of legislators. He was one of
those even tempered, level-headed, sound, sensible men to whom we
naturally turned when there were difficult questions to settle.

There has been no man in our history who had a longer or more
distinguished public career, and I do not know of any man who was
more often invited to enter the cabinets of different Presidents
than was Senator Allison. The Secretaryship of the Treasury was
urged and almost forced upon him repeatedly. I visited Indianapolis
to see the President-elect, Mr. Harrison, and it so happened that
Senator Allison and I entered together, Mr. Harrison having sent
for him. I saw Harrison first, and he told me that he was going
to ask Senator Allison to become his Secretary of the Treasury.
I assured him that I was confident that he would decline the office
--an assertion that occasioned much surprise, even a display of
temper. Mr. Harrison seemed to think that it was Senator Allison's
duty to accept the place. When Senator Allison saw him a short
time later, the office was tendered him and he promptly declined
to accept it. Nothing that Mr. Harrison could do or say would
induce him to change his mind.

Mr. McKinley was anxious to have Senator Allison in his cabinet,
and I do not think I shall be violating any confidence, now that
they are both dead, in saying that in declining the appointment
Allison urged McKinley, as he afterwards told me, to appoint me as
Secretary of the Treasury, and McKinley gave him so strong an
assurance that he intended to invite me to enter his cabinet, that
when Allison saw me in Washington at the beginning of the session,
I being a member of his Committee on Appropriations, he said:
"Cullom, you are to enter the cabinet; now you will not be able to
do much work on the Appropriations Committee, and you had better
devote your time to getting your affairs in shape preparing to
leave the Senate and become Secretary of the Treasury."

I had urged President McKinley to beg Senator Allison to enter his
cabinet. Coming from the source that Allison's assurance did, I
naturally took it more or less seriously, but I did not give the
matter much thought.

The nearest that Mr. McKinley came to inviting me to enter the
cabinet, was an inquiry he made of me, which position I would prefer
in a cabinet, Secretary of State or Secretary of the Treasury. I
replied that, personally, I should prefer the Treasury, as I had
at that time no particular int