CHAPTER XLII.

ELECTED TO THE SENATE FOR THE FOURTH TIME. Blaine Appointed Secretary of State--Withdrawal of Governor Foster as a Senatorial Candidate--I Am Again Elected to My Old Position to Succeed Allen G. Thurman--My Visit to Columbus to Return Thanks to the Legislature--Address to Boston Merchants on Finances--Windom Recommended to Succeed Me as Secretary of the Treasury--Personal Characteristics of Garfield--How He Differed from President Hayes --The Latter's Successful Administration--My One Day out of Office in Over Forty Years--Long Animosity of Don Piatt and His Change of Opinion in 1881--Mahone's Power in the Senate--Windom's Success in the Treasury--The Conkling-Platt Controversy with the President Over New York Appointments.

In the latter part of November, 1880, General Garfield came to Washington and called upon Mr. Blaine, who, it was understood, was to be Secretary of State. Garfield came to my house directly from Blaine's and informed me that he had tendered that office to Blaine and that it was accepted. He said that Blaine thought it would not be politic to continue me as Secretary of the Treasury, as it would be regarded as an unfriendly discrimination by other members of Hayes' cabinet. I promptly replied that I agreed with the opinion of Blaine, and was a candidate for the Senate. It was then understood that Garfield was committed to Foster for the vacancy in the Senate, but this he denied, and, whatever might have been his preference, I am convinced he took no part in the subsequent contest.

On the 16th of December, Thomas A. Cowgill, speaker of the House of Representatives, of Ohio, wrote a note to Governor Foster advising his withdrawal "for harmony in our counsels and unity in our action." On the next day, after advising with leading Republicans, Foster, in a manly letter, declined further to be a candidate for Senator.

Prior to the withdrawal of Foster I received a note from General Garfield from Mentor, Ohio, under date of December 15, 1880, in which he said: "I am glad to see that the unpleasant matters between yourself and Governor Foster have been so happily adjusted, and I am quite sure that a little further understanding will remove all dangers of a personal contest, which might disturb the harmony of the party in Ohio."

I subsequently received the following note from Garfield:

"Mentor, O., December 22, 1880. "My Dear Sir:--Yours of the 20th inst. came duly to hand. I appreciate what you say in reference to personal and Ohio appointments. The case of Swaim is so exceptional that I hope it will not be taken as a precedent for what is to come. I am greatly gratified at the happy turn which the relations between Foster and yourself have taken.

"I will forward my declination of the senatorship in time to reach the general assembly on the first day of its session.

"I hope you will not fail to visit me on your trip to Ohio. Mrs. Garfield joins me in the hope that Mrs. Sherman will accompany you.

"Very truly yours, "J. A. Garfield. "Hon. John Sherman, Washington, D. C."

In response to this and former requests I visited General Garfield at his residence at Mentor, and discussed with him a multitude of subjects that he suggested, among them the selection of his cabinet, and the public questions pending in Congress.

The proceedings in the Republican caucus, on the 11th of January, 1881, soon after the Ohio legislature met, as narrated in the public press at the time, were exceedingly flattering. General Jones, of Delaware, made the nominating speech, reciting at considerable length, and with high praise, my previous public service. Peter Hitchcock, a distinguished member, seconded the nomination with another complimentary speech. It was supposed that Judge W. H. West, a leading lawyer and citizen, would be placed in nomination, but his spokesman, Judge Walker, no doubt with the approval of Judge West, moved that my nomination be made unanimous, which was done. Upon being notified of this I sent the following telegram:

"Washington, D. C., January 11, 1881. "Hon. J. Scott, Chairman.

"Please convey to the Republican members of the two houses of the general assembly my heartfelt thanks for their unanimous nomination for the position of United States Senator. No words can express my sense of grateful obligation to the people of Ohio for their long continued partiality. I can assure you that, if elected, I will, with diligence and fidelity, do my utmost to discharge the duties assigned me.

"John Sherman."

On the 18th of January I was duly elected Senator as successor of Allen G. Thurman, who received the Democratic vote.

