STALWART AND HALF-BREED
1880
While General Grant made his tour around the world there was much
speculation respecting his renomination for the Presidency. Very
cautiously started on the ground of necessity because of the attitude
of the Southerners in Congress, the third-term idea continued to
strengthen until the widespread and deep interest in the great
soldier's home-coming was used to create the belief that he was
unmistakably the popular choice. Grant himself had said nothing
publicly upon the subject except in China, and his proper and modest
allusions to it then added to the people's respect. But during the
welcome extended him at Philadelphia, the Mayor of that city disclosed
a well-laid plan to make him a candidate. This frank declaration
indicated also that Grant expected the nomination, if, indeed, he was
not a party to the scheme for securing it.
The question of discrediting the traditions quickly became a serious
one, and its discussion, stimulated by other aspirants for the
Presidency, took a wide range. The opponents of a third term did not
yield to any in their grateful remembrance and recognition of what
Grant had done for the country, but they deemed it impolitic upon both
public and party grounds. If the tradition of two terms be overthrown
because of his distinguished service, they argued, his election for a
fourth term, to which the Constitution offered no bar, could be urged
for the same reason with still more cogency. Such apparently logical
action would not only necessarily familiarise the public mind, already
disturbed by the increasing depression to business caused by the
turmoil incident to quadrennial elections, with the idea of a
perpetual Presidency, but it would foster confidence in personal
government, and encourage the feeling that approved experience, as in
the case of trusted legislators, is necessary to the continuance of
wise administration.
Party reasons also furnished effective opposition. German voters,
especially in New York and Wisconsin, early disclosed an indisposition
to accept Grant even if nominated, while the Independent or Scratcher
voiced a greater hostility than the Cornell nomination had excited.
Never before had so much attention been given to a political question
by persons ordinarily indifferent to such speculation. Anti-Grant
clubs, springing up in a night, joined the press in ridiculing the
persistent talk about the need of "a strong man," and charged that the
scheme was conceived by a coterie of United States senators, managed
by former office-holders under President Grant, and supported by men
who regarded the Hayes administration as an impertinence. Matthew
Hale, in accepting the presidency of the Albany Club, declared the
movement to be at war with American traditions and with the spirit of
American institutions.[1666]
[Footnote 1666: The Albany Club was organised early in January, 1880.]
Such acrimonious antagonism quickly uncovered the purpose of the
Stalwarts, who now sought to control the nomination regardless of
opposition. For this purpose unusually early conventions for the
selection of delegates to the National Convention, to be held at
Chicago on June 2, were called in Pennsylvania, New York, and other
States. Pennsylvania's was fixed for February 4 at Harrisburg, and New
York's for the 25th at Utica. Like methods obtained in the selection
of delegates. At Albany John F. Smyth issued a call in the evening for
primaries to be held the next day at noon, and furnished his followers
with pink coloured tickets, headed "Grant." Smyth was already in bad
odour. Governor Robinson had accused him of compelling illegal
payments by insurance companies of a large sum of money, to which he
replied that the act making it illegal was unconstitutional, although
no court had so pronounced. His misdemeanour was confirmed in the
public mind by the fact, elicited on the impeachment trial, that the
money so obtained had been divided among agents of the Republican
organisation. Indeed, the _Times_ charged, without reservation, that
in one case the place of division was in none other than the house of
Cornell himself.[1667] Although the Senate of 1878 and of 1879 failed
to remove Smyth, the Senate of 1880, notwithstanding his reappointment
by Governor Cornell, refused to confirm him.[1668] In the presence of
such a sorry record the ostracised Albany Republicans were not
surprised at his attempt to cheat them at the primaries, and their
indignation at the shameless procedure resounded through the State. At
the end of a week Charles Emory Smith, the gifted editor of the Albany
_Journal_, who headed the delegation thus selected, deemed it
expedient to withdraw. Five associates did likewise. Nevertheless, the
opponents of a third term refused to participate in a second election,
called to fill the vacancies, since it did not remove the taint from
the majority who refused to resign.
[Footnote 1667: New York _Times_ (editorial), February 18, 1880.]
[Footnote 1668: "The Governor showed his contempt for public opinion by
nominating John F. Smyth, while the Senate had self-respect enough to
refrain from confirming him."--_Ibid._, May 28, 1880.]
