opinion, some strong and positive man came to him with a confident
utterance of a different opinion, unless Garfield had gone
to the bottom of the subject himself, he was very likely to
defer, to hesitate, to think himself mistaken. But when he
had had time and had thought the thing out and made up his
mind, nobody and no consideration of personal interest or
advantage would stir him an inch. I suppose his courage and
genius as a soldier have never been questioned. He performed
some very important military exploits. He gave a thorough
investigation into the military conditions of Tennessee and
Kentucky, and his letter to the Department of War accomplished
a great deal toward putting things in a better way. He was
a thorough lover of his country. He hesitated long as to
the doctrine of protection, and undoubtedly made some inconsistent
utterances before he took the ground which he held at last. But
he studied the financial question, especially the great subjects
of currency and the standard of value, to the very bottom.
He stood like a rock when Ohio and the whole West seemed to
be going against him, and when the statesmanship even of John
Sherman was of the willow and not of the oak. When his District
Convention met and passed resolutions in favor of paying interest
on the Government bonds with paper, Garfield declared that
he would not take the nomination on such a platform. The
good fight he made in Ohio turned the scale in that great
struggle. I do not believe he wold have been a tool or servant
in the Presidency. He would have mastered for himself the
great subjects to be dealt with in our foreign policy, as
well as in domestic administration and legislation. His will
would, in my opinion, if he had been spared to us, have been
the dominant will in our Government for eight fortunate and
happy years. Next to the assassination of Lincoln, his death
was the greatest national misfortune ever caused to this country
by the loss of a single life.

I have not the slightest respect for the suggestion that
General Garfield in the least violated his honor or good
faith in consenting to accept the nomination after he had
been elected as a delegate in the interest of Mr. Sherman.
The office of the President is not personal. There can be
no such thing as a personal claim upon it, or a personal
obligation in regard to it. President Garfield got no advantage
whatever from the fact that he had favored Mr. Sherman