Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-07-27
THE GRAFT REGIME.
How Scandal WrOnged the
Wife Of a Cabinet Officer.
Chicago Times.

NuluhbO
A very interesting bit of social his
tory was given to the Times cores
pondent to day by a former official of
the government who was associated for
number of years with ex Attorney
General Williams. During Grants
administration Mrs. Williams was he
leading lady of the Cabinet, and her
brilliant social qualities and positive
ability made her very promin mt. |
was she who was credited with push
ing so skillfully her husbands political
fortunes. Naturally she made great
many enemies. Every one who is at
all familiar with the Grant admins
tration will remember the anonymous
letter episode. This followed after
the Belknap scandal. The first that
was heard Of it by General Williams
was through his wife receiving two
scurrillous and abusive letters, sent
anonymously through the postofice
Mrs. Williams carried these two let.
ters 70 her husband and showed them
to him, and asked him what she should
do. The letters contained vile attacks
upon the private character Of several
of the ladies of the Cabinet, and made
the most disgusting inuendOes con
cerning Mrs Williams own private
life. Mr.. Williams said to his wife:
ut has been the rule of my life to
pay no attention to anonymous letters,
and | advise you to destroy them. y
This Mrs. Williams did. Soon after
this there was a meeting of the ladies
of the Cabinet, called by Mrs. Fish.
Mrs. Fish said she felt it her duty to
bring these ladies together for the
purpose of discussing anonymous let.
ters that had been written to her.
Thereupon all the rest of the ladies,
with the exception of Mrs. Williams,
produced anonymous letters of simi-
lar character. Mrs. Williams had
destroyed her letters, and when she
announced that she had destroyed
them it was noticed that peculiar
look ran around the circle. These
ladies who had been envious OF
Mrs 9 Williams Social popularity re-
marked afterWard that the whole affair
had very queer look. 1t was from
such little hints and suggestions that
there ultimately appeared a paragraph
in one of the Sunday papers here
charging Mrs. Williams with the au.
thorship of these vile letters. This
fact was used against General Will
liams when he was nominated for the
Office Of Chief Justice of the United
States General Grant, however, took
great Hpains to assure the Attorney
General and his wife that he did not
believe single word of the stories
that we're being circulated. 1t was
none the less disagreeable, however.
Several weeks after that General Grant
sent for Mr., Williams and showed him
an anonymous letter that he had re-
ceived. General Grant said: II will
show you only part of this letter
enough to indicate to you that the
handwriting of it is the same as that
in all the other anonymous letters. 1t
contains the most vile aud disgusting
charges against the character OF Mrs,
Belknap and Mrs, Williams" He
says; THE letter in itselfis a positive
reiutation Of the cruel SANDER that
Mrs. Williams had anything to do
with the writing of these letters, and
| merely show it to you for the pur-
pose OF telling you that | mean to at
once put an end to these stories.
Grant afterward showed enough OF
these letters to the wives of other
Cabinet members as to assure them
Mrs. Williams had been very much
wronged. The whole affair, however,
Ombittered her very much against So
oiety, and she has in a measure since
that time Withdrawn from the social
life of Washington,
General Williams. since his retire
ment froms the Cabinet, has accumu-
lated a very handsome fortune for
himself in the District, without any
official aid He has paid m all his
debts, amounting to ever 100000,
that he owed when he went out of the
Cabinet. To day he is independent,
enjoying large practice, and is possi-
bly, happier than he ever was when
one of the chief members of Grants
administrator.
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