CLEVELAND'S DEFEAT AND HARRISON'S FIRST TERM
1888 to 1891
At the time the delegates gathered, Cleveland's Free Trade message
of 1887 was before the country, interest in it having been augmented
and enlivened by the passage of the Mills Bill and the renowned
tariff debate of that year. The issue was clear. It was Protective
Tariff _versus_ Free Trade. After a rather strenuous contest in
the convention in which nineteen candidates were voted for, for
the nomination for President, including the leading candidates,
John Sherman, of Ohio, Walter Q. Gresham, of Indiana, Harrison, of
Indiana, and Allison, of Iowa, Benjamin Harrison finally was chosen
on the eighth ballot.
In his autobiography Senator Hoar affirms that William B. Allison
came nearer being the nominee of the party than any other man in
its history who was a candidate and failed to secure the endorsement.
According to Senator Hoar, it was the opposition of Senator Depew,
angered by the agrarian hostility toward himself, that prevented
Senator Allison's nomination. I have no personal knowledge that
might refute this statement, but I have been disposed to question
its correctness.
President Cleveland was of course renominated. The campaign came
on, and he was defeated squarely on the Tariff issue, and the
Republicans were again in the ascendancy in both branches of the
Government, the Senate being composed of forty-seven Republicans
and thirty-seven Democrats, while the House contained one hundred
and seventy Republicans and one hundred and sixty Democrats, Mr.
Reed being elected Speaker.
President Harrison was inaugurated with a great civic and military
display, equalling, if not surpassing, that of any other President.
There was great rejoicing among Republicans on account of the return
of the party to power. The Cabinet was duly appointed, with Mr.
Blaine, the foremost Republican and statesman of his day, as
Secretary of State--which, by the way, was an unfortunate appointment
both for Mr. Harrison and Mr. Blaine. There was the usual scramble
for offices, the usual changes in the foreign service, in the
executive departments in Washington and in the federal offices
generally throughout the country. Robert T. Lincoln, of whom I
have already written, was appointed Minister to the Court of St.
James.
Colonel Clark E. Carr, of Illinois, was appointed Minister to
Denmark, and made a splendid record in that position. He was very
popular with the royal family. I had the pleasure of visiting
Copenhagen while he was Minister there, and was the guest of Colonel
and Mrs. Carr, who entertained me very handsomely. They gave a
dinner in my honor, which was attended by the whole diplomatic
corps at Copenhagen. The Colonel also arranged for a private
audience with the King, and he presented me to him, as he also did
my friend, Colonel Bluford Wilson, who accompanied me on my visit
to Copenhagen. Altogether, through the courtesy of Colonel Carr,
I enjoyed my stay in Copenhagen exceedingly.
He retired from office after Mr. Cleveland was elected, and has
since achieved distinction as an author. He has written several
very interesting books which have had a wide circulation. For many
years Colonel Carr has taken an active part in our State and National
campaigns. He is a forceful speaker, so naturally his services
have been in constant requisition by the State and National Republican
Committees. He has rendered very valuable service to the Republican
party both in the State and in the Nation.
I had known President Harrison for many years. He represented a
neighboring State in the Senate, of which body he was a leader when
I entered it in 1883. I probably knew him as well as any of my
Republican colleagues; but his was a very cold, distant temperament,
even in the Senate, hardly capable of forming a very close friendship
for any one, and he had no particular friends.
In justice to Mr. Harrison, however, it must be said that he was
a masterly lawyer, and his appointments generally were first-class.
Especially was he fortunate in his selection of Federal judges.
He selected them himself, and would tolerate no interference from
any one. He did select the very best men he could find. For
instance, he appointed such men as Justice Brewer, of Kansas;
Justice Brown, of Michigan; Judge Woods, of Indiana; and it was
Harrison who appointed President Taft as a Federal Judge. He was
an exceptionally able President, and gave the country an excellent
administration.
But at the same time he was probably the most unsatisfactory
President we ever had in the White House to those who must necessarily
come into personal contact with him. He was quite a public speaker,
and the story has often been told of him that if he should address
ten thousand men from a public platform, he would make every one
his friend; but that if he should meet each of those ten thousand
men personally, each man would go away his enemy. He lacked the
faculty of treating people in a manner to retain their friendship.
