The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-14
GOV. FOSTERS CLOSE CALL
MISSED A sENAF0RsHfP AND
FAILED TO GET THE CAB
MET JOB.
ANECDOTES ABOUT STATESMEN
Interesting "Reminiscences and Por-
trnyaIs of Bits of Private
Character.

polillc1dnS nave always found it diff
cult to take care of their entire crop
OF statesmen. All along the history of
that state are .stfeWn the skeletons Of
deceased ambitions. High honors have
come to many an Ohio man, and vet
all Of them aspire to a senatorship or
the presidency; and hence they are
either dissatisfied or unsatisfied with
their achievements
Ex-Goy. Charles Foster wanted to be
elected to the senate many years ago
and still cherishes that ambition. He
was once promised the position of post
master general in lieu of the senator
ship, and he was made secretary of the
treasury few years ago, and yet he
Is not happy because he has never
been able to write '.U. s. S." after his
name. He came very near the prize
once, but he can never look for so good
chance again. In 1879, the Republi-
cans of Ohio had their usual innings
and elected a general assembly which
chose James A. Garfield as United
States senator to succeed Hon. Allen
6. Thurman, Democrat, whose time ex-
pired March 4, 1881. Following the ad-
journment of the first session Of the
legislature Garfield was nominated and
elected president, and was inducted into
that office the same day his senatorial
term woud have begun
AT the second session of this same
legislature that had elected Garfield
to the senatorship, his resignation was
received and accepted. Foster, who
was then governor, was the favorite
for the succession, and being exceed
ingly popular with all of the members,
would have had little difficulty In at
tanning his ambition had it not been
for one man, and that was Hon. John
Sherman, who had resigned his place in
the senate to accept the seeretaryship
Of the treasury under Hayes, and who
would be out of a job when Garfield
came into power.
Sherman wanted his old place in the
senate, and Garfield also desired that
he be returned, in order to have a
friend in that body who would look
after the presidents interests, and he
sent for Foster to come to Mentor,
where he begged that the governor sur
render his aspirations, for the time,
in favor Of Sherman, in return for
which he promised to make him post
master general in his cabinet, then
forming. Foster, however, knew Gar
field better than that gentleman knew
himself and was afraid to rely upon
his promises in the premises, and
frankly told the president the senator
ship was more to his liking, and went
back to columbus with the intention
of pushing his candidacy for the va
cancy.
In this emergency, Garfield made an
ambassador Of Hard Money Thomas
Nichols and sent him to Columbus to
win Foster over to the plan the presi-
dent and Sherman were trying to make
successful. Nichols met the governor
by appointment in the 1atter's resi-
dence one stormy night, and, after
wrestling with Foster nearly all night,
at last obtained his consent to with
draw his claims to the senatorship in
favor of Sherman.
1t had been raining and sleeting the
gubernatorial mansion were covered
with ice, when Nichols, with the pre-
eious promise in his possession that
Foster would allow Sherman to have
his old place in the United States SEN
ate, bade the governor good night No
sooner did Garfield's ambassador essay
to leave the door than his feet slipped
out from under him and he rolled
helpless to the bottom of the steps.
He Immediately regained his footing,
however, and hastened to assure Fos-
ter, who was hurrying to his assist
ance, that he was not hurt In the least;
in fact, was all right.
The governor, almost repenting his
promise to Nichols respecting the SEN
atorship, answered back in the teeth
of the wind that swept around the
house: I'm awfully sorry; I was in
hopes you had broken your - neck. -
During the former Cleveland admin
istration the wife Of the president mar
rowly escaped serious injury or sudden
death. 1t is now said that while some
repairs were being made in the White
house, before she was married longer
than a year, Mrs. Cleveland went on a
tour of inspection. 1t was on that oe-
casion that she had a very narrow ses-
cape from an accident which might
have proved serious in the extreme.
As 1t was her companion, Col. John
NJ Wilson, commissioner of public
buildings and grounds, actually
plunged through a ceiling up to the
waist, and would surely have gone en-
tirely through had the joists of the
floor not been near enough to catch
him by the arms and break the fall.
The actual damage done amounted to a
few scratches but the escape was a
very remarkable one. Workmen were
engaged in putting a new floor in the
upper story of the White house. The
boards had all been removed and moth
ing was left but the substructure, con-
sisting mainly of the old joists and
the lath and plaster of the ceiling Mrs
Cleveland, after a vacation returned
to the White house, and, in company
with Col. Wilson, went around to see
the alterations and repairs that were
being made. They had nothing but the
joists to walk upon, and as Mrs. Cleye-
land, holding the colonels guiding
hand, stepped across from joist to joist
her foot slipped. In trying to save
Mrs. Cleveland from falling the gal
liant colonel missed his own footing
and stumbled from the joists on to
the lath and plaster This frail sup
port gave way, and he dropped through
the hole until the parallel joiSts caught
him by the arms and held him sus-
pended between earth and sky. There
We're several workmen on hand but be-
fore any Of them could reach the spot
where the colonel fell he had raised
himself UP and was again above board.
Quick as his action was, however, it
was not SO quick but that Mrs. Cleve-