Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-05-20
PRESIDENT PoLks NOMINATION..
rts News Received by the Candidate as .
joke while in Court.

Colonel John Brownlow, a son Of the fa-
nous fighting parson, tells me there Is q
letter In existence, written by James K
Polk few weeks before he was nom mated
at Baltimore In this letter Polk writes
70 Andrew jackson Donclson, enaeavor~
ing to get the support OF "Old Hickory"
TO make him vice president. Afrar stat
ing his qualifications for the place. he
closes rs follows; 81 hope the Tennessee
delegation will exert its inAuepse in my
behalf as the candidate for vice president.
this has been the ambition OF my life.
Four years ago desired the nomihation.
but gave way to others, and now hope
my friends will support me"
"'fhe Tennessee delegation said Colo
mel Brownlow. had no idea OF making
Polk their candidate for the presidency,
and their support Of him as vice president
was merely nominal The convention.
however, did not know this The friends
of the other party were fighting hard, and it
wns in one OF the bitterest 0! the struggles
that. merely to divert the attention of the
convention, Major Donelson arose and nom
mated James X. Polk a. a candidate for the
presidency Donelson was supposed to he
the mouthpiece OF Old Hickory. and the in
fiuence OF Andrew jackson was such that
this caused a stampede toward Polk, and
he was nominated When Andrew Jack
son heard OF IL he was not pleased. He
had a contempt for Polk because ha would
not fight a duel with Henry A. WISE when
he pulled his nose during his stay Id WASH
ington as speaker OF the house of repre-
sentatives."
what did Polk say as TO his 6ominR
tionf" asked.
"They tell a queer story concerning It in
Tennessee" replied Colonel Brownlow.
"The news was announced to him by his
brother. William Polk, and James X. Polk
/ would not believe IL William Polk was a
! much brighter man than james X. Polk
/ He was the Tom Corwin Of Tcnnessee in
his days, and was noted IA whg He
could tell stories by the yard, and Presi-
dent Lincoln, who knew him we'll, WAS
very fond of him.
well William Polk was the first man
TO get the news OF James X. Polk nomi-
| nation He heard of IL while his brother
was trying petty ten dollar justice OF the
peace case in the town, and he came into
the lawyers Office and interrupted the
trial, saying,
"Jim, have you heard the news from
Baltimorep
"The future president replied that he had
not.
well, Jim, the nominations are made,
and you are nominated for the pre- sidency.'
James X. Polk laughed aud 40 did the
rest OF the crowd. They all thought IL wns
one Of Bill Folks jokes, but they soon
learned that IL was the truth, aud Polk
made an active canvass during the cam
paign.
president Polk was killed by anxiety
and hard work." Colonel Brown|ow went
on. "Iie was laid la his grave by the
Mexican war, and Ia some way he got the
idea that the responsibility for that war
rested on him. lie was conscience stricken.
and felt himself responsible for the lives
lost In II. This feeling preyed upon him,
and the anxiety and hard work connected
with his position brought him TO bis grave
When he entered the White Hous se he WAS
young, straight, black haired aud about
hfty years Of age. When he came out he
was stopped, wrinkled old man. whose
hair was gray and whose step was feeble.
He went back to Nashville, and he died in
few months after he left the presidency"
J Washington Letter