USA > New York > History of the state of New York, political and governmental, Vol. III 1865-1896 > Part 12
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The Democrats met at Syracuse on September 15 and reaffirmed their national platform of 1872 and their
7The ticket was: Secretary of State, Frederick W. Seward, New York; Comptroller, Francis E. Spinner, Herkimer; Treasurer, Edwin A. Merritt, St. Lawrence; Attorney-General, George F. Danforth, Monroe; State Engi- neer, Oliver H. P. Cornell, Tompkins; Canal Commissioner, William F. Tinsley, Wayne; Prison Inspector, Benoni J. Ives, Cayuga.
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State platform of 1874. John Morrissey appeared from New York City with a delegation representing an anti- Tammany organization, which was soon to crystallize into the Irving Hall Democracy, but it was thrown out. Tilden met the attempt of the Republicans to partici- pate in reform by annexing Bigelow, the Republican representative on the investigating commission who had just declined a Republican nomination, and running him on the Democratic ticket for Secretary of State. He also selected Lucius Robinson for Comptroller and Charles S. Fairchild, who had been engaged in the canal prosecutions, for Attorney-General.8
The Liberals held their State convention at Albany on September 22. One element, led by Cochrane and Charles Hughes of Washington, wished to be neutral, while the followers of F. A. Conkling and Archibald M. Bliss of Brooklyn favored indorsement of the Democrats. A compromise declaration was finally adopted that condemned the national administration, praised Tilden, and announced that as the Liberal principles were now substantially recognized by both the Democrats and Republicans of the State, the party did not think it necessary to nominate a State ticket, but urged Liberals to support honest men who would "earnestly and efficiently cooperate with Governor Til- den in his work of administrative reform."9
8The ticket was: Secretary of State, John Bigelow, Ulster; Comptroller, Lucius Robinson, Chemung; Treasurer, Charles N. Ross, Cayuga; Attorney- General, Charles S. Fairchild, New York; State Engineer, John D. Van Buren, New York; Canal Commissioner, Christopher A. Walruth, Oneida; Prison Inspector, Rodney R. Crowley, Cattaraugus.
9New York Tribune, September 23, 1875.
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Conkling returned from Europe in time to make a vigorous and brilliant campaign. He dwelt on the past record of the Democracy on questions of war and finance, and blamed it for the canal frauds, which Conk- ling, perhaps with his brother-in-law, Seymour, in mind, declared were discovered not by Tilden but "by those who yet have received little credit for it."1º He commended Tilden's work of reform, but assailed him for the attempt to make political capital out of the investigation as shown by his use of Bigelow for parti- san purposes. Enthusiasm for the word reform, asso- ciated with Tilden's name, was, however, too strong to be overcome. The Republicans in addition carried the heavy burden of the whiskey frauds in the Treasury department at Washington, and of their southern policy's fruition in Louisiana. Bigelow won the elec- tion by 14,810 plurality, receiving 390,211 votes to 375,401 for Seward, and 11,103 for George Dusenberre, Prohibitionist. Robinson's plurality over Spinner was 13,549. The Republicans won the Legislature, electing 20 Senators and 71 Assemblymen. The Democrats had 12 Senators and 57 Assemblymen. Again Husted became Speaker.
In New York City, Kelly met with signal defeat. Morrissey carried his war against Tammany into Tweed's old district, where he became a candidate for the Senate, though the normal Tammany majority was 11,000. His followers were commonly called the "Swallow-tails," because Morrissey, to satirize Mayor Wickham's requirement that visitors' cards be sent to
10Speech at Albany, October 18, 1875.
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him before he saw them, had visited City Hall in the day time in evening dress. They carried on a turbulent campaign against Kelly's "Short hairs" and with the aid of the Republicans elected Morrissey to the Senate and cut down the Tammany majority in every part of the city. Tilden, who was already on the eve of a break with Kelly, could contemplate with complacency Tam- many's local failure so long as he was able to seize a victory in the State. All possibility of rivalry in his own party was dissipated, and at the same time the Republicans were left to face the struggle for New York in the Presidential campaign with gloomy fore- bodings.
