Class ET-i Book A coFYkic.irr utposixt £^2_ C^yct^Kti^t cs. q/^cc^ THE LIFE HON. SAMUEL JONES TILDEN, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; A SKETCH OF THE LIFE HON. THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF INDIANA. BY WILLIAM MASON CORNELL, LL.D. AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA," "LIFE OF HORACE GREELEY,' "MEMOIR OF CHARLES SUMNER," ETC., ETC. BOSTON : LEE & SHEPARD 1876. V5 TsrCs Copyright, by WILLIAM MASON CORNELL, LL.D. 1876. 2d. COPY SUPPLIED FROM COPYRIGHT FILES JANUARY, IfN. AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO BELIEVE IN THE PURITY AND HONESTY OF OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS, AND THAT THEY SHOULD BE CLEAN FROM EVERY TAINT OF CORRUPTION, THIS RECORD OF THE GREAT REFORMER IS DEDICATED. PREFACE. Long prefaces are seldom read ; and the author of the following pages presents a short one. He wishes it to be distinctly understood at the outset, that, in writing the Life of Samuel Jones Tilden and of Thomas Andrews Hendricks, he has nothing to say that will or can possibly be construed to the disparagement of the personal character and integrity of Gov. Hayes or of Congressman Wheeler, the candi- dates of the Republican party for President and Vice-Presi- dent of the United States. He has formerly written the Lives of Robert Raikes, of Horace Greeley, and a Memoir of Charles Sumner ; and in none of them did he find cause for assailing any other gentleman. In a recent History of Pennsylvania, former historians were not impugned, but gratitude was expressed for what they had done. Provi- dentially, in the lives of the gentlemen portrayed in this volume, there is sufficient of uprightness, integrity, intellect, and good service rendered to their fellow-citizens, to place them on an eminence above reproach, and worthy of imita- tion ; and the author considers himself fortunate in having to set forth men of such honorable and praiseworthy characters. It is always mean to besmirch a worthy man because he is 6 PREFACE. not of our party in politics, or of our sect in religion ; and the " violent dealing " of such as do this, in the language of Israel's king, generally " conies down upon their own pate." Hence I was pleased to read in " The Boston Daily Advertiser," the morning after Gov. Tilden's nomination, " Republicans will be read}' to concede that in a personal sense no better selection could have been made ; " and, further, "He [Tilden] has done good work as a reformer, and he is entitled to all the credit of it." This is creditable, and more than was to have been expected from such a parti- san paper, while the great evil of our day is to disparage men who are not of our party. The reader of these pages will look in vain for any thing of this kind in this volume. W. M. C. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE ANCESTRY OF GOV. SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. PAGE. Any Man may be President. — This Country long concealed. — Settled by the Best Men. — "The Mayflower." — The Ancestors of Gov. Tilden.— Related to Cromwell. —The First Tilden set- tled in Scituate, Mass. — Tildens still there. — The Democratic Contract in " The Mayflower " 15 CHAPTER II. BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF GOV. TILDEN. Columbia County. — The Chemists, the Governor's Brothers. — Anecdote of the Quaker Druggist. — The Governor's Father a thorough Democrat. — The Anti-Masonic Excitement. — Young Tilden's Article. — Mr. Van Buren denies its Paternity. — Samuel enters Yale College. — The Class. — Leaves ou Account of his Health. — Graduates at the New York University. — Studies Law. — Opens an Office. — Is fairly in the Legal Pro- fession 20 CHAPTER HI. POLITICAL PARTIES. Quotation from Dr. Capen's Book. —From Dr. Young and Pope. — Early Origin of Parties in our Country. — Federalists, Repub- licans, "Whigs, and Democrats. — Thomas Jefferson. — Political Lying. — John Quincy Adams. — Andrew Jackson. — Anec- dote of Harrison and John Tyler. — Fame of Gen. Jackson growing brighter. — Many Times the Country has been lost 7 CONTEXTS. PAGB. and saved. — Deacon's Prayer. — Rev. Mr. Burnham of Now Hampshire. — The coming Election. — A Warm Canvass. — Mr. Tilden's Experience 25 CHAPTER IV. POLITICAL LABORS OF SAMUEL J. TILDEX. Choice of a Profession. — What is expected of a Professional Man. —Waiting in a Profession. —Mr. Tilden's Political Papers.— His Speech answering Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. — He becomes an Editor. — Leaves the Editorship, and becomes a Member of the Assembly. — His Prominence in that Body. — Is elected a Member of the Convention to remodel the Constitution of the State of New York. — Becomes conspicuous in that Body . 3o CHAPTER V. MR. TILDEX AS A LAWYER. Further Success as a Politician by Mr. Tilden. —Takes the Palm from Senator Tallniadge. — He feels the Need of Money. — Contrast between the Professions of Lawyers, Doctors, and Ministers. —A Hermit. — Mr. Tilden knew his Power as a Lawyer. — Defeat of Silas Wright, and Political Changes, proved favorable to him. — He soon becomes eminent as an Attorney. —How he managed the Case of Mr. Flagg. — Mr. Tilden starts a Newspaper. — He is chosen a Member of the Assembly. — His Work there. — He is elected a Member of the Convention to remodel the Constitution. —His Management of the Canal Case. —Dr. BurdelTs Case. — Case of Delaware and Hudson Company against the Philadelphia Coal Company. — The Cumberland Coal Company 41 CHAPTER VI. MR. TILDEX AS A REFORMER. Mr. Tihlen as an Honorable Man. —Luther a Peformer. — Auec- dote of Alexander Pope. —Aristocratic Gathering at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. — Robert Collyer's Boat. — Mr. Bristow. — The New York Ping. — A Whip-Row. — Progress of the Ping. — Their vast Plunder. — Mr. Tilden's Plan for capturing the Ping. — Mr. Tilden again in the Legislature. — Nominated for and elected Governor. — His first Message. — His Objects: first, Reform; second, his Financial Policy. — Description of his Per- son. — What lie achieved 57 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. PAGE. Accuser, brought to face Each Other. - Mr. Tdden's own State- ment -He is not responsible for the Controversy with the "Smes" Newspaper. -The Committee of the Bar Associa- tion.-He did not withhold Credit from "The Times -Mr Tilden's relations to Mayor Havemeyer. - His Speech at the Cooper Institute—The Occasion of the Exposition. - Quota- tions from "The Times.»-Mr. Tilden's Description of the Origin of the Ring. -Its Harmony with the Account given by Oth£s -The Period of the Ring-Power. -Formative Period. -Mr. Tilden assumes the Lead of the Democratic State Orgam- zation. — His Speech iu the Circuit Court ' J CHAPTER YIII. MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD CONTINUED, IN WHICH HE FURTHER CONFIRMS THAT OF THE HISTORIAN. Contest of 1370. -The Sham. -Opposition. -The Conflict. -The COn SalNatui-e of the Law.-Hlustration.- The Means ^ betraved the City. - Immediate Consequences. -The Summer of 8 -Court of Appeals. -Whiter of 1871. -School Sys- tem-Code Amendments. -Contest of 1871. -Strong Posi- mn of the Pan, in the City. -Mr. Tilden's Speech at the Cooper Institnte in 1871. - Crisis of the ^est -Piyot^f the Contest -Ping Plan of the Campaign. -Mr. Tildeu s Plan ot Se Campaign. -How to overthrow the Ping iu the Popular Tote of the Citv. -The Time when Mr. Tildeu acted. -Mr. Kenan -Mr. Oswald Ottendorfe, - Mr. O' Conor. - Other Preparations. - Substitution of Mr. Green for Mr. Connolly in fheComptrollership -Efforts of the Ping to recover Posse. sio n.-State Convention. -Other Action.- Broad w a Bank investigations. -Mr. Tilden's Speech at Cooper Institute. - D^moc?atic Reform Vote in the City . - Further CoUection o Proofs. -Judicial Reform. - Conclusion. - Remark, by the Compiler CHAPTER IX. MR. TILDEN'S WAR RECORD, AND THAT OF GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Gov. Tildeu believed that Slavery was guaranteed by the Consti- tution. -Both Garrison and Phillips believed this. - Ch ^n iles Sumner differed from them. -Mr. Tildeu endeavored to avert 03 10 CONTEXTS. PAGE. the War. — "When it came, he said Pre.s. Lincoln should have called out Five Hundred Thousand Men. —This was the Opin- ion of Many Others also. — Mr. Tilden believed that the "War should have heen conducted upon Sound Financial Principles. — Many supposed Secretary Chase's Plan for raising Money a bad one. — Secretary Seward's Prediction that the War would end in Ninety 1 >ays. — Mr. Tilden's Record as Governor. — Quotation from Senator Kernan's Speech. — The Democrats contend that Mr. Tilden, placed in the "White House, would reduce the National Expenses One Half .... 149 CHAPTER X. TWO GREAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. The Work done at St. Louis. — Do the Circumstances of the Coun- try demand a Change? — Mr. Curtis's Knowledge of Mr. Til- den. — If Mr. Tilden is elected, it will he because the People demand it. —The Republican Party cannot rescue the Country from its Present Financial Condition. — The Kind of Man wanted. — Mr. Curtis's Views of the Change for the "Worse in the Wharves and Docks of New York. — Where the Larger Share of Blame for the War belongs. — What the Republican Party has to boast of. — What has the Republican Party done towards resuming Specie Payments? — Selections from Parke Godwin's Letter. — His Personal Acquaintance with Mr. Til- den. — His Rank as a Statesman. — His Administration as Governor of New York. — Gov. Tilden's Work in overthrowing the Tweed Ring. — Mr. Godwin's Advice to his Late Colleagues of the Conference in New York 1G0 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. CHAPTER XL SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. Birthplace of Gov. Hendricks. —Education. — Graduates at Hano- ver College. — Studies Law in Pennsylvania. — Settles in Indianapolis. — Is chosen to the State Legislature. — Also to the State Convention. — Is elected a Member of Congress. — Also Senator. — Returns to the Practice of Law. — Is Chosen Governor. — His Views on the Finances. — A Hard-Money Man. — Description of his Person. — He is married, but has no Children 183 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER XII. SPEECH OF HON. THOMAS A. HENDRICKS AT ZANESVILLE, O., SEPT. 3, 1875. PAGE. Reference to Gov. Allen. — Gov. Hendricks on the Republican Financial Policy. — Specie Payments. — Republican Obstruc- tions to Resumption of Specie Payments. — Extravagant Ex- penditures. — Vices in the Public Service. — District of Colum- bia. — Change the only Remedy 196 CHAPTER XIII. THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, AND ITS WORK. The Convention opened. — Permanent Organization. — The Plat- form. — Nominations. — Mr. Tilden nominated by Senator Kernan. — His Address and Resolution. — Mr. Hendricks nomi- nated by Mr. Williams. — His Speech. — Mr. Fuller's Speech. — Mr. Campbell's Speech. — Samuel Jones Tilden the Nominee for President. — Thomas Andrews Hendricks nominated for Vice-President . 225 CHAPTER XIV. WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. General Enthusiasm. — Despatches to Gov. Tilden. — How he re- ceived the News. — His Remarks. — A Serenade. — Opinion of Hon. Charles Francis Adams. — Opinion of Hon. Charles G. Davis. — Opinion of Hon. Charles Levi Woodbury. — Of Hon. Edward Avery. — How the News was received in New York. — "The New York Times." — "The Sun." — "Chicago Trib- une." — Enthusiasm at Concord, N. H. — At Biddeford, Me. — Gov. Tilden's Ward in New York. — The Committee to announce to Gov. Tilden the nomination perform that Duty. — Gov. Tilden's Reply to the Committee. — Selections from the Speech of Senator Bayard. — Delegates call on Gov. Hendricks. 248 — His Address to them. CHAPTER XV. MR. TILDEN'S AND MR. HENDRICIv'S LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. Gov. Tilden indorses the St. Louis Platform. —Reform in Public Expense. — How to accomplish it. — The Condition of the 12 CONTENTS. TAGE. South. — How to improve it. — Currency Reform. —Bank-note Resumption. — Legal-tender Resumption. — Necessary Cur- rency. — Proper Time of Resumption. — Preparation for it. — Plan for Resumption. — Relief to Business Men. — Civil-Service Reform. — "What he purposes to do if elected to the Presidency. 274 CHAPTER XVI. THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE OF MESSRS. TILDEN AND HENDRICKS. New York Express. — Brooklyn Eagle. — St. Louis Republican. — Philadelphia Times. — Albany Argus. — Eagle again. — Boston Sunday Times. — Courier. — Traveller. — New York Tunes. — New York Herald. — Saturday Evening Express. — New Haven Register. — Springfield Republican. — Baltimore Gazette. — Chicago Times. — Cincinnati Enquirer. — New York Journal of Commerce. — Detroit Free Press. — Portland Argus. — Bangor Commercial. — Manchester Union. 303 CHAPTER XVH. MR. TILDEN ON A NATIONAL BANK IN 1840. — HIS MESSAGE IN 1875. Causes of Fluctuation in Prices. — Previous Crises and Failures. — United States Bank and Expansion of Currency the Causes. — From Mr. Tilden's Speech in 1868. — Conclusion. 321 INTBODTJCTICOT. As by history we are informed what mankind have been and clone in past ages, the character of the best and worst men in every age, and how nations, empires, and kingdoms have arisen, flourished, decayed, and passed away, so by biography we see the benefit which great and good men have conferred on mankind. Indeed, no class of writings has had such vast influ- ence in forming the character of the young, either for weal or woe, as these. Conquerors have been made by reading the lives of conquerors that have preceded them ; heroes, by reading of heroes ; and martyrs, cler- gymen, eminent business men, and persons in all pro- fessions, have been inspired with that supreme devotion and energy to an object, that has enabled them to over- come all obstacles, aad achieve the same or even more than those after whom they patterned. The Creator, the fountain of all good, seems to have acted upon this principle in giving us the Bible, in which he has set before us, for our imitation, the char- acters of Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, and many other holy men, among the Old Testament worthies ; 13 14 INTEODUCTION. and we know, indeed, from the New Testament, that the grand object had in view by the Holy One in portraying their characters was for our imitation. Hence we are expressly told, " Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope ; " hence the writer to the Hebrews brings before us that host of worthies, till the number seems to swell beyond his powers of description, and he exclaims, " And what shall I more say? for the time would fail." All these were named, with their heroic deeds, for what ? " Seeing we also are compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also run with patience the race that is set before us : " in other words, seeing, knowing what others have done, taking them as our examples, let us discharge our duty, as they did ; " let us press towards the mark for our high calling." Deeply imbued with this principle of rising, of coming up to the highest round on the ladder of human per- fectibility, Dr. Young said, — 11 All can do what has by man been done." Having stated these general benefits to the world, from the biography of men who have rendered good service to their country, we are now prepared to speak of the gentlemen nominated at the St. Louis Conven- tion ; namely, Samuel Jones Tilden for President, and Thomas Andrews Hendricks for Vice-President of the United States. LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. CHAPTER I. THE ANCESTRY OF GOV. SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. Any Mean may be President. — This Country long Concealed. — Settled by the Best Men. — The Mayflower. — The Ancestors of Gov. Tilden. — Related to Cromwell. — The First Tilden settled in Scituate, Mass. — Tildens still there. — The Democratic Contract in " The Mayflower." "While we firmly believe with Alexander Pope, that — " Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part : there all the honor lies," — nevertheless a noble and worthy ancestry is by no means to be forgotten or despised. True, we have no monarchial descent or house of lords in our Republic ; and while we glory in the fact that the son of one of our poorest and most secluded citizens may become the president of this great nation, — or the boy upon a " flat-boat," as Abraham Lincoln did, — still a descent from worthy and honorable parentage through 15 16 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. many generations is not to be despised, but, on the contrary, to be held up as worthy of imitation and " to the praise of those who have done well." When it is considered that God concealed this vast country, stretching from the North to the South Pole and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, from all the nations of the Eastern world for ages, and that he then sifted all the nations of the Old World for the choicest of the wheat with which to sow it, the best men with which to people it, who does not see the hand of the Almighty Ruler in this grand event ? Nations had arisen, arrived to maturity, and passed awaj* ; mighty conquerors had shaken the earth : and yet this Western Continent remained unexplored, uninhabited save only by — " The poor Indian, whose untutored mind Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind," — till that little ship, " The Mayflower," landed upon the barren and rocky coast of Massachusetts, with her precious freight. Though no one by the name of Tilden came in that vessel, yet Joseph Tilden of Ten- terden, County of Kent, England, was one of the " merchant princes " who fitted out that fine vessel that brought the Pilgrims to New England ; and, from the same county in England, Nathaniel Tilden, a brother of Joseph just named, came over in the " good shippe, Ann," as early as 1G34, and settled in Scituate in Massachusetts ; and in this town many boys have ANCESTRY OF GOV. SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. 17 since had. the Christian name of Tilden as an honor. This same Nathaniel Tilden was an ancestor of Samuel Jones Tilden; and, what is more, he (the governor) descended as in a royal line from the stanchest Puritan blood of Old England. Nathaniel Tilden by marriage was nearly related to Gov. Window, as one of the governor's brothers married a sister of Hannah Bourne, who was the wife of Nathaniel Tilden. Fur- ther still, another sister was married to a son of Gov. Bradford, thus still in the line of governors. John Tilden, grandfather of Gov. Tilden, settled in Col- umbia County, New York. The governor's mother was a descendant of William Jones, once Lieutenant- Governor of the Colony of New Haven. This Gov. Jones is represented in history as one of the regicide judges of Charles I. This Jones married a sister of Oliver Cromwell, "the Protector," and a near relative of the celebrated John Hampden. Descended from such an ancestry, may not Gov. Tilden well have applied to him the epithet, " Blood will tell " ? If Paul could say of himself, "I was of the strait- est sect, an Hebrew of the Hebrews," may not the Democratic candidate for the president in this centen- nial year of our national existence well say, " I am a Puritan of the Puritans, of the ' Ironsides' of the Iron- sides " f Give us a grander or a more noble ancestry, or one more "dyed in the wool" for civil and religious freedom, or one more entitled to the appellation of a reformer, you who can! The name of Tilden is still 18 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES HLDEN, continued and honored in the colony. As they were thus of the good old stock from whence spring all the liberty of the British Constitution, according to the testimony of the historian Hume, Elam Tilden was careful to imbue his sons with the spirit and principles of that little band, who on board "The Mayflower," before landing, entered into the following compact : "In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under- written, the loyal subjects o( our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith. &c, having undertaken, for the glory of God and the ad- vancement of the Christian faith and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents sol- emnly and mutually, in the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preserva- tion ; and furthermore, to the end aforesaid, and by virtue hereof, to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedi- ence. u In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, at Gape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord King James of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini 1620." ANCESTRY OF GOV. SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. 19 To this instrument just one hundred names were subscribed. To this doctrine of pure democracy, the Tildens were strongly attached ; and in this school Elam Tilden fully and thoroughly instructed Ms son Samuel Jones ; and to it he (the governor) has fully adhered till the present time. As Elam Tilden the good old New York farmer had as implicit faith in the fathers of Democracy, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jack- son, Martin Van Buren, and their associates, as the sign- ers of the compact of " The Mayflower " had in King James, or as the Israelites had in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he had literally fulfilled the instruction which Moses gave to the Israelitish fathers, and had taught his son these things, "speaking of them when he rose up, and when he lay down ; when he was in the house, and when he was by the way," so that Samuel Jones Tilden was the best instructed in the national democ- racy by his ancestors, of any man in the community. So much for his " Pilgrim " ancestry. CHAPTER II. BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF GOV. TILDEN. Columbia County. — The Chemists, the Governor's Brothers. — Anec- dote of the Quaker Druggist. — The Governor's Father a thorough Democrat. — The Anti-Masonic Excitement. — Young Tilden's Arti- cle. — Mr. Van Buren denies its Paternity. — Samuel enters Yale College. — The Class. — Leaves on Account of his Health. — Gradu- ates at the New York University. — Studies Law. — Opens an Office. — Is fairly in the Legal Profession. Samuel Jones Tilden was born in New Lebanon, Columbia County, State of New York, Feb. 9, 1814: consequently, he is in the sixty-third } r ear of his age. His grandfather, John Tilden, was one of the early settlers in this county. Columbia is in the east-south- east part of New York State, and contains an area of six hundred and twenty square miles. It is bounded on the east by the State of Massachusetts, and on the west by the Hudson River, and is drained by several small streams which afford valuable water-power. The surface of the east part is uneven and hilly, but, in the central and western portions, nearly level. The soil is generally fertile and well cultivated. Iron and lead ores, limestone, slate, and marble are among its 20 BERTH AND EDUCATION OF GOV. TILDEN. 21 mineral productions. The warm springs of New Leb- anon, in the north-east part, are much resorted to. The Western Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, and the Harlem Railroad, traverse this county. Organ- ized in 178G. Capital, Hudson. When his grandfather settled in this county, it was nearly a wilderness. His father, Elam Tilden, was a stanch farmer. Elam Tilden had three sons : Moses was the eldest, Henry the second, and Samuel Jones the youngest. Moses and Henry have long been engaged as chemists in manufacturing medicine at New Lebanon, N.Y. Their medicines have long been held in good repute ; and the writer had employed them in medical practice in Boston for more than twenty years, when, about the commencement of the late Avar, he removed to Philadelphia. The following incident shows the pride of the Philadelphia druggists. It is well known that the " City of Brotherly Love " has long claimed pre-eminence as the medical emporium of our country. One day, I entered the shop of a druggist, and inquired if he had Tilden's extracts. He gave no answer. As he was an elderly man, I thought he might be hard of hearing, and repeated the question in a somewhat louder tone, " Do you keep Tilden's extracts ? " when he screamed, loud enough to frighten a quiet Quaker, " No ! We don't go to New York to get our medicines. Do you think we go to New York to get our medicines?" Still I think Moses and Henry Tilden make quite as good medicines as the druggists of the " Quaker City." 22 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. Elam Tiklon was a thorough Democrat, of the Andrew Jackson school. He believed in Thomas Jeff- erson, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Gov. Marcy, the Livingstons, Silas Wright, and their coad- jutors. The deeds of these men were often spoken of in the family ; and the present governor, then a lad, became deeply interested in Democracy. About this time it was reported that "William Morgan, who had written a book exposing Freema- sonry, had been abstracted from his home, and mur- dered by the Masons. The Anti-Masonic fever spread like wildfire over the country ; and so great was the excitement that no man who was a Mason, or said a word in their favor, could be elected to any office, or allowed to remain a member of any church. Those who did not join the cry, " Down with Masonry ! " were called Jacks, and were as unpopular as the Masons themselves. An effort was made at this period to accomplish a coalition between the National Republi- cans and the Anti-Masons, and thus defeat the election of Andrew Jackson as President, and Martin Van Buren as Vice-President of the United States, and William L. Marcy as Governor of the State of New York. The contest was a sharp and bitter one. Young Samuel, then, in 1832, only in his eighteenth year, collected together the views he had heard expressed in the family, wrote them out, and showed them to his father. The father was so well pleased with the drawing-up of the paper, and the clearness BIHTH AND EDUCATION OF GOV. TILDEN. 23 with which lie showed the inconsistency and absurdity of the Anti-Masonic coalition, that he took it and his son to Mr. Van Buren. The final result was, it was published in " The Albany Argus," Oct. 9, 1832, and used as a campaign document. The argument was so good, and the reasoning so cogent, that the authorship was charged upon Mr. Van Buren. This was so gen- erally believed, that Mr. Van Buren came out with a disclaimer, denying that he wrote it. This was the first political effort of Gov. Tilden, when a mere boy, and long before his education was completed. Thus Gov. Tilden inherited a taste for politics from his father, and early entered this arena. When eighteen years old, Samuel entered the sopho- more class in Yale College. This was the class of 1837, and one remarkable for talent, containing the present Chief Justice Waite of the United States Court, the eminent attorney William M. Evarts, Prof. Silliman, Judge Edwards Pierrepont, and others. Mr. Tilden's health failing, he left Yale without graduating with his class. It is somewhat remarkable, that this was the only failure of his health during his sixty-three years. He completed his undergraduate studies under Chan- cellor Mathews, and graduated at the University of New York. Soon after his graduation, Mr. Tilden commenced the stud}- of law, in the office of the late John W. Edmunds of New York. Here he had peculiar facili- ties for the study of law, and also of politics, for the 24 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. latter of which, we have already seen, he had strong proclivities. He had previously selected this as his profession ; and now his acute and keenly logical mind was applied with great earnestness to search out all that could be learned while a student in this profession. He is said to have made good progress in his studies. Upon admission to the bar, he opened an office in Pine Street, New York. He was now fairly introduced into the legal pro- fession, and, as the usual expression goes, had finished his education ; though in reality a man's education is but just begun when he commences the practice of his profession. Having thus traced the genealogy and studies of Mr. Tilden, down to this period, and noticed his taste for political investigations, we are now prepared to speak of his success in legal practice and as a political man ; and as for several of the first years in his legal pro- fession he mingled with politicians, and wrote and spoke for that party, I shall give his acts with the same admixture. CHAPTER III. POLITICAL PARTIES. Quotation from Dr. Capen's Book. — From Dr. Young and Pope. — Early Origin of Parties in our Country. — Federalists, Republi- cans, Whigs, and Democrats. — Thomas Jefferson. — Political Lying. — John Quincy Adams. — Andrew Jackson. — Anecdote of Harrison and John Tyler. — Fame of Gen. Jackson growing Brighter. — Many Times the Country has been Lost and Saved. — Deacon's Prayer. — Rev. Mr. Burnham of New Hampshire. — The Coming Election. — A Warm Canvass. — Mr. Tilden's Experience. " Party is the great engine of human progress. It is a combination of men of similar views and kindred sympathies, for moral or political supremacy. It leads to the war of knowledge upon ignorance, the conflict of holiness against sin, the struggles of freedom against tyranny. It is to be found in man as an indi- vidual, swayed by the opposing passions of the soul, whether for good or evil ; and by the objects of choice, whether yielding to or resisting the spirit of tempta- tion. It is to be found in the numerous associations of society for influence ; controlling customs, forming habits, advancing fashions, and modifying, limiting, or extending the social or domestic duties. It divides the Church in regard to the sacred teachings of the 25 26 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. Holy Scriptures ; and sects spring up to defend their varying creeds, each opposing each, and each opposing all. The votaries of science have their favorite schools and classes ; and party zeal is made to quicken the conceptions of genius. Bold and righteous men rise up as partisans against the world, pledged as martyrs to reformation. The people of every nation divide and subdivide in regard to their national rights and interests ; and we sometimes have the sublime spectacle of parties made up of emperors, kings, and presidents ; of empires, monarchies, and republics, discussing the great principles of national law, intervention, and the balance of power. " A world without party would be incapable of prog- ress. In all ages, parties have been viewed as indis- pensable to existence." The above quotation is made from " The History of Democracy," by Nahum Capen, LL.D. The author has not such exalted views arising from the benefit of parties as Dr. Capen has here expressed. They may be and undoubtedly are beneficial as a whole, upon the principle that " The dread volcano ministers to good: Its smothered flames might undermine the world; Loud vEtnas fulminate in love to man; Comets good omens are when duly scanned; And in their use eclipses learn to shine; " Or, according to Alexander Pope, that " All partial evil's universal good." POLITICAL PARTIES. 2"< Political parties had an early origin in the history of our country ; and political lying was never carried to greater perfection than during the days of the Federalists and Republicans, when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the Presidents of the United States. The Federalists represented Jefferson as a fiend incarnate, in league with Napoleon Bonaparte I., who was then in his glory. They predicted that he would conquer the whole of the Eastern world, and then set his blood-stained foot on the neck of America ; that Jefferson, full of French infidelity, and his coadju- tors, were planning to betray this nation, and deliver it into the hands of that tyrant. The Federal ministers of that day fulminated their political bulls with a zeal and energy well calculated to rekindle the " fires of Smithfield." The people, however, contented themselves with quarrelling hand- somely with each other every time they met ; the leaders having a fight every May-training and town- meeting-day, and the ladies keeping apart from each other as much as they possibly could, and having a hot time whenever they did meet at a tea-party. I cannot forbear giving my readers one little " tempest in a teapot," a small affair, which came off at my grandfather's when I was eight years old. Grandfather was a Federalist, but not so rampant as some of them. He was an owner in navigation in a small way with Capt. S. F. and Capt. D. N. ; the former a Republican, and the latter a Federalist. They had met in one of the 28 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. short days of December, 1810, sixty-six years ago next December. That may seem a good while to my readers who are now young; but I can assure them that it is very short. These three had met at grandfather's because he Avas the oldest of the trio. Capt. F., who I said was a Republican, and Capt. N. on the other side, soon got into a squabble. They were awfully cross, talked loud, looked ugly, gesticu- lated as though they would hurt each other, and seemed to me to be very dangerous men. I took shelter behind my grandfather's chair, lest by some side blow they should hit me ; and, from a child, I never liked to be hit. One of them, after the conflict had lasted from ten in the morning to ten at night (and grandfather always had some good old Jamaica, sugar, apple-cider, and pot-luck), Capt. F., seemed desirous to go home. He would start and go as far as the door, then come back, with a " No, I won't leave you [addressed to Capt. N.] ; for, after I am gone, you will tell Capt. B. more lies than the Devil can count." Such were the yelpings of politicians from 1808 to 1815. America has seen nothing like that excitement since. The Federal party died with the " Hartford Conven- tion." As a doggerel poet of that day said, — " Did twenty lawyers there agree To form a great conspiracy." POLITICAL PARTIES. 29 Upon the death of the Federalists, the Whig party arose, and the Republicans of that day took the name of Democrats. New phases of old questions, and new combinations, now took place. No President was elected by the people ; and John Quincy Adams was chosen by the House of Representatives. His admin- istration of four years was the most economical one we have had since we became a nation. Gen. Andrew Jackson now came into the field as a candidate for the presidency, and was elected. The contest was a very exciting one ; and all kinds of epithets were heaped upon Jackson. He was a Jaco- bin, a duellist, an ignoramus who did not know how to write his name. The cry of the Whigs was, If he were elected, the country was ruined ; the nation would run into anarchy, and be blotted out. But he was elected, and the nation didn't die. He was chosen to a second term ; and the nation still lived. He strangled the United States, technically called " Nick Biddle's," Bank ; and the country was ruined again. He removed the deposits, and again ruined the country. He was an honest, patriotic man, a true Unionist; and put down nullification by his proclamation, as soon as they in South Carolina had read it. Well do I remember when they of that hot State had got all ready to go out of the Union, and set up housekeeping for themselves. The day was fixed ; and every boy wore his cockade of independence from the Union in his hat. But they never knew, in that 30 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. State, when the day came that they were to go out of the Union. People at the North, who supposed Daniel Webster was the embodiment of all knowledge and statesman- ship, said he wrote that proclamation. But no matter who wrote it, so long as Andrew Jackson signed it. The whole of it was in a " nut-shell,'' and simply this : " If you are not still, down there in South Caro- lina, I will hang John C. Calhoun high as Hainan, and let loose the dogs of war upon you." Jackson was an honest man, and, when threatened with impeachment for violating the Constitution, could say with truth, " I have administered the Constitution as I understand it." The following anecdote shows the readiness of that old hero to aid the needy and suf- fering : A graceless official (would there had been no such swindlers there since Jackson's day !) had boarded with a poor widow lady until his bill amounted to several hundred dollars (the old lady not feeling willing to lose, and expecting she should if he left her), when he refused to pay her any thing. She thought she would g\^ and see Pres. Jackson. Accordingly she went to the White House, rang the bell; the messenger answered it, and she inquired if the President was at home. He said he was. - Can I see him ? " said she. " I will see," said the messenger. He informed the President that a woman at the door wished to speak with him. " Show her up," said the President. When she entered his room, he said, M What can I do for you, ma'am ? " POLITICAL PARTIES. 31 " Well, general," said she, " I don't know as you can do any thing ; but I thought I would tell you my story. I am a poor woman, and take boarders for a living. There is a clerk in such a department, who owes me several hundred dollars ; and, though he has a good salary, he says he will never pay me." — " Well," said the President, " you go and see him again ; and, if you can't get any money of him, ask him if he will give you his note ; and, if you get it, come and see me again." She went and saw him ; and, when he refused to give her any money, she said, " Will you give me your note ? " He said, " Yes," and gave it to her. When she had left, he said to the other clerks, " That old fool thinks she will now get her money ; but I had as lief give her fifty notes as not." She then called on Pres. Jackson again. " Did you get any money ? " said the President. " No, sir." — " Did you get his note?" — "Yes, sir." — "Let me see it," said the Presi- dent. She gave it to him. He pulled down his glasses, read it, turned it over, and put his name on the back of it. Handing it back to the woman, he said, " You stop at the bank, and perhaps they will give you the money for it. I rather think they will." She obtained her money. The note became due, and the bank notified the young rascal of the fact. Hastening to the bank, in an indignant manner he inquired, " Why did you discount my note ? Didn't you know that you never would get your pay ? " The bank man calmly replied, " We will discount as many notes as you will send us 32 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. with the same indorser." — " Who ? what fool indorsed my note ? " He was shown the note ; and, as he read upon the back of it the name of Andrew Jackson, a new light broke in upon him. He hastened and paid the note. But that did not save his neck ; for, when the quarter came round, he was informed " there was no more work for him to do under the Administration of Andrew Jackson." When the late Rebellion commenced, and James Buchanan was President, many of the old Whigs, who had turned Republicans upon the death of the Whig party, and who had been good haters of Andrew Jack- son, and doubtless could have prayed as did the good old deacon of Providence, R.I., " O Lord, convert Gen. Jackson, and take him to heaven, for thou knowest we don't want him here," exclaimed, " Oh, we wish Gen. Jackson was president ! for he would soon end this Rebellion, as he did nullification in 1833." All classes in the community now join in praising the old hero of New Orleans, and none more loudly than those who detested and scandalized him when he was president. From the day of his death, to the present time, his name has shone with increasing brilliancy, and his fame has been growing brighter. Again, in 1840, a general excitement took place. The country was again to be saved or lost. The Democrats had been in power twelve years ; eight under Gen. Jackson, and four under Mr. Van Buren. The Whies now determined to take the country by storm. William POLITICAL PARTIES. 33 Henry Harrison was their candidate for president, and John Tyler for vice-president. Hard cider and log- cabins were the order of the day ; and they sung, — " Tippecanoe And Tyler, too." The ticket was elected, and Gen. Harrison died in one month; "And Tyler, too," — by turning Democrat, handed the government over again to the Democracy. Since 1840 the government has been saved or lost several times. Now, in this Centennial year 1876, it is to be lost or saved again. These alternate savings and losings remind us of a little incident which took place many years ago in New Hampshire. Old Minister Burnham of Pembroke, in the Granite State, was a zealous Whig. The State had been ruled by the Demo- crats for several years ; but, at the time now referred to, a Whig governor had been elected. Mr. Burnham read the proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving, with the appendage, " God save the Commonwealth of New Hampshire ! " and added " God has saved the Common- wealth of New Hampshire." All the indications are, that a warm canvass is before us. The men nominated by both parties are all highly esteemed by those who have put them in nomination. Mr. Tilden has always been, as we have seen, in the Democratic school. That from his youth up, he has 34 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. been thoroughly posted as to every rope in the Demo- cratic ship, no one can doubt. Had this not been the case, he never could have written that famous paper already named, and charged to have come from the pen of so learned and shrewd a politician as Mr. Van Buren ; for, of whatever else Mr. Van Buren may have been charged, no one ever considered him wanting in good sense or intellectual vigor. The items in this chapter, or rather this sketch of political history, have been given to set before our readers the men who have figured upon our stage, and the views that have been enter- tained of them by the people, with whom, in the end, it will be found the truth lies. CHAPTER IV. POLITICAL LABORS OF SAMUEL J. TILDEN. Choice of a Profession. — What is expected of a Professional Man. — Waiting in a Profession. — Mr. Tilden's Political Papers. — His Speech answering Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. — He becomes an Editor. — Leaves the Editorship, and becomes a Member of the Assembly. — His Prominence in that Body. — Is elected a Mem- ber of the Convention to remodel the Constitution of the State of New York. — Becomes Conspicuous in that Body. We now return to Mr. Tilden in his law-office in Pine Street in the city of New York. He had settled the most important question that ever presents itself to a young man ; to wit, the choice of a profession. In the decision of this question is frequently in- volved the success or failure of a lifetime. A wrong choice at this critical period has ruined many an indi- vidual. He had chosen the profession of the law, the only one from which, according to Dr. Emmons and many others, a great public man or statesman can come ; for, though occasionally such a man arises out of some other profession, as in the case of Dr. Loring from the medical profession, and of the late Edward Everett of the clerical, yet these are exceptions to the 35 36 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN". general rule, and happen only in those cases where, as the phrase is, they are born with a " silver spoon in their mouths," or into whose laps nuggets of gold drop from their ancestors. Previous to entering a profession, we are considered mere learners or students ; and a mistake made at this period is pardonable, for it was at least half attribu- table to the teacher who was our guide. But, once having taken upon us the responsibility of a profession, we are " no longer under a schoolmaster," but are henceforward our own guides, and projectors of our own fortunes. Mr. Tilden inherited nothing, or but a small patri- mony, from his father, who, though a well-to-do New York farmer with other sons, had but little to bestow upon his young lawyer, save the aid which he gave him in acquiring his education. Like every young man who enters either the legal or medical profession, unless he have a " father into whose shoes," to use a common expression, " he can step," he had but few clients and but a limited income. Not one-half of our young lawyers, unless favored as just stated by a paternal inheritance, earn enough during several of the first years of their profession to pay their board. In the medical profession the case is no better. Prof. Channing, of Harvard Medical College, was accustomed to relate to each class once a year the following story : — " Immediately after graduating, I took an office in POLITICAL LABORS OF SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 37 Boston, and put out my shingle. The first month I had but one call, and that, to a lady. I gave her an emetic ; and I did not sleep any that night for fear I had given her enough to kill her. Not having any more calls, at the end of the second month I closed my office, left my name standing, and embarked for Europe, where I spent two years. Whether anybody called during my absence, I never knew." Mr. Tilden, however, had meddled so much with politics, and had become acquainted with so many emi- nent men of the Democratic party, that little or no time was left him for ennui ; for he had done much for his party before entering his profession. In 1837 Martin Van Buren became President of the United States. 4 'During that summer appeared the presidential mes- sage calling for a sj>ecial session of Congress, and rec- ommending the separation of the government from the banks, and the establishment of the independent treasury. This measure provoked voluminous and acrimonious debate throughout the country, even before it engaged the attention of Congress." The Whigs considered it a radical movement, and one which would prove the ruin of the country and the failure of all commercial business ; and the organs of the Whig party were unsparing in their criminations of the adminis- tration, upon whose misdemeanors they charged the whole financial crisis. Mr. Tilden, schooled as we have seen in the tactics of the Democracy, though still a student, came to the 38 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. defence of the President's policy. He wrote a series of articles, characterized by great strength of argument, advocating the recommendation of the President's sepa- rating the government from the banks, and redeeming the currency in specie. Thus as early as 1837 he showed his strong proclivities for "hard money." Like his first article referred to in a former chapter, the name of Tilden was not affixed to these papers. We select the following, showing the talent, power, and adaptability of Mr. Tilden, though so young, to defend the political party which he had espoused : it is from an historian of that period. " In the fall of 1838, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, a senator of the United States from New York, who had separated from the Demo- cratic party and joined the Whigs in opposition to the financial policy of President Van Buren, was announced to speak on the issues of the day in Columbia County. A meeting had been arranged very quietly, at which it was hoped he might exert an influence upon the doubt- ful men, and change the complexion of the party. The Tildens heard of the proposed meeting about noon of the day upon which it was to be held. They promptly sent word to all the Democrats of the vicinity ; and the result was one of the largest meetings ever known in that region. Tallmadge, in the course of his speech, took great pains to convince his audience that it was the Democrats that had changed their position, but that he and his friends were unchanged. At the close of his remarks, one of the Whig leaders of the move- POLITICAL LABORS OF SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 39 ment offered a resolution, which passed without oppo- sition, inviting any Democrats in the assembly that might be so disposed to reply to the senator. The young Democrats, who had mostly gathered in the rear of the hall, regarding this as a challenge to them, shouted for Tilden. Samuel, yielding to the obvious sentiment, came forward, and took the place just vacated by the senator. " After discussing the main question of the contro- versy, he adverted to the personal aspects of the sena- tor's speech, and especially to his statement that the Democrats had changed position, while he himself had remained consistent. By way of testing the truth of this declaration, he turned to the Whigs on the plat- form, and, pointing to each of them in turn, asked if it was they, or if it was the senator who had opposed them in the late contest for the presidency, that had changed ? Finally, fixing his eye upon the chairman, Mr. Gilbert, a memorable farmer and almost an octoge- narian, he said, in a tone of mingled compliment and expostulation, ' And you, sir, have you changed ? ' By this direct inquiry the honest old man was thrown off his guard, and stoutly cried out, ' No ! ' Mr. Tilden skilfully availed himself of this declaration of his old neighbor and friend, and applied it to the senator in a strain of masterly sarcasm and irony. The effect was electric ; it thrilled the assembly, and com- pletely destroyed the objects of the meeting. " Mr. Tilden, who had watched the financial revolu- 40 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. tion of 1837 from the beginning', and knew its merits as thoroughly, perhaps, as any man of his time, undertook a defence of the President's scheme, and to overthrow the sophistries of his enemies, in a speech which he delivered in New Lebanon on the third day of October, 1850. No one can read this speech without marvelling that men like Webster and Nicholas Biddle, to whose arguments Mr. Tilden especially addressed himself, could ever have become the champions of a system under which the revenues of a nation were made the basis of commercial discounts. It is more marvellous, however, that in so short a time our people should have forgotten, as to a very considerable extent they appear to have done, the lessons taught in this speech, and those still better taught by the war then waged by the Democratic party with the policy of inflation, irre- deemable currency, and irresponsible credits. At the time this speech was delivered, the Whigs were medi- tating the re-establishment of the United States Bank if they could succeed in dividing the Democrats on the sub-treasury scheme. " This effort provoked Mr. Tilden to review the his- tory of the bank, and expose its ill-founded claims to be regarded in any sense as what it claimed to be, 4 a regulator of the currency. 1 What he says upon that subject possesses to the reader of to-day not only con- siderable historical interest, but is pregnant with les- sons which we fear will never be out of season." CHAPTER V. MR. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. Further Success as a Politician by Mr. Tilden. — Takes the Palm f rom Senator Tallmadge. — He feels the Need of Money. — Con- trast between the Professions of Lawyers, Doctors, and Minis- ters.— A Hermit. —Mr. Tilden knew his Power as a Lawyer. — Defeat of Silas Wright, and Political Changes, proved favorable to him. — He soon becomes eminent as an Attorney. — How he managed the Case of Mr. Flagg. — Mr. Tilden starts a Newspaper. — He is chosen a Member of the Assembly. — His Work there. — He is elected a Member of the Convention to remodel the Consti- tution. —His Management of the Canal Case. — Dr. BurdelFs Case. — Case of Delaware and Hudson Company against the Philadelphia Coal Company.— The Cumberland Coal Company. Mr. Tilden now had fame. He had written what had been ascribed to one of the shrewdest politicians of our county, when he was but eighteen years old. We all remember Mr. Van Buren, who was represented as the great magician, or, as Alexander H. Everett styled him, the " little Dutchman," sitting behind the screen, and pulling all the wires during the eight years of the administration of Andrew Jackson. It was glory enough for Mr. Tilden, that in his teens he should have written so pungent and logical a paper, 41 42 LITE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. that the sage men in the community could have ascribed it to such a man. But now, in addition to this, he had written other strong and powerful papers ; he had defeated so promi- nent a man as Samuel P. Tallmadge, a senator of New York in Congress, in an argument at a mass-meeting. He had taken the lead in the Assembly of the great State of New York, and in the Convention to form a now Constitution. These things, considering his youth, were fame and glory enough. But he had discovered that neither all these, nor his newspaper exploit, had brought him bread or money ; and, as already stated, he inherited no fortune from his father, though he had a good name from his anees- torial record. He now found that a man must have not only fame, but money, to be successful in life. This was to be made in his profession. A lawyer is a peculiar man, not only as to becoming a great man, a statesman, as formerly said, but also in many other respects. He is a man whom the people fear. They look upon him with a kind of dread, as though he had power to do them harm, to bring them into the courts, to mulch them out of their money, and to do pretty much as he has a mind to. Thus lawyers were considered by onr Puritanic fathers as, if not a very wicked and mischievous, at least a useless and unnecessary class. This was the objection that the good old Puritanic parish of Weymouth made to John Adams marrying Abigail Smith, their parson's daughter. Per- MR. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. 