In accordance with an old custom in Ohio I went to Columbus on the 20th of January to return my thanks to the legislature, and was received in the senate chamber by the two houses. I was escorted to a chair with Governor Foster on my right and Governor Dennison on my left, Governor Foster presiding. I was introduced by Governor Foster in a generous and eloquent speech, closing as follows:

"Now, gentlemen, a year ago at this time we were here present to meet General Garfield, to greet him as United States Senator, and to listen to his words of thanks for the great honor conferred upon him. We are met to-night for the purpose of greeting the Senator elected to-day, and to listen to his words of thanks for the great honor conferred upon him. This gentleman has been in public life twenty-six years. For six years he served as a Member of Congress from the Mansfield district, with credit and with distinction. Thrice elected a United States Senator before, for sixteen years he occupied the position of United States Senator, ever in the front rank of the intellectual giants composing that body. Called hence to be Secretary of the Treasury, this distinguished gentleman has filled that place with honor. He has been at all times the friend of resumption and of the prosperity of the people. To him, perhaps, more than to any other one man, is due the resumption of specie payments and the prosperity of this people to-day. As a great financier he stands as a peer with Hamilton, with Chase. Gentlemen, you have selected wisely and well. I now have the pleasure of presenting John Sherman, Senator-elect from the State of Ohio."

To this I responded, in part, as follows:

"Gentlemen, Senators, Members of the General Assembly:--My first duty is to return to you my grateful thanks for the high honor you have conferred upon me in selecting me for the fourth time a Member of the Senate of the United States. Four years ago I assumed a somewhat different office. And now, having been honored by you by being transferred to the position formerly occupied by me, I feel very much like a traveler who has made a long journey into a far distant country and who is returning home in safety and honor. The place I now occupy has been one of great embarrassment and difficulty. I have been away from the people of my native state, with but scarce a few fleeting, short visits, and have lost the acquaintances I have had with so many of you, and have not been able to form new acquaintances among you. I find among the members of the general assembly but comparatively few of those whom I knew in the olden times.

"I assumed the duties of the office of which I speak under circumstances of great embarrassment. I was held up before the public for a long time as one who was pursuing a policy that brought woes unnumbered--greater than befell the Greeks between Achilles and Agamemnon. All the evils that fell upon society in the United States during the period, all the grave distress, was simply attributed to me as a fault. I was compelled to say 'No' a thousand times where I would gladly have said 'Yes.' I was compelled to decline the advice of men honestly given for a good purpose, because in my judgment that advice would not promote the public good. And now, having been elected by you under those adverse circumstances, I feel my heart overflowing with gratitude, and have no words with which to utter my thanks. I am glad, however, of the assurance you have given me by the unanimous nomination of my Republican friends, and by the courtesy, kindness and forbearance of my adversaries.

"I am glad to know and feel the assurance that you now believe that, under the trying circumstances, I did the best I could to advance the common interest of our common country.

"And I am glad to approve the votes that were given by my Democratic fellow-citizens here in the contest yesterday and to-day. If any man could be chosen from the State of Ohio to advocate in the American Senate the principles of the Democratic party, there is no man in Ohio, or in the United States, more deserving of that honor than Allen G. Thurman. For many years he and I served together as representatives of opposing parties. We, each with the vigor and power we could, endeavored to impress our views upon the public, to carry out the line of policy to which our political friends were devoted. And in all that time no words of unkindness, no words of asperity, have passed between us. We never brought Ohio quarrels before the Senate of the United States, and always found that honesty and ability were entirely consistent with gentlemanly courtesy between political opponents.

"And I wish also to return my grateful acknowledgments to Governor Foster for the kindly language with which he has introduced me to you, and to many distinguished citizens of Ohio who, by their kind and generous forbearance, have enabled you, without division, to send a Senator to the Congress of the United States without a quarrel, a contest or a struggle, and I feel under obligations to the gentleman who has introduced me largely for this distinguished honor and courtesy.

"I can only say then, in conclusion, fellow-citizens, that I am glad that the opportunity of the office you have given me will enable me to come back here home to Ohio to cultivate again the relations I had of old. It is one of the happiest thoughts that comes to me in consequence of your election that I will be able to live again among you and to be one of you, and I trust in time to overcome the notion that has sprung up within two or three years that I am a human iceberg, dead to all human sympathies. I hope you will enable me to overcome that difficulty. That you will receive me kindly, and I think I will show you, if you doubt it, that I have a heart to acknowledge gratitude--a heart that feels for others, and willing to alleviate where I can all the evils to which men and women are subject. I again thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Among the many incidents in my life I recall this as one of the happiest, when the bitterness and strife of political contests were laid aside and kindness and charity took their place. I am glad to say that the same friendly relations that existed between Senator Thurman and myself have always been maintained with each of my colleagues, without distinction of party.