CHAPTER XIV CONKLING AND TILDEN SEEK THE PRESIDENCY
1876
I N his annual message to the Legislature of 1876, which was really an address to the country, Tilden outlined his Presidential platform. He gave spe- cial attention to Federal finances, reviewing at length public and private extravagances growing out of the war and advocating a prompt resumption of specie pay- ment and strict economy in Federal expenditures. To win southern favor and at the same time get away from the party's war record he assumed that the southern States had accepted the result of the struggle and argued that they should therefore be free from the menace of military force. He also told the south that the Federal fiscal system retarded its industrial recov- ery. His ambition was, however, by no means unob- structed at home. Kelly was now in opposition and allied with the friends of Judge Church. Seymour was only half-hearted and intimated that New York ought not to go into the national convention making any demands of her sister States. Tilden disarmed him as a possible rival by publicly offering at a dinner table to support him, safely counting on the Oneida sage's
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refusal to be an open candidate.1 He was also able to make Kelly an unwilling follower in his train. Kelly had imperative local interests to conserve by the exclusion of Morrissey's rival organization from recog- nition in the State convention, which met at Utica on April 26 with John C. Jacobs presiding. There Mor- rissey's delegation was excluded as the price of unani- mous instructions for Tilden and the application of the unit rule to the State's delegation. Senator Kernan, Lieutenant-Governor Dorsheimer, Henry C. Murphy, and Abram S. Hewitt were chosen delegates-at-large.
The Tammany organs continued to attack Tilden as
1In a reminiscent talk to the staff of the Brooklyn Eagle at the celebration of its sixtieth anniversary, October 27, 1901, St. Clair McKelway related the following anecdote, for which the writer is indebted to his nephew, the late Alexander J. McKelway :
"Samuel J. Tilden in some respects mentally resembled William H. Seward. I shall only tell one incident in a long acquaintanceship with Tilden. It occurred at his table in Albany, when he was Governor, in the latter part of the winter of 1876. Among the other guests were Horatio Seymour, John Bigelow, John Swinton, and the father of the late Eugene Schuyler, of diplomatic fame.
"Mr. Tilden said to Mr. Seymour: 'I want you to go to the St. Louis convention at the head of the New York delegation, to be temporary and permanent chairman of that body, and to be nominated and elected President of the United States. You shall have the support of my administration, of my influence, of my friends, and of my fortune in your candidacy.'
"I was amazed beyond measure, for I knew that Mr. Tilden wanted the nomination himself.
"Mr. Seymour declined the proposition with many gracious words, and soon after went to the house of his sister, with whom he was sojourning.
"At bedtime that night I said to Mr. Tilden: 'Governor, I inwardly trembled when you made that offer to Mr. Seymour lest he should accept it.' "Neither adopting nor repelling my intimation against his sincerity, Mr. Tilden, in the slyest possible manner, leaned over and whispered in my ear:
"'I knew he wouldn't; I knew he wouldn't; you can always safely offer in the strongest terms anything to a man that you know he won't accept.'
"Whether that was a mask of comedy or a key to character, I know not."
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a man who had gained vast wealth by wrecking and reorganizing railroads,2 and sneered at his reforms, which so far had not resulted in any considerable recovery from or punishment of canal or Tammany thieves. Tilden, however, had made a name to conjure with. A well organized and well financed propaganda spread the idea through the south and west that he was the one hope of success, and against this confidence the arguments that John Kelly and Augustus Schell circulated among the delegates who met at St. Louis on June 27 were of no avail. The bold and skillful manœuvers of Dorsheimer defeated the attempts of Indiana and Ohio to substitute a frankly inflationist platform for the declarations prepared by Manton Marble and approved by Tilden, which the New Yorkers had carried through the committee on resolu- tions.3 He talked boldly of frankly facing the issue of hard or soft money. At the same time the plank calling for the repeal of the law fixing January 1, 1879, for the resumption of specie payments enabled the infla- tionists to tell their followers that the party was against resumption, while the hard money men could attribute criticism of the fixed future date to a desire for imme- diate resumption.
Tilden's friends organized the convention with Henry Watterson as temporary chairman, behind whom stood John C. Jacobs, an adroit Tilden agent, to prompt the chair on parliamentary questions. Francis
2New York Evening Express, June 22, 1876.
3William C. Hudson, Random Recollections of an Old Political Reporter, pp. 56-59.