In reward for his defence of Smyth, if not to express contempt for the
Albany malcontents, Charles Emory Smith was made chairman of the Utica
convention. This evidenced Conkling's complete control. Smith had
lived in Albany since early boyhood. He passed from its Academy to
Union College, thence back to the Academy as a teacher, and from that
position to the editorship of the _Express_. In a few years his clear,
incisive English, always forcible, often eloquent, had advanced him to
the editorship of the _Evening Journal_. Singularly attractive in
person, with slender, agile form, sparkling eyes, and ruddy cheeks,
he adorned whatever place he held. Indeed, the beauty and strength of
his character, coupled with the esteem in which Republican leaders
held him as a counsellor, gave him in the seventies a position in the
politics of the State somewhat akin to that held by Henry J. Raymond
in the sixties. He did not then, if ever, belong in Raymond's class as
a journalist or as an orator. Nor did he possess the vehement desire
for office that distinguished the brilliant editor of the _Times_. But
Smith's admirable temper, his sweet disposition, and his rare faculty
for saying things without offence, kept him, like Raymond, on friendly
terms with all. His part was not always an easy one. Leaders changed
and new issues appeared, yet his pen, though sometimes crafty, was
never dipped in gall. While acting as secretary for Governor Fenton he
enjoyed the esteem of Edwin D. Morgan, and if his change from the
Albany _Express_ to the Albany _Journal_ in 1870, and from the
_Journal_ to the Philadelphia _Press_ in 1880, carried him from
Fenton's confidence into Conkling's embrace and converted him from an
ardent third-termer to a champion of Blaine, the bad impression of
this prestidigitation was relieved, if not excused or forgotten,
because of his journalistic promotion.
In State conventions, too, Smith played the part formerly assigned to
Raymond, becoming by common consent chairman of the Committee on
Resolutions. His ear went instinctively to the ground, and, aided by
Carroll E. Smith of the Syracuse _Journal_, he wrote civil service
reform into the platform of 1877, the principle of sound money into
that of 1878, and carefully shaded important parts of other platforms
in that eventful decade.[1669] In like manner, although a pronounced
champion of Conkling and the politics he represented, Smith encouraged
moderate policies, urged frank recognition of the just claims of the
minority, and sought to prevent the stalwart managers from too widely
breaching the proprieties that should govern political organisations.
If his efforts proved unavailing, it seemed that he had at least
mastered the art of being regular without being bigoted, and of living
on good terms with a machine whose methods he could not wholly
approve. Nevertheless, there came a time when his associations, as in
the career of Raymond, seriously injured him, since his toleration and
ardent defence of John F. Smyth, besides grieving sincere friends and
temporarily clouding his young life,[1670] dissolved his relations with
a journal that he loved, and which, under his direction, had reminded
its readers of the forceful days of Thurlow Weed. Fortunately, the
offer of the editorship of the Philadelphia _Press_, coming
contemporaneously with his separation from the Albany _Journal_, gave
him an honourable exit from New York, and opened not only a larger
sphere of action but a more distinguished career.[1671]
[Footnote 1669: "Mr. Smith is one of the happily diminishing class of
amphibious editors, one-third journalist, two-thirds 'worker,' who
consult with the Bosses in hotels all over the State about 'fixing
things,' draw fustian platforms for State conventions, embody the Boss
view of the nation and the world in 'editorials,' and supply the pure
milk of the word to local committees and henchmen, and 'make it hot'
for the Democrats during the canvass."--The _Nation_, March 4, 1880.]
[Footnote 1670: Smith was then thirty-eight years of age.]
[Footnote 1671: "Mr. Smith's partners in the _Journal_ had become
enraged in the course of a factional controversy over public
appointments, in particular that of Smyth to be the Insurance
Commissioner. At a conference Mr. Smith's partners desired to get
editorial control at once and to terminate his connection with the
_Journal_."--Philadelphia _Press_, January 20, 1908.
"The first response of the conscience and courage of the party was the
prompt change of the Albany _Evening Journal_, probably the most
influential party paper in the State, from the position of a
thick-and-thin machine organ to that of an advocate of sound and
independent Republicanism."--_Harper's Weekly_, March 13, 1880.]
