Early in September Governor Hoadley, in commencing his campaign in

Hamilton, assailed by speech at Mt. Gilead, charging me with waving

the bloody shirt, and reviving the animosities of the war. He

claimed to be a friend of the negro, but did not deny the facts

stated by me. He allowed himself to be turned from local questions,

such as temperance, schools, economy, and the government of cities,

in all of which the people of Ohio had a deep interest, and as to

which the Democratic party had a defined policy, to national

questions, and, especially, to reconstruction and the treatment of

freedmen in the south. He thanked God for the "solid south."

Though an Abolitionist of the Chase school in early life, and,

until recently an active Republican, he ignored or denied the

suppression of the negro vote, the organized terror and cruelty of

the Ku-Klux Klan, and the almost daily outrages published in the

papers. On the evening of the 8th of September I made a speech at

Lebanon, in which I reviewed his speech at Hamilton in the adjoining

county. I said I would wave the bloody shirt as long as it remained

bloody. I referred to the copious evidence of outrage and wrong,

including many murders of negroes and of white Republicans, published

in official reports, and challenged him to deny it. I said that

by these crimes the south was made solid, and the men who had waged

war against the United States, though they failed in breaking up

the Union, then held the political power of the Confederate states,

strengthened by counting all the negroes as free men, though

practically denying them the right of suffrage. I said this was

not only unjust to the colored man but unjust to the white men of

the north.

In conclusion I said:

"Thirty-eight Members of Congress, and of the electoral college,

are based upon the six million of colored people in the south.

The effect of the crimes I have mentioned is to confer upon the

white people of the south, not only the number of votes to which

they are entitled for the white population, but also the thirty-

eight votes based upon the colored population, and, in this way,

in some of the southern states, every white voter possesses the

political power of two white voters in the northern states. The

colored people have, practically, no voice in Congress and no voice

in the electoral college. Mr. Cleveland is now President of the

United States, instead of James G. Blaine, by reason of these

crimes. I claim that this should be corrected. An injustice so

gross and palpable will not be submitted to by the colored people

of the south, nor by fair-minded white men in the south who hate

wrong and injustice; nor by the great northern people, by whose

sacrifices in the Union cause the war was brought to a successful

termination. It will not be submitted to, and Governor Hoadley,

from his former position, ought to be one of the first to demand

and insist upon a remedy, and not seek to avoid or belittle it by

cant phrases."

After I had spoken in the opera house at Lebanon I was told that

the stage I occupied was within a few feet of the place where my

father died. The room in the old hotel in which he was taken sick,

and in which he died within twenty-four hours, covered the ground

now occupied by the east end of the opera house. As already stated,

he died while a member of the supreme court holding court at

Lebanon.

This debate at long range continued through the canvass. Governor

Hoadley is an able man with many excellent traits, but in his

political life he did not add to his reputation, and wisely chose

a better occupation, the practice of his profession in the city of

New York.

It is not worth while to enter into details as to the many speeches

made by me in this canvass. I spoke nearly every day until the

election on the 13th of October. While Foraker and Hoadley continued

their debate I filled such appointments as were made for me by Mr.

Bushnell. At Toledo, when conversing with a gentleman about the

condition of affairs in the south, I was asked "What are you going

to do about it?" In reply to this inquiry I said in my speech, at

that place: "I do not know exactly how we are going to do it, but

with the help of God we are going to arrange that the vote of the

man who followed Lee shall no longer have, in national affairs,

three times the power of the vote of the man who followed Grant.

The tendency of events guided by a growing popular opinion will,

I believe, secure this condition."

The meetings grew in number and enthusiasm. The largest meeting

I ever witnessed within four walls was at the Music Hall in

Cincinnati, on the 22nd of September. The auditorium, the balcony,

the gallery, even the windows were filled, and thousands outside

were unable to enter. This and similar scenes in Cleveland and

other cities indicated the success of the Republican ticket. Great

interest was taken in the canvass in Ohio by many other states, as

the vote in Ohio would indicate the current of popular opinion.

The result was the election of Foraker by a majority of 17,451,

and of Robert P. Kennedy as lieutenant governor. The legislature

elected was Republican by a decided majority, the size of which

depended upon the official returns from Hamilton county, where

frauds had been committed by the Democratic party.

Soon after the election I was urged by Senator Mahone to take part

in the canvass in Virginia in which he was interested. I doubted

the policy of accepting, but, assuming that he knew best, I agreed

to speak in Petersburg and Richmond. Governor Foraker accepted a

like invitation and spoke in the Shenandoah valley. On my way I

addressed a spontaneous crowd in Washington, the only place in the

United States where no elections are held, and there I could talk

about frauds at elections. I had denounced fraud and violence in

elections in the south, and at Washington I had to confess recent

frauds attempted or practiced in Cincinnati. The worst feature

that the frauds in Ohio were forgery and perjury, committed by

criminals of low degree for money, while in the south the crimes

were shared by the great body of the people and arose from the

embers of a war that had involved the whole country. I gave as a

sample of the frauds in the 4th ward of Cincinnati this instance:

"As soon as the recent election was over an organized gang stopped

the counting in fifteen precincts. Nobody but the gang knew what

the vote was. This could be for no motive but to commit fraud,

and frauds enough were committed in Hamilton county to change the

result on the legislative ticket of four senators and nine

representatives.

"There were probably 500 or 600 voters in the 4th ward, and according

to previous elections about one-fourth were Republicans and the

rest were Democrats. Well, they made up a registration of 700.

When the day of the election came they tore up the registration

papers and let every fellow vote as many times as he wanted until

they got 996 votes in the ballot box. Then that was not all. The

Republican judge got angry and went away, but he took the key.

Then they broke open the box, tied it up with a rope, and took it

to the police officer, and then changed it so that when it was

counted over 900 votes were Democratic and only 48 Republican!"

A similar fraud was attempted at Columbus in sight of the penitentiary.

The returns of elections had been filed with the county records.

Between Saturday night and Monday morning thieves stole one of the

returns and added three hundred tallies for every Democratic

candidate, thus changing the number of ballots from 208 to 508.

The judges were about to count this return, knowing it was a forgery,

when public indignation was aroused in the city of Columbus, shared

in by its most distinguished Democratic citizens, and fraud was

prevented. I felt, and so declared, that these mean crimes were

infinitely more despicable than the violence in the south, which

sprang from a fear of the southern people that their institutions

would be impaired by the votes of men debased by slavery and

ignorance.

I went from Washington to Petersburg, where I was hospitably

entertained by General Mahone. He had been greatly distinguished

for his courage, ability and success, as a Confederate general in

the Civil War, and had long been a popular favorite in Virginia.

He took the lead on questions affecting the debt of Virginia in

opposition to the Democratic party, and a legislature in favor of

his opinions having been elected, he became a Senator of the United

States. He voted as a rule with Republican Senators, but maintained

a marked independence of political parties. I admired him for his

courage and fidelity, and was quite willing to speak a good word

for him in the election of a legislature that would designate his

successor.

The meeting at Petersburg was held in a large opera house on the

evening of the 29th of October. When I faced my audience the

central part of the house and the galleries seemed to be densely

packed by negroes, while in the rear was a fringe of white men.

The line of demarkation was clearly indicated by color, most of

the white men standing and seeming ill at ease. The speech was

fairly well received. In opening I said my purpose was to demonstrate

that what the Republican party professed in Ohio as to national

questions was the same that it professed in Virginia, and that the

practical application of the principles of the Republican party

would be of vast benefit to the State of Virginia, while Democratic

success would tend more and more to harden the times and prevent

the industrial development of Virginia.

"Not only your newspaper," I said, "but the distinguished gentleman

who is the Democratic candidate for Governor of the State of

Virginia, has said to you that I was waving the bloody shirt while

he was contending under the Union flag. If he meant, by waving

the bloody shirt, that I sought, in any way, to renew the animosities

of the war, then he was greatly mistaken, for in the speech to

which he refers, and in every speech I made in Ohio, I constantly

said that the war was over and the animosities of the war should

be buried out of sight; that I would not hold any Confederate

soldier responsible for what he did during the war, and that all

I wished was to maintain and preserve the acknowledged results of

the war. Among these, I claim, is the right of every voter to cast

one honest vote and have it counted; that every citizen, rich or

poor, native or naturalized, white or black, should have equal

civil and political rights, and that every man of lawful age should

be allowed to exercise his right to vote, without distinction of

race or color or previous condition. I charge, among other things,

that these constitutional rights and privileges have been disregarded

by the Democratic party, especially in the southern states."

The speech was largely historical in its character and evidently

rather beyond the comprehension of the body of my audience. The

scene and the surroundings made a vivid impression on my mind.

Here, I felt, were two antagonistic races widely differing in every

respect, the old relations of master and slave broken, with new

conditions undeveloped, the master impoverished and the slave free

without the knowledge to direct him, and with a belief that liberty

meant license, and freedom idleness. William McKinley, then a

Member of the House of Representatives, and Green B. Raum then

spoke, Mr. McKinley confining his speech mainly to a simple exposition

of the tariff question, which his audience could easily understand.

The next day, at the invitation of John S. Wise, then the Republican

candidate for Governor of Virginia, I went to Richmond, and spent

a pleasant day with him. In the evening I attended a mass meeting

in the open air, at which there was a very large attendance. There

was no disorder in the large crowd before me, but off to the right,

at some distance, it was evident that a party of men were endeavoring

to create some disturbance, and to distract attention from the

speeches. While I was speaking Wise rose and, in terms very far

from polite, denounced the people making the noise. He succeeded

in preventing any interruption of the meeting. The speech was made

without preparation, but, I think, better for the occasion that

the one in Petersburg. I stated that I had been born and lived in

a region where a large portion of the population was from Virginia

and Kentucky; that I had always been taught to believe in the

doctrines of the great men illustrious in Virginia history. To

the charge made that I was engaged in waving the bloody shirt I

said:

"If it means that I said anything in Ohio with a view to stir up

the animosities of the Civil War, then, I say, it is greatly

mistaken. I never uttered an unkind word about the people of

Virginia that mortal man can quote. I have always respected and

loved the State of Virginia, its memories, its history, its record,

and its achievements.

"Again, although I was a Union man from my heart and every pulsation,

just as my friend Wise was a Confederate soldier, yet I never heard

in Ohio a man call in question either the courage or purity of

motive of any Confederate soldier who fought in the Confederate

ranks. I never uttered such a sentiment. I disclaim it. What I

did say was this--what I say here in Richmond, and what I said in

Petersburg is--that the war is over and all animosities of the war

should be buried out of sight; that I would not hold any Confederate

soldier responsible for what he did in the war, and all I ask of

you is to carry out the acknowledged results of the war; to do what

you agreed to, when Grant and Lee made their famous arrangement

under the apple tree at Appomattox; to stand by the constitution

and laws of the land, to see that every man in this country, rich

and poor, native and naturalized, white and black, shall have equal

civil and political rights, and the equal protection of the law.

I said also, that by constitutional amendment agreed to by Virginia,

every man of proper age in this country was armed for his protection

with the right to cast one honest vote, and no more, and have that

vote counted, and you, as well as I, are bound to protect every

man in the enjoyment of that right.

"There is the ground I stood on in Ohio, and the ground I stand on

now."

