Part 20

The State of New York gave Harrison (Rep.) over Cleveland (Dem.) a plurality of 13,074 votes; but for Governor--at the same election--the State gave David B. Hill (Dem.) a plurality of 19,171 over Warner Miller (Rep.). These opposite results called forth the following famous telegram from the President-elect:

INDIANAPOLIS, IND., Nov. 9, 1888. _To_ HON. WARNER MILLER, _Herkimer, N. Y._:

I am greatly grieved at your defeat. If the intrepid leader fell outside the breastworks, the column, inspired by his courage, went on to victory.

BENJAMIN HARRISON.

INDIANAPOLIS, JANUARY 1, 1889.

The installation of officers by George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., on the night of New Year's Day, '89, was attended by General Harrison, who for many years had been an active member of this post. Many comrades from other posts in the city were present. The President-elect was escorted by Col. Irvin Robbins, who was commander of the Democratic regiment during the recent campaign, and Col. George W. Spahr, who commanded a Republican regiment. He was received with full honors by the retiring commander, James B. Black, who presented him to the post.

In response to their enthusiastic greeting, General Harrison--speaking in public for the first time since his election--in substance said:

_Commander and Comrades_--It affords me pleasure to meet with you again on this occasion. When I left the army so many years ago I little expected to enter it again, as I soon will. Among the many honors which may be placed on me in the future there will be none, I can assure you, that I will esteem more highly than my membership in this order, instituted by those who sustained the flag of Washington, the flag of Perry, the flag that was baptized in the blood of the Revolution and again in the second conflict with the mother country; that floated over the halls of the Montezumas, and was sustained in other wars, and which you made possible to wave over every foot of our beloved country. I esteem it my greatest honor that I bore even an humble part with you and all the comrades of the Grand Army in bringing about this most desirable result. I wish to say before parting with you, if I may never look upon your faces collectively again, that the parting request I would make of you would be that each of you, without regard to party (and I believe I can say this without offence to any comrade of the Grand Army), stand shoulder to shoulder, as we did during the war, to preserve a free and honest ballot. There is nothing, I can assure you, that will do more to preserve and maintain our institutions than this. Our country, separated as it is by the great watery waste, need have no fear of interference by foreign countries with its institutions; nor do we desire in any way to interfere with them. Nor, indeed, is there any fear of another civil war. The only fear we should now have is a corruption or suppression of the free ballot, and your utmost exertions should be to prevent it.

In concluding, he called for the choicest blessings upon his comrades, saying: "To each one, God bless you and your families; God keep you and protect you in your homes!"

INDIANAPOLIS, FEBRUARY 25, 1889.

_The Departure for Washington._

President-elect and Mrs. Harrison bade their friends and neighbors good-by and left Indiana on February 25 for Washington. Governor Hovey, Mayor Denny, and several thousand citizens escorted them from their residence to the railroad station. In the escort column were 1,000 G. A. R. veterans from Geo. H. Thomas and other posts, commanded by H. C. Allen. Conspicuous in their ranks was that distinguished soldier-diplomat, General Lew Wallace. The members of the Indiana Legislature saluted and joined the _cortége_ as it passed through Pennsylvania Street.

General Harrison's carriage was completely enclosed within a hollow square composed of 32 prominent citizens--a body-guard of honor. The entire population of the city turned out to witness the eventful departure, while numerous delegations were present from Danville, Richmond, Crawfordsville, Terre Haute, and other cities. A great throng greeted the distinguished travellers at the Union Station. From the rear platform of the special inaugural train Governor Hovey presented the President-elect amid tumultuous cheering.

General Harrison was greatly affected by the scene and the occasion. Speaking with emotion he said:

_My Good Friends and Neighbors_--I cannot trust myself to put in words what I feel at this time. Every kind thought that is in your minds and every good wish that is in your hearts for me finds its responsive wish and thought in my mind and heart for each of you. I love this city. It has been my own cherished home. Twice before I have left it to discharge public duties and returned to it with gladness, as I hope to do again. It is a city on whose streets the pompous displays of wealth are not seen. It is full of pleasant homes, and in these homes there is an unusual store of contentment. The memory of your favor and kindness will abide with me, and my strong desire to hold your respect and confidence will strengthen me in the discharge of my new and responsible duties. Let me say farewell to all my Indiana friends. For the public honors that have come to me I am their grateful debtor. They have made the debt so large that I can never discharge it. There is a great sense of loneliness in the discharge of high public duties. The moment of decision is one of isolation. But there is One whose help comes even into the quiet chamber of judgment, and to His wise and unfailing guidance will I look for direction and safety. My family unite with me in grateful thanks for this cordial good-by, and with me wish that these years of separation may be full of peace and happiness for each of you. [Great cheering.]

