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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 
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NATIONAL CAPITAL, WASHINGTON, 
 
MEN AND ISSUES 
 
 OF ’92. 
 
 A GRAND NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
 OF LEADING MEN OF ALL PARTIES; 
 
 WITH A FULL AND FAIR PRESENTATION OF THE 
 
 GREAT NATIONAL QUESTIONS 
 OF THE DAY 
 
 PROTECTION— FREE TRADE— THE McKINLEY BILL— RECI- 
 PROCITY— THE SILVER QUESTION— BI-METALISM, 
 MONO-METALISM, ETC. 
 
 ALSO THE LIVES OF 
 
 REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC 
 
 CANDIDATES FOR 
 
 PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT, 
 
 WITH NATIONAL PLATFORMS. 
 
 BY JAMES P. BOYD, A. M., 
 
 Author op thb Lives of “Grant,” “Sherman” and “Sheridan.” 
 
 PUBLISHERS UNION. 
 
 1892. 
 

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 «5 
 
 >- 
 
 o 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 o 
 
 A National Election in a Republic of forty-four States, 
 embracing well nigh 65,000,000 freemen, is imposing as a 
 spectacle and momentous as an event. All the world looks 
 upon it with curious eyes and anxiously awaits its results. 
 
 In the almost magical evolution of new ideas and in the 
 bewildering whirl of events which characterize American 
 progress, a short four-year term of political administration 
 serves to fix the date, if it does not establish the necessity, 
 for a grand National audit. 
 
 The questions which spring spontaneously from a rich 
 loam of thought, or which grow and shape under the gar- 
 dening hand of statesmen, organizations and political par- 
 ties, and which do not, or cannot, find solution in regular 
 legislation, are naturally and properly crowded over into the 
 campaign year. They are carried, as it were, by popular 
 appeal into the high court of the people, where final hearing 
 and arbitrament is sought as in a tribunal of last resort. 
 
 The American people, by virtue of intelligence, patriotism 
 and sense of responsibility, do not shrink from the grave 
 duty of hearing and judging what has thus been referred 
 to them. Indeed, they regard the electoral privilege as 
 their one glorious opportunity, and the year of a National 
 campaign is to them a year of anxious inquiry, quickened 
 perception, keen mental excitement, strenuous exertion and 
 not a little hurly burly. This is entirely as it should be. It 
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 is highly creditable to them as factors of the body politic 
 and as judges in an august tribunal. Nothing so intensifies 
 the interest in and exalts the importance of a National cam- 
 paign and nothing so sanctifies its results to every partic- 
 ipant. 
 
 What more noticeable to even the careless observer than 
 the fact that each National campaign opens a series of ques- 
 tions which come down closer and closer to the people and 
 touch more and more deeply their very pockets, personal 
 comfort and general welfare, and just in the same propor- 
 tion the people, responsive as an electric current, rise to the 
 discussion and study of those questions, broaden their 
 reasons to new situations and throw their hearts into succes- 
 sive campaigns and elections. A vote to-day is fuller of 
 significance than ever before. 
 
 No sight is more sublime than that of 12,000,000 of 
 voters wrestling with the problems that concern their dinner 
 pails and contents, their hats and coats, their daily wages, 
 their home productions, the worth of their dollars. Nor is 
 there anything so inspiring to honorable citizenship or more 
 hopeful for the perpetuity and progress of the Republic than 
 the thought that each voter feels that his destiny is in his 
 own keeping and that he is at liberty to shape it as he will. 
 
 It is just as noticeable and as much of a fact that as these 
 questions descend toward the people at large and they rise 
 to meet them, the old fashioned partisan narrowness and 
 party bitterness of the National campaign give place to a 
 more genial and liberal spirit. Fanaticism yields to toler- 
 ance ; denunciation to discussion ; bigotry to patient hearing. 
 Blind partyism merges in the greater problems of general 
 welfare and National honor. A campaign year may still be 
 one of excitement and enthusiasm. Political waves may 
 run high and dash about furiously. But these are no 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 7 
 
 longer devastating. Their roar is not a menace to peace; 
 Their clash does not mean destruction. They speedily dis- 
 solve in the great sea of tolerance and the spirit of liberal- 
 ity broods o’er the deep. 
 
 Never in all our political history has the National cam- 
 paign year brought broader, deeper and more pervading 
 questions down closer to the people. There is not an issue 
 that does not touch a vital spot in what most concerns the 
 masses. Parties may proclaim and plead, politicians may 
 conjure and manipulate, but the questions are pre-eminently 
 of and for the people. They are questions of economy, 
 home, family, labor, food, clothing, personal rights, money. 
 They will make of the campaign a school of education, and 
 the school will swarm with interested and enthusiastic 
 scholars, all intent on knowing what is best for their com- 
 fort and prosperity. 
 
 This work has been written with a view of providing a 
 text-book for the scholars in the universal school of the 
 National campaign. It has been made broad and full, so as 
 to embrace the questions that press for solution and present 
 them without reference to preconceived notions or partisan 
 leanings. It regards the entire mass of voters, all the people, 
 as scholars, and endeavors to simplify for them the lessons 
 presented by the campaign, no matter to what party they 
 belong. It presumes that the seriousness of the questions, 
 their intimacy with every personal concern, the immense in- 
 fluence their decision will have upon the enjoyment and 
 prosperity of the citizen and voter, demands for them im- 
 partial consideration, and that every one will be glad of the 
 opportunity to consider them in their historic rather than 
 in their limited party bearings. 
 
 The mission of the ordinary campaign book passed with 
 the era of narrow and bitter partisanship and with the com- 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ing down to the voter of the very class of questions which 
 distinguish the National election of this year. The time, 
 the duty to be performed, the character of the issues, require 
 that full, dispassionate and historic presentation which we 
 have aimed at. We have striven to be plain even to the 
 level of the commonest understanding. We have sought 
 to enlighten generally, leaving the result entirely to the 
 reader and trusting entirely to his judgment as to what is 
 best for him in a political and party sense, after he is in- 
 formed in a general sense. 
 
 The subjects amplified in the above spirit are Free-trade, 
 Protection, Silver Coinage, Tariff Legislation, the new policy 
 of Reciprocity, all of which are championed or opposed by 
 statesmen, legislators and party leaders, whom it is desirable 
 to see and to know better. They are given a place in the 
 book, with their biographies. Excellent photographs of 
 nearly one hundred of them are presented, greatly adding 
 to the worth and beauty of the book. 
 
 In accordance with the design of the book a large space 
 is devoted to biographies of the National Candidates. 
 These biographies are full and complete and are accom- 
 panied by excellent portraits of their subjects. 
 
 Valuable tabular and historic matter relating to former 
 Presidential elections are given and add much to the 
 value of a work devised in the interest of, and written 
 plainly and carefully for, a people who have in their hands, 
 on the momentous occasion of a National election, the 
 choice of their Chief Magistrate for a period of four years, 
 and the decision of measures which intimately concern their 
 welfare and may affect their prosperity and happiness for all' 
 time. The consciousness that such a work is timely and 
 will have a high mission has greatly lightened the labor of 
 preparing it. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 i. 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 Outline of the Situation — Satisfactory Outlook — No Novel 
 Issues — No Personalism — Partisanship at a Discount — An 
 Active and Laborious Campaign — Absence of Pyrotechnics 
 — The “School-House” Plan — Printing Press and Club 
 Room — A Full and Deliberate Verdict — The Tariff as 
 an Issue — Principle of Protection and Free-Trade — 
 Tariff of 1883 — Tidal Wave of 1882-83 — Attitude of Par- 
 ties — The “Morrison Bill” — Cleveland’s Inaugural — 
 Randall’s Position — Sentiment in 1886 — An Issue Needed 
 for 1888 — Cleveland’s Tariff Reform Message — Demo- 
 cratic Commitment — Party Lines Distinctly Drawn — The 
 Mills Bill — Campaign of 1888 — Tariff of 1890 — Tidal 
 Wave of 1890 — Carlisle’s Review of the Situation — 
 Mills and Crisp — The “Divide and Conquer” Plan — 
 Elections of 1891-92 — Their Meaning — The Tariff Issue 
 a Square One — Free Silver Coinage — Attitude of the 
 Two Parties — Opinion of Henry Cabot Lodge — The Farm- 
 ers’ Alliance — Greenback and Free Silver Parties — The 
 Bland Bill— Warner Silver Bill — The Silver Question 
 in Party Platforms — Cleveland’s Silver Position— Silver 
 Act of 1890 — Drift of Democracy Toward Free Silver — 
 The Republican Attitude — Demands of the Alliance — 
 The Silver Miners — A Free Ballot — The Force Bill — 
 
 The “Billion Dollar Congress” — The “Nickel Con- 
 gress” — Opinions of Political Leaders . . . .17 
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
IO 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ii. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 Definition of Free-Trade — Principle of a Tariff — Early Free- 
 Traders — Tariff for Revenue — Tariff Reform — Politics 
 confuses Terms — The English Idea — Old and New Theo- 
 ries — Law as to Capital — As to Labor — Productiveness 
 and Labor — Increased Price — Doctrine of “ Laissez Faire ” 
 — Protection Iniquitous — Class Taxation — Diminished 
 Labor — Wrong of the Custom House — Division of Labor 
 — Aggregate of Labor — Diversified Industry — Produce 
 for Produce — Value of Free Competition — Facility of 
 Exchanges — Diminution of Labor — Capital and Employ- 
 ment — Independence of Foreigners — Free-Trade in Poli- 
 tics — Tariff a Tax — Monopolies and Trusts — Views of 
 Gladstone and Patrick Henry — Protection invokes Wars 
 — England Repudiated her own Protection Laws — 
 Reaches Free-Trade — Views of Wells, Taussig, Robert 
 Peel, Jackson, Rowan, Dallas — Protection Leads to 
 Smuggling — Comparison of Free-Trade and Protection 
 Eras — Views of Buchanan, Lloyd, Garfield — Smith — Free- 
 Trade Era of 1850 to i860 one of Prosperity . 
 
 HI. 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 Principle not in Doubt — Practiced by all Nations — Neces- 
 sary to Commercial Supremacy — For Industrial and 
 Manufacturing Independence — Protection Unites Art and 
 Nature — Protective and Revenue Tariffs — Revenue Du- 
 ties Fall on Necessaries — Protective Duties Fall on 
 Competitive Articles — Rate and Adjustment of Protective 
 Duties— Prohibitory Rates — Essence of Labor in Pro- 
 ducts — Per Cent, of Labor — Application of Protection 
 to Labor — Effect of Protection on Labor — Protection 
 does not Increase Cost to Consumer — Competition Regu- 
 lates Cost — Encouragement to Capital — T o Invention — 
 More and Better Goods— Tariff for Protection not a 
 Tax— Producers Pay the Duty — Sentiment in Bradford — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ii 
 
 Opinions of List, Smith, Mill — Advantage of Protection 
 to Agricultural Communities — “The American System” — 
 Opinions of Washington, Madison, Jefferson, Taussig — 
 American Conditions — European Conditions — Protection 
 Cures Monopoly — Gives Competing Power Abroad — Reve- 
 nue Tariff a Tax — Doctrine of Natural Right — Duty of 
 Development — Use of Natural Gifts — Our Own Econom- 
 ics — Absolute Cheapness not Desirable — Protection 
 does not Tend to Overproduction — Protection since i86i 
 — Carey’s Deductions — Uses to Farmers — Free “ Raw 
 Material” — Protection not for Privileged Classes — 
 Does not Contribute to Great Fortunes — Nor to Trusts 
 — Tends to Fairer Profits — Our Material Growth . . 96 
 
 IV. 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 English Colonial System — The Confederation and Free- 
 Trade — The Constitution and Imposts — Tariff Act of 
 1789 — Protective Era — Embargo and Tariff of 1812 — 
 High Protective Era — Act of 1816 — Disasters of 1817-19 
 — Act of 1824 and the “American System” — Attitude of 
 Parties — Act of 1828 — Hostility to It and Compromise 
 Act of 1833 — Nullification — Panic of 1837 — Protective 
 Rates of 1842 — Repealing Act of 1846 — Effect of Mexi- 
 can War, Discovery of Gold, Foreign Wars and Famines 
 — Tariff Act of 1857 — Panic of 1857 — Protective Act of 
 1861 — Effect of Civil War — Panic of 1873 and Act of 
 1874 — The Tariff Commission and Tariff of 1883 — The 
 Morrison Bill — The Mills Bill — Tariff Act of 1890 — 
 Policy of Reciprocity — Tariff Legislation in 1892 — Tariff 
 Sentiment Abroad — Lord Salisbury’s Views — Tariff Fig- 
 ures ..... 124 
 
 « 
 
 v. 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 Importance of the Question, “What is Money? — Kinds of 
 Money — Money Values — Money Systems — American Coin- 
 
12 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 age — First Coinage Act — Gold and Silver Values — Rea- 
 sons for a Change — Coinage Act of 1834— Mistaken Ra- 
 tios— Silver Monometallized — “ Gresham’s Law ” — “ Mint 
 Act” of 1837— Coinage Act of 1849— Effects of the Dis- 
 covery of Gold— Alarm of the Commercial World — Our 
 “ Legal Tender Acts ” — Resumption of the Coinage Act 
 of 1873— Silver Demonetized— The “Trade Dollar” of 
 1876 — Extent of Coinage to 1878— Coinage Act of 1878— 
 Free and Unlimited Coinage System— Restoration of the 
 Silver Dollar— Coinage Act of 1890— What it Did— The 
 Proposed Free Coinage Act of 1892— What it Seeks— 
 Compared with other Acts — Mint Figures — How to Figure 
 Silver Ratios and Values 193 
 
 VI. 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 General View of Reciprocity — Commercial Treaties — “Most 
 Favored Nation” Clause — Reciprocity and the American 
 Republics — Modern Commercial Era — Escape from Eu- 
 ropean Dominion — The “ Monroe Doctrine ” — Prophecy of 
 John Adams — The International Conference — Report on 
 Reciprocity — Blaine’s Review and Recommendation — Reci- 
 procity and Tariff Act of 1890 — Second Stage of Reci- 
 procity — Acceptance by Foreign Nations — Effect upon 
 Commercial Relations — General View of its Operations . 261 
 
 VII. 
 
 ELECTORAL AND POPULAR VOTES. 
 
 Electoral Vote for 1888 by States — The Popular Vote — 
 Vote by States in 1884— The Electoral Vote — The Popu- 
 lar Vote — The Electoral College in all Presidential 
 Years — Candidates and Parties — Disputed Elections — 
 
 The Effect of the Twelfth Amendment — Votes for Each 
 Candidate — The Popular Vote — When Popular Vote Be- 
 gan to be Counted— As Cast for Each Candidate — Valua- 
 ble and Interesting Data 342 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 13 
 
 VIII. 
 
 LIFE OF BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 Parentage and Early Life — At College — A Law Student — 
 Marriage — At the Indianapolis Bar — Rise in his Profes- 
 sion — Partnerships — In the Army — Colonel of 70TH 
 Indiana — With Hooker’s “Fighting Corps” — On to At- 
 lanta — A Brigade Commander — At Dalton — The Bloody 
 Battle of Resaca — At Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta — 
 
 A Full Brigadier — At Nashville with Thomas — Return 
 to Political Life — Candidate for Governor — Election to 
 U. S. Senate — Tariff Measures of 1883 — Victory over 
 Voorhees — Position on “Civil Service” — The Anti-“ Chi- 
 nese Bill” — Coin and Currency Question — Land and 
 Labor Question — High Rank as Senator — Hard Campaign 
 of 1886 — Reverses the Democratic Majority in the State 
 — Again at the Bar — At Home — Family and Domestic Re- 
 lations — Political Situation in 1888 — The Chicago Con- 
 vention — Attitude of Factions — Blaine’s Position — Harri- 
 son’s Nomination — Splendid Party Indorsement — Triumph- 
 ant Election — Cabinet and Policy — Harrison’s Adminis- 
 tration — Splendid Foreign Policy — The Italian Affair — 
 
 The Chilian Imbroglio — Behring Sea and the Seals — 
 Wisdom of Appointments — Travels and Public Speeches 
 — Masterly Messages — Shaping Lines for 1892 — Blaine’s 
 Letter to Clarkson — Harrison’s Popularity in the Coun- 
 try — His Clean, Able Administration — Confidence of all 
 Business and Commercial Interests — The Minneapolis Con- 
 vention — Blaine’s Resignation from State Department — 
 Strength in Convention — The Balloting — Nomination 
 for Second Term — Overwhelming Approval of Nomina- 
 tion-Acceptance — Platform of 1892 353 
 
 IX. 
 
 LIFE OF HON. WHITELAW REID. 
 
 Birth and Education — Teacher — Editor of Xenia “ News ” — 
 Newspaper Correspondent — War Correspondent — Author — 
 Managing Editor New York “Tribune” — Editor-in-Chief 
 — Offered German Mission by Hayes and Garfield — Minis- 
 ter to France — Nomination for Vice- Presidency . . 509 
 
14 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 X. 
 
 LIFE AND SERVICES OF EX-PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 Lineage and Birth — Early Life — A Student and Teacher — 
 Bound for the West — A Clerk and Law Student — Admis- 
 sion to Bar — Career as a Lawyer — Elected Sheriff — 
 Reforms in Office — Elected Mayor — A Vigorous Adminis- 
 tration — Nomination for Governor — Great Popularity— 
 Character of the Opposition — Phases of the Campaign — 
 Overwhelming Victory — Idol of the Masses — H is Gu- 
 bernatorial Administration — Appointments and Vetoes — 
 Executive Habits — National Convention of 1884 — Nomina- 
 tion for President — Political Situation — Campaign of 1884 
 — The Doubtful Ground — Triumphant Election — View of 
 his Splendid Administration — H is Messages and Measures 
 — Cabinet Officers — The Man and his Methods — H is 
 Marriage — Convention of 1888 — The Celebrated Message 
 of 1887 — Renomination by Acclamation — Campaign of 1888 
 — The Drift of Sentiment — Defeat and its Causes — In 
 Private Life — At his Profession — Traits of Character — 
 Interest in Public Affairs — Popularity with the Masses 
 — Pointers for ’92 — Convention of 1892 — Character of 
 Opposition — A Winner from the Start — The Logical 
 Candidate — Details of Chicago Convention — Placed in 
 Nomination — Splendid Marshalling of his Forces — First 
 and only Ballot — Renomination made Unanimous — Full 
 Text of Platform — Reception of the News — Sentiment 
 of Press and People — A Splendid Nomination . . . 521 
 
 XL 
 
 LIFE OF HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 Birth, Parentage and Education — Legal Career — In Politics 
 — A Campaignist — District Attorney — Congressional Cam- 
 paigns — Career in Congress — Strength with the People — 
 Standing at the Bar — Appearance and Home Life — Assist- 
 ant Postmaster-General — Official Methods — Industry and 
 Popularity — The Contest at Chicago — Nomination by 
 Acclamation — Reception of the News — Strength of the 
 Nomination 64 3 
 
HALF-TONE PHOTOGRAPHS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Capitoe at Wash- 
 ington . . Frontispiece . 
 Hon. Leon Abbett ... 19 
 Hon. N. W. Aedrich . .122 
 Gen. Russeee Aeger . . 380 
 Hon. John B. Aeeen . . 32 
 Hon. Wm. B. Aeeison . . 367 
 Hon. Thos. F. Bayard . 548 
 Hoh. Chas. E. Beeknap . 33 
 Hon. Jas. G. Beaine . . 358 
 Hon. Richard P. Beand 253 
 Hon. Horace Boies . . 52 
 Hon. W. C. Breckinridge 532 
 Hon. Caevin S. Brice . .218 
 Hon. W. J. Bryan ... 61 
 Hon. M. C. Buteer . . 67 
 Hon. Wiekinson Caee . 74 
 Hon. James E. Campbeee 128 
 Hon. Jos. M. Carey . . 80 
 Hon. John G. CareiseE . 620 
 Hon. Leyman R. Casey . 81 
 Hon. Wm. E. Chandeer . 87 
 
 PAGS 
 
 Hon. Grover Ceeveeand 525 
 Hon. W. B. Cochran . . 94 
 
 Hon. Chas. F. Crisp . . 629 
 Hon. D. B. Cueberson . 224 
 Hon. Sheeby M. Cueeom 109 
 Hon. John Daezeee . .115 
 Hon. Henry L. Dawes . 402 
 Hon. C. M. Depew . . .418 
 Hon. Don M. Dickinson 614 
 Hon. Jos. N. Doeph . . 135 
 Hon. Fred. F. Dubois . 142 
 Hon. S. B. Eekins . . . 439 
 Hon. Wm. C. Endicott . 585 
 Hon. Chas. S. Fairchied 554 
 Hon. J. B. Foraker . . 492 
 Hon. Chas. Foster . . 433 
 Hon. Wm. P. Frye . . . 374 
 Hon. Aug. H. Gareand . 576 
 Hon. James Z. George . 148 
 Hon. Randaee L. Gibson 157 
 Hon. Nathan Goff . . 163 
 Hon. John B. Gordon . 170 
 (i5) 
 
l6 
 
 HALF-TONE PHOTOGRAPHS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Hon. Arthur P. Gorman 651 
 Hon. Isaac P. Gray . .129 
 Hon. Isham G. Harris . 176 
 Hon. Benj. Harrison . . 352 
 Hon. M. D. Harter . .177 
 Hon. Jos* R. Hawley . . 501 
 Hon. Anthony Higgins . 183 
 Hon. David B. Hide . . 598 
 
 Hon. James K. Jones . . 190 
 Hon. John E. Kenna . . 196 
 Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar . . 563 
 Hon. Robt. T. Lincoln . 205 
 Hon. John Lind . . . .211 
 Hon. Henry Cabot 
 
 Lodge 389 
 
 Hon. Wm. McKinley, Jr. ioo 
 Hon. James McMillan . 225 
 Hon. John R. McPherson 231 
 Hon.Chas. F. Manderson 238 
 Hon. W. H. H. Miller . 244 
 Hon. R. Q. Mills . . . 635 
 Hon. Levi P. Morton . . 485 
 Hon. John W. Noble . . 452 
 Hon. John M. Palmer . 307 
 Hon. Robt. E. Pattison 266 
 Hon. W. A. Peeeer . . 272 
 Hon. R. F. Pettigrew . 273 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Hon. W. Walter Phelps 279 
 Hon. Thos. G. Platt . . 39 
 Hon. Thos. C. Power . . 286 
 Hon. Redeield Proctor 292 
 Hon. James L. Pugh . . 301 
 Hon. M. S. Quay .... 479 
 Hon. Thos. B. Reed . . 470 
 Hon. Whitelaw Reid . 508 
 Hon. Jeremiah Rusk . . 459 
 Hon. Wm. E. Russell . . 314 
 Hon. John Sherman . . 329 
 
 Hon. J. Simpson .... 323 
 Hon. Wm. M. Springer . 46 
 Hon. Leland Stanford 336 
 Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson 642 
 Hon. Wm. M. Stewart . 345 
 Hon. Alfred A. Taylor 424 
 Hon. Henry M. Teller . 41 1 
 Hon. B. F. Tracy . . . 446 
 Hon. Zebulon B. Vance . 259 
 Hon. Geo. V. Vest . . . 541 
 Hon. Wm. F. Vilas . . .591 
 Hon. Danl. W. Voorhf.es 607 
 Hon. John Wanamaker 453 
 Hon. Wm. D. Washburn 395 
 Hon. Wm. C. Whitney . 570 
 Hon. Geo. D. Wise ... 26 
 
1 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 The political situation pending the Presidential election 
 of 1892 is one of the most satisfactory since the adoption 
 of the Constitution. It is free from the doubts and suspic- 
 ions that existed from 1787 to the war of 1812. It is free 
 from the vacillations up to 1824. It is free from the in- 
 trigues and bitter turmoils to 1861. It is free from the 
 exceeding gravity of armed strife and problems of national 
 unity and honor to 1884. 
 
 Not that something of all that ever went before will not 
 be involved in the issues of 1892, but there is nothing on 
 the surface to indicate a dangerous aggregation of the things 
 which make people shudder at the thought of a national 
 election and thank God that it is over. 
 
 The situation of 1892 has been pointed to by the attitude 
 of parties, by the trend of political events, by the course of 
 administrations, for some years. It is, therefore, a situation 
 which is reasonably well understood by statesmen and 
 political leaders. The issues are not novel. There are 
 metes and bounds within which parties must play for 
 supremacy. 
 
 Nothing has thus far developed to lead to the conviction 
 that the personalism of candidates will cut any conspicuous 
 figure in the campaign of 1892. This should be a matter 
 of rejoicing. There is nothing so degrading as personal 
 attack, nothing so humiliating as personal defence. The 
 campaign of 1884 began on the very lowest plane of per- 
 sonal politics. It shamed both parties, disgusted adherents, 
 disparaged our campaign methods, and diminished respect 
 
 (17) 
 
i8 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 for us at home and abroad. Happily the period of surfeit 
 soon arrived, and the campaign took on more rational show. 
 The questions that had been submerged beneath the vitu- 
 perative wave reached the surface eventually, and reason 
 found a throne. The deliberative mood, so violently ruffled 
 at the start, may have remained nervous, but the vital issues 
 got a fair hearing, after the initial storm blew over, and the 
 result was such as the country could sanction. 
 
 Nor is there anything to indicate that partisanship of an 
 ascerb or offensive kind need characterize the campaign. 
 It is hardly a time for narrowness or bitterness. The issues 
 are of a broad and serious nature. They concern people 
 rather than parties. They reach further than mere triumphs 
 and successes for organizations, and go down to the masses 
 as servers of themselves rather than as servers of parties. 
 Dispassionate discussion will operate as a more potential 
 lever than heated words, loud expletives, incorrect asser- 
 tions, false logic, and idle promises. The orator will have 
 a mission of broader scope and greater merit than ever 
 before. He will have more critical hearers, auditors more 
 numerous and interested, audiences less vociferous, assem- 
 blages for thinking rather than for cheering and waving 
 torches. There may be localities where the sound of bitter- 
 ness shall be as sweetness, where the voice of malice shall 
 win applause, and where the vituperative tongue shall wag 
 with favor, but these will be wide apart. In general, con- 
 viction will be hard to clinch, and will refuse to be satisfied 
 with the arts of abuse, the fires of denunciation, or the 
 dynamite of malignity. 
 
 There is every reason to suppose that the activities and 
 energies of the campaign will be unsurpassed. The reach- 
 ing of the masses, without the aid of fiery display, and 
 through another medium than the eye, the absence of 
 
Hon. Leon Abbett. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, October 8, 1836; educated for the bar; moved 
 to Hoboken in 1862; appointed City Attorney in 1863; elected to Gen- 
 eral Assembly in 1864, as Democrat ; acquired distinction as a speaker 
 and parliamentarian ; re-elected for next term ; moved to Jersey City in 
 1866; elected for two terms to Assembly from First District of Hudson 
 co. ; a recognized party leader, distinguished for energy and ability ; be- 
 came Speaker of the House ; elected to Senate in 1874; chosen Speaker 
 of Senate in 1877; elected Governor of New Jersey in 1883; elected 
 Governor a second time ; prominently spoken of for position of United 
 States Senator. 
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 '~*8 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OP 1892. 
 
 21 
 
 inflammatory opportunity, impose the burden of much 
 assiduity upon leaders. We have all heard of “ The School 
 House Campaign ” and “ The Campaign of Education/’ 
 The issues of 1892 require these. They mean tedious, 
 prolonged, minute work, agency the most vigorous and 
 untiring, energy the most restless and persevering, devotion 
 the most sincere and uncompromising. Document rooms 
 will shower their hitherto unrevealed treasures. Literary 
 bureaus will pour forth their floods of persuasion. Clubs 
 will inspire with their enthusiastic resolutions. Expounders 
 will go up and down the land distributing wisdom at every 
 corner store and cross-roads. Avenues will be provided 
 for carrying the issues to every accessible part of the body 
 politic, and enlightenment will reach deeper than ever before 
 in our history. It is a pleasing contemplation that the 
 verdict of 1892 will be full. It is equally pleasing to con- 
 template that it will be deliberate, and rendered only after 
 intelligent and patient hearing. Since the asperities of civil 
 war have been removed, there is really no occasion for other 
 than dispassionate popular verdicts upon national questions, 
 and it is complimentary to our civilization that parties are 
 growing to place a higher value on such verdicts, and there- 
 fore becoming more willing to employ the agencies of in- 
 dustry, perseverance and minute detail to win them. What 
 a blessing it will be when the era of wild declamation, 
 partisan denunciation, vituperative epithet, inflammatory 
 appeal, unscrupulous trick and villanous intrigue shall give 
 place to honest, earnest presentation of issues, sincere per- 
 suasions, organized opportunities for all to hear, full and 
 fair expression by ballot, faith in the popular verdict. 
 
 The year 1892 cannot escape the issue of the Tariff. 
 There is no need of going further back than the Tariff Act 
 of 1883 to find that Democratic and Republican lines were 
 
22 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 hardening for battle on this issue, and that there would be 
 no yielding till mastery was made emphatic at the polls. 
 The Tariff Act of 1883, a Republican measure, was enacted 
 amid a cloud of Republican reverses. The political tidal- 
 wave of 1882, partially repeated in 1883, had turned the 
 Republican majority of nineteen in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives of the Forty-seventh Congress into a Democratic 
 majority of sixty-nine in the Forty-eighth Congress. Many 
 Governors had been lost to the Republicans in their 
 strongest States. Under these circumstances the Tariff 
 legislation which led to the Act of March 3, 1883, was 
 hampered. Opposition was emboldened by Democratic 
 successes, and advocacy was rendered nervous and halting. 
 Though the legislation had for its guide the testimony taken 
 by an able Tariff Commission, which sat at various places 
 and heard testimony representative of all conflicting interests, 
 during most of the year 1882 ; though said Commission had 
 framed a lucid and exhaustive report for the use of Con- 
 gress ; though the object of legislation, to equalize rates and 
 abolish the incongruities of existing tariffs, was kept steadily 
 in view by the friends of revision, it cannot be said that the 
 Act as an entirety was a success. It was too much in the 
 nature of a compromise to please contending elements and 
 sections, and the lower rates designed to benefit manufac- 
 turing sections drew the criticism and hostility of the pro- 
 ducing sections. 
 
 The encouragement the Democrats had received in the 
 elections of 1882-83, united with the demoralization which 
 defeat had spread in Republican ranks, lent political impor- 
 tance to the Tariff, and drew more distinctly the lines be- 
 tween Protection and Free Trade as distinctive party issues. 
 With the thought that they had the country with them, as 
 indicated by the elections, and bent on taking advantage of 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 23 
 
 their majority in the House, the Democrats formulated what 
 became known as the “ Morrison Bill,” or plan of “ hori- 
 zontal reduction of the Tariff,” a general scaling of duties 
 to the extent of twenty per cent. Though Mr. Carlisle, of 
 Kentucky, had been elected speaker, as an exponent of this 
 idea, it was picked to pieces by the protectionists in the 
 Democratic ranks, and finally fell a prey to a motion to strike 
 out the enacting clause. 
 
 While this was deemed a master stroke as a preparation 
 for the Presidential Campaign of 1884, and as leaving the 
 Democrats in a position where they would not be called 
 upon to explain a doubtful method of attack upon existing 
 tariffs, and while it served to keep the question of Free Trade 
 and Protection in abeyance during the second and short 
 session of the Forty-eighth Congress, December 1, 1884- 
 March 4, 1885, it did not prevent its reappearance in the 
 first session of the Forty-ninth Congress, December 7, 1885- 
 August 6, 1886, in which there was a Democratic majority 
 of forty-three votes. But meanwhile President Cleveland 
 had delivered his inaugural, in which he had practically given 
 away the case of the free trade element in his party and, 
 though stopping short of the doctrine of protection, had 
 landed pretty squarely on the position occupied by Mr. 
 Randall and the “protection” minority in his own party. 
 This served to dampen the ardor of those who had cham- 
 pioned “ horizontal reduction.” The Morrison Bill appeared 
 in fresh garb, to be sure, but it only proved to be a stum- 
 bling-block to its friends, and was finally defeated by a united 
 Republican and Democratic vote, upon a motion to go into 
 the Committee of the Whole to consider it as reported by 
 the Committee of Ways and Means. 
 
 The situation was now anything but pleasant for the 
 Democrats as a party, and especially for those who repre- 
 
24 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 sented the free trade wing of the party, which was a large 
 majority. In the Congressional Campaigns of 1886 there 
 was a decided drift of sentiment toward the Republicans, 
 who drew the lines sharply between Protection and Free 
 Trade, and forced to the uttermost the advantage offered by 
 the divided sentiment in the Democratic ranks. The Demo- 
 cratic majority of forty-three in the Forty-ninth Congress 
 was reduced to a slender majority of fifteen in the Fiftieth 
 Congress, and more than two-thirds of this loss of twenty- 
 four members was fully and fairly accounted for by the dis- 
 taste of constituents for the free trade leanings of the dis- 
 placed members. It was very clear, then, that the attitude of 
 parties respecting tariff legislation was such as that their 
 political successes at the polls, and their majorities in the 
 Congress, could be made to turn on opposition to or advo- 
 cacy of the doctrines involved, viz. : Free Trade and Pro- 
 tection. 
 
 The successes of 1886 encouraged and emboldened the 
 Republicans. They felt that they could do nothing more 
 in accord with their traditions nor more conducive to party 
 success than to fully elaborate the doctrine of Protection and 
 press it as an issue. Driven home upon the Democrats, 
 divided as they were, it would prove an entering wedge and 
 assure their discomfiture. Then would come the oppor^ 
 tunity to remedy the defects of the Act of 1883, and still 
 further commit the party to protective measures. Sagacious 
 men in the Democratic ranks saw the disadvantage they 
 were laboring under. Division meant disaster. To retreat 
 far enough to reorganize broken forces meant a confession 
 of weakness or cowardice. Mr. Cleveland, in his message 
 to the Forty-ninth Congress, at the opening of its second 
 session, December 6, 1886, assured the Carlisle or free 
 trade wing of the party of the encouragement of the admin- 
 
Hon. George D. Wise. 
 
 Born in Accomack co., Va., 1835 ; graduated from University of 
 Indiana, and from Law School of William and Mary College, Va. ; 
 served throughout the war, in the Confederate army, as Captain and aid 
 to General Stevenson ; resumed practice of law in Richmond, Va. ; 
 elected Commonwealth Attorney in 1870, and to 1880; elected, as 
 a Democrat, to 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st and 52d Congresses, to repre- 
 sent the Third Virginia District ; member of Committee on Interstate 
 and Foreign Commerce and on Expenditures in Department of Justice; 
 a pleasing orator and popular member. 
 
 (26) 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 27 
 
 istration. The Tariff was grappled with renewed energy, 
 but the time of the session was frittered away by Commit- 
 tees of Conference, which repeatedly agreed to disagree. 
 
 Thus passed the Forty-ninth Congress, which was Demo- 
 cratic in the House. It had left Tariff legislation practically 
 where it found it. The party stood badly in need of an 
 issue which would harden its lines for the Campaign of 
 1888. It was manifest that the Republicans were about to 
 stake their all on the policy of protection. Their lines were 
 rapidly forming for battle upon that issue. What could the 
 Democrats do but bravely form on the opposing side ? Was 
 it not time to precipitate a struggle and fight in real earnest 
 all along the lines, instead of charging here and retreating 
 there, obeying discordant leaders, falling a prey to divisions, 
 promising and disappointing, venturing and failing, eter- 
 nally ? 
 
 This question was answered by President Cleveland in his 
 celebrated message of only 4,500 words to the first session 
 of the Fiftieth Congress, December 5, 1887. This message 
 was in the nature of a special paper called forth by an exist- 
 ing demand for definite legislative action during the session. 
 The character of the legislation demanded was not left in 
 doubt, for the President cut entirely loose from the conser- 
 vatism of former messages and boldly espoused the cause 
 of the free trade wing of his party. This departure sur- 
 prised everybody except the initiated. The bulk of the party 
 hailed the message as a clear statement of a true situation, 
 and as a timely declaration of the principles of Democracy 
 as they must take shape in the next campaign. It threw 
 around the free traders the cloak of “ Tariff Reform,” and 
 left the “ Revenue Reform ” element of the party in the un- 
 enviable position of a minority too small to be considered, or 
 weak enough to be crushed. The Republicans accepted it 
 
*8 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 as a gauntlet thrown into the arena, and prepared to act ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 The Democrats were ably led in this Congress. Mr. Car- 
 lisle was re-elected Speaker. Mr. Mills, able, bold, untiring, 
 took hold of the Tariff legislation which the Democrats were 
 bound to present. He framed a bill which lowered existing 
 rates of duty and placed many articles before dutiable, 
 among them wool, on the free list. This bill was cham- 
 pioned so ably and persistently that it passed the House by 
 a majority of thirteen votes, and never were party lines more 
 closely drawn on a bill of this kind in the lower chamber. 
 
 But it was to meet with a strange reception in the Senate. 
 So much time had been expended upon it in the House, 
 that for the Senate to consider it fully would be to unduly 
 prolong an already lengthy session. Moreover, it was re- 
 garded as a bill prepared as a campaign issue, whose discus- 
 sion in public was to be taken as an expression of the eco- 
 nomic views of the Democratic party. It was therefore met 
 in the Senate by another bill, which had been laboriously 
 prepared and lengthily debated, but not passed, which em- 
 bodied the Republican doctrine of Protection, and whose 
 discussion in public would set forth the economic views of 
 the Republican party. The two houses, as well as the two 
 parties, were now squarely opposed, and ready to go to the 
 country on the issue as made up. Mr. Cleveland, who had 
 so bravely and timely struck in the direction of an affirma- 
 tive stand by his party, became its logical candidate, and was 
 nominated by acclamation. The Republicans chose Ben- 
 jamin Harrison, who was as pronounced for Protection as 
 Mr. Cleveland was for Tariff Reform. The campaign was 
 clean, earnest, determined. The country was in a delib- 
 erative mood. The central issue was seldom befogged. 
 Not, for years, had there been such opportunity for mature 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 29 
 
 judgment. The popular verdict favored the Republicans. 
 In the Fifty-first Congress, they converted the former Demo- 
 cratic majority of fifteen into a Republican majority of ten. 
 
 Despite these reverses, Mr. Cleveland, in his message to the 
 second session of the Fiftieth Congress, December 3, 1888, 
 and the Democratic leaders in general, remained firmly ad- 
 hesive to the “ Tariff Reform ” faith, whose banners they 
 had carried during the Presidential campaign. In this they 
 were consistent and hopeful. One battle does not neces- 
 sarily settle a war. Time would come to their aid. The 
 responsibility of an affirmative was now with the Republi- 
 cans. This fact would serve to heal Democratic differences. 
 They might be stronger on the defensive than in direct 
 attack. 
 
 The Republicans of the 51st Congress, encouraged by 
 their newly-elected President, and led by Reed and McKin- 
 ley in the House, and Sherman and Aldrich in the Senate, 
 took early advantage of their victory to formulate a Tariff 
 Bill more in consonance with the views of the party, and in 
 closer keeping with their doctrine of Protection than the 
 Act of 1883 had ever been. This bill drew party lines 
 quite as close as the Mills Bill of the prior Congress. 
 After full and prolonged debate it became the Tariff Act 
 of October 1, 1890, popularly known as the “ McKinley 
 Act/’ 
 
 It gave emphasis to the Republican doctrine of Protection 
 by an attempt to remove the incongruities of the Tariff of 
 1883, many of which had become glaring as time progressed, 
 by raising duties on industries, notably those of wool and 
 woolens, which experience had shown were not amply pro- 
 tected, by lowering duties on articles whose home manufac- 
 ture had been sufficiently established, by imposing rates 
 on, for instance, tin plate, with a view to establishing new 
 
30 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 industries, by enlarging the free list, especially as to 
 articles like sugar, a necessary of life, and which had all 
 along borne a duty for revenue only, by offering a bounty 
 to home sugar growers, by incorporating into its provisions 
 the policy of reciprocity, designed to extend trade with 
 those countries most affected by the enlargement of the free 
 list. 
 
 This legislation was the most pronounced and comprehen- 
 sive in the history of Tariff Acts. Nothing could have 
 been more defiant of the attitude assumed by the Democrats 
 as a party. Defeated at every point in the House, the Sen- 
 ate, and by the Harrison administration, they carried their 
 contest to the country in the elections of November, 1890, 
 and tor members to the 5 2d Congress. Such was the fury 
 and persistency of their attack, and such the peculiar state 
 of public mind, that the magnitude of their success was 
 surprise even to themselves. They elected even more Gov- 
 ernors in Republican States than in 1882-83. They turned 
 the Republican majority in the 51st Congress into a Demo- 
 cratic majority of more than two-thirds in the 5 2d Congress. 
 Everywhere they proclaimed their signal triumphs as a 
 national rebuke of the theories and methods of Protection- 
 ists, and a national vindication of the principles of Tariff 
 Reform. True, other than strictly tariff issues were injected 
 into the campaign, and affected it seriously. True, argu- 
 ments on economic questions were loose, and based on an- 
 ticipation of facts, rather than on facts established. But these 
 did not serve to diminish the importance of the victory to 
 the Democrats. 
 
 In a deliberative review of the elections of 1890, the Hon. 
 John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky, thus sketches causes and 
 effects : — 
 
 “ So great a political revolution as has been effected by 
 
~ - — 
 
 If on. John B. Allen, 
 
 Born at Crawfordsville, Ind., May 18, 1845 ; educated at Wabash 
 College; served in Union army, in 135th Indiana Volunteers; moved 
 to Rochester, Minn., and resided there until 1870; admitted to bar and 
 began practice ; In 1870 moved to Washington Territory and resumed 
 practice of law; appointed United States District Attorney for Wash- 
 ington, 1875; continued in said office till 1885; Reporter of Supreme 
 Court of Washington, 1878-85; elected Territorial Delegate to 51st 
 Congress; on admission of State, elected United States Senator, as a 
 Republican, for term beginning December 2, 1889, and ending March 
 3, 1893 ; Chairman of Committee on Canadian Relations and member 
 of Committees on Claims, Public Lands, etc. 
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
Hon. Charles E. Belknap. 
 
 Born at Massena, St. Lawrence co., N. Y., October 17, 1846; moved 
 w'ith parents to Grand Rapids, Mich., 1855; left school, August 14, 
 1862, and enlisted in 21st Michigan Volunteers ; promoted to Captain 
 January 22, 1864, at the age of 17 yrs., 3 mos. ; served till end of war 
 in Army of Cumberland; wounded seven times; engaged in manufact- 
 uring business; served terms as Chief of Grand Rapids Fire Depart- 
 ment; member of Board of Control of State Institutions ; Alderman and 
 Mayor ; elected to 51st Congress as a Republican ; elected to 52d Con- 
 gress, by 1500 majority, November 3, 1891 ; member of Committees on 
 Military Affairs and Patents ; an earnest worker and stout defender of 
 Republicanism. 
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 35 
 
 the recent election cannot be accounted for by the stereo- 
 typed statement that this was an ‘ off year ’ and a full vote 
 was not polled, or that local divisions and dissensions 
 diverted the attention of the people from the public ques- 
 tions involved. There has scarcely, if ever, been a Con- 
 gressional campaign in this country in which purely local 
 questions were so little discussed, or in which local party or 
 personal dissensions had so little influence as the one just 
 closed. With perhaps a very few exceptions, the use 
 of money for the purpose of corruption had little or 
 no influence upon the result, and it may, therefore, be 
 properly accepted as the deliberate judgment of a large 
 majority of the people upon the questions submitted to 
 them. 
 
 “ If the result of an election in this country means any- 
 thing, if the people by their votes actually pronounce judg- 
 ment upon the public questions submitted to them, the 
 result of the recent one is undoubtedly an emphatic and 
 conclusive condemnation of the Tariff Act, and its kindred 
 measures granting bounties and subsidies to private en- 
 terprises. By the tariff schedules the whole people are 
 taxed for the benefit of a few. Such a gross abuse of the 
 power of taxation evry naturally alarmed the whole country. 
 
 “ The proposed Federal Election Law was another 
 measure which the people did not expect, and for which the 
 country was not prepared. The Force Bill is better calcu- 
 lated than any other measure that could have been devised, 
 to demoralize labor and destroy the value of investments at 
 the South ; and this, in fact, will be about the only practical 
 effect of its passage, because no statute can permanently 
 control the political action of the people in this country. 
 It is evident that the country does not want such a law, and 
 
36 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 the Senate will probably allow it to die on the calendar and 
 be buried with other rubbish at the end of the session. 
 
 “ There has never been in our history a more extravagant 
 Congress than the present one. It is doubtful whether its 
 prodigality in the expenditure of the public money has ever 
 been equalled by any body of legislators, except the itiner- 
 ant statesmen who infested some of the capitals in the 
 Southern States during the period of reconstruction. 
 Large expenditures afford an excuse for heavy taxation, 
 and, therefore, economy in the administration of public 
 affairs is regarded by many Protectionists as inconsistent 
 with the fiscal policy of that party, and is condemned for 
 that reason. 
 
 “ The rules of the present House were so framed, and the 
 authority of the Speaker and the Committee on Rules has 
 been so exercised, as to enable the majority in that body at 
 any time to put an end to all opposition to its measures and 
 pass them in any form it may choose. If the rules, unjust 
 as they are to the minority, had been strictly adhered to in 
 the transaction of business, there would have been at least 
 a limited opportunity for debate and amendment, and no 
 important measure could have been passed without some- 
 thing like proper consideration. But notwithstanding the 
 unfair advantage held by the majority under this severe and 
 unprecedented code of rules, it was not satisfied with the 
 almost absolute power conferred upon it and its presiding 
 officer.” 
 
 The above, coming from one of the foremost and clearest- 
 headed of the Democratic leaders, may be accepted as the 
 judgment of the party. In it may also be found the satis- 
 faction of the party with its position and its determination 
 to fight to the end upon the lines laid down in that and 
 previous campaigns. It was with this determination that 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 37 
 
 the elated Democratic majority entered upon its career in 
 the 5 2d Congress. Flushed with success, it rallied around 
 its logical and best equipped economic leader, Mr. Mills, of 
 Texas, father of the Mills’ Bill in the 49th Congress, and 
 would gladly have honored him with the Speaker’s Chair, 
 which would have given full play to his powers. But there 
 suddenly came a change of sentiment in Democratic coun- 
 cils. Mr. Mills had won fame as an ardent, indefatigable, 
 able and honest advocate of the anti-protection measures of 
 his party. He had appeared on the stump in many States 
 during the campaign of 1890, and had been outspoken in 
 his views respecting the doctrines of Free-trade and Protec- 
 tion. Under ordinary circumstances he might have been 
 entrusted with the leadership of his party, but the circum- 
 stances were not ordinary. In the overwhelming Demo- 
 cratic majority in the House there were seeds of danger. 
 Excess might dwarf and blight success. Democrats really 
 feared to trust themselves. It was well known what Mr. 
 Mills would do. He could not, in vindication of his past 
 efforts and out of respect to his present judgment and to 
 the verdict of the country, but hew to the lines he had laid 
 down in the 49th Congress, and in his subsequent career. 
 This meant a Tariff Act as a counter to the McKinley Act. 
 For this the party did not seem to be ready, despite the em- 
 phatic verdict of the country, and its loud and oft repeated 
 professions of Tariff Reform. 
 
 The time had come for shaping lines for the Presidential 
 campaign of 1892. While no abatement of the free trade 
 or tariff reform sentiment was noticeable, while the determi- 
 nation was still paramount to continue hostility to the Re- 
 publicaa doctrine of protection as embodied in the Tariff 
 Act of 1890, and to repeat, if possible, the splendid tri- 
 umphs of that year in a Presidential campaign, it was 
 
38 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 deemed wisest not to antagonize too much in advance and 
 too directly the doctrines they hoped to overwhelm in the 
 end. Ere the Fifty-first Congress could assemble in Decem- 
 ber, 1891, there were evidences of reaction in the public 
 mind. A suspicion began to dawn that, after all, the situ- 
 ation of 1890 might not prove to be as real as it had been 
 pictured. At any rate, there was no need of taking any 
 risks. Mr. Mills was sacrificed, and Mr. Crisp, of Georgia, 
 was given the gavel. Out of this sprang the plan of indi- 
 direct, rather than direct, attack upon the doctrine of pro- 
 tection ; attacks by piecemeal rather than by stupendous 
 charge. 
 
 The large Democratic majority in the Fifty-second Con- 
 gress adopted this plan, not heartily, but as an expedient. 
 It would serve all the purposes of keeping party lines de- 
 fined, of pressing Tariff Reform as a party measure, and 
 of exposing the fallacies of Protection. It would be free 
 from the dangers which attended the opening of the whole 
 tariff subject in a House composed of so many untried 
 members, each inordinately flushed by his victory at the 
 polls. If it involved disrespect for the popular verdict, the 
 use of discretion was urged -as an excuse. If it proved 
 disappointing to constituents, promise of the later, greater 
 and grander victory in store, was the ointment of healing. 
 If it showed that the party lacked the courage of its con- 
 victions, it was answered that diplomacy was wiser than 
 haste. If the charge of cowardice was made, the adage was 
 handy that “ to divide and conquer ” was one of the oldest 
 and best approved of the arts of war. 
 
 And so there came into the Congress no definite, entire 
 Tariff Act, but a series of measures, attacking what was 
 deemed most offensive in the Act of 1890. These were de- 
 bated with great fullness, and so as to serve the object of 
 
Hon. Thomas C. Platt. 
 
 Born in Owego, N. Y., July 15, 1833; studied ai Yale College; 
 became President of Tioga, N. Y., National Bank, and engaged in 
 lumber business in Michigan; elected to Congress, as a Republican, 
 1872-74 ; elected to U. S. Senate, January 18, 1881 ; resigned with 
 Roscoe Conkling, May, 1881 ; defeated for re-election ; Secretary and 
 Director of U. S. Express Co., 1879; President of same since 1880; 
 Commissioner of Quarantine, N. Y., 1880-1888; member of Republican 
 National Conventions, 1876-80-84-88-92; President of Southern Cen- 
 tral R. R. since 1888 ; conspicuous in Republican National Convention 
 of 1892 as leader of Blaine forces ; an acute and natural party leader 
 in New York. 
 
 ( 39 ) 
 

 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 41 
 
 their introduction, to wit, the feeling of its way on the part of 
 the majority, and the keeping on parade the iniquities they 
 were aimed at. There was no manifest faltering of party 
 lines during these debates, though individual members of cer- 
 tain sections expressed dissent by vote when they felt that 
 the interests of their constituents would be touched ad- 
 versely. This was notably the case with the bill to place 
 wool on the free list and to reduce the duties on woolens, 
 which bill was the first of the series submitted for debate, 
 and perhaps the most important of the series. 
 
 What was remarkable about this method was the fact that 
 it served the purpose of satisfying so large and enthusiastic 
 a majority, and that, too, in the face of the daily growing 
 fact that interest in the plan faded as the session dragged 
 along. Members seemed to reconcile themselves to it solely 
 for its time-consuming features, although they had come 
 with bosoms full of revenge and brains full of overwhelming 
 measures. The excuse grew familiar, that there was really 
 no use bothering about such legislation at all, since it was 
 sure to be crushed by an adverse Senate or President. It 
 was a time for abeyance rather than positive assertion, and the 
 time would be short. The momentum acquired by the elec- 
 tions of 1 890 would serve to carry the party over the chasms 
 of 1892, without the intervention of bridges built out of the 
 composite and doubtful material found in a suddenly ac- 
 quired and untried House majority of two-thirds. 
 
 The elections of 1891, and the spring of 1892, were far 
 from assuring to the Democrats. The operations of the 
 Tariff of 1890 were subverting many of their theories, dis- 
 appointing their promises and dissipating their facts. In a 
 more dispassionate discussion of the merits of the Act than 
 any that had been had, between men better equipped for 
 argument than usual, and at a time when mere visions and 
 
42 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 declamations could not be made to do duty as logic, the 
 champion of the Act of 1890 was elected the Governor of 
 his State by a large majority. The Rhode Island contest 
 was similar to that in Ohio, in the respect that it turned 
 almost solely on the merits of Protection and Free Silver 
 Coinage, both questions of national moment. 
 
 But even if these evidences of reaction had not occurred, 
 the Republicans could not have changed their fighting- 
 ground for 1892. Their commitment to the Tariff Act of 
 1 890, and to the policy of Protection it involved, was complete. 
 They made the most of their brief innings, took a very bold 
 affirmative, staked the success of their party on their legisla- 
 tion, and so must be bound by the consequences, not only 
 for this but for several campaigns, for it is in the very nature 
 of Tariff legislation that it is necessarily thrown on the 
 defensive for a long time. Its merits are never fully manifest 
 except after prolonged trial. The business interests touched, 
 and at large, are impatient of tampering with legislation that 
 so vitally concerns them. 
 
 It is not, therefore, possible for either of the great parties 
 to escape the issue of Protection and Free Trade, or Tariff 
 Reform, in 1892. Their histories for ten years lead to this 
 issue at this time. The battle will be fought with greater 
 stubbornness and with better defined lines than ever before. 
 The victory will be more decisive for the winning side. 
 
 Another issue, one hardly less important and equally 
 inevitable, will be the Free Coinage of silver. The Demo- 
 cratic party is not such a unit upon this question as to make 
 it a desirable issue, but it is one with which a majority of 
 that party has coquetted so long, and in their strongest 
 States, as that there is no rational escape from it. 
 
 Of it, the Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge says : — 
 
 “There are always a good many people who are capti- 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 43 
 
 vated by the cry of ‘ cheaper money ; ’ and recently, from one 
 cause or another, there has been sufficient financial strin- 
 gency to make the demand for cheaper money peculiarly 
 strong and widespread. But that which now really forces 
 the question of free coinage of silver so strongly to the front 
 is the fact that it has been made a test question by large 
 bodies of voters who have been drawn into certain new 
 political movements, of which the most conspicuous is the 
 Farmers’ Alliance. These movements are not confined to 
 farmers or men of any particular occupation. A wave of 
 unrest and dissatisfaction with existing social conditions is 
 passing over the country, and has had many and varied 
 manifestations, chiefly of a socialistic tendency. Their in- 
 tensity and enduring qualities have not yet been measured, 
 although it is quite obvious that in their present form they 
 show no signs of permanence. Many desires, propositions, 
 and demands, some of far-reaching character, have been 
 made known, but the one question which has been put for- 
 ward out of the mass, and which is to be made the test of loy- 
 alty and victory alike, is this question of free silver coinage, 
 behind which lies the additional demand for cheap money. 
 The free-silver movement existed long before the present 
 agitation began, and finds support among large bodies of 
 people who have no sympathy or connection with the 
 general readjustment of social and financial arrangements 
 which organizations like the Farmers’ Alliance are demand- 
 ing. For this very reason, free coinage becomes a peculiarly 
 available issue for men bent on political changes of a much 
 more fundamental and far-reaching character. Hence, the 
 free coinage of silver comes daily more and more to the 
 front, while the opposition to it, an essential in making up 
 any issue, is as strong and determined as the forces united 
 in its support. 
 
44 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 “ The attitude and condition of the two great parties tend 
 also strongly in the same direction. The Democrats must 
 champion free silver, while the Republican party must just 
 as surely oppose it. As the foe of the Republicans, as the 
 controlling ally of the Democrats, the Alliance can select 
 its issue until its power wanes.” 
 
 It is known that the Democratic and Republican parties 
 drew wide apart, and with well-defined lines, respecting 
 legislation upon the currency question during and sub- 
 sequent to the war. They became particularly hostile 
 during the discussions which led to the resumption of 
 specie payments, against which the Democratic party threw 
 itself squarely in 1876, and thus placed itself in position for 
 that singular alliance with the “ Greenback Party,” which 
 actually took place in several States, and that, too, under 
 some of the most distinguished Democratic leaders. As 
 the “ Greenback Party ” had for its main object the relief 
 of financial stringency and business depression by using the 
 Government credit in the shape of “ Greenbacks,” whose 
 issue should be ample for the relief sought, it resembled in 
 its object and in not a few of its essentials those who favor 
 at present the free and unlimited coinage of silver dollars. 
 And further, as the coalition between the Democrats and 
 Greenbackers became so solid in the New England States, 
 the great West and in nearly all the South, as that the two 
 parties could with difficulty be distinguished, so now the 
 Free Silverite and the Democrat are identical in a large part 
 of the South and West. 
 
 One can hardly think that the gradual commitment of 
 the Democratic party to Free Coinage was deliberate, or in 
 accord with the better judgment of the party. While it 
 very naturally opposed the legislation of 1873, which led to 
 the demonetization of silver, it did not oppose it on that 
 
Hon. William M. Springer. 
 
 Born in Sullivan co., Indiana, May 30, 1836 ; moved to Illinois, 1848 ; 
 graduated at Indiana State University, 1858 ; admitted to bar, 1859; 
 Secretary of Illinois State Constitutional Convention, 1862 ; member of 
 State Legislature, 1871-72 ; elected to represent Thirteenth District in 
 Congress, in 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th and 51st Congresses; 
 elected as a Democrat to 52d Congress by a majority of 5000 ; Chair- 
 man of Committee on Ways and Means ; an excellent parliamentarian, 
 able orator and recognized party leader ; was prominent candidate for 
 Speaker of 52d Congress. 
 
 ..(46) 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 47 
 
 ground, but because that legislation looked to the resump- 
 tion of specie payments. When the Bland Bill of 1878 
 came up and was passed, to be vetoed, which bill had for 
 its object the remonetization of silver by the compulsory 
 coinage of $2,<x>o,ooo a month, the then Democratic House 
 was able to muster to its aid sufficient Republican strength 
 to pass it over the President’s veto. This legislation, there- 
 fore, was not sufficiently Democratic in type to warrant the 
 impression that the party was doing more than yielding to 
 a demand from the silver-mining States, which might 
 ultimately land them in the Democratic columns. Doubt- 
 less, the same thought largely actuated many of the Repub- 
 licans who came to the support of the bill. 
 
 But be this as it may, it was not long before the Demo- 
 crats cohered about the principle of silver coinage as em- 
 bodied in the Bland Act. In the Second Session of the 
 Forty-fifth Congress the Republicans made a determined 
 effort to repeal the Act authorizing the Coinage of Bland 
 dollars. In this they were defeated by an almost solid 
 Democratic vote. Thus party lines became hardened on 
 the silver question as it stood at that day. 
 
 At the Extra Session of the Forty-sixth Congress, called 
 March 18, 1879, in which the Democrats had a majority in 
 House and Senate, those of the House passed the Warner 
 Silver Bill, which provided for the unlimited coinage of 
 silver. Their majority in the Senate did not take to it 
 kindly, and rebuked the House majority by refusing to 
 consider it. In his message to the regular session of the 
 Forty-sixth Congress, President Hayes took decided ground 
 against further coinage of the Bland dollar. As the period 
 of resumption had now arrived the Republicans could not 
 but oppose any and all legislation which threatened its 
 consummation. The remonetization of silver by the further 
 3 
 
48 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 coinage of a legal tender, whose intrinsic value was less than 
 its face value, would certainly, in their opinion, jeopardize 
 the experiment of resumption of payments in gold, by ex- 
 pansion of a currency which would itself require redemption. 
 
 It cannot be said that either party stood squarely to what 
 now seemed to be its conviction respecting silver coinage in 
 the national platforms of 1880. The Republicans general- 
 ized by pledging the payment of all national obligations in 
 coin, and the Democrats did the same by favoring “ honest 
 money.” But President Hayes, in his last message, again 
 announced his views, and those of his party, in favor of the 
 coinage of a silver dollar equal in value to the gold dollar. 
 In so far as the silver question affected the campaign of 
 1880, the result was a rebuke of the Democratic position, 
 for the Republicans not only elected their President but a 
 majority of Congressmen. 
 
 In the Forty-seventh Congress, Tariff legislation was so 
 supreme as to exclude serious consideration of the silver 
 question, and very little was heard of it during the first 
 session^ of the Forty-eighth Congress, except as President 
 Arthur advised in his message the redemption and recoin- 
 age of the trade dollars. But at the second session of the 
 Forty-eighth Congress, which was largely Democratic, the 
 whole country was amazed by the introduction of a bill to 
 suspend the coinage of two million Bland dollars per month. 
 This bill was said to have been introduced at the instigation 
 of Mr. Cleveland, who had just been elected President, and as 
 an aid to his proposed administrative policy. It was defeated 
 by the Democrats themselves. The platforms of both 
 parties in 1884 passed gingerly over the silver question, 
 that of the Republicans simply demanding “ an international 
 standard for gold and silver/’ and that of the Democrat^ a* 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 49 
 
 circulating medium of gold and silver, or money convertible 
 into the same.” 
 
 In his message to the Forty-ninth Congress, December 7, 
 1885, the House being Democratic, President Cleveland por- 
 trayed in sharp, bold outline the dangers of further coinage 
 of the Bland silver dollar, and urged that such coinage be 
 stopped. He was fairly on the ground occupied by the Re- 
 publicans prior to the resumption of specie payments. His 
 party paid little heed to his suggestion, but rather got into a 
 muddle which was not straightened out till the second ses- 
 sion of the Congress, and then in a way which brought satis- 
 faction to nobody. The free silver coinage law of the session 
 provided for the issue of one, two and five dollar certificates, 
 based on the coin stored in the vaults, and was only a post- 
 ponement of the silver problem. There was but little discus- 
 sion of the silver question in the Fiftieth Congress, and its 
 merits hardly affected the national campaign of 1888, the 
 tariff being the absorbing theme. But in the Fifty-first 
 Congress, both houses being Republican, the question came 
 prominently forward and was handled in a spirit which 
 showed a determination to settle it for a long time. A Bill 
 framed in a Committee of Conference, of which Senator 
 Sherman was Chairman, was passed, which authorized the 
 Secretary of the Treasury to purchase, from time to time, 
 silver bullion to the amount of 4,500,000 ounces per month, 
 or less, at the market price thereof, not exceeding one dol- 
 lar for 371.25 grains of fine silver, and to issue in pay- 
 ment for the same treasury notes of not less than one 
 nor over one thousand dollars in denomination. 
 
 This was the Silver Act of 1890, and became known as 
 the Sherman Act. It was a compromise measure, and at the 
 time was acceptable to the silver-producing States. It did 
 away with the compulsory coinage of 2,000,000 dollars a 
 
So 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 month, but provided for the purchase of silver bullion to an 
 amount exceeding the output of the American mines, and 
 for the issue of treasury notes in payment of the same, and 
 as a legal tender, that is, redeemable ir. coin (gold being de- 
 mandable). But the bullion was to be purchased only at 
 its market price, and not exceeding one dollar for every 
 371. 25 grains, and was to stand as a security only at the 
 price paid for it. The Act provided a market for all the sil- 
 ver likely to be produced in the United States, and more, 
 and increased the currency of the country to that extent, an 
 increase which has, under the operation of the Act, ex- 
 ceeded the ratio of increase in population, being to August 
 I, 1891, $55,191,821. 
 
 This Act led to full and free debate, and party lines were 
 drawn upon it almost exactly, a few only on either side 
 deserting to the enemy. It was supported by both the Ne- 
 vada Senators, Jones and Stewart, and so well satisfied were 
 they with its provisions that they said it not only gave them 
 what they wanted for their locality, but declared in their 
 reasoning upon it that free coinage was impracticable. 
 
 Now the Act of 1890 ranks as a distinctive Republican 
 measure. It repealed a Democratic measure, and was there- 
 fore offensive. It encouraged bi-metallism to the extent of 
 our own production of silver, but beyond that the mono- 
 metallic, or gold, principle should prevail. 
 
 Throughout the country the Republicans stood by this 
 disposition of the perplexing question, and the Democrats 
 formed in opposition to it. There was no exception to this 
 rule, as we can recall, where the opportunity for formal ex- 
 pression occurred. Taking the State of Ohio as fairly rep- 
 resentative of sentiment, the Republicans, in the campaign 
 of 1891, declared that: — 
 
 “ Thoroughly believing that gold and silver should form 
 
V** 
 
 Born in Erie co., N. Y., December 7, 1827 ; started, a poor boy, at 
 sixteen, for Racine, Wis. ; worked on a farm for a time and returned to 
 New York; admitted to bar of Erie co., 1852; elected to ’Assembly, 
 as a Republican, 1853; nominated a second time and defeated; moved 
 to Waterloo, Iowa, 1867 ; practiced profession, and became large land 
 owner ; left the Republican party on account of its prohibition doctrines 
 in 1883; advocated Cleveland’s election in 1884; favors tariff reform, 
 but not unqualified free coinage ; nominated for Governor, on Demo- 
 cratic ticket, in fall of 1889, and elected ; a Congregationalist, strictly 
 temperate, and a patron of fine-stock raising. 
 
 Hon. Horace Boies. 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 53 
 
 the basis of all circulating mediums, we endorse the 
 amended Coinage Act of the last Republican Congress, by 
 which the entire production of the silver mines of the 
 United States is added to the currency of the people.’’ 
 
 The Democrats of the same State set forth in their plat- 
 form, that : — 
 
 “We denounce the demonetization of silver in 1873 by 
 the party in power as an iniquitous alteration of the money 
 standard in favor of creditors and against debtors, tax payers 
 and producers, and which, by shutting off the sources of 
 primary money, operates continually to increase the value 
 of gold, depress prices, hamper industry, and disparage en- 
 terprise, and we demand the reinstatement of the constitu- 
 tional standard of both gold and silver, with the equal right 
 of each to free and unlimited coinage.” 
 
 Now coinage of silver under the Bland Act, or more ac- 
 curately speaking under the Bland-Allison Act, was a coin- 
 age in excess of a demand. In fact it was useless, for the 
 dollars wouldn’t float. No way could be devised to circu- 
 late them, as silver dollars. The device of silver certificates 
 based on them, made a currency equal to their value, but 
 what was the use of keeping the mints running, when the 
 uncoined bullion would answer the same purpose as a secu- 
 rity ? One way was as good as another for Democrats and 
 Republicans, in so far as the object in view was to provide 
 a market for the silver produced by the silver States. 
 
 But was this all that was in view ? By no means. The 
 Republicans had reached the end of their string, and they 
 practically avowed that to go further would be to falsify their 
 record as to coinage, retrace all the steps that had led to 
 resumption and retract all their arguments against inflation. 
 The Democrats were freer of foot. They were in a position 
 to profit by antagonism, and to cultivate the sentiment 
 
54 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 which was born of discontent. This discontent permeated 
 a wide area, dedicated entirely to them, viz., the South. 
 It had shown itself in other areas, especially of the West, 
 in a form which might easily be cultivated, and possibly 
 captured. There was an uprising, an outbreak, a volcanic 
 something, which was indescribable in its demands, except 
 as to its demand for free and unlimited coinage of silver. 
 In this, there may not have been a fitting in with the more 
 conservative and enlightened Democratic idea, but it opened 
 a Democratic opportunity too tempting to be resisted. All 
 will remember how the Greenback idea ran away with 
 Democratic judgment. This new idea scored a similar tri- 
 umph. Left to itself, it might have passed as a curiosity of 
 American politics. Coquetted with, and encouraged, it 
 proved a siren, and the future must unfold the dark and in- 
 tricate recesses into which it led its wooer. 
 
 It is needless here to describe in full the injection of this 
 new idea. Yet some description of it is just as to its origin 
 and demands, if not as a reason why Democracy finds an 
 excuse for coquetting with it. We will ignore its Pfeffers, 
 its Polks, its originators and leaders, as they find blazonry 
 and power in its midst, and take the reasons and the posi- 
 tion from one who is authorized to speak in the forum of 
 the nation, but who occupies a round on the ladder between 
 the middle and top. We extract from the speech of Hon. 
 William H. Hatch of Missouri, in the House of Represent- 
 atives, Feb. 25, 1891. He said: 
 
 “ The farmers of the United States for the past twenty- 
 five years have tolerated and even encouraged a system of 
 national legislation so inimical and detrimental to their best 
 interests that the great wonder is that the ‘ movement ’ had 
 not reached its present proportions years ago. The answer 
 
Campaign issues of 1892. 
 
 S5 
 
 is found in the traditional conservatism of this class, and 
 the strength of personal pride and party ties among all our 
 people. They have waited in vain for relief from the party 
 in power without resorting to the exercise of vigorous and 
 independent action. Long-continued and repeated legisla- 
 tive discriminations, oppressive and increasing rates of tax- 
 ation, with diminished prices for farm products and shrinkage 
 in values of the best lines of property held by them, at last 
 gave an impetus to the farmers’ movement that is unparal- 
 leled in its proportions and astounding in the velocity with 
 which it spread over the land, and the unanimity of its ac- 
 ceptance by farmers of all sections of the Union and the 
 growers of all principal farm products. 
 
 “ It is marvellous that the rice and cotton planters of the 
 extreme South, the tobacco growers of Tennessee and Ken- 
 tucky, the wheat growers of our entire country, the stock 
 raisers of all sections of the Union, and the painstaking and 
 diversified farming interests of New England should have 
 been so well prepared to receive any practical suggestions 
 of relief that when the ‘ movement ’ began in earnest, less 
 than two years ago, it should sweep over the country with 
 the velocity of a cyclone, and arouse the enthusiasm of a 
 civil revolution. 
 
 “ The gradual and steady decline of farm products began 
 with the demonetization of silver ; I confidently believe that 
 its restoration to a perfect equality with gold as to coinage 
 bullion and certificates, based upon the ratio fixed by our 
 laws, will be greatly beneficial in restoring prices of farm 
 products to an average that will be remunerative, if not 
 profitable, to the producers. Free coinage of silver, with 
 an increase of our paper circulation commensurate with our 
 increased population and constantly augmenting commercial 
 
56 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 demands, will bring at once activity in trade, hope and buoy- 
 ancy in all lines of commerce, and certain relief as well as 
 an increased prosperity to our great productive industries. 
 
 “ Mr. Chairman, who makes this demand for the free 
 coinage of silver ? The National Farmers’ Alliance in their 
 convention at Ocala, December, 1890, the last convention 
 held by that organization, declared in favor of the free coin- 
 age of silver in these emphatic words : 
 
 “ ‘ We condemn the silver bill recently passed by Con- 
 gress, and demand in lieu thereof the free and unlimited 
 coinage of silver.’ 
 
 “ The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, in 
 their last national meeting, held November 12, 1890, also 
 declared for free and unlimited coinage of silver. 
 
 “ Every representative body of farmers in the United 
 States have within the past two or three years been equally 
 explicit and emphatic in their indorsement of this policy. 
 
 “ Many representative bodies in the different States where 
 the Democrats are in a majority, have also expressed them- 
 selves, in resolutions, strongly in favor of free coinage of 
 silver. 
 
 “ The last expression on the part of any representative 
 body of Democrats in the State of Missouri, upon this sub- 
 ject, was a series of resolutions passed by the General 
 Assembly of the State of Missouri, in which they declared 
 ‘ that in order that the volume of money may be increased 
 we favor the free arid unlimited coinage of silver.’ 
 
 “ This was on the 19th day of January, 1891. 
 
 “ Since the resolutions of the Missouri Legislature that I 
 have referred to were offered and printed in the Record , and 
 after the publication of Mr. Cleveland’s letter on February 
 13, there was an effort made by resolution offered in the 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 57 
 
 House of Representatives of the General Assembly, to in- 
 dorse that letter, which was very promptly voted down, and 
 Mr. Fogle, a prominent Democrat, residing in my district, 
 offered this resolution, which received the vote of every 
 Democrat in the House, as well as some Republicans, the 
 vote being 85 yeas to 8 nays. 
 
 “ ‘ Resolved , That it is the sense of the House that we are 
 unqualifiedly in favor of the free and unlimited coinage of 
 silver, and that we thereby represent the sentiments of the 
 people of the great State of Missouri.’ 
 
 “ Gentlemen need not flatter themselves that this organ- 
 ization, because it is young and almost unorganized, is 
 without power. It will close its ranks, leaders will develop 
 as it comes to the front, because they have determined that 
 sooner than yield one jot or tittle of the demands I have 
 mentioned, they will ‘ give their homes to the flames and 
 their flesh to the eagles/ ” 
 
 So confident were the Democrats of their position that 
 their greatest leader on Silver matters introduced into the 
 Fifty-second Congress a bill looking to the free and unlim- 
 ited coinage of silver. The object of this bill, introduced 
 and championed by Mr. Bland, was to make the coinage of 
 silver free like that of gold. There was to be no limitation 
 on the amount. The mints were to coin into standard dol- 
 lars or form into bars all silver deposited, as the owner de- 
 manded. The owner was to receive for his silver either 
 standard silver dollars or Treasury notes based on the same. 
 Such Treasury notes were to be a legal tender. This re- 
 monetized silver and established bi-metallism. It gave to 
 the holder of silver bullion one standard, legal-tender dollar 
 for every seventy cents worth of silver he held and brought 
 to the mint. It was a captivating measure for silver miners 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 189I 
 
 5 * 
 
 and silver dealers. Nothing could have been more pleasing 
 to those who thought an enlarged, even if a cheaper, cur- 
 rency a panacea for the ills, debt and hard times. The Act 
 was in keeping with a popular cry. It was believed to be 
 so purely Democratic as that no doubt could exist of its 
 passage in a House where two-thirds of the members were 
 Democrats. But after animated debate, a halt was called. 
 Democracy, after all, was not such a unit as had been sup- 
 posed. Whatever the real sentiment respecting it may have 
 been, it was not deemed politic to commit the party to it by 
 passing it, at that particular juncture. Enough Democrats 
 swung to the Republican position respecting it to side-track 
 it, for the time being. But it had gone too far to lessen its 
 importance as a political issue. Its friends will not brook 
 the treatment they received. The Republicans will refuse 
 to be hoodwinked by the postponement of a measure for the 
 sake of expediency. Therefore the question of free coinage 
 cannot escape being an issue in the Campaign of 1892, and 
 perhaps more of an issue than if some decisive action 
 had been taken on it in the House, when such action was 
 fully expected. 
 
 Any other issue than the two thus reviewed will be in the 
 nature of a side issue. The Republicans will, of course, 
 urge the question of full and fair expression by ballot in all 
 the States. They are bound to do this, but it is not vital 
 to their cause, in the presence of overshadowing issues. 
 Judging from the sentiment evoked by the recent bill in Con- 
 gress, which came to be known as the “ Force Bill,” it is 
 doubtful whether the time has arrived for legislative insis- 
 tence on a method of voting in advance of that which pre- 
 vails. A full, free and righteous ballot requires a con- 
 science. Where customs and prejudices are rife, law is 
 inefficient. It is always right to educate a sentiment against 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 189I 59 
 
 a wrong. In so far as the campaign offers opportunity for 
 this, it should be taken advantage of. But in the existing 
 state of public mind, a direct issue on the question of a free 
 ballot and full, honest count, would be a doubtful one for 
 those who assumed the affirmative. Even though moral 
 sentiment be agreed upon the outcrop of such an issue, the 
 factitious reasons for a different result are too numerous to 
 be withstood. Prejudice is yet profound among the lower 
 strata of voters. The race instinct is hard to eliminate. The 
 tradition of state-rights has survived the war to an alarming 
 extent. Upon these can be built an opposition which is 
 susceptible of withstanding any onslaught, as things exist. 
 Indeed, it is possible that Democracy will not hesitate to 
 drive home upon Republicanism the fact that it cham- 
 pioned interference with State Rights as to the ballot, and 
 will seek to make more capital out of it than the Republi- 
 cans can expect to make out of the converse. So equal must 
 such an issue be, as respects votes, and in the coming cam- 
 paign, that it will not serve to divert either party from those 
 which promise more immediate and substantial results. 
 
 As to economy of public expenditure, the Democrats 
 have a case out of which they will make the most. In this, 
 they will throw the Republicans on the defensive. The 
 “ Billion Dollar Congress ” is an awe-inspiring phrase. It 
 will reach far and require a world of explanation. A “ Nickel 
 Congress ” or a “ Five-Cent Congress ” is not nearly so 
 catchy, and, to the “ ear of the groundling,” is hardly an 
 effective offset. But the changes will be rung on these 
 phiases for all they are worth. We shall hear more of the 
 curse and blessing of extravagance, more of the beauty 
 and hideousness of parsimony than ever before. There will 
 be no more interesting side issue. It is one that even the 
 commonest stump-orator can make something out of. It 
 
6o 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 does not involve a high degree of logic, and the imagination 
 may readily become the reservoir of facts respecting it. 
 
 Opinions of Political Leaders on the Issue of the 
 Campaign. 
 
 Senator James McMillan, Mich. : 
 
 “ There are three questions which are now uppermost in 
 the public mind, and which must continue to enter into every 
 campaign, so long as opinions in regard to them differ widely. 
 These three are the tariff, the finances, and the franchise. 
 The United States has made a virtue of what was at first a 
 political necessity, and by means of a protective tariff has 
 been able to diversify its industries, and to keep the standard 
 of wages comparatively high. 
 
 “ In the McKinley Law, so called, the theory of protec- 
 tion has been carried to its logical conclusion. Articles 
 which can be manufactured or produced in this country in 
 sufficient quantities to supply our own needs are brought 
 under the shelter of a protective tariff, leaving competition 
 among our own people to regulate prices. Those articles 
 which from climatic or other reasons cannot be produced in 
 this country in sufficient quantities to regulate the price — 
 in value equal to a little more than half the imports — are 
 put upon the free list. The Republican party believes this 
 to be the true theory of the tariff. Still more important than 
 the additional symmetry which the McKinley Bill gives 
 to the protective tariff is the provision establishing re- 
 ciprocity. 
 
 “ The question of finances will be a disturbing one. The 
 Republican party will stand by the present law regarding 
 silver. 
 
 “ In the public mind the day has gone by for a resort to 
 stringent laws which, however just in themselves, must de- 
 
Hon. William J. Bryan. 
 
 Born in Salem, 111., March 19, 1860 ; graduated at Illinois College, 
 1881 ; attended Union Law College, Chicago, two years; admitted to 
 bar, and began practice in Jacksonville; moved to Lincoln, Neb., 
 October 1, 1887, and continued profession; elected to Fifty-second 
 Congress, as a Democrat, by a majority of 6713, in a district which two 
 years before gave over 3400 Republican majority ; an able constitutional 
 lawyer; rose to immediate prominence in the House by eloquent advocacy 
 of free silver coinage and the principles of tariff reduction and reform ; 
 favors election of U. S. Senators by the people, and revenue by means 
 of an income tax ; sympathizes with the masses who have been neglected 
 in legislation ; popular with his party and in his community. 
 
 ( 6i ) 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 63 
 
 pend for their enforcement upon a power outside of, and 
 opposed to, the prevailing sentiment in the State in which 
 the colored vote is suppressed. Still, while the existing 
 condition of affairs at the South gives that section repre- 
 sentation in Congress and in the Electoral Colleges out of 
 all proportion to its voting strength, the franchise will not 
 cease to be a national issue.” 
 
 The Hon. Benton McMillin, Tenn. : 
 
 “ The records of the two parties have, in a great measure, 
 made the issues for 1892. The principles of the Democratic 
 party are as old as the Government. They are the defence 
 of the citizen in his personal liberty ; the upholding of the 
 Constitution, and the support of the General Government 
 and the State governments in all their integrity. During 
 the present administration the Republican party has had full 
 control of every branch of the Government. Hence, this 
 party’s unrestrained action may be taken as the most recent 
 and most accurate exposition of its principles. They have 
 further made that action their platform by indorsing it in 
 their various State conventions and making their contests 
 upon it. The following will be the issues separating the 
 two parties : 
 
 “ I. Shall there be reckless prodigality, or wise economy 
 in public expenses ? 
 
 “ II. Shall the peopleremain free, or be enslaved through 
 * Force Bills,’ by turning the elections of the legislative 
 branch of the Government over to the judicial ? 
 
 “ III. Shall the people be robbed, and commerce be de- 
 stroyed by excessive rates of duty ? 
 
 “ The battle is on, and Democracy will stand, as ever, in 
 favor of the rights of the masses as against the exactions of 
 the classes. Our cause is just, and will triumph.” 
 
64 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 Senator Frank Hiscock, New York: 
 
 “ The legislation of the Fifty-first Congress fixing the 
 present custom duties will afford the leading issue. The 
 Republican Convention will approve that legislation, and the 
 Democratic Convention will denounce it; but, in my judg- 
 ment, the actual contention upon this great economic ques- 
 tion will be made by the House of Representatives of the 
 Fifty-second Congress. The Democrats are largely in the 
 majority there. The constituencies of the Democratic mem- 
 bers will expect, the Republican party will have a right to 
 demand, and the country will exact of them an expression 
 in the form of a Bill, of the changes which they propose in 
 our present tariff laws. The law-making power must, there- 
 fore, make the issues of the next national election upon this 
 subject. 
 
 " Doubtless a majority of the House of Representatives 
 of the present Congress would vote to open our mints for 
 the free coinage of the silver of the world. Still I doubt if 
 that question will be emphasized in the next Presidential 
 canvass. New York’s electoral vote will doubtless be re- 
 quired for the election of a Democratic President, and the 
 Democrats in the House will hardly wish to handicap their 
 party in New York by passing a free-coinage Bill. 
 
 “ The Republican party will stand stoutly by the policy 
 and acts of the present administration to promote reciprocal 
 trade with foreign countries under the Aldrich Amendment 
 of the Customs Law of 1890.” 
 
 The Hon. R. P. Bland, Mo. : 
 
 “ Undoubtedly the question of tariff reform will be the 
 most absorbing issue in the coming Presidential election. 
 But it will not be the only question. The Republican ‘ Force 
 Bill ’ has put in jeopardy home rule and local self-govern- 
 ment. The money question, in the shape of the free coinage 
 
CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 65 
 
 of silver, will not down at the bidding of either party. The 
 people will make it an issue. 
 
 “ The opponents of free coinage profess to deprecate the 
 agitation of the question ; yet they craftily demand of both 
 parties a nominee practically pledged in advance to veto any 
 free-coinage Bill that may be passed. If the majority of the 
 American people want free coinage of silver, they ought to 
 have it.” 
 
 Senator Eugene Hale, Me. : 
 
 “ The Republican party began furnishing the issues for 
 Presidential elections in 1856, and will furnish them for 
 1892. 
 
 “ The doctrine of protection will have a front place in the 
 contest. In 1892 it will be enlarged and popularized by its 
 new ally, reciprocity. 
 
 “ A sound, stable currency, maintaining gold and silver at 
 par, and utilizing both metals, will be another issue. 
 
 “ The restriction of criminal and pauper immigration is 
 another issue. 
 
 “The encouragement of American steamship lines by judi- 
 cious subsidies, and the rebuilding of the navy, will con- 
 stitute another issue. 
 
 “ If we cannot prevail with these issues, the party may as 
 well go out of business.” 
 
 The Hon. W. C. P. Breckinridge : 
 
 “Assuming that the Democratic party has not already 
 thrown away the Presidency, upon what issue can it win, 
 and has it the wisdom to select, and skill to compel the 
 battle to be made upon it ? 
 
 “ In the approaching canvass the main issue between the 
 parties will be the question of taxation, and the success of 
 the Democratic party may depend upon the earnestness and 
 aggressiveness it shows in the present House on that ques- 
 tion. We cannot win upon the do-nothing policy, for if the 
 
66 
 
 CAMPAIGN ISSUES OF 1892. 
 
 country gets the idea that our party in Congress is on dress 
 parade, that its fight on the tariff is simply a sham battle 
 that marks the evolution of an army in time of peace, and 
 that we are firing blank cartridges, the Presidency is lost 
 before the canvass begins. And if the Republicans are 
 skillful enough to take advantage of our division on the 
 money question to force that issue to the front, we may find 
 it impossible to regain the confidence so lost. 
 
 “ The campaign promises to be one of great earnestness, 
 based mainly on the substitution for the McKinley Bill of a 
 Bill embodying the principles laid down in the celebrated 
 message of Mr. Cleveland, and in the teachings of those who 
 are peculiarly known as tariff reformers.” 
 
 Governor William R. Merriam, Minn. : 
 
 “ The Republican party must stand by the two important 
 questions now under consideration, and already assumed as 
 party principles. I refer to the question of free coinage and 
 of the policy of protection. I name them in this order, as I 
 look upon the financial question as the more important issue 
 at stake. 
 
 “ The Republican party has been uniformly in favor of 
 honest money ; and has determined to oppose free coinage 
 of silver, unless the nations of the earth agree upon some 
 basis whereon the two metals can flow side by side. It can- 
 not afford to change its position on this important question. 
 Let it be understood that its policy will be persistently and 
 continuously opposed to the coinage of silver whenever this 
 metal is not at a parity with gold. 
 
 “The Governor of New York in his recent speech at 
 Elmira practically means that he proposes to stand upon the 
 platform of free coinage. The Democratic leaders, as a 
 s whole, favor placing a free-silver plank in their next platform, 
 and the campaign will no doubt be largely fought out on 
 that line.” 
 
Born near Greenville, S. C., March 8, 1836 ; educated at South Caro- 
 lina College ; admitted to Edgefield bar, 1857 ; elected to South Caro- 
 lina Legislature, 1860 ; served as Major-General in Confederate army 
 and lost right leg in battle; elected to South Carolina Legislature, 1866; 
 candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, 1870; elected United States Senator, 
 1876; re-elected, 1882 and 1889; chairman of Committee on Five 
 Civilized Tribes of Indians and member of Committees on Foreign Re- 
 lations, Naval Affairs, Congressional Library and University of United 
 States. 
 
 ( 67 ) 
 

THE DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 Free-trade exists only in theory. There is no actual 
 free-trade in all the world. 
 
 Those who ground their arguments on the abstract doc- 
 trine of free-trade are free-traders. 
 
 Those who admit the necessity or propriety of a tariff for 
 revenue only are free-traders. All the political economists 
 of the free-trade school — Adam Smith, Mill, Ricardo, Say, 
 List, Laveleye, Wells, Wayland — say that a government has 
 a right to levy a tax for its support, and that the tariff is the 
 least onerous and easiest collected tax. 
 
 A tariff for revenue with incidental protection begins to 
 draw the line between the free-trader and the protectionist. 
 
 A “ Tariff Reformer ” is either an outright free-trader, or 
 a believer in a revenue tariff with incidental protection. He 
 may be none the less a protectionist. 
 
 Politics confuse these terms. American politics are espe- 
 cially loose respecting them. We change both theories and 
 terms with the rapidity of a new and enterprising country. 
 
 In England “ free-trade ” and “ free-trader ” carry no re- 
 proach. The meaning of the terms is understood, as well 
 as the doctrine. 
 
 In political economy there is no doubt about terms. The 
 free-trader and protectionist are what they profess to be. 
 
 The early economic writers were mostly free-traders. 
 Protection, which all nations practiced, did not seem to ad- 
 mit of theories or encourage a literature. 
 
 It is well to understand that the astounding revelations in 
 connection with the development of the United States have 
 4 (69) 
 
7o 
 
 DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 shaken all the old theories respecting free-trade and protec 
 tion, and made a new political economy possible, if not 
 necessary. 
 
 A primary law of political economy is that an increase 
 of the productiveness of the country implies an increase of 
 its capital. No law can create capital. 
 
 A second law is that productiveness depends on the num- 
 ber of laborers. Legislation cannot create men. 
 
 A third law is that productiveness depends on the stim- 
 ulus to labor. Protection changes only the mode of labor. 
 If it attracts manufacturers, it repels agriculturalists, and, 
 vice versa . What it pays as a stimulus to one industry it 
 subtracts from another. Hence there is no gain to labor 
 as a whole. 
 
 Protection increases the price of an article. As price in- 
 creases, demand diminishes. The less an article is wanted, 
 the less it will be produced. The demand for labor dimin- 
 ishes. The price of labor diminishes. The stimulus to 
 labor is decreased. 
 
 The watchword of free-traders, or freedom of exchange, 
 is Laissez faire ; laissez passer : “ leave it alone.” This is 
 nature. Allow every one to buy and sell where he can do 
 so most advantageously, whether in or out of his own 
 country. 
 
 Revenue from customs on foreign goods may be per- 
 mitted by the doctrine of laissez faire , but it is a tax, and a 
 bad one. 
 
 To establish duties under the pretext of protecting 
 national industries is an iniquitous measure fatal to the gen- 
 eral interests. 
 
 By forcing a consumer to buy at a higher price than he 
 would have otherwise, or elsewhere, to pay, is to perpetrate 
 the injustice of taxing one class for the benefit of another. 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 71 
 
 Political economy draws no distinction between classes. 
 So, if it be said that protection by means of tariff duties has 
 for its purpose the favor of labor, it favors a class, none the 
 less. 
 
 True industrial economy aims not to increase but dimin- 
 ish labor. If, with what I can earn in one day, I can buy a 
 yard of cloth from a foreigner, why force me to spend two 
 days’ labor for the same ? 
 
 An injury is done to humanity by a system which forces 
 men into manufactories. The custom house snatches men, 
 women and children from open air tasks, and chains them 
 in gloomy workshops for twelve to fourteen hours out of 
 twenty-four. 
 
 Free-trade applies to whole peoples the principle of the 
 division of labor, assures them all that such principle can 
 bestow, and thereby enhances their welfare. 
 
 When each is employed at what he can do best, the indi- 
 vidual shares are greatest. 
 
 When each is compelled by legislation to do what he must, 
 and what he may not have aptitude for, the aggregate of 
 labor will not be so great, and the individual will be worse 
 off. 
 
 So when each country or nation fails to devote its ener- 
 gies to what nature most favors, it will not bring to market 
 the maximum obtained by the minimum of toil, but the re- 
 sults of a diminished productivity. 
 
 No man can be so self-sufficient as to confine himself to 
 the manufacture of his food, clothing, furniture, books, etc. 
 The nation is no better off than the man. 
 
 Protection obliges me to grow wheat, without reference 
 to soil. But in nature my soil may be sandy, and I could 
 better afford to raise something else in exchange for wheat, 
 which grows better on my neighbor’s clay soil. 
 
72 
 
 DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 Commerce is always an exchange of produce against pro- 
 duce. So much exported, so much imported. Therefore 
 the foreigner cannot inundate us with goods. The differ- 
 ent countries cannot sell more than they buy. 
 
 Industrial progress begets competition. Don’t limit it at 
 the confines of a state or nation. The widest competition 
 is the most universal profit. Monopoly means sloth ; pro- 
 tection, routine. The manufacturer who is forced to keep 
 hold of the home market will conquer the world. 
 
 A railroad uniting two countries facilitates exchanges ; 
 customs dues impede them. 
 
 Free-trade has for its object the diminution of labor. 
 Machinery has the same object. Protection, therefore, 
 should demand the abolition of machinery, in order to be 
 consistent. 
 
 Capital turns spontaneously to the most lucrative employ- 
 ment. Protection turns it to the less lucrative, and seeks to 
 make up the difference by a tax on consumers. 
 
 The argument that a country should be independent of 
 foreigners in time of war is of no avail in this era of easy 
 and ready transportation. Neutral ships may transport the 
 goods of belligerents. The blockade of a nation is impos- 
 sible. 
 
 The doctrine of free-trade, like that of protection, is 
 oftentimes best sustained by attacking and exploding the 
 theories of the adversary. 
 
 Modern politics, especially the politics of a free country 
 like that of the United States, are prolific of arguments and 
 phrases which greatly affect the stereotyped theories of free- 
 trade and protection. 
 
 Hence, having passed from the ascertained laws of free- 
 trade, as found in the books, and as built on the experience 
 of foreign countries, on monarchical conditions, and on a 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 TilL 
 
 | 
 
 
 
\ 
 
 Hon. Wilkinson Call. 
 
 Born in Logan co., Ky., January 9, 1834; adopted the legal profes- 
 sion, and elected to the United States Senate after the war ; seat con- 
 tested, and election declared invalid; re-elected, as Democrat, in 1879, 
 1885 and 1891 ; election in 1891 declared invalid by Governor of State, 
 who appointed Hon. R. H. M. Davidson ; contest carried into Senate, 
 where it is now being prosecuted ; case interesting as involving election 
 methods and many points beyond established precedents, 
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 75 
 
 geography, climatology and sociology different from our 
 own, there is opportunity for new laws founded on different 
 natural and commercial conditions. This also gives free 
 play to the doctrines respecting protection. 
 
 Bearing this in mind, we are prepared for opinions and 
 assertions which have weight in free discussion, but which 
 are somewhat removed from the seriousness and weight of 
 fortified laws. 
 
 These are none the less worthy of consideration, for even 
 if there is no economic law back of them, they may fore- 
 shadow truths which experience will ripen into economic 
 axiom. As other nations, less expansive than ours, less 
 liberally endowed by nature, and altogether less advanced 
 in industrial and commercial knowledge and opportunity, 
 have formulated economic laws, which are quoted with 
 favor and accepted as final, so this nation may well assume 
 to ascertain what is best for itself, and to give its conclu- 
 sions the form of economic axiom. • 
 
 In this point of view the American political economist 
 becomes an impressive and invaluable economist, and the 
 passionate wisdom of the partisan something which is crude 
 quartz to the view, yet with crystals of gold inside. 
 
 As instances, the protectionist is challenged for reply by 
 the declaration that the system of protection is sustained 
 by the co-operation of its beneficiaries, and that they are 
 held together by the “ cohesive power of public plunder.” 
 
 Similarly, by the declaration that the tariff is a tax upon 
 the consumer, and that, especially, when imposed on raw 
 materials. Ten cents a pound upon wool means that the 
 consumer will have to pay that much more for the cloth 
 made of that pound. 
 
 So, when a tariff is declared to be vicious in principle 
 
76 
 
 DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 that seeks to perpetuate high rates. Hamilton is quoted, 
 in 1791 : 
 
 “ The continuance of bounties on manufactures long es- 
 tablished must always be of questionable policy; because a 
 presumption would arise in every such case that there were 
 natural and inherent impediments to success.” 
 
 Clay is quoted, in 1833 : 
 
 “ The theory of protection supposes, too, that after a cer- 
 tain time the protected arts will have acquired such strength 
 and perfection as will enable them, subsequently, unaided 
 to stand against foreign competition.” 
 
 The theory that a tariff protects labor by furnishing it 
 employment is the old theory of “ the maximum of toil 
 and the minimum of profit,” whereas the true economic 
 theory is “ the minimum of toil and the maximum of profit.” 
 
 A tariff favors a class and tends to monopolies and the 
 formation of trusts, with power to regulate prices and bur- 
 den consumers. 
 
 A protective tariff and protective policy is not such a 
 public policy as needs to be supported by the people at 
 large. The principle and fact are denied that protection of 
 in article by levying a duty on it tends to cheapen the price 
 of the article, after its manufacture has been established. 
 
 To defend protection is to justify the taking of one man’s 
 money and putting it in another’s pocket. 
 
 The tariff that looks to the protection of labor really in- 
 jures labor when it leads to the production of articles in 
 this country cheaper than abroad. 
 
 Gladstone defends free-trade on moral grounds — the com- 
 mercial doing as you would wish to be done by. 
 
 Patrick Henry said : 
 
 “ Commerce should be as free as the winds of heaven ; a 
 restricted commerce is like a man in chains, crippled in all 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 7 1 
 
 his movements and bowed to the earth ; but let him twist 
 the fetters from his legs and he stands erect.” 
 
 Protection has invoked many wars and rebellions. The 
 head-spring of the American Revolution was the Naviga- 
 tion Act, an English system of protection which sacrificed 
 to English monopoly the natural rights of her colonies. 
 
 In keeping with the Navigation Act were other English 
 laws suppressing important manufactures as well as internal 
 trade in the colonies. In the land of the beaver no man 
 could be a hatter unless he had served seven years as an 
 apprentice at the trade. No American hat could be sent 
 out of one province into another. Steel furnaces, plating 
 forges and slitting mills were prohibited as nuisances. Lord 
 Chatham said that in a certain contingency he would pro- 
 hibit the manufacture in the American Colonies of even so 
 much as a horseshoe or a hobnail. Lord Sheffield declared 
 that the only use England had for the American Colonies 
 was “ the monopoly of their consumption and the carriage 
 of their produce.” These violations of natural law worked 
 their own overthrow, and the mother country lost the 
 brightest jewel in her crown. This event led England to 
 re-examine her commercial system and to adopt the policy 
 of free-trade. 
 
 Adam Smith completed his great work, “ Nature and 
 Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” the very year America 
 declared her independence, 1776. 
 
 In 1817, when Parliament repealed the duty on salt, the 
 agents of the salt monopolies plead for a prohibitory duty 
 on it. “Thus fell,” says Thomas H. Benton, “an odious, 
 impious and criminal tax.” 
 
 “ The leaven of free-trade principles continued to work 
 in England under the wise and skilful supervision of Rich- 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 7 $ 
 
 ard Cobden, and reached its calminating triumph in the re- 
 peal of the Corn Laws in 1846 .” — Richard Hawley. 
 
 In 1842 England exported goods to the amount of $570,- 
 000,000, and in 1865 to the amount of $1,815,000,000. In 
 the same time her imports rose from $326,000,000 to $909,- 
 000,000. In 1842 the number of articles subject to duty 
 was 1,150; in 1870 only 43 articles were subject to duty, 
 and the duty was not protective. Yet her revenue from 
 customs was about the same in 1870 as in 1842. She now 
 levies duty only on about a dozen articles, such as tea, coffee, 
 tobacco, spirits, wines, etc. 
 
 Hon. David A. Wells makes an argument for free-trade, 
 or free exchange, thus : — “ Population in the United States 
 increased from i860 to 1870, 22.2 per cent. The products 
 of our manufactures increased in the same period 52 per 
 cent. This tendency of manufacturing products to increase 
 faster than population gluts our home markets and shows 
 the necessity for larger and freer commerce.” 
 
 “ There is no nation,” says he, “ or country, or commu- 
 nity, nor probably any one man, that is not, by reason of 
 differences in soil, climate, physical or mental capacities, at 
 advantage or disadvantage as respects some other nation, 
 country, community or men in producing or doing some- 
 thing useful. It is only a brute, furthermore, as economists 
 have long recognized, that can find a full satisfaction for its 
 desires in its immediate surroundings ; while poor indeed 
 must be the man of civilization that does not lay every 
 quarter of the globe under contribution every morning for 
 his breakfast. Hence — springing out of this diversity in the 
 powers of production, and of wants in respect to locations 
 and individuals — the origin of trade. Hence its necessity 
 and advantage ; and the man who has not sufficient educa- 
 tion to read the letters of any printed book perceives by 
 
Hon. Joseph M. Carey. 
 
 Born in Milton, Delaware, January 19, 1845 ; educated at Fort 
 Edward Collegiate Institute and Union College ; graduated Law De- 
 partment Pennsylvania University and admitted to bar in Philadelphia; 
 appointed District Attorney for Wyoming, 1869 ; Associate Justice of 
 Wyoming Supreme Court, 1871-76 ; Mayor of Cheyenne three times, 
 1881-85 ; elected, as a Republican, to 49th, 50th and 51st Congresses ; 
 elected U. S. Senator, for Wyoming, November 15, 1890 ; pioneer of 
 cattle industiy in State ; active in securing admission of State ; an able 
 lawyer, eloquent orator and trusted statesman; Chairman of Senate 
 Committee on Education ; member of Committees on Public Lands, 
 Territories, Buildings and Grounds, Patents and Pacific R. R. 
 
 (So) 
 
Hon. Leyman R. Casey. 
 
 Born in Livingston co., N. Y., 1837 ; moved with parents to Ypsilanti, 
 Mich., and prepared for college ; engaged for many years in hardware 
 business ; travelled in Europe, and in 1882 settled in North Dakota ; 
 took charge of affairs of Carrington & Casey Land Company ; acted as 
 Commissioner to organize Foster Co. ; declined the honors of public 
 office till after admission of North Dakota as a State; elected, as a Re- 
 publican, to United States Senate, November 21, 1889; Chairman of 
 Committee on Railroads and member of Committees on Agriculture 
 and Forestry, Irrigation, Transportation, etc. 
 
 (8t) 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 83 
 
 instinct, more clearly, as a general rule, than the man of 
 civilization, that if he can trade freely, he can better his con- 
 dition and increase the sum of his happiness ; for the first 
 thing the savage, when brought in contact with civilized 
 man, wants to do, is to exchange ; and the first effort of 
 every new settlement in any new country, after providing 
 temporary food and shelter, is to open a road or other means 
 of communication to some other settlement, in order that 
 they may trade or exchange the commodities which they 
 can produce to advantage, for the products which some 
 others can produce to greater advantage. And, obeying 
 this same natural instinct, the heart of every man, that has 
 not been filled with prejudice of race or country, or per- 
 verted by talk about the necessity of tariffs and custom- 
 houses, experiences a pleasurable emotion when it learns 
 that a new road has been opened, a new railroad constructed, 
 or that the time of crossing the seas has been greatly short- 
 ened ; and if to-day it could be announced that the problem 
 of aerial navigation had been solved, and that hereafter 
 everybody could go everywhere, with all their goods and 
 chattels, for one-tenth of the cost and in one-tenth of the 
 time that is now required, one universal shout of jubilation 
 would arise spontaneously from the whole civilized world. 
 And why ? Simply because everybody would feel that 
 there would be forthwith a multitude of new wants, an equal 
 multitude of new satisfactions, an increase of business in 
 putting wants and satisfactions into the relations of equa- 
 tions in which one side would balance the other, and an in- 
 crease of comfort and happiness everywhere.” 
 
