tically in a body, along with a few from the north, seceded and went to Richmond. The delegates at Baltimore nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, while those at Richmond nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, making the division of the party complete. A fourth candidate, John Bell, was placed in the field by the Constitutional Union party, composed of the remnants of the Whig party and Democrats who were dissatisfied with the attitude of both Douglas and Breckinridge, along with the scattered fragments of the American party.

The result, as might have been foreseen, was overwhelmingly disastrous to the Democracy, both in the state and the nation. Lincoln was elected, and the inevitable storm, which political pretense, evasion and doubledealing could no longer postpone, broke upon the country. In Ohio the vote for president was: Lincoln, 221,809; Douglas, 187,421; Bell, 12,193, and Breckinridge, 11,303. The Republican party had gained 35,000 over the previous presidential election, having a clear majority of more than 20,000.

With the opening of the war, and during its progress, there was a further shifting of political allegiance. Forty per cent of the Democratic vote changed to the Republican party, while a small per cent of the Republican vote, made up of conservative men, who formerly were Whigs, joined the Democratic column, on the various issues that arose, so that in the presidential election of 1864, the Democratic vote was but two-fifths of the entire vote of the state.

With the passing of the civil war, and the issues it. immediately involved, new questions, largely economic, involved with others purely partisan, arose, and the equilibrium of the two parties were more nearly restored, so that the Democrats carried nearly one-third of the state elections during the remainder of the century.

During the latter period evanescent parties, under the inspiration of acute phases of economic questions, sprung into ephemeral existence, sometimes weakening one party and sometimes the other, but making no distinctive impression upon the general trend of party alignment.

The Prohibition party, committed to the abolition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, has approached most nearly to the permanent form. For nearly thirty years it has presented and supported a state ticket, commanding an average of 12,000 votes. Originally this vote came almost exclusively from the Republican party, and the Democrats encouraged its organization. Later it was recruited from the Demvcratic party and then received Republican encouragement. Latterly it has not affected either party, but neither has been desirous of seeing it disintegrated, fearing that its strength might go bodily to the other. Both have zealously cultivated minority parties which would draw from their opponents, and in so doing both have stultified themselves.

In 1880 the controlling element of the Democratic party brought the tariff question to the front in the expectation of regaining control of national affairs, demanding a sweeping revision of the tariff, ad valorem duties and free raw material. The issues of the war were too recent, however, for this

question to receive serious attention, and it was not until 1892, twelve years later, that the question was forced to a trial of conclusions. There was an immediate shifting of party allegiance, in the country at large and in this state. A considerable element in the Democratic party had come to believe that a protective tariff was a national necessity, and when the issue was made direct either withdrew active support from the Democracy or went over to the Republicans, whose tariff views were in accord with theirs.

On the other hand a greater number of Republicans deserted their party and joined the Democracy on the tariff issue. The result was that President Grover Cleveland, who had been elected in 1884, on no very clearly defined issue, and defeated in 1888, was re-elected along with a Democratic national house and an evenly divided senate. In Ohio President Harrison received 405,187 votes and President Cleveland 404,115 on the general ticket, and James P. Seward, a Cleveland elector, was chosen, for the first time dividing the electoral college of Ohio, while at the head of the state ticket, for secretary of state, Samuel M. Taylor, Republican, received 402,540, and William A. Taylor, Democrat, received 401,451.

President Cleveland called an extraordinary session of congress and, much to the disappointment of his party, brought forward the monetary question instead of that of tariff reform. The Sherman silver purchasing act was repealed and a contraction of the currency followed.

In 1873 silver had been demonetized without attracting much attention, but the legal tender quality of the silver dollar was partially restored by the Bland-Allison act of 1878, and the Sherman purchasing act was designed to aid in the expansion of the currency upon a bimetallic basis, through the issue of silver notes or certificates, on a coinage ratio of 16 ounces of silver to 1 of gold.

Both parties in their state and national platforms had skillfully evaded the question of the free and equal coinage of the two metals as primary money, both employing almost identically the same language, capable of two constructions, meaning free and equal coinage to the friends of bimetallism, and the opposite to the advocates of a single standard, with gold the favored and exclusive metal.

Not till President Cleveland declared his interpretation of the financial plank of the platform on which he was elected, and which was identical with the one on which President Harrison was defeated, did the masses of the people understand the evasive tactics of the leaders of both parties, who, it is but just to say, had resorted to these evasions to escape the consideration of a delicate and perhaps (from a partisan standpoint) a dangerous issue.

When the two national conventions assembled in 1896 the day for evasion had passed. The Republicans, at St. Louis, declared for the single gold standard, coupled with a promise to use every possible means to bring about an international agreement for the coinage of both gold and silver at such a ratio as could be agreed upon. In conformity with this

promise President McKinley sent a monetary commission to Europe bring about such an international agreement, but the result of its labors was nil.

