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Textbook M Mode SVPWM Technique For Power Converters 1St Edition Bo Zhang Dongyuan Qiu Ebook All Chapter PDF
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CPSS Power Electronics Series
Bo Zhang
Dongyuan Qiu
m-Mode SVPWM
Technique for
Power Converters
CPSS Power Electronics Series
Series editors
Wei Chen, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
Yongzheng Chen, Liaoning University of Technology, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
Xiangning He, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Yongdong Li, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Jingjun Liu, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
An Luo, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Xikui Ma, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Xinbo Ruan, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing,
Jiangsu, China
Kuang Shen, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Dianguo Xu, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Jianping Xu, Xinan Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Mark Dehong Xu, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Xiaoming Zha, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Bo Zhang, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Lei Zhang, China Power Supply Society, Tianjin, China
Xin Zhang, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui, China
Zhengming Zhao, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Qionglin Zheng, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
Luowei Zhou, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
This series comprises advanced textbooks, research monographs, professional
books, and reference works covering different aspects of power electronics, such as
Variable Frequency Power Supply, DC Power Supply, Magnetic Technology, New
Energy Power Conversion, Electromagnetic Compatibility as well as Wireless
Power Transfer Technology and Equipment. The series features leading Chinese
scholars and researchers and publishes authored books as well as edited
compilations. It aims to provide critical reviews of important subjects in the field,
publish new discoveries and significant progress that has been made in develop-
ment of applications and the advancement of principles, theories and designs, and
report cutting-edge research and relevant technologies. The CPSS Power
Electronics series has an editorial board with members from the China Power
Supply Society and a consulting editor from Springer.
123
Bo Zhang Dongyuan Qiu
School of Electric Power School of Electric Power
South China University of Technology South China University of Technology
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Preface
In traditional SVPWM, all operating modes or voltage space vectors of the inverter
need participate in modulation, which results in a large amount of calculation in the
digital processor and the corresponding computational complexity. It is well known
that reducing the number of voltage space vectors is a potential methodology to
simplify the calculation of SVPWM.
Since 2001, the authors have studied the modulation characteristics of power
electronic converters to solve the computational complexity problem of SVPWM.
In terms of the system state controllability, it is found that not all voltage space
vectors are required for the SVPWM process, when the inverter is regarded as a
switched linear system. Further, some redundant voltage space vectors can be
ignored to reduce the computational complexity of SVPWM and achieve the
desired control output. Based on the above results, the rotating voltage space vector
can be synthesized by fewer voltage space vectors, and a novel and simpler
SVPWM can be obtained. In fact, any rotating voltage space vector has a variety of
synthesis methods on the basis of the space vector graph of SVPWM, when the
angle between two voltage space vectors forming the rotating voltage space vector
is less than 180°, so it is possible to choose the modulation method having fewer
voltage space vectors to realize SVPWM. The drawn conclusion of the system state
controllability analysis in geometry can be confirmed.
Therefore, in view of the system state controllability, the authors do propose the
mechanism and criterion of m-mode SVPWM, and develop the corresponding
strategies applied for two-level inverters, dual-output inverters, multiphase invert-
ers, three-level inverters, modular multilevel inverters, and PWM rectifiers.
Theoretical and experimental results validate that m-mode SVPWM has simpler
calculation, lower switching frequency, and higher efficiency than the existing
SVPWM. The m-mode SVPWM, we concluded, is an innovative one.
This book consists of four parts. According to the switched linear system theory,
the first part reveals the state controllability of power electronic converters and puts
forward the corresponding m-mode state controllability criteria and the m-mode
SVPWM mechanism. Based on the above theory, the m-mode SVPWM strategies
of the three-phase four-wire inverter, nine-switch dual-output inverter, five-leg
v
vi Preface
dual-output inverter, and three-phase three-level inverter are proposed in the second
part in detail, and the proposed SVPWMs are compared with the traditional ones to
verify their superiorities. By reducing the number of inverter operating modes, the
following part exhibits the application of m-mode state controllability to the
complex modular multilevel inverter to simplify the PWM strategy. The m-mode
SVPWM mechanism, in the last part, is popularized and applied to the PWM
rectifier.
