Fifty Years of Public Service Part 15

He went; but what he did, if anything, I do not know. However, I was nominated on the next ballot.

General Grant was nominated both the first and second times without opposition. He was first nominated in Chicago, with great enthusiasm.

The second time he was nominated in Philadelphia. I was chairman of the Illinois delegation at Philadelphia, and as such placed him in nomination.

I believe I made about the shortest nominating speech for a Republican candidate for President ever made in a National Republican Convention.

I said:

"Gentlemen of the Convention: On behalf of the great Republican party of Illinois, and that of the Union--in the name of liberty, of loyalty, of justice, and of law--in the interest of economy, of good government, of peace, and of the equal rights of all--remembering with profound grat.i.tude his glorious achievements in the field, and his n.o.ble statesmanship as Chief Magistrate of this great Nation --I nominate as President of the United States, for a second term, Ulysses S. Grant."

There was a considerable contest over the platform, and as usual, it was determined to adopt the platform before making the nominations of President and Vice-President. But the Convention became very restless after the day of speechmaking; evening was approaching, and the Committee on Platform being still out, it was determined to make the nomination for President that day. I mounted the platform, and in the brief speech I have quoted, placed General Grant in nomination. I never saw such a fervid audience. The floors and galleries were crowded, and the people seemed wild with enthusiasm for Grant. As I uttered the word "Grant," at the conclusion of my speech, and his picture was lowered from the ceiling of the hall, the demonstration was indescribable.

While we were waiting for the Committee on Platform to report, there were quite a number of speeches by favorite sons of the different States, Senator Logan and Governor Oglesby, from Illinois, being among them.

Senator Logan's speech is not very clear in my memory; but I do remember very well the speech by Governor Oglesby. He made a wonderful impression. I do not recall that I ever saw a man electrify an audience as did Governor Oglesby on that occasion.

It was the first convention where there were colored men admitted as delegates. Some of the colored delegates occupied the main floor. Old Garret Smith, the great abolitionist, was in the gallery, at the head of the New York delegation. Oglesby took for his theme first the colored man, represented there on the floor of that convention, and then Garret Smith. He set the crowd wild. They cheered him to the echo. We adjourned for luncheon immediately after he concluded his speech, and many of the delegates asked me who that man was. I was proud to be able to tell them that it was Governor Oglesby of Illinois; and the remark was frequently made that it was no wonder that Illinois gave sixty thousand Republican majority with such a man as its Governor.

The platform was finally adopted, and Wilson of Ma.s.sachusetts was nominated for Vice-President, in place of Schulyer Colfax. Colfax was much mortified at his defeat, but it turned out for the best, because Colfax became involved in the _Credit Mobilier_ before the campaign was over, and his name on the ticket would have injured the chances for success. Wilson, who was nominated to succeed Colfax for Vice-President, was a very good man. He was a Senator, and it was said of him that he came from the shoemaker's bench to the Senate of the United States.

General Grant got along very well during his first term as President.

He was wonderfully popular, and no one could have beaten him; but during his second term, so many scandals came to light, and the finances were in such bad shape, that generally his second term as President cannot be said to have been a success. One trouble with him as President was that he placed too much implicit reliance on those about him, and he never could be convinced that any friend of his could do a wrong. Some of his friends were clearly guilty of the grossest kind of misconduct, and yet he would not be convinced of it, and stuck to them until they nearly dragged him down into disgrace with them. He was not a politician. Before entering the White House he had had no previous experience in public office.

For a considerable time he attempted to act as Chief Executive with the same arbitrary power that he used as commander of an army; hence he was constantly getting into trouble with Senators and Representatives.

I remember one little experience along this line which I had with him. It is an unwritten rule that Representatives in Congress, if in harmony with the Administration, control the post-office appointments in their respective districts. On my recommendation Isaac Keyes was appointed postmaster of my own city of Springfield.

Much to my astonishment and mortification, in a month, without any warning, without any request for Keyes' resignation, General Grant sent in the appointment of Elder Crane. When I came to inquire the cause, he said he had just happened to remember that he had promised the office to Elder Crane, and he immediately sent in the appointment without considering for a minute the position in which he left Keyes and the embarra.s.sment it would cause me.

Sometime afterward, as Colonel Bluford Wilson tells me, General Grant asked Colonel Wilson, then Solicitor of the Treasury, who would make a good Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Colonel Wilson replied that Cullom was just the man for the place, and General Grant said at once, "I will appoint him." When Colonel Wilson went to the White House with the commission prepared for my appointment, General Grant said: "I have changed my mind about making that appointment. I offended Cullom in reference to the appointment of a postmaster of his town; and if I should appoint him Commissioner of Internal Revenue now, I know he would decline it, so I will not appoint him."

And in this he was quite right. I would have declined the office, not because I was offended at him, but because I would not accept that or any other appointive office.

Not being quite certain that my memory served me correctly in reference to this incident, I took occasion to ask Colonel Bluford Wilson, who had called on me at Washington, to give me the facts, which he later did in a long letter that sets forth the facts somewhat more elaborately than I have given them, but presenting the incident in an identical light.