I closed my address as follows:

"And now a word to the best citizens of Richmond. If the criminal

classes can deprive a colored man or a white Republican of his

right to vote, as soon as they have accomplished it, then these

rascals--because every man who resorts to this policy is a rascal

--then these rascals will soon undermine their own party. They

will begin to cheat each other after they have cheated the Republicans

out of their political power. My countrymen, there is no duty so

sacred resting upon any man among you, I don't care what his politics

are. It is honesty that I like to appeal to. I say there is no

man who can be deprived of his right to vote without injuring you,

from the wealthiest in the city of Richmond down to the humblest

man among you, white or black.

"There is no crime that is meaner, there is no crime that is so

destructive to society, there is no crime so prejudicial to the

man who commits it as the crime of preventing a citizen from

participating in the government. Here I intend to leave the

question. I appeal to you, of whatever party, or color, or race,

or country, to give us in Virginia at this election an honest vote

and an honest count, and if Lee is elected, well and good; if Wise

is elected, better yet."

The Democrats carried the state and Wise was defeated.

CHAPTER L.

ELECTED PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE.

Death of Vice President Hendricks--I Am Chosen to Preside Over the

United States Senate--Letter of Congratulation from S. S. Cox--

Cleveland's First Annual Message to Congress--His Views on the

Tariff and Condition of Our Currency--Secretary Manning's Report--

Garfield's Statue Presented to the Nation by the State of Ohio--I

Am Elected a Senator from Ohio for the Fifth Time--I Go to Columbus

to Return Thanks to the Legislature for the Honor--Business of this

Session of Congress--Attempt to Inquire Into the Methods of Electing

Mr. Payne to the Senate from Ohio--My Address on "Grant and the

New South"--Address Before the Ohio Society of New York.

Congress convened on the 7th of December, 1885. The death of Vice

President Thomas A. Hendricks, on the 25th of November, was announced

by Senator Voorhees, who offered appropriate resolutions, the

consideration of which was postponed until January 26, 1886, when

eloquent orations by Senators Voorhees, Hampton, Saulsbury, Evarts,

Ransom, Spooner and Harrison were delivered in commemoration of

his life and death. I added my sincere tribute to his marked

ability and personal worth.

On the first day of the session after the opening prayer, Mr.

Edmunds offered the following resolution:

"_Resolved_, That John Sherman, a Senator from the State of Ohio,

be and he hereby is, chosen president _pro tempore_ of the Senate."

Following the usual form Mr. Voorhees moved to strike out the words

"John Sherman, a Senator from the State of Ohio," and insert "Isham

G. Harris, a Senator from the State of Tennessee."

This was decided in the negative by the vote of 29 yeas and 34

nays, and thereupon the resolution was adopted. I was escorted to

the chair by Senators Edmunds and Voorhees and, having taken the

oath prescribed by law, said:

"Senators, I return you my grateful thanks for the high honor you

have conferred upon me.

"In common with all the people of the United States I share in

profound sorrow for the death of the Vice President, especially

designated by the constitution to act as president of the Senate.

It is an impressive lesson of the uncertain tenure by which we all

hold office and life. The contingency had happened which compels

you now, at the beginning of the session, to choose a president

_pro tempore_.

"In assuming this position, without special aptitude or experience

as a presiding officer, I feel that for a time, at least, I shall

have often to appeal to the habitual courtesy and forbearance of

Senators. Fortunately the rules of the Senate are simple and clear.

My aim will be to secure the ready and kindly obedience and

enforcement of them, so that in an orderly way the sense of the

majority may be ascertained and the rights of the minority may be

protected.

"I can only say, Senators, that while I hold this position I will

endeavor, to the utmost of my ability, to be just and impartial,

and I invoke from each of you assistance and forbearance."

This honor was unsought by me. The public prints had, as usual,

discussed the choice of president of the Senate, but I made no

mention of it to any Senator. I was gratified with the choice,

chiefly because it would, in a measure, relieve me from burdensome

details, and was an evidence of the good will of my associates.

I received many letters of congratulation on this event, one of

which, from Mr. Cox, I insert:

"United States Legation, }

"Constantinople, January 23, 1886.}

"Dear Mr. Senator:--I am reminded by my wife of a courtesy I have

neglected. It is that of congratulation upon your accession to

the post lately held by my friend (from Muskingum county) Thomas

A. Hendricks. You have associations with that valley also, and

they are connected with the best friend I ever had in Congress,

General Samuel R. Curtis, with whom I used to associate in my callow

congressional days.

"Besides, I never forget the kindness with which my father used to

regard C. R. Sherman, your father, for making him clerk of the

supreme court of Muskingum, in early days.

"Here I am, aloof from all old Muskingum memories, or rather,

scenes. As I look out of my balcony, on this spring day in midwinter,

I see the Golden Horn brimming full of ships and other evidences

of interchange; and far beyond it, 'clear as a fountain in July,

when we see each grain of gravel,' Mt. Olympus lifts a double crown

of snow.

"But I only meant to testify to you, from these remote nations,

the pardonable pride of an Ohioan, and a veteran Congressman--in

your elevation.

"When you write to the general, remember me to him kindly.

"Mrs. Cox desired to be kindly regarded to your wife and yourself.

She joins me in felicitations.

"With esteem, etc.,

"S. S. Cox.

"Hon. John Sherman."

President Cleveland's first annual message was delivered to the

Senate on the 8th of December. He stated that:

"The fact that our revenues are in excess of the actual needs of

an economical administration of the government justifies a reduction

in the amount exacted from the people in its support.

* * * * *

"The proposition with which we have to deal is the reduction of

the revenue received from the government, and indirectly paid by

the people from customs duties. The question of free trade is not

involved, nor is there now any occasion for the general discussion

of the wisdom or expediency of a protective system.

"Justice and fairness dictate that, in any modification of our

present laws relating to revenue, the industries and interests

which have been encouraged by such laws, and in which our citizens

have large investments, should not be ruthlessly injured or destroyed.

We should also deal with the subject in such manner as to protect

the interests of American labor, which is the capital of our

workingmen; its stability and proper remuneration furnish the most

justifiable pretext for a protective policy."

This specific principle, if fairly and justly applied to all

industries alike, would be a basis for customs duties that all

would agree to, but, when made, a struggle arises in determining

the articles to be protected, and those to be free of duty. The

President said that the reduction should be made of duties upon

the imported necessaries of life. Such articles are not imported;

they are mainly produced by our own people. By common consent the

few articles that are imported, classed as necessaries of life,

and which cannot be produced in this country, are already free of

duty. When Congress undertook to reduce the revenue it was found

difficult to apply the rule suggested by the President. He said:

"Nothing more important than the present condition of our currency

and coinage can claim your attention.

"Since February, 1878, the government has, under the compulsory

provisions of law, purchased silver bullion and coined the same at

the rate of more than $2,000,000 every month. By this process, up

to the present date, 215,759,431 silver dollars have been coined."

He properly stated that the mere desire to utilize the silver

product of the country should not lead to a coinage not needed for

a circulating medium. Only 50,000,000 of the silver dollars so

coined had actually found their way into circulation, leaving more

than 165,000,000 in the possession of the government, the custody

of which had entailed a considerable expense for the construction

of vaults for its safe deposit. At that time the outstanding silver

certificates amounted to $93,000,000, and yet every month $2,000,000

of gold from the public treasury was paid out for two millions or

more silver dollars to be added to the idle mass already accumulated.

He stated his view of the effect of this policy, and in clear and

forcible words urged Congress to suspend the purchase of silver

bullion and the coinage of silver dollars until they should be

required by the business of the country. This is the same question

now pending, but under circumstances of greater urgency.

The President enlarged fully upon this vital subject and has adhered

to his opinions tenaciously. He was re-elected with full knowledge

of these opinions and now, no doubt, will soon again press them

upon Congress. The efforts made to carry into effect the policy

of the President will be more fully stated hereafter. He closed

his message by calling attention to the law relating to the succession

to the presidency in the event of the death, disability or removal

of both the President and Vice President, and his recommendation

has been carried into effect by law. In conclusion he said:

"I commend to the wise care and thoughtful attention of Congress

the needs, the welfare, and the aspirations of an intelligent and

generous nation. To subordinate these to the narrow advantages of

partisanship, or the accomplishment of selfish aims, is to violate

the people's trust and betray the people's interests. But an

individual sense of responsibility on the part of each of us, and

a stern determination to perform our duty well, must give us place

among those who have added, in their day and generation, to the

glory and prosperity of our beloved land."

The Secretary of the Treasury, David Manning, in his report to

Congress, amplified the statement made of the receipts and expenditures

of the government and gave estimates for the then current and the

next fiscal year. He was much more explicit than the President in

his statement of reform in taxation. He expressed more at length

than the President the objections to the further coinage of the

silver dollars. He stated the superior convenience of paper money

to coins of either gold or silver, but that it should be understood

that a sufficient quantity of actual coin should be honestly and

safely stored in the treasury to pay the paper when presented. He

entered into an extended and interesting history of the two metals

as coined in this country and the necessity of a monetary unit as

the standard of value. His history of the coinage of the United

States is as clear, explicit and accurate as any I have read.

On the 12th of December, 1885, I received from Governor Hoadley an

official letter notifying me, as president of the Senate, that a

marble statue of General Garfield had been placed in the hall of

the old House of Representatives, in pursuance of the law inviting

each state to contribute statues of two of its eminent citizens,

and saying:

"It is hoped that it may be found worthy of acceptance and approval

as a fit contribution from this state to the United States, in

whose service President Garfield passed so much of his life and

whose chief executive officer he was at the time of his death."

On the 5th of January, 1886, I submitted to the Senate, in connection

with Governor Hoadley's letter, concurrent resolutions returning

the thanks of Congress to the Governor, and through him to the

people of Ohio, for the statue, and accepting it in the name of

the nation. In presenting these resolutions I expressed at

considerable length the estimate of the people of Ohio of the

character and public services of Garfield, and closed as follows:

"The people of Ohio, among whom he was born and bred, placed his

image in enduring marble in the silent senate of the dead, among

the worthies of every period of American history, not claiming for

him to have been the greatest of all, but only as one of their

fellow-citizens, whom, when living, they greatly loved and trusted,

whose life was spent in the service of his whole country at the

period of its greatest peril, and who, in the highest places of

trust and power, did his full duty as a soldier, a patriot, and a

statesman."

The resolutions were then adopted.

The legislature of Ohio that convened on the 3rd of January, 1886,

was required to elect a Senator, as my successor, to serve for six

years following the expiration of my term on the 4th of March,

1887. The Republican members of the legislature held an open joint

caucus on the 7th of January, and nominated me for re-election, to

be voted for at the joint convention of the two houses on the

following Tuesday. The vote in the caucus was unanimous, there

being no other name suggested. The legislature was required to

meet an unexampled fraud at the recent election, practiced in

Hamilton county, where, four Republican senators and eleven Republican

members had been chosen. A lawless and desperate band of men got

possession of the ballot boxes in two or three wards of the city

of Cincinnati, broke open the boxes and changed the ballots and

returns so as to reverse the result of the election of members of

the legislature. These facts were ascertained by the finding and

judgment of the circuit and supreme courts, but the supreme court

held that the power to eliminate such frauds and forgeries did not

reside in the courts but only in the senate and house of representatives

of the state, respectively. Each house was the judge of the election

of its members. This palpable and conceded fraud had to be acted

upon promptly. The house of representatives, upon convening,

appointed a committee to examine the returns, and on the fifth day

of the session reported that the returns were permeated with fraud

and forgeries, and that the persons elected and named by the

committee were entitled to seats instead of those who held the

fraudulent certificates of election. Without these changes the

Republican majority was three on joint ballot. The report was

adopted after a full and ample hearing, and the Republican members

were seated.

