Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1876-10-18

had begun, he could not answer fo
it that he would not himself becom
as good Democrat as Mr.. Stanton
Mr.. Stanton went into office q
Secretary of War in January, ls6.
Before and after this period MI
Tilden was called to Washington
to counsel with both the Presiden
and the Secretary of War, and t
the latter at that time he was espe
cially welcome, because he urge,
earnestly the more vigorous prose
cution of the war as the most ef
fective means of bringing it to
speedy end. and to restricting it
unavoidable woes and enormous
expenditures to the narrowest prac
ticable compass.
When in 1852 the government
concluded that prudent precau
ton against possible war with En-
gland required that the iron manu-.
facturers of our country should be
able to supply us with gun-barrel
iron, it desired them to essay its
production experimentally, and to
supply, as it was wanted, 5000
tons at price that could not yield
much profit. This onerous but
patriotic duty was undertaken by
an establishment in which Mr.
Tilden was then a director and a
large stakeholder, and to accom-
plish it they stopped other highly
renumerative work, thereby sac
rificing hundreds of thousands of
dollars, the price, as it turned out,
being to low to cover the cost of
production.
But neither he nor any of his
associates ever set up OF even in
timated a desire to make any claim
for indemnity, as learned in Wash
ington. Neither has he or they
asked the government to receive
the balance of iron undelivered I'M
der the contract, although not more
than two thirds Of it had been call
ed for when the war closed, at
which time, owing to the sudden
tall of prices, the profits on the
residue would have been very large;
out the government no longer
needed the iron, and its credit was
stretched to the utmost to provide
or war debts. Mr.. Tilden and his
riends therefore forebore to make
my claim to the large amount they
night have asked in this matter.
On previous occasion when
treat emergency arose, the govern
nent called upon the same gentle
len for aid it asked them to con-
truct a large number of pondrous
'rought-iron machines each weigh /,
lg many tons, and known in mill
lry engineering as mortar-beds,
nd to accomplish the object in less
nan one-quarter of the time which
le Ordinance Department and en-
ineers of eminence had declared
Indispensable. Reposing conf
ence III the patriotism of this gen.
emen, it was explained to them
hat large number of these huge,
nwieldly structures had suddenly
cen called for by Gen, Grant, and
OF one was to be found in our ar
enals that they were necessary
D complete the armament of gun
oats required for the most import
Mt military campaign to be made
, the West that winter (lS62), the
dvance up the Tennessee and the
cumberland Rivers to capture
'orts Henry and Donelson, and to
estroy the Confederate army there
altering, and that failure to sup
ly these beds promptly would
realty embarrass the expedition
nd might defeat it altogether, by
y delaying until the waters of
lese rivers fell too low for nnviga-
on by gunboats.
Nobly did these gentlemen re-
pond to the confidence reposed ia
lem by their government. Money
carry on this work could not
len be advanced. But these gen.
emen opened their own purses
nd summoned into instant activ-
y a multitude of skilled workmen
different shops aud towns, stu
te in three different States. 1t
ill crafty You to learn that this
most impossible task was accom-
lished considerably within the
me, and enabled General Grant to