_PUCK, March 31st, 1880._
Loyalty and lack of moderation were equally marked as characteristic
of the support which Mr. Roscoe Conkling gave to any cause that
enlisted his sympathies. The hot, unreasoning, fanatical vehemence
of the attempt which he made in 1880 to dragoon the Republican party
into nominating General Grant for a third term undoubtedly made the
third term idea far more unpopular than a more judicious advocacy
might have made it. Mr. Conkling treated the question of General
Grant’s nomination almost as though it were a matter of divine right;
and although Mr. Conkling himself had a right to be considered honest
in his enthusiasm, as much could not be said for the most of his
active assistants in the management of the “Boom”--among whom were
Ex-Secretaries Belknap and Robeson, two officials who had reflected
anything but credit upon General Grant’s cabinet, Boss Shepherd, and
other members of the ring that had been formed in Washington during the
Ex-President’s second administration. The artist has drawn a parallel
between the methods employed by the “Salvation Army,” which had invaded
this country a little while before, and those of the “halcyon and
vociferous” Mr. Conkling--to quote his own immortal phrase.
[Illustration]