Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-02-18
RABCOCK.
More Testimony from High Quarters as
TO the Good Character OF Grants
Private Secretary.

kilograms Ruled Out and Admitted
Testimony as 10 the Letter-BOx Sys.
TEN In st. LOuiS-Etc.
ST. LOUIS, February 17-UpOn the
resumption Of the trial Of General Bah.
cock this morning in the United States
| circuit court, q mum Der of witnesses were
put upon the stand to testify to the char
act'r Of the defendant.
General w. 7. Sherman testified: l
am general Of the army of the United
! S ates; / have known General o. E.
Bsbock intimately; l have known him
since 1851, but my batter knowledge of
him dates f.om the time he brought me
dispatches at Savannah from General
| GrAut; since then ! have known him
almost constantly: his reputation has
been very good; never heard 1t qDes-
toned until these troubles; / have seen
| General Babcock q hundred times in
| the room in the executive mansion next
| TO the Presidents rOom-it might be
| called the ante I'M; those VINO go to
! see the President see General B,bcock
| first, and perhaps accomplish the object
| of the visit without seeing the President
at ell; General BR6c0ck slsO opens the
letters, distributes them and answers all
except the most important; he Is kind
Of intermediate bttWeen the people and
the President.
Testimony as to good character was
also given by General James II, Simp.
son, of the corps Of engineers; General
w, S. Harvey, Captain l.. 3. Bsbbitt,
commanding the ST Louis arsenal; Gen
eral b. 3. Sturges, in command OF this
post, and Hon. Z. A. BOrie, ex-secr5taIy
OF the navy.
Ex-Governor Fletcher was put upon
the stand, and identified several letters
from Bsbcock and JOyc9 as those placed
in his possession a few weeks ago BY
Mrs. Joyce. Only one CT these letters
was read at this stage of the trial; it
WAS dated March Z, 1874 and directed to
Joyce in San Francisco. It is in reply
to Joyce's message TO Bsbcock: ''Teil
Douglass to call off his scandal hounds
that only blscken the memory OF Ford
and ir;enCs General BAbcock informs
Joyce that there are no charges against
Ford. and tells some one that he believes
be (Joyce) was sent TO San Francisco
because OF his high standing with the
com missioners.
Toe defense then introduced two let
ters from Deputy. Commissioner II. G.
Rogers to General John M'DOaaId,
dated respectively Washington, March
8 aud March %, 1875, to show, as ccun-
sci said, that as late as the date of these
two letters there was no suspicion of
General M'Donald, either by Rogers or !
the department. The first letter asks in |
behalf CT Rogers and Commissioner |
Douglass that M'D0Dsld will find place |
as deputy-coliector in Arkansas or else |
where for young man well qualified |
for such position, and states that such |
favor on the part Of M'DOnald WOULD |
be an accommodation to member Of |
the cabinet. The other letter refers to |
the probability OF the appointment Of
Mr.. Douglass to the judgeshfp Of the |
court of claims, aud sOIicits M'DonRld's |
influence in his (R lgers's) behalf for the |
place to be made vacant by the retire
ment of Douglass. This letter was re-
ferled to by Rogers in his testimony.
E. A. Warner, cashier Of the Lindell !
hotel, testified that Hosg was at that
hotel in November, 1874 General J. L.
Fullerton, lawyer of this city, testified
to knowing Babcoek in the army during
the late war, and since then in Wash
ingtOn. His reputation was good. Three
gentlemen connected with the postofiiee |
IN this city, testified as to the street let
ter-box system here stating that it was
unsafe to deposit valuable letters in the
boxes, and that the public had been re-
peatedly cautioned against doing so.
There was no rule or regulation prOhib-
fHDg il, however.
The defense then introduced several
letters f, ON Joyce to Babc0cs, written at
differentstimes from 1870 to 1873 Some
of them inclOsed editorials written by
Joyce and published in the st. Joseph
(Mo.) Herald, on the San Domingo az
fart, and were designed to chow his
jcaiCusDess in political matters. AnOth-
er from Little Rock, Arkansas, apprised
Babcock of the election of Powell Clay
ton as United States senator, and stated
that this election would carry Arkansas
for Grant; and another iuclOsed the res
olutions to the memory CT Charles w.
Ford, adopted at pubic meeting held
here soon after that gentleman died.
Answers to these letters were then pro-
duced and read, also two or three others.
All Of these letters are of social nature
and indicate that the writers Of them
were on friendly terns, but contain no
illusions whatever to the ring matters
or anything connected with the revenue
affairs.
G. c. Dickinson, chief clerk Of the
first comptroileI's Office, public build
ings and grounds under BabcOck, was
then called to identity for the prOsecu-
tion the signature of George s. Joyce,
at the Presidents mansion,
to whom the dispatch Of April %, 1875,
addressed TO Babc0ck was traced, bat
they failed TO satisfactorily identify his
sigDSture.
The court then ruled'out the three dis
patches which have been held in reeeIve
Two or three Gays. The following was
admitted:
ST. LOUIS, Decemb- 3, 1874.
General o. Z. Babcock:
Has secretary or commissioner ordered
here? J.
The following two were ruled out:
WASHINGTON, December 5, 1874.
To John A. Joyce, 81. Louis:
Cannot hear that any one has gone or
is going. o. E. BABCoCK.
To General o. E. Babcock, Washington:
Tell Mac to see Parker, of Colorado,
and telegraph TO com missioner. Crush
cut s.. Louis enemies. GRIT.
Regarding the last dispatch, the court
said that although it was admitted to be
IN the handwriting OF Joyce, and that it
had been sent over the wires, there was
no proof that the defendant had received
1t, or if he did receive it that he knew
from whom it came, and there was no
proof that it was ever answered.
James Msgill, letter-caIIier, then
testified: In the latter part Of February,
1875, l was coming Gown Pine street,
near Fifth, Mr.. Joyce accosted me ana
said there were tao letters ia the street
letter-box which he wished to get back;
ne pointed to the box Oh the southwest
corner OF Fifth and Pine; l asked
Colonel Joyce to describe the letters be-
fore opened the box; ne said one was
addressed TO w. o. Avery, Washington,
and marked personal In the corner, and
the other was to 0. +. Babcock, Wash.
ingtop, District Columbia, also mark ed
personal; opened the box, although it
uaS off NV district and aparchpd among |