Page "James A. Garfield" Paragraph 83

Garfield's appointment of Thomas Lemuel James to U. S. Postmaster infuriated Garfield's party rival, Stalwart Roscoe Conkling, who demanded a commensurate appointment for his faction and his state, such as the position of Secretary of Treasury.

The resulting squabble was ponderous in the brief Garfield presidency.

The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the President, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge William H. Robertson, to be Collector of the Port of New York.

Conkling raised the time-honored principle of senatorial courtesy in an attempt to defeat the nomination, but to no avail.

Garfield, who believed the practice to be corrupt, would not back down and threatened to withdraw all nominations unless Robertson was included.

Garfield stated this would " settle the question whether the President is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States.

" Ultimately, Sen. Conkling and his junior colleague, Sen. Thomas C. Platt, resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication, but they found only further humiliation when the New York legislature elected others in their places.

Robertson was appointed and Garfield's victory on behalf of the Executive over the Senate on this issue was clear.

He had routed his antagonists, weakened the principle of senatorial courtesy, and revitalized the executive branch.

To Blaine's chagrin, the victorious Garfield returned to his goal of balancing the interests of party factions, and re-nominated a number of Conkling's Stalwart friends to their positions.