arthur's Secretary of State; Freddie Gebhard, Elbridge T. 
 
 xxxvii 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Gerry, Wendell Goodwin, one-time captain of the Harvard 
 crew; J. N. A. Griswold, Herman Oelrichs, Henry Mar- 
 quand, George B. McClellan, president of the Board of 
 Aldermen; Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Newbold, J. Hamp- 
 den Robb, George Lorillard Reynolds, Montgomery Roose- 
 velt, John Rutherfurd, George Schermerhorn, thirty or forty 
 Smiths, hyphenated and single-breasted; Hamilton McKay 
 Twombly, Lawrence Turnure, William Vandervoort, W. 
 Seward Webb, and Willard P. Ward, one of the greatest 
 clubmen in New York, who belongs to nearly all the "ger- 
 man" clubs, the University, the Calumet, the Knickerbocker, 
 the Metropolitan, and others. 
 
 There is one member of the Club without a sketch of 
 whom no article on the Manhattan Club would be complete. 
 He is Uncle Thomas Jefferson Miller. Uncle Tom, sad to 
 relate, in the swell new club-house does n't cut such a figure 
 as in former days. With its big membership of over a thou- 
 sand active members and the large list of non-resident mem- 
 bers, this is quite natural. When the Club was at the old 
 stand at Fifteenth Street and Fifth Avenue, there were 
 about six hundred members, and everybody knew everybody 
 else. It has now grown so large that many members are 
 unacquainted with each other. In old times it was a sort of 
 family affair. Uncle Tom prescribed the menu, and it was 
 considered good form. He had a great display of inventions, 
 among them some that would have plagued the author of 
 the "Physiology of Taste." Uncle Tom has discovered a 
 great many things that Savarin did not live long enough to 
 find out. His cunning has developed a lot of delightful 
 things to eat that Savarin did not know existed; for instance, 
 Milford clams, Lynn Haven Bay oysters, oyster-crabs, 
 diamond-back terrapin, canvasback ducks, and pompano. 
 Uncle Tom does not go into the kitchen now. He used to, 
 and it is said of him that he could make a Hollandaise sauce 
 light enough to rival a feather. The magical things that 
 
 xxxviii 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Uncle Tom can make out of every-day cheese, a little heat, 
 and a chafing-dish remain as pleasant memories in otherwise 
 very foggy nights. Uncle Tom is no timid suggester of how 
 things should be done, but a forcible and direct person, who, 
 knowing what he wants, applies himself at once to the situ- 
 ation; and when he is devising a "rabbit" at about half-past 
 twelve o'clock at night, nothing is allowed to occur in that 
 room except the ordinary breathing of the onlookers. 
 
 Uncle Tom's distinction would not be justified if his great 
 abilities had been alone displayed in the kitchen or at the 
 chafing-dish. He never reaches his full splendor until things 
 are served, and then woe betide the captain of the watch if 
 his spoon is not set at an exact and peculiar angle, all his 
 own, to his fork and his knife and his various other parapher- 
 nalia for enjoying the things he has ordered to eat ! It has 
 been said that his salad-dressing is a symposium. When 
 Uncle Tom mixes salad-dressing it is a thing of great de- 
 light, a large physical effort, accompanied by a merry noise 
 of spoons and forks, wooden and metal. The equipment of 
 knowledge that is required to arrive at the distinction Uncle 
 Tom has attained may be imagined from the fact that on 
 several occasions during his career of fifteen or more years 
 in the Club he has made violent protestations to the House 
 Committee on the quality of the table salt furnished. Ordi- 
 nary mortals may complain about the over-ripeness of their 
 oil or of the too keen acidity of their vinegar, but when it 
 gets to salt it requires the fine critical judgment that only 
 Uncle Thomas Jefferson Miller possesses.* 
 
 IV 
 
 The initiation fee is now $250, and the dues $75 a year. Any 
 member may become a life member on payment of $1000 in 
 addition to the initiation fee of $250. 
 
 1 His tragic end is told elsewhere in this history. 
 
 xxxix 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Among the well-known members of the Club are: Henry 
 E. Abbey, the musical impresario; Governor Werts, Collin 
 Armstrong, John H. V. Arnold, ex-president of the Board 
 of Aldermen and president of the Democratic Club ; Samuel 
 D. Babcock, Congressman Franklin Bartlett, ex-Surveyor 
 Hans S. Beattie, Henry R. Beekman, William K. Vanderbilt, 
 M. C. Bouvier, John M. Bowers, ex-Sheriff Peter Bowe, 
 Martin B. Brown, Colonel John C. Calhoun, grandson of the 
 Great NuUifier; Charles J. Canda, ex-assistant treasurer; 
 Henry W. Cannon, ex-comptroller of the currency, president 
 of the Chase National Bank, and commissioner at the 
 Monetary Conference recently held in Brussels, and a Re- 
 publican; President Grover Cleveland, Congressman W. 
 Bourke Cockran, Austin Corbin, James J. Coogan, who ran 
 for mayor on the Labor ticket; Macgrane Coxe, ex-assistant 
 district attorney ; Chamberlain Thomas C. T. Crain, John D. 
 Crimmins, Thomas E. Crimmins, Richard Croker, James R. 
 Cuming, Augustin Daly, George Lord Day, Charles W. 
 Dayton, Alfred de Cordova, Judge P. Henry Dugro, Harvey 
 Durand, General Ferdinand P. Earle, a great friend of 
 Senator Hill; Timothy C. Eastman, ex-Mayor Franklin Ed- 
 son, Frank A. Ehret, the brewer; Amos Eno, Charles S. 
 Fairchild, ex-secretary of the treasury; Assembl5mian Per- 
 cival Farquhar, Congressman John R. Fellows, Surrogate 
 Frank T. Fitzgerald, Governor Flower, George F. Foster, 
 Hugh R. Garden, president of the Southern Society; ex- 
 Senator John Fox, Sheriff John J. Gorman, ex-Mayor Wil- 
 liam R. Grace, ex-Mayor Hugh J. Grant, Theodore Have- 
 meyer, Joseph C. Hendrix, ex-postmaster of Brooklyn and 
 now a congressman; Henry Hentz, ex-president of the 
 Cotton Exchange; Joseph Hoadley, ex-governor of Ohio; 
 Excise Commissioner Leicester Holme, William B. Horn- 
 blower, Henry L. Horton, John H. Newman, ex- Senator 
 Eugene S. Ives, Charles A. Jackson, formerly of the County 
 Democracy and now of Tammany ; Edward Kearney, John D. 
 
 xl 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Kernan, of Utica; John King, president of the Erie; Daniel 
 S. Lamont, secretary of war; Henry Marquand, Police Com- 
 missioner James J. Martin, Judge Randolph B. Martine, F. 
 O. Matthiessen, John A. McCall, president of the New York 
 Life Insurance Company; George B. McClellan, son of 
 General McClellan and president of the Board of Aldermen; 
 Delos McCurdy, St. Clair McKelway, editor of the "Brook- 
 lyn Eagle" ; Cord Meyer, Jr., Gouverneur W. Morris, Jordan 
 L. Mott, Jr., Comptroller Theodore W. Myers, ex-Sheriff 
 James O'Brien, Joseph J. O'Donohue, Herman Oelrichs, 
 Oswald Ottendorfer, J. H. Parker, president of the United 
 States Bank; Oliver H. Payne, brother-in-law of William C. 
 Whitney; Wheeler H. Peckham, Francis K. Pendleton, son 
 of "Gentleman George," who was minister to Germany 
 and candidate for Vice-President on the McClellan ticket; 
 Lloyd Phoenix, Frank Riggs, Jacob Ruppert, William Mc- 
 Murtrie Speer, Edmund C. Stanton, William Steinway, 
 Isidor Straus, Nathan Straus, General Sam Thomas, treas- 
 urer of the Republican State Committee; Lawrence Turnure, 
 Hamilton McK. Twombly, son-in-law of William H. Van- 
 derbilt; Jenkins Van Schaick, Police Justice John H. Voor- 
 his, James E. Ward, the steamship man; W. Seward Webb, 
 of the New York Central Railroad; Police Justice Andrew J. 
 White, Orme Wilson, who married Miss Astor, and his 
 father, Richard T. Wilson, the banker; James T. Woodward, 
 president of the Hanover National Bank, and Isidor Worm- 
 ser, who has just been disciplined by the Stock Exchange for 
 punching a broker. 
 
 Among the non-resident members are Thurlow Weed 
 Barnes, grandson of the great Republican "boss" of the 
 State thirty years ago; Wilson S. Bissell, now postmaster- 
 general; George Bleistein, editor of the Buffalo "Courier"; 
 Benjamin T. Cable, of the National Democratic Committee; 
 Patrick Calhoun, son of the Nullifier; Caldwell H. Colt, 
 owner of the "Dauntless"; John R. Drexel, of the famous 
 
 xli 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Drexel family of Philadelphia; N. K. Fairbanks, the packer 
 of Chicago; J. B. Haggin, William A. Hammond, once sur- 
 geon-general of the army; George Hearst, of California; 
 Benjamin Lefevre, of the National Democratic Committee 
 of 1888; Thomas Lowry, the millionaire railroad manager 
 of Minneapolis; Senator Edward Murphy, Jr., of Troy; Ed- 
 ward J. Phelps, ex-minister to the Court of St. James ; Colo- 
 nel William G. Rice, formerly private secretary to Governor 
 Hill; Bradley B. Smalley, National Democratic committee- 
 man from Vermont; Congressman Tracey, of Albany; John 
 H. Van Antwerp, of Albany; Henry Watterson, father of 
 the star-eyed goddess of reform of the Blue-grass State, and 
 Smith M. Weed, of Plattsburg. 
 
 The advantages of the Manhattan Club are many. The 
 best whiskey is sold there at ten cents a glass. It is the best 
 in the market, and even at ten cents a glass there is a profit 
 to the Club. Cigars are sold at ten per cent, over cost. The 
 best whiskey is sold at other places at twenty-five cents a 
 glass, and the profit on cigars in some of the swell hotels and 
 cafes up-town is sometimes nearly thirty per cent. You can 
 get the finest dinner in the land at the Manhattan at prices 
 which are twenty-five per cent, below those charged by Del- 
 monico. More famous drinks have been invented at the 
 Manhattan than at any other place in the country.* 
 
 1 None ever invented was so popular as the "Sam Ward." This was a crea- 
 tion of the famous Uncle Sam Ward, and is made of yellow chartreuse, cracked 
 ice, and lemon-peel. The celebrated Manhattan cocktail was inaugurated at 
 the Club. This consists of equal portions of vermouth and whiskey, with a 
 dash of orange bitters. Some of the later drinks are: 
 
 Frappe New Orleans a la Graham, which consists of mint, sugar, and whis- 
 key. 
 
 Royal cup, which consists of a pint of champagne, a quart of Bordeaux, plain 
 soda, one pony of brandy, one pony of maraschino, lemon juice, sugar, mint, 
 fruits in season, and a cucumber. 
 
 Manhattan cocktail a la Gilbert, consisting of Amerpicon bitters, French 
 vermouth, and whiskey. 
 
 The Manhattan cooler a la McGregor, made of lemon juice, sugar, Scotch 
 whiskey, and plain soda. 
 
 The Columbus cocktail, composed of orange bitters, acid phosphate, calisaya, 
 whiskey, and a dash of curagoa. 
 
 The Brut cocktail, made of orange bitters, acid phosphate, maraschino, and 
 vermouth. 
 
 xlii 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Mr. Riggs omits from his lifelike and charming sketch the 
 feeling of hostility which from the first asserted itself against 
 the Stewart mansion. It was variously called the "Marble 
 Mausoleum" and the "Whited Sepulchre." Many long- 
 time members of the Club were conspicuous rather by their 
 absence than their presence. It was, they said, "too fine for 
 comfort." The expense it entailed was out of all proportion 
 to any advantage it could possibly serve, and it was both a 
 personal and financial relief when, through the efforts of 
 Mr. William S. Rodie and Mr. Sylvester J. O'Sullivan, the 
 lease was cancelled and the removal secured to the present 
 commodious and homelike club-house, purchased from the 
 Jerome estate and newly refitted, at the intersection of 
 Twenty-sixth Street with Madison Avenue, overlooking the 
 pleasant shades and greenswards of the far-famed historic 
 Madison Square. 
 
 The Riding Club cocktail, consisting of calisaya, lemon juice, and Angostura 
 bitters. 
 
 The Racquet cocktail, consisting of gin, vermouth, orange bitters, and creme 
 de cacao. 
 
 The Star cocktail, made of applejack, vermouth, yellow chartreuse, and 
 cherry-bounce. 
 
 Queen Anne cocktail, made of brandy, vermouth, orange bitters, and maras- 
 chino. 
 
 The Plimpton cocktail, which consists of Jamaica rum, vermouth, and An- 
 gostura bitters. 
 
 The Smithtown cocktail, made of orange bitters, lemon juice, whiskey, and 
 vermouth. 
 
 Indeed, the Club has drinks for every day in the year, Sundays included; for 
 all seasons, and national, State, and city festivals. 
 
3fn Jttemotp 
 
 OF THE 
 LOVED AND HONORED 
 MEMBERS 
 OF 
 
 THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 WHO HAVE 
 GONE BEFORE 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST 
 
 A Brief Discussion of the Origin of Clubs, with some detailed Refer- 
 ence to the Growth of "Political Clubs" in this Country— The State 
 of the Democratic Party in the Summer of 1865 — The actual Begin- 
 ning of the Manhattan Club — Patriotic Motives of the Founders. 
 
 ETWEEN the public dining-tables of what 
 we call the ancient world and the organized 
 clubs of modern society, many centuries in- 
 tervene. Coming down from the group 
 clubs o£ Athens and Sparta through the 
 ages, we traverse a wide but not a variegate 
 territory, passing the circuli, or confrater- 
 nities, where Cicero found such good company and conversa- 
 tion, and of which Plutarch has left us details that prove 
 their laws to have been similar to the club rules of to-day; 
 the old tavern and coffee-house clubs of England; the Jaco- 
 bin clubs of France and America; and, finally, the far-reach- 
 ing, all-pervading contemporary clubs, which, according to 
 Austin Leigh's Club Directory of 19 10, embrace three thou- 
 sand English-speaking clubs in all parts of the world, with 
 nineteen hundred and three in non-English-speaking coun- 
 tries. 
 
 "Man," Addison tells us, "is a social animal," naively add- 
 ing that when two or three of these "animals" find them- 
 
 3 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 selves in agreement, they form a club. He further proceeds 
 to say that since the points upon which most men agree are 
 food and drink, the founders of the clubs, so organized, look 
 carefully to choice viands and rare wines. Dr. Johnson de- 
 clares the club to be "an assembly of good fellows meeting 
 under certain conditions." Both were right. 
 
 The most careful study of club life goes to demonstrate 
 that the club dinner, whether evolved from the Attic feasts 
 sung by Archestratus, or the cooking-schools of epicurean 
 Rome and onward down to that of the Manhattan Club, de- 
 scribed by Mr. Julius J. Lyons (whose ice-cream, he declared, 
 was so superior to the ice-cream of Delmonico's, then just 
 over the way from the club-house, — to be told by Judge 
 Henry Wilder Allen that the Manhattan had bought that 
 very ice-cream from that very Delmonico's), the ingredients 
 and the chefs, have been the best the time and the town had 
 to offer. 
 
 The "certain conditions" of Dr. Johnson have varied, how- 
 ever, under different demands and expediencies, and it is due 
 to their broadening and amplification that such numbers of 
 clubs, representing every avenue of modern development 
 along lines of politics, letters, art, business, recreation and 
 social life, are now in existence. 
 
 The earliest of all the clubs, the groups of Athens, had for 
 their "certain conditions" only Addison's requirement of 
 food and drink, their incentive the desire of some fifteen or 
 twenty congenial spirits to enjoy one another's society about 
 a common dining-table. Admission to each table was by 
 ballot, one black ball defeating. Elected, the newcomer was 
 required to observe the established rules on pain of expul- 
 sion. 
 
 The pioneer clubman of note seems to have been Themis- 
 tocles, his successor being Cimon, son of Mithridates, who 
 took the next step in club progress by organizing certain 
 of these casual groups of co-operative diners into a select and 
 
 4 
 
Woodrow Wilson 
 
^ 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 fashionable circle in the interest of sport. He was a famous 
 chariot-racer in the Olympic games of his day. Thucydides 
 got the club into politics by organizing other groups against 
 Pericles. The entrance thus inaugurated made for party 
 politics. From that day to this, political clubs have had a 
 free rein. They became, even in those times, controlling in- 
 fluences on elections, served as special agents in the market- 
 places, and were employed by Alcibiades to further his wily 
 ends. 
 
 Some of these group clubs became famous for wit, some 
 for intellect, many played their part in politics, but all, if we 
 credit Epicurus, enjoyed good cooking, since we find him 
 accusing Aristotle of having wasted his heritage at co-oper- 
 ative banquets, and of having developed at these feasts an 
 undue weakness for luxurious living. 
 
 As mirrors of their several ages, clubs have been recog- ' 
 nized as reflecting, for posterity, that which is elegant, 
 gracious and charming in masculine life, and as a conse- 
 quence we are not surprised to find the most primitive in 
 Athens called "training-schools" for young men in all that 
 gave Attic life its distinction. 
 
 From Greece, as we have seen, the club travelled to Rome. 
 But that which most interests and concerns us is the story of 
 its career in "Olde Englande," where it made its first appear- 
 ance as "The Court of Good Company," founded by Thomas 
 Hoccleve, about 1399, and meeting at a tavern close to the 
 Inner Temple. 
 
 The "certain conditions" seem still to be "good company 
 about a common board," but with an innovation. Hoccleve 
 modified the club traditions by the introduction of a patron, 
 Sir Henry Somer, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was ex- 
 pected to add to club pleasures by free use of his well-filled 
 purse. That he disappointed the club members is shown by 
 the club description of him as "a skinflint," a man "virtuous 
 and mean," who declined to promote his own and his fellow 
 
 5 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 club members' enjoyment through any loosening of his purse 
 strings. 
 
 One hundred and fifty years after Hoccleve, Sir Walter 
 Raleigh immortalized the "Mermaid Tavern" of London, 
 when, with Francis Bacon and Ben Jonson, he founded there 
 his club of that name. 
 
 The club thenceforward began to demonstrate its power 
 and its usefulness, its history revealing that within its con- 
 fines and from its discussions have originated some of the 
 most important enterprises in history. At the "Mermaid" 
 many books now classic were discussed in their making. 
 There it was that Raleigh gave impulse to "Americana" by 
 suggesting to Hakluyt the idea of editing Peter Martyr's 
 "Discovery of the New World," in which he himself was so 
 interested. Imperial free trade was also first threshed out 
 by Raleigh at the "Mermaid," he supplying data for the dis- 
 cussion from observations in Holland and Venice. Raleigh 
 was thus the earliest of British empire-builders, setting in 
 motion ideas which have lost little, if any, of their vitality. 
 
 In 1 619 Ben Jonson led the survivors of the Mermaid Club 
 to the more fashionable tavern of one Wadlowe, between the 
 Inner Temple and Fleet Street and the Strand, known as the 
 "Sign of the Devil." Down to this time the club had met at 
 some convenient tavern, or public dining-table. Ben Jonson, 
 in founding his new "Club of the Apollo," made one of the 
 most important innovations in club history. He hired a per- 
 manent room for its meetings, arranging its furniture ac- 
 cording to the taste of the club, and not that of the tapster. 
 The club thus acquired its own dwelling, and the casual de- 
 parted from its history : an incalculable benefit, since it thus 
 gave its members a species of home, offering not only physi- 
 cal comforts at small cost because of co-operation, but social 
 and intellectual possibilities, the charm of possession beget- 
 ting in its members a proprietary interest in their own or- 
 ganization. 
 
 6 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 To the Apollo Club is due the inauguration of club dinners 
 or "house nights," as well as that of "ladies' night," when 
 members of the opposite sex were invited for social and 
 musical entertainment. So fashionable did this club of 
 "rare Ben Jonson" become that it has been described as a 
 "monument, a reflection and an epitome of the virtues, vices, 
 the social foibles and tendencies which mark its time," a 
 description almost identical in suggestion with one given by 
 Mr. A. J. Dufour of the Manhattan. 
 
 The Manhattan Club has had within its fold men promi- 
 nent in every calling of life : lawyers, physicians, statesmen, 
 politicians, jurists, etc. It also numbers in the ranks of 
 its children many who, by their mode of living, their per- 
 sonal charm, and their innate knowledge of the good things 
 of this life and the method of properly assimilating them, 
 have made for themselves reputations which will go down in 
 the annals of the Club as worthy of a greater decoration than 
 the famous "Cordon Bleu," causing much rejoicing among 
 the "bon-vivants," and establishing the precedence of matter 
 over mind. From any point of view, there must be in a club 
 a certain set of unbound, unleashed spirits acting in a sense 
 as a foil to the maturer minds of the more experienced 
 and conservative. To maintain the balance of a club, of a 
 social and political compound, this would seem indispensable. 
 As it were, it gives a certain "prestige." A glance at the 
 Club's roster, especially within the last twenty-five years, 
 will demonstrate beyond the shadow of a doubt that it 
 claims among its members some of the joUiest "viveurs" and 
 most delightful epicureans that any city can boast: men of 
 wide-travelling experience, visitors to many lands, absorbers 
 of their customs and manners, who, receivers of their best 
 and broadest thoughts, brought back with them to the "Old 
 Manhattan" the most fruitful results of their knowledge. 
 Their names are legion, and a great many of them are still 
 enjoying the pleasures and comforts of this world. They 
 
 7 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 are well known, and the Manhattan will never forget its 
 debt to them. 
 
 But before proceeding with the Manhattan, let us com- 
 plete the narrative of some of its more famous English pro- 
 genitors. 
 
 At the Apollo politics again entered into club life, one hun- 
 dred and fifty Whig loyalists in 1690 mustering at its quar- 
 ters in support of William III before the Irish expedition 
 and the battle of the Boyne. 
 
 Of the Commonwealth period, the Rota, with its fluent 
 but imprudent talkers, stands out pre-eminent. Coffee was 
 its drink, Irish politics its conversation, and of its famous 
 members Lord William Russell and Algernon Sidney lost 
 their heads for complicity in the Rye House Plot. The 
 founder of the Rota was Sir James Harrington. The club 
 met at the "Turk's Head," a tavern of New Palace Yard, 
 and was exclusively political, dying eleven weeks before 
 Charles II landed at Dover. 
 
 Of the many clubs of the Restoration period, the "Club of 
 the Kings," the "Shaftesbury" and the "Civil" are most 
 typical. The latter, founded in 1669, marks the next sig- 
 nificant departure in the scope of club life. 
 
 The Civil Club, we learn, became a socio-commercial 
 power, precursor, we may conclude, of the business club of 
 to-day. It boasted also its own chaplain, and its chef first 
 introduced into the club menu roast game and poultry, his 
 bills of fare being those of the earliest club dinners of the 
 present type. In this resume we must not forget the "pro- 
 prietary" clubs. Such was "White's," founded by an Italian 
 named Bianco, and run after his death by his widow, Eliza- 
 beth, assisted by a Schweitzer named John James Heidegger, 
 who made himself the fashion as the "Swiss Count." To him 
 is claimed to be due the rise of opera in England, since with 
 Mrs. White he established a bureau where tickets for the 
 theatres, operas and masked balls, so frowned upon by the 
 
 8 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 clergy, could be obtained. "White's" has been adjudged the 
 precursor and model of all modern clubs, for it gave rise to 
 a famous series of organizations, of which the "Kit-Kat," the 
 "Rag," "Watier's," "Brooks's," "Crockford's," and "Al- 
 mack's" are famous examples. 
 
 "To 'White's,' " says T. H. S. Escott, in his "Club Making 
 and Club Members," "the club system of to-day owes the 
 giving of admission to a club as not only a conventional 
 honor but a social credential of definite significance and 
 practical value." 
 
 This was accomplished first by the forbidding of the use 
 of tobacco in any form but snuff, the method of whose taking 
 was refined at "White's" to an art, at a time when smoking 
 was permitted everywhere else ; by a severe — and somewhat 
 unjust, perhaps — discipline of the ballot; by an air of fash- 
 ionable exclusiveness never relaxed; by the cultivation of 
 prejudice against radical changes ; and by the practice of al- 
 lotting private rooms to favored habitues. 
 
 At "White's" also could be found not only the London 
 papers, but foreign ones as well; while games of cards, then 
 still more or less of a novelty, were permitted, Horace Wal- 
 pole confiding how he sometimes sat up there all night 
 playing faro. 
 
 After "White's" club life became modern, amplifying and 
 developing the possibilities of those "certain conditions" 
 until there were jockey clubs in Paris as in London, and 
 army and navy, the writers, the artists, the professions gen- 
 erally, business, leisure, fashion, sport, religion, the rich, the 
 poor, the politician, the actor, all had clubs of their own. 
 Woman began to organize her clubs likewise. Golf has 
 called into existence thousands all over the world. So popu- 
 lar, indeed, were the luncheon clubs of the Great Metropolis 
 that in 1896 there were twenty-eight thousand club men and 
 women in New York City alone. 
 
 Recurring to America, the two earliest clubs, "The Fish 
 
 9 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 House Club" of Philadelphia and the "Hoboken Turtle 
 Club" of New York, founded respectively in 1717 and 1797, 
 were established upon the Addisonian basis of good fare and 
 pleasant company. 
 
 There were, however, soon after these were started, those 
 early organizations known as "Sons of Liberty" and "Sons 
 of St. Tammany," whose province was political, their aim 
 being to arouse anti-British feeling and to disseminate know- 
 ledge concerning the principles of true political liberty. One 
 William Mooney, an upholsterer of 23 Nassau Street, New 
 York, an ardent patriot, conceived and carried out the idea 
 of organizing these "Sons of Liberty" and "Sons of St. Tam- 
 many," the latter called after an Indian chief in derision of 
 England's St. George, into a society whose object was to be 
 the spreading throughout the States of institutions and men 
 bent on the preservation of a just balance of power, an object 
 declared to be both republican and patriotic. This club 
 chose for its name "The Society of St. Tammany," or the 
 "Columbian Order," and it quickly arranged magnificent 
 parades in which its members, bearing high-sounding Indian 
 titles, were dressed as native American chiefs and tricked out 
 in all their war paint and feathers. 
 
 Opposed as this club was to every trend of aristocracy, it 
 counted as its natural enemy the newly organized "Society 
 of the Cincinnati," whose members, including Washington, 
 were officers that had survived the Revolution. The chief 
 feature of this club, condemned by Thomas Jefferson as lead- 
 ing Democracy towards Aristocracy both in theory and 
 practice, was its exclusiveness. It even planned to have its 
 membership and insignia pass down by primogeniture in- 
 heritance. 
 
 Aaron Burr became the idol of Tammany, Alexander 
 Hamilton of the Cincinnati, the former actually striving to 
 bring Burr into favor again after his fall. 
 
 More troublesome to the government were the Jacobin 
 
 10 
 
Samuel J. Vilden 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 clubs, thorn in the flesh of Washington's administration, 
 and directly opposed to his policy of non-interference in 
 European politics. Their avowed object was the creating of 
 sympathy with Republican France, then in the early stages 
 of her Revolution, and they spread with alarming rapidity. 
 While Tammany only succeeded in starting affiliated clubs 
 at Philadelphia, Lexington (Kentucky), Brooklyn and Provi- 
 dence, Jacobin clubs sprang to life everywhere, — one, the 
 "Society of Charleston, S. C," on its own application, being 
 accepted by the Jacobin Club of Paris as a branch. A record 
 of their queer propaganda, their processions and parades, 
 their toasts of "Long live France and Robespierre !" and all 
 their paraphernalia of Liberty, has been described for pos- 
 terity by a writer calling himself "Peter Porcupine." 
 
 Though they came to an end as Jacobin clubs, public sym- 
 pathy dying away as France proceeded to her excesses, one, 
 "The Democratic Society" of Philadelphia, at that time the 
 seat of government, modelled upon the Jacobin Club of 
 Paris, lives on in American politics as the Democratic Party, 
 which, having Thomas Jefferson for its father, continues to 
 promulgate and jealously to guard his doctrines. 
 
 In 1805 the "Society of St. Tammany" divided itself into 
 two sections, the new division, under the guise of being or- 
 ganized to aid widows and orphans and others in need, tak- 
 ing the name of Tammany Hall. It became quickly a 
 political rallying-ground, its early idol, Aaron Burr, being 
 succeeded in the course of years by many leaders. Originally 
 its aims were the spreading of Democracy by speeches, pam- 
 phlets and all social means in its power, its methods being 
 evolved in the "Long Room" at Nassau and Spruce Streets, 
 where the members gathered to "smoke and swap stories." 
 Among its real services to the country were the securing of 
 manhood suffrage and the abolition of laws imprisoning 
 debtors. 
 
 The first club of New York founded on the lines of the 
 
 II 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 London social clubs was the "Union," organized in 1836, and 
 followed, after ten years, by the "Century." 
 
 The year i860 found Tammany Hall pro-Slavery, with its 
 political rival, Mozart Hall, out and out for the Union. The 
 Northern Democrats, however, stood, in the final issue, by 
 the Federal Government, and in 1864 nominated McClellan 
 for the Presidency, against Lincoln. 
 
 With the re-election of Lincoln, the Democratic Party 
 expected to endure the oblivion of defeat, when, by the as- 
 sassination of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson came to the Presi- 
 dential chair, and its hopes revived, since Johnson, though a 
 Southerner who had remained loyal when his State of Ten- 
 nessee had seceded, was fundamentally imbued with Jeffer- 
 sonian principles. 
 
 The whole country, in 1865, was in a state of confusion. 
 The main issue, however, was the policy to be adopted 
 towards the conquered South. The Democratic Party 
 sought the restoration, not the subjugation, of the South. 
 There were many questions relating to "the States lately in 
 rebellion," the status of the negro, the reduction of the army 
 and navy, the Freedman's Bureau, and other political in- 
 strumentalities designed more or less to fix Republican su- 
 premacy. The dominant majority, radicalized by the assas- 
 sination of Lincoln, stood for "Reconstruction" at whatever 
 cost. Such was the situation in 1865. Democracy, seeing its 
 opportunity, began plans of revitalization. The Republicans 
 had founded a club, the Union League, which by social, in- 
 tellectual, and political prestige was to advance that party's 
 interests. It had rendered invaluable service in the campaign 
 of 1864, when General George B. McClellan was defeated by 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 Tammany Hall, at the time, was practically the only 
 Democratic club in New York. Its scope was not identical 
 with that which, in the opinion of Mr. Douglas Taylor, was 
 plainly required for the work to be done. Mr. Taylor, ac- 
 
 12 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 cordingly, at a meeting of the "McClellan Executive Com- 
 mittee," of which he was secretary, held at Delmonico's in 
 the winter of 1864-5, proposed the formation of a more 
 authoritative Democratic body. His idea was received with 
 enthusiasm, and during the early weeks of the following 
 spring certain gentlemen of Democratic principles met at 
 Mr. Taylor's office, at the office of Mr. Augustus Schell, at 
 the home of Mr. Manton Marble, and at Delmonico's to form 
 plans for the founding of a Democratic club whose object 
 was to be "the advancing of Democratic principles, the pro- 
 motion of social intercourse among its members, and the 
 providing them with the conveniences of a club-house." The 
 summer vacations interfering, nothing was finally done until 
 the fall, when the "Manhattan Club" was chosen for its 
 name and certain gentlemen referred to in the records as 
 "representative Democrats who might fitly be associated 
 together as to its nucleus and managing committee," were 
 appointed. 
 
 This committee, holding meetings with Mr. Augustus 
 Schell in the chair, instructed Mr. G. W. McLean and Mr. 
 Douglas Taylor "to prepare lists of the names of Democrats 
 who might properly be invited to become members of the 
 Club." At the same meeting Mr. Manton Marble was in- 
 structed to draw up a constitution, which was amended and 
 accepted. 
 
 The organization thus arranged was effected September 
 25, 1865, at up-town Delmonico's, then at the corner of Fifth 
 Avenue and Fourteenth Street. The officers elected were : 
 
 President : John Van Buren. 
 Vice-President: Augustus Schell. 
 Treasurer : Wilson G. Hunt. 
 Secretary : Manton Marble. 
 
 Later along, November 17, Mr. Hiram Cranston was 
 added to the House Committee, and General John A. Dix 
 
 13 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 having declined membership, Dean Richmond of Buffalo 
 was elected to his place on the Managing Committee. Such 
 was the official beginning of the Manhattan Club. Behind 
 this lies the story of how Mr. Taylor, active in the Young 
 Men's Democratic Union Club of 1857, with its "Grand 
 Presidential Ball" in honor of the election of Buchanan and 
 Breckenridge, and its annual balls at the City Assembly 
 Rooms, and treasurer of the Young Democracy of New 
 York of 1858, believing, after the war, that a Democratic 
 club, other than Tammany Hall, the sole survivor, was nec- 
 essary, went about its accomplishment. 
 
 "The Manhattan Club really had its start in 1864," he 
 stated in the New York "Sun" of October 23, 1910, "when 
 George B. McClellan was running for President. He was 
 in the *World' office nearly every day, and I used to talk to 
 him. He went at first to see Manton Marble, and took as lit- 
 tle interest in the campaign as anybody you ever saw. One 
 day I said, *General, let's get up a club,' and he said he 
 thought I could launch a club without any trouble, — a club 
 for gentlemen, — and the more and more we talked about it 
 the better it seemed. 
 
 "We had the first meeting in my office, in Chambers Street 
 — I was Commissioner of Jurors then. Then we went in 
 search of a place, and Marble had two or three meetings at 
 his office. At the first meeting of all Charles P. Daly came. 
 The Club was practically organized in April, 1865. 
 