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Kernan presented Tilden's name to the convention. On the first ballot as cast before changes he failed by 871/2 votes of the necessary two-thirds, receiving 4041/2. Thomas A. Hendricks received 14012, Winfield S. Hancock 75, William Allen 54, Thomas F. Bayard 33, and Joel Parker 18. He was nominated on the second ballot by 534 votes, while Hendricks had 60, Hancock 59, Allen 54, Bayard 11, Parker 18, and Thurman 2. Thomas A. Hendricks was nominated for Vice-Presi- dent without opposition.
New York's candidate for the Republican nomination found no such smooth sailing. The Republican State convention to elect delegates was held at Syracuse on March 22, with George G. Hoskins acting as tempo- rary and George Dawson as permanent chairman. Conkling's friends talked of instructions under the unit rule as a matter of course. He had the support of the Grant administration, but the New York Times, which had been the administration organ, turned against him. Harper's Weekly declared him intolerable to the inde- pendent elements, who were inclined to think that a reform Democrat might be better than a Republican representing a low tone of political morality, and even indulged in insinuations against his professional char- acter.4 The Conkling managers, in the face of the growing opposition, modified their resolution of instruction, modestly presenting Conkling as a cham- pion of equal rights and financial honesty and the State's choice for President.
4Harper's Weekly, March 11, 25; April 8, 1876.
FRANCIS KERNAN
Francis Kernan, senator; born in Wayne, N. Y., January 14, 1816; was graduated from Georgetown college, District of Columbia, in 1836; studied law in Utica, N. Y. and was ad- mitted to the bar in July, 1840; reporter of the court of appeals of New York, 1854-1857; member of state assembly, 1861; elected to the 38th congress and served from March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1865; defeated by Roscoe Conkling for the 39th con- gress; member of the state constitutional convention, 1867-1868 ; democratic and liberal candidate for governor of New York in 1872 and defeated by John A. Dix; United States senator, 1875-1881; defeated for reelection by Thomas C. Platt; regent of the university of the state of New York, 1870-1892; died in Utica, N. Y., September 7, 1892.
JAMES WILLIAM HUSTED
James William Husted, politician; born in Bedford, West- chester county, N. Y., October 31, 1833; graduated from Yale, 1854; admitted to the bar. 1857; school commissioner of West- chester county, 1858-1860; deputy state superintendent of insur- ance, 1860-1862; harbor master of the port of New York, 1862- 1870; state commissioner of emigration, 1870-1872; major gen- eral of the national guard, 1873; president of the New York state military association, 1875-1876; member of assembly, 1869- 1892; speaker, 1874, 1876, 1878, 1886, 1887-1890; delegate to republican national conventions from 1872 to 1892; died at Peekskill, N. Y., September 23, 1892.
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George William Curtis, who supported Benjamin F. Bristow, the Secretary of the Treasury and the favorite of the reformers because of his attack on the whiskey ring despite the scarcely disguised hostility of the Presi- dent, refused on his arrival in Syracuse to accept this compromise. With the aid of A. Barton Hepburn he first made a fight upon the rules designed to shut off debate. Then he offered on the floor of the convention a substitute for the Conkling indorsement, reciting that while the convention would rejoice with pride if the candidate should be from among the Republicans of national reputation in New York, yet it recognized that the nomination should be the result of untram- meled debate and was willing to leave the selection to the patriotic wisdom of the national convention, "to secure one whose character and career are the pledge of a pure, economical, and vigorous administration of the government."5 Declaring that plain words were best, he presented the reformers' view in an eloquent speech, challenged the truth of the assertion that Conkling was the choice of New York Republicans, and frankly said that the country recognized Conkling as the "represen- tative of those influences-justly or unjustly it is not for me to say, but it is in your hearts to know,-would recognize him as the representative of those influences which the party in many of its parts deplores." Elbridge G. Lapham and Clarence A. Seward replied, and on this issue 250 delegates supported Conkling, 113 stood with Curtis, and 69 failed to vote. A. B. Cornell, Andrew D. White, Theodore M. Pomeroy, and James
5New York Times, March 23, 1876.
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M. Matthews were chosen delegates-at-large to the national convention which was to meet in Cincinnati on June 14. White did not attend the convention, and his place was taken by his alternate, the Rev. Henry H. Garnett.
