Evening journal., 1914-01-10
NEW NENS OF YESTERDAY
How Sentiment Influenced
President arriSOn
By Holland.

asked ex-senator Chauncey NJ
Depew, shortly after he retired from
the United States Senate. if Presi-
dent Harrison had offered him the
portfolio OF the state department when
Harrison was making up the first
cabinet. / told the Senator that /
had heard that General Harrison had
made up his mind soon after his cleo
tion TO select Chauncey N. Depew as
secretary of state
The Senator did not at first answer
me directly. He replied substantially
IN the following words:
General Harrison, | think, felt that
II would be good policy. a highly ap-
prOpriate thing and one which would
give qualification TO the Republican
party II he we're TO 60 back to the
cabinet of General Garfield and Sc
lect as secretary of state and as sec
retary of the treasury two distinguish
ed Republicans whom Garfield I'm 1881
had called 10 his cabinet-Blaine as
secretary of state and Window as
secretary of the treasury.
Harrison did not misjudge his
party or the sentiment of the country
when he made these appointments.
liut he was not TO have either Blaine
or Window throughout his entire ad-
ministratiOn. Mr. Blaine. whose
health was tar from good and who
was even then under the grip of the
organic disease of which he died a
few years later. had resigned. and
Secretady Window died just after de-
liVering o speech al the annual dinner
cf the Chamber of Commerce in New
York.
III was after Blaine's resignation
as Secretary of State that President
Harrison, with great cordiality and
earnestness asked me to accept the
portfolio. But the same reason which
was given for opposing my nomina-
tion for President In 1SSS-namely.
my association with one of the great
railroads of the country-compel
me TO decline President Harrison's in
vltation. And yet the reason was not
precisely alike in both cases. Nv
nomination in 1883 for President. al
though supported unanimously bv
delegations of my State, was opposed
by delegates of some of the far West
ern states on the ground that / was
railroad man.
u was compelled. on the other
hand, TO decline President Harrison's
oher of the State Department port
folio because there were imperative
business reasons arising from some
very important matters in which the
New York Central Railroad at that
time was greatly interested.
10 was for the same reason that I
declined, some years earlier to per
nit the use of my name as a condi-
date for the United States Senate, al
though I was assured that If ] would
accept the nomination / should be
unanimously supported by the Re-
publican caucus
Not until ! was well past sixty
years OF age was I so placed i'm
business sense as to make II possible
TO accept political office.
Il have often thought of how senti-
mentally admirable were some "
President Harrlson's appointments. I
think the cOuntrf never fully under
stood how thoroughly sentiment
dominated President Harrison when
making appointments for the import
ant foreign missions. u was on
tirely his own idea to name as uin-
lister TO the Court of St James the
son of Abraham Lincoln and as min
lister TO Austria the son OF General
Grant. II was also his own idea to
name for other foreign missions men
who had gained distinction as jour
nalists and VINO in that capacity had
given valuable service to the Repub-
lican party. For that reason ne named
Nhitelaw Reid minister to France.
and he also nominated Murat Hal
sted, OF Cincinnati. minister to Ger
many. a nomination which failed be-
cause Halsted had created some per-
sonal animosity i'm the Senate. II
was for this reason that he named
Charles Emory Smith. a little later.
minister TO st. Petersburg
These we're all from one point of
view. sentimental appointments. but
the appeal was made to sentiment m
which there was no reproach and
in which, from the highest point of
view, there were really excellent poll
teal consideration