Evening journal., 1913-09-19
NEW MEMS OF YESTERDAY
A Personal Recollection Of
Martin Van Buren,
By Holland.

Il presume that at this time the
number of those now living who can
recall the excursion which was made
by Martin Van Buren across New
York State in the year 1889 is very
small. / mean when saying this that
there can be only very few persons
now alive who saw President Van
Buren, at that time. l was fortunate
enough TO be one of them, and al
though / saw the President of the
United States when ] was a lad not
then in my teens, nevertheless the
recollection of President Van Buren's
personality and the profound impress
sion which he made because he was
the President of the United States
have been the most vivid of the
events of my early life"
This was told to me by former
Postmaster-G General Thomas L. James
In the early summer of 1910, few
hours before his departure for Eu-
rope. We had met at the steamship
Office a gentlman of advanced years,
who happened to mention that when
q boy he saw President Martin Van
Buren when the President was pass
ing through the town Of Schenectady,
N. Y.
i ItmtUUtI ludL IL Was tuc Btltidi
impression that President Van Buren
was making that excursion across
New York State so that he might
have a good opportunity to make, in
a leisure way, a journey by canal
boat from Albany TO Buffalo," said
General James. There we're few
railroads at that time, but 1 think
the railroad from Albany to Utica
was then in operation, although It
was a pretty poor affair in compari-
son with modern railroads.
"I did not know until year or two
later that while it was President
Van Buren's purpose to take a leis-
urely trip on the Erie canal boat
across the State that it was not his
chief purpose. He made this sum-
mer excursion principally with his
denomination for the presidency in
view. He was on that kind of politi-
cal pilgrimage which, many years
later, was called 'mending the
fences.
ivan Buren possessed much of the
personal fascination which was one
of the reasons why Henry Clay
gained such wonderful popularity and
why he made friends with every one
whom he met.
CAS- / recall Van Buren and COM
pare his personality with that OF
Henry Clay, whom saw in Utica
some ten years later, I must say that
the comparison was in favor of Clay.
He was a man, as l remember him,
whose somewhat homely or irregular
features nevertheless were lighted up
with such wonderful charm of express
sion, and we're made so radiant,
H-~ he "a
which have never seen, that he left
the impression that he was striking
" handsome man.
"My first impression as l saw Presi-
dent Van Buren was that his flowing
side whiskers were of a curious red.
dish brown, and / recall that tufts OF
reddish hair depended from beneath
his hat. He was a small man, OF
rather of short stature, although
think somewhat stockily built. H'
had a wonderfully quick eye anC
seemed to be able to take in each in
dividual in a great crowd with sin
gle glance. He had, too, the faculty
of imparting a sense of cordiality o
greeting which everyone in a grea
crowd instantly recognized, so tina
cheer after cheer of welcome went up
I think he had as gracefully cour
teous a bow as any man that | evel
saw. I am sure that no cultivated
courtier of France could have pre-
sented greater charm Of manner IL
bowing than President Van Buren did
"He went away from Utica west
ward over the line of the Erie Canal
1 remember hearing public men an'
politicians say, a year later, that /
was Van Buren's visit across New
York which clinched the renomina
ton for President for him, and l an
sure that this was the first time il
our history that a President mad
what is really a campaign trip for re
nomination through the State of New
York"