Having control of the convention Conkling boldly demanded the adoption
of a resolution instructing "the delegates to use their most earnest
and united efforts to secure the nomination of Ulysses S. Grant." The
admirers of Blaine seemed unprepared for such a contest. The meagre
majority given Grant at the Pennsylvania convention had greatly
encouraged them, but the intervening three weeks afforded insufficient
time to gather their strength. Besides, no one then suspected the
overwhelming public sentiment against a third term which was soon to
sweep the country. As it was no one seemed to have definite plans or a
precise knowledge of how to proceed or what to do, while local leaders
frittered away their strength in petty quarrels which had little
bearing upon the question of Presidential candidates. Finally, an
amendment simply endorsing the nominee of the Chicago convention was
offered as a substitute for the Grant resolution.
The Stalwarts, with the steadiness of veterans conscious of their
strength, deftly, almost delicately, in fact, silenced the minority.
Only once, when the reader of the resolutions hesitated over an
illegible word, did the dramatic happen. At that moment a thin voice
in the gallery exclaimed, "Hurrah for Blaine!" Instantly the audience
was on fire. The burst of applause brought out by Smith's opening
reference to the "never vanquished hero of Appomattox" had been
disappointing because it lacked spontaneity and enthusiasm, but the
sound of the magic word "Blaine," like a spark flying to powder, threw
the galleries into a flame of cheering which was obstinate in dying
out. Conkling, in closing the debate on the resolution, showed his
customary audacity by hurling bitter sarcasm at the people who had
presumed to applaud. It was in this address that he recited Raleigh's
famous line from _The Silent Lover_: "The shallows murmur but the
deeps are dumb."[1672]
[Footnote 1672:
"Passions are likened best to flowers and streams;
The shallows murmur but the deeps are dumb."
--_Works of Sir Walter Raleigh_, Vol. 8, p. 716 (Oxford, 1829).]
Conkling's purpose was to put district delegates upon their honour to
obey the convention's instructions regardless of the preference of
their districts. He did it very adroitly, arguing that a delegate is
an agent with a principal behind him, whom he represents if he is
faithful. "For what is this convention held?" he asked. "Is it merely
to listen while the delegates from the several congressional districts
inform the convention who the districts are going to send to the
national convention? Is it for that five hundred men, the selected
pride of the Republican party of this State, have come here to meet
together? I think not. Common sense and the immemorial usages of both
parties answer the question. What is the use of a delegate? Is it a
man to go to a convention representing others, and then determine as
he individually prefers what he will do? Let me say frankly that if
any man, however much I respect him, were presented to this convention
who would prove recreant to its judgment, I would never vote for him
as a delegate to any convention."[1673]
[Footnote 1673: New York _Tribune_, February 26, 1880.]
Earlier in the day Newton M. Curtis of St. Lawrence, the one-eyed hero
of Fort Fisher, had insisted with much vehemence that district
delegates represented the views of their immediate constituents and
not those of the State convention. Others as stoutly maintained the
same doctrine. But after Conkling had concluded no one ventured to
repeat the claim.[1674] Indeed, when the several districts reported
their delegates, the Stalwarts openly called upon the suspected ones
to say whether they submitted to the instructions. Woodin and Curtis
voluntarily surrendered. Thus the Grant forces accomplished by
indirection what prudence deterred them from doing boldly and with a
strong hand.[1675]
[Footnote 1674: The vote on the resolution endorsing Grant, stood 216
to 183.]
[Footnote 1675: Roscoe Conkling, Alonzo B. Cornell, Chester A. Arthur,
and James D. Warren, were selected as delegates-at-large.]
What the managers gained by indirection, however, they lost in
prestige. If the Harrisburg convention punctured the assumption that
the people demanded Grant's nomination, the Utica assembly destroyed
it, since the majority of thirty-three indicated an entire absence of
spontaneity. Moreover, the convention had scarcely adjourned before
its work became a target. George William Curtis declared the
assertion "audacious" and "ridiculous" that a district delegate was an
agent of the State convention, claiming that when the latter
relinquished the right to select it abandoned the right to instruct.
