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 BOSSES and BOODLE 
 
 IN 
 
 OHIO POLITICS. 
 
 Some Plain Truths for Honest People. 
 
 HON. ALLEN O. MYERS. 
 
 I Pickaway. ) 
 
 1895. 
 
 cincinnati, ohio: 
 
 Lyceum Publishing Co., 
 
 P. O. Box 23.
 
 Entered according- to act of Congress, in the year 1895, 
 
 By ALLEN O. MYERS, 
 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
 
 ^ 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 That it may be known to all who choose to read, that the flight 
 
 of time has not destroyed a deep sense of gratitude to those 
 
 who were gracious to a life when beset by darkness, 
 
 and who were friends, when friends were few% 
 
 this work, written for the good of the people, 
 
 and as a protest against a great and 
 
 growing crime, is dedicated to 
 
 Hon. O. E. Niles, Dr. Sam'l Turney, 
 
 Hon. Geo. W. Gregg, 
 
 Citizens of My Native Town, 
 c1rc1.eville, o. 
 
 (iii) 
 
 to o 
 
 Q_ 
 
 A ao.aQ?;R
 
 BOSSES 
 
 and 
 
 BOODLE. 
 
 " TAe control of elections and legislation, by the corrupt 
 use of money ^ more than anything else^ menaces popular 
 government and the public peace ! If these abuses are 
 not speedily checked^ the consequences are likely to be dis- 
 astroiis ! " 
 
 Judge Walter Q. Gresham. 
 
 fiv)
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The preacher has said that " To everything there 
 is a season, and a time to e\-ery pnrpose under the 
 heavens ; a time to keep silence and a time to speak!" 
 This is an opportune time to speak plainly and bold- 
 ly upon the question of " Bosses and Boodle " in Ohio 
 politics. Twice within ten years the people of Ohio 
 have seen their representatives freely purchased; the 
 Legislature has been brazenly debauched ; the people 
 have been betrayed for a price ; law and decency 
 have ,been shamelessly violated and wickedly out- 
 raged ; seats in the United States Senate have been 
 knocked down to the highest bidder, and through 
 the unlawful, profuse, and corrupt use of money, 
 Henry B. Payne, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Calvin S. 
 Brice, of Wall Street, New York City, have secured 
 honors (?) to which they were not entitled. In the 
 case of Henry B. Payne a plea in abatement may be 
 entered. He was not a party to the purchase, but 
 the evils resulting from the debasement of the sworn 
 
 (V)
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 representatives of a free people were equally as great 
 and appalling. 
 
 In the case of Calvin S. Brice there are no miti- 
 gating circumstances. His agents proceeded, under 
 his personal direction, to the most deliberate defiance 
 of the will of a free people, and the most audacious, 
 bold and devilish methods human ingenuity ever 
 devised to acquire an office without the honor. These 
 acts as consummated are plague spots of infamy upon 
 the tarnished name of a great commonwealth. It is 
 the purpose of this work to give some of the details 
 of these crimes, hoping thereby to arouse the people 
 o^ Ohio, and make their repetition dangerous to the 
 perpetrators and participants, if not impossible. 
 
 ALLEN O. MYERS. 
 
 No. 22 Morris St., Cincinnati, O.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTERS. CONTENTS. PAGES 
 
 I. Introductory 7-21 
 
 II. The United States Senate 22-37 
 
 III. "BossEss,"" "Boodie"' and the "Ma- 
 
 chine."' 38-58 
 
 IV. From Buckeye to Boodle 59-89 
 
 V. Approaching the Rapids 90-116 
 
 VI. Over THE Falls — Charles Foster 117-153 
 
 VII. The Ohio Delegation in 1890: Thur.man, 
 
 Panni. and Jewett ■. 154-180 
 
 VIII. Bookwalter's Big Bar'l 181-198 
 
 IX. A Fountain of Golden Grease — Hoadly 
 
 AND Ward — The Payne Purchase 199-242 
 
 X. From Payne to Brice 243-293
 
 THE LIOX IX THE PATH OF THE BOODLERS. 
 (From Cincinnati Porcupine, tSSg.)
 
 BOSSEvS AND BOODLE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODT'CTORY. 
 
 THIS IS BUOULE S GOD. 
 
 " The past thirty years has 
 witnessed the enormous in- 
 crease of individual and cor- 
 porate fortunes in this coun- 
 try, until the millionaire is no 
 longer a rarity ! This fact 
 has seryed to develop the in- 
 solence and arrogance of 
 wealth, until intellectual en- 
 dowments are dwarfed in its 
 sordid pretense, and moral 
 character lies prostrate in its ruthless path ! [Ap- 
 plause.] The power to rule men by intellectual and 
 moral forces, the test of a statesmanship of a former 
 da}-, is fast passing away. While wealth, the un- 
 crowned king, oftentimes lacking both, and coveting 
 neither, arrogantly seeks to rule in a domain where 
 it is scarcely fitted to sway ; its altar has been erected 
 in every community, and its votaries are found in 
 every household. Patriotism has given place to ma- 
 terial expediency, and the love of country is sup- 
 planted by the love of money. An aptness for per-
 
 8 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 centages and the successful manipulation of railroads 
 and stock boards are often regarded as the most es- 
 sential of senatorial equipments." — Speech of Hon. 
 Henry St. George Tucker, in the JVattonal House 
 of Representatives, yuly 12, 18(^2. 
 
 I. In the last few years, the judge upon the bench ; 
 the patriot in the halls of legislation ; the fearless and 
 intelligent preacher, and a courageous and incorrup- 
 tible press, (the truest exponent of public opinion,) 
 have lifted their united voices in warning a slow and 
 slothful people against the great and growing evils 
 of bribery and corruption, which pervade the official 
 life of our government, defeat the ends and purposes 
 of our free institutions and menace their very exist- 
 ence. 
 
 II. Ohio became a state ]\Iarch i, 1803. The first 
 legislature, which convened at Chillicothe, O., on this 
 day, carried into effect the provisions of the new con- 
 stitution adopted in November, 1802, by canvassing 
 the vote cast for state officers, at an election held 
 Jan. II, 1803, and Edward Tiffin was declared elected 
 Governor and was at once inaugurated, succeeding the 
 territorial government headed by Gov. Arthur St. 
 Clair. Thomas Worthington, of Ross, and John Smith, 
 of Hamilton, were elected to represent the state in 
 the United States Senate. 
 
 III. The list below gives the names of those who 
 have been elected to serve, or appointed to fill vacan-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. o 
 
 cies as Senators from Ohio, since the foundation of the 
 state, with the Congresses in which each served and 
 the years of service : 
 
 Thomas Worthington, Ross County, 8th, 9th, 11th to loth 
 Congress; 1S03— 1811; 1813—1815. 
 
 John Smith, HamiUon County, 8th to 10th Congress; 
 1803—1809. 
 
 Edward Tiffin, Ross County, 10th to 11th Congress; 1809 
 — IMl. 
 
 Return J. Meigs, Washington County, 10th to 11th Con- 
 gress ; J 809— 1811. 
 
 Alexander Campbell, Brown County, 11th to 12th Con- 
 gress; 1811-1813. 
 
 Stanley Griswold. Cuj-ahoga County, 11th Congress; 
 1809—1811. 
 
 Jeremiah Morrow. Warren County, 13th to 15th Con- 
 gress; 1383 — 1S17. 
 
 Joseph Kerr, Ro.ss County, 13th Congress; 1813 — 1815. 
 
 Benjamin Ruggles, Belmont Co., 14th to 2-2d Congress ; 
 1815-1833. 
 
 Wni. A. Trimble, Highland Co., 16th, 17th Congress; 
 1819—1823. 
 
 Ethan A. Brown, Hamilton Co., 17th, 18th Congre s ; 
 1821 — 1825. 
 
 William H. Harrison, Hamilton County, 19th, 20th Con- 
 gress ; 1825— 1S29. 
 
 Jacob Burnet, Hamilton County, 20th, 21.st Conp-ress; 
 1827—1831. 
 
 Tho- Ewing, Fairfield County. 22d, 24th to 31st Con- 
 gre.ss; 1831—1833; 1835—1849.
 
 10 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Thomas Morris, Clermont County, 23d to 25th Congress ; 
 1833—1839. 
 
 William Allen, Ross County, 25th to 30th Congress; 
 1837—1849. 
 
 Benjamin Tappan, Jefferson County, 26th to 28th Con- 
 gress; 1839—1841. 
 
 Thomas Corwin, Warren County, 29th to 31st Con- 
 gress; 1845—1851. 
 
 Salmon P. Chase, Hamilton County, 31st to 33d, 37th 
 Congress; 1849—1855; 1861—1863. 
 
 Benjamin F. Wade, Ashtabula County, 32d to 40th Con- 
 gress; 1851—1869. 
 
 George E. Pugh, Hamilton County, 34th. to 36th Con- 
 gress ; 1855 — 1861. 
 
 John Sherman, Richland County, 37th to -15th, 47th to 
 54th Congress ; 1861—1875; 1881—1899. 
 
 Allen G- Thurman, Franklin County, 41st to 46th Con- 
 gress ; 1869—1881. 
 
 Stanle}'^ Matthews, Hamilton County, 45th Congress ; 
 1877—1879. 
 
 George H. Pendleton, Hamilton County, 46th to 48th 
 Congress; 1879—1885. 
 
 Henry B. Payne, Cuyahoga County, 49th, 50th Congress ; 
 1885—1889. 
 
 Calvdn S- Brice, of New York, 51st, 53d, 54th Congress; 
 1891— 1S97. 
 
 In 1809 John Smith resigned and Return J. Meigs, 
 Jr., was chosen to serve during the unexpired term; 
 and he resigned in 18 10 to accept the office of Gover- 
 nor of Ohio. In 1 814 Thomas Worthinj^ton resigned 
 to accept the office of Governor of Ohio, and Joseph
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 11 
 
 Kerr, of Ross, was chosen to serve the unexpired 
 term. In 1822, Wm. A. Trimble, of Highland, died 
 during his term of office, from wounds received at 
 Ft. Erie, in 181 2, and Ethan A. Brown, of Hamilton, 
 was chosen to serve the unexpired term. In 1828, 
 Wm. Henry Harrison, afterwards President, resigned 
 his office as Senator, to accept an appointment as 
 Minister to Colombia, and Judge Jacob Burnet, of 
 Hamilton, was selected to fill the vacancy. In 186 1 
 Salmon P. Chase resigned his seat in the Senate to 
 accept a place in President Lincoln's Cabinet, and 
 John Sherman, of Richland, was chosen to fill the va- 
 cancy. In 1877 John Sherman resigned to accept a 
 place in President Hayes' Cabinet, and Stanley Mat- 
 thews, of Hamilton, was chosen to serve the unex- 
 pired term, and was afterwards made Chief Justice. 
 In 1880, James A. Garfield was chosen United States 
 Senator, but the same year he w^as elected President 
 of the United States and resigned the Senatorship in 
 in January, 1881 ; and John Sherman left the office 
 of Secretary of the Treasury to resume, his seat in the 
 Senate, The old saying : " that few die and none re- 
 sign," is amply proven by the Senators from Ohio. 
 Only one has died while holding the office ; six have 
 resigned, and five of these did so to accept other 
 offices. 
 
 IV. The questions that concerned the people of 
 Ohio for the first half century of the state's existence, 
 were those that related chiefly to a young and grow-
 
 12 BOSSES AND BOODLR 
 
 ing state, such as the payment for public lands ; the war 
 of 1812; the banks and currency; public schools; in- 
 ternal improvements, and the question of slavery, 
 which was always a living, burning issue, until set- 
 tled by the appeal to arms. The constitution of 
 1802 was a weak and unsatisfactory instrument, and 
 one unworthy of a state born under the broad and 
 beneficent principles of the ordinance of 1787. But 
 the arbitrary and military methods of that old, blun- 
 dering and ever unfortunate soldier, Arthur St. Clair, 
 had provoked the opposition and aroused the strongest 
 passions and prejudices of the early settlers and 
 hardy pioneers who had sought the wilderness to find 
 freedom and homes for themselves and their families. 
 Their love of liberty, the spirit of the age and their 
 surroundings caused them to oppose the methods and 
 acts of the semi-military territorial government, and 
 hastened the steps necessary to the formation of a 
 new state government. When empowered by an act 
 of Congress to select representatives to frame a con- 
 stitution in 1802, the nine counties comprising the 
 territory now known as Ohio, sent as representatives 
 to the constitutional convention, men who were bit- 
 terly opposed to the territorial Governor, his policy 
 and acts. They proceeded to frame a constitution, 
 and in thirty days completed a plan of government 
 which provided an executive head without a preroga- 
 tive. The existence of Gov. Arthur St. Clair was a 
 menace that constantly overawed and made afraid.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 13 
 
 There was no thought of the future. They did not 
 seem to realize that they were laying the foundations 
 of a state that would soon rise and stand as a master- 
 miracle in an age of miracles. The powers and pa- 
 tronage that should have been vested in the chief ex- 
 ecutive, were left in the hands of the legislative de- 
 partment, when, as it proved, the abuses and demor- 
 alizing influences of patronage were unlimited, with- 
 out any compensating results, and with no person or 
 officer to hold responsible for the abuse of power and 
 the misuse of patronage. On this subject, Hon. Ru- 
 fus King, in his very excellent history of " the Com- 
 monwealth of Ohio," has this to say : 
 
 " The instrument so adopted, it would be respectful 
 to pass in silence. It was framed by men of little ex- 
 perience in matters of state, and under circumstances 
 unfavorable to much forecast. With such a model 
 of simplicity and strength before them as the national 
 constitution, which had just been formed, the wonder 
 is that some of its ideas were not borrowed. 
 
 " It seems to have been studiously disregarded ; 
 and Ohio, as well as some states further westward, 
 which her emigrant sons with filial regard induced to 
 adopt her example, has suffered ever since from a 
 weak form of government, made up in haste and ap- 
 parently in mortal dread of Governor St. Clair. He 
 declined to be a candidate for the office of Governor, 
 but unluckily not until the convention had adjourned. 
 In after years, Ohio's greatest and wittiest Governor* 
 was wont to say, that, after passing the first week of 
 
 Tom Corwin.
 
 14 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 his administration with nothing to do, he had taken 
 an inqnest of the office, and found that reprieving 
 criminals and appointing notaries were the sole 
 ' flowers of the prerogative.' 
 
 "Briefly stated, it was a government which had no 
 executive ; a half starved, short-lived judiciary, and a 
 lop-sided legislature. This department, o\-erloaded 
 with the appointing power which had been taken 
 away from the executive, became so much depraved 
 in the traffic of offices, that, in an assembly * where 
 there was a tie vote between the Democrats and the 
 Whigs, two ' Free Soilers ' held the balance of power, 
 and were permitted to choose a United States Senator 
 in consideration of giving their votes for every other 
 appointment to the party which aided them in this 
 supreme exploit of jobbery. A new constitution put 
 an end to this, but the shadow of St. Clair still j^re- 
 dominates." 
 
 V. Up to the election of Salmon P. Chase to the 
 United States Senate, in 1848, by the methods 
 charged by Rufus King, by which the patronage at 
 the disposal of the legislature was bartered for two 
 votes for United States Senator, there had been no 
 attempt made and no act charged of a character to 
 corrupt the members of the legislature and defeat the 
 will of the people in the choice of a United States 
 Senator. Even the election of Salmon P. Chase by 
 the methods charged, was not a miscarriage or a de- 
 feat of the will of the people, as a few years later, in 
 1857, in the contest for Governor of Ohio, he defeated 
 
 *The lej^islature of 1848.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 15 
 
 Henry B. Payne in a close and exciting contest. The 
 Constitution of Ohio, adopted in 1851, remedied many 
 of the defects of the state government, and a very 
 radical and commendable change was made in remov- 
 ing the appointing power from the legislature, but 
 the use of Federal patronage by United States officials 
 had become an evil so great as to call forth the 
 severest condemnation from those who were appre- 
 hensive for public weal, and desirous of preserving 
 the purity of our political institutions. In 1835, dur- 
 ing President Jackson's second term, a committee of 
 the Senate, of which Jno. C. Calhoun was chairman, 
 was appointed to investigate the question of " execu- 
 tive patronage," and in a report the following lan- 
 guage was used : " It is easy to see that the certain, 
 direct and inevitable tendency of this practice is to 
 convert the entire body of those in office into corrupt 
 and supple instruments of power, and to raise up a 
 host of hungry, greedy and subservient partisans, 
 ready for every service, however base and corrupt. 
 Were a premium offered for the best means of extend- 
 ing to the utmost the power of patronage ; to destroy 
 the love of country and substitute a spirit of sub- 
 serviency and man-worship; to encourage vice and 
 discourage virtue, and, in a word, to prepare for the 
 subversion of liberty and the establishment of des- 
 potism, no scheme more perfect could be devised." 
 As years passed laws were created to restrict the dis- 
 posal of patronage in the gift of the chief executive
 
 16 BOSSES AND POODLE. 
 
 of oiir composite system of government ; and to pla- 
 cate the persistent opposition of the Senate, the 
 President, in a measnre, ceded to the Senators the 
 control and disposition of the offices in the states. 
 The Civil War of 1861-5 seemed to suspend consti- 
 tution and law, and change the purpose and genius 
 of our institutions. The vast expenditures necessary 
 to maintain our armies and carry on the war, were 
 met by extraordinary taxation on domestic and for- 
 eign industries. This necessitated a ten-fold increase 
 in the number of government officials. A paper 
 money, the issue of bonds, the creation of a highly 
 favored system of banking, gave a tremendous im- 
 pulse to all commercial and industrial energies. 
 Quick-witted men and keen-eyed capital were swift 
 to take advantage of the opportunities presented 
 under the unnatural and changed conditions brought 
 about by the War of the Rebellion. Vulgar men 
 grew rich, public and private morals decayed, monop- 
 olies flourished, syndicates and combinations were 
 born and thrived in the hour of the nation's peril, 
 and the god that Washington Irving styled the Al- 
 mighty Dollar, became the chief deity, enshrined in 
 the temple of liberty and worshiped by the Ameri- 
 ican people. 
 
 VI. It is not until recent years that we have begun 
 to reap the legitimate fruits of the demoralizing con- 
 ditions and legislation that grew up during and out 
 of the war. But it is doubtful if, up to 1884, any
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 17 
 
 man chosen to the United States Senate from Ohio, 
 owed his election to either patronage or money. 
 There is no doubt but that both had been used to in- 
 fluence and control members of the legislature, but 
 only in a few cases. No open charges against any 
 one had been made in the press. But these practices 
 began to lift their brazen heads, from year to year, 
 after the war, until it became necessary to enact laws 
 to restrain them. The existence of such laws, is an 
 evidence of the presence, in the body politic, of the 
 evils of corruption, that needed the wholesome and re- 
 straining check of the law. The following is the law of 
 Ohio upon the subject of bribery, which is classified 
 under the head of "Offenses against Public Justice." 
 
 Sec. 6900. Whoever corruptly gives, promises, or 
 offers to any member or officer of the general assem- 
 bly, or of either house thereof, or to any state judi- 
 cial, or other officer, or any public trustee, or any 
 agent or employe of the state, or of such officer or 
 trustee, either before or after his election, qualifica- 
 tion, appointment, or employment, any valuable 
 thing; or corruptly offers or promises to do any act 
 beneficial to any such person, to influence him with 
 respect to his official duty, or to influence his action, 
 vote, opinion, or judgment, in any matter pending 
 or that might legally come before him, and whoever, 
 being a member of the legislature, or a state, or other 
 officer, or public trustee, or agent or trustee, employe 
 of the state or of such officer, or trustee, either before 
 or after his election, qualification, appointment, or 
 employment, solicits or accepts any such valuable or
 
 18 BOSSES AND BCT^DLE. 
 
 beneficial thing to influence him with respect to his 
 official duty, or to influence his action, vote, opinion, 
 or judgment in any matter pending or that might 
 legally come before him, shall be imprisoned in the 
 penitentiary not more than five years, or fined not 
 more than five hundred dollars, or both. A person 
 convicted under this section, is disqualified from 
 holding any public office or appointment under this 
 state; and if not a state officer, shall be removed 
 from office or employment by order of the court. 
 
 This section is a consolidation of laws that were 
 passed at three different periods, 1830, i860 and 1870. 
 With a single exception no one has ever been con- 
 victed under this act, and no officer has ever been 
 indicted, and charged with accepting bribe by a Court 
 of Justice, although public opinion has laid this 
 crime against public justice at the doors of many. 
 A few years ago, a lobbyist named Watson, was tried 
 and convicted at Columbus, O., for offering a bribe to 
 a member of the legislature. Watson's real offense 
 was in not really giving to the virtuous legislator 
 what he had recklessly offered or promised. He was 
 found guilty because he did not do business on a cash 
 basis. A close examination of the law of Ohio, to 
 prevent bribery, will show, that there is really no law 
 to punish a member of the legislature who receives 
 money to vote for any person for United States Sena- 
 tor. The law does not apply to the caucus system 
 that is in vogue and which governs our politics. It 
 is not an offense under the law for a man to sell his
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 19 
 
 vote in caucus. Of course no member of the lesfis- 
 lature has ever said, or would ever think of taking 
 money in office or anything that would in any way 
 influence his vote in violation of the plain provisions 
 of the law. 
 
 VII. The laws of Ohio cover 3,000 pages ; most of 
 them relate to the transaction of business, the ri^jhts 
 of property and designate the crimes against the 
 same, and the pains and penalties for such offenses. 
 When Moses descended from the awful mountain of 
 Sinai, that flamed, and smoked, and thundered, he 
 brought with him the ten commandments, written 
 with the finger of the living God, on stone tables. 
 The first four of these related to man's duty to his 
 Creator, and the next five fix the duties of man to his 
 family and his fellow man, and forbid certain offenses, 
 and the last and longest is an enactment to prevent 
 the desire to acquire anything of value that is the 
 property of another. In their recent flight from 
 Egypt, the Hebrews had despoiled their masters of all 
 they could carry, which was not much, and in the 
 sufTering that beset this people, in their wanderings, 
 the many who had little or nothing were liable to 
 want and take what the few had. In their condition 
 of poverty, there were no offices to sell, and nothing 
 to buy them with, and hence there was no necessity 
 for a law against boodle and boodlers, the greatest of 
 crimes in a popular government. 
 
 When Solon, the law-giver, was devising a form of
 
 20 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 government and a code of laws for Athens, he called to 
 his assistance as counselors, the wise men and philoso- 
 phers of surrounding cities. Among these was Ana- 
 chorsis, a Scythian prince, famous for temper- 
 ance, justice and knowledge, who ranked as one oi 
 the seven wise men of his age. He was a guest 
 in Solon's house, and when he learned of some 
 of the measures Solon proposed, he laughed at the 
 absurdity of Solon in imagining that the avarice and 
 injustice of the Athenians could be restrained by 
 written laws, which in all respects resembled spider's 
 webs, and would, like them, only hold and entangle 
 the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful eas- 
 ily broke them. The history of Athens shows, that 
 the observations of the Scythian were based on an 
 ample knowledge of the inherent vices and weak- 
 nesses of mankind. 
 
 Every government that has been of enough impor- 
 tance to earn a tombstone in the graveyard of the 
 past; every civilization that has flamed on the hori- 
 zon of time, like a bright exhalation, with every 
 promise of being permanent, and has gone out in 
 eternal darkness, leaves the same epitaph and the 
 same lamentation of failure. No race of men have 
 yet proven strong enough to resist the corrupt influ- 
 ences of wealth. The wit of man, guided by the 
 disasters that stand like mile posts along the prog- 
 ress of the race, has not been able to devise a code 
 of laws to restrain their own cupidity and to pro-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 21 
 
 tect society from the debauching influences of cor- 
 rupt and designing men of great wealth, who are 
 determined to purchase honors and place, that their 
 talents, occupations and character prevent them from 
 earning and unfit them to hold. We brand the thief 
 as a criminal ; imprison him and clothe him in stripes 
 as an enemy to society and property; but we make 
 social saints out of our millionaires, who purchase 
 seats in the United States Senate, and ostracize all 
 who dare question their title to the purchase.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 
 
 To hold a place 
 In a council which was once esteemed an honor 
 And a reward for virtue, hath quite lost 
 Lustre and reputation, and is made 
 A mercenary purchase. 
 
 Massinger' s Bondiuan. 
 
 'here is an old print that represents an his- 
 toric scene, which marks the birth of 
 American Institutions. A number of state- 
 ly gentlemen of sombre mien, in black silk 
 stockings and powdered queue, have stood 
 up to have their pictures taken before signing the 
 Declaration of Independence. Each looks as though 
 he had put on his funeral clothes before signing his 
 own death warrant. 
 
 II. When the representatives of the colonies found 
 war confronting them, they met to provide methods 
 and means to oppose the power of the mighty empire 
 of Great Britain. There was no turning aside or 
 looking back. It was success or death. Having 
 made up their minds to sacrifice all but honor, and 
 being willing to "give their lives, their fortunes and 
 their sacred honors" to a cause they believed just, 
 they broke forth into that psalm of freedom, the 
 Declaration of Independence. The chords in this 
 hymn of Liberty, represent the divine expression of 
 the aspirations of the human heart, from the birth 
 
 (22)
 
 BOSSES AND BOODI^K. 23 
 
 of governments and oppression. As a national poem, 
 it has no equal ; as a song it will soothe the down- 
 trodden and oppressed, through the ages, until other 
 wants and needs of the human heart shall call forth 
 a new and a better one. But while the Declaration 
 of Independence served as a battle-hymn to win our 
 freedom ; when the Revolution was over, its mission 
 was ended. The men who drafted it, met in 1787, 
 to frame a form of government for the new-born 
 nation. A constitution was drafted, but not on the 
 principles laid down in the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. They who had declared "that all men were 
 created free and equal," on the eve of an uncertain 
 war, found other difficulties that beset an impover- 
 ished people, and proceeded to legislate for the selfish 
 interests of the colonies. They found their men, 
 black men and red men and white men, and they 
 proceeded to legislate for each. In vain they looked 
 along the shore of time, and scanned the wrecks of 
 governments and civilizations for a model upon which 
 to build their New Ship of State. They found none. 
 They builded, armed and erected a government, of a 
 composite character, unlike any that had ever existed 
 before. When Daniel Webster was proclaiming in 
 stately sentences, the wisdom of our fathers in framing 
 the constitution, the wisest measure that the wisdom 
 of man had ever devised, slaves were selling in the 
 open market at $1200 per head in mixed lots. Wen- 
 dell Pliillips was denouncing Ins Senator, as a clown
 
 24- BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 and a coward, and branding the federal constitution 
 as a compromise and a crime. It was not until the 
 people and the constitution were baptized in the 
 blood of a civil war, that the instrument was purged 
 of its blots and our boasted free institutions in a 
 measure ceased to be a repudiation of the principles 
 of the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776, 
 our fathers declared that " government derives its- 
 just power from the consent of the governed," and 
 eleven years afterward they proceeded to adopt a 
 constitution, in which the people are directly de- 
 prived of all voice, in the selection of their servants 
 in three branches of the Federal Government. The 
 people have no voice in the choice of a President, of 
 judicial officers, who are appointed for life, or in the 
 selection of United States Senators. 
 
 III. The people — the masses — seemed to be a 
 vulgar herd, unworthy of being trusted, and incapa- 
 ble of understanding their rights and duties in the 
 government about to be created. The checks, so 
 called, upon the people and to restrain the excesses of 
 the mob, constitute the weaknesses of our constitu- 
 tion and our form of government. The great and ever 
 present danger that threatens American institutions 
 to-day, and will menace and destroy if not thwarted 
 by wise changes, is the uncurbed power and excesses 
 of wealth in a thousand forms. Every popular gov- 
 ernment that has ever lived and perished, has been 
 destroyed by the corrupt and pernicious influences of
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 25 
 
 enormous wealth. While the founders of our govern- 
 ment were ever on the alert to check the excesses of 
 the mob, they seemed to overlook what experience 
 has too painfully and repeatedly taught, that prop- 
 erty — money, in the hands of dishonest and design- 
 ing men, are the greatest dangers to fear. Already 
 the dollar mark is over us all. Money is the end of 
 our existence. It is the God we worship. Our gov- 
 ernment is far from being a representative one. It 
 is ruled by money. Our honors are for sale to the 
 highest bidder. Not at public auction, which would 
 have the merit of increasing prices, by open competi- 
 tion, but by private sale. The people are not for sale. 
 The people do not sell, but they are sold. The peo- 
 ple are busy. Too busy to give their time and atten- 
 tion to public affairs. But in all communities, and 
 in all sections, there is about one person in one hun- 
 dred, who is willing to give his time, his talent, and 
 his labors, for the offices and for the money, and thus 
 save the people a great deal of time, labor and 
 money. It is this condition of affairs that makes 
 Bosses a possibility and Boodle a dominant power in 
 our politics. When the people are aroused, as they 
 will be by some dire calamity or some great and open 
 scandal, the constitution and laws will be changed, 
 and "Bosses and Boodle," as the governing and con- 
 trolling power in our political system will pass away, 
 IV. In the face of present conditions, it is inter- 
 esting and instructive to study the proceedings of the
 
 26 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 constitutional convention, and note the conflicting 
 views and interests, through which the measure had 
 to run before a conclusion was reached, that gave us 
 the body known as the United States Senate. Two 
 sets of opposing views were developed and con- 
 tended for the mastery in the convention. One party, 
 headed by Alexander Hamilton, favored a strong mon- 
 archical government, in all the term implies; and the 
 other party favored a national government, with dele- 
 gated and restricted bounds, strong enough to protect 
 commerce and trade, and assert its national author- 
 ity and character, at home and abroad, but reserving 
 all other powers to the states and the people. The 
 creation of the Senate was the most difficult problem 
 the convention had to deal with, and the result, as in 
 other cases, was a compromise of the most danger- 
 ous and doubtful character. Prof. J. W. Andrews, in 
 his work on the constitution, quotes the section 
 relating to the Senate and comments as follows : 
 
 Sec. 3, Clause i . — The' Senate of the United States 
 shall be composed of two Senators from each state, 
 chosen by the legislature thereof for six years, and 
 each Senator shall have one vote. 
 
 ''In the convention that framed the constitution 
 there was a great difference of opinion as to the mode 
 of electing Senators, as to their term of service, and 
 as to the rule of suffrage. Some were in favor of a 
 nomination by the state legislatures, and an election 
 by the United wStates House of Representatives, others 
 would have the President appoint from those nom-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 27 
 
 inated by the state legislatures ; others would have 
 them chosen by the House of Representatives; and 
 others still proposed an election by the people. 
 
 "As to the term of office, some advocated a life 
 tenure, or during good behavior; some, a term of 
 nine years ; others, seven ; others, six ; and others, 
 four. 
 
 "The question of voting was the most difficult, as 
 in the Continental Congress, the states were on an 
 equality as to their votes, the smaller states wished 
 the same rule to hold under the Constitution, while 
 the larger states claimed that an equality of votes in 
 either House would be unjust. The smaller states 
 finally conceded that in the House of Representatives 
 the number of members should be in proportion to 
 population; but they insisted that in the Senate the 
 states should be equal. But the larger states were 
 tenacious as to the Senate as well as the House, and 
 the committee of the whole reported, ' That the right 
 of suffrage in the second branch of the national lesfis- 
 lature ought to be according to the rule established 
 for the first.' This report was adopted by the con- 
 vention, but the matter was subsequently referred to 
 a committee of one from each state, which reported 
 the rule as it now stands. The final vote was: "Af- 
 firmative — Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Mary- 
 land, North Carolina — 5. Negative — Virginia, Penn- 
 sylvania, South Carolina, Georgia — 4. Massachu- 
 setts, divided." So that this greatest and most diffi- 
 cult of all the important questions which the conven- 
 tion was called upon to solve, was carried by less 
 than a majority of the states represented, and by the 
 concurrence of less than one-third of the represented 
 population.
 
 28 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 " Mr. Madison strongly opposed the principle finally 
 adopted. In his letter to Mr. Sparks he said, the 
 Gordian knot of the convention was the question be- 
 tween the larger and smaller states as to the rule of 
 voting in the Senate ; the latter claiming, the former 
 opposing the rule of equality. 
 
 " By the articles of confederation, each state might 
 send not more than seven delegates to Congress, nor 
 less than two. They were elected annually, but no 
 one could sit more than three years in six. The 
 states could recall their delegates at any time. Under 
 the constitution we see that each state can send two 
 Senators, and as many Representatives as her popu- 
 lation entitles her to ; that there is nothing to pre- 
 vent a Senator or Representative from being returned 
 as often as his constituents desire ; and that when a 
 Senator or Representative has been elected, the state 
 has no power to recall him. 
 
 "Though all the states have the same number of 
 Senators, and each Senator has one vote, that is not 
 the same as voting by states, as was done in the Con- 
 tinental Congress. If both the Senators of a state 
 are present, and vote on opposite sides of a question, 
 their votes neutralize each other, as under the con- 
 federation. But if only one of two delegates from a 
 state was present, in the Continental Congress, his 
 vote could not be counted ; imder the present consti- 
 tution the vote of a Senator is counted whether his 
 colleague is present or not. 
 
 "The constitution does not prescribe the precise 
 method in which the legislature of a state shall choose 
 the Senators, whether by the house voting in joint 
 assembly, or by voting separately. It is not properly 
 an act of legislation, and the governor of a state has
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 29 
 
 no participation in it, as in some states he has in or- 
 dinary legislation. 
 
 "In 1866 Congress passed an 'Act to regulate the 
 times and manner of holding elections for Senators in 
 Congress.' It provides that the legislature of each 
 state which shall be chosen next preceding the expira- 
 tion of the time for which any Senator was elected, 
 shall, on the second Tuesday after the meeting and 
 organization thereof, proceed to elect a Senator as 
 follows : 
 
 "Each house shall name (propose by vote) a person 
 for Senator by a viva voce vote. The next day at 
 noon the two houses shall meet in joint assembly, 
 and if the same person shall have received a majority 
 of all the votes in each house, he shall be declared 
 duly elected. 
 
 "If no person has received such majorities, the joint 
 assembly shall choose by a viva voce vote; and who- 
 ever shall receive a majority of all the votes cast, a 
 majority of each house being present, shall be de- 
 clared elected. 
 
 "If no person is elected the first day, the joint as- 
 sembly shall convene each day, at twelve o'clock, and 
 take at least one vote each day during the session, or 
 until a Senator is elected. 
 
 " If a vacancy exists when the legislature convenes, 
 the same steps shall be taken ; and if a vacancy oc- 
 curs during the session of the legislature, they shall 
 proceed to elect on the second Tuesday after they 
 have had notice of the vacancy." 
 
 V. A number of different methods were proposed 
 to the convention. Hon. Henry St. George Tucker, 
 says on this branch of the subject in a speech favor-
 
 30 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ing an amendment to the Federal Constitution, pro- 
 viding for an election of United States Senators by 
 the people: 
 
 "Mr. Edmund Randolph, Mr. Charles Pinckney, of 
 of South Carolina, Mr. Alexander Hamilton, Mr. 
 Gerry, and Mr. Wilson, of Pennsylvania, all proposed 
 different methods for the election of Senators. Mr. 
 Randolph proposed in his plan ' that members of the 
 second branch [the Senate] of the National Legisla- 
 ture ought to be elected by those of the first, out of a 
 proper number of persons nominated by the indi- 
 vidual legislature.' Mr. Pinckney proposed that the 
 Senate should be chosen by the House of Represen- 
 tatives; and in the draft submitted by Mr. Hamilton 
 it was proposed to elect Senators to hold during good 
 behavior, their election to be made by electors chosen 
 by the people. 
 
 "The plans of Mr. Randolph, Mr. Hamilton and 
 Mr. Pinckney were very similar in many respects. 
 They all aimed at taking the election of Senators as 
 far away from the people as it was possible to do, 
 while Mr. Gerry proposed that the Senators should 
 be appointed by the executives of the several States, 
 and Mr. Wilson, of Pennsylvania, and Mr. George 
 Mason, of Virginia, advocated the adoption of tlie 
 principle for which we contend to-day, the election 
 of Senators by the people. On Mr. Wilson's prop- 
 osition to elect by the people ten states voted 'nay,' 
 and Pennsylvania alone voted ' yea,' and on the 
 proposition to elect by the Legislatures two states 
 only voted ' nay,' Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
 
 "It is evident that those who believed in the theo- 
 ries of Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Randolph, and Mr. Pinck-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 31 
 
 ney, as submitted by them, desired that the Senate 
 of the United States should be an oligarchy, an 
 aristocratic oligarchy, some even going to the extent 
 of advocating their appointment or selection for life." 
 
 Mr. Gerry says at another time, and it is an inter- 
 esting point as bearing upon this question : 
 
 '' The commercial and moneyed interest would be 
 more secure in the hands of the State Legislatures 
 than of the people at large. The former have more 
 sense of character and will be restrained by that 
 from injustice. The people are for paper money 
 when the Legislatures are against it. In jMassachu- 
 setts the county conventions had declared a wish for 
 a depreciating paper that would sink itself. Besides 
 in some States there are two branches in the Legis- 
 lature, one of which is somewhat aristocratic. There 
 would, therefore, be so far a better chance of refine- 
 ment in the choice." 
 
 Mr. Pinckney thought — 
 
 " That the second branch ought to be permanent 
 and independent, and that the members of it would 
 be rendered more so by receiving their appointments 
 from the State Legislatures." 
 
 Mr. Dickinson " had two reasons for his motion," 
 which was to elect by Legislature: 
 
 " First, because the sense of the States would be 
 better collected through their governments immedi- 
 ately from the people at large ; secondly, because he 
 wished the Senate to consist of the most distin- 
 guished characters, distinguished for their rank in 
 life and their weight of property, and bearing as 
 strong a likeness to the British House of Lords as 
 was possible ; " and he thought " such characters
 
 32 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 more likely to be selected by the State Legislatures 
 than in any other mode." 
 
 Mr. Wilson, of Pennsylvania, held the view that — 
 " If we are to establish a national government, that 
 government ought to flow from the people at large. 
 If one branch of it should be chosen by the Legisla- 
 tures and the other by the people, the two branches 
 would rest on different foundations and dissensions 
 will naturally arise between them. He wished the 
 Senate to be elected by the people as well as the 
 other branch." 
 
 Mr. Morris thought that— 
 
 " The second branch ought to be composed of men 
 of great and established property, an aristocracy. 
 Men who from pride will support consistency and 
 permanency, and to make them completely inde- 
 pendent they must be chosen for life, or they will be 
 a useless body. Such an aristocratic body will keep 
 down the turbulency of democracy; but if you elect 
 them for a shorter period they will be only a name, 
 and we had better be without them. Thus consti- 
 tuted, I hope they will show us the might of aristoc- 
 racy. History proves, I admit, that the men of large 
 property will uniformly endeavor to establish tyranny. 
 How, then, shall we ward off this evil ? Give them 
 the second branch, and you secure their weight for 
 the public good." 
 
 That is, give the money power what it asks, and 
 it will be satisfied. So will the highway robber. 
 
 I ask attention to the views of a very distinguished 
 Virginian in that convention, no less a person than 
 George Mason, views expressed by him in the Fed-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 33 
 
 eral convention, and afterwards in the Virginia con- 
 vention. 
 
 "The Senators are chosen for six years; they are 
 not recallable for these six years and are re-eligible 
 at the end of the six years. It stands on a very 
 different ground from the Confederation. By that 
 svstem they were only elected for one year, might be 
 recalled, and were incapable of re-election. But 
 in the new Constitution instead of being elected 
 for one, they are chosen for six years. They can not 
 be recalled in all that time for any misconduct; and 
 at the end of that long term may again be elected. 
 What will be the operation of this?" 
 
 Now mark his prediction: 
 
 "Is it not probable that these gentlemen who will 
 be elected Senators, will fix themselves in the Federal 
 town, and become citizens of that town more than 
 of our state? The\ will purchase a good seat in or 
 near the town and become inhabitants of that place. 
 Will it not be then in the power of the Senate to 
 worry the House of Representatives into anything? 
 They will be a continually existing body. They will 
 exercise those machinations and contrivances which 
 the many have always to fear from the few. The 
 House of Representatives is the only check on the 
 Senate, with their enormous powers. But by that 
 clause you give them the power of worrying the 
 House of Representatives into a compliance with any 
 measure." 
 
 " The Senators living on the spot will feel no incon- 
 venience from long sessions, as they will vote them- 
 selves handsome pay without incurring any additional 
 expense."
 
 34 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 "Your representatives are on a different ground,' 
 from their shorter continuance in office. The gentle- 
 men from Georgia are six or seven hundred miles 
 from home and wish to go home. The Senate, tak- 
 ing advantage of this by stopping the other House 
 from adjourning, may worry them into anything. 
 These are my views, and I think the provision not 
 consistent with the usual parliamentary modes." 
 
 These extracts develop the fact that there were many 
 in the convention who sought to create in the Senate 
 an aristocratic oligarchy amenable to no power and 
 answerable to no authority. 
 
 VI. But there is an element more dangerous to the 
 liberties of the people than that of individual wealth 
 in its influence on the election of Senators. The won- 
 derful growth of our country has been greatly accel- 
 erated by the combinations of wealth in corporate 
 forms. These in their proper spheres are to be en- 
 couraged rather than condemned; but when they 
 leave their legitimate fields of operation and seek to 
 control, against the interests of the people, the legis- 
 lation of the country, whether they be banks or rail- 
 roads, corporations or trusts, or combines, they will 
 meet with the indignant protests of all true friends 
 of the people. The number of employes in their 
 control, the concentration of great wealth in their 
 treasuries, and the "parliamentary favors" which they 
 are able and most willing to bestow, render their 
 advances most enticing and their approaches most 
 insinuating. Their interests are guarded by the
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 35 
 
 ablest men of each community, and, if public rumor 
 be true, they can lay their hands on representatives of 
 the people in many of the Legislatures in the land 
 and claim them as their own. 
 
 If the people dare seek relief from their exactions 
 they are met by the agents of the corporations, who 
 attempt to thwart them at every step. All that 
 shrewdness, audacity, and money can suggest is read- 
 ily at their command. The Legislature is invaded, 
 and the rights of the people give place to the exac- 
 tions of corporate power ; while he who can serve the 
 corporations by his control of a Legislature, by 
 intrigue, artifice, or persuasion, against the demands 
 of the people, is regarded in modern days as "more 
 terrible than any army with banners," and as fully 
 equipped himself for service in the Senate, where in 
 that enlarged field his powers can be utilized for the 
 benefit of the corporations he serves. 
 
 The standard for the exalted position of United 
 States Senator is thus debased by corporate influence. 
 The wire-puller and the intriguer are often preferred 
 to the statesman and the patriot , and the proud title 
 of United States Senator has lost much of its power 
 in the suspicions which lurk in the public mind as 
 to the mode, condition, and requirements of their 
 selection. 
 
 VIL Of the eighty-eight Senators of the last Sen- 
 ate, who sat and dallied in the midst of commercial 
 misery and industrial distress, that the profits of a
 
 36 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 market, responsive to their practical moods, might 
 recupe their coffers for moneys expended in pnr- 
 chasing a seat in the Senate ; a $ mark may safe- 
 ly be set opposite the names of one-fourth of the 
 members, as indicating the number that now hold 
 seats and owe their election solely to the corrupt 
 use of money. The number is growing! The cor- 
 ruption increases. As it stands, the United States 
 Senate is the representative in our system of gov- 
 ernment, of Bosses and Boodle. It seems to be 
 an unwritten law of the body, that no matter how 
 serious the charges of corrupt methods used by a 
 Senator or his agents to purchase a seat, the title 
 must not be questioned, and the methods and ugly 
 details of the rascality must not be laid bare. That 
 fraud called "senatorial courtesy" acts as a triple- 
 plated armor to turn aside the most solid truths that 
 crash against this obdurate body and fall harmless. 
 Several attempts have been made to have Congress 
 endorse an amendment to the constitution, providing 
 for an election of Senators by the people. These 
 worthy and commendable attempts to purge the 
 dross from the Senate in the furnace of popular ap- 
 proval, have all perished and found a burial in the 
 senatorial graveyard, without the formality of a funeral 
 or the mock reverence that could conceal the pur- 
 pose in the hypocrisy of an epitaph. The silence of 
 the Senate in this matter is an evidence of conscious 
 guilt, and a sign that shame is not dead. It is a
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 37 
 
 matter of congratulation that since the advent of 
 boodlers in the United States Senate, no man in all 
 this broad land, of any character and standing, has 
 been found who dared brave public ridicule by deny- 
 ing the existence of these practices, and no one has 
 presumed to attempt a defense of these methods. It 
 shows that the public conscience is not dead. The 
 people are honest, and the guilty ones dread the 
 dawn of that day when both shall be aroused.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 "bosses," "boodle" and the "machine." 
 
 ^E are highwaymen. We stop stages and 
 carriages on the road, with masks on, and 
 kill the people and take their watches and 
 money." 
 
 "Must we always kill the people?" 
 "Oh, certainly. It's best. Some author- 
 ities think different, but mostly it's con- 
 sidered best to kill them. Except some that you 
 bring to the cave here and keep them till they're 
 ransomed." 
 
 "Ransomed? What's that?" 
 
 "I don't know. But that's what they do. I've 
 seen it in books ; and so, of course, that's what we've 
 got to do." 
 
 " But how can we do it if we don't know what it is?" 
 
 "Why, blame it all, we've got to do it. Don't I tell 
 
 you it's in the books? Do you want to go to doing 
 
 different from what's in the books, and get things all 
 
 muddled up?" 
 
 "Oh, that's all very fine to say, Tom Sawyer, but 
 how in the nation are these fellows going to be ran- 
 somed if we don't know how to do it to them? 
 That's the thing I want to get at. Now what do you 
 reckon it is?" 
 
 "Well, I don't know. But per'aps if we keep them 
 till they're ransomed, it means that we keep them 
 till they're dead." 
 
 (38 »
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 39 
 
 "Now, that's something like. That'll answer. 
 Why couldn't you said that before? We'll keep them 
 till they're ransomed to death and a bothersome lot 
 they'll be, too, eating up everything and always try- 
 ing to get loose." 
 
 " How you talk, Ben Rogers. How can they get 
 loose when there's a guard over them, ready to shoot 
 them down if they move a peg?" 
 
 "A guard! Well, that is good. So somebody's got 
 to set up all night and never get any sleep, just so as 
 to watch them. I think that's foolishness. Why 
 can't a body take a club and ransomed them as soon 
 they get here?" 
 
 " Because it ain't in the books so — that's why. 
 Now, Ben Rogers, do you want to do things regular, 
 or don't you? — that's the idea. Don't you reckon 
 that the people that made the books knows what's 
 the correct thing to do? Do you reckon you can 
 learn 'em anything? Not by a good deal. No, sir, 
 we'll just go on and ransomed them in the regular 
 way. ' ' — Huckleberry Fin n . 
 
 I. The words, "Bosses," "Boodle" and "Machine," 
 are not new, but these terms, as applied to our poli- 
 tics, are of recent origin, and the need of such words 
 grew out of the existing conditions in our political 
 affairs. The word Boss, is a United States word, 
 belonging solely to our language. It was taken from 
 an old Dutch word. Baas, meaning a master work- 
 man or superintendent. As used in connection with 
 politics, it means one who controls and directs a part 
 or all of the machinery in politics. There are all 
 kinds, grades, sizes, prices and styles of political
 
 40 BOSSES AND BOODLE 
 
 bosses; from the little fellow who controls his pre- 
 cinct, in city, town or county, to those big fellows who 
 manipulate parties in state and nation. 
 
 II. The word "boodle," is a new one. It does not 
 appear in any of the old dictionaries. Its origin is 
 only explained by the most recent works. The word 
 was first used by the press in 1884-5. ^^ ^^^ prob- 
 ably taken from the word " caboodle," or " capoodle," 
 as used in some sections, and meaning an entire lot. 
 It originated and grew out of the wholesale purchase 
 of the Ohio Legislature, in 1884-5, ^y which Henry 
 B. Payne secured his seat in the United States Senate. 
 The word " bribery," would not cover a wholesale 
 transaction. Bribery is a retail word, not meant to 
 cover large transactions and a gigantic piece of ras- 
 cality, and the American mind, quick to coin words 
 to meet emergencies, gave us the word " boodle." 
 This word, as used now, means money raised to be 
 used for dishonest and corrupt purposes in politics. 
 The "bosses" and "boodle" combined, make the 
 "machine," which is the men and methods used to ac- 
 complish certain results inside of party organizations. 
 The objects and purposes ot the political "machine" 
 are always selfish. The " machine " is a political trusty 
 organized to benefit one man or a few, and to defeat an 
 honest expression of the rank and file of a party, 
 and to defy and set at naught the will of the people. 
 It is a method resorted to by wealthy, corrupt and 
 designing men, to secure office, power and honors^
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 41 
 
 which would be denied them, did they make a frank 
 avowal of their purposes and an open appeal to the 
 people. It is not possible to buy all the people or 
 even a majority. To openly attempt it, would be 
 disastrous to Bosses and Boodlers. The lion of pub- 
 lic indignation must not be aroused, for if it is, the occu- 
 pation of the Bosses would be gone, and the Bosses 
 would go with it. For these reasons the places and 
 purposes of the party Bosses are not openly avowed, 
 but they are hidden and masked behind fair promises, 
 and fierce declarations of party principles and fealty. 
 When the direst deviltry is to be perpetrated^ 
 the greatest cunning is resorted to, to dissemble and 
 deceive. IMen are selected for their character, ability 
 and prominence to give utterance to "key notes," and 
 to guide the deliberations, while unwary and unsus- 
 pecting lambs are led to the precipice and pushed 
 over, in a drove. Politics under our system presents 
 more opportunities for developing and exercising the 
 innate cussedness of man, than any system that has 
 ever been devised. It is a rich field, full of endless 
 combinations and surprises, for a display of all the 
 ingenuity that the human intellect is capable of. 
 There is a fascination about the turmoil and pursuit 
 of politics, that cannot be described. There are 
 temptations in the flowery fields of politics that few 
 are able to resist. There is a demoralization that is 
 universal, and which taints all that touch the game. 
 The world to the end may applaud the brilliant and
 
 42 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 successful particijDants, but they soon forget the 
 many who fall by the wayside, and these, whose rem- 
 nant of conscience survives the ordeal, never forgive 
 themselves for their loss of self-respect. If this is a 
 plain and fair statement of political organizations 
 and politicians, as they exist to-day and as we see 
 them ; it may be well to make some simple and ele- 
 mental statements about party organizations, that the 
 reader may be prepared to understand and believe 
 what is to follow. 
 
 III. A history of the evolution of political organi- 
 zations, under our form of government, is not neces- 
 sary for the purposes of this work. At present we 
 have two great political organizations, that represent 
 the antagonistic forces, that keep our institutions in 
 a healthy state of activity. What one of the great 
 parties favors the other opposes, but both have one 
 object in common, /. e,^ both want the offices, and 
 to secure these, seems to be the chief object of the 
 present organizations. Around the main tents of the 
 great political circuses, are a number of side shows, 
 in which the mastodon's tooth, the bearded lady, the 
 india-rubber man and other freaks and relics are dis- 
 played. Our government is an anomaly among the 
 governments of the earth ; inasmuch at it is a gov- 
 ernment based upon the popular will, and it is a gov- 
 ernment of the minority, as a majority of the people 
 have never supported any party or endorsed any prin- 
 ciple advocated except the preservation of the Union.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 43 
 
 Notwithstanding the great distrust of the people, 
 among the authors of our constitution and the 
 founders of the government, the tendency from the 
 first has been steadily toward the recognition of the 
 rights of the individual in our political and social 
 fabric. In his masterly work on "Social Evolution,'* 
 Benjamin Kidd says: 
 
 "The progress tow^ards individual liberty, which is 
 known to the student of jurisprudence as the move- 
 ment from status to contract, and which has thus, as 
 it w^ere, become registered in our laws, has a deeper 
 meaning than at first sight appears. Closely regard- 
 ing, as a whole, the process of change which has 
 been going on in our western civilization, the evolu- 
 tionist begins to perceive that it essentially consists 
 in the slow breaking-up of that military type of so- 
 ciety which reached its highest development in, 
 although it did not disappear with, the Roman Em- 
 pire. Throughout the history of the western people 
 there is one central fact which underlies all the 
 shifting scenes which move across the pages of the 
 historian. The political history of the centuries so 
 far may be summed up in a single sentence — it is the 
 story of the political and the social enfranchisement 
 of the masses of the people hitherto universally 
 excluded from participation in the rivalry of exist- 
 ence on terms of equality. This change, it is seen, 
 is being accomplished against the most prolonged 
 and determined resistance at many points, and under 
 innumerable forms, of the power-holding classes, which 
 obtained, under an earlier constitution of society, the 
 influence which they have hitherto, to a large extent, 
 although in gradually diminishing measure, contin-
 
 44 BOSSEvS AND BOODLE- 
 
 ued to enjoy. The point at which the process tends 
 to cuhninate is a condition of society in which the 
 whole mass of the exchided people will be at last 
 brought into the rivalry of existence on a footing of 
 equality of opportunity. 
 