 "John Kelly never would join this Club. We got in John 
 Van Buren, James T. Brady, Henry Hilton, and John R. 
 Brady, and the better class of judges — Judges Bosworth, 
 Sanford E. Church, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, 
 William F. Allen, D. P. Ingraham, Monell, William E. Cur- 
 tis, Daly, Comstock, Charles F. MacLean, O'Gorman, 
 Rapallo, Abraham R. Lawrence, Samuel Jones, and so forth. 
 We also had Horatio Seymour, Samuel J. Tilden, Commo- 
 dore Vanderbilt, Dean Richmond, Samuel L. M. Barlow, 
 
 14 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 John McKeon, General John A. Dix, George Law, Thomas 
 F. Bayard, John T. Hoffman, Samuel S. Cox, Charles 
 O'Conor, William Butler Duncan, Gulian C. Verplanck, 
 August Belmont, Augustus Schell, Sidney Webster, George 
 H. Pendleton, William C. Prime, Francis Kernan, and Com- 
 modore Garrison. There were giants in those days. 
 
 "In 1866 we elected Andrew Johnson. We expected that 
 if he would come to a Democratic meeting we would make a 
 Democrat of him. I think he was about four-fifths one at that 
 time. Only two black balls were necessary out of twenty- 
 five to reject, because, as Manton Marble used to say, it was 
 necessary to keep it a high-toned club, and he exerted his 
 great influence to have only gentlemen admitted." 
 
 Fortunately, Mr. Taylor, whose death occurred three 
 years ago, preserved a copy of the original notice sent out to 
 possible members. It reads : 
 
 New York, April 18, 1865. 
 Dear Sir : — 
 
 You are earnestly 
 requested to meet a few 
 friends at the office 
 of the Commissioner of 
 Jurors (No. 3 Chambers St.) 
 on Thursday afternoon 
 the 2oth next at 4 o'clock 
 to confer in reference 
 to our proposed 
 Democratic City 
 Club. 
 
 Yours respectfully 
 
 Douglas Taylor. 
 Joel Wolfe. 
 George W. McLean. 
 Edward L. Corliss. 
 M. B. Spaulding. 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Besides the committee, Democrats who responded were 
 Messrs. W. D. French, C. P. Daly, Daniel E. Delavan, Mayor 
 C. Godfrey Gunther, John T. Hoffman, George W. McLean, 
 Edward L. Corliss, Joseph W. Corliss, James T. Brady, 
 Nathaniel Jarvis, Udolpho Wolfe, M. B. Spaulding. 
 
 Among Mr. Douglas Taylor's papers, kindly placed at the 
 disposition of the compiler of this history by his daughter, 
 Miss Clara Taylor, of New York, are the signatures of all the 
 original members. In addition to these facts given by Mr. 
 Taylor himself, Mr. Henry M. Steven, in an article on the 
 Club in the "House and Country" magazine of some fifteen 
 or more years ago, has added the information that following 
 Mr. Taylor's proposal to found a Democratic club, events 
 were delayed by Democratic defeats, but that when Mr. 
 Gulian C. Verplanck, one of the founders of the Century 
 Club, was defeated for its presidency merely because of his 
 Democracy, active steps were at once taken, with the Man- 
 hattan Club as the result. 
 
G rover Cleveland 
 
.CHAPTER THE SECOND 
 
 The First Club-house— Early Presidents of the Club— 
 "Prince John" Van Buren 
 
 HE three leading clubs in New York City, 
 when the Manhattan Club began to be con- 
 sidered and discussed, were the "Union," 
 then on Bond Street, dating back to 1836; 
 the "Century," then on Broome Street, 
 founded in 1846, "for the cultivation of let- 
 ters as well as social life, and to entertain 
 and introduce strangers" ; and the "Union League," organ- 
 ized in 1863 by New York Republicans, with its club-house 
 on Madison Square. 
 
 The Manhattan aimed from its inception to take rank with 
 these, and for forty years the four continued to be the most 
 important organizations in the club life of New York. 
 
 It was on October 12, 1865, that the first businesslike 
 steps were taken towards securing a suitable club-house, 
 Mr. George T. Curtis, Judge Henry Hilton, and Mr. William 
 F. Allen on that date being appointed a committee "to in- 
 quire and report in what mode this Club can be organized as 
 a voluntary association until it can be organized as a cor- 
 poration, and to present a plan for that purpose." 
 
 Ten days later, this committee, through Mr. Curtis, re- 
 
 17 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 ported that, in its opinion, the new Club could not conve- 
 niently be organized under the law of the last legislature for 
 incorporating similar institutions, as the law then stood, and 
 it therefore recommended that, in addition to the organiza- 
 tion already provided for by the Constitution, three trustees 
 should be chosen to hold the titles of all real or personal 
 property which might be acquired by the Club, these trus- 
 tees, described as joint tenants, to give a declaration of trust 
 to the Governing Committee that they held the property in 
 trust for the use and occupation of the members of the Man- 
 hattan Club, or of those v/ho might become members, in 
 pursuance of its Constitution and By-Laws. 
 
 This Declaration of Trust was to be recorded in the min- 
 utes of the Governing Committee, the original copy to be 
 held by the Secretary. Should a trustee resign or die, his 
 remaining colleagues were to appoint his successor, a new 
 conveyance to the Board of Trustees, as it then stood, being 
 made by the surveyors and a new Declaration of Trust being 
 given. All club property of a personal nature, except pro- 
 visions and food stores, was to be held in this manner like- 
 wise, the trustees to convey all property thus held to any 
 corporation into which the Club later might be organized. 
 
 This report being satisfactory. Judge Hilton was commis- 
 sioned to conclude the purchase of the Benkard house, upon 
 the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifteenth Street, at 
 a price not exceeding $110,000, Mr. Curtis at the same time 
 being empowered to draw up a Declaration of Trust along 
 the lines of the report of his committee. 
 
 Judge Hilton, John Van Buren, and William Butler Dun- 
 can were named as the three trustees, and Augustus Schell, 
 treasurer pro tern., was instructed to send out notice to such 
 Democrats as had accepted membership, announcing the tak- 
 ing of a club-house and requesting their checks for $200 to 
 cover the initiation fee of $150 and the annual dues of $50. 
 
 The first member to subscribe towards the purchase of 
 
 18 
 
/ 
 
 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 this club-house was Mr. August Belmont, who offered the 
 sum of $10,000. Almost $55,000 was at once pledged as a 
 consequence of Mr. Belmont's confidence in the future of 
 the Club. 
 
 At the same time, the House Committee was named and 
 asked to prepare a set of By-Laws for the use of the Club, 
 which, presented and amended, on January 5 were, with the 
 House Rules and Regulations, adopted. 
 
 The Rules of Order, adopted on December 11, were pre- 
 sented by Mr. Manton Marble, acting as secretary pro tern. 
 Later, Mr. Marble, remembered as the one-time owner and 
 editor of the New York "World," who made his home for 
 many years at the old University Club, became president of 
 the Manhattan Club, succeeding Judge Aaron J. Vanderpoel 
 and serving from 1886 to 1888. Previous to that he acted as 
 first secretary of the Club (1865-1876). Unfortunately, he 
 was never what was termed "a regular" at the Club, but ap- 
 peared only when some special occasion required. In the 
 old days at "No. 96," as the new club-house came to be 
 called, Mr. Marble, with William Henry Hurlbert, also of 
 the "World," William C. Prime, Ben Wood, and James 
 Brooks, represented the Press. 
 
 It was a current joke that the political trio, August Bel- 
 mont, S. L. M. Barlow, and Samuel J. Tilden, with Manton 
 Marble, edited the "World." 
 
 At the meeting of October 12 an appropriation had been 
 made for the purchase of furnishings and other necessities, 
 and so well did Judge Hilton and the House Committee do 
 their work that, on November 7, the Managing Committee 
 was able to hold its meeting in the dining-room of the new 
 club-house. There were present Messrs. John Van Buren, 
 William Butler Duncan, Augustus Schell, Manton Marble, 
 Edward L. Corliss, Andrew H. Green, John T. Hoffman, 
 George W. McLean, William F. Allen, Douglas Taylor, S. 
 L. M. Barlow, with Mr. Hiram Cranston by invitation. 
 
 19 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 The Benkard house, from 1865 to 1890 the home of the 
 Manhattan Club, is remembered by old New-Yorkers as 
 a very handsome building with a fifty-foot frontage on Fifth 
 Avenue and a large garden to the rear on Fifteenth Street. 
 When arranged for club use, the first floor boasted a fine, 
 spacious reading-room with windows commanding both the 
 avenue and the street, a smaller apartment serving as a re- 
 ception-room. In later years an innovation was made by 
 enlarging the balcony to the rear on this floor, and summer 
 visitors to New York in the late eighties can well remember 
 Club members enjoying refreshments at the twenty or more 
 tables of this delightful open-air dining-room. 
 
 Mr. Julius J. Lyons, in recalling the early years of the 
 Club, tells us that there was then more sociability among the 
 members than there is to-day; and if this be true, as it must 
 be admitted to be, it implies that the early members were 
 mainly personal friends, and that New York was very much 
 smaller then than now. 
 
 The officers, once the Manhattan had its home, were au- 
 thorized to procure a special act of incorporation for the 
 Club, or such an amendment of the general act as would 
 permit the same to be done. This, however, was not brought 
 about until February, 1877. 
 
 The Manhattan, which had been organized in support of 
 the new Chief Magistrate of the Nation, on March 12, 1866, 
 elected Andrev/ Johnson an honorary member, and ap- 
 pointed a committee, consisting of Messrs. John Van Buren, 
 August Belmont, and Augustus Schell, to engage an artist 
 to paint the President's portrait, it being the "earnest desire 
 of the Club to adorn their walls with the representation of 
 the form and lineaments of a statesman and patriot whose 
 efforts to restore the peace and union of our distracted coun- 
 try and whose just and fearless rebukes of disunionists 
 command and secure their unanimous, cordial, and enthu- 
 siastic approbation." 
 
 20 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 The President replied in the following: 
 
 Executive Mansion, 
 Washington, D. C, 
 March 22, 1866. 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
 of the 1 2 th instant, informing me of my election as an Hon- 
 orary Member of the Manhattan Club of New York City, 
 and asking me to allow an artist of your selection to take a 
 full-length portrait of myself for your Club. 
 
 In communicating to you my acceptance of these compli- 
 ments, I desire to thank you sincerely for them and for the 
 friendly expressions of support and encouragement you ten- 
 der me in the discharge of my public duties. An honest and 
 clear conviction of duty, and consciousness of rectitude of 
 purpose, the unwavering support of the American people 
 and the blessing of an all-wise Providence, will, I believe, 
 enable me to meet any emergency. I feel that I have the 
 first two ; and it shall be the object of my every endeavor to 
 deserve the remaining requisites. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with great respect, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Andrew Johnson. 
 
 Jno. Van Buren, Esq., 
 
 Jno. T. Hoffman, Esq. 
 et al., 
 
 Managing Committee, 
 Manhattan Club. 
 
 In May the Club voted $2 5,000 for the improvement of its 
 club-house, and at the same meeting decided that no report- 
 ers were to be admitted to private dinners in any of its din- 
 ing-rooms. 
 
 Before the Club was a year old it suffered the loss of its 
 first president, John Van Buren, whose death occurred at 
 sea, on the steamer "Scotia," on his return trip from a short 
 tour in Europe. 
 
 21 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Samuel J. Tilden, whose name first appears in Club annals 
 as one of the Managing Committee at its meeting of Decem- 
 ber 5, 1865, August Belmont, and Manton Marble composed 
 a committee which drew up resolutions on the death of Mr. 
 Van Buren, Mr. William Butler Duncan being commissioned 
 to order a kit-kat portrait of the late Club president to be 
 done by the artist Lazarus for the Club walls. The club- 
 house was draped, for the first time, in crape until after the 
 funeral of its president, the entire Club attending his funeral 
 at Grace Church in a body. 
 
 A lawyer by profession, eminent both as advocate and 
 counsellor, John Van Buren was a born clubman. He was 
 idolized by the Democrats who founded the Manhattan. 
 Known as "Prince John," he charmed by his kindly and cor- 
 dial temper, his gracious manners and his social ways, not 
 less than by his scintillant intellect, his wide experience and 
 his unfailing humor. He was a popular orator of the first 
 order, unrivalled in drawing vast audiences and holding 
 them by the logic of his argument and the magnetism of his 
 personality. 
 
 Born of statesmanship environment, from his earliest 
 years the affairs of government interested him above all 
 things else, his elevation of character keeping him aloof 
 from self-interest in his political activities. He held it un- 
 professional to accept employment in any way connected 
 with party influence or relation. What he gave of his time 
 and talents to politics was a free-will offering. It was mat- 
 ter of comment that John Van Buren might have made a 
 fortune many times over, had his abilities been turned to his 
 own account, rather than to the service of his country. Liv- 
 ing, as he did, during the most trying years of American 
 history, he never lost belief in the people, never despaired of 
 the Republic, and, while ready to preserve the Union by con- 
 ciliation, was resolved to maintain it by force, if need be, 
 through all the trying period of the war holding fast to his 
 
 22 
 
John Van Buren 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 belief in the greatness and glory of a constitutional govern- 
 ment as conceived and founded by the fathers. 
 
 "Prince John" had for bosom friend the brilliant and pro- 
 found James T. Brady, dubbed "King James." The two 
 were voted the "Damon and Pythias" of the Manhattan, 
 "Prince John" being also known as the "Wamba" of Demo- 
 cratic politics. 
 
 He was "a splendid fellow in every way," Mr. Douglas 
 Taylor stated in the interview he gave the New York "Sun" 
 on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. "He died sud- 
 denly on his way home from England. I remember his giv- 
 ing me a little carte de visite of himself standing up ; the 
 portrait taken from it is in the Manhattan Club. He lived in 
 Fourth Avenue part of the time, somewhere near Twentieth 
 Street. He had a daughter living in England, but few knew 
 anything of his more private and domestic life." 
 
 On November 2, 1866, Mr. Augustus Schell, the Club's 
 vice-president, was elected to fill Mr. Van Buren's place, Mr. 
 Anthony L. Robertson succeeding Mr. Schell, Mr. Sidney 
 Webster taking Mr. Van Buren's place among the managers, 
 other officers remaining the same. As Mr. Dean Richmond 
 had also been removed by death from the Managing Com- 
 mittee, Horatio Seymour was appointed in his place. 
 
 Like John Van Buren, Dean Richmond was a pride of the 
 Democracy, which had made him an active governor of its 
 Club. He was a leader, known alike "for his clear and mas- 
 sive intellect and for his sound and noble heart." In the 
 social intercourse of the Club, the members counted him a 
 just, kindly, and genial comrade. He was a man of great 
 grasp of public affairs, of insight, generosity, and resolute 
 will, a loss in every way to the Club, which recognized him 
 not only as one of its founders, but as a wise and needful 
 guide to its steps in this first year of its life. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD 
 
 "No. 96" — Customs and Laws— Douglas Taylor — The Famous Trio 
 —"Cadaverous Ben"— Well-known Members— The Bateman-Cran- 
 ston Incident. 
 
 T was not long before "No. 96" wore the 
 look of the well-established club-house. 
 The attendants, forty in number, with the 
 exception of the superintendent, appeared 
 in a livery consisting of a blue dress-suit 
 with gilded buttons. The Club quickly 
 acquired a good library, the nucleus of 
 which seems to have been a large donation of books for 
 which the Hon. Nelson Taylor was thanked, February 2, 
 1866. It also kept its reading-room well supplied with cur- 
 rent literature, and quickly hung its walls with portraits of 
 prominent members and the fine engravings then so much 
 the expression of American art. 
 
 By 1873, the membership reached six hundred, the annual 
 dues amounting to $30,000. 
 
 The rules from the beginning were very strict. Lights 
 were not permitted in the card-room after 2.30 a.m. Mem- 
 bers could not be admitted between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m., and the 
 steward was not required to fill orders after i a.m. Whist, 
 according to Baldwin, with a $5 stake, was the only game 
 
 24 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 permitted. Smoking in the restaurant was forbidden, and 
 no members could sleep on lounges or sofas except on the 
 third floor. Members who broke china or damaged furniture 
 had to settle for it before leaving the house. Drink could not 
 be served in the reception-room. 
 
 The Club, too, was strict about guests, members being 
 permitted to introduce persons, not members, residing 
 within thirty miles of the City Hall, only to the dining-room. 
 Members were forbidden to fee servants, nor could they or- 
 der private dinners of more than four covers. 
 
 The restaurant of the "No. 96" days was the most cele- 
 brated in New York, and the saying went that because of its 
 fame, outrivalling even Delmonico's, no other club-house in 
 New York City was so closely frequented by its members. 
 Its system of payment, however, while very agreeable, led, 
 as we shall discover later, to embarrassing consequences. 
 
 No accounts were kept, every member being expected to 
 settle his accounts before he left. As we are told, this rule 
 was not always enforced. There was another which ordered 
 every member in arrears for a week to be bulletined. If 
 posted thirty days, he would become liable to expulsion. 
 
 The regular meeting of the Club, also an annual reunion, 
 took place on the first Thursday in October. The Board of 
 Managers, on the other hand, met every month. In these 
 comfortable surroundings the Club grew and flourished, and 
 before long counted on its roster the leading Democrats of 
 New York City. One always seen at "No. 96" was Douglas 
 Taylor, its founder. No man in his day was more widely 
 known or better liked than the Commissioner of Jurors. 
 Son of an Episcopal clergyman, Mr. Taylor turned his 
 back upon Columbia, gave up his opening with Lawrence 
 the banker, and, like Benjamin Franklin, took to type and 
 ink. Like him, also, he married his first employer's daugh- 
 ter at the early age of nineteen. Printing was a passion with 
 him, and his establishment became justly renowned. He 
 
 25 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 was owner of the New York "Sentinel," and one of the most 
 popular men of his day. It was Douglas Taylor who, after 
 the fall of Tweed, when there were no more bouquets nor 
 huzzaing crowds for the once courted boss, with his wife 
 sought him out as he sat deserted in his sleeper, and spoke to 
 him, quite as of old. It was he who received the newspaper 
 reporters at the Club, and who had a kind word for every- 
 body. He had been a sachem of Tammany Hall in its ante- 
 bellum days, also its secretary, and for many years was 
 Commissioner of Jurors. He was instrumental in bringing 
 S. S. Cox to New York and electing him to Congress just 
 after the war. Mr. Taylor lived to the age of eighty-two, 
 dying only two years before the semi-centenary of the Club. 
 
 In these days Cornelius Vanderbilt, called the "Com- 
 modore," was an every-day habitue of the Club, an inveter- 
 ate whist-player, and a man of most striking appearance. 
 
 The Law, at "No. 96," was then represented by Judges 
 Ingraham, Hilton, Barnard, Russell, Clerke, Daly, Curtis, 
 Comstock, Garvin the "learned and eloquent," O' Gorman 
 "the brilliant and impulsive," and "keen and thoughtful" 
 John E. Burrill; the actors, by Lester Wallack, Joseph Jef- 
 ferson, and Dion Boucicault. 
 
 General Slocum represented the military; August Bel- 
 mont, very English in appearance, wearing London tweeds, 
 English whiskers, one button of his coat fastened over his 
 shirt front, S. L. M. Barlow, and Samuel J. Tilden were a 
 notable trio ; and James T. Brady — "King James" — brilliant, 
 yet profound and learned, was noted in the courts for his 
 famous pleas, and at the Manhattan for his inimitable jokes. 
 
 Another notable member of the "No. 96" days was Oswald 
 Ottendorf er, the German editor ; still another was Benjamin 
 Wood, familiarly known as "Cadaverous Ben," from his pal- 
 lid, almost ghastly coloring and lean figure. Imperturbable 
 in manner, his curiously alert face, combined with its pallor, 
 made him, once seen, always remembered. 
 
 26 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 In the course of time a few Tammany men became mem- 
 bers, Peter B. Sweeny (called by his enemies "the spider of 
 Tammany politics"), A. Oakey Hall, and John T. Hoffman 
 representing the organization. Oakey Hall was noted for a 
 certain elegance of dress as well as for literary attainments. 
 
 A celebrated member was George Ticknor Curtis, the 
 biographer of Webster. Quite clerical in appearance, aus- 
 tere and dark, he was yet thought to resemble August Bel- 
 mont. He was highly cultivated and ready as a speaker. 
 Horatio Seymour, Andrew H. Green (remarked for his Lord 
 Brougham nose), John T. Agnew, General McClellan, 
 "Uncle Sam" Ward, and "Winter Garden" Stuart were 
 other early members. At the club-house, also, were to be 
 seen General Hancock, Hon. George H. Pendleton, Gulian 
 C. Verplanck, ex-President Franklin Pierce, and ex-Presi- 
 dent James Buchanan. The only member reputed a Repub- 
 lican was Thurlow Weed. 
 
 "No. 96," gossip said, saw many of the leading events of 
 that day concocted in its club-rooms. It was declared that 
 Seymour and Blair were nominated there in conclave, and 
 that there Vanderbilt and Belmont talked of more than 
 whist. It was from the Manhattan that the "Commodore" 
 despatched the message to the judge who had sent for him, 
 that he could not come because "he was too far behind the 
 game." 
 
 It was at "No. 96" likewise that the sensational Bateman- 
 Cranston incident occurred. H. L. Bateman, the father of 
 the famous actress, Kate Bateman, and both her manager 
 and that of Parepa Rosa, disregarding club rules, introduced 
 a friend. Hiram Cranston, proprietor of the New York 
 Hotel, at that time on the House Committee, forbade an at- 
 tendant serving Mr. Bateman and his guest, with the result 
 that the manager made a personal attack on him, and then 
 offered his resignation. The governors of the Club, how- 
 ever, refused to accept it, and expelled him. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH 
 
 The Old Benkard House — Recollections of Mr. Lyons — "Uncle Dave" 
 Gilbert and General Martin T. McMahon— Wilder Allen, the 
 Practical Joker. 
 
 T was in 1869 that Mr. Julius J. Lyons joined 
 the Manhattan Club. One of the first things 
 he was told was that he should have joined 
 a few months earlier, for then he would 
 have had the pleasure of enjoying the 
 nightly sessions of a very entertaining 
 group of prominent men of the day, — Frank 
 Work, Horace F. Clark, Richard Schell, Ben Wood, Hiram 
 Cranston, William Turnbull, — who, on winter evenings, 
 were in the habit of gathering about the blazing logs in the 
 great open fireplace of the front parlor of the Benkard house, 
 old Commodore Vanderbilt himself leading the conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 As it was, Mr. Lyons found in the Club much lively com- 
 pany and many striking characters, men of the sixties, 
 among them Judge Henry Wilder Allen, then secretary of 
 the Club and a great practical joker, Mr. Lyons being his 
 victim on the occasion of the comparison between the Club's 
 and Delmonico's ice-cream. 
 
 Another early member was Simon Sterne, political econ- 
 
 28 
 
Augustus Schell 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 omist and able lawyer. Mr. Sterne, also, was fond of his 
 joke. One day Mr. Lyons, whose tastes ran towards the in- 
 tellectual and whose Club haunt was the library, was stopped 
 by Mr. Sterne with : 
 
 "Well, Lyons, you come down town very late. I saw 
 you, yesterday, going into your office after twelve." 
 
 "Yes," answered Mr. Lyons, "I was coming from my 
 French lesson." 
 
 "But to-day," retorted Mr. Sterne, "you are also very late 
 for a business man !" 
 
 "Yes," agreed Lyons, "but I am coming from my German 
 lesson." 
 
 Sterne gave him a withering glance. 
 
 "Look here," he said, "does it take three languages, Lyons, 
 to show what a fool you are?" 
 
 That Mr. Lyons had his own retort ready when he needed 
 it is shown by the answer he gave "Sunset" Cox on the occa- 
 sion of his presentation to Mr. Lyons in the large room of 
 the old Benkard house. 
 
 Cox, then in the public eye as member of Congress, and 
 prominent in national politics, to be facetious, rallied Mr. 
 Lyons upon the lack of resemblance between the ferocious 
 animal suggested by his name and his peaceful personality. 
 
 Quick as a flash, Mr. Lyons, suiting action to his word, 
 retorted : 
 
 "Let others hail the rising *Sun,' 
 I bow to him whose race is run." 
 
 And the laugh turned on "Sunset." 
 
 In those early days most visitors to the old Benkard 
 house were subjected to an ordeal in passing the desk of a 
 certain Mr. Quinn, long in the employ of the Club, and, for 
 many years before his death, on its pension list. 
 
 Mr. Quinn believed firmly in the verdict of his day that 
 membership in the Manhattan Club was a badge of aris- 
 
 29 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 tocracy. To maintain its standard of exclusiveness, he as- 
 sumed a belligerent air to all intruders, and for a visitor to 
 pass his desk was an open credential of that visitor's im- 
 portance. So well did he guard its sacred precincts that on 
 January lo, 1889, when a small fire broke out in one of the 
 rooms, he, with outraged dignity, opposed the entrance of 
 the firemen, and suffered in consequence some very rough 
 handling. It was his pride that, while the Club was Demo- 
 cratic in politics, it was aristocratic in its clientele, and espe- 
 cially so in its table and wine-cellar. It was to his great 
 satisfaction, too, that the chefs of the Manhattan were of 
 equal standing with the Delmonico chefs across the Avenue. 
 
 A memorable personality of the Manhattan Club was 
 General Martin T. McMahon. 
 
 General McMahon had a gallant war record, having from 
 San Francisco, where he was then living, started for the 
 front on the outbreak of hostilities. He gained his soldierly 
 fame, however, in the armies of the East. He was a member 
 of the Manhattan almost from its birth, joining in June, 
 1866, a little over six months after its organization. 
 
 Sixteen years later the General formed a close and lasting 
 friendship with a new member, perhaps the most striking 
 personality ever on the Manhattan Club's roster. This was 
 David B. Gilbert, familiarly known as "Uncle Dave," and 
 aptly named its "Watch-dog." For twenty years "Uncle 
 Dave" made the Manhattan Club his home, and for seven- 
 teen of these he acted as secretary of the Club and served on 
 its Board of Managers. It would be difficult to parallel the 
 intense love and devotion — almost religious in its fervor, 
 says Mr. Lyons — which he displayed, every moment of his 
 life, towards the advancement of the best interests of the 
 Club. 
 
 Before he retired from business, selling out his seat on the 
 New York Stock Exchange after amassing a competency, he 
 was always to be found in the afternoon at the Club, a fact 
 
 30 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 which drew thither a number of men who came solely for his 
 company, he being very popular and one of those who attract 
 and keep about them their own little circle of intimates. 
 After he retired he seldom left the club-house, and, to see that 
 proper order was maintained in all directions about it, he had 
 himself made a deputy sheriff and proudly wore his badge of 
 office. From that moment he became the terror of every 
 organ-grinder and fruit-cart vender who ventured into the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 By blowing his whistle, which he relentlessly did, those 
 gentry would disperse to the four winds as quickly as leaves 
 before a wind-storm. If one took his chance and returned, 
 but at a safe distance, there was "Uncle Dave" on the watch 
 for him. 
 
 "Uncle Dave" and General McMahon became inseparable, 
 and only the death of the latter broke their manly and 
 notable friendship. They always dined together, and were 
 never apart, eating their meals in the dining-room of the 
 suite occupied by Mr. Gilbert, and spending the rest of the 
 evenings refighting the war and re-electing all the ante-bel- 
 lum Presidents. 
 
 The two had a common peculiarity : neither ever went into 
 the Club dining-room. After the General's death, "Uncle 
 Dave," being very lonesome, would wander in, grow uneasy 
 and wander out. For a time in their friendship the two had 
 a common friend in General Alfred L. Tyler, who shared 
 their society. General Tyler, a man of strong characteristics 
 and indomitable will, was the founder of Anniston, Alabama, 
 which town, by his influence, wealth, and enterprise, as well 
 as innate perseverance and ability, he carried through to suc- 
 cess in the face of incalculable hardships and obstacles. 
 
 Still another early member, elected February 5, 1869, as 
 vice-president of the Club, was Samuel L. M. Barlow, re- 
 called for the members of to-day by Mr. Solomon Hanford. 
 Here is Mr. Hanford's "memorandum" : 
 
 31 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 "He was for many years a prominent figure among the 
 early members of the Club, besides being in the foremost 
 rank in the legal profession in a career which commenced in 
 1847, when he reached his majority, down to i88g, when he 
 died at the age of sixty-three. He was a *bon-viveur' in the 
 best sense of the term; belonged to and was a conspicuous 
 member of a coterie composed, among other prominent men, 
 of August Belmont, William R. Travers, Manton Marble, 
 William Butler Duncan, Abram S. Hewitt, and Edward 
 Cooper, and was always high in the councils of the Demo- 
 cratic Party. From an early age he took an active interest 
 in public affairs and carried on an extended correspondence 
 with men in public life, notably with Daniel Webster, James 
 Buchanan, and other men nationally prominent. He had 
 barely reached his majority before he was appointed by 
 Webster special envoy of the United States to Mexico. As 
 executor of the will of Charles P. Chouteau of St. Louis he 
 owned Dred Scott at the time of the famous decision of the 
 United States Supreme Court on the subject of slavery. 
 While James Buchanan was minister to England, Mr. Bar- 
 low, who was one of his closest friends, interested himself in 
 Mr. Buchanan's candidacy for the Presidency, and actively 
 promoted his election. At the outbreak of the Civil War he 
 was on terms of close friendship with Judah P. Benjamin and 
 most of the other leading men of the Southern Confederacy, 
 and this friendship was maintained to the end. He actively 
 and efficiently exerted himself in connection with the release 
 of the Confederate commissioners. Mason and Slidell, and in 
 the case of the * Savannah' privateer gave his counsel and 
 assistance in defense of the prisoners. He took a prominent 
 part in the nomination and election of Samuel J. Tilden. 
 
 "Mr. Barlow was a remarkable man in many ways. Joined 
 to a sterling character, his personality was such as to attract 
 every one with whom he came in contact, and he was open- 
 handed in the relief of every deserving case which came 
 
 32 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 under his notice. He had an intuitive knowledge of law and 
 unerring judgment, and he possessed the marvellous faculty 
 of straightening out legal complications in which others had 
 failed, and of drawing complicated legal instruments, writ- 
 ing them out in his own hand in such form as to enable his 
 first draft to be immediately executed without requiring an 
 important correction, a faculty which was declared by many 
 of his contemporaries to be possessed by probably no other 
 lawyer at this Bar. For over twenty years before his death 
 Mr. Barlow resided on the corner of Madison Avenue and 
 Twenty-third Street, the house which he owned, and where 
 he entertained royally many of the most prominent men in 
 the country, occupying part of the site now occupied by the 
 Metropolitan Life Building. His son, Peter Townsend Bar- 
 low, is serving his second term as one of the magistrates of 
 the City of New York, his appointment to a second term by 
 Mayor Gaynor being one of the last acts of that official." 
 
 Another early member, one destined to play a prominent 
 part on the stage of Democracy, was Samuel J. Tilden. In 
 the first year of the Club, Mr. Tilden was one of the Man- 
 aging Committee, his colleagues being : 
 
 Wm. F. Allen 
 
 John T. Hoffman 
 Manton Marble 
 Charles O'Conor 
 
 S. L. M. Barlow 
 August Belmont 
 James T. Brady 
 Horace F. Clark 
 Edward Cooper 
 Hiram Cranston 
 
 Anthony L. Robertson 
 
 Edwards Pierrepont 
 
 Wm. C. Prime 
 Dean Richmond 
 
 Geo. Ticknor Curtis 
 Wm. Butler Duncan 
 
 Augustus Schell 
 Douglas Taylor 
 John Van Buren 
 
 Andrew H. Green 
 Henry Hilton 
 
 Gulian C. Verplanck 
 
 Still another well-known member of the Club, in its first 
 
 33 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 year, was Judge Henry Hilton, who, with George W. Mc- 
 Lean and Hiram Cranston, formed the first House Commit- 
 tee, whose duty, according to the first Constitution, was to 
 make all necessary purchases for the Club, fix the prices of 
 articles sold in the Club, and, in general, transact its current 
 business and regulate its internal economy. A prominent 
 out-of-town member of this period was Smith M. Weed, of 
 Plattsburg. He long stood at the head of up-State Demo- 
 cratic politics, narrowly missing the United States senator- 
 ship on three occasions, and always exercising commanding 
 influence. He is still hale and hearty at the ripe old age of 
 eighty-three. 
 
 Such was the atmosphere of the Manhattan Club in its old 
 Benkard house days, and such the stalwart and striking fig- 
 ures of early post-bellum Democracy. What these men did 
 for the Club we shall hear in the coming chapters. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH 
 
 1865-1877 
 
 The Old Club— Public Dinners and Receptions— Out-of-town Mem- 
 bers provided for— Mortality among the Club Officials— The Club 
 denounces the Use of Troops in Louisiana. 
 
 HE official history of the Manhattan Club 
 divides itself naturally into two sections, 
 the first section covering the period of the 
 Club's life between the years 1865 and 1877, 
 before it became a corporation; the second 
 section embracing the years from 1877 to 
 1 91 5, the semi-centennial year of the Club's 
 existence; both of these sections were filled with striking 
 personalities and events. 
 
 By the Act of Incorporation, sworn to before B. J. Douras, 
 N.P., on February 15, 1877, and signed by John Bigelow, 
 Secretary of State, at Albany, February 20, 1877, the Man- 
 hattan Club, as it existed, and the incorporated Manhattan 
 Club, became separate bodies, distinguished in all records 
 thereafter as the "Old Club" and the "New Club." 
 
 During the whole of its life the "Old Club" made its home 
 in the Benkard house. 
 
 The early months of the Old Club's life following those 
 
 35 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 already recorded were without incident other than the loss 
 sustained by the death of ex-Governor Washington Hunt, 
 one of its most valued members, in 1867. 
 
 Governor Hunt is described in the Club annals as "a Chris- 
 tian gentleman." He was a man whose distinguished and 
 successful career in State and National legislatures and as 
 Governor of New York had established the character of 
 ability, stability, and shining integrity. His death at that 
 trying period of American history came as a national as well 
 as a State and Club loss, for as a statesman no less than a 
 clubman he had hosts of friends, won and held by his genial 
 temper and unaffected ways. 
 
 The matters which now began to engage the attention and 
 interest of the Old Club were, first, its hope of becoming an 
 efficient aid to the Democratic Party; second, its desire to 
 see itself incorporated; third, its troubled financial affairs; 
 and fourth, the growing restlessness of its younger members 
 as to its removal to an up-town club-house. 
 
