Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1868-10-30
BELLOWS FALLS, VT, FRIDAY,

Stanton forbid any clerks or subordinates
of the War Department telling any news
whatever. Gobright came in one day,
mild and patriarchal as usual, and said
to an officer:
The Secretary has refused to let you
answer questions. That is why l will
not ask you one, though it would oblige
me greatly to do so. Suppose l ask you
the question, and then you can refuse to
answer it if you please. Shall II"
Yes ] put your question
How do you do, sir / hope you are
well?"
In this good-humored way Gobright
often softened even Stanton.
had a talk with Gobright the other
night upon mutual experiences of the
war. A good book for newspaper folks
might be made out of The Press in the
Rebellion" Newspaper men buy more
books than any profession, notwithstand-
AhS ~ man dIc ScnI lueln.
| asked Gobright if he could make
himself believe, on just consideration,
that the censorship of the news in the
war accomplished good. The old man
said No! 1t was a prodigious executive
failure-in the interests of the vanity of
generals and the jealousy of the depart
ment." And he illustrated this in many
ways, saying particularly of censor
named Sandford, / believe afterward
foreign minister.
| sent a message during Early's last
raid
The rebels are again in Maryland ?'
This Mr.. Sandford suppressed. Said I
to him, "This is not giving information
to the enemy except about himself. Will
it do him any good to know that he is in
Maryland, being there" After a day
Sandford said: "You may telegraph as
news this message which sent to my
wife yesterday; The rebels are said to
be again in Maryland"
That dispatch, shown by Mrs. S. to
friend, sent him to gold-buying, and he
made CHS little pile"
The Office of the Associated Press in
Washington has always been managed
with singular honesty, as compared with
the main office in New York. There has
never been a scandal about the Capitol
headquarters, whereas the New York
Office has always been a prolific house of
speculation for Wall street. In 1867
man came to me in New York, and of
fered a draft for $4,000 if 1 could OBJ
tain small despatch of, say, twenty
lines, sent over the Associated Press from
the Capitol. He wanted gold to go up
only two per cent. AT course his propo-
sition was conceived in ignorance both
of my ability and disposition to do this
thing, but it was such trite piece of ig
norance that | declined it without indig-
nation. Gobright might have been
among the richest men in Washington
to-day had he used his vocation for spec
ulation.
The great crime of the world after the
crucifxion, was the murder of Abraham
Lincoln. To it the death of Henri Qua
tire was popinjay's taking off; the
death of William of Orange soldiers
fate. 1t may be that some public spirit
ed hand is gathering all that relates to
the crime. For him let me relate Cob
rights reminescence of the murder on
that Good Friday, not that it is peculiar,
but that nobody else may think to relate
it and the man and fact may perish.
81 was sitting in my Office, busy but
not pressed" said Gobright, when car
riage drove up to the sidewalk and man
came hurriedly up stairs, saying;
"The President has been killed. /
came round right from the theatre to tell
you"
Nonsense !" said /, feeling sort of
thrill that anybody should trife so.
swell saw him killed myself, and
looked at him dead in the box. Get in
my carriage and go round to the theatre
with me-"
This man who had been at pains to
ride here so promptly, | don't think |
ever knew at all. Some sense of public
duty or happy Providence probably
struck him.
81 found the theatre surrounded and
policemen mounting guard. Being a
little near, however, l got in, saw every
thing as it was, pushed along to the box
and looked at the blood on the floor and
saw the torn flag. In this box picked
up fan, which l still retain. While ]
was getting all the information | could,
in the confusion and nervous state of the
witnesses, was told that Seward had
been killed. This l thought new edi-
ton of Lincoln's death. However, /
pushed up to the White House, made
the tour of the cabinet officers, discover