ADMINISTRATION OF CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR
_September 20, 1881, to March 4, 1885_
Vice President Chester A. Arthur was not in Washington at the time of
the shooting of President Garfield. He had been to Albany, and was
horror stricken upon landing in New York to be greeted at the dock with
the news. He left immediately for Washington, going directly to the
Ben Butler house south of the Capitol, occupied at the time by Senator
Jones, of Nevada, where he remained until the injured President was
taken to Elberon, N. J.
Although the White House patient was conscious a large part of the
time, his condition grew more critical, and his sufferings were
increased by the midsummer heat, and on July 4th his death was
predicted hourly. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, called upon the
Vice President to acquaint him with the fact that the President’s death
was imminent and to prepare him to assume control. Mr. Blaine said:
“The President is dying! You must prepare to assume the
responsibilities which the Constitution places upon you in such an
event.”
Vice President Arthur was greatly distressed over the situation. He
believed the prediction and stated that, when the Cabinet would call
upon him, he would be ready to take the oath of office. The pall of
approaching death and the depression of the great calamity had the
entire nation bowed in sorrow and anxiety.
While Mr. Arthur thus waited with his friends in great suspense,
expecting every moment the worst, they were notified by an orderly
sent by Secretary Blaine to the effect that the change in the weather,
bringing relief from the exhausting heat, had brought a decided
improvement in the President’s condition, and immediate death was
not anticipated. Mr. Arthur was fervent in his expressions of relief
and joy. Already papers were carrying stories connecting the names
of Arthur and Conkling with Guiteau’s crime. This was a severe shock
to Mr. Arthur’s sensibilities, and caused him such profound distress
over the injustice and cruelty of such a slander that he never quite
recovered from it. Throughout his administration, this barbed shaft was
often flung at him and never failed to wound him. When his attention
was first called to the statements, he exclaimed:
“No one deplores the calamity more than Senator Conkling and myself.
These reports are so base and unfounded I cannot believe that they
will be credited. They do not affect Senator Conkling and myself
as much as they do the entire country. They are a slur upon our
institutions, an attack upon the integrity of Republican government!
Good God! If such a thing were possible, then liberty is impossible!
Such a calamity as this should be treated as national, not only
by every citizen, but by the entire press of the country. Party
and faction should be forgotten in the general grief. All personal
considerations and political views must be merged in the national
sorrow. I am an American among millions of Americans grieving for
their wounded chief!”
When it became evident that none of the medical experts in charge of
the White House patient were making any progress toward his recovery
and the trip to Elberon, N. J., was planned to comply with the
President’s desire to be near the ocean, and also as a forlorn hope
that a change of air might again bring about an improvement, Mr. Arthur
returned to his home in New York City, 123 Lexington Avenue, where,
two weeks later, on the night of September 19, 1881, he received the
official notice of the death of his chief.
Although he had been daily informed of the President’s condition and
had known for some days that the Chief Executive could not recover, yet
the communication of the five members of the Cabinet was a shock. It
read:
ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE VICE PRESIDENT
Long Branch, N. J., September 19, 1881.
HON. CHESTER A. ARTHUR,
No. 123 Lexington Avenue, New York.
It becomes our painful duty to inform you of the death of President
Garfield and to advise you to take the oath of office as President of
the United States without delay. If it concurs with your judgment,
we will be very glad if you will come here on the earliest train
to-morrow morning.
WILLIAM WINDOM,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
WILLIAM H. HUNT,
_Secretary of the Navy_.
THOMAS L. JAMES,
_Postmaster General_.
WAYNE MAC VEAGH,
_Attorney General_.
S. J. KIRKWOOD,
_Secretary of the Interior_.
(The Secretaries of State and War were absent from Long Branch.)
Preparations were made at once to follow the instructions, and Justices
J. R. Brady and Charles Donoghue, of the Supreme Court of New York,
were summoned, as were Elihu Root, ex-Commissioner French, Samuel G.
Rollins, and they, with Alan D. Arthur, the son of the Vice President,
comprised the group that witnessed the taking of the oath of office,
administered by Justice J. R. Brady, at 2 A. M. on September 20, 1881.
The news was flashed to Washington and word sent to Long Branch.
By nine o’clock, Secretary of State Blaine, Secretary of War Robert
Lincoln, and Postmaster General James called upon the new President,
and journeyed with him later in the day to Elberon.
