· 2 P RE F A TOA’Y. annalists of the Club 's histor y, we propose t o make a comprehensive sketch Of its life from the earliest germ to its present development. In doing this

C O N T E N T S

PREFATORY,

I . OR IG I N OF THE C LUB

I I . ORG AN IZ ATION O F THE CLU B ,

WORK O F TH E CLUB DUR ING THE WAR ,

W ORK IN PROMOTING STA TE AND MUN IC I PA L

LEG IS LAT IVE REFORM

FURTHER WORK IN STATE , MUN IC I PAL, AND NA

TIONA L REFORM,

V I . THE NEW Y ORK RING A ND OTHER POLI TIC A L

CORRU PT ION S,APPENDI X .

A RTICLES OF A S SOCIATION ,

BY -LAWS , (Original) ,PR ES IDENTS ,HONO RARY MEMBERS“,A DDRESS OF HON . J OHN J AY , (Ext racts) ,

NEW YORK AT BEG INN ING O’

F THE W A R

CAU SES FOR FORMATION OF CLUB,

CLUB HOUSE INAUG URATION,LETTERSCORRESPONDENCE W ITH G OV . SEYMOUR ,

A DDRESS TO COLORED TROO PS ,PRESENTATION OF FLAG S BY LAD‘IESLADIES ROLL O F HONOR

,

THANK SG IVING DI NNER To SOLDI ERS AND

C IV IL SERV ICE REFORM ,

RESOLUT IONS , REPUBLICAN PRINC IPLES .SERV ICES O F C LUB NOT OF RECORD ,

CLUB HO U SES ,

E R R ATA .

On the tenth page of the body of th is history , M r. O lmsted i s improperlysaid to be the orig inator of the Cen tral Park .

”This i s a m istake wh ich

the writer shared wi th many othe rs . Mr. O lmsted , wi th h is partner, M r.

Calvert Vaux,who has an equal cla im to th is d istinction ,

was only one of

the des igners and execu tors Of the plan adopted for the Park . The presen tdes ign was made and executed by the firm of O lmsted Vaux,

"

and theyme ri t equal pra ise for i t . The idea of the Park is sa id to be due to M r .

A . J . Downing , the p ioneer of land scape garden ing in Ame rica , whoselamen ted d eath in 1 8 5 2 , in the acc iden t wh ich hefel the Henry Clay , deprived the coun try of one of i ts most accompl ished c i ti zens . W hat cred i tbe longs to the c i ty governmen t of that day, we are unable to say, bu t prob

ably not a li ttle ,in adopting and maturing M r. Down ing

'

s suggest ion .

Having gone over the rough ground O f the Park , be fore a spade had been

pu t in to i t or a rock blasted , w i th Mr . O lmsted himself, and l istened to his

scheme for redeeming the ground to the u ses of a park , the write r may be

pardoned for having permanently assoc iated him w ith i ts au thorsh ip .

He d id not learn the real facts , and then from a source of perfect au thori ty ,un til the Ske tch was in prin t . He has deemed i t due to all concerned , as

well as to himse lf and the cred i t of the Ske tch for perfec t accu racy of inten tion , amid many poss ible errors or de fects of in formation , to append thiscorrection M r. O lmsted never claimed , i t seems , to be sole des igne r, mu ch

less originator, of the Central Park . That has however been cla imed forhim by friends who d id not know, or who , l ike the writer, forgot the cla im s

of Mr. Vaux and M r. Down ing . The e rror, we hope by this note , to do

something to final ly correct .A nothe r importan t verbal error, still left in the text , i s the misprin t on the

twe l fth page of a ims-bearers which shou ld read a rms-beare rs .

The name Of Carl Schurz , on the one hundred and th irty-s ixth page shouldbe spelled without the 1. A nd on the one hundred and forty-sixth page ,

near the bottom, E . R . P ea rs /ea, should read , E . R . P eas lee .

2 P RE FA TOA’Y .

annal i st s of th e Cl ub'

s h i sto ry,we p ropose t o make a

comp reh en s iv e sket ch O f i t s l i fe f rom th e earl i est ge rm

t o i t s p r esent d evelopmen t . I n do ing th i s we have be en

abl e t o consu l t th e m emo ry O f i t s l iv ing fou nders , t o

r ead i ts m i nu t es and al l th e p r in ted docum en t s i t has

i ssu ed,and sp ec ial ly th e comp l e t e ser i es O f th e annu al

r eport s O f i t s Execut iv e and oth er Comm i t t ees . In

noth ing excep t what con ce rn s th e pre-natal l i fe O f t he

Club,hav e we any hop e O f add ing t o th e h i s to ry O f th e

Union Leagu e Club what i s no t al ready embod i ed

i n th e excel l en t and exhau st i ve pap e rs O f i t s su cc ess ive

A nnual R eport s . They are , we may here say , exce ed

ingly val u ab l e i n th emselves , very congru ou s in th e i r

sp i r i t , and cont inuou s i n th e d i re ct ion o rig inal ly t aken

by th e Cl ub . Ind eed,th e l ib rary O f th e Cl ub contai n s

i n two vo l um es o f th ese co l l e ct ed R eport s p ret ty m u ch

everyth ing that n eeds t o b e rem embered , excep t ingW hat p ert ain s t o th e Club b efo re i t had any fo rm al

o rgan izat io n or m i n u t es,or even a nam e . That part

O f i t s h i sto ry we shal l supp ly . A nd w i th that we mu st

b eg i n , c rav ing th e pat i enc e O f those who may th ink i t

l ess impo rt an t than we do .

The h is tory O f th e Un ion Leagu e Club cannot b e

wr it t e n from th e b eg inn ing withou t fi rst r ecal l i ng th e

exi st en c e and h i sto ry O f an earl i e r assoc iat i on , not ye t

who l ly fo rgott en—th e Un i t ed S tat es S an itary Comm i s

s i on . Th i s Commi ss i on dat es from J un e,186 1 , and was

i n th e m ost act iv e p er i od O f i t s l i fe when th e Un ion

Leagu e Club was born . The men who conc e iv ed, or

gan ized and cont ro l l ed th e Un i t ed S tates S an i t ary Corn

P REFA TOR Y. 3

m i ss i on,and con t in u ed t o adm in i st e r i t no t on ly th rough

th e war bu t for t en years aft e r , i n var i ou s fo rm s O f

cost ly s e rv ic e b equ eath ed as con sequ en c es O f th e war

we re al so th e o r ig i n at o rs O f th e Un ion Leagu e Club

and we p roc e ed to stat e how th i s cam e abou t , and t o

e st abl i sh th e fac t by docum en tary ev id en c e .

ORIG IN OF THE CLUB .

The UNI ON LEA GUE CLUB of New York i s th e ch i ld

O f th e Un i t ed S tat es San i t ary Comm i ss i on . That bodywas rep r esen t ed , when not in sess i on , by an Execu t iv e

Committ e e , a l l r es id en t s of New York C ity,con s i st ing

up t o th e dat e O f th e o rig i n O f th e Un i on Leagu e

of five p erson s on ly,— i t s Pres id en t

,Dr . Bel l ows ; i t s

T reasu re r , Georg e T . S t rong ; Pro f . W ol cot t G ibbs , Dr .

Corn el i u s R . A gn ew , and Dr . W i l l i am H . Van Bu ren .

The sei’

men w ere comp el l ed du r ing th e war t o pass som e

part of each day or n ight i n con ferenc e w i th each oth e r

upon th e u rgent and anx iou s bu s in ess that engaged

th em . Fred e ri ck Law O lm st ed,th e fi rs t S ec retary O f

th e S an i t ary Comm i ss i on , was th e on ly oth er p erson

who fu l ly shared th e i r cares an d con su l t at i on s . The

a ffa i rs of th e S an i t ary Comm i ss i on requ i re d a c los e

st u dy O f th e stat e of publ i c s en t im en t , and th e re la

t i on s i t bore t o th e Gove rnm en t gave i t s Execu t iv e

Commit t e e p ecu l i ar Oppo rtun i t i e s of i n fo rm at ion . I t s

own movem en t s were embarrassed by th e j ealou sy of

S tat es t oward each oth e r , and toward s th e Nat i on al

6 THE UN I ON LEA C UE CL 013.

Governm ent . The su cc ess O f i t s p l an s d ep end ed upon

th e ob l i t e rat i on of th es e l ocal p r ej u d ices . The Nat ion

as sup erem in en t above th e S tat es , was , from th e

Or ig i n , th e an imat i ng i dea at th e root O f al l th e p l ans

and aim s O f th e S an it ary Comm i ss i on . The i nv i t ed

and o rgan iz ed Coop e rat i on O f th e m en and wom en

o f al l th e S tat es n ot i n rebe l l i on,i n an impart ia l

m in i s t ry t o th e so ld i e rs O f th e Nat ion , withou t re

gard t o th e S tat es from wh ich th ey cam e , was fe l t

by i t s o r ig i n ato rs and condu cto rs t o b e a subt i l e ,

ye t m ighty bond O f u n i on and nat ional i ty, wh ich , i f

a ccomp l i sh ed , wou ld“su rpass i n se rv i c e t o th e cou n t ry

t h e m ore Obv io u s b en efi t s der ived from a human e

m i n i st ry t o t h e wants and su ff er i ngs O f ou r arm i e s .

The S an itary Comm i ss ion was not from i t s incept i on a m e re ly human i tar ian or beneficen t assoc iat i on .

I t nec essar i ly t ook on that app earan c e , and i t s l i fe

d ep ended upon i ts e ffect iv e work as an almon er O f

th e hom es of th e land t o fath ers,broth ers and sons

i n th e fi e ld . Bu t i t s p roj ect o rs wer e m en wi th

st rong pol i t i cal p u rp ose , indu ced t o take th i s m eans

O f g iv ing exp r ess ion t o th e i r Sol i c i t u d e for th e n a

t ional l i fe , by d iscover ing th at th e p eop l e O f th e

cou nt ry had a v ery mu ch h igher s en se O f th e valu e

O f th e Un ion,and

,above al l , o f th e val u e O f a

g reat common nat i onal l i fe , than m ost O f th e pol i

t icians of th e S tat es o r th e Un i t ed S t at e s Govern

m en t seem ed t o re cogn iz e ; that th e wom en O f Am e r

i ca had at l east hal f O f i t s pat r i ot i sm i n th e i r

keep i ng ,and that a g reat sch em e of p ract i cal s e r

THE UN I OA'

LEA G UE CL UB . 7

V ic e . wh i ch u n i t ed m en and women,C i t i e s an d v i l

l ages , d i stan t S tat es and Te rr i to r i e s,in on e p ro t ract

ed , sys t emat i c , l abo ri ou s and cost ly work—a wo rk

O f an imp e rsonal charact e r— an imat ed by l ov e for

t h e n at i onal cau s e , th e nat i on al so ld i e r,and not

m e re ly by p ersonal affect i on or so l i c i t u d e fo r th e i r

own part i c u la r fl esh and bl ood,wou ld d evelop , pu r i fy

and st rength en th e imp e r i l l ed sen t im en t O f nat i onal

i ty,and help t o make A m er i ca sac red i n th e eyes

O f t h e l iv i ng Ch i l d ren O f h e r scatt e red S tat es .

The m embers O f th e San itary Comm i ss i on we re ah

s o rbed i n th i s convict i on , and u nder g reat Oppos it i on

and imm en s e d iffi cu l t i e s , th ey adh e red t o i t an d con

q u e red by i t . Th ey wou l d y i e l d n oth ing t o th e in t en se

fe e l ing O f S tat e and l oc al p r i d e or anxi ety wh ich

sought t o c reat e d iffe ren ce s in th e adm i n i st rat ion of

th e i r re so u rc es . The i r p l an , w i th al l i t s m eth ods,

was in t en se ly nat i onal . Perhap s n o p erson s ou t of

t h e n at ional Governm en t had th e i r fu l l exp er i en c e

O f th e ev i l s and p er i l s O f S tat e j eal ou s i e s and l ocal

f ee l i ng . Eve ry t r i a l th e nat ion al Gove rnm en t me t

i n rec ru i t i ng a nat ional army ou t O f th e S tat e t roops ,

t h e S an i t ary Comm i ss ion expe r i enc ed i n st rugg l i ngw i th th e d ispos i t i on O f S tat e or l o cal Soc i et i e s

,t o

g iv e a Sp ec ial and no t a nat i onal d i re ct i on t o th e i r

s t o res and m ean s of su c co r .

The ed u cat ion i n nat i onal i ty wh ich th e Comm i s

s i on ga in ed i n th e fi rst year O f th e war gave i t

c onv i ct i on s as t o th e impo rtan c e of cu l t ivat ing th i s

s en t im en t,wh ich overt opp ed al l o th ers . They fou nd

8 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

i n th e i r dai ly bu s in ess a p erp et u al l esson on th i s

th em e,and i n each oth e r a lmost th e on ly fu l ly

arou sed sympath i z ers w ith th e s ent im en t . The phras e“ Uncond it ional Loyal ty,

” M r . S eward sa id,o r ig i n

at ed i n th e S an i t ary Comm i ss i on,and th e Govern

m ent scatt ered t en th ou sand cop i e s O f a t rac t w i th

th at t i t l e th rough th e A rmy O f th e Potomac— a

t ract wh ich th e Pres id ent O f th e Comm i ss i on had

p repared . The cl osen ess of th e p ersonal t i e s of t he

Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e can hardly b e u nde rst ood . Theywere O f one m i n d and one h eart . O r ig i nal ly sel ect

ed from a gr eat n umber for th e i r fi tn ess and wi l l

ingne ss t o work t ogethe r i n one Sp i r i t and fo r one

end— al l hav ing th e t ru est r esp ec t for,and confi

d en c e in,each oth er—a u n ion n ever d i stu rbed to

th e c l os e O f th e war,and of th e i r work , wh ich

l ast ed t en years l onger— th ey were not on ly i n dai lyc onv erse

,bu t th ey pou red th e i r h eart s in t o each

o th ers bosoms,and mad e th e g reat qu est i ons O f th e

t im e subj ect s O f j o in t c on s id erat i on and st udy, and

always i n th e l igh t O f th e i r c en t ral i d ea—l oyalty and

n at ion al i ty .

Th i s exp l an at i on seem s n ecessary t o m ake th e

con n ect i o n O f th e Un it ed S tat es S an i tary Comm i s

s i on and i t s Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e w ith th e Un ion

Leagu e Cl ub natu ral and int e l l ig ibl e .

Pro f . W o l cot t Gibbs was th e fi rst t o sugg est th at

th e id ea on wh ich th e San i tary Comm i ss i on was

fou nded ne eded to take on th e fo rm O f a c l u b

wh ich shou ld b e d evot ed t o th e so c ial o rgan izat i on

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB . 9

of th e s en t im en t O f l oyal ty t o th e Un i on , and h e

Chos e M r . Fred eri ck Law O lm st ed as th e fi rs t p erson

t o be consu l t ed and adv is ed w i th . Pro f . Gibbs had a

n atu ral r igh t among h i s CO-wo rkers t o be earl i e s t i n

th e fi e ld w i th a p l an wh ich conc ern ed th e ex i s t

en c e o f th e Un ion . H is g rand fath e r , O l iv e r

cott,had be en among t h e most v igo ro u s and ear

n est O f th e pat r i ot s who fo rmed th e Un ion and

gu id ed i ts ea rl i e s t s t eps . H is moth er was known

al l h e r l ong l i f e as a n ob l e daught e r O f a revolu

t ionary fath e r,worthy O f th e n am e She bore , and

inh er i t ing and t ran sm i t t ing a p ro fou nd in t e rest i n

th e hono r and d ign ity O f th e coun t ry— i n t en se lyal iv e t o al l that conc e rn ed th e pu ri ty O f ou r po l i

t i c s and th e stab l en ess O f ou r in st i tu t ion s . NO bet

t e r sou rc e cou ld have been fou nd fo r th e Un ion

Leagu e than the h eart and h ead O f a g randson O f

O l iv er W o l cot t . I t was an add it i onal m e r i t that

Pro f . Gibbs,a man O f sc i en c e

,and al r eady p e rhap s

th e m ost d i st ingu i sh ed of Am er i can chem i st s,was

not a p ol i t i c i an or a man O f a ffa i rs . H is pat r i ot i sm

was pu re and s imp l e— with ou t a t a in t O f part i san

fe e l i ng ,O f lu st for Offi c e o r O f tast e fo r powe r .

A bso rb ed i n h i s eng ross ing s t u d i es, p r ivat e in h i s

t ast es and hab it s,noth ing l ess than th e g reat p er i l s

of h i s cou n t ry cou l d have taken h im ou t of h i s l a

borat ory and mad e him fo r many years an earn est

and act iv e m ember of th e San i tary Comm i ss i on , and

at l engt h th e co rn e r-s t on e O f th e Un ion Leagu e

C lub .


Those who know the capac ity,th e thought fu l n ess ,

th e st at esman-l ike qual i t i es O f M r . F . L . O lm st ed ,

wi l l n ot wond er that Dr . Gibbs fou nd h im read i est

and r ip est for th e p l an s h e had in v i ew , and best

ab l e t o suggest th e m ethod by wh ich i t was t o b e

carr i ed ou t . The U n i t ed S tat es S an it ary Comm i ss i on

have always b een p rou d to ackn ow l edg e th e g reat

part wh ich M r . O lm st ed,th e fi rst S ec ret ary O f th e

Comm i ss i on,had in g iv ing p ract i cal body and fo rm

t o th e en t erp r is e . I t i s doubt fu l i f anybody e l s e

cou ld h ave carr i ed th e id eas O f i t s fou nde rs ou t i n t o

su ch a command ing and suc ce ss fu l ach i evemen t as i t

final ly was . The o r ig i nat or of ou r Cent ral Park,

wh ich w i l l a lways b e a sp l end id monum en t O f h i s

gen iu s and fo res ight , and th e h ead O f h i s p ro fess ion

at a t im e when th e landscap e gard en ing O f ou r Na

t ional Cap i t o l an d ou r you ng c i t i e s Offered su ch im

mense Oppo rtu n i t i es for sk i l l and tast e and ant ic ipa

t io n O f th e pub l i c want s— M r. O lmst ed has , p erhap s ,

r end ered gr eat er pub l i c s e rv i c es w i th l ess reward and

l ess app re c i at i on from t hose who have m ost p rofi t ed

by th em,than any Cit i z en O f N ew York . Let u s

t hen s ee i n ext ract s from two l e t t ers t o Pro f . Gibbs

from M r . O lmst ed,what h e had sugg est ed to h i s

fri end and what M r . O lm st ed had said in rep ly . Bu t

fi rst O f Pro f . Gibbs'

l et t e rs t o M r . O lmst ed . Theywere u n fo rtu nat e ly dest royed in a fi re wh ich con

sum ed M r . O lmst ed’

s St ored fu rn i t u re and p ap e rs ,du r ing h is absenc e i n Cal i fo rn i a i n 1864 . I t i s

enough t o say that Pro f . Gibbs had conc e iv ed th e

T1!E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .1 1

p l an O f a Nat i onal C l ub be fo re Oct ob er,1862 ; bu t ,

t o qu ot e h i s own l angu age ,“ i t was n ot u nt i l

S eymou r’

s e l e ct i on as Gove rno r O f N ew York that

t h e u rg en cy O f su ch a movem en t was pub l i c ly i n d i

cat ed . He at on c e consu l t ed M r . O lmst ed,ask ing

h i s sympathy and cou nse l , t o wh ich cam e the fo l l ow

ing del i be rat e rep ly, om i t t ing non-essent ial parts of

t h e l et t e r ‘

LETTER OF MR . O LM STED TO DR . G IBBS .

NEW YORK,N ov . 5 , 1 86 2 .

My dw r G ibbs

You r req u est cann ot b e passed by th i s

d i re fu l day ,bu t I can on ly g iv e i t s to l e n t im e .

The m ethod m u st b e bu i l t up from th e m ot iv e .

O f you r mot iv e , I j u dg e from ou r sh o rt conversat i on,

and th e nam e you gave you r sugge st i on—“Loyal i st

's

C l ub . W e regard ou rse lv es as d i s t ingu i sh ed from som e

o th e rs by ou r l oyal ty t o som eth ing t o wh i ch th ey,what

ever th ey p ro fess , what eve r th ey may bel i eve O f th ems e lv es

,are n ot , i n ou r est imat i on , l oyal . \Ve des i re t o

recogn iz e th i s d i st i n ct i on as a g rou nd O f a c e r ta in al l i

anc e, by wh ich we may exp ress ou r g reat e r p l easu re in

t h e soc i e ty O f th ose who agr e e w i th u s , and som eth ingmo re .

To what are we l oyal an d th ey not !

o th e r so rt . TO what are th ey not l oyal ! Both w i l l

swear al l eg i an c e t o th e Con st it u t i on . Z with in a

year h as d ec lared t o me th at s l ave ry m u st and shou ld b e

abo l i sh ed and th e reb el s ext e rm in at ed . S uppos ing h im

s i n c e re , I s t i l l c ou l d not s uppose h im t o be sympath iz ingw i t h what l oyal ty i n c l u d es w i th me . I f e e l that l ib erty

1 2 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

and Un ion i s not al l . Neith er A nor B cou ld

w i th s in c er i ty say—I b el i ev e , that th ey wou ld not i f th ey

cou ld— have a p r iv i l eged cl ass i n ou r soc i ety ,a l egal ar i s

t ocracy . Both,I b el i eve

,hol d in th e i r h eart s Eu rop ean

V i ews on th i s subj ect . Both regard ou r soc i ety as a fai lu r e b ecau s e Of th e wan t O f a l egal ly p r iv i l eg ed c lass .Both fe e l som eth ing O f con t emp t fo r a man—at l east

th ey f ee l th em se lves th e natu ral sup er i o rs O f a man—whodoes no t f ee l h im s el f t o b el ong t o a C l ass wh ich h e th inks

ought t o be p r iv i l eg ed . I,on th e oth e r hand

,fe e l a cer

t a in con t emp t for, or a sense O f sup er io r i ty t o , a man

who want s any su ch l egal s et t i ng u p . They sympath iz e

w i th what h as always be en th e p r evai l ing sent im en t o f

t he ar i s to c rat i c an d cu l t ivat ed c lass abroad,and avowed ly

O f on ly a very vu lgar , p r esum i ng , and p ecu l iarly snobbi sh

C l ass h e re . W e sympath i z e w i th what has be en a prevai l i ng sen t im en t w i th th e h ighest qu al i ty of men

, pe cu

liarly i n ou r own cou n t ry, th e men,t oo

, who fo rmed ou r

cou nt ry,and gave i t t o ou r keep ing . TO th e i r sen t im ent

i n th i s r esp ect , and to th i s qual i ty g iv en by t hem to ou r

nat i onal i ty,we are l oyal i st s , th ey are ren egades . W e are

th e h ered i tary natu ral ar i s toc racy,th ey are parvenu s we

are r i ch,t h ey are vu lgar . You r c l ub

,th en

,wou ld be a

c l ub of t ru e Am er i can ari stoc racy,th e l eg i t imat e descend

ant s and alm s-b earers O f th e O ld dukes O f ou r l and ; O f

ou r law-

g i ve rs , l oyal i st s . Diff e renc es O f Op i n i on with in

th i s sh ou ld b e to l e rat ed ; we wou l d on ly requ i r e that i n

th i s ou r d i sp os it io n and s en s e O f p ersonal d ign ity Shou ld

not b e braved or c ross ed . W e w i sh al so t o establ i sh t hefac t that th ere i s an “ari sto c rat i c c l ass i n New York

,

wh ich in th i s resp ect i s not Eu rop ean ; wh i ch shal l no tbe fe l t by an Eng l i sh gent l eman to be th e m ere ap e and

parrot O f a Eu rop ean gen t ry.

TO th i s end th e fou nd at i on shou ld be v ery secu relyand cau t i ou sly l a id .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join


what th e i r p l ac e can be in A m e ri can so c i ety . Gen t l em e nin th e Eu rop ean sen s e—in a soc i ety wh ich has n o p l ac e“ fo r m en O f l e i su re

,th ey are g reat ly t emp t ed t o go

ove r t o th e d ev i l (boss-dev i l) . The Olde r and ab l e r e S

t abli shed m en ought t o frat e rn i z e w i th them ,t o we l com e

and ho ld every t ru e man O f th em i n frat e rn ity—so soonth ey may govern u s i f th ey w i l l !

The qu est i on i s , what shal l b e Offe red each O f th ese

c lasses,and what shal l b e asked O f th em ! A s t o th e fi rst

c l ass , ev eryth ing mu st b e asked ; can anyth ing b e Offered

bu t th e sat i s fact i o n O f a pat r iot i c and Chr i st ian pu rpos e !Th is , with som e , i f i t can be wel l p r esen ted , wi l l go a

g r eat way . Can anyth ing be add ed ! O f th e second,i t

i s on ly n ec essary t o ask l i t t l e . Th is i s essent i al . Let me

m en t i on n am es : Kapp ,who knows m o re and talks b et t e r

upon th e V i t al cho rds O f A m er i can h i st o ry than any man I

kn ow Cap t . A CO l. O Cap t . C Col. D

al l m en who mu st l iv e on th e i r pay ,and who mu st

liVe care fu l ly and fe e l eve ry do l l ar . I f th ese repeat th e

p ass-word th ey ought t o com e in eas i ly ; fo r , once in ,th ey wi l l b e th e b est work ing m embers . The fe e Shou ld

not be t oo h igh then . For th e th i rd cl ass, good rooms

w i th som eth ing t o do i s alon e ess ent ial . I

sh ou ld qu est i on i f al l that i s n e c essary cou ld not be got

by arrang em en t w i th som e hot el or r estau ran t O f th e

b et t e r so rt . A Club su i t e O f room s Op en ing ou t o f, or

by a S id e doo r in t o th e Mai son Doré e,for in stanc e , at

l east t o i t s k i t ch en and som e O f i t s s e rv i ce .

I have n ot con s id ered th e qu est i on wheth e r th e Club

shou ld b e act iv e ly engag ed in p ropagat i ng th e fai th .

From w i th in t h e Club th e fa i th shou ld be act iv e ly p ropa

gat ed ou tward ly, I th ink , and by reason O f th e Cl ub,bu t

no t by th e Clu b as a C lub , a su ffi c i en t Obj e ct i on be ingt hat c erta in m embers wou ld b e forced to qu i t

, by th e ex

p en se , i f i t w ere t o be , (th e re are oth er reason s) .

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .1 5

For th i s r eason , and for oth e rs , i t shou l d b e u nd er

st ood th at th os e who j o i n th e Cl ub do 5 0 from oth e r mo

t ives than th o se wh i ch u su al ly in fl u en c e g en t l em en t o

j o in C l ubs,and that th ey wil l a i d i t s pu rpos e oth e rw i s e

th an by t h e i r fe es and annual d u es . Comm i t t e es O f cor

r espond en c e and pub l i cat i on sh ou ld b e p rov id ed w i t h a

Sp ec i al fu n d by con t r ibu t ion s O f m embers , no t by assess

m en t . (A ll p ropagat iv e co rre spond enc e and pub l i cat i ont o be in th e name of m embe rs

,no t O f th e Cl ub .)

The Cl u b shou l d b e as a Cl ub qu i et,an d as l i t t l e as

poss ib l e kn own by p eop l e n ot i t s m embers . SO far as

kn own,i t sh ou l d b e pu re ly i n i t s soc i al qu al i ty ; absol u t e

se c recy as t o i t s in n e r pu rpos e i s p e rhap s no t t o b e re

qu i red ; bu t I sh ou ld th ink i t m igh t b e best that no m em

ber Shou ld p ropose or suggest t o any on e el s e that h e

sh ou ld j o in th e Cl ub,u nt i l

,a ft e r hav ing ,

i n p r ivat e , Ob

t a ined assu ran c e of h i s “ l oyal ty,h e had be en p roposed

i n th e C l ub,con s id e red

,and h i s e l e ct ion p rov is i onal ly as

su red . S u ch assu ran c e , by th e by , cou l d b e be st Obtai n

ed n egat ive ly,by th e qu est i on Don

'

t you hat e su ch and

so ! rath e r than Don’

t you l ove su ch and so ! I t i s

eas i e r t o p ro fess t ru e h at e than t ru e l ove .

These matt ers and mu ch el s e hav ing be en we l l d i s cu ss

ed and d et e rm i n ed i n you r A nt e-Club , I shou ld th en se t

al l t o wo rk t o cau t i ou sly and ad ro it ly canvass for m em

be rs , no t adm i t t ing th em t o th e A nt e-Club,and not or

gan iz ing th e Cl ub of th e C l ub t i l l a su ffi c i en t ly l arg e l i s t

O f m en unan imou sly r egard ed as des i rabl e had be en

mad e to l e rably su re O f, as r ip e enough in loyal sp i r i t t o

j o i n i t h eart and sou l when asked . Then o rgan iz e th e

Cl u b p rope r , th e m embers O f th e A n t e-Club be ing i t s

fi rs t m embers and fi rs t Offi c ers ; br ing i n th e m arked m en

i n squ ads rap i d ly,bu t so that th o se O f each may fu l ly

u nd e rstand i t and th e i r part i n i t , and have th e i r say

I 6 THE UN I ON LEA GUE CL UB .

abou t those p roposed st i l l t o b e added , befo re th e l at t e r

are addressed on th e subj ect .

You rs very co rd ial ly,

FRED’

K LAW OLMSTED .

WOLCOTT G IBBS,Esq .

Th i s l e t t e r sh ows how c l early M r . O lmst ed had com

p reh ended th e p u rpose i n Dr . Gibbs’

m in d,and how

h i s rem arkab l e o rgan iz ing g en i u s shap ed th e id ea O f

th e p roposed Club . The p ecu l i ar emphas i s l a id by

h im on th e st r i ct ly Am er i can type of ar i stoc racy—th eb est of ou r own sort—as fu rn i sh ing th e p rop er ma

t e rial for th e new asso c iat i on,has not p erhap s had i ts

fu l l re cogn i t i o n in th e Club , and was n ot 5 0 p l a in lys e en by othe rs connect ed with th e m ovemen t ; bu t it

h as always had it s i nfl u en c e , i f not i t s d ist in ct ac

knowl edgem en t , and i s n on e th e l ess import aIi t for

b e ing on ly vagu ely d isce rn ed . I S i t t oo mu ch to say

that M r . O lm st ed’

s l et t e r fo reshadowed th e pol i cya ft erwards fo l l owed in th e o rgan izat ion O f th e Club ,

and d i d for Dr . Gibbs’

germ i n al pu rpose much th e

sam e in d i sp en sab l e wo rk that M r . O lm s t ed had pre

v iou s ly don e for th e id ea O f th e S an i tary Comm iss ion ,

wh ich or ig i n at ed in oth er h eads , bu t was carri ed ou t

ve ry l arge ly by h is organ iz ing facu l ty—as rare as any

i t h as fal l en t o ou r lo t t o Observe i n any A m er i can

O f ou r own t im es .

Dr . Gibbs rep l i ed t o M r . O lms t e d’

s l et t e r at on ce,

as th e fo l l ow i ng not e shows by i t s dat e,on ly two

n o

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .1 /

d ays l at e r, and we r eg ret ou r i n ab i l i ty ,for reason s

al ready s tat ed , t o fu rn i sh th i s pap e r . Bu t th e an swe r

t o i t i n d i cat es what i t s pu rpose was .

SECOND LETTER OF MR . OLM STED TO DR. G IBBS .

NEW YORK, 7t/z A l rzu, 1 862 .

My dm r G ibbs

I take you r n ot e w ith good app et i t e , and

read i ly ass im i l at e th e who l e . Y ou both en la rg e and com

pac t th e pu rpose or m ot iv e . A ll th e m ore,howe v e r

, I

f e e l i t t o b e O f th e h ighest impo rtan c e for su cc ess that

th e g en e ral i n t en t i on s O f my p l an O f th e p ro c ess O f we l d

ing t h e C l ub shou ld b e adop t ed from th e start . A lm ost

ev e ryth ing dep ends upon you r o r ig inal fou ndat i ons . Be

c are fu l t o l et n oth ing b e don e wh i ch shal l p reven t i t s

b e ing easy t o fo l l ow a p ro ce ss O f that kind . The p l an

shou ld b e th o rough ly con s id e red and d e l ibe rat e ly ma

t u rcd by not m or e than seven repr es en t at iv e m e n be for e

any on e g et s a s t rong set abou t i t , and be fo re any on e

beyond that seven g et s any c l a im in cou rt esy o r p o l i cyt o have any i nflu en c e in i t . I t w i l l save mu ch t im e

,d i s

cu ss ion and som e hard fe el ing , t o ge t th e gen e ral sch em e ,

p l an , p u rpos e and l im i t O f pu rpose , we l l d efin ed and

mapp ed ou t , be fo re it i s t o b e talked abou t and m e n

b rough t in t o i t . I t i s so easy fo r m en t o care l e ss ly fo rm

p l an s , and start upon id eas wh ich i t i s mo re o r l e ss d iffi

cu l t t o g i v e up . I t i s mu ch bett e r t o p r es en t th e whol e

(a map O f th e whol e) wh ere th e bal an c e O f part s and th e

con s equ en t boundar i e s are t aken i n at a g l an c e , be fo re

any part i s s e en by i t s e l f an d becomes O f mo re impo rt an c e

th an al l th e rest . Here , as i n eve ryt h ing el s e (San i ta ryComm iss i on) , t h e fi rst n ecess ity O f econ omy and effi c i ency

I 8 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

i s a c l ear l im i tat ion O f what i s t o b e u nde rtaken . (S u nd ay n ight w i l l b e th e last chanc e for me on th i s subj ec t

for a m on th or two .)

You rs cord ial ly,

FRED’

K LAW OLMSTED .

Prof. WOLCOTT GIBBS .

I t was b etween th e date of th i s co rrespond enc e

and th e m idd l e O f J anu ary, 1863, that a quarte rlys ess i on of th e Un i t ed S tat es S an i tary Commiss ion was

h eld in'

W ash ingt on . W hat fu rth er con su l tat i on Dr .

Gibbs may have had m eanwh i l e w ith m embers of t he

Execu t iv e Comm itt e e on th e subj ect of th e p roposed

c l ub, or w ith oth er personal fr i ends , we are not abl e

t o st at e . On ly be for e p roc eed ing t o not e what occu r

red ia r et u rn ing from th e s ess i on of th e San itaryComm iss io n at W ash ingt on t o New York, i t i s im

port an t t o Obse rve that th e o rig i nal i d ea of th e pro

posed c lub O f l oyal ist s was n at iv e t o New York, and

not borrowed from Ph i ladelph ia. The con cept ion o f

ou r c l u b was earl i e r than that of th e Un ion League

Club ther e , wh i ch was , howeve r, soon e r o rgan iz ed and

nam ed . They were both o rig i nal an d i nd ep enden t

movement s . The r esemblan c e i n the i r t i t l e s and pu r

p oses m ight l ead to th e m i st aken impress i on that

both g rew ou t O f one imp u l s e, e i th e r s imu l tan eou slyor i n su cc ess ion , ou r Cl ub fo l l owing th e Ph i l ad elph ia

Leagu e Bu t th i s i s n ot h i st or i cal ly t ru e,even

though i t may app ear that th e ex is t enc e O f th e

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .19

Un ion Leagu e C lub i n Ph i l adelph ia fin al ly d ec id ed

th e t i t l e , and i n som e d eg re e i nfl u en c ed th e fo rm O f

o u rs . Perh aps, t oo,

th e imm ed iat e s u cc ess of that

o rgan iz at i on gave what eve r impu l s e was st i l l n e ed ed

t o hast en th e d eve l opm en t O f th e o rig i na l id ea in

t h e m inds of Pro f . Gibbs , O lm st ed,and th e oth e r

m embers of t h e Execu t iv e Committ e e of th e Un i t ed

S tate s S an i ta ry Comm i ss i on .

On a c e rt a in n igh t in November,1862 , th e N ew

York and Ph i l ade lph i a m embers of t h e S an i taryComm iss i on we re re t u rn ing i n th e cars t o th e i r

h om es in Ph i l ad elph i a an d N ew York,and th e con

ve rsat i o n fe l l for s eve ral hou rs exc l u s ive ly upon the

p roposed Loyal i s t or Nat ional C l u b wh ich had al

r eady be en con c e iv ed . The Ph i l ad elph ia m embers,

j udg e H are,M r . Horac e Binn ey, J r. , and som e

o th e rs , r ec i t ed t o u s th e f resh h i sto ry O f th e Un ion

Leagu e Cl ub j u s t s ta rt ed,and i t s s t r ik ing e ffec t

upon the l oyal ty O f th e Commun ity. Pro f . Gibb s .

was not presen t , n or M r . O lm st ed . Dr . Corn el i u s

R . A gn ew , G eo rg e T . S t rong , Hen ry. W . Bel l ow s

(p e rh ap s D r. W i l l i am H . Van Bu ren) were th e rep

re sen t at iv es Of th e p roposed Club in N ew'

York,

and l i st en ed w ith i n t en s e i n t e rest t o th e stat em en t s

O f th e Ph i l ad elph ia g en t l em en (al l m embers O f th e

S an i t ary Comm iss i on Board) t ou ch ing t h e su c c ess of

t h e i r Un i on Leagu e C lub . TO say th e l east , th ey had

real i z ed in part what we had con c e ived and b rooded

ove r for s eve ral month s w i thou t b ri ng i ng t o b i rth,

an d we were an imat ed t o al l ow no more t im e t o pass .


w ithou t “at t emp t ing t o execu t e th e p l an al r eady , as

app ears , wel l c ons i d ered and d efi n i t e ly Shap ed , bu t

on ly on pap er , and in ou r m i nd s and h eart s . That

n igh t a con fe renc e and d iscu ss i on , wh ich went on

aft e r w e had l e ft ou r fe l l ow-Comm i ss i on ers i n Ph i la

d elph ia , and l ast ed p ret ty m u ch th e whol e s l e ep l ess

t en hou rs O f ou r j ou rn ey,brought th e ent erp r i s e Of

a Loyal i st C l ub or a Nat ional Cl ub t o th e po in t O f

act io n . I t was th en and th ere reso lved to make

th e id ea a fact . A S th e Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e O f

th e U n i t ed S tat es San i tary Comm i s s ion m e t everyd ay at one O

’

c lock P . M . fo r th e t ransact ion O f i t s

o rd in ary eng ross i ng bu s in ess , th ere was n o n eed O f

any sp ec i al m eet i ngs on th e subj ec t O f th e p ro

p os ed Club . W e had on ly t o adj ou rn ou r bus in ess

m e et i ng and go on w ith an in formal conversat ion

upon th e m at t er O f th e Club,wh ich had th en n o

fr i ends ou t s id e ou r comm i t t ee . The fo l l owing c i r

cu lar shows that b etween th e dat e O f ou r j ou rn ey

(Novemb er , 1 862) and J anu ary 1 5 , 1863, we had

cal l ed in at l east fou r p e rsonal fr i ends n ot members

O f ou r Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e . The fou r fi rst nam es

i n th e fi rst p r in t ed C i rcu lar are the n am es O f m embers

o f th e Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e O f th e Un i t ed S tates San i

t a ry Comm i ss i on .

The connect i on , d i r ect and Vi tal , -as‘

i t was between

t he ind iv i du al m em bers o f th e Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e

O f th e Un i t ed S t at es San i t ary Comm i ss ion and th e

o r ig i n at ors O f th e Un ion Leagu e Club refl ect ed

n o po l i t i cal charact er up on th e S an i tary Comm i ss i on



m en t ; t o el evat e and uphold th e p opu lar fa i th in republ i can governm en t ; t o d ign i fy po l i t i c s as a pu rsu i t and a

s t u dy ; t o reawaken a p ract i cal in t erest in p ub l i c a ffa i rs i n

th ose who have becom e d i sc ou rag ed ; t o en forc e a sense

o f th e sacred Ob l igat i on inh eren t i n c i t i z en sh ip ; and ,final ly,

t o b r ing t o bear upon th e nat i onal l i fe al l that a

b ody O f earn est and pat r iot i c men can ac comp l ish byu n i t ed effo rt .

I t i s b e l i eved that an assoc i at i on of su ch men under a

s imp l e o rgan i z a t i on of a soc i al charac te r,frankly exchang

ing V i ews up on g reat qu est i ons and act iv ely engaged in

d i ss em i n at i ng t h em ,cou l d accomp l i sh a nob l e work . The

on ly r equ i s i te fo r m embersh ip ,b es ides u nb l em i sh ed repu

t at ion,sh ou ld b e an u ncomp rom i s ing and u ncond i t ional

l oyal ty t o th e Nat i on,and a comp l e t e subord inat ion

th eret o of al l o th er pol i t i cal i d eas .

Shou ld th es e Obj ect s m eet w i th you r cord ial approba

t i on and sympathy,and Shou l d you be d i spos ed to take

part i n th e p roposed o rgan izat ion , you wi l l p l ease ad

d r es s one O f th e unde rs igned at you r earl i est conv e

n i ence .

Very resp ect fu l ly you r obed i en t servan ts ,

WOLCOTT G IBBS, 56 East 2 9th S tree t ,

GEORGE T . STRONG , 74 East z rst S tree t,HEN RY W . BE L LOW S, 5 9 East 20th S treetCORNEL IU S R . AGNEW , 362 F ifth A venue,GEORGE C . ANTHON , 83 East 3sth S treet,GEORGE G IBBS

,26 1 G reene S tree t,

GEORGE F . ALLEN , 4 2 East 2 4th S tree t,WILL I AM HOPP IN

,6 1 Pine S tree t .