 “All trade,” he says, “is at the bottom a matter of barter; 
 product being given for product and service for service ; 
 that in order to sell we must buy, and in order to buy we must 
 sell ; and that he who won’t buy can’t sell, and he who won’t 
 
8 4 
 
 DOCTRINE OE FREE-TRADE. 
 
 sell can’t buy. . . . The United States, for now a long series 
 of years, has, in its fiscal policy, denied or ignored the truth 
 of the above economic, axiomatic principles. It has not, 
 indeed, in so many distinct words said to the American pro- 
 ducers and laborers, You shall not sell your products and 
 your labor to the people of other countries ; but it has em- 
 phatically said to the producers and laborers of other coun- 
 tries, We do not think it desirable that you should sell your 
 products or your labor in this country ; and, as far as we can 
 interpose legal obstructions, we don’t intend that you shall ! 
 But in shutting others out, we have at the same time, and 
 necessarily, shut ourselves in. And herein is trouble No. i. 
 The house is too small, measured by the power of producing, 
 for those that live in it. And remedy No. i is to be found 
 in withdrawing the bolts, taking off the locks, opening the 
 doors, and getting out and clear of all restrictions on pro- 
 ducing and the disposal of products.” 
 
 Mr. Wells illustrates his theory by the failure of the 
 United States to compete with England for the trade of 
 Chili, Argentine and other countries. For though we could 
 place our cotton manufactures in those countries as cheaply 
 as England could, we refused to take their products freely 
 in turn, or except by first imposing a duty on them. The 
 position assumed by Mr. Wells that “ all trade is at the bot- 
 tom a matter of barter,” ignores, in part, the function of 
 money in the making of exchanges. He was answered 
 thus by a “ Protection ” writer : 
 
 “ The function of money, or its representatives, is that of 
 enabling indirect exchanges to be made. The shoemaker 
 buys his cabbages from one man and sells his shoes to an- 
 other. Trade, in place of being a right line between two 
 points, becomes, so to speak, triangular and polygonal. 
 
 " This applies pre-eminently to nations, which are aggre- 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 $5 
 
 gations of individuals, each of whom acts according to his 
 individual interest, in place of being, as Mr. Wells assumes, 
 units actuated by a common purpose, and asking, before 
 they buy a yard of calico, whether a half-pound of copper 
 regulus will be taken in barter. If a Chilian merchant can 
 buy a salable bale of Fall River cloths cheaper than a simi- 
 lar bale from Manchester, he will not reject it because the 
 Fall River mill cannot buy Chilian copper. He knows that 
 the copper will be sold to Swansea, and that the resulting 
 bill of exchange on London will settle his debt at Fall 
 River as readily as at Manchester. He knows, moreover, 
 that if he patriotically refuses to buy the Fall River goods, 
 his competitor across the street will do so and will under- 
 sell him. All this is the A B C of trade, and no pathetic 
 groaning over the 55,000,000 yards of cotton supplied by 
 England, in comparison with the 5,000,000 yards supplied 
 by the United States in 1874, will get rid of it.” 
 
 Again, Mr. Wells’ attention was called to the fact that 
 the removal of restrictions on trade, which restrictions are 
 occasioned by the imposition of duties, did not in fact tend 
 to make countries buy of the United States, even though 
 the United States was their best customer. Thus, in 1876, 
 as an instance, the United States bought of Brazil coffee 
 and India rubber, on which no duties were levied, to the 
 amount of $44,000,000, and sent in turn only $7,500,000 of 
 her own products. This state of affairs Mr. Wells ascribes 
 to the absence of shipping facilities on the part of the 
 United States, which absence he accounts for by reason of 
 the same mistaken fiscal and commercial policy he had 
 been speaking against. 
 
 Free-traders deny that protection tends to keep up the 
 price of labor. Germany and France demand high duties 
 in order to protect their ill-paid laborers from competition 
 
86 
 
 DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 with the better paid labor of England. Therefore, low 
 wages do not enable a country to compete with another 
 country. As to this country, such are the advantages of 
 combined capital and labor that the workmen are capable 
 of a larger output than in other countries, and this enables 
 the employer to afford them better wages. The general 
 high rate of wages with us is due to the productiveness of 
 labor, or, in other words, to the energy and efficiency of 
 our laborers, the extended use of machinery and our great 
 natural resources. 
 
 Prof. Taussig lays down the doctrine that it is wrong to 
 limit duties to articles which can be produced in this coun- 
 try. Many of such articles, such as wool, iron and silks, 
 are in the nature of raw material and enter into the manu- 
 facture of other articles. Tea, coffee and sugar are entered 
 free of duty. A duty on these would have no such effect 
 as a duty on iron, namely, that of turning the industry of 
 the country into unproductive channels. If revenue must 
 be raised by duties on imports, those duties should fall on 
 articles not produced in this country, just as Ae internal 
 taxes fall on tobacco and spirits. 
 
 During the thirty years that the English corn laws were 
 in existence the prosperity of the farmer continually de- 
 clined. Farm labor suffered in proportion. Artisans and 
 laborers in manufactories were reduced to penury. The 
 peace of the country, and even the existence of the govern- 
 ment, were threatened. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel, who had changed from Protection to 
 Free-trade and had championed the repeal of the Corn 
 Laws, said on retiring from power : " I shall surrender 
 power severely censured by those who, from no interested 
 motives, adhere to Protection, considering it essential to 
 the welfare and interests of the country. I shall leave a 
 
Hon. William E. Chandler. 
 
 Born at Concord, New Hampshire, December 28, 1835 ; graduated at 
 Harvard Law School and admitted to bar, 1855 ; rep«rter of Supreme 
 Court, 1859; member of New Hampshire Legislature, 1862-63-64; 
 Speaker of House, 1863-64 ; Solicitor aind Judge Advocate-General 
 of Navy Department, 1865 ; First Assistant Secretary of Treasury, June 
 17, 1865-November 30, 1867 ; member of the New Hampshire Con- 
 stitutional Convention, 1876; elected to New Hampshire Legislature, 
 1881 ; appointed Solicitor-General by President Garfield, 1881, and re- 
 jected by Senate ; appointed Secretary of Navy by President Arthur, 
 April 12, 1882, and served till March 7, 1885; elected as Republican 
 to United States Senate, June 14, 1887; re-elected June 18, 1889; 
 Chairman of Committee on Immigration and member of Committees on 
 Inter-State Commerce, Naval Affairs, Privileges and Elections. 
 
 (« 7 ) 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 89 
 
 name execrated by every monopolist who, from less honor- 
 able motives, clamors for Protection, because it conduces to 
 his own individual benefit. But, it may be, that I shall 
 leave a name sometimes remembered with expressions of 
 good will in the abodes of those whose lot is to labor, 
 and to earn their bread by the sweat of their brows, when 
 they shall recruit their strength with abundant and untaxed 
 food, the sweeter because it is no longer leavened with a 
 sense of injustice.” 
 
 The entire doctrine of Free-trade was confirmed by reso- 
 lution in the British House of Commons in 1852, and the 
 Protectionists gave up the battle. 
 
 In the United States, from 1824 to 1833, the demands of 
 Protectionists threatened the peace of the nation, just as 
 their demands did in England. 
 
 At the time of the adoption of the compromise tariff of 
 1833, President Jackson said in his message of that year: 
 “ Those who take an enlarged view of the condition of our 
 country must be satisfied that the policy of Protection must 
 be ultimately limited to those articles of domestic manu- 
 facture which are indispensable to our safety in time of war. 
 Within this scope, on a reasonable scale, it is recommended 
 by every consideration of patriotism and duty, which will 
 always, doubtless, secure for it a liberal support ; but be- 
 yond this object we have already seen the operation of the 
 system productive of discontent. In some sections of the 
 Union its influence is deprecated as tending to concentrate 
 wealth in few hands and as creating those germs of de- 
 pendence and vice which in other countries have character- 
 ized the existence of monopolies and proved so destructive 
 of liberty and the public good. A large proportion of the 
 public in one section of the Union declares it not only in- 
 expedient on these grounds, but as disturbing the equal 
 
QO 
 
 DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 relations of capital by legislation and therefore unconstitu- 
 tional and unjust.” 
 
 Said Senator Rowan, of Kentucky, in 1828: “It is in 
 vain that Protection is called the 'American System.’ 
 Names do not alter things. There is but one American 
 system, and that is delineated in the State and Federal Con- 
 stitutions. It is the system of equal rights secured by the 
 Constitution — a system which instead of subjecting the 
 labor of some to taxation with a view to enrich others, se- 
 cures to all the proceeds of their labor, exempt from taxa- 
 tion except for the support of the protecting powers of the 
 government.” 
 
 As chairman of the “ Committee on Manufactures ” in 
 1832, John Quincy Adams said : — “ The doctrine that duties 
 of import seem to cheapen the price of the article on which 
 they are levied, seems to conflict with the first dictates of 
 common sense. The duty constitutes a part of the price of 
 the whole mass of the article in the market. It is substan- 
 tially paid upon the article of domestic manufacture, as well 
 as upon that of foreign production. Upon one it is a bounty, 
 upon the other a burden, and the repeal of the tax must 
 operate as an equivalent reduction of the price of the article 
 
 whether foreign or domestic We say so long as the 
 
 importation continues, the duty must be paid by the pur- 
 chaser of the article.” 
 
 In 1 846 George M. Dallas said : — “ This exercise of the 
 taxing (tariff) power was originally intended to be tem- 
 porary. The design was to foster feeble infant manufactures, 
 especially such as were essential for the defence of the coun- 
 try in time of war. In this design the people have per- 
 severed until these saplings have taken root, become vigorous, 
 expanded and powerful, and are prepared to enter with con- 
 fidence the field of fair, free and universal competition.” 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 91 
 
 Protection is responsible for the evils resulting from a 
 violation of law known as smuggling. This practice, or 
 crime, is as baneful and disastrous to the honest tradesmen 
 as the competition of free-trade is healthful and beneficial. 
 
 Taking the two decades, 1840 to 1850, and 1850 to i860, 
 and regarding the first as a period which was most affected 
 by the high tariff of 1842, and the last as most affected by 
 the free-trade tariff of 1846, the contrast is in favor of the 
 last decade. During the non-protective period cotton manu- 
 factures increased 130 per cent., woollen manufactures in- 
 creased 62 per cent., and mostly between 1857 and i860, 
 when the cheaper grades of wool were admitted free* The 
 year i860 saw the manufacture of 913,000 tons of pig-iron 
 at good prices, or 100,000 tons more than any previous 
 year. In i860 the aggregate of our exports showed an in- 
 crease of 200 per cent, in ten years. The decade between 
 1850 and i860 showed an increase of agricultural produc- 
 tions of 100 per cent, over the previous decade. In i860 
 our total exports were $400,000,000, or $43,500,000 more 
 than any previous year ; and our imports were $362,000,000, 
 a much larger amount than any previous year. We con- 
 sumed far more sugar, tea and coffee, per capita, during the 
 free-trade tariff decade than the previous one, and also more 
 than between the years of i860 and 1868, years of protec- 
 tion. Farms increased in value 103 per cent, between 1850 
 and i860. Farm products increased from 75 to 100 per 
 cent. The products of all our manufactures was $553,000,000 
 in 1850; in i860, it was $1,009,000,000. From 1840 to 
 1850 the real and personal property in the United States in- 
 creased 80 per cent. ; between 1850 and i860 it increased 
 126 per cent. At no time prior to 1850-1860 had the cap- 
 ital of the nation increased so fast, and nothing demonstrates 
 so forcibly the success of free-trade principles in the United 
 
92 
 
 DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 States. In 1850 there were 872 banks; in i860, 1562; 
 while banking capital increased from $227,500,000 to 
 $422,000,000. Vast sums were expended in railroad build- 
 ing during the decade — 21,613 miles being built, as against 
 904 miles between 1842 and 1846. 
 
 Protective duties on wool depress the price of domestic 
 wool and injure wool-growers. The reason is that when the 
 supply of wool-growing countries is shut out of our market, 
 it floods Europe at so low a figure as to enable European 
 manufacturers to make the finer class of goods and sell them 
 to us, duty paid, at a lower figure than we can afford to 
 make them. The price of American wool has not risen 
 with higher tariffs. 
 
 By the time Protection pays the penalty of over-produc- 
 tion, it makes it too costly as an experiment. James 
 Buchanan said in 1846: — “Our Domestic Manufactures 
 have been saved by the election of James K. Polk from be- 
 ing overwhelmed by the immense capital which would 
 have rushed into them for investment, and from an expan- 
 sion of the currency which would have nullified any protec- 
 tion short of prohibition.” 
 
 So Hon. James Lloyd, of Massachusetts, said in the 
 Senate in 1820: — “I am interested in manufactures. I own 
 stock in one of the cotton-mills running in my State. It 
 regularly pays good dividends and is likely to do so con- 
 tinually if the tariff is let alone. But if you pass the bill, 
 hundreds of such factories will be erected, till the market is 
 glutted with their fabrics, when prices must fall and our 
 concern very possibly be broken down.” 
 
 Of the year i860, the end of the free-trade era, General 
 J^mes A. Garfield said : — “ I suppose it will be admitted on 
 all hands that i860 was a year of unusual business prosperity 
 in the United States. It was at a time when the bounties of 
 

Hon. William Bourke Cochran. 
 
 Born in Ireland, February 28, 1854 ; educated there and in France ; 
 migrated to America at the age of seventeen ; taught in private academy ; 
 Principal of Public School in New York; admitted to bar, 1876; elected, 
 as a Democrat, to 50th Congress; a member of Commission to revise 
 Judiciary Article of New York Constitution; elected, as a Democrat, to 
 52d Congress, for Tenth New York District, and by a majority of over 
 6000 votes; member of Committee of Ways and Means; a distinguished 
 party leader and organizer. 
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
DOCTRINE OF FREE-TRADE. 
 
 95 
 
 Providence were scattered with a liberal hand over the face 
 of the Republic ; it was at a time when all classes of our 
 community were well and profitably employed ; it was a 
 time of peace, the apprehension of our great war had not 
 yet seized the minds of our people ; great crops, north and 
 south — great general prosperity — marked the era.” 
 
 Hon. Caleb B. Smith, President Lincoln’s Secretary of the 
 Interior, says in his report: — “Without any special stimulus 
 to growth — depressed indeed, during the years 1857 and 
 1858, in common with other public interests by the general 
 embarrassments of those years, and with a powerful com- 
 petition in the amazing growth of manufactures in Great 
 Britain and nearly every other nation in Europe — the manu- 
 factories of the United States had nevertheless augmented, 
 diversified and perfected in nearly every branch and uni- 
 formly throughout the Union. Domestic materials, whether 
 animal, vegetable or mineral, found ready sales at remunera- 
 tive prices and were increased in amount with the demand, 
 while commerce and internal trade were invigorated by the 
 distribution of both raw and manufactured products. Inven- 
 tion was stimulated and rewarded. Labor and capital found 
 ample and profitable employment, and new and unexpected 
 fields were opened to each. Agriculture furnished food and 
 materials at moderate cost, and the skill of our artisans cheap- 
 ened and multiplied all artificial instruments of comfort and 
 happiness for the people. Even the more purely agricul- 
 tural States of the South were rapidly creating manufactories 
 for the improvement of their great staples and their abundant 
 natural resources. The nation seemed speedily approach- 
 ing a period of complete independence in respect to the 
 products of skilled labor, and national security and happi- 
 ness seemed about to be insured by the harmonious develop- 
 ment of all the great interests of the people.” 
 
 5 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 The doctrine of protection starts without a doubt as to 
 nomenclature. As a principle, it admits of no exception 
 in the first chapters of the history of every commercial 
 nation. 
 
 The commercial nation never existed that did not, at 
 first, protect itself. So astute, refined and far-reaching has 
 commerce become, that no nation which refuses to protect 
 itself can ever hope to test its fitness for commercial suprem- 
 acy, or independence, much less obtain it. 
 
 The same is true of industrial and manufacturing inde- 
 pendence* both of which imply commercial independence, 
 the moment transit is acknowledged as a subject of pro- 
 tection. 
 
 Nature supplemented by art made American transit supreme, 
 or nearly so, when ships were of wood. Art combined with 
 nature made English ships supreme, when ships came to be 
 of iron. But nature is still on our side as to iron. Add the 
 art of England to American nature, and transit will have its 
 old supremacy. Art is protection and protection art. 
 
 A protective tariff provides revenue for the government 
 in a better way than any other kind of a tariff. England 
 levies duties for revenue only. They fall on two classes of 
 articles ; first, luxuries ; second, on articles that cannot be 
 raised or produced profitably at home and cannot come into 
 competition with home productions. It so happens that 
 the latter class of articles embraces tea, coffee and many 
 things which rank as necessities among the common people. 
 
 Protection omits duties, when not required for simple 
 ( 96 ) 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 97 
 
 revenue, from tea, sugar, coffee, and articles which rank as 
 necessities, and which cannot be produced profitably at 
 home or cannot come into competition with home produc- 
 tions, and in their stead levies discriminating duties upon 
 articles that come in direct competition with home pro- 
 ducts. 
 
 The rate of such duties is adjusted, in theory, so that the 
 foreign product cannot enter the home market at a price 
 below what it can be produced for at home, with a fair profit 
 included. 
 
 Some rates are prohibitory, as when there is desire or 
 determination to found a new industry ; but as a rule they 
 are simply discriminative, and in favor of industries which 
 exist, but which would cease to exist unless protected. 
 
 Since labor constitutes a large per cent, of manufactured 
 products — in some products as much as ninety per cent, of 
 the cost — the most direct effect of protection is to maintain 
 the price of that labor as it enters into the home product, 
 and preserve it from competition with the cheaper labor that 
 enters into the same product abroad. 
 
 The effect of protection on labor is direct and indirect. 
 When the price of labor in protected industries is main- 
 tained, that in the unprotected industries is also maintained. 
 
 The application of protection to industries in this country 
 reverses the doctrine of political economists that the price 
 of an article is increased to the consumer by just the amount 
 of duty imposed upon it. 
 
 Protection may increase the price of an article temporarily, 
 and by some per cent, of the duty levied, but the price de- 
 clines as the home manufacture of the article enlarges and 
 home competition sets in. 
 
 Protection encourages capital and invites it into enter- 
 
 / 
 
9 8 
 
 DOCTRINE OE PROTECTION. 
 
 prises from which it would shrink, owing to its natural 
 conservatism. 
 
 The spirit of invention and the employment of labor-sav- 
 ing machinery and devices are encouraged by protection. 
 
 Labor yields most when aided by artificial appliances and 
 cheered by liberal and certain remuneration. 
 
 The last three factors render production exceptional in 
 this country. Together with the law of competition, they 
 furnish an output of products better in quality and cheaper 
 in price than those of nations that rely solely on cheap labor 
 for cheap price. The cheapness of protection does not 
 imply degradation of labor, but greater deftness of hand, 
 quickened genius, advantage of natural opportunity. 
 
 The tariff is not a tax. While most articles, whose home 
 manufacture has been encouraged by a duty upon them, sell 
 at no higher price than when imported, many such sell for 
 a less price than the duty imposed. 
 
 When the foreign producer lands his goods here, and 
 finds them in competition with home-made goods, he pays 
 the duty. 
 
 Says a Bradford, England, manufacturer : “The least pos- 
 sible reduction in the American tariff will be a grand thing 
 for Bradford. We are selling our goods for the same prices 
 we did before the higher tariff was enacted, and I know the 
 Bradford manufacturer is paying the duty, not the American 
 consumer.” 
 
 Another English manufacturer says : “ If the duties came 
 out of the American consumer the English manufacturer 
 would not care a button about the American tariff laws.” 
 
 Friedrich List, founder of the German Zollverein , or Cus- 
 tom’s Union, Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill, all sub- 
 scribe to the doctrine that a country which is exclusively 
 agricultural is necessarily backward. They instance Poland. 
 
Hon. William McKinley, Jr. 
 
 Bom at Niles, Ohio, February 26, 1844; enlisted in the 23d Ohio 
 Vols., May, 1861 ; mustered out as Brevet-Major, September, 1865 ; 
 studied law and served as Prosecuting Attorney for .Stark co. ; elected to 
 45th, 46th, 47th and 48th Congresses; unseated in 48th Congress by 
 Democratic opponent; re-elected to 49th, 50th and 51st Congresses; 
 defeated as candidate for 52d Congress, owing to gerrymander of his 
 District ; rose to renown as exponent of Protection ; Chairman of Ways 
 and Means Committee in 51st Congress, and the Tariff Act of 1890 be- 
 came known as the McKinley Act ; elected Governor of Ohio, Novem- 
 ber, 1891, by 21,511 majority, the leading issues being Protection and 
 Silver Coinage. 
 
 ( 100 ) 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 IOI 
 
 “ Since, then, although it is undoubtedly bad for privileges 
 to give rise to artificial industries, many industries well 
 suited to the nature of a country will never develop there 
 unless at first protected. The best road to arrive at free- 
 trade and obtain from it the maximum advantage lies through 
 a temporary adoption of protection.” 
 
 Protection in this country at first vindicated itself by the 
 example of all civilized nations. Then, by universal ac- 
 quiescence in the principle that duties on imports were more 
 cheerfully paid than any species of tax for revenue. Now 
 it vindicates itself by what it has achieved for the country 
 in the domain of capital and labor. It claims to have won 
 by honest effort and practical results the title, “American 
 System.” 
 
 “ The safety and interest of the people require that they 
 should promote such manufactures as tend to render them 
 independent of others for essential, particularly for military, 
 supplies .” — George Washington. 
 
 “ That it may be expedient to guard the infancy of this 
 improvement (‘ useful manufactures ’) by legislation of the 
 commercial tariff, cannot fail to suggest itself to your pa- 
 triotic reflections.” Again, “ In adjusting the duties on 
 imports to the object of revenue, the influence of the tariff 
 on manufactures will necessarily present itself for considera- 
 tion. However wise the theory may be which leaves to the 
 sagacity and interest of individuals the application of their 
 industry and resources, there are in this, as in all cases, ex- 
 ceptions to the rule .” — James Madison. 
 
 As to the highest duties of the government, Thomas 
 Jefferson, in his second annual message, said : It is “ to cul- 
 tivate peace and maintain commerce and navigation in all 
 their lawful enterprises ; to foster our fisheries as nurseries 
 
102 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 of navigation for the nurture of man ; and to protect the 
 manufactures suited to our circumstances.” 
 
 “The restrictive legislation of 1808-15 was, f° r the time 
 being, equivalent to extreme protection. The consequent 
 rise of a considerable class of manufactures, whose success 
 depended largely on the continuance of protection, formed 
 the basis of a strong movement for more decided limitation 
 of foreign competition.” — Prof. Taussig. 
 
 Adam Smith, the father of free-trade, admits that could 
 any number of communities, producing what each other 
 wants, be brought into commercial contact, there would 
 have been no need of his evolving the doctrine of free- 
 trade. In this country there are forty-four, and more, of 
 such communities. 
 
 What was a theory with Hamilton, that protection tended 
 to lower the price of protected articles, became a fact under 
 the operation of our tariff legislation. 
 
 The genius of a nation is at its best when not subjected 
 to conditions foreign to it. To let institutions have sway 
 here which are born abroad, and which may be best for 
 abroad, would be for us to subject ourselves to monarchy. 
 It would be just the same if we lost our commercial or in- 
 dustrial Americanism and became subject to the codes 
 which demean labor by caste and enslave it by hereditary 
 custom. 
 
 The protection which monarchical countries, without ex- 
 ception, patronized and by which they exist was never in 
 the interest of labor as now in this country. 
 
 The conditions which exist in America are wholly dif- 
 ferent from those which gave color to free-trade as a doc- 
 trine with European economists. Had they been situated 
 as we are, and known what we know, they would have col- 
 lated and deduced differently. In one hundred years 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 103 
 
 America has established a set of statistical facts which ut- 
 terly destroy the deductions based on facts of an older 
 regime and on conditions never dreamed of. Protection in 
 the United States is really a new political economy, of far 
 more worth to us than the economic visions of one hundred 
 years ago, indulged by men who knew no distinction be- 
 tween labor and serfdom and who saw no hope for enter- 
 prise outside of capital linked with landed aristocracy and 
 lordly title. 
 
 Protection has long since triumphed over the argument 
 that it was unconstitutional. This argument is not urged 
 to-day except by the very ignorant or very prejudiced. But 
 the argument reappears in the charge that protection fosters 
 monopoly. This was Calhoun’s standing argument. He 
 saw that it enured more to the benefit of free paid labor than 
 of slave unpaid labor, and that it encouraged the manufac- 
 turing as against the planting classes. The industries which 
 involved invention, skill, competition, live capital and paid 
 labor were the ones which protection favored. Those which 
 involved none of these received no benefit from protection 
 and did not need it. His views of monopoly turned on this 
 point. Since the downfall of slavery the heart has been 
 taken out of the monopoly argument, for it has become plain 
 to all that what improves the condition of the entire people 
 does not savor of monopoly. 
 
 Protection protects against monopoly. Before the tariff 
 of 1824 American cottons sold at 24 cents a yard. After 
 that tariff, they sold at 7^ cents a yard. New mills, im- 
 proved machinery and increased competition, put a better 
 material in the market at a third of the price. 
 
 The monopoly may be foreign. England sold us steel 
 rails, for railroads, at $150 per ton. She continued to do 
 this till 1870, when a duty of $28 a ton was levied. Under 
 
104 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 this protection we began to build mills for their manufacture. 
 The price of steel rails began to decline. They are now sold 
 at a profit at from $33 to $40 a ton. English monopoly was 
 costing us five prices for a ton of rails. 
 
 Protection gives us competing power abroad. Our cotton 
 textiles are recognized as the best in the markets of the 
 world. The same is true of our edge-tools and agricultural 
 implements. European manufacturers imitate these Amer- 
 ican goods and use American labels in order to hold the 
 markets of South America and the Orient. When this 
 competing power is amplified by reciprocity and by direct 
 steam communication, both of which are protective, no na- 
 tion can rival us in South American and Chinese markets. 
 
 A tariff for revenue is a tax. A tariff on tea, coffee and 
 sugar, raises the price to the consumer, because it offers no 
 inducement, and cannot, by reason of soil and climate, for 
 their home production. Sugar is partly an exception, as 
 we can raise some sugar-cane. It may become wholly an 
 exception if the experiment with beets prove a success. As 
 to trading in manufactured articles, articles of art and handi- 
 craft, the application of the doctrine of natural right as 
 claimed by free-traders, is suicidal to the younger or weaker 
 nation. No nation recognizes it except in theory. Nations 
 are not natural, one to the other, as to trade, except in the 
 respect that they are selfish. They all claim the natural 
 right to exist, to grow, to develop, to be independent. The 
 natural right to be what nature intends is higher than any 
 other. Nature never intended that one nation with numer- 
 ous, large, long and swift streams, equal to billions of horse- 
 power, should buy for all time the manufactures of nations 
 with fewer, smaller, shorter and duller streams, equal to only 
 millions of horse-power, even though the latter nations had, 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 105 
 
 by reason of age, so far turned their power to account as to 
 be able to furnish products cheaper than the former. 
 
 Nature never intended that one nation with a riches of 
 coal and ores far exceeding that of another, should perpetu- 
 ally buy the manufactures of that other, because it had 
 delved in its mines for ages, and could offer products cheaper 
 dian the first. 
 
 Nature never intended that a new nation with infinite 
 resources of climate, soil, mine, genius and industry should 
 subordinate its traffic to nations of inferior resources, but with 
 the temporary advantage of age. 
 
 Nature never intended that nations that had grown old, 
 ripe and rich by means of a protection, which was absolute 
 in comparison with any that prevails to-day, should claim 
 naturalness for a trade established by agencies they deny 
 to others. 
 
 Nature never intended that conditions of labor under 
 which a laborer can be an earner, saver, head of a family, 
 house owner, voter and public-spirited citizen, should be 
 subjugated to conditions of labor which give caste to occupa- 
 tion, demean calling, yield bare subsistence, crush manhood, 
 stifle ambition, beget slavish routine, reduce to tread-mill task. 
 
 Nature never intended that the genius and capital of one 
 nation with opportunity should forever obey the commands 
 of another, with less opportunity, but whose opportunity had 
 the advantage of age. 
 
 But nature did intend that each nation should profit by its 
 gifts. If young and undeveloped, it should employ the arts 
 of development that are commensurate with its gifts. If 
 weak, it should cultivate strength. If dependent, it should 
 learn independence. The art of doing this is its own affair. 
 The art should be rational, based on what it knows of itself — 
 its people, geography, topography, climate, soil, ores, streams, 
 
io6 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 woods, facilities and resources in general. If, in obedience 
 to books and theories, it is wrong in doing this, no other 
 nation is so white as to call it black. The consensus of na- 
 tions in this respect is nature. The precise form of protec- 
 tion and development is immaterial. English free-trade is 
 the highest, severest, most arbitrary form of protection of 
 which she is capable. It is no more condemnatory of the 
 American idea than was her duty of #250 on every $500 
 worth of iron, not otherwise enumerated, she imported from 
 her colonies. It is no more acceptable to the American 
 idea than was her stamped paper and tea-tax which brought 
 on the Revolution. 
 
 The highest duty of a nation is to cultivate nature, for 
 nature means its people, institutions and resources. In this 
 respect America means far more than professors dream of, 
 far more than books teach, far more than little, narrow men 
 with sectional or foreign predilections prate of, far more than 
 England, all Europe, or all the world can in their selfishness 
 impress us with. As a nation we have escaped the thraldom 
 of monarchies, the shackles of caste, the hindrances of 
 mediaeval institutions, the limitations of soil, climate and 
 natural resource incident to a continent which last emerged 
 from polar ice. As to people we are composite. Where 
 and when the mentality and physique of civilization blend 
 for the production of a type, that type will be what nature 
 calls for, the survival of size, shape and qualities, fitted for, 
 or rather shaped by, an environment such as has not hitherto 
 existed. As to institution, we have inverted the pyramid of 
 monarchy whose tip is on the throne and base in the air. 
 Here the base is below, on the people, and the tip is in the 
 air, a sublimation of popular will and not a matter of family 
 or blood. As to areas and climate we blend orient and 
 Occident, tropic and arctic. It is Italy and Russia, London 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 107 
 
 and Constantinople. As to soil, mineral, wood and stream, 
 the resource is varied and infinite. The alluvium between 
 the Alleghenies and Rockies has no counterpart in the 
 world. Not Ural, Alp or Apennine are richer in ores than 
 our home ranges. No forests of Europe or Asia compare with 
 our pine fastnesses. No streams run larger, fresher, swifter, 
 more constant and frequent. It is the place for new men, 
 genius, institution, development. The law, doctrine or cus- 
 tom, ripened by wholly different conditions, and sanctioned 
 by antiquity, is not for us. We are a nation — an escape from 
 antique environment. To be true we must be original. 
 This is especially so as to economics. 
 
 The facts upon which Smith and Mill built free-trade 
 theories are useless in America. Home facts, embracing 
 periods of test, are the only true bases for home deductions. 
 It is our right and duty to build on them and to evolve for 
 ourselves the political economy which they warrant, regard- 
 less of the conclusions reached and the laws adopted by 
 other nations. These facts and this use of them have evolved 
 the common law of protection in this country, have con- 
 firmed a principle, have established a system — the system 
 of American Protection. 
 
 When free-trade makes the claim that home competition 
 cannot cheapen certain classes of home manufactures, pro- 
 tection answers that in such cases cheapness equal to that 
 of a foreign product is undesirable ; that there ought to be 
 sufficient patriotic pride among us to pay more for such 
 articles when home-made than when foreign-made, their 
 quality and utility being the same ; that we will be more 
 than repaid for the difference in price by the encouragement 
 extended to a home industry and by the establishment of a 
 home market ; that every cent spent at home is a contribu- 
 tion to the comfort of surroundings, the happiness of 
 
io8 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 neighbors, the erection of homes, the welfare of labor, the 
 founding of a home market for the wool, wheat, corn, butter, 
 cheese, eggs and vegetables of the farmers, for which there 
 otherwise could be no possible demand ; or if so, the demand 
 would be of so foreign a nature as to eat up profit by the 
 cost of transportation, by commissions, and by perishability. 
 
 All free-traders make much of the argument that protec- 
 tion tends to over-production and consequently to periods 
 of depression and panic. The protectionists answer, first, 
 that this is a confession that protection does stimulate pro- 
 duction. Secondly, they deny in toto that protection tends 
 any more to over-production and to periods of depression 
 and panic, than free-trade. England is as much subject to 
 periodic visitations of glut and depression as any protected 
 country. The glut and depression in the iron trade of 1884 
 extended to every iron-producing country, and England 
 suffered most of all. 
 
 In this connection protection points confidently to its 
 history in this country, and relies upon the unshakable 
 argument it furnishes. 
 
 The absolutely free-trade era between 1783 and 1789 was 
 characterized by a glut of foreign products, suspension of 
 industries, bankruptcy of manufacturers and merchants, 
 ruinous depreciation of prices, beggary of artisans and 
 laborers, starvation of farmers. Says a writer of the period : 
 “ We are poor with a profusion of material wealth in our 
 possession. That we are poor needs no other proof than 
 our prisons, bankruptcies, judgments, executions, auctions, 
 mortgages, etc., and the shameless quantity of business in 
 our courts of law.” 
 
 This condition passed away with the enactment of the 
 tariff Act of 1789. It was a modest provision, but sufficient 
 to enunciate the principle of protection for new industries, 
 
Hon. Shelby M. Cullom. 
 
 Born in Wayne co., Ky., November 22, 1829 ; next year parents 
 moved to Tazewell co., 111.; educated at academy and university; ad- 
 mitted to bar in Springfield and practiced there ; elected to State Legis- 
 lature, 1856, 1860, 1872, 1874; was Speaker in 1861 and 1873; elected 
 a Representative to 39th, 40th and 41st Congresses ; elected Governor 
 of Illinois in 1876, and re-elected in 1880; resigned, February 5, 1883, 
 to accept seat in United States Senate, as a Republican, and successor 
 to Hon. David Davis ; term expires March 3, 1895 ; an active worker 
 and broad-minded statesman ; father of the Inter-State Commerce law. 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 in 
 
 and to change the industrial and commercial situation. By 
 1808 the country had recovered from the evil effects of the 
 free trade era. Then set in the restrictive measures pre- 
 liminary to the war of 1 8 1 2, as the Embargo Act of 1 807 and 
 the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809. Duties were doubled by 
 the Act of 1812 with a view to secure revenue. These 
 restrictive measures, followed by actual hostilities, proved 
 to be an absolutely prohibitive tariff. Immediately every 
 branch of domestic industry felt the stimulus. Establish- 
 ments for the manufacture of cottons, woolens, iron, glass, 
 pottery, etc., sprang up like magic. This instant and mar- 
 vellous result was due to extreme protection, and it really 
 formed the basis for that strong, persistent and intelligent 
 movement which had for its view legislative limitation on 
 foreign competition, and logical protection, as found in Henry 
 Clay’s American System. 
 
 This view found expression in the tariff act of 1816, which 
 increased duties considerably, but most unfortunately for 
 only a limited period. The 25 per cent, on cottons and 
 woolens was to fall to 20 per cent, by 1819. What was 
 barely protective became non-protective in three years. 
 Limitation was to undo the affirmative work of the act. 
 Though all that grew out of the ground remained high in 
 price for a time, owing to shortages in Europe, manufactured 
 goods declined. The long pent-up stream of English mer- 
 chandise flooded the country after the close of the Napo- 
 leonic wars, and our manufacturers were forced to the wall. 
 Panic set in, and with it depression, bankruptcy and all the 
 evils of foreign inundation. The products of the soil found 
 the level of devastation, and soon every interest was en- 
 gulfed in the sad wave of commercial blight. 
 
 The lesson of this crisis was not lost to our statesmen 
 and economists, That strong protective movement set in' 
 
1 12 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 which was to concern so intimately the next generation. 
 England had grown restrictive, as evidenced by the passage 
 of her corn laws. Cotton and all our farm products were 
 ruinously cheap. The time was most favorable for the pro- 
 tection and growth of home manufactures and for the estab- 
 lishment of home markets. Home markets had not until 
 this date been a leading argument for protection, but from 
 this time on the argument grew in strength. The relief 
 tariff of i 8 1 8 merely did away with the limitations of the 
 Act of 1816, and extended the duties of the latter act till 
 1826. 
 
 After 1819, that is, in 1820, the protectionists made a 
 vigorous effort to enact a really protective act. They failed 
 by a single vote in the Senate. They succeeded in 1824, 
 with a modifiedly protective act, which became more con- 
 firmedly protective in the act of 1828. This protective 
 trend was most advantageous. Recovery from the effect 
 of the panic of 1819 was perfect. Manufactures again 
 sprang up. Labor got employment and reward. The 
 farmer rejoiced at his plow. Prosperity and satisfaction 
 reigned. The seven years after 1824 are counted as the 
 most prosperous they had ever known. 
 
 Free-trade now came to mean the perpetuation of slavery, 
 the nullification of law, secession. It threw itself on the 
 very legislation it had encouraged, and with such ferocity 
 as to compel the compromise tariff of 1833, in which the 
 principle of protection was abandoned. Then the history 
 of 1819 began to repeat itself. Depression set in. Values 
 fell. Manufactures ceased. Merchants went into bank- 
 ruptcy. Farmers became impoverished. Labor begged for 
 bread. The horrors of 1819 were more than repeated in the 
 final crash of 1837, when cows sold for $1.00 a head and 
 hogs for 25 cents. The panic of 1837 cost the country 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 113 
 
 $1,000,000,000. To add to the terrible situation, the sliding 
 scale of reduction of tariff rates brought duties so low by 
 1837 that the Government ran short of revenue, and the 
 national credit fell so low that money could not be bor- 
 rowed for necessary expenses except at enormous discount. 
 
 The reaction caused by this disastrous epoch swept the 
 free-traders from power and the protectionists enacted the 
 protective tariff of 1842, over the veto of President Tyler. 
 Financial skies began to clear. The sun of prosperity broke 
 forth. Spindles began to hum and labor to smile. The 
 farmer held his plow with confidence. Customs’ revenues 
 leaped to seventy per cent, more than during the last year 
 of the compromise Act of 1833. Prices rose, and every in- 
 dustry was inspired with new life. 
 
 But in 1844 free-trade, more wedded than ever to unpaid 
 labor, and shivering at the importance of paid labor and 
 protected industry, rallied under the banner of “ Polk, Dal- 
 las and the Tariff of ’42.” How much it believed in the 
 “ Tariff of ’42 ” was shown by the enactment of the Tariff 
 of 1846, by the casting vote of Dallas in the Senate. This 
 was a free-trade tariff, and its results were foreshadowed by 
 its opponents. Happily there arose a series of circum- 
 stances which operated very much like the restrictive meas- 
 ures that followed the Act of 1808. They were all protective 
 and sufficiently so to postpone the evil effects of the Act of 
 1 846 for a time. They were the Mexican war, the discovery 
 of gold in California, the Irish famine, and wars in Europe. 
 But even by 1852 the decrease in the value of our exports 
 of bread-stuffs and provisions had fallen off $47,000,000, and 
 the supposed incentive of a low tariff and increased importa- 
 tions from abroad was not being realized. 
 
 Another reduction of duties took place in 1857. Finan- 
 cial revolution set in, appalling in its widespread severity 
 
714 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 and distress. The crisis of 1857 not only impoverished the 
 people, but the public revenues became so small that the 
 Government was compelled to borrow money at from 8 to 
 12 per cent, discount in order to provide running expenses. 
 Said President Buchanan in his annual message : “ With un- 
 surpassed plenty in all the elements of national wealth, our 
 manufactures have suspended ; our public works are re- 
 tarded ; our private enterprises of different kinds are aban- 
 doned and thousands of useful laborers are thrown out of 
 employment and reduced to want.” 
 
 Since the passage of the Morrill Tariff Act of 1861, the 
 doctrine of protection has found constant application. The 
 Act of 1883 effected the largest change in that of 1861, by 
 reducing duties and enlarging the free list, but it was crude 
 in many of its provisions. The Act of 1890, known as the 
 McKinley Act, still further enlarged the free list, addressed 
 the principle of protection more directly to American labor, 
 and introduced the policy of reciprocity. Protectionists 
 claim for this period, 1861 to the present, the establishment 
 and enjoyment of an industrial system which has assumed 
 a larger national growth, a more rapid accumulation and 
 broader distribution of wealth than ever before known in the 
 history of our country. During that period there has been 
 but one panic, that of 1873, and that differed from those of 
 1819, 1837, anc * 1857, in not being confined to this country, 
 but in having an origin in general disturbance of credit 
 abroad, the effect of which was to throw back upon us sud- 
 denly an inordinate number of our bonds. This caused 
 sudden drain and great hardship for a time. The condition 
 was almost repeated in 1890, when the failure of the Baring 
 Brothers, and general disturbance in European credit, shook 
 our commercial centres and tested our ability to withstand 
 panic. In 1873 our mills did not stop running as in other 
 
Hon. John Dalzell. 
 
 Born in New York city, April 19, 1845; moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 1847; graduated from Yale, 1865; admitted to bar, 1867 ; rose into 
 professional prominence as attorney for Pennsylvania R. R. and leased 
 branches; also as solicitor for corporations and firms in Allegheny co. ; 
 elected to 50th, 51st and 52d Congresses as a Republican, by large 
 majorities; distinguished for industry and eloquence; ardent defender of 
 Protection, and opposed to Free Silver Coinage ; name discussed through- 
 out the State in connection with the U. S. Senatorship. 
 
 ( M 5) 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
doctrine: of protection. 
 
 i *7 
 
 panics. Banks did not break by wholesale. Internal com- 
 merce was not interrupted. Every recuperative agency 
 had play. We sold more than we bought, and reduced our 
 national debt. Protectionists aver that the panic of 1873 
 was a blessing in disguise. 
 
 The eminent protectionist, Henry C. Carey, thus concludes 
 his historic argument : — 
 
 “ We have had Protection in 1789, 1812, 1824, 1828, 1842, 
 and from 1861 to date. 
 
 We have had Free-Trade, or very low tariff, in 1783, 1816, 
 1832, 1846, 1857. 
 
 Now note the unvarying results : 
 
 Under protection we have had : | 
 
 1. Great demand for labor. 
 
 2. Wages high and money cheap. 
 
 3. Public and private revenues large. 
 
 4. Immigration great and steadily in- 
 
 creasing. 
 
 5. Public and private prosperity great 
 
 beyond all previous precedent. 
 
 6. Growing national independence. 
 
 Under Free - Trade we have had : 
 
 1. Labor everywhere seeking em- 
 
 ployment. 
 
 2. Wages low and money high. 
 
 3. Public and private revenues small 
 
 and steadily decreasing. 
 
 4. Immigration declining. 
 
 5. Public and private bankruptcy 
 
 nearly universal. 
 
 6. Growing national dependence. 
 
 The argument that protection injures the farmer has 
 always been a favorite one with free-traders. It has steadily 
 grown in favor, and has been given a decided turn in the 
 Fifty-second Congress by the attempt to remove the duty 
 from wool, binding twine and tin plate. The argument of 
 the protectionist is that manufactured articles, and especially 
 those which concern the farmer, are on an average 25 per 
 cent, cheaper to-day than in i860, when 80 per cent, of them 
 were made abroad. That now 80 per cent, of them are made 
 at home. That the farmer has been saved the cost of ocean 
 transportation on this 80 per cent., and has had the benefit 
 of the home market their manufacture has created for his 
 6 
 
Ii8 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 produce. That such market is certain, at his door, and 
 already takes 80 per cent, of his wheat and 92 per cent, of 
 his corn. That it keeps even pace with the growth of manu- 
 factures and will ere long take all his surplus, at a better 
 rate than he can get for it abroad and in competition with 
 the cheap wheat of India and Australia. 
 
 In addition to the above argument, protectionists show 
 that our free list now embraces nearly half of our importa- 
 tions ; that said list comprises all the articles which affect 
 the comfort of the farmer or poor man, such as sugar, fruit, 
 rice, breeding animals, tea, coffee, etc. ; and that the dutiable 
 list embraces high priced articles and articles of luxury, 
 such as wines, liquors, cigars, silks, satins, glassware, dia- 
 monds, linens, cottons, etc., the duties on which are paid 
 mostly by the wealthy. 
 
 The free-trader argues that “ free raw material used in 
 the manufactures ” is especially worthy of a place on the 
 free list. Among these he classes wool, flax, hemp, seeds, 
 iron ore, pig iron, coal, marble, etc. The protectionist 
 claims that the free-list, as enlarged under the Act of 1890, 
 embraces a sufficient number of these articles ; that those, 
 like wool, which pay duty, come into competition with the 
 products of our farmers and laborers in shops, mines and 
 furnaces ; that labor is a prime object of protection ; that all 
 the articles, technically classed as “ raw material,” are not 
 such to the farmer, laborer, miner and furnace man, because 
 they represent the labor, skill and even capital of the latter, 
 as much as cloth represents the skill and capital of the manu- 
 facturer, or the coat those of the tailor. 
 
 Protection repudiates the doctrine that it is a device for 
 the benefit of the privileged classes. It rests on the principle 
 that it operates for the general development of the resources 
 and the encouragement of the industries of the country. If 
 
DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 119 
 
 classes or capital are emboldened by it to undertake new 
 ventures or to enter channels they would not otherwise do, 
 that is a matter which does not affect the prime object of 
 protection and cannot be controlled by legislation. It was 
 not England’s tariff system, but her free-trade system, which 
 tended most to sustain her landed aristocracy. Out of the 
 ten richest men in the United States, nine have accumulated 
 fortunes in speculative and commercial pursuits, other than 
 manufacturing, and one in manufactures that had to deal 
 with protected articles. 
 
 So as to trusts. Protectionists say the facts do not support 
 the theory that protection leads to trusts. The worst trust- 
 ridden countries are free-trade countries. Trusts in America 
 are quite frequently the result of English genius and capital. 
 The Standard oil, Chicago gas, Street railway, Electric 
 lighting, Cotton seed oil, Sugar deal, Reading deal, Rich- 
 mond terminal, and others, which rank as trusts or combina- 
 tions, exist in spite of the doctrine of protection and in no 
 way concern it. It is by no means certain that these com- 
 binations are harmful to the public at large. For everyone 
 that finds an existence by reason of dealing in protected 
 articles, ten can be found that would exist, tariff or no 
 tariff 
 
 Protection has made the manufacturer content with a 
 reasonable profit. An annual profit of ten per cent, is 
 barely possible in this country in the best-established man- 
 ufactories. Said Mr. Bright in the English Parliament, in 
 1842: “America, as an independent country, has been a 
 more valuable customer to England than she could possibly 
 have been as a colony. On all the goods exported to 
 America during the last quarter of a century you have 
 made a net profit of forty per cent.” Prices of home man- 
 ufactures can therefore be trusted to home competition, but 
 
120 
 
 DOCTRINE OF PROTECTION. 
 
 foreign prices cannot be trusted at all, unless they are forced 
 to meet our home competition. This was particularly 
 glaring when England was charging $150 for a ton of steel 
 rails which afterwards, and in the face of our home compe- 
 tition, she was glad to get $40 for. The removal of duty 
 from tea and coffee in 1 872 caused a rise in their price. There 
 was a reason for the rise in coffee, because Brazil imme- 
 diately levied an export tax on it. But neither tea nor cof- 
 fee have been so cheap since 1872 as before, when tea paid 
 fifteen cents and coffee two cents a pound duty. They avoid 
 home competition entirely. 
 
 The protectionist supports his doctrine by calling in as a 
 witness the material growth of the country since 1861, and 
 comparing it with that of countries wedded to free-trade. 
 He confidently asks judgment on the practical workings of 
 his policy, and claims for the results a fulfillment of the 
 prophecies of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, 
 Jackson, Benton, Clay, Webster and even Calhoun, who in 
 1816 made his famous appeal in favor of the protection and 
 importance of manufactures to the “ national strength and 
 perfection of our institutions,” and in “ binding more closely 
 our widespread republic.” 
 
 During thirty years of protection, and notwithstanding 
 the wastage of four years of war, our population has grown 
 at the rate of one million annually — a greater rate than 
 that of England, France, Germany and Austria combined. 
 Our wealth has grown from $17,000,000,000 to nearly $50, 
 000,000,000, or at the rate of $1,000,000,000 a year. There 
 has gone into our savings $885,000,000 yearly, or almost 
 half as much as the savings of the entire world. The man- 
 ufactories, mines and forests of Great Britain produced $4,- 
 500,000,000 in 1886, an increase of 30 per cent, since 1850. 
 The same products in the United States in j88q were valued 
 
Hon. Nelson W. Aldrich. 
 
 Born at Foster, R. I., November 6, 1841. Academically educated; 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits; President of Providence Common 
 Council, 1871-73; member of State Assembly, 1875-76; Speaker of 
 House of Representatives in 1876; elected to Congress for 46th and 
 47th Congresses; elected, as Republican, to United States Senate, 1880; 
 re-elected, 1886; rose to prominence as advocate of Protection; authority 
 in party and Senate on matters pertaining to Tariff Legislation ; con- 
 spicuous in preparation and adoption of Tariff act of 1890; Chairman 
 of Committee on Rules and member of Committees on Finance and 
 Transportation. 
 
 ( 122 ) 
 
f)OcTRiNE ok projection. 
 
 at ^5,500,000,000, an increase of 160 per cent, since i860. 
 Since i860 our farms have more than doubled in number 
 and increased in value from $6,000,000,000 to $10,000,000,- 
 000, while their products, which were $ 1 ,800,000, OOG in 
 i860, were $3,800,000,000 in 1880. 
 
 In 1880 the entire products of Great Britain — farms, fac- 
 tories, mines, forests and all — were $6,200,000,000, or $172 
 per capita. Of this product she exported $1,300,000,000. 
 In the same year the total products of the United States 
 were $10,000,000,000, or $200 per capita. Of this product 
 $9,176,000,000 were consumed at home. Thus our home 
 market consumed more than Great Britain consumed and 
 exported, and more than double the combined exports of 
 Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Holland and Aus- 
 tria. Besides this consumption of home products, we im- 
 ported $700,000,000 as against $335,000,000 in i860, and 
 exported $750,000,000 as against $373,000,000 in i860. 
 
 Protectionists do not claim that the system of protection 
 is, or ever has been, perfect. It is not possible to make it 
 so. But it has proved in practice that the arguments of its 
 opponents are unsound. It has established itself as an es- 
 sential part of our commercial and business habit and thought, 
 and is open to the same equities, and laws of progress and 
 adjustment, as any essential feature of industrial welfare. 
 Its destruction, however, cannot be tolerated. Attack on 
 it must be resented. It is not a system which can be trusted 
 to its enemies for safe-keeping, or modification. Its friends 
 are its natural custodians, and they alone are capable of 
 perpetuating it in the forms best calculated to make it repeat 
 its past triumphs for labor, capital and the general welfare, 
 and to fit it for the legitimate requirements of a still more 
 growthy and imposing future. 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. — AN HISTORIC 
 REVIEW. 
 
 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 
 
 The English colonial system in America began, in 1616, 
 with the Virginia charter. 
 
 It extended until the colonies numbered thirteen, em- 
 bracing the Atlantic front from Georgia to Maine, and ex- 
 tending inland indefinitely. 
 
 Whatever the ambition or object of the colonists, they did 
 not cut the apron string of allegiance to Great Britain, but 
 agreed to obey the decrees of her kings, the edicts of her 
 parliaments and the behests of her institutions. 
 
 This may seem strange, since every colony was a protest 
 against home hardship and an escape from tyrannical inter- 
 ference with individual rights. 
 
 But questions of title to land, incipient government, protec- 
 tion against foes, and various others, proved paramount and 
 decided the terms of colonization. 
 
 As to the mother country, those terms implied political 
 allegiance and commercial contribution. 
 
 Legitimate trade dates from the reign of Elizabeth. Hol- 
 land, England and France vied with each other in that 
 paternalism which went out to the industries and to com- 
 merce in the shape of protective legislation. 
 
 From the reign of Elizabeth to 1846, there are four 
 hundred Acts of Parliament — tonnage laws, poundage laws, 
 protective tariff and commercial regulations — relating to 
 manufactures and trade. 
 
 Some of these prohibited imports. Some prohibited ex- 
 (124) 
 
OUR TARIFF LfiGISIvATlOK 
 
 1^5 
 
 ports, lest inferior nations should acquire the skill of the 
 mother country. There is no historic record of a protective 
 system so extreme in its conditions and so arbitrarily applied 
 as that of Great Britain, if we exclude the despotic system 
 of China. 
 
 Says McCullough in his Commercial Dictionary : — “It 
 was a leading principle in the colonial policy, adopted as 
 well by England as by other European nations, to discourage 
 all attempts to manufacture such articles in the colonies as 
 could be provided for them in the mother country.” 
 
 Says Bancroft in his “ History of the United States ” : — 
 “ England in its relation with other states sought a con- 
 venient tariff. In the colonies it prohibited industry.” 
 
 In 1699 the British Parliament enacted that no wool, yarn, 
 cloth, or woollen manufactures of the English Plantations in 
 America should be shipped from any of said Plantations, or 
 otherwise laden, in order to be transported thence to any 
 place whatsoever, under a penalty of forfeiting both ship and 
 cargo, and a fine of $2500 for each offence. 
 
 In 1732 Parliament prohibited the exportation of hats 
 from province to province (colony to colony) in America, 
 and limited the number of apprentices to be taken by 
 hatters. 
 
 In 1750 the Parliament prohibited as a common nuisance 
 the erection of any mill in America for slitting or rolling 
 iron, or any plating forge to work with a tilt-hammer, or 
 furnace for making steel. The penalty for such crime was 
 $1000. 
 
 A little later an Act was passed prohibiting the making 
 of nails in the province of Pennsylvania. 
 
 About the same time Lord Chatham announced it as his 
 opinion of colonial dependence that the American colonies 
 ought not to be permitted to make even a hob-nail or horse- 
 
126 
 
 OtiR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 shoe for themselves, and these views were incorporated into 
 the Act of 1765 which absolutely prohibited the migration 
 of artisans to the American colonies. 
 
 In 1781 the Parliament enacted that no woollen machin- 
 ery should be exported to the American colonies. 
 
 In 1782 Parliament enacted that no cotton machinery 
 should be exported to the colonies, and that no artificers in 
 cotton should migrate thither. In the same year the duty 
 on bar-iron was fixed at $12 per ton. This rate lasted till 
 ! 795 - 
 
 In 1785 Parliament prohibited the exportation of iron and 
 steel making machinery to the colonies, and the migration 
 of workmen, skilled in those branches of trade, thither. 
 
 In 1797 Parliament levied a duty, then deemed prohibitive, 
 of $14 per ton on all foreign bar-iron imported into Great 
 Britain. In 1798 this was increased to $15 per ton; in 
 1806 to $23 per ton; in 1810 to $24 per ton ; in 1818 to 
 $28 per ton; in 1825 to $33 per ton, if imported in British 
 ships, and to $38, and over, per ton, if imported in foreign 
 ships. During the same period, other manufactures of iron 
 paid $90 per ton, and iron not otherwise enumerated $250 
 for every $500 worth imported. All of these rates were 
 designed to be absolutely prohibitive, in accordance with 
 the existing policy of the realm, which policy was that of 
 France and Holland, both countries with colonial posses- 
 sions, and both striving for commercial and manufacturing 
 independence. 
 
 In 1799 the English Parliament prohibited the migration 
 of colliers, lest other countries should acquire the art of 
 mining coal. 
 
 Says Adam Smith, the father of English political economy, 
 “ Even up to 1776 England prohibited the exportation from 
 one province (American) to another by water, and even the 
 

 
 I 
 
 
 
Hon. James E. Campbell. 
 
 Born July 7, 1843 ; elected to Congress from Hamilton, Ohio, district, 
 as a Democrat, in 1883-85-87 ; the last election was a test of his great 
 popularity, as the district had been apportioned so as to contain 15' 
 opposing majority; chosen as the standard bearer of his party 
 Governor in 1888 against Foraker, and defeated him by a handsome 
 majority ; after a successful administration became candidate for Governor 
 against McKinley in 1891 ; a vigorous campaign ensued, in which the 
 candidates united in joint discussion of party issues; he suffered defeat, 
 but lost none of his strength and popularity ; prominently mentioned as a 
 presidential candidate. 
 
 (128) 
 
Our tariff legislAioM. 
 
 * 3 * 
 
 Carriage by land, upon horseback or in cart, of hats, of wools 
 and woolen goods, of the produce of America, a regulation 
 which effectually prevents the establishment of any manu- 
 facture of such commodities for distant sale, and confines 
 the industry of her colonists in this way to such coarse and 
 household manufactures as a private family commonly 
 makes for its own use, or for that of some of its neighbors 
 in the same province.” 
 
 The enactments cited are fair samples of those which went 
 to compose the English Colonial policy. They help to an 
 understanding of the leading object, which was to limit 
 Colonial America to a farming community. America was 
 to play the part of India and Australia, as a cereal feeder of 
 a little island whose commercial and manufacturing genius 
 was far in excess of its ability to supply the necessaries of 
 life for its working population. 
 
 Of course the suspicion could not escape so inquiring a 
 country, that America might prove as rich in raw materials, 
 suited to English manufacture, as in farm products. There- 
 fore the English policy, when fully developed, made Amer- 
 ica a provider of food and of raw materials for England. 
 England, the main market, would receive nothing manufac- 
 tured in the colonies. England, the supreme country, 
 would permit nothing to be manufactured in the colonies. 
 England, the dominant commercial country, would permit 
 no trade with the colonies, except in British bottoms, and 
 of an agricultural surplus, or a raw material, in exchange for 
 her own manufactured products. 
 
 This was severe on the colonial agriculturist, who, not 
 having a voice in the carrying trade, nor a say in what 
 should come to him, could not thus early raise an agricultu- 
 ral surplus sufficient to pay for what he was compelled to 
 receive as an import. He could not manufacture, except as 
 
OUR TARiEE LEGISLATION. 
 
 to the coarse things necessary for family use, and he could 
 not have interchanged manufactures between the provinces 
 by using the natural waterways nor by means of carts. 
 
 The colonist paid nothing on his imports. They were 
 free. The prohibition was on his exports, and especially if 
 in manufactured shape. The prohibition was on his domes- 
 tic change of manufactured articles. All inducement to 
 manufacture was taken away. A home market for agri- 
 cultural products, or for raw materials, was not to be en- 
 couraged or tolerated. The plan was ingenious and most 
 successful, so far as English manufacturers and capitalists 
 were concerned. In 1771 colonial imports exceeded the 
 exports by $13, OCX), 000, and as trade was more nearly barter 
 than now, it may be said that the colonies incurred a debt 
 to England of $13,000,000 in 1771, which they had no visi- 
 ble means of paying. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the British policy was effect- 
 ing all its objects. Nature and opportunity in America 
 were entering their quiet protests. After the invention of 
 the puddling furnace and rolling-mill by Henry Cort, we 
 find the English statutes most rigid against the exportation 
 of tools, utensils and artisans to foreign parts, as in 1785 and 
 1799. Yet the first rolling-mill in America was built and 
 started for Col. Isaac Meason, at Plumsock, Fayette county, 
 Pa., by two Welshmen, Thomas and George Lewis, who 
 came under the prohibited head of “ British skilled iron- 
 workers,” and as such were compelled to smuggle their way 
 across the Atlantic and into the colony of Penn. 
 
 So, nature having provided excellent ship timber and the 
 colonists having a genius for ship-building and sailing, they 
 quietly established a remunerative trade with the West 
 Indies and with many nations more or less remote. This 
 was intolerable to the mother country. The Navigation 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 i33 
 
 Act was passed as a remedy. It provided that “ No goods 
 or commodities whatever, the growth, production or manu- 
 facture of Europe, Africa or America, shall be imported 
 into England or Ireland, or into any of the Plantations 
 (American colonies), except in ships belonging to English 
 subjects, of which the master and the greater number of the 
 crew shall also be English.” 
 
 This and subsequent navigation acts destroyed our West 
 India trade. Prices of goods imported and exported, and 
 their quantities, fell entirely under English jurisdiction. All 
 she sent to us was free of duty. All sent to her was upon 
 her own conditions. Nothing could be sent, except in her 
 bottoms, and to the destination and upon the terms she im- 
 posed. As Burke said in Parliament, “ By it (the Naviga- 
 tion Act) the coVnmerce of the colonies was not only tied, 
 but strangled.” 
 
 Our Revolutionary history, familiar to every schoolboy, 
 acquaints us with the English method of extracting revenue 
 directly from her colonies by means of such inventions as 
 the Stamp Act, the Tea Tax, etc. They were but parts of 
 an ingenious and stupendous system of home protection 
 which eventuated in established manufactures and commerce, 
 and in a final declaration of independence of the rest of the 
 world in these respects. 
 
 Just here, the thought is foreign to neither the theme nor 
 time, it may well be wondered why so astute a nation as 
 Great Britain, after two hundred years of an attempt to 
 make a simple wheat granary of America, and after the 
 energies which followed American independence fully 
 established the fact that such a granary was within reach, 
 did not rather choose to take advantage of it, than fly to 
 others in India and in the Islands of the sea, far more remote 
 and far less obedient to the comities of trade. Did she 
 
 j 
 
6u£ fAklPP LEGiStATl6N. 
 
 *54 
 
 scent the possibilities of American development and the rise 
 of a home market, which would absorb the annual agri- 
 cultural product, or at least create a demand from which her 
 capital would shrink ? 
 
 A FIRST EXPERIMENT. 
 
 After the treaty of 1783 which closed the Revolutionary 
 war and established American Independence, up until 1789, 
 the date of the first American Tariff Act, the ports of this 
 country were open to the goods of all nations. Most of this 
 time (to 1787) was the era of the Confederacy. This period 
 was one during which the States were held together by very 
 weak ties, by “ a rope of sand ” as one historian has it. 
 They had conceded little in their “ Articles of Confedera- 
 tion,” and had withheld entirely from the central government 
 the right to regulate their commerce. Each State strove to 
 secure trade for itself, and each imposed restrictions on 
 foreign commerce as it saw fit, or left them unimposed. 
 The consequence was that there was no concert of action. 
 The condition which arose was worse than a free-trade con- 
 dition, for one State was sure to nullify the commercial 
 enactments of another, through jealousy or some other 
 motive. 
 
 When Pennsylvania imposed a slight tariff on certain 
 classes of imports, New Jersey opened a free port at Bur- 
 lington and flooded the city of Penn with smuggled goods. 
 When New Jersey voted to impose a general tariff New 
 York refused, and in revenge the free port of Paulus Hook 
 began to supply New York with non-dutiable imports. 
 
 Thus the States were a prey to one another. The states- 
 men of the day saw how suicidal the policy, or rather, the 
 lack of policy, was, and there was no one source of weak- 
 ness that seemed so fatal, nor the lack of any vital principle 
 
Hon. Joseph N. Dolph. 
 
 Born in Watkins co., New York, October 19, 1835; educated at 
 •lenesee Weslyan Seminary; studied law and admitted to bar at Bing- 
 hamton in 1861; enlisted in the “ Oregon Escort,” 1862; same year 
 settled in Portland, Oregon ; City Attorney of Portland and U. S. Dis- 
 trict Attorney of Oregon, 1864; elected to State Senate, 1866-68-72-74; 
 conducted a large law business; engaged in various business enterprises; 
 elected to the U. S. Senate, as a Republican, March 3, 1883; re-elected 
 January, 1889 ; served with distinction on Committees of Claims, Public 
 Lands, Commerce, Foreign Relations, Coast Defences; an earnest, elo- 
 quent, ripened statesman, respected by the Senate and honored in his 
 State. 
 
 ('3 5 ) 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 137 
 
 that impelled so powerfully toward a more perfect constitu- 
 tion than this commercial discord. Not even the flat refusal 
 of New Jersey to comply with an Act of the Congress, nor 
 the open offence of Massachusetts in raising troops to crush 
 Shay’s rebellion, affected the public mind so forcibly and 
 paved the way so directly toward a stronger central union, 
 as the quarrel between Virginia and Maryland as to com- 
 mercial rights on the Chesapeake and Potomac. This last 
 brought the Annapolis convention in 1786. Hamilton, 
 Madison and Dickinson were there, and they saw no way 
 of preventing the subordination of the States to foreign in- 
 fluence and their extinction as sovereign bodies, except by 
 creating a stronger central government and endowing it with 
 powers sufficient for the settlement of all such discords. 
 
 It seemed to require some such mighty exigency* to 
 move the States to their second independence. There was 
 nothing so supreme as the thought that colonial independ- 
 ence meant escape from a discriminative and ruinous com- 
 mercial policy on the part of Great Britain. Search the 
 colonial debates through, and there is not one of moment 
 that does not inveigh against the efforts of England to en- 
 rich herself at the expense of other nations, and to complete 
 her commercial and industrial supremacy by overriding 
 their protective systems and sapping their powers for com- 
 petitive and independent existence. The Declaration of 
 Independence submits it to “ a candid world ” that Great 
 Britain meant to establish “ an absolute tyranny over these 
 States ” by “ cutting off our trade with all parts of the world,” 
 and that among the foremost rights of a free people is the 
 right to “ establish commerce.” 
 
 Says a learned historian : “ The most fatal defect of the 
 Articles of Confederation was absence of power to collect 
 revenue, regulate trade, encourage industry. The thoughts 
 
138 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 of all our early statesmen were turned to this defect, which 
 to them was the more glaring, because of intimate acquaint- 
 ance with the British system. So paramount was the 
 necessity for escape from industrial and commercial de- 
 pendence, and so momentous was deemed the power to pro- 
 tect ourselves that Washington confidently looked to the 
 trade regulations of a more efficient government as a means 
 of giving the country its proper weight in the scale of em- 
 pires and, with a feeling foreign to his better nature, he 
 declared that such government “ will surely impose retaliat- 
 ing restrictions, to a certain degree, upon the trade of 
 England.” 
 
 The proceedings of the Continental Congress abound in 
 debates, resolutions and committees, having for their object 
 the promotion of home products and the development of 
 home resources. There seemed to be no question among 
 the leaders of thought, so far as the debates show, of the 
 right and duty of the government to foster industry by 
 legislative enactment, nor of the necessity for a new govern- 
 ment endowed with ample power to provide revenue through 
 a tariff and at the same time protect its vital interests. 
 
 But while this was all so in the minds of statesmen, the 
 inchoate States were afloat on the sea of discord. They had 
 industry, commerce, tariffs, in their own hands. There was 
 no uniform import law, and consequently none at all. One 
 State nullified the laws of another. They were, as Hamilton 
 said, “jarring, jealous and perverse, fluctuating and unhappy 
 at home, and weak by their dissensions in the eyes of other 
 nations.” 
 
 A prey to one another, they were the natural victims of 
 more knowing, designing, older, richer and advanced nations, 
 and especially that one which sought to revenge defeat of 
 arms by political segregation and commercial conquest, 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 139 
 
 With intelligence and the instinct of self-preservation arrayed 
 against free traffic with foreign nations, there existed the 
 hard compulsion of circumstances to render the States help- 
 less. Depleted by a long war, with few factories, mills and 
 workshops, with limited means of recuperation, with thirteen 
 hostile systems of commercial independence, they were at 
 the entire mercy of the foreign merchant and manufacturer. 
 There was absolutely no law against importations. The era 
 was one of free-trade, uninterrupted by effective statute, 
 unimpaired by anything except ineffective sentiment. 
 
 The consequences must be faced. Says Carey : — “ At the 
 close of the Revolution the trade of America was free and 
 unrestrained in the fullest sense of the term, according to 
 the theory of Adam Smith, Say, Ricardo, the ‘ Edinburgh 
 Reviewers ’ and the authors of the ‘ Encyclopaedia.’ Her 
 ports were open, with scarcely any duties, to the vessels 
 and merchandise of other nations.” What befell ? As the 
 States were discordant, foreign powers passed laws as they 
 pleased to destroy our commerce. Nearly every foreign 
 nation shipped goods into the country and dumped them 
 promiscuously on our wharves. The consequences followed 
 which never fail to follow such a state of things. Competi- 
 tion on the part of our manufacturers was at an end. They 
 were bankrupted and beggared. The merchants whose 
 importations had ruined them were involved in calamity. 
 Farmers, who had longed to buy foreign merchandise cheap, 
 went down in the vortex of general destruction. 
 
 Said a statesman of the day, “ The people of- America 
 went to war to improve their condition and throw off the 
 burdens which the colonial system laid on their industry. 
 And when their independence was attained they found it 
 was a piece of parchment. The arm which had struck for 
 it in the field was palsied in the workshop. The industry 
 
140 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 which had been burdened in the colonies was crushed in the 
 free States. At the close of the revolution the mechanics 
 and manufacturers of the country found themselves, in the 
 bitterness of their hearts, independent — and ruined .” 
 
 Says Bancroft, of the year 1785, “ It is certain that the 
 English have the trade of these States almost wholly in 
 their hands, whereby their influence must increase ; and a 
 constantly increasing scarcity of money begins to be felt, 
 since no ship sails to England without large sums of money 
 aboard, especially the English packet boats, which monthly 
 take with them between forty and fifty thousand pounds sterl- 
 ing. The scarcity of money makes the produce of the country 
 cheap, to the disappointment of farmers and the discourage- 
 ment of husbandry. Thus the two classes, the farmer and 
 the merchant, that divide nearly all America, are discon- 
 tented and distressed.” 
 
 Said Webster of this period, in a speech delivered in 1833, 
 “ From the close of the war of the Revolution there came a 
 period of depression and distress on the Atlantic Coast, such 
 as the people had hardly felt during the crisis of the war 
 itself. Ship-owners, ship-builders, mechanics, artisans, all 
 were destitute of employment and some of them destitute 
 of bread. British ships came freely, and British ships came 
 plentifully ; while to American ships and American prod- 
 ucts there was neither protection on the one side nor the 
 equivalent of reciprocal free-trade on the other. The 
 cheaper labor of England supplied the inhabitants of the 
 Atlantic %shores with everything. Ready-made clothes, 
 among the rest, from the crown of the head to the soles of 
 the feet, were for sale in every city. All these things came 
 free from any general system of imposts. Some of the 
 States attempted to establish their own partial systems, but 
 they failed,” 
 
Hon. Fred. T. Dubois. 
 
 Born in Crawford co., 111., May 29, 1851; graduated at Yale, 1872; 
 Secretary of Board of Railway and Warehouse Commissioners of Illi- 
 nois, 1875-76 ; moved to Idaho and entered business, 1880 ; United 
 States Marshal of Idaho, 1882-86 ; elected Delegate to 50th and 51st 
 Congresses; elected, as Republican, to United States Senate, December 
 18, 1890; one of the youngest members of Senate; member of Com- 
 mittees on Manufactures, Enrolled Bills, Immigration, Irrigation, Or- 
 ganization and Expenditures of Executive Department. 
 
 (142) 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 143 
 
 There is no history of America covering this time but 
 what repeats the above views, over and over again, and if 
 anything, in still more lugubrious terms. 
 
 The situation simply affirmed what Lord Goderich said 
 in Parliament : — “ Other nations know that what we English 
 mean by free-trade is nothing more nor less than, by means 
 of the great advantages we enjoy, to get the monopoly of 
 all the markets of other nations for our manufactures, and 
 to prevent them, one and all, from ever becoming manufac- 
 turing nations.” 
 
 With equal sincerity and emphasis David Syme, another 
 member of Parliament, declared : — “ In any quarter of the 
 globe where competition shows itself as likely to interfere 
 with English monopoly, immediately the capital of her 
 manufacturers is massed in that particular quarter, and 
 goods are exported there in large quantities, and sold at 
 such prices that outside competition is immediately counted 
 out. English manufacturers have been known to export 
 goods to a distant market and sell them under cost for years 
 with a view of getting the market into their own hands 
 again, and keep that foreign market, and step in for the 
 whole when prices revive.” 
 
 END OF THE FREE-TRADE ERA. 
 
 It became manifest to even the dullest mind that America 
 was about to lose her political independence in the mire of 
 industrial and commercial subserviency. Says Mason : — 
 
 “ Depreciation seized upon every species of property. 
 Legal pressure to enforce payment of debts caused alarming 
 sacrifices of both personal and real-estate ; spread distress far 
 and wide among the masses of the people ; aroused in the 
 hearts of the sufferers the bitterest feelings against lawyers, 
 the courts and tl]e whole greditor class • led to a popular 
 
 7 
 
144 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 clamor for stay-laws and various other radical measures of 
 supposed relief, and finally filled the whole land with excite- 
 ment, apprehension and sense of weakness and a tendency 
 to despair of the Republic. Inability to pay even necessary 
 taxes became general, and often these could be collected 
 only by levy and sale of the homestead.” 
 
 Figures began to pile up and to tell their awful tale. In 
 1784-85, imports from Great Britain alone swelled to 
 $30,000,000, while our exports reached barely $9,000,000. 
 In Hildreth’s history we read : “ The large importation of 
 
 foreign goods, subject to little or no duty, and sold at peace 
 prices, was proving ruinous to all those domestic manufac- 
 tures and mechanical employments which the non-consump- 
 tion agreements and the war had created and fostered. 
 Immediately after the peace, the country had been flooded 
 with imported goods, and debts had been unwarily con- 
 tracted, for which there was no means to pay.” 
 
 In Maine a Convention was held for the purpose of revolt- 
 ing from Massachusetts on account of the prevailing distress. 
 In New Hampshire the people surrounded the Legislative 
 hall and declared the body should not adjourn till it passed 
 a measure to absolve the people from debt. Shay’s rebellion 
 in Massachusetts was but a protest against suffering on the 
 part of the people. In speaking of its causes Hildreth says : 
 — “The want of a certain and remunerative market for the 
 produce of the farmer, and the depression of domestic manu- 
 factures by competition from abroad.” 
 
 In Connecticut alone five hundred farms were offered for 
 sale to pay taxes. The condition was the same in Pennsyl- 
 vania and the Carolinas. Real estate found no market. 
 Debtors were compelled to close out at one-fourth the value 
 of their lands. Men distrusted one another The best 
 securities were offered at half their face value. 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 145 
 
 At length the newspapers of the period, without regard to 
 party, began to clamor for change. Pamphleteers arose with- 
 out number, and joined in the cry of necessity for a change. 
 Merchants, business men, farmers, artisans, laborers echoed 
 the universal sentiment: — “We have had enough of free- 
 trade. It has but one meaning for America, and that is 
 utter neglect of ourselves and the forced sale of our ener- 
 gies, opportunities and resources to the older and better 
 equipped nations. We have won political independence at 
 a cost of seven years of war, we have yet to win the still 
 longer battle for industrial and commercial independence, 
 or else the victory of foreign nations over us will be greater 
 than our recent victory over them.” 
 
 Every one saw what was patent to John Stuart Mill, and 
 what he incorporated into his “ Principles of Political Econ- 
 omy,” that : “ What prevented the rapid recuperation of the 
 United States, after the peace of 1783, was the system of 
 free foreign trade, allowed to add its devastations upon in- 
 dustry to those of the Revolution.” 
 
 Educated by a dreadful experience, it became the convic- 
 tion of all parties that the power of industrial and commer- 
 cial protection, so conspicuously and fatally absent in the 
 Articles of Confederation, must repose somewhere. No 
 other thought impelled more powerfully toward a Union of 
 States under a Federal Constitution. “ Four causes,” says 
 Bancroft, “ above others, exercised a steady and commanding 
 influence. The New Republic, as one nation, must have 
 power to regulate its foreigh commerce ; to colonize its large 
 domain ; to provide an adequate revenue ; to establish justice 
 in domestic trade by prohibiting the separate States from 
 impairing the obligation of cqntracts.” 
 
 From this time on till the Constitution became a fact, 
 September 17, 1787, or rather, until the Government became 
 
146 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 a fact, April 30, 1789, a unanimous political and business 
 sentiment persistently and eloquently urged a stronger 
 government, imbued with the paternal instinct, able and will- 
 ing to defend and encourage home industries and interests. 
 State responded to State in this behalf; statesmen echoed 
 the complaints and arguments of statesmen. Every politi- 
 cal school joined in the pleas for industrial and commercial 
 independence. One of the most assuring phases of the 
 situation was the entire unanimity of artificers, mechanics 
 and working men, who gathered in large assemblies, and by 
 means of public speeches, whose logic was even more forci- 
 ble than those of learned statesmen, and by printed resolu- 
 tions of great vigor and aptness, demanded exemption from 
 the degrading and ruinous competition forced upon them by 
 the free and inordinate influx of foreign goods, upon whose 
 manufacture they depended for a living. 
 
 Under these auspices the New Constitution took shape, 
 and Clause 1 of Section VIII. provided that “Congress 
 shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts 
 and excises, and to pay the debts and provide for the 
 common defence and general welfare of the United States.” 
 
 In order to achieve what was equally important in an in- 
 dustrial and commercial sense, viz., perfect interchange of 
 goods and products between the States themselves, or in 
 other words “ free-trade ” between all the inhabitants of the 
 Union, it was ordained that Congress should never have the 
 power to levy “ a tax or duty on articles exported from any 
 State.” 
 
 Thus endowed, the New Government started on its career. 
 The writers of the Federalist, Hamilton, Madison and others, 
 saw in the above clauses sufficient power to remedy the 
 evils complained of, and they eloquently assured their couu- 
 
Hon. James Z. George. 
 
 Born in Monroe co., Ga., October 20, 1826; moved to Mississippi 
 when young ; participated in Mexican war ; studied law and admitted 
 to practice in Carroll co. ; elected Reporter of Appellate Court, 1854 
 and 1860; reported ten volumes of reports and published a digest of 
 decisions ; member of Secession Convention, 1861 ; Brigadier-General 
 in Confederate army; Chairman of Democratic State Executive Com- 
 mittee, 1875-76; appointed a Judge of State Supreme Court, 1879 ; 
 elected Chief-Justice ; elected to United States Senate, 1881 ; re-elected 
 1886 and 1892 ; member ef the Mississippi Constitutional Convention, 
 1890; member of Committees on Agriculture, Education and Labor, 
 Judiciary, Transportation, etc. 
 
 ( 148 ) 
 
Our tariff legislation. 
 
 149 
 
 trymen that the protection they demanded for their infant in- 
 dustries could now be given beyond doubt. 
 
 Says Bishop : “ That the productive classes regarded the 
 Constitution of 1787 as conferring the power and right of 
 protection to the infant manufactures of the country is mani- 
 fest from the jubilant feeling excited in various quarters 
 upon the public ratification of that instrument.” 
 
 THE FIRST TARIFF ACT. 
 
 The first petition presented to the First Congress, in 
 March, 1789, came from 700 mechanics and tradesmen of 
 Baltimore. It lamented the decline of manufactures since 
 the Revolution, and prayed that the efficient Government 
 with which they were, for the first time, blessed, would 
 render the country “ independent in fact as well as in name ” 
 by early attention to the encouragement and protection of 
 American manufactures and by imposing on “ all foreign 
 articles which could not be made in America such duties as 
 would give a decided preference to their labors.” 
 
 Leagues of artisans and tradesmen, merchants and manu- 
 facturers were formed in all the leading cities and industrial 
 centres, for the purpose of urging on Congress an early in- 
 terpretation of the new powers conferred by the Constitu- 
 tion in the interest of industry and commerce. Charleston 
 shipwrights followed the Baltimore artisans with a powerful 
 petition to the First Congress. Similar petitions came in 
 from Boston, New York and Philadelphia. 
 
 As already stated, the universal sentiment of the hour 
 was that the Constitution gave Congress ample power to 
 regulate commerce by a tariff for revenue, for protection or 
 for prohibition, as the case might be. The words “ for the 
 regulation of commerce” had a well-understood meaning 
 among American statesmen. They were the words used in 
 

 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 English enactments when like objects were in view and 
 when like powers were conferred, and they had been in- 
 terpreted so often both on the bench and in actual practice 
 that rational dissent to their meaning was out of the ques- 
 tion. Hamilton, Franklin, Madison, Jefferson, Monroe, ac- 
 corded perfectly as to the nature of the power and the ob- 
 ject of the clause. Gallatin said that on his entrance into 
 public life he found but one sentiment respecting the clause 
 among statesmen. There was then no such objection as 
 afterwards arose, and still exists, and which is to the effect 
 that a power to raise revenue by a tariff does not carry the 
 power to protect home manufactures and industries. 
 
 Said Washington in his first annual message, “ The safety 
 and interest of a free people require that they promote such 
 manufactures as tend to render them independent of others 
 for essentials, particularly military supplies.” 
 
 The question of a tariff was thus injected into the First 
 Congress, and became the first theme for discussion. It was 
 a Congress which embraced many farmers, merchants and 
 manufacturers, an industrial rather than professional Con- 
 gress, though, of course, containing many illustrious lawyers 
 and statesmen. That first great question thrust upon it has 
 survived all others, and is as momentous to-day as ever. 
 The other class of questions which drew fiercer, but not 
 more learned, discussion, such as nullification, the national 
 bank, slavery, secession, reconstruction, has happily found a 
 grave. 
 
 After the passage of a bill regulating the oath of office, 
 the Congress took up the tariff bill, and it became the first 
 general Act of the First Congress. Its preamble fore- 
 shadowed its purport : “ Whereas, it is necessary for the 
 support of the Government, for the discharge of the debt 
 of the United States, and for the encouragement and pro- 
 
our Tariff legislation. 
 
 151 
 
 tection of manufactures, that duties be laid on imported 
 goods, therefore be it enacted,” etc. 
 
 This preamble drew no dissent. Statesmen North and 
 South gave it sanction. The bill itself drew the widest 
 range of debate, and the learning brought into the discus- 
 sion of its merits has never been surpassed in considering 
 the same subject, though of course facts, statistics and ex- 
 perience have changed the lines of argument, and remodelled 
 theories. This learning not only bore on all the economic 
 phases of the question, as then understood, but it was ex- 
 haustive of the principle that the Constitution designed to 
 secure to the infant manufactures and struggling industries 
 of the country the protection they needed against the riper 
 experience and cheaper labor of Europe. 
 
 The debates upon this bill were not as to the necessity 
 for protection, nor as to the fact that the legislation pro- 
 posed was or was not in principle the best for the purpose. 
 They were rather upon the question of general method of 
 procedure, and as to whether or not the States might be 
 robbed of some of their reserved rights if too liberal a con- 
 struction were thus early put upon the Constitution. The 
 question of what rate of duty would raise the required 
 revenue and what would insure the needed protection was 
 also a novel one and the subject of animated discussion, as 
 it broke entirely new ground, and was beyond the range of 
 all precedents and experience. Among the leading debaters 
 were James Madison, Richard Henry Lee, Charles Carroll, 
 Rufus King, Oliver Ellsworth, Fisher Ames, Roger Sher- 
 man, James Trumbull, and others, and these all impressed 
 their genius and wisdom on the First American Tariff Act. 
 
 The Act became a law by the signature of Washington, 
 affixed July 4, 1789. The rates of duty provided by the 
 Act were, in modern acceptation, ridiculously low, yet as 
 
OUR Tariff legislation. 
 
 152 
 
 the legislation was entirely experimental, and as there were 
 no precedents to steer by, there was general acquiescence in 
 the provisions, not only as insuring revenue but as estab- 
 lishing protection. The class of articles subjected to duty 
 is the best guide to the spirit of the Act. It imposed the 
 highest duties on those manufactures and industries which 
 were deemed most in need and most worthy of encourage- 
 ment. They embraced the iron and steel of Pennsylvania ; 
 the glass of Maryland ; the cotton, indigo and tobacco of 
 the Southern States ; the wool, leather, paper and fisheries 
 of the Eastern States. There was hardly an article intro- 
 duced into it whose freedom from foreign competition had 
 not been petitioned for, and the desirability of whose home 
 growth or manufacture had not been made clear to the 
 majority in Congress. 
 
 A powerful spur to the passage of this Act had been the 
 oft-repeated boast of Great Britain that while America had 
 achieved political independence, it had been reconquered 
 commercially, and was a more abject and useful appendage 
 than before. It was therefore quite natural that the friends 
 of the Act, and those who hoped most from its provisions, 
 should regard it as in the nature of a second Declaration 
 of Independence, and as far more valuable to the Govern- 
 ment and the people for the spirit it evinced and the possi- 
 bilities it contained, than for the rates of duty it established. 
 
 This Act was followed the next year, 1790, by Hamilton’s 
 lengthy and able report upon “ Commerce and Manufac- 
 tures.” This report was designed to emphasize the prin- 
 ciple of protective legislation. It embraced all the learning 
 and experience of the older nations bearing upon the sub- 
 ject, and it served the purpose of reconciling an almost 
 universal party sentiment to the operations of the Act of 
 1789, while it more than ever committed the budding nation 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 . 
 
 to the doctrine he advocated. It was in this report that hi 
 enunciated the principle which protectionists of to-day claim 
 to be fully proved by experience, to wit, that internal compe- 
 tition is an effectual corrective of monopoly, and in the end 
 tends to a lower scale of prices for protected manufactures 
 than prevailed for foreign. His interpretation of the powers 
 conferred on the Government by the clause of the Consti- 
 tution relating to taxes, revenue and the common defence 
 has been accepted by all political parties, and it now pre- 
 vails without regard to party lines. 
 
 This Act of 1789 and this report of 1790 form the begin- 
 ning of an historic and practical protective era in the United 
 States. It was an era which lasted, under varying condi- 
 tions, which we shall note, up until 1816. 
 
 The previous session of the First Congress had been an 
 extra one. It was now, January 4, 1790, in First Regular 
 Session at Philadelphia and had received Hamilton’s cele- 
 brated report. Federals and Anti-Federals divided over the 
 payment of the debts, especially those of the States, and the 
 doctrine of open or close construction of the Constitution 
 was fast shaping up political lines. However, there was 
 very little division of sentiment on the propriety of increas- 
 ing the rates of duty provided by the Act of July 4, 1789, 
 and they were increased by the Act of August 10, 1790, 
 which went into effect January 1, 1791. 
 
 During the Second Session of the First Congress, which 
 opened October 24, 1791, at Philadelphia, there was much 
 excitement owing to opposition to the Excise Laws of the 
 previous session and the rebellion against them in Pennsyl- 
 vania, known as the “ Whiskey Rebellion.” The animosities 
 thus aroused served to widen the gap between the Federals 
 and Anti-Federals, but not enough to defeat further tariff 
 legislation. The Act of May 2, 1792, was passed without 
 
*54 • 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 much difficulty. It took effect July I, 1792, and it increased 
 the ad valorem rates of duty from 2j£ to 5 per cent. This 
 was the third Tariff Act in three years, and the drift of legisla- 
 tion was in favor of higher and more protective duties. 
 
 During the First Session of the Third Congress which 
 met December 2, 1793, party lines became still more distinct 
 over matters of tariff legislation. The Anti-Federals had 
 now taken the name of Republicans, and, though without a 
 definite policy of their own, found means of coherence and 
 growth in opposing Federal doctrines. Yet it was a com- 
 paratively easy matter to pass the Tariff Act of June 7, 1794, 
 which took effect July 1, 1794. All parties were agreed as 
 to the necessity of providing additional revenue, which the 
 increased ad valorem rates in the Act were designed to 
 secure. All parties were also agreed that a tariff was the 
 quietest and easiest way of attaining such revenue, and the 
 Anti-Federals, or Republicans, who had violently opposed 
 the excise laws, were even more fully committed to a tariff 
 as a revenue measure than the Federals. They, however, 
 began to draw the line when the doctrine of protection was 
 broached. Not all, of course, but a few whose strict con- 
 struction notions dominated their economic views. 
 
 The next tariff legislation was the Act of May 13, 1800, 
 which took effect July 1, 1800. This legislation was not 
 difficult and was still in the line of protective duties. It 
 raised the duties on sugar half a cent a pound and on silks 
 2 per cent. 
 
 On March 26, 1804, atl amended Tariff Act was passed 
 which took effect July 1, 1804. It must be remembered 
 that now the country had undergone a political revolution, 
 that the Republicans were in power in Congress and that 
 Jefferson was President. Yet the Tariff Act of 1804 was in 
 the line of increased duties. 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 155 
 
 All the Acts thus far were amendatory of the original Act 
 of 1789, and were helpful of the provisions and operations 
 of that Act. As sufficient time had elapsed to form opinions 
 of the workings of that Act, or in other words, to witness 
 the effects of incorporating protective tariff legislation into 
 our institutions, it will be profitable to turn to the sentiment 
 of the times respecting it. 
 
 In his seventh annual message, Washington said : — “ Our 
 agriculture, commerce and manufactures prosper beyond 
 example. Every part of the Union displays indications of 
 rapid and various improvement, and with burdens so light 
 as scarcely to be perceived.” 
 
 John Adams in his last annual message said : — “ I observe 
 with much satisfaction that the product of the revenue dur- 
 ing the present year is more considerable than at any former 
 period.” 
 
 Thomas Jefferson in his second annual message said : — 
 “ To protect the manufactures adapted to our circumstances 
 is one of the land-marks by which we should guide our- 
 selves.” 
 
 The provisions of the Act of 1789 and its amendments 
 had, in their practical workings, so far exceeded expecta- 
 tions, that in 1806 Jefferson found the revenues more than 
 ample for the requirements of the Government. In speak- 
 ing of the surplus he said in his sixth annual message : — 
 “ Shall we suppress the imposts and give that advantage to 
 foreign over our domestic manufactures ? On a few articles 
 of more general and necessary use, the suppression, in due 
 season, will doubtless be right, but the great mass of the 
 articles on which imposts are laid are foreign luxuries, 
 purchased only by the rich, who can afford themselves the 
 use of them.” 
 
 In 1809 he wrote to Humphrey thus: — “ My own idea is 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 156 
 
 that we should encourage home manufactures to the extent 
 of our own home consumption of everything of which we 
 raise the raw materials.” 
 
 Said Madison in his special message of May 23, 1809: — 
 “ It will be worthy of the just and provident care of Congress 
 to make such further alterations in the laws as will more 
 especially protect and foster the several branches of manu- 
 factures which have been recently instituted or extended by 
 the laudable exertions of our citizens.” 
 
 Says Harriman in writing of the Tariff of 1789: — “Agri- 
 culture became more extensive and prosperous ; Commerce 
 increased with wonderful rapidity ; old industries were re- 
 vived and many new ones established ; our merchant navy 
 revived and multiplied ; all branches of domestic trade pros- 
 pered ; our revenues exceeded the wants of government ; 
 the people became contented and industrious ; the whole 
 country was on the high road to wealth and prosperity.” 
 
 THE EMBARGO AND TARIFF OF l8l2. 
 
 Now while many provisions in the Tariff Acts up to 1808 
 embraced the protective doctrine, such as duties on hemp, 
 cordage, glass, nails, salt and various manufactures of iron, 
 as has been noted the duties were low, according to present 
 standards. Protection of the textiles and of unmanufactured 
 iron had not been much thought of. But they were soon 
 to draw attention and become the great subjects of the pro- 
 tective controversy. 
 
 The year 1808 marks a turning-point in the industrial 
 history of our country. The Berlin and Milan decrees of 
 Napoleon and the English Orders in Council led to the 
 Embargo Act of December, 1807. The Non-Intercourse 
 Act followed it in 1809. War was declared against Great 
 
Hon. Randall L. Gibson. 
 
 Born in Woodford co., Ky., September 10, 1832; graduated at Yale 
 and from Law Department of Tulane University; entered Confederate 
 service and rose to rank of Division Commander ; acquired a large law 
 practice, and engaged in planting; elected to 43d Congress, but denied 
 admission; elected to 44th, 45th, 46th and 47th Congresses; elected, as 
 Democrat, to United States Senate, 1882, and re-elected 1888; one of 
 trustees of Peabody Fund, and a Regent of Smithsonian Institution ; 
 member of Committees on Agriculture, Commerce, Naval Affairs, Trans- 
 portation, etc. 
 
 (' 57 ) 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 159 
 
 Britain in 1812. On July 1, 1812, the Tariff Act was passed, 
 which became a law immediately. 
 
 The passage of this Act was strongly urged by Madison 
 in his message to the Twelfth Congress : — “ As a means to 
 preserve and promote the manufactures which have sprung 
 into existence and attained an unparalleled maturity through- 
 out the United States during the period of the European 
 wars.” The younger leaders of the Republican party took 
 up Madison’s request and were prepared to go to any length 
 to grant it. Calhoun and Lowndes joined their logic to 
 Clay’s eloquence in favor of the doctrine that protection to 
 home industries should no longer occupy a place secondary 
 to the revenue idea. South Carolina became the highest 
 protection State in the Union, England having levied a duty 
 on raw cotton. The entire Republican party swung away 
 from its strict construction notions and became such liberal 
 interpreters as that they quoted with the utmost favor the 
 report of Hamilton upon which the earlier Tariff Acts were 
 based. The Federals were dazed with the situation, and, 
 failing to see anything good in their opponents, quite forgot 
 their own traditions, and swung, under the lead of Webster, 
 quite to the anti-protection side of the controversy. 
 
 Out of the confused situation came the “American Idea’’ 
 and the Whig party, which was Clay’s outlet from the strict 
 construction columns. The Tariff Act of the session — a Re- 
 publican, or, as some have it, a Democratic Act — marks 
 the highest rates of duty reached from the foundation 
 of the government up till 1842. It practically doubled the 
 rates existing before. Sugar went from 2 y 2 cents per pound 
 to 5 cents; coffee from 5 cents to 10 cents; tea from 18 
 cents to 36; pig iron from 17^ per cent, to 30 per cent.; 
 bar iron from 17 per cent, to 30; glass from 22 x / 2 per 
 cent, to 40; manufactures of cotton from 1 7% per cent, tg 
 
i6o 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 30; woolens from 17 per cent, to 30; silk from 15 per cent, 
 to 25. 
 
 The Embargo Act of 1808, the Non-Intercourse Act of 
 1809, and the highly protective Tariff Act of 1812, constituted 
 a series of restrictive measures which had the efficacy of 
 prohibitive duties. They gave an enormous stimulus to all 
 branches of industry whose products had before been im- 
 ported. Establishments for the manufacture of cottons, 
 woolens, iron, glass, pottery and other articles, sprang up 
 as if by magic. The success of this extreme protection 
 formed the basis of that powerful movement which subse- 
 quently became the heritage of the Whig party, and which 
 had for its object the decided limitation of foreign competi- 
 tion both as to manufactures and commerce. 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF l8l6. 
 
 The logic of the Tariff Act of 1816 is not understood by 
 economists, nor can it be accounted for by any one except 
 upon the theory that having passed through a war, the 
 country would probably settle back into some such condi- 
 tion as existed prior to 1808. The controlling element in 
 Congress was still the young element, the element respon- 
 sible for the war and therefore responsible for its results. 
 They had proven themselves avowed protectionists by the 
 passage of the Tariff Act of 1812, and by the favor with which 
 they regarded the new manufactures which had arisen. 
 They were still willing to assist them, for they clung to fair 
 duties in the Act of April 27, 1816, on those goods in 
 which the most interest was felt, as in textile fabrics. 
 
 But here the fatality which overhung the Act came in. 
 Cotton and woolen goods were to pay a duty of 25 per cent. 
 — a protective duty — till 1819. After that they were to pay 
 20 per cent. On some other classes of goods the duties 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 161 
 
 were decreased directly, on others increased. As to the 
 textiles, Calhoun urged strongly the argument in favor of 
 protecting young industries, and at the same time limiting 
 the protection, after a period when they ought to be on their 
 feet. 
 
 As a whole the Act of 1 8 1 6 was protective, but it looked 
 to a period only three years off, when it would no longer be 
 so. This was its misfortune. It prepared foreign nations 
 for our market. Though our breadstuffs, provisions, cotton 
 and every product of the soil were high in price; though 
 wages and rents were high ; the currency was very weak 
 and unsettled. Home competition had reduced the price 
 of our manufactured products. The manufacturers of Great 
 Britain found their warehouses bursting with wares. They 
 looked with awe on the American situation, which revealed 
 to them the fact that our home industries had robbed them 
 of a market. This must not be. Those industries are only 
 tentative. By 1819, when the duties of 1816 reach their 
 minimum, they can no longer survive. We will begin the 
 crushing process now. Said Lord Brougham in the House 
 of Commons, “ It is well worth while to incur a loss upon 
 our first exportation, in order, by the glut, to stifle in the 
 cradle, those infant manufactures in the United States, which 
 the war has forced into existence." 
 
 Great Britain began to unload her surplus manufactures 
 upon our shores at far below cost. They were goods that 
 were not new, nor fashionable, nor in demand at home. The 
 protective features of the Act of 1816 were insufficient to 
 stay the flood. More than twice the quantity were imported 
 that could be consumed. Great depression in business set 
 in. Bankruptcy became general. The near approach of 
 1819, when the minimum rates of duty should go into effect, 
 but encouraged the inflow of foreign products. Sayy 
 
162 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 Thomas H. Benton, “No price for property; no sales ex- 
 cept those of the sheriff and marshal ; no purchasers at 
 execution sales save the creditor or some money hoarder ; 
 no employment for industry ; no sale for the products of the 
 farm ; no sound of the hammer save that of the auctioneer 
 knocking down property. Distress was the universal cry 
 of the people ; relief, the universal demand, was thundered 
 at the doors of Legislatures, State and Federal.” 
 
 This condition of affairs appalled Congress and brought 
 about the Tariff Act of 1 8 1 8, which simply extended the 
 already ineffective provisions of the Act of 1816 for a period 
 of seven years and placed some few free articles on the duti- 
 able list. It did not prove remedial to the extent expected 
 and the panic of 1817-19 extended over a period of several 
 years. 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF 1 824. 
 
 The sad condition of affairs, before described, rendered 
 relief necessary. The liberal side of the Republican party 
 held the ascendant in the Eighteenth Congress, December 
 1, 1823, and elected Clay Speaker of the House. In his 
 message, President Monroe not only announced the cele- 
 brated “ Monroe Doctrine,” but inclined to the popular 
 faction of his party on matters of protection and internal 
 revenue. He urgently recommended “ additional protection 
 to those articles which we are prepared to manufacture.” 
 
 A bill was framed and debated for two months. Calhoun 
 who had deserted Clay, Daniel Webster and John Randolph, 
 led the free-trade forces. Andrew Jackson and James 
 Buchanan were among the strongest advocates of the bill. 
 It did not fix rates as high as the Act of 1812, but it recog- 
 nized the doctrine of protection more distinctly than any 
 former Act. The strict constructionists urged their old 
 argument against the constitutionality of protection and, for 
 
Hon. Nathan Goff. 
 
 Born in Clarksburg, W. Va., October 9, 1834; educated at N. W. 
 Virginia Academy, Georgetown College, and University of New York; 
 entered Union army (1861) in 3d Regiment W. Va. Volunteers; Mnjor 
 of 4th Va. Cavalry, 1863; admitted to bar, 1865; elected to W. Va. 
 Legislature, 1868; appointed District Attorney and resigned, in 1881, 
 to accept the Secretaryship of Navy under Garfield ; re-appointed U. S. 
 District Attorney for W. Va. in 1881; resigned same in 1882; elected 
 to Congress, as Republican, in 1884 and 1886; candidate for Governor 
 of State and elected, but unseated in disputed contest; a graceful orator, 
 strong debater, and prominent Republican leader. 
 
 (I6 3 ) 
 

OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 165 
 
 the first time in our history, supplemented it with the argu- 
 ment that a protective tariff was unfair to the South. As 
 the lines shaped up they presented almost a solid array of 
 Southern against a solid array of Northern States. 
 
 The bill passed by a close vote, May 22, 1824, and it 
 fully engrafted the “ American System ” on our national 
 politics. It fixed a duty on sugar of 3 cents per pound ; 
 coffee, 5 cents; tea, 25 cents; salt, 20 cents; pig-iron, 20 
 per cent. ; bar-iron, $30 per ton ; glass, 30 per cent, and 3 
 cents a pound ; manufactures of cotton, 25 per cent. ; wool- 
 ens, 30 per cent. ; silk, 25 per cent. 
 
 The financial and industrial situation responded promptly 
 to this Act. There was such a pronounced betterment of 
 affairs that the friends of the Act were encouraged to try 
 their hand at further legislation in the line of protection. 
 
 TARIFF OF 1828. 
 
 In the Twentieth Congress the Democrats (formerly Re- 
 publicans) were in a majority. They were divided, how- 
 ever, over a Protective Tariff. Those of the Northern States 
 united with the National Republicans (Whigs) and brought 
 about the Tariff Act of May 19, 1828. It was largely a 
 Jackson measure, who had carried New York, Pennsylvania 
 and Illinois, on his protective tariff record. 
 
 This Act of 1828 had little peculiar about it, except that 
 it increased the duty on woolens and few raw materials, in- 
 cluding wool. Yet it proved to be one of the most moment- 
 ous Tariff Acts in our history. (1) It emphasized the 
 “American Idea ” by introducing protection in every change 
 of the Act of 1824. (2) It was the turning-point of the 
 
 hitherto hostile New England sentiment, Webster having 
 changed ground and entered on its advocacy. (3) The 
 South entirely sectionalized its opposition to it, and justified 
 
i66 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 nullification of it as a blow at the planting interests, as a dis- 
 crimination against unpaid labor, and as unconstitutional. 
 
 Of the operations of the two protective Acts of 1824 and 
 1828, Jackson said in his message of 1832 : — Our country 
 presents on every side marks of prosperity and happiness, 
 unequalled perhaps in any portion of the world.” Webster 
 said : — “ The relief was profound and general, reaching all 
 classes — farmers, manufacturers, ship-owners, mechanics, 
 day laborers.” Clay said: — “If the term of seven years 
 were selected to measure the greatest prosperity of this 
 people since the establishment of the Constitution, it would 
 be exactly that period of seven years which immediately 
 followed the passage of the Tariff Act of 1824.” 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF 1 832. 
 
 The Tariff Act of 1828 led to bitter party and sectional 
 turmoil. The South was bitterly opposed to it. It had be- 
 come a kind of fashion to prepare for a National Campaign 
 by amending the Tariff Act. An Act passed May, 1830, 
 which scaled considerably the rates of duty of the Act of 
 1828, proved unsatisfactory, because it did not eliminate the 
 protective features of that Act. The nullifying sentiment of 
 the South demanded the repudiation of the protective policy 
 and the affirmation of the free-trade policy by the govern- 
 ment. It was a powerful sentiment and must be appeased, 
 else Jackson could not hope to succeed himself. 
 
