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Bought with the income
of the
Ellen Battell Eldridge Fund
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Garret Augustus Hobart
From a photograph taken during his term as

Vice-President

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Life of
Garret Augustus Hobart
Twenty-fourth Vice-President of the
United States

By
David Magie, D.D.

Illustrated

G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
XTbe fmicftecboclser pcees
1910

Copyright, igio
BY
DAVID MAGIE

Ube ftnicftcrbocftcr pvces, new fiorli

PREFACE
TO few men has it been given — as it was
given to Garret Augustus Hobart — ^to rise
to eminence with so little envy or de
traction; to succeed in large enterprises with so
little strain of effort; to preserve in engrossing
labors and anxious cares such unrufHed serenity
and sweetness of disposition ; to fill so large a place
in public afifairs and so loving a place in the
affection of friends and in home life ; to be so highly
honored, and to die in the fulness of his powers
and influence so truly lamented. Surely his was
an enviable lot in life.
It is impossible to view his life merely as the
life of a successful business man, or patriotic poli
tician. At every point of view, in every period, the
man stands out more prominent than the circum
stances or the station. If his career lacks the ex
citing interest of the fierce purpose of reckless
ambition, and of bitter conflict with rivals and
conquest over foes, it always possesses the pleasing
attraction of good nature and cheerfulness, win
ning the kindly feelings of an ever-widening circle
of friends, and sustained in the devoted affection
of a loving home.
This personal magnetism not only disarmed un-

iv Preface
friendly criticism and prevented bitterness of feel
ing in the strife of life, but by its attractiveness
drew attention from his natural gifts and the
labors of an exceptionally busy life. The cordial
demeanor and genuine interest which he showed to
all who sought him prevented an appreciation of
his constant occupation, and ofttimes of his weari
ness. Every one carried from his presence an
uplift of life and hope, and even the disappointed
felt no unkindness. His success neither caused
surprise, nor aroused fears that he would not be
equal to any occasion. It was regarded as a
matter of course that he would succeed in any
position. Step by step he advanced, filling each
successive post with honor, until he occupied a
place among the most prominent men of affairs
in the social, financial, and political life of the na
tion, but he remained unchanged in character and
in manner. He was not spoiled by fortune or
fame, praise or power. In every position he re
tained his self-possession and his simple purpose to
act well his part ; and he never forfeited the respect
and regard of those with whom he was associated.
It requires an effort to withdraw attention from
the charm of his personality to his intellectual
power, his rare sagacity, his practical common
sense, and to the severe labors by which he built
on a secure foundation character and reputation.
To form a just idea of the man requires that he
should be judged not only by his singular personal
ity, which made all who knew him his friends ; but

Preface v
also by his industry, sincerity, and independence;
his quick perception, clear judgment, and frank
expression; and his saving humor which relieved
the stress of toil and care. He lived an active,
cheerful life ; he did true and useful work ; he filled
with credit the high office to which he was elected,
and in the height of his career and the maturity
of his powers, without a murmur of complaint, he
resigned his life. He left the world better than he
found it. His name is honorably written in the
records of his country, and faithfully cherished
in the hearts and memories of countless friends.
It is fitting that the story of Mr. Hobart's life
should be told with loving sympathy. With this
conception of his character and life, this memorial
is prepared for those who knew and loved him by
one who knew and loved him both as his pastor
and his friend. D. M.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAGE

Birth — Ancestry ...... i
CHAPTER II
Early Life . . . . . . .14
CHAPTER III
Profession — Marriage ..... 19
CHAPTER IV
Professional Life . . . . . .27
CHAPTER V
Political Life ....... 41
CHAPTER VI
The Man and the Times . . . . -Si
CHAPTER VII
Convention at St. Louis — Nomination for Vice-
President ....... 58
CHAPTER VIII
Personal Views and Expressions in Reference
TO the Nomination ..... 72
CHAPTER IX
Reception of the Nomination in Paterson . 84
vii

viii Contents
CHAPTER X PAGE
The Campaign ...... 95
CHAPTER XI
The Election — Removal to Washington . . 107
CHAPTER XII
The Home and Home Life in Washington . . 115
CHAPTER XIII
Inauguration of the Vice-President . . .121
CHAPTER XIV
The Inaugural Address — Its Reception . . 130
CHAPTER XV
The Office of Vice-President . . . 138
CHAPTER XVI
Mr. Hobart as Vice-President .... 149
CHAPTER XVII
Addresses to the Senate — Personal Expressions
ON THE Character and Scope op the Senate . 158
CHAPTER XVIII
The President and the Vice-President . . 167
CHAPTER XIX
Official Position of the Vice-President . .181
CHAPTER XX
Bereavement ....... 189

Contents ix
CHAPTER XXI PAGE
The Social Life of the Vice-President . . 197
CHAPTER XXII
Failing Health and Changes .... 202
CHAPTER XXIII
The Death of the Vice-President 212
CHAPTER XXIV
The Reception of the News op Mr. Hobart's
Death ........ 218
CHAPTER XXV
Arrangements for the Funeral . . .226
CHAPTER XXVI
The Funeral Services . . . . 233
CHAPTER XXVII
Subsequent Action by Public Bodies on the
Death of the Vice-President . . 242
CHAPTER XXVIII
The Character and Services of Mr. Hobart as
Viewed by his Contemporaries . . . 248
CHAPTER XXIX
Closing Words ....... 262

X Contents
APPENDICES
Appendix I. Speeches of Nomination . . .267

PAGE

Appendix II. Notification of Nomination — Senator
Fairbanks 's Speech — Reply of Mr. Hobart . 273
Appendix III. Garret A. Hobart's Letter of Accept
ance .... .... 278
Appendix IV. List of Official Persons Attending
the Funeral of Vice-President Hobart at Pater
son, New Jersey, November 25, 1899 . . 294

ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Garret Augustus Hobart . . Frontispiece
From a photograph taken during his term as Vice-
President
Garret Augustus Hobart ..... 8
From a photograph taken at the age of fourteen
Garret Augustus Hobart, Jr. .... 26
Son of the Vice-President, and known by his family
name of "Junior"'
Garret Augustus Hobart . . . . -32
From a photograph taken in his law office
Carroll Hall ....... 108
The home of the Hobart family in Paterson, N. J.
Mrs. Garret A. Hobart . . . . .198
The Memorial Statue op Garret Augustus
Hobart ....... 242
Erected by the citizens of Paterson, N. J. In front of the
City Hall. Designed by Philip Martiny
The Hobart Mausoleum . . . . .246
Cedar Lawn Cemetery, Paterson, N. J.

LIFE OF
GARRET AUGUSTUS HOBART

CHAPTER I
Birth — Ancestry
GARRET AUGUSTUS HOBART, the
twenty-fourth Vice-President of the United
States, was bom on June 3, 1844, in the
village of Long Branch, Monmouth County, New
Jersey. The house in which he was bom still
stands, though somewhat changed in form, on the
road leading to Eatontown. His life began in a
simple home and plain conditions. While frugal
ity was a necessary virtue in that home, affec
tion, intelligence, and religion elevated and cheered
its^life, formed its habits, and ennobled its aspira
tions. This little child was not bom to an inheri
tance of wealth or station, but to an inheritance
far better — ^the inheritance of an honorable name,
of healthy blood, and of moral instincts. He was
trained from his childhood with loving and faithful
care in industrious habits and religious principles.
With this inheritance and training he made his

2 Garret Augustus Hobart
own way through life, the architect and builder of
his own fortune.
Three strains of blood from the most vigorous
nations which have made modern history mingled
in his veins; and to a remarkable degree he pos
sessed the most characteristic qualities of each
one. His father was of English stock, and from
him he inherited a sturdy spirit, strength of pur
pose, and practical judgment. His mother was
of mingled Dutch and French Huguenot stock, and
from her he inherited the industry and persever
ance of the Dutch and the affectionate nature,
the buoyancy of heart, and the religious tendency
of the Huguenots. These inherited traits under
the incentives of American opportunities made him
the man he became. His life is simply the develop
ment and use of his natural gifts trained under the
acceptance and control of wholesome laws. It
seemed to him, as he said, " easy to succeed. "
So regularly and nomially did he make progress,
it seemed to others — as men often said, — due to
"good luck." But in addition to his qualities
and opportunities there can always be discerned in
his life the determining factor of a moral force,
which spared no labor, admitted no defeat, em
ployed every available agency, and could be
satisfied only with the fullest result.
The first Hobart whose name appears in the
annals of this country, was Edmund, who, when
he was sixty years old, came from Hingham, Nor
folk County, England with his wife, Margaret

Birth — Ancestry 3
Dewey, and three of their younger children, and
a man servant, Henry Gibbs. All the rest of the
family of eight children, with the exception of one
who died in infancy, followed their parents across
the ocean within a few years. Edmund Hobart,
after a voyage which lasted almost three months,
landed at Charlestown, Massachusetts, May
3 , 1 63 3 . He remained in, or near, Boston for about
two years. It seems certain that the cause of his
emigration was the persecution, which was the lot
of all who adopted Puritan views in those days.
Soon after his arrival he united with the Congrega
tional Church, and by this act became qualified
under the laws of the colony to vote and to hold
ofBce. When the Rev. Peter Hobart, his son, came
to this country in 1635, the whole family, including
those who had come in this interval, moved to
Bear Cove, about twelve miles south of Boston, and
changed the name of the place to Hingham.
There Edmtmd Hobart became a Commissioner
of the Peace, and from 1639 to 1642 represented
the town in the General Court. He died in 1646.
Of him and his wife. Cotton Mather says in his
Magnalia Christi Americana, published in 1702:
"They were eminent for piety, and feared God
above many. "
The Rev. Peter Hobart was a graduate of Mag
dalene College, Cambridge. After serving as a
teacher for a short time, he was admitted to holy
orders in 1627, and became the rector of a church
according to some records, at Haverhill, Suffolk

4 Garret Augustus Hobart
County, but according to his tombstone, at Hing
ham, England. Being persecuted for his Puritan
views and in danger of losing his living, if not his
life, he resigned his charge, came to this country
with his wife and four children, and settled at
Hingham, Mass., where he organized a Congrega
tional Church, of which in 1635 he became the
pastor. He was a man of considerable learning, of
determined independence, and of some combative-
ness. He came into conflict with the colonial
authorities over the question whether the rite of
marriage should be a civil or an ecclesiastical
ceremony. In dread of the power of an established
church, from which many of them had suffered
persecution, the authorities at Boston had or
dained by law that the marriage ceremony should
be performed by a magistrate. This law the Rev.
Peter Hobart opposed and violated, even going
so far as to accept an invitation to preach in
Boston on the occasion of a marriage. There can
be little doubt that he gave a frank expression of
his views in his discourse at that time. For this
open defiance of authority he was summoned be
fore the Governor and Council, and was condemned
to pay a fine of two pounds. When the marshal
attempted to collect this fine, he was resisted.
Declining to attend on a second summons from
the court, he was brought before the Coimcil by a
constable, and for his contumacy was fined
twenty pounds, and required to give bonds for
good behavior for twice that amount. This was

Birth — Ancestry 5
a heavy burden for a man whose salary was only
seventy pounds, which was afterward and perhaps
on this account, increased to fourscore pounds.
History does not tell whether the fine was ever
paid, but it adds to the record that when he
was sentenced "his spirit rose" — a result con
trary to the usual effect of a fine in modern times.
Like his father he was twice married. He had
seventeen children. Five of his sons were gradu
ated at Harvard College, and four of them became
clergymen. In the cemetery at Hingham, is a
stone on which is this inscription :
In memory of
Rev. Peter Hobart who died January
2oth in the 75 year of his age
and S3 of his ministry 9 years
of which he spent in Hingham
Great Britain and 44 in Hingham
Mass.
Cotton Mather also writes of him: "His heart
was kind in sincere and earnest love to all pious
men. He admired the grace of God in all the good
though they were of sentiments contrary to his
own. " On the first page of a journal, in which
he kept the church records, he wrote: " I with my
wife and four children came safely to New Eng
land June ye 8, 1635 forever praysed be the god
of Heaven, my god and King." Milton speaks
of this class of men, who for conscience's sake left
home and country, as " faithful freeborn English-

6 Garret Augustus Hobart
men and good Christians, constrained to forsake
their dearest home, their friends and kindred, and
whom nothing but the wide ocean and the savage
deserts of America could hide and shelter from the
fury of the bishops. "
The oldest son of the Rev. Peter Hobart was
Joshua, who was born in England, was graduated
from Harvard, and became the pastor of a church
at Southold, Long Island, in 1674, and remained
in that office for forty- three years. President
Stiles said of him: " He was an eminent physician
and divine, and in every way a great and learned
and pious man. " On his monument at Southold
is this inscription : " He was a faithful minister, a
skilled physician, a general scholar, a courageous
patriot, and to crown all an eminent Christian. "
His third son, the Rev. Nehemiah Hobart, was
settled as pastor over the Church at Cambridge
Village (Newton) in 1672, and died in that office
in 1 712. On his tombstone is this epitaph:
" In this tomb are deposited the remains of the
Reverend and very learned Teacher of Divinity,
Nehemiah Hobart, an estimable fellow of Harvard
College and watchful pastor of the Church of New
ton for forty years. His singular gravity, humility,
piety and learning rendered him the object of
deep veneration and ardent esteem to men of
science and religion. "
In the fourth generation two of the Rev. Peter
Hobart's descendants were men of special note.
John Henry Hobart became rector of Trinity Par-

Birth — Ancestry 7
ish in New York City, and later the honored and
beloved Bishop of the State. He was one of the
founders of the General Theological Seminary in
New York City. His remains rest beneath the
chancel of Trinity Church. His character and work
are perpetuated in Hobart College at Geneva. John
Sloss Hobart was a distinguished lawyer, who in
1775 was a member of the provincial convention
and in 1798 became United States Senator from
New York, and afterward a judge of the District
Court of New York City. Successive generations
of the Hobart family furnished numerous teachers,
and occasionally a preacher, but for the most part
they were plain, honest farmers, who served God
and their country in their generation, and left be
hind them good names, large families, and small
estates. Roswell Hobart, one of these descendants, for
reasons now unknown, moved to New Hampshire,
and settled on a farm in Columbia Valley, Coos
County. He, like many of his ancestors, was
blessed with a large family, too large to be all
supported on the farm. One of his sons, Addison
Willard, fixed upon New Jersey as a suitable place
for his residence, and found employment as a
teacher of a school in Marlboro, Monmouth
County. Here he married Sophia Vanderveer at
her home a short distance from the village.
With his wife and oldest son, in 1841 he moved
to Long Branch, and established a school in a
building of a single story, which stood on the

8 Garret Augustus Hobart
present site of No. i Primary School. He con
ducted this school with faithfulness and success,
assisted by Margaret Vanderveer, his wife's sister.
He was one of the founders of the First Reformed
Church of this place, and a member of its consistory.
A few of his pupils survive, who remember him as
a zealous teacher, of kindly manners and of fine
appearance. In 1852 he returned to Marlboro,
where he opened a store, and in addition conducted
a farm. He died in Marlboro in 1892.
The history of the family of Mr. Hobart's mother
runs on nearly parallel lines of fact and faith with
those of his father. The same fidelity to religious
principles, the same endurance of persecution and
flight to a land of refuge across the ocean, and
the same successful struggle with new conditions
are found in both the maternal and paternal lines
of his ancestors. Sophia Vanderveer, his mother,
was born near the famous battle-field of Monmouth
Court-House, where Washington displayed his
military genius, and was carried into an outburst
of uncontrolled indignation at the pusillanimity
of Charles Lee. She was the daughter of David
G. Vanderveer and Catharine Du Bois. Her
grandfather had suffered severely by the cruel
depredations of the marauders from the mercena
ries in the army of Sir Henry Clinton during the
campaign of the British in the Jerseys. Many a
Tory became a patriot from the sufferings inflicted
upon them by those whom they befriended.
Neither the Vanderveer family nor the Du Bois

Garret Augustus Hobart
From a photograph taken at the age of fourteen

Birth — Ancestry 9
family needed such cmel dealings to make them
patriots in those days of trial.
David G. Vanderveer was a descendant from
Comelis Janse Van der Veer (son of John from the
Ferry), who arrived at New Amsterdam on the
ship "Otter" in 1659, from Alkmaar, in North
Holland. He settled in Long Island where he was
a magistrate from 1678-80. There he married
Trintje, (Catharine) daughter of Yelles (Giles) de
Mandeville, whose father had also escaped from
persecution in France by the way of Holland.
This class of immigrants added greatly to the
industries of that period by their knowledge of
the manufacture of textile fabrics. From Long
Island some of their descendants settled in New
Jersey; a part in the region about Paterson, and
others in the southern counties.
Catharine Du Bois was the daughter of the Rev.
Benjamin Du Bois, one of the remarkable men
of his day, who served his God and his country
with zeal and fidelity. He was the pastor of the
two Reforriied Churches of Freehold and Middle-
ton for sixty-three years, and one of the founders
of Queens — now Rutgers — College, and a member of
its Board of Trustees from 1 783 to 182 7, the year of
his death . During the trying period of the Revolu
tion he sought to rouse his parishioners to defend
the liberties of the country, and on the invasion of
the State by the British troops put on his knapsack
and carried his musket with his people to the
field of battle. He died at the ripe age of eighty-

IO Garret Augustus Hobart
eight years. His wife lived to be ninety-six
years old.
The Du Bois family can be traced back in his
tory for centuries. In 1380, there is an authentic
account of a Peter Du Bois in Flanders, who led
the people in a conflict with the nobles. The head
of the family in this country was Louis Du Bois,
born about 1630, who escaped from persecution
in France to Mannheim, Germany, and from that
place came to New Amsterdam on the ship St. Jan
Baptist in 1661. At Mannheim he married a
French refugee Catharine Blancon. With others
of his faith and language in 1663 he settled on a
grant of 36,000 acres made to twelve patentees, of
whom he was the leader. His oldest son was
also a patentee. This land was in the region of
Kingston, New York. There they established a
church of their own order, of which Louis Du Bois
was the first elder. An authentic account of a
thrilling event connected with this family is pre
served in a letter sent by the Court at Wilt Wych —
Wild Village — now Kingston — ^to the Council of
the New Netherlands colony at Manhattan. In
an unexpected attack made by the Indians on the
settlers in that region, the wife and three children
of Louis Du Bois were made captives. The
sachems of the Indians had been invited by
direction of the Council to come to the settlement
to renew the existing treaty of peace. In answer
to this summons the Indians on the appointed day
appeared in scattered bands, and distributed them-

Birth — Ancestry 1 1
selves in the houses of several settlements before
the hour appointed, under pretext of selling
trinkets and vegetables. Suddenly they began to
slaughter the women and the children in the houses
in .-several of the hamlets, and to set fire to the
dwellings. A number of the settlers were shot
down in the streets as they rallied and seized their
arms. Fightijig for their homes and families,
they finally beat off the Indians, who in their
retreat carried away many captives. Hampered
with the care of the prisoners and expecting an
attack from the enraged colonists, for which they
were making preparations by the erection of a
fort on an open hill, many of the children were
killed, and several among the captives were con
demned to die. Mrs. Du Bois, one of this munber,
was fastened to a stake around which wood was
piled, and fire was about to be applied to consume
her body, when, with rare faith and courage she
began to sing the French metrical version of the
One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Psakn, the wail
of the Babylonish captives. Awed by her courage
and interested in the strange sounds, the execution
was delayed. A pursuing band, in which was her
husband, heard her voice and was guided to the
spot. They vigorously attacked and drove away
the Indians, and rescued the brave woman. This
account is confirmed in a journal kept by Captain
Martin Kregier, who commanded a detachment sent
from Manhattan by the Council to avenge the set
tlers. A grandson of Louis Du Bois moved to New

12 Garret Augustus Hobart
Jersey, and settled on a tract of land of twelve
hundred acres in Salem County. He was the
grandfather of the Rev. Benjamin Du Bois.
Of these early settlers of New England, Daniel
Webster said:
Poetry has fancied nothing in the wanderings of heroes so
distinct and characteristic. Here was man unprotected and
unprovided for, on the shore of a rude and fearful wilderness,
but it was politic, intellectual, and educated man. Every
thing was civilized but the physical world. Institutions,
containing in substance all that the ages had done for human
govemment, were established in a forest. Cultivated mind
was to act on uncultivated nature, and more than all a
govemment and a country were to commence with the very
foundations laid under the divine light of the Christian
religion. Happy auspices of a happy futurity! Who
could wish that his country's existence had otherwise
begun? Who would desire to go back to the age of fables?
Who would wish for an origin obscured in the darkness of
obscurity? Who would wish for other emblazonings
of his country's heraldry, or other ornaments of her
genealogy, than to be able to say that her first existence
was with intelligence; her first breath the inspiration of
liberty; her first principle the truth of divine religion?
From such ancestors, men of faith and courage,
piety and patriotism. Garret A. Hobart inherited
those qualities which made him the man he became,
and enabled him to fill the place which he occupied
in his day and generation. They wrote their lives
and names in the history of their adopted country,
as generations after he wrote his name higher in
the history of the country he loved and served.

Birth — Ancestry 13
When he became a national character he was urged
to have a search made of available records of his
ancestors, with an intimation that he might be
able to trace back his father's family to one of the
noble families of England. To this he replied:
" All I care to know is that my ancestors were plain,
honest people, however poor or humble they may
have been. "

CHAPTER II
Early Life
THERE is seldom much of general interest
to record in the life of a healthy boy in a
well ordered home. This was true in the
childhood of Mr. Hobart. In the events of a quiet
vUlage, in the labors and cares of a household
where economy was necessary, and in the daily
influence of religious instruction and example,
weeks became months, and months years, with
few changes to mark the progress of time. For
this young lad it was a happy period of healthy
growth under wise and loving training.
Three children in that home survived the period
of infancy. Erasmus, the oldest, died in early
manhood. The youngest, David Roswell, died
a few years after his illustrious brother. Garret
Augustus was the mother's boy, and the one who
gave to the home most of its life. Between this
lad and his mother there was a very tender relation.
She loved to have him near her, and he loved to be
by her side. He always sought the occupation
which would be helpful to her and make him her
companion. And she sought amid her household
cares to train the mind of the lad as well as to
14

Early Life 15
inculcate moral lessons. She instituted a home
spelling match in which each in turn should give a
word to be spelled to the other. Miss Georgiana
Vanderveer, who was at that time an inmate of
that home, recalls the mother's cheerful laugh as
the little boy in a thin piping voice gave out in
turn to his mother the hardest words he could
think of. In the Sunday-school of the church in
which his parents were members, and his father
one of the consistory, he was carefully taught the
catechism of the Reformed Church. The long
and difficult answers of the Heidelberg catechism
were learned with ease and recited with precision
by this boy at a very early age, to the delight of
the minister, the Rev. Ralph Willis.
His school education began at a period earlier
than usual, probably from the fact that his father
was at the head of the school. He seems to have
had a place in the schoolroom for at le^t part of
the day before he was five years old. After the
removal of the family to Marlboro, the young lad
was sent to a school in that village under the care
of a Mr. Shaw and later of a Mr. Ball. There he
made such rapid progress that he was placed in
the same class with his older brother. Alfred D.
Van Doren, now living, was also a member of that
class. He remembers his classmate as a good
natured boy, who faithfully and easily mastered
his lessons, and who cheerfully helped others in
their difficulties. He was usually the leader of one
of the opposing sides in the school games. His

¦i6 Garret Augustus Hobart
ready and tenacious memory was remarked even
in that day. His studious habits and quick
perceptions led his father to give him the best
educational opportunities of that region, and he
was sent to a school of note at that time, kept
by W. W. WoodhuU in Freehold. Between the
teacher and the youthful scholar some difficulty
arose, and the lad left the school one day with the
announcement that he would never come back.
That there must have been some justice on the
boy's side seems evident from the fact that his
father, who from his own experience knew the
importance of sustaining the authority of the
teacher, did not compel him to retum. He was
then sent, as a five-day boarder, to a school at
Matawan, kept by James W. Schermerhom. In
this school he made such progress that he was
prepared to enter college in his fifteenth year.
His retum each Friday to his home kept alive
all the associations so important for the youthful
character, and was a delight to both the mother
and the boy. He was always careful to have his
mother informed as to what he would like to find
on the table on his arrival. He is remembered by
one who was at school with him, as "a bright
lovable boy and always at the head of his class. "
As it was not thought advisable that he should
enter college at so early an age, he spent a year
at home after his school days were ended. He
seems to have filled this interval with some review
of his studies, and with occasional employment in

Early Life 17
the store of Morford & Vanderveer. It was a
matter of course that he should enter Rutgers
College, an institution under the control of the
Reformed Church. In his sixteenth year he was
matriculated in the sophomore class of that in
stitution. His college life was spent in faithful
work and pleasant fellowship. His relations with
his fellow students were always cordial, and both
in their recreations and labors he held a prominent
place. He had entered college for the purpose of
gaining an education, and that purpose was never
forgotten. As a student he made good use of his
time and opportunities. He was graduated in his
nineteenth year the third in his class, with the
honors of the prize in mathematics and the
English oration. He received his diploma from
the hands of Theodore Frelinghuysen, — the flrst
Vice-Presidential candidate from New Jersey, —
who was defeated with Henry Clay in 1844, the
year in which Mr. Hobart was bom.
Some idea of his serious view of life at this period
is obtained from a composition written in his
college course. Its subject is " Latent Mental
Power." He writes: " Nor can those germs which
lie dormant in the mind be fully developed without
the most persistent efforts on our part to cultivate
the higher faculties of our nature, and embrace
every opportunity for elevating our moral char
acter. " The Rev. Thomas O'Hanlon, one of his
classmates, wrote these words in loving memory
of him after his death :

1 8 Garret Augustus Hobart
He was a hard student, yet he was so gracious in his man
ner, so considerate of the members of his class, so ready
to help any of us who might call on him for assistance in
lessons — which was often done — that we not only esteemed
him, but loved him. His good record as a student, and a
gentleman with a character without a blemish, placed him
easily among the very first of the class of 1863. We who
knew him best expected him to make a success in life,
and we have not been disappointed. His name adds lustre
not only to the class and to the college, but to the state and
to the whole country.
To his alma mater Mr. Hobart was always loyal,
and in his later years he made generous contribu
tions to its funds. During his Vice-Presidency
the college conferred on him the degree of Doctor
of Laws, and elected him a trustee. He accepted
the office with a full purpose to become an active
member of that body, and to serve the institu
tion with fidelity. The rapid progress of the
disease which ended his life prevented him from
meeting again with the trustees.

CHAPTER III
Profession — Marriage
AT the end of his college course, Mr. Hobart
, found himself not only without means of
support, but in debt for a small amount.
His first effort in life was to free himself from this
obligation. As the most ready way to do this, he
accepted the offer, made by his father's neighbors,
to take charge of a parochial school about a mile
and a half from his home. The building in which
this school was held stood upon the grounds of the
"Old Brick Church " in Marlboro. This proposal
was a clear indication of the respect and confidence
of the community in this young man, only nineteen
years old, and known familiarly to them all from
his childhood. Under these circumstances, to be
made the teacher of those who had in many in
stances been his companions became for him a
certificate of character. One of the advantages of
the situation was that it enabled him to live at
home. He rode on horseback each morning to
the school. His compensation was to be at the
rate of one dollar a month for each scholar.
Small as was the fee, it is reported that all were not
able to pay it. Nevertheless, at the end of three
19

20 Garret Augustus Hobart
months he had in hand one hundred and ten
dollars, with which sum he was able to discharge
his indebtedness, and was thus free to enter on his
chosen profession. Thirty-three years later, one
of his scholars, John W. Herbert, a lawyer of New
Jersey, sat as a delegate from that State in the
Republican National Convention at St. Louis, and
had the pleasure of casting his vote for his former
teacher as the nominee of the Republican party
for Vice-President. And this act was equally a
pleasure to Mr. Hobart, who said, when told of the
fact: "It is doubly gratifying to have those who
have known you longest honor and respect you. "
In a- speech made at New Brunswick at a Con
gressional Convention held prior to the National
Convention, Mr. Herbert said: "Whoever may be
selected as our candidate for President in the
coming contest, I know I voice the sentiments of
every Republican within the hearing of my voice,
and in the State of New Jersey, when I express
the hope that Garret A. Hobart may be nominated
for Vice-President."
In his choice of a profession, Mr. Hobart was un
doubtedly influenced by the success as a lawyer
of Socrates Tuttle, an old friend of his father;
and by his offer to take him into his office and home
during the period of his legal studies. The life
long friendship of Addison W. Hobart and Socrates
Tuttle began in New Hampshire, where they
played together as children, attended the same
school, and shared the same seat. When Mr.

Profession — Marriage 2 1
Tuttle followed his friend to New Jersey to seek
his fortune, he naturally sought the advice and
assistance of the friend already settled there.
The former intimacy was renewed and continued,
and was strengthened by frequent visits after
both were married. It was this warm feeling
of lifelong friendship which led them, half in jest,
to make a covenant in their early married life
that their children should marry. Unlikely as
it may have seemed, even to them, this is what
came to pass.
Socrates Tuttle, in whose office Mr. Hobart
studied law, was one of nature's noblemen, and
one of the noblest of that considerable class of
men in this country, who without the advantages
of a liberal education, by labor and self-denial and
indomitable purpose have raised themselves out
of unfavorable conditions to honorable and useful
positions. He deserves a place in these records,
both as one who exerted a strong influence on the
life and character of Mr. Hobart and as the father
of his wife, who was so intimately connected with
his happiness and success. The training of that
home, where public affairs and especially political
affairs were daily discussed with interest, where
the newspapers were read with attention, and
where prominent men came for consultation, fltted
the daughter in a remarkable degree to be a help
to her husband in his career.
It is worthy of notice that the lines of descent
and influence, which met in Mr. Hobart's life

22 Garret Augustus Hobart
and helped to mould his character, came in his
wife's family also from the same period of this
nation's history and from persons in similar
circumstances and of very similar characteristics.
The first members of the Tuttle family came to
this country in 1640, and one of the two brothers,
John, settled at Ipswich, Mass. His descendants,
though they were industrious and intensely loyal
to their adopted country, never greatly prospered
in material things. Lieutenant Jonathan Tuttle,
the grandfather of Socrates, served with distinction
in the Revolutionary War, and with his regiment
took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton.
Horatio Tuttle, his son, after learning the trade
of blacksmith at Bath, New Hampshire, removed
to Coos County in the same State. His children
and the children of A. W. Hobart, thus became
schoolmates. He had nine children, all of whom
lived to maturity. With so large a family, it
became necessary that the older boys should early
be put to work.
Socrates Tuttle, the fourth child, was thus
called at an early age to do the work of a man.
He shrank from no kind of labor. He worked in
his father's forge, he labored as a farm hand, he
served as a teamster, he toiled in a brick yard.
All the education which he received was in the
winter terms of three months in the neighborhood
school. In after years, when he was the Mayor
of Paterson, and one of the most prominent lawyers
in the State of New Jersey, he used to point with

Profession — Marriage 23
commendable pride to an ox chain which he had
forged with his own hands and w^hich was placed
conspicuously over the door of his office. Such a
man of tireless energy and earnest purpose could
not be contented to spend his life in mere manual
labors. As others of the family grew up, he be
came free to consider his own interests. NaturaUy
he thought of the friend of his early days with
whom he had been in communication, and sought
his advice and aid. Through him he received
an offer to take charge of a school at BluebaU,
Monmouth County, New Jersey. This offer, which
assured an immediate support, he gladly accepted,
and the two friends became again residents of the
same county in the same State. His most inti
mate friend in the vUlage was a young lawyer,
whose influence led the teacher after three years'
service to take up the study of the law. Realizing
that his opportunities would be better in a larger
place, and in the meantime a brother having
settled in Paterson, he moved to that city and
began his legal studies. In 1848, he was admitted
to the bar, and in a few years he secured the respect
and confidence of the community, gained a large
practice, and was recognized as one of the leading
lawyers of the State. He served two terms in the
Legislature, but he loved his profession more than
political honors and declined other nominations.
As a lawyer he made his reputation. A ready
speaker, clear in thought, possessed of genuine
humor, untiring in work, ingenious in appeal, he

24 Garret Augustus Hobart
always exerted a powerful influence over a jury.
No more honored citizen ever lived in Paterson.
Broadminded, generous to a fault, interested in
all the activities of the city, outspoken and in
tensely loyal, a faithful member and officer in the
First Presbyterian Church, he lived a noble and
useful life, and died beloved and lamented by all
who knew him. Seized with severe pain about
his heart while in his office, he ascended to his
room, and in less than a half -hour this vigorous
man, so full of life, had passed into the life beyond.
He died at the age of sixty -six, February 12,
1885. It was in the office, and under the example and
training of Mr. Tuttle, that Mr. Hobart pursued his
legal studies. He came to Paterson with sturdy
health, a college education, and a determined
purpose to make his own way in life. PracticaUy
he was without money, and there was no one on
whom he could or would depend. Through this
period of study he supported himself by unstinted
labors. Far into the night, and night after night,
he worked making copies of legal papers. He
served for a time as a clerk in the First National
Bank of the city, then recently established and
only entering on its successful history. Little did
he dream that he would ever become one of its
most valued directors and one of its largest stock
holders. In one way and in another he preserved
his independence, and supported himself untU his
student days were over. No life ever disproved

Profession — Marriage 25
more clearly the idea that success is a matter of
chance. Opportunity came to him, as it comes to
all, but it found him ready to seize it with fixed
habits of labor, with knowledge gained by experi
ence, and with an open, generous mind. He was
always ready to see and to take the next step.
He was licensed to practise law on June 7, 1866;
in June, 1871, he became counsellor- at-law, and
was made a master in chancery in 1872. His up
right character, his industry, his fidelity in matters
intrusted to him, and his genial manners gained
for him friends and clients. By an increasing
practice and by offices to which he was elected,
his prospects became so encouraging that he was
ready to enter into the compact which had been
made by the parents of both parties before they
were born. On the twenty -first day of July,
1869, Garret Augustus Hobart was married at her
father's home to Jennie Tuttle.
Rarely has a more happy and congenial marriage
taken place. From the modest beginning of their
early married life to its end in high public station,
their lives were united in unbroken affection and
unity of purpose. Their aims and aspirations were
alike in home life and in public activities. The
training of her early life gave Mrs. Hobart sym
pathy with and interest in his public life. Her
active mind and ready wit, trained in one of the
best schools in the State, made her an infiuence in
the social life connected with their station. But
while thus fitted to adom her station, she was a

26 Garret Augustus Hobart
true home-maker. She enjoyed home life, and
with warm hospitality welcomed her friends to
share her pleasures. No one could enter their
home without feeling it was a privilege to have a
place in its life. No small measure of Mr. Hobart's
success was due to the love and cheer, the advice
and help of the wife who made his home what it
was. In this home two children survived infancy, and
added to the joys and hopes of their parents.
Fannie Beckwith Hobart, of sweet and gentle mem
ory, died abroad under sad circumstances, as will
be told later. Garret Augustus Hobart, Junior,
who during his father's term of office became widely
known by his home-name " Junior, " has a son who
is another Junior, born August 24, 1907. Garret
Augustus Hobart married Caroline Frye, daughter
of Frank H. Briggs, of Auburn, Maine, and
granddaughter of Senator WUliam P. Frye of
Maine, whose services in the Senate as its Presi
dent pro tempore, and as a Senator, wUl be long
remembered.

Garret Augustus Hobart, Jr.
Son of the Vice-President, and known by his
family name of " Junior"

CHAPTER IV
Professional Life
THE active life of Mr. Hobart was spent in
the city of Paterson, and with its develop
ment his history is most intimately con
nected. This city, founded in 1792, three years
after the adoption of the Constitution by the Col
onies, was selected by Alexander Hamilton on
account of its valuable water power, derived from
the falls of the Passaic, as the place where the
manufacturing interests of the infant republic
could be best established and developed. It had
become a town of great importance as a manu
facturing centre, and this fact exerted a decided
influence in determining the line of Mr. Hobart's
work in his profession. He early saw that the de
velopment of the industries of the country would
require legal form and direction. In the conditions
of this city he learned the need of the times and
his true sphere of activity, and to Paterson he al
ways felt he owed much of his success. In this city
he studied his profession and carried on its practice;
in this city he married and made his home ; in this
city he gained friends and fortune and fame ; and in
this city he died, its most honored and beloved
27

28 Garret Augustus Hobart
citizen. To this city of his adoption he gave loyal
devotion, and in fuUest measure was his affection
returned. No one of its citizens could call more per
sons by name, and no one was more widely known.
He seemed to know every one and to be known
by every one. It may be said without qualification
that he had not an enemy among aU its citizens,
and not one of them envied his success. For every
one whom he met he had a pleasant word, and to
every one in trouble an open hand. They felt
they shared in his success and honors, because he
always showed he shared in their labors and cares.
In the days of small things, when he was
struggling to make a living and establish a home,
he gladly and gratefully accepted cases in the
lower courts, and public offices of small importance.
The smaU fees and salaries derived from these
sources were aU of moment to him at this time.
So faithful was he in these duties and responsibUi-
ties that each in turn became a stepping stone to
something higher. His industry and fidelity,
his genial manners and heartfelt interest in others,
gained friends as well as clients and supporters.
In the confidence and affection of those with
whom he had to do, he laid a foundation on which
he could securely buUd.
The records of his life at this time show continu
ous advancement year by year. In 1865, he was
appointed by Justice Bedle, of the Supreme Court,
clerk for the grand jury. In New Jersey the
Common Law of England is stUl preserved as the

Professional Life 29
rule of practice, and this office is one of grave im
portance. He performed its duties with such
abUity that he received the thanks both of the
court and the grand jury. He was elected a
judge of election in 1868 in the Fourth Ward of
Paterson, and was allowed for two days' services
four dollars. When in 187 1 the Republicans
carried the city and elected Socrates Tuttle
Mayor, he was chosen counsel for the city, and
in the following year counsel for the Board of
Chosen Freeholders. In this same year, 1872, he
was elected a member of the Assembly, the
lower house of the Legislature, was re-elected
the following year, and was chosen by that body
to be its speaker in the session of 1874. So
spontaneous was this selection by his party
that he was left absolutely untrammelled in his
appointment of the committees. At the close
of this session he was presented by the mem
bers of the Assembly with a portrait of him
self, painted at their order and accompanied by
cordial expressions of their regard and esteem.
Great pressure was put upon him to allow his name
to be presented by his party for a third term of
service. He positively declined the honor, as
contrary to a long established precedent. Though
refusing to be a candidate himself, he gave all the
strength of his influence to the election of his
Republican successor. Yielding to the demands
of the party, he accepted the nomination for State
Senator in 1876, and was elected by the largest

30 Garret Augustus Hobart
majority ever given up to this time in the district,
a majority greater than that given to Hayes for
President by one hundred per cent. He was re
elected in 1879 hy a stUl greater majority, and
was chosen President of the Senate in the sessions
of 1 88 1-2. He was the first one in the history of
the State to fill the two offices of Speaker of the
House and President of the Senate. He became
Speaker when he was thirty years old, and Presi
dent when he was thirty-seven. During the
terms of his service in the Legislature he was placed
on many of its important committees, where his
work was of great advantage to the State in the
enactment of wise laws and in economy of
administration. His labors at this time were necessarUy centred
on the work of his profession. He was the lawyer
rather than the politician. It was true as he said
of himself at that time: "I make politics my
recreation. " While the facts of this time have
a place here, the estimate of his services in these
offices which he fiUed will find a place more ap
propriately in his political career, to which the
following chapter is devoted.
It is an evidence of his common sense that he
perceived clearly the line of work in which a lawyer
of his talents in the conditions of that day was
most likely to succeed. It was always a matter of
regret to him that he was not fluent in utterance,
and that he did not possess the gift of oratory.
Whenever he did speak, he always commanded the

Professional Life 31
interested attention of his audience from the good
sense and good feeling in what he said. But whUe
not lacking in self-confidence, he was singularly
diffident in addressing an audience, or pleading
a case in court. For the intricacies and technicali
ties of great constitutional questions he had no
predilection. On the other hand, he had an
aversion to practise in the criminal courts. He
selected for himself instinctively the field for
which he was best fitted, and in consequence he
rarely appeared in the courts. His office was the
place of his work. Though he had not an ex
haustive knowledge of the law in its technicalities,
he had such an intuitive perception of legal
principles, and such a clear and practical view of
questions under consideration, that his advice was
oftentimes more valuable to his clients than the
well weighed opinions of men whose technical
knowledge exceeded his. He naturally became the
counsellor, rather than the advocate. However
complicated were the matters submitted to him,
he seemed by instinct to find at once the clue to
make them clear, and with almost unerring judg
ment to point out the practical way to accom
plish the desired results in accordance with legal
principles. He thus became an invaluable ad
viser in business affairs and in the organization of
business projects. WhUe others might say, "I
wUl consider and advise you, " he, on the other
hand, gave advice almost on the spur of the
moment, and rarely was he found to have erred.