 "The steps in this process have been slow, to a 
 degree, but the development has never been inter- 
 rupted, and it probably will not be until it has 
 reached that point up to which it has always been 
 the inherent tendency of the principle of our civili- 
 zation to carry it. 
 
 "The first great stage in the advance was accom- 
 plished when slavery, for the first time in history, 
 became extinct in Europe somewhere about the four- 
 teenth century. From this point onward the devel- 
 opment has continued under many forms amongst 
 the people included in our civilization — locally accel- 
 erated or retarded by various causes, but always in 
 progress. 
 
 "Amongst all the Western people there has been a 
 slow but sure restriction of the absolute power pos- 
 sessed under military rule by the head of the state. 
 The gradual decay of feudalism has been accom- 
 panied by the transfer of a large part of the rights, 
 considerably modified, of the feudal lord to the land- 
 owning, and later to the capitalist classes which suc- 
 ceeded them. But we find these rights undergoing 
 a continuous process of restriction, as the classes 
 which inherit them have been compelled to extend 
 political power in ever increasing measure to those 
 immediately below. As the rights and powers of the 
 upper classes have been gradually curtailed, the 
 great slowly formed middle class has, in its turn, 
 found itself confronted with the same developmental
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 'tO 
 
 tendency. Wider and wider the circle of political 
 influence has gradually extended. Whether the prog- 
 ress has been made irregularly amid the throes of 
 revolution, or more regularly in the orderly course of 
 continuous legislative enactment, it has never ceased. 
 The nineteenth century alone has witnessed an enor- 
 mous extension of political power to the masses 
 amongst most of the advanced people included in 
 our civilization. In England the list of measures, 
 aiming either directly or indirectly at the emancipa- 
 tion and the raising of the lower classes of people, 
 that have been placed on the statute book in the life- 
 time of even the present generation, is an imposing 
 one, and it continues yearly to be added to. Last of 
 all it may be perceived that in our own day, amid 
 all the conflict of rival parties, and all the noise and 
 exaggeration of heated combatants, we are definitely 
 entering on a stage when the advancing party is 
 coming to set clearly before it, as the object of 
 endeavor, the ideal of a state of society in which 
 there shall be at last no law-protected, power-holding 
 class on the one side, and no excluded and disinher- 
 ited masses on the other — a stage in which, for a long 
 period to come, legislation will aim at securing to all 
 the members of the community the right to be 
 admitted to the rivalry of life, as far as possible, on 
 a footing of equality of opportunity." 
 
 IV. This law, or tendency, does not seem to hold 
 good as to political organizations ! Here the disposition 
 is to distrust the people — the masses — and concen- 
 trate all control and power in the hands of the 
 bosses. The " refining " process, such as our fathers 
 thought necessary in selecting ofl&cers, has been per-
 
 46 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 fected, and is one of the most potent factors in a 
 perfect political machine ! Laws have been passed 
 and perfected nntil the citizen can cast his vote in 
 peace and safety and go to bed with a reasonable 
 hope of having it counted, but outside of the mere 
 matter of voting, as a rule, he has no voice, no vote 
 and no influence in shaping the policy and selecting 
 the nominees of his party. This is all done for him 
 by the Boss, through the aid of Boodle and the Ma- 
 chinery. A partisan is not expected to think ! A day 
 is fixed for a party primary. It is held under the law, 
 and conducted by the regular election officers. Every 
 member of the organization, who is willing to abide 
 the result, may vote ! Delegates are chosen to a 
 state or county convention. If to a state conven- 
 tion, these delegates select men to prepare a platform 
 of principles. They nominate a ticket. They select 
 members of an organization by congressional dis- 
 tricts which is called a central committee. This 
 committee selects an executive or campaign com- 
 mittee. 
 
 In a county convention the same process is gone 
 through with on a smaller scale. As a rule, the 
 members of a party have no voice in choosing can- 
 didates, or naming members of the various commit- 
 tees that present principles and provide the issues 
 and conduct the campaign. The comimittees are the 
 fly-wheel of the machine, and these the Boss, by the 
 use of patronage and Boodle, always controls ! To
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 47 
 
 permit them to be chosen by the people would 
 jeopardize success and defeat the nicely prepared 
 plans of the " Bosses," We have county committees, 
 senatorial committees, congressional committees, and 
 state committees, all chosen by delegates, which the 
 people are permitted to \-ote for, and these have 
 general powers and similar duties. They fix the 
 time and place of meeting, and arrange the basis of 
 representation to the various conventions, and this is 
 all done to suit the pleasure and convenience of the 
 Bosses, and not those of the people. There is one 
 other duty, which custom has made a committeeman 
 believe is his sole and sovereign right, and that is to 
 receive and disburse the "Boodle" in his district. 
 He is in touch with all the delicate machinery in his 
 special territory. He knows every man and his 
 worth, and how much he can spend and whether he 
 will spend it. This last is a very important item, as 
 it has been estimated as a rule, that not more than 
 75 per cent, of the money, set aside to corrupt the 
 people, ever reaches the spot. Many committeemen 
 are patriots. They keep the money themselves 
 rather than see it used to debauch others. This is 
 their reward for services rendered. The Boss merely 
 holds them responsible for results, and he dare not 
 question too closely as to methods. The average 
 committeeman has a keen scent for "Boodle." He 
 can feel the magnetic thrill when the first "bar'l" is 
 opened and the golden grease begins to flow from.
 
 48 BOSSES AxNTD BOODLE. 
 
 headquarters. He is first on the ground and most 
 exhortaut in demands, and specific as to the needs 
 of money, in large bundles, in his locality. During 
 the progress of the campaign, he becomes the bane 
 of the campaign manager's life, and is a perpetual 
 menace to his party's success. But he is a necessary 
 evil that cannot be dispensed with. 
 
 V. When the nominations are made, the platform 
 adopted, the flag unfurled and the battle set in array, 
 the average party man has nothing to do but shut 
 his eyes, and yell for the whole outfit. He may know 
 of his personal knowledge that one or all of the can- 
 didates are dishonest, and nominations were secured 
 by dishonest and corrupt methods, against which his 
 manhood revolts, but he is helpless. He cannot 
 protest. He must remain silent. To question is 
 treason. He is left with one consolation to quiet 
 and soothe his conscience. His scoundrel is better 
 than the rascal on the other ticket. He don't want 
 to bolt. He cannot give u]) the party of his convic- 
 tions. He cannot join any of the parties of the 
 cranks and isms. He does not want to loose his 
 vote. As the fight progresses the old feeling comes 
 back. His loyalty to his party organization is aroused 
 by some able leader, that he has long known and 
 always trusted, and he votes the old ticket from top 
 to bottom. Bosses, Boodle and all, and trusts to time 
 and the future to correct the evils that disgrace his 
 organization, and to remove the Bosses and their
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 49 
 
 methods. The Boss smiles. The returns at the 
 election being a consummation of all his well laid 
 plans. He is fortified by one more victory. The 
 end grows. The abject cowardice of the honest cit- 
 izen, and blind partisan, makes possible a condi- 
 tion in politics, which he deplores but dare not 
 denounce. 
 
 VI. Parties spring into existence around some great 
 central principle. Ideas cluster around this central 
 force, and men rally to its support until the principle 
 is crystalized into law, and becomes a fact. No party 
 long survives the realization of the purpose that 
 called it into existence. Decay begins when the con- 
 summation is achieved. When a party is young and 
 its followers are fired by the noble enthusiasm of its 
 principles, money cannot buy its partisans or pervert 
 them. They are not for sale. But when a party is 
 lield together by its memories of the past, and its 
 leaders are guided by the cohesive power of spoils, 
 then an opportune field presents itself for the exercise 
 of the talents of the Boss, and Boodle is necessary 
 to party success. Under the earlier and better con- 
 ditions of party organization and existence, the ambi- 
 tions of the young and talented are aroused, and 
 avenues of office and promotion present themselves 
 as a reward for their services and affording opportu- 
 nity for the exercise of high mental qualities with 
 which nature has endowed them. They bear the 
 brunt of the battle. They carry the banner against
 
 50 BOSSES AND BOODI<E. 
 
 hopeless odds. They give their time, their money 
 and their talent freely, to aid the cause they believe in. 
 A generation of great men often spring into existence 
 with the birth of a party. They grow with its 
 growth. They achieve greatness with its success, 
 and when they have run their course and pass away^ 
 the party passes away. 
 
 But Boodle and Bosses, while they achieve tem- 
 porary success of a doubtful character, never made a 
 party great or insured it lasting success. It never 
 can. It never has. It never will. When Boodle arro- 
 gantly stalks upon the stage, the avenues of advance- 
 ment are closed against the young and gifted who 
 seek promotion through honorable avenues. The 
 belief is now prevalent that no one can succeed in 
 politics without money, and this fact, which few dis- 
 pute, drives the most desirable class of our young 
 citizens away from any active participation in our 
 political affairs. 
 
 VII. There are honest and legitimate uses to 
 which money may be put in a well conducted cam- 
 paign, such as printing, postage, telegraphing, clerk 
 hire, speaker's expenses, etc. I speak of campaigns 
 as conducted by the Democracy in Ohio. I know 
 but little about those conducted by any other party, 
 except as the signs were made manifest during a 
 canvass. Formerly a host of able and unselfish 
 speakers volunteered their services. Their expenses 
 were paid by the local committees. They would
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 51 
 
 have scorned to ask or receive pay, but when " Boo- 
 dle" made its appearance, there was a change. No 
 one has any time now to give to his party outside of 
 his own locality. All expect to be remunerated for 
 time spent and services rendered. 
 
 Speakers of national reputation are employed by 
 national committees and receive a stipulated price, as 
 a rule, for the number of speeches or the length of 
 time employed. In the presidential campaign of 
 1880, Col. Frank McKenney, of Piqua, Ohio, was 
 Chairman of the Executive Committee. A number 
 of men now prominent were sent into the state to 
 take part in the canvass, among these a man who is 
 now a United States Senator, and two, Burke Coch- 
 ran and John Fellows, who have since become famous, 
 and have been members of Congress. It was reported 
 and generally believed, that a large sum of money 
 had been sent into Ohio by the national committee, 
 upon representations made on the strength of the 
 poll, that the state could be carried with "Boodle." 
 Either the money did not reach the spot, or its pur- 
 pose was defeated by publicity. 
 
 But the foreign speakers seemed to be the first 
 to learn that a "bar'l" had been opened. The 
 United States Senator was at INIarietta to meet an 
 engagement, and refused to fill his appointments 
 until money was sent. He got the money and 
 continued to run his wind-mill. John Fellows was 
 at Hillsboro when he made a demand for mon-
 
 62 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ey. He sent in from this place a bill for a suit of 
 clothes. 
 
 Since that campaign the professional " spell-bind- 
 er" has been a luxury in Ohio, and he takes no 
 promises to pay but demands his money in advance. 
 Since men have ceased to be patriotic, and give their 
 services in any capacity to their party for the love of 
 the cause, it requires money, and plenty of it, even to 
 set the wheels of the party machinery in motion, and 
 it requires a great deal more to keep them moving. 
 
 In the campaign of 1867, when the 15th amend- 
 ment was the issue and R. B. Hayes was the Re- 
 publican candidate for Governor and was opposed 
 by Allen G. Thurman on the Democratic ticket, the 
 Republicans elected their state ticket by a small 
 majority, and the Democrats carried the legislature, 
 and Allen G. Thurman was chosen United States 
 Senator; neither campaign committee spent over 
 $5,000 and the Democratic campaign fund was less 
 than this. In 1883, Geo. Hoadley spent three times 
 this amount to buy the Democratic nomination for 
 Governor, and defeated Durbin Ward, the honest 
 choice of his party. 
 
 VIII. There are only two ways of raising the large 
 campaign funds, now so fashionable and so necessary. 
 One is by assessing the members of the party who 
 hold office and those who are candidates, and by con- 
 tributions from those who are willing and anxious to 
 hold office. Usually the managers expect those who.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE 53 
 
 "hold office in counties that give the party a safe 
 majority, to defray the expenses of the campaign, and 
 send a contribution to the state committee. If there 
 is any money to spare, above the ordinary expenses 
 of the campaign, it is sent to the minority counties, 
 to aid in "organizing the party and in getting the vote 
 to the polls." This is the official language of the 
 campaign circular, and it would make a chairman 
 writhe in agony like Hercules in his poisoned shirt, 
 did he suspect for one moment, that one dollar cf the 
 money sent out, would be used to currupt one of our 
 noble lords and sovereigns, the citizens. 
 
 There is no data to show the exact number of 
 men that hold places under our state constitution and 
 laws. It is a safe guess to say that there are 100,000 
 Democrats and Republicans who hold places in Ohio, 
 and form part of the Machine. This reaches from the 
 constable in a precinct to the governor of the state, 
 and includes the school system and the judiciary. 
 There are 88 counties in the state, and from 14 to 20 
 townships in a county. There are 200 township, 
 municipal and county offices in the smallest counties, 
 and from 3,000 to 5,000 in the larger counties, count- 
 ing the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, 
 Toledo and Dayton, with a proportionate number in 
 the counties between these extremes. 
 
 There are jiistices 0/ the peace, constables, judges 
 of election, school directors, assessors, probate judges, 
 clerks, commissioners, auditors, coroners, surv'eyors,
 
 64 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 prosecnting attorneys, infirmary directors, in the town- 
 ships and county organizations, and in the municipal 
 governments there are mayors, police boards, members 
 of council, etc., and most of these are elected on the 
 tickets of one or the other of the two leading parties; 
 and in the government we have the state officers with 
 tlieir assistants and clerks, and the state institutions. 
 All of these are expected to pay tribute to their party 
 organization in hard cash, and to render election ser- 
 vices before and during the election. The money 
 contributed is given by wealthy men who are looking 
 ahead for honors, or from corporate interests or com- 
 binations at home or abroad, that expect favors and 
 consideration in state and national legislation. Some- 
 times it is expensive, but those who contribute are 
 blessed and are rarely disappointed. 
 
 Under the laws passed in Ohio, known as the Aus- 
 tralian ballot system, the expense of printing tickets 
 is now borne by the state, and there is no longer any 
 need of money for ward '"healers," "knockers" and 
 "strikers." This saves a large sum of money, for 
 these men cost from $2 to $20 each, according to their 
 "pull;" all now is done decently and in order. There 
 are no scenes of violence at the polls. Men buy and 
 sell votes in the most respectable manner. When a 
 contest is close and votes are needed, under our 
 present law and order system, a responsible man is 
 placed in every precinct.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 55 
 
 When the purchasable commodity is located, a 
 regular price is agreed on for votes. Sometimes a pool 
 is made and one man makes a bargain to deliver a 
 certain number of votes for a stated sum. He is 
 shown the poll and agrees for so much a head, to de- 
 liver more votes than the canvass shows. But how 
 do they know when a man sells his vote under the 
 Australian system? One of the judges or clerks is 
 called by the voter into the booth to prepare his ticket. 
 If he has agreed to sell his vote for the whole ticket, 
 or only one candidate, the ticket is fixed as he 
 requests. When the ballot is cast, a signal is given to 
 the watcher and the cash is paid for the vote as prom- 
 ised. This is an evasion of a very strict law, but not 
 a violation. As the system is now perfected, we find 
 the tyranny of party complete. It is absolute. Bolt- 
 ing is the only remedy for the disease. 
 
 We have a government of Boodle, by Boodle and 
 for Boodle. The man who sells and the man who 
 buys, are criminals in the eyes of the law. The man 
 who supplies the money is the master knave and 
 scoundrel. But he is so many degrees removed from 
 the crime and the criminals that he can never be 
 reached. This evil will continue until a law can be 
 framed and enforced, that will put a convict's stripes 
 on some vulgar and brazen millionaire, and thus 
 brand the Boss Boodler as the most dangerous crimi- 
 nal in our civilization and the greatest foe to our free 
 institutions. We do not expect the day will ever
 
 56 BOSSES AND BOODLK- 
 
 dawn when poor, weak human nature will be above 
 temptation, but we do expect to see the time at a very 
 early date, when our legislators will cease to frame 
 laws to catch flies, and when an enlightened and 
 aroused public opinion will make laws, and enforce 
 them, and then Boodlers will become infamous, and 
 will find their places in the felon's cell, and not dis- 
 grace our people and scandalize a nation by the open 
 purchase of seats in the United States Senate. 
 
 When this time comes party organizations will be 
 reformed, and all power will spring directly from the 
 people, and United States Senators and the President, 
 of the same, and all other officers, will be chosen by 
 the people. If the people cannot be trusted, this 
 last attempt at a free and popular form of govern- 
 ment is a failure, and the sooner that is demonstrated 
 the better for mankind. One fact has been made 
 painfully apparent by recent events: our gcvernment 
 exists and is controlled solely for the benefit of 
 wealth, and not for the benefit of men. In the midst 
 of a civil war, men are taken from homes and altars 
 and their lives are sacrificed to preserve the nation. 
 But the same government which can take the lives 
 of the poor men to preserve it, dare not touch the 
 surplus of the wealthy. In times of profound peace 
 the highest tribunal in the land, denies the right of 
 Congress to tax the surplus of the rich to pay the 
 interest on a war debt, and to defray the expense of 
 government. The Court appointed for life, legislates
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 57 
 
 and defeats the will of the representatives chosen by 
 the people. The Court proclaims the doctrine that 
 the burdens of taxation must fall upon labor, upon 
 the necessities of life, upon consumption and the 
 needs of the poor, but the surplus of wealth in every 
 form must be sacredly guarded from the vulgar touch 
 and impudent inquisition of the tax gatherer. This 
 echo from the golden gong by the high-priests in the 
 temple of justice, chords with the chimes of corrup- 
 tion that has placed the golden dollar mark upon a 
 fourth of the seats in the United States Senate. 
 
 If a hungry and aggrieved workingman disturbs 
 this profound peace, which he has made possible by 
 his bravery and sacrifice in war; if in his mistaken 
 zeal for wages that will enable him to live and feed 
 his babies, he engages in strikes, and indulges in 
 riots and excesses, let a President violate the consti- 
 tution and the rights of the states by calling out the 
 military to kill; let the judges hurl the indignation 
 of organized wealth at disorganized and starving 
 labor, by an injunction, which, if ignored, means im- 
 prisonment for offending judicial tyranny; but let no 
 virtuous citizen, no honest and indignant son of toil, 
 try to turn this last instrument of oppression in 
 government, by praying an injunction against a corrupt 
 millionaire, who is debauching the people and buying 
 their representatives, by the open and scandalous 
 purchase of a seat in the United States Senate. 
 
 If some man should be insane enough to apply to
 
 58 BOSSEvS AND BOODLE. 
 
 a United States Judge for an injunction to prevent 
 the purchase of a senatorship, would he get a hearing? 
 Or would the Judge send him to the Lebanon jail or 
 the nearest asylum? Within three months we have 
 seen a judge rule two different ways on the income 
 tax. This change of mind has been heralded as an 
 evidence of courageous conviction and the highest 
 patriotism. When a member of the Ohio Legisla- 
 ture changes his mind on the eve of a senatorial cau- 
 cus, he is justly suspected of bribery. 
 
 The tendency in our government to-day is not in 
 keeping with the spirit of the age and its progress. 
 Money and not man is the beacon light toward which 
 too many are striving. There must be a speedy and 
 a peaceable adjustment of our laws and our political 
 conditions, to meet the just demands of the masses, 
 or something will snap ; and when the cable breaks 
 some one is liable to be bodily hurt. Let us hope 
 that the day is not distant, when reason, justice and 
 honesty will prevail over Bosses and Boodle, and 
 their methods, in all sections of our land, among 
 all classes of our people and all stations in our official 
 life.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM BUCKEYE TO BOODLE. 
 
 "sS^ 
 
 *'^f^I^f^|r^ HE most effective speakers and writers are 
 fiAbJlL^Ai) not those who tell all they think or feel, 
 but those who, by maintaining an austere 
 conscientiousness of phrase, leave on their 
 hearers and readers the impression of re- 
 served power. On the other hand, if we 
 do the work of a pistol with a twenty-ibur pounder, 
 or kill cock robins with Catling guns — and, wl:en 
 anything more formidable is to be destroyed, touch 
 off the fusee of a volcano- — we shall find, when we 
 come to the real tug of war, that our instruments of 
 offense are weak, worn out and worihless. Great 
 bastions of military strength must lie at rest in times 
 of peace, that they may be able to execute their de- 
 structive agencies in times of war; and so let it be 
 with the superlatives of our tongue. Never call on 
 the 'tenth legion' or 'the old guard' except on occa- 
 sions corresponding to the dignity and weight of 
 those tremendous forces. Sa>- plain things in a } lain 
 way, and then, when you have occasion to send a 
 sharp arrow at your enemy, you will not find your 
 quiver empty of shafts which you wasted before they 
 were wanted." — Jfords: Thciy Uses and Abuses. 
 
 Ohio was the 17th admitted to the familv of states 
 that comprised the union known as the United States 
 
 (59)
 
 60 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 of America. It was the first child of the Ordinance of 
 1787, the greatest product of human experience and 
 statesmanship. This instrument, so justly lauded, 
 was the work of a paid lobby*, and dictated by the 
 agent of a paid company that was enabled to make 
 its own terms owing to the impoverished condition 
 of the treasury of the confederation, and the suffer- 
 ing and distress that followed the war of the revolu- 
 tion ; the result of a worthless paper money that 
 destroyed the credit of the colonies. Ohio was the 
 first government ever created for a people before 
 they inhabitated the territory for which the govern- 
 ment was created. Under the Ordinance of 1787, 
 and the contract with the Ohio Land Company, our 
 government first established the principle of deriving 
 a revenue from the sale of its public domain known 
 then as the " back country." In his " Common- 
 wealth of Ohio," Hon. Rufus King, in commenting 
 npon the Ordinance of 1787, says: 
 
 "In the two concluding articles it was ordained : 
 " 'There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary 
 servitude in said territory, otherwise than in punish- 
 ment of crime;' and that 'religion, morality, and 
 knowledge, being essential to good government and 
 the happiness of mankind, shall forever be encour- 
 aged.' These were placed by the ordinance as among 
 'the fundamental principles of civil and religious 
 liberty which formed the basis whereon these repub- 
 lics, their laws, and constitutions, are erected.' 
 
 * See Dr. Manasseh Cutler's Journal, Vol. I, Chap. VI.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 61 
 
 " The men who settled Ohio believed this, and 
 proved it by the care with which the principles 
 summed up and consecrated in the Ordinance were 
 preserved and handed down in the Constitutions of 
 both 1802 and 1851 ; especially in the articles pro- 
 hibiting slavery and favoring the encouragement of 
 religion, morality, and knowledge as the means of 
 government. 
 
 " The former is that upon which the people of 
 * these republics ' have been the most intent during 
 the century since the Ordinance and the Constitution 
 were framed, and which by a convulsive effort have 
 been laid at rest. 
 
 " The other principle has not been sustained ; in- 
 deed, it may be said to have lost much of its force, 
 under powerful foreign influences which have asserted 
 themselves in American politics and laws. But that 
 this declaration was, at the time, the fixed and gen- 
 eral sentiment of the American people and statemen, 
 is undeniable. General Washington and Dr. Frank- 
 lin have left no uncertainty as to this, and there were 
 no better exponents. The colonies, in fact, were 
 founded upon it and for its sake. It became in- 
 grained in the very fibre of those indigenous govern- 
 ments and institutions which were a century and a 
 half silently growing up to form the American re- 
 public. It was the fervent intermingling of the spirit 
 of liberty with this reverence for religion and mor- 
 ality, as being the ' basis of good government and 
 the happiness of mankind,' that first struck the 
 attention of European patriots, and of which De 
 Tocqueville was so keenly observant in his view of 
 American democracy. 
 
 "Whether it is not time that American statesmen
 
 62 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 were heeding it, let wise men consider. It is not safe 
 to forsake the customs and principles by which a 
 people has risen to greatness. Nor did a people ever 
 fail of enduring prosperity and happiness by the 
 ways pointed out in the Ordinance of 1787. Democ- 
 racy, or democratic institutions, can not rise above 
 their foundation. In their nature they can not be 
 enduring without a public opinion powerfully rooted 
 and reinforced in religion and morality." 
 
 II. Ohio, the name given to the territory and 
 rising state, by act of Congress, is an Indian word,, 
 meaning beautiful. In 1784 Congress adopted a 
 plan for a temporary form of government for the 
 "back country." It was proposed to divide the ter- 
 ritory west of the Alleghany Mountains, and north 
 and south of the Ohio River, and east of the Mis- 
 sissippi, into seventeen new states or divisions, by 
 lines of latitude two degrees apart ; to be intersected 
 by two meridians of longtitude to be drawn north 
 and south of the mouth of the Big Kanawha River 
 and at the Falls of the Ohio River, where Louisville 
 is now located. These new creations were to go 
 down in history by such classical titles as Sylvania, 
 Michigania, Chersonesus, Assenisipia, Metropotomia, 
 lUinoia, Saratoga, Washington, Polypotomia, and 
 Pilisipia, the latter being a name attempted to be 
 given the Ohio River. Mr. Jefferson's plan was re- 
 committed to the committee, and the latter part was 
 never adopted, otherwise what is now known as Ohio
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 63 
 
 ■would have been divided between the state of Metro- 
 potomia, Washington and Pilisipia. 
 
 III. The origin of the term "Buckeye," as appHed 
 to the state and its people, is unknown. Several 
 explanations of a learned and interesting character 
 have been made, but none of them are satisfactory 
 or conclusive. 
 
 The Ordinance of 1787 contained a proviso that 
 when the population of the territory reached "5,000 
 free white male inhabitants," it should be entitled to 
 a representation in Congress, and a territorial legis- 
 lature might be chosen by the people. A census of 
 the territory in 1798 showed a population of 5,000, 
 and Governor St. Clair issued a proclamation for an 
 election of members to a legislative body, and to be 
 chosen for every five hundred of the population. At 
 this election counties elected representatives as fol- 
 lows: Washington County (the Muskingum) 2; 
 Hamilton (the Miamis) 7; Ross (the Scioto) 4; 
 Adams (the Virginia Military District) 2; Jefferson 
 (Upper Ohio) i ; Wayne (Detroit, Mich.) 3 ; St. 
 Clair and Randolph (Illinois) i each ; and Knox 
 (Indiana) i ; total, 22. Governor St. Clair trans- 
 ferred the seat of government to the "town opposite 
 the mouth of Licking," Losantiville, in 1799, and 
 convened the new legislative body to meet in this 
 place, Sept. 23, 1799. The Governor, who seemed 
 to have considered his own will and wishes, as the 
 embodiment of all the constitution and laws that the
 
 64 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 people of the territory needed, had provided a seal 
 for the virgin state; but as every thing that he did 
 was looked upon either as a blunder or a crime, this 
 ambitious attempt to give an official emblem to the 
 executive department, which was all there was of the 
 government, was met with ridicule. The device on 
 the seal was intended to represent a buckeye tree, 
 standing erect in the background, with another tree 
 felled in the foreground and cut up into logs. This 
 Latin motto encircled this scene from the pioneer 
 forest: '■'■ Mcliorcin Lapsa Locavit^^'' which means, 
 " He planted one better than the fallen." It has been 
 claimed that this device on this seal gave the appel- 
 lation of "Buckeyes" to Ohio and her people. 
 Cynics, however, who disliked Governor St. Clair, 
 and disliked the buckeye tree, deeming both worth- 
 less, used the seal to belittle the Governor, and made 
 the term of "Buckeye" one of disdain. One of the 
 most notable characters in the new country was a 
 man named Chapman, who was known as "Johnny 
 Appleseed." He was a harmless sort of a person, 
 but he had a mission. He went about with some 
 Swedenborgian tracts and a bag of apple seed, and 
 planted both where he thought they would grow, and 
 thus rendered an undoubted service to generations 
 yet unborn. He was a character typical of the age, 
 and a bloodless hero, who deserves a monument, at 
 the hands of the people of a great empire, to com- 
 memorate his unselfish labors. It is doubtful
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 65 
 
 whether there was sentiment enough in Governor 
 St. Clair's composition to gather the poetic idea for 
 his seal from the life of " Johnny Appleseed." 
 
 IV. Pavio Ohiocnsis^ the Ohio buckeye, or Amer- 
 ican horse-chestnut, is a native of the Ohio Valley. It 
 is one of the most beautiful of our native trees. The 
 trunk rarely exceeds twelve or fifteen inches in diam- 
 eter. It grows to the height of twenty-five or thirty 
 feet, and the branches of the tree, with the dark foliage, 
 present a symmetrical form that is very graceful and 
 pleasing to the eye. The trunk of the tree is rather 
 smooth and blackish, and the wood is white, very 
 soft and almost useless, even for fuel. The bloom of 
 the tree is brilliant. The flowers, in the wild state, 
 are among the first that bloom in the spring, and are 
 collected in white bunches. The chestnut grows in 
 waxen-like, prickly capsules, and ripens and falls with 
 the early frosts. It is as large as a walnut, and re- 
 sembles the ordinary chestnut very much ; the shell 
 being of a dark, rich brown, with a light spot, 
 making it resemble the beautiful eye of the deer, 
 which fact has given it the name of " Buckeye." 
 
 The rapid growth, dense foliage, beauty of its 
 flowers, and hardy character, make it a very fine 
 shade tree, but the fact that the buckeye is poisonous 
 and dangerous to animal life, has brought it into dis- 
 credit, and it is rapidly dying out, and like other 
 wild children of the forest, it is fading before the 
 rapid strides of civilization. The chief use our
 
 6() BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 pioneer fathers found for the buckeye was to make 
 troughs out of the soft wood, to catch the sap from 
 the sugar maple when it began to run, and when not 
 used for this they made convenient cradles for a new 
 generation of giants which came to complete the 
 foundations of a great state. The term "Buckeye" 
 continued to be used as one of doubtful compliment 
 for forty years after the territory became a state. At 
 a banquet given in Cincinnati, along in the forties, 
 in celebrating the forty-fourth anniversary of the 
 admission of Ohio into the Union, Dr. Daniel Drake, 
 one of the ablest, cleverest and most useful men of 
 his day and age, made a speech on the " Buckeye," 
 and he held to the idea that the tejm was first used 
 in ridicule. 
 
 S. P. Hildreth, the first historian of the state and 
 the settlement at Marietta by the Ohio Company, re- 
 lates an incident that gives another aspect to the 
 origin and use of the word, and makes it a title of 
 honor from its first use. The first company of settlers 
 under the grant made by Congress to the Ohio Com- 
 pany, reached Marietta in the spring of 1788, with a 
 government made to order, and a full outfit of offi- 
 cers. The first court of the new territory, which was 
 also the legislature and the governor's council or 
 cabinet, convened with great pomp, on Sept. 2, 1788. 
 A procession was formed consisting of judges, a de- 
 tail of officers of the army from Fort Harmar, mem- 
 bers of the bar, citizens, and the governor and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 67 
 
 clergymen. These were headed by the high sheriff, 
 Col. Ebenezer Sproat. He was a splendid specimen 
 of manhood, over six feet high, well proportioned, 
 and of commanding presence. He carried a naked 
 sword, and so impressed a number of Indians, who 
 were present, by his voice and bearing, that one of 
 them exclaimed in admiration, "Hetuck!" or "Big 
 Buckeye." This term was applied to Col. Sproat 
 until his death, but the name did not become 
 general in its application to the people of the state 
 until the famous " hard cider and log cabin " cam- 
 paign of Gen. Wm. Harrison, in 1840, when he was 
 the candidate of the Whig Party for the Presidency, 
 and was elected. 
 
 Gen. Harrison was the first hero, and was the idol 
 of the people of the northwestern territory. In fifty 
 years, from his advent as a young officer of the line, 
 he had filled every position in civil and military life. 
 In the one he had been secretary, governor and rep- 
 resentative of the territory and state in Congress. He 
 had served his state as a member of the United States 
 Senate. In the army he had filled every position 
 with honor, from an obscure lieutenant to a success- 
 ful commander. In the western mind, and to those 
 who served under him, he was the military man of 
 the age, and the chief figure in the war with Great 
 Britain. He was serving as clerk of Hamilton 
 County when chosen to lead the Whigs in what ap- 
 peared to be a hopeless contest. A sneer changed
 
 68 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 the whole aspect of the campaign and gave the Whigs 
 a battle-cry that led them to victory. A Democratic 
 paper's slur in saying that Gen. Harrison was " better 
 fitted to sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider than 
 rule in the White House," aroused the pride of the 
 people of the northwest, who had but once before been 
 honored by having one of their citizens chosen to lead 
 a great party in a contest for the " highest office in the 
 gift of a free people." The Buckeye log cabin on 
 wheels, decorated with coon skins and strings of buck- 
 eyes, and a barrel of hard cider inside, made its appear- 
 ance as a campaign argument. Buckeye canes, buck- 
 eye badges and buckeye poetry grew and blossomed 
 and bore fruit in every township. Gifted Tom Corwin 
 was a candidate for governor in that famous cam- 
 paign, and the poet told us that 
 
 " Tom Corwin is a Buckeye Boy 
 Who stands not for the paj'." 
 
 The Buckeye not only became the badge of a party 
 in a great campaign, but the slogan that led to suc- 
 cess ; and that victory wiped away the stain of de- 
 rision that formerly attached to the name, and hence- 
 forth the term "Buckeye" was one of honor, that 
 neither state nor people have been ashamed to ac- 
 knowledge. In the fifties, Samuel Sullivan Cox,, 
 better known as " Sunset," made a tour of Europe^ 
 and gave the name an honorable place in literature 
 by an interesting book on his travels, which he en- 
 titled : " The Buckeye Abroad." A painful contrast
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 69 
 
 is presented when we consider the methods and ele- 
 ments in the " log cabin," of 1840, and the " boodle " 
 campaigns of a later date. 
 
 V. George Washington was captivated with the 
 beauties, and impressed with the wealth and possi- 
 bilities of the Ohio Valley, from the first time he 
 saw it, as a young man, acting as a special messen- 
 ger for the British army, and as a surveyor and pros- 
 pector. He was granted a tract of 10,000 acres along 
 the Ohio, in West Virginia, between the mor.ths of 
 the Little and Great Kanawha rivers, and in 1773 ^^ 
 issued a circular from his home " near Alexandria, 
 Va.," calling attention to the natural advantages of 
 these lands, and offering to sell or lease the same to 
 settlers upon moderate terms. He was the first to 
 point out the advantages of inland navigation, and 
 suggested the possibility of connecting the head- 
 waters of the rivers flowing into the Ohio with those 
 emptying into Lake Erie. In the dark hours of the 
 revolution, W^ashington never despaired. The "back 
 country " offered to him a safe refuge from the victori- 
 ous arms of Great Britain. Amidst the gloom of de- 
 feat, and the sufferings of the little band that 
 shivered around the fires of Valley Forge in the 
 winter of 1777, the question of submission w^as dis- 
 cussed by the army, from the private's camp-fire to 
 the General's table, and when George Washington 
 was asked : " If we are driven from the Atlantic bor- 
 der, what is to be done?" He replied: "We will
 
 70 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 retire to the Valley of the Ohio, and there be free." 
 When Continental money was almost worthless, it 
 was Washington that induced Congress, as early as 
 Sept. 20, 1776, to provide for generous bounties in 
 land to those who served in the army. After the 
 war he lost no opportunity in urging upon Congress 
 the necessary action in redeeming both the worthless 
 Continental scrip and the pledges of Congress paid 
 and made to the soldier, by providing that he might 
 settle in the " back country." The Ohio Company of 
 Associates of the New England States was composed 
 largely of revolutionary soldiers, which secured the 
 tract of land in Ohio by land bounties and by the 
 payment of Continental scrip, worth about eight cents 
 on the dollar. In organizing the Ohio Land Com- 
 pany, Dr. Manasseh Cutler, who was a Congregational 
 minister and had served as a chaplain in the revolu- 
 tionary army, was very particular in choosing his 
 "associates." He did not fancy the idea of having 
 in the new colony "the people from the southward." 
 The Puritan's children, who had settled in bleak New 
 England to escape persecution for opinion's sake, 
 still looked with distrust upon the offspring of the 
 Cavalier, and the descendants of a people who had 
 left England by request of the courts to reside in 
 Virginia, both temporarily or for life, as the case 
 might be. But the law of heredity does not always 
 work along well-established lines, or according to 
 well-defined laws; as yet this science is only a
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 71 
 
 guess ; as the waters of a running stream are said to 
 drop all impurities in two miles, so humanity seems 
 capable of refreshing itself in each succeeding genera- 
 tion. Crime is a disease. A product of unhealthy 
 physical conditions and debasing surroundings. En- 
 vironment has more to do with making criminals 
 than ancestr}-. As a rule, men do not commit crime 
 when their stomachs are full. In a few years the 
 ^'people from the southward," whom Dr. Cutler did 
 not think desirable as members of the new state he 
 and his associates were about to launch upon the 
 stormy ocean of time, were destined to become the 
 controlling force in the government. It was the 
 Virginians in the Scioto Valley that hastened the 
 formation of the state and its admission to the Union, 
 and in 1802, Dr. Manasseh Cutler, as a member of 
 Congress from Massachusetts, and the successor of 
 Nathan Dane, who claimed to be the author of the 
 Ordinance of 1787, was one of the few that voted 
 against admitting the first state under that ordinance, 
 and which he and his associates in the Ohio Com- 
 pany had founded fifteen years before. 
 
 VI. Ohio was the gateway to the west. The state 
 has the largest and most convenient navigable water- 
 front of any state in the Union. Lake Erie connects 
 with the Atlantic and a chain of lakes whose annual 
 tonnage is greater than that of our ocean ports. The 
 Ohio River skirts the entire southern border of the state 
 and connects with the vast population of the IMissis-
 
 72 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 sippi Valley and the Gulf. These water-ways, in 
 days when primitive methods of travel prevailed, af- 
 forded great advantages, and were eagerly sought by 
 the first settlers and followed by the steady stream of 
 emio;ration that flowed westward. 
 
 The advantages for home and happiness offered by 
 the ordinance of '87, and the promise of government 
 aid and protection, attracted the hardy and best 
 people from all sections of the colonies and many 
 from abroad. Judge Burnet, one of the early Judges 
 of the Northwestern territory, in his excellent and 
 invaluable "Notes," says : "The early adventurers of 
 the Northwestern territory, were generally the men 
 who had spent the prime of their lives in the War of 
 Independence. Many of them had exhausted their 
 fortunes in maintaining the desperate struggle, and 
 retired to the wilderness to conceal their poverty and 
 avoid comparisons mortifying to their pride while 
 struggling to maintain their families and improve 
 their condition." 
 
 In reply to a letter written by Hon. Rufus Putnam, 
 June 17, 1783, before the Army disbanded, with a peti- 
 tion signed by 288 officers of the Continental line of 
 the army, which Gen. Washington was asked to bring 
 to the attention of Congress, and urge a speedy re- 
 demption of the promises Congress had made the 
 army, he appealed to Congress to take speedy action 
 and provide homes for the soldiers in the Ohio coun- 
 try, where he said, "they may expect after a little
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 7S 
 
 perseverance, competence and independence for them- 
 selves, a pleasant retreat in old age, and the fairest 
 prospects for their children." 
 
 VII. The colonies had become set in their ways. 
 Their people had but little intercourse with each 
 other. Each had its own laws, customs, prejudices, 
 selfish interests, and a people descended from a com- 
 mon stock with peculiarities that distinguished each 
 from the other. The coming storm of revolution, 
 drove them to counsel, common purpose and unity of 
 action. The war of the revolution brought the men 
 from all sections in actual contact with each other. 
 The New England Colonies were settled by the de- 
 scendants of the Puritans; New York, formerly a 
 Dutch province, was composed of the descendants of 
 the Dutch and English ; New Jersey and Pennsyl- 
 vania were settled by Dutch, Quakers, Germans and 
 English; Maryland was settled by Catholics and loy- 
 alists; Virginia and the colonies to its south were 
 settled by cavaliers and loyalists, and by people who 
 were deported for various offenses against English 
 law. These elements are turned toward "(3hio." 
 The sons of the revolution, from Massachusetts, 
 Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, 
 settled on the Ohio Company's purchase at Marietta, 
 and later, in the counties comprising Connecticut's 
 Western Reserve, along the shores of Lake Erie ; the 
 soldiers from Virginia found homes in the rich rolling 
 lands of the Scioto Valley, west of the river ; the Jer-
 
 74 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 sey men followed Symmes to the beautiful valleys of 
 the Little and Big Miami rivers ; the German and 
 the Dutch element from the Central States pushed 
 into the central and later the northwest portions of 
 the state. They married and were welded into a 
 happy and harmonious people. A new generation 
 of men were born on the soil of Ohio, The character- 
 istics of the ancestors and of different nationalities 
 disappeared, and were blended into a steady, w^ell 
 bred and well defined man. The native Buckeyes 
 were the first type of American manhood that ap- 
 peared upon the scene, when "westward the star of 
 empire had arisen." 
 
 The Kings of Massachusetts married the Worthing- 
 tons of Virginia; the Harrisons of Virginia married 
 the Symmes of New^ Jersey, and so the hardy pioneers 
 from all the colonies married and intermingled , and 
 the result has been that the first generation born of 
 this happy union has given the state and nation a 
 brainier race of men than has been produced by any 
 state in the Union. It has become a truism in poli- 
 tics, "that the Ohio man wants everything." This 
 is because in the present generation the Ohio man 
 has had all the great important offices, in civil and 
 military life. It was not the result of accident. It 
 was in accordance with the eternal laws of growth 
 and development. It was the result of merit. The 
 Ohio man was the best equipped and best qualified 
 man for the places he was called to fill. In thirty
 
 BOSSEvS AND BOODLE. /6 
 
 years, we have seen four Ohio born and bred men — 
 Grant, Hayes, Garfield and Harrison fill the office of 
 President. Dnring the civil war, every successful 
 general on the Union side was a Buckeye. Ohio 
 gave to the country such men as Grant, Sherman, 
 Sheridan, McClellan, McDowell, Buell, Rosecrans, 
 Custer, McPherson, Cox, Hayes, the McCooks, (father 
 and sons, four) ; and many others by adoption and 
 birth. Ohio's sons have filled the following places: 
 Secretary of the Treasury: Ewing, Corwin, Chase, 
 Sherman, Windom and Foster; Secretary of War: 
 Grant, Sherman, Taft and Stanton ; Secretary of the 
 Interior: Ewing, Cox and Delano; Attorney General: 
 Stanberry, Taft, Stanton and Harrison ; Postmaster 
 General: Meigs, McLean and Dennison ; Chief Jus- 
 tices: Chase, Waite and Matthews; Associate Justices: 
 McLean, Swayne and Woods. Beside these who 
 have held offices, there are half a million living in 
 the state who are equally as willing to accept office 
 and fully as capable of filling them. 
 
 Rufus King, whose father was a revolutionary sol- 
 dier from Massachusetts and whose mother was a 
 Worthington from Virginia, says: "No state presented 
 a stronger array of able men, no better proof could be 
 added of the worth of the pioneer stock of Ohio, than 
 that so many of their sons pass to leadership in the 
 greatest crisis of the country's history. It is proof, 
 not only of inherited qualities, but of conscientious 
 family training, the best characteristic of the Anglo-
 
 76 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 Saxon race. These distinguished leaders were ex- 
 ponents of a people of like character and training, 
 who gave them prominence and sustained them by 
 suffrage and sacrifice. In the unnamed hosts, in- 
 capable of being singled out because of their num- 
 bers, there were also heroes and leaders. They it. 
 was who filled the ranks of the army and kept their 
 state a creditor, and never a debtor upon any demand 
 for men. It was they who moved in continuous col- 
 umn to the front until the rebellion was suppressed. 
 They were called upon for 306,322 men ; they re- 
 sponded with 319,659 soldiers and furnished more 
 than a tenth of the entire army that vindicated the 
 national power, and thus repaid with interest the 
 debt of gratitude, to the authors of the Ordinance of 
 1787, and the founders of the new state in the "back 
 country," and most gloriously indicated the wisdom 
 and foresight of George Washington, in urging his 
 companions in arms to seek homes in the Ohio Valley. 
 These men and the people of Ohio, are the children 
 of the pioneers from New England and the Middle 
 States and "people to the southward." The Ohio man 
 is not an accident. It is not alone in public offices he 
 has achieved distinction and place. His energies are 
 not solely bent in the pursuit of office. In whatever 
 branch of activity his mental powers are turned, he 
 finds a place in the front ranks and does not rest 
 content in any other. Edison, the wizard of the age, 
 is an Ohio man. The tide of our surplus population
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 77 
 
 is flowing eastward and westward, and under tlie law 
 of compensation, is giving renewed life to the stock 
 from whence they sprang. The mayor of New York 
 City is an Ohio man. Every leading newspaper in 
 New York City is owned or edited by an Ohio man. 
 The two leading cartoon papers, yiidge and Puck^ 
 were founded by Ohio's sons, Keppler and Wales, one 
 from Ashtabula and the other from Sandusky County. 
 Whitelaw Reed, editor and owner of the Tribune, 
 was born in Greene County. CoL Wm. Brown, 
 editor and owner of the Nezvs ; Murat Halstead, Jno. 
 R. McLean, of the 'Journal, and other sons of Ohio, 
 are illustrious and occupy the front rank in the Jour- 
 nalism of the Metropolis of the Western Hemisphere. 
 
 In law and medicine Ohio's sons now hold promi- 
 nent places in New York Cit}^ as well as in commer- 
 cial life, and she has turned such gifted men as 
 Samuel Thomas and Calvin S. Brice, loose upon the 
 lambs that stand ready to be fleeced in Wall Street. 
 But here we pause. It is not our mission to extol 
 the great and good whose lives and deeds have made 
 our beloved state so glorious. It is our painful duty 
 to deal with those men and those deeds, that have 
 brought shame to replace honor around the name 
 of Ohio. 
 
 VIII. Until 1887, Ohio was an "October" state. 
 Under the first and second Constitutions, the election 
 for state officers took place in October, while the Fed- 
 eral elections were held in November. This required
 
 78 
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 two elections to be held, in October and November, in 
 Presidential years. After the war, when the passions 
 aroused by civil conflict began to cool, parties were 
 more equally divided and Ohio became debatable 
 ground. Here temptation and opportunity presented 
 itself for the use of money to maintain party suprem- 
 acy. We present from official sources the vote cast at 
 every election since Ohio was admitted to the Union. 
 
 VOTE CAST FOR PRESIDENT, GOVERNOR AND SECRETARY OF 
 STATE* AT THE PRESIDENTIAL AND STATE ELECTIONS 
 FROM 1803 TO 1894, INCLUSIVE. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 vote 
 cast. 
 
 8o4t 
 
 Governor. 
 President. 
 
 Governor. 
 Governor. 
 
 President. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Governor. 
 President. 
 
 Edward Tiffin. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson . . . . 
 Charles C. Pinckney. 
 
 Edward Tiffin. 
 
 Return J. Meigs, Jr. . 
 Nathaniel Massie.... 
 
 James Madison 
 
 Charles C. Pinckney.. 
 George Clinton 
 
 Samuel Huntington... 
 Thomas Worthington, 
 Thomas Kirker 
 
 Return J. Meigs, Jr.. , 
 Thomas Worthington 
 
 James Madison . 
 DeWitt Clinton. 
 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist . . 
 Scattering. . 
 
 Republican. 
 
 Federalist. . 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 
 4.564 
 
 ■.593 
 364 
 256 
 
 5.550 
 4.757 
 
 No 
 Returns. 
 
 7.293 
 5,601 
 3.397 
 
 9.924 
 7.731 
 
 7,420 
 3.301 
 
 4.564 
 
 16,291 
 17.655 
 
 * From 1803 to 1850 the Secretary of State was elected by the General Assembly. 
 
 tThe Democratic party of to-day claims lineal descent from the first Republican 
 party with President Jefferson as its founder. Authorities differ as to the date 
 when the party dropped the name Republican and assumed that of Democrat, it 
 being ascribed to various dates between 1805 and 1820.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 79 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 vote 
 
 Governor. 
 Governor. 
 President. 
 Governor. 
 
 Governor. 
 President 
 Governor. 
 
 Governor 
 President. 
 
 Governor. 
 Governor. 
 
 President. 
 Governor. 
 
 Return J. Meigs, Jr.. 
 Thomas Scott 
 
 Thomas Worthington 
 Othniel Looker 
 
 Federalist. . 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 
 James Monroe. 
 Rufus King. . . . 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 
 Thomas Worthington 
 
 James Dunlap 
 
 Ethan A. Brown 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 
 Ethan A. Brown. 
 James Dunlap . . . 
 
 James Monroe. . 
 John Q. Adams. 
 
 Ethan A. Brown 
 
 Jeremiah Morrow 
 
 William H. Harrison. 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 Democrat.. . 
 Opposition . 
 
 Democrat . . 
 Democrat . . 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Jeremiah Morrow. 
 
 Allen Trimble 
 
 William W. Irvin . 
 
 Andrew Jackson. . 
 John Q. Adams. . . 
 Wm. H. Crawford 
 Henry Clay 
 
 Democrat . . . 
 Federalist. . . 
 Democrat . . . 
 
 Democrat . 
 Coalition . 
 Democrat , 
 Democrat . 
 
 Jeremiah Morrow. 
 Allen Trimble 
 
 Allen Trimble . . . . 
 
 John Bigger 
 
 Ale.\. Campbell... 
 Benjamin Tappan. 
 Scattering 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Nat.Republc'n 
 
 Nat. Republc'n 
 Democrat . . . . 
 Republican.. . . 
 
 Andrew Jackson. 
 John Q. Adams. . 
 
 Allen Trimble 
 
 John W. CampbelL 
 Scattering 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Nat.Republc'n 
 
 Nat.Republc'n 
 Democrat 
 
 11,859 
 7.9°3 
 
 15,879 
 6,171 
 
 3,326 
 593 
 
 22,931 
 6,29s 
 1,607 
 
 30,194 
 8,075 
 
 7,164 
 2,215 
 
 34,836 
 
 9,426 
 
 4,348 
 
 250 
 
 26,os9 
 22,889 
 1 1,060 
 
 18,489 
 12,280 
 
 39,526 
 37,108 
 
 53,971 
 
 51,951 
 
 112 
 
 19,762 
 
 22,050 
 3,919 
 
 30,833 
 38,269 
 9,379 
 
 48,860 
 60,008 
 
 50,024 
 76.634 
 
 84.733 
 130,993 
 
 106,034 
 
 t Political parties were disorganized at the time of the election of John Q. Adams. 
 He claimed to be a Republican as Jeflferson, but his doctrines were decidedly 
 federalistic. The opposition to his administration took the name of Democrat anu 
 elected Jackson President in 1828.
 
 80 
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 1832 
 
 1832 
 1834 
 1836 
 
 1836 
 
 1844 
 
 Governor. 
 
 President. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Governor 
 
 President. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Governor 
 
 Duncan McArthur. 
 
 Robert Lucas 
 
 Scattering 
 
 Andrew Jackson 
 
 Henry Clay 
 
 William Wirt 
 
 John Floyd 
 
 Robert T/UCas. . 
 Darius Lyman. 
 Scattering 
 
 Robert Lucas. . 
 James Findlay. 
 Scattering 
 
 Martin Van Buren. . 
 Wm. H. Harrison... 
 
 H. L. White 
 
 Daniel Webster 
 
 W. P. Mangum 
 
 Joseph Vance. 
 Eli Baldwin. . . 
 Scattering 
 
 Wilson Shannon 
 Joseph Vance. . . 
 Scattering 
 
 Wm. H. Harrison.. 
 Martin Van Buren. 
 James G. Birney . . . 
 