A l though th i s p r i n ted c i rcu lar , a copy of wh ich i s

b efor e th e wr i t e r , i s dat ed j anuary 1 5 , 1 863, i t i s

c ertain that i t was not i ssu ed u nt i l l at e r,and p rob


ably not s ign ed by th e fou r l ast g ent l em en u nt i l

n ear th e c l o se of th e month . The ro ugh dra ft was

w r i t t en by Dr . Gibbs and p r i n t ed , that i t m igh t b e

d e l ib e rat e ly cons id ered and cr i t i c i s ed or imp roved by

h i s co l l eagu es b efo re b e ing i ssu ed . The fo l l ow ing ex

t ract s from l e t t e rs,al l b e for e the c l os e of J an uary ,

exc ep t i ng on e , wi l l Show what th e natu re of t h e cri t i

c isms was , a nd how t h e c i rc u lar t ook on th e fo rm

i t fin al ly bore , as above g iv en .

LETTERS OF GEO . T . STRONG TO DR . G IBBS .

68 WALL STREETgy

'

azz. 20,1 863 .

III) ! dm r G ibbs

I en c l ose cop i e s of r ev i s e of Nat iona l

C l ub C i rcu l a r,and have

, pu rsu an t t o you r requ est , sen t

o th e rs t o Hopp i n , G . F . A l l en,and A nthon . A l so a

d oz en or SO t o you r bro th e r Geo rg e .

M r . C app roves m ost heart i ly,and d ec i d ed ly in

s i s t s on be ing a m emb er , bu t h e rath e r p re fe rs n o t t o b e

c on c e rn ed in g et t i ng i t up—fi rs t , becau se h e has n o t t im et o do anyth ing abou t i t ; and , se condly , becau se h e th inks

i t l ooks a l i t t l e i nd el i cat e for an offi ce-hold er t o b e act ivean d p rom in en t i n fo rm i ng an o rgan izat i on t o suppo rt

gove rnm en t .

M r . B (a d i st ingu i sh ed l awye r) Obj ect s som ewhatt o yo u r obj ec t s

,

"

th ough app rov ing t he gen e ral d es ign .

“TO Oppos e S tat e-r igh t dogmas Op en or i n s id i ou s,h e

th i nks w rong , b ecau s e i t i s c e rt a in that S tat es , as su ch ,h ave c e rta in r igh ts that o ught t o b e upheld . H e proposes t o sen d m e t o-m o rrow a m emo randum O f th e wo rd s

h e wou ld l ik e t o subst i t u t e .


W ou ld i t not be an imp rovem ent t o st r ike ou t t he

words “ t o d raw S tat e l in es or”! i t

Very t ru ly you rs ,

GEORGE T. STRONG .

D r . WOLCOTT G IBBS .

P . S .

—I have not ed one or two change on on e of the

cop i e s en c l osed , and subm i t th em t o you r j udgm ent .

68 WALL STREET, 7 m . 2 1

,1 863 .

My dea r G i bbs

I enc lose h erew ith a not e rece iv ed from W i l

l i am J . Hopp in th is m orn ing , also copy O f c i rc u lar as

am ended by C . E . B . M r . A l l en cord i al ly approves , bu t

Sugg est s that we ough t t o h ave a few more st rong names .

Can you supp ly any ! Did Bel l ows writ e t o Rev . Dr .

H itch cock on th e subj ec t !


GEORG E T. STRONG .

60 P INE ST . NEW Y ORK, 7 072. 20

,1 863 .

My dear S ir

I co rd i al ly app rove of th e obj ects stated

i n th e c i rc u lar you hav e been so k in d as t o send me .

I f e e l hono red by having my nam e app end ed to i t , and

w i l l d o my b est t o ass i s t i n carry ing ou t th e p l an i t pro

poses .

Ve ry t ru ly you rs ,

W I LL IAM HOPP IN .

G . T . STRONG, Esq .


68 lVA LL ST .

, 9 23 , 1 863 .

My dm r G z'

bbs

I h av e you rs o f th e 2 I st , w r i t t en b e fo r e

th e rec e ipt of my l e t t e r en cl os ing you a copy O f th e c i r

cu lar as m od ifi ed by C . E . B . You w i l l fi nd I th ink that

you ag r e e i n p r i n c ip l e . My hes itat i on ab ou t th e wo rd s

t o d raw S tat e l i n es" was n ot as t o t h e soundness O f

you r mean ing ,bu t as t o th e accu racy o f th e exp re ss i on ,

wh ich i n st r i c t n ess b e long s t o geog raphy or su rvey i ngrathe r than t o po l i t i cal sc i en c e . I t may have acqu i r ed a

l arg e r m ean i ng ,by u sage , howeve r . Ou r fr i en d G . F

A l l en cal l ed h e re th i s m o rn ing (be fore I r ec e ived you rl et t e r) fu l l of warm i n t e rest i n th e m att e r . H e w i l l b e a

u s e fu l an d d i l ig en t al ly .

Ve ry t ru ly you rs ,

G EO . T . STRONG .

Prof. W . G IBBS .

68 WALL ST .

, 17 471. 24, 1 863 .

IIIy dear G ibbs

et 96 at

A s you wi l l doubt l ess b e in N ew York

early n ext w e ek , I t h ink i t b est n ot t o i ssu e th e c i rcu la r

t i l l you re tu rn . \Ve wi l l th en,i f you p l eas e , d evot e the

fi rs t spare even ing t o a c ou n c i l O f e ight or t en,at you r

h ou s e or min e , and s ett l e th e m at t e r . I th ink we Shal l

ga i n by th i s enough t o comp en sat e for a l i t t l e l o ss o f

t im e,al th ough I am as anx iou s t o exp ed i t e o rgan izat i o n

as you can be . I se e da i ly ev id en c e o f th e i n c reas i ngau dac i ty of ou r sympath iz e rs and d i rt-eat e rs . They are

now t ry i ng t o embarrass gov ernm en t by d isc red i t ing i t s

pap e r , p r i vat e ly d issem i nat ing am ong m echan i cs and l a

b o r ing men th e n ot i on that i t w i l l n ever b e good for any


th ing . I h eard th i s morn ing O f a smal l t radesman rath erd em u rr i ng t o a dol l ar g re enback b ecau se an alde rman ,who was a v ery smart man

,to l d h im h e kn ew Treasu ry

n ot es were absol u t e ly worth l ess .


G EO . T . STRONG .

D r. WOLCOTT G IBBS .

Sunday, j azz. 2 5 , 1 863 .

My dear G ibbs

The p roposed Club t akes st rong ground

aga in st th e absu rd doct r i n e O f S tat es r ights . Th i s ap

p ears t o b e i t s card in al dogma . NOW ,th i s doct r in e was

n early Obso l et e at th e North , and was on ly rev iv ed as

th e sa fest an d su rest l egal m ethod O f at tack ing th e GOV

e rnm en t . DO you th ink, th en , that any Democrat w i l l

j o i n you ! A nd w i l l you not b e m er ely a R epub l i can as

so c i at i on,and as su ch

,O f l i t t l e s erv i c e at p resen t ! For

n oth ing bu t a c ru sh ing Vi c to ry can save L in co l n and the

R epub l i cans from be ing overru n by th e S eymou ri t e s and

S tat e-r ights men .

You rs ever,

The c i rcu l ar,as o rig i nal ly drawn , was ev ident ly re

v is ed i n accordanc e with th e sugg est i on O f M r. S t rongand C . E . B .

,u nt i l i t t ook on t h e shap e in wh ich it

app ears above . NO chang es O f p r in c ip l e were nece s

sary. Dr . Gibbs was not a lawye r, and M r . St rongand C . E . B . were both lawyers . He was not a p o l i

t ician— as som e obj e ct ors were . Between the 1 5th

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL L'

B .27

and th e 26th th e c i rc u l ar had been comp l e t ed , and

th e gen t l em en whose s ignatu res i t bears , ou ts id e of

th e o rig i n al fou r m embers from th e S an i tary Comm i s~

s i on , had be en ga in ed ove r , and becam e u n i t e d w i th

th e m ovem en t . The c i rcu l ar fo r th e fi rst m eet i ng i s

as fo l l ows :

5 9 EAST 2 9TH STREET, ya”. 2 6,1 863 .

S ir

Y ou are resp ec t fu l ly i nv i t ed t o at t end a m e et i ngcal l ed t o t ake i nt o con s id e rat i on th e p l an embod i ed i n

th e ac company i ng c i rc u lar , at th e hou se O f Dr . W o l co t t

G ibbs , 59 East 29th S t re et , on Frid ay,t h e 3oth i n st an t ,

at 8 P .M .

Ve ry r esp ect fu l ly, you r obed i en t s e rvant s ,W . J . H OPP IN C . R . AGNEW

,

WOLCOTT G IBBS,

GEORGE G IBBS,

GEORGE T . STRONG,

HEN RY W . BELLOW S,

G EO . C . ANTHON , GEORGE F . ALLEN .

The p roc eed ings and th e nam es O f th e p e rson s p re

sen t at th i s m eet ing w i l l b e g iven i n a l at e r p art of

t h i s h i s t o ry. A t p r esen t we con ce rn ou rse lves on ly with

s et t l i ng t h e qu est i on of t h e or ig i n an d o rig i n at o rs and

fi rs t Shap ers O f th e Cl ub . The s econd cal l ed m ee t i ngwas h e ld at th e hou s e of M r . Georg e T . S t rong ,

u nd e r

th e fo l l ow ing c i rc u la r i nv i tat i on .

74 E AST 2 1 ST STREET, 9

5cm . 3 1 , 1 863 .

Y ou are r esp ec t fu l ly i n v i t ed t o at t en d an adj ou rn ed

m e e t i ng t o t ake in t o fu rth e r con s id erat i on th e p ropos i t io n


t o o rgan iz e a Nat ional C lub in th e C i ty of New York ,and to re ce iv e th e repo rt O f th e Comm i t t e e on O rgan i za

t i on,at the hou se of Georg e T . S t rong , NO . 74 E ast 2 1 5 t

S t re et , on Fr iday,th e 6th day o f F eb

’

y,at 8 P .M .

Very resp ect fu l ly, you r obed i en t s ervan t s ,

WOLCOTT G IBBS,

HENRY W . BELLOW S,

GEORGE F . ALLEN , WILL I AM J . HOPP IN,

GEORGE G IBBS,

GEORGE C . ANTHON,

C . R . AGNEW .

I t w i l l b e Obse rved that M r . F . L . O lm st ed ’s name

do es not occu r i n these two cal l s,act iv e and influ en

t i a l as h e had b een in fo rm i ng th e Cl ub . The t ru th

i s , h e was t i ed to W ash ing t on by h is in cessan t and

respon s ib l e du t i e s as S ec ret ary and ch i e f execu t ive offi

c er o f th e S an it ary Comm i s s i on , and th i s n ot on ly p re

vent ed h i s t aking any part i n th e p re l im i nary m eet

i ngs , excep t by h is i nvalu ab l e l et t e rs , bu t from any

c ons id erabl e part i c ipat i on in the do ings of th e Club

aft e r i t was estab l i sh ed . His nam e does not occu r

among th e o rig i na l c orporato rs . I t i s found in the

ro l l of members for th e fi rst two years and not aft er

wards . Dr . Gibbs’ nam e i s among th e corpo rators , and

i s l ikew is e in th e ro l l for th e fi rst two years on ly.

H is r emoval t o Cambridg e as Pro fesso r i n Harvard

Un ive rs i ty, t ook h im away from N ew York at th e

t im e h i s s e rv ice s wou ld have be en ve ry val u abl e to

t h e Cl ub . Nei th er of th e two m en most i n st rum ental

in fo rm i ng th e Cl ub eve r h eld any Offi c e in i t , or was

heard in i t s p ubl i c cou nc i l s . M r . S t rong’s i n t e rest

and i nflu enc e , con s id erab l e as i t was,was obv i ou sly



th e p eop l e are st i l l ready t o sacr ifi c e of th e i r p rop erty i n

th e war,—ready,

wil l ing and abl e . W e ought t o be abl e to

have,at any st ep backward l ike that of th e Democrat s

i n I nd ian a,a cou nt er-st ep ,

l ike that of th e Democ rat i c

offi c ers from Ind i ana . S u ch matt e rs Shou ld n ot b e t ru sted

t o t ake care o f th em se lves . Be su re th e t ra i t ors don ’t

t ru st t o m e re sp on tan eou s act i on of th e i r sympath iz ers .The qu i e t substan t ia l p eop l e are sound ; bu t qu ie t , subs t an t ial p eop l e don

’

t Show th emse lv es . You r Leagu e

ought t o b e ext end ed over th e whol e count ry befo re

Cong r ess adj ou rn s , and i t ought t o hav e someth ing t o do

bes id es tal k w ith i n i t s e l f . Shou ld a c lub or l eagu e be

s tart ed in W ash ingt on o f r es id en t s , l ike Bach e ! Can I

b e of u se t o sugg est i t ! I f no t, p l ease t e l l me why no t

,

t hat i s , why are you not r eady t o sp read th e movem en t ! A re you d i scu ss ing i t !

”i “X‘

I fee l, you wi l l s e e , as i f ou r m ach in ery fo r Spread ing

san i ta ry i d eas th rough th e cou nt ry ought t o be made u seof fo r st rength en ing th e Un ion oth erw is e, somehow,

as

th i s cou ld b e don e at no cost .

W hy n ot ge t t ogeth er th re e o r fou r me n i n Ph i lad e l

ph ia n ext week,meet ing th e Ph i l ad elph ia Leagu es , and

d et erm i n e upon a fo rm of p l edge or i n st rum ent o f l ink

ing t og eth e r for .th e coun t ry‘! I l i ke you r p r i n t ed state

m en t b et t e r th e O ft en er I r ead i t ; i t i s exce l l en t , and I

sh ou ld be g l ad t o have you hold to it every word , and

w i t hou t add i t i on , as i t o r ig i nal ly s tood . The Ph ilad e l

ph ian d idn’

t m ean enough . A ny rogu e cou ld dr ive a

fou r-hors e coach th rough i t . Everybody who has b eeni n Fort Lafayett e cou ld swear t o i t . Loyal ty m eans l i ck

sp i t t l e t o save th e Un ion with som e me n .

“On what

t e rms wou ld you t ake p eac e ! That i s what we wan tt o know o f m en we are t o assoc i at e w i th . On cond it ion

of u nqu est i onab l e nat ional i ty based on Federal i sm andth e ann ih i lat i on o f th e dogma o f S t at es-r ights (as ever

TI I E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB . 3 1

u nd e r any c i rcum s tan c es t o b e th ough t of as sup e r i o r t o

i t) . That i s th e batt l e we have go t t o figh t n ow or h ere

aft e r . I want t o fight i t now ,when ou r hand is i n . A vo i d

wo rd s wh i ch conn ect u s w i th th e o ld figh t as mu ch as

you can , and u s e tho se , and those al l u s ion s , wh ich make

i t a m at t e r of t od ay, as m u ch as poss ib l e , bu t do so in

o rd e r t o comm it and est ab l i sh th e t emp e r of th e p eop l efor th e st rugg l e i n th e l ong fu t u re aga i n st W est e rn i sm

and al l oth e r fo rm s o f b reak ing up . I l ike you rs a g reat

deal b et t e r than th e Ph i l ad elph ia h ead ing ,though i t

mu s t,of co u rs e

,t ake a d i ffe ren t fo rm

,as a con st i t u t i onal

d ec larat i on .

Bu t p r'

ay ge t i t i n t o that fo rm and set i t go ing .

You rs affe ct i onat e ly,

FRED . LAW OLM STED .

Pro f . G IBBS .

Th is in t rodu ct i on t o th e h i st o ry o f t h e C lub,s et s

fo rth u nm i s t akab ly i t s o rig i n , and th e id eas and Sp i r i t

O f i t s fo u nde rs . I t i s n ot n ec essary t o carry i t fu rth e r ,

and som e apo logy i s du e t o th e younge r and now ac

t iv e m embers of th e Cl ub and t o thos e who have

s in c e real ly don e th e work of t h e Un ion Leagu e

C l ub,fo r dwel l ing S O l ong upon th e early h ist o ry an d

so mu ch ou t of al l p ropo rt i on t o th e spac e and t im e

we Shal l g i v e t o i t s wo rk ing h ist o ry. Bu t th at m igh t

sa fe ly en ough be postpon ed . I t i s al l i n ex i st en c e i n

docum en t ary fo rm ,and on t h e m i n u t es of t h e C lub .

W hat we have t o l d i n th i s i n t rodu ct ion i s l arge ly from

p e rsona l r e co l l ec t i on , or from p r ivat e l e t t e rs , l ike ly t o

p e r i sh . The act o rs i n th ese even t s are most ly e ld erly


m en,or have al ready passed away . A few years w i l l

r emove al l th e imm ed iat e w i tn ess es of th e b i rth of a

C lub no Ol der than 1 863, and th e m en who actual lyc radl ed th e in fan t w i l l b e beyond al l qu est i on ing . W hat

i s h ere wr i t t en,can be now establ i sh ed from th e

l ivi ng l ips of fou r ou t of th e five found ers o f th e

Un ion Leagu e C l ub , an d m u st b e acc ep t ed as t ru e

an d impart i al h i story . M r . George T . S t rong , the

o th er,sp eaks t o u s in th e l e t t e rs h ere rep roduc ed .

Th ey are al l i n th e poss ess i on of Pro f . W o l cott

G ibbs,bu t Shou l d b e i n th e fi l es of th e Club

,where

i f asked,h e wou ld g l ad ly p l ac e them .

ORGANI Z AT ION OF THE CLUB .

The Loyal Nat i onal Leagu e , wh ich had th i rtybran ch es in th i s S tat e , and Un ion Leagu es in Penn

sy l van i a and othe r S t at es , were al l th e fru i t s of a

c ommon fee l ing O f n ecess i ty for organ iz ing publ ic

s en t im en t aga in st th e th reat en ed l oss o f nat i onal i ty.

The m en who m oved i n th e foundat i on of “ th e Loyal

Nat i onal L eagu e” i n th i s c i ty were ve ry mu ch th e

sam e m en who fo rm ed th e Un ion Leagu e Club,

and i t i s n ot easy ,t o say wh i ch movem en t h ad pri

ori ty i n t im e . E ach was an imat ed by th e same

h eart . W e canno t p ro ceed t o th e o rgan izat i on of

th e Cl ub w ith ou t pay i ng th i s b ri e f t r ibu t e t o“th e

Loyal Nat i onal Leagu e ,”wh ich d i d exc el l en t se rvic e ,


a nd pou red i t s st r ength fi nal ly i n t o ou r assoc ia

t i on .

The Obj ec t of th e Un ion Leagu e Clubs i n th i s

c ou nt ry was t o con c en t rat e and o rgan i z e th e s en t i

m en t O f d evot i on t o t h e Un ion and th e n at ion al

r eady w eaken ed,and fu rthe r th reat en ed by th e hos

t i lity of part i es , an d by a sympathy e ith e r from fea r

o f con sequ en c e s or from p ro-s l av e ry p ro c l iv i t i es , w i t h

t h e S ou th e rn reb e l l i on . A t th i s dat e,J an u ary,

1863,

t h e war,a l ready b egu n , i n au sp i c i ou sly and w i th many

u n exp ect ed reve rses , was regard ed by t h e comm erc e

o f th e cou nt ry w ith a d emo ral i z ing al arm . A n in

ad equ at e sens e of th e dange r t o ou r n at ional l i fe,

and of t h e n ecess i ty of v igo rou s and d ec i s iv e m eas

u re s fo r pu tt i ng down th e reb el l i on, gav e ou r GOV

e rnm e n t an appearan c e of i r r eso lu t i on i n i t s m i l i t ary

p reparat i on , and of i n d et erm i n at en es s i n i t s p r i n c i

p l e s of act ion . The doct r in e O f “S tat e S ove re ign ty,

c arr i ed t o th e p o in t o f d eny ing th e const i t u t i on al

r igh t o f th e nat ion and th e Governm en t t o p ro t ec t

a nd p r ese rve th e Un ion at al l h azards , was st i l l ma in

t ained by po l i t i c i an s i n th e North . A su i c i dal doubt

i n fect ed on e con s id erabl e party i n th e cou nt ry,as t o

t h e poss ib i l i ty of ho ld ing th e S tat es i n op en rebel l i on

aga in st th e i r fre e w i l l , t o th e nat i onal c on t rac t of

u n i ty and al l eg i an c e t o th e common flag . The bor

d e r S tat es were apparen tly wat ch ing t he cou rs e O f

e ven t s t o s e e on wh i ch s id e o f th e con t roversy th ey

sho u l d r ang e th em se lv es , ready t o j ump t o th e safe

s i d e of t h e fen c e,wh i ch eve r that shou ld p rov e , bu t

34 TI I E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

s e em ing ly hop e fu l th at i t wou ld tu rn ou t t o b e the

S ou th ern s id e . Comm e rc i al i n t erests were natu ral lyt im i d i n the p res en c e o f c iv i l war

,and were ready

t o sac r ifi c e p r in c ip l e t o p eac e . The party i n the

North m ost accu stom ed t o r ely on Sou th ern vot es,

g ave a dang erou s support t o th e r eb el l ion by d is

c ou n t enan c ing al l en ergy i n th e Governm en t i n i t s

effo rt s t o qu en ch th e fi res of sec ess i on . A cons id er

ab l e port i on of th e more ignoran t , who hat ed the

n eg ro , and though t h i s natu ral p l ac e was that O f a

s l ave , were ready with the i r vot es at th e pol l s , and

t h e i r mobs in th e st re e ts of ou r c i t i es,t o Spread

t e rro r th rough th e h earts of th e p eop l e , who feared

t hat c iv i l war wou ld break ou t i n th e North,wh i le

r eb el l i on was rag ing i n th e S outh . Fore ign powers ,

obse rv ing ou r dom est i c d iv i s ion s and lack of nat i onal

c onfid en c e and cou rage in cont end ing with ou r g reat

d iffi cu l ty, we r e favorab ly consid er ing th e pol i cy of ac

knowl edg i ng th e S ou th e rn con fed erat es as bel l igerents

and wai t ed on ly fo r a l i t t l e more su ccess on the i r

part , and a l i t t l e m ore d i scou ragemen t on ou rs,t o an

n ounc e a fatal n eut ral i ty t owards th e count ry and i t s

en em i e s,or t o take S id es w i th ou r domest i c foes agains t

th e flag and th e Un i on . The stat es i n att empt ed

secess i on were growing mo re u n i t ed and more confi

den t,as we g rew more d ivid ed and m o re hop el ess .

They were en cou raged to pu t fo rth th e i r u tmost ex

e rt ion ; th e i r me n and th e i r women were i n fu l l ac

co rd ; th e o ld and th e young ru sh ed in to the ranks ,

and the p reva i l ing thought and pu rpose of th e who le


Sou th , was , at every sac rifi c e of p rope rty and l i fe , t o

secu re th e end o f an abso l u t e and fi nal separat i on

and i nd epend en c e—t h e se tt ing up of an unch ecked

S l ave-power w i th i n th e O ld l im i t s of th e cou n t ry

hen ce fo rth th e i n ev i tabl e r iva l and en emy of th e fre e

stat es , and the possesso r of th e mou ths of th e M i s

s is s ippi , th e ch i e f Ven t of th e comme rc e of th e l oya l

stat es i n th e W e st .

I t was t o meet and overcome th i s alarm i ng stat e Of

doubt and apathy, or o f a m i staken sympathy with re

be l l i on in th e North,and espec ial ly i n ou r c i t i es

,that

t he Un ion Leagu e Cl ub i n Ph i l ad elph ia was fo rmed

as a ral lyi ng c en t re fo r th e u n cond i t i onal l oyal ty t hat

a l ready remain ed i n th e North , and an in st rum en t fo r

p ropagat i ng t h i s s en t im en t among th e i rreso l u te , doubt

fu l or d e spa i ring . I t was hon o rab l e t o th e c i ty i n

wh i ch th e orig i na l d ecla rat i o n of i n dependen c e was

mad e,that th e movemen t fo r de fend ing ou r n at i on al

l i fe by an unpart i san organ izat i on of l oyal c i t i z en s for

th e mo re d i st i nct and emphat i c dec larat i on of fidel i ty

t o the Un ion,shou l d have be en fi rs t o rgan i z ed th ere .

The i r examp l e an imat ed and qu ickened th e o rig i nal

p roj ecto rs of th i s C l ub,th ough ou r pu rpose was o ld e r

and i ndepend en t of th e i rs,and i t i s du e t o th em and

t o ou rse lves , t o acknowl edge th e i r pri o r i ty i n act i on .

Let u s now take up th e th read O f ou r own h isto ry

as a C l ub . S everal pr el im in ary meet ings , fo rmal or in

fo rmal , had been h el d by th e o rig inal p roj ectors of th i s

A sso c iat i on in th e month of J an uary,1 863 . The gent l e

m en al ready named as i t s d es igne rs , had cal l ed a few


wel l known c i t i z en s of u nm i stakabl e loyal ty t o share

the i r co un c i l s at th e th i rd or p e rhap s th e fou rth pre lim i

nary m eet i ng , held Ou th e 3oth of J anuary ,1 863, at th e

hou se o f Dr . W o l cot t G ibbs, (No . 59 East 29th S t reet .)

The fo l lowing pe rsons we re p resen t'

Hon . MURRAY HOFFMAN,

R ev . HEN RY W . BELLOWS,

CORNEL IUS R . AGN EW,M . D . Prof. WOLCOTT G I BBS

,

GEORG E,T . STRONG

,GEORGE C . ANTHON

,

Rev . D r.\ S . H . WESTON,

HORATIO ALLEN,

JOHN C . DALTON , J r .

,M . D . Prof. T . W . DW IGHT

,

W ILL I AM J . HOPP IN .

These gen t l emen had come togeth er under the cal l

of a c i rcu lar i nv i tat i on dated New York,J an uary i 5 th,

1 863 , wh ich , wi th the S ignatu res , has al ready been g iven .

A t th i s m eet ing ,held J an uary 3oth ,

1 863, Hon . Mu r

ray Hoffman act ed as Chai rman , and George T . S t rongas S ec retary . On mot i on of Dr . W olcott Gibbs , i t was

reso lved ,“That a comm i t t ee O f three be appo in ted by

th e Chai r t o p repare a sch em e o f o rgan izat i on for the

p roposed Nat ional C l ub , and t o report i t t o an adj ou rned

m eet ing .

” Dr . W o lcott Gibbs,Pro f . Dwight and Horat io

A l l en were appo in t ed t o act as th i s comm i t t ee .

I t was fu rther R eso lv ed

That i t b e referred to th e sam e comm i t t e e t o con

sid er and report on th e exped i en cy and p rac t i cab il i tyo f establ i sh ing an affi l i at ed o rgan izat i on for th e same

obj ec t throughou t the count ry .

That when th i s m eet ing ad j ou rn it ad j ou rn t o meet

a t th e hou se of George T . S t rong , No . 74 East 3 l s t

S t reet , ou!Friday th e 6 th day o f F ebruary n ext

,at

8 O’c lock P . M .



shal l pay t o th e T reasu rer,annu al ly i n advance , the

s um of t en dol lars .There Shal l b e a stand ing comm i t t e e con si st ing of

n in e m embers , who Shal l have a gen eral superv i s io n of

t he cen ce rns o f th e L eagu e .

There shal l a l so be for th e present a comm i t t ee on

A dm i ss ion s , con si st ing of seven m embers,whose du ty i t

sh al l be t o pass upon the nam e of each candidate,who

may be p resen ted for m embersh ip .

The office rs of th e Leagu e Shal l consi st of a Secre

t ary and Treasu rer, t o be e lect ed wi th the Comm i t t ees

o n th e se cond W edn esday i n J anuary i n each yearh ereaft er.

M embers of S im i lar o rgan izat ion s , e l sewhere estab

li shed and recogn iz ed by th is Leagu e , shal l b e en t i t l ed ,when in New York

,t o al l th e p rivi l eges of member

sh ip ,subj ect t o su ch regu lat ions as the S tanding Com

m i t t ee may d eterm i n e .

M URRAY HOFFMAN,

JOHN J . C I SCO ,A LEX . VA N RENSSELAER,WILLARD PARKER,WILL I AM C . BRYANT ,ROB 'T L . KENNEDY,CH ARLES KING ,WILL I AM CURTI S NOYES,J AMES W . BEEKMAN ,GEORGE T . S TRONG ,W . TEMPLETON JOHNSON ,

J . BUTLER WR IGHT,CHARLES D . SMITH,GEORGE C . ANTHON ,HENRY W . BELLOWS,WOLCOTT G IBBS ,J AMES MCK AYE

,

GEORGE GR I SWOLD,

GEORGE F . ALLEN,

W . H. L . BARNES,

ANDREW S . SNELL ING,CHARLES JENKINS

,

NAHUM SULL IVAN ,EDWARD S . BARTLETT,FREEMAN J . BUMSTEAD,ALFRED L . EDWARDS,CHARLES A . JAY,W . S . BROWN

,

J . J . JONES,

JOHN E . WI LL I AMS,

HENRY L . JACQUES,FRANC I S B . CUTTING ,FRANC I S L IEBER

,

HAMILTON HOPP IN,

THE UN I ON LEA GUE CL UB . 39

G EORGE G IBBS, JOHN A . STEVEN S, J r .

,

T H EO . W . DW IGH T,

C . R . G I LMAN,

G EORGE A . PETER S,

WILL I AM H . DRA PER,

C ORNEL IU S R . AGNEW,

BEN J AMIN COLL IN S,H ENRY C . DORR

,CHARLES COLL IN S

,

CHA RLES E . BUTLER,

WILL I AM A . BUDD,

A . G . AGNEW,

SAMUEL W . BR IDGHAM ,JOHN C . PETERS, HENRY A . SMYTHE

,

WILL I AM J . HOPP IN,

G URDON BUCK,

G EORGE CA BOT WARD,

JONATHAN STURGES,

C . E . STRONG , JOHN C . DALTON, J r. ,

RIC HARD M . HUNT, J . COWPER LORD

,

FRANK L IN H . DELANO,

JOHN A . K ING,

J OHN O RDRON A U X ,DENN ING DUER

,

O TI S D . SWAN,

WI LL I AM G . KING ,ALBERT MATHEWS

,S AMUEL W ETMORE .

!

Upon th e adopt i on O f th i s sch eme , i t was R eso lved

That a comm i t t e e on adm i s s i on s be appo in t ed t o

c on s i st o f five m embers,and t o serve u n t i l th e o rgan

i zat ion of t h e L eagu e shal l be accomp l i sh ed .

The Chai r appo in t ed D r . Gibbs , Pro f . Dwigh t , Geo rge

F . A l l en , George C . A nthon and Georg e T . S t rong t o

ac t as th i s comm i t t e e . W i l l i am J . Hopp i n was appo i n ted

T reasu rer.

I t was R eso lved

That a c omm i t t e e of five have gen era l power t o do

what eve r i s requ i red fo r th e sp eedy organ izat io n of

t h e L eagu e , and t o cal l a m eet ing of th e Leagu e as

s o o n as su ffi c i en t progress i s mad e t o rend e r su ch a

m eet i ng exped i e n t .

S u ch a m eet ing was cal l ed at th e offi c e of the

Uni t ed S tat e s S an i ta ry Comm i ss ion,N O . 8 2 3 Broad

These S ignatu res mus t have been largely obta in ed subsequ ently to the

d a te of the adoption of the articles , bu t soon afte r.


way, on February l t,1 863 . There were p resen t H on

Mu rray Hoffman , George T . S t rong ,Georg e F . A l l en ,

Dr. W i l l ard Parker,W i l l iam C . Bryant , Georg e L . Ken

nedy, J ames W . Beekman , Henry W . Bel lows,W ol cot t

Gibbs,Georg e Griswold , Charl es A . Jay,

Franc i s L i eber,

George Gibbs , T . W . Dwigh t , George A . Pet ers,Cor

h el iu s R . A gnew,Henry C . Dorr

,W i l l i am J . Hopp in ,

Frankl i n H . Delano,Ot i s D . Swan , A lbert Mathews , J .

M . S t even s , Ben j am i n Col l in s , Gurdon Buck , J onathan

S tu rges , J ohn C . Dalt on, J r.

, J . Cowper Lord and

o thers . A n exam i nat ion of th i s l i st wi l l Show how

rap id ly th e assoc iat i on was commend ing i t sel f t o l ead

ing men in th e variou s p ro fessi ons , and in the bu sin ess

pu rsu it s o f th e c i ty .

A t th is m eet ing O t i s D . Swan was unan imouslye l ect ed S ecretary of the Leagu e .

The early m inu tes o f th i s Un ion Leagu e Show the

fo l l owing orde rs passed at th i s meet ing

There Shal l be a S tand ing Comm i t t ee,con si st ing of

n i n e members,who Shal l have a gen eral sup erv isi on of

the concern s of the League .

There Shal l al so be , fo r th e p resent , a Comm i t t e e on

A dm i ss i ons,con s i st ing o f seven members , whose du ty i t

Shal l be to pass upon th e name o f each cand idat e whomay be p resen ted for m embersh ip .

The Offi cers of th e Leagu e Shal l cons i st o f a S ecretaryand T reasurer, t o be el ected w i th the Comm i t t ees on

th e second W ednesday i n J an uary i n each year h ereaft er .

M embers o f s im i l ar organ i zat i ons , el sewhere establi sh ed

and recogn ised by th i s Leagu e , Shal l be en t i t l ed , when in

N ew York,to al l the

'

p riv i lege s of membersh ip subj ec t

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB . 4 1

t o su ch regu lat i on s as th e S tand ing Comm i t t e e may

d et erm i n e .

M r . Charl es K i ng be ing cal l ed t o th e cha i r, M r . M u rrayHoffman took th e fl oo r and o ffe red th e fo l l owing reso l ut i on“Resolved

,That a commun i cat i on be mad e t o th e

Un i on Leagu e of Ph i lad e lph ia requ est ing th e i r c on

s id erat i on o f th e fol l owing suggest i on s O f a l l i an ce and

ass i stanc eThat app l i cat i on be mad e t o su ch pe rson s as may be

s el ec t ed i n any part O f th e Un i t ed S tates , u rg i ng th em

t o fo rm a Leagu e o f l oya l c i t i z en s upon th e bas i s o f

th e p rin c ip l e s adopt ed by th e sa id Un ion Leagu e o f

Ph i lad elph ia and by th i s Leagu e .

“To re comm end t o al l assoc iat i on s,wh i ch may be

th en establ i sh ed ,th e fo rma l adop t i on of th e l ead ing pri n

c iple s thu s declared .

To requ est th at each assoc iat i on w i l l p l ac e i t sel f i n

c ommu n icat ion w i th the Un ion Leagu e of Ph i ladelphia ,wi th the name o f th e S ec re tary ,

and that th e lat t e r

app ri s e eve ry other A ssoc iat i on o f the Un i on .

A l so , O f recomm end ing th e exped i en cy o f appo in t i nga Comm i t t e e w i th power t o publ i sh bri e f t rac t s upon

th e qu est i on s growing ou t o f th e R ebe l l i on , which may

advance th e cau se o f ou r al l i an c e and m eet th e fal se

hoods in pol i t i c s and host i l i ty t o const i t u t iona l t ru th ,

now sp read ing among u s ; and fu rther , w i th power t o

make such oth e r recomm endat i on upon th e whol e sub

je ct as may se em t o them ad vi sabl e .

“That a Comm i t t e e of thre e , of whom th e S ec re taryshal l b e one ,

b e appo int ed t o carry th ese Reso lu t i on s

i n to e ffect .

Dr .’\Volco t t Gibbs o ff ered as a subst i t u t e fo r the l ast

of th e fo rego ing R esol u t i on s, th e fo l l ow ing ,V i z

That a Comm i t t ee con si st ing o f t en mem


b ers b e appo int ed to p roceed to Ph i ladelph ia on Mondayth e 2 3d i n st . , t o take part i n th e exerc ises of th e Un ionLeagu e on Monday even ing , and t o confer wi th th e

Offi cers o f that Leagu e in regard t o matt ers suggest ed in

th e foregoing R eso lu t ions ."

W hich subst i t u t e be ing accep t ed by J udg e Hoffman ,

th e R eso l u t ion s offered by h im as amended were

adop t ed and th e fol l owing Comm i t t e e of t en were

appo inted

MURRAY HOFFMAN,

CORNEL IU S R . AGNEW ,

CHARLES K ING,

GEORGE F . ALLEN ,JOHN E . WILL I AMS, WI LL I AM J . HOPP IN ,HENRY W . BELLOWS, ROBERT L . KENNEDY,GURDON BUC K

,DENN ING DUER .

Dr . Gibbs moved th e fo l lowing Re sol u t i on“That a Comm i t t ee o f th ree b e appo in ted t o draw

u p and presen t to th e n ext m eet ing of th e Leag u e a

syst em o f By-Laws for th e governm en t O f th e in t ernal

a ffai rs of th e Leagu e . I t was adopt ed . Dr . Gibbs ,A lb ert M athews and O t i s D . Swan were appo in t ed suchComm i t t ee .

Dr . W ol cott G ibbs also moved the fo l l owi ng R eso lut i on“That th e S ecretary be requ est ed t o have one hundred

cop i es of th e art ic l e s of assoc iat i on pri n ted for th e u se Of

the members,and that th e m embers of th e L eagu e are

request ed t o send i n t o th e Comm i t t ee on A dm i ss i ons,

th e names o f person s s u i tabl e for m embersh ip . I t wasadopt ed .

M r. J onathan S tu rg es offered th e fo l l owing R eso lut ion“That a comm i t t ee of t en appo inted pu rsuan t . t o th e

R eso lu t ion O f J udg e Hoffman , have p ower t o st rikefrom th e art i c l es O f assoc iat ion th e t /zz

'

m’ art i c l e

,i f,before


c on feren c e w i th the offi cers of th e Un ion Leagu e O f

Ph i l adelph ia , th ey shal l d eem su ch act i on exp ed i en t .

Th i s was adop t ed .

M r . George Gri swold m oved th e fo l low i ng R eso l u t i on“That a comm i t t ee b e appoin t ed by th e Chai rman t o

se l e ct a b u i ld ing fo r th e u se of th e Leagu e . Th i s was

adop t ed ; and M r . Gri swo ld and M r . Georg e T. S t rongwe re appo in t ed su ch Comm i t t e e .

Upon m o t i on O f Dr . Gibbs , t h e Chai rman , th e S ecre

t ary and Treasu rer we re empowered to cal l a m eet ing of

th e Leagu e at th e i r d isc ret ion .

The fo l l owing Comm i t t ees were apppo in t ed by th e

Chai r

COMM ITTEE ON ADM I SS IONS .

GEORGE F . ALLEN ,WOLCOTT G IBBS ,

GEORGE C . AN THON , GEORG E T . STRONG,

CORNEL IU S R . AGNEW , J . COWPER LORD,

ROBERT L . KENNEDY .

STAND I NG COMM ITTEE .

GEORG E G R I SWOLD,

GEORGE T . STRONG,

WILL I AM C . BRYANT , W ILLARD PARKER,

TH EODORE W . DW IGHT JOHN C . DA LTON, J r. ,

HEN RY W . BELLOW S, CORNEL IU S R . AGN EW,

WOLCOTT G IBBS .

The meet ing th en adj ou rn ed .

A sp ec ial meet ing of th e Un i on Leagu e of N ew

York was h eld th i s day (March 6, 1 863) at th e Un i t edS t at es S an i tary Comm i ss i o n R ooms , N O . 82 3 Broadway.

Presen t :WI LLARD PARKER

,ROBERT L . KENNEDY

,

CHARLE S K ING,

GEORGE T . STRONG ,CH ARLES D . SMITH, WOLCOTT G IBBS

,

G EORGE GR I SWOLD,

NAHUM S ULL IVAN ,

44 THE UN I ON LEA GUE CL UB .

0

JAMES MCK A YE,

GEORGE G IBBS ,CORNEL IU S R . AGNEW ,

JOHN C . DAL'

TON, J r.

,

FRANKL IN H . DELANO , GEORGE CA BOT WARD,

SAMUEL W . BR IDGHAM,

JOHN A . STEPHEN S,

JONATHAN STURGES,

The Treasur er , S ecretary , and o thers.

In the absenc e of M u rray Hoffman , C/za z’

rman , Pres

id en t Charl e s K ing was cal l ed t o th e Chai r .

The m i nu tes of th e l ast meet ing were read,and on

mot ion,app roved .

The fo l l owing commun i cat ion was th en read by the

S ecre tary“A t a meet i ng O f th e J o int Comm i t t e e o f th e Un ion

Leagu e i n N ew York,held on Monday,

th e second dayo f March

,th e fol l owing R eso lu t ion s were adop t ed and

o rde red to b e commun icat ed t o th e m embers o f th e

Leagu e at the n ext m eet ing of that A ssociat i on“Resolved , That th e J o in t Comm i t t e e of the Un ion

Leagu e i n New York recommend that th e annual du es

t o be paid by each m ember o f th e Leag ue , be th e sum

of twen ty-five do l l ars,and that al l fu tu re m embers pay

an adm i ss i on fee of twen ty-fiv e dol lars .

Resolved,That a Comm i t t e e of five m embers be

appoint ed to con fe r w i th S im i l ar comm i t t ees o f th e

Un i on Leagu e i n Bal t imore , Ph iladelph ia and Boston ,fo r the pu rpose of consu l tat ion upon the subj ec t mat

t e r o f establ i sh ing some common bas i s o f act i on , wi th

power to fix the t ime and p l ace of meet i ng .

On mot i on , th e fol l ow ing reso lu t i on was th en adop t ed :

Resolved,That the annual du es of each m ember of

the Leagu e , payabl e i n advance, be th e sum of twen tyfive do l lars, inst ead o f the s um o f te n dol l ars as here

t o fore p rov id ed , and that al l fu tu re members pay an

adm i ss i on fe e of twen ty-five dol lars .

