William Wartenbee Johnson, Judge of the Supreme Court, was born near Chandlersville, Muskingum County, Ohio, August 26, 1826. He attended the common schools of his neighborhood, was a student and subsequently a teacher at Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio. In 1849 he commenced the study of law in the office of Charles C. Convers, then Speaker of the Ohio Senate and afterward Supreme Judge-was admitted to the bar in 1852 and commenced practice at Ironton. In 1858 he was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court, serving continuously until in the fall of 1866.

Two years later he was reelected, but retired from the bench in 1872 because of ill health. In 1874 he was nominated as a candidate for the Supreme Bench by the Republicans, but shared in the general defeat of his party. In 1876 he was appointed, by Governor Hayes, a member of the first Supreme Court Commission of the State, serving for three years. In 1879 he was the Republican candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court and was elected. He was reelected in 1884, but resigned, because of ill health, on November 9, 1886, and died March 2, 1887.

THE

HE Resumption Act" became a law in January, 1875, and was approved by President Grant because it embodied many of the views advanced by him the previous year. There were doubts in the minds of many Republicans as to the ability of the Government to carry it into effect, and the Democrats generally were sure that the effort would be a disastrous failure. They took up the "Ohio (Greenback) idea" of Governor Allen and General Ewing and urged its adoption. But after all the agitation, the many predictions of failure, and the apprehensions of some of the Republican leaders, it proved entirely successful. The faith of President Grant that the country would never permit the stigma to be fastened upon it of circulating irredeemable currency was fully justified, although resumption proper did not take place until after his successor was installed in the Presidential office.

an honest service secured. Some of the revenue officers were men of much prominence and of strong political influence, and they and their friends resorted to desperate means to curtail the President's power and diminish his popularity with the people. In this they were aided by the Democratic press, and the prosecution unquestionably had much bearing upon the campaign in Ohio and other States.

While attending a soldiers' reunion in Iowa, in September, President Grant spoke on the subject of education. A quotation from his remarks on that occasion was widely published and received with expressions of marked appreciation by the press and people. It was as follows:

Let us labor for the security of free thought, free speech, free press, pure morals, unfettered religious sentiments and equal rights and privileges for all men, irrespective of nationality, color or religion. Encourage free schools, resolve that not a dollar appropriated to them shall go to the support of any sectarian

by many internal revenue officers in certain States in connection with the manufacture and storage of whisky. He took active measures for their detection and punishment, his stringent order for their prosecution ending with the now famous saying, "Let no guilty man escape." In consequence many indictments followed, the ringleaders were sent to the penitentiary, and

port any institution save those where every child may get a common-school education, unmixed with any atheistic, pagan or sectarian teaching; leave the matter of religious teaching to the family altar, and keep Church and State forever separate.

The first Ohio political State Convention of the year was that of the Prohibitionists at the City Hall, Columbus, Wednesday, February 24th. A complete ticket was nominated, headed by Jay Odell as the candidate

for Governor. An unique National Convention was that called to meet at the Opera House, Columbus, Wednesday, March 10th, on behalf of the Covenanters. All societies and religious denominations that desired an amendment to the Constitution of the United States in recognition of the Deity" were requested to send delegates. A goodly number assembled and were addressed by Felix R. Brunot, of Pittsburg, who was elected presiding officer. Aside from adopting a series of resolutions and forming State Associations, nothing of importance was accomplished and the movement soon died away.

The call for the Republican State Convention was issued April 2d, by Allen T. Wikoff, Chairman, and Rodney Foos, Secretary, of the Executive Committee. It provided for 547 delegates, or one for every 500 votes cast for Allen T. Wikoff for Secretary of State in 1874.

The Convention opened its sessions in the Opera House at Columbus, at eleven o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, June 2d. The delegates were called to order by Chairman Wikoff, and Rev. Robert G. Hutchins, pastor of the First Congregational Church, offered prayer. Lorenzo Danford, of St. Clairsville, was introduced as Temporary Chairman, and after returning thanks for the honor, said, in part:

