The Washington herald., 1909-04-18


tiers OF Mrs. James G. Blaine" arrests
the attention. The paragraph IS this:
IF you remember the description Of
Arthur. as given by Mr.. Hurlbut at Sam
/ Wards dinner. when OrviIle Baker was
present. you have very. correct idea OF
HIN. do not think he knows anything
He can quote a verse Of poetry, or pas
sage OF Dickens or Thackeray. but these
are only leaves springing from a root cut
Of dry ground. His vital forces are not
fed. and very son he has given out his
ALL"
Thus speaks Mrs. Blaine and small
blame to the widow Of James G. Blaine.
Like good wife. she was taking her
husbands side. at that as all other times.
were he alive or dead. And TIRE rela-
tons between James c. Blaine and Ches-
ter A. Arthur were extremely tense in
those late months Of 1851 and early
months OF 1852. by the necessity Of the
case, not by anybOdys fault in particu-
lar. according TO a writer IN the New
York Post.
/ The Arthur administration was by no
means the heir of the Garfield adinlnistra-
! ton. IN the sense ~ which the recent
President, speaking at his swearing-in
at Buffalo IN 1901. announced that his adj
ministration would be the heir Of the pre-
ceding administration pledge which. as
we all know. was fulfilled IN a manner
/ that would have made the amiable Nc
J Kinley stare and gasp" But the nOmi-
nation OF Arthur as Vice President quite
/ contrawise. pledged HIM as q kind of
'StalWart Hannibal 20 oppose Garfield
and all his works.
Comes as "a Surprise.
! The nomination OF Garfield was a sur
/ prise 20 everybody. 20 none more than
70 the nominee himself. who had gone
10 the convention. indeed. 20 oppose that
faction Of the machine which,. under
Z Conkling. was predominant in New York
and in some other States as well: the
faction whose political inheritance was
"Grantism." But he had gone I'm the
special Interest Of another Ohioan. az
that time Secretary OF the Treasury in
the Cabinet Of Hayes. presently TO be
Senator in the seat vacated By Garfield
20 take the nomination Tor the Presi-
dency. and finally. IL his dotage, 10 be
come Secretary Of State IN the Cabinet
Of Mckinley. when strange new issues
were 10 be sprung upon abe United
States. on which issues he was 10 de-
liver the most wonderful and misleading
counsel
MY God. what viii John Sherman
saw" IS automatically reported 10 have
been the expression Of Garfield when the
convention. parodying Priscilla Alden,
said. Speak for yourself. James Poor
Sherman was doomed 10 be disappointed
when he aspired beyond his considerable
measure OF public service. and might
have resented the Eseau-Iihe behavior OF
Garfield. as IN a Subsequent convention
ne might have resented the what might
have seemed 20 him the equally Eseau-
Ike behavior OF Foraker a man born
for surprises" as Carlyle says about one
OF his unsuccessful generals Of the
French Revolution.
Arthur's Task Fixed.
But, however that may DC. Arthur was
as far as possible from being nominated
OF elected as the heir and SUCCESSOR OF
Garfield. should Garfield chance 10 fall
By the wayside On the contrary. his
nomination was distinctly a sop TO Ger
berus. a plaeation OF the disappointed
Grant "Stalwarts.' whose spokesman
was Conkling. and whose machine man
ager IN the city Of New York was Ar
thur himself. 10 keep them regular
in the electoral campaign. and after
ward. Il any practical politician could be
expected 70 look beyond the electoral
campaign during the Garfield admins
tration.
Garfield himself, once elected. was by
no means slow or slack IN drawing the
lines His nomination OF Judge Robert
son 10 be collector Of the port OF New
York. a place which had been held by
Arthur. was interpreted by al the Grant
ties and an the Conklingites. and by
Conklins himself. whether or not BIZ
Grant himself. who was ~ that time
very much out Of politics and very much
IN Wall street as a defiance and challenge
10 the New York machine and 10 al the
machinists. OF whom the chief was Ar
thur. Il was an act OF open war. II was
this nomination which produced the ex-
acerbaticn which. exaggerated IN the fee
bic mind and malign heart Of GUiteaU. /
brought about the second OF our Presi- /
dental martyrdoms.
So, It Will be seen by the reader OF a /
younger generation. the incoming Presi- /
dent Arthur could not possibly have come
10 an understanding with the Secretary OF 1
State Of the administration outgoing BY /
assassination II Gen Arthur had made /
overtures 20 the fnheritors OF the Garfield 1
administration, he would have been ac- /
cused. The situation was. in fact, the
same as that conceived in the theory Of /
the Electoral College. by the wisdom OF /
our ancestors, and practically nullihed by 1
the political good sense Of their descend !
ants. whereby the most bitter and most /
nearly successful rival OF the elected /
President was intended 20 keep a Jealous /
eye on him while he was alive. and 10 /
oversee all his most cherished designs and
ambitions In case Of his death As Mr. /
Labouchere quoted his American friend /
in London as saying; Hell itself could |
not be successfully conducted upon such /
principles OF those"
Sure to Have n Quarrel.
Arthur was bound 20 quarrel with the /
Gar1eldians, or else 10 quarrel with the /
interest" which had put him in the sue
cessiOn to Garfield II he had elected 10 4
pursue he policy Of his predecessor. the 4
best that any original supporter OF MS
own could have said Of him was that
His hono- rooted in d;shonor stood.
And faith unfaithfui kept him falsely true.
I happened 10 be dining at a restaurant
which Mr.. Arthur and both freouented /
on the night OF the day on which the
Presidents defiance OF the Conklingites
and Arthurites OF New York was an
nounced. before his accession TO Presi-
Dental honOrs. with a group OF stall
warts including George Bliss. a keen
and cynical lawyer and Republican poll
ticlan OF New York, and George Sharpe.
then or lately Speaker Of the assembly /
OF the New York legislature. On a pre-
viOus OCCASION, before the Inauguration OF
Garfield. and when the question under
discussion was one Of New York local