”



By Rev . Dr. H. W . BELLOW S

HORATIO ALLEN,

W . F . CARY,

EDW IN J . D UNN ING,

PARKE GODW IN,

GEORGE IRELAND,

J . F . P IERSON ,W . SCHARFEN BERG ,DORMAN B . EATON ,CALVERT V AU X

,

J . N . BA LESTI ER,

E LL IOT C . COWD IN,

RICHARD GOODMAN,

JOSI AH HOWE ,P IERRE M . IRV ING

,

W . M . PR I TCH ARD,

HENRY T . TUCKERMA N,

FRED . TOWN SEND ,E . B . YOUMAN S

,

F . W . G . BELLOW S .

By SAMUEL W ETMORE

JOHN T . JOHN STON ,

STE PHEN C . WILL I AMS,

HENRY A . CO I T,

ALFRED PELL,

By W I LLIAM J . HOPPI N

HENRY L . P I ERSON,

WI LL I AM E . DODGE,

G . A LB INOLA ,

EDWARD DELANO,

ROBERT S . HONE,

WILL I AM ALLEN BUTLER,

JAMES B . JOHN STON ,CHR I STOPHER R . ROBERT

,

WILL I AM E . DODGE, J r .

,

JOHN C . G REEN .

Rev . FRANC I S V INTON ,HENRY D . SEDGW ICK

,

EDWARD OOTHOUT,

CHARLES H. RU SSELL,

ABRAM M . COZ Z EN S,

HENRY E . P IERREPONT,

JOHN D . LAW SON .

By CHA RLES K ING ’

EDMUND BLUNT,

GEORGE W . BLUNT ,PETER COOPER .

By JOHN E . W I LLIAM S

CH ARLES L . BRACE,

By H. C . DORR :

HENRY R . WINTHROP,

ALFRED JONES,

SAMUEL D . CO Z Z EN S,

WM . C . RU SSEL .

THOMAS H I TCHCOCK,

BUCHANAN WINTHROP,

JOHN C . CA RTER,


JOHN G . ADAMS,

GEORGE F . BETTS,

CHARLES D . CONG DON .

By J OHN C . DA LTON , J r

H ENRY B . SANDS,

WI LL I AM DETMOLD,

WM . H. C A RMA LT LUTHER R . MAR SH ,AU ST IN FL INT

,AU ST IN FLINT

, J r.

By Dr. W O LCOTT G IBBS

LUC IU S TUCKERMAN,

JOHN E . GAV I T ,FREDER IC KA PP

,WILL I AM O . STONE

,

E . LEUTZ E,

AARON FRANK,

S AMUEL B . RUGG LES,

JOHN A . WEEKS .

By F RANC I S L I EBER

WI LL I AM O AKEY,

PH I L I P REYNOLD S .

By Dr. C . R . A GNEw

ALFRED C . PO ST,

C . CONANT FO STER,

BEN J AMIN LEE , CHAR LES T . WH I TEWI LL I AM T . BLODGETT

,THOMAS H. FA I LE

, J r .

By GEORG E T . STRONG

EDWARD PENFOLD,

ROBERT B . M INTURN,

JOHN O . STONE, J . H. H INTON

,

RIDLEY WATTS,

Rev . SULL IVAN H. WESTON,

Rev . ROSWELL D . H I TCHCOCK,WALTER L . CUTT ING ,

H. W . H UBBELL, J AM ES F . DEPEY STER,

FRED . DEPEYSTER SETH B . HUNT ,HOWARD POTTER

,LUTHER BRAD I SH

,

CHARLES H. MAR SHA LL, HENRY PETER S GRAY,

J AMES F . RUGG LES,

P . REMSEN STRONG,

ROBERT H. MCCURDY,

SAMUEL T . SK IDMORE,

AL FRED W . CRAVEN,

J AMES G . K IN G,

FREDER IC SHELDON,

ADR I AN I SEL IN,

BEN ! . W . BONNEY , GEORG E N . T I TU S,

CH ARLE S P . K IRKLAND .


By GEO RGE C . ANTHON

O SSI AN D . ASH LEY , A . D . F . RANDOLP H,

W . O ’

BR I EN,

E . H . ARTHUR,

CHARLES G . CLARK, THOMAS E . BROWN,

EDWARD J . WARREN .

By R . L . K ENNEDY :

ROBERT L. STUART .

By R . M . HUNT

JOSEPH HOWLAND , JOHN PR I ESTLEY,

CHARLES W . E LL IOT .

In th e absen ce o f any by-law d efin ing th e p ower of

th e Comm i t t e e on A dm iss i on s,i n respect t o e l ec t i on

of i nd iv id uals p roposed for membersh ip o f the Leagu e ,and for th e sol e pu rpose of p reven t i ng p resent con

t rov e rsy i n respec t th ereto , i t was moved that th e pe r

sons,enumerated in th i s l i st o f i nd iv idual s

,e l ect ed t o

m embersh ip of th e Leagu e by th e Comm i t t e e on A d

m i ss ion s,be e l ected acco rd ing ly ; wh i ch was adopt ed .

I t was th en moved that th e recommendat i on of th e

J o in t Comm i t t ee o f the Leagu e , as stat ed ab ove, be

adopt ed wh ich was accord ingly carri ed .

Upon mot ion , th e Comm i t te e was o rdered t o con s i st

o f fi ve and t o be appo in ted by th e Chai r .

The Treasu re r O ffered the fo l l owing R eso lu t i on“Resolved , That the Treasu rer b e d i rect ed to col l ec t

from th e m embers o f th e Leagu e annual du es and

i n it i at i on fees as fo l lows :

Twenty-fiv e Dollars annual du es from al l p e rson s

al ready m embers , who Shal l n ot b e requ i red t o pay

i n i t iat i on fe es .

Twen ty-five Dol lars annual d u es,and Twenty-fiv e

Dol lars in i t i at i on fees from al l p erson s , who may become

m embers aft e r th e m eet i ng o f th i s even i ng .

THE UIVI O IV LEA G UE CL UB . 49

Resolved,That th e S ec re tary fu rn i sh t o th e Treasu re r

t he nam es O f su ch gen t l emen as have , and may herea ft e r

b ec om e m embers O f th e Leagu e .

"

W h ich on mot ion ,

was adopt ed .

The m eet ing th en adj o u rn ed subj ec t t o cal l O f th e

S ec retary .

Pu rsuan t t o n ot i c e,a m eet ing of th e Un ion Leagu e of

N ew York was th i s day (March 1 3th , held at th e

C hape l of th e N ew York Un ivers i ty. Present :

CHARLES K ING,

THOMAS H I TCHCOCK,

ROB 'T B . M INTURN , W OLCOTT G IB BS,

EDM UND B LUN T , GEORGE GR I SWOLD,

ROBERT L . KENNEDY,

GEORG E T . STRONG,

RICH ARD GOODMAN,

JOHN PR IE STLEY,

Prof. DALTON , CORNEL IU S R . AGNEW,

F . H . DELANO,

J AMES W . BEEKMAN,

ALFRED L. EDWARDS, BEN J . COLL IN S,

The S ecr eta ry, Tr easu rer , and o thers .

O n mot i on , M r . Charl es K ing was cal l ed t o th e cha i r .

The m i n u tes o f th e last m eet i ng were read and

a pproved .

The Chai rman o f th e Comm i t t e e t o p rocu re a su i tab l e

b u i ld ing fo r th e Leagu e , repo rted th at th e Comm i t t ee

h ad n ot ye t p rocu red on e .

The Comm i t t e e on By-Laws repo rt ed d raft of By

Laws for th e government of th e Leagu e , wh ich wast h en read .

O n mo t i on,and aft e r th e in se rt i on O f several verba l

amendm en t s,th e d ra ft subm i t t ed by th e Comm i t t e e was

ad opt ed as t he By-Laws o f the League . (They may be

fou nd i n th e fi rs t p rin t ed R epo rt of th e

On mot i on i t was reso lv ed that th e By-Laws be adop t ed ,

“

t o t ake effec t at th e exp i rat i on O f t en days a ft e r th e

See A ppend ix.

50 THE UIVI ON LEA G UE CL UB .

Leagu e shal l t ake possess ion of th e Leagu e hou se .

W h ich was carri ed .

R R 96 ac

A mot ion was made,that a comm i t t e e o f S even mem

bers be appoin t ed , whose duty i t Shou ld be t o report at

th e n ext meet ing of th e Leagu e th e nam es o f su itable

p ersons fo r th e offi cers en umerat ed i n th e By-Laws .Th i s was carr i ed , and on mot ion

,th e fo l l ow i ng gen t l e

m e n we re appo in t ed such Comm i t t e e :

GEORGE GR I SWOLD,


FRANKL IN H . DELANO,

ROB ’T L . KENNEDY,

JOHN C . DALTON, J r. ,

GEORGE T . STRONG,

WOLCOTT G IBBS .

A t a m eet ing of the Un i on Leagu e Club th i s day

(M arch 20th ,he ld at th e Chapel of the N ew York

Un ivers i ty , pu rsuan t to not i c e to th e m embers , o f whom

there was a l arge at t endan ce , M r. Charl es K i ng was

cal led to th e chai ra 96

The Comm i t t e e O f seven , appoint ed at th e last m eet

ing t o repo rt the nam es of su itabl e p erson s for th eoffi cers en um erated i n th e By-Laws , reported th rough

the Chai rman,M r . Gri swold , th e fo l lowing nom i n at i on s

F or PRESIDENT.

ROBERT B . M INTURN .

For V I CE-PRES IDENTS .

Hon . MURRAY HOFFMAN , A LEx . T . STEWART,

CHARLES KING,

JONATHAN STURGES,

WILL I AM H . A SP INWALL, MO SES TAYLOR,

JOHN A . D Ix,

HEN RY W . BELLOW S,

FRANC I S B . CUTTING WILLARD PARKER,

GEORGE BANCROFT,

JAMES W . BEEKMAN .

For SEC RETA RY .

OTIS D . SW AN .

THE UlVI ON LEA G UE CL UB . 5 1

For TREA SURER .

W I LL I AM J . HO PP IN .

For EX ECUTIVE COMM ITTEE .

G EORGE GR I SWOLD,

GEORG E CA BOT WARDFRANKL IN H . DELANO

,THOMAS H . FA ILE

,

H ENRY T . TUCKERMAN,

ROB ’T L . KENN EDY ,WILL I AM E . DODG E , J r.

,JOHN A . WEEKS ,

JAMES BOORMAN JOHN STON .

For COMM ITTEE ON ADM I SSI ONS .

GEORGE F . ALLEN , N . PENDLETON HOSAC K,

CORNEL IUS R . AGNEW ,WOLCOTT G I BBS

,

GEORGE T . S TRONG , FREDER IC DEPEYSTER,

JONATHAN STURGES .

These gen t l em en were unan imou sly el ect ed .

J un e t oth ,1863 .

—A t a regu lar mon th ly m eet i ng of

t h e Un ion Leagu e C lub ,! hel d th i s even ing at th e

C l ub H ou se,M r . J ohn C . Green , one of th e V i c e-Pres i

d en ts , in th e chai r96 'X' 96

M r . George F . A l l en,Chai rman o f the Commit te e

on A dm i s s i on s , read th e repo rt of th e Comm i t t ee rec

ommend ing for e l ec t i on as members the fo l l owing

gen t l emen°

S AMUEL MCLE AN,

HEN RY A . HURLBUT,

EL I J AH T . BROWN ,SH E RMAN J . BACON

,

WILL I AM B . Ross.

D r. OL IVER JOHN SON , proposed by G EO . C . COLL IN S .

B EW . PR IME , THOMAS T . STURGES.E

. REED MC I LVAINE , H . K . BU L L .

ROB 'T STUYVESANT , J . H . FOSTER .

Upon mot ion , th e report was accept ed and th e pe r

s o n s the re in recommend ed fo r e l ec t i on were e l ect ed

See pp . 52 and 53 for change of the name of the Club .


v z'

va voce, th e By-Laws having been fi rst su spended by

unan imous con sen t .

-x -X at

The Chai rman O f th e Comm i t t e e on A dm i ss ion s then

i n t rodu ced the fo l l owing R eso lu t i on :“Resolved

,That the Comm i t t e e on A dm i ss i on s hav e

p ower t o e l e c t candidate s for membersh ip ,and that so

m uch of sect ion eight of th e By-Laws,as i s inconsi st en t

w i th the exerc i s e O f su ch power by said Comm i t t e e , be

su spended for th e p eri od of n in ety days from th e dat e

of th i s m ee t ing . Th is,on mot ion

,was u nan imou sly

adopt ed .

M r . J ohn J ay moved the fo l l owing R eso l u t i on“Resolved

, That th e Execu t ive Comm i t t e e be requ ested

t o con s id er th e feas ib i l i ty of the establ i shment of a

Nat ional Club and Club Hou se at W ash ingt on , and

a ft e r advi s ing upon th e sub ject wi th su ch gen tl em en as

t hey may sel ec t at W ash ington , and with th e Loya l

C l ubs at Boston and Ph i ladelph ia , repo rt th ereon at th e

n ext month ly meet ing . A dop t ed .

Upon mot i on , th e weekly Club n ight was changed

from W edn esday t o Thursday even ings .

A co n s id e rab l e d ifferen ce o f op in i on had exist ed as

t o the name by which th e n ew assoc i at io n shou ld b e

known “Nat io nal C l ub”was p re ferred by many at

the ou tse t , as mo re exp ress ive O f i t s Obj ect s . I t was

feared that “ Un ion Leagu e Club was a name l ike lyt o con fou nd i t wi th certain othe r organ i zat i on s of a

l ess compreh en s ive charac t er . The C l ub , th ough orig i

nal ly pol i t ical , was n ot in t end ed to be part i san , or t o

lend it sel f t o any party, excep t when that party was

s t ri ct ly nat i onal i n i t s pol icy,and dangero u sly Opposed


54. THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

B . Cannon , Sherman J . Bacon , J am es A . R oosevel t ,

C harl es P . K i rkland , E l l i o t C . Cowd i n and George Bl i ss ,

t o whom were aft erwards added J ackson S . S chu l t z

and Edward Cromwel l . The comm i t t e e find ing othe r

and suffic i en t agenc i es at work in th e S tat e t o recru i t

wh i t e reg imen t s , and n ext t o non e t o en l i st pe rson s

o f co l or , reso lved to d evot e t hemse lve e s t o th e work

o f en l i st ing co l ored men . Having obtain ed th e nece s

sary au tho ri ty from th e S ec retary o f W ar,as th e Gov

e rnor of th e S tate wou ld not g ive h i s au thority o r

s anct i on ,! th ey co l l ect ed from th e vo l unt ary sub

s cript ions of m embers o f th e Club,and set abou t the

c ost ly work o f pro cu r ing col o red rec ru i t s . By th e i r

e ne rgy,zeal and tact

,w i th in one month from th e dat e

o f th e i r appo intmen t , t he comm i t t e e had en l i st ed on e

fu l l co lo red reg imen t o f on e thou sand and twenty m en,

stat i on ed at that t ime at R iker’s I sl and,and had bes id es

s ix hu ndred recru i t s in camp t oward s th e format i on o f

a second reg im en t . O f th e charact er of th e men and

th e i r Sp i ri t of Obed i ence , i t i s enough t o say,that not

one s ing l e man d esert ed d u ring th e t imes th ese co lo red

reg iment s were fo rm ing , a fact i n marked con t rast w i th

th e exp eri enc e of th e wh i t e reg imen t s . Cons id eri ng that

t he whol e number o f n egro es capab le O f bearing arms

in th e S tat e was est imated t o be only S ix thou sand ,

and that on e thou sand five hund red of th ese had

p rev iou sly vo l un te ered in reg imen ts ou t of th e S tat e ,

t h e su ccess o f th i s c omm i t t e e , i n behal f of th e U n i on

Leagu e Club , was very st riking . The fi rst reg imen t was

Se e Append ix.


known as th e 2oth Reg imen t , U . S . Colo red T roops ;

a nd th e se cond , soon a ft er fo rmed ,as the 26th R eg i

m en t , U . S . Colo red T roops ; a th i rd reg iment , t h e 3 I s t

R eg imen t of U . S . Co lo red Troop s , was aft erward s p rin

c ipally rai sed by th e Cl ub . The l abors of M r . V in cen t

C olye r , who was th e emp l oyed agen t of th e comm i t t e e ,

a re ve ry emphat i cal ly recogn i z ed i n vari ou s forms i n th e

re co rd s of th e Cl ub,and i n report s o f i t

's comm i t t e es,

a s wel l as i n addresses of th e VVome n’

s Comm i t t e e fo r

th e A id O f S i ck S o ld i e rs .

R ecal l i ng t h e ri o ts i n the early days o f J u ly ,1863,

when th e n egro es o f N ew York were p u rsued w i th an

ignoran t bu t bl oody hat red by th e popu lac e o f th e c i ty—ki l l ed i n th e Open st reet s , and th reaten ed wi th an

e xte rm i n at i on p revent ed on ly by th e h ero i c res i st an c e

o ffered by th e pol ic e of New York— we can hard ly exag

g e rat e th e impo rtan c e of th e hono r sh owe red by th e

worth and pat ri ot ism o f the c i ty upon th e n egro reg i

men t s rai s ed by t h e Un ion Leagu e Club . The w i se

a nd co st ly sac rific es made by members of th e Cl ub i n

ra i s i ng th ese reg imen t s , i n stru ct ed the publ ic s ent imen t

o f th e cou nt ry , and was a most impo rtan t i nd i cat i on

O f t h e new and powerfu l c u rre nt wh ich fi nal ly swel l ed

i n t o gen eral emanc ipat i on . The hat red and con t emp t

o f th e co lo red man, fe l t by th e l owe r cl ass of ou r white

emig ran t s , was always a p e ri l o us agen t i n c reat ing t he

vo tes that uphe ld th e rebel l i on , or d is cou rag i ng th e gov

e rnment i n qu el l i ng i t . The New York ant i-n eg ro ri ot s

had spread abroad and at home a fear that e l emen t s o f

e xp l o s i on ex ist ed i n th e met ropo l i s o f th e coun t ry wh ich


wou ld not bear bold handl ing . I t was indu stri o u slysaid that we had enough t o do t o prot ec t ou r l ives .

and p rop erty from d isc on t en ted and d esperat e men at

h om e,t o p reven t u s from pu tt ing fo rth a comp et en t

v igo r in supp ress i on of d i stan t rebel l i on . But when t he

weal th and commerc ial en terpr i se and soc i al d ign ity of

th e City of N ew York,so largely represent ed in the

Un ion Leagu e Club , devot ed i t s fi rst vo lu ntary cont r i

bu t ion to rai s ing and equ ipp i ng th ree n eg ro reg im en t s .

i n swi ft su ccess i on ; when the lad i es of New York asked

th e u se O f th e Cl ub Hou s e fo r th e p resentat i on O f an

e l egan t stand of colo rs , wh i ch was publ i c ly del iv ered

t o th e reg imen t w i th great pomp and en thu s iasm ,and

when a thousand c it i z en s accompan i ed th e reg imen t in,

p rocess i on to i t s p l ac e o f embarkat i on fo r th e seat of

war , am id a u n iversal d emonst rat ion o f popu lar en t hu

S iasm,rarely exhibi t ed i n any pagean t O f th e war t imes ,

i t was j u st ly fe l t that th e m et ropol i s of th e Nat i on had

d et erm i n ed to stamp ou t the inhuman sent im en t o f hos

t i li ty t o the col ored man,and to en cou rage th e ri s i ng sen

t imen t o f en l is t ing the n egro es as regul ar t roop s in the

war fo r Un ion and Liberty,wh i ch slavery had brough t

upon the Nat i on .

The 2ot h R eg im en t , on th e mo rn ing o f it s embarkat io n

fo r N ew O rl eans, (March 5t h ,

l anded at th e foo t .

of 26t h S t re et , East R ive r , and march ed t o th e Cl ub

H ou se,where i t rece ived i t s co lo rs . Hon . Charl es K i ng

Pres id en t of Colum b ia Co l l eg e , i n th e nam e o f l oyal

wom en,who were p resen t in bri l l ian t numbers , p re

sen t ed th e col ors in a sp eech of d eep path os , and th en

THE UN I ON LE A G UE CL UB . 57

hand ed th e Offi ce rs and m en an addr ess,wh i ch had

b e en p repa red by M r. Henry T . Tu ckerman,engross ed

on parchm ent , and s ign ed by one hu ndred and th i rty-five

of t h e l ad i es of New York , b est kn own i n soc i e ty an d

ph i l an th ropy M othe rs,wives , and S i s t e rs of th e

m embers o f th e N ew York Un i on Leagu e

The 26t h R eg im en t of U . S . Colored Tro op s were t o

have rec e ived a s im i l a r ovat i on , bu t th e day p rov ed so

s t o rmy (M arch 26t h) that th e p l an was d ropp ed . The i r

c ol o rs were , h owev e r , p res en t ed on board th e t ran spo rt

wh ich took th em t o A nnap o l i s , t h e n ext day by Hon .

J ohn J ay, who p r esent ed also an add ress , t h e sam e , and

from th e same l ad i es , t hat had be en p r es en t ed t o th e

20t h R eg im en t .

W h en n early th re e compan i es o f th e 3 I st R eg im en t

U . S . Colo red T roops had been rec ru i t ed ,th ey we re

s u dd en ly o rd e red away t o j o i n th e N inth Co rps i n th e

A rmy o f th e Potomac . Th ey we re soon con so l i dated

with abou t thre e hund red m e n ra i s ed i n Conn ect i cu t,

and l ost h eav i ly at th e bat t l e of t h e Crat e r . The r eg i

m en t was final ly fi l l ed up t o th e fu l l qu ota o f me n by

t h e Un i on Leagu e Club , and had a d i st ingu i sh ed reco rd

i n th e far S ou th . O f each'o f th ese reg im ent s , a m i l i

t ary reco rd of an hono rab l e k ind m ight be fu rn i sh ed ,

had we spac e t o ent e r i t i n th i s c onden s ed h i s to ry,

withou t V io lat ing d u e p ropo rt i on .

A lmost from th e v ery beg i n n ing , th e Un ion Leagu e

C l ub had bec ome a c en t re of al l movem en t s hav inga pat r io t i c impu l s e i n th e C i ty O f New York . Thu s

See A ppend ix .


i n N ovember , 1863 , th e Pres id en t o f th e San itaryComm i ss io n was al l owed th e u se o f th e Club Hou se

t o conven e an ass embly o f abou t a hu ndred o f th e

most pat r i ot i c women in New York to con s id er th e

best m ethod fo r start ing th e p l an o f a M et ropol i

t an Fai r . U nde r th e au sp i c es O f th ese lad i es , i t

was in augu rat ed in th e fo l l ow ing March,and real i z ed

th e enormou s sum o f over a m i l l i on of do l l ars for th e

u se o f th e Un it ed S t at es S an itary Comm i ss i on , in i t s

Nat i onal sch em e fo r th e p reven t i on and care o f s i ck

n ess,and th e nu rs ing o f th e wou nded i n th e army

'

and

n avy. The g en e ros i ty of th e p eop l e i n fu rn i sh ing th e

mat er ial s o f th i s fa i r , in wh ich al l t rad es and occupa

t i on s exh ib it ed a n ob l e r ival ry,was l arg ely i n sp i r ed by

th e pat r i o t i c z eal o f women whose hu sbands , broth ers ,

s on s,were m embe rs o f th i s Cl ub ; and th e su ccess o f

th e fa i r was not on ly a m ost encou rag i ng ev id en ce o f

th e g rowing d evot ion o f th is commun i ty t o th e so ld i e rs

e ngaged in fight ing th e bat t l e fo r th e Un ion , bu t i t

s et an examp l e o f cooperat ive and e ffect ive z eal in the

support -of th e San itary Commiss i on , that was fo l l owed

by al l l arge commu n it i es th rough th e cou nt ry,aft er th e

pat t ern of t h e M et ropol i t an Fai r , and fi l l ed th e t reasu ryo f th e p eop l es

’

great chari ty O f heal i ng ,t o a h e ight that

n eve r fe l l b e low th e n ec ess i t i es O f that cost ly en t erp r i s e .

The necess i ty t o th e A m er i can p eop l e o f th e Na

t ional Un ion had been syst emat i cal ly u rged on th e

pub l i c by th e Loyal Publ i cat i on Soc i e ty,comp os ed

most ly O f those who aft erward becam e m embers o f

th i s C l ub , be fo re i t s organ izat ion . But in carry i ng


ou t th e n in th art i c l e of t h e By-Laws, wh ich p rov id ed

fo r a Comm i t t e e on Publ i cat ion s,M ess rs . J am es A .

Roosevel t , George Cabot W ard,J ames M . Cross ,

Georg e W . Blu n t and H enry E . Clark ,w e re ap

po i nt ed a spec ial c omm i t t e e t o co l l e ct fu nds fo r th e

d i ff u s i o n of l oyal s en t im ent s through th e Loyal Publ i

c at i on S oc i e ty o f N ew York . Th ey acco rd ing ly rai sed

more than wh i ch was d evo ted t o th i s exc el

l en t Obj ect .

The Prot e ct iv e W ar Claim A sso c i at i on,organ i z ed by

m embe rs of t h i s C l ub,though not u nde r i t s con t ro l

,

had th e gen ero u s pat ronage and ac t i ve sympathy of

t h e Un i on Leagu e .

The fre edom of th e C lub was offe red i n November ,

1 863 , t o th e Un i on m embers o f both hou ses of Con

g ress , an d t o al l O ffi ce rs o f th e army and navy,an d

t hey we re inv i t ed t o make th e Cl ub th e cu st od ian of

any mem en to e s O f t h e reb el l i on,su ch as co lo rs taken

i n th e war,wh i ch th ey m ight th ink wou l d fi nd a w id e r

exh ib it i on and exert a mo re en l iv en ing i nflu en c e th e re,

than e ls ewhere .

The pat r i ot i c i nflu en c e of th e A ssoc iat i on was n o t

c onfin ed to i t s fo rmal ac t i v i ty i n th e days when eve ry

l oyal man among i t s m embers fe l t h imsel f a sent i n e l,

i n watch of an en emy l i kely t o Spri ng up i n u nex

pe ct ed quart ers,and requ i r ing t o b e d eal t wi th sum

mari ly. Thu s,du ring th e r i ot s i n 1 863, wh i ch t ook

t he p l ac e of th e in su rrec t i on p l ann ed by th e en emy,

W i th i t s sympath i z ers i n New York Ci ty, t o come O ff

on th e 4th of J u ly i n cas e of Gen eral M ead e'

s d e feat

60 THE UN ION LEA G UE CL UB .

a defeat wh ich took the form O f a gl o ri ou s V ic tory for

t h e Un i on— many o f th e m embers were act ively em

p l oyed day and n ight i n en cou rag i ng and su sta in ingt h e m i l i t ary,

c iv i l and mun i c ipal Offi cers in cru sh ingth e r iot e rs

,and al l hop e of a succ essfu l Nor thern in

su rrect i o n again st l iberty,nat ionali t v and law . W e can

n eve r c ease t o re cal l w i th prid e th e part that M r .

Th omas C . A ct on and M r . Kenn edy (ou r m embers) th e

l ead ers of t h e po l i c e O f th i s C i ty, took , i n that most

c ri t ic al s eason for ou r n at i onal cau se . The nam e O f Col .

Harvey Brown , who stood by th e pol i c e so stu rd i ly,i s

no t t o be om i t t ed i n th i s c onn ect ion .

A t th i s t ime ou r members numbered fi ve hundred and

th i rty. J u d ic i ou s e ffo rt s were mad e t o rend er th e Club

Hou s e att ract iv e by estab l i sh ing a rest au ran t ; by im

p rov ing fhe fest ive charac t er of th e weekly Thu rsday

m eet i ngs ; by add ing new p e ri od i cal s , domest i c and fo r

e igh ,t o th e read ing room ; by a p l an fo r establ i sh ing

a c l ub librarv—S i nc e carr i ed ou t ; by embel l i sh ing th e

Cl ub H ou se w ith p o rt rai t s o f l ead ing gen eral s and

stat esm en , and a few p i c tu res p resen t ed by m embers .

A reg i st ry O f army and navy offi ce rs v i s i t ing New York

was kep t i n a s eparat e vo l ume in t h e recept i on room .

Dist ingu i sh ed advocat es o f th e Am e r i can cau s e i n E u

rop e , such as Cobd en and Bright , Goldw in Sm i th , Ca irne ,

Fost e r,G asparin and Labou laye , were advi sed o f th e

ex i st en c e and labo rs o f th e Cl ub , and of th e w e lcom e

they,or any o f the i r fr i end s , wou ld m eet on com ing

t o N ew York .

5 0 u se fu l was th e Cl ub , and so g reat i t s opportun i


6 2 THE UA’I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

e l s e t o brigh t en everywhere th e Nat i onal atmosphere .

Let i t b e d i st i n c t ly und erstood that any sympathy w i th

t h e rebe l l i on,wh ich i s st r iv ing t o dest roy ou r cou nt ry,

affixes h er e a st igma , u nd er wh ich , m en Shal l Shr in k

from pub l i c gaz e , and d read th e in ev itab l e frown of

ou r h ighe r c i rc l e s ; and d i s l oyal ty wi l l n owhere flau n ti t se l f

,as h i th ert o

,with a boldn ess that was at on c e an

in su l t and an ou t rage , n ot alon e t o th e hu ndred s of

t hou sands of fam i l i e s whom th e reb el l ion has cau sed

t o m ou rn,bu t t o every man whose l ove of coun t ry i s

b road en ough t o embrac e i n i t s i n t egr i ty th e A m er ican

r epub l i c .

A ll of wh ich i s resp ect fu l ly subm i t t ed .

GEORGE GR I SWOLD,

Cbaz’

r man of llze Ex ecu t i ve Comm i t tee .

The fo l l owi ng were th e offi cers fo r 1 864 :

PRES IDENT .

JON ATHAN STURGES.

V I CE-PRES IDENTS .

MURRAY HOFFMAN,

WILLARD PARKER ,CHARLES KIN G

,ALE X ANDER T . STEWART ,

JOHN C . GREEN , J AMES W . BEEKMAN ,HENRY W . BELLOWS, GEORGE BANCROFT ,FRANC I S B . CUTT ING , D AV ID HOADLEY .

SECRETA RY .

OTIS D . SWAN .

TREA SURER .

WILL I AM J . HOPP IN .

EX ECUT I VE COMM ITTEE .

GEORGE GR I SWOLD,

ROBERT LENox KENNEDY,

GEORGE CABOT WARD , WILL I AM E . DODGE, J r .

,

FRANKL IN H . DELANO , JOHN A . WEEKS,

THE UN I ON LE A G UE CL UB .63

JAMES BOORMAN JOHN STON, J O I IN J AY ,

HENRY L . P I ERSON , HENRY E . CLARK,

FRANK E . HOWE,

DAV ID VA N NOSTRAN DGEORGE W . BLUNT , THEODORE ROOSEVELT

,

RICH ARD M . HUNT,

The S ecr etary and Tr easurer , ex-offic io.

COMM ITTEE ON ADM I SS I ONS .

GEORGE T . STRONG,

THOMAS H. FA ILE,

N . PENDLETON HOSACK,

SHEPPARD GANDY,

CORNEL IU S R . AGNEW,

DUDLEY B . FULLER,

CHR I ST I AN E . DETMOLD,

The Secreta ry and Tr easu rer , ex-O ffic io.

HOUSE COMM ITTEE.

GEORGE GR I SWOLD FRANKL IN H . DELAN O,

JOHN A . WEEKS .

INVI TATION COMM ITTEE .

FRANK E . HOWE,

GEORG E W . B LUN T,

DAV ID VA N N OSTRAND .

L I BRA RY COMM ITTEE .

S AMUEL O SGOOD,

ALBERT M ATHEW S,

V INCENzo BOTTA .

The prosp e r i ty of th e Clu b at th e fi rs t annu al m e et ing ,

J an u ary 13th ,1 864 , (th e Club

'

no t be ing th en qu it e a

year O l d) may b e i n fe rred from th e fo l l ow ing fact s

fou n d in W i l l i am J . Hopp i n , th e T r easu rer’

s report .

The agg regat e re c e ip t s from al l so u rces were 54 ;

t h e d i sbu rsem en t s 43. The d u es,o r ig i nal ly

$ 10,had been rai s ed t o $2 5 pe r year, and l at e r t o $50

°

and th e d iffe ren c e th ough not exact ed from th e O ld e r

m em bers was vo l u n t ar i ly pa id up by many , from a s en s e

64 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CLUB .

of fa i rn ess t o l at e r com ers . The Tr easu re r reported a

donat i on o f from Georg e Gr i swold , Chai rman of

th e Execu t ive Comm i t t e e,t o whose gen e ros i ty th e Clu b

was in deb t ed for th e flag-staff and flags that su rmounted

th e i r bu i ld ing . The Club was ou t O f d ebt ; th e ren t

p aid , t o the fi rst of May ; a balan c e i n th e Treasu ry of

1 1 . The Treasu re r con c l u d es h i s r epo rt w ith th e

fo l l owing S ign ifi can t qu est i on wh i ch n eat ly involves th e

e th ic s of th e C l ub : “ I nasm u ch as wh en a cand idat e i s

p ropos ed , we ask no qu est i ons abou t h i s parentage or

wealth , or pos i t i on in fash ionabl e soc i ety ; bu t S imp ly

t h ese two, I S he hon est ! I s h e Loyal ! can we doubt

that w ith prop e r exert i ons , we shal l h ave at ou r n ext

ann ual m eet i ng at l east tw i c e as many names as we have

on ou r ro l l s at p resen t !

In M r . V i n c ent Colyer’

s repo rt t o th e Committ e e on

Vo lu n t eer ing , among th e examp l es o f th e moral in

fl uence of th i s C l ub i s reckoned d eserved ly that of hav

ing broken up th e l ong ex i s t ing p ract ic e of denyi ng t o

c o l ored peopl e th e u n rest ri ct ed u s e of our c i ty rai l road

cars,upon th e u su al t erm s . A flag ran t cas e of th e

fo rc ib l e ej ectmen t of a M rs . A nd erson , widow of a

S erg ean t in th e 26t h R eg im en t of U . S . Colo red

Vo l u nt ee rs,having be en report ed t o M r. Colyer, i t

reach ed th e knowl edg e of th e Cl ub . The Pres iden t

l a id i t be fore W i l l i am Cu rt i s Noyes , E sq . , who con

s en t ed to t ake charg e o f th e cas e b e fo re th e cou rt s , free

o f cost . Tbe Even ing Pos t , Tr ibune, and Times , de

nounced th e ej e ct i on and th e ru l e u nder wh ich i t was

made by t h e condu ctor, as an out rage . The pol i c e t r i ed


t he cas e of t h e pat ro lman whom th e c ondu ct o r had

summoned t o h i s help i n expe l l ing M rs . A nd erson . M r .

Thomas C . A c t on, p re s id ing ,

ru l ed that th e Offi ce rs of

t h e Pol i c e had no r igh t t o ai d condu cto rs i n th i s mann e r

and fo r th i s pu rpos e . The E ighth A venu e R a i l road

C ompany,find ing p ubl i c op in i on and th e p ol i c e again st

i t , withd rew th e ru l e rest ri ct ing the col o red p eop l e t o

sp ec i al ca rs . I t was soon fo l l owed by th e oth e r c i tyra i l roads

,and one m o re step O f p rogress was r eco rded in

t h e Emanc ipat i on of th e n egro from soc ial p rej u d ic es ;

o ne m o re v i c t o ry fo r common human rights .

On th e 14t h of A p ri l , 1864, at a regu l ar mon th lym e et i ng , M r . Geo rg e Cabo t W ard o ffe red th e fo l l ow i ngPreambl e and R eso l u t i on

bV/zereas , Th ere i s reason to b el i eve that th e i h

c reas i ng em igrat i on from E u rop e t o th e U n i t ed S t at es ,nat u ral ly i n du c ed by th e law of supp ly and demand ,may b e fac i l i t at ed and rende red m o re b en efi c ia l t o a ll

p art i e s by th e d i ffu s i on of co rrect i n fo rmat i on,and by

t h e estab l ishm en t o f agen c i e s through wh i ch th e var i ou s

c l as ses of emp l oyers i n A meri ca may Obtain th e par

t icu lar op erat iv es th ey requ i re , with a p rop er guaran t e e

o f t h e i r ab i l i ty and m o ral charact e r ; t h e re fo re

Resolved,That a comm i t t e e of s even be appo i n ted t o

c on s id e r care fu l ly th i s s ubj ec t in i t s var i ou s phase s and

t o r epo rt th e i r V i ews th e reon t o th i s Cl ub at i t s n ext

g en e ral m e et i ng .

The Chai r appo in t ed Georg e Cabot \Vard , J ohn Jay,

W i l l i am H . O sborn,Horat i o A l l en , W

’i l l iam E . Dodg e ,

J oh n G . Holb rook and She rman J . Bacon , m embers of

t h i s Comm it t e e . On Thu rsday,May 1 2 th ,

1 864 , M r . J ay

r e ad an e l abo rat e repo rt on th i s subj ect , wh i ch th e Cl ub


t hough t importan t enough t o o rd er publ i sh ed ,and

cop i e s were st ru ck off and pu t i n c i rc u lat ion . I t i s th e

fi rst documen t i n th e two vol um es of pape rs bound

up t ogeth er u nder th e gen eral t i t l e ,“Un ion Leagu e ,

N ew York , and i s i n th e L ibrary of th e Cl ub . Th i s

m ovemen t may rem ind u s of th e largeness o f t he

sc op e wh i ch was t aken by th e early members o f th is

A sso c i at i o n .

The S econd annual m eet i ng of th e Cl ub was h eld on

J an u ary l 1 th, 1865. The Execu t ive Comm itte e re

p ort ed an i n c reas e of th e m embersh ip from five hun

dred and th irty t o upwards of e ight h undred . The

m embers of th e Cl ub had taken, ind iv idu al ly and

co l l ec t iv e ly, a very act iv e part i n th e momen tou s

nat io nal el ect i on O f November,1 864. Composed as

i t was of members from both p o l i t i cal part i es , with

whom g reat n at ional qu est i on s at a cr i t i cal j un ctu r e

h ad supe rseded al l party p re ferenc es—th e e l ect ion of

t he rep res en tat iv es of t h e u n i ty of th e Nat i on and

th e d est ru ct i on of th e s lave power was not fe l t t o be a

party qu est i on , bu t one of n at i onal l i fe and d eath . The

Cl ub u nan imou sly r'eso lv ed , Oct ob er 27th, 1864, that

a comm i t t e e from th e assoc iat ion be appo i nt ed to u se

th e i nflu en c e of th e Cl ub du r ing t h e Pr es i den t i al cam

paign fo r th e su cc ess of th e Un ion cau s e ; and , w i th

s im i l a r u nan im ity,i t was r eso lved “That al l th e mem

bers of th e C l ub be appo in t ed su ch comm i t t e e . The

e l d e r m embers of th e Cl ub wi l l recal l t h e m i dn igh t

m eet ing ,i n fo rmal O f c ou rs e , on Novembe r 8 th , when

a num erou s body o f ou r m embers awai t ed th e t e l e


g raph i c re t u rn s of th e n at i onal e l ec t i on i n ou r Club

Hou se , and d id n ot ret i re u n t i l fou r o’

c lo ck in t he

m o rn ing , wh ich b rough t fu l l assu ran ce th at th e Un i on

c and id at es had t r i umph ed , and , i n th e i r t r i umph , g iven

d eath t o t h e reb el l i on , and l i fe t o th e nat i on .

F or an unpart i san Clu b t o becom e an act iv e pol i t i c al

b ody was no t d i ffi c u l t, SO l ong as nat i on al qu est i on s

were al l eng ross ing—qu est i on s n ot of taxat i on , fin ance ,

i n t e rn al imp rovemen ts or tar i ffs , bu t qu est i on s of th e

hon o r of t h e flag ,th e in t eg r i ty of th e Nat i onal t e rr i

t o ry,and th e r igh ts of th e Governmen t t o p rot e ct and

save the fu ndamen tal in st i t u t i on s of th e cou n t ry . A ll

who oppos ed th i s pol i cy were fo r th e t im e al i en s and

fo re ign e rs , and were t o b e pu t down not as d emocrat s ,

fed eral i st s , fre e-t rad ers or p rot e ct i on i st s , bu t as u n

Am e r i can ,d is l oyal and dangerou s . I t i s no t t o o mu ch

t o say that th e old Democ rat i c party st i l l h e ld some

l i n ea l ch i ld ren of A nd rew J ackson , wi l l ing t o swear byth e E t e rnal

,that sece ss i on o r d isu n ion Shou ld b e c ru sh

ed ou t,be i t ca l l ed b lack R epub l i can i sm or sound

Democ racy,and that the U n i on Leagu e owed som e of

i t s fibres t o the S in ews o f su ch Democ rat s , and has

con t in u ed t o do 5 0 t o th i s day .

On Febru ary 1 1 th , 1 864, th e C lu b rec e iv ed Maj o r-Gen .

Han cock,who had com e t o New York t o rec ru i t th e

S econd Co rp s , and at h i s r equ est i t appo i nt ed th e fo l

l ow ing comm i t t e e t o ass i s t i n th e work : Georg e Bl i ss ,

J r .,Theo . Roosevel t , Geo rge Cabot W ard , Parker

Handy , S t eph en Hyat t , A l f r ed M . Hoyt , J ames T .

Sw i ft , J ackson S . S ch u l t z , J . S . W i l l i am s , W i l l i am H .


Fogg , W . A . M u rdock,George A . Fel l ows

,Du d l ey B .

Fu l l e r, J am es M . Halst ead , Geo rge C . Satt e rl e e , T im

othy G . Chu rch i l l , M os es H . Grinn el l . On October

1 3th , 1 864 , th i s comm i t t e e repo rt ed that i t had ra i sed

i n mon ey , by donat i on s , and rec e ived from

five hundred and s even ty-five g en t l em en , for th e pu r

pose O f Obta in ing subst i t u t es , The comm i t

t e e h ad rec ru i t ed as vol u n te e rs or subst i t u t es

m en,wh ich , add ed t o th e number o f th e co lo red reg

imen t s , mad e the total of t roops p u t i n th e fi e ld byt h e Cl ub th at year ( 1 864) abou t men .

