roscoe conkling is a very flamboyant figure.ery 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

and what was that connection to roscoe conkling?tt: at the time, this was populated by people who were political loyalists. there was no thought given to who might be able to do the job, who had the proper education or qualifications. it was a way for the party to perpetuate its power. they also required people who had gotten jobs because of their party service to contribute to the party. they had what were called assessments, which were basically mandatory contributions that had to be made to the political party if you work for the government. do you know -- brian: to know how much? scott: it depended on what the salary was. hanover street, the workers at customhouse at used to call it hand-over street. they had to sign their checks over the to the republican party there. we talked about teddy roosevelt. later presidents wanted to instill the federal government with more power and have it take a more active role in everything, from safeguarding the safety of food and drugs, to the national parks. all of this needed to be overseen b

roscoe conkling attracted a lot of female attention. before of he spoke on the senate, the gallery was filled with ladies. his wife preferred to stay home and doing a lot of gardening and charity work. he was free to roam in washington. and he did. belle ofas the washington. two of them were an item. the worst kept secret in washington. husband, a senator, had had enough. kling was also a senator. daughter ofwas the the former secretary of the treasury? scott: right. sprague had become a kate -- widower when kate was a teenager. she had helped him when kate --s governor. she was a valuable advisor to conkling. brian: reading more from your book. scott: conkling was incredibly arrogant. very confident in himself. very physically imposing and handsome. a very effective speaker. he rose quickly through the ranks in the senate and did not defer to his seniors. he was not the type to run away, even when someone was threatening him with bodily harm. brian: some more. scott: it is a great story. front page of many newspapers that summer. atten