The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1872-06-06
SOLDIERS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Senator Wilson Punctures Senator Trum.
bulls Bugbear.

BULLS Bugbear.
Then, Mr.. Trumbull told us that
we had passed law that military
men should not do civil duties. Gen
tlemen, | am sorry he told you that,
because it is not the fact. We did
not pass any such law. We have a
law that will not allow military men
to be appointed to civil offices.
But we have no law that prevents a
man who is in the army from being
detailed from doing some civil duty.
Mr.. Trumbull complained that we
had military mana man In the
army, who brought the Presidents
message to him. Well, l think if
Mr.. Trumbull had looked into the
history of the country a little, he
would have found that that thing
had been done before. The first mes
sage ever sent to the Senate of the
United States, was sent on the eth of
August, 1880 and it was borne by
Major General Henry Knox, a gen
tleman who carried more than one
message from Gen. Washington to
the Senate of the United States. He
had been his companion in arms du-
ring the war, and, perhaps, his
most estimable friend. When Gen.
Jackson came in he appointed his
old Aid, Major Donnelson, Secretary.
When Gen. Taylor came in he took
his Aid, Major Bliss (his son-in-law},
and kept him with him as long as
he lived, when Major Bliss went back
into the army. When Mr.. Lincoln
came in he made John Hay an army
officer and then detailed him for du-
ty in the White House. When Andy
Johnson came in, he filled the White
House with military men. l have
here list of some of them. Now,
when a Senator leaves his place in
the Senate at Washington and goes
up and down speaking to the people,
he ought to know what he talks
about. He ought to understand the
plain facts of history. never read
a speech in my life so full of errors in
so short space of a couple of col
umns as / found Mr.. Trumbull's
speech. He asks the question, Had
Andy Johnson filled the White
House with officers, what would have
been said about it p Well, l will
tell you whom ne had there. He had
Col. Morne, Col. Morrow, Colonel
Long, Col. Reeves, Gen. Muzzy, Col.
Keever, and col. Robert johnson,
his own son.in-law. He had five of
ficers of the army with him, and
will tell you what else he had. He
had a company of troops-he had
guards posted outside the White
House, around it and inside of it.
When Gen. Grant came in, the
guards saluted him, and the General
asked what it meant. The next day |
he sent the troops away, and in a
few days he sent away the four COM
panies of cavalry that were stationed !
at Washington, together with reg.
iment of infantry and there has not
been, for the past two or three years
a soldier on duty nearer to Washing
ton than Fort Washington, away
down on the Potomac. Applause.
Now, what is General Grants Of
tense /! Why, that he took three
men who had been on his staff five
years, and placed them on the staff
Of General Sherman and that thew
were detailed to go over to the White
House, without any pay or compen-
sation in the world. They have
helped Gen. Grant to do his immense
work, and they have been the means
Of saving large sums of money to the
Treasury of the United States and
that is all there is about it. Zap
clause.