32 Garret Augustus Hobart
Everything he approved and planned seemed
to succeed.
His power to work at this time seemed unlimited.
So under control was his mind that he could turn
without confusion of ideas from one matter to
another. It was said of him that " no man in the
State could attend to so many affairs and slight
none of them." At any moment in his office he
could stop to welcome a friend, to answer a ques
tion, to give consideration to another matter, and
at once resume the subject on which he had been
engaged. In the days when stenographers were
unknown, he was said to be able to dictate to three
clerks at one time. He early formed the habit,
as he said, of "not doing boys' work. " His time
and strength could be better employed than in
doing the petty work of an office. And he formed
the habit, of far greater importance to the happi
ness of his family and the enjoyment of his friends,
of leaving his work and worries behind him in the
office. Even in his most laborious days he never
appeared overworked, or overburdened with cares.
As the confidence of the community in his in
tegrity and capacity for business was confirmed
by his life and success, more and larger affairs were
intrusted to him. He was appointed guardian,
executor, and trustee in numerous instances.
His reputation gradually extended beyond the
bounds of his city and State. Large affairs came
to be placed in his 'hands. He was appointed with
James W. McCuUough, receiver for the New

1
Garret Augustus Hobart
From a photograph taken in his law office
ta.

Professional Life 33
Jersey Midland RaUroad. A little later, as the
sole receiver, he paid a dividend even to its un
secured creditors, as well as at the very beginning,.
before settlement with the preferred creditors ^
paying the wages of the employes then long due.
He helped, as its president, to reorganize the road
under the name of the New York, Susquehanna
& Western; and left it a paying enterprise in
good running order. For his care for their inter
ests he received the thanks of the workingmen
whom he had protected. He was appointed
receiver for two other raUroads, the Montclair,
and the Jersey City & Albany. His most note
worthy service as receiver was in the case of the
First National Bank of Newark, whose affairs
were found to be in great confusion. John
Sherman, then Secretary of the Treasury, ap
pointed him to take charge of the settlement of its
complicated matters. In six months he collected
from its assets nearly $500,000, paid the depositors
in full, and divided the remainder among the
stockholders. For this achievement he was com
plimented in high terms by the Comptroller of the
Currency. During this period of business activity,
Mr. Hobart became connected, as counsel, director,
or president with large public enterprises designed
for the conservation and development of natural
resources for public benefit. It was largely due
to him that various smaller companies were com
bined in a great scheme to impound the surplus
of the streams in the watershed of northern New

34 Garret Augustus Hobart
Jersey, and to supply the growing cities of Jersey
City, Newark, Passaic, and Paterson with pture
water. He became the president of the Passaic
Water Company, which took over the rights of the
Society for Useful Manufactures in the water of
the river. He became later the president of this
society, familiarly known as the S. U. M., which
owed its existence to Alexander HamUton. Its
corporate life began in 1791. Under his manage
ment there was erected at Little Falls an immense
fUtration plant, where the water is subjected to
daily tests to insure its purity. It is believed no
purer water is supplied to any city in the country
than that which is used by Paterson. He became
president of the Acquackanonk Water Company,
and was connected with several other companies,
which were afterward consolidated into the East
Jersey Water Company with the object of supply
ing, at a cost of $6,000,000, the city of Newark.
In carrying out the contract with Newark it was
found the delivery pipe from the reservoir was too
small to meet the requirements. The work neces
sary to fulfU the contract, it was calculated, would
cost $250,000. Some mistake had been made
by the engineers, and the company was severely
Jblamed, and even accused of fraud.
In a public letter, addressed to the citizens of
Newark, Mr. Hobart frankly admitted the mistake,
and proposed a remedy which would benefit the
city and carry out the terms of the contract One
of the paragraphs of this letter closes with the

Professional Life 35
words, "We alone suffer; our misfortune is your
opportunity. . . . We spared no pains or expense
to secure the most skUful agents and use all the
data and experience at our command; in fact
we did all in our power to meet our contract
obligations. " The letter ends with these words,
characteristic of its writer: "These statements,
which I make by authority, ought to convince
your people that the East Jersey Water Company
is not so bad a corporation as it has been repre
sented to be, and that it has no disposition to
shirk or even shrink, from the performance to the
fullest measure of its obligations, whatever loss
this may impose on its stockholders. "
Mr. Hobart was actively interested in the various
street railway companies of Paterson, and had
much to do with their consolidation as electric
lines. A fuU list of all the companies with which
in some capacity he was connected cannot now be
obtained. Even a partial list might be tiresome.
But in no other way can an adequate idea be
given of the multifarious interests he carried on
his mind. In addition to the corporations already
named he was a director of the Morris Co. RaU
road, the Lehigh and Hudson ; of the First National
Bank and the Savings Institution of Paterson;
of the Barbour Brothers' Thread Company; the
Pioneer Silk Company ; of the Montclair, Highland,
and Long Branch Water Companies; and of the
Gas and Electric Power Companies of Paterson.
He was the counsel for the East Jersey, and for

36 Garret Augustus Hobart
the West MUford Water Companies; and treas
urer of the Cedar Lawn Cemetery Company, and
the Cedar Cliff, Citizens', and HamUton Land
Companies. So widely had he come to be known
as an organizer and director, that his name was
sometimes placed in lists of directors without his
knowledge. This was notably the case in the
formation of a company to buUd a great suspen
sion bridge across the Hudson to bring into the
heart of the city of New York the trains of the
various raUroads coming to the opposite shore of
New Jersey. Though the scheme never came to
completion, his name was placed among a list of
eminent engineers, bankers, and raUroad officials.
It is said that he was at one time connected with
sixty corporations.
Nothing showed more clearly the reputation
which he had gained among the business men of
the country than his appointment, without his
solicitation or even knowledge, by the representa
tives of thirty of the largest raUroad corporations
of the country, to be one of three arbitrators to
settle matters in dispute between them. Ques
tions of the rates of these competing companies
had led to serious charges and injurious conflicts,
which affected their relations, diminished their
earnings, and unsettled the business of the country.
To relieve these conditions the great trunk lines
formed the Joint Traffic RaUroad Association,
which represented roads worth billions of doUars.
At a meeting of their representatives they agreed

Professional Life 37
to appoint three arbitrators, to whom should be
submitted all questions in dispute as to traffic,
passenger and express rates, whose decision in each
case should be final and binding. The men,
selected for these purposes, and clothed with these
great powers, were General Cox, the veteran of the
CivU War, Ex-Governor of Ohio, and Secretary
of the Interior under General Grant; James F.
Goddard, who had also served in the Civil War,
and since then had risen from a humble employe
to be an important official in railroad service ; and
Garret A. Hobart. The plan failed in its purpose,
partly because of the fears of the smaller companies
and partly because of the jealousies of the larger
ones. It was finally declared unconstitutional by
the courts. But the appointment of Mr. Hobart
to such an office showed the position he had come
to occupy in the eyes of men noted for their
shrewdness, sagacity, and success. He resigned
this post on taking his place as President of the
Senate of the United States after his election to
the Vice-Presidency. In the eulogy which was
pronounced in the Senate by Chauncey M. Depew
on Mr. Hobart's life and services, he said:
By unanimous vote the representatives of these in
terests [the thirty railway companies] selected G. A.
Hobart as an arbitrator. There could be no more significant
tribute to his unfailing judgment, tact, and character than
the remarkable fact that there was never an appeal from his
decisions, nor complaint of their fairness and justice. In
this demonstration is found the secret of his success. It

38 Garret Augustus Hobart
was characteristic of the man, that possessing the far-
sighted faculty, and having the sense and training to keep
the curb of caution upon the promptings of acquisitiveness
and imagination, he drew a large circle into his plans, and
all shared in the profits of his undertakings.
With this great load of work and responsibility
resting upon him, his genial manners and friendly
spirit remained unaffected. He was gaining a
fortune and filling a large place in business and
political affairs, but his character and manner
remained unchanged. It would be a mistake to
suppose he did not fully recognize his changed
conditions, and that he did not cherish a laudable
ambition to rise stUl higher. He saw, as clearly
as any one, that fortune and station were within
his grasp, but he steadily pursued his way on the
sure lines of industry and fidelity. He neither
hastened nor loitered on the way. The scale of his
activity was enlarged, but the rules remained the
same. Others might speak of his good luck; he
knew the success which he had gained was due to
the confidence of the community and to hard
work. Something like a presentiment of the future
seemed to influence him, but he never ceased to
attend to the work in hand with diligence and
fldelity. Wealth, position, and influence came to
him, not as the result of self-seeking, or of making
gain out of others' losses, or political chicanery,
but from unremitting work, great business capa
city and unfailing good nature. His work was not
destructive, but constructive. He was not a

Professional Life ^9^
wrecker, but a builder. By the corporations in
which he was interested the public was benefited,,
and the volume and profits of business were in
creased. In all he did and gained he never
sacrificed a friend, or pursued a rival with scorn
or invective. If he had an enemy, he did not know
it. His friends he cherished with sincere regard,
and his home was always to him the dearest spot
of earth.
Something of the controlling principles of his life
can be gathered from his own expressions. He
was asked by a reporter after he had become Vice-
President what a young man must do to succeed
in life. He replied : " Success is not hard to attain.
I believe any young man can succeed, if he will
rigidly observe two rules : one is to be at all times
strictly honest ; the other is to be industrious and
economical. It has been my practice never to
spend 'more than I made." In a brief address
made to the students of Rutgers College in New
Brunswick, on the occasion of the one hundred and
thirtieth anniversary of the college, and at the
time of his acceptance of the office of trustee,
he said: "It is the habit of my life not to accept
office when I do not fulfil, or attempt to fulfil, the
obligations connected with an office tendered or
accepted. And so, in accepting this trusteeship,
I promise to do what I can, be it little or much, for
the college I have always loved, and whose welfare
I have always had at heart. " This purpose for his
alma mater was not carried out as he had intended.

40 Garret Augustus Hobart
Though his untimely death prevented him from
carrying into effect his purposes, his gifts to
the college have been of substantial help in its
work.

CHAPTER V
Political Life
WHEN Mr. Hobart said: "I am a business
man ; I engage in politics for recreation, "
he meant to express a fact. His life
bore witness to the truth of his words. Deeply as
he engaged in politics, business had always the
first consideration in his mind. When he seemed
greatly occupied with political affairs, they were to
him, at the most, a change of work, and work which
he thoroughly enjoyed. He played politics, as
the great game of great men, with serious enjoy
ment. The laborious part — the strife in conven
tions, the work at primaries and the polls — he did
not undertake. To plan a campaign, to set in
operation political forces, to forestall opposition,
to utilize ambitions and even prejudices was not
to him labor, but enjoyment. As in his profession,
he was the counsellor in politics and not the advo
cate; and here also he refused to do "boys' work."
His wide acquaintance with men, his knowledge
of human nature, his accurate judgment, and his
supreme tact made him a power in the field of
politics, first in his county, then in the State, and
finally in the nation. After he became Vice-Presi-
41

42 Garret Augustus Hobart
dent, he gave expression to his views of the duty of
young men to enter into political life in these words :
" I believe that every American citizen should take
part in politics. The salvation of our country, in
fact, rests upon our young men. They should
take part in all elections, and especially should they
attend the primaries. It is there that the chief
chances for fraud are found, and the more we pay
attention to the minor elections, the purer wUl our
politics be. I believe it pays a young man to do
this. It gives a man new acquaintances, and
brings him into contact with business men, and
with those on whom he has to depend for his
living. It identifies him with the community in
which he lives, and it is in all ways a good thing."
The Hobart family had always been affiliated
with the Democratic party, and the section of the
State in which he was brought up was overwhelm
ingly Democratic. When the family decision was
made that this son should go to Paterson and enter
the office of Socrates Tuttle, ex-Governor Parker
warned his father that the step would lead his son
into the Republican party. To this warning Mr.
Tuttle made the significant reply: "That was
done when he was sent to college." The young
student began his political life on his own convic
tions as a Republican, and he never wavered in
his political faith and allegiance. The issues at
stake in the momentous days of his youth, as well
as the ardent Republicanism of his instructor,
settled the question as to the party in which he

Political Life 43
should enroll his name, and to which he should give
unwavering and unstinted devotion. From that
party he received great honors, and to it he gave
great services.
So manifest and efficient were the services of Mr.
Hobart, and so evident was his popularity, all
that his party had to offer was his for the asking.
His nomination made his election sure. The only
instance in which he was defeated, was when he
accepted the complimentary nomination for United
States Senator in a strongly Democratic legislature.
When he was asked how he felt in such an unusual
position, his reply was : " I do not worry about
matters that do not come my way." In a short
time he became the most influential leader of his
party in the northern section of the State. The
southern section was dominated by General Sewell,
who possessed great influence both through his
connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and
his friendship with President -Harrison, as well as
through his own abUity. He and Mr. Hobart were
regarded by the public as rivals, and interested
persons sought to excite jealousy in their minds.
When General Sewell sought re-election as United
States Senator, an effort was made to have Mr.
Hobart contest the nomination in his own interest.
His reply to this proposal was: " I am very much
obliged to my friends, who occasionally find some
vacant office, which they think I ought to have.
But I can tell you how I would feel if I were in
General Sewell's place. If I had once fiUed the

44 Garret Augustus Hobart
office as creditably as he has ; and if I had noticed,
as he must have done, that my services ought to be
rewarded by another term in the United States
Senate, I should consider it presumptuous on the
part of anybody to endeavor to take away from
me that to which I was so clearly entitled. As a
citizen, as a Republican, as a soldier, and a faithful
worker in the Republican cause, no one deserves
more success than does General Sewell. I shall
not expect to complicate my friends by asking them
to cast complimentary votes for me. ' ' This gener
ous and friendly attitude prevented a rivalry
which would have affected the strength of the
party, and perhaps it led later to the suppression
of opposition to Mr. Hobart's plan to seat John
W. Griggs, his friend and townsman, in the
Governor's chair. In a series of talks between
these two leaders on their homeward journey from
Europe this question was discussed, and by the
agreement then made, Mr. Griggs's nomination
was made certain.
There can be no question that Mr. Hobart had a
strong desire to became a United States Senator.
But strong as was this desire, he would not attempt
to gratify his ambition by defrauding another of his
deserved honor, nor was he willing to gratify his
honorable ambition by ignoble methods. When in
1883 a successor was to be elected to the late Sena
tor John R. McPherson, the Democrats had on
joint ballot in the Legislature a small majority.
There was, however, disaffection in their ranks, and

Political Life 45
five of the Democratic members approached Mr.
Hobart with an offer to vote for him. These votes
would have secured his election. But honor was
stronger than ambition in his mind. He informed
them that if they did not vote with their party
he would release enough Republican votes to make
the re-election of Mr. McPherson sure.
His rule of political action was fair play, even
when resentment might be excused. A Democrat
who had said some untrue things against him was
seeking reappointment on a bi-partisan board of the
State. One who desired the position asked Mr.
Hobart to use his influence with Govemor Griggs
against the reappointment, on the ground of these
injurious remarks. He replied : " This person who
holds the position is a Democrat from principle
and a good fellow. If he dislikes me that is his
error. I will advise the Govemor to reappoint
him." In the political campaign of 1896, Mr. Hobart
was persuaded with some difficulty to make a
short tour through New Jersey, and to speak in
some of the principal towns. The trip was grati
fying to him, as well as to the State leaders. He
was received everywhere with cordiality, and made
short but helpful speeches at various points. He
was especially gratified with an enthusiastic recep
tion at Long Branch. " I thought," he said, " the
Long Branch people had forgotten long ago that I
ever lived among them." His cheerful face, his
pleasant voice, his well-chosen words, and his

46 Garret Augustus Hobart
deep convictions gave interest and weight to his
speeches. Although when it was over he said:
"Thank Heaven that is aU done with," it was
evident that he enjoyed the experience. He added,
with a smile," I did pretty weU, after all, did n't I ? "
As a member of the Legislature of New Jersey
in both Houses, Mr. Hobart took a leading and
influential part in the discussions and actions of
these bodies, and rendered eminent service to his
State. In the political book prepared for the
McKinley campaign an important part of this
service is thus described:
When he first served in the House, although one of the
youngest members, he immediately took a leading part.
The most important bill of that session (1873) was the
General Railroad Law, which was designed to do away with
the monopoly, which had for so many years made New
Jersey a byword and reproach to all travellers across her
soil. This measure of relief had been strenuously fought
for many years by the lobbyists, but Mr. Hobart was one
of its foremost supporters in the interests of the citizens of
the entire State. So just and beneficent was this law that
no corporation has ever dared to ask its repeal.
This service, connected with his frank and genial
manner, led, more than anything else, to his elec
tion as Speaker of the Assembly in the following
year. As chairman and member he served on
important committees of both Houses; and in a
period when some of the ablest men of the State
were in the Legislature, he stood among the fore
most. He was chairman of the Judiciary Com-

Political Life 47
mittee for several terms, and was a member of the
Committees on the Revision of the State Laws;
on Industrial Schools; on Printing; on Fisheries;
on Elections; on the State Library. Speaking
of the period when he was the Speaker of the
House, an influential newspaper of the State said :
*' The political machinery of the State never ran
more smoothly or creditably, and members of the
'third house' with axes to grind never ran up
against so many difficulties as they did in that
year of grace. The hand of Mr. Hobart was not
distinctly visible, but every jobber in legislation
knew that it was on the throttle."
In his services in the Legislature he sought to
reduce excessive official fees and expenses, and
opposed special legislation. He obtained the en
actment of a law, whereby, on the application of
twenty-five freeholders to a judge, a summary
judicial investigation of the affairs of a county
might be made. This law has proved of great
practical benefit in more than one instance. He
was instrumental in the passage of an act which
charged the sinking fund of the State with the
yearly payment of all the interest, and a part of
the principal of the State debt. This act was the
cause of the removal of the State tax, and was the
means of an annual saving to the State of one
hundred thousand dollars. Through his efforts a
¦commission was appointed to devise plans for the
encouragement of the manufacture of ornamental
and textile fabrics in the State. It has been the

48 Garret Augustus Hobart
means of inducing many manufacturers to locate
their mills in New Jersey. This act led also to the
establishment of a Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
He strongly urged, but in vain, the passage of a
bill for the arbitration of labor disputes. He
brought about the enactment of a measure of
great importance during the panic of 1873 to those
who had buUt modest homes, lessening the costs
of foreclosure and protecting the owner against
undue pressure by his mortgagee.
As presiding officer in both the Assembly and
Senate he won the approbation and esteem of both
Houses and men of all parties in the State by his
dignity in office, his knowledge of parliamentary
law, his fairness, and his tact and courtesy.
Rarely was an appeal taken from his decisions,
and in no instance was the appeal sustained and his
decision reversed. His good nature was unfaUing,
and his political opponents became personal friends.
And this was not because he did not have convic
tions, nor because he was unwilling to speak freely
of men and measures. He was frank in his
expressions at all times, but his frankness was
without meanness or venom. When a newspaper
wrote to him asking his opinion in a political
matter, he began his reply with these words: "I
give you my opinion with pleasure, because there is
no political nor mental reservation about it what
ever." Faithful to his own party and fair to the
opposing party, he made and kept friends on aU
sides. One of the newspapers of the day said at-

Political Life 49
the close of the national political campaign:
"He made friends on both sides of the fence."
To no man is the credit due for the change of the
political status of New Jersey more than to Mr.
Hobart. Previous to this period New Jersey was
regarded as a safe Democratic State. From 1852
to 1892, with two exceptions (in i860 when the war
between the States divided its vote, and in 1872
when Horace Greeley was the nominee of the
Democratic party) , the ten electoral votes of the
State had always been cast for the nominees of
that party. In 1892 President Cleveland received
a plurality of 15,000; in 1895 Govemor Griggs
received a majority of 29,000. The change began
to be manifested in 1893, when one of the Houses
of the Legislature had a Republican majority,
and in 1894 it was plainly evident, for both Houses
were strongly Republican. In this year the State
sent to Congress a solid delegation of eight Repub
licans and elected one Republican Senator. The
final conflict was in the election of 1895, when
the first Republican Governor since Marcus L.
Ward's election in 1865 was chosen. In the
Republican Convention of the State, Mr. Hobart
in a speech of only two minutes put in nomination
for Govemor, his warm friend, John W. Griggs.
He took charge of the management of the cam
paign. The canvass of Mr. Griggs was spirited
and thorough. The character, abUity, and elo
quence of the candidate gave a tremendous impe
tus to the movement, which settled the question

50 Garret Augustus Hobart
with which party New Jersey was now to be
enrolled. For a few years Mr. Hobart held no official post,
but he was not an hour out of the service of his
party. From 1880 to 189 1 he was chairman of the
State Republican Committee. He resigned this
post on the State Committee because of his heavy
duties in the National Committee, to which he had
been elected in 1884. In this committee he re
fused to become chairman, but served during
several campaigns as vice-chairman and a member
of the executive committee. With Chairman
Stephen B. Elkins and B. F. Jones he bore a
large part in the severe labors of the Blaine
campaign. The New York Graphic, a Democratic
paper, speaks of him as "the brainiest, shrewd
est, and most virile man on the committee in the
Harrison campaign." It adds: "Politically there
is no Republican in New Jersey as strong as this
sturdy, bright faced, genial gentleman. " As
delegate at large he attended the Republican con
ventions from 1876 to 1896. His name was men
tioned for many offices during this period, both in
the Cabinet and in some Embassy; but he never
pressed his claims on the party he was serving so
faithfully. And yet, while he was content to serve
without reward, it is evident that he was becoming
known in politics, as he was in business, as a man
of character and ability, who could honorably and
usefuUy fUl any post to which he might be called.

CHAPTER VI
The Man and the Times
NO life can be estimated aright unless its
environment is taken into account. The
fullest life demands the fuUest opportunity.
The man must be found for the hour, but equaUy
the hour must come for the man. Both the
natural gifts and the training of Mr. Hobart
fitted him to take an important part in the chang
ing conditions of the times in which his active
life was passed. Through the waste and ex
haustion of the CivU War, now ended, the nation
in the establishment of peace had come to the
parting of the ways in its political and economic
life. Its energies and resources, which had been
absorbed in the struggle for national existence,
were now released to find new fields of operation.
The arrested development of natural resources,
the demands for the weU-being of city life, and
the estabHshment of new industries caUed for the
combination of wise and safe plans, large capital,
and united efforts. The scale of activity had
become immensely enlarged. Individual powers
and capital could not meet the exigencies of the
51

52 Garret Augustus Hobart
new conditions. Men of probity and sagacity,
of courage and legal knowledge, who could com
mand confidence, were needed to unite genius and
capital for these new and necessary enterprises.
The movements of vast armies over wide fields, the
fearful loss of life and waste of materials, the ex
penditure of enormous sums, and the risks of an
immense debt had prepared the way for the adop
tion of large schemes, which involved hazard and
required courage. Great projects were in the air,
which would require years for accomplishment.
Corporate action was a necessity of the times.
The problem of the hour was to unite men of
ideas and men of means in legal association under
competent management so as to secure profitable
results and retain public confidence. In such en
terprises the savings of the working man and the
wealth of the capitalist must be united in effort
and in risk.
For such a condition of affairs Mr. Hobart was
pre-eminently fitted. He had strict integrity, broad
views, legal knowledge, wide acquaintance with
men, and what was also necessary, the confidence
of men of large capital. As his work on these lines
was crowned with success in one undertaking after
another, he was sought for counsel and direction
by individuals and associations. And so highly
were his opinions and practical plans valued that
he became the counsel, the director, and the
president in many of these corporations. In the
very nature of the case, as in their inception, these

The Man and the Times 53
movements were not at once widely known. He
gained an assured place and character in financial
circles, as he did in political circles, before he
became known to the nation. Gradually, but
surely, he had acquired such an honorable reputa
tion that his connection with an enterprise was
regarded as an assurance of its soundness and
success. However rapacious, and even dangerous
some trusts have become, it is unquestionable that
corporations were at that time, and are now, a
necessity for the development of our national re
sources, and the safe and profitable employment of
the capital of the poor as well as the rich.
Mr. Hobart's views on these points can be ex
pressed in his own words at the time of his election
to the Vice- Presidency :
The chances of fortune-making to-day are as good as
when I started in life. We are on the edge of great changes
in many lines. Look at the electric possibilities of to-day.
What a field there is in electricity for fortune-making in the
future! There is no telling what it will not accomplish, or
what changes it may not make. Corporations and aggre
gations of capital do not make it impossible for a poor man
to climb up. The rich man of to-day is the poor man of
to-morrow. Fortunes are accumulating and disintegrating
all the time. There are thousands of men making fortunes
to-day. There are thousands who will lose them to-morrow.
It is brains and work that tell. It has always been so, and
it will always be so. I do not fear we will ever have a party
of the rich and a party of the poor in this country.
In the great business movements of his day Mr.
Hobart found his sphere of action, and gained fame

54 Garret Augustus Hobart
and fortune. The crowning point of his career
was when he, almost simultaneously, was appointed
one of three arbitrators by the Joint Traffic RaU
road Association, and when, under his manage
ment, the State of New Jersey was revolutionized
in its political views and placed in the column of
the Republican party. The public recognition of
his character and work, which placed him in the
Vice- Presidential chair, was only the formal act of
his coronation. It needs to be repeated that for
tune and fame, influence and station, came to him
not as a lucky chance, or as the result of consuming
ambition, or at the expense of others' losses; but
as the result of faithful work never relaxed, a wise
choice of the field of his efforts, a sagacious and
practical judgment, and a winning personality
which secured the regard and confidence of those
with whom he had to do. The steps by which he
ascended were hard work, good wUl, sound judg
ment, and steady perseverance.
Busy public man as he had now become, he stUl
held a distinct place in social life and in the domes
tic circle. He never lost his genial, sunny nature,
his kindly disposition, his enjoyment of hiunor. He
attracted persons to him in all the relations of life.
The weighty responsibUities he had assumed did
not destroy his power to enjoy the tmest pleasures
of life among his friends and in his home. He
loved his home, and turned always to it as the
dearest spot on earth. There aU care was laid
aside, and in the circle of the famUy he found

The Man and the Times 55
rest and enjoyment. With his changed circum
stances the home life had broadened, but it
ever retained the same open-hearted hospitality.
Rarely was business spoken of in the home circle,
and still more rarely was mention made of his
successes and honors. He enjoyed life, and was
glad to share his happiness with others. Few
even of his most intimate friends knew how large
a place he was filling in the great activities of the
times. He spent no weary hours in anxious schemes
or in tiresome efforts to advance his personal in
terests. He never appeared as a suppliant for
favors. To those about him he was the same quiet,
genial, neighborly man he was before his pros
perity. He felt and took an interest in those
about him, and in the affairs of the city in which
he lived. He could always stop to say a pleasant
word to a friend or to speak some word of sym
pathy to a poor man, whose name he always knew.
He could do an act of kindness in such friendly
spirit that it seemed a favor to him to accept it.
He was interested in the benevolent and church
work of the city, and ready to aid all who sought his
help with his means. From its organization to
the day of his death, he was a member of the
Board of Trustees of the Church of the Redeemer,
and the beautiful name which it bears was given
to it at his suggestion.
It would be a mistake to suppose that during this
period Mr. Hobart had no consciousness of his own
powers, and of the position which he occupied with

56 Garret Augustus Hobart
its great possibUities. He had an honorable ambi
tion to do his part in the work of the world and to
enjoy a just reward from his labors. No right
minded man could fail to have such a desire.
But ambition, as it is usually understood, had
no place in his heart. He was never ready to
sacrifice the happiness of his home, or his good
name, or his peace of conscience to gain wealth
or place. He would do his best in the opportuni
ties of life, and welcome what reward might come.
To those who knew him best — and to these this was
an afterthought — there seemed to be in his mind
an undefined presentiment that a larger place was
to be his. But this feeling never appeared in
pretension, or in self -consuming efforts, and never
led him to barter honor for honors. He was ready
to pay the cost of labor for success, but not
of humiliating flattery or deceitful words. Un
doubtedly he realized his star was in the ascendant,
but he was not unduly elated on the one hand, nor
on the other hand did he shrink in fear from respon
sibUities and obligations. He pressed no claims
•for services rendered on business or political friends.
He made no effort to be conspicuous, or to ingra
tiate himself with the populace. He enjoyed fully
the present and awaited with composure the future.
When he was honored with praise and position,
he suffered no weak elevation of mind or change of
manner. To those who met him daUy he appeared
unchanged. He was as truly a friend to all about
him as ever. The words of the Great Teacher

The Man and the Times 57
found in him a new Ulustration. His abUity and
influence were more fuUy recognized for a time
by those without than those within his own
city.

CHAPTER VII
Convention at St. Louis — Nomination for
Vice-President
AS the time approached for the Presidential
election in 1896, the customary discussion
of men and measures was taken up in the
newspapers. The various State and city elections
Immediately preceding were scanned with interest
by the leaders of both parties for indications of their
relative strength. In New Jersey the elections had
not been so favorable for the Republican party as
they were in the remarkable campaign of Govemor
Griggs. To hold the State in the Republican
ranks was an important matter for the party.
The Republican leaders in the State realized that
this could be done, if one of its citizens should have
a place on the national ticket. Their thoughts
and efforts were directed to this end. And
Mr. Hobart was naturally selected for their candi
date on account of his popularity and political
influence. The Republican State Convention which met at
Trenton, on AprU i6th, recognized fully this con
dition, and was a unit in favor of presenting Mr.
Hobart's nafne for the Vice-Presidency, and indeed
58

Convention at St. Louis 59
for the Presidency, if there shoiUd appear any way
to obtain the nomination. As this appeared
doubtful, a large majority favored the nomination
of WUliam McKinley for President. A motion
was made in the convention to instruct the dele
gates from New Jersey to vote for McKinley and
Hobart, as the nominees of the party. This
motion was opposed with vehemence by General
SeweU, who declared he would not accept an
election as delegate, if the delegation were to be
committed to specific candidates by the conven
tion. His stand was taken not in opposition to
Mr. Hobart's candidacy, but on the ground of
custom and policy. The delegates uninstructed
could couple Mr. Hobart's name with any success
ful nominee for President, but under the proposed
instruction the nomination of Mr. Hobart must
depend on the nomination of Major McKirUey.
It was weU understood at the time that General
Sewell strongly favored the nomination of his
personal friend ex-President Harrison, who was
favorable to Mr. Hobart's nomination. When Mc-
•Kinley was nominated Harrison sent word to the
delegates from Indiana to vote for the New Jersey
candidate. The action finally taken by the State
convention shows the feeling of its members, and
was as foUows :
Relpng upon the discretion of our delegates to voice the
preference of the Republicans of New Jersey in the Na
tional Convention, we refrain from hampering their action
by specific instructions, indulging at the same time the

6o Garret Augustus Hobart
hope that redeemed New Jersey may be represented on the
national ticket in the person of the Honorable Garret A.
Hobart. It ought to be added that the whole delegation,
with one exception, was enthusiasticaUy in favor
of Mr. Hobart, and labored with zeal and wisdom
for his nomination, and that the vote for him in
this convention was unanimous.
In the list of names presented in the newspapers
as favored in their several States and worthy of
nomination, were the names which were afterward
presented in the National Convention: Thomas B.
Reed, of Maine, who had been the very effective
Speaker of the House of Representatives ; WUliam
B. Allison, of Iowa, who as Congressman and now
Senator had served in Congress for thirty-five
years; Levi P. Morton, of New York, who had been
a member of Congress, Minister to France, Vice-
President of the United States, and Governor of
New York; and WUliam McKinley, of Ohio, who
had served with distinction as an officer in the
CivU War, had been both Congressman and Sena
tor, Govemor of his State, and was the author
and promoter of a tariff bUl which bore his name
and was deservedly popular. As time passed, and
these men were discussed as avaUable candidates,
it became increasingly evident that Major Mc
Kinley led them all in popular favor. Before the
convention met enough instructed delegates from
important States had been chosen to make him
the assured nominee for President. Linked as his

Convention at St. Louis 6i
name was with Mr. McKinley by his party, Mr.
Hobart personally did not advocate any one for the
Presidency. But he showed his political acumen
by expressing his high regard for Major McKiiUey,
and even more by declaring that despite the senti
ment in the country in opposition to a third term
for any President, Ex- President Cleveland was the
strongest candidate whom the Democrats cotUd
present to the nation.
A still longer list of names was printed in the
papers as possible candidates for Vice-President.
The New York Herald published the names of
twenty persons, who had been thus brought before
the country. Among them some had been favored
for the Presidency as well. From this list there
were nominated in the Convention: Morgan G.
Bulkley, of Connecticut, who had been Mayor of
Hartford for four consecutive terms and Govemor
of the State; H. Clay Evans, of Tennessee, who
had been a soldier in the Civil War, member of
Congress, and First Assistant Postmaster-General ;
Charles Warren Lippett, of Rhode Island, then its
Govemor; General James A. Walker, of Virginia,
who had been a Confederate soldier and was then
the only Republican member of Congress from his
State; and Garret A. Hobart, the story of whose
life has been so far told.
If the men, both fit and wiUing to serve their
country in these high offices, were many, the im
portant issues dividing party opinion were few.
The campaign of 1896 was fought on two main

62 Garret Augustus Hobart
issues. One was the ever-recurring question of the
tariff, belittled by a question of graver importance
at this time. The latter issue had importance on a
moral side as weU as a political. This was the
question of an honest standard of value in the
countn.'; whether, with almost aU commercial na
tions, it should be based on gold alone, or whether
it should be a dual and unstable standard of gold
and sUver. It is difficult now to understand how
there could be such a question raised and ad
vocated by so man}' intelligent persons. It is
to-day a dead issue. It was at that time a verj'"
living one. To estimate its serious character, it
wUl be necessarj- to review the situation at that
period. To meet the enormous expenses of the CivU War,
the Govemment was compeUed to issue Treasury
bonds, pledging the nation for their payment after
specified dates, the understanding being that they
should be paid on a gold basis. It is certain on
no other basis could these bonds have been floated.
As these issues increased in number and amount,
the value of gold continuaUy appreciated, untU
at its highest point it reached a premium of almost
300 per cent. The resvUt necessarUy was the dis
appearance of gold from circulation. It was in
demand for payments due to other nations, and
it was hoarded by individuals and institutions.
For years the great majority of the people of
this nation never saw a gold coin, and handled
few sUver ones. As a medium of circulation.

Convention at St. Louis 63
Treasury notes, even of smallest value, took the
place of gold and sUver. With the establishment
of peace and the revival of trade, the difficulties
of the situation constantly increased. To meet the
need of a circulating medium, silver now came
to be largely employed, and the mining of silver
became an important and profitable industry in
the Western States, especially in Colorado, Mon
tana, and Nevada. When it became necessary
for the country to decide on what basis the bonds,
issued during the Civil War on a gold standard,
should be redeemed and business should be
transacted, the cry was raised from the silver-
producing States for the recognition of silver as
well as gold as a standard of value. The ratio
of valuation was fixed in the demand at sixteen of
silver to one of gold. This cry found an echo in the
minds of many who were in debt, and of those who
desired to depreciate the bonds of the nation.
This was a ratio without precedent in recent his
tory, and its adoption would have placed the
business of the country on a basis of value differing
from the great commercial nations of the world.
On this basis the free and unlimited coinage of
silver was advocated. Its advocates predicted
from this course a period of prosperity to the na
tion, relief to every debtor, and an immense saving
to the nation in the redemption of its bonds. The
advocates of a gold standard of valuation predicted
from such a course the disadvantage in business of
a standard differing from all commercial nations,

64 Garret Augustus Hobart
the immense loss to the nation in a standard which
lowered by about one half all obligations, and the
dishonor to the country in redeeming its bonds
at a lower valuation than that at which they had
been accepted.
Under the influence of those interested in the
production of silver, and from the necessity of its
use as a circulating medium. Congress had re
cognized its commercial value, and had required
the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase monthly
certain amounts of silver on Govemment account.
These purchases had come to exceed $500,000,000
and the Treasury vaults were filled to overflow
ing with the metal. The price of silver natu
rally feU until the depreciation on these holdings
reached the enormous amount of $150,000,000.
Still, under the law, these purchases were required
to be made. It became necessary to adopt some
course which should relieve a situation which was
constantly growing worse. On what action should
be taken the Republican and Democratic parties
were divided. Many even in the Republican
party came slowly to the view ultimately ex
pressed in the platform of its convention. The
question to-day is settled, but during the cam
paign it was debated most seriously.
On this question Mr. Hobart at once and un
equivocally expressed his views in favor of a
single gold standard. He said : " When a premium
of forty-seven cents is offered on every fifty- three
cents of silver held by the mine owners, it can

Convention at St. Louis 65
only be done at the expense of every man who has
part or lot or share in the country's industry and
wealth." On this basis there would be practicaUy
a scaling of fifty per cent of the national and state
debts, individual indebtedness, banks' and savings
banks' deposits, life and fire insurance contracts
and fiduciary trusts, except where the gold
standard was part of pre-existing contracts.
The Democratic party, under the leadership
of William J. Bryan, who by a single adroit and
eloquent speech in its National Convention made
himself its nominee for President, advocated a
bi-metal standard of gold and silver ; the Republi
can party stood for the single standard, gold.
It required conviction and courage to take this
stand, for in a test vote on a sUver bond bUl in the
House, a majority of the members from ten of the
Western and Pacific States had voted in its favor.
These States were California, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming, and Washington. Any action which
opposed the expressed views of the representatives
of so many States endangered the success of the
party. In the interest of party success many
hesitated about committing the party to any
definite statement on this question. A consider
able number of Republicans were undecided in
their own minds, and were at least half wUling to
make the experiment of a dual standard. No
one was left in doubt for a moment as to Mr.
Hobart's position on this question. No one even

66 Garret Augustus Hobart
heard him compromise his views. Unquestion
ably, as it proved, his uncompromising declara
tions became an important factor in causing his
nomination, but every one did not think so at
flrst. It was largely due to his flrm utterances
and influence in the National Committee that the
party took a stand so decided and uncompromising.
The people of the West especially, but also many
all over the country, seemed bewitched with these
flnancial vagaries. So greatly was public opinion
affected, that Major McKinley questioned the ad
visability of a decided expression by the party
in favor of the gold standard. Thus the matter
stood before the convention met.
The National Committee, after a long hearing
of the various claims of a number of cities, finally
selected St. Louis as the place where the National
Convention should be held. The Republicans of
that city had obtained from its authorities the
temporary cession of a part of Washington Park,
on which they engaged to erect a buUding for the
use of the convention at a cost of $60,000, which
would seat fourteen thousand persons. Great
preparations were made to welcome large dele
gations. In these expectations they were disap
pointed, for so general was the conviction that
Major McKiiUey would be nominated for President,
that clubs which had expected to attend the con
vention and influence its action gave up the idea.
An accident, which occurred during the erection of
the building, threatened for a time to make neces-

Convention at St. Louis 67
sary a postponement of the day selected for the
meeting. Happily, this was not necessary. The
convention assembled on the i6th day of June,
1896, and was organized by the election of Charles
W. Fairbanks as temporary chairman. There were
present nine hundred and twenty-four delegates,
and an equal number of alternates. For seven
days preceding the meeting the National Com
mittee had been occupied night and day in the
attempt to settle the claims of rival delegations.
After aU their efforts appeals were taken to the
convention, and the settlement of these various
claims took up much time. The permanent
organization was completed by the election of
John M. Thurston, of Nebraska, as permanent
chairman. The first, second, and a portion of the
third day were occupied in settling the claims of
delegates and determining the roll, the adoption
of rules, and the formation of a platform. The
anticipated trouble came upon the adoption of the
financial plank presented by the committee, which
was as follows:
The Repubhcan party is unreservedly for sound money.
It caused the enactment of a law providing for the redemp
tion of specie payments in 1879. Since then every dollar
has been as good as gold. We are unalterably opposed to
every measure calculated to debase our currency, or impair
the credit of our country. We are therefore opposed to the
free coinage of silver, except by international agreement
with the leading commercial nations of the earth, which
agreement we pledge ourselves to promote, and until such

68 Garret Augustus Hobart
agreement can be obtained, the existing gold standard must
be maintained. All of our silver and paper currency must
be maintained at parity with gold ; and we favor all meas
ures designed to maintain inviolable the obligations of
the United States of all our money, whether coin or paper,
at the present standard, the standard of most of the en
lightened nations of the earth.
This cautious utterance, with its impossible
reservation, exhibits the convictions of the party,
its endeavors to prevent a division, and at the
same time its fears.
The leader of the silver advocates was the weU
known and respected Senator, Henry M. Teller,
of Colorado. In an able and earnest speech he
presented the views of the opposition, and offered a
substitute favoring "the free and unlimited coin
age of gold and silver at our mints at the ratio of
sixteen parts of silver to one of gold. ' ' A motion to
lay the gold plank on the table was defeated by a
large majority, 8i8|- votes being cast in opposition
and 105^ in its favor. The gold plank was thus
overwhelmingly sustained. Senator Teller then
asked that a paper expressing the views of the
opposition be heard. It was read by Senator
Cannon, of Utah, and was signed by delegates from
the silver States, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Dakota,
and Nevada. The reading was foUowed by the
withdrawal from the convention of about one
hundred delegates. Their places were taken to
some degree by altemates present.
After quiet had been restored, the regular order

Convention at St. Louis 69
of procedure was resumed, and the platform
proposed by the committee was adopted. The
roll of the States was then called for nominations
of persons for President. With glowing eulogies
the following persons were nominated: William B.
Allison, of Iowa; Thomas B. Reed, of Maine; Levi
P. Morton, of New York; William McKinley, of
Ohio ; and Matthew StaiUey Quay, of Pennsylvania.
The official ballot which followed showed 66i-|
votes for Major McKinley, and 239^ for all the
other candidates, the next highest receiving 84
votes. At once the motion was made that the
nomination of William McKinley be declared to be
the unanimous action of the convention. The
motion was adopted with great enthusiasm, and
the chairman declared : "Gentlemen of the Con
vention, by authority of your unanimous vote I
declare that William McKinley is the nominee of
the Republican party for President of the United
States." The convention was thoroughly wearied with the
great strain of these proceedings. But, worn out
as the delegates were, it was felt better to proceed
to the nomination of a Vice-President than to
postpone the completion of their work to another
day. In order to facilitate action, the nominating
speeches were limited to fifteen minutes. At
this point Mr. Hobart left his seat as delegate at
large from New Jersey and retired from the
convention, his substitute taking his place. The
roll was then called for nominations for Vice-

70 Garret Augustus Hobart
President, and these persons were put in nomina
tion: Govemor Morgan B. Bulkley, of Connecticut;
Garret A. Hobart, of New Jersey ; Governor Charles
Warren Lippett, of Rhode Island; H. Clay Evans,
of Tennessee; and General James A. Walker, of
Virginia. On the roll-call of the States, Garret
A. Hobart received 533^ votes; and all the others
359I, of which ntunber H. Clay Evans received
28o-|-. As before, the nomination was made
unanimous. The chair then made the announce
ment: "By virtue of the unanimous vote of this
convention, and the authority vested in the chair.
Garret A. Hobart is declared to be the nominee
of the Republican party for Vice-President."
After a few necessary formal acts the convention
adjourned sine die, leaving to the judgment of
the nation the political declarations of the plat
form and the nominations of its candidates.
Of both candidates the same expression was fre
quently used during the campaign : " Each one was
most respected and admired where he was best
known — in his own State."
Few men in the country were better fitted at
this time to flU an influential place in public affairs
than was Mr. Hobart. He had been trained in the
school of necessity to labor; he had risen from
simple conditions to affluence; he had experience
as a presiding officer in the Legislature of his
State; he had become accustomed to act in largie
affairs in business and politics; and he had pre
served unaffected manners and kindly feelings.

Convention at St. Louis 71
He was ready to take a national view of affairs, and
to fiU a national place. The nation quickly
recognized and approved his appreciation of the
office of Vice-President and the fidelity with which
he performed the duties of the office to which he
was elected.
For the third time New Jersey was honored
by a great party in the nomination of one of its
distinguished citizens for Vice-President. Theodore
Frelinghuysen on the ticket with Henry Clay in
1844 was defeated. WUliam L. Dayton on the
ticket with John Charles Fremont in 1856 was
defeated. Garret A. Hobart on the ticket with
WUliam McKinley in 1896 was elected. No
one can chaUenge the statement that Mr. Hobart
was an important factor in the successful campaign
of the Republican party.

