The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-07
The Circumstances Incident to His Nomination
and Election, Sixteen Years Ago, to the
Office of Sheriff of Erie County.
Scenes in the Senate Chamber When
Speeches Are Being Delivered.
A Young Widow Calls on the President and
Finds Him Very Bashful Mana Young
Man Who Was Entirely Too Frank.
cLEvELAND's FIRST CANDIDACY.
How 1t Came About that He Was Chosen
Sheriff of Erie County.


Sheriff Of Erie County.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6.-Several Buffalo men
are in the city. Among them is one who has
been in the past Democratic leader of consid.
cradle strength. Your correspondent asked him
to-day how it came that Grover Cleveland was
first thrust before the public as candidate for
an elective Office. He gave. in reply. very in
teresting account of this affair, together with
some of the inside history of Erie county wig
vans 'In 1870" he began, 'the slate was fixed
up in the Democratic county committee. Joseph
K. Tyler, stanch old fellow from Cheeptowaga,
was slated for the nomination for sheriff. and
Grover Cleveland was to be nominated for Con-
gress. The county conventions were called by
both the Republicans and Democrats The Re-
publicans held theirs first, and nominated Lyman
K. Bass for member of Congress. Lyman K.
tions with Grover Cleveland. So of course it
would not do for the latter to accept nomina-
ton for Congress against him. 1t would be too
much like having the thing all in ones family.
But the most potent factor in this slatesmashing
was the Republican nomination for sheriff. At
that time there were six or eight candidates for
the Republican nomination Among them was Joe
Ball, who represented the German VOTE land tell
you he was power in the German wards), Levy
Waller, who represented the soldier element and
Seth NJ Fenner, of East Aurora who was put
forward as the candidate of the agricultural
element. Fenner is one of those rural poli-
requests for speech, whether they know their
c,,h; ,Hnx, G,~l,k 1,1kx
these three men was the hottest, Wadsworth.
Republican leader of some prominence, NOM
mated John B. Weber, at present member Of
Congress from the Erie county district. Weber
was of German descent. and he had an excellent
soldier record He entered the army as private
and came out as a colonel and distinguished
himself all through the war. He was also q
farmer, so that he combined the elements of the
three other candidates together. The result was
that he was nominated. It was practically
unanimous ticket that the Republicans had put
in the field, and the Democrats became alarmed.
AS Cleveland was out of the question for the
congressional nomination, he was urged to run
for sheriff. and was told that he could easil,
beat that presumptuous kid" of twenty-eight,
who had forced himself upon the Republicans.
This, of course, knocked Tyler out of the field,
as he was not the kind of man that 10
would do TO run for Congress. and. in conse-
quence, William Williams, wealthy banker,
received the congressional nomination. The
campaign was one of the most exciting in the
history of Erie county politics. but Weber's
chances were considered so slim that up to
week before the election bets of four to one were
freely offered against him and found few takers.
Bets on his majority were quite commonly made,
and the preponderance of opinion was that We
ber would run at least 5000 behind his ticket,
and that Cleveland would be elected by the big
gest majority that any Democrat ever had in
Erie county The whole Democratic ticket was
elected that year. 1t was a Democratic year,
but Grover Cleveland came out at the tail end
of it. Instead of having the largest majority
he had the smallest, and only pulled through by
27O, while the average majority of the Democrats
over the Republicans upwards of 1000 You
will see," continued this gentleman, that Cleve-
land had narrow escape of ending his career
as mediocre Congressman, for the chances are.
that if the original slate had been carried out,
he would have been elected to Congress for one
term, and that would have been the end OF him.
AS it was, Weber was defeated, but three years
afterwards he was elected by rousing majority,
and am informed that he enjoyed the most
profitable sheriffs term in the history of Erie
county, as he began his labors just when the pam
ic Of 1873 made writs and summonses common