I believe that no man who has been observant of public sentiment in Ohio during the last few months but must feel that the people of this State are begining to realize that it is not wise or safe to trust the Democratic party with power, and if we to-day act with reference to their wishes, then the ticket we nominate will be triumphant in October. The Democratic party elected the Governor and carried the Legislature two years ago, and was entirely successful last October. It promised retrenchment and reform, and especially a higher order of public service and greater attention to the interests of the people. We have had

two winters of Democratic legislation, aided and assisted by a Democratic Governor, and in that time, in their unselfishness, the Democrats have gone into the reformatory and charitable institutions and have, to a great degree, devoted their efforts to turning out faithful public servants. They have created new State offices for the same purpose, and in the matter of retrenchment have increased the running expenses of the Government-but, for the purpose of keeping their word of promise to the ear, have stricken from the State levy $300,000, in the aggregate; yet it is well known to the people of Ohio that, to the full extent of the levy thus stricken out, we will have a deficit at the end of the year. They retrench by refusing to pay, the public dues of the State, like an individual resolved upon retrenchment who attempts it by increasing the size of his family and adding to the number of his servants, but refusing to pay his honest debts. They have a high regard for local self-government--in their platform and stump speeches--but attempted, last session, to deprive one of the chief cities of the State of her right to control her own local affairs, and that,' too, in the interests of a ring of speculators. And in, the interest of the public service, these Legislators went to trading their votes at a hundred dollars per head. The leaders were anxious that the Legislature should go home early in March, but the members adjourned with their work half done-bills in their pockets--but not until they had passed a law by which, should they be so unfortunate as to get into the penitentiary, they will have the right to choose their own spiritual advisers. The Ohio Democrats in call; ing their State Convention seemed to regard themselves as the advance guard of the Democratic party of the country. I want to say just a word here. We' are no longer engaged in an ordinary State contest. The people have been confiding in the Democrats of Ohio and in view of the Democratic Legislature of the State, I believe it would not be impious to say “And may God have mercy upon the people." We must recognize that this is not merely a State campaign, for as Ohio goes this fall, she may possibly go next year. We organize here for 1876, and we must beat that "advance guard " of the lost cause.

The speaker then referred at some length to the Confederates who had displaced Union men in the National House of Representatives, and to the number of exRebels then holding office. He eulogized General Grant and his Administration and pleaded for unity and harmony among Ohio Republicans.

The Convention chose additional temporary officers as follows:

Secretary: George Palmer, of Washington County.

Assistant Secretaries: Peter S. Grosscup, of Ashland; Joseph B. Rothschild, of Hancock; and Ephraim Morgan, of Hamilton.

The districts were called, and having caucused before the Convention met, reported Vice Presidents and the various committeemen as here given:

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Vice Presidents: 1. John K. Greene, Hamilton. 2. J. S. Wise, Hamilton. John Q. Smith, Clinton. 4. Isaac M. Barrett, Greene. 5. James R. Price, Van Wert. 6. Guido Marx, Lucas. 7. Thomas W. Gordon, Brown. 8. George Green, Miami. 9. Thomas E. Duncan, Morrow. 10. Henry W. Owen, Huron. 11. Joseph P. Bradbury, Gallia. 12. A. W. Scott, Perry. 13. Perry Miles, Muskingum. 14. Thomas Phillips, Richland. 15. Henry Dunmore, Morgan. 16. Wilson S. Kennon, Belmont. 17. Simon Wisdon, Columbiana. 18. John Hill, Summit. 19. D. C. Thompson, Trumbull. 20. Henry M. Chapman, Cuyahoga.

Credentials: 1. John Bierbaum, Hamilton. 2. J. A. Remley, Hamilton. 3. Ephraim Sellers, Warren. 4. Charles F. Brooke, Preble. 5. Charles J. Swan, Putnam. 6. Justin H. Tyler, Henry. 7. William S. Patterson, Highland. 8. Griffith Ellis, Champaign. 9. Hylas Sabine, Union. 10. George Dane, Erie. 11. William J. Rannells, Vinton. 12. Henry C. Greiner, Perry. 13. Thomas J. McCartney, Coshocton. 14. John Caskey, Holmes. 15. Nathan Hollister, Monroe. 16. George W. Taylor, Noble. 17. Joseph Carnahan, Carroll. 18. John H. Faxon, Lorain. 19.

William P. Howland, Ashtabula. 20. William B. Regner, Cuyahoga.

Permanent Organization; I. Michael Pohlman, Hamilton. 2. Henry Kessler, Hamilton. 3. William Millikin, Butler. 4. Aaron Spangler, Greene. 5. Thomas C. Sherman, Allen. Sherman, Allen. 6. E. A. Higgins, Wood. 7. Henry Hoover, Ross. 8. William M. Beach, Madison. 9. William Stevens, Hardin. 10. John H. Ridgly, Seneca. II. William H. Enochs, Lawrence. 12. Augustus R. Keller, Fairfield. 13. Isaac G. Carter, Tuscarawas. 14. Pietro Cuneo, Wyandot. 15. Rufus R. Dawes, Washington. 16. J. T. McPherson, Guernsey. 17. Jonathan K. Rukenbrod, Columbiana. 18. Addison S. McClure, Wayne. 19. Marvin Kent, Portage. 20. William Mitchell, Cuyahoga.

