ted Devens to come
at once to Washington, which he did. At the same time, the
President stated his purpose to offer Mr. McCrary the Department
of Justice. In the course of the day, however, it was reported
to the President that Mr. McCrary had formed a decided opinion
in favor of the McGarrahan claim, a claim which affected large
and valuable mining properties in California. Most persons
who had investigated the claim believed it to be utterly fraudulent.
There were many persons of great influence who were interested
in the mining property affected. They strongly appealed to
the President not to place in the office of Attorney-General
a man who was committed in favor of the claim. The President
then asked me if I thought General Devens would be willing
to accept the office of Attorney-General, and exchange it
for that of Secretary of War later, when the McGarrahan claim
had been disposed of so far as Executive action was concerned.
I told the President that I thought he would. When General
Devens arrived I stated the case to him. He said he should
be unwilling to agree to such an arrangement. He would be
willing to accept the office in the beginning, but if he were
to give up the office of Attorney-General after having once
undertaken it, he might be thought to have failed to discharge
his duties to the satisfaction of the President, or that of
the public. He was unwilling to take that risk.

So the President determined to offer the Department of Justice
to General Devens, and the Department of War to Mr. McCrary,
a good deal to the disappointment of the latter. All McCrary's
ambitions in life were connected with his profession. He
took the first opportunity to leave the Executive Department
for a judicial career.

The other members of the Cabinet were: William M. Evarts,
Secretary of State; John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury;
Carl Schurz, Secretary of the Interior; David M. Key, Postmaster-
General; Richard M. Thompson, of Indiana, Secretary of the
Navy.

President Hayes was a simple-hearted, sincere, strong and
wise man. He is the only President of the United States who
promised, when he was a candidate for office, not to be a
candidate again, who kept his pledge. He carried out the
principles of Civil Service Reform more faithfully than any
other President before or since down to the accession of President
Roosevelt. General Grant in his "Memoirs" praises the soldierly
quality of President