The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-03-15
COMBINES POLITICAL FUTURE,
Secret History of His Nomination to the
Supreme Court.
a Utica special saws:

hr. Conkling VIII not accept the nomination to
be Associate Justice OF the Supreme Court, and
nas never had any intention of so doing This
| has been understood by President Arthur all
along, and the pretence that the honor was
bestowed without the ex-Senators knowledge i
~ a farce, and is so understood here. Mr. COnk-
| ing Is the last man in the Stale 10 consent TO
smother himself in a silk gown and be laid nj
like mummy on the Supreme Court bench A.
the time Grant offered him the position oil Chief
Justice he IL ked IL all over with Arthur aud the
| rest of his friends and they were told that his
habits OF mind, his political ambitions aud his
| physical condition alike forbade the idea Grant
and Arthur understand perfectly well that he has
PRESIDENCY ON THE BRAIN,
and that he has been working for them in the
past in order 70 leave clear field for himself. If
Grant is restored TO the Army and placed on the
| permanently from the Presidential arena aud do
all ne eau for Conkling in 1884 Arthur, also is
| understood 10 have signiied to COnkiiug that he
| will be content with his present term and will
throw the influence of the Federal Government
| in has favor at the next National Republic Con-
venIi0n. The Utica ehieftain wants TO measure
| swords with Blaine, whom he regaris as his most
| formidable opponent, and he believes this can be
| better done by him in private life than es an Of
| fceholder. To his friends here he has repeatedly
| stated that there was only one Office he would
ever accept, and that Is a restoration TO his old
place in the Senate. Yet he Is not sorry that he
! has been nominated and confirmed in Justice
HUNTS place. On the contrary it is believed that
1 The matter was cooked up between himself and
the President, in order 70 restore his reputation
which had been somewhat shattered by the
Sprague scandal aud by his humiliating defeat al
Albany by tue naif-breeds. They felt that II was
better the question of character and standing
should be taken mp in advance of nominating
Convention. and that an Endorsement by the SEN
| ate would wipe out many adverse criticisms. The
President was perfectly willing TO do this for Mr.
Conkling, as he feels himself under the deepest
| personal obligation to the ex Senator. 1t is
open secret here that the nomination depended
upon the settlement of the Sprague divorce suit
without coming To trial. Had the suit beep
pressed Mr. Conkling would have been summoned
As a witness Nd n
have male him cut so ridiculous fl lure "a to
nave forever disgraced Justice of the Supreme
Court. Mr.. Conkling's friends have been labsr
lug with ex senator Sprague and his la Syers for
months In order 10 secure peaceful ter ninatiOn
of the unhappy domestic broil, and just soon
| as II was decided that there should b. settle
ment of the Gaze, his name was sent IN 10 the
Senate. 1t is not a coincidence by any means.
but the conclusions had been anxiously awaited
| for months There is nothing Mr.. Conkling
breads so much as ridicule, and he felt that he
was debarTed from public life until the Rhode
| Island comedy was concluded. Now, though he
| will not accept the dignifed Office rendered him,
he Will appear before the country in
FRESH COAT OF wHrTEwAsH,
and his friends viii denounce the Sprague scandal
as a wicked persecution of great man. Fear
ing that the question Of his moral Character would
come up before the Senate, AID that he would he
| severity scOrched-as he had scorched Hilliard, of
| Alabama, and others in executive seSsiou-he LEFT
New York ON the eve of MS appointment and
caEae up here 10 seek seclusion. He has been ex-
cessively mortified by the opposition of Bayard,
HOar, HaYley and the ieadiUg ST majors, and MOB
Of ALL 10 find himself confirmed by only such o
vote AS Stanley Matthews Ieceived--for he hal
bitterly opposed Matthews and denounced MIN
publicly and privately as man utterly unfit for
judicisl position OF course Mr. COnsling SAYS
nothing to outsiders, but his frien1s,ta < in this
fashion, and il is known that they always take
their inspiration from their leader. They give as
another reason why C0ukilng can not 90 upon the
/. bench that he must take care of New York
IN person, or it viii be swept away
. by the Democrats. Mr.. CCukling rec
| syDiyaS the imDortaOPp pf
OF this State in the uext Electoral College and his
friends are persuaded-especiaily since the defeat
Of the Stawart candidate Tor Senator in the late
Senator Wsgner's District-that only the close II
and most unremitling attention on his part next
boiling ana giving the State 20 the Democrats
They say that they need Nh. COnkling In the STATE
Convention, in Committee and on the stump, and
that they must have him all is lost. Under
these circumstances he would have TO yield even
if his own iGclinati0ns did not prompt him TO re
main iu the political arena If the State is lost Il
feet.y well aware mat the loss win be charged &c
his account and that he will be accused of havin.
destroyed the party by dividing it
feels impelled to decline the Washington judge,
ship and that is because Ms wife VIII not cons IN
to live at the National Capital. There was
VERY LIVELY SCANDAL
in existence few years ago which broke up tht
Conkling household in that city. They kept hOus,
there ana IN the early summer, alter Mrs. Conk
ling had returned to this city, the wife of prom
iuent Federal official IN this city accepted ar in
vltatiOn from the Senator TO visit him, aud wen
Oh there aud stayed there weeks as the Senator
, | guest. Mrs COnkliDg was so much scaudalized b!
this open and notorious insult 10 herself thGt sht
not only refused to see the lady subsequently bu
sue broke up her house there aud has ever slice
remained in this city. The lady in the case wal
| afterward divorced from her nus and. Mrs. C0nk
ling still persists In her determination not 10 TAXI
up her residence again at the National Capitol
its associations are so unpleasant 1t is under
stood that she has spoken very decidedly on tn,
subject ia connection with the recent nomination
aud as the appointmea Is for life-Or for nearly
twenty years in the present case-her wishes be
came matter OF importance. The constant sue
cSSslOn OF scandals In connection with her bus
bands name OF la,e years have driven Mrs. Conk
ling into very secluded way of life, and her view
OF the situation were best shown when on beinl
asked about her daughters engagement 10 a Rail
road superintendent she said, with much feeling
that she thanked God her daughter was not {,
marry politician.