Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-09-06
SELECT.
EDWIN NJ. STANTON.
RecOIIecfiOns of the Great
Watch Dog OF the War
Office.

able men. several of whom had been
themselves candidates for the :Presi-
dency, notably Chase, Seward and
Bates. And when Mr. Lincoln was
induIging what he called the drifting
policy" be would not, for months at a
time call any meeting of his Cabinet.
And vet Lincoln is the man of whom
Charles Francis Adams wrote that
Mr.. Lincoln got the credit for all the
craftsmanship furnished by William
Henry Seward! Mr. Seward in one
of b is pilgrimages to Auburn, where
he was wont to retire semi-occasionally
as Conkling goes to Utica when he
has any special utterances, intended
for the public ear ; on one of these
historical occasions, after speaking in
his medieval way" of what "sin-
gularly pure young man" Gideon
Wells must be {; the optimistic Secre-
tary of State delivered himself of
brilliant eulogy on Edwin NJ. Stanton,
| in which be spoke of him as the "Di-
| vine Stanton" The great war min-
lister deserved all the encomiums
lavished on him then and at a later
period during the war by the gifted
son of New York. To my mind the
pre-eminently strong men of that
period were Lincoln, Stanton and
Thad Stevens. Stanton came into
Office under an extraordinary condition
of National politics. The old public
functionary, j. Buchanan, who sat at
Washington "like an old bread-and-
milk poultice and drew the rebellion
to head" had reluctantly consented
to redeem the latest hours of his Ad-
ministration by taking into his coun-
sells Dix and Stanton. At this the
North breathed more freely, for it was
a guarantee that there would be no
open or actual surrender of the
/ Government itself to the Davises, the
Toonbes, the Jake Tomsons, and the
ire-eating crew generallyand particu
larly.
1 Mr.. Stanton had resumed the prac-
tice Of the law after Mr.. Lincoln's
inauguration, in the city of Washing
ton, and ihad little expectation of be-
ing called into a Republican Cabinet
He felt stung at the audacity and the
celerity with which the Democracy had
turned sharp cor ner, and at once
become the apologists, advocates and
servants of an aristocracy built upon
the back of the African slave.
| CALLED TO THE CABINET
| His words were few in accepting
the trust offered him by Mr.. Lincoln,
but they were to the purpose, and
from that hour these two wonderful
men, Lincoln and Stanton, were as
close together as if they had been
"Siamese twins" Lncoln's great
ness very readily detected the virtues
the solid gold-in what he called
affirmative men," -s-.
Secretary Stanton was 4the earliest
at his desk in the morning and the
latest to leave it. Many night Mr..
Lincoln would slip out of the front
door of the White House and go alone
over to the War Office, and these two,
absorbed in the conduct of the war,
would listen to the click of the tele-
graph and read dispatches till day
break They were completely en-
rapport, as the following incident will
clearly demonstrate: Rev Mr.. X
had soft billet as chaplain in one of
the Philadelphia hospitals He had a
sick wife. Stanton had ordered the
Few. Mr.. X--to be sent to the Dry
Tortugas, or some equally disagreea-
BILE place, in Florida in the month of
June. lie came to me iu great dis
tress-the preacher. He said "You
must go with me to Mr.. Lincoln. He
is kind hearted man He surely will
not send me away under the circum
stances with my wife unable to make a
southern journey in summer" | went.
| The Rev. Mr.. X went too. The
White House was not difficult of ac-
cess, and / laid the matter before the
good old man with as much ap'Omb as
possible Mr. Lincoln paused mo-
ment, and said ''Rev. Mr.. Y
this seems like hard case. / will see
what can do" He then wrote in his
plain, homely way on blank card:
| ''SEcf atARY STANTON: See and hear Mr..
LIN the matter of Rev. Mr. Y. If the
exieeucies of the service permit keep Rev. Mr..
| X--where he is now.
(Signed) A. LINCOLN"
The great War minister had just en-
tered his office as we ascended the steps
of the old Office in the War Depart
ment-gone now, covered over with
the wing Of modern mprovement-
armed with the Presidents note, which
we regarded as complete extinguisher
or "squelcher" on the irascible Stanton.
Rev. " expected q storm, nor
was be mistaken Stanton stood
straight as an arrow, cross, apparent
z ly, between John Knox, Thomas
Carlyle and Martin Luther He glared
: at Rev. X, who had the reputa-
: tion of always wanting "soft snaps"
He only Modified his manner slightly
toward US; extending his hand, he
curtly said "Well, what now 7"
handed him the card, with Mr..
Lincoln's request in writing. His
eyes flashed fire, and he dashed out in
his jerky utterances these words:
81 won't do it. and you go tell him
So" lie tore the card up, and threw
its fragments into the basket and con-
tinued: "Go tell Lincoln | know
what the exigencies Of the service re-
quire, and Rev Mr.. Y shall go
where | ordered him to go"
Rev. Y looked stunned, stppe-
fed and distracted | got him by the
coat sleeve and said: "Come, we will
see about this"
| was hot. Had not the President
of the United States been treated with
contempt by his own cabinet officer
Fast as we could get there we hurried
( back, breathless to Mr. Lincoln and
| 4 said "Why! Mr. President, Stanton
: is hog. lie tore up your order. Can
le you stand this ~
O. ''Well," the kindly old patriot re.
| 4. 4 ~