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♪ >> this week on q&a. journalist scott greenberger. his book on the life and times of chester a. arthur. scott greenberger, your book the unexpected president, who is the most interesting character in the book for you? think chester arthur the most interesting character and the book. it is a story of redemption. he is a guy, his father was a very rigid abolitionist reacher, grew up in that -- preacher. he, shortly after college was a teacher, became a lawyer, moved to new york. was involved in a very important

case that resolved in the desegregation -- desegregation of you new york city street cars. he was on this moral path and then he served in the civil war, was quartermaster -- a quartermaster in the union army during the civil war in new york important jobs an with lots of opportunities. after the war, he became in vault -- involved in machine politics and in particular, he became close to the new york republican boss, a flamboyant character named roscoe conkling. favoriterthur is my character but roscoe conkling would be a very close second area he is an extremely interesting character. he served as president from 1881, when garfield was shot.

until the end of his term in 1885. host: who was president before him and who is president after him? scott: garfield was president before him and the president after him was grover cleveland. why do you want to write a book about chester a. arthur? scott: i was looking for, every president has an interesting story. i think that chester arthur may be, if he is not the most upscale president, he is one of them. take of a pole they college students and they give them a list of names and ask them to identify who is the president, chester arthur writes among the lesser-known presidents. what most people remember about him is his this think of facial hair, his sideburns. interesting. to focus on.

interesting period to focus on. reconstruction leading up to teddy roosevelt and the progressives. it is a. -- it is a period people give a lot of -- two in school. and then wilson and then we were off to world war i. this is a. of what wehere a lot think of as the modern world really starts to take shape. the country really was transformed from a largely agrarian country to an with largecountry corporations that were beginning to exert their power, politically as well as economically. to thiswant to jump page of your book and ask you to fill in the blanks.

on august the 10th, roscoe conkling's longer fair with kate finally -- affair with kate finally came to a halt when her husband returned home and discovered that kate had been hosting conkling at their house. what is that? roscoe conkling is a very flamboyant figure. very handsome man and attracted a lot of female attention. every time he spoke the galley three was filled with -- the gallery was filled with ladies. he did a lot of gardening and charity work. he was free to roam as it were in washington. kate was the belle of washington. a very beautiful, younger woman. the two of them were an item.

it was the worst kept secret in washington. in that episode you note, cates has been, who was it senator, had finally had enough. cochran was also a senator. -- conkling was also a senator. and kate was the daughter of chase. kate, she. actually was very politically astute as a teenager and had helped him when he was -- as governor. not only were she and conkling romantically involved, they also had this political connection. read some more from your book. again, spread ordered him to

leave. but he got that is baggage was in past and he had no carriage. he pulled out his pocket watch and warned conkling that if he didn't leave in 30 seconds, he would blow his brains out. scott: conkling was an incredibly arrogant man. very confident in himself. he was very physically imposing, very handsome. a very effective speaker. he rose very quickly through the ranks in the senate and did not defer to his more senior colleagues. , even with someone threatening him with bodily harm, he was not the type to run away area -- run away. host: still boiling decided to follow conkling into town. he found the new york senator pacing on the sidewalk outside a cafe. i want you, he said.

conkling approached softly in an effort to call him. his only fueled the rage of the rhode island aer. we told him he had had enough of agueintimacy with mrs. spr go on.ter i don't intend to shoot an unarmed man. i tell you now, if you ever cross my path again, i will shoot you at site. scott: it is a great story. it was on the front page of many newspapers. it even attracted the attention of rutherford b. hayes, who was not the type to gloat about others'misfortune. host: where was chester a. arthur when garfield was shot?

