Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-28

Van Burens pupil. To the end of his life Van
Buren, was the hero of grievance and feud,
just as Tilden was. Having forced Calhoun,
who corresponded to Horatio Seymour, aud
Sanford E. Church out of the presidential
path rather by trick. Van Buren, could not
| take his punishment in 1914. when other inter-
ests pushed him aside with his majority in the
| convention. and in 1S4s he bolted, uniting with
the ever boiling Adamses, and carried New
York against Gen. Cass. Thence a cry arose of
fraud and treschery, which never ended till the
democratic party ended at Charleston and Bal
| timOre. Mr.. Van Buren, seemed to have no
other principle in the anti-slavery cause than
personal satisfaction, and he figures in that cause
| as a mere Burgundian and ally paid in revenge.
The soldiers marching BY the creped columns
of the treasury hardly knew who Van Buren,
was.
And so it was when the same columns we're
draped for Hayes. and we may suppose in spirit
that they were draped for Tilden. too. since
both claimed that term which has brought
President now to be publicly honored in death.
Near seventeen wears have passed, and while
old men were still muttering against Hayes,
having gotten another mans clothes, young
generation went by which knew nothing about
the quarrel. but had seen Mr.. HAYES in very
recent celebrations, but knew nothing about
Illden. 1t reminded me of family long resi-
dent In Washington which claimed to be the
Earls of Sterling in Scotland. They were
clerks In the departments, and the elder son of
the claim, the artifce, or whatever it was, was
always recognized by one or two persons as
the earl. Meantime there no earl. because
the earldom was as defunct or as much lapsed
as the issue between Tilden and HAYES The
smallest chip to carry around on ones shoulders
for a long period of time is dis
tant, cold and dead strangers
grievance. In this Columbian year all sects
look with pitying scorn upon the perse-
cutions done in Spain in 1892 because Jesus
had bpen rafuse6 nv he laws Mr. baI
the support of the republican party in his is
sue with President Hayes, but not the support
OF the democratic party | met Senator Kel-
loSg OF louisiana. whose political interests were
necessarily hostile to Mr.. Hayes, because Hayes
had made up his mind TO take the first step in
the inevitable dropping of the southern states
to be held by force Said to Kellogg. stand
ing under the crepe of the Treasury Depart
ment: do you remember that you said to me
that the principal sign OF spirit you had seen
in President Hayes when you went to the
White House with petition for him to make
Packard, the turned-down governor in Louisi-
ana, collector Of the port there? You told me
that Hayes replied that he would regard it as
an insult for ANYBODY to bring him petition Of
that character"
We'll. said Mr.. Kellogg. Hayes is dead and
1 think he was an honest man. 1t is all over
now. He sent Packard to Liverpool, where he
had a good long STAY"
Said I: Mr.. Kellogg, it was the republican
party which treated Mr.. Hayes badly The
eight years of Grant. the previous four years OF
johnson. the war and its necessary corruptions
had resolved the republican politicians that if
Hayes meant to introduce anv civil service re-
form or any other in these public departments
they would oppose him. And now" said l.
suppose that Hayes had been seconded by the
republican party of that time, the civil service
would be today firmly fixed that many an old
and gray head in those departments would not
be trembling in the winter cold concerning its
discharge"
Mr. Kellogg replied that he thought Harri-
son before he went out of office would ex-
tend the civil service provisions to the govern
ment printing Office and the bureau of engrav-
ing. Said be: That can be done by the Presi-
dents proclamation. but it does not prevent
turning those in out of Office. Ii merely pre-
scribes that those hereafter to be put in shall
submit 10 the civil service examinations"
IN WASHINGTON IN 1877.
/ was in Washington during the electoral
count proceedings OF 1877. 1t was well known
to me that the south, SO far az its main poll
ticians were concerned. had abandoned Tilden.
not account of the prospect Of the return of
Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina TO the
democracy. but because Mr.. Tilden's advocates
had already commenced TO make imputations
against them. In the Same way the old demo-
cratic leaders in New York. like SEYMOUR
Church and Herman. believed that they had de-
ttCIeu VII. IIutll III sucn II conspiracy or Trick
to befoul them with his cruel frauds and other
things that they gave moral support to
their candidate, He stood entirely alone; and
then he felt his weakness. with a man like
Grant holding the peace at Washington city,
The old man afraid to start the popuace
up lest he in some way suffer. Lieut. Gov
Dorsheimer said to me, who deeply moved
| at the situation because he had expectations.
Il told Mr.. Iilden that unless he did some
| thing he would lose the presidency what
can do?' said he, sitting in his own house.
Why" said |, there are enough people now
standing your sidewalk for you to open
your front door and say to them, Il have beeu
elected President and | expect you to see me
seated" To this Mr.. Tilden replied said
Dorsheimer. If I should do thing like that
| there would not be stock i'll WalP street but
| would take q panic tomorrow morning. And
there" concluded Dorsheimer, was that old
man, with great cause, made a coward by his
great wealth. He had no wife nor child but
| his money made him a coward
| Ths next thing Dorsheimer had ceased to
speak to Tilden, accusing Tlden OF having
| caused him to run up large bills Mt the st.
Louis convention and in other places and re-
| pudist ted the payment of them. But for the
help" said Dorshemer. ''of some friends in a
bank at Albany l would have been a ruined
man..
MEETING WITH TILDEN.
Yet / we'll recollec. the evening when Dor
entliner arranged IOE NE 10 meet VT. NJ
his house; went there together. 1t was
after Tiiden was nominated. had made I'D
my mind not to support Tilden. chiefly because
| l had not known him. Nevertheless. this meet
| ing was arranged for. probably with the notion
that l might modify my selection. When the
| folding doors opened there stood Dorsheimer
and Tilden arm in arm. if to receive for
| eign ambassador. 1 walked up the room in a
| trio till came to the elbow of the library
| where sat the beautiful Mrs. Pelton, a second
| wife, in a dove-coored silk dress. At table
right opposite sat her husband. FELTON, still the
| old mans secretary, and not apparently much
| inclined to take me into q deal which then
| looked to be thing. As We returned
down the room Tilden said suggestively: 81
have never known any literary men to get their
proper consideration in politics unless they
had literary friend in power There
| was Van Buren," said he, who took
care Of Paulding and Irving and others. All
my friends are literary men. Dorsheimer
| and Bigelow and Fairchild. After the election
was over had piece Of information which
| thought would contribute to the public safety
A slippery Senator from the south getting
ready to sell out and l went to Grammercy
Park and saw Mr.. Tilden, whose courage was
all gone and he had no compass nor direction.
| told him about this man. The man lived in Q
state which had electoral votes to give Tilden
and to spare. have since heard him described
as the most saleabie and huckstering Of all the
carpet baggers. Mr.. Tilden stood against the
wall looking like one who had not slept for