Furthermore, the National Convention, the highest tribunal of the
party, had decided, he said, that State instructions did not bind
district delegates.[1676] The _Tribune_, voicing the sentiment of the
major part of the Republican press, thought the convention had clearly
exceeded its power. "It was the right of the majority to instruct the
delegates-at-large," it said, "but it had no right to compel district
delegates to vote against their consciences and the known wishes of
their constituents." This led to the more important question whether
delegates, pledged without authority, ought to observe such
instructions. "No man chosen to represent a Blaine district can vote
for Grant and plead the convention's resolution in justification of
his course," continued the _Tribune_, which closed with serving notice
upon delegates to correct their error as speedily as possible, "since
a delegate who disobeys the instructions of his constituents will find
himself instantly retired from public life."[1677]
[Footnote 1676: _Harper's Weekly_, March 13, 20, April 3, 1880.]
[Footnote 1677: New York _Tribune_, February 26.]
As the campaign waxed warmer and the success of Grant seemed more
certain if Pennsylvania and New York voted under the unit rule, the
pressure to create a break in those States steadily increased. The
Stalwarts rested their case upon the regularity of the procedure and
the delegates' acceptance of the instructions after their election.
"They accepted both commissions and instructions," said the _Times_,
"with every protestation that they were bound by their sacred honour
to obey the voice of the people as expressed by the traditional and
accepted methods."[1678] On the other hand, the Blaine delegates relied
upon the decision of the last National Convention, which held that
where a State convention had instructed its delegation to vote as a
unit, each delegate had the right to vote for his individual
preference. "My selection as a delegate," said Woodin, "was the act of
the delegates representing my congressional district, and the State
convention has ratified and certified that act to the National
Convention. Our commissions secure the right to act, and our
conventions guarantee freedom of choice without restraint or
fetters."[1679]
[Footnote 1678: New York _Times_, May 8.]
[Footnote 1679: From speech made in the Senate on May 7.--New York
_Tribune_, May 8.]
Woodin was the most courageous if not the ablest opponent of Conkling
in the convention. He may not have been an organiser of the machine
type, but he was a born ruler of men. Robust, alert, florid, with
square forehead, heavy brows, and keen blue eyes, he looked determined
and fearless. His courage, however, was not the rashness of an
impetuous nature. It was rather the proud self-confidence of a rugged
character which obstacles roused to a higher combative energy. He was
not eloquent; not even ornate in diction. But his voice, his words,
and his delivery were all adequate. Besides, he possessed the
incomparable gift of reserved power. During his career of ten years in
the State Senate he was unquestionably the strongest man in the
Legislature and the designated as well as the real leader for more
than half a decade. He was not intolerant, seldom disclosing his
powers of sarcasm, or being betrayed, even when excited, into angry or
bitter words. Yet he was extremely resolute and tenacious, and must
have been the undisputed leader of the anti-Conkling forces save for
the pitch that many said defiled him. If he yielded it was not proven.
Nevertheless, it tended to mildew his influence.
It was evident from the speech of Woodin that the anti-Grant forces
had the reasonableness of the argument, but the acceptance of the
Utica instructions put delegates in a delicate position. To say that
Conkling had "tricked" them into a pledge which the convention had no
authority to exact,[1680] did not explain how a personal pledge could
be avoided. Finally, William H. Robertson, a delegate from the
Twelfth District, who had not appeared at Utica, published a letter
that he should vote for Blaine "because he is the choice of the
Republicans of the district which I represent."[1681] Two days
afterwards John Birdsall of the First District and Loren B. Sessions
of the Thirty-third announced on the floor of the Senate that they
should do likewise. Woodin said that as he could not reconcile a vote
for some candidate other than Grant with his attitude voluntarily
taken at Utica he should let his alternate go to Chicago.[1682] From
time to time other delegates followed with declarations similar to
Robertson's.
[Footnote 1680: _Harper's Weekly_, May 29.]
[Footnote 1681: Letter dated May 6.--See Appleton's _Cyclopædia_, 1880,
p. 575.]
[Footnote 1682: New York _Tribune_, May 8.]
As expected, this disobedience drew a volley of anathemas upon the
offending delegates, who became known as "Half-breeds."[1683] The
_Times_ thought Robertson's "tardy revolt" dictated by "self-interest,"
because "the pliant politician from Westchester had chafed under a
sense of disappointed ambition ever since the defeat of his nomination
for governor in 1872."[1684]
[Footnote 1683: Everit Brown, _A Dictionary of American Politics_, p.
372; _Harper's Weekly_, February 5, 1881.]