scott: chester arthur was up in albany, try to help cobbling when back his senate seat. win back his-- senate seat. when he insulted conkling by putting someone in the new york customhouse, without consulting him, conkling and the other senator from new york resigned in protest, thinking that certainly the new york legislature would quickly restore him to his seat. this was the time before direct election of senators. as it turned out, the legislature had had enough of conkling's antics and it was a tougher job than he anticipated. chester arthur, who was james

garfield vice president, went to albany tell conkling's seatback -- to help conkling get his seatback. this was in opposition to it garfield was trying to do. his also try to do that, but in this case it was garfield trying to push the same sort of thing. it was widely noted that arthur was in new york doing conkling's bidding and therefore, opposing garfield at the time when garfield was shot. the tension between these two factions, the reform wing of the publican party and the -- when garfield was shot there were many people who suspected that arthur and conkling had something to do with it.

troubled very childhood and young adulthood. probably was mentally ill, in bears a lotfe story of resemblance to some of the other characters throughout american history. , think it is fair to say modern medicine today would have judged him to be mentally ill. however, the direct instigator of this act was the fact that he thought that he was owed an office for the work he had done for the garfield, arthur campaign in 1880. money was rejected, he decided that the problem was garfield and that if he removed garfield and the split in the republican party would be mended and the republic would be saved. he was not thinking clearly but thatact that it was noted

the immediate reason for his act and he stated, that he had been denied an office that he thought was his due. -- a he was a shot like shot right down the street here. station, what happened to the toe after he shot garfield? what happened to garfield and and how much did his -- did garfield and his vice president see each other during the period that he die? scott: the whole reason author ended up as vice president was in effort by the republicans to placate conkling and make sure that new york with throw its support behind garfield. arthur was an accidental vice president. he didn't have any relationship with garfield.

a time in history when vice presidents didn't have close relationships with the president. he was much closer to conkling that he was to garfield. what happened when the shooting took lace, in -- took place, immediately a police officer saidd good toe, and he that arthur would be president. that statement added to the suspicion that somehow arthur and -- had something to do with the assassination. host: who came out with the name stalwart? scott: it referred to when conkling and his wing of the party wanted to -- wanted grant to serve a third term, which would have been unprecedented. the republicans who stood together at the convention in vote after vote stuck with grant

, became known as the stalwarth. host: brett, hayes, garfield, arthur, cleveland, and everybody talks about that period as being stalwart. i want to put on the screen a series of pictures. blaine and what he looked like back in the late 1800s and what was his role in all of this? scott: james blaine was conkling's rival. they were the same age and they were both fighting to be the leader of the republican party and ultimately, the president of the united states. publicize spat in congress over a army reauthorization bill. blaine thought that conkling had insulted him and so he stood up

an attack at conkling that was remembered for years after. he refers to coughing as turkey gobbler strut. conkling with a very -- was a very arrogant person. conflict never forgave blaine for that fight. they were enemies from then on out. host: what offices did blaine have? scott: blaine was in congress and he was in the senate and he was also garfield's secretary of state. that cause a lot of tension between the garfield performer wing of the party and the conkling, arthur wing of the party, because when blaine was named secretary of state, it became clear where garfield felt. host: what are some other words that you have discovered the way people would to find him? scott: he was i guess what would

the call now a german folk. he did not like to be touched. be.hated smoke -- a germapho ton he was a lawyer he liked cover the law books on his desk with paper so that people could not know, his opponents wouldn't know the authorities he was citing. one story i like was after he was finished making a cake -- making a case, he would open a newspaper and start reading as if what he had said was enough to sway the jury and there was nothing else important that had to be said. one thing, physical characteristic, what the curl in the middle of his for head. he took great pride in. cartoons are always emphasizing that curl. it was called -- often called the hiperion curl.

he died during the great snow storm that hit new york city in 1888. most of the city was shut down but he was determined. he was supposed to argue a case that day. the judge canceled the case. he tried to walk uptown because he did not want to pay the fares that the taxi drivers were charging given the weather. he thought he was going to die. at one point he was stuck in a snow drift and almost gave up. he did soldier on. made it to shelter. and was apparently ok but soon after he got a cold or pneumonia and never fully recovered and died.

host: james garfield, the president of the united states, what did you learn about him? they all were kind of like back down -- back then, because of the beard. what you learn about him as a person? scott: it was a fascinating figure. also served in the civil war. was self-made. grew up poor but was very academically inclined. ended up graduating from williams, i believe. and rose weekly through the ranks. while he was still serving in civil war he was elected to congress. once he was in congress, he managed to straddle both sides. was a lotwhen there of corruption in congress.

