The Bay State Monthly, Volume 1, Issue 5, May, 1884 | Page 6

to another through all the mazes
and intricacies which characterize the politics of New York City.
Vice-President Wheeler said of him:--
"It is my good fortune to know well General Arthur, the nominee for
Vice-President. In unsullied character and in devotion to the principles
of the Republican party no man in the organization surpasses him. No
man has contributed more of time and means to advance the just
interests of the Republican party."
The National Republican Convention, which assembled at Chicago, in
June, 1880, was an exemplification of the popular will. The respective
friends of General Grant and of Mr. Blaine, equally confident of
success, indulged during a night's session in prolonged demonstrations
of applause when the candidates were presented that were
unprecedented and that will not probably ever be repeated. Neither side

was successful until the thirty-sixth ballot, when the nomination of
President was finally bestowed on General Garfield, who had, as a
delegate from Ohio, eloquently presented the name of John Sherman as
a candidate.
The convention then adjourned for dinner and for consultation. When it
reassembled in the evening, the roll of States was called for the
nomination for Vice-President. California presented E.B. Washburne;
Connecticut, ex-Governor Jewell; Florida, Judge Settle; Tennessee,
Horace Maynard. These successive names attracted little attention, but
when ex-Lieutenant-Governor Woodford, of New York, rose, and, after
a brief reference to the loyal support which New York had given to
General Grant, presented the name of General Chester A. Arthur for the
second place on the ticket, it was received with applause and
enthusiasm. The nomination was seconded by ex-Governor Denison, of
Ohio, Emory A. Storrs, of Illinois, and John Cessna, of Pennsylvania.
A vote was then taken with the following result: Arthur, 468;
Washburne, 19; Maynard, 30; Jewell, 44; Bruce, 8; Davis, 2; and
Woodford, 1. The nomination of General Arthur was then made
unanimous, and a committee of one from each State, with the presiding
officer of the convention, Senator Hoar, as chairman, was appointed to
notify General Garfield and General Arthur of their nomination. The
convention then adjourned sine die.
Returning to New York, General Arthur was welcomed by a large and
influential gathering of Republicans, who greeted him with hearty
cheers. That night he was serenaded by a large procession of
Republicans, which assembled in Union Square and marched past his
residence in Lexington Avenue, with music and fireworks. A few
weeks later, a letter was addressed to him, signed by Hamilton Fish,
Noah Davis, and upwards of a hundred other prominent Republicans,
inviting him to dine with them at the Union League Club, and stating
that, in common with all true Republicans, they rejoiced at the happy
issue of the earnest struggle in the Chicago convention. They hailed the
general approval of its work as an auspicious omen, and looked
forward confidently to the labors of the canvass. They felt an especial
and personal gratification in the fact that the ticket selected at Chicago

bore his name. His faithfulness in public duties, his firmness and
sagacity in political affairs, so well understood by his fellow-citizens in
New York, had met with national recognition and won for him this
well-deserved honor. Their efforts in his support would be prompted,
not only by personal zeal and enthusiasm, but by the warmth and zeal
of strong personal friendship and esteem. That they might have an
opportunity more fully to express to him their sincere congratulations
and hearty good wishes, they invited him to meet them at dinner at the
Union League Club.
General Arthur, in acknowledging the receipt of this letter, expressed
his sense of the kindness which had prompted both the invitation itself
and the flattering assurances of confidence and regard by which it was
accompanied. If circumstances had permitted, he should have been
pleased to have accepted the proffered hospitality, and for that purpose
no more congenial spot could have been selected than the headquarters
of the Union League Club, an association so widely famed for its
patriotic zeal and energy, and so efficient in the support of the
principles and policy of the Republican party. He was constrained,
however, from considerations of a private nature known to many, to
decline the invitation.
On the fifteenth of July, 1880, General Arthur formally accepted the
position assigned to him by the Chicago convention, and expressed at
length his own personal views on the election laws, public service
appointments, the financial problems of the day, common schools, the
tariff, national improvements, and a Republican ascendency, saying, in
conclusion, that he did not doubt that success awaited the Republican
party, and that its triumph would assure a just, economical, and
patriotic administration.
The political campaign of 1880 was earnestly contested by the great
political parties. The Republicans were victorious, and their ticket
bearing the names of