On September 21st, President Arthur accompanied the funeral train to
Washington. He again went to the home of Senator John P. Jones, of
Nevada, and on Thursday, September 22d, repeated the oath of office
given by Chief Justice Waite. Two former presidents, Grant and Hayes,
were present at this ceremony, which occurred in the Vice President’s
room in the Senate wing at the Capitol. The Bible was handed him by
the clerk of the Supreme Court. President Arthur at once issued his
inaugural address and a proclamation on the death of President Garfield.
Arthur had been an active Grant adherent in 1880, but when Garfield
was nominated, he was chosen for second place, not only because he
happened to be Garfield’s choice, but because there was hope of
appeasing the strong “Stalwart” faction of the Republican party.
However, this plan did not heal the breach. Instead, the bitter
contest in the Senate, over which Vice President Arthur had presided,
led to such dissatisfaction, despite the Vice President’s efforts at
harmony, that the Garfield Cabinet was on the point of dissolution
when the tragedy turned the tide of criticism of the President and
his policies into sympathy, and by the time Chester Arthur assumed the
title rôle, prosperity was full upon the land and political animosities
were dormant, apparently forgotten. He quickly proved himself able
to cope with the situation, and directed affairs in a dignified and
statesmanlike manner.
Chester Alan Arthur was of a different type from any of his
predecessors. He has been called the most elegant, polished, and
courtly gentleman that ever filled the presidential office. He was a
native of Vermont, having been born at Fairfield, Franklin County,
on October 5, 1830, and was the oldest child in a family of two sons
and five daughters. Doubtless, much of his grace of manner was an
inheritance from his father, William Arthur, born in Ballymena, County
of Antrim, Ireland, who was a Baptist minister and also an author.
Chester Arthur’s boyhood was not unusual. His early education was
conducted at home under the supervision of his father, who supplied
most of the tutoring. He went to Union College, from which he was
graduated in 1848, and was an active member of the Psi Upsilon Society.
While in college, he added to his slender means by teaching a country
school. In 1852, he was admitted to the bar, and shortly after entered
into a partnership, in New York, with a friend, Henry D. Gardner. This
connection lasted until the close of the Civil War, when Mr. Arthur
continued the business of the firm alone.
As soon as he had established himself in a lucrative business, his
romance with Miss Ellen Lewis Herndon, of Virginia, culminated with
their marriage on October 29, 1859. Miss Herndon was the daughter of a
distinguished Virginia naval officer, Captain William Lewis Herndon,
who was lost at sea after winning fame in the exploration of the
Amazon. She had a lovely voice, charming Southern manner, splendid
ancestry, and a girlish beauty that made her the ideal of Mr. Arthur’s
dreams; while he, with his distinguished bearing, six feet two and a
half inches of height, handsome features, and courtly manners, was the
type of lover to fill the measure of any girl’s ideal.
After their marriage and romantic honeymoon, they installed themselves
in a home on Lexington Avenue where the charm of her voice and
the grace of her manner with his genius as a host and prince of
hospitality drew about them a delightful coterie of interesting people,
particularly those distinguished in arts, music, letters, and social
life in New York City.
During the Civil War, Mr. Arthur served on the staff of Governor E.
D. Morgan, of New York City, as engineer in chief. He was later made
Inspector General, and in January, 1862, was promoted to the position
of Quartermaster General. His task in equipping thousands of volunteers
was arduous and difficult, and brought him much praise for the
businesslike efficiency with which it was conducted. His war account,
notwithstanding its length, owing to the great number of men equipped,
was the first audited, and that without the reduction of one dollar,
while those of other states were cut in varying amounts ranging from
one million to ten million dollars.
He made it a rule to accept neither gifts nor favours, though many
handsome presents were sent him, and he was poorer at the close of
this service than before the term began. He was also inspector of New
York troops in the field on the staff of Major General Hunt, of the
Army of the Potomac. After the war, he resumed his law practice with
great success, gaining a national reputation through the important
legal cases he handled, and was for a time counsel to the Board of Tax
Commissioners, who paid him a salary of $10,000 a year.
He received the appointment of Collector of the Port of New York in
1871 from President Grant, and his reappointment in 1875 was confirmed
by the Senate.
