The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-24
THE CONVENTION OF 1860
John B. Drake Tells How Abraham
Lincoln Secured His First
Nomination.
ria Eaatern Managers We're Out
generated in the Race for
Honors.
Seward Apparently Oertsin to Win
uor.ca Grselsy,s Dispatoh-The Effect
i've Work Done Over Night.

Horacs Grselsy's DiapAtoh-The Effect
i've work Done Over Night.
John B. Drake, the we'll known Chicago
republican manager, and proprietor OF the
Grand Pacific hotel, gives the Evsning Post
tho following account Of how Abraham
Lincoln came to be nominated ZOE p1ssi-
dent OF the United States:
civilian II. Seward, afterwards Lin
coins secretary Of state, was the leading
candidate before the convention met. he
was supported BY. Thurlow Weed and moss
Of the New York delegation and had be-
sides a strong following in the othsr states.
The exposition to Seward was divided.
simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, was a
candidate. SO were Lincoln, OF illinois.
Chase. of Ohio, Bates, of Missouri, and !
I am not surs but there were others. ms
New Workers we're not unanimous fer Sc
ward, Horace Greeley opposed him, and
think Gov. Morgan, of Nav York, did also,
but T am not quite surs about this. In
Ssvard men brought with them . great
crowd of adhsrents. who packed the CALLER
ies ana svsry available inch Of tho wigwana
during the earlier sessions Of the eonyen-
tion and persistently and vociferously
ohasr.d every allusion to Stewards name.
The art Of packing galleries was not a. we'll
known 10 political managers then as now;
IN fact. il was better known at the close
than 1t the opening Of that convention.
1.-THE Seward delegations, not only from
Nov York bat from the other states IS well,
were auartsrsd at the Adams house, on
Lake street and Michigan avenue, and ths
Richmond house, at South Water street
and Michigan avenue. me OPPOSITION
h%aadnuarters were at the fremont. which
food a the site Of the present hotel Of
that name, and the delcgates were there
and At the Briggs house which then, as
.ow was 1T Randolph and South Wells
tract. now Fifth avenue. ] was then run
ming the Trsmont. and ! vas an sntnuslas-
a. Linooln man, and most Of the anti
Ssvard people, who all slong had Lincoln as
ascond CHOICE, made the Tremsnt their head
cnartars. Horace Greeley. with tho anti
Savard Now Workers, were with me. so
vare the Cameron men from Pennsylvania
the Iewa aud Indiana delsgatlons ms
MANY from the other western states. Inc
Ramon was not as big AZ it is now, a
for awhils the boys were crowded. ihs
Amsriean Express company had a big
building at Lake and Dearborn, where the
Conamercisl hotel now is, and l rented the
uppAr f1OOTG ana QJt6u tASn Ny va SSNG
and made everybody eomfortable.
"a tha work went on it looked very much
liza seward. Thurlov Weed p bis
fr;ands enenly boastsd that nothing could
nr.r.nt his nomination. They came ever
e. a. fremont and engaged . parlor and
onened M 4 Seward headquarters right IN
ia c.mp Of the opposition. II was man.
snsS ~ : urominent New Yorker named
1Gs enover. They blow themselvss,' tell
son Champagne and plenty Of IT,. This
stvle Of s~leotionasring ever : bettls was
nat a. popular than ~ Il has co. TO DC
since, and the intensely earness aelegsse
who wars pledged to reform troWned &C
S.r11. an The irrigated headquarters that
il was soon abandoned.
.Tbe night before the last day OF the
convention was a busy ems for all parties:
The leaders of she opposition to seward
hold a long oonferenss at nt me lr rem :
comnlished. They could not agree on a
csndidsts whom they would support solidly
80 ,uai inst Seward. The Pennsylvania men
inaisted on Cameron. United, the opposi-
tion had more votes than Seward, put
Ihurlow Weeds crowd was stronger sna n
the ~anti-Seward people divided into fac
tions. About two o'clock in the morn
ing Horace Greeley came downstairs from
the conferences. It WAS looking very Dluo.
There seemed to bs ne contingency that
could prevents Stewards nomination on the
first ballot in the morning. asheo MN
nov things were, and he replied sorrow
fnllv: sSsvard's got it, Walking to the
connter he wrote in probably the worst
sneciuen Of his p~ennnnghlp ever made his
lannon's historical dispatsh.to the New York
Tribune: 81
Seward will be nominated on the FIRST
ballot tomorrow morning. d. GREELEY,
s.(Ireeley gave me the message and asked
me to make extra efforts TO have 1t sent to
the Tribune. I took it myself to Emory
Cobb. then superintendent of the Western
Union, in their old office upstairs at Lake
and Clarke streets and got him to send 1t.
I came back to the hotel feeling that it was
all over ana taas 6eWaIa Woulo VIC tho
nominee.
.But neither Greeley nor L knew Of the
superb work tho Illinois men were dong
for Lincoln. About half an hour after
ward-it was thsn close to three O'Clock in
the mornine-Leonard SWEET. Ward Llamon
md David Davis (afterward United States
%ssnator) came downstairs. Their faces
were fushsd with SUCCESS and radiant with
jov. Lamon was the htst to reach the
counter, on which he brought down his fist
with a solid thump and shouted:
"'.By-. Drake, we've got them. We'll
nominate Lincoln on the first ballot
Briefly they told ms how after the regu-
lar conferences broke up they labored With
the PsnnBylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Mig
souri delegations until they promised tt
veto aolidly for Lincoln.
Now said Leonar SWEET. we wan
that wigwam filled with our people by nins
o'clock Tomorrow morning. Get the boy
in there and send as the BILL
"Within an hour Il score of the ward lead
ers had been called from their beds and tolt
what was wanted. The wigwam should no
be packed again-nt least by the Seward
Weed shoutars.
THE next morning the toward crow
formed in procession at the Adams an
Richmond hotels ard marched to tho wig
warn. They we're 1,0O0 or more strong. A
the head of tho column strobe Tom Hyel
the puglllst, who was a great Sewa-o MAJ
They had Hags and banners and bands C
music. l stood on the fremont balloon
and laughed AS they went by and az
thought how fooled they would be whe
thsy reached the wigwaIn. not all inch {
space, except the seats reserved for tt
delegates, being u~noccupied. Tom Hy'
and his erowd sto! med and raved III
Ewore, but did not got in. Our boys We
there and knew what to do.
when Seward was placed in noIninatio
there WAS great cheering. When Linco
was named by Norman Is. Judd IT was II
peated, only ten times az loud, by our fe
low in the galleries. When Caleb
Smith, of Indiana, seconded IincolA
nomination you would hin tho roof won
be blown off the wiewain by the applauf
well. Lincoln was nominated, the Pen
s~ylvania delegation voting for him. TIL
tie fun began. When the crowd outsi
heard the result it went wild with jc