OCR Text |
Show I Democracy's Ups and Downs - By Martin h. Giynn i ' IB 1 : . 1 H. ' Drawing from a rare and abundant fund of information acquired H through twoscorc years of intimate associations with the nation's leading H men, Martin H, Glynn, of Albany, former Governor of New York, will pre- H . sent to readers of this newspaper a graphic and absorbing sketch of the H history of the Democratic party. He seas the romantic thrills of politics; 1J , he narrates the stirring episodes of the conventions of other days with the Wi pen of a true historian. Through his story runs a delightful human touch f J which links the personalities of great figures in history closely with their I a party. It forms' ihe-hisloric setting for the Democratic convention to meet f-J "T" in San Francisco. M Mr. Glynn himself has played many an important role in his party. j I Born on a farm in Kinderhook, Columbia county, the ''cradle of modern U. Democracy," Mr. Glynn grew up under the influence of the Mdrtin Vqn Burcn and Samuel j. Tilden traditions. Still a bov, he went to Albany as j&i a reporter on the Times-Union and began writing politics, and since that sf - fQV nas been a close student of politics. His librarv is one of the finest in 3 the State. He is now proprietor ana editor of the Times-Union. jL . When he was twenty-six years old Mr. Glynn ivas elected Rcprcscnta- t fivc and Was the youngest man in Congress. He served two terms, and r! President McKinlcy appointed him vice president of the Louisiana Exposi- 1 Hon Commission. He ivas elected State Controller in 1906 and became . Governor in 1913. His famous speech, "He kept us out of war," delivered in the St. Louis convention in 1916, has been credited with saving the Dem- j " ocraiic party from defeat. He is regarded as one of his parly's leading orators. j By MARTIN H. GLYNN, H I Former Governor of New York. IKJ T")0L1TICS are in f the air and conven-; conven-; I tion3 are in every one's mind. I ' The Democratic party really started when I J Madison was making his fight for liberal I principles In the constitutional convention I against Hamilton and his ultraconsorvatlvo I tendencies. The salient point is that Democracy De-mocracy found Itself scorer as a party than I 'j did Republicanism. Madison was a pupil of $ Jefferson, and Jefferson took up the battle ' and fashioned the party out pf the elements I of protest against existing conditions the 1 element that has pushed th stone of prog-1 prog-1 rcss alqng life's highway, the element that 11 has held aloft the torch to light the feet im of mankind. That clement may lose more f battles than It wins, but It produces great H results for the human race. HI In this role of crusader and pathfinder Rj the Democratic pary got along very well H withput a convention until Jackson's time. J Then, it took up the national convention idea. H which It borrowed from Thurlow Weed and Kjl the Whig convention which defeated Clay mm at Harrlsburg. m Jefferson' Principles Still Live. m Jefferson laid the foundations for the new n party among the poor people, among thp farmers and the small property- owners He $ gathered his strength from Virginia, the hills il of Maryland and Pennsylvania and th Moll Mo-ll hawk Valley of New York. A big portion III " o the new party following was then, as It I' is to-day. Presbyterian. I 1 First, wc had the cycle of old-fashioned I Democracy Is typified by Jefferson. Madison and Monroe. Then came the break. Th ' Democracy as we have it to-day really be- . I gan with Jackson and Martin Van Burcn. B But the old principles as laid down by its founders have lived in the party. ' ' Throughput its long history the party has . grown accustomed to defeat. Its history '-the '-the story of all political parties: it hz "rone t through the complete cycle of political evolution. evo-lution. It has syrung from radicalism to J conservatism and back to radicalism. It also is the party of dramatic episodes and incidents. Its conventions always have I been tremendous political battles, which make glowing pages In our history. The y party's very Inception Is the personification of dramatics. That long drawn out contest before, the House of Representatives between j Jefferson and Burr would furnish' re-! re-! markable material for some historian's pen. ' Some weaver of words could do with It ' "what the brush of David "did on canvas for ' the episodes of Napoleon's career- H I Jefferson Elected by Vote of One Man. H ,1 - Somehow or other it Is generally over- H Jl looked that Jefferson was elected