[Footnote 1684: New York _Times_, May 16.]
Upon Sessions and Woodin it was more severe. "We have never regarded
State Senator Sessions as a type of all that is corrupt in politics at
Albany," it said, "and we have steadily defended Mr. Woodin against
the attacks made upon him on the testimony of Tweed. But if these
recent accessions to the Blaine camp are half as bad as the _Tribune_
has painted them in the past, that journal and its candidate must have
two as disreputable allies as could be found outside of state
prison."[1685] Woodin's manner of avoiding his Utica pledge seemed to
arouse more indignation than the mere breaking of it. The _Times_
called it "a sneaking fashion,"[1686] and charged lack of courage. "He
does not believe that he who performs an act through another is
himself responsible for the act."[1687]
[Footnote 1685: _Ibid._]
[Footnote 1686: _Ibid._, June 2.]
[Footnote 1687: _Ibid._, May 8.]
At Chicago the principle of district representation became the
important question. It involved the admission of many delegates, and
after two days of debate the convention sustained it by a vote of 449
to 306.[1688] To complete the overthrow of the unit-rule a resolution
was also adopted providing that when any delegate excepted to the
correctness of a vote as cast by the chairman of a delegation, the
president of the convention should direct a roll-call of the
delegation. This practically settled the result. Nevertheless, the
belief obtained, so strong was the Stalwarts' faith in their success,
that when the Blaine and Sherman forces broke to a compromise
candidate, Grant would gain the needed additional seventy-four votes.
[Footnote 1688: The minority, representing fourteen States and ably led
by Benjamin F. Tracy, sustained the authority of State conventions to
overrule the choice of the districts.]
Conkling had never before attended a national convention. Indeed, he
had never been seen at a great political gathering west of the
Alleghanies. But he now became the central figure of the convention,
with two-fifths of the delegates rallying under his leadership. His
reception whenever he entered the hall was the remarkable feature of
the great gathering. Nothing like it had occurred in previous national
conventions. Distinguished men representing favourite candidates had
been highly honoured, but never before did the people continue, day
after day, to welcome one with such vociferous acclaim. It was not all
for Grant. The quick spontaneous outburst of applause that shook the
banners hanging from the girders far above, had in it much of
admiration for the stalwart form, the dominant spirit, the iron-nerved
boss, who led his forces with the arrogance of a gifted, courageous
chieftain. His coming seemed planned for dramatic effect. He rarely
appeared until the audience, settled into order by the opening prayer
or by the transaction of business, might easily catch sight of him,
and as he passed down the long aisle, moving steadily on with graceful
stride and immobile face, a flush of pride tinged his cheeks as cheer
after cheer, rolling from one end of the amphitheatre to the other,
rent the air. He sat in the front row on the centre aisle, and about
him clustered Chester A. Arthur, Levi P. Morton, Benjamin F. Tracy,
Edwards Pierrepont, George H. Sharpe, and the boyish figure of Charles
E. Cornell, a pale, sandy, undersized youth, the son of the Governor,
who was represented by an alternate.[1689]
[Footnote 1689: "Suggestions were made that the substitution of Mr.
Conkling for General Grant would give him the nomination, and there
was a moment when General Garfield apprehended such a result. There
was, however, never a time when it was possible. The 306 would never
have consented unless Grant's name were first withdrawn by his
authority. A firmer obstacle would have been Conkling's sturdy refusal
to allow the use of his name under any circumstances."--Boutwell,
_Reminiscences_, Vol. 2, p. 269.]
Conkling's presentation of Grant was largely relied upon to gain the
needed votes. Prior to 1876 little importance attached to such
speeches, but after the famous oration of Robert G. Ingersoll at
Cincinnati, which became influential almost to the point of success,
the solicitude exhibited in the selection of dominating speakers
constituted a new phase in convention politics and added immeasurably
to the popular interest. By common consent Conkling was named to
present the Stalwarts' choice, and in most of the qualities desirable
in such an address his was regarded the best of the day.