 Thomas Corwin. 
 Wilson Shannon 
 Scattering 
 
 William Shannon. 
 Thomas Corwin. . 
 Leicester King.. . 
 Scattering 
 
 James K. Polk.... 
 
 Henry Clay 
 
 James G. Birney.. 
 
 Mordecai Bartley. 
 
 David Todd 
 
 Leicester King.. . . 
 Scattering 
 
 Nat.Republc'n 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Democrat . . 
 Nat. Republc'n 
 Anti-Mason 
 NuUifier. . . . 
 
 Democrat . 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat . 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat , 
 Whig 
 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat , 
 
 Democrat 
 Whig 
 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat 
 Liberty . . 
 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat . 
 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Whig 
 
 Abolitionist. 
 
 Democrat , 
 
 Whig 
 
 Liberty . . , 
 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat . . 
 Abolitionist. 
 
 49,668 
 
 49,186 
 
 226 
 
 81,246 
 
 76,539 
 
 509 
 
 71.251 
 63,18s 
 
 33 
 
 70,738 
 
 67,414 
 
 38 
 
 96,238 
 104,958 
 
 92,204 
 
 86,158 
 
 200 
 
 107,884 
 
 102,146 
 
 7 
 
 148,157 
 124,782 
 
 903 
 
 145,442 
 129,312 
 
 119,774 
 1 17,902 
 
 5,134 
 40 
 
 149,061 
 
 155, "3 
 8,050 
 
 146,333 
 145,062
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 81 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 vote 
 
 cast. 
 
 1846 
 
 Governor 
 
 President 
 
 Governor 
 
 Governor 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 President 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 President 
 
 Governor 
 
 William P.ebb 
 
 Whig 
 
 118.869 
 116,484 
 
 10,797 
 46 
 
 
 
 Democrat . . . . 
 Abolitionist.. . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Zacbary Taylor 
 
 Whig 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Free Soil 
 
 Whig! .'.';.' .'.';.'.' 
 
 246,196 
 
 1848 
 
 138,359 
 
 154,773 
 
 35,347 
 
 
 Martin Van Buren.... 
 
 328,479 
 
 1848 
 
 148,756 
 
 148,445 
 
 742 
 
 John B. Weller 
 
 Democrat 
 
 
 
 Reuben Wood 
 
 William Johnson 
 
 Edward Smith 
 
 Reuben Wood 
 
 Samuel F. Vinton 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Whit; 
 
 
 1850 
 
 133,093 
 121,105 
 
 13,747 
 
 297,943 
 
 
 Abolitionist.. . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Whig 
 
 267,945 
 
 1851 
 
 145,654 
 
 119,548 
 
 16,918 
 
 62 
 
 
 Abolitionist 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wm. Trevitt 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Whie 
 
 282,182 
 
 1851 
 
 145,686 
 
 120,256 
 
 ■5.768 
 
 Earl Bill 
 
 
 
 Henry W. King 
 
 Franklin Pierce. 
 
 Winfield Scutt 
 
 John P. Hale 
 
 Free Soil 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Whig 
 
 281,660 
 
 1852 
 
 168,933 
 152,523 
 31,732 
 
 
 Free Soil 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Whi§ 
 
 
 
 William Medill 
 
 Nelson Barrere 
 
 353,188 
 
 1853 
 
 147,663 
 85,857 
 50,346 
 
 
 Abolitionist 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Whig 
 
 
 
 Wm. Trevitt 
 
 283,866 
 
 '853 
 
 151,818 
 
 97,500 
 
 33,518 
 
 409 
 
 Nelson Van Vorhes... 
 William Graham 
 
 
 
 Free Soil 
 
 
 
 Salmon P. Chase 
 
 William Medill 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 American 
 
 Rep. and Am.. 
 Democrat 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 American 
 
 Republican.. . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 American 
 
 283-245 
 
 1855 
 
 146,770 
 131,019 
 24,276 
 
 
 James H. Baker 
 
 William Trevitt 
 
 James Buchanan 
 
 John C. Fremont 
 
 Millard Fillmore 
 
 Salmon P. Chase 
 
 H. R. Payne 
 
 302,065 
 302,36s 
 
 386,497 
 
 1855 
 
 168,724 
 133,64' 
 
 1S56 
 
 170,874 
 187,497 
 28,126 
 
 1857 
 
 160,568 
 159,065 
 10,272 
 
 
 P. Van Trump 
 
 
 

 
 82 
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Year 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 1857 
 
 1859 
 1859 
 
 1863 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 President 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Sec'y of State. . 
 
 Governor 
 
 President 
 
 Sec'y of State. . 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State. . 
 
 Governor 
 
 President 
 
 Sec y of State. . 
 
 Addison P. Russell 
 
 Jacob Reinhard 
 
 C. C. Allen 
 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 American . . 
 
 161,837 
 
 159.421 
 
 10,381 
 
 278 
 
 William Dennison 
 
 Rufus P. Ranney. 
 
 Addison P. Russell .. 
 Jacob Reinhard 
 
 Republican. . . 
 Democrat .... 
 
 184,557 
 171,226 
 
 Republican.. . 
 Democrat . . . . 
 
 Abraham Lincoln 
 
 Stephen A. Douglas .. 
 
 John Bell 
 
 John C. Breckinridge. 
 Gerritt Smith 
 
 David Todd 
 
 Hugh J. Jewett 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican .. .. 
 Ind. Democrat 
 Const. Union. . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Abolitionist.. . . 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 Democrat 
 
 Benj. R. Cowan. 
 
 William W. Armstrong 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 William W. Armstrong 
 Wilson S. Kennon 
 
 John Brough 
 
 C. L. Vallandigham. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln .... 
 Georije B. McClellan. 
 
 Democrat . . 
 Republican. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 William Henry Smith 
 William W. Armstrong 
 
 Jacob D. Co.x 
 
 George W. Morgan.. 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . 
 
 Willaim Henry Smith 
 Benjamin LeFever... 
 
 R. B. Hayes.... 
 A. G. Thurman. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 U. S. Grant 
 
 Horatio Seymour. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Isaac R. Sharwood... 
 Thos. Hubbard 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 184,839 
 170,400 
 
 221, 8og 
 
 187,421 
 
 12.193 
 
 ",303 
 
 136 
 
 206,997 
 
 151.774 
 109 
 
 207,352 
 
 151,912 
 
 181 
 
 184,315 
 178,755 
 
 288,826 
 187,728 
 
 265,654 
 205,599 
 
 223,642 
 
 193.797 
 
 360 
 
 256,302 
 213,606 
 
 243,605 
 240,622 
 
 280,167 
 238,621 
 
 267,066 
 249,682
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 83 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 vote 
 cast. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 President. 
 
 Sec'y of State 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 President. 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 R. B. Hayes .... 
 G. H. Pendleton. 
 Samuel Scott 
 
 Isaac R. Sherwood 
 
 William Heisley 
 
 Jay Odell 
 
 Edward F. Noyes. ... 
 George W. McCook . 
 Gideon T. Stewart 
 
 U. S. Grant 
 
 Horace Greeley.. 
 
 James Black 
 
 Charles O'Conor. 
 Scattering 
 
 Allen T. Wikoff. 
 Aquila Wiley . . . 
 F. Schumacher . 
 
 Edward F. Noyes.. 
 
 William Allen 
 
 Gideon T. Stewart. 
 Isaac C. Collins. . . . 
 
 Allen T. Wikoff., 
 William Bell, Jr.. 
 John R. Buchtel. 
 
 R. B. Hayes.. 
 William Allen. 
 
 Jay Odell 
 
 Scattering . . . . 
 
 R. B. Hayes 
 
 Samuel J. Tilden. 
 Ci. Clay Smith. . . 
 
 Peter Cooper 
 
 Scattering 
 
 Milton Barnes. . . 
 \yilliam Bell, Jr. 
 E. S. Chapman.. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. . . , 
 Dem. and Lib. 
 Temperance. . . 
 Democrat 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat.. . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 William H. West 
 
 Richard M. Bishop . . . 
 
 Lewis H. Bond 
 
 Stephen Johnson 
 
 Henry A. Thompson. . 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 Greenback.. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 
 Prohibition. 
 
 236,082 
 
 228,576 
 
 679 
 
 221,708 
 205,018 
 
 2,833 
 
 238,273 
 218,105 
 
 281,852 
 
 244.321 
 
 2,100 
 
 1,163 
 
 162 
 
 265,925 
 
 251,778 
 
 2,035 
 
 213,837 
 
 214,654 
 
 10,278 
 
 10,109 
 
 221,204 
 
 238,406 
 
 7,81s 
 
 297,817 
 
 292,273 
 
 2,593 
 
 17 
 
 330,698 
 
 323,182 
 
 1,636 
 
 3,057 
 
 317,856 
 311,220 
 
 249,105 
 271,625 
 
 16,912 
 4,836 
 
 465,337 
 429,559 
 460,446 
 
 529,598 
 519-733 
 
 448,878 
 467,425 
 
 592, -700 
 
 659,771 
 630,939 
 
 554.967
 
 84 
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 vote 
 cast. 
 
 1878 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 Governor 
 
 President 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Governor 
 
 President 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Milton Barne'; 
 
 David R. Paige 
 
 Republican.. . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Greenback .... 
 Prohibition 
 
 Republican 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition. . . . 
 Greenback 
 
 274,120 
 
 270,966 
 
 38.332 
 
 5,682 
 
 
 
 Jeremiah N. Robinson 
 
 Charles Foster 
 
 Thomas Ewing 
 
 Gideon T. Stewart 
 
 A. Sanders Piatt 
 
 589,100 
 
 1879 
 
 336,261 
 
 3'9.i32 
 
 4,145 
 
 9,072 
 
 547 
 
 
 James A. Garfield 
 
 Winfield S. Hancock.. 
 James B. Weaver 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Greenback 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 669,157 
 
 1880 
 
 375.048 
 
 340,821 
 
 6,456 
 
 2,616 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charles Townsend ... 
 
 Republican 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Greenback .... 
 Prohibition 
 
 724,967 
 
 1880 
 
 362,021 
 
 343,016 
 
 6,786 
 
 2,815 
 
 1.548 
 
 
 Charles A. Lloyd 
 
 William H. Doane 
 
 
 
 Charles Foster 
 
 John W. Bookwalter.. 
 Abraham R. Ludlow.. 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 Greenback 
 
 716,186 
 
 1881 
 
 312.735 
 
 288,426 
 
 '6,597 
 
 6,630 
 
 .38 
 
 
 Scattering 
 
 
 
 Chas. Townsend 
 
 James W. Newman... 
 
 K. Schumacher 
 
 George L. Hafer 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 Greenback 
 
 624,226 
 
 1882 
 
 297.759 
 316,874 
 
 I2,202 
 
 5.345 
 2.915 
 
 
 Joseph B. Foraker.... 
 
 George Hoadly 
 
 F. Schnmacher 
 
 Charles Jenkins 
 
 Republican 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 Greenback 
 
 635,095 
 
 1883 
 
 347,164 
 
 359,693 
 8,362 
 
 2,937 
 3, '54 
 
 
 James G. Blaine 
 
 Grover Cleveland 
 
 John P. St. John 
 
 Benj. F. Butler 
 
 Republican 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 Union Labor.. 
 
 721,310 
 
 1884 
 
 400,082 
 
 368,280 
 
 ii,o6g 
 
 5. '79 
 
 2.549 
 
 
 James S. Robinson 
 
 James W, Newman... 
 
 Peter M. Harold 
 
 Evan J. Morris 
 
 Republican 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Union Labor. . 
 Prohibition 
 
 787.159 
 
 1884 
 
 391.597 
 
 380,355 
 
 3.475 
 
 8,007 
 
 1,657 
 
 
 
 
 781;. 6qi
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 85 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Continued. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 
 vote 
 cast. 
 
 1885 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 President. 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Sec'y of State. 
 
 President. 
 
 Joseph K. Foraker... 
 
 George Hoadly 
 
 Adna B. Leonard .... 
 John \V. Northrop. . . 
 Scattering 
 
 James S. Robinson. 
 
 John McBride 
 
 Henry R. Smith . . . 
 Charles Bonsall.... 
 Scattering 
 
 Joseph B. Foraker... 
 Thomas E. Powell . . . 
 
 John Seitz 
 
 Morris Sharp 
 
 Scattering 
 
 Benjamin Harrison. 
 Grover Cleveland. . 
 Clinton B. Fiske. . . 
 Alson 1 , Streeter.. . 
 Scattering 
 
 Daniel J. Ryan . . 
 Boston G. Young 
 Walter S. Payne. 
 George F. Ebner. 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat.. . 
 Prohibition. 
 Greenback. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 Greenback . 
 
 Republican. . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Union Labor. 
 Prohibition . . . 
 
 Republican. . . 
 Democrat . . . . 
 Prohibition. . . 
 Union Labor. 
 
 Joseph B. Foraker... 
 James E. Campbell... 
 
 John B. Helwig 
 
 John H. Rhoads 
 
 Scattering 
 
 Republican .. . 
 Democrat . . . . 
 Prohibition . . . 
 Union Labor. 
 
 Daniel J. Ryan. 
 
 Thaddeus E. Cromley 
 Mel'thon C. Lockwood 
 
 Ezekiel T. Curtis 
 
 Scattering 
 
 William McKinley, Jr. 
 James E. Campbell.... 
 John J. Ashenhurst. . . 
 
 John Seitz 
 
 Scatterinij 
 
 Republican. . . 
 Democrat . . . . 
 Prohibition . . . 
 Union Labor. 
 
 Republican. . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition. . . 
 Union Labor. 
 
 Republican. 
 Democrat . . 
 Prohibition. 
 Peoples 
 
 Benjamin Harrison... Republican.. 
 Grover Cleveland. .. . Democrat... 
 
 James B. Weaver Peoples 
 
 John Bidwell 1 Prohibition.. 
 
 Scattering 
 
 359,281 
 
 341.830 
 
 28,081 
 
 2,001 
 
 2.774 
 
 341.095 
 329.314 
 28,982 
 
 2, 010 
 2.832 
 
 356,534 
 
 333.205 
 
 24,711 
 
 29,700 
 
 2,820 
 
 410,054 
 
 396,455 
 
 24,356 
 
 3.496 
 
 1,580 
 
 416,510 
 
 395.522 
 
 24,618 
 
 3.452 
 
 1,839 
 
 368,551 
 
 379-423 
 
 26,504 
 
 1,048 
 
 195 
 
 363.548 
 
 352.579 
 
 23.837 
 
 1,752 
 
 470 
 
 386,739 
 365,228 
 20,190 
 23.472 
 
 405,187 
 
 404,115 
 
 14.850 
 
 26,012 
 
 11,461 
 
 733.967 
 
 7-; 6,970 
 
 844.941 
 
 8r'.94i 
 
 742,186 
 
 795.631 
 
 861,625
 
 86 
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 Vote Cast at Presidential and State Elections, etc. — Concluded. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Office. 
 
 Names of Candidates. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 Number 
 of votes 
 
 each 
 received. 
 
 Total 
 vote 
 cast. 
 
 1892 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Governor 
 
 Sec'y of State.. 
 
 Samuel M. Taylor 
 
 William A.Taylor 
 
 Solon C. Thayer 
 
 George L. Case 
 
 Republican. . . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Peoples 
 
 402,540 
 
 401,451 
 
 14.554 
 
 25.885 
 
 11,946 
 
 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 
 
 William McKinley... 
 Lawrence T. Neal .... 
 Gideon P. iMacklin.... 
 Edward J. Bracken... 
 
 Samuel M. Taylor 
 
 Milton Turner 
 
 Mark G. McCasIin.... 
 Charles R. Martin 
 
 Republican 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition 
 
 Peoples 
 
 Republican.. . . 
 
 Democrat 
 
 Prohibition. . . 
 Peoples 
 
 861,625 
 835,604 
 
 ii893 
 
 433.342 
 
 352.347 
 
 22,406 
 
 15.563 
 
 1894 
 
 413,989 
 
 276,902 
 
 23.237 
 
 49.495 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 776,819 
 
 
 
 The Democrats and JefFersonian Republicans have 
 carried the state 34 times; the Whigs 8 times, and 
 the Republicans, under various names and alliances, 
 51 times. The plurality has been small, often being 
 less than 5000. The first appearance of the use of 
 money to effect results by influencing people cor- 
 ruptly, was with the advent of Charles Foster, of 
 Fostoria, O., as a candidate for Congress in '70, '72, 
 74, '76 and '78. He lived in the town in which he was 
 born. He was a man of affairs. He was engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits and profited by the opportunities 
 presented by the war. He accumulated a fortune 
 and branched out into investments in manufactures 
 and railroad improvements. He built up Fostoria, 
 which was named by his father, and made a thriving 
 town of it. He was a man of pleasant address, sound
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 87 
 
 judgment, and good sense. He was friendly to all 
 who knew him, was easy of approach, and popular 
 among his neighbors. In looking about for other 
 worlds to conquer his restless genius led him into 
 the field of politics. He was nominated for Con- 
 gress, The district was Democratic, He introduced 
 business methods into his campaigns. He did not 
 trust to noise and excitement. He perfected the 
 party organization; a thorough poll was made. This 
 enabled him to form an accurate estimate of the 
 number of votes he needed. Knowing this, the 
 places were found, the prices were ascertained, and 
 the money was placed in proper hands the night be- 
 fore the election, and such voters as could be reached 
 by money were " fixed," Chas, Foster was elected 
 several times by a small majority in a Democratic 
 district. His phenomenal success was attributed to 
 his great popularity. It was due chiefly to his use 
 of money. In 1879 he was nominated for Governor, 
 at Cincinnati, Judge Taft was the choice of his 
 party, but Chas. Foster was declared the nominee. 
 He owed his nomination to money. He was elected 
 Governor twnce. His ambition grew with his success. 
 He was a candidate for Senator, but had to give way 
 to others, Ohio had too many great men. They were 
 crowding each other. Garfield and Sherman were 
 ahead of Foster in the class of promotion, and he 
 had to wait. While he was waiting his expenses 
 continued. He was appointed Secretary of the Treas-
 
 OO BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ury, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of 
 Mr. Windom. He retired in 1893. His devotion to 
 politics had ruined his business. He became a bank- 
 rupt. His splendid fortune had been dissipated in 
 politics. Many who trusted him absolutely have 
 lost their homes and faith in humanity. Chas. Foster 
 will never recover. His wreck — his fortune gone 
 and a good name lost, teach a solemn and impressive 
 lesson. His code of morals was a dangerous and a 
 desperate one. In politics, he believed that his party 
 was always right, and the Democratic party was al- 
 ways wrong, and any act was justifiable that would 
 defeat his political opponents. Upon this specious 
 theory he soothed his conscience ; used his money to 
 corrupt the people ; committed a crime to do good,, 
 and justified his acts by the success of his party 
 and the achievement of his personal ambition. He 
 was the pioneer and apostle of Boodle in Ohio. 
 He was the first to introduce a system that has 
 brought disgrace upon the name of Ohio. His acts 
 can never be undone. Their influence for evil can 
 never be estimated. There is no punishment to 
 fit his crime. He will leave nothing but a ruined 
 reputation and an apt pupil in the person of Cal- 
 vin S. Brice, who has taken up the work where 
 Chas. Foster left it off, and has already added to the 
 shame of his native state by the unblusliing infamy 
 of his acts and methods. The example of Chas. 
 Foster, wrecked, ruined and disgraced, seems to have
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 89 
 
 no deterring effect. Similar acts must lead to similar 
 results. The eternal laws of justice are equal in their 
 operation and the results in Calvin S. Brice's case 
 must be the same. 
 
 " Aye, Justice, who evades her? 
 
 Her scales reach every heart; 
 The action and the motive 
 
 She weigheth each apart ; 
 
 And none who swerve from right or truth 
 
 Can 'scape her penalty." 
 
 HalVs Poems.
 
 
 MILKING THE SPRINGFIELD HEIFER. 
 [Porct<pine, Jan. iSgo.)
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 APPROACHING THE RAPIDS. 
 
 GOOD government, well administered, is the 
 first blessing to a people. Everything de- 
 sirable in life is thereby secured to them; 
 and from the operation of wholesome and 
 equal laws, the passions of men are re- 
 strained within due bounds; their actions 
 receive a proper direction ; the virtues are cultivated, 
 and the healthful fabric of civilized life is reared and 
 brought to perfection. 
 
 "But with all the care and attention to your interest 
 and happiness that can be taken, you have many 
 difficulties to struggle with. The subduing a new 
 country, notwithstanding its natural advantages, is 
 alone an arduous task ; a task, however, that patience 
 and perseverance will surmount. And these virtues, 
 so necessary in every situation, but particularly so in 
 yours, you must resolve to exercise. Neither is the 
 reducing a country from the state of nature to a state 
 of cultivation so irksome, as from a slight or super- 
 ficial view may appear. Even very sensible pleas- 
 ures attend it. The gradual progress of improve- 
 ment fills the mind with delectable ideas. Vast 
 forests converted into arable fields, and cities rising 
 in places which were lately the habitation of wild 
 beasts, give a pleasure something like that attendant 
 on creation, if we can form an idea of it. The 
 imagination is ravished, and a taste communicated 
 of the joy of God to see a 'happy world.' 
 (90)
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 91 
 
 "The advantages, however, are not merely imagi- 
 nary. Situated as you are, in the most temperate 
 climate; favored with the most fertile soil; surrounded 
 by the noblest and most beautiful rivers; every por- 
 tion of labor will meet its due reward. But you have 
 upon your frontier numbers of savages, and, too often, 
 hostile nations. Against them it is necessary that 
 you should be guarded. 
 
 "Run not into their customs and habits, which is 
 but too frequent with those who settle near them; 
 but endeavor to induce them to adopt yours. Prevent 
 by every means that dreadful reproach, perhaps too 
 justly brought by them against all the white people 
 they have yet been acquainted with, that, professing 
 the most holy and benevolent religion, they are unin- 
 fluenced by its dictates and regardless of its people." 
 — Extracts from the iuaugiiral address of Gov. Arthur 
 St. Clair ^ Marietta, O., July i8, ij88. 
 
 A century has passed since the first governor of 
 Ohio and the Northwestern Territory delivered his 
 address to a handful of men, women and children, 
 less than 200, on the edge of a vast wilderness. Five 
 states and part of a sixth have arisen in that territory. 
 Over twelve millions of people now live in that 
 country. The vast forests have been converted into 
 arable fields. Cities have arisen in number and 
 importance beyond the conceptions of the wildest 
 enthusiast. The savage so dreaded has disappeared 
 forever, and in his place have come other foes, more 
 dangerous to our civilization, our homes, and our in-
 
 92 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 stitutions than the untutored red man. The Indian,, 
 justly enraged by the encroachments of the whites, 
 saw the graves of his ancestors disturbed; the game 
 driven off; tlie forests destroyed; his fields and towns 
 ruined; himself and his family menaced amidst the 
 hills and valleys, where they were born, and by a. 
 people who proclaimed a new God of peace. They 
 saw the white man come with the gospel of love in one 
 hand, and a rifle in the other, and as he lifted his 
 voice in prayer to the mysterious being, he never took 
 his eye off" of the rifle-sight. These contradictions, 
 and the outrages of many years, made the Indian doubt 
 the professions of the white man. Being a human 
 being he naturally retaliated. He killed, scalped, 
 captured, tortured and destroyed, but in vain. The 
 tide was resistless. But while he tortured and 
 destroyed the bodies of our pioneer fathers, he never 
 assailed their reputations. He spared their good 
 names. In our modern politics we have savages that 
 excel in brutality the most atrocious deeds of the 
 relentless Indians. Good name, character, home, and 
 its loved ones are not saved from the destruction and 
 assaults of our modern political warfare. It is a merci- 
 less conflict, in which only a few of the fittest ever 
 survive. 
 
 II. Lincoln died April 15, 1865, the first presiden- 
 tial victim in a free country, to a maddened and 
 blinded politician's rage. His death was a public 
 calamity. But as subsequent events have proven, it
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 93 
 
 was fortunate for his own fame, that he died when he 
 did. He lived to see victory crown the efforts of our 
 armies. The war was over. The Union was pre- 
 served. The difficulties that confronted the govern- 
 ment were greater than those conquered in the civil 
 war. In carrying out his ideas of the treatment that 
 should be accorded the seceding states, the rebel and 
 the negro, it is doubtful if Mr. Lincoln would not 
 have entered upon a contest that would have alienated 
 a great portion of his party following, and aroused 
 the antipathy of the people of the North. He had 
 borne enough. Providence had provided a great 
 character to guide the destinies of a distracted people 
 in the dark hours of a civil war. He had done his 
 work successfully. The bells had not ceased their 
 joyous clamor over the final triumph, when that 
 shot rang out that terminated the life of this great 
 man. His fame is secured. His virtues, his genius, 
 his words, his deeds will become brighter as the 
 years cycle into centuries and ages ; and minds yet 
 unborn, will never grow weary in studying the 
 achievements and sounding the praises of this 
 grandest character of the nineteenth, if not of all the 
 centuries. Even in the South, before the generation 
 of those who struggled so heroically for a lost cause, 
 the " bloody and vulgar tyrant, Abe Lincoln," has 
 been acknowledged and is revered as "a noble and 
 benevolent instrument, sent by Providence to save a 
 people." The reconstruction of the states lately in
 
 94 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 rebellion, and the treatment of rebel and slave, were 
 the great problems that occupied the public mind 
 after the war, and aroused public feeling, and at times 
 the latter was more bitter and the lines more fiercely 
 and closely drawn than during the war. President 
 Johnson's uncertain policy and vacillating conduct en- 
 raged the partisans who had made him Vice-President. 
 War and its conditions drove many men of conflicting 
 views into political association, in what was known 
 as the Republican party. The preservation of the 
 Union was the only bond that held them together. 
 Whigs, Abolitionists, Knownothings, Free Soilers, 
 Anti-slavery Democrats, all flocked into the ark of 
 Republicanism, pending the storm. 
 
 When it was over their former prejudices and 
 principles began to assert themselves, and like the 
 animal under similar circumstances, there was a ten- 
 dency to return to their former state. Andrew John- 
 son was born and reared a Democrat, and when he 
 became President and his highest ambitions had been 
 realized, there was no longer reason to deceive him- 
 self and others, and his early training asserted itself. 
 A man may join another party, but he cannot change 
 the convictions of a lifetime, however much he may 
 want to or may think he can. 
 
 III. During the war, Ohio had, according to 
 James G. Blaine in " His Twenty Years in Congress," 
 a delegation of the ablest men in that body. At the 
 time of Lincoln's death, its character had changed as
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 95 
 
 to men, but had not diminished as to ability and in- 
 fluence. In the Senate she had Sherman and Wade, 
 and in the House were such men as Ha^-es, Schenck, 
 Le Blond, Lawrence, Shellabarger, Hubbell, Buckland, 
 Ashley, Bundy, Delano, Bingham, Spaulding and 
 Garfield. Two of these afterwards became President, 
 and are dead. Le Blond, Lawrence, Delano, Ashley, 
 Bundy and Bingham are still living, having exceeded 
 the Psalmist's "three score years and ten." In 1864, 
 Salmon P. Chase had desired to succeed Lincoln as 
 President, but the latter having been endorsed almost 
 nnanimously by the Ohio Legislature, Chase wisely 
 withdrew and was honored with a place upon the 
 Supreme Bench. In 1864, Lincoln and Johnson 
 were opposed by two sons of Ohio, McClellan and 
 Pendleton, for President and Vice-President, upon a 
 platform which declared that the war was a failure. 
 Fortunately the platform was wrong and the candi- 
 dates were a failure. Johnson's proposition to make 
 treason odious by wholesale executions and confisca- 
 tions, did not merit the approval of the popular mind 
 and heart. The men who had done the fighting on 
 both sides had seen enough blood spilt ; while only 
 some of those who had helped to put down the rebell- 
 ion with their mouths, were shouting for more gore 
 as a daily beverage. Benjamin Wade, in consulting 
 with President Johnson, as to his proposed policy of 
 extermination, did not favor a wholesale slaughter. 
 He thought the offering up of ten or dozen would do,
 
 96 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 and at the extreme he was not willing to sacrifice 
 more than "a baker's dozen," and he thought he 
 could select the victims, so that the choice would be 
 generally satisfactory. 
 
 When party lines are so sharply defined, there are 
 no stragglers between the opposing organizations, and 
 there is little opportunity and less need for the cor-' 
 nipt use of money to affect results. 
 
 In 1865, Gen. J. D. Cox was the Republican can- 
 didate for governor, and Gen. Geo. W. Morgan was 
 the Democratic candidate. 427,430 votes were polled. 
 This was 5,000 votes less than were polled in the 
 Lincoln-Douglas campaign of i860, and 44,000 votes 
 less than were polled in the Presidential campaign of 
 1864; Cox polled 233,033 votes and Morgan 193,797, 
 the Republican majority being 39,836. In 1866, the 
 Republicans cast 256,302 votes, and the Democrats 
 213,606. In 1867, the war amendments were the 
 issue. The doubtful experiment was to be made of 
 admitting the emancipated slave to the body of citi- 
 zenship, not as a matter of justice or for the public 
 welfare, but as a party necessity. His vote was 
 needed to help maintain the supremacy, not of prin- 
 ciples but of a party. Before the war, in the cam- 
 paign of 1856, between Buchanan and Fremont, we 
 remember our first political contest. It was charged 
 by the Democrats that the new party, the Republicans, 
 were not only opposed to slavery, but were in favor 
 of placing the negro upon equal terms with the whites.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 97 
 
 This of course was said to arouse the passions and 
 fears of the more ignorant class of voters. In a pro- 
 cession, a wagon load of young ladies carried a ban- 
 ner, demanding "white husbands or none." Some of 
 them have lived to see the laws repealed that made 
 it illegal to marry a negro. 
 
 Gen. R. B. Hayes, of New England stock, was the 
 Republican candidate, and Allen G. Thurman, one of 
 "the people from the Southward," a Virginian by 
 birth, was the Democratic candidate. Both had 
 served in Congress. Lucy Webb, Mr. Hayes' wife, was 
 a native of Chillicothe, Thurman's adopted town. He 
 represented the Ross district in '45 and '46, when the 
 famous Walker tariff law was passed by the Demo- 
 crats. His uncle, Wm. Allen, was at the same time 
 a member of the Senate. Thurman was elected a 
 judge of the Supreme Court under the new Constitu- 
 tion. He was engaged in the pursuits of peace and 
 practice of his profession, while Hayes was a general in 
 the army. Thurman and Hayes were friends and had 
 long been acquaintances. On their part the canvass 
 was a clean one. While their partisans were bitter 
 and personal, they treated each other as the leader of 
 his party, with decent consideration. Hayes received 
 243»6o5 votes, and 240,622 voted for Thurman. Hayes 
 was elected governor, by a majority of 2,983 votes. 
 The Democrats carried the Legislature. Clement 
 L. Vallandingham expected to be chosen United 
 States Senator. He w^as disappointed. Allen G.
 
 i^H BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Thurinan was elected to succeed Benj. Wade. The 
 Democrats had polled the largest vote they had ever 
 cast in the history of the state. Hayes received 22,000 
 votes less than had been given Lincoln in 1864, and 
 45,000 less than had been counted but not cast for 
 Brough in 1863. The strength of the Democrats aston- 
 ished the Republicans and surprised the whole country. 
 Its only significance was the prejudice against the 
 negro. It remains to be seen whether the Anglo-Saxon, 
 by constitution and laws, can break down the barriers 
 of nature and lift an inferior race to a level which the 
 white man has attained through unnumbered ages of 
 suffering, growth and development, while the black 
 man, as an evidence of the truth of the laws of evo- 
 lution, halted in the road to civilization amidst envi- 
 ronments that solely required him to indulge those 
 appetites and passions, that kept alive the animal, or 
 reproduced his kind. 
 
 The chasm between the white man and the black 
 is too wide to be bridged by laws; as Lincoln truth- 
 fully said before the war, that *' this country could 
 not be part slave and part free; it must be all slave or 
 all free." So the black man will not always be con- 
 tent to serve, and the white man never will permit 
 him to rule. Time and its troubles will make evident 
 the truth or falsity of this proposition, and that at no 
 distant day. 
 
 IV. The Ohio man was an important factor in the 
 politics of 1868. Gen. Grant had been nominated
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 99 
 
 for President by the Republicans at Philadelphia. 
 The Democratic convention met in New York City, 
 on the Fourth of July. The Ohio delegation, under 
 the masterful manipulation of Washington McLean, 
 was present with a candidate in the person of Geo. 
 H. Pendleton, "Young Greenbacks," and a platform 
 to make the "greenbacks" a legal tender for all debts. 
 The candidate was beaten, but the platform was 
 adopted, and the "Ohio idea" was born. 
 
 In 1862, when the legal tender act w^as proposed 
 and was pending in Congress, Geo. H. Pendleton 
 was the first to oppose the measure, and point out 
 the evils that had followed in the train of a paper 
 currency, based on nothing but hope and a promise 
 to pay, in the history of every nation that had at- 
 tempted the experiment. He quoted the words of 
 Daniel Webster, "that gold and silver currency is 
 the law of the land at home, the law of the world 
 abroad, and in the present condition of the world 
 there can be no other currency." But Pendleton, 
 Vallandingham and others, under the influence of 
 Washington McLean, whose earnest advocacy would 
 not be denied, abandoned the teachings of Democracy 
 in favor of "hard money," gold and silver, as provided 
 by the Constitution, and ventured upon dangerous 
 and forbidden paths. 
 
 Since 1868, the Democratic party has boxed the 
 compass, and occupied every side, and advocated 
 every possible phase of the money question, except
 
 100 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 outright repudiation, and now it is about to complete 
 its performances by being misled under the guise of 
 sound money, to repudiate one of the metals expressly 
 provided by the Constitution, and return to a wild cat 
 banking system, as advocated by the national platform 
 of 1892, and approved by Secretary Carlisle in his 
 recent Memphis speech. There should be no mystery 
 about money, in the financial system of a free people. 
 When there is, there is dishonesty and rascality. 
 The present conflict between the standards, gold and 
 silver, is not a skirmish. It is a battle. It should be 
 waged until its conclusion will fix forever the finan- 
 cial system of the United States upon a permanent 
 basis. The student in search of truth can discover 
 that there is an element of right in the contention of 
 both the gold and silver extremists, and the prin- 
 ciple of adjustment must be found in a line between 
 the two, but not in a compromise with either. 
 
 The framers of the Constitution, suffering from the 
 evils of the worthless Continental currency, took from 
 the states the power to coin money and fix its value, 
 and emit bills of credit, and provided that Congress 
 should have the power to "coin money, regulate the 
 value thereof and of foreign coin," and the states are 
 forbidden to "make anything but gold and silver 
 coin a tender in payment of debts." In regulating 
 the value of coin, Congress had power to fix the ratio 
 of value between gold and silver, but Congress had 
 no power to discriminate against the use of either
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 101 
 
 gold or silver. The same section of the Constitution 
 which authorizes Congress to " coin money and regu- 
 late the value thereof," authorizes it "to fix the 
 standard of weights and measures." If Congress, 
 having '•''fixed " the length of the yard stick, and the 
 size of the bushel, had proceeded to change and dis- 
 turb these standards of weight and measures from 
 time to time, confusion would have resulted and faith 
 in them destroyed, and their usefulness would have 
 ended. Congress can "regulate" the "value of gold 
 and silver" as to each other, but having fixed the unit 
 of value and the weight and fineness of gold and 
 silver, it can do no more. Laws and Legislators can- 
 not make values. Labor does that, trade and com- 
 merce help. Having deprived the states of the 
 Union of the power to "emit bills of credit," which 
 led to untold evils in the colonies during the revo- 
 lutionary war, the framers of the Constitution ex- 
 pected Congress to provide a national and uniform 
 system of currency and banking. This, Congress 
 failed to do, and up to the war over slavery, "the 
 states were permitted, by sufferance, to do that which 
 the Constitution expressly prohibited, and a "wild 
 cat" system of banking sprang up, with an unlimit- 
 ed system of unsecure and worthless paper money. 
 Certainly the states, being prohibited by the Feder- 
 al Constitution from making anything a tender in 
 payment of debts " but gold and silver," could not 
 delegate to individuals or corporations a power that
 
 102 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 they did not possess themselves. Yet this was done 
 for fifty years, and the result was the usual and uni- 
 versal harvest of speculation, panic, disaster, distress. 
 Not only once but repeatedly 
 
 Never in the history of the world, had an intelli- 
 gent and civilized people so persistently closed their 
 eyes to all the impressive lessons of the past, as to 
 financial matters, as did the people of the United 
 States of America, and never did a people pay heavier 
 penalties for outraging the principles that human 
 experience taught were the only safe ones to follow. 
 Perhaps no other government or people could have 
 survived the financial blunders and disasters that 
 mark the history of this country during the first cen- 
 tury of its existence. If the American people are to 
 learn nothing from their own immediate past, if the 
 blunders of the past century are to be repeated in the 
 next, it is certain that this experiment of a govern- 
 ment, "by the people and for the people," must 
 prove an absolute and dismal failure. 
 
 When the temptations of place and power can 
 lead such able, educated, well born and favored men 
 as Geo. H. Pendleton, to abandon the principles of 
 his party and the convictions of a lifetime, it is an 
 evidence of such tremendous forces at work in our 
 boasted civilization, that it raises the doubt, as to 
 whether there be strength enough in our free institu- 
 tions always to restrain them. There is not a branch of 
 our government, with its nicely adjusted balances and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 105 
 
 safeguards against the excesses of the popular will, that 
 has not at one time, separately or in unison, bowed to the 
 heresies of the hour, and trampled down the constitu- 
 tional barriers. Even the Supreme Court, a tribunal 
 that our fathers in their wisdom sought to place above 
 the storms and passions of the people and the hour, 
 has declared the Greenback Act unconstitutional, and 
 then reversed itself, under a pressure of either passion 
 or corruption, or both, that by their decision they made 
 the humiliating confession that they were too weak 
 to resist. The measure which war and its necessi- 
 ties made permissible, has become a menace in peace. 
 The greenbacks which were to be limited in quan- 
 tity, and redeemed in something of value, still stand, 
 to the number of 346,000,000 millions, as a monument 
 to party perfidy and human frailty. As the result of 
 the war and its subsequent legislation, we have the 
 most variegated system of currency that the world 
 ever saw, and the colors in Joseph's coat could not 
 outnumber the different degrees, and grades, and 
 kinds of money. We have bonds, bearing various 
 rates of interest ; we have copper, nickel, silver in 
 small coins, silver dollars, gold, national bank notes, 
 silver certificates, treasury notes, gold certificates and 
 silver bullion ; some a lawful tender for "all debts, 
 public and private," and some payable in gold, some 
 in silver and some in both. It is this system that 
 some parties wish to continue, and others wish to 
 make worse.
 
 104 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 This government* must have a uniform currency, 
 payable to all persons, for all purposes, and based on 
 something of absolute value. The constitution says, 
 that gold and silver shall constitute this value, and 
 the Supreme Court says, a paper currency may be 
 issued by the government in time of peace. There 
 should be a dollar's worth of gold and silver in the 
 vaults of the National Treasury at all times for every 
 paper dollar issued. Gold and silver are too valuable 
 to be placed in actual use. All governments refuse 
 to receive their own coins when slightly worn, or 
 disfigured, or clipped. There is not gold and silver 
 enougfh in the world to transact its business. There 
 never will be. It will grow less in proportion to 
 population each year. All the gold and silver in the 
 world used for money, is estimated in round numbers 
 at 8,000 millions, about equally divided between the 
 two metals. If gathered together it would occupy 
 less space than Bunker Hill monument, which is 30 
 feet square at the base, and 221 feet high, occupying 
 about 150,000 cubic feet. Four nations, England, 
 France, Germany and Russia, have nearly all the gold 
 in the world, and control its financial affairs. The 
 United States is a province of England; she pays 
 more tribute every year to the people opposed to her 
 commercial supremacy, in interest on bonds, than the 
 revenues of the Roman Empire amounted to in the 
 height of her power. No other government could long
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 105 
 
 survive the drain that America is subjected to. Amer- 
 ica cannot stand it long. 
 
 We must have a financial' system that will compel 
 those we owe to take our surplus products and not 
 our gold to pay interest. The government should 
 place a popular loan upon the market, to be taken by 
 our people, in bonds of a small denomination, at a 
 low rate of interest, and running for one hundred 
 years. This should be used to accumulate i,ooo mill- 
 ions, if needed, in gold and silver, to become the 
 basis of a national and uniform currency. iSloney 
 orders in any sum, at low rates, should be issued 
 through the postal department. A system of postal 
 deposits, also should be provided for, where any 
 sums could be deposited and draw a low rate of 
 interest, for stated periods. An}- holder of gold or 
 silver bullion, in quantities worth a thousand dol- 
 lars or more, should be allowed to deposit the 
 same at any government mint, and receive a cer- 
 tificate stating the amount and fineness of the same, 
 and leave the market to do what it does now: 
 fix its value. These certificates should draw no rate 
 of interest, but should be used by all banks as the 
 basis for any circulating medium that they might 
 desire to be issued by the government. The govern- 
 ment would hold the actual gold and silver, that 
 would guarantee the safety of every dollar. Experi- 
 ence has amply demonstrated, that banks cannot be 
 trusted with the gold and silver, to redeem circulation.
 
 106 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 No gold or silver should be coined as money, and 
 if kept in bulk, very little would be shipped either at 
 home or abroad. The certificates would answer for 
 large commercial transactions. There would be no 
 idle capital. If money could not find use in manu- 
 facturing and business, it could be deposited with the 
 government at a low rate of interest, and would only 
 remain there until it could find more profitable em- 
 ployment in business. The currency should be fixed 
 at a stated amount per capita after each Federal census, 
 and there should be a stated increase each year to 
 meet the growth of population and business. This 
 would give stability and prevent speculation and 
 uncertainty. Bankers object to this. They want to 
 transact the money business of the country. They 
 want the government to go out of the banking busi- 
 ness. It is not the business of a banker to make or 
 issue money. Experience has proven that it would 
 be both criminal and calamitous to entrust this sov- 
 ereign power to individuals or corporations. A banker 
 is a money loaner. The three golden balls were hung 
 fiirst over the doors of the early bankers. They belong 
 there now. The banker is not a philanthropist. 
 He does not open his bank with daih^ prayer, and 
 close it with a benediction. He prospers by the 
 needs and distresses of others. He is the Shylock 
 always standing at the altar of gain, with his knife 
 whetted and crying for "justice and his pound of 
 flesh." Bankers are not worse than other men, but
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 107 
 
 the opportunities and temptations of their business 
 are too strong for poor, weak humanity to resist. 
 There are more laws upon our statute books to regu- 
 late the uses and punish the abuses of money in the 
 banking business, than there are to punish or prevent 
 any branch of crime. 
 
 The banker is not a patriot. He has no claims 
 upon a nation's gratitude. Money is cowardly. It 
 always hides when there is danger. In the midst of 
 civil strife, when our national existence was threat- 
 ened, he stood like a highwayman, with his gun at the 
 head of the nation, and made it stand and deliver on 
 his terms. He dictated our financial legislation in 
 the dark hours of the war, by taking advantage of 
 our distresses. He has controlled the legislation 
 since the war by questionable methods. The banker 
 as a class is not a safe counselor or disinterested party 
 in shaping legislation for a free people. Let our 
 statesmen follow the path made plain by the. Consti- 
 tution and by experience. Let them give us a 
 national system of currency, based on actual values. 
 Let us lead the nations of the world. Let us do it 
 now, before our country is burdened with a vast pop- 
 ulation that the earth cannot feed, and our laws will 
 not control. 
 
 VII. Such men as Allen G. Thurman, C. L. Val- 
 landingham, Geo. E. Pugh and Geo. W. Morgan, 
 appeared in the Ohio delegation at the National Con- 
 vention. Under the powerful influence and personal
 
 108 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 magnetism of Washington McLean, nearly all but 
 Allen G. Thurman were bitten and badly poisoned by 
 the Greenback snake. The "Confederate Brigadier" 
 made his reappearance in politics and the counsels 
 of the Democratic party. He was busy four years 
 before trying to prove that the declaration that the 
 war was a failure, was true, and having escaped the 
 perils of war and Andrew Johnson's wrath, he cared 
 little what the platform contained, so that it (the plat- 
 form) declared against the reconstruction legislation 
 that followed the war. This was done. Mr. John- 
 son wanted to be nominated for the Presidency by a 
 party that he had bitterly opposed, and was ready to 
 denounce and oppose the party that had elected him 
 to the second place four years before. S. P. Chase 
 was a candidate. In the fight for the Senatorship, in 
 the Ohio legislature, a few months before, Pendleton 
 and his friends had aided Thurman to secure the cau- 
 cus nomination over Vallandingham. The latter 
 never recovered from this defeat. He felt that he 
 was justly entitled to the place by reason of his 
 services, and by virtual promises made during the 
 campaign, which were both explicit and implied. Val- 
 landingham could not forget a wrong. He would not 
 forgive an injury. He voted for Pendleton and favored 
 Chase, and helped kill the former with the latter. 
 After a prolonged contest, Pendleton was beaten, and 
 Seymour and Blair were nominated on a platform 
 that induced their defeat.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 109 
 
 The "Negro" and the "Confederate Brigadier" 
 became the scare-crows that the two great parties 
 used to keep their wavering followers in line. The 
 Republican ticket, headed by I. R. Sherwood, carried 
 Ohio in October by 17,500 majority, and a month 
 later Gen. Grant polled 280,167 votes and the Demo- 
 crats cast 238,621 for Seymour, The Republican 
 vote increased 13,000 in four weeks and the Demo- 
 cratic vote fell off 11,000, a fact that shows the heavy 
 load the Democrats were carrying in the campaign, 
 both as to platform and candidates. The total vote, 
 518,788, was the largest ever cast up to that time. In 
 1869, the Republicans nominated R. B. Hayes for 
 Governor and the Democrats placed Geo. H. Pendle- 
 ton at the head of their ticket. Hayes polled 235,081 
 and beat Pendleton by 7,501 votes after an exciting 
 campaign. In 1870 the Republicans carried the state 
 by a plurality of 16,695. ^^ 1871, Edward F. Noyes, 
 as the Republican candidate for Governor, defeated 
 Geo. W. McCook, who headed the Democratic ticket, 
 by 20,168 votes, Gideon T. Stewart, the Prohibition 
 candidate, polling 4,084 votes. 
 
 Under the able and splendid leadership of Valland- 
 ingham, the Ohio Democracy made its "New De- 
 parture" in 1 87 1 and declared in favor of accepting 
 the war legislation, as embodied in the three last 
 amendments to the constitution, as a finality. The 
 Democrats in other states followed the lead of Ohio 
 Democrats. This movement was the forerunner of
 
 110 BOSSES AND BOODLK. 
 
 the Liberal movement in 1872, which prepared the 
 way for the return of many able and influential men 
 to the fold of Democracy, from which they had been 
 driven by slavery and the war. 
 
 It would be interesting to give a detailed history of 
 the changing phases and fortunes of parties and pol- 
 itics at this time, but it is not the purpose ot the author, 
 nor is it within the scope of this work. We are hastily 
 following the trail of events, that we may properly 
 trace the causes that led to the advent of " Boodle." 
 
 VIII. The jealousy of the states to preserve their 
 rights and identity, and to prevent the influence of na- 
 tional on state affairs, made them hold their elections 
 for state officers apart from the Federal elections. In 
 1872, North Carolina voted in August, Vermont and 
 Maine in September, and Pennsylvania, Ohio and In- 
 diana in October. The results in these states foreshad- 
 owed the defeat of Greeley. The states gradually 
 changed their constitutions and held their state elec- 
 tions in November, upon the same day that the Federal 
 elections were held. Ohio was the last to abandon her 
 October elections, and the concentration of all the ef- 
 forts, money and men of the various political organiza- 
 tions, upon this advanced outpost, led the people to 
 adopt an amendment to the Constitution, making the 
 change in 1887. In October, 1872, the Republicans 
 polled 265,830 votes, the Democrats 251,780, Inde- 
 pendent 2,045. In November, Grant polled 281,852, 
 Greeley 244,321, and scattering 3,325. The over-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. Ill 
 
 whelming victory of Gen. Grant, after a most violent 
 and bitterly contested campaign, assured the Repub- 
 licans of the continued confidence of the people, and 
 the undisputed control of all departments of the gov- 
 ernment. But in less than a year the country was 
 convulsed by a panic, that was the legitimate result 
 of trifling with the laws that govern an honest and 
 wise financial system. A contraction of the large 
 volume of paper currency had been begun as a step 
 toward the resumption of specie payment. By 
 stealth and without that debate in Congress, or dis- 
 cussion in the press, that the importance of the sub- 
 ject demanded, silver had been stricken down by de- 
 monetization and one-half or more of the redemption 
 money of the country, had been dishonored and 
 reduced to servitude as token money, and by methods 
 unworthy of a great people and an honest monetary 
 system, the way had been surreptitiously prepared for 
 the resumption of specie payments in gold. So 
 quietly and cunningly had this great crime been com- 
 mitted, that many members of Congress and even the 
 President of the United States in signing the bill, 
 were not cognizant of the fact. 
 
 Greenbackism became rampant, and under public 
 clamor and the general distress. Congress and the 
 President both yielded, and the volume of paper 
 money which had been restricted, was increased. 
 The Democrats of Ohio adopted a platform in favor 
 of the "rag baby." That was a wide departure from
 
 112 BOSSES AND BOODI.E. 
 
 all the moorings of a past once glorious in the history 
 of a party that had never deserted the sound teachings 
 of experience and the Constitution. The convention 
 called from a long retirement as their standard bearer, 
 one of " the people from the southward," Wm. Allen, 
 of Ross, one of the most romantic and classical figures 
 in Ohio politics. He had made his last appearance 
 in public life, as a member of the United States Sen- 
 ate, during James K. Polk's brilliant administration. 
 Mr. Allen had lived so long in the peace and quiet of 
 his rural home, on the beautiful hills in the Scioto 
 valley, that he was unknown to the present genera- 
 tion. His reappearance upon the national stage was 
 like a ghost of another age. But he proved a very 
 lively ghost. After his first speech at Columbus, 
 Oliver P. Morton committed the unfortunate blunder 
 of sneering at the "palsied old man," and the result 
 was a vigorous reply as to Gov. Morton's physical 
 condition, that aroused the state and called forth 
 m.any a mossback to the polls, who had quietly been 
 awaiting the final summons of all. Gov. Allen's 
 opponent was Gov. E. F. Noyes, a man of ordinary 
 mind and few intellectual qualities, but gifted with a 
 magnificent pair of lungs, and a great voice. In a 
 total vote of 448,878, Allen received 214,654; Noyes 
 213,837; Stewart, Prohibition, 10,278; Collins, labor 
 candidate, 10,109. Gov. Allen was the only one on 
 the Democratic state ticket elected, thanks to Gov. 
 Morton's untimely sneer, and Gov. Noyes' weak
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 113 
 
 record. The Democrats carried the Legislature, and 
 Allen G. Thurman was re-elected to the United States 
 Senate. In 1874, the Democrats carried Ohio again, 
 polling 238,405 votes, to 221,204 cast for the Repub- 
 lican ticket, and 7,815 votes for the Prohibition can- 
 didate. 
 
 In 1875, R. B. Hayes, who had left Cincinnati, and 
 was living in Fremont, was called for a third term to 
 head the Republican ticket against Gov. x-Yllen. The 
 currency question was the leading issue. The battle 
 was a royal contest, and the largest vote ever cast in 
 Ohio was polled, 592,700. Of this number, Hayes 
 polled 297,817; Allen 292,273, and 2,610 scattering. 
 The importance of this fight led to the liberal con- 
 tributions inside and more especially outside of the 
 state, from bankers, office holders and others inter- 
 ested, and for the first time in the history of Ohio 
 politics, money from abroad was used to insure suc- 
 cess. It is not charged that any money was used 
 corruptly in this campaign, or in such quantities as 
 to change the result, but for the first time it became 
 an important factor in the result, under the direction 
 and advice of such brilliant and practical manipulat- 
 ors as Charles Foster. Gov. Hayes' triumph made 
 him the Republican candidate for the Presidency, 
 against Gov. Samuel J. Tllden, in 1876. Money 
 was the chief campaign argument on both sides 
 in Ohio, in the eventful campaign of 1876. It 
 was used to bring out and poll every vote that money
 
 114 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 by any means, could get. The result was two per- 
 fect party organizations, and the vote was an hon- 
 est expression of the will of the people, but it was 
 the beginning, in a large measure, of "Bosses and 
 Boodle," and the dawn of a system in which political 
 organization and manipulation became a paying busi- 
 ness. 
 
