majority
of persons of their way of thinking. This ended Butler's
movement. Blaine kept his word. Mr. Dawes, a high protectionist,
was made Chairman, and Mr. Kelly, also a high protectionist,
was second on the Committee of Ways and Means; but a majority
were revenue reformers. The committee reported a bill which
would have been exceedingly injurious to the protected industries
of New England. That bill was pressed and reported to the
House from the Committee of the Whole; but the member of the
committee who had it in charge, by some strange oversight,
forgot to demand the previous question. Mr. Dawes, quick
as lightning, took from his desk a bill which he had previously
prepared, but which had been voted down by his committee,
added to it a clause putting tea and coffee on the free list,
and, I believe containing also one or two other items which
were specially popular in some parts of the country, and moved
that as an amendment to the committee's bill, and himself
demanded the previous question. The cry of a free breakfast-
table was then specially popular. There were enough members
who did not dare to vote against putting tea and coffee on
the free list to turn the scale. Dawes's amendment was adopted,
the bill passed, the New England industries saved, and the
tariff reformers beaten. The persons who saw only the quiet
and modest bearing with which Mr. Dawes conducted himself
in the Senate do not know with how much vigor, quickness of
wit, readiness and skill in debate, he conducted himself amid
the stormy sessions of the House of Representatives during
Grant's first Administration. There has never been, within
my experience, a greater power than his on the floor of the
House. He had mighty antagonists. There were not only very
able Democrats, like Randall and Kerr and Holman, but there
were mighty leaders among the Republicans. There was little
party discipline. Each of them seemed bent on having his
own way and taking care of himself, and ready to trip up or
overthrow any of his rivals without mercy or remorse. Among
them were Butler and Farnsworth and Garfield and Logan and
Schenck and Kelly and Banks and Bingham and Sargent and Blaine
and Poland.

I was not in the habit of going often to the White House
when Grant was President. When I did, he received me always
with great kindness. He always seemed to be very fond of
my brother; and I suppose that led him to receive me in a
more intimate