Even Senators and Representatives calling on official business he
would treat with scant courtesy. He scarcely ever invited any one
to have a chair.
Senator Platt, of Connecticut, asked me one day if I was going to
the White House to dine that evening, stating that he had an
invitation. I told him no, that I had not yet been invited, that
I had never yet during the Harrison administration even been invited
to take a seat in the White House. Some one overheard the remark
and it was published in the newspapers. I visited the White House
shortly afterwards, and I assume that Harrison had seen it because
as soon as he saw me, without a smile on his face or a gleam in
his eye, he hastened to get me a chair, inviting me to be seated.
I declined to sit down, explaining that I was in a hurry, and closed
the business I had come for, and left. Afterwards he invited me
to dinner and treated me with marked consideration.
I have sometimes wondered whether President Harrison's apparent
coldness may not be ascribed to an absorption in his duties that
made him unintentionally neglectful of the little amenities of
polite usage, they never even having occurred to him. Despite his
cold exterior and frigid manner, it may have been he was sympathetic
at heart. When the Tracey homestead was destroyed by fire, which
resulted in the death of several persons, including the daughter,
and finally resulted in the death of Mrs. Tracey, President Harrison
took the family into the White House and did everything a man could
do to relieve their sufferings.
I suppose he treated me about as well in the way of patronage as
he did any other Senator; but whenever he did anything for me it
was done so ungraciously that the concession tended to anger rather
than please.
In looking over the letters which I received from President Harrison,
I find one which would show that he placed considerable confidence
in my recommendations.
"Executive Mansion,
"Washington, _Oct. 24, 1889_.
"Hon. Shelby M. Cullom,
"Springfield, Ills.
"My dear Senator:--
"I want to say a few words further to you about the Chicago
appointments. There has been for some months a good deal of
complaint that changes were not made.
"I find that the Collector of Customs and the Collector of Internal
Revenue were appointed, the one Sept. 14, and the other Sept. 10,
1885, and that the first was confirmed May 17, 1886; and the last,
April 17, 1886. I do not have before me the record as to the
appointment of the United States District Attorney. The Assistant
Treasurer was appointed Sept. 29, 1885, and confirmed May 6, 1886.
If there had been no question raised as to the qualifications and
fitness of the persons recommended, it is quite possible that I
would have taken some steps in the matter during this month; but
the fact is, as you have told me, that at least one, and possibly
two, of the persons suggested were not of a high order of fitness,
to say the least, and some members of your Congressional delegation
interested have given me the same impression, while from outside
sources there have been a good many things said to the prejudice
of persons named for appointment. I am informed that Senator
Farwell desires to leave the case just where his recommendations
have placed it, feeling that he cannot change to any one else. I
write to know whether you also feel in that way, or whether you
desire to make any further suggestions about the matter. I have
no other purpose in connection with these appointments than to find
men, the mention of whose names will commend them to the great
business community they are to serve. No one of those named, so
far as I know, is suggestive of any personal claim upon me, and I
have no personal ends to serve. You agreed with me, I think, when
we conversed, that the appointees there should be men of as high
character for integrity and intelligence, etc., as those they would
supersede.
"In the case of the Assistant Treasurer I found on examining the
papers yesterday, very full and strong papers for Mr. Nichols, whom
I do not know. He is supported, apparently, by the bankers and
many leading merchants of Chicago, and their letters give in detail
his business character and experience. Of the gentleman recommended
by you and Senator Farwell, there is absolutely nothing said in
the papers, so that Mr. Windom or I could have any information as
to whether his business experience had been such as to fit him for
this place. Now, I am sure that on reflection you will agree that
we ought to have full information, and that it should be upon
record.
"I told Mr. Taylor, in conversation, day before yesterday, that I
could not appoint Mr. Babcock marshal, as I told you when you were
here; and I remember that you said you had yourself refused to
recommend him. If things have assumed that shape that you are of
the opinion that it must be left to me as it stands, then I will
do the best I can with it. I do not conceal the fact that after
the essential of fitness is secured that I have a desire to please
our party friends in these selections. But I cannot escape the
responsibility for the appointments, and must therefore insist upon
full information about the persons presented, and upon my ultimate
right, in all kindness to everybody, to decide upon what must be
done. It would be very gratifying to me if the responsibility were
placed upon some one else.
