year.

A few months after he located there he purchased the interest of his partner, enlarged and greatly improved his paper, and soon made it one of the most successful and influential of the weekly journals of the State.

In 1853, without any effort on his part, or having been named as a candidate before the meeting of the convention, he was made the Whig nominee for Auditor General, having been nominated by the late Morton McMichael of Philadelphia. He and his several colleagues on the ticket of that year were defeated, as the State was then strongly Democratic. In 1854 he took an active part in the nomination and election of Governor Pollock, who manifested his appreciation of Mr. McClure by voluntarily nominating him for the position of Superintendent of Public Printing soon after his inauguration. He held the position for eight months when he resigned to devote his undivided attention to his newspaper. The American movement had then absorbed the great bulk of the Whigs of the State, and, as Mr. McClure had no sympathy with its proscriptive features, he not only refused to join in it, but opposed its policy and its candidates, and as that was offensive to a majority of the old Whigs who were readers of his newspaper, he sold it out and resolved to retire from politics and devote himself to the practice of law, which he had studied during his early years of journalism. He at once became associated with William McLellan, one of the leading members of the Chambersburg bar, and while they remained in active practice they were among the most successful lawyers in that section of the State.

In 1856 the Erie riots, as they were called, were at the zenith of the disgraceful disturbances between the Erie and the Northeast Railroad and a considerable number of the people of Erie city. So intensely bitter did this conflict become, that it broke up social circles, divided churches, and erupted in riots. Even the women of the city, on one occasion, marched in a body to a railroad bridge and burnt it. The Legislature had forfeited the chartered rights of the railroad, taken possession of the property, and Joseph Casey was appointed superintendent of the road on behalf of the State, and sent out to take charge of it to maintain the peace. After repeated efforts to harmonize the difficulties and keep the Lake Shore trunk line open between the West and New York, he resigned his position in disgust. Governor Pollock next appointed Colonel William F. Small of Philadelphia, who made an earnest effort to operate the road in harmony with the people of Erie, but he soon despaired of

success and retired from his position.

Governor Pollock next sent

for Mr. McClure and earnestly urged him to accept the position, which he finally agreed to do on the condition that he should be permitted to exercise his authority in his own way, and to summon any military force necessary to protect the road under such policy as he might deem best for operating it. This was acceded to, and he went to Erie and took charge of the property. He was well acquainted with the leading men on both sides, and after spending a week or more in quiet efforts to harmonize them he changed the policy of the administration of the road, and supposed that he had so far harmonized the conflicting elements that there would be peace; but when on his way home he was stopped by a telegram informing him that fresh riots had broken out; that the mob had torn out a newspaper office, burned the presses, type and fixtures in the public street, and that the condition of things was even worse than before. He immediately returned and at once summoned to his room the two leading men of each side of the controversy. These men on either side had not spoken to the others for nearly or fully two years, and none of them knew whom they were to meet in Mr. McClure's room. There was considerable hesitation and some frowning faces when they found themselves unexpectedly face to face with each other. They were men of high character and intelligence, and Mr. McClure informed them why he had called them together; that they must confer; that this trouble must be settled, or he would line the road from end to end with military force, with orders to shoot any man or woman who attempted to destroy the track or bridges. Before that conference ended the Erie riots were settled; there never was any disturbance thereafter, and the next Legislature restored the property to its owners upon conditions satisfactory to the people of Erie.

He was dis

Mr. McClure was a delegate to the first Republican National Convention, that met in Philadelphia in 1856, and earnestly urged the nomination of Judge McLean for the Presidency. appointed at the nomination of Fremont, but his strong anti-slavery convictions led him to take an active part in the contest. In 1857 there was a union of the Americans and Whigs effected in Franklin County in which Mr. McClure joined, and when the convention met to nominate candidates for important offices in the county, most of which were to be filled that year, he was importuned to accept the nomination for the Legislature. It was not expected that he could be elected, as Franklin County was very close politically, and Fulton

County, with nearly 400 Democratic majority, had been added to the district; but he was urged to accept the nomination to bring the old Whigs to support the movement in the hope of saving the county and the local ticket. He peremptorily declined to accept the nomination, although he assured the committee that he would most heartily support the ticket that might be nominated. The candidate for the Legislature was the last name chosen by the convention. Mr. McClure was nominated in disregard of his declination, and the convention adjourned before he had an opportunity to be heard from. When advised of it he at once sent notice of his refusal to accept, but the convention had adjourned and he was finally prevailed upon to permit his name to go on the ticket and suffer defeat to aid his fellow candidates whose contest was confined to the single county of Franklin. He entered into the contest very earnestly, spoke in every election district of the county, and was elected by over 200 majority notwithstanding the large Democratic majority of Fulton, when every other man on the ticket was defeated. He was the only Republican elected to the Legislature that year east of the Alleghenies and south of the Susquehanna, and served with only 27 Republicans out of the 100 members of the body.