 At the October election, the Republicans polled 
 317,856 votes, and the Democrats received 311,220, 
 scattering 1863, and in November this was increased 
 to 330,698 votes for R. B. Hayes, 323,182 votes for S. J. 
 Tilden, and 5,891 scattering; a total of 659,771 votes. 
 Hayes' plurality was 7,516, the smallest ever given a 
 Republican-candidate for the Presidency in the largest 
 total vote ever cast in the state. The long dispute 
 over the result of the Presidential election, demoralized 
 the people and parties. In 1877, in a contest for gov- 
 ernor, R. M. Bishop, the Democratic candidate, re- 
 ceived 271,625 votes, and defeated Wm. H. West, the 
 Republican candidate, who received 249,105 votes, 
 while 34,237 were divided between three other candi- 
 dates. The Democrats carried the legislature and Geo. 
 H. Pendleton was elected to the United States Senate. 
 
 The refusal of Allen G. Thurman to endorse the 
 Greenback doctrine as urged by Washington McLean, 
 and advocated by the Cincinnati Enquirer^ had led 
 to a breach, and for years Thurman was bitterly 
 opposed and constantly pursued by the McLeans, 
 father and son, Washington, John, and their news-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 115 
 
 paper. Mr. John R. McLean, about 1872, had suc- 
 ceeded his father and associates in the ownership and 
 management of the Cincinnati Enquirer^ and for 
 years this influential but erratic and uncertain news- 
 paper, was destined to exert a wide, dangerous and 
 demoralizing influence upon the politics and Demo- 
 crats of Ohio. 
 
 In 1878, with the silver question for the first time 
 making its appearance as an issue before the people, 
 the Republicans carried Ohio, by less than 4,000 plu- 
 rality. The head of the ticket polled 274,120 votes, 
 to 271,625 cast for David R. Paige, while 44,014 votes 
 were cast for two other candidates. The advent of 
 David R. Paige in Ohio politics, marks the advent of an 
 important character. He is the forerunner of Demo- 
 cratic Boodle. He became later its chief dispenser. 
 There was but little money used in the campaign in 
 which he was defeated for Secretary of State, by such 
 a small margin. He was a prosperous and respected 
 young business man in Akron, O., when he entered up- 
 on the fatal paths of politics. He became a large con- 
 tractor on public works in West Virginia. He was 
 elected to Congress in 1882 from the Akron district, 
 and served one term. In 1883-4 he was the Boss 
 and Master Boodler in the Payne Purchase. He 
 removed to New York City, where he became inter- 
 ested in large contracts. He became involved. He 
 raised large sums of money by forgery, and failed 
 He fled the country, leaving family and relations
 
 116 BOSSES AND BOODI^E- 
 
 amidst the ruin wrought by his dishonesty, and to face 
 the shame and bear the punishment for his misdeeds. 
 His brother was involved and sent to the state prison 
 for defrauding those who had trusted him, and has 
 but recently been paroled, and permitted to rejoin his 
 heart-broken family. David R. Paige is a criminal 
 and a fugitive in a strange land, overtaken by a just 
 retribution for the crimes he committed as a Boss and 
 a Boodler.
 
 BOODLE NYMPHS SEDUCING CALVIN $ BRICE. 
 (Porcupine, Dec. i88g.)
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OVER THE FALLS INTO THE WHIRLPOOL OF COR- 
 RUPTION. — CHARLES FOSTER'S POLITICS, CAM- 
 PAIGNS AND METHODS. 
 
 'E need not stop to enquire whether any 
 immediate danger menaces the institutions 
 of the country. It is enough to ask our- 
 selves whether it can be justly said, that 
 the great public trust of suffrage is being 
 wisely administered, and whether its exer- 
 cise is securing good government to the masses of 
 the people. And in so far as it is not, it is the duty 
 of all good citizens to arraign suffrage at the bar of 
 public opinion, to give an account of its stewardship. 
 How IS suffrage organized and registered? Is it 
 done as in the simple days of the Republic? Is it 
 done deliberately and honestly at all? Not that 
 thousands do not vote considerately and conscien- 
 tiously. Of course they do. But the question is, 
 are the methods and appliances for carrying elections 
 conducive to, or even intended to produce, a full and 
 fair expression of the popular will, and by that ex- 
 pression to secure the best government for the people? 
 If that be the object, the means used would seem 
 to be singularly inappropriate, and the result singu- 
 larly deficient. A full and fair vote is what the 
 whole people, as well as the "political people," have 
 a right to demand; and legislation for the masses, 
 not for the classes, is the mandate of free government.
 
 118 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 " It is undoiibtly true, however, that to all free 
 governments, parties are an inseparable incident, and 
 serve in many instances a salutary purpose. And it 
 is equally true that all parties must have some system 
 of organization and concentration of action. And it 
 must also be conceded, that as voters consist of every 
 class of society, all can not be influenced by like 
 arguments, or brought into action by like induce- 
 ments. An appeal to principle may be sufficient for 
 one, while another can only be moved by playing on 
 his prejudices. And so, too, candidates often influ- 
 ence voters by mere personal popularity, without 
 reference to the principles they profess, or even to 
 their essential fitness for the place. There must, 
 therefore, be more or less laxity in the methods of 
 political action. All these things show the difficulties 
 of self-government, and should arouse the intelligent 
 voter to meet and overcome them. You are members 
 of the electoral college, and are bound by every con- 
 sideration that can address itself to freemen to per- 
 form your own duty, and require every other man to 
 perform his. The officers you choose, make or 
 administer the laws. How are officers made ? The 
 primaries are held to choose delegates to a conven- 
 tion. The primaries are manipulated by the " Bosses," 
 large and small, of party "rings." Thousands of the 
 best citizens all over the country never go near them. 
 The "workers," by personal importunity or influence 
 over the bread of the humble laborer, or through the 
 dram shop, or by ready cash, can too often control 
 votes enough at the primary to put in their men, and 
 fix the convention for their candidate. The " Boss 
 of the machine" becomes the master of the party.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 119 
 
 and throws his toils around all public officers and dic- 
 tates all public policies, 
 
 "GREASE FOR THE WHEELS." 
 
 "Then comes the canvass and the election. What- 
 ever else may be involved, the "spoils of office" are 
 at stake. The henchmen of the chiefs are looking 
 for their share of the booty, and why should they not 
 be ? Have not most of those who have wielded power 
 for years past, gone in poor and come out rich? 
 And is it not the laborer who helps to make the mill- 
 ionaire worthy of his hire? Do they not know, 
 does the country not know, that few who have ruled 
 long at the Federal Capital, have failed to become 
 rich ? Money, therefore, becomes the motive power 
 of the election. And can you expect that in a com- 
 munity, whose ruling thought is haste to get rich, 
 condemnation will come to the candidate who stakes 
 his all — and all his friends can raise — to secure a 
 prize where there may be "millions in it"? My 
 friends, the use of money at elections must be 
 stopped, or our Republic cannot endure. He zvho 
 bribes to be elected^ is ready to be bribed after he is. 
 
 " But the evil does not stop here. Profit, not honor, 
 becomes the motive to candidacy. The candidate 
 must be rich enough to bear his assessment and the 
 capable poor must be excluded. High statesmanship 
 is ended; personal aggrandizement is inaugurated. 
 The officer must make back what he spent for his 
 election, and public taxes are his spoils. He lives by 
 the "machine." As of old, he shouts: "Great is 
 Diana of the Ephesians." Patronage becomes power. 
 An army of one hundred thousand office holders are 
 taxed as their tenure of office, and they pay their as-
 
 120 . BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 sessments out of the taxes the people pay into the treas- 
 ury. Their assessments are expended in the interest 
 of the "machine." The voter is the vassal of the 
 office holder. The office holder is the vassal of the 
 "Boss." The President is the lord paramount of his 
 mesne lord, the "Boss." When a chief magistrate 
 refuses to a "Boss" Senator the dispensation of pat- 
 ronage in aid of his own aspirations, and in reward 
 for the power of his "ring" in carrying a State and 
 making that chief magistrate, like the turbulent 
 barons of old, he rebels, and indignantly resigns his 
 place in the Senate. Under this new feudal system 
 the workers swear fealty to the " Bosses," and the 
 " Bosses " own the rulers. Still this evil, great as it 
 is, might be borne. Who holds the offices if they be 
 well administered is of small moment. Nevertheless, 
 as men must be the agencies through which all 
 administration is carried on, their ability and purity 
 are matters of the first importance." — Speech of 
 Gen. Diirbin Ward, delivered at Hamilton, O., Jnly 
 4, 1882. 
 
 In his " Twenty Years in Congress," Mr. James G. 
 Blaine, very conveniently for himself, and very hap- 
 pily for his party, closes the period with the advent 
 of President Garfield's administration, from 1861 to 
 1881. He says: "The twenty years form indeed an 
 incomparable era in the history of the United States." 
 " It is difficult to estimate the progress of the people 
 of the United States, in intelligence and in wealth, 
 since the close of the Civil War." " The progress 
 of the American people in wealth is beyond prece- 
 dent." " Nor have these twentv vears been distin-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 121 
 
 guished only by the acquisition of wealth ; no period 
 of our history has been more marked by generous ex- 
 penditures for worthy ends." The doleful plaint of 
 the "Tribune of the people," Durbin Ward, which 
 heads this chapter, is a companion-piece to Mr. 
 Blaine's picture of our unexampled wealth and pros- 
 perity. The rapid accumulations of wealth in the 
 hands of the favored few is the natural result of laws 
 offering great inducements to money and stimulating 
 industries. Temptations crowd around such oppor- 
 tunities too strong for humanity to resist, and too 
 powerful to be abashed by the penalties of feeble 
 laws, which are only a protest and never a prevention 
 of such a class of crimes. These crimes were un- 
 known before the war. A train of evils with brazen 
 front and pompous tread follows in the wake of our 
 boasted prosperity. Men arise who are no longer re- 
 strained by virtue and conscience, but who are will- 
 ing to use this hastily acquired wealth to debauch 
 the people, and corrupt the right of franchise, to ad- 
 vance their own personal interests and ambitions. 
 There is no more signal illustration of this fact than 
 the political career of Charles Foster, of Fostoria, O. 
 His parents came from Massachusetts early in this 
 century. He was born in Seneca County, April 12, 
 1828, in the place founded and named by his father. 
 He was given an ordinary education. His was one 
 of those genial natures that would never have sur- 
 vived a collegiate course. His father taught him to
 
 122 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 share his business cares from early youth. In a 
 country store of a growing and prosperous agricul- 
 tural country, he learned to study human nature and 
 to weigh the hidden motives that move men even in 
 the common affairs of life. His ideas broadened as 
 he grew to manhood, and such was his capacity for 
 affairs, and devotion to the details of business, that 
 his father's business became his own. When the 
 war began, Charles Foster was in the prime of young 
 manhood, and in the midst of a successful business 
 career. He had no taste for battle-fields or glory. 
 His keen and calculating mind early discovered the 
 opportunities presented by a changing market and 
 rising prices, occasioned by the war and augmented 
 by the tariff legislation of Congress, and he was swift 
 to act, and greatly profited by his investments. As 
 he prospered, he and father branched out into many 
 lines of business and investments. They started a 
 bank, which for years was the custodian of the money 
 and possessed the confidence of the people from all 
 the surrounding country. He encouraged manufac- 
 turing enterprises. He became interested in rail- 
 roads, and induced no less than three lines to build 
 through Fostoria. 
 
 Up to the evil hour that first tempted him into the 
 field of politics, no man in the new northwestern 
 counties of Ohio had contributed more to their ma- 
 terial advancement and rapid development than 
 Charles Foster. He was deservedly popular. He
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 123 
 
 had a noble and generous heart. He never said 
 " No" to a worthy applicant of any kind. His stand- 
 ing in the financial world grew as his aflfairs pros- 
 pered. His word was better than a bond. He was 
 affable in manner, easy of approach, and always 
 cheerful. His presence was the sunshine that dispels 
 the gloom that hangs over and darkens so many 
 lives. His first appearance in politics was after the 
 war, when he made a hopeless race on the Republi- 
 can ticket for State Senator, in the strong Democratic 
 counties of Seneca, Crawford and Wyandot He was 
 beaten but not dishonored. The vote he polled in- 
 dicated his great popularity, and later led to his 
 nomination for Congress, in 1870. The Democratic 
 candidate was Edward F. Dickinson, of Sandusky, who 
 had served one term in Congress, and had endeared 
 himself to his party by his steady and uniform oppo- 
 sition to all the '* war measures," but unfortunately he 
 was addicted to excess in drink. Mr. Foster carried his 
 business methods into politics. He was thorough, and 
 neglected none of the details of organization that have 
 revolutionized political methods in Ohio. He was 
 most liberal in his allowances to local committees, but 
 he did not depend upon these common instruments of 
 parties to secure results. He had his personal agents, 
 who did '* missionary " work of a very effective kind in 
 every township in the district. Foster polled 13,274 
 votes to 12,498 polled for his opponent, and defeated 
 Judge Dickinson by 776 votes. The Democrats of the
 
 124 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 district were dumbfounded by the result. It was en- 
 tirely unexpected. The drift was all in their favor. 
 In a light vote the Republicans had carried the state 
 by less than 15,000 plurality. In Crawford County 
 Foster ran 10 votes behind the state ticket. In Erie 
 County he ran 187 votes ahead; in Huron County he 
 ran 52 ahead ; in Ottawa he ran 35 ahead ; in San- 
 dusky he ran 59 behind his ticket, and in Seneca he 
 ran 161 votes ahead. His splendid canvass had helped 
 the state ticket, and transformed a Democratic strong- 
 hold into a Republican district. The counties com- 
 prising the district, and the votes cast in the contest 
 of 1870, were as follows : 
 
 FOSTER. DICKINSON. 
 
 Crawford 1,613 2,461 
 
 Erie 2,735 1,260 
 
 Huron 3,344 1,939 
 
 Ottawa 791 1,148 
 
 Saudusky i>940 2,670 
 
 Seneca 2,85 1 3,020 
 
 Totals 13,274 12,498 
 
 Charles Foster made his appearance on the stormy 
 national arena, in the 42d Congress. James G. Blaine 
 was chosen Speaker over Geo. W. Morgan of Ohio, 
 receiving 126 votes, to 92 cast for Morgan. Among 
 ]\Ir. Foster's colleagues from Ohio, were Gen. John 
 Beatty of Marion, John A. Bingham of Harrison, 
 Chas. N. Lamison of Allen, James Monroe of Lorain, 
 Iv. D. Campbell of Butler, James A. Garfield of 
 Portage, Geo. W. Morgan of Knox, Ozra J. Dodds and 
 Aaron F. Perry from the two Cincinnati districts,
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 125 
 
 Frank McKinney of Miami, Samuel Shellabarger of 
 Clarke, and P. Van Trump of Fairfield. Upon Mr. 
 Foster's appearance in Congress, Mr. Blaine says : 
 " Charles Foster came from the north-western section 
 of Ohio, in which his father had been one of the 
 pioneers and founders of the town Fostoria. He 
 attracted more than the ordinary attention given to 
 new members, from the fact that he had been able to 
 carry a Democratic district, and, for a young man, to 
 exert a large influence on public opinion. He was 
 distinguished by strong common sense, by a popular 
 manner, by personal generosity^ and by a quick in- 
 stinct as to the expediency of political measures and 
 the strength of political parties. These qualities at 
 once gave him a position of consequence in the 
 House, superior to that held by many of the older 
 members of established reputation. His subsequent 
 career vindicated his early promise, and enabled him 
 to lead the Republican party of Ohio to victory, in 
 more than one canvass, which at the outset was sur- 
 rounded with doubt and danger." During his first 
 term, he served upon the Committee upon Claims. 
 The war amendments to the Constitution were 
 clinched by the Civil Rights bill, which was passed 
 during Mr. Foster's first term, and in deference to 
 public opinion, an amnesty bill was passed restoring 
 to citizenship all but about 700 persons who had been 
 outlawed by the third section of the Fourteenth amend- 
 ment. Being of a liberal disposition and a frank and
 
 126 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 open nature, and representing a Democratic district, 
 Mr. Foster was more advanced than his party, and he 
 made many friends among the Southern members of 
 Congress by his open advocacy of a generous policy 
 toward the South and its leaders. 
 
 The "Salary grab," was passed by this Congress. 
 An act that aroused the public indignation of the 
 North, and did much to shake the confidence of the 
 people in the Republican majority. Mr. Foster was 
 too shrewd a politician, and understood the temper of 
 the people too well, to be caught taking money he 
 did not earn. Such members from Ohio as Lamison, 
 and McKinney needed the " back pay," and took it, 
 and by doing so, signed their political deathwarrants. 
 
 II. In 1872, the Ohio Legislature, being Republican, 
 passed an act re-districting the state. The Demo- 
 cratic counties of Ottawa and Crawford were taken 
 off of the Foster district, and the county of Hancock, 
 in which Mr. Foster had many personal friends and 
 interests, was added. This left the district with a 
 small Democratic majority; with the two rockribbed 
 counties of Ottawa and Crawford detached, the task 
 of carrying the district was made lighter, and it was 
 one that Mr. Foster felt equal to. He was nominated 
 by the Republicans, and the Democrats and Liberals 
 put up as his opponent. Rush R. Sloan, of Erie. 
 However solemn and mournful the campaign may 
 have been in the other sections of the state, on ac- 
 count of Horace Greeley's nomination, the contest in
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 127 
 
 the Tenth district was not a lifeless one. The Dem- 
 ocrats had selected as a standard bearer, a man who 
 would " fight the devil with fire," and money flowed 
 like water. There never was such a contest before 
 in Ohio, and there have been few like it since. Foster 
 was met with his own methods, but he did not shrink 
 from the issue.* The two parties spent not less than 
 $60,000 in the campaign, and this came chiefly from 
 the two candidates. It was an open sale — a public 
 auction, and the goods were knocked down to the 
 highest bidder. Foster was elected over Sloan by 
 726 votes. The vote by counties was as follows: 
 
 FOSTER. SLOAN. 
 
 Erie 2,877 2,701 
 
 Hancock 2,384 2,641 
 
 Huron 3,939 2,433 
 
 Sandusky 2,468 2,910 
 
 Seneca 3,329 3,536 
 
 Totals 14,997 14,271 
 
 Mr. Blaine was elected speaker of the House in 
 the 43rd Congress, and Mr. Foster placed upon the 
 Ways and Means Committee. A most important 
 place for a comparatively new member. Among the 
 new members who made their appearance in the 
 House from Ohio, was Hugh J. Jewett,from the capital 
 district, who did not serve out his term, but resigned to 
 accept the presidency of the Erie railroad, and joined 
 
 ■■ Mr. Sloan, in 1880, told the writer that he spent $20,000 in 
 his campaie^n, and said Mr. Foster spent 135,000, and was elected 
 by buying two townships in Huron County.
 
 128 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 the Ohio Colony in New York City. Lorenzo Danford 
 came from the Belmont district, Gen. Jas. W. Robin- 
 son from the Hardin district, M. L. Southard from 
 Zanesville, R. S. Parsons from Cleveland, and Milton 
 Sayler and Gen. Henry B. Banning from Cincinnati. 
 This Congress, the 43rd, passed the act demonetiz- 
 ing silver, a fact that did not become generally known 
 until several years afterwards. The panic broke up- 
 on the country, and swept the Democrats into power 
 in many states. Mr. Foster made little noise, and 
 attended to routine duties during this Congress. In 
 1874 he was a candidate again. The Democrats were 
 eager for the fray, and sanguine of certain success. 
 The tide was all in their favor. They selected as a 
 candidate, Geo. E. Seney, a lawyer of good repute 
 having a paying practice, popular and not a pauper. 
 He did not attempt to beat his opponent at his own 
 methods. On his part the campaign was not a money 
 one. If it had been, he would have been beaten, for 
 when a candidate is compelled to buy his own parti- 
 sans to vote their own ticket, it is difiScult to tell how 
 many to buy, or how much to pay. Mr. Foster de- 
 feated Mr. Seney by 159 votes. The vote by counties 
 was as follows: 
 
 FOSTER. SENEV. 
 
 Erie 2,619 2,105 
 
 Hancock 2,297 2,415 
 
 Huron 3423 2,409 
 
 Sandusky 2,239 2,969 
 
 Seneca 3,200 3,721 
 
 Totals 13-778 13.619
 
 BOSESS AND BOODLE. 129 
 
 This was the closest race Mr. Foster had yet had. 
 He polled 1,200 votes less than he received two years 
 before, and there were 289 votes cast for a third can- 
 didate, but he had succeeded by a meager plurality 
 of 159, and he alone can tell approximately the 
 amount of money he had expended to secure his third 
 election. For the first time since the first election of 
 Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans had lost the con- 
 trol of the House of Representatives. The resump- 
 tion act was agreed upon in caucus, and became a 
 law in January, 1875, before the new Democratic 
 House, elected the previous fall, came upon the scene. 
 The forty-fourth Congress met March 6, 1875, and 
 M. S. Kerr, of Indiana, was elected speaker of the 
 House, receiving 173 votes to 106 cast for James G. 
 Blaine. Mr. Foster retired from the Committee on 
 Ways and Means, and was placed upon the Appro- 
 priation Committee, on which he served during this 
 and the succeeding House, when he retired from 
 Congress. 
 
 Among the new members from Ohio, who appeared 
 in this Congress, was Henry B. Payne, who succeeded 
 R. S. Parsons from Cleveland, and John R. Mc]\Iahon 
 from the old Vallandingham district. On the ad- 
 vent of this Congress, the capitol and the coun- 
 try were in a feverish and unsettled state. All 
 kinds of corruption were charged against officials 
 in every branch of the government, and these charges 
 were often well founded and generally believed. The
 
 130 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 time of the House was taken up in investigations, 
 and personal debates of the most exciting character, 
 in which Mr. Blaine figured as the leader and the star 
 on the Republican side. Boss Shephard and the 
 Washington ring were in the midst of their harvest. 
 To have held office during the past few years, was 
 a seemingly just ground of being a suspect of cor- 
 ruption, if not proven. The storm centered around 
 the unfortunate and indiscreet Secretary of War, 
 Belknap, who resigned his office and was impeached. 
 This performance appeased and soothed the public 
 mind. 
 
 III. Among the unique characters in this House 
 was James Williams, of the Vincennes district, In- 
 diana. He was a farmer. He dressed in plain, old- 
 fashioned " blue jeans." He wore a collar and 
 stock, was tall and angular, awkward and uncouth, 
 but he had strong common sense and a fund of hu- 
 mor and anecdote that gave him an honorable recog- 
 nition among his associates. He bore a striking 
 resemblance to Lincoln. He was chairman of the 
 Commitee on Claims, and he attempted to curtail the 
 expen'ses of the House. The amount of expenditures 
 for " lemons, ice, sugar, and things," had run up 
 into the thousands. His effi^rts at economy were met 
 with ridicule by the Republicans as a "pea-nut" 
 policy. Among the leaders in this assault was 
 Charles Foster. It was foreign to his nature to sneer 
 at any one, and his early life and training had taught
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 131 
 
 him the virtues of saving and economy. But four 
 years of life at the capitol had wrought a revohition 
 in Mr. Foster's personal views and habits. Late 
 suppers and receptions, champagne and draw-poker, 
 dress-suits and society had led Mr. Foster to forget 
 those honest days in his own career, when he wore a 
 " gallus " over his shoulder at the mill, and picked 
 his teeth with a splinter from a rail. He attempted 
 to belittle " Blue Jeans " Williams' attempt at econ- 
 omy, and his sneer provoked a reply from the plain 
 old farmer that was cruel and crushing. Charles 
 Foster's sneer at Mr. Williams led to his nomination 
 and election as Governor of Indiana, in the Presiden- 
 tial campaign of 1876. 
 
 IV. It was evident to Republicans that their party 
 supremacy was at an end, if Ohio were lost. Wm. 
 Allen was Governor, and was to be the candidate of 
 the Democrats in 1875, ^^^^ ^^ would require a good 
 man and extraordinary effort to defeat him. Charles 
 Foster had become a power in Ohio politics, and he 
 undertook the management of a preliminary cam- 
 paign, that led to the nomination and election of 
 R. B, Hayes as Governor in 1875, and this success 
 made the latter Republican candidate for President in 
 1876, and placed him in the White House in 1877. 
 
 Judge Alphonso Taft, of Cincinnati, was a candi- 
 date for the Republican nomination for Governor. 
 Both Governors Noyes and Hayes had declined to 
 be candidates, and it looked as if there would be no
 
 132 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 opposition to Judge Taft, but the " Pope's Big Toe'^ 
 made its appearance in Ohio politics, and Judge 
 Taft's opposition to the enforced use of the Bible in 
 the public schools made him a victim to the popular 
 frenzy. Foster skillfully worked up this feeling to 
 the detriment of Judge Taft. Pretending to favor 
 his canvass, he wrote him a letter as to his position 
 upon the Catholics and the public schools, and he 
 received a frank and manly reply. This Mr. Foster 
 produced and had read in the convention, and the 
 result was what he desired and expected, for the 
 apprehension of the delegates was aroused, and the 
 name of Mr. Hayes was sprung upon the convention, 
 and Judge Taft, instead of being nominated without 
 opposition, was badly beaten, securing less than 150 
 votes out of a total of 600, and Mr. Hayes was nom- 
 inated by acclamation. In 1876 Mr. Foster was 
 nominated a fourth time for Congress. His oppo- 
 nent was a John H. Hudson, a grain merchant and 
 respectable business man of Sandusky City. The 
 campaign resembled those that preceded it, but in 
 some respects it proved the hardest contest Mr. 
 Foster had ever had. The Democrats expected to 
 elect a President and were hopeful and united. Their 
 organization was superb and was backed by ample 
 funds provided by Mr. Hudson. Mr. Foster's con- 
 gressional record was attacked with telling eflfect, 
 but he knew every inch of the ground and every 
 person in the district, and by a careful canvass he
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 1S5 
 
 knew the strength of his opponent and his own 
 weakness. The Democrats carried the district in 
 October and November, and Mr. Foster ran ahead of 
 his ticket and beat Mr. Hudson by 271 votes. In 
 one locality, young men who were casting their first 
 votes, were paid five dollars each to vote for Mr. 
 Foster for Congress. The following is the result by 
 counties : 
 
 FOSTER. HUDSON. 
 
 Erie 3,178 3,157 
 
 Hancock 2,801 3,114 
 
 Huron 4,432 2,936 
 
 Sandusky 2,948 3,498 
 
 Seneca 3,965 4,348 
 
 Totals 17,324 17,053 
 
 This ends the sucsessful boodle campaigns in the 
 old Tenth District. The Democrats carried the Leg- 
 islature in 1877, and in 1878 the state was redistricted 
 and Mr. Foster was placed in a district composed of 
 the counties of Crawford, Hardin, Marion, Morrow, 
 Seneca and Wyandot. In 1878 he made his last Con- 
 gressional race in this district, and was beaten. He 
 ran ahead of his ticket, but either his "bar'l" was too 
 small, or the Democratic majority was too large or 
 too high priced to buy. There were 1,148 votes scat- 
 tering; the Democrats polled 16,273 votes and Mr. 
 Foster polled 14,982, and he made his exit from the 
 stage of national politics after eight years of service 
 in a very critical and memorable period of our Con. 
 gressional history. 
 
 V. Let us now approach one of the most alarming
 
 134 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 events in our national history, known as " the fraud 
 of 1876." We shall only deal with the details of 
 this period of our political history so far as they re- 
 late to Mr. Foster. In dealing with him as a public 
 character, who has attained his eminence and his 
 honors by great wealth, and its corruptions in politics, 
 it is a matter of simple justice, not only to portray 
 the good qualities of such a character, but to dwell 
 on those acts in his official and public career, that 
 may in some measure compensate for the wrongs he 
 has done his country and his age, and the crimes 
 he has committed against public policy and political 
 morals. 
 
 During President Johnson's term of office. Gen. 
 Grant was modest, wise and discreet. As soon as he 
 had reached this great office himself, his character 
 seemed to undergo a sudden change. His mind, like 
 that of all great military characters, was not used to 
 the genius and purpose of laws. In war he was 
 governed by conditions, and not laws. His genius 
 was his only law, and success had given him faith 
 in his infallibility. The Tenure-of-office act had been 
 passed by the Republicans to prevent Mr. Johnson 
 from removing their partisans from office. It was a 
 fight for the spoils. It was not an edifying spectacle. 
 For an alleged violation of this act, articles of im- 
 peachment were presented against Mr. Johnson, and an 
 attempt was made to depose him from his high office. 
 Fortunately the attempt failed by a narrow margin.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 135 
 
 Five days after Gen. Grant succeeded President John- 
 son, under the suspension of the rules, on motion of 
 Benj. Butler, the House of Representatives passed a 
 bill to repeal this act. The Senate was not equally 
 expeditious, but within a few weeks the teeth of the 
 act were pulled, and the removal of the obnoxious 
 Johnsonites from office began. 
 
 President Grant's scheme for the annexation of 
 San Domingo, which was rejected by the Senate in 
 June, 1870, was the beginning of a breach in the 
 Republican party, which grew to alarming propor- 
 tions. It first resulted in the Liberal disaffection, and 
 then in the factions known as the "Stalwarts," and 
 "Half Breeds," or Grant and Anti-Grant. Charles 
 Sumner, as chairman on the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations, made a speech arraigning the administra- 
 tion in his pompous and ponderous style. It hurt. 
 President Grant had been the popular ideal since the 
 war. He was fresh from a camp where his word was 
 obeyed, and all were subordinates, and where to ques- 
 tion was mutiny. He looked upon Senator Sumner's 
 acts as such, and proceeded, through his political 
 friends, to punish Mr. Sumner accordingly. When 
 the first Congress to which Charles Foster was elected 
 met and organized, March 4, 1871, the country was 
 astounded by the removal of Charles Sumner from 
 the head of the Committee on Foreign Relations. 
 This was done by a caucus of Republican Senators, 
 to please President Grant. This was a brutal act, and
 
 136 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 a causeless and needless humiliation to one of the 
 great characters of Congress. It was a blow from 
 which Mr. Sumner never recovered. This was the 
 first gun fired and the attacks began in earnest up- 
 on the administration. Open charges of corruption 
 were publicly made against some of President Grant's 
 favorites and personal friends. These charges the 
 Liberals crystalized in the Cincinnati platform in 1872 
 as a justification of their conduct. President Grant's 
 triumphant election for a second term, brought a lull 
 in the assaults upon himself and his administration. 
 But when it broke forth it was with greater violence 
 and more damaging than ever. The success of the Dem- 
 ocrats in 1874, enabled many Republicans who were op- 
 posed to the administration, but did not wish to appear 
 as its assailants within their own party, to mask their 
 purposes, and encourage and instigate charges and 
 investigations. Mr. Foster's sympathies and asso- 
 ciates were with Mr. Blaine and his friends, who 
 were opposed to President Grant. Mr. Foster had 
 sided with the Democrats in one of the complications 
 in the state affairs of Louisana, and became very 
 friendly and intimate with some of the Southern 
 members of Congress. As President Grant's admin- 
 istration grew older, there were fears freely expressed 
 and publicly proclaimed, that he would be a candi- 
 date for a third term. Upon his return to the Senate 
 in 1875, Ex-President Johnson, in a speech openly 
 charged President Grant with beinsf a candidate for
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 137 
 
 third term, and thought our liberties were menaced 
 by his administration. 
 
 Gen. Frank Blair, a Senator from Missouri, had 
 written a letter exposing President Grant's character 
 and ambitions, and predicted that he would never 
 leave the White House " until he was carried out feet 
 foremost." Many people believed this. But if Presi- 
 dent Grant ever had, at this time, any designs upon 
 a third term, the exposures made by a Democratic 
 House of Representatives, with the aid of their Re- 
 publican allies, who wanted to kill Grant off, laid his 
 ambition to rest. Public prejudice and opposition 
 made it evident that he could not accomplish his de- 
 signs by the regular avenues of party machinery, 
 such as had twnce secured his nomination and elec- 
 tion. President Grant was not a candidate in 1876. 
 He was in 1880, and failed. Garfield's assassination 
 and death was the legitimate result of an interminable 
 struggle that had been going on inside the Republi- 
 can party for over ten years. In the contest for the 
 Republican nomination for the Presidency in 1876, 
 Mr. Foster preferred Mr. Blaine, but was not averse 
 to nor downcast over the selection of ]\Ir. Ha^-es. He 
 had forced Mr. Hayes from retirement the year be- 
 fore, when Bill Allen and the rag-baby were laid 
 away to rest in a common political grave. The 
 Democrats nominated Samuel J. Tilden, and adopted 
 an excellent platform. The contest was a masterly 
 one. The result in the October states did not fore-
 
 138 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 shadow the result as formerly. In Indiana, " Blue 
 Jeans " Williams defeated Benjamin Harrison for 
 Governor, by 5000 plurality, and the Republicans 
 carried Mr. Hayes' state, Ohio, by about 9000 votes. 
 All parties paused to look over the October battle- 
 fields, and when the results were known, they re- 
 newed the conflict with tremendous vigor throughout 
 the country. When the polls were closed, the re- 
 turns clearly indicated the election of Mr. Tilden. 
 He had carried the solid South, New York, New Jer- 
 sey, Connecticut, and Indiana, but the next day Mr. 
 Chandler, the Chairman of the Republican National 
 Committee, telegraphed from New York City that 
 Mr. Hayes had received 185 electoral votes and was 
 elected. This claim astonished the Democrats and 
 aroused the whole country. The Republicans claimed 
 the electoral votes of South Carolina, Florida and 
 Louisiana, and the election of Mr. Hayes by one 
 vote. Of course the Democrats disputed this. Great 
 excitement ensued. The leaders and partisans of 
 both parties were wild and indiscreet. The Demo- 
 crats held meetings. They charged fraud. The Re- 
 publicans denied it. Resolutions were adopted, 
 pledging thousands of armed men to go to the Capi- 
 tal and seat the Democratic claimant. Riot, revolu- 
 tion and bloodshed seemed to be a foregone conclu- 
 sion. President Grant smoked and said little. His 
 opportunity was at hand. Prominent men of both 
 parties were sent South to watch the count. Mr.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 139 
 
 Hayes was silent. If he was not honestly elected, he 
 did not want the office and would not claim it. Mr. 
 Tilden was active but secretive in his endeavors 
 both to arouse public indignation and make good his 
 title to the office. He wanted the great prize dearly, 
 but he was not willing to fight for it. His friends 
 tried to purchase it for him. They failed. Treason 
 meant death, and in such a crisis there are no sums 
 that can tempt partisans, however cheap and dis- 
 honest they may be on ordinary occasions. 
 
 On November loth, a few days after the election. 
 President Grant sent his famous order to Gen. Sher- 
 man, saying: "Instruct Gen. i\ugur, in Lousiana, 
 and Gen. Ruger, in Florida, to be vigilant with the 
 force at their command to preserve peace and good 
 order, and to see that the proper and legal boards of 
 tanvassers are unmolested in the performance of 
 their duties. Should there be any grounds of suspi- 
 cion of a fraudulent count, on either side, it should he 
 reported and denounced at once. No man worthy of 
 the office of President should be willing to hold it if 
 counted in or placed there by fraud. Either party 
 can afford to be disappointed in the result. The 
 country can not affi)rd to have the result tainted by 
 the suspicion of illegal or false returns." This was 
 a most extraordinary document to emanate from the 
 chief executive of a free people under any circum- 
 stances. The President made the military authori- 
 ties a judicial tribunal to hear and decide a cause at
 
 140 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 law. The several returning boards certified the re- 
 turns in favor of the Hayes electors. The electors 
 met December 6th in the various states, and Hayes 
 received 185 votes and Tilden 184. The dispute 
 continued, although public excitement in a measure 
 subsided. Congress met the first week in December. 
 President Grant concentrated the troops around 
 Washington to "suppress disorder." His message 
 and his attitude alarmed thoughtful men of all par- 
 ties, and hastened the agreement that resulted in the 
 electoral count by a commission composed of five 
 members of the House, five Senators, and five Judges 
 of the Supreme Court. The demand for a compro- 
 mise came first from the South. Randall L. Gibson, 
 of Lousiana, presented a memorial to the House de- 
 manding the passage of a bill to provide a plan for 
 counting the electoral vote. Charles Foster had 
 pointed out to his Southern friends the danger of 
 President Grant's position, and the certainty of riot 
 and chaos. They could gain nothing by resisting a 
 compromise. If Grant held on until there was a 
 peaceful adjustment they would be deprived of the 
 control of their own states. If they agreed to com- 
 promise, by a lawful method, whoever was declared 
 elected would succeed Grant. They were assured 
 that if Hayes was seated they should be permitted 
 to retain control of their state governments. They 
 liad faith in Mr. Foster's word. He was backed by 
 Stanley Matthews. The bill became a law. In the
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 141 
 
 House 1 60 Democrats and 31 Republicans voted for 
 the bill, and 17 Democrats and 69 Republicans 
 against the bill. In the Senate 26 Democrats and 21 
 Republicans voted for the bill, and i Democrat and 
 16 Republicans voted against it. Three Ohio men 
 served on the commission, Senator Allen G. Thur- 
 man, H. B. Payne and James A. Garfield. By a vote 
 of 8 to 7, Mr. Hayes was declared elected. He was 
 inaugurated. He took the oath Sunday, March 4, 
 but was publicly inaugurated Monday, March 5, 1877. 
 Charles Foster, by his good judgment, shrewd man- 
 agement, and good faith, had aided to save our insti- 
 tutions from the most terrible strain they had ever 
 been subjected to. The Democrats took possession 
 of the state governments in all of the disputed states. 
 In IvOusiana Gov. Packard claimed to have received 
 12,000 more votes than Mr. Hayes, but the Demo- 
 cratic candidate. Gov. F. T. Nicolls, was installed as 
 Governor. Of this transaction James G. Blaine 
 says : 
 
 "No act of President Hayes did so much to create 
 a discontent within the ranks of the Republican party. 
 No act of his did so much to give color to the thou- 
 sand rumors that filled the political atmosphere, 
 touching a bargain between the President's friends 
 and some Southern leaders, pending the decision of 
 the Electoral Commission. The election of the Pres- 
 ident and the election of Mr. Packard, rested substan- 
 tially upon the same foundation, and many Republi- 
 cans felt that the President's refusal to recoo-nize Mr.
 
 142 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Packard as Governor of Louisiana, furnished ground 
 to his enemies for disputing his own election. Hav- 
 ing been placed in the Presidency by a title as strong 
 as could be confirmed under the Constitution and laws 
 of the country, it was, in the judgment of the majority 
 of the Republican party, an unwise and unwarranted 
 act on the part of the President to purchase peace in 
 the South, by surrendering Louisiana to the Demo- 
 cratic party." 
 
 Had Mr. Blaine told what he knew about this trans- 
 action, it would have made a very valuable and inter- 
 esting portion of his history of our politics. It is 
 most unfortunate that the few Statesmen who become 
 historians, feel a delicacy in giving the facts about 
 such important transactions. 
 
 VL Mr. Foster was not long idle. He was de- 
 feated for Congress in 1878, and his term expired 
 March 4, 1879, and he immediately began a quiet 
 and eflfective campaign for the nomination for gover- 
 nor, using the methods within his own party, that 
 he had used so frequently against the Democrats. 
 Among the members of the Ohio Legislature, elected 
 in 1877, was John Seitz, a farmer from Seneca county, 
 who had been elected to the Senate as a Democrat, 
 from Mr. Foster's Senatorial district. Mr. Seitz was 
 a farmer. He had served as a member of the Ohio 
 House of Representatives, and since his last appear- 
 ance in the Senate, in '78-'79, he has joined the Labor 
 and the Populist party. In 1881 he was a candidate 
 for Governor against Foster and Bookwalter, and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 143 
 
 polled 6,330 votes. In 1887 he was again a candidate 
 against Foraker and Powell, and polled 24,711 votes. 
 He is a man of more than average intelligence, with 
 strong convictions and restricted views upon public 
 questions. He was a useful member of the Legisla- 
 ture. He had known the Fosters, father and son, for 
 years. He had had ample opportunity to study the 
 methods of the younger Foster in politics. Brilliant 
 and effective as they were, generous and convincing 
 as they ever proved, Mr. Seitz in his simplicity had 
 permitted himself to become prejudiced against the 
 Fostorian school of politics. Mr. Seitz was firmly of 
 the opinion that if the evils that fall around in the 
 wake of ]\Ir. Foster's political activity, were not 
 restrained or prevented, that the ballot would become 
 a farce. In 1878 he introduced in the Senate, S. B. 
 No. 85, "To Preserve the Purity of Elections." The 
 bill was referred to the Committee on Elections, and 
 there died. 
 
 In 1878, in Mr. Foster's last race for Congress, great 
 as was the majority against him, and aided by the un- 
 popular candidate, E. B. Finley, he succeeded in thor- 
 oughly frightening his opponent and his party, but his 
 lavish use of money was in vain. When the Legisla- 
 ture met in the winter of 1879, •'^^r- Seitz introduced S. 
 B. No. 221, to cover Mr. Foster's case, and to "Preserve 
 the Purity of Elections." The bill attracted public 
 attention. It was carefully considered, and thoroughly 
 debated in both houses, and some startling statements
 
 144 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 were made as to the corrupt use of money by Mr. 
 Foster. It was generally understood that the pro- 
 posed law was intended to cover Mr. Foster's case, 
 and, if possible, prevent others from following in his 
 footsteps. This bill became a law, and is now a part 
 of our Revised Statutes, as follows : 
 
 Sec. 7064. Whoever, being a candidate for an office 
 of trust or profit under the constitution or laws of 
 this state, or of the United States, loans, or directly 
 or indirectly gives or offers or promises to give, any 
 money or other thing of value, to any elector within 
 the district in which he is a candidate, for the purpose 
 of influencing or retaining the vote of such elector, 
 or to any person to secure or retain the influence of 
 such person in his behalf as such candidate, or to be 
 used by such person to influence the vote of any elec- 
 tor, or of electors generally, or to influence him or 
 them to vote or to refrain froin voting, shall be fined 
 not more than one thousand and not less than five 
 hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the penitentiary 
 not more than three years, and be forever ineligible io 
 aiiy office of trust or profit within this state ; and a 
 violation of any provision of this section, by any per- 
 son elected to any such office, shall render his election 
 void, and, if he has taken office, shall operate as a 
 vacation of the same; but this section shall not be 
 construed to apply to hospitality extended at the resi- 
 dence of such candidate. 
 
 Sec. 7065. Whoever, not being a candidate for 
 office, disburses, or gives, or promises to give, any 
 money, or other thing of value, or gives or treats to 
 any spirituous, malt, or other liquors, directly or in- 
 directly to influence an elector in giving or withhold
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 145 
 
 ing his vote, or, with intent to induce him to vote 
 contrary to his inclinations, seeks by violence or 
 threats to enforce the payment of a debt, or to begin 
 a criminal prosecution, or to injure the business or 
 trade of an elector; or, if an employer of laborers, or 
 an agent of such employer, threatens to withhold or 
 reduce the wages of, or to dismiss from service, any 
 laborer in his employ, or refuses to allow to any such 
 employe the time to attend at the place of election 
 and vote; or whoever sells or offers to sell his influ- 
 ence with electors for a valuable consideration, ot 
 with, or by means of anything of value, seeks lo in- 
 fluence the vote of an elector, or to influence him to 
 vote, or refrain from voting, shall be fined not more 
 than two thousand nor less than one hundred dollars, 
 or imprisoned in the penitentiary not more than three 
 years. 
 
 Sec. 7066. Whoever asks, demands, or receives of 
 a candidate for nomination to any office by a political 
 party or convention, or of a candidate for an office 
 under any law, any money, or anything of value, not 
 then due and owing, or makes application to any such 
 candidate to purchase a ticket to, or to give any 
 money or any other thing of value for any pretended 
 ballj pic-nic, fair, entertainment or charitable enter- 
 prise, with the expectation or belief that such demand, 
 request, or receipt will influence the vote of an elector, 
 shall be fined not more than three hundred nor less than 
 fifty dollars, or imprisoned sixty days in the county 
 jail, or a workhouse, if there is such an institution in 
 the county, or be both fined and imprisoned ; and such 
 demand or request of a candidate shall be deemed 
 -prima facie evidence of such expectation or belief; 
 but prosecutions under this and the two preceding
 
 146 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 sections must be commenced within six months after 
 the commission of the act complained of. 
 
 VII. This law had no terrors for Mr. Foster. No 
 one has ever been arrested or convicted under its pro- 
 visions. No one ever will be, as long as the one who 
 asks, takes or receives, is punished for doing so. 
 Before the law was in print, Mr. Foster's agents were 
 covering the state in his interests, and securing 
 ]jl edges for support, and arranging to capture dele- 
 gates to the state convention. 
 
 Greenbacks were on a par with gold and silver. 
 Resumption, proposed in 1875, was a fact. There 
 was a general revival of business, the credit for which 
 was equally divided between Hon. John Sherman 
 and the Republican party. 
 
 Mr. Sherman was serving as Secretary of the 
 Treasury under Mr. Hayes. A fortunate combination 
 of circumstances had enabled him as an executive offi- 
 cer to carry out the financial plans he had favored as a 
 legislator. His name was freely used as a candidate 
 for Governor, but not with his consent. He wanted 
 to be President, and he fondly hoped that the success 
 of resumption, the return of prosperity, and his long 
 identity with the financial measures of the Republi- 
 can party would point toward Mr, Sherman as the log- 
 ical candidate. He did not think it would comport 
 with his career, or the dignity of his position as a 
 cabinet officer, to make the race for Governor of Ohio. 
 But the selection in 1876 of the Governor of Ohio as
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 147 
 
 the candidate of one party, and the Governor of New 
 York as the candidate of another, had made a fashion 
 that politicians were willing to follow. Mr. Foster's 
 ambitions had grown and expanded into great pro- 
 portions in the nine years since he had left the honest 
 and modest paths and by-ways of a useful commer- 
 cial life. He knew that there were great possibilities 
 in the future and the office of Governor. He wanted 
 it, and when Mr. Foster wanted anything in Ohio pol- 
 itics, if money could persuade it to roost under his 
 vine and fig tree, it was persuaded. Mr. Hayes and his 
 administration were grateful to Mr. Foster for the serv- 
 ices he had rendered at a critical time, and the cor- 
 dial support he had given both. It was natural that 
 Mr. Foster should have the support of both. But the 
 Stalwarts were opposed to Mr. Foster to a man, for 
 reasons given or implied in the statements made in 
 this chapter. They favored Judge Alphonso Taft, 
 whom Mr. Foster had so shrewdly flanked in 1875 and 
 supplanted by R. B. Hayes. 
 
 One of ^Ir. Foster's aids and managers in this con- 
 test was Alex. Sands, sometimes known as " Big 
 Six " and " The Archbishop." These titles had been 
 given him by the thoughtless and innocent, because 
 of Mr. Sands' usefulness and suavity in his political 
 labors. He made a specialty of politics and was a 
 successful " Boss" in his day and generation. He 
 had the valuable aid and co-operation of his friend, 
 Hon. Benjamin Eggleston, and a newspaper, TJic
 
 148 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Cincinnati Tiyncs. Mr. Sands did not confine his 
 efforts to any particular party, candidate, cause or 
 locality within the bounds of Ohio, but provided with 
 the resources, he could make himself useful to any 
 one who cared to charter his valuable services. His 
 newspaper was never a part of the bargain. It was 
 always thrown in for good measure and as a guaran- 
 tee of good faith. The Republican State Central 
 Committee fixed the meeting of the convention for 
 the latter part of May, and it Vv^as to be held in Cin- 
 cinnati. This being Judge Taft's home, it was con- 
 sidered a great victory for him, and his nomination 
 was looked upon as a foregone conclusion. But Mr. 
 Foster had never spread himself over the whole state 
 before, and they did not know his " capacity for or- 
 ganization." 
 
 On May 2 2d, a week before the convention con- 
 vened, a correspondent wrote from Columbus to the 
 Cincinnati Gazette^ that out of 149 delegates chosen 
 in 19 Republican counties, 105 were outspoken for 
 Taft and 44 were for Foster. There were 51 dele- 
 gates from Hamilton County, and of these Mr. Fos- 
 ter secured 12, much to the surprise of Mr. Taft's 
 friends and to the content of Mr. Sands' mind. This 
 defection in Mr. Taft's own county made it easier to 
 secure delegates that were wavering, as it was a con- 
 clusive argument that Mr. Taft was unpopular at 
 home. It was a strong reason for inducing the dele- 
 jjates from the back counties to change their minds
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 149 
 
 when a cash consideration was ofifered. The conven- 
 tion met in Music Hall. It was a large and demon- 
 strative gathering. Mr. Sands, with considerate fore- 
 sight, had provided a considerable number of en- 
 thusiastic patriots, who made a large amount of 
 noise at opportune times, in favor of Mr. Foster, and 
 upon any statement that could in any way have a 
 reference to him. Being the home of Mr. Taft these 
 demonstrations had no small weight with the heed- 
 less and innocent delegate. Mr. Sands fully ap- 
 proved Mr. Blaine's statement that "the power of the 
 mob in controlling public opinion, is immeasurable. 
 In monarchical governments it has dethroned kings, 
 and in republics it dictates candidates." 
 
 Wm. Dennison presided over the convention. 
 Many of the prominent men of the party were dele- 
 gates. The secretary was Wm. Leonard, of Cleve- 
 land, a useful man with a lead pencil, and one that 
 could be relied upon to make the proper additions 
 on the side of his sympathies. There were only 
 two candidates presented to the convention and 
 balloted for, Mr. Foster and Mr. Taft. A ballot 
 was taken, and the president of the convention an- 
 nounced that 565 votes had been cast, and that the 
 secretary would announce the result. It was thought 
 by all who had followed the vote closely that ^Ir. 
 Taft had an undoubted majority, but there was 
 unnecessary delay at the table of the secretaries, 
 and when the chairman made his announcement,
 
 150 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 Mr. W. D. Bickham, of the Dayton yotcrnal, chal- 
 lenged the vote. He called the attention of the con- 
 vention to the fact that there was only 554 votes 
 in the convention, and the secretary had reported 12 
 more votes than there were votes in the convention. 
 Mr. Dennison grasped the situation and quickly said 
 that if this was the case he would order another 
 ballot. This declaration created great consternation 
 among the Foster managers. Another ballot meant 
 the overwhelming defeat of their favorite, for they 
 had unmasked their forces, and could not rally them. 
 They had not foreseen and provided for such an 
 unexpected emergency. 
 
 The fatal blunder of the secretary was speedily 
 corrected. In his eagerness and hilarity he had 
 anticipated Mr. Foster's victory and had overdone his 
 task. The chairman, after some pressure, blandly 
 announced that the secretary had corrected the slight 
 error in his figures (by striking off 12 votes), and he 
 would announce the result. He declared that IMr. 
 Foster had received 28o|- votes ; Mr. Taft ayaf votes 
 and Mr. Kiefer 2 votes. It required 279 votes to 
 nominate. Mr. Foster was duly declared the regular 
 nominee, amidst the applause of Mr. Sands' friends 
 in the galleries and the curses and angry denuncia- 
 tions of Mr. Taft's friends on the floor. Mr. Benja- 
 man Eggleston, as a friend of Mr. Taft (in disguise), 
 promptly moved that Mr. Foster's nomination be 
 made unanimous, and the motion was carried, and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 1^1 
 
 Mr. Foster was escorted to the hall and proceeded 
 to read a speech from manuscript telling how highly 
 he felt honored at being so unexpectedly chosen. 
 There was an element of the ridiculous in the sit- 
 uation. ISIany delegates and most of the audience 
 left the hall while Mr. Foster was reading his speech. 
 There was loud complaint and much indignation 
 over the awarding of the prize to Mr. Foster, and 
 the corrupt and unfair methods used to defeat Mr. 
 
 Taft. 
 
