Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-07-14
"A Luckless Leader.

Iae "a 1ucKleSS Lea0er.d1 fE
HOW NEAR DANIEL WEBSTER CAME !.
TO BEING PRESIDENT. =
'77f8l8 y saasi
sit is not generally known" said Thur
low Weed to me Monday evening after a
rubber at whist-for although he can no
longer make out the. faces of friends, he
can still see cards when placed in good
light. ut is not generally known how
near Webster came to being PRESIDENT
"It is generally known, 2 said,s shat
he was a candidate for the Wing
nomination five times, and missed it every
time go" 'g' E''a9t v '''t "a f5sl'
- Yes. he acquiesced, ''but he came a
good deal nearer than Jhat--a good deal
nearer. 1 had always been among his
most. profound admirers. and wanted to
see him President in 1910. But it became
obvious to me during the winter that he
couldn' get the domination: that. Harris
on was leading~ Iwent down to Wash
ington early in the spring and called him
into the cloak room. Il think I shall be
the Wing candidate he said. expressed
my doubt of it. Who shall be, then?' he
asked. 1t looks to me like Harrison an
swered. He almost sneered at the i'd ea.-s
He naturally had but little respect for
mere military men, and he exclaimed, Tt
is impossible that a man SO ignorant as he
and so lacking in every quality of chief
magistrate can be nominated for such a
place. I told him 1t was simply ques-
tion Of who could poll the most votes
Then got him to sit down and look over
my figures. They didn't convince him, of
course. sis,
/ ''Why you don't act as if you believedsit
yourself he said for you have chosen a
Scott delegation from your own State. =
That was to prevent the appointment of a
Clay delegation said, and Clay cannot
be elected if nom mated. But, Mr.. Web
ster, went on L haven It come to Wash
1nPton to get you to withdraw your name,
Tut to ask you to accept the nomination
for Weep esident in case Ha rrison shall
be selected for the FIRST place. No, he
wouldn't listen to such proposal. and he
refused with quite as much spirit as the
occasion called for. So came home and
Harrison was nominated and John Tyler
was made his Vice, and by the death of
Harrison, Tyler became Pr esident month
after the election. Webster saw the fatal
mistake he had made, and the next time I
saw him-he was then Tyler's Secretary
of State, he confessed it to me.
''Well, curiously enough, that wasn't
the last of his. fatal mistakes. In 1S48 the
very same thing happened over again. In
1874 Clay had been defeated and taken out
of the way, and now Webster thought he
would walk over the course. I saw that
Gen. Taylor was pretty likely to be the
man; for after the Mexican war there was
great Juror over Taylor. During the
spring before the nomination, went over
to Mansfield. We'll, what do you think
of it this timer asked Mr.. Webster, with
smile OF security.
II think this time said, shat General
Taylor will be the man,
He was astounded. 1t didn't look so
at all to him. He thought it very wild
guess. DO you seriously think. he asked
that such man can be nominated?n l
assured him that thought it very proba-
bic. Taylor was then designated by those
who did not admire him as AN illiterate
frontier. colonel, who hash It voted for for
ty years. and Webster seemed to sympa-
thlze with this view. I then appealed to
him to accept the nomination for Vice
President under Taylor. He remembered
his former mistake and smiled, and said
at last that ne would consult his two best
friends, George Ashmun, of Massachu-
sets, and Senator Wilson, Of New Hamp-
shire, and do as they said.
They were summoned and came. met
them at Mr.. Webster's and presented my
figures. They were nonplussed at first,
but came finally to my conclusion that
Taylor's nomination was probable, and
they joined me in advising Mr.. Webster to
be content with the second place, if the
first should prove beyond his reach. He
reluctantly agreed to it, and was auth
orized to see the arrangement carried out.
Just at this point his son, Fletcher, came
home from town and ridiculed the scheme
SO energetically and so bitterly that his
father returned to his original position,
and refused to have anything to do with
my proposal. Well, the vice presidency
went begging. The name of Fillmore
was suddenly sprung on the convention
and he was put on the ticket. Taylor and
he were elected; Taylor died in four
months, and Fillmore became President,
and Webster went down to Washington
and served him as Secretary of State, as he
had similarly served the accidental Tyler.
/ think the pair of curious mishaps did a
good deal to sour him and perhaps helped
to make him reckless in his personal hab-
its. ''-Detroit Post d Tribune.
To THE GIRLs.-Stay at home occasion
ally; it is not necessary to be always in
the street; home work is not mere drudge. !
~, but useful ministration to those we
love. Don't mistake giggling for cheerful
ness, slang phrases for wit, boisterous
for repartee. On the other hand, |
don't be prim. formal. stiff, nor assume a |
country facet eloquent of "prunes, po-
tatees, prisms," nor sit bolt upright in a |
hands, feet, eyes and lips carefully |