While I would not say that General Grant was a failure as President, certain it is that he added nothing to his great fame as a soldier.

Indeed, in the opinion of very many people, who were his friends and well-wishers, when he retired from the White House he had detracted rather than added to his name. It would probably have been better if General Grant had been content with his military success, and had entered neither politics nor business.

General Grant was one of the greatest soldiers of modern times; indeed, if not of all time. Standing as he does the peer of Frederick, Napoleon, Wellington, the time will come when the very fact that he was President of the United States will be forgotten, while he will be remembered only as one of the world's great captains.

The last time I saw the General was about a month before he died.

I was in New York, with the select Committee on Interstate Commerce, and on Sunday morning we learned that General Grant, General Arthur, and ex-President Hayes were all in town, and that Grant and Arthur were ill. We determined to call on each of them.

We first called on General Grant at his home, and found that his son, General Frederick D. Grant, was with him. To him we sent our cards and asked to see his father. He said he would ascertain, and he came back directly and said that his father would be glad to see us, but cautioned us not to permit him to talk too much, as the trouble was in his throat. We went in and took seats for a moment. He greeted us all very cordially, and seemed to be specially interested in meeting Secretary Gorman. He wanted to talk, and did talk so rapidly and so incessantly that, fearing it was injuring him, we arose from our seats and told him that we had called simply to pay our respects, and expressed our gratification that he was so well.

I can see him yet, as I saw him then. He was sitting up, surrounded by the ma.n.u.script of his memoirs. He knew that his end was approaching, and he talked about it quietly and unconcernedly; said he was about through with his book, that if he could live a month or two longer he could improve it, but did not seem to feel very much concern whether he had any more time or not. Mrs. Grant and Nellie, and Mrs. Frederick D. Grant were in an adjoining room, with the door open, and knowing them all very well, I went in to pay my respects. Mrs. Grant at once inquired about my daughters. I told her that one of them was married, and she expressed surprise.

General Grant, hearing us, came into the room and said, "Julia, don't you remember that we received cards to the wedding?" He again began to talk, so I took my leave.

From there we called on General Arthur, and then on General Hayes.

Both pa.s.sed away within a short time.

I returned to my home in Springfield, and in about a month the news came that General Grant was dead. On the day of his funeral in New York, in cities of any importance in the country, services were held. Services were conducted in Springfield, on which occasion I delivered the princ.i.p.al address.

CHAPTER XII GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN

General John A. Logan was a man much more capable of accomplishing results than either General Palmer or General Oglesby.

I first met him when he was a member of the Legislature, in 1856.

He was a Democrat then, and a very active and aggressive one. It was in that year that we first elected a Republican Administration in Illinois, the Republican party having been organized only two years previously. Bissell was elected Governor; Hatch, Secretary of State; and Dubois, Auditor.

Governor Bissell was ill, having suffered a stroke of paralysis, and it became necessary for the Legislature, after organizing, to go to the Executive Mansion to witness the administration of the oath of office to him. After the Legislature reconvened in their respective Houses, General Logan immediately obtained recognition and made a bitter attack on Governor Bissell on the ground that the latter had sworn to a falsehood, he having challenged, or been challenged by Jefferson Davis to fight a duel. The duel was never actually fought; but Governor Bissell took the ground that whatever did occur was outside the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois, and he therefore could truthfully take the oath of office. Logan was then about as strong a Democrat as he afterwards was a Republican.

His attack on Bissell was resented by Republicans and under the circ.u.mstances was regarded as cruel. I became very much prejudiced against him.

After this episode Logan was elected to Congress as a Democrat, and was a follower of Douglas. Douglas was true to the Union, and after he made his famous speech before the Legislature at Springfield, General Logan entered the war and finally became a Republican.

It was alleged that there was an understanding between Douglas and the Democratic delegation in Congress from Illinois that they should all act together in whatever course they pursued. The delegation from Illinois contained some very able men, among them being General Logan. Douglas came out for the Union without consulting his colleagues in the delegation, and it was said that General Logan and the other Democratic members of the delegation were quite angry.

However, they all followed Douglas and became loyal Union men.

Like Governor Oglesby, General Logan had a brief military service in the Mexican War, and also like Governor Oglesby, and General McClernand, he was among the first to raise a regiment for service in the Civil War. He resigned his seat in Congress in 1861, and immediately went into active service. Senator Douglas and General Logan did much to save Southern Illinois to the Union, and that portion of the State contributed its full quota to the Union Army.

To describe the part General Logan took in the Civil War, after he raised the Thirty-first Illinois Regiment and took the field, would be to recite the history of the war itself. The records of his bravery at Belmont; of his gallant charge at Fort Donelson, where, as a Colonel, he was dangerously wounded; of his service as Major- General commanding the Army of the Tennessee; of the memorable siege of Vicksburg, when with the great leader of the Union armies he stood knocking at the door of that invincible stronghold; of his service with Sherman on his famous march to the sea, all are written on the pages of history and lend undying l.u.s.tre to the name of Logan.