President H 11 by the voto of one man Matthew Lyon. H He had a diQarrceab1c habit of abusing H , President. Adams in ocorpion terms. Adams H 1 clapped Lyon into Jail under the alien and H 1 sedition law. That short term in jail did HI j e not cost Lyon very much, but It cost H t Adams's reelection and made Jefferson Pres- H ' - ident. mm H 4 It was a Democratic convention which Hi "j first developed the dark horse. It was tho Li Democratic party also which first developed an heir to the throne, to borrow a foreign phrase. Van BuVen inherited the purple H panoply of power from Jackson, and ever H since nearly every President has either se- cretly or openly tried to name his successor. H 1 B'.' We are looking now for the unexpected fl I to happen In San Francisco. Tho unex- Mwr pected and dramatic thing has characterized Hl 1 most of our conventions. Polk In 1S40. Scy- Br I mour In i86S. Cleveland In 1S92. Bryan and J Wilson In the latter days these are all thrilling tales of our conventions. The story of Democracy is divided qulto H; I naturally into three chapters. The first was Hl : the Jeffereonian period, then came tho Jack- Hj sen period down through the civil war and H , finally the modern Democracyof- which Sam- H ' T vcl J. Tlldcn was the pioneer and Woodrow H Wilson the present exponent. H In Jackson we had the extreme radical: H j In Van Burcn the temperate radical, and in H Tilden and Hill the conservatives of all H conservatism. In Bryan, in 1SD6. radicalism H ' again become the dominant note in th H party. M The political convention as we know It H dates from the days of Andrew Jackson. Prior to that time nomination of candidates for public office had been made by caucus, v -.he power to select Presidential candidates v m lelng left in Congressional caucua-js. H. I The first Sta.to convention was held In Dtica In 1824. Tho National Republican H j party held a convention in Baltimore in H I Decomber. 1831, and named Henry Clay H for President, but that ' party closed Its H career In that campaign. Gen. Jackson, who H was unopposed for renomination to the H Presidency, recognizing a popular demand H for a new method of picking candidates giv- H ingr the people a greater voice in tho selec- H tion. Insisted that a convention bo called to H nominato a candidate for the Vice-Presl- H . dency. Jackson's choice for the nomination H 1 -was Martin Van Burcn of New York, and mmm mmW with this began Van Buren's marvellous career as a national leader. Like the up to date leaders. Jackson saw to it that ho had a hand picked convention. It was In that convention that Jackson tied to the Democratic party the two-third mle for nominating candidates, which the party iias been trying to get rid of n'cr since. Whatever Jackson's motive was t never have been able to decide, but It was either to shdw his power or to rnak-i impossible im-possible the nomination of any ono excepting except-ing his own candidate. Van Buren. Four years later the two-thirds rule was used to gain Van Buren's nomination for tho Presidency, Presi-dency, and It was the application of this same rule in 1S40 which prevented his re-l'ominallon re-l'ominallon and created tho situation which ended :n the nomination of Polk. W7rrn political machinery and scientific party management date from the, Van Buren ascendency. The convention which' nominated nomi-nated Van Buren in Baltimore .was not representative rep-resentative In the sense that the Baltimore convention of 1912 was representative., but perhaps tho methods were not greatly different. differ-ent. Jackson forced the nomination of Van Buren. Van Buren createc? what was known ns the Albany regp.y. in which he was the dominant fact.ir up to ihe civil war. Associated Asso-ciated with him were Dean Richmond. B. V. Butler and John V.an Buren. They were c wonderful combination. Butler, a fin lawyer: law-yer: Dean Richmond, the king of schemers, and John Van Buren. as fine an orator for populnr occasions as ever stepped onto a political platform. II" was known to the country as "Prince John." With the physique phy-sique of an athlete, the voice of an angel and the boldness of an Imp. a tongue of withering sarcasm and a mind of chain lightning. light-ning. John Van F.u'ren came pretty near heinc: tho first "Progressive" of New York Ftate. He was just about two-score years ahead of Theodore RoosevcIL He was something some-thing of a sport and often the object of raternal castlgation During ono of -these 'unfortunate incidents John defended himself him-self by saving: "Why. dad. some