The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-01-28
Lights and Shadows at the State Capital.

~~-Nf>.N-J
your regular Augusta correspondent, ''Helios"
has been "ptching inn to former letter of
mine with as much uim as was ever displayed
by prize-hghter contending for the belt OF
bloody-nosed and broken-headed honor. L
hope he felt relieved after such an evacuation
OF bile, and no doubt when he was safely
through he felt as though load had rohed
from his capacious shoulders such as has sell
dom been read Of except in Pilgrims FROG
ress. Your exposure of his errors in relation
to your city, leaves little for me to do, and
shall do that little in perfect good nature, and
with very little ceremony. Except so far as
his statements were liable to mislead and de-
ceive honest minded people, | do not care for
them the amount of tinker's anathema.-
My business here is not 10 stop and enter into
controversy with every spaniel that may bark
at my heels nor shall / even take the trouble
TO kick them out of my path. They can take
their side of the walk ] will take mine. 80
long as deal only with matters that form the
topics of common conversation and remark,
and touch only those sore spots which all clas-
SEES of good citizens in Augusta feel to be
reproaeh, aud for which they offer neither de-
Tense nor apology, but in view of which they
freely confess their modification, shall not
attempt TO defend my statements because they
happen TO be hippantly contradicted by one
who, either from extreme verdancy or local
egotism, supposes man from Portland, or any
where else, would consider it an honor to con-
ceal his proportions beneath the Skin OF
Kennebccker." / do not fear to trust the
general truthiulness OF my statements with the
hundreds of strangers who have occasion TO
spend more or less time at this Capital. may
sometimes mistake a matter through misin-
formation, but have no intention of doing
anything Of the kind. l beg to suggest to
sHelios," with all his latin that he appears to
very much the best advantage in simple prose
and in dealing with facts; when he mounts
stills and attempts rork Of fiction, as he did
in the Press Of Monday, he will not add to his
laurels. An educated army officer said of
his communication, in my hearing, "it is flow
cry and amusing, but after all it is filed with
id lies and internal nonsense" In the best
VI 0suip, tuttCfoiry daNisc ufHl W hctp
within Mailing distance OF facts, and while
Figures do not lie," it is we'll to remember
that he who willfully perverts them, places
them in wrong or unjust relations in order to
make out q case, will never be held up as an
exception to the Jewish Kings hasty remark
that all men are liars"
Before taking final leave of "my respected
friend | will say 10 him, that l propose to at
tend to my own business as a correspondent
of the Press, and without presumption would
advise him to do the same, and as he is a cti-
zen of Augusta and simply a looker-on, a
stranger, he need not feel called upon to hiss
every time | have occasion to spit. More than
this: l half suspect that the editor of the
rs55 wnor We arc botfr wcrr rsuUwu HOW
ever much ignorance we may feign Of each
other, does not require either Of us to be re-
sponsible for the others sayings, or that either
should endanger his back by taking a load
that no mortal frame can safely bear up under
4 don't think the remorGl or the stability of
the seat of Government depends either upon
his efforts or mine, nor do l believe / could
haul off the granite pile at the south end of
the city aud anchor 1t In the natural seaport"
IL | would, or that it will long occupy its pres
ent position lifts guardianship rests only with
him. So with the profoundest respect would
say to him, au recoh
shall close this letter with few facts, sug-
gested by .Helios article, but in no sense
intended rs reply to that article. / give
them for the information of whom it NAV con-
Germ that the people may understand the
matter. Not having the facts before me in
relation to the cost Of subsisting troops in
Portland, aud the quartering there of the nine
months men, took occasion to apply to It.
lnman of the regular army, who is the U. S.
Quartermaster for Portland District, and also
TO A. +. Fuller, Esq, of your city, who was
Acting Quartermaster at the time the nine
months regiments were quartered at Camp
Abraham Lincoln. Many Of the facts furnished
me BY them find you have already worked
up in the Press coniine myself to those in
relation to which you have been silent.
From Mr.. Fuller learn that So per cord
was the highest price paid for wood in Port
land, for the nine-months regiments, and of
the quantity so purchased about 90 cords
were turned over to the Maine It'll. Trucking
was fifty cents for a single horse load, the
same as In Augusta, though the distance was
three times as great in Portland and when
double teams were employed the loads were
estimated as two single loads at the sugges-
ton Of officers. at the Capital. The rations
furnished at Camp Abraham Lincoln were of a
superior quality, and samples of bread sent
up from Augusta were found upon inspection
to be inferior to bread rejected by the Quater-
master here and thrown back upon The con.
tractor. While all or very nearly all the bills
for the nine-months men at Augusta were
paid at an early day-an agent having gone 10
Washington at the expense OF the state TO at
tend to them-a large portion of the bills for
nine-months regiments in Portland have not
yet been paid, and the government allows no
Interest for delay. Many of those bills, due
70 persons who could not wait without suffer-
Ing, were cashed by the Quatermaster and
stu remain unpaid by the government. am
satisfied that Capt. Brinkerhoff has never
authorized the use of his name in way that
would imply anything wrong, in the mode or
the price OF subsisting the nine months men
at your city, for the kindest relations subsis-
ted between him and the officers at that post
and have reasons for believing that he re-
garded the bills there contracted as reasona-
n.