Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1913-04-01
lew NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Grover CIeVeland'S DiSre-
gard for Personal
Motives
By Holland.


ing Of the care with which President
Woodrow Wilson studied the qualih-
patioi of this or that man who was
ynde' consideration for cabinet APP
poinment led me to ask George f.
Par,er If there had been anything in
thee recent cabinet-making activities
which reminded him of the manner in
i Which Grover Cleveland organized his
cDinet at the beginning of his sec
oil administration.
Mr.. Parker is now the only person
Fling who can tell at first hand of
te consideration which Mr.. Cleve-
Ind gave in the fall of 1892 to the
abinet which he would nominate inn
nediately after his Inauguration. on
March 4, 1893
I knew that Mr.. Cleveland was in
constant conference with Mr.. Parker
at the time he was considering his
cabinet appointments. / knew, fur
+ thermore, that Cleveland had sent Mr.
Parker two or three times on conf
& dentialg missions for the purpose OF
4 getting accurate information respect
Hing the character and intellectual
qualifications of men whom he hao
under Consideration.
81 have briefly and somewhat eau
Etously spoken of the manner In
which Mr.. Cleveland set about the
s composition of his cabinet in 1892 in
s my biography of him." said Mr.. Par
( ker. H'But, of course, in a work OF
/ that kind it was essential that l be
somewhat conventional and very dis
Greet in what | wrote | can tell you
many things relating to Cleveland's
second cabinet makeup which have
+ not been published
81 think Mr.. Cleveland was so sure
& of his election in November. 1892, that
( he had already fixed his mind upon
EwIat was to be the keystone of his
+ cabinet arch. Before election day he
4 tdd me that he had decided to appoint
Ssnator John G. Carlisle, then a Sena-
4 tor from Kentucky, Secretary of the
4 Treasury. Mr.. Cleveland had pro-
fond admiration for Mr. Carlise's in
B telsctual abilities. / have had rea-
sol to suspect that Mr.. Cleveland
& void have been rejoiced il Mr. Car
& isl had been prominently indicated
tonrd the close of Cleveland's sec
en- administration as the Democracys
y chico for the Presidential nomina-
ito.
He decided to appoint Mr.. Carlisle
E Stretary of the Treasury. A few
dgs after election he fixed his nina
uon the appointment of the Score
q Try of Agriculture. He knew how
s. iiportant, both from a political and
s apatriatic point of view, that Office
4 as. He wanted to appoint his init
i ate friend. John e. Russell of Mass
4 shusetts. but / learned while on
n onfidential mission that Mr.. Russell
4 cit that his health would not permit
K i'm to 're-enter public life.
"As a matter Of policy, Mr. Cleve-
and determined to make an informal
S0ffer of the Secretaryship of Agricul-
cure to Horace Boies, of Iowa. judge
from something Mr.. Cleveland said
hat he had no expectation that Gov
nernor Boies would accept this appoint
zment, and in this view he was cor
rect.
HE asked me one day to go to the
west and make careful inquiries about
III Sterling Morton of Nebraska. Mr..
<Cleveland had never met Mr.. Morton,
B but he had been greatly impressed
Hby Morton's financial and tariff views.
4 Il learned that Mr.. Morton was
"a very strong man intellectually and
II man VI tAtaN RNA oOAot Ohdl was
confident that he would be personally
Merry congenial to Mr.. Cleveland. But
ID was necessary TO inform Mr.. Cleve-
4 and that Mr.. Morton had been Bit
4erly opposed to Cleveland's first
domination in 1884 and that his Bit
#erness was almost personal.
II never shall forget the smile with
(which Mr.. Cleveland heard this state
*ment Then his face assumed a very
Serious expression. He told me that
Morton's opposition to his nomination
tas President in 1884 would not count
a feathers weight with him. He said
NE wouldn't let a single personal con-
{sideration enter into account in the
matter. II MIR. Morton was a good
.lnan. a competent nan, that was all
that was necessary to know, and
Think Cleveland was delighted to
|learn that Mr.. Morton had all of the
Qualifications to enable him success
fully to administer the Department of
~ do know that most cordial per-
Esonal friendship as we'll as uninter-
|lrupted official association, character
Qized the relations between President
cleveland and the Secretary of Agri-
culture"
4 (Copyright. 1918. b. E. j. Edwards.
All rights iesedved)