The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-10
shall we do with Mr. stantOH' I have asked


but as yet l have not seen it," here inter
rupted the President myself, and asked him
if it contained any sketches or water colors
as, If it did, would like to see it myself when
Mr.. Stanton gave it up. The President said
he knew it contained several colored uie,os, and
had no doubt / could find some in his port
folio. AS he said this he gave Mr.. Welles
and myself both punches in the side. saw
the joke Immediately. MIR. Welles didn't.
The President continued, "The Secretary of
War has views incompatible with the Const-
tuition. In my late message, where argued
for the discharge of Copy and 'Knuckle
Ben,' so called, who are now confined in the
Capitol Prison for bounty jumping, murder of
loyal citizens and counterfeiting-in my mes
sage, there argued that the Government
ought, in discharging BEN and his pals pay
all of their debts contracted previous to their
incarceration. To this Mr.. Stanton voted nay,
as you, gentlemen, and my young friend of THE
PHILADELPHIA EVENING TELEGRAPH, all very
well know; l, in that message, also argued, as
did the Attorney General, that as these men
were deprived of the privileges of labor by
debts ought not only to be assumed by the
General Government, but they should be paid
all they might have made if they had been
properly employed during the time of their
imprisonment. To this proposition the Secre-
tary of War voted nay. ! also said further,
that these men contracted these debts previous
to their difficulties with the police, consequently
when no such thing as an arrest was in
prospects and, as such, were debts which
think the Government, in discharging them
from custody, are bound to pay. To this posi-
ton of mine and the Attorney Generals, Mr..
Stanton voted nay. Theses debt were shown to
have been contracted by these parties in the lau-
dable desire to improve their personal appear
ance and to develop their resources, and were in
no wise created with view mainly of cheating
their creditors" To this proposition, also, Mr..
Stanton voted nay. Gentlemen of the Cabinet
and our guest from Philadelphia, really be-
heve that the Secretary of War voted nay to
these propositions of the Government, because
he saw that if he allowed the payment of these
mems debts, or the assuming of them by the
Government, and their pals, on their discharge
from Jail, he must, in like logic, allow the as
sumption of the debts of the Confederate States,
so called, on our admitting them to any rights
as part or parcel of the United States. (Symp-
toms of applause from Mr.. Seward.) To be
sure if we assume these debts, it may in a
measure impair the credit of the nation by
adding to debt already inoonveniently large,
as Mr.. McCulloch tells me; but by repudiating
them, it would appear to be violation of
faith to the holders of these old accounts,
which are mostly held by hOtelkeepers and
other loyal citizens of this city.
Mr.. Randall said the argument was ex-
hausted, and he moved that the Secretary OF
War be requested to send in his portfolio as
soon as the President could select another gen.
tleman for the Office, and he would take this
opportunity to remind the President that the
Great West had other men besides Mr.. Stanton
The President said he had in his trunk
several recommendations of themselves from
gentlemen in all parts of our great country
Southern as well as Western, and the recon
mendations are accompanied in many in
stances by