me.

L. Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi, was made Secretary of the Interior.
Lamar was also one of the prominent Democrats of the Senate when
I entered it. I had the very greatest respect for him as a Senator
and as a man. Later, Mr. Cleveland nominated him for Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court. The nomination pended before the
Judiciary Committee for a long time, as it was well known that Mr.
Lamar had not been an active, practising lawyer.

I happened to be at the White House one day, and Mr. Cleveland said
to me: "I wish you would take up Lamar's nomination and dispose
of it. I am between hay and grass with reference to the Interior
Department. Nothing is being done there; I ought to have some one
on duty, and I can not do anything until you dispose of Lamar."

He had, I suppose, spoken to other Senators along the same line.
The nomination was taken up soon after, and he was confirmed. I
voted against his confirmation in the Senate; not because I had
anything against him personally, or because he was a Southern
Democrat, but I understood that he had not practised law at all,
and I did not believe that sort of man should be appointed to fill
so high and responsible a position.

Generally speaking, I got along very well with President Cleveland,
considering the fact that he was a Democrat and I a Republican.
I visited the White House frequently, and he generally granted
anything that I asked for.

He was keenly interested in the passage of the first Interstate
Commerce Act. It became a law under his administration, and although
the Democrats supported it, it succeeded mainly through the influence
of Republican Senators and a Republican Senate. When the bill went
to the President, and while he had it under consideration, he sent
for me to explain one or two sections which he did not understand.
I called one night about nine o'clock and found him surrounded by
a multitude of papers, hard at work reading the bill. I explained
the sections concerning which he was in doubt as best I could, and
he said: "I will approve the bill."

I immediately took advantage of the occasion to say: "Now, Mr.
President, I might just as well take this opportunity to talk with
you with reference to the appointment of a Commission. A Republican
Senate has passed this bill, and as I had charge of it in the
Senate, I think you ought to permit me to recommend the appointment
of one commissioner." He agreed to this, asking m