Conkling had the New York delegates, but he clearly did not have the united sentiment of New York Repub- licans back of him. The desire for something beside the choice of evils led to a movement organized by William Cullen Bryant, Theodore D. Woolsey, Alex- ander H. Bullock, Horace White, Carl Schurz, and Henry Cabot Lodge for a conference in New York City on May 15,6 which issued an address that foretold an opposition to the Republicans if they nominated either Conkling or Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, who also was regarded as an exponent of Grant's methods. Bristow was the favorite of this group, while Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, who had made a reputa- tion for good administration and for his courageous fight against William Allen in defense of hard money, was an acceptable "dark horse." A similar movement confined to New York resulted in the formation of the Republican Reform Club, whose membership included Joseph H. Choate, William L. Strong, Dorman B. Eaton, Henry L. Burnett, Francis C. Barlow, Julien T. Davies, James C. Carter, John Jay, and Theodore Roosevelt, the father of President Roosevelt. On June 6 in an address to the national convention it said: "If you neglect to prove by your resolutions and your
6Circular in possession of writer, dated April 6, 1876.
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nominations that the flagrant decay of official faith and integrity which has occurred during the present Fed- eral administration is not the fault of the Republican party itself, but of unfaithful servants, whom now, upon the first opportunity since 1872, you are eager to depose, our solemn conviction is that your proceedings will impel the people to put the Democratic party into power."7
The popular favorite at Cincinnati was James G. Blaine. He would doubtless have been nominated but for the charges of combining public duties and private speculation in a way that, if not intentionally dishonest, was at least in bad taste. He faced investigation of these charges just before the convention, meeting them effectively if not convincingly, and then might have succeeded had not a sudden and dangerous attack of illness awakened doubt of his ability to endure the labors of the campaign. Nevertheless, his enthusiastic friends, inspired by the eloquence of Robert G. Inger- soll, were prevented from stampeding the convention only by an adjournment after the presentation of names. The temporary chairmanship went to Conkling's friend, Theodore M. Pomeroy, and General Woodford presented the New York Senator's name to the conven- tion. George William Curtis seconded the nomination of Bristow. On the first ballot Blaine had 285, Bristow 113, Morton 124, Conkling 99, Hayes 61, Hartranft 58. New York gave 69 votes for Conkling, the sole dis- senter being Curtis, who voted for Bristow. His other votes were 8 from Georgia, 7 from North Carolina, 3
7New York Times, June 7, 1876.
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each from Texas, Virginia, and Florida, 2 from Nevada, and 1 each from California, Michigan, Mississippi, and Missouri. Conkling's first vote was his highest, and his support gradually melted until on the sixth ballot he had 81, while Blaine had 308 and Hayes 113. On the seventh ballot, when the bulk of the anti-Blaine vote concentrated on Hayes, New York dropped Conkling without formal withdrawal of his name and gave Hayes 61 votes and Blaine 9. The Blaine men were W. H. Robertson and James W. Husted of Westchester, Jacob Worth of Kings, John H. Ketcham of Dutchess, Jacob W. Hoysradt of Columbia, James M. Marvin of Sara- toga, Stephen Sanford of Montgomery, Amos V. Smiley of Lewis, and James C. Feeter of Herkimer. The convention wanted a New Yorker for Vice-Presi- dent. The State's delegation presented General Wood- ford, but from outside the State came the call for Wil- liam A. Wheeler, who disliked Conkling and had always refused alliance with him in New York politics. Thomas C. Platt presented Woodford's name on behalf of New York. Luke P. Poland of Vermont named Wheeler, who showed such strength on the vote that the roll-call was discontinued and the nomination was made unanimous.
The Cincinnati platform with its declaration for civil service reform and continuous and steady progress to specie payment, was everywhere hailed as a triumph of the better elements in the Republican party. The favorable impression was strengthened by Hayes's let- ter of acceptance, which was stronger than the platform in its utterances on civil service reform, honest money,
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and conciliation toward the south. Tilden's letter, on the other hand, which carefully argued the need of preparation before resuming specie payment, ignoring all the preparations of the Resumption act, disappointed sound money men. The New York Tribune, which had been friendly to Tilden, turned to Hayes, and Whitelaw Reid wrote to Bigelow rejoicing in the fact that both parties had made high-class nominations, but saying that he was exceedingly sorry that the St. Louis platform and the nomination of Hendricks shut him up to the support of Hayes.8 William Cullen Bryant was personally favorable to Tilden, but the Evening Post, of which he owned half, supported Hayes.9 Schurz and his friends accepted the result at Cincinnati as a substantial compliance with the demands of the address of May 15.
