President Grover Cleveland Expressed Pride in the “Ingenuity and workmanship” of the American People
In the wake of his triumphal tour of the nation’s heartland, the President writes the editor of the Chicago Daily News, who had just advised him on the appointment of Melville Fuller as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In May 1887, a delegation from St. Louis visited President Cleveland at the White House. Its members pressed him so persistently to make a visit to their city that he agreed, saying perhaps he would do so in the fall. Cleveland was not well-traveled and had always remained close to home. But...
In May 1887, a delegation from St. Louis visited President Cleveland at the White House. Its members pressed him so persistently to make a visit to their city that he agreed, saying perhaps he would do so in the fall. Cleveland was not well-traveled and had always remained close to home. But with the 1888 presidential campaign just ahead, Cleveland and his advisers began to consider the possibility of making a grand tour to show the President to the country. This led to the plan for a 5000 mile journey that would take Cleveland as far north as Minnesota, as far west as Nebraska, and as far south as Alabama. George Pullman arranged for the railroad cars and transportation. The departure date was set for September 30, and Mrs. Cleveland would accompany her husband.
On October 5, the Clevelands arrived in Chicago a little after 9 AM. A crowd of 50,000 filled the streets for blocks around the railroad station. That evening there was a glittering reception at a theater decorated with 70,000 roses. The following day the Clevelands toured the city and received a thundering artillery salute. As he was preparing to leave for the next stop – Milwaukee – the President invited Melville E. Stone to join him in his private rail car. Stone was the publisher and founder of the Chicago Daily News; and was later general manager of the Associated Press. Cleveland asked Stone’s opinion of Melville Fuller, a Chicagoan whom the President was considering appointing Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Stone spoke highly of Fuller, who received the appointment.
Stone followed up on the visit by sending the Cleveland’s copies of his newspaper on satin. It seems the President and First Lady were so impressed by this that, in this response, the President waxed rhapsodic on the craftsmanship of not merely these satin newspapers but the nation as a whole. Autograph Letter Signed as President, on Executive Mansion letterhead, November 5, 1887, to Stone. “On behalf of myself and Mrs. Cleveland permit me to express out thanks and admiration for the copies of the News printed on satin. They are beautiful souvenirs of our trip, and represent in matter as well as execution such ingenuity and workmanship, as [leave us] in wonder, and increase the pride we feel in the performances of our countrymen.”
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