In the senate a committee was also appointed and came to the same

conclusion. The senators holding the fraudulent certificates

claimed the right to vote on their own cases, which was denied by

Lieutenant Governor Kennedy, the presiding officer, and the Republican

senators were awarded their seats, but this did not occur until

some months after the election of United States Senator, which took

place on the 13th of January, when I was duly elected, receiving

in the senate 17 votes and Thurman 20, and in the house 67 votes

and Thurman 42, making a majority of 22 for me on joint ballot.

I was notified at Washington of my election and was invited to

visit the legislature, members of the senate and house of both

parties concurring. It so happened that at this time I had accepted

an invitation from President Cleveland to attend a diplomatic dinner

at the White House. I called upon him to withdraw my acceptance,

and, on explaining the cause, he congratulated me on my election.

The reception by the two houses was arranged to be at 4 o'clock p.

m. on the day after the election. I arrived in Columbus at 3:30,

and, accompanied by Governor Foraker and a committee of the two

houses, proceeded immediately to the hall of the House, where the

legislature and a great company had assembled. I was introduced

by Lieutenant Governor Kennedy. George G. Washburn delivered an

eloquent address of welcome in behalf of the legislature, closing

as follows:

"Your return to the Senate in 1881 was only additional evidence of

our continued confidence and esteem, and on this, the occasion of

your fifth election to that honored position, I tender to you the

hearty congratulations of the general assembly and of the citizens

of this great commonwealth. Conscious that you have rendered far

greater service to the people of your native state than it will be

possible for them to repay by any honors they can confer upon you,

I again bid you a most cordial welcome and invoke the continued

guidance and protection of the same Almighty Being who has led you

thus far to well merit the exalted title of 'good and faithful

servant.'"

After the applause which followed Mr. Washburn's address had

subsided, I responded in part as follows:

"My first duty on this occasion, after the magnificent reception

you have given me, it to express to you my profound sense of the

high honor you have conferred upon me. I have often, in a somewhat

busy life, felt how feeble are words to express the feelings of

the heart. When all has been said that one can say, there is still

something wanting to convey an adequate expression of gratitude

and obligation. This I feel now more than ever before, when you

have selected me for the fifth time to serve as a Member of the

Senate of the United States.

"Such trust and confidence reposed in me by the people of Ohio,

through their chosen representatives, imposes upon me an obligation

of duty and honor, more sacred than any words or promises can

create.

* * * * *

"And now, gentlemen, for the future term of service to which you

have elected me, I can only, with increased experience, do what I

have done in the past, and, with every motive that can influence

any man, seek to preserve the favor and confidence of a people as

intelligent as any on the face of the globe.

"As many of you know, I did not seek re-election to the Senate.

I sincerely felt that there were many citizens of the State of Ohio

of my political faith who might rightfully aspire to the dignity

of the office of Senator of the United States. I was very willing

to give way to any of them, but you have thought it best to continue

me in this position. It comes to me without solicitation or

intrigue, or any influence that is not honorable to you and to me.

I trust it will not prove injurious to any portion of the people

of the State of Ohio, whether they agree with me in political

opinions or not.

"I accept the office as a trust to be performed under the active

vigilance of political adversaries and the partial scrutiny of

friends, but with the sole object of promoting the honor and

prosperity of the United States. I can have no motive of selfishness

or ambition to turn me from a faithful performance of every duty

attached to the office.

* * * * *

"I assure you, gentlemen, that, without recalling that I am elected

by a party, I will go back to Washington with the earnest desire

to perform the duties that you have assigned me, with the hope to

contribute, to the best of my abilities, not merely to the success

of my party, but to the good of the whole country.

"To me the national government in our system is the _father_, the

protector of our national honor, our defender against enemies at

home and abroad, while the state is the _good mother_ who guards

sacredly the home, the family and the domestic interests of life,

to be beloved by every good citizen of the state, the fountain and

source of the greatest blessings of domestic life. Ohio can justly

claim to be the equal of any other in the sisterhood of states,

central in location, rich in resources, the common pathway of all

the states, containing over three millions of people as happy in

their surroundings as those of any community in the world. We must

do our part to advance and improve our condition by wise legislation

and by the moral influences of education and religion. In this

way only can Ohio sustain her high and honorable standing as a part

of a great country, eloquently and truly described by Canon Farrar

as 'in numbers the greatest, in strength the most overwhelming, in

wealth the most affluent, of all the great nations of the world.'"

My speech was well received by both Democrats and Republicans.

In the evening a general reception of ladies and gentlemen was held

in the senate chamber, when hand shaking and social congratulations

occurred, participated in by citizens of Columbus and other places.

The next day I returned to Washington.

I observed closely the course pursued by the press of the country

in respect to my election. As a rule it was received with favor

by papers of both parties. The election of a Senator of the United

States by such frauds as had been practiced by Democrats in Cincinnati

would be a bad example that might be followed by other crimes,

violence or civil war. The weakness in our system of government

is likely to be developed by a disputed election. We touched the

line of danger in the contest between Hayes and Tilden. Some guards

against fraud at elections have been adopted, notably the Australian

ballot, but the best security is to impress succeeding generations

with the vital importance of honest elections, and to punish with

relentless severity all violations of election laws.

During this Congress, by reason of my position as presiding officer,

I participated only occasionally in the current debate, introduced

only private bills, and had charge of no important measure.

Mr. Eustis, on the 8th of February, introduced a resolution

instructing the committee on finance to inquire whether it had been

the custom for the assistant treasurer at New Orleans to receive

deposits of silver dollars and at a future period issue silver

certificates therefor. This led to a long and rambling debate, in

which I took part. I stated my efforts, as Secretary of the

Treasury, and those of my successors in that office, to put the

silver dollars in circulation; that they were sent to the different

sub-treasuries to be used in payment of current liabilities, but

silver certificates were exchanged for them when demanded. Also,

when gold coin or bullion came into the United States in the course

of trade, and was inconvenient to transport or to use in large

payments for cotton or other products, the treasurer of the United

States, or his assistants in all parts of the country, issued silver

certificates in exchange for gold, that in this way the coin reserve

in the treasury was maintained and increased without cost, that

during one season $80,000,000 gold was in this way acquired by the

treasury. I could have said later on, that, until within three

years, when the receipts of the government were insufficient to

pay its current expenditures, there was no difficulty in securing

gold and silver coin in exchange for United States notes, treasury

notes and silver certificates. The greater convenience of paper

money in large commercial transactions created a demand for it,

and gold and silver were easily obtained at par for all forms of

paper money issued by the government. The exchange was temporarily

discontinued by Secretary McCulloch. It is a proper mode of

fortifying the gold reserve and ought to be continued, but cannot

be when expenditures exceed the revenue, or when there is the

slightest fear that the treasury will not be able to pay its notes

in coin.

On the 8th of March John F. Miller, a Senator from California,

died, and funeral services were conducted in the Senate on the

13th, when I announced that:

"By order of the Senate, the usual business will be suspended this

day, to enable the Senate to participate in the funeral ceremonies

deemed appropriate on the death of John F. Miller, late an honored

Member of this body from the State of California."

The services were conducted in the Senate Chamber by Rev. William

A. Leonard, rector of St. John's church, the chaplain of the Senate,

Dr. Huntley, pronouncing the benediction, after which the following

statement was made by me, as president of the Senate:

"The funeral ceremonies deemed appropriate to this occasion in the

Senate Chamber are now terminated. We consign all that is mortal

of our brother to the custody of an officer of the Senate and a

committee of its Members, to be conveyed to his home on the Pacific,

and there committed for burial to those who have honored him and

loved him so much when living. The Senate, as a body, will now

attend the remains to the station."

Mr. Miller was highly esteemed by his associates in the Senate.

He was born in Indiana a few miles from Cincinnati, Ohio. After

graduating as a lawyer he went to California, in 1853, but returned

to his native state, and at the outbreak of the war entered the

Union army with the rank of colonel. That he was a gallant soldier

is shown by the fact that on his return to Indiana, at the close

of the war, Governor Morton presented him a sword which he had

promised the soldier of the state who had distinguished himself

most and reflected the greatest credit on his state and country.

At the close of the war he returned to California, and, after a

few years, was elected, by a Republican legislature, to the United

States Senate. He was not a frequent or lengthy speaker, but was

a man of thought, of attention, of industry and practical sagacity,

and brought to every question patient and persistent energy and

intelligence. In his manner he was quiet, dignified and courteous.

For years he suffered greatly from wounds received in the war,

which no doubt shortened his life. He held the position of chairman

of the committee on foreign relations, to which I succeeded him.

During April and May interstate commerce was the subject of an

extended debate in which I participated. Amendments to the bill

passed two years previously, involving "the long haul and the short

haul" and whether Congress should attempt to legislate as to

transportation within a single state, were debated, and no problems

of legislation have been more difficult. The Interstate Commerce

Commission organized under these laws was invested with extraordinary

powers and its action has been beneficial to the public, but in

many cases has seriously crippled many railroad corporations, and

bankrupted some of them.

During the latter part of this session I was called upon to perform

a very disagreeable duty. The election of my colleague, Mr. Payne,

as a Member of the Senate, after an active contest with Mr. Pendleton,

gave rise to charges of corruption, not against him personally,

but against those who had charge of his canvass in the legislature.

The succeeding legislature of Ohio was Republican and undertook to

examine these charges by a committee of its house of representatives.

The charges made and the testimony taken were sent by the house to

the Senate of the United States, with a resolution requesting

further examination and that the election be vacated. The papers

were referred to the committee on privileges and elections, the

majority of whom reported that the charges were not proven, and

asked that the committee be discharged from further consideration

of the matter. The minority of the committee reported in favor of

the inquiry proposed. I felt it to be my duty to the people of

Ohio to insist upon an investigation, but in no spirit of unkindness

to my colleague. It was the first and only time I had occasion to

bring before the Senate the politics of Ohio. My relations with

Mr. Payne were friendly. I knew him, and respected him as a

prominent citizen of Cleveland and regarded well by his neighbors.

I believed that whatever corruption occurred at his election he

had no personal knowledge of it, and that his honor would not be

touched by the testimony to be produced.

On the 22nd of July I made a long speech upon the report of the

committee, reviewing the evidence presented by the Ohio legislature

and insisting that it was ample to justify and require a full and

thorough examination by the committee. I disclaimed any desire to

reflect upon the motives, or the honor, or the conduct, or the

opinions, of the Senators who differed with me, saying:

"I believe from my own knowledge of the history of events in Ohio,

as well as from the papers sent to us, that there is a profound

conviction in the minds of the body of the people of Ohio of all

political parties that in the election of my colleague there was

gross corruption, by the use of large sums of money to corrupt and

purchase the votes of members of the general assembly.

"Now, that is a fact. Whether sufficient evidence has been produced

before you to justify this belief is for you to say. Whether

sufficient has been said here to put you upon an inquiry, the fact

remains that the people of Ohio believe, that in the election of

my colleague, there was the corrupt use of money sufficient to

change the result."