And, withal, an inspiration is given from this book: multi-interdisciplinary
research can achieve novel outcomes. For example, considering power electronic
converter only from the circuit theory, the factors that promote the development of
power electronic technology show less vitality. Switched linear system theory,
however, draws new elicitation for the study of power electronic converters. It is
even possible to achieve further discoveries, tap the potentials, and take full
advantage of the new characteristics of power electronic converters. Therefore, it is
interdisciplinary that enlightens the future direction in research of power electronics
technology.
For the completion of this book, authors would like to acknowledge the efforts of
our former students, i.e., Dr. Zongbo Hu, Dr. Xiangfeng Li, and Mr. Wenbin Wang.
In the process of trying to apply the switched linear system theory to power
electronic converters, we made joint efforts, experienced confusion and perplexity
in overcoming obstacles, and finally advanced this new theory. In addition, we
appreciate the support of the Team Program of Natural Science Foundation of
Guangdong Province (No. 2017B030312001), the Key Program of National
Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50937001), and the National Key R&D
Program of China (No. 2018YFB0905800) to our research.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Review of PWM Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 SPWM Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Natural Sampling SPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 Symmetric Regular Sampling SPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 Asymmetric Regular Sampling SPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.4 Equal-Area Sampling SPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.5 Selective Harmonic Elimination PWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3 SVPWM Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.1 Principle of SVPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.2 Relationships Between SPWM and SVPWM . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.4 Proposition of m-Mode SVPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.4.1 Multi-solution Problem of SPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.4.2 Computing Complex Problem of SVPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.4.3 Ideal of m-Mode SVPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.5 Arrangement of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2 m-Mode SVPWM Principle of Power Electronic Converter . . . . . . . 23
2.1 Definition of State Controllability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 Criterion of State Controllability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3 m-Mode Controllability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4 m-Mode SVPWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3 3-Mode SVPWM for Three-Phase Four-Wire Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1 Operating Principle of Three-Phase Four-Wire Inverter . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2 Switched Linear System Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.3 m-Mode Controllability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
ix
x Contents
xiii
Chapter 1
Introduction
Since the voltage signal v is periodic, it can be expressed by the Fourier series as
follows:
The integral result of the double frequency term in Eq. (1.4) is zero in one complete
cycle, so there is
∞
Vn2
Vrms . (1.5)
n1
2
Maximum circular
M SVPWM
(inscribed circle)
Vs5 Vs6
4 1 Introduction
⎧
⎪ IC
⎪
⎨i≈ t
ton
(1.9)
⎪
⎪ V
⎩ u ≈ VC − C t
ton
The expressions of the current and voltage of the switching device during the
turn-off process are
⎧
⎪ IC
⎪
⎨ i ≈ IC − t
toff
(1.10)
⎪
⎪ V
⎩u ≈ Ct
toff
The natural sampling SPWM method for the inverter is shown in Fig. 1.2 [2], where
vr is a sinusoidal modulating signal and vc is a triangular carrier signal. The prin-
ciple of natural sampling SPWM is to compare a sinusoidal modulating voltage of
fundamental frequency f r with a triangular carrier wave of much higher frequency
f c . According to the comparison results, an rectangular pulse sequence whose width
1.2 SPWM Methods 5
varies with the sinusoidal law is generated, and the pulse sequence is power amplified
to drive the inverter to produce a sinusoidal voltage or current output.