 Hence the Tariff Act of 1832, which reduced the rates of 
 duty considerably and placed coffee and tea on the free list. 
 It failed of its purpose, because it contained no repudiation 
 of the protective idea. Nullification set in all the same and 
 South Carolina, November 19, 1832, declared the Tariff Acts 
 of 1828 and 1832 “null and void.” 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 167 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF 1 833. 
 
 The Twenty-second Congress — December 3, 1832 — at its 
 second session, had to meet the question of Nullification. It 
 passed the “ Force Bill,” which enabled Jackson to collect 
 the duties under the Act of 1832, and then it changed the 
 tenor of the Act by the Compromise Act introduced by 
 Henry Clay, passed March 2, 1833, and designed to show 
 to the nullifiers that the protectionists were not necessarily 
 their enemies. It had the weakness of all compromises, and 
 was immediately heralded by the nullifiers as their vindica- 
 tion, as a surrender of the “ American System ” and as a 
 justification of South Carolina. It did not enact anything 
 affirmatively, but took the tariff of 1832 as a basis, and 
 scaled its rates by biennial reductions, till at the end of ten 
 years a uniform rate of not exceeding 20 per cent, should pre- 
 vail. This was ingenious and gradual repeal of a protective 
 Act and a practical abandonment of the protective principle. 
 It was notice to the people and was accepted as such by all 
 foreign countries, that the United States had repudiated its 
 earlier policy of protection. Henceforth the tariff was fully 
 afloat on the sea of politics. 
 
 A very few biennial reductions brought the rates of the 
 tariff of 1832 to where they were no longer protective, and 
 there came an inundation of foreign goods as in 1817-19. 
 Financial depression followed. Prices fell ; production 
 diminished ; workmen became idle ; farm products found no 
 market; public revenue fell off 25 per cent. ; the government 
 had to borrow at a ruinous discount in order to pay current 
 expenses. The nation was in the midst of the calamitous 
 panic of 1837 — worse even than that of 1818-19. Aside 
 from the moral strain of the disaster, the money loss was 
 estimated at $1,000,000,000. 
 
i6S 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 TARIFF OF 1842. 
 
 The drift of popular sentiment was entirely away from 
 Van Buren, 1837-1841. The Whigs took the lead and 
 nominated William Henry Harrison, in December, 1839, 
 without a platform. The Democrats renominated Van 
 Buren in May, 1840, and placed him on an elaborate plat- 
 form which contained the plank: — “Justice and sound 
 policy forbids the government to foster one branch of indus- 
 try to the detriment of another, or one section to the injury 
 of another.” It also contained a plank which read : — “ The 
 Constitution does not confer the right on the government 
 to carry on a system of internal improvements.” 
 
 Harrison was elected President and the Congress had a 
 Whig majority of six in the Senate and twenty-five in the 
 House. Harrison died in just one month after his inaugura- 
 tion, April 4, 1841, and Tyler became President. It was 
 well known that he was not a protectionist. The Whigs 
 enacted the Tariff Act of August 30, 1842, in obedience to 
 a popular demand. The debates on it were acrimonious 
 and, as to the opponents, involved the old arguments of 
 1828 and 1832, against the constitutionality of protection 
 and the right to nullify an Act of Congress. It passed, 
 however, and President Tylei vetoed it, giving as a reason 
 that it violated the compromise of 1833, which, as to pro- 
 tection and revenue, was to run till 1842, and, as to non-dis- 
 crimination against the planting interests, was practically 
 without time. This Act contained pronounced protective 
 features. Another Act was passed, without protective feat- 
 ures, but with a clause providing for the distribution of any 
 surplus that might arise to the States. This too was vetoed. 
 A third Act was passed without the surplus clause. This 
 became the Tariff Act of August 10, 1842. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mi i 
 
 
Hon. John B. Gordon. 
 
 Born in Upson co., Ga., February 6, 1832; educated at University of 
 Georgia; read law and admitted to bar; entered Confederate army and 
 rose to rank of Major-General; wounded eight times; Democratic 
 Candidate for Governor of Georgia, 1868 ; Presidential Elector for 
 State-at-Large, 1868 and 1872 ; elected to U. S. Senate, as a Democrat, 
 1872; re-elected to Senate, 1879; elected Governor of State, 1886; re- 
 elected, 1888; re-elected U. S. Senator, 1890; member of Committees 
 on Civil Service, Coast Defences, Railroads, Territories and Transpor- 
 
 • auon. 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 171 
 
 It found, under the operation of the Scaling Act of 1833, 
 a uniform duty of 20 per cent. This it changed, by raising 
 cotton goods to 30 per cent.; woolens to 40 per cent.; 
 silks to $2.50 per pound ; bar-iron to $25 per ton ; pig-iron 
 to $9 per ton ; sugar to 2^ cents per pound. Tea and 
 coffee remained free. Clay and Calhoun, who were 
 together in the Compromise of 1833, were antagonists over 
 this Act of 1842. This was the Twenty-seventh Congress. 
 
 The Act of 1842 was so shorn of its original features that 
 it could scarcely be called protective, but such as it was it 
 sufficed to lift the cloud of depression and introduce an era 
 of prosperity which had not been witnessed since 1832. 
 Business revived. Factories began to operate. Customs 
 receipts rose and put the Government in possession of much 
 needed revenue. Labor sprang into demand. Farm pro- 
 duce rose in price. A large demand arose for iron, wool, 
 cotton, coal, and through competition in manufactures, and 
 the introduction of labor-saving machinery, the prices of 
 manufactured articles were cheaper than ever before. Roads, 
 canals, ships, returned a profit. Corporations, States, and 
 even the general Government, rose from bankruptcy to high 
 credit. Said President Polk in his message of 1846, “ Labor 
 in all its branches is receiving ample reward. The progress 
 of our country in resources and wealth and in the happy 
 condition of our people, is without example in the history 
 of nations.” 
 
 THE TARIFF ACT OF 1 846. 
 
 The National Whig Convention of 1844 introduced this 
 plank into its platform : — “ A tariff for revenue, discriminat- 
 ing with reference to protection of domestic labor.” The 
 Democrats reaffirmed their opposition to protection, as in 
 the platform of 1840, though they went to the country on 
 
172 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 the cry of “ Polk, Dallas and the Tariff of 1842.” The elec- 
 tion of Polk and a Democratic House favored the passage, 
 in the Twenty-ninth Congress, of a Tariff Act which should 
 repeal or modify that of 1842, for it was known that the 
 South was bent on such repeal. But northern Democrats 
 refused to bow to the situation. Debate took a sectional 
 turn. Northern Democrats pleaded the promises of the 
 campaign, not to interfere with the Tariff of 1842. They 
 were overruled. The Act of July 30, 1846, passed the 
 House, which had a Democratic majority of 61 votes. In 
 the Senate, which had a Democratic majority of five, it met 
 with a tie, and the tie was broken by the casting vote of 
 George M. Dallas, Vice-President, who voted in favor of the 
 measure. The Act of 1846 reduced the rates of 1842, from 
 5 to 25 per cent., introduced the theory of general ad valorem 
 duties, and affirmed the doctrine of revenue without incident 
 protection. It was a disappointing Act to Northern Demo- 
 crats and Whigs, and while it was far removed from the 
 promises of the campaign, it nevertheless fitted in with the 
 National platform. 
 
 While the reduced tariff of 1846, and the means by which 
 such reduction was secured, led to that revulsion of public 
 sentiment which culminated in the Whig successes of 1848, 
 the country happily escaped for a time the disasters which 
 had followed, quickly and inevitably, former tariff reduc- 
 tions. 
 
 The Mexican war (1846-48) created an extra demand for 
 munitions and supplies estimated at over $100,000,000. 
 
 The discovery of gold in California (1849) increased the 
 demand for labor, agricultural products, mining materials 
 and shipping; and sent for ten years $55,000,000 a year in 
 gold into the country. 
 
 The European countries were in revolution (1848-51). 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 173 
 
 Their agricultural and manufacturing industries were para- 
 lyzed. They could not export ; on the contrary required 
 food supplies. 
 
 The Crimean war followed, involving all Europe, and 
 creating an extraordinary demand for American breadstuff's. 
 
 The Irish famine occurred and added to the demand for 
 additional breadstuff's. 
 
 From 1846 to 1856 these adventitious aids to the indus- 
 tries and trade of the United States proved to be better than 
 any protective agency that might have been sought through 
 forms of tariff* laws. But unfortunately they were foreign 
 to sober enactment and any economic principle. They came 
 and went without regard to our domestic situation, our com- 
 fort or discomfort, our weal or woe. 
 
 By 1854 the true economic condition began to assert 
 itself. Foreign imports reappeared in our marts in amazing 
 quantities and at demoralizing prices. The crises abroad 
 being over, our exports declined. Manufactories suspended 
 operations, being unable to compete with the supply from 
 abroad. 
 
 In 1848 the national Democratic platform contained a 
 plank denouncing a Tariff*, except for revenue, and hailing 
 “ the noble impulse given to the cause of free-trade by the 
 repeal of the tariff* of 1842, and the creation of the more 
 equal, honest and productive tariff of 1846.” The Whigs 
 did not adopt a platform. 
 
 The National Democratic platform of 1852 reaffirmed that 
 of 1848, in great part; and that of the Whigs affirmed “a 
 tariff* for revenue with suitable encouragement to American 
 industry.” 
 
 The Democratic platform of 1856 contained the plank: — 
 “ That the time has come for the people of the United 
 
174 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 States to declare themselves in favor of free seas and pro- 
 gressive free trade throughout the world.” 
 
 The new Republican party did not introduce a tariff plank 
 into its platform of 1856. 
 
 THE TARIFF ACT OF 1 857. 
 
 In the Thirty-fourth Congress, December 5, 1855, the 
 Democrats had a majority of 9 in the Senate, but their 
 magnificent majority in the previous House was turned into 
 a medley of straight Democrats, pro-slavery Whigs, Know- 
 Nothings and Anti-Nebraska men. Owing to the Kansas- 
 Nebraska troubles, the Congress was not a dispassionate 
 body. While it showed a spirit of generosity in encourag- 
 ing railroad enterprise and grants of public lands, it swung 
 without apparent cause, and in the face of solemn admoni- 
 tions, clear over to a free-trade policy, and under existing 
 circumstances struck the country a cruel blow on the very 
 last day of its Second Session, March 3, 1857. This is the 
 date of the Tariff Act of that year. The only excuse offered 
 for its passage was the redundancy of revenue. This was 
 almost instantaneously met by a flood of importations, for 
 the Act reduced duties along the entire line of imports of 
 leading articles, almost to such rates as had prevailed before 
 the war of 1812, and had prevailed at no time since, except 
 at the end of the sliding scale in 1841, as provided in the 
 Compromise Act of 1833. 
 
 As had ever been, the already tottering industries were 
 struck with paralysis, and there occurred an exhaustive out- 
 pour of specie to foreign parts. Within six months of the 
 passage of the Act the country was in the midst of distress- 
 ing panic. No branch of industry escaped the disaster. 
 Ruin was deep and universal. Ere it ceased there were 
 5,123 commercial failures. The government was compefied 
 
Born in Franklin co., Tenn. ; educated at Winchester Academy; ad- 
 mitted to bar at Paris, Tenn., 1841 ; elected as Democrat to State Legis- 
 lature, 1847 ; elected to Congress as Democrat to represent Ninth Con- 
 gressional District, 1849 ; re-elected in 1851 ; moved to Memphis and 
 continued law practice ; elected Governor of State in 1857, 1859 and 
 1861 ; served during war as Aid to Commanding General of Confederate 
 Army of Tennessee; resumed law practice at Memphis, 1867 ; elected 
 to United States Senate in 1876; re-elected, 1883 and 1889; an able 
 debater, earnest statesman of the strict-construction school, and popular 
 with his constituents. 
 
 (I 7 6) 
 
Hon. Michael D. Harter. 
 
 Born at Canton, O., April 6, 1846; educated as a banker and manu- 
 facturer ; an ardent advocate of economic reforms, and an able writer 
 and speaker upon financial and industrial subjects ; opposed to class 
 legislation and to a debased currency ; elected to 51st Congress, as a 
 Democrat, for 15th Ohio District, by a majority of 3800 votes; re-elected 
 to 52d Congress ; distinguished in the debates of the Congress, and in 
 shaping legislation ; a studious, conservative, but courageous man, pre- 
 ferring the intelligent and sensible in politics to the sensational and 
 temporary, and therefore a rational rather than radical factor in his 
 party . 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 179 
 
 to borrow money for necessary expenses at a discount of 
 eight to ten per cent. Up to 1861 the public debt increased 
 ^46,000,000, and during the same time the expenditures 
 exceeded the receipts by $77,234,1 16. President Buchanan, 
 in his annual message, said : “ With unsurpassed plenty in 
 all the productions and all the elements of natural wealth, 
 our manufacturers have suspended; our public works are 
 retarded ; our private enterprises of different kinds are 
 abandoned ; thousands of useful laborers are thrown out of 
 employment and reduced to want. We have possessed all 
 the elements of material wealth in rich abundance, and yet, 
 notwithstanding all these advantages, our country, in its 
 monetary interests, is in a deplorable condition.” 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF l86l. 
 
 The Democratic platform of i860 affirmed that of 1856. 
 The Republican platform favored a revenue for duties, with 
 such adjustment of them as would “develop the industries 
 of the whole country.” 
 
 By the withdrawal of members from the Thirty-sixth 
 Congress, to follow the seceding States, the Republicans 
 came into a strong majority during the second session, met 
 December 3, i860. They improved their opportunity by 
 the passage of the Tariff Act of March 2, 1861. The Act 
 was natural to the party and the situation. It increased 
 duties all along the line of imports, and reintroduced the 
 protective principle which had prevailed with slight modifi- 
 cation from 1789 to 1832, and from 1842 to 1846. It is 
 needless here to inquire into the rates of duty established 
 by this tariff. They differed radically from those imposed 
 in the Act of 1857, and were so laid as to best effect the 
 object of revenue, which was then, or soon would be, greatly 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 180 
 
 needed, and at the same time apply and confirm the doctrine 
 of protection, as to labor, manufactures and a home market. 
 
 The war of the Rebellion helped to sanction this Act to 
 the popular will and universal need. It was amended by 
 the Act of December 24, 1861, so as to increase the revenues. 
 It was still further amended by the Act of June 30, 1864, 
 which increased rates of duty, and made them more protec- 
 tive. There was another amendment, March 2, 1867, which 
 chiefly related to manufacture of woolens, an industry 
 which had been greatly stimulated by the war, and which 
 was threatened by foreign competition in time of peace. 
 
 The principle of both revenue and protection had now 
 been strained to the uttermost by the exigency of war, and 
 the period had arrived for a modification of duties. This 
 modification came about under the amendatory Tariff Act of 
 June 6, 1872, which reduced duties to a considerable extent, 
 but without much discrimination, and added largely to the 
 free list. 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF 1 874. 
 
 Though this Act did not attempt general revision, and was 
 still amendatory, it was nevertheless important in the respect 
 that it was an attempt to correct the inconsiderate reduc- 
 tions of the Act of 1872. The panic of 1873 had followed 
 the reductions of 1872, and though it was a world’s panic, 
 and hardly attributable to the legislation of any one nation, 
 it served as a reminder that such catastrophes had invariably 
 succeeded a too rapid reduction of duties and too wide a 
 departure from the policy of protection. Therefore the Act 
 of June 22, 1874, stiffened rates on dutiable articles of a 
 kind which was liable to suffer from competition, broadened 
 the protective idea as to new industries and home labor, and 
 at the same time allowed a liberal free list, mostly of raw 
 materials and unmanufactured articles. It was passed 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 t8i 
 
 during the first session of the Forty-third Congress, which 
 had a large Republican majority. 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF 1 883. 
 
 The Republican platform of 1880 contained a distinctive 
 protective plank ; the Democratic platform declared for “ a 
 tariff for revenue only.” The Forty-seventh Congress had 
 a Republican working majority in the House, but a tie in 
 the Senate. Owing to the death of Garfield and the little 
 work done by the previous Congress, it stood at the apex 
 of an immense amount of legislation. At the first session, 
 a bill was passed, May 15, 1882, creating a Tariff Commis- 
 sion. This Commission sat at various places during 1882, 
 and its report became the basis of the Tariff Act of the 
 succeeding session. It was a non-partisan Commission, and 
 its existence was due to a sentiment pervading all parties 
 that some highly deliberate step was necessary to correct 
 the incongruities of existing Tariff Acts, and re-adapt rates 
 of duty to our newer and more widely diversified industries. 
 
 The Commission worked laboriously, and with deference 
 to the spirit of reform which had called it into existence, 
 and, it may be said, with due regard to the sentiment of the 
 hour against prohibitive, or even protective, rates as to es- 
 tablished industries. Its conclusions pointed to measures 
 which reduced duties along the entire line of imports, in 
 general at least 25 per cent., in some cases more, in others 
 less. Though the Congress did not adopt all of the conclu- 
 sions of the Commission, its report, as already stated, 
 formed the groundwork of the Act of 1883. 
 
 The Act was passed March 3, 1883, after protracted dis- 
 cussion. While it strove to equalize rates and abolish in- 
 congruities, it did not prove to be a success. Interests were 
 so conflicting that it was impossible to avoid crudities and 
 
182 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 hardships. The demands of manufacturers for lighter 
 duties on, or for free, raw materials worked to the injury of 
 the producing classes, and vice versa. The Act was in the 
 nature of a compromise all round, but it showed that the 
 entire country had come to regard this class of legislation 
 as of the highest moment, and vital to its interests. 
 
 In the Forty-eighth Congress (1884), which, after the 
 political “tidal wave” of 1882, contained a large Demo- 
 cratic majority in the House, a determined effort was made 
 to pass the Morrison Tariff Bill, which provided for a hori- 
 zontal reduction of duties to the extent of twenty per cent. 
 The Democrats divided on the merits of the bill and it was 
 disposed of by striking out its enacting clause. 
 
 TARIFF ACT OF 189O. 
 
 The Republican National platform of 1884 distinctly 
 enunciated the doctrine of protection. The Democratic 
 platform contained a pledge of “ tariff revision.” There 
 was no further excitement over the tariff till President 
 Cleveland delivered his message to Congress in December, 
 1887. It was devoted almost wholly to tariff systems and 
 laws, excepted to existing duties on wool and necessaries, 
 and directly opposed the protective idea. It was an earnest 
 paper and had all the weight of a deliberate and special an- 
 nouncement to the American people. The free-trade wing 
 of the party hailed it as a recognition of their views. The 
 “ revenue reform ” element, headed by Mr. Randall, re- 
 garded it as unwise, as containing the seeds of political dis- 
 aster, and as crushing out the minority element in the party. 
 The Republicans treated it as a challenge to contest to the 
 bitter end the issue of Free-Trade vs. Protection, though 
 they regarded it as unnecessarily bitter in expression, es- 
 pecially in such sentences as, “ But our present tariff laws, 
 
Hon. Anthony Higgins. 
 
 Horn in New Castle co., Del., October 1, 1840; graduated at Yale, in 
 1861 ; studied law at Harvard Law School and admitted to bar, 1864 ; 
 appointed Deputy Attorney-General, 1864; United States Attorney fur 
 Delaware, 1869-76 ; Chairman of Republican State Committee, 1868; 
 candidate for United States Senate, 1881, and received vote of Repub- 
 lican members of Legislature ; Republican candidate for Congress, 
 1884; elected to United States Senate, as Republican, in 1889; term 
 expires March 3, 1895; first Republican Senator from State in great 
 number of years; Chairman of Committee on Manufactures, and mem- 
 ber of Committees on Coast Defences, District of Columbia, Interstate 
 Commerce, and Privileges and Elections. 
 
 (* 83 ) 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 185 
 
 the vicious, inequitable and illogical source of unnecessary 
 taxation, ought to be at once revised and amended.” The 
 English press was profuse in its praise, and as the Spectator 
 said, “ His terse and telling message has struck a blow at 
 American protection such as could never have been struck 
 by any free-trade league.” 
 
 What became known as the “ Mills’ Tariff Bill,” suppos- 
 ably framed to meet the President’s views, was reported to 
 the House of Representatives March 1, 1888. It made sig- 
 nificant reductions in existing tariff rates, and at once 
 became the absorbing measure of the first session of the 
 Fiftieth Congress. It was evident that upon it, and the 
 repeal of internal taxation, party lines would be closely 
 drawn, except as to the Democratic contingent led by Mr. 
 Randall. The bill proved to have been hastily and crudely 
 drawn, and the debates upon it took a wide range and were 
 exhaustive of the merits of free-trade and protection. It 
 passed the House July 21, 1888, but was met by a counter 
 bill in the Senate, which embodied the Republican doctrine 
 of protection. The two parties were now hopelessly wide 
 apart, the time of the session was exhausted, and both 
 appealed to the country on the record made in the Con- 
 gress. 
 
 The Republican national platform of 1888 pledged un- 
 compromising favor for the American system of protection. 
 The Democratic platform reaffirmed that of 1884, endorsed 
 the views of President Cleveland in his last annual message, 
 and also the efforts of the Democratic Congress to secure a 
 reduction of excessive taxation. 
 
 The issue of the campaign of 1888 is well known. With 
 Harrison was elected a Republican Congress. The issue 
 had been so wholly that of Free-trade vs. Protection that 
 the way of the Republican majority was plain. The Com- 
 
1 86 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION: 
 
 mittee of Ways and Means, whose chairman was William 
 McKinley, invited all the interests concerned in tariff revis- 
 ion to a hearing. A bill was finally framed, which became 
 known as the “ McKinley Bill.” The effort was to embody 
 in the bill the experience of all former tariff legislation, and 
 what was best of all former Acts ; to impose rates of a dis- 
 tinctively protective character, and in the interest of Ameri- 
 can labor, on manufactures which could exist here, but 
 whose existence was threatened by foreign competition ; to 
 impose similar rates on goods, such as tin plates, which we 
 did not, but could manufacture, and ought to ; to largely 
 reduce the duty on necessaries, or exempt them altogether, 
 as by making sugar free ; to increase the free list by placing 
 all raw materials on it whose importation did not compete 
 with the home growth of the same ; to introduce the policy 
 of reciprocity by which we could gain something by en- 
 larged trade in return for the loss of duties on sugars and 
 such articles. 
 
 A great deal of thought was given to the bill, and it was 
 fully debated in Congress. Perhaps no Tariff Act was ever 
 passed, in whose preparation so many interests had been so 
 fully consulted, and with whose provisions the varied inter- 
 ests were so fully satisfied. Certainly none ever passed that 
 had to undergo more minute criticism, whose merits were 
 more elaborately discussed, and respecting which so many 
 prophecies, good and bad, were indulged. Its passage oc- 
 cupied the entire time of the first session of the Fifty-first 
 Congress, and it was not until October. I, 1890, that it be- 
 came a law. No other enactment of the Congress approached 
 it in importance. 
 
 So prominent was this legislation, and such the character 
 of prophecies respecting it, that hardly anything else was 
 heard in the Congressional campaign of 1890. As the im- 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 187 
 
 aginations of its opponents had free play, and as nothing 
 could be affirmed of its practical workings by its friends 
 before it began to work, there was another political “tidal 
 wave” like that of 1882, and the Democrats entered the 
 Fifty-second Congress with an overwhelming majority. 
 
 They were under the same obligations to repeal the 
 obnoxious McKinley Act, and enact a measure which 
 embraced their views, as the Republicans were in the Fifty- 
 first Congress. They were in far better condition to do this, 
 as to the House, for their majority was overwhelming. 
 They, however, did not attempt repeal or general revision, 
 but introduced a series of Acts relating to special articles, 
 such as the lowering of duties on manufactures of wool and 
 on tin-plates, and the placing of wool, binding twine, etc., on 
 the free list. The discussion of these provisions was ani- 
 mated, and in general they passed the House. They served 
 to keep the sentiment of the respective parties prominent, 
 and to shape the issues for a retrial in the campaign of 1892, 
 by which time the practical workings of the Act of 1890 will 
 have tested many theories, and will compel orators to hew 
 closely to lines of facts and figures in order to carry convic- 
 tion. 
 
 The McKinley Act increased duties on about 1 1 5 articles, 
 embracing farm products, manufactures not sufficiently pro- 
 tected, manufactures to be established, luxuries, such as 
 wines. It decreased duties on about 190 articles, embracing 
 manufactures established, or which could not suffer from 
 foreign competition. It left the duties unchanged on 249 
 articles. It enlarged the free list till it embraces 55.75 per 
 cent, of all imports, or 22.48 more than previous tariffs. 
 The placing of sugar on the free list was a loss of revenue 
 equal to $54,000,000 a year. 
 
i88 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 DRIFT OF TARIFF LEGISLATION ABROAD. 
 
 The nations which occupy the Continent of Europe have, 
 without exception, introduced into their commercial and 
 industrial systems, within a very few years, the principle of 
 protection. This has been marked by economists of every 
 school. Great Britain alone has remained firm to her doc- 
 trine of free-trade. On May 23, 1892, Lord Salisbury, the 
 English Premier, delivered a speech at Hastings, in which 
 he discussed the attitude of Great Britain as to her external 
 trade. The speech, coming from so high an authority, cre- 
 ated great excitement among English Conservatives, drew a 
 wide range of comment from the newspapers of the world, 
 and seemed to presage a new departure in the applied eco- 
 nomics of the realm. 
 
 Its points, bearing on external trade, were : — 
 
 “ After all, this little island lives as a trading island. We 
 could not produce in foodstuffs enough to sustain the popu- 
 lation that lives in this island, and it is only by the great 
 industries which exist here, and which find markets in for- 
 eign countries, that we are able to maintain the vast popula- 
 tion by which this island is inhabited. 
 
 “ But a danger is growing up. Forty or fifty years ago 
 everybody believed that free-trade had conquered the world, 
 and they prophesied that every nation would follow the ex- 
 ample of England and give itself up to absolute free-trade. 
 
 “ The results are not exactly what they prophesied, but 
 the more adverse the results were, the more the devoted 
 prophets of free-trade declared that all would come aright at 
 last. 
 
 “ The worse the tariffs of foreign countries became the 
 more confident were the prophecies of an early victory, but 
 we see now, after many years experience that explain it, 
 

 ® III . y 
 
 
Hon. James K. Jones. 
 
 Born in Marshall co., Miss., Sept. 29, 1839; educated in classics and 
 law; served in Confederate army; a planter till 1873; began law prac- 
 tice at Washington, Arkansas, and elected to State Senate in 1873 ; re- 
 elected in 1877, and became President of the body ; elected, as Democr.it, 
 to 47th, 48th and 49th Congresses; elected to U. S. Senate in 1884; re- 
 elected in 1890 ; term expires March 3, 1897 ; member of Committees 
 on Agriculture and Forestry, Indian Affairs, Interstate Commerce, 
 Irrigation and Territories. 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 191 
 
 how many foreign nations are raising, one after another, a 
 wall — a brazen wall of protection — around their shores 
 which excludes us from their markets, and, so far as they 
 are concerned, do their best to kill our trade, and this state 
 of things does not get better. On the contrary, it con- 
 stantly seems to get worse. 
 
 “ Now, of course, if I utter a word with reference to free- 
 trade, I shall be accused of being a protectionist, of a desire 
 to overthrow free-trade, and all the other crimes which an 
 ingenious imagination can attach to a commercial hetero- 
 doxy. 
 
 “ But, nevertheless, I ask you to set yourselves free from 
 all that merely vituperative doctrine and to consider whether 
 the true doctrine of free-trade carries you as far as some of 
 these gentlemen would wish you to go. 
 
 “ Every true religion has its counterpart in inventions and 
 legends and traditions, which grow upon that religion. The 
 Old Testament had its Canonical books and had also its 
 Talmud and its Mishna, the inventions of rabbinical com- 
 mentators. 
 
 “ There are a Mishna and a Talmud constantly growing 
 up. One of the difficulties we have to contend with is the 
 strange and unreasonable doctrine which these rabbis have 
 imposed upon us. 
 
 “ If we look abroad into the world we will see it. In the 
 office which I have the honor to hold I am obliged to see a 
 great deal of it. 
 
 “ We live in an age of a war of tariffs. Every nation is 
 trying how it can, by agreement with its neighbor, get the 
 greatest possible protection for its own industries, and at the 
 same time the greatest possible access to the markets of its 
 neighbors. 
 
 “ This kind of negotiation is continually going on. It 
 
 9 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 19c 
 
 has been going on for the last year and a half with great 
 activity. 
 
 “ I want to point out to you that what I observe is that 
 while A is very anxious to get a favor of B, and B is anx- 
 ious to get a favor of C, nobody cares two straws about get- 
 ting the commercial favor of Great Britain. 
 
 “ What is the reason of that ? It is that in this great 
 battle Great Britain has deliberately stripped herself of the 
 armor and the weapons by which the battle has to be 
 fought. 
 
 “ You cannot do business in this world of evil and suffer- 
 ing on those terms. If you go to market, you must bring 
 money with you. If you fight, you must fight with the 
 weapons with which those you have to contend against are 
 fighting. 
 
 “ The weapon with which they all fight is admission to 
 their own markets, that is to say, A says to B : ‘If you will 
 make your duties such that I can sell in your market I will 
 make my duties such that you can sell in my market.’ 
 
 “ But we begin by saying that w r e will levy no duties on 
 anybody, and we declare that it would be contrary and dis- 
 loyal to the glorious and sacred doctrine of free-trade to 
 levy any duty on anybody, for the sake of what we can get 
 by it. 
 
 “ It may be noble, but it is not business. 
 
 “ On those terms you will get nothing, and I am sorry to 
 have to tell you that you are practically getting nothing. 
 
 “ The opinion of this country, as stated by its authorized 
 exponents, has been opposed by what is called a retaliatory 
 policy. 
 
 “ We, as the government of the country, have laid it 
 down for ourselves as a strict rule from which there is no 
 departure, and we are bound not to ,alte,r the traditional 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 193 
 
 policy of the country unless we are convinced that a large 
 majority of the country is with us, because in these foreign 
 affairs consistency of policy is beyond all things unnecessary. 
 
 “ But, though that is the case, still if I may aspire to fill 
 the office of a councillor to the public mind, I should ask 
 you to form your own opinions without a reference to tradi- 
 tions or denunciations, not to care two straws whether you 
 are orthodox or not, but to form your opinions according to 
 the dictates of common sense — I would impress upon you 
 that if you intend in this conflict of commercial treaties to 
 hold your own you must be prepared, if need be, to inflict 
 upon the nations which injure you the penalty which is in 
 your hands, that of refusing them access to your markets. 
 
 “ The power we have most reason to complain of is the 
 United States, and what we want the United States to fur- 
 nish us with mostly are articles of food essential to the feed- 
 ing of the people and raw materials necessary to our manu- 
 facturers, and we cannot exclude one or the other without 
 serious injury to ourselves. 
 
 “ Now, I am not in the least prepared, for the sake of 
 wounding other nations, to inflict any dangerous or serious 
 wound upon ourselves. 
 
 “ We must confine ourselves, at least for the present, to 
 those subjects on which we should not suffer very much, 
 whether the importation continued or diminished. 
 
 “ But what I complain about of the rabbis of whom I have 
 just spoken is, that they confuse this vital point. They say 
 that everything must be given to the consumer. Well, if the 
 consumer is the man who maintains the industries of the 
 country or is the people at large, I agree with the rabbis. 
 
 “ You cannot raise the price of food or of raw material, but 
 there is an enormous mass of other articles of importation 
 from other countries besides the United States which are 
 
194 
 
 OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 mere matters of luxurious consumption, and if it is a ques- 
 tion of wine or silk or spirits or gloves or lace, I should not 
 in the least shrink from diminishing the consumption and 
 interfering with the comfort of the excellent people who con- 
 sume these articles of luxury, for the purpose of maintaining 
 our rights in this commercial war, and of insisting on our 
 right of access to the markets of our neighbors. 
 
 “ This is very heterodox doctrine, I know, and I should 
 be excommunicated for maintaining it. 
 
 “ But, as one’s whole duty is to say what he thinks to the 
 people of this country, I am bound to say that our rabbis 
 have carried the matter too far. 
 
 “We must distinguish between consumer and consumer, 
 and while jealously preserving the rights of a consumer who 
 is co-extensive with a whole industry, or with the whole 
 people of the country, we may fairly use our power over an 
 importation which merely ministers to luxury in order to 
 maintain our own in this great commercial battle.’’ 
 
 AMERICAN IRON AND TIN-PLATE FIGURES. 
 
 MANUFACTURES OF IRON. 
 
 Imports and exports for first eight months of the three 
 latest fiscal years : 
 
 Year. Imports. Exports. 
 
 1889- 90 #26,966,085 $16,735,594 
 
 1890- 91 29,820,502 18,823,384 
 
 1891- 92 , 16,329,207 20,463,764 
 
 For the first time in the history of the country the exports 
 of iron manufactures exceeded the imports in 1891-92, and 
 America practically cut loose from foreign invention in iron 
 and steel. 
 
in/: ..If 
 
Hon. John E. Kenna. 
 
 Born at Valcoulou, Va., April 10, 1848 ; served in Confederate army; 
 educated at St. Vincent’s College ; admitted to Charleston bar, June 20, 
 1870; acquired lucrative practice; elected District Attorney, 1872; 
 elected, 1875, by bar to hold Circuit Courts of Lincoln and Wayne 
 counties; elected, as Democrat, to 45th, 46th and 47th Congresses; 
 elected, as Democrat, to United States Senate for term beginning 1883, 
 and re-elected for term beginning 1889; member of Committees on 
 Commerce, Foreign Relations, Organization of Executive Department 
 and Quadro-Centennial. 
 
 (196) 
 
OUR TARIFF LEGISLATION. 
 
 197 
 
 TIN-PLATE FIGURES. 
 
 From quarterly returns made to Treasury Department: 
 
 Duty on tin-plate prior to July 1, 1891 1 cent per lb. 
 
 Duty after July 1, 1891, McKinley Act 2.2 cents per lb. 
 
 Manufactories in United States July 1, 1891 None. 
 
 Manufactories reported to Treasury Department as having 
 
 started during quarter ending September 3, 1891 5 
 
 Yearly capacity equal to 27,000,000 lbs. 
 
 Manufactories reported to Treasury Department for quarter 
 
 ending December 31, 1891 11 
 
 Yearly capacity equal to 60,000,000 lbs. 
 
 Manufactories reported to Treasury Department for quarter 
 
 ending March 31, 1892 19 
 
 Yearly capacity equal to 300,000,000 lbs. 
 
 Actual production for above quarter 3,000,000 lbs. 
 
 Amount of capital invested March 31, 1892 $3,000,000 
 
 Tin-plate imported, 1890 680,060,925 lbs. 
 
 Value of same $20,928,150 
 
 Cost of a box of tin-plate (108 lbs.) in Liverpool, January 1, 
 
 1891 $4.23 
 
 Additional duty on same after July 1, 1891 1.29 
 
 Cost of box of tin-plate in Liverpool (108 lbs.) April 1, 1892. 3.02 
 Importation of tin-plate for 8 months ending Feb. 28, 1891. .525,904,757 lbs. 
 Importation of tin-plate for 8 months ending Feb. 29, 1892. .177,114,874 lbs. 
 
HISTORIC REVIEW OF THE SILVER QUES- 
 TION. 
 
 The use of metal as a medium of exchange and a measure 
 of value has an old and interesting history. The province 
 of money has ever been a conspicuous theme in political 
 economy. Lately in our country all discussion of money 
 has been given a new turn, and been rendered momentous 
 and exciting by the fact that political parties have chosen to 
 divide upon questions of coinage, quantities, kinds and values 
 of our metallic circulating medium, and seek to make them 
 issues in their campaigns. 
 
 This has given to what is popularly known as “ The Sil- 
 ver Question,” or “ The Free Coinage Question,” a promi- 
 nence it never had before. It is within the bounds of truth 
 to say that the “ Silver Question ” quite overshadows the 
 “Tariff Question” in the Fifty-second Congress, and bids 
 fair to divide honors with that question for a considerable 
 time. Next to, and perhaps equal with, the doctrines of 
 Free-Trade and Protection, it concerns the business inter- 
 ests, the life and work, the labor and property, of every man 
 in the country, from the humblest toiler to the largest capi- 
 talist. No man who works for daily bread, no man who 
 has a dollar saved, no man who has a house or farm, no 
 man who has his capital in factories, stocks, mortgages, or 
 other securities, ought to be ignorant of a question which 
 so intimately concerns his welfare. It is, perhaps, a matter 
 of regret that a question so purely economic should fall into 
 political channels, but such is the fate of all these great 
 questions under our free system of government, and our 
 198 
 
THE SiLVEk QUESTION. 
 
 people are seemingly better satisfied with results obtained in 
 their own popular way, than through the media of learned 
 theories and abstruse teachings. In as much they prefer to 
 use their own judgments and to abide by their own verdicts, 
 the obligation is imposed on them of informing themselves 
 as far as possible respecting the merits of this question, and 
 all questions that similarly affect them. 
 
 WHAT IS MONEY? 
 
 Says Laveleye : “ Money is the substance or substances 
 which custom or the law causes to be employed as the 
 means of payment, the instrument of exchange and the com- 
 mon measure of values.” 
 
 The difficulty of bartering wares against wares brought 
 into use an intermediate means of effecting the exchange. 
 This means was money, which became an agent of circula- 
 tion and a vehicle of exchange — the cart for transferring 
 property in an object from one person to another, just as the 
 actual cart transferred the object itself. 
 
 Again, money came to be the universal equivalent. 
 When one sells a bushel of wheat for a dollar, the dollar is 
 the equivalent of the wheat. One can, in turn, make the 
 dollar the equivalent of other goods, which he needs more 
 than the wheat or the dollar. Says Adam Smith : “A piece 
 of gold may be considered as an agreement for a certain 
 quantity of goods payable by the tradesmen of the neigh- 
 borhood.” 
 
 Still further, money is a common measure or standard of 
 values. Some one has called it “ The yardstick of com- 
 merce.” Length, weight, value, need to be compared with 
 something, in order to subdivide them and turn their parts 
 to use. Hence, a foot is made a standard of long measure, 
 and when we say a stick is twelve feet long, we know ex- 
 
200 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 actly how long it is, and all men will know. This is much 
 more definite and satisfactory than to say, the stick is as long 
 as twenty hand-breadths, for some hands are larger than 
 others, and the stick would be longer or shorter, according 
 to each measurer. So, if we say a barrel of flour weighs as 
 much as two pigs, we get but a vague and varying idea of 
 its weight, for pigs differ in size and weight. But when we 
 set up the pound as a standard of weight, and say that a 
 barrel of flour weighs 196 pounds, all men will have a com- 
 mon idea of its weight. It is the same with value. The 
 value of a horse may be equal to five cows, but as cows have 
 one price to-day and another to-morrow, you have selected 
 a very uncertain means of finding the value of a horse. By 
 the use of money as a common valuer, as in the foot or the 
 pound, you get a definite idea of the value of a horse. 
 When you say it is worth one hundred dollars, or a hundred 
 times one dollar — the dollar being the standard or measurer 
 of value — all men fall to the idea, know what a horse is 
 worth. 
 
 The foot standard is exactly ascertained and rigidly fixed. 
 The pound standard is also accurately ascertained and rig- 
 idly fixed. In attempting to fix a standard for measuring 
 values, great difficulty is encountered, for, unfortunately, the 
 substances used for measuring the values of articles of com- 
 merce are themselves merchandise, and subject to variation 
 in value like all goods. The best that can be done, there- 
 fore, as to values, is to select as true and invariable a standard 
 of measurement as possible, to watch it closely, and to cor- 
 rect from time to time the expansions and contractions oc- 
 casioned by commercial heat and cold. 
 
 KINDS OF MONEY. 
 
 The Siberians used furs as money. The Spartans used 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 201 
 
 iron. The African uses cloth, salt and cowrie-shells. Cat- 
 tle held the largest place as money among the ancients and 
 many of our financial and commercial words are derived 
 from old words indicating the early prominence of the flock 
 and herd. The arms of Diomede were valued at nine oxen ; 
 those of Glaucus at one hundred oxen. The Franks levied 
 a tribute of oxen on the conquered Saxons. Our word 
 “ pecuniary ” is the Latin pecus , “ cattle.” Our “ fee ” is the 
 Saxon feoh, cattle. 
 
 Metal money was first employed as representing value in 
 cattle. The ox or sheep became its emblem and was 
 stamped on the metal. 
 
 As civilization progressed and exchanges became more 
 frequent, gold and silver took the place of all cruder metals 
 and devices, as money. 
 
 This was because time and experience had proved their 
 superiority as measurers of value and media of exchange. 
 
 They do not deteriorate by keeping. 
 
 Their production is limited by scarcity of their ores. This 
 gives great value in proportion to weight, and facilitates 
 handling, transport and hoarding. 
 
 The annual losses of the precious metals by wear and tear 
 and by absorption in the arts have so nearly equalled the 
 annual production, as that the excess of production has sel- 
 dom exceeded the ratio of increase in population and the 
 growing demand for money. Thus the demand and supply 
 being nearly equal, the value of gold and silver remains very 
 stable, as compared with other metals, or other measures of 
 value. 
 
 The accumulated stock of the precious metals, estimated 
 in money and ornaments at $10,000,000,000 in the world, 
 tends to lessen variations in value that might be occasioned 
 by diminution or failure of the annual supply. 
 
202 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 All civilized nations seek and accept gold and silver as a 
 means of facilitating exchange. 
 
 Gold and silver are easily divisible into parts and propor- 
 tions of given weights and values. 
 
 They receive with ease and permanently the impression 
 which distinguishes their weight, size, design and value. 
 
 They are readily distinguishable from other metals ; gold 
 by its weight, silver by its sound. 
 
 THE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 The purchasing power of money ascertains its value. The 
 pure silver which would have-bought eight bushels of wheat 
 during the Middle Ages, would bring only two bushels, 
 after the discovery of America. Therefore, it was said of 
 silver, that it had declined to one-fourth of its previous 
 value. 
 
 Supply of an article usually affects its value, but a supply 
 of money involves the quantity in existence and the rapidity 
 of its circulation. A dollar that makes three exchanges a 
 day is worth three dollars that make one exchange a day. 
 
 If the demand for money is less than the supply, its value 
 decreases ; only we don’t say so, but that prices rise. If the 
 demand for money is greater than the supply, its value in- 
 creases ; but we say, that prices fall. 
 
 Alterations in the value of money lead to confusion in 
 commercial, legal and economic relations. A decrease in 
 the amount or value of money seriously affects the debtor 
 classes. An increase in the amount or value of money in- 
 jures the creditor classes. 
 
 MONEY SYSTEMS. 
 
 The gold and silver that enter into money are not pure, 
 but mixed with alloy, usually copper, to save the coins from 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 203 
 
 wearing. The quantity of alloy generally introduced is 
 about one-tenth, that is, one part alloy to nine parts of pure 
 metal. 
 
 In England, the unit of money, gold or silver, of which 
 the other coins are multiples, is the sovereign or pound ; in 
 France, the franc; in Germany, the mark; in Holland, the 
 florin ; in the United States, the dollar. The larger coins 
 are generally made a legal tender for debts, without limit. 
 Smaller fractional or subsidiary coins are generally made a 
 legal tender for debts, with a limit as to amount. Still smaller 
 coins, cents, nickels, and such as rank as “ token money,” 
 are made legal tender for debts of a still smaller amount. 
 
 Formerly, monarchs, cities, bishops and nobles claimed 
 the right to coin money, and they frequently abused their 
 right by diminishing the value of the currency, either by re- 
 ducing the quantity of pure metal in the coins, or by declar- 
 ing them to have a legal value far beyond their intrinsic 
 value. Solon decreed that the mina should be worth a hun- 
 dred drachmas instead of seventy-three. Plutarch says of 
 this decree: “In this way, by paying apparently the full 
 value, though really less, those who owed large sums gained 
 considerably, without causing any loss to their creditors.” 
 Says Laveleye, “ Plutarch here expresses the error which has 
 inspired all issues of depreciated and paper currency. No 
 one seems to lose, because payments are made just as well 
 with coins reduced in value as with the unreduced. What 
 is forgotten is that prices rise in proportion as the unit of 
 money loses its value.” 
 
 At the present time the right of coinage is, as a rule, re- 
 served by the sovereign State, and is jealously guarded. In 
 most countries the coining of the standard coin is free. 
 
 In France, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, which coun- 
 tries agreed, in 1863, to form the Latin Monetary Union, 
 
204 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 all gold coins and five-franc pieces are accepted as standard. 
 The minor silver coins are a legal tender for only small 
 debts, and the mints cannot issue them to a greater extent 
 than the value of six francs for each inhabitant. The sys- 
 tem of the Latin Union is the double standard or bi-metallic 
 system ; that is, it permits the free and unlimited coinage 
 of both gold and silver pieces, to each of which it gives legal 
 currency, or the right to be accepted in all payments. It 
 has, however, been compelled to modify this system to suit 
 circumstances. 
 
 Countries whose system is “ single standard or mono-me- 
 tallic,” as in England, where it is gold, and in Austria, 
 where it is silver, accord free and unlimited coinage and 
 legal-tender quality only to the metal they fix as the stand- 
 ard. The mono-metallic system is the simpler, as to relation 
 of value between coins of different denominations ; but as 
 to relation of value between money and goods, the bi-metal- 
 lic system is more sensitive and, consequently, exact. 
 
 In 1558 Thomas Gresham, one of the councillors of 
 Queen Elizabeth, demonstrated that the money which has 
 the less value will drive from circulation the money which 
 has the greater value. This is known in monetary science 
 as “ Gresham’s Law.” 
 
 In 1717 Sir Isaac Newton showed that a means of obvi- 
 ating the ill effects of “ Gresham’s Law ” existed, by fixing 
 the relation of value between gold and silver the same in 
 all countries. In later times attempts have been made to 
 do this by means of International Monetary Congresses. 
 Attempts to establish a fixed relation of value between gold 
 and silver by single countries have not proved satisfactory. 
 Economists are by no means agreed as to which metal, gold 
 or silver, is preferable as a standard. That the largest 
 number of countries, certainly the largest commercial coun- 
 
Hon. Robert T. Lincoln. 
 
 Born in Springfield, 111., August 1, 1843; prepared for college at 
 Exeter; entered Harvard, 1864; entered Harvard Law School, but* 
 became aide, with rank of Captain, on General Grant’s staff; served till 
 end of war ; admitted to bar and practiced in Chicago till 1881 ; entered 
 Garfield’s Cabinet as Secretary of War, 1881 ; retained same under 
 Arthur; prominently mentioned for the Presidency before National 
 Republican Convention in 1884; but refused the use of his name so long 
 as President Arthur was in the field ; resumed practice of profession, 
 1885; again mentioned for Presidency in 1888; selected as Minister to 
 England by President Harrison. 
 
 (205) 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 207 
 
 tries, adopt gold as the standard metal, implies some pow- 
 erful reason for it ; but it by no means disproves the theory 
 that gold itself shifts in value like silver and probably quite 
 as much. Indeed, not a few aver that much of what ap- 
 pears to be a shift in the value of silver is really a shift in 
 the value of gold, with which the silver is compared. They 
 also say that in the very nature of things silver is a metal 
 of more stable value than gold, because its production comes 
 from deep mines, with costly machinery, and an annual out- 
 put which cannot be increased except at great expense, nor 
 lessened without great loss ; whereas the product of gold, 
 most of which comes from auriferous sands, may increase 
 or diminish very greatly in a short space of time. 
 
 BEGINNING OF AMERICAN COINAGE. 
 
 Immediately after the peace of 1783, and while the 
 Articles of Confederation constituted our only bonds of 
 government, some of the prominent patriots, notably Morris, 
 Jefferson and Hamilton, began agitation looking to the 
 establishment of an American Mint. Naturally the char- 
 acter of the proposed mintage came under discussion. This 
 was the “ Coinage Question ” of that day. It was neither 
 political nor bitter as at present, but it was none the less 
 earnest, and involved many of the points now under dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 Great respect was paid to the views of Morris, who, as 
 Superintendent of Finance; was well qualified to speak upon 
 the character of the mintage. He reached the conclusion 
 that in as much as the relative values of gold and silver 
 were continually changing, there could be no ratio estab- 
 lished between them which would prove stable and satis- 
 factory for purposes of law. Therefore, the only way out 
 of the difficulty, as he reasoned, was for the government to 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 208 
 
 adopt silver alone as its metallic money, and proceed to coin 
 it. He was a silver mono-metallist. 
 
 On account of Hamilton’s mastery of finance, his views 
 were equally courted. During the discussions of the sub- 
 ject, which preceded the adoption of the Constitution in 
 1787, Hamilton made it plain that he was a mono-metallist 
 like Morris, but recognizing the greater value of gold, its 
 higher place among commercial nations and its lesser lia- 
 bility to sudden and extreme fluctuation in price, he pre- 
 ferred it to silver as the metallic standard. Pending these 
 discussions the Confederation came to an end, and the new 
 Constitution appeared (1787) with its provisions as to money 
 and coinage : — The Congress shall have power “ to coin 
 money, regulate the value thereof and fix the standard of 
 weights and measures.” Art. I. ; Sec. 8. Again, “ No 
 State shall coin money, emit bills of credit, make anything 
 but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts.” 
 Art. I. ; Sec. 10. 
 
 Here then was recognition of two metals as money, and 
 provision for a bi-metallic currency, should such a result be 
 deemed wise. The matter of establishing a mint came up 
 as one of the earliest and most important under the new 
 Constitution. Hamilton made it the subject of a full and 
 able report to Congress in 1791. In this report he adhered 
 to his views that, in the abstract, a mono-metallic standard 
 would be best, but that such standard should be gold in 
 preference to silver. However, reasoning on the line of 
 expediency, he feared that the adoption of a single standard 
 would tend to limit the amount of the circulating medium, 
 a result by no means desirable, in the infant and experi- 
 mental stage of the Government. Therefore, he concluded 
 that a double standard would be best in practice, and as a 
 policy sufficiently permanent to warrant the forms of law. 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 209 
 
 His reasons and conclusions proved to be acceptable to 
 the Congress, but there was great diversity of opinion 
 respecting the question of the relative value of the two 
 metals. What should be the fixed ratio between gold and 
 silver ? In fixing such ratio, should the price, or purchas- 
 ing power, of gold at home or abroad be taken ? It was 
 finally agreed that American values were alone to be con- 
 sidered, and that the commercial ratio between gold and 
 silver should be as one is to fifteen. One ounce of gold 
 was to be taken as worth fifteen times as much as one ounce 
 of silver. 
 
 OUR FIRST COINAGE ACT. 
 
 The first Act of Congress relating to coinage was passed 
 April 2, 1792, and was entitled “An Act establishing a mint 
 and regulating the coins of the United States.” This Act 
 provided for the coinage of eagles, half-eagles and quarter- 
 eagles of gold, and for “ dollars or units,” half-dollars and 
 quarter-dollars, dimes and half-dimes of silver. The coin- 
 age of cents and half-cents of copper was also provided 
 for. The value of each eagle was fixed as “ ten dollars or 
 units, and to contain 247 grains and four-eighths of a grain 
 of pure or 270 grains of standard gold.” The half and 
 quarter-eagles bore respectively an exact proportion to the 
 eagle in value, weight and fineness. 
 
 The dollar, or unit, was thus provided for : — “ Dollars or 
 units — each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar, as 
 the same is now current, and to contain 371 grains and 
 four-sixteenths of a grain of pure, or 416 grains of standard 
 silver.” The fractional silver coins contained exactly one- 
 half, one-fourth and one-tenth, respectively, of the quantity 
 of fine silver and alloy prescribed for the dollar. The ideal 
 unit for years prior and subsequent to the establishment of 
 the Mint was the pound sterling, yet the Spanish dollar, 
 
210 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 during that early period, was the money of commerce and 
 the practical monetary unit, and it was the general custom 
 to express in contracts that payment should be made in 
 Spanish milled dollars. The advocates of silver attach 
 great importance to the expression, “ dollars or units,” and 
 to the fact that the established unit was the silver dollar. 
 Upon this is based their claim that the silver dollar is the 
 unit of our monetary system, and that the gold coinage is 
 based upon that unit. Each eagle is “ to be of the value of 
 *10 or units,” and it is declared that the dollar or unit shall 
 be of silver. 
 
 This Act provided for the free and unlimited coinage of 
 both gold and silver, and that both coins should be a legal 
 tender. Thus Section 14 reads: 
 
 “ It shall be lawful for any person or persons to bring to 
 the said Mint gold and silver bullion in order to their being 
 coined, and that the bullion so brought shall be assayed and 
 coined free of expense to the person or persons by whom 
 the same shall have been brought.” 
 
 Free coinage in this sense does not mean that the mint 
 did its work for nothing. It charged one-half per cent, to 
 indemnify it for the time expended in assaying and coining 
 the bullion. 
 
 Section 16 of the Act contained the legal tender clause, 
 making the coins of both metals, even including the frac- 
 tional silver coins, a legal tender. 
 
 A gold dollar, or rather a dollar in gold, at the ratio 
 fixed in the above Act, would contain 24.75 grains of gold. 
 Multiply this by 15 (for there must be fifteen times as much 
 silver in a dollar) and you have 371.25 grains, as the quan- 
 tity of fine silver for the silver dollar. This ratio was not 
 quite that which prevailed at the time in Europe, the ratio 
 there being about 15^ to 1. Our Coinage Act, therefore, 
 
Hon. John Lind. 
 
 Born at Ulm, Sweden, March 25, 1854; resided in Minnesota since 
 1868 ; educated at public schools ; studied law and was admitted to bar, 
 1877 ; rose to prominence in his profession ; elected, “as a Republican, 
 to 50th, 51st and 52d Congresses, to represent Second Minnesota District, 
 being the only straight Republican elected to Congress in the State dur- 
 ing the elections of 1890 ; an industrious, conscientious and popular 
 member, serving on Inter-State and Foreign Commerce Committee, 
 Committee on Pacific Railroads and Enrolled Bills. 
 
 ( 21 1 ) 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 213 
 
 put too low a commercial value on gold. It was worth 
 more as bullion in the markets of the world than in the 
 shape of one of our coins. There was, therefore, little or 
 no inducement for any one to take gold bullion or gold 
 plate to the mint to get it coined into gold money, for the 
 utmost they could get for it would be coin of gold equal to 
 fifteen times its weight in silver. In Europe the same 
 weight of gold would command fifteen and a half times its 
 weight of silver. Not only was there no inducement to sell 
 gold to the mint for purpose of coinage, but even what was 
 coined followed to a great extent the law of a commercial 
 commodity, and was retired as something more worthy to 
 hold than the cheaper metal, silver, which measured its 
 value in a popular sense, or else it sought, even as gold 
 coin, the market abroad, where one part of gold com- 
 manded fifteen and a half parts of silver. 
 
 In those early times we were not in a position as a nation 
 to impress a commercial value on metals used as coin. The 
 law fixed a ratio. The mint impressed the law on the 
 coins. After that they followed largely the higher and 
 more arbitrary laws of commerce and of nations. They 
 were in the markets of the world and subject to their fluctua- 
 tions. And this was true, even though we had great need 
 for metallic money, as all new countries have where popu- 
 lation is sparse, where intercommunication is slow and ir- 
 regular, and where credit has not yet learned to lend its 
 conveniences to trade. 
 
 In spite of the ratio of 15 to 1, established for our bi- 
 metallic currency by the Act of 1 792, the foreign, or com- 
 mercial, ratio forced itself upon us, and for forty-two years, 
 that is from 1792 to 1834, the value of silver, as compared 
 with gold, fluctuated, often rising nearly to 16 to I, but 
 never falling to 15 to I. It is clear, then, that silver was 
 
 10 
 
214 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 cheaper than gold, and silver currency than gold currency, 
 which fact, as those who oppose the free coinage of silver 
 aver, proved the truth of Gresham’s law, mentioned above, 
 that where two metals are made a legal tender and given 
 free coinage at a fixed ratio of value, the cheaper metal 
 will circulate to the exclusion of the dearer. 
 
 To illustrate : A yard is 36 inches, but if a merchant 
 finds that if, within law, he can satisfy his customers with a 
 yard of 35^ inches, he will prefer the shorter standard of 
 measure. Sixteen ounces make a pound avoirdupois, but 
 if he can, within law, satisfy his customers with fifteen 
 ounces, he will do so. An ounce of gold is worth in the 
 markets 15^ ounces of silver; he will not use the gold, but 
 the legal equivalent of the gold, or the ounces of sil- 
 
 ver, namely, the 15 ounces which he finds in the shape of 
 silver coin, and a legal tender. 
 
 This presumes J:h at the ounce of gold set up as the 
 standard of value is fixed, like the yard, as a standard of 
 measure and the pound as a standard of weight. Commer- 
 cial custom and monetary science incline more and more to 
 this presumption, and as a fact gold is made to so largely 
 measure the value of silver as well as all other commodi- 
 ties, among enlightened nations, as that it performs the 
 functions of a yard stick as to lengths or a pound weight as 
 to weights. 
 
 But here the advocates of bi-metallism and free coinage 
 say that gold is not in itself an unchangeable measure of 
 value, as the yard stick is of length and the pound weight 
 is of weight. It has its own fluctuations just as silver has, 
 though perhaps not to the same extent. It is, therefore, not 
 a true measure of value for silver. The Hon. Marcus A. 
 Smith, of Arizona, in his recent speech upon* “ The free 
 Coinage of Silver,” thus treats of this question of gold 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 215 
 
 measurements and of the principle underlying “ Gresham’s 
 Law : ” 
 
 “ The inflexible and unchangeable value, which is often 
 attributed to gold coin, is simply the arbitrary value of a 
 standard only measured by itself. This is the value to 
 which the quoted words plainly apply. Governments can 
 no more give fixed commodities, or comparative value, to 
 gold and silver than they can arrest the motion of the stars. 
 David Hume, John Locke, Adam Smith, and all the older 
 economic writers agree that gold and silver both fluctuate 
 in value. 
 
 “ Profs. Jevons and Walker, more recent authorities, show 
 by comparative tables of statistics that between 1789 and 
 1809 gold fell 46 per cent. ; that between 1809 an d 1849 it 
 arose 145 per cent., and that within twenty years after the 
 latter date it fell 20 per cent. It is estimated that during 
 the past eighteen years gold has again risen 30 per cent. 
 Jevons says that — 
 
 “ 4 In respect to steadiness of values the metals are prob- 
 ably less satisfactory, regarded as a standard of value, than 
 many other commodities, such as corn.’ 
 
 “ The discovery of new mines, the exhaustion of the old 
 mines, the arbitrary adoption of the metals by governments 
 for money purposes or their demonetization and disuse for 
 such purposes, and the greater or less demand for them for 
 artistic and mechanical uses, are accidents and circum- 
 stances which contribute to fluctuation in their value. Use- 
 fulness or utility gives desirability. This desirability leads to 
 use, and whether the use be by governments or individuals, 
 or both, for money or in the arts, or for both, it creates the 
 demand which, in connection with supply, gives exchange 
 value. 
 
 “ The law, custom, or usage, that rendered the fabled 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 *16 
 
 nugget of copper a proper tender by the mummy as a fee 
 to Charon, gave it its monetary value for that purpose. It 
 was the tribal law, custom, or usage which ordained the use 
 of silver as money, that gave to the 400 shekels of silver 
 which Abraham tendered to Ephron the Hittite, and ‘ cur- 
 rent money with the merchants/ its monetary value; it 
 was the law, custom, or usage which decreed the use of 
 silver as money, that gave to the twenty pieces of silver for 
 which Joseph was sold into slavery, and the thirty pieces 
 of silver for which the gentle Nazarene was betrayed to his 
 death, their monetary value. 
 
 “In each instance, even on the principles of barter, the 
 use of silver, for other purposes than money, was a factor, 
 contributing to its monetary value, and not by itself creating 
 it. Where barter is applied the sum total of usage gives to 
 the metals what is termed the monetary value, but what, 
 more properly speaking, is only commercial value. Crusoe, 
 on his desert isle, sitting among his sacks of gold, is the 
 synonym of poverty until he finds the grain of wheat which 
 gives promise of food and life. That gold had no commer- 
 cial value. The grain of wheat was worth immeasurably 
 more than all of it. But let civilized governments, or even 
 barbarous tribes find it, and at once its use for the purposes 
 of money makes it command a thousand times its weight in 
 wheat. 
 
 “ So far from the value of given articles ‘ for other pur- 
 poses ’ being the sole cause of their monetary value, the 
 former is not always even co-existent with and equal to the 
 latter. Was it the ‘ value for other purposes ’ of the iron 
 in the coins of Sparta, under Lycurgus, that gave to those 
 coins their monetary value ? Was it the value of the 
 leather ‘ for other purposes * that gave to the money of Car- 
 thage its monetary value ? Was it its 4 value for other pur- 
 

Hon. Calvin S. Brice. 
 
 Born at Denmark, Ohio, September 17,1845; educated at Miami 
 University; served in Union army, as Captain of Company E, 108th 
 Regiment Ohio Volunteers; studied law at University of Michigan; ad- 
 milted to practice, 1866; Presidential elector, on Democratic ticket, 
 1870 and 1884 ; Delegate-at- Large for Ohio to St. Louis National Demo- 
 cratic Convention, 1888 ; member of Democratic National Campaign 
 Committee, and Chairman of same for campaign of 1888 and since ; 
 elected to United States Senate as Democrat, January, 1890; member 
 of Committees on Irrigation, Pensions, Post Offices and Post Roads, 
 Public Buildings and Grounds, and Revolutionary Claims. 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 219 
 
 poses ’ that gave to the money made in China in the thir- 
 teenth century from the bark of the mulberry tree its mon- 
 etary value ? Was it its ‘ value for other purposes * that 
 gave value to the wampum of the American Indians ? Was 
 it their ‘ value for other purposes ’ that gave to the glass 
 coin of Arabia, the brass coins of Rome, the pasteboard 
 bills of Holland, the tenpenny nails of Scotland, the musket- 
 balls of Massachusetts, and the cocoa-beans of Mexico, 
 their monetary value ? 
 
 “ Is it its value for other purposes that gives to the $800,- 
 <x>o,oooof silver coin in France to-day its monetary value ? 
 Is it its value for other purposes that gives to our $400,- 
 000,000 of standard silver coin and the millions more of 
 subsidiary and minor coin their monetary value? The 
 commercial value of the silver in the coin of France is 
 % 1 70, OOO, OCX) less than its monetary value, and in the United 
 States nearly $100,000,000 less. How obvious, therefore, 
 it is that governments not only by the use of the metals as 
 money add to their commercial value, but at times confer a 
 monetary value beyond and independent of the commercial 
 value ? 
 
 “ Much is said about one kind of money driving another 
 kind out of circulation. The Gresham Law is simply a law 
 of displacement. It applies to all articles of commerce as 
 well as to money. The self-binder displaces the sickle, and 
 the railway train displaces the stage-coach. But the theory 
 that the scarcest money is the best money is on par with 
 the idea that the smallest crop is the best crop. Gold and 
 silver, like other commodities, go where the highest prices 
 are offered, whether the offer comes from individuals or 
 governments. Monetary value is national ; commercial 
 value is cosmopolitan. The single-standard metal, whether 
 it be gold or silver, is alternately money and commodity 
 
220 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 instrument and article of commerce. Economic law is in- 
 exorable. 
 
 “England adopted the single-standard in 1819, and Ger- 
 many, the Latin Union, and minor European states, at a 
 later day. Since 1819 the Bank of England has suspended 
 specie payment nearly a dozen times, the land-owners of 
 England have been reduced from 165,000 to less than 
 30,000. Her #3,500,000,000 national debt is as large as 
 at the close of the Napoleonic wars, yet bread riots have 
 periodically startled her cities and agitated her statesmen. 
 But two years ago, when heavy drafts were made on her 
 gold by Russia, her Barings touched the borders of insol- 
 vency, and, in spite of all the assistance of the Bank of 
 England, plunged several leading New York banks into 
 ruin and carried our country to the edge of panic and finan- 
 cial disaster, Goschen, the chancellor of the British Ex- 
 chequer, announced to Parliament that the perils attending 
 the increasing competition for gold made a consideration of 
 the return to bi-metallism advisable. 
 
 “ The rule or law of Sir Thomas Gresham did not apply 
 to gold and silver. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, I think 
 it was, the coin in circulation was found to be degraded by 
 clipping and general short weight. It was found that as 
 long as any clipped or abraded piece of silver would buy 
 as much as a full-weight piece of silver, the heavy piece 
 was kept out of commerce and used in the arts, and the 
 spurious piece did the trade of the realm. The light dis- 
 placed the heavy in commerce, or had such tendency, and 
 this is all that the Gresham law meant.” 
 
 However these things may be in theory, in fact our early 
 gold coins, being worth more, when compared with silver, 
 than the value which was stamped upon them, began to 
 depart either from circulation or from the country entirely. 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 221 
 
 This movement began almost simultaneously with the pas- 
 sage of our first Coinage Act. It was very perceptible by 
 1810, and continued until 1834. In all that time there were 
 less than $ 12 , 000,000 in gold coined, a large per cent, of 
 which was lost entirely to the country by export. By 1814 
 the mintage of gold coins had fallen to $77,000. In 1815 it 
 fell to $3,000. In 1816 the coinage of gold amounted to 
 nothing. After 1819 gold disappeared as a circulating me- 
 dium in the United States. 
 
 During this time (1792-1834) there were only 1,439,417 
 silver dollars coined, and none of these were coined after 
 1805. The coinage of the silver dollar was in all probabil- 
 ity discouraged by the fact that gold was seen to be disap- 
 pearing, and with the hope that a scarcity of silver dollars 
 might enhance their value. Or, their coinage may have 
 ceased by reason of the fact that the foreign silver coins of 
 that denomination were ample for trade purposes, the bulk 
 of our metallic currency being at that time of foreign make. 
 The mint was not, however, idle. It was busy on fractional 
 or subsidiary coins. By 1834 it had coined $50,000,000 of 
 silver half dollars, and a proportion of lesser coins, which, 
 with the large per cent, of foreign subsidiary coins, furnished 
 an ample minor currency. 
 
 This currency condition was far from satisfactory. Bi- 
 metallism was not proving the theories of its authors. The 
 question of a change began to be mooted. Some few alter- 
 ations were made in the Coinage Act from time to time, but 
 the original Act remained in all its essential features up till 
 1834. 
 
 By 1831 Hon. Campbell P. White, an authority on such 
 matters, had reached the conclusion that a system which 
 sought to regulate the standard of value in both gold and 
 silver had inherent and incurable defects. He thought it 
 
222 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 had been clearly ascertained by experience that it was im- 
 possible to maintain both metals in concurrent, simultaneous 
 and promiscuous circulation. 
 
 In 1832 a Committee on Coinage reported that it could 
 not find “ that both metals have ever circulated simulta- 
 neously, concurrently and indiscriminately in any country 
 where there were banks or money dealers ; and they enter- 
 tain the conviction that the nearest approach to an invariable 
 standard is its establishment in one metal, which metal shall 
 compose exclusively the currency of large payments.” • 
 
 The time had now come for a substantial change in the 
 Coinage Act of 1792. What was chiefly apparent to all in 
 1834 was the fact that the ratio between gold and silver, es- 
 tablished by that Act, was no longer, if it had ever been, 
 correct. It undervalued gold. But there was no general 
 departure, so far as the debates show, from the bi-metallic 
 idea. Statesmen still preferred to struggle with the intricate 
 problem of finding a ratio between gold and silver which 
 would prove to be the ratio of commerce. 
 
 The Director of the Mint, in his report to the Congress 
 for the year 1833, said that the “ new coined gold frequently 
 remains in the mint uncalled for, though ready for delivery, 
 until the day arrives for a packet to sail for Europe.” And 
 he concluded that the entire coinage of gold in the future, 
 amounting to perhaps $2,000,000 annually, would be ex- 
 ported, unless there was a reform of the gold standard. 
 
 In his advocacy of a change in the ratio between gold and 
 silver, Hon. Thomas H. Benton, in a speech delivered in the 
 Senate in 1834, said: “The false valuation put upon gold 
 has rendered the mint of the United States, so far as the gold 
 coinage is concerned, a most ridiculous and absurd institu- 
 tion. It has coined, and that at large expense to the United 
 States, 2,262,177 pieces of gold, valued at $11,852,820, and 
 

 
 trust 
 
Hon. David B. Culberson. 
 
 Born in Troup co., Ga., September 29, 1830 ; educated at Brown- 
 wood ; studied law and moved to Texas, 1856 ;■ elected to State Legis- 
 lature, 1859; served in Confederate army throughout war; elected to 
 State Legislature, 1864; elected, as a Democrat, to 44th, 45th, 46th, 
 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st and 52d Congresses, to represent Fourth 
 Texas District, composed of eleven counties ; an earnest and popular 
 member, admired by a large constituency ; active on the floor as debater 
 and parliamentarian ; Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. 
 
 (224) 
 

 Hon. James McMillan. 
 
 Born at Hamilton, Ont., May 12, 1838 ; prepared for College, but 
 entered business in Detroit, 1855 ; established Michigan Car Company, 
 1863; member and chairman of Republican State Central Committee, 
 1876,1886, 1890; President of Detroit Park Commission and Board 
 of Estimates; Republican Presidential Elector, 1884; elected to United 
 States Senate, as Republican, for term beginning March 4, 1889 ; an in- 
 dustrious. practical member, whose opinions command respect ; Chair- 
 man of Committee on District of Columbia and member of Committees 
 on Agriculture and Forestry, Education and Labor, and Post Offices and 
 Post Roads. 
 
 (225) 
 

 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 227 
 
 where are the pieces now ? Not one of them to be seen ! 
 All sold and exported ! To enable the friends of gold to 
 go to work at the right place to effect the recovery of that 
 precious metal which their fathers once possessed — which 
 the subjects of European kings now possess — which the 
 citizens of the young Republics of the south all possess — 
 which even the free negroes of San Domingo possess — but 
 which the yeomanry of this America have been deprived of 
 for more than twenty years, and will be deprived of forever 
 unless they discover the cause of the evil, and apply the 
 remedy to the root.” 
 
 Under these auspices the Coinage Act of June 28, 1834, 
 was passed. By this Act the pure gold in the eagle was 
 reduced from 247^ grains to 232 grains, and a correspond- 
 ing reduction was made in the half eagles and quarter 
 eagles. The alloy was changed from 22 to 26, making 
 the eagle contain 258 grains of standard gold instead of 270 
 grains. The Act of 1834 made no change in the silver coins. 
 This change in the gold coinage made the ratio nearly 16 to 
 1, the exact ratio being 16.002 to 1. Why this ratio was 
 established, or, for that matter, why any change at all was 
 made, is difficult to understand, in view of the fact that at 
 that date the commercial ratio between the two metals was 
 I to 15.6, which, for convenience, Europe was calling 1 to 
 15 The new currency ratio of 1 to 16 was as far removed 
 from the commercial ratio of 1 to 1 5 ]/ 2 as was the old cur- 
 rency ratio of I to 15. Only now the boot was on the other 
 foot. By the Act of 1792 gold was undervalued and silver 
 overvalued. By the Act of 1834 the matter was reversed, 
 and gold was overvalued and silver undervalued. Or con- 
 sidering the bi-metallic views of the framers of these acts, 
 the result of the Act of 1792 was to overvalue silver as to 
 gold ; and the effect of the Act of 1834 was to overvalue gold 
 
228 THE SiLVER QUESTION. 
 
 as to silver. In their practical workings these Acts quite 
 threw their framers from their bi-metallic base, and inasmuch 
 as in the Act of 1792 they attempted to exalt silver at the 
 expense of gold, they became, according to the' laws laid 
 down in economics, silver monometallists. So, inasmuch as 
 in the Act of 1834 they sought to exalt gold at the expense 
 of silver, they became gold monometallists. There were not 
 wanting those who sounded the note of warning that the Act 
 of 1834 would but repeat that of 1792, in the respect that 
 cheap gold would drive out the silver circulation just as 
 cheap silver had driven out the gold circulation. 
 
 The Act of 1834 proved very unsatisfactory in its opera- 
 tion. Silver fluctuated, in a commercial sense, for years, 
 but it did not fall in price to the ratio of 16 to I of gold. 
 Consequently silver became worth more, in relation to 
 gold, as bullion or plate than as coin, and it began to dis- 
 appear, there being no inducement to coin it. After 1840, 
 sight of a silver dollar was rare, and as a coin, it played no 
 conspicuous part in our circulation, for very many years. 
 Monometallists regard the effects of the Act of 1834 as 
 another striking vindication of the truth of “ Gresham’s 
 Law,” that the cheaper money invariably drives the dearer 
 from circulation. 
 
 act of 1837. 
 
 Dissatisfaction with the Act of 1834 led to that of January 
 18, 1837, which was, in its form, a supplement to that of 
 1834, yet a complete revision of the laws of mintage, and 
 was in fact known as “The Mint Act of 1837.” This Act 
 changed the standard of both gold and silver coins and the 
 ratio between the metals. The standard for gold and silver 
 coins was fixed at .900 fine, that is, 900 parts of pure metal 
 to IOO parts of alloy. This increased the pure gold in the 
 dollar from 23.20 to 23.22 grains, and fixed the ratio between 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 229 
 
 the two metals at 15.98 to 1. The silver dollar was changed 
 "from 416 grains of standard silver to 412^ grains, and the 
 fractional coins were made to correspond in exact propor- 
 tion. To make the alloy equal to one-tenth of the weight 
 of the coin, it was necessary to add the small fraction of 
 two-tenths of one grain of gold to the eagle. No change, 
 however, was made in the quantity of pure silver contained 
 in the dollar. That remained at 371*4 grains, and it con- 
 tinues at that figure. This Act also provided that “ gold and 
 silver bullion brought to the mint for coinage shall be re- 
 ceived and coined by the proper officers for the benefit of 
 the depositor.” This provision for coinage was taken from 
 the previous Acts, and continued the coinage of the two 
 metals upon the same footing. The fact that there was no 
 change in the quantity of silver in the dollar has given origin 
 and currency to the phrase “ Dollar of the Fathers,” or the 
 more alliterative and catchy term “ Dollar of the Daddies.” 
 
 What is regarded as a serious error in all the Coinage 
 Acts up to and including that of 1837 was the ^ act that the 
 minor coins had been made to contain the exact proportion 
 of silver contained in the dollar. They, therefore, paid the 
 penalty visited on the silver dollar. They shrank from cir- 
 culation, or left the country, and this became particularly 
 manifest after the inequality between the production of gold 
 and silver in this country set in with the discovery of gold 
 in California. 
 
 Prior to this discovery the world’s production of gold and 
 silver was nearly equal, the annual average of gold produc- 
 tion between 1841 and 1851 being about $38,000,000, and 
 that of silver about $34,000,000. But from 1849 to 1851 
 the world seems to have poured forth its treasures of gold 
 with unparalleled liberality. California, Russia and Aus- 
 tralia contributed a new and unprecedented output of gold. 
 
230 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 In the five years, from 1851 to 1855, the world’s produc- 
 tion of gold leaped from $38,000,000 to $140,000,000 an- 
 nually, while in those years the production of silver only 
 increased from $34,000,000 to $40,000,000 annually. The 
 equality between the two products prior to 1849 did not 
 serve to materially affect their commercial ratio, but the 
 inequality after that year greatly affected it, by giving a still 
 higher value to silver. This fact, co-operating with the 
 effect of the Coinage Act, enhanced the difficulty already 
 spoken of with the circulation of silver coins of every de- 
 nomination. “ There is,” said Mr. Dunham in Congress in 
 1853, “a constant stimulant to gather up every silver coin 
 and send it to market as bullion, to be exchanged for gold, 
 and the result is, the country is almost devoid of small 
 change for the ordinary small transactions, and what we 
 have is of a depreciated character.” 
 
 The commercial ratio in Europe being about 15*^ to 1, 
 silver coins were worth three per cent, more for export than 
 our gold coins,; that is, they were worth three per cent, more 
 as bullion than as money. When it became apparent that 
 the country was thus being depleted of its change, agitation 
 set in for a remedy. 
 
 COINAGE ACT OF I 849. 
 
 The Coinage Act of March 3, 1849, was a provision for a 
 fuller and larger mintage of gold, whose production bade 
 fair to be greatly increased in this country owing to devel- 
 opments in California. It authorized the coinage of double 
 eagles, and also of gold dollars. “ Double eagles should 
 each be of the value of twenty dollars, or units, and gold 
 dollars should each be of the value of one dollar, or uni^ 
 these coins to be uniform in all respects to the standard for 
 gold coins now established by law.” 
 

 Hon. John R. McPherson. 
 
 Born at Dorchester, N H., October 9, 1834, academically educated ; 
 learned locomotive building at Manchester, N. H. ; moved to New Jer- 
 sey to engage in Railway business; largely interested in same; Pre-i- 
 dent of First National Bank, Long Branch ; member of New Jersey 
 Legislature (II. R.), 1878-80; delegate to Democratic National Con- 
 vention, 1880; eletced as Democrat to United States Senate for term 
 March 4, 1887 ; prominent in party and national affairs, and a leader 
 in his State; Chairman of Select Committee on Potomac River Frorvi ; 
 and member of Committee on Finance, Immigration and Naval Affairs. 
 
 (231) 
 

 
 * 1*^ * •»»» 
 
 7«r 
 
 ’ • ■ 
 
 W^'-».~i — ^jSi.'. wl *-■■• — ail 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 233 
 
 It was not until the Act of 1853 coinage of three 
 
 dollar gold pieces was authorized, “ of the value of three 
 dollars, or units, conformable in all respects to the standard 
 gold coins now authorized by law.” The word “ dollar or 
 unit” was used in all the Coinage Acts to describe the value 
 of the gold coins prior to 1873. 
 
 COINAGE ACT OF 1 85 3. 
 
 This Act is significant in our monetary history as being 
 the first which recognized the difficulty of maintaining a 
 perfect bi-metallic standard, and the first which contained a 
 step toward the demonetization of silver. It was passed in 
 February, 1853, and it reduced the weight of the half dollar 
 from 206^ grains of standard silver to 192 grains of the 
 same. All the smaller coins were reduced in proportion. 
 At the same time the full legal tender quality was removed 
 from these subsidiary coins, and they became no longer a 
 legal tender for sums exceeding five dollars. This provision 
 has not since been removed. Again, it was provided that 
 the bullion for the coinage of fractional silver should be 
 purchased directly by the government, or by the Director 
 of the Mint on account of the government, and that the gain 
 arising from the coinage thereof should be credited to the 
 Mint. This was a blow at the “ free and unlimited coinage ” 
 of the subsidiary coins. By this reduction of the amount 
 of silver in the fractional coins to the extent of about seven 
 per cent., all inducement to melt them up or sell them as 
 bullion was removed ; for, although the silver dollar still 
 remained at from three to three and a half per cent, above 
 the gold dollar in value, the seven per cent, reduction in the 
 commercial value of the fractional coins brought them three 
 to three and a half per cent, below the value of gold; quite 
 enough of depreciation to save them to the circulation. 
 
234 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 It must be remarked of the period which led to, embraced 
 and immediately followed the Coinage Act of 1853, that it 
 was a period in which there was hardly any coinage of 
 silver dollars, and practically no circulation of them. In 
 1850 only $47,500 silver dollars were coined; in 1851, 
 $1,300; in 1852, $1,100. All attention was paid to the 
 coinage of gold, the total coinage of which, in 1852, was 
 $56,000,000, fully $2,000,000 of which was in gold dollars. 
 
 The framers of the Act of 1853 paid no attention to the 
 fact that our silver production from 1851 to 1855 was about 
 $400,000 per year. They saw only the large gold produc- 
 tion of over $60,000,000 per year, and the spirit of the Act was 
 to take advantage of the opportunity to establish, as far as 
 possible, a single currency standard of gold. True, they did 
 not interfere with the silver dollar. There was no need to. 
 None were being coined. None were in circulation. 
 
 from 1853 to 1873. 
 
 This period is marvellous in the history of metallic money 
 and monetary systems at home and abroad. The world’s 
 production of gold from 1850 to 1870 was $2,725,000,000, 
 or five times as much as in the preceding twenty years, and 
 quite as much as during the entire period from. the discov- 
 ery of America to the discovery of gold in California. 
 
 The commercial world became alarmed at these figures, 
 fearing a general derangement of values. That the com- 
 mercial value of gold was decreasing was manifest from the 
 increase in the price of standard commodities all the world 
 over. Theories arose in all directions as to remedies. Some 
 French economists thought it an excellent time to demon- 
 etize gold, and establish a single silver standard. Others 
 thought the time opportune to establish the principle of bi- 
 metallism, provided the several commercial nations could bq 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION 
 
 235 
 
 brought to give common consent. France, Italy, Switzer- 
 land and Belgium formed what was called “ The Latin 
 Monetary Union ” in 1863, based on bi-metallism. But in 
 1867 was held the “ International Monetary Conference,” 
 at Paris, in which it was laid down that the adoption of a 
 single gold standard was a principle necessary to universal 
 coinage. 
 
 Following this, in 1871, came the defeat of France in the 
 Franco-Russian war, and her payment of an immense sub- 
 sidy in gold to Germany. Immediately, Germany, by a 
 series of Coinage Acts from 1871 to 1S73, demonetized her 
 silver and adopted a single gold standard. She stopped coin- 
 ing silver and threw it on the market, selling $140,000,000 
 worth between 1873 and 1879. This alarmed the countries 
 pledged to a bi-metallic system. The Latin Union closed 
 the mints of France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, to the 
 coinage of silver, thus confessing their inability to maintain 
 the two metals on an equality and as money. For thirteen 
 years France did not issue a single legal tender silver coin, 
 and on January 1, 1891, the Latin Union went out of ex- 
 istence. 
 
 Meanwhile, our own country was passing through the 
 throes of war and the demoralization attending an expanded 
 and strained credit. In 1861 the government became a bor- 
 rower in gold to the extent of $100,000,000. In February, 
 1862, it passed the “ Legal Tender Act,” under which 
 $150,000,000 in “ Greenbacks ” were issued as legal tenders. 
 At once gold jumped to a premium. The government’s 
 promises to pay were so much cheaper and inferior as a cir- 
 culating medium, that gold hied away and disappeared as 
 currency. 
 
 In July of the same year another issue of $150,000,000 
 of legal tenders was authorized. Gold rose to a still higher 
 
236 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 premium. Even our fractional silver currency, depreciated 
 as it was by the Act of 1853, went to a premium and dis- 
 appeared with the gold. This made the fractional paper 
 currency necessary. Subsequent uses of government credit 
 in various forms and for war purposes, continued to advance 
 the premium on gold till in July, 1884, it reached 185 per 
 cent. Peace, the ability of the government to pay, as steps 
 toward resumption showed, and final resumption in 1879, 
 mark the decline of gold to. par again, or rather the exalta- 
 tion of the government promise to pay to the gold standard. 
 
 THE ACT OF 1 873. 
 
 This Act has become more famous through subsequent 
 discussions of it, than on account of its intrinsic merits or 
 the debates which attended its passage. It is now “ The 
 Odious Demonetization Act of 1873 ” or “The Conspiracy 
 Against Silver ” of that year. The facts connected with its 
 passage hardly support the charge that it was a “ trick ” 
 played on the advocates of free silver coinage by their 
 opponents. As to the intimation that “ its contents were 
 not fully known ” or sufficiently known, that is matter per- 
 sonal to the majority which passed it and remote from its 
 merits. 
 
 The approaches to no other Coinage Act seem to have 
 been more deliberate and gradual. The original draft of the 
 Act was presented to the Senate as early as April, 1 870, by 
 the then Secretary of the Treasury, Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell. 
 It had been prepared with great deliberation, and under the 
 supervision of Dr. Linderman, Director of the Mint. It pro- 
 ceeded on the theory that if the American silver dollar were 
 made the equivalent of the five-franc piece of France — France 
 being on a bi-metallic basis, and with a great volume of sil- 
 ver currency — said dollar might become interchangeable 
 

 
 l 3:: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hon. Charles F. Manderson. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, Pa., February 9, 1837 ; educated at public 
 schools ; studied law in Canton, Ohio, and admitted to bar, 1859 ; City 
 Solicitor of Canton, 1860 ; entered Union army, 1861 ; mustered out as 
 Brigadier-General, 1865; District Attorney of Canton, 1865-1869; 
 moved to Omaho, Nebraska, 1869; acquired high standing in profession; 
 City Attorney for Omaha, 1871 and 1874; choice of both parties as 
 member of Nebraska Constitutional Convention, 1871 and 1874; elected 
 to U. S. Senate, as a Republican, 1882 ; re-elected in 1888 ; chosen 
 President pro tempore of Senate, April, 1891 ; Chairman of Committee 
 on Printing, and member of Committees on Indian Affairs, Military 
 Affairs aud Rules. 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 239 
 
 with European coins of like value. The bill, therefore, 'fixed 
 the weight of the silver dollar at 384 grains standard silver, 
 that being the weight of the five-franc piece. 
 
 But as this was really to reduce the ratio between silver 
 and gold to about 14.8 to 1, and as the bill gave to the sil- 
 ver dollar a limited legal tender power, it was not regarded 
 as one which would effect its object and make our silver 
 dollar float all over the world. It, therefore, flitted back 
 and forward between the two houses of Congress for three 
 years, the subject of repeated debates and amendments, the 
 theme of much newspaper discussion, till at length it was 
 passed by the House, with the clause providing for a silver 
 dollar of 384 grains in it. This provision was struck out 
 by the Senate, and what was called the “Trade Dollar” 
 clause was inserted in its stead. This clause provided for a 
 trade dollar of 420 grains standard silver and 378 grains 
 pure silver, and a limit on its legal tender quality to sums 
 of five dollars. The object was to provide a market for our 
 production of silver and to make a dollar which would sub- 
 stitute the old Spanish dollar in the Pacific trade with China 
 and Japan. It was a dollar of commerce and not circu- 
 lation. 
 
 The bill then went to a Committee of Conference between 
 the -two Houses, where its final form was agreed upon. It 
 then passed both Houses and became a law February 12, 
 1873. It provided that the gold coins “shall be a one dol- 
 lar piece, which, at the standard weight of 25.8 grains, shall 
 be the unit of value,” etc. 
 
 The gold coins of larger denominations were based upon 
 the one dollar piece. The silver coins were declared to be 
 a trade dollar, etc., and “ the weight of the trade dollar shall 
 be 420 grains troy . . . and said coins shall be a legal ten- 
 der at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding 
 11 
 
240 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 five dollars in any one payment.” Thus the standard silver 
 dollar was not only struck from the list of coins, but its sub- 
 stitute was limited in legal tender power and classified with 
 the fractional coins. No change was made in the weight or 
 quality of the gold coins. The important changes made, 
 and which have given rise to so much contention since, 
 were : 
 
 1. The gold dollar was made the unit value. 
 
 2. The trade was substituted for the standard silver dollar. 
 
 3. Silver was deprived of full legal tender power, and 
 limited to payments in sums of five dollars. 
 
 No change was made in the minting privilege accorded 
 the two metals, except with reference to fractional coins. 
 Owners of silver were permitted to deposit their bullion at 
 the Mint upon the same terms as owners of gold bullion, so 
 far as trade dollars were concerned. The provision of the 
 Act of 1853, to buy silver bullion on Government account 
 for coining fractional silver, was continued in the Act of 
 1873, but any owner of silver bullion could “ deposit the 
 same at any mint, to be formed into bars or into trade dol- 
 lars,” at a charge not to exceed the actual average cost to 
 the mint. In answering the complaint that the Act of 1873 
 struck down silver, Mr. Ehrich, of Colorado, says : — 
 
 “ Silver has been struck down, but not by the bill of 1873, 
 nor by any bill concocted by man. The hand which struck 
 down silver is the hand which will strike us all down in 
 time, the hand which nothing can withstand, the irresistible 
 hand of Nature. Silver has been struck down by the 
 natural forces, by the great law of supply and demand. The 
 yearly average of gold production in the twenty-five years 
 from 1851 to 1875 was $ 1 27,000,00x3. The yearly average 
 product of silver for the same period was $51,000,000. The 
 average annual product of gold for the fifteen years frorn 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 241 
 
 1876 to 1890 declined to $108,000,000, a falling off of 15 
 per cent. The average annual product of silver for the 
 same period increased to $116,000,000, an increase of 127 
 per cent. There is the whole silver question, and in the 
 face of these facts, it is now impossible for the United States, 
 single handed, with free and unlimited coinage, to bring sil- 
 ver to a parity with gold on any such basis as 16 to I ; it is 
 more impossible than for a thousand men to pick up our 
 great ‘ Pike’s Peak ’ and transport it bodily to Denver.” 
 
 ACTS RELATING TO THE TRADE DOLLAR. 
 
 By the Act of July 22, 1876, it was provided that “the 
 trade dollar shall not hereafter be a legal tender,” and the 
 Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to limit the coin- 
 age thereof “ to such an amount as he may deem sufficient 
 to meet the export demand for the same.” By this Act the 
 silver dollar was entirely eliminated from the list of United 
 States coins. Subsequently an Act was passed authorizing 
 the redemption of the outstanding trade dollars at par, and 
 directing their recoinage into standard dollars. Before the 
 passage of this Act, however, considerable loss was sustained 
 by the people through the destruction of the trade dollar as 
 lawful money. Trade dollars to the number of 35,965,924 
 were issued from the mints, a large proportion of which was 
 sent to China and never returned for redemption. 
 
 EXTENT OF COINAGE UNDER ACTS TO 1 878. 
 
 From the establishment of the mint in 1792, to 1806, the 
 aggregate number of silver dollars coined was only 1,439,417, 
 and from 1806 to 1835 there was no coinage whatever of 
 this piece. In 1836 the number of dollar pieces coined was 
 only 1,000. The two years following coinage of dollars was 
 suspended, but was resumed in 1839, when 300 were issued, 
 
242 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 and the coinage was continued until 1873, when the standard 
 silver dollar was supplanted by the trade dollar. The largest 
 annual coinage of standard silver dollars was made in the 
 years 1871 and 1872, when it was $1,1 17,136 and $1,1 18,600 
 respectively, which is equal to nearly two-fifths of the aggre- 
 gate of standard silver dollars coined from 1792 to 1873, 
 which aggregate was 7,830,538. The number coined in 
 January and February, 1873, was 296,000, which are in- 
 cluded in the above aggregate. The “ Demonetization Act ” 
 was passed February 12, 1873. It will be seen, therefore, 
 that standard silver dollars were coined down to the passage 
 of the Act which substituted the trade dollar. 
 
 COINAGE ACT OF 1 878. 
 
 Remembering now that for seventeen years prior to 1879 
 * — the date of resumption — neither gold nor silver coins 
 were in circulation in the United States, and that by 1876 
 silver had fallen to #1.15 per ounce, we are prepared for the 
 era of agitation which began with the introduction of free 
 silver coinage bills into Congress. More than one of these 
 was introduced into the House, but that particular one which 
 was prepared and championed by Mr. Bland, of Missouri, 
 passed the House in the fall of 1877. It became known as 
 the “ Bland Bill,” and the coinage of silver that followed in 
 its wake became known as the “ Bland Dollars.” 
 
 What was really the “ Bland Bill,” that is, the bill passed 
 by the House and sent to the Senate, never became a law. 
 The bill provided for the coinage of “ silver dollars of the 
 weight of 412^ grains Troy, of standard silver, as provided 
 in the Act of January 18, 1837.” . . . “Which coins, 
 
 together with all silver dollars heretofore coined by the 
 United States of equal weight and fineness, shall be a legal 
 tender, at their nominal value, for all debts and dues, public 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 U "lujjr 
 
 
 
 
Hon. William H. H. Miller, 
 
 Born in Augusta, N. Y., September 6, 1840; taught school and 
 graduated from Hamilton College, 1861 ; taught at Maumee, Ohio, one 
 year; entered Union army as Lieutenant in 84th Regiment, Ohio Vol- 
 unteers; read law and began practice at Fort Wayne, Ind., 1866; moved 
 to Indianapolis (1874) and formed law partnership with General Benj. 
 Harrison ; appointed Attorney General by President Harrison, March 
 5, 1889; a profound constitutional lawyer, an able and conscientious 
 official ; was sustained by Supreme Court in his heroic action in celebrated 
 Field-Terry case ; distinguished for ability and discretion in handling 
 Behring Sea disputes; conducted the Anti-Lottery case successfully and 
 secured favorable opinion of Supreme Court ; secured verdict of highest 
 court in case involving constitutionality of McKinley Act; administra- 
 tion noted for success in dealing with numerous intricate and far-reach- 
 ing questions; name mentioned in connection with U. S. Supreme bench. 
 
 ( 244 ) 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 245 
 
 and private, except where otherwise provided by contract. 
 And, any owner of silver bullion may deposit the same at 
 any United States coinage mint or assay office, to be coined 
 into such dollars for his benefit, upon the same terms and 
 conditions as gold bullion is deposited for coinage under ex- 
 isting laws.” 
 
 The above is the “ Bland Bill ” as to its vital points and 
 as it passed the House and appeared in the Senate. It gave 
 free coinage (that is, the same coinage as was given to gold) 
 to any owner of silver bullion who presented it at the mint. 
 It gave unlimited coinage of silver dollars for all silver bul- 
 lion presented to be coined. It made coinage compulsory. 
 At the ratio existing between silver and gold, it was prac^ 
 tical mono-metallism, with silver as the standard and gold at 
 a premium, for the cheaper metal, when coined, invariably 
 takes the volume of circulation and expels the dearer. 
 
 The entire character of this bill was changed in the Senate 
 by the Allison amendment and became known as the Bland- 
 Allison Bill. It was then passed by both Houses and be- 
 came the Bland-Allison Act. As passed, it involved the 
 principle of bi-metallism, for it limited the coinage of the 
 cheaper metal, silver, and undertook to maintain it at par 
 with gold by providing for its redemption. 
 
 This Act of February 28th, 1878, restored the silver 
 dollar of 41 2 ]^ grains to the coinage with full legal tender 
 power, but did not restore silver bullion to the minting 
 privilege which attached to it prior to 1873, and which was 
 in every respect equal to that bestowed upon gold. This 
 Act re-established the “ dollar of the fathers,” made it legal 
 tender for all debts, “ except when otherwise expressly 
 stipulated in the contract,” and directed the Secretary of the 
 Treasury to purchase silver bullion monthly “ at the market 
 price thereof, not less than two million dollars’ worth per 
 
THE SiEVER QUESTION. 
 
 246 
 
 month nor more than four million dollars’ worth per month, 
 and cause the same to be coined monthly, as fast as so pur- 
 chased, into such dollars.” The third section provided that 
 holders of silver dollars “ may deposit the same with the 
 Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer of the United States, 
 in sums not less than ten dollars, and receive therefor cer-. 
 tificates of not less than ten dollars each.” 
 
 It also provided as follows : — 
 
 “ That immediately after the passage of this Act the Presi- 
 dent shall invite the governments of the countries compos- 
 ing the Latin Union, so called, and of such other European 
 nations as he may deem advisable, to join the United States 
 in a conference to adopt a common ratio between gold and 
 silver, for the purpose of establishing internationally the use 
 of bimetallic money and securing fixity of relative value 
 between those metals.” 
 
 This bill represented the same order of thought that per- 
 vades the silver agitation of the year 1892. Those who 
 favored the “ Greenback ” inflation scheme were its ardent 
 supporters. Representatives from the Silver-producing 
 States were strongly in its favor, in the belief that it would 
 enhance the value of their product. While it made the 
 coinage of silver dollars compulsory to the extent of 
 $ 2,000,000 a month, it placed a limit at $4,000,000. It was 
 thought that this much circulation in silver dollars could be 
 kept at par with gold, but it was soon found that the silver 
 dollars would not circulate. Out of the 12,136 tons of 
 silver purchased by the Government under the Act at a 
 cost of $308,199,262, and out of the 378,166,793 silver 
 dollars coined therefrom under the Act, at an expense of 
 $5,000,000, not more than one out of eight found its way 
 into circulation. For all the benefit to the circulation 
 derived from the Act, the Government might as well have 
 
fHE SILVER Su^STfON. 
 
 Hi 
 
 saved itself the ^5,000,000 expense of coinage, and bought 
 and stored the silver in bullion shape. The bullion was 
 always worth more than the coined dollars, and could have 
 been more safely and cheaply cared for in the Treasury 
 vaults than its equivalent in coins. There was no expansion 
 of the currency, as the ardent advocates of the bill fondly 
 hoped. Nor was there an increase in the price of silver 
 bullion, for it declined from $1.12 an ounce in 1879, to 93^ 
 cents an ounce in 1889, or in other words it declined to a 
 point where it stood to gold as 22 to 1 per ounce value, and 
 the value of silver in a silver dollar was only 72 cents. 
 
 The silver certificate feature of the Act proved of little 
 practical value, and in the main the Act negatived its own 
 provisions and bred causes for its repeal. 
 
 COINAGE ACT OF 189O. 
 
 But the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 was not without its 
 uses. It satisfied neither its advocates nor its opponents, 
 and increased rather than decreased the silver agitation. It 
 led directly to and perhaps hastened the passage of the 
 Coinage Act of July 14, 1890. 
 
 The bill which became the basis of this Act was prepared 
 on a plan which embraced the views of Secretary of the 
 Treasury Windom. It was submitted to the House, and 
 passed. Its provisions were that any owner of silver bul- 
 lion, not foreign, could bring it to any mint and obtain for 
 it legal tender treasury notes equal in value to the then 
 market value of the silver, which notes were redeemable 
 either in gold or silver bullion, at its then market value, at 
 the option of the government, or in silver dollars at the 
 holder’s option. 
 
 . This bill was amended in the Senate by inserting a clause 
 providing for free and unlimited coinage. It then went to 
 
248 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 a conference committee, where it took the form in which it 
 was passed finally and became a law, July 14, 1890. 
 
 As passed, it directed the Secretary of the Treasury to 
 purchase 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion each month at 
 the market price thereof, not exceeding $1 for every 371^ 
 grains of pure silver, and to issue in payment for such pur- 
 chase Treasury Notes of the United States. 
 
 Those Treasury Notes are made redeemable in coin , gold 
 or silver at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 and have full legal tender value. Following this clause is 
 one which reads “ It being the established policy of the 
 United States to maintain the two metals on a parity with 
 each other upon the present legal ratio, or such ratio as 
 may be provided by law.” 
 
 The Act also provided for the actual coinage of 2,000,000 
 silver dollars a month up until July 1, 1891. 
 
 By comparing the two Acts of 1878 and 1890, a better 
 view of the silver controversy may be had. The Act 
 of 1878 made it compulsory on the Government to buy 
 silver bullion to the value of $2,000,000 and not exceeding 
 $4,000,000 monthly, and to coin the same into silver dollars. 
 This was a drain on the Treasury of at least $24,000,000 a 
 year. Holders of silver dollars could exchange them at the 
 Treasury, in sums of ten dollars, for Silver Certificates, the 
 coin remaining in the Treasury for the payment of the Cer- 
 tificate on demand. These Certificates were not given full 
 legal tender value, except for payment of customs and all 
 public dues. This approval of them by the Government 
 confirmed them in popular estimation, and they were as 
 freely accepted by the people as if they had been a full legal 
 tender. 
 
 The Act of 1 890 made compulsory' on the Treasury the pur- 
 chase of 4, 500, OCX) ounces of silver per month, or 54,000,000 
 
fHE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 249 
 
 ounces a year. But instead of paying cash for it, payment 
 was to be made in Certificates, called Treasury notes, 
 especially issued, redeemable in gold or silver coin, and 
 clothed with full legal tender power. 
 
 It will be seen that payment for the bullion, under the 
 Act of 1878, was in cash; while payment for the bullion 
 under the Act of 1890 was by Certificate, or Treasury note. 
 
 There was no compulsory coinage of the bullion under 
 the Act of 1890, except at the rate of $ 2,000,000 a month 
 up till July I, 1891. Since that date no silver dollars have 
 been coined, but the bullion purchased is held in the form 
 of fine silver bars. Under the Act, $28,298,45 5 were coined, 
 and up to April 1, 1891, $89,602,198 in Treasury notes, to 
 pay for bullion deposited, had been issued, $77,605,000 of 
 which were in circulation. At the same date the value of 
 silver bars held by the Treasury was $65,720,000. 
 
 On November 1, 1891, the total of silver dollars coined 
 and in existence in the United States, under all the Acts, 
 was $409,475,368, of which $347,339,907 were in the 
 Treasury, and only $62,135,461 outside of the Treasury, or 
 in circulation. 
 
 Against this $323,668,401 silver certificates had been 
 issued, $321,142,642 of which were outside of the Treasury 
 and $2,525,759 inside. At the same date the stock of silver 
 bullion in the Treasury was $33,094,234. 
 
 The 54,000,000 ounces of silver which the Government is 
 required to buy yearly, and to issue Treasury notes therefor, 
 was the exact output of the silver mines in the United States 
 in 1890. A prime object of the law was, therefore, to 
 furnish a sure market for the product of our mines, at the 
 prevailing price of silver bullion when presented at the 
 Treasury. The Act was a compromise Act, and both mine- 
 owners and advocates of “ free and unlimited coinage ” ac- 
 
25C5 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 cepted the compromise, as the best that could be done 1 6 
 secure a certain home market for their product, and at the 
 same time increase the circulating medium of the country 
 by just the number of Treasury notes required to purchase 
 54,000,000 ounces of silver. 
 
 Experience has shown that the Act really authorizes the 
 purchase of more than the silver product of American mines, 
 available for coinage purposes, since some three to five 
 million ounces of said product are annually used up in the 
 arts. 
 
 It was a general belief, at the time of the passage of the 
 Act of 1890, that its effect would be to increase the market 
 price of silver. Indeed this was confidently prophesied by 
 mine-owners and free-silver-coinage advocates. In anticipa- 
 tion of such rise, silver speculators entered the market and 
 drove silver bullion up to $1.05 an ounce in April, 1890; 
 to $1.08 in May; to $1.15 in August; to $1.21 in Septem- 
 ber. But now the natural law of supply and demand began 
 to operate against them. They had to contend with the 
 world’s market and the world’s prices, and no longer with a 
 home market and home prices. The inevitable consequence 
 was that the price of silver broke. The country that could 
 sustain a certain amount of silver coin, as a circulating 
 medium, at par with gold, could not sustain the market 
 value of silver bullion at a point above where the laws of 
 supply and demand, as established by the world at large, 
 chose to fix it. 
 