day you will be known In history solely as the father of Prince .lohn Van Buren." Egotistical as an ass was Prince John, but as brilliant as a meteor. I was born and ;rew up In the Van Buren country, the cradle of modern democracy, democ-racy, in Kinderhook. Columbia county, about a mile from Van Ruren'r birthplace, -nd twentv miles from where Tilden first saw tho light. This. T suppose. Is one of the few communities which has produced three Governors of New York Columbia, one of the few counties which has given the conn-tin' conn-tin' two Presidents. Van Bure.n. who served, and Tilden. who was elected and never SPfltPfl. That Democratic bailiwick or Van Bur-n and Tilden has done great things of which cvery Democrat may well be proud. It furnished fur-nished the man who wrote the Colonial protest to old Kin? George, the man who coined the sentiment. "No taxation without representation." One of its sons helped to write the Declaration of Independence and another captured Montreal and laid down his life before Quebec the firt Rritiadier-General Rritiadier-General in command in the Revolutionary Army to die on the battlefield. One of its eons helped win th battle of Saratoga and another with his little six pound gun at Verplanck's Point held back the British ship Vulture frustrated Benedict Arnold's tr.-tl-tory and lerl to the canture of Major Andre. One of Its sons administered the Presidential Presi-dential oath of office to George Washington, while another held the Bible which Washington Wash-ington kissed. One of Its sone was' Secretary Secre-tary of Forelprn Affairs of the Colonial Federation, the virtual head of the Colonial Covornment. and another of its sons helped v.rile the Constitution of the United States-Two States-Two of its sons wrote the larger part of the first three constitutions of New York State. One of Us sons, was the first Chancellor Chan-cellor of Nw York and two of them wrre Ambassadors from this country to France, and the two were brothers, a unique incident inci-dent in the history of the country. One cf its sons hought the Louisiana tract from Napoleon and bought it from the Little Corporal while he was In the bathtub. On one side of the tub stood Napoleon's brother arguinir against the sale: on the other side stood Robert Livingston arguing for tho sale, and Livingston won. One of Its sons helped Perry design and build the fleet on Lake Erie. Afterward he built the fleet of Turkey and became known as the "Father of Turkey's Navy." Tho'Sultorr offered to malte him head of tho Turkish navy if ho would become a Mohammedan Moham-medan and abjure hl6 citizenship of the United States. To that offer he replied: ''No. thank you, I am a plain American citizen, citi-zen, an, that's good enough for me." Others Known to Fame. One of its sons won fame as the superintendent superin-tendent of West Point nnd was tho first General to scale the heights pf Monterey tho first General to line up his troops at Vera Cruz. Another of its sons in tho Spanish Span-ish war was the Admiral who said: "Don't cheer, boys, tho poor devils are dying." From -Robert Livingston to Martin Van Buren and Samuel J. Tilden. old Columbia county exerted a potential sway on the politics poli-tics of this country for a longer period, I believe, than any other equal area in the whole United States. And its bar with -Martin Van Buren at Us head has never been surpassed by any group of lawyers except, possibly, by the Louisville bar when Hnery Clay was Ha dean. But this bailiwick of Tilden and Yan Buren has contributed to something else be- sides politics, war and law. It helped commerce, com-merce, for one of Its spns furnished the mouoy which enabled Robert Fulton to build the first steamboat. The steamboat was named Clermont, after a little hamlet In Columbia county, and there Robert Fulton Ful-ton spent his declining days. It helped art, ' for. hero lived Frederic Edmund Church, the artist, who painted that marvellous plcturo of "Niagara Falls" which hangs In the Corcoran Cor-coran Art Gallery at Washington, and also painted that glorious "Sunset In the Cats-kills," Cats-kills," which docs on canvas what "Washington "Wash-ington Irving does In literature for that beautiful beau-tiful and majestic chain of mountains. It helped poetry and song, for just across Its 1 border was written "Yankee Doodlc"and within with-in Its boundary in an old manse near Clave-rack. Clave-rack. I have been taught to believe, was written one of ,tho world's most famous Christmas poems to gladden the hearts of millions ann mlilloiia or chilctren in that sacred season of happiness and joy. These are somo of the reasons, why Democrats can be proud of the region in which Martin Van Buren and Samuel J. Tilden were born, passed their boyhood, grew Into rugged manhood that influenced . tho destinies of a nation.