A  few  days  before  the  close  of  the  session,  on  the  29th  of
June,  1864,  Mr.  Chase  tendered  his  resignation  as  Secretary  of
the  Treasury.  This  created  quite  a  sensation  in  political  cir
cles.  It  was  thought  to  be  the  culmination  of  the  feeling
created  by  the  nomination  of  Lincoln  and  the  alleged  rivalry  of
Chase,  but  the  statements  made  in  the  "  History  of  Lincoln,"  by
Nicolay  and  Hay,  and  the  "  Biography  of  Chase,"  by  Schuckers,
clearly  show  that  the  cause  of  the  resignation  arose  long  an
terior  to  this  event  and  gradually  produced  a  condition  of
affairs  when  either  Mr.  Lincoln  had  to  yield  his  power  over


OF  JOHN  SHERMAN.  337

appointments  or  Mr.  Chase  to  retire  from  his  office.  No  good
would  result  from  analyzing  the  events  which  led  to  this  resig
nation.  The  cause  was  perhaps  best  stated  by  Mr.  Lincoln  in
accepting  it,  as  follows :

"  Your  resignation  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  sent  me
yesterday,  is  accepted.  Of  all  I  have  said  in  commendation  of  your  ability
and  fidelity  I  have  nothing  to  unsay,  and  yet  you  and  I  have  reached  a  point
of  mutual  embarrassment  in  our  official  relation  which  it  seems  cannot  be
overcome  or  longer  sustained  consistently  with  the  public  service."

The  nomination  of  David  Tod,  of  Ohio,  as  Secretary  of  the
Treasury  to  succeed  Mr.  Chase,  was  not  well  received  in  either
House.  If  the  Members  had  known  Tod  as  well  as  I  did,  they
would  have  known  that  he  was  not  only  a  good  story  teller,
but  a  sound,  able,  conservative  business  man,  fully  competent
to  deal  with  the  great  office  for  which  he  was  nominated.  His
declination,  however,  prevented  a  controversy  which  would
have  been  injurious,  whatever  might  have  been  the  result.  An
anecdote  frequently  told  by  him  may,  perhaps,  explain  his
nomination.
