887,
pp. 115-40.

(14) Mr. Blaine was nominated for President in 1884, but was
defeated by Mr. Cleveland. Notwithstanding his duplicity towards
me, I supported him. He was disloyal to Mr. Reed, of his own State,
though he then also professed to support him.

(15) An unwary, but doubtless well-meaning person (M. P. Follet)
of Quincy, Mass., in 1896 published a small volume on the _Speaker
of the House_, in which she gathered up these stories. She says
Keifer appointed on the elections Committee "eleven Republicans
and two Democrats"; that he appointed one nephew "Clerk to the
Speaker," another "Clerk to the Speaker's table." These and other
like falsehoods appear to have been inspired by a member who,
notwithstanding his free-trade proclivities and other objectionable
qualities and incapacities, sought to be appointed Chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee. The Committee on Elections was composed
of nine Republicans, five Democrats, and one re-Adjuster from
Virginia. The Clerk to the Speaker's table was, throughout the
Congress, a poor young man who had been a page on the floor of the
House and a resident of the State of New York, and no relative of
mine. A nephew of mine, a resident of Washington, was, for a short
time, my clerk, a purely personal position, as was also that of
private secretary.

The statement of Miss Follet that Keifer's "partisan rulings soon
won him the contempt of Republicans as well as of Democrats," is
shown to be basely untrue by the significant fact that no parliamentary
or other decision of mine was ever overruled by the House, although
my party can hardly be said to have been in the majority of the
House over all other parties.

What "partisan ruling" of mine was not heartily approved by my
party, or did not command at least the respect of the Democrats?
Miss Follet was imposed on.

(16) An incident occurred near the close of the last session of
the Forty-seventh Congress which should be mentioned. The reporters
of newspapers, through the courtesy of the House, had been assigned
a separate gallery for their convenience. This gallery, as well
as others for the convenience of visitors, was under the general
control of the Speaker, subject to the order of the House. There
were but few occupants in the reporters' gallery the last night of
the session, and there were many ladies who could not be accommodated
with seats in other galleries.

I declined, however, though repeat