Hayes selected for Secretary of Treasury John Sherman, “who deemed it
important that the custom-house appointments should be in the hands
of one more friendly to the Hayes administration than Mr. Arthur.”
Theodore Roosevelt was appointed collector, but the United States
Senate refused to confirm the appointment, and Arthur and Cornell held
their respective offices until adjournment of Congress, July 11, 1878,
when they were suspended. Arthur had previously declined to resign, as
requested by Secretary Sherman, notwithstanding the fact that he was
promised a foreign mission.
His friends prepared and circulated a petition for his reinstatement
which carried the signature of every judge of every court of New York
City, of all important members of the bar, and of three fourths of the
merchant importers. When Mr. Arthur learned of this, he refused to
permit it to be presented.
The political affiliations of her husband were not especially pleasing
to Mrs. Arthur. She disliked having him mixed up with them, preferring
that he devote himself exclusively to his legal profession. His
admirers have claimed that he was born with a flair for politics, and
from the time he reached his majority he was a politician entering into
the activities of his chosen party with zest and enthusiasm.
[Illustration: _Photo by G. V. Buck, Washington, D. C._
MRS. JOHN McELROY
Sister of President Arthur]
The great joy that descended upon the Arthur household with the birth
of their first child, which they named for the gallant Captain Herndon,
was turned to sorrow, as the babe died in infancy. Several years
later, however, two other children came to them, Alan and little Ellen,
to banish the grief and fill the household with life and childish
voices.
As time progressed, Mrs. Arthur became more and more a social
favourite. Her voice, so often compared to that of a Southern
nightingale, was the great attraction for countless projects for
charity and church benefits. She gave to such appeals most generously
of her talents and her time.
Her mother, Mrs. Herndon, died in 1878 while travelling in Europe, and
Mrs. Arthur went over alone to bring the body back to this country for
interment. The shock of her mother’s death, her grief over not being
with her, and the fatigue and strain of the trip undermined her health
so that, when taken ill with pneumonia, she had no reserve strength
with which to combat it, and died after a three-days’ illness on
January 12, 1880.
Her death, so sudden and distressing, was a bitter blow to her husband
just as he was entering upon the most important stage of his public
career. It was also a shock to the host of their friends, many of them
being unaware of Mrs. Arthur’s illness until they learned of her death.
Her popularity was evidenced by the sincere grief of the many over her
death, especially in the circles where her quiet sympathy and charity
had brought so much relief. The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York
requested to be allowed to sing at her funeral.
Mrs. Mary Arthur McElroy, widow of the Rev. John McElroy of Albany,
Mr. Arthur’s youngest sister, came to his aid and took charge of the
desolate and grief-stricken household. Mr. Arthur would allow none of
his wife’s belongings to be touched. Her room and everything in it was
kept just as she left it, even to a bit of fancy work with the needle
ready for the next stitch was left where she had dropped it.
Chester Alan, Jr., in his teens, was sent away to school, while little
eight-year-old Nellie became the especial care of Mrs. McElroy, who
had two young daughters of her own to rear. When Mr. Arthur found
himself in a few short months the head of the nation, it fell upon his
sister’s shoulders to preside over the White House for him. She had the
same gift of grace and charm of manner that made her handsome brother
so popular, and had been given all the advantages that means and the
educational facilities of the day afforded.
President Arthur returned from the funeral of President Garfield
confronted with the great mass of executive business that had
accumulated during the late President’s illness. He decreed that out
of respect to Garfield’s memory, all correspondence and documents
issued from the White House should bear mourning for six months, and
that the mansion should be closed to residence and visitors until
Congress assembled. He would not install his family until the house
was put in better condition, since he was not at all pleased with
its appearance. The furniture was worn and soiled, the china chipped
and marred and mismatched. Hangings and carpets needed cleaning and
replacing. The storerooms, basement rooms, and attics were filled with
the accumulation of odds and ends of discarded household goods and the
leftovers of personal belongings of all past administrations--outgrown
and forgotten toys, the vast and amazing assortment of “gifts” with
which each succeeding president had been deluged by an admiring public,
cast-off clothing, old umbrellas, and junk of every description.