Figure 1.3 is a partial enlargement of Fig. 1.2. Accurately calculating the natural
intersection time of sine and triangle waveforms is the key to generate a natural
SPWM rectangular pulse sequence. Assuming that Tc is the period of the triangular
carrier waveform, there are two intersections in one carrier period Tc , which are
t1 and t2 , respectively. Then, the “ON” and “OFF” durations of each SPWM pulse
ton1 , ton2 , toff1 , and toff2 are determined by
⎧ Tc
⎪
⎨ toff1 (1 − m sin(ωt1 ))
4 (1.12)
⎪
⎩ t Tc (1 + m sin(ωt ))
on1 1
4
⎧ T
⎪ ton2 c (1 + m sin(ωt2 ))
⎨
4 (1.13)
⎪
⎩ t Tc (1 − m sin(ωt ))
off2 2
4
where m Vrm /Vcm is the modulation ratio; Vrm is the peak amplitude of the
sinusoidal modulation signal; Vcm is the peak amplitude of the triangular signal; m
ranges from 0 to 1 and the larger the value it is, the higher the fundamental voltage
of the output. ω is the angular frequency of the sine wave, which is the desired
fundamental frequency of the inverter output voltage.
0 ωt
vo
Vd
vof
2π
0 ωt
π
-Vd
6 1 Introduction
0 t
vo
t1 t2
0 t
toff1 ton1 ton2 toff2
TC
Tc m
ton ton1 + ton2 1 + (sin ωt1 + sin ωt2 ) (1.14)
2 2
Since Eq. (1.14) is a transcendental equation, it will take a lot of time to solve it
by the conventional numerical solution. Therefore, it has been considered that the
mathematical model of the natural sampling method is not suitable for real-time
control.
The symmetric regular sampling SPWM method takes the time corresponding to the
symmetry axis of each triangular wave as the sampling time. When a vertex is used as
the sampling point, the generated pulse width is significantly smaller and the control
error is larger, so the bottom point is usually used as the axis of symmetry [3].
As shown in Fig. 1.4, a line passing through the intersection point of the sine
wave and the symmetry axis of the triangle wave is parallel to the time axis. The
intersection of the parallel line and the triangular wave is sampled as the “ON” or
“OFF” moment of the SPWM wave. Since these two intersections are symmetrical,
the sampling method is called the symmetric regular sampling method.
From Fig. 1.4, the relationship can be obtained as follows
1.2 SPWM Methods 7
Tc 2
(1.15)
δ 1 + m sin(ωtD )
δ
where 2
ton1 ton2 . Thus, the pulse width can be defined by
Tc π
δ 1 + m sin (2n − 1) (1.16)
2 N
vo
tA tD tB
0 t
ton1 ton2
δ δ
TC
8 1 Introduction
0 t
vo
tA tB
0 t
ton1 to n2
to n
TC
⎧ 3
⎪
⎨ δa + δb + δc Tc
2 (1.18)
⎪
⎩ δ + δ + δ 3 T
a b c c
4
Generally, both δa and δa for phase A can be calculated by the microprocessor
first, then δb and δb for phase B, δc and δc for phase C could be generated by the
phase-shifted method.
The mathematical model of the symmetric regular sampling method is very simple,
but it is only sampled once per carrier cycle, which results in a large deviation between
the formed step wave and the sine wave. If it is sampled at both the peak and bottom
positions of the triangle wave, that is, it is sampled twice per carrier cycle, then
the formed step wave will be much similar to the sine wave. The principle of the
asymmetric regular sampling method is shown in Fig. 1.5 [4].
From Fig. 1.5, the “ON” durations are defined by
Tc nπ
ton1 1 + m sin , n 0, 2, 4, . . . , 2(N − 1) (1.19)
4 N
1.2 SPWM Methods 9
Tc nπ
ton2 1 + m sin , n 1, 3, 5, . . . , 2N − 1 (1.20)
4 N
Obviously, when n is an even number, it represents for the vertex sampling, and
when n is an odd number, it represents for the bottom point sampling.
