The intimate papers of Colonel House arranged as a narrative by Charles Seymour.

STUDYING POLITICAL OPERATIONS

15

haps, from a natural inability to remain on anything but
good terms with those whom he met, whether in conflict or
cooperation; it resulted in giving him an insight into the
motives that actuated his opponents which was of no small
political value.
The election of 1876, we may remind ourselves, was disputed and was ultimately settled by an Electoral Commission which, despite the protests of Democrats at the moment
and heedless of the criticism of later historians, awarded the
Presidency to Hayes. Such a conflict formed an incomparable opportunity for the young House to study political
operations, and one which he did not fail to utilize, regardless of the fact that school was in session.
'When the Electoral Commission was organized and began
to hold its sittings in the Supreme Court Room at the
Capitol, young Morton and I were permitted to slip in and
out at will, although the demand for admission could only be
met in a very small way. I heard Evarts speak, but the
speech that impressed me most was that of Senator Carpenter who, although a Republican, pleaded for Tilden.
'In those days, too, I had the entree to the White House.
I remember General Grant and Mrs. Grant and several
members of his Cabinet. All this was educational in its way,
but not the education I was placed in the Hopkins Grammar
School to get, and it is no wonder that I lagged at the end of
my class. I had no interest in my desk tasks, but I read much
and was learning in a larger and more interesting school.
'When I entered Cornell, it was the same story.... I was
constantly reading, constantly absorbing, constantly in
touch with, public affairs. I knew the name of every United
States Senator, of practically every Representative, the
Governors of all the important States, and had some knowledge of the chief measures before the people.
'I had found that I could neglect my studies up to the last