Early in January I had accepted an invitation of the merchants of Boston to attend the annual dinner of their association on the 31st of that month. While the dinner was the stated object, yet I knew that the speeches to be made were the real cause of the meeting. These were to be made by Governor Long, Stewart L. Woodford and others, real orators, while I was expected to talk to them about money, debt and taxes. I met their wishes by a careful statement of the mode of refunding, or, to define the word, the process of reducing the burden of the public debt by reducing the rate of interest. I stated at length the measures executed by Hamilton, Gallatin and others, in paying in full the Revolutionary debt and that created by the War of 1812, and those adopted in recent times. The mode at each period was similar, but the amount of recent refundings was twenty times greater than the national debt at the beginning of the government, and our surplus revenue for that one year just past would have paid the debt of the United States at the close of the Revolutionary War. In all stages of our history we have preserved the public faith by the honest discharge of every obligation. Long, Woodford and others made eloquent speeches, and, on the whole, the "dinner" was a pronounced success.

After my return to Washington, Garfield continued to write me freely, especially about the selection of the Secretary of the Treasury. In a note dated February 14 he gave me the names of a number of prominent men and his impressions about them, but I do not feel at liberty to insert it. In my answer of the date of February 16, after expressing my opinion of those named, I said:

"Since our last conversation in Mentor I have turned this important matter over and over again in my mind, and I drift back pretty nearly to the opinion I then expressed, that, assuming that a western man is to be appointed, my judgment would lead me to select, first, Windom. . . . He is certainly a man of high character, of pleasant manners, free from any political affiliations that would be offensive to you, on good terms with all, yet a man of decision."

I knew Garfield well. From his early advent in 1861 in the legislature of Ohio, when I was a candidate for the Senate, to the date of his death, I had every opportunity to study his character. He was a large, well developed, handsome man, with a pleasing address and a natural gift for oratory. Many of his speeches were models of eloquence. These qualities naturally made him popular. But his will power was not equal to his personal magnetism. He easily changed his mind, and honestly veered from one impulse to another. This, I think, will be admitted by his warmest friends. During the trying period between his election and inauguration his opinions wavered, but Blaine, having similar personal qualities, but a stronger will, gained a powerful influence with him. When I proposed to him to be a delegate at large to the Chicago convention, he no doubt meant in good faith to support my nomination. When his own nomination seemed probable he acquiesced in, and perhaps contributed to it, but after his election he was chiefly guided by his brilliant Secretary of State.

There was a striking contrast between the personal qualities of Garfield and Hayes. Hayes was a modest man, but a very able one. He had none of the brilliant qualities of his successor, but his judgment was always sound, and his opinion, when once formed, was stable and consistent. He was a graduate of Kenyon college and the law school at Cambridge. He had held several local offices in Cincinnati, had served with high credit in the Union army, and had attained the rank of major general by conspicuous heroism in battle. He had been twice elected a Member of Congress from Cincinnati and three times as Governor of Ohio, and in 1876 was elected President of the United States. The contest which was ended by his inauguration has already been referred to. During his entire term, our official and personal relations were not only cordial, but as close and intimate as that of brothers could be. I never took an important step in the process of resumption and refunding, though the law vested the execution of these measures in my office, without consulting him. Yet, while expressing his opinion, he said this business must be conducted by me, and that I was responsible.

Early in his administration we formed the habit of taking long drives on each Sunday afternoon, in the environs of Washington. He was a regular attendant with Mrs. Hayes, every Sunday morning, at the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she was a member. This duty being done we felt justified in seeking the seclusion of the country for long talks about current measures and policy. Each of us was prepared with a memorandum of queries. My coachman, who has been with me for twenty years, could neither heed nor hear. We did not invade any of the departments of the government outside of the treasury and his official functions as President. This exchange of opinion was of service to the public, and gave to each of us the benefit of an impartial opinion from the other.

Among the multitude of public men I have met I have known no one who held a higher sense of his duty to his country, and more faithfully discharged that duty, than President Hayes. He came into his great office with the prejudice of a powerful party against him, caused by a close and disputed election. This was unjust to him, for the decision was made by a tribunal created mainly by its representatives. He went out of office at the close of his term with the hearty respect of the American people, and his administration may be placed as among the most beneficial and satisfactory in the history of the republic.

