tion and Ben Wade's retirement from the Senate, it was proposed by his friends in Ohio that the "Old War Horse" should be sent to the House. Wade lived in Garfield's district, and as soon as the general heard of the proposition to send Wade to the House, he cordially indorsed it, saying: "The nation can better afford to spare me from its councils than it can to spare Ben Wade-let him be sent to the House in my place."

When Wade heard of what was on foot, he said: "Now, put a stop to it, and at once. What a devil of an idea! sending me to the House, as if I were an essential to its existence! Why, I wouldn't go if I was unanimously nominated and elected. You have a good representative in Garfield, and I advise you to stick to him. I am old, and had better be getting ready to die than thinking of office. I have had enough of public office, and only wish to be let alone now. Garfield is young, faithful and able; send him back, and keep him there-stick to him. I tell you, there is no telling how high that fellow may go."

At Columbus, on January 14th, 1880, he acknowledged his election as United States Senator in one of his admirable speeches. He said:

"FELLOW-CITIZENS:-I should be a great deal more than a man, or a great deal less than a man, if I were not extremely gratified by this mark of your kindness you have shown me in recent days. I did not expect any such a meeting as this. I knew there was a greeting awaiting me, but ! did not expect so cordial, generous and general a greeting, without distinc tion of party, without distinction of interests, as I have received here to night.

"I recognize the importance of the place to which you have elected me,

and I should be base if I did not also recognize the great man whom you have elected me to succeed. I say for him, Ohio has had few largerminded, broader-minded men in the record of her history than that of Allen G. Thurman. Differing widely from him, as I have done in politics and do, I recognize him as a man high in character and great in intellect; and I take this occasion to refer to what I have never before referred to in public-that many years ago, in the storm of party fighting, when the air was filled with all sorts of missiles aimed at the character and reputation of public men, when it was even for his party interest to join the general clamor against me and my associates, Senator Thurman said in public, in the campaign, on the stump-when men are as likely to say unkind things as at any place in the world-a most generous and earnest word of defense and kindness for me, which I shall never forget so long as I live. I say, moreover, that the flowers that bloom over the garden-wall of party politics, are the sweetest and most fragrant that bloom in the gardens of this world, and, where we can fairly pluck them and enjoy their fragrance, it is manly and delightful to do so.

"And now, gentlemen of the general assembly, without distinction of party, I recognize this tribute and compliment made to me to-night. Whatever my own course may be in the future, a large share of the inspiration of my future public life will be drawn from this occasion and these surroundings, and I shall feel anew the sense of obligation that I feel to the State of Ohio."

June 10th, 1880, he was nominated at Chicago for the presidency, and on July 6th he was elected a trustee of Williams College.

We have not in this chapter given anything more than a skeleton outline of his career, upon which to hang the fuller flesh of the succeeding pages, believing this arrangement will prove more agreeable to the reader than following General Garfield step by step; but we will include here two letters to Mr. Hinsdale, that furnish a chance glimpse at the life of this man. The first is dated Washington, December 11th, 1865:

"We have begun, as you have seen, and currents are beginning to develop their direction and strength only feebly as yet. We appear to have a very robust House, and indications thus far show it to be a very sound one. The message is much better than we expected, and I have hoped that we shall be able to work with the President. He sent for me day before yes

terday, and we had a free conversation. I gave him the views of the earnest men North as I understand them, and we tried to look over the whole field of the difficulties before us.

They are indeed many and formidable. Sumner and Boutwell and some more of that class are full of alarm; less, however, than when they first came. Some foolish men among us are all the while bristling up for fight, and seem to be anxious to make a rupture with Johnson. I think we should assume that he is with us, treat him kindly, without suspicion, and go on in a firm, calmly considered course, leaving him to make the breach with the party if any is made. I doubt if he would do it under such cir cumstances. The caucus resolution of Thad. Stevens was bad in some of its features. It was rushed through before the caucus was fully assembled, and, while it expresses the sentiment of the House in its main propositions, there are some points designed to antagonize with the President. It still lies over in the Senate, where it will be modified, if it passes at all."

The second is likewise from Washington, but written two years later:

"WASHINGTON, D. C., january 1st, 1867.

**

I

"I am less satisfied with the present aspect of public affairs than I have been for a long time. I find that many of the points and doctrines, both in general politics and finance, which I believe in and desire to see prevail, are meeting with more opposition than heretofore, and are in imminent danger of being overborne by popular clamor and political passion. In reference to reconstruction, I feel that if the Southern States should adopt the Constitutional Amendments within a reasonable time, we are literally bound to admit them to representation; if they reject it, then I am in favor of striking for impartial suffrage, though I see that such a course is beset with grave dangers. Now Congress seems determined to rush forward without waiting even for the action of the Southern States, thus giving the South the impression, and our political enemies at home a pretext for saying, that we were not in good faith when we offered the Constitutional Amendments. Really, there seems to be a fear on the part of many of our friends that they may do some absurdly extravagant thing to prove their radicalism. am trying to do two things: dare to be a radical and not be a fool, which, if I may judge by the exhibitions around me, is a matter of no small difficulty. I wish the South would adopt the Constitutional Amendments soon and in good temper. Perhaps they will. * Next, the Supreme Court has decided the case I argued last winter, and the papers are insanely calling for the abolition of the court. *** In reference to finance, I believe that the great remedy for our ills is an early return to specie payments, which can only be effected by the contraction of our paper currency. There is a huge clamor against both and in favor of expansion. You know my views on the tariff. I am equally assaulted by the free-traders and by the extreme tariff men. There is passion enough in the country to run a steam-engine in every village, and a spirit of proscription which keeps pace with the passion. My own course is chosen, and it is quite probable it will throw me out of public life."

* *

CHAPTER XIX.

AN ORNAMENT OF CONGRESS.

G

ENERAL GARFIELD'S career in Congress was essentially one of work. The number of his speeches, reports, resolutions, debates, etc., is high in the hundreds. What he was as an orator we shall see later. a debater he has had few equals. Producing always an overwhelming array of facts, he has ever been a

Tower of strength,

Which stands four square to all the winds that blow !

As

He was thorough in committee work, assiduous in private study of pending questions and an able debater, by no means a common combination of qualities. He interested himself in many subjects of great importance to the public, in which your common congressman has small interest; in the census, in education, in the scientific surveys, in the life-saving service, and in many more. As the Republican leader in the House, he has been more conservative and less rash than Blaine, and his judicial turn of mind made him prone to look for both sides of a question, and always relieved him of the charge of partisanship. When the

issue fairly touched his convictions, however, he became thoroughly aroused and struck tremendous blows. Blaine's tactics were to continually harass the enemy by sharp-shooting, surprises and picket-firing. Garfield waited always for an opportunity to deliver a pitched battle, and his generalship was shown to best advantage when the fight was a fair one, and waged on grounds where each party thought itself the strongest. Then his solid shot of argument was exceedingly effective. He has always taken a genuine pride in the historical achievements of the Republican party, with which he has been identified from its birth. He has a traditional leaning toward all measures for the advantage of the freedmen or the curtailing the influence of the party which he holds to have been responsible for the rebellion. Nevertheless, he is by no means deficient in generous impulses toward the South, and has more than once exerted his influence to prevent the passage of rash partisan legislation against the interests of that section. The "Confederate brigadiers" in Congress have found him a determined and loyal adversary, but he has never stooped to take unfair advantage of the numerical preponderance of his party. As leader of the Republican minority in the present House of Representatives he has known how to reconcile the party fealty with a concilatory disposition toward the party in power, and has not been unduly obstructive of any legislation which did not,