ing, and even his brilliant star was somewhat marred on
account of the impression that, as one of the Hayes managers, he had
been a party to the deals and agreements that had been made and entered
into as a condition precedent to the peaceable induction of Mr. Hayes
into office. It was known, or at any rate believed, that Mr. Sherman's
appointment as Secretary of the Treasury was for the one specific
purpose of bringing about the resumption of specie payments. He was the
author of the act which fixed the date when specie payments should be
resumed. He had the reputation of being one of the ablest financiers the
country had produced. That he should be named to carry into effect the
act of which he was the author was to be expected. For the reasons above
stated, it was the one Cabinet appointment that met with general
approval.

It was soon seen, however, that the Cabinet was so constructed as to
make it harmonize with the southern policy of the administration. It was
not long before the announcement was officially made in prolix
sentences, of which Secretary Evarts was no doubt the author, that the
army could not and would not be used to uphold and sustain any State
Government in an effort to maintain its supremacy and enforce obedience
to its mandates. In other words, it was a public announcement of the
fact that if there should be an armed revolt in a State against the
lawful State Government which would be strong enough to seize and take
possession of that government, the National Government would refuse to
interfere, even though a request for assistance should be made by the
Chief Executive of the State in the manner and form prescribed by the
Constitution. I have never believed that this policy,--which was meant,
of course, for the South,--was in harmony with Mr. Hayes' personal
convictions; especially in view of his public utterances during the
progress of the campaign and immediately after the announcement had been
made that he had been defeated. But he no doubt asked himself the
question: "What can I do?" This is what he had been bound to do, by his
managers through the medium of an ante-inauguration pledge, which he
felt in honor bound to respect. Mr. Hayes was not a man of sufficient
force of character to disregard and repudiate such a pledge or bargain.
Had he been a Napoleon, or even an Andrew Jackson, he would have
declared that no man or set of men had any authority to make for him any
ante-inauguration ple