Resolutions: 1. Charles Evans, Hamilton. 2. Richard Smith, Hamilton. 3. David W. McClung, Butler. 4. Lewis B. Gunckle, Montgomery. 5. James Murray, Shelby. Shelby. 6. George R. Haynes, Lucas. 7. Orange Edwards, Brown. 8. William H. West, Logan. West, Logan. 9. Thomas C. Jones, Delaware. 10. E. G. Dewolf, Hancock. II. Hezekiah S. Bundy, Jackson. 12. James L. Bates, Franklin. 13. Allen Miller, Perry. 14. Lyman B. Matson, Richland. 15. S. D. Horton, Meigs. 16. Samuel Knox, Harrison. 17. William McKinley, Jr., Stark. 18. James A. Bell, Medina. 19. Julius O. Converse, Geauga. 20. Edward H. Bohm, Cuyahoga.

State Central Committee: 1. S. H. Burton, Hamilton. 2. Amzi Magill, Hamilton. 3. Henry B. Maynard, Fayette. 4. Ashley Brown, Montgomery. 5. Joseph H. Foster, Van Wert. 6. Alexander Reed, Lucas. 7. Marcus Boggs, Ross. 8. Oscar T. Martin, Clarke. 9. William C. Cooper,

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Knox. 10. A. H. Balsley, Sandusky. Albert C. Thompson, Scioto. 12. R. H. Bostwick, Pickaway. 13. Appleton B. Clark, Licking. 14. S. W. Holmes, Wyandot. 15. E. H. Moore, Athens. 16. Jonathan T. Updegraff, Jefferson. 17. James M. Nash, Mahoning. 18. Arthur L. Conger, Summit. 19. George W. Steele, Lake. 20. Charles L. Russell, Cuyahoga.

State Executive Committee: Allen T. Wikoff, Chairman; Jacob C. Donaldson, Secretary; George K. Nash, Treasurer; John Little, Charles C. Walcutt, Francis B. Pond and Charles H. Moore-all electors or temporary residents of Columbus.

W. B. Sloan, of Ottawa, moved that a committee of five be appointed by the Chair to invite General William Tecumseh Sherman to a seat on the stage during the delib-⚫ erations of the Convention. Charles H. Grosvenor, of Athens, opposed the motion on the ground that the distinguished Buckeye was General of the United States Army and could not consistently accept such an invitation. James Bruff, of Youngstown, moved to amend the motion so as to tender the respects of the Convention to General Sher

President: Edward F. Noyes, of Hamilton County.

Secretary: Silas N. Field, of Franklin. Assistant Secretaries: Jewett Palmer, Joshua K. Brown, M. E. Cozad, William Ritezel and William Leonard.

The announcement of General Noyes' name was received with expressions of appreciation and he, with the other officers proposed, were elected unanimously. The new Chairman spoke briefly, saying, among other things:

I trust that your platform will be such as will appeal to the patriotic sentiment of every lover of our State and country throughout the broad limits of Ohio. I do not choose to here indicate much of which, in my judgment, your platform ought to contain. I think there ought not to be very much matter in it; that this year we should go forth to battle in light marching order, carrying as few weights as possible. I believe you will endorse the excellent and patriotic Administration of the President and his advisers and the spirit of his recent letter in which he declares against a third term. I trust you will declare against any union of Church and State in this country. That you will enter your solemn protest against the recent action of the Democratic party, when,under the lash of the Catholic priesthood, they did its behests. That you will revert with pride to the past history of the Republican party of Ohio, which, after being in power twenty years, has been endorsed by all the committees of the Democratic Legislature and by the Democratic Chief Magistrate of the State. That you will contrast this with the record which Democracy has made in the past two years, wherein they have overturned our public institutions in the interests of their party, and have sacrificed what was dearest to the people of our State. I trust you will contrast it with the action developed by their investigating committee in the last Legislature, when votes were for sale at one hundred dollars per head, and when a Democratic committee had so reported, we find the Democratic Legislature, in the interest of the party, taking up the delinquents, man by man, and exonerating every one of them.

While Governor Noyes was speaking, General W. T. Sherman came into the house and when the speaker concluded, was conducted from one of the wings to the