 A canvass of the delegates the night before the con- 
 vention showed Taft had 314 votes, Foster 227, with 
 a few votes scattering. An instance that can be 
 proven by ample testimony, will show how Mr. Fos- 
 ter secured the nomination. Noble County had three 
 delegates in the convention. The delegation was 
 headed by Hon. James Dalzell, known as " Private 
 Dalzell." He is a country lawyer of some influence 
 and a hmited practice in his profession. He served 
 two terms in the Legislature, and attained his noto- 
 riety by numerous cards in the public prints, putting 
 down the War of the Rebellion. An examination of 
 his record as a soldier shows that when his regiment 
 was preparing for battle, sickness conveniently called 
 Mr. Dalzell to the rear, and he has killed more rebels 
 since the war than he did during actual hostilities. 
 When Mr. Dalzell arrived in Cincinnati to attend 
 Mr. Foster's convention, he secured a cot at a hotel, 
 in the room of the Athens delegation. Mr. Taft had
 
 152 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 no louder nor warmer advocate among the great crowd 
 than Mr. Dalzell was the night before the convention. 
 When the roll call began it was seen that the contest 
 would be close ; a delegate from Athens went to the 
 Noble delegation and asked how they stood. "Solid 
 for Taft," was Mr. Dalzell's ready reply. Before the 
 delegate could regain his seat Noble County was 
 called, and Mr. Dalzell stood on a chair and an- 
 nounced, " Noble County casts her three votes for 
 Charles Foster!" This unexpected announcement 
 and the astonishing change in Guernesy and other 
 counties showed that a number of Taft delegates 
 had been seduced. 
 
 After the convention adjourned Mr. Dalzell met 
 several of the Athens delegation in their room, and 
 one of them denounced him as an infamous scoun- 
 drel, and ordered him to seize his carpet-sack and 
 vacate the room. Mr. Dalzell pleaded with the justly 
 indignant Taft man and said, "You must not be too 
 hard on us. You know we are poor up in Noble, 
 and one of Mr. Foster's agents paid our railroad fare 
 and our hotel bill." "Is this all you got? Why 
 didn't you come to your friends; they would have 
 done as much, and while you were selling out, why in 
 the hell didn't you sell yourselves for something? " 
 It is probable that ]\Ir. Dalzell's well-known modesty 
 restrained him from making known the precise sum 
 he received for the votes from Noble County. 
 
 The Democrats nominated a soldier ticket. Gen.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 153 
 
 "Thomas Ewing for Governor and Gen. A. V. Rice 
 for Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Ewing could not stem 
 the tide of rising prosperity. He made a splendid can- 
 vass, but received no financial help from any source. 
 He was embarrassed in the midst of his canvass by 
 the treachery of one who held an important place 
 upon the campaign committee. Mr. Carson Lake, of 
 Akron, a newspaper man, was secretary of the execu- 
 tive committee, and as such was selling or giving the 
 secrets of the organization to the Cleveland Leader. 
 Aided by his own and the Democratic committee, 
 Mr. Foster was elected by the largest majority the 
 Republicans had carried Ohio by since 1872. The 
 largest total vote (669,159) was cast that had ever 
 been polled in the history of the state. Mr. Foster 
 received 336,261; Mr. Ewing, 319,132; Mr. Gideon 
 T. Stewart, 4,145; Mr. A. Sanders Piatt, 9,072, and 
 Mr. John Hood, 547. The Republican Legislature 
 chosen with ]\Ir. Foster, elected James A. Garfield 
 United States Senator. With his inauguration as 
 Governor of Ohio, Mr. Foster reached the zenith of 
 his life. He aided others to higher preferment but 
 could not help himself.
 
 COL. CALVIN $ELLERS BRICE. 
 "there's millions in it." 
 
 {.Porcupine, Nov. i88g.)
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DISGRACEFUL SCRAMBLE FOR THE OHIO DEL- 
 EGATION IN 1880. — THURMAN, PAYNE AND 
 JEWETT. 
 
 There are, thank heaven, 
 
 A nobler troop to whom this trust is given, 
 
 Who, all unbribed, at Freedom's altar stand 
 
 Faithful and firm, bright warders of the land! 
 
 Bv them still lifts the press its arm abroad 
 
 To guide all curious men along life's road, 
 
 To cheer young Genius; Pity's tear to start, 
 
 In truth's bold cause to rouse each fearless heart, 
 
 To hunt corruption from his secret den. 
 
 And show the master up, the gaze of wondering men. 
 
 — Sprague's Ctcriosity. 
 
 jLUTARCH, in his immortal Lives of the few that 
 have escaped the oblivion that has overtaken 
 the multitudes, tells a stately story of Cato, 
 the Younger. He had a brother, Caepro, to 
 whom he was deeply attached. The loss of 
 their parents had bound the orphans stronger in the 
 sincere ties of happy brotherhood. When but a child, 
 Cato was asked whom he loved most, and his answer 
 was, "my brother." He was then asked whom he 
 loved next to his brother, and his answer was, "my 
 brother." When the brothers reached manhood, Cato 
 went as an officer to Macedonic and commanded a 
 
 (154)
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 155 
 
 legion under Rubrius. His brother was stationed at 
 ^nus, in Thrace. Word reached Cato that Csepio 
 was very sick, and he put to sea, from Thessalonica, 
 in a small boat, with several friends and slaves, and 
 after a narrow escape from wreck and drowning, they 
 arrived at -^nus, just after Caepio had expired. Cato 
 showed the sensibility of a brother, rather than the 
 fortitude of a philosopher. He wept, he groaned, he 
 embraced the dead body, and, besides these and 
 other tokens of the greatest sorrow, he spent vast 
 sums upon the funeral. The spices and rich robes 
 that were burned with the body, were very expensive, 
 and he erected a monument for him of Thasian mar- 
 ble in the forum at ^nus, which cost no less than 
 eight talents. The lavish expenditure of money, and 
 display of wealth and magnificence, at his brother's 
 funeral, excited great comment at Rome, both favor- 
 able and antagonistic, and many condemned Cato, 
 because of his severe simplicity, extreme opposition 
 and rugged hostility to the prevalent luxury and corrupt 
 tendencies of his age and people. Although among 
 the richest men of Rome, his economical habits and 
 opposition to the extravagance of the wealthy classes, 
 led many to believe that he was miserly and parsi- 
 monious and loved money, rather than simplicity. 
 He courageously exposed and attacked the corrupt 
 practices and ambitious purposes of Julius Caesar, and 
 the latter assailed him in a work known as The Anti- 
 Cato. In this Julius Caesar alludes to the incident
 
 156 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 of the funeral of Cato's brother, and to belittle his char- 
 acter before the people, he charges, that Cato passed 
 the ashes of his brother and of the funeral pile through 
 a sieve, to recover anything of value that might have 
 been melted by the flames. — We are sifting the ashes 
 of dead events, in our political life, to discover the 
 truth. 
 
 II. The inauguration of Charles Foster as Gover- 
 nor of Ohio, the election of James A. Garfield to the 
 United States Senate, although still a member of the 
 House of Representatives, and the endorsement of 
 John Sherman as a favorite son, and as the candidate 
 of the Ohio Republicans for the Presidency, were 
 events that followed fast upon each other's heels, in 
 the early part of 1880. Ex-President Grant had 
 spent several years abroad, as the honored guest of 
 many nations, rulers and people. His return to his 
 own country, whether accidental or designed, was 
 upon the eve of the Presidential election. The re- 
 ceptions tendered him in the leading cities, were the 
 result of the sincere regard felt for him by the people. 
 His absence from his own country, had quieted the 
 tongues of partisan malice, and the apprehension and 
 jealousy of political rivals. The people were anxious 
 and willing to welcome home and do honor to a man 
 that had been a successful commander of their armies 
 and twice held the highest office in their gift. 
 
 Grant's party and political friends were not slow to 
 take advantage of this popular favor, and use it to aid
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 157 
 
 in the accomplishment of their immediate political am- 
 bitions. His former friends and political allies feared 
 the magic of James G. Blaine's name, and his nomi- 
 nation by the Republican convention seemed an 
 almost foregone conclusion, until the return of their 
 idol. 
 
 It was charged that the Ex-President was again a 
 candidate for a third term. He neither affirmed nor 
 denied this charge. He did not restrain the enthu- 
 siasm of his friends. His attitude aroused all the 
 fears that existed during his second term in office. 
 Former charges were renewed with greater emphasis 
 and more embittered feeling. The Republican party 
 now entered upon the fiercest factional fight that the 
 organization had ever known. The Republican 
 National Convention met in Chicago, the first week 
 of June, 1880. The Ohio delegation was headed by 
 such well known men as Ex-Gov. Dennison, James 
 A. Garfield, Gov. Foster and Benj. Butterworth. In 
 numbers, the delegation was for John Sherman, at 
 heart, it was against him. On the preliminary ques- 
 tions, such as the unit rule, which divided the con- 
 vention, the Ohio delegation was about equally di- 
 vided, and this lack of unity destroyed all of its in- 
 fluence as far as Mr. Sherman was concerned. His 
 enemies within his own party, and from his own 
 state, were bold and bitter in their attacks. It was 
 duly charged against Mr. Sherman and other candi- 
 dates that the Negro delegates from the South had
 
 158 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 been bought up, but the trouble with the colored 
 brother was that he would not remain purchased long 
 enough for the goods to be located and the votes 
 counted. Among the specific charges made by 
 Charles Moore, of Columbus, afterwards one of Gov. 
 Foster's appointees, was, that a check for $ioo had 
 been given Reuben L. Smith, a colored delegate 
 from Florida, and a railroad ticket from Washington 
 City to Chicago and return. The check was in Mr. 
 Sherman's handwriting, and it was charged that it 
 and the ticket had been given Mr. Smith by Mr. Sher- 
 man for his vote; but as Mr. Smith's vote was cast 
 with the vote of Florida, for Mr. Grant, and was one 
 of the immortal 306, these charges may be consid- 
 ered as having been made but not proven. The 
 check and Mr. Smith were both photographed for 
 future use. The attitude of Ohio Republicans had a 
 demoralizing effect upon the Ohio delegation, which 
 contained at least two ambitious men, and many 
 others on the delegation who were obeying the plain 
 letter of their instructions, but violating the spirit, 
 if the instructions ever had a Sherman soul. The 
 attitude of Ohio delegations, in National Conventions 
 of both parties for many years, has not been credit- 
 able to either party, and has fallen short of reflecting 
 honor upon the state. Upon this occasion, both 
 Gov. Foster and Mr. Garfield must be credited with 
 commendable state pride. If either one of them 
 could not get first or second place on the ticket, they
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 159 
 
 were in favor of Mr. Sherman for whatever he could 
 get. These two made studied and dramatic entrances 
 at conveniently arranged periods, into the hall, and 
 by the most fortunate combination of circumstances 
 and a judicious distribution of tickets,- that seemed 
 fore-ordained, there was always a body of patriots 
 that were blind to the presence of any one in that 
 historical gathering but Foster and Garfield, and 
 they never made their appearance upon the scene 
 without a boisterous welcome that bordered upon 
 popularity, and attracted all eyes to these Siamese 
 twins from Ohio. This by-play, so successful on this 
 occasion, has been imitated since by other sons of 
 Ohio, but without such gratifying results. 
 
 The convention continued a week, and ran over Sun- 
 day. There seemed to be a determination to starve 
 the Southern brothers of both colors, into submission. 
 On Saturday night the grandest oratorical display, to 
 the greatest audience that America had ever seen, took 
 place. Roscoe Conkling presented the name of the il- 
 lustrious Grant, and James A. Garfield placed himself 
 in nomination, under the guise of presenting the name 
 of John Sherman of Ohio. If Blaine should be nom- 
 inated, Gov. Foster was playing for second place. If 
 Garfield could be nominated, Gov. Foster was willing 
 to be looked upon as his Creator. Mr. Garfield was 
 nominated. His nomination was chiefly due to the 
 management of Gov. Foster and the timely action of 
 the Indiana delegation, led by Benj. Harrison.
 
 160 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 The old Guard did not surrender. On the 36th and 
 last ballot, Garfield had 399 votes, Grant 306, Blaine 
 42, Washburn 5, and Ohio's favorite son John Sher- 
 man 3. Out of the five candidates at the finish, three 
 of them were Ohio's sons, and it was natural that one 
 of these should win the prize. But the general opin- 
 ion was, that the wrong son had won, and this view 
 was sustained by both the friends of Grant and 
 Sherman. 
 
 III. The unexpected result of the Republican con- 
 vention, and the angry protests of the partisans of 
 the defeated candidates, filled the Democrats with 
 great hopes. Garfield was a local man in Ohio. He 
 had never been a candidate before the people of the 
 state for any office. There was a general impression 
 that he had secured his own nomination by being 
 false to his state, her instructions and the anointed 
 choice of his party in Ohio. Sam'l J. Tilden would 
 like to have been vindicated, by a nomination as the 
 Democratic candidate, but his age, his health and the 
 exposures of corrupt proposals by his friends and those 
 bound to him by ties of blood and interest, in the 
 " Fraud of 1876," made it impolitic to put him at the 
 head of the Democratic column. Before the conven- 
 tion convened, it was generally understood that he 
 w^ould not be a candidate, and there was a well founded 
 rumor that Henry B. Payne, of Ohio, had been named 
 as Mr. Tilden's heir. But one of "the people from the 
 Southward," was in the field. At the convention of
 
 BOSSES AND KOODLE. 161 
 
 Ohio Democrats, held the first week in May, at Cohim- 
 bus, Allen G. Thurman had been unanimously en- 
 dorsed, as their first choice for the nomination for Presi- 
 dent, and no other name had been mentioned. The 
 delegation to the national convention which was to meet 
 in Cincinnati in June, had been )-c(jitcslcd iogixQ their 
 united support to Mr. Thurman. Hugh J. Jewett's 
 name was mentioned as a candidate under certain con- 
 ditions. Again "one of the people to the Southward," 
 was in opposition to one of New England birth and 
 lineage, Allen G. Thurman was opposed by Henry 
 B. Payne. 
 
 There is a thread of romance, an element of sen- 
 timent, a purpose, and a providence running all 
 through the political events of Ohio, as there has 
 been in other affairs of the state. How narrow and 
 restricted human foresight is, when it attempts to 
 pierce the veil of the future. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, 
 anxious for the welfare of the State that he and his 
 associates were about to found, did not think " the peo- 
 ple to the Southward," were desirable as companions 
 in the new venture. In his own lifetime they so domi- 
 nated and controlled the destinies of the new state, 
 that Mr. Cutler, as a member of Congress, voted to 
 prevent Ohio from entering the Union. In the con- 
 tinued conflict of years, since Ohio became a state, 
 "the people to the Southward" have worthily borne the 
 burdens of all our struggles, and have reflected honor 
 upon the growing glory of Ohio. It is the sons of
 
 162 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 New England, the descendants of the Puritans, your 
 Paynes, your Fosters, and your Prices, that have yielded 
 to the temptations of wealth, and have corrupted the 
 people, "The people to the Southward," your Aliens, 
 your Thurmans, and your Durbin Wards, have ever 
 stood against corrupt men and methods, in battling 
 for the preservation of free institutions and uphold- 
 ing the rights of the people. 
 
 Allen G. Thurman's humble birth, useful life, and 
 honorable career has laid to rest the prevalent "13" 
 superstition. He was born in Lynchburg, Va., Nov. 
 13, 1813. His father was a preacher, too, and died 
 when he was a child, after the family had removed to 
 Chillicothe O., in 1821. His mother was a sister of 
 Wm. x\llen, and to her watchful care Mr. Thurman 
 acknowledges that he owes the bent and habits that 
 formed his character and mind. In 1878, in debate, 
 in reply to an attack by Mr. Blaine, in the Senate, 
 Mr. Thurman began his speech by saying : " I was 
 born a plain country lawyer," but the records show 
 that notwithstanding this fact, as stated by Mr. Thur- 
 man, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar 
 and began the practice of law in 1835. In 1844 he 
 married Mary Dun, of Kentucky, and the same year 
 he was elected to Congress, at the election of James 
 K. Polk, President. 
 
 In 1851 he was elected a Judge of the Supreme 
 Court of Ohio, and served until 1856. In 1867 he 
 ran for Governor, was beaten, and was elected to the
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 163 
 
 United States Senate. In 1873, ^^^ nncle, Wm. Allen, 
 was elected Governor, with a Democratic Legislature, 
 which elected Mr. Thurman to a second term in the 
 United States Senate. In 1880, Mr. Thurman was 
 approaching the close of his twelve years service in 
 Congress. He was in his 67th year. The Presi- 
 dency was an honor which his life and public serv- 
 ices had qualified him to fill, and gave him no small 
 claim upon the consideration of his party, if great 
 merit and faithful services are qualifications. His 
 unanimous and apparently hearty endorsement by 
 his party in Ohio was a gratifying evidence of his 
 high standing at home, but the attacks of the Cincin- 
 nati Enquirer^ and the persistent opposition of Wash- 
 ington and John McLean, weakened Mr. Thurman 
 as a candidate, and prepared the way for the Bosses 
 and Boodle to debauch the Ohio delegation, and bring 
 shame upon the state and disgrace upon the Ohio De- 
 mocracy. It is an unfortunate habit of the Ohio Demo- 
 crats to denounce the corrupt practices of the Repub- 
 licans one year, and proceed to indulge in the same 
 evils the next. The example has been fatally con- 
 tagious. The fact that the National Convention was 
 to be held in Cincinnati, and other causes, formed a 
 combination favorable to an Ohio man, and the logic 
 of events pointed to Mr. Thurman as that man. But 
 alas, Mr. Thurman had no " bar'l," and above all, he 
 was averse to the corrupt expenditure of money in 
 politics. Unfortunately there were Democrats who
 
 164 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 did have mone\', and whose friends were heartily in 
 favor of using it in any manner to attain a desired 
 end. Among those who were brought forward as 
 candidates for the great prize, were Hugh J. Jewett 
 and Henry B. Payne. When the State Convention 
 met their names were not mentioned, except quietly, 
 and no effort was made to influence the delegates or 
 the convention. But as the delegates were chosen 
 by districts, before or after the State Convention con- 
 vened, the agents and partisans of both these can- 
 didates labored to secure the selection of men favor- 
 able to their favorites. 
 
 IV. Hugh J. Jewett had resigned his seat in Con- 
 gress from the Franklin district in 1874, and had 
 removed to New York City, to accept the receivership 
 of the Erie Railroad. He was " one of the people to the 
 Southward," having been born in Hartford Co., Mary- 
 land, about 18 1 5. He began practicing law in 1838, and 
 in 1840 he located in St. Clairsville, Belmont County, O,, 
 and in 1848 he removed to Zanesville. He confined his 
 practice to those questions involving financial prob- 
 lems, and became a very successful corporation lawyer. 
 In 1852 he was made president of the Muskingum 
 branch of the Ohio Bank. In 1853 he was elected to 
 the State Senate, and was appointed United States Dis- 
 trict Attorney. He became interested in railroad en- 
 terprises, and in 1857 he was elected President of the 
 Central Ohio Railroad, now a part of the Baltimore 
 & Ohio system, and later he held a similar place on
 
 BOSESS AND BOODLE. 165 
 
 the Little Miami and Muskingum Valley roads, and 
 was a Vice-President of the P. S. & St. h. Railroad. 
 In 1861 he was the Democratic candidate for Gover- 
 nor, and was defeated by David Tod, the Union can- 
 didate. He was a candidate for United States Sena- 
 tor in 1863, but the Democrats were in a minority in 
 the Legislature. In 1867 he was elected to the State 
 Senate and helped elect Allen G. Thurman to the 
 United States Senate. Mr. Jewett was a Democrat 
 by birth, but not by occupation. His life, business 
 and associates do not constitute the soil which is con- 
 genial to the growth of Democratic principles His 
 capacity for managing great financial interests, and 
 untangling complicated business affairs, was of the 
 highest order. It was unfortunate for his fame, that 
 either by himself or others, he permitted the use 
 of large sums of money to further his candidacy for 
 the Democratic nomination for the Presidency. It 
 brought nothing but dishonor to a name hitherto un- 
 sullied, and put a weight upon a name and character, 
 that otherwise might have passed into history with a 
 just renown. 
 
 By the use of money, Mr. Jewett's friends did not 
 advance his interests, but they helped destroy the 
 character and influence of the Ohio delegation, and 
 made it utterly impossible for Allen G. Thurman, or 
 any other Ohio man to secure the nomination. 
 
 V. Henry B. Payne, of Cleveland, O., was born in 
 Hamilton, Madison County, N. Y., Nov. 30, 1810.
 
 166 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 His family came from Connecticut. His mother was 
 a Douglas, and he and Stephen A. Douglas were blood 
 relations. He and Douglas studied law in the same 
 town, and at the same time, and began a friendship 
 that ended only with death. Douglas came to Cleve- 
 land in the winter of 1833, and was taken sick and 
 nearly died. Three months later, Payne came to 
 Cleveland and found Douglas in a bad condition, and 
 nursed him back to health. Douglas at once left 
 Cleveland in disgust, and went to Illinois. Payne 
 having divided his fortune, $100, with his friend. A 
 year later young Payne began the practice of law in 
 Cleveland, but in 1846 he abandoned his profession 
 on account of ill health. His tastes inclined toward 
 business, and he early discerned the fact that Cleve- 
 land was destined to be a great city. He married 
 Miss Perry, a daughter of Nathan Perry, one of the 
 wealthiest men in the city. He invested liberally in 
 every enterprise that he thought would help build up 
 a great city. He took an active part in municipal 
 affairs, and held many places. He was the first pres- 
 ident of the Cleveland &. Columbus Railroad, and was 
 interested in all the railroads that now constitute the 
 magnificent system that centers in Cleveland. In 
 1849 1^^ was sent to the Ohio Legislature. In 1851 
 he became a member of the State Senate, and was a 
 candidate for United States Senator against Benj. F. 
 Wade, and was beaten by one vote. In 1857 he was 
 the Democratic candidate for Governor, against Sal-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 167 
 
 men p. Chase, and was beaten 1,503 votes. Chase 
 received 160,568, Payne 159,065, and Van Tump 
 10,272. 
 
 It is said, but we do not vouch for the truth of the 
 statement, that if Allen G. Thurman and " the people 
 to the Southward," were jealous of Mr. Payne and 
 his prominence in the party, and if they had not with- 
 held their cordial support, he would have beaten 
 Chase, and might have made great changes in history. 
 Mr. Payne was an elector-at-large in the Cass cam- 
 paign ; he was a delegate to the National Conven- 
 ventions in 1856, i860 and 1872. He and George 
 H. Pugh led the fight at the Charleston Convention, 
 and he made the minority report of the Committee 
 on Resolutions, and replied to the attacks of Toombs 
 and Yancey. He was the first man from the North 
 in a generation that taught the "fire-eater" that 
 there were some Democrats in the North who had 
 rights and convictions that they would not surrender 
 and did not fear to maintain. He foresaw that war 
 would follow the disruption of the Democratic party 
 at the Charleston Convention. When war came he 
 did not abandon his party, but he favored the sup- 
 pression of the Rebellion, and the preservation of the 
 Union. In 1861, when Hugh J. Jewett ran for Gov- 
 ernor, Mr. Payne was a candidate for Judge upon 
 the ticket. In 1874 he was nominated for Congress, 
 in Cleveland. In accepting the nomination, he said : 
 *' If elected, and my life is spared to serve out the
 
 168 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 term, I promise to come back with hand and heart 
 as undefiled and clean as when I left you." He was 
 elected but did not keep his word. He favored the 
 Electoral Commission and served as a member of the 
 *' 7," who could not out-vote the " 8." He was a mem- 
 ber of the House Committee on Banking and Currency, 
 and prepared a plan of compromise on the currency 
 that was adopted by a Democratic Caucus, after three 
 months discussion, in which the paper advocates and 
 gold men nearly disrupted the party. Like Mr. 
 Thurman, Mr. Payne never departed from the sound 
 and historic teachings of his party upon the money 
 question. With the end of Mr. Payne's term in Con- 
 gress in 1877, his public career ended for a time. He 
 was mentioned as a candidate for the United States 
 Senate against Geo. H. Pendleton, in 1878, but only re- 
 ceived a few votes in the Democratic caucus. A cam- 
 paign of a questionable character was made in which 
 thousands of dollars were foolishly spent by ill-advised 
 friends, and nothing accomplished except to place Mr. 
 Payne's good name in jeopardy. It seems that a good 
 name and great riches can not go hand in hand in pub- 
 lic life, especially if a man is a father, like Mr. Payne 
 and Mr. Jewett, and has sons who have money, like 
 Oliver Payne and Geo. Jewett, who are not backward 
 in spending it to promote a father's ambition and 
 fame. But what a father can not earn by his abilities, 
 merits and opportunities, the sons can not buy with
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 169 
 
 money. There are offices for sale, but honor can not 
 be bought. 
 
 VI. Mr. Payne had three children living at this 
 time. A daughter had married Wm. C. Whitney of 
 New York, and two sons, Nathan and Oliver, lived in 
 Cleveland. Nathan Payne was a companionable and 
 lovable fellow, with a great capacity for spending 
 money, and little for its accumulation. He had a 
 weakness for politics, and lost no opportunity, that he 
 thought would advance his father's interests. Oliver 
 Payne became identified with the Standard Oil Cor- 
 poration, and was a large stockholder, and held an 
 important official position in that great and powerful 
 body. Politics had no charms for him. He was 
 proud of his father's public career, and his sole and 
 commendable purpose in life, was to see the long and 
 useful career of a worthy sire, rounded out by further 
 and greater honors. To accomplish this, Oliver 
 Payne was willing to spend fabulous sums of money. 
 This well known disposition was taken advantage of 
 by politicians, and whenever there was a vacancy 
 in any office, worthy of Henry B. Payne's high stand- 
 ing, and which it was thought he would consent to 
 fill, an agitation was begun in the press, by such able 
 engineers as Col. W. W. Armstrong of the Cleveland 
 Plain Dealer, and it was made to appear that there 
 was a popular demand for Mr. Henry B. Payne — 
 an aching void that he alone could fill. There was 
 also a private demand upon Mr. Oliver Payne's
 
 170 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 purse, which he promptly met, and liberally in- 
 creased as occasion seemed to require and justify the 
 use of money. 
 
 Henry B. Payne was not a candidate for the nomi- 
 nation for the Presidency. He knew how elusive this 
 phantom had ever been. He knew how dangerous, 
 if not dishonorable, it would be to have his name 
 used after Allen G. Thurman had been so cordially 
 endorsed by the Ohio Democracy. But under the 
 leadership of W. W. Armstrong, David R. Paige and 
 other ill-starred advisers, it was a Payne boom or 
 "bust," and they "busted." But they secured the 
 selfish object of their dark work. They induced 
 Oliver Payne to make liberal expenditures of money. 
 
 After the New York State Democratic convention, 
 Wm. C. Whitney, Mr. Payne's son-in-law, headed the 
 delegation to the National convention, and when it 
 was known that Mr. Payne could secure the solid vote 
 from New York State, efforts were at once made to 
 divide the Ohio delegation and drive Mr. Thurman 
 from the field as a candidate. W. W. Armstrong and 
 David R. Paige, at an early stage in the contest, had 
 both visited New York City, and pledged their sup- 
 port to Hugh J. Jewett. They both took his money 
 to aid his canvass. Later both as delegates to the 
 national convention from their districts, declared in 
 favor of Mr. Payne, and received and used money to 
 aid his canvass. There is a magical touch in Boodle 
 that enables the Bosses to perform some surprising
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 171 
 
 acrobatic feats, and cut antics before high heaven that 
 pass the comprehension of the ordinary mind. God 
 may see and understand, men never can. 
 
 The Payne agents went over Ohio visiting the del- 
 egates, and trying by argument and money to secure 
 their pledges to support Mr. Payne. Out of the 44 
 delegates, the Jewett men claimed 18, the Payne men 
 14, and this left 12 out of 44 delegates who had been 
 instructed by a state convention for Allen G. Thur- 
 man, to carry his banner into the great contest. Mr. 
 Thurman and his friends were not ignorant of what 
 was going on. Telegrams and letters kept him ad- 
 vised of the movements of Mr. Payne's agents, but 
 he did not know until too late of the trail of golden 
 grease that these agents had left in various sections 
 of the state. The operations of the Payne agents were 
 not confined to Ohio. No effort was lost to convince 
 the delegates in other states, that Mr. Thurman was 
 not the choice of the Ohio Democracy, notwithstand- 
 ing the action of the convention which had unani- 
 mously endorsed him. David R. Paige made a mis- 
 sionary tour to the West Virginia Democratic conven- 
 tion two weeks before the Cincinnati convention, and 
 labored to secure the endorsement of that state for 
 Mr. Payne, because he had a majority of the Ohio 
 delegation and not Mr. Thurman. This was the 
 manner in which the instructions of the Ohio Dem- 
 ocrats were obeyed, "to use every honorable effort to 
 secure the nomination of Allen G. Thurman."
 
 172 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 VI. A final attempt was made by Mr. Thurman to 
 check this treason and to turn back the rising tide of 
 corruption. He sent out a letter to the members of 
 the Ohio delegation, to meet him in conference at 
 Columbus, O., on Saturday, June i8. Some twenty- 
 one out of the forty-four responded to the call. Those 
 present were: Gen. Jas. B. Steedman of Toledo, and 
 Hon. Jno. McSweeney of Wooster, delegates at large ; 
 Geo. Hoadly, Chas. Baker, Alex. Long and Julius Reis 
 of Cincinnati, all opposed to Thurman and eager to cut 
 his political throat ; W. J. Alexander of Spring Valley, 
 Chas. Brosel of New Bremen, W. H. Hill of Defiance, 
 L. T. Neal of Chillicothe, John G. Thompson of 
 Columbus, Chas. D. Martin of Lancaster, John O. 
 Neil of Tiffin, Henry Bohl of Marietta, C. C. Lewis 
 of Caldwell, Frank Marriott of Delaware, Wm. E. 
 Haynes of Fremont, S. Clements of Bucyrus, John 
 Farley of Cleveland, David R. Paige of Akron, and 
 D. L. Coleman of Ravenna. Most of these were Mr. 
 Thurman's enemies and stood pledged to Mr. Payne 
 or Mr. Jewett. It was a sad meeting. It reminded 
 one of the vultures waiting on the fence for the horse 
 to die, so that they could pick the bones. Senator 
 Thurman, accompanied by Senator Pendleton, arrived 
 from Washington, and went to the meeting. No one 
 knew what the meeting had been called for. All were 
 eager to learn. Geo. Hoadly, nervous and jerky, 
 and always in a hurry, like a lawyer with more busi- 
 ness than he could attend to, broke the ice and ended
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 173 
 
 the suspense, by saying that they had gathered at 
 the request of Mr. Thurman and were ready to hear 
 from him. The venerable Senator said his name had 
 been mentioned as a candidate for the nomination for 
 the Presidency, but it was not his candidacy. He 
 had been put forward as the candidate of Ohio, and 
 he hoped every Democrat who went to Cincinnati, 
 would go as an Ohio Democrat and not as a Thur- 
 man man. He had assurances of strong support from 
 other states, if Ohio was a unit and cordial in his sup- 
 port. He thought the Ohio Democracy were entitled 
 to some recognition. The Republicans had showered 
 honors upon their sons from Ohio, where Ohio Dem- 
 ocrats had been ignored. He did not want to appear 
 egotistical,but he thought he could carry Ohio against 
 Mr. Garfield. 
 
 The speech was coldly received. Mr, Thurman 
 was throwing snow-balls into a vast furnace of cor- 
 ruption in full blast. Geo. H. Pendleton made an 
 eloquent plea for a united support of Mr. Thurman 
 by the Ohio delegation. He was received in silence. 
 W. D. Hill, of Defiance, threw diplomacy off", and de- 
 nounced the attempts to weaken the influence of the 
 Ohio delegation by saying it was not for Mr. Thur- 
 man. No other delegate said a word. Most of them 
 sat like conspirators, conscious of their guilt. Judge 
 Hoadly said he had to catch a train, and he moved 
 that the delegation meet in Cincinnati, at the Grand 
 Hotel, at lo o'clock Monday. This was in accord-
 
 174 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ance with the program cut and dried beforehand. 
 Henry Bohl seconded the motion and it was put and 
 carried, and the meeting passed into history as a 
 pitiable spectacle of men being pleaded with to keep 
 faith, and preserve their honor by obeying the in- 
 structions of the power that created them as delegates. 
 
 It took a large sum of the money of both Mr. Payne 
 and Mr. Jewett to bring about this condition of affairs. 
 When men are guilty of such open perfidy, there 
 must be ample rewards to tempt them to such shame- 
 ful conduct. Some men sold twice. Some had Mr. 
 Jewett's money and took Mr. Payne's, and some ended 
 by taking the money from both, and betraying all. 
 
 VII. The scene now shifts to Cincinnati. The 
 forces from Ohio began gathering there on Sunday, 
 June 19. The Payne managers were early on the 
 ground, taking the shroud off of the corpse of the 
 Thurman boom, and showing the remains eagerly to 
 all who cared to gaze upon them. Among the men 
 engaged in this occupation were W. W. Armstrong 
 and John Farley, of Cleveland, and the brothers, 
 Ralph and Dave Paige. The Thurman forces were 
 led by Judge Bingham, of Columbus, O., and at a 
 conference the Payne men were bitterly denounced 
 for their treachery and attacks upon Mr. Thurman. 
 This conflict among Ohio people, presented the state 
 and the Democracy in a humiliating manner to the 
 delegates and people from other states. The Payne 
 agents had, by purchase and otherwise, secured a
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 175 
 
 majority of the Ohio delegation, and under the unit 
 rule, they claimed Ohio would be solid. The Cin- 
 cinnati EnqiUrer lost no opportunity to abuse Thur- 
 man and belittle his candidacy. The object was 
 revenge, not revenue. The Ohio delegation met at 
 ID o'clock Monday morning. Durbin Ward, the 
 friend of Mr. Thurman, was presented for the chair- 
 manship of the delegation. He was beaten by Alex. 
 Long. The Thurman men had 20 votes, and the 
 Payne men had 24. W. W. Armstrong was elected 
 as a member of the National Committee vice John G. 
 Thompson. To secure this place, Mr. Thompson 
 had wavered in his support of Mr. Thurman, who had 
 been his life-long friend. The very air reeked with 
 treason and ingratitude. Boodle ! Boodle !! Boodle !!! 
 was everywhere dominant, and the Bosses were hila- 
 rious. Elated by their success in the morning, the 
 Payne agents called a meeting of the delegation at 
 4 o'clock, Monday afternoon, and the animals got 
 loose. The meeting was a stormy one ; a resolution 
 was offered and carried, that when a majority of the 
 delegation demanded a conference, it should with- 
 draw to consult and cast the solid vote for the one re- 
 ceiving a majority of the votes, which meant Mr. Payne. 
 The adoption of this resolution brought on the long 
 pending storm. The restraints of decency and reason 
 had led the discordant elements in the delegation to 
 treat each other with ordinar}' courtesy, but all these 
 were thrown to the wind. Briberv and treason were
 
 176 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 openly charged. Men glared at each other, and 
 friends of a lifetime shook their fists and threatened 
 personal violence. No one will ever know the full 
 particulars of that meeting. The participants by a 
 common consent have been silent. Those that were 
 boldest and bitterest in denunciation, did not care to 
 repeat their language and charges in their calmer mo- 
 ments, and those who had been so freely charged 
 with selling themselves, could not be expected to 
 publish their own shame. 
 
 Those who were loyal to their party instructions 
 and faithful in their support of Mr. Thurman were : 
 Durbin Ward, Jas. B. Steedman, John McSweeney, 
 M. H. Daniels, James E. Neal, J. V. Campbell, W. 
 D. Hill, W. S. Alexander, Charles Boesel, E. D. Potter, 
 W. W. Elsberry, L. T. Neal, S. J. Packard, W. H. 
 Dugdale, Shannon Clements, Jas. W. Newman, John 
 G. Thompson, Chas. D. Martin, John O. Neil, and 
 J. H. Barrett. 
 
 Those who defied the instructions of the Ohio 
 Democracy, for reason by some and consideration by 
 others, supported Henry B. Payne, were: J. H. Wade, 
 Geo. Hoadly, Alex. Long, Julius Reis, Charles Baker, 
 John H. Farley, Jno. W. Nelson, F. B. Marriott, Jno. 
 D. Thompson, W. E. Haynes, Geo. W. Roberts, G. J. 
 Kenney, Jos. Ailshire, Henry Bohl, John Schiever, Dan. 
 McConville, C. C. Lewis, R. S. Shields, C. N. Smick, 
 D. R. Paige, D. S. Coleman, and W. W. Armstrong. 
 The action of the delegation was made public and
 
 Bosses and boodle. 177 
 
 was used to influence New York and other delegations 
 in favor of Mr. Payne. 
 
 VIII. The Thurman men were indignant and dis- 
 couraged. A meeting was called on Monday night 
 at Melodeon Hall to protest. It was a large and 
 earnest gathering. Judge Jacob Meuser, of Crawford, 
 presided. Hon. Geo. H. Pendleton sent a letter and 
 recommended the adoption of the following: 
 
 '■'■Resolved: That the candidacy of any citizen of 
 GKio, other than Allen G. Thurman, for the nomina- 
 tioa for President, in advance of the presentation of 
 hir aame to the convention, is repudiated by the Ohio 
 Dexaocracy, and is denounced as an act untrue to the 
 will of the par^' as unanimously expressed in conven- 
 tion assembled." 
 
 P(jor Pendleton. Little did he know, that three 
 years later he was to pay for his temerity in support- 
 ing Thurman, by falling a victim to the same men, 
 the same methods, and the Boodle from the same 
 source, as had ended Allen G. Thurman's political 
 life, and humiliated the Ohio Democracy. Gen. A.J. 
 Warner spoke first. He read the resolutions adopted 
 at Columbus by the state convention, declaring for 
 Allen G. Thurman. He was Ohio's choice and was 
 entitled to the /w>icsf support of every delegate. 
 Judge Lincoln, of London, asked, if the delegates 
 were honest, why had Durbin Ward been set aside, 
 and \lex. Long, a pVonounced enemy of Mr. Thur- 
 man, chosen as chairman of the delegation. He said
 
 178 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 (23) delegates had signed a paper in favor of another 
 candidate. He was afraid the Democrats had been 
 betrayed at Columbus and were being betrayed at 
 Cincinnati. Judge Samuel Hunter of Newark, said 
 he was a native of Ohio, and never before had he had 
 occasion to blush for his state. In every delegation 
 where he had pleaded the cause of Mr. Thurman, he 
 had been met with a sneer. There was treachery. 
 Henry B. Payne did not dare be a candidate at Colum- 
 bus, and should not be one now. No delegate could have 
 been chosen had he proclaimed that he had a second 
 choice, as he was doing here. He called upon the 
 delegation to save the honor of Ohio and of the De- 
 mocracy of the state. Frank McKfnney, of Piqua, 
 thought Allen G. Thurman was the biggest brained 
 man in the world. He hoped the charges against the 
 delegates were not well founded. Geo. L. Converse, 
 of Columbus, made an oily gammon speech, to allay 
 the rising indignation and divert the meeting from 
 its purposes. Allen O. Myers said he had come from 
 the Chicago convention, where he saw an Ohio man 
 slaughtered by the treachery of the Ohio delegation. 
 The act was being repeated here. The lesson was 
 being taught that the way to political preferment lay 
 through political treachery. Thurman's hands were 
 clean, but he had no bar'l. Gen. J. B. Steedman, 
 Judge Oliver and others spoke in a similar strain. 
 The Ohio delegation had another disgraceful meet- 
 ing at night, and Dnrbin Ward and W. D. Hill made
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 179 
 
 savage and severe charges against Geo. Hoadly. 
 Thnrman was dead, but his friends were fighting for 
 the corpse, and were determined it should have decent 
 burial, and be accompanied by victims, to appease his 
 angry manes. The Payne men claimed 27 votes out 
 of the Ohio delegation. The New York delegation 
 wanted to know how long Ohio would support Thnr- 
 man. Judge Hoadly and Alex. Long were sent to 
 convey this important information, but the air was so 
 lurid that they could not answer. Judge Hoadly 
 was chosen temporary chairman of the convention. 
 The first day of the convention was taken up with 
 preliminary work. Gov. Stevenson, of Kentucky, was 
 made permanent chairman of the convention. He 
 was to have presented Mr. Thurman's name, but this 
 task now devolved upon John McSweeney. A test 
 ballot was taken the first day and resulted as follows : 
 Hancock 171, Bayard 1533^, Payne 81, Thnrman 68^, 
 Field 65, Morrison 62, Hendricks 49 >^', Tilden 38, 
 and a few scattering votes. 
 
 The dissensions in the Ohio delegation were 
 equalled by those in New York and Pennsylvania. 
 The foxy manipulations of the sage of Gramercy 
 Park were evident. He was muddying the waters, 
 and hoped to catch the big fish himself. The balloting 
 began on the second day. Gen. Hancock was the lead- 
 ing candidate. To kill him off the name of Samuel J. 
 Randall was sprung at the last moment. But it was 
 too late. The roll call was begun, and as it proceeded
 
 180 BOSSES AND ROODLE- 
 
 Geu. Hancock's nomination seemed certain. An 
 attempt was made to stem the tide, and turn it toward 
 Randall by the Tilden forces, but it was futile. When 
 Ohio was called, the delegation confirmed all stories 
 of baseness that had been circulated, and they com- 
 pleted the humiliation of the Ohio Democracy, by 
 asking leave to withdraw for consultation. A dele- 
 gation that had been instructed to "use all honorable 
 efforts to secure the nomination of Allen G. Thur- 
 man," ask permission to go out and see if they should 
 vote for him ! When the delegation returned, the 
 vote was cast for Hancock, who had already been 
 nominated. The final scene made the Ohio delega- 
 tion absolutely ridiculous. The balloting for Vice- 
 President was begun at once. The name of Gov. R. 
 M. Bishop had been presented as a candidate for the 
 nomination for Vice-President. The Ohio delega- 
 tion withdrew again and by a vote of 17 to 16, agreed 
 to support Durbin Ward instead of Gov. Bishop. 
 While they were out, a member of the delegation, 
 Dr. Ellsberry of Brown, arose and seconded the nom- 
 ination of Wm. English, amidst great laughter and 
 shouts of derision. The Ohio man was no longer 
 the ringmaster of the political circus. Dressed in the 
 motley of his own folly and misdeeds, he was the 
 clown. W^ien the delegation solemnly filed in, with 
 Durbin Ward's tender unborn boom for Vice-Presi- 
 dent, the nomination of Wm. H. English, of Indiana, 
 had been cousninniated.
 
 THE TRIUMPHANT MARCH OF BOODLE. 
 
 {Forcjtpim, /an. iSqo.]
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BOOKWALTER'S big BAR'l. — THE CAMPAIGN OF 1 88 1, 
 CORRUPTION LIFTS ITS HEAD IN THE LEGIS- 
 LATURE. — INDICTMENT Or MEMBERS AND A 
 LOBBYIST FOR BRIBERY. 
 
 The land wants such 
 As dare with vigor execute the laws. 
 Her festered sore must be lanced and linted. 
 He's a bad surgeon that for pity spares 
 The part corrupted till the gangrene spread, 
 And all the body feverish. He that's merciful 
 Unto the bad, is cruel to the good. 
 
 Randolph's JMuse's Looking Glass. 
 
 ^L^^Sl, 
 
 ^*HE money expended in politics in ()hio, in- 
 creased from year to year in an alarming 
 manner. At a meeting of the Democratic 
 State Central Committee, at Columbus, 
 in the Spring of 1881, to fix the time and 
 place for holding the State Convention, Mr. John 
 G. Thompson, who had managed and mismanaged 
 more political campaigns than any man in Ohio, 
 made a speech in which he said : " We must have 
 grease to run a campaign." In commenting upon 
 this open declaration of Mr. Thompson, a correspon- 
 dent of the Cincinnati Enqidrcr.^ in writing from 
 Cleveland, said : " Mr. Thompson never had an idea 
 
 in politics aside from the dollar. Experience has 
 
 (181)
 
 182 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 demonstrated that when the Ohio Democrats have 
 the most money they do the worst. There is an ele- 
 ment in the party that will not go near the polls un- 
 less they are paid, when they think there is money 
 to be had ; otherwise they go because they are Demo- 
 crats. The Democrats can never raise money enough 
 to buy an election in Ohio, and they can only win 
 by poverty and an appeal to the patriotism of the 
 people." Five thousand dollars use to be considered 
 an ample sum to defray the legitimate expenses of a 
 state campaign. Now this amount is not enough 
 to conduct an ordinary campaign in one of the larger 
 counties of the state. The liberality of Gov. Chas. 
 Foster had revolutionized campaign methods, and 
 provoked the agonizing lament of such practical 
 politicians as j\Ir. Thompson. The expenses in or- 
 dinary campaigns fell chiefly upon the office-holders 
 of both parties, and the demands of managers were 
 becoming excessive and burdensome. As a result, 
 these partisans were in favor of some innovation that 
 would lift the burden from their shoulders and stop 
 the drain from their pockets. Naturally they began 
 to look for rich men in both parties as candidates 
 who could be tickled with the prospects of political 
 honors, and who were willing to part with a liberal 
 portion of their wealth in payment for the same. It 
 may be laid down as a rule, deducted from experience, 
 that he who openly bu\s a nomination for any office, 
 will be beaten for election. It is easy to purchase
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 183 
 
 the politicians. The people are not for sale. The 
 men who will sell in a convention, have their appe- 
 tites whetted and must be bought again before an 
 election. If this be so, it is a strong and conclusive 
 argument in favor of the election of United States 
 Senators by the people. That it is time, is made 
 evident by the uniform opposition of the Senate to 
 the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution 
 to bring about such a desirable reform. Our expe- 
 rience has demonstrated that while it is always safe 
 to trust the people, it is never safe to trust the poli- 
 ticians, who are always the " Bosses and Boodlers " 
 in our system. 
 
 II. The election of Mr. Garfield as President 
 caused a readjustment by the Republican leaders of 
 the party lines in Ohio. ]\Ir. Sherman was very 
 desirous of retaining his position as Secretary of 
 the Treasury in Mr. Garfield's cabinet, and he made 
 a strong bid for the place, but he was denied. Mr. 
 Garfield owed his nomination to the Blaine men, 
 and his election to the skillful but unfortunate truce 
 that was patched up between the Grant and anti- 
 Grant factions in the Republican party. It was soon 
 evident that Mr. Garfield's administration was to be 
 wholly under the domination of Mr. Blaine. In such 
 a cabinet it would not be congenial to find a place 
 for Mr. Sherman. Mr. Garfield was early confronted 
 with the impossible task of reconciling the conflict- 
 ing elements that raged around him, and in redeem-
 
 184 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 iiig the promises made b}- him and for him at 
 Chicago during the convention, and in Mentor before 
 the election. Bnt in the storm that he saw approach- 
 ing but could not avert, even had he desired to do 
 so, he saw the necessity of having, as far as possible, 
 the support of a united party in his own state. To 
 do this some provision had to be made for Mr. Sher- 
 man that would be acceptable to him and his large 
 and faithful following in Ohio. Mr. Garfield held 
 one office and had been elected to two others. His 
 term in Congress expired in March, and he was to 
 step from Congress to the White House. He re- 
 signed the senatorship in January, 1881, and Gov. 
 Foster and his friends expected to secure this prize, 
 but after consultation it was thought best to let Mr. 
 Sherman return to his old place in the Senate, and 
 Gov. Foster was promised a place in the cabinet. 
 This would be a proper recognition of his services 
 not only to his party but to Mr. Garfield, and the 
 latter would have the benefit of the advice of a sage 
 and sensible counselor to guide him between the ex- 
 tremes of conflicting interests as presented by the 
 urgent demands of Mr. Blaine and his friends upon 
 the one hand, and the imperious and haughty ex- 
 actions of Roscoe Conklin upon the other. By this 
 promotion, which he heartily desired and had every 
 reason to expect, Mr. Foster would escape the burdens 
 and large expense that must attend his second contest 
 for Governor. As the time for the inauguration ap-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 185 
 
 preached, Gov. Foster went to Washington, expect- 
 ing to enter the new President's cabinet as Post- 
 master General. 
 
 Levi P. Morton, of New York, who had rendered 
 valuable services at a critical period in the last Pres- 
 idential campaign, by raising the money necessary to 
 keep the wheels in motion, had been tendered and had 
 accepted the tender of the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 The appointment of Mr. Morton to this place was accep- 
 table and satisfactory to Mr. Conklin and his friends in 
 New York. But at the last moment, the experience of 
 President Grant in nominating Mr. Stewart, the mer- 
 chant prince of New York City, to the same office, was 
 recalled. Congress in the latter case refused to repeal 
 the law preventing one engaged in mercantile affairs 
 from accepting this office, and the Senate refused to con- 
 firm the appointment and it was withdrawn. President 
 Garfield sent for Mr. Morton and called his attention 
 to the law, and said it would be impossible to appoint 
 him. He induced Mr. Morton to accept the Secre- 
 taryship of the Navy. This change was the signal 
 for the outbreak between the administration and Mr. 
 Conklin and his friends, that led to the resignation 
 of the latter and the assassination of the President. 
 Mr. Morton conveyed the news of the change of pro- 
 gram to Mr. Conklin, and it raised a great storm. It 
 was taken as an evidence of bad faith upon the 
 part of Mr. Garfield, and the act was laid at Mr. 
 Blaine's dcor. Mr. Conklin held the ante-election
 
 186 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 pledge of Mr. Garfield as the price of his support 
 that he should be cousulted before any change or 
 appointment was made in any office in New York. 
 These facts were laid before Mr. Morton, and he felt 
 that he could not, with honor and without betraying 
 his friends, accept the Navy portfolio and he so notified 
 the President. This disarranged the program and 
 necessitated a hasty readjustment of the cabinet places. 
 Again Mr. Foster was a victim to "the situation," and 
 w^as asked to sacrifice himself and become a conve- 
 nience for his friends. He did so. Mr. James of 
 New York was made Postmaster General. Mr. Foster 
 remained in Washington a month, trying to aid the 
 President by his presence and advice, and returned 
 to Ohio in April, when the war with Mr. Conklin was 
 on. Mr, Foster came back thoroughly disgusted 
 with politics. He was sick at heart, wounded in pride, 
 wearied in mind, and ailing physicall)-. This was his 
 harvest after years of effort and the expenditure of a 
 fortune in politics. He was a bankrupt in morals, 
 and was soon to become one in money, but he was 
 compelled to take up the contest in Ohio, and became 
 the administration candidate for Governor. The con- 
 vention met in Cleveland the first week in June. 
 There were no candidates against Mr. Foster, but 
 there was a great deal of opposition, and he was nom- 
 inated by sufferance, and the shortest platform ever 
 adopted by a Republican convention was agreed to. 
 Mr. Garfield and Mr. Foster and the federal and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 187 
 
 state administrations were endorsed, and the conven- 
 tion adjourned after a lifeless session, that indicated 
 serious party demoralization. The Republicans were 
 greatly distressed over the serious conflict that had 
 broken out between President Garfield and Senator 
 Conklin. 
 
