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JAMES G. BLAINE.
The work to pay off the debt had gone on so fast that the debt was now but half as large as at the end of the war. It was then found that the whole sum could not be paid off so fast as it had been thought it might be. The theme of Free Trade came up and there was much talk pro and con.
It was said that a ring of men had made use of some of our mails to cheat the Gov-ern-ment. This went by the name of the great Star Route Case. It came to a close in 1884 and the men were let off.
As his term came near its end it was thought that Gen. Ar-thur's name might come up once more, but the great James G. Blaine, who for more than a score of years had held a high place in the rule of the land, was the choice of that side. By some split his chance was lost, and for the first time since 1857 a Dem-o-crat took the chair.
Gen. Ar-thur went back to his law work in New York.
It was thought that there were long years for him to work and still be of use in the world. But it was not so to be. His life task came to an end Nov. 18, 1886.
Men who had been with Pres-i-dent Ar-thur in Wash-ing-ton, and more who thought much of him, came to the last rites, and stood with bare heads by the side of the bier. There were Pres-i-dent Cleve-land, Chief Jus-tice Waite, Gen. Sher-man, Gen. Sher-i-dan, Ex-Pres-i-dent Hayes, James G. Blaine, and a long list of great men.
