The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-12-07

Of Inspecuuieas friends and cd rnils-
sary suborEiuates. y This Is but q
small portion Of General Shesmaa's
letter. the length Of which ia consider
able. Altogether il amounts 70 4
positive refusal to acoeps = 1onsina-
ton for the presidency under any CIR
czrastanSes whatever.
In order that the full effect OF Gen
eral sherman's letter may &c afpreci-
atei Il msnst he known that y wSs
written on Thursday. May 18th IL
was written at 81 Louis and a. M
Blaine vas az Augusta coald not have
reached him until Saturday and prob
a,I~ did not reach him until Sunday.
The Republican convention met on the
following Tuesday, 80 that only two
DAYS cozlA possibly have interviewed
between the receip: Of General sher-
mans letter By Mr.. Blaine and the
meeting Of the convention.
tits now clear that Mr.. Blaine's in
teutioa up to within three days OF the
national convention Of 1854 was TO
throw the presidential nomination to
General Sherman. This would have
been an easy matter. For several
months a spontaneous movement in
favor OF the nomination Of Mr.. Blaine
had been in progress throughout the
country and almost three hundred ar
dent Blaine men had been chosen as
delegates to the convention. These
delegates came together without any
concerted plan and without knowing
whether or not the man OF their choice
would accept a nomination. Ii would
have been an easy matter to transfer
this strength 10 General Sherman. A
mere word from Mr. Blaine would have
accomplished it. The supporters OF
John Sherman and General Logan
would have gone with alacrity TO Gen.
eral Sherman, and this would have
been sufficient to nominate him with
about a hundred votes 10 spare. 1t is
fact that such leaders OF the Blaine
forces as Thomas {. Plat, William
Walter Phelps, William II.
West, Stephen B. Elkins and
Charles Emory Smith fully expected
the nomination of General Sherman
as late as the day before the meeting oil
the convention. General sherman :
peremptory refusal, however, upset
this plan and left the Blaine leaders
entirely at sea. Mr.. Blaine was placed
in most unpleasant situation. There
was no other man to whom his
strength could be transferred as II
could have been to General Sherman
II Mr.. Blaine peremptorily declined
to be regarded as a candidate, as ht
did four years later, he foresaw thai
the nomination would be given either
10 President Arthur or to Senator Ed J.
munds, both of whom we're his politi-
cal enemies. In this dilemma he cor
Guided to do nothing. II mo-
even communicate with his lieuten
ants at Chicago, allowing matters tc
take their own course. The result
was that he became the unwilling can
didate of the Republican party for tn,
presidency and was defeated after the
most brilliant personal canvass in the
history of American politics.
The knowledge of these facts vii
vindicate the assertions OF Mr.. Blaine:
friends. He has not been a persistent
seeker for the presidency In 1876 ht
both desired and expected the Repub
lican nomination and did what h,
honorahly could to obtain it, In lSSl
he desired it and sought it but did no
expect It, In 1854 he neither desired
nor sought it but elaborated a plan t.
give ii to General Sherman, only ac
cepting ii at last in order to preven
the nomination of Arthur or Ed
munds. In 1883 he did not desire il
and declined it when the national con
vention was prepared to confer it upor
him.
1t is useless TO speculate as 10 how
great a change might have been mad,
in the course of events ii the plan L
nominate General Sherman bad no
miscarried. History is history; W,
can turn back the leaves and see wha
was, but we cannot see what nigh
have been.