Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1884-01-02
Especial Telegram to the Globe. I

| Especial Telegram to the Globe.l
WARRINGTON, Jan. LIN recent inter
view Judge Pettis, of Pennsy ylvania. is
quoted as saying that Mr.. Lincoln had
proved the best secretary OF war since
Jefferson Davis. The attention of an Of
fcer of high rank in the army was called
to this, and he was asked his opinion of
Mr. LincoIn's merits as secretary. SIN
the first place. he said, "Mr. Lincoln is a
very industrious man. He loves work,
as do men who succeed
at the bar. He is interested
in every branch of the department and of
the extensive range of the civil duties he
has to perform iG connection with the e1.
penaiture of millions of dollars on inter-
nal improvements. He has mastered ev-
cry detail of his work as no other secretary
within my recollection has done, and my
recollection goes back to Simon Cameron.
The civil head of the ermy often has no
interest il it, and the department is run
by the bureau Of officerp. That 10 not
SO now Mr.. Lincoln is in fact as we'll as in
name, the head of the department, ard he
insists on knowing al about what his
subcrdinates Go, and what he is asked to
do. It is kind of curiosity that is ex
fremeIy valuable to the head OF depart
ment, where it is SO easy for the chief to
leave everything to the bureau officers, and
just sign any paper that is brought to him
by the proper person, and there
end the matter. That would save
great deal of trouble. Mr.. Lincoln never
tries to save himself trouble. Hs takes
his papers home and studies them. The
cases that como to him for action he Lot
only studies personally, but he makes per-
sonal report on them over his own name,
and files them with the other papers in the
case. If any other secretary has done
this since The days Of Jeffer-
son Davis I have never happened
to come across the papers. and l
haye had occasion to make myself pretty
familiar vith the department archives.
He has looked sedulously after the ex-
penditure of money on rivers and harbors,
and yeu remember that he had the csurage
to make report TO congress last winter
pointing cut the useless character OF many
of the Improvements that the enormous
river and harbor bill of 1880 made proYis-
ion for. lie has been equally careful of
the ordinary expenditures for the army.
Not much attention has been called
to his order of last summer
regarding saperfaous animals at military
posts, but it saved great deal of money.
He got the idea that theTo were too many
horses, mules and spring wagons at mill
tary posts, and that good deal of pleas
ure driving was being done at government
cost. He quietly obtained full informa-
ton which corroborated his impressions,
and the result was an order which
diminished by about two thousand
the nunber of horses and mules
kept at posts. It costs good deal for the
fodder of Two thousand animals, a md the
wages, rations and quarters of the men to
take care of them, and all the incidental
expenses. In regard to court martial
cases Mr.. Lincoln is far superior to any Of
his predecessors for many years. If Mr..
McCrary had been equally faithful the
army would have been in better condition
to-day. But Mr.. McCrary mad no interest
in the army and be let things run them,
aslves. Since Mr.. Lincoln beo ame
secretary, very few sentences of
court martials have been set aside and if
they were disapproved it was generally
because they were too indulgent, as in the
Robertson and Hubbard csses. He is just
such a man as his father was, and ne will
take exactly as muck pains to Go right by
enlisted men as BY brigadier general.
There are few officers who have been
personally disappointed by the acts
of the secretary and OF course
feel unfrlendlyS to him, but
the general feeling of army officers,
especially the older ones who can remem-
Der q good many secretaries, is one of
warm admiration, and many even cay OF
enthusiasm for Mr.. Lincoln. Army off
GERS are really the best judges of secre-
tary's merits, and I have had occasion to
meet a great many Of them, not only in
Washington bnt at posts all over the
country, particularly on the frontier.
BAYARD ON THE TARIFF.
Senator Thomas f. Bayard could not
find language sufficiently vigorous to
properly emphasize his belief that tbs the
solemn duty of the Democratic majority in
the house to consider the question of revis-
ing the tariff this session. The so-called
bill of last winter, eaidsthe senator, was a
monstrous humbug. 1t was the outcome
of packed and gagged conference COM
mittee that constantly exceeded its powers
by making changes wholly unau-
thorized and in numerous instances
inserting wholly new matter. There are
monstrosities in the existing tariff law that
legislators could not look upon without
shame. Mr.. Bayard has no patience with
the talk of mere policy in view of the sit
uation. To DO what is right is his