CHAPTER VIII
Personal Views and Expressions in Refer
ence to the Nomination
THE background of biography must be history,
but the interest and value of history must
largely be found in biography. In the
exciting events, which occurred in the convention
at St. Louis, the personality of Mr. Hobart is not
lost. His good sense and self-control appear in
every word and act. It is true that the political
conditions in his State and his financial views
had much to do with his nomination, but so also
had his character and his popularity. The man
here, as always, appears more important than the
circumstances in which he is placed. It is in his
own words we can learn best the workings of his
mind, and fortunately some of the words uttered
at this time have been preserved.
From the kindly hopes of his friends, the action
of the State Convention, and the expressions of
his feUow members of the National Committee,
it became evident to Mr. Hobart that his nomina
tion for Vice-President was a possibility, if not a
probabUity. It was, however, by no means set
tled in his own mind that he desired the office,
72

Personal Views on Nomination 73
and that he would give his consent to have his
name presented as a candidate. It was entirely
in character for him therefore at this point to
satisfy his mind as to the reasonable prospect of
success if he consented to allow his name to be
presented as a candidate to the convention in St.
Louis. Of the support of his own State, he had
no doubt. With regard to the action of his party
in the State convention, he said to a reporter:
" I am aware the party is loyal to me. I want to
say right here that no one could appreciate the
action of the convention more than I do. It
was a great honor that was conferred upon me,
and while I never sought it, it is an honor no one
has a right to refuse. Frankly let me state that
the movement in my behalf was spontaneous. I
never encouraged it. If the nomination for
Vice-President were handed me now as the unani
mous action of the National Convention, my inclin
ation would be to decline it. But the sentiment
of the State in my favor is so strong, and so kind
in its expression, that I naturally am grateful,
and shall place myself at the disposal of the host
of friends who are working for my elevation to
the Vice- Presidency. "
To discover what were the feelings of the host
of friends outside of New Jersey, he went to
Washington to confer with leaders from other
States. From Congressmen and members of the
National Committee there present, he received
an ovation and assurance that his nomination

74 Garret Augustus Hobart
would be gladly received in Alabama, Kansas,
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. When a friend,
seeing how things seemed turning, said, "So you
are going to be McKinley 's running mate," he
replied in his characteristic way, as he had done
before, "Not a doubt about it whatever." It
was observed, however, that Mr. Hobart said
little in this investigation of political conditions.
He came to see, and not to seek pledges, or urge
his claims. When asked about his candidacy he
said: "I have not raised my finger for it, nor
have I suggested it to any man." And when
asked regarding the connection of his name with
Major McKinley 's, he replied: "My nomination
is a personal matter — a tribute from my friends.
It is entirely separate and distinct from Mr.
McKinley 's canvass."
Though his actions may seem in a way to con
tradict his words, it is true, nevertheless, that
there was grave doubt in his own mind as to
the course he should take. The shadow of a
great sorrow rested upon the family from the
recent death of an only daughter. To break up
his home life and the habits of years, to lay aside
his important business affairs, to undertake severe
and anxious labors, to accept a position of little
significance in the public mind, to enter on duties
which were largely formal, might weU cause him
to pause. The matter was debated long and
seriously in his own mind and in the famUy.
The question concerned not only his feelings, but

Personal Views on Nomination 75
the feelings of his wife as well. In case of his
nomination, the privacy of grief must give way
to the publicity of a contested campaign and, in
case of success, of official life. With true devotion
to her husband's duty and interests, the decision
finally was left to Mr. Hobart. He hesitated and
shrank more and more from the step as the nomi
nation seemed more probable. The decision was
finally reached that he would neither seek nor
avoid the nomination. If it should come to him
honorably, as the expressed wish of his party and
friends, he would accept it and do his best to aid
the ticket. If, on the other hand, he would be
required to go into the arena and make a personal
canvass for the nomination, he would withdraw
his name.
From his own words his position can be best
understood. As he said good-by to his wife at
the station when he started for St. Louis, he gave
expression to his real feelings: "It is a nice thing
that my friends want my nomination, but really
I do not Want it, and do not know what to do
about it." Coming back to the carriage, he
added: "If I have enough votes to make my can
didacy respectable, it wUl be all I want." He
replied to a letter from the editor of The Syra
cuse Post, which said that it was the first paper in
New York to advocate his nomination: "I wish
I deserved all the good things that are said about
me. But I do find with much satisfaction that
the hard work done for the party is recognized by

76 Garret Augustus Hobart
the best men in the party. I am not an office-
seeker, for I happen to have more of a retiring
disposition than many would care to possess.
Yet it is not unpleasant to be considered as eligible
to high office." Immediately preceding the gath
ering of the Convention, he said in St. Louis in
answer to inquiries as to his candidacy : " My dele
gation has not yet arrived, and it wUl not untU
to-morrow. UntU I consult with my friends from
New Jersey, I cannot say whether my name wUl
be presented. Yes, it is true that the New Jersey
Convention endorsed me as a candidate for Vice-
President, but it wUl not be determined what wiU
be done untU the New Jersey delegates have had
time to canvass the situation here on the ground.
When the idea was first suggested, I allowed my
friends to talk about it, and gave it a sort of ap
proval, but now that I am here, and there may
be a possibUity of my nomination, I reaUy am
not sure I want to be a candidate."
After the nomination had taken place, and a
great multitude thronged about the hotel where
the nominee was staying, he appeared unperturbed
by aU the excitement. He said to those about
him : " It is just a little too much for me to attempt
to express myself just now, but I must say that
my friends from New Jersey deserve a vast
amount of credit for the manner in which they
have fought this battle. I owe my success to
them, and I shall certainly remember them and
appreciate their noble efforts. I am proud of

Personal Views on Nomination 77
the honor conferred upon my beloved State, and
proud of the splendid work of the delegates who
came here to represent it, and who have achieved
so much. New Jersey, I firmly believe, is in the
Republican column to stay, and the National
Convention has clinched the matter. I shall at
once get into the harness of the campaign, and
use my best endeavors to further the election of
Mr. McKinley."
Before leaving home for St. Louis Mr. Hobart
entertained the New Jersey delegation at the
Lawyers' Club in New York in order that they
might confer together and make arrangements
for the trip to that city and their stay there
during the Convention. A committee was ap
pointed at that time to make all the arrangements
necessary. There was no political significance in
the gathering. The delegates and their alternates
stayed at the Planters' Hotel where they found
Mr. Hobart, who had preceded them in order to
serve in his place on the National Committee.
The headquarters of the New Jersey delegation
were in a building owned by ex-Governor Murphy,
only four blocks from the hotel. In that building
two floors were fitted up for the use of the delega
tion. Mr. Hobart's duties as a member of the
National Committee, as well as a delegate to
the Convention, required him to leave home on
the 8th of June. These duties occupied his time so
fully that he was seldom at the headquarters of
the State delegation or in the Convention, though

78 Garret Augustus Hobart
he kept track of aU that was going on. Robert
P. Porter, who prepared the sketch of Mr. Hobart's
life for the campaign book, and was in confidential
communication with Mr. Hobart at St. Louis, said
his repeated utterance was: "Select the strongest
avaUable man for the ticket, utterly regardless of
my interests."
On his way to St. Louis Mr. Hobart met Mr.
Quay, who was nominated for President, and who
voluntarUy pledged the votes of the Pennsylvania
delegation to him for the Vice- Presidency. During
the sessions of the Convention, Mr. Quay came to
him and asked to be released from his pledge.
With characteristic frankness and good nature,
Mr. Hobart replied: "CertaiiUy. But I teU you.
Quay, I shaU be nominated without the aid of
your delegation." The delegation from Pennsyl
vania voted as a unit for him. His statement
shows that he thoroughly understood the situation.
He said to a friend after his return: "I was as
certain of my nomination before the Convention
was organized as I was after the nomination was
made." This conviction had a substantial basis,
for several States had expressed themselves in
favor of his nomination, and assurances of support
had been given by members of the National
Committee and prominent political leaders.
His inmost feelings appear in the letters and
telegrams sent to his wife from St. Louis. They
show fatigue and haste, but all the more express
his personal views and are therefore placed here

Personal Views on Nomination 79
as they were written. He writes on June i ith :
"Yesterday was a hard day. Every hour oc
cupied with contests until midnight, and with
the two previous nights in the cars when I had
little sleep, I laid me down quite tuckered. You
wUl know more by the New York papers, or as
much as I can tell you. It is evident the com
bine is broken, and McKinley wUl be nominated
early. Every hour we spend over contests makes
the work of the Convention shorter and easier.
I have been too busy to be homesick, but, to teU
the honest truth, I am heart-sick over my own
prospects. It looks to me I wUl be nominated
for Vice-President whether I want it or not, and
as I get nearer to the point where I may, I am
dismayed at the thought. AU the committee,
judging from what they say, are very kind
and good to me. I shall be overwhelmed if it
does happen, and I am praying that Reed wUl
say he wUl consent. If he does not, I fear I
wUl not only get a respectable vote, but too
many." Again he writes on June 12th, at 7 a.m.: "Just
a line to say I am still in the same condition of
uncertainty and unrest. If I want a nomination,
everything is going my way. But when I realize
all that it means in work, worry, and loss of home
and bliss, I am overcome, so overcome I am
simply miserable. Perhaps it may come out for
the best, and whichever way it comes without
seeking I must bear. The excitement here over

8o Garret Augustus Hobart
these contests from all parts of the country is
terrible. The papers, I assume, give you all the
news; here, they give too much to suit me." An
hour later on the same day he wrote: " I am about
as miserable as I can be over this Vice- Presidency.
I can make it easUy, and for peace of mind and for
quiet I think I ought not to press it. It may get
beyond me before I know it, for it is growing here
among delegates, many of whom take it for
granted. It is getting so positive in many men's
minds, that if it goes with a swing I wiU be in it
for fair, and then I am miserable and our life for
four months will not be worth living. I have
made up my mind not to press, not to ask help
from any friend, and discourage it utterly unless
you want me to have it. Your instincts as to
what it wUl mean to us will be correct. I have
hardly slept in all the excitement here, and we do
not get through with our work before twelve to
one each moming. This must go on untU Tues
day morning and then the Convention meets,
which is also hard."
From the wife there came to him in reply to
these letters cheering and helpful messages. When
the news of his nomination was received, she
expressed her devotion to his interests in the
beautiful words of Ruth to Naomi: "Entreat me
not to leave thee, or to retum from following
after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and
where thou lodgest, I wUl lodge; thy people shaU
be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou

Personal Views on Nomination 8i
diest, wiU I die, and there wUl I be buried. The
Lord do so to me and more also, if aught but
death part thee and me."
When the nomination was made. The Chicago
News says, Mr. Hobart was eating his dinner
at the Planters' Hotel. He quietly finished his
meal, and departed as quietly as if nothing
extraordinary' had occurred.
Soon after the nomination hundreds of begging
letters, so disgraceful to American self-respect,
began to fiow in upon him and Mrs. Hobart.
Children and towns were named for him, and he
was duly informed of the fact by admiring Re
publican parents and hopeful settlements. AU
must join in the hope that only in one famUy have
twin girls been called by the names of Hoberta
and Garretta.
The speeches made in the Convention putting
Mr. Hobart's name in nomination wiU be found
in Appendi.x I in this volume. The speech nomi
nating him was made by Judge, now Govemor, J.
Franklin Fort, of New Jersey. J. Otis Humphrey,
of Illinois, seconded the nomination. When the
State of West Virginia was reached on the call of
the roll, A. B. Wliite also spoke in favor of the
nomination. After the campaign was over, and the Re
publican ticket had been elected, Mr. Hobart
went to East Orange, where Govemor Fort
lived, to attend a public meeting. In a brief
address he said:

82 Garret Augustus Hobart
The citizens of East Orange, among all their virtues, have
at least one peculiar distinction. They have a gentleman,
who is president of their club, who had the political effront
ery and the nerve to nominate a man for the office of the
Vice-Presidency of the United States, and whose arguments
were so convincing and whose eloquence was so great that
his friend, without merit, was nominated, elected, and lives
to tell the tale in East Orange, and now he presents me in
person to his friends and neighbors, evidently to prove all
that he has said and continues to say was not true.
In the minutes of a speech prepared for a
meeting of the students of Rutgers College (after
the election) these words are found:
The victory won has been a victory of no party, nor of
persons, but of principles. No man who believes in right
principles, who believes in his country and in his country's
honor, whether president, faculty, or students, can wonder
at the excitement attending the late election. We may
all congratulate ourselves upon the result of the election;
particularly such men as I see before me, to whom the
world looks for the best grade of intelligence, for the most
exalted public opinion in questions of political economy,
and to whom they look likewise for the settlement of any
grave subject which affects the public welfare. It is right
for you to rejoice, then, gentlemen, in the interest of the
right settlement of the questions at issue, and, so far as it
is proper, I beg to thank you sincerely for all that you have
done, for all the colleges and men of learning have been to
this great cause that has disturbed the country to its very
foundations. Our best campaign help has come from you,
who are the cultured, the educated, the sincerely honest and
independent thinkers of the Republic, as well as the in
dependent voters of the land. You were patriots before
you were Republicans, before you were Democrats, before

Personal Views on Nomination 83
you were adherents of any political party. I venture to
think this college almost solidly, in common with the
oJBficers and students of cdl the colleges of the land, stood for
the platform and principles adopted at St. Louis.
The vote in New Jersey shows what the inteUi
gent, right-thinking, conservative citizens can do
when aroused. The most hopeful Republican es-
had predicted a majority of 30,000. The
",y of nearly 90,000 votes in New Jersey
^^^ for the Republican ticket was something
unheard of, something undreamed of; and it was
not a triumph of men or of party merely, but of
principles upheld by sincere men.

CHAPTER IX
Reception of the Nomination in Paterson
ALTHOUGH the Republican State Convention
had instructed its delegates to do aU in
their power to secure the nomination of
Mr. Hobart for Vice-President, and the signs of
the times seemed favorable, so many were the
possible changes from uncertain political condi
tions, it was, after all, with a start of surprise in
his own city and in the State that the news was
received that he had been chosen. Neither the
State in which he was bom, nor the city in which
he had lived more than thirty years, had realized
how widely he had become known, and how highly
he was esteemed by leading men in financial and
political circles. The unostentatious life he led
and the simplicity of his manner made his fellow
citizens regard him as a good friend and pleasant
neighbor rather than a man of large affairs and
national reputation. The ease with which his
nomination was secured and the expressions of
approval from prominent men and newspapers
throughout the country awakened them to a
recognition of the commanding position which he
occupied. Here and there a newspaper flippantly
84

Reception of the Nomination in Paterson 85
asked, "Who is Hobart?" The answer was
quickly given in his honorable record, the large
vote given to him in his native State, his manage
ment of the campaign, and the strength and
wisdom which he exhibited in the duties of the
office which he filled. The whole nation came to
know who he was, and gave to him respect and
confidence, and in addition, what he always won,
affection. He proved the sentiment enunciated
at the time, that "there is no man big enough to
be Vice-President who is not big enough to be
President." A man who could obtain a plurality
of nearly 90,000 votes in a State a few years
before counted with certainty in the Democratic
column, was no ordinary man. In some places
in the State the vote for him was almost unani
mous. In the town of East Orange, for example,
eighty per cent of the votes were cast for Mc
Kinley and Hobart.
At St. Louis, after the nomination, he received
many congratulations and promises from the New
Jersey delegates of what would be done for him
at the poUs. His journey homeward showed the
interest which his nomination had already excited.
He returned to Paterson with the New Jersey
delegation on a special train, sharing the private
car of General Sewell. The train attracted much
attention, and he was cheered along the whole
route. He found on his retum letters, telegrams,
and telephone messages of congratulation by
hundreds and thousands. Weary and exhausted

86 Garret Augustus Hobart
as he was, he was not allowed to rest. His friends,
Democrats as weU as Republicans, came in crowds
to wish him success. The ubiquitous reporter
could not be shut out. To one of them he said
on the moming after his retum: "I felt just as
tired last night as I could feel. There was excite
ment in St. Louis all the time I was there. It
seems as though I never spent a week in my life
in which I got less sleep. The meetings of the
National Committee were long and exciting.
Some of them lasted far into the moming. Then
there was the excitement incident to my nomina
tion, and finally came the demonstrations in my
honor at St. Louis and all the way home. All
along the route there were cheering, hand-shaking,
and jubilation. It wovUd be impossible for any
man to receive such treatment and not be affected
by it. I cannot help feeling pleased at the regard
which the people of my city are showing for me.
To be thought weU of by the people with whom I
associate is dearer to me than the plaudits I re
ceived at St. Louis and along the route to Paterson.
The former are based on what is known about me ;
the latter were based on what had been heard and
said about me." Certain it is that no nomination
could have been more acceptable to the voters in
the State of New Jersey.
When the news was received at Paterson at
7:41 in the evening of June i8th, "Hobart's
nomination unanimous," the city became delirious
with joy. The streets on which the newspaper

Reception of the Nomination in Paterson 87
offices were located were impassable from the
crowds awaiting tidings from the Convention. In
ten minutes after the news was received an extra
edition of The Press was issued. One of the
daUy papers on the following moming described
the scenes of the previous evening in these words :
"Nothing that could be done to show the grati
tude of the people of Paterson was left undone,
and all that was done was done noisily. Cheers,
fire-crackers, sky-rockets, Roman candles, guns,
church bells, factory whistles, drums, and brass
bands were brought into play. The supply of
fireworks in the city was soon exhausted and
messengers were hurried to Passaic for more."
Trains of illuminated trolley cars with bands and
shouting citizens swept over the city lines. The
whole population of the city poured into the
streets. About his residence the streets were
thronged. In the home Mrs. Hobart welcomed
her many friends who, irrespective of party lines,
came to congratulate her on the honor received
by her husband. In almost his very words she
expressed her own feelings, showing the complete
identity of thought between them, when she
replied to their kind words: "I am more pleased
to find such a feeling among his friends and neigh
bors than to receive the news of his nomination."
These spontaneous expressions of regard for Mr.
Hobart and for the honor to the city through him
were felt to be inadequate. There was a demand
on all sides for some formal and dignified demons-

88 Garret Augustus Hobart
stration of the respect and regard felt for him by
his feUow citizens. A public reception was there
fore planned in which, without regard to party
affiliations, aU might unite. The great armory,
belonging to the State, in which 15,000 persons
could find place, was obtained for this purpose.
Large as was the buUding, it could not contain
half of those who desired to be present. When
it was fUled to its utmost capacity the adjacent
streets were stUl crowded. Large numbers of
people came from the neighboring towns of
Hackensack and Passaic, of Jersey City, Newark,
and Elizabeth. Associations with bands and
banners paraded the streets while the exercises
in the armory were going on. Robert P. Porter,
who was present, wrote to The Cleveland World:
"I have never seen such a throng and such
enthusiasm as that exhibited last night for Garret
A. Hobart by his fellow townsmen. Over 15,000
people assembled under one roof to do him homage.
The enormous armory was packed with a mighty
throng, which stood throughout the proceedings.
It was a scene never to be forgotten. Lifelong
Democrats vied with lifelong Republicans to do
this plain, simple, modest man honor. He made
one of the most appropriate speeches ever heard
for such an occasion."
The reception was held on the evening of June
22, 1896. Ex-Judge John Hopper, an old and
highly respected citizen and a lifelong Democrat,
called the meeting to order and proposed the

Reception of the Nomination in Paterson 89
Mayor, Christian Braun, also a Democrat, as the
presiding officer. John W. Griggs, Govemor of
the State and the warm personal friend and po
litical associate of Mr. Hobart, made the address
of welcome and congratulation. Judge Hopper
said: It falls upon me to say that during all these years I have
lived in Paterson I have never seen an occasion such as
this. The people of Paterson, without distinction of party,
sex, age, race, color, or creed, have assembled here to-night
to honor our esteemed fellow citizen, Garret A. Hobart.
My duty here is very simple and plain, but before doing it
I cannot help express my personal appreciation of the honor
that has occasioned this demonstration to-night. It is a
great pleasure, indeed, to know that one of our fellow citi
zens has received this distinguished honor of being nomi
nated for the second highest office in the United States.
And we are here to-night for the purpose of showing our
appreciation of that honor.
Mayor Braun was then introduced, and said:
It gives me great pleasure in responding to your invitation
to preside at this meeting, and I thank you for this great
honor. As I imderstand it, this is not a political gathering;
it is a meeting that has no pohtical significance. Without
regard to party we meet here to-night to show our esteem,
and to congratulate our old friend and neighbor, Garret A.
Hobart, on his nomination for the high office of Vice-Presi
dent of the United States. We are aU glad that such an
honor has fallen on one of our fellow citizens, and we all
look upon it as an honor to our community.
The Mayor then introduced Govemor Griggs,
who spoke as foUows:

90 Garret Augustus Hobart
If you ever visit Westminster Abbey, and ask for the
monument of Sir Christopher Wren, you will be told to look
around you; and if any one wants to know the esteem
the regard, the affection, the love of the city of Paterson
for Garret A. Hobart, we simply say to him, "Look around
you." This unprecedented gathering of people of all
political parties is a testimonial of honest character, and of
the honor and affection that the people of this city have
for our distinguished townsman.
Such demonstrations, so universal, so profound, are
usually reserved to be bestowed only upon the honored
dead. Happy fortune for our friend, that now, in the
meridian of his life, he can see this testimony of your
universal esteem.
For thirty years and more he has lived and wrought
among us, working out his destiny. During that time,
the people of this county have four times chosen him to
represent them in official stations; and each time, with
more than ordinary ability, he has reflected honor and
credit upon those that sent him to the halls of legislation.
Now, out of sixty millions of people, out of forty-five great
States of the Union, a great political party has selected
him as worthy to be linked with those other great Jersey-
men — Theodore FreUnghuysen and William L. Da)rton —
as fit to be the heir-apparent of the Presidency of the
United States.
In this honor, so deserved and so received by him, we all
rejoice. Though we differ in pohtical faith, though our
political hopes are not the same, yet those of us that agree
politically with him, if his election shall follow his nomina
tion, shall glory in his deserved elevation; and those that
disagree with him will know that if he succeeds, the nation
will have a capable, a worthy, and an efficient servant.
But, as I have said, this is not a partisan demonstration.
It is, Mr. Hobart, the welcome of a city whose people are
all your friends. It is the voices of your neighbors up-

Reception of the Nomination in Paterson 91
lifted in harmony to testify the pride, the glory, the affec
tion that they have for you and in you. The sounds that
have enlivened our streets since last Thursday night are
"Sounds as though some fair city with one voice
Around a King retvumng from his wars."
I am glad to give you the heartfelt greeting of your
fellow citizens, to assure you of their confidence and
esteem, to tell you that they know your worth, and that
they know that to you there is more dread in praise than
in criticism.
God bless you and keep you! And whatever honors
more the future may bring to you, we, your fellow towns
men, the people of Paterson, hope to share by reflected
light, as we know you will deserve them aU, and wear
them well.
Mr. Hobart, replying to these speeches, said:
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentiemen, Friends and
Neighbors of the City of Paterson:
If there ever was a time in my life when I was em
barrassed, this is the exact moment. I have often felt
and wished that I possessed the gift of oratory and the
grace of diction which our Govemor has to such ftill extent,
but I have it not; and in the plainest words possible, my
friends, only can I offer for this magnificent testimonial,
this beautiful tribute to me and to the State of New Jersey,
which in some degree I represent, my profoimd, my deepest
thanks for all the goodness, for all the esteem, and for all
the confidence which you seem to have in me. I would
rather to-night, my friends, have the confidence and es
teem of my fellow citizens of this city, including the men
of both pohtical parties, than to have any office in the
gift of the people. It is only the non-partisan aspect of
this demonstration that makes it possible for me to be here

92 Garret Augustus Hobart
at all to-night. Under other circumstances it would
neither be proper nor opportime for me to address
you. I have Uved in the city of Paterson for thirty years and
more, and during aU that time I have enjoyed the con
fidence and esteem of Democrats about me — ^hke my
venerable friend. Judge John Hopper (turning to Judge
Hopper and shaking his hand amid great applause), the
first friend that I had when I came to the city of Paterson.
I have enjoyed the confidence and esteem of men like
Mayor Braun and Ex-Mayor Bamet, of Bernard Katz
and Philip Katz, of WiUiam B. Gourley, ComeUus Cadmus,
James IngUs, jr., of Michael Dimn, of Hugh Kerr, and hosts
of other leading Democrats from the moment that I came
to the city of Paterson, and I have never lost the friendship
of a single one up to this time. I would rather have the
confidence and esteem and friendship of such men than
to occupy any office in the gift of the people of this
nation. As this is not a poUtical demonstration, permit me a
single moment of reminiscence. When I came to the city
of Paterson, a boy twenty years old, there were but twenty-
five thousand people in this city; there were no hospitals;
there were hardly any streets; there were no surroimding
macadamized roads; there were no railroads; and there
were but few churches. What a marveUous change has
come over us since! In thirty years the population has
grown to one hundred thousand people; we have four daily
papers; one hundred miles of macadamized roads, and
fifty nules of paved streets; churches without number;
children's day nurseries and hospitals; aU the conveniences
of city Ufe; fifty rmles of troUey roads taking the people
quickly and quietly to their homes.
Now the poiat I desire to make, my friends, and the
one point, — is the importance of civic pride and pubUc
spirit, which has produced these marveUous changes in

Reception of the Nomination in Paterson 93
our city in that time. I have been guilty myself of some
of that civic pride in the city of my adoption, and the city
of my choice, and I rejoice in it. I invoke you. Demo
crats and Republicans alike, to do even more than you
have done, to manifest more civic pride and more public
spirit to make the city of Paterson, what it ought to be —
the city of the future; to make it possible to have larger
factories and more of them, to bring more people here,
to make hundreds of thousands of homes more than there
are now; and make it what it is destined to be — the first
city in the State of New Jersey. Fellow citizens, whatever
I am, whatever I am to be, whatever position in life may
come to me, to this, with you, I am glad to dedicate
myself. Mr. Chairman, it has been made known to you that I
have been nominated for a great office. I do not say that
it is immaterial what becomes of the election, but I do
say this: if I shall be called upon to exercise the functions
of this office, I shall not need to tell the citizens of Pater
son that I will do it with all the energy, with all the vigor,
with all the fidelity, with all the power with which God
has blessed me. And if, in the changes of politics that
take place, other names than those selected at St. Louis
shall be chosen to preside for four years over the destinies
of this nation, I shall bow to the will of the nation, and
shall still hope to live in Paterson, to be your good friend,
and kind neighbor, and your esteemed fellow citizen.
Whatever character I have has been made in the city of
Paterson, and belongs here. Whatever of repute I have,
or whatever I shall have conferred upon me, is due to my
associations with the people of the city of Paterson, and
to their confidence and esteem.
In speaking of Paterson, I feel as Robert Bums felt
when he spoke of Glencaim, and, perhaps, I cannot
better express my idea than by concluding with his
Hnes:

94 Garret Augustus Hobart
" The bridegroom may forget the bride
Was made his wedded wife yestreen ;
The monarch may forget the crown
That on his head an hour has been ;
The mother may forget the child
That smiles sae sweetly on her knee ;
But I 'U remember thee, Glencaim,
And a' that thou hast done for me."

CHAPTER X
The Campaign
THE Presidential campaign of 1896 was pro
secuted with vigor by both the Republican
and Democratic parties. Five other par
ties placed candidates in the field, but as their
total votes were less than half a million they
were negligible quantities. The grave importance
of the questions at issue, and the honorable
character of the candidates presented by the two
great parties, made the campaign singularly free
from personalities and mean vituperation. The
conflict was fought out fairly and squarely on the
principles for which these two great parties stood.
The two main issues of the tariff and the currency
were plain questions and easily stated. The tariff,
always of importance in a manufacturing State
like New Jersey, was overshadowed at this time
by the currency question. This was a moral,
as well as an economic question. It deserves to
be restated, both because it was the vital issue of
the campaign, and because so many even of the
Republican party were deluded by their supposed
interests and by specious arguments to favor the
adoption of a dual standard. Stripped of all
95

96 Garret Augustus Hobart
that might confuse the judgment, it contained
the plain issue whether a debt could be contracted
on one valuation, and honestly cancelled on a
lower valuation; contracted on a gold standard,
cancelled on a debased silver standard. To put the
question in another form: Should sixteen ounces
of sUver, stamped as a coin by the government, be
made the equivalent of one ounce of gold, when in
the open market it woiUd require thirty-two
ounces? The market value of a silver dollar as
bullion was at that time about fifty- three cents.
Under an act of Congress fixing the amount and
rate of purchase, the Govemment had bought
460,000,000 ounces of sUver. During this period
the value of the metal had depreciated from $1.15
to .68 an ounce. A debtor, if the sUver standard
was established, could compel the creditor to
receive the silver dollar to pay for the gold dollar.
Stated in this bald form, it seems impossible that
it could be made a party issue. The experience of
the world has proved that no coin can command
in the market of the world more than the exact
value of the materials composing it.
The question is dead to-day, as are many of
those who contested it, but in that campaign it
was a live question. The Republican party for
a time hesitated to make it an issue. The Western
States were divided on this subject, the Middle-
Western States uncertain, and only after a time
did the Eastern States stand openly and firmly
for true policy and honesty. Ohio, Mr. McKinley's

The Campaign 97
own State, in its State Convention, held previous
to the National Convention, made a compromising
declaration, in favor of bimetallism in some form ;
and for a time, as has been said. Major McKinley
was undecided how far it was wise for the party to
go in favor of a single gold standard. He ques
tioned whether Mr. Hobart's statements in his
letter of acceptance did not go too far in that
direction. This view, however, he held only for a
short time. During the campaign he advocated
the gold standard, and all his official utterances
and actions as President were decided on this ques
tion. It required at the outset firm conviction and
true courage to take an uncompromising position.
This Mr. Hobart did at the risk of success. He
never showed doubt or hesitancy. His attitude
and utterances largely determined the policy of
the Republican party.
In the conduct of the campaign it was wisely
arranged that Major McKinley should speak for
the party, while Mr. Hobart should devote his
energies and experience to the management of the
campaign. This was a field which he Well knew,
and which from his experience and success he was
most competent to occupy. Many political asso
ciations and companies of citizens from different
States went to Canton, where Major McKinley
resided, and were addressed on the questions at
issue with wise and stirring words. But while
Mr. Hobart was busy in the line of work committed
to him, he too did important work on this line.

98 Garret Augustus Hobart
He visited the most important cities of his own
State, and made several convincing speeches.
The notes prepared for these speeches stiU re
main. It is not always possible now to be
certain whether the exact words of these minutes
were uttered by him, but it is certain they express
his sentiments. In his formal letter of acceptance
of his nomination, in which his views are fully
stated, and which is placed in Appendix III. of
this book, can be found a fuU and complete dis
cussion of the issues in that campaign. Some
extracts from speeches made when occasion com
peUed, may fitly find a place here. It is also of
interest to mark that in aU he said and did he
preserved an equable mind. A Democratic paper
said of him after the campaign was closed: "An
other notable thing about the Vice-President is
the fact that in all his speeches and conversations
he never speaks insultingly of the opposite party,
but is the same man to aU parties and to all
creeds. There was never anything unkind or
abusive about his nature, and therefore all parties
rejoice in his elevation. We do not believe any man
ever heard Mr. Hobart speak disparagingly of any
person. A man who always has a good word for
everybody, and never expresses UI feeling toward
a feUow mortal, cannot fail of being popular."
In a paper marked "Speech at Canton" these
words are found. They were probably spoken
when he visited the head of the ticket after the
nomination.

The Campaign 99
"This is not the first time the Republican party
has led in New Jersey the struggle for sound
money and for the principles of protection. No
contest in which you and I have been caUed to
participate has equaUed in gravity that upon
which we are entering. The gold standard of
value must definitely and finally anchor in law
and in governmental administration. And along
with this we must restore to our domestic in
dustries that measure of protection that free-
trade theorists have denied them. Whatever
may be my part in this work, I am wUling to
undertake and carry out to the fuUest extent
possible. And I stand here to say that in other
respects and in all other matters, which the plat
form of our party embodies, I stand upon it,
and believe these principles are best for the coun
try and the nation." He then drew up in paraUel
columns his views of the issues and their results,
as follows: ON ONE SIDE. ON THE OTHER SIDE.
Dishonor, Honor,
Free Trade, Protection,
Breaking down the Su
preme Court, Upholding the Court,
A SUver Standard at the
ratio of 16 to i. The Gold Standard,
Disorder, if not anarchy. National order.
In another memorandum- these words are

loo Garret Augustus Hobart
written: "You cannot coin a good dollar, good
anywhere in the world, out of forty or fifty cents
of sUver. Any Greenbacker or Populist who pur
poses the making of a law which insists that the
coinage of sUver can thus be regulated, is a
commercial idiot. Without party bias there are
some things on which we all ought always to
stand — a good and honest and enduring currency ;
a national credit undefUed; a contented and
happy people with work in abundance."
In the outline of a speech in Newark he says:
"I feel the Republican party is right in its prin
ciples when those principles are advocated by
the best intelligence and the best thought of the
best men in this land; and when it is opposed by
all the anarchists and socialists. We are not
fighting the old Democratic party, nor is the
Republican party fighting alone. Think of the
men you know and would trust, whom you have
been accustomed to look upon as Democrats.
When the result of the election is finally and fuUy
known, the greatest lesson in political morality
wUl be taught that was ever taught in America."
On the occasion of a political meeting in Pater
son addressed by Senator Frye, who on several
occasions spoke to its citizens with great effect,
Mr. Hobart said: "When the campaign opened, I
said I would rather have your confldence, your
esteem, and your support than any office. It
seems I had it then, and have it still; and this
rejoices my heart more than all else. The issues

The Campaign loi
of this campaign have so overshadowed the per
sonality of the candidates that they have not
been abused. The principles have been so strik
ing, so important — involving as they did all there
was of life and hope in the govemment — its
honor, its good name, its credit — that persons
did not count. The people were not ready for a
financial revolution, or a reduced value of the
dollars they earned. They are not ready now.
They would vote for no currency not as good as
gold. They will not now."
The committee appointed by the National Con
vention formally to notify Mr. Hobart of his
nomination went to Paterson on July 7, 1896.
To mark the occasion and gratify his friends, a
large number of ladies and gentlemen were in
vited to be present. It was a delightful day, and
the formal exercises took place on the broad piazza
of his home, enabling more persons to hear the
speeches. These wUl be found in Appendix II.
The address of notification was made by Charles
W. Fairbanks, Senator from Indiana. Mr. Ho
bart's reply immediately foUowed. After these
formal exercises the committee and the invited
guests were hospitably entertained, and the com
pany separated with cordial good wishes and
high hopes for the success of the ticket. Of
Mr. Hobart's speech the New York Evening Post
said: "It was the boldest, squarest, and most
explicit indorsement of the gold standard; the
frankest admission that the money question is

I02 Garret Augustus Hobart
to be the one issue of the campaign; that no
compromise on this question is tolerable or possi
ble; but it must be fought out and settled now."
The letter of acceptance, which wiU be found in
full in Appendix III, is on the same lines and as
uncompromising. It treats in detail the aspect
of the political field from the Republican point
of view. Two extracts from his formal utter
ances are given here, partly because of their in
cisive force and partly because they were largely
quoted during the campaign.
On the tariff question he said, on the occasion
of his notification: "Protection will not only
buUd up important industries from small begin
nings, but these and all other industries fiourish
or languish in proportion as protection is main
tained or withdrawn. I have seen it indisputably
proved that the prosperity of the farmer, mer
chant, and all other classes of citizens goes hand
in hand with the manufacturer and the mechanic.
I am fully persuaded that what we need most of
all to remove the business paralysis that afflicts
this country is the restoration of a policy which,
while affording ample revenue to meet the ex
penses of the Govemment, will reopen American
workshops on full time, with fuU hands, with
operatives paid good wages in honest dollars.
And this can only come under a tariff which will
hold the interest of our own people paramount
in our political and commercial institutions."
On the gold standard, this sentence from his

The Campaign 103
letter of acceptance was quoted widely, as a
clear and succinct expression of the question:
"Gold is the standard in all commercial nations.
All firtancial transactions of whatever character,
all business enterprises, all individual or corporate
investments are adjusted to it; an honest dollar,
worth one hundred cents everywhere, cannot be
coined out of 53 cents of silver, plus a legislative
fiat." On the same day on which his letter of accep
tance was given to the public, Mr. Bryan's letter
appeared. These letters presented a remarkable
contrast in the clear statements of the one, and
the confused statements of the other. The New
York Press, commenting on these two declara
tions, said: "Never before in one day were two
deliverances on one subject so startlingly dis
similar, not merely in the propositions they ad
vance, but in their treatment of facts, which lie
at the bottom of the controversy. Mr. Bryan's
letter does not touch these facts at all. He recom
mends a leap in the dark, but presents nothing —
not even darkness — ^to land upon." The Newark
Advertiser said: "The views of Mr. Hobart are
not academic or theoretical, but were formed by a
remarkably acute mind in the school of experi
ence." The Dry Goods Economist commented
on the letter in the same strain: " In Mr. Hobart's
letter is a clear, convincing, unembellished state
ment of easily verified facts, and the natural and
logical deductions therefrom. Much of what he

I04 Garret Augustus Hobart
says is new only in form, but in many instances
that form is happy, epigrammatic, and eminently
calculated to drive home into the minds of our
citizens the facts it clothes." And one other
quotation may be added. It is taken from the
New York Morning Advertiser: "It is doubtful
whether any letter of acceptance within the
memory of living men has been more explicit on a
single subject than the remarkable contribution
of the Honorable G. A. Hobart to the currency
question." Reference has already been made to the fact
that the views of Major McKinley were not so
decided on the gold question as those of Mr.
Hobart. It needs to be remembered that Major
McKinley had not had the same business training
and experience which Mr. Hobart had enjoyed
for years. Before Mr. Hobart's letter was printed,
it was thought at Canton that it would be wise to
modify some of its statements. To this he made
reply: " I think I know the sentiment of Eastern
men better than you can, and with this knowledge
and my convictions I must retain the statements
as I have written them." It was not long before
Major McKinley accepted their truth and the
wisdom of the clear expression of them made by
Mr. Hobart. But necessarily the difference of
statement was commented upon by the papers.
The New York Sun said, referring to Mr. Hobart's
letter: "This is a declaration which should have
come from the lips of Major McKinley months

The Campaign 105
ago. The Major has graduaUy worked up to a
statement practically meaning about the same
thing. But he has as yet at no time enunciated
the fundamental truths respecting the great issue
of the campaign comparable for force and clear
ness with what Mr. Hobart has said." The
Evening Post of New York commented on the
letter thus: "If Mr. Hobart was practically un
known to the country, he is known now. At
Paterson the word gold was spoken and the heav
ens did not faU. It is a short word, easy to pro
nounce, and will roll as trippingly from the tongue
as any of the Major's beatings about the bush."
The Republican papers in the Eastern States
generaUy spoke in the highest terms of approval
of the letter as containing "explicit and forceful
utterances on the grave points at issue."
The letter of acceptance was a full and frank
expression of his views. It commanded respect
even from those who opposed the views therein
expressed. The Republican party received it
with strong approbation, and made effective use
of it in the campaign. The New York Mail and
Express says in commenting upon it: "Evasion,
compromise, and haziness of expression are alike
foreign to the running mate of WUliam McKinley.
No clearer or more terse exposition of the financial
question than his has been given us during the
present campaign. In every phase of his letter
he rises above the partisan and enters the realm
of statesmanship. We commend it to the study

io6 Garret Augustus Hobart
of all thoughtful men who love their country and
are desirous of furthering its welfare." To one
who desires to understand the problems of that
political campaign this letter will be an invaluable
aid.

CHAPTER XI
The Election — Removal to Washington
AS the day of the election approached, the
interest of the nation deepened in the
questions which divided the two leading
parties of the country. The great issue of the
currency had been fuUy discussed, and its bearings
on commercial interests and national morals had
come to be more fuUy understood. The bold and
uncompromising attitude taken by Mr. Hobart,
as well as his skilful management of the campaign,
did much to secure victory for the ticket and the
principles for which it stood. He fairly won his
place as Vice-President by his courage, wisdom,
and labors during the Cimipaign. But he did
more, he gained the confidence and admiration of
the nation. There came to be a general recog
nition of his abilit}- and an assurance that by his
election the office of Vice-President would be
fiUed by one who would give it dignity and im
portance. He entered on the duties of his office
with public approbation and the prestige of
success. In his own State and especially in his own city
the interest was intense, as his overwhelming
107

io8 Garret Augustus Hobart
majorities proved. The political status of New
Jersey as a Republican state was confirmed, and
the pledges made by those who nominated him
in the St. Louis Convention were redeemed.
During this period, Mr. Hobart preserved a
quiet assurance of the result. He never expressed
a doubt of the election of the Republican ticket
or displayed anxiety. Day by day he took his
full share of labor as a member of the National
Committee, attended to his business affairs as
best he could, and quietly went on his way.
Defeat would not have depressed him, for victory
did not elate him. He would have grieved more
for his party and his country than for himself,
had he been defeated. He did all that was in
his power to obtain the result desired, and then
confidently awaited the result. He was the only
Vice-President who conducted his own campaign.
On the moming of the day of election he rose
early and, after breakfast and a glance at the
daily papers, walked to the polling booth near
his house, and taking a place in the line of voters
deposited his ballot. A little later he went to his
office, and occupied himself with business untU
nodn. His quiet demeanor led a reporter from
The New York World to say to him: "You do
not seem to be much disturbed, Mr. Hobart ; have
you no fears as to the result? " "None at all,"
he replied. "I have no doubt as to the result,
and never have had since the nominations were
made." After luncheon at home, he returned to

Carroll Hall

The home of the Hohart family in Paterson, N
rrii

The Election — Removal to Washington 109
his office, attended a meeting of business men
appointed for that day, transacted other business,
received those who called, and at five o'clock
returned to his home.
As the evening closed in, many friends gath
ered at his home to learn the earliest and most
authentic news, and to be among the first to
congratulate him. In order to receive the earliest
news, and to be in touch with all parts of the
country, three telegraph wires had been run into
the house, connecting with the headquarters of the
General Committee and of the State, and with the
home of Major McKinley at Canton. Experi
enced operators were ready to receive the mes
sages as fast as they should arrive. Several
telephones enabled those present to communicate
the news to anxious friends in and near the city.
The first message was received at 6: 07, and read:
" City of Chicago, First Precinct, Fourth Ward —
always Democratic — McKinley 297; Bryan iii."
Whereupon, Mr. Hobart said: "If they are aU
going that way, what will the Republican plur
ality be?" Early indications showed gains even
in the Southern States of Kentucky, West Vir
ginia, Tennessee, and Maryland. From moment
to moment the news came in rapidly and became
more encouraging and definite, and at 8:30 Mr.
Hobart, as fresh messages were handed him, said :
' ' The battle is won. ' ' The battle had indeed been
won. The excitement of those present grew with
each announcement. As usual in that home.

no Garret Augustus Hobart
preparations had been made to entertain those
present, but the visitors were too excited to eat.
After midnight all doubt of the result was dis
pelled, and the company dispersed with hearty
congratulations and good wishes for the successful
candidate. Had a total stranger been admitted
to that home during those hours, he could not
have guessed, from any excitement manifested,
who among the throng was the one most in
terested in the result.
A few days after the election, he said: "I do
not consider my election a personal victory. It
is the triumph of American patriotism, and it
belongs to no party. In thousands and thou
sands of cases voters have abjured their past
political creeds and affiliations, and voted as their
consciences dictated for the supremacy of law and
to maintain the national honor." He said at
another time: "I am deeply sensible of the great
debt I owe the press and the voters of the
United States, and it wUl be my endeavor to make
manifest my grateful appreciation of the hearty
support accorded me."
The official returns of the election gave 7,100,369
votes for the Republican ticket, and 6,497,325
for the Democratic ticket. There was therefore
a plurality for McKinley and Hobart of 603,044.
The total number of votes cast in this election
was 13,914,494. The majority for the Republican
candidates was 2 86, 244. The State of New Jersey,
in addition to the enormous majority of 90,000

The Election — Removal to Washington m
votes, sent to Washington a solid delegation of
eight Republican Congressmen.
In the interval between the election and his
inauguration on the fourth of March, Mr. Hobart
was fully occupied with the settlement of many
business affairs preparatory to his long absence;
in searching for a house in Washington where
he could gratify his social feelings and elevate
the office he was to fill by a wise hospitality ; and,
by no means least important, in seeking to under
stand the powers of his office and the duties it
imposed. It was entirely in accord with his
habits to make a careful study of the situation,
and thus to fit himself as far as he could for what
he would be called to do. For this purpose he
studied with care the conduct of his predecessors,
and the rules and customs of the Senate over which
he was now to preside. He sought advice from
those whom he regarded as best qualified to give it.
Then with his practical mind and perfect knowledge
of public feeling he prepared his inaugural address,
understanding full well how it might be regarded.
It was suggested by devoted adherents, and
the matter was even brought before the Legisla
ture, that the whole National Guard of New
Jersey should be sent to Washington to do Mr.
Hobart honor. This was not in accord with his
judgment, and was wisely given up. But the
Second Regiment of the State, whose headquarters
were at Paterson, went to Washington and took
part in the inaugural parade.

