ed to bother him little. He
went ahead doing his duty as he saw it, utterly disregarding the
wishes of the members of his party in Congress.

I saw him many times during this period, and I remember on one
occasion I had seen a notice in one of the papers indicating that
the President was about to appoint my old friend Mr. Charles Ridgely,
of Springfield, Illinois, as Comptroller of the Currency. I had
the highest regard for Mr. Ridgely, and I called at the White House
to congratulate the President on the selection. He seemed to be
out of humor, and was more than usually abrupt. He declared that
he knew nothing about it, that he did not know Ridgely, and never
had had any intention of appointing him. I repeated that I had
seen the announcement in a newspaper, adding that it looked to me
as though the report were authentic, and that I only wanted to
congratulate him. But the President merely reiterated, somewhat
curtly, that he knew nothing about it. I became a little annoyed,
finally losing my temper.

"I don't care a damn whether you appoint him or not," I exclaimed;
"Ridgely's a Democrat, anyhow."

Thereupon his attitude quickly changed, and he inquired about
Ridgely, listening with interest to what I had to say. He then
talked with me on the silver question and other matters, detaining
me while he kept his back to the crowd waiting to see him. I almost
had to break away in order to give others a chance.

Among the other embarrassments and difficulties of the Cleveland
Administration were the famous Chicago riots of 1893. The trouble
grew out of a railroad strike; much damage was done and a great
deal of property was destroyed, with consequent loss of life. The
city itself seemed to be threatened, the business and manufacturing
interests appealed to the Governor first, and then to the President,
to send troops to Chicago to protect property. When the Governor
failed to act, the President ordered Federal troops to Chicago.
The action was regarded as very wise, and it endeared him to the
business people of that city. Governor Altgeld protested, and that
was one of the reasons why he became Mr. Cleveland's most bitter
enemy.

I think I should say a few words in reference to Governor Altgeld.
He has been called an anarchist and a socialist. In my judgment,
he was neither. Of his honesty, his integrity, his sincerity of
purpose, his determination to give the State a good administration,
I never had th