Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-07-16
HOW GRANT CHEATED FORNEY.
Promising a Cabinet Position to Goo. Car
tin, and Then Sending Him to Siberian
EciEe.
New York SUM-

spirited campaigns ever witnessed in Pennsyl-
vania. The preliminary battle was fought in
October Hartranft, Republican, and Boyle
Democrat, running for auditor general, and
Hartranft winning by only 1867 majority in
an aggregate vote of 655,O00. The official
vote showed that of the small majority Ale
gheny county-at that time the home Of the
great Robert w. Mackey-c contributed 1857
of it, or nearly the entire majority given for
: Hartranft, while Philadelphia, which usually
gives from 10000 to 10000 Republican ma
jority, gave Mr.. Boyle majority of IT'S
votes.
The result of the October election made
the Grant managers painfully anxious about
the termination of the November election,
and Col. Forney, who was ore of the first to
suggest Gen. Grant as the Republican candi-
date, was the most anxious of all. In the
struggle for auditor-general, Gov. Andrew G,
Curtin and Col. A. K. Mcclure, and their
immediate friends, took little or no part. 70
bring these men, whom Gen. Cameron had
almost forced out of the Republican party,
over to the support of Grant, was one of the
pleasant duties imposed upon Col. Forney.
That promises we're made I do not know:
but Curtin, Mcclure, Armstrong, Eli SIifer;
Irwin, and others all turned in for Grant
and the result was that hesscarried the State
by 28,S98 over Seymour.
In the early part of February, about one
month before Grant WAS lnaugurated, Col.
Forney and Col. Mcclure called upon him in
Washington for the purpose of urging Gov.
Curtin for a seat in the cabinet. Gen.
Grant received them with marked cordiality,
told them he knew all about the dissensions
between the Cameron and Curtin wings of
the party, and closed an interview lasting
fully two hours by saying: As Gen. Cameron
was in the Senate, his intention was to put
Gov. Curtin, or one from his side, in the
cabinet, so that both should equally enjoy
the patronage of the State.
Upon passing into the street, Col. Forney
remarked with emphasis: "We've got old
Winnebago at last; with Curtin in the cabi-
net the end of Cameron's reign will soon be
over.''
ut looks as if Grant meant to make Cur
tin cabinet officer" replied Col. lecture;
shut have been disappointed so often I will
wait and see whether he is sincere in what he
says.''
One week before the 4th of March, 1869,
Col. Mcclure visited Washington upon the
same errand. He carried sealed letter from
the Hon. John NJ. Read, justice of the SUI
prelne court of Pennsylvania. to Gen. Grant,
urging the appointment of Gov. Curtin to a
seat in the cabinet. Col. Mcclure presented
the letter, which Grant read very, very
slowly. After he had finished it, the Presi-
dent-elect said:
II am glad you are here. meant to have
sent word to you this afternoon asking you or
some friend of Gov. Curtin to come over to
Washington, as wanted to say that in max
ing up my cabinet, have come to the con-
clusion to appoint personal friends rather
than to make the appointments for political
consideration
To that Col. Mcclure replied: Gas Gov.
Curtin is not en- raced in your circle of per-
sonal friends, he will not, of course, be one
of your cabinet officers; and your conclu-
sion leaves me free to say that, by the ap-
pointment of such men as Borie, or Baker.
or George H. Stuart, or Aubrey 81. Smith to
cabinet Office, you will but invite the most
disastrous failure that ever attended the adj
ministration of the office by any President.
"That will then be my misfortune, and 1
alone will suffer- was the sentence with
which Grant ended all conversation upon the
subject.
Ex-Gov. Curtin is now probably the most
pronounced opponent of Grant in Pennsyl-
vania; Col. Mcclure will deal him the hard
est blows of any editor in the State, in the
event of third-term nominations; while Col.
Forney, who once "halted' Gen. Grant in his
fight upon Sumner, and who in turn was
himself "halted' by Grant, who made him
collector of the Port of Philadelphia, is the
only one left to urge third-t term crown upon
the man who so deliberately cheated him and
his two most intimate political friends
1t is due to Col. Forney to say that he
thinks Grant fairly redeemed his promise
when he sent Curtin as minister to Russia
With salary just double that of a cabinet
officer.