112 Garret Augustus Hobart
Accompanied by his family and by a few per
sonal friends, Mr. Hobart left his home and private
life, on the morning of March 2, 1897, to enter
on new and untried scenes and duties. His busi
ness affairs had been carefully arranged pre
viously, and his office was in such a condition
that he could resume his work at any moment.
A goodly number of his friends went that moming
to his home to express their hearty good wishes.
At the station a great crowd had assembled to
say good-by and God-speed. From one of the
schools of the city near the railroad all the chUdren
stood in line along the track and cheered as the
train went by. One of the city papers said with
literal truth: "There was not a man, woman, or
child in the city who did not wish him success."
All along the line to Jersey City at every station
there were assembled cheering crowds. At the
Pennsylvania station in Jersey City they were
met by Adjutant General Stryker, who conducted
the party under military and police escort to the
boat which was to carry them to Communipaw,
where they were to take a special train on the
New Jersey Central road for Washington. The
same enthusiasm was manifested along the whole
route. The train made a record run to the Capital,
covering the distance of 230 miles in 233 minutes
of actual running time, 37 minutes less than its
schedule time. At Trenton the train stopped to
take on Governor Griggs, with his famUy and
staff.

The Election — Removal to Washington 113
At Washington the party was met by members
of the Reception Committee and escorted to the
Arlington, where quarters had been prepared for
them. Soon after their arrival, Vice-President
Adlai E. Stevenson honored them by a call of
courtesy, and invitations poured in upon them for
dinners and receptions that evening. The fatigue
of the journey and the extraordinary duties of
the inauguration were made the excuse for de
clining them all. John Addison Porter, private
secretary to the President-elect, brought a request
from Mr. McKinley that Mr. Hobart should call
upon him at the Ebbitt House. At this time
these two men, who were to be so closely asso
ciated in their official relations and so united in
friendship, were almost strangers to each other.
After they were nominated Mr. Hobart had gone
to Canton to pay his respects to the head of the
ticket and to consult him upon important matters,
but his stay had been short. Little did they re
alize, as they now met in Washington, how close
was to be their fellowship. The interview was
necessarily brief, but it was the real beginning of
a friendship and intimacy between the President
and the Vice-President, which grew into a relation
between the two highest officials of the nation
such as was never seen before, and may never
be seen again. From that hour their hearts were
knit together in mutual esteem and confidence.
Their friendship was never broken by envy or
jealousy. Major McKinley recognized in Mr.

114 Garret Augustus Hobart
Hobart a wise counsellor and a faithful supporter
of his administration; and Mr. Hobart saw in
Major McKinley integrity of purpose to fulfil the
pledges of his party and to serve the highest
interests of the nation. His often repeated ex
pression of the character of the President was:
"He is a good man."

CHAPTER XII
The Home and Home Life in Washington
ENVIRONMENT has much to do with the
formation of habit and character; but
when these have been formed, and by age
and circumstances men are free to live their own
lives, their manner of life becomes the expression
of the habits and characters which they have
formed. This expression is shown most fully
in the home and home life. Instinctively one
feels, as he enters a home for the first time, the
impression of the history, the habits, the tastes,
and the aims of its inmates. The home and the
home life of the Hobart family made a distinct
impression on the people of Washington and its
numerous visitors. Their selection of a dwelling,
their manner of life, and the atmosphere of their
residence were the expression of their own charac
ters and their conception of the obligations of their
official position. HappUy in their case the means
were not wanting to enable them to carry out
generously their intentions. The selection of a
residence in Washington where they could carry
out their ideas of the social duties devolving upon
them in their official position became a matter
"5

ii6 Garret Augustus Hobart
of serious consideration. Until a suitable house
could be found, the family remained at the
Arlington. The house finally taken by them for their home,
in its location, in its size and plan, and in its asso
ciations, was most admirably adapted for their
purpose. It had already a reputation for hos
pitality and political influence. It was No. 21,
on Lafayette Square, only a short distance from
the White House. It is impossible to tell what
this fact alone meant in the relations of the Vice-
President with the President. No other Vice-
President had ever lived in such proximity to
the White House, making possible a close in
timacy between the two families. Around the
beautiful little park, to which Washington had
given the name of his friend and companion in
arms, much of the social side of the political
life of the Capital for many years had been
gathered. The locality on this account had re
ceived the title of the "Historic Comer," and
the house from its color and the influence of
its occupants was caUed by the newspapers "the
Cream White House." For eighty years it had
been a social-political centre of influence. Mr.
Hobart took a lease of this house with its
furniture, for the term of his office, from Senator
Don Cameron. Though the section has lost its
relative importance with the growth of the
city, it must always retain an interest as a centre
of historic influence. Calhoun, Clay, Webster,

Home and Home Life in Washington 117
Blaine, and Hay all have lived on this square.
During the Civil War the house was occupied by
Gen. McCleUan as his headquarters. In many
of these residences distinguished visitors have
been entertained, and measures concerned with
national policies and foreign relations have been
discussed under the harmonizing influences of
hospitality. The house was originally built in 1828 by Benja
min Ogle Tayloe, fourteen years after the city
was burned by the British troops. Col. Tayloe, his
grandfather, was one of the few mUlionaires in this
country in the early years of the last century.
Although not in political life himself, Mr. Tayloe
was on intimate terms with the highest govern
ment officials, whom he not only frequently
entertained, but gathered also around his table
distinguished visitors from other countries. After
his death, the property was bought by Senator
Cameron, who almost entirely rebuUt the in
terior. When the adjacent property owned by
Senator Blaine seemed likely to be sold as a site
for a theatre, this house was offered to the govem
ment as a suitable official residence for the Vice-
President. A bill was introduced in the Senate
by Senator Gray, of Delaware, authorizing its
purchase for this purpose. After considerable
debate, the bUl was passed by the Senate, but,
as the House refused to concur in this action, the
plan failed. It now became for a short and
brUliant period the home of the Vice-President,

ii8 Garret Augustus Hobart
and the centre of not a little of the political and
social life of the Capital.
The plan of the house, as well as its location,
was admirably adapted to the aims of the Vice-
President. It is of colonial style with an entrance
on a level with the street under an oriel window.
The outer doors, protected by an oval portico,
opened on a square hall from which a broad stair
way led to the reception rooms on the second
floor. The rooms beneath were occupied by the
Vice-President for the transaction of his official
business. On the second floor were large rooms,
opening into each other, giving the opportunity
for public receptions. These rooms were lighted
by windows reaching to the floor and opening on
a veranda, which in summer was filled with vines
and flowers. The decorations and furniture of
these rooms were in excellent taste, and when
pictures and ornaments belonging to the family
were brought from the Paterson home, they gave
the feeling of a true home life to all who entered.
In this well arranged and well managed home
a delightful hospitality ruled. Rarely was the
family alone. Old friends and neighbors were
not forgotten in new scenes and public duties.
New friends were constantly added to the long
list, and all received a cordial welcome. Formal
receptions were frequently given for the wives
and relatives of officials in Washington, and for
distinguished visitors. More than once the Senate
was entertained here as a body, and the President

Home and Home Life in Washington 119
himself became a guest to meet informally those
with whom he came in contact otherwise only
officially. Many times unofficially the President
entered these doors and found a welcome. In
such social intercourse political feeling had no
place. The social life of the " Cream White
House" thus became an important element in
the political influence of the administration.
Among the notable entertainments in this house
were the formal dinner and reception given to the
British Boundary Commission headed by Lord
Herschell, and the stUl larger and more elaborate
dinner and reception given to Albert, Prince of
the Belgians, on his visit to this country. At
this entertainment, the Prince, instead of being
placed in the seclusion of royalty, and having a
select few presented to him, was asked to take
his place in the receiving line and to shake hands
with all the guests presented. The Prince ex
pressed in a most kindly way his gratification
with his unusual reception. Here also ministers
and ambassadors from foreign countries were
entertained, often without formality.
These social duties made great demands on
Mrs. Hobart, which were met with cheerful kind
ness and unfaUing tact. Her own great sorrow,
still fresh in memory, was hidden from sight as
she received her guests with cordial words, and
sought to make them all feel at ease. No one
in the large assemblies, seeming alone and un
noticed, escaped her attention. There are many

120 Garret Augustus Hobart
who remember with gratitude the kind thought-
fulness of the hostess to them as strangers. M.
Rod, the French Academician, paid Mrs. Hobart
a graceful compliment, saying: "Mrs. Hobart
gave you her hand and a smUe of welcome, and
you felt she was truly glad to see you, and that it
was not a perfunctory ceremony gone through so
many times a week according to official etiquette."
It is not a wonder that a deep regret was expressed
when it was announced that Mr. Hobart was too
seriously iU to cherish a hope of recovery, and
that this home would never open again its doors
with these genial hosts to welcome all who
entered.

CHAPTER XIII
Inauguration of the Vice-President
THE moming of the Fourth of March, 1897,
dawned auspiciously, and gave the promise
of a perfect day. The sun rose on the
crowded city of Washington with exceptional
clearness. The air was crisp and bracing. It
was an ideal day for the ceremonies attending
the inauguration of the President. Every one
felt the invigorating influence of the occasion and
of the weather. The streets were early fiUed
with eager throngs from every State and Territory
of the Union, ready to take part in the events of
the day, or to witness from some point of ad
vantage the stirring scenes. Each incoming train
increased the mighty hosts which early filled the
streets. Squadrons of cavalry, regiments of in
fantry, brigades of soldiers and sailors of the
army and navy of the United States ; regiments of
the National Guard from various States ; civic and
political bodies, with bands of music, gave interest,
color, and variety to the scene. Never had the
capital of the nation presented a more animated
and interesting appearance.
NaturaUy, the larger number of those present

122 Garret Augustus Hobart
were of the party coming again into power after
a short period of Democratic ascendency. The
Republicans had fought a great battle, and now
poured out in vast numbers to enjoy the triumph.
The President of their choice, who had led the
way to victory, was now to be placed in power.
But to an unusual degree the honor of this success
was given to the man, who, by his uncompromis
ing stand for the principle of a sound currency,
had committed his party to this action, and con
tributed to its success. The people recognized his
right to a share in the honors of the day. Large
numbers had come from his own State to do him
honor. Soon after ten o'clock the open space in front
of the Arlington, where Mr. Hobart and his party
were staying, was occupied by the Essex Troop
of the National Guard of New Jersey, under the
command of Col. Frelinghuysen, which had come
to Washington to be the escort of the Vice-
President-elect. Senator Elkins of West Virginia,
who represented the Senate Inauguration Com
mittee, came at the same hour to accompany Mr.
Hobart to the Capitol. With this brilliant escort
they proceeded to the Capitol, passed through the
lines of police guarding the buUding, and went
to the Vice-President's room.
The Senate Chamber was for the time the
centre of interest, and had been prepared to ac
commodate as many persons as possible. The
session of the Senate had lasted through the night.

Inauguration of the Vice-President 123
and the day had begun to dawn before a recess
was taken. With all haste possible the Chamber
was being prepared for the inauguration. Here,
as President of the Senate, the Vice-President
was to be inducted into office ; while the President,
as the ruler of the nation, was to take the oath of
office in the open air in the presence of the people.
The Senate Chamber on this occasion had none
of its accustomed appearance of dignity. Addi
tional seats filled every available place on the
floor and in the gaUeries. The Senators were
crowded together on one side of the Chamber,
and were compelled to share this space with the
selected Cabinet of the incoming administration.
Every place in the galleries was filled. The
Executive Gallery contained the families and
friends of the President- and Vice- President- elect.
The Diplomatic Gallery was crowded with the
families and staffs of the ambassadors and minis
ters of other nations. The Senate Gallery held
the families of the Senators and Representatives.
Every place open to the general public was occu
pied long before the ceremonies began.
A touching sight was witnessed in the Executive
Gallery when Mrs. McKinley, the wife of the
President-elect, who had been for years an invalid,
was assisted to reach her place. And even more
touching was the sight of the mother, Nancy
Allison McKinley, who had passed the limit of
fourscore years, as with vigorous step and eager
look, her face flushed with just pride, she came to

124 Garret Augustus Hobart
witness the honor given to her son in becoming
President of the United States. As she passed
to the place reserved for her, every heart was
moved in sympathy, and every one rejoiced that
her life had been spared that she might be
present on this glad occasion, and give a mother's
blessing on the honor put upon her son. No one
in all the assembly looked so bright and happy
as this mother, who gave to the scene its closest
touch of human interest.
The hour had now come for the important
ceremony of the induction into office of the Vice-
President, who was to become the presiding
officer of the Senate. The retiring Vice-President
took his place in the chair, and with the sound of
the gavel the doors were opened, and the door
keeper advancing down the aisle announced " the
ambassadors from foreign countries." The four
ambassadors in the order of their appointment,
Sir Julian Pauncefote leading the way, followed
by M. Patendtre, Baron Fava, and Count von
TheUmann, passed down the aisle, as the Senate
rose in respect, to the seats reserved for them
directly under the platform of the President and
facing the audience. With the same ceremony
the ministers of foreign countries, led by Minister
Romero of Mexico as doyen, were seated; and
after them, successively, the Supreme Court of
the United States; the Cabinet of the outgoing
administration; officers of the army and navy;
Governors of States ; the House of Representatives

Inauguration of the Vice-President 125
and members-elect, led by their Speaker, for whom
a special seat had been reserved near the desk.
Mr. Hobart came next, escorted by Senator Elkins,
and, as the whole assemblage rose, was led to a
seat on the side of the dais. From a door behind
the desk. President Cleveland with Mr. McKinley,
attended by the members of the Senate Com
mittee, then entered, and were seated beside the
ambassadors. They were followed by General
Miles, representing the army, and a high officer of
the navy. The Grand Marshal of the day, with
his three aides, sons of former Presidents, was
the last to enter the Senate Chamber.
Vice-President Stevenson called the Senate to
order. Senator Hoar announced to the chair that
the business of the session was completed. The
Vice-President then administered the oath of
office to Mr. Hobart as he stood beside him with
his right hand uplifted. To this oath, with a
pen given him by a clerk, he subscribed his name.
In this quiet way the citizen became Vice-Presi
dent of the United States. Mr. Stevenson then
delivered a valedictory address, closing with these
words: "Senators: My parting words have been
spoken, and I now discharge my last official duty,
that of declaring the Senate adjourned without
day." The sessions of the Senate of the 54th
Congress of the United States thus came to an
end. The Secretary of the Senate, William R. Cox,
read the call of the President convening the Senate

126 Garret Augustus Hobart
in extra session. Vice-President Hobart, in virtue
of his office, then took the chair and called the
Senate to order. The Rev. Dr. Milbum, the
chaplain of the Senate, offered prayer. The in
augural address was then delivered by the newly
made Vice-President. It was followed by his first
official act when he administered the oath of office
to the Senators-elect. The Senate at the conclu
sion of these ceremonies took a recess for the
purpose of witnessing the inauguration of the
President-elect. For a brief space the country
had a Democrat for President, and a Republican
for Vice-President.
A procession was then formed to pass from
the Senate Chamber to the east portico of the
Capitol, where the oath of office was to be adminis
tered to the President-elect. It was a notable
body of men which passed through the long cor
ridor into the rotunda, and thence to the platform
over the portico into the presence of the people
gathered to witness the ceremony. The marshal
of the District Court of Columbia and the marshal
of the Supreme Court led the way, followed by
the presidential party, the ambassadors, the
Cabinet, and the members of the two Houses of
Congress. The oath of office was administered
by Chief Justice Fuller of the Supreme Court,
and after it, following by preference the example
of Washington, the newly-made President de
livered his inaugural address. And in this simple
manner, the ceremony only occupying six minutes,

Inauguration of the Vice-President 127
the government changed hands, a private citizen
a moment before became President of the United
States, and one of the most influential persons in
the world. With good reason he made the in
augural address as the President, and not, as
had been done recently, as President-elect.
Those who were present on that occasion no
ticed a considerable number of empty seats on
the platform, and few at the time understood the
reason. These seats had been reserved for the
foreign ministers. When the diplomatic body
had assembled in the Marble Room of the Capitol
before going to the Senate Chamber, some feel
ing had been manifested among them, because,
for the first time, the ambassadors were to be
distinguished from the ministers; and when no
formal place was assigned them in the passage
to the scene of the inauguration they quietly
dispersed and left the seats reserved for them
unoccupied. After the ceremony of inauguration, the Senate
reconvened and formaUy adjourned. Luncheon
had been provided at the Capitol for the presi
dential party. As soon as it was finished, the
President and ex-President, the Vice-President
and ex- Vice-President entered carriages, and under
military escort drove to the reviewing stand,
which had been erected on the grounds of the
White House. On this drive the positions of the
two principal persons were reversed. President
McKinley now occupied the seat of honor, which

128 Garret Augustus Hobart
on the passage to the Capitol had been occupied
by President Cleveland.
It had been the custom for the ex-President
immediately to efface himself at this point. But
in this instance, a well deserved honor was shown
to the retiring President. The Grand Marshal of
the day. General Porter, had ordered a military es
cort to accompany Mr. Cleveland from the scene.
He was conveyed to the wharf at the foot of
Seventh Street, where a tender was waiting with
steam up to carry him on a fishing excursion
for which he had made arrangements. In a few
moments the man in whose hands such power had
been placed, and who had won the respect of the
nation, was looking over his rods and lines, glad
to find relief from the cares and responsibUi
ties of his office. Mrs. Cleveland awaited Mrs.
McKinley's arrival at the White House, where
she had luncheon prepared for the newcomers.
Immediately after she had welcomed them, she
quietly disappeared, and was soon on her way to
the station where she took a train for Princeton,
New Jersey. In that beautiful college town Mr.
Cleveland had purchased a house, and there he
lived in honored retirement, filling an important
place in the government and instruction of the
university, and exerting a powerful and healthful
influence in national affairs.
On the' arrival of the President and Vice-Presi
dent at the White House grounds, they took their
places in the reviewing stand with their famUies,

Inauguration of the Vice-President 129
and for two hours and forty minutes returned the
salutes of the troops and civic bodies passing
before them. It was a noticeable feature of that
occasion that the colored troops were received
with repeated cheers as they marched in the long
line, and that the bands of music varied patriotic
airs with "Dixie" and "My Maryland." The
usual inaugural ball was held in the evening, and
was attended by more than five thousand persons.
The Pension BuUding was used for the purpose,
and was beautifully decorated with flags and
flowers. About half after nine the President
and Vice-President with their families appeared,
and passed through the crowded building, a way
being made through the throng by asking the
men to clear a lane by joining hands and holding
the crowd back. After supper they retired from
the building, and the day so eventful for them all
came to an end.

CHAPTER XIV
The Inaugural Address — Its Reception
THE inaugural address of the Vice-President
was awaited with some anxiety by the Sen
ate, and with much interest by the nation.
Questions of grave importance to the business
interests of the country had not been promptly
acted on by the Senate, even after adequate dis
cussion, on the plea of Senatorial courtesy, which
forbade any limitation of debate. In the House,
both by its own rules and by the will of the
Speaker, a vote on a bill could be forced, but in
the Senate, neither by existing rule nor by the
will of its President, could a limit be placed on
debate. It was entirely possible for a single
member to talk a bill to death, and thus prevent
important legislation. That this is not an im
possibility has been proved in recent times, when
in the Senate three Senators attempted to annul
the will of eighty-nine. The long-drawn-out de
bate in the Senate on the repeal of the Sherman
Silver-Purchase Act, and the threatened exercise
of this privilege on other questions awakened the
attention of the country to a danger not before
apprehended. Senator Allen, of Nebraska, speak-
130

The Inaugural Address — Its Reception 131
ing on the currency question held the floor of the
Senate for eighteen consecutive hours . The nation,
with easy tolerance, first laughed, then found fault,
and finally became angry. The general condem
nation was often expressed in the newspapers.
Some idea of the prevalent feeling may be ob
tained from an extract taken from The Nation,
suggesting what Mr. Hobart's address should be
to express public opinion. It said :
Senators: — My predecessor on taking this chair four
years ago characterized you as the most august legislative
assembly on earth. He would now doubtless give worlds
to withdraw that phrase. It is my duty, sent here by the
direct vote of the people, to tell you that you are nothing
of the kind. No other legislative body in a free country
is so much despised, and at the same time dreaded, as you
are. Another four years like the last of steady affront
to the best sentiment of the nation, of aid and comfort
given to agitators and incendiaries, of shameless trifling
with the country's good name, of dull insensate opposition
to all political progress and to political purity wiU fill up
the cup of your iniquity. What you have really done is
to make the dignity of the Senate a hissing and a byword.
There can be no doubt that a very deep feeling
of condemnation pervaded the country, when
such words could appear in print.
To some degree this feeling found place and
expression in the Senate itself. So frequent and
vigorous was the comment throughout the coun
try, and so many and severe were the strictures on
the Senate's course, that a movement to remedy

132 Garret Augustus Hobart
the evil had actually begun in the Upper House.
Senator Hoar and Senator Mason prepared biUs
to provide some form of cloture of debate. Such
a rule has been adopted as a necessity by the
French Chamber of Deputies, and Mr. Gladstone
in the Parliament of 1881-82 was forced to adopt
the cloture to secure action. Certainly the Sen
ate of the United States cannot become a per
petual debating club either for its own amusement
or for political ends.
It was this condition which created so deep an
interest in all parts of the country in Mr. Hobart's
address. No one doubted that this practical man
had convictions on the subject, and no one ques
tioned that he had the courage to give them
expression. Indeed it was well understood,
and probably from hints given by himself, that
he intended to make expression of his views
in his address. It seems unquestionable that
this apprehension of what his successor would
say influenced the valedictory of Vice-President
Stevenson. The two addresses on this point have
somewhat the character of a debate. Although
the inaugural address is included in this chapter,
an extract may have place here in contrast with
the warning words of the retiring President of
the Senate.
Mr. Stevenson said in his valedictory :
" Of those who clamor against the Senate and its
methods of procedure, it may be truly said ' they
know not what they do.' In this chamber alone

The Inaugural Address — Its Reception 133
are preserved, without restraint, the two essen
tials of wise legislation and good government, the
right of amendment and of debate. ... In my
humble judgment, the historic Senate, preserving
the unrestricted right of amendment and debate,
maintaining intact the time-honored parliamen
tary methods and amenities, which unfailingly
secure action after deliberation, possesses in our
scheme of govemment a value which cannot be
measured by words. The Senate is a perpetual
body, organized to guard against dangers which
have wrecked other attempts to establish Republi
can government. To guard against these dangers
the chief hope of the framers of the Constitu
tion was placed in the Senate, which abides and
will continue to abide, one and the same body
untU the Republic itself shall be overthrown, or
time shall be no more."
It was not Mr. Hobart's desire to overthrow
the Republic when he said:
" It will be my constant effort to aid you, so far as
I may, in all reasonable expedition of the business
of the Senate. I may be permitted to express the
belief that such expedition is the hope of the coun
try. All the interests of good govemment, and the
advancement toward a higher and better condi
tion of things call for prompt and positive legisla
tion at your hands. To obstruct the regular
course of wise and prudent legislative action,
after the fuUest and freest discussion, is neither
consistent with true Senatorial courtesy, condu-

134 Garret Augustus Hobart
cive to the welfare of the people, nor in compliance
with their just expectations."
The last words of the 54th Congress in the Senate
were for the unchangeable past, the first words of
the 55th Congress were for progress in the future
on safe lines, meeting new conditions with new
methods. The apprehension in the Senate from
the words of its President as he began his duties
was allayed by his cakn utterance, his quiet de
meanor, and the charm of his personality. It was
impossible to take offence where no offence was
given. His honest expression of his views com
peUed respect. The Senate waited in vain for
aggressive antagonism. When he finished his
brief address. President Cleveland turned to his
successor sitting by his side and said: "That was
an excellent speech, delivered in the sweetest
voice I have heard in many a month."
The impression made on one at least of the
Senators is given in The Memorial Addresses
published by the Govemment after the death of
the Vice-President. Senator Daniel, of Virginia,
said: "Few of us knew him, and few indeed had
ever seen him before he appeared on inauguration
day, the 4th of March, 1897, to take the oath of
office. But his genial, manly countenance, beam
ing with health, inteUigence, and good nature,
and the unaffected dignity of the refined and
accomplished gentleman which characterized his
bearing, were a pleasing introduction before
personal presentations were made; and as soon

The Inaugural Address — Its Reception 135
as he assumed his duties it was evident the gavel
was in a master's hand." The gavel which Mr.
Hobart used on the occasion of his inauguration
was given him by the officers and directors of the
two banks in Paterson with which he was con
nected. It was made from the wood of an apple
tree which grew near his birthplace at Long
Branch, and was carved and mounted in gold.
Senator CuUom, of Illinois, gave at the time of the
inauguration his impression of the man: "Adlai
E. Stevenson," he said, "became much beloved
by the Senate. He also fell in love with the body.
Hence he left us with benedictions, and Hobart
came in with the decision and aplomb of a busy
and experienced administrator. I never saw any
thing like Hobart's ease and dispatch from the
time he began the swearing in of the new Senators.
They say he presided over both Houses of the
New Jersey Legislature, and some think he con
siders the Senate about the same. Hobart is an
able man. He gives a commercial touch to our
body it has not had in my time."
The address of the Vice-President which awak
ened so much interest was as follows:
Senators: To have been elected to preside over the
Senate of the United States is a distinction which any
citizen would prize, and the manifestation of confidence
which it implies is an honor which I sincerely appreciate.
My gratitude and loyalty to the people of the country.
to whom I owe this honor, and my duty to you as well
demand such a conservative, equitable and conscientious

136 Garret Augustus Hobart
construction and enforcement of your rules as shall pro
mote the weU-being and prosperity of the people, and at
the same time conserve the time-honored precedents and
established traditions which have contributed to make
this tribunal the most distinguished of the legislative
bodies of the world.
In entering upon the duties of the office to which I have
been chosen, I feel a pecuhar delicacy, for I am aware that
your body with whom, for a time, I will be associated,
has had but a small voice in the selection of its presiding
officer, and that I am called upon to conduct your delibera
tions while not perhaps your choice in point of either merit
or fitness.
It will be my constant effort to aid you so far as I may
in all reasonable expedition of the business of the Senate,
and I may be permitted to express the belief that such
expedition is the hope of the country. All the interests
of good government and the advancement toward a higher
and better condition of things call for prompt and positive
legislation at your hands. To obstruct the regular course
of wise and prudent legislative action after the fullest and
freest discussion is neither consistent with true Senatorial
courtesy, conducive to the welfare of the people, nor in
compliance with their just expectations.
While assisting in the settlement of the grave questions
which devolve upon the Senate of the United States, it
will be my endeavor to so guide its deliberations that its
wisdom may be fruitful in works, at the same time exer
cising such fairness and impartiality within the rules of
the Senate as shall deserve at least your good opinion for
the sincerity of my effort.
Unfamiliar with your rules and manner of procedure, I
can only promise that I will bring all the ability I possess
to the faithful discharge of every duty as it may devolve
upon me, relying always upon your suggestions, your ad
vice, and your co-operation, and I should feel unequal to

The Inaugural Address — Its Reception 137
the task did I not trustfully anticipate that indulgent aid
and consideration which you have at all times given to my
predecessors, and without which I could not hope to acquit
myself to your satisfaction or with any degree of personal
credit. It shall be my highest aim to justify the confidence the
people have reposed in me by discharging my duties in
such a manner as to lighten your labor, secure your appre
ciation of my honest effort to administer your rules with
an eye single to the public good, and promote the pleasant
and efficient transaction of the public business.
I trust that our official and personal relations may be
alike agreeable; that the friendships we may form here
may be genuine and lasting, and that the work of the
Senate may redound to the peace and honor of the country
and the prosperity and happiness of all the people.

CHAPTER XV
The Office of Vice-President
IN order to form a correct appreciation of the
place which Mr. Hobart came to fill in public
life and opinion in the office of Vice-President,
it is necessary to keep in mind the nature of the
office as defined by the Constitution, and also
the comparative insignificance with which it had
come to be regarded, not only by the people, but
even by the Senate itself. In many of the news
papers of the day it was seriously said that in
accepting this office he had consigned himself to
oblivion, and would never be heard of again.
All the world knows how far these predictions
were from fulfilment. It was in the faithful per
formance of the narrow duties of his office that
he became widely known and truly honored.
The simple and undeniable fact appears that a
man, in the legal profession, who had been oc
cupied with business affairs and political manage
ment and who was comparatively unknown, came
to be the confidential friend and adviser of the
President; the intimate associate of leading men
of all parties, and of ambassadors and ministers;
the respected and beloved President of the Senate;
138

The Office of Vice-President 139
and one of the best known and honored citizens
of the nation in an office which was supposed
to relegate him to obscurity. His personality,
abUity, and fidelity commanded respect, and gave
meaning and character to his office. He gave to
the office which he held fresh importance.
In consequence of the dangerous rivalry between
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr in 1800, who
were candidates for the offices of President and
Vice-President, the constitutional mode of election
for these offices was altered. Previously, the
electors from the several States had cast their
votes for President and Vice-President without
designating the individual for the office. The
one receiving the majority of votes became
President, and the other one Vice-President. In
the bitter dispute which arose at that time a
danger became evident, which required a remedy.
Under the old form of election, a personal rival
of the President might fill the second place with
the right of succession. It was not in human
nature, under such conditions, that an adminis
tration should be harmonious, or that the personal
relations between those fiUing these offices should
be either pleasant or confidential. By the Con
stitutional amendment which was adopted at this
time, the electors of the States cast their votes
for an individual designated for the office. This
amendment was not passed without opposition.
Roger Griswold gave expression to the fears of
many in these words: "Should this amendment

I40 Garret Augustus Hobart
be adopted, the man voted for as Vice-President
will be selected without any decisive view to his
qualifications to administer the govemment. The
only criterion will be the temporary influence of the
candidate over the electors. ' ' No change was thus
made, or has been made since, in the functions of
the Vice-Presidency. The solitary duty of a
Vice-President is to preside over the sessions of
the Senate. He has absolutely no power, with
the single exception of casting the deciding vote
when there is a tie. His privUeges are summed
up in the appointment of his secretary and of two
messengers. No place is assigned him in any
council of the Government, or function of state.
So anomalous did the office seem to Benjamin
Franklin, the sagacious humorist of that period,
that he proposed as the title of the Vice-President,
' ' His Most Superfluous Highness . ' ' Thomas Jeffer
son said: "It is the only office in the world about
which I am unable to decide whether I would
rather have it or not."
The Senate of the United States is the only con
tinuous legislative body in the country having a
Constitutional existence. At noon on the 4th
of March of every odd year the House of Repre
sentatives passes out of existence. The Senate
never ceases to exist. One third of its members
changes every two years, but at all times two
thirds of its members remain as the Senate of the
United States. Over this body, but not a member
of it, the Vice-President in virtue of his office pre-

The Office of Vice-President 141
sides. The superimposed presiding officer may
thus be in antagonism at certain times with the
majority of the body. In such a contingency the
Senate can have only a personal regard for a pre
siding officer, whom it has not chosen, and whom
it will outlive. Strong in its position and Con
stitutional rights, it is jealous of its prerogatives,
and its gradually established customs, which have
almost a sacred authority in its own eyes.
For the first six years after the Constitution was
adopted, aU the sessions of the Senate were held
with closed doors . At a session held AprU 18,1792,
a motion was made to admit the members of the
House of Representatives to hear the debates,
which received only six affirmative votes. The
secrecy of its ordinary sessions was abolished
December 9, 1795. Executive sessions are now
held only under a rule of the Senate.
At the earliest opportunity after the induction
of a new Vice-President, the Senate proceeds to
elect a President pro tempore of its own number,
who shall occupy the chair in the absence of its
Constitutional President. At times, at least, in
this action there has been a clear intimation that
the Senate could get on very well without the
presence of the Vice-President. This hint or
privilege, as it may be regarded, has been accepted
with great liberality by some who have filled the
office, and, it must be added, with perfect in
difference by the nation. Should the Speaker of
the House thus absent himself, comment and

142 Garret Augustus Hobart
censure would be heard. But the absence of the
President of the Senate excites neither criticism
nor remark.
With this indifferent view of the office some
newspapers of the day advised Mr. Hobart after
calling the Senate to order, "to go to sleep, and
not wake up for four years." But he had taken
office with no such notion. He accepted the
office with the serious intention to perform its
duties with strict fidelity. He would not be con
tent to be the inconspicuous and idle understudy
of the President, of no more immediate value than
a fifth wheel to a wagon. If the office in itself
carried with it possibility rather than responsi
bility, he would not efface himself, and live a mere
waiter on providence. He meant to perform the
duties of his office with all fidelity. He meant to
preside over the sessions of the Senate, take an
interest in its discussions, and enter into personal
relations with each Senator. He intended that
the nation and the Senate should understand that
he had an office to fill and duties to perform.
Through a continuous history, as long as the
national existence, the Senate has naturally es
tablished precedents and formed habits, and
evolved rules. Always retaining in itself the me
mories of previous acts, it is ever harking back to
the past and moulding even its minute actions on
precedents. George C. Gorham, who was for
eleven years Secretary of the Senate, prepared
for Mr. Hobart a paper in which he gave his

The Office of Vice-President 143
personal views of the rules and customs of this
body. In this paper he said: "The Senate is
governed almost as much by usage as by written
rules. Indeed one of its unbinding rules is to do
nothing it has never done before, and in what it
does never to deviate from previous methods.
If an incident occurs out of the common it is not
dealt with in an offhand manner, in accordance
with the judgment of those present, but the
journal is searched until a simUar case is found,
and whatever course was then pursued is carefully
followed." With little power of initiative in the Govern
ment, and therefore able to be deliberate, the
Senate has developed a fine sense of dignity and
courtesy in its actions which has produced strange
results for a legislative body. As it would be
discourteous for one gentleman to intimate to
another how long he should speak or whether his
remarks were germane to the subject, so in this
body no limit can be placed upon debate except
the good sense and right principle of the individual
member. Though for a short time a form of clo
ture was adopted, it is now no longer permissible
to limit the time a member shall occupy in dis
cussion or to question the relevancy of his remarks.
The Senator controls the Senate. The only way
of limiting debate is by the exhaustion of a con
tinuous session day and night, or by the Constitu
tional right to call for the ayes and noes at any
time without debate, provided some motion —

144 Garret Augustus Hobart
which may be only a motion to adjourn — shall
intervene. One fifth of the Senate can thus ob
struct and even stop legislation. At the close of
the session, when business presses, a single Senator
can defeat a measure approved by a large ma
jority by the simple announcement that he means
to talk it to death if a vote is called for. Secre
tary Gorham in the paper already quoted also
says: "There is a rule of the Senate which com
mands every Senator to vote, but it is a dead letter.
No sergeant-at-arms has been found who would
lay violent hands upon a truant Senator and
compel his attendance."
It can readily be seen when, immediately pre
vious to his induction into office, the nation had
been roused to indignation by the dilatoriness
of the Senate to pass the tariff bill on the ground
of courtesy to a member, what an excitement
was created when the newspapers announced
that Mr. Hobart meant to cast precedents aside,
and force upon the Senate some form of cloture
of debate. As to his judgment in the matter
then pending no one could doubt what he would
approve, but few who knew him imagined he would
go beyond his province or a prudent consideration
of the rules and customs of the Senate.
The limitations of his office, as President of the
Senate, were fully understood by Mr. Hobart.
He recognized that his position was very different
from that of the Speaker of the House of Repre
sentatives. He did not represent a Congressional

The Office of Vice-President 145
district or a State, but the nation. He was,
therefore, separate from the body over which he
Constitutionally presided. As a matter of courtesy
he might perhaps address the Senate on the sub
ject under consideration, but not as a right of his
office. He had no power to appoint a committee,
or to arrange for the consideration of any par
ticular business. He was not even admitted to
the caucus of his own party. His only power was
to rule on a point of order, put the question to
vote, and declare the result; and, in case of a tie,
to cast the deciding vote. This power of final
decision became a matter of importance during
his term of office. At one time the ascendency
of the Republican party in the Senate depended
on the admission of a Senator from Kentucky and
the vote of the Vice-President. The election
of Mr. Deboe of Kentucky, after a contest lasting
sixteen months, made the Republican members
at that time of equal number with the Democrats.
The Republican party's power was for a time
sustained by two men from two traditionally
Democratic States.
The power, which under rare circumstances
may be in the hands of the Vice-President, was
exercised by Mr. Hobart in an important matter.
On February 14, 1899, the purpose of the United
States toward the Philippine Islands was under
debate in the Senate. The joint resolution pro
posed by Senator McEnery set forth the inten
tion of the United States in these words: "It is

146 Garret Augustus Hobart
the intention of the United States to establish
on said islands a govemment suitable to the wants
and conditions of the inhabitants of said islands,
to prepare them for local self-government, and in
due time to make such disposition of said islands
as best promotes the interests of the citizens of the
United States and the inhabitants of said islands."
Senator Bacon proposed as an amendment : " When
a stable and independent govemment shall be
erected therein, entitled, in the judgment of the
Govemment of the United States to recognition
as such, to transfer to said govemment upon terms
which shall be reasonable and just, all rights se
cured under the cession by Spain, and to there
upon leave the government and control of the
islands to their people. " The vote on this amend
ment was equally divided. Twenty-nine votes
were cast in its favor and an equal number in
opposition. The casting vote by the Vice-Presi
dent defeated the amendment, and left the policy
of the Govemment to be settled by future condi
tions. The Boston Watchman said, November 30,
1899, in a review of Mr. Hobart's life: "The late
Vice-President doubtless performed many acts
of far-reaching consequence, but we doubt if any
one of them was pregnant with such important
results as his casting vote by which the Bacon
amendment was defeated."
If on the legislative side of the Government a
Vice-President seems to fill a position of small im
portance, this is even more apparent on the execu-

The Office of Vice-President 147
tive side. By virtue of his office he does not be
come a member of the Cabinet, nor can he claim
to be admitted to the councils of the administra
tion. The two men who fill the highest offices
in the country may scarcely have known each
other by name before their election. Usually
they have come from widely separated parts of
the country and from opposing factions of the
party. Indeed the Vice-President may have been
a rival for the higher office, and his nomination
been given to appease his resentment or to placate
an aggrieved faction. The President, who must
take the first step toward intimate relations, may
be indifferent to the Vice-President from lack of
acquaintance, past rivalry, political policy, or
social standing. In every case something of the
feeling which has often existed between the
reigning sovereign and the heir apparent is likely
to be aroused. Whatever may be the reason, the
fact is undeniable that there has seldom been even
a nominal relation of friendship between those
who have held these offices, and they have seldom
appeared together in public functions. More
than once there has been practically no inter
course between them during the whole term of
an administration. It is said that the only time
when President Buchanan summoned Vice-Presi
dent Breckenridge to the White House was to
consult him with regard to some words to be used
in a Thanksgiving proclamation.
In his official life the Vice-President stands

148 Garret Augustus Hobart
singularly alone, without definite place or power.
His position is undefined, his duties are largely per ,
functory, and his powers insignificant. He seems
to exist only for an exigency. It is not strange
then that this office has extinguished distinguished
men. To this office Mr. Hobart gave a new dis
tinction. In this office he gained the esteem
and confidence of the President, the respect and
affection of the Senate, and the admiration and
regard of the whole nation. With a modest
dignity he discharged with fidelity his duties,
and in honoring his office was honored himself.
To this consideration of the office of Vice-
President it may be of interest to add that the
possibility of succession to the Presidency is not
so remote as is often imagined. Five times in
the history of the nation has a Vice-President suc
ceeded to office by the death of the President.
John Tyler succeeded President Harrison; Millard
Fillmore, President Taylor; Andrew Johnson,
President Lincoln; Chester A. Arthur, President
Garfield; and Theodore Roosevelt, President Mc
Kinley. Certainly it seems to be established that
it is for the interest of the party in power and for
the nation at large that the Vice-President, who
may at any hour succeed to the Presidency, should
be acquainted and in accord with the policy of
the administration. The words spoken in the
nominating convention deserve to be remembered :
"A man who is not big enough to be President
is not big enough to be Vice-President."