it was a little bit of a taint of that to him but just a bit. he was considered to be pretty clean. he was a surprise choice for president in 1880. there was this very dramatic convention. he was the dark horse, the classic dark course candidate -- dark course can't -- dark horse candidate. he did get the nomination and it eventually win. ohio, theyeld was balanced each other. scott: they really needed conference helped to win that election. new york at the time was the most popular state in the union. they were inaugurated in march. what was the feeling in the country about garfield at that point? scott: it was very --

scott: it was very early in his presidency. reformers thought he was on the taking onk by conkling and appointing someone to the customs house who was considered to be clean. they thought that was a good sign. he was just getting started when he was shot. you said one point when chester arthur, he was the collector of the customs house, he was making $1 million in today's money? scott: there was no income tax so 70% of the revenues came through that customs house. port andwas a major people pay duties on the goods that came in. there was a system under which the collector, i guess it was designed as a incentive for officials to find malfeasance. if somebody was found to be

shirking their responsibilities in paying duties, then they had to pay a find -- a fine and arthur got a can of that. it was a high-paying job that he also benefited from this system. a twou.s. grant, who was term president. again, there is the beard. did you do any research as to where the beard came from in those days? scott: i didn't. but it is a very popular fashion now. whot was the president appointed daschle was a point -- who appointed at conkling's behalf arthur. also, grant during her second , he washis second term entitled any corrupt activity

but many members of his cabinet were and he was tainted by that. that really cleared the way for rutherford b. hayes, who was a reformer. people wanted something different. they were tired of grantism. host: how would you describe grant? it was just a biography last -- white,nald wright why do people write so much about grant? scott: he really was the man who saved the union. lincoln went through numerous generals before he landed on grant. he also had this fascinating story. students at west point. served in the mexican, american war. anded in business afterward looked like he was on the fast track to know where when the civil war started and distinguished himself in the war. rank.y rose to generals

when lincoln tapped him, he became the savior of the union. host: going back to roscoe conkling, why did he have so much clout with grant to get arthur appointed to be the collector in new york city? scott: conflict was the boss of the republican machine in new york and new york was the most popular state and therefore, conkling had tremendous political power. he pointed out to grant that if they had their own man in the customs house, it would be very valuable to them. , primarilycause because they would control the patronage. there were a lot of jobs there. it was very valuable to the republican party. host: there is another that you have talked about. president b hayes -- rutherford

b. hayes and ohio in. grant was born in ohio. garfield was ohio. what was it about ohio during that. that was so attractive to the country? scott: that is a good question, i don't know. now ohio is known as a vital state -- vital state. i am not sure if it is that they were from ohio particularly, or if there was something appealing about those men. rutherford b. hayes was also a civil war hero. he also pledged to serve only one term. the idea was that he was want to reform the civil service, which was the gigantic issue of the time and that by agreeing to only serve one term, it would be easier for him to do that. host: why would the civil service need to be reformed? what was that connection to roscoe conkling? scott: that was a huge issue

because at the time, it was much largely populated by people who were political loyalist hillier --. political -- political loyalist. a way for the party in power to perpetuate its power. they also require people who had gotten their jobs to contribute to the party. werehad assessments which mandatory contributions that had to be made to the political party. host: do you know how much, what percentage of their salary? scott: it depended on what the salary was area there was a street near the customs house called hanover street, and the workers used to call it hand over street.

civil service reform was report and in retrospect. as in later years, we mentioned the progressives and teddy roosevelt, as later presidents wanted to interview the federal government with more power and have a take a more active role in everything from guarding the safety of food and drugs to national parks, all of this stuff needed to be done and needed to be overseen by people that knew what they were doing. civil service reform lay the groundwork for the more expensive role that the federal government played later on. people that have watched this network might see in your also a familiar face, familiar name. your father is robert greenberger, former wall street journal reporter. we have video of him and i will ask you about him.