When near the close of his term, he gave the usual dinner to the members of the outgoing and the incoming cabinets. It was purely an official dinner, but Hayes said that there were two gentlemen present who were not in office. We looked around to see who the unhappy two were, and found they were Garfield and myself. Garfield had not yet become President and I had resigned as secretary the day before. This happened to be the only day that I was not in public office since March 4, 1855.

On the 3rd of March I delivered to the President my resignation, as follows:

'Washington, March 3. "Hon. R. B. Hayes, President United States.

"My Dear Sir:--Having been elected a Member of the Senate of the United States, I have the honor to resign the office of Secretary of the Treasury, to take effect this day. In thus severing our official relations, I avail myself of the opportunity to express my grateful appreciation and heartfelt thanks for the support and assistance you have uniformly given me in the discharge of the duties of that office. I shall ever cherish with pleasant memories my friendly association with you as a member of your cabinet, and shall follow you in your retirement from your great office with my best wishes and highest regards.

"Very truly your friend, "John Sherman."

During my service as Secretary of the Treasury I had been arraigned in every issue of the Sunday "Capital," a newspaper published in Washington, in the severest terms of denunciation, by Don Piatt, the owner of the paper. He was a brilliant but erratic writer, formerly a member of the Ohio legislature and a native of that state. I believed that his animosity to me grew out of my re- election to the Senate in 1865, when General Schenck, who was warmly supported by Piatt, was my competitor. Schenck and I always maintained friendly relations. He served his district long and faithfully in the House of Representatives, was a brilliant debater, had the power of condensing a statement or argument in the fewest possible words, and uttering them with effective force. Next to Mr. Corwin, and in some respects superior to him, Schenck was ranked as the ablest Member of the House of Representatives from Ohio during his period of active life, from 1840 to his death, at Washington, D. C., March 23, 1890. Schenck freely forgave me for his defeat, but Piatt never did.

At the close of my term as secretary, much to my surprise, Piatt wrote and published in his paper an article, a portion of which I trust I will be pardoned for inserting here:

"When John Sherman took the treasury, in March, 1877, it was plain that the _piece de resistance_ of his administration would be the experiment of the resumption act, which John, as chairman of the Senate finance committee, had elaborated two years before, and which was then just coming upon the threshold of practical test. The question at issue was whether resumption of specie payments, after eighteen years of suspension, could be accomplished through the operation of laws of Congress, which, if not absolutely in conflict with the laws of political economy, were, to every visible appearance, several years in advance of them. Of course, the primary effect of the appreciation of our paper towards par with the standard of coin was the enhancement of the purchasing power of the circulating medium. That made it hard to pay debts which had been contracted on low scales of purchasing power. That which had been bought for a dollar worth sixty cents, must be paid for with a dollar worth eighty, ninety, or a hundred cents, according to the date on which the contract matured. Of course, such a proceedings created an awful squeeze. Many men, struggling under loads of debt, found the weight of their obligations growing upon them faster than their power to meet, and they succumbed.

"For all this John Sherman was blamed. He was named 'The Wrecker,' and the maledictions poured upon his head during the years 1877 and 1878 could not be measured. Every day the columns of the press recorded new failures, and every failure added to the directory of John Sherman's maledictors. But the man persevered. And now, looking back over the record of those two years, with all their stifled ambitions and ruined hopes, the grim resolution with which John, deafening his ears to the cry of distress from every quarter, kept his eye fixed upon the single object of his endeavor, seems hardly human--certainly not humane. And yet there are few reasoning men to be found now ready to deny that it was for the best, and, taken all in all, a benefaction to the country; one of those sad cases, in fact, where it is necessary to be cruel in order to be kind.

"We were not a supporter of John Sherman's policy at any period of its crucial test. We did not believe that his gigantic experiment could be brought to a successful conclusion. The absurd currency theories which were from time to time set up in antagonism to his policy never impressed us; our disbelief was based upon our fear that the commercial and industrial wreckage, consequent upon an increase of forty per cent. in the purchasing power of money within three years, would be infinitely greater than it turned out to be, and, so being, would overwhelm the country in one common ruin. But we were mistaken. John Sherman was right. And it is but common frankness to say of him, even as one would give the devil his due, that he builded wiser than we knew--possibly wiser than he knew himself. At all events, John builded wisely.

