Evening star., 1901-08-24
THE EVENING STAR SATURDAY, AUGUST "a 1eo1-a4 PAGES

Those who approached him or had any
thing to do with him while he was labor
ing under the responsibility Of a great
duty yet unperformed were frequently sur
prised and panied to see apparent indifrer-
ence to what they had to say. or, perhaps
exhibitions of i'll nature. and many of them
left his presence feeling that he was either
bad tempered or cola hearted. Had the
same person seen him a few hours later.
when the task had been finished to his
satisfaction, he would have found
cheerful and gracious man, anxious to
treat well all who came In contact with
him. / have known two men who saw him
In the same hour. The first one came
away complaining because, of the almost
uncivti treatment which he had received,
while the second one came away charmed
with the cordiaHty of hts reception. Be
tween the visits OF the two men a trou-
blesome question had been answered. a
difficult problem had been solved; the first
visitor saw the clouds. the second saw the
sunshine.
He Knew Mankind.
General Harrison was q superb pohti-
clan and party organizer in a broad way,
dealing with men In bulk and with the
expressions Of great principles. He never
mistook dead for living issues, nor did he
select a weak man for an important COM
mand. His judgment of the men he knew
was remarkable. He saw no place for the
unclean or the unlawful, and every step
that he climbed as a politician was the
result Of honest effort. When the little
band of friends having particular charge
or his campaign for the nomination in
1883 left indianapolis for the convention
he said to them: I want the nomination
II 1t can be obtained honestly and fairly
| would not receive 1t in any other way.
know You would not be parties to
getting 1t for in any other way
You may be asked to make promises of
places and preferment should l be nomt-
mated and elected, and therefore / want
you to know what my purpose is in that
respect. l will not make promise to get
the nomination, and IL nominated I will
not make a promise to secure the election.
l want you to know that l would not keen
any promises that you might make in spite
OF what have said
Frequently during the convention dele
gates asked that promises be made con-
corning places and preferments but they
were always told what General Harrison's
views We're on the subject, and no prom
ises were made. Some of the delegates
even. went to Indianapolis during the con-
vention to ask General Harrison for prom
1ses but invariably they returned to Chi
cago disappointed. He was nominated and
elected without promise, and thus was
perfectly free, as occasion arose to select
the right men for the right places as far
as 1t lies in the power of a President to
do so.
Knew the Situation.
General Harrison did not want to be
renominated in 1892, and had the men who
saw Mt to oppose his denomination been in
frame of mind which would have allowed
them to believe the truth, his name would
not have gone before the Minneapolis con-
ventfon. In August 1891, prominent poll
tician told me that he and others. whose
names he gave, had met In Washington a
short time before, determined to oppose
the work of organizing the party against
him. My informant suggested that If the
President would send for three or four of
the men whose names he gave, talk with
them about the approaching campaign, in
dicate willingness on his part to accent
the nomination, and allow them to feel
that he would appreciate their support all
opposition would cease and the nomination
might be made by acclamation L prom
ised that this view should be brought to
the attention of the President, and / did
so at the first opportunity. He at once
said that he did not desire to be renomi-
mated, but even If he did Wish the renami-,
nation he thought it would be unwise to
quiet opposition by making. the leaders of
It feel that he would be under particular
obligations to them IL they changed their
positions. He adhered to this conclusion
In spite Of all that could be- urged by his
friends. AS late as February 1892. he aaid
to me that he did not desire denomination;
that his family would regret 1t: that he
was so constituted that hep could not have
peaceful or happy hour in the presi-
dency; and that he would issue statement
TO the public at the proper time with
drawing himself from consideration as
candidate. But this waSsfIot done, because
his opponents began electing delegates who
Were pledged or instructed to vote against
MN, and at the same time they boasted
openly that they had made an organiza-
tion in the party which would succeed in
preventing his nomination. The President
then said to his friends that he could not
retreat in the face of the enemy thing
no Harrison had ever DONE and that he
would. let the future take care of ITSELF
but Ahe expressly forbade his intimate
friends to take any steps in the way of
making an organization in hts interest
When the time came for the assembling Of
the convention in Minneapolis his friends
were an organized host while the oppose
ton was under the admirable discipline of
senator Quay and other great political
generals The denomination caused no Ella
ton In his mind, and his defeat occasioned
no sorrow for himself 1a-tH9 >
The night before he left the Executive
Mansion for his home in indianapolis he
said that so far as he was concerned it
was great pleasure to lay down the bur
dens and responsibilities of the office and
that he had experienced nothing but care
and sorrow during his incumbency of it.
He looked forward with delight to the joys
or private life, and to the professional ad-
vancement which was in store for him..