USA > New York > History of the state of New York, political and governmental, Vol. V > Part 19
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tability to the Democratic party at large, and also because of the rooted disbelief on the part of most people of normal ways of thinking in his capacity for either sound or discriminating official leadership. His selection once made by the Liberal Republicans, how- ever, could not be repudiated by the Democrats without throwing away every chance of success for the policy of reconciliation.
A dissatisfied element of the Democratic party, known as the "Straight-outs," held a convention at Louisville, Kentucky, its nominees being Charles O'Conor, of New York, and John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts. This ticket received no support of any consequence, and polled only 30,297 votes.
President Grant was renominated by the Republi- cans, and for Vice-President their candidate was Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts.
The election afforded striking proof of the useless- ness, and indeed folly, of ill-assorted party coalitions and illogical nominations. Notwithstanding the eminent respectability and unquestioned earnestness of the Liberal Republicans, they were only an aggregation of dissidents perfunctorily organized and engaged in a merely temporary experiment. A very slender reed for the vigorous and unterrified Democracy to lean upon. As for the Democrats, they were quite without heart in the campaign, and by tens of thousands stayed at home on election day. Greeley did not carry a northern State and was successful only in the border States of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri and the southern States of Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.
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Grant had 3,597,070 popular votes, Greeley 2,834,079. Before the Electors met Greeley died. The result of the Electoral count for President was: Grant, 286; Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, 42; B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, 18; Charles J. Jenkins, of Georgia, 2; David Davis, of Illinois, 1; not counted by Congress, 17.
Following this luckless adventure the Liberal Repub- lican movement came promptly to an end. The Demo- cratic party returned to its unaided fight against the Grant administration as if nothing discouraging had happened. Victory was not long delayed. In 1874 the Congressional elections showed a combined Demo- cratic and Independent majority of 74 in the next House, although the then existing House (elected in 1872) had a radical Republican majority of nearly a hundred. Never had there been such an overturn. Be- sides, a notable gain was made by the Democrats of seats in the Senate. The immediate causes of the revo- lution were the country's extreme weariness of the single "Bloody Shirt" issue of the Republicans, its disapproval of further continuance of Federal tyranny over the southern whites, and its attribution to the party in power of responsibility for the terrible financial panic of 1873 and the consequent "hard times." It was more- over manifest that the laboring and agricultural masses -especially at the west,-who so long had been good- naturedly responsive to the strenuous appeals on behalf of the Republican party as possessed of superior ele- mental virtues and graces, were beginning to consider political questions from a new point of view, that of
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their own interests as regarded and treated by the two parties contrastingly. Such a disposition on the part of the laborers and farmers was excessively inconvenient for the Republican politicians, who, owing to the nature of the controlling influences in their organization, were in no position to satisfy the new expectations and much preferred the simpler politics of eternal hate of the south and defamation of the Democracy accordingly.
The perennial troubles of the Republican party with the labor and agricultural votes-troubles which at the present day appear to be approaching their climax- date from the second administration of Grant.
Although the Democratic House of Representatives (Forty-fourth Congress) was powerless to establish anything affirmative in the respect of national policy because of the disagreement of the Republican Senate and President, it did great and salutary work in another direction. Forever memorable in the country's history are its investigations and the disclosures that resulted. Corruption in the government, in the forms of prodi- gious and systematic frauds on the revenue with official connivance, valuable grants of favor to special interests and individuals in return for political influence as well as for money equivalents and presents of stock in cor- porations, etc., was shown to be rampant and most astonishingly pervasive. Cabinet members, many sub- ordinate office-holders, the President's private secre- tary, a former Vice-President, and the Speaker of the previous House were tainted by indubitable proofs. The country keenly felt the disgrace ; and to the aroused public interest in the need of higher standards of
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government conduct and official responsibility are traceable, to no small degree, the inception and develop- ment of the reform movements of the past forty-five years.
