The Van Buren press., 1867-11-08


profitable, too. There is at least one Of
fcer of prominence now in the army who
could. were he SO disposed, a tale unfold
rs to the cost OF his commissions.
A correspondent of the Troy Times
attempts to defend Mrs. Lincoln and says
she has been roJJed of what the people
honestly and in good faith contributed to
her aid. And he asserts that large
amount of money was thus raised all
over the North in one dollar contribu-
tions, and asks "What has become Of the
money?' He adds:
} We have long since come to the con
clusion that our dollar, with perhaps a
millior .ethers, has gone to swell the i'll
gotten gains of some persistent govern
m9pt thief
On the other hand the Albany Eve
ming Journal says that
The first lady of the Republic has dis
honored her country, herself, and the
memory of her lamented husband, hawk
ing her surplus apparel, with view to
creating q market for her wares, charging
her countrymen with meanness and in
gratitude, and threatening to make reve-
lations of personal secrets, untayorable
to those who have been prominent in
public affairs. She suggests inquiry re-
specting her career as mistress OF the
/ White House, and as 10 the methods IN
Which she became possessed Of tie magnG-
cent articles which are nop offered for sale.
The Cleveland Herald, an ultra Radical
paper, is veey bitter and gives the follow
ing statement; ........-
The facts are just these; Jude Davis,
Lincolns administrator, reported that the
estate was worth $4,000. Congress
gave Mrs. Lincoln the Presidents unex
pred years salary, and also gave her
S25, 900 besides, the same as was allowed
the late Mrs. General Harrison. Con
gressman Wentworth pressed Mrs. Lin
coins claim for hundred thousand dol.
lars, but Congress did not think such a
gift justifable, There are other facts
which should see the light, and perhaps
would explain Mrs. Lincoln's present
straightended circumstances. Among
such facts is thin, that bill for $4,000
for jewelry purchased by Mrs Lincoln
was presented to Congress and disallow-
ed, and the secrets Of that committee
could divulge most remarkable items
that through Mrs Lincoln were present
ed for payment We hope all these
things will be made public, and that it
may also be known what the forty huge
boxes, sent to Chicago from the White
House, after the death Of Mr.. Lincoln,
contained Let the country know the
fact that it required nn appropriation Of
one hundred thousand doiIarS to make good
the spoilation at the White House, and
let it be proved who had the benefit Of
such plundering.
We cannot devote more room to-day
to this subject, but close our extracts
with the following quotation from the
New York Citizen:
/ The most remarkable feature Of the oc-
casion, however, is that each piece sold
is to be accompanied with documents
duly authenticated giving its entire his
tory, and with all the letters that were
written on either side in connection with
| it; and upon these, it is, that Mr. Wake
mans opinion is Of particular value.
There will be the originals, with sigma
lures duly verified, and these are suppos-
| l,,,p 10 hn i, tho
the articles themselves. Such documents
will be charming reading, and will enable
our historians to give the world new
view ofthe secret history of many public
TRANSACTIONS A certain diamond pin,
valued at $4,000, may have obtained i'll
formation by which an army was defeated
and 1000 lives sacrificed; thus putting
our soldiers at a dollar apiece. A camel s
hair shawl, worth $4,000, may have, ac-
companying it, the appealing letters Of a
heart. broken Office seeker, dying for a
snug berth where the pickings run up to
quarter of million a year; thus fixing
the estimate Of official integrity at one
per cent. A set of jewelry worth $4,000,
may account for the Red River expedi
ton, or the chartcring Of steamships
which were then allowed to be idle in
Port Royal harbor ut twenty thousand
dollars day. A ring set with anne
thysts may have been the symbol of the
famous and profitable " cotton ring" a
set of furs may have been the clinching
argument in favor Of lucrative shoddy
contract Who would not wish to pur-
chase such delightful correspondence and
precious information And why should
any man grudgc good price for ties
pecially the men who made the presents
and got so gorgeously rewarded
RArs.--It has been discovered that rats
can be got rid of by covering the floor neGT