Therefore, the pulse width of the single-phase SPWM wave can be calculated as
follows:
To generate a three-phase SPWM wave, three sine waves with a phase shift of 2π
3
are compared with one common triangular wave. When the vertexes are sampled,
there are
⎧ Tc π
⎪
⎪ C
ton1 1 + m sin n
⎪
⎪ 4
⎪
⎪
⎨ N
Tc π 2π
ton1
B
1 + m sin n + , n 0, 2, 4, . . . , 2(N − 1) (1.22)
⎪
⎪ 4 N 3
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ Tc π 4π
⎩ ton1
A
1 + m sin n +
4 N 3
Therefore, the pulse width of each phase of the three-phase SPWM wave can be
expressed as follows:
⎧ C
⎨ ton ton1 + ton2
C C
⎪
B
ton ton1
B B
+ ton2 (1.24)
⎪
⎩ A
ton ton1
A A
+ ton2
In order to make the three-phase SPWM wave symmetrical, the frequency mod-
ulation ratio N is preferably selected to be an integral multiple of three.
10 1 Introduction
v v
vr vr
0 t 0 t
(n-1) π nπ (n-1) π nπ
N N N N
vo vo
n n
on(n) off(n)
0 t 0 t
on(n) off(n)
'n
The negative half-cycle of the sinusoidal wave can also be equivalent to a series
of rectangular pulses in the same way.
When the bipolar equal-area sampling algorithm is used, similar to the unipolar
equal-area sampling algorithm, the sinusoidal half-cycle wave is divided into N equal
parts, and the area of the nth part is equal to the area sum of rectangular pulses, as
shown in Fig. 1.6b.
The width of the positive and negative pulses are determined by
n
π Urm n−1
δn + cos π − cos π , n 1, 2, . . . , N (1.27)
2N Us N N
n
π Urm n−1
δn − cos π − cos π , n 1, 2, . . . , N (1.28)
4N 2Us N N
Selective harmonic elimination PWM (SHEPWM) method has been received atten-
tion since its introduction in 1973 [6]. SHEPWM method, also known as the opti-
mized PWM method, is designed to optimize a specific objective function, such as
minimum loss, reduced current ripple, or selectively elimination of certain harmon-
ics. Therefore, it is an effective way to achieve high-quality output to meet some
application standards and improve overall operation performance.
The basic idea of SHEPWM method is to obtain the Fourier series expansion on
the specific pulse waveforms by Fourier series analysis, and then set certain specific
lower harmonics to zero to obtain a nonlinear equation group reflecting the pulse
phase angles. Therefore, the switching angles of the pulse are determined by the
solution of the equations, and the generated pulses will not contain the specific lower
harmonics.
In order to reduce harmonics and facilitate analysis, the SHEPWM waveform is
always set to be symmetrical. Let it be the π half-wave odd symmetry, and then
make it π2 even symmetrical. The common unipolar SHEPWM waveform is shown
in Fig. 1.7, where M is the number of switching angles in 0, π2 .
By using the Fourier series to express the SHEPWM waveform of Fig. 1.7, the
harmonic expression of the unipolar SHEPWM method is as follows:
12 1 Introduction
⎡ ⎤
4Vdc ⎣
M
Vk (−1) j cos kα j ⎦ (1.30)
kπ j1
Vdc
... ...
3π/2 2π
0 t
α1 α2 αΜ π/2 π
... ...
-Vdc
Space vector PWM (SVPWM) was proposed in the mid-1980s, which aims to
produce a circular path of the motor flux linkage, and was first applied to the
drive control of asynchronous motors [7]. The principle of SVPWM is shown in
Fig. 1.8, in which V s1 , V s2 , V s3 , V s4 , V s5 and V s6 are six nonzero basic voltage
space vectors of a half-bridge three-phase inverter and constitute six sectors. vref is
the required output reference voltage synthesis space vector, the relationship among
T T T
the space vectors in a switching cycle is 0 s vref dt 0 a va dt + 0 b vb dt, where
va , vb ∈ {Vs1 , Vs2 , Vs3 , Vs4 , Vs5 , Vs6 }. By using two adjacent voltage space vectors
to synthesize the required reference output voltage, the harmonics of the three-phase
output line voltage of the inverter vab , vbc and vca are the smallest and closer to the
sinusoidal waveform, when the resultant voltage space vector trajectory approaches
the circle.
