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HARRISON, Benjamin (1833-1901), President. Autograph letter signed ("Benjamin Harrison") as President-elect to "My Dear Senator" (William M. Evarts, 1818-1901), with an initialed postscript marked "Private" on a separate sheet, Indianapolis, 1 February 1889. 3 pages, 8vo, with original stamped envelope addressed by Harrison.
"WHAT...WILL YOU TAKE TO GIVE ME THE CABIN & TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE?"
Evarts, a New Yorker, had served as Attorney General in Andrew Johnson's administration and Secretary of State under Hayes (1877-1881). He had evidently sent Harrison pictures of a rustic retreat in upstate New York. Five weeks from his inauguration as President, Harrison responds cordially, wondering if they might trade places. "The photographs of your Log Cabin and your kind letter...were handed to me by Senator Allen. The suggestion at once occurred to me that I might arrange a trade with you. What 'boot' will you take to give me the cabin & take the White House? I feel like being 'relegated back' - as a Hoosier penitentiary officer once said. If that is not possible I shall certainly use it as a house of refuge if you will keep your latch string out...." He adds: "On a short enclosure I present a confidential matter." The note, headed "Private," asks: "Should the Navy Dept. be assigned to New York, can you suggest a man who would conduct that important office with credit? Just now it seems that he ought to be able skillfully to construct dispatches as well as ships. If you prefer, this inquiry & your answer will be only known to me." A month later, Harrison was President.
Provenance: Paul C. Richards, 1985 ("one of the more revealing Harrison letters to appear on the market!").
"WHAT...WILL YOU TAKE TO GIVE ME THE CABIN & TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE?"
Evarts, a New Yorker, had served as Attorney General in Andrew Johnson's administration and Secretary of State under Hayes (1877-1881). He had evidently sent Harrison pictures of a rustic retreat in upstate New York. Five weeks from his inauguration as President, Harrison responds cordially, wondering if they might trade places. "The photographs of your Log Cabin and your kind letter...were handed to me by Senator Allen. The suggestion at once occurred to me that I might arrange a trade with you. What 'boot' will you take to give me the cabin & take the White House? I feel like being 'relegated back' - as a Hoosier penitentiary officer once said. If that is not possible I shall certainly use it as a house of refuge if you will keep your latch string out...." He adds: "On a short enclosure I present a confidential matter." The note, headed "Private," asks: "Should the Navy Dept. be assigned to New York, can you suggest a man who would conduct that important office with credit? Just now it seems that he ought to be able skillfully to construct dispatches as well as ships. If you prefer, this inquiry & your answer will be only known to me." A month later, Harrison was President.
Provenance: Paul C. Richards, 1985 ("one of the more revealing Harrison letters to appear on the market!").