this letter and such other "inside" information as he could get hold of Mr. Lamb began his crusade for Savings Bank Reform.

The result was a decided upheaval in this particular financial quarter. Nast's letter of ten years before was printed, and presently sup plemented with another, which was likewise given to the press. In the Weekly of March 6, 1880, Nast further helped the cause with a cartoon, which showed

the persistent and imperturbable "Lamb" mounted on a large Bank safe with a pack of angry wolves leaping up from below in an effort to destroy the official. It was one of the many curious coincidences of Nast's life that the letter, written out of a heart's conviction so long ago, should have sent a voice down through the years to awake at last an echo of reform.

Perhaps one of the best of the early pictures of this political year was a caricature of Congressman J. B. Weaver, of Iowa, who several months later was to become the Greenback Party candidate for the presidency. Mr. Weaver had prepared certain inflation resolutions which he wished to introduce to the House,

and which Speaker Randall persistently refused to note. He declined to "recognize" Mr. Weaver, who as persistently arose in his place to obtain a hearing. Nast cartooned him in the impersonation he had applied to so many (that of "Bottom ") and "Greenback, the Weaver," appeared as an imposingly ludicrous figure, upon which the back of the Speaker was turned.

When the paper came out, Weaver folded a copy of it with his resolutions, and appeared in his place as usual. He explained good-naturedly to the Speaker that he did not object to being cast for the part of a donkey, but pointed out the fact that the cartoon offended in that the Speaker had never yet turned his back on him. Speaker Randall smiled. He was quite willing to converse with the Gentleman from Iowa, while declining to recognize him in the parliamentary sense.

"The chair in discharging its duty is unmindful of any criticism of that sort," he said.

The antics of joy displayed by "Greenback, the Weaver," when finally he was recognized, was the sequel to this bit of na

CHAPTER XLVIII

THE GREAT CONVENTION OF 1880

THE OUTLOOK

That Republican animal will carry it

As the national conventions drew on, the political situation became more clearly defined. On the Republican side there was a very large element, led by Roscoe Conkling, John A. Logan, and Senator J. D. Cameron of Pennsylvania, who were eager in their desire to elect General Grant to the Presidency for a third term. The St. Louis

Globe-Democrat had long printed a daily column headed, "Grant in 1880," and a number of other leading journals East and West had accorded with the idea. Another important element, of which George William Curtis was a factor, opposed such a nomination on the ground that the possibility of a third term for any man would alienate many voters. They argued that there were many other "strong men, of whom Secretary John Sherman of Ohio was by no means the least desirable. Nast, being loyal to Grant, refused to support any editorial expression against him-a fact which aroused comment and inspired poetry. He also declined to support Blaine

in event of his nomination, and in order that this might be fully recorded he proceeded to caricature most severely the “Plumed Knight " on the eve of the Convention, portraying him as the "magnetic man" who had attracted many undesirable political features; also as being decorated with many objectionable plumes. Nast was not, however, an ardent advocate of the third term idea, believing it to be better on the part of Grant to let well enough alone. Grant himself, in 1875, had said:

I would not accept a nomination unless it should come under such circumstances as to make it an imperative duty, circumstances not likely to arise.

That such circumstances had not arisen, he must have realized, for under date of May 2d he wrote Conkling a long personal letter in which he said:

I fear that the presentation of my name at the convention would not only assist in the defeat of Mr. Blaine, but seriously affect your future, besides warping my career. Even should I be nominated, it could only come after a spirited contest into which much bitterness would be injected; and then I doubt if I could be elected.

The letter contained a plea for reconciliation between Conkling and Blaine, and closed as follows:

I am generous enough to suffer myself rather than to have my friends suffer, if I am convinced that any action of mine would cause them to suffer.

This indicated an entirely changed sentiment from that suggested in the letter written to Nast by John Russell Young," On the Red Sea," a year earlier. a year earlier. Evidently General Grant had awakened to the insubstantiality of his dream and the unwisdom of attempting to make it real. That he allowed himself to be re-convinced, or at least re-persuaded, resulted in one of the regrettable chapters of our political history.

The Republican National Assembly convened at Chicago, June 2d, though for many days the clans and their leaders had

been gathering and conspiring for their various candidates. Some of the greatest men of the nation were present at this historic meeting-the foremost orators and politicians, the most eminent leaders in parliamentary tactics. No other national convention has ever shown a more brilliant display of history makers than the one which gathered at Chicago during those early days of that memorable June.

Conkling of New York and Garfield of Ohio were the recognized leaders of the two great opposing forces. Senator Conkling led those who were united for Grant, the "stalwart three hundred" who unwaveringly supported their hero to the end. General Garfield had come to Chicago merely as leader of the Ohio delegation for Sherman, but was promptly recognized as being the ablest of those who opposed Grant, and his victory

THE STATESMAN AT HOME

over Conkling in a brief debate on the third day of the con

vention won him the favor of the assemblage.

Never in the history of American politics has there been a struggle to compare with that which took place at the National Convention of 1880. The Grant organization, under the lead of Roscoe Conkling, fought every move and contested every