 The first of these aims led to the appointment, March i, 
 1868, by the President, of a committee of three, with him- 
 self as chairman, having power to extend the hospitalities of 
 the Club to the National Democratic Committee, members 
 of the National Democratic Convention, about to assemble, 
 and to other distinguished Democrats who might be present 
 in New York City on the 4th of July of that year. 
 
 On November 23, 1870, this work was continued by a for- 
 mal request made to Mr. George Ticknor Curtis that he 
 mature and submit a plan he had suggested for increasing 
 the political efficiency of the Club. This plan, which em- 
 braced, among other functions, public dinners and recep- 
 tions to leading Democrats, began to bear fruit. On the 7th 
 of November, 1873, we find the Club holding a general meet- 
 ing to arrange for an entertainment, to be given a week later, 
 in honor of Governor Kemper of Virginia and of Governor 
 Allen and Senator Thurman of Ohio; and on May 7, 1874, 
 
 36 
 
August Belmont 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Democrats from all over the country were invited to a grand 
 reunion. 
 
 This reunion, we learn from the newspapers of those 
 days, was the most famous yet given by the Manhattan 
 Club. In one account we read how, though "eminently 
 Democratic" as the Club was, the throng on that notable 
 evening was by no means democratic in appearance, if that 
 meant "the great unwashed," but was composed of "gentle- 
 men in full evening costume, including the par excellence 
 swallowtail coat, white choker, and light kid gloves." 
 
 The imposing rooms were, it is recorded, most splendidly 
 decorated, the national colors festooning the columns of the 
 reception-rooms, draping the walls and outlining the doors, 
 gorgeous candelabra flashing down their lustre from every 
 ceiling. 
 
 One reporter waxed critical concerning the curtains, 
 which, he informs us, were of gauze spangled in every hue, — 
 a trifle theatrical, he thought, and "in the 'Black Crook' 
 style," then the vogue. While he was not fond of so much 
 red in the club-house furnishings, he reluctantly admitted 
 that it had a most brilliant effect. 
 
 Leading Democrats from all over the Union are described 
 as strolling up the winding stairway, arm in arm, in those 
 same swallowtails, chokers, and light kids, pausing to in- 
 spect the portraits of John Van Buren and Chancellor Rob- 
 erts, — evidently hung upon the wall of the stairway, — 
 making their way by the band playing democratic airs in the 
 upper hall to the adjacent parlor, where, at nine, began the 
 speeches. 
 
 Mr. Augustus Schell, then President of the Club, took his 
 place as master of ceremonies on a carpeted dais at the end 
 of the room, near a table decorated with one of the huge, stiff 
 bouquets of that period, to welcome the visitors. Reading 
 the report of his speech to-day, it is easy to supply the date 
 of the fulfilment of his prophecy that events were moving 
 
 37 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 rapidly and logically towards the rise of Democracy again 
 to power. 
 
 Speeches through which sound the echoes of the guns of 
 the Civil War, replete with political references which fall 
 dead to-day, then followed,— Amasa J. Parker, Senator 
 Bayard, Judge John McHenry, Mr. Fitch of Nevada, Mr. 
 Smith of Vermont, the orators, — and two hundred letters, 
 full of the rising leaven of Democracy, were read from lead- 
 ing Democrats of every State, unable for various reasons to 
 be present. References to affairs in Louisiana made the roof 
 of "No. 96" echo with Democratic cheering. 
 
 After the supper — pronounced "very fine" — certain gen- 
 tlemen, catching sight of S. S. ("Sunset") Cox, fell upon him 
 with cries of "Speech! Speech!" but to no avail. 
 
 Chief in that throng of Democrats of '74 moved Samuel J. 
 Tilden, the man in whom many New York Democrats saw 
 the coming triumph of Democracy. Near by was the de- 
 lightful John Hunter, and not far away the equally charming 
 William C. Wickham; while mingling in the throng were 
 General Elijah Ward, Congressman Robert B. Roosevelt, 
 ex- Senator Ben Stark, Smith M. Weed, General Duryea, 
 Judge J. J. Freedman, Judge Kilbreth, and John T. Hoffman. 
 
 Some eight days later, probably as an outcome of the 
 reunion, a committee was appointed to draft a circular to be 
 sent to prominent Democrats throughout the United States, 
 inviting them to become out-of-town members of the Man- 
 hattan Club. 
 
 The next considerable political reception was given, De- 
 cember 29, 1874, to Tilden and Wickham, at that time the 
 hope of the Democratic Party, and respectively Governor 
 and Mayor-elect of New York. The affair was much talked 
 of, and on the night in question gas-jets blazed out the 
 monograms of the guests to the public. 
 
 Mr. Augustus Schell having resigned as president, it was 
 Mr. August Belmont who presided over this reception, pro- 
 
 38 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 nounced by the morning papers of that day the greatest 
 gathering of Democrats ever brought together. 
 
 This time we hear less about the decorations, — one re- 
 porter, a Republican, grumbling because the speeches were 
 delivered up-stairs, where he suffered from lack of both room 
 and air, and not down-stairs, the great applause attending 
 the entrance of Mr. Tilden on the arm of Mr. Augustus 
 Schell "quite deafening him." 
 
 The "dinner," as he calls it, however, not only excited his 
 enthusiasm but that of his fellow-reporters, who tell us that 
 it was "sumptuous," "very fine," and "under the superin- 
 tendence of one Felix Deliee." Douglas Taylor preserved 
 the menu, which carried more than a dozen courses ! 
 
 The speeches were full of raillery, Mr. Belmont assuring 
 Messrs. Tilden and Wickham that the secret of their success 
 lay entirely in their being members of the Manhattan Club, 
 and telling the gathered throng that, as president of that 
 Club, he resented its being dubbed the "silk-stocking end of 
 the party." 
 
 Mr. Tilden, Mr. Wickham, Judge Bedell of New Jersey, 
 Governor Ingersoll of Connecticut, Hon. Charles Faulkner 
 of Virginia, Hon. Randall Gibson of Louisiana, ex-Governor 
 John T. Hoffman, Governor Parker of New Jersey, Hon. 
 John K. Tarbox of Massachusetts, all made speeches, while 
 letters were read from George Ticknor Curtis, Horatio Sey- 
 mour, Clarkson M. Potter, Edward Atkinson, Hon. W. P. 
 Banks, Reverdy Johnson, Hon. Fernando Wood, Governor 
 William Allen, and Thomas A. Hendricks. 
 
 In the assembly were Judge Sutherland, Hon. Abram S. 
 Hewitt, Chief Justice Charles P. Daly, Judge Abbott, Con- 
 gressman Roosevelt, Hon. Philip Cook of Georgia, and G. M. 
 Dallas of Texas. 
 
 It seemed the fate of the Club, in those early years, to lose 
 many officers by death. In July, 1868, occurred that of Judge 
 Anthony Lispenard Robertson, its vice-president. Mr. 
 
 39 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 George Ticknor Curtis, in moving a resolution of regret at 
 the loss of this "upright magistrate, useful citizen, erudite 
 scholar, and genial friend," pronounced the following ora- 
 tion: 
 
 "Mr. President: I desire to put on record here a few words 
 concerning the dear friend whom we have lost. In the pro- 
 ceedings of the Bar which will doubtless follow this bereave- 
 ment, there will be many to speak of him who have known 
 him longer than I have. It has happened to me, sir, a little 
 out of the ordinary experience, in consequence of a change 
 of residence occurring after the middle period of life, to have 
 passed from one circle of friends of marked peculiarities to 
 another of not less decided but quite different characteristics. 
 He who transfers himself from one community to another 
 differing so essentially as this city does from that in which I 
 formerly lived, finds his life and almost his consciousness 
 divided into distinct portions, to one of which belongs 
 vividly the old, and to the other the new. Yet it would be 
 impossible for me to tell, although it is not more than six 
 years ago, where I first met the late Chief Justice Robertson, 
 or to whom I owe the honor of an introduction to him. It 
 seems to me as if I had known him all my life, and as if I 
 were as much entitled to speak of him as those who were 
 born and reared with him in the same society. He was a 
 man of such strong elements of character, he so quickly com- 
 manded your sympathies and won your respect, that you lost 
 the recollection of the time when your knowledge of him 
 began. Then, too, it must be remembered that Judge Rob- 
 ertson thought of the republic as we did, and ever since there 
 has been such a thing as free political action, in ancient or in 
 modern society, to think alike concerning the republic has 
 been one of the strongest bonds that can exist among men. 
 Mr. President, Judge Robertson has solved some problems 
 which I had been taught all my life to regard as incapable of 
 satisfactory solution. In the first place, he has shown that it 
 
 40 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 is possible for an elective judicial system to produce and to 
 keep an upright, independent, and fearless judge, seen and 
 known of all men to be upright, independent, and fearless. I 
 believe it to be true of this good man that no one has ever 
 stood before him with a feeling of fear in his heart that, let 
 the merits of his case be what they might, there was an influ- 
 ence, unseen and intangible, which had already decided or 
 was to decide it, in spite of all that argument and reason and 
 truth could do. No advocate has been sent before him, se- 
 lected because of a supposed personal influence. No com- 
 bination of political, social, or pecuniary interests has ever 
 had the power to approach him. Although living in the 
 freest intercourse with a wide circle of friends, many of 
 whom were concerned in the litigations before him, he never 
 conversed upon the causes upon which he was to act. Per- 
 haps this may be no great praise. Perhaps there may be a 
 state of society in which it would be the highest praise. In 
 the next place. Judge Robertson has shown that it is pos- 
 sible for a judge to be every inch a judge, and at the same 
 time to maintain an active connection with a great political 
 party. It is certain that in his judicial capacity he com- 
 manded the confidence of all parties, and yet he was an 
 earnest and decided man in his political opinions, and loyal 
 in every way to the party with which he was connected. He 
 has gone from us very suddenly. How long his memory will 
 be kept green in the general minds we cannot know; but 
 there are those to whom it will remain while anything re- 
 mains to them of what they have known and loved in this 
 transitory world. As they part from him, in the firm but 
 tender parting that his manly heart would have chosen, one 
 can imagine that they say to him : 
 " *We have been long together, 
 
 Through pleasant and through cloudy weather; 
 
 *T is hard to part when friends are dear ; 
 
 Perhaps 't will cost a sigh, a tear; 
 
 41 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Then steal away, give little warning. 
 Choose thine own time ; 
 
 Say not good night, but in some brighter clime 
 Bid us good morning.' " 
 
 On February 5, 1869, Mr. Samuel L. M. Barlow was 
 elected to fill Judge Robertson's place. 
 
 After serving seven years as president of the Club and five 
 as vice-president, the Hon. Augustus Schell, October 8, 
 1874, declining re-election for reasons which the Club ac- 
 cepted as final, a vote of thanks to him was passed in grati- 
 tude for "all the efforts he had made to further the welfare 
 of the Manhattan Club," the members feeling that they could 
 not permit him to retire without the "cordial expression of 
 their respect and regard." 
 
 The Hon. Augustus Schell, its second president, was a 
 member of the Manhattan Club for twenty years from its 
 inception to his death in 1884. He was a man of singular 
 tenacity in his attachments, conspicuous alike for the liber- 
 ality of his disposition, the independence of his character, 
 and the obduracy of his convictions. 
 
 His portrait, presented April 14, 1887, by his son Edward 
 Schell, and that of Judge Robertson, paid for from funds 
 raised by subscription, became Club property and were hung 
 on its walls. Judge Aaron Vanderpoel, at the time of the 
 presentation of the portrait of Mr. Schell, proposed to write 
 a sketch of the former President's life for the Club ; but, his 
 own death occurring a few months later, this unfortunately 
 was never completed. On November 15, 1872, the House 
 Committee was instructed to connect the club-house with 
 the American District Telegraph Company. It was not, 
 however, until November 4, 1878, that election returns over 
 private wire were arranged. Since then "Election Nights" 
 have been great affairs. 
 
 On February 4, 1875, Mr. Augustus W. Clason made the 
 
 42 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 gift of the fine portrait of General Jackson which is one of 
 the most valued possessions of the Club. 
 
 The year 1876 drew from the Manhattan Club a vigorous 
 protest against President Grant's use of troops in the South. 
 The resolution, appointing Messrs. Sidney Webster, Manton 
 Marble, Manuel B. Hart, and August Belmont a committee 
 "to prepare and publish appropriate resolutions denouncing 
 the recent use in New Orleans by the President of the United 
 States of the army of the United States to influence the 
 organization and control the deliberations of the elected 
 Legislature of the State of Louisiana, without due applica- 
 tion therefor by the Executive or the Legislature of such 
 State, there being neither foreign invasion nor domestic in- 
 surrection therein," brings the purely political acts of the 
 Old Club to their close. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH 
 
 The New Club— Its Articles of Incorporation— Arrangements for the 
 Renewal of the Leasehold— The Formal Acts of Transfer 
 
 ROM its foundation the matter of its incor- 
 poration engaged the Club's energies and 
 occupied its discussions. 
 
 On July 3, 1868, a committee consisting 
 of Judge Robertson and Mr. Andrew H. 
 Green was appointed "to consider the pro- 
 priety of obtaining an act of incorporation 
 for this Club, and to prepare and report a bill therefor," and 
 also to report what measures were to be taken to preserve 
 "the title of the Club to the property." 
 
 As a result of this committee's report, October 2, Judge 
 Hilton and Mr. William Butler Duncan were requested to 
 convey the title of the property to Mr. Augustus Schell and 
 Judge Robertson, respectively president and vice-president 
 of the Club. 
 
 While the matter seems to have been always more or less 
 under discussion, definite steps towards actual incorporation 
 were only taken, December 20, 1876, following a resolution 
 of February 4, 1875, to incorporate the Club. 
 
 On the former date a committee of fifteen was appointed, 
 as a result of the financial condition of the Club, to devise 
 
 44 
 
Asiron J. Vanderpoel 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 means to relieve it in that direction and to formulate a plan 
 for incorporation. 
 
 On December 26 this committee, in its report, proposed 
 that since, in the judgment of the committee, it was expe- 
 dient that the Club be incorporated, it be affiliated under the 
 general act entitled "An Act for the Incorporation of So- 
 cieties or Clubs for Certain Lawful Purposes," passed May 
 12, 1875, and the amendatory act, passed March 14, 1876. 
 
 It further reported and proposed that a committee of three 
 be appointed "to enquire and report to the association into 
 the propriety and expediency of the reorganization of the 
 Club under an act of incorporation, and to ascertain on what 
 terms and conditions the reorganization of the Club can be 
 effected under the act incorporating the 'Hermitage Na- 
 tional Association.' " Steps already had been taken, July i, 
 1876, towards the purchase of this Hermitage Charter from 
 Mr. Smith Ely, who, with Messrs. Agnew and Ashley, was 
 appointed on the committee of three recommended. On 
 December 28 Mr. Agnew reported that the Hermitage Char- 
 ter could be purchased for five hundred dollars. 
 
 On January 16, in connection with a report of the commit- 
 tee of fifteen, Mr. Cooper, seconded by Mr. Wilson, proposed 
 the renewal of the lease of the four lots occupied by the club- 
 house at a ground rent of four thousand dollars per year, 
 under the general act already referred to, passed May 12, 
 
 1875, and the act amendatory thereof, passed March 14, 
 
 1876. Mr. Cooper further proposed that all the members of 
 the Club as it stood should become members of the New 
 Club without being elected or paying an initiation fee, at any 
 time before the first of the following May, provided such 
 member be free from debt to the Old Club. Should he have 
 failed to pay the assessment, imposed on the Club by the 
 Managing Committee, on or before the first of the coming 
 April, he should have ceased to be a member of the New 
 Club, being required to sign a stipulation to that effect. 
 
 45 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 On January 29, 1877, following Mr. Cooper's resolution 
 touching the new organization, Mr. Coudert proposed the 
 appointment of a committee of five to report the names of 
 twelve persons to be inserted in the Certificate of Incorpo- 
 ration as managers of the New Club for the first year. This 
 committee, as appointed, was composed of Messrs. F. R. 
 Coudert, William E. Curtis, E. L. Gaul, Simon Sterne, and 
 H. L. Clinton. For the twelve managers these chose August 
 Belmont, Augustus Schell, Edward Cooper, A. J. Vander- 
 poel, W. E. Rider, Sidney Webster, Oswald Ottendorfer, 
 Clarkson N. Potter, Peter B. Olney, William C. Whitney, 
 Edward Patterson, and Smith Ely, all of whose names ap- 
 pear in the Certificate of Incorporation as the Board of Man- 
 agers of the New Club for the first year. 
 
 The incorporators of the New Club were J. Augustus 
 Page, George H. Purser, Edward Schell, August Belmont, 
 Charles D. Burrill, Everett P. Wheeler, Richard Lathers, 
 Mortimer Porter, Wilson G. Hunt, Augustus Schell, F. H. 
 Bangs, B. Casserly, Edward Cooper, Aaron J. Vanderpoel, 
 Edward Patterson, John R. Brady, Peter B. Olney, William 
 E. Rider, Cyrus Yale, John T. Agnew, Thomas R. Fisher, 
 Henry Wilder Allen, and Benjamin Hart. 
 
 The Certificate of Incorporation being sworn to on Feb- 
 ruary 15, 1877, and signed by Secretary of State Bigelow on 
 February 20, Messrs. Vanderpoel, Schell, and Cooper were 
 instructed to prepare the new Constitution and By-Laws. 
 
 On March 14, 1877, these were read and adopted, condi- 
 tionally to adoption by the Corporation, which on March 19 
 approved and ratified them. Accordingly, on March 20, the 
 rules of the Old Club were adopted as the rules of the New 
 Club where there was no confliction between the two consti- 
 tutions, and notices were ordered to be sent out to old mem- 
 bers offering membership. 
 
 According to the new Constitution, the object of the Man- 
 hattan Club was "to advance Democratic principles, to pro- 
 
 46 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 mote social intercourse among its members, and to provide 
 them with the conveniences of a club-house." 
 
 The officers elected for the New Club were August Bel- 
 mont, president; A. J. Vanderpoel, vice-president; Peter B. 
 Olney, treasurer; William E. Rider, secretary; and for the 
 House Committee, Augustus Schell, A. J. Vanderpoel, and 
 William E. Rider. 
 
 In regard to the members of the Old Club it was finally 
 arranged that, if not in arrears to the Club, they could be- 
 come members of the New Club by enrolling before June i. 
 They were then to be exempt from entrance fee and the 
 annual half-yearly dues to March i, 1877. 
 
 After June i the entrance fee could be remitted by the 
 Board of Managers for those enrolling before September i, 
 and half of it for any who had resigned from the Old Club 
 between January i, 1875, and March i, 1877, and wished to 
 re-enter the New Club. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH 
 
 Club Ups and Downs— Its Long and Arduous Financial Struggle- 
 Grievous Loss by Robbery — Final Adjustment of its Money Affairs 
 
 HE financial affairs of the Club from the 
 first had given concern to the more careful 
 members of the various committees having 
 them in charge. The treasurer's report at 
 the end of the fourth year of the Club's 
 existence, proving how conscientious they 
 were, was as follows : 
 
 Receipts 
 
 From October i, 1865, to October i, 1866. 
 
 " I, 1866, " " I, 1867. 
 " I, 1867, " " I, 1868. 
 " I, 1868, " " I, 1869. 
 
 Payments 
 
 From October i, 1865, to October i, 1866. 
 
 " I, 1866, " " I, 1867. 
 " I, 1867, " " I, 1868. 
 " I, 1868, " " 1, 1869. 
 
 Cash balance, October i, 1869 
 
 $146,282.94 
 91,288.73 
 102,284.62 
 93,505.73 
 
 $433»362.02 
 
 $122,435.64 
 104,236.59 
 103,623.36 
 90,404.96 
 
 420.700.55 
 $12,661.47 
 
 Affairs, unfortunately, did not continue on this happy 
 
 48 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 basis, and from 1869 to the date of the reorganization a con- 
 stant financial struggle seems to have been the rule. 
 
 As early as December, 1869, we find the treasurer being 
 instructed to prepare a plan for payment of the $50,000 pur- 
 chase money, then due upon the club-house. Four days later 
 it was voted that a mortgage of $50,000 be executed to secure 
 payment of bonds to be issued to that amount. At the same 
 time the resolution of October 8, 1868, which conveyed the 
 title of the property to Mr. Schell and the late Judge Rob- 
 ertson, as president and vice-president of the Club, was 
 rescinded. The committee which had been appointed, June 
 9, made its report, and was instructed to obtain subscriptions 
 to the amount of the mortgage and to issue fifty seven per 
 cent, interest bearing bonds therefor. 
 
 On March 6, 1873, a special committee, consisting of 
 Messrs. Webster, Marble, Tilden, Cranston, and Miller, with 
 President Schell as chairman, was appointed to look into the 
 financial affairs of the Club and report, which it did on 
 March 21, 1873. 
 
 The committee, it seems, found the Club's affairs in the 
 greatest disorder. One Jones, the steward, when con- 
 fronted, confessed that, with the connivance and co-opera- 
 tion of certain other Club employees, he had systematically 
 plundered tills, larders, and wine-cellar to the extent of 
 $20,000. 
 
 The House Committee at once resigned, and on May 2, 
 1873, the members were assessed fifty dollars each to pay 
 such Club indebtedness as was not covered by the mortgage, 
 the treasurer being instructed to send out a report of the 
 Club's financial state and its numerical strength to its mem- 
 bers. 
 
 On June 6 the motion to assess the members was re- 
 scinded, and it was resolved that Judge Henry Hilton and 
 Mr. William Butler Duncan, the assignees of the lease of the 
 property on Fifth Avenue and Fifteenth Street, then occu- 
 
 49 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 pied by the Club, be requested to execute a mortgage for 
 $77,000 to the Union Trust Company of New York as trus- 
 tee, payable twenty years after date, to secure one hundred 
 and ten bonds of $700 each, dated October i, 1872, with in- 
 terest thereon at the rate of seven per cent, per annum, pay- 
 able annually. 
 
 The proceeds of $50,000 of the bonds secured by the mort- 
 gage were to be set apart and applied to the payment of the 
 mortgage for $50,000, then outstanding on the property. 
 The remaining $27,000 was to be applied, under the direction 
 of the treasurer, to paying the indebtedness of the Club. 
 
 The initiation fees of all members to be elected in future 
 were to form a sinking fund for the redemption of these 
 bonds, and, the mortgage executed and recorded. Judge Hil- 
 ton and Mr. Duncan were to execute a Declaration of 
 Trust to be revised by Messrs. Roosevelt, Williamson, and 
 Hackett, who were also to examine the lease under which 
 the Club then held the property and to report to the Manag- 
 ing Committee what action was necessary to protect its in- 
 terests. The completion of this business was placed in the 
 hands of Mr. Duncan. 
 
 On December 11 a general meeting of the Club was held 
 to discuss financial matters, with the result that further 
 efforts were made to liquidate the debt by sale of bonds 
 through Belmont & Co., with the result that on April 2, 1874, 
 the Club indebtedness was reported at $21,000. 
 
 On July 4, the Managing Committee, by lot, classified 
 themselves to cease as members on certain dates as follows : 
 
 August Belmont, John T. Agnew, Horatio Seymour, 
 George Garr, and Henry Wilder Allen to cease to be mem- 
 bers of the Managing Committee, October, 1874. 
 
 S. L. M. Barlow, Manton Marble, Sidney Webster, 
 Thomas R. Fisher, and William Butler Duncan to cease to 
 be members of the Managing Committee, October, 1875. 
 
 Augustus Schell, Charles O'Conor, William H. Hurlbert, 
 
 50 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Cyrus Yale, and Bernard Casserly to cease to be members 
 of the Managing Committee, October, 1876. 
 
 John R. Brady, E. B. Hart, John C. Maximos, William C. 
 Wickham, and Robert B. Roosevelt to cease to be members 
 of the Managing Committee, October, 1877. 
 
 Smith Ely, Douglas Taylor, Samuel J. Tilden, J. L. 
 Macaulay, and W. E. Rider to cease to be members of the 
 Managing Committee, October, 1878. 
 
 The mortgage does not appear to have put the Club on its 
 feet financially, since on January 6, 1876, the dues were 
 raised to seventy-five dollars. On December 17, 1875, 
 Messrs. Hilton and Duncan were requested to assign the 
 lease, held by them since 1873, to President August Belmont, 
 John T. Agnew, and Sidney Webster. 
 
 On March 2, 1876, Messrs. John T. Agnew and A. W. 
 Clason, a committee appointed to look into the accounts, re- 
 ported that prior to February i, 1874, they had been kept 
 very loosely; and on April i it was deemed advisable to fore- 
 close the mortgage. On December 20, at the members' 
 meeting, it was, as before stated, voted wise to appoint a 
 committee of fifteen to devise means of relieving the Club of 
 foreclosure and indebtedness and to make plans for its in- 
 corporation. 
 
 Mr. Purser, in connection with this committee, reported 
 that, besides unpaid dues for the past years, the sum of 
 $802 5 was owed by one hundred and seventeen members for 
 the annual dues payable from October i, 1876, and about 
 $3300 to the restaurant for supplies actually furnished. To 
 meet Club obligations it was necessary that the claims be 
 settled at once, and he accordingly requested the manage- 
 ment to notify all in arrears that if the dues were not paid on 
 or before February 10, the names of such members should be 
 dropped from the roll and legal proceedings begun. This 
 was put to a vote and approved by the Club. 
 
 This committee, or rather a sub-section of it appointed 
 
 51 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 later, did not make its final report along the line of the Club 
 finances until 1880, after the Old Club had ceased to exist. 
 It then reported that, having failed to collect enough from 
 the delinquent members' dues to pay these Old Club debts, it 
 had solicited voluntary subscriptions. Five thousand seven 
 hundred and fifty dollars had been raised by gifts from 
 Augustus Schell, Oswald Ottendorfer, Samuel J. Tilden, 
 Aaron J. Vanderpoel, Edward Cooper, August Belmont, Sid- 
 ney Webster, John T. Agnew, Cyrus Yale, Smith Ely, Jr., 
 John G. Davis, William C. Whitney, William E. Curtis, 
 Abram S. Hewitt, George H. Purser, Thomas Holland, Elijah 
 Ward, Robert B. Roosevelt, and John McKeon. Three thou- 
 sand one hundred and seventy-five dollars had been sub- 
 scribed by the firms of Park & Tilford, Cazade, Crooks & 
 Raymond, Purdy & Nicholas, Jantzen Brothers, Skidmore & 
 Sons, Acker, Merrall & Condit, A. & E. Robbins, and Drohn 
 & Co. Vouchers were also given by the firms of Park & 
 Tilford, Acker, Merrall & Condit, Cazade, Crooks & Ray- 
 mond, A. & E. Robbins, Jantzen Brothers, Drohn & Co., 
 Purdy & Nicholas, and Skidmore & Sons. 
 
 These two amounts, with the balance in the bank of $2.98, 
 brought the sum to $8927.98, and with it all debts were set- 
 tled, with the exception of the taxes for 1876. These, on the 
 discovery that they had not been paid, were, with their in- 
 terest, paid on March 16, 1883, the amount being $4155. 
 
 This report was presented by Messrs. Schell and Yale, 
 who, it will be recalled, were appointed on March 7, 1877, 
 with power to collect the Club debts, and who reported that 
 they had collected only enough to reduce these debts to 
 $17,000, and that the New Club, being in a conditional state, 
 could not pay them. 
 
 In the meantime, to return to the year 1877, the committee 
 of fifteen made its preliminary report at the January meet- 
 ing, when it asked that a committee of three be appointed to 
 look into the matter of Club liabilities and assets. 
 
 52 
 
Frederic R. Coudert 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Accordingly, Messrs. Rider, Holland, and Porter were 
 named for that committee, Messrs. Vanderpoel, Webster, 
 and Davis forming a second committee to ascertain and re- 
 port the terms and conditions upon which the debts owed by 
 the Club could be adjusted and settled. 
 
 On March 7, 1877, a committee consisting of Messrs. Yale, 
 Fisher, and Taylor was appointed to meet a committee of the 
 New Club and arrange for a sale of the furniture, fixtures, 
 and stock of the Old Club, with power to conclude the sale 
 and deliver the furniture. 
 
 This committee made a contract with the committee of 
 the New Club, by which it agreed to sell all furniture and 
 fixtures for such sum of money as might be required to pay 
 off the deficiency of debts (not including mortgage bonds) 
 over the assets of the former organization, the sum not to 
 exceed $8000, payment to be made when the financial condi- 
 tion of the New Club should justify it. 
 
 The supplies of the Old Club were also to be sold at cost 
 price to the New Club, from surplus funds from Club sales at 
 the end of each month, until the whole amount was paid, the 
 manager of the New Club to be responsible in no way per- 
 sonally for any debt incurred in the sale of furniture or 
 supplies. With Mr. Rider added, the committee was author- 
 ized to collect all debts. This authority was transferred, 
 however, to Messrs. Schell and Yale, with the result already 
 stated. 
 
 On March 17, 1877, the New Club ratified its Constitution, 
 and the further financial transactions of the Club belong to 
 its history. 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH 
 
 Early Years of the New Club — Many Constitutional Changes and a 
 Few Receptions — The Election of Grover Cleveland to the Presi- 
 dency — Deaths of Vice-President Hendricks, General Hancock, and 
 Governor Seymour. 
 
 HE New Club continued its life in the Ben- 
 kard house until 1890. Its existence during 
 those years seems to have been troubled 
 constantly by the entanglement of its 
 finances. In trend it became more and more 
 Democratic, and its membership steadily 
 increased. The Club, as we know, ratified 
 
 its constitution on March 19, 1877. About this time the Club 
 seal, bearing the legend, "Manhattan Club, 1877," was 
 adopted. 
 
 In response to a circular setting forth the principles of 
 the Club, which was sent out on the second of April to resi- 
 dent and non-resident members, one hundred and sixty- 
 three members of the Old Club identified themselves with 
 the New. 
 
 According to Article II, Section 5, of the new Constitu- 
 tion, any member might become a life member upon pay- 
 ment of $700 and surrender of a mortgage bond of the Club 
 for $500, or on the transfer to the New Club of one of the 
 
 54 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 thirty-one bonds of the Old Club, each for $700, life members 
 to be exempt forever from dues. 
 
 The first to become life members by surrendering Club 
 bonds of $700 were Douglas Taylor, Thomas R. Fisher, and 
 Manton Marble. Of the one hundred and ten bonds of the 
 Old Club, seventy were found cancelled. No. 2, purchased 
 at the Duncan sale for $35, was presented to the Club by 
 Mr. McFarland, and on May 2, 1878, the Club received the 
 following letter through Mr. Olney : 
 
 New York, April 29, 1878. 
 
 My dear Sir: 
 
 As I prefer to remain on the same basis as to annual dues 
 as other members who do not commute, will you please pre- 
 sent to the Club, Bond No. 16, being the only one of those I 
 took which now remains in my hands. 
 
 Wishing every success to the Club, 
 
 I remain. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 S. J. Tilden. 
 
 As an expression of the Club's appreciation of Mr. Tilden's 
 liberality, Mr. Schell moved that his letter be entered upon 
 the minutes and that "the thanks of the Board be returned 
 him for his generous gift." 
 
 On June 14, 1877, the House Committee was instructed to 
 send out a circular letter setting forth the fact that Club 
 members were not to be held responsible for Club debts, and 
 emphasizing the great benefit the Manhattan Club might be 
 to the Democratic Party if it could be put upon a firm finan- 
 cial foundation. That this circular letter does not seem to 
 have been productive of any great increase of membership 
 would seem to be indicated by the fact that on January 5, 
 1878, a committee was appointed to devise ways and means 
 of increasing the Club membership. At the meeting of this 
 committee on January 12, Mr. August Belmont, president of 
 
 55 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 the New Club, suggested that the Club should be made more 
 distinctly Democratic in its tone, its receptions to reflect the 
 same. 
 
 On March 21, 1878, the Club amended its Constitution to 
 permit ordinary members to become non-resident members 
 by a vote of the managers, if they were non-resident consti- 
 tutionally and not in debt to the Club; also to regulate the 
 date for the eventual surrender of bonds, or fraction thereof, 
 in lieu of dues, and to permit the admission, if before June i, 
 of not less than forty members of the Young Men's Demo- 
 cratic Club on such terms as to fees as the managers might 
 deem expedient. 
 
 On May 2, 1878, forty-five members of the Young Men's 
 Democratic Club took advantage of this and joined the 
 Manhattan. The New Club at this time suffered a great loss 
 in the resignation of Mr. August Belmont as president. The 
 third of its presidents and one of the oldest of its members, 
 he was also one of the leading citizens of New York City and 
 State. A faithful Democrat, he rendered many and valuable 
 services to his party. We find the Club records dwelling 
 upon the fact that though he was "earnest in the expression 
 of his views and eloquent in their advocacy," he never "went 
 beyond the limits of good sense, good breeding, and entire 
 fairness in the effort to make his political views prevail." His 
 services to his country when consulted upon financial mat- 
 ters, we are further told, were invaluable and "of material 
 assistance in overcoming doctrines the triumph of which 
 would have proved disastrous to the best interests of the 
 nation." 
 
 Moreover, he was a broad-minded citizen, a generous 
 patron of art, a lover of New York, and a friend to all he 
 deemed for its best interests,— in short, "a man entitled to 
 the respect and gratitude of the Manhattan Club," a fact the 
 Club emphasized on the occasion of his death on November 
 25, 1890. 
 
 56 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Two years and a half later, on June 22, 1893, Mr. Bel- 
 mont's three sons, Perry, August, and Oliver H. P. Belmont, 
 presented to the Club the fine portrait of their father which 
 forms one of its most valued possessions. The Club ordered 
 that the preamble and resolutions drawn up by the Board of 
 Managers in accepting the gift, "as a memorial of one of its 
 Presidents and most distinguished founders," should be en- 
 grossed and sent to the givers as an expression in permanent 
 form of its appreciation of the sentiment that dictated the 
 gift of a valuable work of art which "recalls in a singularly 
 lifelike manner one who was long a leader in the party which 
 it is the design of the Manhattan Club to support and en- 
 courage." In the resolution which follows the Club declared 
 its own faithfulness to those principles of popular govern- 
 ment of which Mr. Belmont was one of the most earnest, 
 consistent, and conspicuous advocates, and it deemed it emi- 
 nently appropriate, therefore, that his memory should be 
 kept alive in the Club by the memento upon its walls. It 
 ordered that the preamble and resolutions be spread in full 
 upon the records of the Board of Managers, as an "enduring 
 evidence of the generosity of the givers of the fine portrait, 
 as a testimonial of the spirit in which it is accepted, and as a 
 mark of the affectionate regard in which Mr. Belmont was 
 held in the Club." 
 
