Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-25

friends OF the President who were urging his
nomination at New York, and the removal Of
M Mccullough and the appointment Of Judge
Church had been promised by those Who were
representing the President at New York, among
whom was Mr.. Worden. This letter recalls the
events to my mind after the lapse Of twenty
four years.
had left New York on Sunday and had come
to Washington with view of inducing the Pres
ldent to act promptly in this matter and Mr..
Wordens letter assured me the nomination Of
Church would secure the New York delegation on
the nrst ballot, but, was too frequently the
with the President, he DELAYED action and the re-
suit was the disastrous nomination of Nr. sey-
mour. On the first ballot Mr.. johnson had sixty
hve votes, and the vote of New York would have
swelled ii to 100 votes, and enough would have
speedily efollowed to have given him the nomi-
nation.
In 1856, on the adjournment Of the Philadelphia
convention, many of the delegates. nearly all Of
them, came here to see the President and had
preceded them to advise him of their coming
and felt convinced that he would reorgsniSs
his cabinet and take his official advisers those
whose views were more in sympathy with the
convention just adjourned | told him what
was expected OF him and he acauiesced in the
sentiments expressed in the resolutions passed at
that great meeting. He said he would do as
they desired, NOV that he had parry at his
back and In his speech in reply to the address de-
livered by the committee appointed 70
visit him he Endorsed fully the resolutions and
platform passed at the convention. The Nd-
ttondl InieLh3encer, which always submitted to
the President the editorials which undertook to
speak for him. announced the coming changes
in the cabinet, bat, alas. they never came. His
troubles did. however and when they came he
had in his cabinet those who sympathized with
his enemies and would have exulted in his re-
moval by Impeachment.
GHOSTS OF THE PAST.
Looking back through the long past since 1
first took an interest in politics list of dis
asters to the nominees of the respective con-
ventions comes up from memory like the ghosts
in Richard III. Mr.. Gays Alabama letter
caused his defeat. Gen. Cass was defeated by
Mr. Van Burens friends because of the two
third rule which prevented his nomination by
majority in 1874. Gen. Scott was defeated by
the letters written by Alex. Ii. Stephens. Robt.
Toombs and others of the south who distrusted
him on the slavery issue and by his own letters
speaking of the 'sweet Irish brogue" and 1.-THE
hasty plate of SOUP" Mr.. Buchanan was elected
by Forney manipulation of the American party
and Mr.. Fillmore defeated by his acceptance of
nomination from the same party. In 1850 the
disasters to the nominees of the democratic
party, Douglas and Breckenridge. were mani
fold and were due to the condition of the coun-
try on the slavery issue. In 1864 Gen. Nc
Clellan had never for a moment a chance
against Mr.. Lincoln, any more than Seymour
had against Grant. Horace Greeley when he
failed to carry North Carolina in August lost
any chance be may have had. In 1876. when
the democratic party in the House and Senate
consented to rattle for the presidency
with certainty of defeat and decide
the result against the protest of Mr.. Tilden.
the result was what might have been expected.
In 1884 Mr.. Blaine lost the election by a series
OF events occurring on the eve Of the election,
among which was Mr.. Burchards unfortunate
three Rs" In 1883 that result was occasioned
by the dissatisfaction of the democratic party
with the administration. As history repeats
itself, some incident, however trivial it may be,
may decide the result In the present canvass.
Nous verrons.
One of the causes of Mr.. Van Buren's defeat,
and. strange as it may seem in this age it was
nevertheless very patent, was the speech of the
Hon. Jack Ogle of Pennsylvania exposing the
extravaganza of the President and his mode Of
living in the White House. This speech was
published by thousands, and found some time
ago in the National Intelligencer the speech in
full, filling many columns, with the vouchers,
showing what had been paid for wines,
brandy. cigars, flowers. vases, table orna-
ments and, above all, the gold spoons used
at the table of the President while you. my
fellow citizens, are content to eat your frugal
meals with pewter spoons, the President of the
United States, aping the royalties Of Europe,
eats with gold spoons" That is about the style
of the speech, but the country was suffering
under a terrible financial struggle, and il had
L..
gold plated, but there was no time for explana-
ton, nor was the country in condition to re-
ceive one, and Ogle's speech did its work most
effectively.
FIRE IN THE SEWARD MANSION.
Among the disasters recalled by the recent
terrible affection which has fallen on the late
Secretary of State, Mr.. Blaine, and which are
attributed to the i'll luck of the house he occu-
pied here on Lafayette square, is one which but
for its timely discovery would have resulted
fatally to many of its inmates. In the winter of
1868, think it was, Col Robt. Morrow, one of
the secretaries OF the President, and myself
were returning from an entertainment,
and We passed Gen. Stewards house.
the house recently occu led by Mr.. Blaine
a servant rushed out crying fire. We entered
and found all the lower part of the house filed
with smoke from fire which had broken out I'M
der the stairs, then in the main hall as you en-
tered it, lady visitor was at the head of the
stairs screaming, and the household had been
aroused. The arrivalo Of some gentlemen-among
them was Mr.. Joseph Sessford, then treasurer Of
the National Theater-and with a supply of
water fortunately at hand the fire was extin-
guished, but not until it had nearly
burned through the main staircase. 1t seemed
to have been kndled by an incendiary but
what the investigation revealed 1 do not re-
member, and only the illusions to the sad fate
of SO many of the occupants Of the house re-
1t is spoken of as being the residence of Mr..
John G. Spencer when the news reached him of
the death Of his son, Midshipman Philip Spen-
Ger, by hanging, on the brig Somers, COM
manded by Alexander Slidell Mckenzie. for
mutiny. The house was then occupied by Mrs
Latimer, and Mr.. Spencer, Secretary of the
Treasury, boarded there. About the same time
Hamilton Fish of New York, then a member Of
Congress, and others of distinction had their
rooms in the same house.
Mr.. Fish related to me an incident which
shows the changed condition of Washington
since those days, nearly fifty years ego. Mr..
Fish had dined with Mr.. Clay and some other
gentlemen at the National Hotel, and on his
way back to his quarters at Mrs. Latimer's
when he reached Browns Hotel there was in his
path o seeming hillock, which he mounted,
but the hillock rose and he found it was a COW
which was numbering peacefully at the door of
the hotel. That spiteful critic of Washington
life, De Bacourt, the French minister said all
the inhabitants kept COWS and they MIXED them
on the sidewalk, and probably this was one left
over. JOHN F. CoYLE
Transition.
From Peterson's Magazine.
A crude young bud on pendent stem,
wandering sunbeam near it;