The Portland daily press., 1900-10-19
HOW TILDEN LOST TIL
PRESIDENCY.
TIL E
The Curions Incident That Led TO the
Republican Claims in the south aud
Finally Seated Hayes.
(From MoOlure's Magazine. }

Election night came, and the country
awaited the result In palpitat1ng excite
nlent The returns from New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut and Indiana were
early. Tilden had carried them all. He
was elected if the South was 'ssoiid. -
Gen. Hayes conceded the election of Gov.
Tilden. Zachariah Chandler, the Repub-
hcan chairman, closed the headquarters
and went to bed, confessing defeat. Yet
the election WAS not decided, and a
dramatic incident occurred the next morn
ing about 2 o'clock that resulted in the
eventual seating OF Hayes,
The late John G. Reid, managing edi-
tor of the New York Times, which was
the most virile journalistic opponent of
| Gov TiIden, sent his list edition to press
practically oonced1ng the election of Til
den. A moment later a messenger ar
rived with q note from Senator Barnum.
asking what the Times claimed IN South
Carolina, Florida and Louisiana Mr..
Reid made a mental calculation and
found these three states would elect
Hayes. He Immediately stopped his
presses. destroyed the edition, and got
out new one claiming the election Of
Hayes by 1S5 votes, just enough. He
knew, OF course, that II Barnum was
sure Of the result the note would not have
been sent him. The Herald that same
morning gave Tilden lS4 votes, Hayes
166, and put the 10 in doubt.
Ar- Reid, leaving his Office, hurried
to Republican headquarters in the Fifth
avenue hotel. No one was on guard but
telegraph operator. Soon Senator vii.
liam K, Chandler of New Hampshire.
secretary Of the national COMMITTEES.
came in, Mr. Reid quickly his explained
the situation to him and told him that
these 10 votes should be counted for
Hayes, there had been an honest election.
These two gentlemen then hastened to
Chairman Zachar1ah Chandler S room
routed him out Of bed, and told him the
situation as he sat blinking in his night
cap. The chairman told the two men to
do what seemed best, and went to sleep
again. A resolution was hastily formed.
With Mr.. Reid's assistance the wires
were burdened with telegrams to Wash
ington and to the political leaders in
South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana,
telling them that Hayes had the election.
that it all depended on these three states,
and that their electoral votes mus5 at ali
hazards be held for the Republican can
didates. The national ao0mmlft es' tele-
grams that mig ut cost Mr. Rsid's news
paper hundreds Of dollars But for Sen
ator Barnum S note, 1t is probable Mr..
Tllden's elect1OnfWould never have been
seriously contested.
Scores OF sprominent politicians from
the North began hurrying to these states
on Wednesday, and they later became
popularity termed visiting statesmen. y
The Republicans had the federal troo rs
to back them. The 10 disputed electoral
votes were hung up beyond the reach of
pilden. The electoral commission fol.
lowed, and Hayes was seated By vote
OF eight Republicans TO seven Democrats.
This was the great strategy Of the cam
paign Of 1876, and was known as William
K. Chandler's ''great coup" The his
tory OF that contest has filed many
volumes, and is the most rem arkabIe
in our history, as 1t brought the nation
to the verge OF a civil war once mora.