Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1912-12-09
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Senator Who Might
Have Been President
By Holland.

zone of my earliest and most VIVID
recollections of political personalities
in New York State is associated with
the name and career of Nathaniel p.
Tallmadge," said the late. Noah Davis
to me at a time when we were chat
ting about the prominent men in the
Wing party in the forties. Judge
Davis himself was afterward very
prominent as a Republican leader,
having served in the lower House of
Congress and having been beaten by
Roscoe Conkling for the United States
Senate by only two votes in 1868, At
terward Judge Davis became promi-
nent as the Chief Justice of the SUI
preme Court of New York who tried
and sentenced William NJ Tweed for
his completely in the sO-called Tweed
ring frauds.
Il remember that 1 had Just been
admitted to the bar, in 1S41, when l
heard some one say that if n. p. Tall
madge had been less devoted to
Henry Clay he would probably have
been President of the United States.
"Tallmadge was a United States
Senator from New York State, and
was twice elected, / think He be-
come very prominent because al
though he was in his earlier life a
Democrat he joined the Wing party,
and it was through his association
with that party that he secured his
election to the United States Senate.
He was both an impetuous and an
imperious man. He was a devoted
follower of Henry Clay. He was Bit
terly disappointed when William
Henry Harrison was nominated by
the Wings for the Presidency, at the
Baltimore convention I'm 1899.
when l heard Immediately after
the death of General Harrison. only
a month after he became President,
that if Senator Tallmadge could have
overcome his disappointment at the
defeat Of Henry Clay for the Presi-
Dental nomination he would himself
have been President, succeeding Pres
ident Harrison, / asked my friend
Sanford +. Church, afterward Chief
Justice of the Court Of Appeals Of
New York State and a prominent
candidate for the Democratic Presi-
dental nomination in 1868, what was
meant when it was said that Tall
madge might have become President.
MIR. Church told me that after Cen
eral Harrison had been nominated by
the Wings at Baltimore his friends
were very anxious to conciliate the
Henry Clay men, and especially the
Henry Clay Wings of New York
State; for it was important that New
York should be relied upon to give
its electoral vote to the Wing candi-
date
Therefore General Harrison's
friends, having taken counsel among
themselves, at last appointed a COM
mittee to go to the New York delega~
ton to the Wing convention. The
members of this delegation said to
their New York friends that if they
would offer Senator n. p Tallmadge
as candidate for Vice President the
Harrison men in the convention
would gladly accept him and nomi-
nate him.
"One member of the New York
delegation said that Senator Tall
madge had told him that he was for
Henry Clay first, last and all the
time. and that he could not be bribed
or hired to change his support to any
other candidate. For that reason
this friend knew, he said, that Sena-
tor Talladge would peremptorily de-
cline the nomination for Vice-Presi-
dent. Furthermore, the New York
delegation had no name to offer for
the Vice Presidential nomination
IF, therefore, Senator Tallmadge's
friends had accepted the offer made
by the Harrison delegates to the Bal
timore convention, Tanmadge would
have been nominated for Vice Presi-
dent, would have been elected and, OF
course, would have succeeded Presi-
dent Harrison.
81 afterward learned" continued
Judge Davis, that John Tyler, who
was nominated for Vice-President on
the ticket with William Henry Har-
rison and who became President,
having heard through his friends
that Senator Tallmadge would not ac-
cept a Vice Presidential nomination,
recognized Senator Tallmadge by Of
fering him the position of first ter
ritorial Governor of Wisconsin, an
offer which Senator Tallmadge ac-
copied This, I am sure, is a bit OF
inside history of early Wing politics
OF which the people neither at that
tie nor since had any knowledge"
Copyright, 1912, by e. J. Edwards.
All rights reserved.)