On March l oth,1 864, Rev . J O S . P . Thompson , D .D .

,

gave an elabo rat e and st at esman l ike d i scou rs e b efore the

Cl ub,en t i t l ed “ R evo l u t i on aga in st a Free Governmen t

n ot a R igh t , bu t a Crim e , wh ich was h eart i ly rece ived

by th os e who h eard i t , and afte rward s pub l i sh ed by th e

assoc i at i on . H is recen t d eath enabl es u s t o add that

h i s earn est pat r i ot ism ,u nqu al ifi ed l oyal ty and g i ft s o f

Sp eech ,as we l l as h i s t r i ed and known charact er, gave

h im an i nflu en ce in th e early years o f th e Cl ub , wh ich

des e rves a p erman en t and d ist ingu i sh ed record , even in

t h e br i e fest h i st o ry o f i t s work .

‘

On March 3 I st a Sp ec i al m eet i ng of th e Cl ub was held

t o con s id e r a b i l l p end ing be fo re th e Uni ted S tat es

S enat e , p rov id ing fo r th e vol un tary en l i stm en t o f p erson s

r es id en t i n th e S tat es o f V i rg in i a , North Caro l in a, S ou th

Carol i na,Georg i a , Flor i da, A l abama , M i ss i s s ipp i , Lou

is iana , T exas or A rkansas— i n t o th e reg im en ts of oth er

S tates . A ft e r a fu l l d i scu ss ion , a comm i t t e e con s ist ing

o f J ohn J ay,Lev i A . Dowl ey, Georg e Cabot W ard ,



as th e Nat i onal b i rd , and certa in ly th e most wel com e

and cu st omary of al l ed ib l e s on th e Nat i onal Thanks

g iv i ng Day , was made typ i cal i n th i s p l an . By t h e

c oop erat i o n of one of th e l arge st deal e rs i n pou l t ry (M r .E . Robb ins , who free ly su rren de red al l h i s comm i ss ion s

and p rofi t s) th e vastn ess of th e demand for t u rkeys was

m e t w ith amaz ing p rompt n ess . On December 8th th e

Comm i t t e e repo rted that i t h ad col l ect ed in money83 ; had s en t t o th e A rmy of th e Shenandoah

tu rkeys ; t o th e A t l ant i c Squadron to th e

A rm i es of th e Potomac and J am es pounds of

t u rkey,bes id es a vast amou nt of pou l t ry, doughnu ts

and oth er cakes,app l es , p rese rved fru i t s , ch ees e , etc .

con t r ibu t ed from th e i nt er i o r O f th e count ry . Large

p arc el s and c rat es of t he se dai n t i es were sen t al so t o

N ewbern,W i l l e t

’

s Po in t,S t . Luke

’

s H osp i tal , Fort

R i chmond,Fort Lafayet t e , Fort Ham i l ton , Fort Schuy

le r, Hosp i t a l Bat t e ry,Cen t ral Park Hosp i tal , Bedl oe

’

s

I sl and,Govern o r’s I s l and

,Navy Yard , Sh ip Vermont ,

S t eam e r D i ctat o r , S andy Hook Batt ery, et c . Gen . Grant

h ad fu rn i sh ed Cap t . Theodo re B . Bron son,charged wi th

c arry i ng th e feast t o th e A rmy of th e Potomac , w i th

a l et t e r that fac i l i tat ed i t s rap id d i st r ibu t ion ; and

C 01. Geo rg e F . Noyes went t o th e A rmy of t h e Shenan

d oah . Probably a Thanksg iv ing tab l e , st re t ch ed over

s o m any S tat es , an d ext end ing i n to S O many corn ers .

was n ever b e fo re spread by one set O f hosts,at so great

a cost,i n so Short a t im e , u nde r so many d i ffi cu l t i e s , and

w i th su ch magn ifi c ent su c cess ; p erhap s nev er was su r

rou nd ed by S O many t ouch ed and g rat e fu l h earts , or

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB . 7 I

a ccompan i ed w i th su ch p raye rs and bl ess ings from aux

i o u s an d l ov ing l ip s at d is tan t h om es . Th ere was a

t ou ch of se nt im en t i n th i s en t erp r i s e , co st ly and l abo ri ou s

a s i t was , that m e r i t s th e Sp ec ial p l ace we g i v e i t s h i sto ryi n th i s re co rd of t h e Cl ub

’

s l i fe an d d eeds . I t i s d u e t o

t he memory O f our l am en t ed fe l l ow-member,Th eodore

R oosevel t,t o say tha t h i s z eal an d labo r i n b ehal f of

t h i s en t e rp r i se , so congen i al t o th e b eau t i fu l u n i on o f

d omest i c and pub l i c V i rt u es in h is ch aract e r, con t ribu ted

g reat ly t o i t s su c c ess .

The U n i on Leagu e Club du ring th e war care fu l lyimp roved eve ry oppo rtu n i ty of hono ring meri t an d

s e rv i c es by welcom i ng with formal exe rc i s es , or i n formal

h osp i tal i ty , a l l Offi c e rs of th e A rmy and Navy, who had

won th e pub l i c n ot i c e , and came w i th i n th e reach O f i t s

at t en t i o n s . Gen erals Frankl in,Hoop er , But l e r and Gen .

Cu t l e r O f W i s c on s in,w ere thu s rece ived ; al so A dm i ra l

D upon t and Commodore Rogers ; Li eu t enant Cu sh ing ,

a ft e r th e h e ro i c act th at d est royed th e A lbemarl e ;

C ap ta i n W i n sl ow , a ft er th e m emo rabl e figh t o f th e

K earsarge w ith th e A l abama . V i c e-A dm i ra l Farragu t

u n expec t ed ly add ed h is we l come pre sen c e t o th at o f t he

b ri l l i an t assembly of l ad i es and g en t l emen that had b een

ca l l ed togeth e r by th e en e rget i c Comm i t t e e o f R ec ept i on t o make Cap t . W i n sl ow

'

s wel c om e as emphat i c an d

g rat e fu l as poss ib l e .

Nor w ere c iv i l i an s of em i n en c e fo rgot t en . G OV . A n

d r ew, S enato r Sh erman , G OV . Fen ton , G O V . Cu rt in, G OV .

Fl et ch e r of M i sso u r i , and th e Hon . M e ss rs . Blow and

D rake of t h e sam e g reat S tat e , were each rec e iv ed


w ith marked att en t io n and g rat i t u d e fo r serv i c es ren

d e red t o th e cau se o f Un ion and L iberty . A sword

was p resen t ed by m embers of th e Cl ub t o V i c e-A dm i ra l

Farragu t in m emo ry of daring exp l o i t s at New O rl eans

an d M ob i l e .

A b ri l l i an t break fast , wh ich b rough t togeth er an ex

t raord inary numb er of pub l i c men and patr iot i c sp i r i t s ,was g i v en by t h e Club t o Pro f . Goldw in Sm i th , Reg i u s

Pro fesso r O f Modern H ist ory at Oxfo rd , i n honor of

h is in t e l l ig en t sympathy w i t h th e Un i on ist s and advo

casy O f th e A m e r i can cau se b e fo re th e Eng l i sh p eop l e ,am ong whom , and esp ec ial ly i n l i t e rary and cu l t ivated

c i rc l e s , a s ent im en t of host i l i ty t o t h e Un ion,and of

i l l- fou nded en cou ragem ent t o th e reb el l ion had pre

va i l ed . A S th e war was j u st ove r,th i s o ccas i on was

mad e a so rt of j ub i l e e,and i n connect ion with the

su cc ess O f ou r d ip l omacy i n ward ing off th e then im

m in en t dang er of i n t e rven t i on on th e part O f Eng l and ,

Pro f . Sm i th re ce ived an ovat i on wh i ch add ed emphasis

t o th e p rot est , t h e cou nt ry had cont in ual ly made against

th e m i sapp reh en s ion , that had in fect ed Engl i sh stat es

men and publ i c i st s , as t o th e rights of th e Un ion—a

m i sapp reh en s i on , th ey so m u ch honored Goldwin Sm i th

for hav ing escap ed h imse l f, and don e so mu ch to d is

p e l i n o th ers . S om e c l e rgym en of N ew York and

Brooklyn , who had be en at l east as act ive as any lay

m en i n th e cau s e of th e war, were among th e spokes

men of th i s b r i l l i an t b reak fast , and som e sal l i e s of w i t

p rovoked by an imp ert i n en t re fe ren ce t o the i r u ncle ri

cal z eal,are st i l l re cal l ed by th e fo rtu nat e part i c ipato rs

i n that l iv e ly and j oyous occas i on .

THE UN I ON LEA GUE CL UB . 73

Sp ec ia l e ffo rt s we re mad e th i s year i n con t in u an c e

of th e movem en t for ado rn ing th e C l ub Hou s e w it h

p o rt ra i t s O f n at i onal m en , an d w i th rep resen t at i ves o f

c amp s c en es and in c i d en t s of t h e war. M r . George P .

Put nam ,R i chard M . Hunt , and W i l l iam T . Blodget t

w e r e a spec ia l c omm i t t e e appo in t ed t o t ake charg e o f

th i s d epartmen t O f a rt . The comm i t t e e early suggest ed

th e d e s i rabl en ess of g iv ing a sp ec ia l charact e r t o th e

art c o l l e ct i on O f th i s C lu'

b , nam ely,a p at r i ot i c an d

h ist o r i cal m ot ive , i n wh i ch th e pu rpose sh ou ld b e t o

p r es e rve and p erp et u at e , by t h e ai d of art,th e mem

ory of t h e g reat st rugg l e that had sav ed and rec reat ed

th e Un i on . and th e Nat i on . I t i s no t whol ly ou t of

p l ac e h e re t o say ,that th i s sou nd adv i c e has som e

t im e s fal l en in t o obl iv i on,t o th e inj u ry of t h e charac

t e ris t ic i n t e re sts o f th e Cl u b . I t sh ou ld u nqu est i on ably,

bo th i n it s l i b rary and art co l l ec t i on , p ers i s t en t ly cu l t i

vat e th e sp ec i al ty o f Loyal ty and Un ion , by care fu l lyco l l e c t ing what b est i l lu st rat es th em ; l eav ing t o oth e r

assoc i at i o n s what i s mo re gen e ral , and , t h ough in t erest

ing i n i t s e l f , no t d i rect ly help fu l t o th e cau se t o wh ic h

th e past h i st o ry o f th i s c l ub has p l edged i t s members .

R eso l u t ion s of hono r and resp ec t were pass ed i n th e

C l ub th i s year i n m emo ry O f W i l l i am Cu rt i s N oyes ,

d i st i ngu i sh ed in h i s p ro fess i on ,i n pat r i ot i sm ,

and as

a m emb er of th i s assoc i a t i on ; t o J o s iah Qu in cy of

Boston,th e last su rv ivo r of th e A m e r i can st at esm en

asso c i at ed w ith th e m en o f th e R evo l u t i on , and th e

ard en t foe of th o s e who were st i r r ing a reb e l l i on t o

u ndo i t s V ic t o r i e s .


The n eg l e c t of th e c i ty t o p rov id e for th e r ecept ion

o f M aj or-Gen eral J am es S . W adsworth’

s remain s,born e

h om eward from th e p l ace of h is hono rab l e d eath at

th e f ron t in th e bat t l e of th e W i l d ern ess , arrest ed the

at t en t i on O f th e C lub . I t imm ed iate ly assum ed th e

du ty ,app o in t ed pal l b ear ers , and formed th e escort to

th e fu n eral p roc ess ion , assum i ng al l th e exp ense . Gen .

W adsworth’

s d eath was Sp ec ial ly commemorated in the

C l ub by r eso l u t i ons of so rrow . TO gu ard aga in st any

fu t u re n eg l igenc i es of a S im i l ar character , M r . Charl es

H . M arshal l p ropos ed that a j o in t comm i t t e e shou ld be

c reat ed cons i st i ng of five m embers , th e Mayo r of th e

c i ty,a rep resen tat iv e of th e Chamber of Comm erce ,

and a rep resen tat iv e of th e Produ ce Exchange , with

two m emb ers of th e Un ion Leagu e Club , whose du ty

i t Shou ld b e t o ra i s e and exp end th e n ecessary fu nds

fo r s ecu r ing approp r iat e and hono rabl e obsequ i es for

th e remain s of gen eral offi c ers k i l l ed in th e nat ional

s erv i c e,and pass i ng t o or th rough th i s c i ty t o bu rial .

The Club app roved th e suggest ion , and named J ona

than S tu rges and Georg e W . Blunt as th e i r rep resenta

t iv e m embers .

M r.Cannon o ff ered a reso l u t i on “ that a comm i tt ee

b e appo in ted t o p repare and c i rc u l at e a p et i t ion t o

Cong ress , p ray i ng for th e passag e of a law g rant ing

boun ty l and s from abandon ed p l antat i on s and confis

cat ed t e rr i to ry t o al l so l d i e rs and sai lo rs honorably

d i scharged from th e se rv ic e of t h e army and navy O f

th e Un i t ed S tat es . Dr . Li ebe r offe red , J u ly 14th ,

1 864 ,a ser i e s of reso l u t i ons, from a comm i t t e e on th e


C iv i l S e rv i c e b i l l , exp ress iv e of sympathy with S enato r

Charl e s S umn er’

s b i l l t o make the t en u re o f O ffi c e d e

p end en t on good behav io r .

The se con d annu al r epo rt of th e Execu t iv e Comm i t t e e

dat ed J anu ary, 1865 , conc l ud es w i th a stat em en t of

t h e fu t u r e p rosp ec ts and du t i e s o f t h e Un ion Leagu e

C l ub , 5 0 adm i rab l e and so p roph et i c that we cann ot

d o bet t e r th an qu ot e i t h e re i n fu l l,as a p e rman en t

part of t h e g en e ral su rvey of th e l i fe O f th i s A sso c ia

t i on , and as a summ ary of i t s p r i n c ip l es , V i ews and

Oppo rtu n i t i e s as w e l l wo rthy of con s id e rat i on n ow as

at th e t im e i t was wri t t en and adopt ed .

THE FUTURE .

In regard t o th e fu t u re i t may be remarked th at i f

any o f th e m embers o r ig in al ly be l i eved that b ecau se

th e R eb e l l i o n cal l ed i t i n t o ex i st enc e,t h e re fo re i t s

wo rk wou l d b e accomp l i sh ed and i t s o rgan izat io n d i s

s o lved wh en th e R eb e l l i on shou ld b e supp ressed , no

s u ch id ea i s en t e rta in ed among t h em now ; and vari

ou s c i rc um stan c es comb in e t o make th e p e rman en t ins t i t u t ion of th e C l ub a m att e r o f su ch p ubl i c mom en t

as t o j u s t i fy th e m ost care fu l con s id erat i on o f t h e

p r i n c ip l e s an d l im i t at i on s t o be Obse rved i n eve ry p l an

for i n c reas i ng and ext end ing i t s i nflu enc e .

I t i s c l e ar t o al l that th e m emo rabl e even ts th rough

wh i ch w e are pass i ng wi l l h ave a marked e ff ec t, ye t

t o b e d evel op ed , u pon A meri can po l i t i c s . The p l o t

aga in st ou r nat i onal l i fe,o r ig i nat i ng i n th e in t e res t of

S l ave ry,and of what W ash ing t o n d en ou nc ed as

“ th at

m on st e r”

S tat e S ove re ign ty —has al ready changedl ong-se t t l ed Op i n i on s , and p rodu c ed n ew and p ro fou nd

c onv i c t i on s . The res o l ve of th e p eop l e of Maryl an d


and M i s sou r i t o abol i sh S l ave ry o f th e i r own accord , asa syst em i n compat ib l e w i th pub l ic wel fare , has a S ig

n ificance not t o be ove rl ooked ; and th e rap i d d ec l i n e

and approach ing fal l of th e S l ave power by th e Opera

t io n o f war,and th e p roposed am endm en t t o th e Con

s t i t u t ion ,wi l l p resen t ly or ig i nat e nove l an d in terest ing

qu est i on s t ou ch ing t h e retu rn of r eb el S tate s and th e

re lat ion s of t h e fre edom wh ich,i f w i s ely solved , must

g iv e n ew l i fe and V igo r t o ou r coun t ry,soon

,we t ru st

,

t o b e r est ored t o peace and fre edom ,w i th a m ight i er

s t rength and a nob l e r d est iny than th e most sangu in e

of i t s fou nde rs dared to hope for .

A t th e p res en t mom ent , when th e m i l i tary i ssu e

s eems n o longe r doubt fu l , th e qu est i on con fronts u s

wh ethe r ou r Governm ent shal l t reat fo r p eac e with

th e p r et end ed gove rnm en t at R i chmond,wh ich has

t ramp l ed al ike on th e nat ional Con st i t u t ion , and on th e

righ ts and l ib e rt i e s of th e S ou the rn S tat es ; or whether,r e fu s ing t o re cogn i z e i t s u su rped au th ori ty, we shal l

f r e e th e S ou th from t hat m i l i t ary despot i sm , wip ing i t

ou t by t h e st ern hand O f war,and th en con fer d i rect ly

w i th th e p eopl e of th e reb e l S tat es as al on e au thori zed

t o represent th em se lves .

The d isc l o su re,s in c e th e rebel l ion commen ced , o f a

mo re d eep ly-seated un fr i end l i n ess than we were pre

pared t o find,on t h e part of t h e government s and

ru l i ng c l ass es o f Eu rop e t owards th e A m er i can r epub

l i c,as th e g rand expon en t O f popu lar gove rnment and

fr e e in st i tu t i on,has b e en at ten d ed by th e d i sc lo su re ,

st i l l more start l ing , of an influ en t ial fact i on in ou r

m i d st , so want ing i n th e sen t imen t , of A m er i can na

t ionali ty as t o hav e inv i t ed , th rough a fo re ig n m in is

t e r,fo re ign int erven t i on ; and i t may be that th ese

fac t s,combin ed w i th th e establ i shm en t , by a Fren ch

army,of an emp i re on th e so i l o f M ex i co

,wi l l o rig in



l eg i s l at i on , and rep l ac ing , i n th e Leg i sl atu re and in

m u n ic ipal cou n c i l s , ou r ancest ral id eas o f pub l i c honestyand pub l i c h on o r by th e immoral p rac t i c es O f

“ th e

l obby" and “ th e r i ng . NO man who rem embers th e

w id e and var i ou s c i rc l es rep resen t ed i n th is C lub,and

wh o app rec iat es what ou r i nfl u en ce h as accomp l i sh ed

i n d riv i ng t o i t s s ec re t h au nt s th e d i sl oyal ty that re

ce n t ly flau n t ed i n th i s c i ty, Shou ld doubt th e power O ft h i s A ssoc i at i on SO as t o con c en t rat e publ i c op in i on

aga in st th e ou t rages Of th e l obby, as t o consign th e

S t at e l eg i s l ato r or C i ty ald erman , who sel l s“h is vote

,t o

soc i al i n famy and pol i t i cal ext in c t i on .

The fact that th e l oyal party rep resen t ed by th e

C lub i s i n a m i n o r i ty i n th i s m et ropol i s , bu t S l ight lyimpa i rs ou r infl u enc e i n th e count ry,

where ou r pr in

c ip les are backed by a maj o r i ty of votes , and

that sam e maj ori ty i s record ed against th e party that

n ow cont ro l s th i s c i ty. The nat i on at l arg e has d is

app roved th e p rin c ip l e s and po l i cy of th i s fact i on as

an t i-nat ional an d ant i-democrat i c from th e recommenda

t i on of Mayor W ood , i n 1 86 1 , t o w ithd raw New York

fr om th e Un ion and make i t a fre e c i ty, to th e recen t

e ffort of M ayo r Gunth er t o arrest th e fore ign imm i

grat ion wh ich flows in as l i fe-bl ood t o i nvigorat e ou r

rep ub l i c , and h i s att emp t t o ch eck th e joy of ou r c i t i

z en s at th e v ict o ri e s o f our so ld i ers and the t riumph o f

ou r flag . The p eop l e u nderstood at l ast how dwarfed

and p in ched are those i d eas of nat i onal i ty which , u nablet o emb rac e the expanse o f a con t in en t or the d ign i tyan d wel fare o f a nat i on are restri c t ed t o th e in t erests o f

a' fac t ion ,

th e confin es of a S tat e , or even the sub urbs

of a c ity . The men of N ew York who rep resen t the

t ru e sp i r i t of t h e Nat i on , and who have su stain ed th eGove rnment i n i t s darkest hou rs , are expected by th e

p eop l e t o influ ence fu rth er op i n i on s on th e nat ional


qu est ion s that are now ari s ing . W hen ever N ew York

has t ru ly spoken for th e cou nt ry ,as when

,i n 1 8 54 ,

She

was th e fi rs t t o u t t e r th e prot est ,“ No Vio l at i on of

p l igh t ed fai th , no repeal o f th e‘M i ssou ri Comprom i s e ,

’

sh e i s su re o f a pat rio t i c respon se from Ma i n e t o Kan

sas ; an d now,mo re than eve r be fo re

,th e coun t ry w i l l

g l ad ly second he r effo rt s i n el evat ing t h e t on e O f th e Na

t ional pol i t i c s .

The n ear app roach of th e Con st i t u t i onal S t at e Con

v en t ion t o r ev i s e th e o rgan i c law of New York,i s

beg i n n ing t o l ead t o th e d i sc u ss i o n of th e qu est ion,i n

wh ich n o t S imp ly th e m embe rs o f th e Cl u b and th e c i t i

z en s O f th i s S tat e , bu t A m e r i can C i t i z en s gen eral ly are

i n t e rest ed,wheth e r th e pol i t i cal ev i l s u nde r wh i ch we

s u ffe r may not b e t rac ed d i re ct ly t o ou r t o o hasty d i s

regard O f t h e republ i can p r in c ip l e s on wh i ch ou r S tat e

was fo u n ded,and wh eth er th ey may not b e rem ed i ed ,

i n part at l east , by r et rac ing ou r st ep s , and h eed i ng t he

l esson s o f th e past and th e w i sdom of ou r fath e rs .

NO t im e cou l d be m ore favo rab l e th a n th e p resen t

for a care fu l r ev i ew O f ou r s i tu at i on,when old part i e s

a re b roken u p ,O ld i ssu es d i sapp ear ing ,

n ew qu est i on s

n ec e ssa r i ly ar i s ing ,and a fee l ing g row i ng among al l

c l asses that no t on ly can w e not affo rd , sudd en ly bu r

d e ned as we are , t o t o l e rat e l onge r th e l oos e po l i t i cal

m o ral i ty and th e reckl ess and scandal ou s l eg i s lat i on bywh i ch w e hav e be en in u ndat ed , bu t that as an en l igh t

en ed and Chr i st ian Nat i on,wh ich has b een chast en ed

by war , and from whos e bo rd e rs se rv i t ud e i s d isap

p ear i ng ,we owe i t t o ou rs elv es and to th e wo rl d , t o

t h e m emo ry of ou r an c est o rs and th e hop e of ou r

ch i l d ren,t o find a rem edv for th ese a la rm i ng ev i l s , an d

t o re - i n augu rat e in ou r pol i t i c s that r egard for t ru th

and righ t and h ono r , wh i ch i s th e su rest guaran t e e o f

n at i ona l p rosp e r i ty.


S u ch a m ovemen t o f re fo rm was d i st i n ct ly i n c l u ded

among th e or ig i nal obje ct s. for wh ich th i s A ssoc i at ionwas o rgan iz ed , u nd e r th e cal l fo r t h e format ion O f a

Nat i ona l C l ub,i n J anu ary,

1 863 . The f ramers p roposed ,i n words that w i l l b ear t o b e rep eat ed , not s imp ly

“t o

c u l t ivat e a p ro fou nd nat ional d evot i on , as d ist i ngu i sh ed

from S tat e or s ect i onal f eel i ng , bu t“t o e l evat e and up

hol d th e popu lar fa i th in republ i can government ; to

d ign i fy po l i t i c s as a pu rsu i t and a study ; t o awaken a

p rac t i cal i n t e re st i n pub l i c affai rs i n those who have

b ecom e d i scou rag ed ; t o en forc e a sen se of th e sacred

ob l igat i on s i nh eren t i n c i t i z en sh ip and , final ly, t o bringt o b ear upon nat i onal l i f e al l that a body of earn est

and pat r i ot i c m en can accomp l i sh by u n i t ed effo rt .”

A no th er O f th e obj ects p roposed for th e A ssoc iat ion

was “t o d i sc u ss and u rg e upon publ i c at t ent i on , l arge

and nobl e sch em es of nat i onal advan cemen t , and now

that i t h as so far,and w ith su ch S ignal su ccess , accom

p lished i t s p r imary aim of rebuk ing d isl oyal ty andst reng th en ing th e gov ernm en t , th e fu rth er du t i es i t

p roposed , and fo r th e execu t i on of wh ich i ts st rength

i s n ow adequat e,cl a im th e i r du e p l ac e i n ou r consider

a t i on .

The fac t that th i s id ea has b egu n t o an imat e th e

C lub,and t o indu ce p ropos it i on s for spec ifi c act ion

and i nd iv id u al re comm endat ion s of a part i cu lar pol i cy,

i n du c e th e Execut ive Comm i t t e e t o remark that , wh il e

i t w i l l b e the c l ear du ty o f th e A ssoc i at ion to l end to

th e Nat i onal an d S tat e Gove rnm en ts , on p rop er occas i ons

,what eve r ass i stanc e th e vari ed know l edg e and ex

p e rience o f i t s m embers may en abl e th em t o ren der i ns o lv ing p o l i t i cal p robl ems as th ey ari s e , and i n e ncou rag

ing t h e broad and comp reh ens ive state smansh ip de

manded by ou r n ew cond i t i on ; th ey be l i eve that al l

w i l l ag re e in th inking that th e Club shou ld exh ib i t a

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB . 8 I

w i s e re s erve , nor m edd l e t oo r ead i ly with l esse r qu es

t i on s , n o r sp eak at any t im e i n su ch a manne r as t o im

p ai r i t s p rop e r i nfl u en ce w i th th e cou nt ry .

Thu s far th e op e rat i on s of th e Cl ub have been car

r i ed on w i th s ingu lar and , i n de ed , unbroken u nan im i ty,

by gen t l em en who,u nt i l th e c ou nt ry was assa i l ed by

r eb el l i o n,had be en arrayed in an tagon i st i c part i e s , h old

ing oppos i t e Op in i on s , and bent up on w id e ly d ive rg i ng

p ol i c i es . That th e sam e p e r fec t u nan im i ty of th ough t

a nd ac t ion 'w i ll p r evai l i n r egard t o th e vari ou s qu est i on s

t hat m u st p rese n t ly ar i s e , i n r e fe re n c e t o th e m easu res

o f n at ional advan c em en t t o b e p r esen t ed for th e i r con

s id e rat i on , cannot reasonably be expect ed bu t th e pat r i

o t i c p l edges of th e fou nd e rs O f th e A ssoc i at i on,i n th e

word s that hav e be en qu ot ed,and th e persona l charac

t e r of i t s m embers , affo rd a con t in u ing gu aran t ee t o

t h e cou n t ry,th at w i th in th e c i rc l e of th e Un ion Leagu e

C lu b, po l i t i ca l d i ff e ren c es , when th ey ari s e , w i l l a lways

b e b l end ed w i th soc ial cou rt esy ,and that th e u n i t e d

a im of al l w i l l s t i l l b e t o d ign i fy A m e r i can pol i t i c s as

a pu rsu i t an d a st u dy .

A ll wh ich i s r espec t fu l ly s ubm i t t ed .

GEORGE GR ISWOLD,

C/zaz’

rman of t il e Execu t i ve Commi t tee .

The Treasu re r’

s report at th e c l ose of th e second year

o f th e Cl u b’

s ex i st en c e,Showed th e total of rece ipt s t o

b e 2 8 ; th e pay i ng members t o b e 74 1 ; th e

d i sbu rsem en t s 58 ; th e balan c e 70. A

s ign ifican t i t em of th e d i sbu rsem en ts i s cash

pa i d for U . S . 5 pe r c ent . bonds and acc ru ed

i nt e res t,wh i ch may be cons id e red as th e early b eg i n

n i ng o f th e fu nd S i n c e accumu lat ed toward th e bu i ld ing

o f a p ermanen t Cl ub H ou se . The Treasu rer recom


m end ed that i n fu t u re al l th e adm i ss ion fe es of new

members , an d a part i f n ot al l , th e balan c e of th e year’s

accou n t b e app rop r iat ed to a bu i ld ing fu nd , and that

obj ect s , no t s t ri ct ly w ith in th e p rov inc e of th e Club

Op erat ion s , be h en c e fo rth p rov ided for by pr i vat e sub

s crip t ions and not m ad e a charge upon the gen eral fund .

Th is adv ic e , i t i s n ot t oo m uch to say, has been since

fo l l owed bu t i t i s fa i r t o add that i f exc ept i on s t o th is

po l i cy are t o be found in th e account s of th e fi rst two

years , no years s in ce have exh ib it ed , for n one have

requ i red , such vo l u ntary l ib eral i ty on th e part of in

d iv id ua l m embers t owards Nat ional obj ects . The

Un ion Leagu e Club has shown at al l t imes an excep

t ional read in ess t o m eet al l pat ri ot i c d emands by th e

fre e con t ribu t ion s of i t s m embers,and the amoun t thu s.

fu rn i sh ed S i n c e i t s orig i n , bu t part i cu larly wh i l e th e war

l ast ed,wou ld make n o m ean p ropo rt i on o f th e whole

l ib e ral i ty and beneficence of th e C ity of New York .

A n ac t “ t o in co rporat e th e Un i on Leagu e Club o f the

C ity o f New York passed the Leg i s latu re February

16th,1865 . The Chart er , A rt i c l es o f A ssoc iat i on and

By-Laws are made a part of th e annual report o f J an

u ary , 1 865 .

On J anuary 1 1 t h , 1865 , i t was m oved by M r . Bl iss

That a comm i t t ee of five , with powe r t o add to the ir

n umb er , be appo inted to take su ch m easu res as they

may de em p rop e r t o p rov id e for th e com fo rt o f t he

s ol d i e rs arriv ing in and l eav ing th e c i ty by th e several

ra i lways , so far as th ey are n ot p rov ided fo r by ex i st ingagen c i e s . Thomas N . Dal e , J C . Cart er

,J ackson S

TI I E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UH. 83

S ch u l t z , George Bl i ss , J r .,and Edward Cromwel l , were

n am ed as th i s comm i t t e e . Rooms were p rov ided at

38 5 Fou rth A ven u e , n ear th e N ew Haven d epot , an

effi c i en t comm itt e e O f l ad i es organ iz ed for c ooperat ion ,

and ove r fo u r th ou sand do l lars were co l l ect ed t o carryou t th e p u rpose . The So ld i e rs

’

R est , th u s i n st i t u t ed ,

re nd e red very effi c i en t se rv i c e wh i l e th e ne ed fo r i t

l ast ed .

J an uary 17th ,1 865 .

—A spec ial m eet ing was cal l ed t o

exp ress th e sorrow o f th e Cl ub on th e death o f Edward

Eve rett . M r . Parke Godwin repo rted reso l u t i on s of

resp ec t , wh ich are on th e record s O f t h e A ssoc iat i on .

O n J an uary 2 7th ,1 865 , a comm i t t e e of n in e (Hon .

George Banc ro ft,R . B . R oosevel t , Hen ry E . Clark ,

I saac Sherman , Fran c i s B . Cu t t ing , W i l l iam A l l en

Bu t l er,E l l i o t C . Cowd in , J ackson S . S ch u l t z and . J ohn

Jay,) were appo i n ted t o p roce ed t o W ash ingt o n an d

u rg e th e adopt i on of th e Const i t u t i onal Am endm en t

abo l i sh ing s lave ry. The report , wh ich i s publ i sh ed , i s

s ign ed by Charl es H . M arshal l,E l l i o t C . Cowd in

,

Georg e W . Bl un t , Geo rge W . Lan e , Hen ry E . Clark,

Hi ram Barney, J ohn Jay, (comm i t t ee) . Th i s comm i t t e e

made an an imat ed repo rt , publ i sh ed and i n the arch ives

o f th e Cl ub ,wh ich fu rn i sh es one of th e most g raph i c ac

c ou n t s anywh ere t o be found of th e debate , th e doubt fu l

p rosp ec t and the t ri umphan t passage of th e“Th irt e en th

A m endmen t . The repo rt g i ve s a su cc inct bu t e l oqu en t

res ume of th e whol e h i story of th e S l ave powe r , i t s

en c roachment s and i t s su cc ess ive bl ows at th e p eac e

O f th e Un ion . I t i s a repo rt fu l l of r ing i ng pat ri ot i sm


and as m uch as any pap er on ou r reco rds d eserves t o

b e p reserved as an examp l e o f th e sp i r i t t hat an imated

the Un ion Leagu e Cl ub in th e d eadly s t rugg l e w i th

the serp en t th at was warm ed in th e bosom of th e

Nat i on u nt i l i t had st reng th t o th reat en i t s l i fe .

On th e death of Pres id en t L in coln,a comm ittee

of th i rt e en , head ed by th e Pres id en t o f th e Club , was

appo in t ed t o go t o W ash ington and take part in the

fu n e ral . The comm i t t ee cons i sted of Charles H . Mar

shal l , J on athan S tu rges , J ames W . Beekman,J ohn J ay

C . E . Detmo ld , O t i s D . Swan , LeG rand B . Cannon,

Theodo re Roosevel t , J ohn A . W eeks, G eo . Cabot

W ard , Samu el W etmore , Parke r Handy ,Charl es But

l e r, Frank E . Howe , and was rece ived with al l honor

and respect by Pres id en t J ohnson , th e S ecretar i es o f

Departments and th e Ch i e f J u st i c e . The Union Leagu e

C l ub ren ewed i t s engagem en t s o f l oyal ty and serv ic e

and rec e ived new ev iden ce of th e val u e set by th e

Governm en t u pon i t s labo rs and pat ri ot i sm .

The th i rd annual repo rt Shows that the year was a

c r i t i ca l on e i n regard t o the pol i cy of the Club . The

publ i c qu est i on s upon wh ich al l had agreed , were, i n a

m an ner, c l osed by th e term inat i on of th e war. A nd th e

t im e had com e when i t must be d ec id ed whether the

Un ion Leagu e Cl ub had any reason for be i ng, except th e

p reservat i on of th e memory, what i t had been . W hat part

t he Club cou ld p rop erly t ake in qu est i ons n ot st ri c t ly na

t ional, nor immediat e ly conn ect ed with th e war, was as

ye t unsett l ed . But i t soon appeared that to preserve

what th e war had gain ed , and to fin i sh what peac e had



gat e th e cond i t i on Of the c ity governmen t , and invi te

sa i d comm i t t ee t o m eet th e members of th e Cl ub on the

fo l l owi ng Friday even ing at th e Cl ub House . In the

sam e g en eral d i rect i on po int ed th e resol u t ions wh ich in

th e month of February sen t a comm i t t ee , consist ing of

S i n c l a ir Tou sey,Th eodore Roosevel t

,E l l i ot C . Cowd in

,

S t ephen Hyatt , J . M . Cross , J ackson S . S chu l tz and

I saa c H . Bai l ey, t o A lbany t o u rg e th e passage of the

p roposed ac t fo r c reat ing a paid F ire Departmen t i n the

c ity of New York . R esol u t i ons fol l owed i n Oc tober

c reat i ng a comm i t t e e t o support th e nom i nat i ons o f th e

Syracu se Convent i on , and to a id the l oyal and ant i

S l avery c i t iz ens of New J ersey t o carry th e state in

favo r of th e Con st i tu t i onal Amendmen ts . In th e same

t empe r th e Governo r O f New York had,upon i ts passage ,

been i n stan t ly t e l egraphed by th e comm i t t ee , which

th e Cl ub sen t t o W ash ingt on , t o watch th e cou rse O f th e

Th i rt een th Amendment,

“ t o encou rage the Emp i re

S tat e t o pu t i t se l f fi rst on th e ro l l o f th e states adop t

ing i t . A no th er comm i t t ee was abou t th i s t ime ap

po int ed , con s i st ing of M essrs . J ohn Jay, W i l l i am M .

Evarts,Charl e s But l e r

,Benj am in W . Bonney, James W .

Beekman, S . B . Rugg l es and O t i s D . Swan , to con sider

what act i on Shou ld b e taken by th e Cl ub in rel at ion to

th e approach ing conven t i on fo r th e am endment o f the

Con st i tu t ion o f the S tat e of New York.

On th e occas ion of th e passag e of th e rema in s of Lin

col n through New York, a d i sposit i on b e ing evi nced to

exc lu de c o lo red c i t i z en s from th e p rocess i on , th e Un ion

Leagu e Club v igorou sly p ro t est ed , and by coOp e rat ion

THE UN I ON LE A G UE CL UB .87

w i th th e W ar Departmen t and th e poli c e , secu red th e

adm i ss i on o f a respectabl e rep resen tat i on o f co lored

c i t i z en s in th e ranks of th at most m em orab l e fo l l ow i ngO f th e martyred Pres id en t

’

s ash es—a p ro c ess i on in wh ich

th e Cl ub occup i ed th e p l ac e o f S i n ce re mou rn e rs .

In May, of th i s year, th e comm i t t e e on art and re l i c s

was mad e a stand ing comm i t t e e, t o consi s t of seven

m embers . I n J an uary fol l ow ing , M e ssrs . Georg e P . Put

nam,W i l l i am T. Blodgett , R i chard M . Hunt

, J . Lorim er

G raham , J r. , Georg e W . Hatch, J . F . Ken set t and J . F

Cropsey ,we re el e ct ed t o serve as such committ e e .

I n J u n e , th e Cl ub passed a reso l u t i on “That th e

Un ion Leagu e C lub o f th e C i ty of New York in vokes

t he i nfl uenc e of th e Nat ional au th or i t i e s i n th e estab

lishmen t of a syst em O f su ffrage i n th e lat e rebel l iou s

stat es , wh ich shal l b e equ al an d j u st t o al l , w i th ou t d i s

t i n c t i on O f co lo r . A nd i n the fo l l ow ing Decembe r, th e

C l ub appo in t ed Geo rge F . Noyes , J onathan S t u rge s ,

Luc iu s Tu cke rman,Charl es Co l l i n s

,Georg e B l i ss , J r.

,

W i l l i am C . Bryan t , J ackson S . S chu l tz , Pet er Coop e r ,

Edward F . Davi s on and George Cabot a com

m i t t e e t o coop e rat e w i th th e‘N ew York Nat i ona l

F re edmen’

s R e l i e f A ssoc iat i on'

i n re c e iv ing fu nds t o

s upport t each ers at th e S ou th , bel i ev ing no m ean s mo re

e ffe ct u al t oward s s ecu r ing equal r igh ts t o t h e n egro es

t han a gen e ra l d iffu s i on O f edu cat i on .

The Exec u t ive Comm i t t e e recomm ended i n the i r an

n u al repo rt , J an uary,1 866, th e fo l l owing add i t i onal

t op i c s for fu t u re cons id erat i on :“ Encou rag i ng g reate r

p erman en c e and effi c i en cy i n the subo rd inat e pos i t ion s


o f t h e c iv i l se rv ic e . Cooperat ion in al l p rope r effort s

t owards a g reat er pu ri ty and i n dep end en ce of th e J u

d ic iary. A i d ing i n th e passage of an efli cient heal th bi l l

fo r th e c i ty.

To en cou rage the fu t u re consid erat ion and d iscus

s i on of those and kind red subj ec t s,the comm i t t ee rec

ommend th e fo l l ow ing add it ion to th e art i c l es of asso

c iat ion

I t shal l b e the du ty of th e Cl ub to res ist and expos e

co rrupt i on and promote re fo rm i n our nat ional,stat e

and mun ic ipal affa i rs , and t o e l evat e th e id ea of Amer

i can c i t i z en sh ip .

The fou rth annu al report (presen ted J anu ary l oth , 1867)Shows th e work of th e C lub du ring th e fi rst year aft er

th e t e rm inat ion of th e war of th e reb el l i on,and exh ib it s

th e pol i cy wh i ch recommended i t sel f to the assoc iat ion

a ft er th e o rig i n al ends for wh ich i t was estab l i sh ed , i n

t im e s c r i t i cal for th e l i fe of t h e nat ion , had lost some

th ing of th e i r importan c e by th e su ccess of th e Un ion

arms . The Clu b now ,and for a fu l l year , had im

p roved th e Opp ortun i ty of t u rn ing i t s at t en t ion from

m il i t ary op e rat i on s , th e re c ru it ing of reg imen ts , th e care

of vo l u nt e ers i n t ransi t , th e c reat i on of a publ i c sent i

m en t favo rabl e t o th e passage of th e Const i tu t ional

A mendmen ts , th e human e t reatm ent of th e freedm en ,

th e resp ect d u e t o th e soc ial and c iv i l r ight s of th e

n eg ro in t he fre e stat es , t o mat t ers n eare r hom e a ffect

ing th e nat i onal sp i r i t and charact er, and esp ec ial ly t o

th e e rro rs,m i stakes and n eg l ig en ces , th e crimes and

weakn ess that bes et and marked the mu n ic ipal govern


m en t of ou r own c i ty . But fi rst i t p u t on re cord,i n

March , 1 866, i t s sympathy w i th th e rec on s t ru c t ive pol i cyof Cong ress i n th e fo l l ow i ng reso l u t i on

Resolved,A S th e s en s e of th e Un ion Leagu e Cl ub ,

t hat th e p rud en ce , w i s dom and pat ri o t i sm of bo th

h ou s e s o f Cong ress , upon th e subj ect of th e recons t ru c

t i on o f th e Un ion , me et ou r h earty approbat i on , and

have , as we be l i eve , th e app rova l o f th e g rea t m ass o f

t he l oyal peop l e N orth and S ou th .