I then entered upon the details of the charges and testimony

submitted to the committee, and concluded as follows:

"It is not sufficient for us to state that the case made by this

printed testimony is not strong enough to convict. It is a question

whether it is sufficient to excite a suspicion, because upon a

suspicion a Senator's seat and his right to hold a seat here may

be inquired into. Therefore, with due deference to the distinguished

and eminent gentlemen who treat this case as if we were now passing

upon the guilt or innocence of an accused with the view of a lawyer

and the strictness of a lawyer, it seems to me they have confounded

the stage of this inquiry. It is now an inquiry only in the hands

of a committee of our body to advise whether or not, in these papers

or in any that can be produced, there is cause for investigation,

or whether there is reasonable and probable cause that can be

produced. If so, then the inquiry goes on. The final judgement,

however, is only arrived at when we shall have completed testimony

of a legal character, when, with grave and deliberate justice, and

with the kindness that we always give to our colleagues here, we

proceed to render our judgment.

"I have said more than I intended to say when I rose. I will now

add, in conclusion, that I consider that I perform a duty to my

state, and especially to the party that I represent here, and all

we can say to you is that we have believed and do now believe,

mainly upon the statements made by Democratic editors and Democratic

citizens, for they know more about it than we do, that upon the

belief generally held in the State of Ohio that fraud and corruption

did supervene in this election we ask you to make such inquiries

as will satisfy your conscience whether that charge is true or

false. If it is true, you alone are the judges of it. If it is

false, then you should punish the men who started these charges

and you should vindicate the men who have been unjustly arraigned.

"In any view I can take of it, I believe it is the duty of the

Senate of the United States, as it regards its own honor and the

future of our country, never the leave this matter in its present

condition, to be believed by some and disbelieved by others, to be

made the subject of party contest and party chicanery, but let us

have a fair, judicial, full investigation into the merits of these

accusations. If they are false, stamp them with the brand of

ignominy; if they are true, deal with the facts proven as you think

is just and right."

The debate upon the report attracted much attention and was

participated in by many Senators. The motion of the majority of

the committee was adopted by the vote of 44 yeas and 17 nays. The

Senate thus denied that the case made by the legislature of Ohio

did justify an inquiry into the election of Senator Payne. He

filled out the measure of his term and still lives at his home in

Cleveland, honored and respected, at the age of eighty-five.

Congress adjourned August 5, 1886.

I had been invited to deliver an address, upon the celebration of

the sixty-fourth anniversary of the birth of General U. S. Grant,

at the Metropolitan church in Washington on the 27th of April,

1886. The text given me was "Grant and the New South." As this

brief speech expressed my appreciation of the character of General

Grant soon after his death, and my presage of the new south, I

insert it here:

"Ladies and Gentlemen:--Our friends have given me a very great

theme and very little time in which to present it to you. The new

south is one of the mysteries which time only can unfold. It is

to us, and, I fear, will be for generations to come, one of those

problems which tax the highest abilities of statesmen. It is like

the Irish question to England and the Eastern question to Europe.

We can only judge of the future by the past. I can base my hope

for the new south only upon the probable results of the changed

conditions grafted upon the old south by the war; more a matter of

hope and expectation than as yet of realization. Still we may hope

very much even from the present signs of the times and upon what

the south ought to be if not upon what it is.

"We know what the old south was. It was an oligarchy called a

democracy. I do not speak this word in an offensive sense, but

simply as descriptive of the character of the government of the

south before the war. One-third of the people of the south were

slaves. More than another third were deprived, by the nature of

the institutions among which they lived, of many of the advantages

absolutely indispensable to the highest civilization. Less than

one-fourth of the population were admirably trained, disciplined

and qualified for the highest duties of mankind. The south was

very much such a democracy as Rome and Greece were at some periods

of their history; a democracy founded upon the privileges of the

few and the exclusion of the many. Very much like the democracy

of the barons of Runnymede, who, when they met together to dictate

Magna Charta to King John, guarded fully their own privileges as

against the king, but cared but little for the rights of the people.

And so with the south--the old south. But it was an able oligarchy.

"Among the brightest names in the American diadem were many men of

the south--at the head of whom, and at the head of all mankind,

was the name of Washington. And so, in all our history, the south,

misnamed a democracy, did furnish to the United States many of

their leading lights, and the highest saints in our calendar. They

were able men. All who came in contact with them felt their power

and their influence. Trained, selected for leading pursuits, they

exercised a controlling influence in our politics. They held their

slaves in subjection and the middle classes in ignorance, but

extended their power and influence, so as to control, in the main,

the policy of this country, at home and abroad. They disciplined

our forces, led our parties, and made our law.

"General Grant, in the popular mind, represents the impersonation

of the forces that broke the old south. Not that thousands of men

did not do as much as he within the limits of their opportunities.

Not that every soldier who followed his flag did not perform his

duty in the same sense as General Grant. But General Grant was

the head, the front, the selected leader; and therefore his name

is the impersonation of that power in the war which broke the old

south, and preserved our Union to your children, and I trust your

children's children, to the remotest posterity. But, while we

praise Grant and the Union soldiers, we must remember that Abraham

Lincoln was the genius of the times. He pointed out the way. He

foresaw the events that came. He did not like war. He hated war.

He loved the south as few men did. He was born of the south--in

his early life reared in the south. All his kin were in the south.

He belonged to that middle or humble class of men in the south who

were most seriously oppressed by all their surroundings--by the

slavery of the south. He hated slavery, if he hated anything, but

I do not believe he hated the owners of slaves. He loved all

mankind. No man better than he could have uttered those words:

'Malice towards none, charity for all.' That was Abraham Lincoln.

He was driven into the war reluctantly. At first, he tried to

prevent it, and would not see the necessity for it. He ridiculed

it, and believed that the time would speedily come when all the

excitement springing up in the south would pass away.

"But the inevitable and irrepressible conflict was upon him, and

he met the responsibility with courage and sagacity. A higher

power than Abraham Lincoln, a power that rules and governs the

universe of men, decreed the war as a necessary and unavoidable

event, to prepare the way for a new south and a new north, and a

more perfect Union. The war did come as a scourge and a resurrection.

Grant was the commander of the Union armies, and at the close of

the war more than what we had hoped for at the beginning was

accomplished. When the war commenced no man among those in public

life contemplated or expected the speedy abolition of slavery in

the District of Columbia, and in the United States of America. I

can say that, the winter before the war commenced, no man in public

life in Washington expected the untold benefits and good that have

come to mankind as the result of the war, by the Act of Emancipation

--unforeseen then, but thankfully appreciated now, by the whole

American people; even by the masters of the slaves.

"Now fellow-citizens, the new south is founded upon the ruins of

the old. It inherits the prejudices, the institutions and some of

the habits of the old south. No wise man will overlook this, and

should not expect that the southern people will at once yield to

the logic of events; but every patriotic man ought to do his utmost

to bring about, as soon as possible, a cheerful acquiescence in

the results of the war. You cannot in a single generation, much

less a single decade, change the ideas of centuries. And, therefore,

we must not be impatient with the new south. And we who come from

the north must not expect them at once to lay aside all ideas with

which they were born and which they inherited from their ancestors

for generations. Therefore, it was to be expected that the south

would be somewhat disturbed, and would be somewhat slow in their

movements; that it must be born again and live an infancy and take

its ordinary course in human life. It must grow as Topsy grew.

Remember, at that time, before the war, this country was a confederacy,

not of states, but a confederacy of sections. There were but two

parties to that confederacy, one was the north and the other was

the south. On every question, great and small, that division in

American life and American politics arose. Before the war and

during the war party lines were drawn on the sectional line, north

and south. The parties in this country were sectional parties,

and even up to this time we have not broken down the asperity which

existed, growing out of this sectional condition of affairs.

"Now that slavery is gone, parties ought to be based on other

conditions than sectional lines. There is no question now existing

between the north and the south, and politicians will soon find

that they must base their divisions of party lines upon some other

question than between the north and the south. I see growing up

every day the evidence of that feeling that this sectional controversy

is at an end. Although the ghost is not buried--the dead body lies

mouldering in the grave.

"What then, is the first duty of both sections, now that slavery

is abolished. It is to base party divisions upon other than

sectional lines. It is to adopt a policy approved by the patriotic

men of both sections, that will develop the resources, improve the

conditions, and advance the interests of the whole people. The

north is ready for this consummation. There never was a time in

the history of this government, from the time the constitution was

framed to this hour, when there was less party spirit among the

mass of the people of the United States. Nearly all that is left

is among mere politicians. The people of the United States desire

to see these differences buried, and new questions, living questions

of the present and future, form the line of demarkation between

parties. The north has made enormous growth and development since

the war. Immense capital is seeking investment, and millions of

idle men are seeking employment. The south, from a state of chaos,

is showing marked evidence of growth and progress, and these two

sections, no longer divided by slavery, can be united again by the

same bonds that united our fathers of the revolution.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me state briefly the conditions

upon which the new south can secure the greatest amount of good

for its people--conditions that can be accepted by men who served

in either army (who wore the blue or the gray), both Confederate

and Union soldiers. If these elemental conditions are accepted

fairly, as I hope they will be by the south, the union will be

complete without either north or south or sectional or party lines.

"First, there must be recognized in every part of this country,

without respect to race or color or condition, the equality of

rights and privileges between man and man. This fundamental

principle is now ingrafted upon our constitution. It can never be

erased. There it stands; and although, from time to time, parties

and men may refuse to observe the spirit of that great provision

in the constitution, there it will stand, and in time--and I trust

a not far distant time--it will be recognized by every man and

woman and child in this broad land, white or black, north or south.

It is not safe for it to be otherwise. A right plainly given by

the constitution and the laws, withheld or denied, is an uneasy

grievance which will never rest. And, therefore, the time is not

far distant, when those now strongly actuated by the prejudices

and feelings of race will recognize this important doctrine. They

will feel that it is for their own safety and for their own good.

Blacks and whites are spread all over the south. They cannot be

separated without the fiat of the Almighty, and such a fiat has

never been issued except once, when the Israelites marched out from

slavery in Egypt, and it took them about forty years to travel a

short way.

"One-third of the population of the south is of the negro race,

and two-thirds of the white race. Whatever may have been thought

of the wisdom of the policy of emancipation, it was the logical

result of the war, has been finally adopted, and will never be

changed. It is idle to discuss schemes to separate these races

except by voluntary and individual movement, but they will live

and increase, generation after generation, the common occupants of

the new south. What is needed above all else is to secure the

harmonious living and working of these two elements, to secure to

both the peaceful enjoyment of their rights and privileges. As long

as any portion or race or class of the people of the new south are

deprived of the rights which the constitution and law confer upon

them, there will be unrest and danger. All history teaches us that

those who suffer a wrong will sooner or later find means to correct

and avenge it.

"There is another condition that the new south must find out. The

honorable gentleman who preceded me (Senator Brown) has found it

out already. The system of production which was admirably adapted

to the old south will not answer for the new south. Under the old

institution of slavery they raised a few leading crops, cotton,

rice, sugar and tobacco--but not much else. Why? Because these

articles could be raised by the labor of slaves.

"Now, in the new south, it is manifest that the chief sources of

wealth and prosperity lie in the development of their natural

resources, in the production of coal and iron and other minerals

and phosphates, and in the manufacture of cotton and other textile

fabrics, and in the development of railroads and other means of

communication. In other words, they will find it to their interest

to adopt and compete with the north in all its industries and

employments. That this can be successfully done is shown in Alabama,

Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. All the states

touching on the Alleghany range have facilities for varied manufactures

fully equal to any of the northern states, and with some advantages

as to climate and labor. A diversity of production will be wealth

to the south, break down its exclusion, open its doors to immigration,

and assimilate its institutions with those of the north.

