The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1881-10-04
A WAR "REMINISCENCES.
How the Late Lewis Cass Solved the
Mason and Slidell Difficulty.
Detroit Post and Tribune.

Detroit fost ana tribune.
The editorial which was published in
Tuesday mornings Post and Tribune,
relating some incidents connected with
the resignation of Lewis Cass from
Buchanan's Cabinet, has called out an
other "reminiscences which has never. so
far as known, been published, and Which
recalls very forcihly the troublesome
days OF the opening of the rebellion. 1t
was outlined to representative Of the
Post and Tribune BY gen laman who
knew Gov. Cass very well, and who said
that Mr.. George W. Batch could tell il
better than he could. The Post and
| Tribune representative called on Mr..
Balch and asked him to relate the Cir
cumstance, which he did in the folio wing
interesting manner:
s.It was in 1861, at the time when the
war excitement was beginning to be in
tense; Mason and Slidell had just been
.e,zed, and the question as to whether
they should be returned to the British
Government was being discussed in
Washington Late one Sunday evening
Mr.. E A. Brush came to my house on
Lafayette Avenue and wanted me to send
a long telegram TO Washington. / was
the manager of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company here. He said that be
had been laboring with Gov. Cass all the
afternoon 10 get him to send an express
sion OF opinion TO the Cabinet as to
whether Mason and Slidell should be
surrendered; that Governor Cass had at
first refused to DO so, but that hs~ had
finally induced him to. He had told the
Governor that an expression Of opinion
from him would be regarded as repre-
sentative expression OF opinion from
the Northern Democrats, since he, Gov.
Cass, was unsnirched by the suspicious
which hung around some members OF
Bucbapan's Cabinet.
81 told Mr.. Brush that it would be al
most impossible to get the telegram
through. There we're no Monday NOR
ming papers here then, and the war ex-
eitement had not progressed far enough
to warrant keeping the lines open Sun
day, but l told him would do the best
could. The only wires which we're
open then we're the railroad wires. ]
happened to know that there was proba-
bly, a line open by way Of Pittsburgh
and Cincinnati to the army in Kentucky,
and from there to Washington. We
went down to the Office and l tried for
hours to get hole through as the tele-
graphic phrase is, before / succeeded.
Finally, about o'clock in the morning,
l got an operator at Cleveland, and, by
way OF Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, got
wire to Washington. The message
from Gov. Cass was long one and ar
gued the whole question in mastery
manner. 1t was delivered to the Cabi-
net, still in session at Washington, about
4 O'Clock in the morning, and favored
most positively the giving up of the two
men to the British Government. The
next morning it was announced that they
were to be delivered over, and there was
a general feeling of relief.
"When Mr. Seward was in Detroit,0
his trip around the world, be said that
dispatch from Gov. Csss did more than
almost any other one thing to decide the
question. Operations had been quietly
going on for the strengthening OF the
frontier defenses on the lakes. Az or
der had been sent from Washington to
seize all the vessels in Detroit for the
transportation Of troops to Mackinsc.
The next day this was countermanded.
Mr.. Brush was always very proud of the
work he did that Sunday afternoon, and
used 10 say that it saved war with Eu-
gland. Perhaps it. did, who knows
The original OF that dispatch is lost. ]
wish I knew where it was. 1t would be
very valuable as an interesting relic OF
events which, though they only occurred
twenty years ago, are fast being forgot
ten."