- and then? when life's fitful battle was o'er, lay down to sleep in the soil in which they were born Jackson's Fighting Qualities. Andrew Jackson took the fighting qualities quali-ties of the camp into the White House. No wonder he was fond of "cock fighting"; ho Cass a mountebank. He called Cass a circus cir-cus man and said others might support him for this "circus stunt," but he would not. The other spectacular campnlgn. the one In which Harrison beat Van Buren, would bo mighty popular if repeated to-day. Everybody got all the hard elder to drink that-his that-his stomach would hold and his system absorb. In the Bible Timothy says: "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake." In that campaign everybody every-body took cider, lots of cider, for Harrison's sake. It was carted around In log cabins. Inside tho cabins were llvo coons running around; on the walls outside w.ere nailed dead coons: on the roofs were chained baby coons, and around, all around, were barrels of cider ladled out by girls with coaxing eyes and rosy cheeks. And In addition to the cider, the coons, log cabins and the girls everybody, whether they worked or not. we.ro promised "Two dollars a day and roast beef." Well. Harrison was elected, nobody got the two dollars a day, and few the roast beef. How Clay Differed From Van Buren. When Henry Clay was beaten he used to get hilariously drunk. When Martin Van Buren was first beaten lie bought a farm, and the threo times af toward that he was beaten he used to add a few acres to tho farm each time. Thus you seo the difference differ-ence between Clay and Van Buren's method of celebrating defeat. Van Buren lived on this farm and he died on this farm, and his I 4 jLQiMOClWOP C PUCCCh-COD, 57VDIOS. was a fighting cock himself. Old Plato said "Man was a rooster, with his fee1""! pulled out." The rboster from which Andrew An-drew Jackson evoluted must have beenv a fighting tfick who camo out of the egg all ready' for tho pit. with wings nnd tall cut. a trimmed comb on his head and sfcc'l "bn his spurs all ready for the fray. In a speech at St. Louis some years ago State Representative Murphy said: "Present-day Democrats havo little reason to be proud of Andy Jackson. And if Andy Jackson were alive to-day he would be glad he was dead." Needless to say. though strange it may seem from his name. Murphy was a Republican. It Is a trait of humankind to like oppo-slles. oppo-slles. and T believe Jackson liked Van Buren because he found In him the placidity which made the complement of his own impetuosity. impetu-osity. Van Buren helped make Jackson President, Presi-dent, and the cnrtoonlsts pictured Jackson as receiving a crown from Van Buren and a sceptre from Satan. Jackson made Van Buren President, and the cartoonists depicted de-picted Van Burcn as an infant in tho arms of Gen, Jackson receiving sustenance from a spoon In the hands of Old Hickory. In the campaign, when Van Burcn was first nominated, his enemies asked Jackson to name a second choice. "By the Eternal." Eter-nal." replied Old Hickory, "by the Eternal, Andrew Jackson never had a second choice " When Van Buren was Inaugurated he and Jackson rode. from the White House to tho Capitol In a beautiful phaeton made from the timber of the old frigate Constitution, the gift to Jackson from the Democrats of New York city. One of the peculiar things about the relationship rela-tionship between these two men is that Polk, whom Van Buren disliked. Jackson made President alter he had failed to nominate Van Buren at Baltimore; and Buchanan, whom Jackson hated. Van Buren made President Pres-ident after Jackson was dead. But every one knows everything about Jackson; few know as much about Van Buren as his merits deserve, and so of him I would especially es-pecially like to speak. More sketches and biographies of Martin Van Buren iave been published than of nny other President except Washington and Lincoln. No man In ?ho country ever held more important office. Van Buren rose from the lowest office In the land to tho highest. He went from fenco tender of the town of Kinderhook vto the Presidency of tho United States, and he didn't go up Uko a rocket and como down like a stlclf either. Ha went up step by step, year after year. In