CHAPTER XVI
Mr. Hobart as Vice-President
FROM what has been said it is evident that
a Vice-President may fulfil in good measure
the duties of his office without attracting
attention, or may neglect them without excit
ing remark. Of so little importance did the
post appear in the public view that The Chicago
News made the prediction: "Mr. Hobart will not
be seen nor heard until after four years he emerges
from the impenetrable vacuum called the Vice-
Presidency." The Springfield Republican an
nounced: "Mr. Hobart's choice lies between trying
to rival 'Czar' Reed and sinking into the usual
Vice- Presidential place of passive insignificance."
Such expressions serve only to show how little
was expected of a person who filled the office, and
how little was known of the man who now fiUed it.
For the performance of the duties of his office
he prepared himself by a careful study of the place
it filled in the national govemment; its history;
its rules and customs ; and last, but not least, by a
familiar acquaintance with the names of its mem
bers and the States which they represented. It
was this knowledge, joined with his experience as
149

I50 Garret Augustus Hobart
the presiding officer of both Houses of the Legis
lature of his native State, and his accurate ac
quaintance with parliamentary rules, that enabled
him with so quiet demeanor to assume the duties
of his office on his inauguration. At once the
Senate was compelled to realize that he was a
master in the situation, however limited might be
the power he could exercise. He commanded
respect from the outset, quickly disarmed preju
dice, and speedily won regard.
No member of the Senate was more faithful in
attendance on its sessions, or in attention to the
speeches made by the members than was the Vice-
President. He was spoken of as "the chronic
audience, who listened with respect when few
even of the members were present. Unless he is
called out of the Chamber on some important
business in his office, he sits in the chair from the
blind chaplain's prayer at noon until whatever
time the Senate adjourns." He prepared himself
for the work of each day by reading with care the
journal of the previous day, and was thus able
to advance without delay the question under dis
cussion. He never failed to recognize correctly
a member who addressed the Senate. He im
mediately adopted the habit of ruling from the
chair on points of order without reference to the
Senate, as had been the custom. With genuine
courtesy, unfailing tact, perfect fairness, and strict
attention to the matter in hand, he greatly facili
tated the transaction of business, and diffused a

Mr. Hobart as Vice-President 151
feeling of good will among the members. Thus
in a fair and honest way, while never acting as a
partisan, he became a political factor. No man
was ever better adapted to the difficult task of
smoothing asperities, composing differences, sooth
ing wounded feelings, and readjusting strained
relations. It was not in his nature to hold mere formal
intercourse with those with whom he had to do,
and the friendly feeling in his heart awakened in
others a friendly feeling. He proved in experi
ence the Biblical law of friendship: "He that
would have friends must show himself friendly."
This feeling naturally with him found expression
in hospitality. His heart and home were open
to all, and it was more from friendship than
policy that more than once he invited the Senate
to be his guests. The one note common in all
the utterances in the Senate, and in the House as
well, on the formal occasion of the memorial
sessions of the Senate and House after his death,
is expressed in the words repeated over and over
again: "He was my friend." From the speeches
made in the memorial service in the Senate, it is
difficult to select an example as an Ulustration, for
all express the same warmth of personal feeling.
From the remarks of Senator Lodge these words
are taken: "As presiding officer of the Senate he
fulfiUed carefully and thoroughly every duty of
the place. He abandoned once for all the bad
habit which had grown up, of submitting nearly

152 Garret Augustus Hobart
every question of order to the Senate, and rtUed
promptly on all these points, as every presiding
officer ought to do. In these ways he steadUy
elevated the Vice-Presidency in the estimation
of the people, and made the office what the
framers of the Constitution intended it to be."
The prevalent feeling of the nation, that the
Senate in the previous session had sacrificed im
portant business interests to an excessive courtesy
to its members in an unreasonable extension of the
privileges of debate, had found expression in his
inaugural address. His personal views in this
matter were frankly indicated, and his purpose,
as far as he had power, declared. The newspapers
of the day hailed these words as the beginning of
a movement to change the rules and customs of
the Senate. Many, perhaps most of the Senators,
apprehended an attack on their time-honored
customs. But while as a practical man, whose
decisions were no sooner reached than they
began to be put in practice, he saw the evil, he
had no desire, in order to reform it, to be a dictator
or even an innovator. His views he expressed
with frankness, but he had no intention to seek
to enforce them against the judgment of the Sen
ate. He would do what he could by example and
practice to facUitate in a reasonable way the
transaction of business, but he had no intention
to usurp the prerogatives of the Senate, or to claim
powers not given to him by the Constitution. He
replied to the often repeated question as to what

Mr. Hobart as Vice-President 153
he was going to do to obtain speedy action on
the tariff bill: "The tariff bill will be passed by
the Senate in orderly procedure. There will be
no attempt, so far as I am concerned, to break
down the customs and precedents of the Senate.
I am frank to say I do not believe the tariff bill
will be passed as soon as I would like it to be,
but this wUl have no influence on my action. I
hope after the bill has passed there wiU be some
reform." No change was made by the Senate in
its rules or customs, but his views and his actions,
his regular presence, his quick decisions and con
stant attention to the stages of each biU, made a
perceptible change in the unduly prolonged de
liberations of that body.
Two instances of the way in which Mr. Hobart,
in the strict line of his official duty, advanced the
action of the Senate are given in the newspapers
of that day. The Washington Post furnishes an
illustration in these words: "The Vice-President
has saved hours and hours of debate and delay
by his quick perception and comprehensive know
ledge. He keeps tab on everything. ' Has para
graph 432 been disposed of?' asked Mr. Allison.
'It was disposed of on the 28th instant,' replied
the Vice-President. On another occasion Mr.
Hobart knew the time exactly, — nearly three
weeks previous — upon which another schedule
had been acted on. He remembers who asks
postponements of one paragraph or another, and
can correctly state in the most concise fashion

154 Garret Augustus Hobart
any question, no matter how intricate. The
most remarkable instance, however, was shown in
an incident which happened recently. 'Will the
Senator,' said Mr. Mills, addressing Senator Quay,
' refer me to the particular paragraph about cattle
in the present law?' 'Paragraph 373 of the Wil
son law,' responded the Vice- President without
a moment's hesitation. By such alertness and
ready acquaintance with the business in hand, the
Vice-President has kept the debate as well in
hand as any one could under the rules of the Sen
ate, and has shown how a business man's mind
can adapt itself to new circumstances with great
success." "It cannot be denied," said the Pater
son CaU, "that under his Presidency, the Senate
has been more businesslike than at any time
during many years past." In the same strain
the Boston Herald said: "The most singular
feature of all about his office is in the contrast — the
insignificance of it in nominal operation, and the
importance it may assume. It is a comfort to
feel in view of the latter that we have so good a
man as Mr. Hobart in the place."
It soon became evident that the Vice-President
and the Senate were on the best of terms, and
with increasing acquaintance these terms became
more personal and cordial. The strong regard
which grew up between its President and each
member of the Senate is shown by an incident
which occurred at one of the receptions given by
Mrs. Hobart. Senator Bate, of Tennessee, one

Mr. Hobart as Vice-President 155
of the oldest of the Senators, appeared at this
reception after a laborious session occupied with
the discussion of a bill in which he had a strong
interest. Mrs. Hobart expressed her special grati
fication at his presence after the weary work of
the day. "You will be more surprised," he re
plied, "when I tell you I voted to-day contrary to
my intentions. I knew your husband felt a deep
interest in the matter, and I could not bring my
self to vote against his wishes." This incident
shows more than the influence which the Vice-
President had gained in the Senate. It shows
the knowledge and helpful tact of a wife who
kept even pace with the life and work of her
husband. The impression of the personal influence of Mr.
Hobart upon the Senate found expression in the
utterances of those of its members who spoke at
the memorial services of that body after his death.
Senator Davis, of Minnesota, said in his eulogy:
"I do not think that any predecessor of Mr. Ho
bart ever exercised on public affairs that marked
and persistent and beneficial influence that he
did. We felt, irrespective of party, that our
deliberations were being guided by a serene, just,
and impartial intelligence which we now miss so
greatly, because it is gone forever." On the
same occasion. Senator John T. Morgan, of Ala
bama, said: "I have never heard a criticism or
ill-natured remark made about Garret A. Hobart
whUe he was Vice-President." And to quote

156 Garret Augustus Hobart
again from Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts:
"Mr. Hobart demonstrated to all men the great
ness and importance of his office, and has shown
that it ought to be one of the greatest prizes of
political life, to be desired by our most ambitious
men; and regarded not only for its intrinsic im
portance, but as a stepping stone to higher honors.
That a man in two years could do this is the
strongest evidence of an unusual force of charac
ter, and of abilities of no common order." There
can be little question that had he lived until
another Presidential election, the same ticket
would have been put in nomination by the Re
publican party, and would have been elected.
The popular impression of the Vice-President
finds expression in the words of a correspondent
at Washington: "Vice-President Hobart has cap
tivated the Senate, and the Senate appears to
have captivated him. His business-like advice
and warning intimations rather nettled many of
the Senators and partly prejudiced them against
their presiding officer, but they know him better
now." And it may be added that the better they
knew him, the more highly did they regard him.
One who was competent to speak on the subject
said: "No Vice-President has had the rules of
the Senate more at his fingers' ends, or shown a
greater familiarity with parliamentary law since
the days of John C. Calhoun." In his office, as
everywhere, he won the hearts of men, whUe he
commanded their respect. The social relations

Mr. Hobart as Vice-President 157
established by the hospitality of Mr. Hobart
introduced into the official relations between him
and the Senate the element of friendship.
The national recognition of the Vice-President's
qualities increased the admiration of the citizens
of his native State. An honest pride was felt by
all Jerseymen in the position gained by a fellow
citizen, whose worth each already had recognized.
Twice before, in the persons of Theodore Freling
huysen and William L. Dayton, their hopes to see
one of their citizens placed in the Vice-Presi
dential chair had been disappointed. Samuel L.
Southard had indeed been elected to preside over
the Senate, but he was not Vice-President, for
that office was made vacant when in 1841 Vice-
President Tyler succeeded to the Presidency on
the death of William Henry Harrison. It was
then with special gratification that the citizens
of New Jersey saw one of their number occupying
the office of Vice-President, with general recog
nition of his honorable influence and exalted
character.

CHAPTER XVII
Addresses to the Senate — Personal Expres
sions on the Character and Scope of
the Senate
IN this chapter wUl be found the complimentary
resolution presented to Mr. Hobart at the
close of the session of the Senate on March
3, 1899, and his address on the following day
before declaring the Senate adjourned; an address
to the Senate in 1897, and extracts taken from
papers, mostly in his own handwriting, in which
he gives his impressions of the functions of the
Senate and the character of its members. It can
not be without interest to read in his own words
the views of one, who, from his official connection
with this body and intimate friendship with its
members, was so competent to judge of the sphere
and worth of this important part of the national
govemment. Senator Cockrell on the 3d of March, 1899,
when Senator Gallinger was in the chair, offered
the following complimentary resolution, which
was considered by unanimous consent and unani
mously agreed to: "Resolved, that the thanks of
the Senate are hereby tendered to the Honorable
158

Addresses to the Senate iS9
Garret A. Hobart, Vice-President, for the digni
fied, impartial, and courteous manner with which
he has presided over its deliberations during
the present session."
On the following day, before declaring the
Senate adjourned, Mr. Hobart addressed the
members in these words:
Senators: In a few moments the ssth Congress wiU
pass into history. It has been a Congress distinguished
beyond most other Congresses for remarkable achieve
ments. During its life, unUke any other session in the
history of our country, this Congress has witnessed the
inception, prosecution, and conclusion of a war with a
foreign power, undertaken in the interest of humanity,
and conspicuous for the brilliant deeds of the army and
the navy, by whose valor an imperial domain has been
added to our possessions and millions of people to our
population. But not only has this Congress been a war Congress, it
will always be memorable as a Congress of peace; and in
securing it this body has exercised its Constitutional
function, as a part of the treaty and peace-making power,
in a way to command the approval of the country.
These facts alone would have made this Congress eminent
in the long line of our national legislatures; but for other
acts and results, not to be enumerated at this time, the
5 sth Congress has likewise been notable; and now, its
Constitutional life ended, it becomes a part of our national
history, and leaves to its successors for settlement many
problems that will be perplexing, important, and of the
very highest concern to our people.
We feel confident, however, and the American people
may well feel assured, that future Congresses will meet
these grave questions with wisdom and patriotism, and

i6o Garret Augustus Hobart
solve them soundly and righteously. To doubt it is to
doubt the true American spirit, and to lack confidence in
the strength of our political institutions. I have faith in
both. The hour of adjournment is now at hand. For the un
failing courtesy and unvarying cordiality, which have
characterized the attitude of the Senate towards me as
its presiding officer, I am profoundly grateful, and I can
not let this opportunity pass without this public expression
of my deep appreciation of kindness received at the hands
of each member of the body; and particularly I cannot
close the Senate without recognition of the efficient serv
ices of the officers and reporters of this body, whose
efforts have been so faithful, and whose duties have been
so courteously and diligently performed.
For the Senators who remain, and for the Senators who
retire from this body, I desire to convey my thanks for
the kindly sentiments expressed in the resolutions just
adopted ; and it only remains for me now, in the exercise of
the duty devolving upon me, to declare that the Senate
stands adjourned without day.
At the close of the session in which action was
taken by the Senate upon the tariff bill, Mr. Ho
bart, in an address made in response to a toast
on a public occasion, referred to his inaugural
address and to the work of the Senate in these
words :
On the fourth of March last, when for the first time I
addressed the Senate of the United States, I expressed the
belief that "the reasonable expedition of the business of the
Senate is the hope of the country, and that all the interests
of good government, and the advancement toward a higher
and better condition of things call for prompt and positive.

Addresses to the Senate i6i
legislation at the hands of the members of the Senate."
That remark was made in all innocence, but I soon dis
covered that the Senate's definition of "reasonable ex
pedition" differed very much from my own conception of
the meaning of that phrase. But, even if some of us were
disposed to regret that relief could not be provided at an
earlier date, I am sure we can all unite in congratulating
the country upon the passage and signing of a tariff law,
which has already induced a return to partial prosperity,
and which gives abundant promise of a full and complete
return to the happy industrial and economic conditions
which prevailed under previous Republican Administra
tions. The " expediency," which was heralded as the hope of the
country has finally come, but it has come through no effort
of mine, and through no improvement of the rules of the
Senate. For this achievement the nation owes a debt of
gratitude to the loyal and patriotic Republican members
of the Senate and House, who have labored without
ceasing to promote the public welfare, and whose efforts
have resulted in the enactment of a tariff law which
gives ample protection to American industries and extended
employment to American workingmen. For the very es
sence and character of the law is American, and there is
not one alien feature in it.
But other influences were also at work in the passage
of this measure, and I should be unfair to a large group of
men if I omitted to state that one factor in the enactment
of the tariff law of 1897 has been the forbearance of the
Democrats and Populists and others who are in opposition
to the Republican party. They refrained from abusing
the rules of the Senate in order to defeat tariff legislation,
and they displayed a commendable spirit of concession.
The great tariff measure is now written among the
statutes of our country. Every channel and avenue of
trade is already feeling the beneficial influences of its

1 62 Garret Augustus Hobart
provisions. The cloud of depression and distrust, which
has enveloped our country, is gradually rolling away, and
there is every indication of a revival of industry and a
return of prosperity. Those, who a few months ago pre
dicted wide -spread calamity, will see, if they have not
already seen, the folly of their predictions.
The socialist will find that he must work before the
goods or the wealth of others will be distributed, so that he
can get his portion of them, for there are no industrial
rewards for the idle. He will learn that the saved money
of the thrifty is not his, and cannot be his, except as the
result of honorable toil. When that time comes, and
when the discontented and dissatisfied learn these funda
mental truths and are willing to be guided by them,
we shall have made a great step in advance towards the
solution of the economic problems that are pressing for
settlement. At a considerable length, the question of the
currency was presented and action urged, and
the address closes with these words:
In the accomplishment of these objects a factor of no
inconsiderable importance will be the Senate of the United
States, over which the people have summoned me to pre
side, and in whose honor you have set aside a toast. The
Senate of the United States is a peculiar body, certainly
peculiar in itself and distinct from any other parliamentary
and legislative body in the world. It is made up, as you
know of many elements, and in its membership you will
find not only straight and stalwart RepubUcans, to whose
active efforts the country is now looking for relief, but
Bimetallists, Populists, Silverites — both Republican and
Democratic — and a few gold Democrats, who are at one
on all other questions save the financial one with the mem
bers of their party. Naturally, there is a wide divergence

Addresses to the Senate 163
of views in a body so composed. But however much these
men may differ in creed and opinion, in theory and prac
tice, in their views on the broad questions, which divide
and ever will divide men into parties and factions, a study
of four months has enabled me to see clearly that there is
one common ground on which they all stand, one point
from which they have the same outlook, one centre from
which all their views and opinions radiate, one impulse
and one motive which is common to them all; that each
and every one of them is a loyal and patriotic American
citizen, loving his country, proud of its history, zealous
for its Constitution and devoted to its flag. In this
one common unif}dng sentiment which animates the
United States Senate, there is no North, no South, no
East, no West, however sectional opinions and desires
may color their thoughts or direct their actions on other
questions. From a study of each of these men, under circumstances
that give a peculiar advantage, I have been enabled to
see how thoroughly representative in its character is the
Senate of the United States; for I have observed how
closely the Senators reflect the wishes and desires of their
constituents, and how their demonstrations and mani
festations of loyalty to country and flag are, after all, merely
a reproduction of the thoughts and convictions of the
people who have sent them to the National Legislature.
I am convinced that the Senators represent the desires
of their constituents in a way hardly possible under any
other form of govemment. That being so, one other in
evitable conclusion has forced itself upon my mind, and that
is this — ^that as long as we have in the Senate, such men,
representative as they are, loyal, devoted to the pubUc
service, and patriotic to the core, such institutions, such
convictions, and such sentiments will last not a decade,
not ten decades, but for all time, never to perish from the
earth.

1 64 Garret Augustus Hobart
Mr. Hobart's views of the Senate were expressed
on another occasion:
Although not a member of the Senate, I have, as you
know, an intimate official and personal connection with
that body, and know something of its membership and
methods. Although constitutionally I am the President
of the Senate, it is a pleasure to add that my relations
with the Senators have passed beyond the purely formal
limit of official intercourse, and have developed into asso
ciations of friendship and intimacy with many of those
who make up this remarkable body.
I say "remarkable," because the Senate is a remarkable
body of men, remarkable for many reasons and in many
ways. Parties may come and go; the lower branch of
Congress is continually changing ; administrations flourish
and fade into history; Cabinets dissolve when the natural
limit of their life has been reached ; but the Senate goes on
forever, a permanent fixed quantity, and in its permanency,
soUdity, and conservatism a striking evidence of the genius,
of the great men who made our Constitution. It stands
to-day the sine qua non of legislation, exercising its great
functions of law-making and of executive prerogatives,
and, if occasion arises, of judicial powers, just as it exercised
them over one hundred years ago.
Aside from its innate Constitutional strength, the
membership of the Senate is the factor which gives it its
vast power and its tremendous influence. Here year
after year, decade after decade, we have a group of picked
men from the States of the Union. Its older members
have represented their States so long, that its membership
now seems a part of the very history of each State. The
younger men are preparing for the larger fame which time
and opportunity may give them.
Here the smaUest State is as powerful as the largest
Commonwealth, and that ratio of equality, which gives to

Addresses to the Senate 165
each State two Senators, has never been and never wiU be,
disturbed. In this way the Senators have been indeUbly
associated in the pubUc mind with their own State; and
just as Webster and Clay and Calhoun stood for Massa
chusetts and Kentucky and South Carolina, so no one
can sever Maine in his mind from the Senators who repre
sent it. Hale and Fr].-e'. or Massachusetts from Hoar and
Lodge; or Vermont from the veteran MoniU and Proctor;
or Missouri from West and CockreU; or Alabama from
Morgan. I have said something about the men of the Senate, but
reference to the Senate would be incomplete unless some
thing was said about its methods. Perhaps no legislative
body in the world is so constituted in the way of doing
business as the Senate. Here we have a body in which
debate is for aU practical purposes unlimited, and in which
the minority has every bit as much privil^^e, and almost
as much power, as the majority. I was never so surprised,
as I was when, during the first days of my occupancy of
the chair, I b^an to ask for votes and to take them in the
open Senate. When at first I heard a soUtary ' ' aye ' ' I was
in doubt, but later I had abimdant opportunity to observe
that bills — ^many of them — are passed without a single
affirmative or negative vote. The ends of l^slation are
accomplished by "common consent," by the rule "without
objection." The reason for this is clear, for most of the calendar is
made up of those bills, where work has been done — ^fuUy,
accurately, and completely done — in committees. There
the real substantial work of the Senate is done, and if one
seeks for a key to the Senate's method of transacting pubUc
business, he will find it in the committee room, and in
our system of l^slation by committee.
One other fact has forcibly impresed itself upon my mind
during an observation covering many months, and it has
taken the form of a conviction, that the Senate is beyond

1 66 Garret Augustus Hobart
all other things a patriotic body. However much the
members may differ from each other on political, financial,
and economic questions, they are aU loyal patriotic Ameri
can citizens, loving their country, mindful of its traditions,
proud of its institutions and its history, and devoted,
heart and soul, to its Stars and Stripes. While such feeUngs
of profound patriotism animate the Senate, we need have
no fear that the real and permanent interests of our nation
will suffer! And if ever the time shall come when the
patriotic heart of the United States shall be aroused in a
common cause, calling for open demonstrations of loyalty
to the flag, the country will find no more loyal or patriotic
men than the Senators from the North, South, East, and
West who represent the forty-five States of our Union.

CHAPTER XVIII
The President and the Vice-President
IT may be said with hardly an exception that
from the beginning of our national history to
the period of the McKinley administration,
the two official persons who had least to do with
each other in the political and social life of the
Capitol were the President and the Vice-President.
Neither official duties, nor social functions neces
sarUy brought them together. In many instances
they were strangers to each other when they took
their respective offices, and they were equaUy
strangers when their terms of office expired. Such
an unfortunate and unreasonable condition did
not exist in the new administration. The Presi
dent and Vice-President were in perfect accord
and in intimate friendship.
Mr. McKinley and Mr. Hobart had only a
slight acquaintance with each other before they
met in Washington to enter on the duties of their
high offices. They were unlike in temperament
and in habits of thought and action; they had
been trained in different schools of experience;
their political views had not been in complete
agreement; and it seemed entirely probable that
167

1 68 Garret Augustus Hobart
their official intercourse would be only formal and
perfunctory. But while they differed from each
other, each one possessed a warm heart capable
of friendship, and an open mind joined with a
strict sense of duty. Each one recognized the
worth and sincerity of the other, and realized the
importance and assistance to be gained from
mutual intercourse and support. The President
saw in the Vice-President a man whose training
and experience made him a wise counsellor, and
whose sense of honor would prevent him from
becoming a rival. The Vice-President saw in
the President a man whose purpose was sincere
to do right and serve his country, and to whom
he could give and ought to give loyal support.
On the basis of respect and confidence a sincere
and cordial friendship was established between
the two, which increased in strength to the end.
The administration, like the ticket, was " McKinley
and Hobart." Unless an exception should be
made of John Hay, who was recalled from the
embassy in England to become Secretary of
State, no one knew more of the policy of the ad
ministration, or exerted a greater infiuence with
the President than Mr. Hobart. They were both
friends and confederates. So certain was the
President of the loyalty and good judgment of
his colleague, that the latter was consulted in all
questions of general policy. This relation, at
once so influential and so delicate, was never
weakened by interference unasked, or selflsh use

The President and the Vice-President 169
of his influence on the part of the one thus honored.
It may be safely said that no measure of impor
tance was discussed with the Cabinet of which
the Vice-President was not cognizant; and that
members of the Cabinet, as well as the President,
freely took counsel with him. The unusual title
given him in some of the papers in recognition of
his influence was "Assistant President."
This intimate and useful relation could hardly
have existed had the residence of the Vice-Presi
dent been in a part of the city distant from the
White House. Frequent and informal intercourse
could only exist under close proximity of residence.
This made possible also what was an important
factor in the case — the intimate acquaintance and
affectionate relation established between Mrs.
McKinley and Mrs. Hobart. Mrs. McKinley had
been an invalid for years, and whUe not kept out
of social life altogether, had been largely dependent
on the care and society of her husband. The
devoted attentions given for years to his invalid
wife were necessarily interrupted by the constant
demands of public duties. The situation awak
ened the sympathy of Mrs. Hobart. She sought
by her presence and cheerful words to relieve the
tedium of weary hours, and to support the invalid
in the functions which required her presence.
With tact and efficiency the needed help was given.
For this assistance the President was deeply grate
ful, and often expressed his thanks for the relief
from anxiety which this care afforded him. The

I70 Garret Augustus Hobart
two famUies lived on terms of cordial intimacy.
The doors of the White House always opened to the
famUy of the Vice-President, and scarcely a day
passed without some intercourse between the two
famUies. Even when Congress was not in session
the intercourse was kept up. Repeatedly the
President and Mrs. McKinley visited Mrs. Hobart
in Paterson, and more than once they spent part
of their vacation together at Bluff Point on Lake
Champlain. In the public mind Mr. Hobart
became associated with the administration.
An indication of the attention of the public
mind to this unusual intimacy appeared in the
newspaper criticism of the fact that the President
and Vice-President travelled to New York to
attend the dedication of the memorial tomb of
General Grant on different trains and by different
roads. The fact was regarded as an evidence of
changed feelings and relations. In reality it was
an act of prudence to guard the interests of the
country, and prevent the confusion and injury
which an accident fatal to both would have caused.
It was on this occasion, as will be told later, the
President exhibited in the most public and marked
manner his regard for the person, and respect
for the office of the Vice-President.
The sturdy loyalty of the Vice-President was
proved at a serious moment, when the national
excitement was roused to such an extent over
the conditions in Cuba that war with Spain be
came inevitable. To reduce to submission the

The President and the Vice-President 171
insurgents in Cuba, the most cruel and desperate
measures had been adopted by the Spanish author
ities, which were ruthlessly carried out by the
notorious General Weyler. The rage of vengeance
led the army of Spain not only to the slaughter of
those taken with arms, but to the most inhuman
treatment of women and chUdren. For a long
period the United States had suffered much in
trade from the disturbed conditions of that
island, and its unsanitary condition was a constant
menace to this land. Exasperation had deepened
into indignation before the cries of the starving
men and women and chUdren in the loathsome
camps of refugees, where they were confined like
cattle, were heard appealing to this nation for
help. The country chafed at the thought that
such things were occurring at its very doors, and
discussed the question of interference for hu
manity's sake. In the newspapers, in public as
semblies called to consider these conditions, in
legislative halls and in Congress the question of
governmental interference, even by arms, was
advocated. The news of the destruction of the
battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana came to
the excited feelings of the American people like
a flash of lightning in a powder magazine. Many
of the officers and most of its crew were instantly
killed and entombed in the sinking wreck. Neces
sarUy the first feeling was that the vessel had
been destroyed by a submarine mine, with the
connivance, if not the assistance, of the Spanish

172 Garret Augustus Hobart
authorities, and an investigation, made by the
United States Government, decided that the
battleship had been sunk by an exterior explo
sion, but did not flx the responsibUity on the
Spanish authorities. The whole nation was
moved as one man with pity for the dead, sym
pathy for the bereaved, horror for the deed, and
a sense of injury which demanded reparation.
WhUe with unanimous voice the country cried
for some adequate action, and many for an instant
declaration of war — and this cry was echoed even
in the Senate — the President retained his com
posure, and made no expression of his feelings
beyond sympathy with those who had been be
reaved, and a purpose to investigate the cause of
the terrible loss of life and national injury. Even
when called to take summary action by legisla
tures, and by voices in both Houses of Congress
he did not respond. He had been a soldier, and
he knew the horrors of war. More than this, he
knew the country was not prepared for a conflict
even with a weak power. The harbors on the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts were practicaUy de
fenceless; without sufficient men, without an
adequate supply of powder, without modem
guns, and without forts capable of resistance. The
condition of the Pacific Coast was clearly indi
cated by the command issued by the Government
to Admiral Dewey to find and destroy the Spanish
fleet in the waters of that ocean. The nation
was not prepared to defend its own coasts. Our

The President and the Vice-President 173
arsenals contained various styles of weapons,
insufficient in number and all of them more or
less out of date. The army was small and scat
tered. The whole supply of powder in the country
was inadequate for more than a battle. Well
might the President hesitate to speak the fateful
word, which would involve the country in a
conflict, even with a power like Spain. When
war had been declared, and the possibUity of an
attack on the cities of our sea coasts was realized,
those who had clamored most loudly for war,
were now crying even more insistently for pro
tection. But defences cannot be created in a
night. If nations can learn lessons, this nation
was taught the lesson of preparation for condi
tions which may arise suddenly.
At this time of excited feeling demanding in
stant action, Mr. Hobart showed his personal in
terest in the President's popularity and influence.
He had been accustomed to gauge public opinion,
and he realized that the time had come when the
President must act in conformity with the feelings
of the people or lose his control over his own
party. He determined to present his convictions
to the President. That the conversation might
not be interrupted, he invited the President to
drive with him. He laid before Mr. McKinley
the facts of the case as he viewed them, and urged
him to forestall any action by the Senate to de
clare war against Spain. Finally he said: "Mr.
President I can no longer hold back action by

174 Garret Augustus Hobart
the Senate; they will act without you if you do
not act at once." The President had listened
for a long time in sUence, but at the mention of
the Senate's independent action he spoke: "Do
you mean the Senate will declare war on its own
motion?" "I certainly do. I can hold them
back no longer," was the reply. "Say no more,"
the President answered. The rest of the drive
was taken in unbroken sUence. But the message
which the nation desired, and which led to the
outbreak of hostilities came to Congress in a few
days, and war was declared. Congress showed
how consonant this action was with its feelings,
and its implicit confidence in the wisdom and
integrity of the President by placing in his hands
$50,000,000 to be used at his discretion. The
final action of the Senate, affirming the words of
the President, was taken after a long session
lasting far into the night. It was four o'clock
in the morning when Mr. Hobart reached his
home, too tired to sleep. At six o'clock martial
music and the tramp of horses drew him to
the window. There he saw the Sixth Regiment
of Cavalry, fully equipped, already passing to the
station to be entrained for the South. Referring
at a later period to the interview which seemed
to lead to a decision in the mind of the President,
Mr. McKinley said: "Some day I am going to
write a book, and I will put all that in it."
This warm personal interest in the President
led the Vice-President to seek to put the President

The President and the Vice-President 175
on good terms with the Senate. Questions had
arisen out of the results of the war on which t^here
was a diversity of opinion, and the relations
between the President and the Senate had been
strained. To allay irritated feelings and estab
lish friendly relations, Mr. Hobart invited the
President to meet the Senate socially at his house.
Such an occasion was an innovation, but it was a
happy thought and had a pleasant ending. The
Senators were entertained during the evening at
several small tables, and the President was taken
from one table to another, and thus met individu
ally the whole body. The genial nature of the
host and the social feeling of the occasion dis
solved all differences, and brought the President
and the Senate into harmonious relations. One
of the Senators said on departing: "Mr. Vice-
President, give us another such an entertainment,
and we will do anything you wish." With regard
to this occasion the Washington Post said: "The
accomplished and painstaking host was really the
one who made everything so delightful, who made
everybody have such an old-fashioned good time."
Nothing can more clearly show the affectionate
regard existing between the persons and the
famUies of the President and the Vice-President
than the letters with which this chapter is con
cluded. Most of them belong to the period of
Mr. Hobart's Ulness and death, when the real
feelings of the President would naturally find
their warmest expression.

176 Garret Augustus Hobart Executive Mansion,
September 16, 1899.
Dear Mr. Vice-President:
We have been home a week and one day, and have heard
only once from you. We would like to hear every day
that we may know just how you are.
We are alone to-night sitting at the end of the haU,
where you and Mrs. Hobart have so many times found us
and added to our pleasure by your presence. How we
wish you were with us to-night!
I started to write about the Dewey reception. He
will be here on the second, when the greeting is to com
mence, and will continue through the next day. It is
my purpose to give him a gentlemen's dinner on the 3rd.
Now what Mrs. McKinley and I want above all else is that
you and Mrs. Hobart and Junior with your man-servant
and maid-servant shall come here on the Saturday preceding,
Sept. 30, and remain with us through the functions. We
expect to leave here for the West on the 5th of October.
I can imagine no place where you will be more comfortable
than here. We shall have no guests in the house, and
therefore, plenty of room, and no company to distract.
We can have a good visit together. It will do you good I
am sure, and Mrs. McKinley and myself will be made happy.
We want you to be our guests at the White House, and
there is no time so opportune in every way, as the one
proposed. The functions wiU be simple. The most
you need do is to be present at the presentation of
the sword at the Capitol, voted by Congress. Our
dinner you could shorten according to your comfort and
pleasure. Mrs. McKinley joins in love to you, Mrs. Hobart and
Junior. Hoping for an early reply, which will advise us
of your acceptance. Very faithfully yours, William McKinley.

The President and the Vice-President 177
To this letter it is evident that Mrs. Hobart
replied declining the invitation on the ground of
Mr. Hobart's illness. The President answered:
Executive Mansion,
September 17, 1899.
Dear Mrs. Hobart:
Your letter filled us with regret. We had counted so
much on your visit, and do not yet give it up. Our
thoughts are with you all the while, and we do not allow
ourselves to believe that the Vice-President will not regain
his health. I have been so distressed by the latest news,
that I have felt like coming at once, though conscious
there is nothing I can do for his comfort and pleasure.
You have our heartfelt sympathy and earnest prayers.
You have shown such high courage that I pray it may
be rewarded in the early improvement of the Vice-Presi
dent. Mrs. McKinley is not getting on very well. I am
having a New York doctor here next Thursday for consul
tation. Give my love to Mr. Hobart and Junior, and
believe me always, FaithfuUy yours,
William McKinley.
Another letter from the President, written
about a month later, is as follows: Executive Mansion,
October 21, 1899.
My dear Mr. Hobart:
You will be interested to know that our trip was an
interesting one. I had never been to the Dakotas. It is
a wonderful country, and the people are of the best.
They did my heart good. They are for the flag and coun
try. Nothing has ever touched me more than that in
your sick chamber you wanted Mrs. Hobart to read my

178 Garret Augustus Hobart
speeches made on the journey. I tried to say the right
thing and hope my words have your approval.
My thoughts are on you daily, and my heart with you
aU the time. I pray God to give you back your health.
Is there anything I can do for you? If so do not hesitate
to say the word. Will come to you any moment you may
wish. Mrs. McKinley sends love to you, Mrs. Hobart, and
Junior, in which I join with all my heart.
Your faithful friend,
William McKinley.
In a postscript to a letter dated December 5,
1900, the President writes to Mrs. Hobart: "I
want to thank you for your kindness to Mrs. Mc
Kinley when she was in New York, which must
have been at some inconvenience to you. You
made her very happy, and that means you have
made me both happy and grateful."
The President and Vice-President returned to
Washington before Thanksgiving day, 1898, and
Mr. Hobart with his family was invited to dine
on that day at the White House. When they
were seated at the table on that occasion, the
President looking around the table said: "Is not
this delightful! Just the President's own."
As an instance of the patriotic fervor and the
crude ideas which were aroused by the coming
war, Richard Mansfield sent to Mr. Hobart a letter,
in which the actor, " as an old student of diplomatic
warfare, " gave an outline of a note which Spain
should address to the United States, admitting
that the policy in Cuba had not been satisfactory,
and proposing that the United States assist Spain

The President and the Vice-President 179
in bringing "order, peace, and prosperity" to the
island. Spain, according to Mr. Mansfield's plan,
would refund to the United States expenses in
curred, with a bonus, and would guarantee, by
a lien on export duties from Cuba, to keep the
island in the condition which followed American
intervention. Mr. Hobart's reply to this letter has not been
preserved, but it is evident from this second letter
from Mr. Mansfield that no encouragement was
given to this plan: Boston, April 22, 1898.
To His Excellency the Vice-President.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your very
gracious letter.
I fear the war may not be as speedUy terminated as we
hope and as many expect. The Spaniards having nothing
left to lose, the fight will mean their very existence.
The destiny of this nation is, however, beyond the control
of any country. It will win its way always and for many
centuries. I had the honor to point out to the British Minister, W.
Sackville- West, many years ago, the advantages of an
Anglo-American alliance, and I called the attention of
several high officials of the United States to this same
matter. If such an alliance was to become (even secretly)
un fait accompli, England and the United States could
practically dictate terms to the world. England should
not consent to such an agreement, however, without under
standing that the fleet of the United States should be
made as powerful as that of Great Britain. The United
States should at once take possession of Hayti. Necessity

i8o Garret Augustus Hobart
demands this, and it is imperative. No great leader could
hesitate for one moment. We are able to take care of the
result, but we shall not be able if we hesitate now. My
present business engagements will terminate in three weeks,
and, albeit an Englishman, I beg to offer my services in any
capacity to the United States. My private car, which is
in New York, is also at the disposal of the govemment,
and would be of service in transporting high officials to
aud fro from Washington to the South. Finally may I
ask you to forgive the intrusion, and to present my very
humble respects to Mrs. Hobart, and believe me. Sir,
/our very obedient servant,
Richard Mansfield.

CHAPTER XIX
Official Position of the Vice-President
THE prominent position which Mr. Hobart at
once filled in the social and official circles of
Washington raised questions to which no
importance hitherto had been attached, and which
indeed, at the first, appealed only to the humor of
the nation. Later it became evident these ques
tions involved principles, and needed to be treated
with seriousness. His prominence in the society
of the Capital, his influence with the President, as
weU as the fact that the United States by holding
dependencies outside its own territory had now
become a world-power, aU combined at this time
to compel a decision on the official position, in
public functions, of the Vice-President. It was
evident that the one who fiUed the office at this
time was more than the titular President of the
Senate with a reversionary right in the Presidency.
He was a factor in the social and poUtical Ufe of
the nation, and his place necessarUy had to be
fixed and recognized.
As the relations of the United States with other
nations had become more important and more
complicated, the duties of representatives on both

1 82 Garret Augustus Hobart
sides became more serious and caUed for the ap
pointment of the wisest and most experienced
diplomatists. In recognition of these new condi
tions the British Government had changed the
character of its representative from a minister
plenipotentiary to an ambassador, who represented
not only the nation, but the sovereign in person.
This example had been followed by France,
Germany, and Italy. As the personal representa
tive of his sovereign, accredited to be "near the
person of the President," an ambassador can de
mand an audience at any time as a right, and on
public occasions the position which his sovereign
would fill if present. In monarchical governments
this place would be immediately following the
sovereign and the members of the royal famUy.
On this ground the British Ambassador claimed
the right to occupy the place next to the President
at public ceremonies, and in social affairs to have
precedence over the Vice-President.
With the easy indifference of republican views
and customs, such a question had never been
seriously considered. Indeed no one had seemed
to think a Vice-President needed to be recognized
officiaUy. With the growth of the Capital and
the consequent increase of social life, and the ap
pointment of persons with different powers and
rank to represent foreign governments, matters
of etiquette became important. It wUl be re
membered that at the time of the inauguration
the neglect to show reasonable attention to the

Official Position of the Vice-President 183
ministers representing other countries had led to
confusion and awakened criticism. These condi
tions gave prominence to the question of prece
dence raised by Sir Julian Pauncefote. It is
altogether unlikely that there was any doubt in
his mind that his claim would be allowed. He
had good reason to expect this, for Richard Olney,
Secretary of State under President Cleveland, had
admitted on a public occasion the right of the
British Ambassador to precede Vice-President
Stevenson. It was only natural that he should
expect to receive the same respect under the new
administration. There was no man living who was more in
different to titles and ceremonies than Mr. Hobart,
but no man had a clearer conception of the dignity
of his office and a firmer purpose to uphold it.
Though he never personaUy appeared in the settle
ment of the question, and never was quoted in the
discussion of the matter in the newspapers, there
is no question as to his own opinions and the
influence which he exerted on the decision. This
is made clear in the letter of John Hay with which
this chapter is closed.
Sir Julian Pauncefote, after eminent legal service
in England, in which he had exhibited exceptional
knowledge of international law, had been appointed
minister to this country, and the ministry had
been elevated to an embassy during his term of
office. His appointment and the elevation of his
office were largely due to the fact that the govern-

1 84 Garret Augustus Hobart
ments of the United States and of Great Britain
had agreed that the disputed question of the
boundary line between this country and the
British possessions in the Northwest should be
settled by commissioners who were soon to meet in
Washington. As a gentleman of high character
and of great legal ability, he was admirably fitted
for the office. He had become deservedly popiUar
in this country. Under these circumstances it
was natural that he should expect the recognition
of his claim. No one ever accused him of mere
personal considerations in the matter.
Sir Julian, therefore, waited for the new Vice-
President to make the call of ceremony upon him,
but Mr. Hobart, by refraining from^ this recogni
tion of an ambassador as occupying a station
superior to a Vice-President, clearly indicated
the position which he had assumed. The question
came up for decision when a reception was given
by the British Ambassador at the embassy. The
Vice-President could not be ignored, but no call
had been made on either side. An invitation to
this reception, however, was sent from the embassy
to the Vice-President. To this a reply was given,
through Mr. Hobart's secretary, acknowledging
the receipt of the invitation, but expressing the
idea that it must have been a mistake, as the Vice-
President had not been recognized by a caU. The
issue became a matter of public knowledge in the
social life of Washington and aroused great interest.
As the family of the Vice-President constantly

Official Position of the Vice-President 185
appeared in society, and was entertained often
times in the same homes as was the British
Ambassador, the question of precedence had to
be settled. Wherever on such occasions the ques
tion might be raised whether the Vice-President
would be regarded as the guest of honor. Sir Julian
made inquiry as to the position to be accorded
him, and declined the invitation where the pre
cedence was not to be given to him. The attitude
once taken had necessarily to be carried out in all
cases. It was made a condition of his acceptance
of an invitation to be present at the dedication of
the tomb erected in New York to the memory of
General Grant that he should immediately follow
the President in all the proceedings. Necessarily
such a claim must be equally yielded to the other
ambassadors. The committee having the matter
in charge, understanding that the direction of the
President that the Vice-President should ride in
the carriage with him and be placed beside him in
all the ceremonies had settled the question of
precedence, evaded the difficulty by issuing in
vitations to the ambassadors, not in their offi
cial capacity, but as " distinguished guests. " The
very marked attention paid to the Vice-President
by the President during the ceremonies, and at
the reception given in the evening at the Union
League Club, even more plainly indicated his
decision of the question, which now had become
a matter of general interest and was widely
discussed in the newspapers.

i86 Garret Augustus Hobart
It is pleasant to record that no personal feeling
on either side marked the controversy at any time.
The question was not regarded as a personal mat
ter by either of the contestants. They frequently
met with cordial feelings on common ground, and
when the question was finaUy settled their inter
course was most friendly. A little comedy, wit
nessed by a large number of persons in Washington,
gave much amusement at the time. Both the
Vice-President and Sir Julian were invited to at
tend a reception and musicale given at the Aus-
tro- Hungarian legation to commemorate the birth
day of Baroness Hengelmiiller von Hengervar.
These two distinguished guests arrived at the
same moment and after aU the other guests had
been seated. Two small divans exactly alike had
been reserved for them in front of all the company.
They entered the room together with the hostess,
and a general movement indicated the amused
interest of the audience at the scene. The restUt
was that the British Ambassador and Mrs. Hobart
were seated together, and the Vice-President and
Lady Pauncefote.
The question was finally settled in London, when
it was intimated to Sir Julian, who was spending a
few weeks at home during the recess of Congress,
that the government did not mean to contest
the point at issue. No formal communications
on the subject had been made to the British
Govemment, but the decision of the President
was informally presented. On the return of the

Official Position of the Vice-President 187
Ambassador, he asked John A. Kasson, one of the
American members of the Joint High Commission,
to inform the President that he had made an
official caU on the Vice-President, and to obtain
from him a formal and final declaration of his
decision. The President replied, " Make my kind
regards to Sir Julian, and teU him there has never
been a question that the Vice-President comes
after me. " In telling of this interview in the
famUy most interested the President said, "I
settled it quickly," and then, turning to Mrs.
Hobart, he added, " or rather you settled it when
' you said, ' I thought the ticket elected was McKin
ley and Hobart, not McKinley and Pauncefote.' "
The principle on which the decision was made
is that the Vice-President is the heir apparent of
the President. In case of the removal of the
President by death or Constitutional cause the
power and duties of the office devolve upon him.
The question as to the rights of those officials
who have been placed, by an act of Congress, in
succession to the Presidency has never been raised.
The letter of John Hay, to which reference has
been made, was as follows: American Embassy,
London, December 27, 1897.
My dear Mr. Vice-President:
I have your letter of the i Sth, and thank you sincerely
for all your kind words.
I congratulate you on the peaceful outcome of your
battle for precedence. I have always heartUy approved

i88 Garret Augustus Hobart
the position you assumed, and think it was imposed by a
proper sense of the dignity of the great office you hold. I
have never discussed the question with Sir Julian personally,
though I have made no secret of my views in the matter.
I should be incliued to think his own good sense on reflec
tion had showed him your position was right.
He is a man of most excellent sense, and a most estimable
character; and now that this little misunderstanding is at
an end, I am sure you will enjoy his acquaintance.
As the first year of the administration is drawing to a
close I feel as safe as I am happy in congratulating aU of
you on the splendid promise and solid achievements of the
year. Especially are all of us to be felicitated who said
early in the year that Mr. McKinley was the best man in
America for President. In his strong and resolute hands
the country is safe, and knows it.
Mrs. Hay joins me in cordial messages to Mrs. Hobart,
and I am Faithfully yours,
John Hay.