In order to reduce harmonics, the zero voltage space vectors V s7 and V s8 are
generally inserted uniformly in the SVPWM, but it will increase the number of
switching. In addition, since the zero vector duration required at higher frequencies
is shorter, the effect of uniformly inserting the zero vectors to reduce the harmonics
is not significant, and the harmonics may increase when the dead zone effect is
considered.
From an implementation point of view, SVPWM and SPWM are very different.
SVPWM does not need modulation wave, therefore, it is often regarded as a spe-
cial PWM. However, both SVPWM and PWM are designed to produce sinusoidal
waveforms, there should be an inevitable connection essentially. In fact, SPWM
is proposed based on the time-domain area equivalent principle, while SVPWM is
14 1 Introduction
ra La
ia
a
rb Lb
ib
Vdc b
rc Lc
ic
c
Vs3 Vs2
II
I
Vref
III
θ α
Vs4
Vs1
IV VI
V
Vs5 Vs6
based on the equivalent principle of space-rotation voltage vector. For SPWM, the
denser the equivalent time-domain area is, the smaller the harmonic is, which is
closer to the sinusoidal wave. For SVPWM, there are many ways to synthesize the
voltage vectors in each sector, depending on the duration of each elementary voltage
vector that constitutes the resultant voltage vector. Thus, the constituent modes of
SVPWM are more abundant, SPWM may be one of the SVPWM components. For
example, regular sampling SPWM can be considered to be the basic SVPWM with
the added zero-space voltage vectors. As another example, by changing the SPWM
modulation signal, the output voltage of the SPWM can be the same as that of the
SVPWM. Furthermore, SVPWM can be regarded as an SPWM with the smallest
1.3 SVPWM Method 15
harmonic objective function. However, these studies are based on the equivalent out-
put performance to judge the relationship between SPWM and SVPWM, while there
lacks a strict proof mathematically. The relationship between SVPWM and SPWM
is still under discussion.
At present, compared with SPWM, SVPWM has the following obvious advan-
tages: (1) The utilization ratio of DC voltage can be increased by 15%; (2) The
number of switching can be reduced by 1/3; (3) Better harmonic suppression effect
can be achieved; (4) Digital control is easy to be implemented. However, the con-
ventional SVPWM method needs complex trigonometric functions and coordinate
rotation operations, and the complex algorithm has a great impact on high precision
real-time control.
As described in Sect. 1.1, the mathematical basis of SPWM is the Fourier series
analysis. However, the Fourier series analysis method has only frequency domain
resolution, but no time-domain resolution. Figure 1.9 shows two completely different
time-domain signals, but their frequency spectrums are almost the same. That is, the
frequency domain expression and time-domain expression of the signal are not one-
to-one correspondence, and the same frequency domain expression has multiple
solutions in the time domain. Therefore, under the same harmonic requirements, the
output voltage of the inverter may have different SPWM waveforms, which makes
the SPWM not achieve the intended purpose in practical applications.
For example, in SHEPWM, when calculating the time-domain switching angle
of a waveform according to the Fourier series expansion, there are two solutions for
each switching angle. Two kinds of SHEPWM waveforms are shown in Fig. 1.10a
and b, respectively. As a result, the inverter could output a waveform with the first
set of switching angle solutions in the positive half-cycle, while output a waveform
with the second set of switching angle solutions in the negative half-cycle, as shown
in Fig. 1.10c, the asymmetry of the waveform will increase the harmonics.
The biggest difficulty of SVPWM lies in the computational complexity, which is con-
centrated in the difficulty of judging the sector in which the reference voltage space
vector is located, and thus it is difficult to obtain the switching control states of the
converter required for the vector synthesis operation. The complexity of computation
increases dramatically as the number of output levels increases. For example, for a
16 1 Introduction
2 0.25
1.5
0.2
1
0.5 0.15
0
0.1
-0.5
-1
0.05
-1.5
-2 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500
1 0.25
0.8
0.6 0.2
0.4
0.2 0.15
0
-0.2 0.1
-0.4
-0.6 0.05
-0.8
-1 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500
⎧ T
⎪⎪ Vm1 sin ω t 0≤t <
2
(b) v = ⎨ .