In the Presidential campaign of 1876 the Democratic leader was Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, his asso- ciate being Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. Their Republican opponents were Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler, of New York. There was also a Greenback party ticket, headed by Peter Cooper, of New York, and a ticket of the Prohibition party. Most of the Liberals of 1872 had by this time rejoined the Republican party.
The Democratic platform of 1876 (adopted at St. Louis), a model of masterly but concise presentation of issues, ranks with the most famous deliverances in the records of the party. Its keynote was reform. Among other matters, reform was demanded in the treatment of the southern States; in financial measures, on the basis of a true conservatism and specifically for the interests of a sound currency, restoration of the public credit, and maintenance of the national honor ; in the tariff, for correction of the abuses that had "impoverished many industries to subsidize a few," and pursuant to the general principle of duties "only for revenue"; in the national expenditures, with a view to economy; in the policy relating to the public lands, a policy that had "squandered 200,000,000 acres upon railroads alone"; and in the civil service, to the end of appointments "for approved competency" instead of as rewards for party zeal.
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The election resulted in 184 undisputed votes for Tilden-one short of a majority. These undisputed votes consisted of 70 from five northern States-Con- necticut, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia; 38 from the four border States (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri) ; and 76 from the eight southern States of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The votes of Florida (4), Louisiana (8), and South Carolina (7) were technically disputed; but not in any just sense was Tilden's title to them disputable.
In the three States in question there obtained, at the time of the election and after, Republican governments that owed their being to the power of the Federal administration and were sustained by Federal soldiers. Without such conditions it was impossible that any one of them could have gone for the Republican party; in the circumstances of the race situation Republican suc- cess in Florida, Louisiana, or South Carolina would have been indeed as unimaginable as would be to-day the triumph of a Chinese or Japanese party in Cali- fornia save under the duress of irresistible external authority. This of course is not said by way of invid- ious allusion to any non-white race; it is merely a pertinent statement of incontrovertible American polit- ical fact.
Not only were the Republicans incapable of carrying any one of the three States except by outside force, but with all their power as conquerors they actually failed in Louisiana and Florida, while in South Carolina
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their majority was very small and open to legal doubt. In Louisiana the returns gave Tilden a majority of over 6,000; in Florida the result was close, with a majority for Tilden, which the Republican State government proceeded to take from him. By "returning board" manipulations and arbitrary decisions the Electoral votes of both States were certified to Congress as having been cast for Hayes. Counter certifications on behalf of the Tilden Electors were sent from Louis- iana, Florida, and South Carolina, and a question was raised as to the legal qualification of a Hayes Elector in Oregon. The two houses of Congress, unable to agree in deciding the result of the election, committed the matter to an extra-constitutional tribunal called the Electoral commission, consisting of five Senators, five Representatives, and five Justices of the Supreme Court. That body, though created for a purely judi- cial purpose, divided uniformly on party lines, eight Republicans to seven Democrats, awarded every dis- puted vote to Hayes, and so determined his choice as President by 185 Electoral votes to 184 for Tilden. Despite the deep-seated feeling of wrong throughout the country the Democratic House consented to the final award for the sake of national peace and the supremacy of law.
Tilden's popular vote was 4,284,757; Hayes's, 4,033,950. The Greenback candidate had 81,740 votes, and the Prohibitionist 9,522.
President Hayes early in his administration ordered the soldiers out of the south. Though entirely a party man his attitude on public questions was in general
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more acceptable to the Republican liberals than the old- fashioned radicals and showed a becoming appreciation of the fact that the Republican party no longer stood in a position warranting arrogance. He was conse- quently regarded with much scorn by the lordly chiefs whose will previously had been supreme. Throughout his four years (1877-81) the House of Representatives remained Democratic, and in the Forty-sixth Congress (1879-81) the Senate also had a Democratic majority. No enactments on party lines were possible for either the Democrats or Republicans. The Bland-Allison Silver Purchase act, a non-partisan measure directing government purchase of silver for coinage purposes of not less than $2,000,000 or more than $4,000,000 monthly, was passed, vetoed, repassed over the veto, and
so became a law (1878). The southern question, auto- matically settled by the removal of the troops, stayed settled. After securing control of the Senate the Demo- crats passed legislation for repealing the measures of the Grant regime that provided for Federal control of elections, but the repeal was vetoed by the President in deference to the sensitive Republican feeling that there had been quite enough yielding to the whites of the south. The obnoxious measures were not removed from the statute-books until the Democrats obtained full power in the government under Cleveland.