President Arthur possessed a beautiful home in New York, where the
best of art and literature that his means and taste could provide
found a congenial setting. To him, the condition of the home of the
presidents was such as to call for drastic action, although to intrude
upon the treasures of the attics with an intent to remove them was to
break precedents of as great an antiquity as the mansion itself. But
precedent-breaking had started with President Grant, and continued
vigorously under the winsome Mrs. Hayes, and even without the support
of their procedure, President Arthur would not have hesitated to rid
the White House of the fire trap, as the years’ accumulation was
sometimes termed.
He notified the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds of his
wishes. This official, Colonel Rockwell, reported that he had no money
for repair and renewals. Mr. Arthur, however, demanded that the mansion
be cleaned and renovated, declaring that he would not live in a house
looking as it did, and if the government could not or would not pay for
it he would do so himself.
The work of rehabilitation was at once begun. Twenty-four wagonloads
of household goods of all description were cleared out and sold at
auction, to the delight of collectors and souvenir hunters. It is said
that a pair of trousers and a battered silk hat belonging to President
Lincoln were in the collection, as were also an ancient portmanteau
of Mrs. Abigail Adams, and the carpet bag that had held President
Lincoln’s inaugural speech. The sideboard discarded by Mrs. Hayes was
purchased by a local saloon and restored by the proprietor to its
original use, being stocked with decanters and the paraphernalia and
accompaniments of wines and liquors. Three thousand dollars in cash was
the proceeds from the gigantic house-cleaning.
President Arthur also made some improvements. He had the huge
stained-glass screen, made by Tiffany, installed in the entrance hall
to give a little privacy to the state apartments, since all comers and
goers of every description who had business in those days entered the
mansion and made their way to the “office upstairs.” This custom left
no privacy whatsoever for the family, and little or no protection from
the importunities of visitors, who could thus approach the family if
any member of it ventured through the corridors during the office hours.
By the time Mrs. McElroy arrived with the little girls, everything was
in perfect order and the government paid the bill.
The first formal function of the administration was the New Year’s
reception of 1882. It was noted for its elegance and brilliance.
While the President had requested all members of the Garfield Cabinet
to remain until Congress convened, the personnel changes began by
the end of October. Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary of War, had the
distinction of being the only Cabinet officer to continue with
President Arthur until the close of his régime.
Thus it was a new set of official faces that greeted the New Year
callers.
The reception was at its height when Elisha H. Allen, Hawaiian
Minister, wearing the broad sash of the Order of Kamahameha III, after
passing down the line greeting new officials and old friends, stepped
into the anteroom for his coat and hat and dropped dead. Festivities
were at once stopped, doors closed, and all signs of gaiety checked,
while gloom again descended upon the mansion where tragedy, death, and
sorrow have thrust dark shadows upon every administration.
One of the callers at the reception who had come to pay her respects
to the new President and his Cabinet, and who had attracted universal
attention, was Dr. Mary E. Walker. In her masculine trousers, formal
frock coat, and silk hat, she had vied with the belles in the comment
aroused by her clothes, and not even the gorgeous diamonds of Madame de
Struvem, wife of the Russian Minister, or the unusually handsome gowns
of the new Cabinet ladies, eclipsed hers in interest.
She was the first woman to receive the Medal of Honour from Congress,
with a personal testimonial from the President of the United States;
the first woman commissioned as assistant army surgeon; the first woman
to adopt men’s attire for her permanent dress and then legalize it by
obtaining an Act of Congress to authorize her use of it; and also the
first woman prisoner of war to be exchanged for a man of her own rank.
And all of this grew out of her resentment at having been born a girl
and her lifelong rebellion over the limitations hedging the feminine
sex.
Always annoyed with the exactions of fashions which she would not
follow, as expressed in hoop skirts, high heels, false hair, and rouge,
Dr. Mary, at the opening of her professional career, devised and wore
what she called the American Reform Costume.
With the opening of the Civil War, Dr. Walker was commissioned a first
lieutenant and assistant army surgeon. She served on battlefields and
in hospitals, where her use of man’s attire facilitated her work. Her
bravery under fire and untiring service for the wounded brought her
the Medal of Honour from Congress and the personal thanks of President
Lincoln. To the end of her life, she wore her masculine garb and her
cherished medal. Her later years were devoted to philanthropy.
The season thus opened by the presidential family, brilliant functions
followed one another in rapid succession, and all Washington social
leaders joined the official celebrities in the number and splendour of
the banquets, balls, dances, and receptions.
