The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-06


very headstronr man. fond Of having his own
way, and wiz doubtless be very strong in
fuence in Mr.. Cleveland's Cabinet.
THE SECRETARY or THE TREASURY.
The Treasury Department is placed in the
hands of man who has never held public Of
fee of any description. Daniel Manning was
born in Albany on August JIG, 1881, his lineage
being Irish, English and Dutch. His school
days were few, comparatively, for when he was
eleven years old he was taken into the service of
the Albany Atlas as carrier and errand boy.
The Atlas was consolidated with the Argus. and
young Manning began regular apprenticeship
at the printers trade Continuing in the Argus
Office he came to be foreman of the composing
room and manager of the mechanical depart
ment of the paper. Later he was taken into the
editorial office as reporter at all work. III tho
course of this service he was stationed In one or
the other branch of the Legislature to report the
proceedings it was while in this service that
he acquired in acquaintance with politicians and
laid the foundation for his subsequent career as
q political leader He was an early pupil In
journalism of Calvin Comstock who owned a
good share OF the paper In politics Mr. Man
ming grew mp under the tutelage of William Gas
sdy the weil-reIneulbered editor of the Argus,
and tile influential Democratic leader. In 1865
he BECAME associate editor with Mr.. Cassidy.
He succeeded Mr.. Comstock in proprietary in
terest, and when Mr., Cassidy died, in 1873, the
management of the concern fell to him.
1t is popularity understood in Albany that the
Argus and other printing establishments In Al
bany made great deal of money out of public
printing during the years from the close Of the
war TO the disruption of the Tweed ring. Mr..
Manning had however, before this time good
start on the road 10 wealth. He received nothing
by Inheritance, his parents having been In very
moderate circumstances. What he is possessed
of he has made himself. and the period Of his
most marked advancement in means WAS during
the speculative era extending from the close OF
the to the financial stress of 1873. Having
become head and front OF the Argus upon tho
death of Mr.. Cassidy, he rose steadily in tho
management Of his party, without the aid of
official position. The turning point IN his career
as political manager occurred when Mr. Tilden
took possession of the Democratic party. He
was not an original Tilden man. Mr. Manning
took advantage of the preparations for the State
convention of 1874, the Tiden convention, to
grasp the local management With the aid Of
friends in the county committee he got ma
jerity of that body to meet on aday much earlier
than usual for reorganization. The result was
two Albany delegations in tho State con
vention. By Mr. Tilden's consent the
Manning delegation was admitted ard recognized
as regular. Amasa J. Parker was candidate
sainst Tilden, thus presenting the Albany dele
ation a choice between loyalty to a neichbor
nd gratitude for their recognition as the regular
eiegates Their votes cast for Parker.
realty to Mr.. Tilden's disappointment and
hagrin. The latter was nominated and elected.
de had shrewdly foreSeen that Mr.. Manning and
the Argus were the rising power in Albany, and
he expected to capture this power when he di-
rected the Manning delegation to be admitted TO
the convention. When he took Office he at first
leaned toward the faction ne had repealed, but
he soon got over his pique, made the Argus the
organ of the executive department, and took
Manning into his confidence. Thenceforward
the relations of these two men have been unin-
terrupted. Mr.. Manning was not prominent in
4In r4u 10 ~ EAa IS IL
presidency. He had not risen State influence
in the party bat as head of the Argus and
OF the party management in Albany his AL
vice sought by others less competent
to act who were engaged IN that contest Mr.
Manning advanced from membership in 1876 to
secretary in 1871, and to the craftsmanship in
1881 of the Democratic State committee. He
holds the last named position at present He has
been at various times urged to be candidate for
mayor of Albany and for other elective offices.
All overtures of this kind he has put aside.
The business career of the new Secretary of
the Treasury is quite apart from his political
course, although it may be true that the two
have kept even pace his talent for organization,
his judgment of men, and his cool manner of
weighing chances having served him equally we'll
in both lines of action. He was the natural busi-
ness successor to Comstock in the Argus pro-
prietorshp and when Mr.. Cassidy died he was
of necessity selected to manage the entire con
Germ. He has been for many years director for
Albany in the Albany & Susquehanna railroad
to the building of which the city contributed
largely. From 1869 to 1882 he was a trustee Of
the National Savings Bank of Albany. In 1873
he was elected director of the National Com
mercial Bank Of Albany. and when Robert l..
Johnson died, in 1881, he chosen to the vacant
vice presidency. A year later the president,
Robert Ii. Pruyn, died. and Mr. Manning be-
came president. He Is one of the park commits
sioners of the city. an organization whose field
is business instead OF politics. He is director
in the Albany Street Railroad Company. in the
Albany Electric-light Company and trustee of
the Fort Orange Club
Mr.. Manning has been twice married His
first wife, Miss Mary Little. he married in 1853
She died in 1852, and on November 49, 1884, he
g,rried Miss May Margarita Fryer, of Albany.
THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
L. q. c.. Lamar is one Of the most influential
The Southern men. He is forty-nine years Of
%. lie is one of the few scholars Of the South,
ID has had. probably, a wider range of expert
once than any of his Southern associates. He is
o native of Georgia. and is related to the family
of Howell Cobb and other equally noted Southern
families This family connection counts
for more in the South than in any other
part of the country. Lamar has the
reputation Of being very wise in matters of state
craft. although he is not considered good poll
tician. He has more breadth of view than any
of his associates He has always led public
opinion In his State. He served a short time in
Congress before the war, but he made NO partic-
ular mark then. Ii was not until after the war,
when he returned TO the House, that he made
national reputation. His eulogy of Charles Sum.
ner gave him. instantly, national reputation.
1t WAS very advanced view TO come from any
Southern man who had taken part in the re
hellion That speech did more, perhaps to re
store harmony between the North and South
than any other cause. There was a rebellion
against him in his own State on account of it, but
he was sufficiently leader to bring his people
around TO his view after he had made
elaborate explanations at home. His theory
WAS then and still is that the prosperity of the
South almost, wholly depends upon the exist
ence of friendly relations between it and the
North.
His next marked public accomplishment was
his diplomatic management 81 the Southern in
terests in 1876 and 1877 1t was he who con
Quoted the negotiation whereby the Southern
States secured their State governments and