I n A p r i l , 1 866, on t h e passage O f th e C ivi l R igh ts Bi l l ,

i t was reso lved

IV/zer c‘as , W e r ecogn iz e in th e passag e by Congre ss

o f th e C iv i l R igh t s B i l l an impo rt an t st ep t oward s se

curing t o al l t h e peop l e t h e righ ts and immu n i t i e s c on ~

S i s t en t w i th repub l i c an governmen t andlV/I erea s

,The Un ion Leagu e C lub , con s i st en t w i th

t he p r in c ip l es o f i t s fo rmat i on , has invari ab ly sympa~

t hized w i t h th e oppr essed ,and g i ve n i t s suppo rt to m eas

u re s ex t end ing and secu ring human rights ; t h e re fo re .

Resolved,That the thank s of t h e Clu b are du e

,and are

t end e red,t o those m embers O f Cong re ss , who vot ed in

favo r of th e passage o f the b i l l .

The Clu b sen t a d el egat i on e f S ix t v m embers t o th e

conv e n t i on of S ou th ern l oya li s t s i n Ph i lad elph ia t o take

part i n th e i r re cep t i on and inv i t e th em t o a mass m e et

ing i n New York,wh i ch t ook p l ac e S ep t embe r 1 1 th .

A ft e r a v e ry en thu s iast i c m ee t i ng , th e Sou th e rn d el e

gat es were en t e rt a in ed bv th e Club,and a l l th e ex

p en s es of th e i r v i s i t t o N ew York w e re p rov ided fo r by

vo l u n tary s ubsc r ip t io n among ou r own m embers .

The F re edme n'

s R el i e f A sso c iat i on o f New York had

90 TII E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

cont in u ed to rec e iv e the effi c i en t cooperat i on of th e

comm i t t e e appo in t ed t o ren der i t . The New York

bran ch of th e A meri can F re edmen’

s Un ion Comm i ss i on ,

managed by th i s C lub ch iefly, ma in ta in ed abou t one

hund red and fi fty t each ers i n th e fi e ld .

The Loyal Publ i cat i on S oc i ety th i s year c l osed its ex

i s t ence, and made the Club a donat ion of i t s val uabl e

co l l ect i o n O f pamphle ts and p l at e s . The Club recogn ized th e g reat serv i ces o f th e gen t l emen , almost everyone a m ember of th i s assoc i at i on

,who had h ith erto con

du c ted th e Loyal Publ icat i on S oc i ety,and engaged to

carry on th e work t o th e b est of i t s ab i l i ty with the

assets . Col . Hawkin s aft e rward s repo rted the c i rcu la

t i on of docum en ts thu s fu rn i sh ed,and the in t en

t i on of th e comm i t t e e t o pu t mo re in c i rc u lat ion .

A ct ive m easu res for p romo t ing th e h eal th o f New

York engaged ou r c i t i z en s at th i s p er i od , and drew th e

c lose at t en t i on of th e Cl ub t o the b i l l be fo re the l eg is

la t u re,wh i ch was large ly suggest ed , framed and carri ed

by th e a id o f members of th e Cl ub , act ing e i th e r i n the i r

charac t ers of c i t i z en s o r as a comm i t t e e of th e Un ion

Leagu e Cl ub . The gen eral Obj ect was t o secu re an im

p roved and effi c i en t san i tary syst em fo r New York C ity

and v ic in i ty,by pu t t ing respons ib i l i ty and power into

the hand s O f a Board,fre e from p ol i t i cal i nfl uenc e and

d i rect ed by ad equat e sc ien t i fi c sk i l l and execut ive

abi l i ty . A l arge comm i t t ee from th e Cl ub p roceeded

t o A lbany,t o argu e the que st ion be fore a comm i t t e e o f

th e Leg i s l atu re . W hen the measu re th e Cl ub had ad

vocat ed was carri ed , several m embers of th e Un i on

TI I E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB . 9 I

Leagu e Club we re honored by s eat s i n th e Board , and

rend e red most effi c i en t and w id ely re c ogn i z ed se rv i c es i n

imp rov ing t h e san i tary cond i t ion of th e m et ropo l i s .

Eve r s i n c e , th e Board of Health has d rawn a l arg e

amou n t O f i t s w i sd om and ski l l and publ i c c red i t from

memb e rs of th i s C lub o ccupyi ng Offi c ia l p l aces i n th e

Board .

A n equ al ly impo rtan t and labo ri ou s publ i c se rv i c e was

rendered th i s year, and l ong a ft e r , by m embers O f th e

Cl ub in co nn ect i on w i th th e C i t i z en s’

A ss oc iat i on,i n i t s

e nd eavo rs t o fe rre t ou t and expose o ffi c i a l corrupt i on in

t h e C i ty aga in st th e Opposi t i on Of a band ed s et of

p rofl igat e p o l i t i c i an s , p rofi t ing by th e wrong s from

wh ich th e pub l i c su ffe red . The Exec u t ive Comm i t t e e

recommended in i t s an nu al report th at the thanks o f th e

C l ub be p re sen ted t o J ackson S . S chu l t z , W i l l ard Parke r ,

J ohn O . S t on e,Thomas C . A ct on , Dorman B . Eaton

,

George Bl i ss , J r., Pet er Co ope r , Geo rge F . Noye s an d

oth ers , m embers and Offi ce rs O f t h e Board of H eal th

and of t he Ci t iz en s’

A ssoc iat ion,and members of th e

C lub , fo r th e i r i nval uabl e serv i c e s t o the c i ty and

c ou nt ry at l arg e , i n th e d i sch arge o f th e i r d u t i e s in con

nect ion w i th th ese two asso c iat i on s .

The l ast Offi c ia l act o f th e C lub,th i s year, 1866, was

th e p assage O f th e fo l l ow ing R eso l u t ion

Resolved,In Vi ew of th e co rrup t i on and in effi c i en cy,

e spec i al ly i n th e l eg i s l at iv e departmen ts of t h e c i ty

gove rnment O f th e C i ty o f New York and th e bu reau s

th e rew i th c on nect ed,and in re fe renc e t o th e change s

that may be p roposed i n th e gove rnm en t of th e c i ty i n

92 TLI E UN I ON LEA GUE CL UB .

th e Con st i tu t ional Conven t i on soon to be held,that a

comm i t t ee o f th e Cl ub ,to cons i st O f e l even m embers

,be

nam ed by th e Chai r , whose du ty i t Shal l be to report

t o th e Club,at th e earl i est period p ract i cab l e , su ch

m easu res of change and re form as in th e i r Op in i on wi l l

b e b est adap t ed to remedy su ch abuses , and to secu re t oth e Ci ty hon est and effi c i en t mun i c ipal government .

The Comm i t t e e was accord ing ly appo int ed ,con si st ing

o f M essrs . Dorman B . Eaton , George F . Noyes , J ackson

S . S ch u l t z , Charl es P . K i rk land ,I saac H . Bai l ey,

James

B . Varnum, J r.

,I saac Sherman

,Charl es A . Peabody.

Theodore Roosevel t , George"

Bl i ss, J r.

, and A lbe rt

Mathews . In the cou rse o f th e year the Comm i t t e e , byt h e hand o f i t s Cha i rman

,Dorman B . Eaton , E sq .

,mad e

th e most exhaust ive repo rt anywhere to b e found , on

th e subj ec t c omm i t t ed to them a repo rt , which of i tsel f

a lon e wou ld j u st i fy th e whol e exi st enc e o f th e Club

that o rd ered i t . I t i s feared that the substance o f thi s

val uabl e report has not been su ffi c i ent ly stud ied . W e

can on ly recommend t hat , i f cop i es of i t r emain in ou r

arch ives,i t b e p l ac ed as a man ual for ou r younger mem

bers,where i t can be seen and st ud i ed . I t d eserves t o

be rev ived i n the m emory of th e Club , and kept al ive

u n t i l Mun ic ipal R e form i s m uch fu rther advanced than

i t i s now .

Th i s report i s a monumen t o f pat i en t inqu i ry,

l egal knowl edg e and pol i t i cal sagac i ty , an imat ed by

ferven t pat ri ot i sm and mora l earn estness,and ranks

among the m ost importan t pub l i c pap ers of ou r gen

e ra t ion . I t exam in es th e obscu re and con fu s ing qu es



unde r th e con t ro l O f Comm i ss i on s l ike tho se that now

govern ou r W at e r Board,ou r Pol i ce

,and ou r Health

Departmen t s . There i s more in st ruct ion and more n eed

ed in st ru ct i on in th i s R eport on th e subj ect of th e gov

e rnme n t of th i s C i ty, th e sou rc e s of i t s feebl eness and

co rrup t i on , than i s anywhere e l se t o b e found .

On February 2 2d , 1 866, a recep t i on was g iven t o

Gen eral Gran t , on occasi on of th e p resen tat i on o f

Gen eral Sco tt’

s port rait . Previou s t o th e meet ing of

Congress , Hon . W . P . Fessend en had a publ i c rec ep t i on

g i ven h im by th e Club . M r . J ohn J ay , Presid en t of th e

Cl ub , bu t e l ect ed du ring h is absence i n Eu rope , ad

dressed two l et t ers t o the Cl ub,one of mu ch personal

i n t e rest , and th e second of su ch publ i c importance , on

accoun t of i t s rev i ew o f the stat e of fee l ing t owards ou r

cau se i n Eu rop e , and i t s valuabl e sugg est i on s respect ingt h e fu tu re act ion of th e Cl ub

,that i t was ordered t o be

p ri n t ed and pu t i n th e hands of al l th e m embers of th e

C l ub .

The i nval uabl e se rv i c es o f W i l l iam J . Hopp i n for

t h ree years , who th i s year res igned the post he had fi l l ed

so en erget i cal ly,were d i st ingu i sh ed by the requ est of the

Cl ub that h e wou ld S i t fo r h i s por t ra i t t o be p laced on

th e wal l s of th e Cl ub House . M r . Geo rg e T . S t rong’

s

res ignat i on was h ono red by a recommendat i on of th e

am endm en t of t h e By-Laws , that th e Execu t ive Com

m i t t e e m ight then p ropose , that , as one o f the fou nders

of th e Cl ub , he Shou ld be p l ac ed on the ro l l o f hon

o rary m embers ; a suggest i on wh i ch . was d uly heed ed

and carri ed ou t i n th e cou rse O f th e n ext year.


I n O ct ober of th i s year ( 1866) th e ann ual d u es were

ra i sed from 830 t o 850.

By th i s t ime , som e qu e st i on ex i st ed i n regard t o th e

Cho ic e O f fu t u re qu arte rs fo r th e Cl ub on th e exp i rat i on

o f th e fi rst l ease,wheth er t o improve th e C l ub H ou se

th en occup i ed ,’

by bu i ld ing a hal l and resta u ran t , wh i ch

we re m u ch n eeded , or move to oth er and bet t e r accom

modat ions on anoth e r l ease , or bu i l d on pu rchased l o t s a

hou se o f i t s own . Even t s have s inc e p roved th e wi s

d om Of th e Execu t ive Comm i t t e e and the w i se doc i l i ty

O f th e Cl u b in re fu s ing t o y i e ld at that t im e t o th e

natu ral ambi t i on fo r a C lu b H ou se o f i t s own,wh i ch

wou ld have p robab ly sadd l ed th e Un ion Leagu e w i th a

d ebt most u n favo rab l e t o th e in c rease O f i t s m embersh ipand i t s e ffi c i en cy . The j u d ic i ou s recommendat i on of th e

Comm it te e t o en large th e accommodat ion s of th e Cl ub

H ou se, by erec t i ng a back bu i ld ing on th e p rem i s e s of

th e estat e we th en occ up i ed ,was baffl ed by som e d iffi

cu lt ie s that arose in th e at t empt ed ren ewal of th e l ease .

I t was a pa in fu l wrench to th e sen s ib i l i t i es O f th e origi nal m embers , when a l i t t l e lat e r th e Cl ub was t o rn from

i t s fi rs t h ome , and rep l an t ed i n st range , though more

Sp l end id quart ers .

W e qu ot e th e wo rd s of th e Execu t ive Comm i t t e e i n

th e i r excel l en t argument i n favor of ho ld ing on t o the

o rig i na l C lub H ou se

A part from and superi o r t o th e se con s id erat i on s , are

th e m emo ri es and t rad i t i on s o f th i s h ou se . H ere we

commen ced ,and

,d u ring al l t h e dark days we have passed

t h ro ugh ,have l ived and l abo red . There i s no co rn e r o f


t h i s hou se,wh ich has n ot a record of fa i th fu l wprk don e ,

and ch eerfu l ho sp i ta l i ty afford ed . Here we have labored

fo r th e good cau se , and h ere the othe r wo rkers , m embers

of th e nat i on , have been ou r gu est s . W hat kind ly rem embrance s fo r u s , and th em , and .

how long th e l i st o f thosewho

, when we l eave th ese wal l s , must go out w ith u s .O l d age , ch anc e , and acc iden t w i l l h ave tu rn ed away th e

fee t o f many, whom we mos t del ight t o honor .

The financ ial report fo r th e year 1 866 shows that the

members had fal l en off from e ight hundred and th i rtyth ree t o seven hundred and n in ety-seven . The cash re

ce ipt s O f th e re freshmen t room we re n early l ess

than th e year p rev iou s , wh i ch the S uperin t enden t at trib

u t ed t o a d im i n u t ion i n th e gen e ral att endanc e , on ac

cou n t O f th e decrease o f exc it emen t in po l i t i cal ma t

t ers .

The Library Comm i t t e e r eport ed that du ring th i s year ,

1 866 ,th e Library had grown m o re than in al l th e pre

v iou s ex i st ence of th e Club . The Library contai ned at

th i s da t e,be s id es pamph lets , numero us period ical s

an d pap ers , 577 standard vol umes , i n c lu d ing th e l i t era

t u re of th e war, th e g reat en cyc l oped ias , d ic t ionari es and

many works of re feren c e . Pro f . Goldw in Smith had

g en erou sly p resen t ed 200 vol umes t o be d i st ribu ted to

m embers o f th e Cl ub . The Library Comm i t t ee , Messrs .

S hepard , Gu i teau , M an,O sgood , Varnum ,

Math ews , and

Bu tt erworth,exh ib i t i n th e i r report a very tho rough

sense O f th e importan c e both o f a d i st i n ct ive character i n

the L ibrary,and of th e valu e o f i ts t reasu res in p romot

ing th e at t ract i on s and in sp i r ing th e fu tu re act iv i t i es o f

th e assoc iat i on .


98 THE UN I ON LE A G UE CL UB .

th ey had been S enators at W ash ing ton , or h eads of

d epartm en t s at A lbany,o r common coun ci lmen in N ew

York . The Club had becom e a power beh ind th e S tate

and was common ly recogn i z ed as con tain ing c i t iz en s wh o

held th e i r p rivat e in t erest s , t hé ir t ime , th e i r ease , the ir

party t i es , th e i r l ive s , se cond t o th e i r l ove of cou n t ry and

th e i r devot i on t o good governmen t . Not S i n c e th e days

of th e R evol u t i on had the re been so larg e a c lass of

c i t i z en s who l ived and breathed and had the i r be ing i n

th e count ry’

s dangers , hop es and int erest s . I t wou ld

not be t oo much to say that a hu ndred m embers O f the

Un ion Leagu e gave th ei r most val uabl e t ime every day,

fo r five years and more , t o th e cons id erat i on o f publ i c

aff ai rs,fo r wh ich th ey had o n ly th e sam e respons ib i l i ty

that b elong s to every c i t i z en . I t wou ld be easy and

p l easan t t o make ou t th i s Sh in ing l i st ; and a good part

o f i t s n ames wou ld com e w i th a u nan imous,spontan eou s

acc lamat i on from th e l ips of ou r membersh ip . The

d iffi cu l ty wou ld be to know where t o end ; and that i s

great enough t o admon i sh u s not t o beg i n i t . Besid es ,

th e labors of th e l ead i ng workers in th i s Leagu e were

t oo great for prai se . They wou ld feel th emse lves

mocked by any effo rt to pay th em off w i th resol u t ion s.

and eu log i es . Non e bu t themse lves cou ld know the

so l i c i t ud es,th e precau t i ons , th e pain fu l e ffort s t o whi ch

th ey gave thei r n ights and days ; and on ly th e salvat i on

of th e i r coun t ry,th e app robat ion of th e i r own con

sc i en ce s and th e favor of Him who ru l es in the A rm i e s

o f Heaven , co ul d fi t ly reward th em . W e wi l l n ot so i l

th e pu ri ty of th e i r mot ives , or bel i t t l e th e greatn ess.

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UH. 99

o f t h e i r s e rv ic es, by h o ld ing up the n am es of th e m ore

d i st i ngu i sh ed workers,du r ing th e fi rst five years o f th e

Cl ub'

s ex i s t en c e, t o th e publ i c recogn i t i on . I t wou ld be

assum ing that we cou ld make them bett er kn own , than

th ey al ready are , by th e i r works . I t wou ld Shock th e

modesty and th e p at ri o t i sm . that n e i th e r sough t nor

des i red any recogn i t i on excep t th i s opport un i ty of l arge

serv ic e . A g l o r i o u s conste l l at i on o f men,a sco re o r

mo re start ou t from t h e fi rst hu nd red,who wou ld a l l b e

d eemed wo rthy o f sp ec ial m en t i on , whom we n eed no t

and wi l l not name , se e ing that they are fu l ly known ,i f

u nnamed men who w i l l som e day be reckoned no t on ly

a s i l l u s t r i o u s i n th e annal s of th i s C l ub,bu t wh os e

d evot i on,d i s in t ere st edness and pat ri o t i sm w i l l b e u sed

t o an imat e oth e r gen e rat i ons , i n t r ial s poss ib ly as great

as any we hav e born e and escaped .

The l abo rs O f th e Cl ub fo r the year 1 867 we re mo re i n

th e z eal o f i t s members,act ing i n th e i r p r ivat e capac i ty

in Shap ing ou t publ i c affa i rs i n th e S tate and mu n i

c ipali ty,than in i t s fo rmal act i on

,and o f th i s no re cord

c an be g i ven .

I n J un e,a comm i t t e e of con fe ren c e was h eld , com

pos ed of members o f th e Loyal Leagu e of Ph i lad e l

ph ia , an d a comm i t t e e O f th i s C l ub,at wh i ch del egat es

from th e two bod i es we re appo in t ed t o p ro c eed t o R i ch

m ond,where

,i n c on fe ren c e w i th G ov . Pie rpon t and the

l oyal o rgan i zat i ons of V i rg i n ia , much serv ic e was don e

t o t h e l oya l cau se i n h armon iz ing confl i c t ing i n t e rest s .

The c i rc umstanc e s o f Gen . Sheridan’

s remova l from

N ew O rl ean s had p ro voked an in t en se fe e l ing of d i s


app robat ion , and opportun i ty was t aken to man i fe st i t

on occas ion of h i s v i s i t t o N ew York,where the Cl ub

g ave h im an en th u siast i c recept i on on th e 3oth of S ep

t ember.

The A nnu al R eport fo r 1867 not es that the subj ect

o f n at io nal repudiat i on had engaged the attent i on of

th e Cl ub,and regrets that so d i sgracefu l a suggest ion

Shou ld ever have demanded not i c e . I t was n ot then

ant i c ipated how l arge a p l ac e var iou s d i sgu i sed form s

of repud i at ion were t o hold i n th e nat ional coun c i l s and

s tat e l eg i s l at i on s for th e decade wh ich was to fo l l ow ,

n or how much Of th e best i nflu ence Of t h i s C l ub was

t o b e expend ed in su st ain ing th e p r in c ip l e that A mer

i ca “ can adm it no d ist inct ion between pub l i c and pri

vat e fai th,and on t h e qu est ion of h er finan ces w i l l

fo l l ow her O ld ru l e o f h onesty' as the on ly one worthy

o f th e in t el l igence , and d ign ity of a fre e p eop l e .

”

The Club pu t it sel f rep eat edly on record th i s year on

t h e qu est i on of equal suff rag e , and on that o f th e re

const ru ct i on and reest abl i shmen t o f th e st ates lat ely i n

rebel l i on,as des i r ing no confi scat i on and no harsh t erms

,

bu t as d emand ing j u s t i c e and secu ri ty.

The act i on of th e Club on qu est i ons of stat e and

mun ic ipal re form ,i n conn ect ion with the Const i tu t ional

C onvent i on , was constan t , en erget i c and influ ent ial .

Hon . J . C . Hami l ton , Dr . Franc i s L i eber, and Dorman

B . Eaton , E sq . ,are ment i on ed as d eserv ing sp ec ial thanks

fo r th e stu d i es th ey mad e and th e labors they cont rib

u t ed i n th i s d i rect i on . Pro f. Lie ber,at th e requ est o f

t h e Cl ub,wrot e a val uab l e pape r, styl ed

“R efl ect ion s



g i ven by th e Pres ident , M r . J ay ,wh ich was ordered to

b e p r in t ed .

!

I t may b e cons idered of doubt fu l exped i ency t o re fer

t o th e m eet ing held May 2 3d , 1 867 , at the d emand o f

twen ty-five m embers , t o cons id er th e qu est i on of what

th e Cl ub Shou l d do i n v i ew of th e fac t that on e of i t s

m embers , Horace Greel ey , had offered h im se l f as one o f

th e bondsmen Of J e fferson Davis . Bu t t o avo id not ic

ing SO ve ry con sp i cu ou s an even t . wh ich drew a wide

not i c e from th e pub l i c p re ss at the t ime , and was po in t ed

by one of th e most characteri st i c and st ing i ng art i cl es

at th e expense of th e Cl ub that ever came from Horace

Greel ey’

s pen on any p rovocat ion , would be a Spec i es o f

c oward ic e n ot worthy o f the h i st o rians o f th e C lub , and

be l ike ly t o cast doubts upon the i r candor and good

fa ith i n oth er part s of th is record .

There i s grave do ubt wh ether M r . Greel ey d id not

c omm i t a ser io u s m i s take , or fa l l i n to an error of j u dg

m ent,in off e ring h imsel f publ i c ly as bondsman of th e

pub l i c represen tat ive of th e rebel l ion and i ts offic ial

h ead . I t i s al so doubt fu l,on th e other hand , whether

th e remonst ran t s i n th e Un ion Leagu e Club d id n ot err

i n j udgmen t i n making a matt e r of bad tast e and pro

v oking d isregard o f th e fe e l i ngs of th e Club in a man

of Horace Greel ey’s g r eat p ub l i c s ervic es and nob i l i ty

o f gen eral charact er , with a large r fo l l ow i ng than it s

own ,and an o ld er rec ord of pat ri ot i sm and se rv i ces , a

m att er o f Offi c ia l n ot i c e and arra ignmen t . W i th a dai ly

and weekly p ress at h i s command , and a magn ifi cen t

See append ix .


r ecord for pat r i ot i sm ,l oyal ty and ph i l an thropy ,

he was

more than a match i n Oppo rtun ity , and i n h i s w id e

sp read con st i tu ency ,fo r anyth ing th e Leagu e cou ld do

o r say aga in st him . To remon st rat e w i th h im was t o

m ake th e mat t e r wo rse ; t o Shu t h im ou t,was t o l ock

o u rse lves i n st i l l mo re effect u al ly . The Club showed

e xc el len t sense i n tabl i ng th e resol u t i on s wh ich men o f

undoubt ed worth and fi ery pat ri ot i sm brought i n , bu t i t

c ou ld no t p revent th e inj u r i o u s not i c es of th e publ i c

p ress , wh i ch j eered at the impo t ency o f t h e Cl ub i n

d eal i ng w i th a republ i can O f su ch p reem i n enc e , and w i th

an ed i to r of su ch mast erly sk i l l , and a man of s u ch

l i c en sed ec c en t ri c i ty.

I t may be we l l t o add that th i s was not th e on ly

m i stake th e C l ub had made,and that m i st akes were so

i n ev i tabl e i n the heat ed and exagge rat ed stat e of

p ubl i c fe e l i ng ,that i t i s st range the Cl ub d id n ot

p e ri sh from th e flames i t s m ore pass i onat e po rt ion

fanned . M r . Gree l ey was no t th e only man whose

p ub l i c and pat ri ot i c s erv ic es had been p roved i n d eed s

n o t words,whom some o f th e enthu si ast s of th e Un i on

Leagu e C lub were ready t o fast en su sp i c i on s upon ,

when h i s V i ews O f some pass ing pol i cy o r h i s Op i n i on s

on som e doubt fu l qu est i o n were wider bu t l ess popu lar

than the i r own .

Bu t i n exc u se we may wel l plead that pass ion was

s afer than a c old p ruden c e i n a t im e when th e nat i on

was b l e ed i ng ; and that th e rashn ess and hasty j udg

m en t wh ich marked some of ou r reso l u t i on s was born

O f a fi re w i thou t wh ich we Shou ld'

have p er i sh ed . W e

104 TI I E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

m u st pardon th e excesses o f th e sp i r i t of patr i ot ism ,

l i ke tho se o f l ib erty. A t ime of war,or a t ime of gri e f

from th e l oss es of war,i s n o t ime when to lerat ion fo r

the m ost h onest d i fferen c es of Op in i on , i f th ey are

deemed in any way sympathet i c wi th even th e V i rtu e s

of th e foe , i s t o be expected .

There was l i t t le t o l erat io n -O f any k ind du ring th e

war , North or S ou th , excep t i t was re l ig i ou s t ol erat ion ;that abounded

,S i n c e th eo log i cal d i st in ct i ons sunk into

obscu r i ty i n th e flam i ng g l are of nat i onal i ssu es . But

t o l e rat ion of a c ivi l so rt was ext in ct d u ring th e rebel

l i on,and long aft er ; and men of ph i lo soph ic hab i ts o f

m i nd and sp eech , capab le of candor and u n impass ioned

V i ews upon pass ionat e qu est i ons , were th e l ess endu ra

b l e as co-workers in c lubs or i n any form of soc ial in

t e rcou rse . Let u s remember that th e pardon for in t ol

e rance,du e in t imes o f war

,i s n ot seasonabl e no r de

fens ible i n t imes of p eace , and that no Club can exi s t

an d flouri sh in su ch t imes wh i ch does not main tain and

exh ib i t th e most care fu l respect fo r th e ind i v idual op i n

i on s of al l honest men .

V .

FURTHER WORK IN STATE,MUNIC IPAL AND NA

T IONA L REFORM

FROM THE REMOVA L TO THE JEROME BU I LD ING IN 1868 .

M eanwh i l e th e Cl ub,w i th th e p r iv i l ege of pu rchasing

t h eproperty befo re the fi rst o f March

,18 7 1 , fo r th e sum

O f had l eased for t en years th e el ig ibl e and

commodiou s bu i ld ing st i l l occup i ed by u s , known as the



twelve hundred lad ies and g ent l emen , w i th d i st ingu i shed

gu est s from Eu rop e and A merica be ing p resen t . A n ex

ce llen t restau ran t had been establ i sh ed ; the large hal l or

theatre wh i ch fo rmed a part o f th e b ui ld ing S i l enc ed a crying want . The app l i cat ion s for membersh ip u nder the

new at t ract i ons o f th e C lub were al ready su ch as t o strain

the capac ity of th e bu i ld ing . I t was deemed prudent

t o doubl e the amoun t o f th e adm i ss ion fe e . The Club

was abl e t o congrat u l at e i t se l f on th e hearty fri end sh ipand cord ial cooperat i on which exi st ed between i t sel f

an d kind red assoc iat ion s in oth er c i t i e s ; on th e more

numerou s gu est s i t had been p riv i l eged t o entertain , in

c l ud ing Gran t , Col fax and Gri swold , hundreds o f Un ion

me n from al l parts o f th e c ount ry ; Prof. Goldwi n Sm i th

and th e Chin ese Embassy. A n increas ing d isposi t ion

was shown by non-res id ent s o f d i st inct i on and influ

enc e t o have a p l ace on th e rol l s . The l osses of the

year had been Benj . W . Bonn ey, Henry H . E l l i o t t ,

D ud l ey B . Ful l e r,Henry A . Coi t , A . H . Bu rr , W i l l i am

O . B i rd ,George A . Bock , Edward Macomb er and J .

P . Benkard .

A m ong th e movements of th e Cl ub for th e year was a

sp i r it ed remon st ran ce to th e Leg i s l at u re again st certain

appropriat ion s in“A n ac t fo r chari tabl e and publ ic pur

poses , o rig i nat ing in the A ssembly,at th e in st igat i on of

the Common Counc i l o f th i s c i ty . The Cl ub d eprecated

th e in t rod uct ion o f th e re l ig i o u s qu est i on in to ou r

schoo l s and pol i t i c s . Protestan ts were n ot al one in

these obj ect i ons t o sectarian g i ft s , or th eolog i cal d iscr im

inat ions . Prom in en t members of the Roman Cathol i c

THE LEA G UE CL UB . 107

c ommun i on among ou r own honored members and el se

whe re u n i t ed in t h e p ro t est . The Young M en ’s Chri s

t ian A sso c iat i on of New York,u nde r the p res id en cy of

one O f our own m embers,t o i t s g reat c red i t , d ec l in ed a

p l ac e in th e l i st , wh ich had ass ign ed t o i t an un sol i c i t ed

g i ft of

The impeachmen t o f th e Pres id en t,wh ich th i s yea r

h ad p reem i n en c e among pol it i cal m easu res , had of co u rs e

a great i nt e rest for th e Cl ub , bu t i t p ron oun ced no fo r

mal Op i n i o n up on i t wh i l e th e qu est io n was be fo re th e

h igh c ou rt o f imp eachm en t . Great sat i s fac t io n was fe l t

a t th e nom i nat i on o f Grant,whose el ect i o n was exp ec t

ed t o remove those obstac l e s t o coope rat i on among t h e

seve ra l bran ch es of t h e Governmen t,wh ich many

t hough t Pres i den t J ohnson had m i sch i evou sly p reven t

e d . Gran t’

s nom in at i on at Ch icago on th e fi s t M ay ,

by th e R epubl i can party, i n th e fac e O f a host il e ex ecu

t ive o f i t s own e l ect i on , was regard ed as a t r i umph o f

Un ion p r i n c ip l e s .

The Cl ub rat ifi ed th e p l at fo rm and nom i nat i on s w i th

p romp t i tu d e , and hung ou t th e n ames o f Gran t and

Co l fax ove r th e C lub Hous e . I t ent ered i nt o th e cam

paign w ith a sp i r i t su ch as i t had exh ib i t e d i n t he war

t im e,and appo in t ed a comm i t t ee t o rec e ive and d i sbu rse

s u ch moneys as m igh t be en t ru st ed t o th em for promot

ing by p rope r m eans the t ri umph of R epubl i can p ri n c i

p l es . The c omm i t t e e , i n a c ircu lar add ressed to th e mem

bers,announ ced that No a id w i l l b e g i ven by t he C l u b

comm i t t e e toward th e e l ect i on of a S i ng l e cand idat e o f

whose i nt eg ri ty and fi tn ess t hey are not convinc ed .


The Cl ub comm i t t ee ev inced great energy i n co l l ect

ing and u sing th e funds g enerou sly bestowed by th e

m embers O f th e Un ion Leagu e , and aided ,without remon

st rance or d iscu ss ion i n the Club,i n th e more th orough

organ i zat i on of t h e R epubl i can party , seek ing t o b ringou t a fa i r an d fu l l vot e , t o detec t and pun i sh at t empt s

at fraudu l en t natu ral i zat i on and vot ing , and by pub l ica

t ion s and addresse s , t o arou se l oyal c i t iz en s to a sense of

th e magn i tude and S ign ifi canc e o f th e approach inge l ect i on . I t was fe l t th en that no d epartu re from the

nat ional and unpart i san pu rposes O f t he Cl ub was made

by th is suppo rt o f th e Nat i onal party. I t was whol ly in

th e l in e o f th e Club’

s ant eceden t s , Sp i r i t and aim s , and

though open t o part i san Obj ect ion s , t h e Cl ub thought i t

r ight t o ignore or defy th em .

The el ect i on Of Grant the fol lowi ng Novemb er was

fe l t by th e Cl ub to be a g reat nat i onal t ri umph , second

on ly t o Linco ln’s reel ec t ion . NO do ubt somewhat too

sangu in e hopes were ent ertain ed of th e ease w i th wh ich

h e wou l d cooperat e w i th Cong ress , and Cong ress w i th

h im,and o f the speedy v ict ory ove r the d ifficu l t i es o f

recon stru ct i on . They were not du ly est imat ed at that

t ime , no r were the ch i e f embarrassment s of th e case ye t

fu l ly d eveloped .

Many vain ly supposed that th e abol i t i on of s l avery as

a l egal i z ed in st i tu t ion wou ld rest o re th e lat e sl ave states

t o a cond it io n s im i l ar t o ou r own,in wh ich th e essen

t ia l equal i ty of a l l c i t i z en s thu s recogn i z ed by l aw wou ld

be establ i sh ed in fact . But th e worst effect s o f sl avery

was in the S l ow corrupt i on i t had wrough t in the moral


I 10 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

p ower over ou r S tat e Leg i s l at u res and ou r Congress .

W e have rep ented in dust and ashes , th e del u s i on o f

th e inflat i on we m i stook fo r growth . SO we hoped and

p rophes i ed that th e slave-stat es , th e i ncubus O f the i r sad

heri tage thrown off, wou ld ri se at on c e t o th e nat ion al

l eve l of l ove for j u st i c e,o rder and human ity,

and al l ow

th eLfre edmen t o exerc is e th e i r vot es and enj oy th e i r

c iv i l p r iv i l eges , w i thou t rest rain t s equal t o chain s and

p l antat i on whips . I t was hop ing t oo mu ch,hop ing

agai n st hOpe , and mo re,again st th e laws of human

n atu re , th e t est imony o f past experi ence , and the prin

c ip le s O f that D iv in e Gove rnm ent wh i ch passes over

the erro rs and S i n s O f th e fathe rs t o th e ch i l d ren,to th e

th i rd and fou rth gen erat ion , t o be pa id in fu l l and

aton ed i n a p rot ract ed su ffe ri ng . W e can see now.

t hat we have d emand ed and expect ed too much from

t h e Cent ral Gove rnment,and have mad e adm i n ist rat ion s

r espon sib l e fo r ev i l s they cou l d n ot m anage or remove .

W e we re p erhaps u nj u st t o J ohn son who may have un

d e rs t ood ,as a sou thern statesman

,what we could not .

W e were p erhap s extravagan t in demand ing O f Gran t

what no Pres id en t cou ld have accomp l i sh ed . I s i t too

mu ch to say that we may t o-day s t i l l b e expect ing from

a R epubl i can adm in i s t rat i on , what on ly t im e and expe

r ience and th e t ry ing ou t o f wrong methods in th e South ,

u nt i l new and t ru e o n e s are adop t ed from su ffering and

s el f- i n t e re st , can s l owly accomp l i sh

A t a spec ial m eet ing , held . November 5 t h, 1 868 , i t was

Resolved That we , th e members o f th e Un i on League

Cl ub,in vi ew o f th e man i fe st and g l aring fraud s pe rpe

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .I I I

t rat ed at th e lat e e l ect i on,fee l i t ou r impe rat ive du ty t o

i n i t i a t e s u ch measu res as w i l l expose , i f we cann ot pu n

i sh , th e pe rpet rato rs . That we are no t wi l l ing that e i t h e r

O ffi c i al o r soc i al p os i t i on shal l sc reen th ose who have i nany way conn ived at fraud upon th e el ec t iv e fran ch i s e o r

th e right s of c i t i z e n s at th e lat e e l e ct i on , w i th a fu l l d e

t e rm i n at i on to do ou r du ty i n th i s respect as c i t i z en s

w i thou t fear,favo r o r part ial i ty.

Resolved,That a comm i t t e e o f five be appoi n t ed t o

t ake th es e subj ec t s i n to con s i d erat i on,fu l ly i nvest igat e i n

re spe c t the reto , w i th au th ori ty t o in i t i at e and p ro s e cut e

any m easu re i n conn ect i on th erewi th wh ich shal l b e

d eem ed p rope r or exp ed i en t , and wi th au thori ty t o

so l i c i t su bscrip t i on s in aid o f th e pu rpose ab ove in d i

ca t ed,e t c .

The resu l t of th e inve st igat i on of th e Comm i t t e e of

th e S enat e and H ou se was th e passage of th e e l ect i on

law,wh ich i t s en em i es have i n vain t ri ed t o have re

p eal ed .

The joy and p ri d e O f th e el e ct i on in November , 1 868 ,

was ve ry m uch sobe red and chast en ed by th e fac t that

th e Offi c ia l ret u rns O f ou r own S tat e arrayed N ew York

by an apparen t maj o ri ty on t h e S i d e of anarchy and t e

p ud iat ion . The Club , on th e v e rv even ing su cceed ingt h e e l ec t i on , reso lved that in th e i r d el ib erat e j udgmen t

a la rge maj or i ty of th e l egal vot e rs o f th e S tat e vot ed

for Gran t,Col fax and Gri swold , and tha t th e vot e of

th e maj o ri ty had been ove rru l ed by whol esal e frau d .

A comm i t t e e appo in t ed t o i nvest igat e th ese al l eged

frau ds,Op en ed an offi c e , emp l oyed coun sel , i s su ed an ad

I I 2 THE UN I ON LE A G UE CL UB .

d ress to th e p eop l e and soon accumu lat ed a body of e v i

d en ce that p lac ed in a manner convinc ing t o the Club ,

th e fact of 0th e ex ist ence o f a g igan t i c consp i racy to

carry th e S tat e by fraud i n reg i s t rat i on , natu ral izat ion

and gangs o f repeat ers . The re fu sal of th e c l erks o f th e

cou rts,whose seal was born e by th e cert ificates o f na

t u ralizat ion , to al l ow an in sp ect i on of th e i r records,and

th e su spensi on o f th e power of th e Un i t ed S tat es D is

t r iet Cou rt in th e matt er, by th e d iv id ed Op in i on s o f th e

part i es , in th e famous case of Rosenberg , d ec i d ed the

c omm i t t e e t o subm i t th e matt er t o Congress . The

Presi den t O f th e Club and C O1. Cannon wen t t o VVash

ingt on and p resent ed an elaborat e m emo rial t o Congress

on th e subj ec t,wh ich , by each H ouse , was o rd ered to b e

p rin ted . The S enat e re ferred i t t o the Comm i t t ee on

th e J ud ic iary,th e House t o a comm i t t e e o f seven

,who

c am e t o New York the n ext week to invest igat e the

matt er . The resu l t s o f the i r inqu i ri e s mu st b e sought

e l s ewhere . The g en eral stat em en t m u st su ffi ce that the

a c t i on of th e Cl ub i s deem ed t o have brought from

th e n ext Cong ress th e laws t o p ro t ect th e pu rity

o f e l ec t i on s, wh ich have n ever ye t been rep eal ed .

The h ist ory i s g iven thu s far on ly i n att estat i o n of th e

z eal w i th wh ich th e Cl ub fo l lowed up th e cau se o f pu rityi n th e bal l ot box .

A sp ec i al comm i t t e e O f th e Cl ub , O f wh ich M r . George

B . But l e r was cha i rman , p repared a care fu l m emorial to

Congress , wh ich obtain ed num erou s s ignatu res , th rough

the care of ano the r sp ec ial comm i t t e e , of whi ch Col .

R . C . Hawkin s was chai rman . The Execu t ive Commit



th e respect fu l exp ress ion o f ou r hope that the Housew i l l con fe r upon th e Comm i t t ee any add it i onal powe r

that may be fo u nd n ec essary fo r th e thorough performance of th i s most impo rtan t work .

AMENDMENTS TO BY—LAW S , ETC .

The fo l lowing amendm en t s to the by-l aws were passed

J un e 9th ,1868 :

19 . In p l ace of th e last parag raph , read“whenever

any reso lu t i on or ac t i on Shal l be p roposed or pending in th e Cl ub , wh ich cal l s fo r th e exp ressi on O f i t s

Op in i on t ouch ing any publ i c matt er, i f th e same be ob

je c t ed to by any m ember,and su ch Obj ect i on be sec

ond ed,i t shal l at onc e be the du ty o f the p res id ing Offi cer

to stat e th e Obj ect i on ,and to cal l upon th ose who su stain

th e same t o r is e,and i f twen ty-five m embers Shal l r ise in

support o f su ch obj ect ion , then su ch reso lu t i on and sub

je c t o f the p roposed act i on shal l be re fe rred to a stand ingo r sp ec ial c omm i t t ee o f th e Cl ub , and upon the com ingi n o f any su ch repo rt , the same , and th e r eso lu t ions on

the subj ect re fe rred to,Shal l b e deemed befo re the Club

fo r dec i s ion and ac t ion the reon,w i th out fu rthe r right o f

su ch obj ect ion .

No m ember Shal l be perm i t ted to Speak more than

onc e on th e same subj ect , nor m ore than t e n m i nu te s at

on e t ime , w i thou t unan imous con sen t O f th e C l ub .