President Arthur, “First Gentleman of the Land,” completely revised
his social régime, reverting to the formality and exclusiveness of the
code planned by General Washington and Alexander Hamilton, although
he occasionally dined with friends; and while Mrs. McElroy did no
calling, she too reserved the right of dining out. Mrs. McElroy
introduced serving tea at her afternoon receptions and refreshments
after all other receptions. The formal dinners were the President’s
especial delight, occupying whole evenings. They were achievements
in gastronomic art, and the elegance of their service made them a
distinctive function of the administration.
President Arthur’s position and appearance, and the fact that he
was the most eligible widower of the land, made him the target for
the attentions and machinations of hosts of women. Mothers with
marriageable daughters, engaging widows eager to console and to be
consoled, and hosts of romantic girls who visioned the President as
the reincarnation of the famous King Arthur, all put forth their most
winning smiles in the effort to focus his attention upon themselves.
Did he pay a compliment to one, present a posy to another, stroll
through the conservatory alone with the wife or daughter of a member
of his Cabinet, lo! tongues wagged, shoulders were shrugged, eyebrows
lifted, telegrams bore veiled allusions, and gossip had him tagged and
all ready for marriage bells to ring. The only difficulty was that
the President kept serenely on his way with the same deference and
gallantry to all, and eventually any hopes of a White House bride to
give society a new sensation in this administration faded before the
conviction that a second marriage was not listed upon the presidential
calendar of intentions.
President Arthur gave a state dinner and reception in honour of
General and Mrs. Grant who were his guests at the White House while
on a visit to Washington. On March 22, 1883, the dinner was given to
the Diplomatic Corps, so that the members of that body in Washington
might have the opportunity to meet the former President, who had been
honoured above all other Americans in his tour of the world so recently
completed.
It was a most brilliant affair, and opened a series of unusually
delightful and elegant functions for the former President and First
Lady. The state dining room, the East Room, and all other state
apartments were so elaborately decorated with flowers as to resemble a
tropical garden.
On the evening of the next day came the reception to which the public
was invited, to pay its respects to the great commander and the gentle
lady who had never refused an appeal for aid nor withheld her sympathy
during the eight years of her residence in the house of the Presidents.
The dinner and reception in honour of Christine Nilsson was regarded
as the smartest event of the year. After the President escorted the
singer to the East Room, she sang with the Marine Band, her splendid
voice high above it as she carried the air. Later in the evening, a
large throng attended the reception, during which she sang “The Last
Rose of Summer” and “Way Down Upon the Suwanee River,” playing her own
accompaniments. Those privileged to attend considered the event one of
rare distinction.
While struggling with the problems of administration, President Arthur
contrived to get relaxation in his chosen way. He loved to gather old
friends about him and chat with them over late suppers. Owing to his
strict rule, few of these little social gatherings were chronicled by
the papers. His knowledge of political life and his acquaintance with
prominent men made these supper parties of utmost importance, and to be
bidden to attend was even more of a command to be cherished and obeyed
than the usual White House invitations. Upon one occasion, a party of
his old friends came from New York City, each bringing his own oyster
fork, which he presented to the President as a souvenir after the
dinner.
The detailed accounts of President Arthur’s régime are meagre because
of his dislike of publicity. He would not allow any chronicles of daily
doings of the White House, or photographs of his children to be made or
appear in the papers, or any stories to be given out about them.
Gossip attached many versions to the story of the portrait of a pretty
woman in the President’s private apartment, before which flowers in
profusion were placed daily by his order. The story lost its zest when
it was learned that it was the portrait of his wife, the Virginia
nightingale, mother of Alan and Nellie.
Nellie Arthur spent but little time in Washington, as she was attending
a French school in New York City, while her brother was at college.
Both frequently returned to visit their father, bringing young
classmates to visit the White House with them. They spent lively days
of sightseeing, often visiting the monument of their grandfather,
Captain Herndon, at Annapolis.
Although born and reared under the teaching of a Baptist clergyman,
President Arthur deserted that faith and became an Episcopalian, and
he and his household attended St. John’s Church--the Church of the
Presidents, across from the White House. He placed there a beautiful
memorial window in honour of his wife, and arranged for flowers to be
sent regularly from the White House conservatory for the altar.
The President’s young son found Washington a delightful and alluring
place to spend week-ends and brief holidays from college. His
appearance meant a gay frolic, and with his father’s team and his banjo
he was a welcome addition to the younger set.
