It soon became apparent that considering the probable strength of Mr. Hanna's opponents, he could not be elected without the support of certain of these independent Republicans from Hamilton County. Some weeks before the Legislature assembled, Mr. James R. Garfield, Senator from Lake County, went to Cincinnati at Mr. Hanna's request in order to interview these gentlemen and see what could be done. In that city the leaders in the Republican revolt against the machine were Edward O. Eshelby, publisher of the Commercial Tribune, and Judge Goebel. Through these gentlemen a meeting was arranged with Senator Voight, who was the Republican member of the senatorial delegation from Hamilton County. Mr. Garfield is not sure whether an Assemblyman named Charles F. Droste, who was a "Silver Republican" by conviction, was present or not. The net result of this interview was neither entirely discouraging nor entirely reassuring. Senator Voight stated that while his personal feelings were favorable to Mr. Hanna he did not like the latter's alliance with Cox before the election. He made it plain that his first interest was to obtain the antimachine legislation desired by the independent Republican movement, and he would give no definite assurances of coöperation. Nevertheless Mr. Garfield returned to Cleveland with the impression that Senator Voight would join the Hanna Republicans in organizing the Senate. He was not sure about Droste, the "Silver Republican"; and as to the other doubtful member of the delegation from Hamilton County, a druggist named John C. Otis, who had been outspoken against Mr. Hanna, he never had any expectation of securing the man's support.

As the time for the meeting of the Legislature drew near, it became definitely known that two Assemblymen from Cuyahoga County, Mason and Bramley, would oppose Mr. Hanna. Both of these men had been pledged before the election to vote for him; but in one way or another they were induced by Mayor McKisson to repudiate their pledges. The Senator from Cuyahoga County, Vernon H. Burke, was non-committal, but it was feared that he also would violate a similar pledge. A week before the date of meeting Mr. Hanna himself went to Columbus and opened headquarters at the Neil House. He had with him as assistants, not merely his personal supporters in and out of the

Legislature, but prominent Republicans like George K. Nash, Charles Grosvenor and his counsel, Mr. Andrew Squire. Mr. Theodore E. Burton and many personal friends from Cleveland also went to Columbus to work in Mr. Hanna's interest. By this time they could count noses with some accuracy, and the result looked very dubious. Governor Bushnell was using the state patronage to beat Mr. Hanna, and a number of more or less prominent Republicans from different parts of the state joined the cabal. Senator Foraker did not come out openly against Mr. Hanna, but the fight was being carried on by his political associates. In the only interview with him published during the contest, he stated merely that he was doing his best to keep out of it.

During the first few days the fight went against Mr. Hanna. Vernon H. Burke, the Senator from Cuyahoga County, absented himself on the day the Senate assembled (the first Monday in January) and that body was consequently organized by the Democrats. The vote stood seventeen to eighteen. When Mr. Burke finally appeared he voted with the Democrats, thus increasing their strength to nineteen against seventeen for Mr. Hanna. Senator Voight of Hamilton voted with the Republicans, having reached an understanding with Mr. Garfield and the regular Republican Senators that the latter would support any antimachine legislation for Hamilton County, which sought to restore popular political control in that district.

In the House, also, Mr. Hanna fared ill. Ten Assemblymen did not appear at the preliminary Republican caucus. The absentees included, besides Messrs. Bramley and Mason, J. C. Otis of Hamilton, D. O. Rutan of Harrison, William A. Scott of Fulton and John P. Jones of Stark. These six men, together with Burke, were the Republicans who voted against Mr. Hanna on the official ballot. All of them, except Otis and Rutan, had been pledged to Mr. Hanna. Of the other four absentees one was sick. Assemblyman Charles F. Droste attended the caucus. Thus the "bipartisan" combination succeeded also in organizing the Assembly. Nine Republicans voted with the fortyseven Democrats and elected as Speaker, Mason, the antiHanna convert from Cuyahoga County. If a vote had been taken on that day, the allies could apparently have mustered on

joint ballot seventy-five anti-Hanna legislators, two more than constituted the majority necessary for election.

