of him that he came from the shoemaker's bench to
the Senate of the United States.

General Grant got along very well during his first term as President.
He was wonderfully popular, and no one could have beaten him; but
during his second term, so many scandals came to light, and the
finances were in such bad shape, that generally his second term as
President cannot be said to have been a success. One trouble with
him as President was that he placed too much implicit reliance on
those about him, and he never could be convinced that any friend
of his could do a wrong. Some of his friends were clearly guilty
of the grossest kind of misconduct, and yet he would not be convinced
of it, and stuck to them until they nearly dragged him down into
disgrace with them. He was not a politician. Before entering the
White House he had had no previous experience in public office.
For a considerable time he attempted to act as Chief Executive with
the same arbitrary power that he used as commander of an army;
hence he was constantly getting into trouble with Senators and
Representatives.

I remember one little experience along this line which I had with
him. It is an unwritten rule that Representatives in Congress, if
in harmony with the Administration, control the post-office
appointments in their respective districts. On my recommendation
Isaac Keyes was appointed postmaster of my own city of Springfield.
Much to my astonishment and mortification, in a month, without any
warning, without any request for Keyes' resignation, General Grant
sent in the appointment of Elder Crane. When I came to inquire
the cause, he said he had just happened to remember that he had
promised the office to Elder Crane, and he immediately sent in the
appointment without considering for a minute the position in which
he left Keyes and the embarrassment it would cause me.

Sometime afterward, as Colonel Bluford Wilson tells me, General
Grant asked Colonel Wilson, then Solicitor of the Treasury, who
would make a good Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Colonel Wilson
replied that Cullom was just the man for the place, and General
Grant said at once, "I will appoint him." When Colonel Wilson went
to the White House with the commission prepared for my appointment,
General Grant said: "I have changed my mind about making that
appointment. I offended Cullom in reference to the appointment of
a postmaster of his town; and if I should appoint him Commiss