Nellie, though but twelve when her father left the capital, left a
memorial to her kindly heart among the poor children of the city, for
she organized and was the first president of the Christmas Club which,
the first year, collected more than twenty thousand gifts of toys,
sweets, and clothing for the needy little ones--an institution which
has never been allowed to lapse.
In June of 1882, the Army of the Cumberland held its annual meeting
and resolved to erect a monument to General Garfield. Adjutant General
Swaim of the army was appointed to make the necessary arrangements for
a bazaar. Circulars were sent broadcast, appealing for contributions of
every description. Every trade, profession, and science was besought to
give or loan material for exhibits.
As the plans progressed, it was decided that the only place suitable
to hold such an ambitious function was in the Rotunda and Statuary
Hall of the National Capitol. Accordingly, the proper officials were
interviewed and the privilege granted by Congress, so that the fair
might open on November 25, 1882.
The next step was the formation of many state boards or committees to
assist by taking charge of booths. Notable among these were the booths
of Iowa, New Jersey, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky,
Arkansas, and New York.
When the truck loads of donations began to arrive, the great historical
pictures of the Rotunda were covered with canvas and the marble statues
were moved back out of the way in Statuary Hall. When the decorators
had finished placing the loan exhibits of art, the bunting, and the
flags, no one would have recognized the Hall of Representatives,
whose lofty ceiling and dim corners sent back echoes of the oratory
of Webster, Clay, and Calhoun and caught the last uttered word of
the venerable John Quincy Adams. Instead of marble busts and bronze
figures, booths appeared, gaily decked with jewellery, perfumery,
candy, fancy aprons, pincushions, dolls, and crazy quilts. From some,
the new-fashioned “Mother Hubbard” gown swung to and fro. Sewing
machines, pianos, organs, vied with clocks, churns, and washtubs,
and all imaginable utilitarian and ornamental household articles.
Kansas wheat, corn, and great roosters of wood, busts, portraits, and
paintings of Garfield, Henry Clay, and other notables distinguished the
booths of the various states. The Rotunda was turned into an Art Hall.
Vinnie Ream Hoxie had charge of the arrangement and made the spot one
of rare beauty and interest with the aid of flowers and numerous loaned
portraits, among which was one from the British Minister, of Queen
Victoria in her royal robes.
Finally, all preparations for the evening were completed, and at noon,
November 25, 1882, the Garfield Memorial Fair was formally opened by
President Arthur. The Marine Band played lively national airs and
gay music. The enthusiasm and the joyousness of the crowd were in
vivid contrast to the scene of fourteen months before when the place
was shrouded in crêpe and the body of the slain President lay on the
catafalque less than a dozen steps from where his successor now stood.
Less than four years after this spontaneous effort to start the fund
to memorialize Garfield’s life and administration in marble or bronze,
the President who spoke so feelingly of his slain chief was also in
his grave, as were a number of officials who cheerfully and earnestly
participated in the opening of the bazaar--David Davis, and Secretaries
Frelinghuysen, Folger, and Howe.
Every inch of space was occupied--all Washington, his wife, children,
and lap dogs were present--for this was the period when the lap-dog
craze swept the city on the Potomac with the same force as the fad for
crazy quilts and the Mother Hubbard gown, which was so much the other
extreme of tie-back skirts, street-sweeping trains, and bustles. Papers
of the day tell of diminutive lap dogs with costly rings on their paws
and engraved visiting cards for calling.
All of the city attended, black and white alike seeking to see and to
buy. Most popular of all attractions was the selling of chances on the
elegant diamond earrings, the finger-rings, the lovely India shawl
valued at $1,500, the handsome saddles, and other much-desired articles.
From November 25th to December 3d pandemonium continued with the usual
disputes, losses, and thefts, and when all of the débris was cleared
away and the basement disgorged the loads of boxes whose contents
had never been exhibited, it was found that, instead of the huge sum
expected from the $50,000 gross receipts, the amount had dwindled
through expenses and other channels to $7,000, the sum General Swaim
was able to turn over to the Army of the Cumberland. So many charges of
misappropriation of beautiful articles designed to be raffled or sold,
so much of plain stealing was apparent, that a group of army officers
conducted a quiet investigation, after which it was concluded wisest,
safest, and best to drop the entire subject.