⎪V sin 2ω t T
≤t <T
⎪⎩ m 2 2
two-level three-phase inverter, there are 8 basic space voltage vectors and 6 sectors;
for a three-level three-phase inverter, there are 27 basic space voltage vectors and
24 sectors. In order to determine the sector in which the reference voltage synthesis
vector is located, a large number of inverse trigonometric functions, square roots,
and trigonometric functions are required. Thus, the accuracy and speed of the cal-
culation are difficult to guarantee, and it must be implemented by hardware circuits.
However, when the number of voltage levels is more than 3, it is difficult to perform
real-time control of the SVPWM even using a high-performance hardware system.
Therefore, simplifying the calculation of SVPWM has become the main research
issue at present.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
But in spite of all this gaiety, Mr. Taft was making very satisfactory
progress in his career. As a law reporter he showed his growing
interest in the public welfare by meeting certain elements in
Cincinnati politics with vigorous denunciation. There was a man
named Tom Campbell, a clever criminal lawyer, who had something
more than a suspicion against him of bribery and corruption of both
witnesses and juries, and he had succeeded in organising a political
machine that was running the town according to his directions.
Campbell was counsel for the defence in what was known as the
Hoffman case and was strongly suspected of tampering with the jury,
and Mr. Taft in reporting the case, took special pains to bring out all
the fine points in the lawyer’s character and methods, telling the
truth as he saw it.
This brought him into association with Mr. Miller Outcalt, the
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, who represented the State in the
Hoffman case, and when Mr. Outcalt succeeded by election to the
position of prosecuting attorney he offered the place of assistant to
Mr. Taft, although he had been at the bar not more than seven
months. Mr. Taft served in this office for fourteen months and the
experience he had in the rough-and-ready practice in criminal trials,
in preparing cases for trial, in examining witnesses, in making
arguments to the court and in summing up to the jury, was the most
valuable experience he could possibly have in fitting him for trial
work at the bar.
But this experience was shortened by a circumstance not of his
seeking. Major Benjamin Butterworth was the Congressman from
one of the Cincinnati districts in President Arthur’s administration,
and the President being anxious to relieve the Collector of Internal
Revenue, called on Major Butterworth to suggest the name of
another man. Major Butter worth had been for a long time a warm
friend of Mr. Taft, thought he had a good family name and was too
young in politics to have many political enemies, so he suggested him
and wrote to urge him to accept the appointment which the
President immediately offered to him. He accepted the place and
held it for a year, but it proved a serious interruption in his legal
career. He resigned as soon as it was possible and began practice
with Major H. P. Lloyd who had been his father’s partner before he
went to Vienna.
Mr. Taft went abroad in the summer of 1883 to visit Judge and
Mrs. Taft in Vienna, and it was about this time, when we had all
spent several years in frivolities, that several of us became very
serious-minded and decided that we must have something by way of
occupation more satisfying than dancing and amateur theatricals. I
secured a position as school teacher and taught for two years, first at
Madame Fredin’s and then at White and Sykes, both private schools
out on Walnut Hills. Then, with two of my intimate friends, I decided
to start a “salon.” We called it a “salon” because we planned to
receive a company who were to engage in what we considered
brilliant discussion of topics intellectual and economic, and we
decided that our gathering should include only specially invited
guests. Among these were the two Taft brothers, Will and Horace,
and other men common friends of us all.
In view of the fact that two marriages resulted from this salon, Mr.
Taft has suggested ulterior motives on the part of those who got it up,
but there was no truth in the charge. We were simply bent on
“improving our minds” in the most congenial atmosphere we could
create, and if our discussions at the salon usually turned upon
subjects of immediate personal interest, to the neglect of the abstruse
topics we had selected for debate, it was because those subjects were
just then claiming the attention of the whole community.
