The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-05-22
CHANCE AND TIE PRESIDENCY
Continued from Page J. section 30

dent from the date Of Lincoln's death.
How often during the next four years
Butler must have pondered upon the
irony Of fate.
The Record Of Recent Years.
There was not a dissentinE voice to
the nomination of Grant BIZ the Repub-
leans I'D 1858, while his denomination
in lo41 was beyond The power of chance
10 prevent but i'm 1876 the adroit sleight
or hand work of IL few men encoD-
passed the defeat Of Blaine, the popu-
lar IaForite, and brought about the un-
expected nomination of HAYES by the
ttepuDiicdu national convention. Blaine
mad a majority of the delegates and a
majority Of The convention voted for
MN az one time or another, but never
ou the same ballot The fact that he
uad suffered q supposed stroke of apo
pleNy q few days before gave AN efec-
i've argument to those vino opposed
nm. but his final defeat was due to
Doh cameron or BeunSy wanna The
second day Of the convention. Gamer
on who had astute lieutenants i'm Rob-
err W. Macke5' and William iii. Kembie
proposed TO the delegates from his
state many OF whom favored Blaine
Jndl as lHey were instructed 10 vote
as d unit and for John f. HaFtranft
III
ranlts vote increased, and that when
ever he dropped i'm the race they should
then vote as the majority directed This
proposition was eagerly accepted by
the friends of Blaine, who believed that
I1afJranIL s strength would soon be eX-
hausted, and that then they would get
solid vote for their candidate. But
Mackey and Kemble, skilled in the
management of politicians Of every
grade, arranged with a number of del
egatlOnss chiefly from the south, to
nave HaTtTanIIs vote steadily in
creased with each successive roll call.
The climax of the shrewd maueuver
came i'm landslide on the seventh bal
lot TO Hayes, who up to that time had
ont been thought probable caudi-
date.
Had Garfield kept the purpose he
once formed, not TO attend the RepUb-
Hcan convention of 1850. there is little
Likelihood that ne would have Wrested
the nomination from such giants as
Blaine, Grant and sherman. Tilden. in
that year, was certainly the choice Of
MS party, and the story of how. he
failed TO be made its candidate is a
curious one. Iilden in truth, expected
denomination, but in the subtIety
which characterized his methods he did
a needless and, as il proved, disastrous
thing. He wrote a letter in which he
prOfessed to refuse to be q. candidate
1T was expected by his friends that this
letter would be read to the fun cOnVen-
ton, when, with dramatic surprise
someone was to rise and insist that the
Democratic party ignore this refusal
and nominate Iilden. I'm spite of it.
The letter was committed TO Andrew
H. Green, an old and tried friend of Til
den, but William C.. Whitney knew it
had been written and was permitted
10 read it while on the way to Cinciu-
natl, where the convention was held
Through his maneuverinEi the letter
instead OF being laid before the con
VentiOn as it was on the eve of making
"a nomination, was read to the New
York delegation the day before, and the
delegates induced to take Tilden at his
word and agree not TO make him a
formal candidate Whitney, as the Sc
quel proved, was working in the inter
est OF his father-in-laW. Henry B.
Payne, of Ohio, and expected to see the
latter nominated as soon as the demon
allzatiOn caused by the action of the
New York delegation had manifested
itself among the delegates from other
states who favored Tilden. whitney
however, met opposition where he did
not expect to ind 1t. The Ohio deleEa-
ton refused TO present Payne's name
unanimously, and in the end an el0-
quent speech by Daniel DOugherty Of
Pennsylvania caused the ill-starred
nomination of Hancock.
The convention surprises since 1880
may be said TO include the first nom
nations of Cleveland, Harrison and
Bryan. The accidental OF unexpected
incumbents of the presidency thus
make no a goOdly roll and, recalling
the story of past struggles for that
high Office one wonders whether in
1904 history win repeat itself. If it
does, the next president viii be a man
whose name is not now on peoples
lips.