Frances Hodgson Burnett, it is said, gave the Mother Hubbard its best
advertisement at the fair, appearing garbed in this style gown made
of lovely violet silk and elaborately trimmed with bolt upon bolt of
dainty narrow lace and fluttering ribbons.
President Arthur was denied the satisfaction of national approbation
which his election to the Presidency would have given him, and as the
close of his term drew near, he welcomed the relief of the release
from the heavy burden. He entered into every plan for the reception of
his successor, and extended every possible courtesy to the incoming
administration.
Mrs. McElroy was openly mourned. Senator and Mrs. Pendleton gave a
brilliant reception in her honour on her retirement, and all the
officials departing and those expecting to fill their places with the
resident social groups attended to do her honour. The young girls to
whom she had been such a fairy godmother of good times escorted her to
her train in a delegation and filled the cars with flowers.
President Arthur was not regretful at leaving the job that had caused
him so much care. In his overanxiety to do what seemed best for the
country, he had made enemies of old-time friends. Desiring to rise
above partisan and factional contests, he had failed in his effort to
please both parties. Slander, ridicule, and misrepresentation were
hurled at him, not only by the Democrats, but by the opposing faction
of his own party. Merciless abuse fell upon him for not complying
with all requests with regard to appointments. Each faction had its
chosen array of patronage which it demanded, and whichever way the
distribution was made, there was dissatisfaction. While he might easily
have found eager friends to reveal inside facts that would have placed
him in a better light and permitted such odium as there was to fall
upon those who were responsible, he flatly refused, preferring to bear
the brunt of much misjudgment himself rather than to be the means of
shifting it to another.
The calumny resulted, however, in the breaking of his spirit and his
health.
His administration was one of dignity, intelligence, and firmness. He
met the problems that beset him with marked skill. He took a firm stand
in support of the Civil Service laws and appointed a commission to
revise the tariff. He added his influence to the promotion of Indian
education, supported the plans to increase the strength of the navy,
and also the measures for controlling and improving the course of the
Mississippi River. Under his régime, a Civil Service Commission was
established to conduct examinations for appointments to minor places in
the government service.
His administration saw a return of prosperity in the greatest degree
the country had ever experienced. The public debt was reduced nearly
$500,000,000, internal revenue stamps were repealed, the number of
collection districts was lessened, and letter postage was reduced from
three cents per one half ounce to two cents per one ounce. A bill
was passed for distributing the Geneva award, another for returning
convicts to our shores, the tax on matches, checks, and drafts was
removed, and the importation of convict labour was forbidden. In
1883, the President joined the Villard Excursion party to drive the
silver spike. Provision was made for the adjudication of the French
spoliation claims long awaiting payment and for the final distribution
of the balance of $15,000,000, paid by England to the United States in
satisfaction of the claims of Americans for losses by rebel cruisers
fitted out in British ports.
The Star Route contractors were brought to trial, and the long-brewing
scandal of their transactions ended. These contractors had mail routes
remote from the great lines of travel for which they demanded huge
sums for the service of getting the mail through on time. In the
investigation ordered by President Arthur, it was shown that thousands
of dollars had been continuously paid by the government for no service
at all, and for weekly service for which some careless cowboy had been
paid seventy-five dollars a month, and in some cases much smaller
amounts. Attorney General Brewster finally secured the indictment of
seven of these, and the trial dragged along for months, attracting a
great sensation because of the prominence and brilliance of the legal
lights on both sides. As no conspiracy against the government could
be found as alleged by the prosecution, the jury rendered a verdict
of acquittal. The government had spent a lot of money, and while the
contractors missed punishment through their acquittal, the publicity
and the attitude of the officials broke up the system of the star route
by which the United States Post Office and Treasury had so long been
victimized.
Among the last official acts of President Arthur was the signing of
the bill to retire General Grant with full rank and pay. He also
urged Congressional action upon the gifts presented by Mrs. Grant as
expressed in the letter here quoted:
Executive Mansion, February 3, 1885.
TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
I take especial pleasure in laying before Congress the generous offer
made by Mrs. Grant to give to the Government, in personal trust,
the swords and military (and civil) testimonials lately belonging to
General Grant. A copy of the deed of trust and of a letter addressed
to me by Mr. William H. Vanderbilt, which I transmit herewith, will
explain the nature and motives of this offer.