Upon the assembling of the Democratic national convention at Chicago in the same year, the Democratic leaders of the states east and north of Ohio almost unanimously, and individually from other states, endeavored to engraft the meaningless declaration of previcus platforms on the Democratic pronouncement, but were overwhelmingly defeated, and the direct demand was made for the free and equal coinage of both gold and silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 without the assent of any other nation.

A large number of prominent Republican leaders bolted the St. Louis convention because of its declaration in favor of the single gold standard, while an equally large number of Democratic leaders bolted the Chicago convention because of its unequivocal declaration in favor of the free and equal coinage of both metals.

As a logical result a large percentage of the Republican voters entered the Democratic party, and almost if not quite as large a percentage of Democrats allied themselves with the Republicans, either directly by sup porting President McKinley, or indirectly by voting for Senator John M. Palmer, a distinguished senator from Illinois, on a platform declaring for the single gold standard without any suggestion or toleration of an international agreement in favor of bimetallism.

The issue thus clearly defined called out an enormous vote in every section of the Union. There was a gain of 173,111 in Ohio over the vote of 1895, which was the largest ever cast, when the Republican vote was 427,141, the Democratic 334,519, and of the minor parties 75,809. Of this gain 100,000 went to the Democratic party and the remainder to the Republicans, the result being William McKinley, Republican, 525,991; William Jennings Bryan, Democrat, 477,497, and 16,619 to the minor parties.

The issues of 1896, with the probable addition of colonial acquisitions and expansion and trusts, will, in all human probability, be uppermost in the presidential campaign of 1900. The Democratic organization proposes they shail, and the Republican organization expresses a readiness to meet them,

OHIO SENATORS.

The line of Ohio senators in congress has been one of which the people of the state may be justly proud. With but few exceptions, they have been men of strong partisan convictions, but at the same time they were men of exalted patriotism, who never hesitated to put party aside when the public interests demanded.

And almost without exception they have been men who rose from the ranks of the people by their own exertions and as the result of their inherent abilities. On the subsequent pages will be found a brief recital of their careers, of their struggles and their deserved triumphs over adverse environments.

THOMAS WORTHINGTON OF ROSS COUNTY.

Thomas Worthington was one of the two United States senators first chosen from Ohio, on the first day of April, 1803, and became the founder of the senior line of the senatorship, as his colleague, John Smith, became the founder of the junior line.

During his earlier years he was best known, perhaps, as Colonel Worthington, one of the most active spirits in the militia organization of the eastern portion of the Northwest territory, and subsequently under the state government. While being crowned with civic honors, he also enjoyed military promotions, becoming successively colonel, brigadier, major general and adjutant general of the state.

From 1790 to 1825 the Ohio militia was as effective an army as the regular establishment in all save armament and disciplinary technique, and during all this period was subject to call to arms, was frequently called into service during the Indian hostilities and the War of 1812, and made up in courage, patriotism and prowess what it lacked in suitable arms and equipment, and, in connection with the military forces of Kentucky, and later Indiana and Michigan, relieved the Federal government of the greater care and anxiety of defending the long stretch of frontier of the northern, noithwestern and western boundaries.

Thomas Worthington ran nearly the full gamut of official and civic, as

well as military preferment, serving as magistrate, sheriff, member of the territorial legislature, member of the constitutional convention of 1802, representative in the Ohio legislature, speaker pro tempore of the house, canal commissioner, governor, United States senator, and discharged many official trusts under the federal government. In every position he was distinguished for his fidelity and energetic devotion to every trust devolved upon him.

He founded he present magnificent State library, which in justice should bear his name. Under the constitution the legislature allowed the early governors a contingent fund, to be disbursed at their discretion. For a time he was considered as grasping and parsimonious, and performed personally much of the work naturally devolving upon the janitors and other state and executive employes. He was thus able to save and accumulate much of the contingent fund, to which he added from his own means, and purchased the original library in 1817. At that time it was the most important library west of the Alleghenies.

Iris message to the legislature on the 2d of December, 1817, he said: "The fund ($3,500) made subject to my control by the last general assembly, besides paying the ordinary demands upon it for the articles mentioned in the resolution of the legislature of January 28, 1817, has enabled me to

purchase a small but valuable collection of books, which are intended as a commencement of a library for the state. In the performance of this act I was guided by what I conceived the best interest of the state, by placing within the reach of the representatives of the people such information as will aid them in the discharge of the important duties they are delegated to perform."

On the 17th of January, 1818, by a resolution introduced in the house by Judge Gustavus Swan of Franklin county, the library was accepted by the state, and has since grown into a splendid monument to its founder, notwithstanding the niggardly policy of succeeding legislatures, which, while they have provided for its care and accretions to it, have never made such appropriations as would enable a competent librarian to make topical and reference catalogues of it.

As governor he was the untiring advocate of popular and universal free education, the opening of public highways throughout the state for its development, and a complete and effective system of internal improvement.

After having acquitted himself with high honors, both as United States senator and governor, he did not consider it beneath his dignity to again