The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-06-17
Disgra,sfal Nsglect---The Remains Of
Poor Boothhv.


The remains OF Lieut.. Col Stephen Booth.
BY arrived la this city yesterday noon-and
a'ser all the pompous promises made in the
newspapers, and IN the City Council, OF hon
oring Them with worthy reception, not so
much as u corporals guard OF either military
or civil demonstration was paid 10 them. We
believe the Mayor did ia a carriage 90 to the
depot, and with the hearse in the vicinity, ac-
company the remains to the City Hail. We
saw the hearse, solitary and alone, standing
10 front of the building, having relieved it
self of the obvious burihen, and then, alone,
rs IL came, returned. The corpse was placed
some,chere la the city building; but nobody
seemec 10 know, or care.
WAT is the solution of all this? Lieut.. Col.
Bootahg was democrat. This Is republi-
ctn Ct government. The pauper's stng, 30,
he is o.tsg pluper,' awaits the dead DoIies
OF dem slaia in the war, but, ii repub
hcai, abolition, out-and- out-extermination-o
the South. soldier comes dead, and lie has
any rich friends and Influential politicdt
connections 10 attract the attention Of the
Icing, dead or alive. wounded, or ia his GOTTA,
lie is surrounded with a host OF sycophants
aud toadiss, and all the streets, and all the
dwellings are lined with gazers. and black
edged handkerchiefs are flying from the win
dows, In testimony of the honors accorded to
the victim OF the war;
Such Is life, and such Is society. But, poor
Boothby, true-hearted, earnest-mnded, patri-
otto and devoted hero boy, as he was, will
sleep rs honorably and quietly In his grave as
the best of them. Rank will be stripped from
those who have undutifully neglected him, by
and by. and none will be so lowy as to honor
them. He was noble young man. His i'm
pulses were patriotic, heroic and sincere. lie
had not lived long enough To know the hol-
low heartedness OF venal of1iceholders or the
hypocrisy of time serving advisers. The
City Government, however, have disgraced
themselves, not hin, ia their cold aud shame
less neglect Of bis remains Portland Ad-
vertiser.
We have copied the above, verbatim, italics
and all, to show our readers the depth of
malignity to which an infamous spirit can de.
scend In its anxiety to appeal to the lowest of
human passions and to stir up strife. The
:. truth is-and the base calumniator who penned
the above kneu il, or might have known it,
alt that respect for gallant officer could sug-
gest was done by the City Government to
show appropriate honors to faithful soldier
who hal shed his blood 10 his country's Cause
the body OF Col. B ,othby was expected by
the noon train Tuesday, when il was TO have
been received with military honors, but it did
not arrive, nor did it by the evening train OF
the same day.
1t was not known when il would arrive In
season 10 give public notice, but late as was
the reception of definite information on this
point. the Mayor was about to send word to
Camp Berry for escort-preyiously engaged
aud 10 Fort Prebls for the Band of the l7lh
Infantry, when, by the personal suggestion Of
Rev. Mr.. B,othby, father OF the Colonel and
members Of The Cumberland Bar, of which
Col. d. was an esteemed member, he was in
duced TO change the arrangement so far as to
have the military escort in conveying the re-
mains to the cars the next day. The reasons
for this change will be inferred from the fact.
that though tho body of Col. Boothby had
been embalmed, owing TO inability to procure
q suitable coffin ii was sent home unprepared
for exposure TO public view. II had not been
laid out, but was simply wrapped in sheets
and placed in an ordinary cheap cofflp. Rev.
Mr.. Boothby had been on to the hospital
where his son died, TO bring the body home,
and he returned with it as far as Baltimore,
where he left 1t in care of the Express Com
pany and hastened home In advance. As we
have said, 1t was at his suggestion that the
body was taken from the depot to the city
bailding, accompanied by the Mayor, Rev.
Mr.. Boothby and his friends, and the official
committees Of the City Council and the Cum
berland Bar, and conveyed TO an ante room,
where undertakers were in waiting,-prop-
erly laid out, clothed 10 the uniform of his
rank, and placed In a magnificent black