Evening star., 1951-06-24

during his first administration
was composed Of an unusually
able and brilliant set Of men, nat
urally selected with the utmost
care because Of what seemed to be
the inevitably impending civil
Of mature age, men
OF wide experience: at least six
being distinguished lawyers and
three having been editors. No
group of men before or since that
day have been better fitted as pub
lie servants to occupy positions In
the cabinet Of the President.
Lincoln appreciated as much as
any man possibly could the need
|of a set of Intellectually strong
men at his back; and, like all truly
great men who are not afraid OF
being eclipsed by other great men,
|he sought and obtained the fore
most talent Of the country to head
the executive branches of the Gov
|ernment. Nor did he consider
political rivalry for the exalted
office to which he had been Sc
Ilected as a bar to his official fam
lily, for Of the men he selected
Seward and Cameron had been
among the chief contenders for
the Republican nomination at the
Chicago convention held the year
before, and Bates and others were
in a receptive mood.
Indeed, on the first ballot
Seward secured 173 votes, or II
votes more than Lincoln; while
Bates received 81, Cameron SO
Mclean IL, Wade 3 and Dayton II
On the second ballot Seward
received 184Ha votes. while Lincoln
was but three votes behind-with
but 38 scattering votes. which In
the end would determine the VIC
tor. On the third vote Seward
nearly held his own, losing only
31a votes, while Lincoln received
|228-203 being necessary for q
choice. Then, according to The
Star OF May 10. 1860: "On motion
of Mr.. Evans of New York, the
nomination of Mr.. Lincoln was
made unanimous" and "the con-
vention at 1880 o'clock adjourned
till 5 o'clock amidst the greatest
excitement. ;"
Secretary Seword
Seward was eight years Older
than Lincoln, had served in the
New York State Legislature. hac
been Governor Of New York ane
when made Secretary Of Stat'
was serving his 18th year as
United States Senator.
| He was born in Florida, Orang'
County. N. Y. May 16. 1901. ant
was of Welsh and Irish ancestry
though for several generation
his forbears had residence in thi
country. his paternal grandfather
John Seward. having been a colo
mel in the Army of the American
Revolution. His father, before tn
birth Of the eminent statesman, re-
moved from Virginia. where n
was both a merchant and ply
sician.
| In 1866, when President Lincoln
was assassinated, a desperate at
tempt was also made by Levi!
Payne to kill Secretary Seward
who was then convalescing at hi:
residence on Madison place. on ths
east side of Lafayette Square
then known as Fifteen-and-a-
half street, the site of the build
ing now being occupied by
theater.
It was a historic old building
even before Seward made 1t hi;
home, having been erected in 1881
Iby Commodore John Rodgers. Il
was a very spacious dwelling ano
required more for it's upkeep thar
Its owner felt able to pay. After
Rodgers relinquished the house il
became q fashionable boarding
house, for q time being kept BY
Mrs. Latimer. William c. Pres
ton, United States Senator from
South Carolina; Trusten Polk
United States Senator from Mis-
souri,: william l.. Marcy. United
States Senator from New York
Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun
lived there at various times.
jones 6. Blaine
! Following Seward came Ger
lBelknap and the commissary gen
eral of subsistence, then James G
!. Blaine, candidate for the presi
!, dency in 1884, who expended $40,
1000 to put it in repair. and her
] THAT statesman died on Januar
,I27. 1893. shortly after he resigne
: as Secretary of State under Pres
ident Harrison.
| Simon Cameron. for q Will