It was the desire of the Democratic party again to nominate Mr. Tilden in 1880, but he declined to be a candidate. General Winfield S. Hancock, of Pennsyl- vania, was selected as the standard-bearer, the Vice- Presidential nomination going to William H. English,
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of Indiana. An eminently progressive platform was adopted, indicating the party's purpose to deal vigor- ously with new questions. The plank that attracted most attention was: "Home rule; honest money, con- sisting of gold and silver, and paper convertible into coin on demand; the strict maintenance of the public faith, State and national; and a tariff for revenue only." "Discrimination in favor of transportation lines, cor- porations, or monopolies" was condemned, the interests of labor were sympathetically referred to, and declara- tions were made in favor of "public land for actual settlers" and against further Chinese immigration. Opposition to the inflow of Chinese laborers was at that time intense on the Pacific coast.
The platform of the Republicans, though largely devoted to glorification of their party's past, showed that they also recognized the changing conditions of the times, and embodied promises of a new basis of action in certain matters as to which their former course had been very unpopular. One of these promises was that there should be "no further" grants of the public domain to any railway or other corporation. Their reluctance to abandon hostility to the southerners was evidenced by a pompous pronouncement against "the dangers of a Solid South." The south had indeed become solid in 1880, but no dangers from that result had developed-and, as all know, none have developed in the forty years since. A cautious declaration was made on the Chinese subject. The Republican nom- inees were James A. Garfield, of Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur, of New York.
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The little parties of Greenbackism and Prohibition again took the field, James B. Weaver, of Iowa, being the candidate of the former, and Neal Dow, of Maine, of the latter.
Garfield was elected by the vote of New York, having in that State a plurality of about 21,000. Hancock carried New Jersey, West Virginia, Nevada, the four border States and eleven southern States, and had five of the six Electoral votes of California. The total Electoral vote was, Garfield, 214; Hancock, 155. Popular vote-Garfield, 4,449,053; Hancock, 4,442,- 035; Weaver, 307,426; Dow, 12,576.
The inauguration of Garfield (March 4, 1881) was followed at once by bitter quarrels in the Republican party consequent upon the Presidential appointments and related matters of patronage. He was shot by a crazed Republican factionist July 2, died September 19, and was succeeded by Vice-President Arthur. In spite of the hope that the new President would pursue a course with reference more to the general approbation of the country than to favor for any particular Repub- lican element, the troubles were but little reduced except in superficial appearance; and the adminis- tration itself gave finally a signal demonstration of the prevalent spirit of willfulness by forcing the nom- ination of Charles J. Folger for the Governorship of New York against strong public sentiment-the conse- quence being the election of Folger's Democratic opponent, Grover Cleveland, by an unparalleled major- ity. There was a steady growth in support of the Democracy by the independents. Pennsylvania, which
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had become Republicanism's greatest stronghold, elected a Democratic Governor, Robert E. Pattison ; and that distinguished Democrat, George Hoadly, was chosen Governor in Ohio after an exciting contest with the aspiring Foraker. In the Senate the parties were tied during the first half of Arthur's administration, with one Independent holding the balance; during the second half there were 38 Republicans, 36 Democrats, and 2 "Readjusters." The House of Representatives, Republican by a small plurality in 1881-83, had a Democratic plurality of 79 in 1883-85.