 Judge Aaron J. Vanderpoel was elected in Mr. Belmont's 
 place, and held office until February 11, 1886, when he re- 
 signed, Mr. Manton Marble being elected his successor. The 
 Club, in accepting Judge Vanderpoel's resignation, placed 
 on record a resolution declaring that his presidency had been 
 of the greatest value, and that during his term of office many 
 strides were made from adversity to prosperity, he having 
 come into office at a critical moment in the history of "the 
 most important non-factional Democratic organization in 
 the country," and at his retirement leaving the Club in the 
 first rank as the outcome of his courage and ability. Judge 
 
 57 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Vanderpoel lived only a short time after his retirement, his 
 death occurring on October 13, 1887. 
 
 On the seventh of May of the following year a group of 
 Club members presented a portrait of Judge Vanderpoel to 
 the Club, as a memorial, they said, of their friend who had 
 rendered such valuable services as president, and also in 
 remembrance of his high attainments as a member of the 
 legal profession, in which he was one of the most prominent 
 figures. 
 
 During the presidencies of Mr. Belmont and Judge Van- 
 derpoel the Club had been energetic in its work for Democ- 
 racy. On January 25, 1878, it invited Professor Sumner, of 
 Yale, and the Hon. David A. Wells to address its members 
 upon "The Silver Question." 
 
 On January 2, 1878, the Club honored General Winfield 
 Scott Hancock with a dinner, an outcome of the latter 
 being the presentation of a bust of General Hancock, with 
 pedestal, to the Club by Mr. John T. Agnew. On May 23, 
 1878, it entertained with a reception in honor of Governor 
 Robinson. 
 
 On December 8, 1878, a reception was given for Hon. John 
 McKeon, and on the fourteenth of the following January 
 another for the Governor and ex-Governor, and in February 
 yet another for the judges of the Supreme Court. In 1885 a 
 reception was given in honor of Grover Cleveland, whose 
 election to the Presidency the Club celebrated, expressing 
 its joy at the return of its party to power after twenty-five 
 years. During the preceding campaign it had extended its 
 privileges to the members of the National and State Com- 
 mittees. On November 12, 1885, it gave a reception for 
 Governor Hill. 
 
 Another event of this period was the sudden death of Mr. 
 Cadwallader Evans, one of the Club managers and its secre- 
 tary. He was still a young man whose career in business 
 had been most promising. His interest in the Club was 
 
 58 
 
Charles H. Truax 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 never-failing, and his faithful performance of his official duty 
 made him an invaluable member. His loss was mourned 
 sincerely, the Club expressing its satisfaction at the energy 
 and ability shown in his life, and its gratitude for the zeal, 
 intelligence, and industry displayed by him as its officer. 
 
 On March 20, 1879, the Club amended its Constitution to 
 excuse from payment of dues any member who might be 
 absent from the United States for a year or more. The year 
 1 881 witnessed the assassination of President Garfield. On 
 the occasion of his death, on September 23, the Club passed 
 the following resolution of sympathy, prepared by Messrs. 
 Hewitt and Coudert : 
 
 ''Resolved, That the Governors of the Manhattan Club 
 share in the universal sorrow which pervades the country 
 at the untimely death of President Garfield, and they tender 
 to his bereaved family the expression of their profound sym- 
 pathy for the irreparable loss which they have sustained." 
 
 Upon the death of Vice-President Hendricks, January 14, 
 1886, the Club unanimously passed the following resolu- 
 tion of regret at the loss of its party's first Vice-President 
 since the War : 
 
 *'Be it therefore resolved, That the Manhattan Club, 
 through its managers, desires to record and make public its 
 respect for the deceased Vice-President, to express its grati- 
 tude for his honorable service to the nation, and its recogni- 
 tion of the firmness with which he has sought to preserve 
 intact the inheritance which we have received from the 
 founders of our political existence. That the nation has lost 
 in him not only a citizen conspicuous for abilities long and 
 usefully exercised, but a servant whose integrity was never 
 questioned, whose patriotism was above reproach, and whose 
 private life was a living example to the younger generation. 
 He has proved that success in political life does not depend 
 
 59 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 upon artful efforts to win public confidence by unworthy 
 methods, but rather that the surest way to win the confidence 
 of the American people is to deserve it." 
 
 In January of the following year Mr. John T. Agnew pre- 
 sented a portrait of Vice-President Hendricks to the Club. 
 
 Other deaths of leading Democrats during this period 
 were those of General Hancock, February ii, 1886, and 
 Horatio Seymour, February 13, 1886. 
 
CHAPTER THE NINTH 
 
 Last Years in the Benkard House— Removal to the Stewart House, 
 called the "Whited Sepulchre" — Memorials of Mr. Cleveland — 
 Death of Mr. Tilden. 
 
 NDER date of June 3, 1869, we find the 
 first mention in Club annals of a desire for 
 the purchase of a site for a club-house. 
 Messrs. Marble, Green, Munson, and Schell 
 were appointed a committee to consider the 
 matter and hunt for an available location, 
 but nothing definite seems to have been 
 done, perhaps because of the increasing entanglement of the 
 Club's finances. 
 
 By January 19, 1883, these must have considerably 
 mended, since it is then that we find the Club accepting plans 
 for extending the Benkard house by the enlargement of the 
 balcony into a summer dining-room, about which we heard 
 from Mr. Lyons in a previous chapter. 
 
 Five years later, December 8, 1887, a request was signed 
 by thirty of the Club members calling for a special meeting 
 to consider the acquiring of a club-house farther up-town. 
 This meeting took place on January 19, 1888, and resulted in 
 the formation of a committee of five whose duty it was to 
 look into the financial condition of the Club, and report if its 
 
 61 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 funds justified such a removal at a certain increase in ex- 
 penses, the Club having decided that, if practicable, such a 
 removal was desired. 
 
 On the sixteenth of the following April the treasurer was 
 instructed to offer $800,000 for the Stewart mansion on Fifth 
 Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, a proceeding suspended in 
 September because the Stewart heirs refused the $800,000, 
 but resumed later (February 13, 1890) on the basis of a lease 
 of the property. Owing to the many interests involved and 
 to the litigation pending, it was feared that the choice of the 
 Stewart mansion for the new club-house must be abandoned. 
 At last, however, affairs were arranged, and in February the 
 terms were agreed upon, reduced to writing, and agreements 
 of lease exchanged, the Club to take the property for a series 
 of short terms aggregating twenty-one years. For the first 
 five years it was to pay $35,000, for the second $37,500, dur- 
 ing the next $40,000, and for the final six years the same. In 
 addition, the Club was to pay taxes, possible assessments, 
 and other charges on the property. 
 
 Affairs being thus settled, Messrs. J. Sergeant Cram and 
 L. Holme were, on February 20, 1890, appointed a commit- 
 tee to arrange for the sale of the Benkard house for $75,000; 
 and on March i, 1890, a Committee on Improvement took 
 possession of the Stewart house, the Board of Managers of 
 the new club-house reporting, March 20, 1890, the details of 
 the lease. The rent being payable by them quarterly in ad- 
 vance from March i, the landlords had received $8750 in dis- 
 charge of obligations to June. In addition, $2100 had been 
 paid for the furniture of the Stewart mansion. 
 
 By further terms of the lease, security was to be given by 
 five persons for the payment of the rent and the discharge of 
 the obligations incurred by virtue of the lease during the 
 first of the terms of five years, a condition agreed to, several 
 members of the Board, with the addition of Mr. George G. 
 Haven, becoming guarantors. 
 
 62 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 That these members might be free of any personal obliga- 
 tion in the matter, the Club agreed to deposit, at any time 
 during the five years, $100,000 in satisfactory securities, and 
 procure a cancellation of the investment of guarantee; the 
 Board of Managers proposing an issue of Club bonds to that 
 amount, the proceeds of these bonds to be safely invested in 
 a manner satisfactory to the owners of the Stewart mansion. 
 In the event of its being decided advisable to increase the 
 sum to $150,000, the extra $50,000 was to be devoted to pay- 
 ing for such alterations and improvements as the new situa- 
 tion of the Club might demand. At the expiration of five 
 years the $100,000 thus invested would again become the 
 property of the Club, and might be devoted to the discharge 
 of bonds to that extent. To justify such expenditure, the 
 committee reported that there had been so large an increase 
 in membership that the duty of discrimination was becoming 
 more and more imperative. 
 
 On April 10, i8go, the plans of the architect, Bruce Price, 
 for the improvement of the Stewart property were approved, 
 and so well did committee and architect do their work that 
 the third, tenth, and seventeenth of December saw the new 
 club-house opened for the inspection of the families and 
 friends of the members, and the Club's life in the Benkard 
 house brought to its end. During the final years in its first 
 home, the Manhattan Club had, April 12, 1888, extended its 
 courtesies to the New York Club while its club-house was in 
 the hands of the builders, and on September 7 of that year 
 had given a reception in honor of Allen G. Thurman. 
 
 In 1889 came up the matter of Grover Cleveland and life 
 membership. The Club, March 21, 1889, had amended its 
 Constitution to permit the making, by the unanimous vote 
 of the managers, of any President or ex-President of the 
 United States a life member without payment. The first so 
 to be honored under the new amendment was ex-President 
 Cleveland, April 11, 1889. 
 
 63 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 In response, Mr. Cleveland wrote Mr. Frederic R. Cou- 
 dert, at that time President of the Manhattan Club, the fol- 
 lowing letter : 
 
 F. R. Coudert, Esq. ^^'^^ '3. 1889. 
 
 My dear Sir: I have just received your letter enclosing a 
 note from the Secretary of the Manhattan Club informing 
 me of my election to a life membership in that organization, 
 in accordance with an amendment of its Constitution. 
 
 The kindly feeling manifested by this action is especially 
 gratifying; and yet I am determined to ask of those who 
 have been so kind to give further proof of their considera- 
 tion, by permitting me to become an every-day, paying, ordi- 
 nary member of the Club. In other words, I should be glad 
 to surrender my ex-President life membership for the ordi- 
 nary contributing membership. 
 
 I understand, of course, that I must run the chance of an 
 election; but if the opportunity is afforded me, my intentions, 
 fully formed when I took up my residence here, will be car- 
 ried out. Can you help me in this matter? 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) Grover Cleveland. 
 
 In 1889 an appropriation of $1000 was made for the Club 
 library, a Library Committee consisting of Judge E. Patter- 
 son and Messrs. Roger Foster and W. W. Baldwin being 
 appointed. 
 
 Before the removal to the new club-house, the limit of 
 membership was set, March 20, at twelve hundred and fifty; 
 Thomas F. Ryan, a few days later (March 31), joining the 
 Club. 
 
 During this period the Club lost a number of its leading 
 members by death, one being John T. Hoffman, in the years 
 termed "post-bellum" one of the foremost figures in New 
 York City and State politics. Tammany Hall ran him in 
 1865 for mayor. His impeccable record won him the race. 
 
 64 
 
John Hone 
 
 4 
 
f 
 
 / 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Among the several opposing candidates was that famous 
 religious enthusiast, John Hecker, run by Mozart Hall. It 
 was Mayor Hoffman who, on the occasion of his laying the 
 corner-stone for the new Tammany Hall on Fourteenth 
 Street, made the memorable prophecy that, for the coming 
 half-century at least, it would remain headquarters for the 
 Democracy of New York. Besides being mayor of the City 
 of New York, John T. Hoffman was twice governor of the 
 State, "in every station," according to Mr. Manton Marble, 
 "justifying the hope of his friends and the confidence of his 
 party, and contributing, in the early years of our heavy war 
 taxation, wise and instructive counsels to the legislature of 
 the State, which have been to our advantage whenever fol- 
 lowed, and neglected to our loss." It was, to cite again 
 Manton Marble, "the justice, purity, and firmness of his 
 character, as proved by future political events, which made 
 him as worthy to have preceded Tilden and Manning as to 
 have followed Flagg and Seymour in the line of the states- 
 men of New York." 
 
 A distinct loss to the Club's roster was William Dorshei- 
 mer, a Republican brought into Democratic ranks by his 
 disapproval of his party's Reconstruction policy. Soldier, 
 United States district attorney, first in the Northern, then 
 in the Southern District of New York, and member of Con- 
 gress, he brought his activities to a close by entering the 
 field of journalism. In all vocations he showed himself 
 professionally most efficient. He was likewise one of the 
 most attractive of men. Twice lieutenant-governor of the 
 Empire State, he will live in her history as the author of the 
 remodelled architecture at Albany, as well as of the inter- 
 national reservation of the Park and the Falls of Niagara. 
 
 Another death at this time was that of the Republican 
 statesman Roscoe Conkling, which occurred in 1888, some 
 seven years after his retirement from public life, in which he 
 had served four times as representative to Congress, three 
 
 65 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 times as United States senator, "a career," says Mr. Man- 
 ton Marble, "which left unclouded his title to Club fellow- 
 ship and Club pride." Mr. Marble tells us that he "waived 
 the highest diplomatic functions, declined the first judicial 
 office, resigned the highest senatorial trust, marks of a char- 
 acter unique in force and style, one of stainless honor 
 through an era of corruption, of unquailing hardihood in a 
 day of desertions and disaster, sincere, manly, constant, in- 
 capable of disloyalty to a party or a friend." "These," says 
 Mr. Marble, "are distinctions beyond the power of antago- 
 nists to withhold or of partisans to confer." The last years 
 of his life Mr. Conkling was out of tune with his party, which 
 will account for his membership in the Manhattan Club. 
 
 The death of Samuel J. Tilden occurred in 1886, and on 
 August 10 the Club expressed its sense of the loss of one of 
 its most honored members by appointing a committee of 
 thirty to attend his funeral in a body, and by ordering a 
 preamble and resolution on his death to be entered in full 
 upon the minutes of the Club, a copy to be sent to his family. 
 This preamble and resolution express in feeling words the 
 tribute of Democracy "to him who, by the general consent of 
 his fellow-citizens, was entitled to be regarded as one of the 
 ablest statesmen New York State has ever produced, one 
 fully imbued with the belief that the success of the policy of 
 the Democratic Party and the perpetuation of its principles 
 were best adapted to the present and future needs of his na- 
 tion, and that by the promotion of its success a purified pub- 
 lic service might be obtained, while, at the same time, its 
 influence would serve as security against the corrupting 
 effects of centralized power." 
 
 He easily acquired and never lost his hold upon the mass 
 and body of the people, the most malignant attacks of his 
 personal and political foes failing to dislodge him from their 
 confidence and regard. "As a champion of public morality, 
 as a firm believer in popular institutions, as a laborious ser- 
 
 66 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 vant of never-questioned integrity, he earned," continues the 
 resolution, "what he deserved — the respect of his people 
 while living, a place with the best of departed leaders when 
 dead. As a wise member of the State legislature, as a gov- 
 ernor of the Empire State, as President-elect of the United 
 States, he reaped the richest fruits of a statesman's ambi- 
 tions." 
 
 The Club, in recalling the then recent deaths of Seymour, 
 Hancock, McClellan, Hendricks, and Tilden, congratulated 
 itself and the Democratic Party upon the realization that the 
 whole nation mourned their leaders, — "leaders of Democ- 
 racy, but also the people's well-loved and trusted servants, 
 one of whom, by his wise forbearance under circumstances of 
 singular injustice, proving his love of country by patient 
 endurance of personal wrong, demonstrating that the 
 serenity of his judgment could not be disturbed by personal 
 ambition, emotion, or interest." 
 
CHAPTER THE TENTH 
 
 The Stewart House — Money Troubles — Truax, O'SuUivan, and Rodie 
 —"Uncle Tom" Miller— His Tragic End— Factions of 1896— Colonel 
 "Bill" Brown — His famous Cleveland-Hill Dinner — His Resignation 
 in a "Huff" — The Reception to Dewey — The Admiral's good Mem- 
 ory. 
 
 HE era of the Stewart house found the Club 
 again in financial difficulties. These were 
 at times more burdensome and apparently 
 less extricable than those from which it had 
 recently emerged. Truth to say, the Stew- 
 art house was never very popular with a 
 large section — especially the older section 
 — of the Club. It was much too splendid for comfort. Some 
 in derision called it the "Marble Mausoleum," and others the 
 "Whited Sepulchre." 
 
 Comyns, the head waiter, already quoted, tells us in his 
 interview with Mr. Lyons on the subject of the Club, justly 
 and truly, that "in every survey of the many-sided charac- 
 ters entering into the history of the Manhattan Club, care 
 should be taken not to forget to pay tribute to the men 
 whose well-trained minds, business abilities, and personal 
 attention lifted it out of terrible financial entanglements 
 and replaced it on a sound, safe basis." During the last 
 
 68 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 years of its occupancy of the Thirty-fourth Street house it 
 certainly encountered many discouragements ; it lost a num- 
 ber of its members, reducing its resources, and reached a 
 point which required a thorough overhauling and radical 
 reshaping of its domestic conditions. 
 
 It was necessary that the greatest executive ability 
 should be called in. Amid such a concourse it was not im- 
 possible to find such men, though naturally of diversified 
 characteristics. In the end a solution was reached so fair in 
 its proposals and so practical in its conclusions that it met 
 with general and hearty approbation. The final success of 
 the scheme justified its authors. These were Sylvester J. 
 O'Sullivan and William S. Rodie. Mr. O'Sullivan became 
 treasurer, and Mr. Rodie was made chairman of the House 
 Committee, a position which he held for many succeeding 
 years. Both gentlemen were noted for their splendid busi- 
 ness abilities, strong organizing talents, and intense devo- 
 tion. They replaced the Club on a firm financial footing, 
 giving it a prosperity and independence which it happily 
 still enjoys. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Frederic R. Coudert was elected president of 
 the Club, with Mr. C. C. Baldwin for vice-president, Mr. J. 
 Edward Simmons (succeeded by Mr. O'Sullivan), treasurer, 
 and Mr. David B. Gilbert, whom we have met in the Benkard 
 house chapters, secretary. 
 
 On the House Committee of this period were Messrs. J. 
 Sergeant Cram, Charles H. Truax, and Cyrus Yale. 
 
 Of all these old members, who, according to Comyns, "de- 
 serve to be remembered with conspicuous affection," none 
 more richly merits the honor than Judge Charles H. Truax. 
 Of a most unassuming, chivalrous character, he was pos- 
 sessed of an amiable temperament that endeared him to all 
 who knew him. The story was current that on the occasion 
 when his fellow-members honored him with a banquet, in his 
 speech dwelling on the friendly footing the company felt for 
 
 69 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 each other he said : "Every one of you boys here, except one, 
 calls me 'Charlie,* and that one is my son." 
 
 Judge Truax was a notable traveller. He had been twice 
 around the world. He was likewise a voracious reader with 
 a good memory. He became a dominant figure in local poli- 
 tics, for which he had a natural bent, and, being a man of 
 admirable tact, was often called upon to settle personal trou- 
 bles and solve factional problems. He died a Supreme Court 
 justice of New York, having sat upon the bench for over 
 twenty-five years. 
 
 He owned the most noted private wine-cellar in New 
 York, and was everywhere recognized as an exquisite gour- 
 met On the occasion of his death the Club resolution de- 
 scribed him "as the most useful, best beloved, and valuable of 
 the members of the Club and the Board." The resolution 
 continued : "Whether as a member, director, or president of 
 the Club, he endeared himself to all by his splendid personal 
 qualities and the charm of his companionship, his warm 
 heart and generous nature — qualities which made him a 
 distinctive feature in the life of the Club, and which left it in 
 his debt for his loyal and unselfish devotion to its interests." 
 
 As president of the Manhattan he served from 1899 to 
 1908. Coming into the presidency at a time when its affairs 
 had reached a low ebb, with Messrs. O' Sullivan and Rodie 
 he succeeded in turning the tide effectually and permanently. 
 The Club is the happy possessor of a portrait of Judge 
 "Charlie," presented to it on February 19, 1902. On his 
 voluntary and insistent retirement from the presidency in 
 1908, a special vote of thanks was tendered to him for his 
 invaluable services. 
 
 It is related of those old Stewart house days that, at three 
 every afternoon, there gathered a famous group of cronies, 
 men prominent in many diverse walks of life, who won the 
 nickname of the "Rocking-chair Fleet." They held their 
 sessions in the smoking-room, disbanding punctually as the 
 
 70 
 
Morgan J. O'Brien 
 
* 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 clock struck six. The foremost of these were D. P. In- 
 graham, Arthur Ingraham, Gus Monroe, Fonny Fisher, E. 
 C. Chase, Will Murray, and John Woodhall. Their conver- 
 sation, tradition says, ranged through all the possibilities of 
 science, politics, society, topics of the day, astronomy, and 
 gastronomy. An outcome of the latter was the famous salad- 
 dressing of D. P. Ingraham, which was voted a "classic." 
 
 A striking figure of those old days was Colonel William L. 
 (familiarly known as "Billy") Brown, one of the owners and 
 editors of the New York "Daily News," a close friend and 
 business colleague of the Hon. Ben Wood. 
 
 It was in 1892, just before Cleveland's second election to 
 the Presidency, that Colonel Brown gave a dinner at the 
 Club in aid of the effort the friends of Cleveland and Hill 
 were making to bring the two together. There had been an 
 estrangement arising out of factional differences and per- 
 sonal misunderstanding, and the mutual friends of both, in 
 the interest of party harmony, were striving to close the 
 breach and unify the common interest. 
 
 Famous in the annals of the Club is Colonel Brown's din- 
 ner. It was one of the most magnificent repasts ever given 
 at the Club. Everything was new, — napery, silver, glass- 
 ware, tables, chairs actually made to order for the occasion. 
 The menus, each of which cost a fortune, were engraved in 
 elaborate design by the most noted artist of the time. Covers 
 were laid for thirty-two guests, who indulged in much en- 
 thusiasm and considerable hand-shaking. 
 
 Colonel Brown, who in the campaign of 1896 stood by 
 Bryan and party regularity, resigned from the Club, in com- 
 pany with a number of like-minded members, as a result of 
 the demonstration over McKinley's election to the Presi- 
 dency. Naturally, the Manhattan was a "Gold Bug." In the 
 joy over the defeat of Bryan and Free Silver, New York went 
 wild. Party lines were for the time forgotten. A majority 
 of the members of the Club, rejoicing over what they re> 
 
 71 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 garded as an escape from financial ruin, demonstrated their 
 independence by receiving the news of McKinley's election 
 with noisy satisfaction. Opposing interests, antagonistic 
 political factions and parties, diverse business of all sorts, 
 met on common ground. Amid these felicitations occurred 
 the incident which caused Colonel Brown to leave the Club. 
 On the night of the election, the Union League of New York 
 City, the leading Republican Club of the country, headed by 
 a military band, marched down Fifth Avenue from Thirty- 
 ninth to Thirty-fourth Street, and took possession of the 
 Manhattan club-house amid a frenzy of rejoicing. On its 
 return to its own club-house, the Union League was escorted 
 by a large and hilarious majority of the members of the Man- 
 hattan Club. This proceeding being most offensive to Col- 
 onel Brown and many others, a number of resignations, his 
 among the rest, quickly followed. 
 
 Another clubman destined to live in memory was Cap- 
 tain Thomas Miller, affectionately called "dear old Uncle 
 Tom," one of the most picturesque of the diversified and 
 peculiar types for which the Manhattan Club has been 
 noted and who make its history so interesting. During fif- 
 teen years "Uncle Tom" daily arrived at the Club promptly 
 at five o'clock in the afternoon, and never left before 2 a.m., 
 the closing hour. It was remarked of him that he drank 
 nothing but tea before nine o'clock; from then onward, until 
 he quitted the Club, drinking everything except tea. He was 
 famous as a raconteur. He had been on intimate terms with 
 most of the prominent and influential members of the Demo- 
 cratic Party of his time, and his knowledge of striking inci- 
 dents, both political and social, was wide and universal. He 
 had an effusive and altogether striking personality. His 
 reminiscences were the joy of his associates. He was also 
 famous for his clam and oyster stews, the recipes for which 
 were handed over to Joe of the shell-fish counter, thence- 
 forth bearing the brand of the Manhattan Club. "Dear old 
 
 72 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Uncle Tom" suggested the menu for many an important 
 Club dinner. 
 
 During twenty-five years he lived by himself in a hall bed- 
 room not far from the club-house. One night, when the snow 
 was falling heavily, he incautiously ventured forth. He 
 should not have gone alone. He had grown, indeed, very old 
 and feeble. It was two o'clock a.m., his usual hour. The 
 storm was at its height. It proved too much for him. The 
 next morning he was found lying unconscious in Madison 
 Square, barely alive. Borne to his little hall room, "Uncle 
 Tom" soon ceased to breathe. 
 
 The "star boarder" of the Manhattan for twenty years, Mr. 
 Rodie's colleague in the resuscitation of the Club's finances, 
 was Sylvester J. O' Sullivan. Though often a member of the 
 House Committee, he was better known as treasurer. He 
 possessed a most interesting and lovable personality. He 
 was six and a half feet in height, and of perfect symmetry. 
 Very exact, minute, and methodical, never a day was he 
 absent from his place at the dinner-table — always the same 
 table in the same spot in the dining-room, with practically 
 the same chums around it. Even on occasions when ban- 
 quets were held, this table at the one locality was reserved 
 for O'Sullivan — known as the "Widow" — and his friends. It 
 was called the "Boarding-house." About it gathered men, 
 but few of whom are still living, of widely different callings, 
 held together by the sturdy character, cordial ways, and all- 
 around attractiveness of Sylvester J. O'Sullivan. The very 
 identity of the "Boarding-house" and its table has been lost 
 since the death of this able, useful, and generous man. 
 
 Mr. O'Sullivan could never be tempted to make a speech. 
 If called upon, he invariably recited : 
 
 "There was an old hen that had a wooden leg; 
 'Twas the best old hen that ever laid an egg. 
 She laid more eggs than any chicken on the farm — 
 Another little drink won't do us any harm." 
 
 73 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 It was in those days that Judge Beach and Judge Allen, 
 eminent members of both Bench and Bar, were conspicuous 
 habitues of the Manhattan. Judge Miles Beach was a distin- 
 guished New York lawyer before he went on the Bench. On 
 a certain occasion he and Judge Allen appeared with a guest 
 of naval appearance, who turned out to be Admiral Dewey. 
 Years later, in 1899, — for that was away back in the early 
 eighties, — the hero of Manila was given a wondrous ovation 
 in New York, following upon his recent victories. The Club 
 gave him a notable reception. On this occasion the club- 
 house was decorated with United States flags made into a 
 variety of designs. There was much martial music and lusty 
 cheering by three hundred members. Judge Truax presided, 
 and Mr. Douglas Taylor, seconded by Mr. Jefferson M. 
 Levy, proposed resolutions to the "brave and generous offi- 
 cers and gallant men," among whom was one Manhattan 
 member — Flag-Lieutenant Bromley. The oration of the 
 evening was delivered by James B. Eustis, recently ambas- 
 sador to France. 
 
 Dewey was a man who never forgot a person or thing once 
 seen. On the edge of the crowd of that evening, so dense 
 that the staircase leading to the dining-room — it was in the 
 present club-house — had to be roped, the famous guest espied 
 a certain figure. After gazing at the figure for a moment or 
 two, he beckoned to him and extended his hand. 
 
 "I have been watching you for some time," he said pleas- 
 antly; "and I want to tell you that I have not forgotten how 
 well you served me at the old Manhattan club-house on 
 Thirty-fourth Street, when I went there with Judge Beach 
 and Judge Allen." 
 
 It was Alfred Comyns, at that time head waiter of the 
 Club for over fifteen years, now for thirty years, but for 
 whose good memory the Club might have lost the tradition 
 of many celebrated persons and doughty Democrats. 
 
CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH 
 
 Club Proceedings in the Stewart House— A Round of Receptions to 
 Gorman, Van Wyck, and Cleveland and Stevenson — Death of the 
 distinguished Frederic R. Coudert. 
 
 T was in December, 1890, that the Stewart 
 house was pronounced ready for Club oc- 
 cupancy, and on the third, tenth, and sev- 
 enteenth days of that month the famous 
 mansion, at that time one of the wonders 
 of New York, was thrown open for the 
 inspection of the families and friends of the 
 members. The Stewart house, erstwhile home of the mer- 
 chant prince, A. T. Stewart, was, as one may learn from the 
 newspapers of that day, considered not only the handsomest 
 residence in the great metropolis, but the stateliest on the 
 continent. Standing in its marble splendor, with its noble 
 pillars and fine entranceways, at a conspicuous corner of 
 Fifth Avenue, it long remained one of the sights of the town. 
 
 The Manhattan Club, in taking possession, made no altera- 
 tions in its exterior, and permitted only such changes within 
 as were needful to convert a private dwelling into a club- 
 house. The decorations were left untouched, and much of 
 the furniture was purchased by the Club. The Gold, the 
 Blue, and the White Room, all leading into each other; the 
 
 75 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Lace Room, in buff and blue; the capacious picture-gallery, 
 the imposing entrance hall and stairway, won lively admira- 
 tion from all those fortunate enough to be admitted, and it 
 was the general verdict that the Manhattan Club had indeed 
 a club-house in keeping with its position as the leading 
 Democratic Club of America. 
 
 The A. T. Stewart house, in the estimation of the archi- 
 tects of that day, was one of the noblest buildings in all the 
 land. It was in Italian Renaissance style, weakened, how- 
 ever, by a French mansard roof, added by Mr. Stewart when 
 he needed an upper story. The entrance steps were the talk 
 of New York, each one quite thirty feet wide, the first plat- 
 form being, it was claimed, the largest block of marble ever 
 quarried here. A fine feature was the terrace on the Thirty- 
 fourth Street side. The building of this palace consumed 
 seven years. The marble railing around the house cost 
 $50,000; the rotunda, $100,000. The entrance hall, giving 
 an effect of imposing vastness, was twenty-five feet in 
 height, six pillars, each carved, even to its overhanging 
 capital, of one piece of Florentine marble, supporting elab- 
 orately ornamented beams. The white marble stairway, 
 winding along the wall to a rotunda, was considered a mar- 
 vel of architectural skill. 
 
 The House Committee chose the great room with three 
 windows — two overlooking Fifth Avenue and one Thirty- 
 fourth Street — for the Club parlor. Its carpet, made to 
 order, and woven, at the bidding of Mr. Stewart, in one piece, 
 repeated the frescoing of the ceiling for a pattern, — as, in 
 fact, did all the carpets in the large rooms of the mansion. 
 The furnishing of this room consisted of rosewood furniture 
 inlaid with gilt, plush-covered cabinets, mirrors and chan- 
 deliers. All the floors, including that of the basement, were 
 of Italian marble. The dining-room extended across the 
 whole Fifth Avenue front of the third story, in size forty by 
 twenty feet. It was indeed the apartment designed by Mr. 
 
 76 
 
Alton B. Parker 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Stewart for the use of General Grant at his pleasure. A cool- 
 ness, however, springing up between the two, it was never so 
 used. To avoid the odors of cooking, the kitchen was on the 
 top floor. There also were bedchambers for Club members. 
 The reception-room was upholstered in leather and lighted 
 by large, high windows framed in white marble, as were 
 those of the other rooms. As arranged by the Club, there 
 were private dining-rooms, a number of card-rooms, a bil- 
 liard-table occupying the former picture-gallery, and a cafe 
 in the basement. The staff of employees numbered one hun- 
 dred and twelve persons, Mr. P. McGregor Cummings being 
 superintendent. The chef at this time was Domenico Gian- 
 nini. 
 
 Once settled in its splendid new home, the Club began 
 giving receptions, the first planned being that offered Sena- 
 tor Gorman for his efforts to defeat the so-called "Force 
 Bill," against the passage of which the Club had passed 
 resolutions on December 27 of the preceding year. Senator 
 Gorman, however, declined the honor of being thus indi- 
 vidualized in the matter, on the ground that it was not he 
 alone who deserved it. New features, also, were ladies* re- 
 ceptions and loan exhibitions of works of art. 
 
 The Saratoga Platform of the Empire State Democrats, 
 adopted September 30, 1891, called for the passage of ener- 
 getic resolutions by the Club, which, in pledging its support, 
 declared that since the Manhattan had been founded for the 
 advancement of Democratic principles, it believed it to be 
 expedient to assert, whenever occasion offered or required, 
 its sympathy with, and approval of, all measures calculated 
 to promote the success of the Democratic Party. 
 
 It therefore endorsed the Saratoga Platform, at the same 
 time condemning the waste of public money by the Repub- 
 lican Party, its attempts by means of sectional legislation to 
 revive old animosities, its defiance of the people's will and of 
 its own interest in matters of revenue reform. Roswell 
 
 77 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 P. Flower was endorsed as Democratic candidate for the 
 governorship of New York; Fassett, the Republican candi- 
 date, condemned. Flower was elected, and the following 
 year (1892), Democratic victory having crowned the Presi- 
 dential campaign, the Club at once arranged for a reception 
 in honor of the President and Vice-President elect, Grover 
 Cleveland and Adlai E. Stevenson, to take place on Novem- 
 ber 10, 1892. 
 
 It was at this time that the Lotos Club, founded in 1870 
 for the promotion of art and letters, found itself temporarily 
 without a home. With characteristic hospitality, the Man- 
 hattan Club on May i extended club courtesies to its mem- 
 bers, as it had previously (April 13) extended them to the 
 Alpha Delta Phi. 
 
 The grave political issue of the tariff question, brought 
 about by the McKinley Act of 1890, unsatisfactory even to 
 those who had passed it, excited in 1894 strong factional and 
 national feeling, which on May 24 found expression in the 
 Manhattan Club in a resolution framed by Mr. Walter Stan- 
 ton. It voiced the Club's disapproval of the tariff blunders, 
 which, it held, were responsible for the sufferings of the 
 memorable winter of 1893-94. 
 
 The Club took that occasion also to pledge itself anew to 
 the principle of a tariff for revenue only. It urged the pas- 
 sage of a revenue reform bill, declared that every hour of 
 delay was a crime against the people, and condemned the 
 proposed passage of an income tax as unnecessary, unjust, 
 undemocratic, and in violation of the Constitution of the 
 United States. 
 
