Fifty years in Wall Street
Convention. The mere mention of the name of that veteran seemed to
inspire the vast assemblage with new life. The announcement acted like
magic, and appeared to throw all the previous work of the Convention
into utter oblivion.
After Mr. Bruce and the Hon. E. Delafield Smith had spoken, I said: “On
behalf of the bankers and business men of New York, regardless of party,
the nomination of John A. Dix would do more for the Republican party in
the national contest than any other that could be named. No other man
would receive equal confidence of the great monied interests of the
metropolis.”
The scene that followed the remarks of these gentlemen and myself is
indescribable. The whole audience arose to their feet and cheered
vehemently. If the house had been struck with lightning the caucus
managers could not have been more surprised, and Judge Robertson must
have begun to doubt his own identity.
Concerning the scene in the Convention at this juncture, the New York
_Herald_ the next morning had the following:
“The enthusiasm excited by the representatives of Henry Clews
carried the Convention, and it only wanted to put the question
to the delegates to result in a triumph for the Dix interest.
There was great confusion in the hall at this moment. Delegates
attempted to make themselves heard from all parts of the hall.
There were heard the first notes of the coming avalanche of
victory for the Dix ticket. The stentorian voice of a delegate
from St. Lawrence, mighty almost as the cataract of Niagara, was
heard above the din, proclaiming that the St. Lawrence
delegation endorsed the nomination of Dix. Further enthusiasm
was thus excited. Then followed Kings, Jefferson, Cayuga and
others, lost in the cheering that was incessantly kept up. The
whole of the delegation seemed under one impulse to fall into
line under the flag raised by Dix as the standard-bearer of the
party. Then came a demand that no ballot should be taken,
formally or informally, but that the nomination of General Dix
be made by acclamation. The Hon. William A. Wheeler, the
chairman, said such a motion was not in order, as there were
other candidates before the Convention. This difficulty, like
every other, was soon swept away in the tornado of excitement
consequent upon the sudden and unexpected course of affairs, so
lately garbled and mixed up, had taken; and the clear course
that the name of one man, held back to the lucky moment, had
arrived, to give it a talismanic power, opened to the previous
bewildered senses of the delegates when the Bald-Eagle of
Westchester, the proposer of Judge Robertson, arose and
announced the withdrawal of his nominee’s name. A thunder of
applause followed this announcement, which was echoed and
re-echoed, when the several other proposers withdrew in quick
succession the names of their candidates. Then came again the
call to put the name of General Dix by acclamation to the
Convention. The vote was put and was unanimously carried, with
the greatest excitement ever before witnessed at a Convention.”
The New York _Times_ said editorially:
“The Convention of this State has placed at the head of its
ticket two of the strongest names it could possibly have
selected. In General Dix it has nominated a Democrat who is free
from all the reproaches which the last twelve years have brought
upon the Democratic party—a man whose character is without a
stain, whose strenuous efforts to assist the Union during the
rebellion ought never to be forgotten, who has been one of our
most indefatigable assistants in the work of reform, and whose
integrity and abilities alike entitle him to the respect of the
public. No one can doubt that if we have General Dix as Governor
of this State the affairs of the community will be managed with
discretion, dignity and a high sense of honor. We purposely
refrained from recommending candidates to the Convention, but
now that all is over, we need not disguise our opinion that
General Dix was the very best man that could have been chosen.
Honest Democrats will gladly support him, Republicans have every
reason to arrange themselves by his side, for he has identified
himself with every great work in which they have been
interested. He has always done his duty, no matter what position
he has occupied, and we shall be proud to assist in electing him
as Governor of this State. If we could not trust such a man as
General Dix, it would be very hard to carry on the work of
popular government at all.”
At the close of the proceedings I sent the following despatch to General
Dix:
“I took the responsibility of putting your name forward as a
candidate for Governor, and now rejoice in apprising you of your
nomination by the Convention by acclamation.
“HENRY CLEWS.”
On my return to New York, to my utter dismay, I found the following
telegram awaiting me:
“WEST HAMPTON, Aug. 22, 1872.
“HENRY CLEWS:
“I have been compelled to decline.
“JOHN A. DIX.”
That afternoon I went down to Long Branch to see General Grant, and
spent the evening with him. I showed him the despatch from General Dix,
declining the nomination, and expressed the opinion that it was all
important that he should be prevailed upon to reconsider his first
resolve, and permit his name to head our ticket. “You know, General,” I
said, “Dix is a war Democrat. He will act as a bridge to bring over to
our ranks all the war Democrats. It was chiefly for that reason that I
sprung him on the Convention.”
General Grant realized the position at once, and fully agreed with me.