"He took the treasury at a period when it was little more than a great national bank of discount, with rates varying from day to day; the coin standard a commodity of speculation on Wall street; the credit of the government a football in the markets of the world; and our bonds begging favor of European capitalists. He leaves it what it ought to be--a treasury pure and simple, making no discounts, offering no concessions, asking no favors; the board that once speculated in coin as a commodity abolished, doors closed by reason of occupation gone; the credit of our government at the head of the list of Christendom; since we are launching at par a three per cent. consol, which even England, banking house of the universe, has never yet been able to maintain steadily above 97.

"This is no small achievement to stand as the record of four years. It is an achievement that entitles the man who accomplished it to rank as one of the four great American financiers who really deserve the title--Robert Morris, Albert Gallatin, Salmon P. Chase, and John Sherman.

"We take off our hat to John; not because we like him personally, but because we admire the force of character, the power of intellect and the courage of conviction that enabled him to face his difficulties, surmount his obstacles and overcome the resistance he met.

"The treasury he took up in 1877 was a battle ground. The treasury he resigns to his successor in 1881 is a well-ordered machine of red tape and routine, requiring for its future successful administration little else than mediocrity, method and _laissez faire_. As we said before, we take off our hat to John. He is not a magnetic man like Blaine, not a lovable man like our poor, dear friend Matt. Carpenter, not a brilliant man like our Lamar; not like any of these--warm of temperament, captivating of presence or dazzling of intellectual luminosity; but he is a great man, strong in the cold, steadfast nerve that he inherits from his ancestor, and respectable in the symmetry of an intellect which, like a marble masterpiece, leaves nothing to regret except the thought that its perfection excludes the blemish of a soul. John Sherman will figure creditably in history. Mankind soon forgets the sentimental acrimony of the moment, provoked by the suffering of harsh processes, and remembers only the grand results. Thus John Sherman will figure in history as the man who resumed specie payments; and in that the visiting statesman of 1876 and the wrecker of 1877-78 will be forgotten. We congratulate John upon his translation into the history of success as heartily as if we had been his supporter in the midst of all his tribulations. Bully for John."

George Bancroft, the eminent historian, lived in Washington for many years during the latter part of his life. His house was always an attractive and hospitable one. I had many interesting conversations with him, mainly on historical subjects. Both of us carefully eschewed politics, for to the end of his life, I think, he always regarded himself as a Democrat. I insert an autograph letter from him, written at the age of eighty-one.

"1623 H Street, } "Washington, D. C., February 22, 1881.} "My Dear Mr. Sherman:--I thank you very much for the complete statement, you were very good to send me, of the time and amounts of payments made to Washington as President. Congratulating you on the high state of the credit of the United States, I remain, ever, dear Mr. Secretary,

"Very truly yours, "Geo. Bancroft."

Before closing my recollections of the administration of President Hayes I ought to express my high appreciation of my colleagues in his cabinet. It was throughout his term a happy family. I do not recall a single incident that disturbed the sincere friendship of its members, nor any clashing of opinions that produced discord or contention. Neither interfered with the duties of the other. The true rule was acted upon that the head of each department should submit to the President his view of any important question that arose in his department. If the President wished the opinion of his cabinet on any question, he submitted it to the cabinet but took the responsibility of deciding it after hearing their opinions. It was the habit of each head of a department to present any questions of general interest in his department, but as a rule he decided it with the approbation of the President. Evarts was always genial and witty, McCrary was an excellent Secretary of War. He was sensible, industrious and prudent. Thompson was a charming old gentleman of pleasing manners and address, a good advocate and an eloquent orator, who had filled many positions of honor and trust. The President regretted his resignation, to engage in the abortive scheme of De Lesseps to construct the Panama Canal. Attorney General Devens was a good lawyer and judge and an accomplished gentleman. He frequently assisted me in my resumption and refunding operations, and, fortunately for me, he agreed with me in my opinions as to the legality and expedience of the measures adopted. General Carl Schurz was a brilliant and able man and discharged the duties of Secretary of the Interior with ability. I had known him in the Senate as an admirable and eloquent debater, but in the cabinet he was industrious and practical and heartily supported the policy of the President and was highly esteemed by him. Key, of Tennessee, was selected as a moderate Democrat to represent the south. This was an experiment in cabinet making, cabinets being usually composed of members of the same party as the President, but Key proved to be a good and popular officer. The two vacancies that occurred by the resignations of McCrary and Thompson were acceptably filled by Governor Ramsey, of Minnesota, and Goff, of West Virginia. Each of these gentlemen contributed to the success of Hayes' administration, and each of the heartily sympathized with, and supported the measures of, the treasury department.