It was in the Arthur administration that the tariff question came into prominence. From the operation of the protective system established during the Civil War and since continued by the Republicans without any attention to the needs for change in many details, serious evils had developed. These had been analyzed by the Democratic platform of 1876, which denounced the whole fabric of duties, levied upon four thousand articles, as constituting "a masterpiece of injustice, inequality, and false pretense." In addition, a large and for many reasons undesirable surplus revenue was accumulating. Congress in 1882 provided for a Tariff commission empowered to investigate and make recom- mendations. In the early part of 1883 (the Repub- licans being then in control of the House) a tariff bill was passed and signed which was remarkable for its artful construction in favor of various interests but gave no satisfaction in principle to reform demands. Thus was begun the long tariff contest with the Repub- licans arrayed for the special interests.
AUGUSTUS VANWYCK
Augustus VanWyck, justice ; born in New York City, October 14, 1849; studied at Phillips Exeter academy; graduated at the University of North Carolina; practiced law in Richmond, Va .; removed to Brooklyn, 1871; chairman of the democratic general committee of Kings county, 1882; delegate to numerous national, state and local conventions of his party; judge of the city court of Brooklyn, 1884-1896; justice of the Supreme court, 1896-1898 ; candidate for governor of New York against Theodore Roose- velt in 1898.
THOMAS FRANCIS GRADY
Thomas Francis Grady, state senator; born in New York City, November 29, 1853; educated at De Lasalle Institute and St. James' parochial school ; studied law; admitted to practice in 1883 ; practiced in New York City; member of assembly, 1877- 1879; state senator 1882-1883, 1889-1890; police justice, 1891- 1895; again state senator, 1896-1912; democratic leader of the senate; delegate to democratic state and national conventions at which he was always a chief speaker; died in New York City, January 2, 1912.
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The noted non-partisan Civil Service Reform bill was passed and became a law January 16, 1883. It will be remembered that by platform declarations made in 1872 and 1876 the Democratic party stood committed to the principle of reform in the civil service. Although without a majority in either house when the bill was brought up and acted on, and therefore not able to enjoy any part of the official credit for its enact- ment, Democrats in both Senate and House gave it substantial support. Probably its most active and effective promoter was George H. Pendleton, Demo- cratic Senator from Ohio.
CHAPTER X CLEVELAND AND AFTER
1884-1910
G ROVER CLEVELAND was nominated for President by the Democratic national conven- tion of 1884, which met in Chicago (July 8-11) ; and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, received the nomination for Vice-President. The presentation in the platform of the questions before the people was introduced by an admirable statement of the funda- mental character and position of the party. No better statement has ever been written, or can be. As follows :
"The Democratic party of the Union recognizes that, as the nation grows older, new issues are born of time and progress, and old issues perish. But the fundamental principles of the Democracy, approved by the united voice of the people, remain, and will ever remain, as the best and only security for the continuance of free government. The preservation of personal rights; the equality of all citizens before the law; the reserved rights of the States; and the supremacy of the Federal government within the limits of the Constitu- tion, will ever form the true basis of our liberties, and can never be surrendered without destroying that balance of rights and powers which enables a continent
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to be developed in peace and social order to be main- tained by means of local self-government."
The Republican party was circumstantially arraigned for its characteristic and resolute spirit of backwardness as to matters of popular demand; its sub- jection to special interests and degeneration into "an organization for enriching those who control its machinery"; its consequent permissions of "frauds and jobbery"; and its general preference for arbitrary gov- ernment and unscrupulous political methods consis- tently with the nature of its representative direction and as the logical means for retaining its power.
As the exordium of the platform was a perfect expres- sion of the spirit of the Democracy, so was this sum- mary of the nature and tendencies of the Republican party perfect.
The Republican party had come to stand for special interests.
Special interests it has stood for since primarily and sturdily.