43 haps I can explain the views people generally have of lawyers by the following episode : In my boyish days, there lived near the famous Digliton BocJe, on a little plat of land by " Taunton Great River," a her- mit. He was a bachelor, but had several relatives from whom he kept aloof. But one boy, a nephew, seemed to get into the good graces of his uncle the hermit, who invited the lad to come and stop with him. He did so ; and, for a time, they appeared to live together in great harmony. People began to say that Uncle John, who owned a large tract of land notwith- standing his preference for the life of a recluse, would make this nephew his heir. But at length the boy began to learn to write. This alarmed the hermit, and he declined to keep him any longer, assigning as a reason, if the boy learned to write, he would write away all his property. Lawyers all know how to write. Then, lawyers are in the way of making money very .fast after they once get started in their profession. Everybody knows that it is not uncommon for them to receive a thousand, and often several thousand dollars for a single plea or speech. I once entered the office of one of these successful attorneys in Pittsburg, Penn. ; and, as I went in, he was gathering up a handful of bills which he had just received for a single case. Said he, " The law is a profitable business, when a man gets well started in it." Not unfrequently have such lawyers as Daniel Webster, Rufus Choate, Evarts, 44 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. Sargent, and many others, received the enormous sum of twenty or thirty thousand dollars for conducting a single ease. It has been truly said by an eminent writer, " There is no other country where the position of a lawyer reaches the dignity and power which it possesses here. He has not here, in front of him, an aristocracy of hereditary title or of wealth. If a leader in his profes- sion, he is in the front himself. If his professional pursuits carry him, in his career, beyond the investiga- tion of subjects of mere personal interest, he becomes versed in constitutional questions, in the principles that guide the grandest civil interests, and the State itself." Just in proportion as he has the power of intellect, the eloquence of an orator, a profound thinker, and a logical reasoner, he assuredly goes up to the top of the ladder, and reaches the place where Daniel Webster said "there is always room enough;" to wit, "up higher." Such a legal man has every field of usefulness, power, and trust open before him ; and he may soar to the highest office in the gift of the Republic. But, while this is the favored position of the '-gen- tleman of the green bag," it is vastly different with doctors and clergymen. The case of the physician is that of a plodding, quiet, useful life, usually saying little, doing little, and being but little known, save only among a few families, — his patients. This is the MR. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. 45 general lot of the doctors in medicine. Occasionally (as there are exceptions to all rules) a few of them rise above this general routine, which much resembles the everlasting tramp of the old horse in the tread- mill ; round and round, but making no progress. A surgeon, an oculist, or perchance a medical practi- tioner, may get a few cases where he receives a respectable fee, but not to be compared with those of the lawyer. The case of the clergyman is worse, so far as money- making is concerned, than that of the doctor; for, as has been just stated, the doctor does sometimes lay aside something for a " rainy day." But the preacher has no means of doing this ; and unless, perchance, he marries a rich wife, or falls into an aristocratic parish, that to gratify its own pride, enriches its pastor, he must be poor. He can be no farmer, mechanic, broker, or merchant ; for that would spoil him for a minister. Besides, he can hold no office ; be president of no railroad-corporation at twenty thousand dollars a year ; or collector of the port of New York, at one hundred thousand dollars, including the pickings ; or in any other lucrative employment. All these fields he is debarred from, because he is a clergyman. All this, in his case, is but verifying what the great apostle said, 11 If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable." Mr. Tilden well knew the advantageous position which he held for making money, though up to the close of 1845 46 LITE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. lie had made no special efforts in that direction. He had shone brilliantly for a young man in politics ; but he now found, as many others have, that this "did not pay." It was all well enough in its way, but it did not kk keep the pot boiling." In a word, it was all very fine, or, as the Philadelphia girls used to say, splendid; but resulted like the case of a young man who marries a pretty girl because she is pretty, but has no qualifica- tion for a good wife or any thing else, save only that she is pretty. As the old farmer said, "He soon finds out that pretty won't support a family, nor always make a good housekeeper." Mr. Tilden now in 1S46 turned his attention more exclusively to his profession. Perhaps some changes in the political horizon aided him in this change of action. Silas Wright had been defeated in his elec- tion for governor this fall ; a difference of opinion had created a coolness between the friends of Pres. Polk and the friends of Mr. Van Buren ; and, in many respects, the political atmosphere had assumed a very different appearance from what it had presented for several years. This was, doubtless, a fortunate circumstance for Mr. Tilden, as it opened the way for him more readily to retire from the political arena, and assume, or rather resume, his professional business. He well knew he had the head, the intellect, to make his power felt as a lawyer ; and as his services for the public had not been remunerative, and as he MR. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. 47 had no patrimony from his father, and as he well knew that a pecuniary independence was necessary for the successful prosecution of a political career, he took hold of his profession with energy. In a word, he felt the necessity of having money, and went to work with vigor and alacrity to make it in his profession ; with what success, the sequel will show. He knew he possessed the advantages we have ascribed to the lawyer ; and, consequently, as long as men would give more for their wills than they would for their souls and bodies both, he knew the success that awaited him. As he had hitherto devoted himself to politics, so now he did not entirely renounce his former course ; but he made his profession first, and politics a second- ary consideration. Soon he became as well known as a lawyer as he had been as a politician ; and this was very considerable. One of the first prominent cases in which he was engaged was in a municipal election, one of New York in November, 1855. Azariah C. Flagg was one of the CO candidates for city comptroller. A strong and desper- ate attempt was made to defeat his election by pitting against him a popular mechanic by the name of Giles. He was brought forward by the so-called " Know- Nothing," or American party. Mr. Flagg belonged to the Democratic ranks, and had been known and praised throughout the city and the whole State for the faithful discharge of the public trusts that he had received; and he was also a friend and co-worker with Mr. Tilden. 48 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. The candidate of the "Know Nothings " was a worthy, quiet man, against whose character no charge of malfeas- ance and dishonesty could be brought. He was evi- dently selected because nobody knew any thing 'against him, and because the leaders of wire-pullers supposed he would be as plastic in their hands as clay is in the hands of the potter. Who has not known many men elected to important offices, with no other recommenda- tion save the plasticity by which they could, or were sup- posed they could, be modelled into any desirable shape? The great tact and shrewdness of Mr. Tilden were shown in his management of this case ; and no defender of a beleaguered city was ever more skilful in his de- fence than this attorney manifested for Mr. Flagg. I will give the case briefly in the language of another : — " The returns gave Mr. Flagg the office by a small plurality of 117, — 20,313 against 20,131 for Giles. His opponent was to prosecute a quo warranto ; and Mr. Flagg's title to the office was tested at a Supreme Court held before Judge Emott and a special jury. " The claimants seemed to have monopolized all the proof attainable, and to have left little or nothing for the defence. Add to this, the original canvass had been made, as usual, upon distinct papers commonly called tallies. The split tally comprised three foolscap sheets, which contained the original canvass of the split votes, and transfers from the tally of the regular vote and the aggregate result, showing the number of votes that each candidate had received. The tally of the ME. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. 49 regular votes had disappeared, at least could not be produced ; and its loss was accounted for. The papers of split tallies, transfers, and summaries, that were pro- duced, corresponded with the oral testimony, and con- firmed the relator's theory of the alleged error in the return. " Such was apparently the desperate attitude of the comptroller's case, when Mr. Tilden was called upon to open for the defence. The defence, if any could be made, had to be constructed upon the basis of the testi- mony offered by the relator ; for other testimony there was none. The return showed, as the law required, the entire number of votes given in the district ; and the regular varieties of what are called regular votes appeared from the prosecutor's own oral evidence. On this slight basis of actual testimony Mr. Tilden constructed an impregnable defence. In his opening, and after reviewing the weak points in the testimony of the relator which he was enabled to discover by the light of his midnight researches, he, for the first time, gives an intimation to his adversaries of the weapon he had improvised in a night for their destruction. " Before Mr. Tilden took his seat, the case was won, and Mr. Flagg's seat was assured. Within fifteen min- utes after the case was submitted to the jury, they returned with a verdict in his favor." Even after his admission to the bar, Mr. Tilden still manifested a deep interest in politics ; and in 1844, when James K. Polk was candidate for the Presidency, and 50 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. Silas Wright for governor of the State of New York, he in conjunction with John L. O'Sullivan started the Democratic newspaper called " The Daily News." This was really a campaign paper advocating the principles of the Democracy, and the election of Polk and Wright to the offices just named. Though this was in the main a new field for Mr. Til- den, it being his first editorial labor, yet it was in reality, and in a political point of view, just that in which he had been previously engaged ; to wit, writing political articles. For such a purpose the instruction he had received from his father and the eminent polit- ical men with whom he had mingled, such as Martin Van Buren, William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, and others, had pre-eminently qualified him for a political editor. He knew exactly where to begin, what to say, and how to end such articles. They had a telling effect upon the politics of that day, and called forth from the wdiole Whig press severe and bitter criticism ; and, notwithstanding the denunciation they received from the whole opposing press, both Mr. Polk and Mr. Wright were elected to the offices for which they were nominated. Though his editorial career was a success, yet it was not a long one ; and he soon abandoned it for another field. In 1845 he was chosen a member of the State Assembly from the city of New York. Though, as we have already seen, he had long been a prominent, powerfid, and successful writer in the Democratic ranks, yet this was the first public office to which he had been ME. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. 51 elected by his fellow-citizens. Coming as he did from the city of New York, with the e'clat which accom- panied him from the articles he had formerly written, he soon took a prominent place in the legislature, and was looked upon as an authority in all questions of moment. In fact, he made a permanent impression upon the members of that body, and stamped his image and superscription upon every law that was passed. That legislature called a convention for the purpose of remodelling the constitution of the State, and elected Mr. Tilden a member of that body. In this convention, which commenced its session soon after the adjournment of the legislature, Mr. Tilden was as conspicuous as he had been in the assembly. Indeed, he was the leading star ; and, though one of the younger members, he was the leader of that body. He devised and carried through all the constitutional enactments relating to the finances of the Common- wealth. The management of the canals in the State of New York had been one of great importance ; and between the conflicting parties the mismanagement of their finances had been very conspicuous. Through the influence of Mr. Tilden, articles were introduced into the new Constitution, providing for the regulation of these matters, so that the State should be greatly bene- fited thereby. It may be safely said that no young man, the first time he became a member of the Assembly or of a Con- 52 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. vention to remodel the Constitution of a State, ever exerted a wider influence than did Samuel J. Tilden in the year 1845 upon the assembly of New York, and in the convention which was selected that year to remodel the Constitution. In 185T Dr. Burdell, a celebrated and wealthy den- tist, was murdered in his own house in Bond Street, New York. A Mrs. Cunningham was housekeeper for the doctor at the time he was murdered. Suspicion imme- diately rested upon her as being either the principal or an accessory to the murder. Under an indictment thus implicating her, she was tried and acquitted. Upon this acquittal she immediately applied to the surrogate, Bradford, for letters of administration, and a widow's third, on the ground of a private marriage with Burdell a little while before his death. The heirs of the doctor protested against this claim, and retained Mr. Tilden as their attorney to combat it in the courts. He conducted the affair with signal ability, and achieved a complete victory in favor of his clients. This case called forth all the energy and acuteness of Mr. Tilden ; for all the testimony was on the side of Mrs. Cunningham. They presented the marriage-cer- tificate, the positive oath of the clergyman who sol- emnized the marriage, and the testimony of Mrs. Cunningham's daughter Augusta, who was the only witness to the ceremony, and who subscribed her name as a witness to the marriage-certificate. There was also the testimony of the two serving-girls employed in the MR. TILDEN AS A LAWYER. 53 house. Against this array of affirmative evidence, Mr. Tilclen determined by a cross-examination, believing that that would reveal the truth, to carry the one hun- dred and forty-two witnesses through such an ordeal as developed a series of circumstances which struck the mind of the judge with irresistible force, and led to his entire satisfaction and conviction that the pretended marriage had never taken place, and was a tissue of fabrications to obtain the property of the murdered man. His penetration of character on this occasion was a wonder to the court, and the admiration of all present. He not only demonstrated the falsity of the pretended marriage, but also produced a general con- viction that Mrs. Cunningham and her brood were the murderers of Burdell. Indeed, the case was made so clear that everybody said, had Tilclen conducted the prosecution when she was indicted for murder, she would undoubtedly have been convicted. Another case in which Mr. Tilclen showed great knowledge and tact was that of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company against the Pennsylvania Coal Company. The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company had a contract with the Pennsylvania Coal Company, by which among other things it was agreed, in case of the enlargement of their canal, the coal company should pay for the use of their canal extra toll equal to such portion of one-half the reduction in the ex- pense of transportation as might result from such enlargement. In due time the canal company put in 54 LIFE OF SAMUEL JOKES TILDEN. their claim for extra toll. The coal company denied that the cost of transportation had been reduced, or that they had derived any advantage whatever from the enlargement. After tedious and futile negotiations, suit was instituted by the canal company: and Mr. Til- den was retained for the defence. The case was tried before Judge Hogeboom o( the Supreme Court sitting as referee. Seventy-odd days were consumed in the hearing: and testimony offered by the plaintiff fills sev- eral large printed volumes. As in the Flagg case, the plan of the defence, as advised by Mr. Tilden, was a surprise both to court and counsel. The sum claimed was immense, — twenty cents a ton on an annual transportation of six thousand tons a year for ten years, and in addition to this a royalty of the same amount. By a calculation that took years of labor, bringing in with its just weight every statistic and circumstance of canal navigation, and by the application of the law of average, Mr, Tilden established the fact against the canal company and against the popular opinion : and settled the fundamental economic principles of canal navigation for the country. Among the more important eases in which Mr. Til- den has been concerned, one in which his strictly pro- fessional abilities appeared to special advantage was the SQ of the Cumberland Coal Company against its directors, heard in the State of Maryland in the year 1858. In that case he applied for the first time to the directors of corporations the familiar doctrine that a MR, TILDKN AS A LAWYER. 55 trustee cannot be a purchaser of property confided to him tor sale: and he successfully illustrated and settled the equitable principle on which such sales to directors are set aside, and also the conditions to give them validity. Mr, Tilden's success in rescuing corporations from unprofitable and embarrassing litigation, in re- organizing their administration, in re-establishing their credit, and in rendering their resources available, soon gave him an amount of business which was limited only by his physical ability to conduct it. Since the year 18o5. it is safe to say that more than half of the great railway corporations north of the Ohio and between the Hudson and Missouri Rivers have been at some time his clients. The general mis- fortunes which overtook many of these roads between 1855 and 1860 called for some comprehensive plan for relief. It was here that his legal attainments, his unsurpassed skill as a financier, his unlimited capacity for concentrated labor, his constantly increasing weight of character and personal influence, found full activity, and resulted in the re-organization of the larger portion of the great network of railways, by which the rights of all parties were equitably protected, wasting litiga- tion avoided, and a condition of great depression and despondency in railway property replaced by an unex- ampled prosperity. His relations with these companies. his thorough comprehension of their history and requirements, and his practical energy and decision, have given him such a mastery over all the questions 56 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. that arise in the organization, administration, and finan- cial management of canals, as well as railroads, that his influence, more than that of any other man in the coun- try, seems inseparably associated with their prosperity and success ; not only in his own country, but abroad. It is, we believe, an open secret, that his transatlantic celebrity brought to him quite recently an invitation from the European creditors of the New York and Erie Railway, to undertake a reconciliation of the various interests in that great corporation, which the proprieties and duties of his official position constrained him to decline. CHAPTER VI. ME. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. Mr. Tilden as an Honorable Man. — Luther a Reformer. — Anecdote of Alexander Pope. — Aristocratic Gathering at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. — Robert Collyer's Boat. — Mr. Bristow. — The New York Ring. — A Whip-row. — Progress of the Ring. — Their vast Plun- der. — Mr. Tilden' s Plan for capturing the Ring. — Mr. Tilden again in the Legislature. — Nominated for and elected Governor. — His first Message. — His Objects : first, Reform ; second, his Financial Policy. — Description of his Person. — What he achieved. We now come to a point of the deepest interest in Mr. Tilden's character. He had become eminent in his profession, and was respected and honored everywhere. No whisper of dishonesty had ever been made against him. His business in his profession was now immense ; and he stood before the world "An honest man, the noblest work of God," especially in these days of general swindlings, defalca- tion, and public plunderings. Reformers have arisen at various times and among diverse classes. Luther thought to reform the Catholic Church while in that body in his clay ; but he soon found it was a hopeless undertaking, and that it was easier to 57 " 58 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. make a new one ; reminding ns of what the postboy told Pope. The story is familiar to most', but will well bear repeating about this time. The boy had' been in the habit of taking the great poet out to ride ; and Pope was accustomed, when any thing came across him suddenly, to say, " God mend me!" On one occasion he asked the boy, how much was to pay for this ride ? The boy named what Pope thought an exorbitant sum, and the poet used his favorite expression. The boy scanned him from head to foot, little, crooked-backed, withered-up fellow as he was, and then said, " I should think he could easier make a new one than to mend you." So, no doubt, it is sometimes easier to make a new church, or a new government, or a new party, than to mend an old one. In the commencement of this centennial 3'ear of grace 18T6, from some cause or other, a general impres- sion seemed to pervade all classes in the community, that a reform was necessary somewhere in the United States. Hence that anomalous gathering was called at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in the city of New York. A gen- tleman of the Republican party, when the call for that remarkable assemblage was made, wrote to one of the leaders to know more particularly what the design of the meeting was. He was informed that it was not to be " a mass meeting, but as far as possible a representa- tive body ; " that was, a Patrician gathering. Such it ME. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 59 proved to be in very deed ; yet one of that number had the hardihood to say in open meeting, " I would vote for Gov. Tilden for President." For this charitable suggestion, a party paper in the State of New York severely chastised him, stating that, as he lived in Massachusetts, so far away from New York, he was pardonable on account of his ignorance of Mr. Tilden's political manoeuvres in the Empire State. That aristo- cratic convention had about as much influence upon the nominations to be made, either at Cincinnati or St. Louis, as an assembly of sparrows or a bevy of chick- adees would, to disperse a colony of hawks. In the Greeley days the cry was, "Go West, go West." The following story, told by the Rev. Robert Collyer at the Bristow meeting last month in Chicago, gives advice to the reformers, which has the true ring. Mr. Collyer told this story : "A great many years ago, on one of our south-western rivers, there was an old skipper who had a steamboat which was sailing in shoal water, and got stuck in the mud. She swung around in the water ; and there was no chance to get her afloat, do what they would. He was a terribly profane old fellow, and everybody knew it through the county. Suddenly an idea struck him. He said to one of his deck-hands, ' You go up to the town, and tell them I have got religion, and I want them to come and hold a prayer-meeting on board.' The deck-hand went to the town, and spread the news around ; and every one, being interested in the old skipper's conversion, went down 60 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TEDDEN. to hold the prayer-meeting. The old man was standing ready to receive them : and. as they came down, he said to every num. • Go aft : ' and they all went aft until the great load was at that end. They all went aft until there was a great weight, and the end which was in the mini got loose, ami the ship floated off. As soon as the ship got afloat, the skipper said, * The meeting is over. Jump ashore ! ' [Loud laughter.] In our Republican party — 1 mean those leaders — there are men who get religion every time there is going to he an election. [Cheers.] They say, * Gentlemen, go aft, go alt.' And we go ;tt't. We are a good-natured crowd in this coun- try. The best-natured fellows anywhere on this planet is a crowd o( Amerieans, such as 1 see before me to- night. We are good fellows : and we go aft, and the old ship floats again, and then we jump ashore. Now, I don't mean to go into that prayer-meeting any more. [Cheers and laughter.] I don't mean to have any thing more to do with that old skipper. I mean to find, if 1 can, some man who doesn't get religion once in every four \ ears." A- Mr. Collyer is understood to be a versatile man, and pan readily change, either his religious denomina- tion or bis political party, the curious are now anxious to know which end of the vessel he will be found in. Since his .friend Bristow has been banished from the cabinet by the President, and thrown overboard by the Cincinnati Convention ? The opinion of the writer, he not being a politician. MR. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 61 would be of little account as respects the reformers Bristow and Tilden: hence, instead of giving it, he proposes to state that of others. While all classes admit that Mr, Bristow was a practical reformer while in the Cabinet, and believe that he would continue such had he been elected President, still, as that is now out of the question, the Democrats now contend that they have nominated, in Samuel J. Tilden, the greatest reformer of the age. that there is now any possibility of placing in the Executive chair. To demonstrate this, they tell us what reforms he has already instituted and carried through in the State of New York. A historian savs, — A Democratic and Republican ring had been organized in this State. It originated in an act passed by the Legislature of the State of New York in 1857 in connection with a charter for the city of New York, providing that but six persons should be voted for by each elector, and only twelve chosen : or, in simple lan- guage, that only the nominees of the Republican and Democratic party caucuses should be elected. At the next session of the legislature, their term of office was extended to six years; thus a Board of Supervisors consisting of six Republicans and six Democrats, to change a majority of which, it was necessary to have the control of the primary meetings of both the great National and State parties for a succession of years. This was a deeply-laid and well-concerted plan to give its projectors power and an opportunity, not only to perpetuate their own offices, but also to rob the city to any extent they pleased. 62 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TLLDEX. This was a -Ting " in a double sense ; to wit, between the six Democratic and the six Republican supervisors. In the assembly there was a Republican majority, ami the half-and-half supervisors had Democratic officials in the city. In common parlance it was an old- fashioned " whip-row," by which this combined ring were to manage and did manage to swindle the city of New York out of millions of dollars. This combination of shrewd and unprincipled men drew in just enough influential men to control the organization of each party. These men. who in public life pushed to extreme the abstract idea of their respec- tive parties, secretly joined hands in common schemes to perpetuate their personal power, and augment their property. Gradually the ring transferred the seat of its operations from the city of New York to Albany, the capital of the State. The lucrative city offices, subordinate appointments which each head of depart- ment could create at pleasure, with salaries in his dis- cretion, distributed among the friends of the legislators, contracts, money contributed by city officials, assessed on their subordinates, raised by jobs under the depart- ments, and sometimes taken from the city treasury, were the corrupting agencies which shaped and con- trolled all legislation. Year by year the system grew worse as a governmental institution, — more powerful and more audacious. The Executive Department swallowed up all the local powers, which gradually became mere deputies of legislators at Albany, on MR. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 63 whom alone they were dependent. It became com- pletely organized on the 1st of January, 1869 ; but its power was enormously extended by an act passed on the 5th of April in the following year, giving the power of local government to a few individuals of the 44 ring"' for long periods, and freed from all accounta- bility. The authoritative record in which Gov. Tilden con- ducted this masterly and successful reform is given us as follows by the historian : — " Within a month after the passage of this Tweed charter, the Board of Special Audit, one of the fruits of this Legislature, were making an order for the pay- ment of over six millions of money, of which it is now known that scarcely ten per cent in value was realized by the city. Tweed got twent} 7 -four per cent, and his agent Woodward seven ; the brother of Sweeny, ten ; Watson, deputy collector, seven ; thirty- three per cent went to mechanics who furnished the bills, though their share had to suffer many abatements ; and twenty went to other parties. Over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars were sent to Albany to be distributed among the members of the Legislature. " The percentages of theft, comparatively moderate in 1869, reached sixty-six per cent in 1870, and, later, eighty-five per cent. 44 The senators who voted on the 6th of April, 1870, with but two dissenting voices, to deprive our great commercial metropolis, with its million of people, of all 64 UFB OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. power of self-government, as if it were a conquered province ; to confer upon Tweed, Connolly, Sweeny, and Hall, for a series of years, the exclusive power of ap- propriating all moneys raise J by taxes or by loans, and an indefinite power to borrow; who swayed all the institutions of local government, the local judiciary, ami the whole machinery of elections, — did not come in within reach of the people until the election of the 7th of November. 1871, when their sneeessors v. to he chosen. All hope of rescuing- the city from the hands of the freebooters depended upon recovering- the legislative power of the State, in securing a majority of the senate and assembly. To this end Mr. Tilden directed all his efforts. In a speech at the Cooper Union in New York, he stated Mr. Tweed's plan, which was, to carry the s al repress m that city, and then rt — • of Republican senal - m the rural districts wh he had bought and paid all the leg - n that might be presented t". h un oh ed bis fri sty." A power is naturally disposed to risk the IS 3, er than baxard the exta r.e \ s rerted - he latter \ I - \ dis- s, end had - - I Leg - - cs as if 1 MB, TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 65 were ordinary patronage. But fortune favors the bravo. Without an office or a dollar's worth of patronage in city or State to confer, Air. Tilden planted him- self on the traditions of the elders, on the moral sense and forces of Democracy, and upon the invineibility of truth and right. That undaunted faith in the harmony of truth and its irreconcilability with error, which we have found sustaining him at the bar, and carrying him from victory to victory against more desperate odds, sttstaitied him here. As always happens to those who battle for the right, Providence came to his aid. The thieves fell out, and one of their number betrayed them. A clerk in the comptroller's office copied a series of entries, afterwards known as "secret ac- counts," and handed them to the press for publication. They showed the dates arid amounts of certain pay- ments made by the comptroller, the enormous amounts of which, compared with the times and purposes of the payments and the recurrence of the same names, awakened suspieions that they were the memorials of the grossest frauds. Mr. Tilden soon became satisfied of this, from the futility of the answers received from city officers when questioned about them, and from other sources, and reached the conclusion that the city had been the victim of frauds far transcending any thing ever suspected. He immediately formed his plan, for the execution of which, as it involved the control of the approaching State Convention, the co-operation o( several leading Democrats was first secured. lie 66 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. accepted an arrangement by which he was to be sent to the convention from his native district, Columbia County, which had always during the " ring " ascend- ency afforded him that opportunity of being heard. Early in September he issued a letter to some seventy-six thousand Democrats, reviewing the situa- tion, and calling -upon them "to take a knife, and cut the cancer out. by the roots." But, before the meeting of the convention, an event happened which could not have been foreseen, but which was pregnant with the most important consequences. To the eternal honor of the Democratic party of the city and State, on the issue thus made up by Mr. Til- den they gave him their cordial and irresistible support. The result was overwhelming, and not only changed the city representation in the legislative bodies of the State, but in its moral effect crushed the " ring." Mr. Tilden was one of the delegates chosen to represent the city in the next legislature. In deference to the views of his principal coadjutors, Mr. Tilden devoted the six-weeks' interval between his election and the meeting of the legislature to the prosecution of its investigation in the city departments, and in preparing the vast mass of accurate information which was the basis of nearly all the judicial proofs that have since been employed successfully in bringing the mem- bers of the "ring" to justice, or driving them into exile. Mr. Tilden gave his chief attention, during the MR. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 67 session of the legislature, to the promotion of those objects for which he consented to go there, — the re- form of the judiciary, and the impeachment of the creatures who had acquired the control of it under the Tweed dynasty. Mr. Tilden had thus by his bold acts made himself prominent in the work of reform, and recognized as the man to lead in the State. Prominent friends of reform urged him to accept the nomination for gover- nor. They said he could be nominated without diffi- culty, and elected triumphantly; and in his triumph the great cause of administrative reform would receive an impulse which would propagate it not only over the whole State, but over the Union. Mr. Tilden ultimately consented to take the nomina- tion for governor, his objections to which were over- come by a single consideration. It was the only way in which he could satisfactorily demonstrate that a course of fearless and persistent resistance to wrong will be vindicated and sustained by the masses of the people ; that honesty and courage are as serviceable qualities, and as well rewarded in politics, as in any other profession or pursuit in life. He was unwilling to leave it in the power of the enemies of reform, to say that he dared not submit his conduct as a reformer to the judgment of the people ; to say that his course had ruined his influence ; that his name should be a warning to the rising politicians of the country against following his example. He felt that, whatever might 68 LIFE OV SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. be the result of his administration, the moral effect of his election would be advantageous, not only in his own State, buf throughout the country. But for these considerations, Mr. Tilden would have allowed himself to be made the candidate of the Democratic party for the Senate of the United States, a position more con- genial to his tastes, and for which his personal prefer- ences were well known. lie was nominated and elected; and whatever lessons or eloquence could be expressed in big majorities were not wanting to lend their eclat to his triumph. Mr. Tilden's plurality oyer John A. Dix, the Republican candidate, was 53,315. Mr. Dix had been elected two years previously by a plurality of 53,451, The first message of Gov. Tilden foreshadowed with distinctness the controlling features of his administra- tion. First, Reform in the administration. Second, The restoration of the financial principles and policy which triumphed in the election of Jackson and Van Buren, and which left the country without a dollar of indebtedness in the world, and a credit abroad with which no other nation could then compete. In furtherance o( his policy of administrative reform, he recommended a revision of the laws intended to pro- vide criminal punishment and civil remedies for frauds by public officers and by persons acting in complicity with them. These recommendations, during the same session carefully wrought into the legislation of the MR. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 69 State, bore especially upon those forms of administra- tive abuse which the exposure and arrest of William M. Tweed had recently revealed, and also upon another and kindred class of abuses in the management of our canals, with which the governor was already acquainted, but of which the public as yet had only an imperfect realization. But the feature of the message which produced, per- haps, the most profound impression, not only upon his own immediate constituents, but upon the whole nation, was that which related to the financial policy of the Federal Government. A generation had grown up who had never seen or used any other money than a printed promise of the Government ; and it had become a wide-spread conviction among the aspiring politicians of both the great parties, that the current public opinion in favor of an inflated and irredeemable currency would overwhelm and destroy any public man who would attempt to stem it. No convention of either party in any State of the Union had ventured the experiment : the active leaders of both had either avoided or yielded to the current. Mr. Tilden deemed it his duty to lose no time in advocating the only financial policy which ever had insured or can insure a substantial and endur- ing national prosperity. On the 19th of March, and as soon as he had secured from the legislature such additional remedies for official delinquencies as were requisite for his purpose, the governor in a special message invited the attention of the legislature to the management of the canals. 70 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES Til 1>K\. He pointed out in this communication, with consider- able detail, the fraudulent processes by which for an indefinite period of years the State had been plundered, its agents debauched, its polities demoralized, and its credit imperilled. The fulness, boldness, and direct- ness oi' his statements, produced a profound impression, not only throughout the State, but throughout the country. The legislature, though containing in both branches o o o many of the most notorious canal-jobbers, and consti- tuted largely in that interest, was obliged to yield to the irresistible public sentiment which the governor's policy ami message had awakened, and granted him the authority to name such a commission. The results of the investigations communicated to him from time io time during the summer of ISTo, and to the succeeding legislature of 1876, arrested completely the system of fraudulent expenditure on the canals, which he had denounced at the bar of public opinion. Through the adoption of various other financial measures upon his reeommendation, and by the discreet luit vigorous exercise of the veto-power, the governor was fortunate enough to secure a reduction of the State tax, the first year o( his administration, about seven- teen per cent : and to inaugurate a financial policy by which the State tax, which was seven and one-half mills On the dollar o( the assessed valuation when he came into office, will be reduced to four mills at least at the expiration of his term o( two years, and at the expira- MR. TILDEN AS A REFORMER. 71 tion of the next succeeding year to not exceeding three mills. Mr. Tilden is now in the sixt} r -third year of his age. He is five feet ten inches in height ; and he has what physiologists call the purely nervous temperament, with its usual accompaniment of spare figure, blue eyes, and fair complexion. His hair, originally chestnut, is now partially silvered with age. At the Utica Convention resolutions were passed, presenting his name as a candidate for the presidency, and requesting the delegates to vote as a unit. The Democrats claim, and the Republicans generally acknowledge, that Gov. Tilden, with the aid of Charles O' Conor and a few others of both the Democratic and Republican parties, achieved one of the greatest victories, and overthrew the most corrupt ring, that ever existed in any civilized country. Indeed, so thor- oughly was the triumph of law, justice, and equity, over fraud, deceit, theft, that the swindling ring was not only thoroughly routed, but its fat and sleek and lordly boasters were compelled to disgorge their "wages of unrighteousness," and take their flight ; whither to Canada, Botany Bay, or London, with Winslow, no man knoweth unto this day. CHAPTER VII. COVKKNOK TIU>F.N S DEFENCE. Accusers broughl to face Each Other, — Mr, Tilden's own Statement. — He is not responsible for the Controversy with the ••'nines" Newspaper, — The Committee of the Bar Association. — He did not withhold Credit from "The Times." — Mr. Tilden's Relations to Mayor llavemeyer. — His Speech at the Cooper Institute. — The Occasion of the Exposition. — Quotations from "The Times." — Mr. TiMen's Description of the Origin oi the Ring. — Its Har- mony with the Aeeonnt given hy Others. — The Period of the Ring-Power.— Formative Period. — Mr. Tilden assumes the Lead oi the Democratic State Organization. — His Speech in the Circuit Court. In the last chapter has boon recorded the great ami chief reformatory work of Mr. Tilden, The record there given has boon the one generally received ami believed to bo correct by fche public. A partisan paper, M The New York limes," however, made a strenuous effort, by maintaining that Mr. Tilde*n stood aloof from that reform, ami took no active part in it until well assured that the ring would bo destroyed, and the ringleaders brought to justice; and that, when this had beoome a foregone conclusion, then, Mr. Tilden came to the rescue. GOVERNOB TILDENS DEFENCE, (8 It will be soon by the reader, that, in Gov. Tilden's defence against the aspersions in "The Times," some of the same Pacts are repeated thai were stated in the last chapter. This has beeo done to show that the origin of the "ring" and its progress are fully " estab- lished in the month of two or three witnesses." Nor is this of small moment; for, it' the "Tunes*" state- ment is correct, then Mr. Tilden is far from having boon the reformer that he has been represented to have been. But it' he is to be credited, as a man o( truth, and the sources from which the facts in bhe last chapter were derived were reliable, then he is entitled to the credit of having boon one of the greatest reformers of the age. Now, as it was the custom of the Romans not to condemn any man until he and his accusers had boon brought l'aoo to face, and as even in the Jewish San- hedrim the following- pertinent question was asked: "Doth our law judge any man before it hoar him?" so, before Air. Tilden should be stripped of the honor and prominent part which he look in that great REFORM, he should be hoard in his own defence. The following is Mr. Tilden's statement in his own lan- "If one were to attempt to correct every ordinary error concerning himself which appears in print, the occasions of controversy would be inconveniently fre- quent for the avocations of a busy life. It is, therefore, 74 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. only in a very exceptional case that I should depart from my habit of leaving such errors to answer them- selves, or to be refuted by my acts, or by the general tenor of my life. But articles in 4 The Times ' for several weeks past so. falsify the history of the events they discuss, by perverting some facts and suppressing others, that it is a right, and perhaps a duty, to vindi- cate the truth. " I begin by saying that I am in no manner or degree responsible for this controversy. I have been concerned in no attempt to appropriate to myself, or to any set of men, or to any party, the merit of having overthrown the ' rinsf.' "As credit with the public was no part of my motives, but only a sense of duty, founded on the idea that every personal power is a trust, I have felt no sacrifice in awarding the most liberal honors of the victory to others. " The Committee of the Bar Association will remem- ber, that, when they came to Albany with their memo- rial, the winning policy I indicated was to do the work, bear the burdens, and bestow on others the honors. That policy, and the persistent forcing of the issue, in the glare of a vehement public opinion, stimulated by the nearly united metropolitan press, did much to carry impeachment, by four votes to one, over corruptions and combinations, in a body which 4 The Times ' has characterized as venal, and in which nearly every reform failed. Even after the work GOVERNOR TILDEN S DEFENCE. 75 was completed, and the Bar Association met to dis- tribute honors, I stood among its members, not to take any share to myself, but to join in a well-merited tribute of thanks to Messrs. Van Cott, Parsons, and Stickney. I believe those gentlemen would avow that there was no time before the final vote in the assembly, when, without my individual co-operation, they would have hoped for success, which needed to be organized anew after every reverse. " Nor is it true that I was at all disposed to withhold credit from ' The Times ' for its services in the con- flict. Its statement that Mr. Hewitt's ' civil word ' was the first it had received from any Democrat, is disproved by my printed speeches ; and when the project — afterwards abandoned for the best motives — was entertained of offering it a public testimonial, I was applied to by its friends to join, and assented. " INSPIRATION OF ATTACKS ON ME. " What is the inspiration of its attacks upon me during the last month, I was too much out of contact with all sources of information in current politics to be able to ascertain. Could it be that its watchful rivals had discovered a morbid spot on which they delighted to put their fingers, had found they had only to mention with commendation a co-worker of the fight, in order to provoke a column of detraction ? I waited. At last came an article ascribing to me a plan to control Mayor Havemeyer ; characterizing me as 'one of the 76 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. most active intriguers of the day ; ' as attempting, ' by underhand devices, to cheat the Republicans out of the fruit of their victory ; ' and ascribing to me c labori- ous stratagems,' ' wonderful mines and countermines.' It asserted of me, 4 He has now hatched another mag- nificent device, and very likely supposes that the mayor will lend himself to it.' It then added, ' The legisla- ture will do nothing of the kind.' And it concluded, ' If a party victory is to be claimed, we claim it in behalf of the Republican party? " Next comes a proposed charter, containing most of the worst features of the present, denying Mayor Have- meyer all substantial power over the workings of the City Government, of which he is the nominal head ; putting him under guardians in the exercise of the scanty authority doled out to him ; and vesting most of the governmental power and the real influence in executive offices with long terms, practically appointed by bill at Albany. "MAYOR HAVEMEYER; " Then appears another column full of similar allega- tions respecting me, and of what purport to be state- ments of facts. Among them is this : ' He is said to have great influence over Mayor Havemeyer, and to be working hard to drag the mayor into his great reconstruc- tion schemes. Do we owe it to his influence, that the mayor voted for Charles Shaw as counsel to the Board of Health ? ' GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. 77 " Now, in the whole of this mass of statement, so far as it relates to me, there is not a single atom of truth. I have not seen Mr. Havemeyer since December, nor at any time since his election, except when I met him on the street, or he called on me to ask my opinion on some question. I have not recommended or suggested to him any human being for an office, or any benefit within his gift. I do not mean to intimate that there would have been any thing improper in doing so, but simply to state the fact as it is. I have not sought to influence Mr. Havemeyer in any thing whatsoever. If my opinion would have any weight with him, or on any occasion would be asked by him, it is because in almost thirty years of mutual knowledge he has looked into my mind and heart, and in no instance has seen any thing which was not frank, true, disinterested, and patriotic. He knows that if I had the power, which I do not pretend to have, I would not deflect him one hair's-breadth from the line of fidelity to his peculiar trust as a non-partisan representative of municipal reform, for the advantage of any party, clique, or man. If he had occasion to seek my aid or counsel, he would begin by apologizing for troubling me, so well does he know that my thoughts and tastes turn to other objects, when inclination is not overcome by a sense of duty. As to Mr. Charles P. Shaw, I do not believe that I should know that gentleman if I were to meet him ; and I never heard his name mentioned in connection with any appointment until I read of his being voted 78 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN". for as counsel to the Board of Health, by Mr. Have- in eyer. " 4 The Times ' not only assumes to state with abso- lute positiveness my plans and thoughts, but also my arguments to Republicans, and my whispers to my friends. There is not one word of truth in all these statements. I have not had any plans of reconstruct- ing the Democratic party of the city, by any aid of patronage from Mayor Ilavemeyer. I do desire that the organization of the Democratic party, and of all parties, should be in the hands of a better class of men than of late years have controlled them. In my speeches during the last two years, I have constantly urged the idea, that, without more attention by our best men to their respective party organizations, good gov- ernment, especially in a great city like this, is impos- sible. All my friends know how great is my repugnance to an active personal connection with city politics, even in a temporary and exceptional period. After sixteen months of engrossing occupation, in the various con- troversies which grew out of the municipal frauds, and the reform in the judiciary, I consider the work I undertook, so far as within my power, to be substan- tially accomplished. Except in such matters as con- cerned that work, from the day of the election, I have been totally withdrawn from political action or thought. In that, T am still ready to co-operate as well as in any new legislation necessary for the city. But my atten- tion lias been occupied in repairing the long neglect of GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. 79 my private affairs, and in getting ready to execute a purpose which, for some years, has been perfectly settled, and which no vicissitude in State or National politics could have changed. This is a period of relax- ation in which to renovate my health by repose and travel. The purpose, and the motive for which I have deferred it for two years, were stated in the following passage from my speech at the Cooper Institute, Nov. 2, 1871, as it is reported in ' The Evening Post : ' — " l For myself, I would gladly have escaped the burden that has fallen upon me. I would have preferred to pass next year and this winter abroad, to have some repose after twenty years of incessant labor in my pro- fession. It was because I could not reconcile myself to consent that this condition of things should exist without redress, that I deemed it my duty, before I should finally withdraw from public affairs, to make a campaign, to follow where any would dare to lead, to lead where any would dare to follow, in behalf of the ancient and glorious principles of American free gov- ernment. " ' And by the blessing of God, according to the strength that is given to me, if you will not grow weary and faint, and falter on the way, I will stand by your side until not only civil government shall be reformed in the city of New York; but until the State of New York shall once more have a pure and irre- proachable judiciary, and until the example of this 80 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDE X. great State shall be set up to be followed by all the other States. " OCCASION OF THIS EXPOSITION. " I have deemed this exposition due to Mr. Havemeyer, to the Committee of Seventy, and the other honorable citizens who are striving for good legislation at Albany. It is called for by the elaborate and studied attempt to alarm the party passions of the Republicans by ascrib- ing to me acts and purposes which I have never enter- tained ; and to excuse to the consciences of men who have some hesitating sense of duty, the continuance and renewal of the system of disposing of the great trusts of this city by secret arrangements, carried out by artfully worded legislation at Albany, which is generally obtained by dividing up offices as bribes ; of denying the people of this city any voice in their own government, by rendering elections nugatory ; and even refusing to the non-partisan reformer Mayor Havemeyer any power over the government he is set to reform. And I now declare, that in all the long diatribes of 4 The Times,' so far as they relate to me, my plans, designs, purposes, or acts, in respect to Mayor Have- meyer, there is not one word of truth. " Having resolved to depict me as the Mephistopheles whose intlnence over Mayor Havemeyer Avas to alarm the Republicans into seizing away from him the legiti- mate powers of his office, 4 The Times' states a variety of pretended facts illustrative of its theory. GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. SI "In its latest article, it says, 'Mr. Tilden having very carefully held aloof from the contest, and system- atically thrown cold water upon it, until he saw it was practically over,' ' he went about declaring that " The Times " would be beaten, that Mr. Tweed " carried too many guns for us." ' " The truth is, I never c declared ' and never said any such thing, or any thing similar, to any human being. " Nor did I • systematically ' or at any time 4 throw cold water ' on the contest. How early I took part in it, will be discussed hereafter. " It is not true that I had any connection with the Cincinnati nominations. The statement that no one has been able 4 to extract from me a dime towards ' the Greeley statue, is equally unfounded. I was never asked but once, and made a subscription on the spot without a word of objection. " I mention these cases as specimens of the loose state- ments affirmed as positive facts with which these arti- cles abound. I submit to the gentlemen who manage 1 The Times,' that they go beyond the license of legiti- mate controversy. " Having now disposed of these preliminary matters, I proceed to reply to the substantial allegations contained in the numerous articles of c The Times.' " They are embodied in the following specimen ex- tracts : — " ' Mr. Tilden took no 'part in the battle ivith the ring.'' " ' The public will never forget, that, in the greatest 82 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. battle ever fought with organized corruption in this country, the old Democratic leaders of New York had not the courage or honesty to strike a blow.' " ' In all that bitter contest, when at times it seemed as though this journal [" The Times "] would be over- whelmed by its enemies, or at least severely injured by their machinations, we never had a word of open encour- agement or an act of assistance from the ancient chiefs of the Democracy.' " 4 Mr. Tilden came in only after the ring was down.' " ' They denounced when it was no longer dangerous to denounce. Their indignation concerning the ring was edifying, after the ring was down.' " ' Mr. Tilden came with his advice when it was very easy to give it ; and the other leaders hastened to run from the sinking ship.' " ' Mr. Tilden was shrewd enough to see, that, unless a section of the Democratic party cut loose from Tam- many, the whole party must inevitably go under with Tammany. He cut loose in the very nick of time, to save his own reputation.' "'HE THROWS MUD ON THE GRAVE OF THE RING. " l Just at present it is a comparatively comfortable thing for Mr. Tilden to throw mud on the grave of the Tammany Ring. Capturing the comptrollership from the ring for the reform movement, wasn't his, and was but a trifle. Mr. Tilden's coup d'etat was not peculiarly Mr. TildenV, and was any thing but a won- derful coup. 1 GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. 