 In October, 1890, silver fell to $1.09 per ounce; in De- 
 cember to $1.06. The decline has been gradual ever 
 since. In December, 1891, silver was worth 94^ cents an 
 ounce, and the fine silver in a dollar was worth only 73 
 cents. On May 23, 1892, silver sold for 88 ^ cents per 
 ounce. Therefore, even with so excellent a customer as the 
 
Mb SIIvVBR QUBStlON. 
 
 25 i 
 
 Government, and one ready to take the entire output of the 
 silver mines of the country, the market price of the product 
 declined. The law of the world proved mightier than the 
 law of the United States. 
 
 . THE BLAND FREE COINAGE BILL PROPOSED ACT OF 1 892. 
 
 Failure of silver producers to realize their expectations 
 under the Act of 1890, a growing desire to relieve depressed 
 industrial and trade conditions, especially in the West and 
 South, and the fact that political conventions in a great 
 many States had given the silver question a party turn, 
 rendered the opening of the Fifty-second Congress an op- 
 portune time to seek new coinage legislation. In the 
 Democratic Conventions the planks favored the “ free and 
 unlimited coinage of silver ; ” in the Republican Conven- 
 tions they favored the “ maintainance of silver on a parity 
 with gold.” 
 
 The Congress opened with an overwhelming Democratic 
 majority, and Mr. Bland, of Missouri, became the recognized 
 leader of his party on the silver question. He introduced 
 into the House what became known as the “ Bland Free 
 Silver Coinage Bill,” and advocated it with his well-known 
 ability. It drew around it the advocates of “ free and un- 
 limited coinage ” and became the subject of animated and 
 prolonged debate. When ripe for passage Mr. Bland de- 
 manded the previous question, which failed by the very re- 
 markable vote of 148 yeas to 148 nays ; there being enough 
 of Eastern Democrats voting with the Republicans to cause 
 this disappointing result to the friends of the measure. 
 
 As this vote by no means disposed of the measure finally 
 in the House, or if so, as the question must be a leading one 
 in the National campaign of 1892, it is well to understand 
 the provisions of the bill. 
 
252 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 It provides that the unit of value shall be the standard 
 silver dollar as now coined, of 41 2 x / 2 grains standard silver, or 
 the gold dollar of 25.8 grains standard gold. 
 
 That the standard gold and silver coins shall be full legal 
 tender. 
 
 That any holder of standard gold or silver bullion shall 
 be entitled to have the same minted into coins free of 
 charge, or may deposit said bullion at the mints and receive 
 coin notes therefor, equal in value to the coinage value of 
 the bullion deposited, the bullion thereupon to become the 
 property of the government. 
 
 That the coin notes shall not be less than one nor over 
 one thousand dollars in value and shall be a legal tender. 
 
 That issue of the Treasury notes in pay for bullion, pro- 
 vided for in the Act of 1890, shall be discontinued, and all 
 such as are outstanding shall be called in and destroyed and 
 coin notes shall be substituted for them. 
 
 That the issue of coin notes shall never be greater than 
 the coinage value of the bullion in the Treasury. 
 
 That said coin notes shall be redeemed in coin at the 
 Treasury, and the bullion deposited shall be coined as fast 
 as said coins are needed for such purposes of redemption. 
 
 That any holder of gold or silver coins may deposit the 
 same, in sums of ten dollars, and demand coin notes 
 therefor. 
 
 That the Act of 1890 is repealed; and that the silver 
 dollar of 412^2 grains may change to one of 400 grains as 
 soon as France reopens her mints to free and unrestricted 
 coinage of silver at the ratio of 1 5 y 2 of silver to I of gold. 
 
 Under the Act of 1890 the government must purchase 
 54,000,000 ounces of silver per annum, for which it pays the 
 market price. 
 
 Under the proposed Act of 1892 the owner of gold or 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 255 
 
 silver bullion may deposit his bullion at the mint, demand 
 its mintage free, or demand coin notes for it at the mint value 
 of the bullion. 
 
 In the former case the owner of bullion got pay for bul- 
 lion at its price on the day he deposited it. In the latter 
 case he can get pay at the mint value of the bullion, 
 that is, for every ounce of silver bullion deposited that has 
 cost him 95 cents, he can get $1.29 in coin. The oppo- 
 nents of free coinage put it this way : — The mine owners 
 turned in their product of 54,000,000 ounces last year at a 
 value of $53,796,833, for which they received Treasury notes 
 to that amount. Under the proposed. Bland Act they could 
 demand the mint value for their 54,000,000 ounces. The 
 mint value would be $71,000,000. Therefore, they receive 
 nearly 30 per cent, in excess of the market value of their 
 silver. But the advocates of free coinage say that the dis- 
 crimination of existing laws against silver makes the dispar- 
 ity between it and gold, and that the removal of such dis- 
 crimination would make the bullion value of silver and the 
 price of it with the government stamp on it the same. They 
 say that whenever the mints are open to the free coinage of 
 silver, and whenever the owner of such silver can have it 
 exchanged at the rate of 100 cents for 37 grains, silver 
 will be worth as much without as with the government 
 stamp. Their opponents say they quite lose sight of the 
 fact that the moment these 371 ^ grains of silver which are 
 worth in the markets of the world, say 80 cents, becomes 
 worth 100 cents by sheer virtue of the stamp upon it, all the 
 world will pour its surplus silver into our mints and com- 
 pletely swamp our metal currency. Gold would flee and 
 there would be no means of sustaining silver money at 
 par. They also say that as the country is at present situated 
 with barely enough of gold to sustain our present silver cir- 
 
256 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 culation, the moment free coinage of silver were adopted it 
 would be accepted by the Treasury and by the banks, as 
 notice to suspend gold payments. Unless such suspension 
 were resorted to it would be no time before the gold reserve 
 would be exhausted and catastrophe ensue. 
 
 The arguments in favor of free and unrestricted coinage 
 of silver gain great plausibility when they are turned to the 
 account of the debtor classes — to farmers with mortgages on 
 their farms and to others similarly encumbered. As seen 
 just above, they could take advantage of the 30 per cent, 
 between the market and mint value of the dollar and thus 
 pay their debts at less than they contracted to pay. The 
 opponents of free silver coinage say it would be better for 
 the government to extend this difference to these debtors as 
 a charity, rather than run the risk of a dishonored currency 
 and of the panics, disturbances and immense losses which 
 would surely follow. 
 
 Again the free silver coinage men say they are certain 
 that their doctrine in practice will make the silver dollar 
 fully equal to the gold dollar. If this be so, say their oppo- 
 nents, then a silver dollar will be as hard to get as the gold 
 dollar and the debtor will be no better off than at present. 
 But granting every advantage claimed by the free coinage 
 men for the debtor classes, how about the creditor classes ? 
 They are by far the most numerous class. Every laborer 
 is a creditor when his day’s work is done, every pensioner 
 of the government, every saving institution, etc. If the 
 cheaper dollar scales the mortgage for the debtor and en- 
 ables him to pay it easier — a matter the mortgagee might 
 stand — would not the cheaper dollar scale the debt due at 
 night to the miner, the servant, the artisan, the day laborer ? 
 
 No, says the free coinage man, for the dollar would still 
 be a dollar. But says his opponent, it being a dollar whose 
 
THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 257 
 
 intrinsic value is only 80 or 90 cents, and being plenty, 
 prices must rise, and the miner’s $3.50 per day can only be 
 exchanged for commodities which formerly cost him a dollar 
 less. 
 
 But as most of the infallible laws which underlie the ques- 
 tions of currency have already been stated in this article, we 
 leave the theories which now constitute so large a part of 
 the discussion of the silver question to the reader, to indulge 
 as he chooses. It should not be forgotten that other coun- 
 tries have done with their silver just what is proposed to 
 be done here, and that they — notably the Latin Union — 
 had to give up in despair their efforts to sustain silver coin- 
 age at par with gold, in quantities beyond the ordinary needs 
 of trade. Our reserve of gold will always float a fair quan- 
 tity of silver, but to give to silver free and unlimited coinage 
 is to place gold at its mercy, if the experience of other na- 
 tions is worth anything. 
 
 This might not be so if other countries were on a silver 
 basis, or even if silver constituted a larger per cent, of their 
 currency. It is with a view to an agreement upon the place 
 which silver shall, or ought to, hold, in an international 
 sense, that the United States has requested a conference of 
 the nations of Europe, which conference will be one of the 
 events of 1892 and its results will go far toward simplifying 
 the silver question in this country. 
 
 SILVER STATEMENT. 
 
 From United States Mint Report for 1891. 
 
 Silver received at Mints, 1891 . . , 
 
 Silver dollars coined, 1891 
 
 Silver dollars distributed from Mints, 1891 
 
 Silver dollars in Mints, July 1, 1891 
 
 Total coinage of silver dollars since 1886 . 
 
 #7L985>985 
 
 36,232,802 
 
 13,208,794 
 
 101,290,755 
 
 4°9,475,3 68 
 
258 
 
 THE SILVER QUESTION. 
 
 Silver dollars held in Treasury for redemption of silver 
 
 certificates 
 
 321,142,642 
 
 294,945.377 
 
 26,197,265 
 
 62,135,461 
 
 Outstanding silver certificates 
 Excess of held coin over certificates . 
 Silver dollars in circulation 
 
 HOW TO FIGURE SILVER DOLLAR VALUES. 
 
 Silver bullion could be bought May 23, 1892, for 88 cents 
 per ounce of 480 grains. 
 
 Divide 480 into 88 and you have .01833 cents, or a little 
 over 1.8 cents, as the price of a grain of silver. 
 
 371 of these grains make a silver dollar — really 371 
 
 Therefore, 371 multiplied by .01833 = 68 cents, the cost 
 of the silver in a silver dollar. 
 
 Now if a man gets a dollar, or 100 cents, for what cost 
 him 68 cents, how much would he get for that ounce of 
 silver bullion which he deposited and which cost him 88 
 cents ? 
 
 It would stand as 68 cents is to ioo cents, so is 88 cents 
 to the answer. 
 
 Answer : — $1,294 per ounce for his silver bullion. 
 
Hon. Zebulon B. Vance. 
 
 Born in Buncombe co., N. C., May 13, 1830 ; educated at Washington 
 College, Tenn., and at University of North Carolina; admitted to bar, 
 1852, and elected District Attorney of native co. ; member of State House 
 of Commons, 1854; member of Congress for 35th and 36th Congresses; 
 served as Colonel in Confederate army ; elected Governor of North 
 Carolina, 1862, and again in 1864; elected to U. S. Senate, November, 
 1870, and refused admission; Democratic candidate for U. S. Senator in 
 1872, but defeated by a Democrat and Republican combination; elected 
 Governor of State, 1876; elected to U. S. Senate for term beginning 
 March, 1879; re-elected in 1884 and 1890; member of Committees on 
 District of Columbia, Finance, Privileges and Elections, etc. 
 
 (*S9) .. 
 
THl ■ ■■■■■* 
 
 f~ ' . ■ • - J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. — AN HISTORIC 
 REVIEW. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW. 
 
 The idea, or rather the doctrine, of reciprocal trade is by 
 no means new. As a principle it has been long recognized 
 in this country. In England it is what is called “ Fair 
 Trade,” and is upheld by a school of economists and states- 
 men who oppose “ Free Trade,” or seek to escape from the 
 effects of “Free Trade,” by a system which shall not be 
 one-sided only. 
 
 The doctrine, pure and simple, is this, if a nation does 
 not impose duties on our goods entering its ports, we will 
 not impose duties on its goods entering our ports ; and if 
 a nation levies duties on our goods, we will levy duty on 
 its goods. 
 
 This, say fair-traders, is but the doctrine of lex talionis , 
 tit-for-tat, as applied to trade. This, say free-traders, is the 
 folly of imposing a double loss on ourselves. Thus, foreign- 
 ers tax our products when they enter their ports. This 
 imposes a loss on us. Then, in turn, we tax their products 
 when entering our ports. This imposes a second loss on us. 
 They say, that for an injury done us by others, we fine our- 
 selves. When others impoverish us, we respond by a system 
 of impoverishment. 
 
 Protectionists eschew theories and refinements, and say 
 that each country is a law unto itself respecting trade. All 
 prosperous countries have been built on this principle. All 
 recognize it in one way or another, whatever their outward 
 professions, or present economic leanings. It is but the 
 
 261 
 
 12 
 
262 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 duty of caring for one’s self. It is but the right t® live, 
 and to enjoy advantages, if such exist. 
 
 COMMERCIAL TREATIES. 
 
 Reciprocity has for ages been established and determined 
 between nations by means of commercial treaties. The 
 usual process has been for two nations, about to treat, to 
 consult their respective tariff lists, and to grant reductions 
 of duties on the class of goods which they desire most to 
 receive from each other. Equally, each country seeks to 
 secure the lowest rate of duty on the class of goods whose 
 manufacture constitutes its own industry, and whose sale 
 abroad it wishes to cultivate. Thus, England makes the 
 best bargain she can for the foreign sale of her hardware and 
 cottons, France for her silks and wines, Belgium for her 
 iron products, the United States for her flour and meat. 
 The free-trade countries of the world are the most prolific 
 of reciprocity treaties, yet there never was a reciprocity 
 treaty that did not recognize the doctrine of protection, else 
 it would have been of no use. The essence of all com- 
 mercial treaties is home-trade advantage, home-industry 
 advantage, home-development advantage, whether directly 
 by encouragement to labor and capital on the spot, or in- 
 directly by reason of enlarged markets abroad. 
 
 Says Leveleye, one of the ablest of French Political 
 Economists, and a pronounced free-trader : — “ Commercial 
 treaties are useful in assuring to industry what is so essential 
 to it, the fixity of foreign customs dues throughout the period 
 embraced by the treaty. Nowadays commercial treaties are of 
 more importance than political treaties, for it is ©n com- 
 meroial treaties that the progress of industry in each country 
 iri a great measure depends, and also wfrat is no less in^ 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 263 
 
 portant, the development of commercial relations and com- 
 munity of interest between different lands.” 
 
 “most favored nation” clause. 
 
 Very often the parties to commercial treaties stipulate that 
 each of them shall enjoy all the advantages that may come 
 to, or be secured by, the other through a reduction of duties 
 between it and still other countries. This has come to be 
 known in diplomacy as “ the most favored nation clause ,” a 
 term which grows more familiar each year. It stands thus : 
 — England agrees to abolish, or reduce to a minimum, her 
 duties on French silks, as a concession to France for so re- 
 ducing, or abolishing, her duties on English cottons. But 
 at the same time England says to France, and it is agreed, 
 that if you succeed in getting similar terms with any other 
 country by reason of a desire for your silks, we expect our 
 cottons to follow in the wake of your silks. The favors 
 your silks secure for you must extend to our cottons. So 
 France says to England, and it is agreed, that if you succeed 
 in getting similar terms with any other country by reason 
 of a desire for your cottons, we expect our silks to follow 
 in the wake of your cottons. The favors your cottons 
 secure for you must extend to our silks. Thus “ the most 
 favored nation clause ” may suffice to carry the favorite pro- 
 duct of a highly industrial and ingenious nation, with com- 
 mercial facilities, into every mart of the world. 
 
 This extension of, and refinement on, the principle of 
 reciprocity as established by commercial treaties, is only an 
 enlargement of the spirit of advantage between nations. 
 Clearly, nothing is given without something, and the like, 
 is expected. As nations do not trade for pure love of the 
 thing, something more is expected than is given, if not 
 directly, at least indirectly. But this is protection, says 
 
264 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 the protectionist, for each nation seeks to advantage itself, 
 and it matters not whether it proceeds on the principle of 
 denial or concession. Not so, says the free-trader; it is 
 free-trade, for the moment you concede the principle of 
 concession you repudiate that of denial, or, in other words, 
 discrimination by duties. And so economists bandy theories, 
 and prove to the world that their science is weightier in 
 words than worth. 
 
 But while commercial treaties have been the usual, almost 
 the sole, means of establishing reciprocity, or reciprocal 
 trade, between commercial nations, they have been slow and 
 cumbrous of formation and operation, and always costly of 
 negotiation. They have proved of doubtful construction 
 and uncertain worth, except where the inducement to make 
 them was very great, and the power to enforce them reposed 
 in the contracting parties. New and weak countries were 
 placed at a disadvantage by them, even if the inducement to 
 make them existed, and, indeed, no such inducement could 
 exist till a country was sufficiently advanced to have some- 
 thing substantial to offer for what it desired to receive. 
 
 POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 As long as the United States was going through its early 
 experiments with free-trade and protection, there was hardly 
 a thought of reciprocity or reciprocal trade as we have come 
 to understand it. In all the early arguments respecting the 
 advantages of protection by means of duties on foreign im- 
 ports, the central thought was that protection was necessary 
 in order to foster infant industries. There was hardly any 
 diversity of opinion about this. Statesmen of all parties and 
 economic schools joined in the thought and sought by 
 speech and vote to establish the principle. Politics did not 
 seriously tinge a tariff debate as long as the idea was 
 

 
 
 
 
 M i.llkM 
 
 
 
 ; .. 
 
 
 
 
 
Hon. Robert E. Pattison. 
 
 Born in Quantico, Somerset co., Md., December 8, 1850; moved to 
 Philadelphia when young and graduated at Central High School ; 
 admitted to bar, 1872; elected Comptroller of Philadelphia, 1877 and 
 1880 ; elected Governor of Pennsylvania, on Democratic ticket, 1882 ; 
 appointed member of Pacific R. R. Commission by President Cleveland, 
 1887 ; helped to organize and became President of Chestnut Street 
 National Bank ; prominent member of Morning Record Co., Limited ; 
 re-elected Governor of Pennsylvania, on Democratic ticket, 1890. 
 
 (266) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 267 
 
 dominant that the infancy of industry required the protective 
 hand of the Government. In this the most pronounced 
 free-traders had the sanction and support of the English 
 economic writers, who, almost without exception, admitted 
 the doctrine that in order to establish and foster infant in- 
 dustries, protection was right in law and morals. England 
 had universally and persistently applied the principle, till 
 she had grown rich, powerful and independent by means 
 of it. 
 
 It was not until 1824, when the old arguments respecting 
 the uses of protection began to be tinged by partyism, that 
 attention began to be turned seriously to the advantages of 
 reciprocal trade. The country was then sufficiently ad- 
 vanced to make it a question in the minds of statesmen. 
 Free-traders, the very ones who had all along favored pro- 
 tection as a means of fostering infant industries, now turned 
 their arguments against protection in general. The peculiar 
 condition of the country, divided into a strictly planting 
 class, with unpaid labor at its command, and a manufactur- 
 ing, commercial and more diversified industrial class, with 
 only paid labor at its command, contributed to the change 
 of sentiment and the tone of argument. The planting class, 
 with its unpaid labor, saw a menace in the growth of manu- 
 factures and commerce, with their paid labor. The system 
 of free, paid labor was a harsh contrast with, and a standing 
 threat upon, the system of slave, unpaid labor. Established 
 manufactories and profitable commerce were proving a 
 source of wealth, population, importance and comfort, which 
 might in the end overshadow the planting class and its 
 geographic section, even if it did not endanger the slave 
 institution. 
 
 Therefore the free-traders injected into their opposition to 
 protection the argument that protection had already done 
 
268 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 its legitimate work in grounding and fostering the young 
 industries of the country, and was no longer necessary. 
 They said it was a stretch of power any how on the part of 
 the government, and was no longer justified. They said 
 that inasmuch as it could be of no earthly use to the plant- 
 ing sections, it was unfair for the nation to legislate in the 
 interest of the manufacturing and commercial sections. 
 They attacked the constitutionality of tariff legislation. As 
 time went on, and the issue of slavery became more a mat- 
 ter of question, the tariff debates brought out in stronger 
 lines the above arguments. The doctrine of free-trade took 
 passionate and almost sectional turn. It came nearer than 
 ever to cleaving and dividing politics. Calhoun did not 
 hesitate to declare that the further fostering of industries by 
 means of protection would destroy the planting class and 
 the institution of slavery ; that the object of free-trade, as he 
 advocated it, was to strike a blow at paid labor and the 
 prosperity of the manufacturing classes ; that the tariff sys- 
 tem was so unfair, so unconstitutional, such an infliction on 
 the States of his section, as to warrant nullification of tariff 
 laws, and if this did not provide an escape from their opera- 
 tion, then secession would be justified. 
 
 THE NEW PROTECTIVE IDEA. 
 
 These arguments were so ably maintained, and the situa- 
 tion became so serious, as to force the protectionists on to 
 new ground. It is no disparagement to their numbers or 
 ability to say that they could no longer maintain themselves 
 on the plea of protection to infant industries — the common 
 ground of all statesmen in the beginning. They were com- 
 pelled, or perhaps the time had arrived for it, to broaden 
 their ground, and to make it more secure by a new declara- 
 tion of protective principles by, one may say, a new depar- 
 
RECIPROCITY iN AMERICA. 
 
 269 
 
 ture in political economy. This became the dawn of those 
 doctrines which, elaborated by time and modified by cir- 
 cumstances, comprise American protection as enunciated by 
 modern statesmen, and as they seek to embody them in 
 protective legislation. 
 
 The gist of these doctrines is, that as labor constitutes a 
 very large per cent, of the cost of an article, the true meas- 
 ure of protection is a duty which will cover that element of 
 cost, and thus save our labor from competition with the low- 
 priced labor of foreign countries. Along with this goes the 
 doctrine that the free-list may safely embrace only those 
 articles which are impossible of production with us by rea- 
 son of our soil, climate and natural advantages. 
 
 POLICY OF SUBSIDY. 
 
 Abreast of this doctrine is another, daily growing more 
 momentous, and one which has been enforced by the fact 
 that our genius and facilities tend to overcrowding in our 
 own markets ; it is, that the very best protection that can be 
 afforded in such case is the establishment of steamship lines 
 to carry our surplus products to those who need them most, 
 or to those of whom we buy most and to whom we have to 
 pay most. This has been a favorite and universal means of 
 protection with all commercial countries, and it has been 
 employed at great outlay on the part of those countries in 
 the way of pay, or subsidy, to said lines, first in order to 
 start them, and second in order to maintain them. But this 
 means of protection has not yet been reached in this coun- 
 try. Subsidy is a word our people cannot yet abide. No 
 theory of protection that embodies the word directly has 
 ever yet been framed in this country that could withstand 
 the assaults of its opponents. The reason is that it appeals 
 too directly to the capitalistic or monopolistic spirit and 
 
270 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 class. On the part of the government it is too direct a kind 
 of paternalism. As to the recipients, it is too special a gift. 
 It is no answer to all this, as yet, to say that as no other 
 commercial country ever succeeded in protecting itself 
 through the establishment of steamship lines, except by 
 starting and fostering them by subsidies, so this country has 
 not done, and can never be expected to do, the same with- 
 out the employment of similar agencies. Nor is it, as yet, 
 a sufficient answer to say that the word subsidy in this con- 
 nection can only be rendered offensive when narrowed to 
 its apparent recipients, who really ought not to be consid- 
 ered at all, or, if considered, ought to find their true infini- 
 tesimal place in comparison with the tens of thousands of 
 manufactories, the hundreds of thousands of laborers and 
 farmers, and the millions of capital, which an exit for our 
 over products would keep employed. 
 
 POLICY OF RECIPROCITY. 
 
 Still further, abreast of this doctrine is the policy of 
 reciprocity; or, as we had better say, the principle of 
 practical, or applied, reciprocity, rendered conspicuous, as 
 formulated in the Tariff Act of 1890, and adopted as a 
 measure of the Harrison Administration. This policy pre- 
 sumes that we ought to have better outlet for our manufac- 
 tures. It presumes that direct trade with those from whom 
 we buy most and to whom we sell least, would be a most 
 desirable and advantageous trade to establish, as serving to 
 balance accounts without draining us of gold cash. It 
 presumes that, as to certain countries at least, notably 
 those nearest to us, and especially those whose products 
 we take largely and which we cannot duplicate at home, 
 we are in a position to offer what they require, of as good 
 quality and on as fair terms, as they can secure elsewhere. 
 

Hon. William Alfred Peffer. 
 
 Born in Cumberland co., Pa., September 10, 1831 ; educated in com- 
 mon schools ; engaged in teaching and farming ; moved to Indiana, 
 1853, and engaged in farming; moved to Missouri, 1859, and to Illi- 
 nois, 1861 ; enlisted in Union army and served in Department of Nash- 
 ville ; studied law and began practice in Clarksville, Tenn., 1865 ; 
 moved to Kansas, 1870, to practice law and edit; elected to State 
 Senate, 1874; Republican elector in 1880; editor of Kansas Farmer, 
 1881 ; elected to United States Senate, as a People’s Party candidate, 
 for term beginning March 4, 1891 ; an exponent of the ideas advocated 
 by the Farmer’s Alliance and other new parties. 
 
 (272) 
 
Hon. Richard F. Pettigrew. 
 
 Born at Ludlow, Vermont, July, 1848; moved to Wisconsin, 1854; 
 studied at Beloit College, 1865-66; member of law class of Wisconsin 
 University, 1870; moved to Dakota, 1869; engaged in surveying and 
 real estate at Sioux Falls; practiced law since 1872; elected to Dakota 
 Legislature, 1877 and 1879; elected Territorial delegate to 47th Con- 
 gress; re-elected to Legislature, 1884-85; member of South Dakota 
 Constitutional Convention, 1883 ; elected U. S. Senator, as a Republican, 
 from South Dakota, October 16, 1889; chairman of Quadro- Centennial 
 Committee, and member of Committees on Improvement of Mississippi 
 River, Indian Affairs, Public Lands and Railroads. 
 
 ( 273 ) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 275 
 
 It presumes that inasmuch as we are sufficiently advanced 
 and sufficiently well off to remit entirely duties on their pro- 
 ducts, — most of which are necessaries of life, and hitherto 
 subjected to duty for sheer purposes of revenue, — and ac- 
 tually do remit such duties, that they ought to reciprocate 
 by either abolishing or lowering their duties on articles we 
 send to them. Not to do so would be unreciprocal. It 
 would be for us to enlarge our inducements for their trade, 
 by removing duties upon it, and for them to reject these 
 inducements by refusing to modify or abolish duties on our 
 trade. 
 
 COUNTRIES MOST INTERESTED. 
 
 It is clear to every one that the countries most directly 
 affected by what may now be called the American policy 
 of reciprocity, are those countries to the south of us, which 
 comprise Mexico, Central America and South America. 
 To these may be added other countries whose, or any part 
 of whose, products are as theirs are. This being so, even 
 the casual student of history will be struck by a comparison 
 of two American continental epochs or eras, the one political , 
 the other commercial. 
 
 Let us take the political one and consider it. It began 
 in 1787, the date on which our Republican experiment was 
 launched, the date of our Federal Constitution. Add thirty 
 years to it, so as to make it embrace a period up to the date 
 of what may be called general and successful revolt against 
 Spanish supremacy in South America, and the establishment 
 of the South American Republics. Fix this date at say 
 about the year 1824. These thirty years, or thereabouts, 
 saw the United States engaged in finding a permanent place 
 for her political institutions. She was manfully meeting the 
 trials to which young countries are subjected, and especially 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 276 
 
 those countries that have been compelled to conquer their 
 independence by means of war, and have been bold enough 
 to dare a political experiment at odds with the systems, tra- 
 ditions and instincts of the mother countries. She was 
 heroically and successfully passing through the stages — 
 many of them severe, even to the point of a second war — 
 which led up to full independence, to universal recognition 
 of her right to exist as a government and nation, and to that 
 conspicuous place in the firmament of Western Republics, 
 which made her a cynosure in the eyes of all. 
 
 At the beginning of this period what did she find ? The 
 entire continent to the south of her was Spanish. Spanish 
 political domination was complete as it could be, all things 
 considered. Then came the gradual breaking away from 
 foreign and monarchical moorings, under the lead of brave 
 generals, like Bolivar, under the influence of enlarged ideas 
 of freedom, under the inspiration furnished by the success 
 of the northern experiment. 
 
 So busy had the United States been with her own exper- 
 iment, that she had not had time to more than note what 
 was going on to the south of her. Her own expanse was 
 so ample, her resources so sufficient, her thought so dis- 
 tinctive, as that political confederacy on the continent had 
 not occurred to her, or at least had taken no definite shape. 
 Neither had political co-operation, or, in other words, polit- 
 ical reciprocity, taken even vague shape. Sympathy existed 
 for every effort looking to the breaking of the Spanish yoke. 
 Indirect encouragement was offered to the erection of every 
 republican temple founded on the ashes of European mon- 
 archy. But that was all, until the time should come when, 
 her own political destiny being assured, and a new order of 
 statesmen having arisen, the Republic of the North could 
 afford to recognize in a more direct manner those of the South. 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 277 
 
 POLITICAL INTEREST OF THE UNITED STATES IN SOUTH AMER- 
 ICAN REPUBLICS. 
 
 It was in 1808 that the interference of Napoleon with the 
 affairs of Spain enabled the South American republics to 
 rejoice in the assurance of their own autonomy. But a long 
 struggle was necessary in order to establish the independ- 
 ence they hoped for. For twenty years they looked vainly 
 for succor or approval from European monarchies. They 
 had been all along looking to the Republic of the North, 
 and copying her splendid example. They now began to 
 look for substantial recognition, and they found in Henry 
 Clay their earliest and ablest champion. In 1818 Mr. Clay 
 made a passionate appeal in the House of Representatives 
 for their recognition, and in the same year the condition of 
 the South American provinces became a subject of consid- 
 eration at a cabinet meeting, James Monroe being President. 
 Four years afterwards, the recognition they sought from the 
 United States came, and it was soon followed by recognition 
 on the part of Great Britain. In the next year, 1823, Pres- 
 ident Monroe, in his message to Congress, and in discussing 
 the relation of foreign powers toward those on the Ameri- 
 can Continent, said : 
 
 “ In wars of European powers, in matters relating to 
 themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it com- 
 port with our policy to do so. It is only when our rights 
 are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or 
 make preparation for our defence. With the movements in 
 this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately con- 
 nected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlight- 
 ened and impartial observers. The political system of the 
 allied powers (of Europe) is essentially different in this 
 respect from that of America. This difference proceeds 
 from that which exists in their respective governments. 
 
27B 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 And to the defence of our own which has been achieved by 
 the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the 
 wisdom of our most enlightened citizens, and under which 
 we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation, is 
 devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the ami- 
 cable relations subsisting between the United States and 
 those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt 
 on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hem- 
 isphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the ex- 
 isting colonies or dependencies of any European power we 
 have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the 
 governments who have declared their independence and 
 maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great 
 consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could 
 not view any interposition, for the purpose of oppressing them , 
 or controlling in any other manner their destiny , by any Eu- 
 ropean pozver, in any other light than as the manifestation of 
 an unfriendly disposition toward the United States!' 
 
 This was the “ Monroe Doctrine ; ” this the note of warn- 
 ing, to monarchical Europe to keep hands off the political 
 destiny of a Continent. It was of this doctrine that Daniel 
 Webster, in a speech in the House, April, 1826, upon the 
 subject of an appropriation to send a mission from the 
 United States to the South American Congress at Panama, 
 said : 
 
 “ I look on the message of December, 1823, as forming a 
 bright page in our history. I will neither help to erase it 
 or tear it out, nor shall it by any act of mine be blurred or 
 blotted. It did honor to the sagacity of the government, 
 and I will not diminish that honor. It elevated the hopes 
 and gratified the patriotism of the people. Over those hopes 
 I will not bring a mildew, nor will I put that gratified patri- 
 otism to shame.” 
 
Hon. William Walter Phelps. 
 
 Born in New York City, August 24, 1839 ; graduated at Yale, I860; 
 and at Columbia Law School, 1863; entered practice and became 
 attorney for several R. R. Co’s; elected to Congress, from New Jersey, 
 in 1872 as a Republican; rose to distinction as a debater and leader; 
 defeated for second term ; delegate-at-large from New Jersey in National 
 Conventions of 1880-84; appointed minister to Austria by President 
 Garfield ; re-elected to 48th, 49th and 50th Congresses ; conspicuous for 
 interest in tariff, merchant marine and foreign affairs; fine orator and 
 party counsellor ; Regent of Smithsonian Institution ; President of Colum- 
 bia Law School Association ; founder of N. Y. Union League and Uni- 
 versity clubs; appointed Minister to Germany by President Harrison. 
 
 ( 2 79) 
 
THE liltfUM 
 
 , m - H ? 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 281 
 
 CONGRESS OF REPUBLICS. 
 
 In 1821 the Republic of Colombia suggested the idea of 
 a closer connection between the Spanish colonies in Central 
 and South America. In July, 1822, and before their inde- 
 pendence had been recognized by the United States, Colom- 
 bia and Chili negotiated a treaty looking to a Congress of 
 the new Republics, resembling the one already constructed 
 in Europe (The Holy Alliance, which was an attempt to 
 fetter all Europe with absolute monarchy), and having for 
 its object “The construction of a continental system for 
 America.” 
 
 The idea ripened slowly, though it was sedulously cher- 
 ished by Bolivar and other leaders, Bolivar being then at 
 the head of the Republic of Peru. It was not until De- 
 cember 7, 1824, that he issued his invitation to the Repub- 
 lics south of us, to meet in conference at Panama. Most 
 of them accepted, and the “ General Assembly of the Amer- 
 ican Republics ” met at Panama, June 22, 1826. 
 
 What was singular about this Congress or General As- 
 sembly was that it was no part of Bolivar’s design to invite 
 the United States to participate. The Republics of South 
 America had abolished African slavery in 1813. Doubtless 
 Bolivar felt that the interest which the United States had at 
 that time in preserving and extending slavery would tend to 
 embarrass her acceptance of an invitation, or make her an 
 unwelcome, if not dangerous, participant. The invitation to 
 the United States came from Colombia and Mexico, after an 
 inquiry through Mr. Clay as to whether it would be accep- 
 table to President Adams. Mr. Adams was so far satisfied 
 as that he appointed two representatives to the Congress or 
 Conference, subject to the “ advice and consent of the 
 Senate.” 
 
 In his message to the Senate, Mr. Adams gave among 
 
282 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 other reasons for his action the following, which is valuable 
 in this connection as showing the dawn of the idea that 
 mutual commercial intercourse with the South American 
 States might well become a subject of consideration in such 
 a conference as that proposed. He said : 
 
 “ But the South American nations, in the infancy of their 
 independence, often find themselves in positions with refer- 
 ence to other countries, with principles applicable to which, 
 derivable from the state of independence itself, they have 
 not been familiarized by experience. The result of this has 
 been that sometimes in their intercourse with the United 
 States they have manifested dispositions to reserve a right 
 of granting special favors and privileges to the Spanish na- 
 tion as the price of their recognition ; at others, they have 
 actually established duties and impositions operating unfavor- 
 ably to the United States , to the advantage of European pow- 
 ers ; and sometimes they have appeared to consider that 
 they might interchange among themselves mutual conces- 
 sions of exclusive favor, to which neither European powers 
 nor the United States should be admitted. In most of these 
 cases their regulations unfavorable to us have yielded to 
 friendly expostulation and remonstrance ; but it is believed 
 to be of infinite moment that the principles of a liberal com- 
 mercial intercourse should be exhibited to them and urged 
 with interested and friendly persuasion upon them, when 
 all are assembled for the avowed purpose of consulting 
 together upon the establishment of such principles 
 as may have an important bearing upon their future wel- 
 fare." 
 
 The debate in the Senate upon the proposed mission was 
 exceedingly acrimonious. Serious charges were brought 
 against President Adams, and the policy and purposes of 
 his administration were denounced as dangerous. It was 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 283 
 
 declared that the mission would lead to international com- 
 plications. The slave-holding members affirmed that in 
 reference to the rest of America, as well as to Europe, 
 slavery must be and remain the prime motive of the foreign 
 policy of the United States, and they said that they saw in 
 the conference peril to their “peculiar institutions/’ for the 
 history of these Southern Republics as to slavery furnished 
 an example “scarcely less fatal than the independence of 
 Hayti to the repose of the slave States of the Union.’’ 
 They had not only copied from the revolutionary records of 
 the United States the words “freedom,” “equality” and 
 “ universal emancipation,” but had actually broken the 
 chains of all slaves. 
 
 THE COMMERCIAL THOUGHT UPPERMOST. 
 
 The defenders of the proposed mission and of the Presi- 
 dent’s action made many elaborate arguments for their side, 
 all of which embraced in some form the idea of more ex- 
 tended and intimate commercial intercourse, upon the basis 
 of mutual or reciprocal trade. When Mr. Adams was asked 
 by the House for further information respecting his view 
 and his action he responded in a lengthy message, in which 
 he said : — 
 
 “ The first and paramount principle upon which it was 
 deemed wise and just to lay the corner-stone of all our 
 future relations with them was disinterestedness; the next 
 was cordial good will to them ; the third was a claim of fair 
 and equal reciprocity .” 
 
 Then in further allusion to the commercial idea he said : — 
 
 “ It will be within the recollection of the House that im- 
 mediately after our War of Independence a measure closely 
 analogous to this Congress of Panama was adopted by the 
 Congress of our Confederation and for purposes of precisely 
 
284 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 the same character. Three commissioners with plenipoten- 
 tiary powers were appointed to negotiate treaties of amity, 
 navigation and commerce with all the principal powers of 
 Europe. They met and resided at Paris for one year, for 
 that purpose, and the only result of their negotiations was 
 our first treaty between the United States and Prussia, 
 memorable in the diplomatic annals of the world and pre- 
 cious as a monument of principles in relation to commerce 
 and maritime warfare, with which our country entered upon 
 her career as a member of the great family of independent 
 nations.” 
 
 In the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs reported 
 against the expediency of sending ministers to the -Panama 
 Congress, but afterwards, and very grudgingly, approved the 
 President’s selection. The House, after long delay, agreed 
 to appropriate the necessary funds. The ministers were 
 sent, but delay had done its designed work. They were too 
 late for the Conference, which had adjourned previous to 
 their arrival. Mr. Clay, then Secretary of State, was much 
 mortified at the failure, and the President, in 1829, in allud- 
 ing to the failure said to the Senate : — “ While there is no 
 probability of the renewal of the negotiations, the purposes 
 for which they were intended are still of the deepest inter- 
 est to our country and to the world , and may , hereafter , call 
 again for the active energies of the Government of the United 
 States.” 
 
 It might be interesting in this connection to know that 
 the South and Central American Republics continued to 
 hold conferences for consideration and adjustment of their 
 affairs and the unification of their interests. One was held 
 at Lima in 1847, another in 1864, another was proposed at 
 Panama in 1881, which was prevented by the South Amer- 
 ican wars, and another was held at Montevideo in 1888-89. 
 

 Tm imm 
 
 
 : 5 
 
Hon. Thomas C. Power. 
 
 Born near Dubuque, Iowa, May 22, 1839 ; educated at Sinsinewa 
 College, Wis., in engineering; with surveying party in Dakota, 1860; 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits on Missouri river; located at Fort Ben- 
 ton, 1867 ; President of “Benton P” line of steamers; largely inter- 
 ested in mines, cattle and mercantile companies; moved to Helena in 
 1878; member of Montana Constitutional Convention, 1883 ; delegate 
 to Republican National Convention, 1888; nominated for Governor of 
 State, 1889, on Republican ticket, and defeated; elected to United 
 States Senate, as Republican, January 2, 1890 ; Chairman of Civil Ser- 
 vice Committee; member of Committees on Improvements of Missis- 
 sippi River, Indian Affairs, Public Lands, Railroads. 
 
 (286) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 287 
 
 The United States was not represented in any of them. 
 The era of our political influence upon these Republics, 
 whether by example, or by the encouragement extended in 
 the “ Monroe Doctrine,” or by the comity intended by Mr. 
 Adams, had ended with their freedom from monarchical 
 yoke and the assurance that they were forever committed 
 to the Republican spirit. 
 
 COMMERCIAL BONDAGE OF THE REPUBLICS. 
 
 But singular as it may seem that political freedom was 
 followed by commercial bondage. Commercial Europe set 
 her head for conquest, and with her immense facilities over- 
 ran the marts from which the Spanish warships had been 
 driven. This invasion has become well nigh complete. 
 
 We now come to the second era above mentioned — the 
 commercial. We have seen how the end of the political 
 era witnessed the dawn of the idea of commercial reciproc- 
 ity with the Southern Republics. The idea lay dormant, 
 so far as the United States was concerned, through the 
 period devoted to working out its own industrial and com- 
 mercial independence. The industrial and commercial pe- 
 riod from 1824 to i860 may be likened to the political 
 period prior to the Revolution. The industrial and com- 
 mercial period from 1861 to the present may be likened 
 to the political period from 1787 to 1824, each of these pe- 
 riods being considered with reference to our relations to the 
 Southern Republics. Strange to say, the above period from 
 1861 to the present corresponds in length with the period 
 from 1787 to 1824, at whose end we took political cogniz- 
 ance of these Republics and witnessed their freedom from 
 European monarchy. 
 
 The settlement of our sectional differences by civil war, 
 the establishment of a system of finance which gives us 
 13 
 
288 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 rank among the nations, the practice of protection which 
 made us industrially and commercially independent, brings 
 us to a point of time when our example and influence must 
 affect the countries of our continent to the south of us in a 
 commercial sense, just as they were affected in a political 
 sense. If their commercial subjugation by Europe is as 
 complete as was their political subjugation by Spain, and 
 their independence as desirable, they may well look once 
 more to us for something which in commerce shall be the 
 equivalent of the “ Monroe Doctrine ” in politics. We are 
 in a position to extend it, at least that is the significance of 
 practical reciprocity. 
 
 A PEACE CONGRESS. 
 
 What President Adams called “ the deepest interests 
 of our country,” and what he prophesied might “ hereafter 
 call again for the active energies of the Government of the 
 United States,” began its culmination with the invitation of 
 President Garfield for all the independent governments of 
 North and South America to meet in a Peace Congress at 
 Washington. It has been given out that he aimed at some- 
 thing more than a mere code of arbitration in case of dis- 
 putes which might lead to war* among American states, 
 and that he contemplated making commercial reciprocity a 
 leading feature of his administration. His death frustrated 
 his design. 
 
 A MORE COMMERCIAL THOUGHT. 
 
 President Garfield’s invitation was recalled by President 
 Arthur in order that the Congress might be given opportu- 
 nity to consider the advisability of the step. Just as soon 
 as the Congress began to deliberate upon the matter, the 
 subject took wider and wider range, and the idea of recip- 
 rocal commerce became a conspicuous feature. On Jam 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 289 
 
 uary 21, 1880, Senator Davis of Illinois first threw his 
 suggestion of an “ International American Conference ” into 
 a Senate Bill in which occurred the following words : — 
 
 “ Whereas from the southern boundary of the United 
 States to the Argentine Republic, and also the Republic of 
 Chile, a distance of about 4,500 miles, including Mexico, 
 Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, 
 Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, containing a popu- 
 lation of, in all, about 40,000,000 industrious and progressive 
 people, with whom ":he United States hold, and d:cire to 
 maintain, the most frendly relations, and with whom a 
 closer and reciprocal interest in trade and commerce ought 
 to be encouraged,” etc. 
 
 The Davis proposition looked to this “ closer and recip- 
 rocal interest in trade and commerce ” by means of a great 
 southern railroad connecting the three Americas. 
 
 On April 24, 1882, Senator Cockrell, of Missouri, intro- 
 duced into the Senate a bill similar to the above, whose 
 object was the “ appointment of a special commissioner for 
 promoting intercourse with such countries of Central and 
 South America as may be found to possess natural facilities 
 for railway communication with each other and with the 
 United States.” 
 
 On the same date, April 24, 1882, Senator Morgan, of 
 Alabama, introduced a kindred bill, “ for the encouragement 
 of closer commercial relations between the United States 
 and the Republic of Mexico, Central America, the Empire 
 of Brazil and the several Republics of South America.” 
 
 Similar bills were introduced into the House, all looking 
 to “ the promotion of commercial intercourse ” with the 
 countries to the south of us, all of which were reported 
 adversely by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 
 
 In 1883 Senator Sherman reintroduced into the Senate 
 
290 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 the Morgan Bill of 1882. In the first session of the Forty- 
 eighth Congress, Mr. Townsend, of Illinois, introduced a 
 joint resolution, “ inviting the co-operation of the Govern- 
 ments of American nations in securing the establishment of 
 free commercial intercourse among those nations and an 
 American Customs’ Union.” 
 
 On March 3, 1884, Senator Cockrell introduced a Senate 
 bill authorizing a commission to Central and South Amer- 
 ica “ for the purpose of collecting information looking to 
 the extension of American trade and commerce,” etc. This 
 bill was reported favorably by the Committee on Foreign 
 Affairs. 
 
 Before taking action on this bill, the Committee on For- 
 eign Affairs of the Senate requested the views of Mr. Fre- 
 linghuysen, Secretary of State, as to the proposed legisla- 
 tion. He reviewed the entire question very fully in his 
 reply of March 26, 1884, and fully set forth the advantages 
 of reciprocity with these countries. His arguments pointed 
 directly to reciprocity as a necessity, in case duties were 
 greatly lowered, or entirely removed, on the products of 
 these countries. 
 
 “ I am,” said he, “ thoroughly convinced of the advisa- 
 bility of knitting closely our relations with the States of 
 this Continent, and no effort on my part shall be wanting to 
 accomplish a result so consonant with the constant policy 
 of this country and in the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, 
 which, in excluding foreign political interference, recognizes 
 the common interest of the States of North and South 
 America. It is the history of all diplomacy that close po- 
 litical relations and friendship spring from unity of com- 
 mercial interests 
 
 The true plan, it seems to me, is to make a series of reci- 
 procity treaties with the States of Central and South 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 THE iiKHHr 
 
 
Hon. Redfield Proctor. 
 
 Born at Proctorsville, Vermont, June 1, 1831 ; graduated from Dart- 
 mouth, 1851, and from Albany Law School in 1859; practiced law 
 in Boston; served in Army 1861-63 ; rose to be Colonel of Fifteenth 
 Vermont Volunteers ; returned to practice of law; elected to Assembly, 
 1867-68; again, 1888; served in State Senate, 1874-76; elected Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, 1876; advanced to Governor, 1878 ; delegate-at-large 
 to Republican National Conventions, 1884, 1888 ; appointed Secretary 
 of War by President Harrison, 1889; resigned November 1, 1891, to 
 take place of Senator Edmunds in United States Senate; a man of pro- 
 nounced Republican views, high standing as lawyer and statesman, ripe 
 business experience, and great popularity with his people. 
 
 (2g2) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 293 
 
 America, taking care that those manufactures, and as far as 
 is practicable those products, which would come into com- 
 petition with our own manufactures and products should 
 not be admitted to the free list. By these treaties we might 
 secure for valuable consideration so as not to violate the 
 most-favored-nation clause of other treaties, further substan- 
 tial advantages. Such, for example, as the free navigation 
 of their coasts, rivers and lakes. 
 
 “ Indiscriminate reduction of duties on materials pecu- 
 liarly the production of Central and South America would 
 take from us the ability to offer reciprocity, and we would 
 thus lose the opportunity to secure valuable trade. Re- 
 moval of duties from coffee, without greatly cheapening its 
 price, deprived us of the power to negotiate with the coffee- 
 growing countries of Spanish-America highly advantageous 
 reciprocity treaties, and indiscriminate reduction of duties 
 on sugar would complete our inability to establish favorable 
 commercial relations with those countries which form our 
 natural market, and from which we are now almost entitely 
 excluded. If we confine the reduction of duties on such 
 articles as sugar and coffee to those Spanish-American coun- 
 tries which are willing to negotiate with us treaties of reci- 
 procity, we cheapen these products for our own people and 
 at the same time gain the control of those markets for the 
 products of our fields and factories.” 
 
 STARTLING REVELATIONS. 
 
 The report of the House Committee, to which two of the 
 above bills had been referred, was most elaborate and con- 
 tained some startling revelations as to trade with these 
 countries. It showed their total commerce in 1883 to be 
 $752,918,00 o, in which the United States participated only 
 to the extent of $142,282,000. It showed that their imports 
 
294 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 to the United States amounted for that year to $93,319,000, 
 whereas we sent in turn to them only $48,963,000. It 
 quoted from the work of a recent commercial traveller 
 through those States, to this effect : 
 
 “ It always grieved me exceedingly, and was particularly 
 offensive to my sense of the fitness of things, to find almost 
 everything in the way of foreign merchandise, throughout the 
 length and breadth of my routes, of European manufacture. 
 At different points along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in 
 many cities of the plains, in various towns on the mountain 
 slopes, on the apex of Potosi and on the tops of other An- 
 dean peaks higher than Mount Hood, I have gone into 
 stores and warehouses and looked in vain — utterly in vain — 
 for one single article of American manufacture. From the 
 little pin with which the lady fastens her beau-catching 
 ribbons to the grand piano with which she enlivens and 
 enchants the hearts of all her household ; from the tiniest 
 thread and tack and tool needed in the mechanic arts to the 
 largest plows and harrows and other agricultural implements 
 and machines required for use on the farm — all these and 
 other things, the wares and fabrics and light groceries and 
 delicacies in common demand ; the drugs and chemicals sold 
 by the apothecary ; the fermented, malt and spirituous liq- 
 uors in the wine saloon ; the stationery and fancy goods in 
 the book-store ; the furniture in the parlor and the utensils 
 in the kitchen, are, with rare exceptions, of English, German, 
 Spanish, or Italian manufacture. And what makes the 
 matter still more unsatisfactory and vexatious to the North 
 American and more expensive and otherwise disadvantageous 
 to the South American, is that these articles are, as a gen- 
 eral rule, inferior both in material and make to the corre- 
 sponding article of American manufacture.” 
 
 The report favored the appointment of a commission to 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 295 
 
 these countries. A bill authorizing such commission was 
 passed, and George H. Sharpe, New York, Solon O. Thacher, 
 Kansas, and Thomas C. Reynolds, Missouri, were appointed 
 Commissioners, with Mr. W. E. Curtis as Secretary. They 
 sat in our principal cities, visited the countries of Central 
 and South America, and made valuable reports from time to 
 time. 
 
 On December 21, 1885, Mr. Townsend, of Illinois, rein- 
 troduced his resolution into the House, looking to an Amer- 
 ican Customs’ Union. It was reported adversely, as was a 
 bill providing for international arbitration. The same fatal- 
 ity befell similar bills in the Senate. 
 
 GROWTH OF THE COMMERCIAL THOUGHT. 
 
 On February 22, 1886, Senator Frye, of Maine, intro- 
 duced an elaborate bill into the Senate “ to promote the 
 political progress and commercial prosperity of the United 
 States.” It provided for an American International Con- 
 gress at Washington on October 1, 1887, and suggested a 
 list of subjects to be considered, which list embraced : 
 
 1. Measures of peace and prosperity. 
 
 2. An American Customs’ Union. 
 
 3. Regular and frequent steamship lines. 
 
 4. Uniform system of customs regulations. 
 
 5. Uniform weights and measures. 
 
 6. A common silver coin. 
 
 7. A definite plan of arbitration. 
 
 On March 29, 1 886, Mr. McCreary, of Kentucky, intro- 
 duced in the House a bill “ authorizing the President to 
 arrange a conference for the purpose of encouraging peace- 
 ful and reciprocal commercial relations between the United 
 States and Mexico, the Central American and South Amer- 
 
296 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 ican States.” On the same day Mr. McKinley, of Ohio, 
 introduced a bill favoring an Arbitration Conference. 
 
 On April 15, 1886, Mr. McCreary, of Kentucky, reported 
 his bill from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, with a com- 
 plete text and favorable report. It provided for an Inter- 
 national Conference at Washington, and for “ considering 
 questions relating to the improvement of business inter- 
 course between said countries, and to encourage such recip- 
 rocal commercial relations as will be beneficial to all and 
 secure more extensive markets for the products of each of 
 said countries.” 
 
 NECESSITY FOR RECIPROCAL TRADE. 
 
 The report of the majority of the committee accompa- 
 nying this bill was a very able one, and particularly valuable 
 as a matter of economic and commercial history, and as 
 coming from a committee not regarded as favorable to the 
 reciprocity idea. 
 
 The report set forth among other things : 
 
 “The subject of establishing closer international relations 
 between all the Republics of the American continent and 
 also the Empire of Brazil, containing in the aggregate one 
 hundred millions of people, for the purpose of improving 
 the business intercourse between those countries and secur- 
 ing more extensive markets for the products of each, is both 
 interesting and important. Sixty years ago this subject 
 was discussed and a conference was suggested between rep- 
 resentatives of our Government and the other Governments, 
 and President John Quincy Adams appointed representa- 
 tives to the Congress held at Panama to consider measures 
 for promoting peace and reciprocal commercial relations 
 between said countries. This Conference was beneficial, 
 but at that time our people were looking more to Europe 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 297 
 
 for business and commerce than to the countries south of 
 us, and no action was taken by our Congress. Now the 
 United States is at peace with all the world and our popu- 
 lation and wealth make this the foremost Republic of the 
 world, and our Government should inaugurate the move- 
 ment in favor of an American Conference. 
 
 " The present depression of business and low price of 
 farm products are caused, to a considerable extent, by a 
 limited market for our surplus products. Some of the best 
 markets we can look to are not far beyond our southern 
 border. They are nearer to us than to any other commer- 
 cial nation. The people of Mexico and of Central and 
 South America produce much that we need, and our abun- 
 dant agricultural, manufactured, and mineral productions 
 are greatly needed by them. These countries cover an area 
 of 8,118,844 square miles, and have a population of 42,- 
 770,374. Their people recognize the superiority of our 
 products, and desire more intimate business intercourse 
 with our people, but the great bulk of their commerce and 
 trade is with Europe. The Argentine Republic has from 
 forty-five to sixty steamships running regularly between 
 Buenos Ayres and European ports, and no regular line be- 
 tween that country and the United States, and our commer- 
 cial facilities with the other republics of Central and South 
 America are about the same. 
 
 “ In 1884 our exports were valued at $733,768,764. 
 
 “ Of this amount we exported but $64,719,000 to Mexico 
 and South and Central America. 
 
 “ Our annual mechanical and agricultural products are 
 valued at $15,000,000,000, while we seldom have sold more 
 than $75,000,000 worth of these products to our nearest 
 neighbors, who buy in Europe at least five times as much 
 as they get here. 
 
298 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 “The total commerce of the countries named in 1883 
 was as follows : Imports, $331,100,599; exports, #391,294,- 
 781. 
 
 “ Of the $331,100,599 of merchandise sold to those coun- 
 tries, the share of the United States was only $42,598,469; 
 yet we are their closest neighbor. 
 
 “ The disparity of our trade with Peru, Chili, Argentine 
 Republic and Brazil is both amazing and humiliating. 
 
 To 
 
 From Great 
 Britain. 
 
 From United 
 States. 
 
 Peru 
 
 
 $743,105 
 
 Chili 
 
 
 2 , 211,007 
 
 Argentine Republic 
 
 
 4,317,293 
 
 Brazil 
 
 ... 33>946 , 21 5 
 
 7»3 I 7» 2 93 
 
 “ The consumption of cotton goods in Central and South 
 America and in Mexico amounts to nearly $100,000,000 an- 
 nually, and although they are so near our cotton-fields, 
 England furnishes about 95 per cent, of these goods. 
 
 “ Cotton fabrics constitute the wearing apparel of nearly 
 three-fourths of those people, and they have to import all 
 they use. 
 
 “ England monopolizes this trade because of her cheap 
 transportation facilities, and because her mills furnish goods 
 especially adapted to the wants and tastes of the consumers, 
 which our mills have never attempted to produce. 
 
 “ It is very important that transportation facilities between 
 the United States and her southern neighbors should be im- 
 proved ; for as long as the freight from Liverpool, Hamburg 
 and Bordeaux is $15 a ton, they cannot be induced to pay 
 $40 a ton to bring merchandise from the United States. 
 
 “ There is not a commercial city in these countries where 
 the manufacturers of the United States cannot compete with 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 29$ 
 
 their European rivals in every article we produce for ex- 
 port. 
 
 “ The report of the South American Commission shows, 
 by the testimony of the importing merchants of those coun- 
 tries, that aside from the difference in cost and convenience 
 in transporting, it is to their advantage to buy in the United 
 States, because the quality of our products is superior, and 
 our prices are usually as low as those of Europe.” 
 
 AN OPPOSING VIEW. 
 
 Mr. Belmont presented a minority, and opposing, report 
 to the above bill. In discussing it from a commercial stand- 
 point, he made quite prominent a fact, if not a principle, 
 though unintended on his part, that was fully recognized 
 when reciprocity was introduced into the Tariff Act of 1890. 
 He said : 
 
 “ Nothing is now so desirable for our own people as a free 
 and reciprocal interchange of products between ourselves and 
 the people of other nations on this continent. But what now 
 hinders such free interchange so much as our tariff laws? 
 If this Government shall invite Brazil, Mexico and the Re- 
 publics of Central America and South America to join us in 
 a conference to promote such free and reciprocal interchange 
 of products, what concessions in our tariff schedules is the 
 President to be authorized to instruct our commissioners to 
 propose on our part ? The question of our own tariff will 
 naturally and immediately come up for discussion and con- 
 sideration. Shall, for example, our commissioners be au- 
 thorized to offer to the Argentine Republic to admit its wool 
 into our ports free of duty ? 
 
 “ No one can be more sensible than I am of the great ad- 
 vantages which in our country flow from that free commer- 
 cial intercourse, unvexed by tariffs or custom-houses, which 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 30o 
 
 the Federal Constitution secures. I wish by some possible 
 and wise contrivance those advantages now enjoyed by and 
 between Maine and California, Florida and Alaska, could be 
 realized by and between every nation and every producer on 
 this hemisphere from Baffin’s Bay to Cape Horn. But is 
 this Government now in condition to successfully ask in a 
 diplomatic way the accomplishment of such a result? To 
 use Mr. Gladstone’s language, should we not first of all 
 begin to govern ourselves in tariff matters with ‘justice and 
 moderation ? ’ And then, too, does opinion in this House 
 tend to tolerate a reform or protective system by treaties ? 
 
 “ One of the difficulties with which we in the United 
 States have now to contend is that, by reason of our present 
 tariff laws, we cannot in our own workshops compete with 
 European manufacturers, notwithstanding the great advan- 
 tage we have from the efficiency of better paid and better 
 educated labor. So long as such tariff laws shall be main- 
 tained it is not believed that any diplomatic negotiations will 
 enable the United States to do in the Dominion of Canada, 
 or in Mexico, or in Central America, or in South America 
 what we cannot do at home — which is to compete with 
 European manufacturers. Freedom to buy in these com- 
 munities we now have, and we can enlarge its use to any 
 degree, but freedom to sell to those communities we can 
 only enlarge by producing equally good articles which we 
 will sell at least as cheaply as our European competitors. 
 All schemes whatever for retaining a protective system and 
 gaining foreign markets are impossible of success, no matter 
 how many railways we may build or steamships we may 
 subsidize. It will be seen from the statistics already given 
 that a large part of the products of our neighbors to the 
 south of us are now admitted at our custom-houses free of 
 duty, but the difficulty of increasing the exports of our 
 
IIon. James L. Pugh. 
 
 Born in Burke co., Ga., December 12, 1820 ; moved early to Ala- 
 bama, and received academic education ; admitted to bar in 1841, and 
 acquired a lucrative practice ; elected to 36th Congress, but withdrew 
 when State seceded; served in Confederate army; elected to Confederate 
 Congress, 1861-63 ; resumed law practice at Eufaula ; member of Con- 
 vention that framed State Constitution in 1875 ; elected to U. S. Senate 
 in 1880; re-elected 1884 and 1890; member of Committees on Educa- 
 tion and Labor, Judiciary, Privileges and Elections, Revolutionary 
 Claims and Canadian Relations. 
 
 ( 301 ) 
 

RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 303 
 
 manufactured products to those countries remains, because 
 our protective tariff inflicts what, owing to the increased 
 cost of manufacture, is in effect an export tax upon our prod- 
 ucts, which frustrates the efforts of our enterprising and 
 inventive people to have more complete possession of the 
 neighboring markets upon this continent.” 
 
 ARGUMENTS FOR RECIPROCITY. 
 
 It was not until May 6, 1886, that Senator Frye’s bill, be- 
 fore alluded to, was reported to the Senate by the Commit- 
 tee on Foreign Relations. Its provisions were very like 
 those of the McCreary bill. It was accompanied by a still 
 more elaborate report than that in the House, which report 
 included the reports made from time to time by the com- 
 missioners who had visited the Central and South American 
 countries. This report, or, rather, these reports, left little 
 to be added upon the propriety of an international confer- 
 ence, and the necessity for reciprocity in trade and com- 
 merce. We first use the language of Commissioner 
 Thacher : — 
 
 “ The peculiarities of the Latin race in America lead it 
 away from manufacturing pursuits. Valencia centuries ago 
 imported wool from England and returned it in cloths, but 
 the process is now reversed. 
 
 “ Great Britain manufactures for the world, and Spain, 
 with all the colonies she planted, contributes to her com- 
 mercial supremacy. 
 
 “ In Spain there is cheap fuel and plenty of water-power. 
 In Spanish America, from Mexico to Magellan, there are 
 few coal-fields, but almost everywhere flowing streams, 
 furnishing the cheapest and most abundant power. 
 
 “ Guatemala, Costa Rica, the western slopes of the Andes, 
 Uruguay, and portions of the Argentine Republic have un- 
 
3°4 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 failing and enormous stores of this easily-used motor. Yet 
 in Costa Rica I saw only two water-driven mills ; in Guate- 
 mala there were a few more ; yet not one-thousandth part 
 of the water-power was utilized. The Rimac for nearly 70 
 miles is a dashing cascade, with only a tannery, a brewery, 
 and possibly a few other industries at Lima holding in check 
 for a few minutes its rushing flood. 
 
 “Chili in the Mopocho and the Maipo has powerful 
 streams, and hundreds of smaller water-courses find their 
 way to the ocean. 
 
 “ The report from Uruguay calls attention to its internal 
 water-power, and the statements submitted with the report 
 from the Argentine Republic show how immense is the 
 water-power in the Gran Chaco region. 
 
 “ We must conclude, then, that the want of manufactured 
 products in these countries grows out of either or both of two 
 causes ; the one a disinclination to take up the patient, 
 steady routine of daily toil necessary to successful manu- 
 facturing, and the other a greater profitableness in other 
 more congenial pursuits. 
 
 “ Without dwelling on the point, I may say that it is safe 
 to aver that these countries will for years be great consumers 
 of foreign manufactured goods. 
 
 “ In Chili the war with Peru demoralized the soldiers, 
 many of whom were taken from the ordinary pursuits, and, 
 returning from their conquest, failed to take up the peaceful 
 avocations they left ; and yet Chili is beyond doubt in manu- 
 factories the New England of South America. The special 
 report on this country fully covers this question. 
 
 “ In any trade relations we may establish with those coun- 
 tries we may reasonably count on the permanence of the 
 demand for our goods. 
 
 “ The larger portion of the commerce we are seeking has 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 305 
 
 been in the hands of Great Britain, but of recent years 
 another, and what promises to be a more formidable rival, 
 has come to the front. 
 
 “ The German manufacturers, intrenched behind encour- 
 aging and protecting legislative walls, have pushed their 
 products far beyond the home demand. Always sure of 
 their own market without competition, they have turned 
 their unflagging energies to secure centers of trade in the 
 Western Hemisphere. They are clever imitators of every 
 new invention, of every improved machine, and of many of 
 the most useful and popular goods produced in the United 
 States. They send out counterfeits of the famous ‘ Collins* 
 wares, even to the very brand ; they make mowers and 
 agricultural implements as nearly like ours as possible. Our 
 sewing-machines are copied by these people, and the imita- 
 tions are palmed off on the South American trade as com- 
 ing from the United States. The character and ways of 
 these new rivals for the trade of our neighbors is thus graph- 
 ically portrayed by our former consul-general in Mexico, 
 Mr. Strother, and I may add that what the German is in 
 Mexico he is in all the other Central and South American 
 nations. 
 
 “ General Strother says : 
 
 “ * For the rest it will still remain with American manu- 
 facturers and merchants to solve the question of successful 
 competition with their European rivals, the most formidable 
 of whom at present are the Germans, whose commercial 
 establishments are more substantially planted and more 
 widely extended than those of any other foreign nation. 
 And it may be well here to note their methods and the 
 causes of their success. The German who comes to Mexico 
 to establish himself in business is carefully educated for the 
 purpose, not only in the special branch which he proposes 
 
3°6 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 to follow, but he is also an accomplished linguist, being 
 generally able to converse and correspond in the four great 
 commercial languages — German, English, French, and Span- 
 ish. His enterprise is usually backed by large capital in the 
 mother country. He does not come to speculate, or inflated 
 with the hope of acquiring sudden fortune, but expecting to 
 succeed in time by close attention, patient labor and economy, 
 looking forward twenty, thirty, or even forty years for the 
 realization of his hopes. He builds up his business as one 
 builds a house, brick by brick, and with a solid foundation. 
 He can brook delays, give long credits, sustain reverses, and 
 tide over dull times. He never meddles with the politics of 
 the country ; keeps on good terms with its governors, who- 
 ever they may be. He rarely makes complaints through 
 his minister or consul, but if caught evading the revenue 
 laws, or in other illegal practices, he pays his fine and goes 
 on with his business. With these methods and character- 
 istics, the German merchant generally succeeds in securing 
 wealth and the respect of any community in which he may 
 have established himself.’ 
 
 “ In a conversation with the British minister, Sir Spencer 
 St. John, in Mexico, he observed to me that the success of 
 the Germans in dealing with the revenue officials and in 
 pushing their trade had driven out of Mexico every whole- 
 sale English house, whereas the foreign commerce was once 
 largely in the hands of his countrymen. 
 
 “ In passing from this point we must not forget that not- 
 withstanding all this copying of our productions by the 
 German manufacturer, yet the deception deceives few, and 
 that were the markets open to our dealers the superior 
 material, workmanship, and fidelity of our goods would defy 
 all competition. 
 
 “ The French, equally protected by home legislation and 
 
Hon. John M. Palmer. 
 
 Born in Scott co., Ky., September 13, 1817 ; moved to Illinois, 1831 ; 
 studied at Alton College; admitted to bar, 1839; elected Probate Judge 
 of Macoupin co., 1843; member of Constitutional Convention, 1847; 
 elected County Judge, 1848 ; elected to State Senate, 1852; elected to 
 State Senate, 1855, as Anti-Nebraska Democrat ; Delegate to Republican 
 National Convention, 1856 ; candidate for Congress, 1859, on Republican 
 ticket and defeated ; member of Peace Conference, 1861 ; entered Union 
 army (1861) as Colonel of 14th Illinois Regiment ; promoted to Brigadier 
 General, 1861; promoted to Major General, 1863; commanded 14th 
 Army Corps, 1863; operated on Mississippi, with army of Cumberland 
 and with Sherman to Atlanta; elected Governor of Illinois, 1868; 
 nominated for Governor on Democratic ticket, 1888, and defeated; 
 elected U. S. Senator, as Democrat, 1891. 
 
 ( 3 ° 7 ) 
 

 the mm 
 
 Of THE 
 
 ttwiMan if aiaw® 
 
 
 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 309 
 
 alive to the wants of the South American markets, are in- 
 creasing their trade there. 
 
 “ Indeed we must meet in the ports of our neighbors the 
 wares of many of the European countries, all of which are 
 borne to their destination in vessels flying their own 
 national ensign.” 
 
 FURTHER ARGUMENTS. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds, another of the Commissioners, discussed the 
 reciprocal trade idea still more ably and exhaustively, and 
 in fact left the matter in such shape as that the system of 
 practical reciprocity incorporated into the Act of 1890 was 
 the inevitable outcome of his logic. He says : 
 
 “ Among the means to secure more intimate commer- 
 cial relations between the United States and the several 
 countries of Central and South America, suggested in the 
 first report of the Commission to those States (transmitted 
 by the President to Congress on February 13, 1885, and 
 printed as Ex. Doc. No. 226), were the following (p. 4) : 
 * Commercial treaties with actual and equivalent reciprocal 
 concessions in tariff duties.’ As the words * actual and equiv- 
 alent, were adopted at my suggestion, an explanation of 
 their full force may not be superfluous. A stipulation in a 
 treaty that certain products of one country shall be admitted 
 free, or at a reduced duty, into another country, may, on 
 paper, appear to offer a reciprocal concession for a like ad- 
 mission of certain other products of the latter country into 
 the former. But the seeming effect of it may be neutralized 
 in various ways, so that it will be, to the one country or the 
 other, not an actual concession. Chief among those ways 
 are, the existence of treaties with other nations, placing 
 them on the footing of the ‘ most favored nation,’ export 
 duties, home bounties, drawbacks, monopolies, and muni- 
 14 
 
3TO 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 cipal or other local taxation. The skill of the diplomatist, 
 aided by information from consuls, merchants, shippers, and 
 other experts in the question, should be exerted to frame 
 the treaty so as to prevent the defeat of its real object by 
 such collateral disadvantages and burdens. To explain them, 
 or point out modes of removing them, severally, would 
 unduly extend the length of this letter. 
 
 “ But one of them, the ‘ most favored nation clause,’ de- 
 serves special consideration. It is understood that Great 
 Britain, Germany, and probably other countries, claim that 
 a reciprocity treaty with the United States by a Spanish 
 American country applies to them, under that clause in their 
 treaties with the last-mentioned country, with the same 
 effect as if their names had been in the treaty instead of or 
 along with that of the United States. For example, should 
 the United States, resuming import duties on coffee, grant 
 to Brazil freedom from them, on the ‘ reciprocal concession ’ 
 that flour and certain American manufactures should be 
 admitted free into that Empire, Great Britain, which con- 
 sumes very little coffee of any kind, and probably none from 
 Brazil, would claim the same freedom for her like manufact- 
 ures. Thus, in return for our being customers of Brazil, 
 in coffee to the amount of about $50,000,000 annually, Great 
 Britain, offering no ‘ equivalent ’ concession in fact, would 
 still be able to drive (or rather, keep) us out of the Brazil- 
 ian market for those manufactures which she can supply 
 more cheaply or with greater facility through her lines of 
 steamers. 
 
 “ After much thought on the subject, I have found no 
 surer mode of making reciprocity ‘ equivalent ’ than by ex- 
 pressing in the treaty itself, and as a condition of it, the real 
 object of every reciprocity treaty, the actual and equivalent 
 increase of the commerce between the parties to it. For 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 31 1 
 
 illustration, should the United States make a reciprocity treaty 
 with Spain for certain concessions designed to increase our 
 exports to Cuba, in consideration of a reduction of our du- 
 ties on Cuban sugars, the treaty should provide, that that 
 reduction should exist only as long as Cuba imported from 
 the United States at least a certain fixed amount in value 
 annually, and Spain might justly require a like condition as 
 to the annual amount of our imports of Cuban sugars. The 
 custom-house returns of the two countries would readily fix 
 the respective amounts, and the reciprocity of the treaty, 
 whenever it ceased to be actual and equivalent, could be 
 suspended by a proclamation of the President, on due notice 
 to be provided for in the treaty. 
 
 “ As it is undeniable, and even generally admitted, that 
 the ‘ most favored nation clause ’ entitles a country having 
 the privilege of it to be merely * on all fours ’ with any other 
 nation, and share the advantages of it only on the identical 
 conditions accompanying them, such a proviso as that above 
 mentioned would effectually block the diplomatic game 
 which Germany is understood to have played upon us in 
 Mexico, by claiming for herself the benefits of our recent 
 reciprocity treaty with that Republic. Taking, in fact, no 
 sugar and little tobacco or anything else from Mexico, she 
 sagaciously offers to remit her duties on them, and claims 
 for her exports to that Republic, mainly in manufactures t 
 the same concessions it made to the United States in order 
 to increase the exports of its own products to our country. 
 With such a proviso as that above suggested, Germany would 
 be beaten on her own diplomatic ground. Mexico would 
 be obligated by the * most favored nation clause ’ only to 
 offer to Germany the same treaty, mutatis mutandis , her 
 name taking the place of that of the United States. As her 
 imports from Mexico would not compare with ours, such a 
 
312 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 treaty would give her no actual advantage over us. So, 
 also, with Cuba in her commerce with Germany, and prob- 
 ably, also, with Great Britain and France. No one of 
 those countries (France and Germany making their own beet- 
 root sugar, and Great Britain being supplied principally by 
 her own colonies) would be able to take from Cuba the 
 amount of sugars which would be the treaty ‘ equivalent ’ 
 for the concessions made to the United States. 
 
 ' “Another important consideration in deciding what kind 
 of a reciprocity treaty to make, or whether to make it at all, 
 is the effect it would have on some equally advantageous 
 indirect trade. By driving out of some South American 
 market some other country which trades with us, we may 
 diminish the purchasing power of that country in our own 
 markets, and increased indirect trade with the former may 
 not compensate us for a loss of trade with the latter. In 
 this connection, the effect of several misused terms is to be 
 deprecated. Generally when our imports from and exports 
 to any particular country do not balance at all, the very bad 
 English is common of speaking of a ‘ balance of trade ’ for 
 or against us. It is refreshing to notice that in the reports 
 of our Bureau of Statistics that improper phrase is discarded, 
 and the difference between exports and imports is described 
 as an excess of one over the other. An excess of imports 
 over exports in a particular venture may represent a gain, 
 and not a loss. A familiar illustration is that of a Boston 
 ship which, in former times, would take a cargo belonging 
 to the ship’s owner, worth, say, $100,000, to China, and re- 
 turn with one, also belonging to the same owner, worth 
 twice the amount. The difference, being the returns for the 
 expenses of the voyage, the profit in China on the original 
 venture, and that in Boston on the return cargo, would be 
 all gain. The same may be the case with the entire com- 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bi ii::=- n ' 
 
 - , 
 
 
 
 
Hon. William E. Russell. 
 
 Born in Cambridge, Mass., January 6, 1857; graduated at Harvard, 
 1877, and later from Boston University Law School ; admitted to Suf- 
 folk bar in 1880; elected to Common Council, 1882, and to Board of 
 Aldermen in 1884; elected Mayor, 1886,1887, 1888; nominated for 
 Governor, as Democrat, in 1888 ; defeated ; nominated in 1889 ; de- 
 feated; nominated in 1890; elected by 8,953 plurality; re-elected 
 Governor in 1892 by a plurality of 6,457; distinguished at the bar and 
 as an exponent of advanced and liberal Democracy; an able orator, 
 impartial executive, and popular with all parties. 
 
 (314) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA 
 
 3i5 
 
 merce of one country with another, as could be amply shown 
 from the statistics of British trade with Asia, given in Mr. 
 Frelinghuysen’s letter on the ‘ Commerce of the world.’ 
 Of course, in some other special case it might be otherwise. 
 
 “Another very general error is to treat an excess of im- 
 ports over exports in our trade with a particular country as 
 a difference which we pay in cash. This is rarely, if ever, 
 the case. It is usually paid in exchange on some other 
 country, obtained by selling to it our own products. Brazil 
 affords a very fair illustration. We take from that Empire 
 directly products many millions in value in excess of what we 
 send directly to it. That excess is paid for by exchange on 
 London, based on our exports of provisions, cotton, etc., and 
 with that exchange the Brazilian pays for English manufac- 
 tures to be sent to Rio. The indirect trade may be differ- 
 ent. The Englishman may sell his manufactures in Brazil, 
 convert the proceeds directly, or indirectly by purchase of 
 exchange, into coffee, with the proceeds of which in New 
 York he purchases provisions to be sent to England. In 
 either case the result is the same. England gains some 
 profit in exchange, as London is the world’s money centre, 
 and in freights which her ships carry. But to the extent to 
 which England is crippled in her sales to Brazil, her pur- 
 chasing power in our provision markets may be diminished. 
 
 “ Therefore, before making a reciprocity treaty, we should 
 carefully consider, in each particular case, whether, even 
 with the profits in exchange and shipping in a direct trade, 
 we may not be losing a more profitable commerce in a dif- 
 ferent direction, by diminishing the power of others of our 
 regular customers to purchase products from us.” 
 
 A STILL FURTHER VIEW. 
 
 Mr. Curtis, Secretary of the Commission and afterwards a 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 3i6 
 
 Commissioner, added a very interesting report, which still 
 further elaborated the necessity for reciprocal trade. He 
 said : — _ 
 
 “ During the last twenty years the value of the exports 
 from the United States to the Spanish Americans was 
 $442,048,975, and during that time we purchased of them 
 raw products to the amount of $1,185,828,579, showing an 
 excess of imports during the twenty years amounting to 
 $765,992,219, which was paid in cash. It will thus be seen 
 that our commerce with Central and South America has left 
 a very large balance on the wrong side of the ledger, while 
 those countries have all the time been buying in Europe the 
 very merchandise we have for sale. Being the very reverse 
 of the United States in climate and resources, they constitute 
 our natural commercial allies, and the exchange should at 
 least be even ; but they sell their raw products here and buy 
 their manufactured articles in Europe. The principal reason 
 for this is that the carrying trade is in the hands of English- 
 men. The statistics show, that, of the total imports into 
 the United States from Spanish America, which, in 1884, 
 amounted to $159,000,000, three-fourths were carried in 
 foreign vessels. Of our exports to those countries, amount- 
 ing last year to $64,000,000, $46,000,000 were carried in 
 American vessels, while only $18,000,000 were carried by 
 foreign vessels. It will thus be seen that nearly everything 
 we buy is brought to us from Spanish America by English- 
 men, while nearly everything we sell we have to carry there 
 ourselves. The logic of these facts is irresistible. 
 
 “ The most absurd spectacle in the commercial world is 
 the trade we carry on with Brazil. We buy nearly all her 
 raw products, while she spends the money we pay for them 
 in England and France. 
 
 “In 1884, of the exports of Brazil $50,266,000 went to 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 31 7 
 
 the United States, $29,000,000 to England, and $24,000,000 
 to France. Of the imports of Brazil in 1884, $35,000,000 
 came from England, $1 5,000,000 from France, and $8,000,000 
 from the United States. 
 
 “ Another peculiar feature of this commerce was that of 
 the exports of Brazil to the United States $32,000,000 were 
 carried in English vessels and $9,000,000 in American 
 vessels, while of her imports from the United States 
 $6,000,000 were carried in American vessels and only 
 $2,000,000 in English vessels. The trade is carried on by 
 triangular voyages. Two lines of steamships sailing under 
 the British flag load every week at Rio for New York. 
 Arriving at the latter port they place their cargoes of coffee 
 and hides in the hands of commission merchants, and sail 
 for Europe, where they draw against these consignments, 
 and buy Manchester cotton, Birmingham hardware, and 
 other goods which they carry to Brazil. During the last 
 twenty years this absurd spectacle has cost the United 
 States $600,000,000, every cent of which has gone into the 
 pockets of English and French manufacturers. We have 
 not only paid for the goods that England has sold Brazil, 
 but as we have had no banking connections with that coun- 
 try and no ships on the sea, nearly every ton of this com- 
 merce has paid a tax to English bankers and vessel-owners. 
 
 “ Several years ago, when we removed the import tax on 
 coffee, Brazil put an export duty on, so that the attempt of 
 Congress to secure a cheap breakfast for the workingman 
 simply resulted in diverting several million dollars from the 
 treasury of the United States into the treasury of Brazil, 
 without changing the price of the article. Mexico and the 
 countries washed by the Caribbean Sea produce a better 
 quality of coffee than is grown in Brazil, and if the United 
 States Government would consent to discriminate against 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 318 
 
 Brazilian coffee, raised by slave labor, the nations of Central 
 America and the Spanish Main would reciprocate by ad- 
 mitting free to their ports our flour, lumber, provisions, 
 lard, dairy products, kerosene, and other articles which are 
 now kept from the common people by an almost prohibitory 
 tariff. 
 
 “ Brazil is in such a critical condition, financially and com- 
 mercially, that if we did not buy her coffee it would rot on 
 the trees, and the Englishmen who control her foreign com- 
 merce would have to close their warehouses and throw all 
 the Brazilian planters into the bankrupt court. These Eng- 
 lishmen have secured mortgages upon the plantations of 
 Brazil by supplying the planters with merchandise on credit 
 and taking the crop at the end of the season in payment ; 
 but as the crop seldom pays the advances, the mortgages 
 have been lapping over upon the plantations, until now the 
 Englishmen have the Brazilians by the throat, making their 
 own terms, charging one profit on the merchandise sold, 
 another as interest on the advances, a third on the coffee 
 purchased, and a fourth as interest on payments deferred, 
 while they make three profits out of us : first, on coffee they 
 sell us ; second, on transportation charges ; third, in dis- 
 counting our bills on London. 
 
 “ The greater part of our exports to Spanish America go 
 to Mexico and the West Indies. Deducting these from the 
 total, it will be found that we buy over 30 per cent, of what 
 the South American countries have for sale, and furnish 
 them only 6 per cent, of their imports. The balance of 
 trade goes on piling up at the rate of nearly $100,000,000 a 
 year. This was not always so. Twenty years ago more 
 than half the commerce of this hemisphere was controlled 
 by the merchants of New York, Boston, and Baltimore, and 
 more than half the ships in its harbors sailed from those 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 3i9 
 
 ports. Now only a small percentage of the carrying trade 
 is done in American bottoms, while English ship-owners 
 who control the transportation facilities permit the Spanish- 
 American merchants to buy in this country only such goods 
 as they cannot obtain elsewhere. 
 
 “ The cause of this astonishing phenomenon is our neglect 
 to furnish the ways and means of commerce. We can no 
 more prevent trade following facilities for communication 
 than we can repeal the law of gravity. While we have been 
 pointing with pride at our internal development, England 
 and France have been stealing our markets away from us. 
 The problem of recovering them is easy of solution. The 
 States of Central and South America will buy what we have 
 to sell if intelligent measures are used to cultivate the mar- 
 kets and means are provided for the delivery of the goods. 
 
 “ The Spanish-American nations seek political intimacy 
 with the United States, and look to this, the mother of re- 
 publics, for example and encouragement. They recognize 
 and assert the superiority of our products. They offer and 
 pay subsidies to our ships. Brazil now pays $100,000 a 
 year as a subsidy to an American steamship line, while the 
 United States Government paid only $4,000 last year to 
 the same line for carrying our mails. The Argentine Re- 
 public had a law upon its statute-books representing a stand- 
 ing offer of a subsidy of 96,000 silver dollars a year to any 
 company that will establish a steamship line between 
 Buenos Ayres and New York, under the American flag, 
 and at the same time has twenty-one lines of steamships, 
 sailing from forty-five to sixty vessels a month, between 
 Buenos Ayres and the ports of Europe, to which it pays 
 nothing. We have no steamship communication with the 
 Argentine Republic whatever. During the last year, out 
 of the millions of tons of shipping represented in the harbor 
 
320 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 of that metropolis, there were no steamers from the United 
 States, and our flag was seen upon but 2 per cent, of the 
 sailing vessels. Here is a nation purchasing in Europe 
 $ 70,000,000 worth of merchandise every year, and only 
 spending about $ 4 , 000,000 in the United States, and these 
 $4,000,000 represent articles, such as petroleum, lumber, 
 lard and other pork products, which could not elsewhere be 
 obtained.” 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. 
 
 The Senate passed the Frye bill on June 17, 1886, but it 
 did not become a law until May 24, 1888, when the 
 International American Conference became a possi- 
 bility. 
 
 It was for this Conference to give wider, fuller, more 
 learned and disinterested consideration to the question of 
 trade relations and reciprocal commerce between the 
 American nations than ever before. It was called by the 
 President to meet in Washington, October 2, 1889. Invita- 
 tions were duly issued, and the Conference met with dele- 
 gates present from Argentine, Bolivia, Brazil, Chili, 
 Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hayti, Hon- 
 duras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, United 
 States, Uruguay, Venezuela. 
 
 Hon. James G. Blaine was elected President of the Con- 
 ference. It remained in session until April, 1890, and dis- 
 cussed and reported upon all the subjects prescribed in the 
 Act authorizing the call, to wit : — 
 
 Plan of Arbitration ; Reciprocity Treaties ; Inter-Conti- 
 nental Railway; Steamship Communication; Sanitary 
 Regulations ; Customs Regulations ; Common Silver Coin ; 
 Patents and Trade Marks ; Weights and Measures ; Port 
 Dues; International Laws; Extradition Treaties; Inter- 
 national Bank. 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 321 
 
 In the discussions upon “ Reciprocity Treaties,” all of 
 which were very able and interesting, two lines of thought 
 appeared. That which represented all of the countries ex- 
 cept Argentine and Chili, was in the direction of reci- 
 procity, whose advantages were conceded, and whose 
 practical operation needed but the encouragement of some 
 acceptable concession on the part of the United States. 
 The thought of Argentine and Chili seemed to be that reci- 
 procity was impracticable, unless enlarged to suit the 
 world, and that the United States was not yet so commer- 
 cially strong, or was too hampered with her tariff system to 
 offer the necessary concessions to all the nations. The 
 attitude and the logic of these two States were fully met by 
 the delegates of the United States in the Conference, show- 
 ing in detail that the first stage of national growth is agri- 
 cultural, the second is manufacturing, and the third is com- 
 mercial. The first two stages with us have been reached, 
 and we now enter upon the third. The same restless 
 energy, the same enterprise, and the same inventive genius 
 which gave success to agriculture and manufactures will 
 mark the development of commerce. 
 
 “ The spirit of enterprise begins to spread like contagion 
 into Central America. Imagination already paints on her 
 canals the commerce of the world. The locomotive is 
 there a messenger of peace, the steel rail a bond of friend- 
 ship. 
 
 “ Colombia and Venezuela and Brazil and Ecuador and 
 Peru already feel the irresistible impulse which impels to a 
 closer union. The Argentine and Chili may hesitate for a 
 time, but finally they too will join hands with their sister 
 Republics, and joyfully assist to fulfil the bright destiny 
 that awaits us all.” 
 
322 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 CONFERENCE REPORT AND BLAINE’S REVIEW. 
 
 The Conference adopted a Report which recognized the 
 policy of reciprocity and the “ need of closer and more re- 
 ciprocal commercial relations among American States.” 
 Secretary Blaine submitted this Report to the President, 
 June 19, 1890, with an exhaustive review of its contents. 
 This review was so exhaustive, and is, moreover, such an 
 important part of the literature of reciprocity, that inability to 
 publish it here in full, for lack of space, is greatly regretted. 
 But its gist was that out of a total of $233,000,000 imports 
 furnished to Chili and Argentine alone in 1888, England 
 contributed $90,000,000, Germany $43,000,000, France 
 $34,000,000, the United States only $13,000,000, and this, 
 notwithstanding the facts that our ports were nearest, and 
 the bulk of those imports were of articles we were actually 
 manufacturing better and as cheaply as foreign nations. 
 
 That in 1868 our total exports were $375,737,000, of 
 which $53,197,000, or 14 per cent., went to Spanish America, 
 while in 1888 our total exports were $742,368,000, of which 
 $69,273,000, or only 9 per cent., went to Spanish America. 
 
 That it was the unanimous judgment of the delegates 
 that our exports to these countries and the other Republics 
 could be increased to a great extent by the negotiations of 
 proper reciprocity treaties. 
 
 That lack of means for reaching their markets was the 
 chief obstacle in the way of increased exports. The carry- 
 1 ng trade has been controlled by European merchants who 
 have forbidden an exchange of commodities. Under liberal 
 encouragement from the government and the establishment 
 of regular steamship lines, France increased her exports to 
 South America from $8,292,000 in 1880 to $22,996,000 in 
 1888. By the same means Germany increased her exports 
 
Hon. Jerry Simpson. 
 
 Born in province of New Brunswick, Canada, March 31, 1842; 
 moved with parents to Oneida county, N. Y., 1848 ; at fourteen became 
 a sailor, and followed sea for twenty-three years, being captain of large 
 vessels on Great Lakes; served for a time in Company A 12th Illinois 
 Volunteers; settled in Kansas, near Medicine Lodge, 1878; became 
 large farmer and stock raiser; united with Greenback and Union Labor 
 party ; twice defeated for Kansas Legislature ; nominated for Fifty-sec- 
 ond Congress by People’s Party and supported by Democrats in Seventh 
 Kansas District; elected by over 7000 majority. 
 
 (3 2 3) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 325 
 
 to South America from $2,365,000 in 1880 to $13,310,000 
 in 1888. 
 
 That the Conference believes that while great profit would 
 come to all countries under reciprocity treaties, the United 
 States would be far the greatest gainer, and that especially 
 since 87 per cent, of our imports from those countries came 
 in duty free, while nearly all our exports to them were 
 heavily dutiable at their ports, in some cases to the extent 
 of prohibition. 
 
 That increased exports would draw alike from our farms, 
 factories and forests, such being the character of the articles 
 required by those countries. A steamer load from New 
 York to Rio Janeiro, which was traced to its origin, as to 
 the articles which comprised it, showed that thirty-six of 
 our States and Territories had contributed to the cargo. 
 
 That, excepting raw cotton, our four largest exports are 
 breadstuffs, provisions, petroleum and lumber. In 1889 
 our export of these articles was : — Breadstuff's, $123,876,- 
 423, of which only $5,123,528 went to Latin America; Pro- 
 visions, $104,122,328, of which only $2,507,375 went 
 thither; Petroleum, $44,830,424, of which $2,948,149 went 
 thither; Lumber, $26,907,000, of which $5,039,886 went 
 thither. Since the United States is almost the only source 
 of supply for these articles, which rank as necessaries of 
 life, and there are 50,000,000 of population in Latin 
 America, the advantages of a direct and larger trade are 
 apparent. 
 
 That fifteen of the seventeen Republics in the Conference 
 indicated their desire to enter upon reciprocal commercial 
 relations with the United States; the remaining two ex- 
 pressed equal willingness, could they be assured that their 
 advances would be favorably considered. 
 
 That to “ escape the delay and uncertainty of treaties it 
 
326 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 has been suggested that a practicable and prompt mode of 
 testing the question was to submit an amendment to the 
 pending tariff bill, authorizing the President to declare the 
 ports of the United States free to all the products of any 
 nation of the American hemisphere upon which no export 
 duties are imposed, whenever and so long as such nation 
 shall admit to its ports free of all national, provincial (state), 
 municipal, and other taxes, our flour, corn-meal, and other 
 breadstuff's, preserved meats, fish, vegetables and fruits, cot- 
 ton-seed oil, rice and other provisions, including all articles 
 of food, lumber, furniture and other articles of wood, agri- 
 cultural implements and machinery, mining and mechanical 
 machinery, structural steel and iron, steel rails, locomotives, 
 railway cars and supplies, street cars, and refined petroleum. 
 These particular articles are mentioned because they have 
 been most frequently referred to as those with which a val- 
 uable exchange could be readily effected. The list could 
 no doubt be profitably enlarged by a careful investigation 
 of the needs and advantages of both the home and foreign 
 markets. 
 
 “ The opinion was general among the foreign delegates 
 that the legislation herein referred to would lead to the 
 opening of new and profitable markets for the products of 
 which we have so large a surplus, and thus invigorate every 
 branch of agricultural and mechanical industry. Of course 
 the exchanges involved in these propositions would be ren- 
 dered impossible if Congress in its wisdom should repeal 
 the duty on sugar by direct legislation, instead of allowing 
 the same object to be attained by the reciprocal arrangement 
 suggested.” 
 
 RECIPROCITY AND THE ACT OF 189O. 
 
 We have now reached a period in the history of reci- 
 procity when it was to be given practical application, out- 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 327 
 
 side of the usual form of prolix and uncertain treaty, and 
 in the form of a specific enactment or declaration. The 
 proposition, just above noted, to incorporate it as a policy 
 in our Tariff laws, was at first received with misgivings by 
 the most ardent friends of protection. They doubted the 
 propriety of introducing it into strictly tariff legislation, 
 lest it might endanger the success of such legislation, or at 
 least subtract from the strength and efficacy of some of 
 the protective doctrines. 
 
 But the matter was persistently urged upon the attention 
 of those who had the Tariff Act of 1890 in charge. The 
 more it was studied the more it grew in favor. The litera- 
 ture bearing upon it, the facts it embraced, the theories and 
 promises involved, proved startling and convincing. The 
 administration saw that it could well afford to accept it as a 
 measure and abide by its consequences. Political lines be- 
 gan to harden respecting it, and the one party shrank not 
 from its advocacy nor the other from attack upon it. Thus 
 it ripened, and the Tariff Act of 1890 became its opportu- 
 nity, not only as to time, but as to the fact that the contem- 
 plated enlargement of the free list, by the removal of millions 
 of duties from sugars and other articles, would provide the 
 concessions to other nations necessary for a fair and perhaps 
 successful trial of it, in the proposed way. 
 
 At last it found its place in the pending Tariff Act — the 
 Tariff Act of 1890 — as Section 3 of the Free List. It 
 reads : — 
 
 “ That with a view to secure reciprocal trade with coun- 
 tries producing the following articles, and for this purpose, 
 on and after the first day of January, 1892, whenever and so 
 often as the President shall be satisfied that the government 
 of any country producing and exporting sugars, molasses, 
 coffee, tea, and hides raw and uncured, or any of such 
 
328 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 articles, imposes duties or other exactions upon the agri- 
 cultural or other products of the United States, which in 
 view of the free introduction of such sugar, molasses, coffee, 
 tea and hides mto the United States he may deem to be re- 
 ciprocally unequal and unreasonable, he shall have the 
 power, and it shall be his duty to suspend, by proclamation 
 to that effect, the provisions of this Act relating to the free 
 introduction of such sugar, molasses, coffee, tea and hides, 
 the production of such country, for such time as he shall 
 deem just, and in such case and during such suspension 
 duties shall be levied, collected and paid upon sugar, 
 molasses, coffee, tea and hides, the product of or exported 
 from such designated country, as follows : — ” 
 
 Here follow the rates in detail, the rate on sugar being 
 from 7-ioth of a cent per pound to 2 cents per pound ac- 
 cording to test; on molasses 4 cents a gallon; on coffee 3 
 cents per pound ; on tea 10 cents per pound ; and on hides 
 I y 2 cents per pound. 
 
 APPLIED RECIPROCITY. 
 
 By the middle of March, 1892 (March 15), all the coun- 
 tries of the American Continent south of the United States 
 had either assented to the doctrine of reciprocal trade as in- 
 corporated in the McKinley Act of 1890, or had entered 
 into negotiations which looked to a speedy acceptance of 
 the doctrine, with the exceptions of Venezuela, Hayti and 
 Colombia. The refusal of these three to join in reciprocity 
 as offered by the Act of 1890 led to an event which marked 
 the second stage of the reciprocity policy. Their refusal 
 being complete, for the time being at least, President Harri- 
 son, under the powers conferred upon him by the Act, issued 
 his proclamation to them, imposing on their sugars, mo- 
 lasses, coffees, teas and raw hides, exported to the United 
 
Hon. John Sherman. 
 
 Born at Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823 ; academically educated ; 
 studied law and admitted to bar, May 11, 1844; delegate to Whig Na- 
 tional Conventions, 1848 and 1852; President of first Republican in Ohio, 
 1855; elected to 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th Congresses; elected, as Re- 
 publican, to United States Senate, March, 1861 ; re-elected to same, 
 1866 and 1872; appointed Secretary of Treasury, by President Hayes, 
 March, 1877, and served till March 3, 1881 ; distinguished for advocacy 
 of resumption and success in refunding United States debt ; re-elected 
 to Senate for term beginning March 4, 1881, and again in 1886 and 
 1892; Chairman of Committee on Foreign Relations and member of 
 Committees on Finance, Rules, etc. 
 
 (329) 
 

 
 iut uasxffif 
 
 
 
 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 33i 
 
 States and entered at its ports, the duties provided for in the 
 Act, which duties were, as to sugars and molasses, less than 
 under the Act of 1883, or the Mills Bill, and amounted to 
 three cents a pound on coffee, ten cents a pound on tea, and 
 one and one half cents per pound on hides. 
 
 These duties, therefore, as to coffee, tea and hides, be- 
 came really discriminative, for these articles were, and had 
 been for a long time, upon the free list of the United States. 
 They were ratably discriminative as to sugar and molasses, 
 which articles had just gone upon our free list; but then, 
 these three countries did not export sugar to the United 
 States. 
 
 In order to meet this stage of the reciprocity policy, those 
 who opposed it with the objection that the Act of 1890 was 
 unconstitutional, as conferring upon the Executive powers 
 which belonged wholly to the Legislative branch of the 
 government, carried a test case into the United States 
 Supreme Court. That tribunal decided that the power con- 
 ferred upon the President by the Act was not unconstitu- 
 tional, that the Congress had legislated as clearly respecting 
 the duties to be imposed upon the products of dissenting 
 countries as it had in the regular schedules of the Act, and 
 that the only exceptional feature of the legislation, which 
 was that the President should be left to ascertain the date 
 when a country refused to accept reciprocity, was not fatal 
 to the Act, since it was a fact only which had to be ascer- 
 tained, and a fact which would have to be ascertained out 
 of the State Department in any event. 
 
 At this stage, too, reciprocity met renewed and active 
 opposition in the form of arguments as to its cost to the 
 people of this country. The exports to the United States 
 of the three dissenting countries were, in 1890, as follows 
 
 15 
 
332 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 • Coffee. Hides. 
 
 Venezuela $9,662,207 $812,347 
 
 Colombia 1,849,441 630,099 
 
 Hayti 1,270,247 30,391 
 
 $12,781,895 $1,472,837 
 
 Taking the above item of coffee, which represented an ex- 
 port of about 76,000,000 pounds, these opponents argued 
 that this quantity of coffee, which was about fifteen per 
 cent, of our entire annual supply — 500,000,000 pounds — 
 would, at three cents a pound, subject our people to a tax 
 of $2,280,000 per annum. 
 
 To this the friends of reciprocity answered : — that if this 
 duty of three cents a pound were levied upon these coffees 
 it would prove not only discriminating but prohibitory, for 
 these countries could not afford to compete with other coffee- 
 growing countries in a market which was free to them. 
 Therefore, in as much as no coffee could come to us from 
 these dissenting countries, our people would have no duties 
 to pay. But, said the opposition, in that event our annual 
 supply of coffee will be reduced, and we will have to pay 
 more for what does come. To this the answer was, that 
 there is no market for those coffees except in the United 
 States, and that as they would have to come here ulti- 
 mately, the only condition upon which they could be 
 marketed was by the payment of the duty by the pro- 
 ducers ; that is to say, they would have to throw off the 
 duty in order to enter the market on the same footing as 
 other countries. And the further answer was given, that 
 even if these coffees never reached our market, the vacuum 
 occasioned thereby would be only temporary, and would be 
 speedily filled by Mexico, Central America and Brazil. As 
 an assignee of this, it was pointed out that all the coffee* 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 333 
 
 growing countries, notably Brazil, that had accepted reci- 
 procity, were already experiencing improvement in their 
 industrial interests, and feeling the impetus of enlarged 
 trade with the United States. 
 
 ACCEPTANCE OF RECIPROCITY. 
 
 This stage of the reciprocity policy had been anticipated 
 by all the important sugar-producing countries, or a suffi- 
 cient number of them to place ninety-five per cent, of our 
 raw sugar supply under the regulation of reciprocity con- 
 ventions. The Spanish West Indies, whence forty-two per 
 cent, of our supply is derived, Germany, the British West 
 Indies, Hawaii, the Philippines, San Domingo, Brazil, 
 Austria-Hungary, France and colonies, Central America, 
 Mexico, had either accepted reciprocity or called conven- 
 tions for that purpose. Many of these countries had main- 
 tained high rates of duty against exports from the United 
 States, some had imposed prohibitive rates, a few had for- 
 bidden altogether the entry of our products, American pork 
 for instance, into their ports. 
 
 The concessions granted by these countries in their reci- 
 procity conventions have resulted in opening their ports to 
 a large class of the products of the United States, either by 
 removing duties on them entirely, or by reducing said duties 
 to a minimum. Germany, by her reciprocity agreement, 
 admitted free, or at reduced rates of duty, American meats, 
 fruits, cereals, furniture and farming utensils. France did 
 the same thing, and so of the various countries whose com- 
 mercial interests were touched by the enlargement of the 
 free list of imports into the United States under the Act of 
 1890, and the introduction of the reciprocity policy as a 
 provision of said Act. 
 
 It will require some time to demonstrate by actual figures 
 
334 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 the permanent effects of reciprocity on the commerce of the 
 nations interested. But figures are already attainable which 
 point to an increase of both imports to and exports from 
 such countries. Brazil accepted the policy of reciprocity 
 on April I, 1891. In nine months time, that is up to the 
 end of December, 1891, her imports to this country showed 
 $79,183,238, as against $52,861,398 for the corresponding 
 nine months of 1890; while the exports from this country 
 to Brazil showed $11,555,447, as against $10,071,871 for the 
 same months of 1891 and 1890 respectively. 
 
 The treaty with Spain, which mostly touched upon our 
 commerce with Cuba, took effect September 1, 1891. In the 
 four months, ending December 31, 1891, the imports from 
 Cuba to this country were $14,956,868, as against $11,782, 
 023 for the corresponding four months of 1890; while the 
 exports to Cuba were $7,063,222 in the same four months 
 of 1891, as against $4,816,029 in the corresponding months 
 of 1890. This decided increase of exports to Cuba took 
 place in the face of the fact that the very high duties im- 
 posed on American wheat and flour entering Cuban ports, 
 amounting almost to the cost of production of these articles, 
 or even their full market price, was not fully reduced to the 
 minimum rate agreed upon in the reciprocity treaty, till 
 January 1, 1892. 
 
 A FAIR TRIAL NEEDED. 
 