"The north is ready for this competition. Although the south will

probably deprive us of some of the markets we now have, yet no man

in the north will complain; but, on the contrary, we have in the

north millions of dollars in capital to invest, and millions of

hardy men to work north or south, wherever they can get fair wages

for a fair day's work. When this competition comes we will have

a diversity of industry, and a country rich in developed as well

as in undeveloped resources. This is the second great want of the

new south which I trust their able men may bring about; and Governor

Brown is one of their leaders, and has seen that this is the road

not only for the improvement of his section, but for the betterment

of his fortune.

"There is one other thing I wish to say in regard to the south.

That is, that it must mainly work out its own salvation. That is

one of the last things that we in the north have found out. We

have striven in various ways to assist the south in managing their

local affairs; and I must confess that although I participated in

that kind of business I am afraid it did not turn out very well.

The north cannot rule the south any more than England can rule

Ireland, or Europe can govern Greece and Turkey. According to the

principles of our government it is not possible for us to keep

soldiers enough down south to guard all their ballot boxes, and

indeed we need a good many up north to guard our own sometimes.

At all events it is not consistent with the principles of our

government that we should undertake to rule in local affairs, and,

therefore, while we should give to those who are oppressed, in our

own country as well as in others, every kindly aid which the

constitution and the law allow, yet, after all, the people of the

south must work out their own salvation.

"I am inclined to think that the blacks, having the labor and the

muscle and industry on their side, will not be far behind the white

race in the future in the south. It is now conceded on all hands

that, under our system of government, we cannot by external force

manage or interfere with the local affairs of a state or community,

unless the authorities of the state call for aid to resist domestic

violence. Wrongs inflicted upon citizens by mobs are beyond redress

by the general government. The only remedy is migration and public

opinion; but these, though slow and very discouraging, will in time

furnish a remedy and also a punishment. Neither capital nor labor,

prosperity nor hope, will go or linger long where human rights and

life are unsafe. The instinctive love of justice and fair play

will, in time, dissipate the prejudice of race or caste and point

the finger of scorn to the man who robs another of his rights, as

it now does to the man who cheats, or steals the property of his

neighbor. With the power of the colored people to migrate, whenever

they are unjustly treated, to a place where law and justice prevail,

with the capacity for labor and to acquire property, with reasonable

opportunity for education, they will in time make sure their rights

as citizens. I believe this is the growing feeling in the new

south. I am willing to trust it, and I will be glad to aid it

whenever and wherever I can see the way.

"What the new south wants now more than all else is education!

education!! education!!! The statistics with which we have been

made familiar recently in the debate in the Senate, of illiteracy

in the south, are appalling, but not much more so than was the

condition of the western states fifty years ago. The negroes being

slaves were, of necessity, without education. The great mass of

the white people were in the same condition, not because it was

desired in the south, but because, from the sparseness of the

population and the existence of plantations instead of farms, it

was difficult to establish a system of public schools. A change

in this respect cannot be brought about suddenly, but it is apparent

that every southern state appreciates the importance of education

of both white and black. It is the bounden duty of the national

government to extend the aid of its large resources. If the action

of the Senate is sanctioned by the House, and fairly and justly

executed by the people of the southern states, there need be no

danger from the ignorance of the next generation. I believe that

these conditions will be the solution of the troubles of the south

and make a great step on the road to prosperity and union in the

south.

"Now, but a few words in conclusion. It is not merely common school

education in the south that is needed, but it is higher education.

It is all the learning of the schools, all that science has taught,

all that religion teaches, all that medicine has found in its alchemy,

all the justice which the law points out and seeks to administer;

the south wants opportunity for that higher education which cannot

be obtained from common schools, but which exists in no country

except where common schools abound. It wants in its midst the

places where the active leading young men of the south can gather

in colleges and universities and there gain that higher education

which prepares them to be leaders among men.

"I congratulate you, my countrymen, here in Washington, that, under

the authority of the Methodist Episcopal church, a Christian

denomination, under the name of the illustrious hero General Grant,

there has been founded in the mountains of Tennessee, away up among

the clouds and in the pure air of Heaven, in the midst of a loyal

and patriotic population, an institution of learning which will be

a blessing to all the people of the south, and I trust to all the

people of the north. Every aid possible should be showered down

from the north and south alike. Let them light their fires at this

modern Athens upon the mountain top and they will shine forth all

over our land. Here the young men of the south will fit themselves

to lead in the march of progress and improvement. They will learn

to vary their production, to develop their resources, to advance

every race and generation in education, intelligence and patriotism,

and with charity broad enough to secure all the people, of every

race and tribe, the peaceful and unquestioned enjoyment of their

civil and political rights. There is now no disturbing question

of a sectional character which should prevent the north and south

from moving in harmonious union. The two streams have united, and

though for a time their waters may be divided by the color line,

like the Mississippi and the Missouri at and after their junction,

yet, in the end they will mingle in a great republic, not of sections,

but of friendly states and a united people."

I attended a meeting of the members of the Ohio Society of New

York, on the occasion of their first annual dinner at Delmonico's,

on the 7th of May. It was a remarkable assemblage, composed almost

exclusively of men born in Ohio, then living in New York, all of

whom had attained a good standing there, and many were prominent

in official or business life. There were over two hundred persons

present. Thomas Ewing was president of the society, and Mr. Payne

and myself sat on either side of him. I insert the remarks of

General Ewing and myself as reported in the papers the next morning.

Many speeches were made by others, including Senators Payne and

Harrison. General Ewing, after the dinner had received ample

attention, called the company to order and made a brief address,

which was repeatedly applauded. He said:

"I hail and congratulate you, guests and members of the Ohio Society

of New York, on our delightful and auspicious reunion. It is good

that we are here. This large assemblage of Ohio's sons, coming

from far and near, attests how strong and vital are the ties that

bind us to our mother state. We have every reason to love and be

proud of her. If American citizenship be a patent of nobility, it

adds to the honor to have been born of that state which, almost in

the forenoon of the first century of her existence, has shed such

luster on the republic; which has given to it so long a roll of

President, chief justices, judges of the Supreme Court and statesmen

in the cabinet and in Congress--among whom is found not one dishonored

name, but many that will shine illustrious in our country's annals

forever; a state which, in the supreme struggle by which the Union

was established as indissoluble and the plague of human slavery

destroyed, gave to the republic even more than her enormous quota

of noble troops, and with them those great captains of the war:

Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans, McPherson.

"Gentlemen, we have not formed our society from a desire to culture

state pride in any spirit of divided allegiance. No, no! There

has been far too much of that in the past, and can't be too little

in the future. We are first Americans--then Buckeyes. The blessings

and misfortunes of our sister states are ours as well as theirs.

The love of our own state and pride in her history spring largely

from the fact that she and her institutions, in birth and growth,

are purely American. She is the oldest and, so far, the best

developed of all the typically American states. Neither Roundhead

nor Cavalier stood sponsor at her cradle. She never wore the collar

of colonial subserviency. Her churches and colleges are not endowed

of King Charles or Queen Anne. Her lands are not held by grant or

prescription under the Duke of York, Lord Fairfax or Lord Baltimore,

but by patents under the seal of the young republic and the hand

of George Washington, whose name will continue to be loved and

honored throughout the world long after the memory of the last king

and peer of Great Britain shall have sunk in oblivion.

"The early generation of her sons were not reared amid distinctions

of wealth and rank and class, but in the primeval forest and prairie,

where all stood equal and had no aid to eminence but strenuous

efforts; where recollections of the sufferings and sacrifices of

Revolutionary sires became inspirations of patriotism in their

sons; and where nature threw around all her pure, loving and

benignant influences to make them strong and great.

"Gentlemen, I now have the pleasure to present to you a typical

Buckeye--the architect of his own fame and fortune--who stands

below only one man in the republic in official station, and below

none in the respect of his countrymen--John Sherman."

As General Ewing closed, there was a tumultuous scene. There were

repeated cheers, and Colonel W. L. Strong called for three cheers

in my honor, which were given. When I could be heard, I spoke as

follows:

"Mr. President, Brethren All:--I give you my grateful thanks for

this greeting. If you receive every Buckeye from Ohio in this

manner, you will have the hordes of Ararat here among you. Such

a reception as this, I think, would bring every boy from every farm

in the State of Ohio, and what would become of New York then? You

have gathered the sons of Ohio, and those who have been identified

with its history, into a society where you may meet together and

preserve and revive the recollections of Ohio boyhood and Ohio

manhood. Why should you not do that? Why should you not have an

Ohio society as well as a New England society, or any other kind

of society? Our friends and fellow-citizens from old England's

shore, from Ireland and Scotland and Germany, form their societies

of the city of New York; and why should not the State of Ohio, more

important than any of these countries by this represented?

"Now, gentlemen, there is one characteristic of Ohio people which

has marked them from the beginning of their history, and marks them

now. We are a migratory race. We are the Innocents Abroad. No

Arab in his tent, restless and uneasy, feels more uncertain and

movable than a man from Ohio, who can better his condition anywhere

else. We are a migratory race, and why should we not be? Do we

not deserve the best of every land? When we go to any other country,

we don't go to rob them of anything, but to add to their wealth.

If I want to prove that Ohio people are migratory, what better

evidence can I have than is afforded by the men who are here around

me? Here is my friend, General Ewing, born in one of the garden

spots of Ohio, under circumstances when it would be supposed that

he ought to be content with his lot; but he goes walking off to

Kansas, and then to the war, and then into Washington, and finally

settles down near New York here, under the shadow of the Sage of

Greystone! Among others here around me I see a grandson of old

William Henry Harrison. I see here innumerable representatives of

the Puritan fathers, with all the virtues of the old fathers and

some besides. I see here representatives not only of Virginia and

New England, but of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania--all from

Ohio.

"My countrymen, in the early days Ohio was the camping ground of

all the old states. Ohio is the first fruit of the Federal Union.

It is true that Vermont and Kentucky and Tennessee were admitted

into the union of these states before Ohio was, but they were

offshoots of New York and Virginia, while Ohio was the first fruit

of that great commonwealth. Every state of the old states had a

camping ground in the State of Ohio, either by reservation, by

purchase or by settlement. Nearly all of the early descendants of

Ohio were sons of Revolutionary fathers who came out to Ohio. They

went there to redeem that land from a wilderness, and they made of

Ohio the most prosperous, the richest and fairest commonwealth the

world has ever known. In Ohio was the beginning of that magnificent

march of progress which adds luster to the history of the northwest,

as an evidence of growth and progress unexampled in the previous

history of mankind. Think of it, my countrymen! Within one hundred

years, more than 30,000,000 people have grown up in a country once

people alone by Indian tribes, and that 30,000,000 of people are

among the most prosperous and powerful peoples of the whole world.

"I want to defend our Ohio people against another charge that is

very often made against them, especially in this city of New York.

They charge us with being fond of office. Why, my countrymen, I

can show by statistics--and statistics never lie--that Ohio never

had her fair share of the public offices. I have not brought any

of the statistics with me, for fear some know-nothing might cry at

our after-dinner speech 'Figures.' Still we never had our share

of the public offices, or if we had we always filled them well,

and performed our duties honorably.

"Now, gentlemen, only one or two other thoughts, and then I will

leave you. In the early times, migration was always to the westward.