 The Club decreed that a copy of these resolutions be sent 
 every Democratic member of Congress. 
 
 In the following October, again at the motion of Mr. 
 Stanton, a campaign committee of fifty was appointed by the 
 president, among its members being Walter Stanton, Wil- 
 liam C. Whitney, Thomas F. Ryan, Perry Belmont, John T. 
 
 78 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Agnew, Theodore W. Myers, H. R. Ickelheimer, Joseph J. 
 O'Donohue, John D. Crimmins, Henry C. Miner, C. F. 
 Dieterich, Randolph Guggenheimer, Robert Maclay Bull, 
 John C. Calhoun, J. D. Archbold, William Butler Duncan, 
 Elijah P. Smith, Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry, Charles J. 
 Canda, Charles A. DuVivier, George Alexander Brown, 
 Daniel K. Bayne, Joseph C. Hendrix, Amos F. Eno, Jacob 
 Ruppert, Jr., John R. Bennett, Louis V. Bell, George C. 
 Clausen, Calvin S. Brice, John C. Graham, and Lloyd S. 
 Bryce. 
 
 In keeping with these movements was the reception, pro- 
 posed by the Club, October 4, to be given in honor of the 
 Empire State nominees. 
 
 A ladies* reception, of which no memorial seems to have 
 lingered in Club records, was given, April 11, 1895; and 
 again we find the Club, on May 24, 1895, extending its hospi- 
 talities to Democratic editors and their wives, and, on No- 
 vember 14, to the commissioned officers of the United States 
 men-of-war in New York Harbor for a fortnight. 
 
 A vote of thanks was extended, April 9, 1896, to Thomas 
 B. Clarke for services in connection with the loan exhibition 
 of pictures arranged by the Club. 
 
 The Club, consistent in its principles, believed the cause of 
 the business stagnation of 1896 to be the agitation in favor 
 of the free coinage of silver. Accordingly, on May 28, 1896, 
 it passed resolutions endorsing "one single monetary stand- 
 ard of value to be used in the purchase of merchandise and 
 payment of debts, as the imperative demand of all interested 
 in secure and prosperous domestic and international com- 
 merce." The Club thereafter denounced all agitation in 
 favor of the enactment of laws for the unlimited coinage of 
 silver at any ratio, or the adoption in any form of a double 
 standard of value in money, and proclaimed its adherence to 
 the gold-dollar standard of money value as the only safe 
 basis for all our foreign and domestic transactions. 
 
 79 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 It held that the coming Democratic Convention, to be 
 held that year, should endorse the administration of Presi- 
 dent Cleveland and declare a gold basis for sound money to 
 be the one prominent issue at the coming election. 
 
 On May lo, 1898, a meeting was called in celebration of 
 Dewey's victory in Manila Bay. That same year (October 3) 
 a reception was given to Augustus Van Wyck, Democratic 
 candidate for governor of New York. 
 
 Again, February 9, 1899, Grover Cleveland was requested 
 to accept life membership without payment. 
 
 In the death of Mr. Coudert, which took place at Wash- 
 ington, December 20, 1903, the Club lost one of its most 
 valued members. In the resolutions drawn up as expressive 
 of Club sympathy and appreciation, we read of his having 
 been an active and conspicuous member of the Club, an 
 honored and influential friend of the organization, taking 
 always a profound interest in its welfare, and rendering 
 faithful and efficient service in its behalf. 
 
 Mr. Coudert joined the Club on December 3, 1874, and 
 continued to be an active and conspicuous member up to the 
 time of his death, serving as president from 1889 until 1899, 
 when he voluntarily resigned, having previously done duty 
 on the Board of Managers in 1880, and as vice-president for 
 nine years, from 1880 to 1889. As president he displayed the 
 greatest zeal and ability, evoking the lasting gratitude of his 
 fellow-members. With Chauncey M. Depew, Mr. Coudert 
 shared great popularity with business men. He earned his 
 own way through Columbia College, then at Park and 
 Church Streets, doing newspaper work. He was a good 
 raconteur, full of wit and humor, possessing a clear, musical 
 voice, all of which gave him great acceptance as an after-din- 
 ner speaker. He was the recipient of decorations from both 
 France and Italy, the former bestowing the insignia of the 
 Legion of Honor upon him. A famous Manhattan private 
 dinner was the one given by him to the Board of Managers 
 
 80 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 on the eve of his sailing to act as counsel in the Behring Sea 
 difficulty. Mr. Coudert thus was president almost the entire 
 time of the sojourn of the Club in the Stewart house, Judge 
 Truax only succeeding him in 1899, the date of its removal 
 to its present quarters, an account of which, and the events 
 leading thereto, we shall hear in the coming chapter. 
 
 But first reference must be made to two members of note, 
 prominent in the Club in the Stewart era. One was that 
 enthusiastic Democrat, Christopher C. Baldwin, vice-presi- 
 dent of the Club and former president of the Louisville and 
 Nashville Railroad, who rallied the Democracy after Han- 
 cock's defeat and issued the call to the famous Cooper 
 Union meeting that led to the election of Cleveland; the 
 other, J. Edward Simmons, president of the Fourth National 
 Bank, an office to which he was elected when he owned no 
 stock, knew no director, and had never been in the bank. 
 
CHAPTER THE TWELFTH 
 
 The Stewart House a "White Elephant"— Removal to Cheaper Quar- 
 ters Imperative — Hunting for a New Club-house — The Final 
 Choice— A Happy Solution. 
 
 HE Club, as we have seen, moved into the 
 Stewart house in 1890. At the time there 
 was a committee, consisting of Messrs. J. 
 Sergeant Cram and L. Holme, appointed 
 (February 20, 1890) to consider the sale of 
 the Benkard house for $75,000. On June 9, 
 1892, an appropriation of $15,000 was made 
 from the reserve fund of the Club to discharge its indebt- 
 edness. 
 
 From that date onward financial affairs seem to have be- 
 come troublesome. The expenses of keeping up such an 
 establishment proved to be enormous, since on January 11, 
 1894, we find the Club disturbed over its electric-light bill. 
 In spite of all efforts to reduce the expense, the bills had 
 doubled and redoubled until the one under discussion 
 reached the sum of $9500. As no compromise could be ar- 
 rived at, the Club decided to use gas exclusively, and to make 
 inquiries about the practicability of procuring for the Club 
 an electric plant of its own. 
 
 In February of that year an amendment to increase the 
 
 82 
 
Victor J. Dowling 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 dues fifty dollars semi-annually was carried, and on Decem- 
 ber 5, 1895, a committee was appointed to prepare a plan 
 to discharge the indebtedness of the Club; another, of five 
 members, at the same time, being asked to inquire into the 
 Club's rights and privileges regarding the lease of the 
 Stewart house, and to look about for a more suitable resi- 
 dence. 
 
 The Club, December 10, adopted a motion to extend an 
 invitation of membership to the members of the Democratic 
 Club, without payment of an initiation fee, provided one 
 hundred joined in a body. 
 
 In January, 1899, the question of the Stewart house lease 
 was taken up in earnest, the Board of Managers holding a 
 meeting on the twelfth, with the result that a committee of 
 three, including the President, with power to increase its 
 number if expedient, was appointed to confer with the 
 owners of the Stewart house and endeavor to obtain a sur- 
 render of the lease, and also to look about for another club- 
 house. 
 
 The managers reported that the experience of the two 
 previous years had shown the revenues of the Club to be 
 inadequate to its expenses, and that they had, in conse- 
 quence, devised a plan for obtaining voluntary subscriptions 
 to bonds for the purpose of liquidating the Club's indebted- 
 ness; and, to this end, a committee had been appointed to 
 dispose of the lease of the Stewart house and secure new 
 quarters — members, according to Article II, Section 14, to 
 be assessed fifty dollars to pay the Club's indebtedness. 
 
 The Board of Managers, composed of Mr. Coudert, Mr. 
 Gilbert, and Judge Truax, announced, February 6, 1899, that 
 they had successfully negotiated with the owners of the 
 Stewart house, who agreed to cancel the lease after the fol- 
 lowing May. Upon mature reflection and careful con- 
 sideration, it had been decided to take the premises of the 
 University Club, on the corner of Madison Avenue and 
 
 83 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Twenty-sixth Street, from that date, at a rental of $24,000 
 per annum, free from taxes. In the opinion of the Board, it 
 was plain that the enormous expenses incident to the 
 Stewart house could not be maintained — a fact by this time 
 universally conceded by the Club. 
 
 The premises of the University Club were considered a 
 great improvement as to location, convenience, and comfort. 
 The expenses would be moderate enough to permit of a 
 reduction in the annual dues from $100 to $75. 
 
 "Resignations have thus far been few," the committee 
 reported, "while the payment of assessments has been, in 
 promptness and cordiality, beyond our expectations. But 
 no effort in the way of judicious economy or improvement in 
 actual or prospective conditions can maintain the high 
 standard of the Manhattan Club without the continued and 
 generous co-operation of our members. If they believe that 
 the Manhattan Club has been in the past a useful instru- 
 mentality for the promotion of sound Democratic principles, 
 they may, with scarcely an effort, place its success in the 
 future beyond any question. The future is in their hands. 
 The Club has survived political defeat, financial depression, 
 and party dissensions ; it has always been firm and zealous in 
 the maintenance of Democratic principles, and its influence 
 has been felt wherever these principles were imperilled. It 
 now needs only the same loyal support that it has heretofore 
 received to assure it a useful and brilliant career." 
 
 So satisfactory appears to have been the response to this, 
 that a statement was issued, January 16, 1899, showing that 
 the finances of the Club had weathered all storms and 
 showed a strong balance. 
 
 In the latter part of May, 1899, the Club left the Stewart 
 house, and for something over a month was the recipient of 
 courtesies from other New York City clubs. July 15 of that 
 year it took possession of its present quarters. 
 
 There is still in existence a record of the first bar-check 
 
 84 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 issued. It bore the signature of Judge C. H. Truax, called 
 for twenty cents, and was marked "A-1080, July 15, 1899." 
 The first wine-check was made out, July 14, 1899, the day 
 before taking possession, on an order from the Moving Com- 
 mittee, composed of Augustine Monroe, Theodore Rich, and 
 Thomas R. Fisher. It was marked "D-i," and called for one 
 quart No. 240 (old rye), $1.75, and two quarts No. 427 
 (Poland water), $0.40, making a total of $2.15, and was 
 signed "A. Monroe." 
 
 The officers at the time of the removal were Judge Truax, 
 president; John Hone, vice-president; Sylvester J. O' Sulli- 
 van, treasurer; David B. Gilbert, secretary. On the House 
 Committee were William S. Rodie, John Hunter, Jr., and 
 Pierre F. MacDonald, all of whom continued in office until 
 1906. 
 
 The finances of the Club from the day of its removal ad- 
 justed themselves satisfactorily, and continued along the 
 line of prosperity; for on March ig, 1903, we read of the 
 treasurer triumphantly announcing that the Club had not 
 a dollar of indebtedness, but rather $46,000 surplus, as a re- 
 sult of living in a club-house suitable to its revenues. "We 
 have money in our boots," said Sylvester J. O'SuUivan. 
 From then onward until the present day we hear no more of 
 financial entanglements. 
 
 On January 13, 1910, Judge Victor J. Dowling, president, 
 stated that it was the Club's wish to secure a site on which 
 to erect a suitable building for its permanent home. Men- 
 tion of plans for this purchase of Club property was made 
 January 12, 191 1, and eventually the present site of the Club 
 was purchased for $500,000. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH 
 
 Final Proceedings — The New Century — Purchase of a Permanent 
 Home — Celebration of the Club's Semi-Centenary under Happy 
 Auspices. 
 
 HE Club in igoo celebrated its Thirty-fifth 
 Anniversary by a banquet, and gave its fa- 
 mous dinner, January lo of that year, to 
 Judge Truax, in recognition of his services 
 toward the restoration of its prestige and 
 prosperity. 
 
 Mr. W. S. Rodie, December 12, igoi, pro- 
 posed a reunion of non-resident members scattered through- 
 out thirty-eight States. The purpose he had in mind, he said, 
 was an attempt to revive the interest of the people in the 
 fundamental doctrines underlying our Democratic form of 
 government. He held that, since the Manhattan Club had 
 been founded, at a critical period of the nation's history, for 
 the advancement of these Democratic principles, it was an 
 appropriate time, by such a reunion, to counteract the effects 
 of the policies of the Republican Party, then so subversive of 
 those same principles and doctrines. 
 
 The Club agreeing, Washington's Birthday of 1902 was 
 chosen for the reunion, Messrs. W. S. Rodie, John Hone, 
 - John G. Carlisle, and Perry Belmont being named a commit- 
 
 86 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 tee to arrange for the guests, and the secretary, treasurer, 
 and House Committee being authorized to solicit subscrip- 
 tions to defray the expenses. The reunion was a great 
 success. 
 
 "Of all the many attractive and pleasant banquets given at 
 the Manhattan Club," says Mr. Dufour, in his interesting 
 narrative, "one of the most notable and historical was that 
 given by Mr. John B. McDonald to his engineers on the com- 
 pletion of the Subway. It was remarkable in every way. 
 Mr. McDonald, it will be remembered, was the famous 
 builder of the Subway. The table was profusely decorated 
 with all the necessary adjuncts of an earth-digger's trade. 
 It represented a diminutive Subway. The menus were works 
 of art, showing the best skill of the engraver. Each menu 
 contained pictures of the most difficult obstacles that the en- 
 gineer encounters. On the front cover was a photograph of 
 Mr. McDonald, and the name, in gold, of the engineer in 
 charge of that section. Mr. McDonald, by his amiability, 
 gentleness, and thorough good nature, had won for himself 
 the affection of his brother-members of the Club. Men of all 
 professions and callings were at this dinner, and vied with 
 one another in paying tribute to the man whose genius 
 created the means of relief which New York had been so 
 long crying for." 
 
 Other affairs of these later years have been the subscrip- 
 tion dinner to the justices of the Appellate Division of the 
 Supreme Court, May 9, 1908; a reception to John A. Dix, 
 October 4, 1910; a dinner to Governor Dix, March 23, 191 1; 
 and a dinner to Senator O'Gorman, April 22, 191 1. 
 
 On September 14, 1901, President McKinley died from 
 the effects of a wound received at the hand of an assassin at 
 the Buffalo Exposition, September 6. The Manhattan Club 
 at once passed resolutions, drawn up by Charles W. Dayton, 
 expressive of its horror at the unprovoked tragedy, and of 
 appreciation of Mr. McKinley's services to his country, of 
 
 87 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 his unblemished character, of his personal and official life, 
 "so typical," said Mr. Dayton, "of Lincoln's immortal aphor- 
 ism, *With malice toward none, with charity for all.' " 
 
 The Club further expressed its deep sympathy for Mrs. 
 McKinley, and an attested copy of the resolutions was or- 
 dered to be sent her, the club-house to be draped in black for 
 thirty days. 
 
 In 1904 Democratic hopes revived in the nomination of 
 Parker and Davis. The Club at once appointed a committee 
 of one hundred to aid in campaign work, and a reception, 
 proposed September 29, was arranged in honor of Judge 
 Parker for October 5, 1904. 
 
 In 1908 Judge Parker became vice-president of the Club, 
 Morgan J. O'Brien then being president; and in 19 10 Judge 
 Parker succeeded him, Charles W. Dayton becoming vice- 
 president. During Judge Parker's term as vice-president the 
 Club passed resolutions regarding the Democratic League, 
 and he, seconded by Mr. McDonald, proposed that the 
 League be invited to hold future meetings at the Manhattan 
 Club, a copy of the resolution to be sent Hon. Thomas M. 
 Osborne at Albany. 
 
 Judge Parker, seconded by Mr. O' Sullivan, further pro- 
 posed that the Club, as an expression of its sympathy with 
 the purposes of the Democratic League organized at Sara- 
 toga on September 9 and 10, arrange for a subscription din- 
 ner to its executive committee, a committee of five to be 
 appointed by the President to attend to the details. At the 
 same meeting Mr. O' Sullivan, seconded by Judge Parker, 
 proposed that the hospitalities of the Club be extended by 
 formal invitation to the officers representing foreign navies 
 and that of the United States, and to all foreign visitors to 
 the Hudson-Fulton celebration. 
 
 It was Judge Victor J. Dowling, president of the Club 
 from i9iitoi9i4, when the present president, Mr. Philip J. 
 Britt, was elected, who stated at a regular meeting, January 
 
 88 
 
Philip J. Britt 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 13, 1910, that it was the Club's desire to purchase a site on 
 which to build a club-house "suitable to the perpetuation of 
 the best traditions of the Democratic Party"—- a desire the 
 more justified since it had been stated on January 16, 1899, 
 that the Club had weathered its financial perils, and on 
 May 19, 1903, the treasurer had declared the Club free of 
 all indebtedness, with a $46,000 surplus. Eventually it was 
 decided to buy the site of the present club-house, to-day 
 beautified anew for the Club's semi-centennial. 
 
 We thus have seen the Manhattan Club, in the fifty years 
 of its existence, progress through stress and storm, in spite 
 of misfortune and discouragement, towards a permanent 
 home, the principles of Democracy and their preservation its 
 incentive to continuous existence. To-day its records show 
 that 5473 Democrats have, in these fifty years, been carried 
 on its roster. Of these, 914 have passed beyond discussions 
 of Democracy or enjoyment of "those certain conditions" 
 which have bound together the members of their Club; 906 
 have dropped out, and 2404 resigned. To-day the actual 
 membership is 1249. 
 
 An interesting coincidence in the history of the Club is the 
 fact that it began its existence with a Democratic President 
 after Republican supremacy; and to-day, its Fiftieth Anni- 
 versary, Democracy again occupies the "Seats of the 
 Mighty" in the National Government. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH 
 
 The Club Library — Mr. James Dunne, Librarian of the Manhattan 
 Club, recalls Literary History— Gifts— Purchases— Rare Volumes 
 
 HE history of the Manhattan Club would 
 indeed be incomplete without mention of 
 its library. The number of volumes may 
 not be as large as in some other libraries, 
 but the editions are very choice. Mr. James 
 Dunne has prepared the following account 
 of the library's growth, a reading of which 
 will lead to a wider appreciation of its worth. 
 
 The Committee on Library believes that a brief reference 
 to the Club library, and the books that fill its shelves, may 
 bring to the members a realization of the intellectual treat 
 that is afforded them in their moments of leisure. Unlike the 
 old English clubs, — of which John Aubrey, writing in 1689, 
 said, "We now use the word Clubbe for a sodality in a tav- 
 ern," — the modern club, organized for the promotion of 
 good-fellowship, as well as for social and literary intercourse 
 among its members, has come to regard its library as one of 
 its indispensable accessories. 
 
 Founded in 1865, the Manhattan Club numbered among 
 its organizers many of the leading authors, statesmen, pub- 
 
 90 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 licists, journalists, artists, and literary men of that period; 
 and through their culture, their literary tastes, and their 
 broad-mindedness in the discussion of public questions, the 
 Club gradually became a social and literary centre that drew 
 to its membership the leaders in the public and intellectual 
 thought of the day. As a consequence the Club library was 
 started, and thereafter, as well by frequent purchases as by 
 voluntary donations on the part of the members, there were 
 brought together a goodly number of the books that hold the 
 highest place among works of classical and standard liter- 
 ature. Many of the books so purchased and donated will be 
 found on the library shelves to-day. After the Club's re- 
 moval from the Stewart mansion to Twenty-sixth Street, 
 the library was greatly neglected: the books, in respect of 
 binding, were allowed to become unsightly; and, in respect 
 of authorship and subject-matter, were indiscriminately 
 scattered upon the library shelves. In the fall of 1902, how- 
 ever, the Board of Governors appointed a new Library Com- 
 mittee of seven members, and instructed them not only to 
 examine into the condition of the library and its needs, but 
 to submit a report on these subjects, coupled with such 
 recommendation respecting the library's future as to the 
 committee might seem expedient. So empowered, the new 
 committee immediately entered upon their work, and in due 
 course submitted their report and recommendations to the 
 governors, who, in November, 1902, approved of them, and 
 generously appropriated for the uses of the committee the 
 sum of five hundred dollars, "to be expended, in their discre- 
 tion," in connection with the improvement of the library. 
 Possessed of this appropriation, the committee at once ad- 
 dressed themselves to the work of bringing order out of 
 chaos, and to that end weeded out quite a number of the 
 books that were deemed worthless for library purposes, and, 
 selecting some three hundred books that were deemed 
 worthy of rebinding, had them rebound in buckram. On 
 
 91 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 their return they were rearranged under cognate heads and 
 replaced on the library shelves. Thus brightened up and 
 greatly improved, the library became a matter of interest to 
 the members, who, responding to the committee's zeal in 
 continuing the work of improvement, made many promises 
 —some of which were kept— to donate standard works of 
 literature and fill the open spaces that the shelves disclosed. 
 
 In 1904, what with purchases and donations, the books had 
 so increased in number that the committee found itself un- 
 able to arrange them in the book-cases then at their disposal. 
 These book-cases, beautifully carved and of great value, had 
 been brought from the Stewart mansion, but for the practical 
 uses of a club library they were wholly inadequate. Recog- 
 nizing this fact, the Committee on Library made a further 
 report to the governors, urging the sale of the cases and the 
 installation in their stead of the Globe- Wernicke Company 
 system of "units," as being the most serviceable for the pur- 
 poses of a club library. Yielding to the committee's rec- 
 ommendations, the governors authorized the sale of the 
 Stewart cases, and to the proceeds derived from such sale 
 generously added an appropriation large enough to warrant 
 the laying of a hardwood floor and the installation of the 
 beautiful book-cases that now adorn the library of the Club. 
 
 With the new floor duly completed, the new cases duly in- 
 stalled, and the putting of the room in complete order, the 
 committee at once proceeded to replace the books upon the 
 shelves according to the following arrangement: Case A: 
 Poetry and Drama. Case B: General Literature. Case 
 C: Essays, Speeches, etc. Case D: Fiction and Romance. 
 Case E: History, Memoirs, Biographies, etc. Case F: Bound 
 Volumes of Magazines. Case G: Encyclopedias, Books of 
 Reference, etc. This arrangement was determined upon in 
 order to bring together in the same cases books bearing upon 
 cognate topics, and thus enable members to locate easily the 
 particular book or books of which they might be in search. 
 
 92 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Having determined upon this arrangement, the commit- 
 tee proceeded to weed out such books as, in the judgment 
 of its members, seemed useless and out of date, and thus 
 to make room for recent editions of books that were deemed 
 vital in literature, science, and art. Among the books so 
 weeded out and put aside were city directories, reports of the 
 comptroller, reports on water supply, reports of chief engi- 
 neers, college and university catalogues, and others, all of 
 which, though seldom used, were very bulky and occupied a 
 large amount of shelf space, which, the committee thought, 
 could be used for the housing of such books as would appeal 
 more strongly to the members of the Club. 
 
 With the displacing of these bulky books, the committee 
 found itself confronted with the problem of empty shelves, 
 the unfilled spaces of which were sufficient to accommodate 
 some five hundred volumes. To meet this emergency the 
 committee appealed to the generosity of the members. The 
 appeal was not in vain, as many of the members responded 
 promptly with generous contributions of money and of 
 books. Prominent among the members responding to the 
 committee's call by way of cash contributions and donations 
 of books were Sylvester J. O' Sullivan (since deceased), 
 Frederick B. Tilghman, John Lynn, Thomas F. Gilroy, Jr., 
 J. C. McCoy, Lee Kohns, Hon. Francis M. Scott, Edwin H. 
 Denby, James Dunne, David B. Gilbert (since deceased), 
 and Joseph M. Byrne. Due to their generous giving, few 
 unfilled spaces will be found in the library shelves to-day. 
 
 Assembled as they have been for the Club members, the 
 books in the library deserve a passing notice. While, as al- 
 ready shown by the arrangement of the books in respect of 
 subject-matter, no branch of classical or general literature 
 has been neglected, the committee desires to have it known 
 that in respect of anthologies, encyclopedias, and works of 
 general reference the Club is peculiarly fortunate in its col- 
 lection. 
 
 93 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Among the Anthologies will be found : "The World's Best 
 Classics," fifty volumes; "An English Garner," twelve vol- 
 umes; "The World's Best Literature," thirty-two volumes; 
 "The Universal Anthology," thirty-two volumes; "The 
 Bibliophile Library," thirty volumes; and "American Liter- 
 ature," twelve volumes. Into the pages of these anthologies 
 men of business with but few moments' leisure may casually 
 dip, find, and, finding, commit to memory not only the wise 
 and witty apothegms of all the ages, but 
 
 "quoted odes, and jewels five-words-long. 
 That on the stretch'd forefinger of all Time 
 Sparkle forever" ; 
 
 and, so finding and treasuring, return to their daily avoca- 
 tions, wiser and better men. 
 
 In Encyclopedias the Club possesses The Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica; The International Encyclopedia, The Catholic 
 Encyclopedia, The Jewish Encyclopedia, The English En- 
 cyclopedia, and others. To these treasure-houses of univer- 
 sal knowledge the student, the scholar, and the man of 
 business may repair, and in condensed form, on any given 
 subject, obtain the required information that has been gath- 
 ered for him by acknowledged masters in their respective 
 fields of thought. 
 
 The browsing student can spend his leisure hours in the 
 perusal of "Notes and Queries," one hundred and fifty vol- 
 umes; "Punch," one hundred and fifty volumes; or "Pepys's 
 Diary," twenty volumes; or he can reread the fascinating 
 stories of Burton's "Arabian Nights," sixteen volumes, or 
 other works of like interest. 
 
 If Poetry interests him, he can commune with "The 
 British Poets," one hundred and fifty volumes; if "Byronic 
 power and gloom" impress him, he can read his favorite poet 
 in two editions of eighteen and fifteen volumes respectively; 
 or he can turn to Goldsmith in twelve volumes; to Browning, 
 
 94 
 
Smith M. Weed 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 ten volumes; to Poe, eight volumes; to Longfellow, twelve 
 volumes; or to Bryant, Holmes, Whittier, and Emerson in 
 twenty volumes. 
 
 If the Drama calls him, he will find Shakespeare in several 
 different editions, and "Marlowe of the mighty line" he will 
 find in the worthy company of Ben Jonson, Massinger and 
 Ford, Beaumont and Fletcher, as also the somewhat repre- 
 hensible Wycherley. 
 
 History, Memoirs, and Biography are adequately repre- 
 sented; among Essays and Speeches will be found Burke, 
 Carlyle, and Macaulay ; while in Fiction and Romance, Scott, 
 Fielding, Smollett, Balzac, Dumas, Richardson, Thackeray, 
 Dickens, Cooper, Meredith, Stevenson, Kipling, and others 
 make a splendid showing in their chosen fields. 
 
 In browsing among the books, the bibliophile here and 
 there will run across a bibliographical rarity, such as "The 
 Turkish Spy in Paris," 1637-1682, in seven volumes; "The 
 Attic Nights" of Aulus Gellius, three volumes; and a reprint 
 in facsimile (1593 edition) of "Venus and Adonis," "The 
 Rape of Lucrece," "The Passionate Pilgrim," "A Lover's 
 Complaint," "Pericles," and the Sonnets. 
 
 As a room the library is delightful. Fronting upon Madi- 
 son Square Park, three of its large windows open on a bal- 
 cony where the book-lover may betake himself and, in undis- 
 turbed quietude, hold converse with all that is great and 
 good in books that were written not for a day, but for all 
 time. 
 
 Taken as a whole, the library is worthy of the Manhattan 
 Club, and the Club is justly proud of its possession. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH 
 
 The Contemporary Manhattan Club — Meeting of Old and New — Pres- 
 ent Governors of the Club and their Records — The President and 
 Ex-Presidents — Prominent Members — Some Groups within the 
 Club— Thirty-year and Older Members of the Club — Notable Em- 
 ployees. 
 
 N organization is as old as its oldest member 
 and as young as its youngest. But the two 
 meet on the common ground of the present 
 tense. The one reflects the other. The 
 new keeps fresh the memory of the old, car- 
 ries on the ideals of the old, builds upon 
 them, extends their scope, revises them; 
 
 and in the new the old lives, the pioneers of the earlier day 
 find, not their graves, but their immortality. 
 
 The problem of attacking the "Who 's Whos" of the pres- 
 ent Manhattan Club is of so grave a nature, freighted as it is 
 with pitfalls and other dangers free from childlike attributes, 
 that one is moved to summon to his aid the tender mercies 
 of an anecdote dealing with Mr. George Moore, the most 
 famous of contemporary Irish novelists. Upon the comple- 
 tion and announcement of his latest trio of books, the now 
 notorious "Hail and Farewell," dealing mainly with events 
 and people in and about Dublin, such is the reverence in 
 
 96 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 which these good folk hold their great Irishman, so often has 
 his naively truthful pen slashed this and that gentleman or 
 gentlewoman in the past, that curiosity, dread, anxiety, and 
 every other fearsome emotion quickly set fire to the Irish 
 capital, and a saying, since made current, followed in its 
 wake: "Half the people in Dublin were afraid they were in 
 the book; the other half, that they had been left out." In 
 compiling this history I am moved toward giving the bon 
 mot a reverse twist: "I am doubtless paying attention to 
 only half the contemporary lights of the Manhattan Club at 
 the same time that I am unwittingly overlooking the other 
 half — so I am equally in dread of both." However, I shall 
 face the music with a brave heart, conscious of impartiality. 
 
 It is most creditable that so many and such diversified 
 natures pursue their various paths so peacefully under the 
 same roof, seldom, if ever, coming into collision. It proves 
 that discipline, although unseen, has its firm grip on one 
 and all, and that the amenities and courtesies of life hold a 
 large share in maintaining pleasant and sociable intercourse 
 among so many individuals. However, it is amusing to 
 watch the usual variations from the general key. Some are 
 jolly under any and all conditions; others, morose in spite of 
 alluring surroundings; some are diffident and seem scarcely 
 able to ask for what they want ; others cry out their wants in 
 stentorian tones ; some are studious and frequent the library 
 daily; others — and their name is legion — virtually never, or 
 rarely, come within its portals; some are methodical and 
 seldom fail to write out a check in their check-book when 
 money is wanted; others take up a blank check from the 
 office counter, draw it out or have it drawn out, and then 
 trust to luck or memory to enter it in their own account- 
 book. The world is thus made more varied by each indi- 
 vidual who comes and goes. On a smaller scale, but in more 
 concentrated form, the general rule applies to the Manhat- 
 tan Club. 
 
 97 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 The governors of the Club are: Harry S. Black, Philip J. 
 Britt, Lewis J. Conlan, Charles W. Dayton, Victor J. Dow- 
 ling, Ashbel P. Fitch, Phoenix Ingraham, Frederic Ker- 
 nochan, John Lynn, William F. McCombs, James A. O' Gor- 
 man, Herbert C. Smyth, Albert Tilt, H. K. S. Williams, 
 William Schramm, and Herbert D. Lounsbury. 
 
 John Lynn has been a life member since 1892. He is espe- 
 cially noted for a fine munificence, it being claimed by some 
 that he is the most generous human alive. William F. Mc- 
 Combs, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, 
 needs no trumpeter to herald him. He managed the cam- 
 paign which resulted in the election of President Wilson, 
 and in 191 3 was tendered the ambassadorship to France, an 
 honor he declined. Judge Lewis J. Conlan is the first to 
 come and the last to leave the club-house. He has conse- 
 quently been charged with being the ex-officio caretaker. 
 The Judge has been a member for twenty years. 
 
 Phoenix Ingraham deserves very high credit for his 
 exemplary work as chairman of the House Committee. A 
 more efficient body of men in like capacity does not exist 
 anywhere. Mr. Ingraham is a life member. Reference to 
 Mr. Ingraham's father. Judge George L. Ingraham, is im- 
 perative. Judge Ingraham has been a member of the Club 
 since 1883, and head of the Appellate Division of the Su- 
 preme Court since 1896. 
 
 Louis Bertschmann, who died recently, was an invaluable 
 asset to the Club. He, more than any one man, was respon- 
 sible for the greatest influx of new members. 
 
 Senator James A. O'Gorman, member since 1900, ex-jus- 
 tice of the Supreme Court, and senator from New York since 
 191 1, is one of the Club's most vital figures. Governmental 
 duties never prevent him from giving the Manhattan the 
 best service at his disposal. 
 
 President Philip J. Britt, elected to his present office in 
 April, 1914, is, needless to say, worthy of the honor con- 
 
 98 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 ferred upon him. Much of the success of the recent anni- 
 versary dinner is due to him, and, in general, the spirit of 
 progressiveness which permeates the activities of the Club. 
 Among the ex-presidents there are three living: Morgan J. 
 O'Brien, Alton B. Parker, and Victor J. Dowling. 
 
 Judge O'Brien, a member since 1887, and president from 
 1908 to 1 9 10, wholly merits the popularity he enjoys. He is 
 one of the most genial of mortals, and at the same time a 
 gentleman who, in spite of a certain reserve, commands the 
 respect and service of individuals in every walk of life. He 
 has always been tireless in his activities and self-imposed 
 duties in behalf of the Club, and stands foremost among 
 the influential and beneficent factors in Manhattan evolu- 
 tion. Eminent as a jurist, he is everybody's friend. 
 
 Alton B. Parker, member since 1894 president from 
 i9iotoi9ii, has been judge at various times of the Supreme 
 Court and the Appellate Division and chief justice of the 
 Court of Appeals, from which post he resigned to accept the 
 Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 1904. He has 
 contributed no little toward making the Manhattan Club 
 what it is to-day. 
 
 Victor J. Dowling, deservedly one of the most popular of 
 Manhattanites, president of the Club from 1911 to 191 4, was 
 instrumental in the purchase of the present building on 
 Twenty-sixth Street. He is at the present time President of 
 the Modern Historic Records Association. 
 
 Distinguished credit is due the Manhattan Club for the 
 signal honor of having on its roster three such exceptional 
 diplomats, patriots, and clubmen as James W. Gerard, am- 
 bassador to Germany, who has so tactfully handled the 
 delicate questions that have been brought up periodically 
 between Washington and the Wilhelmstrasse; Frederic C. 
 Penfield, ambassador to Austria-Hungary; and Francis Bur- 
 ton Harrison, governor-general of the Philippines. 
 