a long career, and only a man of great ability abil-ity and sterling character could havo done this. His career looks like a catalogue cf the great 'political prizes of the nation. No man ever accomplished a more spectacular defeat than when he beat Cass by running on an independent ticket, and no man ever suffered suf-fered a more spectacular f.efeat than when Harrison beat Van Buren. Calhoun and Cass left the party to defeat Van Buren's confirmation con-firmation as Ambassador to England, and Van Buren left the party to balance that accqunt and defeat Cass for the Presidency. Cass won popularity by breaking his sword in Hull's face at tno surrender of Detroit. This act in the eyes of the country made Cass a hero; in the eyes of Van Buren it made MttBTgl"iMillftiririi iii 11 Mint! iMI'iim MUM 11 M ftiiiniiUiiiiiiiiiioiiiiMiiiiflrffiiii .will in tho court house in Hudson states ,'thut the happiest years of his life were the .-years which he spent as a farmer aftor he was beaten for the Presidency. For twenty years Van Buren was the political king of New vork and a Warwick in tho nation. lie, was State Senator and Attorney-General at one and the same time. I-le was simultaneously United States Senator Sen-ator and member of the Constitutional Convention Con-vention of New York. It was In this convention con-vention that he made his famous and successful suc-cessful fight to extend the elective franchise. fran-chise. Van Buren joined hands with the labor men of his day to found the public schools, and for these no politician did more than he. His home still stands as he left it. but. shame to say. no monument to him is in his birthplace save the stone on his grave. Van Buren brought Washington Irving to Kinderhook. Kin-derhook. and there the genial author found Jchabod Crave nnd Kairina Yan Tassel. Jchabod's school still stands and the home of Katrina has tho lure of an age hallowed by literary lustre. One of tho first of the progressives. Van Buren. was the leader of the "barnburners" of thnt day. They were anti-corporation. Albany was then the scat of power of both parties. This recrency ran the Democratic barty from the State capital, and Thurlow Weed was the dominating flguro of the Whig, antl-Masonlc and all other factions opposed to Democracy. As Governor of New York Van Buren established es-tablished the safety fund banking -"stem, just as when President he establlshfe.1 tho Subtreasury system, for which T havo heard many a Republican orator give credit to Alexander Hamilton. In the campaign of 1S4S he made his famous fa-mous declaration in faor of "free soil, free speech, free labor and free men." and coined the slogan that "Congress has no more power to make a slnvo than to make a king." Romance has it that Van Buren was a widower who carried a weeping willow in his heart and wore blinkers on his eyes. But tradition and gossip around old Kinderhook Kinder-hook has It otherwise. There they will tell you he was rather sweet on two ladles very sweet on one of them. And "sweet" T hero mean as an honorablo term. Van Buren was never mixed up in any social scandal. They will point you out th-a tree under which his tethered horse pounded and wore tho lawn into a bare Epot while Van Buren held sweet converse with the lady of his heart. This lady ho wanted to marry, it is said. Van Buren was an attendant of the Reformed Church, but ho was not a communicant. As a condition for consideration consid-eration of his suit tho lady Insisted that Van Buren become a communicant of the church. He refused to join the church, she refused him, and Van Buren remained a widower. I know that Van Buren's record as President Presi-dent has been severely assailed, but I am convinced that in Van Buren's case political criticism was made historical dictum. Tho scurrilous attacks of Davy Crockett and the witty sallies of Sam Houston played too great a part in popular estimate of Van Buren. He was the first man from the North to break into tho Presidency on a party issue. This New England didn't like. nnimnTnmnmirtmiinnjnrMiiJiLQiniiiji " It thought New England should have had the distinction. Van Buren was a plebeian. The leaders of New England thought that only an aristocrat aristo-crat should occupy the White House, nnd New England voiced Its jealousy in the tl.underings of Daniel Webster. The South disliked "Van Buren's opposition to the extension ex-tension of slavery and fostered animosity against him through Calhoun's scorplon-tongucd scorplon-tongucd stabs of hate. Most of the influential writers of the