Evening journal., 1910-11-07
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Cabinet Officer Who
Forced a President to
Accept His Resignation
BY "HoIland."

Jacob ID. Cox, major-general in the
Union army, Governor of Ohio. Sec
retary of the Interior in Grants first
Cabinet. president of the Wabash
Railroad, member of Congress, pres
ident OF the University of Gin
cinnati. military historian and emf
nent in microscopy, was born
i'm Montreal in 1928 That was
because his parents were living there
temporarily, his father having been
engaged TO construct the great Notre
Dame Cathedral after various Euro
pean engineers had failed dgnomin-
iously In the task General Cox, who
died in 1900, would therefore have
been eligible TO the presidency; and
IN his own State of Ohio. after he had
been elected Governor, there were
many Republicans who believed that
I'm due time he would become a prom
inent candidate for the Republican
nomination for President.
General Cox was elected Governor
Of Ohio while still in active command
in the Union army. and he resigned
that command so that he might be
inaugurated as Governor IN 1866. Be
tween him and General Grant, and es-
pecially between him and General
sherman. warm friendship, which
ripened into close intimacy, was es-
tablished. Il was in part due to this
friendship that President Grant, In
1863 asked General Cox TO enter his
first Cabinet as Secretary of the In
terror. A year and a half later Cen
eral Cox 9signed the Office of Sec
retary of the Interior, and, while lead
ing Republicans knew that this act
was due to a difference of view be-
tween him and President Grant re-
specting the administration of the In
terror Department, nevertheless there
was never clear understanding on
the part of the American public as 10
what the difference was.
Yet the matter was easy to explain.
When General Cox became Secretary
of the. Interior he decided that the
department should be administered as
far as possible along the lines of real
civil service. He obiectioned earnest
ly to make the department an asy-
lum for hack politicians; he wanted
efficiency and merit the standard in
his department President Grant,
however, was unable to resist the i'm
portunities of certain place-hunting
Republican politicians, and at last a
clear issue was raised between him
and his Secretary of the Interior.
While this issue was still on Cen
eral Cox sought out two of his broth
ers for consultation and advice. "In
my view,' said the General. "the ad-
ministration of the Treasury Depart
ment. and also that Of the Interior
should be based wholly upon merit
and efficiency. Il is a view which does
not prevail at Washington. I cannot
therefore be responsible for the ad-
ministration of department which is
subject to the beck and call Of poll
ticians."
His brothers approving of his posi-
| ton, the General wrote out his resig-
nation as Secretary of the Interior
and forwarded it TO president Grant
The General expected that il would
be accepted at once. or speedily. but
TO his surprise the President posketed
the resignation and for some weeks
gave every indication of having for
gotten that he had ever received it,
Il was presumed that the President
was anxious to avoid an early break
in his Cabinet, and espe tally upon
an issue of the kind that prompted the
resignation.
At last General Cox tired of waiting
for the President to act, and one morn
i ing a warm personal friend and conf
dant of the Generals called upon Mr.
Charles Nordhoff, at that time asso-
ciate editor OF the New York Evening
Post, of which William Cullen Bryant
was the editor
81 have here copy of the letter
sent by General Jacob ID. Cox to Pres
/ ident Grant. resigning his office as
Secretary Of the Interior" said the
! friend. "frhe letter was sent to Presi-
dent Grant some time ago, but he has
not acted upon It. I am authorized to
give it to you for publication"
OF course. Mr.. Nordhoff was only toe
glad to have the opportunity to pub
lish IN the columns of The Evening
Post the first announcement of the
first resignation from President
Grants Cabinet excepting that of Z
B Washburne, who was Secretary OF
State for two weeks, II having beer
understood when the appointment was
made that il was only temporary And
the publication of this nationally-im-
portant information forced President
| Grant 10 nccppf finally General COX's