The lines of Private Miles O'Reilly,[1690] suggested to the Senator on
the evening before he spoke, caught the convention as quickly as did
Ingersoll's opening sentences in 1876, and all that followed, save his
sarcasm and flashes of scorn, held the closest attention. "His
unmatched eloquence," said Brandegee of Connecticut.[1691] This was the
judgment of an opponent. "It had the warmth of eulogy, the finish of
a poem, the force and fire of a philippic," said the _Inter-Ocean_.[1692]
This was the judgment of a friend. All the art of which he was master
found expression in every sentence, polished and balanced with
rhetorical skill, and delivered with the emphasis and inflection of a
great orator. One critic thought it a revelation to find a man who
could be eloquent with studied composure, who could be fervid without
wildness, and who could hold imagery and metaphor to the steady place
of relentless logic without detracting from their special and peculiar
character.
[Footnote 1690:
"When asked what State he hails from,
Our sole reply shall be,
He comes from Appomattox
And its famous apple-tree."]
[Footnote 1691: From his speech nominating Elihu B. Washburne.--Chicago
_Tribune_, June 7, 1880.]
[Footnote 1692: Chicago _Inter-Ocean_, June 7, 1880.]
Not content with reciting the achievements of his own candidate,
Conkling seriously weakened his oration as a vote-making speech by
launching shafts of irony first into Sherman and then into Blaine.
"Nobody is really worried about a third term," he said in conclusion,
"except those hopelessly longing for a first term. Without patronage,
without telegraph wires running from his house to this convention,
without election contrivances, his name is on the country's lips.
Without bureaus, committees, officers, or emissaries to manufacture
sentiment in his favour, without intrigue or effort, Grant is the
candidate whose supporters stand by the creed of the party, holding
the right of the majority as the very essence of their faith, and
meaning to uphold that faith against the charlatans and guerillas,
who, from time to time, deploy and forage between the lines."[1693] As
these sabre-cuts, dealt with the emphasis of gesture and inflection,
flashed upon the galleries, already charmed with the accomplishment of
his speech and the grace of his sentiment, loud hisses, mingled with
distracting exclamations of banter and dissent, proclaimed that the
spell of his magic was broken.
[Footnote 1693: New York _Times_, June 7.]
Balloting for a candidate began on the fifth day. Many rumours
preceded Conkling's method of announcing New York's vote, but when his
turn came, he explained that although he possessed full instructions
concerning the true condition of the vote, he thought it better to
call the roll, since several of the delegates preferred to speak for
themselves. This plan, so adroitly submitted, made it impossible to
conceal one's vote behind an anonymous total, and compelled John
Birdsall, the Queens County senator, to lead in the disagreeable duty
of disobeying the instructions of the State convention. Birdsall rose
with hesitation, and, after voting for Blaine in a subdued voice,
dropped quickly into his seat as if anxious to avoid publicity. Then
the convention, having listened in perfect silence, ratified his work
with a chorus of hisses and applause. Gradually the anti-third termers
exhibited more courage, and after Robertson and Husted had called out
their candidate with an emphasis that indicated pride and defiance,
the applause drowned the hisses. Woodin's conduct contrasted sharply
with his usual courage. He was an aggressive member of the opposition,
but at this moment, when brave hearts, unflinching resolve, and
unruffled temper were needed, he stood at the rear of the hall, while
Leander Fitts, his alternate, upon whom he cast the responsibility of
violating a solemnly uttered pledge, feebly pronounced the name
"Blaine." The result of the roll-call gave Grant 51, Blaine 17, and
Sherman 2.[1694] On the seventeenth ballot Dennis McCarthy, a State
senator from Onondaga, changed his vote from Grant to Blaine. Thus
modified the New York vote continued until the thirty-sixth ballot,
when the Blaine and Sherman delegates united, recording twenty votes
for Garfield to fifty for Grant. On this roll-call Grant received 306
votes to 399 for Garfield.[1695] Thus by a strange coincidence the
Stalwarts registered the fateful number that marked their strength
when the unit rule was defeated. During the thirty-six roll-calls
Grant's vote varied from 302 to 313, but in the stampede, when two
hundred and fifteen Blaine men and ninety-six supporters of Sherman
rushed into line for Garfield, the faithful 306 went down in defeat
together. These figures justly became an insignia for the heroic.[1696]
[Footnote 1694: The first ballot was as follows: Grant, 304; Blaine,
284; Sherman, 93; Edmunds, 34; Washburne, 30; Windom, 10. Whole number
of votes, 755; necessary to a choice, 378.]