day Ihed In the South and in New England and by them Van Buren was woefully manhandled. man-handled. But of late he Is coming Into his cwn Edward M. Shcpard set the new fnsh-icti fnsh-icti in his admirable book and this fashion will grow, for, carpers may carp as they picosc, the fact remains that Van Buren was a good President. He Inherited an almost Impossible situation and admirably did ho handle It. Weed's Triumph and Defeat. Thurlow Weed, another Albanian, was a. wonderful leader. He would gather up loose threads and make a rope out of them hotter than any other man we ever hud In American Amer-ican politics. He was not a master of Issues, but he was a human bloodhound for senslnc: which way the voters were turning. He defeated Webster with Harrison on the ground of availability. He defeated Webster with Scott on the ground of avallabilltv and clinched his victory over tlit Olympian orator. But when at Chicago, denied 0 sent from New York and seated as delegate from Oregon. Horace Greeley sent Weed down In chagrin bv defeating Seward with Lincoln cn this self-same ground of "avallabilltv" on tho ground that the ability to get votes was greater than any other ability Weed, the man of iron, cried like a disappointed child of six. It 1 fashionable, but sur?ly It I" not wisi, . flout the Vlco-Presidency. Weed coaxed VA'ebstor to take the Vlce-Prcsldoncv under both Harrison and Tnylor and te refused. re-fused. They both died, and Webster would have been President had he in eltlvr Instance In-stance taken second place. And while on the question of Vice-President let me say that most men In that office have had It thrust upon them. It was from Albany that the unit rule system came and was first Introduced lru the Whig convention held at Harrlsburg In IS-10. at which Henry Clay was defeated nnd William Henry Harrison was nominated through manipulation by Weed. Weed forced the unit rule on the convention. Then the Democrats adopted It: and theru has been a fight against it In every Democratic convention since. The unit rule since has been repudiated by the Republican party, but it still holds in our party, and is to-day. as it was then, tho bone of contention. The most undemocratic thing in the Democratic rarty is the prevalence of the two-thirds rule for nominating candidates and the unit rule binding delegates. The slavery question was brewing. Van Buren had been Secretary of State for Jackson Jack-son Both Jackson and Van Buren had become be-come enemies of Calhoun in the Senate. Then came another of those dramatic episodes epi-sodes which our party leaders always seemed 'o havo loved. The Peggy O'Neil Episode. Looking for a pretext for a fight. Calhoun picked out the marriage of Gen. Eaton. Secretary of War, to Peggy O'Neil and used it as a cover for political purposes. This scandal, which reads like an episode from a European court, marked tho first instance - In which a woman played a big part in American politics. It hastened the inevl-, inevl-, table division of the Democratic part3 ' Peggy's first husband. Timberlake. had committed com-mitted suicide, and she was partially ostracised ostra-cised by society In Washington because of the IvdiQf many prominent women held that her conduct had prompted him to take his life. Washington was divided. It wastbe big scandal of the day. Cabinet memhers and their families were arraigned against each other on tho issue of whether Peggy shculd bo received socially. President Jackson, believing In Peggy's innocence, insisted upon her being recoi-ed, and appointed Gen. Eaton Military Governor of Florida The feud raged "I will sink or swim with .Eaton, by God!" Jackson cried. When Van Buren entered Washington one of the first and hardest questions he had to decide was whether to side with Peggy. He took his stand with Jackson and therebv risked his political life. Jackson and Van Burcn gave great receptions for her. The foreign Ministers were forced to take sides. "The Democratic narty is not a persecutor of Innocent women!" becamo the slogan of the day. I have often heard, although I havo never seen that statement in -print Van Buren suffered temporary defeat, hut eventually even-tually Peggv was vindicated, and Van Buren won his fight and became President. Regarded as a most accomplished politician poli-tician Van Buren still was unable to control con-trol In 1 S44 in a convention which developed the first "dark horse" and the first "stampede." "stam-pede." An attempt to defeat the two-third rule failed. Eight ballots were taken without with-out