Evening journal., 1913-02-15
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Why Roscoe COnkIing De-
CIined the Chief Justice
ship Twice
By Honsnd

BY HoIlsnd.
Tn the summer Of 1888 I met, upon
the leading business street of st.
Paul, Mimi, the late George c. Cor
ham. He was at that time the most
intimate personal friend Of Roscoe
Conkling, who for nearly twenty
years was one of the conspicuous per-
sonalities in the United States Sen
ate.
Mr.. Gorham was secretary Of the
United States Senate during a part OF
Senator Conkling's service in that
body. He was, when a young man,
the Republican candidate for COVER
nor of California, defeated by small
majority. After each had spoken in
surprise at the meeting. Mr.. Gorham
said:
81 wish you would come down 10
the railroad station Senator Conk-
ling is there. We have been taking
trip together across the continent
and are now ON our way back to the
East Our train was delayed SO that
we are Obliged to spend four or Eve
hours in St. Paul before We can get
another train for Chicago The SEN
ator is standing under the train shed
leaning against a pillar deeply occu-
pied with his own thoughts
couldn't persuade him to take a ride
through the city, although he knew
that it had grown greatly since he
was here last"
Senator Conkling stood exactly as
Mr.. Gorham had described his wait
ing attitude to me. His tall form
was braced against a pillar of the
train shed. He wore a SLOUGH hat,
which completely concealed his blond
and curly hair. / observed that "a
few tints of gray had crept into his
beard since had seen him.
He said to me:
81 have been thinking during my
leisure moments here of a prediction
which was made some thirty years
ago by William II. Seward at a time
when he was United States Senator
, from New York. He declared, in a pub
lie speech which | have many times
/ ANehs AAAcA III AAto HAdNt MAlAM AOlIfs
+ within the vista of my eyes was to bt
located one of the three or four lead
ing commercial centers of the United
States. Z have been wondering what
r he would say if he were here now. on
{ the whole, / think he would find mucl
to justify his prediction / beliov,
that within the next thirty or forty
years this city and it's adjoining CITY
of Minneapolis will have a population
Z of a million and a half and will pos
sess relatively great financial power
. Senator COnkling made this state
b ment as though he were utterinl
T aloud, but to himself, thoughts whicl
n were passing through his mind HI
=, lapsed into silence. Mr.. GOrham ant
i, unobserved by him, went away
- When we were beyond hearing dis
tance Mr.. Gorham said:
THE senator told me a day or twl
E ago, when he was in a specially com
- municatiye mood, what the reaso
Z was that he declined the offer OF tn
e position of chief justice of the Su
Y preme Court at Washington whic
Z General Grant made to him.
"By the way" said Mr. GOrham, 81
think that it is without any preceden
s. until the offers to Conkiing that IN
n same individual should have bee
. twice offered the chief justiceship 4
the Supreme Court and later oilere
Al the post of assistant justice of th
ie Supreme Court at Washington
! told Mr.. Gorham that knew {
. Senator Conklings declination of th
oner of the chief justiceship froi
y President Grant also knew thu
Is he had declined President Arthur
offer OF the post of associate justic
but ! did not know that the senate
., bad been offered the chief justiceshi
Di twice.
p Il don't think it was general
". known Mr. Gorham replied IL di
=. not know Of it until long afterward
was told of il by Timothy O. How
ne United States Senator from w scol
be sin. He told me that after Senate
Conkling declined President G ant
- offer. Grant sent the name of q ors
10 II. Williams of Oregon to the Sena
a for confirmation as chief justice. TT
to Senate would not confirm that nom
ne nation Then Senator Howe and Hal
. nibal Hamlin telegraphed to Mr.. Cor
% ling that they had assurances that
he would recons der his declinatiC
st. and let them know by 12 O'Clock Il
as next day he would be renominated
=, chief justice and would be unan mou
w. lv confirmed by 4 o'clock He repli
en- that he could not reconsider his d
y cision.
ur 81 reminded the senator of this ci
-. cumstance and then asked him
there was any special reason why
declined so great an Office
en- "He said In reply 'Gorham,
he couldn't accept that Office because
ri. should have felt, as long as | sat
-. the chief Justices chair, that ] W
Dr. in a wise. | am by nature an adv
in cate, and not a iurist, and place up
en- the bench would either greatly ir
m, tate me or. else it would stagnate m
aW Copyright. 1913. by f. J. Edwar'
ow All rights reserved)
,o MIR. DOWNS OUT or BUSINESS
In Councilman Norman c. Downs.
L. Il. "a