The Washington herald., 1915-01-27
HISTORY BUILDERS.
How Horace Greeley Yearned for High
Office.
Written Expressly for The Washington HeraldJ
BY DIR. T.. J. EDWARDS.

NNntten E0tTeSsN Inc washington EtIalu-l
By DIR. T.. j. EDWARDS.
In the latter years of his life. Thur
low Weed lived in New York City. and
he found his chief pleasure in meeting
old friends and in chatting reminiscent
ly with them of the men and events
associated with his career when he was
the great political manager of the Whig
party and for a few years of the Re
publican party.
Mr.. Weeds home was a substantial
but old-fashioned house in the vicinity
of Washington Square. There was a
little reception room which opened di-
rectIy from the main hall. Here Mr..
Weed used to sit by the hour. almost
blind, but seeming by a sort of mental
telepathy to visualize the men who
sat with him so that there was no en-
barrassment in the conversation oc-
casioned by the fact that he really saw
only the vagueSt outlines OF his visitor.
Mr Weed was for long time asso-
ciated with Horace Greeley. especially
when Greeley was the leading Whig
editor of the United States. and it was,
in fact, Weed who introduced Greeley
to Gov. Seward just after Greeley had
! founded the New York Tribune. All
| over the country Seward. Weed and
Greeley were spoken of as the leaders
some called them the bosses-Of the
Whig party.
A short time before the Republican
national convention met at Chicago. in
1860 Mr.. Greeley published in the New
York Tribune what purported to be a
letter which Greeley had written to Mr..
Seward in which he announced the dis
solution of the partnership of Seward,
Weed & Greeley This publication
created intense excitement. and 1t was
one of the most Impressive of the incl
dents of Presidential politics in 1860 II
was followed by Greeley's attempt to
defeat the nomination of Seward for
| President. Greeley having accepted a
proxy which enabled him to sit as an
anti-Seward delegate in the convention.
In the autumn OF 1877, only a few days
after the Republican State convention
at Rochester. at which Roscoe COnkling
made a speech which has become ira
ditional because II foTeshadOwed a
serious schism in the Republican party,
Mr.. Weed met a number of his friends,
one of whom spoke to him about the
| famous letter OF Greeley in which he
announced the dissolution of the pOliti-
| cal partnership OF the firm of Seward
Weed & Greeley.
Il did not understand until long
afterward why Greeley published that
letter" said Mr. Weed. 'Ncry few per-
sons realized that the letter was no
new thing. for it had been written six
years before it was published. Seward
never said anything about it and
Greeley waited six years before he
made IL public. II there was any part
nership Greeley gained as much as any
, Of the other partners. This association en-
abled him to increase the influence and
circulation OF the New York Tribune
| He ought to have amassed large for
tune thereby and would have done Sc
| II he had not made foolish loans. scat
| tered his money improvidently, unwill-
ing to take advice from anybody who
could have shown him how to take care
! of his income. There were several very
able bankers who would Cheerfully
have taken care of Greeley's money af-
fairs and brought to him a comfortable
fortune, as two Albany bankers did fOI
me.
Years later. I learned that what
made Greeley impatient and resentfuI
was that he had secret yearning fol-
office and he thought that Seward and
| l ought to have known that without
asking him. We thought that he was
! entirely satisfied with his influence and
prominence as editor OF the New York
Tribune"
Copyright, Iel5. by E, ]. Edwards. All rights re
served.l
| Tomorrow DIR. Edwards will tell o.
THE Atlantic Gable Bill in the Senate