 III. The despondency among the Republicans, 
 made the other end of the political teeter-board go 
 up, and the Democrats were hopeful of carrying the 
 state. The Washington end of the Ohio Democracy, 
 as usual, wanted to dictate the policy of the party 
 and name the candidate. They wanted a " Mossback " 
 nominated upon a platform of National issues. The 
 younger element of the party favored some one who 
 could meet Charles Foster with money, and a cam- 
 paign upon State issues. The Democratic State 
 Central Committee met in May and called the State 
 Convention to meet in Columbus on July 13. A 
 number of Democrats of various degrees, ranging 
 from prominent to obscure, were named in connec- 
 tion with the nomination for Governor. The number 
 was so great as to be notable, and indicated the high 
 hopes that burned in the bosom of Democracy. Col. 
 C. W. Wooley, John F. Follett, Isaac Miller, Gen. H. 
 B. Banning, Theodore Cook, of Cincinnati, W. W. 
 Armstrong, of Cleveland, L. D. Thoman, of Youngs- 
 town, Judge Geo. W. Geddes, of Mansfield, Geo. 
 Jewett, of Zanesville, Warren Noble, of Tiffin, and 
 J. H. Thomas and John W. Bookwalter, of Spring-
 
 188 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 field, were among those named as candidates. Mr. 
 J. H. Thomas, for a time, seemed to be the most 
 available candidate. Mr. Wm. C. Haynes, of Fre- 
 mont, at the meeting of the State Central Committee 
 had said : " That the Democracy want a candidate 
 for Governor this year, who has no record, and who is 
 so thoroughly unknown that it will take two weeks to 
 find out who he is." The conflict among Ohio Demo- 
 crats at the National Convention the year before, had 
 called forth this remark. It would not be wise to 
 take a candidate from either faction. Mr. Thomas 
 seemed to fill the bill as to most of the requirements. 
 Mr. Thomas studied law and devoted himself to busi- 
 ness and manufacturing agricultural implements. 
 He had prospered until he was looked upon as one 
 of the wealthiest citizens of Springfield. He served 
 for several years in the city council, and took a 
 prominent and active interest in all that tended to 
 advance the interests of the city. In 1868, he was 
 the Democratic candidate for Congress, and came 
 within 105 votes of defeating Mr. Winans, the Repub- 
 lican candidate. While in council, Mr. Thomas had 
 voted in favor of an ordinance to close saloons at 
 ten o'clock, and he believed in a "judicious license," 
 to regulate the liquor traffic. The story was current 
 that Mr. Thomas was a " crusader " and a " fanatic." 
 This practically settled his availability as a candidate. 
 He had been discovered as a candidate by Mr. I). C. 
 Balantine, an editor and part owner of a paper called
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 189 
 
 '■'■The Transcript.^' Under his management, the pa- 
 per freqnently got the job and editorial departments 
 mixed up. After earnestly advocating Mr. Thomas' 
 candidacy for some time, the Transcripfs zeal sud- 
 denly cooled, and the paper found another " favorite 
 son " in the person of John W. Bookwalter, and it 
 began a zealous advocacy of his candidacy for the 
 Democratic nomination for Governor. Mr. Book- 
 waiter was born near Hallville, Ross County, O., in 
 1837. His parents removed to Fountain County, 
 Ind., and located on a farm. The bo got some 
 schooling and plenty of hard work. He nad a strong, 
 original mind, and was a studen!^, and his intellect 
 early grappled with such mechanical problems, as the 
 alarming waste of the forces of nature; the steam or 
 mist arising from the waters that fell over a dam in 
 the river near his father's farm, aroused his mind and 
 led him to extended investigations. He went to 
 Springfield as an uncouth and awkward country boy, 
 and applied for a place to Mr. James Lefifel, the man- 
 ufacturer of the famous water wheel. Mr. Leffel was 
 impressed by the strength and aptness of young 
 Bookwalter's mind, and gave him employment. He 
 proved faithful, industrious and competent. He grew 
 in his employer's favor. He became his partner and 
 married his daughter. He became wealthy, and 
 when Mr. Leffel died he succeeded to his business. 
 Mr. Bookwalter had no political record. In fact 
 his "politics" were so scarce that they were hard to
 
 190 BOSSES AND BOODI.E. 
 
 locate. He had been a Republican but not a par- 
 tisan. He left his party in the Greeley campaign. 
 He had never had a strike in his shops. He was 
 popular with his employes. In the Hancock cam- 
 paign of 1880 he had carried a torch in a Democratic 
 procession. He did this because it was charged that 
 no man of wealth or intelligence would participate 
 with the common people who are supposed to com- 
 pose the Democratic party. Unfortunately for Mr. 
 Book waiter, in 1880 death took from his side his 
 best friend and counselor, his wife. His life and 
 home were left disconsolate. He was a changed 
 man. He had a sorrow and a bad liver. His friends, 
 to divert his mind, flattered him with the pospects 
 of political honors. The mention of his name for 
 Governor pleased him. He had more money than he 
 knew what to do with. He was honorable, con- 
 scientious and sensitive. He was willing to be as- 
 sessed and spend his money legitimately for political 
 honors. Those whom he trusted took advantage of 
 this fact, and placed his money ''where it would do 
 the most good." When a rich man turns his atten- 
 tion to politics for the purpose of amusing himself, 
 he and his money become dangerous forces in the 
 body politic. As soon as Mr. Bookwalter's managers 
 opened his "bar'l," the Democrats for "revenue only" 
 began gathering around it and him with uncovered 
 heads and reverential manner. Agents were sent 
 out over the state to sing his praises and persuade
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 191 
 
 the court-house politicians that Mr. Bookwalter "was 
 the man." Money was liberally supplied to make 
 the canvass for Bookwalter delegates at the primaries 
 and conventions. The Columbus Times^ the central 
 organ of the Democracy, was owned and edited by 
 John H. Putnam and John G. Thompson. It was in 
 favor of John F. Follet for Governor. It was sud- 
 denly converted and declared in favor of Mr. Book- 
 waiter. 
 
 It was charged that this paper changed candidates 
 for a price in hand paid, and two years later Mr. 
 John F. FoUett, as a member of Congress, helped to 
 defeat John G. Thompson for Sergeant-at-Arms of 
 the National House of Representatives, for his un- 
 accountable treachery in this campaign. Mr. Put- 
 nam, as a friend of Mr. Pendleton, was sent to the 
 Sandwich Islands by President Cleveland, during his 
 first term. The people and politicians are forgetful 
 and forgiving. 
 
 IV. The mysterious strength being developed by 
 Mr. Bookwalter, alarmed many of the "Mossbacks." 
 Plis managers had availed themselves of the Payne 
 organization of the year before, and as the Standard Oil 
 Combination had no political deviltry on hand in 
 Ohio, these potent agents in Ohio politics were granted 
 leave of absence, with the understanding that they 
 would come when they were called. Raising his 
 hand and holding up two fingers, Mr. Dave Paige 
 said: "In two years we w^ill take the machinery and
 
 192 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 run it," nodding his head toward the men in the 
 State House, where the State Central Committee was 
 in session organizing and electing an Executive Com- 
 mittee. This was at the Bookwalter convention in 
 1881. 
 
 For the purpose of holding off the Bookwalter 
 movement an attempt was made to induce Allen G. 
 Thurman to be a candidate. He was in Europe, and 
 in June a letter was received from him, written in 
 Paris, declining to permit the use of his name. This 
 removed the only apparent obstacle in Mr. Bookwal- 
 ter's path to success, and his managers worked with 
 a vigor, stimulated by ample resources. On the 2nd of 
 July, the country was startled by the shooting down 
 of President Garfield. This sad event and the linger- 
 ing sickness that followed, cast a gloom over the land, 
 and kept the people in an agony of suspense. The 
 Democratic convention met at Columbus a few days 
 after this calamity. The convention was a large one. 
 Mr. Bookwalter's managers had provided free trans- 
 portation for the workingmen from various places, 
 and they were on hand in large numbers, clamoring 
 for their employer. The indications the night before 
 the convention, pointed to Mr. Bookwalter's nomina- 
 tion, but he was bitterly opposed. It was said that 
 he was a recent convert, and had not been in the 
 party long enough to entitle him to such an honor, as 
 that to which he aspired. It is unfortunate that there 
 had been no rule established fixing the length of time
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 193 
 
 a man must belong to a party before he can aspire to 
 office. Such a provision would be eminently wise, 
 as it would save much feeling and useless argument 
 and wild declamation. 
 
 Judge Geddes was also being bitterly opposed by 
 Mr. Barney Burns, S. S. Bloom and others from his 
 own county. He had once been a Whig, but although 
 he had been a Democrat for years before Mr. Book- 
 waiter carried a torch, yet he was not eligible. The 
 same argument was used against Gen. Banning, who 
 became a Democrat since the war. The most effec- 
 tive statement used against Mr. Bookwalter, was by 
 a gentleman from Cincinnati, who said: "The 
 strongest argument being used for Mr. Bookwalter, is 
 that he is a wealthy man and has money to spend. 
 This will only be a declaration to the Republicans 
 that we have nominated a man because he has money, 
 and they have always been able to lay down ten 
 dollars where the Democrats put one into the cam- 
 paign." 
 
 Mr. John H. Thomas had appeared at the conven- 
 tion of the Clarke County Democrats and had en- 
 dorsed Mr. Bookwalter in glowing language, yet he 
 had written a letter, it was claimed, saying, " that it 
 would be a calamity to the Democratic party to nom- 
 inate Mr. Bookwalter," and he w^as on the ground 
 doing quiet and effective work against the candidacy 
 of his fellow townsmen. The politicians raised on 
 the lime-stone soil of the Mad River Valley, have a
 
 194 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Strong penchant for locking horns with each other. 
 Most of the distinguished gentlemen who were can- 
 didates were on the ground engaged in the idiotic 
 task of shaking hands, saying little and looking wise. 
 To Mr. Bookwalter's credit it must be said, that he 
 remained at home and refused to attempt in any per- 
 sonal way to influence the delegates. 
 
 A platform on state issues was adopted. Nine can- 
 didates were presented to the convention. On the 
 first ballot, Bookwalter got 2o8>2 votes, Follett 123, 
 Geddes io4>4, Banning 61, Miller 32, Jewett 23, 
 Thoman 49, Cook 33, and Armstrong 47. On the 
 second ballot Bookwalter received 386 % votes, Follett 
 192 >^, Geddes 57, Banning 32, Miller 9, Jewett 6, and 
 Cook 5. In the Hamilton County delegation, the vote 
 was divided on the first ballot as follows : Bookwalter 
 12, Follett 2, Banning 17, Miller 17, Cook 10. On 
 the second ballot this vote was divided as follows: 
 Bookwalter 26, Follett 20, and Banning 14. Mr. 
 Bookwalter was declared the nominee. The Repub- 
 lican press charged that the nomination had been 
 secured by money. One paper put a cut of a silver 
 dollar over the convention proceedings, and called it 
 " Bookwalter's boom." 
 
 The Democratic press retaliated by printing a $ 
 mark as a photograph of Charles Foster. Both were 
 right. Boodle was Boss. Gov. Foster had boodle- 
 ized Ohio, and compelled the Democrats to imitate 
 his methods. Not less than $20,000 of Mr. I>ook-
 
 BOSESS AND BOODLE. 195 
 
 waiter's money had been spent to secure the nomina- 
 tion, and $40,000 was spent between the convention 
 and the election. This went almost entirely to news- 
 papers for extra circulation, and to committees for 
 organization. The condition of the President and 
 his death made the campaign a gloomy and difficult 
 one. There was no stumping campaign. The 
 "Mossbacks" sulked in their tents, and not a single 
 leader lifted his voice in favor of the ticket. The 
 State Executive Committee was organized against 
 Mr. Bookwalter, with ]\Ir. Clark Irvine at the head 
 of it. Everything was done that he could devise to 
 "bleed" the candidate and help the enemy. Mr, 
 Bookwalter's assessment was fixed at $20,000, and 
 reduced to $6,000. He paid $5,000 and conducted 
 his campaign without the committee. Mr. John G. 
 Thompson and Mr. John H. Putnam, of the Colum- 
 bus Tillies^ went to Springfield with a letter from the 
 Executive Committee, and made a bold demand for 
 $1,000 as the price of the support of their paper. 
 Mr. Bookwalter was astonished. This was the first 
 time he had been asked personally for money. It 
 was a revelation to him. His managers had kept all 
 these ugly things in the background. He indignant- 
 ly refused to pay a cent. The morning after his de- 
 feat the Columbus Timcs^ after taking pay to support 
 Mr. Bookwalter for the nomination, and having aided 
 materially in that result, openly repudiated and as- 
 sailed him. It was a pitiable and shameful perform-
 
 196 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ance. Mr. Bookwalter's refusal to recognize the 
 executive committee, completed the demoralization 
 of the campaign. He anticipated his defeat, and 
 said he would be beaten by the " JMossbacks." He 
 was not disappointed. He received 288,426 ; Foster, 
 312,735; the Prohibitionists, 16,597; the Greenback- 
 ers, 6,330; and scattering, 13S. Mr. John Seitz, the 
 author of the law to preserve the " purity of elec- 
 tions," was the Greenback candidate for Governor. 
 V. The events surrounding Mr. Garfield's death, 
 and the advent of Mr. Arthur in the White House, 
 had disgusted Republicans and demoralized the 
 party. The Prohibition vote had been growing in 
 Ohio, and coming largely from the Republican ranks. 
 The defection was a cause for apprehension. Under 
 the leadership of Gov. Foster an attempt was made 
 to placate this element, and to raise additional rev- 
 enues by the Pond and Scott laws, to tax saloons. 
 These laws were declared unconstitutional, and 
 while they did not please the Prohibitionists, they 
 excited the opposition of the powerful brewing, liquor 
 and saloon elements. In 1882, the issue raised by 
 the laws mentioned, was the leading one. The Re- 
 publicans nominated Mr. Chas. Townsend, of Athens, 
 for Secretary of State, and the Democrats chose Mr. 
 James W. Newman, of Portsmouth. There was little 
 money used in the campaign. But little was needed 
 to pay legitimate expenses. There was no Legisla- 
 lature to be chosen, and no great prizes to struggle
 
 BOSSES AND EOODLE. 197 
 
 for, and the " silent and abhorrent forces " remained 
 in abeyance. A total of 635,095 votes were cast, of 
 which the Democrats polled 316,874; the Republi- 
 cans, 297,795 ; the Prohibitionists, 16,597; the Green- 
 backers, 5,345, and 2,915 scattering. The Democrats 
 had carried Ohio by nearly 20,000 plurality, in the 
 fourth largest vote ever cast in the state, in a money- 
 less campaign. 
 
 At this point it is proper to call attention to a re- 
 markable transaction. For the first time in the his- 
 tory of Ohio, an open charge was made that mem- 
 bers of the Legislature had been offered bribes, and 
 some that had not been offered money, called atten- 
 tion to their presence on earth by soliciting some of 
 the wealth that Alex. Sands, Jno. D. Watson and 
 Albert Netter, as lobbyists, were distributing. The 
 Legislature elected the fall before, with Gov. Foster, 
 was Republican in both branches. It organized on a 
 Boodle basis, by selecting Hon. O. B. Hodges, ot 
 Cleveland, as Speaker. Mr. Hodges had served 
 several terms in the Legislature, and was the boon 
 companion, and bosom friend and useful ally of Alex. 
 Sands. A big fight was being made to gobble a por- 
 tion of the canals in Cincinnati for railroad purposes. 
 Money and stock were offered to members for their 
 votes and influence. A reporter hid under a bed in 
 a room used by the lobby, and overheard some dam- 
 aging details. Money was paid to a member. These 
 charges were printed. Speaker Hodges, who in his
 
 198 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 innocence and purity, had doubted the presence of 
 such a thing as a lobby, even when he sat in a poker 
 game with the agents and was permitted to win, 
 arose in the House, after prayer at the opening by 
 Rev. Thomas Lee, who thoughtfully informed God 
 of some of the temptations that surround Legisla- 
 tures, and in sorrowful tones informed the members 
 that some of their number had not only been bribed 
 but had been indiscreet enough to be caught. A 
 committee of seven was promptly ordered by the 
 House in response to the touching appeal of its chief 
 officer, and steps were taken to protect the honorable 
 members and the honorable lobby by suppressing 
 the facts. But a heedless and inconsiderate Grand 
 [ury convened in April, and indicted Jno. D. Watson 
 for bribing and offering bribes to members ; and in- 
 dicted two members, Mr. Bloch, of Cleveland, a Re- 
 publican, and Wm. A. Wright, of Hocking, a Demo- 
 crat, for accepting and soliciting bribes. Poor Watson 
 had run out of money, and abandoned by friends, he 
 was promptly sent to the penitentiary. The members 
 escaped and were permitted to serve out their terms 
 in the House instead of the penitentiary. It was po- 
 etic and appropriate that this harvest should ripen 
 while Mr. Foster was Governor of Ohio. It was the 
 legitimate fruit of a Legislature conceived in ras- 
 cality and born in corruption.
 
 rf&^U^; v^-:T ff;. ^^^v. :i ^ ^^t,;;.^,.;^ .;; ■ ^^^^^^^^^^s^ 
 
 BOODLE RESERVATION. 
 {Porcupine, Dec. iSgo.)
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A FOUNTAIN OF GOLDEN GREASE. — THE HOADLY 
 CAMPAIGN OF 1 883. — THE PAYNE PURCHASE. — 
 A CARNIVAL OF CORRUPTION. — THE COMMUNISM 
 OF WEALTH. 
 
 I ERE I wish to say a word about communism — 
 the communism of wealth. In the last Leg- 
 islature, when a bill was pending to abol- 
 ish the infamous convict contract and slave 
 system in the Ohio Penitentiary, Jno. F. 
 Locke, a member of the House from Madison, 
 said: "This measure is in the interests of communism 
 and lawlessness, and the men who are demanding its 
 passage, are no better than red-handed Nihilists and 
 Communists." Our acceptation of the term "com- 
 munist," is, that it is one who favors laws that will 
 give him an interest in other people's property with- 
 out giving something of value in return. If this be 
 a correct definition of communism, I have found in 
 eleven years experience in our legislative halls as a 
 reporter, that the most reckless, brazen, desperate 
 communists in our fair, free land, are men of monev, 
 who surround our legislators to tempt, bribe and 
 seduce them, to pass laws, not for the welfare of the 
 whole people, but in behalf of corporations and 
 monopoly. This is the communism of wealth. This 
 is the communism that has transformed our grovern- 
 ment, in one hundred years, from a representative to 
 
 ( "99 '
 
 200 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 a misrepresentative form of government. It is the 
 communism of unscrupulous wealth, that has made 
 scandals like flocks of buzzards, hover over our capi- 
 tals. It is this kind of communism that has led to 
 such deplorable acts in the past few years, that we 
 have become a by-word and a hissing among the 
 nations of the earth. There is more danger to our 
 free institutions from this kind of communism, than 
 from all the strikes that can occur. The daring and 
 dangerous methods of corporate and dishonest wealth 
 constitute a communism that creates all the discon- 
 tent of honest labor. This is the kind of commun- 
 ism that defiantly says, that the masses and the 
 honest toiler have no rights in our boasted free gov- 
 ernment, that money is bound to respect. — Speech 
 of Allen O. Mycrs^ on the east front of the Capitol^ 
 Cohinibus^ O., fnly /^, i88j. 
 
 I. We have reached the climax of the story of "Bosses 
 and Boodle in Ohio Politics." Emerson says " that 
 England reaches to the AUeghanies, but America 
 begins in Ohio." We have boasted with a pardon- 
 able pride of Ohio men and their achievements. But 
 the forces and conditions that have produced these 
 results, have afforded opportunities equally as great 
 for unparalleled evil. The father of all trusts was 
 born in Ohio, and grew out of an Ohio corporation. 
 Trusts and tramps were bred by the same parents. 
 The industrial conditions that made trusts possil^le, 
 made tramps a certainty. These two phenomena 
 are the natural and extreme results of outraged and 
 violated laws of the state and of trade. The vStandard
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 201 
 
 Oil Company is about to glide upon the scene with 
 soft and silent tread. Corporations have no souls. 
 The Standard Oil Company has no politics. It knows 
 no difference between prayer and politics, between 
 preachers and politicians, between creeds and consti- 
 tutions, and has no respect for any or all of them. 
 It has no God but gain. It fears no Devil but loss. 
 II. Oil was discovered and utilized in America 
 in i860. Its production from the earth, refinement 
 and sale created one of the greatest of modern indus- 
 tries. There was a free market for the crude oil and 
 the manufactured and refined oil, and its by-products 
 found ready and profitable sale. There was healthy 
 competition between buyers and sellers, producers 
 and consumers, manufacturers and traders, and living 
 rates for shippers. In 1862, crude oil was worth ten 
 cents a barrel. In ten years from the discovery, 
 6,000,000 barrels of oil were produced annually, and 
 $200,000,000 of capital and 60,000 people were em- 
 ployed in this great industry. In 1862, a man who 
 had been a clerk, book-keeper and partner in a coun- 
 try produce store in Cleveland, started a small oil 
 refinery in Cleveland. He took as partners, a bro- 
 ther, an English mechanic, and later another part- 
 ner, who had been a " clerk in a country store," and 
 had been successful, on a small scale, in the salt 
 and lumber business. Later five others were taken 
 into the obscure and unknown firm, on terms of 
 equalit)-. The Standard Oil Company was incorpo-
 
 202 BOSSES AND nOODLE. 
 
 rated under the laws of Ohio, to engage in the manu- 
 facture and sale of petroleum oil, for illuminating 
 and "other purposes," but chiefly for "other pur- 
 poses." The firm started with $10,000 capital, on 
 paper. One of them conceived the idea of controll- 
 ing the output and the market, and fixing their own 
 prices. To do this it would be necessary to control 
 railroads and freight rates. A combination was 
 formed and a contract was made with the New York 
 Central, Lake Shore, Erie, and Pennsylvania railroad 
 companies, to raise rates and pay a rebate of one- 
 half to the Standard Oil Company, on all oil shipped 
 by it and other companies. This unlawful and ras- 
 cally combination was known as the South Improve- 
 ment Company. There were thirteen men in this 
 company, ten of whom were members of the Stand- 
 ard Oil Company, including all of the officers and a 
 majority of the directors of that corporation. The 
 rest were railroad men. In March, 1872, rates east 
 from the oil regions of Pennsylvania were put up 
 from $1.25 to $2.84 a barrel. It is estimated that the 
 first year this increased rate realized $7,500,000, of 
 which $6,000,000 went into the pockets of the oil 
 trust. The business was paralyzed. The selling 
 price of crude oil was seventy cents less per barrel 
 than the cost of production. The panic came in 
 1873, but the Trust did not suffer. While prices de- 
 clined in every branch of business, the Cleveland 
 crowd kept up the price of kerosene. They reduced
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 203 
 
 production and raised profits from 34 cents to $2.05 
 per barrel, and cleared $315,000 on a $10,000 invest- 
 ment in four years. 
 
 In 1877, $3,000,000 was cleared on a capital of 
 $3,000,000, and in five years the undivided profits 
 increased the capital to $70,000,000. Mark the as- 
 tounding progress. Oil discovered in i860. Re- 
 finery started in 1862, on $10,000. Began to shut 
 out competition in 1865. Capital had grown in 1870 
 to $1,000,000. The combination formed with rail- 
 roads, to kill competition and destroy business rivals, 
 in 1872, capital $2,500,000. In 1875, capital $3,500,- 
 000; in 1882, capital $70,000,000; in 1887, capital 
 $90,000,000; in 1888, capital $148,000,000, and in 
 1892, capital $166,500,000; and in 1889, the private 
 income of the founder of the first trust was $20,000,- 
 000, or three times the amounts paid in dividends by 
 the Bank of England after an existence of two hun- 
 dred years. 
 
 The earth belongs to the Standard Oil Company 
 and the fullness thereof. They own railroads, pipe 
 lines, refineries, steamships, gas wells, oil wells, coal 
 mines, rolling mills, manufactories, legislatures, 
 governors, judges. Congress, councils, cities and 
 states, and also the press. They dictate laws, they write 
 judicial decisions, they elect Senators, they appoint 
 cabinet officers, they buy Senates, they nominate Presi- 
 dents, they defeat investigations, they defy Congress, 
 they dictate treaties with foreign nations, they make
 
 204 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 tariff laws, the>- pla}- with legislators, and in the 
 language of Vanderbilt, they say, "the public be 
 damned." The people for the time being are helpless, 
 but not without hope. 
 
 During the gold excitement in 1848-50, when 
 thousands pushed westward over the plains for Cali- 
 fornia, the trail was marked by the skeletons of ani- 
 mals, the graves of those who perished and the aband- 
 oned wagons and the refuse of camps. What appalling 
 wrecks are strewn along the triumphant pathway of 
 the Standard Oil Company, in its march to its land 
 of millions ! Idle derricks, deserted plants, smokeless 
 refineries, ruined towns, mortgaged homes, rivals 
 driven out of business, competition killed, prices 
 raised, freight rates increased, workingmen idle, fam- 
 ilies starving, endless litigation, injunctions, investi- 
 gations, perjuries committed, crimes inspired, deeds 
 of violence, arson incited, murders attempted, widows 
 and women robbed, orphans defrauded, law trampled 
 under foot, courts laughed at, authority spit upon, 
 government defied, and a people enslaved. Oh, what 
 a spectacle for a free land! Are a free people power- 
 less against this monster? We have religious and 
 political liberty, but we are industrial slaves. We 
 spent over three billions of money, and slaughtered 
 hundreds of thousands of our sons; we smeared 
 the land with gore; we incarnadined our seas, and 
 our rivers ran red with the blood of our children ; we 
 piled our dead in heaps on a thousand fields; we
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 205 
 
 widowed the fair and made orphans of the young; we 
 have burdened ourselves and generations yet unborn 
 with debt, that the poor black man might be free and 
 that our government might live ; but with the close of 
 that terrible conflict, and by the opportunities it made 
 possible, the unlawful combinations of wealth have 
 enslaved the entire people, and seventy millions pay 
 tribute to the multi-millionaires. 
 
 Let us proceed with the recital of one of the ordi- 
 nary crimes and achievements of the Standard Oil 
 Company. 
 
 III. Under the leadership of Gov. Foster, a Repub- 
 lican Legislature had passed the Scott law, to tax 
 saloons and raise a revenue thereby. The Pond law 
 had been declared unconstitutional and the Scott law 
 was drawn to avoid its objectionable features. This 
 continued the agitation and aroused the liquor interest 
 and the liberal element. Two amendments to the con- 
 stitution, relating to the liquor traffic, were submitted to 
 the people, one in favor of prohibiting the traffic, and 
 the other to place the matter under legislative control. 
 Gov. Foster was ambitious to go to the LTnited States 
 Senate, and was hopeful that the legislature would 
 be Republican. As usual, when he wanted anything 
 he had his agents out over the state working to 
 secure the nomination and election of candidates who 
 favored him. There was only one candidate promi- 
 nently mentioned for the Republican nomination for 
 Governor, and that was Joseph B. Foraker, a popular
 
 206 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 young lawyer of Hamilton County. To further his 
 own ambitions, Gov. Foster wanted Senator John 
 Sherman to run for Governor. An attempt was made 
 to nominate him, but Mr. Sherman nipped the effort 
 in the bud. 
 
 The Republican State Convention met in Columbus 
 the first week in June. It was a large but not a noisy 
 nor an enthusiastic gathering. Mr. Foraker was 
 nominated by acclamation. 
 
 The Democratic State Convention had been called 
 to meet Wednesday, June 20th. There were two prom- 
 inent candidates in the field seeking the nomination 
 for Governor, Geo. Hoadly of Cincinnati, and Durbin 
 Ward of Lebanon. The son of the Puritan and one 
 of " the people to the South," were revolving in the 
 same orbit, and were again in opposition. Geo. 
 Hoadly was born in New Haven, Conn., July 31, 1825. 
 Durbin Ward was born in Augusta, Ky., Feb. 11, 1819. 
 
 Mr. Hoadly came of good English stock. His 
 great-grandmother was a daughter of Jonathan Ed- 
 wards, and married Timothy Dwight. Mr. Hoadly's 
 father was a graduate of Yale. He failed in business, 
 and in 1830 he removed with his family to Cleveland, 
 O. Here Geo. Hoadly grew up. He went to West- 
 ern Reserve College, and graduated from Harvard 
 Law School. In 1846, young Hoadly went to Cin- 
 cinnati and entered the law office of Salmon P. Chase. 
 He had a fine mind, was studious and untiring in his 
 work, and quickly grasped and applied to practice
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 207 
 
 the great principles of his profession. His habits 
 were good, his character excellent, his manner affable, 
 and success early crowned his efforts. At twenty-five 
 he was chosen a judge of the Superior Court of Cin- 
 cinnati, and in this responsible place he became 
 familiar with the details of commercial law and prac- 
 tice, such as grow up in great commercial centers. 
 This training, with his ready tact and natural gifts, 
 fitted him for his subsequent career as one of the 
 most successful corporation lawyers in Cincinnati, if 
 not in the country. He declined all political prefer- 
 ment, and devoted himself to his growing and lucra- 
 tive practice, except the few months spent as a mem- 
 ber of the constitutional convention. As lawyer, Mr. 
 Hoadly stood at the head of his profession, as a citi- 
 zen he was honored and respected. With a noble wife 
 his home and family were happy, and he had little 
 that the rational mind or the heart of man could 
 desire. But his tireless and active brain was as rest- 
 less as a caged bird. He was in the thick of every 
 intellectual fray, on every important question that was 
 before the public. The only place he blundered was 
 in politics, and at this he was a master. His is one of 
 the most grotesque figures that has ever played across 
 the great stage of Ohio politics. He was a Democrat^ 
 when he fell under the shadow of Chase's great influ- 
 ence. He joined the Anti-Slavery Democrats, became 
 a Free So:lcr, was a Union man, became a Republican, 
 joined the Liberals 1872, and then joined the Demo-
 
 208 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 crats again. It is but just to Mr. Hoadly to say that 
 he never changed his politics. It was the parties that 
 changed and left him, only to return. In 1876 he 
 tried to make the electoral commission believe that 
 one of Mr. Tilden's electors had been chosen in Ore- 
 gon. He convinced "7" of the commission but 
 "8" refused to agree with him, and he had lost his 
 case and Mr. Tilden the Presidency. The latter, 
 however, was grateful to Mr. Hoadly, and was will- 
 ing to promote his political ambitions. Mr. Hoadly 
 appeared as a Tiiden-Payne delegate in the Cin- 
 cinnati convention in 1880, and his conduct was 
 unworthy his past career, and brought discredit on 
 his good name. It is hard to understand why men, 
 whose acts have been above reproach in all the other 
 walks of life, seem willing to resort to any baseness, 
 the moment they venture into the fields of politics. 
 Ambition! Ambition! Must be the transforming 
 power that converts an upright man into a devil of 
 evil purposes and wicked determination. 
 
 Geo. Hoadly had worked hard all his life-time. 
 He wanted a rest, but his active mind could not brook 
 idleness. He sought a change of occupations. He 
 wanted a congenial field that would give wider scope 
 to his splendid gifts. He wanted to be President of 
 the United States. He thought the Governorship of 
 Ohio would be a stepping-stone. He wanted to be 
 Governor of Ohio. He did not wait for the honor to 
 seek him. He sought it.
 
 BOSSES AND UOODLE. 209 
 
 IV. An effort is being made to erect a statue in 
 honor of Durbin Ward. If the men who took money 
 and those who gave it, when Durbin Ward was ahve, 
 to prevent him from becoming Governor of Ohio, will 
 contribute as liberally to the fund, the monument will 
 soon be completed, and stand as a deserving honor to 
 a man who was faithful to his convictions, in a day and 
 generation that betrayed him for base bribes. Mr. 
 Ward's parents were of English and Welsh extrac- 
 tion, and came to Kentucky from Maryland. The 
 family was poor. When a child, his parents removed 
 to Fountain County, Indiana. Here young Ward 
 worked on a farm and got all the knowledge he 
 could acquire in the " log school house on Poplar 
 Ridge." The boy loved books, and eagerly read all 
 that he could procure. At nineteen he went to Miami 
 University, at Oxford, O. Among his fellow students 
 was Geo. E. Pugh. Mr. Ward taught school to secure 
 the money necessary to pay his way at college. He 
 left college after two years study, located at Lebanon, 
 O., and began the study of law. He was admitted to 
 the bar in 1843, ^^^ became a partner of Thomas 
 Corwin. He was elected prosecuting attorney of 
 Warren County, and served six years. In 185 1 he 
 was chosen a member of the Ohio Legislature as a 
 Whig. He opposed the Knownothings, and when the 
 Republican party was formed, he became a Democrat, 
 and in 1856 was a candidate for Congress on that 
 ticket. In 1857 he was the Democratic candidate for
 
 210 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 Attorney General and was defeated. He was opposed 
 to slavery and was an ardent supporter of Stephen 
 A. Douglas. When the war broke out he enlisted as 
 a private in Company F, 12th Ohio Volunteers. He 
 served with honor and was rapidly promoted, and at 
 the close of the war, he had earned a Brigadier Gen- 
 eral's commission. In 1863 he was the major of the 
 17th Ohio Infantry, and while it was stationed at 
 Triune, Tenn., in April, he wrote a letter to Thomas 
 Milliken, to be read at a Union meeting held in Ham- 
 ilton, O., in response to an invitation to be present 
 and speak. He said : " We are in the face of the 
 enemy and I cannot quit the field for any purpose." 
 He was opposed to Vallandingham and favored Dem- 
 ocratic equality, the Constitution and the Union. It 
 was in this letter that Durbin Ward used the famous 
 phrase, "/aw/ a Dc})U)crat,^^ which has since been 
 used by others, when it did not require any courage to 
 make the announcement. In 1866 he ran against 
 Gen. Robt. S. Schenck for Congress and was beaten, 
 and was appointed United States District Attorney 
 by President Johnson. In 1877 he was defeated by 
 R. M. Bishop for the nomination for Governor. 
 Durbin Ward was not pliant enough either as man, 
 politician or lawyer, for the shifting age in which he 
 lived. As a politician he refused to abandon his con- 
 victions of a lifetime for an evasive party policy; as 
 a lawyer he believed in the principles of his profes- 
 sion. He would not play with phrases. He did not
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 211 
 
 believe the law capable of two constructions, and he 
 could not be tempted by a fee to change sides, or to 
 construe a law against its plain intent and purpose. 
 He was not a rich man. He did not believe in corrupt- 
 ing the people. He was opposed to the use of money 
 in politics. For these reasons he was a failure as a 
 politician, and he never was and never could be a suc- 
 cessful corporation lawyer. The Constitution was his 
 bible of law and the creed of his politics. He died 
 May 22, 1886. There was a great demonstration at 
 his funeral. He was more popular dead than alive. 
 Such men always are. In an eulogy delivered by Mr. 
 Geo. W. Houk of Dayton, he said of Durbiu Ward: 
 " There was not an hour or an occasion in his life 
 when he would not have chosen defeat, rather than 
 to have achieved success by a dishonorable, unfaith- 
 ful or corrupt act. 
 
 V. In 1881 David R. Paige held up two fingers and 
 said, " two years from now we want this organization." 
 The time of which David spoke was at hand. He 
 was chairman of the Democratic State Central Com- 
 mittee, and had been elected a member of Congress 
 in part recognition of the useful services he had ren- 
 dered the Payne branch of the Standard Oil Company. 
 
 Perhaps there had never been a contest in Ohio, in 
 which there were so many cross purposes, and so 
 many conflicting interests, as this one we are describ- 
 ing. Geo. H. Pendleton's term in the Senate was 
 about to expire, and the Legislature to be elected
 
 212 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 would choose his successor. He was a candidate for 
 re-election. He and Mr. Hoadly being citizens of 
 Cincinnati, their interests would conflict, as it was not 
 politic to take the Senator and Governor of a great 
 state from one locality. They met, and Mr. Hoadly 
 frankly told Mr. Pendleton his ambitions. The latter, 
 as ever, was amiable and complaisant, and agreed not 
 to interfere with the aspirations of the other. Wash- 
 ington McLean and Mr. Pendleton had quarreled 
 over some personal matter, and there was a bitter 
 feud between them, and the enmity spread to their 
 friends and families. It manifested itself in social 
 life, in politics and in business. John R. McLean 
 took up his father's fight against Pendleton. The 
 Scotch blood of the McLeans made itself manifest, in 
 the propensity to transmit the family feuds with the 
 family name and property, from sire to son. John R. 
 McLean is one of the most remarkable and enigmat- 
 ical men Ohio has ever produced. His father was a 
 prosperous boiler manufacturer in Cincinnati when 
 the sou was born. He became interested in politics 
 and purchased an interest in the Cincinnati Enquirer. 
 The son attended the schools in Cincinnati, and for 
 a brief season was a student at Yale. He was bright, 
 quick and full of animal life. He had no passion for 
 books. He loved outdoor sports, and preferred a 
 game of base ball, or a glove contest to poetry, prose 
 or problems. He had one ever-ruling passion as a 
 boy. It was in accord with the spirit of the age. He
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 213 
 
 wanted to be rich. He wanted to be rich quick. 
 Mr. McLean is not a miser. He does not love money 
 for itself. He worships it for the power it brings. 
 With it he believes anything is possible, without it 
 he doubts if anything can be achieved. He has no 
 morals. He is a stranger to sentiment. He is not 
 deterred by scruples. If he has an object in view, 
 and has the money to buy it, and wants to buy it, in 
 his code of life, no law, no man, no community has 
 a right to question his act. He believes every man 
 has his price. He goes straight to results, and cares 
 nothing about public opinion, methods or the rights 
 of others. When he can get or has got what he 
 wants, he pays for it promptly and liberally. 
 
 It don't seem possible that such a character can 
 exist in an enlightened age. But John R. McLean 
 is a fact, whose existence must be acknowledged. It 
 may be studied but not denied. It is said that he got 
 his first money by backing a blind printer. Sine, in a 
 lottery venture. At twenty-five, by purchase and 
 gift from his father and uncle, he had acquired a 
 majority of the stock and control of the Cincinnati 
 Enquirer. He did not know much about the news- 
 paper business, but he had an instinctive knowledge 
 of the force and value of men, and he quickly gathered 
 a staff of bright writers and able men upon his paper. 
 He watched its finances and guided its destinies at all 
 times himself The paper prospered. Everything he 
 touched turned to gold. At thirty he had realized
 
 214 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 the dream of his boyhood. He was a millionaire. 
 But he was suffering with the new disease. He had the 
 "passion for accumulation." He wanted "more," he 
 said, and he could not get enough. They never do. 
 They never can. With his money and his newspaper, 
 Mr. John R. McLean had become one of the most po- 
 tent factors in the business and political affairs of Ohio. 
 VI. There were many Democrats who revolted at 
 Mr. McLean's methods as an editor and a Democrat. 
 In this they did him an injustice. Mr. McLean never 
 had any political convictions. The passing views he 
 may have had from day to day, he discarded when he 
 changed his shirt. He never had any convictions 
 upon any question. He had neither time nor dispo- 
 sition to be troubled with them. He could not use 
 them in his business, but could use and amuse him- 
 self with the party. As an organization it was an 
 instrument in his hands to punish his own and his 
 father's enemies. He had no friends to reward. He 
 hired his men, and when the money was paid the 
 contract was closed. But there were a great many 
 men who both hated and feared Mr. McLean and his 
 newspaper. As a counter-irritant a number of them are 
 said to have put up their money to start the Xczvi^-'Jouy- 
 nal. This enterprise met with Mr. McLean's hearty 
 disapproval. Mr, Hoadly and I\Ir. Pendleton were 
 among the supporters of the new paper. This drove 
 Mr. McLean to do the most commendable act of his 
 life. He supported Durbin Ward for Governor. His
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 215 
 
 support was as surprising as it was fatal, as his inten- 
 tions were distrusted, but he spent his money lavishly. 
 Geo. Hoadly called to his aid such agents as Alex. 
 Sands, and they visited the counties, and a conflict 
 took place at every county seat over the election of 
 delegates. It was a desperate hand to hand struggle. 
 Every inch of ground was contested, and not a dele- 
 gate was overlooked. More money was spent in the 
 preliminary contest in fighting each other, than the 
 Democrats had ever spent in a campaign against the 
 Republicans. 'Sir. Pendleton had his agents out work- 
 ing to secure the nomination of men for the Legisla- 
 ture who were favorable to his re-election to the Sen- 
 ate. The "silent and abhorrent forces" of the Stand- 
 ard Oil Company, were listless and apparently took 
 no part. Oliver Payne said in his club at Cleveland, 
 that he preferred Ward to Hoadly, but this was for 
 public effect. It would never do to let the Democrats 
 or the people know that the Standard Oil Company 
 had a candidate for Governor and one for Senator. 
 If it became public it meant the certain defeat of both. 
 Mr. Hoadly's candidacy was a logical one to some 
 extent, as he was the leading attorney for the liquor 
 and brewing interests in the suit- to test the constitu- 
 tionality of the Scott law. As the time for the con- 
 vention approached, the contest grew fierce and furi- 
 ous. The forces were evenly divided. In Hamilton,, 
 Butler County, where Durbin Ward had always been 
 an idol and very popular, as it was in his Senatorial
 
 216 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 and Congressional district, Mr. Hoadly's money was 
 used, and delegates were selected and instructed for 
 Mr. Hoadly. 
 
 This raised such a just storm of indignation, that 
 the "Bosses" did not dare to carry it out. There 
 was a battle royal in Hamilton County for the 68 
 votes. Of these Mr. McLean succeeded in electing 
 26 for Durbin Ward, leaving 42 for Mr. Hoadly, but 
 before Mr. McLean could deliver his goods, 13 of 
 them and a fraction of one vote got away from him, 
 and he only had 12^ left. The convention met 
 Thursday, June 21st. 
 
 Mr. John McSweeney was selected by the Payne 
 managers as chairman. This did not arouse suspi- 
 cion, as Mr. McSweeney stood well with the Thur- 
 man people. Mr. McSweeney had a Payne heart, 
 with a Thurnian outside. He was utterly unfitted for 
 the difficult duties of chairman, but he proved very 
 useful in doing the particular work at an important 
 crisis, for which he was chosen. In its description of 
 the convention, the Cincinnati Enquirer^ of June 22, 
 1883, says: "The Democratic State Convention of 
 to-day, was probably the noisiest, the most disorderly 
 and altogether the most remarkable political gather- 
 ing Columbus has ever seen. It exhibited a great 
 deal of earnestness, eloquence and aggressiveness, 
 but was also notable for monumental foolishness 
 and a fczv instances that led to accusations of crook- 
 edness! "
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 217 
 
 Mr. Pendleton had directed his energies and influ- 
 ence toward gaining control of the Committee on 
 Resolutions, and the result was a ringing and emphatic 
 rehearsal of all that the Democrats of Ohio had said in 
 previous platforms on civil service, and an unequivocal 
 endorsement of the same. The convention swallowed 
 it without a question. The Standard Oil Company 
 shut their eyes. They could not afford to unmask 
 their designs at this time, and Mr. Pendleton was 
 splendidly vindicated, and although not named in the 
 resolutions, he and his many ardent friends felt that 
 he was the logical and only candidate for Senator. 
 But alas, there were others ! Judge Hoadly and the 
 other candidates for Governor were on the ground. 
 
 The strain on the nervous temperament of Mr. 
 Hoadly was something terrible. His whole nature, 
 teachings and life, had been opposed to the methods 
 that were being employed to secure his nomination. 
 Cato says, " that corruption never lacks a pretense," 
 and Mr. Hoadly justified his conduct, on the ground 
 that dishonest means and bribery were being used by 
 Jno. R. McLean and others to defeat and humiliate 
 him. "Archbishop" Sands, the great comforter, was 
 ever near to explain and soothe the poor man's con- 
 science. Mr. Hoadly was desperate. He said, just 
 before the convention met, that he would have the 
 nomination, if it cost him $20,000. As high as $250 
 was paid a number of the 56 delegates from Hamilton 
 Countv who voted for Mr. Hoadlw Some of them
 
 218 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 had previously taken Mr, McLean's money ; several 
 of tliem sold so often, that they forgot which side 
 had bought them last. 
 
 The convention, when it met, lost no time in get- 
 ting down to business. The " Bosses and the Bood- 
 lers" were there and eager for the market to open, 
 with eloquent John McSweeney as chief auction- 
 eer, Durbin Ward's name was presented by Hon. 
 T. E. Powell, and seconded by Allen G. Thurman, 
 who made a strong, touching and eloquent plea for 
 honest Durbin. Mr. Michael Ryan, of Cincinnati, 
 presented Mr. Hoadly's name, and Gen, G, W. Mor- 
 gan nominated Hon. Geo. W. Geddes. The ballot- 
 ing began amidst great excitement and a tremendous 
 uproar. When Butler County was reached, an 
 attempt was made to cast her 13 votes for Hoadly. 
 Objection was made, and a storm broke loose, such as 
 was rarely ever seen in a convention. The chairman 
 seemed dazed and powerless. He hammered on a 
 table with a heavy cane, which only added to the 
 tempest, A Ward man moved that each delegate cast 
 his vote as he saw fit. Judge Spalding, of Cleveland, 
 moved to lay this motion on the table. This motion 
 was put and the roll call ordered. On the motion to 
 lay on the table, there were 312 ayes and 323 noes. 
 This was a test vote, and showed Hoadly in a minority 
 and beaten. The chair neglected or refused to put the 
 motion to allow each delegate to cast his vote, but this 
 was done and the ballot for Governor proceeded. The
 
 BOSSES AND BOODI.E. 219 
 
 chair announced that Hoadly had received 290 votes, 
 Ward 261 12, Geddes -j-]^ and Denver 4^2 on the first 
 ballot. It required 318 votes to nominate. There 
 was no nomination; a second ballot was proceeded 
 with, amidst unparalleled confusion. The Ward dele- 
 gates openly charged fraud at the secretary's table. 
 They tried to get on the stage, but the Hoadly men 
 surrounded the secretaries and prevented all ap- 
 proach. There were few changes, and no stamped- 
 ing. The forces stood firm. The Geddes men tried 
 to change to Ward, but the Hoadly men yelled so 
 that no one could be heard. The secretaries were 
 nearly an hour in making the footings. Everybody 
 tried to get on the stage, and as its capacity was 
 limited, many failed, but fell off trying. The chair 
 finally got the sheets and announced the vote as fol- 
 lows: Hoadly 332, Ward 245, scattering 60, and he 
 declared Hoadly the nominee. This was greeted 
 with cries of "fraud," and "you are a liar." The 
 ballot as shown by counties, as it has been preserved, 
 was: Ward 270, Hoadly 315, and 50 for Geddes. 
 Judge Hoadly had not been nominated, but in the 
 "interest of harmony," Mr. Powell moved to make 
 the nomination unanimous, amidst cries of "no ! no! 
 don't encourage fraud! " The conflict had lasted five 
 hours. John R. McLean was named on a committee 
 to escort Judge Hoadly to the hall. He appeared, and 
 "with a heart overflowing with emotion," thanked 
 the convention for having preferred a "recruit" to the
 
 220 BOSSEvS AND BOODLE. 
 
 faithful of the fold. All feeling seemed to vanish and 
 in one of those many and unaccountable moods that 
 often overtake great bodies of men, they sent for Gen. 
 Durbin Ward. His speech was full of lament and 
 pathos. It brought tears to many eyes and awakened 
 sorrow in many hearts. He closed by saying that he 
 would be a candidate for United States Senator, but 
 he said : "/ shall not use one dollar to procure my 
 election to the United States Senate.'" He was 
 erected with cheers at the close of one of the most 
 remarkable speeches ever made to a political conven- 
 tion. But we are living in an age full of transformation 
 scenes, and the Standard Oil Company had purchased 
 its first state convention. Judge Hoadly is credited 
 with saying, that his nomination had cost $50,000. 
 Again the sons of the Puritan and the children of 
 New England had combined with corruption and 
 vanquished one of "the people to the South." 
 
 Vn, The results of this convention dazed John 
 R. McLean. "Jack had found his master." Mr. 
 ]\IcLean had found forces more potent than his own 
 methods, and a pocket-book greater than his purse. 
 It set him to thinking. He wanted to beat Mr. Pen- 
 dleton. He must divide and conquer. He and Mr, 
 Hoadly made an alliance. The Enquirer was to give 
 IVIr. Hoadly a cordial support for Governor, and he 
 was to sever all connection with the JVezas-yournal 
 and cut off its supplies. The bargain was kept ; 
 the JVezvs-your)ial soon died. Mr. Pendleton was
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 221 
 
 left alone to face Mr. McLean. The celebrated 
 Highland House Convention was held in Cincinnati, 
 August i8th. It is said to have cost Mr. McLean 
 $20,000. He named every man on the ticket. Mr. 
 Pendleton's friends held another convention and 
 nominated another ticket. This was indiscreet, and 
 lost Mr. Pendleton many friends and destroyed his 
 party standing. 
 
 With all of these fights, divisions and party scan- 
 dals it did not seem possible that the Democrats 
 could win, but no party organization ever had such 
 vitality. Mr. Foraker and Mr. Hoadly met in joint 
 debate in a number of the large cities of the state 
 and discussed the liquor question. The liquor and 
 brewing interests contributed freely to the Demo- 
 cratic campaign fund. Mr. Pendleton sent sums 
 ranging from $200 to $1,000 into a number of coun- 
 ties to help elect the Democratic ticket. This money 
 was generally sent to the candidates for the Legisla- 
 ture to place them under personal obligations. The 
 agents of the Standard Oil Company did not take an 
 active part in any of the county nominations, con- 
 ventions and primaries. They remained quiet until 
 the campaign was well under way. The candidates 
 were "seen," "felt" and "helped." Whenever it 
 was found that Mr. Pendleton had sent any money 
 to a candidate, the Standard Oil Company's agents 
 doubled the amount. The profusion with which 
 money poured in i;pon mnnv ca:-!didates for the Leg-
 
 222 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 islature in rural counties overwhelmed and amazed 
 the innocent aspirant for legislative honors. In 
 many instances they were not backward in asking 
 for money from Mr. Pendleton, and when they re- 
 ceived it and found that they could get more from the 
 Standard Oil Company's agents they took it. In one 
 or two cases Mr. Pendleton's money was returned, so 
 conscientious were the parties, but these instances 
 were very rare. When the election came IMr. Pen- 
 dleton had helped candidates in over fifty counties, 
 and held pledges from forty or more to support him 
 if they were elected. There was not a candidate for 
 the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, outside of 
 the large cities, that was not sounded for Mr. Payne, 
 and if found all right he was liberally aided, and to 
 make it appear proper, additional aid was sent 
 through Mr. G. H. Bargar, the chairman of the cam- 
 paign committee. He sent a letter saying the money 
 was from Mr. Payne's friends, and was to be used to 
 get out the Democratic vote, but there was no allu- 
 sion to the fact that Henry B. Payne was or would 
 be a candidate for the Senate. This was known to 
 only a few within the inner circle. 
 
 Mr. Hoadly broke down during the campaign and 
 withdrew from the canvass, and went to Philadelphia 
 for rest and treatment. It was said that he was suf- 
 fering from an attack of malaria. He was suffering 
 from the tortures of conscience. Remorse over the 
 acts he had encouraged and countenanced was what
 
 223 
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 caused Geo. Hoadly to break down, and he never re 
 covered and he never will recover from the effects of 
 his wicked conduct in defrauding Durbm Ward of an 
 honor that was justly his. The srckness of he,r 
 candidate discouraged the Democrats, but did not de- 
 moralize them. Boodle flowed in golden strean^ 
 from the fountain placed on tap by the Standard Oil 
 Company. The election was held in October and 
 the Democrats elected their entire state ticket and 
 carried the Legislature by a safe majority in both 
 branches. The vote was the largest ever cast at a 
 state election, the total being 721,31°. of ^^'""^ ^^'■ 
 
 Hoadly received 359.693; M^^- Fo'^f" ^' ^*^' ,t' 
 the Prohibitionists, 8,362; the Greenbackers, 2,937, 
 and scattering, 3.154- Mr. McLean had succeeded 
 in electing his entire ticket in Hamilton Coun y by 
 the lavish use of money, and with the aid of the 
 
 ^^VIU After the election was over rumors began to 
 float about that Mr. Payne was or would be a candi- 
 date for Senator. Mr. Jno. R. McLean was quite 
 delighted with his venture in politics and his first 
 victory. He had not really determined whether to 
 be a candidate himself or to support his father for 
 the honor, but the signs soon began to convince him 
 that the same mysterious force and silent power that 
 he had encountered at the state convention in June, 
 was again abroad in the land. His first object was 
 to beat Mr. Pendleton; his next was to name his
 
 224 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 successor. If he entered into a conflict with the 
 people to the north he would be beaten, be shorn of 
 his prestige, and lose all money he had expended. 
 Mr. McLean never regretted money he spent to buy 
 revenge, but his business sense and his "passion for 
 accumulation" always taught him to keep his eye on 
 the dollar. If he could defeat Mr. Pendleton, and re- 
 cover his much loved dollars, his cup would be full 
 and running over. He and Oliver Payne met at 
 night in a sleeping car in the central part of the 
 state, and divided the empire. 
 
 Mr. McLean claimed to have expended $ioo,- 
 ooo in helping carry Hamilton County and elect a 
 Legislature. He was to be reimbursed for all money 
 expended, and was to support Mr. Henry B. Payne 
 for United States Senator, and when he was older he 
 was to have an open field for the honor. A careful 
 comparison of notes was made and the labor divided 
 and men selected, so that there might be no conflict 
 and no confusion. It was very important not to 
 arouse the suspicions of Mr. Pendleton, nor the cupid- 
 ity of those who were to be purchased, or who had 
 been bought. The delegation from Hamilton County 
 was pledged to Mr. Payne by Mr. McLean as a guar- 
 antee of good faith. It was not sold. It was given 
 away. 
 
