The evening times., 1896-07-17
PARTY SPLIT ONCE BEFORE
Action of the Administration
Not Without a Precedent.
DISCORD In TIL ECABINET
During President Buchanan's Term of
Office Three Tickets Were Placed
cinl Family Were by No Means u
Unit for Any One Candidate.

Thirty centuries have elapsed since King
soioInon summed up al earthly wisdom ID
the declaration that there could lie nothing
: new underthesun. This theorein ,as applied
To- the expressed determine tim on the part
OF President Cieve!aBd's Cabinet to with
hold support from the national ticket. re-
Gently nominated ut Chicago, is not without
precedent, even in the aggravated degree
which now seems inevitable.
Frequent cOmparisuD has been made as
! between the apparently hopeless split now
! Involving the Democratic party and the di-
visions which sundered the same party in the
election OF 1860, when three tickets were
placed in the field, thus making possible
theelectiUu Of Lincoln. The course OF Presi-
dent Bucha nan Ca binet netfurnishessometh thing
ofa precedent, aiihoug hsome ofthe members
did not take issue with the President in
supporting John C. Breckenridge. his own
Vice President, for PROM otioD TO tie Chief
Magistracy. The action or the Cabinet
was us follows:
Lewis CIss, of Michigan, who was himself
the Democratic nominee for the Presidency
in 1S4S, did not oppose Mt. Buchanan's
message, denying the existence of any
power in the general government To Coerce
Il State. when it was read in a Cabinet
meeting for approval, hut eight days after.
| ward resigned his Position as Secretary
! of State because Buchanan refused Ia re-
enforce Major Anderson and Teprovision
Fort Sumter.
SERVICES NEEDED AT HOME
: Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Secretary of
the Treasury, resigned December 10,
! 1850, because his State reeded his serv-
I ices in carrying out its program of seces-
! sion. Philip +. Thomas, OF Maryland, was
| promoted from the COmmissionership OF
| Patents to succeed Mr. Cobb, but only held.
! the office a month, being in turn succeeded
| by John A. Dix, who attained considerable
I reputa ton by issuing instructions cal
| culated TO prevent the prtmiscuous pulling
! down Of the American flag.
! John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, de-
| clared for secession in the autumn OF
1860, resigned his position and was sue
| ceeded by Joseph Holt, who had prior to
that time been Postmaster General. Mr.
Holt had previously been Douglass Dem
ocrat, but gave his support TO the admin
| istration and made a report in which he
| described the plot to seize the capital
! upon the occasion Of Lincolns inaugura-
| ton.
| Isaac Toucey of Connecticut served dur
ing the entire term of Buchanan's admin
istration as Secretary ofthe Navy and was
charged with favoring the Southern cause
by deliberately sending some of the best
vessels in the navy to distant seas to pre-
| vent their being used against the Confed-
| crates.
To N.Nh nf iCcfS
tary of the Interior, resigned January 8
1861, because troops had been ordered tt
re-enforce Fort Sumter, although the Pres
ident reminded him that this action hat
been decided upon at a meeting held si1
days prior to that time
Aaron v Brown, Postmaster General, dice
after two years service, and was succeeded
by Joseph Holt. who in turn gave way tc
Horatio King. the latter having had the
honor OF first officially rendering decis
ion to the effect that no State has the
power to separate from the Union. Aftel
rendering that decision he was appointed
Postmaster General.
A PRECEDENT ESTABLISHED.
jeremiah s. Black, of Penrsylvania, a.
Attorney General. held TO the opinion thai
IL was the duty of the government to quei
insurrection. although President Buchanan
held thatit was improper to coerce n Stat,
il it chose to secede and set up a separate
government He relieved Lewis Cass al
| Secretary of State. and exerted himsei
in every way to prevent q dissolution o
the Union. Edwin n. Stanton then became
Attorney General. His devotion to the
Union was never questioned. and be be
came Secretary Of War under Lincoln
while Holt became judge advocate gen
eral. -
1t will thus he seen that President Blu
chanan's Cabinet was largely composed OF