The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1865-06-08
RECOLLECTIONs OF MIR. LINCOLN

| By COL CHARLES Q. HALrlNE.
In the fall of 1862 the writer Of this
article, being then a member of the staff
of Gen. Halleck, had frequent occasion
to wait upon cur recently deceased Pres.
ident, both during official hours and at
other times.
Once-on what was called "a public
day." when Mr.. Lincoln received all ap.
plicants in their turn-the writer was
struck by observing, as he passed thro'
tho corridor, the heterogeneous crowd of
men and women, representing all ranks
and classes, who were gathered in the
large waiting room outside the Presiden-
tial suit Of Offices. .,- ~
Being ushered into the Presidents
chamber by Major Hay, the first thing l
saw was Mr.. Lincoln bowing an elderly
lady out of the door-the Presidents re.
marks to her being, as she still fingered
and appeared reluctant to 60: II am
really very sorry, madame; very sorry.
But your own good sense must tell you
that am net here to collect small debts.
You must appeal to the courts in regular
order" .. s..
When she was gone, Mr.. Lincoln sat
down, crossed his legs, locked his hands
over his kness, and commenced to laugh
this being his favorite attitude when
much amused.
"What odd kinds of people come in
to see me-" he said, "and what odd ideas
they have about my Office! Would you
believe, Major, that the old woman whe
has just left, came in here to get from mo
an order stopping the pay of Treasury
clerk, who owes her board bill of about
S7O?" And the President rocked him
self backward and forward, and appeared
intensely amused. -r..
"She may have come in here loyal
woman," continued Mr.. Lincoln "but
I'll be bound she has gone away belicv.
ing that the worst pictures of me in the
Richmond press only Jack truth in not
being half back and bad enough"
This led to somewhat genera! conver.
saton, in which expressed surprise
that he did not adopt the plan in force
at all military headquarters, under which
every applicant to see the General CON-
manding had to be filtered through a
sieve of oficers-Ass't Adjutant Gener-
ais, and 50 forth, who allowed none in to
take up the Generals time save such as
they were satisfied had business of sufi.
cient Importance, and which could be
transacted in no other manner than by
a personal interview.
"Of every hundred people who come
to see the generalin chief daily" I ex-
plainsd, "not ten have any sufficient bus.
ioess with him, nor are they admitted.
On being asked for what purpose they
desire to see him, and stating it, it is
found, in nine cases out of ten, that the
business properly belongs to some one or
other of the subordinate bureaus. They
are then referred, as the case may be, to
the quartermaster, commissary, medical,
adjutant general, or other departments,
with an assurance that-sven if they
saw the general.in chief-he could do
nothing more for them than give them
the same direction. With these points
eourteously explained" l added, "they
60 away quite content, although refused
sdmittacce."
"Ah, yes p said Mr.. Lincoln gravsly
and bis words on this matter are i'm
portant as illustrating rule of his action,
and to some extent, perhaps, the essen.
TALLY representative character of his
mind and Of bis administration. "Ah,,
yes I! such things do very we'll for you
military people, with your arbitrary rule,
and 10 your camps. But the Office Of
the President is essentially . civil one,
and the affair is very different. For my.
self, | feel-though the tax on my time
is heavy-that no hours of my day are
better employed than those which thus
bring mo again within the direct contact
and atmosphere of the average of our
people. Men moving only in an official
circle are apt to become merely official
not to say arbitrary-in their ideas, and
are more apt, with each passing day, to
forget that they only hold power in q
representative capacity. Now this is all
wrong. l 60 into these prouisouous re-
centiona If al uhn claim IN have husi-