In 1858 Mr. McClure was strongly urged to accept the Republican nomination for Congress, and the nomination would have been tendered him with entire unanimity had he been willing to accept it, but he peremptorily refused. The one-term rule had been adopted by his party in the district, and he felt that no man could be of any material service whose term was limited to two years, or to four years at the most, and another grave objection was the fact that going to Washington would seriously interfere with his law practice. He was then prevailed upon to accept a renomination for the Legislature, and he was re-elected by a very largely increased majority. In both instances his colleague in the House was a Democrat. In 1859 a Senator was to be chosen in his district, that was even more strongly Democratic than his Representative district. He persistently refused to permit himself to be considered as a candidate, but no other name was presented, and when the conference met and he was unanimously nominated, he felt that he could not decline when his party believed that his declination might lose the district while his acceptance might save it. The Democrats made a most determined contest against him, and it was one of the most bitter local political struggles in the history of the State. The general interest felt in it may be appreciated when it is stated that this battle for

Senator, at an ordinary off-year election, polled more votes than were ever cast for President in the district. He was elected by over 400 majority, and won his fight by running uniformly ahead of his ticket in every district in his own county, and also leading his ticket in both Adams and Fulton.

In 1860 he took an active part in favor of the nomination of Andrew G. Curtin for Governor and against Cameron for President. There were several prominent candidates for the important position of chairman of the Republican State Committee. The appointment was in the hands of Governor Pollock, president of the convention and Curtin candidate for Governor. After considerable delay and a somewhat bitter contest, Mr. McClure was selected as a compromise. He had not been a candidate and was very reluctant to accept so arduous and responsible a task, but when appointed he felt that he could not decline it. He went with Curtin to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, and it was the united protest of Curtin and Henry S. Lane, the candidates for Governor in Pennsylvania and Indiana, supported by Mr. McClure and John De Frees, chairmen of the State Committees of those States, that prevented the nomination of Seward for President, and led to the nomination of Lincoln. On the first of June, Chairman McClure opened the Republican headquarters in Philadelphia, and labored night and day from that time until the election. It was not only a task of most exacting duties, but unlike the management of politics at the present time, every officer of the State Committee not only gave his own time without compensation, but paid his own expenses. How wisely that contest was managed when a new party had to be created out of discordant elements is well illustrated by Curtin's election by over 32,000 majority, and Lincoln's later success in the State by over 60,000.

In 1862, soon after Mr. McClure's Senatorial services had ended, a requisition was made upon Pennsylvania for some 18,000 additional troops to serve in the war. There was then no national conscription act, and volunteering had ceased. It became necessary, therefore, in order to fill the quota of the State, to make a draft under the State laws, and it was a most important and delicate duty. At the earnest solicitation of President Lincoln and Governor Curtin Mr. McClure finally assented to take charge of it. He did so without any official position or compensation whatever. He insisted, as a condition of his acceptance, that the commissioners and surgeons to be appointed for each county should represent both parties, and

should be of the highest character, to assure confidence in the absolute fairness of the military discharges which might be made by them. Governor Curtin was heartily in accord with this suggestion, and the result was that he appointed the most prominent men in every county to discharge those important duties. Mr. McClure labored day and night, with the assistance of two clerks, to have the enrollment made and the quotas of the different districts adjusted, and in sixty days he was ready to furnish a regiment a day to the Government. There were some delicate duties to be performed, especially in Schuylkill, where there was an open rebellion against the enforcement of the draft by the Molly Maguires. Secretary Stanton directed Mr. McClure to send two regiments of troops to Cass Township, in Schuylkill County, to enforce the law, but he well understood the peril of a conflict between the military and citizens, and under confidential instructions from President Lincoln he adjusted the difficulty peacefully. The delay in organizing and forwarding the regiments of conscripts to the field after Mr. McClure had gathered them into camp at Harrisburg made him impatient, and in answer to his demand for the removal of the mustering officer at Harrisburg, President Lincoln sent him a commission as Assistant Adjutant of the United States, with the rank of Major, and an order assigning him to duty at Harrisburg. This commission made him the ranking officer at that place, and from the day that he was mustered in, troops were forwarded to the field with the utmost rapidity. He held his commission only until he had finished the organization of the conscripts and closed up the accounts between the State and the General Government, when he resigned.

In 1863 he fully believed that Governor Curtin could not survive the contest for re-election because of his infirm health, and he personally received from President Lincoln an autograph letter tendering to Governor Curtin a first-class mission at the end of his term, if he were willing to accept it. This led to Governor Curtin's public declination of a renomination, and Mr. McClure heartily united with the Governor in the effort to harmonize all parties in support of General William B. Franklin for Governor, and thus make the voice of Pennsylvania unanimous in support of the war. This effort was defeated by the Democratic leaders, and before the Republican Convention met it became evident that Governor Curtin must again enter the field and become the candidate unless the State was to be surrendered. Mr. McClure went to the convention and aided in the