83 " ' MR. TILDEN DID NOT COLLECT PROOFS. " ' We cannot, however, agree with Mr. Hewitt, that to Mr. Tilclen is due the credit of proving charges vaguely made.' " ' TIME OF TRIAL. " ' But there was a time, we beg leave to remind these outspoken denouncers of the ring, when to attack Tweed or Connolly meant to attack an enormous and powerful interest, a gigantic corruption, backed by all the power of the Democratic party. Office and endow- ment and honor were on the side of the successful scoundrels ; every possible promise of money and place was held out to those who would support them ; and those who opposed them had to bear a cutting storm of reproach and obloquy.' "'MR. TILDEN, WITH MR. O'CONOR AND MR. HEWITT, SEEMED TO COVER THE RING. " ' In those days, respectable gentlemen leading the Democratic party, like Mr. Hewitt and Mr. Tilden, though despising, from the bottom of their hearts, the thieves in high places, and believing them thorough swindlers, yet never ventured to utter a word against them in public. In fact, to the distant public, their respectability covered the ring's rascality. Mr. Tilden, Mr. O'Conor, and others like them, appeared the pillars of Tammany Hall.' 84 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. "'"THE TIMES THE ELDER SOLDIER. "' Our daily incessant attacks upon Tammany began in the summer of 1870, It was not until a year later, that Mr. Tilden, or any leading Democrat, could be induced to lift a fincrer or utter a word against Tweed and his confederates.' '"MR. TILDEN BACKWARD AND TLMID. " c Mr. Tilden was throughout this period as quiet as a mouse; or, if he did appear anywhere in public, it was generally in a position which led people to suppose that lie was on the side of the Tweed gang. He presided over their convention at Rochester in September, 1870. kW ' We never questioned the fact that Mr. Tilden all this time in his heart detested the Tammany gang; but he took care never to say so.' "'LAST COMPLAINT. " ' He came over to our side, and then did his best to keep up appearances for the Democratic party.' k - * Mr. Tilden generally manages to save himself by these somersaults at the eleventh hour.' " ' When a crafty man is plotting to do you some (pjury, he generally becomes your accuser, and charges you with devising the very mischief he is preparing to launch at your head. Tints Mr. Tilden and his friends are already complaining of the rapacity of the Repub- licans.' GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. 85 " ORIGIN OF THE EIKG. " The ' ring ' had its origin in the Board of Super- visors. That body was created by an act passed in 1857, in connection with the charter of that year. The act provided that but six persons should be voted for by each elector, and twelve should be chosen. In other words, the nominees of the Republican and Democratic party caucuses should be elected. At the next session, the term was extended to six years. So we had a body composed of six Republicans and six Democrats, to change a majority of which you must control the pri- maries of both of the great National and State parties for four 3'ears in succession. Not an easy job, certainly ! The individual man has little enough of influence when you allow him some chance of determining between two parties, some possibility of converting the minority into a majority. This scheme took away that little. It also invited the managers of the primaries to do as badly as possible, by removing all restraints. " It is but just to say that the Democracy are not responsible for this sort of statesmanship, which con- siders the equal division of official emoluments more important than the administration of official trusts or the well-being of the governed. In the assembly of 1857, of one hundred and twenty-eight members, the Democracy had but thirty-seven ; of thirty-two senators, it had but four ; and had not the governor. In the thirteen years from 1857 to 1869, it never had a 86 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILPEX. majority in the senate, in the assembly but once : and had the Governor but once up to 1869. The Repub- licans had the legislative power o( the State in all that period, as they and their Whig predecessors had pos- sessed it for the previous ten years. "The ring was doubly a 'ring.' It was a ring between the six Republican and the six Democratic supervisors. It soon grew to a ring- between the Re- publican majority in Albany and the half-and-half supervisors, and a few Democratic officials of this city. k * The very definition of a ' ring' is, that it encircles enough influential men in the organization of each party to control the action of both party machines, — men who in public push to extremes the abstract ideas o( their respective parties, while they secretly join their hands in schemes for personal power and profit. " The Republican partners had the superior power. They could create such institutions as the Board of Supervisors, and could abolish them at will. They could extinguish offices, and substitute others: change the laws which iix their duration, functions, and respon- sibilities, and nearly always could invoke the executive power of removal. The Democratic members, who in some city offices represented the linn to the supposed prejudices of a local Democratic majority, were under the necessity o( submitting to whatever terms the Albany legislators imposed : and at length found out by experience, what they had not intellect to foresee, that all real power was in Albany. They GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. 87 began to go there in person to share it. The lucrative city offices, subordinate appointments, which each head of department could create at pleasure, with salaries in his discretion, distributed among the friends of the legislators, contracts, money contributed by city officials assessed on their subordinates, raised by jobs under the departments, and sometimes taken from the city treasury, were the pabulum of corrupt influence which shaped and controlled all legislation. Every year the system grew worse as a governmental institution, and became more powerful and more corrupt. The executive departments gradually swallowed up all local powers, and themselves were mere deputies of legisla- tors at Albany, on whom alone they were dependent. The mayor and common council ceased to have much legal authority, and lost all practical influence. There was nobody to represent the people of the city ; there was no discussion, there was no publicity. Cunning and deceptive provisions of law, concocted in the secrecy of the departments, commissions, and bureaus, agreed upon in the lobbies at Albany, between the city officials and the legislators or their go-betweens, appeared on the statute-book after every session. In this manner all institutions of government, all taxa- tion, all appropriations of money for our million of people, were formed. For many years there was no time when a vote at a city election would in any prac- tical degree or manner affect the city government. 88 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. " PERIOD OF RING POWER. " The c ring ' became completely organized and ma- tured on the 1st of January, 1869, when Mr. A. Oakey Hall became mayor. Mr. Connolly was comptroller two years earlier. " Its power had already become great ; but was as nothing compared with what it acquired on the 5th of April, 1870, by an act which was a mere legislative grant of the offices, giving the powers of local govern- ment to individuals of the ' ring,' for long periods, and freed from all accountability, as if their names had been mentioned as grantees in the bill. "Its duration was through I860, 1870, and 1871, until its overthrow at the election of November, when it Lost most of the senators and assembly-men from this city, and was shaken in its hold on the legislative power of the State. " It will be noticed that the first date in the list of county warrants bearing indications of fraud, pub- lished by k The Times ' in the last of July, 1871, is Jan. 11, I860. Of the $11,250,0.00 embraced in these accounts, 13,800,000 were in 1869; 8880,000 in 1870, before April 5 : $6,250,000 in 1870, after that date ; and $323,000 in 1871. The thorough investigation made by Mr. Taintor, at my instance, shows the aggre- gate vastly larger, but does not much alter the propor- tions, except in 1871. The periods of power and plunder are coincident in time and magnitude. GOVERNOR TILDEN'S DEFENCE. 89 "FORMATIVE PERIOD. " Even before the ' ring ' came into organized exist- ence, the antagonism between those who afterwards became its most leading members, and myself, was sharply defined and public. It originated in no motive of a personal nature on my part, but in the incompati- bility of their and my ideas of public duty. I dis- trusted them. They knew they could not deceive or seduce me into any deviation from my principles of action. As early as 1863, some of them became deeply imbittered, because, being summoned by Gov. Seymour to a consultation about the Broadway Railroad Bill, I advised him to veto it. " Some years afterwards I accepted the lead of the Democratic State organization. I did so with extreme reluctance, and only after having in vain tried to place it in hands in which I could have confidence. I had seen the fearful decay of civic morals incident to the fluctuating values of paper money and civil war. I had heard and believed that the influence of the Re- publican party organization had been habitually sold in the lobbies, sometimes in the guise of counsel fees, and sometimes without any affectation of decency. I had left the assembly and constitutional convention in 1846, when corruption in the legislative bodies of this State was totally unknown, and now was convinced that it had become almost universal. I desired to save from degradation the great party whose principles and 00 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. traditions were' mine. by inheritance and conviction, and to make it an instrument of a reaction in the community which alone could save free government, Holding wearily the end of a rope, because 1 feared where it might go if I dropped it, I kept the State organization m absolute independence. 1 never took a favor iA' any sort from these men, or any man I dis- trusted. I had not much power in the Legislature on questions which interested private cupidity ; but in a State convention, where the best men in society and business would go, because it was for but a day or two, those with whom i acted generally had the majority. "1869. " I had no more knowledge or grounds oi' suspicion of the frauds of L869, as they were discovered three years afterwards, than l The Times' or the general public; but 1 had 110 faith in the men who became known as the 'ring,' and they feared me. I hail no personal animosity ; but I never conciliated them, and I never turned from what I thought right, to avoid a collision. v * The first impulse of their growing ambition and increasing power was to get rid o( me, and possess themselves of the Democratic State organization, 'Their intrigue for this purpose was conceived and agreed upon in the winter, at Albany. 1 knew it, but 1 did nothing till A.ugust, Then I accepted the issue; and they were defeated by seven-eighths oi' the con- vention. The country papers of the Republican party GOVEENOE TILDBN'S DEFENCE. 91 were full of the subject. The files of 'The Times' show that the contest attracted public attention. That these men and I we're not in accord, was known wher- ever in the United States there was the least informa- tion on such subjects. " This year was marked by the saturnalia of Injunc- tions and receiverships. " lit April and May, in speeches in the Circuit Court of tin* United States I denounced the orders granted by Barnard to Fisk against the Pacific Railroad Com- pany, as perversions of the instruments of justice, bear- ing on their face bad faith. I had reason to believe that Tweed was a partner in this freebooting specula- tion, and his sou was Barnard's receiver. The contest excited universal attention. My motive in taking the case, with great inconvenience to more important business, was the abhorrence I felt of the prostitution of judicial power which touched the rights and inter- ests and honor of every man in the community ; and the consideration, that, on being applied to by the company in its extremity, I had advised that the orders in Barnard's court, for the seven months previous, were nullities; and the acceptance of that advice seemed to impose on me the obligation to maintain it, as was done successfully. " I declined retainers from Fisk in matters involving no scandal, but. in which he had not. my sympathy, after he had informed me that he had paid a. counsel, during the year, many times the largest fee I had ever received, adding, ' We don't want, anybody else: we want you/ 92 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDE \\ "My open denunciations of the judicial abuses so frequent at this time, and the general support I had received from the country delegates, I have always, believed to be the origin of the reaction by which, instead of a third subject for impeachment, Judge Brady was nominated. " In December I signed the call for the meeting at which the Bar Association was formed. At that meet- ing, on the 1st of February, upon being called on, I gave utterance to my unpremeditated thoughts in words which stand, without any change, as they were reported in the official proceedings of that body. They were generally deemed to breathe a tone of defiant independ- ence. Among those thoughts were these : — " * If the bar is to become merely a mode of making money, making it in the most convenient way possible, but making it at all hazards, then the bar is degraded. If the bar is merely an institution that seeks to win cases, and win them by back-door access to the judi- ciary, then it is not only degraded, but corrupt.' " CHAPTER VIII. MR. TILDEN S OWN RECORD CONTINUED, IN WHICH HE FURTHER CONFIRMS THAT OF THE HISTORIAN. Contest of 1870. —The Sham. —Opposition. —The Conflict. —The Real Nature of the Law. — Illustration. — The Means. — Who Betrayed the City. — Immediate Consequences. — The Summer of 1870. — Court of Appeals. — Winter of 1871. — School System. — Code Amendments. — Contest of 1871. — Strong Position of the Ring in the City. — Mr. Tilden's Speech at the Cooper Institute in 1871. — Crisis of the Contest. — Pivot of the Contest. — Ring Plan of the Campaign. — Mr. Tilden's Plan of the Campaign. — How to Overthrow the Ring in the Popular Vote of the City. — The time when Mr. Tilden acted. — Mr. Kernan. — Mr. Oswald Ottendorf er. — Mr. O' Conor. — Other Preparations. — Substitu- tion of Mr. Green for Mr. Connolly in the Comptrollership. — Efforts of the Ring to recover Possession. — State Convention. — Other Action. — Broadway Bank Investigations. — Mr. Tilden's Speech at Cooper Institute. — Democratic Reform Yote in the City. — Further Collection of Proofs. — Judicial Reform. — Con- clusion. — Remarks by the Compiler. For the first time in four and twenty years, the Democrats had, in 1870, the law-making power. They had in the senate just one vote, and in the assembly seven votes, more than were necessary to pass a bill, if so rare a thing should happen as that every member was present, and all should agree. !>! LITE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. This result brought more dismay than joy to the "ring." They had intrenched themselves against the people of this city in the Legislative bodies. But the Democratic party was bound by countless pledges to restore local government to the voting power of the people oi' the city. The "ring" could trade in the lobbies at Albany, or with the half-and-half supervisors in the mysterious chambers of that Board. They might even risk a popular vote on mayor, if secure in the departments which had all the patronage, and could usually elect their own candidate. But they had no stomach for a free fight over the whole government, at a separate 1 election. Their motives were obvious, on a general view of their human nature. None but the "ring" then knew that, in the secret recesses of the supervisors and other similar bureaus, were hid ten millions of bills largely fraudulent, and that, in the perspective, were eighteen other millions, nearly all fraudulent. THE SHAM. A sham was necessary to the "ring." Moral support was necessary to sustain their imposture. None of the "ring" ever came near me; but Mr. Nathaniel Sands often called to talk over city reform. He sometimes brought my honored and esteemed friend, Mr. Peter Cooper. They were convinced that the "ring" had become conservative, — were not ambitious of more wealth, were on the side of the tax-payers. There was MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 95 thought to be great peril as to who might conic in, in case the "ring" should be turned out. I told Mr. Sands I would shelter no sham. 1 would co-operate with anybody for a good charter. The light and air of heaven must be let m upon the stagnant darkness of the city administration. The men to conic into office; must enter after a vote of the people. I did not believe the " ring " would agree to that. I would agree to nothing else. The " ring " did not want any conference with me. They tried their own plan. It failed ignominiously. After it was defeated, none were so poor as to do it reverence. It never had the slightest chance of revival without a general support of the Republicans. Not only were three Democratic city senators against it, but enough Democratic senators from the country would vote against it, if their vote could be made effective. OPPOSITION. During the lull, I had conferences with Mr. Jackson S. Sclmltz, then president of the Union League Club, Mr. Nordhoff of « The Post," Mr. Greeley of " The Tri- bune," Mr. Marble of " The World," and many others. I entered into no alliance with the " young Democracy " for future political power, and for weeks was ignorant even of their meetings. I did accept from Mr. Marble two invitations to attend consultations on a draft of a charter; and certain fundamental ideas, on which he 96 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. and I insisted, were conceded. These were, a separate municipal election in each spring, a new election before the executive offices should be filled, the subjection of all officers bo a practical responsibility, and terms of office which should preserve fco each successive mayor his supervisory powers over (he government of which he is the head. These ideas were concurred in by (lie Union League Club, and by the other gentlemen I have mentioned. rill': CONFLICT. Suddenly a charter was sprung by Mr. Tweed, and rushed forward very last. I was convinced it would pass. A clerk in one of the public offices came privately to tell me k * the stuff had been sent up/' There was a movement to resist it. Mr. Schultz, Mr. Bailey, and others were in motion. The Union League Club appointed a committee of til- teen to go to Albany to remonstrate. My co-operation was asked. 1 had little hope. 1 expected a large Republican support of Mr. Tweed's scheme ; but I thought it right to do the utmost for those who were willing to make an effort. I felt more scorn than I ever remember to have felt Tor the pusillanimity which characterized the hour. I had no objection to hang up my solitary protest against the crime about to be committed. 1 made a speech before Mr. Tweed and his committee o( the senate 1 . An unrevised report was published at the time. It contains the following pas- MR. TILDEN's OWN RECORD. 97 " By the first appointment of these various offices, self-government in the people of the city of New York is in abeyance for from four to eight years. Sir, by that bill, the appointment of all these offices is to be made by a gentleman now in office. It is precisely as if in the bill it had read: 'Not that the mayor shall make these appointments, but the INDIVIDUAL who to-day fills that office.' The act proceeds in the same way in which the acts creating commissions have done. A gentleman is designated who makes these appoint- ments. To all practical intents and purposes, they are commissioners just as under the old system. Under the Republican system of commissioners, the Street Department and the Croton Board have been reserved to the control of the city authorities. They stand as under the old system anterior to the time when these Commissions began to be formed. The mayor lias no power over these functionaries, except to impeach them ; and all experience has shown that that is a dilatory and insufficient resource, not to be relied on in the ordinary administration of the government. On the 31st December, by the provisions of this bill, the term of the mayor's office will expire. Then, sir, what will be the situation of his successor? For two years he will have no poiver whatever over the administration of the government of which he is the nominal head. All these functionaries survive him. Tiieiu terms go beyond his term ; and he has not the power to remove them, not the power to enforce any practical rcsponsi- 98 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. bility as against them. He is a mere cipher. Then, sir, at the end of two years, another election takes place, another mayor is elected. Still these officers extend their terms clear beyond his, the shortest of them being for four years, and the longest of them for eight years, many of them for five. This charter is defective in another respect, in that it makes the election of charter officers coincident with that of the State and Federal officers. The municipal election of a million people is of sufficient importance to be dealt with by itself ; and by so doing you avoid mixing up municipal interests with State and National interests.. What I object to in this bill is, that you haye a mayor without any executive power ; you haye a legislature without legislative power ; }-ou have elections without any power in the people to affect the government for the period during which these officers are appointed. It is not a popular government, it is not a responsible government : it is a government beyond the control, and independent of the will, of the people. That the mayor should have real and sub- stantial power, is the theory we have been discussing for the last four or five years. It is the theory upon which we haye carried on our controversies against our adversaries, and are now here. After a period of twenty years, for the first time the party to which I belong possesses all the powers of the government. I have a strong and anxious desire that it should make for the city of New York a government popular in its form. Mr. Chairman, I am not afraid of the stormy MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 00 sea of popular liberty. I still trust the people. We, no doubt, have fallen upon evil times. We, no doubt, have had many occasions for distrust and alarm ; but I still believe, that, in the activity generated by the effec- tual part icipation of the people in the administration of the government, you would have more purity and more safety than under the system to which we have been accustomed. It is in the stagnation of bureaus and commissions, that evils and abuses are generated. The storms that disturb the atmosphere clear and purify it. It will be so in politics and municipal administrations, if we will only trust the people." The bill passed. An intenser animosity than was excited against me in the men who thus grasped an irresponsible despotism over this city, cannot be im- agined. Mr. Tweed threatened to Lieut.-Gov. Beach, that they would depose me from the State Committee ; and met the answer, " You had better try it." REAL NATURE OF THE LAW. Let us pause a moment to consider the real character of that law fraudulently called a city charter. Mr. Tweed's case will illustrate its operation. He had never been able to become street Commissioner. Charles G. Cornell was appointed to that office by a Republican mayor, and Mr. Tweed made deputy. When the office became vacant, Mayor Hoffman could not be induced to appoint Mr. Tweed. George W. McLean was ap- pointed, and Mr. Tweed remained deputy. He had 100 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. now been turned out as deputy, and could not get back. On the loss of his office, all his political power turned to dust and ashes. The Tweed charter vacated the office of street Com- missioner, and of the functionaries of the Croton depart- ment, within five days, vesting all their powers in a Commissioner of Public Works : and required Mr. A. Oakey Hall to appoint that Commissioner. It was known to everybody that Mr. Tweed Avas to be appointed. The act passed on the 5th ; and on the 9th Mr. Tweed was appointed. His term was four years. The power of the governor to remove him on charges was repealed, and all powers of removal by the city government. Impeachment was restricted by the con- dition that the mayor alone could prefer charges, and trial could only be had if every one of the six judges of the Common Picas was present. ILLUSTRATION. In ancient times offices were conferred by grant from the sovereign. This was conferred by grant from the State. Let us suppose the act had run in these words: — k * We the people of the State of New York, repre- sented in Senate and Assembly, do by our supreme legis- lative authority hereby grant to William M. Tweed the office of Commissioner of public works, and annex thereto, in addition to the powers heretofore held by the street commissioner, all the powers heretofore held by MR. TILDENS OWN RECORD. 101 the various officers of the Croton department, to have and to hold the same for four years, with the privilege of ex- tending the term by surrendering any remnant thereof, and receiving a re-appointment for a further new term of four years ; which office shall be free and discharged of the power of the Governor to remove for cause on charges, as in the case of Sheriffs, and of all power of removal by the City Government ; and absolutely of all accountability whatsoever, unless Mayor Hall or some successor shall choose to prefer articles of impeachment to the Court of Common Pleas, and unless all the six judges shall attend to try such articles." I aver that such was exactly the operation of that act. The legal effect and the practical working of the act were identically the same as if it had been expressed in these words. THE RING ENTHRONED OVER THE CITY. In like manner, the offices of three of the five heads of the Parks were granted for five years to Peter B. Sweeney, Thomas C. Fields, and Henry Hilton, giving them the control of the Central Park and every park in the city, and of the boidevards ; suppressing Mr. Green, and removing Messrs. Stebbins, Russell, and Blatchford. The office of chamberlain was granted to Mr. John J. Bradley. The department of police was granted from five to eight years to Messrs. Henry Smith, B. F. Me- niere, Bosworth, and Brennan. The departments of health, fire, excise, charities, docks, and buildings 102 LWE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDE23T. were granted to others. By an amendment passed twenty days later, Mr. Connolly and Mr. O'Gorman were brought into the same category. Such a concentration of powers over this city was never before held by any set of men or any party as was thus vested in the ik King." The true character of this fraudulent measure was at once fully exposed. The issue was made by Messrs. Schultz, Bailey, Varnum, Greeley, and others, and by the Union League Club. All the features of the act were pointed out in their resolutions, and remonstrated against. They were discussed, condemned, and de- nounced in my speech published at the time. They were ably exposed by " The World," "The Evening Post," " The Sun," and " The Tribune." THE MEANS. It would seem incredible that such a violation of the rights o( the people and o( all just, ideas of government , even if these extraordinary grants had been to the best. men in the community, could be passed. No such thing- would have been even excusable, unless for a short time as a, temporary dictatorship in a public extremity. It was adopted as a permanent measure ; and the grant was to men who were the objects o( suspicion, who, in little more than a year afterwards, wen" hunted from human society, as well as from office, some oi' whom Were or are in exile, and others of whom are now arraigned by the State in civil and criminal actions. Mil. tilden's OWN record. 103 The air was full of rumors of corruption. The great public trusts, involving the interests, safety, and honor of a million of people;, had been divided up as bribes. It was everywhere said that the crime had taken a grosser form, and that Senators and Assemblymen had been bought with money to vote for this iniquity. A year later, it was stated in the newspapers, on the authority of Judge Noah Davis, as derived from a well-known member of the lobby, that the price paid to six leading- Republican senators was to eacli ten thousand dollars for the charter, and five thousand for the kindred bills of the session, and five thousand for similar services the next year. Shortly after this revelation, while the revolt of forty thousand Democrats in this city was faking its representation away from the "Ring," the Republicans of the interior were re-electing fiveofthese six Senators as their contribution, with many other similar charac- ters, to the " Reform " Legislature. Those five Senators now sit in the highest seats of the Grant Republican Sanhedrim at Albany. " The Times " has for a long while been as " still as a mouse " about them. WHO BETEATED THE CITY? There have been two great battles against the " Ring." The first was in Albany, in April, 1870. That was to prevent the " Ring," while only objects of suspicion, from being enthroned in absolute dominion over the 104 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. people of this city. The loss of that battle made no change possible until the Senate could be changed. The election for Senators did not come until November, 1871. Then was the second great battle, made neces- sary by the loss of the first. Who was responsible for that disastrous clay, when the beginning of the crimes afterwards discovered was shrouded in darkness, and their larger development made possible ? Was it Mr. Tilden ? Mr. O'Conor ? Mr. Hewitt ? Did their " respectability cover the Ring's rascality," as " The Times " charges? " The Times " itself shall answer. On the 6th of April, 1870, the day after the passage of the act granting New York city to the " King," " The Times," in an article headed " Municipal Reform," hailed this measure as a reform ; derided the Union League Club and Mr. Greeley with their " entire lack of influence," in that " so pronounced an expression " against the charter had not " been heeded by at least one Republican Senator ; " and said that, — "If it shall be put in operation by Mayor Hall, with that regard to the general welfare which we have reason to anticipate, we feel sure our citizens will have reason to count yesterday's work in the Legislature as most important and salutary." On the 8th it declared, — " Senator Tweed is in a fair way to distinguish him- self&s a reformer;" that he had put the people of Man- hattan Island under great obligations, &c. MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 105 " We trust that Senator Tweed will manifest the same energy in the advocacy of this last reform which marked his action in regard to the charter" On the 11th it published Mayor Hall's instrument, dated the 9th, making the appointments to all the municipal offices. Among them were the following : — " Department of Public Works, — William M. Tweed. " Department of Parks, — Peter B. Sweeney, Thomas C. Fields, Henry Hilton. " Department of Police, — Henry Smith, B. F. Man- iere, Bosworth, and Brennan. " Chamberlain, — John J. Bradley : and so on." On the 12th it jeered the Union League Club, Mr. Greeley, and Mr. Tilden. It commented on a remark in Mayor Hall's paper making the appointments, in which he said he would have been politically justified in conferring them all on Democrats ; and replied that the Republicans were rather useful to the authors of the new charter in the recent contest; that, but for the Republicans, the young Democracy might to-day " be at the top of the tree ; " that Mayor Hall and his " associ- ates will doubtless show a proper appreciation of the assistance rendered them by the Republicans when the enemy were crying war to the knife, and knife to the hilt." On the 13th it said, " As a whole, the appointment of the heads of the various departments of the City Government, which have been announced by the Mayor, are far above the average in point of personal fitness, 106 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. and should be satisfactory. We feel inclined to be thankful, if not entirely satisfied with the result." It also asserted that the charter and election law " could not have been secured without the help of the Republicans in the Legislature, and hence the credit is as much theirs as it is of the Tweed Democracy." The " Ring " having possession of the Tammany Society, in which Mr. Tilden had not set his foot during their ascendency, at the election of April 18, put up a sham ticket on which they placed the names of persons whom they hated, and gave it a few of their own votes to exhibit the appearance of a contest. On the 19th, " The Times," under a flaming notice headed, " Now is the triumph of Tweed complete," exulted over the prostrate Tilden, A. H. Green, and others, " heroes of the O'Brien faction." On the 21st of May, it had a commendatory notice of Mr. Peter B. Sweeney, presiding over a meeting of the Commissioners of the Public Parks, and added, "That he will be faithful to Kis word, the meeting yester- day afforded a fresh guaranty." immediate consequences. The 5th of May was a day destined to be famous in our municipal annals. Some mysterious and insensible influence seemed to debilitate the tone of " The Times " in its utterance that morning. It spoke feebly of " reforms made possible by the recent legislation at Albany," Was the atmosphere dark and murky MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 107 with what was going on in the new Court-Honse at the same moment ? There the single meeting of the Board of Special Audit was being held. Hall and Tweed and Connolly were making the order for the payment of the $6,312,- 500, of which scarcely ten per cent in value was realized by the city. Tweed got twenty-four per cent, and his agent Woodward, seven ; the brother of Sweeney, ten ; Watson, seven ; twenty went to parties not yet named in the forms of legal proof ; thirty-three went to the mechanics who furnished the bills, but their share had to suffer many abatements. Gurney had advanced, March 30, $10,000 to go to Albany; and again, April 17, $40,000, making $50,000. Inger- soll also had to send $50,00$ ; Keyser, $25,000 ; Miller, $25,000; Hall, $25,000; and others their quotas; and then, they had to do work on city houses and country houses, and make furniture, and to paint, to supply safes, and perform miscellaneous services, out of their third. As the time advanced, the percentages of theft, mixed in the bills, grew. Moderate in 1869, they reach sixty-six per cent in 1870, and, later, eighty -five per cent. The aggregate of fraudulent bills after April 5, 1870, was, in the rest of that year, about $12,250,000 ; and, in 1871, $3,400,000. Nearly fifteen and three- quarter millions of fraudulent bills were the booty grasped on the 5th of April, 1870. Fourteen, perhaps fifteen millions of it, was sheer plunder. 108 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. The victory of the 5th of April enabled the " Ring " to cover up what had been already stolen, and to go forward on a far larger scale, and commit these enormous robberies. THE SUMMER OF 1870. "The Times" is in error in saying that its daily incessant attacks on Tammany began in the summer of 1870. There is not a word of that kind in its editori- als in all that summer. Until the 20th of September, it kept " still as a mouse," as it says Mr. Tilden did. Then it first touched the subject incidentally to an article on the Democratic State Convention held the next day. The stillness of Mr. Tilden left ringing in the ears of the people his unavailing protest and his denuncia- tion. The stillness of " The Times " left echoing in the public ear its boast that "the credit" of the "Ring" supremacy belonged " as much to the Republicans as to the Tweed Democracy." Three days later it began a series of elaborate attacks, not really upon the " Ring," but upon their foe, Mr. Tilden. It accused him of going to Roches- ter to preside over Tweed's convention; and it has repeated the statement many times lately. The truth is, he did not preside, and it was not Tweed's conven- tion. It was my official duty to move the appointment of MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 109 the temporary chairman, and it was customary to pre- cede the motion by an address upon National or State politics. That I did. The Convention was a body of honorable and respected gentlemen, except a few mem- bers of the " Ring," who got in as delegates by means of the power and prestige " The Times " had helped them to acquire, and in whom it had expressed its con- fidence after their then recent public assumption of the municipal offices. I had not even the benefit of its first beginning of retraction. That happened after I had gone to the Convention, and was not communicated to me by tele- graph. To have staid away would have been to abandon my watch and guard. True men, in the intervals of battle, rest on their arms : they do not run away. But "The Times " complains that I did not denounce the "Ring" in my speech. Neither they nor their doings were at issue. There was no new suspicion of them after they had been accepted as rulers of the metropolis by the nearly unanimous vote of both houses of the legislature, aided by " The Times." The gene- ral public had acquiesced in the disposition to try them again. The whole press assented. Nearly everybody began to make relations with them. I did not. I stood aloof. The Republican State Convention had been held two weeks before. Senator Conkling, Mr. George William Curtis, and others addressed it ; but not one of them had a word to say about the surrender 110 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. of the metropolis to an autocracy, or of the character of the men to whom this ignominious betrayal had been made. How could they ? The " credit " of it was " as much due to the Republicans as to the Tweed Democracy." Nothing was left me to do but to await the issue of the portentous experiment. As to their frauds at elec- tions, I had no means of knowledge more than other citizens ; but I had sent to Albany a carefully prepared election law, which had been examined and approved by leading Republicans of this city. The Republican Senators rejected it, and took Tweed's election law with Tweed's charter. " The Times " boasted over this election law as " by far the more substantial reform of the two." I feel scarcely able to enter into the comparison of the relative merits of the two measures. The " substantial reform " known as the election law was the means by which Mayor Hall acquired such immense power over the inspectors and canvassers and all the machinery of the elections, that the " Ring " began to think they could get along without the voters. It suppressed the opposition of the practical politicians in the wards, who saw how it was capable of being worked. In the contest of 1871, it discouraged them from joining us more than any other power wielded by the " Ring." In some districts, men of great local inlluence openly said it was of no use to run a ticket so long as that power could be exercised against them. The Reformers were generally appalled by it. I had Ill confidence, because I counted on the intensity of the popular ferment as likely to permeate and weaken all the agencies of the " Ring," and to swell the wave of oppo- sition until it should sweep over all artificial obstruc- tions. If the value of a thing is to be measured by what it costs, we are thrown back to a statement made to Judge Davis of the price paid to the leading Republi- can Senators. Five thousand dollars for the election law, and for Section Four of the Tax Levy under which the six million dollars of the special audit were acquired, was, perhaps, as cheap as ten thousand dollars for the charter. The agents of the Citizens' Association cost only a few offices. " The Times " threw itself in gratuitously. My defence, if I need one, for not stopping the " Ring " from cheating at elec- tions, is, that I tried to do so, but could not. I was beaten by the Republican Senators and " The Times." COURT OF APPEALS. Soon after the disastrous failure to secure self- government for our people, a lawyer of this city came to me, and said that the best thing for me to do was to endeavor to secure a good Court of Appeals. My recollection is, that the general term for this depart- ment, two of the three members, which have since been expelled for corruption, had at that time just been constituted. I felt that to make civil rights safe in the second and last appeal was of great value, and set 112 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. about the work. In the mean time a distinguished gentleman from the interior came to propose to me to run as Chief Judge of the new court, and to assure me of a support which I understood would carry with it the State administration and every thing jealous of or hostile to me throughout the State. It was evident that I was considered less dangerous at the head of the court than at the head of the State Committee. I answered that I thought I should not be dependent on any such help if I desired the nomination, but that it was not in accord with my plan of life to desire or take the office. I did issue a private aj)peal for the forma- tion of a good court to nearly all the Democratic lawyers of the State, and to other prominent men. Many of the foremost members of the bar came to the convention ; and we nominated and elected five of the seven members of a court which has the complete con- fidence of the bar and the people. After the judicial election I went on business into distant States until late in the summer. WINTER OF 1871. I did not set my foot in Albany during the session of 1871. " The Times " frequently said, " Such men as Samuel Til den have no real influence." If " The Times " meant, no influence in what was then the political and legislative Sodom of the State, there is no exaggeration in the assertion. Men who are bought on great ques- tions are in no situation to disobey on inferior matters which are really insisted on. Mr. Tweed was never so MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 113 supreme over nearly the whole body of the Republican members ; and, with their aid, could despise or suppress and punish every revolt on the Democratic side. And he had acquired the prestige of successful power. The Democrats had not, in either house, one vote to spare from the number necessary to pass a bill. But Mr. Tweed was no worse off that he was completely depen- dent on his alliances with the Republicans. Nearly every bad measure passed without any opposition, or with only a sham opposition. " The Times " on one occasion complained that the root of the evil was in the apathy of the Republican party of that city. There was force in the statement. The prejudices, the party passions, the interests of ambitious men, made the oppo- sition the natural organ of the discontents of society with the ascendent power, which, at this time, had some pretext for calling itself Democratic, though, in truth, it was a " Ring " of both parties. The combination had such control over the Republicans at Albany, and in this city, that a revolution in the Republican party was necessary to create an opposition ; and, without an oppo- tion, dissenting Democrats were powerless. In stimu- lating the hearty animosity of Republicans, even though by vague appeals, or if for merely partisan ends, " The Times " rendered valuable service in a preparation for the future. But time was necessary. It is wholly untrue, that at any moment I was timid, or selfishly reserved, or shrank from any respon- sibility. 114 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. I am not a newspaper, whose business it is to address the public every day ; whose recurring want, more than meat or bread, is a topic ; and to whom invective, even if without facts or evidence, provided it makes a sensa- sation, is money, — more money, in circulation and advertisements. Men not of the editorial avocation have to turn from their ordinary duties and habits when they appear before the public ; and it is only on few occasions that they find the forum, or the oppor- tunity, or the leisure. How many times did Mr. Wil- liam A. Booth, who is mentioned with commendation by " The Times," and is truly an excellent citizen, or Mr. Jackson Schultz, or even Mr. Evarts, appear during this period? I will not ask about the Chairman of the Republican State Committee. It is safe to conjecture that he was running of errands for some branch of the " Ring," and serving around the legislative halls for what are daintily termed counsel fees. I would have had a perfect right to wait until that " Ring " dominion over our million of people, which "The Times " boasted was " as much " the work of " the Republicans " as of the " Tweed Democracy," had ma- tured its fatal fruits, before I should again renew the battle which had been once betrayed and lost. But nevertheless, on some occasions, I did intervene. SCHOOL SYSTEM. The revolution in the school system, in the winter of 1871, was the favorite scheme of the master spirit of the " Ring." I publicly condemned it. MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 115 CODE AMENDMENT. The provision of the Code Amendment Bill, which conferred on the Judges a transcendent authority to punish for what they might choose to consider as con- tempts, was the measure which was to apply coercion to the press, and to speakers who should attack the u Ring." What the two millions a year of advertise- ments, open to be given or recalled at the will of Mayor Hall, should fail to win, this summary power — since understood to have been devised by Cardozo, and designed to be wielded by him and Barnard — was to conquer. It was said — I know not with what truth — to be specially aimed at " The Times." Probably many an article of that journal in the spring of 1871, which seemed to the public to be vague and wanting in definite facts, had point enough to the men who knew they had stolen fourteen millions, since it helped them into power. At any rate, this scheme was the desperate resource of a denomination bold and blind, as it was ripening for a fall. In it were concentrated the fears and hopes of the " Ring." It was passed without a dis- senting voice in either house. Every Republican mem- ber voted for it, or staid away. The Chairman of the Committee of Conference, who manoeuvred it through, was a Republican Senator, who admitted, last year, the " borrowing," in one instance, of ten thousand dollars from Mr. Tweed, which had not been repaid. One evening in May, when I was temporarily con- 116 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. fined to my house by illness, Mr. Randolph Robinson called to ask me to be chairman of a committee of the Bar Association to go to Albany, and remonstrate with Gov. Hoffman against his signing this bill. I declined to be chairman, but assented that the meeting might put me on the committee, if it chose to do so, with the knowledge that I could not go ; and said that I would write a letter against the bill. On second thought, a hurried note was addressed to Mr. Evarts, who was chairman, that it might be sure of publication. It was paraded in the foreground of the controversy. It and its writer were constantly cited by " The Times." An issue was publicly declared from which everybody knew I would not retire. If the bill had not been vetoed, an open collision must have spread all over the State. After I had taken my position, I received assurances of co-operation, in such a controversy, from Francis Kernan and others. THE CONTEST OF 1871. The 7th of November, 1871, was the first day when a vote of the people could even indirectly retrieve the results of the legislation of April 5, 1870. STRONG POSITION OF THE " RING " IN THE CITY. Mr. Tweed was in his office until April, 1874, Connolly until 1875, and Sweeney until 1875. They, with the mayor, were vested with the exclusive legal power of appropriating all moneys raised by taxes or MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 117 by loans, and an indefinite authority to borrow. Prac- tically tliey held all power of municipal legislation, and all power of expending as well as of appropriating moneys. They had filled the departments with their dependants for terms equally long. They wielded the enormous patronage of offices and contracts ; they swayed all the institutions of local gov- ernment, the local judiciary, the unhappily localized portion of the State judiciary, which includes the Circuit Courts, the Oyer and Terminers, the Special Terms, and the General Terms ; in a word, every thing below the Court of Appeals. They also controlled the whole machinery of elections. New York City, with its million of people, with its concentration of vast interests of individuals in other States and in foreign countries, with its conspicuous position before the world, had practically no power of self-government. It was ruled, and was to be ruled so long as the terms of these offices continued, — from four to eight years, — as if it were a conquered province. The central source of all this power was Albany. The system emanated from Albany. It could only be changed at Albany. In my speech at the Cooper Institute in 1871, I said, " They stripped every legislative power and every executive power, and all the powers of government, from us, and vested them in half a dozen men for a period of from four to eight years, who held and were to hold supreme dominion over the people of this city." I heard my friend Mr. Choate say, that the men in 118 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. power had been" elected oy your suffrage. I am sure that was a slip of the tongue. The men in power were elected hy no man's suffrage. Tlicy never could have been elected by any maris suffrage. They were put in power by the act of the Senate and Assembly of the State of New York, without consulting us or any of us. The ground that I had taken is, that as the State had put these men on us, the State must take them off. That is the reason I differ from my Demo- cratic friends of the rural districts, who say, — " What ! will you carry a local controversy into the State convention ? Will you carry it into the politics of the State, and distract and disorganize the Demo- cratic party ? " I answered, "It is too late to consider that ques- tion. For ten years the Democratic party has pledged itself to give back to New York the rights of self- government ; and when it came into power it betrayed that pledge, and violated that duty. " Alone I went to the city of Albany, and recorded my protest against the outrage. The plan was cun- ningly contrived and skilfully executed, but owed its success to a disregard of all moral obligations and all restraints of honor or principle. How was it accom- plished ? By taking a million of dollars, stolen from the tax-payers, and buying in the shambles a majority in the two houses of the Legislature. When I spoke against this charter before a com- mittee of the Senate, Mr. Tweed sitting in the chair, I MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 119 already knew that not more than one vote of the Democrats and not more than one vote of the Repub- licans would be cast against it ; but I felt it to be my duty to the people of New York and to the Democratic party, to record my protest against what I then deemed a crime against us, and a betrayal of our principles. The officers composing the " Ring" government of this city could not be removed, or their power curtailed or limited, except by new legislation. Such legislation could only be made by the concurrent action of the Assembly, Senate, and Governor. If they could hold enough of the Senators to defeat the passage of a bill changing this state of things, they could resist public opinion, and defy the vote of the people of this city, which might spend itself without results upon Aldermen and Assistants totally without power, and on a Mayor having little legal authority, and capable of being nothing more than a subordinate instrument of the executive departments. CRISIS OF THE CONTEST. The Senators who had voted on the 5th of April, 1870, with but two dissenting voices, to create this state of things, did not come within the reach of the people until the election of the 7th of November, 1871, when their successors were to be chosen. The 5th of April, 1870, and the 7th of November, 1871, were the two days of battle. The intervening time was but the interval between two battles. The 120 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. period which preceded the election of the 7th of November, 1871, was important and valuable only as a time of preparation. TIVOT OF THE CONTEST. The objective point of the battle was the legislative power of the State, the Senators, and Assemblymen. The "Ring" saw that. Early there came to me prominent gentlemen from the interior, to propose that I should name all the delegates to the State Convention to be sent by the Tammany organization, and so have no contest. The object of the * w Ring" was, to retain the prestige of " regularity ," in aid of the election of their nominees as Senators and Assemblymen. If they could hold the live Senators from the city, they had no misgivings about holding the Republican Senators from the country. At last, when I consented to have a con- ference with one of them on the basis of a resignation of all city offices, and a withdrawal from the Demo- cratic city organization and all political Leadership, the surrender c>n my terms was refused : and their reliance on holding the Senate nv means of eight republican SENATORS already secured to Mr. Tweed was avowed. A passage of my speech at the Cooper Institute is reported as follows : — w * Mr. Tweed's plan is, io carry the senatorial repre- sentation from this city, and then to re-eleet eight, and Mil. tilden's own recoed. 