The repo rt o f th e year c l os ing December 3 rs t , 1869,

shows an i n crease o f members o f n early on e hundred , o r

fou rt e en hund red and e ight een (t en h und red and eightyth ree res id en ts

,th ree hu ndred and th i rty-fiv e non-res i

d en t s) , as compared w i th the number the p revio us year ,

th irt e en hundred and twen ty-S ix o f both c lasses . The

Club was out o f d ebt and had a su rp l u s o f

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .1 1 5

The repo rt O f th e year 1 869 , d i scu sses th e fu t u re pol i cyo f th e C lub i n a sp i ri t wh ich ind i cat es that i t s mo re re

spon sibl e m embers feared that i t s so ci al ad van tages and

m ethod s m igh t b e gain ing t oo mu ch at the expen se of

i t s n at i onal a ims and pat ri o t i c d i rec t i on . How t o h ol d

i t t o i t s pol i t i cal e nds w i th ou t a l l ow ing i t t o becom e a

party eng i n e or al ly was th e anx iou s p robl em . I n care

fu l ly con sid ering th i s mat t e r, th e Execu t ive Comm i t t e e

ann ou nced that som e cen t ral princ ip l e sh ou ld be re

cogn i z ed beyon d that o f m ere amu sem en t o r S imp l e

party sup remacy,and th ey fou nd th i s pr in c ip l e t o con s i s t

i n mu tu al ed ucat i on,i n o th er word s in th e d evel opmen t

and p erfec t i ng by d iscu ss i on , publ i c act i on and fam i l i ar

i n t e rc ou rse,o f a l l th e e l emen t s wh ich go t o make up th e

pol i cy o f a fre e state , i n everyth ing wh ich d emands co

ope rat i on for good end s o u t s i d e th e sph ere of fam i lyl i fe .

The cond i t i on s favo rabl e t o th e g reat e st efi e iezzey of

th i s p ri n c ip l e , are p erman en c e , i ndep end enc e , economyand fac i l i ty O f i n t e rcou rse ; and re su l t ing from al l thes e ,

fre edom from o rd i nary ri sks t o i t s members , part i c u la rlyt h e young men from whom ou r p rinc ipal hop e i n th e

fu t u re mu st come A th ought fu l suggest i on was O ffe red

whether impo rtan t resu l t s m igh t no t b e obtain ed by

fac i l i tat ing organ i zat i on s in s id e the Cl ub for th e con s id

e ra t ion o f Sp ec ial subj e ct s , w i th a V i ew of b ring ing th em

befo re th e C lub i n a comp l et ed fo rm fo r i t s final act i on .

”

I t d oes n o t app ear that any part i c u lar att en t i on was

g i ven by t h e members t o th i s s uggest ion . The Cl ub

n at u ral ly fe l l i n t o smal l c i rc l e s i n wh ich tho se in t erest ed


i n spec ia l qu est ion s consu l t ed w i th each oth er, and often

brough t matters fi t t ed fo r general ac t i on t o the att en t i on

o f th e assoc iat i on fo r i t s endo rsemen t or correct ion,o r t o

obtain the influ en ce o f i t s name . I t i s poss ibl e that

c rud e op in i on s o r measu re s i nfluenced by class or bu siness

i n t erests,or by party p rej u d i ces , somet imes go t an i l l

consid e red endorsemen t from th e Cl ub by th e u rgency of

c omparat ive ly smal l knots o f act ive fri ends . But on the

who l e the Cl ub has reason fo r se l f- congrat u lat ion in

n ot i c ing i n th e st udy of i t s pas t record , how few in stances

o f th i s k ind occu r,and with what sobri e ty, caut i on and

d ign i ty ,th e C lub as a body guarded it se l f again st pas

s iona t e o r hasty comm i tment s t o doubtfu l assert ions or

p o l i c i e s .

Experi enc e has shown that Cl ubs , even as seriou s in

t he i r purposes as th i s , se ldom su cc ess fu l ly undertake in

t imes o f peace , th e work of school s and col l eges , or of

l eg i s lat ive and congress ional c omm i t t ees . The men who

have l e i su re,are not u sual ly th e men who have influence ,

or indu st ry or seriou sness o f pu rpose . The act ive bu si

n ess men or p ro fess i onal m en,are t oo much worn wi th

d ai ly cares t o u ndertake wi l l ing ly th e work s of supe rero

ga t ion wh ich such a scheme i nvolves o r imp l i es . The

Un ion Leagu e Club had an except i ona l and rare expe ri

en ce i n th i s respect , wh ich i t i s ve ry desi rabl e t o extend

and perpet uat e , bu t wh i ch on ly th e great est effo rt can be

abl e t o main ta in . M eanwh i l e we mu st not be u rgen t or

i n sens ibl e to th e soc ial advan tages of th e assoc iat ion , nor"t o the m eri t s o f c l ub l i fe as su ch .

To gath er up and fu se t ogether , in soc i al and easy ways


I 18 THE UN I ON L EA G UE CL UB .

was i ts charact er from th e beg i nn ing . S O far as th i s origi nal carefu lness p revai l s , the Cl ub i s c ertain t o ma in tai n

i t s influ enc e . l t s ex i st enc e i s enough to make it power

fu l . The h igh est influ enc e any Cl ub can have , i s t o c re

at e and hold t og ether a body of c i t i z en s each of whom

bears abou t th e honor O f h is cou n t ry with him ,and i l l u s

t rat es a t ru e A m eri can i sm , in h i s reveren c e for worth

and brain s and publ i c serv ice , above b i rth , weal th and

Offi c e . S u ch a body presen t s t o young men an ambit ion

o f m embersh ip wh ich exhalt s and i n sp i res .

Things had no t been go ing fo rward favorably i n publ ic

affa irs at th is d at e o f the C lub’

s l i fe . The frauds wh ich

the Congress ional Comm i t t ee , appo in ted und er invest iga

t ion o f th e Un i on Leagu e Club , had p roven and pro

c la imed , had not arou sed publ ic sen t imen t su ffi c i en t ly to

p revent the i r repet i t ion . R i ngs and con sp i rac i es were

d etect ed in many o f ou r l arger mun ic ipal i t i es , and land

corporat i on s . The i nflu enc e o f adro it,bu t u n sc rupu lous .

pol i t i c ian s , was more than enough to baffl e what st i l l

l argely remain ed o f the popu lar v i rtu e . Ou r publ ic

school system was assai l ed , and the whol e mach inery o f

ou r e l ec t i ons se emed b eyond th e cont ro l o f the honest

maj o ri ty o f the peop l e . The usual c orrec t i ve of partywatch ing party,

each profi t ing by th e other’s m i stakes

,

and tak ing i t s tu rn i n th e possess i on of power , had

fa i l ed . Many doubted whether the p ol i t i c i an s of on e s ide

were any mo re t ru stworthy than those of th e oth er,and

i t was freshly fel t that safety and re l i e f c ou ld on ly pro

ce ed from th e un ion o f th e hon est and pat r iot i c men of

bo th part i es i n measures and by methods , that ignored

THE UIVI ON LE A G UE CL UB .1 19

th e old pol i t i c al mach in e ry . A ll th e m o re th e Un ion

Leagu e Club fe l t at th i s t im e th e n e ed O f exe rt ing i t s

u tmost mo ral an d pe rsonal i nfl u enc e i n favor of hon est

o ffi c ia l s and hon est gove rnmen t , espec i al ly , as from th e

t u rn O f affa i rs i n th i s state and c i ty,i t d rew no sympathy

f rom th ose in pl ace and power .

M un ic ipal R e fo rm , th e C iv i l S erv ic e Bi l l , and th e

Publ i c S choo l qu es t i on , w ere watched th i s year v ig i l an t

IV by spec i al c omm i t t ees , who mad e val u ab l e repo rt s

t o th e Cl ub .

A sp ec i al m e et ing was h el d December 3oth , 1869 ,

c ommemo rat i ve O f Edwi n M . S tan ton ,whose recen t

d eath,l e av ing h is fam i ly i n an hono rabl e stat e o f pov

e t ty ,had arou sed a d eep sen se o f h i s i nval u abl e se rv ic es

as S ec retary of W ar,an d an anxi o u s des i re t o pay h i s

m emo ry th e respec t of mak ing h i s fam i ly Obj e ct s o f th e

vo l un tary care of h i s g rat e fu l fe l l ow-c i t i z en s .

A c omm it t e e was appo int ed t o cooperat e w i th oth e r

c omm i t t e es th roughou t the cou nt ry i n ra is ing th i s p ro

pos ed fu nd .

The res ignat ion early th i s year O f i t s P res id en t , Hon .

J ohn J ay , on th e occas i on Of h i s appo in tmen t as M in i st e r

t o A ust ria , cal l ed fo rth earn est express i on s O f respect and

affec t ion from t h e C lub . He had se rved th e C lub for

s o m any years wi th fidel i ty ,z eal and d ign i ty ,

that h i s

res ignat i on was fe l t t o b e a seri ou s m i s fo rt u n e , rel i eved

on ly by a sen se of sat i s fac t i on i n the hon or th e i r Pres i

d en t had won fo r h imse l f and th e Un i on Leagu e , by th e

c o un t ry’

s cal l t o h igh d ip l omat i c h onors .

The Club l o st th i s yea r , by death , many val uabl e and


d ist ingu i shed members . Gen . J ohn A . Rawl ins,Hon . H .

S . W albridge , J ohn J . Phelp s , P . De Forest Gran t,J oseph

B . Brush, A . Hutch i nson

,W i l l i am P . J ones

,Dan ie l G .

M ason , and Fred eri ck A . Coe . A t th e end o f th i s year

the balance in th e Treasu rer’

s hands was on lyi t s

’

l i ab i l i t i es deduc t ed,Show ing that th e Cl ub had by

i t s removal and it s l at e ext raord inary exp enses u sed up

a c on sid erabl e port ion o f th e reserved fund .

The A nnual R epo rt for th e year end ing December

3 l s t , 1870, Shows that th e to tal number on th e rol l was

fou rteen hu ndred and t en . The rat i o o f non-res id ent

members had som ewhat inc reased over that o f p rev ious

years , being th ree h undred and eighty,a fact wh ich

had i ts advantage s , as i t extended th e kn ow l edge and

influ ence of th e Club in t o vari ou s parts O f th e coun try,

l eaving always a su ffic i en t fu l l -paying forc e of re sid en t

m embers t o suppo rt and condu ct th e Cl ub at i t s centre .

This year was th e mos t su cc essfu l,

financ ial ly,O f '

anyth e Club had known , and from i t dat es the accumu

l at ion wh ich late r e nabled the Cl ub to p roceed towards

carryi ng ou t i t s che ri sh ed p l an o f bu i ld ing a Club

Hou se o f i t s own . The su rp l u s earn i ngs fo r th e year

18 70 were wh ich carri ed th e re served fund

at a bound up t o The reserve fund was

fo rmal ly converted at th is t ime in to a bu i ld ing fund

wh ich had always been in Vi ew ,and a Board o f Tru s

t ees we re appo in t ed t o ho ld and i nvest i t w i th an

u nderstand ing that al l su rpl u s funds accumu lat ing i n

th e Treasu ry should be ann ual ly t u rn ed over t o th e

t ru st ees o f th e B u i ld ing Fund for i nvestmen t . The


1 2 2 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .

12 th , 1 87 1 , th e C l ub l ost m any val u ed and l am ent ed

m embers : W i l l i am V . Brady ,F . W . Coggill, W . W .

C o rn el l , Mo reau Delan o,George Fol som

,J ohn H .

Macy, Frank B . Ru sse l l,J ohn H . S imkin s , J oseph A .

T rowbridge , J ames Ke l ly, and two of i ts most d ist in

g u ished hono rary members,A dm i ra l Farragu t , and

Maj or Gen . George H . Thomas,both honored w i th

t h e t ears of th e Nat i on .

The Cl ub was th i s year mu ch exerc i sed w i th the

d ebat es in Cong ress , in regard t o c l a ims of repara

t i on for th e inj u ri e s don e ou r commerce by the re

m issness of Great Bri ta in , i n al l owing th e cru i sers o f

t he R ebel s t o arm i n th e i r po rt s , and go fo rth t o

ravage ou r comme rc ial marin e . I t a im ed t o st iffen

t he resol u t ion o f Congress t o demand fu l l reparat ion ,

n ot mere ly as a qu est i on of pecun iary importance ,

bu t as on e of nat ional s el f-respect and Vi tal t o the ia

t e re s t s of Int ernat ional Law . I t s w i sdom has been

s i n ce fu l ly proved by th e su cc e ss of that pol i cy, wh ich

i t doubtl ess had some infl u enc e in e st abl ish ing . The

C l ub con t inu ed th i s year i t s effo rt s t o p rocu re pro

t e ct ion from new l eg i s l at i on i n Congress , for the e l ec

t iv e fran ch i se , and reco rd s som e su ccess in i t s end eavors .

A spec i al meet ing was h eld A p r i l 7t h , 1870,t o take

p roper act i on on th e rat ifi cat i o n o f th e Fi ft een th

A m endmen t to the Const i tu t ion o f th e Un i t ed S tates .

I t push ed l ikewi se i t s i nvest igat ion s and i ts pu ri fyi ngi nflu enc e int o ou r mun ic ipal frauds . Every A nnual

R eport re i t erates th e fundamen tal prin c ip l e s of l oyal tya nd nat i onal i ty as th e p i l l ars o f ou r st reng th , and each


n ew repo rt avows an u nd im i n i shed sen se O f th e im

po rtan ce of main ta in ing th e C l u b and adh e ring t o th e

S p i r i t an d fo l lowi ng th e d i rec t i on O f i t s earl i e r years .

I t i s a l i t t l e d i ffi cu l t t o say wheth e r th e e l abo rat e

argument s repeat ed i n so many fo rms , and by verysk i l fu l p ens , i n th e A n n ual R epo rt s , as t o th e val u e

o f th e o rig i n al sp i r i t o f a posi t i v e and hero i c pat ri o t i sm ,

i nd icat es a st eady growth or marks a S l ow dec l in e i n

th e real u se fu ln ess and nat i onal i ty O f th e Un ion Leagu e

C l ub . I t may do e i th er ; bu t th e rev i ew of th e record s

wh i ch th e p resen t wri t er has made , c erta in ly i nd icat es

l ess act ive work,mo re soc i al p l easu re , l ess pass i onat e

d evot ion ,l e s s p e rsonal con ce rn ,

fo r th e in t e rest s of th e

count ry as t ime wore on,a n at u ra l Cou rse o f th ings ,

wh ich on ly a ve ry st ren u ou s and d i rect exert i on on the

part o f th e Old er m embers O f the C lub cou ld pre

v en t .

There was some th ing mo re hope l e ss and d espe rat e

i n th e po l i t i cal , soc ia l and commerc i a l d emoral i z a t i o n

that fo l l owed th e war than in th e war i t se l f . That p re

s en t ed an Open en emy,whom powde r and Shot cou l d

reach and ove rcom e ; bu t we had i n p l ac e o f th i s a sec re t

ro t,an en emy with th e inv i s ibl e powe rs o f a pest i l en c e ,

a d eg rad ed pub l i c s en t imen t , i n wh i ch th e old and p est i

l en t doc t ri n e o f th e spo il s t o the v ic tors had changed

from an acknow l edged h eresy i n t o a dogma , not SO much

adopt ed ,as i ncarnat e i n th e l i fe of part i e s . Noth ing

l e ss than a mo ra l typho id ,t h e con sequ enc e of a gen eral

mala ria i n the publ i c a i r , can ac coun t fo r th e s ink i ngt on e of publ i c s en t iment du ring th e d ecad e fo l l owing th e


c l ose of t h e war —part ly a react ion on th e exal t e d pa~

t rio t ism that had su sta ined th e war u n t o v i ct o ry, partlyth e d read fu l resu l t O f th e un set t l ing i nflu ence on valu es

,

s tandards , hab it s , by th e c reat ion and use o f an art ific i al

c u rren cy that d id no t carry i t s m easu re in i t se l f, partlyby th e com ing to th e t op o f power fu l men who had be

come sudden ly r ich w i thou t the ai d of any moral hab i ts ,

o r amenabl en e ss t o any refined or gent l eman ly standards ;v ik ings i n en ergy,

unsc rupu l ousn e ss and v io l ence , who

swept th rough th e land i n ra i l road land g rabs , i n m i n ingSp ecu lat i ons , in pu rchase of l eg i s lat u res , i n sto ck d i l u

t i on s , i n gre at corn ers on stock and g rai n ; and who ia

t ox icat e d and po ison ed th e onc e sober b lood of th e

pe op l e , u n t i l pol i t i cs had become a t rad e , or a gambl ingshop , and t rade , a t rial o f w i t s, or a t u rn o f chance . A

pro fou nd d i stru st o f A merican prin c ip l es and i d eas came

ove r th e bett er port i on o f E u rope , as i t w i t n essed th is

con sequ enc e of th e war wh i ch had an end so d iff erent

from th e i r p red ic t ions and hopes . How a nat ion that

had su rprised E u rope w i th i t s pat ri ot i sm and it s pat i ence

aft e r v icto ry ,cou ld su rpri se i t aga in wi th i t s d i sgust ing

l o ss of moral con t rol i n i t s great cen t res , i t s R i ngs and

i t s Leg i s lat i ve and A ld erman i c v i l en ess , corrup t ion and

vu lgari ty ,and al l w i th i n a S i ng l e d ecad e , was as d i s

h eart en ing a t home , and as secretly demo ral iz i ng even

to the bett er hal f of t he A merican p eop l e , as i t was

taunt ing and d istress ing t o those who went abroad and

bore th e ignom iny o f almost un iversa l r id i cu l e and d i s

t ru st . Th is dec l in e in th e publ i c t on e , was n ot confined

to the vu lgar and th e ignorant . I t affec t ed al l ranks



eri ck C . Sweet ser , and H en ry T . Tu ckerman ; al so one

from th e ro l l of honorary m embers , M aj or Gen . Robert

A nd erson . The number of m embers at the cl ose of

th e year was , of res id ent members n in e h undred and

sixty two non -resid ent,fou r h undred and twenty. The

su rp l u s for th e year was The Club had no

debt .

THE NEW Y ORK R ING A ND OTHER POLIT ICAL

CORRU PT IONS ENCOUNTERED I

Th i s year , 1 87 1 , was memorabl e for a g rand popu lar re

act i on aga in st th e p rog ress o f corrup t ion i n ou r pol i t i cal

a ffa i rs . For the t ime the reac t i on looked thorough and

final . I t had th e forc e of a hu rri can e , and prom i sed t o

l eave noth ing stand ing of th e evi l s i t assai l ed , wh i le pu ri

fy ing th e pol i t ical atmosphere of th e malaria that had

n early sapped ou r in st i t u t i on s O f l i fe i t sel f . The Club l en t

i t s suppo rt t o th i s m ovemen t , wh ich was t oo large t o be

d i rect ed o r con t ro l l ed , and was independen t o f part i es

and fo rmal a sso ci a t i on s . I t was th e g igan t i c st rugg l e of

th e popu lar h eart w i th what was j u s t ready t o stop i t s

beat . A n assoc iat i on , l argely composed of m embers o f

th i s C l ub,had been st ead i ly p reparing fo r s everal years

fo r a regen erat ion o f th e pol i t i cal l i fe of New York .

The Un i on Leagu e Club exerted it s ma in infl u enc e

th rough that assoc iat i on , and i t was always more o r l e ss

e ffi c i en t becau se always wo rking i n th e in t e rest of loy

al ty,i n t eg ri ty and j u st i c e . A comm i t t ee on Pol i t i cal

THE UN I ON LEA G UE‘

CL UB .1 27

Refo rm , c omposed O f en e rget i c an d fearl ess m en ,was

c on st i t u ted th i s year , wh i ch ,by l abo rs at A l bany and

w ith th e C i t i z en s A ssoc i at i on ,and by repo rt s and c i rcu

l ars,rende red subst an t i al and val u abl e se rvi ce . Dexter

A . Hawkin s . George W . Bl un t , Geo rge Bl i ss , J r.,Charl e s

W at rou s , Chauncey M . Depew , W i l l i am M . Pri chard ,

J ohn D . Lawson ,W i l l i am H . H . M oo re , Charl es Col l i n s ,

Horac e M . Ruggl es , J oseph W . Howe , W i l l i am Laim

bee r, J r. , John I . Davenpo rt , composed th i s c omm i t t e e ;

th e i r n ames su ffi c i en t ly att est th e en e rgy , Sp i ri t , d i rec t i on

and effi cacy of th e wo rk they accompl i sh ed .

Early i n th e year 1 872 the Cl ub passed a reso l u t ion re

qu est ing th e Legi sl at u re not t o adj ou rn u nt i l i t had

passed laws again st approp r iat ion o f p roperty or moneyt o se ct arian u s e , and aga in st th e exempt i on d i rect or

i nd i rec t, t o or i n favo r O f any rel ig i ou s sect o r d enom ina

t i o n . A l s o t o pass a gen eral l i c en se law i n regard t o t he

sal e of l i qu o r ; and l a t er i n th e year a p ro t est aga in st t he

act i on of th e Mayo r i n att empt ing to d ep riv e the peop le

o f th e c i ty of th e fru it s o f th e two re fo rm vi cto r i es at

th e e l e ct i on o f th i s year and last .

Th is year was th e most fatal i n ou r h ist o ry t o th e l ives

of ou r m embers , twenty having pas sed away w i th in i t s

l im i t s : Franc i s M . Babcock, S imeon Baldw in , J . H .

Fost er,Horac e Gree l ey ,

J ohn F . Ken se t t , J os iah Lan e ,

Geo rge P . Putnam ,Lew i s B . S t on e , J ohn David

Franc i s L i eber,Col eman T . Rob in son , H . W or

cc s t e r,res id en t m embers ; and H en ry V . Butl e r , George

C o ffing ,B . M . C . Du rfe e , J ohn A . Griswo ld , Llewe l l y n

S . Haskel l , J ohn L . K ing ,\\ I lliam S . Sm i th , George C

S at t e rl e e , non-res id e n t s .


In M arch of th i s year , th e By-Laws were so amended

that the Library and Publ i cat i on Comm i t t ees were u n i t ed

und er th e t i t l e O f The Comm i t t ee on L ibrary and Pub

l i cat ion s,

” and charged with the d u t i es of both com

m i t t e es . Th is act i on i ncreased th e comm i t t e e to fou rteen,

wh i ch was aft erward s reduced , by a fu rth er chang e in th e

By-Laws,t o seven m embers , th e p resen t number .

The l ib rary had now mad e cons id erabl e advancement .

By donat i on s and pu rchases , many books , pape rs and

p e riod icle s had b een added ; su ch d i st ingu i sh ed donors

as Hon . W . H . S eward , Hon . E . M . S tan ton , Hon . Hugh

M cCu lloch ,Thos . Ba il ey Pott er , and oth ers , members of

th e C l ub , con t ribu t ing . The fi rst catalogu e had been

i ssu ed by th e Comm i t te e o f 1 867 , r efle ct ing cred it upon

th e cha i rman,M r . A l bert Mathews , i n i t s preparat ion ,

wh ich now became u se fu l in c lass i fy ing th e i nc reased

n umber and d ive rs i ty o f th e books .

The year 1 873 was m arked by a con t in u ed financ ial

su cc ess in the a ffai rs o f th e Cl ub , somewhat remarkabl e ,

as i t was th e b eg inn ing o f th e season O f commerc ial de

p ress ion ,wh ich we ighed for s ix su cceed ing years upon

th e count ry and th e wo rld . A s u rp l u s O f was

handed over t o th e Bu i ld ing Fund Tru st ees ; th e com

m i t t e e report i ng t hat‘

i n fo u r years—J anuary ,1 870, to

J anuary,1874,

— th e sav ings O f th e Cl ub had ri sen from

t o in U . S . bonds , o r a c u rren cy valu e

of The Club main tain ed i ts membersh ip ; n ine

hu ndred and s ix ty-sev en re si den t,th ree hundred and

n in ty-n in e non-r es ident ; to tal , on e thou sand three hun

dred and s ixty- s ix .



Thomas H . Fai l e , A lpheus Fobes , J ed . Frye , J oseph

Fagnan i , J ohn A . Kenn edy, Peter McMart in , F rancis H.

S chen ck , R . W . W est on , Frank W . W orth,res id en t

m embers ; and J ohn F . Bu tt e rworth , J onah Howe,

Charl es H . M i t ch e l l , A . N . Ramsdel l,and Gen eral W . H .

S i de l l , non-res id en t members . The repo rt o f th e com

m i t t e e on Pol i t i cal R e form for th i s year is th e ch i e f re

cord of the po l i t i cal ac t i on of the Cl ub for th i s pe ri od .

I t was publ ish ed and widely c i rc u lated .

The y ear 1874 was one o f l i t t l e Sp ec ial or d efinable

importan c e i n the act ion and l i fe O f th e Cl ub . A gen eral

g l o om had sett l ed over t rade and commerc e . The con

vu ls ion of re form in ou r mun ic ipal po l i t i c s had accom

plished m u ch , bu t not hal f what i t p romised . The Club

remain ed sol id in i ts membersh ip and cont in u ed i t s work

in i t s committees , bu t in ways not brought mu ch in to

publ i c V i ew,nor recogn i zed as i t s work , though carri ed

fo rward l argely by i t s m embers . I t s t i l l ann ounced t he

importan ce of i t s p ri nc ip l es , and the need of organ i zat i on

t o maintain them , and p ro fessed i t s u nd im i n i shed faith

in th e valu e of l oya l ty and nat ional i ty. No st r ik ing d is

pos it i on t o fal l O ff i n numbers at any t im e appeared ; but ,

c ertain ly, att endance on th e m eet ings o r frequ en tat i on of

th e C lub House grew l ess , and th e Cl ub became more

and m ore a plac e o f soc ial c onven i enc e,or m eet ing p l ace

of m embers t o d iscuss the i r own a ffai r w i th each other,

than of h igh pat riot i c d i sc uss ion s and gen erou s ardor' irr

matt ers of publ i c impo rtanc e .

The pecun ia ry i nt erests o f th e Cl ub were b ecom i ng an

i n creas ing bond of conn ect i on and rec e ived a very p rudent:

TI I E UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .13 1

care from th e T reasu rer,Execu t ive Comm i t t ee

,and th e

Tru st e es of th e Bu i ld ing Fun d . Forese e ing th e nat u ra l

i n c re as e of th e fu nd,t h e Execu t ive Committ e e obtain ed

from th e Leg i sl at u re , an amendmen t of th e i r chart e r

auth o ri z i ng t h e Cl ub to ho ld real estat e t o th e val u e o f

The Bu i ld i ng Fund ran up t o

reckoned i n cu rrency. R eso l u t i on s were passed by t he

Club aga in st any ac t i on by Congress that wou ld t end t o

inflate th e c u rren cy,and later i n th e year p l edg i ng i t se l f

t o,and i n behal f of th e adop t i on of

,the pend ing am end

m en t t o th e Con st i t u t i on of th e S tat e . The most in ter

est ing so c i al even t of th e year , hav ing al so some pol i t i cal

imp o rtan ce , was th e recep t i on by th e Cl ub Of t he R ight

Hon . W i l l i am E . Forst e r , M . P . Th i s s t a t e smah, an

Engl i sh fri e nd of A merica , who had so l ong coop erated

w i th J ohn Bright , that M r . S eward on ce sai d t o th e pres

en t annal i st i n an swer t o h i s qu est i on ,

“whether th ere

we re any t ru th in th e rumor that th e Un it ed S tat es GOV

e rnme n t were abou t offeri ng t o send a nat i onal vesse l t o

E ng l an d t o bring M r . Brigh t t o th i s cou n t ry . NO,

S i r, and h e wou ld no t come . He knows t oo wel l th e

danger , wh ich eve ry wise st atesman dreads , of find ingh im se l f mo re popu la r in a fo re ign coun t ry , than i n h i s

own . M r . Forster m ight have d read ed th e same , when

he saw th e en th u s iasm with wh ich h e was rece ived by

an u nu su al and h ighly represen tat i ve body of A meri can s ,

at th e Un ion Leagu e: Cl ub . H e made an e ffect ive

speech ,i n rep ly t o the fe l i c i to u s addre ss of th e Pre sid en t

of th e Cl ub , M r . Choat e , fu l l o f w i sd om and sat i sfactory

t o E ng l i shmen and A m er i can s bo th .


The fo l l owing members d i ed du ring the year 1 874 .

J am es W in sl ow,W i l l iam A . F itzhugh , J erem iah Loth

rop , J oseph B . Varnum,Thomas Chri sty ,

P . R . Hoff

man,H . W . W arn er

, J . F . De Peyst e r , J ohn A d riance,

J onathan S t urges , J ohn W hit l ey M oore , and W i l l iam H .

R ayno r, res id en t m embers ; and Robert S . Dumon t,

Gen . Georg e L . Hart su ff,G . G . Hast ings , David B . M e l

l i sh , J . C . Sand ford , George F . Lee,R . A . Forsyth ,

Gen . R . O . Tyl er , E . P . Cow l es,Charl es C . A lger , J ohn

H . Holdane, and J ohn G . Vose , non-res id en t s .

The report of th e Execu t ive Comm i t t ee fo r th i s year ,

(dat ed J anuary 14th , concl u de s w i th th e fo l l owing

p rophet i c appeal :

The com ing year p rom i s es to b e one o f act iv i ty fo r

th e Club . Grave qu est ion s o f supreme publ i c in t eresta re op en ing for the con s id erat i on o f al l thought fu l c i t i

z en s o f th e republ i c . The t en years wh i ch have elap sed

s inc e th e war o f the reb el l ion have not brought that

peace t o th e recon st ru ct ed states wh ich was hoped fo r .Gen eral pro st rat i on and d is t ru st in th e bus in ess com

mu n i ty betoken d i sease in th e body pol i t i c . Dangerou s

th eo ri e s o f fin an ce,th reat en ing th e nat i onal hono r in th e

paym ent o f th e deb t in cu rred fo r th e nat i on’s p reserva

t ion,

fi nd th e i r advocat es . The an t agon i sm between

l abor and cap i ta l i s not al layed . A Presid en t ia l el ect i on

i s l oom ing up in th e n ear fu t u re , and th e year j u st open

e d wil l p rac t i cal ly dec id e the i ssu e of that campa ign . A

p rop er publ i c s ent im en t i s t o be fost e red on al l th ese sub

je c t s , and su rely no w id er fi el d cou ld be op en for o u r ac

t iv i ty nor bett e r fo rum found than th e m eet i ng-p l ace o f

th e Cl ub . Tru e t o the t rad i t ion s of i t s past , th e Club

cannot fai l to exert a powerfu l i nfl u enc e fo r good on th e

d est iny of ou r bel oved count ry.


1 34 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UH‘

.

D ick in son , Edward S . Brooks , S . A . M i l l s,George H .

M um ford,Henry K . Bogart , Ogden Haggerty,

W i l l iam

Hegeman , Benj am in F . W heelwright , re s id en t mem

bers ; and S amu el S . Keen e , W i l l i am E . M o rri s, A l fred

Lockwood,G . Ru ssel l Greenough , Edward K i ng , J ohn

B . Chu rch ,W . S . Blackin t on

,non-res id en t members .

The Execut ive Comm i t t e e closed the i r annual report ,

d ated J an uary 13th , 1 876, with the fo l l ow i ng words

I n c los ing th e i r ann ual report , th e comm i t t ee d eem i t

a mat t e r O f pro found congratu lat i on t o the C l ub that th e

open ing o f th e c en t enn ia l year finds the count ry fo rever

fre e from the bl igh t of h uman slavery ; that th e import

an t qu est i on of an honest cu rren cy i s rap id ly being set

t led upon a sol i d bas i s o f in t e l l igent publ i c op in i on ; that

S igns O f ret u rn ing confid ence in bus in ess affa i rs Open th e

way t o reward hon est and wel l-d i rect ed en t erp ri se ; and

that in nat ional,s tat e and mun ic ipal affa i rs we may hop e

for a h igher measu re O f mo ral power and ind iv idu al re

spon s ib i l i ty on th e part o f those who are cal l ed t o ad

m in i s t e r th ese publ ic t ru sts .

Upon al l qu es t i on s of po l i t i cal and soci al re form , th e

Club w i l l remai n t ru e t o i t s o rig i nal mo tto of uncond i

t ional l oyal ty .

The external p rosperi ty o f the Cl ub , con t in u ed th rough

1876—7 . The whol e number o f names on th e ro l l was

th i rt een hu ndred and seven t een,—n in e hu ndred and fi fty

two res id ent and th ree hund red and sixty-five non-res i

d en t members . The add i t i on to th e bu i ld ing fu nd , was

Un i ted S tates fiv e-twen ty bonds and in

cash . The conservat ive pol i cy st i l l p revai led in the

management of th e finances,and a su rp l u s of


r ema in ed i n th e h ands of t h e t reasu re r . The bu i ld ingfu nd was inc reased by th i s amou nt , and reckon ed at th e

c l o s e o f th e year at o f Un it ed S tat es bonds

a t par,—cu rrency val u e

,—and a balan c e O f

i n cu rren cy . The ren ewal of th e l ease of th e

J erome p roperty was st i l l ag i tat ed ,bu t w i tho u t arriv i ng

a t any det e rm i n at i on . A comm i t t e e had been ap

po i n ted“on th e se l ect i o n o f a bu i ld ing S i t e , wh i ch

m ad e a repo rt and matu red a financ i al S ch eme l ookingt o th e e rect i on of a pe rman en t Cl ub H ou se , bu t act i o n

w as st i l l s u sp ended .

Th i s ye ar ( 1876) th e Cl ub lo st two of i t s Office rs,

A l exand er T . S t ewart and Dr . L . De Fo re st W oodru ff ;a l so J ohn C . Green , Edmund A . Sm i th , S . M o rri s Locke

,

Thomas D . S arg en t , J r., Hubbard A rn old , W i l l iam W ard

Do rr , Dwigh t A . R ip l ey ,J ohn A uch in c lo ss

,Marsh al

Leff e rt s , F . E . Lath rop ,J effe rso n Codd ing ton , C . B .

Kendal l , W . K . K i tch en,E l i sha Brooks

,J ohn A . Man

n i ng ,res id en t m embe rs ; and Jam es Lorim er Graham ,

Hen ry P . Haven , G . H . Cu shman,W . R . Ve rm ilye ,

n on-res id en t m embers .

Spec ia l e ffo rts were mad e th i s year t o improve the ex

hibi t ions of art at th e mon th ly m eet ings , wh ich in c reased

t he at t rac t ions of t h e Cl ub Hou se for men of cu l t u re,

and add ed som e valu ed nam es t o th e m embersh ip . The

C l ub Showed a d ispos i t i on t o fo rt i fy i t s el f i n th e aesth et i c

d i rec t i on aga in st any l os s es i t m igh t b e ca l l ed t o bear

f rom d ec l i n e in pol i t i cal z eal—a po l i cy which , th ough

n atu ral,was not wi thou t danger th e bett er cou rse bei ng

t o am end and streng th en th e p o l i t i cal ard o r of th e Cl ub

1 36 THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UE .

by d i rect m eth ods , and not by drawing l i fe from sou rc es ,

not o rig i nal an d v it al t o i t s h i story .

M r . Carl S chu rt z was in fo rmal ly rece ived at th e Club ,

Oct ober 2 l st , 1876, and mad e an excel l en t add ress on the

i ssu es o f th e Pres id ent ial campaign . Presid en t W h ite

read an in st ru c t ive and h ighly p ert i n en t paper, On th e

paper mon ey i nflat i on i n France,how it began , what i t

b rought , and how i t ended , on A pri l 1 3 th , 1 876 .

The year was marked with the u su al ag i t at i on and ex

c i t eme n t at t endan t on a Pres id en t ia l e l ect ion,and t he

wi sh es and influ en ce O f th e Cl ub were thrown in to the

R ep ubl i can scal e , t h e Cl ub , by a reso lu t ion , March , 1 876 ,

d ec lari ng that“The Un i on Leagu e C lub c la im t o repre

sen t,and bel i eve they t ru ly exp ress , th e sen t im en t s of

t h e R epubl i can vot ers o f th e c ity o f N ew York . A nd

by anothe r reso l u t i on,May ,

1 876, that“The Cl ub

,

though recogn i z ing paramou nt al l eg ian ce to publ i c d u tyand hono r

,i s ye t l oyal t o the p rin c ip l e s of the R epub

l i can party,as be ing most i n the sp i r i t o f al l eg i an ce an d

st rongest in th e in tel l igence and vi rtu e of th e p e op l e .

”

The comm i t t ee on Po l i t i cal R efo rm subm i t t ed a report ,

dat ed J an uary 8 th , 1 877 , wh ich set forth w i th un u sua l

c l earn ess and boldn ess th e pol i t i ca l sent imen t s of t he

Club ; i n stan c ing th e qu est i ons on wh ich the Club had

taken d i s t in ct s id es . For examp l e , —t o quot e th i s

val uabl e documen t t o be found i n p rin t , among th e-an

nual report s o f J anuary 1 1 th,1 877

—i t d ec lared i tsel f :

For mo re st ringen t laws for secu ring great e r

publ i c i ty t o Offi c i a l act ion and to th e fact s and influ en ces .

by wh ich pub l ic offi cers hav e been govern ed .



p art i sansh ip proper , which i s th e support and advocacyo f m easu res , withou t regard to th e i r nat ional bear ing ,

but

s imp ly becau se they have becom e or have been adop t ed

a s party measu re s . I t main ta in s th e right and du ty of

t he Cl ub to support i t s own p ri nc ip l es whereve r i t finds

t hem,and t o a id any party t hat b est rep resen t s th em ,

bu t

n ever fo r the sake O f th e party,always for th e sake of th e

p rinc ip l e s .“ I t wi l l , t h ere fo re , i n th e op in i on O f you r

c omm i t t ee be more u se fu l i n th e l ong range , and mo re i n

h armony w i th the cond i t i on s upon wh ich a Club l ike th is

c an p rosp er, t o adh ere t o th e advocacy of sound pr in c i

p l e s and no t take part in conduc t ing t h e canvass , how

e ver u nsat is factory fo r th e momen t that po l i cy may be

t o th e sp i r i t o f part i sansh ip .

The conc l u d ing paragraphs o f th is report are of su ch

p erman en t val u e , that we adop t them as a part o f th e

h i st o ry O f the Cl ub .

In conc l u s i on , you r Comm i t t e e w i sh t o d raw you r seri

o us att ent ion t o th e fac ts that the thought fu l act iv i tya nd reform i ng ent e rp ri se o f th e Club hard ly keep pace

with i t s finan c ial p rosperi ty and i ts soc i al at t rac t i on s .I n i ts early h ist ory,

i t s act ive patr io t i sm ,i t s frequ en t

a nd fearl ess debat es , and i t s n umerou s and abl e con t ribu

t ion s to th e po l i t ical l i t e ratu re o f th e t imes , sec u red fo r

t he Un ion Leagu e C lub a p roud nat i ona l repu tat i on ,which up t o th i s t ime , has con t in u ed to bring m embers t o

i t s ranks and mon ey to i t s t reasu ry. W e cannot a lways

p ro sper upon an inheri t ed fame . By reason of ou r own

d o ings , we must s ecu re honor , or s u ffer hum i li tat ion ,i n

t he fu t u re .

The on e p rom i n en t feat u re wh ich d ist i ngu i sh e s th i s

f rom most oth er clubs , and whi ch has unqu est ionably

THE UN I ON LEA G UE CL UB .1 3C)I

mad e i t mo re prosperou s than any o th er, i s th e fac t that

i t i s a Cl ub fo r debat es and fo r th ough t fu l act ion in t he

sphere of prin c ip l e an d re fo rm ,not l ess than a C lub for

so c i al en j oymen t an d rec reat i on . I t i s that p ec u l iar

feat u re wh ich m akes i t poss ibl e fo r the Club to have a

h igh nat i on al repu tat ion ,and for i t s m embersh ip to

con fe r hono r as wel l as sec u re p l easu re . I f su ch be the

fact s,i t s bes t fr i end sh ou ld not b e sat i sfi ed

,though i t s

w i n es improve , i t s d inn ers b ecome b ett e r , i t s b i l l i ard

t abl es and bow l i ng al l eys be mo re frequ en t ed , and even

i t s acc umu lat ed funds in c rease : i f at th e sam e t im e i t s

fa i th an d c o u rag e shal l d ecay, i t s d ebat e s Shal l be dwarfed

and i t s con t ribu t i ons t o th e pol i t i cal th ough t and re fo rm

ing power o f th e c ou n t ry Shal l becom e l ess . O nc e,at

l ea st , S in c e ou r l as t publ i sh ed repo rt , th e act i on O f th e

Cl ub , on a pol i t i cal su bj ec t , has ri sen t o th e h igh sp i r i t o f

i t s early days , an d i t s mo ral i nfl u en c e was very great and

salu tary ; bu t , mo re than once , no quo rum co u l d be se

c u red fo r th e d i sc u ss i on of impo rtant qu e st i on s w i th i n

the sph ere of i t s avowed Obj ec t s ; and i t d ec l i n ed t o con

t r ibu t e from it s fu nds,o r by i t s act i on , t o th e passag e o f

amendmen t s of Vi tal impo rtan c e t o th e Con st i t u t i on

O f N ew York .

A nd upon oth e r paramou n t subj ect s , i t s act i on has , t o

say th e l east , n ot bee n ve ry Vigo rou s . In th e presen t

g rave c r is i s o f ou r nat io nal affa i rs , th e vo ic e’

O f t h i s C lub

has n ot been h eard . I t was n ot s i l en t i n p resenc e o f

s e r i ou s i s su es i n i t s earl i er days .

NO one,who p rop e rly apprec i at es th e cond it ion s upon

wh ich a c l ub can p rosp er , wi l l u nderrat e th e impo rtan c e

O f tho se e l emen t s wh ich m easu re i t s soc ia l at t rac t i on s .

Br ead al o n e, or bread wi th re so l u t i on s , i s by n o m ean s

an ad eqat e c lub d i et .

A c l ub i s,o f co u rse

,at l i b erty t o cl a im for i t s el f n o

h igher obj ec t than m ere am u s em en t or se lfi sh com fo rt s .


New York has had many su ch c lubs ; and the decay o r

d eath of no t a few of th em wil l b e worthy ou r st udy , i f

eve r we p ropose confin ing ou rse lves to t hat sphere . Bu t

we have mad e proclamat i on O f a h igher standard . By i t ,we are l ikely t o b e j udged . Ou r fo u rth A rt i c l e of A sso

c iat ion d eclare s that : “ I t sha l l be the duty o f the Club

t o res i st and expose co rrup t i on , and p romot e re fo rm in

ou r nat i onal , stat e and mun ic ipal affa i rs ; and t o el evat e

the id ea O f A meri can C i t i z en sh ip . I f that duty ,th u s

c on sp i c u ou sly p ro cla imed , i s not perfo rmed , i t s n eg l ec t

w i l l be ou r d i sh ono r . W e al l know that i t i s sp eech and

act i on—wi s e,d i s i n t erest ed and fearl e ss sp eech and act io n

—wh ich re fo rm abu ses , and el evat e th e standard of c i t izensh ip.

