The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-24
HE DEATH OF GARFIELD.
A Trtv al Incident Which Led to the Assas-
sinatiOn of President
Washington Special.

|
Ex-senator T. G.. Plat of New York, is a small
and slender man Of intensely nervous tempera-
ment de lives In the winter at the Fifth avenue
Hotel He is usually about the lobby there at
night, with his left hand in his pants pocket and
| his right hand pulling at short and neatly
trimmed brown beard that covers his lean feat
ures. He can be pleasant or severe as he is dis
| posed toward men with whom he comes in con
| tact. de is good hater, and excoriates persons
| for whom he has dislike with bitterness and
| venom. / was chatting with Mr. Plat the other
| night when something was said about the fear
of cranks with which President Cleveland is
| said to be possessed. gentleman in the
party remarked that he might well have fear Of
| cranks as his chances Of death at the hands of
| one. judging by the fate of others, were about
| one in ten. The Senator spoke up, with a far
! away look. as if he was digging into the remote
past II have believed for long time that if
an appointment l once made with James G.
| Blaine, but which was not kept on account of a
| combination of unfortunate circumstances, had
| been met, Mr.. Garfield would have been alive
| to-day. The whole trouble over the New York
| appointments would have been arranged salts
| factorily."
But how would that have saved Garfield"
asked
His assassin would not have had the fever
| of public excitement with which he was un-
| doubleday influenced. The whole affair would
| have been settled amicablv."
This is an important bit of history; will you
| tell me about it2"
|
in by Garfield for the New York Offices There
| was long list, you will remember. Blaine sent
| word to me that he would like to see me. It was
| arranged that he should come to my room at the
| Riggs House the next morning, which was Sun
day, at IL o'clock. waited there for him until
| 8 o'clock, but he did not come At o'clock
| got word from him that owing to the death of
| the Gar of Russia by assassination, he had been
| kept at the State Department all day to write
dispatches which he could not intrust to any on Q
| else, and the sending OF which was imperative.
| he asked me in his note to come to his house at
y O'Clock the next morning, and consented to 60
When rung his door-bell the next morning his
| colored man came to the door, and I asked if
Mr.. Blaine was at home. | was astonished on
| receiving the answer that he was i'll and could
| see no one. l went away, as you may imagine,
In no pleasant frame of mind did not see Blaine
| from that time until last year. When we met
| one of the first things he said was that
he believed if had kept my engagement with
| him that Garfield would still have been alive.
1 did keep it, said !. Why. no, you did not, ,
| said he, with puzzled look | told him of my
visit and the word got from tho colored man.
| Did you leave card2' asked Blaine. No.
said. was too mad to leave card Then he
told me that he had shut himself up that morn
| ing waiting for me, and had told the servant to
| give the excuse of illness to any one who called
except myself. l have every reason to believe
that such was the case l asked him what it
was that he would have proposed by way Of a
| settlement of the differences that existed, and
he replied that it was his intention to have sug-
gested the withdrawal of all the names and the
selection of an entirely new list l told him that
| he would not have had to propose it more than
once, as it was the very proposition th.t General
| Arthur and made to Garfield himself few days
| later. told Blaine the circumstances of that
| meeting between Garfield and Arthur and my
SELF and Blaine told me that he heard it first from
me, and that he had never known Of it before"
| "Will you tell me about that meeting with
| Garfield"
| General Arthur and went to the White
House together. The appointments were the
subject of our CALL and we did not waste any
| time in coming to discussion of them We
| proposed to Garfield that he should withdraw
| ali the names, and that we should al get to-
| gether and fix up list that would be entirely
of new names-a compromise all around. He
| said he would withdraw all the names but
| that of Judge Robertson for collector. l said to
| him that would be adding insult to injury. We
| fused around and talked for over an hour. 1t
was getting close on to II o'clock when we left
| Arthur had to preside over the Senate, and we
had to run the horse to get there by IL. He was
| three minutes late, as it was Almost the first
| thing we got from the executive after the Sen
| ate came to order was the message withdrawing
! all the names but that of Judge Robertson"
| "You used to blame Blaine for the New York
| trouble"
always. up to the time when learned these
| facts ! am now convinced that he was not only
not responsible for the affair but that he had no
hand in it. AS near as l can find out the trouble
was all Que to Garfeld's kitchen cabinet. and
| Blaine was not responsible for it at all"
j. A. Long of the Akron Iron Company, who
was for q number of yenrs during Garfeld's as
tendency in Ohio, member Of the Republican
| State executive committee, and came from Gar
fields section of the State heard me repeat Sena-
tor Platts story tonight.
"Do you know, he said, "that L have always
thought that poor Garfield was entirely and
wholly responsible for the present condition Of
the Republican party2 I don't mean to say that
he intended any such condition to be brought
out He did unquestionably what he thought
was best, under the circumstances as they came
up, and as they were presented to him; but there
were promises made, or implicitly made, which
were not kept, and there was faith broken and
confidence destroyed If he wanted to insult
Conkling he should have walked out on the
street and spit in his face as he passed by. He
should not have done it at the expense of the
party by the appointment Of man who was so
VIGOROUSLY obnoxious to Conkling as Robert
SON.
The Servant of the Period.