The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-03-05
SOME VIEW o
rarri.on,. and Cleveland, Messages.

snoes and Papers Of the Presidents. which
underline authority OF Congress. has been com.
piled by the Hon. JAMES ID. RICHARDSON. cover
the period OF eight years ending March 4. 1897
and comprising the administrator OF Benja'
min Harrison and the second term Of Grover
Cleveland. The work. which is now completed,
was peRun nearly Tour years sgc. T.is com
pliers original purpose. which was carried out
in tho first and second volumes. was simply
to reproduce Presidential proclamations, adj
dresses. messages and communications to
Congress and TO exclude nominations to office
and statements accompanying the transmits
sion of treaties and OF reports OF heads
Of departments. subsequently,. Mr.. Rich
ardson became convinced that the collcc-
Hon Of papers ought TO com prise all
tho public papers OF the Presidents, no matter
how brief or unintelllGible they might seem In
themselves. and that. in order to make them
Ineligible. editorial footnotes should be III
troduced. This plan has been followed In the
last seven volumes. and the papers omitted in
the first two volumes are to be published in an
appendix. The fact should be generally rccog-
nixed that many OF the documents here set
forth have been hitherto inaccessible by reason
Of not having been entered on the journals OF
either house OF Congress: indeed, no branch OF
the Federal Government is in possession OF all
OF the p"roclamations and executive orders.
Under the circumstances the labor involved In
this compilation cannot fail to be appreciated.
The frat $50 pages Of this volume. which are
devoted to the Tapers emanating from Ben
jamin Harrison. are preceded by n biosraphi-
cal sketch OF that President. which. like the
authors preceding experiments in this direc-
ton. is admirably concise. We shall here en-
deavor to subject the data to still further con-
densation. although this is not an easy task.
We begin with noting that benjamin Harrison
was born at North Bend. o.. on Aug. q. 1893.
His father, John Scott Harrison, was the third
son OF Gen. William Henry Harrison ninth
President Of the United States. who himself
was the third and youngest son Of Ben
jamih Harrison Of Virginia. one of the
sfRners OF the Declaration OF Independence.
The mother of the twenty-third President
was Elizabeth. dauGhte OF Archibald Ir-
win OF Mercersburg. Pa. In 1S47, ut
the age OF IA. benjamin Harrison was
sent to a school near Cincinnati, and, after re-
naming there two years, entered Miami Uni
versity. at Oxford. o.. whore he was graduated
in 1852. The following year he married
Caroline. daughter of DR.. John W. Scott, who
was then President OF the Oxford Female
Seminary. Admitted to the bar in Cincinnati
in 1854. he began the practice of his profession
at INDIANAPOLIS. which has since been his
home. In 1860 he was chosen reporter of the
Supreme Court Of Indiana on the Republican
ticket. When the civil war began he assisted
Ia raising the Seventeen Indiana Regiment Of
Volunteers and accepted a Second Lieutenant's
commission. but he was presently made
Colonel. After participating in many battles
In the West he received his first furlough on
Sept, 2. 8 having been assigned to special
duty in his State for the purpose OF
recruiting the forces in the field. After
he returned to Chattanooga. he was placed in
rom mand Of a nrOyieiODnI bripa1e and when
mustered out in June. VI received u COM
mission as Brevet Brigadier-G General. Return
ing to Indianapolis. he resumed the Office OF
reporter OF the Supreme Court. but two years
later declined a denomination, preferring to ap-
ply himself exclusively to the practice Of law.
He took part in the Presidential campaigns of
1853 and 1872. earnestly supporting Gen.
Grant and speaking to large audiences
throughout his State. In 1875 he accepted a
ACmination for Governor on the Republican
ticket, but. although he received almost
2,oO0. more votes than his associates.
he Fas defeated. In 1879 he was a
member of the Mississippi River Com
Sdission. In 1880. at the Republican Ma
tional Convention. he cast nearly the entire
vote OF the State for James A. Garfield for
President. A place was offered to him in
Gartield's Cabinet. but he declined it.
preferring the United States Senatorship from
Indiana. which he held up to 1887. He was a
deleRate- at-large to the Republican National
Convention in 1884. and four years later. at
Chicago. was nominated for the Presidency.
In the ensuing November he was elected. re-
ceiving 233 electoral votes to 1853 cast for
Grover Cleveland. He was again nominated
for the Presidency in 1892. but was defeated.
Upon his retirement from Office in March.
1893. he returned to Indianapolis. where he
now resides.
/.
In his inaugural address President Harrison
made 1t clear that. in his Judgment. the main
tenanoe OF the so-called Monroe doctrine in the
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