Perley's reminiscences of sixty years in the national metropolis, v. 1-2

by Benjamin Perley Poore

The debate in the Senate on the bill establishing the Electoral Commission was deeply interesting, as several of those who participated were prominent candidates for the Presidency. There was an especial desire to hear Senator Conkling, who had "sulked in his tent" since the Cincinnati Convention, and the galleries were crowded with noted men and women, diplomats, politicians, soldiers and journalists from all sections of the Republic.

Mr. Conkling took the floor late in the afternoon. Tall, well proportioned, with his vest opening down to the waist and displaying his full chest and broad shoulders to the best advantage, his hair tossed back from his massive brow with studied carelessness, his white and slender hands set off by spotless linen, he looked every inch a Senator. Before him, on the desk, were his notes, daintily inscribed on gilt-edged, cream-tinted paper; but he did not refer to them, having committed his remarks so thoroughly that many believed them to have been extemporaneous. His speech was pronounced by good judges as the greatest specimen of "the art which conceals art" that has ever been delivered in this country. With apparent candor, good nature, and disinterested statesmanship, he adroitly stated his side of the case, reviewing what had been done at previous Presidential elections, and showing that he had given the subject careful study. As dinner-time approached, Senator Edmunds stated that Mr. Conkling was not physically able to finish his speech, and moved that the Senate go into the consideration of executive business.

The next day the Senator from New York was not present, and after a recess had been taken for ten minutes, in the hope that he would arrive, Senator Sargent, of California, took the floor. Mr. Conkling finally came in, and when he began to speak, appeared to be in better health than on the day previous, and he again uttered his well-rounded sentences as if without premeditation. Once he forgot himself, when, to give additional emphasis to a remark, he advanced across the aisle toward Senator Morton. The Senator from Indiana retreating, Mr. Conkling exclaimed, in the most dramatic tone, "I see that the Senator retreats before what I say!" "Yes," replied Senator Morton, in his blunt way, "I retreated as far as I could from the false doctrine taught by the gentleman from New York." "Mr. President," said Senator Conkling, evidently disconcerted, "the honorable Senator observes that he has retreated as far as he could. That is the command laid on him by the common law. He is bound to retreat to the wall before turning and rending an adversary."

When Mr. Dawes reminded the Senator that the Commission should be made as exact as it would in the State of Massachusetts, he replied that it would not be possible. "The Queen of Sheba," said Mr. Conkling, "said that she never realized the glory of Solomon until she entered the inner Temple. The idea that the Representatives of other States could breathe the upper air, or tread the milky way, never entered into the wildest and most presumptuous flight of the imagination. Oh! no, Mr. President. Whenever the thirty- seven other States attain to the stature of the grand old Commonwealth, the time will come when no problem remains to be solved, and when even contested Presidential votes will count themselves. Then, in every sphere and orbit, everything will move harmoniously, by undeviating and automatic processes."

The debate was prolonged into the night, and it was after midnight before Senator Morton spoke, pale, trembling in every limb, and with his forehead beaded with great drops of perspiration. He spoke sitting in his chair, and for upward of an hour hurled argument after argument at the bill, evidently speaking from deep conviction.

Mr. Blaine, who had been sworn in the day previous, followed Mr. Morton, and created quite a sensation by opposing the bill. The night dragged on, and it was seven o'clock ere the final vote on the passage of the bill was reached. It was passed by a vote of forty-seven ayes against seventeen nays, ten Senators being absent at the time.

The House of Representatives, after a somewhat stormy session, which lasted seven hours, passed the Electoral Commission Bill by one hundred and ninety-one ayes against eighty-six nays. Five- sixths of those voting in favor of the bill were Democrats, and four-fifths of those voting against it were Republicans.

The Electoral Commission, which commenced its sessions on Wednesday, January 31st, was a grand legal exhibition. It occupied the Supreme Court room, which had been made historic when the Senate Chamber by the great debates in which Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and other famous statesmen had participated. The fifteen Commissioners, sitting on the lengthened bench of the Supreme Court, listened in turn to the intricate propositions of constitutional law presented by Mr. Evarts, with his acuteness and dispassionate eloquence; to the partisan harangues of Charles O'Conor, who had risen like one from the grave; to the tirades of David Dudley Field; to the ponderous yet effective reasoning of Joseph McDonald; to the ingenious reasoning of Senator Howe; to the forcible style and flippant wit of Matt. Carpenter; to the polished sentences of Mr. Stoughton; to the graceful and powerful argument of the venerable Judge Campbell, of Louisiana, who had in '61 gone South from the Bench of the Supreme Court, with a number of others.

The counting of the electoral vote on the 2d of February, 1877, attracted crowds to the House of Representatives. Even the diplomats came out in force, and for once their gallery was full. On the floor of the House were many distinguished men, including George Bancroft, Mr. Stoughton, of New York, crowned with a mass of white hair; General Sherman, William M. Evarts, Jere. Black, and Lyman Trumbull. At one o'clock the Senate came over in solemn procession, preceded by the veteran Captain Basset, who had in charge two mahogany boxes, in which were locked the votes upon which the fate of the nation depended. Next came President pro tem. Ferry and Secretary Gorham, followed by the paired Senators. Roscoe Conkling, tall and distinguished in appearance, was arm in arm with Aaron Sargent, the California printer; Bruce, the colored Mississippian, was with Conover, the Florida carpet-bagger; the fair Anglo-Saxon cheeks of Jones, of Nevada, contrasted strongly with the Indian features of General Logan, and finally along came Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana.

President pro tem. Ferry, in a theatrical bass voice, called the Convention to order, and, after stating what it was convened for, opened one of the boxes and handed an envelope to Senator Allison, with a duplicate to Mr. Stone. It was from the State of Alabama, and on being opened, ten votes were recorded for Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. State after State was thus counted until Florida was reached, when the majestic Dudley Field arose and objected to the counting thereof. A brief discussion ensued, and the vote of Florida was turned over to the Electoral Commission. The Senate then returned to its chamber, preceded by the locked boxes, then nearly empty.