The Life of Lyman Trumbull

by Horace White

"... I have so strong a sense of Greeley's utter unfitness for the presidency that I cannot well express it. The man is a charlatan from top to bottom, and the smallest kind of a charlatan,—for no other motive than a weak and puerile vanity. His success in politics would be the success of whoever is most wrong in theory and most corrupt in practice." All the most corrupt spoilsmen of either side are either with him now or preparing to go to him. It is the first of duties to expose him and his factitious reputation. Grant and his crew are bad,—but hardly so bad as Greeley and his would be. Besides, Grant, though in very bad hands, has his clutches full: Greeley's set would be newcomers.

The regular Republican Convention met at Philadelphia, June 5, and nominated General Grant for President by unanimous vote. The names of Henry Wilson, Schuyler Colfax, and several others were presented for Vice-President. On the first roll-call Wilson had 361 votes and Colfax 306, and there were 66 for other candidates. Before the result was announced, 38 votes from Southern States were changed to Wilson, giving him 399, a majority of the whole number cast. This decision was brought about by the wish of Grant himself, communicated to General Grenville M. Dodge before the convention met. Grant had no liking for Colfax.[128]

The platform of the convention laid stress on the imperative duty of "suppression of violent and treasonable organizations in certain lately rebellious regions and for the protection of the ballot-box." This meant the stern execution of the Ku-Klux Law, under suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, which was already in progress. The remainder of the platform was either "pointing with pride" at past achievements, or clap-trap of various kinds, including a promise to take good care of capital and labor, so as to secure "the largest opportunities and a just share of the mutual profits of these two great servants of civilization."

The Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore, July 9, and adopted both the platform and the candidates of the Cincinnati Convention. This involved a complete reversal of the party's principles as declared in its last previous platform, but it was not inconsistent with inexorable facts. There was nothing else to be done unless the party was determined still to battle against the result of the Civil War. It was inevitable, however, that there should be a remnant of the party that would never vote for Greeley—the man who above all others had gored them most savagely in the fights of a quarter of a century. The dissentients called and held a convention at Louisville, September 3, where they nominated Charles O'Conor of New York for President and John Quincy Adams for Vice-President, both of whom declined. Other attempts to put a third ticket in the field came to nothing. The recalcitrants either voted for Grant or abstained from voting altogether.

Trumbull took an active part in the campaign, speaking to large crowds and almost incessantly in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. His first speech was made at Springfield, Illinois, June 26, a synopsis of which will serve to indicate the views which he advocated.

He said that he was glad to explain to Illinoisans the position he had felt it his duty to take on many points. It was now more than seventeen years that he had represented the state in Washington. In that time the principles on which the Republican party was formed had all been settled. Nothing remained but the machinery, which had fallen into the hands of those who sought to use it for merely selfish ends. During his service he had sometimes not acted according to the views of all his constituents, but he had not failed to follow his own sense of duty and right. Within the last ten years many abuses had crept into the Government and numerous defalcations had occurred, perhaps the most noted being that of Hodge, paymaster, in the office of the Paymaster-General, "whose defalcations, occurring right under the eye of the Government, amounted to more than $400,000." An investigating committee had reported to a previous Congress great abuses in the New York Custom-House—bribery and demoralization. At the beginning of the recent session he [Trumbull] had introduced a resolution for a joint committee of investigation, with power to send for persons and papers; introduced it in good faith to unearth frauds, if existent, and to correct them, without design of injuring the party. "I was simple-minded enough to believe that the Republican party, ... with which I had been identified for so many years, would be lifted in public estimation ... if it had the virtue and the honesty to expose, even among its own members, wrong, corruptions, and fraud if fraud existed, and to apply the proper corrective. And I was very much astonished when that proposition was met by gentlemen in the Senate who constitute what, for brevity's sake, I may denominate a Senatorial Ring, denouncing me as unfaithful to the Republican party and as throwing dirt upon it by offering a resolution to inquire into the conduct of public officers."