 More than a word of praise should be laid to the account 
 
 99 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 of the body of men who did such yeoman service toward 
 making the anniversary banquet and celebration the phenom- 
 enal success and famous event time has recorded it. The 
 motive power which lay at the heart of their endeavors and 
 which made those endeavors reach such envied success was 
 unselfishness and a courageous willingness to serve. I refer 
 to the gentlemen who composed the Anniversary Committee. 
 Their names follow: Morgan J. O'Brien, chairman; Victor J. 
 Dowling, George F. Harriman, William R. Hearst, George 
 L. Ingraham, Alexander Konta, Martin W. Littleton, Man- 
 ton Marble, William F. McCombs, James A. O' Gorman, 
 Alton B. Parker, William F. Sheehan, John B. Stanchfield, 
 and Thomas F. Vietor. 
 
 Patrick Francis Murphy, generally considered the best 
 after-dinner speaker in this country, was one of the men who 
 delivered addresses at the recent banquet. 
 
 Among the prominent members of the Club are the New 
 York State Democratic chairman, William Church Osborn; 
 D-Cady Herrick, ex-district attorney of the State, justice of 
 the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division, and one-time 
 Democratic candidate for governor; and that able, learned, 
 and accomplished international jurist, John R. Dos Passos. 
 
 From the newspaper world there are four giants: Frank 
 I. Cobb, editor-in-chief of the New York "World"; Caleb 
 Van Hamm, managing editor of all the Hearst interests; 
 Edward G. Riggs, one of the vital sparks of the old Dana 
 regime on the New York "Sun"; and Louis Seibold, of 
 the "World," who enjoys the confidence of practically all 
 prominent public men. 
 
 John Quinn, lawyer and art collector, is a unique figure in 
 the Club. He was instrumental in the success of the now 
 famous "Irish Players." A daily visitor is Frederick B. 
 Tilghman, descendant from an old and honorable line, and 
 prominent on the Stock Exchange. Ex-Lieutenant- Gov- 
 ernor William F. Sheehan is always in demand, such is his 
 
 100 
 
James A. O'Gorman 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 popularity. Another favorite is the widely known lawyer, 
 Solomon Hanford. George F. Harriman, another lawyer 
 and old member, is a friend of everybody. 
 
 The brilliant Edgar Saltus is an old member of the Club, 
 and makes it his home when his literary occupations and 
 errant fancies detain him in this country. 
 
 Special privileges are allowed to Sylvester J. E. Rawling. 
 As music critic of the "World," it is necessary that he com- 
 pose his opera criticism late at night, and the Club is kept 
 open for that purpose ! 
 
 Other famous lawyer members and frequenters of the 
 Club are John B. Stanchfield and George Gordon Battle. 
 Mr. Stanchfield was formerly Democratic candidate for 
 governor and nominee for United States senator. Mr. Bat- 
 tle at one time served as assistant district attorney, and is at 
 present a law partner of Senator O'Gorman. 
 
 Daniel M. Brady is the election expert of the Club. It is 
 popularly said of him that he can prophesy the outcome of 
 any election, such is his broad familiarity with statistics. At 
 the head of the Art Department stands August Benziger. 
 He has painted portraits of Presidents McKinley, Roosevelt, 
 and Taft, one of Senator O'Gorman, and, specially for the 
 Club, one of Judge Dowling. 
 
 Herbert D. Lounsbury, a gentleman of brilliant wit, and 
 Congressman Jacob A. Cantor, ex-president of the New 
 York Senate and ex-president of Manhattan Borough, are 
 favorites with all. 
 
 J. Henry Haggerty is much sought after because of his 
 genial ways. So are Herbert Smyth, who stands in the front 
 rank of trial lawyers, and Justice Charles L. Guy. Justice 
 Guy was elected Supreme Court justice in 1907 for a term of 
 fourteen years. General favorites, also, are those two gen- 
 tlemen, Harry MoUenhauer and Conrad Peters, popularly 
 known as "Harry" and "Connie." 
 
 James Buckley, general passenger agent of the Erie lines, 
 
 lOI 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 one of the ablest and best-known veterans of the American 
 railway service, is a frequenter of the Club, as well as Gen- 
 eral James B. Burbank, who entered voluntary service in 
 1862 as lieutenant and adjutant, and the regular army in 
 1864. was retired a major-general in 1902. For fifty- 
 three years he served on the active list in all grades, a gal- 
 lant, accomplished, and meritorious officer. Roger Foster, 
 lawyer and author of "Foster's Federal Practice," and for- 
 merly instructor at Yale University, is famous for his splen- 
 did service in the improvement of the tenement-house. 
 Another popular habitue is Dr. C. J. McGuire, the well- 
 known physician. 
 
 An old-time and most popular member of the Club is ex- 
 Senator Watson Carvosso Squire. His public record is a 
 long and brilliant one. He served in the Civil War as a 
 beau sabreur and judge-advocate-general, commanded the 
 troop of sharpshooters who constituted General Sherman's 
 body-guard, and was raised to the rank of colonel "for 
 gallant and meritorious services." He was Governor of 
 Washington Territory, 1884-87, and senator in Congress 
 from the State of Washington, 1887-97. 
 
 Among the prominent judges are Eugene A. Philbin, 
 Nathan L. Miller, Frank C. Laughlin, Chester B. McLaugh- 
 lin, Edward J. Gavegan, P. Henry Dugro, Francis B. 
 Delehanty, and John V. McAvoy. 
 
 Judge Philbin, in addition to his service on the Supreme 
 Court bench, is noted for his work in connection with Ellis 
 Island. In addition to his position as Supreme Court and 
 Appellate Division justice. Judge Miller has been State 
 comptroller. Judge Laughlin has been justice of the Su- 
 preme Court since 1895, and of the Appellate Division since 
 1899. Judge McLaughlin has likewise been justice of the 
 Supreme Court and the Appellate Division for many years. 
 Judge Gavegan was elected Supreme Court justice in 1910, 
 to serve till 1923. Judge Dugro, besides his activities as Su- 
 
 102 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 preme Court justice, built the Hotels Savoy and Seville and 
 organized the Union Square Bank. 
 
 Inside the Manhattan Club there are other clubs — circles 
 within circles. Foremost among them is the "Modocs." One 
 of its most prominent members, Herbert D. Lounsbury, has 
 this to say in reference to its name and history : 
 
 "Modoc" is of Indian derivation, and was the name of the 
 tribe inhabiting the southwestern portion of what is now the 
 State of Oregon. It was slightly over forty years ago that 
 this Indian tribe gained newspaper notoriety through its 
 resistance to the authority of the United States Government. 
 
 "Attracted to the name by seeing it so frequently printed 
 in the newspapers of that period, it was adopted as the name 
 of a little coterie of men who delighted in each other's com- 
 panionship and who wished to meet regularly for dining and 
 general sociability. 
 
 "Thus, what has become unique in clubdom — the Modocs 
 — was founded by Charles Duggin, Esq., a well-known 
 builder of the early seventies, and for many years an 
 esteemed member of the Manhattan Club. 
 
 "At first the symposiums of the Modocs were held in the 
 office of Mr. Duggin, but the Manhattan Club was later se- 
 lected, and for over thirty-five years this little club within 
 the Club has met with remarkable regularity and with a 
 membership varying little in number from the original body. 
 
 "Nothing is so unchangeable as change, and the span of 
 forty years leaves but few of the original 'tribe' living, but 
 that limited number includes Mr. Duggin, its founder ; Hon. 
 Henry A. Gildersleeve, the distinguished jurist; and Allan 
 R. Blount — three names which can never be disassociated 
 from the Modocs. 
 
 "During these forty years men famous in politics and in 
 nearly all the professions and vocations have been received 
 in the councils of the tribe. That the Modocs still flourishes 
 
 103 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 is because of its moderation in all things sociable, an inde- 
 structible foundation, and this it is which should insure a 
 continuance of its robust existence. 
 
 "Its present membership consists of the following gentle- 
 men I 
 
 Hon. Henry A. Gildersleeve 
 Mr. O. R. Cauchois 
 Mr. Allan R. Blount 
 Mr. Herbert D. Lounsbury 
 Mr. Edgar L. Newhouse 
 Mr. T. Reid Fell 
 Mr. J. Stevens Ulman 
 Mr. John H. O'Brien 
 Mr. Elting F. Warner 
 Mr. A. J. Johnson 
 Mr. Clarence S. Herter 
 Mr. Cornelius S. Pinkney 
 Mr. Frederick H. Levey 
 Mr. Wilbur L. Ball 
 Mr. Walter S. Roberts 
 
 "Lives of great men all remind us 
 
 We are of a different kind — 
 And departing leave behind us 
 Tracks an Indian could n't find." 
 
 Another club, which has been existing all these years 
 without a name, is one of which Joseph S. Ulman, familiarly 
 known on the Stock Exchange and in the Club as " Josephus," 
 is manager, so to speak. 
 
 The "Boarding-house Table" originated with the late Syl- 
 vester J. O'Sullivan, and the "boarders," as they were called, 
 embraced the following persons : 
 
 Harry Keene 
 Hon. John G. Carlisle 
 104 
 
 J 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Charles L. Brodt 
 Philip J. Britt 
 James A. Deering 
 Dr. J. B. Irwin 
 Frederick B. Tilghman 
 James Buckley 
 
 Since the organization of the table, five of its "boarders" 
 have died, and the following are the surviving members : 
 
 Philip J. Britt 
 Frederick B. Tilghman 
 James Buckley 
 
 The "honorary boarders," as they were called, were Judge 
 D-Cady Herrick, Justices Dayton and Truax, and the com- 
 piler of this history. 
 
 The table was always set for ten persons, and scarcely an 
 evening passed but that every seat was taken. During its 
 existence the "Boarding-house Table" entertained many 
 prominent persons from outside of the City and State. 
 
 The table was famous for the specialties which were 
 served, and employed persons who furnished game of va- 
 rious kinds during the season, as well as fish from several 
 private preserves. Its favorite beverage was buttermilk. 
 
 It was noted during the summer season for the celebrated 
 vegetable dinners which were served, consisting of every 
 known vegetable grown at the time. 
 
 The members and guests indulged in discussion of various 
 subjects, political, professional, and financial. 
 
 The table is still in existence and occupies the position 
 where it was originally placed. 
 
 The popular games played at the Manhattan Club are bil- 
 liards and dominoes. Each year a domino tournament is 
 held, and the winner is emblazoned champion. The pres- 
 
 105 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 ent title-holder is the popular contractor, Edward J. Kelly. 
 Such was the joy of his friends by reason of his achievement 
 that an ambrosial dinner was tendered in his honor. 
 
 In the early part of 1913 there was an exodus of silk-im- 
 porting firms from their down-town locations to quarters on 
 Fourth Avenue, close to the club-house. They form the 
 backbone of one of the strongest business enterprises of this 
 country, and the admission of their members into the Club 
 has proved a source of mutual satisfaction. They are all 
 men of keen business instincts, and are alive to the exigen- 
 cies of the day. Although they differ from the old-style type 
 of clubman, this has not caused friction of any sort; on the 
 contrary, the two elements have merged agreeably, the 
 result justifying the wisdom of the Board of Managers in 
 admitting them. These new members have injected into the 
 life of the Club an amount of vim, quick movement, and dash 
 which probably is not to be found in any other similarly 
 conditioned organization in the city. Considerateness, 
 generosity, and good feeling radiate from all, and the Club 
 is proud of having them on its roster. Among their names 
 are the Gerli Brothers (Paulino, Paul B., E., and Joseph), 
 and William G. Chave and William Schramm. 
 
 Men who have been members for thirty years or more are 
 numerous. Among them are: Edward R. Bacon (1881), 
 Perry Belmont (1875), John C. Calhoun (1884), Ferdinand 
 E. Canda (1883), Charles H. De Witt (1882), Robert E. 
 Deyo (1885), Francis A. Dugro (1884), P. Henry Dugro 
 (1882), Roger Foster (1885), John J. Freedman (1874), J. A. 
 Geissenhainer (1886), Henry A. Gildersleeve (1881), Lo- 
 renzo M. Gillet (1883), George L. Ingraham (1883), Laflin 
 L. Kellogg (1878), Abraham R. Lawrence (1865), S. M. 
 Lehman (1883), Jefferson M. Levy (1878), Mitchell A. C. 
 Levy (1885), Napoleon L. Levy (1881), Julius J. Lyons 
 (1869), Charles F. MacLean (1876), Manton Marble (1865), 
 John C. Maximos (1871), Theodore W. Myers (1885), De 
 
 106 
 
William F. McCombs 
 
 \ 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 Lancey NicoU (1885), Frank K. Pendleton (1877), W. McM. 
 Speer(i886), P. Tillinghast (1882), Edgar A. Turrell(i877), 
 George W. Van Slyck (1871), and C. B. Webster (1885). 
 
 Among the non-resident members of similar standing are : 
 E. M. Angel (1883), W. E. Baillie (1881), David Barclay 
 (1883), A. W. Black (1883), C. W. Bonynge (1880), John H. 
 Bradford (1883), Samuel H. Buck (1883), Harry G. Cheney 
 (1885), W. A. Clark (1885), Dubois Collier (1886), Alexan- 
 der B. Coxe (1883), Davidson Dalziel (1885), Edmund W. 
 Davis (1883), Henry G. Davis (1882), Thomas E. Davis 
 (1878), J. Swan Frick (1883), Edward I. Frost (1886), 
 Charles B. Greeley (1884), William G. Hibbard (1878), 
 James J. Hill (1885), N. K. Honore (1884), Walter Stilson 
 Hutchins (1880), C. H. Hyams (1881), Frank J. Lewis 
 (1880), T. M. Logan (1886), Gardner F. McCandless (1883), 
 W. G. McCormick (1882), W. J. McKinnie (1883), Constan- 
 tine Menelas (1874), M. H. Murphy (1885), A. G. Ober 
 (1880), R. W. Parsons (1881), H. C. Pierce (1885), J. A. P. 
 Ramsdell (1875), Clarence Rathbone (1875), William G. 
 Rice (1883), E. G. Richmond (1882), Edgar Saltus (1881), 
 Alfred Slidell (1870), Henry E. Smith (1883), W. C. Squire 
 (1883), W. E. Tillotson (1882), Peter D. Vroom (1886), 
 Piers Eliot Warburton (1883), Walter P. Warren (1882), 
 Henry Watterson (1882), Smith M. Weed (1868), W. 
 Boerum Wetmore (1886), and Wm. H. Wheeler (1881). 
 
 From the above record might be drawn the axiom, "Be- 
 long to the Manhattan Club and live long !" 
 
 At present there are twenty-one employees of the Manhat- 
 tan Club with a record of one year and over, those of longest 
 service being Minnie Roselli, waitress for twenty-eight 
 years; Joseph Tomblin, oysterman for twenty-seven years; 
 Robert Strong, valet, twenty-six years; Alfred Comyns, 
 head waiter, twenty-four years ; and George Buschke, house- 
 man, twenty-one years. 
 
 There are nine employees who have been with the Club 
 
 107 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 between six and nine years, and seven for four — splendid 
 witnesses to the success of masculine housekeeping. 
 
 Dan Kinder is the waiter of the two inside clubs. He 
 knows the order of each member without asking him his 
 wants. The same eulogy, in the realm of nectars, may be 
 pressed on J. N. Taylor, head bartender of the Club for many 
 years. The record is complete with a reference to the popu- 
 lar head hallman, William Lavery, for fifteen years in his 
 present employment. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH 
 
 The Anniversary Banquet— A Memorable and Brilliant Affair— Presi- 
 dent Britt presides and President Wilson outlines an Administrative 
 Programme— Speeches by Judge O'Brien, Mr. Patrick Francis Mur- 
 phy, and Mr. Frank Lawrence. 
 
 PPOINTED by President Philip J. Britt to 
 weigh and discuss all plans and matters in 
 connection with the Fiftieth Anniversary, 
 the Anniversary Committee decided : 
 
 First, to publish a history of the Manhat- 
 tan, which, after all of the foremost Ameri- 
 
 can printing-houses had been considered, 
 
 was contracted to be issued by The De Vinne Press. 
 
 Second, and at President Britt's proposal, to erect a bronze 
 tablet in the club-house to bear the following inscription : 
 
 IN COMMEMORATION 
 
 Of a half century of the continuance of the Manhattan 
 Club of New York, and more especially of the unswerv- 
 ing dedication of its service to the immortal principles 
 of Democracy as conceived by our Forefathers and car- 
 ried on to us by the Founders of this Club ; 
 
 And in reverent thanksgiving for fifty years of our for- 
 tune, progress, and invaluable fellowship, we, the loyal 
 
 109 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 members of the Manhattan Club of New York, have this 
 day, the . . . day of October, in the year of our Lord 
 nineteen hundred and fifteen, erected this tablet to the 
 undying honor of the distinguished and devoted citi- 
 zens whom our Club has given to the City and State of 
 New York and to our beloved Nation. 
 
 Third, to hold a banquet in celebration of the Fiftieth An- 
 niversary. 
 
 Every means was invoked by the Committee, after the 
 successful carrying out of the first two clauses, to bring the 
 third to a happy consummation. But many difficulties inter- 
 posed, chief of them the circumstance that the dining-hall of 
 the Club was inadequate to accommodate all the members 
 who requested seats. Rather than disappoint a single mem- 
 ber, rather than decide against what in all justice meant the 
 rights democratically and fraternally of one and all alike, the 
 Committee, against its original will and sentiment, voted to 
 hold the anniversary banquet elsewhere, and, after a careful 
 study of the many and varied hostelries of the city, the Bilt- 
 more Hotel was selected. The choice of this hotel proved 
 the wisest possible. 
 
 In the meanwhile. President Wilson had been invited to 
 attend the dinner and to deliver an address. The date of the 
 celebration was left to the discretion and convenience of our 
 Chief Executive. The President graciously accepted the 
 invitation, designated the evening of November 4, the date 
 finally announced by the Committee, as the one most con- 
 venient to him, and, in view of the fact that he had delivered 
 no public speeches on the subject, selected the long awaited 
 and universally debated topic of National Defense as the 
 theme for his discourse on the occasion. 
 
 November 4 was made all the more momentous and 
 worthy of record by the splendid and enthusiastically ad- 
 mired address of the President. Such was the broad and 
 
 no 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 patriotic character of the speech, such was its dramatic sig- 
 nificance, its epoch-making power, its sweeping judgment 
 reaching down as an inspiration into the annals of future 
 American generations, that it is imperative to rehearse, in 
 its proper place, the story in its entirety. 
 
 Because of the greater accommodations afforded by the 
 Biltmore Hotel, it was deemed advisable by the committee 
 to extend invitations to the friends of guests and to prom- 
 inent Democrats from all over the country. The response 
 was immediate. When the great hall of the Biltmore finally 
 seated the last comer, the sight was one to thrill the most 
 jaded old-timer. Surrounded by American flags placed at 
 each table, under the brilliant electric legend, "1865 to 19 15," 
 Democrats of every shade of Democracy sat and chatted and 
 hobnobbed and passed along the word of good cheer and 
 mutual good will. Republicans and Progressives mingled. 
 The menu was pronounced by the most hardened habitues 
 of dinners to be the "finest ever." Quite the most critical 
 expectation of the strongest skeptic would have been satis- 
 fied. And the key-note of the whole evening, banquet, 
 speeches, table-talk, repartee, and all, the spirit that played 
 undercurrent to the general march of events, was the all- 
 pervading motive of patriotism. Even political partisanship 
 was forgotten, generously merged as it was in the greater 
 factor. 
 
 Before the dinner. President Wilson, true to the highest 
 and noblest precepts of Jeffersonian democracy, good-fellow- 
 ship, and courtesy, mingled with all, shook hands with all. 
 Those who had never met him were introduced and genially 
 welcomed by him. 
 
 Among the invited guests who helped to make the occa- 
 sion one of the most memorable in the history of clubs the 
 world over were: Mayor Mitchel of New York; Secretary of 
 War Lindley M. Garrison ; Frank R. Lawrence, president of 
 the Lotos Club; Rev. W. T. Manning, rector of Trinity 
 
 III 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Church, who delivered a beautifully appropriate prayer; and 
 Joseph P. Tumulty, secretary to the President, all of whom 
 sat at the President's table along with the President of the 
 Club, and William F. McCombs, Victor J. Dowling, Morgan 
 J. O'Brien, and James A. O' Gorman, Club members. 
 
 President Philip J. Britt was the toastmaster of the occa- 
 sion, and a more capable official could not have been found 
 an5rwhere. Mr. Britt delivered the opening address, a splen- 
 did speech full of allusions that warmed the hearts of the 
 oldest as well as the newest Manhattanites. The trend of 
 each phrase was absolutely in keeping with the lofty aims of 
 the Anniversary. 
 
 When, after referring to the many gatherings of the Man- 
 hattan Club which had become historic, Mr. Britt said, in 
 concluding his address — 
 
 "But it was not until to-night that it achieved its greatest 
 distinction in having its only living honorary member, the 
 scholar, historian, and patriot President of the United States, 
 select this celebration as the forum whence to address his 
 fellow-countrymen upon what are probably the most impor- 
 tant and vital questions which have presented themselves to 
 the people of this Nation since the beginning of the Repub- 
 lic. [Continued applause.] Mr. President, I can assure 
 you, sir, of the heartfelt appreciation of the members and 
 guests of the Manhattan Club of your presence with us to- 
 night. It has shed additional splendor and glory on this 
 celebration. And we, the members of the Manhattan Club, 
 rejoicing in the goodly heritage of fifty years, — may we not, 
 as we look ahead into the dim and uncertain mazes of the 
 future, mindful of the zeal and patriotism of its founders, 
 mindful of its great traditions and achievements, venture the 
 hope that it will live long and prosper, and that it will con- 
 tinue to be a power for conservative thought and action 
 throughout the Nation, until our country, to which it has 
 
 112 
 
James Watson Gerard 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 given so many illustrious sons, shall be no more? [Con- 
 tinued applause. ] Gentlemen, I give you the health of the 
 President of the United States." 
 
 — the banquet-hall presented a never to be forgotten scene ; 
 every person rose to his feet and joined in the singing of 
 "The Star Spangled Banner," which was followed for some 
 minutes by continuous applause and waving of American 
 flags. 
 
 Other speakers were ex-President Morgan J. O'Brien, 
 Patrick Francis Murphy, the nonpareil of after-dinner 
 speakers, and President Lawrence of the Lotos Club. Judge 
 O'Brien, than whom no more appropriate individual for the 
 part assigned to him could have been designated, recounted 
 the glories and memories of Manhattan Club history. Pat- 
 rick Francis Murphy was in his finest fettle, and when that is 
 said no further tribute can be added. In speaking of Presi- 
 dent Wilson, he remarked wittily and appropriately : "A man 
 may be too proud to fight, and yet find himself in a serious 
 engagement." President Lawrence spoke in behalf of the 
 sister clubs of New York. 
 
 Wave after wave of applause greeted President Wilson 
 after Mr. Britt had said, in presenting him to the company, 
 that history would accord him a place by the side of Wash- 
 ington and Lincoln, and "that this country is not now 
 plunged into that inferno of bloodshed that is devastating 
 Europe is attributable to the cool head, great mind, and 
 patriotic heart of Woodrow Wilson." 
 
 Time and time again, outbursts of enthusiasm and hearty 
 cheering accentuated leading points in the President's speech 
 and interrupted its even flow. Mr. Wilson spoke with char- 
 acteristic dignity and quietude of accent and demeanor. 
 Immediately upon the conclusion of the now famous address, 
 accounts of it and the details of the great Anniversary Cele- 
 bration were sent to all parts of America and Europe, large 
 
 113 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 space being devoted to the occasion by virtually all the great 
 newspapers of the world. 
 President Wilson's speech was as follows : 
 
 "Mr. Toastmaster and Gentlemen: 
 
 "I warmly felicitate the Club upon the completion of fifty 
 years of successful and interesting life. Club life may be 
 made to mean a great deal to those who know how to use it. 
 I have no doubt that to a great many of you has come genu- 
 ine stimulation in the associations of this place, and that as 
 the years have multiplied you have seen more and more the 
 useful ends which may be served by organizations of this sort. 
 
 "But I have not come to speak wholly of that, for there are 
 others of your own members who can speak of the Club with 
 a knowledge and an intelligence which no one can have who 
 has not been intimately associated with it. Men band them- 
 selves together for the sake of the association, no doubt, but 
 also for something greater and deeper than that — because 
 they are conscious of common interests lying outside their 
 business occupations, because they are members of the same 
 community, and in frequent intercourse find mutual stimula- 
 tion and a real maximum of vitality and power. 
 
 "I shall assume that here around the dinner-table on this 
 memorial occasion our talk should properly turn to the wide 
 and common interests which are most in our thoughts, 
 whether they be the interests of the community or of the 
 Nation. 
 
 "A year and a half ago our thought would have been al- 
 most altogether of great domestic questions. They are many 
 and of vital consequence. We must and shall address our- 
 selves to their solution with diligence, firmness, and self-pos- 
 session, notwithstanding we find ourselves in the midst of a 
 world disturbed by great disaster and ablaze with terrible 
 war; but our thought is now inevitably of new things about 
 which formerly we gave ourselves little concern. 
 
 114 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 "We are thinking now chiefly of our relations with the rest 
 of the world — not our commercial relations — about those we 
 have thought and planned always — but about our political 
 relations, our duties as an individual and independent force 
 in the world to ourselves, our neighbors, and the world itself. 
 
 AMERICAN PRINCIPLES 
 
 "Our principles are well known. It is not necessary to 
 avow them again. We believe in political liberty and 
 founded our great Government to obtain it, the liberty of 
 men and of peoples — of men to choose their own lives and of 
 peoples to choose their own allegiance. 
 
 "Our ambition, also, all the world has knowledge of. It is 
 not only to be free and prosperous ourselves, but also to be 
 the friend and thoughtful partisan of those who are free or 
 who desire freedom the world over. If we have had aggres- 
 sive purposes and covetous ambitions, they were the fruit of 
 our thoughtless youth as a Nation, and we have put them 
 aside. 
 
 "We shall, I confidently believe, never again take another 
 foot of territory by conquest. We shall never in any circum- 
 stances seek to make an independent people subject to our 
 dominion; because we believe, we passionately believe, in the 
 right of every people to choose their own allegiance and be 
 free of masters altogether. 
 
 "For ourselves, we wish nothing but the full liberty of 
 self-development ; and with ourselves in this great matter we 
 associate all the peoples of our own hemisphere. We wish 
 not only for the United States, but for them the fullest free- 
 dom of independent growth and of action, for we know that 
 throughout this hemisphere the same aspirations are every- 
 where being worked out, under diverse conditions, but with 
 the same impulse and ultimate object. 
 
 "All this is very clear to us and will, I confidently predict, 
 become more and more clear to the whole world as the great 
 
 115 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 processes of the future unfold themselves. It is with a full 
 consciousness of such principles and such ambitions that we 
 are asking ourselves at the present time what our duty is 
 with regard to the armed force of the Nation. 
 
 "Within a year we have witnessed what we did not believe 
 possible — a great European conflict involving many of the 
 greatest nations of the world. The influences of a great war 
 are everywhere in the air. All Europe is embattled. Force 
 everywhere speaks out with a loud and imperious voice in a 
 titanic struggle of governments, and from one end of our 
 own dear country to the other men are asking one another 
 what our own force is, how far we are prepared to maintain 
 ourselves against any interference with our national action 
 or development. 
 
 "NOT FOR AGGRESSION" 
 
 "In no man's mind, I am sure, is there even raised the ques- 
 tion of the wilful use of force on our part against any nation 
 or any people. No matter what military or naval force the 
 United States might develop, statesmen throughout the 
 whole world might rest assured that we were gathering that 
 force, not for attack in any quarter, not for aggression of any 
 kind, not for the satisfaction of any political or international 
 ambition, but merely to make sure of our own security. We 
 have it in mind to be prepared, but not for war, only for 
 defense; and with the thought constantly in our minds that 
 the principles we hold most dear can be achieved by the slow 
 processes of history only in the kindly and wholesome atmo- 
 sphere of peace, and not by the use of hostile force. The 
 mission of America in the world is essentially a mission of 
 peace and good will among men. She has become the home 
 and asylum of men of all creeds and races. Within her hos- 
 pitable borders they have found homes and congenial asso- 
 ciations and freedom and a wide and cordial welcome, and 
 they have become part of the bone and sinew and spirit of 
 
 ii6 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 America itself. America has been made up out of the na- 
 tions of the world and is the friend of the nations of the 
 world. 
 
 "But we feel justified in preparing ourselves to vindicate 
 our right to independent and unmolested action by making 
 the force that is in us ready for assertion. 
 
 "And we know that we can do this in a way that will be 
 itself an illustration of the American spirit. In accordance 
 with our American traditions we want and shall work for 
 only an army adequate to the constant and legitimate uses 
 of times of international peace. But we do want to feel that 
 there is a great body of citizens who have received at least 
 the most rudimentary and necessary forms of military train- 
 ing; that they will be ready to form themselves into a fight- 
 ing force at the call of the Nation; and that the Nation has 
 the munitions and supplies with which to equip them without 
 delay, should it be necessary to call them into action. 
 
 "We wish to supply them with the training they need, and 
 we think we can do so without calling them at any time too 
 long away from their civilian pursuits. 
 
 "It is with this idea, with this conception, in mind that the 
 plans have been made which it will be my privilege to lay 
 before the Congress at its next session. That plan calls for 
 only such an increase in the regular army of the United 
 States as experience has proved to be required for the per- 
 formance of the necessary duties of the army in the Philip- 
 pines, in Hawaii, in Porto Rico, upon the borders of the 
 United States, at the coast fortifications, and at the military 
 posts of the interior. 
 
 "For the rest, it calls for the training within the next three 
 years of a force of 400,000 citizen soldiers to be raised in an- 
 nual contingents of 133,000, who would be asked to enlist for 
 three years with the colors and three years on furlough, but 
 who during their three years of enlistment with the colors 
 would not be organized as a standing force, but would be ex- 
 
 117 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 pected merely to undergo intensive training for a very brief 
 period of each year. 
 
 "Their training would take place in immediate association 
 with the organized units of the regular army. It would have 
 no touch of the amateur about it, neither would it exact of 
 the volunteers more than they could give in any one year 
 from their civilian pursuits. 
 
 "And none of this would be done in such a way as in the 
 slightest degree to supersede or subordinate our present ser- 
 viceable and efficient National Guard. On the contrary, the 
 National Guard itself would be used as part of the instru- 
 mentality by which training would be given the citizens who 
 enlisted under the new conditions, and I should hope and 
 expect that the legislation by which all this would be accom- 
 plished would put the National Guard itself upon a better 
 and more permanent footing than it has ever been before, 
 giving it not only the recognition which it deserves, but a 
 more definite support from the National Government and a 
 more definite connection with the military organization of 
 the Nation. 
 
 "What we all wish to accomplish is that the forces of the 
 Nation should indeed be part of the Nation and not a sepa- 
 rate professional force, and the chief cost of the system 
 would not be in the enlistment or in the training of the men, 
 but in the providing of ample equipment in case it should be 
 necessary to call all forces into the field. 
 
 THE NAVY 
 
 "Moreover, it has been American policy time out of mind 
 to look to the navy as the first and chief line of defense. The 
 navy of the United States is already a very great and efficient 
 force. Not rapidly, but slowly, with careful attention, our 
 naval force has been developed until the navy of the United 
 States stands recognized as one of the most efficient and 
 notable of the modern time. All that is needed in order to 
 
 ii8 
 
Francis Burton Harrison 
 
 i1 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 bring it to a point of extraordinary force and efficiency as 
 compared with the other navies of the world is that we 
 should hasten our pace in the policy we have long been pur- 
 suing, and that chief of all we should have a definite policy of 
 development, not made from year to year, but looking well 
 into the future and planning for a definite consummation. 
 
 "We can and should profit in all that we do by the experi- 
 ence and example that have been made obvious to us by the 
 military and naval events of the actual present. It is not 
 merely a matter of building battle-ships and cruisers and 
 submarines, but also a matter of making sure that we shall 
 have the adequate equipment of men and munitions and sup- 
 plies for the vessels we build and intend to build. 
 
 "Part of our problem is the problem of what I may call the 
 mobilization of the resources of the Nation at the proper 
 time, if it should ever be necessary to mobilize them for na- 
 tional defense. We shall study efficiency and adequate 
 equipment as carefully as we shall study the number and size 
 of our ships, and I believe that the plans already in part made 
 public by the Navy Department are plans which the whole 
 Nation can approve with rational enthusiasm. 
 
 "No thoughtful man feels any panic haste in this matter. 
 The country is not threatened from any quarter. She stands 
 in friendly relations with all the world. Her resources are 
 known, and her self-respect and her capacity to care for her 
 own citizens and her own rights. There is no fear among us. 
 Under the new world conditions we have become thoughtful 
 of the things which all reasonable men consider necessary 
 for security and self-defense on the part of every nation con- 
 fronted with the great enterprise of human liberty and inde- 
 pendence. That is all. 
 
 "NO PRIDE OF OPINION" 
 
 "Is the plan we propose sane and reasonable and suited to 
 the needs of the hour? Does it not conform to the ancient 
 
 iig 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 traditions of America? Has any better plan been proposed 
 than this programme that we now place before the country? 
 In it there is no pride of opinion. It represents the best pro- 
 fessional and expert judgment of the country. 
 
 "But I am not so much interested in programmes as I am 
 in safeguarding at every cost the good faith and honor of the 
 country. If men differ with me in this vital matter, I shall 
 ask them to make it clear how far and in what way they are 
 interested in making the permanent interests of the country 
 safe against disturbance. 
 
 "In the fulfilment of the programme I propose I shall ask 
 for the hearty support of the country, of the rank and file of 
 America, of men of all shades of political opinion. For my 
 position in this important matter is different from that of the 
 private individual who is free to speak his own thoughts and 
 to risk his own opinions in this matter. 
 