 IX. The Democrats had elected 60 members of 
 the House and 22 Senators, and the Republicans had 
 44 members of the House and 1 1 Senators. The
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 225 
 
 members of the Legislature were as follows, the 
 names of the Democrats being in italics. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 1st District, William Caldwell, IV. L. O'Brien, A. J. 
 Priiden; 2d District, George F. Elliott; 3d District, Simon 
 Brenner; 4th District John E. Myers; 5th District, Jesse 
 N. Oren; 6th District, William H. Reed; 7th District, 
 John W. Gregg; 8th District. John H. Evans; 9th Dis- 
 trict, Calvin S. Welcn; \^\.\iY)\?Xx\c\., Aaron R. Van Cleaf; 
 11th District, Sylvester W. Durflinger; 12th District,^. 
 C. Cable; 13th District, John J. Haiie; 14th District, 
 Gilbert Smith; loth and 16th District,/^//;/ C AW//; 17th 
 and 28 District, Allen Levering; 18th and 19th District, 
 William S. Croivell; 20th District, Solomon Hogue ; 21st 
 District, yi?//^ V. Lewis; 22d District, John M- Dickinson; 
 23rd District, Alonzo D. Fassett ; 24th and 26th District, 
 Simon P. Wolcott ; 25th District, A.J. Williams; George 
 H. Ely ; 27th and 29th District, Timothy G. Loomis ; 
 30th District, Godfrey Jaeger; 31st District, /^//« i¥. fFz7- 
 liston; 32d District, Thomas J. Godjrey, Elmer White; 
 33d District, William H. McLyman, Orlando B. Ramey. 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 Charles E. Addison, Muskingum ; David Baker, Darke : 
 Gilbert H. Bar gar, Coshocton ; David M. Barrett, High- 
 land ; William Beatty, Lucas; James T. Black, Madison ; 
 Henry Bohl, Washington ; Emerson P. Brooks, Meigs ; 
 S. W. Brown, Warren ; J. E- Bruce, Hamilton ; Lewis A. 
 Brunner, Wyandot ; Robert Buchanan, Clermont ; Charles 
 C. Burnett, Cuyahoga ; Absalom P. Byal, Hancock ; Jesse
 
 226 BOSSES AND BOODLS. 
 
 L. Cameron, Union; Thomas J. Cogan, Hamilton; L. C. 
 Cole, Stark; John Cosgrovc, Hamilton; Geo. W. Crites, 
 Tuscarawas ; Jo/m Cuff, Henry ; /. B. Ciitnmings, Hamil- 
 ton ; Fraiik Cunningham, Butler ; Albert Deyo, Fulton ; 
 Alexander Dickson, Mahoning ; Oscar F. Edwards, Mont- 
 gomery; Elijah P. Emerson, Wood; Wm. M. Farrar, 
 Guernsey ; Wm. W. Fierce, Vinton ; Levi W. Finley, 
 Noble ; Geo. H. Ford, Geauga and Lake ',J. R. Francisco, 
 Sandusky ; Jos. S. Gaston, Pike ; Henry George, Defiance 
 and Paulding ; Joseph G. Gest, Greene ; Oliver P. Good- 
 man, Ross ; Henry C Greiner, Perry ; William Habbeler., 
 Ottawa ; Horace E. Hadley, Fayette ; Jas. H. Hamilton., 
 Monroe ; A. G. Harbaugh, Cuyahoga ; Robert H- Hig- 
 gitis, ^r own; Samuel Hilles, Belmont; Geo. W. Holbrook, 
 Auglaize ; Wm. T. Hughes, Van Wert ; George fK Hull, 
 Allen ; Phannel Hunt, Shelby ; Watson D. Johnson, 
 Huron ; Solomon Johnson, Williams ; Robert H. Jones, 
 Jackson ; Ignatius H. Kahle, Putnam ; Jacob A. Kohler, 
 Summit ; Stephen Laird, Trumbull ; Jasper N. Lantz, 
 Harrison ; Benjamin N. LindufF, Jefferson ; Joseph Lisle., 
 Licking ; John H. Littler, Clarke ; Casper Lowenstein, 
 Franklin ; George W. Love, Columbiana ; Cornelius H. 
 Lyman, Medina ; Edward Malonc. Lucas ; A. D. Marsh, 
 Mercer ; Wm. S. Matthews, Gallia ; John McBride, Stark ; 
 J. B. Menke, Hamilton ; Enos W. Miles, Morrow ; James 
 Mooney, Cuyahoga; David M. Murray. Miami; Allen O. 
 Myers, Franklin ; John W. Ogden, Champaign ; Wm. 
 Peet, Hamilton ; Joseph M. Foe, Cuyahoga ; Isaac C. 
 Primrose, Athens ; Joseph Ptickrin, Erie ; Alfred K. 
 Rarey, Hardin ; Wm. Roche, Cuyahoga ; Enoch C. Ross, 
 Carroll; Daniel J. Ryan, Scioto; George L. Sackett, Del- 
 aware ; Wm. A. Schultz, Fairfield ; George W. Sharpy
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 227 
 
 Holmes ; Oscar vSheppard, Preble ; Aaron M. Sherman, 
 Portage ; David J. Staltcr, Seneca ; Elias M. Stanberry, 
 Morgan ; John B. Staubach^ Hamilton ; Andrew Stevenson, 
 Richland; Byron Stihvell, Ashland; Christopher C. Stouffer, 
 Wayne ; Peter Striker, Hamilton ; James H. Terrell, 
 Clinton; J. R. Thompson, Hamilton; John D. Thompson, 
 Knox ; Freeman Thorp, Ashtabula ; James Turner, Mont- 
 gomery ; James W. Walker, Logan ; George G. Wash- 
 burn, Ivorain; Seth Weldy, Hocking; Dewitt C- Wilson, 
 Lawrence ; Wesley Work, Pickaway ; Daniel WolJ, Ham- 
 ilton ; Joh?i B. Yoimg, Adams ; Edward W. Yoimg, 
 Franklin ; Boston G. Young, Marion ; George M. Ziegler^ 
 Crawford. 
 
 Late in October, the Democratic members elect 
 were not content with being visited, but they began 
 to visit; many of them felt called upon to go to Cleve- 
 land to look at the building in which the offices of 
 the Standard Oil Company were located, and to find 
 out whom their constituents favored for Senator. 
 They could not find out at home. Newspapers that 
 had been fearless and free in their advocacy of honest 
 Durbin Ward, or courtly George Pendleton, for the 
 Senate, were suddenly taken with the cramp colic, 
 and when they recovered, the next issue, with double 
 leaded vehemence, declared that Henry B. Payne was 
 the only Democrat in Ohio fit to be chosen to the 
 United States Senate. To the honor of the Demo- 
 cratic press of Ohio be it said, that while all were 
 tempted, but few yielded. The sudden conversions 
 always took place after Hon. David R. Paige, on a
 
 228 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 coinniercial lour, had dropped "into town to sell some 
 powder." David sold more "powder" in Ohio in a 
 few weeks, than was ever sold before. It was all 
 Standard Oil brand. 
 
 The conversion of the press paved the way for the 
 approach of members. Those who had been honest 
 and earnest in their advocacy of Ward or Pendleton, 
 suddenly became silent and indifferent. They had 
 become partners in one of the Standard Oil Com- 
 pany's "adventures," and were receiving their "re- 
 bates." The argument used against Mr. Pendleton, 
 was that he was the author of the civil service law. 
 But the platform upon which the state ticket had been 
 elected, and the legislature had been carried, was the 
 most emphatic endorsement of civil service reform, 
 that the Democratic party of Ohio had ever made. 
 The pretext for opposing Mr. Pendleton was the most 
 flimsy and pitiable that could be presented. This 
 feature of the Senatorial canvass only demonstrates 
 the insincerity of political parties and promises. 
 
 X. The Legislature convened on the first Monday 
 in January, 1884. The members began to assem- 
 ble the latter part of New Year's week. All the Sena- 
 torial candidates and managers, " Bosses and Boodlers," 
 were early on the ground, except Mr. Henry B. 
 Payne. He did not appear upon the scene until after 
 the purchase had been perfected, and Gov. Hoadly 
 had signed the deed for the property that had been 
 conveyed for a consideration to Mr. Payne, in trust
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 229 
 
 for the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Pendleton's 
 campaign was conducted by Clark Irvin of Knox, 
 Judge J. S. McKemy of Hamilton, John G. Thomp- 
 son and Geo. B. Okey of Franklin. Durbin Ward's 
 interests were looked after by A. R. Van Cleaf of 
 Pickaway, Wm. Reed of Ross, L. A. Russell of 
 Cleveland, Geo. W. Honk of Dayton, James S. Gordon 
 of Cincinnati, who were honest in their support, and 
 by Geo. Elliott of Butler and others, who betraved 
 him for a price. The Standard Oil campaign was 
 conducted by Oliver H. Payne, Wm. P. Thompson, 
 John Huntington, David R. Paige, John H. Farley, 
 Martin A. Foran, Elmer White and many other 
 small politicians who were under pay. John R. 
 McLean and his staff, were on hand to watch emer- 
 gencies. Hundreds of people were furnished trans- 
 portation and expenses, and were paid to come from 
 all sections of the state, to work for their favorites, 
 but the Payne forces outnumbered the others ten 
 to one. 
 
 Preliminary caucuses of the two houses were held 
 by the Democrats on Saturday, January 5, to nomi- 
 nate candidates for officers. A joint caucus was held 
 after the others, and Elmer White, an editor, of Defi- 
 ance, one of Mr. Payne's supporters, was chosen 
 chairman, L. A. Brunner, another editor and Payne 
 missionary, was made secretary. It was agreed to 
 hold the Senatorial caucus Tuesday night, January 8, 
 a historic day in the annals of the country, and one
 
 230 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 sacred to the memory and achievements of the great- 
 est apostle of Democracy, St. Jackson. It was a day 
 upon which the Democrats of Ohio had met in conven- 
 tion for many years to declare their principles, nomi- 
 nate their ticket and renew their faith at the altars of 
 Democracy. It was a day which had been looked 
 forward to and honored for years, by gatherings of the 
 gifted sons of genius and of Democracy, when in 
 language that made the heart quicken its pulsations, 
 and in phrases of winning eloquence, the purpose and 
 principles of the organization were declared, and the 
 virtues of its founders were recited, as examples 
 worthy of emulation. It was fitting and particularly 
 appropriate that this day, above all others, should be 
 chosen for the consummation of an act of infamy that 
 would give the lie to every principle that the Democ- 
 racy had ever professed faith in ; heap humiliation on 
 its honored leaders; repudiate its professions, and 
 write shame across the brow of an honored name 
 and a glorious past. 
 
 The Payne managers were anxious to hold the 
 caucus as soon as possible, for the wolves had tasted 
 blood, and were growing ravenous with the fleeting 
 hours, and complications might arise that would lead 
 to an explosion. Like the Sanhedrim that sat at mid- 
 night and sent Christ to Calvary, " they feared the 
 people." The date was fixed early by the request of 
 Mr. Oliver Payne and John R. McLean, but the choice
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 231 
 
 of the 8th of January, was a piece of irony that 
 they did not appreciate at the time. 
 
 A committee of six was appointed to prepare rules 
 for the government of the Senatorial caucus. These 
 were: Senators W. H. McLyman of Toledo, A. R. 
 Van Cleaf of Pickaway, and W. S. Crowell of Coshoc- 
 ton; and the members from the House were: G. H. 
 Bargar of Coshocton, Thos. Cogan of Cincinnati, and 
 Allen O. Myers of Columbus. There was a demand 
 among Democrats that there should be an open vote. 
 The people naturally wanted to know how their 
 honored and chosen representatives voted. The com- 
 mittee to prepare rules met, but could not agree. 
 Mr. Cogan would not attend the meeting. He was 
 doing business upon his own hook and did not w^ant 
 to be considered as one of Mr. McLean's chattels. 
 The committee stood 3 to 2. Messrs. McLyman, 
 Crowell and Bargar very shrewdly framed a report, 
 leaving the caucus to determine whether there should 
 be a secret ballot. The other two favored an open 
 ballot and so reported. 
 
 XL Fixing the date of the caucus at such an early 
 day was an unusual thing, and was evidence to an 
 ordinary mind, that knew anything about politics, 
 that the " Bosses " had purchased votes enough and 
 were eager to proceed. Durbin Ward had tele- 
 graphed to L. A. Russell, at Cleveland, on Saturday, 
 to come down and help him. Mr. Russell arrived 
 at midnight, Sunday. Durbin Ward had gone to
 
 232 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 bed and was asleep. Mr. Russell waked him up and 
 said : " You old pauper, what are you fooling around 
 here for? Don't you know that this thing is bought 
 and paid for, and only waiting for delivery!" Mr. 
 Russell's experience, and his knowledge of the situa- 
 tion, and the men and methods employed by the 
 Standard Oil Company, enabled him to state the 
 case tersely and accurately. Durbin Ward was a 
 doubting Thomas. He said: "Oh, Russell, that 
 can't be so, I will never believe it until I see it done." 
 He saw it done. The canvass continued Monday 
 and Tuesday; never had such a crowd gathered at 
 the capital. The situation was feverish. Bills of 
 large denominations were plenty. Whiskey flowed 
 freely. All was uproar and confusion. Charges of 
 bribery were freely made and faintly denied. Prices 
 ranged from $1200 to $8000 per member. It is but 
 just to say that there were some honest and reputable 
 men in favor of Mr. Payne ; but as a rule, every Demo- 
 crat that had ever been offered or accepted a bribe in 
 politics was there, and was loud in his advocacy of Mr. 
 Payne's election to the Senatorship. The carrion had 
 brought the vultures. David R. Paige's room, on an 
 upper floor, was the paymaster's department. Money 
 was stacked up in piles, to pay members as they were 
 brought in. They got it so easy that some of them 
 came back. It became a matter of common report 
 and belief on Tuesday, that large sums of money 
 were being paid out, and Allen G. Thurman issued
 
 BOSSES AN BOODDLE. 233 
 
 the following statement, in the afternoon before the 
 caucus : 
 
 " I have nothing against either of the candidates. 
 They are all men of ability. JMy personal relations 
 with each of them have always been friendly and 
 pleasant. But there is something that shocks me in 
 the idea of crushing men like Pendleton and Ward, 
 who have devoted the best portions of their lives to 
 the maintenance of Democracy, by the combination 
 against them of personal hatred and overgrown 
 wealth. I hear Payne men say : ' We can not sup- 
 port Pendleton because we disapprove of his civil 
 service reform bill,' forgetting that convention after 
 convention of the Democratic party, both State and 
 National, had resolved in favor of civil service reform, 
 and also forgetting that the Republicans now in 
 office are just as liable to be turned out as if the Pen- 
 dleton bill had never passed. I do not advocate 
 that bill. I think it ought to be amended or re- 
 pealed ; but I would not slaughter a life-long Demo- 
 crat because in a long public service he happened to 
 make one mistake. 
 
 " But if these gentlemen can not support Pendle- 
 ton, why can not they support Ward ? He is not 
 responsible for the civil service reform bill. Indeed, 
 I have always understood that he disapproves of it. 
 That he is a man of ability, every man must admit ; 
 that he has performed immense labor for our party, 
 no one will deny. Why, then, prefer Payne to him ? 
 The answer, I fear, is perfectly plain. There never 
 has been any machine politics in the Democratic 
 party of Ohio. We have, as a party, been freer from 
 bossism than any party that ever existed. But some 
 men seem to think that we ouoht to have a machine.
 
 234 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 amply supplied with money to work it, and under 
 absolute control of a boss or bosses, to dictate who 
 shall and who shall not receive the honors and re- 
 wards within the gift of the party. To set up such 
 a machine it is necessary, in the first place, to kill 
 the men who have heretofore enjoyed the confidence 
 of the party — the men whose ability, hard labor, and 
 principles did so much to keep the party together in 
 the terrible ordeal through which it has passed. I 
 am unwilling to see this done. It does not concern 
 me personally, for I am a mere private citizen, having 
 no expectation or wish to ever hold office again. But 
 although I have never sought for revenge upon my 
 enemies in the party — if I have had any — on the 
 other hand, I have never deserted my friends, and I 
 do not want to be called on to be a pall-bearer at 
 their political funerals. I want to see our officers 
 elected in the good old-fashioned Democratic mode, 
 and not by some new-fangled mode that, to say the 
 least of it, wears an evil-omened and inauspicious 
 aspect. I want to see all true Democrats have a fair 
 chance, according to their merits, and do not want 
 to see a political cut-throat bossism inaugurated for 
 the benefit of a close party corporation or syndicate." 
 
 The appearance of this chuck of truth, was like 
 the explosion of a bomb. It created great conster- 
 nation and apprehension among the "Bosses." But 
 the fountain was tapped and the golden grease flowed 
 more freely. Mr. Thurman had only succeeded in 
 bulling the market and raising prices. 
 
 The caucus met at 8 P. M., Tuesday, Jan. 8. The 
 Democratic members were all present. Outsiders 
 were all excluded. Great crowds gathered in the
 
 BOSSES AND BOODI,K. 235 
 
 adjoining halls and corridors. [Members looked at 
 each other with suspicion. Some kept their hands 
 nervously in their pockets. When a man had been 
 paid to vote for Mr. Payne, others who had not been 
 were set to watch him. All the doubtful members 
 had one or two guardians. George Washington Hull 
 of Allen, had been told by Charles Negley of Darke, 
 a well known agent of the Boodlers, that he could 
 get $2,500 for his vote. Mr. Hull swore that when 
 the caucus met, he would arise and state this fact. 
 This would be unpleasant, and might make trouble. 
 Mr. A. J. Pruden of Cincinnati, moved that all ques- 
 tions coming before the caucus should be settled with- 
 out debate. This was indeed a remarkable proced- 
 ure, but there was so much gun powder lying around 
 loose, that every precaution had to be taken to pre- 
 vent an explosion. The motion carried and the silent 
 and solemn services of the sale began. The com- 
 mittee on rules made a majority and a minority report. 
 A test vote came first on a slight amendment to the 
 latter. This was to prevent a change of vote after a 
 roll call. On this the vote stood, 35 ayes and 47 nays. 
 The vote then came on the open ballot as reported by 
 the minority. Every Payne man voting aye, and 
 every Anti-Payne man voting nay. 
 
 Those who voted for an open ballot were : Godfrey, 
 Lewis, Myers, O'Neal, Read and Van Cleaf of the 
 Senate, and Addison, Buchanan, Byal, Cole, Crites, 
 Finley, Goodman, Hull, Higgins, Kahle, Marsh,
 
 236 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Myers, Stillwell, Shultz, Sharp, Weldy, Work, Young 
 of Adams, and Young of Marion, of the House. Total, 
 25. Those who voted against an open ballot, were 
 Senators Brenner, Caldwell, Cable, Crowell, Elliott, 
 Jaeger, Levering, McLyman, O'Brien, Pruden, Ramey, 
 Smith, Welch, Williams, Williston and White, and 
 the members of the House were Bargar, Bohl, Brunner, 
 Bruce, Baker, Beatty, Black, Cunningham, Cosgrove, 
 Cogan, Cummings, Cuff, Edwards, Francisco, Fierce, 
 George, Holbrook, Harbaugh, Hunt, Habbeler, Ham- 
 ilton, Johnson, Lowenstein, Lisle, Mooney, Menke, 
 Malone, McBride, Poe, Roche, Puckerin, Staubach, 
 Stalter, Stevenson, Stauffer, Thompson of Hamilton, 
 Thompson of Knox, Wolf, Turner, Young of Frank- 
 lin, Zeigler. Total, 57. 
 
 This vote foreshadowed the result. The profoundest 
 silence prevailed during the proceedings, broken only 
 by the clerk's voice, or some of the impatient crowd 
 on the outside hammering on the doors. The sound 
 echoed through the hall with startling effect, and 
 recalled Macduff thundering at the castle gate, after 
 Macbeth had killed the king. Rushing from the 
 presence of the awful crime, he exclaimed: 
 
 " O horror ! horror ! ! horror ! ! ! Tongue nor heart 
 Cannot conceive nor name thee ! " 
 
 Every man present felt that an awful crime was 
 being committed. Over half of them knew that they 
 were guilty agents, accessory before the fact — paid par- 
 ticipants in the act — betraying the people — and selling
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 237 
 
 for a price that which they had but the day before 
 solemnly sworn, with hands uplifted, to guard and 
 protect, namely, the Constitution and the laws and 
 rights of the people. It is no wonder that some 
 trembled and looked nervously and wretchedly 
 about. That sound at the door aroused visions of an 
 angry and an outraged people. It was ominous. Had 
 some Macduff ruj^hed upon the scene and cried 
 murder and treason, the conspirators would have fled. 
 As it was, the task was left to the conscience of each 
 man, and it thundered so softly, that the crime was 
 hastened to its consummation. 
 
 The majority report was adopted by 57 ayes and 
 25 nays. The roll was called upon this vote, and it 
 was used as the pay-roll in settling the accounts and 
 making the final payments. The names of the can- 
 didates were presented without speeches. Senator 
 Williams, of Cleveland, presented the name ol Henry 
 B. Payne. Senator John O'Neil, of Zanesville, pre- 
 sented the name of Geo. H. Pendleton, and from a dark 
 corner in the hall, where he sat by himself as though 
 he feared the light, Senator Geo. Elliott, of Butler, arose 
 and faintly whispered the name of General Durbin 
 Ward. Bohl of Washington, Cogan of Hamilton, and 
 Jaeger of Ottawa, acted as tellers. Mr. Bohl, of Wash- 
 ington, moved that the roll be called and each one 
 pledge himself to support the nominee. This blun- 
 dering and ill-advised motion conveyed an impu- 
 tation that aroused a storm of indignant protest.
 
 238 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 This zealous henchman had taken one step too much, 
 and frightened at his own indiscretion, Mr. Bohl 
 quickly recalled his motion. The result of the ballot 
 was as follows: Those who voted for Ward were, 
 Senators Reed, Van Cleaf and Williston ; and members 
 of the House: Byal, Edwards, Johnson, Higgins, 
 Habbeler, Marsh, ^NIcBride, Puckerin, Turner, Work, 
 Young of Adams, Young of Marion, and Schultz. 
 Total 17. 
 
 Those who voted for Pendleton, were Senators 
 Godfrey, Lewis, Silvers, O'Neil; and members of the 
 House were: Addison, Buchanan, Cole, Crites, Finley, 
 Goodman, Hull, Kahle, Stillwell, Sharp, Weldy. 
 Total 15. Mr. Stevenson voted for Geddes, and Mr. 
 Myers voted for Booth. 
 
 Those who voted for Payne were : Senators Bren- 
 ner, Caldwell, Cable, Crowell, Elliott, Jaeger, Lever- 
 ing, McLyman, O'Brien, Pruden, Ramey, Smith, 
 Welch, Williams and White; and members of the 
 House were : Bargar, Bohl, Brunner, Bruce, Baker, 
 Beatty, Black, Cunningham, Cosgrove, Cogan, Cum- 
 mings, Cuff, Francisco, Fierce, George, Holbrook, 
 Harbaugh, Hamilton, Hunt, Lowenstein, Lisle, 
 Mooney, Menke, Malone, Poe, Roche, Stalter, 
 Stauffer, Thompson of Hamilton, Thompson of Knox, 
 Wolf and Young of Franklin, and Zeigler. Total 48. 
 
 Mr. Elmer White then made the announcement 
 which confirmed the sale of the Senatorship to Hon. 
 Henry B. Payne and its purchase by the Standard Oil
 
 BOSSKS AND BOODLE. 239 
 
 Company. The ballots were all carefully preserved 
 
 and turned over to Jno. R. AIcLean, who carefully 
 
 put the same away in his safe, for future reference. 
 
 It was with difficulty that Mr. Oliver Payne restrained 
 
 the exuberance and hilarity of his personal and paid 
 
 followers. He knew that it would not do to be too 
 
 brutal in rejoicing over the purchase, as the deed 
 
 had not yet been consummated and ratified. Mr. 
 
 John R. McLean was not so considerate. He was 
 
 wildly delirious over the result. Not only had Mr. 
 
 Pendleton, his own and his father's foe, been defeated, 
 
 but he had been humiliated ; never had there been 
 
 such a piece of refined diabolism in the history of 
 
 politics, as had been executed against Mr. Pendleton. 
 
 When the Bosses knew that they had votes to spare 
 
 for Mr. Payne, at the urgent solicitation of Mr. 
 
 McLean, Mr. Oliver Payne kindly consented to loan 
 
 him a few, and these were selected from counties that 
 
 were known to be very strong against Mr. Payne, 
 
 and they were instructed to vote for Mr. Ward, so 
 
 that his vote might be larger than Mr. Pendleton's. 
 
 If the reader will compare the list of those who voted 
 
 for and against the open ballot, with the vote for 
 
 Senator, he can easily pick out these men. 
 
 XII. It is not claimed that all of the men who voted 
 for Mr. Payne received a money consideration. A 
 majority of them did. Several who voted for Mr. 
 Payne did so at the solicitation of others who were 
 paid. To some extent they were ignorant and inno-
 
 240 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 cent. The money expended up to the election, Jan. 
 15, 1884, was in the neighborhood of $300,000. This 
 may now be looked npon as the fixed market price 
 of the Senatorship in Ohio, unless there should be 
 open competition in the market, when prices might 
 go up. 
 
 One of the most peculiar features of this con- 
 test, was the fact that some ten or dozen members 
 who had been elected as the champions of labor, were 
 among the most pliant and useful tools of the greatest 
 and worst monopoly of all, and the first trust. The 
 Standard Oil Company. Every workingman, so- 
 called, on the Democratic side, voted against an open 
 ballot, and every one of them were in favor of Mr. 
 Payne, except Addison, of Muskingum. It is a case 
 of the extremes meeting. In the language of the 
 Supreme Court of Ohio, in deciding a case and com- 
 menting on the methods of the Standard Oil Com- 
 pany, we might add, "How peculiar!" when we 
 see that those champions who have been chosen to 
 combat the dangerous tendencies of trusts, are the 
 first to yield to the blandishments of monopoly and 
 money, and are apparently its easiest and cheapest 
 victims. 
 
 XIII. Those who did not sell their votes were not 
 forgotten, when a national Democratic administration 
 came into power. President Cleveland and Senator 
 Payne entered tipon their official careers on March 4, 
 1885. Among the first men appointed to office were
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 241 
 
 the Payne men in the " Coal Oil Legislature." The 
 three, McLyman, Bargar and Crowell, who made 
 the majority report to the caucus, were appointed 
 to Federal positions. Mr. McLyman got an office in 
 Toledo, and an "old horse from Oliver Payne, and 
 nothing more." Mr. G. H. Bargar was made pension 
 agent at Columbus, and Mr. Crowell was sent as 
 consul to a station in Siam. Senator Caldwell was 
 made collector of the port in Cincinnati, and Mr. 
 Riley, who was chairman of Mr. McLean's Highland 
 House Convention, was made postmaster at Cincin- 
 nati. Senator Elliott was appointed a government 
 agent, and Senator Jaeger, and a number of members 
 of the House, notably Messrs. Bohl and Bruce, were 
 appointed to Federal places. Hon. A. R. Van Cleaf, 
 who signed the minority report in favor of an open 
 ballot and voted for Durbin Ward, has several times 
 been presented as a suitable person for a Federal ap- 
 pointment, but has never been successful. Mr. Van 
 Cleaf has long been the editor of one of the leading 
 Democratic weeklies of Ohio, the Circleville Dcviocrat 
 and Watchuian. Its colums have never been for sale, 
 and the integrityof its editor has never been questioned, 
 either in public or private life. His character as an 
 honest man and a Democrat, who is not for sale, 
 having been firmly established, it constituted sufficient 
 reason for his exclusion from the emoluments of 
 office. Such a man cannot be tempted by " Boodle," 
 nor used by the " Bosses," and if every editor in Ohio,
 
 242 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 of whatever political convictions, were as faithful to 
 their life mission and work, in the greatest of all pro- 
 fessions known under our form of government, there 
 would be an end to " Bosses and Boodle in Ohio 
 Politics."
 
 SANTA CLAUS BRICE FILLING THE LEGISLATIVE STOCKINGS. 
 (PorcupiHH, Dec. iSSq.)
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE SERPENT. — THE DOLLAR MARK 
 RAMPANT ON THE ESCUTCHEON OF OHIO. — 
 BRICE DUPLICATES THE PAYNE PURCHASE. 
 
 IBERTY and monopoly can not live together. 
 What chance have we against the persistent 
 coming and the easy coalescence of the confed- 
 erated cliqnes, which aspire to say of all busi- 
 ness, "This belongs to us," and whose members, 
 though moving among us as brothers, are using 
 against us, through the corporate forms we have 
 given them, powers of invisibility of entail and accu- 
 mulation, unprecedented because impersonal and im- 
 mortal, and most peculiar of all, power to act as 
 persons, as in the commission of crimes, with the ex- 
 emption from punishment as persons? Tw^o classes 
 study and practice politics and government — place hun- 
 ters and privilege hunters. In a world of relativities 
 like ours, size of area has a great deal to do with the 
 truth of principles. America has grown so big — and 
 the tickets to be voted and the powers of goverment, 
 and the duties of citizens, and the profits of personal 
 and public functions have all grown so big — that the 
 average citizen has broken down. No man can half 
 understand or half operate the fulness of this big 
 citizenship, except by giving his whole time to it. 
 This the place hunter can do, and the privilege hunter. 
 Government, therefore — municipal, state, national — 
 is passing into the hands of these two classes, special- 
 
 (=43)
 
 244 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ized for the functions of power by their appetite for 
 the fruits of power. The power of citizenship is re- 
 linquished by those who do not and cannot know how 
 to exercise it to those who can — and do — by those 
 who have a HveHhood to make to those who make 
 poHtics their Uvehhood. 
 
 These specialists of the ward club, the primary, the 
 campaign, the election, and office unite, by a law as 
 irresistible as that of the sexes, with those who want 
 all the goods of governments — charters, contracts, rul- 
 ings, permits. From this marriage it is easy to im- 
 agine that among some other people than ourselves, 
 and in some other century than this, the offspring 
 might be the most formidable, elusive, unrestrained, 
 impersonal, and cruel tyranny the world has yet seen. 
 There might come a time when the policemen and 
 the railroad president would equally show that they 
 cared nothing for the citizen, individually or collec- 
 tively, because aware that they and not he were the 
 government. Certainly such an attempt to corner " the 
 dear people " and the earth and the fulness thereof 
 will break down. It is for us to decide whether we 
 will let it go on till it breaks down of itself, dragging 
 down to die, as a savage dies of his vice, the civilization 
 it has gripped with its hundred hands ; or whether, 
 while we are still young, still virtuous, we will break 
 it down, self-consciously as the civilized man, reform- 
 ing, crushes down the evil. If we cannot find a rem- 
 edy, all that we love in the word America must die. 
 
 It will be an awful price to pay if this attempt at gov- 
 ernment of the people, by the people, for the people, 
 must perish from off the face of the earth to prove to 
 mankind that the political brotherhood cannot survive 
 where industrial brotherhood is denied. But the de-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 245 
 
 monstration is worth even that. — Henry D. Loydd, 
 in Wcaltli Against Coinoiizacall/i. 
 
 " We've all struck oil," yelled an enthusiast, when 
 
 the result of the Standard Oil caucus was announced ! 
 
 After the election of Henry B. Payne in joint session, 
 
 Wednesday, July i6, the Journal of the House showed 
 
 the following proceedings. 
 
 Mr. Love offered the following resolution : 
 
 H. R. No. 24: Whereas, The press of the state and 
 reputable men of both political parties have openly 
 charged that bribery and corruption have been resorted 
 to, and successfully practiced in securing the election 
 of Hon. Henry B. Payne, as United States Senator 
 from Ohio, and that members of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives of the 66th General Assembly have solicited 
 and received bribes for their votes for United States 
 Senator ; therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That the Speaker appoint a select com- 
 mittee of five, to make a full and complete investiga- 
 tion of said alleged charges of bribery and corruption, 
 and that said committee shall have power to send for 
 persons, books and papers, and shall report to the 
 House at the earliest date practicable. 
 
 Mr. Bohl gave notice of his intention to discuss. 
 
 Mr. Love moved that the rules be suspended, that 
 the resolution may be discussed now. 
 
 Which was agreed to. 
 
 The question being on the adoption of the resolu 
 tion — 
 
 Mr. Myers moved to amend the resolution by insert- 
 ing after the preamble the following : 
 
 " And whereas. It is charged by newspapers and 
 other irresponsible parties, that one Charles Foster,
 
 246 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 late Governor of Ohio, has corruptly expended money 
 to debauch the voters of Ohio, and corruptly secure 
 the votes of candidates for the Legislature to vote for 
 him for United States Senator in the event of their 
 election and a Republican Legislature being chosen^ 
 and to secure his nomination and election for Gover- 
 nor; therefore, 
 
 Be it resolved. That said committee be authorized 
 to investigate all said charges, beginning with the 
 nomination of said Foster in Cincinnati in 1879, until 
 the present time, and charges relating thereto or any 
 other subject that may be called to their attention; 
 said investigation shall be full, thorough and complete, 
 and the committee shall employ stenographers to 
 make full reports of all their proceedings, and said 
 committee may meet here or elsewhere, and shall al- 
 ways sit with open doors." 
 
 Mr. Jones raised the point of order, that the amend- 
 ment was out of order, inasmuch as the matter con- 
 tained therein was not germane to the resolution. 
 
 Which point of order the Speaker decided was not 
 well taken. 
 
 The question beiu'^' on agreeing to the amendment — 
 Mr. Sheppard moved to amend the amendments by 
 adding the following: 
 
 "And whereas, it is publicly charged that one Allen 
 O. Myers obtained his nomination for a candidate for 
 member of this Sixty-sixth General Assembly by stuff- 
 in :; the ballot-box ; therefore, said committee shall 
 also fully investigate said charges, and shall report the 
 result of the same to this House." 
 
 Which was agreed to, Mr. Myers accepting the 
 amendment.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 247 
 
 The question being on agreeing to the amendment 
 as amended, it was agreed to. 
 
 The question now being on the adoption of the 
 resolution as amended, the yeas and nays were taken, 
 and resulted — yeas 35, nays 52, as follows: 
 
 Yeas — Messrs. Brown, Cunningham, Deyo, Dick- 
 son, Farrar, Fierce, Ford, Gest, Greiner, Hughes, 
 Hunt, Johnson of Huron, Johnson of Williams, Laird, 
 Lantz, Loewenstein, Love, Malone, ^Matthews, Mooney, 
 Myers, Peet, Primrose, Rarey, Roche, Ross, Sackett, 
 Sheppard, Stilwell, Striker, Washburn, Wilson, Work, 
 Young of Adams, and Young of Franklin — 35. 
 
 Nays — Messrs. Addison, Baker, Bargar, Beatty, 
 Black, Bohl, Bruce, Brunner, Buchanan, Burnett, Cole, 
 Cosgrove, Cummings, Edwards, Emerson, Finley, 
 Francisco, Gaston, George, Goodman, Habbeler, Had- 
 ley, Haley, Harbaugh, Higgins, Hilles, Holbrook, 
 Jones, Kahle, Linduff, Lisle, Lyman, McBride, Menke, 
 Miles, Murray, Ogden, Poe, Puckrin, Schultz, Sher- 
 man, Stalter, Stanbery, Staubach, Stevenson, Thorp, 
 Turner, W^alker, Wolf, Young of Marion, Ziegler, and 
 Speaker — 52. 
 
 So the resolution was lost. 
 
 Thirteen Democrats and twenty-two Republicans 
 voted for an investigation, and thirty-five Democrats 
 and seventeen Republicans voted against an expos- 
 ure. The Boodlers of both parties were opposed 
 to investigations. They are useless and expensive. 
 Some honest men voted no, because they believed 
 such an investigation would be a farce. Some Dem- 
 ocratic members who had been hired, voted for an in- 
 vestigation in order to assume a virtue in the eyes of 
 the people that they did not possess.
 
 248 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 The excitement and corruption of the Senatorial 
 sale, as usual, left the Legislature utterly demoralized, 
 and unfit, if not incapacitated, for a proper and faith- 
 ful discharge of their duties. If there were no other 
 good and sufficient reason for the election of the 
 United States Senator by the people, the demoraliza- 
 tion of the Legislature, which follows such corrupt 
 conflict as preceded Mr. Payne's purchase of the 
 office, is a conclusive and overwhelming one. 
 
 Suspicious bills of various kinds made their appear- 
 ance in both houses. Among these was an innocent 
 measure by Mr. Kohler of Summit. This bill is what 
 is called a " milker" — a Jersey cow driven into the 
 Legislative pasture at one end, for the members to milk 
 before it reached the other. H. B. No. 177. By Mr. 
 Kohler, "supplementary to Sec. 3880," was introduced 
 in the House, Thursday, January 31. This bill in con- 
 nection with the methods employed at the Senatorial 
 election, gave the name of " Coil Oil " to this Legis- 
 lature. The Constitution plainly provides, that every 
 bill shall have its purpose plainly set forth in its title. 
 When this provision is not complied with, there is 
 always ground for suspicion. Mr. Kohler is a lawyer, 
 has since been Attorney General, and is now a candi- 
 date for Judge in the Akron district, and he can ex- 
 plain how, as a lawyer, he came to introduce a bill 
 that failed to comply with the plain requirements of 
 the Constitution as to its title. The bill was referred 
 to the Judiciary Committee, and on Feb. 28, it was
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 249 
 
 reported, and its passage recommended by six 
 members of the committee. It was placed upon the 
 calendar and came up for consideration March 7, and 
 was recommitted to the Judiciary Committee for 
 some mysterious purposes on motion of Mr. Hadley 
 of Fayette. The record don't show how it got out of 
 the committee. It probably crawled out over the 
 transom much to the surprise of the members. On 
 April 3, on motion of Mr. Cole of Stark, the innocent 
 bill was lassoed and made a special order for Wed- 
 nesday, April 9. The bill came up on that day. The 
 previous question was demanded by Mr. Sharp of 
 Holmes. The bill was put upon its passage and lost 
 by a vote of 45 ayes to 36 nays. It required 53 votes 
 to pass the House. On Thursday, April 10, the vote 
 by which the bill was lost, was reconsidered on motion 
 of Mr. Weldy of Hocking, who had voted against it, 
 and the bill passed by a vote of 63 to 15. It was 
 sent to the Senate, and Mr. Elmer White, of Defiance, 
 as President fro tcm.^ was in the chair, and waiting 
 for the bill. He seemed to be possessed of important 
 information upon this particular measure, and he 
 received it and locked it up in his desk, and did not 
 present it to the Senate until Alonday, April 14, the 
 day the Legislature adjourned. For several days the 
 bill was lost, which caused scandal and excitement, but 
 at the proper time it was produced by Mr. White, but 
 it was dead. It was never heard of at the next ses- 
 sion. It was a bill to authorize a pipe line to be con-
 
 250 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 structed from the Pennsylvania oil fields to Cleveland, 
 in opposition to the Standard Oil Company. If this 
 was its object, it was a most commendable one, but 
 strange to say its author did not urge its passage at 
 the next session and it was never heard of again. 
 Its worthy author and the members of the Judiciary 
 Committee and the House, had been imposed upon 
 by some wicked person, who had dipped his hands 
 in the golden grease at the Senatorial election, and 
 he was trying to make the Standard Oil Company dis- 
 gorge. 
 
 II. Gov. Hoadly's administration was in keeping 
 with the scandalous acts attending the Payne purchase. 
 He gave the best offices in his gift to men who had 
 been conspicuous in the Payne camp and canvass. 
 Archbishop Alex. Sands was the guardian angel of 
 Mr. Hoadly's administration. You could hardly get 
 in or out of the Governor's office without encounter- 
 ing Mr. Sands. He seemed to ooze from the walls 
 in the most mysterious and unaccountable manner. 
 Where he came from and how he always got there, 
 nobody knew, but what he was there for a great many 
 guessed at. When all is revealed on that last great 
 day, we may be able to learn the secret ties that 
 bound George Hoadly, a reformed Democrat, to Alex- 
 ander Cassius Sands, a deformed P>oss and Boodler. 
 The leading attorney of the liquor dealers association 
 had become Governor of Ohio, but he added nothing 
 to a former good name and high character. He con-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 251 
 
 ducted the Governor's office upon the same level that 
 had characterized Gov. Foster's administration. He 
 acted as though he had purchased the property and 
 he had a right to do as he pleased with his own. All 
 his eflforts were directed toward building up a personal 
 following to further his own ambition. Mr. Hoadly 
 and Mr. McLean were as loving as brothers. 
 
 The compact made the year before was still in force, 
 and binding on both. At the state convention held 
 June, 1884, Allen G. Thurman, Durbin Ward, Geo. 
 Hoadly and Jno. R. McLean were chosen delegates 
 at large to the Democratic National Convention, which 
 met July 8, in Chicago. Mr. J. R. McLean was 
 chosen chairman of the delegation, and those he could 
 control by purchase or persuasion, opposed Allen G. 
 Thurman as a candidate for President, and supported 
 Gov. Hoadly. It was a pitiable spectacle, fully as dis- 
 graceful as the performance at Cincinnati four years 
 before. Allen G. Thurman attended the convention, 
 and was received by a sincere and affectionate demon- 
 stration, that proved the warm place he occupied 
 in the hearts of the people. Wm. P. Thompson and 
 other agents of the Standard Oil Company were on 
 hand, helping Air. IMcLean to destroy Mr. Thurman, 
 The scandal attending the purchase of the Senator- 
 ship, had killed off Mr. Pa\ne forever, as a political 
 quantity of any kind. Judge Thurman's name was 
 presented to the convention by one of the Breckin- 
 Tidges,a son of Jno. C, a family famous for its eloquent
 
 252 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 and gifted sons. It was received by the convention 
 and the galleries, in a manner that denoted strength, 
 if there could only be unity in the Ohio delegation. 
 Hon. T. E. Powell presented the name of Geo. Hoadly, 
 and it was received with a coldness and indifference, 
 that was painful when compared with the warm re- 
 ception given Mr. Thurman. Gov. Hoadly 's candi- 
 dacy was properly looked upon as an act of treason 
 to his state and party. One ballot settled the contest 
 and showed up Gov. Hoadl)' in a humiliating manner. 
 Out of 721 votes, Geo. Hoadly got 3, one from Lou- 
 isiana and 2 from Ohio. Mr. Cleveland was nomina- 
 ted, receiving 392, which was made unanimous. Mr. 
 Thurman got 88 votes. Of the 46 votes in the Ohio 
 delegation, Mr. Thurman got 23, Mr. Cleveland 21, 
 and Mr. Hoadly 2. Gov. Hoadly telegraphed that 
 Ohio would give a Democratic majority. 
 
 The result in Ohio was : Blaine, 400,082 ; Cleve- 
 land, 368,280; Prohibitionists, 11,069; Labor, 5,179; 
 and scattering, 2,549. Total, 787,159. The largest 
 vote ever polled in the state. Had it not been for 
 the infamy of the Standard Oil's purchase of the 
 Senatorship, Ohio would have gone Democratic. But 
 this outrage prepared the way, and in a measure jus- 
 tified the use of the armed marshals, and the federal 
 machinery at Cincinnati and other points in the state, 
 which to some extent influenced the result in fav^or 
 of the Republicans, as there was a falling off in the 
 Democratic vote of 12,000 between the October and
 
 BOSSES AND EOODLE. 253 
 
 the November elections, and an increase of the 
 Republican vote. It is an unusual thing in the Presi- 
 dential election in Ohio, for the head of the state 
 ticket to poll more votes than the Presidential candi- 
 date of the party, but in 1884, Mr. Newman, the 
 Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, polled 
 380,355 votes in October, and in November Mr. 
 Cleveland polled 368,280 votes. 
 
 IV. A chain of calamities marked the advent of 
 Gov. Hoadly's administration and followed in the 
 wake of the scandalous crimes of the Senatorial elec- 
 tion, apparently as a natural sequence. There was 
 flood, famine and suffering in the Ohio Valley, and 
 riot, killings and fire in Cincinnati. The violation 
 of law and the outraging of public decency by the 
 law makers, brought an immediate echo from the 
 masses, and they became law breakers, and the burm 
 ing of the court house at Cincinnati and the killing 
 wounding of many citizens, was a lesson that has 
 gone unheeded, and we are destined to see many sim- 
 ilar scenes of blood and destruction in the not far 
 distant future. 
 
 There were still ominous signs during the winter 
 of 1885 that the crimes committed in the purchase 
 of the Senatorship by the Standard Oil Company, had 
 neither been forgotten nor forgiven by the people of 
 Ohio. As Mr. Cleveland entered the White House, 
 Henry B. Payne entered the United vStates Senate. 
 One of his first and most pleasing duties was to vote
 
 254 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 for his own son-in-law and a brother-in-law of the 
 Standard Oil Company, Mr. Wni. C. Whitney, of New 
 York, for Secretary of the Navy. The great trust 
 had grown so strong, that it was now looking for 
 wider fields of action to display its powers, and in- 
 crease its gains. It had chained as captives to its 
 triumphant car, all the industrial forces on the land, 
 and made them and the people pay tribute, and it now 
 sought to enslave the freedom of the seas. The 
 sequel shows that this mighty master has made a 
 great beginning. But let us be thankful to God and the 
 Standard Oil Company, that we are still permitted to 
 breathe the air without tax, although the gases from the 
 distillation of the Standard Oil begin to poison it. 
 
 Without his knowledge, Mr. Cleveland, to some 
 extent, owed his nomination and election as President 
 of the United States, to the "silent and abhorrent 
 forces" of the Standard Oil Company. Wm. P. 
 Thompson, a Republican and one of the leading 
 officials of the corporation, was at Chicago, and gave 
 his personal influence and aid to Mr. Wm. C. Whitney 
 and others, in securing Mr. Cleveland's nomination. 
 
 Owing to Mr. Whitney's prominence and influence 
 in New York politics, but not because of his relations 
 to the Standard Oil Compady, Mr. Cleveland felt con- 
 strained to give him a place in his official family, and 
 with a representative in the Senate and the Cabinet, 
 the Standard Oil Company entered upon its career of 
 universal conquest.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 255 
 
 V. In 1885, the Ohio Republicans re-nominated 
 Joseph B. Foraker for Governor, and the Democrats 
 re-nominated Geo. Hoadly. The latter would like to 
 have had a place in the Cabinet, but Mr. Cleveland had 
 no use for the Ohio man. Gov. Hoadly's ambition had 
 been eclipsed by the success of the son of New York, 
 and he had become utterly disgusted with himself, and 
 thoroughly sickened with politics, and he was not as 
 eatrer to secure the Democratic nomination as he had 
 been two years before. He did not fancy the contest. 
 Defeat seemed certain, and the records and scandals 
 of the state administration, the Payne purchase and 
 the "Coil Oil Legislature," made a burden too great 
 for any party or candidate to carry and succeed. But 
 Jno. R. McLean was a candidate for the Senatorship 
 against John Sherman, and he and the Standard Oil 
 Company gave liberally to the campaign fund, and 
 the contest was a memorable one. Every inch of 
 ground was disputed by both parties, and the result 
 was a Republican victory. 
 
 The vote was impressively large, and justified the 
 charges of fraud made by both parties. The total 
 vote was 733,967, the largest vote ever polled outside 
 of a presidential year. Hoadly got 341,095, Foraker 
 359,281, Prohibitionists 28,982, Labor 2,016, scatter- 
 ing 2,832. Hoadly had polled 18,000 votes less than 
 he had received two years before, and Foraker had 
 polled 12,000 votes more. 
 
 The Republicans had a majority of one on joint
 
 256 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ballot, and John Sherman was re-elected United 
 States Senator. The uncertainty as to the Legisla- 
 ture, kept the state in a state of uproar for several 
 weeks. The most outrageous frauds had been com- 
 mitted in Cincinnati, and were charged to Mr. John 
 R. McLean, and when the Legislature met, the 
 McLean delegation from Hamilton County was 
 promptly unseated in the House, and later the same 
 was done in the Senate. 
 
 In Franklin County two candidates on the Demo- 
 cratic ticket, Messrs Myers and Young, were beaten 
 by the open opposition of Mr. Thurman's friends. 
 After the election and before the count was completed, 
 the official returns were taken out of the safe on Sun- 
 day and a number of votes, (over 200) were added to 
 those recorded as having been cast for the Democratic 
 candidates. This forgery was replaced in the safe on 
 Sunday night, and when the Canvassing Board met 
 on Monday to complete its labors, the crime was 
 promptly discovered by Mr. John Joyce, who, as county 
 clerk, was the president of the canvassers, and seemed 
 to be expecting it. The fraud was so evident, bung- 
 ling and senseless, that it was immediately thrown 
 out. This forgery and discovery created great excite- 
 ment all over Ohio, and showed that the people were 
 in no humor to tamely submit to another outrage 
 upon the purity of elections, that would send another 
 millionaire. Boss and Boodler to the United States 
 Senate. An effort was made to send the Boss and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 257 
 
 his tools to the penitentiary. The big fish jumped 
 over the seine and escaped. They caught one or two 
 minnows. 
 
 The forgery in Columbus was wrongfully laid at 
 the door of Mr. John "Rr^IcLean. The people, in 
 looking for the responsible party, very properly located 
 it near one who must not only have a motive for 
 the commission of the crime, but the money and power 
 to induce its perpetration. Mr. McLean wanted to 
 go to the United States Senate. That was the motive- 
 He was a candidate, and had the money and power, 
 and this combination was conclusive evidence in the 
 excited public mind, that Mr. McLean was the criminal. 
 But let us give the devil his due. There was one 
 Democratic vote short in the Legislature, and this 
 chasm lay between Mr. McLean and his ambition. 
 He had his agents out looking diligently for that vote, 
 but they never found it. Had the forgery in Columbus 
 been successful and been counted, it would not have 
 elected a member of the Legislature. The next high- 
 est candidate, Mr. Young, would have been beaten 39 
 votes. The prosecuting attorney and the sheriff only 
 would have been elected. There is no doubt but that 
 if a Democratic member could have secured a certifi- 
 cate of election by fraud, that Mr. McLean would have 
 been willing to pay for it, but it is an insult to his 
 keen business sense, and his character as a shrewd man 
 in money matters, to suppose that he paid for some- 
 thing he did not get. It is said he gave $10,000 for
 
 258 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 the commission of this crime, and when it was done, 
 if counted, it would not have accomplished what he 
 so ardently washed. It is said " that there is honor 
 among thieves," but it may be set down as an axiom 
 for the study of philosophers, and as a guide for the 
 young and innocent, who may be tempted into the 
 flowery paths of politics, that there is absolutely no 
 honor among politicians. Where ambition and per- 
 sonal interests are at stake, a politician will sacrifice 
 honor (if he has an}-), friendship, principle, party, every- 
 thing that men hold sacred, to defeat a rival, punish an 
 enemy, or advance himself. In the politician's gar- 
 den, promises, rank and fragrant, bloom on every 
 bush, but these beautiful blossoms rarel)- ripen into 
 performance. Perhaps there was never a crime com- 
 mitted, around which clustered so much perjury, 
 rascality, treachery, bribery, double-dealing and cross 
 purposes, as distinguished the famous or rather in- 
 famous Columbus tally-sheet figures of 1885. The 
 field of fiction does not afford an equal. The mind 
 of man cannot conceive such turpitude as was dis- 
 played, but which was never revealed. It would take 
 a volume to give the details, and a master to properly 
 portray the plans and purposes of the two leading 
 characters. We may be the one chosen for this 
 work, but this is not the place. There were three 
 forgeries committed. The one discovered was com- 
 mitted in the pententiary by a convict, on the original 
 tally-sheet. The others were used to cover sinister
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 259 
 
 purposes, arouse suspicions, involve the innocent and 
 implicate John R, McLean. The first was intended 
 to prevent him from going to the United States Sen- 
 ate. All accomplished the designs of a talented and 
 magnificent scoundrel. 
 