You r Comm i t t e e have no l ove,and c l a im no righ t , of

exhortat ion ; bu t th e fac t that o u r By-Laws d ec l are that

th e Comm i t t e e on Pol i t i cal R e form shal l have gen eral

charge o f al l matt ers com ing u nder the fou rth A rt i c l e O f

A ss oc iat ion , j u st quot ed , seems t o cal l fo r th es e obse r

vat ions at th i s t ime .

A ll o f wh ich i s resp ec t fu l ly subm i t ted ,

D . B . EATON,

C/zai rmau .

No mo re s eri o u s , no p l a in e r , no more m emorabl e word s

than these have ever b een u sed i n re ferenc e t o th e ' ln

t ernal l i f e,th e p rop e r obj ects and t ru e sp i ri t of th e Club .

I t wi l l b e we l l fo r th e Un ion Leagu e Cl ub , i f i t t akes

th em t o h eart,and carr i e s ou t th e i r s uggest ion s , and

accept s th e i r warn ings i n i t s fu t u re career .

The R eport s and M inu tes for th e year 1877—8 , Show a

somewhat m eagre l i fe d uring that twelve months . There

was a d ecrease of at l east fi fty in th e l i st o f res iden t m em

bers ; th e n umber for th i s y ear be ing on ly n in e hu n


142 THE UNION LEA GUE CL UB .

of A rt,and at a subsequ ent m e et ing of th e Club

st i rr ing spe eches were made i n suppo rt o f th e move

m en t,wh ich lat er t ook th e form of a M et ropo l i tan

M u seum of A rt , so that by, J an uary,1870, an effic i en t

assoc iat i on had been formed to p erfec t the work o rig i

nat ed i n th e Cl ub . The l ib rary, con sid e rably i ncreased ,

was,by th e j ud ic i ou s ac t i on of th e H ou se Comm i t t e e

of th i s year, moved from th e th i rd t o th e second storyo f th e Cl ub Hou se . In J anuary ,

th e u sual lad i es re

cep t ion was g iven with i t s wont ed bri l l i ancy. The

Pre si d en t o f th e Un i t ed S tat es and M rs . Hayes were

rec eived lat er in th e year, (Dec . l t,

wi th g reat

en thu siasm,and by a notabl e gathering o f i nvi t ed gu ests .

Both th e Ex ecu t ive Comm i t t e e and th e Comm i t t ee on

Pol i t i cal R e form not e th e few act s o f th e Club m er it ing

spec ial m en t i on i n th e year 1 877—8 . The i n t e rnal affai rs

'

o f .th e C lub had eng rossed the members , which i s t o say

that po l i t i cal affa i rs a ft e r th e Pres i d ent ial e l ect i on had

subs id ed in to comparat ive calmn ess , that commerc e and

t rade we re inac t ive , that th e cu rren cy quest ion was

absorb ing ,that th e R epubl i can party was d i sco u raged

w i th i ts l eaders , not having we l l underst ood what cou ld ,

and what cou ld n ot,be don e by Cong res s o r th e

A dm in i st rat ion und er exist ing c i rcumstances The

Comm i t t e e on Poli t ica l R e fo rm ,report ed that “ th e

act i on of th e Cl ub ,upon subj ec ts fal l ing with in the i r

sphere“had been more l im i t ed than in past years .

The p eri od had been on e of unu su al d i sag reemen t in th e

R epubl i can party,and seri ou s d i ffe renc es of op i n i on

upon import an t qu est i on s o f pub l i c po l i cy and offi c ial

THE UNION LEA GUE CL UB .143

du ty with in th e Club . Forbearanc e had seemed essen t i al

t o u n i ty and good fe l l owsh ip ,s i l en ce was sa fe r than

speech , and th e comm i t t ee re fra in ed from report ing even

upon mat t e rs t o wh ich i t had g i ven mu ch at ten t i on .

But t o sh ow that at l east a great maj o ri ty of th e Cl ub

were st i l l fa i th fu l t o old p ri n c ip l es , th e comm i t t e e had

repo rt ed a s eri e s o f reso l u t i ons wh i ch we re adopt ed by

th e Club , i n wh i ch i t was d eclared :

That th i s C l ub has a lways b een iden t ifi ed w ith

th e pri n c ip l es of th e R epubl i can party .

That th e t emper o f th e publ i c m ind shou ld ad

mon i sh u s that th e sup remacy of t ha t party, i n th e fu tu re ,wi l l d epend l ess upon th e wan t o f m er i t i n i t s adversari e s ,or upon its own p ro fe ss i on s , or upon i t s nobl e ach i eve

m en ts in i t s early years , than i t w i l l upon th e rea l char

act e r o f th e party and i ts do ings th rough th e A dm in i st ra

t i on i t has e l ect ed .

That i t wi l l be un sa fe fo r th e party t o al l ow i t t o

be said t ru t h fu l ly, that t he fal l ing away of i t s maj o r i t i e si s d u e t o infide l i ty t o p l edges , or t o pu t t ing u nworthyme n i n to offi c e

,o r t o su rrend ering t o part i san d i ctat i on

and that we fee l c erta in that we have l ost noth ing byfid e l i ty t o th e h igher standard s o f p ubl ic d u ty , and that

we have st i l l u n shaken fa i th i n th e essen t ial p ri n c ip l es

and charac t e r o f th e R epubl i can par ty.

That i t s s t rength and st ab i l i ty can be secu red ,

no t by ad ro i t managem en t , nor by a se lfi sh and sec re t

po l i cy,bu t by bold ly and open ly main ta in ing sound pr i n

c iple s , and th e right s , th e i nt e rests , and hono r of t he

whole p eop l e , again st eve ry schem e o f part i san sh ip ,and

eve ry at t empt t o sec u re o ffic e , p rofi t , or p ower at the

expen se o f t ru th , common j u st i c e , or common right .

fu rth er declared that su ch a pol i cy,and the


great p rin c ip l es by wh ich th e R epubl i can party i s now

bound to stand,were set forth in Pres id en t Hayes

'

s l et t e rof acceptance and i naugu ral address ; and that i n those

u tt erances we recogn i z ed a stat esman l ike comprehen sio n

of th e cond i t i on s upon wh ich th e pac ificat ion o f S tates ,t he p ro speri ty o f bu sin ess , refo rm i n th e c iv i l s ervi c e , and

th e honor o f the nat i on can be secu red . A nd we de

clared that,so l ong as h i s adm in i st rat i on shou ld be fai th

fu l to those p r in c ip l es , i t wou ld rec e ive the support o f

th i s Cl ub . The Comm i t t ee have had less h es i tat ion i n

p resen t ing so extended a paraphrase o f th ose resol u t ion s ,becau se th e i r l anguage does no t seem to have l ost i ts s ign ificance ,

no r does th e t ime appear t o be past fo r adhe ring t o th e i r sp i r i t .

Thus a wise d i sc ret i on has su cceeded i n avo id ing prae

t i cal quarre l s and pol i t i cal d i ssat i sfact i on beyond th e

bou nd s o f safety ,w i th in th e m embersh ip o f th e Cl ub ,

wh il e m ain tain ing a decen t fidel i ty t o the orig inal p rin c i

p l es fo r wh i ch the Un ion Leagu e Club stood . But

whe th er the sacr ifice s to p rudenc e and good fel lowsh ip ,

have not somewhat overbalanc ed the devot ion to loyaltyand nat ional i ty , i s a poin t upon wh i ch th ere i s room for

doubt . W heth er a c lub orig i nal ly bu i l t on an id ea o f

nat i onal i ty and loyal ty , and th e defense and push ing o f

what ever tends t o th e i r safety and growth , can be exte r

nal ly p ro sp erou s at al l t imes , and can fi t ly m easu re i t s

i nn er h eal th and use fu lness byi

i t s ou tward ease an d

g rowth , i s a mat ter o f qu est ion with many,and of s ett l ed

convi ct i on that i t cannot , with a few .

I t shou ld arou se some sel f su sp i c i on , when a c l ub i s

more p ro sperou s than i t s own p r in c ip l es, as i t i s a


146 THE UNI ON LEA G UE CL UH.

cal fra i l ty and part i san fears an d hop es . I t cou l d gain

noth ing by add ing th ose who brought no cou rage , no

asp irat i on,no devot i on to th e g reat Amer ican idea in

th e i r hearts,bu t on ly th e i r en tranc e fe e and th ei r an n ual

du es , and the expectat ion of some add i t ional importan ce

and some fresh opp ortun it i es for th emselves. Happi lywe have p reserved en ough of th e ol d and fi rs t sp i r i t t o

make a pos it iv e and marked d ec l in e from our card inal

ideas d ifficu l t , and h e wou ld be a harsh c ri t i c who den i ed

the persi st en t ex i st enc e o f a p ecu l iar qual i ty of nat ive

patr io t i c devot ion i n the Cl ub ; bu t we are pe rhaps en t e r

ing upon new tria l s , for wh ich we may not come ou t so

safe ly, i f we do n ot brac e ou rselve s up by a care fu l read

ing and compari son o f ou r beg i nn i ng, our m idd l e and ou r

l at e r h i story.

The h isto ry o f th e Cl ub , fo r th e last year 1878—9, has

been marked by noth ing spec ial ly worthy of not ic e . The

membersh ip sh ows a decrease o f forty i n th e ro l l of res i

d ents,and an inc rease o f fou r among non-res id en t s . The

n umbers on the rol l , stood at e igh t hundred and sixtyone res id ent , and th ree hundred and seven ty-n in e n on

resi d en t m embers . The su rp l u s for th e year was

l ess by than that o f th e p rev iou s year .

The bu i ld ing fu nd was carri ed up t o i n a par

val u e of th e Club’

s U . S . secu r i t i es , w i th a cash balance

o f

Du ring th e year th e Club l ost by death th e fo l lowingmembers : E . R . Pearsle e , J ohn H . Harbeck

, Theodore

Roosevel t , J ohn F . Tracy,A . W . Green l eaf

, W . W . Ma l i,

M . Knoed l er, George W . Blunt,W i l l i am O rton

, Theron

THE UNION LEA GUE CL UB .I 47

Skeel , W m . Cu l l e n B ryan t , W . M . Verm i lye , I saac C .

K endal l , re s id en t m embers ; and Geo . \V. Swain , Edward

A . K ing , J ames H . S acke tt , C . F . Davey,non-res id en t

members .

The at t en t i on of t h e Cl ub was st rong ly drawn by th e

Exec ut ive Comm i t t ee i n i ts annual repo rt t o th e n ecess i ty

of dec id ing th e qu est i on of a s i t e for a p erman en t C l ub

Hou se,and e rect i ng upon i t a su i tab l e bu i ld ing t o be

owned by th e Cl ub . The financ i al p rosp eri ty o f th e

assoc iat i on seemed t o warran t what th e gen eral f ee l i ngo f th e Cl ub d emanded . In th e cou rse of ‘th e year a ve ry

experi en ced comm i t t ee consi st ing of J ackson S . S chu l t z ,

Sal em H . W al es,J ohn H . Hal l

,Dan i e l F . A ppl et on and

R i chard But l e r , made an exhau st ive search and a care fu l

c ompari son among al l th e s i t e s w i th i n conven i en t l im i t s

that off e red themselves t o th e pu rchase of th e Cl ub,

and aft er several ab l e reports an d som e fu l l d isc u ss i on s in

our publ i c m eet ings , th e s i t e at th e co rn er o f F i fth

A ven u e and 3oth S t reet was adop t ed by general con sen t

as th e one that had al l th e advantages d emand ed—cen

t rali ty,command ingn ess , access ib l en ess , perman en t val

u e,amp l i t ud e of space , a good ne ighborhood , and mod

e ra t eness of pri ce .

The l ease of the l o t s was accord ing ly made , and th e

s i t uat i on of th e n ew Club H ou se fixed . The Comm i t t e e

on the p roposed Club H ou se , i t s d es ign , arch it e ct u re ,

con st ru c t i on,deco rat i o n and fu rn i sh ing , c omposed of

th e above committ e e in conj u nct io n w i th th e Execu

t ive Comm i t t e e o f th i s year , ( 1879) con st i t u t ing a Gen

e ral Bu i ld ing Committ e e”

of twen ty-th re e m embers

148 THE UNLGN LEA GUE CL UB .

gave imm ed iat e and devot ed att ent ion t o the subj ect .

A compet i t i on was i nv i t ed among n in e of th e ch i e f

arch i t ec t u ra l fi rms o f th e coun try,main ly o f N ew York

C ity,bu t one of Bost on , t o fu rn ish p l an s for th e proposed

Club House . Besides th e fi rms inv i t ed , two oth ers vol

u n t e ered . These d es igns were p resen ted in A p ri l an d

were cons id ered as un iversal ly cred i tab l e to the arch i t ect s

who o ffered th em . Inde ed i t was wel l sa id , t hat any

one of th em wou ld have sat i sfi ed the vi ews of th e Cl ub ,

i f i t had been it s only resort . But th e number, vari ety,

and pecu l iar excel l ence in d iffe rent resp ect s of th e num

e rou s p l ans , rende red the comm i t t e e fast id i ou s and ex

act ing ,s l ow to dec ide

,and su re that pat i enc e wou l d

enable th em t o secu re a bet ter d es ign than th ey had

orig inal ly con ce ived of . I t i s d u e to th e rej ected p l an s ,

t o say that some of them m ight have t ri umphed over th e

one that was final ly adopt ed , i f m ere ext ernal e ffect h ad

be en al l owed more influ enc e . Bu t the comm i t t e e were

wi se ly conv inced ,that i f tast e

,so l id i ty,

fi tn ess and d ign i ty

were su itably expressed in th e exterio r , any sacrifi c es of

in t e rior'

comfort and u t i l i ty beyond that t o arch i t ect u ral

d i sp l ay wou ld b e unw i se . They det erm i n ed to b e fi rst

fu l ly sat isfi ed with th e conven i enc e and com fo rt of th e

p l an s of an i nt eri o r , and t o adop t on ly a p l an i n wh i ch

th e vari ed and o ft en confl i c t ing want s of a Club H ou se,

su i t ed to the u se of a thou sand res id en t m embers,an d

five hundred n on-res iden t members were p rop erly cons id

ered and succ essfu l ly me t, befo re they al l owed th e qu es

t i on o f th e exteri o r to have p l ac e . The fi rm of PeabodyS t earns of Boston , had ant ic ipat ed th i s requ i remen t o f


I SO THE UN 10N LEA GUE CL UH.

a nd l aund ry . The rest of th e floo r i s taken up by th e

read ing-room,bi l l i ard-room

,café

,coat-ro om and lavato ry .

O ppos it e th e main en t rance ri ses th e grand st ai rway , i t s

l and ing being en larged by a bay-wi ndow , t o be fi l l ed

w i th sta in ed g l ass .

On t he second fl oor the large l ibrary occup i es th e

F i f th A ven u e fron t,t he ce i l i ng of wh ich i s fo rm ed by

g ro in ed vau l t s su i t ed t o a ri ch d ecorat i on . The p i c t u re

gal l ery,t h e larg e aud i enc e-hal l , w i th several conversat i on

rooms,are on th e same floor w i th th e l ibrary, an d thu s

g roup ed th ey fo rm a fin e and lo fty su i t e o f rooms . A d

j o i n i ng th e larg e hal l are several dress ing-rooms,served

by separat e stairs ; and a separat e ent rance , wi th sta i rcas e

from th e st re et,i s a l so p rov id ed t o al l ow th e publ i c t o

v i s i t th e p i c tu re-gal l e ry and hal l wi th ou t d i st u rb ing th e

Cl ub . The p i c tu re-gal l e ry i s p l ac ed in th e c ross se ct i o n

o f th e bu i ld ing , and l igh ted from above . Th i s l arge

open i ng affo rd s abu ndan t oppo rtun i ty fo r l ight and v en

t i la t ion t o th e in t eri o r po rt i on of th e bu i l d ing .

The th i rd floo r and the rear po rt ion s of th e fo u rth an d

fi fth floo rs are arranged in chambers for th e u se of th e

m embers . The gran d d in ing-room occ up i es th e fou rth

st o ry on th e Fi fth A venu e fron t,an d extends up wi th

open t imber-work in t o th e roof , th e h e ight t o th e c e i l ingbe ing abou t t h i rty fe e t , and su i t ed to r i ch decorat i on .

A dj o in ing th e l arge d in ing-hal l,wi th se rv ic e-ro oms at

t ached, are smal l er on es of varying s i z e , arranged en

su i t e for p rivat e d inn e rs . A bove th ese d i n ing-ro oms ,

and of easy acc ess , are th e ki t ch en , store-rooms , pant ry,

l au nd ry, etc .

THE UN10N LEA GUE CL UB .1 5 1

The bo i l e r-room , storage an d coal vau l t s are p l aced

und er th e s id ewalk on Thi rty-n in th st re e t .

The con t rac t for const ru ct i on was g iven , upon compe

t i t i on,t o M essrs . Norcross Bros .

, of W orcest e r,Mass

,

and th e st on e c omes from th e Long M eadow quarry of

that S t at e . Care fu l at t en t i on seem s t o have been g i ven

by the Commit t e e t o deta i l s , con t ribu t ing t o th e comfort

o f m embers and economy i n adm i n i s t rat ion .

The est im at ed co s t of th e bu i ld ing was abou t

wh i ch , d oubt l e ss , fal l s w i th i n th e mean s and scope of th e

Cl ub'

s fi nan c i a l economy.

In J une of th i s .year ( 1879) a rev i s i on of th e By-Law s

was made . The prin c ipl e changes were—th e i nc rease o fth e m embersh ip of t h e Comm i t t e e on A dm iss i on s t o

th i rt een ; th e ra i s i ng of th e adm i ss i on fee t o $2 50 ; and

the const i t u t ing of th e “G en eral B u i ld ing Comm it te e

a spec i al comm it te e .

The Comm itt e e on A rt wel l su sta in ed i t s exh ib i t ion s

of A meri can pa in t i ngs d u ring th e year.

The Libra ry was fu rther imp roved by add i t ion s of

books, pape rs and magaz in es , and in c reased fac i l i t i e s for

u s ing th em . A n ew catalogu e was i s su ed , fu l ly p resen t

ing al l th e books and l i t e ratu re of th e Cl ub , rend eringth em more acc ess ib l e . The con stan t i n te rest shown in

th e L ib rary i n d icat es that i t has b ecome an establ i sh ed

featu re of Club l i fe . The Library now con tain s over

three thou sand vo lumes of books ; th i rty-five magaz in es

and rev i ews (fo re ign an d d om est ic) ; th i rty dai ly n ews

pape rs ; ove r fo rty weekly and i l l u s trated papers and

art j ou rnal s—(A merican , Eng l i sh , Fren ch and German) ,

1 52 THE UN10N LEA GUE CL UB .

and abou t e igh ty morn ing and even ing c i ty pape rs ,

(mu lt ip l i cat e) . Doubtl ess th ere are few sp ec i a l l ib rari es

l arger i n any part of th e cou n t ry,o r mo re valu ab l e i n

books of re fe renc e , c iv i l-war h isto ry,and pub l i c docu

m en t s and report s .

The address of M r . Ham i l t o n Fi sh , on Feb ruary 13th ,

on taking hi s seat as Pres id en t of th e C lub , con

tain s many suggest ion s worthy of h is g reat experi enc e

in publ ic affa i rs , and of h is honored ch aract er and reco rd .

The Club has had a l ong and d i st i ngu i sh ed l i st of

Pres id en ts ; never one that was not h igh ly capabl e ,

dign ifi ed and devot ed t o th e p erman en t in te rest s of

th e asso c iat i on . Beg i nn ing with Robert M in t u rn , a man

whether more b eloved or more resp ected it i s imposs ib l e

t o say,i t e l ect ed J onathan S tu rge s , th e in corrupt ib l e

m erchant, pat ron of art and beneficence . He was fol

l owed by Charl es H . Marshal l,th e v igorou s commerc ial

l ead er,earn est pat ri ot an d fre e-handed c i t i zen ; J ohn

J ay,whose hon ored ancest ry i s not l owered in h i s per

son,and whose devot ion th e Club acknowl edged by

keep ing him th ree years at i t s h ead ,came n ext . A ft e r

him Jackson S . S chu l t z , th e rep resen tat ive of an ag

gre ss ive publ i c sp i r i t , fert i l e i n al l th e re sou rces of pa

t riot ism , and fl i ng i ng a great heart i nt o al l th e labors

of h i s m ind and hand ; th en W i l l i am J . Hopp in , one

of our fou nders , th e charm of whose gen ial and d ign i

fied mann ers and th e h igh ton e of whose pat r i o t i sm we

have al l adm i red at h ome and many of us abroad ;J oseph H . Choat e su cceed ed h im

,th e K i ng o f C l ubs ,

whose Pre s id ency con fers s uccess upon eve ry m eet i ng


I S4 THE UNION LEA G UE CLUB .

men,t h ereto fore ho ld ing th e most opposit e op i n i on s

and pos i t ion s on the pol i t i cal qu est i on s wh ich had d i

v id ed th e coun t ry,to lay as id e al l d ifferen ces and g i v e

th ei r u n it e d e fforts to uphold a gove rnment , j u st ly de

sc rib ed by th e gen t l eman who was cal l ed t o th e second

pos i t i on under the reb el l i ou s organ i zat i on , as com ingneare r th e obj ect s of al l good governmen t than any

other on the fac e of th e earth . Fai th fu l ly and e ffic i

ent ly d id th is C lub su sta i n th e gove rnment th ro ugh

the dark hou rs o f i t s severe t ri al,i n a co u rse of po l i t i

cal act i on,pro foundly pat ri ot i c an d em i n en t ly bene

fic ial.

The past imposes on u s a c ont in u ed obl igat i on ; but

the fi e ld of ac t ion and of pat r iot i c du ty fo rtu nat ely i s

som ewhat d iff eren t—“ th e l i n es have fal l en t o u s in

(mo re) p l easan t p l aces . The early du t i e s and act i on

of th e A sso c iat i on were in th e t imes of revo l u t i onaryeffort s t o overth row th e governmen t and n ec essari ly

partake of th e exc i t emen t,and perhaps , somewhat of

th e asper i t i e s of th e ex i st i ng st at e of war . Lat er,th e

Cl ub gav e t o the gove rnmen t support and en cou rage

m ent in i t s e ffo rts t o bring th e cou nt ry back t o a sound

cond i t i on o f comm erc ial,

financ ial,and soc ial rel at i ons .

Ou r p red ece ssors d id n ot th ink that the i r du ty end ed

wi th th e suppress ion or cessat i on o f v io l ent res i stan c e

t o the governmen t , bu t app rec iat ed that th e qu i et er

and p erhaps m o re d ifficu l t duty of watch fu l guard i an

sh ip remain ed .

I n m i l i t ary tact i cs , wh en assau l t or at tack in forc e

has fa i l ed , resort i s o ft en had t o m in es,s t rat egy,

and

sec ret operat i ons . Troy for years su ccess fu l ly res i st ed

the assau l t s o f h er en em i es,bu t fe l l when she had ad

m i t t ed with i n h er c itadel th e m i l i tary l eaders who hadfa i l ed i n th e i r e ffo rt s of fo rce for her overth row . The

story of anc i ent Troy, wheth er i t be fi ct ion or h ist o ry ,

THE UNION LEA GUE CL UB .1 55

suggests that th e du ty o f watch fu l n ess and of vig i l an ce

does not end with the c essat i o n of op en e ff ort s o f v io

l en c e . Patri o t i c m e n, l oyal ly l ov ing th e i r c oun t ry ,

i n

what eve r sec t i on of th e cou n t ry th ey may be (and th ere

are loyal and pat ri o t i c me n in eve ry sec t i on and in

every co rn e r o f th e land)—pat ri o t i c and l oyal me n,I

say, s t i l l hav e t he du ty t o see that the Const i tu t i o n i s

en fo rced ; th e laws observed ; th e righ ts o f th e c i t i z en ,

th e humbl est as wel l as th e h ighest , resp ec t ed ; and

th e equal i ty befo re th e law o f every c i t i z en ma in ta in ed .

A sk i ng fo r noth ing that th e Con st i t u t i on and th e laws

enac t ed in pu rsu an c e there o f d o not sanct io n , bu t d e

mand ing a l l that i s gran t ed o r guaran t eed , i t i s th e d u tyof good c i t i z en sh ip t o in s i st that th e Con st i t u t i on ,

and

eve ry part and p rov i s i o n thereo f , be un reserved ly recogn ized ,

en fo rced,and obeyed in l e t t e r and in sp i ri t , carry

ing with i t in eve ry S tat e and every part of th e Un ion ,

t o every c i t iz en ,nat ive as wel l as natu ral i z ed . h igh and

low,r i ch and poor , w i thou t regard to race , co lo r , o r pre

v iou s cond i t i on ,fu l l p rot e ct io n and the free enj oyment

of e ve ry

'

righ t , wh eth e r of p erson , of p rop erty ,or o f su f

frage , wh i ch th e Con st i t u t ion and th e l aws may gran t .

The Chart er and A rt i c l e s o f A ssoc i at i o n o f th i s C lub

comm i t i t to c ert ai n h igh pol i t i cal d u t i e s , and those

d ut i e s l i e i n th e d i rec t i on o f on e of th e h ighest and

n oblest of st u d i es . i n t h e comprehen s i on of

t h e po t -hou se , import s t ri fe fo r plaCe , fo r j obs , fo r al l th e

u n cl ean d ripp ings o f part i san pat ronage ; but“pol i t ics ,

i n th e p roper appreh en si on o f an assoc i at i on l ike th i s

C l ub,m ean s th e sc i en ce of gove rnmen t . A vo id ing l o cal ,

p e rsonal , an d pu rely t empo rary qu est i ons , i t seek s th e

regu lat i on and governmen t of th e S t at e t o it s b est in

t e re s t s,t h e d evelopm en t of i t s mean s and i t s resou rces ,

th e preservat ion o f i t s p eac e and sa fety, th e p ro t ect i on

of i t s c i t i z en s i n th e i r r ight s , and th e advancemen t of

1 56 THE UNION LEA GUE CLUB .

th e i r moral,and the improvemen t of th e i r phys i cal con

d i t i on . In th i s fi e l d n o st ri fe for p l ace or fo r sp o i l s i s

known ; th e cont est i s d evo id of p e rsonal obj ec t and i s

for th e d evelopm en t o f t ru th,as t end ing t o th e best

int erest s of th e S tat e and th e g reatest happ i n ess o f the

p eop l e .

In th i s fi eld, gen t l em en of th e Un i on Leagu e Club ,

you may exerc i se poss ib ly even a mo re widely ext ended

i nflu en c e of good i n th e fu tu re than you have don e i n

the past , w i thou t d e t ract ing i n th e sl ight est from th e so

cial qual i t i e s and at t ract ion s of you r Cl ub .

I t fa l l s t o my l ot , th e fi rst i n the l in e of you r pres id ingo ffi c ers

,t o be abl e t o congrat u lat e you ,

as I d o m ost cor

d ially , th at th e count ry i s re l i eved o f the cu rse of t h e

flu ctuat ing and i rred eemable cu rrency ,wh ich th e ex

ige nc ie s of the war brought upon us . The “p rom i se t o

pay of th e gove rnment , wh ich d u ring you r ex i st en c e

as a Club has n eve r u n t i l qu i t e rec en t ly been worth what

i t p ro fessed , and wh ich at a t ime was worth i n lzmzes t

money—th e mon ey of comm erce and o f th e nat i on s

on ly abou t 35 pe r c en t . of i t s p ro fessed val u e,has

,

thanks t o the w i s e po l i cy establ ish ed and p ers i st en t lymainta in ed by th e last adm i n i st rat i on , and thanks , t oo ,t o th e v igorou s en fo rc em en t o f that pol i cy by th os e now

i n t ru st ed w ith the adm in i st rat ion of governmen t , i s n ow

conve r t ib l e at p l easu re in to th e co i n re cogn iz ed by t h e

world as money.

The l ong p rost rat e i ndu st r i es of th e count ry are re

v iv ing—busin ess p rom i ses agai n t o becom e remu n erat ive

—th e fi e l d of manu fact ur ing en terp ris e assumes a m o rehope fu l aspect—commerce i s more act ive an d th e fore ignt rade o f th e coun try i s rap id ly pay ing o ff th e vast accu

mu lat ion of debt in wh i ch th e flu sh t im es o f w i l d sp eenl at ion and a cu rrency of uncertain and flu c tu a t ing val u e

had i nvolved u s .


I 58 THE UNION LEA G UE CL UB .

th e mass of al l pol i t ical part i e s and o f al l sec t i ona l or

t err i to ri a l d iv i s i on s,are s inc ere and hon est ; th e c i rc um

stanc es and th e th ings that su rro u nd u s b ind and fo rm

ou r characters,and g ive d i rect i on to ou r thought s . W e

are al l t oo oft en t empo rari ly misl ed ; th e unsu spect i ng .

confid ing ,honest many,

are o ft en th e v i ct im s of th e p l ot

t er and th e demagogu e .

A n imosi t i es are thu s kep t al iv e , and est rang emen t i s

con t i n u ed,wh il e th e masses , North , S o u th , East , and

W est,have bu t on e obj ect

,one w i sh

,on e int e rest .

Gent l em en o f th e U n i on Leagu e Club , l et i t th en be

o ur a im t o do what i n u s may l i e t o aid i n removingal l an imos it i es

,i n re st or ing harmony among al l s ect i on s

of th e count ry,i n el evat ing th e t on e of t he pol it i cal

st ri fes o f th e p eop l e , in encou rag ing re fo rm , honesty, and

econ omy i n th e adm i n i st rat ion o f publ i c affa i rs . i n br inging i n to d i scu ssi on and u nde r th e cons id erat i on o f th e

publ i c , the h igher qu est i ons o f pol i t i cal sc i enc e wh ich

l ook to th e regu lat i on and b est governm en t of t he'

S t at e ,

th e developmen t of i t s resou rces , th e p rot ect i o n o f th e

c i t iz en,and the peace , safe ty,

and best i n t ere st s o f th e

Nat ion .

Thu s ends th e past h i sto ry of th i s Cl ub . I t has oc

cupi ed more space , even t o g iv e a sketch o f i ts career

than was ant i c ipated , and has real ly ast on i sh ed one t ol

e rably fam i l i ar w i th i ts l i fe from th e beg inn i ng , t o see

how much i t has been,and has don e .

Short as th e l i fe o f th e Un i on Leagu e Club is , reck

oned on ly by years , i t i s a l ready old i n s ervi ces,and v en

e rable fo r th e t rad it ion s of i t s h ero i c or ig i n . I t had

a go lden age o f arden t sel f-sacrific ing pat r i ot ism ,when

i t l ived and to i l ed w i th th e nat i on and su ffered w i th th e

na t i onal angu i sh , that threat ened to end in th e death of

THE UNION LEA G UE CL UH.1 59

th e Un i on . That p er i od o f i t s b i rth and i t s g l o ry when

one h eart and one m i nd an imat ed i ts members , w i th a

common so l i c i t ud e , and a c ommon wi l l ingn ess to sp end

and be spen t i n th e nat i on’s cau se

,ough t n ot t o be for

got t en , and can n eve r c ease'

,wi thou t ru in t o al l that h as

be en exc ept i onal an d charact e ri st i c i n th e Cl ub,t o be

th e dom i n an t thought in i t s pol i cy . Pat ri ot i sm was th e

foun ta in-head of ou r be ing ; nat i onal u n i on , n at i ona l

pu ri ty,nat i ona l sp i ri t , mad e th e chann el and fi l l ed th e

st ream i n wh ich we moved . To p reserve and th en t o

pu rge and pu ri fy th e nat i ona l l i fe so far as that d e

pended upon th e sp i r i t and t empe r o f th e ch i e f c i ty of

th e count ry—was our amb it i on and ru l i ng mot ive .

O th er cl ubs may have th i s for an i nd i rec t end , we had

i t as ou r reason for exi st en c e . W h i l e l i t e rary,ae sth et i c

and soc i al,or p ro fess io na l and comm erc ia l a ims , h ave

been th e b lamel ess mot ives of th e n um erou s and re

spect ed assoc iat ion s i n cl ub l i fe that su rro unds u s , we

are s ignal i z ed and d ist i ngu i sh ed by an o rig i n an d by a

h isto ry that i s s e r iou s and d i rec t ly conn ec t ed w i th

nat ional du ty and u se fu l n ess . W hat eve r re laxat ion s .

p l easu res and en t ertainm en t s g row ou t of, or decorat e

and adorn ou r c l ub l i fe,are in c id en tal and no t essen t i a l

th e so ld i er'

s garlands th rown over h i s armo r . Doubt l ess,

we have and enj oy as many of th ese p r iv i l eges as tho se

who make th em th e i r s et pu rpose . Bu t we mu st no t ,

and cannot wi th ou t mak ing ou r A rt ic l e s of A sso c i at io n

m ean ingl ess , fo rget that we exi s t t o chal l eng e the en e

m i es of Un ion and Nat ional h on o r,th e foes o f A m e ri can

princ ip l e s , of wh ich , fr eedom with o rde r,equal i ty w ith

160 THE UNION LEA GUE CL UH.

o u t c ommun ism,and free su ffrage withou t mob ru l e , a re

th e ch i e f ; and that ou r nam e , ou r post and ou r boast ,

woul d al l al ike be fool i shn ess,i f we cou l d al l ow ou rselves

t o d egen erat e in to a body of se l f-sat isfied , p l easu re-seek

ing , powerl ess p erson s , i n whom c i t i z en sh ip had c eased

t o be a p rid e and respon s ib i l i ty—m un ic ipal governm ent

becom e a vu lgar mach in e t o be g iven over t o knaves

and managers o f popu lar pass i ons , and the Am er i can

N at i on and i t s gove rnmen t an audaciou s experim en t ,

p remat u re i n i t s b i rth , al r eady r i cketty and de fo rm e d

in i t s d ev elopmen t , and p red est i n ed to fa i l u re , al l t h e

m ore fatal fo r th e fu r i ou s en ergy and inven t iven ess of

i t s p eop l e , and th e growi ng weal th and l uxury o f i t s

ch i ld ren .

Desp i t e th e respect wh i ch ou r g row i ng weal th and

power have exto rt ed from o th er nat i on s,th ere can b e

n o do ubt that ou r comparat ive impot en cy i n th e p res

en ce of ou r mun i c ipal evi l s h as weaken ed ou r pol i t i ca l

p rest ige abroad ; that ou r rings and ra i l road co rpo ra

t i ons,ou r fo re ign vot ers , natu ral i z ed at th e in stanc e of

d emagogu es b e fore the ir ignoranc e , sup e rst i t i on and

hat red of law and o rde r have u nd ergon e any who l e

some change ; th e co rrupt i on in ou r S tat e Leg i sl at u res

and th e d et er io rat ion in ou r Cong ress , and ou r offi ce

h old ers—not t o say the decay o f th e old rac e of

s tate smen—a nd th e imposs ibi l i ty of rai s i ng men of th e

h ighest c l ass t o be pres id en t s , have al l comb in ed t o

make th e A meri can examp l e qu i t e as mu ch a warn ingas an encou ragem en t t o E u rop ean l ove rs of good

governmen t , with l iberty and equal r ights . W orst of



t o th e Am er i can charac t er and th e hop es of fre e i n

s t i t u t ions,as th e educated

,resp ectabl e and moral c l ass ,

who are no t w i l l i ng t o pay th e p ri c e of l ib erty by

g iv ing i t th e et ernal v ig i l anc e i t requ i res . They'

ex

p ee t th e bl ess ing of good governm en t w i thou t be ing

wi l l ing t o exp end the care i t d emands . S e l f-govern

men t,with th e se l f asl eep and i n act ive , i s a d ream .

W hen th e A m er i can p eop l e real ly beg i n s t o gove rn

i t se l f,i t w i l l b e wel l govern ed . A t p resen t , i t t oo

o ften l eaves thos e who choose t o govern , t o have th e ir

own reckl ess way,an d wonders why ou r fre e inst i t u

t i on s do n ot bet t e r ru n th emse lves .

I f th e Un ion Leagu e Club has any h igh fu nct i on ,

i t i s c ertai n ly t o bat t l e w i th the fai th l essn ess i n A m er

i can p r inc ip l es, wh ich so eas i ly affe ct s ou r cu l t ivat ed or

easy c l ass . A nd to that end i t mu st g rapp l e w i th t he

i n dol enc e and fast id i ou sness wh i ch wi thdraws ou r bet te r

m en and women from in t e rest i n pol i t i c s and from co

ope rat ion with governm en tal affai rs . I f n on e bu t se l f

s e ekers or asp i rant s t o offi c e are t o b e in t erest ed i n

e l ect ions,what can keep u s from fal l ing i n to th e h ands

o f a rac e not ou r own , se e ing that th ose who care l i t t le

or noth ing fo r Am eri can p rinc ip l e s are now ,and have

l ong be en,most in t en se ly i n t e rest ed i n th e pol i t i cal

mach in e , and are in possess i on of most of th e mun i

c ipal offi ces . I t i s not the i r act iv i ty but ou r sloth th at

cau ses most of th e ev il s of A mer i can po l i t i c s ; and the

Un ion Leagu e Club shou ld b e an an imat ed p ro t est

again st th i s an t i-nat ional , ant i-Ame rican , l i s t l essn ess , and:

wast e of pol i t i cal power , and fa i l u re in d u ty .


C H A R T E R

A N A C T TO INC ORPORA TE THE UNION LEA G UE C LU B .

OF THE C ITY OF NEW YORK .

PA SSED FEBRUARY 1 6TH, 1 865 .

A s AMENDED BY CHAP . 160 LAW S OF 1 867 , PA SSED MARCH 26,1 867 .

A s AMENDED BY CHAP . 423 , LAW S O F 1 8 74, PA SSED MAY 1 1 , 1 874.

Tfze P eople of fl u: S ta te of N ew York,represented in Sm a le

and A ssembly ,a’o enact as f ollows .

SECT ION I . Cornel ius R . A gnew,Horat io A l len

,James

W . Beekman,Henry W . Bel lows

,Franc is B . Cu tt ing, John

A . D ix,W olcot t Gibbs

,John C . Green

,George Griswold ,

Dav id Hoadley, M urray Hoffman,W i l l iam J . Hopp in ,

Charles K ing, Charles M . Marshall,W i l l iard Parker

,George

T . S trong, Jonathan S turges, O t is D . Swan , M oses Taylor,and such o ther persons as now are members of an assoc iat ion in the c i ty of New York cal led the “Un ion LeagueC lub

,and such persons as hereafter shal l become members

of the corporat ion hereby created , are const i tu ted a bodycorporate by the name of

“The Un ion League Club, to

be located in the c i ty Of New York,to promo te, encourage

and sustain,by al l proper means, absolu te and unqual ified

loyal ty to the governmen t of the U n i ted S tates ; to d iscountenance and rebuke

,by moral and social influences, al l

d isloyal ty to said Government , and every at temp t againstthe integri ty of the nat ion ; and in furtherance of theseobj ec ts

,to establ ish and maintain a L ibrary and a Gal lery

of A rt and M i l i tary T rophies, espec ial ly devo ted to the

perpetuat ion and i l lustrat ion of the patrio t i c serv ices andsacrifices by which the exi st ing s truggle against rebel l ionhas been charac terized .

A EEEN O I X . 167

SEC . 2 . S aid corporat ion shal l have power to make anda dop t a const i tu t ion , by

- laws,ru les and regulat ions , for

t he admission , suspension and expulsion of i ts members,

and their governmen t , the col lec t i on of fees and dues,the

number and elec t ion of i ts officers and to define theird u t ies, and for the safe keep ing of i ts p roperty, and ,

fromt ime to t ime , to al ter, mod ify or change such const i tu t ion

,

by- laws

,ru les and regu lat ions . Unt i l an elec t ion shal l be

held pursuan t to such const i tu t ion,by

-laws,ru les and regu

lat ion s, the officers , for the t ime being, of the associat ionmen t ioned in the firs t sec t ion of this ac t

,shal l be the

officers of the corporat ion hereby c reated .

SEC . 3 . Said corporat ion may purchase and ho ld , or leaseany real or personal es tate n ecessary and proper for the

purpose of i ts incorporat ion , prov ided they shal l no t holda ny real estate the value of which shal l exceed fifteenhundred thousand dol lars ; and the said corporat ion may

i ssue bonds,and may execu te mortgages upon their real

e state to an amoun t no t exceed ing the value of such realestate

,and the improvemen ts thereon .

SEC . 4 . Sa id corporat ion shal l possess the general powersand '

he subj ec t to the restri c t ions and liabi lites presc ribedin the third t i tle of the eighteenth chap ter of the first part

of the Revised S tatu tes .SEC . 5 . This ac t shal l take effec t immed iately.

OR IG INA L BY-LA VJ S O F THE CLUB .

(ADOPTED MA RCH I 3TH,

OF OFF ICERS A ND THE IR DUT IES .

I . The Officers of the'

U n ion League Club shal l be a

P residen t,twelve Vi ce-Presidents, a Secre tary, a Treasurer,

an Execu t ive Comm i t tee,a Comm i t tee on A dm issions

,and a

Comm i t tee on P ubl icat ions,each of whom shall be elec ted

(excep t for the year at the annual meet ings of the C lub,by the members thereof, and shal l serve un t i l their successorsshal l have been elec ted respec t ively.

2 . The President,or in his absen ce

,the Vice-Presiden t

sen ior in order of Elec t ion,shal l pres ide at al l meet ings of

the Club .