I said: “General, you must write a letter to General Dix, urging him to
accept the nomination.” He wrote to General Dix in a day or two. The
veteran was greatly moved by a letter from a renowned brother in arms,
but still had some difficulty in making up his mind, lest he might lay
himself open to the charge of inconsistency. And here comes in the
predominating influence of lovely woman, even cruelly deprived as she is
of the ballot. General Dix held his final answer in abeyance until he
should consult his wife.
GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL DIX.
Following is the letter which General Grant wrote after my interview
with him:
“LONG BRANCH, N. J., Aug. 24, 1872.
“MY DEAR GENERAL:
“I congratulate you upon the unanimity and enthusiasm of the
Utica Convention on the occasion of your nomination for the
honorable and responsible position of Governor of the great
State of New York. Especially do I congratulate the citizens of
that State, almost irrespective of party, upon your nomination.
I believe you will receive the active support of the great
majority of the best people of the State, and the secret
sympathy of thousands who may be so bound up by party ties and
pledges as to force them to support your opponent.
“But to doubt your election would be to impugn the intelligence
and patriotism of a people by whose enlightened discrimination
such good men as Tompkins, Clinton, Marcy, Fish, King and Morgan
have been lifted to the Chief Magistracy of the Empire State.
With your election reforms in the State will naturally follow,
which all acknowledge have been much needed for years.
“No one acquainted with the political history of New York for
the past eight years will claim that all the abuses of
legislation are due to Democratic rule, but members, or at least
pretended members, of both political parties share the
responsibility of them.
“When I read the proceedings of the Convention of the 21st
inst., and of the unanimity of feeling in favor of you and your
associates on the State ticket, I felt that victory had been
already achieved and reform inaugurated in the State of New
York.
“Again, I congratulate you, not upon the prospect of being
Governor, but upon having it within your reach to render such
services to your State.
“It is a happy day when conventions seek candidates, not
candidates nominations. This dream has been realized in the
action of the Convention of the 21st inst. at Utica, New York.
“I have the honor to be, General, your most obedient servant,
U. S. GRANT.”
“GEN. JOHN A. DIX, N. Y.”
GENERAL DIX’S REPLY.
“LEAFIELD, WEST HAMPTON, N. Y.,
August 28, 1872.
“MY DEAR GENERAL:
“I am very thankful to you for your kind letter of
congratulation on my nomination for the office of Governor of
this State. You are aware, no doubt, that I declined it before
the Convention was held. I am deeply sensible of the honor
conferred on me, especially by the manner in which it was
tendered; but my objections to the acceptance of the nomination
are so strong, that I would not think of it a moment, were it
not for the deep concern I feel in the result of the election,
and the great public interests at stake.
“I expect Mrs. Dix to arrive from Europe on the 2nd or 3rd
proximo, and as soon as I am able to confer with her, I shall
reply to the letter of the President of the Convention, advising
me of my nomination.
“I am, dear General, very respectfully and sincerely yours,
JOHN A. DIX.”
“HIS EXCELLENCY, U. S. GRANT.”
It is evident from this correspondence that General Grant’s letter,
which I take the credit of having inspired, reinforced by the latent,
loving power and good judgment of Mrs. Dix, assisted in the wise
decision of the war Democrat to accept the Republican office which was
judiciously thrust upon him.
The election of Dix made the second calling and election of Grant sure.
The Republican party took General Dix into its fold, and the effect was,
as I had anticipated, to bring thousands of others similarly situated,
to vote, at the Presidential election, for General Grant.
The Dix nomination was the worst black eye that Mr. Greeley received
during that campaign, and the Sage of Chappaqua acknowledged on his
death bed that that event, together with the Grant mass meetings at the
Cooper Institute, described in another chapter, sealed his political
doom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXX.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE UTICA (DIX’S) CONVENTION.
A CHAPTER OF SECRET HISTORY.—CONKLING GETS THE CREDIT FOR DIX’S
NOMINATION AND HIS “SILENCE GIVES CONSENT” TO THE HONOR.—ROBERTSON
REGARDS HIM AS A MARPLOT.—THE SENATOR INNOCENTLY CONDEMNED.—THE
MISUNDERSTANDING WHICH DEFEATED GRANT FOR THE THIRD TERM, AND
ELECTED GARFIELD.—HOW THE NOBLE “306” WERE DISCOMFITED.-“ANYTHING TO
BEAT GRANT.”—THE STALWARTS AND THE HALF BREEDS.-“ME TOO.”—THE
EXCITEMENT WHICH AROUSED GUITEAU’S MURDEROUS SPIRIT TO KILL
GARFIELD.
The political events succeeding the Utica Convention and the nomination
of General Dix for Governor contain some inside history of more than
ordinary importance.
Had I not sprung General Dix on that Convention at the peculiar moment,
as described in the last chapter, Judge Robertson would have carried the