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Show LITTLE BAND-WAGON JOURNEYS "'""""'liSiMBY L. T. MERRILLtSrSlll!1"""1""""1" (, 1928, Western Ncnupnper Union.) The First Dark Horse 'T'HtJ first dark horse candidate In American politics ran under the wire a winner In the Democratic national na-tional contention of 1S44. Former President Martin Van Buren of New fork and Gen. Lewis Cass of Michigan were the leading Democratic Demo-cratic contenders for tbv nomination. Van Buren was the conceded fa vorlte. Then the question of the an nexation of Texas suddenly Interposed Inter-posed Itself shortly before the convention con-vention assembled at Baltimore. Van Buren expressed himself against annexation. an-nexation. That made him steadily lose ground, especially In the South. His friends, sure of a majority, tried to secure his nomination by hav Ing the convention waive the two-thirds two-thirds rule. This rule bad been first Invoked In Van Buren's behalf. By historic Irony, the rule that bis old patron, Andrew Jackson, bad reared for him as a stepping stone now was to prove a fatal obstacle to New York's "Little Magit-iun." Some of the same Democrats who had urged original origi-nal adoption of the two-thirds rule to help Van Buren now argued for Its retention to defeat him. In the debate on the question that occupied a mnjot shari of the convention's attention for a day and a half. Finally the rule was retained by a majority vote of SO. the division being sharply along sectional lines, with southerners for and northerners against it On the first ballot for 'residential nominees, Van liuren commanded 146 of the 200 votes or 32 short of the two-thirds necessary to nominate Cuss had S3. On successive ballots the "Little Magician's" fortunes steadily declined while those of his opponent steadily rose, till on the seventh and last taken for the day, Cass was 21 alieod of Van Curen. During the night a great deal ot maneuvering was done by the various . managers. Next d;iy on the eighth ballot, James Knox folk of Tennes see, who had not figured at all in the previous voting, jumped into promi neuce with 44 votes. As the run toward I'olk set in. the discomfited delegation from New York let loose on the convention a flow of lurid oratory. A New York spokes man had his metaphors rudely warped by the warmth of his passion when he declared that a firebrand had been thrown into the convention by the mongrel administration at Wasliina Ion; but that firebrand (the Texas question) like a fever would wear Itself It-self out or kill the patient. As Ner fiddled nhile Kome burned, so a D-m ocratic fiddling Nero bad thrown this firebrand to advance his own cspli-ing cspli-ing ambition, the orator declaimed The convention hall rebounded with hisses, groans and demands for revelation reve-lation of the fiddling Nero. It was too late to save Van Buren. As the ninth ballot was begun state after state threw Its solid vote to I'olk. Virginia yielded "with a bleed lng heart," but with her chief pur pose to "defeat that apostate, Henry Clay," (who already bad been nominated nomi-nated by the Whigs) she laid "her heart upon the allar of her country and her principles." The New York delegation, which had retired for consultation, returned Just in tune to hear the Virginia fcpeaker. They realized the game was up for th (im. Benjamin F. Butler, later a Civil war general, as head of the New York contingent declared his delegation "responded with all Its heart" to the noble words of the orator from Virginia. New York threw In the Van Buren sponge. A letter from General Jackson, pleading for harmony, completed the work, folk's candidacy went over In a tumultuous Stampede to his standard. The man thus elevated almost by chance to the leadership of bis party and, as it proved, to the Presidency, bad little national reputation, though he had served briefly as speaker of the house of representatives. It was his colorless political character that excited no factional antagonisms and made him available as the Instrument of restored party harmony. Besides nominating the first dark horse, this Democratic convention had another distinction In being the first one whose proceedings were reported by a new-fangled Instrument, the telegraph. tele-graph. Over the first line of telegraph wire In America, that lately bad been Installed between Baltimore and Washington, amazed folk In the capital capi-tal heard of the dark horse nonilna lion and some exclaimed In surprise "Who Is I'olk?' Back over the wire from Washing ton went a peremptory refusal fi-oui fcenalor Silas Wright to accept the vice presidential nomination that the convention tendered him. Stung by the lection of Van Buren, be declined to accept the second place on the jlcket as the running -mate of I'olk. Clay's Presidential Disappointments Disappoint-ments TPHER E may be a good deal of com-edy com-edy In a national convention, but back of the blare and hullabaloo frequently fre-quently