The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-01
Small Incidents Have Some
 times Made Presidents
.BLAINE-HAYS INCIDEN I
Senator Depew Blocks the Chances of Senator Allison for President In a Spirit of Personal
 Revenge.
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

Little things mean much in national political conventions, and men have been made presidents or have been designated to lead party hosts to defeat at the polls on the turn of things which seem small CT, even, than applause from the galler- ies. In 1875 the republican convention met in Cincinnati. It was then that Col. Rob ert G. Ingersoll made his famous speech nominating James c. Blaine for president, in which he dubbed his favorlte the 'Plumed Knight" Blaine could not get the nomination. Finally it went to Ru- therford B. Hayes whom nobody wanted nominated. It Is said that Benjamin H. Bristow prevented the nomination of Blaine.
 There has been cooness between MT. Blaine and MT. Bristow, who was then in the cabinet, but 1t had not reached the point of a personal quarrel On the Sunday before the convention met MT. Blaine fell in a swoon on the steps of a church In Washington. A friend went to MT Bristow and told him of 1t Bristow and his informant walked to the Blaine residence 10 make inquiries
 Something occurred there which infurl- ated Bristow, and he went away an im- pacable enemy of Blaine. If he had not made that Sunday call he would not have thrown the vote of Kentucky to the Maine leader, thus allowing the "Pluned Knight to enter the presidential lists against Tiliden, eight years before his unfortunate joust with Cleveland
 Coming closer to the present day Sen ator Allison of Iowa missed being presi- dent by a margin so narrow that in the light of later events the story Is hard to credit. It was at the convention of 1SSS On the first ballot John Sherman led followed by Walter Q. Gresham, Chaun- cey NJ Depew, Russell A. Alger, Benja- min Harrison and others. conference of leaders was held after several ballots had been taken. with no choice. The New York delegation had agreed to vote as the four delegates ct large might think best. Platt and Depew headed the dele gaton. Platt and two others of the "big four were in the conference and 1t was agreed to vote for Allison. Platt said he was sure Depew would agree. With New Yorks vote Allison would have had the nomintion. When Depew was seen. however he wouldn't agree. He declared that he had been compelled to withdraw from the race himself because of the agrarian sentiment of the soclalistic northwest, and he would not let his ln1u- ence nominate Allison, an Iowa man. That Allison should have been punished for agrariansm by Depew sounds queer in these days and times. The late Senator Hoar is responsible for the authoritative account of Depew's blocking Alllson's race, although there are men who will declare that Platt nominated Harrison Tn the hope of becoming secretary of the treasury the ruling ambition of his life
 
 The speech of Ingersol nominating Blaine. mentioned above, Is one of the great speeches made in nominating con ventions which will live. Another was that in which Roscoe Conkllng placed before the republican convention of 1860 the name of General Grant. And when you asl. what state he halls
 from,
 Our sole reply shall be-
 He comes from Appomattox
 And it's famous apple tree"
 So il began. according to the testimony of the chairman of the convention and the contemporary reports although some per sons of late have denied that Conklng would employ doggerel in a great speech However that may be, it was a great speech. Grant had led the armies of the Union 10 victory in the west and in Virginia. He had received the surrender of Lee. He had been twice President and had just returned from his triumpha tour around the world. It was a gre subject and Conkling knew how to ha it. When he had done the crowd ch him for twenty-five minutes, and 1t almost impossible to restore order
 The opposition to the third term strong Grant had made many pollth enemies while he was President. and had erred in relying too implicitly friends who did not deserve the con dence he placed In them. It was not