On the 4th day of March, 1881, I attended the special session of the Senate, called by President Hayes, and took the oath prescribed by law. In conformity with the usages of the Senate, I lost my priority on the committee on finance by the interregnum in my service, but was made chairman of the committee on the library, and a member of the committees on finance, rules, and privileges and elections. Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, became chairman of the committee on finance, and, by the courtesy of the other members, I was placed next to him on that committee. Our relations since our entrance together, in 1854, into the House of Representatives had been so intimate and cordial that it made no practical difference which of us sat at the head of the table. When I recalled the facts that in both the Senate and House of Representatives I had been chairman of the financial committee, and Mr. Morrill a member, that my service in the treasury department did not impair my fitness as chairman, but rather improved it, and that under precisely the same conditions I had restored to Mr. Fessenden his former position, I felt piqued, but my feelings did not extend to Mr. Morrill, for whom I had the highest respect and confidence, and with whom I rarely differed on any public question. He is now the Nestor of the Senate, wonderfully vigorous in mind and body.

The chief subject of political interest in this session was the attitude of William Mahone, a Senator from Virginia. He had been a distinguished officer in the Confederate army, was a small man physically, but of wonderful vitality, of undoubted courage and tenacity. He had broken from the Democratic party, of which he had been a member, and had been elected a Senator on local issues in Virginia, arising chiefly out of the debt of that state. When he entered the Senate, that body was so equally divided that his vote would determine which party should have the control of its organization. He quickly made his choice. He was viciously assailed by Senator Hill, of Georgia, who, not by name but by plain inference, charged Mahone with disgracing the commission he held. The reply of Mahone was dramatic and magnetic. His long hair, his peculiar dress and person, and his bold and aggressive language, attracted the attention and sympathy of the Senate and the galleries. He opened his brief speech as follows:

"Mr. president, the Senator has assumed not only to be the custodian here of the Democratic party of this nation; but he has dared to assert his right to speak for a constituency that I have the privilege, the proud and honorable privilege on this floor, of representing without his assent, without the assent of such Democracy as he speaks for. I owe them, sir, I owe you [addressing Mr. Hill], and those for whom you undertake to speak, nothing in this chamber. I came here, sir, as a Virginian, to represent my people, not to represent the Democracy for which you stand. I come with as proud a claim to represent that people as you to represent the people of Georgia, won on field where I have vied with Georgians whom I commanded and others in the cause of my people and of their section in the late unhappy contest, but, thank God, for the peace and good of the country that contest is over, and as one of those who engaged in it, and who has neither here nor elsewhere any apology to make for the part taken, I am here by my humble efforts to bring peace to this whole country, peace and good will between the sections, not here as a partisan, not here to represent the Bourbonism which has done so much injury to my section of the country."

The debate that followed soon settled the position of General Mahone. He acted with the Republican party. During the whole of this session, which extended to May 20, little was done except to debate Virginia politics, of which Mahone was the center. His vote was decisive of nearly every question presented. I took part in the long debate on the election of officers of the Senate, mainly with Senator Bayard. My sympathy was with Mahone, as I felt that, whatever his view of the debt question in Virginia was, he was right on the reconstruction of the south and in opposition to the bitter sectionalism of the Democratic party in that state. In replying to Mr. Bayard I said I agreed with him in the principle that the majority must rule. I claimed, however, that when the action of a minority went beyond a reasonable delay it became revolution and, in a word, was worse than revolution, it was treason; that under the senate rules, and in conformity with them, this government might be as absolutely destroyed as the southern Confederates would have destroyed it if they had succeeded; that the rules were intended to be construed with reason and judgment; that the minority had certain rights to interpose dilatory motions in order to delay and weary out the will of the majority, but when it went beyond that limit it entered upon dangerous ground; that the simple question was whether the Senate should elect its officers by a majority vote or whether the minority should force the retention of those then in office. The session closed without electing officers of the Senate, and was in substance a debating society doing nothing but talk and acting upon presidential appointments.