121 if possible twelve, of the Republican Senators from the rural districts whom lie bought and paid for last year, and (o control all the legislation that might be presented there in your behalf; and it was because I had some misgivings that this might be done, that I thought it was my duty personally to take the field and help you in this conflict. "If I had felt that the Republicans could have carried the tiling of themselves, it would have been pleasanter and easier for me to have stepped aside, and let them do it. I felt it to be my duty to the honest masses of the Democracy, and still more to the people (for party is of no value unless it can serve the people faithfully and effectually), to take my stand with the advanced col- umns of reform and good government; to take my place there, and stand or fall with those who gather round me." MY PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN. My plan of the campaign was in a single idea. It was to take away from the "Ring" the Senators and assemblymen from this city. That was to storm the central stronghold on which their lines rested, while they were extending their operations over the whole State. Their allies throughout the State in both parties would be rendered powerless, or be dispersed. I feared most their allies in the Republican party. As it, was, the Assembly was largely made up of men who had got 122 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. themselves nominated by the Republicans, in the expec- tation that Tweed would come back; and such golden, or rather greenback showers, as he had scattered during the two previous sessions, would descend upon them. Offers of a surrender of all part in the State Convention, and in the State organization, were contin- ually made in every form ; and weighty pressure was brought on me from powerful men all over the State to accept it, and so " save the party." I uniformly asked, " Who is to have- the jive Senators and twenty-one Assemblymen ? " In a speech at the State Convention, I made this issue. I said that the object of endeavoring to get a recognition of the organization then controlled by the " Ring," or of avoiding its direct repudiation, was " to go back and nominate twenty-one Members of Assembly and five Senators, and then to say to the upris- ing masses of the best intellect and moral worth of the people, 4 If you do not vote this ticket, you are out of the Democratic party.'' r I denied that the system of organization then in use in the city had any moral right to be considered regular, or to bind the Demo- cratic masses. I avowed before the convention, that I would not vote for any one of its nominees as Assembly- men or Senators. In my speech at Cooper Institute, I said, " A great many times that offer was repeated, and every thing was tendered me except the Senate and Assembly of the State of New York; but I said that every thing else was of no value for them to give, and of no value for me to MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. V2H take; that the legislation which should be made in respect to the City Government, whatever else I would promise, that I could not compromise, and I would not. [Applause.] I told the State Convention, being the nominal head of the Democratic party of the State, for the sake of perfect frankness and distinctness, and in order that I might not be misunderstood, — I told them that I felt it to be my duty to oppose any man who would not go for making the government of this city what it ought to be, at whatever cost, at whatever sacrifice. If they did not deem that regular, I would resign as Chair- man of the /State Committee, and take my place in the ranks of my plundered fellow-citizens, and help them to FIGHT THEIR BATTLE OF EMANCIPATION." OF EMANCIPATION. On this issue I staked my political existence and all my party relations throughout the State. I threw my- self into the breach in order to inspire courage in the Democratic masses of the city to break away from the prestige of a pretended but sham " regularity." HOW TO OVERTHROW THE RING IN THE POPULAR VOTE OF THE CITY. There was a Democratic majority in the city of at least forty or fifty thousand, if all the honest and only the honest votes should be polled. The party organi- zation in the city, which had been accepted bj^ the State Convention for years, in preference to the other organi- 124 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. zations that had competed with it, had fallen into the complete possession of the " Ring," and had been made a close corporation, within which no contest could be waged against them, so long as the}^ held so vast official power and patronage. All rival organizations, and nearly all spirit of opposition, had been crushed out under the operation of the enormous centralized domin- ion derived from Albany. The despondency and disbelief in the possibility of carrying the election in the city against the nominees who would be in the interest of the " Ring " was deep, almost universal, and hopeless. It is seldom that ten per cent of any party scratch the regular ticket. To the Democratic masses it was said, not only that the accused persons were innocent, but that even if they were guilt} r a great organization ought not to be destroyed for the wrong of a few individuals ; that the party was not responsible for them ; and that the par- ticular nominees were good men. How were the votes of twenty or thirty or forty thousand rank-and-file Democrats to be detached ? Nothing short of an organized revolt of the Demo- cratic masses under the best Democratic lead, with the most effective measures, and with some good fortune, could accomplish so difficult a work against such extraordinary powers as were combined to uphold the existing system. The first measure necessary was to break the pres- MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 125 tige of the organization which the " Ring " controlled as the representative of the party in the eyes of its masses ; to do this by the act of the State Convention. That was no easy matter. To able men who sympa- thized with me, it seemed impossible. It proved even more difficult than I expected. A party in power is naturally disposed to risk the continuance of abuses rather than to hazard the extreme remedy of " cutting them out by the roots." The executive power of the State, and all its recently enlarged official patronage, were exerted against such a policy. And, since the contest of 1869, the " Ring " had studied to extend its influence on the rural districts, and had showered legis- lative favors as if they were ordinary patronage. With- out having, or having had for years, the power to give an office in city or State, I stood on the traditions of the older leaders, and the moral sense of the honest masses of the Democratic party. THE TIME WHEN I ACTED. The publication by " The Times " of what is called the " secret accounts " was completed on the 29th of July. They consisted of copies, made by a clerk, of entries in a book kept in the office of the comptroller. They showed the dates and amounts of certain pay- ments made by the comptroller, with a brief description of the objects, and the names of the persons to whom the payments were made. The enormous amounts, compared with the times V2» LIFE OF Si TONES TD MKK. - 3, Uld the recuv -. . '. ■ .. 3S Is, though ins :dy wMch a criminal would lie, Use] s- I so m ' satisfied sal stautial truth of these ste . • ts, ' ;. the futility of the ans sis on Lb; a ss- sxa mil .-. who came to me with t letter fr tig bed. I: 1 5 disclosed sel pies I this S - "■'" • = I I K ' L, Mr. Green s g ssessi dub office 1 s s , I ^ _ he xe- '.. , I: • - ". - a ME. tilden's own eecoed. 135 were fruits of that possession. So also was the dis- covery of judicial proofs in the Broadway Bank, and the collection of such proofs, which continued for eight months afterwards, with important results which have not even yet become public. It divided the influence of the city government in the elections, and broke the prestige of the " Ring.'' Then began a struggle on the part of the " Ring " to force Mr. Connolly to resign, in order that Mr. Green's power might cease. On the 18th, the mayor treated Mr. Connolly's deputation of Mr. Green as a resigna- tion ; and then, with singular inconsistency, assumed to remove Mr. Connolly, though he had lately declared he had no power of removal. The vacancy thus alleged to exist, he, on two incompatible theories, eacli totally unfounded, proceeded to fill. Early that morning I sought Mr. O'Conor. The freedom from doubt of the law was no security. The moral support of his great legal name, affirming the validity of Mr. Green's possession, was necessary. He examined the statutes, and had no doubt. He consented to reduce his opinion to writing, saying that he would not take a fee, and inserting the explanation that the opinion was given at my request. It appeared hi " The Evening Post " of that afternoon. An attempt, under color of judicial process, to forci- bly eject Mr. Green, was anticipated. A carriage was 136 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. waiting to take me to Judge Brady. If a judge could be found to vacate fraudulent orders as fast as they could be granted, it was well: if not, I had resolved the next day to open an issue, in advance of the elec- tion of the new Legislature, — a Convention to revise the judiciary. Mr. O'Conor's opinion saved that day. Mr. O'Gor- man, evading the legal question, advised the mayor, as a matter of expediency, to acquiesce in Mr. O'Con- or's opinion. The plot fell to pieces. But there were men behind the mayor, who would not give up the struggle. TVhen Keyser alleged that his name on the warrants was forged, the effort was renewed. It was in resisting it that I struck on the clew which led to the revelations of the Broadway Bank. STATE CONTENTION. The contest in the State Convention quickly fol- lowed. It is but fair to admit that what I asked the Convention to do was more than any party was ever found able to venture upon. It was, to totally cut off, and cast out from party association, a local organiza- tion, which held the influence growing out of the employment of twelve thousand persons, and the dis- bursement of thirty millions a year, which had pos- session of all the machinery of local governments, dominated the judiciary and police, and swayed the officers of the election. I still think, that, on such an occasion, the greatest audacity in the right would have MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 137 been the highest wisdom, and, in the long-run, the most consummate prudence. If the Convention could not reach that breadth and elevation of action, it nevertheless did help to break the prestige by which the organization expected to inthrall the local masses. For myself, I at no time hesitated to avow, as my con- viction of duty and my rule of action, that a million of people were not to be given over to pillage to serve any party expediency, or to advance any views of State or National politics. OTHER ACTION. For more than three months I devoted myself to this contest. Whatever seemed, on a general survey of the whole field, necessary to be done, I endeavored to find the best men and best methods to do, and, at all events, to have that thing accomplished. I addressed the Democratic masses. I constantly pointed out to the public the legislative bodies as the turning-point of the controversy. I entered into an arrangement with Mr. O' Conor and Mr. Evarts to go to the Legisla- ture; and, when events afterwards induced them to abandon the intention, I went alone. I invited the meeting at which the reform delegation to the State Convention was originated, and helped to form that delegation. On the eve of the election, when Mr. Wickham, who was chairman of the newly extemporized Demo- cratic reform organization, came to me to say that they 188 5A] ins mass. Id not s se, 1 I lids v . I . sed - Is, ...'.- Ltions 1 ie purposes eb . jsnc INVES . . NS. s .. s misted rst> ids L some 5 an '. .>> stents lays sis results l as ] nun:" srs stheel * The Times ** seems to as rhis is N . ; L ires was its i I si . j di posses- Has - . - bed . - . . . » a MR. tiloen's own RECORD, 180 protended to be entitled to the payments, and that two-thirds had been divided among public officers and their accomplices ; and it traced the dividends into the actual possession of some of the accused parties. It converted a strong suspicion into a mathematical cer- tainty; and it furnished judicial proof against the guilty parties. On this evidence, and on my affidavits verifying it, the action by the Attorney-general was founded. SPEECH AT COOPER INSTITUTE. At the great " reform " meeting at the Cooper Insti- tnte, I made a speech, advocating a union of all the elements opposed to the tk Ring," without reference to State or National politics. This was done while I was the official head of the State organization of the Demo- cratic party. My action was regarded as questionable by some good men who judged it by the ordinary standard of political parties. All the secret allies o( the " Ring" throughout the State were employed, aided by most of the executive patronage, in accusing me of sacrificing the success of the State ticket, and the supremacy of the Democratic party in the State, io my effort to overthrow the M King." Complaints were in- spired from high quarters, that I had not kept back the Broadway Bank disclosures, and deferred the action by the Attorney-general until after the election. This was the basis of an organized movement against me in the Assembly, continued and renewed for a whole year 140 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. throughout the State. My own opinion was, and is, that the most vigorous and effective measures were necessary to overthrow the corrupt dominion over this city; that if they had not been taken with boldness, the immense power which had been created by the legislation of 1870, the whole local government ma- chinery with its expenditure and patronage, and its employment of at least twelve thousand persons, and its possession of the police, its influence on the judi- ciary, its control of the inspectors and canvassers of the elections, would have enabled the " Ring" to hold a majority in the city, and would have defeated all adverse legislation at Albany. And, while I never hesitated to avow that the eman- cipation of our million of people was not to be made secondary to any other object by a citizen and elector of this city, I thought and still think the timid and false policy 1 was assailed for not adopting — if I know aright the many high-minded and independent gentle- men of the interior who would not have brooked any compromise with wrong — would have been far more disastrous to the State ticket in that election, and would have permanently compromised the Democratic party. It is to the eternal honor of the Democratic masses of this State, that, on the issues thus made with me successively for a w r hole year, they gave me an overwhelming support. MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 141 DEMOCRATIC REFORM VOTE IN THE CITY. How largely the redemption of the city was due to the Democratic masses, is easily shown. The vote for Willers, the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, was 83,326 : his majority was 29,189. The vote for Sigel, the Union reform candidate for Regis- ter, was 82,565: his majority was 28,117. Willers's vote was nearly 1,000, and his majority more than 1,000, the larger. It follows that 28,653 Democrats who voted for Willers also voted for Sigel. Even that does not show the whole Democratic contribution to the reform vic- tory ; for at least 10,000 or 12,000 Democrats, dissatis- fied that the State convention had not gone farther than it did, voted the Republican State ticket. The whole Democratic vote cast for Sigel was little short of 40,000, against the 42,500 he received from all other sources. The result, so much more overwhelming than was expected by the public, not only changed the city representation in the legislative bodies of the State, but in its moral effect crushed the " Ring." So far from true is it that the " battle was over," as " The Times " alleges, when I entered it, the battle was not over till the polls closed. Even to the night before the election, general despondency prevailed. All through the contest, it was difficult to inspire the local politicians with confidence in our chances of success. Many whose sympathies, interests, and resentments were 142 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. with us held back; and some abandoned us at a late period. The Republicans in the city had little hope. The belief was general in the city and State, and among all parties, even to the election, that we should fail, and that the " Ring " would hold a majority. FURTHER COLLECTION OF PROOFS. After the election it was urged by Mr. O'Conor, Mr. Havemeyer, and Mr. Green, that I ought to continue the investigations by which the judicial evidence of the frauds should be collected and preserved ; that this work was more important than even the preparation of legislation. In deference to their views, I gave my time to the work during all the six weeks until the legislative session commenced, and in every interval at my command for many months afterwards. When the investigations commenced, there were no means by which disclosure could be compelled, that were not in the hands of the accused parties, except a grand jury whose sessions were prolonged for several months. A vast mass of accurate information has been collected and preserved, which is the basis of nearly all judicial proofs that have been obtained. JUDICIAL REFORM. It was the opinion of our best men, as it was my own, that a reform in the administration of justice, as it was carried on in the judicial department of the Supreme Court, was not only intrinsically the most MR. TILDEN'S OWN RECORD. 143 important to the welfare, safety, and honor of our community, but was a measure without which every other reform would prove nugatory ; and that the op- portunity of effecting it at the last session could not be allowed to pass unimproved without leaving us, for an indefinite period, subject to the intolerable evils and scandals which had recently grown up, and to the world-wide disrepute they had occasioned. As a citizen and a lawyer, trained amid better standards, I had seen the descent of the bench and the bar with inexpressible concern. I had often questioned with Mr. O'Conor, whether those of us at the bar, who had ceased to be dependent for a livelihood upon profes- sional earnings, ought not feel ourselves under a provi- dential call, on the first opportunity, to open to the younger members of the profession a better future than that which was closing in upon them, — a future in which personal and professional honor would not be incompatible with pecuniary success. I had advised a son of Francis Kernan, who came here to begin a career, to return to Utica, rather than confront the degrading competition to which a young man would be exposed. In the heat of an extemporaneous speech at the Cooper Institute, I had become committed to this cause. It seemed to me a paramount duty, to press a move- ment for that object with all the concentration and persistence requisite to success ; and there never was a moment by day or night, during all the session, when Ill LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDES. any thing which it was possible to do could In* safely omitted. There were several periods of general de- spondency, and frequent crises in which the cause bad to be rescued. It early came to the knowledge of Mr. Peckham, Mr. O'Conor, and myself, that a Large fund was attempted to be raised for the purpose oi' corrupting the Com- mittee and the Assembly, in the interest of tin* accused judges. Even after the impeachment was adopted by the Assembly, — when general despair was felt at the choice of managers, — the lost ground was promptly recovered by a measure initiated by myself. It was an arrangement by which the selection oi' counsel was to be satisfactory to the Bar Association, Attention to the completion of this object, to the conduct oi' the suits which had been commenced, to the gathering-in of the fruits oi' the investigations, and to other accessory work necessary to finish the original undertakings, occupied most of the summer. CONCLUSION. On the whole, 1 have given sixteen months oi' time to these public objects, with as incessant and earnest efforts as 1 ever applied io any purpose. 'The total surrender oi' my professional business during that period, the nearly absolute withdrawal oi' attention from my private affairs and from all enterprises in which 1 am interested, have cost me a loss of actual income which, with the expenditures and contributions Ml;, tilden's own recobd. L45 the contest has required, would be a respectable endow- ment of a public charity. The surrender of two sum- mers, after I bad shaped al] my engagements to take my first vacation in many years, was a serious sacrifice. I do not speak of these things to regret them. In my opinion, no instrumentality in human society is so potential in Its influence on the well-being of mankind as the governmental machinery which administers jus- tice, and makes and executes Laws. No benefaction of private benevolence could be so fruitful in benefits as the rescue of this machinery from the perversion which had made it a means of conspiracy, fraud, and crime, against the rights and the most sacred interests of a great community. The cancer which reached a bead in the municipal government of the metropolis gathered its virus from the corrupted Mood which pervades our whole country. Everywhere there are violated public and private trusts. The carpet-bag governments are cancers on the body politic, even more virulent than the New York " Ring." I felt impelled to deal with the evil here, because an offence which is directly before one's eyes is doubly an offence, and because it was within our reach i while to renovate government throughout the United States is a work of great difl&culty, taking time, large hope of the future, and Long-continued efforts towards reformation. If the world cannot be changed, it is something to make one's own home litter to live in. A reaction must begin somewhere. 1 have not lost 146 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. hope that free government upon this continent may yet be saved. I remember that nations have experienced greal changes for the better, in manners and in morals, after long periods of decay. There are some good signs in our own horizon. Last month, when a erisrantic controversy oi' the stock market reached the courts, none of the journals inquired, k * A\ 'Inch side owns the judge?" At any time within the last three years, that would have been the only theme. The money articles have ceased to treat their readers to admiring discussions o( the relative dexterity with which men o( colossal capitals, first citizens of the metropolis, representatives of its moneyed aristocracy, contend with each other in feats which have a moral aspect about like cheating at cards. Since the smell of the paper-money afflatus in 1863, the absence of such discussions is a re freshing novelty at our breakfasts. Even on the cheek iA' a member o( Congress begins to rise a delicate lute o( doubt in being discovered to have had a pecuniary interest in a public question on which he has voted. Amid the blackness of successful wrong which overspreads the whole heavens, are these little gleams o( a revival of the public conscience. If its growth shall be as steady, as rapid, and as persistent, as has been its decay during the last two years, every- where throughout the country will come revolutions of measures and o( men. If the work to which I have given so freely, accord- ing to the measure of my abilities, shall stand, I will MR. tilden's own record. 147 not compete for its honors, nor care for falsehood or calumny concerning the part I have borne in it. If it is to fail once more ; if the people of this metropolis, if the Republican citizens of culture and property, whose interests are deeply involved in a good municipal government, and who are now to show whether they will stand against bad measures in their own party, shall shamefully consent to a repetition of the fraudulent devices of the Tweed charter of 1870, — theirs, not mine, will be the responsibility. S. J. Tilden. New Yokk, Jan. 27, 1873. The preceding long quotations have been made, first, from the statements of others respecting Mr. Til- den's work in breaking up the New York " Ring ; " and second, confirmed by Mr. Tilden's statements given by himself, under his own signature, at the time. Thus it will be seen by the reader, that what is here Avritten by him has not been done since he was nominated as a candidate for the Presidency, nor for campaign pur- poses. Indeed, it would have been impossible to have given any thing like a full and fair sketch of his life, without bringing in the work which he did in destroy- ing the " Ring " which had cheated the city of New York out of ten millions of dollars, and was in a fair way to swindle it out of twenty thousand dollars more. It will, also, be seen by the reader, that I have given the statements of " The Times " newspaper, against Mr. 148 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDFN. TUden, and his answers to them, so that tlic whole sub- ject is here brought before the reader, and he can form his own opinion as to whether Mr. Tilden is worthy of praise and commendation, or of censure and blame, for the prominent part which he look in this great work. A biographer or an historian is unworthy of the trust, if he does not state facts, let them strike where they may. This the Compiler of this volume designs to do, and will do, so far as he is able from the record; and, if he did not do this, his statements would be but one-sided, and consequently unworthy of credence. CHAPTER IX. MR. TILDEN'S WAR BEOORD, And THAT OF GOVEBNOB OF THE STATU <>F Ni:\v voi:k. Gov. Tilden believed that Slaverywas guaranteed i»y the Constitu lion. — Both Garrison and Phillips believed this. — Charles Sum aer differed from them. — Mr. Tilden endeavored i<> avert the War. — When it came, In; said Pres. Lincoln .should have called ont Five Hundred Thousand Men. This was the opinion of Many Others, also. — .Mr. Tilden believed that the War should have been conducted upon Sound Financial Principles. — Many supposed Secretary Chase's Plan for raising Money a bad one, — Secretary Seward's Prediction that the war would < * 1 1 < 1 in Ninety Days. — Mr. Tilden's Record as Governor. — Quotation from Sen- ator Keinan's Speech. —The i )eniocrai,s contend that Mr. Tilden, placed in the While House, would reduce tin; National Expenses One Half. It has been intimated to me, that Mr. Tilden's w;ir record is not good. Well, my business is to give it as it was. If not good, let him bear the reproach of it. Ji' good, let him have the praise of it. That he was one of those who believed that slavery was guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, is beyond a doubt. Conservative Whigs and Conservative Democrats both believed this. Jt was 14[' our National Constitution, this huge departure from every sound principle of publio finance. The evil onoe done, it was o\' course to he undone as soon as the pressure of the real or the pretext for the supposed cause for doing it was removed. But what has the Republican party done for its removal? No sooner had the force ot Constitutional truth Wrung from a. reluctant Chief Jus- tice of the United States a oasting-vote which made a derision that prononneed the legal-tender law unconsti- tutional, than the whole force oi' the Republican admin- istration was brought to hear to produce a new majority TWO G-EEAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. M»7 of Mm' bench, and l>y that new majority to reverse what had been once judicially determined; and not only to reverse, but to declare fchat if' is competent i<> Con- gress, at any ti nk - when if- shall see fit fco assert ;»- public necessity for so doing, to create the monstrous fiction i»l a Legal-tender paper currency. The pro- curing of i lii. fatal decision is the one great achieve- ment of the Republicans on the subject of specie pay- ments since the •■li>.«' of the war. Not a single step has been taken, not a single measure has been adopted, having the smallest tendency fco bring about a resump- tion of specie payments. Having procured a declaration by a new majority of the supreme bench, fchat Congress has the power to make paper money ,-i Legal tender, fche Republicans have rested content with vague utterances of the desirableness of a return i«> specie payments, and wiili a sham promise fchat it shall come about in L879, without any mortal man of them having suggested how fchat is fco be done in 1879 which has not been done or attempted in any year of the past decade. The conse- quence of all this imbecility and incapability is, fchat business i:; utterly paralyzed. No man knows what to do, for no man can tell what the future is fco bring forth. W;is there, then, ever a clearer case for changing the administration of affairs from one party to another? What is wanted is a man of sound financial view:,, and a clear head, in the office of President of fche United States. He may go on until doomsday, trusting fco fche representati ves of fche people in either house of ( 'ongress 168 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. to reconcile the differences of opinion among their con- stituents, whose opinions they personally reflect, in the hope that soft-money men will see the error of their ways, and that hard-money men will find the concessions which they ought to make. It will all come to nothing until there is a man in the office of President who, raised above the necessity for conciliatory local opinions, grasp- ing the whole of the great problem with the hand of a master and the brain of a statesman, aiming at nothing but the welfare of the whole people, and capable of understanding what that welfare requires, shall present a plan of financial and revenue reform that will so com- mand the assent and confidence of the people that Con- gress will be compelled by the fiat of the nation at large at once to make it law. Then confidence will return, and business will revive. If we fail to get such a President, we shall blunder on and wrangle on until the poor are starving, and the rich have become the poor, and new sectional differences and collisions are added to the social disorganization. I know of no man in the nation to whom I should more willingly intrust the financial problem than I should to Gov. Tilden. He is not a rash man. He is not only comprehensive and clear-sighted, but he is cautious and conservative. He will neither ruin men by a great and sudden contrac- tion, nor will he hazard their welfare by giving way to schemes of inflation. If any man can solve this problem of a safe and speedy return. to specie payments, Gov. Tilden may be expected to do it; and, although the TWO GREAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. 169 necessary measures do not call for the exercise of the one-man power, it is eminently a question that demands for its first treatment the exercise of the one-brain power. In my daily passages between the city of New York and my country home, at this season of the year, I am obliged to pass along the East River, for a distance of about two miles, on a ferry-boat. It is absolutely appall- ing to contrast the present condition of our wharves and docks with what it was when I began, fourteen years ago, to make this passage before one of the noblest water-fronts in the world. New York had then a com- merce which it made one's heart swell to behold. Great hulls, whose enormous bulk betokened what they had brought or were to take away, lay tier on tier along the shore. Forests of masts, smoke-stacks, derricks, too thick for any unpractised eye to count, almost hid the buildings behind them from sight. The incessant rattle of the calkers' hammers made a music which any con- templative man might for a moment prefer to the orchestral harmonies of an opera-house. Notwithstand- ing that one feels like an insignificant atom in the presence of any great manifestation of collective human power and activity, there is always something exhila- rating in such a scene. It is nearly all gone. The traveller on these waters now passes whole stretches of piers at which no craft whatever is lying. In many and many a slip he sees no objects bigger than the heads of boys whom the heat of the day has driven into the 170 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. tide. Skirting, yesterday afternoon, by these melancholy places, I stood on the deck of the ferry-boat with a Republican friend, who in an unguarded moment allowed an exclamation to escape him, which showed that he felt the contrast as I did. " And yet," said I, " you are not willing to have us Democrats change the administration of the government, and try what can be done to restore our national commerce to its former prosperity." In an instant all my friend's antagonism was aroused. " No," he replied: " I will never consent that the men who made all this desolation necessary by encouraging, yes, by making the Rebellion, shall be intrusted with the government." My friend who uttered this sentiment is a man of great intelligence and purity of character ; but, knowing how fixed and inveterate are his political views, I did not continue the conversation. There are those with whom one cannot reason on this subject, because they perpetually go back from the present to the past, and, illogically putting the responsibility for the late civil war where it certainly does not belong, they argue that those who have caused great public mischiefs are not the persons to remedy them. But there are others whom one can possibly reach. It is singular that men of fair intelligence and com- mon candor should not be able to see, that, if a balance of responsibility for the late civil war were to be struck between the two political parties of the country, the larger share of blame would not fall to the Democrats. TWO GREAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. 171 But the truth is, that with no show of justice can the war be regarded as any thing but a sectional collision, having its origin in remote causes, the existence and operation of which it is idle to impute to the party action of any portion of the people, North or South, as if such party action had produced the attempted separation of the States into two nations. The war, however, like all wars of great magnitude and long continuance, has left behind it a train of enormous evils. It has exhausted the resources of the country by creating a national debt that has never yet been so managed as not to press with a terrible weight upon the industries of the people, and by the introduction of a currency which, as a medium for the measure and exchange of values, wastes every man's labor faster than he can accumulate a profit from either his labor or his capital. The removal of these evils was in the hands of the Republicans. They have had the full power of legislation and government for a period of sixteen }^ears. If they think that they are entitled to plume themselves on the fact that they car- ried us successfully through the war, what can be said of their success in freeing us from its deplorable conse- quences ? If they have demonstrated any thing since it was ended, they have demonstrated their utter inca- pacity to relieve the people from those consequences, — a fact that is so glaring and undeniable that it shows, in its turn, how little of credit is due to them, as a mere party, for the prosecution of the war, and how much its successful termination was due to the combined energies 17:2 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. of the whole people of the North, without reference to parly divisions. 'The case, then, now really stands thus : The Republican party, as a political organization, is incapable of restoring the country to a condition of prosperity ; and at the same time its leaders and politi- cians are unwilling to have the people call upon the Democratic party to undertake that duty. They expect by appeals to the merest prejudices to induce the people feo hear longer and indefinitely " the ills they have," lest they may " ily to others that they know not of." What are these other ills that they know not of? All men everywhere, of all political stripes, have accepted the national supremacy under the Constitution as it lias been established by the result of the Avar. All men everywhere have accepted as final the new social con- dition of the former slaveholding States. The Demo- cratic party, discarding all questions on which there can be any differences of opinion among honest and patriotic citizens, ask nothing but to be allowed to try to reform the administration of the Government which the Republicans have debased, and to rebuild the pros- perity of the country which the Republicans have laid waste. Yet the people are to be told that they ought not to permit this effort to be made 4 , because the South- ern slaveholders, or some oi' them who attempted to break up the Union, were formerly called Democrats. It is very much as if a steward of the name of Smith were to say to his master, kk Sir, your affairs are in great confusion : I am sorry 1 have not been able to straighten TWO GBEAT MEN'S opinions of MR. TILDEST. 173 them out. But I advise you not to employ Mr. Jones; for you remember that it was a man of Mi< v name of Jones with whom you had that great lawsuit about one of your farms; and yon know that I beat him, and saved the property for you." — " Yes," replies the un- happy owner of a great property, mortgaged with an enormous debt, — "yess I know, Mr. Smith, that you were steward when I had that lawsuit; but you made it cost two or three times what it should have cost, by your ruinous method of procuring the money. You have since so squandered and mismanaged my revenues that 1 cannot pay my honest debts. You may go. I Shall try what Mr. Jones can do for me. There is nothing but his name in common between him and my old adversary in the lawsuit." I am free to say, without metaphor or circumlocution, that if the Republican party had any thing to rely upon but its boast that " its deeds have passed into history;" if, in other words, it had manifested any power to relieve the dish-esses of the people ; if it could point to any one practical measure as an earnest that it had found and can be trusted to apply the remedy, then I should say, "In heaven's name, let it continue to govern the country!" lint it is to be presumed (bat it has put forth its strongest claims in what is called lis " platform ; " and I look through that document in vain tor a single recital of any such ground of confi- dence. I find nothing on the subject of our greatest difficulty, in this hour of supreme anxiety and distress, but this vague and indefinite resolution : — 174 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. " Fourth, In the first act of Congress signed by Pres. Grant, the National Government assumed to remove any doubts of its purpose to discharge all just obliga- tions to public creditors, and solemnly pledged its faith to make provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the redemption of the United States notes in coin. Commercial prosperity, public interests, and national credit demand that this promise be fulfilled by a con- tinuous and steady progress to specie payment." A period of nearly eight years has elapsed since this uncertain promise was put forth. What one thing has been done which shows that " a continuous and steady progress to specie payment " has even been begun ? It seems as if the wisest heads of the party had been employed in framing a palpable condemnation of their own inefficiency. They assert a promise to do some- thing, and a public duty to do it ; but in no single line of the whole document do they undertake to show that they have made any " provision " to fulfil the promise, to discharge the duty, or that they know or have conceived of any means of meeting what they say the public interest demands. Yet upon them has been the burthen, upon them has been the responsibility, in their hands has been the power, year after year, through the long and dreary period in which we have waited and waited for their action ; and now that they have noth- ing to show, and the time has come for the people to determine whether they will grant to this party a new lease of power, the people are to be cajoled with a TWO GREAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. 175 " continuous and steady progress " in that which has had no beginning, which in the nature of things can have no continuity, of which neither steadiness nor unsteadiness can be predicated, and which, in the place of progress, gives us blank vacuity and nothingness. The promises of the Republicans to restore specie pay- ment are like the promises of the currency itself. You present a greenback for payment, and you get another promise to pay. You ask for a fulfilment of pledges, and you get another pledge. Where and how is this to end ? I see no end that is possible, but to put the power and responsibility of legislation and government into other hands. Whether the people will see it in the same light, we shall know when they have acted. In the mean time, we who advocate the change have a very plain duty to perform. With great regard, and many congratulations on the results at St. Louis, I remain yours sincerely, Geo. Ticknor Curtis. Frederick O. Prince, Esq., Boston, Mass. The following quotations from a letter written by one who was a prominent member of that singular body of reformers that met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in May last, speak for themselves. It is, as will be seen, from the able pen of Parke Godwin, who was also one of the executive committee of that convention. I omit what he says of Gov. Hayes, — as I am not writing the life of that gentleman, — and take what he states of Gov. Tilden : — 176 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. Who, then, is Samuel J. Tilden ? In reply, good friends of the conference, let me speak to you from my personal knowledge. I have been intimately acquainted with Mr. Tilden for nearly forty years ; and though I have often differed with him politically, sometimes even lamenting his strong reli- ance on party agencies, I have never had the slightest occasion to suspect his absolute integrity of purpose and sincerity of conviction. In all the relations of private life, he is purity itself. At the same time he has always been a public-spirited citizen, taking an active part in whatever concerned the welfare and progress of the community in which he lived. His devotion, indeed, to public affairs, began while he was still a youth ; and his early discussions of intricate questions of finance attracted the attention of maturer minds by their singular penetration and judgment. Professionally, he has taken rank with Van Buren, Brady, O' Conor, Graham, Evarts, Kirkland, and other foremost lawyers ; and in a peculiar class of cases, — heavy and complicated railroad litigations, — he is ad- mitted to be facile princep 8. His counsel, when impor- tant and decisive action was involved, has been deemed invaluable. In still higher relations Mr. Tilden seems to me to combine more than any man now before the public, hardly excepting Mr. Adams of Massachusetts, the two great kinds of quality, theoretic and practical, which form the true statesman, — a profound under- standing of the philosophic grounds of political opin- TWO GREAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. 177 ion, and the sagacious tact and energy of the man of business. This union of theoretic insight with practical capacity has been singularly shown in his administration of the affairs of this State. New York is the largest Com- monwealth of the Union, — the largest in population, in agricultural products, in manufacturing enterprise, in commercial capital ; in a word, in the diversity and importance of its business relations. And the governor- ship there is not a mere clerical function, confined to the appointment of notaries and the signing of com- missions, as in many of the newer Western States, but an onerous, intricate, and responsible trust. The gov- ernor is invested with the veto, which makes him a part of the legislative power ; while his executive con- nection with the complicated business of the quaran- tine, the salt-works, the State prisons and charities, and an immense system of canals, imposes upon him the most varied and difficult duties. Mr. Tilden, in his short tenure of the place, has evinced a masterly fitness for all its duties. He has defeated a multitude of ill-considered and improper bills, rectified many minor errors of administration, overthrown a fraudu- lent and gigantic conspiracy, and reduced the taxation from over $15,000,000 in 1875 to less than $8,000,000 in 1876, with an assurance that, if the changes he has suggested are followed, the decrease will be two or three millions more in 1877. A part of this reduction is due to the extinction of the bounty debt, but the 178 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. rest to Gov. Tilden's direct efforts and influence. I have said that Mr. Tilden was more of a partisan than suited my own temperament ; but I ought in justice to add that he was never so much of a partisan as to render him insensible to the higher duties of the citizen. lie separated from the bulk of his own part}^ in this city, with other Free-Soilers of this State, when we thought it advisable to protest against certain encroach- ments of slave power. He separated from the bulk of his party in this city when he undertook to beat down the infamous Tweed gang, intrenched by the laws, and possessed of an almost overwhelming force. It was against the advice of many of the most eminent men of his own party, that he assailed the Canal Ring, whose ramifications extended through nearly every county in the State, and whose wealth and influence were supposed to be invincible. And it was against a large and Avell-eombined faction of his own party, that he lifted it at St. Louis out of the quagmires of doubt and error in which it was floundering, and placed it on the high ground of its ancient traditions. Mr. Tilden is cautious and wary, and never acts until assured of foothold on truth and right ; but then he is as tena- cious in pursuit as a sleuth-hound, and absolutely inflexible. CONCLUSION. And now, appealing to every impartial member of the conference to dismiss his ancient party animosities and prejudices, I ask him to consider the words of our TWO GREAT MEN'S OPINIONS OF MR. TILDEN. 170 address describing the political situation, as quoted and often published ; I ask him to consider the demands it made of the conventions, and the character of can- didate it presented as a sine qua non, — and then say which of the parties has most nearly met the require- ments. The Republican party, which is responsible for the greater part of the widespread demoralization, is substantially unchanged. It will be for the next four years what it has been for the past eleven years. A candidate chosen expressly for his neutral qualities will not direct its tendencies, or infuse vigor or con- sistency into its councils. Its leadership will continue to be, as heretofore, in the hands of its Blaines, its Conklings, its Mortons, its Camerons, its Logans, and its Kelleys. On the contrary, the Democratic party, abjuring its former errors, and rising to the full de- mands of the situation, puts itself into essentially new hands. Its standard-bearer, a sagacious, prudent, most accomplished statesman, inured to management, and fresh from desperate conflicts with the enemies of pure government, lias lifted it to a higher plane of faith, and will also lift it to a higher plane of practice. But he must be sustained by good men everywhere who sympathize in his objects. He has brought us the re- enforcement of a mighty organization ready to adopt our cause, and to fight our battle : can we turn it away ? Can we, sinking back into the blindness of mere partisan feeling, neglect this glorious opportunity, which puts an overwhelming vote at our disposal, for 180 LIFE OF SAMUEL JONES TILDEN. the rescue of the Government? I do not well see how there can be two answers ; but, be that as it may, I who have for many years stood by this noble man, and been the eye-witness of his gallant fights with "the beasts at Ephesus," would be recreant to the labor and aspirations of my whole life, not to lend him my heartiest support. Parke Godwin. Roslyn, L.I., July 18, 1876. / / / s I V , f V y X V V V V t / \ v r M / SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. THOMAS ANDREWS HENDEICKS. CHAPTER XL SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. Birthplace of Gov. Hendricks. — Education. — Graduates at Hanover College. — Studies Law in Pennsylvania. — Settles in Indianapolis. — Is chosen to the State Legislature. — Also to the State Conven- tion. — Is elected a Member of Congress. — Also Senator. — Re- turns to the Practice of Law. — Is chosen Governor. — His Views on the Finances. — A Hard Money Man. — Description of His Per- son. — He is Married, but has no Children. It is well known that Mr. Hendricks is now Gov- ernor of the State of Indiana. He was born in Mus- kingum County, O., Sept. 7, 1819 : consequently he is nearly fifty-seven years old. His father removed to Shelby County, Ind., when the present Governor was but three years old. Though he was born in a neigh- boring State, this fact has not affected his popularity in Indiana ; for, indeed, many of the citizens of this State originated in Ohio, and Mr. Hendricks, having spent his childhood and youth in the younger Commonwealth, 183 184 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. has been identified with all its interests, whether pros- perous or adverse. The following account of the services of Gov. Hen- dricks is from the pen of one who has known him well, and seems so far correct that it has passed under the inspection of his Excellency with approval : — No man in the State is now more generally loved, and certainly no one is less hated. His youth was not a season of hardship ; and he received a liberal educa- tion, graduating at Hanover College in 1841. He then studied law at Chambersburg, Penn., and was admitted to the Bar at that place in 1843. He returned to Indiana immediately after, and entered upon the prac- tice of his profession. His success was rapid and well earned. There was a charm about him that won him hosts of friends. He was pure in morals, and not merely upright in character, but solicitous to preserve himself from even the appearance of evil. He was careful in money matters, and slowly accumulated his present moderate fortune, although his practice was often interrupted by political service, and his expenses increased to meet the social requirements of official station. At the bar he was distinguished for learning, subtlety, and eloquence. His temperament is such that at times he flings aside his habitual courtesy and cau- tion, and gives free rein to his aggressive impulses. He was ever on such occasions a dangerous opponent. In comparing him as a lawyer with his rival Morton, it is common to say that Hendricks was apt to be SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 185 worsted before a jury, and his rival had no chance before a judge. In 1848 Mr. Hendricks was chosen a member of the State Legislature ; and in 1850 he served in the State Constitutional Convention. During the next five years, he represented the Indianapolis district in Congress, and for four years afterwards was Commissioner of the General Land Office. In the memorable campaign of 1860, he ran for Governor against Henry S. Lane, and was defeated. Lane was chosen United States Senator immediately after his inauguration, and Oliver P. Mor- ton succeeded to the governorship. In the election of 1862, there was a political revulsion, and Indiana elected a Democratic legislature. Mr. Hendricks was then chosen Senator for the term ending in March, 1869. This was a period during winch the Democratic party in the Senate was represented by a weak minority. Nothing was possible save an able protest against the various reconstruction measures adopted ; and this was to be made in the face of strong popular prejudice throughout the country, as well as strong opposition in the Senate-Chamber. Mr. Hendricks at once took the lead among the Democrats, and made for himself a national reputation. It is a common criticism upon him, that he is timid and cautious : let those who think so read the debates during his term of office, and they will be astonished to find the Indiana Senator ever active and aggressive. It is a sufficient proof of the ability and success of 186 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. Mr. Hendricks in the Senate, that towards the close of a single term he had placed himself among the fore- most men of his party, and become a prominent candi- date for the Presidency. In the Convention of 1868, he was brought forward, and one time led all other candi- dates, receiving the solid vote of New York and the North-west. Ohio, however, which had been compelled to abandon its own candidate, was determined to defeat all other Western men ; and the delegates from that State threw their vote for Horatio Seymour persist- ently, and finally produced a stampede of the whole Convention to his support. In Indiana that year, he ran for governor a second time, and was a second time defeated. His opponent was Gov. Conrad Baker ; and so close was the contest, that Mr. Hendricks only fell nine hundred and sixty- one votes behind. After his retirement from the Senate in 1869, Mr. Hendricks returned to the practice of his profession at Indianapolis ; and, although he had not been successful in his candidacy before the National Convention, he was at least well before the country, as a man to be considered on all occasions when a Presidential nomi- nation was to be made. He himself never lost the consciousness that the eye of the public was on him, and always acted with circumspection, as if anticipating the blaze of a national canvass, and desirous of keeping his record clear. The unfortunate nomination of Gree- ley in 1872, and the fusion with the so-called Liberal SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 187 Republicans, postponed the clay of ambition ; and Mr. Hendricks, acquiescing in what appeared to be the popular will, gave in his hearty approval to the new departure. He was not allowed to remain idle during the canvass. Against his earnest protest he was again nominated for the Governorship. The campaign was a bitter one, and almost disastrous to the Democracy throughout the country. The result in Indiana was bad, but far better than in most other localities. The Republicans carried the legislature, and elected all of their State ticket except the Governor and the super- intendent of public instruction. The majorities were very small, but they were enough. The personal popu- larity of Gov. Hendricks carried him through. As a man, courteous in social intercourse, an influential member of an influential church, clean and respectable in all his walks and ways, he was fortunate to have for his opponent Gen. Tom Browne, a man who had served creditably in the war, but who had brought into civil life the recklessness and dissipation which are forgiven to the soldier, but make the statesman distrusted. It was to Browne's further disadvantage, that the temper- ance sentiment was at that time, as it has since been, very strong in Indiana; and the first stirring of that spirit which afterwards broke out in the temperance crusade was then felt. As the fanatics on this subject are mostly Republicans, it was a severe trial to their allegiance to be compelled to vote for a man whom, had he been a Democrat, they would have described as 188 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. a drunkard. Browne hardly mended the matter by saying, in his speech before the Convention which nominated him, that, if by eating meat he had hitherto offended his brother, he would eat meat no more. " Eating meat " became a cruel piece of campaign slang. With these circumstances in his favor, Gov. Hendricks won by a majority of 1,148. In general terms, it may be said of his Administration, that it has been able, conscientious, high-minded. He has aimed fairly to do his duty, and his official conduct cannot be criticised. The whole legislative session of 1875 was a struggle between the House and the Senate for partisan advan- tage ; and the decisive stroke by which the Governor, who had watched the contest impartially, stepped in, in behalf of the public good, and put an end to the strife, was admirable. The session was limited by law ; and the Republican Senate, adopting the tactics which the Senate at Washington is now pursuing, refused con- currence in the measures adopted by the House, and, although conference Committees had agreed upon all vital questions, delayed action until after midnight on the last day, hoping in this way to block the business of the State, or force the Democrats into a long and expensive extra session, which would condemn the party in a Granger community. The session closed on Saturday night ; and the Governor issued his Procla- mation on Monday, re-assembling the Legislature on Tuesday, without giving the members a chance to SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND FUBLIC SERVICES. 