The times., 1897-04-11
The Plans and Views of the New
Secretary of War.
HISTORY OF SHERMAN EPISODE
bis Early Struggles and How HIS
Great Fortune Was Won-He Was
Never Afraid Of Work-Michlgah
and Its Great ihterests-A Char
acter Sketch.


OF Michigan was Gen. Russell 4. Algcr;
wealthy business man of Detroit, VINO iau
never been active in POLITICS, had never
held an office, and had never nlade
public speech Leaving the conven ION
hall with some other Michigan delegates,
Gen Alger walked with them to fis hotei'
They talked about the coming State con-
vention and the necessity for nominating
81 strong candidate to beat Gov REGGIE,
rreenhack Democrat, who was standing
forr reelection In the course OF the ills
cussion some one suggested that Gen
Al,rer vculd be a strong candidate -tspe-
cially strong with the soldier element
because ofhis war record. They asked Gen.
Alrer if he would accept the nomination
He took the matter under adviSement
Before the delegation left Chicago he had
consented TO be a candidate, and when
he reached Detroit the canvass was begun
actively among the old soldiers, When the
State convention met he was nominated.
Until that time said GEN Alger in
a conversation / had with MIN few
days ago. i had never had any Thought
of holding public office. After my noiin-
nation / was asked to address the con-
yention When l went on the platform
To speak, all the faces in my audience
seemed to merge in one another and be
come one face ] did not know what l
said or how | said il. / spoke only TWO
or three minutes, l think, and when L
sat down on the sofa at the back of the
platform / was dripping with perspira-
tion as though / had been ducked.
went into the campaign and made some
snceches-fiye minutes a first, then ten,
never more than fifteen minutes-but /
don't know that pleased my friends or
helped my cause by any Speeoh-inaking
/ WAS elected. After serving a term L
found the cares of office very irksome,
and l was glad when / completed my
term | have never held an office since
until President Mckinley made me a
member of his Cabinet.
I asked Gen. Alger what truth there
was in the recently published story That
Gen Harrison had offered him n Cabl-
net place, and then had withdrawn the
offer.
Il never spoke with Gen. Harrison on
the subject, and he made me no offer
directly or indirectly said Gen. Alger.
About 80 per cent Of the newspapers
of the country assumed that / was go
ing TO be in the Harrison Cabinet Ny
friends took the clippings, and kept track
OF what was being said. a great many
of my friends thought Gen. Harrison
would offer me a place In the CABINET,
hut he never did. One day Gen. Harri-
son asked our Senator-elect-he is now
our Senator-Mr. Mcmillan, to come 10
Indianapolis Mr. Mcmillan went Gen.
Harrison said he had sent for him be-
cause he could not send for me. de
wanted Mr. Mcmillan TO tell me that he
could not offer me a Cahlnet office.
MIR Mcmillan argued the matter with
hin-they probably had stormy time
but Gen Harrison said he could not
change his mind. Michigan, he said,
was toa near Indiana, and he had de
ci,ied to give one Cabinet place 10 In
diana.
"When Mr. Mcmillan returned TO Detroit
ne ttlephoned to ask if l would be at
home, and then came up to the house.
He looked as though he had had ab attack
of the grip When he told NE the result
of his trip, 1 said it was all right; ard,
going over TO my desk, wrote note to
Gen Harrison, saying: Senator Mcmillan
has given me your message OF yesterday
Itis all right, ] never stand in the way
of a friend That ended the matter.
had letters afterward from Mr. Blaine
and other friends who had thought was
TO be in the Cabinet, expressing regret:
but had never had an offer, or an assur-
ance of any kind, from Gen. Harrison.
ONLY the new Spaper reports and the con-
viction of my friends led many to believe
that ] might be appointed
Secretary Alger does not talk about
his reconciliation with Secretary Sherman,
but from another source / learn that Mr..
Sherman made the voluntary suggestion
TO Major Mckinley that he would like to
see Gen. Alger in the Cabinet-so the
runners that he objected 10 Gen. Alger's S
appointment, which were in circulation
when MT Sherman visited Canton, were
without foundation.
LAS to the facts of what Mr.. Sherman
stated in his book" said Gen. Alger, Il
made a complete reply to them at the time
the book was published. l showed them
that sixty Southern delegates voted for
me while j 10 voted for Mr.. Sherman OF
the sixty, more than thirty had served
in the Federal or Confederate armies most
of them white men 1t was natural TO
suppose that their influence would be used
for me. Take Gen. Powell Clayton, of
Arkansas, for example he sent word
from Chicago that he wanted to see me.
/ went down the road 10 meet nim He
came from Chicago. i rode with him
little way and then returned to Detroit
Very few people knew / had left the city.
Gen. Clayton asked nothing of me neither
money to use among delegates nor pledges
Of any kind-but he cast the vote of Ar
kansas for me from the beginning, and
long after it was known that Harrison
was nominated. There was nothing at
all in the stories that money was used TO
secure my nomination, and | hope Senator
Sherman VIII see fit to correct some day
the injustice he did me in his book
When Secretary Alger met Secretary
Long, OF Massachusetts, here a short
time ago he had an opportunity to re-
call an incident Of the convention OF
1884, which concerned them both. Gov.
Long, as the head OF the Massachusetts
delegation, presented the name of Senator
Edmunds to the convention in a speech
which Gen Alger describes in glowing
terms Bdmunds wasvery popular in Mich
igan. and number of Michigan delegates
voted for him on the first two ballots.
On the third ballot Gen. Alger was one
of two Michigan men who left Edmunds
and voted for Blaine. When the conven-
tion had adjourned. Gen. Alger spoke to
MFR. Long, who drew himself up rather
stifrly;, but when he found that Gen
Alcer wanted to compliment him on his
speech, he unbent and was all gracious
ness.
Gen Ayers dislike for the duties Of
governor was not due to a disinclination