 Whether reciprocity be a step toward free-trade, as free- 
 traders argue, or whether a step toward more rational pro- 
 tection, as protectionists argue, it ought to be given such a 
 test as will forever settle it as a safe doctrine in the new 
 political economy which the United States of America is 
 engaged in writing for itself and the entire Western Conti- 
 nent. It ought to be so tried by the fires of actual experi- 
 ence as to consume it entirely as a commercial policy and 
 
' 
 
 y C I 3 ■? 
 
 y/ 6 
 
 / 0 , 0 .? 
 
 
 
 
Hon. Leland Stanford. 
 
 Born in Albany co., N. Y., March 9, 1824 ; educated for bar and ad- 
 mitted at Albany, 1846 ; moved to Wisconsin and practiced for four 
 years ; moved to California in 1852 and entered commercial pursuits at 
 Sacramento ; delegate to Republican National Convention at Chicago, 
 1860 ; elected Governor of California, 1861 ; President of Central Pa- 
 cific Railroad Company ; largely interested in railroads, manufactures 
 and agriculture of Pacific slope; elected to United States Senate, as 
 Republican, in 1884; re-elected in 1890; term expires March 3, 1897 ; 
 of pleasing address, broad views, and earnestness of purpose; Chair- 
 man of Committee on Public Buildings and member of Committees on 
 Civil Service, Education and Labor, Fisheries, and Naval Affairs. 
 
 (336) 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 337 
 
 practice, if false, or establish it permanently, if true. A 
 misfortune attending its introduction is the fact that it has 
 been subjected to the phases of opinion and to the partisan 
 criticisms and arguments which characterize American 
 politics. It is really far removed from mere parties and 
 politics, and is a matter of truly national and international 
 import, all of whose essential features are commercial and 
 economic. 
 
 But whatever the verdict respecting reciprocity, when 
 fully tested, may be, the fact of its incorporation into our 
 statutes and of its introduction into our commercial polity, 
 is a declaration on the part of the United States that it has 
 reached a place among enlightened, industrious, rich and 
 progressive nations where it is no longer sufficient unto it- 
 self. The immense pressure of commercial, manufacturing 
 and agricultural interests drives us every day more and 
 more forward and outward into rivalry with the old and 
 great nations that have established their markets in all parts 
 of the world, and especially with those that have been es- 
 tablished upon our own continent and at our very doors. 
 Rivalry of this kind has, in times past, assumed overshad- 
 owing, and often hostile, proportions among nations anxious 
 to gain and hold trade supremacy. It is not too much to 
 say that a large per cent, of the five million lives and fifteen 
 thousand millions of treasure expended by civilized nations 
 during the past century is chargeable to their efforts to en- 
 large and maintain their commercial interests. This is evi- 
 dence of the magnitude and value of the prize sought, as 
 well as the manner of seeking it. 
 
 FIRMNESS REQUIRED. 
 
 Happily for our civilization, reciprocity as incorporated in 
 our statutes proposes only a peaceful solution of eommer- 
 
338 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 <dal and economic problems and an amicable assertion of 
 3ur industrial supremacy and independence, if such shall 
 come to pass under, or by reason of, it. Yet there should 
 be no closing of eyes to the fact that the rivalry occasioned 
 by a step which bids fair to be as momentous as that of 
 reciprocity is not without dangers. One has but to consider 
 the feeling evinced by the nations of Europe when the 
 policy of reciprocity was announced in the United States, 
 to be convinced that they would not willingly forego the 
 advantages of trade they enjoyed with the countries to the 
 south of us, on this continent, but that they would struggle 
 for them with all the arts known to diplomacy, all the inge- 
 nuity born of superiority, and all the finesse bred by ages 
 of shrewdness and self-assertion. England, especially, 
 seemed to have been impressed with the magnitude of the 
 new departure on the part of the United States, and with 
 her usual astuteness earliest foresaw its effects on her mar- 
 kets in Central and South American countries. Her press 
 became bitter in its denunciations of the new policy, and 
 when the difficulty with Chile arose, the same press made it 
 all too plain that there was concerted effort on the part of 
 English diplomats to crush out intercourse, commercial and 
 social, with our continental neighbor. The United States 
 could not have gone to war with Chile, except by fighting 
 England, either openly, or under cover of deeply disguised 
 diplomacy. The English idea of reciprocity being that it 
 involves the principle of lex talionis , or the law of revenge 
 — “ an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ” — it would 
 have been easy for her to find arguments or excuses for 
 frustrating all our efforts toward more intimate trade rela- 
 tions with all South American countries. Our imbroglio 
 with Chile made the fact almost patent that foreign nations 
 stood ready to challenge our right to intrench on their com- 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 339 
 
 mercial domains by means of reciprocity, and their anxiety 
 and attitude showed that they were more fully aware of the 
 effects of reciprocity on their trade in these countries than 
 even our wisest statesmen and shrewdest merchants had 
 been. 
 
 WHAT EUROPE STRIVES FOR. 
 
 Heretofore, England, Germany, France and Italy had 
 been struggling, neck and neck, for the markets of Central 
 and South America, not to say Mexico. They had used 
 every art and artifice known to diplomacy and commerce to 
 head off rivalry and establish supremacy. They manufac- 
 tured and priced and labelled with specific intent to occupy 
 markets. They established lines of steamers, whose gauge 
 and velocity were best adapted for intercourse. They sub- 
 sidized ocean transit to secure dispatch. They founded 
 banks and commercial houses. They loaned credit on most 
 desperate securities. They sent drummers, agents and in- 
 terested parties to prospect, persuade and represent. They 
 formed huge syndicates which took possession of great in- 
 terests, like the nitre beds, and worked them at immense 
 profit. The result was that they came to own and control 
 the markets of South America. The productions of these 
 countries, destined for the United States, came here in the 
 ships of Europe and by way of European ports, where they 
 paid the rich bounty of ocean freight and the inevitable 
 commissions for handling that the European merchant has 
 ever been privileged to suck from the world’s goods in transit. 
 Two or three steamers a month sufficed to carry to these 
 countries all they cared to take from us in the shape of our 
 products. The bulk of what they had sold us — many times 
 over and over again what we had sold them — was paid for 
 in gold, through European houses, with another commission 
 for handling. 
 
340 
 
 RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 Europe saw that every bill of goods we could place to 
 our credit, in a South American port, would be deducted 
 from her account. Hence her nervousness, her hostility. 
 She could not, she would not, sit idly by and witness this 
 inroad upon her trade, this disturbance of the commercial 
 nests she had built in the Central and South American 
 States. In affairs of this kind, and amid such conditions, 
 affairs and conditions which concern only national pocket- 
 books and national prestige, there is absolutely no senti- 
 .ment, nothing to be hoped for from real or imaginary 
 national condescension or sympathy. We must expect just 
 what is sure to come, unless all history belies itself, to wit, 
 the criticism, the antagonism, the counter efforts of the 
 nations whose interests are touched and whose trade is 
 threatened. We must even expect more, for conditions 
 may arise, as they have not infrequently done, which shall 
 require that we be prepared to hold at any cost what we 
 have striven to obtain through ordinary diplomatic and 
 commercial avenues, what is as much our right as a nation 
 as it is the right of any other nation, what geographically 
 speaking is more naturally our own than that of any nation 
 across the sea, and what by similarity of political institu- 
 tions and continental instinct is ours rather than a stranger’s. 
 It can be but a short while before the reflex action of reci- 
 procity upon the American Republics becomes its most elo- 
 quent argument and surest guarantee of a permanent foot- 
 hold. For it is destined to repeat in commerce the history 
 which led to the Monroe Doctrine in diplbmacy and politics. 
 There may never be an American Bund, a distinctive Con- 
 tinental Commercial Union, but as the advantages of reci- 
 procity with such a people as that of the United States, 
 with a market the highest priced and richest in the world, 
 with ports that are nearest and most accessible, come to be 
 
RECIPROCITY IN AMERICA. 
 
 341 
 
 fully appreciated by the American Republics, there will be 
 such a consensus of commercial view, such a blending of 
 trade interests, such a harmony of industrial instincts, as 
 will surprise the older nations with its strength and effi- 
 ciency. 
 
 COMMERCIAL EMANCIPATION. 
 
 When the “ Monroe Doctrine,” which was a broad hint 
 to Europe that monarchical interference with the spirit of 
 Republicanism in America might give occasion for a com- 
 mon cause on the part of the rising Republics against such 
 interference, fell into seeming desuetude, it but required the 
 French threat upon Mexico in 1864-65 to set aflame all the 
 Republics of South America, and in Convention at Lima 
 they made it quite plain that meddling of that kind with 
 American affairs would result in united opposition, even to 
 the verge of force. What, therefore, has become true in a 
 political sense, will become equally true in a commercial 
 sense. The year 1890 and the policy of reciprocity in 
 American commerce are as much of a departure and as 
 much the beginning of a continental era, looking to freedom 
 and independence, as were the year 1824 and the Panama 
 Congress, of which Congress Simon Bolivar said in his 
 call : — “ The day our plenipotentiaries make the exchanges 
 of their powers will stamp in the diplomatic history of the 
 world an immortal epoch. When, after a hundred cen- 
 turies, posterity shall search for the origin of our public 
 law, and shall remember the compacts that solidified its 
 destiny, they will finger with respect the protocols of the 
 Isthmus. In them they will find the plan of the first 
 alliances that shall sketch the mark of our relations with 
 the universe. What, then, shall be the Isthmus of Corinth 
 as compared with the Isthmus of Panama?” 
 
PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 ELECTORAL VOTE OF 1888. 
 
 Republican. Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 Benj. 
 
 Levi P. 
 
 Grover 
 
 Allen G. 
 
 Basis of 
 
 
 Harrison, 
 
 Morton, 
 
 Cleveland, Thurman, 
 
 States. 1 54r325' 
 
 Votes. 
 
 Ind. 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 . 8 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 • 5 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 California 
 
 . 6 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 Colorado 
 
 . 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Connecticut. . . 
 
 • 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Delaware 
 
 . 1 
 
 3 
 
 . . 
 
 . , 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Florida 
 
 . 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 # . 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 Georgia 
 
 .10 
 
 12 
 
 
 . . 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 Illinois 
 
 .20 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 Indiana 
 
 •13 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 Iowa 
 
 .11 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 Kansas 
 
 . 7 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 .11 
 
 13 
 
 
 . . 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 . 6 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 Maine 
 
 • 4 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 *6 
 
 
 
 Maryland 
 
 . 6 
 
 8 
 
 . . 
 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 Massachusetts . 
 
 . 12 
 
 14 
 
 14 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 Michigan 
 
 .31 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 • 5 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 Mississippi . . . . 
 
 • 7 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 Missouri 
 
 .14 
 
 16 
 
 # . 
 
 . . 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 • 3 
 
 S 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 New Hampshire 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 New Jersey. . . 
 
 • 7 
 
 9 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 New York. . . . 
 
 •34 
 
 36 
 
 36 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 • 9 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 Ohio 
 
 .21 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 Oregon 
 
 . 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 .28 
 
 3° 
 
 30 
 
 3° 
 
 
 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 . 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 Tennessee .... 
 
 . 10 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 Texas 
 
 .11 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 Vermont 
 
 . 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Virginia 
 
 . 10 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 West Virginia. 
 
 • 4 
 
 6 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Wisconsin .... 
 
 • 9 
 
 Ii 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 Totals. . . .325 
 
 401 
 
 233 
 
 233 
 
 168 
 
 168 
 
 The Popular Vote. — Harrison, 5438,157 — 20 States; Cleveland, 5,535,- 
 626 — 18 States; Prohibition, 250,157; Labor, 150,624. 
 
 342 
 
PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 343 
 
 ELECTORAL VOTE OF 1884. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Grover Thos. A. 
 
 Republican. 
 James G. John A. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 . 8 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 ■ 5 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 California . . . . , 
 
 . 6 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 Colorado 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 . . 
 
 , . 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Connecticut. . . . 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Delaware 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Florida 
 
 . 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Georgia 
 
 .10 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 Illinois 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 . # 
 
 # . 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 Indiana 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 Iowa 
 
 .11 
 
 13 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 Kansas 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 . 6 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 Maine 
 
 • 4 
 
 6 
 
 . . . 
 
 , , 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Maryland 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 Massachusetts . . 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 . . 
 
 , . 
 
 14 
 
 14 
 
 Michigan 
 
 .11 
 
 13 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 . 5 
 
 7 
 
 . . 
 
 , . 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 Mississippi . . . . 
 
 ■ 7 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 Missouri 
 
 •14 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 • 3 
 
 5 
 
 • • 
 
 . . 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Nevada 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 . . 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 New Hampshire 2 
 
 4 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 New Jersey. . . . 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 New York 
 
 34 
 
 36 
 
 36 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 North Carolina. 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 Ohio . . . , 
 
 .21 
 
 23 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 Oregon 
 
 . 1 
 
 3 
 
 . . 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Pennsylvania. . . 
 
 .28 
 
 30 
 
 
 . . 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 Rhode Island . . 
 
 . 2 
 
 4 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 Tennessee . . . . , 
 
 . 10 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 Texas 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 Vermont 
 
 . 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 . . 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 Virginia 
 
 .10 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 West Virginia. . 
 
 ■ 4 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 • 9 
 
 11 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 Totals 325 
 
 401 
 
 219 
 
 219 
 
 182 
 
 182 
 
 Popular Vote. — Cleveland, 4,911,017 — States, 20; Blaine, 4,848,334 — 
 States, 18; Butler, Greenback -Labor, 133,825; St. John, Prohibition, 151,809; 
 Scattering, 11,362. 
 
344 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 PREVIOUS ELECTORAL VOTES. 
 
 Republican. 1880. Democrat. 
 
 James A. Garfield, O., 214 Winfield S. Hancock, N. Y., 155 
 
 Chester A. Arthur, N. Y., 214 Wm. H. English, Ind., 155 
 
 Total electoral vote, 369 ; 38 States. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Garfield, 4,449,053 — 19 States; Hancock, 4,442,035 — 19 
 States; Weaver, Greenback, 308,578 ; Prohibition, 10,305; American, 707 ; 
 Scattering, 989. 
 
 Republican. 1876. 
 
 R. B. Hayes, Ohio, 185 
 W. A. Wheeler, N. Y., 185 
 Total electoral vote, 369; 38 States. 
 Popular Vote. — Hayes, 4,033,950 — 21 
 States; Cooper, Greenback, 81,740; Smith, 
 539; Scattering, 14,7 1 5 - 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 S. J. Tilden, N. Y., 184 
 
 T. A. Hendricks, Ind., 184 
 
 States; Tilden, 4,284,885 — 17 
 Prohibition, 9,522; American, 
 
 Republican. 1872. Democrat. 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant, 111 ., 286 Horace Greeley 
 
 Henry Wilson, Mass., 286 B. Gratz Brow* 
 
 Total electoral vote, 366; 37 States. 
 
 Popular Vote. — The death of Mr. Greeley before the electoral count 
 caused the seattering of his 66 votes among various candidates. The votes 
 of Louisiana and Arkansas were not counted on account of fraudulent returns. 
 Grant, 3,597,071 — 31 States; Greeley, 2,834,079 — 6 States; O’Connor, Labor, 
 29,408; Black, Prohibition, 5,608. 
 
 Republican. 1868. Democrat. 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant, 111 ., 214 Horatio Seymour, N. Y., 80 
 
 Schuyler Colfax, Ind., 214 Francis P. Blair, Mo., 80 
 
 Total electoral vote, 317; 34 States; Mississippi, Texas and Virginia still in 
 rebellion, and not voting. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Grant, 3,015,071 — 26 States; Seymour, 2,709,613 — 8 
 States. 
 
 Republican. 1 864. Democrat. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, 111 ., 212 Geo. B. McClellan, N. J., 21 
 
 Andrew Johnson, Tenn., 212 Geo. H. Pendleton, Ohio, 21 
 
 Total electoral vote, 314; not voting, 11 States in rebellion. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Lincoln, 2,216,067—22 States; McClellan, 1,808,725 — 
 3 States. 
 
Hon. William M. Stewart. 
 
 Born in Wayne co., N. Y., August 9, 1827 ; attended Yale College, 
 1849-50 ; started for California and arrived May, 1850; engaged in min- 
 ing; studied law in 1852; appointed District Attorney in 1853, and 
 elected next year; appointed Attorney-General of California, 1854; 
 located at Virginia city, Nev., 1860; engrossed in mining litigation and 
 development of mining industry; member of Territorial Convention, 
 1861 ; member of Constitutional Convention, 1863; elected U. S. .Senator, 
 1864 and 1869 ; resumed general law practice for Pacific States ; re- 
 elected to U. S. Senate, as a Republican, for term beginning March 4, 
 1887; prominent advocate of Free Silver Coinage ; Chairman of Com- 
 mittee on Mines and Mining, and member of Committees on Apropria- 
 tions, Claims, Irrigation, Territories. 
 
 ( 345 ) 
 
c? mans 
 
PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 347 
 
 Republican. i860. Democrat. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, 111 ., 180 Stephen A. Douglas, 111 ., 12 
 
 Hannibal Hamlin Me., 180 H. V. Johnson, Ga., 12 
 
 Jno. C. Breckinridge, Ky., 72 
 J. Lane, Oregon, 72 
 
 Constitutional Union. 
 
 John Bell, Tenn., 39 
 
 Edward Everett, Mass., 39 
 
 Total electoral vote, 303 ; 33 States. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Lincoln, 1,866,352 — 17 States, N. J. divided; Douglas, 
 i» 375 , 1 57 — 1 State, N. J., divided; Breckinridge, 845,763 — 11 States; Bell, 
 589,581 — 3 States. 
 
 Democrat. 1856. Republican. 
 
 James Buchanan, Pa., 174 Jno. C. Fremont, Cal., 114 
 
 Jno. C. Breckinridge, Ky., 174 William L. Dayton, N. Y., 114 
 
 American. 
 
 Millard Fillmore, N. Y., 8 
 A. J. Donelson, Tenn., 8 
 Total electoral vote, 296; 31 States. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Buchanan, 1,838,169 — 19 States; Fremont, 1,341,264 — 
 11 States; Fillmore, 874,534 — 1 State. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 1852. 
 
 Whig. 
 
 Franklin Pearce, N. H., 254 
 
 
 Winfield Scott, Va., 42 
 
 William R. King, Ala., 254 
 
 
 Wm. A. Graham, N. C., 42 
 
 Total electoral vote, 296; 31 States. 
 
 
 Popular Vote. — Pearce, 1,601,474 — 27 States ; Scott, 1,386,578 — 4 States; 
 Hale, 156,149. 
 
 Whig. 
 
 1848. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 Zachary Taylor, La., 163 
 
 
 Lewis Cass, Mich., 
 
 127 
 
 Millard Fillmore, N. Y., 163 
 
 
 Wm. 0 . Butler, Ky., 
 
 127 
 
 Total electoral vote, 290; 30 States. 
 
 
 
 Popular Vote. — Taylor, 1,360,101 — 15 States; Cass, 1,220,544 — 15 
 States; Van Buren, N. Y., Free-soil Dem., 291,263. 
 
 Democrat. 1844. Whig. 
 
 James K. Polk, Tenri., 170 Henry Clay, Ky., 105 
 
 George M. Dallas, Pa., 170 Theo. Frelinghuysen, N. J., 105 
 
 Total electoral vote, 275 ; 26 States. 
 
34 § 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 Popular Vote.— Polk, 1,337,243 — 15 States; Clay, 1,299,068 — 11 States; 
 Birney, 62,300. 
 
 Whig. 1840. 
 
 William Henry Harrison, Ohio, 234 
 John Tyler, Va., 234 
 
 Total electoral vote, 294 ; 26 States. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Harrison, 1,275,017 — 19 States; Van Buren, 1,128,702 
 — 7 States; Birney, 7,059. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Martin Van Buren, N. Y., 60 
 R. M. Johnson, Ky., 48 
 
 Democrat. 1836. Whig. 
 
 Martin Van Buren, N. Y., 170 Wm. H. Harrison, O., 73 
 
 R. M. Johnson, Ky., 147 F. Granger, N. Y., 77 
 
 Total electoral vote, 294; 26 States. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Van Buren, 761,549 — 15 States; Harrison, 7 States; 
 White, 2 States; Webster, 1 State; Mangum, 1 State — 236,656 votes. 
 
 Democrat. 1832. Nat. Republican. 
 
 Andrew Jackson, Tenn., 219 Henry Clay, Ky., 49 
 
 Martin Van Buren, N. Y., 189 J. Sergeant, Pa., 49 
 
 Anti- Mason. 
 
 William Wirt, Va., 7 
 Amos Ellmaker, Pa., 7 
 Total electoral vote, 288. 
 
 Popular Vote. — Andrew Jackson, 687,502; Henry Clay, 530,189; Wil- 
 liam Wirt, 33,108. 
 
 Democrat. 1828. Nat. Republican. 
 
 Andrew Jackson, Tenn., 178 Jno. Q. Adams, Mass., 83 
 
 Jno. C. Calhoun, S. C., 17 1 Richard Rush, Pa., 83 
 
 Total electoral vote, 261. 
 
 From the time of the disputed election, which resulted in the choice of 
 John Adams, the popular vote began to be regarded as of importance. 
 
 Popular Vote. — J ackson, 647,231 — States, 15 ; Adams, 509,097 — States. 9 
 
 Republican. 
 
 1824. Andrew Jackson, Tenn., 99 
 
 John Q. Adams, Mass., 84 ( 
 
 W. H. Crawford, Ga., 41 / 
 
 Henry Clay, Ky., 37 J 
 
 Jno. C. Calhoun, S. C., 182 I 
 N. Sanford, N, Y., 30 / 
 
 Total electoral vote, 261. 
 
 y For President. 
 For V.-Prcsident. 
 
PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 349 
 
 There being no choice for President under the Twelfth 
 Amendment to the Constitution, which requires that a can- 
 didate shall have a majority of all the electoral votes, the 
 election was thrown into the House. In the contest in the 
 House, Clay, who was out of the fight, threw his strength, 
 or as much of it as he could control, to Adams, which gave 
 him 13 States, as against 7 for Jackson and 4 for Crawford. 
 Though the election of Adams was perfectly regular and 
 constitutional, it forced the liberal and strict schools of in- 
 terpreters wide apart, and the latter, carrying their fight to 
 the country in the shape of a rebuke to those Representa- 
 tives who had slaughtered Jackson, soon had the vantage 
 ground. 
 
 Republican. 
 
 1820 James Monroe, Va., 
 
 Daniel D. Tompkins, 
 Total electoral vote, 235. The Missouri 
 Hampshire gave one vote to J. Q. Adams. 
 
 231 
 
 N. Y., 218 
 
 vote was disputed; and New 
 
 Republican. 
 
 James Monroe, Va., 183 
 
 Daniel D. Tompkins, N. Y., 183 
 Total electoral vote, 221. 
 
 1816. 
 
 Federal.. 
 
 Rufus King, N. Y., 34 
 No nom. for V.-P. 
 
 Republican. 
 
 James Madison, Va., 128 
 Elbridge Gerry, Mass., 131 
 Total electoral vote, 218. 
 
 1812. 
 
 Fed. or Clinton Dem. 
 
 De Witt Clinton, N. V., 89 
 Jared Ingersoll, Pa., 86 
 
 Republican. 
 
 James Madison, Va., 122 
 George Clinton, N. Y., 113 
 Total electoral vote, 176. 
 
 1808. 
 
 Federal. 
 
 C. C. Pinckney, S. C., 47 
 Rufus King, N. Y., 47 
 
 Republican. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, Va., 162 
 George Clinton, N. Y., 162 
 Total electoral vote, 176. 
 
 1804. 
 
 Federal. 
 
 C. C. Pinckney, S. C., 14 
 Rufus King, N. Y., 14 
 
PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 
 
 350 
 
 This was the first National election which distinguished 
 between nominees for President and Vice-President, under 
 Twelfth Amendment to Federal Constitution. 
 
 Republican. 1 800. Federal. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, Va., 73 John Adams, Mass., 65 
 
 Aaron Burr, N. Y., 73 C. C. Pinckney, S. C., 64 
 
 As there was, up till this time, no distinction between 
 nominees for President and Vice-President — the one having 
 the highest number of votes being the President — and Jeffer- 
 son and Burr having each 73 votes, the election went to the 
 House, where a prolonged and bitter struggle ensued, re- 
 sulting in the choice of Jefferson. This dispute led to the 
 adoption of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. 
 
 Federal. 
 
 John Adams, Mass., 71 
 Thos. Pinckney, Md., 59 
 Total electoral vote, 138. 
 
 1 796. Republican. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, Va., 68 
 Aaron Burr, N. Y., 30 
 
 Federal. 1792. Republican . 
 
 George Washington, Va., 132 Geo. Clinton, N. Y., 50 
 
 John Adams, Mass., 77 
 
 Total electoral vote, 135. 
 
 1788. 
 
 George Washington was nominated by a caucus of the 
 Continental Congress. The State Legislatures chose elec- 
 tors for President and Vice-President on the first Wednes- 
 day of January, 1789. These electors voted on the first Wed- 
 nesday in February, casting 69 votes for Washington as 
 President, and 34 for John Adams as Vice-President. 
 Washington was sworn into office by Chancellor Living- 
 stone on April 29, 1789. 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 Benjamin Harrison; 
 
 Twenty-third President of the United States. 
 
 I. 
 
 PARENTAGE, BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 
 
 In that grand uprising in England, in 1648, against the 
 tyrannical usurpations of Charles I., one of the conspicuous 
 figures in the army of Cromwell was his trusted lieutenant, 
 General Harrison. His commission in Cromwell’s army 
 tells the whole story of his political and religious convic- 
 tions. The cause was that of constitutional liberty against 
 despotism, of republicanism against monarchy. In a re- 
 ligious sense it was not exactly straight-out Presbyterianism 
 against an established church, for many Presbyterians stood 
 hand in hand with the Royalists, but it was the Indepen- 
 dents against the combined forces which represented a 
 hated dynasty. 
 
 This General Harrison was made a member of the High 
 Court of Justice, which sat in Westminster Hall, and before 
 which Charles I. was tried for high treason, in levying war 
 against his Parliament. He signed, with the rest, the King’s 
 death warrant, and thus contributed to that wonderful march 
 16 (353) 
 
354 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 of events which placed England beyond the grasp of des- 
 potic rulers and taught the people that true sovereignty re- 
 sided in them. 
 
 When the great reaction came, and Charles II. was firmly 
 seated on the throne, there was a day of revengeful reckon- 
 ing. The head of every patriot who had participated in the 
 Constitutional struggle was in demand, or rather his neck 
 was in danger, for the rope and not the block must crown 
 the verdict against those who had dared to strike a blow for 
 political and religious freedom. The trials were hasty and 
 ex parte , and the executions were swift. Among the first 
 to feel the vengeance of the new King was General Har- 
 rison, whose life was taken by royal order on October 13, 
 1660. Samuel Pepys in his diary under the above date says : 
 “ I went out to Charing Cross to see Major-General Har- 
 rison hanged, drawn and quartered ; which was done there, 
 he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that condi- 
 tion. He was presently cut down, and his head and heart 
 shown to the people, at which there was great shouts of 
 joy. It is said, that he said that he was sure to come 
 shortly at the right hand of Christ to judge them that now 
 had judged him; and that his wife do expect his coming 
 again. Thus it was my chance to see the King beheaded at 
 Whitehall, and to see the first blood shed in revenge for the 
 King at Charing Cross.” 
 
 There could be no comfort nor prosperity in England for 
 a family which had contributed so largely to constitutional 
 liberty, and one of whose most conspicuous members had 
 suffered the disgrace of the scaffold. They therefore turned 
 their eyes toward America, and along with the great stream 
 which fled the persecutions of the Stuarts found an asylum 
 on our Virginia shores. 
 
 That they were welcome contributors to colonial enter- 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 355 
 
 prise and important factors in the establishment of political 
 institutions in their new home is quite clear from the fact 
 that Benjamin Harrison, great-grandfather of our subject, 
 and after whom he was named, appears conspicuously in 
 Virginia annals. He was a member of the House of Bur- 
 gesses, or Colonial Legislature, and a staunch patriot, stand- 
 ing in with the heroes who echoed the grand sentiment of 
 Patrick Henry, “ Give me liberty or give me death ! ” 
 
 At ten o’clock, September 5, 1774, Delegates from all the 
 Colonies, except Georgia, met at Carpenters’ Hall, Philadel- 
 phia, and began the first session of the First Continental 
 Congress. The British “ Tea Act ” of 1773 had been passed, 
 and the call was for a “ Congress of American States to 
 frame a bill of rights, or form an Independent State, an 
 American Commonwealth.” The representatives to this 
 Congress from Virginia were Peyton Randolph, Richard 
 Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard 
 Bland, Benjamin Harrison and Edward Pendleton. 
 
 Out of this Congress sprang the measures looking to a 
 Declaration of Independence, an American army and the 
 Articles of Confederation. At its second session, composed 
 of nearly the same members, but now assembled in Inde- 
 pendence Hall, the Declaration of Independence was re- 
 ported, agreed upon and signed by the delegates from twelve 
 States, July 4, 1776. Among the signatures to this im- 
 mortal instrument is that of Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, 
 which colony had by this time formed an independent local 
 government. In the young State honors fell thick upon 
 him. He was a member of the convention that ratified the 
 Federal Constitution, served four years in Congress, and 
 was elected Governor of the State three times. Throughout 
 his entire life he was a steadfast adherent of independence, 
 and a firm opponent of English aggressions. He was one 
 
356 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 of the largest men in the Continental Congress, and it is 
 narrated that when John Hancock was elected President of 
 that body, Harrison was so elated over the situation that he 
 rushed to Hancock, lifted him bodily from his seat and bore 
 him in his arms to the chair. 
 
 His son, William Henry Harrison, afterwards General and 
 President, was born and educated in Virginia. On reaching 
 manhood he migrated to Ohio, then the far West, and for 
 forty years was prominently identified with the interests, 
 perils and hopes of that and the Northwest country. He 
 took with him an intellect enriched with classical reminis- 
 cences which he fondly quoted in writing and conversation, 
 a full assortment of the political doctrines inculcated by his 
 illustrious father, and all of the Harrison fortitude in the 
 maintenance of his convictions. He went West, not so 
 much as a permanent settler, at first, as a soldier, and as an 
 aide-de-camp to General Anthony Wayne, then engaged in 
 protecting the frontiers from Indian depredations. This 
 was the beginning of that military career which continually 
 brightened in lustre till General Harrison came to rank as 
 one of the most distinguished military officers of his day. 
 
 After the State of Ohio was carved out of the Territory 
 of the Northwest in 1802, the remainder of the immense 
 area stretching to the Mississippi and the Canadian border 
 became the Territory of Indiana. It was an important sec- 
 tion, being the home of many hostile Indian tribes, mostly 
 subsidized by English gold, and a favorite avenue of ap- 
 proach to our Western settlements by English and Indian 
 armies. This became very clear prior to and during the war 
 of 1812. With a view to having a man of military expe- 
 rience and stamina in so dangerous and unprotected a 
 region, President Madison made General Harrison Governor 
 of the Territory of Indiana. He was none too soon with 
 

 
 
 
 i.-- 
 
 
Hon. James 0. Blaine. 
 
 Born in Washington co., Pa., January 30, 1830; educated at Wash- 
 ington College ; taught school in Kentucky and Philadelphia ; editor of 
 Kennebec (Me.) Journal, 1854; of Portland Advertiser, 1857; elected 
 to Maine Legislature, 1859 ; elected to Congress, 1863-65-67 ; Speaker 
 of House, 1869-71-73; U. S. Senator, 1876; prominent candidate for 
 Presidency before Conventions of 1876-80; Secretary of State under 
 Garfield; Republican candidate for Presidency, 1884; defeated by 
 Cleveland ; conspicuous before conventions of 1888-92 ; Secretary of 
 State under Harrison; resigned June 4, 1892; celebrated as orator and 
 author ; most prominent of modern statesmen. 
 
 ( 358 ) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 359 
 
 this appointment, for in the spring of 1 8 1 1 the famous 
 chieftain, Tecumseh, instigated by British emissaries, began 
 his celebrated war, designed to expel the settlers from all 
 the country north of the Ohio. In the fall, General Har- 
 rison led 2,000 troops up the Wabash to the mouth of Tip- 
 pecanoe Creek, where, November 7, 1811, was fought the 
 celebrated battle of Tippecanoe, in which the Indians, in 
 overwhelming force, were badly defeated. After the break- 
 ing out of hostilities between the United States and Great 
 Britain in 1812, General Harrison organized and took com- 
 mand of “ The Army of the West,” whose rendezvous was 
 near the western end of Lake Erie. He fought many en- 
 gagements with the Indian forces under Proctor and 
 Tecumseh, built and maintained Fort Meigs and received 
 the celebrated dispatch from Commodore Perry, after he 
 had destroyed the British fleet on Lake Erie — “ We have 
 met the enemy and they are ours.” 
 
 General Harrison embarked his army on Perry’s victor- 
 ious fleet, sailed across the lake, invaded Canada, caught up 
 with the Indian and mixed forces under Proctor and 
 Tecumseh at the Thames, where in a masterly battle he an- 
 nihilated them, Tecumseh being among the killed. This 
 battle recovered the entire Michigan region to the United 
 States, and terminated the War of 1812 in the Northwest. 
 
 General Harrison’s fame was now as wide as that of his 
 country. He was honored for his military prowess as much 
 as he was respected in the walks of peace. In after years 
 he held several important civic offices, and was elected to 
 Congress, chosen as American Minister to the Republic of 
 Colombia, and elected to the United States Senate, from 
 Ohio, in 1827. He appeared in that body as a tall, gray- 
 haired gentleman, of dignified demeanor, deliberate speech 
 and firm Whig proclivities, and readily made his mark 
 
360 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 among such worthies as John Henry Eaton, Tazewell and 
 Randolph, Henry Clay, Thomas H. Benton, Nathaniel 
 Macon, Martin Van Buren, J. McPherson Berrien, Dudley 
 Chase, Horatio Seymour and Albion Keith Parris, though 
 he never dreamed of the higher honors in store for him. 
 
 The political situation during the administration of Martin 
 Van Buren (1837-1841) was peculiar. The Southern nulli- 
 fiers, who had been “ squelched ” by Jackson, began to re- 
 vive and put on airs during Van Buren’s term. The country 
 was feeling to the fullest extent the disastrous policy of tar- 
 iff reduction, and absolute ruin was staring our manufac- 
 turers and workingmen in the face. The State banks were 
 failing by the score. The Government stopped its appro- 
 priations towards internal improvements. In a word, the 
 panic of 1837 was on, and business was at a standstill. 
 Pork sold in Ohio at three dollars a hundred pounds, wheat 
 for fifty cents a bushel, and wages on the farm fell to thirty- 
 seven and a half cents a day. 
 
 The Whigs took the initiative in the coming Presidential 
 struggle, and nominated General William Henry Harrison, 
 at Harrisburg, Pa., on December 4, 1839. Clay, the ablest 
 Whig, and most popular and magnetic man in his party, 
 was not regarded as an available candidate at that juncture, 
 owing to certain antagonisms. Besides, Jackson’s military 
 record had counted for much, and there was no reason 
 why one equally as brilliant might not avail General Harri- 
 son. The Democrats renominated Van Buren. Then be- 
 gan the historic political campaign of 1840, which surpassed 
 in excitement and intensity of feeling all others, before or 
 since. An imprudent Democratic writer sneeringly re- 
 marked that General Harrison lived in a log cabin and had 
 better remain there. Instantly the Whigs adopted the log 
 cabin as one of their emblems, and log cabins were raised 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 361 
 
 everywhere for Whig headquarters, some of them of large 
 size, and nearly every voting precinct had its Tippecanoe 
 club and choristers. For the first time in our land the 
 power of song was invoked to aid a national canvass. The 
 poetry of the occasion mostly took the shape of parody, 
 but was made to contain a vast amount of wit and many 
 hard hits. A sample is apropos : 
 
 “ Oh ! dear to my soul are the days of our glory, 
 
 The time-honored days of our national pride ; 
 
 When heroes and statesmen ennobled our story. 
 
 And boldly the foes of our country defied ; 
 
 When victory hung o’er our flag proudly waving, 
 
 And the battle was fought by the valiant and true, 
 
 For our homes and our loved ones, the enemy braving, 
 
 Oh ! then stood the soldier of Tippecanoe — 
 
 The iron-armed soldier, the true-hearted soldier, 
 
 The gallant old soldier of Tippecanoe.” 
 
 Never were mass conventions so numerous and immense 
 as those held by the Whigs during this campaign. Tens of 
 thousands flocked to them from the plow, the forge, the fac- 
 tory, the counter and desk, to give hearty utterance to their 
 detestation of the party that had made the “American sys- 
 tem ” of protection inoperative, threw all our trade into the 
 hands of Great Britain, left our country bankrupt, and 
 brought the wages of our laborers to starvation figures. 
 Delegations often rode thirty miles to these meetings, camp- 
 ing on the way. They carried huge banners, and often log 
 cabins mounted on wheels, by the side of which was a 
 barrel of hard cider, the beverage of the campaign. They 
 were amply paid for their trouble by the big processions in 
 which they participated, and the eloquence they heard from 
 such men as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Wm. C. Preston, 
 Henry A. Wise, Tom Corwin, Thomas Ewing, R. W. 
 
3&2 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 Thompson and others. General Harrison himself took the 
 stump in the Western States, and spoke to immense audi- 
 ences. “ The Log Cabin ,” an illustrated campaign paper 
 published by Horace Greeley, at New York and Albany, ap- 
 peared in May, 1840, and reached a circulation of 80,000. 
 It, with The New Yorker , became the foundation of the 
 New York Tribune. 
 
 The speeches of the Whigs in this campaign were never 
 excelled for wit and vigor. Corwin’s reply to Craig’s attack 
 on General Harrison’s military record literaly crushed 
 Craig in political and professional life. Clay was equally 
 happy in his defence of the candidate and the principles of 
 the party. While saying that “ General Harrison had fought 
 more battles than any other general during the last war and 
 never sustained defeat, and that he had held more civil 
 offices of trust and importance than almost any man in the 
 Union,” he was interrupted by a voice in the crowd crying 
 out, “ Tell us of Van Buren’s battles ! ” 
 
 “ Ah ! ” said Clay, “ I will have to tell you of Van Buren’s 
 three great battles ! He fought General Commerce and con- 
 quered him ; he fought General Currency and conquered 
 him ; and with his Cuban allies he fought the Seminoles and 
 got conquered ! ” 
 
 The Whigs fought the campaign to a close with the ut- 
 most harmony, confidence and enthusiasm, and the result 
 was twenty States and 234 electoral votes for Harrison and 
 six States and 60 electoral votes for Van Buren. It was an 
 unparalleled victory and a stinging rebuke to a party which 
 # had wrecked the country with its British principles and its 
 determination to prostrate the paid labor of the North at the 
 feet of the unpaid labor of the South, in order that slavery 
 might live and thrive. 
 
 Everywhere the triumphant Whigs sang: 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 363 
 
 “ Then hurrah for the field where the bold eagle flew, 
 
 In pride o’er the hero of Tippecanoe ! ” 
 
 And then would come the refrain — 
 
 “ Van, Van, Van, is a used-up man.” 
 
 General Harrison arrived in Washington to take the oath 
 of office and assume the duties of President on a stormy af- 
 ternoon in February, 1841. He walked from the station 
 to City Hall, amid continual greetings from the multitude. 
 He was a very dignified man, with quite a military bearing, 
 but severely plain in his habits. He rose early and went to 
 market himself, rarely wearing an overcoat. His death 
 from pneumonia, contracted by exposure to a chilling rain, 
 on one of those morning marketing trips, cut his adminis- 
 tration short at the end of one month. It threw the nation 
 into a mourning as profound as its jubilation had been in- 
 tense on the morning of his inauguration. 
 
 General Harrison’s son, John Scott Harrison, fell heir to 
 his father’s farm at North Bend, on the Ohio river, a few 
 miles below Cincinnati. He had already acquired political 
 prominence, having served as Governor of the Northwestern 
 Territory and subsequently as a member of Congress in the 
 lower House, from 1853 to 1857. He died in 1879, at Cin- 
 cinnati. It was at North Bend that Benjamin Harrison was 
 born on August 20, 1833. He was a slender, wiry stripling 
 of seven years when the notable campaign in which his 
 grandfather was elected President was going on. Its spec- 
 tacular appeals and scenic wonders made a vivid impression 
 on the boy’s mind. Apples for boys seem to have been as 
 much of an inspiration as hard cider for the men, and the 
 impression was popular that no matter where they were 
 found they were common property and appropriate emblems 
 of patriotic fervor. The boy carried such a delusion with 
 
364 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 him on a trip to Cincinnati, in company with his grand- 
 father, shortly after the election of the latter. Tired out 
 with treading the streets, and, perhaps, very hungry, he 
 could not resist the temptation presented by a stand highly 
 piled with red-cheeked apples, and so began to fill his pock- 
 ets just as he had been wont to do under the favorite trees 
 in his father’s orchard. Of course there was no resistance 
 to this till the apple-woman saw him walk innocently and 
 unconcernedly away, when her shrieks called the attention 
 of the grandfather to the comical situation. The account 
 was readily adjusted, and the boy went on his way munch- 
 ing his fruit as satisfactorily as if its possession had not at 
 first involved a question of law and morals. 
 
 The life of young Benjamin was quite like that of other 
 farm boys during the period in which they are picking up the 
 rudiments at home or in the district school. If anything, 
 there was a little more serious attention to study than is 
 usual, leastways, there was more than the ordinary progress, 
 for at the age of fourteen years old he was sent to Cary’s 
 Academy, on Walnut Hills, a suburb of Cincinnati, where 
 he remained for two years, and where one of his classmates 
 was Murat Halstead. The year after he left school he lost 
 his mother — a loss that affected the impressible nature of 
 the young man for a long time. In the fall of 1850 he be- 
 came a student at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He 
 entered as a member of the Junior class, and in June, 1852, 
 he was graduated fourth in a class of sixteen. At the Uni- 
 versity with Harrison were Professor David Swing, of 
 Chicago ; the Hon. Milton Saylor, of Cincinnati ; the Rev. 
 Dr. James Brooks, of St. Louis ; the late Senator Oliver P. 
 Morton, of Indiana ; and the Hon. W. P. Fishback ; but not * 
 all of them were classmates. Here he made such headway 
 with his studies as to be able to graduate at the age of eigh- 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 365 
 
 teen. His teachers and classmates all bore testimony to 
 his popularity among his fellows, to the ease with which he 
 held his own in all the college contests, and to the promise 
 he gave of future success. The learned and eminent Pro- 
 fessor David Swing writes “ that Harrison, while at Oxford, 
 though very young, was a studious scholar and early gave 
 evidence of being the foremost in whatever he might under- 
 take. He there acquired the habit of study and mental 
 discipline which have characterized him through life, ena- 
 bling him to grapple with any subject on short notice, to 
 concentrate his intellectual forces and give his mental ener- 
 gies that sort of direct and effective operation that indicates 
 the trained and disciplined mind.” 
 
II. 
 
 LEGAL CAREER. 
 
 The robust intellect he had inherited was now well disci- 
 plined and equipped for the profession of his choice. He 
 inclined naturally to law, as best suiting hereditary taste 
 and mental organization. Certainly no man ever possessed 
 a more distinctively legal mind. 
 
 He entered the law office of Judge B. S. Storer, in Cin- 
 cinnati, shortly after he graduated, and was admitted to the 
 bar before he was twenty-one years old. At or about the 
 completion of his law studies, he married the handsome 
 daughter of Professor John W. Scott, long time professor at 
 Washington College, Pennsylvania, and previously at Miami 
 University, Oxford, Ohio, and at College Hill, Cincinnati, 
 at which last-named place his daughter first met General 
 Harrison when he was a student there. Mrs. Harrison’s 
 mother was the beautiful Mary Neal, daughter of John 
 Neal of English birth, cashier of the Kensington Bank and 
 afterward of the Bank of Moyamensing. The young lawyer 
 thus embarked on his profession with a partner whose pres- 
 ence would prove an inspiration, even if the question of 
 bread and butter should thereby become a little harder to 
 solve. But he had no mind to stop in Cincinnati. He 
 would carry farther west the name that had honored Vir- 
 ginia and Ohio, and contribute his energies to a new society. 
 With $200 in his possession, a gift: from his father, and a 
 small inheritance of $800 from an aunt, he started for In- 
 dianapolis, and there, in the year 1855, began his industrious 
 and highly honorable career as a lawyer. 
 
 (366) 
 

 Hon. William B. Allison. 
 
 Born at Perry, Ohio, March 2, 1829 ; educated at Western Reserve 
 College ; admitted to bar in Ohio ; moved to Iowa, 1857 ; served on 
 Governor’s staff during war; elected as Republican to 38th, 39th, 40th 
 and 41st Congresses ; elected to United States Senate, 1872; re-elected, 
 1878, 1884 and 1890 ; one of the oldest, ablest and most respected 
 Senators ; Chairman of Committee on Appropriations ; Member of Com- 
 mittees on Engrossed Bills, Finance and Canadian Relations. 
 
 ( 367 ) 
 
THE UGBAEF 
 
 tttSEiilT OiiSOtS 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 369 
 
 At that time he was a solid-looking, square-shouldered 
 young man, with an uncommonly large, well-poised head, a 
 serious, thoughtful face, and a quiet, dignified manner that 
 indicated great reserve force. He was poor, among stran- 
 gers, without influence, but heroic at heart and anxious for 
 the opportunity which he felt must come, if honor, talent 
 and zeal were to deserve their rewards. It was not long in 
 coming. One of his first cases of moment was with Hon. 
 John A. Wright, then Democratic Governor of the State. 
 It concerned a legislative investigation and was as much po- 
 litical as legal. He displayed marked ability in handling 
 this case, and proved that youth was no drawback to suc- 
 cess where the heart was right, the head clear and the will 
 determined. Business tumbled right in on him from that 
 date, and he ever afterwards continued to be a growing 
 lawyer, with a large and commanding clientage. 
 
 Among the many incidents showing his application and 
 energy is the following : — Many years before he had at- 
 tained prominence in his profession, he was appointed to 
 prosecute a negro charged with attempting wholesale mur- 
 der by putting poison into the coffee at a hotel. He had 
 only one night in which to prepare for the trial. He had 
 no experience in poison cases and no knowledge of poisons. 
 He called to his aid Dr. T. Parvin (who has since become 
 as distinguished in his profession as General Harrison has 
 in his), and the two young men spent the whole night in 
 diligent work on the poison case. The next day, to the as- 
 tonishment and bewilderment of the defence, young Harri- 
 son appeared ready for the trial. He conducted the prose- 
 cution vigorously and succeeded in having the prisoner con- 
 victed. 
 
 Speaking of Mr. Harrison’s early law career, William 
 Wallace, his first law partner, says : — “ I formed his acquaint- 
 
370 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 ance soon after he came to the city. He was about twenty- 
 one years of age, a white-haired, boyish-looking young 
 man, but pleasant in manner, and it did not take long to find 
 out his superior intellectual qualities and his sterling worth. 
 It happened that in the year 1855 I had received the nomi- 
 nation for Clerk of Marion County on the People’s ticket. 
 The canvass required a good deal of time, and I concluded 
 to offer my young friend a partnership. I met him on the 
 street one day and told him I had some good clients and 
 a fair practice, and that if he would go into the office and 
 take care of the business while I was canvassing for the 
 office, we would share the profits. I think this is the only 
 partnership agreement we ever had. I was defeated for the 
 office, so we continued the practice of the law together until 
 the year i860 or 1861. It is pleasant to say that through 
 his assistance and ability as a lawyer we retained our clients 
 and got new ones. Our business was of a quiet kind, some 
 collections, a good deal of probate business, and once in a 
 while a case that tested the mettle of the young partner. 
 
 “ He soon disclosed his admirable qualities as a lawyer, 
 quick of apprehension, clear, methodical and logical in his 
 analysis and statement of a case. He possessed a natural 
 faculty for getting the exact truth out of a witness, either 
 by a direct or cross examination. In this respect he has 
 few equals anywhere in the profession. Always exacting 
 from courts and juries their closest attention and interest in 
 the cause, and when the cause demanded it illustrating the 
 rarest powers of the genuine orator, he was a hard worker, 
 giving to every case the best of his skill and labor, so that 
 he never went unprepared, trusting to good luck or the want 
 of skill or the negligence of the other side. He was poor. 
 It was a struggle for bread and meat with both of us. He 
 had a noble young wife, who cheerfully shared with him 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 371 
 
 the plainest and simplest style of living. He did the work 
 about his home for a long time himself, and thus made his 
 professional income, not large, keep him independent and 
 free from debt.” 
 
 Hon. W. P. Fishback, also a former partner, says : “ Gen- 
 ' eral Harrison possesses all the qualities of a great lawyer 
 in rare combination. He prepares a case with consummate 
 skill ; his written pleadings are models of clearness and 
 brevity ; he is peerless in Indiana as an examiner of wit- 
 nesses, he discusses a legal question in a written brief or in 
 oral argument with convincing logic, and as an advocate it 
 may be said of him that when he has finished an address to 
 the jury nothing remains to be said on that side of the case. 
 I have often heard able lawyers in Indiana and elsewhere 
 say that he was the hardest man to follow they ever met. 
 No lawyer who ever met General Harrison in a legel 
 encounter has afterwards placed a small estimate upon his 
 ability.” 
 
 The present (1888) law firm is Harrison, Miller & Elam. 
 The firm is regarded as one of the strongest and best in the 
 State in so far as safe counsel and genuine legal ability are 
 concerned. Speaking of his partner, General Harrison, Mr. 
 Miller says : — “ Perhaps the greatest law argument made by 
 the General was in the Lieutenant-Governor’s case in the 
 winter of 1885, before the Supreme Court of Indiana. The 
 case was one involving the greatest questions of constitu- 
 tional law and the relative functions of the legislative, ex- 
 ecutive and judicial departments of the Government. The 
 case had already in various phases been argued two or three 
 times by other counsel, and the most elaborate briefs had 
 been prepared and published on both sides. The evening 
 before the final argument was to be begun the briefs were 
 put in General Harrison’s hands. With such preparation 
 
372 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 as he could make that night and during the argument by 
 other counsel, including Senator Turpie and others of the 
 ablest in the State, he made an exposition of the relations 
 of the different departments of the Government to each other 
 so luminous and profound that, though the case was one 
 enlisting on each side the most intense partisan feeling and 
 though four of the five judges were opposed to him politi- 
 cally, yet a majority of the court adopted his views and 
 decided in his favor. In the brilliancy of his argument 
 all others, learned and forcible as they were, paled into 
 insignificance.” 
 
 For a full score of years before his nomination General 
 Harrison held the first place at the Indiana bar. He had 
 equals, and even superiors, as specialists, but in “ all-round ” 
 management and generalship of a case, and ability to “ get 
 there,” it was universally conceded that he was unsurpassed 
 in the State. In a recent conversation respecting his merits, 
 one of the best lawyers of Indianapolis remarked, “ that he 
 had never known but one instance in which General Harri- 
 son was surpassed as a cross-examiner, and that was in ex- 
 Judge Fullerton’s work during the Beecher-Tilton trial. In 
 a case at law he brings a moral force to bear upon any 
 crooked work or concealment that is as powerful as any 
 skill in handling it. His scorn and sarcasm has an ‘ ugly 
 honesty’ in its expression that will skin or scalp the victim 
 according to his degree of culpability. In speaking, his 
 voice is high, shrill and somewhat unpleasant at first, but 
 this is soon lost sight of in the midst of his clear enunciation 
 and perfect mastery of his theme. His manner is very 
 earnest, and his arguments, always well marshalled, have a 
 rapid and ponderous sweep, like a charge of cavalry. His 
 grit and pluck are of the subdued order, but capable of being 
 greatly aroused, and then he is apt to deliver his blows with- 
 

 
 
Hon. William P. Frye. 
 
 Born at Lewiston, Me., September 2,1831; graduated at Bowdoin 
 College, 1850; educated for the bar; elected to State Legislature, 1861, 
 1862, 1867 ; Mayor of Lewiston, 1866—67 ; Attorney-General, 1867-68- 
 69; member of Republican National Executive Committee, 1872-76- 
 80; Presidential Elector, 1864; Delegate to Republican National Con- 
 ventions, 1872-76-80; elected member of 42d, 43d, 44th, 45th, 46th 
 and 47th Congresses; elected to succeed James G. Blaine in United 
 States Senate in 1880; re-elected Senator in 1883 and 1888; chairman 
 of Committee on Commerce and on Pacific Railroads, and member of 
 Committee on Foreign Relations; of wide repute as orator and 
 statesman. 
 
 ( 374 ) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 375 
 
 out respect to persons. The old stagers like Thomas A. 
 Hendricks and D. W. Voorhees never met a man who was 
 so resolute and overwhelming in his excoriations of them as 
 General Harrison.” 
 
 This manner and method describes his political as well as 
 his legal work, except that in his political speeches there is 
 more compactness, smoothness and logical development 
 which, joined to greater fervor, make them scholarly and 
 eloquent. They are plain and lucid in general style, but 
 charmingly interspersed with phrases of rare beauty, and 
 lighted up at effective points by expressions of fine humor. 
 On one occasion he was delivering a Republican speech in 
 Boston, in which he said “ that Ben Butler had been out 
 West quoting Latin and awing the people with his scholar- 
 ship. He (Butler) had said that the creation of money 
 followed the natural order of creation, which began with fiat 
 lux. Very good ! very good indeed ! But when God Al- 
 mighty said ‘ fiat lux * there was the power of God Almighty 
 behind it, and I cannot help thinking what Ben Butler would 
 look like sitting on the rim of morning and shouting at 
 chaos : ‘ Fiat lux.’ ” 
 
 The young Indiana lawyer could not, of course, forego 
 the pleasurable excitement of politics. It was the formative 
 period of the Republican party, and he found in its principles 
 something which appealed equally to his heart and head. 
 His instinct and education inclined him to a cause which 
 sought to break away from subserviency to slavocracy, and 
 re-dedicate our institutions on a broad, humanitarian basis. 
 He possessed fine oratorical powers, and soon came into 
 demand as a fearless and impressive public speaker — one of 
 the best in the West. The vigorous and growthy Republic- 
 anism of his section owed much to his campaign efforts. In 
 the memorable canvass of i860, when Mr. Lincoln was run- 
 
 17 
 
376 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 ning for President, he happened to have an appointment to 
 speak in a town on the same day that Mr. Hendricks was to 
 address his Democratic admirers. An arrangement was 
 effected by which they were to divide the time between them. 
 Mr. Hendricks, with all the confidence of a veteran cam- 
 paignist, and with no little of the feeling with which “ old 
 stagers ” sometimes regard stripling adversaries, fully ex- 
 pected to amuse himself and his audience by tearing the 
 unwitting young man into metaphorical pieces and swallow- 
 ing them whole. The result of the meeting was quite dif- 
 ferent from what Mr. Hendricks had so confidently expected. 
 Instead of killing and dissecting his man he had to struggle 
 for his own precious life. Democrats freely admitted that 
 Mr. Hendricks had met his match, and Republicans were 
 unanimous in the verdict that he had been badly worsted ir, 
 argument and eloquence. The chairman of the meeting 
 said, “ I have heard a good many political debates in my 
 day, but I never heard a man skin an opponent as quickly 
 as Ben Harrison did Hendricks that day.” A more ex- 
 tended contest was afterward arranged by the friends of Mr. 
 Hendricks, in which he seemed willing to give his young 
 adversary some points of vantage, but he repented of this 
 before the controversy was through, and it is said had to 
 call the “ Tall Sycamore of the Wabash,” Mr. Voorhees, to 
 his assistance. He gave it out that the controversy had 
 taught him one lesson, and that was, never to make a con- 
 cession of any kind to an opponent. 
 
 From the beginning to the end of this celebrated campaign 
 Harrison was in the thickest of the fight and was one of the 
 most effective and popular champions of the Republican 
 cause. He was running for office himself, having accepted 
 the nomination of his party for the modest position of Re- 
 porter for the Supreme Court, This place was in the line 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 377 
 
 of his profession and tastes, and would prove useful to him 
 in elevating him in his profession as well as increasing his 
 income. He was duly elected to the position for the term 
 of four years, and at once turned his attention to its duties. 
 His fellow-members of the bar felt that he fully deserved the 
 place he had won by such hard work, and that he was fully 
 equipped for its responsibilities. 
 
 It was in the year i860 that he entered into a legal part- 
 nership with Mr. Fishback. In the capacity of Court Re- 
 porter he published’ two volumes and had a third under way 
 when the events of the civil war began to crowd thick and fast 
 into history and to turn the best settled projects of men into 
 unthought of channels. 
 
III. 
 
 MILITARY CAREER. 
 
 Mr. Seward’s idea that the war of the rebellion could be 
 crushed by hastily gathered militia in a campaign of ninety 
 days had been dispelled by the misfortunes of 1861. Thor- 
 oughly disillusioned as to the situation, President Lincoln 
 issued his calls for more men, and in 1862 his call for 300, OCX), 
 the term of enlistment to be for three years. The period 
 was one of great depression, for there had been repeated 
 defeats of Union troops, and the enemy had hold of vital 
 strategic points, and swarmed all along the borders of the 
 slave States. Benjamin Harrison had been one of those 
 who cheerfully responded to the first call for ninety-day 
 troops. This had not been regarded as much of a sacrifice, 
 since the absence from the duties of his newly acquired office, 
 and from his wife and family, would only be temporary. 
 
 But the period of his return was one of greater gloom 
 than ever. There was earnest war ahead, prolonged absence, 
 hardship and death. Lincoln’s calls, each growing more 
 urgent and portentous, were ringing in the ears of all patriots. 
 Sacrifices must be made. Life’s prospects, the comforts and 
 endearments of home, wife, children, loved ones, must not 
 stand in the way of patriotic devotion and high call to duty. 
 Looking back, young Harrison saw his fair start in life, his 
 office which was to net a living and lift the mortgage from 
 his little cottage, his young wife and two children. Looking 
 forward, all these desirable and beloved things took other 
 shapes, or vanished, and there arose a conflict in his bosom. 
 How it was decided we let him tell in his own words : — “ I 
 ( 378 ) 
 
Hon. Russell A. Alger. 
 
 Born in Medina co., Ohio, February 27, 1836 ; educated at Richfield 
 Academy; studied law and admitted to bar, 1859; enlisted, August, 
 1861, as Captain in 2d Michigan Cavalry; wounded and a prisoner, 
 1862; Colonel of the 6th Michigan Cavalry, 1863; brevetted Brigadier, 
 1864 ; after war, moved to Detroit ; engaged in lumber business ; be- 
 came head of two extensive lumber companies; owner of large pine 
 lands ; delegate to Chicago Convention in 1884 ; elected Governor of 
 Michigan, as a Republican, 1884; conspicuous candidate for President 
 in National Republican Convention of 1888; received 142 votes on 5th 
 ballot ; name prominently coupled with the nomination in 1892 ; a ready, 
 perspicuous orator, and popular party leader in the Northwest. 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 381 
 
 went one day to see Governor Morton with Mr. Wallace, to 
 seek an appointment as lieutenant for a young man in the 
 north part of the State. After getting through with this 
 business Governor Morton invited me into an inner room. 
 He there spoke of the call and of no response being made 
 thereto. The Governor seemed quite discouraged at the 
 apathy of the people, and, pointing over towards the Gallup 
 Block, where men were dressing stone, remarked that men 
 were interested in their own business more than in the safety 
 of the nation. I said right there : ‘ Governor, if I can be of 
 service to my country I am ready to go.’ He said : * You 
 can, you can raise a regiment in this district.’ He went on 
 to say : ‘You have a good office, and it would be too much 
 to ask you to give it up ; but you get up the regiment and 
 we can find some one else to take it into the field.’ I said : 
 * No, if I make a recruiting speech and ask any man to 
 enlist, I propose to go with him and stay as long as he does 
 if I live so long.’ ' ‘ Well,’ said the Governor, ‘ you can com- 
 mand the regiment.’ I said: ‘I don’t know that I shall 
 want to. I have no military experience ; we can see about 
 that.’ ” After this conversation Mr. Harrison proceeded up 
 the street with Mr. Wallace and bought a military cap ; 
 they got out hand-bills for a war meeting at Masonic Hall, 
 hired a drum and fife and hung a flag out of his office window. 
 Mr. Harrison took out a second lieutenant’s recruiting com- 
 mission in July, 1862, and raised and took the first company 
 (A) of the Seventieth Regiment into camp, and in less than 
 thirty days from the date of the first recruiting commission 
 he was in Kentucky with 1,010 men, having first been pro- 
 moted to a captaincy and then to a colonelcy. This was 
 the first regiment in the field under that call. 
 
 The 70th Indiana was assigned to duty at Bowling Green, 
 Ky., and became a defender of the Southern borders of its 
 
Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 382 
 
 own State against the numerous raiding parties under com- 
 mand of Kirby Smith, and other guerilla officers. But in 
 addition it performed garrison duty in many places during 
 the surges back and forth through Kentucky and Tennessee 
 of the Cumberland armies under Buell and Rosecrans, and 
 was efficient as a guard to the long lines of communication 
 which every forward movement rendered necessary. It got 
 fo be a regiment of fine esprit and discipline, under the care 
 of its excellent Colonel, who developed the qualities of a 
 soldier as rapidly as many of those whom West Point had 
 favored with her special training. 
 
 Says D. W. Ransdell, who served in the regiment and lost 
 an arm at Resaca : — “ As soon as our regiment, the 70th 
 Indiana, was recruited, Colonel Harrison marched us to 
 Bowling Green. We were three months there, all the time 
 impatient, as green recruits always are, for active service, 
 and all the time kept at drill. The Colonel was a strict dis- 
 ciplinarian. He had us up at daylight and drilled us until 
 breakfast ; after breakfast he drilled us to dinner ; after dinner 
 we had more of it, to say nothing of guard duty, dress parade, 
 inspections and all the rest of it. The boys growled a good 
 deal, but there was not one of them who failed to appreciate 
 afterward what a good thing for the regiment all the drilling 
 had been. The discipline more than once saved many a life, 
 if it did not save the whole regiment from capture, destruc- 
 tion or rout.” 
 
 The period of eighteen months, during which the 70th 
 Indiana had been a defender of the long army lines which 
 stretched from the Ohio southward, came to an end after the 
 battle of Chattanooga, and when Sherman began prepara- 
 tions for that celebrated forward movement which carried 
 him to Atlanta and thence to the sea. Chattanooga was to 
 be the base of the new operations against Atlanta. There 
 
S^NJamin hArrIsoR 
 
 3§3 
 
 was a mighty ingathering of forces there, and they were 
 formed into three co-operative armies. McPherson’s army 
 composed Sherman’s right. It congregated and lay at Gor- 
 don’s Mill. Thomas’ army composed his centre. It had 
 gathered its forces at Ringold. Schofield’s army composed 
 his left, and lay at Red Clay, due north of Dalton. They 
 had all debouched from the valleys running back to the 
 Tennessee, and in May, 1864, stood within easy supporting 
 distance of each other, at the apex of a triangle twenty 
 miles from Chattanooga, and before which lay the Confed- 
 erate army at Dalton, under General Johnston. In the 
 formation of the above armies, the 20th Corps, under com- 
 mand of “fighting ” Joe Hooker, fell into the army of the 
 centre, under General Thomas, and Colonel Harrison’s 70th 
 Indiana regiment fell into the 1st Brigade and 3d Division 
 of this celebrated corps. It was in Lookout Valley that 
 Colonel Harrison, then in command of a brigade, first 
 attracted the attention of his corps commander, for the 
 rigid discipline of his own regiment and brigade and the 
 confidence he inspired in his men. 
 
 Every soldier knew that desperate battles would mark 
 their 140 miles of progress to Atlanta, for the country was 
 densely wooded, very mountainous, broken by ravines, 
 crossed by numerous and rapid streams and full of difficul- 
 ties for an advancing army. There was but one railway for 
 supplies, and the country roads were well nigh impassable 
 in rainy weather. The Confederate position at Dalton was 
 covered by an almost inaccessible ridge known as Rocky 
 Face. Through this ridge there was only one pass, that of 
 Buzzard’s Roost, and it was flooded and commanded by 
 batteries crowning the cliffs. 
 
 To strike in front was impracticable Sherman determined 
 to move by Johnston’s flank. McPherson was sent round 
 
384 
 
 benjamin Harrison. 
 
 to Resaca to attack the place and cut the railroads. Scho- 
 field was to press down from the left and attack Johnston’s 
 flank, should he retreat. Thomas was to attack the strong 
 position of Johnston in front, and hold him while the other 
 movements were culminating. Thomas’ demonstration was 
 a vigorous one, and it greatly tried the mettle of his men. 
 For two whole days there was continual skirmishing, end- 
 ing in a brilliant assault by Hooker’s corps on the Confed- 
 erate entrenchments at Dug Gap. 
 
 Johnston was now feeling the pressure on his left and 
 rear, and fearing for the safety of Resaca, he abandoned 
 Dalton and fell back to the former place. Resaca was 
 strongly fortified by nature and artificial means. Sherman 
 resolved to repeat the tactics which had secured Dalton. 
 Several flanking divisions were sent to the left, and others 
 to cross the Oostanaula and destroy communications. But 
 the direct move on Resaca was more formidable than on 
 Dalton. On May 15, 1864, the fighting before Resaca was 
 terrific. Charge after charge was made on the enemy’s en- 
 trenchments by the various corps, and none was more bril- 
 liant and destructive than that of the 20th Corps. One of 
 the members of the 70th Indiana gives his recollection of 
 the part it took in this memorable attack : — “ It must have 
 been an awful ordeal, for the 70th Indiana lost 257 in killed 
 and wounded, or almost half its number. I recollect that 
 our regiment had been at the right of the centre of a line of 
 battle more or less actively engaged from Friday night to 
 Sunday morning. That Sunday morning we were quietly 
 marched to a ravine, where we laid off our coats and knap- 
 sacks — of course we knew what that meant. Then we were 
 formed in one single line at the top of a hill. We were the 
 first line, and there were three other lines behind us. I 
 shall never forget the scene. The hill sloped gently down- 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 385 
 
 ward from us^ to a ravine. Beyond the ravine the ground 
 ascended again, and on the crest of this ascent facing us, was 
 the rebel position. They had a battery over there, and it 
 kept belching smoke that the wind would whisk away from 
 the mouths of the cannon, and the next minute a shell would 
 come shrieking towards us. The order to advance was 
 given. We moved down that slope like clockwork. Har- 
 rison was riding his horse behind our line, and I remember 
 looking over my shoulder at him and wondering whether I 
 should ever see him again. Just as we got to the ravine the 
 order came to charge. We dashed through the ravine and 
 went pell-mell up the slope beyond. Well, the noise and 
 confusion and horror of it all was fearful, but just as I was 
 running forward with all my might, I heard Harrison yell- 
 ing, ‘ Come on, boys ! Come on.’ There he was on his 
 horse away in front of the line. He had on his full 
 regimentals and he was a shining mai'k. How he lived for 
 a minute in that hailstorm of bullets I don’t know. His 
 voice was still in my ears, and I was almost at the rebel 
 works when I felt a sharp pain in my wrist as if it had been 
 hit smartly with a stick. ‘ Look out, Dan ! ’ a friend of 
 mine cried, ‘ you’ll bleed to death.’ I stopped the bleeding 
 by pressure and went back to the hospital, but as I turned 
 to walk back I saw Harrison right among the guns of that 
 battery.” 
 
 Says another member of the regiment : — “ In the charge 
 at Resaca the 70th Indiana held the post of honor, where 
 the bullets were the thickest. Our Colonel was right with 
 us, too. He came right up behind us when we captured the 
 four guns there — the only guns, I believe, that were taken 
 in the Atlanta campaign. We had to withstand a murder- 
 ous cross-fire, and as the gunners discharged their pieces 
 we fell to the ground and allowed the shot to pass over us. 
 
386 
 
 benjamin Harrison. 
 
 Then we rushed up, scaled the works and took possession 
 of the guns. The boys tell a story of the General which I 
 guess is true. They say that when we went into the works 
 Harrison was with us, and that he grabbed a rebel gunner 
 by the beard and yanked him out, exclaiming : * Come out 
 of here, you blank blank rebel.’ ” 
 
 Much must be excused to the excitement attending such 
 an occasion, and it may be the Colonel did really forget for 
 the moment the injunction against swearing, but if so his 
 entire life in time of peace has made ample amends, for his 
 professional brethren say, that amid all the vexations of 
 court procedure they never heard him utter a harsher ex- 
 pletive than “ confound it.” 
 
 In this historic attack on Resaca, Thomas’ army held the 
 centre, and Hooker’s corps crossed Camp Valley Creek, 
 precipitating the engagement all along Johnston’s line, and 
 keeping it up the entire day. The fortunes of the bloody 
 day were varied, but at night Johnston confessed his ina- 
 bility to hold the place longer by beating a hasty retreat 
 over the Oostanaula and on to Cassville. One of the most 
 magnificent charges and fiercest fights of the day was after 
 Johnston had passed out word to his division to prepare for 
 retreat. Hooker had captured from Stewart one of the best 
 fortified of the Confederate positions. The latter officer 
 had not received the word to retreat and, bent on recapturing 
 Hooker’s position, made a desperate attack on it. He was 
 badly repulsed, and Hooker made a gallant pursuit of his 
 advantage by charging upon the Confederates, carrying 
 away as trophies four guns and several hundred prisoners. 
 In this battle in and around Resaca the Union loss footed up 
 nearly 5,000 killed and wounded. That of the Confeder- 
 ates was less, owing to their protected position. Thus 
 ended the second stage of the memorable campaign. 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 3S7 
 
 Sherman pushed on to Cassville, which Johnston speedily- 
 evacuated, to take up a position at the famous and impreg- 
 nable Allatoona Pass. The Union army could not afford 
 to waste time here, and so swung in an entire body away 
 from its communications and by Johnston’s flank, its objec- 
 tive being Dallas. Johnston saw the manoeuvre and beating 
 a hasty retreat, fell back to New Hope Church, where he 
 could not only intercept Sherman, but guard his own line 
 of railroad. Here he formed in line of battle, and on May 
 25, Hooker, in Thomas’ advance, skirmished all the after- 
 noon, and an hour before sunset, having his corps well in 
 hand, he began a furious assault on Hood’s corps, stationed 
 at the Church. He held to this attack for two hours, 
 nothing making him desist but night and the storm. For 
 three days there was continuous fighting at New Hope, 
 which resulted in the daring charges and counter charges 
 of the 27th and 28th. Then came a week of skirmishing 
 and manoeuvring again, during which both armies gradu- 
 ally worked their way eastward until Sherman found him- 
 self at Ackworth and Johnston at Marietta, the latter 
 guarded by the famous Kenesaw range on the right, Lost 
 Mountain in the centre and Pine Mountain on the left, all 
 strongly fortified and naturally impregnable. 
 
 History can never relate in truthful detail the daring and 
 bloody efforts of the Union army to scale these mountain 
 heights and dislodge their occupants. McPherson held the 
 left, Thomas the centre, and Schofield the right of Sherman’s 
 army. It had been reinforced and the troops were full of 
 confidence. It moved down from Ackworth on the 9th of 
 June ; on the 10th fighting began. For twenty-four days bat- 
 tle raged incessantly — by skirmish, by charge, by artillery, by 
 infantry. Advance was as if by inches, through dense thick- 
 ets and across almost impassable ravines. Every day added 
 
388 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 to the long list of Union killed and wounded, and many 
 gallant officers perished. By the 15th Pine Mountain was 
 forced from Johnston’s grasp and a few days later Lost 
 Mountain. Kenesaw alone remained. Sherman resolved to 
 carry it by assault. Thomas and McPherson’s armies were 
 assigned to the perilous task. These generals threw their 
 corps and regiments into the wooded base of the heights 
 and began the perilous ascent. Regiments vied with each 
 other in climbing unto victory or death amid rock, ravine, 
 bramble and bullet. They could not slay, yet they would 
 not quail. For an entire day the assault was kept up, and 
 only after a loss of three thousand men did Sherman decide 
 that the Kenesaw heights were impregnable. Thomas’ 
 army held the front with brilliant skirmishes for three days 
 longer while McPherson swung to the right and marched 
 towards the Chattahoochie. This forced Johnston out of the 
 Kenesaw fastnesses, and, giving up Marietta, he retreated 
 to the line of the Chattahoochie, hard pressed by Thomas, 
 who continually broke his rear guard and rendered every 
 stopping point north of the river untenable. 
 
 Sherman’s armies were across the Chattahoochie almost 
 as quickly as Johnston’s, and Atlanta was but a few miles 
 away. Johnston had girdled Atlanta with fortifications, but 
 resolved to defend it from the heights of Peach Tree Creek, 
 which runs northward from Atlanta and empties into the 
 Chattahoochie. Sherman marched to the attack with 
 Thomas on the right, Schofield in the centre and McPherson 
 on the left. Hood had superseded Johnston and adopted 
 the general plans of the latter. Seeing an interval between 
 the forces of Thomas and Schofield, he massed his troops 
 on the Buckhead road and fell mercilessly (July 20) on the 
 weak spot. Hooker’s three divisions, together with the 
 divisions of Newton and Johnson, caught the full force of 
 
Born in Boston, Mass., May 12, 1850; graduated at Harvard, 1871 ; 
 graduated from Harvard Law School, 1875 ; admitted to Suffolk bar, 
 1876, but preferred literary pursuits; served two terms in State Legisla- 
 ture ; elected, as a Republican, to 50th, 51st and 52d Congresses, to 
 represent Sixth Massachusetts District; distinguished as a writer on 
 economic, financial and commercial subjects, though none the less as an 
 industrious and able representative; member of the Committees on 
 Naval Affairs and Election of President and Vice President. 
 
 ( 389 ) 
 

 
 
 TO iM<£t 
 
 q ? ' r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 391 
 
 the terrible blow. The assault was so impetuous and deter- 
 mined that the Union troops were rolled back for a time. 
 But defeat only served to arouse their mettle. They rallied 
 and amid one of the fiercest conflicts of the war, which was 
 sustained for nearly five hours, they won a victory which 
 cost the Confederates fully 5,000 men, and defeated entirely 
 Hood’s design of saving Atlanta by meaas of the formid- 
 able entrenchments along Peach Tree Creek. It was in this 
 momentous battle of Peach Tree Creek that General Har- 
 rison, as commander of his brigade, crowned so honorably 
 the record he had made at Resaca. His brigade, the first 
 of Ward’s Division, 20th Corps, was handled with the ut- 
 most skill and bravery throughout this entire onset of 
 Hood, and it was in recognition of this fact that Hooker, as 
 he rode the lines on the day after the fight, sought out the 
 young commander, and in his own brusque way exclaimed, 
 as he shook hands and congratulated him : — By G — d, Har- 
 rison, I’ll make you a brigadier-general for your gallantry in 
 this fight ! ” 
 
 That this was no idle promise was proved by the following 
 hearty letter of communication, written to the Secretary of 
 War a few months later. The letter is worthy of study as 
 showing the solid military qualities which had attracted the 
 critical eye of General Hooker, and which had contributed 
 so much to the success of his corps in point of discipline and 
 in prowess : — 
 
 Headquarters Northern Department, \ 
 Cincinnati, O., Oct. 31, 1864. / 
 Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War : 
 
 I desire to call the attention of the Department to the 
 claims of Colonel Benjamin Harrison, of the 70th Indiana 
 Volunteers, for promotion to the rank of Brigadier-General 
 Volunteers. 
 
392 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 Colonel Harrison first joined me in command of a brigade 
 of Ward’s division in Lookout valley preparatory to enter- 
 ing upon what is called the campaign of Atlanta. My attention 
 was first attracted to this young officer by the superior 
 excellence of his brigade in discipline and instruction, the 
 result of his labor, skill and devotion. With more foresight 
 than I have witnessed in any officer of his experience, he 
 seemed to act upon the principle that success depended upon 
 the thorough preparation in discipline and esprit of his com- 
 mand for conflict more than on any influence that could be 
 exerted in the field itself, and when collision came his com- 
 mand vindicated his wisdom as much as his valor. In all 
 the achievements of the Twentieth Corps in that campaign 
 Colonel Harrison bore a conspicuous part. At Resaca and 
 Peach Tree Creek the conduct of himself and command was 
 especially distinguished. Colonel Harrison is an officer of 
 superior abilities and of great professional and persona] 
 worth. It gives me great pleasure to commend him favorably 
 to the honorable Secretary with the assurance that lis pre- 
 ferment will be a just recognition of his services and martial 
 accomplishments. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 Joseph Hooker, 
 Major-General Commanding. 
 
 Of the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Captain -Thomas S. 
 Sloan, who had command of Knapp’s Battery, says : — 
 “After all the Union batteries had been silenced excepting 
 my own, the crisis was reached, and our only support was 
 the remnant of a regiment of which Adjutant-General T. H. 
 Elliot had command. Just then a fine soldierly man wear- 
 ing a colonel’s uniform stepped up and said, ' I see, Captain, 
 you are sorely pressed. I do not belong to your corps and 
 have no orders, but if you will let me I will file in an Indiana 
 regiment to your support.’ He did so, and the Indianians 
 held their position and checked the advance of the enemy. 
 We poured canister into the Confederates till our supply was 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 393 
 
 exhausted. I subsequently learned that the officer who had 
 addressed me was Colonel Ben Harrison, and the regiment 
 was the 70th Indiana. There is not a survivor of Knapp’s 
 Battery that does not hold him in grateful remembrance for 
 his heroic action in coming to our assistance at a moment 
 when it seemed impossible to avert disaster. There is not 
 the possibility of a doubt that the day was saved by Har- 
 rison’s prompt action, and it was this that attracted Hooker’s 
 attention, resulting in deserved promotion.” 
 
 General Harrison had, as an officer, the unbounded confi- 
 dence and esteem of his men. He exacted of them a rigid 
 discipline, but they learned to know that this was necessary 
 in order to save the organization from capture and rout, and 
 to win victories. His men tell many anecdotes of him on 
 his Atlanta march, all of which tend to show his interest in 
 them. His big horse was always a conspicuous object and 
 not without its uses, other than strictly military. Says a 
 member of the 70th Regiment, “ I recall one incident that 
 was thoroughly characteristic of Harrison. It was during 
 one of the marches toward Atlanta. I was very footsore 
 and weary, and was limping along by the side of a very 
 muddy road. The chaplain of the 70th was walking near 
 me, and one of the boys who was done up was riding the 
 chaplain’s horse. Just then General Harrison came splash- 
 ing along through the mud. He saw me limping and asked 
 me by name what the matter was. When he saw my 
 blistered feet he jumped off his horse, and in spite of my 
 protests, lifted me into the saddle.” 
 
 “ That was nothing,” replied a one-armed veteran who 
 heard the above, “ General Harrison didn’t ride his horse a 
 quarter of the time on these long marches. He almost always 
 had one of the boys astride of him.” 
 
 When Sherman awoke the next day after the memorable 
 
394 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 battle of Peach Tree Creek, he found Hood had evacuated 
 all the entrenchments in his front. Thinking he had gone 
 to Atlanta, the Union armies were turned to face the city. 
 But Hood had really swung off to Decatur and when Sher- 
 man approached Atlanta, his left flank caught the full fury 
 of an attack from Hood. It was in this that the gallant 
 McPherson lost his life and it was here that Logan played 
 so conspicuous a part in saving the day. The armies of 
 Thomas and Schofield were under fire all day from the for- 
 tifications of Atlanta, and it was only when the army of the 
 latter was swung round to Logan’s assistance that Hood’s 
 onset was broken. The Union loss was 3,722 and the Con- 
 federate loss 8,000. 
 
 Sherman’s investing army was now subject to almost daily 
 attacks from Hood’s forces, in the midst of which he grad- 
 ually worked the entire Union army from left to right till he 
 had drawn Hood all the way to Jonesboro’, where battle was 
 given. The long Confederate lines were punctured every- 
 where. This meant the fall of Atlanta. At night as the 
 Union army slept in their trenches and along the line of the 
 railroads they had captured they were aroused by the sound 
 of heavy explosions, twenty miles away to the north. It 
 was the exploding store-houses, trains and magazines of 
 Atlanta, fired by the rear-guard of Hood, whose van was 
 already well southward. Atlanta was indeed won, and the 
 bugle notes of victory came from the very heart of Georgia 
 to cheer the people of the north, freshen other struggling 
 armies, and inspire the Government. It was September 1st, 
 1864. 
 
 General Harrison had not been absent from his command 
 since he entered the army. He now took advantage of the 
 cessation of active hostilities which followed the capture of 
 Atlanta, and secured a temporary leave of absence with 
 
Hon. William D. Washburn. 
 
 Born in Livermore, Maine, January 14, 1831 ; graduated at Bowdoin, 
 j) 54; studied law and located in Minneapolis, 1857; Surveyor-general 
 of Minnesota, 1861; largely interested in manufactures and railways; 
 elected to State Legislature, 1858-71 ; elected to 46th, 47th and 48th 
 Congresses; elected, as a Republican, to U. S. Senate for term begin- 
 ning March 4, 1889; Chairman of Committee on Mississippi River Im- 
 provements; member of Committees on Civil Service, Commerce, Educa- 
 tion and Labor, Post-offices and Post Roads, etc. ; earnest, able and con- 
 scientious statesman, deeply interested in the fortunes of the Northwest. 
 
 395) 
 
KENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 397 
 
 orders to report to Governor Morton. On visiting Indianap- 
 olis he found that the very patriotic and kindly disposed Dem- 
 ocratic Supreme Court of his State had declared the office of 
 State Reporter vacant, and that another person had been 
 elected to serve out the regular term. It wasn’t much won- 
 der that the righteous indignation of all loyal people was 
 aroused at this outrage, nor that they firmly resolved to re- 
 instate the old incumbent. He was given a nomination for 
 the place on the Republican ticket and during his thirty 
 days of absence from the army he made a dashing canvass 
 of the State. The result was a triumph for him, and a rein- 
 statement in the office which had been ruthlessly torn from 
 him while fighting the battles of his country. 
 
 By the time this victory of peace was won, and the enemy 
 behind rebuked in a signal manner, Hood had evolved his 
 plan of invading Tennessee, and Sherman his plan of march- 
 ing to the sea. Thomas was given supreme command of 
 all the forces deemed necessary to checkmate Hood, and 
 had begun the work of retreat to and concentration at Nash- 
 ville. Thither Hood would come, and there would be that 
 grand ingathering of troops whose purpose would be to 
 crush him. This was the situation which General Harrison 
 met on his way back to the army. He would still be with 
 his old commander and in the capacity of Brigadier-general. 
 More than that he would still be with those whom he had 
 learned to look upon as the bravest of the brave, for Wood, 
 who had earned promotion by the splendid management of 
 his division throughout, but especially in that last desperate 
 demonstration at Lovejoy, was in command of a corps at 
 Nashville. 
 
 During October and November Thomas had been carry- 
 ing on the work of concentration at Nashville and of forti- 
 fying the place. On December 2, 1864, Hood appeared and 
 18 
 
39 8 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 began the work of investment. Thomas laid his plans of 
 battle, which placed Smith’s 16th Corps on his right, Wood’s 
 4th Corps in the centre, opposite Montgomery Hill, and 
 Schofield’s 23d Corps on the left of Wood and in reserve, 
 and Steedman on the extreme left. General Harrison’s 
 Brigade was therefore in the centre and in front of the 
 enemy’s strongest point. The battle opened on December 
 15, with an advance of Steedman on the left. While he 
 conducted a bloody charge there, Smith charged on the 
 right and at the same time Wilson’s cavalry swung clear 
 round to the Confederate rear. Then came Wood’s valiant 
 4th Corps, which moved with traditional spirit up the rough 
 and entrenched acclivities of Montgomery Hill, driving the 
 enemy to their interior lines. Schofield also pushed steadily 
 up, and when all the lines were abreast and connected, the 
 whole pressed vigorously forward during the entire after- 
 noon, gradually rising over almost interminable obstacles 
 and meeting everywhere with deadly fire, till the last lines 
 of the enemy’s entrenchments were captured. Wood’s 4th 
 alone found a line beyond the second. This was instantly 
 carried by assault, with the capture of eight pieces of artil- 
 lery and 500 prisoners. The enemy now broke and fled, 
 his natural line of retreat being down the Franklin pike, 
 opposite which Wood was. He forced pursuit with as much 
 spirit as he had conducted the fighting. Forming his 
 brigades and divisions he plunged after Hood’s broken 
 forces, and ceased only when darkness became dense. The 
 next morning the 4th Corps found Hood at bay on the 
 Harpeth Hills, and took a position across the Franklin pike. 
 When the other corps came up and took places to the right 
 and left, battle was again joined. Wood’s corps led the 
 assault, up over severer obstacles than those of the day 
 before, and with greater looses, The other corps rushed on 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 399 
 
 the enemy’s right and left, while their attention was concen- 
 trated on the terrific struggle along the centre, and literally 
 folded in their flanks, capturing dozens of guns and thou- 
 sands of prisoners. In a short while all was tumult within 
 the enemy’s lines, and then their forces began to break into 
 disastrous retreat down the steep slopes, leaving a wreckage 
 of wagons, caissons, muskets, knapsacks and blankets behind. 
 They reached the Franklin pike and poured down it a 
 confused mass. Close at their heels hurried the relentless 
 4th Corps, in a chase of several miles, gathering prisoners 
 and spoils all the way till night descended in mercy on the 
 beaten army. The day saw 4,500 prisoners, 53 cannon and 
 thousands of small arms fall into the hands of the victors. 
 
 The next morning dawned cold and rainy, but by daylight 
 the 4th Corps was on the march with Wilson’s cavalry, the 
 remaining corps following. Every here and there the des- 
 perate rear guard of the enemy made a stand to check the 
 hot pursuit and gain a little time, but such attempts resulted 
 only in the loss of other guns and further discomfiture. It 
 was thus that Wood’s Corps and the cavalry followed im- 
 petuously to Harpeth River, where they found the pontoons 
 destroyed. Others were improvised and Wood was again 
 on the enemy’s track, but he could not catch up till Hood 
 was safe beyond Duck River, having again burned the pon- 
 toons. Wood and Wilson hastily improvised others and 
 crossed to continue the pursuit. On the 24th of December 
 they twice met and drove the enemy’s rear guard and pushed 
 it so vigorously as to save the bridges across Richland creek. 
 On Christmas morning they attacked and drove their foe out 
 of Pulaski, and on the same evening General Harrison’s 
 Brigade rushed upon them at a point which they had en- 
 trenched for the night’s bivouac and drove them pell-mell 
 into the distance and darkness. 
 
 Thus was Hood’s flight and the relentless pursuit kept 
 
4oo 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 up till, with a mere fraction of the force and the parapher- 
 nalia he brought to the invasion of Tennessee, he recrossed 
 the Tennessee a thoroughly discomfited, broken down 
 General. 
 
 Whether in the battles around Nashville, or in the dash- 
 ing, persistent pursuit of Hood by the 4th Corps, General 
 Harrison’s Brigade was one of the most valiant and reliable 
 contributors to the victories which left the valley of the 
 Mississippi free from Confederate intruders and in full pos- 
 session of the Union armies. There was really nothing 
 more to do in that direction, and now all eyes were turned 
 to the east to witness the culmination of rebellion. 
 
 It was during this period of respite, and while the sturdy 
 corps of the west, with their immense equipments, were 
 being transferred to the Atlantic, to meet the coming of 
 Sherman and to bring the inevitable end nearer in time, that 
 General Harrison was called to the bed-side of his children 
 who were lying at death’s door with scarlet fever. General 
 Harrison was himself stricken with the dread disease in 
 malignant form, and for a time his life was despaired of. A 
 vigorous constitution at length pulled him through, and he 
 was no sooner on his feet than he started east and joined 
 his command in the Carolinas. It was now attached to 
 Sherman’s army, which had accomplished its march to the 
 sea and was already well on its way to its goal at Raleigh. 
 He remained with Sherman till the surrender of Johnston, 
 and then, the war ended, he passed north with his victorious 
 companions in arms, participated in the final grand review 
 at Washington, and thence returned to his family and his 
 profession bearing the well-deserved honors of a Brigadier- 
 general. In his “ Twenty Years of Congress,” Mr. Blaine 
 says : — “ Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, commanded a 
 brigade before he was 30, and made a military record which 
 did honor to the illustrious name which he inherits.” 
 

 i. 
 
 I ,U1 
 
 
 
Born at Cummington, Mass., October 30, 1816 ; graduated at Yale 
 and studied law ; engaged in law practice and editing ; elected to State 
 Legislature, 1848-49-52 ; elected to State Senate, 1850 ; member of 
 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, 1853; District Attorney for 
 Western District of Massachusetts, 1853-67 ; elected, as Republican, to 
 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 41st, 42d and 43d Congresses; 
 elected to United States Senate to succeed Chas. Sumner and took 
 seat, March 4, 1875 ; re-elected in 1881 and 1887; one of the oldest 
 and most respected Senators ; Chairman of Committee on Indian Af- 
 fairs and member of Committees on Appropriations, Civil Service, 
 Fisheries, etc. 
 
 Hon. Henry L. Hawes. 
 
 (402) 
 
IV. 
 
 IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 
 
 On his return to the paths of peace, General Harrison 
 found the office to which he had been elected in the fall of 
 1864 a valuable aid to him, and he performed its duties till 
 the end of the term in 1868. He was then pressed to be- 
 come a candidate for re-election, but declined to accept be- 
 cause it was necessary for him to turn his full attention to 
 his professional business, which, by this time, had recovered 
 from the effects of long absence in the field, and bade fair 
 to be far more prosperous than ever before. To this he 
 directed all his energies for several years, constantly adding 
 to his fame as a lawyer, and as an orator, for he was ever 
 active in political campaigns. Indeed, it was during these 
 years that he came into prominence in his State as one of 
 those reserved and solid political factors whom it would be 
 wise to draw upon when there was hard work ahead. So 
 long as Governor Morton lived he was first in the minds 
 and hearts of Indiana Republicans, but after his death Gen- 
 eral Harrison was, as if by a process of natural selection, 
 largely looked to as a coming power in Republican coun- 
 sels. Not that he was a politician in the ordinary sense ; he 
 could not buttonhole or drum for favor ; but he understood 
 political situations thoroughly, had an accurate judgment of 
 results, was prudent in counsel and a powerful organizer and 
 worker. Above all he was frank and fearless, and friends 
 as well as enemies knew exactly where to find him. 
 
 It was in the full exercise of these qualities that he de~ 
 
 (403) 
 
404 
 
 Benjamin harrisoN. 
 
 dined the nomination of his party as candidate for Governor 
 of his State in 1876. The choice therefore fell to Godlove 
 S. Orth, upon whom the enemy opened such a merciless fire 
 as to break down his political record and force his with- 
 drawal from the ticket. General Harrison was absent from 
 the State when this disparaging event took place, yet the 
 State Central Committee immediately put him on the ticket 
 to fill the vacant place and recover, as best he might, the 
 valuable ground which had been lost. In tendering the 
 nomination to General Harrison the Committee said : “ The 
 nomination was made for no other purpose than to subserve 
 the best interests of the Republican party in Indiana, and in 
 tendering it to you we do so with the assurance that you 
 will receive the united and earnest vote of the entire party.” 
 The nomination was entirely unsought and undesired, but it 
 was accepted in terms that indicated a sense of public duty. 
 He was less inclined than before to accept it, but fully ap- 
 preciating the emergency and knowing that time was already 
 too short in which to repair damages, he consented to lead 
 a forlorn hope in order that his party organization might be 
 conserved and its principles find an exponent amid the des- 
 perate conflict already on. 
 
 His opponent, popularly known as “ Blue Jeans Williams,” 
 had a strong following in the State, and he shared in ad- 
 dition the strength of the Tilden-Hendricks ticket, together 
 with the inspiration offered by Chairman Barnum’s copious 
 boodle. Though General Harrison went into the campaign 
 at a late hour and under auspices from which a man of less 
 heroic mould would have shrunk, he went in earnestly and 
 with such vigor as to set the adverse current quite towards 
 himself and his party. He worked during the short time 
 at his disposal with herculean energy, spoke eloquently and 
 often, and by election day had his party in trim for a brave, 
 
benjamin HARRISON. 
 
 405 
 
 if losing, fight at the polls. The result was defeat, yet a vic- 
 tory of great moment for him personally, for he ran nearly 
 2,000 votes ahead of his ticket, and nearly 4,000 ahead of 
 the Republican strength as shown by the Congressional 
 vote. This memorable contest, his many brilliant speeches 
 to large and enthusiastic audiences, the sacrifices he made 
 for his party, the speedy gathering up of broken forces, the 
 energy which he infused into a despairing situation, gave 
 him a national reputation which placed him in high demand 
 where like vigor and eloquence were a necessity, and after 
 the October election his voice was heard in nearly all the 
 States of the East in sturdy plea for the candidates on the 
 Presidential ticket. From that time till 1880 he was busily 
 engaged in the pursuit of his profession, and in 1879 or 1880 
 he aided the Federal Government in prosecuting certain 
 Democratic conspirators for importing ballot-box stuffers 
 into Southern Indiana. Their leader was convicted and 
 sentenced to the penitentiary. 
 
 In the campaign of 1880 he worked with his wonted 
 energy and brilliancy, and this time with greater success, 
 for not only the Republican Presidential ticket carried Indi- 
 ana by 6,641 plurality, but a Republican Legislature was 
 elected. This event brought the name of General Harrison 
 prominently forward as a candidate for United States Sena- 
 tor to fill the place about to be vacated by Joseph E. Mc- 
 Donald. There were other aspirants for the honor, among 
 whom were Walter Q. Gresham, Godlove S. Orth, John C. 
 New and W. C. Cumback, but the voice of the party was 
 practically unanimous for the man who had been fighting 
 its desperate battles for so many years, and who had been 
 one of its most conspicuous figures in every campaign since 
 1856. All the contestants withdrew before the nominating 
 caucus met and left the field clear for General Harrison. He 
 
406 
 
 benjamin Harrison. 
 
 was nominated by acclamation. His election gave the 
 greatest satisfaction to his party in the State, and it was felt 
 that the honor rested on one who was in every respect 
 splendidly equipped for its maintenance. 
 
 He assumed his Senatorial duties on March 4, 1881. The 
 session was an extra one for executive business only, and 
 he simply attended and voted when occasion arose. When 
 the Senate reassembled in the following December, at the 
 beginning of the Forty-seventh Congress, and opportunity 
 offered, he assumed his share of the duties of the body. 
 During his six years term he grew rapidly in public estima- 
 tion and proved himself fully equal to the requirements of 
 his high office and the expectation of his friends. His 
 reputation became national as one of the best lawyers and 
 ablest debaters in that grave and eminent body. The lead- 
 ing legislation of his term comprised, first, the Tariff Act 
 of 1883. On this important measure, prepared by the Tariff 
 Commission with great deliberation, he took high protective 
 ground, and his arguments showed that he was thoroughly 
 versed with the system under which American manufactures 
 had prospered since 1861, and American labor had been 
 able to maintain itself on a plane far above the pauper rates 
 of the old world. It was while this bill was pending that 
 he had occasion to cross swords with his colleague, Senator 
 Voorhees, who had made a rather reckless address in which 
 he affected to ridicule the Republicans for seeking to lower 
 duties on perfumery. Senator Harrison stepped into the 
 area in front of the desks, and, approaching the Democratic 
 side, began a reply, lasting nearly an hour, in which he un- 
 mercifully belabored his doughty colleague, and left him 
 entirely subdued. It was one of the most brilliant and 
 masterly efforts ever made on the floor of the Senate, and 
 
benjamin Harrison. 407 
 
 Mr. Voorhees never after sought occasion for a similar en- 
 counter. 
 
 The Tariff views of General Harrison have found frequent 
 expression since the expiration of his Senatorial term, and 
 on March 20, 1888, before the Marquette club of Chicago, 
 he took occasion to say : — 
 
 “There is another question to which the Republican 
 party has committed itself, and on the line of which it has 
 accomplished, as I believe, much for the prosperity of the 
 country. I believe the Republican party is pledged and 
 ought to be pledged to the doctrine of protection to Amer- 
 ican industries and American labor. I believe that in so far 
 as our native inventive genius — which seems to have no limit 
 — and our productive forces can supply the American 
 market, we ought to keqp it for ourselves. And yet this 
 new captain on the bridge seems to congratulate himself on 
 the fact that the voyage is still prosperous notwithstanding 
 the change of commanders. He seems to forget that the 
 reason that the voyage is still prosperous is because the 
 course of the ship was marked out before he went on the 
 bridge and the rudder tied down. He has attempted to 
 take a new direction since he has been in command with a 
 view of changing the sailing course of the old craft, but it 
 has seemed to me that he has made the blunder of mistaking 
 the flash light of some British light-house for the light of 
 day. I do not intend here to-night, in this presence, to dis- 
 cuss this tariff question in any detail. I only want to say 
 that in the passage of what is now so flippantly called the 
 war tariff, to raise revenue to carry on the war out of the 
 protective duties which were then levied, there has come to 
 this country a prosperity and development which would 
 have been impossible without it, and that a reversal of this 
 policy now, at the suggestion of Mr. Cleveland according to 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 408 
 
 the line of the blind statesman from Texas (Mills), would be 
 to stay and interrupt this march of prosperity on which we 
 have entered. I am one of those uninstructed political 
 economists that have an impression that some things may 
 be too cheap ; and I cannot find myself in full sympathy with 
 this demand for cheaper coats, which seems to me neces- 
 sarily to involve a cheaper man and woman under the 
 coat. I believe it is true to-day that we have many things 
 in this country that are too cheap, because whenever it is 
 proved that the man or woman who produces any article 
 cannot get a decent living out of it, then it is too cheap.” 
 
 The second great measure before the Senate during his 
 term was the “ Civil Service Bill ” introduced by Geo. H. 
 Pendleton, Democrat, Ohio. Though introduced by a 
 Democrat, strange to say, Democrats were its chief oppo- 
 nents. Senator Harrison favored the bill, and voted for it, 
 but at the same time he contended for the perfect freedom 
 of all men, no matter whether Government employes or 
 not, to contribute their money to the cause they espoused. 
 On February 12, 1884. he expressed himself very pointedly 
 on this subject : — 
 
 “ I should regard myself,” he said, “ as little less than a 
 slave if as an American citizen I believed, let me say for il- 
 lustration, in the doctrine of protection, in which my col- 
 league also takes an interest, and was the head of a bureau 
 here, receiving a salary of $8,000 a year, I was not allowed 
 to contribute to the purchase of documents or the distribu- 
 tion of speeches that were calculated to impress upon the 
 public mind the views I held.” 
 
 He voted for the Civil Service bill, and later on, after 
 President Cleveland became the appointing power, he vigor- 
 ously criticised instances of alleged departure of the Ad- 
 ministration from the letter and the spirit of the law. 
 
k^NJAMiN HARRISON. 409 
 
 His consistency on this subject is shown by the following 
 extract from a speech with which he opened the Indiana 
 campaign of 1882 : — 
 
 “ I want to assure you to-night that I am an advocate of 
 Civil Service Reform. My brief experience at Washington 
 has led me often to utter the wish with an emphasis I do 
 not often use that I might be forever relieved of any con- 
 nection with the distribution of public patronage. I covet 
 for myself the free and unpurchased support of my fellow- 
 citizens, and long to be able to give my time and energy 
 solely to those public affairs that legitimately relate to the 
 honorable trust which you have committed to me.” 
 
 The third great question which pressed for solution dur- 
 ing his term was contained in the “ Anti-Chinese Bill.” As 
 Senator Harrison’s record on this bill has been subjected to 
 criticism it is well to know all about the measure. The 
 proposition to close our doors upon the Chinese race was 
 very slow in finding any favor at all in those sections where 
 the Chinese, as they presented themselves on the Pacific 
 coast, were personally unknown. For many years the Pacific 
 coast delegation appealed to Congress in vain for protection 
 from the incoming Chinese hordes. Gradually their plea 
 began to have effect. The evidence they presented of the 
 unfavorable influence on the coast of the Chinese immigra- 
 tion and the danger of that part of the United States being 
 overrun by Mongolians began to be considered, and grad- 
 ually won converts in the East to the Pacific coast view of 
 the Chinese. 
 
 Their sentiments were incorporated into a bill known as 
 House bill 5804. On April 27, 1882, it came up in the 
 Senate for discussion. Its title was “ A bill to execute cer- 
 tain treaty stipulations with the Chinese.” Mr. Harrison 
 made two brief speeches on that bill, occupying only a few 
 
4io 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 lines of The Recot'd, and printed at pages 3359 and 3360 of 
 The Co)igressio?ial Record , Forty -seventh Congress, first 
 session. He contended that as the treaty used the word 
 “ laborers,” it was not in the power of Congress to enlarge 
 the meaning of that word by legislation ; that whatever the 
 word “ laborers ” implied in the treaty, the same word would 
 be held to have the same meaning in any law that Congress 
 might pass. He asked Senator Grover, of Oregon, the 
 pertinent question, whether, if he found the proposed law 
 and the existing treaty in conflict, he would still persist in 
 passing the law and thus “ trampling upon our treaty obliga- 
 tions ? ” To this inquiry Mr. Grover made no reply. Mr. 
 Harrison’s logic was invincible, and it was sustained by the 
 Senate. It may be added that this position has since been 
 maintained by every President and Secretary of State down 
 even to Grover Cleveland and Secretary Bayard. 
 
 The controversy over the bill led to its amendment so as 
 to make it fit in with existing treaties, and in this form Sena- 
 tor Harrison became its ardent champion and voted for it 
 on final passage. His entire attitude was that of a man who 
 saw clearly how useless and dishonorable it was to legislate 
 in the face of a solemn treatv, yet that the spirit of the pro- 
 posed legislation was proper, provided it could be so arranged 
 as to prevent conflict with treaty obligations. Of the 
 amended bill, as reported by the Committee on Foreign Re- 
 lations, of which Senator Harrison was a member, Senator 
 Mitchell, of Oregon, a chief promoter of anti-Chinese legisla- 
 tion, said : — “ I have no kind of doubt that it is as strong a 
 bill as could be drawn, and, at the same time, have kept 
 
 within the provisions of our treaty It is one of the 
 
 best bills ever reported by any committee on the subject.” 
 