[Footnote 1695: Thirty-fifth ballot: Grant, 313; Blaine, 257; Sherman,
99; Edmunds, 11; Washburne, 23; Windom, 3; Garfield, 50. Thirty-sixth
ballot: Grant, 306; Blaine, 42; Sherman, 3; Washburne, 5; Garfield,
399.
Conkling's peculiar manner of announcing New York's vote excited
criticism. "Two delegates," he declared, "are said to be for Sherman,
eighteen for Blaine, and fifty are for Grant." The chairman of the
West Virginia delegation, whom the Senator had sought to unseat,
mimicking the latter's emphasis, announced: "One delegate is said to
be for Grant, and eight are known to be for Blaine."]
[Footnote 1696: Some months later Chauncey I. Filley, a delegate from
St. Louis, caused the Grant medals to be struck for the 306, on which
was emblazoned "The Old Guard."]
After Garfield's nomination the Stalwarts of the New York delegation
did not conceal their disappointment. When everybody else was cheering
they kept their seats, and while others displayed Garfield badges,
they sullenly sought their headquarters to arrange for the
Vice-Presidency. Leaders of the Garfield movement, now eager to
strengthen the ticket, looked to them for a candidate. New York
belonged in the list of doubtful States, and to enlist the men who
seemed to control its destiny they instinctively turned to the
defeated faction. William M. Dennison, a former governor of Ohio,
promptly made their wishes known, confidently counting upon Conkling's
coöperation, since the Senator had been the first on his feet to make
Garfield's nomination unanimous. In doing so he expressed the hope
that the zeal and fervour of the convention would characterise its
members "in bearing the banner and carrying the lances of the
Republican party into the ranks of the enemy."
Conkling's treatment of Dennison's request has been variously
reported. One version is that he demanded the nomination of Chester A.
Arthur; another, that he sternly refused to make any suggestion.
Contemporary press reports confirm the first, basing it upon his
desire to vindicate Arthur and humiliate Sherman; the second is
supported by Alfred R. Conkling's biography of his uncle.[1697] But
neither report is correct. Conkling bitterly resented Garfield's
nomination, predicted his defeat at the polls, and did not hesitate to
dissuade friends from accepting the nomination for Vice-President.
"The convention has nominated a candidate, but not a President," he
said to Stewart L. Woodford. "Since the nomination I have heard from
an influential friend at Albany, who declares that Garfield cannot
carry New York. Now, the question is, whom shall we place upon the
altar as a vicarious sacrifice? Mr. Morton has declined. Perhaps you
would like the nomination for Vice-President?" Being assured that
Woodford would accept it if tendered to him, Conkling added: "I hope
no sincere friend of mine will accept it."[1698]
[Footnote 1697: "It has been asserted that this nomination was a boon to
Roscoe Conkling to secure his support of Garfield. To deny this is almost
supererogatory. He sternly refused to make any suggestion."--Conkling,
_Life of Conkling_, p. 607-608.]
[Footnote 1698: Woodford's interview with the writer, October 4, 1908.]
In the event of Grant's nomination Levi P. Morton had been prominently
mentioned as a proper candidate for Vice-President. He was then
fifty-six years of age, and had achieved high reputation in banking
and financial circles. Though not eloquent according to the canons of
oratory, he spoke with clearness, was widely intelligent, and had
given careful attention to public questions. Conservative in his
nature and sturdy in his principles, he always advised against
rashness and counselled firmness. A single session in Congress had
proven his zeal in the performance of public duty, and his fitness for
Vice-President was recognised then as it was eight years later when he
became the running mate of Benjamin Harrison. Upon his nomination,
therefore, Garfield, before the convention had recessed, sent word by
Dennison that he desired Morton nominated for second place. Morton,
answering that his nomination must not be made without previous
consultation with his associates, immediately informed Conkling of
Garfield's desire. Conkling replied, "If you think the ticket will be
elected; if you think you will be happy in the association, accept."
To this Morton answered, "I have more confidence in your judgment than
in my own." Conkling then added: "Governor Boutwell of Massachusetts
is a great friend of yours. Why don't you talk with him?" Acting upon
this suggestion Morton sought Boutwell, who advised against it. Morton
acquiesced and refused the use of his name.[1699]
[Footnote 1699: Mr. Morton's letter to the author, dated September 14,
1908.]