Cincinnati, thanks to the activities of Tom Campbell and his
followers, was then in a tangle of political mismanagement of a
particularly vicious character, and our little circle developed a civic
spirit which kept us alive to local interests to the exclusion, for the
time being, of everything else. Mr. Taft was intimately connected
with the reform movement, and in all its phases, through comedy
and tragedy, disappointment and elation, we fought it out at our
salon meetings with such high feeling and enthusiasm that its history
became the history of our lives during that period.
Then came the famous Berner case. This was in 1884. Berner had
committed a deliberate murder of an unusually appalling nature and
with robbery as the motive, and there was great excitement about it.
Campbell became his counsel and, in a trial which held the attention
of the community while it lasted, he succeeded in getting the man off
for manslaughter when the unanimous opinion was that he should
have been hanged. Nobody could see how an honest jury could have
rendered any other verdict. There was intense indignation
throughout the city and a meeting was called to denounce Campbell
as an embracer of juries and a suborner of perjury.
On the evening when the meeting to denounce Campbell was
called we were having a session of the salon and our whole
discussion was of the possible developments which might grow out of
the infamous Berner trial. We were greatly excited about it. I
remember the evening distinctly because of the terrible things that
happened. We were disturbed by a great commotion in the street and
we sallied forth in a body to see what it was all about.
The mass meeting was held at Music Hall and was presided over
by Dr. Kemper, a very effective speaker. The crowd was angry and
quickly passed the condemnatory resolutions which were framed.
But with all the indignation and resentment everything might have
been carried out quite calmly had not the match been applied to the
powder. Just as the meeting was breaking up somebody shouted:
“Let’s go down to the jail and take Berner out!”
It was an appeal to the mob spirit which responds so readily in an
angry crowd; they went; and of course the worst elements
immediately came to the top. They attacked the jail, which was in the
rear of the court house, but were held back until the militia, which
had been instantly summoned, arrived. Then they went around to
the front and set fire to the court house. With the streets packed with
raging humanity it was not possible to fight the fire and the building
was completely destroyed.
The militia charged the mob and this inspired somebody with the
idea of raiding a gun store and seizing arms and ammunition with
which to make a resistance. The idea caught on and spread rapidly.
One place attacked was Powell’s gun shop near Fourth and Main. But
Powell, either forewarned or foreseeing some such development, had
quietly made preparations to meet it. He lighted up the front of the
store as brightly as he could, then, with two or three other men who
were expert shots, he put himself behind a barricade in the rear. The
mob came on and as the ringleaders broke into the shop they were
picked off by the men behind the barricade and killed in their tracks.
Four or five of them went down in a heap and the crowd behind
them, not expecting such a reception, instantly was brought to its
senses. This was in April, 1884.
Such an outbreak was a disgrace to the city of Cincinnati, but it
had the effect of bringing the Campbell controversy to a head. A bar
committee of ten men, of which both my father and Mr. Taft were
members, was formed to see what could be done to rid the
community of the evil reputation it had acquired. This committee
made a thorough investigation of Campbell’s character and record,
prepared charges against him and, with my father as chairman,
presented them, in June, 1884, to the district court of three judges,
and asked a hearing and Campbell’s disbarment if the charges were
proved.
MEMBERS OF THE SALON. MR. TAFT IN THE CENTER, WITH
THE AUTHOR AT HIS RIGHT
The trip was full of interest to us both. We spent the greater part of
the summer in England and saw the sights of London and the
cathedral towns in great detail. Our only trip on the Continent was
through Holland to Paris. I remember that in Amsterdam I bought
some old and rather large Delft plates. They wouldn’t go into any
trunk we had, so I had them carefully packed in a wicker hamper and
this article became thereafter a part of our hand luggage, and was the
occasion for a decided disagreement between my husband and me as
to what the true object of travel was. He used to say that he “toted
that blamed thing all around Europe and after all it arrived in
Cincinnati with its contents in small pieces.” Which was true. He had
“toted” it all around Europe, but when we arrived in New York I
entrusted it to an express company with the result that when we
opened it we found its contents in such a condition that only an
accomplished porcelain mender could put a sufficient number of
pieces together to make what my husband always afterward referred
to as “the memento of our first unpleasantness.”