KNIGHTSTOWN, INDIANA, FEBRUARY 25.

As the inaugural train sped along it was greeted at every station by thousands of cheering spectators. The first stop was at Knightstown, where the Soldiers' Orphans' Home is located. In response to their calls General Harrison said:

_My Friends_--I thank you for this cordial gathering and demonstration. I can detain the train but a moment, and I only stopped at the request of the Superintendent of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, so that the children might have an opportunity to see me and that I might wish them the bright and prosperous future which the sacrifices of their fathers won for them. I bid you farewell.

RICHMOND, INDIANA, FEBRUARY 25.

The city of Richmond was reached at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, where several thousand people greeted the travellers. General Harrison said:

_My Friends_--I have so long had my home among you that I cannot but feel a sense of regret in leaving the soil of Indiana. I go with a deep sense of inadequacy, but I am sure you will be patient with my mistakes, and that you will all give me your help as citizens [cheers and cries of "We will!"] in my efforts to promote the best interests of our people and the honor of the Nation we love. I thank you for this cordial greeting. [Cheers.]

COLUMBUS, OHIO, FEBRUARY 25.

At Piqua the President-elect and his party were welcomed by Ohio's chief executive, Gov. J. B. Foraker, and his wife; and, notwithstanding the hour, some 20,000 people greeted their arrival at Columbus. The roar of cannon rendered speaking difficult. Governor Foraker presented General Harrison, who here made his last public speech before being inaugurated as President. He said:

_My Fellow-citizens_--I thank you for the wonderful demonstration of this evening. In these evidences of the good will of my friends I receive a new stimulus as I enter upon the duties of the great office to which I have been chosen. I beg to thank you again for your interest. [Great cheering.]

WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH 4, 1889.

General Harrison and his family, accompanied by Hon. James N. Huston, Hon. W. H. H. Miller, Mr. E. W. Halford, Mr. E. F. Tibbott and family, Miss Sanger, and the representatives of the press, arrived in Washington on the evening of February 26. The President-elect was met by Col. A. T. Britton, Geo. B. Williams, Gen. H. V. Boynton, J. K. McCammon, Gen. Daniel Macauley, and other members of the Inaugural Committee, and escorted to the Arlington Hotel.

The inaugural celebration was conducted by several hundred residents of Washington, acting through committees. The Executive Committee, having supervising charge of all matters pertaining to the celebration, comprised the following prominent Washingtonians: Alex. T. Britton, Chairman; Myron M. Parker, Vice-Chairman; Brainerd H. Warner, Treasurer; Henry L. Swords, Secretary; Elmon A. Adams, Joseph K. McCammon, James E. Bell, James G. Berret, Robert Boyd, Henry V. Boynton, Almon M. Clapp, A. H. S. Davis, Frederick Douglass, John Joy Edson, Lawrence Gardner, George Gibson, Charles C. Glover, Stilson Hutchins, E. Kurtz Johnson, George E. Lemon, John McElroy, Geo. A. McIlhenny, Crosby S. Noyes, Albert Ordway, Charles B. Purvis, Melancthon L. Ruth, Thomas Somerville, Orren G. Staples, John W. Thompson, Henry A. Willard, George B. Williams, Louis D. Wine, Simon Wolf, Levi P. Wright, and Hallett Kilbourn. General James Beaver, Governor of Pennsylvania, was Chief Marshal of the day, and with a brilliant staff led the great column in its march to and from the Capitol. The veterans of the Seventieth Indiana Regiment were accorded the post of honor on the route to the Capitol, and on conclusion of the ceremonies escorted their old commander to the White House. Chief-Justice Fuller administered the oath of office.

President Harrison delivered his inaugural address from the terrace of the Capitol in the presence of a vast concourse and during a rainfall.

THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

There is no constitutional or legal requirement that the President shall take the oath of office in the presence of the people. But there is so manifest an appropriateness in the public induction to office of the chief executive officer of the Nation that from the beginning of the Government the people, to whose service the official oath consecrates the officer, have been called to witness the solemn ceremonial. The oath taken in the presence of the people becomes a mutual covenant; the officer covenants to serve the whole body of the people by a faithful execution of the laws, so that they may be the unfailing defence and security of those who respect and observe them, and that neither wealth and station nor the power of combinations shall be able to evade their just penalties or to wrest them from a beneficent public purpose to serve the ends of cruelty or selfishness. My promise is spoken; yours unspoken, but not the less real and solemn. The people of every State have here their representatives. Surely I do not misinterpret the spirit of the occasion when I assume that the whole body of the people covenant with me and with each other to-day to support and defend the Constitution and the Union of the States, to yield willing obedience to all the laws and each to every other citizen his equal civil and political rights. Entering thus solemnly in covenant with each other, we may reverently invoke and confidently expect the favor and help of Almighty God, that He will give to me wisdom, strength, and fidelity, and to our people a spirit of fraternity and a love of righteousness and peace.

This occasion derives peculiar interest from the fact that the presidential term which begins this day is the twenty-sixth under our Constitution. The first inauguration of President Washington took place in New York, where Congress was then sitting, on April 30, 1789, having been deferred by reason of delays attending the organization of the Congress and the canvass of the electoral vote. Our people have already worthily observed the centennials of the Declaration of Independence, of the battle of Yorktown, and of the adoption of the Constitution, and will shortly celebrate in New York the institution of the second great department of our constitutional scheme of government. When the centennial of the institution of the judicial department by the organization of the Supreme Court shall have been suitably observed, as I trust it will be, our Nation will have fully entered its second century.

I will not attempt to note the marvellous and, in great part, happy contrasts between our country as it steps over the threshold into its second century of organized existence under the Constitution, and that weak but wisely ordered young Nation that looked undauntedly down the first century, when all its years stretched out before it.

Our people will not fail at this time to recall the incidents which accompanied the institution of government under the Constitution, or to find inspiration and guidance in the teachings and example of Washington and his great associates, and hope and courage in the contrast which thirty-eight populous and prosperous States offer to the thirteen States, weak in everything except courage and the love of liberty, that then fringed our Atlantic seaboard.

The Territory of Dakota has now a population greater than any of the original States--except Virginia--and greater than the aggregate of five of the smaller States in 1790. The centre of population when our national capital was located was east of Baltimore, and it was argued by many well-informed persons that it would move eastward rather than westward. Yet in 1880 it was found to be near Cincinnati, and the new census, about to be taken, will show another stride to the westward. That which was the body has come to be only the rich fringe of the nation's robe. But our growth has not been limited to territory, population, and aggregate wealth, marvellous as it has been in each of those directions. The masses of our people are better fed, clothed, and housed than their fathers were. The facilities for popular education have been vastly enlarged and more generally diffused. The virtues of courage and patriotism have given recent proof of their continued presence and increasing power in the hearts and over the lives of our people. The influences of religion have been multiplied and strengthened. The sweet offices of charity have greatly increased. The virtue of temperance is held in higher estimation. We have not attained an ideal condition. Not all of our people are happy and prosperous; not all of them are virtuous and law-abiding. But, on the whole, the opportunities offered to the individual to secure the comforts of life are better than are found elsewhere, and largely better than they were here 100 years ago.

The surrender of a large measure of sovereignty to the general Government, effected by the adoption of the Constitution, was not accomplished until the suggestions of reason were strongly re-enforced by the more imperative voice of experience. The divergent interests of peace speedily demanded a "more perfect union." The merchant, the ship-master, and the manufacturer discovered and disclosed to our statesmen and to the people that commercial emancipation must be added to the political freedom which had been so bravely won. The commercial policy of the mother country had not relaxed any of its hard and oppressive features. To hold in check the development of our commercial marine, to prevent or retard the establishment and growth of manufactures in the States, and so to secure the American market for their shops and the carrying trade for their ships, was the policy of European statesmen, and was pursued with the most selfish vigor. Petitions poured in upon Congress urging the imposition of discriminating duties that should encourage the production of needed things at home. The patriotism of the people, which no longer found a field of exercise in war, was energetically directed to the duty of equipping the young republic for the defence of its independence by making its people self-dependent. Societies for the promotion of home manufactures and for encouraging the use of domestics in the dress of the people were organized in many of the States. The revival at the end of the century of the same patriotic interest in the preservation and development of domestic industries and the defence of our working people against injurious foreign competition is an incident worthy of attention.