Appreciation of General Grant’s achievements and recognition of his
just fame have in part taken the shape of numerous mementoes and
gifts which, while dear to him, possess for the nation an exceptional
interest. These relics, of great historical value, have passed into
the hands of another, whose considerate action has restored the
collection to Mrs. Grant as a life trust, on the condition that, at
the death of General Grant, or sooner, at Mrs. Grant’s option, it
should become the property of the Government, as set forth in the
accompanying papers. In the exercise of the option thus given her,
Mrs. Grant elects that the trust shall forthwith determine, and asks
that the Government designate a suitable place of deposit and a
responsible custodian for the collection.
The nature of this gift and value of the relics which the generosity
of a private citizen, joined to the high sense of public regard
which animates Mrs. Grant, have thus placed at the disposal of the
Government, demand full and signal recognition on behalf of the nation
at the hands of its representatives. I therefore ask Congress to take
suitable action to accept the trust and to provide for its secure
custody, at the same time recording the appreciative gratitude of the
people of the United States to the donors.
In this connection I may patiently advert to the pending legislation
of the Senate and House of Representatives looking to a national
recognition of General Grant’s eminent services by providing the means
for his restoration to the Army on the retired list. That Congress,
by taking such action, will give expression to the almost universal
desire of the people of this nation is evident, and I earnestly urge
the passage of an act similar to Senate bill No. 2530, which, while
not interfering with the constitutional prerogative of appointment,
will enable the President in his discretion to nominate General Grant
as general upon the retired list.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
Notable among the events to add distinction to the Capital City was
the completion and dedication of the Washington Monument on George
Washington’s birthday anniversary in 1885. This ceremony rounding out
eighty-six years of intermittent construction from the inception of the
plan offered a splendid finale to President Arthur’s administration.
The day was bitterly cold with a high wind which made the ceremonies
difficult for the little party of officials on the platform five
hundred feet from the ground. After the various addresses by officials,
the President dedicated the monument “to the immortal name and memory
of George Washington.” The entire party, including the vast concourse
of people assembled at the base, marched to the Capitol where the
venerable Robert Winthrop delivered the oration of the day just as he
had done on the memorable day in 1848 when the corner stone was laid.
The monument has the proud record, the like of which no other structure
of its scope can claim, of there having been no lives lost during the
process of its construction. When the work on the top was begun, P. H.
Laughlin, the superintendent, devised a strong net which was raised as
the structure increased in height and was kept fastened firmly to all
four sides. Although most of the workmen slipped and fell into this
from time to time, none was killed.
The most comprehensive summary of Chester Arthur and his administration
was found in the tribute of Elihu Root at the unveiling of the monument
to his memory in New York, June 13, 1899, of which the following is an
extract:
“Surely no more lonely and pathetic figure was ever seen assuming
the powers of government. He had no people behind him, for Garfield,
not he, was the people’s choice; he had no party behind him, for the
dominant factions of his party hated his name, were enraged by his
advancement, and distrusted his motives. He had not even his own
faction behind him, for he already knew that the just discharge of
his duties would not accord with the ardent desires of partisanship,
and that disappointment and estrangement lay before him there. He
was alone. He was bowed down by the weight of fearful responsibility
and crushed to earth by the feeling, exaggerated, but not unfounded,
that he took up his heavy burden surrounded by dislike, suspicion,
distrust, and condemnation as an enemy of the martyred Garfield and
the beneficiary of his murder. Deep and settled melancholy possessed
him; almost despair overwhelmed him. He went to power walking through
the valley of the shadow of death and ascended the steps of a throne
as one who is accused goes to his trial. He was wise in statesmanship,
firm and effective in administration. Honesty in national finance,
purity and effectiveness in the civil service, the promotion of
commerce, the recreation of the American Navy, reconciliation between
North and South, an honourable friendship with foreign nations,
received his active support.
“The genuineness of his patriotism, the integrity of his purpose,
and the wisdom of his conduct, changed general distrust to universal
confidence, reëstablished popular belief in the adequacy of our
constitutional system in all emergencies, and restored an abiding
trust in the perpetuity of our government. He himself greatly aided to
make true the memorable words of his first inaugural: ‘Men may die,
but the fabrics of our free institutions remain unshaken.’”