The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-05-28
ROANOKE, VA, TUESDAY MORNINGS MAY IS 1885

ton OF Grant and Sherman, and placed
In command of the Natohez district. In,
the following spring he was placed I'M
command OF the division OF the Seven
| teenth corps OF the Amy of Tennessee,
which took part in the campaign againsti
Atlanta. He~was in the battle of Ken.
nesaw Mountain and in the engage
ments that followed until July 90.
AT Logsetts Hill, before Atlanta, he
was struck by a sharpshooter's DULLES
juss below the knee. II was o dreadful
wound and kept the gallant general off
the held for year. To the dey of his
death Mr.. Gresham never recovered the
full use of his limb.
The war over, General Gresham re.
turned 10 his profession, forming law
partnership al New Albany, Ind. In;
1855 he was nominated for Congress.
against N. O. Kerr, but the district
went heavily Democratic and he ives
defeated. When General Grant became
President he offered him the collectoE.
ship OF the port Of New Orleans, second
best office OF the kind in the country,
but he declined as he did the position.
OF United States attorney of Indiana.
circumstances attending this latter
action showed his warmheated feeling
for his friends. He had come to WASH
ington to solicit this appointment for a
friend and had brought all his influence
to bear on Gen. Grant. Grant told
him he had already made his selection
for that position. "Who is he." asked
Gresham. yourself" replied Grant
But Gresham would, under no circum.
stances, take the office. He was finally
prevailed upon to accept the United
States district judgeship for Indiana.
Until April, 1888, he held this position
with honor to himself and satisfaction
to litigants. When Postmaster General
Howe died in April, 1888, Gresham,
then holding court at Evansville, was
rendered the cabinet position by tele-
graph and accepted. Near the close of
Arthurs term, on the death of Secretary
folger, he was appointed Secretary Of
the treasury, position he held until
October, 1884, when he withdrew from
the cabinet altogether.
During his cabinet service, though
one of the youngest, he was one Of Ara
thurs most trusted advisers In Decem-
Der 1884 Judge Drummond having re-.
tired from the office of United States
circuit judge, Arthur restored him to
the bench a. the close OF his service.
In 1888 judge Gresham was made a
prominent candidate for the Republican
nomination for the Presidency at the
Chicago convention against Harrison,
publican leaders whose names were
presented.
His liberal views on the tariff created
against him the antagonism of the ex-
treme protectionists at Chicago. When
the Republicans assumed power and re-
vised the tariff by the passage of the
Mckinley law Judge Gresham, with
other Repu blicans, openly dissented,
and in 1892, after the nomination of Mr..
Cleveland by the Democrats, he, with
other distinguished Republicans like
wayne McVeage, who was attorney
general under Arthur. renowned their
allegiance to the Republican party
and advocated Mr.. Cleveland's cleo
ton.
After Mr.. Cleveland was cheated in
February, 1893, he summoned Judge
Gresham TO Lake Wood, N. j., whore
after consultation he rendered him
the position OF premier of the cabinet
he was forming. Judge Gresham &C.
cepted and assumed the duties of Score.
tary of State March 7, 1893.
AS Secretary of State in the present
administration, Mr. Gresham has had
to deal with perhaps more vexations,
intricate and delicate diplomatic affairs,
than has fallen TO the share of most
Secretaries of State. His treatment of
these was marked by the strong indi-
viduality which was part of the man.
He found much to dissatiefy him with
she state OF our foreign relations when
he assumed Office this last time, and he
set 10 work to shape these to meet
his own ideas without delay.
This brought him face to face with
the great question OF the hour at that
time, the annexation Of Hawaii. Mr.
Blount WAS sent to the island republic
to make an original investigation, and
upon his report the Secretary made his
now celebrated recommendation that
the queen be restored. inasmuch as she
had been deposed through the action of
the officers Of the United States.
By q clause in the Wilson tariff act
Congress had swept away in q line all
OF the carefully constructed reciprocity
treaties negotiated by the preceding
administration. This caused great anger
among the nations with which the
United States had such treaties and the
storm fell upon Secretary Greshams
head. Everywhere there was talk of
retaliation and tariff wars and in some
cases this was realized to q certain exs
tent. 1t was Mr.. Gresham's task to
placate the European powers and how
skillfully he did so the printed cores,
pondence tells.
But the Americanism Of the Secretary
was shown in It's brightest light in three
incidents that occurred during the ad-
mtnistration. The first of these cases
amounted to declaration to Europe
that the Uni,ed States would not per-
NIT private claims to be collected from
American republics where our citizens
had pecuniary interests