After returning to their headquarters at the hotel the Stalwarts, upon
the suggestion and insistence of George H. Sharpe, quickly agreed upon
Chester A. Arthur, who gave an affirmative response to their appeal.
Conkling was not present at the time, but subsequently in Arthur's
room, where Howard Carroll and several other delegates lingered, he
bitterly opposed placing a Stalwart upon the ticket and expressed in
unmeasured terms his disapprobation of Arthur's acceptance.[1700] On
their way to the convention Sharpe told Woodford of the pungent
flavour of Conkling's invective, and of Arthur's calm assertion of the
propriety of his action. At the wigwam Conkling refused Sharpe's
request to place Arthur in nomination.[1701]
[Footnote 1700: Letter of Howard Carroll to the author, dated October
15, 1908.]
[Footnote 1701: Interview of author with General Woodford.]
Upon the reassembling of the convention California presented Elihu B.
Washburne for Vice-President, a nomination which Dennis McCarthy of
New York, amidst cordial and hearty applause from the galleries,
seconded in a forceful speech. This indicated that Arthur was _persona
non grata_ to the anti-Grant delegates of the Empire State. Jewell of
Connecticut, Ferry of Michigan, Settle of North Carolina, and Maynard
of Tennessee, were likewise presented. As the call of States proceeded
New York made no response in its turn, but when Woodford subsequently
proposed the name of Arthur, Dennison responded with a spirited
second, followed by delegates from New Jersey, Illinois, Mississippi,
Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. This array of backing
brought McCarthy to his feet, who withdrew his second to Washburne and
moved that Arthur's nomination, under a suspension of the rules, be
made by acclamation. This required a two-thirds vote and was lost.
Then Campbell of West Virginia, amidst the loudest cheers of the
evening, seconded the nomination of Washburne. "Let us not do a rash
thing." he said. "The convention has passed a resolution favouring
civil service reform. Let us not stultify ourselves before the
country."[1702]
[Footnote 1702: New York _Tribune_, June 9.]
At first Arthur's strength was confined to the Grant delegation,
twenty-five States showing an increase of only seventy votes, thirty
of which came from the South. But as the roll-call proceeded New York,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania brought other States into line, the ballot
giving Arthur 468, Washburne 193, and other favourite sons 90.
Arthur's nomination was a distinct disappointment. To many it was an
offence. Within the State leading Republican journals resented it by
silence, while others were conspicuously cold; without the State it
encountered even greater disadvantages, since his dismissal as
collector of customs had advertised him as the enemy of reform, the
apostle of bossism, and the friend of whatever was objectionable in
politics.[1703] Yet his friends found a creditable record. He had
successfully opposed the well-known action of Jonathan Lemmon, who
sought to recover eight slaves which he incautiously brought into New
York on his way from Virginia to Texas; he had established the right
of coloured people to ride in the street-cars; and he had rendered
valuable service in the early years of the war as engineer-in-chief
and quartermaster-general on the staff of Governor Morgan. He
possessed, too, an inherited instinct for keeping faith with men. In
his relations with politicians of high or low degree there was not a
trace of dissimulation or double-dealing. His career is a study of the
evolution of character. It is not strange, perhaps, that in the days
of custom-house investigations and bitter partisan strife, when he was
known as an henchman of Conkling, there was a lack of public
appreciation of the potentialities of a unique personality, but the
Arthur heritage included then as afterward absolute truthfulness,
shrewdness of judgment, high-minded patriotism, and consciousness of
moral obligation.[1704]
[Footnote 1703: After the nomination John Sherman wrote to a personal
friend: "The nomination of Arthur is a ridiculous burlesque, inspired,
I fear, by a desire to defeat the ticket. His nomination attaches to
the ticket all the odium of machine politics, and will greatly
endanger the success of Garfield. I cannot but wonder how a
convention, even in the heat and hurry of closing scenes, could make
such a blunder."--Burton, _Life of Sherman_, p. 296.]
[Footnote 1704: "I do not think he [Arthur] knows anything. He can
quote a verse of poetry, or a page from Dickens and Thackeray, but
these are only leaves springing from a root out of dry ground. His
vital forces are not fed, and very soon he has given out his all."
Mrs. James G. Blaine, _Letters_ (February 21, 1882), Vol. 1, p. 309.]