"Please let me have any suggestions you may care to make.
"Very truly yours,
"Benj. Harrison.
"P. S. Responding to your telegram asking delay till Nov. 5, I
would say that I have no disposition to hurry a decision. Others
have been pressing me and complaining bitterly of delay. I think,
however, that the sooner some of these cases can be treated as
submitted for decision the better. If the appointments are delayed
till the middle of Nov. there is little use of making temporary
appointments, as the appointee would have to make two bonds. If
you can in writing, confidentially if you prefer, give me your
views and submit any alternative suggestions for these places I
will carefully consider them. But if you prefer to see me personally
before any decision is made as to Collector of the Port I will of
course lay that case to one side till the time you have suggested.
"Yours,
"B. H."
I never became entirely estranged from him, however, and when his
term was about to expire, and he wanted a renomination, I supported
him. My motive in so doing was not so much that I favored Harrison
as because I felt outraged at the way _The Chicago Tribune_ had
treated me. The _Tribune_ was then supporting Blaine with all its
power, and I determined that Mr. Medill should not have his way;
hence I became one of the leaders in the renomination of President
Harrison.
Before leaving Washington for the convention I called to see the
President to learn what information he had to impart to me as one
of the delegates who expected to support him. He was more friendly,
free, and frank than he had ever been during his term as President.
We talked about different things, and in the course of the conversation
he adverted to Secretary Blaine.
Harrison and Blaine had fallen out. Jealousy was probably at the
bottom of their disaffection. Harrison did not treat Blaine with
that degree of confidence and courtesy one would expect from the
Chief Executive to the premier of his cabinet; while on the other
hand Blaine hated Harrison and was plotting more or less against
him while he was a member of the cabinet. The President talked
very freely about Mr. Blaine. He declared that he had been doing
the work of the State Department himself for a year or more; that
he had prepared every important official document, and had the
originals in his own handwriting in the desk before him. And yet,
he said, Mr. Blaine, as Secretary of State, was giving out accounts
of what was being done in the State Department, taking all the
credit to himself. He expressed himself as being perfectly willing,
to use a familiar figure, to carry a soldier's knapsack when the
soldier was sore of foot and tired, and all that he wanted in return
was acknowledgment of the act and a show of appreciation. This
was all he expected of Mr. Blaine. He said, in closing the
conversation, that he intended some day to disclose the true
condition of their relations.
The Harrison Administration was a very busy one, and should have
been a very satisfactory one to the country at large. The first
great subject taken up by Congress was the tariff, the final
disposition of which was embodied in what afterwards became known
as the "McKinley Tariff Bill." I never thought that Mr. McKinley
showed any particular skill in framing that tariff. My understanding
is that it was prepared by the majority of the Committee on Ways
and Means.
The manufacturers of the country appeared before that committee
and made known what protective duties they thought they ought to
have in order to carry on their industries, and the committee gave
them just about the rate of duty they desired. It was a high
protective tariff, dictated by the manufacturers of the country.
It resulted in a great stimulus to the country's industries, and
great prosperity followed its enactment. It has been difficult
from then till now to reduce duties below the McKinley rate. The
manufacturers have since persisted and insisted upon higher duties
than they really ought to have.
I may remark here, in passing, that the McKinley Law was not passed
until October, and we were immediately plunged into the campaign.
The McKinley Law was the issue, and the Democrats swept everything
before them, carrying the House by the overwhelming majority of
ninety-seven. The Senate still remained Republican, forty-seven
Republicans to thirty-nine Democrats. McKinley himself was beaten
and never afterwards returned to Congress.
It is strange what a revolution periodically occurs among the voters
of the United States. When the Mills Bill was the issue the
Democratic party was beaten, and badly beaten; the Republican party
came into power; the McKinley Bill was passed, and we suffered
about as bad a defeat as had the Democrats two years previously.
