Loudest and most lasting of all political feuds in the last half of the 19th Century was that between Republicans James Gillespie ("The Man from Maine") Elaine and New York's dandified, witty Roscoe Conkling. It started in 1866 when Representative Elaine accused Representative Conkling of having unfairly edited his remarks in the Congressional Globe, forerunner of the Congressional Record. It continued unabated when both graduated from the House to the Senate. It became nationally significant with the formation of Conkling's clique known as the "Stalwarts" which bitterly opposed every move of Elaine's following,...
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