Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1868-05-09
genli~ afeeklv Morld,
4 TALK WITH THE PRESIDENT

,
mescial Radical, gives in recent
letter the purport Of an interview he
had with President Johnson, relative
to the Impeachment and some of those
connected with it. From the letter we
extract the following:
Naturally enough the subject of Gen.
Butler came up on Sunday evening, as
the town was full of rumors about the
great speech to be made next day by
that distinguished gentleman. | asked
the President if Batierhadn't applied to
him in 1866 for cabinet Office! NO."
he said. Butler himself never did, but
his friends did it for him. A strong
movement was made to get Butler in
.Stanten's place, and because it didn't
succeed, Batter has been pretty sharp
after me- ever since. The idea was to
put Butler in the War Office as the
first step toward recognizing the Dem
ocratic Party with such men as he at
the head of it."
Iasked the President if Forney wasn't
on the same track with Butler in the
matter of reorganizing the Democratic
party. EYES," he said, che was; and he
(Forney) began to grumble as early as
December, lS64-iust after the Presi-
Dental election-because Democrats
like himself had been neglected and
badly treated during Lincoln's first adj
ADMINISTRATION. The first thing he did
was to write me letter, hoping that
when came to the Vice Presidency
would give him the control of some
patronage that he said belonged to the
Office of Secretary of the Senate, but
had of late years been given to the Ser
yeant-at-Arms. He hoped would
change that. Then when ! became
President he was still more importunate
for something or other that he wanted
He always wanted something. lie
thought he could take charge Of me
and control everything, and when
wouldn't let him do that he quarreled
with me. He is "a mighty small mar
10 quarrel with, but, if it was worth
\
while, l. could very easily show the
motive of this opposition to me-" The
President also showed me letter from
Forney, dated Jan. !, 1865, in which
the writer hopes the admission of Ten
nessee and Louisiana will not be embar
raised by the question of negro suffrage
and doesn't see how Northern men car
vote to enfranchise the illitcrate ne
groes of the South while i'll nearl
every State in the North the blacks al.
distranchised.
As to the charge that it was undig
niied and unbecoming in the Presiden
of the United States to make stunt
speeches in this way, he said he di'
not believe just then was the time t
talk of dignity. There were great ques
tons before the people, and it wa
more important that they should be III
derstood than that anybody's dignit,
should be preserved Besides, SAID he
did not Mr.. Lincoln make STUN
speeches on his way to Washington
and often afterwardg Nobody objecte
to that, and no crowd hooted him o
badgered him as they did with INT
Other Presidents have done the sam
thing But do they propose to impeac
me on question Of taste and dignity
Is it dignIfed in Mr. Wade to go aroun
the country calling me id traitor
and must be impeached if | say wor
in reply?"
From this particular point, by a
easy transition, we passed to the chare
es of intoxication.
The President said he was perfect
willing they should investigate his Col
dition on that trip. The public he
been led to believe that he was intox
Gated all the way, from the time he lie
Washington till he got back. But h
them take the trouble to find out, all
they would discover that that was
great mistake.
They'll find out, at any rate, that
didn't drink half as much as one or tw
others, about whose coalition nobod
cares to say world
Il think | can guess the name OF on
Of them,v said |. Didn't he go fro
Clevelandto Detroit, and wasn't it al
nounccd with great flourish of trun