but conkling was no joke. he was dangerously powerful. as a senior senator from new york he controlled the new york customs house, which was the largest federal office in the united states and controlled 70% of the country's customs revenue. conkling tightly controlled the state and the expected complete and unquestioning loyalty. in fact his apartment in new york was known as the morgue. conkling was enraged when his candidate former president grant, didn't get the nomination but he was apoplectic when he realized that he couldn't control garfield. to conkling, the attempt on garfield's life was his ticket to power. >> joining us on booktv is ronald kessler. his most recent book, "the secrets of the fbi." you have done a whole series of books along this light read? line correct? >> i've done a lot of fbi intelligence related books. i like to go after secrets in i did of look on palm beach because there are a lot of secrets there in a society, the midlife crisis but i think people especially with -- want to get the information about impor

but unlike conkling, arthur was vacant and grief stricken. the last thing he wanted was for garfield to die. he hid himself from public view and refused even to go to washington for fear would look like he was waiting in the wings and a cut himself off from conkling. finally, after turning his back on the man who had made him come arthur found moral strength in the most unlikely of places. the letter of a young invalid one man named julius and. fans believed in art fair when one else did, when he didn't even believe in himself. after the shooting, sand wrote to arthur, if the spark of true mobility in you now is the occasion to let it shine. faith in your better nature forces me to write to you, but not to ask you to resign. it is more difficult and brave, reform. enter resumes that, not least of all, arthur's come a day. he changed likely and try to be the president garfield would've been had he lived. he became an honest and respected leader and never forgot julius fans. not only did he keep our letters come he wrote her back and even went

but conkling was no joke. he was dangerously powerful.as a senior center from new york he controlled the new york customs house which was the largest federal office in the united states and controlled 70% of the country's customs revenue. conkling tight control patronage within his state, and he expected complete and unquestioning loyalty. in fact, his apartment in new york was known as "the morgue." ..

and we have baltimore street closed, between highland and conkling.re still trying to get things clean cleaned up from the earlier fire. pretty heavy traffic there. that's a look at the beltway at providence road. this traffic report is brought to you by subway. flavor-packed pastrami, pickles and cheese. only from subway, eat fresh. back over to you. >> raim going to bring -- i'm going to bring in one of those sandwiches for us. >> me, too. sounds great. >> every time, it's dinnertime, i'm hungry. >>> we could have had ray picnic today. >> today was a good day for a cookout. i'll tell you that much. 58 degrees. actually getting up to 59. 57 now. southwest winds, 17. barometer holding steady. come back and take a look at it. colder forecast after this. >>> and wjz wants to see your purple pride. here are some of your favorite purple-and-black photos. to see the complete slide show, go to wjz.com. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> severely warm, spring-like day. today's temperatures in the upper 50s. down to our south, it was in the 60s. that's normal for the f

south conkling street at eastern avenue. let's take a live look.ngs are beginning to slow down just a bit there. and we'll take another live look, not a bad drive at all for you. 95 at route 100. this traffic report is brought to you by the cochran firm. if you or someone you know has suffered a personal injury, call 1-800-the firm. or visit them online at cochranfirm.com for your free consultation. >>> it's a fun day for the family, including four-legged friends. and it's back in town this weekend. all right. looks like my dog. the 11th annual world pets expo is taking over the maryland state fairgrounds. this year, there will be pet care demonstrations. training, workshops and even live, as you see, performances. owners are also invited to show off their pets in the parade of breeds. the pet expo runs through sunday. >>> well, straight ahead on wjz's eyewitness news at 4:00. dangerous plot foiled. how lawmakers plan to show that a teenager set off a bomb at school. >> i want to make sure you're okay. and nobody is in the room with you? >> yeah. >

but conkling was no joke. he was dangerously powerful. as a senior center from new york he controlled the new york customs house which was the largest federal office in the united states and controlled 70% of the country's customs revenue. conkling tight control patronage within his state, and he expected complete and unquestioning loyalty. in fact, his apartment in new york was known as "the morgue." .. and he never showed up for work before nan. arthur preferred a life of leisure. he liked signed crows, old-line, late dinner parties and he was merely a springiness conkling. in fact, he then missed his birthday back a year to appear more useful. even within the republican party, arthur's nomination was considered ridiculous burlesque. after the election, arthur continued to make it clear where his loyalties lay. he went on location can even lead to 10 for a in d.c. and he took every opportunity to publicly criticize the president. and then, suddenly, everything changed. after garfield was shot, arthur made a transformation so stunning an