CHAPTER XX
Bereavement
MR. HOBART'S life at the time when he was
becoming a national character seemed to
all who knew him exceptionaUy fortunate.
AU whom he knew were his friends. AU that he
touched seemed to prosper. He had labored and
endured hardships in his early life, but he had
gained success and popularity. He had not known
the bitterness of unrequited toil, nor had he
suffered the mean vexation of envy and strife.
In his successful course he had neither made
enemies nor alienated friends. Never had his
friends been so many and devoted ; his Hfe been so
full and enjoyable; his prospects so bright and
alluring. He seemed to be exempted from the
disappointments and sorrows in the common lot
of others. In this hour of success and security a
sorrow came upon him so overwhelming that its
shadows were never lifted, nor his broken heart
healed. He received a blow from which he never
recovered, and which undoubtedly hastened his
death. His only daughter, most dearly loved,
who had become the joy of that home and a com
panion to her parents, was smitten with a deadly
189

I90 Garret Augustus Hobart
disease in a foreign land, and died after a brief
illness. Her body was laid in a lonely grave far
from kindred and friends.
As the time approached for another general
election, knowing from experience that much la
bor would be laid on the members of the National
Committee, and with prescience recognizing that
his own nomination for Vice-President was at
least probable, Mr. Hobart decided after a family
councU to take a period of rest and recreation.
Accordingly a trip to Europe was carefully planned,
and everything arranged to relieve the traveUers
from care and obtain aU possible comfort and en
joyment. That no anxiety should be felt for any
member of the family left behind, all were in
cluded in the plan. An intimate friend of the
daughter was gladly accepted as a member of the
party. With most cheerful expectations and
hearty good wishes of a host of friends, they left
their home. From time to time news came of their
progress, and the health and enjoyment of the
party. No one, they least of all, anticipated
anything except a happy journey and a safe re
turn. In this hour of apparent security a cable
despatch was received at Paterson from Bellagio,
on Lake Como, saying that the daughter was ill
with some affection of the throat. Great anxiety
filled the hearts of friends at home, partly because
they recognized that the message would not have
been sent unless the case was serious, and partly
because they knew that a chronic weakness of

Bereavement 191
the throat in the patient made any affection of
the kind more dangerous. The first message was
speedUy followed by another, telling that death had
removed the daughter, and that as soon as possible
the party would return. The sad news spread
rapidly through the city, and filled with grief and
sympathy thousands of hearts. All loved her who
knew her; all felt for those who suffered a loss
overwhelming in itself, but made more bitter from
the circumstances.
Fannie Beckwith Hobart died from malignant
diphtheria at Bellagio, on Thursday, June 27, 1895,
at one o'clock in the afternoon. The party
reached Venice in the best of spirits at the time
when the moon was full, and had found it most
delightful to be on the canals and feel the charm
of that mysterious city by moonlight. From
Venice they had gone to Bellagio to spend a few
da^s of quiet enjoyment in that beautiful spot.
They reached there on Saturday about noon.
Before nightfall a physician was called in to
prescribe for the daughter for what seemed to be a
severe sore throat. The case rapidly developed
alarming symptoms, and both doctors and nurses
were summoned from Milan. Intercourse with
them, so important in these circumstances, was
difficult because none of them spoke English.
The case grew more serious with every hour, and
as a last resort antitoxin was administered. It
was of no avail. The end came quickly, and this
young and beautiful life passed from earth ; from

192 Garret Augustus Hobart
a foreign land to the endless home-land; from
scenes of earth's loveliness to the world of unending
glory; from bright prospects of earthly happiness
to the realities of heavenly joys. In the circum
stances a new meaning was given to the words
of that Book which touches all human experi
ence with a benediction, "And in the garden a
sepulchre. "
In that place where persons from all lands come
to seek health and refreshment and carry away
memories of loveliness and enjoyment, this family
passed through scenes of bitter anguish, and carried
away memories which time could not obliterate.
The sorrows of a lifetime seemed distiUed in the cup
then given them to drink. They were compelled
that same night, solitary mourners, moving by the
Ught of lanterns, to lay the body of one so dear in
a hastily made grave, in foreign soil. No wonder
Mr. Hobart said, " I cannot imagine one thing left
out that could add a sorrow to what we were
caUed to bear. " Far from home and friends, in a
hotel where every trace of what was occurring had
to be hidden, unable to communicate freely with
doctors or nurses, forced to lay their dead so
soon in the grave without the presence of a friend,
they felt the bitterness of grief without the al
leviations in ordinary sorrow.
It can readily be seen the proprietor of a hotel
fUled with traveUers from distant lands is placed
in trying circumstances from such conditions as
have been described. Had the character of the

Bereavement 193
disease and its fatal result been known, there can
be no question that in a few hours the house would
have been deserted, and at least for a season have
been shunned. Every effort was made by the
proprietor to conceal the facts from the guests.
Members of the famUy were compeUed to appear
at the public table, and were asked to hide their
anxiety and grief. To no one could a knowledge
of their circumstances be given, and from no one
could sympathy be asked. The charges for the
special services needed and for the furniture in
the rooms occupied, all of which, it was declared,
the law required to be burned, were very great. In
those hours of anguish many things occurred on
these lines which added to the bitter pain of the
loss. Fannie Beckwith Hobart was loved by aU who
knew her. In her early death the promise of a
happy and useful life was broken. She had
grown up in a loving home with every comfort
and luxury at her command, unselfish, unaffected,
unspoiled. She was, in truth, a "home-girl,"
whose life and happiness were found in home
love and home duty. Sweet in disposition, gentle
in manner, loving and sympathetic in heart,
simple and cheerful in the faith and practice of
religion, her brief life was a ministry of love. In
the comforts and enjoyment of her own happy
lot her thoughts turned toward others who lacked
most of the blessings which she possessed. Among
other duties she had taken upon herself the pleas-

194 Garret Augustus Hobart
ant task of providing and distributing the Christ
mas gifts at the entertainment given to the chUdren
in the Paterson Day Nursery. And in her memory,
as the season of blessed remembrance of the
lowly birth of the Child of Bethlehem comes
round, that kindly service continues. A mother's
love has also erected a memorial building to
preserve her work and life in an enduring benefit
for little children and for the useful training of
young girls. In the hall of the Paterson Memorial
Day Nursery buUding, perfect in aU its appoint
ments, a tablet of bronze, enclosing a likeness of
the one so sadly lost, teUs to all who enter her
name and kindly ministry. Her brief life was not
in vain. Though dead, she stiU speaks. On the
waU opposite the tablet are these words of dedica
tion, expressive of a mother's love and faith:
I dedicate this building in the name of sacred sorrow.
In this work resignation and love for the dead and the
living find expression. In the holy fellowship of bereave
ment the way is left lovingly open for others to give aid
in memory of loved ones departed.
I dedicate this buUding in the name of a holy fellowship
with suffering, burdened humanity. Those, whose burdens
of toil are rendered insupportable by anxious care for
helpless unguarded chUdren, can have the assurance that
their little ones can find here loving care and protection.
I dedicate this building in the name of sacred love for
helpless chUdhood. In this home the little ones wUl find
safety from accident and contamination, instruction, en
joyment, and provision for their wants.
I dedicate this house in the name of the common Father

Bereavement 195
of us all, whose children we all are, and who teaches us to
bear one another's burdens.
I dedicate this buUding in the name of our Lord and
Saviour, who came to us as a little chUd, who took little
children in His arms, and who said, "of such is the Kingdom
of Heaven."
I dedicate this building in the name of the Holy Com
forter, who inspires our hearts with holy purposes, and
who gives to all in trouble peace and hope.
Lastly, on this work I invoke through all the years to
come the divine blessing, and ask the constant sympathy
and interest of all who are His children, and of all who
love little chUdren. Amen.
Hundreds of little chUdren have had reason to
bless the memory of this dear daughter, and thou
sands in years to come wUl be living memorials
of her sweet and gentle life. Her home is on high,
but that life is stUl a blessing for little children
for whom she had loved to care in the spirit of Him
who said: " Suffer them to come. "
As soon as possible the bereaved parents re
turned to the Paterson home, leaving the body in
the cemetery on the hill-side overlooking Lake
Como. Under the law of Italy, the bodies of
those who die from infectious disease cannot be
moved for a period of five years. Through the
strong influence which Mr. Hobart was able to
bring to bear on the Italian authorities, and by
the efficient aid of Wayne MacVeagh, the Ameri
can Ambassador, permission was granted to re
move the body in the year foUowing the death.
A. A. WUcox, an intimate friend and associate

196 Garret Augustus Hobart
of Mr. Hobart, went to Italy for this purpose, and
with much difficulty accomplished the removal.
On March 25, 1896, in the home which she loved
so dearly, and from which she had gone out so
full of life and hope, simple religious services were
held in her memory. Her body was buried in the
family plot in Cedar Lawn Cemetery just outside
the city of Paterson. After the erection of the
mausoleum which holds the remains of Mr. Hobart,
it was removed and placed in that tomb.

CHAPTER XXI
The Social Life of the Vice-President
HIGHLY as Mr. Hobart appreciated the dig
nity of his office, and strenuously as he
upheld it, it was not in his nature, or in
his good judgment right or wise, to hedge himself
about with ceremony, or hold himself aloof from
his fellows. WhUe it certainly was to him a
pleasure, he recognized it as a duty, to exercise a
large hospitality. He clearly apprehended the
value of social influence in political life, and heartily
and deliberately sought to employ it. He had
the means to gratify his feelings and accomplish
his aims. It was this clear purpose which led
him to select for his official residence the ample
house on Lafayette Square, which had already an
established reputation for hospitahty. The doors
of this house opened widely and frequently for
the entertainment of friends, of govemment of
ficials and the Senate, and of distinguished per
sons visiting Washington. Rarely was the famUy
without guests, and large numbers were formally
entertained at receptions and dinners. The Vice-
President and Mrs. Hobart in this way fUled an
important place in the social life of Washington
197

198 Garret Augustus Hobart
and in the political influence of the administration.
Old friends were not forgotten in this new life.
In this phase of his Ufe necessarily Mrs. Hobart
fUled an important part. No one would have
been more ready than her husband to confess that
the success and charm of that social side of their
life in Washington were largely due to her. To
her wise management and good taste, her kindly
manner and attention to every guest, and to her
courtesy and tact, which met the requirements of
difficult situations and the respect due to dis
tinguished persons, a tribute finds a proper place
in this memorial. For her husband's sake she
came out from the seclusion of her deep grief to
take her place beside him in public Hfe, and help
him to carry out his views of the obligations of his
office. The popularity of the Vice-President and Mrs.
Hobart brought them many invitations to other
homes, and they were frequently guests as well
as entertainers. Exaggerated reports of the num
ber of these entertainments were published, and
the illness of Mr. Hobart was attributed to the
late hours which attendance on such occasions
required. It needs to be remembered that to a
man of Mr. Hobart's genial temperament rest
and recreation were found in intercourse which
afforded an agreeable change of scene and thought.
When they were the guests of honor, they almost
invariably retired at ten o'clock, and were in their
home a half hour later.

Mrs. Garret A. Hobart

The Social Life of the Vice-President 199
It needs also to be remembered that Mr. Hobart
fully estimated the influence of friendly relations
in political Hfe, and had planned his home life
in Washington as a means to this desirable end.
Reference to his hospitality may be made again
because it was exercised with a deliberate purpose,
and was entirely consonant withi his feelings.
It is an undoubted fact that his own personal rela
tions with the Senate, as weU as its harmonious
working with the administration, were happUy
influenced by the entertainments given to that
body. Under the influence of cordial greeting and
good cheer, the suspicions aroused by mischief-
making reports of his intentions, as President of
the Senate, were effectually allayed. The mis
understanding of the attitude of the executive
was there corrected when the President and
Senators met sociaUy on common ground. The
asperities of party strife were forgotten in these
entertainments, and good feeling took the place
of suspicion and opposition in the mmds of the
Senators in their own relations and toward the
President. Many times, formally and informally, the Pres
ident was the honored and welcome guest in that
home. He came to it with the famUiarity of a
friend. Ambassadors and ministers from other
lands, as well as distinguished visitors, were enter
tained with the respect due to them personaUy,
as well as to their station.
The largest and most notable entertainment

200 Garret Augustus Hobart
was given to the Prince of the Belgians, who
made a visit to this country at that time, and
spent some days at Washington. His expected
presence was announced officially by Count Lich-
tervelde, the representative of his government.
His first official entertainment was necessarily at
the White House, where it was arranged that he
should dine on Friday evening with the President.
On Saturday evening the Minister had planned to
entertain the Prince at a dinner and reception.
When the Vice-President and Mrs. Hobart invited
him through the Minister to a dinner and reception
on the following Monday evening. Countess Lich-
tervelde, wife of the Minister, replied that the
Prince expected to leave Washington on Monday
morning, but that he would be pleased to accept
the invitation for Sunday. To this Mrs. Hobart
answered that they never entertained on Sunday,
but she hoped that the Prince woiUd remain until
Monday, and do them the honor of dining with
them then. He consented to this, and was
entertained with the ambassadors and other dis
tinguished persons at dinner, and afterward re
ceived with the family those invited for the
evening. As they went to the table the national
air of Belgium was played, and after that in suc
cession the national air of each ambassador
present. To this graceful compliment each am
bassador in turn raised his glass to Mrs. Hobart
and bowed.
Similar attentions were paid to the Anglo-

The Social Life of the Vice-President 201
American Joint High Commission, of which Lord
Herschell was the head. At the beginning of
the sessions of the commission Lord Herschell
fell and broke his leg. No serious results were
apprehended, but the shock of his fall caused his
death. On the day before he died Mrs. Hobart
sent him a basket of roses. When Mr. Hobart
caUed later in the day Lord HerscheU expressed
his sincere thanks for her kindness and the hope
that he would soon be able to call and thank her
personally. This hope was not to be realized.
The next day he died from heart weakness.
While social duties were accepted as official
obligations, they were not perfunctorUy carried
out. They were enjoyed by Mr. Hobart. Un
doubtedly they taxed his strength, but they also
refreshed his spirits, and served a useful purpose
in the harmonious work of the administration.

CHAPTER XXII
Failing Health and Changes
HUMAN vigor has a limit, and that limit is
reached sooner when sorrow wastes the
strength which hard work has weakened.
Through these active days, fUled with official
and social duties, Mr. Hobart carried, hidden in
his heart, a sadness which time did not assuage, nor
honors charm away. The memory of the daughter
he had lost was present with him, even when he
was occupied in duties and taking part in social
engagements. Labor and grief were, however,
exhausting his vitality. At times he experienced
a diffictUty in breathing, and was compelled to
confess he had a strange feeling of weakness and
weariness. It began to be whispered, as if it
could not be true, that his health was impaired.
As he made no complaints and always appeared
cheerful and active, the rumors which had
alarmed his friends died away, and their fears were
dismissed. Nevertheless, there was a serious
heart trouble, which alarmed the physicians whom
it became necessary to consult. The disease was
not diagnosed at first as necessarUy fatal, and it
was hoped and expected that life could be pro-

Failing Health and Changes 203
longed, even if a cure could not be effected. For
a time the serious nature of his trouble was not
fuUy told to the family.
During the Congressional holiday of 1898-9, a
severe attack of grip weakened his strength and
aggravated the unfavorable symptoms. As in
stant relief needed to be given in the attacks to
which he was Hable at any time, the real condition
of the case had to be made known to Mrs. Hobart,
and she was given remedies to be employed in
case of sudden seizure. She always carried them
with her wherever they went. Her anxiety had
no relief, even in scenes of enjoyment. It was
with serious misgivings that she saw him return
to his post and resume, with faithful attention,
the duties of his office. Important questions of
national interest were at this time under discus
sion, and the party of the administration was not
entirely united on the measures proposed by the
President. The issue of the Spanish war involved
this nation in responsibilities, not only toward
the island of Cuba, but also toward the Hawaiian
Islands and the Philippines. Strenuous opposition
was made in the Republican party to the retention
of the latter islands under the protection of this
country. These earnest and sometimes bitter
discussions carried the session of Congress far into
the spring. The weather at that time was un
usually warm, even for Washington. As was his
custom, the President of the Senate was in the
chair day after day, an attentive listener to the

204 Garret Augustus Hobart
debates. The long hours and the oppressive
weather greatly debilitated him. And when the
session came to an end, after he had delivered
the closing address he was seriously overcome. He
rallied quickly and recovered his powers, but his
life at that moment was in imminent perU. He
might easily have died before he left the chair.
Little as he, or the Senators, apprehended the fact,
he was never again to stand in his place and take
up the gavel which he then laid down. It was
confidently expected at that time — a confidence
shared by Mr. Hobart — that a few months of rest
would restore him to health.
His plans had been laid to make the summer
vacation restful and helpful. The President and
Vice-President had arranged to visit Senator
Hanna at his winter home near ThomasvUle,
Georgia, immediately after the adjournment of
Congress; and to meet later in the summer at
Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain, where they had
spent a part of their vacation pleasantly in the
previous year. The unusual heat and humid
ity, added to the fatigue of the journey, affected
Mr. Hobart unfavorably, and it became necessary
to make a change at once. He and his famUy
returned after a brief stay at ThomasvUle to
Washington, and sought rest at their home there
untU they could decide what was best to be done.
A cool and invigorating air was essential for
the patient. Normanhurst, near Long Branch,
was selected as seeming to meet all the require-

Failing Health and Changes 205
ments of a semi-invalid. The house was commo
dious, the grounds were ample and well shaded,
and the ocean was near enough to give the benefit
of healthftU breezes. It was easUy accessible, and
yet privacy was possible. The region was famUiar
to him, and in the changes which had occurred
since his boyhood there was much to awaken
interest and recall pleasant memories of his youth
ful days. The place seemed exactly suited for the
needs of the patient, who had now to be recog
nized as an invalid who required quiet and
care. The condition of the Vice-President became now
a matter of public knowledge and concern. The
effects of disease were soon too plainly evident
to be concealed, but the facts were kept back as
far as possible. The newspapers were to him
now of peculiar interest, since all work had been
forbidden. He was able to be about the house and
grounds when not suffering from pain, and to the
papers he turned day by day as connecting him
StiU with the life in which most of his days had
been passed. It was undesirable for him, as a
patient, that the facts of his case should be pub
lished and discussed where they might come under
his own eyes. As far as possible, therefore, the
family kept any statements of the character of
his disease and his real condition from the re
porters. With a courage which never betrayed
its fears and never faltered, the one who knew all
the facts, and watched every movement and every

2o6 Garret Augustus Hobart
change with a wife's devotion, guarded him from a
knowledge of his danger.
Every effort was made to divert the patient and
assist nature to resist disease. At times hope re
vived, and it seemed as if recovery might be pos
sible. All work was forbidden, and for the first
time since he assumed the responsibUities of Hfe
he was truly idle. Hours and days were spent
on the piazzas, and under the trees, in absolute
rest. It became a diversion for this active man of
affairs to watch and to feed the gold fish swimming
in a pool on the grounds. He knew them sepa
rately, and gave to each one the name of some
distinguished friend. He took occasional drives
when his strength permitted over the fine roads
in that region. Scarcely a day passed when one
or more of his friends did not come to inquire
about him and speak a word of cheer and hope.
And so the season passed into the summer, with
alternate hopes and fears.
As the time approached when by previous
agreement the Vice-President was to meet the
President at Plattsburg, partly from the long
habit of keeping appointments and partly from
the restlessness of sickness and idleness, he re
solved, contrary to the advice of his physicians, to
go there. So strongly was his mind set upon this
purpose, it was thought best to yield to his wishes.
Accordingly the family went in August to this
pleasant summer retreat, making the journey as
easy as possible. But the constant excitement

Failing Health and Changes 207
and bustle caused by the presence of the President
and members of the Cabinet at that place told
unfavorably upon his condition. Fainting speUs
and loss of sleep alarmed those who understood the
seriousness of his case, and it became necessary
to make another change. It was not thought
advisable to go to the Paterson home at that sea
son of the year, and they returned to Normanhurst.
So anxious was the President about his coUeague,
that he changed his plans in order to accompany
him and see him safely settled in the home by
the sea. The part}' arrived by special train at
Long Branch in the early moming of August 25th.
At that season the New Jersey coast is thronged
with people seeking the reHef of ocean breezes
from the heat of adjoining cities. The announce
ment of the coming of the President drew to the
station at seven o'clock in the moming an im
mense throng. A miHtary tournament was then
being held in HoU}-wood Park, and a detail from
the troops there assembled had been chosen to
act as an escort for the President, while a battery
stationed near by was to fire a salute. The noise
of the train and of the guns, with the movement of
the soldiers, so excited the horses attached to Mr.
Hobart's carriage that they could scarcely be con
troUed, and it was only by the most dexterous
management of the driver that they were pre
vented from tramphng on a reporter who had been
knocked down from his bicycle. On their arrival
at the house, delegations came to ask the President

2o8 Garret Augustus Hobart
to review the troops assembled, and to attend a
public gathering at Ocean Grove in the large au
ditorium. As the President and Mrs. McKinley
were to start the next day for Pittsburg, every
hour of the day was fUled with the acceptance of
these invitations, and the coming and going of
those who desired to pay their respects to the chief
executive. At seven o'clock the next morning
Mr. Hobart attended his guests to the train, and
in the afternoon reviewed the troops assembled at
Hollywood Park. This review drew large numbers
to the scene. There were assembled seven com
panies from different regiments of the National
Guard of New York, with Troop C of Brooklyn
and the Wilson Battery. Two companies of
United States marines were also present, whUe the
gunboat Scorpion, a converted yacht, was anchored
off the shore. The exertion and excitement of
these scenes greatly exhausted Mr. Hobart, and
during the review he suffered one of those severe
attacks of pain to which he had now become
subject. It was evident that, if his life was to be
prolonged, all scenes of excitement must here
after be avoided.
During this period of residence on the coast, a
painful duty was laid upon him, which loyalty
and friendship forbade him to refuse. He was
asked by the President to inform General Alger,
the Secretary of War, that his resignation would
be accepted. In the conditions disclosed by the
war with Spain, and in the conduct of the war.

Failing Health and Changes 209
there was much that awakened the shame and
aroused the indignation of the nation. When
war was declared, the army of the nation was
composed of 26,040 men. Between April 21, 1898,
the date of the declaration, and May 25, in two
successive calls, the army was increased to 200,000
men. The machinery of the government proved
altogether inadequate to assemble this number
in camps, and to provide shelter, clothing, and
arms for them. No part of the $50,000,000 put
under the control of the President by Congress
could legally be used to supply immediate needs
for defence. The volunteer regiments had to be
armed with the antiquated Springfield rifles.
Of the 2,362 pieces of ordnance, provided for by
the Endicott Board in 1885, only 151 were in posi
tion in the coast defences. For the heavy guns
there were in store fewer than twenty rounds of
ammunition for each, and there was not a single
pound of smokeless powder. When these facts
came to be known, the nation was stirred with
indignation and fear. Public opinion demanded a
victim on whom the blame could be laid. Natur
ally, but unreasonably, the Secretary of War was
attacked. He was blamed for conditions which
existed before he took office, and for matters
over which it was impossible for him to have con
trol. No one seemed to remember that the
administration had resisted the declaration of
war as long as possible; that for years Congress
had refused to increase the army ; that the defences

2IO Garret Augustus Hobart
of our shores on two oceans were inadequate in
strength and material; that our arsenals had an
insufficient supply of arms of various patterns
and almost all out of date. The realization of this
shameful condition created a panic on the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts. It was the weakness of Spain,
rather than the strength of this nation, that saved
us from incalculable losses.
Secretary Alger coiUd not fail to learn from the
daily papers that he was severely censured. To
relieve the administration, he offered his resigna
tion to the President, who declined to accept it.
Unfortunately, at this time in the political field
events occurred which prevented the President
from resisting the demands of the people. It
was felt necessary to make a change, and John
Hay, Secretary of State, was asked to inform
Secretary Alger of the decision. He declined
the task, and the Vice-President, as a warm per
sonal friend of General Alger, was asked to per
form this unpleasant duty. Attorney-General
Griggs went to Long Branch, as the messenger of
the President, to ask this service from Mr. Hobart,
who, as usual, accepted the duty in loyalty and
friendship. Secretary Alger went to Long Branch
to visit his sick friend, and the President's decision
was broken to him. The news was unexpected,
and was received with surprise and pain. When
the Secretary left the house it was evident that
his feelings had been deeply wounded. But the
reflections of the night made him realize that the

Failing Health and Changes 211
kindness of a friend had caused Mr. Hobart's ac
ceptance of the painful duty. He returned in the
moming, and with feelings deeply stirred as he
saw his true friend sitting on the piazza, and so
evidently showing the effects of sickness, to the
honor of his manhood. General Alger ran and threw
his arms about him and kissed him. The old
friendship was restored, and remained unbroken
to the end.

CHAPTER XXIII
The Death of the Vice-President
AS the summer passed away it became evident
that Mr. Hobart had lost strength, and
that all hope of his recovery must be
given up. It was decided best therefore to return
to his home at Paterson. There were days, even
yet, when it seemed as if life might be indefinitely
prolonged, but it was with the feeling that the
battle was lost, and that the final retreat had
begun, that the retum to Paterson was made.
There can be little doubt that he recognized the
fact, though he welcomed the thought of going
back to the home he loved, sacred with memories
of many joys and of one great sorrow. The famUy
returned to Paterson September 20, 1899. The
brief public life of the Vice-President, which had
lasted only a little more than two years, was ended.
In the first year of his office a rumor was spread
abroad that Mr. Hobart had died suddenly, but
so quickly was the statement denied that it did
not cause any excitement. The reason for such a
rumor has never been discovered.
The condition of the patient could no longer be
concealed, and it was thought best to announce

The Death of the Vice-President 213
the fact that his public career was closed. An
nouncement was accordingly made that he would
not be able to preside over the Senate at the ap
proaching session of Congress. It was generaUy
understood that this announcement was a declara
tion that there was no hope of recovery. He was
able for a few times to drive out for a short dis
tance. But from this time he was entirely con
fined to his room, and few of his friends ever again
saw him alive.
The public announcement of his withdrawal from
the duties of his office awakened a deep interest in
his condition throughout the country, and from
this time on there was a constant endeavor by
reporters of the papers to learn daily the condition
of the patient. He was stiU able and eager to
read the papers when not suffering severe pain,
and it seemed necessary, both to the family and
the physicians, that he should not see daily a
report of his condition, and a discussion of his
case. For his sake they felt it necessary to with
hold aU the information which they could. This
aroused constant efforts on the part of the re
porters, who, as the disease made progress and
the end seemed to be approaching, hovered around
the house by night as weU as day to obtain news
from any and every source. As relief came after
severe attacl^ of pain, and strength returned
after exhaustion, it was possible at times to say
that the patient was comfortable and even im
proved. In this way, though there was absolutely

214 Garret Augustus Hobart
no hope at any time, contradictory stories ap
peared, and even up to the very last, unwarranted
statements were made in the newspapers that he
would soon resume the duties of his office.
Many friends, longing to show their regard and
sympathy, came to the house whom he was unable
to see, but whose visits cheered him. AU these
attentions were felt deeply by the sufferer. He
was always eager to know the names of those
who called, and his often repeated injunction was,
" Treat my friends weU. " He never lost his
interest in his friend^ or in affairs.
Within the home, the oft-repeated miracle of
love, sustaining the wife for tasks beyond human
strength and endurance, was witnessed. No de
lusion was cherished by the faithful watcher and
nurse, who, hiding her fears, with cheerful coun
tenance and helpful words revived hope and life
in the sufferer by her constant ministry. The
romance of youthful days made beautiful the
service of love in these hours of trial, and awakened
sympathy in thousands of hearts all over the land.
Many kind words came to that anxious home, and
many prayers were offered that the useful Hfe
might be spared, and, if not, that strength might
be given to the wife to endure to the end. These
were granted. Except in the severe paroxysms
of pain little needed to be done. At times the pain
was so intense that his head would be covered with
moisture, and a handkerchief passed over it wotUd
be as wet as if it had been dipped in water. Dur-

The Death of the Vice-President 215
ing the latter part of his sickness the patient could
not take a recHning position without a sense of
suffocation, and the only sleep obtained was
while he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned
forward, resting his head on a table. A nurse,
who had been for many years with the famUy
whenever sickness entered the home, was the
only assistant needed or desired in the sick-room.
Through those weeks of pain, Alice Wardle gave
untiring and faithful service to the sufferer.
During this period the President kept in almost
daUy communication with the home in Paterson,
sending messages of sympathy and hope. At one
time it was reported to him the patient had given
up hope, and had made up his mind it was idle
to struggle any longer. At once he sent a message
urging Mr. Hobart to raUy his courage and make
a new effort, and at the same time sent Dr. Rixey,
his official medical attendant, to strengthen the
appeal and add his advice.
The limit of endurance was now fast approach
ing, and it became evident that any day, or any
hour, might bring the end. No one realized more
clearly than Mr. Hobart the inevitable change
that must come. He had given up all that made
Hfe dear to him, and had bome disappointment
and pain without a murmur. With the same
self-control and resignation he awaited death.
Because life was so precarious that a little excite
ment might be fatal, no persons had been ad
mitted to the sick-room for weeks. The day

2i6 Garret Augustus Hobart
before his death, his pastor, who had known him
for many years, and was tenderly attached to
him from long acquaintance and many acts of
kindness, was permitted in an interval of relief
from pain to see him for a few brief moments. In
perfect composure and consciousness he expressed
his unchanged confidence in Jesus Christ, the
Lord and Saviour of men, as his Lord and Saviour,
and his sure trust in Him as the Saviour of his
soul. It was evident that death was at hand, and
that the end might come at any moment.
About noon on Monday, November 20, a
marked change appeared. He said nothing to
indicate that he thought the end was at hand,
but it was evident that his strength was faUing,
and at times his suffering was severe. At inter
vals of relief he slept in the afternoon and even
ing. About midnight he rallied and spoke to
Mrs. Hobart concerning some matters to which
he wished her to attend. Then he fell asleep, and
never woke on earth. The world in which he
awoke is the world in which there is no pain, and
where all tears are wiped away. The cause of his
death was dilatation of the right heart, due to
myocarditis, an inflammation of the muscles of
the heart which prevents the performance of their
functions. He had worked in life with diligence
and success; he had bowed in sorrow with sub
mission; he had struggled in sickness with courage
and patience; he had resigned health and place
and power without a murmur; and now he yielded

The Death of the Vice-President 217
his 'life to God who gave it with faith and hope.
Many good wishes and fervent prayers had been
offered for his recovery all over the country. But
it was not to be. In Paterson, and no doubt in
other places also, Hebrew and Gentile, Catholic
and Protestant had with united hearts joined in
these petitions in public worship and private
devotions. Garret A. Hobart, Vice-President of the United
States, died at half-past eight o 'clock on Tuesday
morning, November 21, 1899. There were present
at his death Mrs. Hobart and his son. Garret
Augustus, jr., the only surviving child; Dr. Newton,
his family physician, and Mrs. Newton; and the
nurse Alice Wardle. Frederick Evans, his secre
tary, who had been at the house for some weeks,
was in an adjoining room.
He was the sixth Vice-President to die in office,
and four of them expired in the month of Novem
ber. The names of those who died in office were
George Clinton of New York, who died in 181 2,
aged seventy-three; Elbridge Gerry of Massachu
setts, who died in 18 14, aged seventy; WiUiam
R. King of Alabama, who died in 1853, aged sixty-
seven; Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, who died in
1875, aged sixty-three; Thomas A. Hendricks of
Indiana, who died in 1885, aged sixty-six; and
Garret Augustus Hobart of New Jersey, who died
in 1899, aged fifty-five.

CHAPrER XXIV
The Reception of the News of Mr. Hobart's
Death
THE news of the death of Mr. Hobart was
first communicated to the President. Early
in the morning an attempt had been made
to inform him by telephone of the approaching
dissolution of his friend, but communication with
the White House could not then be obtained.
The news, though not unexpected, profoundly
moved the President, and deeply affected Mrs.
McKinley. The President felt that he had lost
a faithful friend and wise counsellor, and Mrs.
McKinley that ties of close intimacy and regard
were now broken. A telegram expressing his
sense of loss and his sympathy for the famUy
was immediately sent to Mrs. Hobart, and by the
President's orders the doors of the White House
were closed to all visitors, and the flag over the
building placed at half-mast. Later in the day
the President announced to the nation the death of
the Vice-President in the following proclamation :
[By the President of the United States]
A Proclamation to the People of the United States
Garret Augustus Hobart, Vice-President of the United
218

The Reception of the News of Death 219
States, died at his home at 8:30 o'clock this moming.
In him the nation has lost one of its most illustrious citi
zens, and one of its most faithful servants. His participa
tion in the business life and the law-making body of his
native State was marked by unswerving fidelity, and by a
high order of talents and attainments; and his too brief
career as Vice-President of the United States and President
of the Senate exhibited the loftiest qualities of upright and
sagacious statesmanship. In the world of affairs he had
few equals among his contemporaries. His private char
acter was gentle and noble. He will long be mourned by
his friends as a man of singular purity and attractiveness,
whose sweetness of disposition won all hearts, whUe his
elevated purposes, his unbending integrity, and whole
hearted devotion to the public good deserved and acquired
universal esteem.
In sorrowing testimony of the loss which has fallen on
the country, I direct that on the day of the funeral the
executive offices of the United States shall be closed, and
all the posts and stations of the Army and Navy shall dis
play the national flag at half-mast ; and that the representa
tives of the United States in foreign countries shall pay
appropriate tribute to the illustrious dead for a period of
thirty days.
In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this twenty-first day
of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine,
and of the Independence of the United States the one
hundred and twenty-fourth.
By the President
William McKinley.
John Hay, Secretary of State.
As the news spread through the city of Washing
ton, the members of the Cabinet came to the White

220 Garret Augustus Hobart
House to consult with the President about the
steps to be taken to express the respect of the
administration for the memory of the Vice-
President. It was decided that Attorney-General
Griggs, an intimate friend and fellow-townsman
of Mr. Hobart, shovUd go at once to Paterson to
learn Mrs. Hobart's wishes, and in accordance
with them make arrangements for the attendance
of the President and Cabinet at the funeral ser
vices. Later, Colonel Bright, Sergeant-at-Arms
of the Senate, went also to Paterson to make
arrangements for the attendance of members of
the Senate and House of Representatives. And
still later Captain Garden, of the Capitol Police,
followed to ask that he and eight of the force
under him should be permitted to bear the body
from the house to the church. The artless ex
pression of one of the pages shows genuine feeling :
" He understood us feUows better than most men.
He was the right sort, down to the ground, and
there is n't a fellow at the Capitol who does n't
feel as if he had lost some one who belonged to
him. "
In the city of Washington both official and
social circles sought in every way to show their
respect for the dead. All the departments of the
Government were closed on the day of the funeral.
The Post-office Department directed that all post-
offices in the country should be closed between
the hours of two and four on Saturday, when the
funeral services were to be held. Under similar

The Reception of the News of Death 221
orders the offices of coUectors of customs and
internal revenue were closed on that day. The
social engagements of official persons for the day
of the funeral were cancelled. Signs of mourning
appeared not only on the public buUdings, but
also on places of business and private houses.
On the embassies and ministries the flags of the
nations repres,ented were placed at half-mast.
According to established custom, these represen
tatives of foreign nations did not attend the
funeral. They called officially on the President
to express the sympathy of their governments
in the national loss, and their personal sorrow.
From every part of the country, north and south,
east and west, came touching tributes of sorrow
and respect. The beU at Independence Hall was
tolled, and flags at half-mast were displayed on
the public buildings in Philadelphia. Throughout
the States in general, both at the capitals and
large cities and even in small towns, there were
similar indications of national grief. In every
newspaper there were editorials testifying to the
esteem and affection which the Vice-President
had won, with long accounts of his life.
Theodore Roosevelt, then Governor of the State
of New York, issued this proclamation:
[State of New York, Executive Chamber]
Proclamation by the Governor
I announce with profound grief the death of Garret A.
Hobart, Vice-President of the United States. He was a

222 Garret Augustus Hobart
public servant of tried capacity and stainless integrity, who
in his high office exerted an influence for good, the extent of
which is best realized by those who had been most intimate
with him. New York joins with the rest of the nation in
mourning his loss and paying homage to his high character.
Now, therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt, Governor, as a
mark of the high regard and esteem, in which the deceased
was held by the people of this State, do direct that the
flags upon all the public buildings of this State, including
the armories and asylums, be displayed at half-mast up
to and including Saturday, November 25th, the day of the
funeral, and request that the citizens of the State unite in
appropriate marks of respect to the memory of the deceased.
Exchanges, boards, banks, business corpora
tions, and associations, benevolent, social, and
political passed resolutions of regret and respect.
At the Navy Yard in Brooklyn work ceased, and
on all the vessels flags were placed at half-mast.
At Fort Hamilton, a national salute of twenty-
one guns was fired at reveille, and repeated at sun
set at "evening colors." For thirty days the
officers of the army and navy wore as a badge
of mourning, a crape band on their uniforms.
Memorial services were held in many places
throughout the country on the day of the funeral.
Similar marks of respect were paid to the
memory of the Vice-President in the dependencies
of the nation, in Porto Rico, the Hawaiian Islands,
and the Philippines. On all embassies and con
sulates in foreign lands flags at half-mast an
nounced the respect and sympathy of the nation.
In many European cities the American colonies

The Reception of the News of Death 223
met to express their feelings of sincere grief for
the loss of one whose name was known and honored
in their temporary residences.
In the State of New Jersey, which had honored
Mr. Hobart with every office he would accept,
and which was honored by him, the feeling of
sorrow was general and personal. He was known
to aU and loved by all of its citizens. The Gov
ernor of the State, Foster M. Voorhees, issued the
following proclamation formally announcing the
death of Mr. Hobart.
Garret A. Hobart, Vice-President of the United States
died this morning at his home in Paterson. It is with
sincere sorrow that the Executive announces his death
to the people of his State. He was a man distinguished
for his noble and generous traits of character, and for the
eminence of his services in State and National affairs.
By counsel and by deed he has shaped and directed public
affairs in a degree that has fallen to the lot of few Jerseymen .
Possessed of quick and unerring judgment, endowed with
rare executive abilities, fair and courteous in conduct, and
withal possessed of a winning personality, he proved him
self especially fitted for the exalted position to which he
had been called by his countrymen.
He was clean in his great office. He has brought great
honor to himself, his native State, and to the country which
he so dearly loved. His life was exemplary. In every
relation, whether public or private, he won and held the
confidence and affectionate regard of all.
The people of New Jersey have cause to feel an especial
pride in the honor which he has brought to them. It is
right that they should pay to the memory of a citizen, so
beloved and so worthy, every token of respect.

2 24 Garret Augustus Hobart
Now, therefore, I, Foster M. Voorhees, Governor of the
State of New Jersey, do direct that the public buUdings
be draped in mourning for thirty days, and that until
and including the day of his burial the flags thereon be
placed at half-mast, and that during the funeral services
the public offices be closed.
If the nation and the people of the State felt so
deeply the death of Mr. Hobart what shaU be
said of the grief of the citizens of Paterson, every
one of whom regarded him with genuine affection!
As his death became known from the tolling of
the bells of mills and churches, business came to an
end for a time. The citizens stopped each other
on the streets to talk about the friend whom they
had lost, each one having some personal memories
to narrate. The Mayor, John Hinchcliffe, issued
this' proclamation :
Whereas, God in His infinite mercy has seen fit to remove
from his post of usefulness our beloved and honored citizen,
and Vice-President of the United States, Garret A. Hobart,
and it becomes us to bow to His divine will and to ask that
His mercy and blessings may rest upon us as a community
in our afHiction —
Now, therefore, I, John Hinchcliffe, Mayor of the City of
Paterson, in accordance with expressed desires of our citi
zens, do hereby recommend that upon the day of the funeral
obsequies of our late Vice-President, the public schools,
offices, and all places of business be closed throughout the
day, that the people refrain from their usual avocations, and
assemble in their accustomed places of worship at the hour
of II A.M., there to engage in ceremonies befitting the solemn
occasion, and that all bells of the city be tolled between
the hours of 9 and 11 a.m., and i and 2 p.m. of that day.

The Reception of the News of Death 225
As the services were held on Saturday contrary
to the first expectation, parts of the proclamation
of Mayor Hinchcliffe became inoperative. Those
of the courts of law in session in the city immedi
ately adjourned. The citizens met in the City
Hall later in the day and in formal action ex
pressed the desire to have the funeral services
placed under their charge, and appointed large
committees of prominent citizens to carry into
effect their wishes. It was a matter of profound
regret to the citizens of Paterson to which assent
was only given out of respect for the dead, that
they could have so smaU a place in the last ser
vices for their beloved fellow-citizen. But he had
become a national character, and the first place
necessarily had to be given to the national repre
sentatives. Every association of every kind in
the city, educational, benevolent, financial, and
pohtical, adopted resolutions of sorrow and regret.
The intimate friends of the family as soon as
they heard the news came to the home offering
sympathy and services. One touching evidence
of feeling was given by one of the Chinese resi
dents, whom Mr. Hobart had befriended. He
came to the house with flowers which he asked
might be placed near the body of him who had
given him help in trouble. If loving sympathy
could assuage grief, and words of affection heal
hearts that were wounded, those who mourned in
that home of sorrow would have found comfort
and healing.