what impact he had on you? nuclear -- >> what i'm getting at is just briefly about a week or so ago and pakistani native was arrested, allegedly for conspiring to ship, illegally ship some material to pakistan that could be used in his nuclear bomb program. we have specific laws that say we cut off aid to any country that is caught doing such thing -- such a thing. in this case, pakistan is an important ally, mainly as a funneling point for our systems. it poses a tremendous foreign policy dilemma for congress and the administration. host: that was 30 years ago. lifeimpact did your dad's

in journalism have on you? scott: first what i noticed about that footage is the beard again. he had a tremendous influence on me. he was a journalist and really was a driving force behind my decision to go into journalism. what he was doing. he had such a great time working for the wall street journal. it was easy to see that when he came home at night that he in -- was enjoying what he was doing. myhad started out going into grandfather's business. my grandfather died shortly after my father graduated from college. he felt like his obligation as the oldest son to go into that but it wasn't his love. his love was journalism, he loved writing. living as a journalism he got to fulfill his dreams. he traveled all over the world with secretaries of state and

worried about all kinds of issues. that inspired me to do something similar. host: is he still with us? scott: he is. he lives in washington. there were three boys. i am the oldest. host: either one of the others in journalism? scott: their action both very good writers but not in journalism. host: what did you get your education? and i alsont to yale went back later and got a masters in foreign affairs from george washington university. host: where has your career taken you since you left school? scott: i work for the office of the american statesman for about five years. with that the boston globe for about six years. made my way back to washington, i am now at the pew charitable trusts. we cover state policy from a

national perspective. we are a nonprofit so we give away our content to anyone and everyone. frequently runs our stuff. host: let's go back to this book. tell us about a time you were trying to figure out what to write about and why did you want to do a book and who introduced you to chester a. arthur? scott: i have been -- i had been looking for something to write about. i have always been fascinated by american history. , ias looking for something want to do something that other people have it done. i always think the worst feeling in the world is to work on something and then see someone who did the same thing and maybe got it out before you. i was looking for something that hadn't been done or maybe hadn't been done in a long time.

even though, i majored in history, this was a person i didn't know anything about. i determined he was a very interesting figure during an interesting time. most people had no idea about the story. one thing i should mention, give credit to candace, who brought a book that was published in 2011, that book was mostly about the garfield shooting and the care he got from the doctors, which probably ended up killing him. there is a short mention their he was a about how machine politician and was put on the ticket as an afterthought but surprised everybody as president. another thing she mentioned was that there were letters from a young woman named juliu and she didn't know

arthur and arthur didn't know her. during that long summer when garfield was lingering, she started writing letters to arthur urging him to return to his better self, the person he had been as a younger man. she --nteresting that even though she never met him she had a sense of where he was psychologically. he had already been very deeply affected by the shooting of garfield and the criticism, the very intense criticism that he faced in the wake of that shooting. the suspicion that somehow he had been involved in this assassination attempt. he began to about his political career of to that point and the kind of politician he had been and if he were to become president, what sort of responsibilities would be on his shoulders and what he had to do to meet those responsibilities. host: in 1881 when he became

president, was his wife alive? scott: no, she was not alive. host: how long has she been dead? scott: she had been dead for short time. when he became vice president she had already died of pneumonia. when she died, he had been up in albany doing the usual wheeling and dealing on conkling. host: when did he get right to disease and how long were they able to keep that quiet? scott: he did die of brights disease. he died in 1886 but he had had as president when he was in savanna. yet gone on a trip to florida on vacation and the reporters -- he had gone on a trip to florida on

vacation. there were some early reports that somehow he might be seriously ill or have brights disease but they were quickly denied by the white house and the people around him. he didn't want to make a big deal of it. he kept it secret. he thought it would hurt his effectiveness as president. there was also the victorian effect that a man would not talk about his weaknesses. it was not important. came from asand family of eight children? and chester arthur, his mother had nine children? you relationship, when they began these letters -- you say she wrote 23 letters? --tt: the saved love letters he saved the letters.