The Liberal Republicans were divided, but most of their leaders went back into the Republican party. The national committee on May 910 issued a call for a con- vention in Philadelphia on July 26, but on July 20, pursuant to the power vested in him, the chairman, Ethan Allen, cancelled the call and announced that after consultation with the committeemen the Liberal Republicans indorsed Hayes as the logical result of the Liberal movement.11 The New York Liberals, led by John Cochrane and Benjamin F. Manierre, met at Saratoga on August 23, the same day as the Repub-
8Bigelow, Letters and Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden, II, p. 439. 9Bigelow, Letters and Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden, II, p. 445. 10New York Tribune, May 9, 1876.
11New York Tribune, July 21, 1876.
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licans, declared for Hayes, and were received in the Republican convention. F. A. Conkling said that the job to secure a Hayes indorsement was put up clan- destinely,12 and with the encouragement of Bigelow13 the dissenters met14 and advised "all true Liberals of the country to cordially support the St. Louis nominees as the best method of lifting the country out of the ruin that threatens it."
Cornell was slated for Governor by the organization, but the reformers proposed William M. Evarts, and so much enthusiasm was aroused over the program that Cornell withdrew after vainly waiting the arrival of Conkling at the convention in Saratoga on August 23. Warner Miller was temporary and John M. Francis permanent chairman. In the face of the movement for Evarts, whose name was placed before the convention by Curtis, and the candidacy of Robertson, who was now particularly distasteful to Conkling because of his switch to Blaine, the organization reluctantly threw its strength to Edwin D. Morgan and nominated him on the first ballot. He had 242 votes to 126 for Evarts, 24 for Robertson, and 18 for Martin I. Townsend. Cor- nell inadvisedly allowed himself to be made a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, which only succeeded in emphasizing the unpopularity of the machine and drawing the fire of Curtis and Senator William B. Woodin of Cayuga. Theodore M. Pomeroy, the candi-
12Unpublished letter of August 14, 1876, to D. D. S. Brown, in the posses- sion of the writer.
13Unpublished letter of August 2, 1876, to D. D. S. Brown, in the posses- sion of the writer.
14At Saratoga, August 23, 1876.
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date from Woodin's county, suffered in consequence, and the nomination went to Sherman S. Rogers of Erie, who received 240 votes to Pomeroy's 178.15 The plat- form arraigned Tilden for pushing through the State law making taxes payable in gold after January 1, 1879, while he called for the repeal of the pledge to resume specie payments throughout the country. It also attacked Tilden's professed economies and said that the lower taxes were due to the Republican payment of debts, not to any reduction of expenses.
The Democrats waited for Tilden to select their can- didate for Governor, but long waited in vain. To a visitor who urged upon him a decision and quoted the proverb, "Never put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day," Tilden made the characteristic reply: "Yes, never put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day, but never decide to-day what can be decided to-morrow. y "'16 Dorsheimer, who believed he had Tilden's promise of the nomination, came back from St. Louis perhaps too consciously proud of his services there. Meeting Til- den at the railway station, he was received with a chilling, almost contemptuous air, which he attributed to mischief-making gossip.17 When the Democrats met at Saratoga on August 30, they were still in the dark. Dorsheimer, as a recent convert, was unpopular with old-time Democrats, who talked of Clarkson N. Potter.
15The ticket was: Governor, Edwin D. Morgan, New York; Lieutenant- Governor, Sherman S. Rogers, Erie; Canal Commissioner, Daniel C. Spencer, Livingston; Prison Inspector, Charles W. Trowbridge, Kings; Judge of the Court of Appeals, George F. Danforth, Monroe.
16Remark to Dr. Talcott Williams.
17Hudson, Random Recollections of an Old Political Reporter, p. 61.
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Marble was a receptive candidate, but Seymour's friends could not forget the "Change of Base" edi- torials of 1868, which he would not or could not explain. Lucius Robinson excited no enthusiasm. Senator James F. Starbuck of Watertown, an able lawyer and staunch supporter of Tilden, had some fol- lowing, but he was generally regarded as too narrow a partisan, despite his record as a "War Democrat," to make any popular appeal. Tilden did not attend the convention, and Kernan was expected at the last moment to bring his instructions. But when Kernan
arrived he had no revelations. Edward Cooper left New York with the expectation that his brother-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt, would be nominated, but on the train his attention was drawn to the constitutional require- ment of a five-years' residence. Hewitt had recently lived in New Jersey, so he had to be abandoned.18
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