 VI. Gov. Hoadly stepped down and out from the 
 Governor's office, returned to Cincinnati, "received a 
 reception," and resumed the practice of a profession 
 in which he was once an ornament. But he did not 
 seem to be a happy man. He acted like one with a 
 burden on his soul, which he could not roll oflf. In 
 1887 he determined to remove to New York City. 
 Feb. 26, 1887, he was tendered a farewell banquet by 
 citizens at the Young Men's Democratic Club at Cincin- 
 nati. He made a speech in which he bid farewell to 
 Ohio and all of his political hopes, and as if on his 
 political deathbed, he made this confession, in the ab- 
 sence of Archbishop Sands, his father confessor : " Let- 
 ting the past alone and turning to the future, the duty 
 of the Democracy is this : Let it be known that when a 
 rascal is nominated for office on the Democratic ticket, 
 he is not a Democratic candidate for office ; that when 
 nominations are bought and sold, they are not Demo- 
 cratic nominations, and where dishonest methods arp 
 resorted to, the promoters of the fraud are to be pur- 
 sued, even into the penitentiary, where they belong." 
 
 We can hardly deny admiration to Marc Antony, 
 when he stands over the bloody corse of Csesar and 
 shakes the dice of presumption for an empire, by pro-
 
 260 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 duciiig the will of the "late lamented," and bribes the 
 mob by a tearful announcement that Caesar has given 
 to the people and " to their heirs forever," the parks 
 and property he had stolen from them and could not 
 take with him. Our posterity in Ohio should lift 
 their eyes, overflowing with melting gratitude, to 
 George Hoadly, for his last will and testament to the 
 "New Democracy," in which he points out the way 
 to recover that which he helped to rob it of, and if 
 the corpse will permit it, when the statue to Durbin 
 Ward is completed, George Hoadly's plea for purity 
 in politics should be graven in brass on the pedestal, 
 VII. The crimes against the ballot in the contest 
 of 1885, aroused the public and resulted in the enact- 
 ment of a series of laws to preserve the "purity of 
 elections." In January, 1886, the Cincinnati Com- 
 mercial Gazette opened up the scandal of the Payne 
 purchase, by giving the names of members of the 
 Legislature and amounts that had been paid each for 
 their votes. The Ohio House of Representatives 
 appointed a committee of five, to make an investiga- 
 tion. Fifty-five witnesses were called. Three of the 
 committee, Messrs Rawlins, Cowgill and Thompson, 
 Republicans, found that "Bribery is not easily proven. 
 Our laws make the giver and taker of a bribe equally 
 guilty, and visit both by the same penalty, which is 
 doubtless just, but the effect of which is to bind the 
 guilty parties together in a bond of secrecy, which 
 neither can break without imperiling his own liberty.
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 261 
 
 When the crime has been determined upon and com- 
 mitted deliberately, the parties thereto will adopt 
 every means to conceal it ; not only such ingenuity as 
 is exercised by criminals in the preparation and com- 
 mission of crime, but perjury as well, to prevent its 
 discovery, so that it is only by circumstantial evidence, 
 by unguarded and unintentional admissions, or by 
 the sudden and undue acquisition of property, and 
 other significant circumstances, and rarely by direct 
 evidence that the charge can be proved." 
 
 The committee found nobody guilty, and mildly 
 recommended that the evidence be sent to the United 
 States Senate, for such action as "it might deem 
 advisable." This was done. The Ohio House re- 
 solved " that ample testimony was adduced to warrant 
 the belief that the seat of Henry B. Payne, in the 
 United States Senate, was purchased by corrupt use 
 of money." The Ohio Senate charged, "that the 
 election was procured by the corrupt use of money 
 and by other corrupt means and practices." Both 
 Houses, the Executive and the Republican press of 
 Ohio, demanded an investigation by the United 
 States Senate. But the Senate refused to investigate. 
 "How peculiar?" How much did it cost to suppress 
 the investigation in Ohio and at Washington? Had 
 the investigation been ordered, there would have 
 been quite an exodus of millionaires and Standard 
 Oil people to Europe. 
 
 Four Senators, Pugh, Saulsbury, Vance and Eustis,
 
 262 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 voted against investigation, and Hoar and Frye voted 
 for it. Senator Hoar said the Senate seemed to be in- 
 different as " to whether its seats are to be in the 
 future the subject of bargain and sale, or may be 
 presented by a few millionaires as a compliment to a 
 friend." In the debate he said: "A refusal to inves- 
 tigate will be the most unfortunate fact in the history 
 of the Senate." 
 
 The Senate refused to order an investigation, and 
 when the vote was announced. Senator Edmunds said: 
 "This is a day of infamy for the Senate of the 
 United States." But this great body, that was in- 
 vented to check the honest passion of the people, has 
 put in so many of these kinds of days, of recent years, 
 that one don't count. 
 
 With the announcement of the result, the Standard 
 Oil conspirators and its allies and tools breathed 
 easier. , It had escaped again, but it was a hard and 
 expensive job, and a narrow escape. In debate, a 
 year or so later, Mr. Payne opened his month for the 
 first time, and indignantly denied that any member 
 of the Standard Oil Company had used money to buy 
 votes for him for Senator. Durino; all the charges 
 for years, he remained silent. An honest man would 
 have resented the charges, challenged investigation 
 and spurned the office. In this speech, unfortunately, 
 after denying that money had been used by the Stand- 
 ard Oil Company to secure his election, he stated that 
 members of the company always gave liberally to the
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 263 
 
 campaign fund, and he said the company used money 
 to beat him for Congress in 1874. When nominated, 
 he promised his people to return witli clean hands 
 and a heart undefiled. 
 
 May 16, 1876, Mr. Hopkins, of the Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 district, oflfered a resolution to create a committee of 
 five to investigate the "peculiar" methods by which 
 many industries were being crippled by freight dis- 
 crimination by the railroads. " I object ! " came from 
 a member near him, and the resolution failed. Look- 
 ing around, Mr. Hopkins saw that objection had been 
 made by a venerable looking gentlemen with a 
 priestly cast of countenance. It was the father-in-law 
 and the father of the Standard Oil Company, Henry 
 B. Payne. He was willing that an investigation 
 should be made by the Standing Committee on Com- 
 merce. An investigation was ordered, begun and 
 dropped dead in its tracks, and some one stole the 
 evidence. 
 
 When the bill to create the Inter-state Commerce 
 Commission, to prevent discrimination in freight and 
 and other abuses, came up for final passage, Mr. 
 Payne voted to indefinitely postpone, and when this 
 failed, he voted against its passage. He boldly 
 championed the Standard Oil Company in one of the 
 few speeches he made in the Senate. He said: "The 
 Standard Oil Company is a remarkable and a wonder- 
 ful institution. It has accomplished within the last 
 twentv years, as a commercial enterprise, what no
 
 264 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Other company or association of modern times has 
 accomplished." No one conversant with the facts will 
 dispute the statement of Mr. Payne. 
 
 The Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Whitney, began to 
 rehabilitate the American navy. This prepared the 
 way for the advent of the Standard Oil on the high 
 seas. Experience has proven, that if you pour oil to 
 the windward, it soothes the waves. 
 
 In the winter of 1891, Congress passed a postal 
 subsidy law, to pay a higher rate of compensation for 
 carrying the mails under our flag, in American ships, 
 made out of American material by American mechan- 
 ics, and to be manned by American sailors. This 
 was an expensive but a patriotic measure, and the 
 American people are always willing to pay a little 
 extra if the band will play "Yankee Doodle." It did, 
 and we are now paying the piper. 
 
 In March, 1891, Mr. Windom, secretary of the treas- 
 ury, died suddenly, and President Harrison named 
 Charles Foster, of Ohio, to fill the vacancy. There 
 was some opposition to his confirmation in the Sen- 
 ate, and Senator Henry B. Payne was quite active in 
 securing votes enough to insure ]\Ir. Foster's con- 
 firmation. The Standard Oil Company was the tie 
 that bound this Democrat and Republican together. 
 This was the last manifestation of activity in Mr. 
 Payne's official life, as he was succeeded on March 4, 
 1891, by "the smartest man in America," Calvin 
 Steward Brice, of Ohio and New York. Nothin<j had
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 265 
 
 been done under the Postal subsidy law of 1891. It 
 seemed to be dead, but it was only sleeping. In May, 
 1892, a bill went through both houses like greased 
 lightning. This bill set forth that if any vessel, of a 
 certain build, and already in existence, would comply 
 with the law, it might carry the mails and receive the 
 subsidy. There were only two vessels that met the 
 requirements of this sudden and "peculiar" law, the 
 " City of New York" and the "City of Paris," belong- 
 ing to the Inman Line, and owned by the Standard 
 Oil Company. The International Steamship Com- 
 pany was formed, and the Postmaster General awarded 
 it the contracts for carrying the mails, two years before 
 the old contract expired. That is, in 1893 a contract 
 for ten years was made, from 1895 to 1905. Why this 
 haste 1 The government of the United States bound 
 itself to pay $4 a mile, for 52 trips a year, between 
 New York and Southampton, of 3162 miles each, for 
 ten years, to the International Standard Oil Company, 
 and the same rate was made, for the same time, with 
 the same Compan}-, for the same number of trips, be- 
 tween New York and Antwerp, being $1,354,496 a 
 year paid by the government to this company for carry- 
 ing mails alone, on a capital of $10,000,000 actually 
 invested. 
 
 This tremendous advantage creates an absolute 
 monopoly by the favor of the government and with 
 the money of the people, and gives this organization 
 such an advantage as to destroy all competition, and
 
 266 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 drive all rival lines between the United States and 
 Europe, from the high seas. As a commerce de- 
 stroyer, the Confederate privateers cannot compare. 
 The only thing American about the first two ships 
 was the flag, and the dividends. Secretary of Treas- 
 ury Foster issued an order, abrogating the law re- 
 quiring Americans to be employed on these ships, 
 and they are officered and manned by British, and 
 when an American applies for a place, he is laughed 
 at and ordered ashore. A congressional report made 
 in 1874, shows that the Pacific Mail Company spent 
 $700,000 to get a similar job through Congress. Be- 
 fore we bid a final farewell to Mr. Payne as a Sena- 
 tor, by right of purchase, we wish to call attention to 
 another act, that shows how disinterested was his 
 course in his purchased seat. At the session of 1889, 
 upon the urgent representations of the Secretary of 
 the Navy, $1,000,000 was appropriated to buy nickel 
 ore, to use as an alloy to temper steel for armour plates 
 for our new N:ivy. Congress took the tariff off of 
 nickel for the same reason. The leading nickel 
 mine was in Sudberry, Canada. The Standard Oil 
 Company owned this mine, and got the appropriation 
 and the tariff taken off of nickel. The ore was held 
 l)ack for a year, and on April i, 1890, there was 5,000 
 tons of ore ready for shipment, and the tariff on this 
 at the old rate would amount to $1,500,000. A suit 
 disclosed the fact that Henry B. Payne was a stock- 
 holder in the Canadian Copper Company, which had
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 267 
 
 a contract with the Secretary of the Navy to furnish 
 nickel. "How peculiar!" We agree with Mr. Payne, 
 "The Standard Oil Company is a wonderful organ- 
 ization." Mr. Bissell, the Democatic Postmaster 
 General when the subsidy went into efifect in 1895, 
 was one of the attorneys at Buffalo, in 1886, that de- 
 fended the Standard Oil Company conspirators, for 
 bribing an employee to blow up an oil refinery, to 
 destroy a rival in business. He is now being men- 
 tioned as a candidate to fill the vacancy on the su- 
 preme bench of the United States, caused by the 
 death of Judge Jackson. 
 
 Vn. Mr. Foster, after an absence from public life 
 of six years, has appeared upon the scene as Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury. He comes blithesome and gay, 
 as a milkmaid, hand in hand with his pupil and prod- 
 igy, Calvin S. Brice. As a Boss and a Boodler in 
 Ohio Politics, Mr. Brice ranks as the rankest. He is 
 a colossus. It does not seem possible, as we gaze 
 upon this monster of modern industrial conditions, 
 that Mr. Brice ever went through the vulgar routine 
 by which humanity make their advent upon tl:e 
 troubled scenes of life, but he frankly assures the 
 world, in a biographical sketch, prepared by his sec- 
 retary and approved by himself, that that moment- 
 ous event in his career occurred at Denmark, Canaan 
 Township, Morrow County, (but then a part of 
 Marion County, O.) on Sept. 17, 1845. Mr. Brice's 
 father. Rev. Wm. K. Brice, came to Ohio in 1840
 
 268 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 from Maryland. Mr. Brice is the first Boss and 
 Boodler of any prominence in Ohio, who descended 
 from "the people to the South." In another bio- 
 graphical sketch with a wood cut, both of which 
 were paid for, we are told that " Mr. Brice stands high 
 as a man of large capacit>' in affairs, generous in dis- 
 position, of singular mental alertness, and electric in 
 action." This is too good to be lost in an obscure 
 volume of uncertain circulation, and for the benefit of 
 Mr. Brice and posterity we reproduce it here, where 
 it will live, free of charge. No blame should attach 
 to young Brice because his father was a minister. 
 His subsequent career shows that he has nobly sur- 
 mounted the prejudice and difficulties that are sup- 
 posed to surround a "preacher's boy." He was going 
 to school at Oxford, O., when the war broke out. He 
 was a very busy young man during the war. He 
 graduated from college, taught school, enlisted three 
 times, in three years, in three different regiments, 
 and found time while putting down the war to attend 
 the Vallandingham convention at Columbus in 1863. 
 This information we find in several biographies or au- 
 tobiographies, and the fact that at seventeen he offered 
 his services "for the suppression of the rebellion," 
 stamps him as a remarkul^le young man. After put- 
 ting down the rebellion with a bloodless valor that Mr. 
 Whitelaw Reed honors with a considerate silence, in his 
 " Ohio in the War," Mr. Brice studied and was admit- 
 ted to the practice of law. He located in Lima, O., and
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 269 
 
 played poker and waited for clients. His patron, 
 Charles Fostor, relates, that when Mr. Brice formed 
 a law partnership, he and his new partner were both 
 Repnblican in politics, and at Mr. Brice's snggestion 
 he tossed a copper to see which should be the Demo- 
 crat in the firm. Mr. Brice lost, and the Democratic 
 party of Ohio unconsciously won this brazen prize 
 and its future Boss and master. 
 
 Success did not immediately roost on Mr. Brice's 
 law sign. His "singular mental alertness" did not 
 incline to the principles of the great profession he 
 had chosen. He preferred the eccentricities of the 
 practice, as applied to business affairs, in a manner 
 that would bring quick returns and large dividends. 
 For ten years the condition of Mr. Brice's law" practice 
 was such as to compel him to occupy a sitting posi- 
 tion, in order to conceal the yawning chasm in the 
 rear portion of his only pair of pantaloons. His 
 labors at night, in the studious attempt to solve the 
 fascinating mysteries of the great American game, 
 draw poker, tended rather to aggravate the breach in 
 the garment mentioned. 
 
 Mr. Brice has an equal and well balanced tem- 
 perament, which is the greatest gift God and a good 
 mother can give to a child born of woman. He is, or 
 was, red headed, but amiable. The troubles that 
 haunt such "mental alertness" as he possesses, have 
 started the snow drifts in his abundance of hair. He 
 is small of stature, and liis presence is not command-
 
 270 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 ing. An unusually large nose, and two blue eyes, set 
 like sapphires out of place, in sunken craters garnished 
 with ruby edges, present contradictions and a con- 
 trast that make the face a puzzle, and not always 
 pleasing. His voice has a metallic ring, softened by 
 a musical sound, that betokens a lack of sincerity. 
 He talks out of one corner of his mouth, and seems 
 to be holding the other three-fourths in reserve to 
 surprise the market. You half feel, in talking to him, 
 that like Joab, the captain of David's hosts, that in 
 seductive tones he could say: "Hail, brother! How 
 is it with thee?" and stab you under the fifth rib, if 
 necessary. 
 
 Mr. Brice's nose is abnormally large, and with his 
 deep set eyes, gives a vulture cast to his countenance. 
 If it be true, as physiologists claim, that all great 
 brains are accompanied with big noses, Mr. Brice's 
 nasal adornment would indicate a large development 
 of cerebral matter behind it, and thus account for his 
 *' mental alertness." 
 
 When Mr. Foster, along in the seventies, became 
 interested in railroad enterprises, he had need of the 
 services of an active and an unscrupulous lawyer, to 
 secure rights of way, and to attend to other matters 
 that called for business tact, rather than legal require- 
 ments, and fate led him to Calvin S. Brice. 
 
 This union, with a combination of returning pros- 
 perity and other fortunate circumstances, including 
 Mr. Brice's "mental alertness," led to the formation
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 271 
 
 of the famous Seney syndicate, in which Foster^ 
 Brice, Thomas, Seney and others, were the main 
 springs, and originated a new industry. They be- 
 came foot-pads and highw^aymen along the great com- 
 mercial ways in the land. Not the vulgar kind, that 
 in days of old stopped the coach and robbed the pas- 
 sengers at the point of a yawning flint-lock pistol, 
 but a new sort, fitting the new industrial conditions 
 that had grown up. 
 
 Mr. Brice's "mental alertness," when brought in 
 contact with the business methods of the great cor- 
 porations and combinations, as the railroads and the 
 Standard Oil Company, quickly grasped the manner 
 in which the people were being robbed and squeezed. 
 Mr. Brice's great brain, bold genius and audacity, 
 devised the scheme for robbing the robbers and 
 squeezing the squeezers. 
 
 Mr. Brice, in the contemplation of the industrial 
 conditions, rightly concluded that there had been an 
 unequal distribution of wealth. He saw the unlaw- 
 ful combinations defying the law, and enriching them- 
 selves by illegal gains stolen from the people. He 
 resolved that he who could, by any means, take from 
 these corporations a part of their wicked gains, would 
 be a benefactor to his race, and a blessing to his age 
 and country. Let every Buckeye, wath heart over- 
 flowing with gratitude, be thankful that Ohio has 
 produced Calvin S. Brice. The world has never seen 
 his like, and the womb of time will never produce his
 
 272 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 equal. What Dick Turpiii was to the highways of 
 England in the last century, Calvin S. Brice has 
 been to railroads of the United States in the nine- 
 teenth century. Mr. Brice made his first money in 
 the Lake Eire and Western bunko game. He and 
 his associates then began to carry out the scheme of 
 milking the Hocking Valley and Toledo coal road, by 
 building a parallel road to destroy its business and cur- 
 tail its profits. M. IM. Green, the president and father 
 of this most successful road in Ohio, pointed out that 
 there was only business enough for one road, and 
 Mr. Brice then laid down his celebrated doctrine in 
 the new commercial creed, " that railroads were built to 
 mortgage or to parallel the prosperity of other roads." 
 His share in the profits of the Ohio Central Railroad 
 and Mining Companies, was said to be $100,000, and 
 a wheel was then formed inside of the wheel, and a 
 suit before Judge Jackson, in the United States 
 Court, showed that a trust had been formed by which 
 Mr. Brice's associates made contracts with them- 
 selves, by which the "tenderfeet" were beaten out 
 of $3,000,000. 
 
 Mr. Brice kept under cover, but his "mental alert- 
 ness" was rewarded by his share. The road went 
 into the hands of a receiver. It was one of the mer- 
 ciful kindnesses of the Brice combine, when they had 
 milked a property, to turn it over to the courts to recu- 
 perate. It is a fact, and may be only a coincidence, 
 that every railroad property with which Mr. Brice has
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 273 
 
 «ver been identified, has become bankrupt and has 
 been placed in the hands of a receiver, but Mr. Brice 
 has always escaped from the wreck at an opportune 
 time. Ohio had become too small for Mr. Brice's 
 "mental alertness" and " capacity for affairs," and in 
 1880 he removed to New York City. He had acquired 
 half a million in clear money in his two ventures in the 
 Lake Erie and Western and Ohio Central. He looked 
 about for new worlds to conquer. He selected the 
 richest and most powerful railroad in the country as 
 the subject for "paralleling," the New York Central 
 Railroad. The Nickel Plate Railroad was devised. 
 There was a meeting of the combine ; one of them 
 agreed to build the road from New York City to Buf- 
 falo, 512 miles, for $i3,333'333-33- The Standard Oil 
 magnates put up the bulk of the money. The road 
 was built in a year. The attitude of the Standard Oil 
 Company alarmed Mr. Vanderbilt. He did what Mr. 
 Brice wanted and expected him to do. He bought the 
 Nickel Plate Road for $26,530,000. The combine 
 met in a Broadway office in New York City, to divide 
 the spoils and rejoice. Mr. Samuel Thomas, who 
 once carried off" a blast furnace in Ohio when it was 
 in operation, was so overcome by their success that 
 he said: "My God, gentlemen, we are simply a lot of 
 burglars. We might as well get a jimmy and dark 
 lantern, and break into Mr. Vanderbilt's safe, and steal 
 his money! It would be just as honest!" ]\Ir. 
 Thomas was right, but to break into Mr. Vanderbilt's
 
 274 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 
 
 safe, would require courage, and it would not be legal. 
 In stealing, nowadays, we must comply with the 
 forms of the law. Mr. Brice was so tickled with Mr. 
 Thomas' playful remorse, that he taxed each one of 
 the conspirators present $500, and purchased a badge 
 for Mr. Thomas, representing, in gold, a broken safe 
 with the door hanging by a hinge, burglars' implements 
 lying around, and a diamond in the bull's-eye -lantern. 
 Only a mind in accord with the eternal verities, could 
 conceive and execute the design of such an appro- 
 priate and poetical gift for a brother robber. Mr. 
 Brice said he would put $500,000 in the nickel-plated 
 unparalleled parallel, and he drew out $1,000,000 as 
 his share. 
 
 Mr. Brice's audacity had "touched" the million- 
 aires until he had become one himself. He was now 
 a fixture in New York society and on Wall Street. 
 He and his old partners became interested in the 
 New York Aqueduct Works. In 1S84, he swore he 
 was a hoiiseholder and resided in New York, and was 
 worth over half million dollars, free from all debt 
 and incumbrance. We cannot follow Mr. Brice in 
 all of his dazzling and splendid career. 
 
 When oil and gas was discovered in Ohio, he and 
 Mr. Foster became interested, and were stool pigeons 
 for the Standard Oil Company, which tried to destroy 
 the credit of the city of Toledo, and fought it for 
 years in the courts and out, to prevent it from em- 
 barking in an enterprise of supplying its citizens
 
 iT "^ -ij^^ ^ 
 
 THE CAMPBELLS ARE COMING. 
 {The Porcupine, Dec. zS, i88g.)
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 275 
 
 with gas without being robbed by this monopoly. 
 Mr. Brice had accumulated money enough to enable 
 him to turn his attention to the world of politics, a 
 field that would afford ample opportunity for exer- 
 cising his " mental alertness " in its playful moods. 
 
 In 1876 and 1884 he was one of the electors on the 
 Tilden and Cleveland tickets in Ohio. In 1888 he 
 went to the Democratic national convention at St. 
 Louis, Mo., in his private palace car, and took a 
 number of poor and unsuspecting Ohio Democrats 
 with him. This was a certain sign that he had 
 designs of a political nature. His overpowering hos- 
 pitality so overcame the Ohio brothers at St. Louis, 
 that all sang his praises, and he was made the Ohio 
 member of the National Democratic Committee, and 
 then was chosen chairman of the Campaign Com- 
 mittee, after Mr. Barnum's death. 
 
 Mr. Cleveland was beaten, and the Democrats un- 
 expectedly defeated, chiefly because of Mr. Brice's 
 mismanagement. The Democratic Committee was 
 annexed to Mr. Matt. Quay's organization. If Mr. 
 Brice has the ability claimed for him, then he was a 
 traitor to the cause of Democracy in this campaign. 
 Mr. Cleveland was duly warned to beware of Mr. 
 Brice's treachery four weeks before the election. 
 After the election, Mr. Brice tried to cover up his 
 foot-prints, in imitating Mr. Zach. Chandler in 1876, 
 by telegraphing that Mr, Cleveland was certainly 
 elected, when he knew he was certainly beaten, and
 
 276 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 he wanted him d-efeated. The result of this was 
 that thousands of Democrats foolishly bet and lost 
 their money on the strength of Mr. Brice's "electric" 
 falsehoods. 
 
 VIII. By his prominence abroad, Mr. Brice had 
 prepared the way for a purchase in Ohio. The Re- 
 publicans, thanks to the misdeeds of Democrats dur- 
 ing the Hoadly administration, had carried Ohio in 
 1885, '86, '87 and '88, four years in succession. The 
 Republican Legislature (1889) had submitted three 
 amendments to the Constitution to a vote of the peo- 
 ple, namely : To remand the question of taxation to the 
 Legislature ; to elect members of the Legislature by 
 single districts instead of by counties, and to abolish 
 the annual elections. Experience has demonstrated 
 that in Ohio it is always dangerous for a party to 
 father changes to the Constitution, unless there is a 
 well-founded reason for the changes, supported by a 
 popular demand. There was no demand for tliese 
 amendments to the Constitution. The Republican 
 State Convention met in Columbus, June 25, 1889^ 
 and renominated Gov. J. B. Foraker for a fourth 
 time and a third term. The committee on resolu- 
 tions, composed of such men as Wm. McKinley and 
 Gen. Chas. H. Grosvenor, who were opposed to Gov. 
 Foraker and desired his defeat, failed to endorse or 
 mention the amendments, because they were the pet 
 children of Mr. Foraker's active brain. When called 
 before the convention, Mr. Foraker in his speech of
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 277 
 
 acceptance, with particular emphasis endorsed these 
 amendments and did what the platform did not do: 
 bound the party to their endorsement and made them 
 an issue. In remodeling the election laws during 
 the four years, the tendency had been in the wrong 
 direction, of concentrating the power of appointing 
 members of various municipal boards in the hands 
 of the Governor. The people of Ohio, from the 
 foundation of the State, as noted in the first chapters 
 of this book, have viewed with apprehension the 
 tendency to vest unusual duties and powers in the 
 hands of the Governor. This fact, with the oppo- 
 sition to the amendments, and the prejudice against 
 a third term, set the tide against the Republicans 
 and placed their success in jeopardy, although in- 
 trenched behind the prestige of four consecutive vic- 
 tories. Our friend, Charles Foster, appears upon the 
 scene again. It was understood that he was a can- 
 didate for United States Senator, and would furnish 
 the money to conduct the Republican campaign. 
 But Mr. Foster began to be crippled in his resources 
 and could not produce as liberally as was his wont, 
 and in addition he was notified that his friend, pupil 
 and prodigy, Calvin S. Brice, was in the market to 
 purchase the article, and Mr. Foster's zeal abated. 
 Besides, he distrusted Mr. Foraker, and his attitude 
 in the campaign was one of apathy, broken by an 
 occasional speech. Mr. Foster's course in the North- 
 west, in connection with the disgraceful proceedings
 
 278 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 of the Standard Oil Company in his oppressing course 
 in the gas fields, had aroused the people, and made 
 them bitterly hostile to Mr. Foster, and it was 
 not wise for him to be too conspicuous in the cam- 
 paign, as he might jeopardize the success of the Re- 
 publican ticket in close districts and counties. Al- 
 though Mr. Payne still held his purchased seat in 
 the Senate, the people had already forgotten the out- 
 rageous manner of his election, and in their forget- 
 fulness were ready to make it possible to repeat the 
 crime. The Democrats took advantage of the situa- 
 tion. Their State Convention met in Dayton, Aug. 
 26. The hopes of victory called together a large and 
 enthusiastic representation of the party from all sec- 
 tions of the State. There were three pronounced 
 candidates for Governor, Virgil P. Kleine, of Cleve- 
 land, Lawrence T. Neal, of Ross, and James C. 
 Campbell, of Butler. Mr. Campbell was the only 
 one that put any money into the canvass, but it was 
 not enough to do more than organize his forces, and 
 did not control the result. Mr. John H. Thomas, of 
 Springfield, who was a candidate for Senator, cast his 
 influence in favor of Mr. Neal, and spent some money 
 to organize his forces. The first ballot resulted in 
 Campbell getting 388, Neal 292, and Kleine 109. 
 It required 395 votes to nominate, and on the second 
 ballot Campbell received 399, Neal 299, and Kleine 
 93, and Mr. Campbell's nomination was proclaimed 
 before the result of the ballot was announced, bv the
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 279 
 
 band playing " The Campbells are coming." The 
 platform was a brief but vigorous arraignment of the 
 Republican State administration, and a demand for 
 home rule for both Ohio and Ireland. 
 
 The Republicans in their platform, in a state con- 
 test, had made a pathetic appeal for home rule for 
 Ireland, and the Democrats thought it might be a 
 good thing for Ohio. Mr. Campbell's speech of accep- 
 tance was in accord with the platform and indicated 
 that the ground upon which the campaign would be 
 fought, would be one of assault upon the weak points 
 in the enemy's line. 
 
 Mr. James E. Neal, of Butler, a prominent and 
 popular Democrat, and a former employee as an 
 attorney of Mr. F^rice's, was selected to manage the 
 Democratic campaign. It was charged by the Repub- 
 lican press, that both Mr. Brice and Mr. John R. 
 IMcLean were candidates for the United States Sen- 
 ate. This was prominently denied by both of them. 
 Neither at this time thought there was any chance of 
 Democratic success, and having nothing to lose, Mr. 
 ]McLean had an understanding with Mr. Brice, that if 
 the latter cared to enter the field, he would not be a can- 
 didate. Mr. Thomas was a candidate, and in response 
 to the urgent request of Mr. James E. Neal, he made lib- 
 eral donations of money to aid candidates for the Leg- 
 islature in close counties. This money was sent 
 through the Campaign Committee, and Mr. Thomas 
 was allowed to amuse himself with the thought that
 
 280 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 he was on the road to promotion to the United States 
 Senate. 
 
 The "silent and abhorrent forces " of the Standard 
 Oil Company, stood grimly and patiently waiting in 
 the backgronnd. If there was a chance of Demo- 
 cratic success, at the last moment, it would throw its 
 gold into the scales on that side, and while it would 
 never do to attempt to vindicate the father by another 
 purchase of the seat, they could in a measure palliate 
 the first offense, by "paralleling" it with a second 
 in the election of Mr. Brice. If there was a proba- 
 bility of Republican success, their money and influ- 
 ence would go to Charles Foster, who had been so 
 useful on many occasions. 
 
 Everything pointed to a Democratic victory, and 
 at the last minute, Mr. Brice's agents stepped upon 
 the scene, and just before the election the candidates 
 for the Legislature were visited in all the close coun- 
 ties and sounded, and aided. In several instances, 
 Mr. Thomas was astounded to have his money 
 returned without explanation, Mr. Brice, with the 
 aid of the Standard Oil Company, had "paralleled" 
 Mr. Thomas' Senatorial line. 
 
 Mr. Brice put some ,>20,ooo into the campaign 
 before the election. It was only a drop in the bucket. 
 The fight in Hamilton County was left to the direc- 
 tion of Mr. McLean and his friends, and the "golden 
 grease" flowed in copious streams. 
 
 Mr. Campbell, as the representative of the honest,
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE- 281 
 
 earnest Democracy, was making the fight on princi- 
 ple, and up to three days before the election he des- 
 paired of success. He had no knowledge of the 
 tremendous powers and money that were about to be 
 turned loose to compel Democratic success. 
 
 There never was such adroit management on the 
 part of the Standard Oil Company and their allies. 
 Their campaign was managed from New York. 
 They not only had to deceive the people, but the 
 Democrats as well. They did both. With the val- 
 uable aid of Mr. Foster, they prevented the Payne 
 scandal from becoming an issue in the campaign. 
 The agents entrapped Mr. Foraker and :\Ir. Halstead 
 of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette with a ballot- 
 box forger>-, that proved disastrous to the Republicans. 
 The parties that inspired the commission of this deed 
 have never been exposed, and for some mysterious 
 reason the perpetrator of the deed was permitted to 
 drop out of sight, unpunished. 
 
 The election resulted in the defeat of Gov. Foraker 
 by Mr. Campbell, by a vote of 379,423 to 360,561. 
 The Prohibitionists polled 26,504 votes; the Labor 
 party 1,048; and there were 195 scattering. The rest 
 of the Democratic state ticket was beaten. Mr. E. 
 L. Lampson, the Republican candidate for Lieut. 
 Governor, on the face of the returns, had defeated 
 Mr. M. V. ^Larquis by 23 votes. In a contest, Mr. 
 Marquis was seated by the Senate, January 30, 1890. 
 The Democrats had a majority in both branches of
 
 282 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 the IvCgislature. The following is a list of those 
 elected, with their counties, the names of the Demo- 
 crats being in italic. 
 The Senators were : 
 
 Thomas 0. Ashburn^ Clermont ; J. Park Alexander, 
 Summit ; Perry M. Adavis^ Seneca ; James Brown^ Ham- 
 ilton ; John A. Bucharian^ Tuscarawas ; George F. Brady ^ 
 Huron ; Michael T. Corcoran^ Hamilton ; Amos B. Cole, 
 Scioto ; Jeremiah L. Carpenter, Meigs ; Henry J. Cleve- 
 land, Noble ; Daniel H. Gaumer, Muskingum ; Charles 
 Herrman, Cuyahoga ; George Hildebrand, Ashland ; 
 Antho7iy Howells, Stark; Winfield S. Kerr, Richland; 
 Virgil C- Lowry, Hocking ; Henry C. Marshall, Mont- 
 gomery; David M. Massie, Ross; David Morison, Cuya- 
 hoga; Wilbur J. Nichols, Belmont; Jesse N. Orren, 
 Clinton ; James B. Pumphrey, Hardin ; John K. Richards, 
 Lawrence ; Andrew J. Robertson^ Shelby ; Edmund A. 
 Reed, Trumbull ; John Ryan, Lucas ; Geo. A- Schneider, 
 Hamilton ; Joseph L. Stephens, Warren ; Thomas H. 
 Silver, Columbiana ; Jo/m N. Soncrant, Erie ; Melville D. 
 Shaw, Auglaize ; William W. Sutton, Putnam ; Aaron 
 R. Van CleaJ, Pickaway ; William T. Wallace, Franklin ; 
 Thomas B. Wilson, Madison ; John Zimmermann , Wayne. 
 
 The members of the House were : 
 
 W. A. Blair, Adams ; Dewitt C Cu7i7iingham, Allen , 
 John D. Beaird, Ashland ; Leander C. Reeve, Ashtabula ; 
 William L- Kessinger, Athens ; Jacob Boesel, Auglaize ; 
 Alexander T. McKelvy, Belmont; William W. Pennell, 
 Brown ; Joseph J. McMacken, Butler ; Thomas Goldrick, 
 Butler; Robert G. Kean, Carroll; Samuel M. Taylor,
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 283 
 
 Champaign ; John F. McGrew, Clark ; Douglas W. Raw- 
 lings, Clark ; Jo7iathan V. Christy, Clermont ; Wilford C. 
 Hudson, Clinton ; Alexander H. McCoy, Columbiana ; 
 Jesse P. Forbes^ Coshocton ; Philip Schuler, Crawford : 
 Orlando J. Hodge, John P. Green, Wilbur Parker, 
 J. Dwight Palmer, W. D. Pudney, Morris Porter, 
 Cuyahoga; Andrew C. Robeson^ Harvey C- Garber, 
 Darke ; Rollin K. Willis, Delaware ; John J. Molter, 
 Erie ; Thomas H. Dill^ Fairfield ; H. M. Daugherty, 
 Fayette ; John B. Lawlor, Lot L. Smith, Franklin ; 
 Estell H. Rorick, Fulton : Jehu Eakins, Gallia ; Elver- 
 ton J. Clapp, Geauga and Lake; Andrew Jackson, 
 Greene ; David D. Taylor, Guernsey ; Frederick A. 
 Lamping^ Guy IV. Mallon, William M. Day, Henry 
 J. Schulte^ James Nolan, Philip Dewald, Johi J. 
 Rooney, Charles Jeffre, John J. O'Dowd, Hamilton ; 
 Henry Brown, Hancock ; Michael F. Eggerman, 
 Hardin ; Wesley B. Hearn, Harrison ; Dennis D. 
 Donovan, Henry; James M. Hughey, Highand ; Wil- 
 liam P. Price, Hocking; William S. Troyer, Holmes; 
 Lewis C- Laylin, Huron ; Samuel Llewellyn Jackson ; 
 Charles W. Clancy, Jefferson ; Charles E. Critchjeld, 
 Knox ; George H. Holliday, Lawrence ; Wilbur W. 
 Wiseman, Lawrence; Samuel L. Blue, Licking; jVar- 
 vin M. Mnnson. Licking ; Charles M. Wanzer, Logan ; 
 William A. Braman, Lorain ; James C Messer, Lucas ; 
 Charles P. Griffin. Lucas ; Joseph S. Martin, Madison ; 
 Lemuel C. Ohl, Mahoning ; John R. Davis, Mahoning ; 
 George B. Scofield, Marion ; Thomas Palmer, Medina ; 
 Joseph C. McElroy. Meigs; Louis N. Wagyier, Mercer; 
 John A. Sterrett, Miami : Reuben P. Yoho, Monroe ;
 
 284 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Wickliffe Be/viHe, Montgomery; William A. Reiter, 
 Montgomery ; Wm. B. Crew, Morgan ; \Vm. L- Phillips, 
 Morrow ; Thomas J. McDennott, Muskingum ; Chris. 
 McKee, Noble ; William E. Bense., Ottawa ; Frank W. 
 Knapp, Paulding and Defiance ; Nial R. Hysell, Perry ; 
 Thaddeus E. Cromley^ Pickaway ; Almand Bayhan, Pike ; 
 E. S- Woodworth, Portage ; Robert Williams, Preble ; 
 iMilton E. McClure, Putnam ; Charles N. Gaumer, Rich- 
 land ; Elias Moore, Willis H. Wiggins, Ross ; James 
 Hunt. Sandusky; Joseph F. Coates, Scioto; Alfred 
 
 B. Brant, Seneca ; Jachomyer C. Coimts. Shelby ; John 
 E. Afonnoi, Stark ; Edzcard E- Dresbach, Stark ; Henry 
 
 C. Sanford, Summit ; Thomas Wright, Summit ; Charles 
 H. Strock, Trumbull ; David L. Troendly, Elias R. 
 Benfer, Tuscarawas ; John H. Shearer, Union ; Edicard 
 B. Gilliland, Van Wert ; Stephen W. Monahan, \'in- 
 ton ; Alexander Boxwell, Warren ; Frederick J. Cutter, 
 Washington ; Henry Roeser, Washington ; Michael J. 
 Carroll., Wayne ; Charles A. Weiser, Wayne ; Blair 
 Hagerty., Williams; George B- Spencer, Wood; Wil- 
 liam C. Gear, Wyandot. 
 
 There were 19 Democrats and 17 Republicans 
 chosen to the Senate, and 61 Democrats and 53 Re- 
 publicans elected to the House. 
 
 IX. As soon as the result was known, there was 
 no longer reason for concealment. A few days after 
 the election, in an interview in New York City, Mr. 
 Jno. R. McLean announced officially that Mr. Brice 
 would be the next Senator from Ohio. 
 
 The boisterous sounds of a jubilant Democracy 
 rejoicing over a supposed victory of the people had
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 285 
 
 not died away, before they discovered that they had 
 been ''bunkoed." Angry protests were made but 
 they were futile. It was evident that the brutalities 
 of the Payne infamy could not be repeated. The 
 people were in no mood to be trifled with. ]\Ir. Brice 
 hurried from New York City to Ohio, to participate 
 in the general rejoicing, and proclaim his candidacy 
 for the Senate, but not his purpose to purchase it. 
 Men were simply amazed at his impudence and 
 audacity. He w^as not a resident of the state by his 
 own oath, and had no claims of any kind upon the 
 state or the Democratic party of Ohio. Had he 
 dared to be as bold before the election as he was after- 
 wards, Ohio would have given an emphatic Republi- 
 can majority, as a protest against such rascality, as she 
 has done every year since Mr. Brice has put the hand 
 of the strangler upon the throat of Democracy, and 
 should continue to do it until Briceism has been 
 rebuked. 
 
 X. 'Sir. Brice took charge of his own canvass. His 
 agents were sent on mysterious trips to counties that 
 had elected Democratic members of the Legislature. 
 Geo. W. Hull went to Ashland, Mr. Charles Lamison 
 went to Monroe, Mr. S. S. Yoder went to Stark, Mr. 
 A. D. Marsh went to Brown, and there was a "perni- 
 cious activity" in spots after these visits. The papers 
 became profuse in Mr. Brice's praise, and the 
 members elect became reticent and silent upon the 
 Senatorial question.
 
 286 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 The agents had done their work, and fixed their 
 men, and there would be no payments made at Colum- 
 bus, as was done by David R. Paige, in the Payne 
 purchase. Mr. Thomas had his agents out, but they 
 were only nibbling at the bait. He could not hold 
 those he had helped, and who had solemnly given 
 their promises before the election. 
 
 One of the papers, to endear Mr. Brice to the 
 Democratic heart, told how, as captain of a company 
 in the i8oth O. V. I., had voted himself and all his 
 men for Vallandingham in 1863. Mr. Brice was not 
 of age, and as the 180th regiment was not in existence 
 until a year later, the absurity of the story is appar- 
 ent. Over $30,000 was spent on the press in four 
 weeks, as pay for praise of Mr. Brice and to advocate 
 his candidacy for the Senate. 
 
 The tactics to some extent resembled the methods 
 pursued in the Payne rascality. If any one for any 
 reason opposed the election of Mr. Brice, his character 
 and standing was fiercely assailed. It was unpleas- 
 ant to express a conviction or opinion in opposition. 
 He was shrewdly desirous of bolstering his candi- 
 dacy with as much respectability as he could com- 
 mand. When he thought a man could not be openly 
 bribed, he was willing to promise some emolument 
 or honor. He found out A. R. Van Cleaf could not 
 be bought, and he offered him the receivership of a 
 railroad, and received an answer which he has never 
 made public. To confuse the situation and cover the
 
 BOSSES AXD BOODLE. 287 
 
 tracks of himself and his agents, a number of candi- 
 dates were bought out. When his residence was ques- 
 tioned, Gov. Hoadly made him out a resident of Ohio 
 by telegraph. 
 
 The Legislature met and organized the first week 
 in January, 1890, and the Senatorial caucus was held 
 Thursday, January 9. To disarm suspicions and in 
 deference to public opinion, an open vote was had, 
 and the first ballot resulted as follows: Brice 29, 
 Jno. A. !McMahon of Dayton, 14; John H. Thomas 
 of Springfield, 11; Chas, Baker of Cincinnati, 6; 
 James E. Neal of Butler. 12, S. F. Hunt of Cin- 
 cinnati, 2 ; John McSweeney of Wooster, 2 ; Geo. 
 W. Geddes of Mansfield, 2 ; Geo. E. Seney of Tiffin, aA' 
 2; Jos. H. Onthwaite of Columbus, i. There were 
 79 Democrats, but jt, present, and it required 40 to 
 nominate. On the second ballot, Brice got 53 votes, 
 McMahon 13, Thomas 3, Seney 2, Baker i, and 
 Onthwaite i. Mr. Hysell, who was elected Speaker be- 
 cause he was a workingman, and Mr. Brice, who want- 
 ed to show how beautiful it was for the sons of toil 
 and the millionaire to lie down together in pleasant 
 pastures, voted for Mr. Onthwaite. Messrs. Adams 
 and Brant voted for Mr. Seney, Mr. Forbes of Cos- 
 hocton, who had been sold out as a candidate for 
 Speaker, voted for Mr. Baker. The three orphans 
 who refused to sell and betray Mr. Thomas, were 
 Messrs. Bayhan of Pike, Monnett of Stark, and 
 Hagerty of Williams. Those who voted for Mc-
 
 288 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 Mahon, were Messrs. Brady, Marshall, Robertson, 
 Van Cleaf, Wallace, Belleville, Cromley, Donovan, 
 McDermott, McKee, Mallon, Reiter and Scofield. 
 Those who voted for Mr. Brice, were Ashburn, 
 Buchanan, Brown, Cochran, Gaumer of Richland, 
 Ho wells, Lowry, Ryan, Shaw, Soncrant, Stephens, 
 Sutton, Zimmermann, Beaird, Benfer, Benz, Blue, 
 Boesel, Carroll, Christy, Critchfield, Day, Cunning- 
 ham, Dewald, Dill, Dresbach, Eggerman, Garbar, 
 Gaumer of Zanesville, Gear, Gilliland, Goldrick, 
 Hunt, JefFre, Lamping, McClure, MacMaken, Motter, 
 Monahan, Price, Pennell, Nolan, O'Dowd, Robinson, 
 Roeser, Rooney, Shulte, Troyer, Troendly, Wagner, 
 Weiser, Yoho. Mr. Brice was declared the nominee, 
 and was sent for and made a speech, which he had 
 carefully prepared, so certain was he that the pur- 
 chase would be made. In this speech he dwelt on 
 his love and devotion to tariff reform, and pledged 
 himself to do all he could to bring about the accomp- 
 lishment of this ideal of the Democratic mind. 
 
 On Jan. 15, in joint convention, the presiding officer 
 declared that Mr. Brice had received 19 votes in the 
 Senate, and Mr. Foster 14, and Mr. Brice had received 
 57 votes in the House, and Mr. Foster 52, and he 
 declared the prodigy elected over his patron to the 
 United States Senate. It was Boodler against Bood- 
 ler, and the pupil had beaten his master. For a sec- 
 ond time inside of six years, the Senatorship from 
 Ohio, had sold to the highest and best bidder. Seven-
 
 BOSSES AND BOODI.E. 289 
 
 teen of the men who had taken Mr. Thomas' money, 
 and promised to vote for him, kept it and voted for 
 Mr. Brice. Nothing but Boodle could induce men 
 to commit such perfidy. The instant the crime had 
 been committed, Wm. P. Thompson and the Standard 
 Oil crowd telegraphed their congratulations. They 
 rejoiced because their rascality of 1884 had been 
 vindicated by its duplication by Brice. The Hamil- 
 ton County members did not get anything. Most of 
 them were very sore and disappointed. Three or four 
 of them were honest and not for sale. Mr. Brice 
 presented each one of them with a photo of himself, 
 nicely framed. One of them took the picture home, 
 and removed it from the frame, expecting to find 
 money in the back. He did not. He was very angry. 
 Mr. Brice had votes enough without the Hamilton 
 County delegation, and he concluded that it would be 
 useless, if not dangerous to buy any of them. As 
 usual, the members of the Legislature were left in a 
 demoralized condition by the Brice canvass, and their 
 appetite for money was aroused but not appeased. 
 No attempt was made to carry out any of the pledges 
 made by the party and candidates before the election. 
 Bills were passed to authorize the Governor to ap- 
 point Boards in Cincinnati. They had elected a 
 home rule Senator from New York, and Gov. Camp- 
 bell, in violation of his pledges, proceeded to make 
 appointments for Cincinnati. Had he had the courage 
 to refuse to do that which was a violation of the plat-
 
 290 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 form upon which he was elected, it would have saved 
 him some embarrassment and the party a great scan- 
 dal, for before his term of office expired, he convened 
 the Legislature in special session, to remove his own 
 appointees in Cincinnati, for dishonesty. 
 
 XI. Mr. Brice took Mr. Payne's thoroughly boodle- 
 ized seat in 1891. He took up the Standard Oil 
 Company's work where Mr. Payne left it off. He 
 favored the Mail Subsidy and all its jobs. Mr. Fos- 
 ter was in close touch as Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Mr. Cleveland returned to the Presidency in 1893. 
 It took the Democratic party a year to carry out its 
 pledges on the tariff. In the Senate, Mr. Brice com- 
 bined with others to delay and defeat the tariff-bill. 
 The sugar trust made $30,000,000 through his ma- 
 nipulation. This is all recent history. In August, 
 1894, Mr. Cleveland wrote letters denouncing Mr. 
 Brice and others for their " party perfidy and dis- 
 honor." On August 27, 1894, in a letter to Repre- 
 sentative Catchings, President Cleveland said : 
 
 " I take my place with the rank and file of the 
 Democratic party who believe in tariff reform, and 
 who know what it is : who refuse to accept the re- 
 sults embodied in this bill at the close of the war ; 
 who are not blinded to the fact that the livery of the 
 Democratic tariff reform has been stolen and worn in 
 the service of Republican protection, and who have 
 marked the places zuherc the deadly blight of treason 
 has blasted the counsels of the brave in their hour of 
 might. The trusts and combinations — the com- 
 munism of pelf — whose machinations have prevented
 
 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 291 
 
 US from reaching the success we deserved, should not 
 be forgotten or forgiven." 
 
 Mr. Brice was the chief traitor and manipulator in 
 the most brazen performance that ever disgraced the 
 Senate or betrayed a party. In the summer of 1894, 
 at the Democratic State Convention held at Colum- 
 bus, Mr. Brice being present and sitting on the stage, 
 Mr. Clark, of Youngstown, on a motion in favor of 
 making the candidate for Senatorship the nominee 
 by convention to go before the people, said : 
 
 " Gentlemen of the convention : — What one of you 
 looks to the United States Senate as the depository 
 of the best intelligence, patriotism and statesmanship 
 of this country? Not one. 
 
 " When any great public question is before the peo- 
 ple for decision, who looks to the debates of the 
 United States Senate for light? 
 
 "When a Senator is to be elected by a legislature, 
 the question is no longer asked, what is his worth ? 
 Meaning, what are his talents, what his learning, 
 what service has he rendered the state, or what ser- 
 vice is he capable of rendering it ? No, the question 
 no longer is, what is his worth, but what is he worth? 
 Meaning, how much money has he. As if in the 
 conferring of honors, in this republic, the length of a 
 man's head was to be measured by the length of his 
 purse. 
 
 " No argument can make it clearer than the naked 
 statement of these truths, that the Senate of the 
 United States no longer commands either the confi- 
 dence or respect of the people of this country. Every 
 one of you know that it has become a mere rich 
 man's club — it is the bulwark of special and corpo-
 
 292 BOSSES AND BOODLE. 
 
 rate privilege, the nesting-place of understandings, 
 combines and trusts. It was here that the hateful 
 sugar trust lately raised its hydra-head, and in the 
 name of the "Communism of pelf," seized the Demo- 
 cratic party by the throat and compelled it to stand 
 and deliver. Over this whole question hangs the 
 blazing, burning shame, that, under the present sys- 
 tem, it is easier for a man of talent without fortune 
 to find his way into the house of lords of England, 
 than into the Senate of the United States. 
 
 "This is the bitter truth of the situation. Now for 
 the remedy. It is furnished to our hands in the 
 election of the United States Senators by the direct 
 vote of the people, for which this minority report pro- 
 vides. We propose to you no novel experiment, but 
 established Democratic doctrine and practice. It 
 was tried in Illinois and the Democrats elected their 
 first Senator since the war. It was voted on in Cali- 
 fornia, and regardless of party lines, an almost un- 
 animous vote declared in its favor. Tvio Democratic 
 Houses of Congress have declared by large majorities 
 in its favor, and the Democrats of thirteen states 
 have declared it to be a Democratic policy. (A dele- 
 gate cries, '13, unlucky number.') No! No! Re- 
 member it is the number of stripes upon our glorious 
 flag, and the number is that of the noble colonies 
 which established the sacred liberties which I plead 
 with you to preserve, 
 
 " This is a question that rises far above men ; it 
 rises far above party ; it is a question of your 
 country. I plead with you, I adjure you to adopt 
 this measure, not in the name of men, not in the 
 name of party, but in the love of your country, and 
 of plain, common, every day, old-fashioned honesty 
 in politics,"
 
 BOSSKS AND BOODLE. 293 
 
 XII. The events surrounding Mr. Brice's purchase 
 of the Senatorship, finishes our personal contact 
 with politics in Ohio. This knowledge, gleaned in 
 an experience of nearly twenty years, is herewith 
 submitted. We have not told all the truth, but we 
 have given enough facts to answer the purpose of 
 this book. The indictment is made. The accused 
 are arraigned at bar. If the generation that has 
 produced these men and methods, and suffered these 
 evils, be too weak to try, condemn and punish the 
 criminals, we take the case on appeal to the court 
 of posterity. Let us hope that those who succeed us 
 will have genius enough to formulate laws to stay 
 this rising tide of evil, and courage and conscience 
 enough to enforce them, and save our liberties and 
 our institutions from the imminent perils which 
 menace them. 
 
 It must be reform or revolution. Which P 
 It will come, in -peace or by blood! The ■peofle 
 will not be denied.
 
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