St. Paul daily globe., 1895-11-18
II. p. HALL UNWITTINGLY ANTIC-
IPATES AN ATTACK ON
GARFIELD
BEFORE THE SENSATION
THE OHIO SENATOR'S BOOK
OCCURRED.
ST. PAUL MAN WROTE OF 1T.
AS u Personal Friend He Dis
cussed the Very Thing With
Gen. Garfield.

No one familiar with the incidents
and proceedings of the Republican
national convention of 1880 takes
stronger exceptions to the charges
made against James A. Garfield by
John Sherman, as shown by proof
sheets of his book, the appearance of
which created such sensation few
weeks ago, than does H. p. Hall.
Mr.. Hall not only attended the con-
vention, but talked over, in friendly
way, with Mr.. Garfield the poSSibil-
ity of his name being presented to
the convention. The man who was
finally nominated told Mr.. Hall that
he was there in the interest of Mr..
Sherman, and that he would not. al
low his name to go before the con-
vention under any considerable Mr..
Halls knowledge of Garfield's friend
ship for Sherman carries additional
weight from the fact that he went
on record on the subject before he
even knew Mr.. Sherman was writ
ing book, or if he knew that, GER
tainly before he knew that Mr.. Sher-
man doubted the loyalty Of his
friend. While publishing the st. Paul
Call Mr.. Hall wrote series of arti-
cles on National Conventions 1 Have
Seen" One of them dealt with the
convention at which Mr.. Garfield was
nominated. 1t appeared in the Call
March last, and a portion touched
upon this very point. Mr.. Hall wrote:
There has always been much talk
concerning Garfield's loyalty to Sher-
man, but 1 believe he was sincere in
his support. There was a Garfield
wave in the air when the convention
met, but he was not responsible for it.
On the second Gay of the convention
1 wired this to the G. o b e:
''Ohio is playing fast and loose with
Sherman, and if there is a. general
breaking up l would rather have Gar
fields chances than Sherman's. l met
Garfield this morning and asked his
views of the situation. He replied:
Grant is defeated beyond peradven-
ture and beyond that everything is at
sea, with almost a certainty it will be
neither Blaine nor Sherman
'It was Wednesday when I wired
this, and the nomination did not take
place till the next week Tuesday. But
I felt the Garfield sentiment almost in
sensibly. 1 had known him before he
ever dreamed of political life, when he
was a school teacher, and talked very
freely with him, though I did not feel
at liberty to repeat our converse ton
beyond what. I have repeated. 1 put
his being a possibility very squarely
before him, and if 1 am any judge of
human nature, he was loyal to Sher-
man, and did not allow his head to be
turned and seek to betray the cause
he represented. 1 shall always believe
that the nomination came to him as one
of those circumstances in politics which
result from bitter contests where new
men reap the reward and the contest
ants slaughter each other
Speaking about the talk he had with
Mr.. Garfield, Mr.. Hall said yesterday:
81 met Garfield in the Grand Pacific
hotel, and we had friendly talk. He
knew he was not talking to me for
publication. I said to him, Tt looks
to me as though you would be the NOM
inee of this convention He replied
that he wouldn't think of being a can
didate or wouldn't allow his name to
be used. 1t would never do. He was
there for Sherman, he said, and would
certainly not allow himself to be put
in his way. 1 am certain he was as
loyal to Sherman as a man could be,
for we talked in the most friendly and
confidential way. But the nomina-
ton came to him as the result of the
bitter contest between Blaine and
Yc,I Il +a1
as neither of them could be. The con-
vention needed some one that could
arouse enthusiasm, and Sherman S
name aroused none. Garfield, on the
other hand, from the opening of the
convention was noticeable. He always
attracted attention, and had the great
est possible hold on the convention
from the start. But he didn't look for
any such result, and was true to
Sherman's interest, 1 am sure, until
the end
Several portions of Mr.. Halls article
on the convention referred to hereto
fore are interesting as showing how
Garfield stood with the delegates.
Early in the proceedings West Vir-
ginia caused some trouble by declining
to pledge support to the nominee, and
Mr. Conkling had moved to expel the
delegation. Referring to this incident,
Mr.. Hall wrote:
'"The resolution was about to be, put,
several speeches having been made,
when, amid the whirlwind of excite
ment, Gen. Garfield arose from his
seat among the Ohio delegates and
mounted his chair His appearance
was greeted with applause, without
waiting to hear what he had to say.
as he was one Of the men who could
command attention. A remarkable
quiet was soon secured, and 1 recall it
as if it was yesterday, his opening
sentence. 1t was like this: Gentle
men of the Convention: fear you are
about to commit great mistake
HE had no sooner uttered that
sentiment than the quiet indicated a
change Of sentiment. He defended the
West Virginia men, speaking highly of
his personal acquaintance with Mr..
Campbell arguing that they had not
said that they would bolt the nominee
of the convention, but claimed the right
to refuse to formally surrender their
freedom Of conscience in advance of
the action which the convention might
take. He urged Senator Conkling to
withdraw his resolution. The result
was that within five minutes after Gar
field took his seat Conkling had with
drawn the resolution, the withdrawal
being greeted with thunders of ap-
plause from the same men who had
cheered to the echo when it was pre-
scented.
II have never seen such a sudden
change of sentiment, and it is ques-
tionable whether one man ever before
or since, in similar gathering, wrought
such a change as was produced by Gen.
Garfield's remarks. 1t showed the
power of the man and the hold he had
upon the delegates which four days
later made him the nominee of the
convention. Probably few of the dele
gates then present We're aware that
Mr.. Campbell, the chairman of the
West Virginia delegation, was the son
Of the founder of the religious sect
known as Campbellites, but Of later
years termed Disciples Gen. Garfield
had been In earlier life Campbellite
minister, as well as a school teacher
and professor. had frequently heard
him in the pulpit in the Campbellite
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