Evening journal., 1910-11-03
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Why TT. Bayard Preferred
an AmbaSSadOrShip TO
a CABINET Portfolio
By "HOIIand.r

With the single exception Of James
n. Tyner. who, after having served as
Postmaster General i'm President
Grants Cabineh became a subordinatqe
in the PostofiLee Department, the late
Thomas i. Bayard was the only
American, so far as | can ascerta Z,
to hold cabinet Office who aftel
wards accepted a subordinate position
in the same department.
When Grover Cleveland was elected
President the second time, many Of
his party were of the opinion that he
would ask Senator Bayard to become
again Secretary Of State, just as
President Harrison, in his administra-
ton, had called James G. Blaine once.
more to the State Department, he
having first filled that position under
Garfield.
President Cleveland had the most
cordial appreciation of and admiration
for Mr.. Bayard. lie greatly liked him
as man, and he had the highest re-
spect for him as a statesman. There
was, therefore, some astonishment
expressed when It was announced
that the President had asked Judge
Walter Q. GreshanG who had served
in President Arthur's Cabinet as Post
master General and i'm Harrison's as
Secretary of the Treasury. to become
Secretary of State. The astonishmelt
was intensified when the President
presently nominated his former Sec
retary of State, Mr.. Bayard. as am
bassador TO the Court of st. James,
and many persons wondered how SEN
ator Bayard could, without some sense
of humiliation. accept a subordinate
position in a department of which he
had previously been the head and had
so successfully directed.
TO the public the explanation for
this action both on the part of Presi-
dent Cleveland and Senator Bayard
was never made, but l am now able
TO give the explanation, made to Ale
by one who spoke with authority.
The Minister to England during
Cleveland's first administration. and
when Mr. Bayard was Secretary of
state was the late Edward J. Phelps, u
great lawyer, Kent professor of law
at Yale, and senior counsel for tie
United States in the Bering Sea arbi-
tration. Upon his return to this
country, at the end of his service At
the Court of st. James, Mr.. Phelps
narrated to his friends, among them
Mr.. Bayard many extremely pleasant
experiences he had while i'm England,
and he found that Mr. Bayard was esq
pecially interested in the relations he
had with the highly cultivated, in
tellectual and social aristoc-acy Of
Great Britain. That was the kind of
society which especially appealed to
Senator Bayard, and he never seemed
to tire of listening 10 Mr.. Phelps's des-
cription of the men and women )f
cultivation and of intellect whom he
had met i'm English social life.
After Cleyeiand's second election,
and following the raising, by Con-
gress i'm the closing months of Har-
risOn's administration. of the English
mission TO the grade of embassy, M.
Phelps ventured to suggest to MIR.
Bayard that he would have a most
enjoyable experience If he were to
serve the United States at the Court
of st. James. Besides" Mr. Phelps
said. you will be the first American
| ambassador; ] was only minister
The added rank will give you a great
er standing both officially and socially
/ than ] was able to enjoy"
so it happened that representation
was made 10 Mr.. Cleveland that Mr.
Bayard would be exceedingly rejoiced
if he were named as the first Ameri-
can ambassador to the Court of st
/ James. The President-elect was some
what astonished; he confessed that
! he had planned to have Mr.. Bayayd
! become his Secretary Of State, bui
added: Nevertheless, MIR. Baya ~C
{ shall have anything in ~ power tC
/ give" Hence, i'm due course, Mr.
/ Bayard was sent 10 England TO repre-
sent the United States, and the ex,
periences that befell him there he fell
were among the most satisfactory o
his entire career.
Copyright. 1910, by e. J. Edwards
All rights reserved)