[Page 514]

  December 16. - Yesterday, Sunday, a gloomy, rainy day. In
the evening the Vice-President, General Sherman, Dr. and Mrs.
Woodworth, Judge Matthews, the Attorney-General, and Major
McKinley called. Mrs. Woodworth at the piano in the Red Room.
"Grandfather's Clock" and other plantation melodies made a
cheerful evening.   General  Sherman discussed the death of
[Princess] Alice, the war of the English against the Afghans, the
routes to India and Australia--noble steamers, well equipped,
no accidents, - and our visit to New York the 30th to attend the
Bryant Memorial exercises of the New York Historical Society.
  The political event of last week is the opposition of Conkling
to the New York appointments. This is a test case. The Senators
generally prefer to confirm Merritt and Graham. But many,
perhaps a majority, will not oppose Conkling on the question.
Senatorial courtesy, the Senatorial prerogative, and the fear
of Conkling's vengeance in future, control them. He is like
Butler-more powerful because he is vindictive and not re-
strained by conscience.
  The most noticeable weakness of Congressmen is their tim-
idity. They fear the use to be made of their "record." They
are afraid of making enemies. They do not vote according
to their convictions from fear of consequences.
  [Mr. Hayes spoke in a similar strain in his conversation with
William Henry Smith in June 1883, already quoted from. Mr.
Smith reports:-
  "The appointment of Welsh [as minister to England] came
about in this way: Evarts had in his gushing way said in the
presence of Don Cameron, that Pennsylvania was entitled to
one of the great missions, and as that to England was vacant,
if the Republicans there could agree among themselves, it could
be had. Don shrewdly saw an opportunity to put into practice
his peculiar tactics. He called a meeting of the Pennsylvania
delegation at his house, and there had a paper drawn up and
signed in favor of the appointment of his father, Simon Cam-
eron. This paper he fetched in person to the President, related
the conversation with Evarts, and said bluntly, 'This is what
Pennsylvania wants.' Now, note what followed: The very next
day before the hour for the meeting of Congress, a majority of
the Pennsylvania delegation who had signed the paper for
Simon Cameron called at the White House and told the Presi-
dent that they had signed under constraint, that the appointment
would not be proper and was not what Pennsylvania wanted!
  "Another striking illustration of the duplicity and cowardice
of politicians is found in the relation of the action of the New
York delegation and other supporters of Mr. Conkling in 1877.
Soon after the President reached Washington, the New Yorkers
called upon him at the residence of Mr. Sherman and presented
a paper duly signed by everybody in favor of the appointment
of Mr. Platt as Postmaster-General. Remarks were made by
the members of the delegation quite eulogistic of Mr. Platt, and
prophetic of the great good that would result to the Republican
party through such an appointment. I was quite strongly im-
pressed by the earnestness of these New Yorkers. After some
moments of general conversation they took their leave one by
one. Several of them were observed to speak to the President
elect in a low tone as they took his hand. Six of them - some
of them the loudest in their praises of the virtues of Platt-
whispered in the ear of Mr. Hayes that they did not want Platt
appointed, and that it was not what New York wanted!"]