CHAPTER XXV
Arrangements for the Funeral
AS has been said it was the earnest desire of
the authorities and the people of Paterson
that they might be permitted to have
charge of the funeral services of their best loved
and honored citizen. They proposed to take the
body on the day selected for the funeral to lie in
state in the City Hall, and afterward to hold
memorial services in the armory, where, a little
more than three years before, they had testified
on the occasion of his nomination, to their high
esteem for him. The State of New Jersey was
equaUy ready to pay honor to the dead, but the
nation in its highest representatives claimed the
right to have charge of the funeral services. To
this higher claim the State and the city reluctantly
and sorrowfuUy yielded. In their acquiescence
in this claim, which shut them out from this
privilege and from almost any part in these ex
pressions, they showed a noble evidence of their
regard for their fellow-citizen. At the services
which were held at the church with which Mr.
Hobart was officially connected, there was room
for scarcely more than a score of the citizens of
226

Arrangements for the Funeral 227
Paterson, because of the large number of dis
tinguished persons and govemment officials who
had come to pay this mark of respect and affection
to the dead. With deepest regret the situation
was accepted, and every effort was made by the
inhabitants to show their feelings of sorrow and
regard, and suitably to entertain those who came
to the city to attend the funeral services. One
who was present said: "No tribute that tongue
can pay can be as grand as the tribute paid by
the people of his adopted city as he lay in death
in CarroU HaU. "
Although a proper respect for his office made a
public funeral a necessity, Mrs. Hobart desired
that all the arrangements should be as simple and
quiet as possible. As Vice-President, the marks
of respect paid to a general in the army were
his due. But no military display was desired
by the family. It was evident, however, that
great crowds of people would visit Paterson on
the day of the funeral, and that the streets cotUd
not be kept clear for the funeral procession by
the police of the city alone. The Secretary of
War, therefore, issued orders for two companies
of the Fifth Artillery of the United States Army
from Forts Wadsworth and Hamilton to go to
Paterson for this purpose on the day of the
funeral. Under Captains Adams and Lomia,
without martial music, the soldiers on their
arrival marched to the armory where they were
fed, and then proceeded to the house, and opened

2 28 Garret Augustus Hobart
a way through the crowds for the procession to
pass to the church. They rendered an efficient
and necessary service.
In response to the urgent desire of the citizens,
the doors of CarroU Hall were opened from two
o'clock until six on the afternoon preceding the
funeral, that those who desired might look upon
the face of the dead for the last time. It was esti
mated that not fewer than twelve thousand per
sons passed by the coffin during those hours.
When the time expired many still were waiting to
be admitted. Some of the most intimate friends
of Mr. Hobart stood by the coffin through these
hours. Before his death Mr. Hobart had given ex
pression to his wishes with regard to his funeral.
The religious services he had committed to his
pastor. He had selected for the pall-bearers among
his most intimate friends the following persons:
John W. Griggs, J. Franklin Fort,
E. T. BeU, George F. Baker,
Franklin Murphy, E. A. Walton,
J. W. Congdon, WUliam Barbour.
The honorary bearers appointed by the Senate
were: Senator Frye, Senator Fairbanks,
of Maine, of Indiana,
Senator Hanna, Senator McMiUan,
of Ohio, of Michigan,

Arrangements for the Funeral 229
Senator SeweU, Senator Daniel,
of New Jersey, of West Virginia,
Senator Kean, Senator CockreU,
of New Jersey. of Missouri.
Those appointed by the House of Representa
tives were :
D. B. Henderson, W. P. Hepburn,
of Iowa, of Iowa,
John J. Gardner, John Dalzell,
of New Jersey, of Pennsylvania,
R. Wayne Parker, G. B. McCleUan,
of New Jersey, of New York,
Charles J. Joy, J. F. Rixey,
of Missouri, of Virginia.
It was decided to hold the public services
at the Church of the Redeemer, and everything
was carefiUly arranged as far as possible to make
them impressive and reverent. The church was
decorated not in sombre colors of hopeless grief,
but in colors of life and hope. Deep bands of
smilax were wound about the pillars and festooned
from one to another, and in them were entwined
white chrysanthemums and roses. The pulpit
and the place for the organist and choir were
almost hidden by plants and flowers. Every
seat in the church was assigned to a special person
who had indicated an intention to be present, and
had received from Mr. Evans a card of invitation.

230 Garret Augustus Hobart
In order that perfect quiet might be preserved, no
persons were admitted who could not be seated.
So large was the number of official persons from
Washington and the State, who had indicated
their intention to be present, tickets could not be
furnished to more than one in ten of those who
desired to attend as delegates from exchanges,
banks, and corporations. On no similar occasion
outside of the city of Washington had so many
of the members of the Houses of Congress been
in attendance. The New York Sun said of
the assemblage gathered in the church: "No
more notable congregation ever sat in an American
church. " In Appendix IV wiU be found a com
plete list of those who were present as officials.
Two special trains left Washington for Paterson
on that Saturday. One train, bearing the Presi
dent and his Cabinet, the Chief-Justice and
Justices of the Supreme Court left there as 6.55
in the morning; the other train starting five
minutes later carrying the members of Congress.
They reached Paterson about one o'clock. The
official representatives of the State came on special
and regtUar trains, and were met at the stations
and escorted to the Hamilton Club where they
were entertained, and then proceeded to the
church in a body before the procession reached
there. It was estimated that not fewer than fifty
thousand persons came to Paterson on that day
by regular and special trains, all animated by the

Arrangements for the Funeral 231
desire to pay respect to the dead, and to witness
signs of mourning and regard rarely displayed.
With the citizens this multitude in soHd masses
of people on the sidewalks and lawns filled the
streets from the house to the church, and from
the church to the cemetery, a distance of two
mUes. The house was fiUed with flowers sent by per
sonal friends, officials of the city, and numerous
associations. The British Ambassador, the Ger
man Ambassador, and the Ambassador from
Russia sent wreaths of flowers.
The members of Congress, the Cabinet, and the
Supreme Court were taken to the house a short
time before the service to be held there began.
When the President arrived, Mr. Evans met him
at the door, and said: "Mr. President, Mrs. Hobart
desires to see you. " He passed upstairs where
the family was to remain during the brief service
at the house. Few words were spoken, but with
broken voice he said: "No one outside of this
home feels this loss more deeply than I do. "
This chapter finds a fitting end in the letter which
on his retum, after the affecting scenes of the day,
he sent to Mrs. Hobart : Executive Mansion, Washington,
Nov. 26, 1899.
Dear Mrs. Hobart:
We reached here at eleven-thirty last night. I found
Mrs. McKinley comfortable, and deeply interested in the
events of the day, and so anxious about you and Junior. I
told her aU that you said, the loving messages of your hus-

232 Garret Augustus Hobart
band, your noble courage, the loving devotion of your son,
the dignified and impressive services, the countless tokens
of affection at home and church and cemetery sent by
admiring friends, the beautiful tribute of your pastor, and
Dr. Shaw's touching prayer, and then the striking mani
festations of love and respect for the Vice-President from
his neighbors and fellow townsmen, who were all sad
mourners at the obsequies of their friend.
All on our train were profoundly moved. It was a hard
day for you, but you bore it all so bravely in our presence.
We have talked of you many, many times to-day, and of
your loneliness on this first Sunday of your separation. I
write only that I may again tell you how we feel for you
and Hobart, Jr., and wish we had the power to mitigate
your grief and loss. Mrs. McKinley bids me say (and I
join most heartily in the invitation) that when you come to
Washington you must make the White House your home.
You shall be quiet and protected. Bring Junior. If you
advise us we will meet you at the train. Mrs. McKinley
sends love to you and Junior, in which I beg leave to unite.
Your friend,
William McKinley.

CHAPTER XXVI
The Funeral Services
THE day of the funeral was clear, though the
air was cold. The silence in the city was
unbroken that morning by the usual caU
of steam whistles to the labors of the day. All
business was practically suspended. As the day
advanced, through the streets there moved a
constant stream of citizens and visitors toward
the house of the late Vice-President. In the
morning and in the afternoon the bells of the city
were tolled. In many places throughout the
cotmtry memorial services were held, business
was suspended during the hours of the services in
Paterson, and miHtary honors were paid at every
army post.
Early in the day crowds began to assemble
around the house and along the streets through
which the procession was to pass. For hours
before the appointed time of the pubhc service
the multitudes fUled the walks and lawns and
encroached on the streets on the way to the church.
Had it not been for the troops present it would
have been impossible for the procession to reach
the church.

234 Garret Augustus Hobart
The religious services at the house were attended
by the officials from Washington, who, with the
President, were seated in the library and picture
gaUery. The many personal friends, for whom
no place could be found in the church, occupied
the other side of the main floor. The family and
relations of the Vice-President remained in the
upper hall. Before arrivals at the house Mrs.
Hobart and her son had taken their last look at
the body of the one so dearly loved. The services
at the home were necessarily brief and were con
ducted by the pastor, who read the Twenty-third
Psalm and offered prayer. The choir of the
Metropolitan Church of New York then sang
the hymn Peace, Perfect Peace, after which the
benediction was pronounced.
As soon as the coffin was closed, the doors of the
house were opened, and a word of command called
the military force to attention. Captain Garden
with eight men of the Capitol police came forward
to bear the coffin to the hearse. In the meantime
the President, with Secretary Hay and Chief -
Justice Fuller, were conveyed in a carriage to the
church by another route. There they were re
ceived by the city and State officials who were
already in the seats assigned them, and rose as
the party entered. The procession was immedi
ately formed. The pall-bearers preceded the
hearse, the family followed in carriages, and after
them came the long line of Senators, wearing
broad white scarfs, and the members of the House.

The Funeral Services 235
Through the narrow lane kept open by the
soldiers between the dense masses of people
they moved silently and reverently to the church.
It was by the desire of the Vice-President that
his pastor and friend had charge of the services
in the church. He was assisted in these services
by the Rev. Dr. Charles D. Shaw, pastor of the
Second Presbyterian Church in Paterson, also a
long time friend. It was expected that the Rev.
Dr. Milburn, the Chaplain of the Senate, would be
present and take some part in the services, but
on the morning of the day of the funeral a telegram
was received from him saying that his physician
had forbidden his taking the journey. The two
officiating clergymen with the officers of the
church passed up the central aisle as the procession
reached the door of the church, and returning led
the way, the pastor reciting the sentences begin
ning with the words: "I am the resurrection an,d
the life. " While the family and members of Con
gress were taking their seats G. Mortimer Wiske,
the organist, played Chopin's Funeral March.
The Rev. Dr. Shaw read from the Scriptures,
parts of the Ninetieth Psalm, the Fourteenth
Chapter of Job, and the Fifteenth Chapter of
First Corinthians, and offered prayer. The chorus
of sixty members of the Orpheus Club sang
Nearer, my God, to Thee, which was a favorite
hymn of Mr. Hobart. The Rev. Dr. Magie, the
pastor, then spoke the words which follow and
afterward offered prayer:

236 Garret Augustus Hbbart
God alone is great. Before Him let us bow down in
reverence and submission and hear His voice. "From
everlasting to everlasting, He is God. Of old He laid the
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are -the work of
His hands. They shall perish, but He shall endure; yea
all of them shall wax old as a garment, and as a vesture
shall they be changed. Of His years there is no end. He
doeth according to His Avill in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth. None can stay His
hand nor have any a right to say to Him, what doest Thou?
We are of yesterday and know nothing because our days
upon earth are as a shadow. We all do fade as a leaf. AU
lie down alike in the dust. Man being in honor abideth
not. Dust returns to dust and the spirit unto God who
gave it." In such words does God in His revealed word
humble and instruct mortal man.
In this day of national calamity and grief it is fitting that
we should come into the house of God, and bow in submis
sion before the Most High God. Garret A. Hobart, the
man whom this nation honors, the man whom it learned
to trust, has fallen in death. "The Lord gave, and the
Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
Peace hath her victories
No less renown'd than war
For those victories peace as well as war must pay the
same costly price of toil and sacrifice, of suffering and if
needful, of life. The statesman, no less than the warrior,
has suffered and died for truth and liberty, humanity and
God. And if to-day no warlike sound is heard and no mili
tary honors are paid, none the less do we know that this
life was given in the service of his country, and that its last
official duties were done under the very shadow of death.
This spirit of fidelity and courage was his by inheritance.
The blood which flowed in his veins was from good English
stock, and was mingled with the martyr blood of Dutch

The Funeral Services 237
and Huguenot ancestors. He woiUd have been untrue to
all his ancestral memories and tendencies, if he had not
served the cause of freedom, of education, and of God.
The ideals of his home life, under which he was trained,
were of a high and holy character. They influenced and
guided his life to its close. Had he lived as men ordinarily
live, he might have reached the limit of fourscore years.
He has died in the ripeness of his powers ; full of honors, not
of years.
We gather in this church in which he was a worshipper,
and from its inception a trustee, and to which he gave its
beautiful name, to bow before God, and to bless him for the
life now taken from us. We, who reside in this city, and
knew and loved him well as a friend and neighbor, recog
nize with grateful feelings the respect paid his memory, as
the Vice-President of the United States, by those of high
station and varied circles of activity in their presence here
to-day. Yet in all our hearts we do him reverence less as
the Vice-President than as the friend dear to us all. He
possessed the genius of friendship in greater degree than
any other gift.
It needs not that I should speak to-day of his public life
and services. Prominent citizens and the press in all
sections of the land and the proclamation of the President
have done him noble justice. From the experience and
training of many official duties in his native State, he
entered on the high duties of the Vice-President of the
United States. The office was to him no sinecure, much
less a mere waiting on providence, but a trust which he
had received from the nation, in which he would be found
faithful. It became evident at once when he assumed the
high office to which he had been elected, not merely that
he possessed the dignity and capacity to preside over the
deliberations of the Senate, but that he intended to do his
duty with fairness and kindness. His brief term of serv
ice has gained for him the respect and friendship of the

238 Garret Augustus Hobart
whole Senate, irrespective of section or party, and has
given to the office which he fUled increased honor and
influence. To the President of the United States he gave true affec
tion, unchanging confidence, and constant support. I may
be permitted to say, even in this presence, that in private
intercourse — speaking of the President — ^the words he
most frequently used were: "He is a good man." And I
may be permitted to add that outside this bereaved home
there is, I am 'sure, no more sincere mourner than the
President of the United States.
Genial, kindly, hospitable, no one ever had more friends,
no one ever had fewer enemies. Indeed it may be questioned
if he had an enemy. He made friends, and never lost a
friend. And yet he had opinions, and expressed them
freely. He loved to say pleasant words, and to do kindly
acts. His generosity was unbounded. No one can tell,
no one knows the number or the greatness of the kind deeds
which he was constantly doing. He was never too tired
to speak a cheering word, or too busy to do a kind deed.
He might have spared himself many times, but he loved
to do kindly things. He must be written down "as one
who loved his fellow-men. " It is written in the truest Book
ever written, and proved in universal experience, "a man
that hath friends must show himself friendly." It is true
still. The poor and lowly in this community feel that they
lost a friend when Garret A. Hobart died.
It cannot be said of him that those did not know him,
who did not know him in his home. But it can be said
that those knew him best who knew him there. The load
of business cares, the worry of political life were there, all
and altogether, laid aside. In his most happy home, he
found relief from every care, and carried from it day by
day fresh courage and purpose. Alas, wherever greatest
joys are found, we must find our keenest sorrow. On a
pleasure trip in a foreign land, among strangers, he lost

The Funeral Services 239
the only daughter of this home — a most gentle, true, and
loving spirit. He said in speaking of the death ; "There
seemed nothing left out that could add to the bitterness of
this sorrow. " Yet he did not complain. He took up
again the work of life and to many he seemed unchanged,
but in that great sorrow was the beginning of this ending.
Here, where he was best known and loved, he came back
to die. All that science and skUl and care and love coiUd
do was done in vain. When on his nomination he received
an ovation from our citizens, irrespective of party, in the
words he spoke he employed the passionate words of Bums
for Glencaim, to express his feelings for this city. To those
words every heart of that vast multitude assembled re
sponded. To that home, to which he came back with such
satisfaction that for a time he seemed to rally, from every
home in this city and in this State, and from multitudes of
homes in this land, have been carried on the invisible cords
of love and sympathy, help and hope drawn by prayer from
the throne of Divine grace. How deeply all this touched
his large heart, no words can tell. To what else than to
these constant prayers can be ascribed the strength and
courage above all that seemed possible to nature, that was
given to her, who has been the joy of that home, and the
never faUing support of the weary days and nights of the
patient sufferer, to enable her to watch and to cheer, to
bear and to do all that was needful, all that was helpful,
to the end.
If to-day we are called to learn the universal lesson as
sociated with all human greatness — "vanity of vanities; all
is vanity" — ^there are other lessons we may also learn as
tme, but more cheering. It is true that industry and
perseverance win success; it is true that loving feelings
awaken love ; it is tme that kind words are the best things
to say and kind deeds the best things to do.
There is a sphere in every tme man's life, which is too
sacred for even the dearest friends to enter. It is the re-

240 Garret Augustus Hobart
lation of his soul to God. As his pastor, I may be allowed
to say that in the full possession of his faculties, and in
recognition of the inevitable end, he expressed his faith
in Jesus Christ as his Saviour, and a firm hope of everlasting
life. We are to lay in the grave — the house appointed for all
the living — this body, but in our hearts. Garret A. Hobart
lives and wUl live while life endures.
After prayer by the pastor the large chorus
sang the words so appropriate to this occasion:
Weary hands, O weary hands.
Resting now from life's endeavor,
From the conflict, from the fever.
Peaceful lying where ye fell,
O folded hands, farewell, farewell.
Gentle heart, O gentle heart.
Faithful service didst thou render,
Beating ever true and tender.
On thee lies the silent spell,
O loving heart, farewell, fareweU.
Parted soul, O parted soul.
Passed beyond this earthly portal.
Entered thro' the gate immortal,
Into life no tongue can tell,
O weary soul, farewell, farewell.
The benediction was then pronounced, and the
audience remained standing until those who were
going to the cemetery passed out. It had been
decided that the officials from Washington should
not be asked to go to the cemetery after their long

The Funeral Services 241
journey, but the President would not consent to
this, and with those who had been with him on the
way to the church foUowed his friend to the Cedar
Lawn Cemetery. AU along the route of two mUes
crowds lined the road, and in the cemetery thou
sands gathered around the vault where the body
was to be temporarily placed. The interior of
the vault was lined with flowers taken from the
house and the church. The services there were
conducted by the clergymen who had officiated
at the church, the pastor speaking the words
committing the body to the grave, and the Rev.
Dr. Shaw offering a brief prayer.
It deserves to be recorded, as an evidence of
the kind heart and courtesy of the President, that
before he left the cemetery he took the pains to
speak to the clergymen and express his apprecia
tion of the services. As soon as he could be taken
to the train, it started on the way to Washington.
These were the honors rendered to the man, even
more than to the Vice-President. He had gained
no great victories over his country's foes; he had
done no great deeds of renown, but he had won
the hearts of men, the truest measure of a true
man.

CHAPTER XXVII
Subsequent Action by Public Bodies on the
Death of the Vice-President
AT the first session of the Senate of the" 56th
Congress of the United States, held Decem
ber 4, 1899, the senior Senator from New
Jersey, Mr. SeweU, formaUy announced to that
body the death of the Vice-President and offered
these resolutions :
Resolved, That the Senate has received with the deepest
regret information of the death of Garret Augustus Hobart,
late Vice-President of the United States.
Resolved, That the business of the Senate be suspended
in order that the distinguished pubUc services of the de
ceased and the virtues of his private character may be
fittingly commemorated.
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be in
structed to communicate these resolutions to the House of
Representatives .
These resolutions were "laid on the table to be
called up at a convenient season in the near
future. ' ' John Kean, the junior Senator from New
Jersey, moved "as a further mark of respect to
the memory of the late Vice-President that the
Senate do now adjourn. "
242

• The Memorial Statue of j
Garret Augustus Hobart
greeted by the citizens of Paterson, N. J.
In front of the City Hall ,
Designed by Philip Martiny

Subsequent Action by Public Bodies 243
On January 10, 1900, after the customary'
prayer by the Chaplain, the Rev. Dr. W. H. MU-
bum, in which special reference was made to the
death of the Vice-President, the President pro
tempore. Senator Frye, laid before the Senate the
resolutions offered on the 4th of December. These
resolutions were considered b}- unanimous con
sent, and agreed to. Twelve of the Senators spoke
on this occasion, the opening and closing speeches
being made by the Senators from New Jersey.
On Januar\^ 26th, similar action was taken in
the House, when thirteen of the Representatives
spoke; Representative Stewart, of Paterson, New
Jersey, making the opening speech and Representa
tive Gardner, from the same State, the closing
speech. Fifteen States were represented by the
several speakers. AU of them gave expression
to the warmest personal regard for the Vice-
President and admiration for his character and
pubhc services. These addresses were printed by
the Govemment, with an engraved Hkeness of Mr.
Hobart. and form an honorable memorial of this
distinguished pubhc servant. According to the
custom of the Senate, a marble bust of its late
President has been placed in the Senate Chamber.
In the honors rendered to the memory of Mr.
Hobart at the time of his funeral, his native State
necessarily fiUed a subordinate place. The general
sentiment of the citizens of New Jersey demanded
that some formal expression should be made of
their feelings toward the man who had given

244 Garret Augustus Hobart
such distinction to the State. The Legislature by
the joint action of both houses held a memorial
session at the State House in Trenton on February
21, 1900. John W. Griggs was selected by the
Legislature to deliver on that occasion a memorial
address. Besides the members of the Legislature
there were present Govemor Murphy, Senators
Sewell and Kean, and many personal friends.
The exercises were opened with prayer by the
Rev. Dr. Magie. The address which foUowed,
and which was printed by the State, was a faithful
and eloquent portrayal of the Hfe and work of
Mr. Hobart. It is a just tribute to the man by
one who had been intimately associated with him.
There was early set on foot in the city of Pater
son a movement to put in some public place a
memorial of the high regard entertained for its
most honored citizen. A large committee was
appointed at a public meeting held soon after
the funeral at the City HaU to carry into effect
the general desire. From it a smaUer committee
was appointed, of which E. T. BeU, president of
the First National Bank, one of Mr. Hobart's
most intimate friends, was made the chairman,
to take charge of the matter. It was empowered
to select the form of the memorial, to receive
subscriptions, and to superintend the work. After
much discussion in the papers and the committee,
it was decided that the memorial should be a
bronze statue of Mr. Hobart, to be placed on the
plaza of the City HaU in front of its main entrance.

Subsequent Action by Public Bodies 245
There was long delay over the selection of a design
and in the execution of the work, and after the
work was finished a stiU longer delay was deemed
judicious because it was necessary to repair the
City Hall after the great fire which destroyed
almost the whole business section of the city in
1902. The design of the memorial, accepted
under the advice of the National Sculpture Society,
was made by Phihp Martiny. It is a statue of
heroic size, representing Mr. Hobart as Vice-
President holding in his right hand a gavel rest
ing on a fasces wrapped in the national flag. At
his feet on the opposite side are books of law.
The figure is about nine feet high and the pedestal
of equal height.
For the erection of this statue $15,000 was
raised by the citizens and former residents of
Paterson, aided by the gifts of a few personal
friends outside the city. The statue was unveiled
with public ceremonies on June 3, 1903, in the
presence of ten thousand persons. After prayer
by the Rev. Dr. Magie, Vice-ChanceUor Stevenson
on behalf of the citizens' committee presented the
work to the city with the expressed hope, "that
it may stand as long as the city of Paterson stands,
testifying the love of our hearts for the man, the
respect and honor and tenderness in which we hold
his memory, and our pride in his great career."
The Mayor, Mr. John Hinchcliffe, received the
gift with appropriate words on behalf of the city.
An address was delivered by John W. Griggs,

246 Garret Augustus Hobart
which closed with these words: "He has passed
into history. His character and services to his
country will never pass away. The testimony of
his contemporaries will show the transcendency
of his talents and justify the fond pride with which
his friends have placed his statue in this place, and
challenged the world to say whether he was worthy
of the distinction. " At the close of the address,
Thornton B. Bell drew aside the flag which hid
the statue from public view.
The body of Mr. Hobart now lies in a mausoleum
erected in Cedar Lawn Cemetery just outside the
bounds of the city of Paterson. This structure
was designed to be as enduring as the work of
human hands could be made. It was designed by
Henry Bacon of New York City, who also super
intended its erection. The order of architecture
is what is known technically as Grecian Doric,
the noblest form of that order. The buUding
is thirty-eight feet long, nineteen feet broad
and twenty -two feet high. The exterior waUs
are of granite, the pillars are monoliths, and the
stones large and imposing. The roof is com
posed of only three great stones, the central one,
forming the ridge, weighing forty-three tons.
The door is of bronze in open work, and oppo
site to it is a window of stained glass, with a
figure representing The Flight of the Soul. The
interior of the structure is lined with marble.
On both sides of the entrance are vaults, in
one of which the body of the daughter, who

* 1 ¦ l**
The Hobart Mausoleum
Cedar Lawn Cemetery, Paterson,

Subsequent Action by Public Bodies 247
died in Italy, has been placed. In the centre of
the buUding stands a double sarcophagus, in one
side of which is placed the body of the late Vice-
President. When the building was completed,
the family with a few intimate friends assembled
in it, and with religious services conducted by
their pastor this tomb was dedicated. On the
slab of marble over the sarcophagus, where Mr.
Hobart's body was placed, are simply the words:
GARRET AUGUSTUS HOBART
I 844-1 899

CHAPTER XXVIII
The Character and Services of Mr. Hobart as
Viewed by his Contemporaries
FOR the period of only two years and eight
months was Mr. Hobart Vice-President of
the United States. In this brief time his
national reputation was made. It seems emi
nently proper that in this story of his life the
estimates of his character and influence given
by those, with whom as Vice-President he was
associated, should find a place. The selection of
these expressions is limited by the singular and
interesting fact, that aU of them reiterate the same
general impression. They all speak of affection
for the man as weU as respect for the Vice-Presi
dent. This regard is most fuUy expressed in
letters from the Senators in returning thanks for
a photograph sent to each one at the expressed
wish of Mr. Hobart.
It is proper that the words of President McKinley
should be first cited. In addition to the pro-
vclamation issued by the President to the country
at the time of Mr. Hobart's death, he said in
ihis message to Congress in December: "At the
threshold of your deliberations you are caUed to
248

Viewed by his Contemporaries 249
mourn with your countrymen the death of Vice-
President Hobart, who passed from this life on
the morning of November 21st last. His great
soul now rests in eternal peace. His private
life was pure and elevated, while his public career
was ever distinguished by large capacity, stainless
integrity, and exalted motives. He has been
removed from the high office which he honored
and dignified, but his lofty character, his devotion
to duty, his honesty of purpose and noble virtues
remain with us as a priceless legacy and example. "
To these words may be added the following
letter : Executive Mansion,
January i, 1900
Dear Mrs. Hobart:
Mrs. McKinley thought it would be appropriate to write
you the first note which goes out from the White House
under date of 1900; and so with it we send you and Junior
our love and sympathy and good wishes. Just at this hour
one year ago I called upon the Vice-President and recall
the pleasant visit with you, most of the guests having
retired. And my visit was most agreeable. How we miss
you. How we missed you yesterday is the message Mrs.
McKinley bids me send you.
You will be glad to know Mrs. McKinley stood the recep
tion well, and looked so well. She remained a little over an
hour, and is sitting by me while I write. We could not let
the day pass without sending you affectionate and sym
pathetic greeting.
Mrs. McKinley sends much love to you both and
believe me, Truthfully yours,
William McKinley.

2SO Garret Augustus Hobart
Ex- President Cleveland, on hearing the news of
his death, said : " In common with aU good citizens,
I heard the news of Vice-President Hobart's
death with deepest regret. I never had known
him or seen him tiU the inauguration day, when
he assumed the duties of his official position. The
slight intercourse on that occasion and my ob
servations since of the manner in which he per
formed his official duties convince me that in
the death of Vice-President Hobart the American
people have lost a faithful and conscientious
public servant. "
In the Houses of Congress all the speeches were
made in the unvarying tone of respect and friend
ship. The memorial session of the Senate was
held on January lo, 1900. From Senator SeweU's
long personal acquaintance with Mr. Hobart, his
remarks on the private life and the character of
his friend have greater interest than those made
on his pubHc services. He said: "The character
of Mr. Hobart was as the open day; neither dark
ness nor shadow rested upon it. His conduct
was ever just and honorable. The dignity of his
manhood spumed aU that was mean and worthless,
and his virtues lent a charm of manner and social
attractiveness that gave him prominence. . . .
His acts of mercy and philanthropy — though
many — were unproclaimed. His generous hospi
tality and good cheer flowed in a continual stream
that found its source in the benevolence of his
heart. The happiness of others was dearer to

Viewed by his Contemporaries 251
him than his own, and the cardinal principles
of his creed were sympathy and kindness. He
loved to do good and sought for opportunities to
accomplish it. His word was his bond, and
those who knew him asked no other security. "
Senator Daniel, of Virginia, speaking of his
official service, said: "I venture to say the office
of Vice-President was never fUled by any one who
met aU of its responsibilities with more equal and
uniform sufficiency, or discharged its duties with
more acceptability to all concerned than did our
beloved and lamented friend. . . . Nothing that
happened in this hall escaped the eye of his alert
attention. Our late Vice-President was the model
presiding officer of a dehberative assembly. "
There is placed here a letter received from Sena
tor Daniel which Mr. Hobart greatly prized. It
was in answer to a letter of congratulation on the
Senator's re-election. It is as foUows:

My Dear Mr. President:
You are our President, and my appreciation of the fact
warms into affectionate gratitude upon the receipt of your
welcome salutations as I am again consigned to your care.
It is a bailment, I fear, without reward to the bailee,
but the bailment feUcitates itself that it is to be under
such supervision as has happily fallen to its lot.
Skeptics doubt whether any party "saves the country"
with as much certainty as every party claims to have done
it as soon as it discovers itself on top, but there is no doubt
that those that administer great places as you do, do a vast
deal to make life worth living and to create that atmos-

252 Garret Augustus Hobart
phere in which patriotism becomes a hope and a joy as
well as a creed and a duty.
I will be fortunate and happy if I may derive any such
measure of profit from your example, as I have derived of
pleasure and satisfaction in its contemplation.
And so, my dear Chief, I give you the right hand of a
friendship which, instinctive upon acquaintance, has been
cemented by association, and has grown with my admira
tion and respect with every renewal of contact, and I am
honored that I may subscribe myself, as I am
Your Friend and obt. Servant,
Jno. W. Daniel.
Senate, Dec. 6, 1897.
Senator CuUom, of Illinois, paid this tribute
to the kindly and great qualities of the late Vice-
President: "We as Senators of the United States,
comprising all shades of public opinion, and com
ing from all sections of our common country, are
animated by a common desire to do honor to the
memory of this man whom we had Ifearned to
love, and to place on the perpetual record of the
Senate our tribute to his illustrious memory. The
few years of my acquaintance with Garret A.
Hobart have added to my love for the human race,
and have stimulated every fibre of my being to a
higher conception of the worth and value of a
man of character. His integrity and good judg
ment were the basis of a reputation for abihty,
honor, and justice, which the entire people recog
nized. No one distrusted his sincerity. AU who
knew him instinctively relied upon his judgment.
His life was stainless and his whole career, active

Viewed by his Contemporaries 253
and successful as it was, contained nothing which,
dying, he could wish to blot. Nothing received
his approval which was not just and right. I
do not" recall a single decision made by him in this
body which was ever reversed. "
Senator Davis, of Minnesota, in the same strain
said: "Something has been said in the remarks
that have preceded as to his influence as a Vice-
President. There was something in the large
composition of the man which necessarily pressed
itself upon every situation, social, business, or poli
tical, with which he was brought into contact."
Senator Morgan, of Alabama, added these words
in his speech: " I doubt if the century has recorded
a more perfectly rounded American character
than that of Garret A. Hobart. He appeared
to me as nearly a perfect representation of the
manhood and nobility of the American character
as any man I have ever read of, certainly as any
man I have ever seen. "
~ Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, referred in
thoughtful words to Mr. Hobart's official influence,
saying: "There is one conspicuous public service
rendered by Mr. Hobart, which, I think, has not
been understood and certainly has not been ade
quately appreciated. He restored the Vice- Presi
dency to its proper position, and lifted it up before
the people to the dignity and importance which
it merits. . . . Out of neglect and misconcep
tion, Mr. Hobart sUently Hfted his great office
merely by the manner in which he fiUed it and

254 Garret Augustus Hobart
performed its duties. Quietly, firmly, and with
perfect tact, he asserted the dignity of his position,
never going too far and always far enough. With
out knowing exactly why, people suddenly came
to realize there was a Vice-President of the United
States, that he held the second position in the
Government, and that with the exception of the
President he was the only man in the country
holding office by the vote of the entire people.
He regarded himself as a part of the administra
tion, and as a representative of the policies which
that administration had been chosen to carry
into effect; as one of the President's friends, ad
visers, and supporters, equaUy interested with
him in the success of the measures to which they
were alike committed. When he came to Wash
ington he was but little known outside his native
State of New Jersey. When he died the whole
country grieved, not because the Vice-President
was dead, but because Garret A. Hobart was gone,
who had in a time only too brief impressed himself
upon them as a worthy holder of a great office,
and as a distinguished public man. "
Senator Caffery, of Louisiana, indorsed what
had been said, adding: "I know his character and
qualities have been portrayed before the Senate to
day in language too eloquent for me to attempt
to rival or to equal. I know that they have uttered
the living truth. I know that no word of praise
that has fallen from the lips of those who have
eulogized the deceased Vice-President has been

Viewed by his Contemporaries 255
said beyond the truth. I know that all the Sena
tors who have addressed us to-day have been
animated solely by a desire to pay their tribute of
respect and admiration, which we all, as American
Senators, feel, to the memory of the late Vice-
President. "
Senator Chandler, of New Hampshire, proudly
claimed him as a descendant of a citizen of his
State, and spoke of him "as a man of rare gifts
of person, mind, and manners, possessed of the
highest native intelligence, with ability to meet
the strongest men of the country in business
negotiations, in legal contests, and in political
management." The proceedings in the Senate closed with the
address of Senator Kean, of New Jersey, who
spoke as follows of the sorrow of the State in the
death of Mr. Hobart: "The State of New Jersey
mourns, with the union of all the States, in the
untimely death of her distinguished son. Garret
A. Hobart. Great as the loss has been to the
nation, the blow has fallen with heavier force,
and with the sense of an intimate and personal
loss upon the people of the city and State,
among whom his busy and useful Hfe has been
spent. . . . Popularity came to him as natur
aUy as if it were an endowment of his birth.
He made friends as easUy as he kept them.
It seemed impossible for him to make an
enem3^ ... I am here to-day to testify to the
love that New Jersey bore for her distinguished

256 Garret Augustus Hobart
and lamented son — gone, alas, too early to his
long rest."
In the House of Representatives, speeches,
simUar in affection, respect, and sorrow to those
in the Senate, were made on the occasion of the
memorial session held January 26, 1900. AU of
these speeches are preserved in the memorial
volume published by Congress. Many volumes
could be made from the resolutions passed by
various organizations, addresses in many cities,
and articles in the newspapers on the life and
character of the Vice-President. To these coiUd
be added expressions of respect and regard made
for publication by members of the Cabinet,
Governors of States, judges of the Supreme Court
of the United States, and of various courts in
New Jersey.
Some letters denote individual feelings which
deserve remembrance, and are therefore inserted
here. One from the Chief -Justice of the Supreme
Court follows : Washington, Nov. 22, 1899.
Dear Mrs. Hobart:
The sad intelligence reached me yesterday afternoon at
Richmond, Va., when I was holding court.
I write to assure you, though I feel the assurance is un
necessary, of the sincere sympathy of Mrs. Fuller and myself
in your affliction.
The Vice-President has endeared himself to us all, and
his death carries with it a sense of personal bereavement.
Our friends are miserable comforters under such cir
cumstances, but I think those who mourn are glad to know

Viewed by his Contemporaries 257
that they are sympathized with, though sympathy is so
unavailing. Very truly yours,
Melville W. Fuller.
British Embassy,
Friday, 24 Nov., '99.
My dear Mrs. Hobart:
Among the many letters of sincere sympathy you will
receive, I should like to add a few lines to tell you how
grieved I am for you in the loss of such a noble, good hus
band as dear Mr. Hobart. He was so charming and so
kind, and I shall never forget what a pleasure it was to be
with him.
The long illness must have been a great trial, and what
ever people may say regarding preparation for this separa
tion, when it comes I believe the shock is always the same,
with warning or none.
I have watched the reports all the summer and hoped
his fine physique would win the battle.
I am truly grieved that it was not so.
All my family join me in sorrowing for you, but I was
the one of us who knew him best. Very sincerely yours,
Maud Pauncefote.
I West Franklin Street,
Baltimore,
Tuesday Evening.
Dear Mrs. Hobart :
Please let me add my word of sympathy in your
great bereavement. You have been often in my mind,
and your courage and devotion through his long and
trying illness have won, I know, the admiration of his
physicians.
Sincerely yours,
Wm. Osler.

25 8 Garret Augustus Hobart
1 7 15 Massachusetts Avenue,
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mrs. Hobart:
It is impossible for us — my wife and I — to express in any
fitting words our heartfelt sympathy for you in your great
sorrow. Why should we make the vain attempt! We
are thankful that Mr. Hobart and you came into our lives.
We are glad that we came to know something of his warm
and generous nature. We can never think of him as other
than a very personal friend. As such we shall miss him
and mourn for him. It does not seem possible we shall
see him no more. Such abounding life, such vital energy,
such sweetness of spirit can never cease to be. Taken from
our sight, but not extinguished I
"Who hath not learned in hours of faith
The truth to flesh and sense unknown,
That life is ever Lord of death
And love can never lose its own."
Faithfully yours,
Lyman J. Gage,
Cornelia W. Gage.
Detroit, Nov. 22, 1899.
Dear Mrs. Hobart:
Our hearts are broken !
Why! oh, why! Mrs. Alger and I ask ourselves con
stantly, should this be?
He, so noble, true, brave, and useful is snatched from
you and the dear son in his prime, and when the country he
was serving so well needed him so much.
God bless and keep you, dear friend, and give you
strength to bear this heavy cross.
Mrs. Alger joins in love and deepest sympathy in this
dark hour. Sincerely your friend,
R. A. Alger.

Viewed by his Contemporaries 259
An anonymous expression, which found utter
ance in The Outlook of December 2, 1900, gives
a phase of Mr. Hobart's kindness of heart
not generally presented: "If a man gets into
trouble and stops to think who can best help
him out, the first name that suggests itself is that
of Hobart. And he has at one time or other helped
so many men, that no matter what happens when
others are in trouble, he generally succeeds in
his mission of relief, because he must ask the
assistance of somebody whom he has helped in
former times. "
Among the many private expressions of high
regard which were published at the time, two only
can be quoted in this memorial, one of these
deserves a place for its just and discriminating
conception of Mr. Hobart's character and career,
and the competency of the writer to form a correct
and adequate judgment. It is from Hugh Herrick,
a resident of Paterson, a journalist, and for years
secretary to the late William Walter Phelps, and
the author of the admirable biography of that man.
Intimately acquainted with the private and pubHc
Hfe of Mr. Hobart, and with the pohtical conditions
of the times, he is notably capable of forming a true
estimate of the Vice-President. Mr. Herrick says:
Garret A. Hobart in many respects was a wonderful
man. He was in the best sense of the term the architect
of his own fortune. His rise to eminence was not helped
by accident, by luck, or by the influence of family or
powerful friends.

26o Garret Augustus Hobart
He began to hold positions of public trust as soon as he
had attained his majority. In his earlier career he made an
impression upon the public by giving legislative form and
substance to what became some of the most valuable laws
of New Jersey.
Although when elected Vice-President he had not been
trained to statesmanship, he had no sooner taken the office
when unforeseen circumstances and great national events
thrust the onerous duties of a statesman upon him, and
those duties he discharged with an ability that sur
prised and gratified the country. He made the Vice-
Presidency a power that it had never possessed before.
His influence upon the policy and course of the national
administration became potential, and the whole nation
grew to feel safer in the knowledge that Garret A. Hobart
was the second official of the Govemment and the confiden
tial adviser of the President. At the time he left the Sen
ate, already weighed down with the disease that proved
fatal, he was the greatest individual force of the national
govemment. No individual ever better understood the peculiarities
and motives of men, or was more adroit through all the
walks of life in removing the dangers of a threatened storm
or evading difficulties that might become perilous. He
possessed the rare faculty of being able to satisfy the ap
peals and importunities of men without gratifying their
demands. His business foresight had seldom been surpassed, and as
an organizer in business or politics he had few equals.
It was not in his nature to harbor resentment, or to
cherish schemes of revenge, and this was one of the ele
ments of his universal and deserved popularity.
Nature gave him a warm heart and an open and kindly
disposition. He was consequently a sympathizing coun
sellor and valued friend. Many a fainting heart received
from him encouragement and strength, and not a few

Viewed by his Contemporaries 261
mourning households were comforted by his consolations
and generosity.
We shall not soon look upon his like again.
The other expression is from the Very Rev.
Dean McNulty, who is known and loved and
honored by every citizen of Paterson, where for
more than forty years he has been a faithful
priest, a helpftU friend of the poor, and a power
for good. He said: "He was a fine man, bright
and genial, and, as we aU know, a prince of busi
ness men. He was a friend of everybody that
needed a friend, and it was that which endeared
him to so many. I have found him always ready
to help the needy, and he has often surprised me
by his willingness to aid when I hardly expected
him to do so. "

CHAPTER XXIX
Closing Words
NO one can have read the story of this life
without recognizing as its distinguishing
feature that Mr. Hobart was a man greatly
beloved. Always and everywhere he attracted to
himself those with whom he came in contact. In
the volume of praise raised to his memory no
note of discord was heard. It was literally true
that "none named him but to praise. "
It is also of interest to note that no one great
deed of national importance enhanced his fame.
He won no battle on a field of blood ; he gained no
great victory in forensic confHct; he grasped no
fortune from daring speculation in the market.
His path in life cannot be traced in blood, or
tears, or ruins. Patient industry, faithful per
formance of duty, and unvarying kindness of heart
marked all his way through life. His gains were
not at the expense of others' losses. His work
was on the lines of the development of resources,
the application of energies, and the increase of
values. Others shared in his success and were
benefited by his plans. His achievements aroused
neither hatred nor envy. The poor and unfortu
nate blessed his name. 262

Closing Words 263
His life shows that kindness and tact have to do
with success and happiness, as well as talents and
industry. The feelings of a heart thoughtful of
others were not lost in the lawyer, the financier,
the manager, the projector, the politician, the
official. Neither his conduct nor his character
was affected by prosperity. The odium so often
attached to wealth and station never rested on
him. In the height of his position he found the
fulness of his fame. No hostile criticism wounded
him while living, or mars his reputation when
dead. He died in the maturity of his powers in the
second place of honor in the land. His death
seemed untimely, but it fixed his memory at the
height of his fame, untouched by the feebleness
of age, unlessened by the forgetfulness of a busy
world. The value of his life, as a lesson for our
age, lies in the fact that day by day with all his
power he did the duty next at hand without wait
ing for a greater task. The present duty centred
his thoughts, and gave him freedom from fore
boding cares and anxious aims for the future.
Carlyle truly said: " There is no life of a good man
but is a heroic poem of its sort. " The poem of
this Hfe is found in its kindness, its sincerity, and
its fidelity to every duty.
The story of such a Hfe belongs to the history
of this nation, and deserves to be remembered. It
is StiU a vital force in the memories of many faith
ful friends and many grateful hearts. Happy is

264 Garret Augustus Hobart
the land in which the young are being trained in
homes of industry, love, and piety to live true
lives and to serve their fellows, their country, and
their God.