 "We are here dealing with things that are vital to the life 
 of America itself. In doing this I have tried to purge my 
 heart of all personal and selfish motives. For the time being 
 I speak as the trustee and guardian of a Nation's rights, 
 charged with the duty of speaking for that Nation in matters 
 involving her sovereignty — a Nation too big and generous to 
 be exacting, and yet courageous enough to defend its rights 
 and the liberties of its people wherever assailed or invaded. 
 
 "I would not feel that I was discharging the solemn obliga- 
 tion I owe the country were I not to speak in terms of the 
 deepest solemnity of the urgency and necessity of preparing 
 ourselves to guard and protect the rights and privileges of 
 our people, our sacred heritage of the fathers who struggled 
 to make us an independent Nation. 
 
 "The only thing within our own borders that has given us 
 grave concern in recent months has been that voices have 
 been raised in America professing to be the voices of Ameri- 
 cans which were not indeed and in truth American, but 
 which spoke alien sympathies, which came from men who 
 
 120 
 
 I 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 loved other countries better than they loved America, men 
 who were partisans of other causes than that of America and 
 had forgotten that their chief and only allegiance was to the 
 great Government under which they live. 
 
 "These voices have not been many, but they have been 
 very loud and very clamorous. They have proceeded from a 
 few who were bitter and who were grievously misled. Amer- 
 ica has not opened its doors in vain to men and women out of 
 other nations. The vast majority of those who have come to 
 take advantage of her hospitality have united their spirit 
 with hers as well as their fortunes. These men who speak 
 alien sympathies are not their spokesmen, but are the spokes- 
 men of small groups whom it is high time that the Nation 
 should call to a reckoning. 
 
 "The chief thing necessary in America in order that she 
 should let all the world know that she is prepared to main- 
 tain her own great position is that the real voice of the 
 Nation should sound forth unmistakably and in majestic 
 volume in the deep unison of a common, unhesitating na- 
 tional feeling. I do not doubt that upon the first occasion, 
 upon the first opportunity, upon the first definite challenge, 
 that voice will speak forth in tones which no man can doubt, 
 and with commands which no man dare gainsay or resist. 
 
 "May I not say, while I am speaking of this, that there is 
 another danger that we should guard against? We should 
 rebuke not only manifestations of racial feeling here in 
 America, where there should be none, but also every mani- 
 festation of religious and sectarian antagonism. 
 
 "It does not become America that within her borders, 
 where every man is free to follow the dictates of his con- 
 science and worship God as he pleases, men should raise the 
 cry of church against church. To do that is to strike at the 
 very spirit and heart of America. We are God-fearing peo- 
 ple. We agree to differ about methods of worship, but we 
 are united in believing in Divine Providence and in worship- 
 
 121 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 ing the God of Nations. We are the champions of religious 
 right here and everywhere that it may be our privilege to 
 give it our countenance and support. The Government is 
 conscious of the obligation, and the Nation is conscious of 
 the obligation. Let no man create divisions where there are 
 none. 
 
 "Here is the Nation God has builded by our hands. What 
 shall we do with it? Who is there who does not stand ready 
 at all times to act in her behalf in a spirit of devoted and dis- 
 interested patriotism? We are yet only in the youth and 
 first consciousness of our power. The day of our country's 
 life is still but in its fresh morning. Let us lift our eyes to the 
 great tracts of life yet to be conquered in the interests of 
 righteous peace. Come, let us renew our allegiance to Amer- 
 ica, conserve her strength in its purity, make her chief among 
 those who serve mankind, self -reverenced, self-commanded, 
 mistress of all forces of quiet counsel, strong above all others 
 in good will and the might of invincible justice and right." 
 
 The day after the delivery of the President's speech the 
 newspapers contained a "statement" from the recent Secre- 
 tary of State in which he not only antagonized every position 
 and opinion of his former Chief, but assailed his choice of a 
 forum. "I hope," said Mr. Bryan, "the President will not be 
 deceived by the atmosphere of the Manhattan Club. That is 
 the one place in the United States where the mammon-wor- 
 shiping portion of the Democratic Party meets to exchange 
 compliments; there is no group farther removed from the 
 sentiment of the masses, whether you measure that senti- 
 ment by economical, social or religious standards." Upon 
 reading this, one of the oldest members of the Club, a veteran 
 Democrat and by no means a millionaire, sententiously 
 observed : "A man who could go into a court of law and con- 
 tend with a widow for a share of a small estate upon which 
 he had no just claim; who could serve grape-juice to save 
 
 122 
 
 ■ 
 
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 wine-bills ; and who, forgetting alike the duties and dignities 
 of his office, whilst complaining of a stipend regarded by all 
 his predecessors as sufficient, could discredit the one and 
 neglect the other by converting himself into a peripatetic 
 showman, is not a fit person to lecture anybody upon the 
 mammon of unrighteousness." 
 
 Dinners may come and dinners may go ; other great anni- 
 versaries will follow ; men, nations and events will take their 
 course. But when records pass down into history to be 
 perused and contemplated by the sons and grandsons of 
 present-day Manhattan members, November 4, 191 5, will be 
 not only remembered, but it will be referred to with a certain 
 admiration and reverence justly due to the greatest night in 
 the history of the Club. And with the radiance of the future 
 there will silently join the spirit of the past, represented by 
 the loyal men who started the Manhattan Club on its way 
 and carried it to its present development, in recognition at 
 once of efficient brotherhood and of splendid achievement so 
 wholly yet unobtrusively won by those who made the fourth 
 of November what it was. 
 
Henry VS/^atterson 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 LTHOUGH something less than fifty years 
 ago, it seems a full century since the Editor 
 of these records crossed the threshold of 
 the old Benkard house and entered the 
 Manhattan Club, the guest of one of the 
 most eminent and important of its mem- 
 bers, the late August Belmont. 
 I recall that we were joined at luncheon by Mr. Samuel J. 
 Tilden and General Elijah Ward. I had known both of 
 them, as, indeed, Mr. Belmont, before the war— -that is, the 
 War of Sections, which was then but just ended — to most 
 thoughtful Americans a horrible nightmare. The Demo- 
 cratic Party had reached a low ebb in its fortunes, but 
 Democracy was still a password. The four of us were Demo- 
 crats. The Club had been organized, if possible, to revitalize 
 Democracy. 
 
 Curiously enough, our talk was not political, but personal 
 and reminiscential. It dealt mainly with Washington 
 City and New York, and what had happened the last few 
 years, and was passing now, the changes of relation and for- 
 tunes the great upheaval had brought about, the queer mar- 
 riages and untimely deaths— Mr. Tilden, a bachelor, and 
 
 127 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 General Ward, but recently a Benedict, both men of society, 
 and interested in fashion; Mr. Belmont, the master of a 
 household whose chatelaine, with Mrs. Astor, stood at the 
 head of the "Four Hundred" of the period. Mrs. Belmont 
 was a Perry, of the celebrated naval family, and the story of 
 her marriage to Mr. Belmont was still a familiar and inspir- 
 ing romance. He went lame and walked with a cane to the 
 end of his days from a bullet wound acquired in a somewhat 
 Quixotic duel fought in defense of what he thought his man- 
 hood and honor. Though a statesman and a banker of rec- 
 ognized standing and high rank, he remained a preux 
 chevalier, quick to answer and punish insult, prompt in 
 sympathy, a generous friend and a dangerous enemy. 
 
 An almost unconscious rivalry arose in time between Mr. 
 Belmont and Mr. Tilden. There was a certain intellectual 
 likeness between them. Each had a genius for finance, and 
 each was a publicist. 
 
 Two softer-hearted human beings in the sentimentalities 
 of life were never born into the world. Mr. Belmont attached 
 himself to Mr. Bayard. He appeared in two National Con- 
 ventions, that of 1876 and that of 1884, at the head of the 
 committee urging Mr. Bayard's nomination for the Presi- 
 dency. At the outset Mr. Tilden resented this; but in the 
 campaign following the convention of 1876, which had nomi- 
 nated him and not Mr. Bayard for President, he found no 
 reason to complain of Mr. Belmont's whole-hearted and 
 bountiful support. 
 
 There was not so much as a dream of Governorship and 
 Presidential nominations as our little party of four sat and 
 gossiped that day about the lunch-table. Nearly ten years 
 were to pass before Mr. Tilden "got into the game," that is, 
 became a candidate for office and a militant party force, 
 being then and through the intervening decade a Democrat 
 of character and influence, but as committeeman and coun- 
 selor. The successful movement to break the Tweed Ring 
 
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 and bring its brigand chief to justice made him a conspicuous 
 figure and a power to be reckoned with. 
 
 He had a fancy for the gubernatorial nomination in 1872, 
 when there was no chance of election, and was given the 
 nomination in 1874, when it seemed that there was small 
 chance, and when in consequence no one else desired it. 
 
 I had first met Mr. Tilden in the National Democratic 
 Convention of i860 at Baltimore, where I was serving as a 
 newspaper reporter. We went away from the Manhattan 
 Club that day arm in arm; he took me to his house in Gram- 
 ercy Park; we passed the afternoon in his noble library, dined 
 together, and thenceforward to the day of his death our rela- 
 tions were of the most intimate and affectionate. Though a 
 modest and somewhat retiring member of the Manhattan 
 Club, he was a most earnest and interested member. The 
 history of the Club and his history ran on very nearly paral- 
 lel lines from those days to the day of his death. As they 
 mark the renaissance of the Democratic Party, to which the 
 Club was dedicated, it may be neither irrelevant nor uninter- 
 esting to relate that particular chapter with some detail. 
 
 II 
 
 The nomination of Horace Greeley in 1872 and the over- 
 whelming defeat which followed left the Democratic Party 
 in an abyss of despair. The old Whig Party, after the disas- 
 ter which overtook it in 1852, had not been more demoral- 
 ized. Yet in the general elections of 1874 the Democrats 
 swept the country, carrying many Northern States and 
 sending a great majority to the Forty-fourth Congress. 
 
 Reconstruction was breaking down of its very weight and 
 rottenness. The panic of 1873 reacted against the party in 
 power. Dissatisfaction with Grant, which had not sufficed 
 two years before to displace him, was growing apace. 
 Favoritism bred corruption, and corruption grew more and 
 
 129 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 more defiant. Succeeding scandals cast their shadows be- 
 fore. The chickens of carpet-baggery let loose upon the 
 South were coming home to roost at the North. There ap- 
 peared everywhere a noticeable subsidence of the sectional 
 spirit and a rising tide of the national spirit. Reform was 
 needed alike in the State governments and in the National 
 government, and the cry for reform proved something other 
 than an idle word. All things made for Democracy. 
 
 Yet there were multiplied and serious handicaps. The light 
 and leading of the historic Democratic Party which had 
 issued from the South were in exile ; most of those surviving 
 who had been distinguished in the party conduct and coun- 
 sels were disabled by act of Congress. Of the few prominent 
 Democrats left at the North, many were tainted by what was 
 called copperheadism. To find a leader wholly free from 
 this contamination. Democracy was turning to such disaf- 
 fected Republicans as Chase, Field, and Davis of the Su- 
 preme Court, having failed of success not only with Greeley, 
 but with McClellan and Seymour. At last Heaven seemed 
 to smile from the clouds upon the disordered ranks and to 
 summon thence a man meeting the requirements of the time. 
 This was Samuel Jones Tilden. 
 
 To his familiars Mr. Tilden was a dear old bachelor who 
 lived in a fine old mansion in Gramercy Park. Though sixty 
 years of age, he seemed in the prime of manhood; a genial 
 and overflowing scholar; a trained and earnest doctrinaire; 
 a public-spirited, patriotic citizen, well known and highly 
 esteemed, who had made fame and fortune at the Bar, but 
 had never held important office. He was a dreamer with a 
 head for business; a philosopher, yet an organizer. He pur- 
 sued the tenor of his life with measured tread. His domestic 
 fabric was disfigured by none of the isolation and squalor 
 that so often attend the confirmed celibate. His home life 
 was a model of order and decorum; his home as unchal- 
 lenged as a bishopric, its hospitality, though select, abun- 
 
 130 
 
John T. Agnew 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 dant and untiring. An elder sister presided at his board, as 
 simple, kindly, and unostentatious, but as methodical, as 
 himself. He was a lover of rare books, but also of blooded 
 cattle, horses and dogs, and out-of-door activities; not much 
 of music and art. He was fond of young people, particularly 
 of young girls, and drew them about him, and was a veritable 
 Sir Roger de Coverley in his gallantries toward them and his 
 zeal in amusing them and making them happy. His tastes 
 were frugal, and their indulgence sparing. He took his wine 
 not plenteously, though he enjoyed it — especially his "blue 
 seal" while it lasted — and sipped his whisky-and-water on 
 occasion with a pleased composure redolent of discursive 
 talk, of which, when he cared to lead the conversation, he 
 was a master. He had early come into a great legal practice 
 and held a commanding place at the Bar. His law judgments 
 were believed to be infallible; and it is certain that he rarely 
 appeared in the courts, settling most of the cases that came 
 to him in chambers. 
 
 It was such a man whom in 1874 the Democrats nominated 
 for Governor of New York. To say truth, it was not thought 
 by those making the nomination that he had much chance to 
 win. He was himself so much better advised that months 
 ahead he prefigured very nearly the exact vote. The after- 
 noon of the day of election I found him in his library, con- 
 fident and calm. 
 
 "What majority will you have?" he asked cheerily. 
 
 "Any," I replied, having, of course, the Presidential nomi- 
 nation in mind. 
 
 "How about 15,000?" 
 
 "Quite enough." 
 
 "25,000?" 
 
 "Still better." 
 
 "The majority," he said, "will be a little in excess of 
 50,000." It was 53,315. His estimate was not guesswork. 
 He had organized his campaign by school districts. His 
 
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THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 canvass system was perfect, his canvassers were as pene- 
 trating and careful as census-takers. He had before him 
 reports from every voting precinct in the State. They were 
 corroborated by the official returns. He had defeated Gen- 
 eral John A. Dix, thought to be invincible, by a majority 
 very nearly the same as that by which Governor Dix had 
 been elected two years before. 
 
 There was great rejoicing that night at the Manhattan 
 Club. The Club had a right to claim its share of the glory, 
 which was all the more grateful because it was unexpected. 
 Mr. Tilden was no rabble-rouser. He kept alike his secrets 
 and his counsels. He had not proclaimed the impending 
 victory from the house-tops. But let us draw the curtain 
 and leave the braves at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fif- 
 teenth Street to their unrestrained conviviality. 
 
 ni 
 
 The time and the man had met. Although Mr. Tilden had 
 not before held administrative office, he was ripe and ready 
 for the work to be done. His experience in the pursuit and 
 overthrow of the Tweed Ring in New York, the great me- 
 tropolis, had prepared and fitted him to deal with the Canal 
 Ring at Albany, the State capital. Administrative reform 
 was now uppermost in the public mind, and here in the Em- 
 pire State of the Union had come to the head of affairs a chief 
 magistrate at once exact and exacting, deeply versed not 
 only in legal lore, but in a knowledge of the men through 
 whom and the methods by which political power was being 
 turned to private profit. There were Democrats as well as 
 Republicans among those preying upon the substance of the 
 people. 
 
 The story of the two years that followed relates to inves- 
 tigations that investigated, to prosecutions that convicted, 
 to the overhauling of the civil fabric and the rehabilitation 
 
 132 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 of popular censorship, to reduced estimates and lower taxes. 
 The Manhattan Club supported these manfully. It saw in 
 them the realization of the objects which had called it into 
 being. 
 
 The campaign for the Presidential nomination began as 
 early as the autumn of 1875. The Southern end of it was 
 easy enough. A committee of Southerners residing in New 
 York, most of them members of the Club, was formed. 
 Never a leading Southern man came to town who was not 
 "seen." If of enough importance, he was shown around to 15 
 Gramercy Park. Be sure he next turned up at the corner of 
 Fifteenth Street and Fifth Avenue. 
 
 Mr. Tilden measured up to the Southern standard of the 
 gentleman in politics. He impressed the disfranchised 
 Southern leaders as a statesman of the old order, and alto- 
 gether after their own idea of what a President ought to be. 
 The South came to St. Louis, the seat of the National Con- 
 vention, represented by its foremost citizens and almost a 
 unit for the Governor of New York. The main opposition 
 sprang from Tammany Hall, of which John Kelly was then 
 the chief. Its very extravagance proved an advantage to 
 Tilden. Two days before the meeting of the convention I 
 sent this message to Gramercy Park, "Tell Blackstone" (his 
 favorite among his horses and a Kentuckian) "that he wins in 
 a walk." The anti-Tilden men put up the Hon. S. S. ("Sun- 
 set") Cox for temporary chairman. It was a clever move. 
 Mr. Cox, though sure for Tammany, was popular every- 
 where, and very much so at the South. His backers thought 
 that with him they could count upon a majority of the Na- 
 tional Committee. 
 
 The night before the assembling Mr. Tilden's two or three 
 leading friends on the Committee came to me and said, "We 
 can elect you chairman over Cox, but no one else." I de- 
 murred at once. "I don't know one rule of parliamentary 
 law from another," I said. "We will have the best parliamen- 
 
 133 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 tarian on the continent right by you all the time," they said. 
 "I can't see to recognize a man on the floor of the conven- 
 tion," I said. "We '11 have a dozen men to see for you," they 
 replied. So it was arranged, and thus at the last moment I 
 was chosen. 
 
 I had barely time to write the required "key-note" speech, 
 but not to commit it to memory, nor sight to read it even 
 had I been willing to adopt that mode of delivery. It would 
 never do in such a matter to trust to extemporization. A 
 friend. Colonel Stoddard Johnston, who was familiar with 
 my rough penmanship, came to the rescue. Concealing my 
 manuscript behind his hat, he lined the words out to me be- 
 tween the cheering, I having mastered a few opening sen- 
 tences. 
 
 Luck was with me. It went with a bang. Not wholly 
 without detection, however. The Indianians, devoted to 
 Hendricks, were very wroth. "See that fat man behind the 
 hat telling him what to say," said one to his neighbor, who 
 answered, "Yes, and wrote it for him, too, I '11 be bound." 
 
 One might as well attempt to drive six horses by proxy as 
 preside over a National Convention by hearsay. I lost my 
 parliamentarian at once. I just made my parliamentary law 
 as we went along. Never before nor since did any deliber- 
 ative body proceed under manual so startling and original. 
 But I delivered each ruling with a resonance — it were better 
 called an impudence — which had an air of authority. There 
 was a good deal of quiet laughing on the floor among the 
 knowing ones — though I knew the mass were as ignorant as 
 I was myself — and, realizing that I meant to be just and was 
 expediting business, the Convention soon warmed to me, 
 and, feeling this, I began to be perfectly at home. I never 
 had a better day's sport in all my life. 
 
 One incident was particularly amusing. Much against 
 my will and over my protest, I was brought to promise that 
 Miss Phoebe Couzins, who bore a Woman's Rights me- 
 
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L'ENVOI 
 
 morial, should at some opportune moment be given the floor 
 to present it. I foresaw what a row it was bound to raise. 
 Toward noon, when there was a lull in the proceedings, I 
 said with an emphasis meant to carry conviction: "Gentle- 
 men of the Convention, Miss Phoebe Couzins, a represen- 
 tative of the Woman's Rights Association of America, has a 
 memorial from that body, and, in the absence of other imme- 
 diate business, the Chair will now recognize her." 
 
 Then the storm broke loose. Instantly, and from every 
 part of the hall, there arose cries of "No !" The opposition 
 put some heart into me. Many a time as a school-boy I had 
 proudly declaimed the passage from John Home's tragedy, 
 "My name is Norval." Again I stood upon "the Grampian 
 hills." The committee was escorting Miss Couzins down 
 the aisle. When she came within the range of my poor 
 vision I could see that she was a beauty and dressed to kill ! 
 That was reassurance. Gaining a little time while the hall 
 fairly rocked with its thunder of negation, I laid the gavel 
 down, stepped to the edge of the platform, and gave Miss 
 Couzins my hand. As she appeared above the throng there 
 was a momentary "Ah," and then a lull broken by a single 
 voice : "Mr. Chairman, I rise to a point of order." Leading 
 Miss Couzins to the front of the stage, I took up the gavel 
 and gave a gentle rap, saying, "The gentleman will take his 
 seat." 
 
 "But, Mr. Chairman, I rise to a point of order," he 
 vociferated. 
 
 "The gentleman will take his seat instantly," I answered 
 in the tone of one about to throw the gavel at his head. "No 
 point of order is in order when a lady has the floor." 
 
 After that Miss Couzins received a positive ovation, and, 
 having delivered her message, retired in a blaze of glory. 
 
 Mr. Tilden was nominated on the second ballot. The 
 campaign which followed proved one of the most memorable 
 in our history. When it came to an end the result showed 
 
 135 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 on the face of the returns 196 in the Electoral College, 21 
 more than a majority, and in the popular vote 4,300,316, a 
 majority of 264,300 over Hayes. 
 
 How this came to be first contested and then complicated 
 so as ultimately to be set aside has been minutely related by 
 its authors. 
 
 The newspapers of the eighth of November, the morning 
 after the election, both Republican and Democratic, con- 
 ceded an overwhelming victory for Tilden and Hendricks. 
 There was, however, a single exception. The "New York 
 Times" had gone to press with its first edition leaving the 
 result in doubt, though inclining toward the success of the 
 Democrats. In its later editions this tentative attitude was 
 changed to the statement that Hayes lacked the vote only of 
 Florida, "claimed by the Republicans," to be sure of the 
 required 185 votes in the Electoral College. The story of 
 this surprising discrepancy between midnight and daylight 
 reads like a chapter of fiction. 
 
 After the early edition of the "Times" had gone to press 
 certain members of the editorial staff were at supper, very 
 much cast down by the returns, when a messenger brought 
 a telegram from Senator Barnum of Connecticut, finance 
 head of the Democratic National Committee, asking for the 
 "Times's" latest news from Oregon, Louisiana, Florida, and 
 South Carolina. Except for that unlucky telegram, Tilden 
 would probably have been inaugurated President of the 
 United States. 
 
 The "Times" people, intense Republican partisans, saw at 
 once an opportunity. If Barnum did not know, why might 
 not a doubt be raised? At once the editorial in the first edi- 
 tion was revised to take a decisive tone and declare the elec- 
 tion of Hayes. One of the editorial council, Mr. John C. 
 Reid, hurried to Republican headquarters in the Fifth Ave- 
 nue Hotel, which he found deserted, the triumph of Tilden 
 having long before sent everybody to bed. Mr. Reid then 
 
 136 
 
Board of Governors of Manhattan Club 
 
 1915 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 sought the room of Senator Zachariah Chandler, chairman 
 of the National Republican Committee. While upon this 
 errand he encountered in the hotel corridor "a small man 
 wearing an immense pair of goggles, his hat drawn over his 
 ears, a great-coat with a heavy military cloak, and carrying 
 a gripsack and newspaper in his hand." The newspaper was 
 the "New York Tribune" announcing the election of Tilden 
 and the defeat of Hayes. The newcomer was Mr. William 
 E. Chandler, just arrived from New Hampshire and very 
 much exasperated by what he had read. 
 
 Mr. Reid had another tale to tell. The two found Mr. 
 Zachariah Chandler, who bade them "leave him alone and do 
 whatever they thought best." They did so consumingly, 
 sending telegrams to Columbia, Tallahassee, and New Or- 
 leans stating to each of the parties addressed that the result 
 of the election depended upon his State. To these were ap- 
 pended the signature of Zachariah Chandler. Later in the 
 day. Senator Chandler, advised of what had been set on foot 
 and its possibilities, issued from National Republican Head- 
 quarters this laconic message: "Hayes has 185 Electoral 
 votes and is elected." Thus began and was put in motion 
 the scheme to confuse the returns and make a disputed count 
 of the vote. 
 
 IV 
 
 The day after the election I wired Mr. Tilden suggesting 
 that, as Governor of New York, he propose to Mr. Hayes, 
 the Governor of Ohio, that they unite upon a committee of 
 eminent citizens, composed in equal numbers of the friends 
 of each, who should proceed at once to Louisiana, which 
 appeared to be the objective point of greatest moment to the 
 already contested result. Pursuant to a telegraphic corre- 
 spondence which followed, I left Louisville that night for 
 New Orleans. I was joined en route by Mr. Lamar of Mis- 
 
 137 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 sissippi, and together we arrived in the Crescent City on 
 Friday morning. 
 
 It has since transpired that the Republicans were 
 promptly advised by the Western Union Telegraph Com- 
 pany of all that passed over its wires, and my despatches to 
 Mr. Tilden were read in Republican headquarters at least as 
 soon as they reached Gramercy Park. 
 
 Mr. Tilden did not adopt the plan of a direct proposal to 
 Mr. Hayes. Instead he chose a body of Democrats to go to 
 the "seat of war." But before any of them had arrived, 
 General Grant, anticipating what was about to happen, ap- 
 pointed a body of Republicans for the like purpose, and the 
 advance-guard of these appeared on the scene the following 
 Monday. 
 
 Within a week the St. Charles Hotel might have been mis- 
 taken for a caravansary of the national capital. Among 
 the Republicans there were John Sherman, Stanley Mat- 
 thews, Garfield and Evarts, Logan, Kelly, and Stoughton, 
 and many others. Among the Democrats, besides Lamar 
 and myself, came Lyman Trumbull, Samuel J. Randall, and 
 William R. Morrison, McDonald of Indiana, and many 
 others. More or less of personal intimacy existed between 
 the members of the two groups, and the "entente" was quite 
 as unrestrained as might have existed between rival athletic 
 teams. A Kentucky friend sent me a demijohn of what was 
 represented as very old Bourbon, and I shared it with "our 
 friends the enemy." New Orleans was new to most of the 
 "visiting statesmen," and we attended the places of amuse- 
 ment, lived in the restaurants, and "saw the sights," as 
 though we had been tourists in a foreign land and not par- 
 tisans charged with the business of adjusting a Presidential 
 election from irreconcilable points of view. 
 
 My own relations were especially friendly with John Sher- 
 man and James A. Garfield, a colleague on the Ways and 
 Means Committee, and with Stanley Matthews, who was a 
 
 138 
 
 -A 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 near kinsman by marriage and had stood as an elder brother 
 to me from my childhood. 
 
 Corruption was in the air. That the Returning Board was 
 for sale and could be bought was the universal impression. 
 Every day some one turned up with pretended authority and 
 an offer. Most of these were, of course, the merest adven- 
 turers. It was my own belief that the Returning Board was 
 playing for the best price it could get from the Republicans, 
 and that the only effect of any offer to buy on our part would 
 be to assist this scheme of blackmail. 
 
 The Returning Board consisted of two white men, Wells 
 and Anderson, and two negroes, Kenner and Casanave. 
 They were one and all without character. I was tempted 
 through sheer curiosity to listen to a proposal which seemed 
 to come directly from the Board itself, the messenger being 
 a well-known State senator. As if he were proposing to dis- 
 pose of a horse or a dog, he stated his errand. 
 
 "You think you can deliver the goods?" said I. 
 
 *T am authorized to make the offer," he answered. 
 
 "And for how much?" I asked. 
 
 "Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars," he replied. 
 "One hundred thousand each for Wells and Anderson, and 
 twenty-five thousand apiece for the niggers." 
 
 To my mind it was a joke. "Senator," said I, "the terms 
 are as cheap as dirt. I don't happen to have the exact 
 amount about me at this moment, but I will communicate 
 with my principal and see you later." 
 
 Having no thought of communicating with anybody or 
 seriously entertaining such a proposal, I had forgotten the 
 incident, when, two or three days after, my man met me in 
 the lobby of the hotel and pressed for a definite reply. I then 
 told him I had found I possessed no authority to act, and 
 advised him to go elsewhere. 
 
 It is claimed that Wells and Anderson did agree to sell, 
 were turned down by Mr. Hewitt, and, their demands for 
 
 139 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 cash refused by the Democrats, took their final pay in pa- 
 tronage from their own party. ^ 
 
 V 
 
 I passed the Christmas week of 1876 in New York with Mr. 
 Tilden. We dined alone on Christmas Day. The outlook 
 was, on the whole, cheering. With John Bigelow and Man- 
 ton Marble he had been busily engaged compiling the data 
 for a constitutional battle to be fought by the Democrats in 
 Congress, maintaining the right of the House of Represen- 
 tatives to concurrent jurisdiction with the Senate in the 
 counting of the Electoral vote, pursuant to an unbroken line 
 of precedents established by the method of procedure in 
 every Presidential election between 1793 and 1873. 
 
 There was very great perplexity in the public mind. Both 
 parties were far at sea. The dispute between the Democratic 
 House and the Republican Senate made for thick weather. 
 Contests of the vote of three States, Louisiana, South Caro- 
 lina, and Florida — not to mention single votes in Oregon and 
 Vermont — which presently began to blow a gale, had already 
 spread menacing clouds across the political sky. Except Mr. 
 Tilden, the wisest among the leaders knew not precisely 
 what to do. 
 
 From New Orleans, the Saturday night succeeding the 
 Presidential election, I had wired Mr. Tilden detailing the 
 exact conditions there and urging active and immediate 
 agitation. The chance had been lost. I thought then, and I 
 
 1 At a meeting held at Chickering Hall on the evening of November 12, 1891, 
 to sympathize with Governor Nichols's war on the Louisiana lottery system, 
 the late Abram S. Hewitt was one of the speakers. In the course of his re- 
 marks in denunciation of the lottery gambling in Louisiana, Mr. Hewitt said: 
 
 "I can't find words strong enough to express my feelings regarding this 
 brazen fraud. This scheme of plunder develops a weak spot in the government 
 of the United States, which I would not mention were it not for the importance 
 of the issue. We all know that a single State frequently determines the result 
 of a Presidential election. The State of Louisiana has determined the result of 
 a Presidential election. The vote of that State was offered to me for money, 
 &nd I declined to buy it. But the vote of that State was sold for money!" 
 
 140 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 still think, that the conspiracy of a few men to use the cor- 
 rupt Returning Boards of Louisiana, South Carolina, and 
 Florida to upset the election and make confusion in Con- 
 gress, might, by prompt exposure and popular appeal, have 
 been thwarted. Be this as it may, my spirit was depressed 
 and my confidence discouraged by the intense quietude on 
 our side, sure that underneath the surface the Republicans, 
 with resolute determination and multiplied resources, were 
 as busy as bees. 
 
 Mr. Robert M. McLane, later Governor of Maryland and 
 Minister to France, a man of rare ability and large experi- 
 ence who had served in Congress and in diplomacy and was 
 an old friend of Mr. Tilden, had been at a Gramercy Park 
 conference when my New Orleans report arrived, and had 
 then and there urged the agitation recommended by me. He 
 was now again in New York. When a lad he had been in 
 London with his father, Lewis McLane, then American 
 Minister to the Court of St. James, during the excitement 
 over the Reform Bill of 1832. He had witnessed the popular 
 demonstrations and been impressed by the direct force of 
 public opinion upon law-making and law-makers. An 
 analogous situation had arisen in America. The Repub- 
 lican Senate was as the Tory House of Lords. We must 
 organize a movement such as had been so effectual in Eng- 
 land. Obviously, something was going amiss with us, and 
 something had to be done. 
 
 It was agreed that I should return to Washington and 
 make a speech, "feeling the pulse" of the country with the 
 suggestion that there should assemble in the national 
 capital "a mass convention of at least one hundred thou- 
 sand peaceful citizens," exercising "the freeman's right of 
 petition." 
 
 The idea was one of many proposals of a more drastic 
 kind, and the merest venture. I myself had no great faith in 
 it. But I prepared the speech, and after much reading and 
 
 141 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 revising it was held by Mr. Tilden and Mr. McLane to cover 
 the case and meet the purpose. Mr. Tilden wrote Mr. Ran- 
 dall a letter, carried to Washington by Mr. McLane, in- 
 structing him what to do in the event that the popular 
 response should prove favorable. 
 
 Alack-the-day! The Democrats were equal to nothing 
 affirmative. The Republicans were united and resolute. I 
 delivered the speech, not in the House, as had been intended, 
 but at a public meeting which seemed opportune. The 
 Democrats at once set about denying the sinister purpose 
 ascribed to it by the Republicans, who, fully advised that it 
 had emanated from Gramercy Park and came by authority, 
 started a counter-agitation of their own. 
 
 I was made the target for every manner of ridicule and 
 abuse. Nast had a grotesque cartoon which was both offen- 
 sive and libellous. Being on friendly terms with the Harpers, 
 I made my displeasure so resonant in Franklin Square — 
 Nast himself having no personal ill-will — that a curious and 
 pleasing opportunity which came to pass was taken to make 
 amends. A son having been born to me, "Harper's Weekly" 
 contained an atoning cartoon representing the child in its 
 father's arms, and beneath the legend, "The only one of the 
 one hundred thousand in arms who came when he was 
 called." 
 
 For many years afterward this unlucky speech — or rather 
 the misinterpretation given it alike by friend and foe — pur- 
 sued me. Nast's first cartoon was accepted as a faithful 
 portrait, and I was accordingly satirized and stigmatized, 
 although no thought of violence had ever entered my mind, 
 and in the final proceedings I had voted for the Electoral 
 Commission Bill and faithfully stood by its decisions. Joseph 
 Pulitzer, who immediately followed me on the occasion 
 named, declared that he wanted my "one hundred thousand" 
 to come fully armed and ready for business, yet was never 
 taken to task or reminded of his temerity. 
 
 142 
 
Fiftieth Anniversary Dinner 
 November 4, 1915 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 VI 
 
 But a truce to historic detail. The untoward events that 
 followed do not properly belong to this narrative. Let 
 us return to the Club and the personality of its most cele- 
 brated member. As I have said, Mr. Tilden's "blue seal" 
 Johannisberger was very famous. I recall a dinner he gave 
 Lord Houghton at the Club, when that delightful bon vi- 
 vant, man-of-the-world, and poet was a visitor in America 
 and he was Governor of New York. The Club cellar was 
 justly celebrated, and it furnished the awful succession and 
 prodigal variety of rare and costly wines usual to the semi- 
 barbaric banquets of a day that is happily gone forever. 
 Toward the close the glasses were changed and the Club 
 butler appeared with an air of superiority almost regal. 
 "Lord Houghton," said Manton Marble, who sat next his 
 lordship, "Governor Tilden has a vineyard in Minnesota 
 which his friends think very well of, and he is going to ask 
 your opinion." I sat directly opposite and could see the 
 suppressed grimace with which the most knowing and fas- 
 tidious of gourmets prepared to deliver a diplomatic judg- 
 ment upon a presumably raw product of Yankee ignorance 
 and vanity. The wine was poured. The old Lord lifted his 
 glass. As it reached the half-way point between the table 
 and his nose, and he caught the aroma, he paused, put the 
 wine slowly to his lips, and with perfect but all-embracing 
 composure said: "I think the Governor has reason to con- 
 gratulate himself upon his vineyard." 
 
