The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-03-19
BENJAMIN HARRISON DEAD.

relatives, with a few exceptions, and
several of his old and tried friends,
we're at the former Presidents bed
side when he passed away.
He had been sick only a short
while, a severe cold developing into
pneumonia d few days ago.
SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
Benjamin HarrisOn's citizenship
has always been identified with In
diana, but he was 20 at North
Wind, Ohio, on August 20, 1888, and
spent the first twenty years of his
life in that State. His grandfather,
the President, died u poor man. His
father was IL farmer who passed as
we'll to do. General Lew Wallace,
in his biography of Benjamin Harrl
son, says chat the farm was d good
one and properly kept up.
Young Harrison learned enough at
the cOuntrr school to enter Farmers
College, at College Hill, near ClDcln-
natl, going from there to Miami Uni
verslty, at Oxford, Ohio, from which
he was graduated when Is years old.
He lett Farmers College because had
become ''enamOred of an interesting
young lady whose father, DIR. Scott,
had established Il school for young
ladies at Oxford" Miss Caroline w.
Scott became Mrs. Harrison less
than three years later.
In 1854 he removed to I~ndianapO-
lis and settled in the practlce Of his
profession.
Politics and the law went hand in
hand for most young lawyers IN the
West in those days, and Harrison
plunged into the thick Of the fight
which the new born Republican
party was waging.
In 1859 he was elected reporter of
the Supreme Court of Indiana. He
entered the Union army in 1862, as Il
SuOAItern and rose to the rank OF
colonel and brevet brigadier general,
serving until 1865. While in the
field he was re elected as reporter Of
the Supreme Court, and after leaving
the army served four years IN that
position. In 1875 he was an unsuC-
Cesstul candidate for Governor OF
Indiana, and IN 1879 was appointed Il
member Of the Mississippi river COM
mission. He was elected IL Senator
of the United States from Indiana
for the term of six years from
March 4, 1881
The Indiana election of 1887 failed
to return Ii Republican Legislature,
although the Republicans carried the
State, and General Harrison retired
to private life and the practice of his
profession. The retirement turned
out to be brief, however, for al
though it had seemed when he lett
the Senate that james G. Blaine
would again be pltted against Grover
Cleveland in the coming presidential
election, the withdrawal of Mr.
Blaine from the contest left the field
open to ''favOrlte sons" and Indiana S
came to the fore.
When the Republican national
convention met in June, 1888, IN
Chicago, there were "a few vote for
Mr.. Blaine on every ballot but the
voting was soon split up between
John Sherman, Russell A. Alger and
Benjamin Harrison, the Indiana man
becoming second choice on the fourth
ballot and winning on the eighth
The convention was Il long one, last
ing five days. The platform de-
nounced the Mills bill and the tariff
was the chief issue OF the campaign
which followed. The campaign
picturesque feature was the Sack
Vile letter written to a ~pretenGer
who, under the name of Murchlson
wrote to the British Minister at
Washington, Lord SackvilIe and
asked him how he, an eX-BritOn,
should vote. Lord Sackville tell
into the trap and intimated hat u
vote for MIR. Cleveland would he
favorable to England. The British
Minister'S passports were given to
him, but opinions differ as t. the
political effect OF the trick that was
played. Gen. Harrison got about l
per cent. less ot''the popular vote than
did Mr.. Cleveland but he mad sixty
five more votes in the electoral col
Iege and was the second man who
became President with a smaller
popular vote than his rival. Gen
Ha rriSnn WAS nanrnrafnd Mnrch I