The public indignation aroused by this forced the Senatorial Ring to action. "A party caucus of Republican Senators was called, and a scheme devised to change the character of the resolution, and to organize and pack the committee, which, instead of going forth to uncover and expose corruption, should go forth to conceal and cover it up. The proposition for the joint committee of the two houses, with power to send for persons and papers, was voted down, and in its place a resolution was passed creating a committee of the Senate alone. The members of the committee were selected in a party caucus, and not a single Republican Senator who had originally favored the investigation was placed upon the committee. This was contrary to parliamentary law, and contrary to the plainest principles of common sense, if the object was to discover abuses, and contrary to that ordinary rule which says that a child must not be put to a nurse who cares not for it. This investigation was placed in the hands of the parties to be investigated...." Even this committee, going to New York, could not, however, shut their eyes to the enormous abuses there. But they did give public notice that any merchants who had paid bribe money to customs officials would be prosecuted to the extent of the law, thereby securing the non-appearance of any such merchant as a witness. They acted as if sent to investigate merchants, not officials.... And the Senate Ring would allow no measure to be considered tending to rectify these abuses, wanting to keep the spoils to carry next fall's elections. A bill from the House was referred to the Judiciary committee, which had a majority of Ring members,—a bill to inaugurate reforms and to protect merchants from plunder. Although it was before the committee two months it was never reported to the Senate. "I made two motions in the Senate to have the committee discharged and to bring the bill before the Senate, that it might receive its attention, but they were voted down under party drill."

"Let me tell you of another committee of investigation, raised in the House of Representatives, and packed also by an obsequious and partisan Speaker,—a committee, a majority of which consisted of the friends of the Secretary of the Navy whose conduct was about to be investigated. I want to tell you what that committee did, and I think you will be astonished when I state the fact that a committee of members of the House of Representatives could have been found, who were so blinded by party zeal, so full of bigotry or cowardice that they could not see, or were afraid to expose, violations of the law on the part of political associates. This committee was raised on the motion of Governor Blair, of Michigan, a high-minded, independent, and able Republican.... At his [Blair's] instance, a committee was raised to inquire into certain transactions in the Navy Department, presided over by Secretary Robeson.... Among many of the things that the committee was instructed to inquire into ... was a claim for building certain vessels for the Government of the United States during the war. I have the precise figures here, giving the exact amounts which the Government contracted to pay for the construction of the three vessels, Tecumseh, Mahopac, and Manhattan. The contract was made in 1862, and the Government agreed to pay a contractor of the name of Secor $1,380,000 for the construction of these three vessels. After the contract was made, the Government desired some changes in the plans of the vessels, and a board of naval officers was appointed to superintend them and to certify bills for extra work, which they did to the amount of more than $500,000. The vessels were furnished, the contract price paid—the sum due for the extra work was paid, and it was all settled and closed in the Navy Department in 1865. But these contractors, who had received more than $1,900,000 for building the vessels and the extra work, came to Congress by petition, and complained that they still had not received as much as they ought, because they said that they were delayed in their contracts by the action of the Government; that while thus delayed the price of labor and of materials advanced, and they had met with great loss, and they, therefore, asked Congress to allow them something more. Congress, in 1867, passed a law directing the Secretary of the Navy to look into this matter and report to the next session. The Secretary appointed a board of Naval officers, who made the investigation, and reported to Congress that these Secors ought to be allowed $115,000 more (I use round numbers)—$115,000 in addition to what they had already received, and put into the law these words, 'which shall be in full discharge of all claims against the United States on account of the vessels upon which the Board made the allowance as per this report.' Now, do any of you, does any lawyer, ... know how to write a stronger clause than that to end this claim? If you do, I do not.... The Secors, in 1868, received the $115,000 and gave their receipt.... Would you believe it possible that the Secretary of the Navy would, after that, pay anything more?... Mr. Robeson, in 1870, ... on his own motion, without any act of Congress authorizing it, proceeds to reinvestigate this claim, and without coming to Congress at all pays over to these gentlemen $93,000 more. Well, that is not the worst of it. He might just as well have paid them $93,000,000. The Congress of the United States never appropriated any money to pay this $93,000, but the Secretary of the Navy took the money appropriated for other purposes and other years and paid it out of that. This is bad enough.... But when this packed committee came to examine this transaction, a majority of its members reported that the transactions only involved a mere difference of opinion as to the construction of the law, and, in their opinion, the Secretary had construed it rightly. And Mr. Robeson, instead of being rebuked, is commended by the committee, and is continued in office. It is due to the chairman of the committee—Governor Blair, of Michigan, and one of his associates—the committee consisted of five members—to say that they dissented from the majority report, and held that the transaction was not only without authority of law, but in direct violation of it....