But the allies were not ready for a vote. On Wednesday the Legislature adjourned until the following Tuesday. This adjournment proved fatal to the success of the conspiracy, but the allies were compelled to take it because they had not agreed upon a candidate. A preliminary understanding had been reached with the Democratic leaders that in order to beat Mr. Hanna, the Democrats were to vote for a Republican; but when the time came to select the particular Republican, it proved hard to force the Democratic rank and file into line. There were a few convinced Bryanites among them who would vote for none but a "Silver Republican." Charles L. Kurtz was favorably mentioned in the beginning, but his name was soon dropped. There followed some talk of electing Mayor McKisson for the short term and Governor Bushnell for the long term. The Governor was willing, but not to the point of becoming a silver-lined Republican. John R. McLean was the accepted Democratic candidate for Senator, and the course of giving him a complimentary vote before switching to a Republican was considered for a while. Finally, however, even this formal tribute to partisan consistency was abandoned. At the last moment the coalition found Mayor McKisson to be the most available candidate for both the long and the short term. The Democratic caucus was stormy, but its scruples were assuaged by the appearance of the statesmanlike candidate, who explained that while "before the people" he was a Republican, he would nevertheless stand as Senator upon the Chicago platform. That is, although always a Republican, and although he had spoken from the same platform as Mr. Hanna during the campaign, he was just as much of a Democrat as was necessary to get elected. To their credit, be it said, there were three Democratic legislators who later refused to cast their ballots for this convert to Democracy.

It was not, however, until Monday, January 10, that Mayor McKisson had been selected as the anti-Hanna candidate. During the five intervening days Columbus had been the scene of probably the most embittered and desperate fight ever developed by American party politics. The action of the Republi

can malcontents in combining with the Democrats to defeat Mr. Hanna had taken the state by surprise. His election had been considered secure. An extraordinary outburst of popular indignation followed. The whole state was in an uproar. Mass meetings were held in the great majority of towns and cities all over Ohio to denounce the traitors and their treachery. The meeting in Cleveland was attended by eight thousand people. Vigorous measures were taken to make these protests felt in Columbus. Delegations were sent to the capital from many parts of the state and particularly from those counties whose representatives were members of the conspiracy. The delegation from Cleveland included one hundred of the most conspicuous business men in the city.

Columbus came to resemble a medieval city given over to an angry feud between armed partisans. Everybody was worked up to a high pitch of excitement and resentment. Blows were exchanged in the hotels and on the streets. There were threats of assassination. Timid men feared to go out after dark. Certain members of the Legislature were supplied with body-guards. Many of them never left their rooms. Detectives and spies, who were trying to track down various stories of bribery and corruption, were scattered everywhere. Much of the indignation was concentrated on the Governor. His inauguration was the ghost of a ceremony. The reception was over in twenty minutes, and out of the two hundred and fifty invitations sent to prominent people in Columbus to be present, only twenty-five were accepted. A delegation of the Governor's own fellow-townsmen and neighbors went to see him in a body and asked him to explain his behavior. Finding that he could or would return no satisfactory answer to their complaints, they insulted him to his face. They threw his lithograph portrait on the floor in front of him, and spat and wiped their feet upon it.

The excitement was caused, not merely by indignation and resentment, but by the fact that the decision one way or the other would depend on the votes of a very few men. Mr. Hanna required four additional votes, including that of Mr. Droste, who had entered the caucus, in order to be elected - assuming, of course, that he could keep all of his existing supporters. The

most extraordinary efforts were made, consequently, to capture these doubtful men. For instance, among the Assemblymen who had stayed away from the Republican caucus was John E. Griffith of Union County. He had announced definitely soon after he reached Columbus that he would not vote for Mr. Hanna. Prior to the time of this declaration he had been living at the Neil House, the Hanna headquarters; but on the day of the announcement he suddenly disappeared, and Mr. Hanna's friends were unable to locate him. If they could get at him they thought they could do something with him, because his constituents had been outraged at what they regarded as his treachery, and had been passing resolutions denouncing him and calling upon him to redeem his pledge. Finally it was discovered that the man had been drugged or intoxicated, and concealed in the rooms of the McKisson men at the Southern Hotel. At the same time they learned that Griffith was weakening and was scared by the denunciations which had been showered upon him. So one night a carriage was sent to the rear of the Southern Hotel, and both Mr. Griffith and his wife were brought back rapidly and secretly to the Neil House. There they were kept under lock and key-not only for the remainder of the night, but until the day of the first ballot. It was feared that an attempt would be made to abduct them, and as a matter of fact certain partisans of McKisson did attempt to force their way to the room.

The vote of Griffith would never have been recovered, had not the fellow-townsmen of the delinquent brought home to him the consequences of his behavior. The most powerful of all forces was working on Mr. Hanna's behalf-that of an outraged public sentiment. It strengthened incalculably the hands of Mr. Hanna's friends. The most desperate tactics were used to snatch one or two votes away from Mr. Hanna; but his supporters held firm to the last man because, if for no other reason, they knew that if they deserted, they would be black-listed both by public opinion and by the Republican organization. Not only, however, were there no more converts made by the allies between the adjournment of the Legislature and the ballot, but the Hanna strength was constantly increasing. Of the ten Representatives who stayed out of the caucus of the lower House, the

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