Nobody thought of coming east. Therefore it is that out of the

eight sons of Ohio who are now Members of the United States Senate,

all moved westward; and out of some thirty or forty or fifty Members

of the House of Representatives who were born in Ohio, and who

didn't stay in Ohio--and they are only a small part of them--all

went westward. The reason was that 'Westward the star of empire

wends its way.' But latterly the star of empire seems to have

settled about this city of New York, until more than 200 Ohio men

can sit down to an Ohio feast in the city of New York. There is

another reason--there is more money in New York than anywhere else

in the country. Not that our people have a fondness for money,

but they have come here to better their condition--and I hope in

God they will. They not only better their own condition, but the

condition of all around them, and I can pick out from all over this

community, and from this little dinner party, men who came from

Ohio poor, but with an honest endeavor to do what was best for

themselves and their families, and here they are, rich and happy.

"One word more, worthy fellow-citizens. We love Ohio. We love

Ohio as our mother who nurtured us and fed us in our in our infancy;

and, under any circumstances, although we may hear ill of Ohio, we

never fail to remember all that is good that can be said of Ohio,

and to be true and honorable for the love of Ohio. But we love

our country more, and no man from Ohio would ever be true to his

mother unless he were more true to his country all around, from

one end of the land to the other. Our country forever from the

Atlantic to the Pacific; from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canada

line, and away around this continent in due time, when the pear

will ripen and fall in this Federal Union; in the whole round of

the country!

"I congratulate you upon this happy meeting, upon this successful

feast, and I trust you may go on prospering and to prosper, until

you will gather all the men of Ohio who are deserving of their

nativity into the fold of this social union, not only that you may

meet each other again as kinsmen born of the same soil, but that

you may aid and assist each other, as other kindred societies have

done, and I trust that the Ohio society, though the junior members

at the table of these societies of New York, may yet be the foremost

and leading members in charity and good works to the sons of Adam."

CHAPTER LI.

A PERIOD OF POLITICAL SPEECH MAKING.

Organization of the "Sherman Club" at Mansfield, Ohio--My Experiences

with Newspaper Reporters--Address at the State Fair in Columbus on

Agricultural Implements--Other Speeches Made in the Campaign of

that Year--Address at Louisville, Ky.--Courteous Treatment by Henry

Watterson, of the "Courier Journal"--Hon. John Q. Smith's Change

of Heart--Answering Questions Propounded by Him at a Gathering in

Wilmington, Ohio--Success of the Republican Party--Second Session

of the 49th Congress--But Little Legislation Accomplished--Death

of Senator John A. Logan--Tributes to His Memory--His Strong

Characteristics--My Reason for Resigning the Presidency of the

Senate--Succeeded by John J. Ingalls.

After the adjournment of Congress I returned home. I was not

fatigued by the labors of the session, as the duties of presiding

officer were lighter than those of an active Member on the floor.

The usual canvass had already commenced for state officers and

Members of Congress. A club called the "Sherman club" had been

organized at Mansfield, and soon after my return having been invited

to attend it, I did so, and made a brief political address. During

this month I was visited by many interviewers, and while sometimes

their calls were inopportune, yet I uniformly received them, answered

their questions, and furnished them any information in my power.

I knew that they were seeking information not for their own

convenience, but to gratify a public interest, and, therefore, I

was entirely willing to answer such questions as were put to me.

The case was very rare where I was misrepresented, and then it was

either unintentional or to brighten a story or to exaggerate a

fact. I recall one interview in respect to courts of arbitration

and the universal labor question. My opinions were expressed

offhand, and, although not taken down at the time by the interviewer,

my words uttered during a half hour's interview were quoted with

great exactness. I know this is not the common opinion in respect

to the interviewer, and in some cases gross misrepresentations are

made, but in the very few instances where this has occurred in my

experience I have always carefully remembered the reporters who

made them and declined any further interview with them.

The latter part of August, Judge Thurman and I were invited to make

brief addresses at the state fair in Columbus. After he had spoken

with his usual ability and directness, I made a speech mainly about

new devices in agricultural implements. I said:

"From the fact that Judge Thurman and I have been invited to address

you I infer that you did not expect us to tell you what we knew

about farming. He has been recognized as a standard authority as

to the law--not only as to what it is but as to what it ought to

be--but I never heard that he was eminent as a farmer, either of

the theoretical sort who know how things ought to grow, or of the

practical sort who know how to make them grow. I have had more

experience as a farmer than he has had, but somehow my crops always

cost me more than I could get for them. If the many millions of

farmers in the United States have had my experience in farming they

would have to get more than seventy-five cents a bushel for wheat

to make the two ends meet. Still, Judge Thurman and I have learned

enough to know that farming is the chosen employment of a large

proportion of the human race, and is, besides, the chosen recreation

of nearly all who have been successful in other pursuits. Every

lawyer especially, from Cicero to Webster, has delighted in the

healthful pleasure of rural pursuits--and if they have not made

their money by farming they have spent their money in farming--and

have enriched the language of every age and clime with eloquent

and beautiful tributes to this noblest occupation of man.

"Perhaps this is the reason you call upon lawyers to speak on

occasions like this, when the varied products of the farm, in their

rich profusion and excellence, are spread before us. Besides, it

is the common opinion that lawyers can talk as well about things

they don't know as things they do know--and on either side of the

question, without respect to the merits or morals of the topic.

Your worthy secretary, in inviting me to speak for a few minutes

on this occasion, said that I was quite at liberty to choose the

subject of my remarks. So I have chosen as a text a discovery I

have made very much like that of Benjamin Franklin, who advised

the people of Paris that he had made a great discovery--that being

wakeful one morning he discovered that the sun rose at Paris at

five o'clock, and that if they would rise with the sun and go to

bed with the sun they would save an enormous sum--millions of francs

--in the cost of candles and lamps, and greatly improve their health

and morals. So I have discovered that our farmers have become

machinists, and, instead of working themselves, they make the

horses, mules, and especially the machines, do nearly all the work

of the farm.

"I have observed in the numerous fairs I have attended since they

were first introduced in Ohio, and especially since the war, a

marked change in the articles exhibited. Formerly the chief

attraction was the varied exhibition of fruits, grain, cattle,

horses, sheep, hogs, poultry--all the productions of the farm--and

the chief benefit then derived from our state and county fairs was

to excite competition in the size, excellence and abundance of

these purely animal or agricultural productions. Formerly the

tools and implements of husbandry were few, simple and plain, the

chief of which were the plow, the scythe, the cradle, the sickle.

"Later by degrees there appeared new devices--new implements of

husbandry--the mower, the reaper, the thresher, the binder, the

sulky plow, an infinite variety of mechanical contrivances to make

the labor of the farmer easier, or rather to dispense with a

multitude of laborers, and substitute in their places the horse,

the mule and the steam engine. In other words, to convert the

business of farming from an agricultural pursuit, where the labor

of men and women was the chief factor of production, to a mechanical

pursuit, in which the chief element of cost and power were machines,

the invention of a single generation.

"This striking change in an employment, which in all ages has been

pursued by a greater number of human beings than any other, is

shown in every fair now held in the United States, and especially

in this."

I spoke of the changed condition of the farmer since Ohio was a

new state, covered by a great forest, when the home was a cabin,

and about the only implements were the plow and the axe, and then

said:

"After what has been said by others, and especially so eloquently

said by Judge Thurman, I need not express the high value I place

upon the magnificent work of the state board of agriculture in

preparing these grounds as a permanent place for the exhibition of

the industrial products of Ohio, not only of the farm but of the

workshop. It is this day dedicated by appropriate ceremonies for

the use of the present and future generations of Buckeyes, and, I

hope, as time rolls on, there may be here exhibited, not only stock

and grains and vegetables, not only ingenious machinery and

inventions, but men, high-minded men and noble women, and that with

the many advantages in education and culture secured to them by

their ancestors they will maintain and advance with manly vigor

and sturdy virtue the work of the generations before them, who have

planted and founded here in Ohio a model republic."

I attended the thirteenth Industrial exposition at Music Hall,

Cincinnati, on the 2nd of September, where fully six thousand people

were gathered, I entered the building with Governor Foraker, and

we were received with rounds of applause and made brief remarks,

the substance of which was reported, but I can only remember the

magnitude of the audience and the difficulty of being heard. The

city was crowded with men, women and children, all in holiday dress,

and everybody in good humor at the success of the exposition.

During September, and until the day of the election, I was engaged

in making speeches. The one at Portsmouth, on the 28th of September,

was carefully prepared and reported, and contained the substance

of what I said in that canvass. It was a review of the political

questions of the day. I always feel more at home in that part of

Ohio then in any other. The river counties are associated with my

early recollections and the people are uniformly generous and kind.

With rare exceptions they have heartily supported me during my

entire political life.

I attended a meeting conducted by the Blaine club in Cincinnati.

The procession that marched through the streets was an immense one,

and seemed to include all the men and boys in the city. The

clubhouse, brilliantly illuminated, was surrounded by a great crowd,

too large to hear the speeches, nor did it matter, for their

enthusiasm and cheers showed that they needed no exhortation.

I attended a reception of the Sherman club of the 24th ward, at

the head of which was my old friend, Governor Thomas L. Young. I

there made a strong appeal for the election of Benjamin Butterworth

and Charles Brown to Congress, the former being one of the ablest

and most promising men in congressional life, and the latter a

gallant soldier, who had lost a leg in the service of his country.

I said:

"Their election is more important than anything else. The election

of a Republican House of Representatives is of vital importance,

because if we can have not only a Republican Senate, but a Republican

House of Representatives, we will tie up Cleveland and his

administration so that he and it can do no harm to anybody. If we

can get a good Republican House of Representatives we will be able

to maintain the system of protection of American labor, which is

the pride and glory of the Republican party. We will maintain all

these great measures of Republican policy which tend to develop

our country, to increase its happiness, diversify its pursuits,

and build up its industries; to give you a good currency; to protect

your labor; and generally to promote the common good and welfare

of our common country."

At the invitation of the Republicans of Louisville, Ky., I went to

that city. In the afternoon I made a short address at the laying

of the corner stone of the new customhouse, and in the evening made

a long political speech. It was my first visit there, and I was

much gratified as well as surprised, at the great numbers which

attended a Republican meeting and the enthusiasm with which I was

greeted. I referred to the long and intimate association of Ohio

and Kentucky since the days of the Indian wars, when Kentucky sent

her best and bravest men to fight the battles of Ohio, under Harrison

and Taylor at Fort Meigs and Sandusky. In a later time, when Henry

Clay was their favorite, Ohio steadily and heartily supported him,

and now that the war was over, there was no reason why Kentucky

and Ohio might not stand side by side in maintaining the principles

of the Republican party. I said:

"You might naturally inquire why I came to the city of Louisville

to make a Republican speech, when I knew that the majority of your

population belong to a different school of politics, and that I

could scarcely hope to make any impression upon the Democratic vote

of the city of Louisville or the State of Kentucky. Still, I have

always thought it strange that your people, who through many long

years followed the fortunes and believed in the doctrines of Henry

Clay, should willingly belong to a party opposed to all his ideas,

and I was curious to learn why the same great events that led the

people of Ohio into the ranks of the Republican party should lead

the people of Kentucky into the ranks of the Democratic party. It

is to make this discovery that I come here to-night, and I will

speak to you, not for the purpose of reviving past controversies,

but to see whether, after all, the people of Ohio and Kentucky

ought not now to stand side by side in their political action, as

they did in the days of old.

"When approaching manhood I, in common with the people of Ohio,

was in ardent sympathy with the political opinions of the people

of Kentucky. I was reared in a school which regarded Henry Clay,

John J. Crittenden, Thomas Ewing and Thomas Corwin as the brightest

lights in the political firmament, chief of whom was Henry Clay.