he ordered almost all of his papers to be burned. he was ashamed what he had done before his time in the white house but he made very explicit instructions that those letters were to be saved and there at the library of congress, 23 of them. host: you went to see those inters and perfect -- person. we you able to look through them all? scott: you can look through them all on microfilm. there is also -- the library in their let me look to the actual letters. other people who write history are struck by this too. it can be very moving to get in someone's head in that way. to read someone's personal letters. to actually see the ink on the

page, to see if words are crossed out or words are emphasized. i wonder how future generations will write the same sort of histories of the public figures in our time without that sort of resource. we are writing far fewer letters than we ever did. certainly in a phone call, you don't get much of that at all. about chester arthur having a house on lexington avenue in new york living atulia sand east 74th street. we do have a picture you can get off of google maps. have you been to that house? scott: i don't know if that's the same house. chester arthur's house is the same house. it is there and there is a

middle eastern spice store there. host: you say the first letter was written when she was 31. did she ever marry? scott: she did not. host: what kind of life did she lead and why did she called herself the little dwarf? scott: in the royal court the dwarf with the one person who could speak truth to the king. she viewed herself as the one person who would speak plainly to chester arthur and even though she didn't know him, she spoke her mind. .nd was very bold host: how sick was she? scott: it is hard to tell how sick she was. era was a victorian area --

. she refers to back problems and periods of time when she could do much more than lie down on the couch. but it is not really clear what her medical problems were. there were also. ods when she was doing much better. in saratoga she was out riding for the first time. she did have some health problems that did limit her ability to get out and about. host: two people that you referenced. one, tom reeves. a couple seconds i want you to hear what he says. least published president. the least number of books on the president. this is the only modern one. i know no research that has been taken since 1975. research know of any

in a book about garfield? scott: there have been a few shorter books about arthur. but general boss is the most expensive and he did a lot of research. because arthur burned his papers, there isn't a lot left. there are some letters from chester arthur to some of his friends when he was a young man, some family papers. hises also donated many of letters to the library of congress. his book is a very different kind of a book. some of the chapters are more thematic rather than a narrative. i wanted to tell the story in a way it would be accessible to people were coming to the story without knowing very much about the gilded age and are

interested in american history good yarn. read a host: do we know how much they pay for them? scott: i don't know what they paid for them. they were buried in a truck for a long time. he son of chester arthur kept these letters in a trunk in denver, in someone's basement for a long time. outthen a newspaper found a query asking if and a knew julia sand nephew of hers, who was living in miami beach said yes, that was my aunt. i remember when chester arthur came to visit and that is something that i should mention as well. when she waseriod

writing to him, she kept inviting him to visit. she said she lived close to the park. they could go for a ride in the park that he could go for a ride in the park and see her. he did go by and pay her a surprise visit and his nephew was there. he was president been. and he just showed up unannounced. it is that visit combined with the fact that many of the specific bits of political advice that she gave him, he ended up following, has convinced people that julia sand really did have an impact on him. host: there is one that she "i am a poor little

woman, who was always been the youngest of this family. will always be treated like a child. will have no comfort in life if she cannot occasionally scold some very big man." scott: the letters are extraordinary. passages from the book because there are compelling and interesting. himonly does she give political advice but she advises him on his health and teases him about his weight. he had gained a little weight and she jokes that writing is idinggood exercise -- r is good exercise but be conscious if the horse has to carry too much weight. our that he spent in her home at east 74th street, sounds

a little strange. did you get any information about how she hid behind a tree? scott: the nephew who came forward to mention that. other people have talked about this that she was behind some sort of a curtain. what is clear, she did not have time alone with him. her whole family was there. she laments the fact that if he had come at any other time, she would have been alone. all of her nieces and nephews were there. her brother and sister were there. -- arthur did not address this meeting between the -- in anym in and of of his letters. will we have to rely on is julia's owner accounting. she goes through a lot of , the fact that she was

