He was
a thorough lover of his country. He hesitated long as to
the doctrine of protection, and undoubtedly made some inconsistent
utterances before he took the ground which he held at last. But
he studied the financial question, especially the great subjects
of currency and the standard of value, to the very bottom.
He stood like a rock when Ohio and the whole West seemed to
be going against him, and when the statesmanship even of John
Sherman was of the willow and not of the oak. When his District
Convention met and passed resolutions in favor of paying interest
on the Government bonds with paper, Garfield declared that
he would not take the nomination on such a platform. The
good fight he made in Ohio turned the scale in that great
struggle. I do not believe he wold have been a tool or servant
in the Presidency. He would have mastered for himself the
great subjects to be dealt with in our foreign policy, as
well as in domestic administration and legislation. His will
would, in my opinion, if he had been spared to us, have been
the dominant will in our Government for eight fortunate and
happy years.
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