White House gossip

by Edna M. Colman

4. That he had criticized and ridiculed Congress.

5. That he had attempted to prevent the execution of various acts of Congress.

The papers were served on President Johnson. He appeared with Henry Stanbury, his Attorney General, who had resigned from that office to act as his counsel. Through his counsel he asked that he be given thirty days to prepare a reply to the charges. His request was curtly refused, and the demand was made that the case proceed at once, ten days being finally permitted him in which to prepare his defense. The trial lasted over the month, ninety witnesses being heard. When this sensational jury voted, thirty-five declared the President guilty and nineteen voted not guilty. Immediately after the announcement by Chief Justice that two thirds of the Senators had not voted him guilty, President Johnson was acquitted.

Analyzed and stripped of all superfluous matter, the difficulty revealed itself strictly as a contest between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. Naturally, during the war, the executive branch had eclipsed the other two. After the death of President Lincoln, powerful leaders in the two houses clamoured for the subordination of the executive branch to the legislative. Mr. Johnson’s firm fight for the independence of the Executive was in reality the cause of his unpopularity. Had he been impeached, undoubtedly succeeding presidents would have found their position stripped of many of its prerogatives and reduced to that of being mere figureheads.

This bare escape, though by a single vote, was, nevertheless, a victory. It kept the nation from having still another cataclysm over the selection of a successor to the President. But, for the balance of his term, President Johnson was entirely ignored by Congress, or at least the part that had opposed him so vigorously. It passed bills over his veto with apparent delight, and he went out of office despised and ignored by such of its members as had fought him all through his term.

Despite all of the discord and agitation that prevailed during Johnson’s administration, much important legislation was accomplished. One of the most noteworthy acts was the purchase of Alaska, effected for $7,200,000, in 1867, under the negotiations of Secretary Seward, who was greatly abused for having bought icefields and polar bears.

The laying of the Atlantic cable was another achievement. On December 25, 1868, President Johnson issued his last Amnesty proclamation. This was universal, and under it Jefferson Davis was released and his case dismissed, as was also that of John Surratt.

The last reception was so largely attended as to assume the form of an ovation. Thousands passed through the White House to felicitate the Chief Executive upon the outcome of the impeachment proceedings. In this farewell, his policy was commended and the social rêgime highly praised. His attitude toward receiving gifts was applauded.

The only record of his acceptance of any gift of value was that of the tea or coffee set presented to him in the opening days of his administration, a unique silver, brass, and porcelain facsimile of a railroad locomotive and tender which had been especially designed as a gift to Jefferson Davis and owned by him previously to the evacuation of Richmond. It had been purchased at auction and was sent to President Johnson by Mr. A. Barratti. The boiler received the tea or coffee and made and then discharged it through a spigot, the miniature steam whistle indicating when the beverage was ready. The tender carried the sugar and glasses and container for the cognac. Its sides carried racks for cigars, and a tiny secret music box, when set, played eight popular airs. Upon the side of the locomotive, “President Jefferson Davis” was emblazoned. In front, where the cow catcher belonged, the Confederate banner and battle flag, entwined with the ensign of France, had been fashioned into a charming design.

With the advent of Inauguration Day, the Johnson family left the White House with relief. The retiring President took his departure from the scenes of his great trial without regret. His trip to Greeneville was a continuous ovation, with praise and applause upon every hand. It seemed as though the crowds sought to console him for the affronts he had suffered. But the dream of his life—the election to the Presidency as his party’s choice—was denied him.