"I was never a party man to the extent of being willing to serve the party against my country and if, to-day, I am acting with the Liberal Republican party, if I have denounced these transactions at the hazard of being myself denounced, it was done in good faith on my part, for the purpose of correcting abuses, and appealing from a party tyranny established by a Senatorial Ring to the honest, intelligent, upright citizens of the country, who are bound by no such shackles as will compel them to cover up fraud and iniquity in any party...."

He mentioned the encroachments of the Federal Government, as in the attempt to destroy the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the last session of Congress, as a bill virtually placing the elections of the Southern States under the direction of the President. If the people have become so far indifferent to their rights as to permit the President to suspend the writ of habeas corpus at will, and to control and supervise their elections, their liberties are gone, and "they have only to wait until a man sufficiently ambitious reaches the Presidency, for him to grasp and maintain absolute powers."

The speech was two hours long, and concluded with this tribute to Greeley:

... Mr. Greeley [he said] is a man of the highest character and intelligence. No man in the land is better acquainted with the public men of the country than he. He is a man of purity of character, of strict honesty, who would not look upon corruption and official delinquency with the least degree of allowance. You may rely upon that and upon his bringing about him the ablest men of the land to form a strong and able Administration, because he knows who the able men are, and could have no other motive than to make his Administration a success, as he will not seek a reëlection. I am not in the habit of saying much about individuals, but I think I may say to you that you may trust Horace Greeley for an honest administration of the Government, and that is what the people of the country want. You may trust him above almost all other men in this land for bringing about that state of good feeling between the North and the South, so essential to the peace and prosperity of the nation.

The campaign started with considerable éclat among the ranks of Greeley's supporters and corresponding depression on the other side. Carl Schurz, who took the laboring oar, at first with reluctance bordering on gloom, gathered confidence as he progressed in his stumping tour. Enthusiasm for the old white hat seemed to be no figment of imagination, but a living reality. All eyes were fixed upon North Carolina which had an election for state officers on the 1st of August, and which the Liberals expected to win. The early returns seemed to justify their confidence, but there was a change when the western mountain districts were heard from. The supporters of Grant carried the state by about 2000 majority. This wound was not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church door, but it answered one purpose. It ended the "old white hat" enthusiasm and turned attention to the more sober and solid aspects of the campaign. That Greeley was an unbalanced character, that he was lacking in steadiness, in mental equipoise and ability to look at both sides of any question where his feelings were strongly enlisted, it was easy to show by many examples in his brilliant career. His occasional controversies with Lincoln during the war, in which he was invariably worsted, were now reproduced with effect by the orators on the Grant side, and the old white hat and coat and the Flintwinch neck-tie were savagely pictured by Tom Nast in Harper's Weekly. There were satirical persons who said that Greeley took as much pains to make himself a harlequin as another might take to make himself a dandy.

The attacks were not without effect upon people who had never seen Greeley face to face. To his immediate friends in New York it seemed necessary that he should show himself to the public so that people might know he was a man of solid parts, of statesmanlike proportions and brain power. He was persuaded to make a series of speeches in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the month of September, as those states were likely to have a decisive influence on the country in their local elections, which took place in October. Accordingly he took the stump, beginning at Jeffersonville, Indiana, and moving eastward. His speeches surprised both friends and enemies by their high tone, argumentative force, good temper, and versatility and vigor of expression. The main point which he sought to enforce was the need of restored peace and brotherhood in all the land. No pleading could be more persuasive or more touching. No doubt can exist of the sincerity with which it was uttered.