189 scatter, and politely suggesting, that, although they had a right to stay forty days, it would be much healthier for them to do their work and go homo before the close of the week. They gathered together like little lambs. The whole scheme of making party capital, one way or the other, was abandoned. Thc} r took up their work where they had laid it down, finished it, and were gone by Saturday, much to the gratification of all good citizens. Since the action of the Cincinnati Convention refus- ing to indorse the resumption act, the financial issue will not be likely to play an important part in the campaign; but it may be well to give some facts in regard to Gov. Hendricks's course during the great currency agitation of the last two years. At the begin- ning of the clamor for more money, in the Fall of 1873, he was not in any way called upon to express his opinions on financial questions ; and, although his con- victions on those topics were based on sound old Demo- cratic principles, it was his nature to sympathize with the distress which he saw about him in every direction, rather than set out to preach to the people the narrow and difficult path to salvation through self-denial and suffering. The strength of the popular conviction, that relief was possible through inflation, could hardly be over-estimated. Some believed firmly that unlimited quantities of paper money, issued on the faith of the Government, was the true American theory of finance. Others knew that such an issue of irredeemable paper 190 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. would only afford temporary relief, to be followed by greater disaster ; but they hoped to be safe before the next storm, if they should weather that which was on them. All advocated the inflation of the currency with a fierceness which brooked no resistance ; and the old- fashioned leaders, who might have thrown themselves across the course of popular opinion, had they imagined what way it was tending, found the tide grow too strong and furious to withstand ; and most of them went with it. Whoever was recognized as a hard-money man was considered in some sort as a traitor to the West, and a public enemy. The feeling on this point has been modified to a great extent during the past year ; and the objective point of the paper-money men has changed. The purpose now avowed is not an increase of the currency so much as the maintenance of the present standard, and the substitution of greenbacks for national bank-notes. The movement has ceased to be wholly aggressive. Under the circumstances, the course of Gov. Hendricks, when it became his duty to take an active part in the discussion of the issues of the day in the canvass of 1874, was wise and manly. To be sure, he did not advocate the sound theories of finance with the vigor of Kerr, or proclaim his convic- tions with the good-tempered firmness of McDonald ; but he maintained his opinions none the less effectively because he adopted a conciliatory tone. He presided over the Democratic Convention held in July at Indian- apolis, as we have already said ; and, in his address on SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 191 taking the chair, argued that gold and silver were the true basis of our currency, and that the proper method of returning to specie payments was through the grow- ing-up process, — the development of the resources of the South, the increase of production, and the retrench- ment of public and private expenditures. The platform adopted by the Convention was an essentially unsound one, so far as the financial planks are concerned ; and in the subsequent canvass Mr. Hendricks took occasion to define distinctly the points of difference between its doctrines and his own opinions. How many of the politicians who have been so glib in censuring him would have done as much? It is common, among Republicans in the East, to pretend that in this canvass the currency issue was drawn between the two parties. The fact is, both were strongly for inflation ; and the victory of the Democrats was won on the general record of the Administration, of which the panic of 1874 had broken the prestige. In illustration of Mr. Hendricks's teachings at this time, we give an extract from his address to the Democratic Convention. After arguing against the hasty contraction of our paper circulation, checking labor and paralyzing enterprise on the one hand, and against undue inflation, which would lead to depreciation and a reckless spirit of speculation and adventure on the other, he said : — " We desire a return to specie payments. It is a seri- ous evil, when there are commercial mediums of differ- ent values, — when one description of money is for one 102 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. class and purpose, and another for a different class and purpose. We cannot too strongly express the impor- tance of the policy that shall restore uniformity of value to all the money of the country, so that it shall be al- ways and readily convertible. That gold and silver are the real standard of value, is a cherished Democratic sentiment, not now nor hereafter to be abandoned. But I do not look to any arbitrary enactment of Congress for a restoration of specie payments. Such an effort now would probably produce widespread commercial dis- aster. A Congressional declaration cannot make the paper currency equal to gold in value. It cannot make a bank-note equal to your dollar. The business of the country alone can do that. When we find the coin of the country increasing, then we may know that we are moving in the direction of specie payments. The im- portant financial question is, How can we increase and make permanent our supply of gold? The reliable solu- tion is by increasing our productions, and thereby redu- cing our purchases and increasing our sales abroad. He can readily obtain money who produces more than he consumes of articles that are wanted in the market; and I suppose that is also true of communities and nations. How can the Republican party atone to the people for its evil policies, which have driven gold from the coun- try, and rendered a return to specie payments more difficult, and made its postponement inevitable ? " In reality Gov. Hendricks is probably a more genu- ine hard-money man than Gov. Hayes, and would SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 193 perhaps differ from him on financial policy only in his opposition to national banks, and his willingness to sub- stitute Government notes for bank circulation. On questions of State policy Mr. Hendricks has shown masterly knowledge; but there is one matter upon which he has been especially solicitous, namely, the School question of Indiana. As a member of the Constitutional Convention, he was active in securing ample provision for popular education, and placing its support beyond the vicissitudes of politics. Impressed with the value of the work then accomplished, he has since repeatedly insisted upon the most anxious watch- fulness over the growth and perfection of the system, and relaxed in its favor his Democratic prejudices toward strict construction and economy. Gov. Hendricks is a man of medium height and symmetrical form. He is erect, active, and vigorous. His face is manly and handsome. The features are large and expressive ; and while there is a soft, good- humored expression in the large blue eye and in the mouth and dimpled chin, the brow, forehead, and full, heavy jaw, show wisdom and resolution. His com- plexion is florid ; and his hair and side-whiskers are yet untouched with gray. He looks like one who has lived a happy life, encountered no great sorrow, and yielded to no great vices. Though he has for years been taught to regard the Presidency as within his grasp, his ambition has been rather a sort of rational longing for the honor, than an insatiable thirst for 194 THOMAS AMMtKWS BENDBIOKS. power. His disposition is as sunny as his oomplexion ; and in social life he is a great favorite. To acquaint- ances he is affable and easy, to close 4 friends warm and lovable, to political partisans courteous hut cau- tious, lie would rather conciliate an enemy than oblige an ally. His habits are such that he found five thousand dollars a year ample lor his expenditures during his senatorial term at Washington, lie has always t rusted to doing the work which he had in hand well, as in the highest recommendation, in the long-run, before the people : and the many honors which have come to him seem to have been conquered without great effort. His voice is a rather thin tenor, and has nothing Imposing in its tones, hut is audible to great distance when he speaks with earnestness. lie appears to the best advantage before a. crowd, nu- llum he kindles with the excitement of the occasion; ami an interruption or a jest from some dissenting auditor is all that is necessary to make him forget his habitual deliberative cast of thought, and ding himself into dashing and aggressive argument, (hie o( the features o( his career has been the long rivalry between him and Morton, — a rivalry in which the bitterness was all on erne side. In all combinations in his behalf, his friends have taken the possibility of the continuance of that rivalry for the highest prize in the nation into account. Now that Morton is out of the Held, they can probably promise, without a mental reservation, to carry Indiana for their favorite. SKETCH OF HI8 LUTE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 1 9. r > Mr. Hendricks is an Episcopalian m religion. His wife is a woman of great culture, and force of character, — one formed to be a man's comrade in the path of honor, rather than a source of temptation. They have no children. CHAPTER XII. SPEECH OF HON. THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, AT ZANES- VILLE, O., SEPT. 3, 1875. Reference to Gov. Allen. — Gov. Hendricks on the Republican Fi- nancial Policy. — Specie Payments. — Republican Obstructions to Resumption of Specie Payments. — Extravagant Expenditures. — Vices in the Public Service. — District of Columbia. — Change the only Remedy. As I gave Gov. Tilden's life, first by the historian, and then let him speak for himself, so I have given a sketch of Gov. Hendricks in the last chapter, from another : I now allow him to speak for himself. It has been said of some of the papers that have published a single sentence of his financial creed, " They dare not publish one of his Speeches entire : " I here give the whole of one of his Addresses, verbatim et literatim : — Fellow-Citizens, — I think the re-election of Gov. Allen very important ; and therefore, upon the invita- tion of your State Executive Committee, I stand before you to-day. I understand that it is quite customary to confer upon your governors, whose administrations are acceptable to the people, the honor of a re-election. 196 SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 197 Such a custom seems to be consistent with the public interest. The official term is so short, that within its limit an important policy or work can hardly be estab- lished or completed. The honor of a re-election was conferred upon Gov. Hayes : why shall it be denied to Gov. Allen ? I think I am safe in saying that his administration is acceptable to the people. It has been true and faithful to them. And towards its political opponents it has been liberal, if not generous. Avoiding their spirit and practice of proscription and partisan hatred, it has not treated them as unworthy citizens, and unfit to be trusted, but has allowed them to share in the responsibilities and honors, as they do in the burthens, of the public service. Does Gov. Allen not possess the personal qualities which you admire ? Is he not clear in his judgment to discern the right, and sincere to approve it, and strong and bold to maintain it ? Do you not know and feel that he is a fit repre- sentative of the giant greatness of your State, as he is of the stalwart statesmen in whose association most of his public life was spent ? You distrust neither his judgment, nor the purity of his motives. Why, then, shall he not receive the honor, and the State the bene- fit, of his re-election ? There is but one answer. The Republican leaders cannot afford it. It will endanger their hold upon power, and will loosen the grasp of the eighty thousand office-holders upon their rich emolu- ments. Already, from every quarter, they are upon you. Did you not see the circular address of Mr. 108 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. Edmunds, the postmaster at Washington City, to the office-holders throughout the land, for money ? I sup- pose the Congressional Committee did not expect it to become public. The sums thus realized are enormous. A levy upon eighty regiments of office-holders will fill the party coffers to overflowing. To what uses is it to be applied? No national contest calls for universal bribery. Ohio is the object of attack, because six? is powerful and influential, arid will stand almost alone in October. To the full extent of the influence which your election will exert, you are in the midst of the national contest. So this question is precipitated upon you : Is it for the good and welfare of the people to continue the managers of the Republican party in uninterrupted and permanent control ? For many years they have held absolute control. In the spirit of cruel proscription they have excluded Democrats and Liberals from all participation. They have had their own way absolutely. And, according to all fair judg- ment, they carry the entire responsibility for our present condition. Our country is unsurpassed, if not unequalled, in material resources, — in the elements of great wealth. Our people are, in an eminent degree, energetic, intelligent, and industrious. Yet every interest languishes, and the people suffer. Frightened capital is concealed, and labor stands upon the street- corners begging employment. Month by month, the shadows grow and darken over the land. When evils become intolerable, the remedy of the SPEECH AT ZANBSVILLE, O. 109 people is in a change of administration. That is your policy, even in private life. You do not continue an agent under whose management your capital disappears, and your debts increase; and even when you do not see the causes, and cannot locate the fault, you will organize a change before your ruin is complete. Your physician is not continued, although lie may have had your confidence, after you see that he is not prepared to contend with the calamities that threaten your family. You will not sacrifice all your little Hock to a former devotion. Of course you know that the leaders propose no reforms. The present policies and conduct of public affairs, in their judgment, reach the summit of human wisdom; and Gen. Grant's administration furnishes the world and coming generations the model to be imitated and the example to be followed. In their speeches this year, they say, that, in respect to its efforts to promote the purity of the public service, it eclipses all Democratic administrations, and that no President has come out of the office clearer than Gen. Grant. If so, it is plain that no change should be made. In their State platform they declare to you that, " because of the distinguished success of his administration," Pies. Grant is entitled to the gratitude of his countrymen. If, indeed, that be sincerely stated, and you really regard his administration as separated from all others by its superior qualities and extraordinary excellence, then, as true men, you want no change in the conduct 200 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. of public affairs, but you desire that, as this adminis- tration is, so its successor shall be. REPUBLICAN FINANCIAL POLICY. But before striking a blow at Gov. Allen, only to perpetuate the present conduct and policies, will you not carefully consider the same, and decide whether that be your real judgment ? Upon finance, what do you want your vote to mean ? Do you wish it to be an approval and indorsement of the policy of the Repub- lican party on that subject ? That policy is found in the act of the 14th of last January. Gov. Morton informed the people of Ohio that it was the result of consultation and compromise, and that every Republi- can Senator, save one, voted for it, as did all the Republicans in the House, except a few from the Eastern States. No Democrat in the Senate voted for it ; and I am not aware that it received any Democrat's support in the House. In the speech at Marion, Mr. Senator Sherman declared that he reported the measure, advocated and voted for it, and heartily defends and approves it ; that it was the result of the most careful deliberation ; that it definitely declares a public policy ; and that it is the fixed policy of the Republican party, " and no step backward." And now, as that act declares the deliberate purpose and fixed policy of that party upon a most important question, it should be accurately and generally understood. The first section provides for the substitution of silver coin for the frac- SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 201 tional currency. The silver is not in the treasury, and must be purchased. The special despatch to "The Cincinnati Commercial " of the 14th, last month, says that the Secretary of the Treasury will be obliged to sell between thirty and forty millions of five per cent bonds for that purpose. The direct effect is to increase our interest-bearing debt about forty millions, and the annual interest two millions ; in other words, it is the conver- sion of a domestic debt which bears no interest, into a foreign debt bearing interest. The silver coin, when so issued, will not be a legal tender beyond five dollars ; and its depreciation below gold will be nearly if not quite as great as that of the currency which it is to displace. The second section repeals the law which allows a charge for coining bullion, and is proper. The third and remaining section removes legal restrictions and limitations, so as to allow free banking. It also pro- vides, that, upon the issue of bank-bills to the banks, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem legal-tender treasury-notes to the extent of eight}' per cent of the bank-bills so issued, until the volume of the legal- tender treasury-notes outstanding shall be reduced to $300,000,000. The effect of that provision is to sub- stitute national bank paper for legal-tender notes to the extent of about $82,000,000 of the latter. The section then provides that " on and after the first day of January, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and sev- enty-nine, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem 202 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. in coin the United States legal-tender notes then out- standing, on their presentation for redemption at the office of the Assistant Treasurer of the United States, in the city of New York, in sums of not less than fifty dollars." Thus, by the process of redemption and sub- stitution, all the legal-tender notes are to be taken from circulation, and the currency of the country is to be coin and bank-bills. In other words, it was intended to give the national banks the entire field, notwith- standing the same Congress, in the month of June before, had given the country the assurance that the legal-tender circulation should remain at $382,000,000. Such was the construction given to the act of June, 1874, whilst it was pending in the Senate. I have given you the language of that provision of the act requiring the Secretary of the Treasury, on the first day of January, 1879, and thereafter, to redeem the legal- tender notes " then outstanding ; " because it had been stated to the people of Ohio, that " the bill provided that the greenbacks should not be retired so as to leave less than $300,000,000 in circulation." From the lan- guage of the law, you will perceive that all the legal- tender notes that are not displaced by bank-bills are to be redeemed and taken out of circulation. Do you wish your vote to approve this measure, and fasten it upon the country ? I was called upon to preside over the Democratic convention of Indiana, last year. In my address to that bod} r , upon this subject, I said, " Our paper currency consists of treasury-notes, declared by SPEECH AT ZANESV1LLE, O. 203 Congress to be lawful money, and national bank-notes. I am not in favor of the policy that proposes to retire the treasury-notes, to make room for an increase of national banks and their paper. The treasury-notes are the cheaper currency to the people, and command public confidence. They arc not irredeemable. For their value they rest upon the pledge and conscience of the country. The relation between the holder and the government is direct. The people are not required to pay interest upon national bonds deposited as the basis of their security and value, as in the case of bank- notes. Passing everywhere, and without question, they are the favorite and popular currency." I ask your very careful consideration of the last provision of the act. It would have been idle" as well as vicious, for Congress to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem the legal tenders in coin without making provision for the same. To meet the necessity the act provides : " And, to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare and provide for the redemption in this act authorized or required, he is authorized to use any surplus revenues from time to time in the treasury not otherwise appropriated ; and to issue, sell, and dispose of, at not less than par, in coin, either of the descriptions of bonds of the United States, described in the act of Congress approved July 14, 1870, entitled 'An Act to authorize the Refunding of the Public Debt,' with like qualities, privileges, and exemptions, to the extent necessary to carry this act 204 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. into full effect; and to use the proceeds thereof for the purposes aforesaid. And all provisions of law inconsist- ent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed." At the passage of this act, there was outstanding, as I suppose, $382,000,000 of legal-tender notes, as provided in the act of June, 1874. Should the $82,000,000 be retired by the substitution of bank-notes under the first section, then there will remain $300,000,000 to be redeemed with gold. It is not probable that the $82,000,000 will be entirely displaced by bank-notes : if not, an excess of the $300,000,000 will remain for redemption in gold. That excess will probably equal the surplus revenues in gold that the secretary will find available for the purposes of the act. I suppose it may therefore be assumed that the secretary will be required to sell five per cent bonds to meet $300,000,000 of treasury-notes. The immediate and direct effect of the measure will be to increase our debt bearing interest $300,000,000, and an annual interest of 15,000,000 in gold. If we add the $40,000,000 of bonds that must be sold to buy silver to displace the fractional currency, we have, in this measure, an increase of the interest-bearing debt of $340,000,000 ; and, of the annual interest, of $17,000,000 in gold. The bonds will be sold in Europe. This administration conducts all such transactions through a European syndicate, or combination of banks. Thus the debt will be a foreign one, and will add $17,000,000 to the enormous annual exportation of gold to meet interest. SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 205 What consideration of obligation or of good policy can support this measure ? In the midst of a financial crisis so serious as to disturb the foundations of our prosperity, we are to add this large sum to our foreign debt. Why is it done ? The $382,000,000 of treasury- notes are held exclusively by our own people. It is a domestic debt. The holders are not asking its redemp- tion. For the present they want it to remain circu- lating among them as "lawful money," The treasury- notes were issued as legal tenders at a time when they were supposed to be essential to the maintenance of the public credit. It was deemed expedient to issue a portion of the government's credit in the form of currency ; and therefore the treasury-notes bear a double character. They are at once the evidence of a government debt, and are* a medium of commerce ; a debt to be paid, and legal tenders to be used. They were so issued by the government, and so accepted by the people. No time was fixed for their redemption. The people received them, leaving that to the pleasure and conscience of the government. In the mean time, they have been used as money. Then, in accordance with the purpose of their issue, should they be with- drawn so as to injure business and labor until as good or a better currency can take their place ? Every obligation of the government must be met and dis- charged. Whoever questions the fidelity of the Democ- racy to the country's honor, in that respect, speaks without regard to truth. I fully recognize the obliga- 206 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. tion for the redemption of the treasury-notes ; but I cannot feel that it must he discharged at a time when it may seriously add to our embarrassments, and when the people who hold them do not desire it. In our present condition, any addition to our foreign gold obligations is a calamity. Will you vote to convert this domestic, non-interest-bearing debt, into a foreign, interest-bearing, gold debt ? In this statement, I have made no estimate for the sale of bonds, and increase of interest-debt, which may be necessary to enable the secretary to redeem the $82,000,000 legal tenders, which are to be displaced as bank-bills issue. It is now my duty to call your attention to other probable consequences of this measure, more frightful than those which I have exposed. As the time for the redemption of the treasu*ry-notes in gold approaches, and the Secretary prepares for their redemption b}^ the sale of bonds and the accumulation of gold in the treasury, they will rapidly advance in value. During the period of two years before the redemption com- mences, persons who are able to hold money out of active use will accumulate and retire the treasury- notes for the profit of their increasing value. The banks are permitted by law to redeem their bills in treasury-notes. So long as the bills and notes are about the same value, the bills are not presented to the banks for payment. But, as soon as the treasury-notes advance in value, they will be presented for payment. The banks will anticipate that probable result, and SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 207 will prepare for it by hoarding the treasury-notes for the redemption of their paper. The probable conse- quence will be, that under these influences the treas- ury-notes will, for a considerable period of time, be withdrawn from circulation, and our currency will be contracted to nearly one-half its quantity. As rapidly as the treasury-notes are used in the redemption and retirement of the bank-bills, they will be presented at the treasury for redemption in gold, and will disappear forever. I know it is said, that, as soon as it is estab- lished that they are redeemable in gold, they will not be presented, as they will then be as good as gold. To some extent that would be true in a time of established composure and confidence ; but that will not be the condition of our country whilst this law is being executed. Do you not present your negotiable paper at maturity, merely because you have confidence in the ability and willingness of your debtor ? How long do you think the gold paid out in the redemption of the treasury-notes will remain in the country? Will it pass along the veins and arteries of business, and give life and energy ? In a time of general confidence it might be so, but not whilst this law is being exe- cuted. Public confidence and financial stability cannot be made to rest upon borrowed gold. This measure will increase our gold obligations abroad, and, because of contraction, will reduce production at home. This flow of gold abroad will continue, and the borrowed gold will soon be gone. 208 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. In this presentation of the subject I have not con- sidered the possibility of any extraordinary foreign demand. Any great financial crisis abroad, or disturb- ance of the peace of Europe, would cause our bonds to be thrown upon our market in large quantities, and a corresponding draft upon our supply of gold. I do not believe we can rely upon this measure for any supply of gold to our domestic currency that will be permanent or useful. Substantially our reliance for a currency must, then, be upon the banks. Will they be in a condition to supply it ? The retirement of the treasury-notes will leave them under the obligation to redeem in gold only. Can they meet that obligation ? And, with the known uncertainty in the supply of gold, will they venture to throw their paper upon the cur- rents of trade in quantities at all adequate to the demands of legitimate business? The act permits free banking; and the bills are yet redeemable in treasury-notes. What has been the result? The statement of the comptroller, made on the Gth of July, shows that since the passage of the law, Jan. 14, 1875, to the 1st of July, nearly half a year, the increase of bank currency is but $7,558. Does this statement justify the opinion, that, after the treasury-notes have ceased to be available for redemption, the banks will venture their paper upon the disturbed currents of business ? I believe the financial policy of this admin- istration, and of the party which supports it, as expressed in this act of Congress, will so contract the SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 209 currency as to paralyze all legitimate business, and leave labor in rags begging for employment. I know the opinion is entertained, — for I have heard it expressed by many, — that the law is so clearly impoli- tic that its execution will not be attempted. Did the President, in his first inaugural, not say that all laws should be executed, whether they met his approval or not ? But the law is now being executed. Many millions of dollars of the bonds have already been sold to provide the means for the retirement of the oustanding currency. Is this terrible blow to fall upon the industries of the country ? Ohio stands in the van. She should make her great strength so felt that even Senator Sherman, who reported the measure, will re- spect, it in a movement for repeal. If Gov. Allen be elected, I believe it will be repealed, so great is the power of the people. But Senators Sherman and Mor- ton, in their keynote speeches, declared to the people of Ohio that this is the party policy to be approved and stood by. May it not well be claimed that Gov. Allen's defeat is its approval and indorsement by the people ? Will you, then, expect the Senate to consent to its repeal ? However earnest we may be for a return to specie payment, we cannot wish to reach it through universal bankruptcy, and a frightful increase of our foreign public debt. Because of my strong belief that this measure is fraught with calamity to the commercial interests, to the industrial pursuits, and to the labor of the country, I have responded to fhe committee's invi- 210 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. tation, without reference to many other questions that may be discussed among you. Have you considered the reasons which Senator Sherman says controlled his party in passing this law ? He himself wanted another measure ; whether better or worse than this, I need not consider. He wished to fund the treasury-notes until the residue should be at par with gold ; by how great a contraction, neither he nor I can say ; how destruc- tive to business, no one can say. Probably the country would become strewn with broken fortunes, and the highways filled with wretched men seeking employ- ment. His party friends would not agree to it. He says they had gone into the canvass of last year with divided counsels; and the result was defeat. When they met last winter, they were taught by the defeat that the party in power must agree upon some measure ; and the result was the passage of this law. It is a strange statement, — - confession, I may say, — - that a law affecting every interest of the people was the child of party necessity. Will you adopt it and rear it, that it may destroy you? Your decision will be in your vote. SPECIE PAYMENTS. Having stated my objections to the last-developed financial policy of the administration and its party, I ask your permission to read what I said to the people of Indiana last year, in respect to specie payments : " The expression in favor of a return to specie pay- ments is very general ; but the real question is, When SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 211 and how can that be accomplished ? So long as the supply of coin is so small as compared with the paper money, it is impossible. The effort now would probably result in commercial disaster. The people so believe. No sentiment attributed to Mr. Greeley in 1872 was more hurtful to his political fortune than the demand for immediate specie payments. To render it possible, without hurt to the country, coin and paper must come nearer together in quantity. They will then he nearer, if not uniform, in value. How shall that be brought about? By reducing the paper currency? With the present burthen of National, State;, and local taxation, and the large volume of other indebtedness to be pro- vided for, that cannot be borne. It would cramp busi- ness, and paralyze labor. No one desires a return to specie payments more earnestly than myself; for I believe gold and silver are the real standard of values, universal and permanent. As I had occasion once before to say, the existence of commercial mediums of different values — one deseription of money for one class and purpose, and another for a different elass and purpose — is too serious an evil to be long endured. All the money of the country should be of uniform value, and readily eonvertible. But we are not in that condition. Our paper money exceeds the coin by nearly five dollars to one. How shall we bring them nearer together in (juantity, that they may approach and meet in value ? Shall we commence at the top, and tear down, or at the bottom, and build up? Business, 212 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. enterprise, and labor, every important interest of the country, demand that the volume of the currency be maintained to meet their requirements ; but every interest will be strengthened by increasing the supply of coin. How is that to be accomplished ? By encour- aging an increased production of our great staples that command the foreign market, by reducing our expen- ditures in foreign purchases, and by reversing the fatal policy which has sought to make our debt a foreign debt. When we purchase less of foreign goods, and sell more of our prod actions abroad, and cease to pay so much of the interest on our debt abroad, and pay it to our own citizens, the current of gold will turn toward our shores ; and then specie payments will be certain, natural, and permanent, and will become the basis of an enduring prosperity." As soon as the busi- ness of the country, and the condition of our European trade, will justify the opinion that gold is accumulating, and is likely to remain, Congress may safely fix the time, and provide for the redemption of the treasury- notes. When I addressed these sentiments to my fellow- citizens of Indiana a year ago, it did not occur to me that there was a statesmanship beyond and above all I had thought to be found simply in borrowing gold, increasing our national debt, and the ever-recurring payment of interest abroad. I had supposed that our ability at all times to redeem the paper currency in gold depended upon a permanent as well as a sufficient SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 213 supply. I had thought that gold brought into the country under the influences of increased production and commerce would remain, but that borrowed gold would not stay. My confidence is in the development of the resources of the country, in its increasing and extended productions, and in the stable laws that regu- late trade and commerce, rather than in temporary and arbitrary devices by Congress. More than once during the war, under the lead of Senator Sherman, Congress undertook to regulate transactions in gold, with a view to controlling its price ; and you recollect how foolish and abortive all such attempts proved to be. REPUBLICAN OBSTRUCTIONS TO RESUMPTION. The party that now seeks continued power is respon- sible for the two great impediments in the way of resumption. By strange and questionable devices they have sought to make our debt a foreign instead of a domestic debt. The consequence is, that every pay-day large sums in gold are sent abroad to pay interest coupons. The red blood flows from the veins and arteries of the country. Ireland was impoverished by her landlords, who expended their rents abroad. Cheap Chinese labor eats at the vitals of our prosperity, on the Pacific coast, so long as their wages are sent back in gold to China. The farmer grows poorer every year, who returns no nourishment to his fields. To our State convention last year, I made this statement of the second impediment : " Cotton and tobacco are the most 214 THOMAS ANMiKWS HENDRICKS. important staples in our exports, at some limes exceed- ing al] other commodities. Since the close of the war, it. has been the suggestion of wisdom to encourage their production in bhe Largest possible quantities, as it had been the diotate of humanity, Christianity, and patriot- ism, to promote reconciliation and harmony between t lie sections. lint political and partisan interests have been made paramount to humanity, and the welfare of the country. Bad governments have been established, and as Par as possible maintained, in the South. Intel- ligence and virtue have been placed under the dominion and servitude of ignorance and vice. Corruption has borne sway ; public indebtedness has become frightful, and taxes too heavy to carry, and development crushed, and enterprise manacled. In a word, it. has been the government of hatred; and all this, that party might bear rule." 'They have nourished the* noxious plants oi' corruption, violence, and fraud, in Louisiana and other States, rather than the cotton-plant and SUgar-Cane. A-M-iculture cannot, flourish under bad laws, corrupt administration, and cruel taxation. I suppose it is cut irely clear to your observation, that, had State authority been respeoted in accordance with the Constitution, and the people been left in the con- trol o[' their domestic affairs, without prejudice 01 denial oi' right to any class, in accordance with the Constitution, greater harmony would have prevailed between the raoes, prosperity would have returned to those Communities more rapidly, and the production o( SPEECH at ZANESVILLE, O. 215 fche great staples would have been much more abun- dant. Then our valuable materials of export would have been iu Larger supply, and, as a consequence, our supply of gold more reliable and permanent, and specie payments nearer a possibility. Individual hap* piness, and fche general interests of the country, bave been sacrificed to party policy. Harmony based upon justice, and the protection of the rights of all classes, must l>e restored. Prosperity will follow, as pure water ilows from a pure fountain. The general paralysis of business and employment, and the distrust, of useful invest incuts because of shrinkage in values, as well as fche condition of our currency, have brought about, differences of opinion among Democrats. I think these differences may bo adjusted. I have heretofore; expressed fche opinion that a wise statesmanship may avoid the extremes of a contracted currency, cramping enterprise and Labor, on the one hand, and of an Inflated and depreciated cur- rency oil fche other; that, they are the extremes of gluttony and starvation, and that health and strength will come of neither. I have an unshaken confidence thai tin; national council of our party will so adjust, these differences as to maintain our ancient doctrine in favor of a sound and staph; currency, and of policies in accordance therewith, and with a, return to specie pay- ments always in view, and at tin; same time avoiding the disasters whioh would inevitably follow contrac- tion. 216 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. EXTRAVAGANT EXPENDITURES. As connected with and having a very important influence upon the business and financial condition of the country, it is my duty to call your attention to the extravagant expenditure of money by the General Gov- ernment. The last report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows that for the year ending June 30, 1874, the " net ordinary expenditures, exclusive of the public debt," amounted to $285,738,800.21. The interest paid that year on the public debt was 8107,- 119,815.21 ; the amount paid on pensions, 829,038,414.- GG,— making together 813G,158,229.87. Deduct the interest and pensions from the net expenditures, and there remains 8149,580,571.34. That sum represents the ordinary payments for one year, after deducting every thing that resulted from the war. I have seen it stated that the expenditure for the same purposes during the last year amounted to about 8145,000,000 ; but I am not able to speak accurately, as the Secretary lias made no report of that year. Before the war the ordinary expenditures were from fifty to sixty millions ; sometimes going above that, because of extraordinary demands. Do you not think two dollars for one, or about one hundred millions, ought to be sufficient ? Yet they now require nearly three to one. Favoritism always costs the people heavily, but it seems strange how pretexts can be found for 8150,000,000. Will you vote to indorse such expenditures ? SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 217 VICES IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE. Closely connected with the extravagance is the im- morality which pervades the public service. This, too, calls for your attentive consideration, and your sincere efforts at reform. It impairs your revenues, and dis- turbs public confidence. Need I particularize? It is known to you, at least in part. What department is free from taint ? In the Post-Office Department, it ex- tends from the conspiracy to defraud the Government in the mail lettings, involving immense sums, down to the petty pilfering in the repair of mail-bags in the neighbor- hood of the Post-Office at Indianapolis. The Treasury Department has been singularly unfortunate. During the four years in which Mr. Guthrie was at its head, there were no defaults, and there was no money lost ; but of late years long lists of defaulting officers have been published ; and recently large numbers of officers in the Internal Revenue Service have been detected in complicated and enormous frauds. The Department of Justice, under the management of the late Attorney General, became the instrument of injustice. Cruel in its political prosecutions, and unscrupulous in the use of the public money for political purposes, it became the object of general suspicion and distrust. Arkansas and North Carolina were the scenes of its most auda- cious misappropriation of money. Will it be proper for me to speak of the Interior Department? An Ohio man is at its head. I will 21 8 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDBIGKS. speak of the Indian service only. In former adminis- trations the entire cost of that service was but about $3,000,000, when the Indians were more numerous than now. During Mr. Lincoln's administration, that was about the cost of the service. In his message of December, 1863, he says that for the prior year the payment on account of pensions and Indians amounted to $4,216,520.79. I suppose the pension-list was then something above $1,000,000, leaving the Indian expen- ditures $3,000,000. The last official report shows the expenditure for the Indian service alone $6,692,462.09. It has more than doubled. For improved administra- tion yon would pay mere money; but where are the fruits o( the large expenditure? Both the Govern- ment and the Indians are cheated in the quality and quantity of clothing and food furnished, and in the false accounts that are allowed and paid. An army officer stationed last winter at the \U\l Cloud agency thus describes the situation and scene: "The Indians arc all quiet now. The poor wretches have been several times this winter on the verge o( starvation, through the rascality of the Indian ring. They have been compelled to eat dogs, wolves, and ponies." Did you read the description o( the dramatic scene in the Interior Department on the first day of last June, as given in the despatches *? It illustrates the policy and style of the department. They wanted the Black Hills country. The Indians were brought in for nego- tiation. On that day they were in the Secretary's SFEECII AT ZANESVILLE, O. 219 room. The Secretary was there. A bishop was by his side. The Indian Commissioner was there also. $25,- 000 were offered them for the Black Hills. They did not want to leave that hunting-ground. They were reminded of the desire of the whites for the country, and of the difficulty in keeping them out. The Secretary then told them, that, if they did not lake the $25,000 in thirty days, they might not get it at all. In the agony of his soul, the chief, Red Cloud, cried out, " Great Spirit, hear me ! Have mercy upon me ! Pity me ! " Was ever such a prayer uttered within those walls before? In these years of Indian misman- agement, too corrupt and cruel to be described, the Indians are becoming more treacherous, and the borders more insecure. What say you, my countrymen, to a return to such a policy as Jackson maintained, when the Indian was made to obey the authority of the country, and the white man to respect the rights of the Indian ? I will only refer to the late shame brought upon the departments by the developed frauds con- nected with the marine corps. These are all recent transactions. They yet remain for Congressional inves- tigation. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. I will not weary you even by a reference to the notorious and enormous frauds that have been investi- gated during the past few years, except that in the District of Columbia. That cannot be omitted, because it was in our national capital, and brought 220 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. special disgrace upon the whole people, and because, in respect to it, the party has entered a plea of guilty. In 18T1 the District of Columbia was placed under a new form of government. The governor and many officers, and one brunch of the legislature, were ap- pointed by the President ; and the other branch was chosen by the people. The opportunity to maintain good government was most favorable. It was immedi- ately under the eye of the President and his cabinet, with a party so strong as to exclude all opposition. They had their way, and developed their tendency. Corruption and favoritism soon had sway ; and in three years the debt of the District exceeded 820,000,000. The burthen became too great for the party. Before the world it was admitted, that with officers appointed by the President, and elected by the party, they could not maintain free and pure government. They aban- doned it ; and, in the spirit of Rome's government of her conquered provinces, they placed the District of Columbia under the control of three commissioners chosen from distant parts of the country. Free and representative government fell before corruption in the capital of our country ; and it stands as a humiliating admission to the world. What answer is made to the people when they complain of this most extraordinary condition of the service ? Will this plea for the party be received, that, considering the magnitude of the service, there " never has been a period in the history of the government, when there has been less fraud or SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 221 peculation, or as little as now " ? There are old gen- tlemen who hear me to-day, whose memories go back to a better time, — to a period when there was such pure statesmanship and such exalted official integrity as inspired the world with a higher confidence in free republican institutions; to a period when one single case of default aroused the indignation of the whole country, and precipitated the downfall of an adminis- tration. What say you to the oft-repeated apology that they are active and zealous in detecting, pursuing, and pun- ishing criminal officials ? Their zeal and activity may be admitted, for there is so much to do; but, when they suppress fraud in one quarter, it breaks out in another. In that respect, the body politic, under their treatment, seems to be like the body of a man whose follies and vices have brought upon him disease which pervades his whole system. If, by the skill of the physician, it be subdued in any part, it soon appears in another. But the statement that they punish their guilty must be denied. Who has been punished? There was the case of a paymaster at Washington City, who, for the embezzlement of above four hundred thousand dollars of the public money, was tried by court-martial, and sentenced to the penitentiary; but Pres. Grant pardoned him within a year, and the money was never returned. On the contrary, how many par- tisans, implicated in transactions which the people have condemned, have been promoted to high offices ? The 2"22 THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS. Tweed defence has served them well. It matters not how many official criminals there may be : Tweed is set off against each. Tweed's mantle has fallen over and covered from sight more crimes than any mantle that ever fell from human shoulders. Are you, honest gen- tlemen, not tired of that trick? Why not let every man, rogue or saint as he may be, stand in his own shoes, and be judged by his own conduct? CHANGE THE ONLY REMEDY. Do you not perceive, my fellow-citizens, that for all public evils your only remedy is in a change of admin- istration? This you know, — that when a party has been long in power, and controls great patronage and large sums of money, all adventurers, and those who seek to make money out of politics, work their way not only within its ranks, but into positions of influ- ence and party control. Naturally enough they become active managers, giving their money liberally ; and, by taking charge of primary elections and conventions, they control, in many instances, the nominations. Their hold is hard to break; and it becomes the interest of politicians to conciliate rather than fight them. That is the reason, as I suppose, why it is so difficult, if not impossible, for a party to correct abuses and evils within its own organization. That yon are convinced there should be a change of national administration, I cannot question. Such SPEECH AT ZANESVILLE, O. 223 changes are made upon assurances of better conduct, and of measures more consistent with the interests of the people. You maybe misled; but in nil efforts at reform we must trust each other somewhat. Deceived, disappointed, and dissatisfied, will jon avail yourselves of your only remedy ? I appreciate the fact that for- mer convictions, prejudices, and associations, stand in the way of thousands of good men whose sympathies are with the Democracy and Liberals upon the pending questions. I cannot doubt that their present convic- tions in respect to the welfare of the country will control their action. They know that even in times of the most bitter conflict they respect many of the sen- timents of our party, especially those in earnest sympa- thy with the interests of the masses of the people. They can not and will not remain separate from the organized body of men that will give these sentiments practical force and meaning. They know that our principles will endure, and bring practical results. May I quote myself in saying that " organizations may be broken, and pass away, but Democracy cannot die. It is endowed with the immortality of truth and right. Wherever, in all lands, men aspire to higher, freer, better government, and purer liberty; wherever there is the sentiment that government is made for man, and not man for government, — there is the spirit of De- mocracy that will endure, and yet achieve man's enfran- chisement and elevation"? He was a great man who 224 THOMAS A.NDREWS HENDRICKS, said, "There can be ao five government without a Demooratioal branch m the Constitution." IVfov 1 not add, "There can be no free policies or administrative measures, promoting popular rights, without fche Demo- oratioal element and sentiment M ? CHAPTER XIII. THE DEMOGEATIG NATIONAL CONVENTION, ANl> ITS WORK. The Convention Opened. — Permanent Organization. — The Plat- form. — Nominations. — Mr, Tilden nominated i>v Senator Cernan. — His Address and Resolution. — Mr. Hendricks nominated by Mr. Williams. — His Speech. — Mr. Fuller's Speech. — Mr. Camp* bell's Speech. —Samuel Jones Tilden the Nominee for President. — Thomas Andrews Hendricks nominated for Vice IMesidenl. This body assembled in St. Louis, .Juno 27, 1S7(>, for the purpose 4 of nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United Slates. The Conven- tion was called to order by Hon. Augustus Schell, chairman of the National Democratic Committee. Henry Watterson, of Kentucky, was chosen temporary chairman, and Gen. John A. McClernand of Illinois Was chosen permanent president. Various addresses were made, but no special business was transacted the first day. THE PLATFOEM. The Convention re-assembled at a quarter past two o'clock. The Peesident. — The sergeant-at-arms will clear the aisle, and see that order is preserved. 