 In 1886 a supplementary anti-Chinese bill was introduced 
 in the Senate, when General Harrison was still a member 
 
Hon. Henry M. Teller. 
 
 Born in Allegany co., N. Y., May 23, 1830 ; admitted to bar in 
 N. Y. ; removed to Illinois, 1858 ; thence to Colorado, 1861 ; on admis- 
 sion of Colorado to Statehood, 1876, was elected to U. S. Senate as a 
 Republican; re-elected to U. S. Senate for the term 1876-1882; 
 appointed Secretary of Interior by President Arthur in 1882, and served 
 till March 3, 1885 ; re-elected to Senate in 1885, and again in 1890 ; 
 Chairman of Committee on Privileges and Elections ; member of Com- 
 mittees on Judiciary, Private Land Claims and Indian Tribes. 
 
 (41 1) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 413 
 
 of that body. It was passed without a division, Senator 
 Harrison voting for it both in the committee and in the 
 Senate. Thus General Harrison was from first to last in 
 favor of the principle underlying the Chinese legislation. 
 
 After Mr. Harrison’s nomination for the Presidency at 
 Chicago, 1888, Senator Mitchell made an investigation of 
 his record, bearing on all the anti-Chinese bills and says : — 
 “ I found that he voted against two measures providing a 
 form of restricting Chinese immigration. I talked with 
 General Harrison about the matter and he gave me the 
 grounds on which he objected to the proposed legislation, 
 which were that the measures were in direct conflict with 
 existing treaties. He held that before we passed statutory 
 laws we ought to abolish the existing treaties, so as to 
 avoid conflict. That is exactly the position I occupy, and 
 about two years ago I introduced a joint resolution in the 
 Senate proposing the abrogation of every treaty with China, 
 commercial as well as those on the subject of immigration, 
 and my intention was to introduce a general Chinese im- 
 migration bill which would take the form of statutory law. 
 
 “ One of the bills that Senator Harrison opposed was 
 passed by both houses and was vetoed by President Arthur. 
 During one of my talks with Senator Harrison he said : 
 * As a lawyer I could not afford to vote for laws which I 
 knew to be in direct conflict with existing treaties and which 
 I knew could not stand even the test they would be subjected 
 to in the lower courts. I did not want to make myself 
 ridiculous by voting for a measure which would conflict 
 with a treaty placed on the statute books during ray own 
 term of public life.’ I have,” continued Senator Mitchell, 
 “received many inquiries from my constituents on this sub- 
 ject, and I have without exception stated that I considered 
 
4 H 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 General Harrison’s record on this subject not inimical to 
 the interests of our people. 
 
 “ But the Chinese question will not be the paramount issue 
 in the approaching campaign on the Pacific slope. We 
 have secured as much restriction of immigration and as 
 much restriction of the rights of Chinese in our country as 
 we can get at this time. Our people are practically quiet 
 on the subject and the issue at the polls in November will 
 be fought on the tariff. The recent election in Oregon shows 
 what position the people there hold on this subject. The 
 nomination of General Harrison, it seems to me, was the 
 best possible solution of the complication in which the con- 
 vention found itself this morning.” 
 
 And Representative Morrow, of California, also said : — 
 “ Mr. Harrison’s views on the question are entirely satisfac- 
 tory to us in California. We are all protectionists over 
 there, we are more interested in knowing what is going to 
 be done with prunes and raisins, and borax and manufac- 
 turing interests generally than in inquiring what a man 
 thought on the Chinese question in 1882. Besides, we 
 think we have got the matter settled at last, and we certainly 
 prefer Mr. Harrison’s views of the inviolability of treaty 
 obligations to those of Mr. Cleveland, who proposes to in- 
 troduce Chinese products free of duty. The California 
 delegation took a leading part in bringing about Mr. Har- 
 rison’s nomination, and we shall give him our votes, though, 
 of course, you know who our first choice was.” 
 
 And the newspapers of the Pacific coast thus view the 
 record : — 
 
 General Harrison’s course on the Chinese question was 
 honorable; just and right. It never would be called in ques- 
 tion except by men whose regard for the obligations of their 
 country was not subordinated to a disposition to play the 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 415 
 
 part of a paltry demagogue to ignorance and prejudice. 
 Harrison did not oppose restriction of Chinese immigration, 
 but insisted that the acts of restriction should be kept within 
 the provisions of the treaties. Was not this right ? — Port- 
 land Oregonian ( Ind . Rep.). 
 
 There are no weak points in Harrison’s record. The 
 attempt to create a prejudice against him on this coast on 
 the Chinese question will not cost a vote. Harrison stood 
 in 1878 where Eastern men generally stood. — San Francisco 
 Call (Ind.). 
 
 General Harrison, like a great many other prominent men 
 in the East, Democrats as well as Republicans, did not at 
 first grasp the importance of the Chinese question, but as 
 soon as he saw that the rights of American labor and the 
 basic principle of Protection were involved in it, he wheeled 
 into line on the side of America, and has ever since been 
 the firm and determined opponent of Chinese admission. — 
 San Francisco Chronicle (Rep.). 
 
 Mr. Harrison’s position on the Chinese question some 
 years ago seems to be the main reliance of the Democracy 
 for beating him. California is not anxious to know what 
 Mr. Harrison thought about Chinese immigration ten years 
 ago. The voters of this State want to know what Mr. Har- 
 rison thinks of Chinese immigration to-day . — San Francisco 
 Post (Rep.). t 
 
 The record of General Harrison, the nominee of the Re- 
 publican party for the Presidency, is identical with that of 
 every anti-Chinese citizen of California. The corning of 
 these people was at first encouraged by almost everybody 
 in this State. It took twenty years of close study and ex- 
 amination into all the details of the question tc bring about 
 that radical change in the opinion of California and the 
 Pacific States in relation to these interlopers which is now 
 
416 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 universally entertained. General Harrison underwent pre- 
 cisely the same change of sentiment on this question as our 
 own people, with this difference, that the process in his case 
 was much speedier . — San Francisco Bulletin ( Ind . ). 
 
 The “ Coin and Currency ” question was an important 
 one during Senator Harrison’s term. On this question he 
 expressed himself in 1885, thus: — 
 
 “ I have never believed that cheap money, in the sense of 
 depreciated money, was desirable. I have always thought 
 and said that the interest of the laboring and farming classes 
 especially was in the line of stable, par currency. The silver 
 question may be presented in divers forms. I am a bi- 
 metallist by my strong conviction. I think silver should be 
 preserved as a coin metal, but it is very apparent that the 
 present ratio between silver and gold is out of joint, and 
 that something ought to be done to correct this inequality. 
 
 “ The aspect of the question here is this : The President 
 has taken strong grounds for a peremptory stoppage of the 
 coinage of the silver dollar, and the fight is on in his own 
 party in the House. Nothing we can do in the Senate on 
 the question will be of any avail.” 
 
 One of General Harrison’s strongest titles to public re- 
 spect and admiration is found in the fact that when the in- 
 flation craze spread over the country and swept from their 
 moorings many who have since lived to regret their infatua- 
 tion, he never wavered in his fidelity to the cause of honest 
 money. 
 
 On the bill to prevent the importation of contract labor 
 Senator Harrison made an argument in favor of keeping 
 out immig'rants brought to this country under stipulations 
 tonvork for lower wages than those prevailing here. This 
 was his comment on the subject : — 
 
 “ If I understand the evil sought to be guarded against 
 
 \ 
 
Born in Peekskill, N. Y., April 23, 1834; graduated at Yale, 1856;. 
 studied law and admitted to bar; elected to New York Assembly, 
 1861-62; elected Speaker; elected Secretary of New York State, 1863; 
 Tax Commissioner of N. Y. city; nominated Minister to Japan ; General 
 Counsel for Hudson R. & N. Y. Central R. R’s, 1866 and 1869; candi- 
 date for Lieut. -Governor, 1872, but defeated ; Regent of State University, 
 1874; President of N. Y. Central R. R., 1885; President of Union 
 League and Yale Alumni Association ; prominent candidate for Presi- 
 dent of U. S. before conventions of 1884, 1888 ; manager of Harrison 
 forces in convention of 1892; celebrated as orator and lecturer; spoken 
 of as Secretary of State to succeed Blaine. 
 
 (418) 
 
 \ 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 419 
 
 by this bill it is that men living in foreign countries where 
 the rate of wages and the conditions of labor are so different 
 from what they are in this country shall not there, under 
 the strain that is upon them, make a contract which, of 
 course, is governed by rates of wages there that put them 
 in the power of the person furnishing the money when they 
 come to this country, and have a tendency to import the 
 rates of foreign labor and establish them here. I see noth- 
 ing to prevent any person who is benevolently disposed, who 
 has no personal interest in an individual, from aiding any 
 one to come here, provided only he does not attempt to 
 secure the money he advances by a mortgage on that man’s 
 labor.” 
 
 He also spoke on the alien ownership of land, taking a 
 decided stand against the evil of foreigners acquiring large 
 bodies of public and private lands to the exclusion of actual 
 settlers, who would improve small farms and make for them- 
 selves homes. 
 
 During the first session of the 48th Congress, General 
 Harrison was heard in many speeches on the Blair Educa- 
 tional bill, to which he made many serious objections. In 
 one speech on the subject he said : — 
 
 “ There is a giving that pauperizes; there is a giving that 
 enfeebles. It is against that sort of giving that I protest. 
 The wisest managers of benevolence in these late years have 
 come to the conclusion that giving should always be so 
 regulated as to save self-respect, and awaken in the mind of 
 the recipient the lost faith in his ability to take care of him- 
 self. We should carefully avoid that giving which creates 
 a disposition to lean and to expect, which takes the stamina 
 and strength and self-dependence out of men. That prin- 
 ciple will, I think, apply to the giving which is proposed by 
 this bill.” 
 
420 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 After the inauguration of President Cleveland, and when 
 the Republicans of the Senate took issue with the Execu- 
 tive about appointments, Senator Harrison was heard on 
 several occasions in speeches of a critical character. 
 
 On the question of the admission of Dakota as a State, 
 his reports and speeches took favorable and earnest ground, 
 and they have never been answered, though for partisan 
 reasons the right that is clearly due the populous and enter- 
 prising Territory has been withheld for years. It was Sen- 
 ator Harrison’s strong plea for Dakota which first roused 
 the country to realize the injustice done to a great body of 
 honest settlers by the partisan exclusion of that Territory 
 from Statehood. The Union soldier had no more eloquent 
 and faithful champion than Senator Harrison, throughout 
 his Senatorial career. All his speeches in their behalf 
 evince the warmest affection for the “ boys who wore the 
 blue,” and the deepest solicitude for their welfare. He was 
 really the father of that pension bill which was asked for by 
 the members of the Grand Army of the Republic, and after- 
 wards approved by them. 
 
 In the course of a speech in which he had occasion to 
 reply to Senator Voorhees’ claim to be “ the soldier’s 
 friend,” General Harrison gave utterance to these earnest 
 words, which seem to apply as well to a good many others : 
 — “ The man who lived through the War of the Rebellion 
 and did not make some sacrifice for the success of the Union 
 armies — who did not say one brave word, or do one brave 
 thing, when, with bare and bleeding breasts, our soldiers 
 looked into the face of hell for their country — can never be 
 enshrined as the soldier’s friend.” 
 
 Senator Harrison had been for years a member of the 
 Mississippi Improvement Commission, and in the Senate he 
 was a strong advocate of liberal appropriations for im- 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 421 
 
 proving the navigation of that important waterway. His 
 advocacy of self-government for Alaska was able and 
 earnest. 
 
 General Harrison’s service to the nation in the Senate won 
 for him the respect of his fellow-members, and the apprecia- 
 tion of an intelligent constituency. The place he early and 
 easily assumed as a statesman of marked ability, large in- 
 formation, sterling Republicanism and unblemished charac- 
 ter, he held to the end of his term. 
 
 General Harrison’s term in the Senate expired March 4, 
 1887, and the Legislature to choose his successor was to be 
 elected in the fall of 1 886. That was a memorable campaign, 
 and was to a large extent General Harrison’s own campaign, 
 though many able assistants stood by his side in the fight. 
 The Democrats had carried the State in 1882 by 1 1,000 
 majority and in 1884, during a Presidential year, by nearly 
 7,000 majority. They had so gerrymandered the State as 
 to make a Republican majority in the Legislature next to 
 impossible, and they boasted that it would require a popular 
 majority of 20,000 in the State to overcome the effects of 
 their gerrymander. Add to this the shameful perversion of 
 the civil service rules which President Cleveland permitted 
 in order that his party might succeed, and you can form a 
 faint idea of the odds against the Republicans. There were 
 grave doubts in the minds of many shrewd Republicans 
 about the practicability of an energetic campaign at all, and 
 General Harrison was almost alone in the opinion that the 
 Legislature, or even the State, could be carried. This is no 
 disparagement of other Republican leaders, who did yeomen 
 service in the campaign, but it is a fact. The result attested 
 General Harrison’s wisdom and his work. The Republicans 
 carried the State and came within a hair’s breadth of carrying 
 the Legislature, though the apportionment had been gerry- 
 
422 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 mandered so as to give the Democrats at least forty-six 
 majority on joint ballot, and Senator Voorhees said he should 
 feel personally disgraced if that was not the result. General 
 Harrison carried every Republican legislative district and 
 twenty-two Democratic districts, and had it not been for the 
 advantage the Democrats had in the State Senators holding 
 over, he, instead of Mr. Turpie, would have been the United 
 States Senator. As it was, the aggregate Republican majority 
 on the Legislative ticket was over 10,000, and the polling of 
 it has been distinctively recognized as Harrison’s victory. 
 The Republican candidate for Lieutenant-Governor was 
 elected by 2,093 majority. The Democratic majority on 
 joint ballot in the Legislature was but two, but it was suf- 
 ficient to elect Turpie, though grave doubts hung over the 
 legality of the choice. 
 

 
 
 
 
 m i mm 
 

 Hon. Alfred A. Taylor. 
 
 Born in Carter co., Tenn., 1849; educated at Edge Hill and Pen- 
 nington, N. J. ; admitted to bar, 1870 ; elected to Tennessee Legislature, 
 1875; distinguished as an orator and in Republican councils in the 
 State ; candidate for Governor in 1886 and defeated by his brother, R. 
 L. Taylor; delegate to Republican National Convention in 1888; 
 elected as Republican to 51st and 52d Congresses to represent First Ten- 
 nessee District, comprising twelve counties; member of Committee on 
 Elections and Invalid Pensions; an earnest, popular member, who 
 commands the respect of his peers. 
 
 ( 424 ) 
 
V. 
 
 RETURN TO HIS PROFESSION. 
 
 On General Harrison’s retiracy from the Senate in 1887, 
 he returned to Indianapolis and resumed his profession. 
 His reputation had been so well established at the bar, that 
 he was soon in the midst of a practice which embraced a 
 high class of cases. 
 
 This period, too, contributed to the general enlargement 
 of his fame, and to the firm place in popular affection which 
 came about with contact with the people and fuller knowl- 
 edge of his ability and steadfastness to principle. He came 
 into demand as an orator on many public occasions, and his 
 speeches were then as now models of manly, clear, forcible, 
 pointed thought, suited exactly to the occasion. Perhaps 
 the one which attracted widest attention was that delivered 
 at a banquet of the Marquette Club, March 20, 1888, on 
 which occasion his theme was “ Citizenship and Franchise,” 
 — a theme which has grown in importance in his bosom ever 
 since, and has become vital to the principle of free institu- 
 tions. In it he said : — 
 
 “ What questions are we to grapple with ? What unfin- 
 ished work remains to be done ? It seems to me that the 
 work that is unfinished is to make that Constitutional grant 
 of citizenship, the franchise to the colored men of the South, 
 a practical and living reality. The condition of things is such 
 in this country — a Government by Constitutional majority — 
 that whenever the people become convinced that an adminis- 
 tration or a law does not represent the will of the majority of 
 
426 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 our qualified electors, then that administration ceases to 
 challenge the respect of our people, and the law ceases to 
 command their willing obedience. This is a Republican 
 Government, a government by majority, the majority to be 
 ascertained by fair count, and each elector expressing his will 
 at the ballot-box. I know of no reason why any law should 
 yield respect to any executive officer whose title is not based 
 upon a majority vote of the qualified electors of this country. 
 (Applause.) What is the condition of things in the Southern 
 States to-day ? 
 
 “ The Republican vote is absolutely suppressed. Elec- 
 tions in many of those States have become a farce. In the 
 last Congressional election in the State of Alabama there were 
 several Congressional districts where the entire vote for mem- 
 bers of Congress did not reach 2,000, whereas in most of the dis- 
 tricts of the North the vote cast at our Congressional elections 
 goes from 30,000 to 50,000. I had occasion to say a day 
 or two ago that in a single Congressional district in the 
 State of Nebraska there were more votes cast to elect one 
 Congressman than were cast in the State of Alabama at the 
 same election to elect their whole delegation. Out of what 
 does this come ? The suppression of the Republican vote ; 
 the understanding among our Democratic friends that it is 
 not necessary that they should vote because their opponents 
 are not allowed to vote. But some one will suggest: * Is 
 there a remedy for this ? ’ I do not know, my fellow-citi- 
 zens, how far there is a legal remedy under our Constitution, 
 but it does not seem to me to be an adequate answer. It 
 does not seem to me to be conclusive against the agitation 
 of this question even if we should be compelled to respond 
 to the arrogant question that is asked us : ‘ What are you 
 going to do about it ? ’ Even if we should be compelled to 
 answer : ‘We can do nothing but protest/ is it not worth while 
 
BKNJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 427 
 
 here, and in relation to this American question, that we 
 should at least lift up our protest, that we should at least 
 denounce the wrong, that we should at least deprive the 
 perpetrators of what we used to call the usufructs of the crime ? 
 If you cannot prevent a burglar from breaking into your 
 house, you will do a great deal toward discouragingburglary 
 if you prevent him from carrying off anything, and so it 
 seems to me that if we can, upon this question, arouse the 
 indignant protest of the North and unite our efforts in a de- 
 termination that those who perpetrate these wrongs against 
 popular suffrage shall not by means of those wrongs seat a 
 President at Washington to secure the Federal patronage in 
 a State, we shall have done much to bring this wrong to an 
 end. But at least while we are protesting by representatives 
 from our State Department at Washington against wrongs 
 perpetrated in Russia against the Jew, and in popular as- 
 semblies here against the wrongs which England has in- 
 flicted upon Ireland, shall we not at least in reference to this 
 gigantic and intolerable wrong in our own country, as a 
 party, lift up a stalwart and determined protest against it ? 
 
 “ But some of these independent journalists, about which 
 our friend Macmillan taught, call this the ‘ bloody shirt.’ 
 They say we are striving to revive the strife of the war, to 
 rake over the extinct embers, to kindle the fire again. I 
 want it understood that for one I have no quarrel with the 
 South for what took place between 1861 and 1865. Iam 
 willing to forget that they were rebels, at least as soon as they 
 are willing to forget it themselves [laughter,] and that time does 
 not seem to have come yet to them. But our complaint is 
 against what was done in 1884, not against what was done 
 during the war. Our complaint is against what will be 
 done this year, not what was done between 1861 and 1865. 
 No bloody shirt — though that cry never had any terror for 
 
428 
 
 Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 me. I believe we greatly underestimate the importance of 
 bringing the issue to the front, and with that ofttime Repub- 
 lican courage and outspoken fidelity to truth denouncing it 
 the land over. If we cannot do anything else, we can either 
 make these people ashamed of this outrage against the bal- 
 lot or make the world ashamed of them.” 
 
 General Harrison’s personal courage, soldierly qualities 
 and great value as a citizen never came into more timely 
 play than during the great railway strikes of 1877, which 
 hung for so long as a threat upon the peace of communi- 
 ties, and resulted in enormous losses of property. In this 
 instance, he unconsciously wrote one of the brightest 
 chapters of his life, not only by his devotion to the cause 
 of law and order, but by his readiness to aid the working 
 man to obtain the highest possible reward for his labor. 
 The strikers had burned $4,<x>o,ooo of property in Pitts- 
 burg on July 22. The strike had spread West and was at 
 its height in Indianapolis, where was a United States Arse- 
 nal with 300,000 stand of arms, and only twenty soldiers to 
 protect them. The Mayor became alarmed and called the 
 citizens in mass-meeting. Every citizen of influence went. 
 A committee of safety was formed, irrespective of party. 
 One of its members was Senator McDonald, who declared 
 that “ the city must be protected from mob violence by 
 thorough organization.” The meeting also appointed a 
 committee to wait on the strikers. General Harrison was 
 on this committee. The part he took is shown by the 
 record : — 
 
 “ General Harrison counseled obedience to the law, but 
 at the same time very strongly expressed the opinion that 
 the wages were too low and desired very much that they 
 should be raised. He was willing to use his influence with 
 those in authority in favor of this desired increase.” 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 429 
 
 Meanwhile the traffic was blockaded. Merchants could 
 do no business. Fear of the destruction of property was 
 growing. With terror upon them another meeting of lead- 
 ing citizens was called on the 26th, at which speeches were 
 made by men of all parties declaring that life and property 
 were in danger and that riot must be prevented. The re- 
 sult was a stronger Committee of Public Safety, composed 
 of Joseph E. McDonald, General Benjamin Harrison, Hon. 
 Conrad Baker, General John Love, General T. A. Morris, 
 General Daniel McCauley and General W. Q. Gresham. 
 Governor Williams issued a proclamation, in response to 
 which the citizens enrolled themselves in companies. The 
 Governor requested General Harrison to take command of 
 the companies. He declined, saying he was already a 
 captain of one company. General McCauley was then 
 placed in command. General Harrison’s company was as- 
 signed to protect the armory. It was the key to the situa- 
 tion. There alone could the rioters obtain arms, and it 
 must be defended at all hazards. 
 
 General Harrison at once put the buildings, which were 
 scattered over several acres of ground on the outskirts of 
 the city, in a complete state of defence. While thus en- 
 gaged in military duty, he did not cease exerting all his 
 influence to bring about peace. He was urged to attack 
 the strikers and compel them to disperse. His reply, 
 prompt and stern, has been preserved in its very words. It 
 was : 
 
 “I don't propose to go out and shoot down my neighbors 
 unless it is positively necessary to do so in order to uphold 
 the law." 
 
 Not many days afterwards the strike was over. Two 
 hundred of the strikers had been arrested by order of 
 Judge Drummond, of the United States Court, for interfer- 
 
430 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 ing with the operations of the Ohio and Mississippi Rail- 
 road, then in the hands of receivers. These misguided men 
 were all sent to prison for ninety days. Thereupon General 
 Harrison voluntarily made a plea in their behalf. He rep- 
 resented to Judge Drummond that the object of their pros- 
 ecution had been accomplished ; that they had been taught 
 that they were, like all other citizens, subject to the law, and 
 General Harrison expressed his belief that they would heed 
 the lesson if released. Judge Drummond granted the plea, 
 and as the prisoners filed out to freedom many of them 
 grasped General Harrison’s hand and thanked him for his 
 interference in their behalf. 
 
VI. 
 
 HARRISON AT HOME. 
 
 Family life is an infallible index to character. Where 
 domestic relations are on a high plane, the participants can- 
 not be without excellent heads and good hearts. 
 
 In person, President Harrison is not of commanding 
 height — rather below than above the medium. He has, 
 however, a straight, strong, broad-shouldered figure, fine 
 soldierly bearing, a genial face and an easy dignity of man- 
 ner, that render him noticeable and distinguished among men. 
 His head is large, shapely, and indicative of those mental 
 powers and resources which have placed him in the first 
 rank of American thinkers and statesmen. His hair and 
 beard are of the blonde type, and do not show distinctly the 
 traces of gray which years and the cares of State might well 
 excuse. 
 
 President Harrison has been charged with being a reserved, 
 unapproachable, cold man. There is no ground for such a 
 charge, and it is never made except by those who thereby 
 express disappointment over failure to receive favors, or to 
 use him for their purposes. He is not a bold man, nor an 
 effusive one. He is not a man of promises on the spot, to 
 break them upon deliberation. But he is most genial and 
 urbane as a host, and as an official is the most willing to 
 receive and the readiest to hear of all men in public place. 
 It is equally true that he always has something pleasant, 
 tactful and instructive to say — the high art of dismissing 
 with grace and dignity. 
 
 Orderly industry is a characteristic of Harrison's civic and 
 
 (43i) 
 
432 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 public life. His powers of application are wonderful, and 
 his perfection of mental discipline is such that disorder does 
 not set in when it is necessary to pass from one subject to 
 another. Said his law partner in Indianapolis, “ I have seen 
 Mr. Harrison, when in the Senate, come home to his law 
 office in Indianapolis, drive straight from the train, enter and 
 inquire what he could do, just as if his official absence had 
 hardly occasioned a break in his business. Then he would 
 take up the transcript of a case, study it during the night, go 
 into court the next morning a perfect master of its details, 
 and make one of his most powerful arguments.” This same 
 trait appeared in all his State and National Campaigns, fitted 
 him for that accuracy and power which characterized his 
 debates in the Senate, and for the preparation of those clear 
 and intelligent reports which rendered his Committee work 
 so useful and impressive. 
 
 President Harrison has not acquired wealth. His income 
 from his law practice, after it became established, was always 
 ample for the maintenance of his plain, substantial home in 
 Indianapolis, but his charities were large, and he found more 
 delight in dispensing them than in hoarding his surplus in- 
 come. Rich and poor were alike welcome to his gates, and 
 his home was reckoned as one of the most hospitable in 
 Indianapolis. 
 
 All his life he has been a consistent member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and an industrious worker along the lines 
 of practical religion. Devout by nature, he enlarges faith 
 by charitable works, and enforces the doctrine, by example, 
 that labor for the betterment of society is best bestowed 
 when it is given a good practical turn. With him the church 
 is an institution as well as a sect, an agent for the ameliora- 
 tion of mankind as well as a medium for the expression of 
 
Hon. Charles Foster. 
 
 Born near Tiffin, Ohio, April 12, 1828; educated in Newark Academy 
 and by private tutors ; entered mercantile and banking business and en- 
 gaged for fifty-six years in same; elected, as Republican, to 42d, 43d, 
 44th and 45th Congresses ; served on Committees of Claims, Appropria- 
 tions and Ways and Means ; Chairman of sub-committee appointed to 
 inquire into Louisiana affairs, 1875; appointed by President, Chairman 
 of Commission to negotiate treaty with Sioux Indians, May, 1888; re- 
 ceived votes of Republican members of Ohio Legislature for Senator, 
 1890; appointed Secretary of Treasury, by President Harrison, to suc- 
 ceed Hon. Wm. Windom, deceased, February 7, 1891 ; an able, con- 
 servative financier. 
 
 ( 433 ) 
 
Tilt iitiUBY 
 QF TSt 
 
 £SEUIY T~: UK8B 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 435 
 
 personal belief and a form for the regulation of personal 
 conduct. 
 
 For years President Harrison held the position of elder 
 in the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, and labored 
 in its Sunday-school. He was punctilious about attendance, 
 and morning and evening, on Sundays, he and his family 
 occupied the family pew. Even when called away on busi- 
 ness, he strove to shape it so that he could reach the city 
 on Saturday nights in order to enjoy the quiet and fulfil the 
 duties of a home Sabbath. In one of his many hot cam- 
 paigns he was pressed to address a meeting on Saturday 
 night. “ I am,” said he, “ entirely willing to speak to you, 
 but you must have a locomotive ready to carry me to 
 Indianapolis before midnight.” 
 
 He was devoted to his large Bible Class, composed of 
 young men, students, clerks, and others. His method of 
 Bible-class teaching was so alive with interest that the class 
 speedily swelled in number and its ranks were always full. 
 His skill in cross-examining witnesses in the court-room was 
 turned to good purpose in the Bible-class, where his method 
 of instruction was what is styled catechetical, consisting 
 rather of questions so directed as to draw out the knowledge 
 of the pupils than of didactic lectures, meant to drive facts 
 or theories into their heads. His pupils hold him in the 
 highest esteem, and his library and home show many 
 evidences of their affection in the shape of books and other 
 class souvenirs, presented on appropriate occasions, such as 
 Christmas and anniversary days. 
 
 In his devotion to religion and to the cause of Christian 
 work and charity, Mr. Harrison has ever been ably seconded 
 by his estimable wife. For years she taught the Infant De- 
 partment of the Sunday-school of her church, and presided 
 over its Aid and Missionary Societies, Her name is in - 
 
43 6 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 separably connected with those organizations which have 
 for their object the civilization of Indians and the extending 
 of aid to missions and schools in foreign lands. 
 
 In personal appearance, Mrs. Harrison is of matronly 
 figure ; finely chiseled features; beautiful and expressive face; 
 brown, vivacious eyes ; dark, slightly gray-lined hair ; firm, 
 smiling lip. She is of easy, affable manner ; pleasing, 
 intellectual speech ; and in full possession of the happy 
 accomplishment of imparting her sense of comfort and 
 welcome to all who meet her. 
 
 They have reared two children, a son and daughter. 
 Their son, Russell Harrison, married Miss Saunders, daugh- 
 ter of Senator Saunders, of Nebraska. He is an editor and 
 has acquired newspaper interests in Helena, Mont., and New 
 York. The daughter, Miss Mary Harrison, married James 
 R. McKee, an Indianapolis merchant. 
 
 During his six years of Senatorial life, Harrison and his 
 family did not aspire to the show and cost of housekeeping 
 in Washington. Yet, having the prestige of illustrious 
 families on both sides and the graces of cultured life, they 
 took conspicuous place in the social realm of the National 
 Capital and dispensed a modest but well-bred hospitality. 
 Miss Harrison ranked as one of the most popular girls in 
 Washington, while Mrs. Harrison endeared herself to a large 
 and influential circle of friends. 
 
 Since the occupancy of the White House by President 
 Harrison and his family, they have perpetuated, as far as 
 practicable, the home life which all along gave them so much 
 happiness and appeared so beautiful. Mrs. Harrison, by her 
 knowledge of art, by her understanding of household 
 arrangement, by her social tact and graces, has made the 
 Presidential mansion a handsome and comfortable abode, a 
 social centre, a source of delightful influences, and has easily 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 437 
 
 maintained and greatly added to the lustre of the title, 
 “ First Lady in the Land." Mrs. McKee has been her 
 almost constant companion, and her children serve to flush 
 the home with their sunlight. The venerable father, Mr. 
 Scott, passes his declining days in the midst of his children 
 of three generations. President Harrison himself finds 
 daily escape from the cares of State in the bosom of this 
 happy family, participates in their councils, joins in their 
 charities, their church goings, their private and public en- 
 tertainments, their stated receptions, and beautifies by the 
 dignity of his presence and the constancy of his relations 
 the home that the nation has provided for its honored ser- 
 vants. 
 
A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. 
 
 General Harrison’s name was mentioned in connection 
 with the Presidency in the National Republican Convention 
 of 1880, but he promptly checked the movement in his 
 favor. It was again favorably considered in 1884, and this 
 time far more seriously than has ever been made public or, 
 possibly, than General Harrison himself ever suspected. 
 
 When the Republican party met in National Convention 
 at Chicago, June 19, 1888, it was felt by every delegate that 
 the work before him required unusual care and deliberation. 
 President Cleveland had been placed in nomination for a 
 second term by the Democrats at St. Louis, and Allen G. 
 Thurman, of Ohio, had been named for the Vice-Presidency. 
 This made the geography of the political situation compara- 
 tively clear. In 1884 the Democrats had had a decided ad- 
 vantage by their wisdom in placing the head and tail of 
 their ticket in the two most doubtful States. They had now 
 virtually abandoned Indiana — left it open as an arena. As 
 to the issues of the campaign, these had been made plain 
 by the President’s message, the Mills Tariff Bill, framed in 
 parsuance of the message, and the St. Louis platform, which 
 indorsed both the message and the bill. Long before the 
 Convention many estimable and real candidates loomed into 
 prominence, the chief names being Harrison, Ind. ; Sher- 
 man, O. ; Alger, Mich. ; Gresham, Ind. ; Allison, Iowa ; 
 Depew, N. Y. ; Phelps, N. J. ; Hawley, Conn. ; Rusk, Wis. 
 There was, therefore, a wide field to select from. The Con- 
 vention was not like other Conventions in the respect that 
 ( 438 ) 
 
Hon. Stephen B. Elkins. 
 
 Born in Perry co., Ohio, September 26, 1841 ; graduated from Uni- 
 versity of Missouri, 1860; admitted to bar, 1863; practiced in New 
 Mexico for several years; elected to Territorial Legislature in 1866, and 
 soon after made Attorney-General of Territory; appointed U. S. District 
 Attorney in 1868; elected Delegate to Congress, 1873; re-elected in 
 1875 ; Delegate to Republican National Conventions, 1884, 1888 ; large 
 business and banking interests in Santa Fe, also large land owner; 
 moved to West Virginia, and extensively engaged in mining, timber, 
 railroad and banking interests; appointed, by President Harrison, 
 Secretary of War, December 17, 1891. 
 
 ( 439 ) 
 

 
 i - . -at 
 
 .11 8'f EUB33 
 
 
 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 441 
 
 it had the work of deliberate selection before it. It was not 
 there, in better judgment at least, to accept a candidate nor 
 to declare one. Its 800 delegates came, all with honest 
 views, but some shaded with local coloring, to get a clear 
 view, and to do the best for the party and country. 
 
 The Convention passed through several steps or stages 
 on its way to a clear view of the situation. The Blaine in- 
 fluence was divided. His true friends soon convinced them- 
 selves that it would not do to nominate him against his will. 
 His false friends wanted to nominate him at any cost. Their 
 differences were compromised by recognition of the fact that 
 it would be fatal to nominate him till the other candidates 
 whom his letters had invited into the field were ready to 
 unite in asking him to take the nomination. This fact never 
 came, and never could have come, for with so much and 
 such elegant material in the field, a wise choice was always 
 a possibility. 
 
 The second stage was partly geographic and partly po- 
 litical. It involved the doubtful States, and especially New 
 York, which, if not the most doubtful, was at least the most 
 important. The geographic feature soon settled itself. The 
 wisdom of placing the candidates so that the debatable 
 fields of New York and Indiana should be occupied, very 
 soon impressed the Convention. This not only involved 
 deference to the wishes of those States, but a feeling that 
 their choice would amount to a pledge of success. Mr. 
 Depew was settled upon by the New York delegation as 
 one likely to carry his own State. But he very prudently 
 looked over the ground and found that he might endanger 
 other States. He withdrew after the third ballot, and when 
 his State had made up its mind to stand for General Benja- 
 min Harrison, who not only represented another doubtful 
 State, but who was deemed the best candidate for New 
 
 30 
 
442 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 York, the other doubtful States and all the sure States. The 
 three ballots on June 22 were all field ballots. The two 
 ballots of June 23 were under the changed situation. They 
 brought no very material increase of strength to the other 
 nominees before the Convention, but showed its drift toward 
 Harrison, and really foreshadowed his nomination, as soon 
 as the silent strength, which was still hoping for a chance 
 to nominate Blaine, should feel the hopelessness of its en- 
 deavors. This it was forced to feel on June 25, when a 
 telegram from Mr. Blaine was read asking his friends to 
 respect his previous letters. Sunshine broke upon the Con- 
 vention at once. The three ballots of the 25th were easy 
 ones. Every doubtful State whirled into the Harrison line. 
 After five days of discussion and voting — eliminating all 
 the other candidates and having established the correct 
 principles of choice, the Convention chose General Harrison 
 with surprising unanimity, on the eighth ballot, his vote 
 being 544, as against 1 1 8 for Sherman; 59 for Gresham; 
 100 for Alger; 5 for Blaine and 4 for McKinley. They 
 wanted a doubtful State ; Harrison lived in Indiana. They 
 wanted a Western candidate ; Harrison was in the West, 
 and not far enough from the East to be out of knowledge 
 and sympathy with Eastern thought. Harrison lived near 
 the centre of population and was almost a composite photo- 
 graph of the nation’s want. He was neither granger nor 
 anti-granger. He had good running qualities of another 
 kind. He had a home and cherished it. He had all the 
 homely qualities which are the best gift to an American who 
 seeks for office by the popular vote. He had a good record. 
 He had an ancestry, but did not depend upon it. These 
 were the reasons which led the Convention, after six days 
 honest and conscientious examination, to nominate him. It 
 was the best possible outcome. He was the one candidate 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 443 
 
 whom many of the shrewdest leaders had months before 
 fixed upon as the most available and easiest to elect. As to 
 the party, he was the one happy issue out of all its troubles, 
 and this the Convention was fortunate enough to find out. 
 
 Never in the history of political parties was a nomination 
 for the Presidency received with fuller accord and more 
 heartfelt acclaim than that of General Harrison by the 
 Republican party. Its fitness, not only as to the man but to 
 the entire political situation, was apparent to all the moment 
 the choice of the Convention was announced. The country 
 took it up with cheers, demonstrations, speeches, spectacular 
 displays, quaint devices and mottoes, that reminded older 
 voters of the enthusiasm which was awakened by the nomi- 
 nation of the “ Hero of Tippecanoe ” in 1840, and charmed 
 younger voters with their originality and appropriateness. 
 Factional differences, which had sundered the party in cer- 
 tain sections and States, were instantly healed, and the re- 
 solve became common to make the name of Harrison a 
 shibboleth and sign of victory. As a set off to the “ red ban- 
 dana,” whose use by Mr. Thurman had caused its acceptance 
 as a Democratic guidon, the American flag, of handkerchief 
 size, appeared in all the shop windows, and the populace 
 bought them by the tens of thousands. Thus armed, they 
 good naturedly met the flaunts of the “ red bandana ” by a 
 wave of their colors, and the facetious remark, “ This is 
 a good enough flag for me.” 
 
 The press, without respect to party, was singularly unani- 
 mous in its favorable expressions, and this applied to both 
 candidates on the Republican ticket. There was no dispo- 
 sition, even among the bitterest partisan sheets, to be other 
 than respectful to the name and character of the nominees. 
 
 The scene in Indianapolis, after the nomination of Gen- 
 eral Harrison was announced, was tumultuously joyous. 
 
444 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 Throats could not cheer enough, nor could men, women, 
 boys and girls find words adequate to the expression of 
 their feelings. Throngs of happy visitors poured in upon 
 him to tender congratulations, and amid all the crush and 
 excitement he maintained a modest reserve and mental poise 
 which showed his complete mastery of self. His impromptu 
 responses to the various visitors — committees, clubs and 
 unorganized crowds — were singularly apropos in thought 
 and felicitous in expression. They were watched intently 
 by Republicans all over the country, and Democratic ears 
 were on the alert for something inadvertent, but his every 
 utterance was in keeping with the situation which drew it 
 forth. He was ready, never effusive nor self-adulatory, al- 
 ways guarded and to the point, said the right thing in the 
 right spirit, and left the happiest of impressions. We regard 
 these after-nomination speeches of General Harrison as 
 models in their way, and impossible except with a man of 
 wide information, abundant self-control and the fullest ap- 
 preciation of the most delicate situations. 
 
 July 4, 1888, was fixed as an appropriate day on which to 
 notify General Harrison officially of the high honor con- 
 ferred by the Chicago Convention. Accordingly the com- 
 mittee appointed for this purpose, at whose head was Mr. 
 Estee, Chairman of the Convention, called at the General’s 
 residence on the above date, and extended to him a formal 
 notification. With a seriousness and earnestness which fully 
 showed the depth of his feelings and the gravity of the 
 situation, the General made the following reply : 
 
 “ Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee : The 
 official notice which you have brought of the nomination 
 conferred upon me by the Republican National Convention 
 recently in session at Chicago, excites emotion of a pro- 
 found, though of a somewhat conflicting character. That, 
 

 m .. 
 
 
 
Hon. Benjamin F. Tracy. 
 
 Born at Owego, N. Y., April 26, 1830; educated at Owego Academy; 
 admitted to bar, May, 1851 ; elected District Attorney of Tioga co., 1853, 
 on Whig ticket ; re-elected, 1856 ; elected to Assembly by Republicans 
 and War Democrats, 1861 ; Recruited 109th and 137th N. Y. Regiments 
 in 1862; became Colonel of the 109th; wounded in battle of Wilder- 
 ness ; assigned to command of Military Post at Elmira ; brevetted Briga- 
 dier-General, March 13, 1865 ; resumed practice of law in New York city ; 
 appointed District Attorney for Eastern District, N. Y., October, 1866 ; 
 resumed law practice in Brooklyn ; became distinguished as an advo- 
 cate; chosen Secretary of Navy by President Harrison, March 5, 1889; 
 able and advanced official and ardent advocate of a new navy. 
 
 (446) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 447 
 
 after full deliberation and free consultation, the representa- 
 tives of the Republican party of the United States should 
 have concluded that the great principles enunciated in the 
 platform adopted by the Convention could be in some 
 measure confided to my care, is an honor of which I am 
 deeply sensible and for which I am very grateful. I do not 
 assume or believe that this choice implies that the Conven- 
 tion found in me pre-eminent fitness or exceptional fidelity 
 to the principles of government to which we are mutually 
 pledged. My satisfaction with the result would be alto- 
 gether spoiled if that result had been reached by any un- 
 worthy methods or by a disparagement of the more eminent 
 men who divided with me the suffrages of the Convention. 
 I accept the nomination with so deep a sense of the dignity 
 of the office, and the gravity of its duty and responsibility, 
 as altogether to exclude any feeling of exultation or pride. 
 
 “ The principles of government and the practice in admin- 
 istration, upon which issues are now fortunately clearly 
 made, are so important in their relations to the national and 
 to individual prosperity that we may expect an unusual 
 popular interest in the campaign. Relying wholly upon 
 the considerate judgment of our fellow-citizens and the 
 gracious favor of God we will confidently submit our cause 
 to the arbitrament of a free ballot. 
 
 “The day you have chosen for this visit suggests no 
 thoughts that are not in harmony with the occasion. The 
 Republican party has walked in the light of the Declaration 
 of Independence. It has lifted the shaft of patriotism upon 
 the foundation laid at Bunker Hill. It has made the more 
 perfect union secure by making all men free. Washington 
 and Lincoln, Yorktown and Appomattox, the Declaration 
 of Independence and the Proclamation of Emancipation are 
 naturally and worthily associated in our thoughts to-day. 
 
448 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 “ It gives me pleasure, gentlemen, to receive you in my 
 home and to thank you for the cordial manner in which 
 you have conveyed your official message.” 
 
 The timely and acceptable nomination of Harrison in 
 1888 was backed by a powerful platform of principles, af- 
 firming in unmistakable language the cardinal doctrines of 
 the party, especially those relating to a free and untram- 
 melled ballot, protective duties, schools, pensions, civil ser- 
 vice, commercial interests and foreign relations. The plat- 
 form and the candidate gave to the party a full affirmative 
 position in the campaign. Mr. Cleveland’s startling free- 
 trade message of the previous year was readily accepted as 
 a gage of battle, followed as it was by his renomination. 
 
 The campaign was one largely of discussion and entirely 
 free from the bitter and offensive personalism which had 
 disgraced that of 1884. Perhaps never in our political his- 
 tory was the issue of “ Protection vs. Free-Trade ” so sharply 
 defined nor so dispassionately handled. It was recognized 
 at a very early day that the fighting ground embraced the 
 four doubtful States of the North, to wit, New York, In- 
 diana, Connecticut and New Jersey, though the Democrats 
 laid claim to one or more of the Northwestern States. Both 
 the leading parties labored strenuously to convince the pub- 
 lic mind of the correctness of their economic views, and 
 speech-making, mammoth parades and spectacular argu- 
 ments became the order of the day. The early autumn 
 elections, as those of Oregon, Vermont and Maine, showed 
 that the trend of sentiment was toward the Republican party, 
 and in the end that party carried New York and Indiana, 
 together with all the States it had carried in 1884, thus 
 securing 233 electoral votes out of the total of 401, or 31 
 more than was necessary to elect its candidate. 
 
 Features of the campaign were the confidence manifested 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 449 
 
 by both parties up till the day of the election, and the dis- 
 missal of the English Minister at Washington, Lord Sack- 
 ville West, for having written a letter to one of his country- 
 men, naturalized in the United States, which gave offence 
 because it was construed as an unwarranted interference 
 with our political affairs. The result of the election was so 
 decisive as to be cheerfully acquiesced in by the Democratic 
 party. The Northwestern States had not swung from their 
 Republican allegiance, as was expected by the Democracy, 
 and the border States showed a decided drift toward the 
 Republican idea, the issue in one of them, West Virginia, 
 being in doubt for weeks after the election. The Congres- 
 sional elections were also favorable to the Republicans, the 
 Democratic majority of fifteen in the Fiftieth Congress being 
 turned into a Republican majority of from 5 to 10, depend- 
 ent on the result of several contests, mostly in districts in 
 tht Southern States. 
 
VIII. 
 
 HARRISON’S ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 March 4, 1889 — March 4, 1893. 
 
 FIFTY-FIRST AND FIFTY-SECOND CONGRESSES. 
 
 The political revolution which had swept the Republican 
 party out of power in 1884 ran its course in four years, and 
 was followed, in 1888, by a counter-revolution which proved 
 even more disastrous to the Democratic party. The Re- 
 publicans had profited by the discipline of defeat ; the Dem- 
 ocrats had failed to convert the prestige of a first into a 
 second victory. The Cleveland administration, strong in 
 some respects, had proven weak in its failure to cope with 
 the questions that fell to it as legacies, in the vagueness of 
 its foreign policy and, particularly, in its assumption of the 
 doctrine of free-trade. 
 
 It was the good fortune of Harrison to unite the factions 
 of his party and to stand forward as a trusted and command- 
 ing exponent of its wishes respecting the vital issues of the 
 campaign. He, therefore, came into office under excellent 
 auspices. The campaign had been squarely, masterfully 
 fought on the basis of living ideas and principles. Partisan- 
 ship had been at low ebb, and the bitterness of recrimination 
 had not marred argument or inflamed passions. He had 
 the confidence inspired by ability, sound sense, patriotic in- 
 stinct and conservative purpose. The national verdict had 
 been emphatic in his favor. He was free from the compli- 
 cation of pre-election pledges, and fully abreast of his party, 
 even though it should choose to signalize its triumph by 
 (45o) 
 

 
 
 
 
 THE n^ijy 
 
 
3 
 
 Hon. John W. Noble. 
 
 Born in Lancaster, Ohio, October 26, 1831 ; graduated at Yale, 1851; 
 studied law and admitted to St. Louis bar in 1855 ; moved to Keokuk, 
 Iowa, 1856 ; acquired a large practice ; entered Union army as 1st 
 Lieutenant Co. C., 3d Iowa Cavalry; participated in compaigns which 
 led to fall of Vicksburg; Judge-Advocate-General of Army of South- 
 west, 1862-63; brevetted Brigadier-General; served throughout the 
 war; resumed practice at St. Louis; appointed U. S. District Attorney 
 for Eastern Missouri, 1867 ; tendered position of Solicitor-General by 
 Grant, but declined ; continued practice ; appointed Secretary of Interior 
 by President Harrison, March 5,1889; an able official, and conscientious 
 statesman. 
 
— 
 
 Hon. John Wanamaker. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, July 11,1838; educated at Landreth public school; 
 entered mercantile business, 1861 ; helped to organize Christian Commis-i 
 sion, which dispensed supplies to soldiers during the war ; chairman of 
 Irish Famine, Yellow Fever and other public committees; member of 
 Board of Finance, and chairman of Bureau of Revenue of Centennial 
 Exposition; declined Republican nomination for Congressman-at-large 
 in 1882 ; also nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia in 1886 ; Republi- 
 can elector in 1888; chairman of Republican Advisory Committee in 
 1888 ; appointed Postmaster-General by President Harrison, March 5, 
 1889 ; distinguished for energy, and organizing and disciplinary talent. 
 
 1453 ) 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 455 
 
 new departures. But there was no immediate need of these, 
 especially at first, for the transit from a Democratic to a 
 Republican administration meant, for every practical pur- 
 pose, a taking up of the political thread which had been 
 broken in 1884, and a resumption of the party traditions 
 which had been shelved during a minority period. 
 
 President Harrison evinced his ability to govern wisely 
 by the selection of his cabinet. While it was chosen with 
 due respect to location, the choice showed tactful deference 
 to party leadership, and a wholesome wish to avoid local 
 jealousies. Fitness, however, was a prime object. He 
 sought a working, as well as an advisory body, and the pop- 
 ular judgment was that he found it. As first chosen, it was 
 composed as follows : — 
 
 Secretary of State James G. Blaine, Me; 
 
 Secretary of Treasury William Windom, Minn. 
 
 Secretary of War Redfield Proctor, Vt. 
 
 Secretary of Navy Benj. F. Tracy, N. Y. 
 
 Secretary of Interior John W. Noble, Mo. 
 
 Atty. -General W. H. H. Miller, Ind. 
 
 Postmaster-General John Wanamaker, Pa. 
 
 Secretary of Agriculture Jeremiah Rusk, Wis. 
 
 President Harrison’s inaugural was looked for with great 
 interest. It proved to be a plain, practical, pointed paper of 
 4,300 words, which called attention to the fact that the be- 
 ginning of this twenty-sixth administration was a step over 
 the threshold into the second century of our national exist- 
 ence under the constitution; to the growth o. the protective 
 policy, its vindication in practice and at the polls, and the 
 necessity for its continuance ; to the propriety of laying aside 
 race prejudices and conceding equal rights to all; to the 
 evils of monopoly ; to the necessity for discriminating against 
 the immigration of foreign paupers ; to the maintenance of 
 
45 & 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 the “ Monroe Doctrine,” especially in view of the Samoan 
 troubles and the danger of foreign governments coming to 
 the aid of the Panama Canal scheme ; to a civil service 
 which should fulfil the law and at the same time not shield 
 official negligence or incompetency ; to a graduation of 
 duties and taxes so as to limit revenue to public needs ; to 
 the necessity for a stronger navy, for the encouragement of 
 commerce, for revised pension laws, and for laws which 
 would insure a free and pure ballot. 
 
 It was regarded as an exceedingly thoughtful and strong 
 State paper, and was accepted by his party as a definite and 
 satisfactory outline of what it had a right to expect of its 
 chief representative. The Senate, in extra session, confirmed 
 his selection of a Cabinet. Thus opened the Harrison Ad- 
 ministration, whose mission was to apply and perpetuate the 
 ideas that had prevailed at the national election, and shape 
 public affairs on the lines indicated by the constitutional 
 majority. In that mission there was to be no failure, for no 
 one understood it better, nor had any statesman ever more 
 ability and resolution to fulfil it. 
 
 THE SAMOAN AFFAIR. 
 
 This matter came as a legacy from the Cleveland Adminis- 
 tration, whose foreign policy had proved so weak and vacillat- 
 ing as to encourage foreign encroachments. The little island, 
 or group of islands, over which King Malietoa presided, lay in 
 the Pacific ocean, and near the line of traffic between our 
 shores and those of China and Japan. Germans, English 
 and Americans traded there, and used them as coaling sta- 
 tions and harbors of refuge. Many of these, mostly Ger- 
 mans, had settled there and engaged in planting and mer- 
 chandise. The strategic value of the islands was very great. 
 The German element, with the sanction of Germany, deposed 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 457 
 
 Malietoa, and placed a rival in power whom they could com- 
 mand. This act, equivalent to annexation to Germany, had 
 the sanction of England. King Malietoa appealed to the 
 United States. In accordance with the “ Monroe Doctrine/’ 
 President Harrison acted very promptly, restored the de- 
 posed king, and saved the absorption of the islands by 
 foreign powers. For this, he received the approval of all 
 parties at home, nor was there any diplomacy abroad that 
 dared to insist further on the right to commit so brazen a 
 theft, and one destined to work us great commercial injury. 
 
 In his message to the second session of the Fifty-first 
 Congress President Harrison thus speaks of the adjustment 
 of the Samoan trouble : “ The Samoan treaty, signed last 
 year (1889) at Berlin, by the United States, Germany and 
 Great Britain, has begun to produce salutary effects. The 
 formation of the new government agreed upon will soon re- 
 place the disorder of the past by a stable administration. 
 Malietoa is respected as King.” 
 
 THE BEHRING SEA QUESTION. 
 
 This, too, came as a legacy to Harrison’s administration. 
 The Cleveland administration tried to settle it by arresting 
 poaching seal ships, but this only complicated matters by 
 law suits and threats of reprisal. 
 
 The history of the case dates back to 1799, when Russia 
 granted to the Russian-American Company the exclusive 
 right to catch seal and discover new lands from Behring 
 Strait down to latitude 55 0 . In 1821 Russia published a 
 ukase extending her jurisdiction down to 51 0 and prohibit- 
 ing all foreign vessels from coming within 100 miles of her 
 coasts and islands. England and the United States pro- 
 tested. The result was treaties with both countries, in 1825, 
 permitting navigation and fishing in the Pacific Ocean. The 
 
458 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 English treaty was slightly different in its wording from the 
 American, and Lord Salisbury at a very late date took the 
 ground that the Behring Sea was not recognized as a sep- 
 arate body of water by the treaty. The American position 
 was that it was so recognized. 
 
 The sale of Alaska to the United States, by Russia, in 
 1867, put an end to the rights of the Russian- American 
 Company, or rather merged them in the United States. 
 Those rights had been fully respected by England during the 
 existence of the company, to wit, for a period of sixty-eight 
 years, forty-two of which years were after the treaty of 1825, 
 and it was well recognized that the 100 mile limit was for 
 the protection of fur-bearing animals. 
 
 But no sooner was the sale of Alaska to the United States 
 made than Canadian poachers began their raids on seals in 
 the waters of Behring Sea. So inhuman and greedy did 
 they prove that they robbed our licensed sealing vessels of 
 their annual profits and threatened the extinction of the 
 animals. Against these encroachments and this robbery 
 the United States objected. This is the form in which the 
 question struck the Harrison administration. It was seen 
 to be a delicate question and one far-reaching in its results. 
 Title to water and to rights in a sea which may be either 
 open or shut as suits the parties most interested, was some- 
 thing which could not be settled in a day, nor by any courts 
 except those created upon an international basis. Hence, 
 arbitration was proposed. Pending negotiations looking to 
 an arbitration treaty and final submission, a modus vivendi 
 was agreed upon for the year 1891, by which both England 
 and the United States agreed to prevent seal poaching. 
 The treaty of arbitration not having been concluded, the 
 United States wished to revive the modus vivendi for 1892. 
 To this Lord Salisbury objected, and the result was that 
 
Hon. J. M. Rusk. 
 
 Born in Morgan co., Ohio, June, 1830 ; reared on farm ; moved to 
 Wisconsin, 1853 ; engaged in farming near Vernon ; elected Sheriff, 
 1855 ; elected Coroner, 1857, and to Legislature, 1861 ; enlisted in 
 25th Wisconsin Volunteers, 1862; chosen Major, same year, and Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel in 1863; with Grant at Vicksburg, and Sherman at At- 
 lanta and to the sea; elected Bank Comptroller of Wisconsin on Repub- 
 lican ticket by 10,000 majority in 1865 ; elected to Congress from 6th 
 Wisconsin District in 1870 ; re-elected to 43d and 44th Congresses ; rose 
 to distinction as debater and worker ; elected Governor of Wisconsin, 
 1881, and twice re-elected ; selected by President Harrison as Secretary 
 of Agriculture, March 5, 1889 ; an earnest, able official and a credit to 
 the Administration and nation. 
 
 ( 459 ) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 461 
 
 negotiations were endangered. But by tactful handling of 
 the matter, a treaty of submission was finally agreed upon, 
 and the whole matter will be finally settled by a board of 
 international arbitrators, to assemble in Paris during the fall 
 of 1892. Considering the intricacy and importance of this 
 question, not to mention the dangers involved, the disposi- 
 tion of it in the way proposed, is one of the greatest achieve- 
 ments of Harrison’s administration. 
 
 THE ITALIAN QUESTION. 
 
 The massacre of Italians in the city of New Orleans, by 
 a mob of citizens, filled the country with horror and gave 
 occasion for a demand for reparation on the part of Italy, 
 which amounted almost to a threat of war. The matter 
 assumed serious aspect for a considerable time, and it was 
 with the utmost difficulty that Italy could be made to under- 
 stand that the laws controlling such cases were State and 
 not national laws. However, the administration was not 
 slow in calling the attention of Congress to this defect in our 
 system, and in asking that the National government enact 
 laws for the punishment of such crimes as breaches of 
 treaties. Italy withdrew her minister and for a time diplo- 
 matic relations were severed. By exercise of patience and 
 quiet firmness on the part of the administration, Italy came 
 to see that the United States could not be coerced. She 
 finally yielded her demand, agreed to restore former relations, 
 and was met on the part of the United States by payment 
 of a small and complimentary indemnity of $25,000, under 
 a precedent established in the case of the Spanish sufferers 
 in New Orleans in 1853, which indemnity was to be con- 
 strued as no recognition of any right on the part of Italy, 
 but merely as an expression of friendly feeling on the part 
 
462 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 of the United States and of regret at the horrible occur- 
 rence. 
 
 THE CHILIAN IMBROGLIO. 
 
 In January, 1891, civil war broke out in Chili between the 
 forces of President Balmaceda and the Congressional or In- 
 surgent forces. During this war, an insurgent vessel, the 
 Itata , which had taken a load of arms on board at San 
 Diego, Cal., was seized by the United States Marshal for 
 violation of the neutrality laws. The vessel put to sea with 
 the Marshal on board and made her escape after landing 
 the Marshal at a remote point. The offending vessel 
 was pursued, captured and returned to San Diego for adju- 
 dication of her case. 
 
 This action was construed by the Insurgents, who after- 
 wards drove the forces of Balmaceda to the wall and came 
 into full possession of his government, as an exhibition of 
 hostility to their cause by the United States. They, there- 
 fore, without hearing, began to exhibit intense animosity 
 toward our government and toward all our people, especially 
 those who represented us officially in the Chilian State or 
 waters. This animosity pervaded the masses in Chili, as 
 well as her officials. It was inflamed by the British and 
 German traders and adventurers in Chili, and their news- 
 papers in Europe took up the Chilian cause and made it 
 almost their own. They were especially severe on our 
 Minister to Chili, Mr. Egan, because he permitted the 
 American legation to give right of asylum to political 
 refugees in Santiago — a right never before denied by civil- 
 ized nations and even then practiced by the English and 
 German legations. 
 
 On October 16, 1891, this animosity became so intense 
 that a Chilian mob, encouraged, if not directly aided, by the 
 police and soldiers in Valparaiso, attacked the sailors of the 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 463 
 
 United States cruiser Baltimore in the streets, killed a petty 
 officer outright and wounded nine seamen, one of whom 
 afterwards died. The news of this bloody and unprovoked 
 assault sent a thrill of indignation across our land, and it 
 was felt to be such an insult to our flag as only war could 
 wipe out. The administration sent a prompt inquiry into 
 the motive and asked for suitable apology. The tone of the 
 reply was impudent and it greatly intensified the feeling 
 against Chili. President Harrison immediately began to put 
 the navy in preparation for an offensive demonstration, de- 
 termined no longer to brook delays nor further compromise 
 situations. Seeing that he was determined to seek repara- 
 tion by force and to maintain the honor of the American 
 flag at all hazards, reason began to dawn in the Chilian 
 mind, and action was promised after judicial inquiry had 
 been instituted and a report had. 
 
 At this juncture, November 14th, the new President of 
 Chili sent Don Pedro Montt as Minister to Washington. 
 He announced that he came to “ cultivate and maintain the 
 relations of peace and friendship between Chili and the 
 United States.” President Harrison’s response to him was 
 looked for by the whole country with intense interest, for 
 never had foreign minister been accredited and received 
 under precisely similar auspices. The response was most 
 able and filled the country with delight. It showed how 
 there could be no feeling in this country except that of good 
 will for a sister American Republic, how there was no de- 
 sire to intermeddle in her internal affairs, how the Itata 
 affair and all others representing acts on the United States 
 had been in accord with a desire to observe the neutrality 
 laws and avoid the intervention from which this country 
 had suffered so much during her civil war. It closed with 
 the hope that the sway of passion would soon end and that 
 
464 BENJAMIN GARRISON. 
 
 speedy, peaceful and honorable adjustment of all differences 
 might be had. 
 
 There was no threat of war, no bluster it? the response. 
 It was dignified, pointed, tactful, but so firm, as that the 
 new minister could not but be impressed with its depth and 
 solemnity. In his message to Congress, December 9, 1891, 
 President Harrison reviewed the Chilian question with great 
 fullness and seriousness to date, and promised to make it 
 the subject of a special message, if the judicial investigation 
 then going on proved disappointing in its results, or if fur- 
 ther needless delay intervened. 
 
 This promised special message came on January 25, 1892. 
 Its cause was the receipt of the conclusions reached by the 
 Chilian Fiscal General , or Board of Crimes inquiry. These 
 conclusions were unsatisfactory to President Harrison, in 
 that they did not show that our sailors had not been as- 
 saulted, beaten, stabbed and killed for what they had done, 
 but rather showed that such assaulting and killing was for 
 what the “ Government of the United States had done, or was 
 charged with having done, by its civil officers and naval 
 commanders.” In this message President Harrison reviewed 
 the whole situation in a masterly manner, submitted all the 
 correspondence, and asked Congress to take appropriate ac- 
 tion. 
 
 It was well known what this message meant It was a 
 turning over of the question to the nation, stamped with the 
 ultimatum of the Administration. No message, certainly 
 none of modern times, so quickly received the approval of 
 the country, or so deeply touched the patriotic pride of our 
 people. As a declaration of American policy it took rank 
 with that of James Monroe, in which was first promulgated 
 the “ Monroe Doctrine.” A powerful and generous people 
 accepted it with the greatest unanimity, as their own procla- 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 465 
 
 mation to the world of a determination to assert their na- 
 tional rights and maintain their national dignity, without any 
 disposition to despoil or humiliate weak, erring and over- 
 confident neighbor. 
 
 Such was the firmness of the President’s position, such the 
 nature of the step, such the imposing character of the na- 
 tion’s response, that a result came which might not have 
 been reached by the arts of strict diplomacy for long, long 
 years. Three days after the submission of the President’s 
 message to Congress, he was enabled to submit the an- 
 nouncement to Congress and to the country, that Chili had 
 extended all necessary apologies for her conduct, had agreed 
 to see that reparation for injuries was made, and had satis- 
 factorily complied with all our demands. Thus war was 
 averted by the tact and firmness of President Harrison, one 
 of the most dangerous questions of his administration 
 quickly and securely settled, and the national honor fully 
 vindicated. 
 
 PROTECTION AND RECIPROCITY. 
 
 The Fifty-first Congress was Republican, but with a slim 
 working majority. With a weak and vacillating President, 
 without one who was not popular, strong, determined, and 
 who had not the full confidence of his party and country, 
 there would have been little hope with so small a majority 
 in Congress, of effecting legislation of so important a kind 
 as that to which the Republican party stood pledged. But 
 with such a man as President Harrison to inspire, suggest 
 and lead, the Republican majority proved industrious, united 
 and effective. No Congress ever legislated on a higher 
 plane, nor passed upon so many measures of purely national 
 import; nor did any President ever find so many of the great 
 measures, sanctioned by his party’s platform and recom- 
 21 
 
466 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 mended and discussed in his messages, incorporated in a 
 single Congress into the laws of the land. 
 
 The Administration stood pledged to the Tariff Act of 
 1890, to the protective principles it involved, to the reduc- 
 tions and increases it provided, to the greatly enlarged free 
 list it furnished, to the diminution of all taxation to the 
 lowest consistent point. It redeemed the pledge of the party 
 to the people in approving and making into law the McKin- 
 ley Bill, which as to its schedules and adjustments is the best 
 application of tariff principles to our internal conditions ever 
 attempted in the country. 
 
 But President Harrison stood not alone upon the rock of 
 protection as embodied in the schedules of the Act. He saw, 
 as other leading statesmen saw, that the time had come when 
 our surplus products must find and make foreign markets 
 for themselves. He saw they were better and as cheap as 
 the surplus products of other nations. He saw the markets 
 of 40,000,000 people south of us, on our continent, occupied 
 by the nations of Europe, even though we were the best and 
 largest buyers in those very markets. He saw that the free 
 list, as contemplated in the McKinley Bill, would cover 
 nearly everything we bought in those markets — sugar, cof- 
 fee, hides, molasses, woods and dyes. He saw that in most 
 of those markets our chief exports — flour, the cereals, farm 
 implements, oils, textiles — were heavily dutiable, in some 
 cases to the point of exclusion. 
 
 Now why should we not say to those markets, we are 
 about to take the duty off everything we get from you. In 
 consideration of this we ask you to reciprocate, not by tak- 
 ing the duty off what we send you, but by adjusting it so 
 that we can sell to you on favorable terms, so that when we 
 go for a cargo of coffee to your market we can take along 
 3 cargo of what we have to sell, and be able to sell it. This 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 467 
 
 will encourage us to buy more from you, and in the end it 
 will be better for all American markets, for by reason of our 
 proximity we can interchange at less cost for freight, and 
 American genius has proven that it can even now give you 
 better and cheaper manufactured products than you can get 
 elsewhere. This cannot endanger our principle of protec- 
 tion, for we do not or cannot produce most of what we want 
 from you, and you do not or cannot produce most of what 
 you want from us. 
 
 All of these things entered into the logic of reciprocity, 
 whether with the markets of America, or with those other 
 markets of the world embracing like conditions. Reci- 
 procity had heretofore been accomplished between nations 
 by long, tedious and uncertain treaties. We could make 
 reciprocity by a short cut, by a clause in a tariff bill, by 
 simply saying here we have done all, or more than all, that 
 could have been done by any reciprocity treaty. We are 
 willing to hear your terms. 
 
 President Harrison did not hesitate to make reciprocity a 
 measure of his administration, and in his messages and other 
 speeches he accepts and urges it as part of the grand plan 
 now cherished by all patriotic and far-seeing statesmen ; by 
 which we are to enter into full competition with other 
 nations in the world’s markets, and once more enjoy the 
 profits and glory of an American marine. In quite a recent 
 speech he spoke of reciprocity as the dawn of an era which 
 shall once again restore the carrying trade of ocean to 
 American bottoms and witness the grand spectacle of the 
 stars and stripes in every port of the world. In this there 
 is a sturdy Americanism, which defies the limitations of 
 partyism, and it is woven into his organization so effectually 
 as that it gives lustre to all his speeches and writings. In a 
 letter to Mr. Cronemyer, of Demmler, Pa., dated October 
 
468 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 19, 1891, acknowledging the receipt of a box of American- 
 made tin-plate, he said : — “ I cannot quite understand how 
 an American can doubt that we have the mechanical skill 
 and business sagacity to establish successfully here the 
 manufacture of tin plate. ... It is surprising to me that 
 any patriotic American should approach this question with 
 a desire to see this great and interesting experiment fail, or 
 with an unwillingness to accept the evidences of its suc- 
 cess. It will be a great step in the direction of commercial 
 independence, when we produce our own tin-plate. . . . 
 
 “ I can understand how our success should be doubted 
 and our failure accepted with satisfaction in Wales, but I 
 cannot understand how any American can take that view 
 of the question or why he should always approach every 
 evidence of the successful establishment of this industry in 
 this country with a disposition to discredit it and reject it. 
 If the great experiment is to fail, our own people should not 
 add to the mortification of failure, the crime of rejoicing at 
 it.” 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION IN PARAGRAPHIC BRIEFS. 
 
 An administration in which duty has been met honestly, 
 courageously, promptly and with ability. 
 
 An administration which has filled the letter of the plat- 
 form of principles. 
 
 An administration in which the President has daily grown 
 and strengthened in the public mind, and won the implicit 
 faith of the country. 
 
 An administration which typed American honor, in all its 
 foreign relations. 
 
 It stands for American industry, the home wage-earner, 
 domestic manufactures, expanded commerce, enlarged 
 markets. 
 
 An administration of good judgment, liberality and public 
 

 
 Ikiii 
 
 OF ISt 
 
 mmmr m um m 
 
 
 

 — 
 
 - 
 
 Hon. Thomas B. Reed. 
 
 Born at Portland, Maine, October 18, 1839 ; graduated at Bowdoin, 
 1860; studied law and admitted to bar; Assistant Paymaster in Navy, 
 1864-65; member of State House of Representatives, 1868-69, and of 
 Senate, 1870; Attorney General of Maine, 1870-72; Solicitor of Port- 
 land, 1874-77 ; elected, as a Republican, to 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 
 50th and 52d Congresses ; elected and presided as Speaker of House in 
 51st Congress; an able and efficient parliamentarian ; his decision as to 
 actual presence and constructive absence in counting a quorum was sus- 
 tained by the U. S. Supreme Court ; a writer and speaker of originality 
 and force. 
 
 ( 47 °) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 47 r 
 
 spirit, in its efforts to re-create a navy and establish coast- 
 defences commensurate with the power, dignity and necessi- 
 ties of a great nation. ' 
 
 An administration whose President has seen new markets 
 opened for American products in nearly all of the American 
 Republics to the south of us, and in most of the Conti- 
 nental States of Europe. He has seen, for the first time in 
 our history, the exports of our manufactures of iron exceed 
 our imports, and the triumphant establishment of our iron 
 and steel utensils, tools, etc., in the best markets of the 
 globe. He has seen our exports of beef and hog products 
 rise from $7,068,00 6 in May, 1891, to $10,501,592 in May, 
 1892, with a kindred increase for the other months of the 
 fiscal year. 
 
 He has seen our largest item of export — breadstuffs — take 
 
 the following bounds : — 
 
 Breadstuffs exported May, 1892 $19,410,394 
 
 “ “ “ 1891 12,330,231 
 
 Increase 7 ,080 , 1 63 
 
 Breadstuffs exported 11 Mo. to May 31, 1892 272,476,023 
 
 “ “11 Mo. “ “ “ 1891 109,956,984 
 
 Increase $162,519,039 
 
 For many years prior to 1888, the balance of foreign 
 trade had been in our favor. But during that year and 
 1889 — the last of the Cleveland administration — it turned 
 largely against us. It was turned to $68,000,000 in our 
 fevor in 1890. 
 
 Under Harrison’s administration the government’s finances 
 have been handled at all points with ability and with the 
 greatest satisfaction to the people. Since 1889, $259,093,650 
 of the national debt have been paid off, or one quarter of the 
 entire interest-bearing debt outstanding when he assumed 
 
472 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 the reins of government. This was done by calling in and 
 redeeming bonds which, at the premium upon them, had a 
 value of $296,316,931. Still, the stroke was masterly on 
 the part of the government, for if these bonds had run to 
 maturity they would have cost the government, principal 
 and interest, to redeem, $35 1,669,424. The savi g, there- 
 fore, amounted to $55,352,493. 
 
 The annual interest charge was reduced by these pur- 
 chases from $34,578,219 to $22,893,871, or $11,684,348 
 annually, a sum sufficient to pay one-half of the additional 
 pensions under the Dependent Pension Act. By these 
 purchases, also7 a sum equal to $209,366,348 was set free, 
 and added to the volume of the currency. Under the 
 Cleveland administration the amount thus set free and added 
 to the volume of the currency was only $1 17,456,837. It 
 will be seen, therefore, that the amount added to the circu- 
 lation of the currency under Harrison’s administration, by 
 the above process, was one-fifth of the body of the currency 
 — total, $936,798,644 — authorized between July 1, i860, and 
 March 1, 1889. 
 
 The decrease in the amount of revenue collected from the 
 people, under the operation of various reducing Acts passed 
 during Harrison’s administration, amounted to from $35,- 
 000,000 to $50,000,000, and this reduction embraced largely 
 the articles which are of prime necessity to laboring man. 
 At the same time, the average annual exports of American 
 products, which average was $719,781,096, under Cleveland, 
 ran up to $907,083,731 under Harrison. During three 
 years of Harrison’s administration our total foreign com- 
 merce reached $5,161,305,023. During the last three 
 years of Cleveland’s administration the aggregate was 
 $4,289,702,199. Under Mr. Cleveland the excess of 
 exports, in three years, was $28,984,379; under Harrison 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 473 
 
 they were, for three years, $281,197,3 67. Much of all this 
 may be ascribed to natural causes, but natural causes do 
 not operate in favor of a nation unless they are guided, 
 directed and restrained by wise legislation and prudent 
 administration. 
 
 No administration ever negotiated so many treaties look- 
 ing to reciprocal trade relations and commercial expansion. 
 
 New extradition treaties were made with England, the 
 Netherlands and Colombia, by which persons guilty of 
 crime, not purely political, especially defaulters, embez- 
 zlers, and all that class of gentry, who, in places of trust, 
 treat all the money they are permitted to count as their own, 
 can no longer find safety from our law in those countries. 
 
 An administration under which the cost of collecting in- 
 ternal revenues was reduced for the first time in our history 
 below three per cent. 
 
 Which enforced rigidly the immigration laws, reducing 
 greatly the number of pauper and alien contract immigrants. 
 
 Which for the first time in our history attempted to make 
 men of Indians by enlisting them as soldiers. 
 
 Which applied the Railway Postal Service to trans-Atlan- 
 tic mails, extended the free-delivery system to small towns 
 and broke up lottery advertising through the mails. 
 
 Which established a system of pork and beef inspection, 
 which secures the entry of beef and pork products into 
 foreign ports. 
 
 Which has strengthened our credit at home and abroad, 
 lightened the burden of debt upon the people, and released 
 millions of dollars which the previous administration had 
 hoarded in the Treasury, and restored them to circulation in 
 the proper channels of trade and commerce. 
 
 Remembering the financial situation of 1890, beginning 
 with the Baring failure in London, extending to all Euro- 
 
471 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 pean and South American countries, and threatening this 
 country, it was the intelligent, decisive and prompt action 
 of President Harrison’s Administration which averted im- 
 pending disaster. Between July 24th and November 10th, 
 the Treasury disbursed for the redemption of bonds alone 
 nearly one hundred millions of dollars, and by so doing re- 
 lieved the stringency of the money market and gave confi- 
 dence and strength to business. 
 
 President Harrison’s resolute attitude during the life of 
 the Fifty-first Congress in opposition to the efforts of those 
 who were determined to pass a free and unlimited silver 
 coinage act, defeated their purpose and saved the country 
 from suffering from the certain evils which such an act 
 would have entailed. His wisdom has brought about an 
 International Monetary Congress, whose session will serve 
 to simplify if not settle the puzzling question of coin ratios, 
 and the principle of bimetallic money. 
 
 The question of Chinese immigration was settled for the 
 next ten years. Four new States were admitted. Okla- 
 homa was opened to settlement, and reservation after reser- 
 vation added to the public lands. 
 
 No other President ever stood so firmly for purity and 
 freedom of the Suffrage. In his efforts to establish national 
 protection for the right to vote, he has proven to be ahead 
 of his party, but millions of patriotic American citizens to- 
 day realize that the time is not remote v/hen his attitude 
 must find vindication or the great Republican experiment 
 must fail. 
 
 Harrison’s Administration has shown what a Republican 
 Executive can do to protect American citizenship at home 
 and abroad, to uplift labor and develop industry, to guard 
 the trade of the country and the currency of the people 
 against financial folly, and to win from foreign powers ad- 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 475 
 
 vantages which no other nation has ever secured. Barriers 
 against American trade which successive administrations of 
 both parties have been unable to remove, under his admin- 
 istration have at last been swept away. The best and most 
 progressive men of the South, the men who believe in justice 
 and law and order, have been brought into close harmony 
 with men of like thought and feeling at the North. The 
 policy of the great Republic has been so impressively rec- 
 ommended to the workingmen and manufacturers, the 
 traders and financiers of other lands, that to-day the walls 
 of Free Trade are shaken in Great Britain as they have not 
 been befpre for fifty years, and the wishes of this nation 
 bring together a congress of nations to settle the long dis- 
 pute regarding the monetary standard. 
 
 It has been a business administration. Neither war nor 
 conquest has fired the popular heart to overlook its short- 
 comings in any respect. It is because the nation wants and 
 honors fidelity and wisdom in the every-day duties of peace 
 that the President has been so favorably spoken of as his 
 own worthy successor. At once an embodiment and a 
 champion of Republican ideas, Benjamin Harrison will un- 
 doubtedly be asked to serve again because he has served 
 well, and the people will trust him again because he ha? 
 been found worthy of trust. 
 
IX. 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS AND RENOMINATION. 
 
 CONVENTION OF 1 892 AND PLATFORM. 
 
 The Republican National Committee met in Washing- 
 ton, pursuant to call, on November 23, 1891. A chief object 
 was the selection of the place at which the National Con- 
 vention for the nomination of candidates for President and 
 Vice-President for 1892 should meet. Various cities, East 
 and West, sought the honor of the convention’s sessions, 
 but the choice fell to Minneapolis, after full discussion of 
 the claims of all. 
 
 The place being designated, the time was fixed for Tues- 
 day, June 7, 1892, and the usual call was issued for States 
 and Territories to send delegates — each State, four delegates- 
 at-large, and two from each Congressional district, each 
 Territory and the District of Columbia, all to be chosen 
 thirty days prior to the date of the convention. 
 
 This was the tenth call made by the Republican National 
 Committee for a convention. 
 
 At the date of the above call in November, 1891, the Re- 
 publican political situation was clear. The thought was 
 well nigh unanimous that President Harrison had, by a wise 
 administration, earned the honor of a second candidacy. It 
 was felt by the business and laboring interests that the 
 record of the past three years should remain unbroken, and 
 that the Republican party could best confront its enemies 
 with the men and measures that had constituted and ren- 
 dered illustrious that record. 
 
 ( 476 ) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 477 
 
 But after the turn of the year 1892 it was made apparent 
 that there were elements in the Republican party which 
 were hostile to the administration. These elements had 
 previously made their mutterings known, but not in such a 
 way as to lead to the suspicion that an open declaration of 
 war was intended. The first overt opposition appeared in 
 the local conventions of Pennsylvania, called at an unusually 
 early period and with the evident intention of taking a snap 
 judgment on the situation. They reflected the sentiment 
 of those whose reason for hostility was inability to control 
 as much patronage as they thought they deserved. 
 
 At first no serious attention was paid to this peculiar, un- 
 necessary and impolitic movement. But when it was taken 
 up in other sections, as New York, Ohio, Iowa and the 
 silver States, and when it threatened to become formidable 
 if left to run riot, there came a time for consideration on 
 the part of Mr. Harrison’s friends and the real friends of 
 the Republican party. 
 
 Among these friends, President Harrison counted on none 
 as more intimate and safe than Mr. Blaine. He was his 
 premier, his bosom friend of State, the custodian of his offi- 
 cial secrets, the spokesman of his policy. None felt keener 
 than Mr. Blaine the embarrassment likely to follow the free- 
 dom with which his name was used for the purpose of shap- 
 ing opposition to the administration. Poison was added to 
 the shaft by the fact that none of his now avowed admirers 
 had been his friends in former years, but, on the contrary, 
 had been his most bitter enemies. An additional source of 
 chagrin and danger lay in the fact that the leaders of the 
 opposition had failed of that importance in their own States 
 which was necessary to save their party from disaster. 
 
 Out of the situation, clear to even the unitiniated, grew a 
 motive, all compelling on the part of Mr. Blaine, if his 
 
478 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 relationship to the administration was to be maintained. He 
 undoubtedly weighed it well. His decision was that he 
 could not be a candidate. He embodied this decision in the 
 following letter to Chairman Clarkson : — 
 
 Washington, Feb. 6, 1892. 
 
 Hon. J. S. Clarkson, 
 
 Chairman Republican National Committee. 
 
 My Dear Sir : — 
 
 I am not a candidate for the Presidency, and my name 
 will not go before the Republican National Convention for 
 the nomination. I make this statement in due season. To 
 those who have tendered me their support, I owe sincere 
 thanks, and am most grateful for their confidence. They 
 will, I am sure, make earnest efforts in the approaching 
 contest, which is rendered especially important by reason 
 of the industrial and financial policies of the government 
 being at stake. The popular decision on these measures is 
 of great moment and will be of far-reaching consequence. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 James G. Blaine. 
 
 This letter was regarded as magnanimous by every one, 
 without regard to politics, for it was written in face of the 
 fact that a sentiment was crystalizing about the writer’s 
 name which might have made him an easy victor at Minne- 
 apolis. It was further regarded by friend and foe as exceed- 
 ingly timely, for the reason that it would prove a bar to all 
 further improper use of his name and would leave party 
 sentiment free to flow in available channels. But most of 
 all, it was accepted as a sincere and truthful letter, expres- 
 sive in good English of precisely what was meant, and as 
 coming from a source where duplicity of ideas, insincerity 
 of motive and misleading expression were impossible. 
 
 It so greatly clarified the situation as that Republicans 
 everywhere fell voluntarily to the thought that Harrison was 
 
Hon. Matthew S. Quay. 
 
 Born at Dillsburg, York co., Pa., September 30, 1833; graduated at 
 Jefferson College, 1850; admitted to bar, 1854 ; elected Prothonotary of 
 Beaver co., 1856 and 1859; served in Union army as Colonel of 134th 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, and as Military State Agent at Washington, 
 Assistant Commissary-General and Chief of Transportation; Military 
 Secretary to Governor of Pennsylvania, 1861-65 ; member of Legisla- 
 ture, 1865-67; Secretary of Commonwealth, 1872-78; Chairman of 
 Republican State Committee, 1878-79; Secretary of Commonwealth. 
 1879 - 82 ; elected State Treasurer, 1885 ; elected United States Senator, 
 as Republican, 1886 ; Chairman of Republican National Committee dur- 
 ing campaign of 1888; Chairman of Committee on Library and member 
 of Committees on Commerce and Public Buildings and Grounds. 
 
 ( 479 ) 
 

 rat llMffl 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 481 
 
 the logical and inevitable candidate of the party. In every 
 State Convention, save one small Western State, his admin- 
 istration met with unequivocal approval by resolution. In 
 many instances delegates were instructed directly to vote 
 for him. In others, they were, according to custom, left un- 
 instructed, but the understanding was accepted that they 
 should be for Harrison. It was of this last situation that 
 his opponents took advantage. 
 
 Harrison had never asked favor, never announced himself 
 as a candidate. The support he was getting from the States 
 came voluntarily. The man was there, let the public judge 
 and treat him as it please. The administration was there, let 
 the verdict respecting it be that which the masses of his party 
 chose to register. He asked for nothing, yet would not de- 
 cline indorsement. If worthy of vindication, upon his rec- 
 ord, let such vindication come spontaneously. In any 
 other shape, it would not be vindication. Never was sol- 
 emn, subdued drift, more direct than toward him. It was a 
 long, irresistible ground wave, which refused to be diverted 
 by the arts of political engineers, the devices of ambitious 
 schemers, the intervention of disappointed and malicious 
 adventurers. 
 
 There were several causes leading directly up to the nom 
 nation of Mr. Harrison, and one of them was undoubted! 
 his dignified, manly bearing with regard to it. He did not 
 proclaim his own desire to be nominated. He submitted 
 himself, with reserve befitting his great office, to the desire 
 of the people, and waited for them to “ signify their wishes.” 
 
 Then came a time, when, if opposition was to amount to 
 anything, it must be made to cohere. Conjuration seemed 
 out of the question, except with the magnetic name of 
 Blaine. That name was used, despite his unequivocal letter. 
 Men gathered to his standard, as though they believed the 
 
/ 
 
 482 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 politicians who were using that name were sincere in the 
 use of it. Many were so infatuated by their admiration for 
 the name as that they refused to see that their use of it was 
 to fasten a lie and a wrong on their favorite. 
 
 Thus matters shaped till the eve of the National Conven- 
 tion. The Harrison opponents made free use of Mr. Blaine’s 
 name, and its potency for their purposes was handicapped 
 only by the two facts that he had written his letter of Feb- 
 ruary 6, and that he still remained in the Cabinet. 
 
 On June 4, 1892, an event transpired which was interpre- 
 ted by the country to mean that Mr. Blaine was no longer 
 averse to the use of his name as a candidate. On that date, 
 he wrote the following letter of resignation to President 
 Harrison : — 
 
 Department of State, Washington , June 4, 1892. 
 To the President: — 
 
 I respectfully beg leave to submit my resignation of the 
 office of Secretary of State of the United States, to which I 
 was appointed by you on March 5, 1889. 
 
 The condition of public affairs in the Department of State 
 justifies me in requesting that my resignation may be ac- 
 cepted immediately. I have the honor to be 
 
 Your very obedient servant, 
 
 James G. Blaine. 
 
 To this Mr. Harrison sent promptly the following 
 reply : — 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington , June 4, 1892. 
 To the Secretary of State : — 
 
 Your letter of this date tendering your resignation of the 
 office of Secretary of State of the United States has been 
 received. The terms on which you state your desires are 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 483 
 
 such as to leave me no choice but to accede to your wishes 
 at once. 
 
 Your resignation is therefore accepted. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 Hon. James G. Blaine. 
 
 This dramatic event was quickly turned to their account 
 by the Harrison opponents, many of whom were already in 
 Minneapolis, or on their way there. They did not hesitate 
 to construe it as a break between Harrison and Blaine, and 
 as notice that they were at perfect liberty to place the name 
 of the latter before the Convention and to count on his an- 
 tagonism to the President. 
 
 This was the condition of affairs when the Republican 
 National Convention opened at Minneapolis on June 7, 1892. 
 It became apparent on the first day’s session that the 
 Harrison opponents would use all the arts and ma- 
 chinery within their control to carry their object. Assum- 
 ing the aggressive, and having a majority on the National 
 Committee, they organized the Committee on Credentials, 
 and other Committees in their favor, and selected one of 
 their own number as Temporary Chairman of the Con- 
 vention. 
 
 There were in the Convention 906 votes, requiring 454 
 to nominate, if all were cast. On the second day of the 
 Convention, the friends of President Harrison found they 
 could cohere and hold their forces, even if they could 
 not exactly number them. In this they had the advan- 
 tage of a single name and object, namely, Harrison and 
 his nomination. They were greatly aided too, by the fact 
 that Harrison delegates embodied steadfast convictions as 
 to the character and availability of their man, and, there- 
 
484 
 
 benjamin Garrison. 
 
 fore, were not of a class that could be cajoled by specious 
 arguments or carried away by shouts and vain show. 
 
 On the other hand, the leaders of the opposition were not 
 succeeding as they had expected. They must prevent the 
 nomination of Harrison on the first ballot. In order to do 
 this they dare not let go the name of Blaine. Yet that 
 name was not proving as magical as they had anticipated. 
 This gave rise to the suggestion of a dark horse, which was 
 in itself a confession of weakness, though it was thought to 
 be in accord with the original designs of those who had 
 been using Blaine’s name from the very first. Moreover, 
 the transit from Blaine to a dark horse would be fraught 
 with great danger, for there were many sincere friends of 
 Mr. Blaine in the Convention, who would not have deserted 
 him for a third man, but who would have preferred to 
 transfer their strength to Harrison. 
 
 On the third day of the Convention, the situation was 
 greatly simplified by a gathering of the delegates who 
 favored Harrison. They numbered more than half the Con- 
 vention. They, therefore, resolved to take the initiative, 
 force the fighting and overcome the tactics of the opposi- 
 tion, which were now tactics of delay. The report 
 of the Committee on Credentials gave them their op- 
 portunity. They moved the adoption of a minority report 
 instead of the majority one, in the case of the Alabama con- 
 tests, and easily carried it. The Convention was theirs from 
 this time on. 
 
 The fourth day of Ihe Convention, June 10, brought the 
 nominations and bailoting. It was a day of superb confi- 
 dence on the part the Harrison delegates and leaders. It 
 was a day of extreme anxiety and unrest on the part of the 
 Blaine forces, who had two battles on hand, one to make 
 everything rally to the standard of the “ plumed knight ” in 
 
Born at Shoreham, Vt., May 16, 1824; educated in common schools; 
 entered mercantile business at Concord, N. H. ; at twenty-five, mem- 
 ber of firm of Morton & Co., Boston ; member of firm of Morton & 
 Grinnell, New York, 1854; a banker in 1863; Morton, Bliss & Co., in 
 1868; elected to Congress in Twelth New York District in 1878; an 
 authority in matters of finance; declined Vice-Presidential nomination, 
 1880 ; furnished fourth of cargo to Irish sufferers ; declined Secretary- 
 ship of Navy under Garfield ; Minister to France under Garfield ; urged 
 for U. S. Senator, 1885; elected Vice-President, 1888; noted for finan- 
 cial knowledge, charitable disposition, and nobility of character. 
 
 ( 4 » 5 ) 
 
I 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 487 
 
 order to prevent Harrison’s nomination on the first ballot, 
 the other to make a fresh deployment of their forces, under 
 fire, and shift them bodily to a new man. They could not 
 do the former without formally presenting his name to the 
 Convention, yet to do this was to bring him face to face with 
 the contents of his own letter declining to be a candidate. 
 Neither could they do the latter without more time for man- 
 ipulation than the majority were now willing to extend, for 
 already such time had been freely extended, and the legiti- 
 mate excuse for further delay did not exist. 
 
 So the roll call for nominations began. Senator Wolcott 
 nominated Mr. Blaine in an able speech, which was ably 
 seconded. The Convention burst into applause which was 
 continued for many minutes, to be renewed again and again. 
 The demonstrations did not result in the expected stam- 
 pede. It did not even disguise the preparations for a change 
 of front on the part of Mr. Blaine’s friends, which change 
 as will be seen by the vote was to McKinley, with a view to 
 keeping the Harrison votes in Ohio from going to where 
 they properly belonged, on the first ballot. The McKinley 
 movement had the same effect in one or two other States. 
 
 When Indiana was reached, the venerable Richard W. 
 Thompson placed the name of Benjamin Harrison in nomi- 
 nation with a few appropriate remarks. This drew forth 
 equally long and loud applause, which was to be repeated 
 even more vociferously when the orator of the day and the 
 convention, Chauncey M. Depew, came to second the nom- 
 ination. The address of Mr. Depew was a masterpiece of 
 eloquence. He felt that he had a great occasion, an inspir- 
 ing subject, an exceptional opportunity, and he rose to 
 them all with an earnestness and force that carried the Con- 
 vention quite away and left no doubts of the results of the 
 first ballot. As an analysis of the political situation, as a 
 22 
 
488 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 brief of Republican history, as a record of the administra- 
 tive achievements of President Harrison, as an argument for 
 again honoring him with nomination, this speech stands 
 without exception for brilliancy, beauty and force, and it 
 ought to become a classic in every Republican household. 
 
 DEPEW’S ELOQUENT ORATION. 
 
 “ Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : It is 
 
 the peculiarity of Republican National Conventions that 
 each one of them has a distinct and interesting history. We 
 are here to meet conditions and solve problems which make 
 this gathering not only no exception to the rule but sub- 
 stantially a new departure. That there should be strong 
 convictions and earnest expressions as to preferences and 
 policies is characteristic of the right of individual judgment, 
 which is the fundamental principle of Republicanism. There 
 have been occasions when the result was so sure that the 
 delegates c@uld freely indulge in the charming privilege of 
 favoritism and of friendship. But the situation which now 
 confronts us demands the exercise of dispassionate judg- 
 ment and our best thought and experience. 
 
 “ We cannot venture on uncertain ground or encounter 
 obstacles placed in the pathway of success by ourselves. 
 The Democratic party is now divided, but the hope of the 
 possession of power once more will make it in the final battle 
 more aggressive, determined, and unscrupulous than ever. 
 It starts with fifteen States secure without an effort, by pro- 
 cesses which are a travesty upon popular Government, and 
 if continued long enough will paralyze institutions founded 
 upon popular suffrage. It has to win four more States in a 
 fair fight. States which in the vocabulary of politics are 
 denominated ‘ doubtful.’ 
 
 “ The Republican party must appeal to the conscience and 
 the judgment of the individual voter in every State in the 
 Union. This is in accordance with the principles upon 
 which it was founded and the objects for which it contends. 
 It has accepted this issue before and fought it out with an 
 extraordinary continuance of success. The conditions of 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 489 
 
 Republican victory from i860 to 1880 were created by 
 Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. They were that 
 the saved Republic should be run by its saviours ; they were 
 the emancipation of the slaves, the reconstruction of the 
 States, the reception of those who had fought to destroy the 
 Republic back into the fold, without penalties or punish- 
 ments, and to an equal share with those who had fought 
 and saved the nation, in the solemn obligations and inestim- 
 able privilege of American citizenship. They were the em- 
 bodiment into the Constitution of the principles for which 
 2,000,000 of men had fought and 500,000 had died. They 
 were the restoration of public credit, the resumption of 
 specie payments, and the prosperous condition of solvent 
 business. 
 
 “ For twenty-five years there were names with which to 
 conjure and events fresh in the public mind which were elo- 
 quent with popular enthusiasm. It needed little else than a 
 recital of the glorious story of its heroes, and a statement 
 of the achievements of the Republican party to retain the 
 confidence of the people. But from the desire for change, 
 which is characteristic of free governments, there came a re- 
 versal, there came a check to the progress of the Republi- 
 can party and four years of Democratic administration. 
 These four years largely relegated to the realms of history 
 past issues, and brought us face to face with what the De- 
 mocracy, its professions, and its practices mean to-day. 
 
 “ The great names which adorned the roll of Republican 
 statesmen and soldiers are still potent and popular. The 
 great measures of the Republican party are still the best of 
 the history of the century. The unequaled and unexampled 
 story of Republicanism in its promises and its achievements 
 stands unique in the record of parties in governments which 
 are free. 
 
 “ But we live in practical times, facing practical issues, 
 which affect the business, the wages, the labor, and the pros- 
 perity of to-day. The campaign will be won or lost, not 
 upon the bad record of James K. Polk, or of Franklin Pierce, 
 or of James Buchanan — not upon the good record of Lin- 
 coln, or of Grant, or of Arthur, or of Hayes, or of Garfield. 
 
490 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 It will be won or lost upon the policy, foreign and domes- 
 tic, the industrial measures and the administrative acts of 
 the administration of Benjamin Harrison. Whoever re- 
 ceives the nomination of this convention will run upon the 
 judgment of the people as to whether they have been more 
 prosperous and happy, whether the country has been in a 
 better condition at home, and stood more honorably abroad 
 under these last four years of Harrison and Republican ad- 
 ministration, than during the preceding four years of Cleve- 
 land and Democratic government. 
 
 “ Not since Thomas Jefferson has any administration been 
 called upon to face and solve so many or such difficult pro- 
 blems as those which have been exigent in our condition. 
 No administration since the organization of the Government 
 has met difficulties better or more to the satisfaction of the 
 American people. 
 
 “ Chili has been taught that no matter how small the 
 antagonist, no community can with safety insult the flag or 
 murder American sailors. 
 
 “ Germany and England have learned in Samoa that the 
 United States has become one of the powers of the world, 
 and no matter how mighty the adversary at every sacrifice 
 American honor will be maintained. The Bering Sea ques- 
 tion, which was the insurmountable obstacle in the diplomacy 
 of Cleveland and Bayard, has been settled upon a basis which 
 sustains the American position until arbitration shall have 
 determined our right. 
 
 “ The dollar of the country has been placed and kept in 
 the standard of commercial nations, and a coin has been 
 agreed upon with foreign governments which, by making 
 bi-metallism the policy of all nations, may successfully solve 
 all our financial problems. 
 
 “ The tariff tinkered with, and trifled with, to the serious 
 disturbance of trade and disaster to business since the days 
 of Washington has been courageously embodied into a code 
 — a code which has preserved the principle of the protection 
 of American industries. To it has been added a beneficent 
 policy, supplemented by beneficent treaties, and wise diplo- 
 macy, which has opened to our farmers and manufacturers 
 
&&eues asm 
 
Hon. Joseph B. Foraker. 
 
 Born near Rainsborough, Ohio, July 5, 1846 ; enlisted from farm in 
 89th Ohio Regiment ; served in army of Cumberland till close of war ; 
 Sergeant in 1862; First Lieutenant in 1864; Captain in 1865; Aide to 
 General Slocum; after war entered Wesleyan University; graduated at 
 Cornell, 1869 ; studied law and admitted to bar; Judge of Cincinnati 
 Superior Court, 1879-82 ; nominated as Republican candidate for Gov 
 ernor in 1883, and defeated ; re-nominated in 1885 and elected ; re- 
 elected, but defeated by Gov. Campbell in 1889 ; noted for fiery eloquence 
 and devotion to cause of soldiers. 
 
 ( 492 ) 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 493 
 
 the markets of other countries. The navy has been builded 
 upon lines which will protect American citizens and American 
 interests and the American flag all over the world. The 
 public debt has been reduced. Maturing bonds have been 
 paid off. The public credit has been maintained. The 
 burdens of taxation have been lightened. Two hundred mil- 
 lions of currency have been added to the people’s money 
 without disturbance of the exchanges. 
 
 “ Unexampled prosperity has crowned wise laws and their 
 wise administration. The main question which divides us 
 is to whom does the credit of all this belong ? Orators may 
 stand upon this platform more able and more eloquent than 
 I, who will paint in more brilliant colors, but they cannot 
 put in more earnest thought, the affection and admiration 
 of Republicans for our distinguished Secretary of State. I 
 yield to no Republican, no matter from which State he hails, 
 in admiration and respect for John Sherman, for Governor 
 McKinley, for Thomas B. Reed, for Iowa’s great son, for 
 the favorites of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. But 
 when I am told that the credit for the brilliant diplomacy 
 of this administration belongs exclusively to the Secretary 
 of State, for the administration of its finances to the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, for the construction of its ships to the Secre- 
 tary of the Navy, for the introduction of American pork in 
 Europe to the Secretary of Agriculture, for the settlement, 
 so far as it is settled, of the currency question to Senator 
 John Sherman, for the formulation of the tariff law to Gover- 
 nor McKinley, for the removal of the restrictions placed by 
 foreign nations upon the introduction of American pork to 
 our ministers at Paris and Berlin, I am tempted to seriously 
 inquire who during the last four years has been President of 
 the United States, anyhow ? 
 
 “ Caesar, when he wrote those commentaries, which were 
 the history of the conquests of Europe under his leadership, 
 modestly took the position of ^Eneas when he said : ‘ They 
 are the narrative of events, the whole of which I saw and the 
 part of which I was.’ 
 
 “ General Thomas, as the rock of Chickamauga, occupies 
 a place in our history with Leonidas among the Greeks, 
 
494 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 except that he succeeded where Leonidas failed. The fight 
 of Joe Hooker above the clouds was the poetry of battle. 
 The resistless rush of Sheridan and his steed down the valley 
 of Shenandoah is the epic of our civil war. The march of 
 Sherman from Atlanta to the sea is the supreme triumph of 
 gallantry and strategy. It detracts nothing from the % splen- 
 dor of the fame, or the merits of the deeds of his lieutenants 
 to say that, having selected them with marvelous sagacity 
 and discretion, Grant still remained the supreme commander 
 of the national army. 
 
 “ All the proposed Acts of any administration, before they 
 are formulated, are passed upon in Cabinet council, and the 
 measures and suggestions of the ablest Secretaries would 
 have failed with a lesser President. But for the great good 
 of the country, and the benefit of the Republican party, they 
 have succeeded, because of the suggestive mind, the in- 
 domitable courage, the intelligent appreciation of situations, 
 and the grand magnanimity of Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 “ It is an undisputed fact that during the few months when 
 both the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury were ill, the President personally assumed the duties of 
 the State and the Treasury Departments and both with equal 
 success. The Secretary of State, in accepting his portfolio 
 under President Garfield, wrote : ‘ Your administration must 
 be made brilliantly successful and strong in the confidence 
 and pride of the people, not at all diverting its energies for 
 re-election, and yet compelling that result by the logic of 
 events and by the imperious necessities of the situation.’ 
 
 “ Garfield fell before the bullet of the assassin and Mr. 
 Blaine retired to private life. General Harrison invited him 
 to take up that unfinished diplomatic career, where its threads 
 had been so tragically broken. He entered the Cabinet. 
 He resumed his work and has won a higher place in our 
 history. The prophecy he made for Garfield has been 
 superbly fulfilled by President Harrison. In the language 
 of Mr. Blaine, ‘ The President has compelled a re-election 
 by the logic of events and the imperious necessities of the 
 situation.’ 
 
 “ The man who is nominated here to-day, to win, must 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 495 
 
 Carry a certain well-known number of the doubtful States. 
 Patrick Henry, in the convention which started rolling the 
 ball of the independence of the colonies from Great Britain, 
 said : ‘ I have, but one lamp by which my feet are guided 
 and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of 
 judging of the future but by the past.’ 
 
 “ New York was carried in 1880 by General Garfield and 
 in every important election since that time we have done 
 our best. We have put forward our ablest, our most popu- 
 lar, our most brilliant leaders for Governor and State officers, 
 to suffer constant defeat. The only light which illumines 
 the sun of hope, the dark record of those twelve years, is 
 the fact that in 1888, the State of New York was trium- 
 phantly carried by President Harrison. He carried it then 
 as a gallant soldier, a wise Senator, a statesman who 
 rnspired confidence by his public utterances in daily 
 speeches from the commencement f the canvass to its 
 close. He still has all these claims, and in addition an 
 administration beyond criticism and rich with the elements 
 of popularity with which to carry New York again. 
 
 “An ancestry helps in the old world and handicaps in the 
 new. There is but one distinguished example of a son 
 overcoming the limitations imposed by the pre-eminent 
 fame of his father and then rising above it, and that was 
 when the younger Pitt became greater than Chatham. 
 
