[1] For Platt's account of the annual reunion and banquet of the three hundred and six--"The Old Guard"--see _Autobiography_, 115. [2] Garfield's early career as a canal boy led to such campaign songs as the following: He early learned to paddle well his own forlorn canoe, Upon Ohio's grand canal he held the hellum true. And now the people shout to him: "Lo! 't is for you we wait. We want to see Jim Garfield guide our glorious ship of state." [3] William Windom, of Minn., was Secretary of the Treasury; E.T. Lincoln, of Ill., Secretary of War; Wayne MacVeagh, of Pa., Attorney-General; T.L. James, of N.Y., Postmaster-General; W.H. Hunt, of La., Secretary of the Navy; S.J. Kirkwood, of Ia., Secretary of the Interior. [4] The death of the President emphasized the need of a presidential succession law. Under an act of 1792, the president and vice-president were succeeded by the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House. When Garfield died, the Senate had not yet elected a presiding officer and the House had not met. The death of Arthur would have left the country without a legal head. The Presidential Succession Act of 1886 remedied the fault by providing for the succession of the cabinet in order, beginning with the Secretary of State. The presiding officers of the Senate and House were omitted, because they might not be of the dominant party. [5] The cabinet was composed of F.T. Frelinghuysen, N.J., Secretary of State; C.J. Folger, N.Y., Secretary of the Treasury; R.T. Lincoln, Ill., Secretary of War; B.H. Brewster, Pa., Attorney-General; T.O. Howe, Wis., Postmaster-General; W.E. Chandler, N.H., Secretary of the Navy; H.M. Teller, Colo., Secretary of the Interior. [6] Above, p. 145. [7] Some thoroughly unselfish members of Congress like Senator Hoar, however, believed the bill a justifiable one and voted for it. See Hoar, _Autobiography_, II, chapter VIII. CHAPTER VIII THE OVERTURN OF 1884 The election of 1880 was memorable only for the type of politics with which that contest was so inextricably involved. The party leaders were second-rate men; the platforms, except for that of the Greenback party, were as lacking in definiteness as the most timid office-seeker could desire; in brief, it was a cross-section of American professional politics at its worst. The election of 1884 was a distinct, although not a complete contrast. It was not a campaign of platforms, but like the election of 1824 it was a battle of men. Two genuine leaders, each representing a distinct type of politics, contended for an opportunity to try out a philosophy of government in the executive chair. In 1880 the conventions were the chief interest--the campaign was dull. The campaign of 1884, on the other hand, was one of the most remarkable in our history.