225 226 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. The Committee on Platform, I am informed, is ready to report. Mr. Meredith, of Virginia. — Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Convention : The Committee on Resolutions have finally agreed upon their report. It is but fair to them to state that a great many resolu- tions were laid before them, on the subjects likely to engage the attention of the Convention ; that those resolutions have been read, examined, considered, delib- erated upon, and discussed ; and they have finally agreed upon the following declaration of principles, which I am instructed to report. I will ask Lieut.-Gov. Dorsheimer to read the resolutions for me. Gov. Dorsheimer then read as follows : — First, We, the delegates of the Democratic party of the United States, in National Convention assembled, do hereby declare the Administration of the Federal Government to be in an urgent need of immediate reform ; and we do hereby enjoin upon the nominees of this Convention, and of the Democratic party in each State, a zealous effort and co-operation to this end, and do hereby appeal to our fellow-citizens of every former political connection, to undertake with us this first and most pressing patriotic duty. Second, For the Democracy of the whole country, we do here re-affirm our faith in the permanence of the Federal Union ; our devotion to the Constitution of the United States, with its amendments, universally accept- ed as a final settlement of the controversies that THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 227 engendered civil war : and do here record our steadfast confidence in the perpetuity of Republican self-govern- ment; in an absolute acquiescence in the will of the majority, the vital principle of the Republic ; in the supremacy of the civil over the military authorities; the total separation of Church and State, for the sake alike of civil and religious freedom ; in the equality of all citizens before the just laws of their own enact- ment; in the liberty of individual conduct by sump- tuary laws ; in the faithful education of the rising generation, that they may preserve, enjoy, and transmit these best conditions of human happiness and hope, we behold the noblest products of a hundred years of changeful history ; but while upholding the bond of our Union, and the great charter of these our rights, it behooves a free people to practise also that eternal vigilance which is the price of liberty. Third, Reform is necessary to rebuild and estab- lish in the hearts of the whole people of the Union, eleven years ago happily rescued from the danger of a secession of States, but now to be saved from a corrupt centralism, which, after inflicting upon ten States the rapacity of carpet-bag tyrannies, has honey- combed the offices of the Federal Government itself with incapacity, waste, and fraud, infected States and municipalities with the contagion of misrule, and locked fast the prosperity of an industrious people in the paralysis of hard times. Fourth, Reform is necessary to establish a sound 228 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. currency, restore the public credit, and maintain the national honor. We denounce the failure of all these eleven years to make good the promise of the legal- tender notes, which are a changing standard of value in the hands of the people, and the non-payment of which is a disregard of the plighted faith of the nation. Fifth, We denounce the improvidence which in eleven years of peace has taken from the people in Federal taxes thirteen times the whole amount of the legal-tender notes, and squandered four times this sum in useless expense, without accumulating any reserve for their redemption. Sixth, We denounce the financial imbecility and immorality of that party, which, during eleven years of peace, has made no advance toward resumption, and no preparation for resumption ; but, instead, has ob- structed resumption by wasting our resources, and exhausting all our surplus income, and, while annually professing to intend a speedy return to specie pay- ments, has annually enacted fresh hinderances thereto. As such a hinderance, we denounce the resumption clause of the act of 1875, and we here demand its repeal. Seventh, We demand a judicious system of prepa- ration by public economies, by official retrenchment, and by finance, which shall enable the nation soon to assure the whole world of its perfect ability and its perfect readiness to meet any of its promises at the call of the creditor entitled to payment. We believe in THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 229 such a s) 7 stem, well devised, and, above all, intrusted to competent hands for execution, creating at no time an artificial currency, and at no time alarming the public mind into a withdrawal of that vaster machinery of credit by which ninety-five per cent of all business transactions are performed, — a system open to the public, and inspiring general confidence, which would, from the day of its adoption, bring healing on its wings to all our harassed industries, set in motion the wheels of commerce, manufactures, and the mechanic arts, restore employment to labor, and renew in all its natu- ral sources the prosperity of the people. Eighth, Reform is necessary in the sum and mode of Federal taxation, to the end that capital may be set free from distrust, and labor lightly burdened. We denounce the present tariff-levies upon nearly four thousand articles, as a masterpiece of injustice, in- equality, and false practice. It yields a dwindling, not a yearly rising, revenue. It has impoverished many industries to subsidize a few. It prohibits imports that might purchase the products of American labor. It has degraded American commerce from the first to an inferior rank upon the high seas. It has cut down the sales of American manufactures at home and abroad, and depleted the returns of American agriculture, an industry followed by half our people. It costs the people five times more than it produces to the Treasury, obstructs the process of production, and wastes the fruits of labor ; it promotes fraud, fosters smuggling, 230 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. enriches dishonest officials, and bankrupts honest mer- chants. We demand that all custom-house taxation shall be only for revenue. Ninth, Reform is necessary in the scale of public expense, Federal, State, and municipal. Our Federal taxation, has swollen from $60,000,000 in gold in 18G0, to $450,000,000 in currency in 1870 ; our aggregate taxation from $154,000,000 in gold in 18G0, to $730,- 000,000 iii currency in 1870, — or, in one decade, from less than five dollars per head to more than eighteen dollars per head. Since the peace, the people have paid to their tax-gatherers more than thrice the sum of the national debt, and more than twice that sum for the Federal Government alone. We demand a rigorous frugality in every department and from every officer of the Government. Tenth, Reform is necessary to put a stop to the profligate waste of the public lands, and their diversion from actual settlers by the party in power, which has squandered 200,000,000 acres upon railroads alone, and out of more than thrice that aggregate has disposed of less than a sixth directly to tillers of the soil. Eleventh, Reform is necessary to correct the omis- sions of a Republican Congress and the errors of our treaties and our diplomacy, which have stripped our fellow-citizens of foreign birth and kindred race, re- crosing the Atlantic, of the shield of American citizen- ship, and have exposed our brethren of the Pacific Coast to the incursions of a race not sprung from the THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 231 same great parent stock, and, in fact, now lately denied citizenship through naturalization, as being neither accustomed to the traditions of progressive civilization, nor exercised in liberty under equal laws. We de- nounce the policy which thus discards the liberty-loving German, and tolerates the revival of the coolie trade in Mongolian women imported for immoral purposes, and Mongolian men held to perform servile labor- contracts ; and demand such a modification of the treaty with the Chinese Empire, or such legislation by Con- gress within constitutional limitations, as shall prevent the further importation or immigration of the Mongo- lian race. Twelfth, Reform is necessary, and can be effected only by making it the controlling issue of the elections, and lifting it above the two false issues with which the office-holding class and the party in power seek to smother it, — the false issues with which they would enkindle sectarian strife in respect to the public schools, of which the establishment and support belong exclu- sively to the several States, and which the Democratic party has cherished from their foundation, and is resolved to maintain without partiality or preference for any class, sect, or creed, and without contributing from the Treas- ury ; the false issue by which they seek to alight anew the dying embers of sectional hate between kindred peoples, once unnaturally estranged, but now re- united in one indivisible Republic and a common destiny. 232 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. Thirteenth, Reform is necessary in the civil service. Experience proves that the efficient, economical conduct of the governmental business is not possible if its civil service be subject to change at every election ; if it be a prize fought for at the ballot-box ; if it be a brief reward of party zeal, instead of a post of honor assigned for proved competency, and held for fidelity in the public employ ; that the dispensing of patronage should neither be a tax upon the time of all our public men, nor the instrument of their ambition. Here, again, professions falsified in the performance attest that the party in power can work out no practical or salutary reform. Fourteenth, Reform is necessary even more in the higher grades of the public service. The president, vice-president, judges, senators, representatives, cabi- net-officers, — these and all others in authority are the people's servants ; their offices are not a private perqui- site : they are a public trust. When the annals of this Republic show the disgrace and censure of a vice-presi- dent, a late speaker of the house of representatives, marketing his rulings as a presiding officer ; three sena- tors profiting secretly by their votes as law-makers ; five chairmen of the leading committees of the late house of representatives exposed in jobbery ; a late secretary of the treasury forcing balances in the public accounts ; a late attorney-general misappropriating the public funds; a secretary of the navy enriching his friends by percentages levied off the profits of contractors with THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 233 his department ; an ambassador to England censured in a dishonorable speculation; the president's private secretary barely escaping conviction upon his trial for guilty complicity in frauds upon the revenue ; a secre- tary of war impeached for high crimes and confessed misdemeanors, — the demonstration is complete that the first step in reform must be the people's choice of honest men from another party, lest the disease of one political organization infect the body politic, and lest, by making no change of men or party, we can get no change of measures and no reform. All these abuses, wrongs, and crimes, the product of sixteen years' ascendancy of the Republican party, create a necessity for reform confessed by the Republicans themselves ; but their reformers are voted down in convention, and displaced from the cabinet. The party's mass of honest voters is powerless to resist the eighty thousand officers, its lead- ers and guides. Reform can only be had by a peaceful civic revolution. We demand a change of system, a change of administration, a change of parties, that we may have a change of measures and of men. Nominations were now in order. Our limits do not allow of all the speeches that were made for the several candidates ; but, as is proper, we give those of the gentlemen who nominated the successful candidates. NOMINATION OF MR. TILDEN BY SENATOR KERNAN. The secretary called the State of New York. Senator Kernan spoke as follows : — 234 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. Mr. President, and Delegates of the Democracy of the United States, I desire to say to you that I rejoice and feel a pleasure in every word which has been said in commendation of the distinguished men who have been presented to you for your support. They are my countrymen ; they belong to the glorious party with which I act ; and no man would repel with more indig- nation any word or insinuation to their detriment, and no man feel more pride in all their glorious fame, than I do. But, while, fellow-Democrats, I appear before you to address my words, feeble though they may be, to your judgment, swayed by nothing but your love of country, the election which we are to have this fall rises far above the ordinary elections which we have had. It is one, in my judgment, that touches the wel- fare and the prosperity of our people throughout the entire Union. It is not a mere question of whether honorable, honest, and upright men shall be elected, but whether we shall select those men who are more sure to carry the election, that we may have reform and changes which are essential to our prosper^ and our happiness. Don't we need change and reform, you warm-hearted men from the South, who have been trampled down under this Constitution, and who have been w T ronged as no people ever have ? Don't we need a restoration of proper administration, by which you men in those States shall be allowed to manage your own affairs, and shall be freed from plundering adven- turers who are eating up the substance of your people, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 235 and taking from you all real republican government? Don't we need change and reform, you men through- out this fertile and glorious West ? Your industry does not get its just reward ; your labor goes without that which labor should always win ; your industry is para- lyzed, and your capital even is too timid to aid enter- prises. Don't we need it in my own section of the Union, where our closed factories and where our dis- pirited laborers seek in vain for that which shall give bread to their wives and children? Ah, we need re- forms that shall strike taxation, which shall lighten our burden, which shall give us the prosperity which an economical and honest administration will give. We need reforms which shall bring back purity and honesty and economy in the administration of your public affairs. And, my fellow-Democrats, I appeal to your intelligence. The great issue which is in the minds- of our people, the issue on which this election will be lost or won, is that question of needed administrative reform where we can get it ; and in selecting our candidates, without any disrespect to others, we should select men who will command the entire confidence of our people, as much as we can, in reference to these questions of reform and economy, and reduction of taxation. We all know the Republican party has resolved in 1868 and in 1872, in language which we cannot excel, that they would give us reforms, and they would lighten the burdens of taxation. My friends, I know that any Democrat that comes into the administration will work 236 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. out these reforms ; but, if we are wise, we will take a man, if we find him, who has done reforms when in office. I have no disrespect for the Democrat who in this Convention can utter dissent to the good repute of any candidate. I honor them all. I am addressing your judgment. I have said, that if we had a man that had been so fortunate as to be placed in public position, who had laid his hand on dishonest officials, no matter to what party they belonged, who had rooted oat abuses in the discharge of his duty, who had shown himself able and willing to bring down taxation, and inaugurate reform, — if we are wise men, and have such a man, it is no disparagement to any other candidate to say that this is the man that will command the confi- dence of many who have not always been with the Democracy, and make our claim strong, so that it will sweep all over this Union a triumphant party vote. Now, there is, in the State whence I came, a Democrat who has the good fortune to be placed in position where these qualities have been exemplified. There had grown up in our great Democratic city, men who called themselves Democrats, who, under the guise of Democ- racy, dishonored our party by plundering the people whom they were bound to protect and serve ; and, citi- zens, there the one I shall name, connected with others, overthrew these corruptionists in their own party, and they restored honesty and economy; and these men have flown to other lands, lest they should be punished for their crimes. He was selected as governor of our THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 237 State. He came into office on the 1st of January, 1875. The direct taxes taken from our tax-riclden people in the State of New York were over fifteen million dollars in the tax-levy of 1875. He has been in office eighteen months ; and the tax-levy for the State of New York for 1876 is but eight million dollars. If you go among our farming people, among our men who find business coming down, and their produce bringing low prices, you will find that they have faith in the man who has reduced taxation in the State of New York one-half in eighteen months ; and you will hear the honest men throughout the country say that they want the man who will do in Washington what has been done in New York. Now, do not misunderstand me. We have other worthy men and good men in the State of New York, who, if they had had the chance to be elected, and had a chance to discover the frauds in our State administra- tion along our canals, which were thus depleting our people, would have done the work faithfully, I doubt not ; but it so happened that Samuel J. Tilden — It so happened that the great Democratic party of the State of New York reaped this great benefit for our people, and this great honor for our party, because they elected Samuel J. Tilden. When they found, in the State of New York, that he had been thus active in reforming abuses, it happened that he was the man that, by his measures — I want to add one word, my friends, and it is this. I do not come here to vouch for my opinion ; but I read from the resolutions passed by the Convention 238 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. of the State of New York, with their three delegates from every congressional district in the State, which is a part of the credentials which I laid before this Con- vention — I want to give yon what the representatives of the Democracy of New York said in their judgment was the position of the gentlemen I have named. After passing by their commendation of other things, they Resolved, That the Democratic party of New York, while committing to their delegates the duty of joining with the feelings of their fellow-Democrats in all the States in the momentous deliberation of the National Convention, decree their settled convictions that a return to the Constitutional principles of frugal expen- diture, and the administrative purity of the founders of the Republic, is the first and most imperative neces- sity of the times. This is the commanding issue now before the people of the Union, and they suggest, with respectful deference to their brethren of other States, and with cordial appreciation of other renowned Demo- cratic statesmen, faithful like him to their political convictions and public trusts, that the nomination of Samuel J. Tilden to the office of President would insure the vote of the State of New York. Mr. Williams of Indiana. — Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Convention, In the name and in behalf of the united Democracy of the State of Indiana, I put in nomination Gov. Thomas A. Hendricks, of THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 239 Indiana, as your candidate for President of the United States. He is a man that is known to the whole nation. There is no spot or blemish on his public or private character. He is presented as the unanimous choice of the Democracy of a Democratic State. He comes here backed up by his delegation and by every Democrat in Indiana. There is no fire in the rear here. We believe that if he is our nominee we can carry the State of Indiana by from twelve thousand to twenty thousand. You delegates in this Convention must determine for yourselves, by your votes, whether you want Indiana to remain Democratic, or not. We propose to support the nominee of this Convention, whoever he may be. There is no diversity among us on that subject ; but we would like to have a man for our candi- date that we know that we can carry the State for. In conclusion, Mr. President, I desire to read the resolution that was adopted by the Democracy of the State at its last convention ; and with that, sir, I will close : — Resolved, That the people of Indiana recognize with pride and pleasure the eminent public services of the Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks. In all public trusts he has been faithful to duty, and in his public and private life pure and without blemish. We therefore declare that he is our unanimous choice for the Presidency of the United States. Mr. Fuller (Illinois). — Mr. President, and Fellow- Citizens of the Convention, Depressed under the 240 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. weight of debt and taxation, universal corruption, general demoralization, and all the evils that inevitably flow from a persistent disregard of fundamental law, and the long and uninterrupted retention of unlimited power in the same hands, the country demands a return to the principles and practices of the fathers of the Republic, in the one hundredth year of its existence, and a restoration of a wise and frugal government that shall leave to every man the freest and purest of his avocations or his pleasures consistent with the rights of his neighbors, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread he has earned. Dissatisfied with bare respectabilit} r , which, though it may tend to retard, cannot stay the downward progress, the country turns to the Democracy assembled in convention, and asks this great party to put in nomination the next Presi- dent of the United States. That nominee must be intrinsically honest, that he may be the cause of honesty in others ; capable himself, that he may be quick to dis- cern and to appropriate the capacity of others, as well as to exert his own; lofty in thought, and pure in spirit, that he may drag up drowning honor by the locks, bring governmental administration from the depths into which it has descended, and elevate and purify the moral tone of the nation. He must be a statesman of breadth of mind, and such grasp of infor- mation as to be enabled to embrace the whole country within the compass of his judgment, and so to act that he will secure the greatest good to the greatest num- THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 241 ber, and so the good of all. Such a man, Mr. Presi- dent, and gentlemen of the Convention, is presented in the name of Thomas A. Hendricks. Endowed with that capacity for continuous effort, that fixity of pur- pose, that simplicity of habit, which characterized his hardy ancestry, and whose progenitors, centuries ago, wrested from the sea the land on which they live ; taught by an education, acquired by the use of the axe and the sword, the value of economy which the world seems to spurn, while it honors and does homage to its fruits ; and schooled by thirty years of eminent and honorable practice at the bar, and twenty-five of con- current activity in both public stations; of stainless character, with a record which needs no explanation, as it lies out in the sunlight without a blot to mar its beauty ; conversant with the interests of the entire country, though particularly those of the Great West in which his Revolutionary sires were pioneers, and of that South linked to it by a thousand ties of intercom- munication, common interest, and mutual affection ; added to all, possessed of those qualities of heart that contract friendship, and never disappoint, — Thomas A. Hendricks would realize the wishes of the people, and would at least deserve success ; and, if deserved, what better leader to insure it? Here on the fertile plains of the West, here in the great empire, the seat of empire, beneath that star which, so long leading the way, now shines resplendent above the Valley of the Mississippi, — here the decisive battle of the campaign 242 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. is to be fought ; for hero arc to be waged those great contests which precede the main engagement, and determine it. What better leader than he to meet the advancing hosts of the enemy at their first onset, send hark their wavering forces to the centre, and mingle all in indistinguishable ruin ? What better leader than he, who, believing odium incurred by the practice of virtue is honor and not odium, in the disastrous clays snatched victory from defeat, and lighted up with the splendor of his achievements the darkness which lasted from 18G0 to the dawn of 1870? Ahvady, in the expectation of his candidacy, the people are conscious of approach- ing victory; already thousands upon thousands are lis- tening to catch the blast upon that bugle-horn, well worth a million men ; already the enemy recoil at the sll (To-estion of his name, for they know by that sign we can conquer. Mr. President, on behalf of many dele- gates from Illinois, on behalf of thousands of Demo- cratic voters of that State, on behalf, I believe, of myriads of my fellow-citizens of the West, the thunder- ing tramp of whose feet as they rush to the encounter, and the sound of whose voices as they rise in tri- umphant refrain, as they march from the smoke of bat- tle, I have the honor to second the name of Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana. Mrt. Williams of Indiana. — I desire, with the per- mission of the Convention, that Gen. Campbell of Ten- nessee shall occupy five minutes of my time. THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 243 Gen. Campbell of Tennessee. — Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Convention, I am instructed by dele- gates from the State of Tennessee, who received their authority from the largest Convention that ever assem- bled in their State, to second the nomination of the great and distinguished statesman of Indiana, the Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks ; and I pledge the State of Ten- nessee, that if this Convention, in its wisdom, shall see proper to approve the nomination which is made here to-day, that in November next we will carry him at the polls by a majority of sixty thousand votes. I would not be doing the great State of Tennessee justice, nor myself justice, nor the other distinguished gentlemen whose names have been and will be presented to this Convention, did I not say to you that all of them have many devoted followers and admirers in the grand old volunteer State. There are many there Avho would like to follow the lead of the great statesman-governor of New York, who has cleansed the Augean stables in his State, and driven the hydra-headed monster of corruption into exile. There are many, very many, in that State, who would be glad to follow the distin- guished soldier of the State of Pennsylvania ; and it was when the black clouds of subjugation hovered over our heads, that he was the first to produce a rift in the clouds, and to hold up the bow of promise to our people. It was he of whom our distinguished chairman once said he was like a sword wearing a jewel in its belt. But there is one consideration that has more 244 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. influence with Tennessee than any other ; and that is the simple consideration of success. We feel that Ave must conquer in the battle that is to be fought in November next ; and, in casting around among many of the distinguished men of the nation, whom Tennessee will follow, she is of the opinion that under the leader- ship of the great statesman of Indiana we are more certain to conquer than any other. And, when we look at his character, we find that his whole history is the very best and most eloquent sermon on political integrity and reform, that was ever written by man. We find that his Democracy is as catholic as the Con- stitution itself. We find that he lives in a locality where there are no dissensions in his ranks. We find that his own people come up here in solid phalanx for him, like the Macedonian phalanx, with their lances all pointed outward, and none toward their friends. I thank you, gentlemen of the Convention, and give you now assurance of the hearty support that the State of Tennessee will give the distinguished statesman of Indiana in November next. On the second ballot, Samuel Jones Tilden was nominated. His nomination had been opposed by Mr. John Kelley, a remnant of the Tammany Democracy ; but to no avail. Indeed, many of the Democrats say Kelley's or the Tammany opposition to Tilden, and Grant's telegram congratulating Hayes, will pretty surely elect THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 245 Tilden. Indeed, some who profess to believe that Mr. Tilden is a greater " magician " or wire-puller than Mr. Van Buren ever was, affect to say and believe that Mr. Tilden hired Kelley to go to the Convention, and fight against his nomination. Well, Tammany's opposition to him is a pretty good evidence that he is an honest man ; and therefore, if Mr. Tilden did spend a " barrel of money " to get nominated, he might have put some of it " where it would do the most good," even if he gave it to Kelley. Some do not hesitate to say that Grant's expelling Mr. Bristow from the cabinet, and Postmaster Jewell, and, indeed, all who sympathized with Bristow, will secure the election of Tilden and Hendricks. Indeed, the Republican organs are about as severe upon Pres. Grant, on this subject, as are the Demo- cratic. " The Boston Advertiser " of July 13 said, — " Meantime, the public* are sick of hearing of inces- sant interference, on the part of the President, with petty appointments all over the land." " The Daily Globe " of July 12 said,— " He [Grant] shows, as he has so often before shown, that he has no comprehension of lofty principles of action, and little sympathy with men of moral convic- tions and purity of character. The Republican party is responsible, in a certain sense, for his administra- tion, and cannot free itself altogether from association with it ; and he is using the time left to him, to make the burden and the disadvantage as heavy as possible. 246 THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. " It [the Republican party] must cut loose from Grant and Grantism, and show that its new departure is genuine, and will lead to the proposed goal ; or it cannot continue in power." The next day the same paper had the following : — "Mr. Grant is catching it this time, not only from the independent press, but from the organic, which shows that the Republicans are inclined to cut loose, as we ■suggested yesterday they must, from the administra- tion wing of the party. In Boston, ' The Advertiser ' advises turning the cold shoulder upon it ; and here comes even the timid ' Journal ' with this suggestive little paragraph : — " ' Let us see : less than eight months more of this peculiar administration. Let us brace up ! ' " " The Evening Transcript " of July 12, a strong Bristow paper, is still more severe upon Pres. Grant. It says, — " Gov. Tilden talks bravely about entering the cam- paign for reform, with all the consecration of a soldier. Considering the composition of his reforming army, such a style of comment appears ridiculous enough. And so it Avould be, were it not that the administra- tion of Gen. Grant is beginning to hold itself up as a warning against Republican rule. The President, after Gov. Hayes's nomination, congratulated him on the fact, and hailed him as his successor, very much in a Pickwickian sense, we should think, considering the support the Executive is now rendering the Demo- THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 247 cratic party. Perhaps the crowd, headed by Boss Shepherd at Washington, who has now too much of the President's confidence, don't fancy Gov. Hayes's unmistakable utterances respecting civil-service reform. Their influence is gone if Hayes becomes an occupant of the White House, and the Republican party again succeeds. They know it, feel it, and are acting from motives of revenge accordingly. It is the intrigues of this corrupt cabal, whose advice now exercises too much sway in the national councils, which place the administration directly in the face of the best Repub- lican sentiments of the country. When Gen. Grant echoed the sentiment of the Secretary of the Treasury, that no guilty man should escape, the people ap- plauded. Now, under a different inspiration, he is pardoning the revenue thieves with indecent haste. Nay, more than that : he has dismissed almost all the officers who detected and punished the committers of fraud, and saved millions of dollars to the national treasury. By this course, he virtually says to crooked- whiskey venders, ' The Government rejects its former attitude, under faithful and honest officials, and here- after will turn its blind eye towards your misdeeds.' ' The Convention nominated Thomas Andrews Hen- dricks for Vice-President, with great unanimity. CHAPTER XIV. WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. General Enthusiasm. — Despatches to Gov. Tilden. — How he received the News. — His Remarks. — A Serenade. — Opinion of Hon. Charles Francis Adams. — Opinion of Hon. Charles G. Davis. — Opinion of Hon. Charles Levi Woodbury. — Of lion. Edward Avery. — How the News was received in New York. — " The New York Times/' — " The Sun." — " Chicago Tribune." —Enthusi- asm at Concord, N.H. — At Biddeford, Me. — Gov. Tilden's Ward in New York. — The Committee to announce to Gov. Tilden the Nomination perform that Duty. — Gov. Tilden's Reply to the Com- mittee. — Selections from the Speech of Senator Bayard. — Dele- gates call on Gov. Hendricks. — His Address to them. The enthusiasm was general. The common expres- sion among the delegates was, that the hour and the man had now met. In the mean time, Gov. Tilden had passed the day quietly at the Executive Mansion in Albany. He received but feAV despatches from St. Louis, and returned none. In the evening, the " Asso- ciated Press Bulletin " was received, and sent up to him, announcing simply, " Tilden nominated on the second ballot." When this was read to him, he simply said, without a smile or a frown, " Is that so ? " The following despatch was then received and read, to him : — WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 249 St. Louis, June 28. Gov. Samuel J. Tilden, — I congratulate you on your enthusiastic nomination. Kentucky will most heartily indorse you with her forty thousand majority. (Signed) John C. Underwood, Lieutenant-Governor of Kentucky. Then he inquired, if any one knew what the vote was, and what the platform contained ? He then said to a few of his friends around him, in a very low tone, — " I can tell you what has been done. This nomina- tion was not made by the leaders of the party : it was the people who made it. They want reform ; they have wanted it a long while ; and, in looking about, they have become convinced that it is to be found here [pointing to himself] . They want it ; that is what they are after. They are sick of the corruption and maladministration of their affairs ; they want a change, and one for the better, — a thorough reforma- tion. You will find there will be a larger German vote polled next fall than ever ; and it will be largely cast for the Democratic ticket. I know that." Other despatches were then received, conveying congratulations from all parts of the country, in the midst of which the Governor maintained an almost stolid imperturbability. Among them were the fol- lowing : — 250 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. Raleigh, N.C., June 28. Cordial congratulations. North Carolina is good for ten thousand majority. (Signed) W. H. Bledsoe, President of Tilden and Vance Club. Lancaster, Penn., June 28. Congratulations. Tilden and Reform will carry Pennsylvania. (Signed) A. J. Steinman, Member of State Committee. It was determined early this evening that the Gover- nor should be tendered a serenade to-morrow evening after the completion of the ticket ; but a large number of the citizens could not wait till then, so they secured the services of a band of music, and at twelve o'clock proceeded to the Executive Mansion. The Governor received them, shaking hands with a large number, and receiving their congratulations. The crowd then retired to the grounds in front of the mansion, when, after repeated calls, the Governor stepped to the door and said, — " Citizens of Albany, I thank you for this impromptu expression of your kind regards. During my resi- dence in your city the past two years, I have received many like gratifications, and I assure you that I feel grateful to you. At some other time I will be glad to give you a more formal reception, and now will only say good-night." WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 251 The Governor received congratulations from almost every part of the country, which there is no necessity for repeating in this place, and which, if stated, would fill a volume. One or two statements from prominent gentlemen, may, however be given. The following is a newspaper report (presumed, and said to be correct), from — CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. In a brief interview with the Hon. Charles Francis Adams at his Quincy home, immediately after the reception of the news of Gov. Tilden's nomination, the veteran statesman very frankly gave his opinion of the nomination. Mr. Adams expressed his surprise at the Convention's arriving at so speedy a decision. That Mr. Tilden had secured the necessary two-thirds on the second ballot, showed his great strength in his party. Mr. Tilden, said Mr. Adams, is a formidable candidate, especially on a hard-money platform. With Mr. Tilden and this platform the Democratic party stands better, morally, before the people, than does the Republican party. Hayes is nothing; respectable, no doubt, but without any record as a reformer. Tilden is in himself a platform. He has made his record. Of the two, said Mr. Adams, very decidedly, I would infinitely prefer to see Mr. Tilden in the Executive chair. Mr. Adams further said that he had feared Tilden's enemies would stab him in the back. His foes were jobbers and corrupt men. He will have hid- 252 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. den enemies to encounter in the coming campaign. The traditionary discipline of the Democratic party, the party pride and inclination, will cause all Demo- crats to fall into line for Mr. Tilden. Mr. Adams also said he thought Mr. Tilden would carry his own State, although Thurlow Weed and others think differently. The independent vote will probably divide, those voters with Republican predilections going for Hayes. However, Gov. Tilden will secure the support of the opponents of corruption who desire to see real work accomplished. The Republican platform is weak, especially in its financial plank. This was an endeavor to catch both the " soft" and " hard " money men. As to the other candidates before the St. Louis Conven- tion, Mr. Adams thought them all weak. Hancock would have been beaten on account, partly, of his being a military man. There is a reaction, perhaps temporary, against military men, owing to the dissatis- faction with Gen. Grant. Thurman would have been a fair candidate, but not strong. It will be a hard fight. Tilden's Avar record is a good one. He is all right there. As President, Mr. Tilden would sweep away corrupt men and abuses. Another individual's opinion must be given, as it comes from the " Old Colony," Mass. HON. CHARLES G. DAVIS OF PLYMOUTH. Hon. Charles G. Davis was interviewed last evening upon the nomination at St. Louis. " You know very WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 253 well," said he, " if you have taken any pains to learn, my reasons for abandoning the Republican party : that I consider it an historical and philosophical impossi- bility for any political party, dynasty, corporation, or sect, to reform itself after its organization has once be- come corrupt, so long as it is in power. Men in power do not reform themselves. Individual character is seldom, perhaps never, changed after its characteristics are bedded by time, and never in the full flush of power or success. In such cases, to reform the person or power or class, it must be put in Coventry for a time. For these reasons I have long been of the opinion that it would take more than a Hercules now to cleanse the Augean stables of Republicanism. The nomination and election of the best man on earth by the Republi- can party, unless he had superhuman power, could avail nothing. If elected, such a nominee must come into power with a Republican Congress elected at the same time, and with an army of office-holders who have assisted in his election. How can he effect his object, even if he has the will to do it ? Such a Congress will protect the office-holders' rings, and he cannot know where corruption wasteth at noonday. He will be practically impotent. How much more must this be the case with a weak man, howsoever honest? We want, to-day, a man of will, of honest intent, who lias long dealt with men acquainted with affairs, who dares to say "Yes," and also dares to say "No," — a positive man, brought up in the principles of Democratic sim- 254 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. plieity and economy ; and sncli a man is Tilden. I feared that the Convention and politicians might be tempted to nominate a military hero, who, of however good report, character, and ability, was not versed in public affairs and civil life. The people to-day ask not only for an honest man, but a statesman. So far as New England is concerned, if elected, Tilden will awaken the blinded eyes of our infatuated manufactur- ers, who are to-day losing the foreign market by their own tariff, and allowing all the coarser manufactures to move to the West, nearer the only market which Republican rule has left to us. The party North and South has shown its loyalty by avowals and protesta- tions which present a moral spectacle, seldom, if ever, seen after a civil war. And what we want now is not professions only of pleasure that the South and the North shake hands at Bunker Hill, but acts which show that we mean what we profess. It was the South which came to Bunker Hill ; let the North now show that she means what she professes. The political death of Blaine has, to some extent, washed the bloody shirt ; but it is still flaunted before our eyes." One more prominent citizen expressed himself as follows : — HON. CHARLES LEVI WOODBURY. s This is a regular reform ticket ; and its effect through- out the United States will be to arouse every honest man who desires to keep his country in the paths that WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 255 the founders laid out for it. I regard it as the strongest nomination the Democrats could have. It brings the issues of the campaign back to the questions of the day which really concern the well-being of the Repub- lic. With Tilden we shall have a country where the laws will be obeyed by the Executive Department, and the liberty of the citizen will be protected at home and abroad. Mr. Tilden's talent for carrying out economy in the administration of the Government will insure a reduction of expenses, and by the consequent decrease of taxation will bring back prosperity to all the indus- tries of the country. Labor now will have a chance of obtaining a fair reward for its industry, and the con- fidence of capitalists will be restored so that enterprise will have fair prospects of success. I think every in- dustrial department of the land will feel a fresh stimu- lus from this nomination. I regard it as the key of returning prosperity to our manufactures and to our mining and agricultural interests. To the South it promises a stable currency, a market for her products, and a renewed prosperity. Thus the South will again become a great market for the mechanical products of the Eastern and Middle States. In a purely political aspect Mr. Tilden will be the embodiment of peace and renewed confidence between the sections of the Union lately dissevered. His nomination is the true embodi- ment of that spirit of love and loyalty ivhich found its first public demonstration at the Centennial celebration of Bunker Hill last year in Boston^ and which in this 25G WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. centennial year is destined in a wider field to bring the whole country into a union of harmony, equal rights, and liberty to all. The North has this assurance in Tilden's record as an old Barn-burner, that he is neither wedded to pro-slavery affiliations, or desirous of yield- ing any thing to the South not clearly her right. This nomination presented the remarkable fact that Gov. Tilden on the first ballot had more than a majority of the whole number of votes in Convention. When we reflect that this has not happened in any Democratic 'Convention since the nomination of Martin Van Buren, it affords a striking evidence of the great respect which the representatives of the thirty-seven States have for the character and ability of Gov. Tilden. He is thus well known throughout the Union, universally re- spected, and will command the entire strength of the Democratic party, with every prospect of carrying all the floating vote, including both the German, European, and American population, who look to honesty and ability as the true requisites for a useful President. HON. EDWARD AVERY said last night : " The way the thing struck me from the beginning was, that this whole contest had got to be fought out on the proposition of governmental reform, and simply upon that ground. It became apparent to me some time ago, that Tilden was the only Democrat in the country who had the opportunity of practically showing his ability and willingness to carry out reform, WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 257 « irrespective of political friends, and that therefore he was the only proper person upon whom the party could centre as the candidate in this contest ; and after Hayes's nomination it became more apparent than ever. Before that, if we desired success, it was absolutely necessary that we should nominate him ; and I cannot see, from the investigation I have made, any thing to indicate that he will not be able to carry the greater part of the Ger- man vote, the Middle States, and the West, or that he is not acceptable to the Democratic Central States. If we are wise in the nomination of vice-president we shall have a chance to carry Indiana in October." In regard to the platform Mr. Avery, who was on the committee on resolutions, says, " We dissented, in connection with several other gentlemen from Maine, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, from that portion of the platform that calls for the repeal of the resumption laws ; but in every other respect the platform was entirely satisfac- tory to the Massachusetts delegation, and we only dissented from that proposition because it might be misunderstood. I consider the nomination and the plat- form the triumph of hard money and reform." AT NEW YORK. New York, June 28. — The nomination of Tilden was well received by the Democrats. The so-called aristocratic members of the Democratic party here have for a long time been disgusted with John Kelley's iron rule, and it is considered that Tilden's nomination 258 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. is his (Kelley's) funeral. It is predicted, that he (Kelley) will be forced to resign his leadership, and that Tammany Hall will commence the campaign under a new leader. The question of Tilden's election is seri- ously discussed by politicians on both sides ; but the drift of their sentiment is, that, if the Republicans put up their best man for Governor, " Uncle Sammy " cannot carry this State. A hundred guns were fired in Madison Square, and several thousand persons were present. The German element indorsed the nomination by a salute of a hundred guns in Tomkins Square. [The New York Times.] New York, June 28. — « The Times " says, " The Democrats have no cause to find fault with the nomina- tion of Tilden." It considers his defeat inevitable, but there should be no belittling of his strength in New York. His candidacy forces upon us a campaign of hard, earnest, and systematic work. u The Times," in another article, says, " The platform must be regarded as a clear, unqualified declaration for the repudiation of the resumption pledge." [The New York Sun.] New York, June 28. — " The Sun " is grateful for the nomination, because it is in the interest of the countiy. It is as a reformer that Mr. Tilden is selected to lead the opposition in this Centennial year. Such a nomi- nation cannot fail to excite in every part of the coun- try a most hearty and hopeful enthusiasm. We admit no doubts of its success. WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 259 [The Chicago Tribune.] Chicago, June 28. — Of Tiklen's nomination " The Tribune " says, " The nomination was by such an over- whelming majority that it leaves no doubt that the Convention deemed him the only man having a possible chance of success. The nomination is a warning of the desperate struggle that is to be made. [The New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung.] New York, June 28. — " The Staats-Zeitung " is en- tirely satisfied with the platform and nomination, and will support Tilden cordially. IN OTHER PLACES. " The Evansville Courier " rejects Tilden, and calls for a greenback ticket, with William Allen at its head. [The Indianapolis Sentinel.] "The Indianapolis Sentinel" awaits the final result of the Convention before defining its position. [The Nashville American.] " The Nashville American " regrets the defeat of Hendricks, and supports Tilden. THE ENTHUSIASM AT CONCORD, N.H. Concord, N.H., June 28. — The nomination of Gov. Tilden at St. Louis sent a thrill of enthusiasm through every Democratic heart in this city to-night, on the reception of the news, confirmed by the " Post " bulle- tins. Cheers filled the air, and in a few moments the 2G0 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. city was alive with excitement. Guns were fired, bombs and rockets, and every description of celebration, quickly followed, and a perfect rush of enthusiastic men filled the streets. In the House of Representatives, the announcement was made by Mr. Hatch, in the midst of a spirited debate ; and business was for a moment suspended, as applause, wild and tumultuous, filled the hall. The most prominent Democrats were interviewed by the " Post " reporter, and not one was found who was not thoroughly in unison with the action of the Convention. Every one said, " It is a winning ticket." Such a marked difference between the over- whelming reception of to-night's news and that of the nomination of Hayes and Wheeler was so apparent, that even Republicans paled at the contrast, and were obliged to admit that the spontaneous action to-night was a more perfect and satisfactory ratification than any other that could be given, and more to be sought than the drummed-up and cold meetings they held several days after the Convention. No such feeling has been manifested here since the days when Frank Pierce led the Democrats to victory. REJOICINGS AT BIDDEFOED, ME. Blddcford, Me., June 28. — A Tilden flag was flung to the breeze in this city at 11 