The cabinet of President Garfield, as finally selected, was a good one and was promptly confirmed. Mr. Blaine, for the head of it, was determined upon early after the election, but the other members were not decided upon until near the inauguration. Mr. Windom certainly proved himself a very able and accomplished Secretary of the Treasury during the short period of his tenure. As I held myself in a large measure responsible for his appointment, I took a great interest in his success. He conferred with me freely about the best mode of refunding the large amount of bonds that became due on or before the 1st of July. Congress having failed to pass any law to provide for the refunding of this debt, he resorted to an ingenious expedient, which answered the purpose of refunding. Under a plan which was his own device there were called in, for absolute payment on July 1, 1881, about $200,000,000 of bonds, mainly the six per cent. bonds of 1861, but permission was given to the holders of the bonds to have them continued at the pleasure of the government, with interest at the rate of three and a half per cent. per annum, provided the holder should so request, and the bonds should be received at the treasury for that purpose on or before the 10th of May, 1881. The plan proved entirely satisfactory. There were presented in due time, for continuance at three and a half per cent., the amount of $178,055,150 of bonds, leaving to be paid off from surplus revenue $24,211,400, for which the treasury had ample resources. Having succeeded in disposing of the six per cent. bonds, he gave notice that the coupon five per cent. bonds of the loans of July 14, 1870, and January 20, 1871, would be paid on August 12, 1881, with a like privilege of continuing the bonds at three and a half per cent. to such of the holders who might present them for that purpose on or before July 1, 1881. At the same time the treasurer offered to receive for continuance any of the uncalled registered bonds of that loan to an amount not exceeding $250,000,000, the remainder of the loan being reserved with a view to its payment from the surplus revenues.

The annual saving in interest by the continuance of these bonds amounted to $10,473,952.25. I heartily approved this plan. In a reported interview of the 14th of April I said:

"I see no difficulty in fully carrying out Secretary Windom's policy, as far as developed. He has ample means for reducing the interest on the five and six per cent. bonds. He can pay off all those who wish to be paid in money, in strict accordance with the terms of these bonds, leaving the mass of them at three and a half per cent. interest, payable at the pleasure of Congress. This is not only for the public interest, but is on the clear line of his power and duty. Indeed, I think it is better for the country than any refunding plan that would be carried out under a new law. The old securities remain as redeemable bonds, bearing as low a rate of interest as any new bonds would bear, which could be now sold at par, and they are more readily payable with surplus revenue than any new bonds could be. If it should appear next session that a three per cent. bond would sell at par, that can be authorized. Secretary Windom is cautious and careful, and has done the very best for the public that is possible."

"Do you think the public will be likely to respond largely to his efforts?"

"Yes, I have no doubt about it, unless an unforseen or sudden revulsion occurs."

Mr. Windom demonstrated his ability, not only in the plan of refunding the debt, but in the general conduct and management of his department.

The administration of Garfield encountered the same difficulty as that of Hayes in the selection of officers in the State of New York. The question was whether appointments in New York should be made by the President or by a Senator from that state. E. A. Merritt, collector of the port of New York, having been nominated for consul general at London, William H. Robertson was nominated to the Senate in his place. When the Senate considered this nomination Senator Conkling and his colleague, Senator Platt, opposed it, not for unfitness, but for the reason that they had not been consulted in this matter, and that the selection was an insult and in violation of pledges given Conkling by the President. When this opposition was known, the President withdrew previous appointments from that state, in order that the Senate might act upon the nomination of collector and definitely determine whether he or the Senators should appoint United States officers in New York. Finding the nomination of Robertson would be confirmed, both Senators resigned on the 16th of May, and made their appeal to the legislature of New York for re-election. If they had been returned to the Senate, the President would have been powerless to appoint anyone in New York without consulting the Senators, practically transferring to them his constitutional power. Fortunately for the country the legislature of New York elected E. C. Lapham and Warner Miller in the places of Conkling and Platt.

How far, if at all, the excitement of this contest led to the assassination of Garfield by Guiteau cannot be known; yet, this tragedy occurring soon after the contest, the popular mind connected the two events, and the horror and detestation of the murder emphasized the rejection of Conkling and Platt.

The action of the President and of the New York legislature contributed to check the interference of Senators in appointments to office, which had grown up, under what is called "the courtesy of the Senate," to be a serious abuse. The nomination of Stanley Matthews, eminently fitted for the office of justice of the Supreme Court, was confirmed by a majority of only one vote, the objections to him being chiefly as did not relate to his fitness or qualifications for that great office, but grew out of his intimate relations with Hayes.