 There is yet another story to be told of the "blue seal." 
 It has to do with the Presidential campaign of 1 876. Indiana 
 had become the storm-centre. In those days there was an 
 October vote and a State election, a month in advance of the 
 National election. Both parties made this their objective 
 point; the party that carried the first election was likely to 
 carry the second. The electoral votes of Indiana and New 
 
 143 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 York, with those of the "Solid South," gave the Democrats 
 the Electoral College. We were sure of New York; we were 
 sure of the Solid South; Indiana was the missing "link." 
 
 About the middle of September I was called to Indianapo- 
 lis by the chairman of the Democratic State Committee. 
 Three weeks later the October State election would be held ; 
 money was indispensable — not corruption money; money 
 for banners and bonfires, for demonstrations and proces- 
 sions, for barbecues and orators. The Republicans seemed 
 to have plenty. The Democrats had exhausted their slender 
 local resources, and unless they could get help from the 
 National Committee the leaders felt that they were lost. I 
 had a pocketful of railway annuals, a duster, and a straw hat, 
 and I took the midnight train for New York. If I expected 
 to get the wherewithal and return by the next train, — and 
 my present memory is that this was about the size of it, — I 
 reckoned decidedly without my host. 
 
 Governor Tilden came down from Albany. He, Mr. 
 Hewitt (then chairman of the National Committee), Mr. 
 Edward Cooper, and myself had a number of conferences 
 extending from Thursday to Saturday. Time was precious. 
 
 Saturday afternoon the Governor took me back into the 
 famous bay-window overlooking the garden of the house in 
 Gramercy Park. 
 
 Said he : "I have some money. I am not afraid to spend it. 
 But don't you think it a little unusual to expect so much of 
 the candidate?" 
 
 "No, Governor," I promptly replied, "I do not. On the 
 representation that money would not be wanting, we got the 
 nomination." 
 
 He took three lengths of the room, came back into the lit- 
 tle vestibule connecting with the library, that served also for 
 a dining-room, where Hewitt and Cooper were anxiously 
 waiting, and in that peculiar half-nasal voice of his, part 
 peremptory and part querulous, he said : 
 
 144 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 "How much do you require?" 
 
 "Sixty thousand dollars," I said. 
 
 "You don't want it all at once?" said he. 
 
 "No, twenty thousand next Monday, twenty thousand the 
 Monday after, and twenty thousand the Monday before the 
 October vote !" 
 
 "Will you take it?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because I have nothing to do with it. I am here to tell 
 you the facts. I am not a money-handler. Of course I won't 
 have anything else to do with it." 
 
 "How will Barnum do?" 
 
 "The very man." 
 
 Mr. Barnum was in Indianapolis the next Monday morn- 
 ing. It will be recalled that later on he was authorized to 
 "buy seven more mules." 
 
 We carried the October vote "hands down," and likewise 
 the November vote. But upon that particular visit my 
 tribulation was by no means over. The Governor had uses 
 for me in New York. In vain I pleaded my own affairs. In 
 vain I pleaded imperative speaking appointments. He 
 would take no excuses. From the warm days of September 
 into the cool days of October he detained me — kept me busy, 
 too. He had a number of hats and overcoats, and I had ap- 
 propriated a hat and an overcoat as the weather changed. 
 Finally he consented to let me go. The last night I came 
 into the cozy old library-dining-room and found him alone 
 with Manton Marble. 
 
 "Governor," said I, "you have treated me worse than a 
 stepson or a poor relation. You have kept me here three 
 weeks on your own business. You have loaned me an old 
 overcoat and an old hat. If you had had the least style about 
 you, you would have presented me with new ones. I leave 
 these with Louis." (Louis was the valet.) 
 
 145 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 "Oh, don't do that!" he exclaimed. "Wear them home 
 and send them back by the sleeping-car porter. Those Pull- 
 man porters are perfectly reliable." 
 
 "Governor Tilden," said I, sternly and with reproach in 
 every word, "when I get on the train I shall not need them. 
 When I get home I shall find my own. But I '11 tell you what 
 I '11 do. If you will send down for a bottle of the *blue seal* 
 for Marble and me, I '11 forgive you and call the account 
 square." 
 
 He was a dear old body as ever lived. He loved his friends 
 to take liberties with his hospitality. David, the butler, the 
 most imposing person then resident in or near Gramercy 
 Park, was standing at the sideboard. 
 
 "Why, certainly," said Mr. Tilden; and, turning to the 
 butler, he added, "David, go down and bring Mr. Watterson 
 a bottle of the 'blue seal.' " 
 
 David, who knew his business, hesitated. 
 
 "Henry," said Mr. Tilden, "do you know that I consider 
 that Steinberger Cabinet every bit as good as the 'blue seal' ? 
 Sometimes I think it better. But you can have whichever 
 you please." 
 
 I answered that, if I might have my choice, I would take 
 the "blue seal." The end of it was that we had both ; first the 
 "blue seal" Johannisberger and then the Steinberger Cabinet, 
 and I am bound to allow that there was precious little differ- 
 ence between them — both the rarest of German wines and 
 the best. The Governor, Manton Marble, and I sat for an 
 hour or more over those two bottles, and had a deal of 
 friendly talk. The Governor, in particular, glowed under 
 the influence of the fragrance, and Marble, the most agree- 
 able of men, was in his best mood and vein. We were "three 
 of a kind." At last, in a moment of assurance and exuber- 
 ance. Marble said : 
 
 "And, Governor, what are we — Watterson and I — to have 
 when you come into your kingdom?" 
 
 146 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 I shall never forget — for I happened to look directly at 
 him — the expression that came over the face of our delight- 
 ful "Uncle Samuel"! He was a little flushed by the wine. 
 His bright eyes were a trifle brighter. With a half-humor- 
 ous, half-shy expression — an affectation with him, for his 
 was a direct and an open nature — he said with deliberation 
 and epigrammatic stress : "You boys don't want any offices. 
 They would do you more harm than good. What you really 
 want is big influence with the administration." 
 
 To me, at the moment, what he said had no significance. 
 I was a young member of Congress for an emergency, who 
 could not afford to stay in public life. My professional 
 world, which was yet in issue, quite sufficed me, and I was 
 not dreaming of office. The bottles were empty. We passed 
 into the corridor. The old gentleman went with us and saw 
 us out of the great storm-door. As he closed this. Marble 
 said to me : 
 
 "Watterson, did you hear what that old devil said?" 
 
 "No," I answered innocently. "What about?" 
 
 "Why, about no office, but big influence with his adminis- 
 tration. Do you know — blank blank him! — that he meant 
 every word of it?" 
 
 It was too good to keep. After all was over, after the tur- 
 bulence of the succeeding Congress, after the Electoral 
 Commission, after the exclusion, the funny incident recurred 
 to me, and during some moments of effusion and confidence 
 it escaped me. And, somehow, it got to the ears of Governor 
 Tilden. And one evening at Greystone, with a party of 
 friends, the Governor turned to me and said, "Tell us the 
 story of the 'blue seal.' " And, as here related, I told it. 
 
 VII 
 
 Mr. Tilden accepted the result of the Electoral Tribunal of 
 1877 with equanimity. "I was at his house," says John 
 
 147 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Bigelow, "when his exclusion was announced to him, and 
 also on the fourth of March, when Mr. Hayes was inaugu- 
 rated, and it was impossible to remark any change in his 
 manner, except perhaps that he was less absorbed than usual 
 and more interested in current affairs." His was an in- 
 tensely serious mind ; and he had come to regard the Presi- 
 dency rather as a burden to be borne, an opportunity for 
 public usefulness, involving a life of constant toil and care, 
 than as occasion for personal exploitation and rejoicing. 
 
 However much of captivation the idea of the Presidency 
 may have had for him when he was first named for the office, 
 I cannot say, for he was as unexultant in the moment of vic- 
 tory as unsubdued in the hour of defeat; but it is certainly 
 true that he gave no sign of disappointment to any of his 
 friends. He lived nearly ten years after, in a noble home- 
 stead called Greystone, which he had purchased for himself, 
 overlooking the Hudson River, the same ideal life of the 
 scholar and gentleman he had passed in Gramercy Park. 
 
 Looking back over these untoward and sometimes mysti- 
 fying events, I have often asked myself was it possible, with 
 the elements what they were and he himself what he was, to 
 seat Mr. Tilden in the office to which he had been elected. 
 The missing ingredient in a character intellectually and 
 morally great, and a personality far from unimpressive, was 
 the touch of the dramatic discoverable in most of the leaders 
 of men : even in such leaders as William of Orange and Louis 
 XI, as Cromwell and Washington. 
 
 There was nothing spectacular about Mr. Tilden. Not 
 wanting the sense of humor, he seldom indulged it; nor posi- 
 tivity of opinion and amplitude of knowledge, yet always 
 courteous and deferential in debate. He had none of the 
 audacious daring, let us say, of Mr. Blaine, the energetic 
 self-assertion of Mr. Roosevelt. Either, in his place, would 
 have carried all before him. 
 
 A character further from that of a subtle schemer sitting 
 
 148 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 behind his screen and pulling his wires — which his political 
 and party enemies discovered him to be as soon as he began 
 to get in the way of the machine and obstruct the march of 
 the self-elect — it would be hard to find. His confidences were 
 not effusive nor their subjects numerous. His deliberation 
 was unfailing, and sometimes carried the idea of indecision, 
 not to say actual love of procrastination. But in my experi- 
 ence with him I found that he generally ended where he be- 
 gan, and it was nowise difficult for those whom he trusted to 
 divine the bias of his mind where he thought it best to re- 
 serve its conclusions. I do not think that in any great affair 
 he ever hesitated longer than the gravity of the case required 
 for a prudent man, or that he had a preference for delays, or 
 that he clung over-tenaciously to both horns of the dilemma, 
 as his professional training and instinct might have led him 
 to do, and certainly did expose him to the accusation of 
 doing. 
 
 He was a philosopher and took the world as he found it. 
 He rarely complained and never inveighed. He had a dis- 
 criminating way of balancing men's good and bad qualities 
 and of giving each the benefit of a generous accounting, and 
 a just way of expecting no more of a man than it was in him 
 to yield. As he got into deeper water his stature rose to its 
 level, and, from his exclusion from the Presidency in 1877 to 
 his renunciation of public affairs in 1884, and his death in 
 1886, his walks and ways might have been a study for all 
 who would learn life's truest lessons and know the real 
 sources of honor, happiness, and fame. 
 
 VIII 
 
 Robert C. Hutchings was in the seventies one of the gayest, 
 most brilliant, and conspicuous members of the Manhattan 
 Club. He was surrogate of New York County, at that time, 
 except the sheriff, quite the richest paying office within the 
 
 149 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 popular gift. Being a son-in-law of Richard Connolly, next 
 to Tweed the chief of the Tammany Ring which Mr. Tilden 
 had driven from power, he could not, Mr. Tilden being now 
 governor and party leader, hope to run for re-election. 
 
 One morning, newly arrived in town, as I was entering the 
 Club I met "Bob" Hutchings coming out. According to his 
 custom, he greeted me warmly. Douglas Taylor joined us 
 as we stood upon the stoop. "Boys," said Hutchings, "I 
 want you to join me at dinner this evening at seven, to meet 
 my dear friend, Mr. Van Schaick." 
 
 "And who is Mr. Van Schaick?" I asked. 
 
 "He is one of my deputies who has just been nominated to 
 succeed me," he answered, "and I particularly want you to 
 meet him and tell him you don't think he ought to accept 
 the nomination." 
 
 "Why, what in thunder have I to do with it?" 
 
 Robert was a humorist and something of a dramatist, and 
 with an air of finality he said, "That is my business. I give 
 you and Douglas here a good dinner. You tell old man Van 
 Schaick not to run for surrogate. That is all. Is it a 
 whack?" 
 
 To be sure it was. Mr. Van Schaick appeared to be a most 
 amiable old gentleman. The dinner was a feast for a Bar- 
 mecide. The wines could not be excelled. As the flow of 
 soul proceeded, the comedy of the situation took possession 
 of my fancy, and when the opportune moment arrived I not 
 only told him that in my judgment he should decline the 
 nomination he had just received, but I gave him unanswer- 
 able reasons that shaped themselves as I proceeded, though 
 knowing nothing whatever about the case. Pen, ink, and 
 paper were sent for. Mr. Van Schaick thanked me for my 
 counsels, and then and there indited a note declining the 
 nomination, which was immediately despatched to the news- 
 papers and printed the next morning. The day after the 
 same papers contained another note cancelling the first note 
 
 150 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 and accepting the nomination. A month later Mr. Van 
 Schaick was elected. 
 
 The incident passed out of my memory. Ten years later, 
 however, as Hutchings and I were driving in the Bois de 
 Boulogne, it recurred to me, and I said, "Robert, what was 
 the meaning of the game you got me to sit in that night at 
 the Manhattan Club?" 
 
 He looked at me, a little surprised and a little quizzical. 
 "Did n't you know?" said he. 
 
 "No," I answered, truly enough. 
 
 "Did n't you suspect?" he again asked. 
 
 "What had I to suspect?" said I. 
 
 "Well," and he gave a long sigh of incredulity, "you are 
 an innocent! I could never have believed it of you. The 
 nomination of old Van Schaick, my deputy, took me un- 
 awares. I had not expected it. I had made no arrangements 
 to meet it. I required twenty-four hours. The moment I 
 saw you a way to these framed itself. I had you for dinner. 
 I had Van Schaick. Don't you see? You were Tilden." 
 
 IX 
 
 In closing this chronicle of incidents and characters that al- 
 ready begin to fade in the direction of shadow-land, I cannot 
 deny myself the story of an experience having to do with the 
 old homestead purchased by the Manhattan Club and recon- 
 structed to suit itself, which is now its permanent and hon- 
 ored abode. Originally the residence of Leonard Jerome, it 
 became in the early sixties the Union League Club, and when 
 that rich and powerful organization was able to buy a site 
 and build a home of its own, a club, improvised to find Mr. 
 Jerome a tenant, and called the Turf Club, moved in. It was 
 rather a queer conglomeration, devoted, as its name implied, 
 to sport. It lived only two or three years. After it the Uni- 
 versity Club took the house. 
 
 151 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 One night, after a dinner party at Delmonico's, just across 
 the Square, Mr. James R. Keene, enjoying his first fling as 
 "King of the Street" ; Mr. Lawrence R. Jerome, and myself 
 — all members of the Turf, albeit no one of us had ever been 
 within its doors — thought to "see what it was like," and, not 
 to be out of fashion or behind the procession, were presently 
 embarked in a game of baccarat, which the club affected and 
 was trying — vainly, as the issue proved — to introduce to 
 New York. There was an iron-clad club rule — very neces- 
 sary, we were assured — against either borrowing or lending 
 in the club-house, and to weather this restriction we had 
 pooled the inconsiderable amounts we had in hand, playing 
 at first in such luck that we might have retired betimes 
 happy, respectable, and rich. But at last the inevitable ar- 
 rived, for poor Cinderella overstayed her time and over- 
 played her means, and went broke — flat broke — dead broke. 
 When we descended to the street below, it was raining cats 
 and dogs. Mr. Keene called a cabman from the long line 
 in front, and telling the man he wished him to take each of 
 us to his destination, asked what would be his charge for the 
 service. 
 
 "Ten dollars," said Cabby. 
 
 "All right," said Keene; "drive up." 
 
 "But," said Cabby, "I want my money in advance." 
 
 This was a poser. "My friend," said the "King of Wall 
 Street," "you ought to know me— I am Mr. Keene — Mr. 
 James R. Keene — and — " 
 
 "Thunder!" exclaimed the cabman; "there 's been three 
 Jeems R. Keenes out here to-night, and I ain't able to tell 
 which from t'other !" 
 
 Finally I induced Cabby to drive us to the Everett House 
 in Union Square, my own abiding-place. There I obtained 
 the requisite ten dollars from the night clerk, and sent my 
 two temporarily impoverished and rather dejected compan- 
 ions home. 
 
 152 
 
Employees of the Manhattan Club 
 
 1915 
 
L'ENVOI 
 
 X 
 
 "Little Old New York/' the show people call it. Seen in 
 fancy beyond a succession of endless cross-ties, it must 
 seem so, indeed; though no other city in the world has for its 
 sobriquet any such term of endearment. The "sound of Bow 
 Bells" is merely an historic saying, not an affectionate re- 
 minder of London; the "smell of the asphalt," a rather un- 
 meaning Parisian epigram. No one ever heard the "Bells," 
 while the asphalt may be "smelt" in many cities; but the 
 "Rialto" and the "Great White Way"; Fifth Avenue and the 
 Park and Madison Square in succession to the yet older 
 landmarks of fashion southerly and eastward — sacred to the 
 memory of the Flora McFlimseys of yore — and Harlem, 
 "Maggie Murphy's Home," no less than that of the Mulligan 
 Guards, shrine of the McSorleys and the Cordelias of an era 
 when a little burnt-cork theatre was a local, almost a na- 
 tional institution — never a "sky-scraper" to distract, nor a 
 "movie" to mislead — Gotham of the seventies, the eighties, 
 and the nineties will live in legend as itself ; none like it ; just 
 beloved, plain "little old New York." 
 
 To the men of those days who yet survive it must always 
 remain a radiant memory. Everybody knew everybody. If 
 "he" or "she" were in town, the seeker had only to wait long 
 enough about Delmonico's or the Fifth Avenue Hotel, or 
 upon any of many street corners. The clubs were not too 
 numerous; nor the theatres, the restaurants and chop- 
 houses. The Union League and the Manhattan led club life 
 then, as they lead it now — the Century over-literary, the 
 Lotos over-artistic, the University and the Metropolitan in 
 embryo — a certain community both of interest and feeling 
 permeating all memberships, which the expanding condi- 
 tions of a world centre are fast dissipating. The pretty pro- 
 vincialism of Murray Hill is going — going — gone. The 
 picturesque long since disappeared from Swelldom. Wall 
 
 153 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Street, that melancholy cul-de-sac which takes its start out 
 from a churchyard to end in a deep and mighty stream, — yet, 
 like King Cole, "a jolly old soul," — has become a ruler of 
 finance, lending to nations and underwriting empires; a 
 grand seigneur, disdaining the antics which once distin- 
 guished the money devil, to hold the "ignobile vulgus" at 
 arm's length. The ghosts of Jim Fisk and old Daniel Drew, 
 of Gould and Sage, walking under the shadow of the spire of 
 Trinity, would see many changes and encounter people even 
 queerer than themselves; though the "Commodore," who in 
 life knew what he was about and planned a century ahead, 
 might, revisiting the glimpses of the moon, turn about and 
 say, "Did I not tell you so?" It seems but yesterday that he 
 sat playing whist in the Manhattan Club, with Ben Wood 
 for a partner, the Belmonts, the Wards, and the Schells as 
 onlookers — one of them now and again sitting in the game. 
 
 Memory as she flies may take but a kodak snap, yet it has 
 a character all its own; and it is something not wholly lost 
 to the present to be able to catch from the past even the 
 faintest aroma of those days, and to murmur as the curtain 
 falls: 
 
 "The gaits we have gone without tiring. 
 
 The songs that together we Ve sung; 
 The jests to whose merry inspiring 
 
 Our mingling of laughter hath rung; 
 Oh, trifles like these become precious. 
 
 When seen through the vista of years. 
 And the smiles of the past so remembered. 
 
 How often they waken our tears!" 
 
SUBSCRIBERS 
 TO THE COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME OF 
 THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 
 THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
SUBSCRIBERS TO THE COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME 
 OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 
 THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 General Felix Agnus 
 
 Thomas Kennedy Alford 
 
 Amherst College 
 
 Anne Arundel County Academy, 
 
 Maryland 
 Count Albert Apponyi 
 Army and Navy Club, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 Edward C. Arnold 
 William E. Baillie 
 William Henry Baldwin 
 Edward Arthur Baldwin 
 Bankers' Club of America 
 Robert Porter Barlow 
 Barnard College 
 Arthur L. Barney 
 George Gordon Battle 
 James P. Baxter 
 William J. Baxter 
 August Belmont 
 Carroll Berry 
 J. J. Bertschmann 
 Louis Bertschmann 
 L. M. Bickford 
 Franklin Bien 
 Harry S. Black 
 Dr. I. N. Bloom 
 Levi Bloom 
 Allen Robert Blount 
 Scott C. Bone 
 Charles H. Booth 
 Charles A. Boston 
 Luther Groff Boyer 
 
 157 
 
 Bowdoin College 
 John M. Bowers 
 Daniel M. Brady 
 Blythe Walker Branch 
 Richard v. Briesen 
 Michael Steele Bright 
 Edward Brinley 
 Louise Roman Briston 
 British Museum 
 Philip J. Britt 
 Brooklyn Eagle 
 Thomas H. Browne 
 Charles Shepard Bryan 
 Colonel Samuel Henry Buck 
 James Buckley 
 Arthur Dryhurst Budd 
 A. W. Buhlmann 
 James Brattle Burbank, 
 
 Brigadier-General, U. S. A. 
 Frederick Anderson Burdett 
 John Burke 
 William P. Burr 
 Charles E. Bush 
 Eugene L. Bushe 
 David F. Butcher 
 Joseph M. Byrne 
 Hartwell Cabell 
 J. Philip Cahill 
 Santiago P. Cahill 
 James Edward Calhoun 
 John Caldwell Calhoun 
 Calumet Club 
 Henry Lorillard Cammann 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 George T. Campbell 
 Ferdinand E. Canda 
 Jacob A. Cantor 
 William Buford Carlile 
 Carnegie Library of Atlanta, Ga. 
 Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 Campbell Carrington 
 Daniel J. Carroll 
 Catholic Club 
 
 of the City of New York 
 Oscar R. Cauchois 
 Champlain Valley Hospital, N. Y. 
 William H. Chesebrough 
 William G. Chave 
 Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler 
 H. S. Chase 
 William Francis Clare 
 Edward F. Clark 
 John Proctor Clark 
 Thomas Benedict Clarke 
 Joseph I. C. Clarke 
 Frank I. Cobb 
 Wilhelm Coenen 
 Daniel F. Cohalan 
 John P. Cohalan 
 Bainbridge Colby 
 Charles H. Cole 
 Carter Stanard Cole, M.D. 
 Barron G. Collier 
 Columbia University 
 Congressional Library 
 Martin Conboy 
 Lewis J. Conlan 
 Thomas Franklin Conway 
 Thomas Franklin Conway, 
 
 Plattsburg, N. Y. 
 Alfred A. Cook 
 John A. Cook 
 Marian Baldwin Cooke 
 E. M. Corbett 
 
 158 
 
 Edward J. Cornelis 
 
 Cornell University 
 
 Cosmos Club, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Janie Baldwin Cottin 
 
 John Watson Cox 
 
 John Watson Cox, Jr. 
 
 Edwin Craighead 
 
 William Crawford 
 
 William Edmond Curtis 
 
 James Breckenridge Curtis 
 
 Josephus Daniels 
 
 J. Clarence Davies 
 
 Joseph P. Day 
 
 Charles Willoughby Dayton 
 
 Charles Deering 
 
 Dr. Sigismund de Farkashazy 
 
 Michael John Degnon 
 
 William John Degnon 
 
 John Delahunty 
 
 C. L. Denison 
 
 De La Salle Institute of New York 
 
 Leo Charles Dessar 
 
 Thomas J. Devine 
 
 William G. DeWitt 
 
 M. H. de Young 
 
 Edward Nicoll Dickerson 
 
 George Edward Dickinson 
 
 George Stebbins Dickinson 
 
 M. W. Dippel 
 
 Joseph S. Dobyns 
 
 The Dobbs Ferry Hospital 
 
 Horace K. Doherty 
 
 James Mackie Donald 
 
 Felix A. Donnelly 
 
 Thomas F. Donnelly 
 
 Philip Francis Donohue 
 
 William F. Donohue 
 
 John R. Dos Passos 
 
 Louis Hays Dos Passos 
 
 Daniel Ellis Douty 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 
 
 Victor James Dowling 
 
 Louis F. Doyle 
 
 William L. Duffy 
 
 Albert J. Dufour 
 
 Miss Marguerite Duke 
 
 John Donald Dunlop 
 
 Lewis Alexander Dunham 
 
 Colonel George Marshall Dunn 
 
 James Dunne 
 
 Frank J. Dupignac 
 
 Coleman du Pont 
 
 C. Louis Duval 
 
 George R. Dyer 
 
 Frederick H. Ecker 
 
 Robert Jacob Edwards 
 
 Louis J. Ehret 
 
 John George Eisele 
 
 James William Ellsworth 
 
 S. L. Elzas 
 
 Erie Club, Erie, Pa. 
 
 H. T. Eschwege 
 
 Miss Lena Cadwalader Evans 
 
 Anna Ruth Everett 
 
 Randall Wade Everett 
 
 Sylvester Thomas Everett 
 
 Walter S. Faddis 
 
 Cardinal John M. Farley 
 
 Daniel Butler Fearing 
 
 T. R. Fell 
 
 L. W. Ferris 
 
 T. Harvey Ferris 
 
 Neill Brooks Field 
 
 A. G. Fisher 
 
 Haley Fiske 
 
 Ashbel P. Fitch 
 
 Ashbel P. Fitch, Jr. 
 
 Dr. Charles E. Fleck 
 
 Charles M. Fleischmann 
 
 Robert Dumont Foote 
 
 Fordham University 
 
 159 
 
 Wilson Perkins Foss 
 Robert Ludlow Fowler 
 Andrew Arthur Eraser 
 John J. Freedman 
 Free Public Library 
 
 of Louisville, Ky. 
 Free Public Library 
 
 of Newark, N. J. 
 Free Public Library 
 
 of New Haven, Conn. 
 Free Public Library 
 
 of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 French Table 
 Leonard F. Frieder 
 Marcus Frieder 
 Donald George Frost 
 Elihu B. Frost 
 Frank Frost 
 Paul Fuller 
 Thomas E. Gaghan 
 Noel Gale 
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 Lindley M. Garrison 
 George Houston Gaston 
 Edward J. Gavegan 
 Walter Geer 
 Paolino Gerli 
 James W. Gerard 
 C. E. Gilbert 
 Henry A. Gildersleeve 
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 Irvin Van Gorder Gillis 
 C. Monteith Gilpin 
 Donald Newcomer Gilpin 
 Henry Brooke Gilpin 
 Austin Gilmour 
 William H. Goadby 
 W. E. Gonzales 
 William W. Gooch 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Lee Ashley Grace 
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 William Hamersley 
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 Parmly Hanford 
 Solomon Hanford 
 Hanover Club, Brooklyn 
 Mrs. M. W. Hardy 
 George F. Harriman 
 Francis Burton Harrison 
 Joseph M. Hartfield 
 Harvard University 
 William Elton Hawkins 
 Rt. Rev. Patrick J. Hayes 
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 George H. Hazen 
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 Will T. Hedges 
 George Jacob Helmer 
 David Heller 
 Victor Herbert 
 D-Cady Herrick 
 Clarence S. Herter 
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 James Norman Hill 
 Walker Hill 
 
 l6o 
 
 William Henry Hirsh 
 William H. Hirsh 
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 William Myers Hoes 
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 Allen Gray Hoyt 
 Walter Priestly Hudson 
 George Murray Hulbert 
 Chapman H. Hyams 
 Phoenix Ingraham 
 B. Richmond Jacobs 
 Ollie M. James 
 Arthur R. Jarrett, M.D. 
 Thomas Jefferson Club 
 
 of Chicago, 111. 
 George C. Jenkins 
 Lovell H. Jerome 
 William H. Johns 
 Alfred J. Johnson 
 Miss Almina Johnson 
 Frank Verner Johnson 
 Rienzi Melville Johnston 
 John M. Jones 
 William App Jones 
 Louis H. Junod 
 Richard Kalish 
 Count Michael Karolyi 
 Daniel P. Kinder 
 James Keeley 
 Grant S. Kelley 
 Grant S. Kelley, Jr. 
 L. Laflin Kellogg 
 E. J. Kelly 
 Mitchell Kennerley 
 Frederic Kernochan 
 Frank R. Kent 
 William Klein 
 
LIST OF 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS 
 
 Joseph Palmer Knapp 
 Samuel Knopf 
 Alexander Konta 
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 Alfred Kreymborg 
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 Franklin K. Lane 
 Cornelius Lauritzen 
 David Thomas Leahy 
 A. E. L. Leckie 
 Irving Lehman 
 Frederick W. Lehmann 
 William B. Leonard 
 Library of "The Brook" 
 Theodore Earl Linsley 
 Arthur Lipper 
 Martin W. Littleton 
 Martin W. Littleton, Jr. 
 Rosswell Canedine Lockman 
 L. F. Loree 
 Joseph Lockman 
 Herbert Dean Lounsbury 
 John Haviland Love 
 Charles E. Lydecker 
 Will Hartwell Lyford 
 Edgar Allan Lynn 
 Ethel De Valcourt Lynn 
 Harry H. Lynn 
 John Lynn 
 
 William Harcourt Lynn 
 John V. McAvoy 
 Edward E. McCall 
 Gardiner Felch McCandless 
 William F. McCombs 
 James Conley McCoy 
 Robert Samuel McCreery 
 Leslie T. McCurdy 
 James Francis McDonnell 
 
 l6 
 
 John F. Mclntyre 
 E. C. McGarity 
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 John Thomas McGraw 
 Sarah McKenzie 
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 Arthur A. McLean 
 John R. McLean 
 John D. McMahon 
 William E. McReynolds 
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 Augustus Walker Maclay 
 Eva Madden 
 Dudley Field Malone 
 Manhattan Club 
 Manhattan College 
 William D, Mann 
 Rev. Dr. William T. Manning 
 Albert Marburg 
 Otto Maron 
 
 Edwin Sprague Marston 
 William V. Martin 
 John Alfred Mason 
 Albert Patton Massey, 2nd 
 Howell F. Massey 
 Joseph B. Mayer 
 S. Stanwood Menken 
 Albert E. Merrall 
 Herman A. Metz 
 Arthur G. Meyer 
 Charles R. Miller 
 Watterson Miller 
 H. F. Mollenhauer 
 Thomas Monahan 
 Alphonse Montant 
 John M. Moore 
 Joseph F. Mulqueen 
 Patrick Francis Murphy 
 John Joseph Murphy 
 
THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 Theodore W. Myers 
 William R. Mygatt 
 N. W. 
 
 Ricardo Narganes 
 
 National Democratic Club 
 
 James A. Nelson 
 
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 New York American 
 
 New York Club 
 
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 New York Herald 
 
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 New York State Library, 
 
 Albany, N. Y. 
 New York Sun 
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 William Nightingale 
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 John H. O'Brien 
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 Morgan Joseph O'Brien, Jr. 
 Jabez Theodore Odell 
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 James A. O'Gorman, Jr. 
 R. Morgan Olcott 
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 Gustave Pabst, Jr. 
 A. C. Palmer 
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 Alton Brooks Parker 
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 Phillips Exeter Academy 
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 Princeton Club 
 Princeton University 
 Tarrant Putnam 
 Public Library 
 
 of Boston, Mass. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Cambridge, Mass. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Columbus, O. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Denver, Colo. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Hartford, Conn. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Indianapolis, Ind. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 162 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 
 
 Public Library 
 
 of Los Angeles, Cal. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Milwaukee, Wis. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Minneapolis, Minn. 
 Public Library 
 
 of New Orleans, La. 
 Public Library 
 
 of New York, N. Y. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Omaha, Neb. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Portland, Me. 
 Public Library 
 
 of San Francisco, Cal. 
 Public Library 
 
 of Seattle, Wash. 
 Public Library 
 
 of St. Louis, Mo. 
 Public Library 
 
 of St. Paul, Minn. 
 Joseph Pulitzer 
 
 Queen City Club, Cincinnati, O. 
 
 John Quinn 
 
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 George F. Randolph 
 
 Sylvester J. E. Rawling 
 
 Redwood Library of Newport, R. 
 
 William Marion Reedy 
 
 Robert J. Rendall 
 
 Edward G. Riggs 
 
 Royal E. T. Riggs 
 
 Samuel Riker, Jr. 
 
 Samuel Riker, 3rd 
 
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 Samuel Robert 
 
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 Joseph Rowan 
 
 16 
 
 Dr. John F. Russell 
 John Barry Ryan 
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 Samuel Sanders 
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 Savage Club, London, England 
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 Clifford Stanley Sims 
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THE MANHATTAN CLUB 
 
 William McM. Speer . 
 
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 State Library of Harrisburg, Pa. 
 
 State Library of Richmond, Va. 
 
 George H. Stegmann 
 
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 Max Wilhelm Stohr 
 
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 E. Dodge Stokes, 2nd 
 
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 Ralph Stout 
 
 St. Paul Reference Library 
 William O. Straehler 
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 Tammany Society 
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 Dr. Malford Wilcox Thewlis 
 George Thompson 
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 J. Walter Thompson 
 Loren Ogden Thompson 
 Walter R. Thompson 
 
 164 
 
 James Mcllhenny Thomson 
 Frederick B. Tilghman 
 Sidell Tilghman 
 P. Tillinghast 
 Albert Tilt 
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 of New York 
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 Adrian Schade van Westrum 
 Augustus Van Wyck 
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 Wa Wa Yanda Club 
 Robert F. Wagner 
 Robert F. Wagner, Jr. 
 Alfred Wagstaff 
 Scott Walker 
 William B. Walker 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 
 
 James N. Wallace 
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 P. Raymond J. Warner 
 Washington University 
 
 of St. Louis 
 Nelson Jarvis Waterbury 
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 Mrs. Henry Watterson 
 Theodore Leland Waugh 
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 Smith M. Weed 
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 Moorehead Wright 
 Yale Club 
 Yale College 
 
 I 
 
 165 
 
I