o'clock this evening. Bands and processions paraded the streets amidst the wildest enthusiasm. Many Republicans admit that the ticket will win, and the Democrats are confident of victory next November. WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 261 UNQUALIFIED APPROVAL OF THE PEOPLE AT NASHUA, N.H. Nashua, N.H., June 28. — The news of the nomi- nation of Tilden was received with great enthusiasm by the Democrats of this city this evening. Large numbers of them kept up the feeling till a late hour. The choice of the Convention receives the unqualified approval - of all. DEMONSTRATIONS OF JOY AT MANCHESTER, N.H. Manchester, N.H., June 27. — The announcement, at 10, P.M., of Samuel J. Tilden's nomination by the St. Louis Convention was received with three hearty cheers by the large number of , Democrats in attendance at the telegraph office. A SALUTE FIRED AT RUTLAND, VT. Rutland, Vt., Jun^e 28. — The Democrats of Rutland fired a salute this evening, in honor of the nomination of Tilden. THE GREAT WORK OF REFORM BEGUN IN NEW YORK. The Eighteenth Ward, and, indeed, the entire Six- teenth Assembly District, in which is the home of Gov. Tilden, were ablaze last evening ; and more than two thousand persons gathered in Academy Hall and on the sidewalk to participate in a great ratification meeting, 262 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. and the unfurling of a magnificent Tilden and Reform banner. Hundreds of rockets buzzed through the air, blue and red and white tinted lanterns illuminated the street, and for many blocks in all directions a multitude traversed the pavements, and shouted for Tilden and Hendricks. A large outdoor stand had been erected in front of Academy Hall, and around its sides were wreathed the folds of the American flag. In Academy Hall eloquent speeches were delivered by Judge Spen- cer, James Daly, Senator Gross, Major Haggerty, the Hon. James E. Morrison, the Hon. Thomas Cooper Campbell, Mr. James Fitzgerald, and others. Mr. Campbell and Major Haggerty spoke in ringing words of the corruption and worthlessness of the Republican party, and their speeches were , received with repeated cheers. A large and very handsome picture of Gov. Tilden was swung at the back of the platform. A hopeful letter was received from the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt. New York, July 11. — The Democratic Announce- ment Committee, consisting of one member from each State in the Union, met to-day in secret session in the Fifth Avenue Hotel to arrange for the notification of Gov. Tilden of his nomination by the Democratic Con- vention at St. Louis. Gen. McClernand presided, and a quorum of the Committee was present. The commit- tee decided to proceed to Albany in a body, and notify Mr. Tilden of his nomination. A suitable address was WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 263 drawn up, to be delivered by the chairman of the com- mittee to-morrow in Albany. The committee also decided to notify Mr. Hendricks ; and a sub-committee, consisting chiefly of Western men, was appointed to call on the candidate for Vice-President, and notify him of his nomination. A long discussion ensued between the members of the committee, on the question of whether they should go to Albany to wait on Gov. Tilden, or await his arrival here. Finally a telegram was sent to the Gover- nor, notifying him of the committee being in session, and stating that his presence was desirable ; to which he replied he would be pleased to meet the committee at his home in Grammercy Park at nine this evening. AT THE GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE. The committee waited on the Governor at the time appointed. Delegates from nearly every State in the Union were present. The Governor gave the commit- tee a cordial greeting. Gen. McClernand addressed the Governor, and outlined the work of the St. Louis Convention. It was august in character, patriotic in sentiment, and met at a time when civil authority was exposed to fresh encroachment from the militar}^ ; when hard money was dishonored, and virtually banished from circulation by vicious legislation ; when peculation and corruption were sapping the foundations of the govern- ment. The Convention determined to save the country, and chose for its standard-bearers, tried, true, and trusted men. 2G4 WITAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. Gen. McClernand then read the address of the com- mittee conveying the official information of his nomina- tion to Gov. Tilden. It stated that he was nominated because his name was prominently identified with reform, reduction of taxation, and the maintenance of the rights of the laboring masses ; and his record is one of untarnished purity in the eyes of his countrymen. A REPRESENTATIVE INDIANIAN SPEAKS HIS SENTI- MENTS. Hon. Bayless W. liana of Indiana, in addressing Gov. Tilden, alluded briefly to the struggle of that State to secure the first place on the National ticket for her favorite son, whom he eulogized in fitting terms, and then said, — " But, sir, when the Democratic party, speaking through its delegates assembled in the National Con- vention, in its faultless wisdom, and with a unanimity and determination unparalleled in the history of the Democratic Conventions, elected to commit, if possible, this precious charge to the hands of another, Indiana responded " Amen." And to-day her people, not only with great cheerfulness, but with great enthusiasm, all say amen to the nomination of Samuel J. Tilden, the acknowledged chief among chieftains of the devoted reformers who have battled for the overthrow of rin^s and conspiracies, in office and out of office, for the restitution of honest and economical government every- where. Indiana, sir, gladly and joyfully accepts the WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 265 situation. In the nomination of Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks she beholds again the complete unification of the Democratic party, re-established upon those sound and abiding principles which gave it so much strength and renown in the golden days of its ancient ascendency. They feel that reason, justice, and economy are to be once more re-instated throughout the land, and that madness, cruelty, and prodigality must be swept away. New York, June 12. — The following is a full report of the remarks of Gov. Tilden to the Democratic Com- mittee of Notification : — Gen. McClernand and Gentlemen of the Com- mittee, — I shall at the earliest convenience prepare and transmit to you a formal acceptance of the nomina- tion which you now tender to me in behalf of the Democratic National Convention, and I do not desire on this occasion to anticipate any topic which might be appropriate to that communication. It may, however, be permitted to me to say that my nomination was not a mere personal preference between citizens and states- men of this Republic, who might very well have been chosen for so distinguished an honor, and for so august a duty. It was rather a declaration of that illustrious body, in whose behalf you speak, in favor of adminis- trative reform, with which events had associated me in the public mind. The strength, the universality, and the efficiency of the demand for administrative reform 266 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. in all governments, and especially in the administration of the Federal government, with which the Democratic masses everywhere were instinct, have led to a series of surprises in the popular assemblages, and perhaps in the Convention itself. It would be unnatural, gentlemen, if a popular movement so genuine and so powerful should stop with three and one-half millions of Demo- crats ; that it should not extend by contagion to that large mass of independent voters who stand between parties in our country, and to a portion of the party under whose administration the evils to be corrected have grown up. And perhaps in what we have wit- nessed there may be an augury in respect to what we may witness in the election about to take place through- out our country ; at least, let us hope so and believe so. I am not without experience of the difficulty and the labor of effecting administrative reform when it requires a revolution in policies and in measures long established in government. If I were to judge by the year and a half in which I have been in the State government, I should say that the routine duties of the trust I have had imposed on me are a small burden compared with that created by the attempt to change the policy of the government of which I have been the executive head. Especially is this so where the reform is to be worked out with more or less of the co-operation of public offi- cers, who either have been tainted with the evils to be redressed, or who have been incapacitated by habit or toleration of the wrongs to be corrected, to which they WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 267 have been consenting witnesses. I, therefore, if your choice should be ratified by the people at the election, should enter upon the great duties which would fall upon me, not as a holiday recreation, but very much in that spirit of consecration in which the soldier enters battle. But let us believe, as I do believe, that we now see the dawn of a better day for our country, and that difficult as is the work to which the Democratic party, with many of the allies and former members of other parties, has addressed itself, the Republic is yet to be renovated to live in all the future, and to be transmitted to future generations as Jefferson contributed to form it in his day, and in which it has been ever since, until a recent period, a blessing to the whole people. Gentle- men, I thank you for the very kind terms in which you have made your communication, and I extend to you collectively and individually a most cordial greeting. AN ABLE SPEECH BY SENATOR BAYARD. At the grand ratification in Philadelphia, Senator Bayard of Delaware was introduced, and received with long and continued cheering. He expressed his satis- faction at finding, in such weather, so large a gathering of devoted Democrats met to discuss the interests of the people. He hoped they would understand that, the fate of the people was in the hands of the people ; that there is no abuse they cannot end, and no reform accomplished, unless they demand it. If this Govern- ment is to go down, it will be either from the indiffer- 268 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. ence or the ignorance of the people, or because they lack the courage to stand up for their rights. In Europe a dynasty may be overthrown, and the country go on. Here, however, if the principles of freedom, which enable us to enact our wishes into law, fall, that fall will be by the hands of the people who should have sustained them; and it must be remembered, that, while we have great liberties, there accompany them the gravest responsibilities. There will be a chance, this fall, for the people to change the administration of affairs, if they so will it. Until then, it is the mission of the Democracy to lay before the people facts con- cerning the two great parties to be considered in con- nection with the election. Is business in this great city prosperous ? Have mechanics work ? Are capi- talists willing to lend their money ? Do the mills teem with industry ? Do the forges resound with the voice of the hammer? The knowledge and hearts of the people must answer tins. If they are satisfied, then the party in power should reap the benefit. But he could only see the greatest cause of apprehension for mechanic and capitalist. Taxes increase on the capi- talist, and his rents decrease. He fears if he lends, that Ins money will return decreased in value, if re- turned at all. Everywhere was public debt, and private debt seems like a terrible ocean which has covered the land with mortgage. All this was a matter for Demo- crats and Republicans alike to consider. He denounced the Republican party for having governed on promises WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 269 of economy, reform, and reconciliation that have not been performed. He did not believe that people wanted four years more of a departure from specie basis and resumption. When Gen. Grant became President, it was promised that bonds and notes would speedily be paid in gold, and yet to-day we are farther off from this than ever. The laboring man does not get what he should for what he gives, value for value ; and the workingman should never rest until a system of gov- ernment is inaugurated that will accomplish this. It is absurd to believe that a government or a people can get rich by printing its own notes. RECONCILIATION. Reconciliation is a dear thing to the American peo- ple. This was promised. Like a leg badly set, that needs to be broken again to be set right, the Republi- cans had broken the fifteen Southern States. The man who had the effrontery, in order to catch votes, to say, " Let us have peace," had done every thing that could distress, annoy, and calumniate the Southern States, in order to tear the American people farther apart. The tariff laws were unfair and ill-advised, and were crippling the country ; and under all laid a system, a corner-stone of general official dishonesty, which robs the Treasury of one-half of what honest toil contrib- utes. The corruption of the last eight years is terrific. Where is the voluntary punishment of fraud by the President ? and where is any Republican, who 270 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. has unearthed fraud, who has retained his place and power in the party ? Only during the present session of the House of Representatives has light been let in ; and where, in either House, was there a Republican who had not opposed when the ploughshare of investi- gation turned up fraud? When Heister Clyrner exposed the fraud of the War Department, one would have been in doubt, to read the Republican newspapers, which was the rogue, Clynier or Belknap. Under all this arraignment, if the American people again put this party in power, God help the people that have failed to distinguish between honesty and dishonesty, and forgotten the prayers learned at the knees of their mothers. The Republican majority in the Senate is responsible for the corrupt and obnoxious appoint- ments of the President. The speaker demanded whether Hayes and Wheeler will make the needed reform. What influences nominated them ? Personally they are respectable third-rate men. Would they not be governed by the influences that nominated them ? Both men are obscure and of no weight ; and it is very doubtful whether, if they wished, they could inaugurate reform. How little was known of them he had seen at a Republican meeting in Jackson, Miss., composed nineteen-twentieths of negroes, where cheers were given for "Wheeler and Wilson." Criticising the action of the Cincinnati Convention, the speaker asked whether Sherman and Cameron, who made the nomina- tions, could be called honest reformers. WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 271 THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT has been turned over to the unscrupulous Morton, and all know what this means. The candidates of a party cannot rise above their party; and, if Hayes and Wheeler are elected, they will do precisely as Grant and Wilson. Tilden and Hendricks are known as hon- est Governors and profound Statesmen. By his reform measures in the administration as Governor of New York, Tilden has gained the confidence of the people ; and there was no spot on the character of Hendricks in any part of his career. As Vice-President he will be capable and dignified, and if Tilden should die his place will be worthily filled. In these nominations the Democracy have economy, ability, and statesmanship, against incompetency and insignificance. Speaking of the prospects of the Democrats carrying Pennsylvania, Mr. Bayard said that Philadelphia un- doubtedly contains a large Democratic majority, which is always counted out. He urged the Democrats to detect the scoundrels, and, if necessary, to hang them. The State is counted Republican because there is a corrupt system of scoundrelism in Philadelphia that always overcomes the Democratic majority in the State. He called on the' people to amend this. All that is needed is to cast the vote, and keep an eye on those who count the votes, and this great State will without doubt be carried by Tilden and Hendricks. 272 WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. DELEGATES BETUBNING FROM ST. LOUIS CALL ON GOV. HENDRICKS. Indianapolis, Ind., June 30. Several of the New York delegates, returning from St. Louis, remained over one train this evening, to call upon Gov. Hendricks, who met them at the Occidental Hotel, where the party were serenaded. Augustus Schell, John Kelly, William Roberts, W. H. Quincy, and others, addressed the audience from the balcony of the hotel, pledging hearty support to the ticket, and exhorting the Democracy of Indiana to renewed efforts for victory at the coming election. After these gentle- men had spoken, loud and persistent calls were made for Gov. Hendricks, who appeared on the balcony, and was received with the most vociferous and protracted cheering. Quiet being restored, he said, — REMARKS OF GOV. HENDRICKS. My Fellow Citizens, — It is impossible for me to make an address to you this evening. I am here to pay my respects to the distinguished citizens from other States, who are on their way home from one of the great- est political conventions that ever held a session in this country. These distinguished men sympathize with us in the interest which we intend to protect by the change which is to take place at the coming election. I believe at the next election that the people are going to express what is written in the platform adopted at WHAT FOLLOWED THE NOMINATIONS. 273 St. Louis, and what is written in the history of the dis- tinguished man that leads the ticket, and what is thorough reform in public service. There is but one other thought that I will express to you. That the platform adopted at St. Louis declared that the resumption clause of the act adopted in 1875 shall be repealed ; and the repeal of that clause carries with it every feature of the law which is bringing about the contraction so hurtful to the interests of the country. I thank you for the compliment which you have paid me by this call. I repeat, I cannot undertake to make you an address. It is my duty to pay my attention and respects to the gentlemen who have addressed you. Again I thank you, gentlemen. After dining with the Governor, the party left in their special car for the East. CHAPTER XV. MR. TILDEN'S AND MB. HENDRICKS'S LETTERS OP ACCEPTANCE. Gov. Tilden indorses the St. Louis Platform. — Reform in Public Expense. — How to accomplish it. — The Condition of the South. — How to improve it. — Currency Reform. — Bank-note Resumption. — Legal-tender Resumption. — Necessary Currency. — Proper Time of Resumption. — Preparation for it. — Plan for Resumption. — Relief to Business Men. — Civil-Service Reform. — What he pur- poses to do if elected to the Presidency. New York, Aug. 4. — Gov. Tilden's letter, accepting the Democratic nomination for President, is as follows : — Albany, N.Y., July 31, 1876. Gentlemen, — When I had the honor to receive a personal delivery of your letter, on behalf of the Demo- cratic National Convention held on the 28th of June at St. Louis, advising me of my nomination as the candi- date of the constituency represented by that body, for the office of President of the United States, I answered that at my earliest convenience, and in conformity with usage, I would prepare and transmit to you a formal acceptance. I now avail myself of the first interval in unavoidable occupations to fulfil that engagement. The Convention, 274 MR. TILDEN's LETTER OP ACCEPTANCE. 27£ before making its nominations, adopted a declaration of principles, which, as a whole, seems to me a wise exposition of the necessities of our country, and of the reforms needed to bring back the government to its true functions, restore purity of administration, and to renew the prosperity of the people ; but some of these reforms are so urgent, that they claim more than a pass- ing approval. REFORM IN THE PUBLIC EXPENSE. The necessity of a reform in the scale of public expense, — Federal, State and municipal, — and in the modes of Federal taxation, justifies all the prominence given to it in the declaration of the St. Louis Convention. The present depression in all the business and industries of the people, which is depriving labor of its employments, and carrying want into so many homes, has its princi- pal cause in excessive governmental consumption. Under the illusions of a specious prosperity, engendered by the false policies of the Federal government, a waste of capital has been going on ever since the peace of 1865, which could only end in universal disaster. The Federal taxes of the last eleven years reach the gigantic sum of 84,500,000,000. Local taxation has amounted to two-thirds as much more. The vast aggregate is not less than 87,500,000,000. This enormous taxation followed a civil conflict that had greatly impaired oui aggregate wealth, and had made a prompt reduction of expenses indispensable. It was aggravated by the mos* 276 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. unscientific and ill-adjusted methods of taxation, that increased the sacrifices of the people far beyond the receipts of the treasury. It was aggravated, moreover, by a financial policy which tended to diminish the energy, skill, and economy of production and the frugality of private consumption, and induced miscal- culation in business and an unremunerative use of capital and labor. Even in prosperous times, the daily wants of industrious communities press closely upon their daily earnings. The margin of possible national savings is at least a small percentage of national earn- ings. Yet now for these eleven years governmental consumption has been a larger portion of the national earnings than the whole people can possibly save, even in prosperous times, for all new investments. The consequences of these errors are now a present public calamity. But they never were doubtful, never invisi- ble. They were necessary and inevitable, and were foreseen and depicted when the waves of that fictitious prosperity ran highest. In a speech made by me on the 24th of September, 1869, it was said of these taxes, " They bear heavily upon every man's income, upon every industry and every business in the country ; and year by year they are destined to press still more heavily, unless we arrest the system that gives rise to them. It was comparatively easy, when values were doubling, under repeated issues of legal-tender paper money, to pay out of our growing and apparent wealth these taxes ; but when values recede, and sink toward MR. TTLDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 277 their natural scale, the tax-gatherers take from us not only our income, not only our profits, but also a portion of our capital. I do not wish to exaggerate or alarm. I simply say that we cannot afford the costly and ruin- ous policy of the radical majority in Congress. We cannot afford that policy towards the South. We can- not afford the magnificent and oppressive centralism into which our government is being converted. We cannot afford the present magnificent scale of taxa- tion." To the Secretary of the Treasury I said, early in 1860, there is no royal road for a government more than for an individual or a corporation. What you want to do now is to cut down your expenses, and live within your income. I would give all the legerde- main of finance and financeering, I would give the whole of it, for the old honesty maxim, " Live within your income." This reform will be resisted at every step, but it must be pressed persistently. We see to- day the immediate representatives of the people in one branch of Congress, while struggling to reduce expen- ditures, compelled to confront the menace of the Senate and the Executive. Unless the objectionable appropria- tions be consented to, the operations of the government thereunder shall suffer detriment or cease. In my judgment, an amendment of the Constitution ought to be devised, separating into distinct bills the appropria- tions for the various departments of the public service, and excluding from each bill all appropriations for other objects and all independent legislation. In that 278 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. way alone can the revisory power of each of the two Houses and of the Executive be preserved and exempted from the moral duress which often compels assent to objectionable appropriations rather than stop the wheels of the government. THE SOUTH. An accessory cause, enhancing the distress in busi- ness, is to be found in the systematic and unsupport- able misgovernment imposed on the States of the South. Besides the ordinary effects of an ignorant and dishonest administration, it has inflicted upon them an enormous issue of fraudulent bonds, the scanty avails of which were* wasted or stolen, and the existence of which is a public discredit, tending to bankruptcy or repudiation. Taxes, generally oppressive, in some in- stances have confiscated the entire income of property, and totally destroyed its marketable value. It is impossible that these evils should not re-act upon the prosperity of the whole country. The nobler motives of humanity concur with the material interests of all, in requiring that every obstacle be removed to a com- plete and durable reconciliation between kindred pop- ulations once unnationally estranged, on the basis recognized by the St. Louis platform of the " Consti- tution of the United States, with its amendments uni- versally accepted as a final settlement of the con- troversies which engendered civil war." But in aid of a result so beneficent, the moral influence of every good citizen, as well as every governmental authority, ought to be exerted, not alone to maintain their just equality before the law, but likewise to establish a cor- dial fraternity and good-will among citizens, whatever their race or color, who are now united in the one destiny of a common self-government. If the duty shall be assigned to me, I should not fail to exercise the powers with which the laws and the constitution of our country clothe its chief magistrate to protect all its citizens, whatever their former condition, in every political and personal right. CURRENCY REFORM. Reform is necessary, declares the St. Louis Conven- tion, to establish a sound currency, restore the public credit, and maintain the national honor ; and it goes on to demand a judicious system of preparation by public economies, by official retrenchments, and by wise finance, which shall enable the nation soon to assure the whole world of its perfect ability and perfect readiness to meet any of its promises at the call of the creditors entitled to payment. The object demanded by the Convention is a resumption of specie payments on the legal-tender notes of the United States. That would not only restore the public credit and maintain the public honor, but it would establish a sound curren- cy for the people. The methods by which the object is to be pursued, and the means by which it is to be attained, are disclosed by what the Convention de- 280 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. manded for the future and by what it denounced in the past. BANK-NOTE RESUMPTION. The resumption of specie payments by the govern- ment of the United States, on its legal-tender notes, would establish specie payments by all the banks on all their notes. The official statement made on the 12th of May shows that the amount of bank-notes was $300,000,000, less 120,000,000 by themselves. Against these $280,000,000 of notes the banks held $141,000,000 of legal-tender notes, or a little more than fifty per cent of their amount. But they also held on deposit in the Federal treasury, as security for these notes, bonds of the United States worth in gold about $360,000,000, available and current in all the foreign money markets. In resuming, the banks, even if it were possible for all their notes to be presented for payment, would have $500,000,000 of specie funds to pay $280,000,000 of notes, without contracting their loans to their customers, or calling on any private debtor for payment. Sus- pended banks undertaking to resume have usually been obliged to collect from needy borrowers the means to redeem excessive issues and to provide reserves. A vague idea of distress is therefore often associated with the process of resumption ; but the conditions which caused distress in those former instances do not now exist. The government has only to make good its own promises, and the banks can take care of themselves without distressing anybody. The government is, therefore, the sole delinquent. MR. TILDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 281 LEGAL-TENDER RESUMPTION. The amount of the legal-tender notes of the United States now outstanding is less than $370,000,000, be- sides $34,000,000 of fractional currency. How shall the government make these notes at all times as good as specie? It has to provide, in reference to the mass which would be kept in use by the wants of business, a central reservoir of coin adequate to the adjustment of the temporary fluctuations of international balances, and as a guarantee agaiust transient drains artificially created by panic or by speculations. It has also to provide for the payment in coin of such fractional currency as may be presented for redemption, and such inconsiderable portions of the legal-tenders as individ- uals may, from time to time, desire to convert for special use, or in order to lay by in coin their little stores of money. To make the coin now in the treasury avail- able for the objects of this revenue, to gradually strengthen and enlarge that revenue, and to provide for such other exceptional demands for coin as may arise, does not seem to me a work of difficulty. If wisely planned and discreetly pursued, it ought not to cost any sacrifice to the business of the country. It should tend, on the contrary, to a revival of hope and confidence. The coin in the treasury on the 30th of June, including what is held against coin certificates, amounted to nearly $74,000,000. The current of pre- cious metals which has flowed out of our country for 282 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. the eleven years from July 1, 1865, to June 30, 1876, averaging nearly 176,000,000 a year, was $832,000,000, in the whole period of which $617,000,000 was the product of our own mines. To amass the requisite quantity by intercepting from the current flowing out of the country, and by acquiring from the stocks which exist abroad without disturbing the equilibrium of foreign money markets, is a result to be easily worked out by practical knowledge and judgment. With respect to whatever surplus of legal-tenders the wants of business may fail to keep in use, and which, in order to save interest, will be returned for redemption, they can either be paid, or they can be funded. Whether they continue as currency, or be absorbed into the vast mass of securities held as invest- ments, is merely a question of the rate of interest they draw. Even if they were to remain in their present form, and the government were to agree to pay on them a rate of interest making them desirable as investments, they would cease to circulate, and take their place with government, State, municipal, and other corporate and private bonds, of which thousands of millions exist among us. In the perfect ease with which they can be changed from currency into investments lies the only danger to be guarded against in the adoption of a general measure intended to remove a clearly ascer- tained surplus ; that is, the withdrawal of any which are not a permanent excess beyond the wants of busi- ness. Even now mischievous would be any measure MR. TILDEN's LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 283 which affects the public imagination with the fear of an apprehended scarcity in a community where credit is so much used. Fluctuations of values and vicissi- tudes in business are largely caused by the temporary beliefs of men, even before those beliefs can conform to ascertained realities. THE AMOUNT OF NECESSARY CURRENCY at a given time cannot be determined arbitrarily, and should not be assumed on conjecture. That amount is subject to both permanent and temporary changes. An enlargement of it, which seemed to be durable, happened at the beginning of the civil war by a sub- stituted use of currency in place of individual credits. It varies with certain states of business ; it fluctuates with considerable regularity at different seasons of the year. In autumn, for instance, when buyers of grain and other agricultural products begin their operations, they usually need to borrow capital or circulating credits by which to make their purchases, and want these funds in currency, capable of being distributed in small sums among the numerous sellers. The addi- tional need of currency at such times is five or more per cent of the whole volume ; and if a surplus beyond what is required for ordinary use does not happen to have been on hand at the money centres, a scarcity of currency ensues, and also a stringency in the loan- market. It was in reference to such experiences, that, in a discussion of this subject in my annual message to 284 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. the New York Legislature of Jan. 5, 1875, the sugges- tion was made, that the Federal Government is bound to redeem every portion of its issues which the public do not wish to use. Having assumed to monopolize the supply of currency, and enacted exclusions against everybody else, it is bound to furnish all which the wants of business require. . . . The system should passively allow the volume of circulating credits to ebb and flow, according to the ever changing wants of business. It should imitate as closely as possible the natural laws of trade, which it has superseded by arti- ficial contrivances. And in a similar discussion, in my message of Jan. 4, 1876, it was said that resumption should be effected by such measures as would keep the aggregate amount of the currency self-adjusting during all the process, without creating at any time an artificial scarcity, and without exciting the public imagination with alarms, which impair confidence, contract the whole large machinery of credit, and disturb the natural operations of business. Means of resumption, public economies, official retrenchment, and wise finance are the means which the St. Louis Convention indicates. As a provision for reserves and redemptions, the best resource is a reduction of the expense of the government below its income ; for that imposes no new charge on the people. If, however, the improvidence and waste which have conducted us to a period of falling revenues oblige us to supplement the results of economies and retrenchments by some ME. TILDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 285 resort to loans, we should not hesitate. The govern- ment ought not to speculate on its own dishonor, in order to save interests on its broken promises, which it still compels private dealers to accept at a fictitious par. The highest national honor is not only right, but would prove profitable. Of the public debt, $985,000,- 000 bear interest at 5 per cent in gold, and $712,000,- 000 at 6 per cent in gold. The average interest is 5.58 per cent. A financial policy which should secure the highest credit availed of ought gradually to obtain a reduction of 1 per cent in the interest on most of the loans. A saving of 1 per cent on the average would be $17,000,000 a year in gold. That saving, regularly invested at 4i per cent, would, in less than thirty-eight years, extinguish the principal. The whole $17,000,000 of the funded debt might be paid by this saving alone, without cost to the people. PROPER TIME FOR RESUMPTION. The proper time for resumption is the time when wise preparations shall have ripened into a perfect ability to accomplish the object with a certainty and ease that will inspire confidence and encourage the reviving of business. The earliest time in which such a result can be brought about is the best. Even when the preparations shall have been matured, the exact time would have to be chosen with reference to the then existing state of trade and credit operations in our own country, the course of foreign commerce, and the 286 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. condition of the exchanges with other nations. The specific measures and the actual date are matters of detail, having reference to ever-changing conditions. They belong to the domain of practical administrative statesmanship. The captain of a steamer about starting from New York to Liverpool does not assemble a coun- cil over his ocean-chart, and fix an angle by which to lash the rudder the whole of the voyage. A human intelligence must be at the helm to discern the shifting forces of the water and the winds. A human hand must be on the helm to feel the elements clay by day, and guide to a mastery over them. PREPARATIONS FOR RESUMPTION. Such preparations are every thing. Without them a legislative command fixing a day, an official promise fixing a day, are shams. They are worse : they are a snare and a delusion to all who trust them. They destroy all confidence among thoughtful men, whose judgment will at last sway public opinion. An attempt to act on such a command or such a promise, without preparation, would end in a new suspension. It would be a fresh calamity, prolific of confusion, distrust, and distress. The act of Congress of the 14th of January, 1875, exacted that on and after the first of January, 1879, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem in coin the legal-tender notes of the United States on presenta- tion at the office of the Assistant Treasurer in the city of New York. It authorized the Secretary to prepare ME. TILDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 287 and provide for such resumption of specie payments, by the use of any surplus revenue not otherwise appropri- ated, and by issuing, in his discretion, certain classes of bonds. More than one and a half of the four years have passed, and Congress and the President have con- tinued ever since to unite in acts which have legislated out of existence every possible surplus applicable to this purpose. The coin in the treasury, claimed to belong to the government, had, on the 30th of June, fallen to less than $45,000,000, as against $59,000,000 on the 1st of January, 1875 ; and the availability of a part of that sum is said to be questionable. The reve- nues are falling faster than the appropriations and the expenditures are reduced, leaving the treasury with diminishing resources. The Secretary has done nothing under his power to issue bonds. The legislative com- mand and the official promise fixing a day for resump- tion have thus far been barren. No practical prepara- tions toward resumption have been made. There has been no progress. There have been steps backward. There is no necromancy in the operations of the government. The homely maxims of every-day life are the best standards of its conduct. A debtor who should promise to pay a loan out of his surplus income, yet to be seen every day spending all he could lay his hands on in riotous living, would lose all character for honesty and veracity. His offer of a new promise, or his profession as to the value of the old promise, would alike provoke derision. 288 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. THE RESUMPTION PLAN OF THE ST. LOUIS PLATFORM. The St. Louis platform denounces the failure for eleven years to make good the promise of the legal- tender notes. It denounces the omission to accumulate any reserve for their redemption. It denounces the conduct, " which during eleven years of peace has made no advances towards resumption, no preparations for resumption ; but, instead, has obstructed resumption by wasting our resources and exhausting all our sur- plus income, and, while professing to intend a speedy return to specie payments, has annually enacted fresh hinderances thereto ; " and, having first denounced the barrenness of the promise of a day of resumption, it next denounces that barren promise as a hinderance to resumption. It then demands its repeal, and also demands the establishment of a judicious system of preparation for resumption. It cannot be doubted that the substitution of a system of preparation without the promise of a day, for the worthless promise of a day without a system of preparation, would be the gain of the substance of resumption in exchange for its shadow ; nor is the denunciation unmerited of that improvidence which in the eleven years since the peace has consumed forty-five hundred millions of dollars, and yet could not afford to give the people a sound and stable curren- rency. Two and a half per cent on the expenditure of these eleven years, or even less, would have provided all the additional coin needful to resumption. MR. TILDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 289 RELIEF TO BUSINESS DISTRESS. The distress now felt by the people in all their busi- ness and industries, though it has its principal cause in the enormous waste of capital occasioned by the false policies of our government, has been greatly aggravated by the mismanagement of the currency. Uncertainty is the prolific parent of mischief in all business. Never were its evils more felt than now. Men do noth- ing, because they are unable to make any calculations on which they can safely rely. They undertake noth- ing, because they fear a loss in every thing they would attempt : they stop and wait. The merchant dares not buy for the future consumption of his customers ; the manufacturer dares not make fabrics which may not refund his outlay : he shuts his factory, and discharges his workmen. Capitalists cannot lend on security they consider safe, and their funds lie almost without inter- est. Men of enterprise, who have credit or securities to pledge, will not borrow. Consumption has fallen be- low the natural limits of a reasonable economy. Prices of many things are under their range in frugal, specie- paying times before the war. Vast masses of currency lie in the banks unused. A year and a half ago, the legal tenders were at their largest volume, and the twelve millions since retired have been replaced by fresh issues of fifteen millions of bank-notes. In the meantime, the banks have been surrendering about fowr millions a month, because they cannot find a profitable 290 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. use for so many of their notes. The public mind will not longer accept shams. It has suffered enough from illusions. An insincere policy increases distrust ; an unstable policy increases uncertainty. The people need to know that the government is moving in the direction of ultimate safety and prosperity, and that it is doing so through prudent, safe, and conservative methods, which will be sure to inflict no new sacrifice on the business of the country ; then the inspiration of new hope and well-founded confidence will hasten the restoring processes of nature, and prosperity will begin to return. The St. Louis Convention concludes its expression in regard to the currency by a declaration of its convictions as to the practical results of the sys- tem of preparations it demands. It says, — " We believe such a system, well devised, and, above all, intrusted to competent hands for execution, creating at no time an artificial scarcity of currency, and at no time alarming the public mind into a withdrawal of that vaster machinery of credit, by which ninety-five per cent of all business transactions are performed, a system open, public, and inspiring general confidence, would, from the day of its adoption, bring healing on its wings to all our harassed industries ; set in motion the wheels of commerce, manufactures, and the me- chanic arts ; restore employment to labor ; and renew in all its natural sources the prosperity of the people." The government of the United States, in my opinion, can advance to a resumption of specie payments on its MR. TILDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 291 legal-tender notes by gradual and safe processes, tending to relieve the present business distress. If charged by the people with the administration of the executive office, I should deem it a duty so to exercise the powers with which it has been, or may be, invested by Congress, as best and soonest to conduct the country to that bene- ficent result. CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM. The Convention justly affirms that reform is necessary in the civil service ; necessary to its purification ; neces- sary to its economy and its efficiency ; necessary in order that the ordinary employment of the public busi- ness may not be a prize fought for at the ballot-box, a brief reward of party zeal, instead of posts of honor, assigned for proved competency, and held for fidelity in the public employ. The Convention wisely added that reform is necessary even more in the higher grades of the public service. The President, Vice-President, judges, senators, representatives, cabinet officers, these, and all others in authority, are the people's servants, their officers. They are not a private perquisite. They are a public trust. Two evils infest the official service of the Federal government. One is the prevalent and demoralizing notion, that the public service exists, not for the business and benefit of the whole people, but for the interest of the office-holders, who are in truth but the servants of the people. Under the influence of this pernicious error, public employments have been multiplied, the number of those gathered into the ranks 292 MR. tilden's letter of acceptance. of office-holders have been steadily increased beyond any possible requirements of the public business, while inefficiency, peculation, fraud, and malversation of the public funds, from the high places of power to the lowest, have overspread the whole service like a leprosy. The other evil is the organization of the official class into a body of political mercenaries, governing the caucuses and dictating the nominations of their own party, and attempting to carry the elections of the people by undue influence and by immense corruption funds, systematically collected from the salaries or fees of office-holders. The official class in other countries, sometimes, by its own weight, and sometimes in alliance with the army, has been able to rule the unorganized masses, even under universal suffrage. Here it has already grown into a gigantic power, capable of stifling the inspirations of a sound public opinion, and of resisting an easy change of administration, until mis- government becomes intolerable, and public spirit has been stung to the pitch of a civic revolution. The first step in reform is the elevation of the standard by which the appointing power selects agents to execute official trusts. Next in importance is a conscientious fidelity in the exercise of the authority to hold to account and displace untrustworthy or incapable subor- dinates. The public interest in an honest, skilful performance of official trust must not be sacrificed to the personal interests of the incumbents. After these immediate steps, which will insure the exhibition of MR. TILDEN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 293 better examples, we may wisely go on to the abolition of unnecessary offices, and finally to the patient, careful organization of a better civil-service system, under the tests, wherever practicable, of proved competency and fidelity. While much may be accomplished by these methods, it might encourage delusive expectations if I withheld here the expression of my conviction that no reform of the civil service in this country will be com- plete and permanent until its chief is constitutionally disqualified for re-election, experience having repeatedly exposed the fallacy of self-imposed restrictions by can- didates or incumbents. Through this solemnity only can he be effectually delivered from his greatest tempta- tion to misuse the power and patronage with which the Executive is necessarily charged. POLITICAL PROMISES. Educated in the belief that it is the first duty of a citizen of the Republic to take his fair allotment of the care and trouble in public affairs, I have, for twenty years as a private citizen, fulfilled that duty. Though occupied in an unusual degree, during all that period, with the concerns of government, I have never acquired the habit of official life. When a year and a half ago I entered upon my present trust, it was in order to consummate reform, to which I had already devoted several of the last years of my life. Knowing as I do, therefore, from fresh experience, how great the differ- ence is between gliding through an official routine, and 294 gov. hendricks's letter of acceptance. working out a reform of systems and politics, it is impossible for me to contemplate what needs to be done in the Federal administration without an anxious sense of the difficulties of the undertaking. If sum- moned by the suffrages of my countrymen to attempt this work, I shall endeavor, with God's help, to be the efficient instrument of their will. Samuel J. Tilden. To Gen. John A. McClernand, Chairman; Gen. W. B. Franklin, Hon. J. G Abbott, Hon. H. J. Spannhorst, Hon. II. J. Redfield, Hon. N. S. Lyon, and others, committee, &c. GOV. HENDRICKS'S LETTER. The following is Gov. Hendricks's letter accepting the nomination for Vice-President : — Indianapolis, July 24, 1876. Gentlemen, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication, in which you have for- mally notified me of my nomination by the National Democratic Convention at St. Louis, as their candidate for the office of Vice-President of the United States. It is a nomination which I had neither expected nor desired, and yet I recognize and appreciate the high honor done me by the Convention. The choice of such a body, pronounced with such unusual unanimity, and accompanied with so generous expression of esteem and confidence, ought to outweigh all merely personal desires and preferences of my own. It is with this feeling, and, I trust also, from a deep sense of public duty, that I accept the nomination, and shall abide the judgment of my countrymen. It would have been impossible for me to accept the nomination if I could not heartily indorse the platform of the Convention. I am gratified, therefore, to be able, unequivocally, to declare that I agree in the principles, approve the policies, and sympathize with the purposes enunciated in that platfor*n. The institutions of our country have been secretly tried by the exigencies of civil war ; and, since the peace, by a selfish and corrupt management of public affairs which has shamed us before civilized mankind. B} r unwise and partial legislation, every industry and interest of the people have been made to suffer ; and, in the executive departments of the government, dishonesty, rapacity, and venality have debauched the public service. Men known to be unworthy have been promoted, whilst others have been degraded for fidelity to official duty. Public office has been made the means of private profit; and the country has been offended to see a class of men who boast the friendship of the sworn protectors of the State amassing fortunes by defrauding the public treasury, and by corrupting the servants of the people. In such a crisis of the history of the country, I rejoice that the Convention at St. Louis has so nobly raised the standard of reform. Nothing can be well with us or with our affairs until the public conscience, shocked by the enormous evils and abuses which prevail, shall have demanded and compelled an unsparing reforma- 296 gov. Hendricks's letter of acceptance. tion of our national administration, in its head and in its members. In such a reformation the removal of a single officer, even the President, is comparatively a trifling matter if the system which he represents and which has fostered him is suffered to remain. The President alone must not be made the scapegoat for the enormities of the system which infects the public service, and threatens the destruction of our institu- tions. In some respects I hold that the present Execu- tive has been the victim rather than the author of that vicious system. Congressional and party leaders have been stronger than the President. No one man could have created it, and the removal of no one man can amend it. It is thoroughly corrupt, and must be swept remorselessly away by the selection of a government composed of elements entirely new, and pledged to radical reform. The first work of reform must evi- dently be the restoration of the normal operation of the Constitution of the United States, with all its amendments. The necessities of war cannot be pleaded in a time of peace. The right of local self-government, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Union, must be everywhere restored, and the centralized (almost per- onal) imperialism which has been practised must be done away with, or the first principles of the Republic will be lost. THE FINANCIAL PROBLEM. Our financial system of expedients must be re- formed. Gold and silver are the real standard of gov. iiendricks's letter of acceptance. 297 values ; and our national currency will not be a perfect medium of exchange until it shall be convertible at the pleasure of the holder. As I have heretofore said, no one desires a return to specie payments more ear- nestly than I do ; but I do not believe that it will or can be reached in harmony with the interests of the people by artificial measures for the contraction of the currency, any more than I believe that wealth or per- manent prosperity can be created by an inflation of the currency. The laws of finance cannot be disregarded with impunity. The financial policy of the Government, if, indeed, it deserves the name of policy at all, has been in disregard of those laws, and therefore has dis- turbed commercial and business confidence, as well as hindered a return to specie payments. One feature of that policy was the resumption clause of the Act of 1875, which has embarrassed the country by the antici- pation of a compulsory resumption, for which no preparation has been made, and without any assurance that it would be practicable. The repeal of that clause is necessary, that the natural operation of the financial laws may be restored, that the business of the country may be relieved from its disturbing and depressing influences, and that a return to specie payments may be facilitated by the substitution of wise and more prudent legislation, which shall mainly rely on a judi- cious system of public economies and efficient re- trenchments, and, above all, on the promotion of 208 GOV. HENDRICKS'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. prosperity in all the industries of the people. I do not understand the repeal of the resumption clause of the Act of 1875 to be a backward step in our return to specie payments, but the recovery of a false step ; and, though the repeal may for a time be prevented, yet the determination of the Democratic party on this subject has now been distinctly declared. There should be no hinderances put in the way of a return to specie payments. " As such a hinderance," says the platform of the St. Louis Convention, "we denounce the resumption clauses of the Act of 1875, and demand its repeal." I thoroughly believe that by public economy, by official retrenchment, and by wise finance, enabling us to accumulate the precious metals, resumption at an early period is possible, without pro- ducing an artificial scarcity of currency, or disturbing public or commercial credit ; and that these reforms, together with the restoration of pure government, will restore general confidence, encourage the useful invest- ment of capital, furnish employment to labor, and relieve the country from the paralysis of hard times. With the industries of the people there have been frequent interferences. Our platform truly says that many industries have been impoverished to subsidize a few. Our commerce has been degraded to an inferior position on the high seas ; manufactures have been diminished, agriculture has been embarrassed ; and the distress of the industrial classes demand that these things shall be reformed. The burdens of the people gov. hendricks's letter of acceptance. 