Our trip from Cincinnati to Cincinnati took just one hundred days
and cost us just one thousand dollars, or five dollars a day each. I
venture to say that could not be done nowadays, even by as prudent a
pair as we were.
During a subsequent trip abroad, two years later, I was able to
indulge my desire to hear music. We went to Beyreuth, to the
Wagner festival, and heard Parsifal and The Meistersingers
gloriously rendered; after which we went to Munich and attended
operas and concerts until Mr. Taft rebelled. He said that he enjoyed a
certain amount of music just as much as anybody, but that he did
want to get something more out of European travel than a nightly
opera and a daily symphony.
So—we went to Italy and saw Rome and Florence in true
Baedecker style. When we arrived in Rome we opened our Baedecker
and read that there was almost no foundation for Rome’s awful
reputation as an unhealthy place. “Rome is a very healthy place,” said
Baedecker, “at all times of the year except the first two weeks in
August, when a visit there is attended with risk.” We had arrived for
the first two weeks in August!
When we came home from our wedding trip we found that our
house was not yet completed, so we went to stay with Judge and Mrs.
Taft for a month at the old house in Mt. Auburn. It was a nice old
place, with about three acres of ground, but the air around it was just
about as sooty as if it had been located down under the factory
chimneys. Mt. Auburn is on a sort of promontory which juts out into
the city; it is on a level with the tops of the smoke stacks and it
catches all the soot that the air can carry that far.
Judge and Mrs. Taft had come home from their European mission
in time for our wedding. Judge Taft had been ill in St. Petersburg and
had given his family a great deal of anxiety, but he was now settled
down to the business of quiet recuperation and the enjoyment of
well-earned rest.
My husband’s father was “gentle” beyond anything I ever knew. He
was a man of tremendous firmness of purpose and just as set in his
views as any one well could be, but he was one of the most lovable
men that ever lived because he had a wide tolerance and a strangely
“understanding sympathy” for everybody. He had a great many
friends, and to know him was to know why this was so.
Mr. Taft’s mother, though more formal, was also very kindly and
made my visit to her home as a bride full of pleasure. The two, the
father and mother, had created a family atmosphere in which the
children breathed in the highest ideals, and were stimulated to
sustained and strenuous intellectual and moral effort in order to
conform to the family standard. There was marked serenity in the
circle of which Judge and Mrs. Taft were the heads. They had an
abiding confidence in the future of their children which strongly
influenced the latter to justify it. They both had strong minds,
intellectual tastes, wide culture and catholic sympathies.
Not long after we arrived my husband came to me one day with an
air of great seriousness, not to say of conciliation and said:
“Nellie, Father has got himself into rather a difficulty and I hope I
can rely on you to help him out—not make it too hard for him, you
know,—make him feel as comfortable about it as you can. The truth
is he used to have a messenger at the War Department in
Washington whom he was very fond of. He was a bright man—
colored, of course—and he was very devoted to Father. Now this man
called on Father down town to-day. He’s here on a private car and
Father says he’s made a great success as a porter. Father got to
talking to him, and there were lots of things they wanted to talk
about, and besides the man said he would like very much to see
Mother,—and Father, who was just about ready to come home to
lunch said—right on the spur of the moment—you understand he
didn’t think anything about it—he said to this man, ‘Come on home
and have lunch with us.’ He’s downstairs now. Father came to me
and said he had just realised that it was something of a difficulty and
that he was sorry. He said that he could take care of Mother if I could
take care of you. So I hope you won’t mind.”
As soon as I could control my merriment caused by this halting
and very careful explanation, I went down to luncheon. I didn’t mind
and Will’s mother didn’t mind, but the expression on the face of
Jackson, the negro butler, was almost too much for my gravity. I will
say that the porter had excellent manners and the luncheon passed
off without excitement.
We made a short visit at my mother’s on Pike Street before we
moved into our new house on McMillan Street; but we began the
year of 1887 under our own roof which, though it was mortgaged,
was to us, for the time being, most satisfactory.