lie some disappointment and shattered hopes for men whose lifelong life-long aspiration has been election to the highest office In the land. Such was the tragedy of Blaine, of Webster, of Clay, of Bryan, men who repeatedly strove for the honor and lost Some of our greatest statesmen never nev-er have risen to the highest executive execu-tive position to which their talents and genius entitled them. Thus wltb the great triumvirate who dominated congressional politics for tliree decades dec-ades prior to the Civtl'war Webster, Clay and Calhoun. Every one of them was of Presidential Presi-dential caliber, every one of them nurtured Presidential ambitions, but all of them, largely because of the positiveness and strength of their statesmanship, were thrust aside by their parties for lesser men whose cliief merit war that theh colorless politics bad stirred no antagonism and made them more "available." "I would rather be right than be President," Henry Clay Is reportei to have said. Nevertheless, he accepted repeated rejections by his party with utmost disappointment. In lt-24 probably the votes of but a single state Louisiana prevented Clay from being President. No candidate candi-date in that year won a majority In the electoral college. The election, from among the three who stood highest high-est in the electoral vote, had to be thrown into the house of represcnta-thes. represcnta-thes. There Clay was speaker and the most Influential and popular member. mem-ber. Lack of only four electoral votes prevented him from being among the three Presidential candidates to be votPd upon In the house. Though destined not to be President, Presi-dent, he proved to be the President-maker President-maker in that year. Still further disappointments were in store for the Kentuckiau. His statement about preferring Tightness to election was made only a short time before the first Whig national convention of 1S.",9 at ilarrishurg, Pa. But when that body, by shrewd ma neuverinu-s of New York politicians, pushed Clay aside and nominated the simple old hero of Tippecanoe, General Gen-eral Harrison, Clay's rage was unbounded. un-bounded. But Clay was loyal to his party to the extent of stumping for Harrison, though he declined a proffered place In the "old hero's" cabinet. In order to be independent of bis politics. Four years later after Harrison bad died and Whig policies had gone askew under the apostate regime of President Tyler, Clay was unanimously unanimous-ly nominated by the Whigs In IS 11 at a most enthusiastic convention. But the election was to prove the melancholy melan-choly truth of his plaint that he was permitted to run only in the years when defeat was sure. The victory of the Democrats .with Polk, a dark horse candidate of mediocre medi-ocre reputation and talents compared with Clay's, stunned the Whigs. A national wail went through the land. Clay's Wisconsin biographer, Carl Sehurz. writes: "Tears flowed In abundance from the eyes of men and women, la the cities and villages the business places were almost diverted for a day or two, people gathering together In groups to discuss In low tones what had happened. Neither did the victorious vic-torious Democrats Indulge In the usual usu-al demonstrations of triumph. There was a feeling as If a great wrong had been done. . . . Many despaired of the republic, sincerely believing that the experiment of popular government gov-ernment had failed forever." Clay shared these gloomy views, declaring de-claring "The late blow that has fallen upon our country Is very heavy" and bewailing that It would be a long time ere the people would "recover from the corrupting Influence and cffecLs of Jncksonlsm." After this defeat Clay withdrew to his country estate, Ashland, where he received constant demonstrations of the affection of his party. But another war hero was to block his path again. Gen. Zuchary Taylor, a southern planter who never had vot ei) In his life and had no political tal cuts, was nominated by the Whig con ventlon of ISIS solely because of popu Inrlty he had won In flu; Mexican war Clay's own slate, Kentucky, figured strongly In the movement for Taylor Again Clay considered he had been betrayed by his friends. II was a bit ter disappointment to the old man then In bis seventy first year. The limit of Clay's magnanimity ami pa tienci; had been reached and he re fused to support Ibis new "old hero" ns be had supported General Harrison eight years earlier. President Taylor, like Harrison, (Med In olliee, and the Whigs suffered new reverses, with n Democratic defeat at tin- end of lb1' term of Millard VM more, who as Taylor's vice president. Hlieceoillil Mm. Clny, wracked bv cm. sumption unit I 1 1 1 I -1 1 1 bv f 15 s 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r 1 1 1 1 1 . lived lo ,-,erve 1 1: 1 1 1 v anil his country by III hieing fl.rlll "lie III I gl enl leeKIn live rune, i i.ntl to iin elTml In picit t,,,ne Ii II v i end ..n e the I'ribni. |