nervous, her family was there, she felt she couldn't speak freely. it seems she was very shy. seems like arthur teased her a little bit. and suggested that you expect me to be better than the angels and i'm just a human being and if you understood all of the pressures that a president faces, you would understand some of the decisions that i've made a little better. host: let me go back to what she said and give you a chance to why she the story about was at some point happy with chester arthur. the house of garfield's life are numbered. before this, you may be

president. the people are about in grief but do you realize it, not so much because he is dying and you are the successor. what president ever entered office under circumstances so sad? scott: that is from the first letter. it is amazing. she seems to have some insight into his psychology at this point. we have other reports of how distraught he was during that summer. these charges in the newspaper that somehow he had something to do with this work deeply wounding to him. he recognized that he really wasn't qualified for the job. he ended up on the ticket by accident area he never imagined that he would be president of the united states and then all of a sudden he's on the threshold of office. there were reports right after

he got the news that his journalist says, comes to the door, and says he can't come right now he is sobbing on his desk. he was a very emotional man. and that isets him why he saved these letters. host: more from the first letter. right will try to do adding, he won't succeed though. making a man president can change him. spark of true nobility in you, now with the occasion to let it shine area -- to shine. do what is more difficult and brave. reform. reform what? scott: reformist civil service.

this is the major issue at the top of the national agenda, the issue of civil service reform. it has divided the republican party. the reformers are holding meetings in all of the major cities. the amount of importance and emotion attached to this is hard today to imagine. asked him to return to a person he once was. helpedyer who desegregate new york city street cars. as he starts to do some of the things that she wanted him to do, she sent him letters encouraging him to carry on and you are justy acting, you don't mean it but i know better. i am not surprised i know who you really are.

if you didn't have these letters what would your book be like? scott: what i initially was thinking about this book, my entry point into it had to do with these letters and learning about julia sand. i thought that i could build the entire book on the letters. people who have written books to --his advise me it was naive to -- a narrative but also one that was a little more traditional biography. i think that was the right approach. you can't understand the julia sand letters without knowing about chester arthur's father. career as as

teacher and a young lawyer and the civil war. -- this isads up to a guy who started down a certain path and feared off that path into a darker path in search of power and wealth and fame. and then he got jerked back. host: before we were not of time, at what point -- before we run out of time, and what point did arthur do something about civil service and what impact did it have on conkling? go back to this scenario of when did arthur do what she wanted him to do. she put it in -- he put it in his first annual message. presidents didn't go before

congress and deliver this address but he delivered it in writing and he did call for civil service reform, which surprised a lot of people. it didn't go anywhere. no one in congress had an interest in pushing this. it was only after the elections in 1882 where republicans got beaten pretty badly that there among theral sense politicos of the day that this had been a reaction against machine politics and against the status quo and that this momentum had gotten to a point where it was time for congress to do something and they did pass the pendleton act. --ch was diesel lit legislation that had been lingering there for some time. arthur signed it. people new at the time that as

executive he was want to have the ability to short-circuit this if he wanted to create -- if he wanted to. he surprised everybody and vigorously pursued these reforms. he really laid the groundwork for future reforms and a more expansive role and the -- in the federal government. he doesn't get much credit for that. host: how many people if they went to madison square park, would you say there is a statue of chester arthur, how many people who walk by that statue would have any idea what he did? scott: very few. i was there not long ago and it was deserted area the thing about -- it was deserted. , andhing about that statue in the book, on the opposite corner there is a statue of of -- of conkling. and cochran has a glaring look

on his face almost like he's glaring at arthur. the man in his view was disloyal to the machine and all of his new york friends. as far as the country was concerned, really did a great service. julia sand was in her early 30's when she wrote these letters. how much education did she have? scott: i'm not sure. we don't know a lot about her. she had a brother who died in the civil war so when she makes reference to the country getting ready to mourn garfield she had personal experience. host: there is one that she congressional -- in 1882. back to washington. forget new york. remember that you are president of the united states. work only for the good of the

country. " that was 1882. scott: when she wrote that, arthur had come to new york. people thought he was meddling in the local and state campaigns . that helped to spark this people thoughte that many voters acted out in protest of that and after the election there was a consensus that the voters had said loud and clear that we don't like the system, we want reform. host: she apparently knows that arthur looked ill when visited u ought not to"yo keep your malaria is secret and endure it so patiently." scott: these were the effects of right disease.