 “ With an ancestor a signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence and another who saved the Northwest from 
 savagery and gave it to civilization and empire, and who 
 was also President of the United States, a poor and unknown 
 lawyer of Indiana has risen by his- unaided efforts to such 
 distinction as lawyer, orator, soldier, statesman and Presi- 
 dent that he reflects more credit upon his ancestors than 
 they have devolved upon him and presents in American 
 history the parallel of the younger Pitt. 
 
 “ By the grand record of a wise and popular administra- 
 tion, by the strength gained in frequent contact with the 
 people, in wonderfully versatile and felicitous speech, by the 
 claims of a pure life in public and in the simplicity of a 
 typical American home, I nominate Benjamin Harrison." 
 
496 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 When Wisconsin was called, the name of ex-Senator 
 Spooner was lustily cheered and a speech demanded. His 
 address was hardly less forcible than that of Mr. Depew’s. 
 
 FIRST AND WINNING BALLOT. 
 
 The balloting began amid subdued excitement. From 
 the very first it was manifest that nothing had occurred to 
 shake the resolution of the Harrison delegates, and that the 
 arts of the opposition had so far exhausted themselves as to 
 prove of little further danger. The designed swing from 
 Blaine to McKinley cropped out early in the balloting, but 
 it carried little from the Harrison column until Ohio was 
 reached. All such losses were very nearly met by a corre- 
 sponding swing from Blaine to Harrison, among those who 
 refused to enter the dark horse camp. The ballot was taken 
 on the afternoon of June io, and resulted in the following 
 figures : 
 
 Whole number of votes cast 
 
 Necessary to a choice 
 
 Benjamin Harrison received 
 
 James G. Blaine 
 
 William McKinley 
 
 Robert T. Lincoln 
 
 Thomas B. Reed 
 
 The following is the official vote by States : 
 
 States. Harrison. Blaine. McKinley 
 
 Alabama .. 15 .. 7 
 
 Arkansas... 15 •• 1 
 
 California 8 9 I 
 
 Colorado 8 
 
 Connecticut 4 . . 8 
 
 Delaware 41 I 
 
 Florida 8 
 
 Georgia 26 .. .. 
 
 Illinois 34 14 •• 
 
 Idaho 6 •• 
 
 Indiana 30 . . 
 
 Iowa 20 5 I 
 
 ■904 l A 
 
 •453 
 
 ■53554 
 
 .18214 
 
 .182 
 
 I 
 
 • 4 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 497 
 
 States. 
 
 first ballot — Continued. 
 
 Harrison. Blaine. 
 
 Vermont 8 
 
 Virginia 9 
 
 Washington I 
 
 West Virginia 12 
 
 Wisconsin 19 
 
 Wyoming 4 
 
 Arizona I 
 
 District of Columbia 
 
 New Mexico 6 
 
 Oklahoma 2 
 
 Utah 2 
 
 Alaska 2. 
 
 Indian Territory I 
 
 Totals 535 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 18214 
 
 McKinley. 
 
 Kansas 
 
 . 11 
 
 # , 
 
 9 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 
 12 
 
 • 0 
 
 Maryland 
 
 14 
 
 . . 
 
 2 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 Michigan 
 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 Missouri 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 ' 3 'A 
 
 4 # 
 
 . . 
 
 Montana 
 
 
 1 
 
 . . 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 
 . . 
 
 1 
 
 Nevada 
 
 6 
 
 . . 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 
 2 
 
 . . 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 . . 
 
 New York 
 
 
 35 
 
 10 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 17 % 
 
 2% 
 
 1 
 
 North Dakota 
 
 
 4 
 
 . . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 
 . . 
 
 45 
 
 Oregon 
 
 1 
 
 . . 
 
 7 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 
 3 
 
 42 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 .. 5 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 South Dakota 
 
 8 
 
 
 . . 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 182 
 
 Ex-Speaker Reed received 4 votes, 1 from New Hampshire, 1 from Rhode 
 Island, and 2 from Texas, and Robert T. Lincoln 1 from New Hampshire. 
 There were 2j£ votes absent. 
 
 The Chairman — President Harrison, having received a 
 majority of the votes ca&t, has received the nomination of 
 
498 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 tfiis Convention. Shall it be unanimous ? [Loud cries of 
 “Yes.”] The nomination is made unanimous. 
 
 During the evening session Hon. Whitelaw Reid, late 
 Minister to France, and editor of the New York Tribune , 
 was nominated as the candidate for the Vice-Presidency. 
 This was a concession to the New York delegation, and his 
 nomination took place on the announcement of his name. 
 
 PLATFORM OF PRINCIPLES, 1892. 
 
 AS ADOPTED AT REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION. 
 
 The representatives of the Republicans of the United 
 States assembled in general convention on the shores of the 
 Mississippi river, the everlasting bond of an indestructible 
 Republic, whose most glorious chapter of history is the 
 /ecord of the Republican party, congratulate their country- 
 men on the majestic march of the nation under the banners 
 inscribed with the principles of our platform of 1888, vindi- 
 cated by victory at the polls and prosperity in our fields, 
 workshops and mines, and make the following declaration 
 of principles : 
 
 PROTECTION AND RECIPROCITY.— We reaffirm 
 the American doctrine of protection. We call attention to 
 its growth abroad. We maintain that the prosperous con- 
 dition of our country is largely due to the wise revenue 
 legislation of the Republican Congress. 
 
 We believe that all articles which cannot be produced 
 in the United States, except luxuries, should be admitted 
 free of duty, and that on all imports coming into competi- 
 tion with the products of American labor there should be 
 levied duties equal to the difference between wages abroad 
 4nd at home. 
 
 We assert that the prices of manufactured articles of 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 499 
 
 general consumption have been reduced under the opera- 
 tions of the Tariff act of 1890. 
 
 We denounce the efforts of the Democratic majority of 
 the House of Representatives to destroy our tariff laws, as 
 is manifested by their attacks upon wool, lead, and lead ores ? 
 the chief product of a number of States, and we ask the 
 people for their judgment thereon. 
 
 We point to the success of the Republican policy of reci- 
 procity under which our export trade has vastly increased 
 and new and enlarged markets have been opened for the 
 products of our farms and workshops. 
 
 We remind the people ©f the bitter opposition of the Demo- 
 cratic party to this practical business measure, and claim 
 that executed by a Republican administration our present 
 laws will eventually give us control of the trade of the 
 world. 
 
 THE SILVER PLANK. — The American people from 
 tradition and interest favor bimetallism, and the Republican 
 party demands the use of both gold and silver as standard 
 money, with such restrictions and under such provisions, to 
 be determined by the legislation, as will secure the main- 
 tenance of the parity of values of the two metals, so that the 
 purchasing and debt-paying power of the dollar, whether of 
 silver, gold or paper, shall be at all times equal. The in- 
 terests of the producers of the country, its farmers and its 
 workingmen, demand that every dollar, paper or coin, issued 
 by the government shall be as good as any other. We 
 commend the wise and patriotic steps already taken by our 
 government to secure an international conference, to adopt 
 such measures as will insure a parity of value between gold 
 and silver for use as money throughout the world. 
 
 A FREE BALLOT. — We demand that every citizen of 
 the United States shall be allowed to cast one free and un- 
 
5oo 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 restricted ballot in all public elections, and that such ballot 
 shall be counted and returned as cast ; that such laws shall 
 be enacted and enforced as will secure to every citizen, be 
 he rich or poor, native or foreign born, white or black, this 
 sovereign right guaranteed by the Constitution. 
 
 The free and honest popular ballot, the just and equal 
 representation of all the people, as well as their just and 
 equal protection under the laws, are the foundation of our 
 Republican institutions, and the party will never relax its 
 efforts until the integrity of the ballot and the purity of elec- 
 tions shall be fully guaranteed and protected in every State. 
 
 SOUTHERN OUTRAGES.— We denounce the con- 
 tinued inhuman outrages perpetrated upon American citi- 
 izens for political reasons in certain Southern States of the 
 Union. 
 
 FOREIGN RELATIONS. — We favor the extension of 
 our foreign commerce ; the restoration of our mercantile 
 marine by home-built ships and the creation of a navy for 
 the protection of our national interests and the honor of our 
 flag ; the maintenance of the most friendly relations with all 
 foreign Powers, entangling alliance with none, and the pro- 
 tection of the rights of our fishermen. 
 
 We reaffirm our approval of the Monroe doctrine, and 
 believe in the achievement of the manifest destiny of the 
 Republic in its broadest sense. 
 
 We favor the enactment of more stringent laws and regu- 
 lations for the restriction of criminal, pauper and contract 
 immigration. 
 
 CHURCH AND STATE. — We favor efficient legislation 
 by Congress to protect the life and limbs of employes of 
 transportation companies engaged in carrying on inter-State 
 commerce, and recommend legislation by the respective 
 States that will protect employees engaged in State com- 
 
Hon. Joseph R. Hawley. 
 
 Born in Richmond co., N. C., October 31st, 1826; educated at 
 Hamilton College, N. Y. ; admitted to bar in Hartford, Conn., 1850; 
 editor of Hartford Evening Press and Courant from 1857 to present ; 
 enlisted in army April 15, 1861 ; mustered out as Brevet Major-General 
 January 15, 1866; elected Governor of State, as a Republican, April, 
 1866; Delegate to Republican National Conventions, 1872-76-80; 
 President of Centennial Exhibition ; elected to 42d Congress, November, 
 1872 ; re-elected to 43d and 46th Congresses ; elected to U. S. Senate, 
 as a Republican, March 4, 1881 ; re-elected in 1887 ; Chairman of Com- 
 mittee on Military Affairs, and member of Committees on Coast Defences, 
 Printing and Railroads. 
 
 (5°0 
 

BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 5°3 
 
 merce, in mining and manufacturing. The Republican 
 party has always been the champion of the oppressed, and 
 recognizes the dignity of manhood, irrespective of faith, 
 color or nationality; it sympathizes with the cause of home 
 rule in Ireland and protests against the persecution of the 
 Jews in Russia. 
 
 The ultimate reliance of free proper government is the 
 intelligence of the people, and the maintenance of freedom 
 among its men. We therefore declare a new devotion to 
 liberty of thought and conscience, of speech and press, and 
 approve all agencies and instrumentalities which contribute 
 to the education of the children of the land ; but while in- 
 sisting upon the fullest measure of religious liberty, we are 
 opposed to any union of Church and State. 
 
 TRUSTS. — We reaffirm our opposition, declared in the 
 Republican platform of 1888, to all combinations of capital 
 organized in trusts or otherwise to control arbitrarily the 
 condition of trade among our citizens. We heartily endorse 
 the action already taken upon this subject, and ask for 
 such further legislation as may be required to remedy any 
 defects in existing laws and to render their enforcement 
 more complete and effective. 
 
 LETTER POSTAGE. — We approve the policy of ex- 
 tending to towns, villages and rural communities the advan- 
 tages of the free delivery service now enjoyed by the larger 
 cities of the country, and reaffirm the declaration contained 
 in the Republican platform of 1888, pledging the reduction 
 of letter postage to one cent at the earliest possible moment 
 consistent with the maintenance of the Post-office Depart- 
 ment and the highest class of postal service. 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE. — We commend the spirit and evi- 
 dence of reform in the civil service and the wise and con- 
 
504 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 sistent enforcement by the Republican party of the laws 
 regulating the same. 
 
 NICARAGUA CANAL. — The construction of the Ni- 
 caragua Canal is of the highest importance to the American 
 people as a measure of national defence and to build up and 
 maintain American commerce, and it should be controlled 
 by the United States government. 
 
 TERRITORIES. — We favor the admission of the re- 
 maining territories at the earliest practical date, having due 
 regard to the interests of the people of the territories and of 
 the United States. All the federal officers appointed for the 
 territories should be selected from bona fide residents 
 thereof, and the right of self-government should be ac- 
 corded as far as practicable. 
 
 We favor cession, subject to homestead laws, of the arid 
 public lands to the States and Territories in which they lie, 
 under such Congressional restrictions as to disposition, re- 
 clamation and occupancy by settlers as will secure the 
 maximum benefits to the people. 
 
 THE WORLD’S FAIR.— The World’s Columbian Ex- 
 position is a great national undertaking, and Congress 
 should promptly enact such reasonable legislation in aid 
 thereof as will insure a discharging of the expense and obli- 
 gation incident thereto and the attainment of results com- 
 mensurate with the dignity and progress of the nation. 
 
 INTEMPERANCE. — We sympathize with all wise and 
 legitimate efforts to lessen and prevent the evils of intem- 
 perance and promote morality. 
 
 PENSIONS. — Ever mindful of the services and sacrifices 
 of the men who saved the life of the nation, we pledge anew 
 to the veteran soldiers of the republic a watchful care and 
 recognition of their just claims upon a grateful people. 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 505 
 
 HARRISON’S ADMINISTRATION. — We commend 
 the able, patriotic and thoroughly American administration 
 of President Harrison. Under it the country has enjoyed 
 remarkable prosperity, and the dignity and honor of the 
 nation at home and abroad have been faithfully maintained, 
 and we offer the record of pledges kept as a guarantee of 
 faithful performance in the future. 
 
 SPREADING THE NEWS. 
 
 As news of the renomination of President Harrison was 
 flashed over the country, it drew most favorable comment 
 from friend and foe. The business and laboring elements 
 of the nation were especially pleased with the choice of the 
 Convention. Even those who had opposed him in Conven- 
 tion acquiesced heartily in the result and pledged their 
 efforts to secure his election. Perhaps President Harrison 
 himself was the calmest of all the recipients of the news, 
 among the Republican leaders. Perfectly dignified and self- 
 contained, he stood in a room of the White House amid a 
 crowd of distinguished friends, and received their congratu- 
 lations. A large body of the newspaper men of the Capital 
 came in to congratulate and to get an expression of his 
 views. He, after persuasion, addressed them in one of his 
 felicitous speeches, which showed the trend of his thoughts 
 and emotions at a time so important as the date of a nom- 
 ination and the beginning of a national campaign. He ex- 
 pressed himself as entirely free from feeling against any one, 
 and as wishing a campaign without bitterness or other than 
 dignified discussion of the questions to be decided. 
 
 On June 20, a committee composed of one from each 
 State, appointed by the Minneapolis Convention, and whose 
 chairman was Governor McKinley, officially notified Presi- 
 dent Harrison, at the White House, of his nomination. 
 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
 
 506 
 
 Governor McKinley’s speech on this occasion was a happy 
 one, and the reply of the President evoked the applause of 
 all present, for apt thought and felicitous expression. The 
 President promised a more formal and written acceptance, 
 in a short time. 
 
/ 
 
 i 
 
 LIFE AND SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 Hon. Whitelaw Reid, 
 
 Republican Candidate for Vice-President. 
 
 Whitelaw Reid, the Republican Candidate for Vice- 
 President, was born in Xenia, Ohio, October 27, 1837. His 
 paternal grandfather came to this country from Scotland, 
 toward the close of the last century, and pushed his way to 
 Kentucky, there to become an active pioneer in the forests 
 which embraced the “ Dark and Bloody Ground.” 
 
 In the year 1800 he crossed to the north of the Ohio, 
 and took up ground on the present site of Cincinnati. But 
 a part of the contract was that he should run the ferry 
 across the Ohio. This was a stipulation easily kept for six 
 days in the week, but on the seventh it proved to be a gall- 
 ing contract, he being a stern old Covenanter, with a con- 
 science above Sabbath-day labor and earnings. 
 
 His contract was therefore cancelled, and he moved to 
 Greene county, where he became a primitive settler in the 
 township of Xenia. Here his son, Robert Carleton Reid, 
 grew to man’s estate, and married Mary Whitelaw Ronalds, 
 a descendant, in direct line, of the Clan Ronald, of the 
 Scottish Highlands. 
 
 These two were the parents of Whitelaw Reid, our sub- 
 23 (5°9) 
 
5io 
 
 WHITELAW REID. 
 
 ject. An uncle, Hugh McMillan, D. D., a Scotch Cove- 
 nanter and conscientious man, took the task upon himself 
 of fitting Whitelaw for college. Dr. McMillan was a trus- 
 tee of Miami University and principal of the old and long- 
 noted Xenia Academy, which was then reckoned by the 
 officers of Miami the best preparatory school in the State. 
 As a teacher of classics and general instructor Dr. McMil- 
 lan had a fine reputation. Under his instruction his nephew 
 was so well drilled in Latin that at the age of fifteen years 
 he entered Miami as a sophomore, with a Latinist rank 
 equal to that of scholars in the upper classes. This was in 
 1853, and in 1856 he was graduated with the scientific hon- 
 ors, the classical honors having by his own request been 
 yielded to a classmate. 
 
 Just after graduation, he was made principal of the graded 
 schools in South Charleston, Ohio, his immediate pupils 
 being generally older than himself. Here he taught French, 
 Latin, and the higher mathematics. During this period he 
 repaid his father the expense of his senior year in college, 
 and returning home at the age of twenty, he bought the 
 Xenia News , and for two years led the life of a country 
 editor. 
 
 Directly after leaving college Mr. Reid identified himself 
 with the then new Republican party, and took the stump for 
 John C. Fremont. He was a constant reader of the New 
 York Tribune , and his own paper, the News , edited with 
 vigor and such success as to double its circulation during 
 his control of its columns, was conducted by him, as much 
 as possible, after the model of that great humanitarian jour- 
 nalist he was destined to succeed. He didn’t believe in 
 State rights, nor in chattel slavery, and said so with a vigor 
 and variety that made his utterances quoted from the start. 
 He met many public men and never lost a chance to talk 
 
WHITEbAW REID. 
 
 5ii 
 
 with them on the issues of the day. He formed acquaint- 
 ances and made friends. 
 
 In i860, notwithstanding his personal admiration of Mr. 
 Chase, he advocated the nomination of Mr. Lincoln, The 
 News being the first Western newspaper outside of Illinois 
 to do so; and its influence caused the election of a Lincoln 
 delegate to the Republican Convention from the Xenia dis- 
 trict, thus strengthening the break in the Ohio column which 
 Governor Chase at the time so bitterly resented. After Mr. 
 Lincoln’s famous speech at the Cooper Institute, in New 
 York city, and on his return to the West, Mr. Reid went to 
 Columbus to meet him, formed one of his escort to Xenia, 
 and introduced him at the railroad station to the citizens. 
 Subsequently he entered ardently into the business of the 
 campaign, making speeches and acting as secretary of the 
 Greene County Republican Committee. 
 
 His exertions during the campaign of i860 proved to be 
 too much for his health, and he was compelled to withdraw 
 from the political arena and take a vacation. He travelled 
 through the Northwest, visiting the extreme head-waters 
 of the Mississippi and St. Louis Rivers, and returning by 
 way of Duluth. 
 
 This trip meant not only health but an opportunity for 
 the exercise of his genius. He proved to be a close and 
 accurate observer of nature and of social and political con- 
 ditions, and a descriptive writer of great beauty and force. 
 His letters to the Cincinnati Gazette were received with 
 great favor by a large circle of readers, and they established 
 for him a reputation which made him a desirable acquisition 
 on the leading papers of the West. 
 
 The winter of 1860-61 he spent in Columbus, Ohio, as 
 legislative correspondent of the Cincinnati Times. His 
 engagement on the Times was followed by one on the 
 
512 
 
 WHITELAW REID. 
 
 Cleveland Herald and also on the Cincinnati Gazette , each 
 at advanced figures. Mr. Reid entered heroically upon 
 all three engagements, and came, thereby, into receipt of a 
 handsome income for a journalist of the times. But the 
 task of writing daily three letters, distinct in tone, upon the 
 same dreary legislative themes was a species of drudgery 
 which severely tried even his versatility and courage. Such 
 discipline, however, rendered his later journalistic labors 
 comparatively light and attractive. 
 
 At the close of that session of the Ohio Legislature The 
 Gazette offered him the post of city editor, and this posi- 
 tion, so full of varied training, he accepted until, at the be- 
 ginning of the civil war, McClellan, then a captain in the 
 regular army and stationed at Cincinnati, was sent to West 
 Virginia. With this movement, Mr. Reid, by order of 
 The Gazette Company, took the position of its war cor- 
 respondent. General Morris had command of the advance, 
 and Mr. Reid, as representative of the then foremost journal 
 in Ohio, was assigned to duty as volunteer aide-de-camp, 
 with the rank of captain. Then over the signature of 
 “ Agate ” began a series of letters which attracted general 
 attention and largely increased the demand for The 
 Gazette. After the West Virginia campaign terminated in 
 the victory over Garnet’s army and the death of General 
 Garnet himself at Carrick’s Ford, on Cheat River, Mr. Reid 
 returned to The Gazette office, and for a time wrote 
 editorial leaders. He was sent back to West Virginia, and 
 given a position on the staff of General Rosecrans. He 
 served through the second campaign that terminated with 
 the battles of Carnifex Ferry and Gauley Bridge. These 
 battles he wrote an account of, and then returning to The 
 Gazette office resumed his editorial duties and helped 
 organize the staff of correspondents the publishers of that 
 
WHITER AW REID. 
 
 513 
 
 journal had found it necessary to employ. Fairly estab- 
 lished as a journalist of much promise, only brief mention 
 can be made of the brilliant service which marked his sub- 
 sequent career in the West. In 1861-62 he went west to 
 follow, as correspondent, the fortunes of the brilliant cam- 
 paign of Grant which began with Fort Donelson and ended 
 with Shiloh. During this campaign his letters were de- 
 tailed and graphic, and he easily led the corps of war corre- 
 spondents as respects freshness, accuracy and lucidity. 
 
 He was at Pittsburgh Landing with the advance of the 
 army, and ahead of all companions of the press, and left a 
 sick-bed to witness and describe the terrible battle of Shiloh. 
 His graphic account of this conflict was almost the only one 
 which reached the newspapers of the North, and the ten 
 columns which found their way into The Gazette in a single 
 day, profuse in detail, burning in descriptive vigor, alive to 
 all the horrors of the situation, stamped him as a correspond- 
 ent endowed with magnificent powers of observation, untir- 
 ing zeal and marvellous versatility. Those ten columns of 
 The Gazette were widely copied and published in extras 
 by St. Louis and Chicago papers, and their writer was com- 
 plimented by an advance in his already liberal salary. 
 
 At the siege of Corinth Mr. Reid was appointed chairman 
 of a committee of the correspondents to interview General 
 Halleck upon the occasion of the latter’s difficulty with “ the 
 gentlemen of the press,” which ended in their dignified with- 
 drawal from the military lines. 
 
 Mr. Reid went to Washington in the spring of 1862, where 
 he was offered the management of a leading St. Louis news- 
 paper. On hearing of this offer the proprietors of The Gazette 
 offered to sell him a handsome interest in their establishment 
 at a fair price. This he accepted, and his share of the profits 
 for the first year amounted to two-thirds of the cost and laid 
 
514 
 
 WHiliyL/AW REID. 
 
 the foundation of his fortune. As the correspondent of The 
 Gazette at the National Capital he soon distinguished him- 
 self and attracted by his literary and executive ability the 
 notice of Horace Greeley, who from that time became his 
 highly appreciative and unswerving friend. Reid was an 
 industrious worker, and while a political writer of vigor, 
 never lost his knack as a reporter. He went up to Gettys- 
 burg when that fight was on and gave a fine description of 
 that battle. 
 
 A visit to the South in 1865, as the companion of Chief- 
 Justice Chase on the trip made by the latter at the request 
 of President Johnson, resulted in the production of Mr. Reid’s 
 first contribution to literature in the form of a book entitled 
 “ After the War : a Southern Tour.” This book is a fair 
 reflex of its author’s independent and healthful mind and 
 practical experience of men and things, and an excellent 
 record of the affairs of the South during the years immedi- 
 ately following the war. During this tour the business of 
 cotton-planting appeared so remunerative that in partnership 
 with General Francis J. Herron Mr. Reid engaged in it in 
 the spring of 1 866; but when the crop looked most promis- 
 ing the army worm destroyed three-fourths of it. Even 
 what remained, however, prevented the loss of their invest- 
 ment and induced Mr. Reid to try his fortune subsequently 
 in the same business in Alabama ; but after two years, though 
 not a loser, his gain was principally in business experience. 
 During these years, however, he was otherwise engaged than 
 in growing cotton. His “ Ohio in the War,” two large 
 volumes of more than a thousand pages each, was produced 
 during the years when cotton-planting was his ostensible 
 business. This work is a monument of industry and a model 
 for every other State work of the kind. After the publica- 
 
WHiTeLaW kEib. 
 
 5i5 
 
 tion of this work Mr. Reid in 1868 resumed the duties of 
 a leader-writer on The Gazette . 
 
 On the impeachment of President Johnson he went to 
 Washington and reported carefully that transaction. That 
 summer Mr. Greeley renewed an invitation, two or three 
 times made before, to Mr. Reid, to connect himself with the 
 political staff of The Tribune. Mr. Reid finally accepted, 
 and took the post of leading editorial writer, with a salary 
 next in amount to that of Mr. Greeley and responsible 
 directly to him. He wrote many of the leaders thoughout 
 the campaign that ended in the first election of Grant. 
 Shortly afterward a difficulty between the managing editor 
 and the publishers resulted in the withdrawal of the former, 
 and Mr. Reid was installed in the managing editor’s chair. 
 In this advancement he retained the affection and unbounded 
 confidence of his venerated chief, who since the withdrawal 
 of Mr. Dana to make his venture in Chicago and then to 
 get The Sun , had not failed to observe the uncertainties and 
 dangers attending this most arduous of journalistic positions. 
 By a bold expenditure in 1870 Mr. Reid surpassed all rivals 
 at home and abroad in reports of the Franco-Prussian war, 
 and from that time, with full power to do so, gradually re- 
 organized and strengthened the staff of The Tribune . 
 
 After the nomination of Mr. Greeley for President in 1872. 
 Mr. Reid was made editor-in-chief of The Tribune — an office 
 accepted by him with genuine reluctance, but with courage 
 and determination. Untrammelled by tradition, he made 
 The Tribune the exponent of a broad and catholic Ameri- 
 canism. In this he failed not to rally to his support schol- 
 arly and sagacious veterans of The Tribune establishment. 
 After the disastrous close of the campaign of 1872, that 
 which astonished friend and foe alike was the enormous 
 amount of resources Mr. Reid’s conduct had gained for him 
 
516 
 
 WHITEEAW RBID. 
 
 in the shape of capital freely and confidently placed at his 
 disposal. He was thus enabled to obtain entire control of 
 The Tribune . It was under his control that the new Tribune 
 building was erected, and the paper given an influence and 
 financial worth far exceeding the Greeley regime. 
 
 In personal appearance Mr. Reid is tall and straight ; the 
 outlines of his face are bold, his cheek bones are high 
 and his eyes are deeply set. He is direct and straightfor- 
 ward in conversation, absolutely true to his purposes, pa- 
 tient to the last degree, but quick and sure in action. 
 
 On October 26, 1881, Mr. Reid married the accomplished 
 and handsome daughter of D. O. Mills, a California million- 
 aire, who then made New York his home. Their city resi- 
 dence in New York is a palatial brown stone house at the 
 corner of Madison avenue and Fiftieth street. Their 
 country residence is at “ Ophir Farm,” a magnificent spot 
 in the heart of West Chester county, where as much as 
 $1,000,000 have been expended in the improvement of 
 grounds and the erection of a residence which excels in 
 grandeur the finest mansions of baronial times. They are 
 blessed with two interesting children, Ogden Mills Reid and 
 Jennie Reid, and both parents being of domestic turn, the 
 household is a happy and delightful one. 
 
 Mr. Reid has filled the conspicuous and honorable posi- 
 tions of President of the Lotos Club and Regent of the 
 University of New York State. As already said, he de- 
 clined offers from Presidents Hayes and Garfield of the 
 Mission to Germany. The offer of President Harrison, 
 March 19, 1889, of the Mission to France he accepted, with 
 a full knowledge of the fact that it embraced more than 
 ordinary responsibilities. His wealth would enable him to 
 grace the position, but would his diplomatic knowledge 
 prove equal to the delicate task of effecting what was ex- 
 
WHITELAW REID. 
 
 5i7 
 
 pected by an administration bent on enlarging our foreign 
 commerce and establishing relations more intimate than 
 ever existed before ? 
 
 Fortunately for the country and for Mr. Reid, and greatly 
 to the credit of Harrison’s administration, he brought to 
 bear on the situation the highest sagacity and was enabled 
 to achieve results that would have failed in less circumspect 
 hands. By adequate representation of a great power at a 
 friendly capital, he made an impression on the public, the 
 press and the government of France, whose great value is 
 as little to be measured in precise terms as its record is to 
 be found in blue-books and despatches. In the face of an 
 embittered public opinion, created by the press of an almost 
 united Europe, he succeeded in negotiating treaties which 
 withdrew the barriers against the importation into France of 
 American pork and which provided valuable concessions 
 for other American products. These were services of an 
 exalted kind and their influence will be felt for generations. 
 They contributed greatly to Mr. Reid’s fame as a skilled 
 diplomat and enhanced the glory of the administration as to 
 its vigorous and pronounced foreign policy. 
 
 In April, 1892, Mr. Reid returned to this country and 
 laid down the honors of his post as Minister Plenipotentiary. 
 He resumed his control of the Tribune , thoughtless of fur- 
 ther political honors. But when the Minneapolis Convention 
 nominated Harrison and began to look over the field for a 
 suitable candidate for the Vice-Presidency, his name and 
 fame could not be overlooked. He had been welcomed 
 home by grand occasions arranged by the Chamber of 
 Commerce of New York, by the Ohio Society and by the 
 Lotos Club. He was free from entangling political alliances. 
 He was justly the most conspicuous and distinguished of 
 the citizens of his State. He was young, brilliant, available. 
 
WHlTKtAW REID. 
 
 SiS 
 
 What so natural as that he came at once and prominently 
 into the mind of the New York delegation as the man best 
 fitted to occupy the place of Vice-Presidential candidate. 
 
 Therefore, it was that when the great convention assem- 
 bled on the evening of June io, 1892, Senator Edmund 
 O’Connor, of Binghamton, N. Y., placed in nomination for 
 the Vice-Presidency the name of Whitelaw Reid, of New 
 York. General Horace Porter stepped upon the platform 
 and seconded the nomination in an eloquent speech, saying, 
 among other things, that the name he had to present would 
 command the respect of all the people, being that of New 
 York’s favorite son, a worthy successor to Horace Greeley, 
 the creator of modern journalism. General Porter’s speech 
 was exceedingly well received and he was frequently in- 
 terrupted by applause. When he closed his remarks at 
 9.15 o’clock there was a prolonged burst of cheering that 
 took the convention ofif its feet, and gave the most cold- 
 blooded veteran among the delegates a thrill of contagious 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 Delegate Settle, of Tennessee, then presented the name 
 of Thomas B. Reed, of Maine. This nomination was sec- 
 onded by a Kansas delegate amid enthusiastic cheering. 
 Mr. Louthan, of Virginia, also seconded the nomination of 
 the ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives in a brief 
 but forcible speech. 
 
 Mr. Reed’s name was soon withdrawn. Then simulta- 
 neously from the Iowa delegation and West Virginia dele- 
 gation came motions that Whitelaw Reid be declared nomi- 
 nated by acclamation, and amid the greatest enthusiasm the 
 nomination of Mr. Reid was made unanimous. Then the 
 convention gave itself up to the most tumultuous cheering. 
 
 This nomination brought the work of the convention to 
 harmonious and satisfactory end. It was felt that Mr. Reid’s 
 
WHITELAW REID. 
 
 5i9 
 
 nomination was fortunate from every point of view and that 
 it was a deserved tribute to literary ability, diplomatic skill, 
 business integrity and sterling American manhood. Fur- 
 thermore, it was felt that by reason of location and by affili- 
 ation with a great and pure administration, the names of 
 Harrison and Reid would prove talismanic in the battle of 
 1 892 for American industrial supremacy *at home and com- 
 mercial supremacy upon the seas. 
 
 On June 21st, a committee appointed by the Minneapolis 
 Convention waited on Mr. Reid at his country seat to offi- 
 cially notify him of his nomination. The speech of notifi- 
 cation was made by Senator Du Bois. Mr. Reid’s reply 
 was in his happiest vein. After accepting the honor ten- 
 dered and the doctrine propounded in the platform, he 
 said : — 
 
 “You find a natural leader in the eminent public servant, 
 the substantial results of whose wise and faithful administra- 
 tion furnish such inspiration for the canvass. I had ex- 
 pected to find associated with him my distinguished friend 
 who now adorns the office of Vice-President. As the dele- 
 gation of my State, and with it the representatives of the 
 party at large, have thought it politically wise to adhere to 
 the doctrine of rotation in office, it gives me the right to 
 claim not merely the earnest support of a united party, of 
 which we are sure, but the best counsel and the most 
 watchful personal assistance of all its faithful and experi- 
 enced leaders without exception, to the end that this great 
 commonwealth may again throw its decisive vote, as it did 
 four years ago, and indisputably can do again, on the Re- 
 publican side. 
 
 “ My State, and I think I may venture to add my profes- 
 sion, will appreciate the manner in which this nomination 
 has been made and announced, deriving an added grace as 
 
520 
 
 WHITELAW REID. 
 
 it does from the unanimous vote, from the character of this 
 body of representative men from every section of our 
 country. 
 
 “ The political sky is bright with promise. It seems a 
 Republican year, and, invoking the favor of Almighty God 
 upon a cause which we profoundly believe just, we may 
 courageously face the contest with the confident hope of 
 victory at the end.” 
 
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 Hon. Grover Cleveland. 
 
 I. 
 
 PARENTAGE AND EDUCATION. 
 
 Ex-President Cleveland sprang from an old and dis- 
 tinguished New England ancestry. It is a line which is 
 plentifully interspersed with specimens of thorough culture, 
 high intellectual achievement, and true American instinct. 
 His father, Richard F. Cleveland, was a Connecticut clergy- 
 man of the Presbyterian denomination, and different branches 
 of the family held prominent pulpit places in the Presby- 
 terian, Congregational and Episcopalian Churches. They 
 were all alike public-spirited men, intensely loyal to their 
 convictions, and firmly attached to our free institutions. 
 
 The President’s immediate ancestors formed a Connecti- 
 cut branch of the large family. His great-grandfather was 
 Aaron Cleveland, who lived and died in or near the town of 
 Norwich, though born in East Haddam. He was a clergy- 
 man of considerable power and reputation, but with a turn 
 for political life. A large and admiring constituency gave 
 him opportunity to indulge his inclination by sending him 
 to the State Legislature. 
 
 (521' * 
 
522 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 The two sons of Aaron Cleveland who are most conspic- 
 uously mentioned were Charles and William. Charles 
 Cleveland, great-uncle of the ex-President, had a daughter 
 who married Samuel Coxe. Their son, Alfred Cleveland 
 Coxe, became Bishop of Western New York. The other 
 son, William Cleveland, lived in Norwich most of his life, 
 where he carried on the business of a silversmith. At a 
 late period he went to Buffalo, N. Y., to live, that he might 
 be near other members of his family who resided there. 
 He died there in 1837. 
 
 William’s son, Richard F. Cleveland, and father of the 
 President, was born in Norwich, Jan. 19, 1804. He entered 
 Yale College at the early age of sixteen years and gradu- 
 ated in 1824. He then went to Baltimore to teach school, 
 in the meantime carrying on a series of studies designed to 
 fit him for the ministry. In 1828 he was ordained a minis- 
 ter in the Presbyterian Church, and immediately took charge 
 of the congregation at Haddam, Conn. While teaching in 
 Baltimore he made the acquaintance of a Miss Neal, whom 
 he married after he had been preaching about a year. 
 
 The Rev. Richard F. Cleveland was a man of high in- 
 tellectual attainments, and a most devoted student. Study 
 was a love beyond any thought of worldly advancement. In 
 the course of his ministerial work, and soon after his mar- 
 riage, he accepted a call at Caldwell, N. J., where he offici- 
 ated for some years. Thence he removed to Fayetteville, 
 Onondaga co., N. Y. After a time he moved to Clinton, 
 Oneida co., and thence to Holland Patent, in the same 
 county, where he died, Oct. 1, 1853. His wife, the ex-Presi- 
 dent’s mother, lived till July 19, 1882, almost long enough 
 to see her illustrious son elected to the highest office in the 
 gift of the American people. 
 
 Ex-President Cleveland was born in Caldwell. Essex co.. 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 523 
 
 N. J., on March 18, 1837. He was therefore in the forty- 
 eighth year of his age when he was elected, and one of the 
 youngest of our Presidents. He was named Stephen 
 Grover Cleveland, though popularly known as Grover 
 Cleveland, the first part of his Christian name having fallen 
 into disuse. 
 
 He was the fifth in a family of nine children, the others being 
 Mrs. Hastings, William N. Cleveland, Mrs. Wm. E. Hoyt, 
 Richard C. Cleveland, Mrs. N. B. Bacon, Lewis F. Cleve- 
 land, Mrs. L. Youmans, and Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, the 
 latter unmarried, a lady of strong intellectual capacity, and 
 a prominent woman suffrage advocate. 
 
 The two-story-and-a-half white house in which the ex- 
 President was born is still standing. At the age of three 
 years he left the scene of his birth to accompany the family 
 to their new home in Fayetteville, N. Y. Here he grew to 
 stout and active boyhood, amid the advantages then com- 
 mon to village life, not the least of which was good common 
 schooling. 
 
 At the age of fourteen he desired to supplement his com- 
 mon school education with an academic one. His father 
 was somewhat averse to this step, on the score of expense, 
 and because he desired his boys to become self-supporting 
 as soon as possible. Accepting the parental verdict as final, 
 the youth started out to earn his own living, and push his 
 own way in life. 
 
 He entered the village store at a salary of fifty dollars for 
 the first year, which sum was to be made one hundred for 
 the second year, in case he proved efficient. The boy’s 
 pluck and energy did not fail him. His record in this 
 humble position bespoke the coming man. It was one of 
 simple, unswerving integrity and untiring loyalty to the in- 
 terests of his employer. In public place, and in mature 
 
524 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 years, it has ever been one of faithful adherence to deep- 
 rooted conviction and much-admired devotion to the inter- 
 ests of the people who honored him with their confidence 
 and support. The testimony is unimpeachable that what- 
 ever the boy found to do in the capacity in which he was 
 first called to serve he did with all his heart, and that in the 
 earliest chapter of his history of self-helpfulness and business 
 independence there is indelibly written down a reputation 
 for bravery of spirit, fidelity to trust, and candor of charac- 
 ter, which has outlived the intermediate years. 
 
 The quality of courage, inherent in his composition, and 
 of ambition to acquire a broader education, were seconded 
 by economic habits ; so that after a year or two spent in the 
 Fayetteville store, and when his father moved to Clinton, 
 the youth rejoiced in a realization of his dreams by being 
 permitted to attend the academy in the village. Here he 
 made rapid progress in learning, for his purse was meagre, 
 and opportunity long coveted was to be turned to speedy 
 account. His father, with a large family to support, and 
 only a limited income to rely upon, could not supplement 
 his efforts to acquire a higher education. The path to suc- 
 cess must be cut out of the hard rock of limited circum- 
 stances by the boy’s own ingenious and persevering hand. 
 Right well he held the chisel, and right well directed the 
 stroke. Acquisition with him was easy, and his academic 
 career profitable, though brief. Education under such cir- 
 cumstances may not be so full as when plenty of time and 
 money is at command, but it is better appreciated, and often 
 far more practical. Moreover, it is an incentive to higher 
 endeavor, for both youth and manhood are at their best 
 when it is understood that the price of victory is hard blows 
 with the weapons of one's own earning. 
 
 The breaking up of the paternal home in Clinton, by the 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 

 
 
 
 
 vat u 
 
 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 527 
 
 removal of his father to Holland Patent, a village of some 
 five or six hundred people, fifteen miles north of Utica, 
 ended his academic career. In this new field the father 
 preached but three Sundays, when death ended his pastor- 
 t ate. Grover first heard of his father’s death while walking 
 with his sister in the streets of Utica. The sad event was 
 followed by the final break-up of a large family, which a 
 loving hand had held together and inspired with a truly 
 Christian spirit. The children all sought honorable walks 
 in life, and even those who have not found renown are in 
 possession of that independence, peace, and comfort which 
 often count for more than fame. 
 
 As Rev. Richard F. Cleveland died Oct. I, 1853, the son, 
 Grover, mv,st have been in his seventeenth year. Though 
 young to brave life without a father’s counsel, he struck 
 eastward and found himself in the city of New York. Here 
 he seems to have been fortunate in securing a situation as 
 teacher in the New York City Blind Asylum, where he had 
 a record as a devoted instructor and a great reader and 
 student. His tastes, or ambitions, were not, however, satis^- 
 fied in this confined situation. The world of the school- 
 room was not large enough for him. There were other 
 things in store, and he would seek them. Two years ended 
 his teaching career, and he started for the West. 
 
 24 
 
II. 
 
 AS A LAWYER AND OFFICIAL. 
 
 The young man’s westward journey was without definite 
 plan, and even without destination, except in so far as the 
 persuasions of a friend had induced him to inspect the city 
 of Cleveland, Ohio, and try his fortune in what was then re- 
 garded as one of the most growthy and promising cities of 
 the West. The coincidence of the name with his own 
 augured well, if boyish fancy were to play a part in estab- 
 lishing his fortune. He therefore made that city his objec- 
 tive point. Fortunately, he stopped for a time in Buffalo, 
 where he found a maternal uncle, Lewis F. Allen, a man 
 held in high esteem in Erie county, one who had been 
 honored by many public positions, and who in turn had 
 honored them. 
 
 Mr. Allen was very favorably impressed with his nephew 
 and young adventurer. He persuaded him that Buffalo 
 offered as many opportunities for success as any more re- 
 mote place, and kindly proffered him much good counsel 
 and encouragement. Young Grover’s predilections for the 
 West were overcome. He resolved to stay with his uncle. 
 Mr. Allen was than a noted breeder of blooded stock-cattle. 
 His farms in the neighborhood of Buffalo were extensive, 
 and his herds had a reputation for purity of quality which 
 was not limited by State lines. Desiring to perfect his 
 operations, he placed young Grover in charge of the herd- 
 books, at the modest sum of fifty dollars a year and found, 
 but with the understanding that he was to look around him 
 for other occupation in case this proved irksome, The old 
 (528) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 529 
 
 uncle evidently knew that a young man with aspirations for 
 Western life, and with ambitions to succeed, could not be 
 abruptly switched off his line of intent, unless he himself 
 largely acquiesced in the diversion. 
 
 Besides, the youth had already signified his intention to 
 make himself a lawyer. This ambition he soon found 
 means to gratify. The entry of herd varieties, the noting 
 of pedigrees for Alderneys, short horns, Durhams, etc., was 
 not such sleepy work as to close his eyes to chances for 
 getting on, even though the location was two miles beyond 
 the centre of the city. On the contrary, it was a work 
 which gave him the control of much leisure. This he re- 
 solved to turn to account. 
 
 He made application to the law firm of Messrs. Rogers, 
 Bowen & Rogers, in Buffalo, to be entered as a student 
 Success followed the application. He had now the double 
 care of editing an important stock book and drinking in the 
 lore of Blackstone and Coke upon Littleton. From farm to 
 office, and back, he walked each day, winter and summer, 
 till he passed his final examination and was admitted to the 
 bar. 
 
 This period of acquisition, under difficulties which would 
 have appalled a youth with less pluck, served as a training 
 time for the qualities which were to round out the able prac- 
 titioner and assure his professional success. The privations 
 of the penniless novitiate were over. His receptive mind 
 had made the labor of learning light, and this was the one 
 joy which had pervaded the long, difficult and weary 
 pupilage. 
 
 The date of his admission to the bar was 1859, he then 
 being in his twenty-third year. Such was the confidence of 
 the firm in his ability and integrity that he remained with it 
 for three or four years after bis admission, He tbns a<Med 
 
530 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 to previous training a large experience in active practice 
 and came to be noted for his close preparation of cases, his 
 clear and forcible method of statement, and his untiring ad- 
 herence to the cause he espoused. The elements of growth 
 which bore him over the obstacles of previous years were 
 now lifting him into honorable competition with the older 
 lights of the bar. If these elements, as they now cropped 
 out, were to be reduced to speech, they must be enumerated 
 as exhaustive preparation, stern adhesion to purpose, avoid- 
 ance of legal quirk, just and faithful representation, sterling 
 honesty in details, loyal adhesion to clientage. Back of 
 these were a commanding presence, a gracious demeanor, a 
 fervid style of eloquence, which bespoke the confidence of 
 courts and juries, and stamped him as one calculated to win 
 as much through worth as energy. Says one of his early 
 associates in Buffalo : — “ Grover Cleveland won our admira- 
 tion by his three traits of indomitable industry, unpreten- 
 tious courage and unswerving honesty. I never saw a more 
 thorough man at anything he undertook. Whatever the 
 subject was he was reticent until he had mastered all its 
 bearings and made up his own mind, and then nothing 
 could swerve him from his convictions. It was this quality 
 of intellectual integrity more than anything else perhaps, 
 that made him afterwards listened to and respected when 
 men with greater dash and brilliancy who were opposed to 
 him were applauded and forgotten.” 
 
 In 1863, the honors which could not long be withheld 
 from a man of his solidity of character and pronounced pro- 
 fessional status, fell upon him in the shape of a call to the 
 position of Assistant District Attorney of Erie county. The 
 call came at the instance of his associates at the bar, who 
 had united in a recommendation which was almost unani- 
 mous. This was the true beginning of his public career, 
 
CS212r* i 
 
Hon. William C. P. Breckinridge. 
 
 Born August 28, 1837, at Lexington, Ky. ; graduated at Centre 
 College, Danville, April 26, 1855; studied law in Law Department of 
 University of Louisville, and graduated February 27, 1857 ; admitted to 
 bar and engaged in profession at native place ; elected to 49th, 50th, 
 51st and 52d Congresses, as a Democrat, to represent Seventh Kentucky 
 District ; distinguished as an able orator and parliamentarian ; member of 
 Committee on Appropriations and State Department Expenditures. 
 
 ( 53 *) 
 
GROV-ER CLEVELAND. 
 
 533 
 
 It is significant that it had an origin in a confidence which 
 was widely diffused, and untrammeled by creed or politics. 
 It was an unquestioned, unlimited confidence, such as goes 
 out only to those whose manhood is their guarantee of free- 
 dom from belittling influences and false actions. He was a 
 Democrat, and had passed from boyhood to manhood as 
 such. But while imbued with lively party convictions and 
 given to earnest advocacy of vital party tenets, he never 
 stooped to the use of questionable methods, and never for- 
 got for a moment the proper attitude of parties toward the 
 State, the nation, and the institutions which inlay and over- 
 shadow all. There was no asperity in his politics, and none 
 of that narrow, intense partyism which estranges friends, 
 sanctions corrupt practices, or refuses to see any good in 
 men and things outside of clannish limits. In the hour of 
 war he placed country before party. In the hour of peace 
 he recognized the uses of party as legitimate and purifying, 
 provided partyism did not run away with and pervert honor- 
 able and acceptable methods. 
 
 For all of the above reasons, his associates at the bar and 
 the citizens of his town found it fitting to honor him with 
 his first public trust. While serving in the capacity of 
 Assistant District Attorney he was drafted, and promptly 
 furnished a substitute. His career in this office extended 
 over a period of three years. How acceptably he had 
 served was shown by the fact that he received the nomina- 
 tion of his party for the position of District Attorney in 
 1865. His opponent on the Republican ticket, Lyman K. 
 Bass, was successful, after a spirited contest, in which Mr. 
 Cleveland showed himself much stronger than his party. 
 
 On the first of January, 1 866, he formed a law partnership 
 with the late J. V. Vanderpool, which continued till January, 
 1869. It then ended by the withdrawal of Mr. Vanderpool 
 
534 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 to fill the position of Police Justiceship to which he had 
 been elected. After this dissolution a new law-firm was 
 formed, known as Laning, Cleveland and Folsom, the head 
 of it being Hon. A. P. Laning, State Senator. While in this 
 firm and in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice he was 
 called upon to serve again in a public capacity. This time 
 it was as Sheriff of Erie county. The office is not usually 
 regarded as one requiring more than average ability to fill 
 it, nor does it ordinarily open a field for the exercise of very 
 high or commanding qualities. But in this instance, not 
 only the Democratic, but a conspicuous factor in the Re- 
 publican party, had an object to accomplish which could be 
 done in no other way and through no other agency. Gross 
 favoritism and glaring corruption had crept into the admin- 
 istration of the office. The management had become an 
 offense to every element of justice and defiant of every re- 
 form remedy. The majority of the dominant party in the 
 county was usually large, running from three to six thousand. 
 Democracy alone had a poor show to correct crying evils. 
 It was only by putting up a man for the place whose char- 
 acter was in itself a guarantee of the reforms demanded that 
 they could hope to draw the Republican contingent neces- 
 sary to secure his election. Their choice fell on Grover 
 Cleveland as the man for the emergency. He would neces- 
 sarily have to make a great personal and professional sacri- 
 fice if he succeeded, but he was a man who shrank from no 
 consideration of expediency when a great public interest 
 had to be subserved. The purification of a pest-house dis- 
 turbs the stereotyped order of things and puts society and 
 individuals to much present discomfort. But the general 
 good must be consulted, and he is not a hero who refuses 
 to second every effort to further the sanative and social wel- 
 fare of his community. 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 535 
 
 Full of this laudably sacrificial spirit and with the deter- 
 mination to introduce marked and lasting reforms into a po- 
 sition whose status had been shamefully lowered, he stood 
 for the election, and was flatteringly successful. His admin- 
 istration was what was expected of a man of his integrity 
 and firmness. He broke up corrupt practices, wiped out 
 the shame which clouded the office and gave to execution 
 of county affairs a new direction and more significant mean- 
 ing. He showed that dignity could be made to crown the 
 actions of an official, even though the office was that of 
 sheriff! The object of his election was fully met by his 
 vigor and straightforwardness. At the end of his term he 
 returned the office to the majority party as a model piece 
 of county machinery and an evidence of what reforms could 
 be achieved if officials would only keep in view the best in- 
 terests of those they are called upon to serve. His admin- 
 istration was not forgotten in Buffalo. The man for this 
 emergency would prove the man for others, when the need 
 should become equally great. 
 
 His election to the sheriffalty occurred in the fall of 1869 
 His acceptance put an end to his partnership in the law-firm 
 of Laning, Cleveland and Folsom. At the expiration of his 
 official term he had to look around for other connections. 
 Soon a partnership was formed with Lyman K. Bass, his old 
 opponent in the race for District Attorney, and Wilson S. 
 Bissell, the firm being known as that of Bass, Cleveland and 
 Bissell. 
 
 He was now back on favorite professional ground, after a 
 diversion which had brought into conspicuous view his mas- 
 terly executive qualities and familiarized the Western end 
 of the State with an administration whose vigor was only 
 surpassed by its purity. In a short time Mr. Bass removed 
 from Buffalo and the law-firm became Cleveland, Bissell and 
 
536 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 Sicard. It took rank at once as among the foremost, if not 
 the foremost, in Western New York, a reputation which was 
 secured and maintained by the large acquaintance, high 
 standing, and recognized legal ability of the head of the 
 firm. Their office was in spacious and prominent quarters 
 on Main street, where each member had his own library, 
 consulting room and other facilities for carrying on the 
 different branches of their rapidly growing business. Cleve- 
 land and Bissell were both very large men physically, and 
 they were often jokingly called the heavy weights of the 
 firm. Both were dignified and affable in demeanor, and 
 aside from their reputation as sound and successful lawyers, 
 were calculated to attract a large clientage and inspire it 
 with the utmost confidence. 
 
 In this partnership Mr. Cleveland regarded himself as 
 settled for life. Success was crowning his efforts and grati- 
 fying his ambitions. He has been heard to say that he was 
 content with his partners and his practice. Had he been 
 left with them, he need never have entertained a fear that his 
 merits would have been overlooked by the great public, nor 
 that all the rewards of industry, honesty, and ability would 
 have failed to cluster in his path. 
 
 Says one who was well acquainted with him at this pe- 
 riod : “ It was while thus associated that Grover Cleveland 
 achieved his distinction as a lawyer second to few in the 
 Western part of the State for legal acumen and intellectual 
 honesty. His jury and bench trials were distinguished by 
 clear views, direct, simple logic, and a thorough mastery of 
 all the intricacies of the cases, and his invariable avoidance 
 of extrinsic issues and purely technical devices secured for 
 him the respect of his own profession and the admiration of 
 the public.” 
 
III. 
 
 MAYOR OF BUFFALO. 
 
 Destiny forbade a long continuance of this smootlhy run- 
 ning tide. Municipal politics in Buffalo had assumed a 
 shape repugnant to the better citizens of both parties. Pow- 
 erful rings existed which partitioned offices and their spoils 
 and perpetuated themselves with autocratic certainty and 
 audacity. Ingenious and corrupting cliques in both parties 
 conspired to plunder and divide. Perhaps the city was not 
 unlike others in this respect, except as to the enormity of 
 the evil, and the difficulty of a hopeful attack upon it. He 
 must possess more than ordinary bravery and tenacity of 
 purpose who ventured to deal the first blow at a situation 
 turreted with power and manned by skilled political manip- 
 ulators. Redemptory effort, to be effective, must come from 
 a source above all suspicion, must be as persistent as a forge- 
 hammer, and regardless of consequences so far as they af- 
 fected persons, parties or questions of sheer expediency. 
 All during the year 1 88 1 the cry for local reform, which it 
 was well understood could only come by political revolution, 
 went up. Was there a man in the midst popular enough to 
 place experiment beyond reach of failure ? Was there one 
 indomitable enough to venture into the dens where the lions 
 of power divided and devoured their dark and secret con- 
 quests ? 
 
 It seemed that there was one. His party singled him out, 
 at least the true men of his party. The true men of die 
 Republican party said he was the man of all others best cal- 
 culated to meet the requirements of the difficult situation. 
 
 ( 537 ) 
 
538 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 They heartily seconded his selection, and joined hands with 
 a will to give him a triumph at the polls. In a Republican 
 stronghold, and against combinations which reached far 
 toward the centre of his own party, he was chosen Mayor 
 by 5,000 majority; running far in advance of the State 
 ticket. If the election were a testimonial to his fortitude, 
 integrity and popularity, unexampled in Buffalo history, or 
 even in the history of the State, what must the net results 
 of his administration stand for? November, 1 88 1 , was 
 morning in a city whose politics had been a Cimmerian 
 midnight. 
 
 His mayoralty was in the exact line of that pronounced 
 sentiment to which he owed the honors of his election. It 
 fully justified the expectations that were created by his well- 
 known character and previous public record. The nomina- 
 tion had come to him unsought and undesired, the election 
 by that spontaneity which ever marks a great popular and 
 tidal resolve, and prints its meaning so that even he that 
 runneth cannot mistake it. 
 
 The man and his methods were now to stand the test. 
 He was happily untrammeled in his choice of the latter. 
 His own good judgment was to be his criterion. This 
 judgment had been greatly widened and strengthened by 
 his practice at the bar, and his ample opportunities to study 
 men and political ways and measures. As to aught else 
 there was no fear, for his turn was executive, his nature 
 sterling and invincible. He was his own counsellor. With 
 characteristic industry he passed the first weeks after elec- 
 tion in studying the details of every department of the city 
 administration and mapping a programme from which there 
 should be no . departure either under vituperation or 
 applause. 
 
 His inaugural address sounded the key-note of adminis - 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 539 
 
 tration. “ We hold/’ said he, “ the money of the people in 
 our hands, to be used for their purposes and to further their 
 interests as members of the municipality, and it is quite ap- 
 parent that, when any part of the funds with which the tax- 
 payers have thus intrusted us are diverted to other pur- 
 poses, or when, by design or neglect, we allow a greater 
 sum to be applied to any municipal purpose than is neces- 
 sary, we have to that extent violated our duty. There 
 surely is no difference in his duties and obligations, whether 
 a person is intrusted with the money of one man or many. 
 And yet it sometimes appears as though the office-holder 
 assumes that a different rule of fidelity prevails between him 
 and the taxpayers than that which should regulate his con- 
 duct, when, as an individual, he holds the money of his 
 neighbor.” 
 
 Such was the great need of reform in the city, the despera- 
 tion of the battle to be fought, the explicit character of his 
 pledges, the firmness of the man, the curiosity to note the 
 outcome of the administrative struggle, that both parties 
 throughout the entire State looked on Buffalo and its 
 mayoralty as a prime part of a political drama, whose 
 further enactment in municipal high places for their purifi- 
 cation and enlightenment should depend on its success 
 where first introduced. The Buffalo reform movement was 
 to be not only for Buffalo, but it was to be a criterion by 
 which all municipal reforms were to be graduated, after 
 which all should pattern, through which all should derive 
 hope and encouragement. 
 
 It is not in stations of glittering magnitude that men are 
 put to the severest tests. “ The qualities,” says Socrates, 
 “ that fit a man to rule a city, fit him to rule an empire.” 
 Indeed, it is true that public responsibility is deepest, and 
 official worth most radically tested, the nearer the office lies 
 
54 © 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 to the people. This is what makes municipal government 
 such a delicate and difficult thing. The fortitude, the 
 knowledge of men and situations, the integrity, the states- 
 manlike grasp, which are necessary, in a municipal execu 
 tive, to assure pure and acceptable administration, are no 
 more largely required, and certainly never so constantly 
 called into active requisition, where the executive is even 
 that of a State or nation. 
 
 Scarcely had he launched his administration when it drew 
 the concentrated fire of his political enemies. The City 
 Council was against him, with its love of jobbery and adhe- 
 sion to practices he would uproot and discard. The old 
 rings encircled him, either to gather him into deceptive em- 
 brace or crush him in their deadening coils. A street- 
 cleaning contract, as immense as it was iniquitous, went 
 through the Council. It was the grand opportunity of the 
 pilfering politician to enrich himself and friends. It was a 
 type of the jobs which had impoverished the city and 
 brought its administration into discredit. It was, moreover, 
 the kind of enactment which cemented municipal influence 
 and made it hazardous to his popularity for an executive 
 officer to crush it with his veto. But the veto came, and in 
 this instance promptly and with telling effect. It was as if 
 a bomb had suddenly burst in the midst of the plunderers. 
 “ This is a time,” said he, in his veto message, “ for plain 
 speech, and my objection to your action shall be plainly 
 stated. I regard it as the culmination of a most barefaced, 
 impudent and shameless scheme to betray the interests of 
 the people and to worse than squander the public money. 
 We are fast gaining positions in the grades of public 
 stewardship. There is no middle ground. Those who are 
 not for the people either in or out of your honorable body, 
 are against them, and should be treated accordingly.” 
 
Hon. George Graham Vest. 
 
 Born at Frankfort, Ky., December 6, 1830; graduated at Centre Col- 
 lege, Ky., 1848, and at Law Department of Transylvania University, 
 1853; same year moved to Missouri and began practice of law; Presi- 
 dential Elector on Democratic ticket, 1860 ; member of Missouri Legis- 
 lature, 1860-61 ; served for two years as member of Confederate 
 Congress, and one year in Confederate Senate; elected to U. S. 
 Senate, as a Democrat, 1879; re-elected 1885 and 1890; member of 
 Committees on Transportation, Commerce, Judiciary, Public Buildings 
 and Grounds, and Quadro Centennial. 
 
 ( 541 ) 
 

GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 543 
 
 The people, who knew their man before, now knew him 
 better. In fact, his political enemies knew him quite too 
 well. He was not the stuff that tricksters and cowards are 
 made of, but the sterling metal which enters into men coined 
 and stamped for great occasions. His action was received 
 with the greatest favor by his party friends, and by the 
 friends of purity and decorum throughout the county and 
 State. It was a harbinger of other victories far more sig- 
 nificant, and an earnest that municipal reform was at last 
 within reach of a long aggrieved people. He was heralded 
 far and wide as the strong, incorruptible, invincible hero of 
 an emergency before which others had quailed and fell. 
 The results of this single veto to the city were of incal- 
 culable benefit. Its moral effect was felt in every depart- 
 ment. The political atmosphere was freshened. From an 
 economical standpoint, the saving was immense. Under a 
 subsequent ordinance, and the contracts based on it, the 
 work was done for $100,000 less money than at first pro- 
 posed. 
 
 It is hardly necessary for the exemplification of Grover 
 Cleveland’s fortitude, integrity, and wonderful executive 
 ability, to go into painstaking and tedious details of his 
 mayoralty. We understand why he was chosen and what 
 was expected of him. A thousand instances of heroic and 
 timely application of the power with which he was vested 
 would not magnify the importance of the verdict of approval 
 which awaited the closing hours of his administration. Nor 
 would such serve to further illuminate those qualities of 
 manhood he was now seen to possess in a degree which 
 astounded and overawed his opponents. Yet mention must 
 be made of his second struggle with the powerful and cor- 
 rupting influences about him. This was a job to build a 
 large connecting sewer. The issue was sharply joined, the 
 
544 
 
 SROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 contention bitter. The mayor’s pluck and earnestness won, 
 and his second victory was far more significant than the 
 first. It saved $ 800,000 to the city. Altogether the first 
 six months of his administration saved to the city an amount 
 estimated at $1,000,000. This magnificent aggregate might 
 be safely doubled, if the entire term of his mayoralty were 
 to be considered. True, the rings were daunted and never 
 rallied to other audacious attacks on the treasury, yet the 
 mayor found frequent uses for his veto power in order to 
 preserve the position he had won and drive home on his op- 
 ponents the wholesome effects of his reformatory teaching. 
 Not a single ordinance was ever passed over his veto. His 
 veto messages were models of directness and exactness. 
 
 We search American political annals in vain for an ex- 
 ample of municipal administration so vigorous, effective and 
 productive of permanent good, as that which Grover Cleve- 
 land gave to Buffalo. His comprehension of a delicate and 
 difficult situation, his mastery of details, his development of 
 an executive policy, his firm yet dignified command of the 
 powers at his disposal, his persistent following up of every 
 advantage gained, and finally his turning of the government 
 back to the people, washed as to its shame and purified as 
 to its corruption, constitute a chapter in his life whose 
 reading is inspiriting to both old and young, and whose con- 
 templation ought to be a source of pride to any man, no 
 matter with what high honors his after life was crowned. 
 Let it not be forgotten that he had made no quest of the 
 honors of office. No election fanfaronade attended his can- 
 didacy. No single act of self-glorification or self-advance- 
 ment entered into his ministrations. A good and true man 
 found a trust to be executed in a plain, honest, faithful, in- 
 dustrious way. The way was that of the people, and they 
 neither failed to remember nor to thank and honor. While 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 545 
 
 a local constituency were ringing the plaudit, “ Well done, 
 thou good and faithful servant ! ” the people of an entire 
 State were getting ready to say, “ Come up unto higher 
 places and honors.” 
 
 While yet mayor, and in the spring of 1882, he had occa- 
 sion to testify to the American spirit regnant within him as 
 presiding officer of a mass-meeting called to take action on 
 the case of Irish-Americans then aggrieved by English 
 tyranny and actually suffering from imprisonment in Ireland. 
 As is well known, our foreign policy was regarded as too 
 feeble to reach these cases and to make American citizen- 
 ship respected abroad. Our minister to England seemed to 
 be indifferent to the fate of those naturalized Irishmen who, 
 on a visit to their native land and on natural expression of 
 sympathy with their long-suffering countrymen, had fallen 
 into the category of suspects, and had been, without hear- 
 ing, deprived of their liberty by incarceration in British 
 bastiles. Neither did there seem to be a sentiment at home 
 sufficiently pronounced to demand the rights indubitably 
 attached to the name of American. The Buffalo meeting 
 was one of protest against a policy of weakness and timidity 
 on the part of our government. It was directly in the interest 
 of our citizens of foreign birth. One who had not their 
 cause at heart, a mere politician with selfish aims, or with 
 fears for his popularity, a trimmer for place and without 
 character or substantial convictions, might have remanded 
 such a matter to the Secretary of State at Washington, or 
 complacently declined to interfere with a question which 
 concerned only a fraction of our populace. But Mayor 
 Cleveland was as ready to stand as the representative of 
 American citizenship in its broadest and fullest significance 
 as to throttle corruption in his adopted city. As chairman 
 of this meeting, he pointed out, from a strictly legal and 
 
546 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 constitutional standpoint, and with a clearness and precision 
 which always characterized his presentation of pleas, the 
 common right of native-born and adopted citizens of this 
 country to protection from the Government at Washington 
 the world over. Then, proceeding in a strain of earnest and 
 impassioned eloquence, which captured every hearer, he 
 enunciated the following doctrine, which, if incorporated as 
 an American citizen plank into a political platform, any 
 candidate for even so high an office as President might be 
 proud to stand upon : 
 
 “ It needed not the statute which is now the law of the 
 land, declaring that ‘ all naturalized citizens while in foreign 
 lands are entitled to and shall receive from this Government 
 the same protection of person and property which is accorded 
 to native-born citizens,’ to voice the policy of our nation. 
 In all lands where the semblance of liberty is preserved, the 
 right of a person arrested to a speedy accusation and trial 
 is, or ought to be, a fundamental law, as it is a rule of 
 civilization. At any rate, we hold it to be so, and this is 
 one of the rights which we undertake to guarantee to any 
 native-born or naturalized citizen of ours, whether he be im- 
 prisoned by order of the Czar of Russia or under the pretext 
 of a law administered for the benefit of the landed aristoc- 
 racy of England. We do not claim to make laws for other 
 countries, but we do insist that whatsoever those laws may 
 be, they shall, in the interests of human freedom and the 
 rights of mankind, so far as they involve the liberty of our 
 citizens, be speedily administered. We have a right to say, 
 and do say, that mere suspicion without examination on 
 trial is not sufficient to justify the long imprisonment of a 
 citizen of America. Other nations may permit their citizens 
 to be thus imprisoned — ours will not. And this in effect 
 has been solemnly declared by statute. We have met here 
 to-night to consider this subject and to inquire into the cause 
 and the reasons and the justice of the imprisonment of 
 certain of our fellow-citizens now held in British prisons with- 
 out the semblance of a trial or legal examination, Our law 
 

 
 
 m, i.zz 
 
 
 
Hon. Thomas F. Bayard. 
 
 Born at Wilmington, Del., October 29,1828; educated at Flushing 
 School; studied law and admitted to bar in 1851; appointed District 
 Attorney for Delaware, 1853; elected to United States Senate, 1869; 
 re-elected, 1875 and 1881; member of Electoral Commission, 1876; in 
 Democratic National Convention, 1880, received 153J votes as candidate 
 for President; in Convention of 1884, received 170 votes on first ballot; 
 chosen Secretary of State by President Cleveland in 1885, and served 
 during Cleveland Administration ; distinguished as an able official, an 
 eloquent orator, ready debater, and pure-minded statesman of conserva- 
 tive mold; has lived in retiracy since March, 1889. 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 549 
 
 declares that the Government shall act in such cases. But 
 the people are the creators of the Government. The un- 
 daunted apostle of the Christian religion, imprisoned and 
 persecuted, appealing centuries ago to the Roman law and 
 the rights of Roman citizenship, boldly demanded, ‘ Is it 
 lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and un- 
 condemned ? ’ So, too, might we ask, appealing to the law 
 of our land and the laws of civilization, ‘ Is it lawful that 
 these our fellows be imprisoned who are American citizens 
 and uncondemned ?’” 
 
 25 
 
GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK. 
 
 In 1882 the political situation in New York State was 
 peculiar. The Republican managers had nominated a ticket 
 from Governor down, which did not reflect the sentiment 
 of their party. It was believed to be directly in the interest 
 of President Arthur, and to be his attempt to assume, or 
 rather retain, control of the party machinery in the State. 
 Further, the methods resorted to in convention, in order to 
 secure the nomination of favorites, were regarded as unfair 
 and dishonorable. They were tricks, whose results were 
 bound to recoil on their perpetrators. There was a revolt 
 all along the line, and a determination to rebuke a procedure 
 which savored of corruption and punish the principals who 
 expected to find preferment in a resort to it. 
 
 Democratic candidates were not wanting who were anx- 
 ious to take advantage of the situation. They saw in Re- 
 publican schism an opportunity for triumph which was 
 tempting to every adventurer. But the wiser heads of the 
 party saw further than this. And without disparagement to 
 the older, it must be said that the younger elements of the 
 party composed to a large extent these wiser heads. They 
 saw that the Republican candidates — especially Mr. Folger, 
 candidate for Governor — were personally unobjectionable, 
 and that the protest was not so much against men as against 
 the ring methods which secured their nomination and the 
 objects to be gained by such nominations. They also saw 
 that a weak and frivolous Democratic nomination, one made 
 on the pretext that anybody could be elected, would only 
 (550) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 551 
 
 serve to drive back the protesting Republicans into the 
 deserted ranks and endanger the entire situation. Again, 
 they saw that in order to add emphasis to the protest they 
 must present in their candidate an assurance that, if elected, 
 a perfectly pure State administration would ensue. The 
 opportunity they saw was not one for a mere man ; but for 
 their party, the people, the entire State. They knew full 
 well the difficulties attending gubernatorial administration in 
 New York, the traps and pitfalls laid for honest men, the 
 temptations to go astray, the impossibilities, one may say, 
 of a perfectly straight official career, unless the incumbent 
 should come clad in tried armor. 
 
 In looking over the interesting situation, the eyes of the 
 party naturally turned to Grover Cleveland. In many 
 respects the State outlook was like that which preceded his 
 call to the mayoralty of Buffalo. At any rate, they saw in 
 the man who was winning the encomiums of both parties 
 for his straightforward, impartial, and business-like municipal 
 administration, the candidate they wanted for the highest 
 office in the State. His was a character above suspicion at 
 the start, and one which would bear closest scrutiny even 
 under the calcium light of a campaign. He had been tried 
 in the severest of crucial fires, and no element of a success- 
 ful executive had been found wanting. He was known, too, 
 within and without his party. All in all, Cleveland presented 
 in himself and in his record the very guarantee the Democ 
 racy desired for themselves, and also to offer to the Re- 
 publicans. So he was placed on their ticket as candidate 
 for governor against Mr. Folger, one of the best known men 
 in the State, and one of the ablest. 
 
 The campaign was an interesting one from the beginning. 
 The missiles of the enemy flew thick and fast, but failed to 
 wound 01 even hit the Democratic nominee. He grew 
 
552 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 stronger and stronger from the very day of his nomination 
 The enthusiasm his name kindled in his own party held it 
 to a strict allegiance and drew an overflowing support. 
 Study of his character by the protesting Republicans, and 
 favorable knowledge of him, both as a man and official, 
 attracted thousands directly to his standard and led other 
 thousands to show their preference for him over their own 
 nominee by silent acquiescence. Both parties, in the State 
 and nation, were astounded at the result. It could hardly 
 be called popular election — it was rather popular revolution. 
 Never was the wisdom of a nomination so emphatically 
 vindicated. Never did the American people voluntarily 
 tender so lavish an ovation to one whom they honored and 
 trusted. His vote was 535,318, against 342464 for his op- 
 ponent, leaving him a plurality of 192,854, and a clear 
 majority over all opposition of 155,097. The height of the 
 wave which bore the new Governor from his home in the 
 extreme western part of the State to the capital in the ex- 
 treme eastern part, and which strewed hills and valleys 
 with Republican wreckage, was unprecedented in political 
 history. 
 
 The movement which made him governor, like that which 
 had made him mayor, was not of his origination. The office 
 had in both instances sought the man, as it should do in a 
 republic, and as it ever will do where purely unselfish ad- 
 ministration is expected. Nor had he stooped to favor his 
 chances df election. He was in the hands of the people^ 
 and his cause was their cause. 
 
 He was inaugurated, without any ostentatious display, on 
 the first Tuesday of January, 1883. He thoroughly under- 
 stood the political situation, and speedily addressed himself 
 to the reforms which he knew were expected of him. His 
 inaugural was brief, forcible and happy — the duplicate 
 

 
 
 
 iift l Mil tU 
 
 ;j, - j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hon. Charles S. Fairchild. 
 
 Born in Cazenovia, N. Y., April 30, 1842; graduated at Harvard, 
 1803 ; studied law at Harvard Law School and admitted to bar, 1865 ; 
 practiced for several years in firm of Hand, Hale, Swartz & Fairchild; 
 elected Attorney General of New York, as Democrat, 1876; settled in 
 New York city, 1880, and practiced law ; appointed Assistant Secretary 
 of Treasury by President Cleveland in 1885 ; succeeded Daniel Manning 
 as Secretary of Treasury, April 1, 1887 ; an able lawyer and financier, 
 and conspicuous Democratic leader in New York. 
 
 (554) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 $55 
 
 of the man in vigor and sincerity. It meant business. 
 Touching the civil service of the State, he said: 
 
 “ Subordinates in public place should be selected and re- 
 tained for their efficiency, and not because they may be used 
 to accomplish partisan ends. The people have a right to 
 demand here, as in cases of private employment, that their 
 money be paid to those who will render the best service in 
 return, and that the appointment to and tenure of such 
 places should depend upon ability and merit. If the clerks 
 and assistants in public departments were paid the same 
 compensation and required to do the same amount of work 
 as those employed in prudently conducted private establish- 
 ments, the anxiety to hold these public places would be much 
 diminished and the cause of civil-service reform materially 
 aided. The expenditure of money to influence the action of 
 the people at the polls or to secure legislation is calculated to 
 excite the gravest concern. When this pernicious agency 
 is successfully employed a representative form of gov- 
 ernment becomes a sham, and laws passed under its baleful 
 influence cease to protect, but are made the means by which 
 the rights of the people are sacrificed and the public treasury 
 despoiled. It is useless and foolish to shut our eyes to the 
 fact that this evil exists among us, and the party which leads 
 in an honest effort to return to better and purer methods 
 will receive the confidence of our citizens and secure their 
 support. It is willful blindness not to see that the people 
 care but little for party obligations, when they are invoked 
 to countenance and sustain fraudulent and corrupt practices. 
 And it is well for our country and for the purification of 
 politics that the people, at times fully roused to danger, re- 
 mind their leaders that party methods should be something 
 more than a means used to answer the purposes of those 
 who profit by political occupation.” 
 
 The first acts of an executive calculated to invite attention 
 and criticism, as well as to foreshadow the policy of his ad- 
 ministration, are his appointments to office. There is no 
 
556 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 public duty so delicate, none in which mistakes recoil so 
 quickly. It must be set down to Governor Cleveland’s 
 credit that his first appointments were made with rare good 
 judgment. Political friend and foe indorsed them as the 
 wisest selections possible, and saw at once in them an earnest 
 of the kind of administration they had hoped for and been 
 led to expect. 
 
 Two places were of peculiar importance — that of Super- 
 intendent of Public Works and Commissioner of the New 
 Capitol. Public money had been running through these 
 like water through a sieve. They were centres of immense 
 patronage and power, and were consequently much coveted 
 by those who would use them for political purposes. Both 
 offices employed hundreds of men. For each of them 
 Governor Cleveland selected a man fitted by practice and 
 special knowledge to do the required work. They were 
 both outspoken, square-dealing experts in the business they 
 were called upon to conduct. After their appointment the 
 ugly rumors of corruption which formerly centred about 
 their places were hushed, and the people were satisfied that 
 order and economy prevailed where once all was confusion, 
 extravagance and distrust. 
 
 All other appointments were characterized by the same 
 independence and close discernment of fitness and charac- 
 ter. In so far as these acts could contribute to energy and 
 purity of administration, it was manifest that Governor 
 Cleveland was bound to prove an exceptional executive, 
 that he had within him a probity, fearlessness and business 
 address before which the better sentiment of the State must 
 bow with respect. 
 
 It must not be supposed that he escaped the vulgar crit- 
 icism of those who could not use him for their ambitious 
 and corrupt purposes. No great, unselfish, direct, single- 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 557 
 
 purposed man can act either his business or political part 
 without incurring the opposition, and even inviting the cen- 
 sure, of the smaller and narrower herd who delight in dis- 
 traction and feed on enmities. The measure of admiration 
 for Governor Cleveland, while a candidate before the Chicago 
 Convention, was well expressed by a prominent delegate 
 who said, “ I love the man for the enemies he has made.” 
 It is not complimentary to our political society to feel that 
 true greatness is often an invitation for envious discrimina- 
 tion and malignant attack. Yet we fear it must be accepted 
 as true that those virtues which we most seek and prize in 
 public men are the very ones whose persistent exercise pro- 
 voke the bitterest hostility of the tricky and unconscionable 
 few. Out of the million voters of the Empire State, only a 
 modicum of mere trading politicians chose to withhold their 
 admiration for Governor Cleveland’s energetic and business- 
 like policy, as foreshadowed and proved by his executive 
 appointments. He showed in them all a keen analysis of 
 character and a knowledge of official fitness which were in 
 the highest degree complimentary. In every instance the 
 result proved the wisdom of his choice, and in no respect 
 has his administration been more powerfully vindicated. 
 
 In attention to the details of legislation Governor Cleve- 
 land proved himself constant, guarded and thoughtful. His 
 messages, models of terseness and vigor, were laden with 
 clear-cut, practical advice, so that even the most wayward 
 could not mistake his spirit and meaning. It may well be 
 questioned whether any State administration ever crowded 
 into so brief a space so many substantial and far-reaching 
 reforms. And what is more worthy of note, this monu- 
 mental work was marred in but few places by idle, irrelevant 
 and impracticable legislation, owing to his watchfulness and 
 free use of the veto power. 
 
55S 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 Perhaps his administration was expected to achieve most 
 in the way of reforms in the government of New York city. 
 If judged by their extent and importance, it was wonderfully 
 successful, and too much credit cannot be given the execu- 
 tive through whose agency they were effected. In urging 
 and fostering them he had to combat an element in his own 
 party, which had all along been defiant of interference. 
 But the seven reform bills relating to the city went through 
 and received his approval all the same. The autocratic 
 power of the old Board of Aldermen was smashed, the 
 princely incomes of county officers were cut down to re- 
 spectable salaries, the political atmosphere was purified, a 
 freer and better ballot was promised. No more difficult task 
 ever lay before an executive. He was compelled to brave 
 an opposition at once political and personal, clamorous and 
 slanderous, malignant and threatening. He never swerved 
 for a moment, but went right on. Let it be written that 
 what fifty years of effort on the part of a score of governors 
 failed to achieve for New York city was accomplished by 
 Governor Cleveland in a single year of energetic, fearless 
 and consistent administration. 
 
 The general features of his administration were no less 
 acceptable to the people and creditable to the man and of- 
 ficial. He vetoed the “ Five-Cent-Car-Fare-Bill,” of which 
 veto the New York Tribune said : — 
 
 “ The message containing his reasons for so doing is 
 straightforward and forcible, and we believe will be pro- 
 nounced sound by most of those who have been strenuous 
 in their demands for a reduction of fares on the elevated 
 roads. His objections to the measure are of a serious 
 nature. He argues that to suffer it to become a law would 
 mean the impairment of the obligation of a contract, involv- 
 
GROVkR CLEVELAND. 55^ 
 
 ing a breach of faith and a betrayal of confidence by the 
 State.” 
 
 He vetoed the “ Mechanic’s Lien Bill,” a carelessly drawn 
 bill, ostensibly in the interest of the working man, but as he 
 showed in his veto message, really in the interest of lawyers 
 and court-hangers-on. The gist of the veto was as follows : — 
 “ The bill repeals in distinct terms a number of mechanics’ 
 lien laws, including one specially applicable to the city of 
 New York. I notice two features which I think objection- 
 able enough to warrant me in declining to sign it. First, it 
 gives all parties having claims four months after performance 
 of work or furnishing of material to file a lien. Second, it 
 allows on proceedings to enforce the lien the same costs as 
 in foreclosure cases. This would be quite onerous, and, I 
 think, should not be allowed.” 
 
 He vetoed the “ Twelve-Hours-Bill,” which was designed 
 to limit the day of street car employes to twelve hours. His 
 reasoning was thus : — 
 
 “ It is distinctly and palpably class legislation, in that it 
 only applies to conductors and drivers on horse railroads. 
 It does not prohibit the making of a contract for any number 
 of hours’ work, I think, and if it does, it is an interference 
 with the employes’ as well as employers’ rights. If the car- 
 drivers and conductors work fewer hours they must receive 
 less pay, and this bill does not prevent that. I cannot think 
 that this bill is in the interest of the workingman.” 
 
 The Public Worship bill was one granting permission to 
 the Catholic clergy to hold services at the House of Refuge, 
 on Randall’s Island. This bill he never vetoed. It only 
 passed one branch of the Assembly, and therefore never 
 reached the Governor. Of the Catholic Protectory bill, his 
 failure to approve which was harshly used against him, there 
 can be but one opinion. It appropriated #30,000 to improve 
 
560 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 the sewerage of the Catholic Protectory, built by the church 
 in Westchester county for the reception and reform of young 
 men and women sent there by magistrates of the surround- 
 ing counties. The laws of the State prevented the use of 
 public moneys for sectarian uses. The fate of the bill would 
 have been the same had the institution been Presbyterian, 
 Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, or that of any other 
 denomination. He was merely keeping his oath to observe 
 and execute the laws. 
 
 Much account was made at the time of his veto of the 
 “ Tenure of Office Bill.” The fact is the bill was glaringly 
 defective, and the most pronounced friends of the bill ad- 
 mitted as much after its defects were pointed out in the veto 
 message. 
 
 Such is the peculiarity of executive function that of the 
 hundreds of bills signed and which enure to the general 
 good we hear nothing. It is those which are vetoed which 
 damn or praise an executive, because these are the ones 
 which embrace some current thought, too often the outcrop 
 of passion, or too frequently the embodiment of something 
 evanescent. It must be conceded that no executive ever 
 made freer use of the veto power than Governor Cleveland. 
 But, all in all, his use of the veto power proved discreet and 
 was sanctioned by intelligent popular approval. His mes- 
 sages were all well-studied, clear-cut papers, evidences of 
 exhaustive analysis of measures and deep research respect- 
 ing them, and assurances of the most impartial motive and 
 deepest rectitude of intention. Judged by his vetoes alone, 
 his administration not only attracted the widest approval 
 but stood unparalleled for its vigor and consistency. A 
 feeble man, one without the true executive instinct, would 
 have quailed before corrupting pressure or unreasoning 
 clamor, and often given sanction to measures which his 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 561 
 
 inner conscience disapproved. But Grover Cleveland moved 
 on a highly conscientious plane, regardless of partisan appeal, 
 brutal threat or slanderous arrow, never counting the bear- 
 ing his conduct might have on his personal or political 
 fortune, apparently bound only to the discharge of a duty 
 he owed to the whole people. There is observable at every 
 turn of his executive career stern adhesion to the cardinal 
 principles that preserved and honored his youth and gave 
 him a firm foothold among his fellow-citizens as an humble 
 attorney. His scrutiny of every bill was close, and attended 
 with a sharp legal insight. As he had been his own coun- 
 sellor while mayor, so he was really his own Attorney- 
 General while Governor. His vetoes stood every test ap- 
 plied to them, and not one rejected bill was passed over his 
 protest. Many bills were returned because improperly and 
 loosely drawn. These, when amended so as to be no longer 
 inconsequential or mere deadwood accumulations on the 
 statute books, he afterwards approved. Whether in signing 
 bills or rejecting them he bestowed a diligence, patience, 
 and competent inquiry which have elicited the warmest 
 esteem of the fair-minded people of the State. They looked 
 upon him as a strong, determined, unselfish man in whom, 
 as executive, there was full security. It was this very sense 
 of security that put him in the minds of the people as 
 candidate for President, and made him so successful a 
 nominee. 
 
 It must not be imagined that his tenacity of principle and 
 disregard of consequences made him indifferent or conserva- 
 tive. On the contrary he was ever alive to surroundings, 
 watchful of the movements of public sentiment, and at the 
 front as a progressist, whether the column was political, so- 
 cial or moral. The Civil Service Act for the State of New 
 York, a miniature of the system soon after adopted by thq 
 
 I 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 & 
 
 General Government, received his unqualified sanction. 
 Of the same spirit were the Reform bills for New York city, 
 and numberless others to mention which would be tiresome 
 and unprofitable. 
 
 The personal and business habits of Grover Cleveland as 
 governor were those the public were to become more fa- 
 miliar with in higher station. The “bachelor governor” 
 as he was then facetiously called was of height above the 
 average, broad-shouldered and commanding, with a decided 
 tendency toward corpulency. His face was regular, clear 
 cut, strong and handsome. It was then, and for reasons 
 the reader will readily appreciate, still more now a paternal 
 face, being reserved yet genial, firm yet kind, dignified yet 
 not distant. His business manner was and is brusque yet 
 simple, precisely that required for promptitude and dispatch. 
 His social mood is pleasing and assuring after the formali- 
 ties of introduction. When not pressed with business care 
 he is open to all comers, and the rag-picker and the prince 
 find his hand equally extended. Notwithstanding his avoir- 
 dupois he is of nervous temperament, and by dint of study 
 and self-control finds himself easy in society and calm in 
 emergency. His complexion is neither ruddy nor light, his 
 hair is brown, slightly inclined to gray, and his massive, 
 shapely head begins to plead guilty to baldness. When 
 governor, he was a persistent walker, and made the distance 
 of half a mile between his residence and the capitol, daily on 
 foot, both ways. As President this was turned into horse- 
 back riding. 
 
 During the whole term of his gubernatorial career, he was 
 the subject of persistent misrepresentation by the Tammany 
 organization of New York city. That organization tried to 
 use him for its purposes, and in more than one instance 
 courted hostility. But it never succeeded in drawing the 
 
Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar. 
 
 Born in Putnam co., Ga., September 1, 1825 ; graduated at Emory Col- 
 lege, 1845 ; admitted to Macon bar, 1847 ; professor in Univ. of Mississippi, 
 1849 ; resumed practice of law in Covington, Ga. ; elected to Georgia 
 Legislature, 1853-54; returned to Mississippi and settled on plantation 
 in Lafayette; elected to Congress, 1857-1859; resigned to take seat in 
 Secession Convention ; entered Confederate army ; after war, elected 
 professor in Mississippi University; re-elected to Congress, 1872 and 
 1874; elected to U. S. Senate, 1877; selected Secretary of Interior by 
 President Cleveland, 1885 ; appointed a Judge of U. S. Supreme Court, 
 1887. 
 
 ( 563 ) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 565 
 
 broad-minded and astute governor within its toils. In the 
 instance of Senator Grady, the pressure became so strong 
 that the governor was forced to establish publicly his posi- 
 tion. This he did in a letter which reads as follows : — 
 
 Executive Chamber, Albany, October 20, 1883. — Hon. 
 John Kelly — My dear Sir : It is not without hesitation that 
 I write this. I have determined to do so, however, because 
 I see no reason why I should not be entirely frank with you. 
 I am anxious that Mr. Grady should not be returned to the 
 next Senate. I do not wish to conceal the fact that my 
 personal comfort and satisfaction are involved in this matter. 
 But I know that good legislation, based upon a pure desire 
 to promote the interests of the people, and the improvement 
 of legislative methods are also deeply involved. I forbear 
 to write in detail of the other considerations having relation 
 to the welfare of the party and the approval to be secured 
 by a change for the better in the character of its represen- 
 tatives. These things will occur to you without sugges- 
 tion from me. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Grover Cleveland. 
 
 No comment on this is needed, except that somebody mis- 
 took Governor Cleveland’s unalterable purpose to have 
 “ good legislation ” and “ improvement of legislative 
 methods ” in New York city as well as elsewhere. 
 
 / 
 
 1 
 
/ 
 
 J 
 
 V. 
 
 CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 
 
 Long before the meeting of the Chicago Convention, July 
 8, 1884, indications pointed to Governor Cleveland as the 
 proper Democratic nominee for President. The political 
 situation was such as to make New York a pivotal State in 
 the Presidential contest. His fame as an executive had 
 gone abroad in the land. He had the prestige of unprece- 
 dented majority in his favor when he carried off the honors 
 of Governor. He, more than any other man spoken of, was 
 the embodiment of all the great qualities which combined 
 in the formation of an ideal leader. He typed the instincts 
 and sentiments of a younger Democracy who loved his in- 
 dependence of character, his sterling methods, his sublime 
 mastery of circumstances. He stood for what the older 
 Democracy most cherished, adherence to patriotic tradition, 
 plain, common sense devotion to principle, economic and 
 business-like execution of high official trust. There was 
 only one ripple in the current running toward his nomina- 
 tion. That was occasioned by the Tammany pebble at the 
 bottom of the stream. There the stream murmured, but 
 ran rapidly on, its murmur a laugh. 
 
 The convention was thoroughly representative of the 
 Democratic party. As the presiding officer, Col. William 
 F. Vilas, said, — “ The convention was the greatest and most 
 magnificent council of freemen ever assembled on the face 
 of God’s round globe. For three days it listened to a 4 pro- 
 found debate from the greatest speakers in the country’ 
 upon the various candidates, and the point of order was 
 ( 566 ) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 567 
 
 justly raised that it was contrary to the rules governing the 
 convention to thus discuss the candidates, but it was unani- 
 mously voted by the convention that the freest discussion 
 should be permitted, in order to develop all the facts obtain- 
 able. The debate of three days left no doubt in the minds 
 of the delegates as to whom the choice of the convention 
 should be.” 
 
 It was particularly noteworthy that amid all the caucus- 
 ing for rival candidates, amid the arguments educed for 
 favorites from respective States and sections, amid the formal 
 presentation of names to the convention, no Democratic 
 orator of high and unquestioned standing in his party ever 
 spoke a derogatory word of Governor Cleveland or ex- 
 pressed a doubt of the propriety and fitness of his nomina^ 
 tion. It is equally noteworthy that the magic of his name 
 was such as to hold his State delegation as a unit and turn 
 every malignant attempt to break it into an argument and 
 inspiration in his behalf. 
 
 At 3.55 p. m. of July 9, 1884, Mr. Lockwood, New York, 
 took the platform to place in nomination the name of 
 Grover Cleveland. He did this in an eloquent speech, in 
 which he said : — - 
 
 “ The responsibility which he felt was made greater when 
 he remembered that the richest pages of American history 
 had been made up from the records of Democratic adminis- 
 trations, and remembered that the outrage of 1876 was still 
 unavenged. No man had a greater respect than he for the 
 honored names presented to the convention, but the world 
 was moving, and new men, who had participated but little 
 in politics, were coming to the front. Three years ago he 
 had the honor in the city of Buffalo to present the name of 
 the same gentleman for the office of Mayor. Without hesi- 
 tation the name of Grover Cleveland had been accepted as 
 the candidate. [Applause in fhe galleries and delegations.] 
 
568 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 “ The result of that election and of the holding of that 
 office was that in less than nine months the State of New 
 York found itself in a position to want such a candidate, 
 and when in the Convention of 1882 his name was presented 
 for the office of Governor of the State of New York the 
 same class of people knew that that meant honest govern- 
 ment ; that it meant pure government ; that it meant Demo- 
 cratic government, and it was ratified. Now the State of 
 New York came and asked that there be given to the Inde- 
 pendent and Democratic voters of the country — the young 
 men of the country, the new blood of the country — the 
 name of Grover Cleveland.” 
 
 The nomination was eloquently seconded by Harrison of 
 Illinois and Jones of Minnesota. 
 
 The first ballot was had on the night of the 10th. The 
 friends of Governor Cleveland had computed his strength 
 at 397 votes. Their count proved to be exceedingly close, 
 for as the ballot showed he commanded 392 votes. His 
 opponents were such illustrious men as Thomas F. Bayard, 
 Joseph E. McDonald, John G. Carlisle, Allen G. Thurman, 
 Samuel J. Randall, George E. Hoadley and George A. Hen- 
 dricks. 
 
 On the second ballot he easily forged ahead of all oppo- 
 nents and obtained 683 votes out of a total of 820, with 
 547 to nominate. The motion to make his nomination 
 unanimous was carried without dissent. The news of Gov- 
 ernor Cleveland’s nomination was received with demonstra- 
 tions of delight by the Democratic party and by the inde- 
 pendent element of the Republican party. Party newspapers 
 in general spoke of it as a hopeful and proper political step. 
 Large ratification meetings were improvised in city and 
 village, at which great enthusiasm prevailed, and from which 
 proceeded hearty endorsement of the convention’s action. 
 What is known as the independent, or bolting Republican 
 

 
 Ifct titfiUSf 
 
 OF T8E 
 
 KS’ailiY .v M 
 
 
Hon. William C. Whitney. 
 
 Born in Conway, Mass,, July 15,1841; graduated at Yale, 1863; 
 graduated at Harvard Law School, 1865; continued study of law in 
 New York city and admitted to bar there ; prominent member of 
 Young Men’s Democratic Club; conspicuous for activity against 
 '* Tweed Ring; ” Inspector City Schools, 1872 ; candidate of Reformed 
 Democracy for District Attorney and defeated ; appointed Corporation 
 Counsel for New York city, 1876-80; reputed to have saved the city 
 large sums by resisting fraudulent claims ; resigned office, 1882 ; ap- 
 pointed Secretary of Navy by President Cleveland, March 5, 1885; re- 
 ceived degree of LL. D. from Yale, 1888; advocate of a new navy, and 
 made this a conspicuous feature of his administration. 
 
 ( 57 °) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 57i 
 
 press, was, if anything, more encomiastic than the regular 
 Democratic press. 
 
 Papers like the New York Times , the Evening Post , Har- 
 per's Weekly and Philadelphia Ledger echoed the following 
 sentiment, copied from the last named : 
 
 “ Governor Cleveland has shown through the whole of 
 his life, private and public, from boyhood to his present dis- 
 tinction, that he has the sterling qualities befitting the 
 exalted office of Chief Executive of the United States. It 
 is the highest function of that office to administer the laws 
 with an eye single to the public welfare. Our Government 
 has been tersely described as ‘ of the people, by the people, 
 and for the people.’ No eminent public man has exhibited 
 a better understanding of that definition of the American 
 government than Grover Cleveland ; none has exemplified 
 it better than he has in his performance of public duty, and 
 but few, very few indeed, have exemplified it so well. His 
 guiding characteristics have been loyalty to duty, courage 
 in the discharge of it, and the best and most faithful per- 
 formance of it within his power. These are strong words ; 
 strong because they are true.” 
 
 Governor Cleveland received the news of his nomination 
 with entire equanimity. He had not shown himself ambi- 
 tious of the honors, had done nothing directly to secure 
 them. They came as a free-will offering, and by virtue of 
 a record made in the path of duty. He would not have 
 been disappointed had the Convention in its wisdom seen fit 
 to similarly honor some one else. Yet he did not shirk the 
 responsibilities which he knew were inseparable from can- 
 didacy, nor fail to announce himself as gratified with his 
 political preference. 
 
 The nomination of Governor Cleveland for the Presidency 
 was fittingly followed in Convention by the nomination of 
 that sterling old Democrat, Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indi- 
 26 
 
572 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 ana, for the Vice-Presidency. These two made a ticket 
 which proved a source of inspiration to the party. Even if 
 it at first failed to awaken the enthusiasm provoked by the 
 Republican leaders, Blaine and Logan, it had better staying 
 powers. Geographically it was a tower of strength, for Mr. 
 Cleveland represented the fighting-ground in the East, 
 while Mr. Hendricks represented it in the West. Both 
 candidates were thus at an advantage which it would require 
 more than personal magnetism and campaign clatter on the 
 part of opponents to overcome. 
 
 The Convention backed up these able candidates with an 
 admirable platform, and the campaign of 1884 was duly 
 opened. Cleveland and Hendricks had not only to con- 
 tend with the Republican nominees, who were both strong 
 and brilliant campaignists, backed by a party which had 
 won victories for twenty-four years and with all the patron- 
 age of the government in its control, but with that veteran 
 campaignist, B. F. Butler, who headed the Labor ticket, and 
 St. John, who headed the Prohibitionists. The campaign 
 at first took a vicious, personal turn, but this diversion soon 
 spent its force and the more serious questions involved came 
 to the surface. At this point Cleveland’s reform record 
 in New York came mightily to his aid. His career had 
 been brief, to be sure, but it had also been one of consistency 
 and persistency, and admiration for it proved a wall which 
 could not be shaken by the enemy’s batteries. He held 
 his party throughout one of the most heated campaigns 
 known to American history, and his strength was con- 
 stantly augmented by accessions from the Republican 
 ranks, all of whom claimed to see in him the embodiment 
 of the reform spirit which seemed to be abroad in the land. 
 In the very last stages of what every political observer felt 
 to be a desperate battle, when the scales of victory were 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 573 
 
 tipping now this way and now that, the Republican candi- 
 date tried the effect of his powerful personalism directly on 
 New York State, to which the contest had, by common 
 consent, narrowed. It is not worth while to inquire how 
 much this attempt was worth, nor whether it lost or won 
 the battle. Speculation is out of place in the face of figures. 
 The official returns of New York showed a plurality of 
 1,047 votes for Cleveland and Hendricks, which assured 
 them twenty out of the thirty-eight States, a majority of 
 thirty-seven votes in the electoral college and a popular 
 vote of 4,911,017, as against 4,848,334 for Blaine and 
 Logan. 
 
 It thus passed to the credit of Grover Cleveland that he 
 headed the ticket which won the first Presidential victory 
 for his party in twenty-four years, and that, too, against the 
 one man whom the Republican party claimed to be invin- 
 cible. Not only this, the victory was a political revolution 
 which even enthusiasts of his own party thought to be im- 
 possible a few months before, so strongly were the Repub- 
 licans entrenched in power and so skilful were they in party 
 manipulation. 
 
 But while the national election brought to Cleveland, 
 Hendricks and the Democratic party a great victory, it 
 brought also a responsibility which the party had never 
 before been called upon to meet, for not only parties, but 
 the nation had made great strides forward since the days of 
 President Buchanan. How would the new President and 
 Vice-President meet this responsibility ? Would they prove 
 safe guardians of the greatest and gravest public trust in the' 
 world ? Would they honor themselves, their party, the 
 people at large, our American institutions ? Unfortunately, 
 the Vice-President did not live long enough (he died No- 
 vember 25, 1885) to contribute much by counsel to the 
 
574 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 success of the administration, of which he was an honored 
 part. But, fortunately, the elections of the year 1884 gave 
 to the lower house of Congress a majority of Democrats. 
 The new President could find in this fact a source of en- 
 couragement. With or without these, however, he would 
 move boldly and confidently forward in the line of duty, as 
 he had moved before, and trust to the honest sentiment of 
 his countrymen for appreciative support. 
 
Hon. A. H. Garland. 
 
 Born in Tipton co., Tenn., June 11, 1832; moved to Arkansas when 
 young; educated at St. Mary’s College, Ky., and St. Joseph’s College, 
 Ky. ; admitted to Arkansas bar, 1853 ; moved to Little Rock, 1856 ; a 
 Bell-Everett elector, 1860; opposed Secession, but went with his State; 
 a delegate to First Confederate Congress ; elected to Confederate Senate ; 
 admitted to practice in U. S. Supreme Court without taking “ oath of 
 allegiance,” 1867; elected to U. S. Senate, 1867, but seat refused; 
 elected Governor of Arkansas, as Democrat, 1874 ; elected to U. S. 
 Senate, 1876, and re-elected in 1882; appointed Attorney General by 
 President Cleveland, March 5, 1885. 
 
 ( 576 ) 
 
VII. 
 
 CLEVELAND’S ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 FORTY-NINTH AND FIFTIETH CONGRESSES. 
 
 President Cleveland was inaugurated on March 4, 1885, 
 amid ceremonies which were truly national. The throng 
 of visitors at the National Capitol was estimated at half a 
 million. Inauguration day was auspicious in its spring-like 
 brightness and balm. Flags floated from all the public 
 buildings and the spacious avenues were gay with decora- 
 tions. The procession was the largest of a civic nature that 
 had ever passed over Pennsylvania avenue, and the military 
 escort, made up of battalions from the various States, was 
 exceeded only by the great reviews which took place at the 
 close of the Civil War in 1865. The objective* point was 
 first the Senate Chamber and then the grand plaza in front 
 of the Capitol, where 200,000 people awaited the inaugural. 
 As soon as silence could be commanded President Cleve- 
 land delivered his inaugural in such a rich, clear voice that 
 it was heard by nearly all in that vast assemblage. When 
 he had finished he turned to Chief-Justice Waite and said: 
 “ I am now ready to take the oath prescribed by law.” The 
 Chief-Justice held in his hand a small Bible which had been 
 given to Mr. Cleveland by his mother when he had started 
 to seek his fortune in the world. Placing his right hand on 
 this he received the oath of office and then kissed the sacred 
 
 ( 577 ) 
 
578 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 book, his lips touching verses 5-10, inclusive, of the 112th 
 Psalm. 
 
 Then those on the platform congratulated the President, 
 the multitude made the welkin ring with cheers, a hundred 
 bands played “ Hail to the Chief/’ and the cannon at the 
 navy yard and arsenal thundered forth the “ Presidential 
 salute.” The procession re-formed, with President Cleve- 
 land at its head. It marched to the White House, where 
 the President took the grand stand and reviewed the im- 
 mense procession as it passed by for three long hours. In 
 the evening came fireworks and the inauguration ball, par- 
 ticipated in by 10,000 people. This was regarded as a fitting 
 close to the brilliant ceremonies of the day. 
 
 In the President’s brief and chaste inaugural he pledged 
 himself and his administration to a close observance of the 
 Constitution and laws ; to peace, commerce and honest 
 friendship with all nations and entangling alliances with 
 none ; to care for the public domain and fair treatment of 
 the Indians; to rigid enforcement of the laws against polyg- 
 amy and the immigration of foreign servile classes ; to strict 
 execution of the civil service laws on the principle an- 
 nounced in his letter of acceptance, that public office is a 
 public trust; to limitation of public expenditure to actual 
 needs of government. The document was a plain statement 
 of the President’s views, and was satisfying in every respect. 
 It gave promise that he would launch his administration on 
 broad and safe waters, and would not dare that which was 
 entirely novel, brilliant and startling. He preferred to be 
 reposeful rather than dashing, sure of his ground rather 
 than take chances in a sudden rush for notoriety over sur- 
 faces which had not been surveyed and mapped by political 
 pioneers. 
 