He was a natural soldier. His shoulders were broad, his presence was commanding; with his swarthy face and coal black hair, "and eye like Mars, to threaten and command," he was every inch a warrior.

There is no question that General Logan was the greatest volunteer officer of the Civil War.

After the war Logan returned to Illinois, intending to re-enter the practice of the law; but he loved public life and politics, was the idol of the people of his section of the State, and was soon elected Congressman-at-large on the Republican ticket. When I entered the House in 1865, I found General Logan there, ranking as one of the leaders of the more radical Republicans. He was a forceful speaker, and did his full share as one of the mangers on the part of the House in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

He was devoted to General Grant and General Grant was very fond of him. General Grant, in talking of General Logan and Senator Morton of Indiana, used to say that they were the two most persistent men in the Senate in securing offices for their friends; but there was this difference between them: if Morton came to him and wanted ten offices and he gave him one, he would go away feeling perfectly satisfied, and make the impression on the people that he was running the Administration; while if Logan came to the White House to secure ten offices, and did not get more than nine of them, he would raise a great row, and claim that he could not get anything out of the Administration.

But Logan stood strongly for General Grant, no only during his two terms, where he had little or no opposition, but he was one of the leaders in the unsuccessful attempt to nominate him for a third term. Logan, Conkling, Cameron and others failed, and I believe that General Logan felt the failure more than even General Grant himself.

General Logan was a tremendously industrious man. He was always doing favors for his people, and seemed to delight in being of service to any one. That was the difference between him and Governor Oglesby. Logan was always willing and anxious to do favors for people, while Oglesby was not.

I remember an incident that ill.u.s.trates this very well. Jacob Bunn, of Springfield, as honest a man as ever lived and a man of high standing, was compelled to take a distillery in part payment of a very large debt which was owing to him, and to make it of any account he had to operate it until such a time as he could dispose of it. He had some explanation he desired to make to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and he came to Washington and asked Governor Oglesby, who was then in the Senate, to introduce him to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Oglesby knew Bunn very well, and yet he cross-examined him at great length and detail. Bunn left Oglesby and next morning sought Logan, who at once agreed to perform the favor, with the result that Mr. Bunn very readily adjusted the matter with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

Bunn afterwards said to me: "I had a good deal more trouble convincing Governor Oglesby that I was an honest man than I had convincing the Commissioner of Internal Revenue."

I give this incident as ill.u.s.trating the difference between the characters of Oglesby and Logan.

The latter's honesty and integrity were never doubted. I believe he would not have hesitated for a moment to kill any one who would have questioned his honesty. He was a poor man, and when I came to the Senate as his colleague we often sat together condoling with each other on our poverty, and "abusing" the men in the Senate who were wealthy. This was one of the common bonds between us. When I became well acquainted with General Logan, I believed in him and admired him as one of the ablest men of Illinois. He was a man of intense feeling, intense friendships, and I might also add that he was a man of the most intense hatreds.

General Logan, while never doubting his friends, yet expected his friends to swear devotion to him every time they saw him. He was "touchy" in this respect, and would not readily overlook any fancied slights. On one occasion, my old friend, the Hon. David T. Littler, now deceased, of Springfield, Illinois, who was also a warm friend of Logan, went to Washington, and neglected to call on Logan until he had been there several days. Logan knew that he was in town, and when he finally did call, Logan abused him roundly for not coming to see him the first thing. It made Littler angry for the time being, and he showed his resentment as only Littler could.

He made Logan apologize and agree never to find fault with him again. They were on good terms as long as they lived.

General Logan was my friend, and was always for me when I was running for office. It was sometimes tolerably hard to him to be for me as against a soldier, because there was never a man who was more thoroughly devoted to the soldiers. As colleagues in the Senate, we got along very agreeably and never had any cross-purposes or differences of opinion.

The only time I remember of ever having any feeling at all was on one occasion when Senator Logan, Senator Evarts, and Senator Teller were strongly advocating the seating of Henry B. Payne, of Ohio, as a matter of right and without investigation. I was disposed to vote for the taking of evidence and an investigation. When the discussion was going on, I stated to Logan that I felt like voting in favor of the investigation. He was very much out of humor about it. I consulted with some friends in the Senate as to what I ought to do under the circ.u.mstances, and they advised me, in view of General Logan's personal feeling on the subject--and he felt that he was personally involved--that I ought to vote with him.

After the vote was announced, I went around to General Logan's seat, and he expressed intense gratification that I had voted with him, remarking that if I had been involved in a struggle as he was, he would take the roof off the house before he would let me be beaten; and I believe he would have gone to almost any extent.

I then said to him: "General Logan, I want to a.s.sure you that hereafter you must not feel concerned about my vote being the same as yours. In other words, when I want to vote one way and you want to vote another, I shall be perfectly satisfied, and shall have no feeling against you on account of it; I want you to feel the same way when conditions are reversed." He acquiesced in this proposal; but we never afterwards had occasion to differ on any important question before the Senate.

General Logan had an ambition to become President, and I believe he would have realized his ambition had he lived.