St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-20
ABRAHAM BARKER,s WORK,
A Story Of How James A. Gar
field Came to Be Nominated as
President.

A Story OF How James A. Gar.
field Came to Be Nominated as
President.
Early in May of 1880 John Sherman,
then secretary of the treasury in Hayes
cabinet, made little Saturday visit to
Philadelphia, Ostensibly to look over
the custom house, but really to set up
his political boom. One of the features
of the risit was ride down the Schuyl-
kill in company with number of prom
inent Philadelphians, among them
Wharton Barker and his garrulous sire.
Old Barker happened to sit at Sher
mans left hand, land, hanging his tongue
in the middle as the boat pushed out
from the wharf, the benevolent old gen.
tleman kept it wagging at both ends
until she bumped the pier again on her
return, says Washington correspond
dent of the New York Sun.
''Mr. Sherman, should like to see
you president" said old Barker, ''but
my son Wharton thinks Jim Garfield is
the best man we can put up. So does
Wayne MacVeagh."
At this time Garfeld's name had not
been mentioned by anybody in any
quarter, publicly, in connection with
the presidency. He was the leader of
him the prospect of becoming speaker,
if he chose to accept the place. Per-
haps if it had not been for old Bankers.
remarks he would have been speaker
instead of Keifer in the FOrty-seventh
congress. What old man Barker said
set John Sherman to thinking, aud he
had several consultations with
his brother-in-law, Moulton, about
it. Feelers were put out around
Garfield, but he could not be caught
He, denied uniformly that he had ever
thought of becoming candidate, and
the only thing he said that could be
ton was remark that he made on one
occasion as he dismissed the subject,
ooh, there's time enough for that by and
by When Sherman wanted to have
Garfield himself make his nomination
speech for himself (Sherman) before
saying word to Garfield he talked it
over with Moulton.
''Oh, yes; have Garfield by all
MEANS" said MoultOn. eff he has any
designs on his OWN account it will tie
him up beautifully"
the nominating speech. Garfield, in
turn, was wary about accepting. He
had by this time become little set up
by the suggestions OF number of mar
plots. and began to think he might be a
dark horse in the convention. He told
his friends that Sherman had asked him
to make the nominating speech, and he
had taken little time to consider the
| matter. 1t is unnecessary to mention
| with whom Garfield finally consulted,
but the advice was: go ahead and ac-
cept. Make your speech, and we will
see to the risk" That was the
ErCf oil A1n 10,
mans horizon, then no bigger
than mans hand, but destined in a
short month to swell into whirlwind
of defeat. Garfield accepted it, and in
time no fact will be more certain in his
| tory than that the famous opening SEN
tence of his speech was entirely mat
ter of prearrangment. History may be
ransacked for a finer dovetail of cum
| ming with cunning than Garfeld's
speech and the work of his friends in
| the galleries of the convention hall.
Who shall be your candidate?" said
Garfield with his first breath, as he
| stood before that great mass of men,
and then the galleries, answering,
shouted back as with the roar of the
sea. Garfield! Garfieldw
The scene can never be forgotten. 1t
was as if child had touched the cleo
| trio button that should hurl the world
into chaos again. All that Garfield said
was that simple little sentence, ''Who
| shall be your candidate?" and thou
sands of men took it up as signal of his
consent and cOnnivance in the plot to
| make himself that candidate. If it had
not been for Col. Moulton's unlucky
advice to John Sherman, Garfield could
that convulsed the convention and
threw into chaos the several factions
that stood opposed like strong armies
Oh the battle field