APPENDICES

265

APPENDIX I
Speeches of Nomination
J. Franklin Fort, in placing Garret A. Hobart
in nomination, said:
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : — I rise
to present to this Convention the claims of New Jersey to
the Vice-Presidency.
We come because we feel that we can, for the first time in
our history, bring to you a promise that our electoral vote
will be cast for your nominees. If you comply with our
request, this promise will surely be redeemed.
For forty years through the blackness of darkness of a
universally triumphant Democracy, the Republicans of
New Jersey have maintained their organization, and fought
as valiantly as if the outcome were to be assured victory.
Only twice through all this long period has the sun shone
in upon us. Yet through all these weary years, we have,
like Goldsmith's "Captive," felt that:
Hope, like the gleaming taper's light,
Adorns and cheers our way,
And still as darker grows the night,
Emits a brighter ray.
The fulfilment of this hope came in 1894. In that year
for the first time since the Republican party came into
existence, we sent to Congress a solid delegation of eight
Republicans, and elected a Republican to the United States
Senate. We followed this in 1895 by electing a Republican
267

268 Appendix I
Governor by a majority of 27,000. And in this year of
grace we expect to give the Republican electors a majority
of not less than 20,000.
I come then to you to-day in behalf of New Jersey, a
politically redeemed and regenerated State. Old things
have passed away, and behold all things have become
new. It is many long years since New Jersey has received
recognition by a National Convention.
When Henry Clay stood for protection in 1844, New
Jersey furnished Theodore Frelinghuysen as his associate.
The issue then was the restoration of the tariff, and was
more nearly like that of to-day than that of any other
period which I can recall in the nation's political history.
In 1856, when the freedom of man brought the Republican
party into existence, and the great " Pathfinder" was called
to lead. New Jersey furnished for that unequal contest
William L. Dayton as the Vice-Presidential candidate.
Since then counting for nothing, we have asked for nothing.
During this period Maine has had a candidate for President
and a Vice-President; New York four Vice-Presidents, one
of whom became President for almost a full term ; Indiana,
a President, a candidate for President and a Vice-President;
Illinois a President four times, and a Vice-Presidential
candidate; Ohio two Presidents, and now a candidate for
the third time; Tennessee a Vice-President, who became
President for almost a full term.
We believe that the Vice- Presidency in 1896 should be
given to New Jersey; we have reasons for our opinion.
We have the electoral votes. We have carried the State
in the elections of 1893, 1894, and 1895. We hope and
believe we can keep the State in the Republican column
for all time. By your action to-day you can greatly aid
us. Do you believe you could place the Vice-Presidency
in a State more justly entitled to recognition, or one which
it would be of more public advantage to hold in the
Republicans ranks? If the party in any State is deserving

Speeches of Nomination 269
of approval for the sacrifices of its members to maintain
its organization, then the Republicans of New Jersey
in this, the hour of their ascendency, after long years of
bitter defeat, feel that they cannot come to this convention
in vain. We appeal to our brethren in the South, who
know with us what it is to be overridden by fraud in the
ballot-box, to be counted out by corrupt election officers,
to be dominated by an arrogant, unrelenting Democracy.
We should have carried our State at every election for the
past ten years, if the count had been an honest one.
We succeeded in throttling the ballot-box stuffer, and
imprisoning the corrupt election officers, only to have the
whole raft of them pardoned in a day to work again their
nefarious practices upon an honest people. But to-day,
under ballot reform laws with an honest count, we know
we can win. It has been a long and terrible strife to the
goal, but we have reached it unaided and unassisted from
without, and we come to-day promising to the ticket here
selected the vote of New Jersey, whether you give us the
Vice-Presidential candidate or not.
We make it no test of our Republicanism that we have a
candidate. We have been too long used to fighting for
principle for that. But we do say that you can by granting
our request, lighten our burden, and make us a confident
party, with victory in sight even before the contest begins.
Will we carry Colorado, Montana, and Nevada this year,
if the Democracy declares for silver at i6 to i? Let us
hope that we may. New Jersey has as many electoral
votes as those three States together. Will you not make
New Jersey sure to take their place in case of need? We
have in all these long years of Republicanism been the
"Lone Star" Democratic State in the North. Our forty
years' wandering in the wilderness of Democracy are ended.
Our Egyptian darkness disappears. We are on the hill
top, looking into the promised land. Encourage us, as we
march over into the political Canaan of Republicanism,

2/0 Appendix I
there to remain, by giving us a leader on the national ticket
to go up with us. We are proud of our public men.
Their Republicanism and love of country have been welded
in the furnace of political adversity. That man is a
Republican, who adheres to the party in a State where there
is no hope for the gratification of personal ambitions.
There are no camp followers in the minority party in any
State. They are all true soldiers in the militant army doing
valiant service without reward, gain, or the hope thereof,
from principle only.
A true representative of this class of Republicans in New
Jersey we will offer you to-day. He is in the prime of life, a
never-faltering friend, with qualities of leadership unsur
passed, of sterling honor, of broad mind, of liberal views, of
wide public information, of great business capacity, and,
withal, a parliamentarian who would grace the presidency
of the Senate of the United States. A native of our State,
the son of an humble farmer, he was reared to love of
country in sight of the historic field of Monmouth, on which
the blood of our ancestors was shed that the Republic
might exist. From a poor country boy, unaided and alone,
he has risen to high renown among us. In our State we
have done for him all that the political conditions would
permit. He has been Speaker of our Assembly and
President of our Senate. He has been the choice for United
States Senator of the Republican minority in the Legisla
ture, and had it been in our power to have placed him in the
Senate of the United States, he would long ere this have
been there. His capabilities are such as would grace any
position in the nation. Not for himself, but for our State;
not for his ambition, but to give to the nation the highest
type of public official, do we come to this convention by the
command of our State, and in the name of the Republican
party of New Jersey, unconquered and unconquerable,
undivided and indivisible, with our united voice speaking
for all that counts for good citizenship in our State, we

Speeches of Nomination 271
present to you for the office of Vice-President of the
Republic, Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey.
J. Otis Humphrey of Illinois, in seconding this
nomination, said:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention : — I rise
to second the nomination, and I do so on behalf of the
majority of the delegates of the great State of Illinois —
Illinois, which thirty-six years ago gave to the Republican
party her most distinguished son ; and to the world its
greatest human character in the person of Abraham Lincoln
— Illinois, which in the dark days of the Republic gave to
the party the matchless silent soldier, the greatest military
hero the world ever saw, in the person of Ulysses S. Grant —
Illinois, which twelve years ago, for this same great office,
presented to the Republican party the leading citizen
soldier of the century, our own John A. Logan — Illinois,
whose electoral vote from Lincoln to Harrison, with
unwavering regularity, has always been given to the
Republican party.
On her behalf and in her name, and pledging a Uke
fidelity and an equal loyalty to the nominees of the con
vention, I second the nomination for Vice-President, the
Honorable Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey.
When in the roll-call of States West Virginia
was reached, Mr. White of that delegation said :
Mr. Chairman : — I ask at this time, though the conditions
are unfavorable, for the privilege of speaking for a Republi
can State with a Republican electoral vote, on the question
who shall be our candidate for Vice-President. Although
West Virginia was the first Southern State to break the Solid
South, which it did in 1888 by electing our gallant General
Goff , who was deprived of his seat by a Legislature Demo
cratic in a joint ballot by one vote, West Virginia, Mr.

2 72 Appendix I
Chairman, is here as a Southern State with a Repub
lican electoral vote, solid for sound money, solid for
McKinley, and solid for Mr. Hobart of New Jersey for Vice-
President.

APPENDIX II
Notification of Nomination — Senator Fair
banks' s Speech — Reply of Mr. Hobart
Senator Fairbanks, chairman of the Notification
Committee, said in informing Mr. Hobart of his
nomination :
Mr. Hobart: — The Republican National Convention,
recently assembled at St. Louis, commissioned us to form
ally notify you of your nomination for the office of Vice-
President of the United States. We are met pursuant to
the direction of the Convention to perform the agreeable
duty assigned us.
In all the splendid history of the great party, which holds
our loyal allegiance, the necessity was never more urgent
for steadfast adherence to those wholesome principles,
which have been the sure foundation-rock of our national
prosperity. The demand was never greater for men, who
hold principles above all else, and who are unmoved either
by the clamor of the hour, or the promises of false teachers.
The Convention at St. Louis in full measure met the high
demands of the times in its declaration of party principles,
and in the nomination of candidates for President and Vice-
President. Sir, the office for which you are nominated is of rare
dignity, honor, and power. It has been graced by the
most eminent statesmen, who have contributed to the
upbuilding of the strength and glory of the Republic.
i8 273

2 74 Appendix II
Because of your exalted personal character, and of your
intelligent and patriotic devotion to the enduring principles
of a protective tariff, which wisely discriminates in favor
of American interests ; and to a currency whose soundness
and integrity none can challenge ; and because of your con
spicuous fitness for the exacting and important duties of
the high office, the Republican National Convention, with
a unanimity and enthusiasm rarely witnessed, chose you
as our candidate for Vice-President of the United States.
We know it to be gratifying to you personally to be the
associate of Wifliam McKinley in the pending contest.
For you and your distinguished associate we bespeak the
enthusiastic and intelligent support of all our countrymen
who desire that prosperity shall again rule throughout the
Republic. Mr. Hobart rephed to this address as follows :
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee : — I beg
to extend to you my grateful acknowledgments for the
kind and flattering terms in which you convey the formal
announcement of my nomination for Vice-President of the
United States by the Republican National Convention at
St. Louis. I am profoundly sensible of the honor, which
has been done me, and through me, the State in which all
my life has been spent, in my selection as a candidate
for this high office. I appreciate it the more because it
associates me in a contest, which involves the very gravest
issues, with one who represents in his private character and
public career the highest intelligence and best spirit of his
party, and with whom my personal relations are such as to
afford a guarantee of perfect accord in the campaign which
is before us.
It is sufficient for me to say at this time that concurring
in all the declarations of principle and policy embodied in
the St. Louis platform, I accept the nomination tendered
to me with a full appreciation of its responsibilities, and

Mr. Hobart's Reply 275
with an honest purpose in the event that the people shall
ratify the choices made by the National Convention, to dis
charge any duties which may devolve upon me with sole
reference to the public good.
Let me add that it will be my earnest effort in the coming
campaign to contribute in every way possible to the success
of the party which we represent, and which, on the impor
tant issues of the times, stands for the best interests of the
people. Uncertainty or instability as to the money ques
tion involves most serious consequences to every interest,
and to every citizen of the country. The gravity of this
question cannot be overestimated. There can be no
financial security, no real prosperity where the policy of
the Govemment as to that question is at all a matter of
doubt. Gold is the one standard of value among all enlightened
commercial nations. All financial transactions of what
ever character, all business enterprises, all individual or
corporate investments are adjusted to it. An honest dollar,
worth 100 cents everjrwhere, cannot be coined out of 53
cents of silver, plus a legislative fiat. Such a debasement
of our currency would inevitably produce incalculable
loss, appalling disaster, and national dishonor. It is a
fundamental principle in coinage, recognized and followed
by all the statesmen of America in the past, and never yet
safely departed from, that there can be only one basis upon
which gold and silver may be concurrently coined as money,
and that basis is equality not in weight, but in the commer
cial value of the metal contained in the respective coins.
The commercial value is fixed by the markets of the
world, with which the great interests of our country are
necessarily connected by innumerable business ties which
cannot be severed or ignored. Great and self-reliant as
our country is, it is great not alone within its own borders,
and upon its own resources, but because it also reaches out
to the ends of the earth in all manifold departments of

276 Appendix II
business, exchange, and commerce, and must maintain with
honor its standing and credit among the nations of the
earth. The question admits of no compromise. It is a vital
principle at stake, but it is in no sense partisan or sectional.
It concerns aU people. Ours, as one of the foremost
nations, must have a monetary standard equal to the best.
It is of vital consequence that this question should be
settled now in such a way as to restore public confidence here
and everywhere in the integrity of our purpose. A doubt
of that integrity among other great commercial countries
of the world will not only cost us millions of money, but that
which, as patriots, we should treasure still more highly —
our industrial and commercial supremacy.
My estimate of the value of a protective pohcy has been
formed by the study of the object lessons of a great indus
trial State extending over a period of thirty years. It is
that protection not only builds up important industries
from small beginnings, but that those and all other in
dustries flourish or languish in proportion as protection is
maintained or withdrawn. I have seen it indisputably
proved that the prosperity of the farmer, merchant, and
all other classes of citizens goes hand in hand with that of
the manufacturer and mechanic. I am firmly persuaded
that what we need most of all to remove the business paraly
sis that afflicts this country is the restoration of a policy,
which, while affording ample revenue to meet the expenses
of the Govemment, will reopen American workshops on
full time and full handed, with their operatives paid good
wages in honest dollars; and this can only come under a
tariff which will hold the interests of our own people
paramount to our political and commercial systems.
The opposite poHcy, which discourages American enter
prises, reduces American labor to idleness, diminishes the
earning of American workingmen, opens our markets to
commodities from abroad which we should produce at

Mr. Hobart's Reply 277
home, while closing foreign markets against our products,
and which at the same time steadily augments the public
debt, increasing the public burdens while diminishing the
ability of the people to meet them, is a policy which must
find its chief popularity elsewhere than among American
citizens. I shall take an early opportunity, gentlemen of the com
mittee, through you to communicate to my fellow-citizens
with somewhat more of detail, my views concerning the
dominant questions of the hour, and the crisis which
confronts us as a nation.
With this brief expression of my appreciation of the
distinguished honor that has been bestowed upon me, and
this signification of my acceptance of the trust to which I
have been summoned, I place myself at the service of the
Republican party and of the country.

APPENDIX III
Garret A. Hobart's Letter of Acceptance
In accordance with custom the following public
letter, addressed to the Notification Committee
of the National Convention, was issued as a
declaration of the principles which Mr. Hobart
held, and for which the Republican party stood:
Paterson, N. J., September 7, 1896.
Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks,
and others, of the Notification Committee
of the Republican National Convention;
Gentlemen : —
I have already, in accepting the nomination for the office
of the Vice-Presidency tendered me by the National Re
publican Convention, expressed my approval of the plat
form adopted by that body as the party basis of doctrine.
In accordance with accepted usage, I beg now to supple
ment that brief statement of my views, by some additional
reflections upon the questions which are in debate before
the American people.
The platform declarations in reference to the money
question express clearly and unmistakably the attitude of
the Republican party as to this supremely important sub
ject. We stand unqualifiedly for honesty in finance, and
the permanent adjustment of our monetary system, in the
multifarious activities of trade and commerce, to the
existing gold standard of value. We hold that every dollar
of currency issued by the United States, whether of gold,
278

Letter of Acceptance 279
silver, or paper must be worth a dollar in gold, whether in
the pocket of a man who toils for his daily bread, in the
vault of the savings bank which holds his deposits, or in
the exchanges of the world.
The money standard of a great nation should be as fixed
and permanent as the nation itself. To secure and retain
the best should be the desire of every right-minded citizen.
Resting on stable foundations, continuous and unvarying
certainty of value should be its distinguishing characteristic.
The experience of all history confirms the truth that every
coin, made under any law, howsoever that coin may be
stamped, will finally command in the markets of the world
the exact value of the materials which compose it. The
dollar of our country, whether of gold or silver, should be
of the full value of one hundred cents, and by so much as
any dollar is worth less than this in the market, by precisely
that sum will some one be defrauded.
The necessity of a certain and fixed money value between
nations as well as individuals has grown out of the inter
change of commodities, the trade and business relation
ships which have arisen among the peoples of the world
with the enlargement of human wants and the broadening
of human interests. This necessity has made gold the final
standard of all enlightened nations. Other metals, in
cluding silver, have a recognized commercial value, and
silver, especially, has a value of great importance for sub
sidiary coinage. In view of a sedulous effort by the advo
cates of free coinage to create a contrary impression, it
cannot be too strongly emphasized that the Republican
party in its platform affirms this value in silver, and
favors the largest possible use of this metal as actual money
that can be maintained with safety. Not only this, it will
not antagonize, but will gladly assist in promoting a
double standard wherever it can be secured by agreement
and co-operation among the nations. The bimetallic
currency, involving the free use of silver, which we now

2 8o Appendix III
have, is cordially approved by Republicans. But a
standard and a currency are vastly different things.
If we are to continue to hold our place among the great
commercial nations, we must cease juggling with this
question, and make our honesty of purpose clear to the
world. No room should be left for misconception as to
the meaning of the language used in the bonds of the
Govemment not yet matured. It should not be possible
for any party or individual to raise a question as to the
purpose of the country to pay all its obligations in the best
form of money recognized by the commercial world.
Any nation which is worthy of credit or confidence can
afford to say explicitly, on a question so vital to every
interest, what it means, when such meaning is challenged or
doubted. It is desirable that we should make it known
at once and authoritatively, that an "honest dollar" means
any dollar equivalent to a gold dollar of the present standard
of weight and fineness. The world should likewise be
assured that the standard dollar of America is as inflexible
a quantity as the French napoleon, the British sovereign,
or the German twenty mark piece.
The free coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one
is a policy which no nation has ever before proposed, and it
is not to-day permitted in any mint in the world — ^not even
in Mexico. It is purposed to make the coinage unlimited,
at an absolutely fictitious ratio, fixed with no reference to
intrinsic value or pledge of ultimate redemption. With
silver at its present price of less than seventy cents per
ounce in the market, such a policy means an immediate
profit to the seller of silver for which there is no retum now
or hereafter to the people or the Govemment. It means
that for each dollar's worth of silver bullion delivered
.at the mint, practically two dollars of stamped coin will be
given in exchange. For one hundred dollars' worth of
bullion, nearly two hundred silver dollars will be delivered.
Let it also be remembered that the consequences of such

Letter of Acceptance 281
an act would probably be cumulative in their effects. The
crop of silver, unhke that of hay, or wheat, or com —
which, being of yearly production, can be regulated by the
law of demand and supply — is fixed once for all. The
silver which has not yet been gathered is all in the ground.
Dearth or other accident of the elements cannot augment
or diminish it. Is it not more than probable that with the
enormous premium offered for its mining, the cupidity
of man would make an over-supply continuous, with the
necessary result of a steady depreciation as long as the sil
ver dollar could be kept in circulation at all? Under the
laws of finance, which are as fixed as those of any other
science, the inevitable result would finally be a currency
all and absolutely fiat. There is no difference in principle
between a dollar half fiat and one all fiat. The latter, as
the cheapest, under the logic of "cheap money," would
surely drive the other out.
Any attempt on the part of the Govemment to create
by its fiat money of a fictitious value, would dishonor us
in the eyes of other peoples, and bring infinite reproach
upon the national character. The business and financial
consequences of such an immoraFact would be world-wide,
because our commercial relations are world-wide. All our
settlements with other lands must be made, not with the
money which may be legally current in our own country,
but in gold, the standard of all nations with which our
relations are most cordial and extensive, and no legislative
enactment can free us from that inevitable necessity.
It is a known fact that more than eighty per cent of the
commerce of the world is settled in gold, or on a gold basis.
Such free coinage legislation, if ever consummated,
would discriminate against every producer of wheat, cot
ton, corn, or rye — who should in justice be equally entitled,
with the silver owner, to sell his products to the United
States treasury, at a profit fixed by the Govemment — and
against all producers of iron, steel, zinc, or copper, who

282 Appendix III
might properly claim to have their metals made into cur
rent coin. It would, as well, be a fraud upon all persons
forced to accept a currency thus stimulated and at the same
time degraded.
In every aspect the proposed policy is partial and one
sided, because it is only when a profit can be made by a
mine owner or dealer, that he takes his silver to the mint
for coinage. The Govemment is always at the losing end.
Stamp such fictitious value upon silver ore, and a dishonest
and unjust discrimination will be made against every other
form of industry. When silver bullion, worth a httle
more than fifty cents, is made into a legal tender dollar,
driving out one having a purchasing and debt-paying
power of one hundred cents, it will clearly be done at the
expense and injury of every class of the community.
Those who contend for the free and unlimited coinage
of silver may believe in all honesty that while the present
ratio of silver to gold is as thirty to one (not sixteen to one),
silver will rise above the existing market value. If it does
so rise, the effect will be to make the loss to all the people
so much less, but such an opinion is but a hazardous
conjecture at best, and is not justified by experience. With
in the last twenty years this Government has bought
about 460,000,000 ounces of silver, from which it has
coined approximately 430,000,000 silver doUars, and issued
$130,000,000 in silver certificates, and the price of the
metal has steadily declined from $1.15 per ounce to sixty-
eight cents per ounce. What will be the decline when the
supply is augmented by the offerings of all the world?
The loss upon these silver purchases to the people of this
country has now been nearly $150,000,000.
The dollar of our fathers, about which so much is said,
was an honest dollar, silver maintaining a full parity of
intrinsic value with gold. The fathers would have spumed
and ridiculed a proposition to make a silver doUar, worth
only fifty-three cents, stand of equal value with a gold one

Letter of Acceptance 283
worth one hundred cents. The experience of all nations
proves that any depreciation, however slight, of another
standard from the parity with gold, has driven the more
valuable one out of circulation, and such experience in a
matter of this kind is worth much more than mere interested
speculative opinion. The fact that few gold coins are seen
in ordinary circulation for domestic uses is no proof at all
that the metal is not performing a most important function
in business affairs. The foundation of the house is hot al
ways in sight, but the house would not stand an hour if
there were no foundation. The great enginery that moves
the ocean steamship is not always in view of the passenger,
but it is, all the same, the propelling force of the vessel,
without which it would soon become a worthless derelict.
It may be instructive to consider a moment how the
free and unlimited coinage of silver would affect a few
great interests, and I mention only enough to demon
strate what a calamity may lie before us if the platform
formulated at Chicago is permitted to be carried out :
There are now on deposit in the savings banks of thirty-
three States and Territories of the Union, the vast sum of
$2,000,000,000. These are the savings of almost 5,000,000
depositors. In many cases, they represent the labor and
economies of years. Any depreciation in the value of the
dollar would defraud every man, woman, and child to whom
these savings belong. Every dollar of their earnings when
deposited was worth one hundred cents in gold of the presrait
standard of weight and fineness. Are they not entitled
to receive in full, with interest, all they have so deposited?
Any legislation that would reduce it by the value of a
single dime would be an intolerable wrong to each deposi
tor. Every bank or banker, who has accepted the earnings
of these millions of dollars to the credit of our citizens,
must be required to pay them back in money not one whit
less valuable than that which these banks and bankers
received in trust.

284 Appendix III
There are, in this country, nearly six thousand building
and loan associations, with shareholders to the number
of 1,800,000; and with assets amounting to more than
$500,000,000. Their average of holdings is nearly $300
per capita, and in many cases they represent the savings of
men and women who have denied themselves the comforts
of life in the hope of being able to accumulate enough to
buy or build homes of their own. They have aided
in the erection of over a million of houses, which are
now affording comfort and shelter for five millions of our
thrifty people.
Free coinage at the arbitrary rate of sixteen ounces of
silver to one of gold would be equivalent to the confiscation
of nearly half the savings that these people have invested.
It would be tantamount to a war upon American home-
makers. It would be an invasion of "the homes of the
provident," and tend directly to "destroy the stimulus to
endeavor and the compensation of honest toil." Every
one of the shareholders of these associations is entitled
to be repaid in money of the same value which he deposited,
by weekly payments or otherwise, in these companies. No
one of them should be made homeless because a political
party demands a change in the money standard of our
country as an experiment, or as a concession to selfishness
or greed.
The magnitude of the disaster which would overtake
these and cognate interests becomes the more strikingly
apparent when considered in the aggregate. Stated
broadly, the savings banks, life insurance and assessment
companies, and building loan associations of the country,
hold in trust $15,309,717,381. The debasement of the
currency to the silver basis, as proposed by the Chicago
platform, would wipe out at one blow approximately
$7,654,858,690 of this aggregate. According to the report
of the Department of Agriculture, the total value of the
main cereal crops in this country in 1894 was $995,438,107.

Letter of Acceptance 285
So that the total sum belonging to the people, and held
in trust in these institutions, which would be obliterated
by the triumph of free and unlimited silver coinage, would
be seven and one-half times the total value of the annual
cereal crop of the United States. The total value of the
manufactured products of the country, for the census year
of 1890, was $9,372,537,283. The establishment of a silver
basis of value, as now proposed, would entail a loss to these
three interests alone equal to eighty-five per cent of this
enormous output of all the manufacturing industries of the
Union, and would affect directly nearly one third of its
whole population.
One hundred and forty millions of dollars per annum are
due to pensioners of the late war. That sum represents
blood spilled and sufferings endured in order to preserve
this nation from disintegration. In many cases the sums
so paid in pensions are exceedingly small; in few, if any,
are they excessive. The spirit that would deplete these
to the extent of a farthing is the same that would organize
sedition, destroy the peace and security of the country,
punish rather than reward our veteran soldiers, and is un
worthy of the countenance by thought or vote of any
patriotic citizen of whatever political faith. No party,
until that which met in convention at Chicago, has ever
ventured to insult the honored survivors of our struggle
for the national life by proposing to scale their pensions
horizontally, and to pay them hereafter in depreciated
dollars worth only fifty-three cents each.
The amounts due, in addition to the interests already
named, to depositors and trust companies in national, state
and private banks, to holders of fire and accident insurance
pohcies, to holders of industrial insurance, where the money
deposited or the premiums have been paid in gold or its
equivalent, are so enormous together with the sums due,
and to become due, for state, municipal, county, or other
corporate debts, that if paid in depreciated silver or its

2 86 Appendix III
equivalent, it would not only entail upon our fellow-coimtry-
men a loss in money which has not been equalled in a similar
experience since the world began, but it would, at the same
time, bring a disgrace to our country such as has never be
fallen any other nation which had the ability to pay its
honest debts. In our condition, and considering our
magnificent capacity for raising revenue, such wholesale
repudiation is without necessity or excuse. No political
expediency or party exigency however pressing, could
justify so monstrous an act.
All these deposits and debts must, under the platform of
the Republican party, be met and adjusted in the best
currency the world knows, and measured by the same
standard in which the debts have been contracted or the
deposits or payments have been made.
Still dealing sparingly with figures, of which there is an
enormous mass to sustain the position of the advocates
of the gold standard of value, I cite one more fact, which is
officially established, premised by the truism that there is
no better test of the growth of a country's prosperity than
its increase in the per capita holdings of its population.
In the decade between 1880 and 1890, during which we had
our existing gold standard, and were under the conditions
that supervened from the Act of 1873, the per capita own-
ings of this country increased from $870 to $1036. In those
ten years the aggregate increase of the wealth of our country
was $21,395,000,000, being fifty per cent in excess of the
increase for any previous ten years since 1850, and at the
amazing rate of over $2,000,000,000 a year. The framers
of the Chicago platform, in the face of this fact, and of the
enormous increase over Great Britain, during this same gold
standard decade, of our country's foreign trade and its
production of iron, coal, and other great S5mibols of national
strength and progress, assert that our monetary standard
is "not only un-American, but anti- American, " and that
it has brought us "into financial servitude to London."

Letter of Acceptance 287
It is impossible to imagine an assertion more reckless and
indefensible. The proposition for free and unlimited silver coinage, car
ried to its logical conclusion — and but one is possible —
means, as before intimated, legislative warrant for the repu
diation of all existing indebtedness, public and private, to
the extent of nearly fifty per cent of the face of all such in
debtedness. It demands an unlimited volume of fiat cur
rency, irredeemable, and therefore without any standard
value in the markets of the world. Every consideration of
public interest and public honor demands that this propo
sition should be rejected by the American people.
This country cannot afford to give its sanction to whole
sale spoliation. It must hold fast to its integrity. It
must still encourage thrift in all proper ways. It must
not only educate its children to honor and respect the flag,
but it should inculcate fidelity to the obligations of per
sonal and national honor as well. Both these great prin
ciples should hereafter be taught in the common schools
of the land, and the lesson impressed upon those who are
the voters of to-day and those who are to become the
inheritors of sovereign power in this republic, that it is
neither wise, patriotic, nor safe to make political plat
forms the mediums of assault upon property, the peace of
society, and upon civilization itself.
Until these lessons have been learned by our children,
and by those who have reached the voting age, it can only
be surmised what enlightened statesmen and political
economists will record as to the action of a party convention
which offers an inducement to national dishonesty by a
premium of forty-seven cents for every fifty-three cents'
worth of silver that can be extracted from the bowels of
the whole earth, with a cordial invitation to all to produce
it at our mints and accept for it a full silver legal-tender
dollar of one hundred cents rated value, to be coined free
of charge and unUmited in quantity for private account.

288 Appendix III
But vastly more than a mere assertion of a purpose to
reconstruct the national currency is suggested by the
Chicago platform. It assumes, in fact, the form of a
revolutionary propaganda.
It embodies a menace of national distintegration and
destruction. This spirit manifested itself in a deliberate
proposition to repudiate the plighted public faith, to im
pair the sanctity of the obligation of private contracts, to
cripple the credit of the nation by stripping the Govemment
of the power to borrow money as the urgent exigencies of
the'.treasury may require, and, in a word, to overthrow all
the foundations of financial and industrial stability.
Nor is this all. Not content with a proposition to thus
debauch the currency, and to unsettle all conditions of trade
and commerce, the party responsible for this platform
denies the competency of the Government to protect the
lives and property of its citizens against internal disorder
and violence.
It assails the judicial muniments reared by the Constitu
tion for the defence of individual rights and the public
welfare, and it even threatens to destroy the integrity and
independence of the Supreme Court, which has been the
last refuge of the citizen against every form of outrage and
injustice. In the face of the serious peril which these propositions
embody, it would seem that there could be but one senti
ment among right-thinking citizens, as to the duty of the
hour, 'ii All men, of whatever party, who believe in law,
and have some regard for the sacredness of individual and
institutional rights, must unite in defence of the endangered
interests of the nation.
While the financial issue which has been thus considered,
and which has come, as the result of the agitation of recent
years, to occupy a peculiar conspicuousness, is admittedly
of primary importance, there is another question which
must command careful and serious attention. Our

Letter of Acceptance 289
financial and business condition is at this moment one of
almost unprecedented depression. Our great industrial
system is seriously paralyzed. Production in many im
portant branches of manufacture has altogether ceased.
Capital is without remimerative employment. Labor is
idle. The revenues of the Govemment are insufficient to
meet its ordinary and necessary expenses. These condi
tions are not the result of accident. They are the outcome
of a mistaken economic pohcy, deliberately enacted and
apphed. It would not be difficult, and would not involve
any violent disturbance of our existing commercial system,
to enact necessary tariff modifications along the Hnes of
experience. For the first two fiscal years of the so-caUed
McKinley Tariff, the receipts from customs were $380,807,
980. At this writing the Wilson Tariff Act has been in
force for nearly two full fiscal years ; but the total receipts,
actual and estimated, cannot exceed $312,441,947. A
steady deficit, constantly depleting the resources of the
Govemment and trenching even upon its gold reserve, has
brought about public distrust and business disaster. It
has, too, necessitated the sale of $262,000,000 of bonds,
thereby increasing to that extent the national debt. It
will be remembered that in no year of the more than a
quarter of a century of continuous Republican administra
tion succeeding the Civil War, when our industries were
disintegrated and all the conditions of business were more
or less disturbed, was the national debt increased by a
single dollar; it was, on the contrary, steadUy and rapidly
diminished. In such a condition of affairs as this, it is
idle to argue against the necessity of some sort of a change
in our fiscal laws. The Democratic party declares for a
remedy by direct taxation upon a selected class of citizens.
It opposes any appUcation of the protective principle.
Our party holds that by a wise adjustment of the tariff,
conceived in moderation and with a view to stability,
we may secure all needed revenue, and it declares that in the

290 Appendix III
event of its restoration to power, it will seek to accomplish
that result. It holds, too, that it is the duty of the Govem
ment to protect and encourage in aU practical ways the
development of domestic industries, the elevation of home
labor, and the enlargement of the prosperity of the people.
It does not favor any form of legislation which would lodge
in the Government the power to do what the people ought
to do for themselves, but it believes that it is both wise and
patriotic to discriminate in favor of our own material
resources, and the utilization under the best attainable con
ditions, of our own capital and our own available skill
and industry.
The words of the Republican national platform on this
subject are at once temperate and emphatic. It says of
the policy of Protection: "In its reasonable appUcation it
is just, fair, and impartial, equally opposed to foreign con
trol and domestic monopoly, to sectional discrimination
and individual favoritism. . . . We demand such an equi
table tariff on foreign imports, which come into competi
tion with American products, as wUl not only furnish
adequate revenue for the necessary expenses of the Govem
ment, but will protect American labor from degradation
to the wage level of other lands. We are not pledged to
any particular schedules. The question of rates is a
practical question, to be governed by the conditions of the
time and of production; the ruling and uncompromising
principle is the production and development of American
labor and industry. The country demands a right settle
ment, and then it wants rest. "
The Republican party, in its first successful national
contest, under Abraham Lincoln, declared in favor "of
that policy of national exchanges which secures to the
working man Uving wages, to agriculture remimerative
prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate re
ward for their skill, labor and enterprise, and to the nation
commercial prosperity and independence. " The principle

Letter of Acceptance 291
thus enunciated has never been abandoned. In the crisis
now upon us, it must be tenaciously adhered to. WhUe we
must insist that our monetary standard shall be maintained
in harmony with that of the civilized world, that our cur
rency wUl be sound and honest, we must also remember
that unless we make it possible for capital to find employ
ment and for labor to earn ample and remunerative wages,
it wUl be impossible to attain that degree of prosperity
which, with a sound monetary poUcy buttressed by a
sotmd tariff policy, wUl be assured.
In 1892, when by universal consent we touched the
high water mark of our national prosperity, we were under
the same financial system that we have to-day. Gold was
then the sole standard, and sUver and paper were freely
used as the common currency. We had a tariff framed by
Republican hands under the direction of the great statesman
who now logically leads the contest for a restoration of the
policy whose reversal brought paralysis to so many of our
industries and distress upon so large a body of our people.
We were under the policy of reciprocity, formulated by
another illustrious statesman of the genuine American type.
We may, if we choose to do so, retum to the prosperous
conditions which existed before the present administration
came into power.
My sincere conviction is that my countrymen wUl prove
wise enough to understand the issues that confront them,
and patriotic enough to apply safe and sure remedies for
the evils that oppress us. They wUl not, I am sure, accept
again at their face value the promises of a party, which,
under desperate and perverted leadership, has so recently
dishonored its solemn pledges, which has repudiated the
principles and policies which have given it a historic past,
and the success of which, as now constituted, would en
danger at home private security and the pubhc safety,
and disastrously affect abroad both our credit and good
name. And foremost among those who will decline to

292 Appendix III
follow where the new Democracy leads, will be thousands
of men. Democrats aforetime and Democrats to-day, who
count country more than party, and are unwilling, even by
indirection, to contribute to results so disastrous to our
most sacred interests.
The platform of the Republican National Convention
states the party position concerning other questions than
those herein referred to. These, while at the present time
of subordinate importance, should not be overlooked.
The Republican party has always been the defender of the
rights of American citizenship, as against all aggressions
whatever, whether at home or abroad. It has, to the extent
of its power, defended those rights, and hedged them about
with law. Regarding the ballot as the expression and
embodiment of the sovereignty of the individual citizen,
it has sought to safeguard it against assault, and to pre
serve its purity and integrity. In our foreign relations it
has labored to secure to every man entitled to the shelter
of our flag the fullest exercise of his rights consistent with
international obligation. If it should be restored to riUer-
ship, it would infuse needed vigor into our relations
with powers which have manifested contempt and dis
regard not only of American citizenship, but of humanity
itself. The Republican party has always stood for the protection
of the American home. It has aimed to secure it in the
enjoyment of all the blessings of remunerated industry, of
moral culture, and of favorable physical environment.
It was the party which instituted the policy of free home
steads, and which holds now that this policy should be
re-established, and that the public lands, yet vacant and
subject to entry in any part of our national territory, should
be preserved against corporate aggression as homes for the
people. It realizes that the safety of the State lies in the
multiplication of households, and the strengthening of that
sentiment of which the virtuous home is the best and the

Letter of Acceptance 293
truest embodiment; and it will aim to dignify and enlarge
by all proper legislation this element of security.
If elected to the position for which I have been nominated,
it will be my earnest and constant endeavor, under Divine
guidance, in the sphere of duty assigned to me, to serve the
people loyally along the line of the principles and policies
of the party which has honored me with its preference.
I am, gentlemen of the committee. Very truly yours,
Garret A. Hobart.

APPENDIX IV
List of Official Persons Attending the Funeral
of Vice-President Hobart at Paterson,
New Jersey, November 25, 1899
William McKinley
President of the United States
Members of the Cabinet
John Hay, Secretary of State
Lyman J. Gage, Secretary of the Treasury
Elihu Root, Secretary of War
John W. Griggs, Attorney-General
Charles Emory Smith, Postmaster-General
John D. Long, Secretary of Navy
Ethan A. Hitchcock, Secretary of Interior
James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture
Members of the Supreme Court
Melville W. Fuller, Chief- Justice
David J. Brewer
Henry B. Brown
Joseph McKenna
Senators of the United States
Nelson W. Aldrich, Augustus O. Bacon,
Rhode Island Georgia
William B. Allison, James H. Berry,
Iowa Arkansas
294

Official Persons Attending Funeral 295

Albert J. Beveridge,
Indiana
Julius C. Burrows,
Michigan
Marion Butler,
North Carolina
Thomas H. Carter,
Montana
William E. Chandler,
New Hampshire
Clarence D. Clark,
Wyoming
William A. Clark,
Montana
Alexander S. Clay,
Georgia
Francis M. Cockrell,
Missouri
Charles A. Culberson,
Texas
Shelby M. Cullom,
Illinois
John W. Daniel,
Virginia
Chauncey M. Depew,
New York
Stephen B. Elkins,
West Virginia
Charles W. Fairbanks
Indiana
Joseph B. Foraker,
Ohio
Addison G. Foster,
Washington
William P. Frye,
Maine

Jacob H. Gallinger,
New Hampshire
Eugene Hale,
Maine
Marcus A. Hanna,
Ohio
Henry C. Hansbrough,
North Dakota
William A. Harris,
Kansas
Joseph R. Hawley,
Connecticut
Henry Heitfield,
Idaho
George F. Hoar,
Massachusetts
James K. Jones,
Arkansas
John P. Jones,
Nevada
John Kean,
New Jersey
Richard Kenney,
Delaware
James H. Kyle,
South Dakota
William Lindsay,
Kentucky
Henry Cabot Lodge,
Massachusetts
Louis E. McComas,
Missouri
John L. McLaurin,
South Carolina
James McMillan,
Michigan

296

Appendix IV

William E. Mason,
Illinois
John T. Morgan,
Alabama
Orville H. Platt,
Connecticut
Thomas C. Platt,
New York
Boies Penrose,
Pennsylvania
Jeter C. Pritchard,
North Carolina
Redfield Proctor,
Vermont
William H. Scott,
West Virginia
William J. Sewell,
New Jersey

James Smith,
New Jersey
John C. Spooner,
Wisconsin
William V. Sullivan,
Mississippi
James P. Taliaferro,
Florida
Benjamin R. Tillman,
South Carolina
George D. Wellington,
Maryland
George P. Wetmore,
Rhode Island
Edward O. Wolcott,
Colorado

Members of the House of Representatives

Robert Adams, Jr.,
Pennsylvania
B. T. Alexander,
New York
De Alva S. Alexander,
New York
D. A. De Armond,
Missouri
Thomas H. Ball,
Texas
John A. Barnham,
California
M. E. Benton,
Missouri
Henry H. Bingham,
Pennsylvania

R. P. Bishop,
Michigan
H. S. Boutell,
lUinois
Marriott Brosius,
Pennsylvania
Walter Brownlow,
Tennesee
Charles H. Burke,
South Dakota
Champ Clark,
Missouri
H. D. Clarkson,
Missouri
Amos I. Cummings,
New York

Official Persons Attending Funeral 297

F. W. Cushman,
Washington
W. D. Daly,
New Jersey
B. B. Davenor,
Indiana
Robert W. Davis,
North Carolina
John Dalzell,
Pennsylvania
Frank M. Eddy,
Minnesota
Israel Fisher,
New York
Charles N. Fowler,
New Jersey
John J. Gardner,
New Jersey
F. H. GiLLETT,
Massachusetts
D. B. Henderson,
Iowa
W. P. Hepburn,
Iowa
Robert R. Hitt,
Illinois
Benjamin F. Howell,
New Jersey
W. L. Jones,
Washington
Charles F. Joy,
Missouri
John H. Ketcham,
New York
Rudolph Kleberg,
Texas

L. F. Livingstone,
Georgia
Chester I. Long,
Massachusetts
H. C. Loudenslager,
New Jersey
J. T. Lloyd,
Missouri
George B. McClellan,
New York
D. Meekinson,
Ohio
David H. Mercer,
Nebraska
Adolph Meyer,
Louisiana
E. S. Minor,
Wisconsin
Page Morris,
Minnesota
Richard W. Parker,
New Jersey
P. Pedra,
New Mexico
Mahlon Pitney,
New Jersey
W. E. Reeder,
Pennsylvania
J. D. Richardson,
Tennessee
John F. Rixey,
Virginia
Gaston A. Robbins,
Alabama
James M. Robinson,
Indiana

298 Appendix IV
Joshua S. Salmon, J. A. Tawney,
New Jersey Minnesota
Joseph C. Sibley, G. W. Taylor,
Pennsylvania Alabama
J. B. Showalter H. C. Thomas,
Pennsylvania North Carolina
B. P. Spalding, Lot Thomas,
North Dakota Iowa
James F. Stewart, George H. White,
New Jersey Illinois
William Sulzer,
New York
Other Official Persons from Washington
John Addison Porter Adjutant-General Corbin
George B. Cortelyou Col. Theodore A. Bingham
Charles G. Davis B. F. Russel
Alexander McDowell J. L. Morrison
J. C. McIlroy
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Foster M. Voorhees
Governor
Supreme Court
William J. Magie, Chief- Justice
Associate Justices
Bennet Van Syckel Job H. Lippincott
Jonathan Dixon William S. Gummere
Charles G. Garrison George C. Ludlow
Gilbert Collins
V ice-Chancellors
Henry C. Pitney Alfred Reed
John R. Emery Frederick W. Stevens
Martin P. Grey

Official Persons Attending Funeral 299
George Wurts, Secretary of State
Citizens of New Jersey

Austin Scott
Henry W. Green
W. M. Johnson
W. S. Stryker
E. F. C. Young

W. S. Hancock
William Riker
George B. Swain
William Bettle
L. A. Thompson

R. F. Goodman

Representative of Governor Roosevelt
Colonel Treadwell, of New York
The Union League of New York appointed as its
representatives

Daniel F. Appleton
M. C. D. Borden
Charles E. Beaman
Henry W. Cannon
Le Grand B. Cannon
Andrew Carnegie
James C. Carter
Francis V. Greene
Henry E. Howland
CoLLis P. Huntington
Augustus D. Juilliard

Thomas L. James
J. Pierpont Morgan
Edward H. Perkins
James W. Pinchot
D. B. St. John Roosa
General Wager Swain
William L. Strong
Grant B. Schley
Frederick D. Tappan
Benjamin F. Tracy
Salem H. Wales

There were also present personal friends:
Ex- Vice-President Levi P. Morton
General and Mrs. Alger
Sir William and Lady McCormack
James Gary and Miss Gary
Franklin Allen
Samuel Fessenden

300 Appendix IV
Representatives of ihe Passaic County Bar
William Pennington Eugene Stevenson
Thomas M. Moore William B. Gourley
Robert Williams George S. Hilton
Representing the City of Paterson
Mayor John Hinchcliffe, and committees from the Board
of Aldermen and chosen Freeholders with Sheriff Peter H.
Hopper, Surrogate Charles M. King, County Clerk Albert
D. Winfield, and Postmaster Kohlhaas.
Republican Committees, Business and Benevolent As
sociations, and Societies and Clubs made applications for
places in the church, but owing to its limited space these
applications could not be granted.