3 . The Secre tary shal l keep a record of the proceed ings ofthe stand ing Comm i t tee , and Comm i t tee on A dm i ssions, of

which Commi t tees he shal l be ex ~ofi rzo a member,and of all

meet ings of the C lub, and of al l mat ters concern ing i t of wh icha record shal l be deemed adv isable by him or by said Commi t tees . The records of the Sec retary Shal l at al l reasonablet imes be opened to the inspec t ion of an y member of the C lub .

I t shal l be his du t y to not ify members of their elec t ion , to keepa ro l l of the members of the C lub (which shall be signed byeach m ember as soon as elec ted) , to issue not ic es for al lmee t ings of the C lub and to conduc t the correspondence .

4 . The Treasurer shal l col lec t and,under the d irec t ion of

the Execu t ive Comm i t tee,d isburse the funds ; he shall keep

the accounts of the Club in books belonging to i t he shal l re

port at every annual meet ing, and Oftener if requ i red , on the

s tate of the funds . The T reasurer shal l be ex -ofi cz’

o a memberof the Execu t ive Comm i t tee and Comm i ttee on A dm issions .


I 70 A P P END IX.

monthly meet ing the Comm i t tee shall report the names of such

persons proposed as they recommend for adm ission,and the

C lub shal l thereupon proceed to vo te upon the names so recommend ed . Negat ive vo tes to the number of one- th ird of

those cast shal l exc lude the person , or persons vo ted for.

9. There Shal l be a C omm i t tee on Publ icat ions, the du ty of

which shal l be to c i rcu late through the publ ic p ress and o therwi se su ch documen ts as shal l tend to awaken

,ex tend and pe r

pe tuate t he vi tal fai th of the fathers of the Republ ic namel y,

that N azional Union is necessary to the American people for the

preservat ion of l iberty, maintenance of law,securi ty against

c iv i l d iscord, protec t ion from foreign aggression , cont inuance of

soc ial and commerc ial p rosperi ty, and transm ission of nat ional

glory ; and to impress on the intel l igen t and educated c lassesthe du ty of tak ing an ac t ive part in the conduc t of publ icaffairs . Such Comm i t tee shal l cons ist of seven members

,and

have power to fi l l i ts own vacanc i es,and to add to i ts members

during the term for which i t i s elec ted . There shal l be aSpec ial publ i cat ion fund d ist inc t from the general fund ,

O f theC lub

,which shal l be d isbursed by the Treasurer, only on the

order or cert ificate of the Chairman Of the Comm i t tee onPubl i cat ions .

1 0 . A ny officer may be removed for cause at an y meet ingO f the Club upon due no t ice, and any vacancy in any officemay be fi l led for the residue of the term by the Club ,

at any

mee t ing thereof excep t as o therwise provided .

OF MEET ING S .

I I . The A nnual M eet ing of the C lub shal l be held On thesecond W ednesday in January at 8 o

’

c lock, P .M . for the elec t ion

of offi cers,and the transac t ion of such o ther business as may

come before i t . Thirty members and a majori ty of the Exe cu t ive Comm it tee shal l be a quorum at al l m ee t ings of theC lub .

1 2 . A t every A nnual Meet ing three aud i tors shall be ap

pointed to serve for twelve months, or unt i l new aud i tors

A P P EN D IX.

I 7 I

be regularly chosen . The du ty of said aud i tors shal l be toaud i t and set tle the accoun ts of the Treasurer, and to presen tthei r report thereof to the nex t annual mee t ing . The Commi ttee shal l have power to fi l l vacan cies in their number, and two

of them shal l be a quorum .

1 3 . There shal l be a monthly mee t ing for the elec t ion

of members,and the transac t ion of business, on the second

W ednesday of every month , at 8 o’c lock

,P .M .

14 . A t the mee t ings of the C lub the order of business sofar as the charac ter

,and nature of the m ee t ing may adm i t

shal l be as fol lowsI . Read ing the m inu tes of the las t meet ing.

2 . Reports .

3 . E lec t ion of new m embers .

4. New business .But this order of business may be on mo t ion changed by a

majori ty of the meet ing.

1 5 . NO stranger Shal l be presen t at any meet ing of the

Club .

1 6. A ll elec t ions shal l be by bal lot, un l ess o therwise or

dered by two- th i rds of the number presen t , and a p lural i ty of

vo tes,except in the cases prov ided for by the eigh th Bv-Law

,

shal l be suffic ien t to elec t .

I 7 . Proxi es shal l no t be perm i t ted .

OF MEMBERS .

I 8 . NO member shal l rec eive any salary, emolumen t , or

profi t from the funds of the Club .

1 9 . No member shal l give any money or gratu i ty to a servant of the Club .

20 . A ll resignat ions shal l be made in wri t ing to the Executive Comm i t tee ; bu t if made after the second W ednesday of

January, such resignat ion Shal l no t d i scharge the member pre

sent ing i t from his dues for the current year and al l interest in

the property of the C lub of m embers resign ing, or o therwi se

c easing to be members, shal l be ves ted in the Club .

172 A P P END IX.

2 1 . A cand idate for membership shal l be proposed by amember, who shal l register in a book se t apart for the purposethe cand idate’s name

,and residence

,and add the date of such

regi stry and his own signature .

2 2 . I f the conduc t O f a member be d isorderly, or injuriousto the interes t of the Club ,

or contrary to i ts By-Laws : or ifby his ac ts or conversat ion he shal l man ifes t a sp i r i t of d i sloyal ty to the Government of the U n i ted S tates, the Execu t iveComm i ttee shal l inform him thereof in wri t ing, and if the natureof the Offence requ ire i t

,request h im to resign .

2 3 . Shou ld such informat ion or request be d isregarded , theExecu t ive Comm i t tee shal l refer the mat ter to the next sta tedmee t ing of the C lub

,or to a spec ial mee t ing thereof ; O f which

reference due no t ice shal l be g iven to the o ffend ing member .

24 . A t such meet ing, the nature of the offence shal l be con

s idered,and the member complained O f may he censured

,or

expel led by a vote of a majori ty of the ,members presen t . A

mo t ion involving censure or expulsion shal l be dec ided bybal lo t .

2 5 . The adm ission fee of a member shal l be Twen ty-five dollars . The ann ual dues of members shal l be Twenty -fiv e dol lars

,

payable in advance, on or before the first Monday in M arch inevery year, except by members elec ted prior to the first day of

January, 1 864 , who shal l pay upon adm i ssion . I f no t then

paid , the defau l ter shal l cease to be a member, zpso f arto pro

vided,that upon his wri t ten appl icat ion , and the payment of al l

dues to the date thereof,the Execu t ive Comm i t tee

,in i ts d is

cret ion and upon such terms as i t may deem proper, may re

m i t the penal ty Of this By—L aw ; of al l which the Sec re taryshal l make a m inu te . f ur l/Z” that the penal ty of

this By-Law shal l no t app ly to the case of a resident member,

who may be i l l , or absen t from the Ci ty of New York .

OF STRA NG ERS .

2 6. A member may personal ly introduce non -residents tothe rooms O f the C lub for a fortn igh t, their names, and those of


PRES IDENTS .


ONATHAN STURGES,

CHARLES H. MARSHALL,

JOHN JAY ,

JACKSON s . SCHULTZ ,

W ILL IAM J . HOPPIN ,

JOSEPH H. CHOATE

JOHN JAY ,

GEORGE CABO T W ARD,

HAMILTON FISH,

HONORA RY MEMBERS .

A BRAHAM LINCOLN ,

!

La le P res i den t of Me Un i ted S ta tes .

ULYSSES S . GRANT ,

Ex-P resz'

a’en t of i lze Un i led S ta tes .

G ENERA L W . T . SHERMAN , U . S . A rmy.

LIEUTENA NT-GENERA L P . H . SHERIDAN,U . S . A rmy.

MA J OR-GENERA L ROBERT A NDERSON .

!

GEORGE G . MEADE .

!

A . E . BURNS IDE .

W INFIELD S . HA NCOCK, U . S A rmy.

0. O . HOW A RD ,

HORATIO E . W RIGHT ,

GOUVERNEUR K . W ARREN,U . S .

W ILLIAM F . SM ITH .

GEORGE H . THOMA S,

! U . S . A rmy.

A DMIRA L DAVID G . U . S Navy.

VICE-ADM IRA L DAVID D . PORTER,

REA R-A DMIRA L THEODORUS BA ILEY,

! U . S Navy.

MELANCTHON SM ITH ,

!

COMMODORE JOHN RODGERS .

GEORGE T . STRONG,

! Esq ,New York .

Deceased .

EX TRA CTS

FROM THE A DDRESS OF HON . J OHN J A Y ,P RES1DENT OF THE

C LUB,A T THE OLD C LU B HOU SE, O N THE OCCA

S ION OF THE LAST MEET ING BEFORE RE

MOVA L— MA RC H 26TH,1 868 .

N EW YORK A T THE BEG INNING O F THE W A R .

The posi t ion of New York,during the contest (Rebel l ion ) ,

was material ly influenced by the members of this C lub . W henM r. Jefferson Dav is and his co-conspi rators commenced thewar

,i t was no t simply wi th the assurance Of M r . Ex -Presiden t

Pierce,that the figh t ing shoul d be

“wi thin our own borders,

and in our own streets,

”bu t wi th the assuranc e , also, that New

York,so int imately connec ted w i th the Sou th , wou ld S ide wi th

the Rebel l ion,and stand as a breakwater between the rebel s

and the ind ignant patriot ism of the North . In January, 1 86 1,

soon after the secession of Sou th Caro l ina,M r. Fernando W ood ,

then M ayor of our ci ty, suggested to the Common Counc i l thata d i ssolu t ion of the Un ion seemed inev i table

,and i t was proper

that N ew York shou ld be prepared to dec lare herself a freec i ty, independent al ike of the Nat ional and S tate Governments ; and an assoc iat ion was secret ly organ i zed wi th a v iewto carry ou t the proj ec t at a conven i en t season .

The si t t ing of the Peace Congress delayed the ou tbreak of

the R ebel l ion and when Sum ter was at tacked and the old flaghumbled , we answered the rebel guns of Mou l tr ie by the mem

orable gathering of hundreds of thou sands in this square,

whose voices , c lear, ringing, and defian t , sounded the key-no teof the patrio t ism of the coun try. I t announced to the worldthe resolu t ion of the North

,that the R epubl i c , at whatever


I 7S A P P END IX.

we had as dangerous an enemy to contend wi th at home , asthat which our armi es were confront ing in the field . In theW est there was the form idable consp iracy of the Kn igh ts of

the Golden Circle ; in New York, a soc iety, professedly“for

the d iffusion of pol i t ical knowledge,” i ssued trac ts defend ing

slavery, assai l ing the Government , apolog iz ing for the rebels,and demand ing peace . There were al i en wri ters and a fac t ions

press , denying our nat ional i ty, and repeat ing the fal lac ies of

the London Times and al l these an t i -nat ional movements wereencourag ing not only the rebels, bu t our European foes , whowere ben t on intervent ion ; while Lord Lyons repor ted to his

government the v iews of Democrat i c leaders in New York,and Mr. Drouyn de Lhuys referred , in hi s c ircular inv i t ingEuropean med iat ion and in tervent ion , to the encouragementafforded for the scheme by the progress of the peace party inthe Northern S tates . So confident of success was this sece s

sion party in NewYork, backed as they were by the Pope, Lou isNapoleon , and the Engl ish Tories

,and by a const i tuency of

na tural i zed c i t izens,stronger in number than in in tel l igence ,

wi th bu t smal l apprec iat ion of American princ iples, and ye t

less regard to American honor, that i ts members began to vaunttheir treason in our soc ial c irc les and business mar ts

,wi th an

insolent boldness that i t st irs the blood even to remember .Apart from their p lot t ings at home

,we found that they were

assuming to represent the op in ions of the higher c irc les of New

York,and were mislead ing European Cabinets and the Euro

pean press into the bel ief that the weal th and cu l ture of theAmerican metropolis were al l arrayed on the side of the R ebel l ion .

I t was to grapp le wi th this treason , and make i t powerlessand con tempt ible, that the Un ion League Club was formed inthe beginn ing of 1 863 , and from the start

,i ts power was fel t

more and more,unt i l New York became , as at the beginn ing of

the war,the nat ional centre of patrio t i c sent iment .

In April , 1 863 , we organ ized , in this Square (Un ion ), an

o ther grand mee t ing, on the second ann iversary of the surrenderof Sumter, when a hundred gentlemen, our welcome guests,

A P P END IX. 179

represented on the occasion that noble body, the Un ion Leagueof Philadelph ia.

CLUB HOUSE INAUGURAT ION, APRIL 16TH, 1868 .

The inauguration of the New Club House, on the even ingof the 1 6th of April , was at tended by about twelve hundredlad ies and gentlemen , includ ing offi cers of the army and n avyand dist inguished guests from various parts of Amer ica and

Europe .

Some eighty letters of regre t were received by the Comm i t teefrom gentlemen unabl e to at tend , and the following brief extracts

,ind i cating the general charac ter of the tributes paid by

our most eminent statesmen from al l quar ters to the services ofthe Club

,may perhaps fi t ly find p lace in this record of i t s past

memories.

FROM HON . SENATOR EDW IN D . MORG A N .

Most cordial ly do I appl aud your movement. A s a centralrally-

point for men of high , unselfish aims and patrio t i c pur

poses, the Un ion League Club i s destined hereafter, as heretofore

,to be of incalculable serv i ce, espec ial ly in junc tures l ike

the present, in pac ifying the country, and in reconc i l ing by de

grees those differences which have grown out of the great c iv i lwar—a war which you , gentlemen , have done so much to bringto an auspic ious close . A s a resident of New York

,I feel a

natural pride in recal l ing the par t performed by the Club . Itshistory I well know,

from i ts first organ izat ion , in 1 863, t il lnow i t has been my privi l ege as a c i t izen not only, bu t I may

also say duty, in an official way, to keep informed as to i tsac t ion in raising troops, in aid ing hospi tals, furn ish ing campand o ther suppl ies, and in al l ways, moral and mater ial , nob lysustain ing the Government in its d ire struggl e. I canno t conce ive how the work wh ich the Club has done

, and done so wel l ,and which all must see was to a degree v ital to the success of

the nat ional arms,could have been accompl i shed o therw ise than

through your organ izat ion . Your Club sprang from the n ecess i

I 80 A P PEND IX.

t i es Of the period , and was held together during the war by acommon danger, and by common hopes and interests i ts cont inuance is demanded

,as I have said

,by the relat ion that the

ind iv idual bears to the commonweal th and i ts membership inthe fu ture wi l l be even more closely connec ted than hi therto bythe recollec t ion of common sacrifices

,by common trad i t ion of

the recent past . Representat ives of al l classes of business and

professional pursu i ts, and of the higher walks of l i terature an dthe arts in the c i ty of New York

,are to assembl e from day to

day in your new quarters, not alone for soc ial in tercourse, bu tas ci t izens of the republ ic , for the interchange of v i ews andOp in ions on matters of general concern , wi th the common goodin view

,and that good the best in terests of the whole coun try,

bu t no t as part isans . W i thou t a centre l ike yours , to aid in

giv ing d irect ion to i t, the sen t imen t of the publ i c m ind , even ina period of insurrec t ion

,i s slow ; oftent imes too slow in dec id

ing upon p lans of ac t ion . The at tack upon Sum ter provokedthe loyal m i l l ions of the North , bu t i t was the meet ing in Un ionSquare~—that now historic popular ou tburst (cal led toge ther inmuch the same manner as was your Club)—which gave direct ion

,as I had good reason at the t ime to know,

to that curren tof patrio t ism which con t inued to flow on unceasingly un t i l therebel l ion was swep t away. I welcome your proceed~

ings on Thursday even ing, no t on ly as an index of your pros

peri ty, bu t as an earnest that the U n ion League C lub is to bec ome one of the permanen t inst i tu t ions of our c i ty.

I need no t hope that under i ts wise managers, the Club wil lcont inue to hol d i ts wel l-earned p lace in the hearts of good

peop le everywhere .

”

FROM G OV. FENTON .

I had thought i t possible to join you, and my d i sappoin tment is fu l ly equal to the pl easure I had ant i c ipated from anoccasion so expressive of the prosperi ty, growth, and influenceof the organ izat ion . The history of the League bears wi tnessto the fidel i ty and loyal sp iri t of the nat ion throughou t our


I 82 A P P END I X .

than perhaps history wi l l ever record) which were done for ourcause by the U n ion Leagues of New York and Philadelphia, inthe three scenes of i ts l ife and death struggle—the field of

batt le,the press, and the pol ls.

"

FROM HON . HORA C E B I NNEY,OF PH I LA DELP H IA .

I feel myself to be infin i tely honored by your inv i tat ion toat tend the inaugurat ion of the Un ion League Club O f New Yorkon the even ing of the 1 6th instan t . The establ ished charac terof that C lub for loyal ty to the Un ion , and for the steadfastdefense of the Nat ional au thori ty, as wel l as of the obl igat ionof the Const i tu t ion

,makes such an invi tat ion a compl imen t to

all who receive i t,as being though t to be in sympathy wi th

these elevated v i rtues,and I am

,on this ground , proud to re

turn my thanks for i t, whi le i t is en t irely beyond my power toaccep t i t wi th personal at tendance .

”

FROM SENA TOR SHERMA N .

My best wishes and cooperat ion wi l l always be for the con

t inu ed triumph of the nat ional and patrio t i c principles thathave here tofore gu ided your League, and I have been in asi tuat ion to know how useful i t has been in i ts influence no ton ly in New York bu t throughou t the country.

”

FROM G EORG E H. BOKER,SECRETA RY OF THE UNION LEA G UE

OF PH I LADELPH IA .

Permi t me to congratu late you ,in the name of our League ,

on your occupat ion of the magn ificent bui ld ing which wil lhenceforth be ident ified by your name—a name already madei l lustrious by your man y patriot ic deeds—and to hope that

your prosperi ty wi l l inc i te you to enlarge your field of usefulness, and to extend the influence Of your noble p rinc ip les overthe remo test l im i ts of your great S tate .

”

A P PE ND IX.1 83

CORRESPONDENCE

W IT H G OV. SEYMOUR C ONC ERNING THE ORG A N I Z A T ION OF

C OLORED TROOPS .

NEW YORK N ov . 2 2 . 1 863 .

His Excellency Hon . Hora /lo S ewnonr , G over nor , ere .

D ear S ir

A t the regular m ee t ing of the Un ion LeagueClub

,held at i ts Club House

,U n ion Square

,in this c i ty, on

November 1 2 th,1 863 , the fol lowing resolu t ion was unan imously

adopted :“Resolved

,That a comm i t tee

,consist ing of seven members

be appointed by the Chai r, wi th ful l power, and on behalf of

the Un ion League Club , to adop t and prosecu te such measuresas they shall deem mos t effec tual for a id ing the Governmen t inraising and equ ipp ing the quo ta of volunteers to be raised inthe S tate of New York

, pursuan t to the proc lamat i on Of thePresiden t of the Un i ted S tates .“The above resolu t ion indicates the Obj ect of thi s commu

n icat ion .

“On behalf of the Un ion League Club, we desire to ask

your authori ty to raise a regimen t or compan i es of co lored men

in this S tate . I f you shal l be p l eased to sign ify your wi l l ingness to grant such au thori ty, we wi l l at once seek the approvalof the W ar Depar tmen t . W e may be perm i tt ed to add that webel ieve that wi th the influence of our Club

,composed as i t i s

of five hundred of the weal thies t and most influen t ial gen tlemen of the c i ty, who have no purpose to serve bu t the suppor tof the Government

,and aided as we shou ld be by the efforts of

many c i t i zens ou tside of our organ i zat i on ,the raising of a con

s iderable body of colored troops in this S tate wi l l be easi ly ac

compl ished , and a cons iderable contribu t ion thus made towardfi l l ing our quo ta.

I 84 A P P END I X .

Of course we should , before any ac tual movement towardsrecru i t ing was made

,ask of you au thorizat ion to the proper

Officers in the usual form .

Sol ic i t ing the favor Of an early reply, we are, very respec tful ly,

Your obed i en t servants,

A LEX ANDER VAN RENSSELAER ,

GEORGE BL ISS . J R

LE G RAND B . CA NNON .

The fol lowing reply was received in a few days

STATE OF NEW YORK , EX ECUTIVE DEPA RTMENT ,

A LBANY , N ovember , 27 , 1 863 .

G entlemen

I have received your commun icat ion in relat ion to the organ izat ion of negro regiments into compan i es .

The mat ter rests ent irely wi th the W ar Department at W ashington . I understand that perm ission has been given to pe rsons in Brooklyn to raise such regiments, and I suppose, therefore

, you can ge t a l ike au thorizat ion .

I send you a copy of a le tter wri t ten by me to M r. Rodger sof New York

,which covers the whole ground .

Yours,etc

HORAT IO SEYMOUR .

To Messrs A LEX . VAN RENSSELAER,L . C . B . CANNON, GEO . BLISS, JR .

The l et ter to Mr. Rodgers, referred to by G ov . Seymou r ,was as fo l lows

STATE OF NEW YoRK, EX ECUTIVE DEPARTMENT ,

A LBANY , N ovember 24, 1 863 .

TO JA MES ROD G ERS,Esq .

,No . 42 1 Broadway, N . Y .

In answer to your inqui ries abou t the enl i stment ofblacks and the organ ization of regiments and compan ies, I haveto say


I 86 A PPEND I X .

transm i t to you a copy of i t,and also of the appl icat ion , and

to express the hope that so far as is in your power, you wi l l

give the movement your aid and countenance.They d i rec t me also to suggest that some steps should be

taken to pu t a stop to the recru i t ing in this S tate of men for

o ther S tates, and to the induc ing men to leave this S tate andenl ist e lsewhere . The Comm i t tee bel ieve that this has beendone and is being done to a considerable extent , and part icu

larly wi th colored men .

Your obed i ent servan t ,G EORGE BL ISS , IR . ,

Secretafj'.

No reply was received to th i s le t ter, nor was any no t i cetaken of i t .

A s an instance of the feel ing against colored troops in the

c i ty at this t ime, i t was found impossible to have a band toescort the regimen t down Broadway bo th G raffu la and Dodsworth refused

,and i t was only upon appl icat ion to the Secre

tary of W ar that the Government band was furn ished .

“Recru i ts in large numbers quickly came . Squads of them

came from d istant parts of the S tate . Among thevolunteers enl ist ing were men from the Bri t ish W est Ind i aI slands

,Hay t i

,Canada

,Maryland , Vi rgin ia, Kentucky and the

W est bu t the majori ty were from the respec table, industriousand hard-work ing c lasses of our own S tate and c i ty. One

pastor of a church,the Rev . M r. Le Vere

,S ince appoin ted

chap lain of the Twent ieth,came wi th the greater part of the

male members of hi s congregat ion . Some were men who had

been driven ou t of their homes by the mob in July. Oneyoung man

,W i l l iam Derickson

,whose mother was murdered

by the mob, and who had h is clothes saturated wi th campheneand straw pi led over him in the stree t in order that he m igh tbe burned to death, bu t who was in t ime rescued by the pol i ce ,volunteered

,and is now wi th the Twen ty-sixth at Beau fort .

”

(Extrac t from report of Comm i t tee on Volun teering, presentedOc t . 1 3 th,

A P P END IX.1 8 7

ADDRESS To THE 20TH REG IMENT,U . s. C OLORED TROOPS O N

THE OCC A S ION O F THE PRESENTA T ION OF A STA ND O F C OLORS

BY THE LA D IES , MA RC H 5 TH,1 864 .

To Me Ofi eers and M ember s of l/ze zot/z U i zz

'

teo’S la tes Colored

Soldiers , W e,the mo thers

,wives and sisters

,of the members

of the New York Un ion League Club , by whose l iberal i ty andintell igent patrio t ism,

and under whose d i rec t ausp i ces youhave been organ i zed into a body of Nat ional troops for the defense of the Un ion , earnest ly sympathiz ing in the great causeof American free nat ional i ty, and desirous of test ifying by somememorial

,our profound sense of the sacred obj ect and the

holy cause in behalf of which you have en l isted , have preparedfor you this banner, at once the emblem of freedom and of

fai th,and the svmbol of woman ’s best wishes and prayers for

our common country, and espec ial ly for your devo t ion there to .

W hen you look at this fl ag and rush to bat tle , or stand at

guard beneath i ts subl ime mo t to ,“G OD A ND LIBERTY re

member that i t i s also an emb lem of love and honor from thedaughters of this great me tropol is to her brave champ ions inthe field

,and that they wi l l anx iously watch your career, glory

ing in your heroi sm,min i stering to you when wounded and

i l l,and honoring your martyrdom wi th bened i c t ions and wi th

tears .

J . J . A STOR ,MRS

G . W . BLUNT ,

J . W . BEEKMA N ,

S . W ETMORE ,

S . B . CHITTENDEN ,

N . D . SM ITH,

T . M . CHEESMAN .

H. A . CO IT ,

A . P . MAN ,

J . J . PHELPS ,

G . B . DE FOREST ,

LE G . B . CA NNONW . A . BUTLER ,

E . COLL INS ,

BRAD ISH,

BRUCE,

TUCKERMA N ,

SHAW ,

W ILL IAMS ,

P . R ICHA RDS ,

R . W INTHROP ,

W EEKS ,

C . C . DODG E ,

JOHN JAY ,

E . M . YOUNG ,

J . s . SCHULTZ ,

188 A P P EAQ UX Z

. UZ A . MURDOCK ,

A . DUNLARF . E . HOW E ,

w. H. LEE ,

w. E . DODGE , J R

DA V ID HOADLY ,

C . LUD INGTON ,

G . LEM IST,

E . C . COW D IN ,

J . A . ROOSEVELT ,

J . SAMPSON ,

R . B . M INTURN , J R . ,

A LFRED PELL , J R . ,

W . HUTCHINS ,GEO . OPDYKE ,

G . C . W A RD,

C . G . JUDSON ,

S . w. ROOSEVELT ,

E . D . SM ITH,

P . S . VAN RENSSELAERW A LTER ,

H. BA LDW IN ,

H. G . THOMSON ,

F . C . PENDEX TER ,

H. C . CHAPMAN ,

G . BANCROFT,

M . K . JESUP ,

J . C . B . DA V IS ,

w. H. SCHIEFFEL IN ,

F . B . GODW IN ,

G . BL ISS , J R . ,

S . J . BACON ,

R . B . M INTURN ,

CHARLES K ING ,

5 . W . BR IDGHAM ,

s . GANDY,

R . L . STUA RT,

E . W . STOUGHTONJ . W . B IGELOW ,

M . o . ROBERTS ,

H. K . BO GART ,

E . C . HA LL ,

J . LE ROY ,

N . CHANDLER ,

H. POTTER ,

M RS . J . E . BRENLY ,

H. CHA UNCEY,

R . M . HUNT,

JONES ,

M ISS J . SCHIEFFEL IN ,

F ISH,

EM ILY BOERUM ,

NORSW ORTHYMRS . W . E . DODGE ,

R . STEBBINS ,

S . B . SCHIEFFEL INM IS S K ING ,

MRS J . B . JOHNSON ,

JAQUES ,

A . BROOKS ,

W . FELT ,

J . W . GODDARD ,

F . G . SHAW ,

R . G . SHAW ,

G . B . CURT ISS ,

R . C . LOW ELL ,

C . G . K IRKLAND ,

B . DE FOREST ,

BOERUM ,

HAM ILTON F ISH,

A LFRED PELL ,

KENNEDY,

J . JOHNSTON ,

T . L . BEEKMANJ . F . G RAY,

J . TUCKERMAN ,

F . A . W HITTAK ER

J . H. MACY ,!

F . H. MACY,

J . MCK AYE,

W . L . FELT ,

T . HA SKELL .

ISAAC AMES ,

L . F . W ARNER,


190 A P P EN DIX.

“

W . R . VERM‘

ILYE , JOHN D . JO NES ,F RANC IS M . FRENCH , EDW A RD W ALKE RROBERT BLIS S , J

‘DHN E . W IL LIAMS ,JAMES K ELLY ,

R. B . SHERMAN, CHARLES DENNI SON.

GEORG E BLISS , J r . , Sec

STEPHEN HYATT, JAOK SON S SCHULTz,

PA RK ER HANDY, CHARLES H. MARSHALL,THEODORE ROOSEVELT,

DOW LEY, GE ORGE BLI SS ,

COMMITT EE ON B ANKS .

THOMA S H. FA ILE CHA RLES“H. MARSHALL,JOHN E . W ILLIAMS .

C OMMITTEE ON INSURA NCE COMPA N IES .

T IMOTHY G. CHURCHILL, JOHN D . JON ES.

CoMMI TTEE ON BRoK'

E-Rs .

W . R. VERM ILYE.

COMMITTEE ON C OOK ING!

.

STETSON,L DELMONIoo.

COMM ITTEE O N PA CKING .

COMMITTEE ON DRY GOODS .

“W ILLIAM H. LEE,

COMM ITTEE ON BOOKSEL LERS A ND PUB L ISHERS .

GE ORG E P . P‘L-H‘NAM .

A P PEND I X . 19 1

C IV IL SERV ICE REFORM .

RESOLUT ION P A SSED BY THE EX EC UT IVE C OMM ITTEEO F THE C LU B , M A Y , 1 864 .

Resolved—That the Execu t ive Comm i ttee recommend tothe general meet ing of the Club

,that comm i t tees be appoin ted

for the purpose of ob tain ing in format ion concern ing gain ingthe support of the publ ic for, and aid ing in the passage of

a bi l l just introduced into the Senate of the Un i ted S tates,

known as the “Civil Serv ice B i l l ,” the obj ec t of which is to

provide for the appoin tment of all c ivi l officers connec tedwi th the treasury, post office, and other governmental service,after a careful examinat ion as to fi tness ; office to be heldduring good behavior wi th prospect of promo t ion and a re t ir

ing pension in case of advanced age or d i sab i l i ty ; and thatsuch commi t tee be instruc ted to correspond wi th the Un ionLeague Clubs of Bos ton and Phi ladelphia for the purposeof obtain ing thei r cooperat ion .

ENUNC IATION OF REPUBL ICAN PR INC IPLES .

1 8 76.

In May, 1 8 76, the Club u namiously adopted a ser ies of

resolu t ions embodying the fol lowing princ ipl esI . That all c i t i zens Shal l be equal before the law

,and

shal l be protec ted by the laws .I I . That Spec ie payment , and gold as the s tandard of

values,shal l be speed i ly res tored .

I II . That the c iv i l serv i ce shal l be reformed , and on these

points, at least both the reso lu t ions and the nom inees of theapproaching Republ ican Nat ional Conven t ion Shal l be suchas to leave no ground ei ther of doub t or d istrust .

Resolu t ions were also passed :

I . In regard to corrupt ion in, and the admin istrat ion of

publ i c affai rs .

192 A PP END I X .

I I . A gainst the exc lusive management and control of

local affairs by an organ i zed mach inery of office-holders.I I I . A demand that independent and d isinteres ted Re

publ i cans in the c i ty and state Shal l be fairly representedin the elec t ion of delegates abou t to be chosen to the S tateand Nat ional Conven t ions .IV . The send ing of delegates pl edged or comm i t ted be

forehand to the support of any cand idate , i s a gross Viol at ionof the first pr inc iples of Republ ican inst i tu t ions, and an ou trage upon the r igh ts and the wishes of the great majori tyof the party. W e insist that the representat ion of the

S tate of New York in the convent ion shal l be commi ttedto a delegat ion whol ly unpacked and unpledged ,

who Shal lbe untrammeled and free to choose from among al l the can

d idat es that may be brough t before the convent ion , and un ~

less this can be conceded,we refuse to be bound by i ts

ac t ion .

V . That desiring, as we most earnest ly do, the successof the Republ i can party in the next presiden tal elec t ion ,

andbel i ev ing that the best interests of the country requ i re theelec t ion by that party of a President from i ts ranks

,we

desire promptly and explic i tly to avow our conv i c t ion thatsuch success is no t possible unless the cand idate of theRepubl i can par ty be a man who is no t only ident ified wi thi ts great pr inc iples and possessed by a proud apprec iat ionof i ts past serv ices, and who wi l l be recogn i zed by the common judgement of the country as fi l led by ab i l i ty and ex

perience in publ i c affairs for the responsibi l i t i es of his highoffice

,bu t also a man who has no connec t ion

,d i rec t or ind i

rec t,wi th the errors and abuses which have brought reproach

upon the fair name of the coun try and party, who i s aboveany susp ic ion of sympathy or associat ion wi th those whohave been gu i l ty of these abuses

,and whose name and career

shal l be in themsel ves a guarantee of a comple te renovat ionof the publ ic serv ice, of a thorough purging of offic ial abuses

,

and of an admin istrat ion of the government upon princ iplesof honesty, economy, intel l igence and fidel i ty to publ ic trust .


194 A P P E ND IX.

4th . Confiden t ial relat ions of the Club wi th the G overnmen tat W ashington during the war.

Commun i cat ions of importance frequent ly passed be tweenind iv idual members and comm i t tees of the C lub, and the headsof the Departments . This was no tably the case as to the Secre tary of W ar wi th Mr. G eo. B l iss, J r.

,and the Secretary of the

Navy wi th M r. George"

W . B lun t . Hence i t came abou t thatthe del iberate recommendat ions of the Club were held in h ighrespec t at W ash ington .

5 th . A id to the fugi t ive blacks at the t ime of the New Yorkriots in 1 863 .

Many hundred colored fam i l ies , despoiled of their homesand househol d goods by that untoward event , were succoredand sustained by the U n ion League Club .

Forty thousand dol lars were raised, and an office opened bya commi ttee chosen from the Club for this purpose . Subse

quen tly the same commi ttee, by personal endeavor, succeededin col lec t ing from the c i ty more than as damages forlosses of these poor people, and distribu ted the same to thesufferers wi th great fidel i ty.

6th . Cont ingent services to the colored reg imen ts in thefield .

The Un ion League Club became the trustee and almoner of

the colored regiments raised by i t , while in serv ice at the front .The Club received and paid over to thei r fam i l ies at hometheir boun ty and pay money. This was done through commi ttees

,and no mi stake or delay was ever complained of. Such

was the confidence between the Twent i eth and Twenty-sixthregiments and the Club that their quartermasters had fu l l cred i tfor personal suppl ies in New York . And the le tters and

packages of these regiments rece ived free transpor t , throughthe serv ices of this comm i t tee

,M r. Vincent Colyer, the secre

tary, giving personal at tent ion to this mat ter .

7 th . Inc idents of prejudice and hosti l i ty to negro sold i ers ,and the sequel .A fter the recrui t ing of the colored troops at R iker

’s I sland ,and they were abou t to be mus tered in to the service, app l ica

A P P E ND IX. 19 5

t ion was made for a mi l i tary band wi th which to march thereg imen ts through the c i ty. Such was the prejud i ce and feelings agains t these troops, that the c i ty bands, and among themthe G raffula and Dodworth

’

s, refused , upon the p lea that i t

would be a degrad ing service .

The comm i t tee offered to place two hundred whi te Un ionLeaguers between them and the black pa triots . S t i l l they re

fused . W hereupon a telegram to W ashington brought over thefine army band from Governor

’s Island , upon the order of Secre tary S tanton , to perform the deg rading seroz

'

ee .

And al though v iolence had been threatened , Col . Bartram's

prowess and fixed ammun i t ion turned the march in to an ovat ion . Thus was se t tl ed the vexed quest ion of “negro sold iery.

On the wal ls of the Club House there hangs to -day a fine oi l

painting portraying the even t .

J . S . s .

CLUB HOUSES .

The first Club House of the Un ion League Club was si tuatedat No. 26 East 1 7 th S tree t, front ing on U n ion Square—the old“Parrish House

,so cal led—and was opened M ay 1 2 th

,1 863 .

On Apri l I s t , 1 868,the Club moved to the Jerome Bui ld ing,

corner of Mad ison Avenue and 2 6th S tree t .For nearly twelve years these p rem i ses have been occup i ed

by the Club , and here was laid the wi se financ ial pol i cy thathas made a new Club House possible . O f M r. EdwardGleason ment ion Should be made for his long and effic ien tserv i ces here

,as the Superin tenden t of the Club

’s house -affai rs,

through whose carefu l superv is ion , though tful economy, andun iform urban i ty, the Club has profi ted, and members derivedmuch enjoyment .The New Club House is located on F i f th A venue and 39 th

S tree t . I ts S i te and struc ture just ify the expec tat ion of high

publ ic work and hospi tal i ty in the C lub's fu ture pol icy.


I 98 I NDEX.

Colored Person s, treatmen t of

Colored Regiment , departu re of 20thU ‘l

26th

3 l st

Colored troops , address to

presentation of flag to

recru i ting of

aid to in the fieldCol fax, Speaker , le tter of

Congress, members of, freedom of club to

Correspondence in regard to formation of ClubConclus ionClub

,origin of

Correspondence lead ing to formation ofO rgan ization of

F inances 63, 8 1 , 96, 101 ,105 , 1 14, 1 20,

Formation of, cause of

Incorporation of

House removalInju ry to, by fire

Houses

House , F i rstNew

Inauguration of, 1 868 , address at

Open ing of, 1 868

Re lation of, wi th G overnmen t

Dana , Richard H. , letter of

En l istme n t in the Southern S tatesEve re tt

, Edward , death of

Execu tive Commi ttee , Reports of 6 1 , 66 , 75 , 84 ,8 7 , 88 , 95 , 97, 101

1 1 5 , 1 20,1 22 , 1 32 , 1 34,

Frauds, Election , 1 868

Fen ton Gov. le tter ofFessenden , Hon . W . P . , re ception of

F ish, Hon . Hami lton ,address of

F ifteen th AmendmentF ire Departmen tForste r, Hon . W i ll iam E . ,

reception of

Fu tu re The , of the ClubFund re se rveG rant G en . recep t ion of

nomi nat ion and e lection OfG reeley , HoraceG ibbs , W olcott, correspondence of

G overnmen t Loans, placing of

Hancock , Maj. G en . , reception of

Hayes , Pres . and M rs recep t ion to

Health BoardHoughton , Lord , reception

.

to

Hosp i tal i ty to Office rs , A rmy , Navy and others

I rvzazaxi c ;

Imigrat ion , reform in

I ncorporation , act of 8 2 , 1 66

J ay, Hon . John, a ddre ss of

J ay, Hon . John, M in is ter to A u striaJerome bu ild ing, lease of

Johnston ,Pres . , impeachment of

Judicary election

Land bounties , resolu tions In regard to

LibraryLincoln ,

Pre s . , funeral ofLoya l Public ation Soc ie tyLoyal ists , Sou thernMee ting , first to organ i zeM ee ting, fi I s t. of foundersMembers , first rol l of .

regular election of

I l onorary 7 1 , 74,1 75

Metropol itan FairMus eum of A rt .

Morgan , Edwin D . , letter ofM un icipal Reform 104, 1 19

Nat ional League , LoyalNational Bank systemName of Club ,

firs t .

Necrology . 101,106, 1 20, 1 2 2 1 2 5 1 2 7 1 2 1 32 1 33

Negro, predjudice again s tNew York at beginning of war

Noyes , W i lliam Curtis , resolu tions of respec t to

O ffi cers, firs t election of

O ffi cers for 1 864O lmsted , Fred . Law,

letters of 1 1 , 1 7 , 2 9Organ i zation of

‘Club, fi I s t mee t ingCommi ttee on

PaIe ish Bui ld ing , lease of

Pre fatoryPresi den tial Elec tion , 1 864

1 8 76

Pre s iden ts , li st of

Pohcy of CHub, 1 865

x1 868

I1 8 70

1 8 751 8 78

1 8 79Portrai ts and Bu sts , pre s entation of 60, 73 ,

101

Pol i tical Re form,Comm i ttee on 92 , 1 2 7

1 29 , 136 , 1 38 , 142 ,

200 I NDEX.

Quartermaster’s Certificate systemQu incy , Jos iah ,

resolu tion of respect to

Reception to O ffi cers

Reconstruction pol icy of Congress sympathy w ithRecru i ting , Second CorpsRepud iationReception , Lad ies

origin of

Republ ican Princ iple s , Enunciation of

R ings and Pol i tical CorruptionR iot

,N ew York

Roll of Honor, Lad ie s

Resolu tions i n regard to Un iversal Suffrageon passage s of C ivil R ights B il l .

on Emigrationon C ity G ove rnmentUn iversal Su ffI age .

Sympathy i th re constru ction policy of CongressC ivi l lx igh ts B i l l

Resolu tions on Election Fraudsin regard to Club Pol icyC ivil Se rviceRepubl ican Princ iples , enunciation of

San i tary Commiss ion , the Un i ted S tatesS tan ton , Hon . Edwin M . , death of

Slavery , resu lts of aboli tion of

Seymou r, G ov correspondence w i th

Sherman , John , le tter ofShe ridan , G en . , reception of

Se rvice of the Club not of record

Smith , G oldwin , breakfas t toS trong , G eo . T . , letters ofSold ie r's Rest .School , Publ ic, que stionSuffrage ,

EqualUn ive rsal

Schu rz , Hon . Carl , reception of

Thanksg iv ing d inner, Comm i ttees on

T reasu rer, first appoin tedT rustees of Bu i ld ing FundThompson , Rev . J . P . add I e ss ofTh irteen th Amendmen t Comm itte e on

Uncond i tional Loyal tyUn ion L eague Club ,

PhI ladelph ia

Volun teering, Comm i ttee on

W adsworth , G en . , honors to rema ins ofW inslow, Capt . , reception of

W hi te ,P i es . add ress of

W ork of the C lub du I ing the “airin S tate , Mu nicipal , and Nationa l R efO Im

Documents

· 2 P RE F A TOA’Y. annalists of the Club 's histor y, we propose t o make a comprehensive sketch Of its life from the earliest germ to its present development. In doing this