CHAPTER XXIII.

GREELEY AS A POLITICIAN.

His Political Life Characterized-Greeley's First Experience at "Relegating”—The Tippecanoe Campaign—The Clay Fiasco-"Isms" of the Philosopher-In Congress-His Career as a Legislator-The Partnership with Seward and Weed-Greeley Indignantly Withdraws-Cause of his Wrath— The FamousSeward Letter-Greeley Favors Secession-Defeats Seward at Chicago-The War Comes On-" Forward to Richmond !"—Thorning Lincoln-The Cleveland Convention-" Anybody to Beat Lincoln❞—Greeley Winks at the Movement-The Niagara Falls Affair-Greeley Hobnobs with Bogus Rebel Commissioners-Blames Lincoln and Misrepresents HimNoble Letter of the Martyr President-The War Ended-Greeley Does go on to Richmond-What he Does There—Indignation of the Public— Greeley's Opinion of Himself and Other Presidency-Hunters-Greeley and Tammany.

Horace Greeley's public career as a politicianall the while as an influential writer and the most of the time as an inside manager of politics—already stretches over a period of about thirty-eight years, commencing with the founding of the New Yorker in 1834. It did not, however, put on that very actice phase which has for the most part, characterized it, until the Presidential campaign of 1840, when Harrison and Tyler were running, on the Whig ticket, against Van Buren and Johnson.

The campaign was an unprecedently active one, being known as the Hard Cider and Log Cabin Campaign. The canvass commenced as early as the December preceding the election-nearly eleven months being thus allowed for "working up" the candidates.

THE RELEGATING BUSINESS.

The convention which nominated Harrison took place at Harrisburg, and it, like the campaign, was long and bitter. At this convention recurred Mr. Greeley's first experience at "relegating" troublesome questions to the several localities—something which may have struck our younger politicians as a new trick in politics, when introduced by Greeley as a stepping-stone to the candidacy at Cincinnati. We read in one of the earliest issues of the Tribune an explanation of this matter, in response to a question which had been raised as to whether the Whig party then had any platform. It seems that the Convention broke up and went home without adopting any platform at all; the Tribune explaining that on the last day of the session, "every thought was turned to the healing of disappointments and the solution of a Vice President" [and the one that they elected proved soon that they had better turned more careful thoughts in that direction]; and that "each delegation should," on returning home, "communicate to their constituents the nomination and the reasons for sustaining it in such manner as they should think proper." It was

generally understood, however, that Mr. Greeley and his fellow-zealots of the Whig faith were fighting mainly for a high protective tariff, a consolidated national bank in the hands of a corporate monopoly, and under the "protection" of the government, and a profuse expenditure of national funds for building local improvements, such as wharves, railroads, etc. Of the doctrine we have nothing to say at present; but we call attention to the school of politics in which the present Democratic candidate received his first lessons.

GREELEY ON D. S. DICKINSON.

During the early history of the Tribune, Greeley was at Albany a good deal, and sent thence copious "editorial correspondence" to his paper. In one of these letters we read his opinion of Daniel S. Dickinson-a man of much nobler aims and purer ideas of public management than himself. Putting on a sweet smartness of style, with a little smattering of French which he had picked up somewhere and seemed anxious to air, our young editor wrote:

"I hear that my very sensitive friend, Daniel S. Dickinson, of Broome (familiarly, Scripture Dick), is a candidate for Secretary of State, Attorney General, or almost anything that is comfortable. I hardly credit it. Mr. Dickinson's talents are rather of a forensic than executive order. He ought to go to Congress manifestly; his peculiar style of oratory would create more amusement than a puppet show, and his words would suffice at any time to still the fiercest words of disorder,—the angriest burst of passion, at the first sound of his voice would subside in a horse laugh. There was a rare low comedian (the French would say farceur) spoiled when he became a statesHe must not come here, therefore, but go to Congress."

man.

The description certainly did not fit Mr. DickinWould it not fit Mr. Greeley better?

son.

GOES TO CONGRESS.

In the fall of 1848, Mr. Greeley was elected to Congress on the same ticket with James Brooks, of the Express-Mr. Greeley to serve out the remainder of a deceased member's term, which expired on the 4th of March following, and fill the whole term succeeding that.

Mr. Brooks to

This arrangement does not seem to have satisfied Mr. Greeley's idea of what was due him from the party, or rather the party managers, for in the famous letter to Governor Seward, in 1854, he uses this language: "I was once sent to Congress for ninety days, merely to enable Jim Brooks to secure a seat therein for four years. * * * James White (you hardly know how good and true a man he is) started my name for Congress, and Brooks's packed delegation thought I could help him through, so I was put on behind him."

Greeley's career in Congress does not appear to have been very successful. He proposed measures enough, and was especially active in behalf of his hobby of then-abolition of mileage-but never got any proposition before the House in a way or at a time to receive consideration. At the same time, he was constantly berating his fellow members through his correspondence for the Tribune

a course which could not be expected to conciliate them toward him, or any of his favorite measures. One of his epistolary attacks, of which a member named Rust, of Arkansas, was the object,

brought that gentleman down upon Mr. Greeley with a cane, in a very dastardly attack-the only one, we believe, which the philosopher has ever received, notwithstanding he has applied "fighting" epithets to a majority of his fellow citizens, either individually or by class.

WISHES TO BE GOVERNOR.

In 1854 Greeley experienced one of the severest disappointments of his life. He then desired intensely the nomination of the Whigs for Governor of New York, and his failure to get that nomination may be said to have embittered his political life and changed the whole future course of the Tribune. His paper had, up to this time, been a truthful party organ, working implicitly for the nominations of the Whig party; but from this time it became a habitual bolter of nominations and a spitter upon platforms. The animus of its subsequent course is easily learned from the letter which Mr. Greeley addressed to Mr. Seward, on the 11th of November, immediately following the election which assured Seward's return to the Senate.

Greeley had, as already mentioned, desired the nomination of the Whigs for Governor. His almost Herculean efforts in behalf of Whig principles had, as he urges in the letter referred to, deserved some such recognition as this from the party. But there were considerations which prevented his nomination-chief of which was the almost abso