299 must also be lightened by a great change in our system of public expenses. The profligate expenditures, which increased taxation, from five dollars per capita in 1860 to eighteen dollars in 1870, tells its own story of our need of reform. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. — THE COOLY TRADE. Our treaties with foreign powers should also be revised and amended, in so far as they leave citizens of foreign birth in any particular less secure in any coun- try on earth than they Avould be if they had been born upon our own soil. And the iniquitous cooly system, which, through the agency of wealthy compa- nies, imports Chinese bondsmen, and establishes a spe- cies of slavery, and interferes with the just rewards of labor on our Pacific coast, should be utterly abolished. CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM. In the reform of our civil service, I most heartily indorse that section of the platform which declares that the civil service ought not to " be subject to change at every election," and that it ought not be made the " brief reward of party zeal," but ought to be a reward for proved competency, and held for fidelity in the public employ. I hope never again to see the cruel and remorseless proscription for political opinions which has disgraced the administration of the last eight years. Bad as the civil service now is, as all men know, it has some men of tried integrity 300 gov. hendeicks's letter of acceptance. and proved ability. Such men, and such men only, should be retained in office ; but no man should be retained, on any consideration, who has prostituted his office to the purposes of partisan intimidation or cor- pulsion, or who has furnished money to corrupt the elections. This is done, and has been done, in almost every county of the land. It is a blight upon the morals of the country, and ought to be reformed. THE SCHOOLS. — SECTIONAL CONTENTIONS. Of sectional contentions, and in respect to our com- mon schools, I have only this to say : That, in my judgment, the man or party that would involve our schools in political or sectarian controversy is an enemy to the schools. The common schools are safer under the protecting care of all the people than under the control of any party or sect. There must be neither division nor misappropriation of the funds for their support. Likewise I regard the man who would arouse or foster sectional animosities and antagonisms among his countrymen as a dangerous enemy to his country. All the people must be made to feel and know that once more there is established a purpose and policy under which all the citizens, of every condition, race, and color, will be secure in the enjoyment of whatever rights the Constitution and laws declare or recognize ; and that, in any controversy that may arise, the gov- ernment is not a partisan, but, within its constitutional authority, the just and powerful guardian of the rights gov. Hendricks's letter of acceptance. 301 and safety of all. The strife between the sections and between races will cease as soon as the power for evil is taken away from a party that makes political gain out of scenes of violence and bloodshed, and the con- stitutional authority is placed in the hands of men whose political welfare requires that peace and good order shall be preserved everywhere. GOVERNOR TILDEN COMMENDED. It will be seen, gentlemen, that I am in entire accord with the platform of the Convention by which I have been nominated as a candidate for the office of Vice- President of the United States. Permit me, in con- clusion, to express my satisfaction at being associated with a candidate for the Presidency who is first among his equals as a representative of the spirit and of the achievements of reform. In his official career, or as the executive of the great State of New York, he has, in a comparatively short period, reformed the public service, and reduced the public burdens so as to have earned at once the gratitude of his State, and the admiration of the country. The people know him to be strongly in earnest. He has shown himself to be possessed of powers and qualities which fit him in an eminent degree for the great work of reformation which this country now needs ; and, if he shall be chosen by the people to the high office of President of the United States, I believe the day of his inauguration will be 302 gov. hendricks's letter of acceptance. the beginning of a new era of peace, purity, and prosperity in all departments of our government. I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, Thomas A. Hendricks. To the Hon. John A. McClernand, Chairman, and others of of the Committee of the National Democratic Convention. CHAPTER XVI. THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE OP MESSRS. TILDEN AND HENDRICKS. New York Express. — Brooklyn Eagle. — St. Louis Republican. — Philadelphia Times. — Albany Argus. — Eagle again. — Boston Sunday Times. — Courier. — Traveller. — New York Times. — New York Herald. — Saturday Evening Express. — New Haven Register. — Springfield Republican. — Baltimore Gazette. — Chica- go Times. — Cincinnati Enquirer. — New York Journal of Com- merce. — Detroit Free Press. — Portland Argus. — Bangor Com- mercial. — Manchester Union. It lias been seen that the news of their nomination was received with rejoicing: so it may be well to look at the reception of their letters of acceptance. [From the New York Express.] The coast is now clear. Candidates, platforms, acceptances, and arguments are all before the country ; and the electors must prepare to make their choice. If made wisely, the people will be greatly blessed in their Government and in their business ; and, if unwisely, then again we shall be doomed to the terrible repeti- tions of the past. The letter of Mr. Tilden is marked with all the peculiarities of the man. It is instructive, terse, timely, and complete in the discussion of topics 303 304 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. which now .interest the public. Withal, too, it is full of faith and hope .as to the capabilities of the country and people to be brought out of their present Slough of Despond ; and the way is pointed out by making sucli changes of administration and of principles as will insure the desired end. . . . The letter of Gov. Hen- dricks generalizes where Gov. Tilden condenses upon an enlargement of the topics discussed. Both are in hearty accord with the platform. Both agree as to the need of repealing the act defining the date of resump- tion. Both are clear as to the right private and public remedies for great public diseases. It is folly, or worse, to attempt to point out any great difference of opinion between the two men, as to conclusions. The style in the letters is the only difference, and Mr. Tilden has weighed his words, perhaps, with more care than his associate ; but in both letters there is the plainest honesty of purpose, the most sincere love of country, and a healthful desire to save the country from further inflictions of evil. [From the Brooklyn Eagle.] Reform is the keynote, watchword, and basis, the Alpha and the Omega, of Mr. Tilden's letter. His treatment of the subject is characteristic. He is noth- ing, if not practical ; he is nothing, if not intrepid, cogent, and candid. The reader will find no gushing, and no schoolboy twaddle, in his letter. It is crammed with statements of facts and propositions. He does not THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 805 try to tickle the ear: he goes straight to the under- standing. He reposes on truth, and borrows nothing from rhetoric. He makes out a case for the people, not as an attorney for one side, but he delivers a judicial summary that is just in its views, complete in its nar- rative, profound, simple, and practical in all its recom- mendations. Mr. Tilden does not pen half a column of jejune and pretty small-talk, nice with genteel hopes and innocuous observations. He tells what is the mat- ter with the country ; and he exhibits definitely what would be the way out of our distresses if the guidance were left to him. A President with a policy has been the longing of the nation for years. A candidate with a policy is presented by the Democrats ; and he himself discloses his policy to-day with a detail, a largeness, a clearness and learning, that are excellent. We merely want that letter read ; and we will risk the effect of it on any mind that discovers for itself just what the letter is. [From the St. Louis Republican.] No abler exposition of the currency question is extant. Of that portion of the letter which refers to reform, " The Republican " says, " It is drawn in terms that must arouse every reader to a realizing sense of the truly perilous condition of the country. The whole document is couched in very vigorous, plain, and simple language. If longer than such letters usually are, it may be said that the occasion and the oppor- tunity justify an elaborate presentation of views and 306 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. sentiments. The letter is such a one as could emanate only from a statesman worthy to be President of a Great Republic." In connection with Mr. Hendricks and his letter, " The Republican " remarks, " Those who have been worrying themselves, as to any disagree- ment of the views of Gov. Hendricks with the senti- ments expressed by the St. Louis Convention, will find in his letter accepting the nomination for Vice-Presi- dent that there is no such disagreement. Mr. Hen- dricks starts out with a full, unequivocal, and emphatic indorsement of the Democratic platform in its entirety ; and in all its parts this document is a most admirable one." [From the Philadelphia Times.] As all expected from Samuel J. Tilden, his letter is replete with rare good sense and sound conclusions ; and it will be difficult for carping criticism to find good foothold for its work. It is somewhat circumlocutary and stubbornly mathematical in reaching its conclu- sions on the financial issue ; but men of diverse theo- ries as to resumption will read it, and wonder why they find so little in it to dissent from. Both Tilden and Hendricks, although presumed to represent antagonistic convictions on the financial question, plod on smoothly and pleasantly, each in his own way, until they find themselves as "two souls with but a single thought" on the vexatious issue of specie payments. . . . On but a single other point does Mr. Tilden depart from the plain lines of the St. Louis platform. His brief THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 307 but cogent argument in favor of a single Presidential term is one of his happiest and strongest declarations, and bears upon its face the impress of sincere con- viction. On the true relations of the North and South to each other, he utters the views of every patriot ; on the question of civil-service reform, his positive and practical pledges contrast sublimely with the high- sounding word-painting of Gov. Hayes ; and his con- cluding paragraph, which of itself would have made a complete and appropriate letter, has the ring of an earnest man whose terse sentences are inspired by an earnest purpose. [From the Albany Argus.] Gov. Tilden's letter, accepting the nomination of the St. Louis Convention for the office of President of the United States, will attract universal attention, and cannot fail to win the hearty approval of every Ameri- can patriot. In this admirable State paper, the subject of the currency is exhaustively discussed, and in a style so clear and simple as to readily and permanently familiarize the mind of every reader with all the bear- ings of the question. All sections have a common interest in a staple policy such as shall insure general confidence, and work the earliest return to specie pay- ments. Gov. Tilden shows the way out of the present depression, and conclusively demonstrates that specie payments can be speedily resumed, not only without embarrassment to business, but in such a manner as to afford it great and permanent relief. 308 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. No subject upon which the public welfare depends is overlooked by the Governor ; nor is there an evasive or doubtful phrase in its whole composition. In it the wisdom of the statesman and the candid simplicity of private citizenship are blended. The letter of Gov. Hendricks, accepting the nomina- tion of Vice-President, is a cogent and convincing enforcement of the principles and purposes enunciated by the Convention. His cordial and emphatic approval of the platform was to be expected ; for it is in entire harmony with all his public utterances and official acts. [From the Brooklyn Eagle.] Earnest, manly, hearty, and courtly Thomas A. Hen- dricks writes a letter which, in one act, raises the states- man of the West above the misrepresentation of the homoncules of the East. Read it through, and then read it again. He shows even Grant to be better than the system he is hemmed in by. How much more would Hayes, the merely petty man of politics, be mal- formed by that which has wrought mayhem of charac- ter to the grim and stolid Grant ! Every line of Mr. Hendricks is worth a dollar in specie, so hard money are his words. His review of our case as a people fits the fame of the leader of the Senate, in times when sciolism and hate could outvote him, but could not reply to him. The campaign is now open. Room for th<* reformers, the patriots, and the statesmen, who have been selected by the party of the people, to head the THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 309 crusade against the intrenched plunderers, a libel on the term Republicanism, a scandal on the name Ameri- can! [From the Boston Sunday Times.] The difference is about this : The letter of Gov. Hayes is the enunciation of an ideal statesman ; that of Gov. Tilden, the giving-eut of a practical reformer. Both men mean well ; but the question is, which can perform best ? The nation is wandering in a financial wilderness ; but, before it engages a guide to get it out, it wants some assurance of his ability. So the case simply resolves itself into this : Who is the meet capable of being the American Moses, Hayes or Tilden ? Viewed simply in the light of their letters of acceptance, we should say, most decidedly, Gov. Tilden, as his epistle shows him to be one of the most consummate masters of finance, and political economists, which the country has produced. Both he and Hayes are thoroughly honest men, and both promise to bring every thing all right if elected. So the country has not to choose between their desire to accomplish the needed reforms, but, rather, between their abilities. Judged by this standard, with all possible respect for the capacity of Gov. Hayes, we hadly think he can compare with Samuel J. Tilden. The first has expressed his preference for honest govern- ment, and no one doubts it ; but the second has smitten thieves right and left, wherever he found them, and not only injured his popularity in his native State, but even imperilled his Presidential nomination. 310 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. [From the Boston Sunday Courier.] There has been a good deal of unnecessary and irrel- evant talk about the delay in the appearance of the Hon. Samuel J. Tilden's letter of acceptance of the Democratic nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Tilden is not a gentleman of leisure, but the Governor of the most important Commonwealth in the Union ; and the duties of that office, if properly performed, naturally occupy every hour that a man of Mr. Tilden's years and habits can devote to business. He has simply taken proper and necessary time in which to frame an epistle whose importance he recognizes by the time lie has taken in preparing it for the public ; and no unpre- judiced person will believe that the so-called delay has been a misappropriation of time. The two following selections, one from the " Boston Traveller," the other from " The New York Times," show through what different glasses people see, or think they see, [From the Boston Traveller.] This letter has much that is good ; but its good recom- mendations can be found in the messages of Pres. Grant, in the Republican platform, and in the letter of Gov. Hayes. He makes no new suggestions ; and after read- ing it the country will know no more of his financial views, no more of his opinions in relation to practical measures for the pacification of the South, no more of what he would recommend to restore activity and pros- THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 811 perity to business, than it did before. He is definite enough when describing evils that every one is aware of, and in recommending measures that everybody is in favor of, and he is enthusiastic when describing himself as a reformer ; but, on all questions upon which there are differences of opinion, he is wordy, non-committal, and unsatisfactory to those who seek to know what his opinions are. [From the New York Times.] Gov. Tilden's letter of acceptance, so far as it relates to finance and " reform," is a mere rehash of his last Annual Message. The St. Louis platform was also a rehash of the same document by the same hand. Here we have three documents, all from the same pen, all containing the same barren ideas, and overflowing with cant about reform, and exaggerated and untruthful charges against the Republican party. For that organi- zation, as our readers well know, we do not claim per- fection ; but we are ready to defend it from slander, and slander is the weapon with which Gov. Tilden assails its financial record and policy. [From the New York Herald.] On the currency question, Gov. Tilden and Gov. Hendricks are in accord. If any thing, the expressions of Gov. Hendricks on this subject are stronger than those of his colleague, because they are more intelli- gible. He desires the repeal of the Resumption Act, as the retracing of a false step. Gov. Tilden virtually 312 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. takes the same ground, although at some length and with consummate ability he points out the blunders in our whole financial legislation since the close of the war. This part of Gov. Tilden's letter will bear careful study, and should be read over and over again by those who care to comprehend his scheme for a reform in our currency. First, the Governor would repeal the Resump- tion Act, because it means nothing ; then he would save enough money to redeem the legal-tenders ; and, when we had that " central reservoir of coin," he would resume. He indicates no time when this resumption will take place, although he thinks the sooner the better. He has no faith in statutes fixing certain days for resump- tion, because they are not respected. This whole busi- ness, he proceeds to say, " belongs to the domain of practical administrative statesmanship. The captain of a steamer about starting from New York to Liverpool does not assemble a council over his ocean-chart, and fix an angle by which to lash the rudder for the whole voyage : a human intelligence must be at the helm to discern the shifting forces of the waters and the winds." This figure of rhetoric expresses the position of the two statesmen, and it may be thus expressed : " Repeal resumption, save your money, and allow the President to resume when he is ready." The clear and gratify- ing fact, however, is, that Mr. Tilden, if elected, will, whether the Resumption Act is repealed or not, use all the powers of the administration to secure resumption. He is for hard money and paying the national debt. THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 313 [From the Boston Saturday Evening Express.] As documents, they are marked by remarkable statesmanship, high-toned sentiment, lofty principles, and unanswerable logic. We doubt if any similar papers that ever emanated from public men in the country, since the organization of our Government, have been more admirable in statement, more sound in argument, or more true and philosophical in their conclusions. They have already met, and will continue to meet, the heartiest welcome and approval of not only the entire Democracy of the country, but of thou- sands of honest, independent men, who have hitherto acted with another political organization. The letter and the platform constitute a ground upon which all men who desire to have, and can assuredly get, a good administration of affairs, may stand shoulder to shoul- der, and go forward in a common and glorious cause, — the re-organization and restoration of the Government. On for Tilden and Hendricks ! [From the New Haven Register.] No American citizen should lay down his paper, until he has perused carefully the grand letters of acceptance of Messrs. Tilden and Hendricks. To say they are what every Democrat expected, would not be expressive of the satisfaction which all feel at marching to victory under a banner that so fully em- blazons the cardinal doctrines of the Constitution, and under a leader who boldly rides at the head of his 314 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. attacking columns. It is seldom, in a century's time, that such a forcible document as Mr. Tilden's letter bursts upon a people, putting to flight all the foul birds that have built their nests under the cornices of the American Capitol, and defiled its interior with a corruption unimaginable to the great body of the people. [From the Springfield Republican.] Mr. Tilden illustrates his just sense of proportion in devoting so large a part of his letter to the economical questions now pressing so urgently for solution, — to the problem of specific resumption, and the cognate topics of public expenditure, taxation, and revenue. These questions are not new to him. They have occupied his thoughts for years. In treating them, he is on familiar and favorite ground. He brings to their dis- cussion a well-trained and well-stored mind. At once a student, and a man of affairs, he discusses these questions in a practical, impressive, illuminating way, which the plain people, at all events, will appreciate. Even those who dissent, in whole or part, from his conclusions, will recognize the intelligence and cogency of his reasoning. . . . The vigorous sentences in which Mr. Tilden discusses the abuses of our partisanized civil service, points out the plain and accepted reme- dies, avows his purpose to use them, and commits himself definitely to the policy of embedding the one- term principle in the organic law, are full of the intelli- gence, as well as the spirit, of reform. Hardly less THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 315 satisfactory is his brief but explicit and strong treat- ment of the Southern question. The pledge, that, if elected, he will use all his Constitutional powers to protect every citizen, white or black, in the enjoyment of his political and personal rights, seems to cover the ground. . . . Taken together, the letters undoubtedly increase the chances of their writers. They are letters for independent voters to rejoice in, and " edify by." They give occasion for general congratulation and encouragement. [From the Baltimore Gazette.] The letter of acceptance, which has been so eagerly awaited, has come at last, in a form that repays us for all delay. It is clear, earnest, and forcible, and carries with it a weight of conviction that will sink into the minds of the people. Its style is somewhat cumbrous, but it is not in the least ambiguous. It has a hearty ring, a statesmanlike breadth, a fulness of detail, an aggressive tone, and a decided and definite policy, in all of which respects it differs from the timid and faltering letter of Mr. Hayes. [From the Chicago Times.] So clear, cogent, and masterful a condensation of the financial question has never been presented in so small a space. Never since the foundation of this Govern- ment has there been a man selected for the great station to which Tilden is nominated, who has had so accurate a knowledge of the functions of the office ; 316 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. never, since Jefferson, a man who could embody, with such irresistible cogency, the very essence of practical administration. Of the South, he speaks with thorough manliness and discretion. He will administer the law in behalf of white and black, irrespective of color, and enforce penalties for murder with swift and heavy stroke. He speaks throughout like a man impressed with the weight of the work that is slowly descending upon him. There are none of the fine phrases of the ordinary candidates. Ruggedness, force, intensity, work, stand out in every line and syllable. If Franklin or Jefferson, or any of the more eminent of the frugal fathers, were called upon, they would have written just about such a letter as Mr. Tilden sends out to his countrymen, invoking their confidence, and revealing his desires. As a campaign production, the letter pre- sents all the issues with a cogency of argument, a com- pactness of statement, a brilliancy of illustration, which take it far out of the literature of its class, and stamp its author a statesman. The position of Hendricks on the currency question may be accepted as a sign of im- provement in the political condition, since it virtually removes the head and front, and disrupts the whole regimen, of inflationism. Hendricks does no discredit, in this utterance, to the company he is in. Substan- tially in accord with the hard-money men, and greatly in advance of Hayes on civil-service reform, he should no longer be an impediment to the overpowering per- sonality of our Uncle Samuel. THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 317 [From the Cincinnati Enquirer.] The keynote of the letter of Mr. Tilden is, as was expected, a demand for reform, giving the reasons why. It is a potent plea for economy, for the lessening of taxation, for simplicity in government, for relief. . . . We opposed the nomination of Mr. Tilden. When nominated, we gave him support. With his letter before us, we cordially call upon our friends everywhere to give him an earnest support. He has left no excuse for a third party. He has left no excuse for rebellion or " bolting " among Democratic ranks. He has made noble and statesmanlike concessions to the Democracy of the West, by reason of which he deserves their support. [From the New York Journal of Commerce.] Gov. Tilden, if elected President, could not hope by his influence to control or sensibly shape the course of Congress in most matters ; but he has exhibited great cleverness at Albany in impressing the necessity of certain reforms on an adverse majority in the State Senate, and might perhaps do the same at Washington. A Republican Senate voted with a Democratic House, in 1875, all the resolutions and bills for ferreting out and punishing the canal thieves. The Governor's recommendations to the Legislature were so wise and good that neither party dared to refuse them. All of his reform projects of that year passed the Legislature, not necessarily because both parties liked them, but because they feared to vote them down, and face the 318 THE PRESS ON TIIE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. public wrath. Mr. Tildcn's tact in this line might be operative on the larger scale at Washington, and the two branches be morally compelled to agree in support- ing him in some reforms. ... It is now in the power of the people, by the election of Mr. Tilden for President, to realize and enjoy some of those reforms for which they so eagerly long. Nothing but a change of admin- istration can do the good work. [From the Detroit Free Press.] The letter speaks for itself ; and it is clear, bold, and refreshing in its utterances. It touches upon the vital questions before the people, with a directness that must convince every reader of the downright earnestness of the writer, and, as we believe, confirm a large majority of the people in the judgment they had already formed, that Samuel J. Tilden is pre-eminently the man to be placed at the helm of the Ship of State. Gov. Hen- dricks's letter is an admirable companion-piece to that of Gov. Tilden. It is not so elaborate ; but it is inci- sive, pertinent, and statesmanlike, and in every way worthy of the pure and able Governor of Indiana. [From the Portland (Me.) Argus.] The letters speak for themselves, and will richly repay careful perusal by every citizen. That of Gov. Tilden presents the causes of the present palsy of busi- ness, and the methods of certain and complete recupera- tion, in a masterly manner. Gov. Tilden is a statesman. He is endowed by Nature for that role, and he has THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE.. 319 improved well his extraordinary natural "gifts. The financial policy of the Government, at every step, has received his careful study, making plain its errors and the consequences, as well as the true methods from which there has been so wide a departure. The letter of Gov. Hendricks is able, frank, and sound, — fit com- panion for that of Gov. Tilden. Both will receive the unhesitating approbation of every true Democrat, while fair-minded Republicans will concede to both a breadth and elevation of statesmanship of which any party might well be proud. [From the Hartford Times.] This letter is a text-book of truthful and wise sentiments ; and it will be accepted as the letter of a statesman, ranking with the writings of the " Fathers " whose wisdom and foresight are so universally applauded in this centennial year. The letter needs no review or praise. Nothing can be said to strengthen its impregnable positions, or its broad and wise propo- sitions. We can only most earnestly commend it to the careful perusal of every reader, with the assurance that it is not too lengthy, for in all its parts it is richly laden with the truths and sentiments for which the whole country is thirsting. [From the Bangor Commercial.] No better, no more refreshing, no more statesmanlike document, has been laid before the American people 320 THE PRESS ON THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. since their drooping hopes were revived by the first inaugural address of Thomas Jefferson, seventy-five years ago. [From the Manchester (N.H.) Union.] These letters will be read with lively interest by the people. They show the Democratic candidates to be thoroughly and earnestly enlisted in the reforms de- manded by the people. Their election by a good majority — as now appears probable — would give the work of reform a start that would soon change the present sad state of affairs for the better. The people must look to their interests in this matter. CHAPTER XVII. MR. TILDEN ON A NATIONAL BANK IN 1840. — HIS MESSAGE IN 1875. Causes of Fluctuation in Prices. — Previous Crises and Failures. — United States Bank and Expansion of Currency the Causes. — From Mr. Tilden's Speech in 1868. — Conclusion. Of the United States Bank, technically called " Nick Biddle's Bank," which Gen. Jackson strangled, and of the " deposits " which he removed, the present genera- tion know nothing but what they have learned from history, or from a few of us old fellows who remain, and whom it is as uncommon to see as a mole above ground. Mr. Tilden has always been a " hard-money" man. Even Thomas H. Benton, whom the country named " Old Bullion," was scarcely more so. I quote the following from Mr. Tilden's speech at New Leba- non, Oct. 30, 1840 : — CAUSES OF THE EECENT FLUCTUATION IN PRICES. The first and chief cause is a fluctuation in the currency. The price of an article is the amount of money for which it will exchange. If, with the same articles in the market, the amount of money to purchase 321 322 SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. them be increased, they will exchange for more money ; in other words, their prices will rise. Or, if the amount of money be decreased, they will be exchanged for less money ; in other words, their prices will fall. I do not mean that the price of each article will vary just according to variations in the amount of money ; for circumstances will always exist, peculiar to particular articles or classes of articles, to make them rise and fall more or less than the average. But, in regard to the mass of articles taken together, the principle is not only obviously true, but is verified by all experience. HOW" A NATIONAL BANK REGULATED THE CUR- RENCY. How could a large bank, constituted on essentially the same principles, be expected to regulate beneficially the lesser banks ? Has enlarged power been found to be less liable to abuse than limited power ? Has con- centrated power been found less liable to abuse than distributed power ? If any entertained an exception so contrary to all human experience, the experience ought to satisfy them of its fallacy. The United States Bank commenced its operations in January, 1817. Although a nominal resumption of specie payments by the State banks took place, the currency was dangerously extended. The bank urged its notes into circulation with unprecedented rapidity ; SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. 323 and, the excess causing a constant exportation of specie, it sought to counteract that effect, not by reducing the currency to its proper amount, but by forced importa- tions of specie, which it made to the extent of seven millions, and at a great loss. It continued these opera- tions till July, 1818, when its circulation amounted to nine millions, and its loans to forty -nine millions. A revulsion then commenced ; and the bank began a rapid contraction. But its affairs grew every day worse. In February, 1819, Mr. Jones, its president, resigned ; and Mr. Cheves of South Carolina was appointed in his place. In an exposition made several years after to the stockholders, that gentleman states, that, as he was about to commence his journey to Phila- delphia, he was apprised that the bank would soon be obliged to stop payment ; and, when he " reached Washington, he received hourly proofs of the probabil- ity of this event ; " that "in Philadelphia it was gener- ally expected." He also states that on the 1st of April the specie in its vaults was reduced to seventy-nine thousand dollars, while its balances to the Philadelphia banks were one hundred and twenty-six thousand dol- lars. By a rigorous contraction of its issues, and the cutting-off of all its exchange business, by the whole aid of the Government, and a loan in Europe, it barely weathered the storm, but was for years in a sickly con- dition. The prostration of business and prices during this period was without a parallel ; and the bank was universally regarded as the main agent of the mischief. 324 SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. The reduction of the whole currency from the height of the expansion to the 1st of January, 1820, was one- third ; that of the circulation of the bank was nearly two-thirds. The next great crisis was in the fall of 1825. Mr. Bicldle, in his testimony before a committee of Congress, describes it as " the most disastrous period in the finan- cial history of England," when the " wild speculations in American mines, and wilder speculations in Ameri- can cotton, recoiled upon England, and spread over it extensive ruin ; " and says that " the very same storm passed over this country a few weeks before," and " was on the eve of producing precisely the same results." He also states, that this " panic, which would have been fatal to the country," was averted by his hurrying to New York, and prevailing on a gentleman to accept drafts, " who was preparing to draw specie from the banks of Philadelphia," to establish a bank in New Orleans. It has been intimated that Mr. Biddle's private night-journey was occasioned by an emergency more peculiar to his own institution than he would have the public suppose ; but he admits enough. He shows how near, even on the most favorable account of the matter, the whole system of currency, with its regulator, came to a total overthrow, and by how slight and common a circumstance it Avas alternately jeop- arded and saved. Turn now from the account of this hair's-breadth escape, to what Mr. Biddle did not so frankly relate, — the source of the peril. The returns SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. 325 of the bank show that its circulation increased in the two years previous to July, 1825, more than a hundred and five per cent ; and, in the six months previous to that time, more than fifty-seven per cent. I have not the means of ascertaining the increase in the circula- tion of the State banks during this period ; but there is abundant reason to believe that it was in nothing like the same proportion. The subsequent reduction fell mainly upon them ; the United States Bank succeeding in substituting, to a considerable extent, its notes for theirs. Its success, however, in the competition for private profit, was a poor consolation to the public, who were victims to the process. Mr. McCulloch states that, during the same two years, the country banks of England extended their circulation fifty per cent; and he exclaims against such an increase as " extravagant and unprincipled," — an increase less than half as great as that of our " regulator." A revulsion rather less severe occurred in the com- mencement of 1832. The United States Bank was greatly embarrassed. It procured the payment of the three per cents, for which the Government had pro- vided the means, to be postponed ; and, when the time to which it had been postponed approached, it sent a confidential director abroad to make an arrangement with the holders of the stocks, not to present them for payment, while it held and used the money Govern- ment had provided for their redemption. The formWn which the transaction was first attempted, the bank 326 SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. was obliged to disavow as constituting a violation of its charter, that in which it was consummated being merely a breach of trust. The increase of its circula- tion during the two years previous to the 1st of Janu- ary, 1832, was sixty-four per cent ; and its reduction in the summer after, about twenty per cent. The circula- tion of the New York banks increased, during the same period, twenty-nine per cent ; that of the Pennsylvania banks, from February, 1829, to November, 1831, about twenty-one per cent. It is difficult to procure returns from the banks sufficiently near the dates to afford a just comparison ; but such as are procured show that the average increase, even if it were larger than that of the New York banks, was very far short of that of the United States Bank. In the fall of 1833 the removal of the deposits was made ; and the panic of 1834 followed. The bank, by October, 1834, had contracted its circulation nearly twenty per cent, and its loans more than fourteen millions, as it alleged, in consequence of that measure. When its attempt to coerce a restoration of the de- posits and a renewal of its charter failed, it commenced an expansion ; and by July, 1835, extended its circula- tion sixty-two per cent, and its loans nineteen millions, or five millions more than all the reduction which it pretended it had been forced to make by the removal of the deposits ; and that when its charter had but eight months longer to run. The great expansion which produced the disastrous excesses of 1835 and / SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. 327 1836 occurred mainly in the former year ; and the whole enlargement of the currency during that year was thirty-four per cent, or, if we take the net circula- tion, thirty-one per cent ; and during that year and the next, less than forty-four, and, if we take the net cir- culation, thirty-six per cent. The ratio of expansion of its net circulation by the United States Bank, to July, 1835, was from November, 1834, sixty-two per cent ; from January, 1835, when the currency had reached at least a level, forty-six per cent ; and, from its last return previous to the removal of the deposits, thirty-seven per cent. The bank is justly responsible for the whole amount of its expansion from the lowest point of contraction in 1834 ; for it had made that con- traction under the pretence that such a diminution of its business was rendered necessary by the removal of the deposits ; and the vacuum in the circulation, being- created under favorable exchanges, was necessarily filled by the notes of other institutions ; and the sub- sequent addition to the currency was as inexcusable as it was dangerous. Such an addition could not fail to create a most injurious excitement in banking and trade, and, with a tithe of the power which its friends claimed for this bank over the smaller institutions, to stimulate them to the utmost extravagance. And, when the time of this expansion is considered, no fair- minded man can doubt that it communicated the main impulse to the disastrous excesses which followed. We have thus seen this institution, which was 328 SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. established to " regulate " the others, twice, according to the statements of its own presidents, on the very verge of bankruptcy, and a third time extricating itself from its embarrassments by a breach of trust which would subject an individual to a criminal punish- ment ; and, looking at its returns, we find each of these occasions preceded by an extension of its business, unparalleled in any similar institution. We have seen that, in every great expansion of the currency which has occurred during the whole period of its existence, it increased its circulation in a far larger ratio than the expansion of the whole currency. And these suc- cessive expansions, and the revulsions which followed them with short intervening seasons of quietude, have filled the whole history of business during that period. The extraordinary powers of this bank, and its freedom from competition, while organized on the same prin- ciples and therefore subject to the same impulses as other institutions, have only encouraged it to embark on the most hazardous adventures to extend the profits of its business ; from which it has been repeatedly extricated only by the credit of the Government, or the direct assistance of the Treasury. Such was the manner in which the United States Bank " regulated " the currency while it was a national institution. For the benefit of those who think the loss of such services the cause of the recent commer- cial disorders, and their restoration by the establish- ment of a similar institution the sovereign panacea, I pursue its subsequent history. SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. 329 On the 20th February, 1836, Mr. Bidclle presented a meeting of the stockholders with the new charter from the State of Pennsylvania, congratulating them on the dissolution of their connection with the General Government, which he pronounced to be an unnatural connection, beneficial neither to « the bank nor the Govern- ment," and declaring that « the bank was now safer, stronger, and more prosperous than it ever was." On the 11th November, 1836, in a letter to Mr. Adams, Mr. Biddle declared that the revulsion, which had then become severe, was owing to the "mere mismanage- ment " of the Government ; denied « that the country has over-traded, that the banks have over-issued, and that the purchasers of public lands have been very extravagant;" and concluded his long argument to sustain these positions thus triumphantly : " Exchange with all the world is in favor of New York : how, then, can New York be an over-trader ? Her merchants have sold goods to the merchants of the interior, who are willing to pay, and, under ordinary circumstances, able to pay; but by the mere fault of the Government, as obvious as if an earthquake had swallowed them up, their debtors are disabled from making immediate pay- ment. It is not that the Atlantic merchants HAVE SOLD too many GOODS, but that the Government prevents their receiving pay for any" And this in the face of sales of public lands during that year, to the amount of twenty-four millions of dollars, and an excess of imports over exports of sixty- 330 SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. one millions ! But even this great financier, who was competent of himself to regulate all the business of the country, could at last be made to learn what every man of common-sense had known long before. On the 13th May, 1837, two days after his bank had suspended, in a second letter to Mr. Adams, Mr. Biddle said : " We owe a debt to foreigners by no means large for our resources, but disproportioned to our present means of payment. We have worn and eaten and drunk the produce of their industry, — too much of all, perhaps ; but that is our fault, not theirs.''' No doubt. But when had we done so ? Even Mr. Biddle would not say that it was after the writing of. his previous letter. He also said that, "had the bank consulted merely its own strength, it would have continued its payments without reserve." Certainly. He suspended for the sake of the other banks, just as he made his night-jour- ney in 1825, and his fraudulent arrangement as to the three per cents in 1832, for their sake. These facts all rest upon the same testimony. He promised also to " take the lead in an early resumption of specie pay- ments." In the fall of 1837, when a convention was proposed to bring about a general resumption, the United States Bank at first refused to join in it; and afterwards sent delegates, who opposed resumption, and succeeded in voting down the measure through its associates and dependants. And when the New York banks were about to resume alone, on the 5th of April, 1838, in a SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. 331 third letter to Mr. Adams, Mr. Biddle argued at great length that the resumption then was " premature," threatened them in an insolent tone with the conse- quences of the attempt, and told them to appeal to the legislature " to rectify their mistake," and legalize a further suspension. The New York banks resumed about the 1st of May; but the United States Bank remained suspended until the latter part of the year, when it nominally resumed by substituting post-notes for its ordinary circulation ; or, in other words, notes bearing on their face a promise of payment a year after date, for notes bearing on their face a promise of pay- ment on demand. In the spring of 1839, Mr. Biddle resigned the presi- dency of the bank, announcing, that having brought it safely through all the difficulties, and leaving it in a sound and prosperous condition, he could now retire from its management. Through the summer, it strug- gled with the embarrassments daily thickening upon it ; and in October it failed, inflicting upon the commercial affairs of the country the extensive mischief under which they have been suffering for the year past, but from which, thanks to the beneficent regulation of the laws of trade, they are now rapidly recovering. FROM SPEECH OF HON. SAMUEL J. TILDEN AT CHAT- HAM, N.Y., ON THURSDAY, SEPT. 24, 1868. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, it is with a high pleasure, not untinged with something of sadness, that, 332 SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEN. after a long interval, I stand once more among the assembled Democracy of the county of Columbia. I feel like a man revisiting the spot where cluster the dear and tender associations of home, and looking about him to see his friends and his kindred. It was here, in one of the loveliest of your beautiful valleys, that my eyes first opened upon the light of heaven ; and here, after a period of many years of various experiences, come back upon my heart all those interesting and never-to-be-forgotten associations which belong to our youth. I am here to-day in response to the appeal of my young friend [Mr. E. L. Gaul], himself a son of my long-esteemed friend, that you had a right to claim my obedience to your call. I recognize your Chairman [Mr. Van Schaack], a friend of my boyhood, whom I am glad to meet here, though I can scarcely do it without emotions that over- whelm me. It was here that I first learned to take an interest in the great concerns of our common country ; and was taught, in precept and example, — by him to whom I owed my existence, and largely whatever endowments of intellect I possess, — that it is the first of social duties for a citizen of a republic to take his fair allotment of care and trouble in all public affairs. It was amid these scenes that I formed an acquaintance, at the house of my father, with the great statesmen of the Jacksonian era, who did so much, so wisely and so well, for our country, in their day and generation. At his house I met Martin Van Buren, Silas Wright, SPEECHES OF MR. TILDEX. 333 William L. Marcy, Azariah C. Flagg, and many others whose names are familiar to you all. I also saw in his society Edward Livingston, an ornament of this coun- ty, in which he was born, as was also his great brother Chancellor Livingston ; and I saw here also Albert Gallatin, who, although of foreign birth, was an Ameri- can in all his ideas and tastes. Gentlemen, I have come back among you to-day to plead for those institu- tions which here in my childhood I learned to revere, — which are the great traditions of American free gov- ernment, and which I fondly hoped in my early years would prevail everywhere upon this continent, and secure prosperity and happiness to our people evermore. These are times that give concern to us all. They are times that create anxiety and disquietude as to the future of our country ; and it is because, when most of the illusions of life are past, my mind still clings to that illusion, if it be (I would fondly believe that it is no illusion), of the greatness and glory of my country as the home of a prosperous and happy people, and as the promised land of the toiling millions, that I have come again among you to present to you the views which I entertained when I left you, and which I still cherish, as to what are our duties in respect to the public affairs of our country. I am glad to see that so many of you have gathered on this occasion. J am glad to be informed that in this audience there are so many farmers. It was among the farmers in Columbia that I took my first lessons in politics. It was in the 334 CONCLUSION. simple habits, moderate tastes, and honest purposes of the rural community, that I was accustomed in my youth — and I have not got over that habit — to trust for the welfare of our country. I am glad once more to address an audience composed of farmers. It is from these populations that we must largely hope for whatever of future is reserved to our country ; and I am rejoiced that I have to-day the pleasure of meeting so imposing a representation of them. CONCLUSION. I have now given the record of Messrs. Tilden and Hendricks, the candidates of the Democracy for the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States. I followed out the record of both these gen- tlemen as sketched by others, and also, in part, by themselves. That they are men of education and talent must be conceded by all. That they are of some account in the States in which they severally reside seems to be evident from the fact that each of them is now Governor of one of these States, which by no means are small among our "tribes" of States. That each of them has held other offices of trust and high responsibility is also true ; and, further, that they have filled these offices with fidelity to the public and credit to themselves, no man saith to the contrary. Now, I have given, also, the opinions of some of our most prominent men of them ; and more especially of him who is nominated for the first place in the gift of CONCLUSION. 335 this great nation, Charles Francis Adams, George Ticknor Curtis, Parke Godwin, and others. Of the religious proclivities of these candidates I have had no personal knowledge ; and, as the Consti- tution of the United States does not specify that the President and Vice-President must be either Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, or something else, I have not felt called upon to enter into any minute inquiry as to their religious creeds. I may, however, close with the following quotation from a New York Presbyterian journal, — " Some of our Methodist contemporaries are making more than is meet of Gov. Hayes's relation — by the membership of his wife — to their church. Perhaps they see in it a continuation of sundry consulships and other special favors, touching which they have not been too engaged about the Master's business to make known their wishes and claims. Gov. Hayes is rather of Presbyterian than of Methodist antecedents. His mother was at the time of her death a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, of Columbus, O. We may add, while on the subject, that our respected townsman, Gov. Tilden, is an exemplary attendant upon the services of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, when at his home in New York ; and what is more, he is fairly well seasoned against the perverted wiles which have led his opponent astray. Reverting to the 4 next in rank,' we are told that Gov. Hen- dricks, of Indiana, is the son of a Presbyterian elder; 336 CONCLUSION. but there is a woman in the case again, and she has led him into the Episcopal Church. The Hon. William A. Wheeler, however, is a worthy elder of the Presbyte- rian Church of Malone, N.Y. He stands firm ; and it thus falls out, that he and Gov. Tilden are about right as to their ecclesiastical relations ; while the other two baptized children of our church have been beguiled, as was their father Adam years ago." It would seem, then, that Gov. Tilden, not being specially under the influence of any one of Eve's daughters, should he be elected President, may be ex- pected to stand firmly against temptation. LBD78