The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-11-05
4 Pageant nj indianapolis To.
day,

A Pageant nj indianapolis 10.
day.
The leading men Of the nation and OF
several Of the States are ut indianapolis
today to do honor to the memory Of
Morton and commit his mortal remains
kindly to the earth This ia fitting, for
no common man has fallen in Israel.
Morton had elements Of greatness in
him, greatness in peace and war, and it
/, by no means certain thst had he been
afforded the opportunity in the field he
would not have shown Napoieonic genius
for the struggle. That he appreciated its
magnitude, and watched its sIow progress
and frequent mistakes, with impatient
anxiety is shown by his correspondence
with the GoyernmeDt. Some Of these
letters have come 10 light since his death,
and we note especially two that were
written in the fall Of 1862 aud one in
January, 1864.
In the frat he demands lhat Mcclellan,
Fremont, and others be removed, as 'cold,
professional leaders, whose hearts are not
in the cause, and who regard it only as
professional job. l would rely with in
fnitely more confidence upon the man Of
strong intellect whose head is inspired by
his heart, and who believes that our cause
is sacred"
In the second letter he demands that
the Mississippi be opened 10 the sea and
the States on its west bank subjngated.
In tho third letter he demands n levy
en- masse Of troops. at is much better 10
make the estimate too large than too
snall, and it is much safer 10 overpower
the enemy by numbera than merely to be
his equal and rely for success upon the
skill Of the Generals" All this wso in
Granta subsequent idea. Morton had
the conmon'sense genius Of Cromwell
and Grant.
Tho wonderful energy and courage that
Morton exhibited in organizing war
amidst treason all around him, gave him
a hold on the people such as no other
war Governor" obtained, He was always
equal to and ahead OF the emergency.
Alter Sumter was bombarded, and even
before Lincoln had called for less than
1000 men from Indiana, the Governor
telegraphed him tender Of 10000, and,
ia less thsn week ntier, hlving already
fiiled the quota and put it in course of
preparation for the field, he began accept.
ing and organizing troops for longer ser.
vice. He offered 5000 more on tke 10Th
of April, with the assurance that ifneed.
ed they could be organized in six days,
Though communication was cut oil with
Washington, and he got no answer, he
went on with his organization just the
same, and put six State regiments in
camp ready for a years service. He
stimulated volunteering to such degree
that no conscription severely affected
Indiana. Thus, out OF 2Os,S67 men
furnished by the State during the
war, butl7900 were drafted, and all calls
we're filed fully and promptly with active
and not constructive soldiers. The mere
routine work Of the military administers.
tiOn may be judged from tho fact that no
tess than IS, ,ss4 commissions were Issued
by the Governor during The war. He
also established an arsenal for the mann.
facture Of ammunition, and always kept
home guard of $4,000 men. When the
Democrats 20. control Of the Legislature
in 1862, and refused to supply the money
needed for carrying on the State govern.
@ent, lie organized separate iuance
bureau, independent OF thestatc treasury,
called on the loyal people for loans, and,
with the assistance thus obtained and the
help OF the general government, he car.
ried on the State government and con.
tinued to raise and forward troops for
two ysaS. The following letter, ad.
dressed to Morton after the close Of the
var, is all that need be added to this
record OF his national services:
WASHINGTON, Nov, 10. 1906.
~ Dsar 6Ortraor: think 1t Il tho right Of mon,
Who have ably And faithfully served their country,
TO Know that their lAbOrs arc appreciated a. they
merit 80 will not deny myIelf The pleasure Of
telling you that Secretary Stanton was With me
lat tsVsnlns, and We, naturally turning our minds
70 the pist, fell % talking Of you We Rgreed that
no Governor rendered such safrlees, or displayed
lueh courage OF more ability in administration;
and We agreed that your recent IerElees were most
mertoriouI u all, because rendered under ciFcum-
stann'I Of greater personal risk Of health and Ie
AaI which would have been by almost any uian
FeSlrdsd, ana by all accepted, as good reason FOR
total lnActiou. have seldom head stanton er-
press hlmlslf % earnestly. hope you will derive
some at1iietion from this lltts relation. The talk
gave much pleasure to me.
cTdlRlly, your friend, $, P. CH4sE
A DESTRUCTIVE Gre occurred at WeS.