 During his first months in office President Cleveland pro- 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 579 
 
 ceeded quietly and cautiously toward the adoption of a pol- 
 icy and purpose. He examined every situation with care, 
 and perhaps gave closer personal attention to routine work 
 than any predecessor in the high office. He was young, 
 vigorous in mind and body and a lover of detail. He had 
 surrounded himself with the following admirable Cabinet, 
 which was regarded as happily chosen and thoroughly rep- 
 resentative of the best interests of his party and the country 
 at large : 
 
 Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard, Del. 
 
 Secretary of Treasury Daniel Manning, N. Y. 
 
 Secretary of War Wm. C. Endicott, Mass. 
 
 Secretary of Navy Wm. C. Whitney, N. Y. 
 
 Secretary of Interior L. Q. C. Lamar, Miss. 
 
 Attorney-General Aug. H. Garland, Ark. 
 
 Postmaster- General Wm. F. Vilas, Wis. 
 
 This was a body of counsellors in which any administra- 
 tion might place the utmost confidence. He was no less 
 fortunate in having for his private secretary Colonel Daniel 
 S. Lamont, who had served him faithfully in that capacity 
 when he was Governor and who had such a comprehensive 
 knowledge of public men and political life as is vouchsafed 
 to few. The possessor of great personal urbanity, always 
 clear-headed, very reticent, especially concerning executive 
 affairs, he was emphatically the “ right man in the right 
 place.” 
 
 From the date of inauguration to the opening of the 
 Forty-ninth Congress, Dec. 7, 1885, the administration of 
 President Cleveland moved smoothly and satisfactorily along. 
 His message to that Congress was waited for with anxiety 
 by the country, as his first opportunity for presenting in 
 detail a plan of administration. The document proved to 
 be a lengthy but very worthy State paper, embracing in the 
 
5&0 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 main three distinct points — the silver question, the tariff and 
 civil service, with brief discussion of the Indian problem, 
 commercial treaties, Mormonism, the navy, and other cur- 
 rent subjects. He disapproved of further coinage of the 
 Bland dollar, advised conservative action respecting the 
 tariff, gave much dignified and courageous advice relative 
 to civil service. The nation was pleased with such outline 
 of administration as the message promised, and it was es- 
 pecially lauded by the independent Republicans who had 
 supported him for office. 
 
 He found in the House a Democratic majority which was 
 in thorough accord with him, and many special champions 
 in the Senate. However smoothly a new administration 
 may run while the Congress is not in session, it cannot ex- 
 pect to escape criticism and antagonism when brought into 
 close contact with the legislative body of the land, espe- 
 cially if all, or a part of it, be of the opposition. The 
 Senate was Republican, and its first duty was to pass on the 
 numerous nominations of the President. A hitch occurred 
 almost at the start, when the Senate asked for sight of the 
 recommendations on which the President had based some 
 of his important appointments, and also of papers on which 
 he had based his removals. He regarded them as personal 
 papers, and the Attorney-General sustained his refusal to 
 show them. The Senate took an opposite view, but the 
 affair was so adjusted as not to interfere greatly with the 
 serenity of either the President or Senators. 
 
 The first session of the Forty-ninth Congress lasted till 
 Aug. 5, 1886. It accomplished but little to affect the coun- 
 try or the status of parties. Looked in upon critically, the 
 administration of President Cleveland had thus far been 
 plain, straightforward and unmomentous. Peace and pros- 
 perity reigned, and the political revolution of 1884 had 
 
GROVER CIvKVEIyAND. 
 
 58r 
 
 brought none of the disasters so freely prophesied by 
 croakers. It was to some extent true that Mr. Cleveland’s 
 own party had not profited as much as it desired from his 
 administration. But he could well afford to face this situa- 
 tion, for the utmost that could be laid to his discredit was 
 the exercise of prudence in changing from one set of office- 
 holders to another, and the bringing to bear severe discrim- 
 ination in making up his mind as to the qualifications of 
 those who should represent him. If the resolve to have a 
 safe administration did not suit a few hot-heads who would 
 have overturned everything and brought disgrace on the 
 party, he was not greatly disturbed about it, but went on his 
 cautious way, sure of the fact that the end would vindicate 
 his procedure. 
 
 The second session of the Forty-ninth Congress, which 
 met Dec. 6, 1886, gave the President another opportunity to 
 present his views to the country in an annual message. 
 The interim had been signalized by nothing of political mo- 
 ment except a more pronounced desire on the part of Demo- 
 crats who favored tariff revision to accomplish something in 
 that direction during the pending session. The Congres- 
 sional elections had been held and, from whatever cause, 
 there had been a diminution of the Democratic majority in 
 the House. President Cleveland delivered a message which 
 was much more vigorous and pointed than his former one. 
 In it he urged upon his party the necessity for taking a de- 
 cided step in favor of tariff revision, and a reduction of the 
 surplus. He was as emphatic as before in his objections to 
 compulsory coinage, and the longer continuance of internal 
 taxes. He had been harshly criticised by his opponents for 
 numerous vetoes of bills conferring pensions in exceptional 
 cases. These vetoes he ably defended, because the class of 
 legislation against which they were aimed was one which 
 
5S2 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 was dangerous in principle and calculated to open the doors 
 to extravagance and corruption. The message evinced a 
 determination on the President’s part to secure, in so far as 
 he could, a greater amount of legislation than the first 
 session of the Forty-ninth Congress had given to the coun- 
 try. He was now well grounded in popular regard, had a 
 full understanding of national and party wants, and felt that 
 he could afford to make his advice emphatic. The result 
 was that at this short session the Congress did an immense 
 amount of work, and settled many pressing questions. The 
 Anti-Polygamy act was passed ; one redeeming Trade Dol- 
 lars ; regulating the Electoral Count, and repealing the 
 Tenure of Office law. But for the fact that the Democrats 
 in the House were divided on the questions of tariff revi- 
 sion, internal taxation, and reduction of the surplus in the 
 treasury, all the important measures urged in his message 
 would have been enacted into laws, and their beneficial re- 
 sults given to the country. 
 
 Thus ended the first two years of President Cleveland’s 
 administration. He had been singularly successful in recon- 
 ciling the country to the political change which came about 
 with the advent of his party to power. Antagonisms had 
 been avoided by a wise use of his functions. He had made 
 no foolish haste, had done everything conscientiously and 
 for the best, had met on every hand the expectations of 
 those who contributed to his election. Better than all he 
 had not lost the best wishes of his political opponents to 
 see him successful in his administration of national affairs. 
 At times it was felt on all sides that he was bigger, braver, 
 and more advanced than his party, and 'that this would, in 
 the end, prove a greater source of danger to his success 
 than attacks from without. But he had the sagacity to 
 ward off all harm in this direction by choosing his ground 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 583 
 
 well, taking bold and firm stands without appearing to be 
 arbitrary or dictatorial, and then patiently waiting for the 
 sober, second thought of his followers. He thus grew upon 
 them, as it were, and without any spirit of assumption or 
 attempt at cross-purposes, came to be recognized as one 
 abundantly worthy of entire confidence and admirably 
 equipped for safe and victorious leadership. 
 
 As party lines began to shape up for the contest of 1888, 
 President Cleveland’s administration naturally passed under 
 closer scrutiny by his political opponents. He could hardly 
 expect to escape that small, invidious criticism which every 
 trifling official error and every slight departure from the 
 usual course of things are too apt to provoke in this country, 
 and which is none to the credit of our newsmongers and 
 partisan writers. Thus his veto of what was known as the 
 Dependent Pension Bill, though based on grounds which 
 every impartial man will, almost at a glance, regard as ten- 
 able, was heralded as evidence of his opposition to the 
 soldier element. This was both unfair and unjust, and it 
 did not take long for the better second thought of the coun- 
 try to come to the President’s vindication. There was an- 
 other outburst of the same sentiment when the order to “ re- 
 turn the rebel flags ” was issued. But when it appeared 
 that the order was really that of a subordinate, and that it 
 was countermanded by the President as soon as its true na- 
 ture became known, full credit was given to him for recti- 
 tude of intention. 
 
 But with _ . ciicae annoyances there was a broader and 
 fairer field of criticism to encounter. This he did not fear; 
 this, indeed, he would invite, in so far as a perfectly straight 
 and fearless course proved an invitation. Aggressiveness 
 was never a part of President Cleveland’s organization, yet 
 he was not a man to stand still. He saw the political situa- 
 
584 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 tion of 1884 as plainly as any man could. The things 
 which contributed to his own and Democratic success in 
 that year — the mistrust of the party in power, the personal 
 antagonism to its candidate, the general desire for political 
 change — could not contribute to the same end again. Party 
 success a second time must depend on a record made, on 
 something done, on confidence inspired, on a grand affirma- 
 tive position to be stoutly maintained. How could this 
 standpoint be reached ? Clearly not by the reposeful, nega- 
 tive methods which were so well adapted to the first two 
 years of his administration. There must be a change, more 
 action, for, as the legend on the ruins of Dendera hath it, 
 “ action is life.” It was to this end that he almost scolded 
 the second session of the Forty-ninth Congress for its inert- 
 ness during the first and long session — the session of oppor- 
 tunity. He would not scold, or urge, or plead again, but, 
 as was justly his place, he would present a clear issue, 
 would father a central thought, would ask his party and the 
 nation to take something definite in hand for its own good. 
 
 In writing the life of President Cleveland it is not neces- 
 sary to go into an analysis of parties. It is sufficiently un- 
 derstood that the doctrine of Protection is fostered by the 
 Republican party through and by means of the tariff laws, 
 and that such doctrine has become cardinal with the party. 
 It is just as well understood that the Democratic party has 
 never accepted this doctrine in its entirety, but has acqui- 
 esced in it as a means of raising revenue when necessary, 
 and has always claimed that, the necessity passed, the tariff 
 laws should be revised, and tariff rates reduced, the same 
 as with any other tax laws. In the opinion of many Demo- 
 cratic leaders of thought, which opinion Mr. Cleveland 
 shared, the excess of income over expenditures, and the ac- 
 cumulation of an unnecessary surplus of public money in the 
 
Hon. William C. Endicott. 
 
 Born in Salem, Mass., November 26, 1826 ; educated in Salem 
 schools and graduated from Harvard, 1847 ; studied law and admitted 
 to Essex County Bar; practiced profession to 1873, in firm of Perry & 
 Endicott ; appointed, 1873, by Governor of State, to Judgeship on Su- 
 preme Bench of Massachusetts ; continued on bench till 1882, when he 
 resigned his commission ; appointed Secretary of War by President 
 Cleveland, March, 1885, and remained in office till 1889 ; resumed 
 practice of law, and continues to date; recognized as an able jurist and 
 excellent statesman. 
 
 (58 S ) 
 

 
 
 
 UM»a*iIY 3f mswu 
 
 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 587 
 
 national treasury, afforded an excellent argument and made 
 the time propitious for declaring a policy which looked 
 toward both tariff and internal tax reduction, and which 
 should at the same time answer for a more definite declara- 
 tion of party principles than had been the custom in National 
 Conventions and platforms. While the desire to do this 
 had long existed on the part of many prominent Democrats, 
 no one seemed bold enough, or felt himself sufficiently 
 strong as a leader, to take such an initiative as would im- 
 press the people. There was a small but resolute faction 
 within the party which antagonized any such step, and re- 
 mained as firmly attached to the Protection school of 
 thought as the Republicans themselves. They were chiefly 
 responsible for the failure of tariff legislation in the Forty- 
 ninth Congress, and were still more hostile in the Fiftieth 
 Congress. Mr. Cleveland had, of course, fully discounted 
 their strength before he concluded on his step forward. He 
 felt also, no doubt, that he, of all men, was the one to place 
 himself in the van of what bade fair to be the most impor- 
 tant political movement since the civil war, for he was not 
 only the most conspicuous man in the country, but the one 
 best calculated, by reason of his sturdy character and well- 
 established official record, to inspire confidence. 
 
 This was the logic of that situation which President 
 Cleveland presented to the country when, on December 5, 
 1887, he delivered to Congress that brief message of only 
 4,500 words, which touched upon only that branch of finance 
 involved in taxation, customs duties and the treasury sur- 
 plus, which awakened his party as if from a long dream and 
 which electrified the nation. It was an indication of a de- 
 parture from the hesitating and shuffling methods which had 
 so long prevailed and was equivalent to a new declaration 
 of principles for modern Democracy, or rather to a broad 
 
588 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 and emphatic announcement of those principles which had 
 made statesmen of the Democratic fathers and given them 
 repeated victories. The message was hailed by his party as 
 a step in the right direction, and the President was made 
 the recipient of congratulations which showed he had struck 
 an immensely popular chord. So earnest was he in his 
 presentation of the financial situation, and so candid and 
 fearless in his statements respecting high and unnecessary 
 taxation, with its dangerous concomitant of an overflowing 
 treasury, that not even his enemies failed to applaud his 
 utterances as the very essence of frankness and his step as 
 Napoleonic in conception and importance. The Democratic 
 majority in the House promptly responded to the President’s 
 advice and presented a bill which looked toward the reforms 
 indicated in the message, and they made strenuous efforts to 
 pass it over the Republican strength aided by a factious 
 Democratic minority. 
 
 This heroic step on the part of President Cleveland con- 
 tributed greatly to his reputation as a broad-mindedThinker, 
 and a statesman capable of seeing in advance of his time and 
 preparing for victories on a basis which should admit of no 
 misconstruction. But there was one thing about it which he 
 may not have fully considered, or if so, then it should be care- 
 fully weighed by every candid mind, in order that misap- 
 prehension may not arise respecting the future which it 
 opened to Mr. Cleveland, and also in order that the criticism 
 which his nomination for a second term called forth from his 
 political enemies may be met at once. The new policy 
 of the administration placed Mr. Cleveland so clearly in the 
 van of his party, that it would have been cowardly, if not 
 suicidal, for him to have shrunk from the responsibility im- 
 posed, no matter what form that responsibility assumed. 
 Thus, without intent or volition on his part, but by sheer 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 589 
 
 force of political circumstances, he found his leadership of 
 that pronounced and momentous kind, which impelled him 
 directly and inevitably toward a renomination by his party. 
 There can be no doubt in the world of his sincerity, when, 
 in his letter of acceptance in 1884, he made known his con- 
 viction that a President should not be an aspirant for a second 
 term. His reasoning was that such ambition might lead to 
 misuse of the power and patronage at his disposal. The 
 reasoning was just as potential in 1886, or 1888, and there 
 is no need for supposing that his convictions underwent 
 change at any time. The fact that an emergency might arise, 
 or that a changed set of conditions might come, which 
 could not be foreseen, but which might warrant a second 
 term for a President, was not one which he combated in his 
 letter, nor did his reasoning apply to it. He was as much 
 at liberty to stand for a second term, after his letter as before 
 it, unless it became apparent that he was an ambitious seeker 
 after the place, and was using the power and patronage in 
 his hands to secure it. Nothing like this appeared. In 
 shaping an administrative policy which would enure to the 
 good and glory of his party and the country, he acted like 
 a brave, broad-gauge statesman, and as President, or if you 
 please, party leader, he was willing to face every storm and 
 shoulder every responsibility. When events, political and 
 otherwise, shaped up so as to show forth the campaign of 
 1888, and his position became such as to make battle doubt- 
 ful without the magic of his name, the wisdom of his coun- 
 sel, and the force of his presence, there arose spontaneously 
 a situation which rendered his candidacy imperative. In- 
 stead of using effort in a personal direction, and resorting 
 to means unworthy of a high official to bring about a de- 
 sirable result, the course of events, the trend of sentiment, 
 the uprising of feeling, were such as to carry him along, 
 
590 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 without the asking, toward a second candidature. Always 
 before in our political history such spontaneous results have 
 been regarded as most fortunate fpr public men, and as evi- 
 dence of a popular favor and confidence which speak worlds 
 for their character and ability as officials and statesmen. 
 And so it really was in Mr. Cleveland’s case. 
 
 During the first session of the Fiftieth Congress, Mr. 
 Cleveland reorganized his Cabinet by promoting his Secre- 
 tary of Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, to the place in the Supreme 
 Court, made vacant by the death of Chief-Justice Waite, by 
 transferring his Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, to 
 the Interior Department, by promoting Charles S. Fairchild 
 to the Secretaryship of the Treasury, and by appointing 
 Don M. Dickinson, of Michigan, Postmaster-General. These 
 appointments were all acceptable to the Senate, and they 
 were confirmed. 
 
 President Cleveland had on hand from the beginning of 
 his administration the delicate question of the American 
 Fisheries. The treaty of 1 8 1 8 , between this country and 
 England, had never been satisfactory, and the English made 
 several seizures of American fishing vessels in Canadian 
 waters, contrary to our construction of the treaty. The 
 administration took the matter in hand, and under the aus- 
 pices of a commission composed of representatives from all 
 the countries concerned, a new treaty was framed and pre- 
 sented to the Senate for confirmation. This action was 
 deemed the wisest on the part of the administration, as it 
 was least likely to provoke hard feeling, and most likely to 
 get at the root of the troubles. It gave a happy relief to his 
 premier, and placed the future responsibility on the Senate. 
 
 President Cleveland made reform in the Public Land 
 System a conspicuous feature of his administration, and it 
 is safe to say that in this respect he was the means of cor- 
 
Hon. William F. Yilas. 
 
 Born at Chelsea, Vt., July 9, 1840; moved to Madison, Wis., 1851 > 
 graduated at State University, 1858 ; studied law at University of Al- 
 bany, N. Y., 1860, and admitted to bars of New York and Wisconsin ; 
 Began practice at Madison, July 9, 1860; entered Union army, and 
 mustered out as Lieutenant-Colonel of 23d Reg. Wis. Vols. ; a Professor 
 in Law Department of State University since 1868 ; Regent of same, 
 1880-85; member Board of Revision of Statutes, 1878 ; elected to Wis- 
 consin Legislature, 1885 ; delegate to Democratic National Conventions, 
 1876-80-84; appointed Postmaster-General by President Cleveland, 
 March 7, 1885; appointed Secretary of Interior, January 16, 1888; 
 elected to United States Senate, January 28, 1891 ; member of Com- 
 mittees on Claims, Civil Service, Indian Affairs, Pensions and Quad- 
 ro-Centennial. 
 
 ( 59 ') 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 m iwi m 
 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 593 
 
 recting one of the most vicious systems in the whole do- 
 main of government, and at the same time of saving 
 millions to the Treasury. In the execution of laws he was 
 energetic and persistent, and, it may be, imbued with a good 
 deal of that philosophy which prompted President Grant to 
 say that “ the best way to secure the repeal of an obnox- 
 ious law was to enforce it to the letter.” 
 
 Said a conspicuous American statesman : 
 
 “ The day on which Grover Cleveland, the plain, straight- 
 forward, typical American citizen took the oath of office, 
 marked the close of an old era and the beginning of a new 
 one. It closed the era of usurpation of power by the Fed- 
 eral authority, of illegal force, of general contempt for con- 
 stitutional limitations and plain law, of glaring scandals, 
 profligate waste, and unspeakable corruption, of narrow 
 sectionalism and class strife, of the reign of a party whose 
 good w’ork had long been done. It began the era of per- 
 fect peace and perfect union of the States, fused in all 
 their sovereignty into a Federal Republic, with limited but 
 ample powers ; of a public service conducted with absolute 
 integrity and strict economy ; of reforms pushed to their 
 extreme limit ; of comprehensive, sound and safe financial 
 policy; giving security and confidence to all enterprise and 
 endeavor — a Democratic administration, faithful to its 
 mighty trust, loyal to its pledges ; true to the constitution, 
 safeguarding the interests and liberties of the people. And 
 now we stand on the edge of another era, perhaps a greater 
 contest ; with a relation to the electors that we have not 
 held for a generation, that of responsibility for the great 
 trust of government. We are no longer authors, but ac- 
 countants ; no longer critics, but the criticised. The respon- 
 sibility is ours, and if we have not taken all the power 
 27 
 
594 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 necessary to make that responsibility good the fault is ours, 
 not that of the people. 
 
 “ The administration of President Cleveland has triumph- 
 antly justified his election. It compels the respect, confi- 
 dence and approval of the country. The prophets of evil 
 and disaster are dumb. What the people see is the govern- 
 ment of the Union restored to its ancient footing of justice, 
 peace, honesty and impartial enforcement of the law. They 
 see the demands of labor and agriculture met, so far as 
 government can meet them, by the legislative enactments 
 for their encouragement and protection. They see the vet- 
 erans of the civil war granted pensions long due them to the 
 amount of more than twice in number and nearly three times 
 in value of those granted under any previous administration. 
 They see more than 32,000,000 acres of land recklessly and 
 illegally held by the grantees of the corrupt Republican 
 regime restored to the public domain for the benefit of 
 honest settlers. They see the negro, whose fears of Demo- 
 cratic rule were played upon by demagogues four years ago, 
 not only more fully protected than by his pretended friends, 
 but honored as his race was never honored before. They 
 see a financial policy under which reckless speculation has 
 practically ceased and capital freed from distrust. They see 
 for the first time an honest observance of the law governing 
 the civil establishment, and the employees of the people rid, 
 at least, of the political highwaymen with a demand for 
 tribute in one hand and a letter of dismissal in the other. 
 They see useless offices abolished and expenses of adminis- 
 tration reduced, while improved methods have lifted the 
 public service to high efficiency. They see tranquility, 
 order, security and equal justice restored in the land, a 
 watchful, safe, steady and patriot^ administratiori — the sol* 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 595 
 
 emn promises made by Democracy faithfully kept. It is 
 ‘ an honest government by honest men.’ 
 
 “ Four years ago you trusted tentatively the Democratic 
 party and supported with zeal and vigor its candidate for 
 President. You thought him strong in all the sturdy qual- 
 ities requisite for the great task of reform. No President in 
 time of peace had so difficult and laborious a duty to per- 
 form. His party had been out of power for twenty-four 
 years. Every member of it had been almost venomously 
 excluded from the smallest post where administration could 
 be studied. Every place was filled by men whose interest 
 it was to thwart inquiry and belittle the new administration, 
 but the master hand came to the helm, and the true course 
 has been kept from the beginning. 
 
 “ We need not wait for time to do justice to the character 
 and services of President Cleveland. Honest, clear-sighted, 
 patient, grounded in respect for law and justice; with a 
 thorough grasp of principles and situations ; with marvel- 
 lous and conscientious industry; the very incarnation of 
 firmness — he has nobly fulfilled the promise of his party, 
 nobly met the expectations of his country and written his 
 name high on the scroll where future Americans will read 
 the names of men who have been supremely useful to the 
 Republic.” 
 
 President Cleveland carried into the White House the 
 strong physique, the habits of industry, the attention to de- 
 tails that had characterized his previous life. As the labors 
 were more telling he began to find a necessity for exercise 
 in the recreation of riding, and he rode much on horse- 
 back. He still possessed that gentle but firm strength of 
 official demeanor, that modesty of deportment and indiffer- 
 ence to popular clamor, that affability of spirit and willing 
 receptivity where interested, which impressed all with the 
 
59 ^ 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 thought personally and politically he meant to do the right. 
 In general appearance he grew impressive with age, experi- 
 ence and dignity. His large head, broad forehead, deeply set 
 blue eyes, conspicuous nose, vigorous nostrils, firm mouth, and 
 heavy moustache, typed one born to command. His closely 
 buttoned coat, slight, dark neck-tie and immaculate collar 
 and bosom, showed that he was not indifferent to the laws 
 of style in dress. In receiving, or in conversation, he poised 
 with his hands behind him, but in thought his hands came 
 to the front and, not infrequently, one to his head. His 
 order of public life and domestic affair was rigidly observed. 
 He rose at regular hours, made his toilet by rule, appeared 
 at his desk at a certain hour for attention to his correspond- 
 ence. He was promptly on hand at the hour for the recep- 
 tion of visitors, heard with easy grace and patience the 
 claims of all, had a kind word or pleasant hand-shake for 
 the thousands whose mission was that of compliment or 
 curiosity. After luncheon he returned to his desk and 
 worked so long as work was found to do. No predecessor 
 ever weighed the claims and qualifications of candidates for 
 place with greater care. He carefully pondered all recom- 
 mendations, and made his appointments only after the full- 
 est consideration of the merits of rival applicants. 
 
 He had the happy faculty of dispossessing himself of 
 the cares of State at bed-time, and of settling daily the work 
 of each day. For nearly two years of his administration 
 the domestic affairs of the White House were presided over 
 by his sister, Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland. But the 
 monotony of bachelorhood was soon to be broken by his 
 marriage, an event which created a sensation in the fashion- 
 able world and greatly contributed to- the social atmosphere 
 of the Presidential Mansion. President Cleveland was mar- 
 ried at the White House at seven P. M. on June 2, 1886, to 
 
ML il U:,df 
 
 of m 
 
 
Hon. David B. Hill. 
 
 Born in Chemung co., N. Y., August 29, 1843; graduated at Havanna 
 Academy ; admitted to Elmira bar, November, 1864, and appointed 
 City Attorney; member of State Assembly, 1871-72; President of 
 Democratic State Conventions, 1877, 1881 ; elected Mayor of Elmira, 
 1882; President of New York Bar Association, 1886-87 ; elected Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor of New York, November, 1882; succeeded Grover 
 Cleveland as Governor, January, 1885 ; elected Governor, November, 
 1885, on Democratic ticket ; re-elected Governor, 1888 ; elected to 
 United States Senate, as Democrat, 1891 ; a distinguished party organ- 
 izer and leader; name much discussed in connection with the Presidency. 
 
 (598) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 599 
 
 Miss Frances Folsom, daughter of his former law partner. 
 Though this was the eighth marriage within the walls of the 
 White House, it was the first in which a President of the 
 United States participated as a bridegroom. It was a plain 
 ceremony, after the Presbyterian form, with the Marine 
 Band to play the wedding march and the President’s salute 
 from the guns of the Navy Yard to notify the world that 
 the vows had been finally sealed. This marriage introduced 
 into the executive mansion and to public life one of the 
 most charming ladies of the land. She bore all her blush- 
 ing honors meekly and contributed greatly to the sociability, 
 vivacity and elegance of the White House establishment. 
 On Oct. 4, 1891, she became the mother of a daughter, 
 Ruth Cleveland. The summer home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Cleveland is at “ Gray Gables,” a beautiful villa surrounded 
 by 100 acres of land, lying upon the shores of Buzzard’s 
 Bay. 
 
VIII. 
 
 CONVENTION AND CAMPAIGN OF 1888. 
 
 The Democrats met in National Convention, pursuant to 
 call, at St. Louis, June 5, 1888. The high position taken 
 by President Cleveland in his celebrated message of Dec. 5, 
 1887, delivered to the first session of the Fiftieth Congress, 
 supplemented by the Mills Bill favoring tariff reduction, 
 pointed to the way to his renomination. 
 
 When Convention day dawned, and the great Democratic 
 party sat in National Council, when an outlook of the situa- 
 tion was had after a comparison of political views, when 
 grave men had deliberated and arrived at the mature judg- 
 ment as to what was best for party success and the triumph 
 of immutable principles, there was more than ever one voice 
 in favor of the renomination of President Cleveland. All 
 private likes and dislikes were merged in the common 
 thought that he was the man best calculated by experience, 
 by towering ability as leader, by impregnable record to bear 
 the party standard through the campaign battles of 1888. 
 No other name was mentioned in Convention, ifr connection 
 with the Presidency, and when his was mentioned it always 
 awakened an enthusiasm which found vent in vociferous and 
 prolonged cheers. 
 
 For President Cleveland, the St. Louis Convention was 
 both endorsement and ovation. It ratified nearly four years 
 of administrative work, and pledged a continuance of con- 
 fidence and support. That public career which, in 1884, had 
 been limited by State lines, was, at St. Louis, b®unded by 
 (600) 
 
GkOVBk CLEVELAND. 
 
 601 
 
 the horizon of every civilized country. In 1884 he was 
 pledged to his country by his party for what he gave promise 
 as President to be. In 1888 no such' formal pledge was 
 needed, for as one of the orators in the convention put it, 
 “ He had not only won the applause of his countrymen, but 
 the plaudit of the civilized world of ‘ Well done, thou good 
 and faithful servant.’ ” 
 
 When State after State had risen in that grandly repre- 
 sentative convention to shower on the President its eulogies 
 and pledge him anew its support, the climax was reached 
 at the call of Kentucky, whose spokesman, McKenzie, 
 closed his eloquent tribute to Mr. Cleveland’s greatness by 
 saying : — 
 
 “ Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : I move to suspend the 
 rules and make the nomination of Grover Cleveland for 
 President of the United States absolutely unanimous.” 
 
 This was the last step of that superb movement which 
 crowned President Cleveland with the honors of a second 
 nomination. There was no ballot, no contest, no dissent. 
 The convention rose as a unit, and as a personation of a 
 sentiment which was all pervading, and with a voice which 
 made the immense spaces of Musical Hall ring, acclaimed 
 him the candidate of the Democratic party for 1888. It 
 was a tribute such as is seldom paid to mortal man. That 
 spontaneous accord, that emphatic pronouncement, con- 
 tained something higher than the honors of office, some- 
 thing fuller of meaning than a crown. It measured not 
 only the estimation in which the man was held, but it 
 showed the heartfelt gratitude of a party whose destiny he 
 had held sacredly in his keeping through its first period of 
 triumph in twenty-four years. It was a ratification of the 
 past, and a tender for the future, not of a man in the shape 
 
602 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 of a promise, as in 1884, but as a happy and splendid 
 realization. 
 
 In recognition of the older element of the party, Mr. 
 Cleveland’s nomination was supplemented by that of Allen 
 G. Thurman, of Ohio, for Vice-President. The platform 
 reaffirmed that of 1884; indorsed the views of President 
 Cleveland in his message of December 5, 1887, and also the 
 efforts of Democratic Congressmen to secure the reduction 
 of excessive taxation ; expressed party faith in the main- 
 tenance of a Union of free and indestructible States ; chal- 
 lenged investigation of administrative methods ; claimed a 
 wise dispensation of the public land system ; asked for 
 recognition of the fact that the administration had paid out 
 more than any other for pensions and bounties to soldiers 
 and sailors ; claimed to have set on foot the reconstruction 
 of the American navy, the adoption of a prudent foreign 
 policy, the exclusion of Chinese laborers, and honest reform 
 in the Civil Service ; declared against tax laws and trusts ; 
 proclaimed the necessity for free revision of all laws tending 
 to the accumulation of a surplus in the Treasury. 
 
 The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison, of 
 Indiana, and Oliver P. Morton, of New York. The cam- 
 paign was largely one of discussion and free from the bitter 
 personalism which had characterized that of 1884. The 
 purity and strength of President Cleveland’s administration 
 was admitted on all sides, but never were party lines drawn 
 closer than on the issue courted in his message of 1887. 
 In that message he had been bold and frank enough to 
 create an issue for his party upon which it could go confi- 
 dently before the country. At an early day in the cam- 
 paign it was seen that the fighting ground was narrowed to 
 the doubtful States of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut 
 and Indiana. In these States both parties concentrated 
 
GROVER CEEVEEAND. 
 
 603 
 
 their best efforts. Each sought by speech, procession and 
 spectacular performance, to convince the public of the recti- 
 tude of its views. The early autumn elections in Maine, 
 Oregon and Vermont showed a trend of sentiment decidedly 
 against the Democratic position. The November result 
 showed that this trend was real. Harrison carried all the 
 States which Blaine had carried in 1884, and added the two 
 States of Indiana and New York, thus securing 233 out of 
 the 401 electoral votes, or a majority of 31. 
 
 The confidence of both parties remained supreme till the 
 very last. An unusual episode of the campaign was the 
 dismissal of the English Minister, Lord Sackville West, for 
 unwarranted interference with our political affairs. The 
 result of the election was so decisive as to be cheerfully 
 acquiesced in by Mr. Cleveland and his party. 
 
 Notwithstanding his defeat, President Cleveland rounded 
 out his administration with one of his longest and ablest 
 messages to the Second Session of the 50th Congress, in 
 which he was firmly adhesive to his doctrine of “ Tariff Re- 
 form,” and presaged for it a triumph at no distant day. He 
 had the courage of his convictions, even in the hour of 
 disaster, and had his professed friends remained as steadfast 
 as he when the battle was on the result might have been 
 different. It is not for us to introduce controversy into a 
 life of a distinguished and pure-minded citizen and official, 
 but it was a fairly debatable question as to whether Mr. 
 Cleveland received the full measure of Democratic support 
 from his friends in New York State. The charge has been 
 made and with no little plausibility, that a factional element 
 at home stabbed him in the back, and color is given to the 
 charge by the fact that New York elected a Democratic 
 Governor of the machine type at the very moment it de- 
 feated a Democratic candidate for President, who stood for 
 pure politics and the highest party principles. 
 
IX. 
 
 IN PRIVATE LIFE. 
 
 President Cleveland retired from office with the dis- 
 tinction of having been the only Democratic President since 
 1856. He had upheld the traditions and promises of his 
 party with a faithfulness that gave him rank with the Jef- 
 fersons and Jacksons of the long ago. He had evinced a 
 spirit of originality and determination which often disap- 
 pointed those who believed in machinery methods, but in 
 every such instance he took a deeper hold on the masses. 
 He was true to the axiom that “ a public office is a public 
 trust,” and no one ever did more to carry the axiom home 
 to the popular heart. 
 
 There was no sighing on his part over his defeat, no re- 
 luctance in his retiracy. None other could have changed 
 the result. He had glorious achievements to his credit and 
 could wait till the dawn of an era of appreciation. He had 
 his profession to fall back upon, and he entered civic pur- 
 suit in connection with one of the most prosperous law firms 
 of New York city. His services here soon came to be 
 highly appreciated and his name became coupled with many 
 celebrated cases, some of which found their way into the 
 Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 Retiracy from public life did not mean loss of interest in 
 affairs appertaining to the welfare of his fellow-men. He 
 was constantly consulted by public bodies, and invited by 
 educational and charitable organizations. Many of his 
 letters of reply found their way into print, and they all 
 (604) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 605 
 
 evinced the same broad view, the same candor and earnest- 
 ness of sentiment that had made him a popular favorite 
 when in official position. 
 
 When occasion called for a public expression of his views 
 on the much mooted question of “ free and unlimited coin- 
 age of silver,” in 1891, he did not hesitate to write an 
 elaborate letter, in which he took distinctive ground against 
 a system which invalidated our silver dollar, and taxed the 
 power of our gold reserve to carry it. 
 
 The letter was dated Feb. 10, 1891, and was his reply to 
 a request to address a meeting of business men in New 
 York City, called for Feb. 1 1, for the purpose of voicing op- 
 position to the free silver legislation then pending in Con- 
 gress. It read as follows: — 
 
 E. Ellery Anderson , Esq. 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I have this afternoon received your note 
 inviting me to attend to-morrow evening a meeting called 
 for the purpose of voicing the opposition of the business 
 men of our city to “ free coinage of silver in the United 
 States.” I shall not be able to attend and address the meet- 
 ing as you request, but I am glad that the business interests 
 of New York are at last to be heard on the subject. It 
 surely cannot be necessary for me to make a formal expres- 
 sion of my agreement with those who believe that the 
 greatest perils would be invited by the adoption of the 
 scheme embraced in the measure now pending in Congress 
 for an unlimited coinage of silver at our mints. 
 
 If we have developed an unexpected capacity for the 
 assimilation of a largely increased volume of the currency, 
 and even if we have demonstrated the usefulness of such an 
 increase, these conditions fall far short of insuring us against 
 disaster if in the present situation we enter upon the dan- 
 gerous and reckless experiment of free, unlimited and inde- 
 pendent silver coinage. Yours very truly, 
 
 Grover Cleveland. 
 
 Feb. 10, 1891. 
 
6o6 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 His views were accepted by the financial world as sound 
 in every particular, and there is no doubt that his timely 
 and forceful expression of them contributed largely to the 
 demand for his renomination at Chicago ; at least, to that 
 measure of confidence which the vital interests of the 
 country expect to repose in those who are called to preside 
 over its affairs. 
 
 Mr. Cleveland, in private life, has not been unmindful of 
 its rational enjoyment. He has had a rural retreat in New 
 Jersey, for the delight and health of his family. He has 
 provided a still more beautiful and permanent summer re- 
 treat on Buzzard’s Bay, which he calls “ Gray Gables ” and 
 where he enjoys the delights of fishing and driving. He 
 has jaunted it to remote parts, intermingling with party 
 friends, studying public sentiment, and broadening his views 
 of men and localities. In his summer home on the outer 
 coasts of the Atlantic he has found congenial society among 
 authors and men of genius, and that rest and recreation 
 which is beneficial to himself and family. In this he is 
 philosophic. The hurly-burly has few charms for him, the 
 quietude of the beach many. As a student of affairs, he 
 prefers to look in on the mighty surge of events. His view 
 is thus unimpassioned, his judgment unclouded. 
 
 A correspondent thus sketches Mr. Cleveland’s home and 
 home life : — 
 
 “ Gray Gables, by the road, is four miles from the tele- 
 graph office ; as the birds fly it is less than two. In this 
 case we shall have to reckon by the road, as the birds are 
 not carrying dispatches this year. 
 
 “ Buzzard’s Bay, as those who have travelled over the Old 
 Colony Road to the Cape or the Vineyard know, is quite 
 an important railroad junction. It is a village of the town 
 of Bourne. The population of the village, which clusters 
 
Hon. Daniel W. Voorhees. 
 
 Born in Butler co., Ohio, September 26, 1827 ; moved in infancy with 
 parents to Indiana; graduated at Indiana Asbury, 1849; studied law 
 and began practice, 1851 ; United States District Attorney for Indiana, 
 1858-61; elected to 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 41st and 42d Congresses; 
 appointed Senator to fill vacancy caused by death of O. P. Morton, No- 
 vember 12, 1877 ; distinguished as advocate of greenback currency and 1 
 free silver coinage; elected to Senate, 1879; re-elected, 1885 and in 
 1891 ; eminent as leader and exponent of Democracy ; member of Com- 
 mittees on Finance, Immigration, Library, and Chairman of Committee 
 to provide additional accommodations for Library of Congress. 
 
 (6°7) 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 TUI UBRiW 
 
 Of THfc 
 
 liSEM- 0? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 609 
 
 about the station, is not large. The inhabitants will not ex- 
 ceed 300 or 400. 
 
 “ To reach Gray Gables from the railroad station it is 
 necessary to first travel a mile and a half in the opposite 
 direction. The reason for the detour is there is no highway 
 bridge across the Monument River, which flows through 
 the village on its way to Buzzard’s Bay, and which it is 
 necessary to cross in order to reach Mr. Cleveland’s residence. 
 
 “ The Cleveland residence is situated at the mouth of 
 Monument River, and it has water on three sides of it. 
 
 “ Mr. Cleveland is very well pleased with his property. 
 He does not get over to the village often, but Mrs. Cleveland 
 comes over nearly every day; sometimes twice in a day. 
 Her carriage goes regularly to the post-office, and it stops 
 at the modest little stores, too. She does not fail to do her 
 part toward supporting the institutions of the place. 
 
 “ One hears reports of her here similar to those which have 
 come a thousand times from other places where she has 
 lived. Her beauty, affability, courtesy, and general good- 
 ness are praised by every tongue. She’s what I call one of 
 God’s own women.” 
 
 It was in the midst of such a life that he maintained his 
 hold on the affections of his party. At no moment after his 
 retiracy did he lose his identity or cease to be a party idol. 
 Let come what would, let who might connive and aspire, 
 the question of his availability as a Presidential Candidate in 
 1892 never came into doubt. With him the verdict of 1888 
 was never regarded as final. There was no other exponent 
 of the views which were then clouded with defeat, but which 
 burst into victory in 1890. 1888, with what happened after- 
 
 wards, was a drawn battle; 1892 was necessary, under the 
 same sterling leadership, to test finally the issue so ably, 
 forcibly and directly propounded in the message of 1887. 
 
X. 
 
 CHICAGO AND RENOMINATION. 
 
 The Democratic National Convention of .<892 met at 
 Chicago, pursuant to the call of the National Committee, on 
 June 21, 1892. For months prior to the meeting of the 
 Convention the quiet sentiment of the masses of the party 
 had been cohering about Mr. Cleveland. He was no as- 
 pirant for nomination, and was doing nothing to elicit pop- 
 ular favor or to control State Conventions. 
 
 So unwilling was he to appear to be pushing his candi- 
 dacy, that on April 8, 1892, he wrote the following to a 
 friend in Chattanooga, touching the question of his own re- 
 nomination : — 
 
 Lakewood, N. J., April 8, 1892. 
 
 My Dear Sir : I desire to thank you for the report of 
 the meeting at Chattanooga, which you so kindly sent me, 
 and for the friendly words you spoke of me on that occa- 
 sion. I am exceedingly anxious to have our party do ex- 
 actly the right thing at the Chicago Convention, and I hope 
 that the delegates will be guarded by judgment and actuated 
 by true Democratic spirit and the single desire to succeed 
 on principle. 
 
 I should not be frank if I did not say to you that I often 
 fear I do not deserve all the kind things such friends as you 
 say of me, and I have frequent misgivings as to the wisdom 
 of again putting me in nomination. I therefore am anxious 
 that sentiment and too unmeasured personal devotion should 
 be checked when the delegates to the convention reach the 
 period of deliberation. In any event there will be no dis- 
 appointment for me in the result. Yours very truly, 
 
 Grover Cleveland, 
 
 (610) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 611 
 
 But there was a magic about his name which seemed to 
 touch the hearts of the people, and to act as a spell in his 
 behalf, so that in every minor convention resolutions directly 
 in his favor as a candidate, or paying him the highest 
 respect, were the order of the hour. 
 
 This all pervasive and general popularity led to the 
 thought that a nomination by acclamation would be almost 
 a sure result at Chicago. But the discipline of a Conven- 
 tion requires something more than mere acclaim to insure 
 results. It was found that in order to arrive at his nomina- 
 tion his forces must be marshalled and led. Many willing 
 leaders rose to assume this task. 
 
 The necessity for brave, discreet leadership became all 
 the more imperative by reason of what had transpired in 
 New York State, where Senator Hill had announced his own 
 candidacy, and had called an early State Convention which 
 selected delegates to the National Convention, pledged to 
 his support. This hasty action gave rise to a counter-move- 
 ment, of a popular nature, designed to show where the sen- 
 timent of the masses of the party in New York really lay. 
 While it did not result in an opposing delegation at Chi- 
 cago, it served to subtract from the efficacy of the solid Hill 
 forces and to reduce them to the plane of simple manipula- 
 tors of a serious situation. 
 
 As soon as the Convention air was sufficiently clarified 
 for an alignment of forces it became manifest that nothing 
 could shake the strength which clustered about the Cleve- 
 land standards. It was spontaneous, enthusiastic, resolved. 
 True it had lost points in the Committee rooms, and had 
 even surrendered to an adverse temporary chairman of the 
 Convention, but in this it had not lost confidence, and per 
 haps had shown wisdom. 
 
 The Convention was called to orcjer 4t 12.45 of June 21, 
 
6l2 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 by Senator Brice, Chairman of the National Committee. 
 He announced the temporary organization and placed the 
 gavel in the hands of Hon. Wm. C. Owens, of Kentucky, 
 who accepted the honor in an eloquent address. The ap- 
 pointment of the usual committees followed and the public 
 work of the day was practically over. 
 
 The session of the 22d was destined to be lengthy. The 
 reports of committees were in order, and that upon the plat- 
 form — especially the tariff clause — gave rise to discussion. 
 The Convention passed into the hands of the permanent 
 organization, and the chairman became the Hon. Wm. L. 
 Wilson, of West Virginia, who accepted in an excellent 
 speech. And the night session was to be still more lengthy. 
 As it passed along it became manifest that the friends of Mr. 
 Cleveland were in a mood to force a ballot before adjourn- 
 ment. There was no excuse for further delay, their forces 
 were well in hand and most enthusiastic, postponement of 
 decisive action might prove a loss of well-ascertained ad- 
 vantage. The prime rules of generalship required a show 
 of hands at that precise juncture. 
 
 A motion was carried to call the roll of States for nomi- 
 nations. The names of Senator David B. Hill, of New York, 
 and Governor Horace Boies, of Iowa, were placed in nomi- 
 nation, during the evening, with eloquent speeches and amid 
 much applause. But the applause of the time and the elo- 
 quence of the occasion seemed reserved for the nomination 
 of Cleveland. Arkansas yielded to New Jersey, when her 
 name was called, and Governor Leon Abbett of the latter 
 State rose to present Mr. Cleveland’s name to the Conven- 
 tion. He arose amid deafening cheers and thus spoke : — 
 
 “ Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention : — In 
 presenting a name to this convention, I speak for the united 
 Democracy of the State of New Jersey, whose loyalty to 
 
cfaiaw 
 
Hon. Don M. Dickinson. 
 
 Born in Port Ontario, Oswego co., N. Y., January 17, 1847 ; gradu- 
 ated at University of Michigan, 1867 ; studied law and admitted to bar ; 
 rose rapidly to distinction in his profession and acquired a large prac- 
 tice ; Chairman of Michigan State Democratic Committee in 1876, and 
 1880 Chairman of Michigan Delegation in National Convention; repre- 
 sented Michigan in Democratic National Committee since 1884; ap- 
 pointed by President Cleveland to be Postmaster-General, January 17, 
 1888 ; an able official and popular party leader. 
 
 ( 6 ! 4 ) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 615 
 
 the Democratic principles, faithful service to the party, and 
 whose contributions to its success entitle it to the respectful 
 consideration of the Democracy of the United States. Its 
 electoral vote has always been cast in support of Democratic 
 principles and Democratic candidates. [Cheers.] 
 
 “ In voicing the unanimous wish of the delegation from 
 New Jersey, I present as their candidate for the suffrage of 
 this convention the name of a distinguished Democratic 
 statesman, born upon its soil, for whom in the two great 
 Presidential contests the State of New Jersey has given its 
 electoral vote. [Cheers.] 
 
 “ The supreme consideration in the mind of the Democ- 
 racy of New Jersey is the success of the Democratic party 
 and its principles. We have been in the past and will be in 
 the future ready at all times to sacrifice personal preference 
 in deference to the clear expressions of the will of the De- 
 mocracy of the Union. It is because this name will awaken 
 throughout our State the enthusiasm of the Democracy and 
 insure success, it is because he represents the great Demo- 
 cratic principles and policy upon which this entire conven- 
 tion is a unit ; it is because we believe that with him as a 
 candidate the Democracy of the Union wil sweep the coun- 
 try and establish its principles throughout the length and 
 breadth of the land that we offer to the convention as a 
 nominee, the choice of New Jersey, Grover Cleveland. 
 [Applause.] 
 
 “ If any doubt existed in the minds of the Democrats of 
 New Jersey of his ability to lead the great Democratic hosts 
 to victory, they would not present his name to-day. With 
 them success of the party and the establishment of its prin- 
 ciples are beyond their love and admiration for any man. 
 [Cheers.] We feel certain that every Democratic State, 
 though its preference may be for some other distinguished 
 Democrat, will give its warm, enthusiastic and earnest sup- 
 port to the nominee of this convention. The man whom 
 we present will rally to his party thousands of independent 
 voters, whose choice is determined by their personal con- 
 viction that the candidate will represent principles dear to 
 them, and whose public life and policy give assurance that 
 28 
 
6i6 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 if chosen by the people they will secure an honest, pure and 
 conservative administration and the great interest of the 
 country will be encouraged and protected. 
 
 “ The time will come when other distinguished Demo- 
 crats who have been mentioned in connection with this 
 nomination will receive that consideration to which the 
 great services they have rendered their party entitled 
 
 them, but we stand to-day in the presence of the fact that 
 the majority of the Democratic masses throughout the 
 country, the rank and file, the millions of its voters demand 
 the nomination of Grover Cleveland. [Cheers.] 
 
 “ This sentiment is so strong and overpowering that it has 
 effected and controlled the actions of delegates who would 
 otherwise present the name of some distinguished leader of 
 their own State, with whom they feel victory would be 
 assured and in whom the entire country would feel confi- 
 dence, but the people have spoken and favorite sons anq 
 leaders are standing aside in obedience to their will. 
 [Cheers.] 
 
 “ Shall w listen to the voice of the Democracy of the 
 Union ? Shall we place on our banner the man of our 
 choice, the man in whom they believe, or shall we for any 
 consideration of policy or expediency hesitate to obey their 
 will ? [Cheers.] 
 
 “ I have sublime faith in the expression of the people 
 when it is clear and decisive. When the question before 
 them is one that has excited discussion and debate ; when 
 it appeals to their interests and their feelings, and calls for 
 the exercise of their judgment, and they then say they want 
 this man and we can elect him, we, their representatives, 
 must not disobey nor disappoint them. It is incumbent 
 upon us to obey their wishes and concur in their judgment ; 
 
 then, having given them the candidate of their choice, they 
 will give us their best, their most energetic efforts to secure 
 success [Cheers.] 
 
 “ We confidently rely upon the loyal and successful work 
 of the Democratic leaders who have advocated other candi- 
 dates. We know that in the great State across the river 
 from New Jersey, now controlled by the Democratic party, 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 617 
 
 there is no Democrat who will shirk the duty of making 
 every effort to secure the success of the candidate of this 
 convention, notwithstanding his judgment may differ from 
 that of the majority. The Democracy of New York and its 
 great leaders, whose efforts and splendid generalship have 
 given to us a Democratic Senator and Governor, will always 
 be true to the great party they represent; they will not 
 waver, nor will they rest in the coming canvass until they 
 have achieved success. 
 
 “ Their grand victories of the past, their natural and 
 honorable ambition, their unquestioned Democracy, will 
 make them arise and fight as never before, and with those 
 that they represent and lead they will march in the great 
 independent vote and we will again secure Democratic vic- 
 tory in New York. The grand Democrats under whose 
 leadership the city and State of New York are now gov- 
 erned will give to the cause the great benefit of their or- 
 ganizations. 
 
 “ The thundering echoes of this convention announcing 
 the nomination of Grover Cleveland will not have died out 
 over the hills and through the valleys of this land before 
 you will hear and see all our leaders rallying to the support 
 of our candidate. They will begin their efforts for organi- 
 zation and success, and continue their work until victory 
 crowns their efforts. 
 
 “All Democrats will fight for victory, and they will suc- 
 ceed because the principles of the party enunciated here are 
 for the best interests of the country at large, and because 
 the people of this land have unquestioning faith that Grover 
 Cleveland will give the country a pure, honest and stable 
 government, and an administration by which the great busi- 
 ness interests of the country and the agricultural and labor 
 interests of the masses will receive proper and due considera- 
 tion. 
 
 “ The question has been asked why it is that the masses 
 of the party demand the nomination of Grover Cleveland ? 
 Why is it that this man who has no office to distribute, no 
 wealth to command should have stirred the spontaneous 
 support of the great body of Democracy ? Why is it that 
 
6i8 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 with all that has been urged against him the people still cry 
 give us Cleveland ? Why is it, though he has pronounced 
 in honest, clear and able language his views upon questions 
 upon which some of his party may differ with him that he 
 is still near and dear to the masses ? 
 
 “ It is because he has crystallized into a living issue the 
 great principle upon which this battle is to be fought out. 
 If he did not create tariff reform, he made it a Presidential 
 issue. He vitalized it, and presented it to our party as the 
 issue for which we ought to fight and continue to battle un- 
 til upon it victory is now assured. 
 
 “ There are few men in his position who would have the 
 courage to boldly make the issue and present it so clearly 
 and forcibly as he did in his great message of 1887. I 
 believe that his policy then was to force a national issue 
 which would appeal to the judgment of the people. We 
 must honor a man who is honest enough and bold enough 
 under such circumstances to proclaim that the success of 
 the party upon principles is better than evasion or shirking 
 of true national issues for temporary success. When vic- 
 tory is obtained upon a principle, it forms the solid founda- 
 tion of party success in the future. It is no longer the 
 question of a battle to be won on the mistakes of our foes, 
 but it is a victory to be accomplished by a charge along the 
 whole line under the banner of principle. 
 
 “ There is another reason why the people demand his 
 nomination. They feel that the tariff reform views of Pres- 
 ident Cleveland and the principles laid down in his great 
 message, whatever its temporary effect may have been, give 
 us a live and a vital issue to fight for, which has made the 
 great victories since 1888 possible. It consolidated in one 
 solid phalanx the Democracy of the nation. In every State 
 of this Union that policy has been placed in Democratic 
 platforms, and our battles have been fought upon it, and 
 this great body of representative Democrats have seen its 
 good results. 
 
 “ Every man in this Convention recognizes the policy of 
 the party. In Massachusetts it gave us a 4 Russell ; ’ in Iowa 
 it gave us a ‘ Boies.’ In Wisconsin it gave us a 4 Peck ’ for 
 

 * 
 
 
 ' f Wsm 
 
 lit v 
 
 
 <4 
 
Hon. John 0. Carlisle. 
 
 j Born in Kenton co., Ky., September 5, 1835; educated in common 
 [schools and as teacher; admitted to bar, 1-858; member of Kentucky 
 State Legislature, 1859-61 ; elected to State Senate, 1866 and 1869 ; 
 elected Lieutenant-Governor of State, 1871; elected to 45th, 46th, 47th, 
 48th, 49th, 50th and 51st Congresses; presided as Speaker of House in 
 48th, 49th and 50th Congresses ; a dignified officer and skilled parlia- 
 mentarian; elected to United States Senate, as Democrat, to succeed 
 Senator Beck, deceased, May 17, 1890; member of Committees on Fi- 
 nance, Territories, Canadian Relations, Indian Depredations and Wo- 
 man’s Suffrage ; conspicuous in party affairs and a recognized exponent 
 of Democratic thought. 
 
 (620) 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 621 
 
 Governor and Vilas for Senator. In Michigan it gave us 
 Winans for Governor, and gave us a Democratic Legislature, 
 and will give us eight electoral votes for President. In 1889, 
 in Ohio, it gave u James Campbell for Governor, and in 
 1891, to defeat him, it required the power, the wealth, and 
 the machinery of the entire Republican party. 
 
 “ In Pennsylvania it gave us Robert E. Pattison ; in Con- 
 necticut it gave us a Democratic Governor who was kept 
 out of office by the infamous conduct of the Republican 
 party. In New Hampshire it gave us a Legislature of which 
 we were defrauded. In Illinois it gave us a Palmer for 
 Senator, and in Nebraska it gave us Boyd for Governor. In 
 the great Southern States it has continued in power Demo- 
 cratic Governors and Democratic Legislatures. In New 
 Jersey the power of the Democracy has been strengthened 
 and the Legislature and Executive are both Democratic. 
 In the great State of New York it gave us Hill for Senator 
 and Roswell P. Flower for Governor. [Loud cheering.] 
 
 “ With all these glorious achievements it is the wisest and 
 best party policy to nominate again the man whose policy 
 made these successes possible. The people believe that 
 these victories which gave us a Democratic House of Rep- 
 resentatives in 1890, and Democratic Governors and Sen- 
 ators in Republican and doubtful States are due to the cour- 
 age and wisdom of Grover Cleveland. And so believing 
 they recognize him as their great leader. 
 
 “ In presenting his name to the Convention, it is no reflec- 
 tion upon any of them as the leaders of the party. The 
 victories which have been obtained are not alone the heritage 
 of these States ; they belong to the whole party. I feel that 
 every Democratic State and that every individual Democrat 
 has reason to rejoice and be proud and applaud these 
 splendid successes. The candidacy of Grover Cleveland is 
 not a reflection upon others. It is not antago- : stic to any 
 great Democratic leader. He comes before this Convention, 
 not as the candidate of any one State — he is the choice of 
 the great majority of Democratic voters. 
 
 “ The Democracy of New Jersey, therefore, presents to 
 this Convention, in this, the people’s year, the nominee of 
 
622 
 
 TROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 the people, the plain, blunt, honest citizens, the idol of the 
 Democratic masses — Grover Cleveland.” [Cheers.] 
 
 When Governor Abbett named Cleveland the hurrah of an 
 hour before was repeated. The delegates sprang to their 
 feet, many of them mounted the chairs, hats were thrown into 
 the air, and the noise of the cheering was deafening. 
 
 The nomination was seconded by half a score of speakers 
 from different States, who vied with each other in praise of 
 Mr. Cleveland and whose eloquence contributed to the 
 incessant flow of good feeling and applause. 
 
 Balloting at length began. It was late, and the end of 
 the first ballot was not reached till 3.30 in the morning. 
 But it was most decisive. The well-managed Cleveland 
 forces had stuck to their man and their faith, and had crowned 
 both with victory. They had rolled up far more votes than 
 the necessary two-thirds required to nominate, and had made 
 the “ man of destiny ” again their standard- bearer. The 
 nomination was made unanimous, amid a storm of ap- 
 plause. 
 
 FIGURES OF THE BALLOT. 
 
 C 
 
 States. % 
 
 > 
 
 <u 
 
 U 
 
 Alabama 14 
 
 Arkansas 1 6 
 
 California 18 
 
 Colorado . . 
 
 Connecticut 12 
 
 Delaware 6 
 
 Florida 5 
 
 Georgia 17 
 
 Idaho 
 
 Illinois 48 
 
 Indiana 30 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Kansas 20 
 
 Kentucky 18 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 623 
 
 
 *6 
 
 
 
 d 
 
 —* 
 
 
 c 
 
 0 
 
 States. 
 
 'w 
 
 
 CO 
 
 0 
 
 j=> 
 
 0. 
 
 S d 
 s 3 
 
 CO 
 
 S 
 
 V 
 
 
 > 
 
 V 
 
 0 
 
 Hill 
 
 '0 
 
 PQ 
 
 i_ 
 
 0 
 
 % 
 
 a 
 
 O 
 
 & a 
 
 > 
 
 <u 
 
 th 
 
 Louisiana. 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Maine 
 
 • • 9 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Maryland 
 
 .. 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 9/4 
 
 
 Massachusetts . . . 
 
 .. 24 
 
 4 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 
 Michigan 
 
 .. 28 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 .. 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 . . 8 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 . . 
 
 4 
 
 
 Missouri 
 
 •• 34 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Montana 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 • 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 >y 
 
 <U 
 
 C 
 
 E 
 
 £ 
 
 New Hampshire. . . 8 
 
 New Jersey 20 
 
 New York 
 
 North Carolina ... 3 
 
 North Dakota 6 
 
 Ohio 14 
 
 Oregon 8 
 
 Pennsylvania ...... 64 
 
 Rhode Island 8 
 
 South Carolina .... 2 
 
 South Dakota 7 
 
 Tennessee 24 
 
 Texas 23 
 
 Vermont 8 
 
 Virginia 12 
 
 Washington 8 
 
 West Virginia 7 
 
 Wisconsin 24 
 
 Wyoming 3 
 
 Territories. 
 
 Alaska 2 
 
 Arizona 5 
 
 District of Columbia 2 
 
 New Mexico 4 
 
 Oklahoma 2 
 
 Utah 2 
 
 Indian. 2 
 
 16 
 
 3 13 
 
 16% 
 
 Totals 617 ]/ z 1 15 
 Number of votes cast, 909 y z . 
 Necessary to choice, 607. 
 
 103 
 
 2 36 X 14 16 ^ 
 
 PLATFORM OF 1892. 
 
 PLEDGE OF PRINCIPLES. — The representatives of 
 the Democratic party of the United States, in National Con- 
 
624 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 vention assembled, do reaffirm their allegiance to the prin- 
 ciples of the party as formulated by Jefferson and exempli- 
 fied by the long and illustrious line of nine of his successors 
 in Democratic leadership, from Madison to Cleveland ; we 
 believe the public welfare demands that these principles be 
 applied to the conduct of the Federal Government, through 
 the accession to power of the party that advocates them ; 
 and we solemnly declare that the need of a return to these 
 fundamental principles of a free, popular government, based 
 on Home Rule and individual liberty, was never more 
 urgent than now, when the tendency to centralize all power 
 at the Federal Capital has become a menace to the reserved 
 rights of the States that strike at the very roots of our 
 government under the Constitution as framed by the fathers 
 of the Republic. 
 
 THE FORCE BILL. — We warn the people of our com- 
 mon country, jealous for the preservation of their free insti- 
 tutions, that the policy of Federal control of elections to 
 which the Republican party has committed itself is fraught 
 with the gravest dangers, scarcely less momentous than 
 would result from a revolution practically establishing a 
 monarchy on the ruins of the republic. It strikes at the 
 North as well as the South, and injures the colored citizen 
 even more than the white ; it means a horde of deputy 
 marshals at every polling place, armed with Federal power, 
 returning boards appointed and controlled by Federal 
 authority ; the outrage of the electoral rights of the people 
 in the several States; the subjugation of the colored people 
 to the control of the party in power and the reviving of race 
 antagonisms, now happily abated, of the utmost peril to the 
 safety and happiness of all — a measure deliberately and 
 justly described by a leading Republican Senator as “the 
 most infamous bill that ever crossed the threshold of the 
 Senate.” Such a policy, if sanctioned by law, would mean 
 the dominance of a self-perpetuating oligarchy of office- 
 holders, and the party first intrusted with its machinery 
 could be dislodged from power only by an appeal to the re- 
 served right of the people to resist oppression which is in- 
 herent in all self-governing communities. Two years ago 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 625 
 
 this revolutionary policy was emphatically condemned by 
 the people at the polls ; but, in contempt of that verdict, the 
 Republican party has defiantly declared, in its latest authori- 
 tative utterance, that its success in the coming elections will 
 mean the enactment of the Force Bill and the usurpation of 
 despotic control over elections in all the States. 
 
 Believing that the preservation of Republican government 
 in the United States is dependent upon the defeat of this 
 policy of legalized force and fraud, we invite the support of 
 all citizens who desire to see the Constitution maintained in 
 its integrity with the laws pursuant thereto which have 
 given our country a hundred years of unexampled pros- 
 perity; and we pledge the Democratic party, if it be in- 
 trusted with power, not only to the defeat of the Force Bill 
 but also to relentless opposition to the Republican policy 
 of profligate expenditure, which in the short space of two 
 years has squandered an enormous surplus and emptied an 
 overflowing Treasury, after piling new burdens of taxation 
 upon the already overtaxed labor of the country. 
 
 TARIFF AND LABOR. — The tariff plank as reported 
 to the Convention by the Committee on Resolutions began 
 as follows : — 
 
 “ We reiterate the oft-repeated doctrines of the Demo- 
 cratic party that the necessity of the government is the only 
 justification for taxations, and whenever a tax is unnecessary 
 it is unjustifiable; that when Custom House taxation is 
 levied upon articles of any kind produced in this country, 
 the difference between the cost of labor here and labor 
 abroad, when such a difference exists, fully measures any 
 possible benefits to labor, and the enormous additional im- 
 positions of the existing tariff fall with crushing force upon 
 our farmers and workingmen, and, for the mere advantage 
 of the few whom it enriches, exact from labor a grossly un- 
 just share of the expenses of the government, and we de- 
 mand such a revision of the tariff laws as will remove their 
 iniquitous inequalities, lighten their oppressions and put 
 them on a constitutional and equitable basis. 
 
 “ But, in making reduction in taxes, it is not proposed to 
 
626 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 injure any domestic industries, but rather to promote their 
 healthy growth. From the foundation of this government, 
 taxes collected at the Custom House have been the chief 
 source of Federal revenue. Such they must continue to be. 
 Moreover, many industries have come to rely upon legisla- 
 tion for successful continuance, so that any change of law 
 must be at every step regardful of the labor and capital thus 
 involved. The process of reform must be subject in the 
 execution to this plain dictate of justice.” 
 
 But the above was stricken out by a majority vote in 
 Convention, and the plank as adopted read as follows : — 
 
 We denounce Republican Protection as a fraud — as a 
 robbery of a great majority of the American people for the 
 benefit of a few. We declare it to be a fundamental prin- 
 ciple of the Democratic party that the government has no 
 constitutional power to impose and collect a dollar for tax 
 except for purposes of revenue only, and demand that the 
 collection of such taxes be imposed by the government 
 when only honestly and economically administered. 
 
 We denounce the McKinley Tariff law enacted by the 
 Fifty-first Congress as the culminating atrocity of class leg- 
 islation : we endorse the efforts made by the Democrats of 
 the present Congress to modify its most oppressive features 
 in the direction of free raw materials and cheaper manufac- 
 tured goods that enter into general consumption, and we 
 promise its repeal as one of the beneficent results that will 
 follow the action of the people in entrusting power to the 
 Democratic party. Since the McKinley tariff went into 
 operation there have been ten reductions of the wages of 
 laboring men to one increase. We deny that there has been 
 any increase of prosperity to the country since that tariff 
 went into operation, and we point to the dulness and distress, 
 the wage reductions and strikes in the iron trade as the best 
 possible evidence that no such prosperity has resulted from 
 the McKinley act. 
 
 We call the attention of thoughtful Americans to the fact 
 that after thirty years of restrictive taxes against the impor- 
 tation of foreign wealth in exchange for our agricultural 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 627 
 
 surplus the homes and farms of the country have become 
 burdened with a real estate mortgage debt of over $2,500,- 
 000,000, exclusive of all other forms of indebtedness ; that 
 in one of the chief agricultural States of the West there ap- 
 pears a real estate mortgage debt averaging $165 per capita 
 of the total population, and that similar conditions and ten- 
 dencies are shown to exist in the other agricultural export- 
 ing States. We denounce a policy which fosters no industry 
 so much as it does that of the Sheriff. 
 
 RECIPROCITY. — Trade interchange on the basis of re- 
 ciprocal advantages to the countries participating is a time- 
 honored doctrine of the Democratic faith, but we denounce 
 the sham reciprocity which juggles with the people’s desire 
 for enlarged foreign markets and freer exchanges by pre- 
 tending to establish closer trade relations for a country 
 whose articles of export are almost exclusively agricultural 
 products with other countries that are also agricultural, 
 while erecting a Custom House barrier of prohibitive tariff 
 taxes against the richest countries of the world that stand 
 ready to take our entire surplus of products and to exchange 
 therefor commodities which are necessaries and comforts of 
 life among our own people. 
 
 TRUSTS. — We recognize in the trusts and combinations 
 which are designed to enable capital to secure more than its 
 just share of the joint product of capital and labor a natural 
 consequence of the prohibitive taxes which prevent the free 
 competition which is the life of honest trade ; but we believe 
 their worst evils can be abated by law, and we demand the 
 rigid enforcement of the laws made to prevent and control 
 them, together with such further legislation in restraint of 
 their abuses as experience may show to be necessary. 
 
 PUBLIC LANDS. — The Republican party, while pro- 
 fessing a policy of reserving the public land for small hold- 
 ings by actual settlers, has given away the people’s heritage, 
 till now a few railroads and non-resident aliens, individual 
 and corporate, possess a larger area than that of all our 
 farms between the two seas. The last Democratic admin- 
 istration reversed the improvident and unwise policy of the 
 
628 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 Republican party touching the public domain, and reclaimed 
 from corporations and syndicates, alien and domestic, and 
 restored to the people nearly 100,000,000 acres of valuable 
 land, to be sacredly held as homesteads for our citizens, and 
 we pledge ourselves to continue this policy until every acre 
 of land so unlawfully held shall be reclaimed and restored 
 to the people. 
 
 SILVER COINAGE. — We denounce the Republican 
 legislation known as the Sherman Act of 1890 as a cowardly 
 makeshift, fraught with possibilities of danger in the future, 
 which should make all its supporters, as well as its author, 
 anxious for its speedy repeal. We hold to the use of both 
 gold and silver as the standard money of the country, and 
 to the coinage of both gold and silver, without discriminat- 
 ing against either metal or charge for mintage, the dollar 
 unit of coinage of both metals must be of equal intrinsic 
 and exchangeable value, or be adjusted through international 
 agreement or by such safeguards of legislation as shall in- 
 sure the maintenance of the parity of the two metals, and 
 the equal power of every dollar at all times in the markets 
 and in the payment of debts, and we demand that all paper 
 currency shall be kept at par with and redeemable in such 
 coin. We insist upon this policy as specially necessary for 
 the protection of the farmers and laboring classes, the first 
 and most defenceless victims of unstable money and a fluc- 
 tuating currency. 
 
 BANK TAXATION. — We recommend that the prohib- 
 itory ten per cent, tax on State bank issues be repealed. 
 
 PUBLIC OFFICES. — Public office is a public trust. We 
 reaffirm the declaration of the Democratic National Con- 
 vention of 1876 for the reform of the Civil Service, and we 
 call for the honest enforcement of all laws regulating the 
 same. The nomination of a President, as in the recent Re- 
 publican Convention, by delegations composed largely of 
 his appointees, holding office at his pleasure, is a scandalous 
 satire upon free popular institutions and a startling illustra- 
 tion of the methods by which a President may gratify his 
 ambition. We denounce a policy under which Federal 
 

 Hon. Charles F. Crisp. 
 
 Born in Sheffield, England, January 29, 1845, of American parents; 
 educated in common schools of Savannah and Macon, Ga. ; entered 
 Confederate army, May, 1861 ; a prisoner of war, 1864-65; studied law 
 in Americus, Ga., and admitted to bar, 1866; practiced in Ellaville ; 
 appointed Solicitor-general in 1872 and again in 1873 ; moved to Americus 
 in 1873; appointed Judge of Superior Court, 1876, and elected to same, 
 1878 ; re-elected Judge, 1880 ; elected to 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st and 52d 
 Congresses ; elected Speaker of House in 52d Congress, after a long and 
 exciting canvass, his leading opponent being Roger Q. Mills, of Texas. 
 
 (6 .,) 
 
GROVER CEEVELAND. 
 
 631 
 
 office-holders usurp control of party conventions in the 
 States, and we pledge the Democratic party to the reform 
 of these and all other abuses which threaten individual lib- 
 erty and local self-government. 
 
 FOREIGN POLICY. — The Democratic party is the 
 only party that has ever given the country a foreign policy 
 consistent and vigorous, compelling respect abroad and in- 
 spiring confidence at home. While avoiding entangling 
 alliances, it has aimed to cultivate friendly relations with 
 other nations, and especially with our neighbors on the 
 American Continent, whose destiny is closely linked with 
 our own ; and we view with alarm the tendency to a policy 
 of irritation and bluster which is liable at any time to con- 
 front us with the alternative of humiliation or war. We 
 favor the maintenance of a navy strong enough for all pur- 
 poses of national defence and to properly maintain the 
 honor and dignity of the country abroad. 
 
 FOREIGN OPPRESSION.— This country has always 
 been the refuge of the oppressed from every land — exiles 
 for conscience sake — and in the spirit of the founders of our 
 government we condemn the oppression practiced by the 
 Russian Government upon its Lutheran and Jewish sub- 
 jects, and we call upon our national government, in the 
 interest of justice and humanity, by all just and proper 
 means to use its prompt and best efforts to bring about a 
 cessation of these cruel persecutions in the dominions of 
 the Czar and to secure to the oppressed equal rights. 
 
 We tender our profound and earnest sympathy to those 
 lovers of freedom who are struggling for Home Rule and 
 the great cause of local self-government in Ireland. 
 
 CONTRACT LABOR. — We heartily approve all legiti- 
 mate efforts to prevent the United States from being used as 
 the dumping ground for the known criminals and profes- 
 sional paupers of Europe, and we demand the rigid enforce- 
 ment of the laws against Chinese immigration or the 
 importation of foreign workmen under contract, to degrade 
 American labor and lessen its wages ; but we condemn and 
 
632 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 denounce any and all attempts to restrict the immigration 
 of the industrious and worthy of foreign lands. 
 
 PENSIONS. — This convention hereby renews the expres- 
 sion of appreciation of the patriotism of the soldiers and 
 sailors of the Union in the war for its preservation, and we 
 favor just and liberal pensions for all disabled Union sol- 
 diers, their widows and dependents, but we demand that the 
 work of the Pension Office shall be done industriously, im- 
 partially and honestly. We denounce the present adminis- 
 tration of that office as incompetent, corrupt, disgraceful and 
 dishonest. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI IMPROVEMENTS. — The Federal 
 Government should care for and improve the Mis- 
 sissippi river and other great waterways of the repub- 
 lic, so as to secure for the interior States easy and cheap 
 transportation to the tidewater. When any waterway 
 of the republic is of sufficient importance to demand the 
 aid of the government, such aid should be extended on a 
 definite plan of continuous work until permanent improve- 
 ment is secured. 
 
 NICARAGUA CANAL. — For purposes of national de- 
 fence and the promotion of commerce between the States 
 we recognize the early construction of the Nicaragua Ca- 
 nal and its protection against foreign control as of great 
 importance to the United States. 
 
 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. — Recognizing the 
 World’s Columbian Exposition as a national under- 
 taking of vast importance, in which the general gov- 
 ernment has invited the co-operation of all the powers 
 of the world, and appreciating the acceptance by many of 
 such powers of the invitation so extended, and the broad 
 and liberal efforts being made by them to contribute to the 
 grandeur of the undertaking, we are of the opinion that 
 Congress should make such necessary financial provision as 
 shall be requisite to the maintenance of the national honor 
 and public faith. 
 
 POPULAR EDUCATION. — Popular education being 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 633 
 
 the only safe basis of popular suffrage, we recom- 
 mend to the several States most liberal appropriations 
 for the public schools. Free common schools are the 
 nursery of good government, and they have always re- 
 ceived the fostering care of the Democratic party, which 
 favors every means of increasing intelligence. Freedom of 
 education, being an essential of civil and religious liberty, as 
 well as a necessity for the development of intelligence, must 
 not be interfered with under any pretext whatever. We are 
 opposed to State interference with parental rights and rights 
 of conscience in the education of children as an infringement 
 of the fundamental Democratic doctrine that the largest in- 
 dividual liberty consistent with the rights of others insures 
 the highest type of American citizenship and the best gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 NEW STATES. — We approve the action of the present 
 House of Representatives in passing bills for the admission 
 into the Union as States of the Territories of New Mexico 
 and Arizona, and we favor the early admission of all the 
 Territories having necessary population and resources to 
 admit them to Statehood, and while they remain'Territories 
 we hold that the officials appointed to administer the gov- 
 ernment of any Territory, together with the Districts of 
 Columbia and Alaska, should be bona fide residents of the 
 Territory or district in which their duties are to be per- 
 formed. The Democratic party believes in Home Rule 
 and the control of their own affairs by the people of the 
 vicinage. 
 
 RAILWAY EMPLOYES. — We favor legislation 
 by Congress and State Legislatures to protect the lives 
 and limbs of railway employes and those of other haz- 
 ardous transportation companies, and denounce the in- 
 activity of the Republican party, and particularly the 
 Republican Senate, for causing the defeat of measures bene- 
 ficial and protective to this class of wage-workers. 
 
 THE SWEATING SYSTEM.— We are in favor of the 
 enactment by the States of laws for abolishing the noto- 
 rious sweating system, for abolishing contract convict labor 
 
634 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 and for prohibiting the employment in factories of children 
 under fifteen years of age. 
 
 SUMPTUARY LAWS. — We are opposed to all sump- 
 tuary laws as an interference with the individual rights of 
 the citizen. 
 
 FINAL REQUEST. — Upon this statement of principles 
 and policies the Democratic party asks the intelligent judg- 
 ment of the American people. It asks a change of ad- 
 ministration and a change of party in order that there may 
 be a change of system and a change of methods, thus assur- 
 ing the maintenance, unimpaired, of institutions under which 
 the republic has grown great and powerful. 
 
 On the third day of its session, June 23, 1892, the Con- 
 vention nominated Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, as 
 the Democratic candidate for Vice-President. 
 
 RECEPTION OF THE NEWS. 
 
 Promptly, on receipt of the news of his nomination, Mr. 
 Cleveland authorized the following to be made public 
 through Governor Russell, of Massachusetts : 
 
 “ I should certainly be chargeable with dense insensibility 
 if I were not profoundly touched by this new proof of the 
 confidence and trust of the great party to which I belong 
 and whose mandates claim my loyal obedience. 
 
 “ I am confident that our fellow-countrymen are ready to 
 receive with approval the principles of true Democracy, and 
 I cannot rid myself of the belief that to win success it is 
 only necessary to persistently and honestly advocate these 
 principles. 
 
 “ Differences of opinion and judgment in Democratic 
 conventions are by no means unwholesome indications, but 
 it is hardly conceivable in view of the importance of our 
 success to the country and to the party that there should 
 be anywhere among Democrats any lack of harmonious and 
 
Hon. Roger Q. Mills. 
 
 Born in Salem, Kentucky, in 1832 ; when seventeen years of age he 
 emigrated to Texas; he became a lawyer, and when twenty-seven years 
 of age was elected to the Texas Legislature; at the breaking out of the 
 civil war he joined the Southern army as Colonel of a regiment of 
 infantry ; he was wounded a number of times, though not seriously, and, 
 returning to his home at Corsicana, resumed the practice of his profes- 
 sion ; in 1872 he was elected to Congress on the Democratic ticket, and 
 has been returned at every subsequent election. His majority at the 
 last election was over 16,000 ; Mr. Mills was always a tariff reformer, 
 and he was entrusted by Speaker Carlisle in the Fiftieth Congress with 
 the task of framing a tariff bill, which was the issue of the campaign of 
 1888, in which the Democrats were defeated ; Mr. Mills was a candi- 
 date for Speaker for the present House, but Mr. Crisp secured the prize; 
 elected to U. S. Senate, March 22, 1892, by unanimous vote of Texas 
 Legislature. 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 637 
 
 active effort to win in the campaign which opens before us. 
 I have, therefore, no concern on that subject. 
 
 “ It will certainly be my constant endeavor to deserve the 
 support of every Democrat.” 
 
 SPREADING THE NEWS. 
 
 The triumph of Mr. Cleveland within the Democratic 
 ranks is in many respects creditable to his party. It clari- 
 fies and simplifies the campaign. It contributes to a sharp, 
 clear-cut, unmistakable battle of principles. On the main 
 issue it means no juggle, no evasion, no subterfuge. — Phila- 
 delphia Press . 
 
 The nomination of Mr. Cleveland is the most encourag- 
 ing political event which has occurred in this country since 
 the war. — New York Post. 
 
 The issue was clearly made between the people and the 
 “ managers.” The people wanted a man that they could 
 trust. The “ managers ” wanted a man who would do their 
 bidding. The people won. How could it have been other- 
 wise ? The Democratic party has triumphed over its 
 bosses. This is a great victory which deserves celebration. 
 — Baltimore Evening News. 
 
 The best Democratic citizenship has spoken at Chicago 
 as the best Republican citizenship spoke at Minneapolis. — 
 New York Times. 
 
 The triumphant nomination of Grover Cleveland on the 
 first ballot in the Chicago Convention is a signal victory of 
 the people over the managing and intriguing politicians. — 
 Atlanta Journal. 
 
 The National Convention of the Democratic party at 
 Chicago has once more vindicated its claim to be par excel- 
 lence the people’s party of the country, the best embodiment 
 2 9 
 
63S 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 of its sterling common-sense and innate sagacity as well as 
 honesty of purpose. — Baltimore Sun. 
 
 Cleveland is to-day the most conspicuous representative 
 of Democracy in its pristine simplicity, purity and fidelity 
 to the people, and it is this conviction pervading the masses 
 of the Democratic voters in all sections that asserted its om- 
 nipotence in the Convention and compelled leaders and 
 tricksters and professional spoilsmen to bow to the im- 
 perious command of honest Democracy. — Philadelphia 
 Times. 
 
 “ The next President must be a Democrat.” 
 
 We intend to see that pledge fulfilled, and to this end we 
 invoke and expect to receive the aid of all true Democrats. 
 — New York World. 
 
 Grover Cleveland will be the next President of the United 
 States. — Charleston, S. C., News and Courier. 
 
 We expect Mr. Cleveland to sweep the country. — Rich- 
 mond Dispatch. 
 
 Now is the time for all Democrats to get together and 
 work together. — Birmingham, Ala., Age-Journal. 
 
 There is victory in the man and platform. — Columbus 
 
 Enquirer-Sun. 
 
 Mr. Cleveland stands pre-eminently for policies of re- 
 form. It was for this he was nominated. — Chattanooga 
 
 Times. 
 
 There is nothing artificial or insincere about the Cleveland 
 movement. — Atlanta Constitution. 
 
 For a third time Mr. Cleveland’s name will symbolize the 
 cause of pure and honest politics and government. — Gal- 
 veston-Dallas News. 
 
 The triumphant nomination of Grover Cleveland as the 
 Democratic candidate for the Presidency is a marked honor, 
 both to the man and to the party. — Indianapolis Sentinel. 
 
GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 ^39 
 
 In Mr. Cleveland the Democratic party has a leader whom 
 all Democrats can trust ; whom all Americans in all parties 
 can trust, for whether they agree with him or not they know 
 that he is a sincere, candid, honest, manly American ; a man 
 of the people; full of sympathy for the masses, with a 
 genuine American aversion to classes. — St. Louis Republic . 
 
 On Juljr 20, Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Stevenson were publicly notified of 
 their nominations at Madison Square Garden, New York, by the committee 
 appointed for the purpose. Mr. Cleveland’s response weighed the responsi- 
 bility of the party ; alluded to its strength and its sympathy with the peo- 
 ple ; inveighed against the burdens imposed by the tariff upon consumers, 
 and the robbery of farmers’ pockets “by the stealthy hand of protection;” 
 pointed to the strikes as evidence of the falsity “ that the existing protective 
 tariff is a boon to” the workingman ; claimed that his party was not a “de- 
 structive party,” but in favor of fairness and justice; invited “opposition to 
 the death ” to Federal interference with State elections ; appealed to Democ- 
 racy to strive for success in the campaign. 
 

 
 
 M imm 
 
 of mt 
 
 mm '-r- - ; n 
 
Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson. 
 
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICE 
 
 OF 
 
 Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson. 
 
 Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson, the Democratic nominee for 
 Vice-President on the ticket with Grover Cleveland, was 
 born in Christian county, Kentucky, October 23, 1835. His 
 ancestry settled at a very early period of Colonial history in 
 North Carolina, and there rose to distinction, one of them 
 being a signer of the celebrated Mecklenburg Declaration 
 of Independence. 
 
 His parents sought fortune in the West and moved to 
 Kentucky, settling in Christian county. They were a plain, 
 sturdy, well-to-do people who brought along with them the 
 convictions that had rendered the name famous for genera- 
 tions, and which were to give character and fame to their 
 offspring. 
 
 Young Stevenson received his preliminary education in 
 the common schools of his native county. He was a youth 
 of more than ordinary promise, being industrious, bright 
 and acquisitive to a degree that found him fitted for higher 
 studies at an early age. 
 
 In 1852 his parents moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where 
 young Stevenson entered the Wesleyan University and went 
 through a course of study preparatory for college. He then 
 entered Centre College at Danville, Kentucky, and com* 
 
 ( 643 ) 
 
644 
 
 ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 pleted his education. He stood well in his classes, and was 
 a favorite with both fellows and professors. Among his 
 classmates were Senator J. C. S. Blackburn, Governor Mc- 
 Creary, of Kentucky, and others who afterwards distinguished 
 themselves at the bar and in public life. 
 
 After graduating he began the study of law, and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in 1858. He began practice in Metamora, 
 Woodford county, Illinois, and remained there till 1868, a 
 period of ten years. He soon found himself in the enjoy- 
 ment of a lucrative practice and in the midst of a wide and 
 encouraging popularity. As a recognition of his character 
 and talent he received the appointment of Master in Chancery 
 of the Circuit Court, which position he occupied for a period 
 of four years. He was then chosen District Attorney, which 
 office he held for four years, and which he administered with 
 ability and fidelity. 
 
 During these years he became identified with politics, 
 and such had been th£ character of his administrations of 
 office and such his growth in popular estimation that the 
 people of his district selected him as a Presidential Elector 
 in 1864. He entered the campaign for General McClellan 
 with all the ardor of youth and all the intensity of deep con- 
 viction, and proved himself one of the ablest of campaignists. 
 His Democracy was of uncompromising quality and he 
 gained a deep place in the affections of his party. His 
 industry was of the most energetic and persevering type, and 
 in his stumping tour of the State he visited nearly every 
 county. 
 
 At the expiration of his term as District Attorney in 1868 
 he moved to Bloomington, 111 ., where he formed a law part- 
 nership with his cousin, J. S. Ewing, which connection is 
 retained to date. This firm came into the enjoyment of an 
 extensive law practice, and took rank with the first in the 
 
ADt,AI K. STEVENSON. 
 
 645 
 
 State. The cases which came under its control were of 
 great magnitude, and not a few of them proved to be of 
 State and national importance. Mr. Stevenson enjoyed a 
 reputation as a lawyer which any practitioner might envy. 
 He was recognized as able in every branch of law, as in- 
 defatigable in the preparation and prosecution of cases, and 
 as devoted to the interests of his clients. He was an 
 eloquent pleader, and commanded the respect of both court 
 and jury. 
 
 All the while he kept up his interest in politics and con- 
 tinually enlarged his influence with the masses of his party. 
 His traits of fairness and frankness, and of unswerving devo- 
 tion to his political principles, as well as of adhesion to the 
 methods which insure party success, won for him a strength 
 and popularity which augured well for his future standing 
 in party councils. 
 
 When quite young he married Miss Lettie Green, the 
 handsome and accomplished daughter of President Green, 
 of Centre College at Danville, Ky., a profound scholar, and 
 a minister of high standing. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Stevenson was honored by his party with 
 the nomination for Congress in the Bloomington District. 
 Such a nomination meant the leadership of a forlorn hope, 
 for the district was counted as safely Republican by a ma- 
 jority of three thousand. The situation was especially 
 desperate at that time, for his opponent was General Mc- 
 Nulta, who was regarded as one of the best stumpers and 
 debaters in the State, and who was strong with his party. 
 But Stevenson plunged into the canvass with an ardor and 
 persistency characteristic of him. He fought every inch of 
 ground with bravery and ability, and made one of the hot- 
 test and most interesting canvasses of modern times. If a 
 winner, it would be a surprising and glorious victory. If 
 
646 
 
 ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 defeated, he would go down with his flag flying and with 
 the admiration of friend and foe for his gallant efforts. 
 This campaign showed precisely of what stuff Stevenson 
 was made. He was a Napoleon in energy, a Ney in tac- 
 tics, a Taylor in persistency. That the campaign grew 
 bitter as it grew excited was to be expected, but it was not 
 the fault of either candidate, so much as the indiscretion of 
 their friends. The war was waged unremittingly till the 
 polls closed. 
 
 During this malignant and scorching campaign Mr. 
 Stevenson was forced to meet and demolish the charge that 
 he was not in sympathy with the Union and that he had 
 been a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle. He 
 showed that he had never been a member of any society, 
 except the fraternities connected with his college, and the 
 remarkable result of his campaign fully vindicated him from 
 the aspersions cast upon him. Speaking of the malicious 
 story then circulated for the purpose of encompassing his 
 defeat, he has taken occasion to say : — 
 
 “ While I was not in the army I favored every method for 
 the suppression of the rebellion by force of arms and gave 
 every action toward that end my cordial sympathy and 
 support. On the 4th day of July, 1861 , 1 delivered a eulogy 
 on the life of Stephen A. Douglas at Metamora, Woodford 
 County. I was always an admirer of Douglas and agreed 
 with him as to his position in regard to the war. In that 
 speech I spoke firmly and unwaveringly Li support of the 
 Union and for the suppression of the rebellion. When 
 Colonel Sidwell, of Woodford County, set out to raise a 
 regiment of Union soldiers, I accompanied him on his mis- 
 sion, made speeches and in every way aided him in the 
 work, for which service he afterwards gave me a written ex- 
 pression of thanks. 
 
 “ In 1874 I was elected to Congress by a large majority 
 
ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 647 
 
 in this district, which just before had given 3000 Republican 
 majority, and defeated General McNulta, a gallant Union 
 soldier. It is not likely that this could have been accom- 
 plished by a man whose loyalty was doubted, and mind you, 
 I was elected to represent the people of a district who had 
 once been represented in Congress by Abraham Lincoln. 
 I desire again to state, as strongly as it is possible to state, 
 that there is not one word of truth in the charge that I was 
 disloyal to the Union, in thought or deed, or that I ever be- 
 longed to or sympathized with or knew of the existence of 
 such an organization as the Knights of the Golden Circle.” 
 
 The result of this election was astounding to both sides. 
 He had overcome quite three thousand opposition majority 
 and had turned it into a Democratic majority of nearly 
 twelve hundred. Such a revolution is seldom witnessed, 
 especially in stable communities. It was largely a personal 
 triumph, and it greatly augmented his fame as a politician 
 and his standing as a popular, lion-hearted man. It gave 
 him a prestige in his party which only needed cultivation 
 and opportunity to establish him as among its chief advisers. 
 
 His career in Congress was that of a thorough-going 
 Democrat. He did not originate measures, but he proved 
 to be a staunch advocate of all that was Democratic, a safe 
 and shrewd adviser, and a reliable exponent of party 
 measures. He retired with honors, and with a career that 
 greatly endeared him to his constituency. He had made a 
 mark for industry, for courage in debate, for consistency, 
 earnestness and ability, which laid the foundation of other 
 favors. 
 
 In 1876 his party renominated him for Congress. Again 
 he fought the ground minutely and persistently. But con- 
 ditions had changed, and after a brilliant battle he was 
 forced to acknowledge a defeat. It was one of those defeats, 
 however, which did not diminish the glory of the van- 
 
64S 
 
 ADTAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 quished. He lost nothing in the esteem of his friends and 
 gained in the estimation of his enemies. The fates that had 
 favored him proved fickle. The show had been desperate 
 from the first. 
 
 Such was the esteem in which he was held by his party, 
 and such its confidence in his ability to fight against odds, 
 that they renominated him for Congress in 1878. All 
 know the thankless character of that undertaking which in- 
 volves candidacy in a district where opposition is con- 
 fidently intrenched. It is the bearing of a flag in despair, 
 with no recompense except the comfort of conserving party 
 discipline. It is the costliest service one can render, in that 
 it is so sacrificial of the time of the standard-bearer. This 
 sacrifice Stevenson was willing to make. This despair did 
 not impair his resolution. He entered the canvass with re- 
 newed ardor. Behind him was a solid Democracy. He 
 inclined to a more extended currency, and would certainly 
 receive the support of all those who had identified them- 
 selves with the “ Greenback ” movement, then so popular, 
 and before which both of the great parties trembled. He 
 made a campaign which was active, brilliant, convincing, 
 and walked away with the honors, having rolled up a ma- 
 jority in his district of nearly 2,000, carrying every county. 
 This result was simply phenomenal, and impossible with 
 any other man than General Stevenson. 
 
 It must here be said that the title “ General ” is merely 
 honorary. He did not originate it, nor does he care for its 
 use. It came to him through others, and if it has allusion 
 to one characteristic more than another, it may be to that 
 happy knack of marshalling his forces in a desperate cam- 
 paign and of fighting his political battles without reference 
 to the comfort of the enemy. When Grant came East and 
 was asked his opinion of the battles of the Potomac he 
 
ADLAI n. STEVENSON. 
 
 649 
 
 could find no fault with their plans but laconically re- 
 marked, “They don’t appear to have been fought out.” 
 Stevenson’s battles are not open to this objection. They 
 were not only skilfully planned but always fought out. The 
 heroic abides in him. He could not be half of a Democrat 
 if he tried. 
 
 His career in Congress for his second term duplicated his 
 first for industry, consistency and pertinacity. If not as 
 showy as others, he was true, and his party knew exactly 
 where to find him. He retired once more with honors, and 
 such a confidence on the part of his friends as that forget- 
 fulness was out of the question. 
 
 In 1880 he was again nominated for Congress. But 
 political conditions had changed since his last election and 
 the times were unpropitious. The “ Greenback ” swell had 
 subsided, and his chief reliance must be on a straight party 
 vote in a hopelessly Republican district. But he allowed 
 nothing to go by default. He fought with desperation and 
 kept his party lines intact. His defeat was accomplished 
 only after herculean effort on the part of his foes and by 
 much less than a normal majority. Defeat occasioned no 
 loss of prestige ; if anything it fixed him firmer in the af- 
 fections and councils of his party. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Stevenson again yielded to the desire of his 
 party and became a candidate for Congress on the straight 
 Democratic ticket. He saw from the beginning the des- 
 perate character of the undertaking, for political matters had 
 resumed their old ruts, and the possibility of drawing from 
 the enemy was remote. Nevertheless he made a rattling 
 campaign and called forth all the fighting qualities of his 
 opponents. He was defeated by the normal majority of the 
 district, which might be said to average about 2700, in an 
 off year. 
 
650 
 
 ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 On his retiracy from Congress in 1881 he resumed the 
 practice of the law, which he conducted with success and 
 profit, as before. But his interest in politics did not cease. 
 He was consulted by the party leaders in his State, and was 
 regarded as the ablest of organizers and the most cour- 
 ageous of workers and exponents. In 1884 he was elected a 
 delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago, 
 where he made most favorable impression by earnestness of 
 speech and commanding personal presence. 
 
 By virtue of his services at this Convention, of his excel- 
 lent standing in his community, of his conceded legal and 
 administrative ability, he was appointed First Assistant Post- 
 master-General under the Cleveland Administration, July 
 6, 1885. An important function of this office is the appoint- 
 ment of postmasters, belbw the grade of Presidential ap- 
 pointees. It is, therefore, easy to see that the main duty is 
 one of great delicacy, yet of momentous importance. It re- 
 quires great care and discrimination, wonderful patience and 
 pertinacity, and, as custom has it, an amount of fearlessness 
 and party devotion which few men can exercise, amid a 
 harrowing environment. Duty overdone is as perilous as 
 duty underdone ; and to measure the exact amount of duty 
 requires discrimination of an exalted order. 
 
 Mr. Stevenson came up to the full standard of an able and 
 uncompromising official. He had full grasp of the situation, 
 was painstaking and industrious, conscientious in his desire 
 to better the service. If removals and appointments were 
 frequent, he had excellent precedent for his action. If in the 
 course of his administration he brought about a change in 
 the political complexion of the service, his action had the 
 sanction of time-honored custom and met the demands of 
 his party. The quality of his own politics had always been 
 of the sterling type, and his sense of both duty and pro- 
 
Hon. Arthur P. Gorman. 
 
 Born in Howard co., Md., March 11, 1839; appointed Senate page, 
 1852, and continued in service till 1866 ; served as Collector of Internal 
 Revenue for Fifth Maryland District, 1866-69; elected as Democrat to 
 Maryland Legislature, November, 1869. Re-elected 1871, and became 
 Speaker of House; elected to State Senate, 1875; re-elected in 1879; 
 elected to United States Senate, 1880; re-elected, 1886 and 1892; 
 prominent exponent of Democratic thought and recognized leader ; 
 name familiar in connection with the Presidency; ability as an organ- 
 izer conceded by all; member of Committees on Appropriations, Com- 
 merce, Inter-State Commerce, Printing, etc. ; a director of Chesapeake 
 and Ohio Canal Company. 
 
 (651) 
 
3 
 
 Of !8t 
 flutist of jLiisns 
 
 
ADLAI B. STEVENSON. 
 
 653 
 
 priety would have been outraged if he had not employed 
 the power and opportunity at his disposal to perfect the ser- 
 vice through agents in harmony with his own and the polit- 
 ical views of his Chief. 
 
 He proved to be an affable and popular official in a 
 place full of embarrassments. He earned the respect of all 
 his subordinates and associates, and the confidence of all his 
 superiors. He held his position with honor and daily 
 growing popularity till the end of Mr. Cleveland’s term, 
 when he retired to resume his profession, with the best 
 wishes of all with whom he had been connected, whose 
 numbers were legion, and with the proud consciousness 
 that he had left the postal service of the land in a better 
 condition than he found it. 
 
 Upon his retiracy Mr. Stevenson not only resumed his 
 profession, but greatly enlarged his business connections. 
 Besides his interest in other substantial affairs, he was made 
 President of the Interstate Building and Loan Association 
 of Bloomington, which institution was incorporated and 
 started in 1889. 
 
 Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson is of tall, well-proportioned, 
 commanding figure, not inclined to corpulency; his features 
 are regular and his face expressive ; his forehead is high and 
 well shaped ; his hair is light and rather thin ; his eyes are 
 blue and keen ; his moustache is light colored. He has an 
 agreeable manner, and his voice is pleasant in conversation. 
 In public address his voice is clear and penetrating. The 
 nervousness noticeable when he begins to speak passes 
 away and is entirely lost in his earnestness. He stands 
 high as an orator and debater, and as a pleader at the bar 
 he ranks with the best in his State. In society he is dig- 
 nified and graceful. His hand-shake is warm and assuring, 
 
 1 
 
654 
 
 ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 and he has that happy faculty of remembering names per- 
 fectly, which counts for so much with men in public life. 
 
 He is, like Cleveland, an adherent of the Presbyterian de- 
 nomination, and in his private life a model of morality, with 
 no bad habits. He is devoted to his family and his family 
 is devoted to him. In Bloomington, where he lives, in a 
 modest but thoroughly comfortable house, as in Washing- 
 ton, where he never felt rich enough to keep house or enter- 
 tain, he is most popular with those who know him best. 
 
 One of the last official acts of Mr. Cleveland was to 
 nominate Mr. Stevenson for Justice of the Supreme Court of 
 the District of Columbia, but the Republican Senate failed 
 to act upon this nomination, and it fell through with the end 
 of the administration. In 1877 Mr. Hayes honored him 
 with the appointment of a place on the Board to inspect the 
 Military Academy at West Point. The recent Illinois 
 Democratic State Convention elected him one of the dele- 
 gates at large to the National Democratic Convention at 
 Chicago, and he was therefore a member of the body which 
 was to confer further honors on himself. 
 
 Though Mr. Stevenson’s name had been mentioned in 
 connection with the Vice-Presidency for some time before 
 the Chicago Convention, other names appeared to be more 
 prominent. After the Convention assembled, and a com- 
 parison of notes had been had, it was generally conceded 
 that the nomination would go to Hon. Isaac P. Gray, of 
 . Indiana. Geographically he occupied a “ coign of vantage.’* 
 Consideration of his name, and even the inducement of a 
 nomination, operated as a cohesive force upon the Indiana 
 delegation, and perhaps influenced them in favor of Mr. 
 Cleveland. At any rate, as affairs shaped up in the Con- 
 vention, Mr. Gray’s name was most conspictipusly before it 
 till the hour of making nominations came. Then came his 
 
ADLAI E. STEVENSON 
 
 655 
 
 period of weakness. The geographic idea lost its force, and 
 other questions of expediency arose, among which was the 
 one that Illinois was, equally with Indiana, a doubtful State, 
 and might be carried by a man of Mr. Stevenson’s wonder- 
 ful energy, popularity and organizing ability. But whether 
 this were so or not, his name at any rate would carry 
 greater weight throughout the land, and round out the 
 ticket with a more perfect symmetry. 
 
 On the third day of the Convention’s session, June 23, 
 1892, the roll was called for nominations for the Vice- 
 Presidency. Arkansas yielded to Indiana, and the name of 
 Hon. Isaac P. Gray was placed in nomination by Hon. John 
 E. Lamb, in a pleasing speech and amid much applause. 
 When Colorado was called, she yielded to Illinois, when 
 ex-Congressman Worthington arose, amid general cheering, 
 and presented the name of Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson. He 
 spoke in part as follows : 
 
 “ Mr. Chairman and Fellow-Delegates : — Illinois has 
 presented no Presidential candidate to this Convention. 
 But for the Vice-Presidency, for the second highest place in 
 the gift of the people, it has a candidate so fully equipped 
 by nature and education that it feels that it would be a po- 
 litical fault to fail to urge his name for nomination. 
 
 “ He is a big-bodied, big-hearted, big-brained man ; a man 
 of commanding presence, of dignified mien : a man whose 
 courtesy in his every-day manners is rarely equalled and 
 never excelled ; a man who in the administration of his du- 
 ties in the last Democratic Administration was the beau 
 ideal of an honest, honorable, useful and efficient Demo- 
 cratic office-holder, like his great leader. 
 
 “ Will you help us give the twenty-four electoral votes 
 to Grover Cleveland ? If you will vote for the man whose 
 name I now present, a man who does not have to get a cer- 
 tificate from a labor organization to prove that he is a friend 
 of the people [applause] ; a man that we all love — give us 
 Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois.” [Prolonged applause.] 
 
656 
 
 ADEAI E. STEVENSON. 
 
 This address was received with vociferous applause and it 
 was easy to understand that the nomination had opened a 
 new trend of sentiment in the Convention. The nomination 
 was seconded by Kentucky and North Carolina. 
 
 The names of Chief-Justice Allen B. Morse, of Michigan, 
 and Hon. John L. Mitchell, of Wisconsin, were also placed 
 in nomination, but it was plain that the contest was to lie 
 between Stevenson and Gray. 
 
 The balloting showed the following figures : — Stevenson, 
 402 ; Gray, 343 ; Morse, 86 ; Mitchell, 45 ; Watterson, 26. 
 
 But before this result was announced, Iowa was recog- 
 nized and changed its twenty-six votes from Watterson to 
 Stevenson. This started the stampede and Montana threw 
 her six votes to Stevenson, followed by Nebraska and Ne- 
 vada who gave their solid vote. 
 
 Ohio changed forty-six votes to Stevenson. Oregon 
 changed eight votes to Stevenson. Tennessee changed to 
 Stevenson. Texas changed to Stevenson. This was suffi- 
 cient to nominate Stevenson, and on motion the rules were 
 suspended and he was nominated by acclamation. 
 
 After his nomination General Stevenson held an informal 
 reception at the Palmer House, and was warmly congratu- 
 lated by a host of his friends and supporters, who regarded 
 his success as propitious of a larger success in November. 
 
 On the reception of the news at his home in Blooming- 
 ton, the greatest enthusiasm prevailed throughout the entire 
 county among the people of all parties, and preparations for 
 an elaborate greeting, on his return home, were at once 
 begun. 
 
 The country accepted the nomination as an unusually 
 strong one, and interpreted the entire action of the Conven- 
 tion as the wisest possible, every line of political thought 
 being considered.^