In this brief history, necessarily restricted to out- standing matters and their essential bearings, it is of course an impossibility to analyze with any formality platforms, political campaigns, or Presidential adminis- trations, except (as in the cases of the slavery and Civil War questions and the great subjects of the present day) where a somewhat attentive examination of details is fundamental to our historical purpose-that is, to a presentation of the Democratic party's true record in at least the elements of its integrity. No distinction will be made in relation to the Cleveland or the imme-
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diately subsequent campaigns and administrations, none of which involved matters of any particular complexity.
The Republican opponents of Cleveland and Hen- dricks were James G. Blaine, of Maine, and John A. Logan, of Illinois. Blaine's nomination was distaste- ful to the reform elements of the Republican party and the large class of independent voters. Such eminent Republicans as Carl Schurz, George William Curtis, and Henry Ward Beecher came out for Cleveland, and he had the powerful support of the New York Times and other conspicuous newspapers that previously had upheld the Republican cause. On the other hand, Mr. Blaine was regarded as representing in a most decided manner the old-time men of his party and their undis- guised intention to hold to changeless ideas; and in the respect of partisan leadership the Republicans never have had a stronger candidate. Enthusiasm on his behalf took some extravagant forms. An incident was the ceremonious call on him, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City, by five hundred clergymen, almost all of them Protestants, to counteract the prejudiced feeling in certain quarters occasioned by Irish Catholic activities in his interest. The spokesman of the deputa- tion, Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Burchard, in his fervid ad- dress alluded to the Democracy as the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion," and Mr. Blaine omitted to take exception to the plain insult to the Catholics. The indiscretion of Burchard was doubtless one of the causes of Republican loss of New York and the election. A much more important cause was the candidacy on the Prohibition ticket of John P. St. John, formerly Repub-
.
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lican Governor of Kansas, to whom many thousands of Republicans displeased with Blaine but unwilling to vote the Democratic ticket gave their support.
Cleveland's Electoral vote was 219, Blaine's 182; and of the popular votes Cleveland had 4,912,696, Blaine 4,849,680, St. John 151,830, and Benjamin F. Butler
(Anti-Monopoly) 133,824. Cleveland carried New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Indiana, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia, in addition to every State of the south. In New York his plurality was 1,047.
During his first four years as President (1885-89) Cleveland had the cooperation of a Democratic House of Representatives, but the Senate was Republican. His administration was distinguished for vigorous and bold leadership, intellectual force, the loftiest standards of public duty, fearlessness in dealing with all questions and conditions, and reforms and efficiency in the public service. When he left office he fully retained the confi- dence and affection of the Democratic party, as well as the independents.
The tariff issue on its ultimate lines was directly made by President Cleveland. It is true the Democracy was historically associated with the policy of tariff for revenue only, a policy affirmed by the platforms of 1876 and 1880; but the platform of 1884, upon which he was elected, did not pledge a specific course. It declared, however, that all unnecessary taxation was unjust taxa- tion, and demanded that taxation should be "exclu- sively for public purposes" and should not exceed "the needs of the government, economically administered."
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Cleveland looked with great disfavor upon the system that was responsible for the ever increasing surplus, and it was on account of the fiscal problems presented by the surplus, as well as the favoritisms and wrongs fostered by the duties, that he urged Congress to under- take reforms and finally sent his famous tariff message of December, 1887, advocating thorough reconstruc- tion for the objects of putting a stop to public plunder and remedying financial disorders. The Democratic Mills bill of reductions was passed by the House (July, 1888) and the tariff was made the dominating issue in the Presidential campaign then opening.
One of the great results of the first Cleveland admin- istration was the creation (1887) of the Interstate Com- merce commission with important powers over the rail- ways, especially for preventing discriminations and re- quiring uniformity in rates. Another valuable measure was the Presidential Succession law, which embodied provisions for preventing future dangerous disputes. The work of reforming the civil service on the basis of the merit system, and so enabling government employes to be independent of party politicians and no longer under the necessity of contributing to campaign funds, was undertaken in good faith and showed gratifying progress.
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