result. Van Buren had a clear majority ma-jority of twenty-six votes on the first ballot, but the two-third rule which he had defended de-fended in previous conventions beat him. Distinguished as the Speaker of the House. James K. Polk was known to politicians as an able statesman. He had been Governor of Tennessee. The convention was In a deadlock. There was great excitement and turmoil. Friends of Van Buren and Gen. Cass were fighting bitterly. Texas annex ation was ine issue. The eighth ballot was being called. In the midst of the excitement, a New Hamp-shiro Hamp-shiro delegate stepped to the platform "ns tho apostle of harmons'" and, withdrawing that State's favorito son. offered the name of James K. Polk. Instantly the -deadlock was broken. Maryland followed and started the first stampede. Then the delegates literally liter-ally tumbled over each other as they fought to get recorded for Polk, and the stampede was an Institution in American politics. Tho first dark horse crossed the lino a winner. Quick to 'earn now tricks. Americans Amer-icans ever since have been trying to stampede stam-pede conventions. A slur Is often Intended In the term "dark horse" as applied to Presidential candidates. It Is often used as a synonym for "accident." but no real "accident" has ever, or ever will In my opinion, occupy tho Presidential chair. The men who get a Presidential nomination may not be as great relatively as some of their compeers, may not be tho greatest men of the'r day and generation: but. In them, about them, around them there must be something great somo trait, some quality, somo ability, somo deed that lifts them obovo'the ordinary plane of men, wins admiration ad-miration and commands respect. It was in this convention that the telegraph'' tele-graph'' was used for the first tlmo to flash the news "back homo" from Baltimore to Washington. Silas Wright, Senator from New York. was nominated for Vice-President and h'o ' t; was tho first man to recelvo and decline the tM nomination by telegraph. He was Indignant v jH because Van Buron had been turned down. 4 IH Ho Is tho only man who ever declined 1 . mM nomination for Vice-President after It was - 'i JH made. Had It not been for the telegraph? ho probably would not havo declined and - tM would have been Vice-President. LLM Wright was one of the ablest politicians of his day. Ho was compelled to resign his mM seat In, the Senate and take tho nomination VW for Governor of New York in the hope of saving this State for Polk. Although hostile LLl to Polk's nomination. Wright made Polk President. Two years later Wright suffered a humiliating defeat and thus ended whnc H might easily have been a greater political In striking contrast with the clabo.-nto , jH arrangements now being made to "cover" w the news of tho national conventions. Polk'3 Ti notification of his nomination was amusing. V; 1 The future President was at his home on ,.-f m I the banks of the Mississippi In Tennessee. fl Tho steamer bringing the delegation from H the convention was nearing shore. "' ' S "Who's nominated?" Polk called to tho -, m delegates. . K "Guess who?" his brother called back from ! H the steamer. H "Probably some damn fool nobody ever J wL heard of before," the future President , 9 answered. j fjB "You guessed it the very first time." the 1 H brother answered, "they nominated you." ijm Polk's health wns wrecked by the poverty." j hardships and struggles of his youth. He 1 1 was- valetudinarian, very tinlckv about what If ho ate. He often gavo more nttetition to hia . nret than he did to politics. He had a beau- -' . ' tlful wife, one of the most queenly that ever , j occupied the White House. He was a g'-pa I student and a great horseman, hut ni't a j follower of the turf. He was an Irishman by f A descent, but did not act like one. He was B I elected on the issue of "fl4--iO" boundary for li I Oregon "or fight." and he welched on both. a m But he did some good things. He smashed s l the protective tariff, vetoed pork bills nnd v 1 I I lowered the rate of postage; 0, I fl The proposed annexation of Texas won M the nomination for Polk Jackson wrote a J" H letter in favor of the annexation; Van Ruren H wrote a letter against it. To defeat Van ' I Burcn the two-thirds rule was adopted. Van . , H Buren ha1 a malority of the delegates, hut -t H could not secure two-thirds. The convention H turned nut to be a "Donnvbronk Fair." ' JB A New York State Sensation. iffll Always leading In sensations as well as other things. New York State hnd one ready for the