I need not remind a Kentucky audience with what pride and love your

people followed him in his great career, and with rare intermissions

supported and sustained him to the close of his life. And so, too,

with John J. Crittenden, who represented the people of Kentucky in

both Houses of Congress, in the cabinet of two administrations,

and, to the close of his eventful life in the midst of the Civil

war, retained the confidence and support of the people of Kentucky.

It may be said, also, that Thomas Ewing and Thomas Corwin, the warm

and lifelong friends of Clay and Crittenden, represented the people

of Ohio in the highest official positions, and that these great

men, united in counsel, in political opinions and in ardent

friendship, were the common standards of political faith to the

people of these neighboring states.

"I had the honor to cast my first vote for Henry Clay for President

of the United States, and supported him with all the natural

enthusiasm of youth, and remember yet my sorrow when it was at last

known that he was defeated. I also knew Mr. Crittenden from 1846,

when, as a young lawyer, I visited Washington, and saw much of him

in the later years of his life. I also held close personal relations

with Mr. Ewing and Mr. Corwin since my early boyhood, and shared,

as much as youth can share, the benefits of their council and

confidence. I am justified in saying that during the memorable

period of thirty years of political conflict through which we have

passed, I have steadily adhered to the lessons they have taught,

by supporting the measures adopted from time to time by the Republican

party, while the majority of the people of Kentucky, with equal

sincerity, no doubt, pursuing their convictions, have landed in

the Democratic party. What I would like to find out is whether it

is you or I who have switched off from the councils of our political

fathers, and whether the causes of the difference of opinion still

exist."

I closed as follows:

"I freely confess that the great mass of the Democratic party are

patriotic, law-abiding citizens, yet I believe the elements that

control that party, especially in the northern states, are unworthy

of the confidence and trust of a brave and free people, and that

the Republican party, although it may not always have met the hopes

and expectations of its friends, does contain within it the elements

of order, safety, obedience to law and respect for the rights of

others, with well-grounded principles of public policy, and can

fairly be trusted again to manage our national affairs.

"My heartiest sympathies go with the gallant Republicans of Kentucky,

who, in an unequal fight, have shown the courage of their race and

the patriotism of their ancestors. Let them persevere in appealing

to their neighbors for co-operation, and they can fairly hope that,

as the passions of the war pass away, Kentucky will be, as of old,

on the side of the Union, the constitution and the impartial

enforcement of the laws.

"Is not this a good time to try the experiment of a Republican

representative from the Louisville district? Our Democratic friends

seem to be in a bad way about the choice of a candidate. If what

the opposing factions say of their candidates is half true, you

had better take shelter under a genuine and fearless Republican

like Mr. Wilson, who will be impartial to the factions and true to

the great interests of American labor and American production.

Such a light shining from Louisville will be a star of hope, a

beacon light of safety and prosperity to the extreme bounds of our

country. Why not try the experiment? I hope that my visit among

you will be a message of good will, and I thank you with all my

heart for your kindly reception."

The "Courier Journal" was much more fair to me on this occasion

than the Democratic papers in Ohio. In consequence of this I have

always entertained a kindly feeling for its editor, Henry Watterson,

who, notwithstanding his strong political opinions, is always bold,

frank and courteous in his criticisms.

On my return from Kentucky I spoke to a large meeting at Wilmington,

Ohio, on the 7th of October. I had frequently addressed meetings

at that place and always received a very cordial and hearty welcome.

It so happened that John Q. Smith, one of the leading citizens of

Clinton county, who had been a Member of Congress, had changed his

political relations and become a warm supporter of the administration

of Cleveland. He had prepared a large number of questions, to be

put to me, which were printed and scattered broadcast in handbill

form. I was glad of the opportunity to answer his questions, as

they gave me a text for a general review of a Democratic administration.

I said that the handbill was issued by a gentleman whom I esteemed

very highly, and for whom I had the greatest good will and friendship,

one of their own citizens, who had served in the legislature and

in Congress with credit, and had been a representative of our

government abroad. I then read the questions one by one and answered

them, and, as I think, clearly showed to the satisfaction of my

hearers, that, although Mr. Smith was generally sound on other

matters, he was a little cracked on the question of American

protection. My answers were received with great applause by the

audience, and I think my old friend made nothing by his questions.

After making a number of other speeches in Ohio, I spoke in Grand

Rapids on the 18th of October; in Indianapolis on the 21st; at Fort

Wayne on the 24th, and at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, on

the 27th. I closed my speaking in this campaign at Toledo on the

30th. The time of the fall elections had been changed to the first

Tuesday after the first Monday of November. During the period from

my return home after the adjournment of Congress until the day of

election, I spoke almost daily. The election resulted in a victory

for the Republican party, the head of the ticket, James S. Robinson,

Secretary of State, receiving about 11,000 majority.

The second session of the 49th Congress passed but little important

legislation except the appropriation bills. The two Houses were

so widely divergent that they could not agree upon measures of

political importance.

On the 9th of December I made an impromptu speech on the revision

of the tariff, in reply to Senator Beck, but as no action was taken

upon the subject at that session, it is useless to quote what I

said. Mr. Beck was a man of great mental as well as physical power.

A Scotchman by birth, he came at an early age to the United States

and settled in Kentucky, where he practiced law, and in due time

became a Member of Congress, and afterwards a Senator of the United

States. He was aggressive, affirmative and dogmatic, and seemed

to take special delight in opposing me on all financial questions.

He and I were members of the committee on finance, and had many

verbal contests, but always with good humor. On the 9th of December,

as I entered the Senate Chamber after a temporary absence, I heard

the familiar voice of Beck begging, in the name of the Democratic

party, a chance to reduce taxation. I promptly replied to him,

and the colloquy between us extended to considerable length. He

was, in fact, a free trader, believed in the policy in force in

Great Britain, and opposed every form of protection to American

industries. Our debate brought out the salient arguments on both

sides, though no measure on the subject-matter was pending before

the Senate.

During the holiday recess Senator John A. Logan died at his residence,

Calumet Place, in Washington. This was announced, in the Senate,

by his colleague, Shelby M. Cullom, on January 4, 1887, as follows:

"'The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land.' His

visitation has been most unexpected during the recent brief recess

of the Senate, and has imposed upon me a duty which I have scarcely

the heart to perform--the duty of announcing the death of my late

distinguished colleague. At his home, which overlooks this capital

city, at three minutes before three o'clock on Sunday afternoon,

the 26th of December, the spirit of John A. Logan took its flight

into the unknown realms of eternity. On Friday last, the funeral

ceremonies were conducted, by the Senators and Representatives

present, in this Senate Chamber, and his mortal remains were conveyed

to the silent tomb.

"We are called upon to mourn the loss of one of the bravest and

noblest of men--a man loved by the patriotic people of his state

and of the nation, known to his country and to the civilized world

as great in war and in peace, and for nearly fourteen years a

distinguished Member of this Senate."

Logan is buried in the cemetery of the Soldiers' Home in Washington,

in a conspicuous and beautiful marble tomb erected to his memory

by his widow. On the 9th of February the business of the Senate

was suspended, and many Senators, the associates of the deceased,

paid fitting and eloquent tribute to his public and private virtues

in addresses of marked ability and interest.

He was a striking character, bold, fearless and aggressive, but

sensitive as a child. I knew him well when he was a Member of the

House before the war. He was a devoted friend and admirer of

Douglas, and, like him, when the war commenced, threw his whole

soul into the Union cause. He was a good soldier, and, of those

who entered the army from civil life, was among the most distinguished.

He was a model of the volunteer soldiery. After the war was over

he was returned to Congress and served in the House and Senate

until his death. He was a positive man; there were no negative

qualities about him. Thoroughly honest in his convictions he was

regarded as a strong debater, though somewhat too urgent in presenting

his opinions, and disposed to take a personal view of controverted

questions. I had great respect for Logan, and never had any

controversies with him except upon financial questions, upon which

I thought he took at one time erroneous views. For a long time he

adopted the ideas prevailing in the west in regard to paper money.

Upon further reflection he became satisfied that the policy of

resumption was the right one and adhered to it. He was a member

of the committee that framed the resumption act, and from the time

that measure was agreed upon, he, so far as I know, supported it

firmly and warmly. He was a good party man; he stood by the judgment

of his political friends. I never saw the slightest hesitation or

doubt on his part in supporting a measure which was agreed upon by

his political associates. One interesting feature of Logan's life

was the interest felt by his wife in his public career, and her

helpfulness to him. She was the model of a helpmate. She is in

every way a good woman. She has the very qualities that he lacked,

and I might illustrate by many instances her great aid to him in

his political purposes.

I had accepted an invitation of the merchants of Boston to attend

the annual banquet of the Mercantile Association on the 29th of

December, but was compelled to withdraw my acceptance, so that, as

president of the Senate, I could perform certain duties in respect

to Logan's funeral that I could not delegate to others, and which

were requested of me by the committee on arrangements, through a

notice sent me by Senator Cullom, the chairman, as follows, and

upon which I acted:

"The committee on arrangements at the funeral ceremonies of John

A. Logan, late a Senator of the United States from the State of

Illinois, respectfully request the Honorable John Sherman, a Senator

of the United States from the State of Ohio, to preside at the

funeral exercises on Friday, December 31, 1886."

In the Boston invitation it was intimated that some remarks on the

national banking system would be acceptable. In declining I wrote

a letter expressing my opinion of that system, which I said had

realized all the good that had ever been claimed for it by its

authors, that it had furnished the best paper money ever issued by

banking corporations, that the system was adopted only after the

fullest consideration and had won its way into public favor by slow

process, and that I regarded it as the best that had ever been

created by law. The remarkable success of this system, I said,

was not appreciated by those not familiar with the old state banks.

It had been adopted by many countries, especially in the far off

island of Japan.

The bill to regulate interstate commerce became a law on the 4th

of February, 1887. It had passed both Houses at the previous

session, but, the Senate having disagreed to amendments of the

House, the bill and amendments were sent to a committee of conference.

The report of this committee was fully debated. I had taken great

interest in this bill, but had not participated in the debate until

the 14th of January, when I supported the conference report, while

not agreeing to some of the amendments made. Senator Cullom is

entitled to the chief credit for its passage.

On the 22nd of February I laid before the Senate the following

communication, which was read:

"To the Senate of the United States.

"Senators:--My office as president _pro tempore_ of the Senate will

necessarily terminate on the 4th of March next, with my present

term as Senator. It will promote the convenience of the Senate

and the public service to elect a Senator as president _pro tempore_

whose term extends beyond that date, so that he may administer the

oath of office to Senators-elect and aid in the organization. I,

therefore, respectfully resign that position, to take effect at

one o'clock p. m., on Saturday next, February 26.

"Permit me, in doing so, to express my heartfelt thanks for the

uniform courtesy and forbearance shown me, while in discharge of

my duties as presiding officer, by every Member of the Senate.

"Very truly yours,

"John Sherman."

I said that if there was no objection the communication would be

entered in the journal and placed among the files of the Senate.

On the 25th John J. Ingalls was elected president _pro tempore_,

to take effect the next day. On that day I said:

"Before administering the oath of office to his successor the

occupant of the chair desires again to return to his fellow Senators

his grateful acknowledgments for their kind courtesy and forbearance

in the past.

"It is not a difficult duty to preside over the Senate of the United

States. From the establishment of our government to this time the

Senate has always been noted for its order, decorum, and dignity.

