The National tribune., 1882-08-26
In the last issue of The NATIONAL TRIBUNE

In the last issue of The NATIONAL TRIBUNE
the substance Of letter addressed by ex-Sena-
tor Dorsey TO President-elect Garfield in Feb
ruary, 1881, was given. The writer, it will be
remembered, rendered Gen. Garfield advice as
to the formation Of his Cabinet and especially
urged him not to ignore the advice of such
men as Senator Conkling and President
elect Arthur. Since our Lash issue several more
letters from Mr.. Dorsey have appeared, and we
give them in full below, first reproducing a let
ter from Mr.. T. w. Torrey, formerly chief
clerk to Senator Dorsey,( addressed to the
editor of the New York Herald, in which most
of the letters originally appeared. The fol-
lowing is Mr.. Torrey's letter to the Herald:
MIR. ToRREY SAYS THE LETTERS ARE AU-
| THENTIC.
| have observed your editorial comments
upon q letter recently published from ex
| Senator Dorsey to General Garfield, and that
you question its genuineness more by implica-
| ton than otherwise.
was in the employ of Mr.. Dorsey when
| the letter was written, as his chief clerk, and
copied the said letter from pencil memoranda
written by him. | mailed it to General Gar
field and saw the reply to it from him. 1t is
| not wise for those who are pretending to defend
| General Garfield, who needs no Defense to at
| tempt to smirch Mr.. Dorsey and challenge the
| authenticity of that letter. 1t may transpire
| before the controversy is over that more than
| a hundred similar letters touching almost
every subject with which the President-elect
had to do were written by Mr.. Dorsey to
| General Garfield, and it may also turn out that
| in every instance the advice was given at
| General Garfeld's request. 1t may further
transpire that Mr.. Dorsey was rendered and
declined one Of the most important, if not the
| most important, places in General GartieldS
! Cabinet. He not on V declined that, but de-
| cined, as | know, any place anywhere. Not
| only that, but he declined to recommend any
person for any position except upon the highest
public grounds He did criticise in the strongest
| terms the proposed action of General Garfield
in respect to the Cabinet appointments from
| New York and Pennsylvania. He regarded
James as mere newspaper bubble, without
capacity, without integrity, and representing
nothing on earth but himself. He regarded
| MacVeagh as social, political and physical
| dyspeptic, who considered it his duty to i'm
press upon all mankind that there was but one
Caesar, and his name was Wayne MacVeagh.
! Mr.. Dorsey did urge III numerous letters the
appointment Of Chief Judge Folger as Secre-
tary of the Treasury, and he did that to my
| personal knowledge at the request and the
urgent request of General Arthur, and for the
further reason that he thought that Judge
Folger represented the best Republican senti-
ment of New York, and could not be objected
| to by either faction of the party.
Mr.. Dorsey did urgently resist in numerous
communications, which / wrote from memo
randa given me by him, the apparent domina-
| tion of Mr.. Blaine. in the selection of the
| Cabinet and the purposes and objects he had IN
view in choosing men he could control. He had
no conceivable interest in so doing except to
see that General Garfield obtained triumphant
&c l. \ ,-t., 4 tb,f+ = +I.,D
publican party was maintained in its fullest
integrity. The miserable twaddle about Mr.
Dorsey not being on terms of intimacy with
General Garfield is the purest nonsense, and
COO absurd to consider for moment.
They had been friends for twenty years, been
! comrades in the army, came from the same
part of Ohio and lived neXt-dOOr neighborS for
six years in the City of Washington, being in
constant daily communication, knowing each
| other as well as any other two men ever did,
| and Mr.. Dorsey was made secretary of the Ma
tional Republican Committee at the request OF
! Governor Foster, who represented General
| Garfield. Nothing can be more absurd than to
stigmatize Mr. DOrseys letter as impudcnce.
1t was an honest statement of one friend to an
other anxious only for the latter's welfare 1t
was the advice that ought to have been needed,
and if it had been General Garfield would have
been presiding in the White House to-day.
1t is not right that the press of the country
should assal man for giving advice which
every one now knows to have been the most
| judcious and the best that could have been
given at the time it was given. Let us be fair !;
| let us give every one fair show, and in my
| Judgment and belief, and with full and COM
| plete knowledge of all of Mr.. Dorsey'S business
relations, of his bank accounts, of his receipts
and expenditures say to you that when this
| farce of trial at Washington is over that q
moro complete and full vindication was never
| vouchsafed to any man than will be accorded
! to him, and | say furthermore, that the assaults
of New York Republican paper, which have
| continued now for year and u half, grew out
of an animus which is well known, and that l
know as well as they do that at the proper
| time will have to be proven in q court of JUS
| tice. That journal has called Mr.. Dorsey q
thief and has denounced him over and over
again as public robber. The time will shortly
come when it must prove its allegations.
In the star route trial, which has now been
| going on for nearly three months, there has
been no moro evidence against S. W. Dorsey
| than there is against the Man in the Moon :;
not one jOt or one tlttle as any one who has
followed the testimony knows. In conclusion,
l will say that although l had known Mr. Dor
sey for nearly twenty years l was astOnished,
when writing his letters to General Garfield
and Others at his ability to cOllate " frozen
facts" Il. w. TORREY.
New YORK, August II, 1882.
The following are the additional letters of
ex-senator Dorsey:
| THE NEW YORK ELECTION.
Gen. j, A. Garfield, Mentor, Ohio
DEAR GENERAL:-Replying to your letter
of December % L have to say that | have de-
| layed until this time, hoping that some adjust
ment satisfactory to yourself and to the parties
in interest in this State could be brought
| about; but am bound now at this late date
to submit my failure to accomplish any tangi-
bic result. ! have seen Mr.. Conkling, Mr..
Arthur, Platt, Norton Crowley, Cornell, and
others of lesser prominence, but my success in
adjusting the different questions they have to
meet in the next twenty days has not been
great. 1t is not necessary or important That
| should go into details, but will volunteer,
if there be no objection, this advice-that
those who are so confident of elccting their
Senators from New York be permitted to pro-
ceed, and when it turns out they have elected
only one, perhaps they will be more amenable
to reason and to the best interests of the party.
| hope you will take no hand or part in the
matter and make no suggestions to any of the
factions in New York until after the Sena-
toral election and l trust then you will have no
difficulty in chosing, ifyou wish to do SO, men,
Der for your Cabinet from the State who will be
acceptable to every Republican without regard
to factions If | can be of any service to you l
hope you will not hesitate to call upon me.
Sincerely yours,
January 90. S. w. DORSEY.
Hon James 4 Garfield Mentor Ohio.