convention of MS The State was H torn by a factional feud Silas Wright's H defeat for reelection ns Governor was at- H ti'lbuted bv Van Buren and his friends as H due to the "perfidy of the hunkers." Tho H other faction was the barnburners. The H outcome was the election of two delegations H to represent the State at the National Con- H ventlon. which met n Baltimore. Then wns t H devised the ruling which has been employed H effectively In many political conventions HI since according to each delegato one-half HI vote. Van Burcn lost control of the con- HI ventlon and Lewis Cass was nominated, to ' t, HI be defeated by Taylor. Charging retaliation. H the Cass crowd ascribed his defeat to the ? HI ' perfidy of the barnburners." HI Franklin Pierce was another dark horse. HI Home as a war hero and regarded as a leader S H of real abllitv. he did not appear In the con- II er.tion. held In Baltimore, until the thirty- . M fifth ballot. The fl-ht was bet wepn .Cass.. ' HI Buchanan:. Douglas and Marcv". His strength, t- 7j3 HI grew slowlv until a break came oii the for- ?V HI tV-nlnth ballot, when tVin ot n mn -! t-tnrlnH S'nvery had then become the great issue EH By a system or strategic moves nnd fLmm counter move.? in the convention, hv which HI he played one n gainst the other and eventu- . mm ally killed off nil the other aspirants. Henry H Wise of Virginia was the head devil !n H bringing about tho nomination of Franklin Hi M Pierce and this too despite the fact that HI Wise and Pierce had not been friends for . r - HI years before the convention and were never HI very good friends even after. Pierce was II nominated and elected because he was sup- PI posed to bo sound on the slavery question. II and he was from the Southern viewpoint.. 1L The South thought more about him than fl New Hampshire did. The impression In his " H native State was that while Frank Pierce ' H was a good fellow, a fair State's Attorney. , H n decent Judge, a passible Senator, vet aa . ', H President of the United State "Frank I Tierco Is a-goin' to spread darn thin." H New York again had two contesting dele- iH nations in the Democratic Convention In nH Cincinnati In 1S36- It was conceded thnt to 1H win the Democrats must have the support 1H of the "hards" and "softs." the two factions ; IH of tho New York State Democracy The IH "hards" were tho offspring of the "hunkers" .'ij ' 11 and the "softs" the successors to the "barn- llHnfl burners." Tho two delegations were again Mil given half votes. Van Buren wns still the IbH dictator. Stephen A. Douglas was stepping VmW forward as ihe advocate of the repeal of th f-- iLm Missouri compromise and there became an 'v,' aggressive candidate for the Presidency. V H John Van Buren. son of the ox.-President, ,v' , H made a statement which at the time ap- " pearcd to be little more than a casual re- - '. mark- He said that If James Buchanan. .'V H Minister to England, should be nominated his father would glvo his support. That ' decided the nomination. The opposition fac- .V tion from New York agreed to accept Bu- H chanan and the compromise was reached H on the seventeenth ballot. V' H Passing of ihe Old Democracy. IH Tue big electoral voto from New York Stato has decided more than one noml- ' v -' imm nation. And thus It came about that Martin mmm Van Buren. from his retirement in Kinder- mmm hook, selected the last Democratic President mmW before tho Civil War. H Buchanan was nominated because he had been out of the country for three years as Ambassador to England nnd was free from the entanglements of factional disputes In Pierce sent Buchanan to London to kill ftJfaiM him: It made him. Pierce sent Buchanan H to England to keep Buchanan out of tho H running for tho Presidency. If Pierce had ll kept him at home Buchanan would never lH have been In the running. IH A peculiar incident of his Presidential ll campaign is this. Fremont was his opno H ncnt. Fremont was tho son-in-law of United iH States Senator Thomas H. Benton, and vet H Benton refused to support his own son-n H law He worked for and ho voted for 'H Buchcnan. M It is hard to describe Buchanan's Prcsi- dential policy. As Julius Caesar d vMed 1 Gaul of old into three parts so James Buchanan split the Democratic -party hito HH three factions and elected Abraham r ineoin - Hl President. It took Democrats a lo time o ' forgive him for this, but he turned out to KH be the nation's benefactor In dKlao Bl WuVhtdUChanan , d?Cd th0 0,d democracy With TIJdon was born the new Democracv H nnext0raruc"e. " th'S 1 ' 1 H |