We have but few rules, and they are simple and plain; but we have,

above all and higher than all, that which pervades all our proceedings

--the courtesy of the Senate, which enables us to dispose of nearly

all of the business of the Senate without question or without

division. I trust that in the future, as in the past, this trait

of the Senate of the United States will be preserved intact, and

I invoke for my successor the same courtesy and forbearance you

have extended to me. I now invite him to come forward and take

the oath of office prescribed by law."

Mr. Ingalls advanced to the desk of the president _pro tempore_,

and, the oath prescribed by law having been administered to him,

he took the chair, and said:

"Senators, I must inevitably suffer disparagement in your estimation,

by contrast with the parliamentary learning and skill, the urbanity

and accomplishments of my illustrious predecessor, but I shall

strive to equal him in devotion to your service, and I shall

endeavor, if that be possible, to excel him in grateful appreciation

of the distinguished honor of your suffrages."

Mr. Harris offered the following resolution, which was unanimously

adopted;

"_Resolved_, That the thanks of the Senate are hereby tendered to

Hon. John Sherman, for the able and impartial manner in which he

has administered the duties of the office of president _pro tempore_

during the present Congress."

CHAPTER LII.

VISIT TO CUBA AND THE SOUTHERN STATES.

Departure for Florida and Havana--A Walk Through Jacksonville--

Impressions of the Country--Visit to Cigar Factories and Other

Places of Interest--Impressions of Cuba--Experience with Colored

Men at a Birmingham Hotel--The Proprietor Refuses to Allow a

Delegation to Visit Me in my Rooms--Sudden Change of Quarters--

Journey to Nashville and the Hearty Reception Which Followed--Visit

to the Widow of President Polk--My Address to Nashville Citizens--

Comment from the Press That Followed It--An Audience of Workingmen

at Cincinnati--Return Home--Trip to Woodbury, Conn., the Home of

My Ancestors--Invitation to Speak in the Hall of the House of

Representatives at Springfield, Ill.--Again Charged with "Waving

the Bloody Shirt."

At the close of the session of Congress, early in March, a congenial

party was formed to visit Florida and Havana. It was composed of

Senator Charles F. Manderson, wife and niece, Senator T. W. Palmer

and niece, General Anson G. McCook and wife, and myself and daughter.

We were accompanied by E. J. Babcock, my secretary, and A. J.

Galloway and son, in the employ of the Coast Line road, over which

we were to pass. We stopped at Charleston, where the ravages of

a recent earthquake were everywhere visible. Fort Sumter, which

we visited, was a picture of desolation. Such a large party

naturally attracted attention. At Jacksonville we encountered our

first reporter. He showed me an article in which it was stated

that we were on a political trip. This I disclaimed and said we

had not heard politics mentioned since we left Washington, that we

were tired out after Congress completed its work and made up a

party and started off merely for rest and recreation. I remarked

that I had been in every state in the Union but one, and wanted to

finish up the list by seeing Florida. A colloquy as given by the

reporter was as follows:

"Well, Senator, my errand was for the purpose of getting your

opinion on matters political."

"I am out of politics just now. I want to rest and I do not want

politics to enter my head for two weeks."

"Then you say positively that you are not down here to look after

your fences for a presidential boom in 1888?"

"Most decidedly not. I will not say a word about politics until

I reach Nashville on my return. There I take up the political

string again and will hold to it for some time."

Manderson proposed a walk through the city, the reporter being our

guide. Orange trees were to be seen on every side. We were

surprised to find so large and prosperous a city in Florida, with so

many substantial business houses and residences. The weather was

delightful, neither too hot nor too cold, and in striking contrast

with the cold and damp March air of Washington. From Jacksonville

we went in a steamboat up the St. John's River to Enterprise.

Florida was the part of the United States to be first touched by

the feet of white men, and yet it seemed to me to be the most

backward in the march of progress. It was interesting chiefly from

its weird and valueless swamps, its sandy reaches and its alligators.

It is a peninsula, dividing the Gulf of Mexico from the ocean, and

a large part of it is almost unexplored. The part we traversed

was low, swampy, with dense thickets, and apparently incapable of

reclamation by drainage. The soil was sandy and poor and the

impression left on my mind was that it could not be made very

productive. There were occasional spots where the earth was far

enough above the sea to insure the growth of orange trees, but even

then the soil was thin, and to an Ohio farmer would appear only to

be a worthless sand bank. This, however, does not apply to all

points in Florida, especially not to the Indian River region, where

fine oranges and other semitropical fruits are raised in great

abundance. The Indian River is a beautiful body of water, really

an arm of the sea, on the eastern coast of Florida, separated from

the Atlantic by a narrow strip of land. The water is salt and

abounds in game and fish.

At Sanford our party was joined by Senator Aldrich and his wife,

and we proceeded by way of Tampa and Key West to Havana, where we

arrived on the 17th of March. The short sail of ninety miles from

Key West transported us to a country of perpetual summers, as

different from the United States as is old Egypt. After being

comfortably installed in a hotel we were visited by Mr. Williams,

our consul general, who brought us an invitation from Captain

General Callejas to call upon him. We did so, Mr. Williams

accompanying us as interpreter. We were very courteously received

and hospitably entertained. The captain general introduced us to

his family and invited us to a reception in the evening, at which

dancing was indulged in by the younger members of the party. We

spent four very pleasant days in the old city, visiting several of

the large cigar factories, a sugar plantation in the neighborhood

and other scenes strange to our northern eyes. The ladies supplied

themselves with fans gaily decorated with pictures of bull fights,

and the men with Panama hats, these being products peculiar to the

island.

Among the gentlemen of the party, as already stated, was Frank G.

Carpenter, a bright young man born at Mansfield, Ohio, who has

since made an enviable reputation as a copious and interesting

letter writer for the press. His description of Havana is so true

that I insert a few paragraphs of it here:

"Havana has about 300,000 inhabitants. It was a city when New York

was still a village, and it is now 100 years behind any American

town of its size. It is Spanish and tropical. The houses are low

stucco buildings put together in block, and resting close up to

narrow sidewalks. Most of them are of one or two stories, and

their roofs are of red tile which look like red clay drain pipes

cut in two and so laid that they overlap each other. The residences

are usually built around a narrow court, and their floors are of

marble, tile or stone. This court often contains plants and flowers,

and it forms the loafing place of the family in the cool of the

evening.

"These streets of Havana are so narrow that in some of them the

carriages are compelled to go in one direction only. When they

return they must go back by another street. The sidewalks are not

over three feet wide, and it is not possible for two persons to

walk abreast upon them. The better class of Cubans seldom walk,

and the cabbys are freely called upon. The cab of Havana is a

low Victoria holding two or three persons. Their tops come down

so as to shade the eyes, and they have springs which keep every

molecule of your body in motion while you ride in them. The horses

use are hardy mongrel little ponylike animals, who look as though

they were seldom fed and never cleaned.

"The traffic of Havana is largely done by oxen, and the two-wheeled

cart is used exclusively. This cart is roughly made and it has a

tongue as thick as a railroad tie, nailed to the body of the cart,

and which extends to the heads of the oxen and is there fastened

by a great yoke directly to the horns. The Cuban ox pulls by his

head and not his shoulders. This yoke is strapped by ropes across

the foreheads of the oxen, and they move along with their heads

down, pushing great loads with their foreheads. They are guided

by rope reins fastened to a ring in the nose of the ox. Some of

the carts are for a single ox, and these have shafts of about the

same railroad tie thickness, which are fastened to a yoke which is

put over the horns in the same manner. Everything is of the rudest

construction and the Egyptians of to-day are as well off in this

regard.

"Prices of everything here seem to me to be very high, and the

money of the country is dirty, nasty paper, which is always below

par, and of which you get twelve dollars for five American ones.

A Cuban dollar is worth about forty American cents, and this Cuban

scrip is ground out as fast as the presses can print it. The lower

denominations are five, ten, twenty and fifty cent pieces, and you

get your boots blacked for ten Spanish cents. Even the gold of

Cuba is below par, about six per cent. below the American greenback,

and most of it and the silver in use has been punched or chipped

to make money off of the pieces thus cut out. The country is deeply

in debt, and the taxes are very heavy."

On the return voyage a strong northwest wind sprang up, and most

of the party, especially the ladies, experienced the disagreeable

effects of being on a small steamer in a rough sea. They had,

however, all recovered by the time we reached Tampa, and as soon

as we landed we started for Jacksonville.

In an interview shortly after my return from Cuba, I thus gave the

impression made upon my mind as to its condition:

"And how did you enjoy your visit to Cuba?"

"We spent four days in Havana. Nobody could be treated with greater

courtesy. You know Spanish courtesy is never surpassed anywhere.

But that cannot prevent me from saying that Cuba is in a deplorable

condition. I should judge from what I heard from intelligent Cuban

Americans living there, and even Spaniards themselves, that the

island is in a condition of ill-suppressed revolt. Natives are

nearly to a man in favor of annexation to us. I think they have

given over the idea of independence, for they begin to recognize

that they are incapable of self-government. Their condition is

indeed pitiable. No serfs in Russia were ever greater slaves than

the Cubans are to Spain. The revenue they must raise yearly for

Spain, and for which they get no benefit whatever, except the name

of a national protection and the aegis of a flag, is $16,000,000.

They have no self-government of any kind. From captain general

down to the tide-waiter at the docks, the official positions are

held by Spaniards. I venture to say that not a single native Cuban

holds an office or receives public emolument. In addition to the

$16,000,000 sent annually to Spain, Cuba has to pay the salaries

of all the Spanish horde fastened upon her."

"Do you think the native planters, the wealthier classes, that is,

favor annexation to the United States?"

"Yes, I am told all of them are anxious for it, but I don't think

we want Cuba as an appendage to the United States. I would not

favor annexation. In spite of the drains upon her, Cuba is enormously

rich in resources, and is a large consumer of our products, on

which at present the heavy Spanish duties rest. What I would favor

would be a reciprocity treaty with Spain, as to Cuba, so that we

might send our goods there instead of forcing the Cubans to buy of

England, France and Germany. We could do the island much more good

by trading with her on an equal basis than we ever can by annexing

her. Cuba, to some extent, is under our eye, we would probably

never let any other nation than Spain own the island, but so long

as Spain does own it she is welcome to it if she will only let us

sell our goods on equal or better terms than the Cubans can get

them for elsewhere."

I had some time previously accepted an invitation of the members

of the Tennessee legislature to address them, and, therefore, at

Jacksonville left the remainder of the party to pursue their way

to Washington at their leisure, while I started for Nashville,

accompanied by Mr. Babcock and Mr. Mussey. Having a few days to

spare before my appointment at that place, and having heard much

of the wonderful progress and development of the iron industry at

Birmingham, Alabama, I determined to stop at that place. On our

arrival we went to the Hotel Florence, and at once met the "ubiquitous

reporter." My arrival was announced in the papers, and I was soon

called upon by many citizens, who proposed that an informal reception

be held in the dining room of the hotel that evening, to which I

had no objection. Among those present were ex-Senator Willard

Warner, and a number of the leading men who had so quickly transformed

an open farm into the active and progressive city of Birmingham.

The reception was held and was a very pleasant affair. Being called

upon for a speech I made a few remarks, which were well received,

and as the gentlemen present expressed a desire to have a larger

meeting I consented to speak on the following evening at the opera

house.

That afternoon, when my room was thronged with callers, most of

whom were Democrats, I was handed the following note:

"Birmingham, Ala., March 20, 1887.

"Hon. John Sherman, U. S. Senator.