The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1872-10-11
GRANT AND RAWLINs.
How the President Put the HnsvIins Fund
in the "IsIaek Fridny pooI.o

To the Editor Of the 50. Puut Pioneer:
Sla:-With regard to the Rawlins
fund, l can say word more than you
say. AS to my statement, it is per-
haps sufficient for me to mention that
| was invested with power of attor-
ney by Mrs. Rawlins to look after her
affairs, and | was consequently well
acquainted with the facts in the case
/ do not know, except upon Gould's
testimony, who paid the 81 900 which
Grant subscribed to the Rawlins fund;
but / do know that nearly the full
sum of s50,O00 proposed to be raised
for the benefit of the impoverished
family of the Secretary was subscrib-
ed before Black Friday" and that
Gen. Buttcrfield was made receiver OF
that fund. / went to New Y ork sew
eral times after that infamous day, in
the attempt to learn something OF the
whereabouts of the fund, but accom-
plished nothing, for Butterfcld was
never where | could find him. From
the subscribers, Rufus Hatch, Fisk,
Hatch & Co, w. II. Vermilyc, and
others, | learned only that the sub
scriptions had been paid in TO the re-
cciver Returning TO my home. and
that of Mrs. Rawlins, at Danbury,
Connecticut, at her request wrote
several letters To President Grant,
who, as ] was informed at New York,
was named by the subscribers to tho
| Rawlins fund as trustee thereof
Those letters were unnoticed by the
President. And not until Jan. 4, fol-
lowing the Secretary's death, did the
trustee of the fund condescend to in
form the widow that the United
States bonds to the amount of $685.
500 bad been placed in his hands, the
first installmcnt of interest upon
which would become available in the
following July. How or by whom
the fund was handled between "Black
Friday" and the 4th of January fol-
lowing | never learned; but certainly
the family of the Secretary, left pen.
niless at his death, received no bcne-
fits from it until the time above men,
toned. This may seem to many
readers, and particularly to partisan
Office holders and Grant orators, a
very small matter IL will not so ap.
pear to those who know how much
General Grant was indebted to his
former Chiefot- staff, Rawlins. TO
illustrate this Indebtedness A party
OF military men, among them some of
the members of Grants staff, were at
certain dinner at Saratoga. One Of
the toasts given was THE Staff of the
General Commanding the Armies. -
For minute or SO there was no re-
sponse. At length General w. S.
Iillyer, Of that staff, first modestly
waiting for his ranking officers to re-
spond, rose and said: Gentlemen,
will respond TO that toast, and in con-
Dection with it. permit me To present
the name OF John A. Rawlins, Chief
ofStaf, and to say, without Rawlins
there would have been no Grant p
My authority for this story says that
"Hillyer was flushed with wine. -
Perhaps SO. Perhaps, also, the prov
erb was true. "M riao reritds. -
What can be said of the man who
could SO soon forget his obligations to
his noble, patriotic chief adviser, as to
pemit his family to suffer for the ac-
tual nccessaries of life.
Yours, truly,
WIZ. G. HASKELL,
Pastor Universalist Church.
STILL WATER, Aug. 81, 1872.