that was another bit of advice that he took. the river and harbor's bill was a giant earmark vehicle for members of congress. it started out as a way to fund much-needed improvements in the nation's waterways but over time , it became a christmas tree and everyone hung their personal projects on there. in some cases the congressmen and senators voting for it personally profit from some of the projects. so he vetoed that bill. the new york times praised him for that decision. host: there is another letter, april of 1882. u feel flattered how often

surprised people are when you do anything good? go on surprising them because i am never surprised. if you had done otherwise, i should have been dismally disappointed." there was some very strong criticism. why did he pay any attention to it? scott: i think that she touched something in him. she had insight into his character and his psychology that struck him. after he got that first letter , figured out that her brother was theodore sand, who was a banker and lived in new york. just immediately was struck by her tone, her insight, her boldness.

i would have loved, it would have been wonderful to have had some evidence writing a diary het she wrote, that -- that wrote, something to tell us with these letters meant to him. instead, we have these its of evidence area -- evidence. he died and asked that everything be burned, he said i want be saved. we can only conclude that these have some meaning for him. host: he did show up outside her door without any announcement? scott: yes, no announcement. the hardest part of the book was that because he brought his ,apers, there's not a lot of with the exception of the letters he wrote as a young man, there is not a lot of written

material that gives you an insight into what he was thinking. you have to rely on the memories of the people around him. you have to rely on the newspapers of the time, which had an incredibly vivid him.riptions -- -- of thosegratitude from reporters from the 19th century. , theywere so many papers did such a wonderful job describing scenes, describing people, describing the way people felt. this was a time before -- interviewing was a new term. portraitsed to paint of someone coming hundred 50 years later. -- 150 years later.

blaine is an interesting character. host: what about conkling? scott: conkling is a wonderful character. there have been biographies done on conkling. he is a larger-than-life figure. it is hard to imagine somebody like that in today's washington. the civil service would not be like it is today without chester arthur? scott: no, i don't think it would be. he also started the rebuilding of the navy, which teddy roosevelt also accelerated as president. there really is his lasting legacy. the irony is that he was a creature of the spoils system. host: the name of this book is "the unexpected president." our guest has been scott as greenberger. we thank you very much. scott: thank you.

♪ announcer: visit us at q&a.org. q&a programs are also available at c-span podcast. announcer: if you enjoyed this week's interview, here are some other programs you might like. arthur and his miller on her book, the rise of winston churchill, hero of the empire. ronald white talks about his book on president grant, american ulysses. grant and the

american presidency. next, your calls and comments on washington journal. 10:00 a.m. a discussion on president trump and u.s. foreign policy. the house at noon getting to legislative tonight on the communicators -- >> 5-g is beginning to open up a new way of the market. it's going to give extremely fast speed. so you'll be able to use 100 times faster right now. >> verizon senior vice president kathy grillo talks about net neutrally and 5g deployment. >> you think that the u.s. has the right, i guess, regulatory

framework for 5g in getting it out there? >> we've done a good job on spectrum. so they issued an order last year and opened up high frequency millimeter for the industry. so we have private industries getting good job getting fiber out where it needs to be. we can do some work in the infrastructure part. in order to get 5g, we're going to need to put a lot of small ells all over the country. >> this morning, thomson reuters' lawrence hurley will be here and heritage institution's bruce klingner looks at relations between president trump and north korea.

and later, maya macguineas of the committee for a responsible federal budget looks at the national debt. as always, we take your calls and you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter. washington journal" is next. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016]] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> there's been a tragedy in las vegas. a gunman has shot dead 50 people, at least and has wounded at least 200 people at a concert on the strip. the shooter has been killed by police. police are looking for a roommate of that shooter for questioning. there's plenty of reaction and video coming in from some of the bystanders on the scene there in las vegas and from official folks in nevada. and we want to get your reaction to this shooting which is being called now the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history. at least 50 people dead, 200 people aas