The difference was that the Democrats were cleaned out on the shadow
of an issue, without the reality (the Mills Bill never having become
a law), and we went down in defeat on the reality, the McKinley
Bill having become a law.
It was during this time also that the bill known as the Sherman
Law, or the Coinage Act of 1890, was passed, which directed the
purchase of silver bullion to the aggregate of 4,500,000 ounces in
each month, and the issuance for such purchases silver bullion
treasury notes. This was probably the beginning of the silver
agitation. It created a long discussion in the Senate and House,
and that subject was constantly before Congress until it was finally
settled by the election of McKinley, in 1896.
It was this Congress also that passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
(April 8, 1890). It was one of the most important enactments ever
passed by Congress; and yet, if it were strictly and literally
enforced, the business of the country would have come to a standstill.
The courts have given it a very broad construction, making it cover
contracts never contemplated when the act was passed. It was never
seriously enforced until the coming in of the Roosevelt Administration,
when the great prosperity brought about under the McKinley
Administration tended to the formation of vast combinations which
seriously threatened the country. The people do not seem disposed
to consent even to its amendment, much less its repeal; and yet we
all realize that if strictly enforced as construed by our courts,
it would materially affect the business prosperity of the nation.
The people take the same attitude towards the Sherman Law as they
take toward the anti-pooling section of the Interstate Commerce
Act; they will allow neither of them to be tampered with by Congress.
There has been considerable dispute as to the paternity of the
Sherman Anti-Trust Law. Senator Hoar claims he wrote it; it bears
Senator Sherman's name; and my own opinion is that Senator Edmunds
had more to do with framing it than any other one Senator.
It was during the first and second session of the Fifty-first
Congress that the Federal Election Bill, so-called, or as it is
familiarly known, the "Force Bill," was discussed. It was in charge
of Senator Hoar, and occupied the attention of both sessions for a
long time. The Republicans seemed determined to force it through,
but the Democrats from the South were bitterly opposed to it,
resorting to all sorts of tactics to kill or delay it.
This measure I never considered much of a "force" bill. I could
never see that there was any force to it, but on the contrary,
considered it a very mild measure, and gave it my support. The
opposition to it was so bitter and strong and so skillfully managed
by the late Senator Gorman on the part of the minority, and it
stood for so long a time in the way of other legislation, that one
after Senator Wolcott arose in his seat and, very much to the
astonishment of every one, moved to lay it aside and take up some
other bill. The motion carried, and that was the last we heard of
the Force Bill.
The McKinley Tariff, the Anti-Trust Law, the Sherman Coinage Act,
and the Federal Election Bill were the important bills passed before
this Congress.
Notwithstanding the magnificent record in the way of legislation
made by the first Congress under the Harrison Administration, the
Democratic victory was so complete that at the beginning of the
first session of the Fifty-second Congress, which met December 7,
1891, there were but eighty-eight Republicans in the House, as
against two hundred and thirty-six Democrats, and Mr. Charles F.
Crisp, of Georgia, was elected Speaker. The Senate still remained
in the control of the Republicans.
It was during this Congress that the silver agitation came to the
front as one of the foremost issues. Senator Stewart of Nevada,
introduced his bill for the free coinage of gold and silver bullion.
The free coinage question consumed months of the time of both Senate
and House, and finally came to naught.
The Act to establish the World's Fair at Chicago was passed. I
took a very active interest in this in behalf of Chicago. A meeting
was held in the Marble Room of the Capitol, where Senator Depew
represented New York, and Colonel Thomas B. Bryan, Chicago. They
each made a speech. Very much to my surprise, Colonel Bryan's was
the more effective. We afterwards, by all sorts of efforts in the
House and Senate, captured the location for Chicago. The Fair,
when it was finally held, was the greatest world's fair ever known.
There was an almost utter abandon in the expenditure of money, and
Congress assisted by a liberal appropriation. That Fair was a
great injury, rather than a benefit, to the city of Chicago. The
hard times came on, and it was years before the city was restored
to normal conditions.
Toward the end of this session, the Homestead riots were a subject
of debate and investigation by Congress. A Presidential campaign
was approaching, and the Democrats were eager to throw upon the
Republicans the blame for all labor disturbances, the riots at
Homestead in particular.