The Pre-Presidential Career of Grover Cleveland

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: His public career may said to have begun in 1863 when he became assistant district attorney, although hie interest in politics dates back to his youth according to his own testimony given some years later. 'Before I reached my majority I had begun work in the capacity of what would now be called a...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: His public career may said to have begun in 1863 when he became assistant district attorney, although hie interest in politics dates back to his youth according to his own testimony given some years later. 'Before I reached my majority I had begun work in the capacity of what would now be called a practical politician. I had no aspiration to be a boss, even if either the word or the thing had then been known, but I only followed the custom of my time in taking my place at the polls and distributing ballots to all those who asked for them, using my influence to convince the wavering or to confirm those who belonged 6 to my household of faith.1 In accepting the assistant-district-attorneyship with a salary of six hundred dollars and leaving a position which paid him one thousand, there must have been a feeling that this would be a stepping stone to something higher, the possibility of legal or political advancement. The position not only gave him experience which was varied and practical, but it did extend his circle of acquaintances in the country as well as the city which was an important 8 thing. Mr. Torrance, the district attorney, was in delicate health and as he had his residence thirty miles from Buffalo, much of the routine work of the office was left to the assistant. This brought Mr. Cleveland into court and 6. PARKER, p. 33. 7. STODDARD, p. 48. 8. PARKER, p. 32. gave him practice in trying cases and addressing juries, 9 all of which gave him more confidence in himself. While holding this position, he was drafted into the Union army. His two brothers had enlisted during the 10 early years of the War; so either because he had to help support his mother or because he did not want to interrupt the work of his professional car...