* The reasoning of "The Federalist," in favor of continued
reeligibility, is cogent in itself and is supported by the experience
of other countries, for it shows that custody of power may remain in the
same hands for long periods without detriment and without occasioning
any difficulty in terminating that custody when public confidence is
withdrawn. American sensitiveness on this point would seem to impute
to the Constitution a frailty that gives it a low rating among forms of
government. As better means are provided for enforcing administrative
responsibility, the popular dislike of third terms will doubtless
disappear.

So strong was the movement in favor of General Grant as President that
the united strength of the other candidates had difficulty in staying
the boom, which, indeed, might have been successful but for the arrogant
methods and tactical blunders of Senator Conkling. When three of the
delegates voted against a resolution binding all to support the nominee
whoever that nominee might be, he offered a resolution that those who
had voted in the negative "do not deserve and have forfeited their vote
in this convention." The feeling excited by this condemnatory motion
was so strong that Conkling was obliged to withdraw it. He also made a
contest in behalf of the unit rule but was defeated, as the convention
decided that every delegate should have the right to have his vote
counted as he individually desired. Notwithstanding these defeats of
the chief manager of the movement in his favor, Grant was the leading
candidate with 304 votes on the first ballot, James G. Blaine standing
second with 284. This was the highest point in the balloting reached
by Blaine, while the Grant vote made slight gains. Besides Grant and
Blaine, four other candidates were in the field, and the convention
drifted into a deadlock which under ordinary circumstances would have
probably been dissolved by shifts of support to Grant. But in the
preliminary disputes a very favorable impression had been made upon the
convention by General Garfield, who was not himself a candidate but was
supporting the candidacy of John Sherman, who stood third in the poll.
On the twenty-eighth ballot, two votes were cast for Garfield; although
he protested that he was not a candidate and was pledged to Sherman. But
it became apparent that no concentration could be effected on any other
candidate to prevent the nomination of Grant, and votes now tur