Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-04

Of Office, and announced an entirely new one.
with Webster as Secretary Of State; Corwin.
Secretary Of the Treasury; Graham. Secretary
Of the Navy; Conrad, Secretary OF War; Stuart.
Secretary Of the Interior: Crittenden ATTORNEY
General. and Hall. Postmaster General Fill
more and his cabinet had a somewhat stormy
and unpleasant experience. because Of the fact
that his administration was in q political MI
nority in both houses OF Congress. Yet their
term at the head Of the administrators resulted
in the act for the extension OF the
national capitol building, the treaty OPEN
ing ports Of Japan and other important
acts. One remarkable feature Of the history
OF this cabinet is that il il the only
one until q very recent date in which a rnsm-
Der Of the cabinet was q candidate for the pres
idential nomination OF his party against the
man in whose cabinet he was sitting This
was Webster. who was a candidate for the Pres
identia nomination against Fillmore. his chief
at the convention which sat In Baltimore IN
1852. at which time Wehster's presidential can
didacy, with a small following. defeated Fill
more, in whose cabinet he was sitting, and
threw the nomination to Scott, which was fol-
lowed by the defeat OF the party in the subse-
quent election. This bit OF history regarding
dissension in the party and its result becomes
the more interesting in the light Of recent
events eliminating in the cabinet selections
which have been the subject OF newspaper dis
cussion within the past few weeks.
Pierce.
President Pierce, A. already indicated, was
the only man whose original cabinet was re-
tanned intact from beginning to end. Marcy Of
New York was Secretary Of State. Guthrie o.
Kentucky Secretary Of the Treasury, jefferson
Davis of Mississippi Secretary Of War, Dobbin
of North Carolina Secretary Of the Navy. Nc
Clellan of Michigan Secretary Of the Interior.
Campbell OF Pennsylvania Postmaster General
and Gushing Of Massachusetts Attorney General
That this cabinet should have remained abso-
lutely unchanged during the stormy times Of
his administration over slavery and other ques-
tons is tine more interesting. Ii was during
the term of jefferson Davis as Secretary OF
War in this cabinet that the great stone arch
known as Cabin John bridge" near Washing
ton. was built TO carry the pines which supply
Washington city with water. and il was in this
arch that his name was cut and from which it
was, during the war, erased by an official of the
War Department.
Buchanan.
Buchanan did net retain any Of Pierce's cabi-
net, bu. appointed Cass OF Michigan Secretary
OF State, Cobb OF Georgia Secretary OF the
Treasury, Floyd Of Virginia Secretary Of War.
Toucey of Connecticut Secretary of the Navy.
Jacob Thompson of Mississippi Secretary of
the Interior and Black of Pennsylvania Attor-
ney General The exciting events OF his ad-
ministration and preparations for secession dis
integrsted the cabinet toward the close of his
term. Cobb resigning December s, 1850. because
OF his sympathy with the south. as did also
thompson few days later. John A. Dix was then
appointed Secretary of the Treasury to succeed
Cobb, and his appointment gave great salts
faction, relieving the financial embarrassments
OF the government. which were very serious
1t was while Secretary of the Treasury that
DIX gave his celebrated order. IF anv man
attempts to haul down the American flag shoot
him On the spot" This order grew out of the
refusal OF commander of revenue
cutter at New Orleans to obey an
order from Dix, who had. in view Of the pros
pect of secession. ordered two revenue vessels
from New Orleans to New York, so that thew
should not fall into the bands of the south
er9ers. The commander of one refused to
obey the order, when Dix telegraphed: Tell
Lieut.. Caldwell to arrest Capt. Brentwood as
sumo command and obey the order / gave IL
Capt Breshwood undertakes after arrest to in
terfere with the command of the cutter tell
Lieut.. Caldwell TO consider him a mutineer and
treat him accordingly. IL any man attempts
to haul down the American flag shoot him on
the spot. Thompson also resigned few DAYS
later, being a southern man. and his duties
were performed by Chief Clerk Kelley. Cas-
resigned In December, 1860. but for a far differ
ent reason His adherence to Jeffersonian doc
trInes would not permit him TO sit idly by and
assent to Buchanans policy. Although he did
rot openly protest in the cabinet against Blu
chanan s message denying the power to coerce
state he openly asserted his views and resigned
few days later when Buchanan refused TO re-
lnforce Fort Sumter. He was succeeded by
Black, transferred from the Department of JUS
tice, and Stanton made Attorney General STAN
tonsoon showed the stern stuff he was made of,
for, although a follower of Van Buren, he was
an Incorporating Union man. and when
Floyd demanded in cabinet the withdrawal of
the troops in the ports at Charleston harbor
Stanton declared that such an act would in
his opinion. be a crime equal to that Of Arnold.
and that all who participated in il would de-
serve hanging. This was too hot for FLOYD,
who resigned and was succeeded by Holt of
Kentucky. Black did not agree with buchanan
that there was no authority for coercing state,
but was not As pointed in his expression Of
views as were Cass, Dix and Stanton.
Lincoln.
. Lincoln had most difficult task in the selec-
ton Of his cabinet. Already, when he entered
upon the duties of his Office. several states had
withdrawn from the Union and seized the forts
and military posts within their lines, and others
were preparing for similar action. 1t was with
the greatest care, and after consultation with
the strongest men OF his party and the strongest
Union men generally, that he made his selec-
ton. 1t was not a time, he believed, to abso-
lutely draw party lines in the selection Of men
WIZ wore 70 ueip save the Union. LOYALTY and
an earnest desire for saving the Union, COM
bined with ability and personal fitness, were the
qualities he sought. and more than one-half the
men first selected for the cabinet were Of demo-
cratic antecedents Seward. his chief opponent
for the nomination, was his Secretary OF State;
Chase, Secretary of the Treasuary:
Cameron. Secretary Of War; weiles, Secretary
OF the Navy; Smith Of Indiana. Secretary Of
the Interior, while the border slave
states were represented by Bates Of
Missouri, Attorney General, and Blair
Of Maryland. Postmaster General. OF
these only Seward. Smith and Bates were OF
whig antecedents though all were, of course.
pronounced anti-slavery men. This cabinet
underwent certain notifications during Lin
coins term. Chase resigned in 1864. after Q
most brilliant record at the head Of the Treasury
Department; Cameron, whose methods in the
War Department were more vigorous than Mr.
Lincoln approved. resigned and was made min
lister to Russia, and Stanton, . war democrat,
who had made a good record in Buchanans
cabinet, was made his successor, holding the
place until after Lincoln's death, when john
sons attempts to remove him were long unsuc-
cessful; Smith accepted q judgeship and was
succeeded by Usher, Bates resigned in the last
year OF the administration and Speed Of Ken
lucky was his successor, while Blair gave way
about the same time to Dennison Of Ohio.
Blair's resignation was because Of the fact
that he was not in full accord with
some features Of Lincoln's policy, though o.
Postmaster General he exhibited intense LOYALTY,
prohibiting the sending Of disloyal documents