It is not a departure, but a return, that we have witnessed. The protective policy had then its opponents. The argument was made, as now, that its benefits inured to particular classes or sections. If the question became in any sense, or at any time, sectional, it was only because slavery existed in some of the States. But for this there was no reason why the cotton-producing States should not have led or walked abreast with the New England States in the production of cotton fabrics. There was this reason only why the States that divide with Pennsylvania the mineral treasures of the great southeastern and central mountain ranges should have been so tardy in bringing to the smelting furnace and the mill the coal and iron from their near opposing hillsides. Mill-fires were lighted at the funeral pile of slavery. The emancipation proclamation was heard in the depths of the earth as well as in the sky--men were made free and material things became our better servants.

The sectional element has happily been eliminated from the tariff discussion. We have no longer States that are necessarily only planting States. None are excluded from achieving that diversification of pursuit among the people which brings wealth and contentment. The cotton plantation will not be less valuable when the product is spun in the country town by operatives whose necessities call for diversified crops and create a home demand for garden and agricultural products. Every new mine, furnace, and factory is an extension of the productive capacity of the State more real and valuable than added territory.

Shall the prejudices and paralysis of slavery continue to hang upon the skirts of progress? How long will those who rejoice that slavery no longer exists cherish or tolerate the incapacities it puts upon their communities? I look hopefully to the continuance of our protective system and to the consequent development of manufacturing and mining enterprises in the States hitherto wholly given to agriculture as a potent influence in the perfect unification of our people. The men who have invested their capital in these enterprises, the farmers who have felt the benefit of their neighborhood, and the men who work in shop or field will not fail to find and to defend a community of interest. Is it not quite possible that the farmers and the promoters of the great mining and manufacturing enterprises which have recently been established in the South may yet find that the free ballot of the workingman, without distinction of race, is needed for their defence as well as for his own? I do not doubt that if these men in the South who now accept the tariff views of Clay and the constitutional expositions of Webster would courageously avow and defend their real convictions they would not find it difficult, by friendly instruction and co-operation, to make the black man their efficient and safe ally, not only in establishing correct principles in our national Administration, but in preserving for their local communities the benefits of social order and economical and honest government. At least until the good offices of kindness and education have been fairly tried the contrary conclusion cannot be plausibly urged.

I have altogether rejected the suggestion of a special executive policy for any section of our country. It is the duty of the Executive to administer and enforce in the methods and by the instrumentalities pointed out and provided by the Constitution all the laws enacted by Congress. These laws are general, and their administration should be uniform and equal. As a citizen may not elect what laws he will obey, neither may the Executive elect which he will enforce. The duty to obey and execute embraces the Constitution in its entirety and the whole code of laws enacted under it. The evil example of permitting individuals, corporations, or communities to nullify the laws because they cross some selfish or local interests or prejudices is full of danger, not only to the Nation at large, but much more to those who use this pernicious expedient to escape their just obligations or to obtain an unjust advantage over others. They will presently themselves be compelled to appeal to the law for protection, and those who would use the law as a defence must not deny that use of it to others.

If our great corporations would more scrupulously observe their legal obligations and duties they would have less cause to complain of the unlawful limitations of their rights or of violent interference with their operations. The community that by concert, open or secret, among its citizens denies to a portion of its members their plain rights under the law has severed the only safe bond of social order and prosperity. The evil works, from a bad centre, both ways. It demoralizes those who practise it, and destroys the faith of those who suffer by it in the efficiency of the law as a safe protector. The man in whose breast that faith has been darkened is naturally the subject of dangerous and uncanny suggestions. Those who use unlawful methods, if moved by no higher motive than the selfishness that prompts them, may well stop and inquire what is to be the end of this. An unlawful expedient cannot become a permanent condition of government. If the educated and influential classes in a community either practise or connive at the systematic violation of laws that seem to them to cross their convenience, what can they expect when the lesson that convenience or a supposed class interest is a sufficient cause for lawlessness has been well learned by the ignorant classes? A community where law is the rule of conduct, and where courts, not mobs, execute its penalties, is the only attractive field for business investments and honest labor.

Our naturalization laws should be so amended as to make the inquiry into the character and good disposition of persons applying for citizenship more careful and searching. Our existing laws have been in their administration an unimpressive and often an unintelligible form. We accept the man as a citizen without any knowledge of his fitness, and he assumes the duties of citizenship without any knowledge as to what they are. The privileges of American citizenship are so great and its duties so grave that we may well insist upon a good knowledge of every person applying for citizenship and a good knowledge by him of our institutions. We should not cease to be hospitable to immigration, but we should cease to be careless as to the character of it. There are men of all races, even the best, whose coming is necessarily a burden upon our public revenues or a threat to social order. These should be identified and excluded.