The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-07-07
A Luckless Leader.
How Near Daniel Webster Came to Being
President.

wv A. Crofutt's Letter in Detroit Post.l
sit is not generally known" said Thurlow
Weed to me Monday evening after rubber at
whist-for, though he can no longer make out
the faces of friends, he can still see cards, when
placed in good light-"It is not generally
known how near Webster came to being Presi-
dent"
cit is generally known" said. 'that he
was candidate for the Wing nomination five
times and missed it every time"
eyes," he acquiesced, "but he came good
deal nearer than that-a good deal nearer 1
had always been among his most profound ad-
mirers, and wanted to see him President in
1910. But it became obvious to me during the
winter, that he couldn't get the nominations
that Harrison was leading. I went down to
Washington early in the spring and called him
into the cloak-room. 4 think L shall be the
Wing candidate he said. I expressed my
doubt of it, Who will be, them? he asked. 1T
looks to me like Harrison answered. He
almost sneered at the idea. He naturally had
but little respect for mere military men, and
he exclaimed, 1T is impossible that a man SO
ignorant as he and SO lacking in every quality
of chief magistrate, can be nominated for
such place. I told him it was simply ques-
tion Of who could poll the most votes; then I
got him to set down and look over my figures.
1they didn't convince him, of course"
'Why YOU don't act as If you believed it
YOURSELF he said, for you have chosen Scott
delegation from your own State That was to
prevent the appointments OF clay delegation,
ed, But Mr.. Webster, went on, 7 haven't
come to Washington to get you TO withdraw
your naune, but to ask you to accept the nomin-
alton for Vice-President in case Harrison is
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 HarTison, Tyler became President a
month after the election. Webster saw the IA
tal mistake he had made, and the next time /
saw him-he was then Tyler's Secretary of
State-he confessed it to me-
"Well curiously enough, that WASH the
last of his fatal mistakes. In 1848 the very
5ame thing happened right over again. In 1874
CLAY had been again defeated aad taken out OF
the way, and now Webster thought he would
walk over the course I saw that General Tay-
Jor was pretty likely to be the man, for after
the Mexican war thure was great Juror over
Taylor. During the spring before the nomlna-
ton went over to Marshfeld. Well, what do
YOU think of it this timer asked Mr.. Webster,
with smile of security.
i think this time' I said, that 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?' 1 assured him that 1
thought it very probable Taylor was then
designated by those who did not admire him as
IAN illiterate frontier colonel who hasn't voted
for forty years, and Webster seemed to sympa-
thize With this view. 1 then appealed to him
to accent the nomination for Vice President I'M
der TAYLOR. He remembered his former mis-
take, and smiled and said at last that he would
consult his twosbest friends, George Ashmun,
of Massachusetts, and Senator Wilson of New
Hampshire, and do as they said.
"1hey were summoned, and came met
them at Mr.. Websters and presented my hg'
ures. They were nonplussed at first, but came
finally to my conclusion that Taylor's nomina-
ton was probable, and they Joined me in adj
vising Mr.. Webster to be content with second
place if the first should prove beyond his reach
He reluctantly agreed to it, and l was author
lied to sec the arrangement carried out. just
OF that point his son, Fletcher, came home
from town and he ridiculad the scheme so ener-
getically and SO bitterly that his father return
ed to his original position land refused to have