New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-06-12
THE PUBLIC RECORDS.

The Committee appointed 10 inquire lnUo lho
mutilatiOn of records of the War Department
asked for an extension of time. Therein they
did wisely, for the preliminary report when
they presented during the closing hours OF the
House, while it confirms some OF the most
serious charges against the custodians OF our
national records, leaves many rum0rs undls-
turbed, many suspicious still strong, ana
many curious circumstances unexplained
We know that the records have been
extensively mutilated, that important docu-
ments have disappeared, and that the mill
tary attaches of the President have had leave
to cut and slash and copy and carry OFF let
tiers by the chest-full from the official files
which no one else was permitted even to in
spect. We do not know, however, just how
far the ravage has extended, nor how much
of it can be repaired, and we are not yet GER
tain who has been most in fault These
points must be the object of further
inquiry.
Meanwhile it is proved, first, that the records
of the War Department have nOminally been
kept with the most jealous care for strictly
official purposes. The Adjutant-General has
described the elaborate system of indexing
and filing which prevails in his office. No
private citizen, by the rules of the Department,
was allowed to examine these papers for any
purpose whatever. They were locked up, from
the eye even of the reputable historian, as
closely as Spain preserved for centuries the
archives of Simancas. And to this day the
rule has not been relaxed so far as
the testimony indicates, except in favor Of Gen.
Grants military staff. Secondly it is shown
that by gross piece of favoritism Gen.
Badeau was allowed to do what he liked with
these precious records, and that Government
clerks were even detailed to copy for him
whatever he did not want to carry away.
Thus this young officer was put in full posses
sion of the national secrets, and matters affect
ing tie reputation of all our prominent
cOmmanders-matters sometimes of extreme
delicacy--were left at the mercy of person of
whose honor and discretion there was certainly
no sufficient guaranty; and whose literary
pretensiOns are ludicrOus absurdity. Thirdly,
as natural result of this scandalOus
abuse, the records are found to be mutt
lated. Three hundred and sixty-seven let
tiers, including the correspondence between
Grant and Halleck during the last three
months of the war, and important COM
Candy, Sherman, Meade Ingalls,, Butler, Slgel,
Augur, Townsend, Wilcox, Hunter, War
rem, and others, have been stolen.
The Adjutant- Generals index book is
missing The correspondence between
Halleck and Rosecrans in reference to the
Tennessee campaign is missing; so is the
correspondence between Halleck and Grant at
the time Of the second battle of Corinth but
these seem to have been distracted by Gen.
Halleck, or under his orders, perhaps before
the files to which they belong came into the
custody of the War Department OF the dis
appearance of the other documents we have
mentioned there is no explanation. 1t is
proved by order of Gen. Rawlins they were
delivered to Badeau at the White House, and
they have never been returned. The papers
relating to the removal of Major-Gen Thomas
are supposed to have also been distracted; at
any rate. it is morally certain that certain dis
patches giving Gen. Thomas's side of that
shameful controversy are not to be found.
With regard to the Buell. papers little has
been elected which was not known before
hand. The papers are gone, and the Commit
tee has not discovered who took them.
II is unfortunate for Gen. Grant that the
gaps occur just in those portions of the official
history of the war where there has been most
dispute over his conduct, and that the papers
should have been traced to an officer who
was not merely member of his military
family and an inmate of the White House,
but the authorized historiograpber of the
soldier. president. That Gen. Badeau may
have found the records of the War Depart
ment convenient in preparing the Military
History of u s. Grant" it is perfectly easy
to understand; but why, after he had been al
lowed to borrow the documents. did he fail to