Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-09-18
GRANT AND RAWLINS.
How the President Put the RawIlns
Fund In the "BIRck Friday" Pool,
Leaving the widow without she
EoN0sSarfoa NJ WAfo

How the President Put the RavTIlns
Fund In the "BIRck friday Pool,
Leaving the widow without she
HecesSaries Of Life.
To the Editor Of the st Paul Pioneer.
SIR: With regard TO the Rawtins fund, |
can say a word moro than you say. As to
my statement, it is perhaps sufficient for
me TO mention that | was invested with
power Of attorney by Mrs. Rswlins to look
after her affairs, and l was consequently
well acquainted with the facts in the case.
/ do not know, except upon Gould's tes,i-
mony, who paid the 81 GOO which GRAFT
subscribed to the RaW)i s fund; but | 20
know that nearly the full sum Of $4,000
oroposed to be raised for the benefit Of the
IN gverished family Of the Secretary was
sub Tibed before "Black Fridsy;" and that
&c Butter6elI was made receiver of that
I'm / went TO New York several times
she that Infamous day, in the attempt to
earl something Of the Whereabouts
Il he fund, but accomplished moth
M for Butterfield was never
" re could find him. From the SUBJ
SERVERS, Rufus Hatch, Fisk, Hatch & Co.,
W. K. Vermilye, and others, learned only
that the subscriptions had Deen paid in TO
the receiver. Returning to my homo, and
tina Of Mrs. Rawhns, al Danbury, ConGec-
ticut, at her request wrote several letters
TO President Grant, who, as l was Informed
at New York, was named by the subscri-
bers TO the Rawlins fund as trustee thereof
Those letters were unnotlced by the Presi-
dent. And not until Jan. 4, following The
Secretary's death, did the trustee Of the
fund condescend to inform the widow that
United States bonds to the amount of $685.
500 had been placed In his hands, the first
installment of interest upon which would
become available in the following July.
How or by whom the fund was handled
betR cen "B!ack Friday" and the Alb of
January following | never learned; but Ger
tally the family of the Secretary, left
penniless at his death, received no benefit
from it until the time above mentioned.
This may seem to many readers and particu-
.arly to partisan office holders and Grant
,Irators, q very small matter. 1t will not
Sd appear 10 those who know how much
ten. Grant was indebted TO bis former
Chef ofstsf, Rawlins. To illustrate this
Indebtedness: A party Of military men,
among them some of the members OF
Grants staff, ware at q certain dinner at Sar-
atcca, One Of the toSsts given was "The
staff of the General Commanding the
.ATmies." Fer q minute or so there was no
response. At length Gen. W. S. Hillyer,
Of that staff, first nlodestly waiting for his
ran ing officers to Iespond, rose and said:
"Gentlemen, will respond to that toast,
and in connection with it, permit me to
p e -eut the name # John A Rawlins, Chief,
Of staff aud to say, without RaWlins there
WODld have been no Granw NV authority
for this story says that "Hillyer was flushed
with wine Perhaps SO. Perhaps, also,
che proverb was true, "IR uino UeritGs."
What can be said OF the man who could so
soon forget his obligations to his noble, pa
triOtic chief adviser, as to permit his family
to suffer for the actual necessaries of life?
Yours truly,
WILLIAM G HASKELL,
Pastor UBiversalist Church.
STILL WATER, August 81, 1872.